“No!” she screamed insistently, urging her horse even harder.
I would have to wait until the last second. If I acted sooner I would jeopardize my mission.
“There!” She pointed.
There was an opening in the rock wall to our left. We made a sharp turn and entered the rocky mouth. Behind us explosions could be heard. I turned hoping to see our pursuers burning at the entrance, but they had only scraped the edge coming in. We had made some headway but wouldn’t keep the distance for long. I could hear the crackling of fire echoing off the crevice walls behind us as we weaved in and out. Then without warning, our horses nearly sat down as they skidded to a halt. The crevice had ended, and so had our escape.
I leaped off the horse and faced the advancing demon fire. “Can I use the power now?” I called behind me.
“No! I am ready to die, if that is my destiny!” she screamed back.
Oh brother. Well I wasn’t ready to die. I raised my arms with the intent of applying the web, but the fireballs came to a sudden stop just before me. They were so close, I could feel the heat from their baleful flames. They hovered silently-- as if in contemplation of their next move. What were they doing? Why didn’t they just finish us? Abruptly, they began to change. Flames fell apart and sprinkled down toward the ground. In the spray, humanoid fire creatures began to take form. I looked on, more with curiosity than fear, and soon five fully formed lava creatures stood before us.
I stood my ground. “What are your intentions?” I stated with confidence. I had already devised a plan of attack in case they made any hostile moves. It involved lots of water, and I was feeling more sure of myself by the second.
One of the creatures spoke. “Do not continue.” Its voice crackled and fizzed.
“Why? What are you afraid of?”
“If you continue, you will die.” Its smoldering eyes bore into mine.
“Are you threatening me?”
“If you continue, you will die,” it repeated.
“Yes, I caught that. Who sent you? Gaza?”
“You have been warned,” it finished. In a blinding flash, the creatures dissolved before us.
“What was that all about?” I fumed. “Is Gaza trying to scare us? Well I’m not giving up!” I looked up at the sky. “You hear that, Gaza! I’m not giving up! You’ll have to kill me first!” As I fumed I felt a squeeze on my pinky. It was Scratch. I’d forgotten all about the little guy. It squeezed again. What was he trying to tell me? I looked around and saw a shadowy figure standing in the dusty haze. Was Scratch trying to warn me? I started moving forward.
The figure turned and began walking away. “Hey!” I called. It was hard to see through the dust. I broke into a jog. “Hey!” I called again moving faster. The figure disappeared behind a rocky corner. As I came around I braced myself for an attack. But there was none. I jogged farther until the dust was much thinner. He was gone. Whoever it was.
I rubbed the little gold ring. “Keep me posted, little fella,” I said quietly.
Back at the horses, Thana didn’t look happy. But then again she never did, so I paid no attention to her.
We traveled farther up the road to a clearing deep in the pine forest. I gathered wood, she made the fire, and we settled in for the night.
The three moons hung in the night sky, one white, the others slightly different shades of blue. They filled the air with a misty aura. Spaced in perfect harmony they made a remarkable sight. I looked over at Thana on the other side of the fire. “You know, I think it was darker at dusk,” I said thoughtfully. “How are you holding up?”
“Fine I guess,” she replied softly.
“How far would you say now?”
“We'll reach the village tomorrow late afternoon. From there it’s not too far into the woods. But we’ll have to go on foot, the terrain is too hostile for horses.”
“Very well then, get some sleep. We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
“Mr. Tardin?” she said through the fire.
“Jason, please call me Jason.”
“I want to thank you, Jason, for respecting my wishes earlier, even though it put you in great personal danger.”
“I’m doing my best to make you feel comfortable with me.”
“I may have misjudged you. I know this now. I regret that I was harsh but you have to understand, my people have made so many sacrifices. We prayed for centuries to the gods, always expecting that when they came they would answer our prayers. Can you imagine our disappointment when we came to realize the gods didn’t know our hearts and that they’d never even heard our prayers? I am as much a mystery to you as you are to me. We wanted the answers to the universe. Who are we? Why are we here? Where do we go when we die?” Her eyes watered slightly. “Instead, you play games with us and use us as pawns in your wars, showering us with gifts and then pain, taking away our strength and replacing it with dependence.”
I felt for her but what could I say? “--I wish I had answers, Thana but I am as confused as you are. I’ve been lost since I arrived. For all I know I could be dead and this is my afterlife. I don't believe I possessed these powers in my last life. And I can assure you I am no god. I am just a man caught in some very unusual circumstances.”
Thana studied me for a moment. “Humphrey said the same thing. He doesn't believe he is a god either. He says he’s an impostor and that the real God would punish the Ten for their arrogance. He didn’t want any part of it. Gaza went to visit many times in the days of the awakening but Humphrey didn't want anything to do with his schemes. He used to say, ‘We have no right to influence these people's lives on any level.’ Gaza would argue that he created Vrin and that it was not God’s work. He claimed God was deaf and that he did not hear the prayers of man. They spent many nights in philosophical debate, which usually ended with Gaza leaving in anger.
