by Chaim, Moran
“Where have you been?” He asked.
“Away.”
“Away where?”
I could say nothing to him, and didn’t have time to make up an explanation either. So I just started walking. But he blocked my way; angry, old, and looking right at me.
“I can’t tell you.”
“You’re supposed to be in jail, everyone’s been looking for you.”
“President’s punishment.”
“Don't lie to me. I tell stories; I can smell a lie from miles away.”
“What do you want?” I said while trying to leave again.
He blocked my way. Something was different about him; he was frightening.
“Don’t think me for a fool. Wounded in a fight with a Purist, and then escaping jail. Everything's just too obvious.”
“That what?”
“You’re part of the resistance.”
My heart stopped. I felt every vein shrink in my body. I kept a frozen face.
“No I'm not,” I said in a soft tone, “I’m just trying to survive.”
He looked at me like he didn't believe me. And why shouldn't he? He read me like a billboard. I tried to divert and smiled.
“I was hiding until I could figure out what to do.”
That was the truth, but only part of it.
“Listen to me, my wife is in this simulation. She's having the best time ever. She's happy and unaware of everything that’s happening outside. I'm the only one who can keep her safe, ok?"
“Ok…”
“So I won't let anything happen to her. I don't know what your plan is, but if I feel that even something as minor as a cockroach's fart is about to happen—I'll tell Padma all about you and your resistance game.”
“I'm not a part of a resistance, why won't you believe me?”
I could hear Bahomi shouting in my head 'Just kill him!' I was indeed close enough to break his neck but I couldn't do that and I couldn't have him expose us either. He didn’t realize that he and his wife are in greater danger than he thought. But if he did tell Padma, that’d be the end of me.
“So tell me the truth, what do you do?” He asked again, as if to give me another chance. He apparently didn't want to turn to extremes, either.
“I'm just…”
“If you try to lie to me one more time I swear on my soul I'll tell Padma.”
“Ok, I’ll tell you I swear, but please don’t tell Padma.” I played innocent.
“Let’s hear it.”
“Do you think THEY can hear us here?” I said softly, pointing toward the ceiling.
“Who?”
“I don't know; anyone that might be listening. Do they plant microphones in here?”
I didn't want anyone to listen to our conversation more than they had to.
He moved back and pointed toward the showers. We both squeezed inside and he turned the shower on. We stood near it fully clothed, our voices shrouded by the sound of the shower cycle.
I spoke quietly.
“I go out of the gun circle. I go on walks alone, I run and exercise.”
He looked shocked, like he had trouble believing me.
“That’s what you do?”
“I go in and out alone all the time.”
“How do you do that?”
“There’s a secret way, through an old service tunnel. Isaac, I just have to be outside. I can't stay inside this grey prison 24/7.”
“I see,” he said, looking calm. He apparently believed me, but looked like he didn't know what to do with what I just said to him.
“What if another Purist attacks you? What if you get kidnapped?” He asked, apparently fearing for me.
“Then it’s my problem. The guns keep you and your wife safe like they always do.”
He didn’t know what to think. My story fitted my extreme circumstances exactly.
“I can take you outside; you told me that you've never been out there,” I said.
“I haven’t.”
“You can’t tell anyone.”
“I won't,” he said.
I was exhausted. A couple of minutes after, I took him outside. We followed the same tunnel Bahomi had shown me before, wearing cactus suits. It looked like he was so happy, both to be going outside and to be wearing that damn suit for the first and last time. I was like his father now, taking him by the hand and showing him something spectacular he’d remember forever.
We came closer to the hatch.
“You can't be out there for long.”
“It's ok, I just want to see.”
Before I opened the hatch I put a piece of metal under the hatch’s sensor so it would read the hatch as closed, like Bahomi taught me. Then I pulled myself out and reached inside to help Isaac out. I closed the hatch and we sat on the ground watching the night sky. If you were ever in the desert you probably knew what we saw. We could see the Milky Way; stars scattered like sugar grains in blueberry pudding. I don't know why that metaphor came to my mind but I could actually see myself taking a spoonful of that sky. Isaac took a long breath.
“I used to look at the sky from a whole different planet,” I said. “What happened to this place?” It was more of a general wonder then an actual question but Isaac apparently also felt philosophical because he started storytelling again.
“You can't control everything all the time. Ever since the dawn of humanity we’ve tried controlling everything out of fear. We’ve feared the dark, fire, rain, hunger, growing old and dying. So in order to control X we invented Y. But Y always created another fear. We feared nature so we invented gods. When the gods didn't bring rain we feared hunger so we invented agriculture. We feared wild animals so we invented weapons. But then people started using weapons against each other. So we began to fear each other so we invented rules and governments to keep people safe and deal with the criminals. We feared immorality so we invented laws but then others began to punish by their own laws. We feared death so we invented medicine and medical procedures. Then we feared gene manipulation. We invented computers to control information and then we feared robots would take our jobs or kill us."
