Unison (The Spheral) (26 page)

“Can I return for a visit?”

“You forfeited your right of return when you walked away from a human in need. Why don’t you ask yourself why a man with your training failed to recognize someone who was obviously suffering.” He rang his bell. “Dismissed.” He stood up and left the room.

I left New Athenia and didn’t know where to go. I set up camp a few kilometers outside New Athenia to plan my next move. My decision came after Sutara visited me in a dream. We were both in Old Woman’s cabin.

“You must come back.”

“Why?”

“To remember.”

“If I go back, I’ll remember?”

“You will, but not everything.”

“Then why go back at all?”

Sutara rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Damon…your questions sound childish, and you’re the older one.”

“You don’t look that much younger than me.” I smiled and Sutara raised her eyebrows, obviously not amused.

“You’re going to have to give me more,” I said. “Manual labor and encountering Outsiders with bad teeth doesn’t entice me to return.”

“I’m not here to make decisions for you. But if you stay here, you’ll lose yourself.” Sutara walked to the door and opened it. “And you may not find your way back again.”

“Why do I always see you?”

“When you remember, you’ll know.” She left the cabin.

I was still unsure whether Sutara was real, but I decided to listen to her anyway. My taste towards civilization had soured again, and the isolation of the cabin seemed like the ideal place to sort through all that had happened. On the journey back, I thought about Lidian and the judgment against me. I was too caught up in my own life to notice his pain. Was that a justifiable excuse or was Holly right about me?
Am I a monster?

THE NEXT FIFTHDAY

I
sat beside the river, sketching the cabin, when I heard Shisa’s barks. She often did this when chasing a rabbit or some other small animal. I continued my work until a young Unity Guard took me by surprise.

“Damon 1300-333-1M?”

I clutched my plazer and showed him the barrel.

The guard took a step back. “I’m not here to take you in.” He extended his hand to help me up. “I’m Roth.”

I stood on my own and kept my plazer trained on him. “What’s a Unity Guard doing this far beyond the beacons?”

“Relax your aim, and I’ll tell you.”

Shisa ran over to my side and growled, and Roth took several more steps back.

“Either say what you came to say or leave,” I said. “And whatever you decide, make it quick. Shisa isn’t very patient.”

“I’ve been watching you for the last thirty days.”

“You’re brave.” I rubbed my scruffy beard. “Last time I looked in the mirror, I almost frightened myself away.”

“I’m a Striker.”

“And I’m bored.” I pointed to Shisa. “Talking to her is more exciting.”

Roth stared at Shisa and back at me. “Are you familiar with the old tunnel?”

“I’ve been through it.”

He smiled. “I’d like to recruit you as our conductor.”

“Why would you need a conductor? There’s not much demand for an orchestra out here.”

Roth pointed his finger at me and laughed. “Now that’s what I’m looking for. Someone with your sense of humor would be perfect to lead Unitians through the old tunnel.”

“I don’t do charity work.”

“We can pay you for each transport.”

“Credits aren’t worth anything out here.”

“I could bring you supplies.”

“And anything else I request?”

“As long as it can be carried out.”

“A case of berry ale would be a great start.”

“I’ll pay you on the day of your first transport.”

“When do we start? I’m thirsty.”

Roth pointed at my plazer. “Why don’t you put that away first. It’s hard for me to concentrate on business with that aimed at me.”

I secured my plazer. “Who did you use as a conductor before?”

“That old lady you turned in. I was one of the guards who arrived after you placed the call about her and the cabin, but I didn’t know who she was at the time. On the next Fifthday, the conductor didn't show for a transport. The Strikers sent a coded message through the comnet and told us the woman in the cabin was the conductor, and that you alerted Unity Forces about her. Why did you turn her in if you planned on running?”

“I didn’t
plan
anything. I had no idea that the old woman was the conductor. Must be why Unity Forces killed her.”

“The incident report states that 1300-099-33M murdered her and killed you before diving off the ridge.”

“Wade didn’t kill anyone. He was halfway up the ridge when old woman returned to the cabin. I told Unity Forces that when they questioned me.”

Roth squinted his eyes. “Unity Forces never questioned you.”

“I gave my statement before—” I recalled leaving before Unity Forces arrived, but I also remembered being questioned. However, what I couldn’t fathom was why I was about to tell Roth I returned to Unity. “Think I’ve been away too long.”

“The logistics of how the conductor died isn’t important to us.”

“It is to me,” I said. “ Everyone in Unity thinks Wade is a murderer.”

“If Unitians don’t care enough to question the actions of Unity Forces, why do you even care about what they think?”

“I don’t. I’m only concerned about Wade’s honor, a word most of you Unitians don’t understand.”

“You can let me know what really happened, and I’ll get it out on the comnet.”

“I will…when you tell me how you knew I was out here.”

