Mobius (42 page)

THE CATALYST

OF

EVOLUTION

My eyes opened to the real world.
I felt a chill on my head as Prophet Torell placed a metal skullcap on me.

“Excellent. You’re awake.” Prophet Torell held up some kind of medical sensor. “Are you under any mental distress, Theron?”

My body trembled. “No.”

“Are you able to tolerate the feedback?”

“I think so.”

“I’ll take you to a meditation chamber. It may take time to decipher the feedback.”

“That’s not necessary, Torell.” I stood up between the three silver posts. “I found my answers.”

“Impossible! It’ll take days to separate the feedback of Nara-Narayana’s thoughts from your own.”

“I’ve experienced something beyond the mere feedback you’re familiar with. While unconscious, my mind was drawn away from my body and delivered to Nara-Narayana’s realm of consciousness. There, I walked through the landscape of her mind, a surreal and twisted reality. I even spoke with her face to face—or so it seemed.”

Torell’s eyes showed a gleam of envy. “What did you learn during this encounter?”

“I learned that Nara-Narayana isn’t the unstoppable force we thought. We can, and will, stop her. And, in doing so, we’ll also stop the Fume.”

“How?”

“First, where’s the Guardian Fanbert? I must speak with him on other matters.”

“He’s helping Orsteen and Morion, keeping the natives from entering the ship.”

I found my companions oddly cheerful. They stood within the entrance that Orsteen had made in the ship and looked outside. They had used the entropy gun to make a five-meter pit below the entrance, forcing the Devotees to make their way to the entrance by suction cup, one by one.

I watched as Orsteen gently thrust an incoming Devotee into the pit below.

Orsteen’s eyes lit up. “Theron! Thank God you’re alive! It was crazy to undergo this procedure Torell described. I’m happy to see you’re not cross-eyed and drooling.”

I looked out from the entrance and into the sky. It was completely overcast with the glow of Nara-Narayana’s divinity. I thought of my biolinguistic lobe.

I hope she can hear my thoughts.
I formed them loud and clear:
I will stop you, Nara!

“Is there any hope?” asked Fanbert. “Or is it time to take the final measurement of our lives?”

“There’s always hope,” I said. “We may still be able to reestablish the balance of the universe. Come.” I waved them into the ship.

“Wait!” called Morion. “You forget the Devotees. They’re persistent beyond reason and will prove a nuisance when they overrun the ship, screaming for their Celestial Homeworld. They just finished building a catapult at the other end of the pit and are loading it with the bravest Devotee.”

At that moment, a Devotee soared through the air, apparently prepared to smash through the strangers blocking his passage to paradise. To his misfortune, he had too much arc in his trajectory. Instead of smashing through us, he fell short and grabbed the base of the entrance with hooked fingers.

“Hijackers!” he shouted, still hanging on. “You’re not worthy to enter the chariot of the Elevated Ones. Why do you withhold an Elevated One from us? Release him, so we may be rewarded for our worship.”

I approached the edge of the entrance and, with an outstretched arm, lifted the Devotee from his peril. “Don’t worry, my friend. You’ll be rewarded.”

The horde of Devotees at the other side of the pit let loose a roar of triumph.

The Devotee trembled. “Then the Elevated One will take us to paradise?”

“There’s no need to travel. I’ll make you realize paradise.” I sent out a wave of thought.

The Devotee’s religious passion faded. At first, he appeared sad, but soon showed something like awareness. He waved to his people. “We’ve been in paradise all along! Paradise is now!”

The rest of the Devotees showed a similar enthusiasm and marched away from the ship with purpose.

I smiled. I had done something right with my new power. It felt good. “They’ll bother us no more.”

“How have you done this?” asked Orsteen. “You’ve altered their minds.”

“I’ve enlightened them with the truth of these ships and their so-called Elevated Ones. I’ve made them realize that paradise is a state of mind.”

“Are you saying you’ve moved these people to happiness by glancing at them?”

“More or less,” I said. “Is this a bad thing?”

“You’ve been changing,” said Orsteen, “ever since Nara-Narayana has been growing in the sky. And since I know you’re a part of the Fume’s plans, my fears are not without merit. You haven’t been truthful about your condition. Tell us now, or I’ll be forced to take action against you, my friend.”

“I have nothing to hide from you anymore, Orsteen. My part in the Fume’s plan has already been executed. I think these powers are just a side effect. Come. I’ll explain.”

We sat in the ship’s congregation room and I revealed my secret.

The Guardian Fanbert glared at me. “Even now part of the Fume whirls in your head. How can we trust you?”

