by LEMPEREUR
Charlie had lost count of the innumerable steps he had taken since entering the tunnel. After the episode with the symbols, nothing had broken the monotony of the seemingly endless path. The silence was such that the noise of his footsteps echoed more and more loudly and he could now hear the noise of the water trickling down the walls quite clearly. Although he remained confident, doubt was starting to niggle at him. He seemed to have been walking for hours in this dark tunnel, and still could not see the end of it. Fatigue began to overwhelm him, so that he tripped and ended up flat on his face on the sodden floor. Slightly stunned, he tried to get up, but lacked the strength. He laid his head down gently on the carpet of damp lichen and began to think, with his eyes closed. He told himself that maybe this way he could make contact with Jacques again, since the first time it had happened while he slept. But nothing came. He tried using the neural probe to call him. He thought he had succeeded, but had no way of knowing if he really had, as no one responded.
Charlie was now lost in thought. Neither the sound of the water, nor the noise of his footsteps came to break the leaden silence which reigned. However, he did not really sleep, despite his intense feeling of weariness and fatigue. Time passed by but there was no way of measuring it. In the distance, the two little phosphorescent blue beads reappeared and quickly drew nearer to Charlie, who had just opened his eyes again. The little animal sat down on its haunches next to him and stared at him.
“Who are you?” Charlie asked, without moving.
“Never mind who I am! Can’t you see you’re going around in circles?”
Charlie, surprised, did not know what to say. What the little creature said was true, nonetheless. It had been a long while that nothing was happening anymore. Come to think of it, had anything at all happened since the beginning?
“Where is Victor in all this?”
It was right. Where was Victor in this never-ending dream? After all, most of the elements making up the adventures he had just been through stemmed from his own existence, his own little world. Nothing seemed to have come from Victor’s mind, although that was what he was meant to be exploring. Or maybe there was something. One detail could have come from Victor’s mind; it was what he thought he had identified as a map of the base. But he could not be sure if even that was not merely a figment of his own imagination.
Just as Charlie opened his mouth to reply, the mouse ran away, in the opposite direction, as if it wanted him to know he needed to go back the way he had come. He got up quickly and started to run as fast as he could to catch it up. His feet were hardly touching the ground, as if he were flying several centimeters above the lichen-covered rocks.
16 THE OLD MAN
A few seconds later he caught sight of the exit at last. Back in the kitchen, a very elderly gentleman, looking quite elegant, although slightly out of place, was sitting where Charlie had been seated earlier. The old man was busily drinking a cup of tea, which smelt tantalizingly of bergamot. Charlie enjoyed tea very much, and his mad run had left him thirsty.
“Hello, Charlie. Please, sit down. You must be rather tired after all these adventures, aren’t you?”
“You know my name?”
“Of course! How could I not?”
His face and hair were of a very pale gray, which contrasted sharply with his deep black eyes. He was dressed like an English lord and his clothes failed to completely disguise the thinness of his emaciated limbs. Charlie moved toward him slightly hesitantly and took a seat opposite him where a chair and a cup awaited him.
“Unless I’m mistaken, you are rather keen on bergamot. Did you know that its calming qualities have been known and used since the dawn of the age? It’s also a powerful mutagenic agent, but don’t worry, this tea will not harm you.”
“Well, actually, I did know it was a relaxant. In fact, that’s why I enjoy it’s subtle but powerful flavor. Smells sometimes have surprising effects on our emotional state. But as for its mutagenic properties, I must say that I was unaware of them, Mr…? By the way, who do I have the honor of speaking to?”
As he said the words, Charlie could not help wondering if he himself was the author of this surprising statement, which he didn’t think he had known previously. Was this the fruit of his fertile and inventive imagination again, or was something new really taking place?
“You know already! You are the one who came here to meet me, aren’t you? So why ask me the question?”
“Victor?” replied Charlie, his voice trembling.
“Relax, my boy! We have plenty of time for getting to know one another. Oh! I also have some biscuits. I think these are your favorite kind. At least, it’s a memory that often comes back to you.”
Charlie helped himself from the tin that Victor proffered him. His hand shook and a vague anxiety was slowly taking hold of his whole body.
“Can you read my thoughts?”
“But of course I can! We are connected to each other, remember? You should know that better than I.”
“That’s odd, because you seem to be perfectly in control of the whole business, whereas I have been totally confused ever since I entered your mind. About that: do you resent the fact that I have intruded here without asking your opinion? You know, to be honest, no one really asked mine either.”
“Yes, I thought as much. Actually, that is why you can see me here, sitting opposite you. Your colleagues, who attempted to intrude here before you, did not have that opportunity.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, I’m no criminal, but let’s just say that I let them lose themselves in the meanderings of their own minds – just as I have done with you until now.”
“You mean that all I’ve seen so far came from my own mind; my own memories?”
