Unison (The Spheral) (63 page)

My attempt to console Mother failed. It would take time for both of us to heal, and all I could do was be an available presence for her when she was ready to talk.

The following night, Sutara came to me in a dream as an infant. I gazed down at her lying in a crib. When I attempted to rouse her she wouldn’t move, and her skin was cold. I picked her up and embraced her limp body. “Forgive me for being too weak to remember on time.” I placed one of my hands over her head. “I can’t do anything else but give back what I’ve taken.” My hand heated up, and Sutara’s skin warmed. I could feel her blood pulsing through her veins. “You’re alive!” I kissed her forehead and gazed upon her smiling face.

Vivek entered the room and approached me with his eyes widened. “I cannot believe the miracle I see before me!”

“Sutara is the miracle.” I handed her to him and woke up. Unsure how to interpret my dream, I considered a trip to Middle Crest. But it would have to wait until later. Mother’s state of mind deteriorated since Father died, and I had to take care of her first.

Over ten days had passed since our return to the cabin, and Mother seemed to be getting worse. She only emerged from the cabin to tend to the garden. When I returned from fishing, I’d find her on the back porch, sitting on father’s chair and staring emptily into the mountains. I’d cook dinner, and we’d eat together in silence. Nothing I said cheered her up, and I continued our ritual for another five days. 

“Hope you caught enough for three,” she said.

Behind her was a canine pup with golden hair. I recognized her immediately.

“Shisa!” I leaned down to pet her.

“I was sitting on the porch, and I heard crying,” Mother said. “She was eating a tomato when I found her.” She laughed. “I always believed dogs were strictly meat-eaters.”

“Shisa was never picky about food,” I said as she licked my face.

“When she looked up at me, I knew she was your Shisa.”

“Shisa belongs to no one.” I laughed as she playfully jumped on me, trying to snatch one of the trout. “Easy, girl. They’ll taste better after they're fried.”

Mother picked up Shisa and stroked the top of her head. “She was all alone. Her mother must have abandoned her.”

“It’s hard to believe how big she’s going to get in one year’s time.”

Mother smiled at me and then narrowed her eyes. “Think you need a shave. You look like a bear.”

I stroked my beard. “Shisa has seen me with a beard down to my chest.”

“Go.”

“I’ll shave after dinner.”

“I meant to Unity. They can’t be allowed to win.”

“I can’t leave you like this.”

“Like what?”

“You haven’t left the cabin since we got back here.”

“Things are different now. Torrin came to me in a dream last night.”

Shisa wiggled about, and Mother let her back down.

“I was walking in the woods alone. As I approached the old tunnel, Sephroy waved his walking stick and led me inside. I entered one of the trainlets where Torrin lay on the ground as he did right before he died. ‘Keep Freedomline moving,’ he told me. ‘You and Damon are the only ones that can help the Unitians now. Don’t forget them.’” Mother peered at Shisa and then at me. “There is a reason Shisa came to us on this day of all days. Are you aware of the legend behind Shisa?”

“A dragon terrorized a small village in Ancient China, and the king held up a figurine of a Shisa Dog. It roared loudly and brought down a large boulder from the heavens that landed on the dragon. The town folk erected a statue of Shisa, believing it protected them from evil.”

“Shisa is your protector.”

“She’s yours as well. You named her,” I said.

“I know. It’s the name I would’ve picked. Shisa dropped into my life and saved me from my own dragon…self-defeat. When your father died, I felt lost. For so many years, it was just the two of us. I couldn’t imagine a life without him.”

Mother gazed at Shisa, who ran around in a circle. “Look at her…barely a few weeks old. The whole world is new to her and ready to be explored. Her curiosity inspires me to start over.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“And so can you.”

“I don’t need to start over. I did what I set out to do; I uninvented Harmony. I don’t owe anyone anything.”

“You’re as selfish as your father. That man only lived to satisfy his own personal sense of justice, and it killed him in the end. I don’t want to see the same thing happen to you.”

“If I were selfish, I’d be the Overseer again.”

I headed back to the cabin, and Mother followed me with Shisa trailing behind.

“He should’ve listened to you,” I said. “This world is beyond repair, and it didn’t take me eight lifetimes to learn that truth.”

“That’s no excuse for you to give up,” Mother said.

I stopped and turned to face her. “Why was it acceptable to you for Father to give up Freedomline, but not me?”

“You’re different.”

“Different, but not better.” I walked ahead.

“What else do you have to do besides grow your beard?”

“Rest. I earned it.”

“You sound older than me—and you’re starting to look that way too.”

“In some ways I am.”

“How can you think only of yourself after what your father told you about the curative signal?”

“I won’t be believed. The Chosen will tell everyone I’m suffering from the scourge.”

“Just be there for them. That’s all your father wanted.”

“I’ve done enough.”

“I’m not going to pretend to understand what you’ve gone through. However, I do know one thing for certain: the brave little boy who showed up at our door has grown into a man. Sitting around here gardening and fishing isn’t enough for you. It won’t help you forget, and it won’t lessen your pain. You have to find a way to release it.”

“I tried eight times, and eight times I failed.”

“You can help save them…and yourself.”

“I don’t want to be the basis of a new religion.”

“This isn’t about religion. You’re real—not someone’s idea to be followed and misinterpreted. There must be a reason why you’re endowed with the gift of remembering all your lifetimes.”

“My brain perceives a fifth frequency. It’s a natural part of evolution.”

“If you’re evolved, could that mean you’re here to help us do so as well?” She held my forearm. “I’m okay, Damon. You must do what’s right for you. Don’t wait until moments before your death to see the light again…that would be tragic.”

