by James Huff
Chapter 6:
I was running through a field. There were daisies and lilacs dancing playfully in the morning breeze. The sun kissed the horizon with hues of pink and orange and yellow. I could see Amy off into the distance. When she saw me approaching her, she too began to run towards me. She was wearing a beautiful yellow summer dress with white roses embroidered upon it. She had red ribbons in her hair and I watched as they shifted with the winds as she ran. When I came upon her we embraced, but as I began to hold her in my arms she turned to dust before me. Suddenly the entire scene shifted and I was wandering through a barren desert wasteland. Hot wind kicked up dust that burned my eyes. The sun was beating down harshly upon my face. I found myself consumed by an unquenchable thirst, but there was no water to be found. My clothing had frayed and torn due to the harsh dust storm. My skin was peeling off and slowly decaying. I was in the most agonizing pain of my life.
Then I could see the Alphae descend from above. He took me into his palm and we flew up into the air. Abruptly, and without warning, he dropped me. I began to fall toward the earth. I was screaming in fear of the fate that awaited me. But I saw nothing but water around me. I fell into the water and began to sink. I couldn’t hold my breath any longer and suddenly I started to drown.
I awoke with a fright as the all familiar morning bell went off. I took off my eyewear and the pod returned to its original position with a “zing.” Brian’s pod retracted right after mine and I saw him get up, yawning, and stretch. “Good morning John,” he said through his yawn. “Morning,” I shot back, dreading the day ahead of me. I was really feeling uneasy about the pod I was sleeping in and the dreams I had were not very pleasant. I shrugged it off, got up hurriedly, and headed for the containment and cleansing chamber. As I approached the bathroom door, an announcement was heard above. “Inductees please remember to enter the containment chamber before heading to the dining hall for breakfast. Thanksgiving worship begins in one half hour. Thank you and remember, that all things done be unto the glory of the Alphae.”
After using the toilet, I quickly undressed and entered the containment chamber. I winced when the hot radiation, or whatever it was, burned through my skin and watched as my skin began to flake off like ash. But the cool steam that followed relieved the pain and made me feel alert and ready to start my day. Or as ready as I was going to be. I hurriedly dressed and started to walk out of the bathroom door when I bumped into Brain. “Oh sorry John.” “It’s fine,” I replied, slightly irritated. “You better hurry up and get in the containment chamber. I imagine there would be some kind of penalty for being late for the thanksgiving prayer.” Brian nodded in agreement and went into the adjacent bathroom.
As soon as I walked out of the door of my dormitory I saw Mr. Ivaness there in the hallway, already waiting for me. “Good morning John. May I call you John?” I shrugged my shoulders and began to walk down the hall toward the lifts. I figured there was about to be some kind of intervention between us. But I didn’t care. Honestly I was looking forward to finding out more about Victeous. It actually sounded like it would be a lot of fun. “So John, how did you like your classes yesterday?” I shrugged my shoulders and continued looking down at my feet. “Come on John, surely there must be something you would like to talk about from yesterday. I heard there were some boys after your physical education class who were giving you some trouble. How did that make you feel?” I was becoming annoyed. “Well obviously it didn’t make me feel good,” I retorted. “Naturally John, but are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” I knew of only one thing I wanted to say. “This is what I don’t understand,” I began. “I don’t get why everyone seems to know about my involvement in the BMF. That’s my business. I prefer to be anonymous. Now that all the students seem to know of my involvement, they automatically treat me like an inferior. It’s not fair. I have only made one friend so far.”
I was curious that Mr. Ivaness had been listening intently the entire time and not once was I interrupted. Admittedly, I was already growing in respect for the man. “Here’s the thing John. It was never intended for any of us in the BMF to allow anyone else to know of your involvement with us except for the instructors and priests. Unfortunately that circumstance is rarely controlled. I can promise you that all the staff here will do everything in their power to keep you safe and to prevent any altercations with other inductees.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess I will just have to take your word for it. If/when anything does happen, you better know that I will be very angry.” Mr. Ivaeness looked over at me and I could tell that he had something else on his mind. “Tell me John. What do you think about what you have learned so far compared to your grandfather’s fairy tales? Don’t you think that maybe there is more historical credence in the long line of religious and cultural history of the involvement of the Alphae with the people of Earth?”
I quickened my pace and began to walk ahead of Mr. Ivaness but he increased his stride and caught up to me. I hesitated before responding. “I will always believe in my grandfather’s stories. Nothing you or anyone else says or does will change that.” “I understand,” Mr. Ivaness replied. “Well, here is the lift that will take you to the dining hall. I will release you now, as I have other business to attend to. Think about what I said.” With that Mr. Ivaness departed and I entered the lifts to go to the ground level where the dining hall was located.
On the way down I could not help but to think of the dream I had about Amy. I admitted that I did like her and I was thrilled to have found a friend that I felt I could confide in. I was very curious about her father. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was exiled. From the way she spoke of him it sure sounded that way. I shrugged it off. Maybe I could get her to open up to me more during our social hour. I exited the lift and proceeded to walk down the corridor to the broad double doors that led into the dining hall. The doors were already wide open and so I walked through them and headed toward the back of the middle table. Most of the students were already there and I could see the priest kneeling in front of the Alphae’s throne. The Alphae once again appeared to be in his usual trance-like slumber.
