by E. R. Mason
“You’ll have to forgive me, I’m having a bit of trouble getting my head around some of that.”
“Of course. You have much to learn. I would suggest you take some time to relax first. Let Skyla show you around, and when you’re ready start sorting things out, we’ll help you in any way that you need.”
“Cyrus, just how many people are down here?” asked Jax.
“The number is kept near 10,000, but we have other habitat areas. Skyla will give you several tours. But you’ll have to excuse me now, my friends. Venia and I have some meetings coming up shortly. We need to leave you in the good hands of Skyla. Anything you need Jax, feel free to contact me.”
Cyrus rose and patted Jax on the shoulder. Venia stood and smiled at him. The two made their way out a different fading door.
Skyla swiveled in her chair. “Well, to the Mel bath with you.”
“What is it again?”
“Better to show you than try to tell you.”
Skyla led Jax back to the waiting trolley.
“How far is your place from here?”
“We have to catch the train there. It’s about 15 minutes.”
“Just how big can this place be?”
“You know, it’s been so long since I studied that, I do not remember the exact numbers.”
A short trolley ride took them to an old fashioned looking train depot. There were no tracks, just narrow pathways with bright fluorescent white lights running down the centers. A small three car train glided in almost immediately. It floated just like the trolley. Skyla climbed in and pulled Jax along with her.
It was a quick ride through more cities and an occasionally farm or forest land. Jax could still not tell for certain which were real and which might not be. Skyla’s stop was at a seven story glass building with floors that were each made up of single offset discs. Every floor had roughly half of its disk exposed to open air like a grand balcony. The building circled upward like a giant staircase.
“Which floor are you on?” asked Jax.
“The third floor is my place.”
“The entire third floor?”
“Yep, but we need to stop in the Health annex first.”
“The bath thing?”
“Yep.”
“Maybe we should do that later. I’m not really all hopped up about a bath.”
“You will be when you get into this one.”
“You’re determined.”
“Yep. Need to take some of those extra years off you.”
Skyla led him into the building to a chamber that seemed more like the outdoors than in. Through another indoor garden they entered a large room with a low ceiling made of soft golden light. There were strange facilities located around the all-white room. A few may have been for exercise, others did not make sense at all. One area was made up of half a dozen oval baths that rose two or three feet out of the floor. Each was filled with a golden gel. Jax watched as a woman rose up out of one of them. The gel slid off her body as she stepped out. She had beautiful long silver hair which did not appear the slightest bit damp. She was completely naked but did not seem concerned about Jax’s presence at all. She wrapped herself in a white towel and looked as though she was sleep walking as she left.
“Any bath except hers,” said Skyla.
“What do I do, exactly?”
“You must be completely naked.” Skyla went to a pedestal near the closest bath. “Put in these nose plugs, and breathe from this.” She handed him a small white mouthpiece. “That’s three hours of purified oxygen rich air. You must not stay in the gel longer than that.”
“Three hours? You’re kidding?”
“You’ll want to, believe me. You should not eat any of the gel. You’ll want to do that, as well. It won’t hurt you, but it’s not considered sterile enough since your body is soaking in it. You’ll want to close your eyes in meditation, but you need to keep them open for at least a few minutes so the gel can work on them.”
“So I’m submerged completely then? What if I’m not comfortable with all this? What if I want to bail out after a few minutes?”
Skyla laughed under her breath. “You can refuse and not do this at all, but first come here and put just your hand in to see what it’s like.”
“Just my hand?”
“One finger will do.”
“Okay. I can do that, I guess. I’ll even give you the whole hand, then let’s blow this off, head up to your place, and just lay back and watch TV or something. Do you have TV here?”
“We’ve got TV you won’t believe.”
“Okay then, just to humor you and show you I don’t need this . . .” Jax knelt down beside the bath, rolled up his sleeve, paused to give Skyla a patronizing smile, then slowly dipped his fingers in the golden gel.
It was warm, near body temperature and it tingled slightly. He pushed his fingers farther in, then the rest of his hand. There was a curious hum of relaxation flowing over his hand and arm. All fatigue and pain seemed to be quickly draining away and at the same time a wonderful feeling of well-being was replacing it. He pushed his arm in a little further and the effect continued. A placid look came over his face. A serene smile formed. He looked up at Skyla with a tranquil expression. His arm kept slipping deeper into the pool.
“You can’t go in with the shirt,” said Skyla softly as she returned a mused look.