“I’m ashamed of what I am, but I didn’t deliberately cause the final transformation of Nara-Narayana. I never consciously acted on the Fume’s behalf. I’m not one of his minions and have no allegiance to him. I was merely an ignorant carrier who transmitted the disease that catalyzed the evolution of the universe.” I looked to Orsteen and Morion. “The two of you believe me, don’t you?”

“I believe you,” said Orsteen. “Through all of this, we’ve learned one enormous truth. The soul within each of us is a powerful and complicated force. I believe each of us is a divine entity, capable of our own choices. I know in my heart you’re not one of the Fume’s soulless minions.”

Morion leaned forward in his seat. “How can you be certain the Fume’s minions are soulless?”

“They don’t have free will,” said Fanbert. “If they did, they’d see their loyalty to the Fume is without reason. They’d see the Fume uses them like pawns.”

“Theron, you said earlier you could stop Nara-Narayana’s evolution,” said Prophet Torell. “What did you learn while connected to her?”

I can’t tell them,
I thought.
Not now. Not until I save her.

“Well?” said Prophet Torell.

“I’ll tell you as soon as Fanbert transports me to where Allienora is being held.”

“Who?” asked Fanbert. “Is she significant in the plan to stop Nara-Narayana’s expansion?”

“No,” I said. “But she’s significant to me.”

“Am I hearing you right?” said Fanbert. “Humankind is about to be obliterated. She’s just one person. Tell us how to stop Nara-Narayana!”

“You’ve heard my terms. I must get her back.”

Fanbert paced back and forth, eyes darting in thought. “Where is she?”

I turned to Prophet Torell. “I assume this ship has advanced stellar cartography?”

“It does. Follow me.” Prophet Torell led us to a room designated for stellar cartography. He showed me how to use the controls of a star projector. “We’re in this galaxy, here. You may pan and zoom using the control pad at the base of the unit.”

“Thank you, Torell.” I guided the projector through the virtual universe. I didn’t know how, but the stars and galaxies seemed familiar to me. I zoomed in upon a particular galaxy, and then upon a star orbited by a blue-green planet.

The mere sight of the planet brought Fanbert to an uproar. “Are you insane? That’s one of the Fume’s outpocketings. Not only do you wish to waste precious time in the name of love, but now you wish to serve us up like delicacies directly into the mouth of the monster.”

I can bend you to my will.
I clenched my teeth.
I must stop these thoughts. I’m not this person. I’m not a monster like the Fume.

“I swear, Fanbert,” I said. “We won’t be in his outpocketing for long. Once we rescue Allienora, I’ll tell you how to stop Nara-Narayana from spreading farther into the universe.”

“Why not simply stop Nara-Narayana first?” asked Fanbert visibly frustrated.

“There’s no telling what the Fume will do once his plans have fallen into ruin. For all I know, he’ll kill everyone within his outpocketings just to spite us. I won’t risk Allienora’s life.”

Bickering continued and I couldn’t be persuaded.

Fanbert’s shoulders slumped in resignation. “The entire universe is at your mercy, Theron.”

“You concede to my terms?” I said.

Fanbert looked to Orsteen. “Tell Theron your opinion of his terms.”

I turned to hear Orsteen’s opinion, but instead received the full weight of his fist between my eyes.

Orsteen looked down at Theron’s unconscious body with guilt. “I’m sorry, brother, but it was you who wanted me to judge your mental disposition. I didn’t think love would be the cause of your corruption.”

“Good work, Orsteen,” said Fanbert.

Orsteen knelt down to check Theron’s condition.

Fanbert turned to Prophet Torell. “Your people, Torell, seem to be masters of all that’s cerebral. Do you have the power to extract from Theron’s mind the information on how to stop Nara-Narayana’s evolution?”

“Yes. It shouldn’t be a problem.” Prophet Torell rubbed his metal skullcap. “I also look forward to a closer examination, so I can see what he’s made of.”

“Be gentle,” said Orsteen, uncomfortable with Torell’s enthusiasm.

Fanbert grabbed Prophet Torell’s arm. “And remember, he must remain sedated. We can’t have him playing tricks on our minds, like he did to the Devotees.”

Prophet Torell nodded. “Bring him back to my laboratory.”

Orsteen caringly lifted Theron into his arms and followed Prophet Torell.

A day passed as Prophet Torell worked tirelessly on Theron. Orsteen, after a short nap, walked into Torell’s laboratory. Theron floated erect in a fluid-filled cylinder with a tube down his throat.

“How’s he doing?” asked Orsteen.

Prophet Torell’s eyes were wide with wonder. “Exotic energies fill his head. A spark of divinity, indeed. Whatever he’s becoming, it’s more than any mortal man has ever known.”

“What of the information we seek?”