by A. I. Zlato
In the first documents, he only noticed a few things. The materials did actually indicate the sect multiple times, but no detail caught his attention. This made sense, as the name Chrijulam was a second-level keyword.
Vlad entered his office, jumping like a spring. As soon as the door had closed, he said.
“Anything new about the investigation? Are you now really working on it? How can I help you? And …
“Vlad … so much eagerness in your approach impresses me, but this is an important matter.”
“Exactly! I would like to …”
“No, Vlad, this is not possible. There was a reason why I and Special Agent Baley did not allow you to take part in our last meeting.”
“Which one?”
“All information is confidential, and I think you can understand why. The City is on edge with the Problem. If people hear about a possible trail in the investigation, there will be violent reactions, collective hysteria … We cannot afford to point fingers at a specific community.”
“Because you have identified a common denominator?”
“Vlad, I really cannot tell you more.”
“I will be discreet!”
“Are you joking? Giving you a piece of information means sending a public message to the entire lab!”
“This case is different, I swear! I …”
“I will not take such a risk.”
“You are really … I am very interested, and you know it … Are you categorical?”
“I am. Anyway, my contribution is limited to the study of old documents. And that is not you prefer … am I wrong?”
Vlad left the office, cursing once more. Through the window, Paul saw him leaving the lab, passing Edgard by. The latter did not move one ear while hearing the young man complaining to the whole world about his misfortune. As Paul was getting ready to start reading the last manuscript in the pile, Edgard showed up. He thought he was not ready to have a productive day with all these interruptions. Yet, the urgency was there. Children were committing suicide, and one had to stop that the phenomenon. Reluctantly, he listened to his friend.
“Your mind changes.”
“Certainly, Edgard. There is no question of spending hours studying a particular phrase, trying to understand its deep meaning, as I usually do in my job. I have to act quickly, eliminate unnecessary documents, which I just did, and focus on the rest of the document pile. I have to extract the relevant information and pass it on to Baley. As soon as possible, before a new Problem occurs.”
“What changed since our earlier conversation?”
“What do you mean?”
“Earlier, you just learned of the existence of Chrijulam, as well as its possible correlation with the death of young humans. You took the time to chat with me, and there was no urgency in your mind. What has changed?”
“I really don’t know. Perhaps reading the first document, which indicated that this sect is ancient.”
“The fact that it is an ancient belief system has triggered urgency in your mind? I don’t get it.”
“I don’t know, Edgard; I’m telling you. It’s maybe the discussion I had with Vlad. I really don’t know.”
“Did you dream? Your dreams are important.”
“From the last conversation until now, I did not.”
“Will you focus on the beginning?”
“On the origins of the Problem? Yes, that is the idea.”
“That was not what I meant. The urgency is shrinking your brain even more than usual.”
“Great, Edgard … but you are not trying to start another discussion about differing … blah, blah, blah. I warned you that if I hear that sentence again, I would start screaming.”
“The possibility of your anger doesn’t matter to me that much. You must realise that you can finish only what you started.”
“What? Yes, by definition, but where does this lead?”
“To the beginning.”
“Edgard …”
“I did not say the whole sentence, so you cannot get mad.”
“I … ohhhhh. Edgard, tell me why you started this conversation. I need to go back quickly to work.”
“I already told you, and I cannot repeat it.”
“You do not actually pronounce the words … that’s all I can say. Can I leave now?”
“Go where?”
“It is a phrase … can I keep working on Chrijulam, if you don’t mind, Edgard?”
“Is my answer important?”
“Not really. That was only a mark of courtesy. Please leave now; I have work to do.”
While being perfectly nosy, Edgard was nevertheless right. What had triggered this sudden urge to do things quickly? Certainly, he had realised, after Baley left, that the study of Chrijulam was important for the investigation. Yet, the notion of imminence only ‘showed up’ a little later. What happened? If Edgard had drawn his attention on this, there must have been a reason …
The Kandron talked about dream. Images from his nightmare sprang up … The dream he had for the first time the day when … and that came back haunting him every night. The City crumbling … no … all of Space H. tearing apart … Kandrons that … no, they were not leaving, they … the Machine, all powerful … And dead children shouting we told you so … That was the source of the urgency. That should not be, though. That future could not exist … He had to …
“Differ the beginning!”
“ARGHHHHHHHHH! Edgard, stop intruding in my thoughts! And I’m fed up with your litany, I’M FED UP!!! Also, this is about the future, not the past.”
“The beginning does not mean the past, in the linear sense of humans.”
“In the linear sense? Is that supposed to mean something?”
“I cannot explain it to you right now.”
“Then, why are you telling me things you cannot explain now?”
Edgy, Paul tried to get on with his thoughts. He pondered the sense of urgency that invaded his work, and that brought him to this recurring dream. Edgard jumped again into his thoughts.
