Insidious Prophecy

by JH Terry

XXVI: Walking in Lupo

  As he slept, Tom dreamt of a field with miles upon miles of flowers and green grass. For as far as he could see there was nothing else to be viewed. The sun shined brightly as he walked through the field looking for something. Looking around he saw that there was a strange figure in the distance – someone who needed him, or that he needed, but he was not sure why. Tom ran over to the figure, but as he tried to get closer it seemed as if he was not moving at all. It was as if his legs were too heavy to run to the figure. At the same time he felt as if there was something behind him trying to drive him back. Looking behind he saw it was Akemi holding him by the shoulder. Looking forward again he saw all of the flowers and green grass were gone, replaced by a land with fire. It was bleak, grey, and dark. The sky was dark and cloudy. The figure was gone and everything around him was also. Looking behind to Akemi, Tom saw that she was smiling. It seemed as if she wanted this to happen, but why?

  “This is the only truth, Tom,” she said. “I am the only truth.”

  Suddenly Tom awoke to see that it was two o’clock in the afternoon. He had been sleeping for two hours. He went out of his bed and looked outside of the window at the city of Lupo. The weather was warm and a cool breeze came every once in a while making the weather perfect. Tom saw that outside of the palace there were several people playing, walking, arguing, hugging, and doing various activities abound with energy while at the palace there was silence, calm, and serenity. Seeing outside Tom had an urge to see even more. An urge like Quasimodo’s to get out of the Notre Dame Cathedral bell tower and see the people below, despite what his master had told him.

  “I wonder what lies here that Akemi does not want us to see,” said Tom to himself. “I need to see for myself what is the actual truth.”

  Tom quickly changed his clothes and silently left his room. Undetected, he went outside of the palace and walked along the beige sidewalks of Lupo. All around him Tom saw that the people of Gordana were very similar to those of Earth. There were people of black, white, tan, and various other complexions.

  In the market place, Tom saw that the people, despite their obvious differences, sold and bartered as if there were no differences at all. People married inter-racially without any looks or stares from others. To them it was normal. Even the way they spoke from each other was different, but they did not mind. Some talked in an accent like those of the Scottish, Irish, English, French, Americans, Australians, and others. It was as if these people did not dwell on their differences, but on their being the same creatures. As to what those creatures were Tom was not sure of. They were able to get along quite well, so well that they were no longer hindered of their differences. They accepted each other for their uniqueness and that was all. Some were pretty, others very ugly, others tall, short, fat, skinny, big feet, small feet, brown hair, blond hair, blue eyes, brown eyes, hairy hands, hairless hands, long legs, and short legs. Some were wearing dresses, other suits, others traditional clothing that could be seen to be worn by several people on Earth.

  “Of course,” said Tom. “Dena’s perfect world, a place where all get along. He brought all the cultures on Earth here. Of course not all, but a select few he deemed worthy of this place. Those cultures that he saw would bring enlightenment and kindness to his great creation.”

  The diversity of everything made Tom think about Earth, the place he called home and understood to be only one type of place. Suddenly he felt ashamed.

  “All my life I never once questioned the ways of society. All this time I found myself to be so smart and understanding by being a person of integrity. I never thought about equality in the process. I never once thought of life through the eyes of one in another country less privileged than me. Everyone just assumes that their lives are normal without even thinking about what normal truly is. Normal for me is quite different for someone else. I guess really no one ever does until they look at their situation from a different point-of-view. If Kate and Peter could see this I think they would realize it too.”

  Determined to see more, and learn more about this place of various wonders, Tom continued walking. Around the market place many people were selling various foods like that of Earth. These were other foods and creatures that were not so familiar. Looking at some of these foods very closely, one woman, who was Chinese in origin, began to speak to Tom.

  “Would you like to try something?” she asked in a tongue of various strains of English.

  “I am curious,” said Tom. Looking to a food that looked like dough covered with sugar, he said, “What is this?”

