by A. I. Zlato
Every evening, after class, Iris rushed to the rail station to see her friends. Together, they planned their destination — Iris, Fighter and Eric, via their chips; Aimie and Kahila, via the terminal. Destination: Periphery. They knew the itinerary by heart. Iris was paying no more attention to the landscape during the trip, the buildings whose sizes diminished, the lowering of the population density. She was with her friends; that was the only thing that mattered.
While hopping off the rail, Iris ran, beating them all, but followed closely by Eric. She leaped over brambles, made her way in the high grass. She ran towards freedom. Her feet took support on the ground, with insurance. Her body knew the way, the location of stones, of sharp-leaf herbs, of crevices. She ran, her mind seeking solace.
She entered the Forest, gliding among trees. This dark place had seemed quite unattainable the first time she had seen it. She had been shattered with pain. Without a permanent data stream in her chip, she had been missing something. She had watched, helplessly, the green mass before her, unable to walk. Then she had managed to approach it gradually, pushing her boundaries, weaning the contact of the Machine.
Every day, she had advanced a little more. Every day, she had gained confidence. She had seen, deeply in herself, that she could do it. She remembered the first time she had touched a trunk with her fingers. The first tree in the Unique Forest. She had won! She had defeated the Machine and its influence, withstanding an inactive chip. She had earned the right to independence. The Forest had first appeared hostile to her, as it was so different from what she had known so far.
Branches clutched in her hair, scratched her face. The uneven ground, littered with roots, dead branches, sometimes pebbles, made it difficult to walk. Today she deeply loved this place. Once nestled against a tree, she appreciated the contact. She sniffed the delicate smell of mushrooms that filled the forest in the season, coupled with humus perfumes. Under her feet, leaves and branches creaked when the foam sagged limply. She had run from the rail, out of breath, to smell, touch, and feel this Forest. She also wanted to reconnect with the presence, like last time.
She had the impression that a conscious entity had sought to reach her. She had initially thought she was crazy and had been reluctant to tell others. Overcoming her fear of rejection, she entrusted things to them. She had then realised that she was not the only one. All, to varying degrees, had felt something in the Forest. Eric felt the same way that a living mist, a caress of conscience, had wanted to talk to him. Today, Iris ran as fast as possible to find that presence. Leaning against a tree, she caught her breath.
Eric joined her, and got closer. He gently took her hand, and she appreciated the warmth of his palm against hers. She looked at him intensely and pressed herself against him. She saw Fighter, Aimie and Kahila entering the Forest and getting away from them. Eric and she wanted to experience that feeling, which they perceived more intensely than the others did. She closed her eyes and opened up her mind widely. She emptied her mind, to be as responsive as possible, and she felt a touch. The presence was there. She shook hands with Eric, who reciprocated, indicating that he had felt the same. Via her chip, Iris had the impression that the entity was trying to talk to her, to communicate, but she could not understand the message. She stayed there for long hours, sitting at the feet of a huge ash, to tender her mind to the presence, hoping to hear and understand it.
Eric also wanted to communicate with the presence. Iris sank even more against him. Together, maybe they could talk to it. Huddled against each other, they tried to reach together this invisible consciousness floating around them. Instead of transmitting a message, as she hoped, Iris felt in the depths of her being the immensity of this presence, which took root in the ground, followed the tree sap, and then disappeared, not in heaven but to another location. She felt its mind stretch from the roots to the crown, from earth to heaven, from here to an unknown elsewhere.
Eric had told her he had glimpsed another world; perhaps the presence would continue its trip there. She had the impression of being integrated into the Forest’s cycle of energy circulation, visualising successively the moist soil, fresh air and the sun's heat. Like a bubble of sap, it mentally moved to the heart of the trees. She turned, beaming, to Eric and saw that he shared her feelings. Together, their minds flowed back and forth, following the rhythm of the Forest. Then, the presence took root in her consciousness, and the word Phalomera echoed in her.
Phalomera ... that was the name of that energy ... Captivated, Iris tried to ask it questions. Phalomera withdrew itself and became a mist, still there, but elusive.
“Eric ... it was so beautiful! This connection with the Forest, I felt that I met its conscience. Its name is Phalomera.”
“No, I don’t think so. That's not its name; it is something else. A concept, perhaps.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know exactly. Hearing, or rather feeling, the word ‘Phalomera,’ I did not understand that it was a name in the sense that we understand it, but ... I am not sure.”
“Have you seen the other world?”
“Perhaps. Water, lots of water …”
“Did you hear something?”
“Perhaps.”
“Tell me!”
“The Forest, the ocean, this is a whole, there's ... I do not know. I have to go.”
“But why ? We just ...”
“That's enough for today, I must go back.”
“Eric!”
“It's ... I cannot.”
He let go of her hand and, without explanation, left the Forest, heading back to the City. Night was falling. The penumbra already lay in the meadows, and darkness engulfed trees. Iris could not bring herself to return to the City with the others. They insisted that she returned with them, especially Fighter, who felt accountable for the safety of all group members. She simply could not stop thinking about this conscious entity. She felt like it had something to tell her, a message she had not understood. The feeling of incompleteness and curiosity was too strong.
