by A. I. Zlato
“No certainties ... nothing is certain ...” the crowded repeated.
“You are our Guide! You have to know! You have to tell us! "Someone shouted.
“I don’t owe you anything. Stop clinging on to me like a mould on a rock!” Mossa got angry.
“A what?” Egeon enquired.
“A mould! A rock! An ocean! Whatever! I did not hide anything from you! You cannot blame me for not sharing about all my questions with you! You have been working on this project for decades, and I’ve been doing this for a few weeks only. You cannot blame me for not knowing everything!”
“You cannot be our Prophet”, someone said.
These words permeated the crowd, and many people nodded. The few diehard Mossa believers, dismayed, also nodded. Within a few moments, he was no longer the Messiah. For anybody.
People were depressed, shocked. It was needless to prolong the discussion, to know whether or not Mossa had truly committed to their project. In trying to explain things, he showed believers his pettiness. Many people had already been doubting his capacities, and that discussion had made them see the real Mossa and how little he was. Now, Mossa would be nothing but a stranger living among them, one voice among many, not deserving of attention. He had banished himself.
Displaying assuredness, Egeon hailed the crowd.
“Wait! Okay, Mossa is not the Prophet. I will not say that I understand your disappointment, because everyone knows that I'm an unbeliever. However, I feel your pain, I really do. Iris, while coming here, had a different purpose than revealing Mossa’s intentions. She wanted to offer her services ... as a recipient of the hybrid’s full knowledge base, she wants two seats on the shuttle, for herself and her friend. What do you think?”
Voices were raised.
“You want to bring aboard people of the City?”
“You want to take a part of the Machine along with us?”
“What do we do with Mossa?”
“What if we don’t Iris along, will she tell the Machine about us?”
“What if she were not sincere and really wanted to derail the project?”
“What if Mossa were the one telling the truth?”
“What if… “
Teo stepped forward and silenced the assembly. He spoke with a determined tone.
“We will make them compete against each other, making sure they do not talk.”
“What do you mean?”
“It is very simple. We put Mossa in a closed section, and we do the same for Iris in a separate room. We show each of them, separately, the progress of our work. Whoever will help us more will gain a seat in the shuttle. Iris had an advantage, since she only wants to take a human, where Mossa would shuttle all Kandrons, representing additional constraints. May the best win ...” continued Teo.
“But this is, this ...”, stammered Galatea.
“Great! No need to know who is lying and who is telling the truth. We will win in either way”, said Teo.
“Wait, Teo! If we lock Iris up, City people will start looking for her!” Egeon managed to say, in the general hubbub.
“I thought she could control people’s chips? We will tell her it is in her best interests that no one look for her.”
Egeon tried to reply, but nobody listened. The crowd, in shock at losing its Prophet, unanimously approved, as if it wanted to seek revenge vis-à-vis Mossa and his layman status, and vis-à-vis Iris who revealed his true nature to the community.
Stunned, he could not raise any objections. Teo's suggestion was monstrous. Enclose two children, take advantage of Iris’ credulity when she would return in order to imprison her, seize the moment to deprive Mossa of his liberty?
This was already done. The crowd had its own will, and Egeon could not fight against it, even if he wanted to. The collective anger was even more powerful than religious fervour, which had nearly swept the community before. Mossa was tied up and firmly held on the ground.
Only Iris was missing from the picture.
He looked around, staring at Galatea, Alea and Teo. The project, their dream had a price. They had to live with that in mind.
Fate can be seen as the combination of time linearity coupled with space continuity. Space-time is not the answer.
The Spirit of the Multitude
Chapter 65
Space H. (Periphery)
Meeting with the Gateway had deeply affected Paul. He observed his surroundings with a new perspective. He saw connections between all things ... trees and Earth ... Earth and water ... water and air ... the organic and mineral cycle ... the human being ... He had experienced an event outside space and time. Any of his questions had been answered, but he was left with a lot more ... a different perception ... He had met Nexus. This legendary creature, living at the edge of Spaces ... in a node ... was real. It thought he was the source of temporary nodes, but Edgard ... and Kandrons ... thought the contrary, that he was indeed the solution. He was probably both ... he was not sure yet.
Altered by the Gateway, directed by Edgard, Paul's mind had widened. He knew that his research on the Earliest Space, including Thomas’ diary, was a mere path on the way to success. Differ the beginning ... Origin ... Elders ... Everyone’s dream ... Do not do tomorrow what you did yesterday ... the E.S. contained the seeds of the solution and the destruction of both. Edgard chose that moment to cut his monologue off.
“You just have to continue. Soon, you will be what you need to.”
“I feel it, yes. But the future ... it will not be what you had imagined.”
“Equilibria have changed ... you are differing. The unpredictable is again possible.”
“You too, you have changed. I feel that you are about to make an important personal decision.”
“I did not choose yet.”
“You know it's wrong ... I feel it.”
