by A. I. Zlato
A part of herself sank in the dark water; the other fell in the trees. She should have been torn, but the two worlds became one ... the Gateway was dying. Like when she was thrown into the Ocean, her second return into her node threw her out of her world. She paid the price for her curiosity. She wept. Not because of her own action, she deserved the pain. She cried for Cae, Beor and Deo, for the other Gateways, for the world she had helped create and that she had destroyed by her recklessness. She had regained her human past along with her pride and her capacity for destruction...
The current recovered, becoming a thin, turbulent stream. Cae had been successful. Despite its weakness, despite Aenea, despite everything ... it had recreated the Inter-Space. The Forest and the Ocean regained their places, while staying very close ... the node maintained itself, once again. Silence pervaded them four. They were aware they were close to being wiped out. Cae, thank you; thank you, Calorn, thank you ...
The Kandron 5th Hexa answered the call. What call? Aenea had forgotten that she wanted to talk to Edgard. About what? She tried to compose herself. She had nearly died again. And again, Cae and the space-time had come to her rescue. The Gateway did not deserve the rescue, but she knew that she was not the only one on the rescued list. Cae had worked for them all. Aenea extended her mind towards the Calorn, which rejected her. Why blame the Calorn? Aenea simply wanted to tell her friend that …
5th Hexa showed up, visibly impatient. The human ... Her memory invaded Aenea’s brain again. Images that her mother had created in her head ... they were not monsters ... they were Kandrons! Huge, with fiery stares... Mom showed me Kandrons … with a gentleman ... how could she know? The answer was obvious. The reverse linearity ... they had sent him a message. And now here she was, in the present.
5th Hexa ... Again, this Kandron. Aenea wondered what criteria one Kandron or another checked before responding to a call. The answer, of course, did not matter much because each Kandron was part of the whole community, part of what they called the Spirit of the Multitude. All Kandrons would be privy to their conversation, as soon as 5th Hexa would mentally touch the Spirit. All the same…
“I went into a temporary node, and a human from your Space saw me”, began Aenea. “What is his correlation?”
“Who is this human?”
“I don’t know. Inevitably someone different. Do you know him?”
“Who is this human?”
“He approached with a woman from the temporary node in which I was. The woman had a normal behaviour, but ... he was different. He saw me. He came back, alone. Then, I had no more doubt.”
“You did not answer my question. Who is he?”
“I don’t know, that's why ...”
“Have you seen him before?”
“How do you know ...”
Aenea saw with clarity what her mother had shown her ...
“... It was you, the monster!” She said.
“That will be me in a certain reality that I hope to change.”
“You mean you regret to have delivered that message to me?”
“No! I say I want my linearity back, and be part of that world again.”
“Another reality ... another future ... for Spaces ... for Kandrons ... of course.”
Aenea felt that her brain was very slow. She had taken so long to understand the evidence ... that was what 5th Hexa told her from the beginning. The Kandron said.
“The human you saw, is he the one I will show you in your little-girl dream?”
“Yes.”
“Then, you are talking about Paul. He worked with this woman on the break in lifetimes of young humans, whereas the time had nothing to do with those deaths.”
“... And it was during the work that he saw me ...”
“This work is nothing but a means I gave him.”
“Gave?”
“It does not matter. Paul can feel the past acutely. His insights can bring him on the way to a different future.”
“That human ... that Paul ... he differs ... dissociation.”
“He sees time.”
“He sees space, too ... would that be possible?”
“He is unique.”
“He would be ... a kind ... of Gateway ... a prisoner of one Space ... he is the disturbance force!”
“No.”
“He sees me because he is the one causing temporary nodes ... of Space E. ... this is why neither the Level 4 Gateway nor the Machine could not answer my questions ...”
“Cause and effect cannot be reversed. Two linearities put together do not necessarily constitute a linearity.”
“... There is no new Space ... Space E. is an illusion ... it creates temporary nodes ... he perceives time ... he perceives space ... unfinished Gateway ... he is a Man-Space.”
“An illusion?”
“Yes ... an empty Space ... a name that is nothing but the echo of nothingness ... a Level 3 node ... This can only be a chimera. The explanation was always there. That human Paul is the cause ...”
“You’re no longer listening.”
5th Hexa sent a pulse to the Unique Forest . The electromagnetic wave spread into the node, all the way to Aenea.
“Why did you do that?”
“Because you no longer listen to me.”
“And what did you say? Anyway, I know where the nodes come from ...”
“You know nothing! Like a bird in its cage, which believes that the seeds are the result of the hand that feeds it, you confuse the chronological sequence of facts and cause-consequence relation, which you reverse, in the dilution of your soul.”
“How dare you speak to me this way?”
“How dare you not listen? Reality is not what you believe; what you see is only part of what is in the spiral of Time.”
“... The human is not the cause … but the consequence ...”
“Exact. He is also a part of the solution.”
“... Because he perceives space and time ...”
“Yes.”
“And yet ... he is an unfinished Gateway, stuck in a Space ... it's a powerful disturbance force ...”
