The Glass Runner

by Thomas Davis

  Jake took Catherine by the hand and lead her behind the stage. “I’m not blind. I can see that you have an agenda Catherine.”

  “Cat.” Catherine folded her arms.

  “Cat.” Jake had a serious tone. “Do you really want the war to end?”

  She considered it for a few moments, “Honestly? You put me in a horrible predicament with your little speech. At first I was just trying to save face but the more I considered your words…”

  “…”

  “Making peace with the Arez is the only course of action that makes any sense. If the other leaders are too afraid and stubborn to realize that truth then I’ll use the truth to crush them. Do you think less of me because of that?”

  Jake pondered her words before answering. “No. We’re both adults here. Nothing is free in this galaxy.”

  “We have the same goal Jake.”

  “Do we?”

  Catherine spoke from the heart. “We’re different from other people. We’ve both seen just how horrible things can get.” She took Jake’s left hand. “These scars we carry, we’re both trying our best to heal from them. We both dedicated our lives to protecting others from what we had to endure.”

  Jake extended his left hand, “Allies.”

  Catherine took his hand, “Allies.”

  They had their work cut out for them but the survivors of Lhasa were cut from a different cloth. They were determined to see their ambitions through until the end. They both had the fight of their lives ahead of them.

  Epilog

  Bethlehem colony

  It was late night in this sector of Bethlehem colony. At a small dinner in the Shoto district, Simon Morrissey sat alone at a booth attempting to enjoy a slice of pepperoni pizza. He was the only customer in the small shop. Most people were fast asleep at this hour. He would carefully saw off bite-sized sections of the slice with a knife before gently stabbing the portion with a fork and raising it to his mouth for consumption. It was a very precise method he had developed for enjoying his favorite food. Each bite was savored to its fullest.

  A passerby noticed Simon’s odd ritual and spoke up. “You use utensils to eat pizza?” Simon was in no mood to stomach the masses. He ignored the stranger. He also decided that if the man bothered him again, he would follow him home and end him. “You know, that was kind of rude of me. You enjoy your meal, pal.” As the man prepared to walk away Simon noticed his robotic left hand supporting a plate from beneath with two pepperoni slices on it.

  “I’m sorry. Are you?”

  “Oh. Captain Jake Takeda,” the man smiled. He reached out his right hand for a shake then pulled it back. “Sorry. Most people don’t like to shake hands while they’re eating.”

  Simon reached out his right hand, “It’s fine. I’m using a knife and fork anyway.” He shook Jake’s hand. “What is the Glass Runner doing wandering the streets of Bethlehem at this late hour.”

  “Same thing you’re doing.” Jake held up his plate.

  “I’m Simon. Simon Morrissey. I already know your name from the news, it’s only fair that you know mine.”

  “Good to meet you Simon.” Jake gestured to the seat across from Simon at the booth.

  “Sure, have a seat.” Simon would’ve rather remained alone. Even if it was the famous soldier referred to as the Glass Runner. Simon knew he would be trapped into making small talk for whom knows how long, which he abhorred.

  “Thanks Simon,” Jake flopped down into the seat shaking the utensils on the table. “It seemed strange.”

  “What seemed strange?” Simon asked as he carved up his slice.

  “Oh, sitting at another table in an empty shop.” Jake sprinkled garlic onto his slices. “People. It’s like.” Jake fumbled as he arranged his thoughts,” I’d be more comfortable sitting alone and getting lost in my own head but that would be antisocial of me.”

  “That’s what most people do.”

  “Exactly. Two people sitting at separate tables in an empty diner. It’s almost a reflection of how we interact as a species lately.”

  “Birds in a cage.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “There was an age before all of this. Before the colonies. There was all manner of birds that would soar through the sky, unimpeded.”

  “Go on.”

  “But now the only birds that exist are the ones we keep in small cages. Like us. We exist in this controlled environment. My feet have never set foot on real soil. My lungs have never inhaled unprocessed air. We’re like canaries. Maybe we drift off into our own minds because it’s the only place we can soar.”

  “Well. That response was a lot deeper than I expected.”

  “My apologies.”

  “Why? You should never apologize for expressing yourself.”

  “Like your speech at the parade today?”

  ‘You caught that?”

  “Yes. Along with everyone else in the Republic.” Simon spoke without making eye contact. “You caused quite a stir.”

  “Change. New ideas. They make people uncomfortable at first.”

  “You really believe we can make peace with the Arez?”

  “It’s the only route that makes any sense.”

  “No. I mean do you believe the Arez will ever agree to a peace treaty?”

  Jake paused and organized his thoughts. “I’ve looked many of them in the eyes in battle. They’re just as scared and confused as we are. They’re not lashing out at us because they’re possessed by evil. They think we mean them harm.”

  “You’ll be hard pressed to convince the average citizen of that.”

  “Well… How about you?”

  “I’m not the average citizen.” Simon looked up from his meal, “You seem like something else is on your mind.”