“Practically, yes. Apart from a few details.”
“What proof do I have that what you’re telling me isn’t another product of my own mind? After all, my brother could very well be having some tea back there, and I could just be imagining that I’m doing the same with you. It already happened once, when I thought I was having a bowl of soup in this very kitchen. As you pointed out earlier, smells sometimes have a surprising effect on our emotions, so why not on our dreams?”
“But you’re not dreaming, Charlie. No more than you are in a dream of mine.”
“And yet, that’s what I was told would happen. I was to stay in your dreams and access some of your memories in order to know you better.”
“I should ask you why you seek to know me and how you managed to find this secret hibernation base. But you see, I know almost everything already, thanks to the information you and your colleagues have served me on a platter in coming here. Your little human brains are like a great open book to me. I can dip into a great variety of memories at my leisure and eventually build myself quite a clear picture of who you are and what you have been through.”
“In that case, you know Jacques, I suppose.”
“Your brother.”
Now, more than ever, Charlie felt trapped in a world where the absolute dictator was this being who had nothing human about him apart from his appearance and whose intentions were at the very least unclear. Just who was he, and what did he expect of Charlie, now that he already knew everything about him without even needing to ask? He was beginning to think Francisco and his team had been well and truly mistaken in sending him here. He would probably emerge from the experience – if he managed to escape – as a meager sponge, which has been squeezed dry of its last drop, without a single trace of what he had been through in this pool of neurons, just like those who had tried before him.”
“What do you want from me?” he asked, after a brief silence.
The old man hesitated a moment, swallowing a last mouthful of tea, then he looked up and replied calmly.
“I need you, Charlie. You have to help me.”
“How can I?”
“We will see each other again in time, but for now I think it’s time for you to continue your jou
rney. In the next room there are three red doors. One of them is partially open. You will be the first to enter. I hope I’m not wrong about you. I have faith you.”
Charlie got up and shot a last glance at the old man; a look that betrayed his apprehension.
“Don’t worry, Charlie. You’re not alone anymore.”
17 THE CITY
There were clouds in the sky that day. Charlie was lying on the grass, enjoying the first rays of spring sunshine that warmed his skin, although the light breeze was still a little cool for the season. He had just opened his eyes, no doubt emerging from one of those long, refreshing naps he enjoyed so much. His arms were crossed behind his head, and his back cushioned by the grassy carpet as he enjoyed watching the clouds moving along as he lay still; they travelled slowly, leaving here and there the occasional patch of blue sky.
As he turned his head slightly to follow a small flock of birds flying by, his eyes stopped short in their trajectory and widened with fear. His arm looked huge; it was also pale gray, extraordinarily muscled and slightly shiny. Terrified, he leaped to his feet and looked all around him, searching for something familiar. Everything – absolutely all that he could see – was foreign to him, beginning with his own body. It occurred to him that he was still inside Victor’s mind. He had just taken up residence inside this gigantic body, lost in the middle of a world he knew absolutely nothing about. He then remembered the old man’s last words, before he went through the door that was to give him access to one of Victor’s memories. Whatever happened, he was not alone, and most importantly of all, he had to place himself in the position of an observer of this new type of spectacle. What was about to happen must have already been written. Logically, his presence should not change anything in the course of ancient events that were deeply rooted in Victor’s memory. At least, so he thought at that point in time.
A few meters away, Charlie could see two giants, deep in conversation, who were coming toward him. The clothing they wore was made of a strange material. It was more like a sort of supple, metallic veil that was perfectly adapted to the shape of their bodies, than actual clothes. Through this light, finely woven veil, he could see gray skin, like Victor’s. They did not seem to notice his presence, but that did not prevent him from experiencing rising apprehension. He began to look around for a possible escape route. Just then he noticed at his feet a small rodent, of a kind unknown to him, but which looked vaguely similar to a mouse. Its skin seemed to be covered with thick, greenish leather, with no fur to speak of. The animal turned its little black eyes in his direction, obviously trying to capture his attention.
“Don’t move!” it said in a small voice. “They can’t see you. Remember that you’re here as an outside observer. Try to interfere as little as possible with what you are here to see.”
Charlie did not have time to answer. The rodent had already disappeared into a little burrow, dug in the thick lawn carpeting the ground.
The two giants were now less than a meter away. Charlie’s heart began to beat rapidly but he contained himself and remained perfectly still. Oddly, their language seemed familiar to him, so familiar that he understood all that was being said without making the slightest effort. It was not his native language, however, or even a language he had heard before.
