Convergence: Genesis

by Flores Bermúdez, Heiner; Christina Hopkinson, Rachel;

  Outside, there were people all around. The eyes judged him harshly as he was brought to the centre of the fort, where there was enough space for everyone to gather. 'How could you?', could be heard. 'Bastard!' said a few. It was a long walk, in which he could only sense hatred and resentment.

  Denn was a different person now; a darkness followed him. It was as if he were living eternally in the shadow of the previous day. He could no longer feel anything other than anguish.

  When they reached the centre of fort, they knelt him down on the ground, and the crowd formed a circle all around him. A moment later, from amongst the people, emerged Neil. He walked up to Denn, stopped by his right side, and began:

  “Now you all know. This man is the one responsible for us being here. He hijacked the jump-gate station and caused us to get lost in space. Senlar found him out... When Bornew was questioned, he gave some absurd excuses about fantastical stories in order to justify his actions; he then became angry, and spewed out threats. Nevertheless, Senlar, the good man that he was, decided to leave him working in the fort whilst he thought about what to do with him. I begged him to let us to take him prisoner, and for us to talk with all of you, but he just forced me to assign tasks to Bornew in the installation of the security systems for the fort."

  "You're lying!" claimed Denn.

  "I'm not. Senlar told me that we had to give him another opportunity. That I had to take him to work with me. I had no other option than to obey. Taking advantage of that, Bornew prepared the fort's security codes, which he later used to deactivate the systems, letting in the beasts that murdered our brothers and sisters. This man had the intention of murdering both Senlar and myself, and blaming the beasts for everything, but we discovered him, unfortunately not in time. Denn Bornew cut Senlar’s throat and then tried to kill me. I was able to escape, but the damage was already done. This man is a psychopathic murderer, and has to pay for what he has done."

  "How could you?" yelled someone.

  "It's a lie!" contested Denn.

  The people, outraged, shouted all sorts of things at Denn. One of them made an assertion that made the situation worse: ‘It’s true, he was the only one who had the codes for the fort’. The people were becoming more and more convinced. ‘It’s true; I was there. He was the only one who knew the codes’, confirmed one woman.

  “All of this is a conspiracy, prepared by Neil to get the power for himself,” confirmed Denn. “He’s lying,” he asserted.

  “I’m lying? Do you deny having hijacked the station?”

  “...No. I’m responsible, but I never wanted to hurt anybody... I...”

  It was all getting worse. ‘He’s not even denied it’, cried someone. ‘He’s the guilty one’, said another.

  “I hijacked the station, but that is all. I didn’t kill Senlar, or open the doors. It was Neil!” he said to everyone. “It was you who killed him, Neil,” he said with hatred. “I swear! Senlar was my friend, you all have to believe me.”

  “It would be very convenient for you if it had been me who killed Senlar, wouldn’t it? But I have proof that it was you. Wallace, get over here!” Wallace emerged, somewhat frightened, from among the crowd. In a bag he brought the knife with which Neil had murdered Senlar. “...Tell these people what you discovered.”

  The scientist stuttered a little before beginning to speak. He looked at Denn with sadness, he felt betrayed. He returned his gaze to the people, and he spoke:

  “This is, without doubt, the knife that Senlar was killed with... The prints... belong to Denn.”

  Those who still doubted that Denn was capable of what had happened did so no longer.

  Denn remembered that Neil had been wearing gloves when he killed Senlar. He, on the other hand, had picked up the knife with his bare hand. His fingerprints had remained imprinted on the handle of the weapon.

  The people were devastated. Some put their hands to their heads; others began to cry, remembering the suffering that had come to them the previous day.

  “No!” said Denn in desperation. “Neil’s trying to frame me.”

  “All those people died because of you, we’ve proven it, and even so you continue to deny it. You are a coward. You’ve caused too much damage. That robot has been your accomplice; he is also guilty. You both tricked everyone into thinking you were their friends, just to vilely betray them, but not me; I always knew you were not trustworthy.”

  “How could you, Denn?” came the voice of a small boy amongst the people. Denn searched with his eyes to see where the sound had come from, and then he could see; it was Qein. His beloved sister, his only family, was gone forever thanks to him.

  The tears ran once more down Denn’s cheeks. Neil had been the direct culprit, but he felt responsible; he was not going to say anything more now. The people believed him to be a criminal, and now he himself was beginning to do so too. He was not going to deny it anymore; if he hadn’t hijacked the station, Dani, Senlar, and the rest, would still be alive. The only thing he wished was to be able to kill Neil right there, but he was handcuffed and kneeling on the ground. It was the end for him.

  “I’m sorry!” said Denn, handing himself over to his fate.

  “This man is a danger to us all,” claimed Neil. “Many have died, others are badly injured and mutilated. The beasts destroyed the medical capsule, and there is no way of repairing it; several of those injured will soon die. Perhaps even this very day. Bornew is the guilty one! If we lock him away anywhere, we will always live with the fear that he could escape... I cannot allow that. I am going to carry out justice right here. Those who don’t want to see it, l ask you to look away.”

