by A I Zlato
“Is it not available?”
“What? I do not know, it does not answer.”
“And what would it see that you could not see?”
“It was just an idea... how... ah, yes!”
Paul stopped, held in personal thoughts. He was probably talking with his kandron, and Baley felt excluded from the conversation. She resumed her walk in the apartment, aligning the map to try to see what Paul thought he saw.
Suddenly, he came out of his reverie. He put his coffee cup down, and took the pen he had thrown on the table. He drew with a steady hand. He linked dots by curves rather than straight lines. And there was...
“Oh my gosh!” Baley exclaimed. “Did you see that?”
“Yes... Three concentric circles. Not only are the children divided into three circles, but even the places themselves are positioned that way...”
“We have to go!”
“Where?”
“To the center of these circles, of course! It is a place that has not been inspected, and rightly so; no instance of the Problem ever took place there. But there may be something to see... to find!”
“Maybe we could just talk a little; not rush into things; try to understand the meaning; to foresee the implications of...”
“But, Paul! I don’t understand you. You just made an important discovery. You saw what I had missed, and you don’t want to get out there to see what it is?”
“A center exists only because there is a geometric shape. A point becomes a center only because there is a circle. So should one study the point, which is nothing but the consequence of the shape, or the shape itself?”
“What??? That means nothing!”
“Let’s say I continue to think differently, and you do not like it. Yet my question is relevant. What is relevant — the center itself or the fact that the points are arranged in a circle?”
“And what do you suggest? Search through all three circles? Seeking... what? And that would take weeks!”
“In seeking what? Because you already know what you will find in the center?”
“No, but that is one place to look.”
“So you choose an easier solution to implement, regardless of the reasoning.”
“You... Listen! Thank you for your contribution. As the lead investigator, I decide that we will go there to explore this trail. If we find nothing, we could still resume this discussion. What do you think?”
“That that is your decision.”
Baley refrained from exploding. How could Paul give her new and so promising trails, and the moment after, get lost in sterile philosophical reflections? Whatever.
She had regained her fighting spirit, pushing fatigue into the background and letting the black hole in her brain absorb all parallel ideas. She stormed out of her apartment, barely noticing Paul, who nonetheless was following her. Running across the square, she stopped, turned around, and heard Paul call. He could not match her pace in the middle of the crowd. Without the Machine’s help, he failed to optimize his trajectory. Sighing in exasperation, she turned back and grabbed his arm to lead him to the rail station. The station was crowded at that time of day, and she had to wait almost ten seconds before entering the ramp; it seemed like an eternity. She pointed to her destination, just about remembering she had a guest, and stated that she had a passenger. The rail ‘absorbed’ them both, thrusting them far away from the Tower. The landscape morphed before them, leaving Baley totally indifferent. Only the investigation was important.
The center of the circles that Paul had identified was in a wasteland of the Fifth Circle. To Baley, this section of the circle was way too close to the periphery. From there, the Tower was nothing but a black needle lost in the clouds; only an object among many in the horizon. The buildings had only two floors and were separated by the dense vegetation. In some places, she saw the remains of buildings destroyed and never rebuilt and now overgrown with weeds. The center of the circles was there; in the ruins of a building; among the debris of metal and plastomer. It was strange to see an undeveloped area in the city. She checked her map and noted that no construction project was under consideration. It was as if people had deserted this part of the city to be closer to civilization, to the Inner Circles, or else to move away into the periphery. She felt it was like being in an intermediate zone; an airlock where no one stayed. The vacant lot was lined with dilapidated buildings; gray-and-blue walls with triangular openings delimiting a rectangular space. No window overlooked this place, demonstrating the absence of a building that existed, not the desire to create a park. They went through the tall grass, walking on rubble and avoiding metal rods sticking up out of the ground, looking for any indication. Baley ferreted, raised stones, and removed debris and branches. Without knowing exactly what she wanted to see, she was convinced she would find a sign; proof that would help in her investigation. Paul followed her absently, his eyes unfocused, ignoring every field irregularity.
She built a mental bubble for herself so he could not disturb her focus. Inside its gates, she no longer saw him; no longer heard him. The only place left was this place... which was not. It was not a building, it was not a park, it was not a project, and it was not nature... Everything here was absence and nonexistence. It might be just that, nothing... an absence.
“The center exists only because the shape is present,” Paul had said.
This enigmatic sentence suddenly seemed clear... No shape, no center... but without the center, without the generator... without the trigger element... She had to find out. She skirted the buildings, travelling the perimeter of the field. The surrounding buildings were consolidated; it probably had seemed obvious that there would be a new construction there. Those reinforcements formed on a flat track a yard wide surrounding diffused vegetation, preventing it from dripping on building walls. Leaving from this concrete road, Baley walked through the space while describing a spiral toward the center; the middle of the field; the center of three concentric circles that formed the scenes of the Problems. The center, which would not exist without the Problem... the center that was the generator of the geometric shape.
Baley stopped in the middle of the field, feeling puzzled. She exited her mental bubble to regain awareness that Paul was around.
“Have you noticed anything?” she asked.