“You see the consequences, and you must act on the causes, differ …”
“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! How do you want me to tell you this?”
“And you? What should I do to make you understand? You don’t listen.”
“That is true, right at this moment, I am not listening. The thing is, this is MY brain, MY thoughts, and sometimes, Edgard, I want to be left alone, in my thoughts, in my brain, without interaction from you.”
“I am always there.”
-“I know, but sometimes I want to act as if you were not there.”
“You want to create another reality for yourself?”
“Call it that, if you want. You pushed me to think about this concept of urgency, and that is what I am doing. Alone. In my small, narrow head.”
“Working on one’s limitations can lead to the absolute.”
“If you say so … Can I go back to my thoughts without you intruding?”
“I intrude when it is necessary.”
“Does that mean ‘no’?”
“Time has nothing to do with this.”
Paul shook his head and tried to find the thread of his thoughts, without success. He growled in frustration, because he had the fleeting impression of getting closer to something important … that had vanished owing to Edgard’s intrusions. Now that Vlad had left, and Edgard kept mum, Paul sat in front of his terminal. He could finally start working on one of the documents, which he considered very relevant. The document’s title was: Religions: God as a Super-Spirit. The book focused on the belief in one God, guardian of humanity. It also chronicled the three major categories of religions, and gave a list of different schools of thought as well as their respective divergence vis-à-vis the initial, earliest belief system.
At the time it was written, sects, especially Chrijulam, had not yet gone into the shadows of society, as they were now. Moreover, the author, Corto Morini, had based his work on many discussions he
had had with the believers, as he indicated in the preface. Of course, the researcher could not foresee that a few hundred years later , these sects would have completely disappeared from the visible part of society. He could not have imagined how his work would now be valuable …
According to the author, Chrijulam followers were fervent supporters of the natural, as opposed to the artificial. For them, the Machine was part of an artificial world they did not want, the very usefulness of which they refuted. Their adulation of the natural had led to encourage couples to have as many children as they could, with no regard for the impact of rapid population growth. Paul could not believe what he was reading. Who could adhere to such beliefs, whereas the very concept of Space was based on the balance between human beings and their environment?
When Corto indicated the risk of imbalance owing to such behaviour, the Elders and their declining world, Chrijulam believers invariably responded: God shall provide. For them, God, as a Super-Spirit at the origin of everything, had the power to solve all problems. The Machine did not have, and should not have, any control over God’s will. When Corto pushed the conversation farther, saying that God did not act to help the Elders, the believers’ response was, they were not true believers. A rather convenient answer …
Chrijulam followers also believed that the human being was superior to any other form of animal life. According to them, God created Man, and gave Him responsibility over animals. Corto mentioned that it was impossible to bring a believer to face the supreme contradiction, which meant saying that men were responsible for animals, while they were having a behaviour leading to overpopulation, a phenomenon that could destroy the very animals for which they were responsible.
Even though Paul thought that humanity might one day be free of the Machine, he was firmly convinced of the benefits of the principles that It helped defend, including the laws of Spaces. He was just horrified. How could such people live in the City? The world was organised around the principle of the Equilibrium, and Space H. had as law, Life as a whole must be saved; no one life is worth more than another is. Their beliefs were contrary to the essence of Spaces, of their Space. Life in the City, every little thing was antithetical to their beliefs. To avoid detection, these people had to cultivate a total duplicity, controlled schizophrenia. They were, in public, at work, in all their activities, the opposite of what they were in private.
They had to assess each sentence uttered, each behaviour displayed … How was it possible not to betray oneself? If these people really existed, they had to form a close-knit community, impervious to the outside world, and to avoid as much as possible any contact with someone outside their Circle.
“Edgard, do you think that such beliefs persist today? Can such schizophrenia push children to end their own lives?”
“Two questions that do not have the same worth.”
“Let’s start over. Do you think Chrijulam still has followers today?”
“Belief systems are a filter through which believers perceive reality.”
“You already told me that … Let me come again. If they exist, their reality is so different from that of the majority of people in the City … This must necessarily affect their behaviour. But, why now? I mean, why those beliefs now push their children to commit suicide, whereas the faith had not triggered such behaviour before?”
“Before what? Where do you put the timestamp?”
“Before … before last year. Suicides started a few months ago.”
“This event is new; that is true. What about the others?”
“Other ways to express rejection of society? Certainly, but they had no consequences.”
“How do you know?”
“Nothing, nothing indeed … If their beliefs had not changed, but the suicides are recent … then … something must have changed in the City.”
“Now, you start to understand.”
I begin to understand, Paul said to himself … but understand what? A close-knit community impervious to outside interaction … the contradictory beliefs with the very foundations of the City … the Equilibrium … was it the trigger?...the Equilibrium … therefore the Machine … how had It changed … what was Its purpose … change … relationship and correlation…
He had to share his discoveries with Baley.
