by James Huff
After finishing my drink I decided to walk around and see if I could find Amy anywhere. To my satisfaction she was standing in front of the statue of the Alphae, keenly examining it. I stood right next to her and said hello. “Listen John, we all know that you are with the BMF. That is nothing new to any of us. You don’t have to try and explain to me your condition. I am not here to judge you in whether or not your DDD diagnosis is genuine. I will, however, offer you a piece of advice.” I turned to face her and smiled, anxious. “Go ahead, I am listening,” I replied. “I know how you feel John. So badly you just want to stand up and speak what you see as the truth. You want to shout it from the mountainous peaks of the Alphae’s kingdoms and you want everyone to hear you. But you must understand that there is a certain power in silence. Silence can be the one thing that can save you…” Suddenly I began to think of my grandfather. It was his words all over again from the day at the train. A tear formed in my eye and Amy obviously took notice of me. I was alarmed when she came closer to me and embraced me in a hug. It was the first time I had been hugged since I ran up to my mother and embraced her before the Worship Service on the day of my induction. The tears stopped and all I could do was smile. She broke away from me and smiled back.
“Truly I just deeply miss my grandfather. He was the only one who ever understood me fully,” I informed her. “Yes, I understand,” she replied. “That was how it was with my father. He is still alive, but I have not seen him in years.” I gave her a questioning look. “Why is that?” Her face grew stern and she exchanged with me a cold, steely look. “I am afraid that I cannot tell you that.” I decided to pry a little further. “You told me your mother died last year. Do you mean to say that you have not seen both of your parents together in years? Who were you living with before you came here?” Her face grew warmer and I could tell that the conversation was getting more intimate. “I was staying with my aunt and uncle in West Quarter. They are deeply devoted to the Alphae and as I did not share the same enthusiasm for our god, needless to say it was tough. Not to mention the fact that West Quarter is the most depressing place in all of Metropolis. But I always kept my feelings to myself. So to them, everything was fine. It was so hard to keep silent, but I always knew that it was the one thing that would keep me away from the BMF. I would sooner die than be taken by them.”
The direction the conversation was taking made me very uncomfortable. Could it be that the reason she was so afraid of the BMF was that her father was taken by them and eventually exiled? I already knew that he possessed books on cosmology that contradicted the tenants of the Alphae. But I knew that if I brought it up it could mean losing the only friend I had in Institution. So I kept silent and decided to change the subject. “Thank you for opening up to me and thanks for your advice and continued friendship. It means a lot. What were you doing staring at this statue anyway? You seemed to be in deep thought, like you were observing a hidden aspect of it.” She gazed at it a little more before answering. “That is my secret John. Now I would appreciate it if you gave me some time alone. It’s not that I do not enjoy your company, but I really need to spend time alone sometimes. It’s the only way I can cope.” “Very well,” I replied, and left her to her observation.
I decided to approach the bar and see if I could order some more juice, but before I got to the front of the line an announcement was heard from above. “Inductees please make your way to the dining hall for the thanksgiving prayer and supper.” I was pretty hungry, especially after that physical education class. But I really wished I could eat some better food. Every time the Alphae showed us the grand feast in his kingdom my mouth watered and I longed to eat it. And every time it dissipated and we were all given the same garbage. I did learn that the faster I ate the food, the easier it was to get it all down. And at least it satisfied my hunger. I loitered around the common room for a few minutes, waiting for the sea of people to disperse a little. Then I lazily headed for the direction of the corridor that led to the lifts to be taken to the dining hall. On the way there I couldn’t stop thinking about my conversation with Amy. I felt like her father may have been a lot like my grandfather and that his influence on her mirrored my own with Grandfather. And the fact that she gave me a loving hug after she saw me tear up really gave me a newfound sense of hope.
