Domesday

by Kei Urahama

  “Lord, please strengthen me. Please give me the courage and strength to accomplish my task to its end.”

  Of course the Lord will let me do so.

  Chapter 29

  At 3:05pm, a man rushed into the amusement park. A video camera hung by a strap from his shoulder over a Hawaiian shirt flashier beyond even the criteria of the Neverlanders. He looked like a tourist who had warped in from Hawaii. But Yuji knew the face of the man who burst into Neverland. It was Naoki Fukazawa, the film director who was friends with Yuji’s father.

  “Someone tell me where’s the theater that’s playing a religious film!” Fukuzawa yelled loudly as soon as he burst into the hall. The Neverlanders within earshot were stunned into silence. For a moment Yuji was at a loss as to what to do, but then he stood up and stepped forward.

  Setting eyes on the teen, Fukazawa ran toward him with a mirthful smile. “Oh, it’s Yuji! Long time no see. What’s that you’re wearing? Have you gone to the dark side since we last saw you?” Fukazawa’s eyes ran up and down Yuji in his new black leather jacket.

  “How about you, Fukazawa? What’s that you’re wearing?”

  “Ah, this is my anti-brainwashing outfit. Even a fanatic believer would think twice before recruiting someone decked out like this, don’t you think?”

  “But we’re already in December. You’re a bit out of season.”

  Of course there were no longer seasons, the temperature consistently around a comfortable twenty-five degrees Celsius.

  “Ah Yuji, you’ve gone and grown up on me, talking like that. It’s good to get out from under your odd-ball papa’s shadow, eh? That reminds me, did you see your father go by?”

  “No,” Yuji said, restraining himself from nervously scanning the area. “Is he here?”

  “Yeah, he must be listening to Mazaki’s sermon by now. But no worries. He’s not a cultist yet. It’s just a field trip for him. Me too. I’m making a documentary but I forgot to ask about the key location. If you don’t mind, can you be my guide?”

  Yuji became anxious upon hearing this, recalling the threat of Mad Cop.

  “But the cop, Nagaoka, said not to go up. He said he’d shoot the first guy to interrupt the ritual.” It hadn’t been any idle threat; he’d been serious.

  “Nagaoka? When did he join up? Eh, I don’t care. I got a personal invitation from the guru himself. He’s only got a couple bullets left anyway. He wouldn’t go wasting them on us.”

  Yuji didn’t agree, recalling the look in the cop’s eyes.

  “Well just tell me where it is. I’ll go by my lonesome.”

  Someone else grabbed Yuji’s shoulders from behind.

  “I’ll go with you.”

  It was Yoshida pushing Yuji aside to pass. Yoshida had now completely adapted to his new environment, blond hair spiked in a crest, made-up like a glam rocker from ages past. But what was he playing at? Was he just curious or was he up to something?

  “Okay, the Demon’ll be by my side. Let’s get moving, I’m already late. Might have missed the sermon of a lifetime.”

  Yuji hesitated as he watched the backs of the other two approaching the emergency stairs. Fukazawa was the only friend of his father’s that Yuji neither liked nor hated. He had seen a few of Fukazawa’s horror films on video, and although he was startled once or twice, he could sum up the movies with one simple word – lame. Although…

  “Wait up! I’m coming too.”

  The time was 3:07pm.

  Chapter 30

  “There are those among you who lament the loss of your homes. However, that unholy, cursed planet where we once lived is not our true home.

  There are those among you who lament being trapped inside the Dome. However, those who are penned inside here are the true stars of the veritable prison we called Earth. We are free from there now and are embarked on our return journey to the paradise that is our true home.

  This place we are now is the ark of deliverance for the chosen ones named in the Book of Life of the Lord. It is the millennial kingdom promised by the Lord. Hearing a thousand years may strike fear in the hearts of some. However, it is written, ‘For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past,’" as these words are written so shall it seem to the eyes of you who have received the gift of eternal life that time will pass swiftly as in a dream.