“Nothing is sure. "
“Don’t lie to yourself ... I'll miss you a lot, my friend, but I know we will meet again. When you and your fellows will have found your linearity back.”
“You have seen it in your dreams?”
“This is a possible future. I would choose it if I can.”
“And ... did you see something else, or rather another Kandron?”
“The one who is so dear to your heart? The future is changing every moment.”
Paul did not dare tell his friend that in most projections of the future he had seen, Albana did not return, nor the other missing Kandrons. Nothingness would not give back what it had taken, even if it did not occur ... the shadow of that reality could not fully disintegrate. He said nothing, and Edgard did not insist.
Thanks to his enhanced perceptive abilities, he saw the Kandron’s mind clearly. Closing his eyes, he felt the conflicting emotions of his friend. The choice it had already made were tearing it apart ... the fear of never seeing its 1st Hexa filled it with sadness, whereas it looked forward to the remoteness of nothingness while worrying, because everything was uncertain ... Paul also saw battles Edgard had carried in its past, which would not be the future ... he saw it all. He looked at the memories of their conversations through the Kandron’s mind, and saw how he was narrow-minded before.
Yet Edgard had never given up and had believed in him when others had given up. He now read its soul like the Kandron did from the beginning. Paul saw the Spirit of the Multitude ... he had pronounced that term when discussing with the Gateway, but did not know the meaning. The moment when space was an additional dimension of time ... that, too, would change.
“I will miss you so much”, Paul said.
He pulled out the brush and passed it on Edgard. The latter curled its neck and pressed its head against Paul, while deploying half his wing. Their emotions made them vibrate in unison. They took advantage of this moment, according to the rhythm of their breathing. It felt so good to be with a true friend. Binding their consciousnesses, they were present to one another, in an infinite complicity.
When Edgard straightened back up, Paul was
trembling. A new life awaited him. This moment would not happen again, he would never be the human binomial discussing with his Kandron. That time was over. Paul would keep the memory of their discussions, through his new perception. He would no longer find anything absurd ... except his own reactions.
Brush in hand, Paul admired Edgard’s coppery shrapnel, then he settled on his back. They set off together towards the laboratory.
The Kandron landed on the driveway, and not on the lawn, as it had promised the security guard. Sliding on the ground, Paul felt his mind become a little more pragmatic. It was necessary to discuss with humans ... Paul stopped at this thought. He, too, was human ... not really, actually ... a strange feeling ... what was humankind, after all ...
He entered the lobby, and the guard greeted him, after checking that Edgard was not heading towards his beloved lawn. Satisfied with his observation, he returned to his duties.
Once in his office, Paul saw Vlad, who rushed towards him to talk about the progress of his research. Paul returned completely into reality and listened attentively to his assistant. He had worked on the Machine’s lost data, in the Space’s earliest era. With the director of the laboratory, he was able to talk to a Machine engineer, but he had been of no help. The latter was so full of himself, he paid no attention to Vlad’s questions, although he had taken many an oratorical precaution to avoid offending his interlocutor. Undeterred however, Vlad had used Jade’s professional connections in order to contact other people. Although no Machine engineer would teaching him anything, Mechanics were rather more prolix, including a man named Lars.
Paul could hardly keep up with his assistant's narrative, so enthusiastic he was that his explanations were unclear. Broadly, the Mechanics had said the Machine had modified Itself singlehandedly, without any human intervention.
Paul immediately thought of something he had read in Edgard’s mind.
“The digital entity ...”
“Yes. That's how It was created”, said Edgard.
“How could the Machine ...”
“It had become autonomous ...”
Paul thought for a moment.
“The cycle 1011 1100 1101 ... 11, 12, 13 ... oh my ...”
“I told you, what matters is the message ...”
“I still have so much to learn ... I ...”
Paul was silent, shocked by what he had just understood. He eventually resumed the conversation.
“But the Machine doesn’t control that entity ... It doesn’t suspect anything ... I see ... the entity has won ... the Guardians ... the future is not certain ...”
“The future is never certain. And you who can see it ... I know how that can be a curse ...”
“No, Edgard, you don’t know ... and I don’t, either. When I become what I need to be, it will be worse.”
“No, it will be different ...”
“If you say so! I'll try to do as I did before, and admit what you say without questioning.”
“As if you were a skimpy human again?”
“Hey ...” Paul mentally slapped the Kandron.
“Your assistant is still talking to you!”
“Oh, shit!”
He had completely forgotten Vlad, who nevertheless gave him important information. Paul focused on him again, just as he leapt from his chair.
“You know, boss, I can see when you don’t listen ... You missed my conclusions on the Machine’s changes.”
“Sorry, I…”
“No problem. You heard the most important part. Let’s leave the rest for later. I have a meeting now!”
They said goodbye to each other, and Paul returned to his conversation with Edgard.
“5th Hexa ... As long as I can call you so...”
“Yes?”
“You promised to explain ... why me? What special traits do I have? I have not found the answer in your mind.”
