Creation- The Auditor’s Apprentice

by Frank Stonely

  The snug was a small, cosy room, furnished with an odd assortment of tables and chairs that had come together over the years. Set into the exposed stonework was a small window that looked out onto Main Street, the heavily embroidered curtains drawn. The walls were covered with paintings and sketches of hunting scenes and wildlife, while the ceiling beams were decorated with polished brass curios.

  Mrs. Perkins sat studying a newspaper spread open on the table. She was engrossed and didn’t initially acknowledge Daniel as he entered the room. He closed the door and she looked up. ‘This is all getting out of hand, Daniel,’ she said, pointing to a headline that read, RADICALISED STUDENT GUNS DOWN POLITICIANS.

  He sat down opposite her, ‘Come on, Tanka, it’s about time you told me what’s going on?’

  Tanka pulled the paper away and folded it closed, then staring down at Mrs. Perkins’ perfectly manicured fingernails said, ‘It wasn’t my fault. None of this was supposed to happen.’

  ‘But it has! GOD knows how many humans have killed each other, Mo thinks it’s tens of millions. Isn’t there anybody on the planet who can stop it?’

  ‘The only person with that much power is Mr. President, but he’s thousands of miles away. He’s trying to bring an end to it all but he’s fighting a losing battle and anyway, Daniel, we both know this planet’s going to die.’

  ‘Yes, but not like this!’ Daniel said, thumping his fist down onto the paper.

  ‘It’s easy to criticise others, Daniel. But you’re the one planning to implode their Sun.’

  ‘That’s different! We’ll be sacrificing Earth to save billions of other planets. And it will be quick… not this ongoing slaughter. So come on, what’s Anubis up to?’

  ‘I don’t know! He offered me this life in return for access to the depository vaults… and I jumped at it.’

  ‘That’s garbage… he could have used a workstation.’

  ‘Yes, but that would have left an audit trail. Hedrick would have sussed him out straightaway.’

  ‘I still don’t understand… reading the archive files would take for ever.’

  ‘Not if you’re a poltergeist. That’s where the Gatekeeper came in, he can scan the entire archive in seconds.’ Tanka paused and lifted Mrs Perkins’ face, ‘If you’ve got any more questions… ask Anubis, it’s his project.’

  Daniel sighed with frustration, ‘There was a ghost in my room just now. Said he was sent by Director Hedrick.’

  ‘You’ll need more than a ghost to get you out of here,’ Tanka replied with an uneasy smile.

  ‘I realise that, but think about it. If Hedrick knows where I am, it won’t be long before the angels know too. And when they find me, they’ll find you, and we both know what that means.’

  The door opened and Sally walked in carrying a round tray with two glasses of white wine and a small bowl of peanuts. She leant over Daniel’s shoulder, and placed each item on the table one by one, deliberately brushing her breast against the side of his face, ‘Do you want dinner in here, Mum?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, luv, Daniel and I have business to discuss.’ Sally left the snug, not taking her eyes off Daniel until the door closed.

  Daniel watched Tanka’s eyes follow Sally out of the room, ‘You’re prepared to give up all this? Sally, your son, your life here, just to save Anubis’ neck! For Creation’s sake, Tanka, is it worth all that?’

  23

  Lost in Space

  As Amy entered the Space Dimension she was spinning like a top. She closed her eyes in an attempt to calm the rush of nausea that swept over her, but it had no effect. Even though her eyelids were tightly shut, the streaks of light flashing by were just as intense. But as the spinning gradually slowed, the ribbons of light began to coalesce into sparkling points that came to rest all around her, like studded diamonds on black velvet. She called out, ‘RAVI!’ and waited for a reply, but none came.

  She tried to look around but, as she attempted to move, she realised she had no limbs. So this is it, this is Eternity. Anubis’ drone must have exploded and killed them all. These speckles of light must be other creationists sent to Eternity. But, they seemed so far away. Eternity must be a very lonely place. Suddenly, Ravi’s voice exploded into her mind, ‘Fuck. Fuck! FUCK!’