  And when the time of waiting has passed, we will arrive at the new heaven and earth at last.

  Please listen as I read aloud from Revelations. It is the first verse at the beginning of Chapter 21:

  ‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’"

  As Mazaki zealously read the quote from the Bible, Ohizumi began to lose interest and fell into his own thoughts once again.

  What is God? It’s just a magic word that lets people escape the infinite loop of trying to understand that which can’t be understood. It’s a kind of thermostat mechanism to protect the unilaterally heated nervous system for overheating. The old Ohizumi would have said this anyway...

  But the concepts that are said to be ineffable by some are instead set up as ‘universals’. In other words, the concepts are signposted with an illusion, then roped off, to trick one’s own brain into ‘not going that way’ and being able to focus on things outside of the ‘God’ concept.

  The explanation of ‘instinct’ or ‘unconscious’ in the psychology of the first half of the twentieth century reset concepts of cosmology to ‘another dimension’, vulgarly interpreted ‘DNA’ and ‘evolution’ in biology (or almighty aliens advanced enough to have ‘nanotechnology’, thought Ohizumi briefly, but he suppressed this immediately.) It would be a never-ending struggle to chisel away at these concepts.

  If people can substitute the inexplicable presence of some uncontrollable thing before their eyes with some explainable concept, then they can have peace of mind. It works as long as the presence of the uncontrollable, inexplicable thing seen is at a distance far removed (shown via the media for example). This works, but not if it is directly attacking them. What then?

  “’Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.’

  Yes, we have already obtained eternal life and in fact are already free from hunger and thirst.”

  Mazaki’s voice fell upon Ohizumi’s ears , but he continued to ignore it. Absurd. Doesn’t that man know that food is already nearly depleted? Yet, the theory that mankind is an alien species to the Earth that Mazaki presented on the way over certainly has some merit. The idea itself isn’t new. So-called Gnosticism. From when did this concept that the planet is not our hometown first begin in human history? This land is not suitable for me… That kind of feeling must have lodged in people’s minds at the same time the concept ‘I’ was born. In other words, at the same time that the ‘ego’ occurs, so does ‘I as another self sees me’. The concept of God must have also appeared at the same time. No, it is yet another self to evaluate my own self watching from somewhere else – this encapsulates the concept of God. In short, Ego is God, and he is an Alien to this planet.

  So when did this whole ego thing start? Maybe when the cerebral cortex of our ancestors expanded explosively and was able to afford to raise another self in there. When compared to the evolutionary rate of other species, sometimes the capacity of the human brain has just developed unusually fast. Some scholars say the culprit for this out-of-step evolution is a virus—a virus that exclusively evolves the human brain at an unusual spee
d. For example, a virus from another planet.

  And if the memory of a ‘hometown’ was latent in that virus… That’s absurd! A virus with an innate nostalgia? That’s as absurd as imagining a mitochondria has an ego or consciousness. But if it wasn’t a virus but instead a nanomachine from a planet that had the knowledge to wire the nervous system of the cerebral cortex as it liked? What is that smell?! Suddenly Ohizumi’s thoughts were disrupted by the strange odor that filtered into the room, and his attention returned to his surroundings.

  As before, Mazaki was illuminated by a large battery light standing down front of the screen, still reading from the Bible placed on a small lectern.

  Barely filling the middle of the front rows were the forty or so followers, every one dressed in white clothing. Ohizumi and Ishida were seated in the back seats quite a distance from the followers, with a dozen or so other residents from the apartment who had come to spectate. Ohizumi had no idea where they had been procured, but countless candles filled the area providing a dim but reasonable amount of light to create a sort of church-like atmosphere. Yet the theater had been designed to seat four hundred viewers and thus nothing could dispel the overpowering sensation of emptiness. A faint odor of smoke unlike that of the candles had begun to drift into the wide theater.

  “Can you smell that too?”

  Ishida whispering this made it clear to Ohizumi he wasn’t imagining it. He drew in a longer breath through his nostrils and it was stronger, but yet not unfamiliar. Was it…?