“Simply because the answer is not in me. 2nd Hepta and 1st Hexa assigned you to me ... and both died.”
“And why you? Why us?”
“Is it important?”
“Perhaps. Past and future are linked ... I need to understand why ... I think it will help me.”
“I think you, especially, want to know.”
“Not false.”
Paul closed his eyes and daydreamed, as he was doing more and more often.
“Genetics ... and the past”, he whispered.
“I do not understand.”
“1st Hexa chose a member of the Hexagon ... it had three other choices ... what differentiates you from the other two is the answer. And for me ... inheritance. I am Thomas’ descendant ... there is no other human, in this time, who has as many of his genes as I do.”
“Are you sure?”
“It's a logical deduction.”
“Any logical connection is a simplistic distortion of the universe. Despite an intelligent appearance, this probably explains nothing. »
« I do not control the logic ... it comes to me.”
Both were silent, aware that everything had been said.
Paul went to the Archives Room to burrow into the diary. He would find the latest keys to complete his transformation, achieve the level of consciousness that would annihilate forever the spectrum of Permanent Equilibrium . He opened the diary, delved into the page he had taken great care in bookmarking the last time, and resumed his translation. Thomas ... his distant ancestor.
“05-07-2150
I am part of the Scientific Knowledge team. Along with me, eleven other people, and we are not that many ... We are in charge of determining scientific knowledge, across all fields, that we need to take along. We must be sure we don’t forget anything vital ... how to ensure that everything we know is present in books? What if a theorem, some little information, were missing, making everything else incomprehensible? We first established a list of knowledge fields we needed to take along. And, therefore, those we had to abandon. We discussed astronomy and astrophysics. In my view, these two constitute essential knowledge. Others did not agree; they said that the conquest of space is the result of human propensity in seeking to dominate everything. Which goes against the Equilibrium. For me, knowledge of stars and other celestial bodies is not only not harmful, but allows the human being to overcome his or her condition to be limited, and to grasp concepts at gigantic scales. This is a possible alternative to the excesses of our dream, which I am the only one to see. I still managed to convince them, and these sciences will make it into the collective wealth we can pass on to future generations.
Therefore, I’m indicating here our accumulated facts on planets in our solar system, other stars, their location, their size, their luminosity, their age, the presence or absence of planets. I gather the knowhow needed to build a rocket and a habitation module in space. I’m even thinking of leaving behind a sample, so that our descendants can see what it looks like, and especially believe in this reality.”
Paul stopped. Studying stars? He had never heard of such a thing. He launched a search in the laboratory database and those of the Machine. The results confirmed what he thought. There was absolutely no documents referring to the knowledge Thomas spoke about. Ultimately, the majority must have been right, and his work had to be dismissed. Too bad, some craft capable of going into space ...
“You are underestimating him”, said Edgard.
“These documents do exist ..”
“Any his legacy is guarded safely by Servants.”
“In the same place where the diary was discovered?”
“It was kept in the Machine’s archives, so the answer is no.”
“In the ... but why ... The Machine did not realise that... whatever. Where could Thomas have hidden his treasures ... his bulky treasures ... The Guardians ... Circle Zero ... where it all began.”
“Yes.”
“Had he also kept a flying machine?”
“Yes.”
“Thomas thought the space could be a solution against the excesses ... the non-evo
lution. I feel it is a trail ... but it will not save the Spaces.”
“You are correct.”
“Can you show me what you know?”
“Yes.”
Edgard welcomed Paul into its recollections. It showed him Servants’ cave, the room containing relics of the past. It showed him the shuttle’s wreck. Paul was unable to imagine the effect that had fallen upon those who had left the planet, who had watched it from space.
As he saw the Kandron’s recollections scroll down, he saw things superimposed ... the black building beyond the Forest, which he had seen in the cyclone. He understood now what he had seen ... a shuttle under construction! Edgard then pointed him to other more accurate images of the past and present, of the progress of work ... Humans had space in their genes.
“We talked about this one day ... I looked at the horizon beyond the Forest, and you told me that there was no answer for me there. Just another worldview. Now I understand what you meant. However ... this project also has a high potential for unpredictable events ... It had not been part of my dreams, until now ... the future is constantly changing.”
“Are you planning on intervening?”
“No, I would risk bringing them back into my own vision sphere, and I should not. The unpredictable, the unexpected, that's where we need to go ... in many ways ... yes, that's it.”
He continued reading the diary.
“15-11-2150
In the team, we worry more about the knowledge and knowhow we must leave behind. How to forget? The knowledge that led us to our fundamental mistakes, which almost destroyed us more quickly and surely than overcrowding, constitutes also the foundations that have allowed us to find solutions of Spaces. We need to eliminate our ability to imagine the solution that saves us, but the absolute of which had led us to our loss. Is forgetting the right solution to preventing errors from happening again? Would it not be better to embed a message into the collective unconscious of our descendants? What if, one day, the knowledge we are now abandoning became necessary again? Should we leave behind a key giving access to lost knowledge?