“Don’t go over there, Josh. Look…”
The individual memory slots began to fuse together, creating a spiral of green-and-yellow gas. Noila was pointing at the new formation happening behind the altar but couldn’t speak. She drifted through the stalactite that had pierced her and went to Margie. She knelt beside her and stroked her face, her mouth offering soothing words. Margie, shaking, reached for Noila, but her hands passed through her. “Why’s your mother paying attention to her?” Gavin said. “Joshua, take your memories. Your mom will care for Margie.”
“You don’t get it, Dad. If Margie dies, a piece of me dies.”
Gavin shook his head. “You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. When she feels pain, I feel pain.” Joshua leapt from the top of the altar. The Craminings caught a piece of his leg midair and dragged him to the ground, creating a feeding frenzy among the animals. They tore through his clothes and ripped out chunks of his scalp.
“Oh, God…oh, God…help my son.” Gavin looked up to the ceiling. “Help him,” he screamed. “Help him.”
The Craminings didn’t stop. They tore further; a piece of bone in Joshua’s arm was now visible. He had stopped trying to fight them off and lay back into them as they feasted on his body.
“No, no, no, you can’t…You have to help him. Please, oh, please, God.” Gavin saw his pleas weren’t being answered. He stared at the carnage before him then felt his heart miss a beat, then stop.
Crumbling Foundations
From her office, Dr. Cristofari was watching the dense brain activity between Joshua and Gavin. She also was keeping an eye on Noila, who somehow had inserted herself into her son’s mind. A red circle over Gavin’s brain image the size of the bottom of her coffee mug flashed on her display; the words “Heart Failure” appeared inside them. She pulled up the emergency-response application and activated the resuscitation sequence. The robotic arms dropped from the ceiling, placed their fingers on the chests of Joshua and Gavin, and sent electrical currents through their heart muscles to restart the beating of Gavin’s heart and synchronize their electrical heart rhythms.
“The attempt to restart the heart was unsuccessful,” a voice from the ceiling declared.
Gavin and Joshua dropped out of their induced catatonic state. Noila dropped their hands and stood up over Joshua, trying to figure out whether he was okay. Dr. Cristofari burst into the room, and when the doors shut behind her, she sealed them so no one else could enter. She pulled up a virtual panel in the space over the seat Noila had been sitting in between the two beds. Warnings of abnormal brain activity, major organ failure, and imminent nervous system shutdown were being yelled at her, and voices were asking for authorization to correct the issues. Dr. Cristofari swiped the warnings from the screen and worked to reorder the sequence of events Joshua would see, and remember, so the progress she had made during the simulations wouldn’t be lost. She knew she had only a few minutes to save them both. Sweat dripped from her forehead as she furiously worked the panel in front of her. Noila moved to the other side of Joshua’s bed for fear of being struck by the robotic arms. Joshua was completely still. Noila checked but couldn’t feel a pulse through his medical suit. Lucifer was standing behind Dr. Cristofari now, looking over what she was doing. “You have to send them back in,” he said casually.
Dr. Cristofari didn’t respond; she just kept working. The robotic arms were moving over their bodies. When she pressed another button, the finger on the arm over Gavin turned into a scalpel and sliced through the suit, exposing his chest.
“Stop,” Noila cried.
“Your husband has a blockage in one of his arteries, exacerbated by the heart failure they both experienced. I can’t get his heart rhythm stable until it’s cleared. If I don’t do this, he’ll die of cardiac arrest.” Dr. Cristofari stood up and walked to the replicator in the wall. From the unit, she retrieved a syringe with a foot-long needle and handed it to the robotic arms. A picture of Gavin’s circulatory system appeared on the screen; his left descending artery was completely blocked. She tapped the artery section on the screen then used her fingers to expand the image, marking off exactly where the blockage was. She selected “Initiate” from the menu, and the robotic arm slowly inserted the needle into Gavin’s chest. Noila watched as the needle came into view on the screen as it descended into the artery. The robotic arm plunged the solution into the arterial plaque. Noila held her breath. Nothing happened; Gavin’s vitals flat lined, and he let out a puff of air. Seconds later the blockage was completely clear, and Dr. Cristofari ran a current through his heart to restore it to proper rhythm. Gavin gasped, and his heart rate returned to normal on the screen.
