by A. I. Zlato
“I need help, Edgard.”
“A group…”
“Oh, so they are many of them.”
“... Which lives away from the City, doing everything not to attract attention.”
“Servants? But they are human!”
Paul resumed. They looked like humans; that was all he could actually say. What better way than to hide a digital entity into an organic appearance? Servants did everything not to arouse any interest, or even contempt in order to distract the population ... Brilliant.
“Servants ... of course. How do I find them?”
“This is not the way you should do things.”
“I thought you were listening now.”
“Unless I know you're wrong.”
“Yet I must know their message.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“It's not for you to hear.”
“On the contrary, I think I should, Edgard. They are the key to Thomas’ hidden message. You, yourself, did not stop stressing the importance of this message.”
“There are other ways to know.”
“I want to hear it directly.”
“It's a waste of time; however, I sense that you will not change your mind. The faster we go, the sooner we will return.”
Paul went back into the house, with empty bowls in his hands, which he laid it in the kitchen, and went to take a shower. Once ready, he went out and hopped on the Kandron’s back. Contrary to its habits, Edgard decided to walk rather than fly. Its powerful hind legs swallowed a hundred metres at every step. The buildings, ridiculous from above, were scrolling, and roads became narrower and narrower, as they were getting close to the Machine. Paul looked ahead the boulevard that ran in a straight line up to the Tower. Simultaneously arteries coming towards it and starting from it ... a concept of cycle in a star structure ...
Boulevards that steered to the centre crossed each circle. From both sides, streets in a half-moon that delimited the buildings ... the circles inscribed in a star, bounded by a circle ... Yes, the Machine was the centre ... both the cause and consequence of the circles ... of the City ... he then saw, while sitting on Edgard’s back, ruined buildings, equipment abandoned, as there should not have to existed. Destruction ... it had already begun.
Edgard crossed the City and headed for the mountains. Paul discovered sumptuous landscapes, which he did not know existed. White snow was made of small crystals that glittered in the light. The cold air, of high purity, burned his lungs. Around him, scattered dark green firs stood out against the white coat flakes and ice. Silence reigned in this place, barely disturbed by Edgard’s pace. The animal soon stopped, covered by snow all the way to its chest. Paul dared not go down, for fear of being buried. He lay curled up because of the cold, and waited.
Torpor pervaded, and he realised that his body was numb. He rubbed his arm with his hands and wiggled his toes, which made him ill. He even remained curled up, trying to keep his body heat. This hostile environment was a perfect place for people seeking discretion.
Out of nowhere, a Servant stood beside the Kandron. Paul looked in the snow in search of footprints, but found none. The individual had suddenly materialised in front of him. Now that he knew he was an artificial being, not a person of flesh and blood, Paul observed the Servant as he had never done with his peers. No breath went out of his nostrils; no wrinkles marked his absolutely smooth face. His impeccable hair did not tremble in the wind. He seemed undeniably human, nonetheless. His eyes shone with intelligence, his movements perfectly simulating human behaviour. So the Servant shifted his weight from one foot to the other, rubbing his arms against Paul, as if he were cold. But his skin, free of thrill, were contradicting this impression.
Having finished his observation, Paul began the conversation. Unlike the Servant, he was shivering with cold, and was eager to know Thomas’ message as fast as possible, so he could return to the heat of the City.
“Hello, I'm ... I'm Paul. I am currently working on the diary kept by Thomas Anderson, your ... your creator. I come to see you to know his message.”
“It's not for you to hear.”
“I thought, well ...”
“You should not be here, 5th Hexa knows.”
“5th Hexa?”
“He does not know?” Replied the Servant, turning to Edgard.
Paul then heard, for the first time in his life, the Kandron speak. In the crystalline air, it sounded strong and calm. He who had only understood the animal mentally was surprised by the tone. It was not the one he thought the Kandron had.
“Not yet”, replied the Kandron.
“What is it that I don’t know?” Paul asked.
I'll tell you later, Edgard mentally replied. A little lost, Paul went back to the Servant.
“I ... I came here for the message.”
“It is not for you. It is to the Machine.”
“Can you talk to It directly?”
“We can, but we do not want to. The risk of falling under Its control is too great. We are of the same design.”
“Whom do you want to talk to?”
“We know who and when. And it's not you.”
Paul sighed. The Servant was siding with Edgard ... the information they had to pass was not for him. But for whom?
“Whom then?”
“You will perhaps know it, but that does not matter.”
« You want to reach the Machine ... but not directly ... you need someone who has a chip ... the most advanced possible. Is it that this just might be Baley?”
“The message can have several messengers. Again, this is not for you.”
“Good, but ... What about me? And the Problem?”
“We are programmed to counter the excesses of the Machine. The rest does not concern us.”
“But ... the Problem …”
“The artificial handles the digital. The organic does not concern us.”
“The message…”
“Again, it is not for you.”
Paul felt frustrated. Less than an hour ago, he woke up with a clear mind, convinced that he understood the basic concepts. Edgard had reassured him he was on the right path. Naturally, he turned to Thomas’ Guardians, who now called themselves Servants — and they refused to answer. Edgard had warned him that he would lose his time. Yet he was convinced they had something to say. He had to find the right question. He resumed.
