by Karl Morgan
He took the skull and ran into the bedroom. He set it down gently on a pillow and then knelt on the bed. His heart was racing and his face was red. He rubbed his hands together, looked upward, and then extended his arms, palms down over the skull. He clenched his eyes shut and prayed to be with Connie again. The temperature in the room soared and sweat poured off him, but he was too frightened to open his eyes. He kept whispering his prayer as the heat increased. He began to feel nauseous, but forced himself to keep at it. Finally, he became so dizzy that he had to open his eyes to avoid fainting. There was now sinew and muscle forming on the complete skeleton on the bed. A ray of happiness shot through his mind and he closed his eyes again, blessing God and thanking Him for his help. Minutes later, Josh fainted and fell backward off the bed.
Josh awoke later. It must have been much later because it was dark outside. The only light in the room was the faint glow from the control panel on Shirley’s chamber. Josh crawled along the floor to the lamp and switched it on and rushed back to the bed. Connie was completely healed but not breathing. He noticed the room was now icy cold, so he pulled the covers over her and sat down by her side. “Connie, are you awake?” He shook her shoulders lightly and said, “Connie, please wake up!” He pulled back the covers and pressed his ear to her chest. There was no heartbeat. An odd thought from his high school days scampered across his consciousness. They had called CPR the “kiss of life.” He pulled the covers back over her, opened her mouth and pressed his against it and forced air into her lungs.
Connie sat up, gasping for air, knocking Josh off of her and down onto the floor again. She coughed and gasped, as though breathing air for the first time. “What? Where am I? What’s happening?”
Josh stood slowly, rubbing the spot where his head had hit the floor twice today. “Connie, you’re alive!”
Seeing him, she jumped out of bed and into his arms, wrapping her arms and legs around him, kissing his face. “Josh, you saved me. This is impossible. How did you do it?” Josh stumbled under her weight and he fell on top of her on the bed. She kept kissing him.
He pulled himself free and covered her with the sheet. “I don’t know, Connie. It just came to me. I honestly didn’t think it would work.”
She threw off the covers and rushed into the small bathroom to examine her body in the mirror. Her body was flawless, and there were definitely none of the cuts and bruises she had sustained in her repeated beatings, and no sign of decapitation. She pulled on a robe and went into the main room. After a minute, she returned with two glasses of whisky, handing one to him. After sharing a toast, she sat next to him and put her head on his shoulder. “I can’t explain this, Josh. It isn’t possible that you did this. I mean it is possible for people to die and come back, but not when their heads have been chopped off and their bodies reduced to bleached skeletons. This has to be a sign, but of what?”
“Barsat unconsciously wants to fail,” Josh said flatly.
“No, that can’t be it. He is pure evil.”
“That was not a suggestion, Connie. There is a part of him that does not want his plan to succeed. I doubt he knows it, but I do.”
“So he’s making mistakes involuntarily? Why?”
He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “I’m surprised you asked that. You said it yourself. There has always been equilibrium between good and evil, Judah and Sattu. That status quo may have infuriated him, but it was stable. He could count on it continuing until the end of time. Now that it is lost, the end of time is near and that scares the shit out of him.”
“Can you stop it?”
Josh drained his glass and kissed her lips. “No, but we can.”
Chapter 17
Josh awoke to the sound of bacon frying and the smell of fresh coffee. He climbed out of bed and went to look in Shirley’s chamber. She looked the same, still frozen, odd smile. He walked into the main room and saw Connie wearing a gingham dress standing at the small stove. “Good morning.”
She turned her head and replied, “Good morning, sleepy head. Have a seat, breakfast is ready.” He sat and she placed a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of him along with a steaming cup of coffee. She kissed his forehead and retrieved her own breakfast and then sat across the table.
“Are you feeling okay today?”
“Yeah, but we don’t have time for that right now,” she replied. “When I woke up this morning, everything was clear. I understand why and how all of this is happening. I am frankly surprised I didn’t see it before.”
“Enlighten me, o wise one,” Josh smiled.
She frowned and continued, “You know how you can do miraculous things, but rarely by direct action?”
“I don’t understand. What I did for you seemed a pretty direct action.”
“Let me explain. Yes, you do all these magical things, but they have been reactions, not actions. You reacted to my murder and decapitation by bringing me back. You crippled those men who attacked you in San Diego. And then you healed them when you saw the result of your earlier reaction. When the suicide bomber rushed you in the Guadalupe Valley, you reacted. You stopped the bomber on the plane when Shirley’s life was threatened. Do you see it now?”
“So, when Armand Sattu told me to move mountains, I couldn’t do anything because there was no need to move a mountain.”
“Exactly.”
“Let’s say you are right. What does that mean? I can’t escape this place because I have no need to? That can’t be right.”
“This is a special case, Josh, which we can discuss, but what I’m really trying to tell you is that you are the Hand of God.”
He pushed his chair back and gasped. “What? What does that even mean?”
