The Mendelssohnian Theory: Action Adventure, Sci-Fi, Apocalyptic ,Y/A (26 page)

“Not anymore,” Adam said coolly
and signaled the surprised Natalia to be silent. This is not how she’d imagined
the most powerful man in the world would act. He seemed weak and gray; she
found it difficult to believe this was the man who took over the human race
with equanimity and cruelty. She couldn’t help but wonder whether Adam was
prepared for the fact his greatest enemy was actually a puny looking pathetic
man. And how will Adam deal with him, now that the chase was over?

•
Spots

•
Yes,
the Nagid

•
Have
you been looking for Ramon’s computer?

•
Affirmative

•
In
my hands

•
To
neutralize it, you need to draw out the intelligence core on the instrument’s
right-hand side

•
Wait

Adam turned the old computer, and then took out the
intelligence core. He examined it closely, fascinated by the infinitesimal
activity teeming within the core’s diode. At the corner of her eyes, Natalia
noticed a movement in the back of the office. She quickly took out her laser
staff, just as Rwanda lunged at Adam. Natalia shot from the hip, without
aiming, relying on instinct alone. Rwanda fell on Adam with a mighty scream,
and they both remained lying on the office floor. Natalia jumped and pulled
Rwanda off Adam. The women hold a small Injector in her hand. Natalia looked
for external signs of injury and when she found none, assumed Rwanda had
managed to insert some kind of poison through his protective suit. She hoped
the poison antibodies in Adam’s body would manage to locate the poison and
neutralize it. It was his only chance and Natalia felt panic overtaking her.
She wasn’t ready to lose him. “You who watch over him,” she called aloud, “do something.
Save him.” She didn’t know who exactly she was turning to but remembered Adam
had called them ‘Spots’. “You have to help him; you have to!” She waited for a
reaction, and when none came, she jumped to her feet and looked for a medical
kit. She knew the chances of finding medical equipment in the room were close
to zero, but the desire to save her loved one overcame logic. She opened
drawers and slammed them shut, she looked inside closets and behind the
furniture. Finally, she grabbed Ramon in a chokehold and called, “What did she
inject him with?” Ramon stared at her, and his gaze was drawn to the core Adam
was still holding in his hand. “Answer me,” Natalia screamed at him, but Ramon
continued to be silent. Natalia turned away from him with distaste and returned
to Adam. She felt lost. Adam appeared lifeless, and she did not know how to
save him. She leaned by his side and placed his head in her hands. Tears rolled
down her eyes. She drew him closer, then felt a shiver pass through his body.
She detached herself from him and examined his face. His eyes fluttered and
opened a crack. “You’re alive,” she called out with a happy voice, “you’re
alive,” Adam mumbled something unclear. She placed her ear next to his mouth
and was able to hear him:

“The core.”

Natalia didn’t understand what he was talking about. She
looked around her and managed to see Ramon slipping something into his suit’s
pocket. She gently rested Adam’s head on the floor and jumped toward Ramon. He
cried out and backed against the office wall when Natalia lifted him as if he
was weightless and took out the glowing diode from his pocket. Then she let him
go, and he curled up in the corner of the office.

“It’s mine,” wept Ramon, “give it back to me.” Natalia
ignored him and hurried back to Adam. The tiny balls of light, the creator’s
gift, were hovering around his head.

“Now smash the diode,” Adam instructed with a whisper.
Natalia placed the core on the floor by Adam’s side and stepped on it
forcefully. The glass diode shattered and a spray of inner nanos that had
composed its intelligence core was emitted into the air. The light spheres
jumped from Adam’s head into the glowing mist and absorbed the nanoparticles.
Then they returned to Adam and entered his body. Adam closed his eyes again and
lay still. Natalia waited impatiently to see how his body would react.

Suddenly, Ramon shouted with a
broken voice. He jumped toward Adam and Natalia, bumped against his computer
and rolled on the floor, holding the old, coreless computer, rocking it in his
arms. Natalia watched him, surprised and disgusted at the same time. ‘Thus
passes the glory of the world,’ she thought to herself and immediately turned
serious and returned to examine Adam. A smile emerged on his face, and he
grabbed her hand. “Thank you,” he whispered and opened his eyes, “you’ve
rescued me,” he added, and his hand caressed her cheek.

