The Real World

by Jacob Long

  “Not even close,” he replies. “But these guys are threatening me and my world too. Besides, there's a first time for everything.” It's a fair point. I turn to Callum. “What do you think?” “I say we let him be there.” I take a deep breath. “All right. You can be there. Just know that it may get ugly.” “I understand,” Real Jayden replies. A spark from the speakers breaks the tension. “It's all right. Just a few sparks,” RT reassures us. I go over to him. “What's going on here? It shouldn't take YOU this long to figure out how to fix a sound system.

  I take a look at the wiring. It appears to be an easy fix. Once the wires are in the right place, I take a good look at RT. His eyes are bloodshot. His face is sunken and pale. I grab him by the shoulders. “You don't look so good. Have you had much sleep lately?” “Barrett says he has only a slept a couple of hours in the past few days.” Real Jayden intervenes. “He's been researching my world, trying to figure out as much as he can about the Ministry's involvement there.”

  I turn back to face RT and stare at him for a moment. “All right, you need to take a nap.” I look around and spot a gazebo. That will be perfect. The benches have fabric seats. We just need something for a pillow. “Come on,” I say as I help RT to his feet. “It's nap time.” We start heading in the direction of the gazebo. I motion for Callum and Real Jayden to follow. RT takes one look at the gazebo. “Oh, Jayden, come on. The gazebo? Without a pillow, my neck will kill me.”

  His speech is slightly slurred. It's amazing how quickly we went from a frustrated electrician to a sleepy stubborn childlike state. I turn to Callum and Real Jayden. “Can you guys get a glass of water, and find something for a pillow? We barely make it up the stairs before he collapses onto the bench. “But Jayden,” he looks at me hurt, tired, and confused. “I'm going to miss the big speech.” “I know. I know. It's okay though. “Why are you doing this to me?” “All right. All right.” Callum hands me a glass of water. I take two pills from out of my gear.

  "All right, take these and take a little nap. We'll wake you up for the interrogation." Callum helps me to set him upright. I place the pills in his hand and guide it to his mouth. Then I pour the water into his mouth. Some of it dribbles down the side. "Okay. Okay. Here we go. It's going to be all right." Real Jayden walks in with a folded up tablecloth. "This was extra," he says. He hands it to me and we lay RT down, putting the pillow under his head. "He should be good to go in twenty to thirty minutes."

  “How's that now,” asks Real Jayden. “It's a special blend of amino acids and other neural stimulators that RT and our doctors came up with. After a brief rest, he'll be good to go. A clanking sound comes from outside the gazebo. The chatter quickly subsides as I walk out to see a man tapping a spoon against his glass. I recognize him as a member of the Faction, however, I can't remember his name. He stands at the front edge of the stage. Mayor Matua and Barrett are standing behind him. As soon as everyone is relatively quiet, the man looks at Barrett and the Mayor.

  The Mayor nods and the man jumps off the stage and walks to a nearby table. The Mayor steps forward. "Welcome everyone." His voice booms across the courtyard. He almost doesn't even need the microphone. "Welcome to the finest gathering that this island has ever seen! We are grateful to have new allies. New friends. And we are grateful to learn more about our enemy across the waters. My brothers and sisters, I am a well-read man. I say that not to brag but rather to admit my lack of experience. Like all of you, I was born into this life. I was not alive during the Omega War. I learned about it from books and stories told by the older generations.

  I have been to Paradisum only once in my fifty-seven years. When I was there, I witnessed the might and cruelty of an empire that was seemingly undefeatable. I assure you that every empire, even the Supreme Ministry can be defeated, no matter how powerful they may appear to be. Brothers and sisters, today is indeed a day to celebrate. For today, we are two more steps closer to vanquishing the Supreme Ministry. We have found small victories in the capture of an evil man and in the camaraderie of new allies! The crowd applauds.