  “I’ll watch; that man’s the reason why my wife is dead!” could be heard from the multitude.

  “He must pay!” said someone else. One after the other came the demands for justice from the people who had lost their loved ones the previous day. There were many who wanted to see the guilty pay, and those who might have preferred to make a different decision did not have the will to object. The verdict had been given; the evil Neil Gobi had got what he wanted; he would be able to kill Denn without anybody questioning it.

  One of the soldiers approached Neil, after the latter made a signal to him. He brought a lethal munition rifle which he handed to him so he would be able to carry out the sentence. Those who were the most furious continued shouting insults and asking for Denn’s head. Others, especially those who had considered Denn a friend, like Wallace and Olyr, turned around so as to not witness the act. Nobody asked for clemency.

  Neil took the rifle and placed it against Denn’s head.

  “Say goodbye, Bornew.”

  Denn Bornew looked at the furious crowd calling for his death as payment for what had happened. Incredulously, he envisaged as his existence was ending. Whilst Neil moved his finger towards the trigger, his whole life flashed in front of his eyes.

  Chapter XVI

  Revelations

  “Anomalies? What are you talking about?” asked Dasslak, surprised.

  “About the anomalies that have been happening in this universe,” answered The Augur. “Everything has been working in reverse, and I couldn’t understand why... Until now. On occasion, destiny finds itself modified by the intervention of a few. You are the cause of the most radical changes I have ever seen.”

  The assassin walked, trying to get as close as possible to the mysterious man, but Vhemm, who was to one side of him, interrupted him, raising his left hand.

  “There is all right, my sir,” he told him. The assassin stopped some fifteen metres away from The Augur, looking annoyed at Vhemm, who walked towards him, positioning himself one step behind to his right.

  “What are you talking about?” Dasslak asked The Augur, once he stopped giving an intimidating stare at the servant.

  “We’ll talk about that yet... I know you want to ask me something else,” affirmed the slight man. Dasslak noticed the terrible state he was in; he was breathing with difficulty, and he seemed
barely able to remain standing.

  “Do you even know who I am?” asked Dasslak.

  “I wouldn’t be a great seer if I didn’t know.”

  “Is that what you do? Discern things? The future, perhaps? I’ve heard of a few seers, but you’re something more than that, isn’t that so?”

  “Perhaps,” said the man, with an expression that did not reflect much certainty.

  “Do you know why I am here?”

  The Augur smiled sardonically. His eyes, which up until a moment ago appeared large and distorted, were now looking normal. He took a few steps forward, and sat down on the first step of the platform he was on, without saying anything. After a few seconds of silence, Dasslak spoke again:

  “I’m looking for someone, but I don’t have much information. The only thing I know is his name. Are you capable of telling me where he is?”

  Before answering, The Augur scratched his head and looked all around. Was it that he was nervous, perhaps? There was no way of knowing. He was a very strange person.

  “Who knows,” he said at last.

  Dasslak looked disillusioned. He had never been sure of understanding what it was exactly that The Augur did, but he had harboured great hopes about his power. He knew of many stories; the things that The Augur said always came true. Or almost always. The most recent proof of that was the story that Cora had told him. The Augur definitely possessed some sort of ability.

  “Who are you really? Where have you come from?”

  The Augur hesitated again before speaking. He knew that answering the assassin’s question could unleash a chain of uncontrollable events. After thinking about it for a moment, a smile appeared on his face. He had come to the conclusion that it would be more interesting to find out what would happen if Dasslak got the response. It was possible, even, for that to play in his favour.

  “I come from that place in which the twin suns sink behind the lake, and strange moons circle through the skies.”

  “Oh, really?” said Dasslak, in a sarcastic tone. “What is it you do, exactly? The people say you know things that nobody else does. They say that like any seer, you claim to know what will happen in the future... I’ve searched the galaxy for a real seer. Once I encountered somebody who said they were one, but I did not end up very satisfied. They say that you are different; that you have a limitless power.”

  “Nobody has limitless power.”

  “What is your power?”

  “Everything travels across the universe in defined directions, or at least that’s what’s supposed to happen. I’m capable of seeing where all that energy is headed. Sometimes I can know how the life of a person will be just by looking at them.”

  “Sometimes?”

  “Peoples’ destiny is not always clear. Things can interfere with it. On occasions, I am only capable of looking at a small section with clarity. Where they will go, who they will meet, why, and when.”

  “Could you be more clear?” asked Dasslak, still not understanding The Augur’s power.

  “Do you want a demonstration, Assassin? If you were to ask when you will meet someone... my loyal servant Vhemm, for example, I would be able to try and look inside you in order to find out. If it is the case that it’s in your destiny to meet with him in any other moment, I would be able to tell you.”

  “Do it then; look into my destiny and tell me when I’ll meet this man again. I want to test your power.”

  “I already have done... You will never see him again,” he told him, smiling.

  Dasslak was disappointed. What The Augur was telling him did not sound very convincing. Perhaps it really was a sham like many said. In any case, he would not be able to be sure until he verified it for himself.