  “It smells like gasoline.”

  Ishida said this, stirring anxiously.

  Chapter 31

  As soon as they went up the stairs and entered the fourth floor cinema complex, Yuji also noticed the odor. A strong smell of gasoline was wafting in the air.

  “That’s not good,” Fukazawa stopped and looked around. “Are they planning to do a mass suicide?”

  “No way, that…”

  “Armageddon and belief in aliens are a dangerous combo. Jim Jones forced mass suicide on his nearly one thousand followers in Guyana, planning to reincarnate on the other side of Sirius. David Koresh died with his followers in Waco, Texas, telling his believers he’d been kidnapped by a UFO, taken to Orion. Apple something-or-other in California was…”

  “Hold on though. Isn’t that a bit off? Those people believe that Armageddon has already happened and now we’re being taken to heaven by a flying saucer. Why would they need to commit suicide now?”

  “True, that’s strange. Let’s hurry anyway. Which theater are they in?”

  “That one over there.” Yuji hurried forward, pointing to the furthermost theater out of three behind the gate of the ticket counter.”

  “Wait a minute.”

  Fukazawa held him back and hurried to the wall. He bent over and retrieved a fire extinguisher affixed there and returned, pulling out the pin.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  The three of them rushed through the gate and into the dark lobby, lit only by candlelight. The odor of gasoline was overpowering enough to sting the eyes.

  “Shit, this is getting fun…”

  Yoshida, who had rushed ahead, spoke out but cut his words short.

  Yuji immediately saw a dark figure at the back of the passage. The man clutched an overturned tank in his hands and was dousing liquid on the floor next to the last theater door.

  “Didn’t I say I’d shoot you if you bothered me?”

  As he spoke, Mad Cop didn’t even turn around until he’d emptied the tank completely. Already at his feet were empty tanks methodically lined up side by side.

  “Yuji, please hold this and get back.” Fukuzawa whispered and passed Yuji the fire extinguisher then took a step to get in front of the other two. His foot slid underneath him and he barely caught himself. His eyes shot to his feet and he clicked his tongue. “Shit, this is really dangerous.”

  A swamp of gasoline had spread across the floor around the walls of the theater. From the passage walls were hanging handmade candles at intervals of a few meters. A candle was also on a plate tilted at an angle. If it were to collapse there would quickly be a sea of fire.

  “Well, I’m outta here,” said Yoshida as he backed up behind Yuji. He turned back and ran. Whatever he’d been plotting, he’d changed his mind and fled the scene.

  Mr. Nagaoka, what are you doing? What role are you playing at exactly?”

  Fukazawa, careful not to slip began slowly crossing the distance to Nagoaka. Yuji ignored his request to get back and followed closely behind him instead. Yuji tried to remain hidden from Nagoaka’s view by sticking close to Fukazawa’s back. He held the fire extinguisher in front of himself prepared to spray it quickly if necessary.

  Nagoaka shook the last bits of liquid out of the plastic tank then tossed it, removing his gun from his holster and pointing it at Fukazawa.

  The face of Nagaoka that emerged in the candlelight was as expressionless as a mask.

  “Stay back. It’s too late to stop this now.”

  Fukazawa stopped moving forward and slowly raised his hands. What’s he going to do now? Is he intending to play the role of a negotiator trying to reason with a terrorist? But this isn’t a movie.

  “Can I ask you one question? Did Mazaki order you to do this?”

  “Mazaki order me? Never. He’s the false prophet of Satan.”

  Nagaoka’s mask distorted slightly.

  “Oh right, Mr. Nagaoka. You had that figured out. Here I thought you’d been completely brainwashed and manipulated by him.”

  Fukazawa casually stepped forward as he spoke.

  “Me, brainwashed by him?” Not at all. I pretended to be, then I tricked him instead.”

  Nagaoka seemed to be caught in Fukazawa’s ploy. But what was the ploy exactly?

