The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Putty (32 page)

“I thought I had six months.”

“Six months is the maximum. If they can make a decision sooner, they do,” Suzie said softly.

“Thank you both for everything. I know you tried to help,” Bernie said. He stood up to go, although he had no destination in mind.

“Wait, Bernie. It isn’t over yet.” Lenny put his hand on Bernie’s arm and pulled him back into his chair. “Suzie worked out a deal for you. Tell him, Suzie.”

“I told Ezrah about Billy. I told him Billy has been sabotaging everything, and it’s not fair to judge you because of what he did. I told him you can build a great universe in spite of Billy.”

“What did Ezrah say?”

“Well, he was upset with me for telling you not to go to Shemal. He says you should have gone to him right away and told him what was happening.”

“And now I’ve got you in trouble, too,” Bernie said as his shimmer dropped to its lowest intensity that day.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Tell him about the deal, Suzie,” Lenny urged with growing impatience.

“I told Ezrah you could make a great universe in spite of Billy. I told him you could win a Universe Award because it’s going to be so good. You just need more time. I told him I would nominate you for a Universe Award. Ezrah agreed that if you win an award, then you can stay.”

Bernie tried to feel gratitude. But all he heard was that, instead of building a universe good enough to pass his probationary period, he now had to build one so outstanding, it exceeded the best effort of all the gods before him. And he had to do it while keeping Billy at bay. He shook his head.

“It’s impossible. I give up.”

“No, it’s not,” said Lenny trying to show an enthusiasm he didn’t feel. “We’ll help you, won’t we, Suzie?”

“Absolutely. Don’t give up, Bernie. The Awards Committee won’t be doing reviews for several weeks. That’s a lot of time. I know you can do it.”

Bernie wasn’t sure. Not sure at all.

The Hot Senate

The heat in the Senate’s amphitheater was uncomfortable, but the tension was worse. Leader Gondal was not the only one who knew having Zardok and Alcandor at the same meeting could prove explosive. The whole Senate feared it.

There were no empty seats, and several Senators were forced to take seats in the high section, with the other citizens.

Gondal said, “Senators, Lords, and Citizens, I welcome you to this emergency session of the Senate. Many of you have come from distant regions, and we appreciate your attendance on such short notice. Although others are en route, matters are so dire, we cannot wait for their arrival.

“I invited Speaker Zardok and Lord Alcandor to join us today. It is my hope they can shed light on the latest crisis.” Leader Gondal gestured to center stage, where Speaker Zardok stood on his raised platform, and Lord Alcandor stood next to him, on the ground of the Great Chamber.

“Everyone is aware of the heat. It’s been getting hotter every day. You may not be aware of the problems it has caused. It is nearly impossible for exertions of any kind, and we’ve been forced to suspend all public works projects. The people on the coast tell us the ocean temperature is also rising. Inland cities near the Central Mountains report higher temperatures, although not as high as here.

“Our streams are drying up, and several rivers and lakes are shallower than ever before. Our freshwater is disappearing. Several varieties of plants have shriveled, and no longer produce food. Plants closer to the central mountains are showing greater hardiness, although this may be due to the lower temperatures reported there.”

Gondal looked around the room. There was good reason for the fear he saw in their eyes. Unless they found a quick solution to the growing heat, there wouldn’t be more meetings of the Senate, or any other body, for that matter.

“I pray that Speaker Zardok and Lord Alcandor can share new information to help us with this crisis. I will first offer the floor to Speaker Zardok. Do you have any opening statements you wish to make?”

“Yes, thank you, Leader Gondal, I do have something to say.” Zardok turned to face the Senators in the amphitheater surrounding him.

“Senators, I know you are concerned. And you are right to be. These are dangerous times, and there has been grievous harm thrust upon us. Thousands of people have died, including many of our precious children. And now we are visited by yet another disaster. The awful heat steals our water, kills our plants, and threatens our lives. It is but one of many trials we have faced in recent weeks.

