by James Huff
“Two weeks?!” I exclaimed aloud, a hot flush rolling over my still sweating cheeks as I absorbed the fact that, not two days after I found my grandfather dead, I too would be joining my fellow children in Institution. Just great. But I knew there were more important things to consider at this time, so I ignored this ominous fact and continued to wait for a response from the DCDS. The voice came back over the speakers of the monitor. “A coronation drone will be sent to your location immediately. Please be patient and remain calm, and remember that the glory of the Alphae is always there to console you.” The call was ended and I decided to sit down on the sofa for a few minutes and gather my thoughts. I hated having to wait there with two horrible thoughts ravaging my mind. My grandfather, the only man I have truly loved in my life, was lying dead in my room. And Institution was right around the corner. Suddenly I remembered how Grandfather used to warn me about the dangers of being an escapist within the walls of Institution. But his stories were far from my mind now. I felt like crying, but had no tears to spare.
Then I remembered the rage that had taken a hold of me just a few days prior. I could not allow myself to feel anger anymore, and whatever anger I had left I funneled into ambition to destroy the Alphae once and for all. But how? I was to be entering Institution soon. I would be forced to bind myself for life to the will of the Alphae. Couldn’t there be an escape? Why must fate torture my soul? My mind was filled with so many questions. I was confused. Could the Alphae really have killed my grandfather? He did threaten him. But something just did not add up, because I truly questioned the divinity and eminence of the Alphae. I do not believe he is as all powerful as he, and everyone else claims. But I knew the cost if I were to reveal these things. Somehow, through it all, I had to remain silent. But for how long? I could not seal my lips indefinitely. Sooner or later my thoughts would be revealed…and I may face exile. But somewhere, deep within my heart and soul, there was that sense of wonder about the stories of my grandfather. Somewhere there was a longing, buried deep beneath feelings of anger and grief. I decided right then and there to make a vow, in my grandfather’s honor. I would vow to destroy the Alphae once and for all and to bring the wonder of his tales into this world. I knew the world could be a much better place, despite the fact that everyone seemed to think it was fine just the way it was. Everyone, that is, but me.
There was a ring at the door. I reluctantly stood up from the sofa, the grief stiffening my body with numbness. The coronation drone must have arrived. I opened the door and beheld a curious looking drone, unlike the surveillance drones I was used to seeing. This was indeed the first coronation drone I had ever seen, as this was also my first experience with the death of a loved one. It had these strange greenish eyes with tiny orange pupils, one on each side of its large white head. In the center of the two eyes was some kind of shiny mirror that glinted like silver in the morning sun. Its body was similar to the surveillance drones, elliptical at the top and straight at the bottom. It also hovered like the other drones. On its back I could just barely make out the outlines of what looked like a large pack which must have held its equipment. “Greetings citizen,” the drone said in its dull monotone. “Show me the way to the deceased citizen.” I turned my back to the drone and headed past the kitchen and living area and down the hallway, pausing for a moment at the entrance to my room. I took a deep breath and opened my door. Grandfather still lie there next to my bed, stiff as a board. The smell had gotten slightly worse and only added to the deep cut of grief still afflicting my heart.
The drone came in behind me and, passing around me, hovered just in front of my grandfather’s head. Its arm shifted around its back and pressed a button, releasing the pack from its back. It fell to the floor with a dull, metallic thud. The drone turned around and a compartment opened out of its torso and a large robotic arm came out of it and reached toward my grandfather’s head, lifting it up slightly. Out of the pack on the floor, a monitor opened up and a fiber optic cable came out of the center of the box, just below the monitor and connected to my grandfather’s forehead. The screen lit up with various codes which looked like they were trying to calculate the cause of death. The drone turned its head toward me. “The deceased citizen had an aneurism, causing instant death. The time of death was approximately 70 hours ago. He will now be transported to the local DCDS cremation facility.”
With that the drone placed the pack on the floor back on its back, which then clicked into place. The robotic arm went back into its torso, and its two other arms extended outward toward my grandfather and hoisted him up over its back. The drone then exited my room and headed down the hallway, passed the living area, and out of the door. I was actually glad that it had gone and, even though I loved Grandfather dearly and wanted to stay with him…seeing him there dead was just too painful. Besides, I never understood how anyone could ever feel attached to a corpse, like the rebels Grandfather mentioned who fought for the keeping of burials. In the end, I thought, it really did not matter.
After the drone left I began to grow restless. I decided that perhaps it would be best to go for a walk. I knew that Metropolis was not too interesting by itself, but with an active imagination I figured I could at least try to make it an adventure. I did not want to stay at home and wallow in grief. Besides, Grandfather would have wanted me to remain an imaginative child. I would let his stories live on, even if they were just in my mind. And so I walked out of the door without thinking twice. I walked down the hall of our floor and approached the lift. I pressed the button and waited there, patient for the first time all day. The door opened after a few moments and an elderly man stepped out and passed me on my left side. I turned to look at him and our eyes locked. He had short gray hair and a neatly trimmed beard and was dressed all in white. He said nothing to me but for some reason I felt a sense of peace come over me. As the man walked down the hall I watched him for a while until he turned down a corridor and disappeared. I stepped into the lift. It was made of steel and the fluorescent lights on the ceiling reflected on the metal so that it caught my eyes and I instinctively squinted.