I exited the lifts and headed into the dining hall. I took a seat at the end of the middle table, trying to stay out of sight. There were a few other children from my caste sitting around me, but none of them seemed to take notice of me in any particular way. I sighed. I could not see Amy anywhere. Well…I supposed we weren’t going to always run into each other. The priest struck his scepter to the ground, signaling the entire hall to be silent. Then the Alphae arose from his throne, out of his slumber. He tapped his scepter on the floor six times intermittently, and with each tap the priest performed a full prostration. I couldn’t help but snicker at the scene. He looked like such a fool. After making a fool of himself, the priest turned around, faced the students, and knelt down on the ground while the Alphae blessed him with his scepter. “I bless thy silver with gold. Now arise child and be prepared to farewell the setting sun.”
With that the priest arose and bowed toward the Alphae, who in turn bowed back. Then the Alphae began his speech. “Glorious children, I welcome you to the feast prepared by my bounty.” With that he raised his scepter on high and a beam extended from its tip and touched the ceiling and then a panorama opened up all around us. We were in the midst of a great hall of the god. There were large stone pillars on either side of us and a massive throne in the distance, bedecked with jewels. The throne was empty but there were tables between the pillars that stretched out as far as the eyes could see. They were all full of the most lush and exotic foods imaginable. There were turkeys and chickens all steaming hot, as well as whole roasted pork and every manner of fruits and vegetables. The tables were also bedecked with golden chalices filled with some kind of exotic wine. I could smell scents of herbs and spices and hot meats and vegetables. The scent wafted into my nostrils, intoxicating me with its strong aroma. I was lost in a sea of sensory pleasure.
But then the Alphae struck his scepter to the floor and the entire scene dissipated. He spoke once more. “And my children, at the culmination of the initiation that is life, you will all soon enter my glorious kingdoms to feast with your god and king forever. But at this moment take time to give thanks to the bounty that you shall receive and for the passing of your first official day behind the walls of Institution. Now I bless you all and leave you to prepare for the Twilight Ritual tonight, where we will honor the death of the sun.” With that the Alphae sat back on his throne and entered into his slumber, while the priest knelt at his feet.
In no time at all the Nutritional Drone Squad arrived with yet another helping of that atrocious food. A part of me hoped that this time it may have actually been better. But I was wrong. The drone hovered behind me and placed a metallic tray in front of me on the table. On it there was an oblong piece of grayish yellow matter that almost had the appearance of fish, as well as a few green and orange sticks that had the appearance of vegetables, but tasted more like stale corn. The entrée itself did have a somewhat fishy taste to it, but the texture was more slimy and rubbery. I ate with my former strategy in mind; that the faster I ate this horrific food, the easier it would be to get it down. The drink I had with it was to my great pleasure the acai berry juice. Even though it tasted somewhat artificial, it was refreshing indeed compared to the other liquids I had drank that day.
Shortly after finishing my food there was an announcement heard from above. “Inductees please follow the priest to the Western Temple for the Twilight Ritual ceremony.” Again I waited for the crowd to disperse a bit before taking my place near the back of our caste and following the swarm of people to the large lifts to be taken to sub level 16, the location of the Western Temple. Upon entering the lifts my mind began to swim with thought. What if I was chosen yet again by the Alphae?
What if I speak my mind and lose Amy as a friend? What if the second protocol with the BMF was activated? But I tired of worrying about these things and decided to let it go and try to mentally prepare myself for the ceremony.
I exited the lifts with the rest of my caste mates and proceeded to walk down a great hall and up to two huge black double doors. The doors themselves were bedecked with engravings depicting the Alphae putting the sun to rest each night, along with a few prophets seen worshipping at his feet. The priest murmured what must have been some kind of password and the massive doors swung open. Again I found myself in a large temple area very similar to the Eastern Temple. The main difference that I noticed was that the altar and the throne were set to the west, and everything seemed to be focused in on that direction. The pillars were exactly the same as the Eastern Temple, except that they were both black with engravings of the same color so that it was impossible, at least from a distance, to make out the script chiseled upon them. The seating was the same as the other temple and looked like that of an ancient coliseum. Members of the other castes began to file in and take their places in their selected seating, with the banner of each crest hanging on high.
