by Brandt Legg
Drast too rose to unimagined heights, climbing quickly through the ranks of the AOI, so that by the time of Bull’s assassination, Drast had been made Pacyfik Head and was able to protect Chelle, but not their wealth. Just as he had erased their connection from their college days, Drast could only save Chelle by making sure she was severed from all Bull’s files, accounts, and data. Her sense of purpose and anger intensified as she became completely immersed in the revolution and took on more and more at PAWN. Drast did his best to reduce the level of her security risk and used his influence to keep her far lower on watch lists than she otherwise would have been.
Drast had become so good at keeping them all under the radar that when the AOI Chief finally caught onto him, his arrest came as a great shock. Although he had prepared well for such an eventuality, he didn’t expect it. Even the day before they came for him, he’d been working on the agenda he would implement once elected World Premier. He seemed to have the confidence of Lance Miner right up to the end, and was only months away from “ruling the world” when the shock of his disappearance had disrupted the entire revolution. Among the few that knew the events were related, some suspected Blaise Cortez had been the one to discover Drast’s duplicity and gave evidence to the AOI Chief. Chelle always believed it had been their own mistake, thinking something must have slipped through during the Doneharvest that gave them away.
“And what of Polis’s destiny?” Chelle continued her questions to Nelson. A gray fox sauntered across the trail twenty meters ahead of them, checking out the strange people not usually found in this part of the forest. It studied them for so long that Chelle worried it might be a monitoring-mimic-drone.
“He has had the heaviest load to bear,” Nelson said. “It is not easy to live a double life, and at the levels of power he was dealing with . . .”
“Life and death, every day,” Chelle said, thinking back on their once grand plans and how close they’d come.
Just before the Doneharvest, they were weeks from bringing the revolution into the open. The books were the catalyst, and once safe the rebellion would explode with its own momentum. Some of the rebels, including Chelle, acted recklessly in those heady days of all-or-nothing stakes. They had underestimated the AOI’s response, believing that Drast would be able to temper any push-back from his high office. But the AOI Chief acted outside the normal bounds of established agency protocol and made unexpected unilateral decisions. She was a tough woman who trusted her instincts more than any INU or DesTIn-generated report. At the time it was unlikely she had reason to distrust Drast, but she might simply have thought him not up to the monumental task of putting down the first major uprising in the world-nation’s seventy-five years.
The Doneharvest had been brutal, without regard for public opinion or consequences. The AOI had crushed every flicker of discontent. They burned and killed and took few prisoners. They were fully authorized by the A-Council to overstep and encouraged to err on the side of abuse of power. It got even worse after Drast’s arrest a year into the devastation, and no one seemed sure if he was still alive. The official story was he’d been killed in the line of duty, but Deuce and PAWN had separately verified that he’d actually been arrested. Beyond that, the stories ranged from execution to imprisonment, but no one could get a straight story.
Chelle had spent the intervening two years searching for answers to what happened to the man she loved. She’d lost Bull and Runit and clung to hope that the only other man she’d ever shared her bed with would be found alive. If so, she’d find a way to free him. It seemed that searching was all she did, but not just for Drast.
Grandyn was another mystery of the Doneharvest, and then there were Runit’s books. Suddenly everyone wanted them. Deuce and Miner both had competing teams searching, as did PAWN, and it was unclear if the AOI, which had reportedly discovered and destroyed the books, was still looking for more. The AOI burn had happened under Drast’s watch, so there was a question of how many, if any, were actually destroyed.
“We have to find Grandyn. It’s all going to happen soon, and I don’t want him out there alone when the blood starts spilling,” Chelle said. “You’ve got to talk to Deuce.”
“I’m sure he’s had people searching.”
“Screw searching. Tell him to find him.”
“Deuce doesn’t operate quite as freely as he once did.”
“I know that, but the man has satellites. He can find my missing bracelet from thirty thousand meters above the earth, he can find a lost TreeRunner.”
Nelson hadn’t told her about everything he’d learned from the year he’d spent with Cope Lipton, but Cope had shared more than just existential knowledge and mystical wisdom. Nelson had gleaned things from the prophecies which made it clear that they needed Grandyn for much more than to keep him safe. They needed him to win the revolution.
Chapter 13 - Book 2
Grandyn took a deep breath. He’d needed to do what he was about to do for a while, but with each passing day, with the urgency of the gathering tensions and the desperate searches, it became harder for him to even think about doing it. At the same time, every day, it became more necessary. Sitting in an empty bedroom of a rundown house on a secluded street, he pushed the button.
The zoom connected in audio-only mode. Infinite-encryption worked on video as well, but Grandyn liked to be what he called “drastically cautious.” He’d learned to manage paranoia as an asset. Grandyn didn’t speak at first. Hearing Nelson’s voice, after so long, reminded him of all that he’d lost. Worn-out words of his dad’s floated into his memory, like every time he’d quote dead authors to make his point. Grandyn smiled and almost laughed.
Finally, just as Nelson was about to give up, he spoke. “Nelson, it’s me.”
