by Gadi Migdal
This really was a surprise.
He had never seen the two of them awake together at the same time.
“Hey, sweetie,” the woman smiled at him.
“Mom?” He said suspiciously.
“Look how much you’ve grown,” she said with evident emotion.
“You’re awake?” Bruce asked, confused.
“Yes, sweetie,” she said in a shaky voice, as though she were about to cry. “I’m awake.”
“Why?” he asked, bewildered.
Tears streamed down her cheek. “Because suddenly I realized how much I miss you, Brucey,” she cried. “Can I hug you?”
Bruce looked at her for a long moment without moving and then asked in a choked-up voice, “I’m glad you’re awake now, Mom. How long will you stay up this time?”
“I don’t think I will go back to sleep soon, Bruce. I don’t even want to use the stupid dream machine again.”
“Yay!” cried Bruce and leaped into her open arms. Tears streamed from his eyes, as his mother hugged him hard, and leaned her head over and kissed his face.
“You’ve grown so much, Bruce. How was I so stupid? How could I have preferred sleeping all these years instead of being with you?” she whispered in his ear.
“I don’t know, Mom,” Bruce sobbed in her embrace, “I really missed you.”
“Sweetie, maybe you can go bring mom some fresh carrot juice? It will help her wake up. Ask Adam to make her a big glass like she likes,” Yonatan suggested with a smile.
“Okay, Dad.” Bruce wiped his eyes and ran to the kitchen.
“You really won’t go back to the dream machine, Tammy?” Yonatan asked, coming closer.
“No, Yonatan, I’m sick of dreaming about life. I think it’s time for me to start living it.”
Yonatan looked at her quietly, not knowing what to say.
She smiled at him hesitantly. “We have an amazing kid; he really reminds me of you.”
Yonatan nodded, “He’s a good boy, but he isn’t like me - he’s too smart.”
She looked into his eyes. “Thank you, Yonatan. I know you’ve been awake for nearly a year, and I know you did it for Bruce.” Her voice trembled. “You’re a good dad, Yonatan, and I haven’t been a good mother, but I don’t plan to go back to dreaming ever again, no matter how many nightmares I have. Do you think you would be willing to try living with me again?”
Yonatan looked at her for a long time. This was the woman that he loved. The woman with whom he had brought a child into the world, linking their fate together forever.
“I missed you, Tammy,” he whispered.
“I missed you too, Yonatan,” she replied as he pulled her to him.
Bruce suddenly pushed his way between them holding a glass of juice. “Here’s the juice Mom. Enjoy. I’ll be back later.”
“Hey hey hey, where are you hurrying off to?” Yonatan laughed.
“To the forest, Dad. Anna called. She’s waiting for me there.” Bruce hurried toward the door, then stopped suddenly and turned around. “I forgot, Dad. Adam asked me to tell you that Grandma and Grandpa are awake and they want to talk to you.”
“Huh. That should be interesting. I barely remember what your parents look like,” Tammy smiled.
“Okay, bye!” the boy shouted and ran outside.
They stood hugging one another, watching him with a smile.
Bruce stopped suddenly once more. He remembered something else, then ran back toward his parents.
“Dad, could you cancel the order for the dog?”
“Too late, sweetie, he’s already on his way here. You wanted a dog so badly, why do you want to cancel the order all of a sudden?” Yonatan sounded surprised.
“I was thinking that maybe instead of a dog I’d rather have a brother or sister. Can I, Dad? Please?”
“Brother or sister?” Yonatan repeated after him in amazement.
“Yes,” the boy replied with a grin.
Yonatan looked at Tammy and she smiled back and blushed. “I think that might be possible, Bruce,” he laughed. “I definitely think it’s possible.”
Archie shrunk into his sleeping pillow. He could not forget a thing, or Leanne would be angry.
“Maggie, are you sure that the robots packed everything they were supposed to?” he asked for the thousandth time.
“Yes, Archie. Relax. You are going on vacation and vacations are fun. It’s nice of Leanne to take you with her,” the artificial intelligence replied patiently.
“You’re right, Maggie. It’s just that this change was so sudden. One day she’s asleep and the next she informs me that we are going on a month-long vacation in New Canada. It’s strange.”
“I know, Archie. It really is strange.”
“And you know what else worries me? For the past week, I have been mainly speaking with humans. If everyone wakes up, they won’t need dogs,” Archie said miserably.
“Quit worrying so much, stupid. You are going to the most popular vacation destination in the galaxy. It’s not something to complain about. As for dogs, don’t worry. Humans will always need dogs.”
“Maybe,” Archie replied quietly. “But what am I supposed to do at a vacation destination for humans?”
“I don’t know. Maybe just sleep a lot? What’s wrong with that?”
“Everything, Maggie. I’m scared. There are too many things up in the air. Maybe you could get hold of Dr. Reuben for me again?”
“I thought of that, but he’s swamped. Evidently, people all over the galaxy are waking up and want psychological counseling. The doctor can’t talk to over 20 million people at the same time, and the waiting list is extremely long. His secretary estimates that he could be available for an appointment with you in about six months.”