Just as I did in the morning, I took my seat high above the floor towards the top of the stadium. I looked around and saw no one I recognized, just a few blonde haired boys and one brunette girl. I tried my best to pretend that I was not there. What if all these students were already aware of my involvement with the BMF? The haunting thought of the incident in the locker room crept back into my mind. I could have easily ended up sustaining more injuries from assault as the time passed by in Institution.
As soon as everyone was settled into their selected seats, the six priests of the castes joined the high priest between the two pillars to the West. The Alphae sat behind the altar on his throne. This throne was silver with gold engravings that I could not make out from such a distance. The altar itself was pitch black and appeared to also have some form of engravings upon it. The high priest tapped his staff three times and the other six priests instantly prostrated in front of the altar as the Alphae rose to speak. “My glorious children. Welcome to the Western Temple and the Twilight Ritual ceremony. Here we will be honoring the death of the sun as it passes into the underworld to be reborn again by my mighty hand in the morning. This eternal cycle has been documented for millennia by my various prophets, but the prophet we will be honoring this evening is the most Blessed Sairya. In the ancient Alphaean human kingdom of Diambe, Sairya started his own unique caste of mages and saints called the Twilight Wanderers. These most holy men devoted their entire lives to the death of the self to be reborn in the solar personification of my divine being. Remember inductees, you must always put the self to death in order to be reborn as my great children. You will experience this for yourself in your first initiation. But for now I will choose one child from each caste to come before the altar and pay me homage.”
It was then that the Alphae started choosing students to come forth. This time he began with my caste, and I was very grateful to not be chosen. He went on to choose children from the other castes and all six of them prostrated fully before him and kissed his feet. Some went into spastic convulsions, but most paid rather solemn tribute. At the end of the choosing, the children returned to their seats and it was then that the high priest called us all to the floor for the ritual. He instructed us to turn around and face East and then to turn around once more and face the West whilst reciting: “We honor the death of the sun to bring upon us the dusk, that it may be reborn to renew us in the dawn.” We were all beckoned to raise our hands as we turned around and instantly the shaft of light that was previously illuminating the entire temple was extinguished and the entire hall was plunged into the deepest darkness. It was then that the high priest tapped his scepter to the floor six times and with each tap a torch was lit up along the high walls of the temple.
Following the ceremony my caste was escorted by the Silver priest to the lifts and announced that it was now time for our personal one-on-one devotion to the Alphae via the individual altar stations on sub level 3. I was getting tired. I just wanted the day to be over with. Upon exiting the lifts we were escorted down a wide corridor and into a huge room full of individual altar stations set up in semi-circular arcs throughout the entire room. We were told to pick one of our choosing and spend an hour in devotion with the Alphae, asking him for advice and offering up prayers and thanksgiving, as well as confessing our transgressions against his holy and omnipotent will. Or so we were told at least. Of course I knew that the Alphae was far from all powerful, but I remembered what Amy said earlier during social hour and so I decided to play the role of silence and, if necessary, to pretend.
I walked up to a random altar toward the edge of the room, number 112. I touched the screen and immediately those enigmatic eyes of the Alphae formed. Then his nemyss could be seen to take form, and finally his strange beard. His dazzling and vibrant colors shone with a unique brilliance. “What do you seek child?” I hesitated for a moment before answering. “I seek to serve that I may be served.” The Alphae glinted in response. “What is on your heart child?” So badly I wanted to tell him about Grandfather and what really happened that night. Surely he must know why Grandfather died. I decided to test the waters a bit. “You know that my grandfather was taken from me. You know that I have blamed you. But when Mr. Ivaness of the BMF, or my parents before I got here, spoke of Grandfather they always told me that he was in one of your kingdoms. Well I believe the only kingdom he would have wanted would have been Vaena from his stories. Is it possible that you could have given him that kingdom?”