  Jake hesitated before answering. “We lost someone on Titan a week ago. A kid.”

  Simon was surprised that Takeda would confide in him so quickly. He also was surprised how invested he was in this exchange with the Captain. This wasn’t the small talk he reviled so much. “Not to be crass but you can just visit him on the Valhalla Ghost Server?”

  “He didn’t make it to Valhalla.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Jake detected dishonesty in Simon’s condolement. He then noticed that Simon wasn’t wearing a Navi and made an educated guess. “You don’t believe in Shangri-La or Valhalla. Do you Simon?”

  “Honestly?”

  “I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”

  “How does a Navi work? It requires manual input like any other device.” Jake’s interest was piqued as Simon spoke. “If I can’t operate a Navi by thought alone then how can such a device record and preserve my thoughts, my mind? It can’t.”

  “So, you’re saying the Navi is more like a diary.”

  Simon carefully wiped his mouth with a napkin. “If I were to update right now, only my action of using the napkin would be preserved. Not the thousands of thoughts that unconsciously compelled me to reach out for the napkin.”

  “Then how do you explain the Frames?”

  “We’re all creatures of habit. We form comfortable patterns and we feed those patterns to the Ghost Servers. If I knew every decision you ever made then I could predict what you would do next, how you would react. A Frame is a simulation of the person, an echo.”

  “I… I suppose so.”

  Jake finally understood what a soul was. Simon had inadvertently given him the answer to the question that had plagued him for years. Emotions, those thousands of thoughts that race through your mind before vanishing into the ether. He had long pondered these thoughts but being able to speak with someone else about them put things into a new perspective.

  “People think that the great mystery has been solved. They think there’s a reward waiting for them after death but there’s nothing. This life is short and its end is final. All we can do is try to live it on our own terms. I’m sorry for your loss Captain.”

  “One second is all it
takes out there. It happens just like that.” Jake snapped his metal fingers, “He was a good kid, a good soldier. But you know how it is.”

  “How what is?”

  “Combat,” Jake looked confused. “You’re military, aren’t you?”

  “No?” Simon answered.

  “Really? I could’ve sworn you were?” Jake folded his slice and took another bite. “You’ve got that stare. Like you’ve seen some things. Are you Station Security?”

  “No,” Simon was getting nervous. Could Takeda see that he had the eyes of a killer? An assassin.

  “Sorry about that. I’m still readjusting to the quiet. Seeing things that aren’t there.”

  “No harm done.” Simon was relieved that Takeda dropped the matter.

  They sat in silence until Jake spoke up, “This slice is better than the last three places.”

  “The best slices on the station are at Luigi Brothers downtown but they’re closed right now.”

  “Then I’ll save them for last,” Jake replied. Simon raised an eyebrow.

  Jake caught the silent question and explained himself. “When I come to a new station I make it my mission to try every shop’s pizza.”

  “Why?” Simon’s interest piqued.

  “When I was a kid,” Jake smiled a little as he thought back to that moment. “I told a girl that I tried every slice of pizza in the galaxy and she believed me.”

  “That was silly of her.”

  “She was from out of town.” Jake mused. “I used to lie a lot when I was a kid. It became a habit. A bad habit.”

  “So how does this tie together?”

  “Anyway. This girl. She was special, really special. She helped me become a better person. I couldn’t live with myself if I lied to her.”

  “She must have been very important to you.” Simon could actually relate to Jake’s tale. This stranger who had just wrecked his quiet time alone now felt familiar to him. His thoughts drifted to Catherine.

  “I can’t go back in time and make it right but I can at least earn that admiration she gave me.”

  “That oddly makes sense.” Simon’s next words were unexpected for him. “There is a woman. I try not to keep any secrets from her. It’s… It’s freeing, being that honest with someone.”

  “Sounds like you have someone that you would eat all of the pizza in the galaxy for.”

  Simon was transfixed by those words. He had never cared about anything save for his own life. People were like phantoms to him. He existed solely within his own mind as if there was a plane of glass that separated him from everything and everyone. But his relationship with Catherine was different. He felt her pain and would even risk his own life to protect her. He remembered her last words to him.

  “You okay Simon?”

  Simon took a while to answer. “No. I’m not okay.”

  “…”

  “I… I came on too strong. She told me never to speak to her again.”

  “Give her time.”

  “…”

  “If she feels the same way things will eventually work out.”

  “And if she doesn’t?”

  “Then you have to accept it and move on. There’ll be someone else.”

  Simon knew that no one else could possibly accept him for what he was. But now was not the time for that level of honesty. “The girl… Whatever happened with her?”

  “She moved far far away. But I’ll see her again.”

  “I hope you do, Captain Takeda.”

  “I’m off duty right now. Call me Jake.”

  Simon remembered Catherine’s story about what happened on Lhasa Station and the boy who was with the Arez girl that day. It was peculiar to see the subject of that story in person, to understand that the boy loved that red girl. That he still loved her even all these years later. “Sure, Jake.”