“You have been granted these incredible powers so you can stop Barsat, but inside you’re still a man. As a human, you have the same doubts and fears all people do. When you get pushed into a corner, you react with the power of the Hand of God. I still can’t believe my father did this. He knew all of this would happen. He also knew his family would be targeted, so he gave the power to a person no one would ever consider to be omnipotent. That’s why you could turn an android into a living woman and why you could recreate me from a skull.”
“So, if I have this Hand thing, why can’t I get out of here?”
Connie rose and walked over to him, and then sat on his lap. “That is why I am here. You are a regular guy, so your perspective is limited to the dimensions of space and time, right?” He nodded. “You remember when we were inside the sun. Then you had no fear and understood, but that had nothing to do with nuclear fusion or that place. It was because we were one. This place exists outside space and time. That’s why you can’t see outside the illusion, but I can.”
“And that’s why Barsat brought your skull here. He knew it was the only chance for me to escape and to stop his plan.”
She smiled and kissed him. “That’s right, but probably only in his subconscious mind. You are his only chance to restore the equilibrium and stop the end of the universe.”
“What about Shirley’s chamber in the bedroom. Is that real?”
“No, it is just part of his game to control you. I think he might be in love with her. But at the same time, he wants you to think you are keeping her safe. You already know where she is, don’t you?”
“I saw a huge facility with hundreds of floors holding thousands of those chambers. She is in one of them, along with you and Chris. Okay, what do we do next?”
She put her hands on either side of his head and pressed her lips to his. She pulled back and said, “I told you once that you and I are soulmates. I don’t know if you remember, but I always have and always will love you, Joshua Carpenter.” She kissed him again and said, “Now, close your eyes.” He complied, and suddenly every nerve in his body was afire. He could feel her slipping inside of him again. A sudden calm came over him and he stood up. He looked down at his body that now glowed bright white. His clothes had been replace
d by a dazzling white uniform with a silver breastplate. A long silver sword was in a scabbard on his hip and a dagger was on his opposite hip. Deep in his mind, Connie’s voice whispered, “Let’s go kick some ass.” A brilliant flash of light filled the room. When it faded, they were gone. The cabin began to crumble away, and then the land and trees turned black and dissolved until nothing was left.
§
After one year of centralized government, the cyborg world leaders were eliminated and now the beasts ruled the world outright. Private property and personal wealth were confiscated and shared by Barsat and his siblings. The few people needed to grow food and serve the masters lived meager lives in their shadow. The rest of humanity was left to fend for themselves. The internment camps now covered vast areas of land while many cities lay empty and abandoned. Hammond Finch was still titular ruler, but he never went in public, and only made announcements and speeches from texts written by Barsat. All religions other than Barsatism had been outlawed, and the great religious sites were now either converted to Barsatism Temples or barricaded and deserted. Famine and plague were spreading and there was little hope or faith left.
“Master, surely you can see that the system is not working,” Finch moaned.
Barsat sat on a gold throne encrusted with jewels. His brothers and sisters sat on smaller benches lining both walls of the large marble temple. “I don’t get your point, Ham. According to the latest polling, almost fifty percent of the people now worship me as their God.”
“But look at the condition of the world, sire,” he pleaded. “Prosperity and health have been replaced by poverty and disease. The human race will not survive unless we change.”
“Why should I care about any of them?” Barsat grunted.
“Have compassion, my lord, please!”
The others beasts were laughing and pointing at Finch. Barsat growled at them and they stopped. “My dear emperor, frankly, I tire of your whining and complaining,” Barsat said. “You are hereby relieved of your role and are free to join your fellow humans out in the world. I have already won and I don’t need to hide behind you anymore!”
Finch’s ornate crown and embroidered robes disappeared. He stood there in a dirty tunic and leather sandals as the beasts began to laugh and shout at him again. Barsat looked at him, took a drink of wine from a gold goblet and waved him away. Finch sighed and walked away, while the beasts threw food at him. He was almost at the doorway when an intense beam of light caused him to freeze in his tracks. To his shock, Joshua Carpenter was standing before him, looking ten feet tall and as bright as the midday sun. The beasts began to get up to attack when Josh pushed outward with both arms and the temple exploded. The roof flew away and the walls and columns collapsed onto the beasts. Finch was on his knees. He begged, “Please just kill me, Joshua. I am so sorry about this.”
“All is forgiven, Hammond,” said a voice that sounded like Josh and Connie speaking in unison. Josh inhaled and Hammond disappeared inside of him. He pulled his sword and dagger and walked to the middle of the room. “Did you miss me, Barsat, you sniveling piece of dog shit?”
“Kill him!” he yelled, and the other beasts charged, war axes in hand. Intense white flames shot from the tips of Josh’s weapons, incinerating the monsters. The room trembled with a crack of thunder and the clanging of their weapons onto the marble floor. A fog of black smoke filled the room. Josh inhaled again and all of it flew into his mouth.