The doors opened at the bottom floor and I walked down the path toward the pneumatic train platform. It was a few blocks away. Suddenly I remembered the last time I was there on that stormy night. I recalled the rage I had then and was glad that it was over. The rage was not within me now and I was at peace. I did not like being angry. It leaves a residue of darkness in the spirit that causes nothing but more suffering. I may be young but I know a lot about life. My grandfather was not only a great storyteller but a very wise teacher. He used to say that so many people in this world walk through their lives ungrateful for what they have. He would say that they merely attributed all their gratitude to the Alphae, but to him the Alphae never provided true happiness. He saw it all as an illusion. But he knew, as I do now, that one cannot always speak about such things. He told me that I was special, just like him and his grandfather. Sometimes, he would say, a man or a woman is born in our line that just stands out like a shining light. They just glow with an inner radiance that people respond to with a joy of their own. Happiness is contagious, my grandfather would always say, and it is better to spread that joy than it is to hoard it for oneself.
I approached the platform and awaited the pneumatic train. I could feel the warm sun on my neck and a cool breeze left me with a sense of peace. It was a beautiful day. Somehow I had overcome the grief and rage. The train arrived and the doors opened and a dozen or so people rushed out past me, not even looking up. I thought of the old man I saw earlier and wondered why I had not had that experience again here at the platform, but that thought soon dissipated as I entered the train. I sat down near the back by the window and stared out dreamily at the morning sky. The train took off with a jolt toward center city. I looked at the clouds through the window and, once again, my imagination took over. In my mind the clouds began to dance in the sky around the sun and snow came out of them and encircled the sun. The moon came out
from behind a cloud and began to dance around the sun. My imagination was suddenly cut short when an announcement rang out on the monitor above. It was the Alphae. “Glorious citizens, I summon you to the center city temple to join the rest of your citizens in the Ritual of Atonement at the Retreat. Your presence is mandatory.”
Suddenly I realized that my parents would be there and, to the best of my knowledge, they still had no idea that Grandfather was dead. I was beginning to forget my grief before, but having to face my parents about it would be tough. My grandfather was my father’s father, and even though they did not always see eye to eye, I knew that he loved him dearly and I hated that I had to be the one to tell him. But I realized I had to. I no longer felt the desire to get lost in my imagination and so I just closed my eyes and rested for a moment until the train arrived at the center city platform.
I must have dozed off because I was awoken suddenly by a violent jolt as the train suddenly stopped. “You have arrived at Center City Platform, please exit in an orderly fashion,” replied a voice from the monitor above. I slowly walked toward the door and waited briefly for it to open. As I stepped onto the platform I found myself immersed in a huge crowd of people. Finding my parents seemed next to impossible, but I had a feeling I would run into them. Against all odds, I always did in the past. I walked through the crowd, nervously, toward the Center City Temple. It was a few blocks from the main building of Institution. It was still a beautiful day, but the breeze had increased to rapid, random gusts and only added to the discomfort of navigating my way through the sea of people.
I was too preoccupied with anxiety from the crowds and having to give my parents the bad news to allow my imagination to take over. I approached the building of Institution and paused on the street in front of it. For some reason the crowd generally avoided the place and so I decided to stand there and contemplate my future fate that would bring me there. There were no windows in Institution and no one was allowed to leave until their three year initiation was complete. If I successfully graduated, I would complete it at the age of 16. But more than that I was thinking of the horrifying anxiety of having to go to this place for so long. I knew that I would suffer there. Grandfather warned me many times of what happened to children who questioned the dogma of the Alphae and who spent too much time daydreaming. The only way I could possibly think to cope with the harsh realities of Institution was through my imagination, and yet this would be the very source of my suffering. It seemed to be an inescapable paradox, the irony of it all gave me a headache…and more than this, made my heart grieve even more for my beloved grandfather. But even if he were still alive, I would still have to face the walls of Institution alone.
The building had 11 floors above ground and spanned over twelve blocks in length. I had no idea what it looked like inside, as this was kept secret to all children before they entered. Sometimes I tried to imagine what it must be like, but I knew that I would probably end up being surprised and that my preconceived notions about it were likely to be quite inaccurate. I hoped that maybe it was not as bad as I thought, but my feelings told me that it was likely much worse. The building was made of gray concrete, but it shone with brilliance in the late morning sun due to the veneer of limestone that covered its surface. Somehow I stood there transfixed by it all and would have forgotten why I was there, had it not been for the surveillance drone that pulled me out of my reverie. “The gathering has commenced at Center City Temple. Your presence there is mandatory. I will escort you there now.” I followed the small drone as I listened to the “ping, ding, ding” of its transponder and watched its white gleaming back as it hovered a few paces in front of me.