She had to stay there. Eric hesitated, not wanting to leave her alone but also not willing to stay there. Finally, he walked away reluctantly. Iris watched all three hop on the rail and disappear into the horizon.
Completely alone, she walked aimlessly through the trees. She stepped over the dead stumps, crossed crevasses, and ducked to avoid branches. She simply walked straight ahead, looking for the presence. She perceived it, all around her. In trunks, branches, roots and leaves, Phalomera was there. The Forest’s energy circulated around Iris, nearing her without really touching her. She was unable to recreate the communion she had felt with Eric. She nevertheless continued to walk in the dark, with a more hesitant pace. For a long time, she kept stepping into the Forest, stretching her arms to blaze a trail.
Exhausted, she sat on a trunk, lying on the ground. To catch her breath, she focused on inhaling and exhaling. By doing so, she emptied her mind of all questions, in order to focus on the air that went in and out. While inhaling and exhaling, she was interested only in her feelings. The cold, wet soil pervading her clothes, the roughness of the tree trunk against her back, the breeze on her face. She inhaled fully, and regained her self. And the presence crept into her. Iris could hear again the Forest as a whole, a living entity made up of thousands of trees ... a path between earth and ... this elsewhere. She saw the body of water that Eric had mentioned ... an infinite body of water ... the water was not there, she was there ... maybe in another world ... another Space ... another Space ... How was that possible?
The mere mention of a question made Phalomera vanish. Iris remained thoughtful, remembering that dark water she thought she had seen in the night sky at the end of the summits.
Another Space? She knew that the Elders had developed the Machine so that It could manage the Equilibrium and request the creation of Spaces when necessary. It was still very abstract for her. She had never thought that these others ... these other places could also be visible,
concrete. Why had she imagined that what she saw was another Space? It was ... Phalomera that had told her. Or rather, it had shared its worldview, its reality with her. Another Space ... an ocean ... Why?
Why would Phalomera want to show her that? What did it want to tell her? Infinity was in front of her, and she did not know what to do.
She put her head in her hands and scanned the floor. If the treetops actually pointed to somewhere ... she felt ... the roots were moving towards ... another time ... the Circle Zero ... Her thoughts were devoid of questions, and filled with Phalomera’s knowledge ... things she did not understand, but felt. Eric had also said that the Forest and the Ocean, yes the Ocean, not the ocean ... it was a whole ... Another Space, an Ocean ... linked to the Forest ... ... Phalomera … the Circle Zero ... The logic of all her thoughts did not cross her subconscious mind.
She jumped off when she realised she was lay face to face with a Kandron.
The animal had gotten closer during her reverie, and now was standing three metres away from her. She wondered how a creature of this size could make its way up to her quietly. It would have to break branches, move a large volume of air. Yet, here it was, and she did not see it coming.
With wings still half deployed, it seemed puzzled to see her, and tilted its head to the side, as to change its perspective. It was not the Kandron she had seen in the Periphery. This one was green, and much smaller, but still huge, in her view. They looked at each other, convincing themselves that the other was the intruder. It looked at her, probably thinking that a human had nothing to do in the Forest. She thought Kandrons only lived in the City. Also surprised, they looked at each other, motionlessly, for a moment. Phalomera then flowed into Iris’ mind, but it seemed to her that it was compelling her to get closer to the Kandron. Without knowing why, she was now convinced that she was in the right place at the right time. She stood while shivering, now aware of the cold night.
The Kandron looked away. It had lost interest in her, and held its neck skyward, in a contemplative attitude. The young human had disappeared from its concerns. Could it, too, see the other world? Could it feel Phalomera? Iris had no idea.
The electromagnetic field surrounding the Kandron was very strong. Iris had not dared to cross it when she had approached the other Kandron in the Periphery. There, she stretched her fingers towards the one that stood before her, moving her hand. The presence of the Forest pushed her to do that. When her fingers crossed the invisible chamber, she felt a slight tingling. It was then that she felt her hand detaching from her body and following another direction, though her eyes belied this sensation. Her hand seemed to be in another dimension, in the Kandron’s world, which was not hers. She should withdraw her hand, but she had no such will, fascinated by the strangeness. Her intrusion drew the attention of the animal, which moved, bringing her hand out of the electromagnetic field.
Iris looked at her hand, which had taken its usual place back at the end of her arm, without apparent consequences. The Kandron’s hostile gaze dissuaded her to repeat the experience, despite her desire. What had she experienced exactly? Time and space, notions that she believed were obvious, were actually much more complex. A different Space ... an Ocean ... a different Time ... a Kandron … and still this Circle Zero, a concept that had no meaning but kept coming back.
She stretched her hand, to cross the barrier again, but the Kandron bounced back, disclosing its teeth. She should have been afraid, facing such a huge animal showing its sharp fangs. That was not the case. She felt protected by the Forest, by Phalomera, which had asked her to be there. Yes, if she was there, at that moment, it was good because Phalomera wanted her to. What should she do? She did not want to provoke the Kandron; she did not want to leave. That was necessary, however; it had been dark for hours, and her father might be worried. Her mother, well, she ... All that seemed so distant, irrelevant compared to what she was going through, but she had to go back to the City. She stepped back to get away. Her aching legs reminded her that she had remained motionless for too long, and she was moving stiffly.