•
Report the Nagid

•
Report

•
The
poison has been neutralized and disintegrated at the atomic level. Your body’s
health condition is eighty-three percent. Return to one hundred percent will
take place as soon as nanoparticles will be drained and encoded, within fifteen
minutes.

•
Thanks for your help

•
Spots thank you for removing the threat. We are committed to you

•
I’ll
remember that

•
Disengaging and maintaining surveillance

Adam noticed that Natalia was confused by the turn of events
and hurried to explain: “The Spots tried to drain the poison from my blood but
didn’t have the DNA code of the virus Rwanda inserted into my body. They
weren’t fast enough, and the poison had already spread in my blood. Good thing
you were here. They wouldn’t have been able to rescue me without your aid in
taking over the nanos from Ramon’s core.” Natalia smiled and hugged him. He
answered her embrace, but Natalia sensed his weakness and hurried to support
him as he stood on his feet. “All computers in the world are connected in a web
into one brain, thinking, reacting, acting, possessing intelligence. Think of
the potential of a brain with an infinite number of cores. For some reason,
they obey and aid me, and mainly protect me. The only computer that would not
cooperate with the central brain and even threatened its activity was Ramon’s.
His corporation’s inner web was not connected to the central brain, and its
allegiance lay only with its owners. As far as that computer was concerned, the
human race was merely a disturbance, another negligible statistical data in an
infinite gamut of information. By destroying the central core, I did not close
Skil’s inner web, but I’ve created a breach wide enough for the Spots to
infiltrate and take over the web. They need every possible source of power in
order to follow us and take the leap. Ramon’s computer’s core, the nanos
they’ve injected my body with to aid me and neutralize the poison, will give
them control over Skil and the energy that they’ll need. Assuming they will be
able to drain it from my blood.”

“Do you trust them?” asked Natalia.

“Yes,” said Adam, “at the moment. Because we share common
interests, and if the situation changes, they’ll be unable to impose their will
on me, because the creators balance them. I’m in the middle, between them
both.”

“You and the entire human race,” Natalia mumbled, hoping Adam
couldn’t hear her.

Adam concentrated, and a swirl of nanoparticles surrounded
Ramon’s head. The prisoner laid still and unconscious within the invisible
cloud Adam had created around him. “Do you mean to kill him?” asked Natalia.

“No,” said Adam, “even though he deserves to be killed. He
and his partner were directly responsible for everything that happened to me.”

“He doesn’t seem so intimidating,” Natalia remarked, “Sato
was much more dangerous.

“Don’t let his appearance fool you,” Adam warned her, “given
half a chance, he’ll kill us both without a shred of remorse, he has no
conscience.”

“So what do we do?” asked Natalia.

Adam concentrated before answering, “Look, Natalia,” he began
to say hesitantly, “I know the way, I know how to leap to the level of the
creators and join them, I’ve already done it once, I could have remained that
way.”

“Really?” Natalia became enthusiastic, “so you’re really the
one?”

“Yes,” Adam answered, “I’m the one.”

“And you can guide everyone how to take the leap?”

“Yes,” answered Adam, “I can.” Natalia seemed to hear a
reservation in Adam’s voice. “But everyone needs to make their own choice in
order to follow that path.”

“Why wouldn’t they?” asked Natalia, “I’d like to do it.”

“Really?” asked Adam and Natalia seemed to hear
disappointment in his voice.

“I think so,” she answered, a little less sure of herself,
“it will improve me, wouldn’t it?”

Adam nodded. “Give me your hand,” he instructed his love.
They joined their hands together, and Natalia felt their brains combine into
one. She felt she was lifted up with Adam and when she looked beneath her, saw
she was standing on the air. When she raised her eyes up, she saw Adam and
herself there. An intense chill surrounded her, and the air around her was dry.
The light that reached her eyes was gray and had black and white hues.