“Senators, I hesitate to tell you this, but there are more trials to come,” Zardok said as the Senate broke out with boos and hisses.

“Yes, Senators, it is true,” Zardok insisted. “And why, you might ask, are we facing such trials? The answer is simple. It is because the Sun, our great benefactor, has lost faith in us.”

Senators responded with shouts of “No!” and “It isn’t so!”

Zardok continued. “Yes, the Sun has lost faith in us. Why, you ask? It is because He believes we have lost faith in Him.”

The senators continued with cries of protest and denial, but Zardok kept talking.

“The Sun has seen many who have questioned Him, doubted His motives, and even doubted Him. Who among you would give your utmost for such an ingrate?” Zardok looked around the suddenly silent Senate. “Neither will the Sun!” he thundered.

A senator in the front row stood and shouted, “Give us the names of these faithless, that we may root them out!”

Another senator shouted, “We want our covenant with the Sun restored! We will not allow the faithless to force the faithful to pay such a price!”

“What can we do to make amends?” shouted another.

Zardok, Speaker for the Sun and High Priest of the Temple, said, “You must be vigilant. When you recognize the words of the faithless, you must reject them and their polluted ideas. You must do this over and over until the Sun is persuaded the great majority of His people can and do maintain their faith. Only then will He pick up His mantle and restore His protections. Only then will we see an end to this great apocalypse.

The Senate responded with outcries of “Let it be so!” and “Aye!”

Gondal suppressed any sign of the anger he felt.
Nicely played, Zardok
, he thought.
I am sure you believe every word, but how can I introduce Alcandor after that? He will be cast as one of the ‘faithless’ and shunned by true believers.
Alcandor would say whatever he believed to be the truth, and that would be dangerous. It would also discredit the one person who might be able to save them all.

“Thank you for your rousing words, Speaker Zardok. We shall adjourn for today so we can consider everything you have said. Again, I thank all of you for coming on such short notice.”

Gondal pounded his gavel and dismissed the Senate.

Shemal Talks

“Bernie, will you come to my office, please?” Shemal stood in the entry to Bernie’s cubicle.

Bernie had been dreading contact with his boss since Suzie revealed Shemal wanted him fired. But Suzie said Ezrah had not approved the recommendation.
Had Ezrah changed his mind? Am I going to be fired after all?

Bernie struggled to master the feelings raging inside him, otherwise as soon as he moved beyond the range of his dampener, his cloud would be free to cause trouble.
Oh, my shimmer too
, he thought. He willed it to neutral colors, although he knew it seldom obeyed.

More than anything, he must not betray Suzie. She would be in serious trouble if anyone learned she had told him what Shemal said.

As Bernie turned to follow Shemal to his office, he saw Billy grinning at him. Billy slid his index finger across his throat, and grinned again. Even Billy thought he was about to be fired.

“Sir, you wanted to see me?” Bernie asked.

“Close the door and take a seat, Bernie.”

Bernie sat as the sound of his heart pounded louder in his ears. He noticed his shoelaces twitching on the floor and willed them to stillness.

“Bernie, I have to be honest with you,” Shemal said with sadness in his voice. “I don’t think you have what it takes to be a builder. I’ve watched your work for weeks now, and it just doesn’t measure up to our standards.”

“But…” Bernie began.

Shemal held up his hand to stop Bernie. “Let me finish. My job is to make the best decisions I can on behalf of The Business. These decisions can be very hard because they usually affect people. At the same time, you’ve shown conscientiousness and loyalty since you arrived. Frankly, I wish more people had these traits. However, you have not demonstrated the skills of an effective builder. That’s why I recommended your termination.”

“But… Sir…” began Bernie as Shemal held up his hand again.

“I recommended terminating you, Bernie, but the Personnel Department did not approve my recommendation. They decided to give you more time. I have no idea why, but Ezrah said your work has been submitted to the Universe Awards Committee. The Committee will come here to review your universe in the next few weeks.