That was a lot to take in.
"Whenever we tried to control something we only made it worse by creating a new problem, along with the opportunity to carry it out. We made more complex and sophisticated systems that became too hard to control. We created industries that ruined our planet. We watched it get destroyed through our expensive lenses and screens because we needed more products and energy to control our life. So we had to go underground, because there was nothing left to control outside. There was no other way to control civil war and starvation. So our only solution was to control ourselves in simulations. We became digital gods. This world is not the best place to live in but we have no other place to go. That's the only thing we have left.”
“There’s not much difference between us and the Purists,” I said. “We stay underground using green technologies to sustain ourselves until the atmosphere settles, and they want to destroy all corrupt technologies so the world will settle.”
“We’re all human; we all need to wait until the world will be habitable again. The difference is that we take care of ourselves without causing more harm, while they are exploiting and destroying everything for their own interest.”
I didn’t say anything for a long moment. I had to let everything he said sink in.
“I understand your fear for your wife, but if you say we can’t control anything over time, then why even bother?”
“Because I love her.” He then stared into my eyes.
“We do irrational things for the ones we love, even if we know it’s futile.”
He gazed at the sky.
I had nothing else to add. I just lied to the first friend I made here, and hoped he believed me. I didn’t know what would happen to him during an invasion, or what would happen to his wife. I could just offer him a peaceful experience right now in hopes that any thought he had about reporting me was subdued
by the sky.
We sat there for a couple more minutes breathing in the sky. He cried.
“I’m going back inside,” he told me. “Thank you for this.”
“It's the least I can do.”
Once he got back, I closed the hatch from the outside and walked all the way to the cave, making sure no one was following me. After I reached the cave I pulled out a mattress and laid on my back with my eyes closed, as if I was about to enter the simulation. I just needed to rest from having the responsibility of all the constant planning.
I closed my eyes and imagined the last day with my friends on the beach. It felt weird just imagining without the simulation’s aid, it felt lacking. In my own imagination, Noam and Dan were sitting next to me drinking their beers, staring at the waves. Everything was quiet: no war, no armies, and no worries. I looked at them and they seemed so peaceful and relaxed. Their expression was projected by my mind's desire onto their figures. Now I needed my own lightness, even if it was superficial and banal. I wanted Hadar. I started to miss her again so I imagined her sitting next to me, smoking, which I hated, so I made it go away. She was looking at the waves, waiting for me to create her first words. She had mocha skin and green eyes, silky black hair and a nose piercing. Back in my old life I hated when she took long silent moments because I wanted to know what was going on inside her head. I slid my finger on her shoulder. She smiled. I remember her skin was smooth as a peach’s. I lied down and put my head on her thigh. She leaned over and kissed me with her full lips. You might suspect I was horny but I wasn't. I just wanted a place to rest inside my mind inside the dark cave. Only then I could finally realize why Knaan’s simulation was built: so one could escape Knaan from time to time.
Being locked inside a shelter could be damned depressing, even if it was built to save your life. But it could be just as depressing to be ‘free’ in a ruined outside world.
Chapter 14
I felt confident with my plan. Knaan had to be saved not only to save the active citizens’ lives, but those within the simulation as well. We couldn't disconnect them from their comfort just because we felt it was the right thing to do. Their fantasy was real to them, it was their entire life. And as Isaac chose reality over assimilating with his wife, they will need to do the same out of free will.
The second month of training had begun. We were all tired. Our bodies hadn’t yet adapted to the change in lifestyle because our nutrition was not sufficient. Despite this, our reflexes and stamina became better.
Shanta walked inside the cave holding the flexible screen. Bahomi, Dev, Toya and I were waiting for her. We gathered around her.
“This is a conversation my mom had last night with Monish, the captain of the floating city.”
“What floating city?” I asked.
“It's a ship as big as two aircraft carriers. It houses the world's richest people. They moved there in the beginning of the climate crisis and they are helping people all over the world.”
She played the video on the paper screen and president Padma appeared as people usually did in a video conference.
“Monish, long time no see.”
“Always a pleasure, dear Padma.”
Monish looked like an aged movie star. He was a blue-eyed man in his late 40’s but you could see he had some work done on himself.
“What are you doing in this part of the world?” asked Padma.
“Actually, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you. We are sailing north from South Africa and just got these satellite images. “
The flexible screen showed a bird’s eye view of a building caught on fire and military tanks are standing next to it.
“They have tanks?” Padma asked with a hint of fear.
I raised my eyes at Shanta and asked quietly, “the Purists?” She nodded.
Monish continued. “Yes, they managed to find two more after all these years. Do you know where this is taken?”
“I have no idea,” said Padma.
“It’s the research lab near Vinnufossen.”
President Padma looked shock and paused for a moment.