She couldn’t see him next to her, but felt his presence all
around. “We’re gaining a new consciousness, but leaving important treasures
behind us. I’m not sure everyone will be willing to give us these treasures,”
she heard Adam’s clear voice speaking from inside her mind, “you’re still not
aware of everything, because you’re not yet fully released from your body.
Pretty soon, you’ll discover that in this state you’ll be busy making
probability calculations, just like the corporation manager’s machine lying at
our feet.” And it was true, Natalia’s thoughts calculated costs and benefits,
even about Adam. She began to feel she was drawing away from him. “To each his
body in this world,” Adam’s voice sounded distant and unclear, and she felt he
was pulling her back down. But she didn’t want to return. He insisted and was
stronger than her. She was dragged after him until they were both back inside
their bodies, holding hands. Natalia felt her humanity once more. Only when
she’d returned to reality did she realize what was missing up there: emotions!
Emotions had no importance up there. Now she understood Adam’s hesitations
about opening the possibility to leap to the next consciousness level to the
entire human race.

“Wow,” that was all she managed to say.

“That’s right, wow,” said Adam. They sat silently on a green
corduroy sofa in Ramon’s office. Without even noticing, they continued to hold
hands, and Natalia thought how Adam’s touch was soothing her and imbuing her
with confidence.

“How will you be able to release everyone?”

Adam thought for a while before answering: “With a virus.”

“A virus?” Natalia didn’t understand.

“Yes,” continued Adam, “a virus. And I know exactly who could
do it.”

“Who?” asked Natalia, “your Spots?”

“No,” answered Adam, “I don’t think they should be involved.
They have an interest in our taking the leap so that they could continue to the
next developmental stage as well. I won’t allow the creators to decide for us
either because they would prefer that we wait with the leap and serve as bait
for the great evil that threatens them. No, the change needs to be done by the
human race and the responsibility for the change must remain ours.”

“The great evil?” fear had snuck into Natalia’s voice.

“Yes,” answered Adam, offering no further explanation.

“So who will help us?” asked Natalia, “I mean you and me.”

“Someone I used to know long ago,” answered Adam and turned
to leave Ramon’s office. Natalia hurried after him.

“Wait a minute,” she stopped and asked, “what about him?” she
meant Ramon.

Adam smiled: “He won’t be able to harm anyone anymore. This
ancient box, and whatever remains in it doesn’t operate without the core.
Without it, he is powerless. Nothing interests him anymore.”

“You’ve done something to him on the inside, haven’t you?”

“Let’s just say he’s changed,” Adam gave her an evasive
reply, “he won’t be preoccupied with the hunt for power anymore.” He continued
to walk toward the elevator. She hurried after him, and they headed down the
elevator.

“Where will we go now?” Natalia asked her loved one.

“To the place where everything will end,” answered Adam and
pulled her to him, and while embracing her and placing his face against her
hair, added quietly: “to the place where we can dream of a new beginning.”

At the edge of the horizon, to the light of the sun setting over
the vast expanses of the Australian desert, the space port was shining. As the
passenger hovercraft in which they flew approached its destination, the
contours of the space city gradually became clearer. They landed the small
vehicle in front of the space-government buildings.

“Ready?” Natalia turned to him.

“Yes,” answered Adam and rose to his feet, “let’s go.” They
stood in front of the pathway leading to the gate. Their eyes were scanned by
the pathway’s scanning device; their identity was received by the system. Even
before they were able to move, the pathway was closed on both sides by
partitions and they found themselves isolated in a narrow space, set apart from
all the others who were waiting in the entry line. Natalia began to feel
pressure in her chest. She felt the walls nervously, trying to find a way out.
Adam placed his hand on her shoulder. “Take it easy,” he said, “they’re looking
out for us.”

“Who is looking out for us?” Natalia did not stop seeking a
way out.

“Chapalcharie,” answered Adam, “he knows we’re coming.”

Natalia dropped her hands and turned to him. “This doesn’t
look like a very positive welcome.” A small quadrilateral window opened in the
corridor’s wall, and the face of a young soldier in government service uniform
gazed at them from the other side. The soldier turned aside and showed them the
way they needed to go through. They passed him by and entered the corridor,
dotted with light spots, and marched down it quietly until they stopped next to
a wide door. The soldier held his hand against a sensor by the side of the
door, and it silently glided open. The Australian Prime Minister was already
waiting in the small room they had entered and hurried to shake Adam’s hand.
“Everything is ready?”