  “If I were to ask you for someone, would you only be able to tell me where that person will be at some point in the future? And only if it’s the case that it was in my destiny to meet with that person in the first place?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Then your ability is virtually useless,” intervened Cora, who was off to one side listening to everything. “What use would it be to somebody to know where they’ll meet with someone else?”

  Dasslak looked at her in anger. She was not supposed to say anything.

  “His ability could help to find someone much sooner,” the assassin told her, in a tone that managed to scare her, almost as if he were warning her not to intervene further.

  “That is so,” affirmed The Augur.

  “Then it’s better than nothing... I’m looking for a guy,” said the assassin. “His name is Denn Bornew.”

  The Augur went back to laughing gently, until his laughter was cut short by a severe cough that lasted several seconds. Dasslak looked at him, disconcerted. The Augur was definitely in a worse state than he imagined. Once the emaciated man managed to clear his throat, he continued his conversation with the assassin:

  “It’s admirable that you put your work first when there is only one thing you’re interested in asking, Assassin.”

  “Can you tell me where to find Bornew?”

  “You don’t know it now, but Denn Bornew is somebody as special as you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I can’t tell you where he is now, but don’t worry, you’re going to meet with Bornew in a few years time.”

  “Years? Can’t you help me find him sooner?”

  “No. There’s no way of bringing it forward, only postponing it. Eventually you will meet with him.”

  “Where will I meet him?” he asked, intrigued. “Isn’t it possible he might be there right this moment?”

  “He is not there now, but he will be. Right in the place you once called home.”

  Dasslak was stunned. The Augur had confirmed that he would meet with Denn Bornew in the last place he would have thought.

  “Why? What is it he’s doing there?”

  “I already told you, he is not there at this moment, Assassin, but in a few years he will be... and you as well... That is if nothing interferes with destiny.”

  “Again with that interfering with destiny,” said Dasslak, somewhat irritated. “What is all of that? And what was that about the anomalies you were talking about before?”

  “Some people can intervene in the course of time,” replied The Augur. “Some changes are insignificant, but others are monumental.”

  “How does one intervene?” Cora interfered again. She was too unsettled and curious to contain herself.

  “Silence!” scolded Dasslak. The assassin had waited a long time to speak with The Augur, and he feared that the girl would rob him of the valuable opportunity.

  “Don’t worry, Assassin, you will have what you want. I can answer a few questions for a curious mind...” The Augur told him, and turned his gaze to Cora. “A convergence can intervene in the course of time, my sweet girl.” Cora smiled instantly; she liked the mysterious man. The assassin looked at her, angry; he did not want her to obstruct the conversation any further. After making that clear with his look, he turned back to The Augur and continued:

  “Earlier you said that I was an anomaly. What does that mean?”

  The Augur waited a moment before answering; it was almost as if he were doubtful. Dasslak tried to contain his mood; he would have liked to have taken the man by the neck and extracted all the answers by force. After some long seconds, The Augur responded:

  “You should not be alive. Someone intervened in the course of time, and that is why you are living, but in this universe that should never have happened. You should have died many years ago, when you were still very young.”

  Dasslak was surprised. According to this mysterious man, his destiny was never to live so long. Could it be that he was trying to annoy him, or could there actually be some element of truth in that affirmation?

  “What are you talking about? Have we already met? Did you know something about me?”

  “No... Of course I had heard of the famous assassin, but up until a mo
ment ago, I did not know who you were really. Everything I know about you, I learned a few minutes ago. Just in the moment when I saw you. Now I know where you come from, and where you’re going. So that is how I found out that you should have died on that occasion.”

  “I’ve been on the verge of dying many times. Which occasion are you talking about?”

  “The first one.”

  Dasslak tried as hard as he could to find meaning in the words The Augur was telling him. The whole thing seemed like a joke in bad taste. After going over it in his mind for a moment, he gave up.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, feeling a little upset.

  “You did not die, and that changed the destiny of millions of people. For several decades now, everything’s been the other way around. Something happened that should never have been; somebody died, somebody important, and that set off a chain of countless changes in the line of time.”

  “And you’re saying that I’m the cause of those changes?”

  “You are. Even the most recent ones.”

  “The most recent ones? What, are you being deliberately enigmatic just to annoy me?”

  “Your whole existence has unleashed countless changes... The most recent of which, I prophesised twenty years ago. I was able to see them, but did not know what or who caused them. In the midst of the uncertainty I came to feel fear; I didn’t know what had happened, I only knew that something unknown had affected this universe in a catastrophic manner. That filled my mind with worries. I had a chance, however, of answering my questions. I had to wait those twenty years and try to uncover what exactly had been the cause.”

  “Nobody’s heard anything about you in all this time. Why vanish like that?”

  “Somebody is trying to kill me, I... I hid!” he said, in a somewhat spine-tingling tone. “If I wanted to have a chance of finding out the cause of the changes, I needed to wait those twenty years, hiding myself from the world. Maybe once the time had passed, I would be able to find out the truth.”

  “Who wants to kill you?”