The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe

by Jon Chaisson

  “They wouldn't,” Mancka said sternly. “The Mendaihu would protect you as it's their duty, and the Shenaihu think you're a pawn so they have no use for you. I wouldn't get all cocky just yet, Anton. There's an imbalance out there, and it's worse than any hrrah-sehdhyn attack. And it's here in Bridgetown.”

  That made Anton stop dead, his smug grin melting into a troubled frown. He opened his mouth to form a word, thought better of it, and closed it again.

  “Its name is Saisshalé,” she continued. “Vengeance deity of Trisanda.”

  The worry on his face changed to complete dread, a reaction she wasn't expecting. She ventured further. “They say Saisshalé is behind the recent violence in the city. He never attacks more than one or two people at a time, and he never kills them. He just leaves them inches close to death. I’ve also heard talk his actions are merely a diversion.”

  Anton nodded slowly. “No one's been able to capture him, except one ARU agent up in New Boston. A Detective Simon Murphy had him overnight just the other day, but he managed to escape. Commissioner Tatreaux let me know as soon as he heard. He's been giving me twice-daily updates.”

  “Agent Murphy is the only one who's ever been able to apprehend and contain him, which really isn't too surprising,” she said.

  “Why, because he's that good?”

  “No, Murphy's a regular agent. A little eccentric but intelligent. But he's not strong enough for that. Saisshalé is extremely adept at long distance Lightwalking. It's often his preferred mode of transportation. He stayed in confinement as a personal choice. He was waiting for someone.”

  Anton nodded, thinking aloud. “One of our agents was up there when he escaped. Agent Alec Poe from Branden Hill. Murphy's report of the incident says Saisshalé escaped soon after being questioned by Poe, but he didn't go into too much detail. Saisshalé threatened him, threatened Bridgetown, and then flashed out of there.”

  “Must be edha Poe, then,” Mancka said.

  “Could be,” he continued. “I'd like to meet this agent.”

  Mancka said nothing. This conversation was starting to get dangerous. This was not some problem Anton could solve by just using his title. She knew where this Alec Poe was. She'd briefly met his partner, Caren Johnson, the day of the failed Ascension. She could easily sense the whereabouts of both within this city. But she wasn't about to reveal his location, not to him, not to anyone. Poe was better off remaining a sleeper, just another B-Towner, his fate uncertain and unknown. As much as she wanted to share this information and help Anton in finding his own answers, she couldn't. Anton would have to do all of this himself.

  At this point, it seemed that the air had been cleared between them. A few Mendaihu and Shenaihu nearby had sensed the tension but kept their distance. She let out a quick nonverbal message to everyone that all was calm and his actions had been for good reason. It appeased a few, but not as many as she had hoped. She would have to find some way to prove them wrong.

  “I hope you don't think ill of me, Mancka,” he said quietly. “I would hate to have lost your friendship because of what I did.”

  “I don't,” she answered. “I can't speak for everyone here, but I understand what your plan is now. It's risky. But it will work. All that's needed is a little bit of faith...” she paused for effect, exhaling heavily. “...and a shitload of luck.”

  Anton smiled as he nodded, and began moving towards the edge of her rack space. “Luck I can wish you,” he said. “I'll keep in touch. And don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything.”

  “I won't,” she said, forcing a smile. “Watch your step, Anton.”

  He glanced downwards, having completely forgotten how high up he was. He wavered for a second, grabbed at the metal ladder, and swung himself onto it. “Peace, Love and Light to you, emha. And I wish you all the luck in the worlds.”

  “I'll keep you up to date if anything happens. Peace, Love and Light to you as well.” She watched him descend the ladder then walk down the aisle, physically alone but spiritually watched over by those perched in their rack spaces. Their contempt had warmed over to wariness, trusting him at least for now.

  His intentions are well meant, she heard Nehalé say within.

  She twitched and raised her arms in defense, startled by his sudden presence of spirit. She knew he was close, had even felt him as he sat quietly a few bays over, but still his intrusion had surprised her. She lowered her hands and huffed. You heard all of that?