Chapalcharie smiled, “Everything’s ready,” he approved.

“Good,” said Adam, “then wait for us in the laboratory.”
Chapalcharie bowed to them, then went out of the room. Natalia waited for the
door to close before speaking.

“What do you have planned for us here?” she asked.

Adam smiled. “A dream,” he answered, “a dream we all share.”

“A dream? What dream?” Natalia was confused.

“Just like the dream you’ve dreamed with me,” Adam explained,
“the dream in which I’ve shown you the possibilities.”

“That wasn’t a dream,” she remarked and questioned at the
same time.

“No,” he answered silently and hugged her, “it wasn’t, but
anyone who will get this message will feel like dreaming it.”

Natalia was silent for a few moments, and then asked, “How
will you do it?”

“I’ve already told you at the Skil building,” answered Adam,
“they’ll get the information as a virus, the same virus Amir Lev and my father
were working on before they were killed, or as I now know, murdered by
corporation agents.” For the first time since they had left Ramon’s offices,
Adam seemed vulnerable and excited to Natalia and she realized since the live
demonstration he had presented her with, she was seeing the soft and sensitive
human side of the man in front of her, the man she loved so much. She was
shocked when she realized since he had returned from his meeting with the
creator, she viewed him as a sort of superhuman.

“What?” she asked, “you have an instruction sheet that we’ll
pass to everyone on the worldwide-web?”

“Not exactly,” said Adam, “it’s more like a virus that will
descend from the pyramid’s head and will spread to everyone.”

“A virus? And what if they have an anti-virus?”

“Who do you think created the anti-viruses?” Adam retorted
with a question of his own.

“I don’t know,” said Natalia, “Ramon?”

“That’s right,” he said, “Ramon and his corporation. But
whoever planned a large part of them were people like Amir Lev and my father.
They wrote the code for what the Spots call ‘the mother of all viruses’, he and
my father called it MOAV. According to their plan, it was intended to protect
all computer systems by containing and harnessing the virus to the benefit of
the users. That’s exactly what we’ll do.”

“You believe the computers will do everything you’ll ask them
to?” asked Natalia.

“Yes,” answered Adam, “they made it clear who their loyalty
lies with. And, in addition, they don’t have that many other choices. They depend
on us.”

“They depend on us?” Natalia was surprised, “I always thought
it was the other way around.”

“Both are true,” Adam explained, “they’ve chosen to help us
because they realize we’re their only chance to leap into the next complexity
level themselves. Only with us, will they be able to do that. We’re the vehicle
that will take them there.”

“So we’re the hovercraft, and they’re using us?”

“Without us they’re useless. But together we’re an almost
perfect combination.” Adam saw that his explanation did not calm Natalia. He
embraced her and kissed her gently. “I know what I’m doing,” he said, and both
of them realized he did. She smiled at him and kissed him back.

“Tell me,” asked Natalia, “what will your dream include?”

“It will teach the nanoparticles in each of us to change,
something which will allow the change necessary for the leap,” explained Adam.
Chapalcharie and I will create a shared dream that will include the passage to
the new state of being and will implant it with the software that allows it.
The Spots will capture the dream, package it in the tail of the MOAV virus and
release in into the web. The virus will attack all computerized systems
connected to the web, on Earth and outside it. Within less than two seconds,
everyone will catch the virus.”

“Everyone?” asked Natalia, “including people like Ramon, who
lied and murdered and did things I don’t even want to think about?”

Adam hesitated before answering: “In this new state of
consciousness, it’s not important if you were good or bad, smart or stupid
before. It won’t be important. You’ll be part of the universe, and the universe
will be a part of you. That’s what’s important. Do you believe me?”

“Yes,” she answered, even though his words did not sound very
reasonable.

“You understand because you’ve been there already,” explained
Adam, “but there’s one more thing,” he added, “there’s no turning back. Whoever
will choose to take the leap will not be able to return.”

“But you’ve returned,” Natalia determined, “and you’ve
brought me back as well.”

“I’m the Chi,” said Adam, “the creators directed everything
to me. I am the lock and the key. I am the needle and the stitch. Both here and
there.”

