Awakening on Orbis (9 page)

“You must be feeling it now. You became sick as the awakening started, did you not?”

“I did.”

“See? And your movements through space and time, despite being so unorthodox, are, I am convinced, also connected to your relationship to the Scion. As her awakening continues and as you move closer to your destiny, I am convinced this little anomaly will disappear.”

“How is that possible?”

“You are connected to her like no other creature in this universe. You feel her pain and sense her danger. This will grow stronger as the awakening continues. You cannot escape this. A Tonat is burdened with all the pain the Scion experiences. You are like a valve that releases this pressure so that she may live in the light and bring harmony to the universe. You, in turn, must use this pain to protect her. You must fashion this energy as a soldier fashions a weapon. It is your greatest strength. That is why you are feared. As the Scion grows and takes on the pain of all those suffering in the universe, so, too, does your power grow. The longer the Scion lives, the more feared you become. This pain and suffering will strengthen you and allow you to do what others cannot. Feel her, sense her, think like her. There is not a Space Jumper in the universe that will protect your sister as you will. You and the Scion are connected like no other individuals in this universe.”

“But
how
did this happen, Drapling? Who made this connection? I’m certain not every brother and sister has this kind of connection.”

Drapling sat the glass down, but did not respond — again.

“Drapling, tell me how this happened. Please!”

“You may want to sit down,” said a voice from the door. I spun around to find Theylor entering the room. He extended his arm toward the chair. “Please, sit,” he said. “I believe the answer to your question might not please you.”

I slept straight through the next two cycles. My head was so full, I couldn’t hold it up, anyway. I spent the first diam of the third cycle simply staring at the ceiling. Ketheria came to visit me while I was awake, but I pretended to be asleep. I figured her telepathy would give me away, but she let me be, all the same. Even Queykay left me to myself, but there was nothing unusual about that.

I finally got up and washed. Moments later I heard a soft tapping at my door.

Go away,
I thought

When I didn’t answer, they did go away. I had already made my decision about what I was going to do, and I didn’t need others trying to change my mind. Despite the odds, I was even more resolved to have it my way now.
How dare they do this to me? How
dare
they?

When I felt ready, I ventured out into the building. The first person I wanted to find was Max. I found her in her room with Grace and that other kid, whatever his name was.

“Hi.” I waved from the doorway.

“JT!” Max shrieked, and bolted to her feet. Grace got up, too, and kicked the other kid to do the same.

“We were just on our way out,” Grace declared. “Good to see you up, JT. Max, we’ll talk about it more later.”

“Sure,” she replied, looking anxious for them to leave.

I nodded at the other kid as he and Grace slipped out of the room.

“What’s his name now?” I whispered to Max.

“Dante,” she replied.

“What were you guys talking about?”

“Nothing. Sit. Are you all right? Theylor said you got sick in Murat. He told us not to disturb you.”

“Was that you who knocked earlier?”

She smiled. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I just needed to apologize about the other cycle. Knowing you were here and I couldn’t talk to you — well, it was driving me crazy. Ketheria is your sisterand that
is
precious. I had no right to say what I did. It was horrible. Can you forgive me?”

“You don’t need to be forgiven, Max. I was the one who was acting like a malf — to everyone. I know that now, but that’s going to change — I promise. It’s just like you said: one more rotation and then we can do whatever we want. We can even leave the rings if you want. I’ll lead the way.”

“Really?”

“Really,” I assured her.

Max just stood there, smiling. “So, now what?”

“Let’s have some fun.”

A large furry knudnik with thick arms appeared at the door. It was a Garin, and they were only assigned to Trading Council members. “Queykay sent me to retrieve you. Your sister has requested you.”

I looked at Max and then back to the messenger. “Tell Queykay I’m sure the Council can deal with the Scion. Tell Ketheria I’ll come by later. Much later.”

I grabbed Max’s hand and pulled her out of the room as the Garin stepped aside. I really don’t think he knew what to do, but I didn’t care.

“You do not have permission to leave,” he challenged me.

I turned and faced him, Max’s hand firmly in mine. “This is not your fight. Are you going to stop me?” Max stepped next to me.

The Garin sucked the air through his teeth, and I adjusted the controls in my arm just in case.

“Well?” Max said.

He glared at us for another moment. “I must report this,” he spat, and then stormed off.

“You should get sick more often,” Max teased.

I could only smile. The fact was that my stomach had been doing backflips ever since I refused to go to Ketheria, and I was afraid to open my mouth in fear of what would come out.

Live with it,
I told myself.
That’s your new motto.

Typical of Max, she had already found a secret route into Murat. I followed her through one shortcut that was nothing more than a crack in a concrete barrier. The maze of trading chambers and living quarters was like second nature to her.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

I followed Max down a series of steps that ended in a small amphitheater carved into the foot of one of Murat’s superstructures. The building’s green glass bathed the entire courtyard in its reflection of a distant, dying sun. Max found a spot on the stone seats and settled into the eerie afterglow. I must admit, the effect did a pretty good job of masking the city’s decay.

“What are we doing here?” I whispered as we sat among other aliens, some of whom seemed to be sleeping.

“This is a special cycle on the Rings of Orbis. Not one that everyone celebrates, but quite a few do. Look up in the sky.”

Max pointed down ring and up about sixty degrees. I followed her finger to see what she was pointing at. “See it?” she said. “The rings. They spell OIO.”

In the sky, Orbis 1 and Orbis 3 were positioned next to each other, and Orbis 4, the ring we were on, ran up between them. It did spell OIO — well, kind of, anyway.

