by James Huff
As soon as we exited the lift, the priest marched our caste up to the entrance of the temple. There was a large common area in front of the entrance, where the inductees of the other castes could be seen piling out of lifts on an opposite hall. Soon there were literally tens of thousands of us gathered in this massive area. I could see the entrance to the temple. There were two massive black doors that appeared to be made of some kind of heavy metal that had a veneer of onyx stone. There were many geometrical designs all over the doors and there were no door handles. The high priest of the Alphae walked up to the doors and took his staff and inserted it into some kind of keyhole. Instantly the massive doors swung inward with a deep groan and we were ushered in according to the hierarchy of our castes. My caste was escorted through the opening first. I was in the middle of the pack when I entered the temple and as soon as I walked in my jaw seemed to hit the floor.
The temple was bigger than any indoor temple or shrine I had seen in all of Metropolis and I knew that it was not even the main temple of Institution. There was huge stadium-like seating in what looked like some kind of ancient coliseum. Hanging above each section of seating was a banner bearing the crest of each caste. I looked up and could see a massive domed ceiling. Instead of depictions of the Alphae, there were many scenes of various star systems shifting around each other. There were also strange lights that would glow in every color of the spectrum that I could imagine. On the main floor there was no seating, but at the Eastern side of the temple there was a large golden, ornate throne that I assumed was sanctioned for the Alphae. In front of the throne was an ornate black and gold altar. There were various designs on it that appeared to depict the Alphae in another time, an ancient time. There were also two pillars reaching almost all the way up to the ceiling in front of the altar. One was gold with silver script and the other was silver with gold script.
I was ushered by the priest of our caste to take my seat with the rest of the Silver caste on the Northeastern side of the temple. I ended up sitting down quite high up in the stadium and I noticed to my disappointment that the blonde girl was nowhere in sight. I assumed she must have been seated closer to the floor. I was surprised to see that my room mate Brian had taken a seat right below me. He turned around and looked up at me. “Well John, surprised to run into you again so soon. Isn’t this temple absolutely marvelous?” Even I had to admit that it was, but I just nodded and looked toward the throne, expecting the Alphae to appear any moment now. After escorting all of the inductees to their seats, the six caste priests took their places in front of the great pillars and kneeled before the altar and the throne. The high priest stood between the pillars with his back to the altar. The six lesser priests were dressed in the attire of each caste. They each wore gray robes with the color linings in the sleeves and hood depending on the color of each caste. There was black for Lead, red for Mercury, yellow for Tin, a bronze color for Iron, burnt orange for Copper, and silver of course for the Silver caste. The high priest wore a white robe with gold linings.
The high priest raised his staff on high and then struck it to the ground as he cried out, “Silence!” Instantly the entire populace was hushed. “Fellow Inductees. Welcome to the Eastern Temple. Soon we will welcome the rising sun, which the Alphae and the Alphae alone has the power to raise each morning and give us the life giving radiance of our most sacred star. But first, join me in the calling of the Alphae while we prepare for his coming.” Drumming could be heard faintly, coming from some unknown direction. Soon it became louder and more rapid. Then everyone began the chant. “Alphae druant decadunt…Alphae druant decadunt.” The students around me began to sway in their seats. Some of them went into convulsions and started foaming at the mouth. I decided to play along a little and swayed my head back and forth with the beat. I figured I could at least have fun amidst all the insanity.
Suddenly the drumming ceased and I looked up and could see that the starry abode I saw above on the ceiling parted and a vortex was formed. Out of the center of the vortex the Alphae’s enigmatic eyes began to form, and then his face came into view, followed by his nemyss. I noticed that there was a golden solar symbol fastened to the top of his nemyss. The nemyss itself was not only multicolored but seemed to be highlighted with a golden sheen. His massive head began to descend downward just above the two pillars. The high priest raised his scepter up and as the Alphae descended, he touched the tip of his rod to the solar symbol on the Alphae’s nemyss. Then the high priest instantly prostrated before the Alphae as his body formed below his head and he stood massive in front of the pillars, at least a hundred feet in height. Then he turned around to the face the people.
“My future children! Welcome to the Eastern Temple behind the walls of Institution. Before we welcome the rising of the sun, I would like to tell you a story, and then I will be selecting from each caste six students to come before me and pay tribute. This is a great honor and if you do so with obedient respect and subservience, your caste will be given points.” I was not in the mood to hear one of his stories. Despite the grandeur of this place all I really wanted was the chance to see my grandfather again. I didn’t want to be here. I even missed my nagging mother. But my thoughts were cut short as the Alphae continued. “I command the sun just as I command all the stars in the entire cosmos. But once there was a holy man, in the far recesses of the ancient past, who dedicated his life to the adoration of this most sacred star. He was one of my great prophets who understood the subtle wisdom of my solar persona. Because the sun gives the Earth its light and life, and since the Earth is my favorite and most beloved of all the planets, I wear the solar crest with great honor. I am also the only being in the entire cosmos who has attained the state of perfected Gold. My great prophet, Zaeina, created a ritual based system to honor the sun and erected with this discipline a great city in my name. Now, my children, you have heard the story and so now I want you to be prepared as I select six chosen ones from among each caste to come before me and pay humble tribute to your god and king.”
