Lovers of Babel (7 page)

“After a few minutes of trying to persuade her to let us meet with you I thought she would respond to this better.” Cameron pointed to her transformed face.

Amias was speechless and frozen.

“I’ve got to tell you Mr. Riley, the secretary is sure scared of that face of yours.”

“What is this!? Take off that mask now!” When she didn’t move Amias wrapped his hand around her Amias face and tried to pull off the invisible mask to no avail.

“Mr. Riley, please. We’re trying to tell you that there are some of us who have superior abilities unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. I don’t think wearing a mask that looks like your face qualifies as a superior ability. But by your expression I can see that you aren’t completely convinced.” Cameron transformed back into
herself and looked over at the Australian.

“Hey Aussie, why don’t
you
show him something?”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

The Australian, who was seated on one of the chairs to the far right of the room, vanished. Then he suddenly appeared seated at the Leader’s wooden desk. He propped his legs up on the table and leaned back with his arms resting on his head.

“Hey!”
Amias yelled.

A body guard in the hallway heard
Amias’s yell and rushed toward the door to the yellow office when suddenly a rope appeared around his ankles and yanked him up in the air. He dangled there like a giant fish. The trio was trying to conceal their laughter and Amias was stupefied.

“Agent Higgins!
Get down!”

“I can’t Mr. Riley! What’s going
on!”

“Get him down now!”
Amias wasn’t sure who to direct that order to. He looked at Cameron, then the Australian, then George.

“I said release him this instant or I’ll put all of you in prison!”

Agent Higgins immediately collided with the ground, face first, and created a comically loud thud. The group watched him in silent amusement as he struggled to get on his feet.

Amias
looked at George.

“Explain.”

George, the Australian and Cameron sat with Amias for hours explaining to him how they discovered their powers and who in the underground would have them. When Amias realized that he had powers his mind opened up to the unlimited possibilities he had as ruler. Not only was he the sole leader of the entire world, but he was super human as well.

“So, what would I have to do to discover
my
power?” Amias asked the trio.

“Well we came to discover ours when we were faced with extremely stressful and intense situations. We once tried to bring out the power in someone who was born before the apocalypse, but I imagine that technique wouldn’t bode well with your security,” George looked at Agent Higgins apologetically who was now standing by the door with his arms folded.

“I feel like there should be a more safe and effective way to bring out our powers,” the Australian brainstormed.

“How about if he just internalizes his anxiety or whatever intense emotion he might have about something?
Like instead of actually experiencing something traumatic he thinks about a traumatic experience he’s had or could have and the power would come out that way?” Cameron suggested.

“That could work,” George looked at
Amias.

“You want me to sit here and imagine a traumatic experience that I’ve had that brings out an intense emotional reaction from within?
This
will help me to discover my ability?”

The trio nodded with a slight uncertainty.

“It beats releasing a massive lion into the room,” Duncan added.

Amias
took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The room was silent. The underground had entered its artificial night and it was black outside the windows in the office. The trio was looking at Amias intently waiting for something to happen. Amias’s eyes were closing tighter and his eyes were rolling visibly behind his lids. He grabbed onto the arm chairs tightly. His brow was wrinkling and he began to moan hauntingly. His grip on the armchair grew tighter. Then is eyes flew open wide. There, behind the group, was a shadowy figure dressed in a black cape and hovering ominously over the desk. The trio turned around to look and the caped ghost was moving closer to them. They immediately moved away alarmed at Amias’s scary creation. George glanced over at Amias who was staring at the ghost as though he were in a trance. The figure started moving quicker toward them and George reached over to wake Amias up.

“Hey, Mr. Riley!
Hello, anybody in there?” George was shaking Amias to wake him.

Then, he snapped out of his trance and the figure vanished.

“Whoa! What was that!?”

Amias
was still regaining his consciousness.

“Well, looks like the Ruler’s a creator! And a good one at that.” the Australian said nervously.

“Mr. President what was that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It just appeared.
How strange.”

The trio looked at each other in silent deliberation.

“So, now what? Now that we know that some of us have powers. I mean, it’s not like this has happened before. How does the entire world come to know of this?” Amias asked dropping his leadership persona.

“You can address the undergro
und through holo-vision. Just announce that you’ll have an important announcement to make and when the time comes, tell them.”

“And what about the surface?
George, you said that it’s habitable now right? We all know that humanity can’t continue to thrive here underground. I mean almost an entire generation is lost and the atmosphere down here keeps getting worse. If the surface is safe then we have to go soon. We have no choice.”

Amias sat thinking for a while.

“I’ll have to announce that we must migrate to the top. We’ll give the underground a year or two to prepare.”

“But the surface is empty. There’s nothing left. No buildings, no homes. How do we start all over again?” Cameron asked.

“There isn’t any reason why we must wait long to start over. Civilization has transcended the boundaries of physics. All we need is a few good architect creators and we’ve got ourselves a new developed world. It’ll be even better than before!” 

