by D. N. Leo
* * *
Factual:
Prince and Princess of the Red Castle.
Status: Sentenced to death by a thousand lightning bolts.
Execution date: Five thousand five hundred – twenty two – sixteen – sixth quarter.
Crime: Manipulating the Daimon Gate system for personal gain.
Preview: Y/N
Ciaran typed: Y
* * *
The prince and the princess had not yet been executed. There was still hope, Ciaran mused. He made a mental note of the execution date. He had to ask Tadgh to translate the date into something more sensible.
A stream of images flooded the screen. Ciaran washing onto the shore. The princess finding him, taking him home, and tending to his injuries. Being fed the inducer. Ciaran and Madeline in a subconscious state. The two of them sharing their vows and consummating their marriage. Leaving the Red Castle.
It was exactly as the prince had said. The system captured everything—the conscious and subconscious levels of every living thing inside the gate. Ciaran promised himself he would come back and rectify this death sentence now that he knew how.
* * *
The screen flashed: Download data: Y/N
Ciaran typed: N.
Then he typed in: Search Bran LeBlanc.
* * *
The computer flashed:
Factual:
Bran LeBlanc - Sciphil Three - King of Eudaiz.
Qualification: Pass Daimon Gate.
Black stage: Ten challenges, gatekeeper: Simon Bannon.
White stage: Five challenges, gatekeeper: Lucas Masr.
Red stage: Twenty challenges, consummated with Jennifer Wyse, gatekeeper: Martin Chinxz.
Preview: Y/N
* * *
Jennifer Wyse was his mother’s maiden name. Ciaran typed: N to decline the preview. Then he searched for Jennifer Wyse.
* * *
The computer flashed:
Factual:
Jennifer Wyse, now Jennifer LeBlanc - Hostess of the Daimon Gate.
Family status: Married to Conan LeBlanc, children: Ciaran LeBlanc and Tadgh LeBlanc.
Past marriage: Bran LeBlanc.
Past position: Sciphil Six.
Qualification: Pass Daimon Gate.
Black stage: Ten challenges, gatekeeper: Simon Bannon.
White stage: Five challenges, gatekeeper: Lucas Masr.
Red stage: Twenty challenges, consummated with Bran LeBlanc, gatekeeper: Martin Chinxz.
Preview: Y/N
* * *
His mother had gone through the gate at the same time, and she had married Bran. They must have divorced afterward, and then she resigned from her Sciphil Six position. That was plausible. If she was now the Hostess of Daimon Gate, Ciaran would see her soon. Ciaran typed: N to decline the preview. Then he searched for Madeline Kelley.
* * *
The computer flashed:
Factual:
Madeline Kelley, now Madeline LeBlanc.
Family status: Married to Ciaran LeBlanc, children: Son and daughter, not yet named.
Current position: Sciphil One - appointment in progress.
Qualification: Pass Daimon Gate.
Black stage: Five challenges, gatekeeper: Snitxc Mitchell.
White stage: Six challenges, gatekeeper: Laureen White.
Red stage: Zero challenges, consummated with Ciaran LeBlanc, gatekeepers: Lecal Brandon and Leciel Brandon.
Preview: Y/N
* * *
Ciaran could not withhold a smile—he was to have a son and a daughter with Madeline! Their consummation had conceived their children. They had twins. He was a father! How was this even possible? He didn’t know. He didn’t care. He was just happy.
The EYE was genius—it recorded everything, Ciaran thought. He could not resist a preview of this.
On the screen, Ciaran saw them making love at the Red Castle. Under the light of the eternal flame, she was beautiful. That moment was the most sensational experience he had ever experienced. They had made love before. Several times. But at the Red Castle, the experience was profound.
It was a rebirth of their love and lives together as soul mates.
On the screen, a line of text appeared: Transmutation rebirth. Children conceived.
Ciaran shook his head, astonished. The EYE must record information down to the level of the atom.
The screen flashed: Download data: Y/N.
Ciaran typed: N.
* * *
He glanced at the other screens. Billions of images flew by. The lives and events of everyone and everything that had ever occurred in the multiverse.
Ciaran recognized events on Earth. Some were as significant as world wars, and some were as minor as a spat between neighbors about whose dog had shit in whose yard. Ciaran was sure the EYE had recorded which dog had committed the crime. He wondered whether the people engaged in the argument over the dog’s business would ever be informed of the data.
On a bigger scale, the EYE must have recorded factual information behind all of the scandals and mysteries on Earth. If that were discovered, Ciaran was sure that it would change the history of humankind.
He looked at his left palm. All he had to do was to download the data for Bran by pressing his palm against the control panel. Would the capacity of the memory Bran had designed be large enough for this database? Ciaran didn’t think so.
He wagered Bran only wanted to establish the connection. Having access to this kind of information was equivalent to having the power of the creator of all things. Knowing everything that anyone had ever done in any world.
This was the power of God.
The computer continued to flash: Viewing will end in ten seconds. Download Data Y/N?
Ciaran pressed N again.
The room lit up. A door to the next room slid open. Ciaran walked into a reception room which was almost identical to the one at Mon Ciel.