  This is Myles Barrett, the leader of our new allies. His story is one of bravery and sacrifice. Of course, I will let him tell it to you.” The Mayor hands the microphone to Barrett. “Thank you, Mayor Matua.” He grabs the microphone and looks out to the crowd. “I am a man of few words so I will only say a few things and then I will pass this back to your beloved mayor. First of all, I want to thank all of you for welcoming my family into yours and giving us the chance to prove our trustworthiness and value. As you have all been notified, I was a former Administrator for the Supreme Ministry.

  I know that some of you have reservations about that fact, and I understand completely. Some of you may even be angry that I am even allowed to live after what I took part in. I hope that in time, you will recognize the validity of my good actions and intentions. The government and nation that Carlisle and Fulloway have created is an abomination. I am sad to say that before I left, I did place innocent blood on my hands. I was a fool to ever think that their way was the right way. Unfortunately, they are still convinced, and they are now more powerful than ever. However, despite their power, if we work together, we can find a way to destroy them!

  The audience applauds again as Barrett steps back and returns the microphone to the Mayor. “Thank you, Barrett. Your alliance with us is truly a blessing. Barrett has already proven himself as a powerful ally by leading the mission that allowed us to apprehend one of the Ministry's chief agents. That is why, today, I am announcing the organization of a new Idem Military Force, and I am ranking Jayden Lancaster as General with Barrett as his Lieutenant General.” He gestures to me and to Barrett. The crowd applauds. I am grateful that he did not ask me to come up and speak. “As we celebrate today,” he continues, “let us keep in mind that we have only attained a small victory. We can not fully celebrate while horrible things are still happening to our fellow human beings across the sea.

  We must see this point in time for what it is and that is the beginning. The beginning of the end for the Ministry. And it may well be a very long time before any of us sees that end. Perhaps, none of us will. That is not why we fight this war. We fight this war to give humanity a better future. Since the beginning of this war, we have lost many good people. Let us honor their sacrifice by making our own sacrifices. We must all sacrifice our time, our energy, and our livelihood. And if necessary, we must sacrifice our own lives as well. We can't just stay here and enjoy the benefits of temporary seclusion. No longer can we mistake our current situation for freedom.

  For as long as our human brothers and sisters reside in captivity so do our hearts reside in captivity. They must be set free and the Supreme Ministry must be abolished. We may be much smaller, yes, and we may be in hiding, but there is no question about our place in this war. To question our choice to continue this fight is to question our humanity. It is easy to get caught up in the idea that we have given up, that we no longer care about the greater good of humanity, I assure you that we have not. For, ever since we fled our homes on the mainland, our island civilization has worked tirelessly to find a way to defeat our enemies. One day, they will find us again...

  And that day may be soon... We must plan. We must prepare. We must consider every thought, every idea. We must consider everything and anything that can help us. We must develop a plan to defeat them before they can find us. This war will be won with our teamwork, with our unification. Paradisum is a civilization built upon the foundation of a corrupt government and as you know, those who do not concede to the ideals set before them are either brainwashed or slaughtered. We can not let these atrocities occur while we hide, away on our safe haven.

  It may appear that for the last fifty years, we have done very little, but I assure you, that is not the case. Our best and our brightest have been working in the areas of strategy, weapons development, surveillance, infiltration, and deception. We were nearly prepared to initiate the destruction of our great enemy when we
were infiltrated and attacked. Our enemy showed us no mercy. The Ministry's sole purpose and desire was our eradication. Fortunately, by the grace of our creator, some of us were spared. And now, thanks to our new allies, we have found hope again. We have discovered the possibility of a better world. A world in which all of humanity can be liberated!

  As the applause erupts, the Mayor motions for the announcer from before to come back up. “Please, eat up, you will need your strength,” the Mayor says to the audience. He hands the microphone back to the announcer. “Thank you, Mayor Matua, and our new Captain Barrett!” Please, give them another round of applause. The announcer continues to talk more about the evening as the Mayor and Barrett make their way toward me. “Jayden!” The Mayor booms. “How are you feeling?” “A lot better now that I'm back home- in this world.” “Good to hear it.” Real Jayden and Callum join us. “Well boys, we have some work to do.” The Mayor looks around. “Where's RT?”