Archie whimpered and buried his head in his paws.
“It’ll be okay, Archie, you’re worrying for nothing,” Maggie laughed.
Archie didn’t bother to answer. He rested his head on the pillow and felt particularly miserable.
“Is everything ready?” Leanne asked as she strode into the room.
“Yes, Leanne,” replied Maggie.
“Great. Archie, are you ready to go? The hovercraft will take us to the orbit station, and from there we have a 17-day flight, via 6 wormholes, to New Canada.
“Yes, Leanne,” Archie answered quietly.
“Excellent. But it’s important that you understand that this is not a vacation.”
“It’s not a vacation?” Archie raised his head.
“No, Archie. This is a business espionage mission. All of the furniture manufacturers in the galaxy will meet face to face for the first time in decades. I expect you to eavesdrop on every conversation you can and report back to me. Got it?”
“Yes, Leanne. With pleasure,” Archie replied enthusiastically and leapt to his feet.
“Very good,” Leanne smiled at him and left the room.
“Why are you so happy all of a sudden?” Maggie wondered.
“Two reasons. First, you were right. Humans really do need dogs.”
“And the second?”
He rolled over onto his back with pleasure, “It’s going to be a happy time there. Everyone will come with dogs, and all of them will try to spy on one another. Oh, I’m going to have so much fun with the other dogs.”
“I’m happy for you, Archie,” Maggie laughed.
“Thanks, Maggie.”
“Archie, I have a request.”
“Yes, Maggie.”
“Could you call me from there every so often? I will feel a little lonely without you.”
Archie laughed. “You don’t have to ask. I intend to give you daily gossip reports.”
Munar opened his eyes in alarm. He was still alive. How could that be? What terrible fate did Thomas have planned fo
r him? Something heavy crushed his legs. Panicking, he kicked with all his might, pulling his legs out from under the weight before looking at it. It was Clifford, with a big gaping hole in his chest. He received a flash of memory: Clifford springing out in front of the outstretched hand of the silver chosen one, roaring victoriously, taking the shots intended to kill Munar.
He turned in alarm to look at the console, the screen was on. The system had not rebooted. They had failed, so why did he feel like this was a good thing? Why was he still alive?
Lucy and Noris were whispering in the middle of the room.
“What’s going on here?” Munar yelled at them. They ignored him. Lucy approached Clifford and bent over him, “Goodbye, little guy, I’ll miss you.” Munar stared at her in confusion as she kissed Clifford’s forehead and wiped tears from her eyes. She stood up and turned to look at him, their eyes met, and suddenly everything made sense. Everything would be alright. Serenity enveloped him like a warm blanket, dissolving the feeling of piercing horror he held in his shoulders.
Munar took a deep breath, filling his lungs. He wasn’t going to die today. Nobody was going to die today or any other day. Lucy walked forward determinedly and turned to the grey chosen one who had shot Clifford.
“Take him to a prison cell until his punishment is decided,” she pointed at the man who stood among the shadows. His expression was frozen and stunned.
The man who had once been a God blinked in confusion and nodded tiredly. “Yes. That seems like the necessary and correct next step.”
Munar and Noris followed him with their gaze as he walked toward the door with the grey chosen one. Thomas stopped beside the door and turned to Munar with a smile.
“It’s time to make some reforms around here, Munar. Lucy is going to need your help to carry them off.”
Cyril looked around himself in frustration. Who would want to come here? Who would want to pay to see boring, empty fields?
It wasn’t easy being president of a poor planet like Prague III. Maybe it would be better to keep sleeping and not wake up to this headache?
He quickly banished the thought. Dreams were an escape, and he wouldn’t run; he would deal with reality. He looked at the screen. Duchamp was still waiting for an answer.
“So, what exactly do you suggest, Duchamp? That we have a big festival for all of the planet’s inhabitants to meet?”
“Exactly, Honorable President. People haven’t met face to face for over fifty years. The youth want to meet new people, but don’t really know how to go about it. They need a reason to leave their houses.”
“How do you propose we finance it? Nobody has paid taxes for decades. We have no money in the bank.”
“Maybe we can market it to tourists? I heard that people are waking up all over the galaxy. Some of them would definitely want to see something different,” the young man suggested hesitantly.
Tourists? Something different? Awakening all over the galaxy? An old childhood memory arose in Cyril’s mind, experiences that he hadn’t thought of for some three hundred years. He burst out laughing, “You’re a genius, Duchamp. Come over to my house right away. We have a lot of preparations to take care of.”
“Preparations, Honorable President?”
“Yes, young man. We will indeed bring tourists here, but they won’t come to see some neglected world. They will come to celebrate the biggest music festival in the galaxy. They will come in droves and will be happy to pay for it.”
“A music festival?” Duchamp wondered.
“Yes, Duchamp! We will invite every band, composer, musician and singer in the galaxy.”
“But why would they come here, honorable president?”
“Because they woke up, Duchamp, for the first time in a long time. And I am sure that they would love to perform. They will accept the first invitation they receive. They will come here and they will love the festival. This festival will be very successful and will become an annual tradition here.”