“Not really. I just have a strange feeling. As if something was missing... I don’t know. There is some kind of absence in this place.”
“OK. I agree with you about the quirkiness of the place. Something else?”
“And you? What did you find by weeding?”
“Debris retaining the buildings bordering the field...
Nothing interesting.”
“Maybe that’s what’s interesting. Nothing.”
“Yes, the nothing... but where does that lead us? There must necessarily be something; a small detail that is eluding us...”
“What is not can be as interesting as what is.”
Strangely, Baley agreed with him. She continued her exploration, interested in everything that was not there. The place lacked a building, of course, but also...
Suddenly, she noticed at her feet smoke rising from the ground in opaque swirls. She raised her feet to identify the source of the fumes. Cottony, white threads appeared at three quarters of an inch above the ground as out of nowhere, creating themselves spontaneously and winding lazily. Baley stepped back to observe the phenomenon better, even if she did not know what she was watching. She turned to Paul and saw that he was also intrigued, watching the wispy ribbons that rose from the ground.
The smoke density increased, and the threads became long, white scarves, which rose, wrapping themselves in on themselves, forming a spiral that flared into the sky. Paul and Baley had to take several steps back to see the phenomenon in its entirety. Baley noticed that smoke was emerging from the exact coordinates of the center of concentric circles... the trigger element was perhaps several feet away. A wind came out of nowhere, attracted toward t
he center of the spiral, plants first, then the rubble that moved irresistibly. Paul and Baley had to crawl up and hold one another to avoid being swept away.
“Look! It looks like... a sort of cyclone,” Baley muttered.
“Yes, I see it... but there is no cyclone in the city; we are witnessing a rare meteorological phenomenon...”
“I know that it cannot be a real cyclone; it is just the only description that comes to mind. What is...”
Baley glanced at the swirls, and followed the convolutions, while clinging to Paul so that she would not be sucked into the whirlpool. A cyclone... it was not
possible; that weather phenomenon occurred only in specific circumstances, and here there was nothing... And yet violent winds surrounded the smoke, which turned into swirling clouds.
“What is it, then, in your opinion?” Baley shouted, so Paul could hear her.
“It looks like... nothing that I know of... it looks like a magical event... the type one would find in legends...”
“This is not a legend, Paul; this is real! What we have before us, it’s... it’s just... beautiful and scary at the same time. It seems to be...”
“Out of time; we’re out of time...”
“You could say that. It is an extraordinary phenomenon, for sure...”
“There is... a presence... in the cyclone, in the center.”
“No, there’s nothing in it!”
“I am telling you there is,” Paul said, pointing his finger in the direction of the cyclone. “There is indeed something in the smoke, it is beautiful...”
“I don’t see anything. It’s your imagination playing tricks on you.”
Baley, however, widened her eyes, scanning the fog to try to see what exercised such fascination for Paul, but in vain. She saw the windswept wasteland, the flattened grass, small objects sliding and rolling to the cyclone, the fog curling up... and a feeling of strangeness.
“There is nothing, Paul... maybe whirlpools give you the feeling of a presence, but I assure you there is nothing.”
“The manuscript... it is real... children... the trigger... the Equilibrium...”
“What?!!”
“Alter the beginning... correlation...”
“Paul! Paul!!! Stay on Earth with me, will you?”
Baley seized him by the shoulders and shook him, to bring him back to reality. In doing so, she forgot for a second to cling on, and the wind made her slide near the cyclone. Paul grabbed hold of her, and they both slipped by a few inches before stopping. Pebbles ripped from the ground hit them. Unable to speak, they could only protect their faces with one arm, while the other helped them cling to each other. Baley saw that Paul was still obsessed with the center of the cyclone. She cast a glance in that direction but still noticed nothing. She looked in the opposite direction, saw on the floor their footprints, and realized they were still moving inexorably toward the cyclone. Paul unconsciously approached that thing he thought he had seen. She had to act. She grasped more firmly and headed resolutely to steer away from the phenomenon. She curled up with all her strength, facing the wind, dragging Paul along with her. Every step was easier than the last as they moved away from the cyclone. When they considered they were far enough away, she stopped and turned back to the cloud of smoke.
The phenomenon disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Paul remained silent, absorbed by what he had seen or rather, what he thought he had seen. Baley remained rooted in reality and reflected on the implications. The cyclone out of nowhere — it was strange and very frightening. If the children had seen such a phenomenon, could they have died of fright? It was quite possible. This would explain why forensic experts had found no explanation for their deaths. Their hearts were shocked to the extreme, and had simply failed. These children perhaps were scared to death... For their display in a circle, Baley imagined a hypothesis.
Did they gather in concentric circles to invoke the Machine so it could save them from this oddity? While Paul seemed to drift into mystical considerations, Baley had her mind clearer than ever. Elements of the puzzle finally were beginning to come together.
Both went home animated by conflicting feelings.
Fear is an emotion intrinsically linked to time. Having fear is being scared of what may happen next... No future, no apprehension. In an eternal present, fear does not exist.