  ‘Ravi! Is that you?’ As she called out, she noticed that one of the spots of light was moving towards her. She watched, transfixed, as it drifted closer, expanding to form a glowing yellow sphere. ‘Ravi! Is that you?’ she repeated.

  ‘Who else were you expecting?’ came the sarcastic reply as the globes touched.

  ‘Where’s Daniel? Where are we?’

  ‘We’re fucked! That’s where we are.’ Ravi said, cutting short Amy’s stream of questions. ‘I forgot to adjust the settings to compensate for the different launch times. You see those twinkling lights out there? Well, they’re stars, and whizzing around one of them is your blue planet. Still, it could have been worse. We could have ended up materialising inside one of them.’

  ‘You mean we’re stuck here forever?’

  ‘Of course not. Given a few billion years we’ll drift into a solar system somewhere. It’s just a matter of time.’

  Hedrick found the sound of Penny’s workstation printer quite comforting. He was doodling on his audit pad, trying to fathom out how to bring the situation to a conclusion that wasn’t going to ruin his diamond retirement. Suddenly, a voice filled his head, ‘We have a problem, Director.’ Hedrick looked up. The ghost sitting in the chair before him had used Ravi to express its presence. The interpretation was almost perfect and looked quite solid against the background of his dimly lit office.

  Hedrick was irritated, ‘Why does everybody have to bring me their problems? It will be a wonderful day when somebody comes into my office and says, Director, I have solved the problem for you.’ He tore the page of doodles from the pad and, screwing it up into a tight ball, tossed it into his wastepaper basket.

  ‘I am sorry, Director, but you asked to be informed if anything happened to your apprentice.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘The problem is with her essence.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘There was an error in the settings used to launch the drone.’

  ‘I take it she is not on the planet.’

  ‘No, they missed it by several billion kilometres. Luckily they’re not in any danger, but she will need our help.’

  Just as Hedrick was about to reply, Penny came into the office carrying his morning coffee and biscuits. She stopped and stood for a moment staring at the ghost. At one time its presence would have freaked her out but now she was accustomed to the extraordinary and, turning to Hedrick calmly said, ‘Something’s happened, Director?’

  ‘I am afraid so, Penny. It appears that Amy and Ravi are lost in Space,’ Hedrick replied.

  ‘They’re not lost, Director, I know exactly where they are.’ the ghost said, ‘They just need a bit of help.’

  ‘Is there anything I can do?’ Penny asked, setting the tray down.

  ‘The best thing you can do, Penny, is to keep the office running smoothly while I sort this out.’

  ‘Leave everything to me, Director,’ she said, as she left the room.

  As the door closed Hedrick looked at the Ghost of Ravi, ‘What do you suggest we do?’

  ‘I can only tell you their location in Space, Director. You will need the help of a more physical entity to relocate them. Maybe you should talk to the angel, Haamiah.’

  ‘We cannot involve her. This is exactly the excuse she needs to extract the universe.’

  ‘Then that only leaves you with two options - the poltergeists or Those-On-High.’

  Hedrick took a biscuit from the plate and dunked it several times into his coffee as he mulled over the situation, ‘Abraxas, he could be the answer.’

  ‘But the angels are linked telepathically. Anything you say to Abraxas, Haamiah will overhear.’

  ‘Not necessarily. Abraxas and I go back a long way. He was
the leader of the first pack of angels I worked with, right at the beginning of Creation. Yes, I think I need to talk to Abraxas.’ Hedrick quickly finished eating the last of the biscuits and, brushing the crumbs off his waistcoat, asked, ‘Did you manage to find Daniel?’

  ‘Yes, he’s safe and well.’

  ‘What about Anubis and Tanka?’

  ‘Tanka is with Daniel. I haven’t located Anubis yet.’

  ‘Go back to the planet,’ Hedrick said, looking at the wall clock. ‘I want you to keep a close track of their host bodies.

  ‘Should I report to the Prima-Ghosta?’

  ‘I cannot tell you not to. That has to be your decision.’ By the time Hedrick finished the sentence the Ghost of Ravi had vanished.