LONELY VOICE

T
he hypnotic lights of Unity Hall turned on, and the Unitians stood and applauded. Like Zeus on Mount Olympus, the Overseer stood behind the podium with his white gown flowing loosely around his thin frame. While he gave his speech, I snuck into his loft with an implant I programmed using his ID marker. When I took my first step onto the marble floor, I recalled the oil paintings that lined one wall, and the large gold-framed mirror that hung on the opposite side. However, I wasn’t there to admire the decor. I headed straight to the Overseer’s desk, rummaged through a stack of papers and stopped when I found the object of my quest: an acquisition order with a list of books, music, and technology on the way over from New Athenia. The Overseer was in an exclusive trade agreement with them. No one in Unity knew, apart from the Chosen who enjoyed similar luxurious surroundings.

With the evidence in my hand, I barged into the Overseer’s assembly and fired a shot into the air with my plazer. Everyone turned to face me.

“You’re all being deceived! While you beg for privileges, the Overseer lives like a god!” I waved the papers in the air. “Here is the proof!”

Two Unity Guards slowly approached, and I pointed my plazer towards them.

“He’s willing to kill you all to remain in pow—” A sharp sting on my back brought me to my knees.

A woman screamed as the evidence and my plazer was ripped from my hands. I could barely see anything but blurry formless smudges of color that circled above me.

“Bring him to the stage, so he can be heard,” the Overseer said. “We’re all free to speak here.”

The guards dragged me towards the podium. I could feel every eye in the room probing me.

“There’s no reason to be so rough,” the Overseer said. “Let him go.”

My vision cleared enough to see things within close proximity to me. The Overseer smiled with such sincerity, I almost forgot why I came. He stepped aside as I made my way to the podium. I waited until the purple splotches in the front tier reshaped themselves into something my eyes could recognize.

One of them stood and shouted, “What are you waiting for?”

“He’s silent because he knows he’s lying!” a maroon sleeve hollered and almost everyone in the assembly applauded.

The passionate response against me was unexpected. As I stared at all the angry faces, the urge to leave was strong, but my feet wouldn’t move. I slammed my fist on the podium and yelled into the microphone. “You’re all primitives! No amount of promotions or privileges will elevate you! Intoxicated on self-praise, you believe your own lies! While the Outsiders move forward, you continue to devolve!”

“It’s you who’s devolved!” a yellow sleeve yelled.

“He even looks like an apeman!” another voice called out.

Everyone laughed, and as I looked at them, I hated them all. I never felt such contempt in all my incarnations combined. “You’ll eventually be outmaneuvered and defeated because you stand for nothing!” I barely heard my own voice over the deafening jeers from the crowd. “You’re automatons! Every last slocking one of you are automatons! Brainless and unable to think for yourselves!” I wanted to strike out and hurt them as much as I hurt in that instant. My desire to free the Unitians kept me fighting lifetime after lifetime, and it now seemed like my efforts were wasted.

The Overseer stepped in. “If we don’t allow this man to speak freely, we can’t honestly call ourselves a free people.”

Everyone fell silent, and the Overseer stepped away from the podium.

I squeezed the sides of the podium, trying to empty myself of the anger that made me want to continue my diatribe. It took all my strength to tone down my voice, but by then I had lost all credibility. I continued anyway. “The Overseer tells you you’re all free, but you don’t even understand the meaning of freedom. Most of you never traveled beyond the dome. You don’t know anything other than Unity. When I began to explore the other side of the tunnel, I realized freedom has nothing to do with privileges or the ability to rise up within the Corporate Hierarchy.”

Some of the purple sleeves started talking amongst themselves.

“You’re told the purpose of the implant is to heal you from the scourge, but it’s a lie. I lived as an Outsider for many years, and I can tell you with certainty, no such illness exists. The implant only monitors your whereabouts and notifies Unity Forces when you’ve strayed too far. Most of you die prematurely from tumors in your brain—a side effect of the curative signal sent to the implant. The Chosen and Overseer guard this secret because they’re exempted from the curative signal as well as from being monitored.” I glared at the purple sleeves. “It appears not all of you are as privileged as you believed.”

I pointed at the lower colors in the back. “For those of you who manage to survive, a
nonessential pulse
is sent to your implant. It’s a lethal shock that kills you instantly, after you’ve served your purpose. It’s a very effective way to keep the population at a sustainable level.” I next pointed at the purple sleeves. “And you’re not exempt from that either.”

“More lies!” A purple sleeve shouted.

I pounded my fist on the rostrum. “Everything I said here can be verified! Torrin 1248-032-3M, one of the highest regarded members of the Chosen, made the discovery. The Corporate Hierarchy turned against him when he threatened to reveal the truth. They believed the ends exonerated the sacrifice, and you’re paying for their pseudo-definition of Unity with your lives.”

More dismissive shouts were thrown in my direction.

“Most of you don’t live past fifty. Outside of Unity, people live much longer. My father lived to be seventy-eight, and he was active until the day of his death.”

The purple sleeves started shouting until one stood up to be heard. It was Kai.

“I knew Torrin!” he shouted.

Everyone stopped talking. The Overseer motioned for him to continue.

“I was his First,” Kai said. “Torrin was the most honorable purple sleeve until he succumbed to the scourge. The man worked hard to find a cure, and he became so obsessed he wouldn’t sleep for days. Shortly before he disappeared, I walked in on him after he injected something into his arm. He said it was a counteragent that would destroy the implant. Torrin believed it produced voices and images in his head that instructed him to do terrible things. The next day he blew up the towers. When he asked me to leave with him, I told him proudly that Unity is my home, and that I would die loyal to the Corporation.”

Everyone applauded, and Kai sat down.

A maroon sleeve pointed his finger at me. “You can’t turn us against the Overseer. He protects us from savages like you!” Everyone cheered.