Kelerin’s eyes opened suddenly but his body kept perfectly still, breathing steady, brain refusing to allow him to act before his mind sorted through the transitional mess that was the state between dream and reality. When recognition finally set in, he was sitting bolt upright in a heartbeat. “Teacher Jonas!”
“Hello, Kelerin.” Jonas kept his voice low and his smile wide.
“You’re back!”
“Yes, I’m back.”
“When? When did you get in?”
“Several days ago. There were a few things I needed to take care of first before announcing my arrival and returning to the Academy. I’ve one more quick errand to run at the Prophecy and then I should be back at the Academy in earnest within a day or two. But first I thought I’d drop by and say hello.”
“Wow, I… I… this is amazing, you’re actually back!” Kelerin sat there alive with energy, not really sure of what to say or do next. Jonas waited patiently, enjoying his favorite pupil’s reaction. Eventually the young man asked, “So, does this mean you found it? I mean, you are the first one, right?”
Jonas’ smile dimmed ever so slightly, his eyes looking past Kelerin. “Yes. I’m the first.”
Kelerin couldn’t help but pick up on the subtle change in his mentor’s demeanor. “Was it that bad?”
“No. It’s hard to explain. Some things are too big to contextualize simply by defining them as good or bad. A lot happened, Kelerin. I was the first to take in some of the most beautiful creations found in the known universe.” He looked down at his hands, “At the same time… we lost people.” There was a long pause before Jonas looked up again. “But it’s out there, a new habitable planet. I’ve been there, seen it… sort of.”
“Define sort of?”
Jonas ignored the question. “This could change everything, Kelerin, for all Osmosians, not just for Islanders but for Mainlanders as well, everybody.”
“Wow… just wow. I don’t know what else to say. I mean, what else is there to say? You won the Mandate!”
Jonas laughed and decided it was time to change the subject. “I heard you accomplished a pretty impressive feat yourself, fairly recently.”
Kelerin snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, apparently impressive feats are grounds for suspicion of cheating. They suspended my win. That’s why I’m here.”
“Ha!”
“Why is that funny?”
“So your plan is to camp out in protest until you’re able to argue your case?”
“More or less.”
“You just missed the Headmaster, by the way.”
“What?”
“He left before I woke you.”
Kelerin leaned his head back against the wall and rubbed his eyes. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Wish I were,” said Jonas, half laughing.
“Oh, Com’on!”
“Go to bed, Kelerin.”
“Can’t. Promised Dunner I wouldn’t come back without my win.”
“Dunner made you promise?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh.” It was a statement of surprise, not a question.
“He has his virtues.”
“Guess he does.”
“I didn’t cheat.”
Jonas sighed. “I know you didn’t. Let it go.”
“Let it go! It’s unfair. It’s unjust.”
“Welcome to Academia.”
“I thought Academia was all about the open-minded pursuit of new knowledge?”
“Not quite. It’s about the close-minded pursuit of new knowledge. Intransigence and skepticism protect the truth as we know it from fashionable trends and hastily formulated falsities. It takes someone special to come along, someone willing and able to clash with standard conventions and shatter old paradigms before something new is accepted as a legitimate piece of wisdom. Your sleeping on this bench is a good sign that you might just have what it takes to be such a person, Kelerin. Professor Ren would have been proud. I’m proud.”
“Thanks, Teacher, but honestly, I’m not really sure what paradigms I’m going to be shattering. At this point I’ll be happy to walk away with my win.”
“Forget the win, alright! People saw what you did. Students saw it.” Jonas clapped a hand on Kelerin’s shoulder. It fit there just the way he remembered it. Standing up, he tugged at the bottom hem of his tunic, smoothing out his uniform in preparation of leaving.
“You’ve already shattered paradigms, Kelerin, and the funny thing is you don’t even realize it.”
Chapter 23: Quarantine
The Prophecy, Caras 1
How oddly beautiful, she thought, extending her hand and allowing it to hover just above the flowing locks of luminescent hair. As best Analel could tell, each strand was comprised of pure light somehow emanating from the scalp. There seemed to be no fibers to speak of. She’d spent long minutes observing from up close but the strands kept flowing and shifting, alive almost, like one hundred thousand individual Wave Whip tales shimmering side by side, frustrating her efforts.
Steadily, she lowered her hand ever closer to the waves of light. What would it feel like to touch them? She wondered. Would my hand pass right through? Would there be substance? Resistance? After so many long hours waiting for her quarantine to end, these questions had taken on the qualities of a thirst. At least some of the answers lay before her, drawing her in like beads of moisture running down a tall glass of water on a sweltering hot day. Her curiosity sufficiently parched, Analel could no longer wait. She needed to know.
Her hand positioned just above the spectacle, light peeking through the cracks in her fingers. She drew in a breath and allowed her hand to fall the slightest bit, skimming the light’s surface, a flash:
She was fighting again, against the black. Somehow she had never left, battling all this time for her grip on life, on existence, without a moment’s respite.
Desperate…
Pleading…
The hand again.