  “That is dragon covered with dough and sprinkled with sugar. Would you like some?”

  “Dragon?” asked Tom. “You have dragons here?”

  “Of course, but I own a small dragon farm in the north. I grow them there to be eaten by people later. They are not the ones that are part of the dragon reserve though, even though they are to the north as well,” said the woman with a slight redness in her face. “Many find them to be quite good, would you like to try some?”

  “No,” said Tom. “That is quite all right.”

  “Just do not tell anyone about this, if you know what I mean,” said the woman with a smile.

  Unsure, Tom still said, “All right. Do you like living in Altium?”

  “Do I like living in Altium? What kind of a question is that?”

  “I am just curious that is all.”

  “Well, no,” said the woman truthfully.

  “Why not?” asked Tom quite confused of why the woman felt the way she did.

  “Well,” said the woman. “I mean look at all of us together, acting as if everyone was the same. I mean really, we can see we are not and yet we pretend that we are. It is just disgusting.”

  “Disgusting?”

  “Yes, each of us is either smarter, taller, or naturally better than the others, but we choose not to remember that. No, Dena wanted to show us how similar we are in our hearts. So what if we are the same in our hearts, what about in our money?”

  “Do you have money here?”

  “Yes we do, but everything is regulated.”

  “Regulated by what?”

  “By the Gordanese Regulation Bureau of course. They check us all of the time for the prices of our foods and other products to make sure we are not stealing from each other. This keeps the economy stable. They dress in regular dress like anyone else around here and spy on us. They make sure we are not doing anything wrong or we go to the shuffle.”

  “The shuffle?”

  “Of course the shuffle,” said the woman looking to Tom as if he were crazy not to know what it was. “After a week in the shuffle everyone does the right thing by everyone else. It is a good society, clean and orderly, but we need these laws because some disobey the law. You see all around there is no crime here. Where are you from stranger?”

  “Um…” said Tom. “From the North.”

  “A farmer?” asked the woman unsure. “Left the farm to see the big city, hey?”

  “Yes,” said Tom.

  “Yes many lads like you wanting to see the big city. Do not worry about being hurt or anything like that, this is a safe place, safer than the forest at night.”

 

  “Thank you, I shall remember that. Have a nice day.”

  “You too young sir.”

  Walking to another part of the market place Tom saw that there was an eating area and several bands playing. They were playing a great array of music from heavy metal, rock, and hip-pop to classical, jazz, and folk music. However, no one seemed either to mind or care about the clashing of music at several intervals. Many even laughed at it, while others had earplugs in their ears. Seeing the people there all together made Tom feel as if it was a place of harmony despite the lack of intonation and beat between each of the people playing.

  Seeing that he had spent half an hour at the market, Tom thought it was best to go back to the pal
ace. He decided to take the long route back in order to see more things in Lupo.

  As he was walking on the sidewalk he saw on the side of a building the face of a young man who was in his twenties. On the top it said, “Prince Onden, Heir to the Throne.” Suddenly a ball rolled next to Tom. Seeing the ball Tom picked it up as a young boy of four years old came to claim it. Tom saw that it was a basketball, the same as that where he came from.

  “Hello,” said Tom to the boy.

  “Hello,” said the boy in a slightly shy voice.

  “What are you playing?” asked Tom.

  “Basketball,” said the boy as he took the ball back from Tom. “My friends are teaching me.”

  “Oh,” said Tom. “I hope you enjoy it.”

  “Thank you,” said the boy as he got the ball back from Tom. “Bye!”

  “Bye,” said Tom.

  The little boy then ran back to some friends of various ages from four to ten and continued to learn to play basketball.

  “They even have that here. It seems like everyone here is very friendly. Why did Akemi say that the people here did not like foreigners when they accept the activities of the people of Earth so readily?”