  He was telling the truth, he said. He was not lying or hiding anything. His is now a spirit that's reveling in its freedom. Leaving his post was a smart move.

  “Smart!” she barked. “Nehalé, can you trust his council, now that he's dropped the reins?”

  No need to talk aloud, he said.

  “I'll talk any damn way I want to,” she growled. She began to crane her head left and right, trying to find him. He was close, very close. Possibly a few levels down at this point. He was shifting his position constantly. “And stop hiding!”

  I wish I could, he said. It's a little difficult right now.

  “What —”

  All you need know is that things are going according to plan. Saisshalé has shown himself as the contender. Agent Alec Poe is the Protector. And Governor Rieflin has just cleared the playing fields. He's taken out many of the extraneous players that we do not need at this time. Do you understand?

  “Not at all,” she huffed.

  You will soon, he said.

  “Soon enough?”

  In time.

  Mancka shook her head and closed her eyes. She didn't want to talk anymore. Not to him, not to Anton, not to anyone. She wished she could find that nonspace that The One of All Sacred was so fond of visiting. She felt the yearning again for that place she'd felt when The One had called for all of them, when she'd failed the Ascension. It was a place of calm and cold beauty.

  Pashyo, she sighed, and turned over.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Grid

  Christine heard the news about Rieflin's plans five minutes after she returned back to her apartment, after spending most of the morning at the Data Research Library. Caren had called her, leaving five messages before finally catching her. She now sat on the roof of her building, sitting on a fold out chair just outside the roof shed. She slouched heavily and took a drag from a cigarette, wondering just how much further this screwed up situation was going to get. At precisely ten this morning, she'd been denied access to nearly everything she’d been able to retrieve just the day before. Jenn had confirmed multiple times that her Level 5 access hadn’t been revoked or altered, but that the information had been blocked. It was not necessarily a setback, but it was still irritating.

  Caren's news about the Governor’s actions, however, had come as a shock.

  Down the street, she could see the upper part of Moulding Warehouse, where just last month Denni Johnson had come extremely close to completing the Ascension ritual and become the almighty One of All Sacred...and all that it entailed, for better or worse. Christine often wondered what would have happened to the world, had she followed through and completed it. Who would have been affected? Bridgetown? The North American Provinces? The world itself? She knew the One could perform it again whenever she chose and complete the cycle, but right now there was little doubt she would try it anytime soon. She understood the consequences.

  Denni, she thought. What are you doing right now?

  Christine had known the girl since Caren joined the ARU force. They'd met a number of times when she would stop over Caren's apartment for work-related issues and get-togethers, and they'd talk and laugh and share ideas, but that was all. Now that she was the One of All Sacred, she wished she had gotten to know the girl better on a personal level. Caren would have wanted that. She admired Caren's hard work bringing up Denni after they'd lost their parents, and she'd done a wonderful job.

  Denni wouldn't be seeing anything with the same scope as the failed Ascension, but it would most
likely have the same effect on the city, and Christine couldn’t figure out what it was going to be. The nuhm’ndah were planning those small attacks, but they weren’t amounting to anything other than minor irritations. What were they up to, anyway? These small street fights were making absolutely no sense at all. She decided that she might need to know Denni as the One of All Sacred after all, if she was going to find that out.

  Well — there was no way she'd be getting answers by moping about on the roof. She pushed herself off the chair, clipped the end of her cigarette, and tossed the butt into an empty stone flower pot nearby. She stood at the door for a moment, tempted to turn around and take one last look at the warehouse, but decided against it. She'd lived through that once; she didn't need to relive it again in her mind.

  It was time to make some calls. She'd been out of the loop for six months, and wondered if any of her old contacts were still in the loop, or alive for that matter. Many of them were in this run-down sector, so there was a good chance they were still here, and that they'd been affected by Denni's ritual in some way.