“The last Striker who worked with the conductor was given a new post after she was killed. I was recruited to search for an Outsider willing to transport for us, but I found only one, and he greeted me with his longbow. I almost gave up the search until I spotted you on the ridge. It looked like you were sketching a picture of Unity.”

Roth spoke the truth. I remembered the day well. I was lonely and decided to hike up the ridge and sketch the dome. As much as I hated Unity, I still appreciated its beauty.

Roth stared into the optic of his holologue. “On the next Fifthday, I’ll be here with your first passengers.”

“What about my cabin? Unity Forces already know about its location.”

“With the old lady gone, they have no interest in a deserted cabin in the woods. You’re all set to go. I’ll bring you a wireless signal interface with the next transport. Luckily, the guards never found the transceiver. They’re a lot harder to acquire.”

“Do you know the old woman’s name?”

“Only her recruiter has that information, and he was sworn to keep her identity secret to protect her and maintain the security of the Strikers’ network. We’ll continue with the same protocol. I’ll be the only Striker you’ll ever meet and the only one who’ll be aware of your identity.” Roth showed me a map on his holologue. “We’ll rendezvous at the top of the ridge, on the western side. You’ll have to help the passengers navigate around the eroded portion of the mountain. If you ever show up for a transport, and I’m not there, you’ll wait another eight weeks before returning.”

Roth arrived that following Fifthday with the passengers and all the supplies he promised. I presented myself with a clean shave so as 

not to frighten anyone with my Outsider appearance. I spent the next few years transporting passengers across the old tunnel, presuming inspiration would find me again. It never did. All the hopes, dreams and desires passengers expressed to me sounded childish and unrealistic. I held back the temptation to blurt out the paradise they sought after was a phantom, but I held back my opinions. My life as an Outsider clearly demonstrated one person’s idea of Shangri-La was another person’s deathland.

My indifference came to an abrupt end when I was reacquainted with Flora, who lay unconscious at the bottom of the ridge. Regaining my memory was as unsettling as it had been the last two times. Rather than bore the reader of this journal with all the denials, hysterics, and expletives that accompanied my returning memories, I’ll move on to the first thought that zapped across my mind…after I knocked Flora out by striking her with my plazer:
Is this love or hate?

KILLING FLORA

F
lora’s emergence date still held my attention. Using the security clearance ID I got from the purple sleeve in my first incarnation, I tried to pull up the headlines for that day, but I couldn’t get through to the comnet. I went to check the wireless signal interface Roth replaced for me, and it was working. The problem had to be with the transceiver, and there was no time to hike to the western side of the ridge to run a diagnostic.

“Where am I?” Flora asked as she struggled to free herself from the chair I tied her to again.

I glanced up at the holoscreens, and there was no sign of suspicious activity.

“Where am I?” Flora yelled.

“Heard you the first time.” I swung around to face my feisty guest. “I just chose to ignore you.” I stared at Flora with unveiled contempt as I recalled our last meeting with Kai. “Tell me why you’d bow to Kai, who treats you no better than a crailer, and I’ll answer your question,” I said.

“Damon 1300-333-1M, you’ll submit to the Corporate Hierarchy of Unity and refrain from speech until a confessor is present. All words and actions will be used against you in the court of ideals.”

I leapt out of my chair and walked over to her. “Your delivery isn’t as amusing this time around.”

Flora glared at me, and I struck her face with my fist. Blood trickled from her nose, and her eyes filled with rage. I went to the counter to get a towel. When I tried to clean Flora’s face, she turned her head away.

“I’m about to lose the life I’ve made for myself because of you and Kai. This time, I’m not going to make it easy for either of you.”

“Kai isn’t here. I came alone to help you find your way back.”

“You did not come alone, and you won’t find your own way back if you don’t do exactly as I tell you.”

Flora thrashed her shoulder forward and snarled. “If you plan on having your way with me, I’ll make sure you experience plenty of pain.”

“As enticing as you make it sound, we won’t have time for that.”

“What do you want?”

“Take a step outside the small circle you’ve drawn around yourself, and look at the complete picture. If I wanted to harm you, I would’ve already done so.”

“That’s a good sign. If you can restrain your primal instincts, you can be cured.”

“Then on the other hand, you did kill me and my dog. It only seems fair I return the favor.”

“You don’t look dead.”

“We’ll both
be
dead if we don’t leave now."

“No one wants to kill you…only help you find yourself again.”

“I’m not lost.”

“You’ve been out here so long that you forgot who you are.”

“I’m certain of who I am and of what I’m saying. You can’t make me doubt myself again.”

“You want to return to Unity with me. It’s the scourge that’s not allowing you to think clearly.”

I placed my hands on both arm rests and leaned towards Flora until the tips of our noses touched. “The scourge is a lie. Unity is the disease, and leaving is the only cure. You knew that at one time.” I stood. “You need to relearn it now.”