I was dreading my name being called. Even though I had shown dissent on multiple occasions, the people of the BMF really seemed to see a lot of potential in me for some reason. I had the feeling that the Alphae actually held me in high esteem. But of course, he had been very strict with me in the past. Like on that fateful night. I didn’t understand something. Why was it that Grandfather’s stories were so dangerous? It really made me feel like there must have been some truth to them. But my thoughts were interrupted when I noticed that the blonde girl was among some of the inductees chosen in my caste. She was the fifth one who was called. I watched her as she walked down to the floor and took her place in between the two pillars with four other children and the high priest, right in front of the Alphae’s throne. The Alphae himself had disappeared from his former position and had reappeared on the throne. The girl approached the pillars with grace and knelt down with the rest of the chosen children. But there was still room for one more. I pleaded with whatever powers may be that my name would not be called. The Alphae began to speak. “And finally the last child that I have chosen for the Silver caste is…John Crawling.” Just great. Why did I always have to be right about these things?
I began my long descent down the stadium and could see other inductees in my caste giving me looks of disgust. They probably saw me get hauled off by the drones on the first night and wondered why of all people, I would be chosen by the Alphae himself. One of them put out his leg, causing me to trip and fall. Luckily I had caught the fall with my left hand, but put too much weight on it and hurt my wrist. I winced with pain and shot a look back in the direction of the person who tripped me, a young dark haired boy, who just laughed hysterically and continued to look at me with contempt.
Finally I made it to the floor and started walking toward the pillars, still clutching my wrist. I was escorted by the priest of our caste to take my place right next to the blonde girl and thrown onto my knees. Then the Silver priest took his place be
hind the pillars with the priests of the other castes, and they all turned around and knelt on one knee facing us. In this position I could make out the ornate designs of the altar with distinct clarity. It looked familiar, like the scene I had seen painted in the Family Shrine. Etched into the gold was an ancient prophet of the Alphae reaching out to touch his nemyss. But he was touching a slightly different crest. Instead of just the solar crest, there was also a lunar crest superimposed over it. Even I found this to be intriguing, not to mention extremely beautiful. The Alphae returned to his eerie state of trance-like slumber.
The entire hall was silent until, at last, the Alphae seemed to “wake up” and tapped his scepter upon the floor. He then spoke to us, one at a time, from left to right. This would mean that I would be the last one that he would speak to from our caste. It was the usual stuff. He would ask them what they seek, they would give the expected answer, and then they would fully prostrate on the floor in front of him and kiss his feet. Each time the Alphae glinted in response. The only one who reacted differently was the girl. She did everything else that the other children did, but refused to kiss his feet. In response the Alphae glinted and raised his scepter over her head, like he was going to strike her. But then his manner seemed to calm and moved on to the last of us: me.
“Citizen John Crawling, what do you seek?” I hesitated for a moment. I wanted to speak my mind, but I knew that if I was responsible for our caste having poor scores, especially since we were held in the highest esteem by the Alphae, that the other children would mock me and make my time here miserable. “I seek to serve that I may be served.” The Alphae glinted in response and then continued. “I know of your defiance John. I also know of your ability. I will not ask you on this day to kiss my feet, merely that you come to me in every thought, word, and deed. Come to me in your dreams, in your hopes, in your fantasies. For I am all that is and have all that you desire. Know this and you will never have to bend a knee again. For I can take you into the realm of the divine.” I had to admit that I was really surprised by the Alphae’s words. In fact I was surprised by the sudden changes in the attitudes of the people at the BMF. It seemed like the routine was to build me up in order to knock me further down. It was like they were counting on my pride to make for a greater fall should my dissent continue to cause problems. I was not naïve. I knew exactly what they were doing, though I was willing to play along if it would make the next three years any less grueling. But the worst part of it all was the awful nagging feeling that one of these days I would just snap and lose control. I knew that the rage within me could fire up at any time, especially when it was something concerning my grandfather. For now, however, I was content with my serenity. Maybe this implant was exactly what I needed…as much as I hated to admit that.
We were then escorted by the Silver priest back to our seats and next the Alphae began to call upon six chosen inductees from the Copper caste. I half expected to hear the Alphae tell one of these children something similar to what he told me, but I was wrong. I sat back and listened as he went through all six castes and pretty much all of the students had the same type of interaction. There were a few, like the blonde girl, who would not want to kiss his feet, or fully prostrate. But after the Alphae prodded them with his stern expressions and mannerisms, they usually conceded to do something in his honor. I would think that if the BMF were as sophisticated as they were that I would meet someone out there like me. But I suppose that if we dissenters are kind of rare, we would also be few and far between. Hence, the likelihood of me running into another person like myself while in Institution was slim to none.
