Unison (The Spheral) (13 page)

Flora moved herself into my loft three weeks later. She cleared out one of my drawers and left a few changes of clothing. Normally such forward behavior from a woman would’ve bothered me, but we had a lot in common. We hiked, camped, went horseback riding and spent many nights at the observatory, gazing at the stars. Flora filled the void I felt since Wade’s death. On the mornings I woke up alone, I missed her and found my weakness disturbing. Worried I’d succumb to the pitiful state Wade found himself in with Nasia, I entered an essential shop to pick out a farewell rose. As I held it in my hand, I recalled a conversation I had with Wade. “I prefer rationality over giving up on life because of a woman,” I had told him.

“You were never with a woman long enough to make that judgement. Hand a girl a rose and throw her out of your life—that’s all you know.”

When the florist asked me to look into the scanner, I tossed the rose on the counter and returned home. Flora showed up later that night, and I felt closer to her than I ever had. Even the idea of parting with her seemed to make me want her more.

Wade and Flora had similar temperaments. They both had a mistrust of authority, which is why Flora was handed the assignment of Unity Guard. The Overseer believed rebellious personalities had the instincts that made them ideal for security. They could easily spot a Striker or anyone else with abnormal behavior because they exhibited similar characteristics. An ingenious idea, although risky as quite a few Unity Guards were discovered to be Strikers.

Flora constantly questioned my loyalty to Unity, and I started to wonder if I was attracted to her because I missed my arguments with Wade. However, unlike Wade, Flora was a good cook. I deemed her the master of my kitchen for her marinara sauce; it was the best I ever had. Food typically brought an end to our disagreements. Once the serving trays and dishes met the table, eating surpassed my desire to win whatever it was we were arguing about. There was only one occasion where I lost my appetite, and it happened shortly after Flora served me roasted chicken for my thirty-second emergence day.

“You like it?” Flora asked after I took my first bite.

I bowed my head to her. “Kai should have you cook at his next party.” I picked up a napkin and wiped my mouth.

“Why don’t you call him by his title?” Flora pulled out her chair and sat.

“There’s no need for ceremony when we’re at home.” I poured some wine into our glasses.

“Did I hear you correctly? When
we’re
at home?”

“You know what I meant.” I tossed a napkin at Flora, and she caught it.

“Explain yourself.”

“Do you have all night?”

“Start talking,” she pulled the plate away from me, “or you’ll lose your dining privileges.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I saluted her and smiled. “Should I drop down and give you twenty, first?”

“
Fifty
…if you can handle it.” She placed her elbows on the table and leaned her chin between her hands. “Or you can tell me what you meant. Should I have my loft reassigned to someone else?”

“I’ll do the fifty,” I pulled back the plate, “after I eat. I’m hungry.” I swirled some pasta onto a fork and took a bite.

“You can barely make it to twenty…
coward
.” Flora playfully threw a napkin at me.

As I caught the napkin, my COR alarm went off and a vision came to me. Flora lay dead on the floor with a plazer blast to her head.

STRIKERS

K
ai entered my office, but I was preoccupied with predicting the time of Flora’s death and never noticed his arrival. He cleared his throat, and I stood and bowed. “Sorry Master Kai. I didn’t hear you enter.”

“I take no offense. Your ability to hyper-focus has been well known since you failed to report outside your dorm during one of the monthly fire drills.”

“Master Franklin didn’t take that too well.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be sending you for a hearing test.” Kai laughed and handed me a folder. “It took almost half of a year of waiting, but as of this morning our patience has been rewarded. The Overseer approved our project.”

I raged inside when he said,
our
. “Please tell the Overseer that I’m honored to serve him again.”

“I will.” Kai picked up a picture of Flora. “How is our spirited green?”

“Still a mystery to be solved.” I clenched my teeth behind my smile. “Must explain why we’ve lasted this long.”

Kai looked at the picture. “A fox enters a henhouse with the intent of leaving with a hen between his teeth. But he’s swayed by their easy life and carefree nature. Food is brought to them daily, allowing them plenty of leisure time.” Kai put the picture back on the desk. “The fox is seduced by their easy existence and forgets he’s a fox. Eventually the hens start calling him Hox. When another fox enters the henhouse, he selects Hox for his dinner. Before Hox can say a word, the fox snatches him up in his jaws and carries him away.” Kai looked at my commendation on the wall and then at me. “We have a responsibility to first serve the Corporation. Once you lose sight of your purpose, you’ll lose your identity and become easy prey to those who know their proper place.”

“Why does it make a difference now?" I asked. “We’ve been together for over—”

Kai handed me an envelope. “Your purple sleeves are being sewn as we speak…but don’t tell anyone I tipped you off. You’re not supposed to know the results until after the official announcements go out.”

I tore open the envelope and removed my nomination notice. This was what I worked for all these years. As I read through it, my ambivalence returned. I stood a good chance of rising high within the Corporate Hierarchy, but it would mean leaving Flora behind—at least until I got to a high enough level where I could get away with breaking a few rules.

“Harmony’s success, along with your recent proposal, inspired the Overseer to make the nomination Himself. He believes locating the Progenitor will be a great benefit to Unity.”