I felt silly asking such a question. After all, I was highly skeptical that there even was such a thing as these myriads of kingdoms that the Alphae claimed to have created for the afterlife. To me Vaena seemed more real. Even though Grandfather presented it as fiction, I had to believe that somehow it could be more real than this place. “My child,” the Alphae responded, after a few moments of his trance-like slumber, “how do you know that the kingdom I have placed your grandfather in is not even better than the places of his stories?” I admitted that I secretly wanted to see what he meant. A part of me wanted to go to the kingdom just to give me a chance to see my beloved grandfather’s face again. So I decided to further test the waters. “I know I have been disgraceful to you many times in the past, but for some reason you chose me this morning and you treated me as if I never did anything wrong. If you can show such kindness and mercy then, I ask you now: can you take me into one of your kingdoms to see my grandfather?” It was then that the Alphae grew to his full form and stood about six feet tall on top of the altar before me. He lowered his staff to my face and gently pressed its tip against my forehead. “It shall be done. In the Northern quarter of this room there is a secret door marked by the words ‘Graceful Entry.’ Walk before the door and speak the password “Aliasae.” Then you will find what you seek awaiting you…” With that the Alphae dissipated and I walked hastily over to the Northern quarter of the massive room.
I approached the door and spoke the password and instantly the door opened and a man in a strange black coat beckoned me to enter quickly and silently. I did as he asked and he ushered me over to this strange looking pod. It had a kind of greenish purple metallic sheen to it on the bottom and a black cover that went over it. He entered in a code on the side of the machine and instantly it opened and he beckoned me to lie down inside. I did as he asked and then he closed the machine and I could hear him walking off. A pair of eyewear descended down upon my face and clicked in place. It was then that I felt like I was being pulled out of my body. At first I started to panic, as I looked around and saw that I was being projected through some kind of multicolored tunnel or wormhole. But before I could panic I found myself amidst the most beautiful garden I had ever seen in my entire life. On each side of me were huge mountains stretching up into the sky beyond the clouds and higher than the eyes could see. There were
huge lush trees growing in this valley and even a beautiful willow tree hanging over the banks of a river. I approached the willow tree and to my great joy I saw my grandfather lying against the trunk. He appeared to be asleep.
I ran towards him as fast as I could but when I got to the willow something was stopping me from going under its branches. It was like there was some kind of force field separating me from my grandfather. I cried out to the sky in anger. “Why are you doing this to me? Why can I not embrace my grandfather?” I collapsed onto the grass and began bawling like an infant. It was then that the Alphae descended from the clouds. He reached the ground beside me, in front of the willow, harrowing up above me at least 500 feet. But then he gently stooped down and welcomed me to step onto his palm. I hesitated and looked toward the tree to see if I could find Grandfather. But he was no longer there. As soon as I looked back toward the Alphae I saw my grandfather lying down in the fetal position in the Alphae’s palm. Such a sight disgusted me, but I longed so much to lie beside my grandfather that I took my place next to him in the palm of the Alphae.
It was then that I instantly shot back into body and before I knew it the pod opened and the assistant from before, in the black coat, assisted me to my feet. I looked around and noticed a few other children exiting some of the other pods in that room. The man in the black coat spoke to me. “You have fifteen minutes to return to your dormitory for bed. Good night and remember, that all things done be unto the glory of the Alphae.” I returned to the room with the individual altar stations and was escorted by a drone to the lifts. On the way back up to my dormitory I could not help but to be disgusted at myself. How could I be so desperate to see my grandfather that I would stoop to the level of every other pathetic child groveling at the feet of the Alphae? It made me sick. But I was far too tired to be angry. I returned to my dormitory and found Brian to be already asleep in his pod. The drone who had escorted me followed me into the room and demonstrated to me how to properly utilize what it called the Sleep Monitor. I laid down on the bed, pressed a button on the side and the pod went up around me with a machine-like “zing.” Eyewear descended down upon my face but I drifted off into a deep sleep before I even felt it touch my skin.