  Should I wait for my chance and jump out spraying the contents of the fire extinguisher in Mad Cop’s face? But he’s still got a firm grip on that gun.

  “Then what made you do this? Isn’t a mass suicide just the thing a cult guru tells his followers to do?”

  “Mass suicide? What are you talking about? This is my own will… I mean the will of the Lord. I am going to burn those who belong to the synagogue of Satan to death.”

  “Just like you burned that truck?”

  Those words shattered Nagaoka’s mask.

  “No! That wasn’t my fault! It was Satan’s trap! Satan made me do that.” Nagaoka was brandishing the gun as he yelled.

  “Like this, now?” Fukazawa immediately dug in with these words.

  “No… absolutely not...” Nagaoka became completely confused. It’s my chance now! Jump out!

  But at that moment the door next to Nagaoka opened and ruined the strategy, with Fukazawa and Yuji just on the cusp of success.

  Chapter 32

  As soon as he opened the door, Ishida was met with the image of the growling cop brandishing a gun. When the door hit Nagaoka’s shoulder, he leapt to the opposite side of the aisle and pulled the trigger, aiming squarely at Ishida.

  Stunned, Ishida heard only the small clicking sound of a hammer hitting on an empty chamber.

  “What’s the matter?” Ohizumi said behind Ishida. Further back, in front of the theater screen, Mazaki still relentlessly read the Bible, his believers not noticing a thing down front.

  “’There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.’”

  The eyes of Ishida and Nagaoka met dead on. Yet, it was just for a moment. Nagaoka quickly turned his face to the side and pointed the muzzle toward someone whose face was encroaching there. When he pulled the trigger, Ishida’s eardrums felt the cracking explosion as if it were inside his head.

  It was followed by the sound of someone collapsing on the other side of the door.

  Mazaki finally stopped reading from Revelations and the theater fell silent.

  Chapter 33

  The bullet Nagaoka
fired, after touching the right eyeball of Fukazawa, who had tried to jump at him, ruptured it and passed through brain and skull before sinking into the corridor wall behind. Body collapsing onto the gasoline covered floor, Fukazawa was killed instantly.

  Screaming nothing resembling words, Yuji pressed the trigger and aimed the nozzle of the fire extinguisher at Nagaoka. He walked forward as he blew the extinguishing agent at Nagaoka whose face and hands became covered as he stumbled backward.

  The cop’s body lathered, he didn’t release the gun, instead clutching it more tightly. But he did become blinded.

  “Yuji? Is that Yuji?”

  Yuji’s father pushed the stunned Ishida from the doorway and entered the hall. Then he too froze, staring in wonder at Fukazawa’s corpse collapsed face down at his feet.

  “Who is this? Was he shot?”

  Not responding to his father, Yuji cried out, “Run! Fast! He’s still got the gun!” The force of the fire extinguisher spray had already started to diminish.

  Ishida jumped into the hallway and shoved Ohizumi aside. He crouched next to Fukazawa’s body.

  “It’s Fukazawa!” He grabbed the body by the shoulder and turned it face up, liquid the color of pus dribbled like tears from the hole where his right eye had been. “No! Fukazawa! Hang on!”

  Distracted by Ishida’s bitter cry, Yuji only noticed at the last minute that Nagaoka had managed to wipe away the foam from his eyes with his left hand.

  “Dad! Look out!”

  Immediately after Yuji cried out, Nagaoka shot the last bullet at Yuji’s father.

  Ohizumi, who stood in front of the door that had swung shut behind him, staggered backward clutching his shoulder. On the door, fire snapped upward and wrapped the entire frame in a blaze, crawling down like amoeboid creatures before running over the feet of Yuji’s father and Ishida, who stood in front of the door. Yuji turned the fire extinguisher to their feet as fast as he could, but it was too late. The flames spread quickly along the river of gasoline against the wall, dancing along the passage. It was like a bird of fire, wings extending upward trying to warp the entire theater with its batting force.