Reaching…
She looked up and this time could see who the hand belonged to. He was wearing a Hull-Walk suit. He might have been handsome if it weren’t for a terrified determination distorting his features. Behind the look of terror, though, he was familiar. Even to the part of her that knew this struggle was not her own - that side of her still hanging on to the reality she’d just arrived from and that despite all her senses telling her otherwise, was aware that this was somehow someone else’s ordeal - he was still familiar.
He reached out to her further, to the point of pain. His hand was right there. All she had to do was let go and grab it.
But she couldn’t. The pull was too great.
His fear turned to rage. He roared, powerfully, angrily, defiantly, but even this mighty bellow was quickly caught, pulled away and swallowed up by the black...
“ANALEL!”
She jumped, the alarm in her mother’s voice jarring her as much physically as it did mentally, ejecting her from the vision. The bright walls of the room, familiar sterile smells and white background noises from various devices, all came into sharp relief. Analel had one hand over her chest and the other at her mouth, the tips of her fingers pressed to the opened ‘O’ of her lips, the black, no more than a vague recollection.
She knew at once the vision belonged to the patient, the woman with hair made of light. It was memory, not dream, she was sure of it. But the man in the dream, the one reaching out for her, although he was obviously important to this woman, his face was still familiar somehow, beyond this woman’s memory.
“Analel! What were you doing?”
Her back still to the door, she turned and faced her mother, speech failing her as she tried to process what she’d seen. Part of her felt an irrational guilt, like she were caught in the act of doing something wrong.
Erin came over and grasped Analel by the shoulders. “Are you alright?” she asked more gently now, brushing loose strands of hair away from where they’d stuck to her daughter’s f
lush cheeks. Taking Analel’s head in her hands and tilting it upward, she looked into those huge, brown eyes, all full of wonder, curiosity and innocence, each quality a gift on its own, but when taken together, a dangerously powerful combination in what it can inadvertently accomplish. Analel nodded ‘Yes’ and Erin kissed her daughter’s forehead before brushing passed to check on the patient.
Rediscovering her voice, Analel asked from behind, “Who is she?”
Erin didn’t respond at first. How does one fit the whole of the past two years into one simple answer? Living in Jonas’ mind, recounting all they’d been through together; her, Jonas, the woman whose hair had turned to light. It was impossible. With her back to Analel she was comforted by the fact that her face would not betray her emotions. She wondered if Analel could pick up on her Thought Waves, though. Had she advanced so far? “Her name is Gensala. She was a captain of one of the ships in the Mandate Race.”
“Of the ship that you were on?”
“I wasn’t on a ship, my sweet.”
“You know what I mean, mother.”
Erin hesitated. “Yes. The ship I Prophesied for.”
“What happened to her?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
Analel bit her lip. Should she tell her mother what she’d seen? Would her mother even believe her, or would she assume her mind was still weak from the offensive Wave Thought? Speaking up might land her in quarantine for another day, maybe even a week.
Erin sensed her daughter’s troubled thoughts. Could she already know? Turning suddenly she broached the subject of what she had really come there for. “Annie, the Motherhood is concerned.”
“About the patient?”
“About you.”
“Me?”
“I’m sorry, Annie.”
As if on cue, in walked Mother Jeserel, and behind her, to Analel’s utter astonishment, Shasah, the Grand Mother. Jeserel stepped forward, no greeting, all business. “A case has been opened up against the Academic you Prophesied for, Child,” she began without preamble, “he’s suspected of cheating.”
“Cheating! That’s impossible.” Analel was very confused, her thoughts speeding up but feeling like they were late in doing so, like she’d gotten off to a bad start in some mental race. Kelerin didn’t cheat, she was sure of it. But more to the point, what had any of this to do with her? Why was it arousing the Motherhood’s concern? And why, in the name of the Creator, was the Grand Mother here?
Unless…
Panic set in and she started to shake. Her mother seemed just as unsure of what to do as she was. Swallowing hard, she tried to sound as confident as possible. “As his Prophet, I can testify to the fact that Kelerin fought a straight and fair duel. I was tuned in to every one of his thoughts, every single movement he made, every technique.”
“That is precisely what concerns us,” said Jeserel.
“I don’t understand?”
“Allow me to explain, then. Kelerin won his duel in impressive fashion. Too impressive, as it would turn out. Apparently his Whip should not have been able to emit the level of Wave potency that it did-”
“He was working on a new technique,” interrupted Analel, rushing to her Student’s defense. This was all just a misunderstanding. Analel was almost excited, happy even that she could clear everything up and hopefully help Kelerin out of whatever trouble he was in. She continued to explain. “He knew there was a better way to channel energy, you see, and he was planning to prove it during his duel. It was pure technique. He’s been working on it for some time-”
“And how would you know that, Child?” interrupted Jeserel.
Caught.
Analel cast her eyes down. She’d said too much. Immediately, Erin stepped forward and gripped Analel’s arms. “Listen to me, Annie. They went over the Library logs and they’re saying your name wasn’t supposed to come up to Prophecy for a duel for at least another week. They also found that there’s been some anomalous activity recorded.” Analel had to avert her eyes from her mother but Erin didn’t seem to want to notice. “Tell me this isn’t you, Annie. Tell me this is a clerical error and I’ll believe you.”