  She knew she'd been affected herself that day, but she’d chosen not to look further into her own psyche to see what had been switched on, at least not until after this was over. She was quite happy being a normal Earth human with a knack for deduction, investigation, and spiritual healing. To look further and risk either disappointment or confusion was not on her active to-do list right now. She didn't want to waste any more time having to learn new tricks of the trade if the old ones worked just fine.

  She reentered her apartment and saw that she'd received another message while she was out. A quick glance at the mini-vidmat next to the phone revealed it to be Alec. Odd that he would call so soon after Caren. They seemed to be spending less time as a team and more on their own endeavors lately. She woke up the receiver and sat herself down in front of the two-way mini-vidmat and let it dial him back.

  Moments later the animated avatar of Alec Poe flashed into existence.

  “An avatar, eh?” she said to herself. “This is new.”

  He’d always called her via office vidmat, but this was on a link she didn't recognize. It wasn't a Branden Hill or a Central McCleever prefix, but originating at the Mirades Tower of all places! She smirked at the visual; his digitized self looked remarkably like him only five to ten years younger. It was high-quality rez work, something ARU wouldn't normally spring for.

  “Hey Alec,” she said. “This is a new look for you.”

  “I'm not at the office,” he said. His avatar lip-synced his words, the timing off by a fraction of a second. No one would notice unless they were used to seeing bootlegs like this. “This is just a beta version,” he explained. “New voice to avatar software. It’s a joint KJS-EdenTree project.”

  She frowned at him. “Where are you, anyway?”

  “Vigil,” he said. “Just gave them the news Caren must have passed on to you. They’re understandably frustrated, but this won’t stop them.”

  “Please tell me you called me other than to show off your new toy.”

  “Yes I did,” his avatar nodded, and stepped back. There was a quick blurring as the image zoomed out and the full body could be seen. He wore a knee-length brown leather coat with a tight black bodysuit underneath and high dusty-brown boots. She smirked, immediately recognizing it as the dress of a Mendaihu Elder. It was an apt choice of work wear, especially if he was about to use it for less than legal purposes. He was standing in front of a floating world atlas, a simple terrain version with minimal location tags. He turned and made successive taps against the North American continent, moving closer and closer until he was above Bridgetown.

  “Impressive,” she laughed. “A chibi Mendaihu is about to give me a geography lesson.”

  Alec chose not to come back with a witticism, merely cocking his eyebrow instead. How did he get it to do that? He added to the effect with a smirk, that little lift of the left corner of his mouth and a slight nod of the head. This was high quality software if it could capture all his personal facial quirks like that.

  “I seem to have your attention now,” he said with a chuckle. “The subject of a Reverend Edward Miriam came up in conversation this morning, between Caren and Madeleine and I. Do you remember him?”

  “The priest from St. Patrick's, yes? I know he's been missing since the attack.”

  “Madeleine knows he's somewhere around here. He's not dead, and he's not offworld.”

  So Caren's next-door neighbor was a soulsenser. Interesting…

  “We've got to get a hold of him as soon as possible,” he said. “Anando and Caren have been scanning various points in the city, trying to narrow down where he might be hiding. Vigil wants to use the ESD, but they're not sure if they'll still have access after tonight. Besides, the only one who can access it is unfortunately preoccupied.”

  He was steering this somewhere and she couldn't yet figure it out. Did he want her to drop everything and help him find this priest for Goddess knew what reason? Or did he expect her to do more research on whatever the hell the Shenaihu nuhm'ndah were planning? One or the other, Alec, she thought. I can't handle both. She silently waved at him to continue.

  “Reverend Miriam is one of the few pure Mendaihu in this province whose strength is unequaled. Not even Nehalé comes close. Nowhere near the One of All Sacred of course, but close enough for it to matter. He once was B-town's top Mendaihu sehndayen-ne. He's gone into hiding and we need him if we're going to do anything about the Shenaihu.”

  “Okay,” Christine nodded. “Why the map?”