  Daniel hadn’t eaten since breakfast that morning and he was ravenous. He sat consuming the perfectly cooked roast pork, the crisp crackling shattering between his jaws as he ate. The flat, human face had proved to be a problem though, as it allowed the juices from the tender meat to dribble from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the uncovered table. Mrs. Perkins was much more adept and used the napkin Sally had placed with the cutlery to dab away the slightest sign of leakage. ‘Try some vegetables,’ she said, pointing to the serving dish set between them. Daniel shook his head, unable to answer through his gorged mouth.

  They finished their meal and after Sally had cleared the table, Daniel leant forward conspiratorially, but Tanka foresaw the question, ‘I told you… it’s Anubis’ project, speak to him.’

  ‘His project! You make it sound like some sort of lab experiment. This could affect millions of planets!’

  ‘Ask Anubis!’ Tanka snapped, the look in her eyes making it pointless to pursue the matter.

  Daniel sat back in his chair and stirred a spoonful of sugar into his coffee, then looked up to see tears running down Mrs. Perkins’ cheeks. He instinctively reached across the table and took hold of her hand, ‘I’m sure Haamiah will understand. You’ve just got to tell her what Anubis is up to. At the end of the day she’s only interested in one thing, the production of Dark Matter. Once that’s restored, you could be living here with Sally and her children for generations.’

  Tanka drew her hand away, ‘We both know that’s not going to happen.’

  ‘Isn’t it worth a try? What’s the alternative? You return to that broken body in Creation and spend eternity trudging up and down those dusty corridors, that’s assuming you don’t get banished to Purgatory.’ They sat in silence, sipping their coffee, until Daniel said, ‘So tell me, what’s Mr. President up to.’

  ‘It’s a long story.’

  ‘We’ve got all night.’

  ‘Do you remember that huge explosion a few months ago, in Toulouse, in France. It killed thousands of people.’

  ‘It was an accident wasn’t it… a chemical explosion?’

  ‘That’s what they said at the time. But, the newspapers are claiming it was a terrorist attack. According to some leaked e-mails it was a young woman driving a truck packed with missile warheads stolen from a decommissioning facility. Her true target was a meeting of the planet’s directors being held in Paris, that’s why the story was kept under wraps. But the authorities had a tip-off and intercepted her at Toulouse, so rather than being captured, she detonated the truck.’

  ‘Why would she kill so many of her own species?’

  ‘That’s all down to us. If we hadn’t interfered with things, they’d all be living happily together, enriching Haamiah’s precious Dark Matter. Do you know how many humans have been killed in the name of religion alone? Millions! My only hope is that when the universe is extracted, the end will be quick. I don’t want Sally and Geoff to suffer.’

  ‘If Anubis uses a trihadronite bomb, the imploding Sun will roast them all alive.’ Daniel saw the look of horror in Tanka’s face and quickly changed tack, ‘There must be a way out of this, a way to stop all this brutality.’

  ‘That’s what Mr. President’s trying to do. He wants every country possessing nuclear weapons to destroy them.’

  ‘That’ll never happen.’ Daniel said, pushing his coffee cup to one side. ‘There’s no incentive for them to give up such powerful weapons while they’re all fighting to be top-dog. No, a much more elegant solution is required.’ He leant back on his chair, raising its front legs off the floor, and stared at the ceiling, ‘What about their Periodic Table? We could make a few changes; move a few of the elements around, just enough to stop their chemical and atomic weapons working.’

  ‘Anubis has tried that. Ironically all the changes turned out to be fatal to human physiology.’

  Daniel sat forward again, resting his arms on the table as the snug door swung open. Sally looked through the gap, ‘Mum, Peter asked if you would like a glass of wine?’

  The door was pushed open, and a scruffily dressed farmer barged his way into the room, ‘That’s it! We’re all fucked now! Those, wankers in Paris can’t agree about anything.’

  ‘What’s happened now, Peter?’ Tanka said, relieved at the interruption.

  ‘It was just on the TV… they all want to keep their atom bombs… fucking tossers.

  ‘Calm down, Peter. Nothing will happen here.’

  ‘What about that Ground Station place where he works,’ Peter pointed at Daniel with his beer glass. ‘With all those fancy satellite thingies on the roof, that’d be their first target. Anyway, do you want a glass of wine or not?’