The Spirit of the Multitude
CHAPTER 39
SPACE H. (PERIPHERY)
Paul left Baley; departed from the place full of strangeness. He saw her heading to the rail station with a decided step, while he walked at a slow pace, aimlessly, simply waiting for Edgard. Even if he was accustomed to travelling by rail, he preferred riding on the kandron’s back rather than using this technology. He called aloud the name of his friend, which immediately replied, asking him if he was feeling well. No, Paul was not at his best. What he had just seen... his dreams... What had happened exactly?
Edgard told him it was nearby, as Paul looked up in the sky. From the distance, he saw the kandron get closer. He almost raised his hands and waved them to indicate his location before remembering that Edgard already knew where he was. He attributed this strange impulse to the shock he had suffered. Wave hands? What a ridiculous idea! Still, he felt the need to indicate his presence more to express his dismay than to give out any information.
“I am here, Edgard!”
The kandron landed about 50 yards away. Paul swerved and went in its direction, gazing at the rail station, the translucent plate terminal, the seats racks, the black line of the actual track disappearing into the Tower. Those present were impressed, and moved back to keep a respectful distance from the animal. Paul saw a man hesitate, then jump on a chair, curling his legs to avoid touching the kandron. This type of reaction reminded him how Edgard was intimidating for anyone other than him. He approached his friend, which bent down his long neck to enable him to hop on its back. People in front of the station threw the kandron a sidelong glance, curious as they were, and looked up to follow the animal’s flight.
A few minutes later, it landed in Paul’s garden. He hopped off and entered his house, trying to interpret what he had just seen. While working with Baley, he noticed a consistency in the location of suicides which owed nothing to chance... the circles... it became an obsession for him... in his dreams... he knew it was crucial. He had thus spotted the circularity of the locations. Unable to think about the implications, he let Baley carry him away into the center of the circles. This woman was constantly active, and never took the time... It was inherent in her personality. They had gone to a wasteland of the Fifth Circle. They had witnessed a strange phenomenon there. To Baley, it was just a weather event which she could not explain. For him, it was something else... of course, he had seen smoke spiraling, but there was a presence in the center. He could not describe it, as words eluded him, but he was sure he saw... a creature, a shadow... a smart form.
Confused, doubting his eyes, he turned to Edgard, who stuck its head out the window, nearly twisting the edges.
“Edgard, I saw something today; I cannot say... a presence; a being surrounded by a smoke cyclone. Said like that, I understand that it may seem strange, but...”
“You had a glimpse into the Elders’ dream.”
“You already told me something related long ago... about... I do not remember. What was this dream? Had I imagined seeing something where there was nothing?”
“The Elders’ dream is the Equilibrium. Any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere.”
A sentence he had previously dreamed of... that the manuscript... it had always been important.
“But what is the relationship with what I saw?” Paul asked.
“I just told you.”
“The Elders’ dream, the Equilibrium... Is that the presence I saw in the smoke?”
“To an extent.”
“How can a concept be materialized into a real presence?”
“Concept and reality are not m
utually exclusive.”
“I don’t say that the concept is not for real; I say that it cannot be... You are making things complicated, Edgard.”
“But I cannot tell you things differently. What you saw is the reality of the Elders’ dream, which will soon become irreparable.”
“The Equilibrium will become permanent? Why is this bad news?”
“Why would that be? This is a non-evolution... the beginning and the end.”
“The only thing I want to know is the nature of that presence. Is it real? Am I dreaming?”
“Why should we oppose dream with reality?”
“C’mon! Either something exists or it does not! We are going round in circles here!”
“Why travel in a circle? To do what? You saw the cause.”
“It’s a phrase, Edgard. Moreover, the center of the circles, this place... It is rather the consequence, right? The center cannot exist without the geometric shape.”
“And the cause of the circle is the Elders’ dream. You must alter the beginning; you have known this for a long time.”
“Why are all discussions centering on what interests you? And this sentence, your litany... I wanted to talk about the presence... what I saw there...”
Edgard did not answer. Paul remained convinced that he had seen someone in the smoke, but the discussion with Edgard did not enable him to make an assumption about the nature of what he had seen. He needed answers. He wanted to feel that he was making progress; was getting somewhere...
He needed to do some research, but he did not have the strength to return to the laboratory. He remembered the old digital tablet that Jade had given him on his first day. It was archaic equipment, operating through airwaves, and could only communicate with the laboratory database. He never thought he would use it one day, yet this device would help. He reached into a cupboard and pulled out the tablet, which he turned on. It booted after a moment of hesitation.
There had to be some information somewhere; other people must have witnessed this phenomenon... he had to find some answers, as Edgard had decided not to help him. He entered the keyword “weather event” and waited for the results. The number of occurrences told him that his search was too broad. He could not sift through thousands of documents. He tried “unexplained weather phenomenon” to which he added “cyclone”. The answer surprised him. Only one document met all of these criteria; it dealt with the legend of Interspaces. More than a legend really... He read the summary of the document and found that it was exactly what he had observed, but there was nothing about a possible presence. An interspace... linked to the investigation into the death of dozens of children. And inside... Paul put the tablet down. He sat down with a darkened stare, his heart pounding.