She was about to head back to the City when she noticed a boy who was huddled under the left wing of the Kandron. Surprised, she remained static. How had he managed to stay hidden all this time? Was it the magnetic field? The boy approached her, out of the shadows, and out of the Kandron’s protective barrier. He shimmered while crossing the barrier, from the Kandron’s sphere into Iris’ world. She had cringed when she saw the boy’s arms, because they were covered with dark patches, which she identified immediately as microprocessors and other electronic components. That must have been the latest technological innovation of the First Circle, those people enslaved to the Machine ... a kind of prototype, just horrible.
She had never seen anything like that. How could she have ignored that kind of experience, while living in the First Circle? The people who did this had to be extra careful so that nobody learned what they had done. She complained that her chip ... It was as if he had thousands of chips, closely linked to his skin and not simply grafted. She watched, disgusted, the small balls that glowed in the dim light of the stars.
“Good evening, my name is Mossa.”
“Uh, me, it's Iris. Since when have you been controlled by the Machine, with the grafts on your arms?”
“I was born like that. My ancestors developed techniques to increase the biocompatibility between electronic components and human flesh. From generation to generation, compatibility has become symbiotic, and made us hybrids.”
“But that is horrible! How can you live like this ... Are you a spy for the Machine? Are you going to report me?”
“Report what? I do not understand. Anyway, I am not connected with the Machine of this Space.”
“What do you mean ‘this Space’?”
“Of course, this Space! Your people do not have the level of technology necessary to create hybrids, did you not notice? You, people, are still in prehistory. I come from another Space.”
“How did you get here? Had Phalomera brought you?”
“Who is Phalomera? I don’t know how I got here. I was quietly at a regeneration session, and the next thing I know, I was in a cave, surrounded by strange people who did not speak my language.”
“How is that possible, that they did not speak your language? You sound like me!”
“Eutrope taught me the language.”
“Who is Eutrope?”
“The Kandron, of course”, said Mossa, pointing to the animal.
“You ... you bound yourself to this Kandron? That is not possible; Kandrons always chose humans with no chips, and you ... you have plenty on your skin!”
“I don’t know what Kandrons usually do; I can just tell you what he did for me. And what about you ? What are you doing here, so far from your peers?”
“My peers, as you say, live in the City, where I will soon return. I come here to free myself from the Machine, this permanent connection to this giant toaster, and to try to feel the presence of the Forest, the energy circuit called Phalomera.”
“You think I am strange, but I think you're worse. I don’t understand what you just said. Why would you get rid of the Machine? It is only through It that you can evolve technically, lengthen your life expectancy, improve the Equilibrium ...”
“And die. Haven’t you heard of those kids who committed suicide? I'm sure they were tired of this City that the Machine leads. A world controlled by humans would necessarily be better.”
“Necessary for what? So they could reproduce the Elders’ mistakes? You are completely crazy. I understand why you are alone, why no one wants to talk with you ...”
“Because you, the Man-Machine, of course, have many friends?”
“You're right, I am alone here. Fortunately, I have the opportunity to work on a project to leave this place.”
“And go back to your Space.”
“No. To go into space.”
“What?”
“I do not want to switch Spaces
again; I want to explore the universe, leave this planet, and discover other suns, other planets …”
“And you think I’m the crazy one …. you are really talking nonsense. For starters, how is it possible to come from another Space?”
“I told you; I do not know.”
“Is there an Ocean, where you come from?”
“How do you know that? Are you from Space O., too? Do you know how to go back?”
“No, I was born here, Space H. How could it be otherwise?”
“How did you learn about the Unique Ocean?”
“The Unique Ocean ... I did not know its name. Yet it is logical ... it's ... Phalomera let me see your Ocean.”
“Again ! And what is that Phalomera thing?”
“I don’t know exactly. The Forest’s conscience.”
“Of course, the Forest’s conscience — whatever that means ... is this some sort of religious belief? What about stones, do they have a conscience, too?”
“You are not trying to understand. I will no longer try to explain!”
“Charming... Whatever. Let's assume that, through mysterious ways, you saw the Unique Ocean. Can you go there?”
“Why ? I thought you did not want to go back?”
“I just want to know.”
“If you say so. I will do as you did. Let's assume you really came from another Space. However, you don’t know how you got here. You don’t want to go home. You don’t say why. Where did you want to go? In space?”
“Not Space, space.”
“But that is not possible!”
“Yes, it is. And I'll go.”
Mossa wanted to continue the conversation, but his Kandron gave him a whim to stop him.
“Well, now that you're convinced that I am talking nonsense, and that I am convinced that you are a kind of mystical wizard ... Could you explain why you want to free yourself from the Machine?”
“It does not let us control our own lives.”
“That is Its very principle. It is there to prevent you from making the mistakes of the past. The Elders had built It for that, to maintain the Equilibrium.”
