Unison (The Spheral) (37 page)

RATS AND MONSTERS

S
ephroy opened his door and waved his cane. “Hello, hello, hello. Long time no visit.”

“Are you going to invite me in or hit me with that?” I entered his trainlet.

“Welcome back, Chap. You’ve been away so long, I almost forgot your name.”

I handed Sephroy a wood-carved camel I picked up in Egypt.

“What is it?”

“A camel. They ride them like a horse across lands without trees or water.”

“Doesn’t sound like a place I’d want to—” Sephroy pointed to my amulet and dropped his cane. “Where did you get that?”

“Jerusalem.” I picked up the cane, and Sephroy tried to snatch the amulet. I stepped back. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Give me the echoer! It doesn’t belong to you!”

“You’ve seen this before?” I handed the cane back to Sephroy who almost dropped it. “Can you tell me where it came from?”

“Did Jall give it to you?”

“Yes...how did you know?”

“Why is he starting things up again now? That gluttonous old fool has no self-control. He understood the danger he caused and promised never to—” Sephroy squinted his eyes at me. “Did you find out about the Six?”

I didn’t answer fast enough, and Sephroy delivered several quick taps on the floor with his cane. “Six begin, Six alone, Six—”

“Unite.”

Sephroy slid onto his chair and rubbed his forehead. “If he gets what he wants, I won’t be able to stop it this time.”

“Stop what?”

“Evolution…and you’re not ready to evolve.” Sephroy shook his head. “That Jall has never been the patient type.”

“What do you…believe we’re evolving into?”

Sephroy pointed his cane at me. “Don’t act superior around me. You
are
evolving, and you’re staring right at your future.” He pointed to himself.

I inspected Sephroy’s ragged appearance. “How can you be more evolved than—”

“Don’t condescend to me with your microscopic-sized brain.” Sephroy held out his hand. “Give me the echoer.” His gaze intensified and radiated a dimension of depth I never noticed in him before. “Trust me when I say you’re not ready for this.”

“Answer my question first.”

Sephroy pushed his hand towards me. “Wouldn’t trade anything for the information you seek. Once you’re all reunited, you’ll understand why.”

“Who are the other five?”

“Haven’t you been listening to me, Chap? This subject is closed and never to be opened again.”

“You can’t expect me to forget after everything you just told me.”

“I don’t, but you should stop now. Forget about the other five, and you’ll have a happier life.”

I examined the echoer, admiring the engraving. “Since I was a boy, I was plagued by vivid dreams and visions. I spent years researching and experimenting, hoping to understand what was happening to me. Answers never came—only more questions. This is the closest I’ve ever been to an answer. I can’t stop.”

“Have you ever lived a satisfying life and when the end came, you thought about everything you did and had no regrets?”

“Once…almost.” I thought about Holly, who came closest to that ideal.

Sephroy pointed his finger at me. “Repeat that life and forget this one. If I was smart enough to follow my own advice, I would’ve been at home instead of living here like a rat. It’s the only thing I deserve now.”

“Can’t you go back to—where did you say you came from?”

“I didn’t, and I can’t ever go back because I failed to overlook what I held sacred.” Sephroy extended his hand, waiting for me to give him the echoer, but I still refused.

“The answer you seek will again lead to more questions.” Sephroy opened his desk drawer and removed another echoer. “Thieves broke in here many times and never took this—not that it would’ve mattered because it only works for the Six.”

“Is it true what Jall said?” I held out my echoer. “Can this be used to communicate beyond time?”

Sephroy returned the echoer to his desk drawer. “Feeling tired. Got a long day tomorrow.”

“We’ll continue tomorrow then.”

“We’ll never speak of this again. I want to live out the rest of my years in peace.” Sephroy pointed his cane towards the door, and I left.

I returned to my trainlet and found the door left ajar. Tyrus stepped out, staring around as though confused. “How did I get here?”

I held out the echoer. “I think this allows me to communicate with you.”

“You’re not living in here again, are you?”

“You remember?”

Tyrus shook his head and walked back into the trainlet.

I followed him in. “Six begin, Six alone, Six—”

“Unite.” Tyrus turned to face me and then shook his head again. “No. None of this is happening.” He started pacing up and down the aisle.

“Then how do you remember I lived here?”

“When I come up with an answer, I’ll tell you.”

“I thought you went to the lands of the Ancients' bible.”

Tyrus froze. “You ran into Lidian and Holly?”

“They also told me you were sick.”

“In more ways than I thought possible.”

“Are you a Six?”

Tyrus appeared spooked. “The woman with the unbraided hair mentioned something about—”

“Sutara.”

“Yes. That’s her, but I couldn’t recall her name until you mentioned it.”

“Three of Six found. Only three more to go.”

“Then what?”

“Slock if I know. Sephroy seems to know a lot, but he’s not saying anything.”

“Sephroy?” Tyrus asked.

“The man who runs this place.”

“That man with the cane who never bathed before in his life knows about the Six?” Tyrus whacked one of the overhead handles and studied his hand. “I am hallucinating.”