“You should think of this as a reprieve, Bernie. It’s a second chance to earn a place here. If you convince the Committee to grant you an award, then I will consider it proof I misjudged you. In that case I will approve your probationary period. If you are not successful with the Committee, then my original opinion remains unchanged. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir. I… Thank you, sir. I really appreciate this,” Bernie said.

That Billy!

Journal Entry

Shemal called me into his office to tell me he wanted to fire me. It was just like Suzie said. Shemal said my only hope is if I can win a Universe Award. My little cloud was so scared, he hid behind my back and shook the whole time.

I almost told Shemal about Billy. But what good would it do? I have no proof. All I have is my suspicions. Even if I caught Billy in the act, it would be my word against his. Candi and her friends are too afraid to say anything. She said Billy never comes right out and says what he’s doing. He just makes hints and innuendos that could be interpreted different ways. Suzie is right. Shemal would never take my word over Billy’s, especially when he already thinks I’m doing a bad job. He would just assume I’m trying to blame someone else for my problems.

I feel trapped. I’m in some crazy game. To win the game, I have to win a
Universe Award
. Give me a break! How can a new builder just out of school do that? It’s impossible. Even if I had an idea for a winning universe, how could I do it? No matter how good I am at building, Billy is better at un-building. I spend days working on something; he wrecks it in minutes.

I wish I could ask Dad. He knows all about building winners. But what good would that do? Even if he gave me the answer, how could I build it with Billy tearing everything down?

I’m still upset about Billy’s last trick. I knew something was wrong because Gaia’s aura was really stressed. It turned out my plants were getting weaker. It took me days to figure out they were suffering from too much heat. The whole planet was getting hotter. But I couldn’t find the reason. Finally, I realized Billy had moved the planet closer to the sun. I only spotted it because I rechecked my biosphere calculations to see if I’d made a mistake. There was no mistake in the calculations. But my planet wasn’t where it should have been. If I hadn’t figured it out when I did, everything would be gone.

I can’t imagine what he will do when I put animals on the planet. They’re more vulnerable than plants.

I hate him. I just hate him!

Let’s Try Faster

Billy had no idea why Uncle Shemal hadn’t fired him yet. When Shemal called Bernie into his office, he’d been sure that was the end of it. After all, Bernie’s world was so wrecked it bothered even him to look at it. Apparently Shemal needed more convincing.

Bernie must be stuck on his higher life forms. There was no sign of any animals on either of the lab continents. No matter. Plants were vulnerable to lots of things. And he had another idea for them. He doubted Bernie would notice what he had done.

With power beyond imagining, Billie grasped the world in his mind. And he gave it a twist, making it spin faster. It was only a little faster, but it was enough to make a difference.

“Oops. I pushed too hard. This end of Bernie’s continent got a bath,” Billy said in mock dismay. He laughed as the ocean waters swept over the east coast.

“It’s subtle, Bernie, but I think you’ll like it.”

He left the office and headed home. It was late, and he needed his sleep.

Little Friends

Billy had changed tactics. He would leave at quitting time, but then return at random times during the night to do his mischief. Fortunately, Bernie had the backdoor that let him check his world every few hours. But the strain of constant vigilance was showing. For weeks, Bernie had made little progress. All his time was spent in defense and rebuilding. He was tired and frustrated and desperate for relief.

He checked his universe and was relieved to see nothing had happened in the time it took him to walk home. Wearily, he tried to prepare himself for more checks throughout the evening and the two or three more times he would wake up during the night to check again. It was exhausting.

Then he brightened. How could he have forgotten? Back in school, when he was stressed, he would go for a walk in the woods. It always helped.

Maybe that’s why I’m upset lately; I haven’t been to the woods
, he thought.

* * *

As Bernie closed the door behind him and turned in the direction of the woods, the tiny observer smiled, knowing she would have the honor of telling the others the boy was moving toward the woods. The swift relay of her silent signals brought the tribe together to hear Catila’s report. Bowin was pleased. It had been a long time since the boy god had ventured out. He motioned for the group to proceed quietly as he led them along the path the boy had taken.