  Mrs. Perkins smiled at Peter affectionately. She found his coarse manner and direct speech had a strange charm about them, ‘Thank you, Peter, a glass of wine would be perfect.’

  ‘I suppose your gonna want one too?’ Peter said to Daniel.

  ‘Yes, thanks, I have the same as Mrs. P.’ Daniel said, winking at Tanka.

  Peter turned to Sally, ‘Did you get that, Sal, two glasses of wine, but not that fancy expensive stuff!’ Peter dragged a chair from under the table and sat down next to Daniel. ‘They’re gonna meet again at the White House next month… as if that’s gonna do anything. Politicians are only interested in three things; money, flash cars and shagging.’ He turned to Daniel, ‘Are you playing on Sunday? We need a decent bowler if we’re going to win that match?’

  ‘I’ll be there,’ Daniel said.

  Mrs. Perkins interrupted, ‘Peter, darling. Daniel and I are discussing some private business. Can we have this chat another time?’

  Peter got up, ‘Alright, Mrs. P, I know when I’m not wanted.’

  Director Hedrick stood in silence at the centre of the Launch Platform - the pressure door was closed. He was alone, with the exception of the nervous-looking angel hovering in front of him. He had chosen the rendezvous carefully. This was the only place in Creation capable of blocking an angel’s telepathic link to its pack. If Haamiah discovered what he was attempting to do, her wrath would know no bounds. But the risk was worth taking if there was a chance of saving Amy, a chance he had not had with his daughter.

  His excuse for being in the chamber was to carry out an audit into the disappearance of Deputy Director Anubis. He sat down on the chair he had brought into the chamber and looked up into the emotionless face floating before him. ‘Is Haamiah keeping you busy, Abraxas?’ Hedrick said to break the tension. There was almost no point to the conversation, as the angel would have already read his mind, but it was important to lay out his plan logically, precisely, like the pages of an audit report.

  As he went to speak, Abraxas’ voice filled his head, ‘I assume you want me to retrieve Apprentice Amy from the Space Dimension, Director?’ Hedrick had never heard an angel refer to themselves in the first-person before. The exclusion from the pack had somehow released Abraxas from thinking collectively.

  ‘No, I want you to take them to-’

  Abraxas completed the sentence, ‘the blue planet where Technician Daniel is held captive.’ The angel’s translucent face stared at Hedrick and then looked away.

  Hedrick realized that Abraxas was finding the experience of bein
g disconnected from the pack stressful. He decided to take advantage of the situation and, rising out of the chair, walked across the chamber towards the angel. ‘I probably know Haamiah better than any other creationist. This is an issue of pride with her, she is not thinking rationally. The involvement of Those-On-High has greatly embarrassed her and she needs time to reflect on what she is proposing.’

  ‘Director, if you think I have influence over Haamiah, you are mistaken.’

  ‘Leave Haamiah to me, Abraxas. What I need of you is to guide Amy and Ravi safely to the blue planet.’

  ‘That is not possible, Director. I have been given strict instructions; the hunt for Lucifer is our highest priority.’

  ‘Who is Lucifer?’

  ‘I am sorry, Director, I am finding this situation very confusing. I meant Anubis… the hunt for Anubis is our highest priority.’

  ‘Lucifer… Anubis… I am sure you could find a way, Abraxas,’ Hedrick said, pushing his request.

  ‘I am sorry, Director, there is nothing I can do to help you.’ Abraxas’ presence had started to expand, showing his agitation, but Hedrick had worked with angels long enough not to be intimidated by this reaction. There was no way Abraxas would harm a creationist of his standing and anyway, he had a trump card to play.

  ‘Abraxas, how long have we known each other?’ The question was rhetorical and Hedrick immediately answered it, ‘Almost since the beginning of Creation. Do you remember that first project Haamiah gave us, the one that ended in hundreds of universes colliding into each other like billiard balls. Now let me think, who was it that took the blame for that incident and then came up with the scheme to recover the situation? And who was it that-’

  Hedrick’s vocal cords went into spasm as Abraxas’ presence deflated to half its normal size. The angel floated, childlike, his head bowed, ‘And I’ve always been grateful for that,’ he said.