“I’m happy you’re so optimistic, Honorable President,” Duchamp said, bewildered. “But what are you basing all this optimism on?”
“You’re barely eighty years old, Duchamp. You’ve never taken part in a music festival. I’ve been in quite a few such events and they are wonderful. People love music festivals. They will come here en-masse. I am certain of it.”
Chapter 40
Beginning
The reports flooded in.
Humanity had awoken.
“I spoke with my friends in the city. There has been an increase of over a thousand percent in orders. The city is going to make a lot of money from the awakening,” declared Guy.
“The entire galaxy’s economy is going to get a major push,” said Tom.
“Andre, I still don’t understand why you disconnected Bud from the machine before the end of the dream,” Maya turned to the youth sitting angrily beside the table.
Nola nodded. “Fortunately for you, she recovered fast enough to keep the guards from killing you.”
Andre erupted, “You don’t see it, Commander, because the Whole blinds and controls you. It doesn’t have any good intentions for the future of humanity.”
“Still looking for evil aliens to blame for everything,” groaned Maya.
“Really, Maya? Have you thought about the significance of the human entity being awoken by the Whole?” Andre asked her.
“Of course I have. Humankind will survive because of it.”
“Yes, and will be connected to the Whole for eternity!”
“So what, stupid? Would you prefer everyone dying to us being indebted to the Whole?”
Andre shook his head angrily, “I don’t mean contractually connected, but essentially connected. The Whole and Humanity will be one entity.”
“What are you talking about?” Maya was angry now too. “The Whole and Humanity are two separate entities.”
“The Whole and Humanity will remain in constant contact with one another. Together they will coordinate their steps forward,” Nola answered instead of Andre.
“Of course,” Maya agreed. “They can always converse through you.”
“No need anymore. They experienced Humanity’s nightmare together and woke up from it together. The two entities will remain connected forever.”
“So, Andre’s right? They’ve turned into one entity?”
“No,” answered Bud from the doorway. She walked toward Andre, “My early awakening prevented the merging of the two.”
“So, Andre was right? The Whole really intended to merge with Humanity?”
Bud waved her hand, dismissively, “Don’t make it sound like a negative thing.” She sat down beside Andre and patted him encouragingly on the shoulder.
“How is that not a negative thing?” Maya cried.
Bud looked at her in surprise, “Because both entities will benefit from it.”
Nola gently interrupted the conversation, “The Whole’s intention was good, but in any case, it was disrupted.”
Maya nodded slowly, “And you, Commander? Did you know of the Whole’s plans?”
“No,” Nola admitted. “I was also surprised, but I believe that it was all done with good intentions.”
“The whole planned to turn the human entity into a ‘non-human’ entity,” Maya was incensed. “Where exactly is the good intention?”
“Fine, but you have to admit that it could have been interesting if the Whole succeeded,” Ella tried to jest.
“How exactly does that seem interesting to you?” Maya raged.
“Because a connection between the two would create one healthy, strong entity. We would have the transmission and concentration power of the Whole with the thinking and imagination powers of Humanity. The sky would be the limit.”
Maya snorted disdainfully, “You’re not thinking straight, Ella, if they were
to merge, we would all be part of the Whole. There would be no more independent humans.”
“And how is that different from being part of a collective entity of humans?”
“The answer is within the question, Ella: humans! I don’t want to be part of a collective of insects.”
“Enough. The important question is — what happens now, what’s next?” Guy asked Nola.
Bud answered instead of Nola, “We’ll develop onwards, together. At least that is the Whole’s hope.”
“Develop?” asked Ella.
“Yes, we are not alone. There are other intelligent species in existence. We are the youngest on the block, so to speak. The elders have already moved onto the next stage of development.”
“Other species? But we never found evidence of the existence of intelligent species apart from us.”
Nola nodded. “Humans didn’t find any. But the Whole did. It caught glimpses here and there of other intelligent beings, but never managed to make contact with them.”
“Humanity knows them too,” said Bud. “Humanity calls them ‘the others’. She saw them but never managed to speak with them. The Whole believes that these beings are in the next developmental stage.”
“What does that mean, ‘the next stage’?” Ella demanded.
Bud was quiet, and Nola spoke instead. “We still don’t know for certain. According to the assessment of the Whole, all the species that have managed to develop a collective entity seem to continue to develop into a new kind of entity.”
“All the species? We have never seen so much as a sign of even another one.”
Tom interrupted, “This actually makes sense, Ella, don’t forget that we only occupy a small part of one tiny galaxy. Until now, we have visited a total of several hundred planets. A few hundred out of billions of billions of planets.”
Ella considered this for a long moment, then raised her cup in the air and smiled tiredly, “Okay, we’ll live and learn, no doubt that it will be fascinating to see what Humanity develops into, now that it’s awake.”
“What is the human entity waiting for?” asked Guy. “Why not reveal it to everyone now? After all, it could do so easily, to appear in human consciousness and establish itself in every mind as a fait accompli.”