I took my seat and tried to blend in. As the dining hall filled, the priest rose to face our caste and struck his rod on the floor three times, signaling for silence. It was then that the Alphae awoke from his slumber and rose from his throne and immediately the priest fully prostrated before him. As he arose to his knees, the Alphae stooped down and allowed the priest to kiss the tip of his scepter. I tried to hold in my laughter but managed to smirk a little. No one seemed to take any notice. The Alphae then began his morning thanksgiving speech. “Good morning inductees of the Silver caste and welcome to your second official day behind the walls of Institution. I now ask you all to enter into my mighty kingdom and observe the banquet of my glory.” It was then that a beam of golden light shot up from the tip of the Alphae’s scepter and
hit the ceiling. Then a panorama descended down upon us and we found ourselves once more in the great banquet hall of our god and king. Everything looked essentially the same on the tables that we saw before us, except that this time there were several dishes of fish that lie steaming on the tables. The Alphae then tapped his scepter on the floor and the scene dissipated. “Remember inductees that your final initiation shall be your death and that you will all be reborn into my mighty kingdoms. There will be a time that you can share in the bounty that I have displayed before you. For now accept the nutritious token that the wonderful team of Nutritional drones have brought before you. And remember, that all glory shall be attributed to me and that ye are as nothing without my holy and omnipotent will.”
The Alphae then took his seat on the throne and went back into his slumber as the high priest knelt before him in adoration. In no time at all the Nutritional Drone Squad had arrived and a metal tray was laid before me on the table. This time there were three gray cylinders with a rubbery texture as well as three round yellow discs that almost had the appearance of eggs,
although they were teal colored instead of being yellow. There was also a small white pile of some kind of mush that accompanied it and a red-orange colored liquid. I took a sip of the drink first and noticed that it had a citrus like flavor that really wasn’t all too bad. The food, however, was terrible and tasted like stale corn. All three dishes tasted exactly the same, despite being of different substance and color.
As I was eating the two boys sitting across from me decided to introduce themselves. “Hi my name is Peter and this is Justin. What’s your name?” Peter had medium length jet black hair and brown eyes and was very fair skinned. A few freckles dotted his cheeks and nose. Justin had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes and his skin was a little darker. He was wearing very thick glasses with thin black frames and small round lenses. “I’m John. I appreciate your polite introductions but I just want to eat right now.” They ignored my request. Justin seemed very quiet and did not say anything but continued to look at Peter, as if seeking his approval. Apparently Peter did not give it for Justin remained silent. Peter decided to chime in. “I have a twin brother named David, but he ended up getting selected for the Iron caste. It’s hard being separated from him. We always did everything together. I know having a sibling is rare in Metropolis, since only twins are allowed to have a family. Ordinarily we are only allowed to have one child per household.” “Yeah everyone knows that,” I retorted. “I have never met any twins, though. My family line has never produced them.” Justin decided to speak up. “So, John, how did you like the physical education class? I saw you err…” I snapped at him. “Yeah I got thrown by a girl. Big deal. She happens to be my friend so I honestly do not care.” Peter seemed interested. “Oh you mean Amy? Yeah I saw you two get selected together. She’s really pretty.” I faked a smile and took another drink, finishing it off in a couple gulps. “Yeah she is pretty,” I admitted. “But it is her kindness that I respect more than anything else. And thanks for introducing yourselves. It sure would be nice to have some new friends for once.” “Of course,” Peter replied. “We don’t have any other classes together but you know the entire caste goes to the physical education class so we will see you there. I can’t wait for them to show us Victeous in action. Sparring can be boring at times.” He chucked and I couldn’t help but smile back.
An announcement was heard from above. “Inductees please follow the priest to the Eastern Temple for the Morning Ritual. And remember, that all things done be unto the glory of the Alphae.” I got up reluctantly and slowly walked toward the doors, trying to avoid getting caught up in the sea of people. I proceeded to walk down the hall to the main lifts and got inside and descended down to sub-level 17. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of making new friends. It was very refreshing, despite my doubts of being able to confide in them. At least I felt comfortable enough confiding in Amy. We reached sub-level 17 as the lift came to an abrupt halt. I held onto the railing to avoid falling over. I exited the lift and could see a mass of people swarming into the great double doors of the Eastern Temple. They were already open. I entered the Temple and took my seat high above the floor with the rest of my caste. Unfortunately there was no one I knew in sight. I was really looking forward to seeing Amy again, but I couldn’t be too disappointed about it because I knew we had all of our classes together.