The Arts came through Time. From Space O., they took along all of their memory and knowledge, and started building the shuttle. A question remains: what had they sacrificed, and left behind, to make it all the way here?
Legend of the Link and the Break
Chapter 25
: Space H. (Outside Circle)
Sitting at his desk, Egeon was making a list of all pending problems. He loved making lists; the exercise helped him clear his mind. The list length was not a source of demotivation. He would rather have a recap, however comprehensive, of the work-in-progress and everything else that was pending, rather than a pile of scattered files, lest he forget one of them. He delved into all departmental files, to recollect difficulties that each department faced. The shuttle’s construction project was indeed in its final phase. The outer shell was completed, and they were making progress on the inner structure. They had thoroughly engineered the design of spaces, and teams worked hard, following the master plan.
Dormitories, kitchens and the cafeteria, the food storage area and crop farms, the maternity ward, the self-care complex, were almost completed. Everything about the construction of the control station was going according to plan, and the remaining equipment, the library, the classroom, etc. were falling into place with no problem.
Nevertheless, the problem of the ultraF network remained, which gave unsatisfactory results. Thanks to this network, humans would be relieved of many basic tasks, such as air recycling, failure detection, and the scheduling of preventive maintenance on equipment. The ultraF network was first on his list.
There was also Teo, and his problems. Although he had always been pessimistic, his old age was exacerbating this behavioural trait. At about 60, he looked ten years older. With an arched back, he moved by hopping slightly his right leg, to avoid back pain. His hands, which had spent years tightening machinery and lifting all kinds of equipment, bore the signs of the countless fractures he had never taken the time to treat properly. His stare from below, which was static owing to myopia, looked tired. His physical deterioration did not prevent him from always having a sharp mind, but it increased his inclination to rail against the whole world.
Whenever he had a meeting with him, Egeon had the unpleasant impression that no progress was being made and that the construction site was nothing but a sum of complications. He needed to spend several hours in order to extract the real problems from Teo’s flood of despair. He jotted down propulsion systems in the Space. Teo owed him a comparative study on the advantages and disadvantages of having two separate technologies. Egeon knew Teo liked safety, and would rather have two or even three independent devices execute the same task. Egeon, meanwhile, was concerned about the impact of these choices on the entire structure, especially in terms of extra weight. The propulsion system thus remained an unsolved problem to date, and he added it to his list.
In the department of Galatea, his wife, astronomical studies had identified the nearest star, the system of which consisted of rocky planets. The latter were located at a good distance away from the star, enabling the existence of water in the liquid state. However, they still had to choose which of these planets would be most likely to be earthised, that is, to be able to host human settlers. Egeon jotted on his list choose planet.
He then went to Alea’s department, the most worrying, in his opinion. The teams working under the woman’s tutelage were absolute impressive. Before long, they had established a catalogue of knowledge to pass on to the generations that would come into existence in the shuttle, and formulated curricula as detailed as specialisation programs by job category. Although the team still had to ponder many details, two of these had Alea, and therefore,
Egeon, concerned. To keep adapting curricula over several generations, and to ensure that the message remained intelligible, she had invented the position of ‘translator.’ However, Egeon was not convinced at all that this would be enough. The other problem, of equal concern, was making sure the last generation would want to leave the shuttle, and muster the courage to leave a comfortable environment in order to venture into the unknown.
Egeon had promised to talk to Teo about implementing the planned obsolescence of the shuttle. He had not done that yet. He jotted down in his notebook performance translator and sufficient desire to earthise.
Hysterical screams interrupted Egeon in his thoughts. He stopped short and rushed towards the location the screaming originated from, his brain boiling. He thought of a serious accident on the construction site, equipment that just screwed up, a … He passed by the shuttle.
Heads came out the structure, one at a time, at the sound of screams. He saw Teo leave by the door, his face grimacing in pain when he walked down the steps. He ranted, as usual, ready to curse roundly the source of the noise that had disrupted his work. Egeon asked if the problem came from the shuttle. Teo assured him that it was not the case. From the bottom of the stairs, he instructed his teams to continue working, promising them to come back later with explanations. He rushed painfully after Egeon, soon followed by a few people, who ignored the instruction he had just given. Egeon passed by the kitchens, and walked around. Talos assured him that everything was normal here, too. Alea and Galatea soon joined Egeon, Teo and Talos. The ladies came rushing, their faces marked by anxiety. What was it? Was anyone seriously injured? After they had assured Egeon that the problem did not arise out of their departments, they walked alongside the three men. Together, they visited all workplaces, checked things with all team leaders. They found nothing, and yet the screaming kept intensifying. Incredulous, they finally found out which way to go. The screaming came from the hill, around the tunnel. Egeon, Teo, Alea and Galatea along with some curious crew got closer. Talos, meanwhile, chose to go back to the kitchen.