  As Tom was walking along thinking about this, a young woman with gold-rimmed glasses ran past him towards many tall buildings in the distance ahead. She was small in stature, about five foot four inches, and was quite thin. She was wearing a long beige skirt, black shirt, beige coat, and flat black shoes. She was carrying several books, a briefcase, and several loose papers in her hands. As she was running past him, Tom felt as if there was something familiar about her, as if he had met her before. However, he shrugged this off knowing that this was his first visit to Altium and she could not seem familiar to his mind. As she ran, she let fall a piece of paper from her hands. Tom picked up the paper to give it back to her, but she was already gone. Looking around Tom saw that she was not around anywhere.

  “That is strange,” said Tom. “She was just here a moment ago. How could she have run so fast?”

  Looking at the piece of paper, Tom saw that it was a memo and named one Ondess Kingesh of the University of Lupo, Lupo, Gordana. As he walked forward, Tom saw that the tall set of buildings was the University of Lupo.

  “If I am ever to return this paper, then I must go to this place,” said Tom to himself. “At least if I find out who Ondess Kingesh is then I can find out who dropped this paper.

  After a ten-minute walk past several buildings of the campus, Tom saw that there was a gate. Tom walked into the gate to see there was silence on the campus and a building to the left that read, “Administration.”

  “Yes,” said Tom. “They should know something here.”

  He walked over to the building and saw that there were several desks, but all were vacant except one at the front that read, “Inquiries.” At the desk sat an old crone of a woman with blond hair, blue eyes, and sagging skin. Tom looked to her, but saw that she was staring at a wall to the side of the door. Tom walked forward, but the woman kept on staring. Tom was not sure about this. The woman seemed as if she was dead. The only thing that was moving on her desk was the heat that came off of the teacup next to her. The heat came off of the tea as if it was dancing into the air and gradually disappeared into it.

  Suddenly the woman stated, “Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to speak?”

  “Speak,” said Tom very surprised. “A young woman running past me just a moment ago dropped this memo on the ground,” said Tom as he gave the memo to the elderly woman.

  “Did she wear glasses and have dark brown eyes, dark brown hair, and light brown skin?” asked the woman.

  “Yes,” said Tom.

  Grunting, the woman said, “Why did I even ask, it always happens. I should place a billboard out front rather than continuously go through this. This is for Miss Ondess Kingesh in the Humanities Building, History section. That building is down this road, the fifth on the right. At the front you’ll see a sheet. It will tell you if she is in a lecture or not. If she is, find the room written on the sheet. If not, go to her office in Room 5-6 in that building. That means the fifth floor, sixth room. Just leave it if she is not there, but try to give her it in person or she’ll never find it.”

  “She will never find it?” asked Tom confused.

  “Believe me had enough times trying to help her find her papers around campus. If she was not who she is then it would matter more, but since she is I guess I have to live with it. She has done so much for the university that she is a junior member and is only twenty years old.”

  “That is very good,” said Tom.

  “Believe me, that one is very good, and ambitious, but in a good way. This university almost was nothing until she came. Most students would be walking around campus getting into mischief if it were not for her help on the board. Now all of them are doing their work or helping in the community.”

  “How do they help in the community?”

  “It is part of this program that is first given as a mandatory assignment for all students in their freshman year. Once they are finished they can go to the next year of university and never do it again. However, it was so successful that many have not stopped doing it. It has really helped this city. It used to be just a place for industry, crime, and other bad things. Now it is a place where people can live happily with their lives. Who are you anyway?”

  “Oh, just someone passing through.”

  “You are interested in the university?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “I knew it, that paper was just an introduction. If you are interested you should talk to Miss Kingesh about it. She can tell you everything about the university and about Altium.”

  “I think I will then,” said Tom. “Thank you,” said Tom as he walked away.

  “Good luck to him in finding her,” said the old woman as she returned to drinking her tea. “Will be the first to do so if he does.”

  As he walked away Tom said to himself, “At least now I will learn the truth, provided to me by someone who is an authority of the subject, Miss Kingesh.”