Jax began to remove his shirt without withdrawing the hand and arm. It was all he could do to pull out of the bath. He tore off his shirt and reached back in the gel still farther. The effect seemed to be becoming more and more heavenly the farther in he went.
Skyla began a low continuous laugh. She pulled off his boots and yanked at his belt and pants. A moment later the undergarments were gone but Jax cared nothing at all about his nakedness. Skyla held his head, inserted the nose plugs and wiggled the mouthpiece between his lips. As she continued to laugh, she pushed him over the side and into the tub. Jax slid into the bath like a serpent escaping into a swamp. Arms and legs outstretched and relaxed he sunk to the middle of the gel and became suspended there. His eyes were open and the world above was a golden blur. There was not an ounce of pain left anywhere in his body. Muscles began to loosen further. Joints cracked. His breathing became slower than someone in a deep sleep. There was a halo of pleasure around his head. His feet and hands felt like they had dissolved completely in the gel and were now nothing more than transmitters of its gift. Skyla’s vague form came into view above. She spoke to him and he heard and understood every word.
“I guess you’ll be taking the bath after all. If you don’t mind, I’m going to hop in the one next to you. I will come and pull you out when its time. She laughed again and disappeared. Her voice and image had triggered something new. A feeling of pure love flowed outward from his heart. The other effects of the gel continued creating a consciousness of pleasure that was beyond description. Other things were happening as well. Jax could feel his skin tightening in places. Near the shrapnel wound in his leg there was movement going on. Things inside his leg seemed to be realigning. Other places in his neck and back were changing as well. Every so often there would be a new burst of well-being. Jax closed his eyes and watched streams of colors he had never before seen. He hoped his three hours would not go by too quickly.
The elevator ride to Skyla’s floor took less than a second. There was never a feeling of acceleration. There was no sense of movement at all. Jax, still recovering from the gel bath, gave Skyla a shy, embarrassed look and said nothing.
Skyla’s home was another place of overwhelming art and garden. The view from the giant balcony was spectacular. Jax took a seat on a long, white very comfortable sofa. Skyla handed him something pink in a tall, delicate glass, something he had never before tasted. She sat beside him still giggling about the bath.
“Why isn’t the gel made available to the entire world?” he asked.
“Here we go with the long, exasperating questions,” she replied. “Everyone thinks t
he world evolved naturally because that’s what they’re supposed to think. But the truth is, the world is a very carefully constructed experience. It tough so that everyone gets the most out of it in the short time they visit. Is that enough of an answer?”
“Yeah, but . . .”
“Oh no, not the yeah but . . .”
“But . . .”
“Do I have to go through the free will thing for you? You know, you haven’t seen yourself in a mirror yet. You look a year younger. One more bath tomorrow and you’ll be back to your old self. Your father will think you’ve slept it off.”
“Trying to change the subject are we?”
“It will take a very long time to explain everything.”
“Well where do we go from here?”
“Tomorrow I begin to show you Hyperborea, and teach you how to operate things. Then it’s back to that tough life we just talked about to keep up appearances.”
“When we get back, there is one thing I need to do and I need your help.”
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”
“Mick? You’re quoting Mick?”
“Why not? I love Mick.”
“What about me?”
“Mick’s number two.”
Chapter 28
“There’s still no one coming,” whispered Skyla.
“I can’t believe you’re so nervous about this after all we’ve been through,” said Jax.
“Well, I’ve never robbed a church before,” replied Skyla nervously.
“There’s no need to whisper, Sky. The entire parking lot is empty, and we’re not robbing a church. We’re putting back something that someone took.”
Jax made a “Tsk,” sound and pulled a jack handle from the bed of his truck. He knelt and wedged it into a grated manhole cover at the back of the truck and levered the cover away from the access hole.
“How do you know about this?” asked Skyla.
“I was here during one of the throw backs. I saw the idiot who stole it.”
“There’s still no one coming,” said Skyla worriedly.
“For Pete’s sake!” said Jax. “Give me the rope and you’d better tie it off to the bumper. You’re so uptight you might drop it.”
“How deep is it?”
“Ten feet or so. I can just jump down in. You got the light?” Jax sat down on the pavement and swung his feet into the manhole.
“What do I say if someone comes along?”
Jax rolled his eyes. “Say that you dropped something down here and your boyfriend is getting it back for you.”
“What did I drop?”
“Good grief! You dropped your engagement ring, okay?”