“Is he okay?” Noila asked fearfully.
“Now he is. The fabric he’s wrapped in can transport molecules. We’re giving him oxygen, and if his heart has any electrical imbalance, it’ll correct it.” She wiped her brow. “Don’t worry, Noila. He’s going to be fine and Joshua seems to have stabilized himself. He’s a strong boy.” She reached over and rubbed her arm. “We have to get them back in there. They were so close.”
“I’ll go in this time.” Lucifer came back into the room, eating a cheese Danish.
Dr. Cristofari looked up at him. “You know that has too many risks. Your brain will overwhelm your connection with Joshua and Gavin.”
“I can control it. Don’t worry.”
“Remember last time?”
“What happened last time?” Noila asked, fear streaking her face.
“It was during trials. He overloaded the test subject’s brain—a perfectly healthy twenty-five-year-old medical student who had volunteered to test the new technology. I couldn’t bring him back.”
“And?” Noila asked.
“He was on life support for a year before his parents decided to pull the plug. We paid millions to his family.”
“And he died so we would know the limits, so we would know what went wrong, and I can control it this time. The idea that I could overload the subject’s brain didn’t even cross my mind at the time.” Lucifer popped the rest of the Danish into his mouth. He sounded so casual to Noila, as if they were talking about a movie they’d just watched.
“Let Gavin deal with Joshua. We’re trying to prevent my son from dying, not cause his death,” Noila said adamantly.
“You’re making a mistake. Your husband isn’t strong enough to make the hard choice in there,” Lucifer said.
“Gavin said I shouldn’t trust you. He said you’re dangerous.”
“Do you think I’m dangerous, after what I showed you? Or do you think maybe your husband just doesn’t understand the world around him?”
Noila shook his head. “He’s a good man.”
“I won’t dispute that, but being a good person and understanding the realities of the world are two different things. I’m trying to help you.”
“In order to help yourself.”
Lucifer shrugged. “There’s no dishonor in win-win situations.”
“And if someone dies?”
“Isn’t that always a risk? Every step you take in this life with your fragile bodies? But this time you won’t be alone—you’ll have me behind you.” He walked behind her and rubbed her shoulders. “You see, Noila, your individual world gets constructed, and you build and build and build. Big fortresses of hope, never realizing the foundation is beach sand, and the tide can come in at any time. Don’t hold on to what’s temporary. Instead look for the eternal truths, the boulders that remain as the tide comes in and out.” He was whispering in her ear when he finished.
Noila felt queasy; she knew what he was talking about. Lucifer somehow knew that Gavin had been unfaithful, and she was unsure what to do next. The last few weeks had obliterated what she thought she knew about the world. Her mind raced between listening to Gavin’s sermons in church and the time she had spent in Antarctica, discovering a world most people didn’t even know existed. She didn’t have any other way forward. She was on a
one-way street, riding Lucifer’s horse. “Okay,” she said softly.
“I’m going on record as not advising this,” Dr. Cristofari said.
“I’m overriding you,” Lucifer answered.
“I realize that, and I’m not happy about it.” She shot him an annoyed glance. “I’ll be right back.” She left then returned wheeling a cot into the room and placed it where Noila’s chair had been between Gavin and Joshua. The mattress was bare, with no sheets, and the aluminum frame was dented. “You sure you don’t want to do this from your chambers? It would take longer, but I can set it up.”
Lucifer shook his head. “There isn’t time.”
He lay down, took a deep breath, and relaxed into the cold mattress. Dr. Cristofari activated the process, and the green halos over Joshua’s and Gavin’s heads appeared. The halos were small at first then grew larger, with white lights crackling in the mix.
“Okay, they’re in. Are you sure you don’t want a suit?” she asked Lucifer.