“Yummy, tastes like demon,” Josh laughed.
Barsat jumped to his feet and charged with swords in each hand. “Now is your time to die!” Josh was standing perfectly still, shining like a star. When the beast was three feet away, Josh swung his blade, knocking both weapons out of Barsat’s hands. He tossed his weapon to the ground and slugged Barsat in the face. The demon collapsed to the floor, but then jumped up and grabbed Josh by the throat. “You can never win!”
Josh raised his arms quickly, dislodging Barsat’s grip, and then head-butted him. Barsat was stunned and stumbled backward. He shook his head and screamed in anger, rushing forward to rip Josh limb from limb. Josh grabbed Barsat’s arm and threw him across the room where he slammed into the marble wall. The wall collapsed onto him and he lay quietly under it.
“That’s enough, Joshua,” said a voice by the entrance. Joshua turned to see Armand Sattu and Emmanuel Judah standing in the entrance smiling at him.
He turned and walked over to them, hugging each tightly. “I’m happy you are both safe. Thank you for helping me every step of the way.”
“I think you have some things that belong to me,” Armand said. Joshua exhaled the black smoke and Armand sucked it in. “I will take care of them, thank you.” He stepped back, already looking much younger.
“Now it’s my turn I believe,” the ancient Judah said. He was hunched over and very pale and weak. “First, put Finch between us.” Joshua exhaled and the white smoke flowed between the two men and quickly coalesced into Hammond Finch, who looked shocked to be alive. “Please go sit somewhere, Hammond. We will talk to you later.” Finch hurried away and sat on a marble block on the side of the room. “Connie, you can come out now.”
Josh gasped and was instantly so chilled he began to shiver. Now Connie and Manny were on either side of him, holding him tightly. “It will pass, Josh,” she said as she kissed his face and caressed his hair. “You remember that it will pass, right?” He nodded but continued shivering.
“Only one thing left, son,” Manny smiled.
“What about Barsat?” Josh asked.
Armand snapped his fingers and Barsat’s body dissolved into a thin trail of black smoke, which he sucked inside himself. “That’s taken care of now, and thank you, Joshua.”
“Is he dead?” Josh asked.
“No, but none of them will live again until their lesson is understood. You have my word on that.”
“You don’t want to give it back, do you?” Manny asked.
Josh laughed and said, “You cannot imagine how happy I am to get rid of this Hand thing.”
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“I’m just glad it worked out, sort of.”
“What do you mean, sort of?” Manny asked.
“The world is a real mess, isn’t it?” Josh noted.
“That’s what life is all about, Joshua. People get to make choices and often choose poorly. Now, thanks to you, they get to choose again, and hopefully will do better.”
“How do I give it back?”
“Put out your arms with your hands facing up,” Manny said. Once he did, Manny put his hands on top. Josh gasped as his hands felt like they were on fire. He clenched his eyes tightly closed, and saw nothing but darkness. Then there was light, following by trillions of strings of light, which quickly coalesced into stars, planet, and galaxies. Before his eyes, the history of the universe played out before him in a few seconds. He saw Earth coalescing from a cloud of gas and witnessed the beginnings of life, which progressed quickly until all of human history began to flash through his mind. He watched every human who ever lived being born, growing up and living and dying, until at last he saw himself standing in the temple. Manny pulled his hands away and Josh collapsed into Connie’s arms. “Are you okay, Joshua?”
He stood up and thanked Connie for helping him. Then he turned to Manny and noticed he looked as he had when he went to the Judah family office in Manhattan. He asked, “So now I am just a normal person again?”
“What did you see when I touched your hands?”
“It was amazing. It was like seeing the history of the universe and all of human history in just a few seconds. Somehow, I feel like I know every person who has ever lived, if that makes any sense.”
“Well, fortunately, you never were and never will be normal, Joshua,” Manny began. “You now know everything I have ever known, and you, Connie, Armand and I are eternally connected. You were born with this gift. I only enhanced when I hugged you in my office so that you could face all of Armand
’s children and have a chance of succeeding. Everything you did other than attacking them here, you can still do, and more. Is that okay?”
“I was born that way?”
“You’re blessed, Josh,” Connie smiled and kissed his cheek.
“Joshua, we trust you and know you will use the gift for good,” Armand added. “It has been my joy to know you.”
“There is one last task I need your help with,” Manny began.
“The bunker and the silver chambers.”
“Exactly. Many of the people there are in desperate condition. All of us will heal them together,” Manny said. “Shall we go?”
“Excuse me, what about me?” Finch said, standing slowly.
“Go out and tell the people of the world what happened,” Manny said. “Tell them you were duped and that the reign of evil has ended. Let them know that we will help them rebuild the world. And since you were highly involved, I suggest you be humble and apologize.”
“But they’ll rip me limb from limb?”
“Don’t underestimate my children,” Manny answered.
“I’m not talking about your family. I’m talking about the masses of suffering people out there.”