Now it was Nelson’s turn at silence, and then he almost whispered, “Is it true?”
“I’ve been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library,” Grandyn said.
“It is you!” Nelson exclaimed, recognizing the line from The Great Gatsby. “Shoot, Grandyn, it’s good to hear from you. I’ve been half afraid you’d followed your dad.”
“I can’t say I haven’t thought about it a thousand times. If I knew my parents existed somewhere beyond this world, and if I could get there, I would happily leave this lie we call life. But I don’t know either of those things, so all that’s left is for me is tearing down the Aylantik facades and to find those maggots responsible. And I will find them, and then I’m going to kill them.” Grandyn surprised himself. He usually tried for more control, but Nelson was perhaps the one person on earth who knew him so well that their history was a shared one. They spoke the same memories.
“Isn’t it funny? You want to make them pay and they have all the riches that have ever been,” Nelson said as he sat in the back of a LEV van, one of many PAWN had outfitted to move key members around.
“They’ll pay with more than gold.”
“I live for that day,” Nelson said excitedly, but then softened his tone. “Listen to me, Grandyn. I believe your folks do exist in another dimension, and I also think it is possible to reach it.”
“O-kay,” Grandyn said slowly.
“I know I sound crazy, but I’m writing a book about it. About an amazing mystic I spent a year with. You wouldn’t believe what this guy showed me! And now I’m with Munna. I’m writing about her too. You’ve got to see all this.”
Grandyn knew Nelson to be “out there,” always searching for a hidden truth, always pushing for possibilities, but he didn’t need another distraction, especially one that sounded like a fairy tale. “I’d love to hear more about it sometime, but I’m more concerned with the Aylantik right now. Even if what you say is true, they won’t allow those topics to be explored, let alone published.”
“You’re right about that. They’ve done so much damage, far beyond their mass killings. It’s like Munna says. If they’d only put all the energy and resources they’ve used to co
ntrol and retain power into studying the mind and the possibilities of its connection to the universe, we’d all be our own wildest dreams.”
Grandyn had no time for metaphysical or philosophical discussions and quickly changed the subject. “The TreeRunners have been victims of the mass killings. The AOI is trying to exterminate us, and they’re getting damned close to doing it.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“It’s my fault.”
“That’s not true.”
“Oh, it is so beyond true.”
“Where are you? We’re in Idaho Area. It’s safe here. Can you come?” Nelson asked. He battled his worry for Grandyn every day, along with drink and other destructive habits, but Nelson had long been infatuated with worry. His writer’s mind played life like a chess match, always seeing many moves ahead. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too. But traveling isn’t easy these days, as you know.”
“I can arrange it,” Nelson said. “Chelle is here. After two years of making sure we were not in the same place, she has come.”
“Why? It’s too dangerous. Especially this close to the Exchange.”
The “Exchange” was the code word for the second start of the revolution. It had actually begun back when the books were taken from the last library, but the AOI had successfully initiated the Doneharvest, which wiped out enough of PAWN’s infrastructure and membership to halt the revolution before it could even really begin. After three years of learning how to endure during the Doneharvest era though, they had built a coalition of Creatives, Rejectionists, TreeRunners, and others, ready to go again. Another big difference this time was that they had secured the full support and financial backing of Deuce Lipton.
“She needed to see Munna in person. They’ve never really gotten along. I mean, they respect each other, but . . . well, it’s a long story. But my relationship with Munna is helping.”
“To tell you the truth, Parker isn’t a big fan of Chelle either,” Grandyn said, speaking of the woman who headed the TreeRunners. “But she and Chelle are actually a lot alike. Strong women leading male-dominated groups. They’ve each got great strategic minds and‒‒”
“They both lost their husbands to the cause,” Nelson finished.
“Yeah,” Grandyn said, thinking of his dad and how much he had loved Chelle. “How is she?”
“Actually this is all taking its toll on her. It would do her good to see you. The connection to your dad and all.”
“It’s not a great time.”
“Shoot, it’s the best time. You’re the most important TreeRunner, and you could help smooth things out with Chelle and Parker. You could meet Munna. I sure could use your company right now, and I want to show you what I’m working on.”
“I really can’t.”
“There’s something else Grandyn. Your dad left some unfinished work, and you and I are the only ones who can complete it. You know what I’m talking about?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you know it could make the difference in the revolution . . . decide who wins. Us or the AOI.”
“If you’re talking about Dad’s ‘missing eight works,’ I can hardly see how they matter anymore.”
“Oh they matter, Grandyn. Your dad died for those works, but there’s even more. Those books hold secrets you can’t believe.”
“I heard the AOI intercepted the books when PAWN was moving them and they were destroyed.”
“No. They have all survived. They’re scattered, but the books still exist.”
Grandyn felt weak and sighed deeply. His father’s books had survived. It was hard to believe. “Are you sure?”
“Grandyn, I am certain. We’re working on finding them now, but I need your help. Nothing you’re doing out there is more important than what we need to find in those books. Your mother and father began this . . . let’s you and I finish it.”