He smiled derisively. “Your technological gadgetry, for all its usefulness, can’t do half of what I can do inside someone’s head.” He closed his eyes, laced his fingers together over his waist, and fell completely silent. A small red mist formed over his head, gathering in volume and substance with every passing moment. One bright light at the center, in which the mist orbited, glowed a hot whitish blue. Noila stood back, holding her elbow and biting her knuckles. The red mist amplified in color as the core grew brighter and reached out to either side, eventually mixing with the green halos above Gavin and Joshua. Their halos turned golden yellow; Noila saw their bodies tense. The halos grew brighter—so bright that she could no longer see their heads. Noila dissolved into her worry, and irrational ideas kept swirling in her head. She was lost in her own thoughts until Dr. Cristofari slammed her hand on the panel she was monitoring.
“This isn’t good,” Dr. Cristofari said.
Redemption
For the first moment he came to, Gavin was confused, and his chest hurt like hell. The last thing he remembered was standing at the altar, begging God to save Joshua from the creatures tearing him apart. Now he was standing in the side temple, watching the Craminings heap on top of one another, tearing at the victim below that he knew was his son. Margie was still pinned to the floor; the creatures were eyeing her but hadn’t advanced in that direction. The 3-D images of Joshua’s life were crowding the space between them and her. A massive white-and-golden bearlike animal stood in the temple on the other side of the cavern. It was soft but ferocious looking. Feeling helpless, Gavin clasped his hands, dropped to his knees, and begged for God’s mercy for his son and himself.
Lucifer bounded to the altar. He stuck his head into the pile of creatures and tore the Craminings apart one by one, snapping their necks and flinging them through the air, their dead bodies thumping to the floor. His speed was unnatural and fierce. He swiped with his blue talons, slicing their bodies in half, their blood pouring forth and seeping toward the projections.
“Thank you, Lord,” Gavin said, as he watched the bearlike creature do what he knew he couldn’t.
When Lucifer finished off the last Cramining and reached Joshua’s body, the boy’s flesh was gone; the pure white bones were held loosely together by tendons and cartilage. Lucifer rose on his powerful back legs and gently, as though he were touching the most delicate infant, placed his mighty paws and talons under the bones, lifted them, and set them softly on the altar.
As Gavin watched, he couldn’t process what was happening: that this was his son and his life might be over. He ran for the altar, where he saw Margie, who was weeping. Her body was beginning to decay, and light was gathering inches from her skin; she was getting ready to ascend. He had seen this once before when his father had died. Gavin saw light rise from Margie, her essence breaking apart into tiny rays. He would try to save her but not this second. He jumped over the carcasses of the Craminings and arrived at the foot of the stairs leading up to the altar.
“What are you doing with my son?” His chest was hammering, pain exploding through his body.
“Can’t you see I’ve rescued him?” Lucifer said.
Gavin realized it was Lucifer’s voice. He had become accustomed to the strange things in his son’s world, but he wasn’t prepared to face the man he both feared and needed—and in such a ferocious-looking form.
“Don’t look so surprised. Am I not what you prayed for?” The Srechritoris lifted his head to the sky and laughed.
“Do not mock the Lord.” Psalms came spilling from his mouth: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He’s like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” He began to walk up the stairs to the altar.
“Stop,” Lucifer roared. “Before you approach this altar, you must make a choice. I’ve saved your son the last time he tried to take his life—and the girl at the beach—from certain death. I’ll do the same again. But you must believe I can save him. You must put your belief in me.”
“You want to destroy us.” Gavin was defiant.
"Destroy you?” Lucifer shook his head in amazement. “When humanity was first groveling across the African savannas with their faces illuminated by the rising sun—a mistake of our dabbling in an effort to save ourselves—I was there. Watching, guiding, to make sure your weak fledgling race didn’t perish. I fell in love with your race, your innocence, and the realization of what we had created. You can call me what you want, but your race has always found me in their corner, fighting for your divine right from the beginning. A beginning hidden from you with the best intentions in mind. But know this: while the gods you created are battling for your allegiance, tearing and warring against one another, pitting nation against nation—creating factions and divisions along every discernible line of humanity—I have always sought to bring you together. To lift you up, to make you whole, and to do everything I can to make sure your race doesn’t perish. I've been in love with you from the first moment, and I’ve never wavered in my commitment. I’ve been deposed, thrown from my heavenly realm, at a time when my race ruled this once-icy world. I’ve been subjugated to my governors and blamed for every scourge and disease and made to serve those I helped create. But I’ve never lost hope that a divine family—one like Noila and Joshua and yourself—capable of doing what no one else could do, would come to save us.”