As the stadium seating was filled, I could see the six priests of the various castes take their place behind the high priest, who in turn took his place in front of the altar and the Alphae’s throne. The ritual continued just as it had the day before. The Alphae gave his usual speech about the prophet who started this whole ritual and added reminders of the necessity for total submission. Then he proceeded to select chosen children from each caste and, luckily, I was not selected this time. Then the ritual was closed in the same manner as the day before, with our circumambulation and welcoming in of the morning sun. At its completion, I lingered behind a bit and waited for the crowd to disperse some before exiting the temple and heading for the proper lift to take me to my classes. Thankfully, since I was not chosen this time, none of the other children gave me any kind of trouble, aside from the occasional sneer.
I entered the lift and wondered how my next day of classes would turn out. I still had not seen Amy since the day before but I knew she would be sitting near me in my first class. The lift halted and I exited with the smaller crowd. I headed to the lecture hall for my history of the Alphae class with reluctance. As I approached the door Amy caught the corner of my eye. I turned and smiled at her and she smiled back, opening the door for me. I walked in and could see the instructor standing behind his desk in the same manner as he was the previous day, with his arms crossed and one hand fingering his pointer.
As the classroom filled, the instructor spoke up. “Good morning inductees of the Silver caste and welcome to your second official day behind the walls of Institution. In our last class we learned about the creation of the cosmos by our holy and omnipotent god the Alphae. Today we will learn about the Alphae’s first prophet, Zati. He was the first human the Alphae showed himself to in a time much more primitive than the modern day. This was many ages past.” With that Mr. Joseph clicked his pointer and signaled for us to put on our eyewear. After fastening them into place I could see myself being transported into another place and time. We were in the middle of a thick forest and a team of hunters could be seen with spears, stalking their prey. As they approached a grazing gazelle, all of the hunters charged toward the beast except for one man who lingered behind. He was a man with long brown hair and a burly beard and was wearing animal skins. The other hunters caught up to their prey and celebrated the kill, but this man lost his party and so began to wander through the forest in search of the rest of his tribe. Mr. Joseph could be heard once more.
“This man is Zati and as you can see the Alphae called to him, asking him to remain behind, though he knew nothing of this intention at the time. What comes next is probably the single most exciting time in all of human history.” Zati was seen to eventually come upon a round clearing in the middle of the forest and took notice of a large, freshly formed crater in the earth. The ground around this spot was charred and the crater itself was still smoldering. The hunter approached this crater reluctantly and as he got to the edge of it he took notice of a small, silvery green sphere in the center of it. He felt called to go into the crater and inspect this mysterious object. As he reached the sphere he slowly and reluctantly reached out his hand to touch it and as soon as he did he flew backwards all the way out of the crater and was knocked unconscious. As he revived a few moments later, he could hear a voice calling out to him, beckoning him back inside the crater.
He obeyed the voice and once more returned to the strange object. As he stood in front of it, suddenly it emitted a golden beam of light that shot up into the sky and then an entire scene fell all around Zati and he found himself in some kind of ancient pyramid. There were four torches placed in each of the cardinal directions and to the East could be seen the all familiar body of the Alphae, glistening with pride atop a dazzling golden throne bedecked with jewels. Zati slowly approached this figure on the throne until he came to his feet and just stood there in disbelief. The Alphae then stood up from his throne, harrowing above Zati to a height of nine feet. The hunter was instantly forced to his knees by some unknown power. Then the god began to speak to this first prophet. “I am your god and I come from the eternal realms where there is no pain and suffering and all that exists is perfect and beautiful beyond imagining. I have imparted upon you the knowledge of language that you may go to your people and tell them of their god. Take this gift of knowledge that I shall now bestow upon you.” The Alphae touched Zati’s forehead with the tip of his scepter and then we all saw a flurry of numbers like code along with beautiful geometric designs of light. We could see all of the knowledge of architecture, language, geometry, mathematics, and science pour into Zati’s mind until he collapsed onto the floor of the pyramid, unable to cope with such a powerful gi
ft.
When he recovered, Zati found himself back in the crater and the scene had dissipated. He then immediately ran back to his tribe, eager to give them the news of their new and mighty god. As he approached the village, he ran up to the elders and told them about all that had happened. But he had forgotten that they had not yet developed language and so he could not reach them and they merely mocked him and cast him away. And so he prayed to the Alphae who then taught Zati the call of the Alphae and urged him to get the people to call out to him. When Zati finally convinced the people to do it, the Alphae once more appeared, this time enshrouding the entire village in the most beautiful paradise. He stood mighty and opulent between two huge waterfalls and with one sweeping motion of his scepter, the entire village was given the knowledge of language.
Mr. Joseph then clicked his pointer and the scene dissipated as the instructor compelled us to remove our eyewear. “And so it began,” Mr. Joseph continued. “The Alphae had shown himself to his people for the first time in human history and Zati went on to become a great and wise prophet and leader and erected a mighty kingdom in the Alphae’s honor. But what happens next is what we will cover in our next class, when a resistance arose that threatened the people of the Alphae in the early years of humanity. Now I dismiss you all and encourage you to ask the Alphae how to best emulate Zati in this manner when each of you go to the individual altar stations this evening. Now go, and remember, that all things done be unto the glory of the Alphae.”