by Gadi Migdal
And still Mom, I’m scared all the time. You always told me there was no shame in fear, and that the secret is to know how to deal with it and not to let it determine your life. You’re right, Mom, but I’m not managing to do that. I’m too scared. I’m filled with fears and worries all the time. I’m even afraid to think of what Tomas would do to me and to you if he were to find this letter.
Maybe it would be better that I don’t write any more letters, it’s too dangerous for everyone.
I love you Mom, take care of everyone. I hope you get through the winter safely.
Yours, in eternal fear and infinite hope,
Clifford.
Chapter 25
Prague
Prague III was much prettier than Earth. The green world was clear and clean, with no layer of volcanic soot. The oceans were clean, and the humans lived on the continent without protective domes. In many ways, this planet was reminiscent of Neifar, but without the Whole or the city.
In a strange way, although there were 480 million people living on Prague III, Nola felt that the place was empty of people. There were only 450 thousand people living on Neifar, but everyone was awake, living, and active. All the inhabitants of Prague III slept, scattered amongst millions of farms on the planet.
They circled the planet over twenty times, sending messages requesting landing permission from every farm they passed. Not a single human answered them. Artificial intelligences, monkeys, and dogs asked them firmly but politely to stay away.
“As usual, everyone is asleep,” said Guy.
“Can we get down to the ground?” asked Nola.
“Certainly, Commander. As long as we don’t land uninvited on private property, the farms’ security systems won’t bother with us.”
“Why do farms have security systems anyway? Why do they need them?”
Guy shrugged his shoulders. “For the same reason that we on Neifar don’t allow outsiders to visit us. The farms earn money and maintain their residents, they have good reason to make sure that nobody comes and steals information or product.”
The hovercraft landed on a sandy beach. They stood on the sand, beside the hovercraft, and the waves broke at their feet. The sea foam left marks on the sand. Nola recalled, with pleasure and longing, how she had made love to Susan on a similar beach, but then realized it was a false memory belonging to Louie.
“You know, General, I think I understand why we came here,” Maya said hesitantly.
“Really? And what is your thinking, Ms. Maya?” asked Bud.
“I think that the Whole wants to do an experiment on this planet.”
“Experiment, Ms. Maya? What experiment, exactly?”
Maya nodded, then went on. “I think that the Whole is planning an experiment in waking up.” She hesitated a moment. “This planet is remote. It would take several days until someone would notice that they were cut off from the network.”
“Cut off from the network?” Ella repeated after her.
“Yes. That’s what would happen if our ship were to disrupt the function of the communication satellites surrounding this world. 480 million sleeping people would be woken up by surprise. I think that the Whole wants us to see what will happen when they wake up and how they deal with the fact that they can’t go back to sleep.”
Bud looked at her curiously and didn’t say a word.
“General, you can’t do that,” said Tom. “It’s against the First Agreement. If the other planets heard about it, they would unite against Neifar.”
“Which people exactly, Deputy Commander? Have you forgotten that everyone is asleep?”
“People will die,” Maya said suddenly. She blushed under their gaze and went on, “I checked the world’s data before we landed here. Of the 480 million people living on this planet, there are 29 million elderly and sick people being kept alive by the life-support beds. Without a connection to the network, the beds could stop giving treatment, many sick people would die.”
The city people stared at her in horror.
“General, you can’t interfere with this planet’s communication system,” Tom insisted.
“You can’t murder millions of people just for some sick experiment,” Ella pointed angrily.
Bud looked at them in surprise. “I thought that you wanted to save your species,” she said.
“Not at this price,” shouted Ella.
“Are you saying that a small number of deaths isn’t worth the lives of many?”
“No, General. It’s not worth it. As I see it, every life is sacred. You can’t sacrifice someone else’s life.”
Bud shrugged her shoulders. “Interesting reflection. The way the Whole sees it, it’s not really a question. If a few individuals need to be sacrificed, then they are sacrificed.”
“We are humans, General. Not items of that whole of yours,” Ella went on screaming, her eyes flashing with fury.
Bud nodded slowly. “I am sorry about your unwillingness, Doctor. The Whole respects you very much but disagrees with you. Ms. Maya is right; the Prague awakening is indeed what the Whole intends. The good of the majority demands the sacrifice of some individuals.”
Nola sent the order to the Singa.
The hovercraft’s computer suddenly began transmitting. Confused voices came through it. At first, just a few; then many of them. So many. Prague’s residents were waking up.
“No!” screamed Ella.
“Too late,” said Tom quietly.
“Where is Cyril?” “Did anybody talk to Cyril?” “Is Cyril awake too?” The sleepy voices were determined and demanding.
“Cyril is the president of this world,” Nola retrieved and shared the information with the other city people.
“General, you have to stop the satellite disturbance,” Ella demanded furiously.