“My proposal never mentioned locating the Progenitor. We can’t measure such a force because it exists beyond time.” I was relieved I kept COR’s frequency a secret, and after what I just heard, I considered taking the secret to my grave.

“Once we find a way to study it, we’ll move beyond controlling our emotions,” Kai said. “The Overseer believes we can delete undesirable behavior in the gestation vessels. Every emergence day will produce healthy babies, free from the scourge.”

“When humanity grasps the knowledge that we’re all connected to a seemingly infinite power source—and that our actions are already recorded somewhere beyond time—we’ll make better choices because it will be conducive to our survival.”

“Your passion never fails to sway me, but this time history proves the impossibility of your idealism. Greed is a destructive counter-force to our Unity, and we must do everything in our power to ensure it doesn’t destroy us.”

“It won’t, if we don’t allow it to.”

“From our position, that would be possible. However, not everyone shares our determination. Only when we hone in on the Progenitor can we hope to create our own Unity. Once we’re all cured of the scourge, there would be no need for integration or reintegration. And with a little
modification
to COR, we can release it as a dissonant signal and rid ourselves of the Outsider menace. All the land within the beacons will be ours. If we’re successful, we can build more towers and spread our Unity beyond the western side of the Emerald—”

“COR cannot be contained…or manipulated. We’ll destroy ourselves as well.”

“We can stay in the old bunkers until completion.”

An intense rage swelled inside me followed by a sharp pain in my head. I seized my plazer from out of my drawer and shot Kai. It all happened so quickly that he didn’t have enough time to react.

Kai tapped the desk. “Are you all right, Damon?”

“I’m fine.” I went to sit down and realized I was already seated.

“For a moment, I thought you died. Your pupils were dilated, and your eyes stopped blinking.” He eyed his holologue. “I’m setting up an appointment for you at the hospital. You can have the rest of the day—”

“That won’t be necessary.” I wanted to massage the area of my scalp that still throbbed from the stun, but then Kai would’ve noticed. “I was up all night working and didn’t get enough sleep.”

I’d set the COR alarm to vibrate to avoid suspicion. The problem was it made getting out of a vision more difficult. I tried to focus my eyes on Kai, but everything in the room was still spinning.

“If you need personal time, I can have someone else examine the data you’ve acquired,” Kai said.

I wanted more than personal time; I wanted off the project, but I wrote the proposal that turned my ideal of a true Unity into the genocidal fantasy of a madman. One thing that became clear on that day: the Overseer was no man of God, and the only Prime Wisdom he ever received was from his disturbed mind. Unity was being ruled by a psychopath. My goal of succeeding the Overseer now became a matter between life and a destruction that would be linked back to me if permitted to happen.

“I’d rather be the one to continue,” I said. “Getting someone else to take over will slow our progress.”

Kai smiled. “I appreciate your devotion. The Overseer will be pleased to hear you’re with him.”

I stood and bowed, relieved there wasn’t a plazer in my desk because I would’ve used it.

“Starting this Firstday, I’ll be away for the week. You’re in charge until my return.”

Kai left the office and I pondered over my vision, comparing it to the one I had of Flora. Apart from Unity Guards, no one below purple sleeve is permitted to carry a weapon inside the dome.
Did I murder Flora and then use her plazer to shoot Kai?
It seemed likely because my vision placed Flora at my loft. Getting her plazer would be easy as she kept it in the nightstand drawer.  I reasoned if Flora wasn’t around me, whatever circumstances led to her murder wouldn’t happen. And if I stole the plazer from her, that meant I wouldn’t kill Kai either. I convinced myself that my theory was sound and stopped at an essential shop on my way back home. Leaving with a rose in my hand complimented my ego. Better to be the man who saved the girl than the man who gave up his ideals to get a promotion.

The aroma of tomato sauce seasoned with oregano didn’t blend well with the fragrance from the rose. Unsure of how Flora would handle my parting gift, I hid it behind my back and ventured into the kitchen where she was chopping lettuce.

“I didn’t expect you so early. Dinner won’t be ready for another hour,” she said.

I stood behind Flora and placed my free hand around her hip. “Smells great.” The scent of sandalwood on her hair and touching her made me momentarily forget my conversation with Kai. Flora was opinionated, argumentative and stubborn, yet I cared for her more than any other woman I’ve been with. I again thought back to my discussion with Wade when he said, “Hand a girl a rose and throw her out of your life—that’s all you know.” I now knew more, and while I still preferred rational over emotional relationships, I found myself hesitating over what I was about to do.
Is this what it feels like to connect with someone?

“Hard day?” Flora snapped her fingers in front of my face. “You seem preoccupied.”

“Actually, I have good news.” I twirled the stem of the rose between my thumb and forefinger.

“I’m listening,” she said.

“You’re looking at a future purple sleeve.”

Flora’s excited expression vanished. “Congratulations. I know how much you wanted—” She narrowed her eyes. “I smell roses.”

I showed her the rose, whereupon Flora pushed the cutting board off the counter and stormed off.

I followed her into the bedroom. “Slow down a minute, and give me a chance to explain. After the conversation I had with Kai today, I have to make some sacrifices. As a purple sleeve, I’ll be able to help keep Unitians safe.”

Flora took out her suitcase from the closet and glared at me as she placed it on the bed. “You’d take your own life if he so demanded.” She opened the lid.