The group was full of emotion and excitement. The opportunities for the future were endless. They had found the key that would unlock Pandora’s Box and send mankind into the highest levels of existence ever imagined. The human race would never be the same again. Almost eighty percent of all human beings left on the planet had a super power. Not only could people do things that they could never do before, but they had the entire earth to themselves. And the earth had prepared itself for their arrival. Everything that was before was now going to transcend into something much greater. They prepared to bid farewell to their former selves and let their powers take them to the heights of the gods.

In 2141,
Amias sat in front of a camera and fixed his tie preparing to address the entire underground. He had only a few days to prepare for his monumental global address and it was nearly impossible to think of an effective way to relay this life-changing information to the world. He finally decided to tell them about the surface first and then speak about the powers.  He would then instruct all of those born after the equinox in the way that George did for him; to close their eyes and imagine a time when they were the most afraid or emotional. A time when their feelings were so intense they thought they’d explode. And then, wait. Everyone sat silently in front of their hologram sets with their eyes closed waiting for their powers to emerge. Then, simultaneously, in certain homes in the underground there were bodies transforming into people or animals; there were kids vanishing into thin air only to be found in the attic; and there were some whose imagination was appearing before their wondrous eyes. The whole of the underground took to the streets together to share in this epic discovery.

On the outside of every bui
lding in the underground, holograms displayed Amias’s face for all to see. Everyone looked up in awe.

“Citizens of the underground as you can see we have somehow transcended the boundaries of science. We had reached the peak of our power in the world and have now evolved into something much more than human. Now, after almost 30 years of being isolated from the sky, we can reunite with our earth and enjoy the new wonders of the land while we revel in the power that we have so rightfully earned! I know there are some of you who have not been born with any super-human power, but please do not fret. You are no less important or special than the younger generations. After all, you helped to bring us into the world. Without you
, we would have never had a chance at seeing the earth the way you once saw it. We would be destined to live as creatures of the ground while the weight of this planet crushes us to dust! You are our foundation. We will need you to keep history alive and flowing through our civilization as we start this journey. Help us to remember the old world so that we may never take our strengths for granted. So that when we remember religion, and all of the vulnerabilities associated with it, we can smile and know that when mankind was clinging to the power of something greater than ourselves, that
something
was inside us all!” This sent the underground into a thunderous roar.

The crowds cheered and celebrated what they felt was the freedom that mankind had been searching for since the beginning of time. The answer had been inside of them and could only be released once the world was destroyed and there was nothing left to cling to. They felt that the God of the old age had abandoned them. When they discovered their powers they immediately forgot about what He had done for them and began to worship themselves. There was hardly any sign of faith after the apocalypse, and after this revelation all faith had ceased to exist. There was no need for strong belief other than the belief that summoned their powers. They had found the answer for the reason
they existed and that was to enjoy the universe and live with no boundaries. The only boundaries were the ones Amias established to keep civilization from total chaos; and of course, the problem of death.

For one year the underground prepared for their ascent to the earth. At first most people were unsure about how to prepare themselves. Some people packed suitcases with clothes and toiletries. Others packed loads of vitamins and medication. There were some who walked around aimlessly looking around at their surroundings as if to take a mental picture of the only home they’ve ever known. They would never come back here. The underground would become a legendary tale that would seem centuries old. In actuality, almost an entire generation had passed away underground. And even those who hadn’t died yet, those like
Amias’s father, were from such a different time that it seemed like they themselves were centuries old. They got to soak up the sun on sandy beaches that weren’t man-made. They got to fly in airplanes and swim with the sea creatures in their natural habitat. And although technology had reached heights that no man before could ever imagine, they would soon as trade in their flying automobiles for a chance to see the rainforest that had withered away decades before.

What one generation gained, another lost; this was the course of life. Everything that was before was now gone, and in its place was something thunderous. The idea that human beings possessed such power terrified some and they would secretly plan to escape the system once they reached the surface.

Many times in history a civilization would come across immense power that seemed to change the world. It first happened in Babylon some time before the Christ when all of mankind had the same language. The ancient city took full advantage of their ability to communicate so effectively. They set out to build a tower so high that it could reach heaven. Their plan worked so well that God was forced to confuse their language so that they would lose their power. Men have tried to replicate this pursuit of power ever since.

Before their ascent to the Earth’s surface, they imagined a state of continuous peace and freedom to live their lives to the limits of their power. The
teleporters imagined traveling to distant galaxies that the human race had never before seen. The transformers fantasized about experiencing life under whatever alias they desired. The creators dreamed about the opportunity to invent their own worlds that could finally exist outside of their imaginations. Their minds were ablaze with the hope of a new world without boundaries. This was their wish, but this, they would never fully achieve.

During the months leading up to the great ascent the super humans learned how to use their powers more effectively.
Amias and the trio who first discovered their hidden powers devised a plan to help the citizens of the new world harness their abilities in a more controlled environment. They assumed that since their powers were able to appear from the use of their imaginations and experiences, their abilities could improve with the proper training. They decided that on the surface there would be power schools built to teach the young how to develop and control their powers. George, Cameron, and the Australian would be the superintendent of their specific division of power with Amias being the headmaster of all the schools.