“He is an element towards the solution; he must differ the beginning.”
“And I have to differ Space. You told me so. But I cannot differ an illusion ...”
“Why are you sticking to that vision? There are different ways to differ.”
“No, there is only one. And that's why what you think is not possible.”
“You're not listening.”
“You and I don’t have the same vision.”
Despite the immense respect that Aenea had for the Spirit of the Multitude, she thought the Kandron was wrong. The human Paul was necessarily the disturbance force, the cause of these temporary nodes, and all that entailed. The shock was so strong that she had believed in the creation of a new Space ... but it was an illusion. The Machines ... were not at work in these disturbances after all... the G4 was wrong. Because it was unthinkable to have a Gateway prisoner of a Space ... The Machines ... it did not matter what purpose they were pursuing. The Equilibrium ...
The elements of the problem lined up differently in her mind. Contrary to what the Kandron thought, Aenea was not reversing cause and effect. She was right. And she would find a solution to the problem. She would make Inter-Spaces ready again for space-time currents; she would bring the Equilibrium back in her Spaces.
Aenea transmitted her new energy to Cae, Beor and Deo, and their world regained stability it had not felt for a long time. Cae enlightened the place with soft, shimmering colours, and Aenea found herself amidst a rainbow sky. The Ocean turned into a clear, calm sea, gently caressing the shores with its salty hands. In the Unique Forest pervaded a calm whisper, a breath touching every living being, as to awaken the Forest to the beauty of the world. Time barriers remained unclear, the Inter-Space narrow and currents of space-time erratic, but hope brightened the node.
The Gateway decided to jump into the next temporary node, to get in touch with t
his man, Paul. She had to successfully prevent and not differ Space E., this illusion he created. Maybe he was not aware of things; perhaps he had no idea of his capabilities or the harm he was causing.
She had to contact him, explain things to him ... and neutralise him.
Knowing where you are going is a necessary condition to get there.
This is by no means a sufficient condition.
Lessons from Chaacetime
Chapter 61
Space H. (Periphery)
Paul woke up abruptly. The smell of coffee in the cup that Vlad had placed on his desk percolated into the office. His assistant was leaning against the wall beside the door.
“Slept well?” He asked.
“Uh, what time is it?” Paul stammered, half-asleep.
“You still have time before your cosmic anomaly, Chief. I even have time to tell you about a discovery.”
“The one you told me yesterday?”
“No, it is something else”, Vlad replied, handing him his cup of coffee. Without waiting for Paul’s consent, he continued.
“So this is it. Through a document dated Cycle 00 0100, I found out that humans had not always been competent in maintaining the Machine.”
“In other words?”
“Well, there were malfunctions. It seems that the Machine had even lost some data.”
“The machine had lost data about the beginnings of the Space, okay… So?”
“Well, for starters, this is a big revelation. It is commonly accepted that the Machine had immediately been perfect, thanks to the Elders’ design, as well as instructions they left for generations of Machine Engineers and Mechanics Experts. It therefore appears that things were not as perfect as commonly admitted. But above all, I thought, for your history of stigmata ...”
“Well, what, Vlad?”
“If the machine has lost data, and such data related to information on those famous stigmata ...”
“So it could not work towards their destruction …”
“Why would It want to destroy them?”
“ ‘Coz they are the last instructions issued directly by the Elders. This is what your manuscript says, right? They wanted to destroy everything? So, if these data were the Stigmata, the Machine could not have done anything against them as It would have simply forgotten ... this makes sense. But this is far-fetched. But it makes sense, anyway.”
“I think I’m mimicking your craziness”
Paul continued his remarks, without answering his assistant’s quip.
“However, the probability that these failures are real ...”
“They are!”
“Even if they are, the probability that they relate to the stigmata is ...”
“Infinitesimal, certainly, but there is still a small chance. If Space H. is the Earliest Space, as you hope it is, let’s say that there is an additional chance to discover them!”
“I appreciate your enthusiasm, really. Why are you so sure that data loss had taken place?”
“Do you know many people who like to talk about their failures? I have the story of a guy who said that because of a malfunction at the plant, information was lost in the database. He would not have written it if it had not happened. In addition, he certainly minimised the losses, so ...”
“Data lost ... actually, that's interesting. Continue, Vlad!”
“Thank you, boss! So, for the stigmata, what do you think of my theory?”
“It's obviously possible ... but don’t get carried away.”
“Alright, I understand. I'll keep looking. I will perhaps find what kind of data we’re talking about.”
“You should contact Jade, so she can arrange a meeting with a Machine engineer. Only someone acting directly on the Machine can verify what you say, and above all, help determine the type of data lost, if we cannot find the information in question.”
“Sure; I’m doing it now!”
He exited the office in a rush.
“Vlad ... Vlad! Send her a message ... Don’t go disturb the director in her office!!”
“Ah? Ah, yes, you are right.”
“What about your other discovery, the one related to the Problem?”
