Mobius (38 page)

“The Fume’s beasts have disabled many systems on the Guardian Spheres, including communications.”

Fanbert stood, his poise altered as if infused with renewed purpose. “If you’re telling the truth, I must leave at once to battle these beastly forces.”

“They’re too dangerous,” said Orsteen. “You wouldn’t survive long.”

Fanbert became oddly silent, staring into space.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“I’m attempting communication with the Guardian network.” A pause. “Something’s wrong. I can’t make contact with anyone. Even if the Guardian Spheres in the seven galaxies were overtaken, I should still be able to contact other Guardians. There are communication nodes scattered throughout the Brahman Sprawl. The three of you will wait here while I find answers.”

“No!” I said emphatically. “We can’t risk you jaunting off to another galaxy and never returning. We’re depending on you to lead us to Nara-Narayana.”

“Nara-Narayana?” Fanbert looked to me skeptically, as if my statement was insane. “You ask the impossible. Nara-Narayana is a demigod, beyond the reach of mere mortals. No one knows her location. This is the reason she can’t be corrupted or compromised, and this is why she’s able to bring order and control to the Brahman Sprawl.”

Morion tapped an inquisitive finger on the bar. “And how can she rule so effectively while being so detached?”

“It’s in her power to see all that’s happening in the Brahman Sprawl. And if she’s compelled to give orders to a single Guardian, she’ll whisper in their ear like a ghost. Her wisdom is profound, and with it, she’s guided us for over twenty-one million years without paradox.”

“And it’s this wisdom we require,” I said. “I’ve been told to tell you that we seek the forgotten world where the Prophets sleep, and that their awakening is overdue. Does this mean anything to you?”

“It means you’ve been in contact with one of only two people still alive who know of the Prophets.” Fanbert leaned forward eagerly. “JarNay survived the attack?”

I hesitated. “She’ll be fine.”

“Although JarNay’s a truehearted woman, I can’t allow her judgment to rule my actions. To help you locate Nara-Narayana would be against one of the most important laws of the Guardian Army.”

“Things have changed,” I said. “The Fume’s manipulations in the seven galaxies—and, more specifically, on Earth—were only the beginning of a plot so grand in scope that it’s almost beyond comprehension.”

“You have my attention,” said Fanbert. “Continue.”

“The temporal displacement of the Brahman Station wasn’t an accident, but a part of the Fume’s plans. Somehow he has anticipated the development and evolution of the Brahman Sprawl and all the people within it. The Fume told me the Brahman Sprawl and all its inhabitants are a critical part of his plan.”

Fanbert was at the edge of his seat. “Which is?”

“He claims his manipulations will cause our universe to evolve into something like himself, and his own universe, at which point he’ll be able to absorb the energies of our universe, so to become a more powerful entity.”

“Evolve into something like him? What do you mean?”

“He claims our universe is evolving into a god.”

“A god?” said Fanbert.

I nodded. “An entity whose constitution will be formed from all the matter and energy of the universe.”

“By what process?” asked Fanbert with disbelief.

“I, too, asked this question, but was left to wonder. However, when he spoke of this evolution, it was as if he spoke of a metaphysical process by which the souls of the people in the Brahman Sprawl would be assimilated and utilized to some extent. He said the soul is the precursor to godliness.”

Fanbert’s eyes sparkled with wonder. “A precursor to godliness? Astonishing.”

“The whole process seems quite complex,” I said, taking a chug from my mug. “Such a concept of god being born from humankind turns all religions on their heads. The assumption has always been that man was born of god.”

“What of the Fume?” said Fanbert. “Technically, couldn’t he be considered our god?”

“A god maybe...
our
god, no. The Fume didn’t create the energy of this universe, or even the first life on Earth. He arrived after the fact, and manipulated what was already there.”

“So, if gods are born from universes, then what created the universe to begin with?”

I looked ponderously at the contents of my mug and then polished it off. “The basic energy of the universe has always existed. Isn’t it more logical to believe this, rather than to believe an all-knowing god has always existed? Where did he gain his knowledge? How could such knowledge have always existed? It’s a paradox. Gods, too, must have beginnings.”

“It’s an inspiring concept that humankind is the beginning of a god.”

“It is,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean the birth of this god should be allowed to occur. How will the universe be better? I’m comfortable with the universe and the state of humankind, as it is. If each of us has a soul, then each of us is divine. There’s no need for a god.”

“I tend to agree,” said Fanbert. “Change is unnecessary. The human condition is a magnificent thing that need not be lost. What’s more, if the creation of this god does occur, it’s apparently the plan of the Fume to destroy it and then absorb its energies... in effect our energies.”

“And this is why we must find Nara-Narayana.”

“We need not actually find Nara-Narayana to give her this message. I’ll relay the message to her by certain channels of communication.”

“No!” I blurted.

Fanbert’s eyes widened. “What?”

“You said you were unable to make contact with anyone.”

“This is true, but I’ll find a way.”

I rose to my feet. “May I speak with you in private, Fanbert?”

“Be quick.”