“It’s not possible, Doctor Ella. We have more to learn.”
The voices rising from the hovercraft prevented Ella’s continued arguing.
“This is President Cyril here. The matter is being investigated by our best brains. I believe that we will restart the connection within a few minutes. Be strong and stay patient.”
“I don’t want to wait a few minutes. I want a connection with the satellites now,” an angry voice demanded.
“That’s right.” Hundreds of furious voices joined in. “Connection NOW.”
“Shouting and anger won’t help us here, I am also eager to get back to the machine. We will fix the connection problem as soon as possible, for everyone’s sake,” said President Cyril with forced calm.
“And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?” the angry voice demanded.
“In your case, Johnson, I assume that this will give you time to write up your platform for the next elections. Maybe this time you will do better,” the president replied sarcastically.
Laughter was heard, “Please ignore the troublemakers, I know that everyone is anxious to return to their machine and that all of us are in distress every moment we are without it, but I repeat: our best brains and technicians are investigating and searching for a solution as we speak,” President Cyril said.
“Please, honorable President, I was in the middle of a fascinating story, every second that I’m awake is a waste of time. Please, bring back the connection as soon as possible,” requested a new voice.
“Of course, Carlson,” the president promised him.
“Thank you, honorable President. By the way, I recommend to all of you to try the story called “Magic of the Wolfen Swords,” I think these have been the best ten years of my life.”
“Sounds promising,” a new voice chimed in. “Real time or dream time?” asked the voice curiously.
“Ten years dream-time, Phillip, only two and a half months real-time,” Carlson replied.
“Excellent, I will try it the moment the connection
comes back. I just finished my last story.”
“You won’t regret it,” Carlson promised. “It’s a particularly complex story.”
The city people exchanged bewildered looks. “They don’t think about anything else, just how to get back to their imaginary lives as soon as possible,” Ella said, stunned.
Guy nodded. “You’re right, which is why this experiment is unnecessary. We know its outcome in advance. Too bad about the lives that will be lost in it. General, you made your point, please stop the satellite disturbance.”
“Of course, Mr. Guy,” Bud agreed with him.
Nola sent another order to the Singa, and the voices suddenly chattered with evident pleasure.
“The connection is back!” “See you in our dreams, friends!” “Thanks, honorable President, for the quick fix.”
“No problem. Sweet dreams, my dear citizens,” Cyril replied.
Ella shook her head sadly, “this was the Whole’s entire experiment? That’s it?”
Bud smiled at her. “Yes, Doctor Ella, that’s it. Mr. Guy is right, there’s no point extending the experiment.”
“We came all the way here for a ten-minute experiment?”
“No, Doctor Ella, we came here so that you could see the consequences of dreaming for yourselves. This planet is not unusual. This is more or less the status in the entire galaxy. Look around you. This is what it looks like when an entire world goes to sleep. There is nobody under fifty. This planet’s people stopped reproducing decades ago since nobody ever wakes up. And as we have seen, if we try to wake them up, they insist on going back to sleep. This is the projected future for your entire species.”
Guy vigorously shook his head. “If that’s so, General, why did we come here specifically? If the entire population of all the worlds is busy dreaming, why didn’t we go to some other planet? Somewhere closer?”
“I told you, because this is a faraway, impoverished planet. Perfect for experimenting on,” Maya reminded him.
Nola nodded, “Maya’s right.”
Guy grinned, “Next time, consult with me. There’s no shortage of remote planets in the galaxy.”
“Fine,” Nola laughed. “By the way, I learned something today. Do you know the origins of this planet’s name?”
He nodded. “Yes, Commander. This was the name of a city on Earth.”
“Correct. Once there were cities, many cities so they had names. Where did all the cities disappear to?”
“There is no need of cities these days, Commander. There is only one city, on Neifar,” said Maya.
She smiled at her. “That’s right, Maya. But why? Until the Seventh, humans lived in communities. Some of them were big, some small, but most humans lived in some kind of community. Only very few lived alone. Where did all the cities disappear to?”
“Very simple, Commander. Today there is no longer any need for cities. They are unnecessary, so they disappeared,” Maya answered.
“She’s right, Commander,” said Ella. “Our city is the exception.”
“But the domes on Earth are reminiscent of small cities,” noted Nola.
“Definitely, Commander, and if they survive long enough, maybe they will grow and develop into real cities,” said Tom.
“Is there any city life on the Earth’s moon?”
“No, Commander. Moon inhabitants are dispersed in family holdings,” Tom replied.
“Why?”
“That’s the norm all over the galaxy, Commander. People simply don’t like living too close to one another.”
“Why?” Nola repeated.
“That’s just the way it is. As we said, Commander, our city is the exception,” said Maya.
“Maybe that’s the reason,” Andre said suddenly. “Maybe that’s the reason that people on Neifar don’t want to dream and don’t even try. It’s not because of the Whole. It’s because of our way of life. We don’t dream because we live in a city.”