Once we were all seated the Alphae stood up and walked in between the two pillars. “It is now time for us to welcome the rising of the sun. I now ask the priests of each caste to escort the inductees to their respective positions as we all form a block on the main floor.” The Silver priest came up to the bottom of the stairs on the stadium and instructed us all to come down to the main floor in an orderly fashion. After we were in position in the very front of the pillars, the priests of the other castes called down the other inductees in the order of the hierarchy, with the Lead caste being the last group to be ushered in behind the rest of us.
Then the six priests took their positions in front of the mass of people and turned around to face us. The high priest was still kneeling down on one knee before the throne, and shortly he went to the very front of the line of priests, standing right in front of the Alphae towering above him. The high priest then commissioned all of us to turn around and face the West and prostrate on the floor. “When the Alphae gives the command I want each of you to rise, turn around, and greet the rising sun as we all shout out in unison, ‘We rise to greet the Alphae with the Eastern sun.’” We all did as requested and as soon as we turned to face the East, the Alphae lifted his scepter on high and a beam of golden light descended upon us and showered the entire temple in an almost blinding golden sunlight.
The Alphae then began to speak. “I have commissioned the sun to rise each morning and to set each eve. Now you are prepared to meet the new day and begin your instruction in your classes. May the blessings of the Eastern Sun be with you on this day and remember that it is my glory, not yours, that shall bring you to the fruition of prosperous joy.” With that the Alphae dissipated and we were all escorted by the priests of our castes to the exit of the temple in the West.
As I tried to stay with my caste amidst the swarms of people, I could hear the comments and sneering of members of the other castes. “These Silver caste students think they are so privileged. Why should the Alphae hold them in such high esteem?” Then other voices could be heard. “Yeah and what about this John Crawling kid? I heard about his little incident in the dining hall on the first night. How can someone with such poor behavior be chosen by the Alphae?” I continued walking, trying to ignore what I had heard. Soon I bumped into the blonde girl. I shot her a quick apology and she turned around and gave me a brief, half-hearted smile. Right at that moment, a student from the Lead caste pushed his way between us. “So, you must be John Crawling.” I tried my best to ignore him. “I saw you take a little stumble before being called to the altar. You must think you are so special. You best watch your back.” The blonde girl, for the first time, spoke up. “Why don’t you keep your thoughts to yourself? You know very well that each caste holds its place in the grand scheme of things. John is no different.”
I was really quite surprised for her to stick up for me. The boy walked off after that, obviously fuming for being told off by a girl. I turned to look at her. “Thanks for standing up for me. It hasn’t been easy for me here so far.” She smiled at me and went to shake my hand. “It’s not a problem. I totally understand. I’m Amy by the way.” That was a beautiful moment for me. Maybe she was just trying to be nice but the simple fact that she told me that she understood gave my heart much hope. But our brief introduction was cut short by an announcement heard from above. “Will the inductees of each caste please follow your priest to your respective common areas where you will be sorted into your classes for the day. Thank you and remember, that all things done be unto the glory of the Alphae.”
The Silver priest escorted us all back to the lifts. On the ride up my mind was swimming with thoughts. Out of all the people I had seen since the Induction ceremony, Amy kept showing up. I admitted that I liked her. She was very pretty and showed me more kindness than anyone else so far. Her kindness was genuine, unlike that of Mr. Ivaness and others at the BMF. But Mr. Ivaness was right. I did prefer the company of adults. I began to wonder what the people at the BMF really thought about the Alphae. They had such a professional manner, unlike most citizens of Metropolis. I couldn’t imagine seeing them go into convulsions at worship. And they always seemed to be working. Mr. Thomas never attended any ceremonies with my parents and I, except for the Induction Ceremony. And I never saw the BMF of Institution in attendance at the morning ritual in the Eastern Temple. Weren’t they expected to pay
tribute to the Alphae as well?
My thoughts were cut short as the lift had reached the former level and we found ourselves being escorted back down the hall and to the Silver caste common area. This time I had the chance to get a feel for my surroundings. There was a huge silver statue of the Alphae in the middle of the common area. It rose almost all the way up to the ceiling, which was shaped more like an arc, rather than the typical dome ceilings I was used to seeing. The ceiling itself seemed to be made of oak and was stained a rather dark color. There were several banners of the Silver crest hanging from the rafters. Surrounding the statue were six individual altar stations. And scattered in a circle around them were several gray sofas and metal chairs, all hovering above the ground a few inches. There was a small bar there as well, which I assumed was available to us for various synthetic nutrients should we desire a snack. The strangest part about the room was this huge brick oven-looking thing. It had a silver mantle on it and inside it was hollowed out and some kind of green plasma was glowing like flames and giving off slight heat. There were a few chairs hovering in a semi-circle in front of it. Hanging above the mantle was a depiction of the Alphae and some kind of prophet that I had never seen before. He was wearing silver armor and carrying a spear with the banner of the Silver crest hanging from the top of it. The Alphae’s head could be seen looming above him, his nemyss bearing the solar and lunar crests superimposed on top of each other, like what I had seen on the altar in the Eastern Temple. I found it odd that this prophet was standing aright before the Alphae and not kneeling, bowing, or prostrating.