"I believed in Humphrey. Even when my father died, I believed there was a higher purpose, a purpose even the Ten didn’t understand. But then when my mother and sister died in the war my faith was shaken. I began to wonder if the God of the gods had his own god. I wondered if it went on forever in a chain, like some sick joke. I wondered if there was anyone, God or man who knew the answers to the universe. These past few years the only thing that's kept me sane is my devotion to Vrin’s purity. I thought if I could stop the Ten perhaps I could break the chain and restore understanding.” She put her head in her hands. “But I guess I won’t get that chance if Gaza’s going to destroy us. We'll be returned to the cosmos and the chain will continue.”
“Not if I can help it.”
She looked up. “I don’t think you can stop him. From the stories Humphrey told me as a child Gaza is extremely powerful. Humphrey called him the blind genius.” She offered me a lackluster smile. “He could build a human but lacked the ability to understand his own creation. Old Humphrey said that he himself was no intellectual slouch but he couldn’t even begin to understand the mechanics of the human brain. He could create the shell of life from the web but there would be no substance.”
Any one of us could have created the shell of a handgun but without the knowledge of its inner workings, it would be useless.Like the handgun, I thought.
“Humphrey said the body was almost as complex as the spirit. Humphrey is a master of the spirit. Gaza could never best him in that. But I’m afraid to say Gaza is the master of creation and who better to destroy this world than the one who created it?”
All this talk of Gaza made me anxious to continue my research with the web. “Yes, who better. --Well, it’s getting late. Why don’t you get some sleep. We have a long ride tomorrow.”
“But I want to talk some more.”
“I’m enjoying our conversation as well but you need to be rested. There’s no telling when Gaza will strike. We should have plenty of time to continue our conversation on the way to Humphrey’s.”
She gave in grudgingly and crawled into her sleeping bag.
Silently the three moons
floated in the sky. Their soft blue light permeated the landscape. They were truly breathtaking to behold-- and yet, I felt a certain sadness.
Their light removed the stars.
I missed the stars.
CHAPTER 7
WHISPERS FROM THE VOID
001001011001110
As soon as I was sure Thana was asleep I brought up the web. Slowly and quietly I walked around the outskirts of our encampment, setting a trip wire a few inches off the ground; in case there was trouble while I was gone. The other end I attached to my wrist. I didn’t go far, just far enough to be out of sight in case she awoke. It wouldn't look good if she caught me waving my hands around and mumbling to myself.
I settled in and crossed my legs. The web glowed lightly against the night as I reached out and plucked a strand. With my mind I stretched the thread until the moving area was once again visible. Black translucent letters flowed by like blood in a vein. I studied the odd script. It was indeed what I had thought, modified machine code. Innately I understood it. mmc was an advanced computer language specifically designed for scientific research. But why would such a code be present in these threads? It didn’t make sense. If this was a computer generated environment, it was like nothing I had ever seen. It was far too real.
I examined the code for several hours trying to figure out the purpose of the programming. If I focused I could make the text move by faster. Each time I reached the end, there was a space, then the code started over from the beginning. I could string the pieces together easily but it was an enormous program and each time I read it, it grew. It was continually growing and adapting, as if it were alive.
Then suddenly, I realized something. It was acting like the cognosphere! It was storing data, keeping track of variables, watching, and learning. This program controlled the flow of information about this world. Every detail was on record. Every action was being observed and reactions were being applied.
If I were to throw a ball the program would figure out how far the ball would fly, its speed and velocity, and what laws of nature would have to be applied to it. The program would regulate the ball’s response to my application and the cognosphere would store the results so the next person going by would find the ball lying on the ground. Every person on this planet, the Ten included, were continually writing the program. And it was Gaza who had designed the program. I looked up.
Gaza isn’t a god! He’s a programmer!
I stood. My legs were cramping from sitting too long. My mind was on fire weeding through the possibilities of this new information. How much did Gaza know? Was he responsible for bringing me here? Were the people of this world computer simulations, or were they real? Where did the woman and child fit into it? What type of environment was this that the computer could keep track of it? It wasn’t virtual reality, at least not like any I was aware of. It was far beyond any technology I’d ever seen. Somehow I felt sure of this.
I sat back down and quickly started a search for my own essence. If I could find myself in the program, then perhaps Gaza could find me too. This made me uneasy. As I searched, a character on the page caught my attention. It represented a sub-directory and was classified as ‘created items’. Perhaps I could find the cup of tea I had created at Kitaya’s.
I opened the directory into a thread of its own and the contents scrolled before me. It contained everything that had ever been created from the beginning of Vrin to the present time. Unbelievable! Laid out before me was creation itself!
Each item had a sub-directory, containing every detail, right down to its smell. I could change anything in Vrin without even being present with it. I shuddered. With a thought I could erase any of the items that lay before me. It was too much to comprehend.
I continued looking for my essence in the program but after an exhaustive search I gave up; the program was immense, with far too many sub-directories. It would take a lifetime to follow all the paths. This realization brought me comfort for it would be a monumental task, even for its creator, to track anything in a program this vast.