One of them was slightly smaller and seemed older than the other. Apart from that, they were very alike. Their faces were similar in every way to that of a man. Only their thick skin and gigantic size differentiated them from the human race. They were soon so close that Charlie could feel the air shifting with their movements. He noticed then that the air was suddenly hotter, as if their bodies or clothing gave off a large amount of heat, much more than that of a man. The situation was all the more incongruous as he was completely naked, standing only a few centimeters from them. But already the pressure was lifting: the two giants were slowly moving away, continuing their conversation as they went. Relieved, Charlie realized that what the rodent had said was true. This made him think of the episode in the tunnel. There, too, he had encountered a mysterious mouse. What it had told him then had restored his confidence and gotten him back on track.
Who was that mouse? Was it the result of an outside influence or simply a figment of his imagination; the materialization of a part of his own consciousness; some sort of unforeseen intuition that would impress itself upon him? Many such questions were hanging over him and Charlie knew that he would undoubtedly have to find answers to them one day. But for now, he needed to follow his instinct and take the advice he had received once again in an unexpected manner.
He decided to follow the two men, keeping a reasonable distance behind them. To start with, he walked about two meters behind, trying as best he could to listen to their conversation, but although he was effectively invisible to their eyes; he had the impression that they could hear the sound of his steps on the gravel path. Several times, the elder one turned around, looking surprised and suspicious. Seeing nothing unusual, he carried on his way. Charlie decided prudently to hang back further and walk as quietly as possible on the grass beside the path, rather than on the fine gravel which had nearly given him away a few seconds earlier.
“The Council has expressed doubt as to the completion date of the third and last settlement vessel. They have said that if the delay is confirmed, it will undoubtedly be impossible for them to guarantee a place on board for everyone.”
“What will happen to those with no place?”
“From what I understand, the technicians are currently fitting out ancient sub-marine caverns in the region around Xantra. The most optimistic predictions say that all regions above sea-level will be destroyed by the impact. They think that these caverns could serve as survival shelters for all those who will not be able to leave in time.”
“What guarantee do we have that these caves will withstand such a deluge of fire?”
“Their exact location is being kept secret for now, but it would seem that they are deeply buried under hundreds of meters of rock and water. According to the experts, that should be enough to protect them from the impact, but my brother, who works on one of the bases, told me that they don’t yet know how they will go about retrieving the survivors. If there are any!”
“How could they retrieve them? They’d have to wait an eternity. According to the specialists, the planet will be turned into a veritable furnace for decades. Then there will be dust, toxic gases and polar temperatures for centuries. Any attempt to save them would be impossible for a very long time.”
“My brother told me about new hibernation technology, which is much more sophisticated than what we use on board our vessels. It could pave the way for a type of unlimited artificial sleep, during which vital functions and all the body’s cells are preserved.”
“I thought that hibernation could not exceed fifty years with the current technology.”
“I thought so too, but according to him, this new technology they are about to implement could change things. If it works, it could be possible to retrieve the survivors hundreds or even thousands of years after the beginning of their hibernation.”
“How will we know if they’ve survived the cataclysm or if the hibernation process hasn’t killed them?”
“The bases will be equipped with very low frequency electromagnetic transponders. Their far-reaching electromagnetic waves will provide very precise information about the physiological state of the survivors. Thousands of fully autonomous mini weather stations have also been placed all over the planet. They are all linked to transponders which will transmit data to the different hibernation bases. They already know that most of these weather stations will be destroyed directly or indirectly as a result of the impact, but some of them should last. At least, that’s what we have to hope.”
“It seems to me that we are regrettably preparing to abandon a whole section of our population to almost certain death. This all sounds like a huge deception that is meant to make the pill easier to swallow for those wh
o will be sacrificed, and make the others feel less guilty.”
“No! Listen, I could be tempted to think so too, if my brother wasn’t involved in the whole business. He has worked personally on setting up the project. I can even say that he has dedicated a large part of his life to it. He has never lied to me, at least, not about important matters.”
“Maybe he’s let himself be deceived, too. He definitely believes sincerely in the project.”
“My brother is anything but naïve. He knows perfectly well what scientific and political stakes are involved in this project. He’s an exceptionally intelligent man. When we were young, he never had to learn his lessons. It was as if he just knew everything, without having to make the slightest effort. As for me, on the other hand, I had to try harder and harder to get my grades up above the average. He was different. Everything was easy for him, and on the rare occasion when I thought he’d made a mistake, I found out I was the one who was wrong. It was simply because he had noticed subtleties that were imperceptible to others. What seemed obvious to mere mortal eyes therefore became a heresy, a flawed theory, which he had rejected even before we had started to consider it. And that’s not all! … I called him yesterday and he told me he’s made the decision to volunteer for hibernation.”
The giant’s expression suddenly clouded; his black eyes gazed into space for a moment, while his companion looked on, in sympathy. He seemed to want to observe a brief moment of silence to give his friend the time to gain control over his obviously strong emotions.
“Do you think it’s too late to talk him out of it?”
“Actually, I’m going to stay, too.”