Stones: Theory (Stones #4) (11 page)

The people stare up. Their faces open into fresh smiles and rejoice, unable to withhold the emotions that break from their voices and the tears that stream from their eyes. Thousands of arms reach out to him. His consciousness expands until every beating heart and every breath is one within him. Their lips move in unison, repeating the words over and over, like a mantra.

All in one, and one in all.

Miyazawa looks up and wills it to rain. A gentle mist falls out of a cloudless sky. The masses raise their faces to the heavens and drink in the moisture, sweet as honey on their parched lips. Flowers bloom and grow on the sand and fill the plain with rich colors of purple, red and green. The people stand, refreshed and invigorated, and bow once again to the tree that he has become.

It is then than the realization finally hits him.

The voice speaking through him, the
Other
, is the
Kami
god, and he is one with it.

He is the
Kami
.

T
he transport stops. Matt’s eyes flutter open. He looks to his left at Jessica and Yarah, both of them still asleep and comfortable in the cool cab.

“You’re him.” Tom stares at Matt. “You’re
The Finder
.”

“That’s what they call me.” Matt reaches into his pocket and brings out the Stone. “It all comes from this pesky little thing. Want to have a closer look?” He tosses it over Jessica and Yarah.

Tom catches it in his massive fist, and his eyes scan its surface as he turns it over and over in his hand. “Interesting. It’s just—”

“A rock.” Matt laughs. “Yeah, I know. That’s what I’ve tried telling myself, but it doesn’t seem to help.”

The big man hands the Stone back to Matt. “I’d heard that we have a new leader and that he’s hiding out in the mountains, but I had no idea it was here. The Children say they need to keep the location a secret.”

“The secret got out, and MX Global sent out a couple of combat ships. I should have known they were coming. Luckily, we all got away. Nobody killed.” Matt rubs his thumb over the uneven surface of the Stone. “But there were a few injuries among the crew that came after us.”

Tom stares at Matt. “I still can’t believe you’re him. The Finder. In my truck.”

“I know it’s a letdown.” Matt pats Tom on the shoulder. “I’m just a regular guy. No robe and staff. No sandals or miracle water. Nobody special. Just a kid in jeans and a T-shirt that found a rock while skiing up in the mountains of Colorado one day. I sweat and pass wind like everyone else. And I love your jerky.” He gets another piece out of the greasy bag and rips off a mouthful with his front teeth.

Tom laughs, and his generous belly bounces up and down over his belt. “I never thought I’d live to see the day that I’d actually have
The Finder
in my cab.” He shakes his head and looks down at Yarah. “And this is the little one that you picked up along the way. I hear she’s almost as amazing with her Stone as you are with yours.”

Yarah’s soft breathing, closed eyelids and long eyelashes combine to give her an angelic appearance.

“She’s better, actually, in lots of ways.” Matt chews and savors the hearty flavor of the dried meat. “Something about finding a Stone when your mind is still so young and undeveloped. She already had amazing natural gifts when I found her. The Stone just amplified them.”

Reaching out to the truck-com, Tom touches a small screen. “Still have a ways to go today.” The transport begins to descend the hill. Tom looks over his left shoulder, turns the wheel and enters the expressway. They move in silence until he brushes his finger on the screen. “Let’s try a mountain meadow setting.” The sound of birds and a rushing stream float through the cab.

For several minutes, they both sit in awkward silence.

Tom’s chest moves up with a deep inhale. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the plan?”

“The plan?” Matt looks out the window at the passing trees. “What plan?”

“Well, Shinto’s spreading everywhere. If the rumors are correct, MX Global has almost unlimited power to do whatever it wants. The Abomination is coming soon. You’ve got a plan to fight it all, right?” Tom motions outward with his big hands. “I mean, you can see the future. You know how it’s all going to work out. You have the power to stop it, right?”

Inside the cab, the sound of water and birds fills the silence as the transport shoots down the hill through a tunnel of green forest.

“I hear that a lot.” Matt bites down on the jerky and rips off another chunk. “Seems like I
should
have a plan. Plan with a capital
P
. Nice and neat. But the truth is, I’m not sure how it’s going to work out or whether it even
will
work out.”

“But I’ve heard the stories.” Tom cranes his neck to look squarely at Matt. “You’ve seen
Her
. You’ve talked to the Allehonen
.
You’ve been to their world. You understand the Big Picture. Haven’t they told you what to do? I mean, with the Stone, all you have to do is ask, right? That’s your job, isn’t it?”

“Can you handle the truth?”

Tom nods vigorously. “Give it to me straight.”

“I’ve asked for a Plan. Over and over. Maybe I’m just lousy at my job.” Matt swallows the jerky. “But they haven’t given it to me. Not yet, not like that. I know the
Allehonen
are there, mindful of us, watching over us. I’ve felt the incredible love that flows through them and from them.” Jessica’s head slips forward, and Matt lifts it up and puts it back on his shoulder. “We are everything to them. They created us, put a part of themselves into us. But it’s not their way to control us. That’s been one of the hardest things to learn.”

“What do you mean?”