My mind was filled to capacity and I was about to quit for the night-- when something caught my eye. A peculiar entry moved up the thread. A new line. Someone must have just added it. I examined it closely. It was nothing like the other entries-- It was complete gibberish. I studied it for a moment then suddenly realized, it wasn’t gibberish! It was backwards! I reversed the line and decoded the statement. Much to my astonishment, it wasn’t a program line at all but a message. It read, “Test 4:12 pm: Robert, can you see this?”
I stared at it. Should I try to answer? Maybe the sender would be able to shed some light on things. The message included the time. I recognized the format, from the world just on the other side of my memory. Perhaps if I could make contact I could find some answers.
I focused my concentration on the strand. Just as I could apply textures to threaded structures I was sure I could apply text to the program. Sure enough it responded. On the thread before me lay my words in: “Yes. I see it.”
I sat, staring at my words, wondering if the sender would see the reply, and wondering if I even wanted the answers to my questions. The text continued to scroll by for what seemed an eternity and I continued to watch. Every time it started a new loop I found the original message and decoded it. Each time I was disappointed. Until...
A buzz began emanating from one of the threads. I watched with curiosity as it twitched and hummed. Periodically the noise would fade and I could hear a faint voice mixed in with the chaotic signal. Someone was trying to communicate but the thread wasn’t amplifying the sound properly. I wasn’t sure if this would help but I clamped the thread on either end and pulled it taut. As I suspected the act of tightening caused the buzzing to fade and the voice became clearer. It was a masculine voice. “Marker test twenty-eight. Can you hear this?” Pause. “Marker test twenty-nine. Can you hear this?” Another pause.
I smiled. The owner of the voice didn’t realize he had gotten through.
“Marker test thirty. Can you hear this?”
“Yes,” I responded. This was no time to play games.
“Oh my God! Robert! You did it! Hold on! Dr. Solomon is on his way.”
“Who am I, and what is this place?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not authorized to give you any information. Dr. Solomon will be here any second.” He sounded nervous.
“Well can you at least tell me who you are?”
“Although I don’t see how it can hurt I have to follow protocol. I’m very sorry.”
I was getting annoyed.
He’ll be here in a minute. Are you in any pain or discomfort?”
“No.”
“Are you in any danger?”
“Not at the moment.”
“Then we are doing just fine.”
“Right-- I guess that depends on your interpretation of just fine.”
“Here he is!”
There was a short silence, then another man began to speak. “Hello, Robert. Remember me?” His voice sounded familiar.
“My memory is a little scattered but I think I recognize your voice, although I don’t remember from where.”
“That’s okay. That’s a response we expected.”
“Where am I?”
“Let’s take this one step at a time, Robert. Where do you think you are?”
Great. I wanted answers not more questions! But I bit my tongue. If I was going to get anywhere I would need to cooperate. I took a breath. “Well, I’m on the planet Vrin. From what I can tell it is the twenty-first century but these people never moved beyond the middle ages.”
“Is the experience believable?”
“Yes for the most part, but I’ve noticed discrepancies.”
“Can you describe them?”
“Well, everything, almost everything, is far too perfect but there is a lack of detail in some of the natural effects.”
“A lack of detail? Such as?”
“Such as particle
s in a sun beam that don’t move, and the total lack of insects. And when I first got here there was a weird color problem but it has either corrected itself or I’ve gotten use to it.”
“That is a very interesting analysis.”
“Now let me ask a question. Where am I?”
There was an awkward pause. Then, “--I’m not sure you want to know that yet.”
“Try me.”
“This is a very delicate matter. We should approach it with caution.”
“Well we need to do it quickly because I don’t know how long this world is going to be here.”
“What?”
A tinge of fear and adrenaline shot through me. Should I have said that? What if this was Gaza? --No, it couldn’t be, these men were definitely surprised I had gotten through. Still...
“Robert?”
I threw caution to the wind. “There is a madman here and he says he's going to destroy Vrin.”
“My God! Why?” The man sounded genuinely alarmed.
“I’m not certain but from what I know of him, he can do it.”
“Are you doing anything to stop him?”
“I’m afraid I can’t share that information with you.” If there was any chance this was Gaza I didn’t want to put my friends in danger.
“I understand.” He paused.
The pause lasted too long for my comfort. “Hello?”
“I’m sorry, Robert. My assistant was asking a question. We were discussing who that person could be.”
“So you are aware of the others?”
“Yes. There are ten of you.”
“Who are we and why are we here?”
Again there was a long pause.
I began to lose my patience. “If you don’t tell me who I am and why I’m here right now I'm going to cancel this communication!”
It was a bluff and he called it. “You don’t want to do that, Robert. You need answers as much as we do and you know deep in your heart that I am your friend. I know you are confused and believe me I am sensitive to that. But there is too much at stake to go blindly ahead. I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you half of what you've asked for. Perhaps it will help you to remember. Your name is Dr. Robert Helm. You are a scientist and a programmer. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you where you are or why you’re there just yet. We don’t know what that information would do to your psyche. We have a psychiatrist here and we are consulting...”
Vrin: Ten Mortal Gods Page 7