“If you’re hallucinating then I am as well.”

“We can’t both be hallucinating the same thing."

“Which means all of this is real,” I said.

Tyrus slapped the overhead handle again. “I remember now. I’m in reintegration.”

“No Tyrus. I’m here with you.”

“Maybe.” Tyrus walked out of the trainlet.

I stepped outside after him, and the tunnel walls were replaced by the Unitian skyline.

While we sat and waited for a crail, I examined the Unitian skyline. I missed the glass high rises and the way they glistened from the city lights. Their dim reflection on the dome commingled with the stars outside making Unity seem like a self-contained universe.

“Being away for so long makes you appreciate its beauty,” said Tyrus.

“Why did you take me here?”

“Unity is firmly entrenched within me because I helped it thrive. When I thought I was improving the lives of the Unitians, it was easy to look past it. When they were scared, I was their protector. When they thought they were alone in their doubts, I stood by them. When they were angry over their oppression, I listened to their grievances until they exhausted themselves back into submission. Those were the most disheartening moments since my memory returned.” Tyrus crossed his hands under his chin and closed his eyes as though deep in prayer. “I don’t want to live through this again.”

“You and me both,” I said as a crail stopped in front of us.

“What if it never ends?” Tyrus asked.

“We keep going.” I pointed towards the open crail door, and we entered.

Tyrus placed his eye in front of the navigation scanner. “Observatory.” The door slid shut, and we were on our way.

“When did you first remember?” I asked.

“During the meeting with the last Overseer—when he announced his intention to chip the fetuses.”

“Is this the first incarnation you’re aware of?”

“In my last life I had the memories, but I thought they were delusions brought on by my illness. I still haven’t discounted that explanation.” Tyrus grabbed his forehead. “If there was only a way I could be sure.”

We arrived at the observatory, and I secured a telescope. I glanced at the stars that salted the sky in brilliant symmetry and thought about Flora who found refuge while gazing at them. “Where are you now?” I asked.

“Don’t come. I’m scheduled to announce my request for death in three days.”

I turned to face Tyrus who was staring into the finderscope. “You’re in Unity?”

“Some of my contacts in Unity told me Kai was trying to amass more power, and I returned to plead with the Chosen to stop him. I knew what he was capable of. With Avery’s assistance, I got into Unity without being detected.”

I looked at Tyrus. “Avery…helped you?”

“When people share a common goal, it’s easy to set aside differences. Kai extended his powers to elevate himself over the Sacred Oath, and four other Chosen were already in the middle of constructing a case against him. I helped gather the evidence, but Kai found out before we could present it. He threatened to write an edict declaring the Chosen nonessential to the function of Unity. My former colleagues capitulated and made a public apology, retracting their accusation.”

Tyrus made a few adjustments to the lens. “I couldn’t let things go as easily as them. I snuck into Kai’s bed chamber with the intention of talking to him, but when I found him sleeping peacefully, I knew the man was devoid of a conscience. I strangled him as he slept.”

“You killed Kai?”

“I’m no better than him. When my arms were around his neck, I wanted him to die. I had no value for his life.”

“You’re a more honorable man than Kai. He never valued anyone’s life but his own. You did what you did because you wanted to help free the Unitians.”

“The Corporate Hierarchy make a similar claim. Their function is to make life happy for all Unitians, but compassionate acts don’t lead to the enslavement of a whole population…or the murder of an individual.”

I thought back to the moment where I wanted to kill Kai. Something stopped me from pulling the trigger.
Was that compassion
? “Tell me where you are, Tyrus. I’ll come for you,” I said.

“Before you left, did you ever wonder why there was an increase in suicides after reintegration?”

“Hadn’t noticed. I was too busy worrying about my next promotion.”

“We don’t have the resources to sustain those who don’t agree with the Sacred Oath. Under direct orders from the last Overseer, a team of engineers made some modifications to reintegration. They can now inject suicidal prompts to Unitians rated nonessential.”

“Did they do that to Wade?”

He nodded. “I knew and did nothing—” Tyrus clutched his forehead. “I’ve contaminated the pureness of Unity. I’m an anathema to our peaceful existence.” Tyrus yelled, “No, I won’t carry all of it!” He opened the door and bolted out of the dome.

I ran outside and chased Tyrus across the cold, frosty field. He stopped at the fence that surrounded the ranch. “I can’t resist anymore.”

“You don’t have to listen. In the end, the choice is yours to make.”

Tyrus pointed towards his chest. “I deserve death because I’m a monster I’m—” He raised his fists defiantly towards the sky and looked up. “You’re wrong! I’m not the only one responsible! You’re all monsters! You value no one’s life but your own! Those who choose not to serve you are tossed out! You’re monsters because you believe the end exonerates the sacrifice!” Tyrus quieted his voice. “Those were my last words to Kai, moments before he drew his final breath.” He laughed maniacally. “I’d congratulate you for your promotion, Avery, but I never could stand you.”