  Jake was done with his meal. He stood up from the booth. “Good luck with your lady friend Simon. If she’s smart she’ll come around.” He shook Simon’s hand. “Don’t be a stranger okay.”

  “Yes. It was good meeting you.”

  “You too.”

  “Thank you for your service Captain.”

  Jake gave Simon a polite thumbs-up. Simon watched as Jake paid at the register then disappeared through the dinner doors. He felt like he had met another kindred spirit. Another person he actually related to. Simon would be going back to work soon. He hoped that Takeda’s name would never come across his ledger. He would hate to have to meet him as an adversary someday.

  ***

  Planet Samael A.L. 8

  The Edeia Falls were a sight to behold. A woman stood at the edge of a cliff and gazed out at the sparkling waters as the wind gently brushed her face and the exposed red skin on her arms. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds in the pink sky. She wore a flowing purple dress with an open back and golden accents. Her long face was perfectly symmetrical as opposed to the mass of wild dark purple curly hair that was her crown. Adeola loved to come to this place. The sight of the crashing waters from the falls, which eventually calmed as they flowed away, also had a calming effect on her. She heard heavy footsteps. “General Matumaini,” she said without turning around. “It is good to see you.”

  “It is good to see you also Princess.”

  “Please. I am no Princess. Not anymore.”

  “Only a royal can summon me with little to no notice. If you are not royalty I should be on my way.” He smiled.

  “Fine but no bowing. It makes me uncomfortable. They say you had another battle with the Glass Runner?”

  “Yes.” His forehead scrunched in annoyance at the thought of the human. “Ta-Ke-Dah. He is quite skilled for a Terran but he will fall before me… eventually.” A slight smile crossed Adeola’s lips. She didn’t approve of Jake Takeda’s active participation in the war but she couldn’t help but marvel at how strong that meek boy she met all those years ago had become, strong enough to challenge even Matumaini. The thought of Jake still brought joy to her heart and she would think of him often. Matumaini spoke again and pulled her back to the here and now, “I assume you want something.”

  Adeola turned around and looked him in the eyes. “My father has let this war rage on for far too long. So many Arez have died. You are in a position to speak reason to him. He respects you. Convince him to open negotiations.”

  “I am a loyal servant of the empire. I must obey my emperor.”

  “Are you still being ordered to attack civilian targets?”

  “Not for some time.” Matumaini lowered his head slightly.

  “To be loyal to the empire would be to speak truth to power. Boq needs voices of opposition around him. From what I hear, he has surrounded himself with sycophants and acolytes.”

  “I am sure Emperor Boq would grant you an audience Princess.” He proudly raised his chin.

  “You know I was banished from the palace long ago. Boq does not wish to her my words.” She looked out to the red water that flowed past. “There is a river of bad blood between us.”

  “A wise leader once told me not to ask others to do that which I am unwilling to do myself.”

  Adeola recognized her father’s words when she heard them. She didn’t like him but she was intelligent enough not to argue obvious truths regardless of their source. She had no response to the statement. “So…You will not help.”

  “This is a family matter. If you have words for your father, I cannot be your messenger.”

  “This is not about Boq or me. It is about the future of our people. We never recovered from the last war and this war is getting just as bloody. Our culture will not survive another Battle of Jophiel.”

  Matumaini kneeled down onto one knee and bowed his head. “I will give my all to ensure the survival of our beloved world and bring glory to the M’Falme tribe. Your tribe Princess Adeola.”

  She placed her hand on his large shoulder. “Take care of yourself General. I will do my part to end this madness, to make sure all of this bloodshed
results in something positive.” She placed her hand beneath his broad chin and kindly lifted his gaze until their eyes met. “Our people do not need more glory and more dead heroes. We need to have a future.” Matumaini rose to his feet. He waited silently until Adeola nodded her head to excuse him. As the large red man walked away she called out to him once more. “Matumaini?” He turned back towards her and to his surprise she was bowing her head to him. “Thank you for all of your sacrifices General.”

  He was at a loss for words. Those in the imperial court and the citizens of Samael often regarded Princess Adeola as being an eccentric dreamer. Her unconventional views on the culture of Samael and her open opposition to the war had made her many enemies but Matumaini was not among them. He respected her strength of will and the way she fiercely held true to her ideals. He was proud to fight for someone like her. Samael was in capable hands if the young people of her generation were as passionate as she was. Pride swelled in his chest as he covered his heart with his fist in salute. He could not aid in her quest but he did pray for her success. Such conviction deserved reward.

  The sun began to descend behind the mountains in the distance as they bid each other farewell. She watched as the proud General walked away. In two years’, time, she and the other citizens of the Arez Empire would mourn Matumaini’s death after his defeat on Titan. In their hearts he would always remain a hero.

  Written by Thomas K Davis

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