“I don’t know. It’s hard‒‒”
“Grandyn, they are hunting you. They aren’t going to lock you up, they will kill you on sight. Last time you were captured, there were powerful people in position to help you. We don’t have that advantage now. Shoot, I don’t even know how you’ve kept alive this long.”
Grandyn heard Nelson exhale and could almost see the smoke. Hardly anyone smoked, cigarettes were not even manufactured anymore, but a few private farms sold a similar tobacco product called “bacs” that was without a filter, longer, and thinner than the old-fashioned kind. Nelson had smoked them for decades. One of Grandyn’s earliest memories was playing with the ashes.
“You’re still smoking? How are you still alive?”
“I’m serious, Grandyn. How have you eluded the AOI and PAWN all these years?”
“You might say I have some powerful friends of my own.”
“You must. I’ve twice mourned your death only to find out weeks later that the reports were mistaken.”
Grandyn glanced out the shade of the bedroom as he heard a drone fly close by. “Sadly, those were friends of mine. Other TreeRunners murdered for my crimes.”
“Torgon that! Crimes cannot be committed against laws that are unjust. Do you recall what Thomas Jefferson said? ‘If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.’ Gandhi agreed. ‘An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.’ We’re on the right side here.” His voice riled. Grandyn could picture Nelson’s blurry eyes come clear like they did whenever he made a point he was passionate about. He loved Nelson and his crazy abandoned lust in his their over-regimented world.
“And I agree, but since you brought up Gandhi, he also said, ‘The law of nonviolence says that violence should be resisted not by counter-violence, but by nonviolence. This I do by breaking the law and by peacefully submitting to arrest and imprisonment.’ We’re on the verge of embarking on a planet-wide revolution. It is certain to be violent, and bloody. So be careful whom you quote, Nelson. Next thing you’ll be saying is ‘God is on our side.’ How many wars have started that way?”
“I’m with you. I spent a year with a man who preached non-violence ad nauseum. And try bringing up war to Munna.”
“Have you discovered yet how she’s lived so long? Amazing.”
“She sure is, and I’m not sure even she knows, but it’s got something to do with increasing our mind capacity to comprehend beyond our senses,” Nelson said as an AOI patrol LEV went by a bit too slowly. “And that’s the thing. Aylantik has hijacked the world and we have to get it back. We all have different reasons for wanting them out of power, and mine have changed a lot over the years, but the bottom line is we’re on the wrong track.”
Grandyn did miss Nelson and their conversations, and he believed getting together with Munna, Chelle, and Nelson on the eve of the Exchange could be very important for the revolution. Another drone fly-over. This time there were five, which meant they were AOI. They always flew in multiples of five.
“I wonder if I could get Parker to come with me.”
“She will if Deuce tells her to,” Nelson said, excited that Grandyn was considering it. “Deuce was a TreeRunner.”
“Seriously? Wow,” Grandyn said. “How come the AOI hasn’t killed him yet?”
“Well, there are many answers to that question. But, like you, he entered the TreeRunners at age five, and his wealthy parents didn’t want him getting favorable treatment so they put him in under a fake identity. No small trick, but . . .” He paused to listen as he heard voices nearby. “It was deeper than that. I’ve learned a lot about his family over the past few years, and they knew.”
“Knew what?”
“About all this. Even about your dad.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There were prophecies. Grandyn, we have to get to the books. You and I are the only ones who have a chance to uncover their meaning.”
“The revolution is coming. We don’t have time for old predictions.”
“It’s all connected.
We can’t win without the books, Grandyn. It’s always been about the wisdom in the books. Your dad didn’t die in vain, he died for the only thing that really matters . . . the great secrets that have been hidden from humanity.”
Chapter 14 - Book 2
Miner received word of the escalation in the Amazon Area. It felt like the nightmares that had haunted him most of his life were coming true. War . . . how could he stop it?
“The AOI thinks they have him,” Miner told Sarlo. “The commander is working on a ‘dead or alive’ order.”
“What is this, the wild west?”
“We must get to him first.”
“Why?”
“He can find the prophecies.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Because they are still hiding books, and because they are protecting him, and because his father was the last librarian. He grew up in that library . . . He knows.”
“I don’t want to sound pessimistic.”
“Really? Why should today be any different?”
“Sorry if being the voice of reason is a detriment.”
“Say what you were going to say,” Miner said, almost smiling.
“That all sounds a bit circumstantial.”
“Maybe, but there is something else. The Imp said that the prophecies contain a passage about the prophecies themselves. About their being discovered in this time. Damn it, they are going to be found, and we have to be the ones in control of that.” He rubbed his 1988 silver dollar. It always made him feel connected to the power his family had held for more than a century. “It has to be Nelson Wright, Grandyn Happerman, or Deuce Lipton who get to them. Obviously Deuce isn’t going to help me, and we’ve got people looking for Wright, but it’s urgent with Grandyn because the AOI wants him dead.”