Chapter 36
At the end of the long table sat a man Ciaran was not surprised to see—his father, Conan LeBlanc.
Ciaran approached slowly, calm and sure.
Conan gestured toward a chair.
Ciaran sat and gazed at his father.
“Congratulations for passing the Daimon Gate,” Conan said.
“Thank you,” Ciaran said dryly.
“Children conceived during the Red stage of the transmutation process are the best human beings. You should reward yourself and Madeline for that.”
“I believe in nurture, not nature. Our children will grow up within our care and protection. They will turn out the way they want to be, not the way we want them to be. And they do not have to be the best just because they were conceived in a spiritual space.”
“A man in your position has to bring his children up the right way—”
“Did you?” Ciaran cut him off. “For twenty years you let me believe you were dead. You left Tadgh and me scrambling to live up to your expectations. You let Mother struggle on her own with a brat like me when she’d have been better off to smother me as a baby.”
Ciaran hurled the entire tea set that sat on the table before him at the wall.
“You still don’t handle your rage well, Ciaran.”
“The fuck I don’t.”
“I’ve been watching over you and Tadgh.”
“Right, stalking us using your EYE system. Did you see how many times Tadgh almost died in the last few weeks? Did you see how many times we were attacked when we were off guard? And you just watched for entertainment?”
“I cannot interfere. I can only observe. There are rules.”
“A man in your position has to do the right thing, don’t you? You would do the right thing by your world, whatever it is, but not by your family, the world you created and abandoned in the blink of an eye.”
Ciaran shook his head. He wanted to laugh at the coincidence of the expression the blink of an eye, but he speculated it wouldn’t erupt as a laugh but a roar of anger. The rage threatened
to consume him, but he squelched it.
“Tell me if Mother is okay, and I’ll get out of your hair.”
“She is the Hostess here. She is quite well.”
Ciaran pushed up.
“Very well then. Goodbye, Father.” He walked toward the door.
“Do you think this is a familial matter?”
“What else could it be?”
“You passed the worthiness test. You could be the next Host of the Daimon Gate if you are interested.”
Ciaran cast a cold look at Conan. “Another fucking test? No, I don’t care, and I’m not interested.” He turned around again to leave.
“You’re not going to leave just like that, are you?”
“Trust me, you’ll want me to leave before I do a lot of damage to this place.”
“More than that broken tea set?”
Ciaran gave his father a blank stare. “If you have anything else to say to complete this formality, please do it quickly, Host of the Daimon Gate.”
“Don’t you even want to see your mother?”
“You said she’s well. That’s good enough.”
“So you trust me?”
“No. But Mother stuck by you for that long, so I figure she must love you. If she’s happy, that’s good enough for me.”
Conan nodded. “You’re a greater man that you give yourself credit for, Ciaran. You’ve seen the power of the EYE, you had full access, and yet you did not download the data.”
“I don’t have a use for the data. And I hope a man in your position would do the right thing, too.”
Conan nodded. “You don’t need the data for personal use. But if you are the King-to-be of Eudaiz, it will prove to be very beneficial to you. Why didn’t you take it?”
“That’s my decision and none of your business.”
“If someone wants to steal the data from the EYE, that is my business. Anything that happens inside this gate is my business.”
“I didn’t take the data. What else do you want me to say?”
“Conspiracy to steal is the same crime as actually stealing it. Within this gate, the penalty is death by a thousand lightning bolts.”
“I don’t see how this is relevant. I’m not taking anything. Consider this conversation finished.”
“If I asked you to press your left palm against a detective panel, would I find anything?”
Silence.
“Why are you protecting him, Ciaran?”
“I’ll talk him out of this.”
Conan laughed. “You’re too confident, Ciaran. Bran has been plotting this for more than thirty years, and you think you can talk him out of it?”
“If you knew, why didn’t you stop him?”
“The oblivion is a black hole. We don’t have access although it is a part of the gate and within my jurisdiction. We’ve been waiting for him to come out for a long time. Now he’s back inside the gate. I will take him before he exits.”
“I’m not helping you to get Bran.”
“You don’t have to do anything. Just stay here. I’ll send someone to get him. When we detect the device is from him, that’s will be the end of him.”
Ciaran shook his head and said nothing. He shifted his sore shoulder. “What if you don’t find anything on Bran?”
Conan was in the process of calling his people. He stopped. “Then I’ll have to let him go. But an operation like this is quite major. He is the current King of Eudaiz. Our council will question my conduct, and I will have to resign. I know he’s guilty. But if it is God’s will that he passes this time, then so be it.”
“What do you mean by this time?”
The door to the room flung wide open.
Jennifer sauntered in, more beautiful than ever. She wore a long white robe, and her face was radiant. Her eyes warmed at the sight of Ciaran.
Ciaran stood up. “You look well, Mother.”
“And you look terrible, Son. I know that passing the Daimon Gate for the first time is very taxing. But it shouldn’t have put you in such poor condition. Is that why you locked me up? So I would miss his visit, Conan?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Conan said.
“Oh, well, maybe it was just a bad luck then. I see that Bran is waiting at the exit. Would you let him go, darling? Ciaran, stay for tea with me, will you?”