Orsteen and Morion looked at me suspiciously. I ignored their expressions and led Fanbert to a table hidden in a corner at the other end of the bar.

I must be careful with my words,
I thought.
How can I explain this? He can’t lose trust in me.

I eased into my seat. “There are other revelations that only I can deliver to Nara-Narayana.”

“Which are?”

I scratched at the table nervously. “I can’t tell you.”

“You’d better tell me something, stranger, or I’m off.”

With truth I’ll find trust,
I thought.

“I believe I hold the key to the Fume’s plans.” I drilled my index finger into the side of my head. “Long ago, he instilled in me a part of his essence, or exotic energy, or whatever his constitution, and now it grows in my brain like a cancer. If I deliver myself to Nara-Narayana, she may have the power to extract this spark of evil from my brain. Maybe it’ll help her learn the mechanics behind the Fume’s plot, so to stop him.”

Fanbert drew back in his seat as if I had become the villain. “This is troubling, Mr. Mobius. You admit that you’ve been corrupted by the Fume, and are possibly an instrument in his plans to absorb the energies of our universe.” Fanbert’s eyes widened. “No, no, no—I can’t allow this. I won’t help you. I won’t lead you to Nara-Narayana. In fact, I’m compelled to kill you on the instant.”

“Wait!” I called. A pressure ran through my head as I strained to find a solution to this fragile moment.

“Speak fast!”

“Your eye,” I said.

“What?”

“There’s something in your eye. A strange glimmer.”

Fanbert ran a finger along his bottom eyelid. “There’s nothing in my eye, you lunatic.”

“It grows,” I said, looking at the shimmering fracture that lengthened across Fanbert’s eye. It opened wider, like a second eyelid. Light spilled outward. I looked inward and marveled.

A fissure into his mind.

Fanbert’s teeth chattered. “I can’t move. What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” I said. I felt the path before me. I focused harder on Fanbert’s glowing eye. My perceptions slipped inward, like rainwater into the gaps. Fanbert’s mind was before me. Thoughts and emotions swirled around me like objects. “I see you, Fanbert. All of you at once.”

“What are you saying?” uttered Fanbert. “What are you doing?”

“What is consciousness?” I said in excitement. “What is thought? What defines you, Fanbert? What defines me? The totality of a man sits between the gaps of his skull.”

“You’re speaking crazy,” cried Fanbert.

I grabbed Fanbert’s hand and felt an energy travel between us. I felt his every atom. “Be still now, Fanbert.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Don’t worry,” I whispered. “I’ll make you understand.”

Fanbert and I rejoined Orsteen and Morion at the bar.

Orsteen looked at us suspiciously. “Have the two of you agreed on our next course of action?”

“We have,” said Fanbert. “We leave to find Nara-Narayana.”

Orsteen raised his thick brow high. “What of the Guardian laws, which ban you from such action?”

“Theron has made clear the errors of my earlier thinking. In dire times a man must reevaluate laws and break them if necessary.”

I felt guilty. Fanbert wasn’t deserving of such deception.

I’ve done the unforgivable.
I thought back on the sanitarium and how the Fume had violated me.
Am I becoming the monster I hate?
My heart fluttered, my chest hurt.

“Let’s go!” I said.

Morion squirmed in his seat. “Before we go, I have to shit. This beer is rank.” He signaled the serving girl. “Where’s your bathroom?”

“The alley’s as good a place as any.”

“You wouldn’t be pleased if a breeze found its way through the front door. Now, I demand the use of proper facilities!”

The serving girl hesitantly pointed to a door next to the kitchen.

“We’ll be waiting outside,” I said. “Be fast with your duties.”

Morion frowned and then disappeared to the back of the bar.

Upon exiting the Drunk Bird Saloon, Fanbert looked up to the stars and sampled a generous gulp of air, as if trying to taste the beauty of the heavens. It wasn’t long before his expression shifted to surprise.

“I’m not one to become easily startled, but I find myself worried by this glowing haze lighting the night sky.” Fanbert pointed to the celestial cloud that couldn’t go unnoticed. It now covered an area equivalent to a large moon. “What is this celestial phenomenon?”

“We don’t know.” I didn’t look at it, for fear of another episode. “Over the past week, it’s expanded four-fold, enveloping all the stars in its path.”

“You underestimate the scale of this formation,” said Fanbert. “Those aren’t stars being enveloped.”

I was perplexed by his statement. “Then what are they?”

“They’re galaxies in the Brahman Sprawl.”

“Impossible,” I said, slack-jawed.

“I’m not mistaken!” said Fanbert. “As a Guardian, I command a quantum control plexus. I have an advanced perception of the universe, which allows me to navigate galaxies. I know the sky like I know myself.” He indicated a dense band of stars. “That’s the main disc of the Crux Galaxy, which we’re in. And over there, where the celestial phenomenon hangs, is a gap in the stars affording us a view of the many galaxies in the Brahman Sprawl.”

“If this is true, then I fear we’re too late.” I looked out into the universe. “This may be the beginning when all becomes one.”