I looked up at Shanta again. She whispered “Norway”.
“So I guess there’s nothing we can do for them?” said Padma.
“I’m afraid not.”
“It’s a horrible loss.”
“I know,” added Monish. “I just wanted to show you this as a warning. Things are heating up in the north. We don’t know how those savages will surprise us.”
“I know, thank you for your showing me this.”
“Keep your eyes open and your teams alert. They tend to raise activities in other areas as an inspiration from one victory.”
“Of course, my dear.”
“I have to go. It's always a pleasure talking to you. I hope we can have more time to chat once we reach the Mediterranean.”
“All the best, send my regards to your men and to Jonas.”
“I will.” Monish signed off.
Shanta rolled the screen into a scroll. There was an intense silence in the cave. We were all looking at each other’s reactions.
I've cut the silence. “This doesn’t change our plans.”
“This changes everything,” said Bahomi.
“It doesn’t matter how they attack us. What matters is whether or not we’re ready,” I added.
“No, it means that we have to strike fast, before they manage to collect more weapons.”
We were all looking at Shanta for a verdict.
“This doesn’t change our plans.”
I felt relief.
“But even Monish warned your mom,” Bahomi said angrily. “They’re not stupid!”
“End of discussion,” Shanta said with a tone that resembled her mother’s.
“But I—”
“—we came here to train. Our plan is final.”
I could now see how Shanta and Bahomi had gradually grown apart. They used to stand next to each other and spar together. Now they barely made eye contact. I felt sorry for them, but it was their fault for asking me in.
When we finished warming up the training there was a shadow cast from the cave’s mouth. Six guards dressed in cactus suits stormed in holding guns. Padma walked in behind them looking like a robot version of herself; expressionless. She was dressed in a cactus too. Shanta and Bahomi looked at each other with terror in their eyes. I jumped aside and grabbed my gun that was leaning against a boulder. I pointed it at Padma.
“Drop it!” She shouted, fearless. “Your nonsense is over.”
All that training was for nothing now that we were being held at gunpoint.
“MOM NO!” Shanta yelled.
They soldiers shot us with tranquilizer darts.
“He worked for her. He did this to us,” Bahomi shouted before dropping unconscious.
I managed to think just two quick thoughts before drowning in the blackness. Did Isaac snitch? Did Padma spy on me all along?
Chapter 15
I woke up with a terrible headache on an unfamiliar bed. Shanta was sitting next to me, stroking my hair. Her hand was so gentle.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Don't worry about it. It's all over now.”
“What—”
“—I talked with my mom, I confessed everything.”
“And she just let us go?”
“She finally understood what we were fighting for.”
I sat on the bed feeling dizzy. I looked around and the room looked brighter for some reason. Maybe I was more sensitive to light after getting shot with a tranquilizer.
Shanta was radiating with happiness.
“I was waiting for you to wake up…you napped for so long.”
She handed me a cup of water. I drank it in four big gulps.
“So, what exactly happened?”
“I broke up with Bahomi.”
“Oh,” I said with genuine surprise.
“’Oh’? Aren't you happy?”
“Well ye
ah.”
I was too tired to show any emotion.
“I saw how you looked at me all the time.”
I moved the back of my finger across her cheek. It felt incredibly smooth. That was the most I could do in that state of dizziness.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work for you two.”
“It was my decision. He became unbearable.”
“I know, he’s a crazy fanatic.”
I smiled but I bet I looked like I was missing a lobe. My face was jelly.
“I think you're still sleepy.”
“I am.”
“Let’s get you something to eat.”
I followed Shanta through the main street. We were holding hands and that was the only sensation I could focus on. Her hand felt so soft. Not like a hand of a resistance warrior. Everything felt distant, like I was riding on a cloud of tranquilizer numbness.
“Your mom, is she going to tighten up security?”
“She will.”
“And we can train more people?”
“Yup.”
I hadn’t seen her so joyful. Something had profoundly changed. Maybe getting caught was a good thing. I had a feeling Padma wouldn’t assimilate her own daughter.
“What about people staying numb inside?”
“We’re still debating that. We’re thinking to have a program that requires you to disconnect from the simulation a minimum of two to three hours every day to help the community. Like painting, cleaning, fixing stuff. Maybe even exercise. I don’t know how people will receive it but it’s worth a shot.”
“All that from one talk you never had courage to have?”
“It was an excessively long talk. Just shouting at the beginning. Some crying at the end.”
“Wow.”
I felt the daze start to fade away. All that risk for nothing. All they needed was to talk to each other and bring all the issues to the surface. It sounded too good to be true but it made my life much easier.
I had to pry a little more.
“And you never spoke with her about it before.” My tone has a little skepticism in it, and I hoped she wasn’t offended.
“Of course I did, when I was younger. But it hit a wall. I felt like she just dismissed everything I said because she alone knew what was best for the city.”