Awakening

by Hayden Pearton

  *

  Meanwhile, a few feet away, Kingston was struggling with his own demons...

  “And then you take the substrate out of the centrifuge for processing. Do you understand what I just said?”

  Ah, how many years has it been, since I last heard that voice? I know that this is a dream, but it is also one of my precious few happy memories. I am standing in Professor Valmann's study, watching him unravel the secrets of the universe. He is radiant, even in his old age. While those who once worked with him have laboured in futility, he has excelled. Instead of reaching his limits, he has broken through them.

  Here, in this dusty, far too small study, he is achieving things that I had never even considered possible. And yet, I have seen how the teachers here look at him... how they pity him. They call him a failure, a charlatan whose greatest gift to the scientific world was a theory based on fairy tales. But I know the truth. I have looked into his eyes, and seen his research, and I know that what he speaks of exists. These creatures, these beings of nature who shaped our entire existence, they are out there.

  All we need to do is figure out a way to prove that they exist, and then come up with a way to communicate with them. And perhaps, if they are as powerful as Valmann thinks they are, then maybe they will be able to help us. It would be retribution for all of his suffering, if his findings led to the salvation of the world. Oh, how I cannot wait for that day, when the ones who shamed him bow before him. And they will weep then, for all of the destruction that could have been avoided, if they had only listened to him. If only that day would come quickly.

  Sigh. But even if it does, I doubt it will go as well as I hope. Even if we could rid the world of the pollution that is killing it, too many have died. Even if every person who mocked my master were to beg for forgiveness, it would not bring back the dead. Even if there was a way to undo all of the damage caused by the pollution, the people I loved would not be returned to me.

  I think that Professor Valmann knows this. I can see it in him, even if he cannot see it himself. I think that he holds himself accountable, for not trying hard enough, for not figuring out a way to stop the blight. This is a dream, but my feelings are real. This is a dream, but it feels so real. This is a dream, but I cannot escape what will happen next.

  Like a dying flame, the memory of Professor Valmann fades away, replaced by a memory that I wish I could forget. Rain falls incessantly, each dark droplet beating a haunted tune on the bare soil. The rain hides my tears. The rain hides my pain. The shallow grave is all I could manage alone. It's the end of the world, so coffins are cheap, and funerals quick.

  My mentor, the man who taught me how to peer behind the stage curtain of the universe, has become yet another casualty in a war that cannot be won. I am the only one who cared about him... the only one who stood by his side as he whispered his last words. It's not fair.

  It's NOT FAIR!

  The greatest man of our time dies in obscurity, while the ignorant masses he worked to save are spared! This world is wrong...

  EVERYTHING is wrong! All he ever did was try to help people; try to make a better future after they broke the present... and what did he get? A peasant’s burial... no, even peasants were treated better than this. He died a dog's death. But I will not let this be the end... I will continue his legacy... I will fight for his dream... I will make them see... that he was right, and that they were wrong.

  I will save them all, and make them bow down before me and beg for forgiveness. Professor Valmann, you were like a second father to me... I will never forget you, or your teachings... and I will live on in your stead... For everything that this world has done to us, for all the pain, for all the suffering, for all the death, I will make it RIGHT!

  This day might be your last, but for me, it is the beginning... the beginning of the war. I will fight their lies and untruths not with fire and steel; but with knowledge and logic... I will show the people of this world that nature must be respected, not feared... I will show the leaders of this world that we must mend our ways, not run and hide from the problems they bring. I will show them all that your theory was right, and through it... I will show them the way to a better future...