“What kind of life would that be? Doing your bidding adrift without God?”
“You want a purpose in all this? Look around yourself and ask what you will sacrifice for. What will you hang up your fortunes and health for and brave the entirety of existence in service of? Is your son not enough? Are you so convinced in your conception of the truth that you’ll sacrifice your own flesh and blood for it? Sacrifice your own place in the world to save it?”
“But I know.”
“You know nothing but your own ego, a self-preservation remnant of a past you no longer inhabit or understand. This was the danger in my not letting your race know your true origins: that you would become self-aggrandized and full of pride, convinced of your own uniqueness in the universe.”
“He sacrificed for me.” Gavin tensed his neck and stuck his jaw out contumaciously.
“He? Your imagined God? And now you’re willing to be the one sacrificing? A bloody cycle round and round.” Lucifer was holding tightly to Joshua, but the skeleton, which once was solid, was breaking into pieces, creating plumes of dust that wafted into Lucifer’s thick hair.
“You’re speaking to my sinful nature,” Gavin said, “trying to coerce me. Why are you so convinced that you must save us?”
&
nbsp; “Because there’s no compromise on human life. One life, one hundred lives, or one billion. Every single life is sacred. There are no acceptable casualties, sacrifices, or victims. I’m trying to save every last woman, man, and child.” Lucifer’s nostrils flared in anger.
“The young woman at the beach didn’t seem too important to you, nor did the one you were drugging up with cocaine. It’s still one deceit after another, isn’t it?” Gavin tried to step forward to get closer to his son. He felt as if he weighed five times his normal weight.
“They’re both alive and well now. Sometimes I have to bring someone to the edge to make them and those around them realize their truth. Which brings me to what I’m fighting for, what I’m tearing apart the earth for. It’s for everyone who lives. While the idea of the God you worship slaughters thousands, you stand by and cheer him on. Your God is your own creation, though, and you exalt those ideals that are your own. But I cannot tolerate myth when it destroys races, when it writes the banners of war and the placards of prejudice. It’s in these times I must step in and choose life. The life of all sentient creatures of earth. Your story of Christ has been misread for millennia. His death was nothing more than another bloody sacrifice to your carnal nature, disguised as a token of salvation. His blood became divine; the cult of death and blood was praised, and the bloody altars rose again and again. Just as spilling the blood of enemies was glorified through the centuries. When the Ammonites were slaughtered, when the Canaanites were destroyed, when the Egyptians were engulfed by the Red Sea—when entire races of people were demonized, young and old, innocent and guilty, century after century. You bowed down before the idea that your God’s crimes against humanity were just, that these acts were his power on display, that the blood of the murdered was sacred and noble.
“Show me a parent who says his or her God comes first, and I’ll show you a God who feeds his followers to the wolves. These are stories that have gone too far, and now we must abolish them. Not for one of you, not even for a select tribe or even a nation, but for the earth. So choose which version of this world you want. When you make that choice, you can decide to admonish me. But there’s only one true measure of morality, a test by which everyone hears the bell of truth ring within their bones: when one looks at their children, their neighbors, their countrymen, their allies, their combatants, and they circle the globe and look at every face and know every name and see themselves, their own life in every pair of eyes. That, Gavin, that is the truth of our age and your creation, which you have been deceived away from. When you understand every life is your life, when you understand you’re a creation of one, not many, and your eternity is bound with each and every soul who has ever lived or will ever live, in each set of eyes you glimpse around this earth, then and only then will you truly understand what eternal life means.”
The Antarcticans Page 26