Erin’s eyes searched out her daughter’s but Analel would still not meet them. At last, she answered, her voice little more than a whisper. “I switched the Readers.”
“Annie!” Erin gasped.
Jeserel seized on the confession like a huntress on wounded prey. “You see! She admits it!”
“You don’t understand,” pleaded Analel.
“Why don’t you enlighten us.”
Analel faced her jury: Her desperate mother; Jeserel, almost daring Analel to try and defend herself; and most unnerving of all, the Grand Mother, silent, off in the back and taking everything in. “I have a connection with the Student Kelerin.”
“Aha!” Jeserel let out, as if this confirmed everything.
“Let her finish, please” scolded Erin, recovering from her momentary shock and regaining her sense of stature. She was Jeserel’s equal as far as seniority went. Jeserel backed off knowing there was no need to push things further. The Child was already confessing, after all. Erin returned her focus to Analel, encouraging her to continue.
“It started a few days ago, just before the duel. I was meditating and suddenly I was riding his Wave pattern. I don’t know how it happened, it just did. That’s how I knew he was having a duel today. That’s how I know about his aspirations and his training. I have a connection with him. I don’t know why or how. It’s the reason I broke into the Library; to switch the readers so that I could Prophesy for him and hopefully figure this all out.” Analel fell silent, scannikng the room for reactions.
Jeserel was the first to let her opinions be known. “This is ridiculous. Why are we even entertaining such a fantastical story? The Child has obviously had other sessions with this Academic and developed feelings for him. Perhaps the feelings are mutual or perhaps he’s just using our young and impressionable Child here to serve his own ends. Whatever the case, the fact that he was caught cheating, and given what Analel has just admitted to as far as her own actions in the Library go, it all points to them hashing this scheme together.”
“I’ve never had a single session with Kelerin,” objected Analel, indignantly. “You can check the logs if you like.”
“Which logs would those be, Child? The ones you tampered with when you broke into the Library?”
For the first time, Analel realized the full extent of her precarious position. Erin inserted herself between the two, holding Analel’s arm for comfort while addressing Jeserel and the Grand Mother. “It could be the aftereffects of the offensive Wave Thought by Arah,” she offered, desperate to find a way out for her daughter. “She was unconscious for some time.”
“It wasn’t the Wave Thought, mother,” protested Analel. “What I’m saying is true!”
“Hush, Child!” The warning look Erin threw her daughter was severe.
“That still would not explain why Analel broke into the Library in the first place,” countered Jeserel, with cold objectivism. “I see no other course of action now, other than Isolation.”
“Isolation? You can’t be serious,” protested Erin. “She’s only a Child!”
“She was one step away from Motherhood before this incident, and besides, breaking into the Library is beyond excusable.”
Erin gave up on Jeserel and turned to the Grand Mother. “Please, Grand Mother. You know what Isolation can do. You saw what happened to my Sisters during the Race.”
Like a statue coming to life, Shasah stepped forward. She stood directly in front of Analel. Old now and short, she didn’t quite reach Analel’s Chin. Regarding the young Child through shrewd, squinting eyes, she gave her ruling. “The Child will not go into Isolation.”
“Oh, thank you, Garand Mother,” gushed Erin with relief. Jeserel wasn’t so accepting.
“Grand Mother, the Child must be held accountable!”
Shasah
fixed her eyes on Jeserel. Her expressionless glare was warning enough and the Prophet Mother immediately shrunk from it. Facing Analel again, Shasah continued, “She will remain here, instead. In Quarantine.”
“But, Grand Mother,” pleaded Erin, “that’s the same as Isolation.”
“Far from it my dear Child, as you well know. You yourself say she may be suffering the aftereffects of her ordeal. The Child claims to have an inexplicable connection to this Academic, and my poor Jeserel, well, she would be beside herself if justice were not met out. I believe this adequately addresses the claims and grievances of all.” The Grand Mother reached up and pinched Analel on the cheek while offering her a sagely smile. It was such an out-of-place gesture for the occasion that only she could have gotten away with it. She then turned to leave.
“Grand Mother,” called out Analel to the retreating, little old lady, speaking up again for the first time since her passionate defense, “but for how long?”
“As long as it takes, Child,” answered the Grand Mother without turning or stopping. As she exited the room with Jeserel in tow, she added, “Please lock the door adequately on your way out, Mother Erin. Peace and purpose, my Children.”
Both Analel and Erin answered in unison, “Peace and purpose, Grand Mother.”
And she was gone, Jeserel along with her.
Analel turned to Erin. She could see her mother’s eyes watering but her features were set with a resolve Analel was all too familiar with. “Mother-”
“Don’t, Analel. Not now. I am very disappointed in you.” With that, Erin too turned and left, the panel door sliding closed, and this time Analel believed she actually caught a sense of the projected Wave Thought her mother used to lock it. It was full of disapproval.
Pressing her palms to her forehead, Analel sucked in a deep breath and let it fall brokenly out of her. She tried to hold back the tears but some managed to stream through anyhow. Sitting down on her bed, she took stock of her situation.
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