  Poe continued zooming in and repositioning. He found a specific point and slowly pushed his index finger towards it. The streets pulled ever closer until they were on the southern outskirts, south of the river. Just past Sachers Island, a dozen or so smaller neighborhoods lined the river's banks, from the mouth all the way up to the outskirts of West Brandenville. Technically these villages were part of Bridgetown Province proper, yet they pulled enough clout to be their own private communities, ignoring the day-to-day chaos that kept the city going.

  “We're guessing Reverend Miriam took shelter in one of these communities, though we're not sure which one. This is also the area where most of the CNF Councillors live, though I'm expecting this to be coincidence. Again, Vigil's working on that, so are Caren and Anando.”

  “And my role is?”

  Again with the smirk.

  “Alec...” she groaned. “Don't pull any more shit on me. Not now.”

  “One quick question — do you have an Edwin-Akandia converter on you?”

  “A…wait.” She shuddered as it all suddenly fell into place, and quite differently than she'd expected. A converter? Goddess, was he thinking of hacking into Tigua Space Station? That was impossible. She let out a long breath and shook her head. “Off the record, I do have a permit to use an EA converter, but to say I have one currently in my possession could pose some ethical and legal problems. So let's say I know where one is.”

  “Good enough,” he smiled. “Okay. I'm about to drop you a data packet in a few moments. I highly suggest you download it and keep it offline. It may help in your research as well.”

  “No questions, huh?”

  “Sorry.”

  Pashyo, Alec. “You're going to turn me into a johnny, aren't you?” she grumbled. “You know how much I hate using those damn things. They're never reliable. And besides, my bandwidth is nowhere near as fast as ARU’s. One look at my half-assed avatar and anyone would piss themselves laughing.”

  “Don't worry about it,” he said. “If you run straight off the Branden Hill server, you won't need to deal with bandwidth.”

  “Security?” she asked.

  “A few guys downstairs owe me,” he said. “You're connected via the ARU. Officially, the records are showing you still work there. You're a sleeper agent right now.”

  She didn't need to contest that fact. Officially, she had not resigned; she had taken an extended leave o
f absence with an open return date. That she was still on the roll surprised her. It came as an odd comfort that that one forgotten link would serve her now. She was not entirely taken by the idea of helping Alec in this fashion, but she was intrigued by their search and what would happen once he had contact with the priest.

  “Fair enough,” she said. “So what needs to be done on my end?”

  He went into some detail about needing her to rip into high-security files of a company named Sumassi Data Processing. SDP stored readings as a data library of millions of Bridgetowners, much like Central Intelligence's library of concrete facts and figures on the same. Her ARU status did offer limited access to their files, but with whatever Alec was now uploading to her system, she'd have almost total access. Technically she would be using these files on a proprietary basis, as she would only be looking for specific details and not sharing it publicly, only with a fellow ARU agent in the course of investigation. It was a shady excuse at best, but it was doable.

  The next explanation of his plan went into even heavier detail, with a list of specific names to search for. She was to attain their full dockets, make a cloud copy, and report back to him when done. She'd done this before, plenty of times during her stay at the ARU. A non-transferable copy would be made as a read-only file that would self-expire in a specific amount of time. In this case, thirty days. The beauty of a cloud copy was the ability to grab a sensitive file and hide it in a specific place with set coordinates that only the user could access. It was saved directly to an unregistered cloud, rather than on a drive or a crystal. Only those using it would know where to look for it, and it too would frag itself after thirty days.

  She was surprised at her own willingness to take part in Alec’s questionable activities. It left her with a lot more questions than she'd started off with, but they would be answered in due time. Despite Governor Rieflin's initiative to shoot himself in the foot, they still had time to gather as much information together as they could before another Embodiment uprising started. Perhaps this could even keep it from happening. She also wondered why no one seemed to be questioning the spiritual aspects of a Mendaihu/Shenaihu standoff, even though that was the main reason for contacting Reverend Miriam, and the overall reason for all these intense preparations. Surely they weren't getting paranoid over someone's bad vibes?