Matt turns and reaches into his backpack behind the seat, taking out a water bottle for another drink. “I’m not a preacher or a mystic. But I’ve seen things. And what I’ve learned is pretty clear. The Allehonen have two guiding principles that are reflected in everything they do.”

“Two principles?”

“Love and freedom.” Matt leans back and looks out the windshield. “And I don’t just mean freedom in the colloquial sense. They made us
free
in a deep and meaningful way. Free from their control, which is saying a lot since they are so powerful. Free to choose for ourselves. Then they made our world and put us here to grow and become more. That can’t happen if they impose their will on everything.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“It is. There’s lots of risk when people are free. Wars happen. We turn each other into slaves. We kill each other. There’s suffering everywhere. Children die. Life gets messy.”

Tom shakes his head. “Then why do they allow it?”

“I wish I knew for sure, but it must be very important. I think that’s where the
love
comes in. They love us too much to take away the suffering, the potential to grow. But there’s more.”

“More?”

“When we die, there’s a part of us that keeps on living, the part that remembers everything and feels joy and love.” Matt senses the tears coming and doesn’t try to hold them back. “I wouldn’t have believed it myself, but I’ve seen it. We all go to a new world. Together. A place where there’s no more suffering.”

“Heaven?”

Matt nods. “I suppose you could call it that. It’s as good a word as anything. Everything we’ve learned, everything we’ve become through all the joy and pain of our lives, it all stays with us. But the pain itself is gone. Forever.”

As Matt speaks, they burst out of the forest tunnel into bright sunlight. Neatly plowed fields of potatoes spread out on either side of the road, shooting by them like the turning spokes of a huge wheel.

Tom stares straight ahead. “What happens after that?”

“Not sure, exactly.” With the back of his hand, Matt wipes the tears from his eyes. “But I think we just keep on growing and learning, becoming more and more, in a world where we can be with each other and the Allehonen. I think it just keeps on going.”

“So, what you’re saying, is . . .” Tom stops, unable to find the words.

Matt wipes the final tear from his eye and smiles. “It’s worth it. All the suffering and pain and confusion. All the unanswered questions. It’s all worth it.”

Tom reaches a finger up to his eye. “Sounds wonderful.”

“It’s one of the things that keeps me going,” Matt says. “And this is the other one.” He taps Jessica gently on the head.

She stirs and lifts her head off Matt’s shoulder. She looks at the farm country extending out on both sides of the road with the neat rows of crops, the crisply painted red barns and white picket fences. Then she sees Matt and Tom, both with red eyes and moist cheeks.

“You guys OK?” she says.

“Fine, Jess.” Matt puts his arm around her and pulls her close. “Just fine.”
 

“D
o you think it worked?” Diego Lopez steps back from the large bluescreen, eight feet high and running the length of his office.

“Magnificent.” Ryzaard takes the crystal headpiece off, uncovering his ears and eyes. “I actually felt the sun on my skin, tasted the rain on my lips, smelled the fragrance of the cherry blossoms. Walked on the sand. How did you put it together?”

“Multi-sensory media is one of my specialties. All of our computing resources just makes it that much easier.” Diego brings a hand up to the screen and appears to grab a moving image of an immense cherry tree and move it out of a video frame of a broad plain of golden sand. “But I’ve never been asked to put one together that would actually play inside a person’s head, like a
dream
.” As he brushes his finger along the length of the tree, it breaks out in delicate white blossoms that stand out in contrast to its lush green leaves. A multitude of thousands, men and women, in white robes walk over the sand, converging at the base of the tree.

Ryzaard stares at the screen. “I prefer to use the word
satori
. It means enlightenment in Japanese. I want Miyazawa to think he’s become a god.” A smile flits across his face and turns into a hearty laugh.

“The real question, I suppose, is whether his mind interpreted the visuals in the way we intended. That all depends on whether they came through your mind intact.”

“I’m sure I was inside his mind.” Ryzaard walks a short distance and drops the headpiece on a table. “Whatever I was feeling and seeing, I transferred it from my mind to his. I might have drawn on my imagination and added a few touches in the process. You can hardly blame me.” He stops and turns back to Diego. “What color was the
shimenawa
rope in your program?”

Diego walks to the screen and pages backwards through several stills until he finds the frame he was searching for. “There is it. Neon white.”

“I made it gold, to match the color of the sand.”

“I’m sure that Miyazawa found the experience very moving.” Diego touches the edge of the bluescreen. The entire length of the wall goes black and silent. “But how will we know whether it worked?”

Ryzaard’s fingers brush over the Stones floating above his chest. “That’s easy. If he thinks he’s a god, he’ll start acting like one.” He moves to the center of the room and starts to ascend the spiral staircase. “Keep an eye on him. Let me know if you see anything strange.”

“Don’t worry,” Diego says. “We have him, his entourage and all his properties plastered with surveillance cams and sniffers. We’re with him wherever he goes.”

“Good,” Ryzaard says. “One other thing. Let’s have a full psychological profile prepared for Miyazawa. I’ve got some ideas about what I’d like to do with him, but I think it would be helpful to run the simulations so we aren’t surprised about how he reacts.”

“Got it.”

“Prepare to see the transformation of a simple man into a human deity.”

Ryzaard takes another step, and then stops and vanishes.