“Mother.”
Conan continued to call people. He puzzled at the panel.
“I sent them on some tasks, and they’re busy right now. Do you need the troop for anything in particular? There is no fight simulation on at the moment,” Jennifer said.
Conan cleared his throat. “No, that’s fine.” He glanced at Ciaran.
“I sent my secretary to the exit to tell Bran and his people not to wait as Ciaran will stay for tea.”
“Jennifer,” Conan lowered his voice.
“They should have gotten the message by now . . .”
Conan rushed toward the monitor, and Jennifer grabbed him.
“It’s too late. Conan. Let Bran go.”
Conan grabbed Jennifer’s shoulders as if he were about to shake her. Ciaran snatched Conan and threw him against a wall. Ciaran stood in front of his mother.
Conan straightened up and let out a discerning chuckle. “Right. Mother and son team up. Like I don’t know what I’m doing here? I’m useless. I’m just so useless.”
“Why can’t you let it go, Conan?” Jennifer asked. “Everything will be fine.”
She approached Conan. Tears rolled down her face. It was the first time Ciaran had seen his mother cry. Conan wiped the tears from her face.
“I’ll resign. We’ll leave here,” Conan said.
Jennifer nodded. Conan held his wife tightly in his arms.
“Let’s leave. Forget about all this,” he whispered.
“Can you at least tell me what’s going on here?” Ciaran asked.
The monitor made a verbal announcement. “Bran LeBlanc requesting a call.”
Conan pointed at the monitor. “You see, he’s the one who’s not letting go. I’ll have to call this in. I have to catch him.”
“What did he do?” Ciaran asked.
“Don’t tell him, Conan. It won’t help.”
“He tested weapons on small stars in remote galaxies and killed billions of residents. Do you expect me to see billions of people killed and ignore it just because it was outside of my jurisdiction?” Conan snarled.
“It’s not just outside of your jurisdiction. There’s a death penalty for interfering with any affairs outside the gate. You don’t even have soldiers. Bran is a powerful man. You have nothing but your good intentions, and those won’t be able to to save you.”
“How can I be a righteous man, a virtuous gatekeeper, if I ignore this opportunity to do the right thing by billions of innocents? Is that the sort of man you want to be with, Jennifer?”
Jennifer cried out. “I don’t want a saint. I am only a wife. I need a husband, and our children need a father.”
“Child. Not children, Jennifer.”
Conan punched the wall after these words slipped out of his mouth.
Chapter 37
After punching the wall, Conan turned back and approached Jennifer. She backed away.
“Don’t come near me,” she said.
Ciaran pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Mother.”
He looked at Conan. A searing pain raised in his heart. Whatever had happened between them, he still saw Conan as his father.
Ciaran remembered the data reported his mother’s ex-marriage to Bran. That meant he was Bran’s son. He looked at Conan. “I’m not yours then? I assume your jealousy plays a role in this attempt to arrest Bran?” Ciaran spoke to Conan.
Conan slumped into a chair and said nothing.
It was strange. His mother pulled him into her arms and held on as if she wanted to savor the moment for as long as she could. She kissed his cheek and his forehead. Then she released him. What was she trying to do? Ciaran
thought.
“Regardless of how bad of a man Bran is, you love him because he is your little brother, Conan,” Jennifer said.
Conan nodded and put his head in his hands. “I’m sorry, darling.”
“Don’t be,” she continued. “The only way to end Bran is to illegitimize his qualification for the Daimon Gate or expose his attempt to steal the data from the EYE. The second solution is dangerous because if you can’t expose him, your head will be on the chopping block. On those grounds, I will not let either of you go near Bran.”
“If he walks out the gate this time, all those people he killed will never have justice. I’ll not have another chance at this. We have to get him now, inside the gate,” Conan said.
“You are not getting him with the data. I won’t risk you or Ciaran doing that.”
“I’m not a crystal vase, Mother.”
Jennifer glanced at Ciaran. He turned on his heels and sat down at the table.
“I’ll get him with the qualification. He cheated at the Red stage. If I can provide evidence of that, he will be disqualified from his kingship. While he’s still inside the gate, the penalty for manipulating the system for personal gain is death by a thousand lightning bolts. With his kingship disqualified, he will be ended at the source in Eudaiz, too. If you both want him to go down that way, I’m happy to assist,” Jennifer said dryly.
Both Ciaran and Conan gave Jennifer blank stares.
“What evidence?” Ciaran asked.
“The EYE’s data cannot be manipulated,” Conan said.
“You underestimate your brother. Your training to be the Daimon Gate Host was a secret to the multiverse, but not to Bran. He knew I wanted to pay you a visit and I missed you, but I couldn’t tell anyone. Bran told me he could lobby for me to go through the gate as Sciphil Six’s successor. It was just a play. Then I could go in and out of the gate to visit you. I was stupid enough to believe him.”
Conan stood up. Jennifer gestured him not to approach her.
“Bran was going through the qualifying process as the King-to-be of Eudaiz. He trained me so that I could go through the gate with him. We went through the gate and passed all the stages, and at the Red stage, he forced me to consummate.”