  We leave the party early to go to the ISF station. The Mayor is less than excited about having Real Jayden there. He agrees to allow him to observe from behind the force field. We take the elevator down to the secured holding area and walk up to Leroy's cell. I place my hand on the biometric panel. The metal doors slide open revealing an unconscious Leroy laying on a bench against the far wall. Xyla and I undo his restraints, sit him up, and spread his arms up, against the wall.

  I activate another biometric panel and two restraints come out of the wall. They scan his wrists and fit accordingly, holding his arms tightly in place. I nod to Sienna. She switches the force field back on as I administer a shot to his neck. Real Jayden looks on with Matua, Barrett, Sienna, Callum, and RT. RT sits on a bench. He's still coming out of his sleep mode. I had to carry him all the way over here. Mayor Matua and I decided that Xyla could perform the interrogation with me. Originally, we didn't like the idea, however, after a few choice words, she managed to convince us.

  I guess it's only fair. She's been investigating him for a while. Besides, I get the feeling that she won't hold me back. If anything, I might have to be the one to hold her back. Even though the shot works immediately, I give him a couple of slaps on the cheek just to help wake him up. “All right, Senator-” “What is the Ministry doing in the Real World?” Xyla cuts me off as she hits Leroy in the stomach. “Oh, I see,” I say as I turn and look at her.

  “Because we brought him to my world, you get to lead the interrogation?” I ask. She exhales, vocally. “Well, I think it's only fair, don't you?” I pause for a moment. “I think this should be a co-interrogation with both sides contributing equally.” I turn my attention from her to him as I hit him across the face with a left hook. I'm holding back, of course. I want to keep him awake, for now. “That sounds fair. How do you think we should start?” She asks.

  “You guys really should have talked about this before waking me up,” Leroy chimes in. Xyla and I look at each other and simultaneously turn to hit him. Xyla hits him in the stomach again, and I hit him in the face again. We face each other again. We stare at each other, both trying to figure out how to do this interrogation. We both want to jump into our questions, but instead, we're waiting for each other to take a turn. “Do you want to switch it up. You go high, I'll go low this time?” I ask.

  “You must have read my mind,” she smirks. She knocks him across the face as I hit him in the stomach. “All right,” Mayor Matua booms. “The punches are good, can we throw a few more questions in there though?” Xyla and I look at the mayor and at each other. “Fair enough,” I say. “Let's go back and forth. You start.” Xyla nods at me and at the mayor. She turns to face Leroy. “What is the Ministry doing in the Real World?” She asks. “The Real World?” Leroy asks. “You know, the world that we just took you out of?” He utters a slightly unnerving laugh. “You mean Earth Initium?”

  Initium? It's Latin for “beginning.” Interesting that they call it that. “The Real World?” he continues. “That's cute. I can't wait to tell Carlisle and Fulloway about that one.” Xyla and I exchange looks. “You won't be talking to them for a while, so why don't you get used to talking to us.” His head stays down as his eyes look up at me. His lips curl up into an evil smile. “I'm sure that I'll be talking with them a lot sooner than you think, Mr. Lancaster.

  “You're a very popular man in Paradisum you know. Somewhat of a celebrity even. It's too bad, you never pay us any visits,” he continues snidely. “The great and powerful Jayden.” He holds his arms out wide. Then he holds up his index finger and thumb, creating a universal sign for small. “If only you had been great and powerful just a little sooner.” Without thinking, I react. It's what he wants me to do. I've known it for minutes now. I could sense it when he started talking to me. It doesn't matter, though. He knew just what to say and he gets the rage that he wants. Or at least, the rage that he thinks he wants.

  I grasp his index finger and thumb and twist them until I hear a cracking sound. He screams in agony. My fingers wrap around his throat and I shove his head against the wall. “You like to open your mouth a lot, huh?” I glare into his eyes. “Why don't I save you some trouble and rip your jaw off of your skull.” My face is inches away from his. Rage is all that I can feel. “Jayden!” Mayor Matua commands. “Stay in control. Breathe.” I take a deep breath and let go of the senator's neck. An imprint of my palm and fingers remains on his neck. However, it's not just an imprint. His neck is burned. Smoke wafts from off of my hand as I stare at it for a second.