“Why do you call yourselves Servants? Thomas referred to you as his Guardians.”
“Guardian is a generic term. Here, we are Servants.”
“Here… do you have another name elsewhere... where else?”
“Other Spaces, of course.”
“And do you know these other names?” Paul asked, hoping to be able to know the number of Spaces.
“This information would be of no use.”
“Are you in touch with the other Guardians? Do you act together?”
“Each Space has its own problems.”
Paul was silent. He had just learned that Thomas had sent the Guardians in each Space ... to avoid the excesses of each Machine ... likely to have the same behaviour ... the Equilibrium was the beginning of everything ... He dared one last question.
“Will you succeed in diverting the Machine properly?”
“We will succeed, or we will be destroyed.”
He tried another formulation.
“What is the probability of success?”
“Fifty percent.”
“Can I improve it?”
“According to 5th Hexa, yes.”
It was the second time that this ‘5th Hexa’ was mentioned by the artificial being. Paul did not ask more accurately, as Edgard had promised him an explanation. What he caught was that he had the ability to promote success, which was in parallel with the Kandron’s remarks.
A feeling of apprehension whose origin he could not tell prevented him from asking the Servant if he knew how he could act. He then thanked the creature, which disappeared into
the snowy mist.
Immediately, Edgard spread its wings and climbed out of the white coat that had frozen around him. The ice cracked under the impulse, freeing his post. It flew away and headed for the City. The mountains disappeared behind them — and with them the cold. Despite the altitude, the temperature climbed up to enjoyable levels. Gradually, Paul regained sensation in his limbs, which started warming up. Tingling in his extremities, albeit unpleasant, signified that warm blood flowed back into his body.
Feeling better, he asked Edgard.
“Edgard? Can I ask you a question?”
“You'll do it, anyway. Besides, I promised you an answer, so your question has no meaning.”
“It's a courtesy phrase, I know you do not understand, but ... well. So tell me, who is the 5th Hexa the Servant spoke about?”
“Me.”
“Who, you?”
“I'm the fifth element of the Hexagon.”
“5th Hexa? But why?”
“How, why? It's my nature. The Hexagon has chosen me as much as I chose the Hexagon.”
“Uh ... so do you have five other Kandrons with you?”
“Of course.”
“And other ... uh ... geometric shapes?”
“Yes.”
“I feel that if I ask you why you are organised that way, I will not understand the answer.”
“Probably.” Edgard continued. “There's something else you should know. When the linearity of time is reversed, and the space is an dimension complementary of time... this is how Kandrons are.”
“The reverse linearity, you already told me, but what is it exactly?”
“Your tomorrow is my yesterday.”
“My ... you're telling me that you go back in time? That does not make sense. How, in that case, could you remember our conversation yesterday, if for you it is the future?”
“I do not have the right to answer this question. Just know that it is possible.”
“But why? No, no! Do not answer. I feel that the response is not for me to know.”
“Your mind is more clear. You ...”
“Yes, 5th Hexa.”
They both shut up, and Paul became absorbed in the contemplation of the landscape. On land, he could see more in detail the evolution of the constructions of one Circle to another. The houses of the Periphery, interspersed with gardens, were replaced by buildings that were higher and higher, and became compact and austere as they approached the centre. Paul compared, for the first time, the architectural layout of the City with an inverted cyclone, whose base would be on the ground, and its eye, the Tower. This Tower that rose into the sky, around which twined concentric circles, houses of clouds. Where was this eye, a quiet area in a cyclone, going? Paul superimposed on this image the vortex of clouds in which he had seen a Presence ... Circles and children ... the Presence and the Tower ... a message as a symbol ...
The Problem was waiting for him.
If the future is uncertain, know that the past is, too. What you choose to remember, what you choose to forget is a form of manipulation of the past. The trick is to make these choices consciously. Otherwise, you are at the same level as a human.
The Spirit of the Multitude
Chapter 50
Pre-E.S. Era
5th Hexa left Paul in front of his house. It was pleased with the new understanding that its friend displayed. The latter now feared correlations, combos and especially the role he had to play, even if he did not know how. Yet the Kandron was worried because time was against them. Even if Paul decided to go his way, it was not sure that he would get results in time. Also, 5th Hexa’s joy was not as blatant as it could be. It flew away and joined the mountains again. It landed on the first layer of soft snow. It needed to think.
It was raining. The low, dark sky dripped with cold water, which spurted on vegetation and on the Kandron. It felt these lines of water hurtling down on its back, its neck, and froze in contact with the ground. It saw the City in the distance, with this great black needle, the Tower, which pierced the sky. It had wanted to get away to think, and now was tasting loneliness. It felt the bite of the cold rain and frozen ground. It looked intently at this City, these tiny structures, doomed to disappear and all, if it failed. Paul ... was there still time? The enthusiasm it had felt this morning by talking with him disappeared completely.
The coldness of the rain had dampened its optimism. Morose, it thought the plan of its competitor in the Spirit of the Multitude.