“I never said anything about that ... I will talk to you later, when I am sure I have something solid.”
Paul left his office, leaving Vlad in front of his terminal, waiting for the response to the message he just sent Jade. He, too, was excited, but at the same time frightened at the idea of meeting Nexus as Philip called it ... Gateway as Edgard named it. The first time, the Kandron had told him he had seen the Elders’ dream ... in the centre of children’s circles ... His comprehensive understanding deepened his fears, but he was determined.
Paul found Edgard, lying on the driveway and not on the lawn, waiting for him. The Kandron’s stare had a strange glow, and settled intently on Paul.
“Are you okay, Edgard?”
“I should be asking you that question.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Do you know where you’re headed?”
“No, and that's even why I go ...”
“You are scared.”
“Yes it's true, and I hope I can count on you.”
“You can get help only if you ask the right questions.”
“I’m counting on you to shunt me.”
“Shunt? I don’t want to move you around. You’re fine where you are.”
“To guide me.”
“What’s the connection to ‘shunt’?”
“There’s none, Edgard. It’s simply another way to say ‘guide’.”
“I cannot guide you, I'm just a catalyst.”
“What?”
“My reverse linearity is stopping me.”
“Ah ... so I can only rely on your wise messages ...”
“The crossroads is near. I saw it.”
“I know ... I dream of it.”
The Kandron had succeeded in accentuating this feeling of impending danger.
“The Gateways know”, Edgard continued.
“Again ... you say this so often.”
“No, always. Nothingness is near.”
“I know, I tell you, and I want to do everything to prevent it, starting with the Problem. Let's go, Edgard, the cyclone will soon appear. Nexus, the Gateway ... will tell me what it knows.”
“What it knows or what it believes it knows ... You have to be careful.”
“Certainly; don’t worry”, Paul replied, trying to reassure himself.
“Wait a minute””, he continued “What exactly do I have to be careful about?”
“The Gateway.”
“Are you kidding me? 'The Gateways know' here and 'The Gateways know' there, you sent me on the Nexus trail, through a sentence taken from the legend ... and now that I understand things, that I see interrelations ... I have to be wary?”
“There is nothing contradictory in what you just mentioned.”
“No ... but you know I'm afraid, so why are you adding to it?”
“Your fear is misguided.”
“My fear is ... what do you mean?”
“You need not fear the nature of the Gateway, but what it thinks it knows. There is the danger you must avoid.”
“For me or for the Problem?”
“For you and the Spaces.”
Assuredly terrorised, Paul turned to check the time on the building façade, and swore. He was late! He hopped on Edgard’s back, and asked it to fly as quickly as possible, knowing very well that the Kandron would only do things its own way ... or it would act according to its own objectives. Edgard took off immediately and split the air with its wings. With a tense neck, legs folded, it gave its body the optimal shape in order to be fast. Edgard wanted to go fast ... Paul knew then he was going in the right direction.
The Kandron dropped him off near the public garden, refusing to come closer. Was it scared, too? No, that was not the reason ... Paul had to go alone ... it was important ... Paul did not take the time t
o seek an explanation, and walked straight. He ran into the small park and saw Baley, who shouted to draw his attention. He stopped, mesmerised not by her but by the appearance of the cyclone. Fierce winds began to sweep the scene.
He saw the Special Agent, closer to the cyclone than he was, come forward. How to prevent her from doing anything? He was too far. He pain fully got closer, with arms forward, to protect himself against debris that the storm projected in all directions. Head down, he lost sight of Baley. She ... no ... she had jumped into the eye of the storm! In Nexus’s universe ... why did she do that? How would she come back? If only she could ... Her desire to solve the Problem had pushed her to this extreme ... craziness ... foolishness ...
Paul found walking difficult. When he straightened up between two squalls, he saw her emerging from the tornado. She appeared physically intact ... but what consequences had this passage in the Inter-Space left on her mind ... She staggered and nearly fell while hitting ... Paul did not believe his eyes; it could not be. She had just tripped over a small body. Nothing was there a short while ago, he was sure! The children’s message through death ... the non-evolution of the circle ... Although he knew this was going to happen, he found nonetheless the spectacle atrocious.
He had, foolishly, desperately, been hoping that only the cyclone would recur, not the suicides ... But why would things have been otherwise? It was the very reason why Baley was there, the Problem. And why he was there, too. She had to do everything possible, in ways even more drastic and authoritarian than she had done the previous times ... but this had obviously been for nothing. The cyclone, still there, was sweeping the garden, cracking trees and ripping clods. Paul broke away, though he had come specifically for that.
The vision of the dead bodies, unsustainable, steered him away from his goal. Was it possible that one would be accustomed to these macabre visions, when one was a Special Agent? Baley's behaviour proved him that the answer was negative.
His first impulse was to rescue her, despite his critical perspective on her actions, and he rushed towards her. When she straightened up, after crossing the little corpse, Paul realised that she did not see him. Dazed, with crazy eyes, she rushed to a terminal, nearly tripping on him, without noticing anything.