  Leroy coughs as he struggles to breathe normally again. He leans his head back, taking in a deep breath. He lifts his head back up to look at me. “They told me you had a temper, and yet I still didn't expect to see such rage from the likes of you.” I can hear his voice, but his mouth doesn't move. “He's a telepath,” I warn everyone else while keeping my eyes fixed on him. The brig has a psychic disruption unit built in so that most telepaths are rendered powerless upon entry. Only an extremely powerful telepath like Fulloway could cause damage in here.

  I hear everyone activating their own personal psychic disruption devices. "Don't worry everyone," Leroy says, cringing. Low-level disruption is uncomfortable and high level is painful. I have no idea how powerful this guy is, but I'm not taking any chances. Well, maybe one. I stop before activating my own psychic disruption device. "I think I damaged his vocal chords." I turn to look at everyone in the brig. "Let's hear what he says."

  I see them adjust the setting on their devices. RT adjusts the settings for the brig. I turn back to Leroy. “Well?” He looks at me and then out at the others. “If I could attack you telepathically, I would've done it a while ago. I'm just a messenger. Carlisle and Fulloway want you to hand over the Jayden's. If you do this, the rest of you will all be spared. You can all go on living peacefully, away from the Ministry, so long as you don't interfere with us anymore.

  If you don't hand them over, they will be forced to eradicate you from this and every other world." "They'll have to find us first," RT snaps. Leroy smirks. "Yes, don't worry. Your precious devices have prevented me from sending any sort of long-range signal." He directs his attention toward RT specifically. "It's a shame that you were born on Idem. Your talents would prove to be very useful to the Supreme Ministry."

  “They'll prove useful enough in your demise,” RT replies with a death glare that I can easily empathize with. Leroy smiles spitefully. “It's too bad that even with all your tools and gifts you couldn't see what was happening right in front of you.” A searing pain shoots into my mind and spreads throughout my body. The pain pulsates like an electric shock. It feels as though every cell in my body is tearing away from each other.

  He was lying. He had the power to attack us the whole time. I breathe. I focus. Instinctively, my fingers and thumb reach up to my temple and I concentrate on Leroy. What am I doing? This is what telepaths do, but I'm not a telepath. Somehow, I realize that I can do this. That I have this ability. Leroy's eyes stare back at me in awe and horror. His face wincing in pain, he beg
ins to laugh maniacally. I slowly stand up. I place my hand onto his head and enter a different world.

  There is no color. Everything is black. Except for one tiny speck. Without walking or running. I bring myself toward the speck. I do it through sheer force of will. As I get closer, the speck grows quickly into Senator Leroy. Something is off. Then his face begins to permeate. Before my eyes, he transforms into a shorter bald man with green skin. The man that we have in custody is not Senator Leroy. It's the green-skinned shape-shifter from the Battle for Idem.

  The man who impersonated and most likely murdered Gabriel Sanchez back on the first island. My friend and fellow soldier. This vile pile of carbon waste survived the Battle for Idem. It turns out that good things do happen to bad people. Not anymore. I lunge at him, grabbing him by the collar. I lift him up and shove him forward. Behind him, a brick wall materializes out of thin air. His back thwacks hard against the solid structure. The air quickly escapes his lungs. “Where is the Senator?” I ask, not so nicely.

  "It's too late. Phase two is already in action," he replies. "What is phase two!" I ask. He chuckles. "We didn't know that telepathy was one of your talents. You never cease to surprise." "Stop avoiding the question." Flames begin to emanate from my body. The fire envelopes the entire dark space. I lift my hand up, placing my palm on his forehead. The fire burns brighter as I enter the deeper recesses of his mind. The flames are all swallowed up and we are floating in the center of a strange and yet familiar city. It's an enormous city unlike any of those that I've been to in the Extreme or Real Worlds. Although, I only know what a small part of the Real World looks like. However, my instincts or perhaps my new psychic abilities tell me that is not the place I am currently seeing.