The hybrid ... This half-human had proposed to the community of the lake to take Kandrons along. Humans were thinking ... If they agreed, that was the end of its solution for Spaces. A non-evolution ... that was it, the departure into space. Nothing would change their linearity ... and Kandrons would be heading towards nothingness ... would they sink the shuttle all along? It knew that the Spirit of the Multitude did not share its views.
To its peers, the idea of departure into space was a good solution, especially as it became more and more real. It had seen, like any other, the images through the memories of the Circle. A planet, a double star ... a black hull vessel ... It did not want to leave. There was Albana, certainly, but ... there was also everything else. It was deeply attached to this planet. It liked to feel its touch under its feet, see oceans and continents, smell the perfumes of the air ... It did not want to leave all this; it was part of this world.
The frozen water accumulated on its feet until it became a cold and translucent cocoon. The wind lifted the snow that was still stuck to the floor, covering its icy prison. Numb, the Kandron shivered in this hostile environment, where only a few stunted firs and small animals survived. It remained there, encased in ice, staring into space.
Since the day 7th Hepta introduced Edgard to the cave of Servants, it would come back regularly, near their refuge. It accompanied Paul there today, but without showing him the entrance. The Heptagon would not have let it do such a thing, anyway. Servants jealously guarded their refuge, which they had designed so that it would be invisible to the City. Too far from the Machine for anyone with a chip, and far too short for all the others. Who could have the idea of crossing a plain, hills covered in a compact area of the Unique Forest, and then climb a mountain before descending into this alley? Servants generally got here by circuitous routes, making sure that nobody was following them ... not even the Machine.
Invisible to It, insignificant to humans, this place was known only to the Heptagon. With this structure, 5th Hexa had discovered the treasures contained in the cave. The remains buried in the metal cube were perhaps the stigma mentioned by Thomas, the creator of Servants ... and of whom Paul was so passionate. The Earliest Space, why not? There was no absolute certainty about this.
Snow began to fall, first a few scattered flakes, then a thick curtain of crystals. In the white mist, six Kandrons of the Heptagon materialised beside Edgard. Arranged in a specific order, they had placed 5th Hexa in second place ... as if it had integrated their group. That was, however, not the case. Edgard was still part of the Hexagon. The Hexagon ... that welcomed Edgard after it had emerged from nothingness ... Albana ... Only its memories connected it with this structure. It was talking to those it still saw as its siblings.
It regularly spoke about Paul to Faress, its soul brother. Together they had worked in secret to boost readiness on a Gateway in order to contact the Kandrons. And it worked ... But it had returned, alone this time, acting on Paul's subconscious mind. Its siblings, once warned, had demonstrated solidarity in keeping it, protecting it. However, like Faress, the Hexagon did not believe in its solution to save Spaces. The Heptagon did. Yet, it had to remain the fifth element of the Hexagon to maintain its relationship with Paul. As the latter had not fulfilled its destiny, it could not abandon him. Thus, it would still stay there, while dreaming of the Heptagon. One day, perhaps, if it succeeded ...
Surrounded by all six Kandrons, 5th Hexa felt comfortable. In the snow that was burying them gradually, they stood together in the structure
they were drawing physically, and that they were mentally feeling. The Heptagon ... another world ... Its members had managed a tour de force, making the Spirit of the Multitude blind to some of their actions. They even managed to hide the death of 2nd Hepta, which committed suicide, as Albana did. The death of 1st Hexa resounded throughout the Spirit, the Hexagon had a gaping hole ... all had known and experienced it through them. The death of the second Hepta had remained secret within its structure. They had contained their grief, and still maintained the stability of the group.
The S.M. had not suspected anything. The Heptagon’s memories appeared continuous in the collective memory; no clues, no fault, even tiny, was visible. The Heptagon ... they were more powerful, as a group of six, than the Spirit of the Multitude itself. The implications ... 5th Hexa could only sense them, for now. Once it was ready, the Heptagon would welcome it. Edgard would then have access to their collective memory, which they had isolated ... It would see Servants much better ... their origins ... why they had carefully guarded the remains of the Elders ... Answers to all its questions existed ... it knew that ... 7th Hepta told it so ...
The bits that the Heptagon had shown it were pieces of a whole that it hoped to gather one day, and that was to remain secret, including the wreckage of the spacecraft. At first uncomfortable to hide an item of this importance, it had gradually managed to divide its life into two watertight compartments. On one hand, 5th Hexa’s life with Paul, whereby it opened its memory fully to the Spirit of the Multitude. On the other, its future life 2nd Hepta, where it remained hidden from the Kandrons community, communicating only with other members of the Heptagon.
Two autonomous lives, two memories, two radically different connections to the Spirit ... it felt duplicate. Would it be able to maintain these barriers? And, more important, would it lose its personality in such duplication? Sometimes it wandered on the edge, between two worlds ... who was it?
The Kandrons of the Heptagon still surrounded Edgard, their legs firmly anchored in the ice, covered with the snow falling thickly. They supported 5th Hexa ... and believed in its solution. The latter was priceless.