“The golden thing is that OIO works in any language. It’s really a symbol.”

“I always thought the central computer translated it for us.”

“Everyone gets the same translation. That’s one of the things that makes it so special. The alignment happens once every rotation.”

“What’s going to happen now?” I asked.

“It’s a celebration. Remember that place you took me to on Orbis 3? The place with the musician?”

“He was amazing.”

“Then I think you might like this. Watch,” she said, holding her fingers to her lips.

I looked at the stage near the bottom of the amphitheater. A few aliens were setting up musical instruments among the rubbish. Single notes washed over me as they tuned their stringed devices. I watched more musicians join the group, and the air soon resonated with a cacophony of notes and sounds as they set up their instruments. I fidgeted in my seat, anxious to hear them play. Max looked at me and smiled.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

Then she leaned toward me and rested her head against my shoulder at the precise moment the musicians came together. A wall of sound fell upon us, and anyone who had been sleeping now sat up. It was amazing that amid all this atrophy, a sound so pure and so promising could lift me up and turn my dingy surroundings into the most exquisite concert hall in the universe. I sat with Max and listened without saying a word. We let the music fill in the spaces around us, and for that moment, I had everything I had ever dreamed about when I was on the
Renaissance.
It did not matter what they had planned for me. It didn’t even matter what Theylor said they had done to me. I could resist it. I knew I could.

Then I threw up. The feeling came so fast, I barely had time to react. As my mouth filled with vomit, I tore away from Max, horrified that I might puke on her. I unloaded the contents of my stomach on the unfortunate alien to my right.

“JT! Are you all right? What’s wrong? Are you still sick?” she cried.

I couldn’t face Max. I was so embarrassed and I didn’t want her asking why I was still sick because I don’t think could have lied to her just then.

“I’m sorry,” I said to the alien next to me, but he didn’t seem to mind. Instead he picked through the remains on his shirt as if I had passed him the leftovers of my meal (which I kind of did, in a way).

I wiped my mouth and turned back to Max. “I guess I’m not a hundred percent yet,” I said.

“Let’s go back,” she insisted.

“No, I said. I love this. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You’re sick. What if it’s something serious?”

It was serious,
very
serious. But I couldn’t tell her I was going to be like this for the rest of my life and that it was only going to get worse. My head was splitting now, and my underarms were soaked as well. If Max knew the truth, if she knew what Theylor had told me, I was certain that she would never accept me and I would lose her.

Live with it!
I reminded myself.

“Let’s get some water,” she said.

“Good idea.”

Reluctantly, I left the amphitheater, following Max back up and into the street, mumbling to her the entire time that I was sorry.

After I assured Max that I was fine, I told her, “That’s such a golden place. How did you ever find it?”

“That’s the thing, JT. There is so much like that here in Murat, but the Trading Council won’t fund any of it. In fact, they made it illegal for certain groups, like those musicians, to even perform concerts anymore.”

“That’s stupid.”

“But it’s happening. The city is jam-packed with these little pockets of creativity. It’s really inspiring. I mean, despite the conditions these people are forced to live under, they are still able to connect to the Source.”

“The Source?”

“Creativity is the best way to connect to the Universe,” she replied matter-of-factly as she dashed into the surface street, pausing for a makeshift tram to pass.

“Do you really believe all that stuff, Max?”

“You mean OIO?”

“Yeah. I don’t get it. It just smells like another system of rules.”

Max stopped in front of a fountain where water bubbled out of a plastic pipe. “Here,” she said. “Drink this.”

“Is it clean?” I asked her.

“Crystal,” she replied, and I drank. “OIO’s not like that at all. It’s really an investigation of truths and principles that guide our Universe. It helps a lot of people remain calm in the presence of all the trouble and chaos around them. You ever see a Nagool get upset?”

“None that I can think of. So that’s it? It just makes you calm?”

Max turned to me and chuckled. “No! You really don’t get this stuff, do you? I’m so surprised. Look. It’s very simple. The Universe is energy. Our thoughts and actions contribute to this energy and have influence over every creature within it. Negative or deconstructive energy created by individuals, and even societies as a whole, contribute to behaviors that are self-destructive, like a hidden virus undetected in our psyche. That deconstructive energy feeds certain forces in our Universe and has the power to corrupt entire cultures — look at the Trading Council. Even when they know their actions are destructive, they continue because they are addicted to this energy. Remember Theodore and those tetrascopes?”

“What does this have to do with Ketheria?”

“Some say the Universe chooses a Scion. The balance of constructive and deconstructive energy flowing from the Source is very delicate. The universe can self-destruct under the sheer mass of unopposed deconstructive energy. When Ketheria has completely awoken these negative forces will no longer influence her. Her nodes will be in perfect sync with the brightest part of the Source. Nagools consider Scions to be the only enlightened individuals in the universe. A Scion’s presence alone can raise the consciousness of another individual by absorbing all their deconstructive energy. To become conscious is the greatest gift a Scion can give you, but it scares the crap out of the Trading Council.”

“Why?”

“There is a direct link between consciousness and a sense of self. When your nodes are clogged by deconstructive energy, you feel worthless and incapable of achieving anything, which makes you very easy to control. The Trading Council likes their knudniks that way. On the other hand, a higher consciousness can make you feel like you can do anything. Even run these rings.”

“No wonder so many Scions have been killed,” I said.

“It reminds me a lot of the way you acted around Switzer on the
Renaissance.
You really kept your head when most people wouldn’t.”