“I dropped my engagement ring? I’d never drop my engagement ring.”
“I’m jumping down now. I don’t care what you say.” Jax pushed out and dropped down into the drain pipe. He stared upward to see Skyla again looking nervously around.
“Sky! The light. Drop me the light!”
A second later the flashlight bounced off the top of his head.
“Sorry!”
Jax rubbed his head and bent over to find the vague silhouette of the light. He grabbed it and switched it on. There was a waist-high pile of dirt and gravel in front of him, runoff from above. He began to dig with one hand, while pointing the light with the other.
“Find it?”
“Not yet.”
“No one’s coming.”
After a few minutes of digging, the first glint of gold flashed in the beam. Jax dug faster and soon had uncovered the entire artifact. He tied it off to the rope and called, “Okay, pull it up, Sky.”
The golden cross began its ascent in jerking steps. Skyla’s voice sounded strained. “Boy, it’s heavy.”
He stood patiently as the cross disappeared over head. A moment later the soiled rope came tumbling back down. Jax braced one foot against the pipe wall and pulled himself up and out.
“Now what?” asked Skyla.
With the cross on the tailgate, Jax began to clean it with a rag from the back of the truck. “Okay Sky, now the tricky part. I know the front doors to the church are open. Usually no one’s in there at this time of day. You go in and stand near the front alcove near the pulpit and watch for Reverend John. If he comes before I’m done, you cut him off and keep him busy so I can put this back in the arms of the statue without him seeing me.”
“What will I say to him?”
“You’re being this way on purpose, aren’t you? You’re acting like I did when we were trying to fix the time screw up. You’re getting me back, right?”
“Am not.”
“Just ask him about performing marriages and what he charges, stuff like that.”
“Really?”
“Really what?”
“We need to know what he charges for marriages?”
Jax placed the cross gently on rags in the back of the truck. “Come on, we need to drive around front.”
Skyla climbed in the passenger door. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Jax twisted the ignition key. “It was a trick question. I’m not falling for that.”
“Was not.”
“You are such a little rascal sometimes.” Jax looked around carefully as he parked. At the back of the truck he paused before opening the tailgate. “Okay, get the front door for me.”
Jax bundled the heavy cross in rags, gathered it up, and hurried across the parking lot and up the steps into the church. Immediately the slightest of sounds began to echo through the cathedral. Jax pointed and whispered, “There’s the Reverend’s alcove over there. Go keep a look out.”
Skyla whispered back, “Okay. I’ll just ask him to marry us if he comes.”
Jax wrinkled his brow in worry as she strolled over to the spot. He shook off the concern and carried the cross to the foot of the huge statue of Christ. With the unwrapped golden cross shining brightly in the window’s morning light, he balanced it on his shoulder and climbed up. It took a minute of repositioning, but carefully he set the cross back in the arms of Christ. Back on the floor, he allowed a moment of indiscretion to stand and gaze at his work. Colored light from the cathedral windows was now shiny directly on the statue and its radiant cross. It seemed a brilliant beautiful display.
“No one’s coming,” whispered Skyla.
Jax turned to find her standing directly behind him.
“You’re supposed to be over there looking out.”
“We better run then,” said Skyla.
The two intruders raced out the front doors, hopped in the truck, and made their escape.
Jax drove to the Sundancer’s dock and parked outside the gate. Skyla smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “So we’re set. I will do exhaustive shopping the rest of the day.”
“You really like to shop?”
“It’s pretty universal for women in any time period.”
“Apparently.”
“And you will return home for the evening doing your best to act as though things are just as they’ve been all along. Then, in the morning, you will be here the first thing and we will carry on.”
“As you wish.”
Skyla smiled, climbed out and blew him a kiss, then headed for the boat.
At home, Jax awoke to the irritating buzz of his date clock. He squinted against the morning light and briefly considered blindly slapping the snooze button. The clock’s green light flashed insistently. He turned his head and strained to focus on the date-time display just as he had most mornings of his life. July 11 2007, 08:30 A.M. But, this time something felt different. As the fog began to clear he realized that only 10 days had passed since that morning when he was to explore Demon House for the first time. Memories of two different lives began flowing back into his mind. That was also the morning he had felt so misplaced and insignificant in a dead end life. He glanced again at the clock’s blinking threat of passing time, and smiled back at it. This time was indeed different. This time he knew exactly how he had come
to be here, who he was, and where he was going.