“That doesn’t make sense, Andre,” said Maya. “People lived in settlements for tens of thousands of years, and still they became addicted to countless substances and pleasures, why would the city be any different?”
Andre shrugged. “I don’t know what was different in the past, but one thousand seven hundred years have passed since we left Earth. Humans live alone and are addicted to everything. City residents aren’t.”
“Of course not. These are people who, from the get-go, went there to escape the addictions. We are simply stronger than the residents of the rest of the worlds.”
Andre shook his head, “our ancestors were stronger, maybe, but a thousand years have passed. These days our way of life protects us from addictions. I don’t just mean our form of education or stopping technology, but the actual fact of living among thousands of other people.”
“It’s possible you’re onto something, Andre,” said Ella pensively. “Maybe something in the city itself prevents people’s need for dreaming. Ultimately there are only two differences between us and the rest of the galaxy: living in the city, and the Whole. The Whole denies any connection to preventing dreaming, and I believe it. That leaves only one difference between us and the rest of the galaxy, and the city is that difference.”
Guy turned to Bud. “General, does the Whole also think that the city is the main factor to explain why Neifar doesn’t dream?”
“Yes, Mr. Guy.”
“If so, why did we leave the city?”
“In order to understand how to avoid dreaming, Mr. Guy.”
“What? That’s ridiculous,” Maya protested. “If the Whole thinks that the solution is in the city, why did we go on a journey far away from the city?”
“The Whole studied the city over hundreds of years,” replied Bud. “Now it needs to investigate the rest of the galaxy and understand what sets the city apart. The Whole hopes to meet people who chose to stay awake and to speak with them. Maybe the reasons they don’t dream will help it to understand the city’s uniqueness.”
“But we already spoke with people like that,” Maya pointed out. “On Earth.”
“True, and now we have to find people like that on other planets,” replied Bud.
“And how exactly do we do that?” wondered Ella. “How are we supposed to find waking people? Does the Whole intend to visit every populated planet?”
“No Ella,” Nola replied instead of Bud. “Only some of them.”
Chapter 26
Fear
The darkness was closing in on her again. She leaped to her feet and fled again.
She was always running away. The darkness always found her. She fled, running, as usual.
Someday it would end. Eventually the darkness would catch her. She knew it, sometimes she even wished for it. She wished for the peace it would bring.
She darted through the hills. A dark stain appeared before her. She went around the dense forest. It was forbidden to ever enter the forest. It was no place for little girls!
There was a hairy body on her left in her peripheral vision. All at once, she turned right. Wolves are dangerous for children. It’s forbidden to get near them. She kept running.
The darkness lost her trail among the hills. She squeezed into a small crevice in the rocks. The feeling of stone around her calmed her. All alone. As usual. She was afraid. She was always afraid. The girl curled up in a tight ball and cried. The eternal loneliness encompassed her until she fell asleep.
It was a mistake. The darkness caught her while she was sleeping.
It surrounded her while she was asleep. Surrounded her and waited for her to open her eyes.
She pushed backward in terror. There was no way to exit the crevice without falling into the darkness.
It had never come this close. She saw shadows and shapes moving inside it.
It heralded the end. She felt it in her body. If the darkness
were to touch her, it would all be over.
It contained evil, pain, and suffering, but it also promised an end and relief. That was tempting, to be released from her constant fear and escaping. For a moment she considered going out and giving herself over to the darkness. Let the story come to an end. It would be so nice — to quit running away, to stop being afraid.
Fear.
She was filled with fear all over again. It woke her from her dream. No! She would never give it the satisfaction. The darkness wants her? It will have to catch her. She would not give in easily.
She forced herself to relax and scanned the crevice. There was no way to evade the darkness, but maybe she could surprise it. She reached into her belt and pulled out a stone. The crevice was too narrow to raise her arm inside it, but she had escaped situations like this all her life. With a quick movement, she brought her hand to her chest and straightened it forward all at once while kicking the back of the crevice with her legs.
She leapt out from the crevice. She flung the stone out a little in front of her. The darkness contracted backward in surprise. A hole gaped in it, revealing the rocks behind it. She leaped from the hole with agility.
Her legs began to run before she landed on the ground. She got away from there fast.
Behind her, she sensed the darkness seething with fury and frustration.
She ran without stopping for several hours. It wasn’t hard. She had run her whole life. Last night she had made a mistake when she didn’t flee far enough. She wouldn’t repeat that mistake.
She only stopped when she reached a big dry field. Grey grass spread out in every direction. Apart from a few dry shrubs, the field didn’t offer much in the way of shelter. Maybe the darkness would have trouble surprising her here. She lay down to rest between the shrubs and chewed a piece of root that she kept in her belt.