As I walked it seemed that the building of Institution was unending. I could see the Alphaean palace gleaming with glory in the distance. Even I could not help but admire its magnificence. The palace was massive. I could not even tell how many stories it was. It reached up to the sky to such a harrowing height that it was almost impossible to see from the foundation to its mighty peak. It was like a mountain. It shone with bright colors, green and gold and silver. As much as I hated the Alphae, even I sometimes wondered what it must be like inside. For some reason the people of Metropolis rarely spoke of it. Anyone who approached too near to it was captured by the Sentinel Drones and immediately shipped off for exile. Violence was rarely used. For the Alphae knew that exile brought inevitable death, and not necessarily a quick death either. Swarms of people were gathering closer to our destination.
I looked down the hill and could see the Center City Temple. It was circular, with a circle of smaller monuments all surrounding a massive statue of the Alphae. There were a circle of individual altar stations all around it, and in the center was a beautiful garden. The plants in the garden had an artificial look to them, with colors of every hue. The crowds varied. There were men, women, and children in equal number and everyone was running around with excitement at the coming ceremony. I arrived at the edge of the circle and the drone left me to return to its duties. My parents were nowhere in sight. It was approaching noon, and the ceremony was about to begin. I decided to go check for them at the individual altar stations. I knew that they were prone to use stations 9 and 13 often, so I decided to check those two first. I approached station 9 and saw an elderly man with a young child, a few years younger than I. Suddenly I was reminded of my grandfather and a warm tear gently rolled down my cheek. But that sadness soon subsided as the people began to rush toward the center of the circle, among the gardens, before the statue of the Alphae. I quickly rushed over to station number 13, and there I saw my parents already leaving that station to join the others.
I scurried over to them to try to catch up, bumping into several people along the way, and almost tripping over a young child. I shot a brief, “Sorry!” to the child’s parents, without looking back, and approached my father, nudging him roughly on his shoulder. He swung around, startled, and then smiled with gratitude and spoke to me. “Well there you are John. We were thinking you might not make it. Just wait until you see what the Alphae has in store for us. The Ritual of Atonement explains how the Alphae atones for all of our wrongdoing with the sacrifice that he made in the early days of the Wastelands, and how he erected our wonderful cities. Since you will soon be proudly entering the walls of Institution, I believe it will really speak to you.” My mother was smiling also, glad to see me. “You father is right,” she added, “you will soon see that the Alphae is loving and forgiving. We know how many times you have angered him in the past. Now you can see for yourself how merciful he is with his divine kindness.” I knew I had to tell them about Grandfather, but I did not know how to go about it. They seemed to be too preoccupied with the Ritual of Atonement and the Alphae. But I could not hold it in any longer. I blurted, “Grandfather is dead!”
My mother looked at me oddly as if she did not register what I was saying, but father looked quite distressed. “When did this happen?” he asked. “It was about three night ago Father. I had just returned from an altar station where I addressed the Alphae and he told me…” “What did the Alphae tell you?” father chided. But no sooner had I opened my mouth to respond than the calling of the Alphae began.
“Alphae druant decadunt…Alphae druant decadunt…” The people chanting over and over again in unison, swaying back and forth as if in a swoon. I alone remained silent. I watched as the people began to jump up and down and convulse violently. There was a drumming that was heard coming from the massive disc at the foot of the Alphae’s statue. “Boom…boom…boom.” The beats were far apart at first, and then they became closer and closer to each other, until a drum roll began, at first softly, and then louder and louder. It grew so loud that I had to plug my ears…and the people began to frantically chant over and over again, moving and swaying to the rhythm like drunken dancers. I alone remained still. Then it happened. The drumming stopped and it grew silent. The people stopped moving and the clouds covered the sun. There was a stillness in the air and a silence
like I had not felt in a long time. Suddenly I thought of Grandfather. I wondered if it were possible that he could see me right now. I wondered where he was. I wondered if death was the final end for him. I wondered many things. But my thoughts were cut short by a deafening, high pitched screech. It was coming from the disc. It increased in pitch and volume and all of the people fell down on the ground and prostrated themselves before the statue.
Then it was silence again, but I could see the disc light up bright green. I heard a whooshing sound as it lifted up off the ground a few feet and began to spin, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. The green would turn into blue and then violet and then red, and then yellow. Then it would go back to green again. Then, suddenly, it shot out a thin reddish-orange beam of light like a laser. It shot up into the sky higher than the eyes could see and then a panorama opened up over the sky like a canopy, and the all familiar paradise of the Alphae fell all around us. This time we were surrounded by a thick jungle rainforest, with a massive pyramid-like temple in the center, where the statue of the Alphae once lie. It has many steps and reached up as high as the palace of the Alphae. At the top, sitting on a massive throne, sat the Alphae in all his glory. The throne was made of pure gold and had rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and all kinds of beautiful gems encrusted into it. The Alphae was holding a golden scepter in his hands with a strange cross shape at the top and serpents coiled around it, with their tails at the base. Coiled around the cross could be seen the head of a cobra. I was not familiar with the symbolism, but briefly wondered if I may learn about it in Institution. The Alphae’s eyes looked different. He seemed to be in a deep trance-like state. All was silent except for the sounds of the wild jungle. It was evening in his paradise and the sun shone over the pyramid so that it was dazzling white. It was covered with limestone just like the walls of Institution.