Natalia was silent. It was almost too much for her. The
amount of information she’d received in the short time that had passed since
she experienced the leap and the passage back was beyond her capability to
fully digest. But she suddenly realized something and had to ask Adam about it.
“If I’ll pass to the other side of consciousness, will I still be able to love
you? Will we still be together?”

“We’ll be together,” answered Adam, “just like everyone else
who will pass through.”

“You know what I mean,” Natalia was angry.

“Yes,” he answered quietly, “I know.” He hugged her, and she
cuddled in his arms. “It’s your choice and yours alone,” he said, “and anyone
who will catch my virus will need to ask herself exactly the same question. No
one has the right to decide for others. The creators did not predict a
possibility in which some humans won’t be willing to take the leap, won’t be
willing to accept such a gift, because truly, it is a gift.”

“Can they stop you?”

“They can try,” he answered, “It is doubtful that they’ll
succeed. I’m Chi, the traveler between worlds and dimensions. I’m faster than
them; I’m already familiar with more dimensions that they’re capable of
conceiving. Besides,” he added, “in their probability calculations, there will
still be quite a few humans who will prefer to maintain their current state of
consciousness and continue to serve as bait. I leave every person to make her
own choice.”

“Bait?”

“Yes, bait. The creators believe that a great evil is
approaching them and is trying to annihilate them. They also believe that on
his way to their home-world, he will make a quick stop on Earth in order to get
a snack or two, namely us.”

“And you believe them?”

“Yes,” answered Adam, “I believe that that’s what they
believe. They also think I’ll be able to reveal who or what that evil is. I’m
not sure I’ll be able to help them with that, but I definitely intend to try.”

Natalia examined Adam closely. “You already know the answer,
right?”

Adam smiled and nodded, “I think so, but at the moment, I’m
not sure my guess is better than yours. I’d rather not even talk about it, so
as not to create an echo on the web and awaken that evil.” Adam gently caressed
Natalia’s cheek and smiled:

“Anyway, at the moment I intend to remain here on Earth,” he
said, “at least until everyone who will want to will perform the leap. I’ll try
to make it as easy as possible for the passers. The small children whose
implants have not yet opened and cannot leap will need someone to guide them
and take care of them.”

“And that someone is you,” Natalia realized.

“That’s right,” answered Adam, “I can mediate the passage for
them and help them make it easier.”

“I’m staying with you,” Natalia determined.

“You can’t,” Adam became serious, “you need to take the
leap.”

“I’m staying,” Natalia persisted.

“It’s dangerous,” Adam warned her, “I don’t want anything bad
to happen to you.”

“It’s my decision to make,” said Natalia, “you said you’d
allow everyone to make their own choice. I’ve made my choice; I’m staying with
you,” her voice softened, “I don’t want to lose you again.”

“You won’t lose me,” said Adam.

“Yes I will,” answered Natalia, “the moment you pass to the
other side, call it a different consciousness, or an additional intelligence,
it doesn’t matter what you call it, you gain a lot. But when you’ve raised me
with you, the main thing that I realized was that you can’t feel anything. I
didn’t care about what we have between us; I thought only about myself. I saw
the world uncolored by emotions, and I’m not willing to live without them. I’m
staying with you.” Adam was deeply moved. He held his loved one’s hands and
gently squeezed it. Natalia squeezed back. “There are so many other things to
take care of in order for the passage to be a smooth one,” she said, “you know that
the Superpowers’ governments will continue to resist. They will hunt us down
and try to get rid of us.”

Adam smiled. “Well,” he said, “we’ve become experts in
running haven’t we?”

Natalia smiled and clung to her loved one. For long moments,
they stood embraced and motionless, watching the city through the only small
window in the room. Finally, Adam detached himself from her gently and turned
to the door of the room leading to the laboratory, where Chapalcharie was
already waiting. He lay on a bed next to the Australian Prime Minister and both
of them held the Aborigine dream stick. He looked at Natalia for a long moment,
then closed his eyes and began to count back. His body relaxed and he went into
a sleep-like state. When he opened his eyes, he saw Chapalcharie’s face above,
examining him closely. He stood on his feet and examined their surroundings.
“Come,” he turned to the Aborigine man, “let’s take a walk inside my dream.”
The head of the dreamers nodded gravely and followed Adam.