CHAPTER 24

GAZA

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I let Kitaya know I would be delayed, and then sat on the front steps of the capital building. The brilliant sunset was sending dazzling cascades of gold and orange across the structures to the east. As Charm, this was the time of day I enjoyed the most. Many an evening I’d sat on these very steps, watching the radiant fusion of color playing on the coliseum, the Eiffel, the Sphinx... Tonight however, it was the Statue of Liberty who caught my eye. She was a symbol of unity for the people of Vrin. Her proud form had always spoken to me of freedom and harmony. --But now, she was just another structure in the skyline. Vrin simply wasn't the same. Her beauty was waning in my heart.

A horse drawn coach pulled up to the steps. The driver tipped his hat to me, and I headed down to greet him. “Have you been instructed?” I asked the gentleman.

“Yes, sir. We are to go to Bagidar.”

“Very good.” I stepped up into the carriage.

“Uh-- Sir?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I was told you would be traveling with a companion.”

“Yes. She will meet us at the gate.”

“Yes, sir.”

The thin door closed with a metallic click and I took a seat in the darkened carriage. Across from me, a shadowy figure sat, a guard I assumed.

“What is your name, soldier?” I asked, trying to sound authoritative.

“What’s wrong, Jason?” came a hollow voice from the darkness. “Don’t you recognize the creator of Vrin?”

My heart quickened. I wanted to leap from the carriage, but knew it wouldn’t do any good. Instead I began an internal counting to keep from bringing any thoughts to the surface for Gaza to prey upon. “I’m sorry? Have we met?” One, two, three, four...

Casually he opened his eyes and looked out the window, only passively involved in our meeting, as if my presence was an irritation for him. I was immediately shaken by his eyes. They were not blue like the rest of the gods', but green, like two smoldering emeralds.

...eight, nine, ten, eleven...

“You have created for me a conundrum.” His distant, lifeless voice held an eerie quality.

“How is that?” I asked cautiously. One, two, three, four...

“Your reanimation is a paradigm.” He shifted in his chair. “Are you comfortable in your former habitation?”

“I don’t understand.” One, two, three, four…

“You are Charm once more. How do you feel about this?”

“What do you mean?” ...five, six, seven, eight...

His eyes darted to his right and his hand rose to a fixed and invisible destination. Quickly his fingers wiggled in the air. A sigh escaped his lips. “Your confidant approaches, but our business has not yet concluded; you have information which I require.” He tipped his head slightly. “Your attendance, of course, is non-negotiable.” His hand snapped out and grabbed my wrist. I felt his power enter my body, and the world exploded in blue fire.

The room spun like a carnival ride as tiny aftershocks erupted randomly across my back. Glowing objects streaked past my eyes, leaving visual trails on my retina. Colors pooled with colors in a blur of pulsating substance.

I needed something solid to fixate on, something I could use to rebuild my visual perception. I felt a groove in the floor and slid my fingers lengthwise across it to let the sensations register. They encountered an intersection. Slowly and methodically I followed the downward path. With effort, I slid my body until I was hovering above the floor tile. As my mind grasped the shape, it began to perceptually construct the floor. Soon the room took shape around me, and the spinning in my head subsided.

Just in front of my eyes were four wheels, and above them, a red seat. I drew the chair toward me. It let out a series of gentle squeaks. Gripping the cushion, I hefted myself onto it and sat up. Hovering on the desk in front of me was an illuminated screen within a glass box. Iridescent numbers rose line upon line. I reached out and touched the cold surface. Slowly my finger slid across the glass cube and my mind deciphered the information with unexpected efficiency. I had seen this text before. It was the very essence of Vrin.

Where was Gaza? I scanned the room. Many more illuminated glass plates balanced on metal stands, filling the room with a ghostly glow. I looked from one panel to the next, and as I studied each image carefully, I began to notice a theme. Gaza was watching. Not only was he tracking me and the other gods, but also Sajin, and several others I did not recognize. Gaza could see and hear everything!

Frantically I searched for Rath. If Rath was here, then Gaza knew! Or did he? Was he watching when his daughter was killed? My eyes darted from one image to the next. Then stopped.

Floating before me, frozen in time, was the horrifying moment I wanted so desperately to forget. The little girl's face filled the screen. Her eyes pleaded through the ghostly glass as the gnarled fingers of Kric' tu gripped her tiny forehead, and the knife pressed deep into her delicate neck. The image was so real I felt I could reach out and touch her tears.

“Looking for something?”

I twisted around in panic and met Gaza face to face. He appeared completely indifferent to my total lack of composure. “I imagined you would be longer recuperating. It appears I miscalculated,” he said in the same cold, impersonal manner he'd displayed in the carriage.

“I was just…”

His hand lifted, and an invisible force squeezed my throat. “You are only alive because I have not grown tired of you. It would be auspicious of you to retain that perspective. Now,” he said, releasing me, “you have information I need, and I do not have a great deal of time.”

“I'm here to help,” I said, rubbing my neck.

“You were taken to the realm outside of Vrin by a spirit being, yet you do not remember this place?”

“No. I don't remember anything.”

“And now you are Charm again.”

“So it would seem.”

He turned and examined the wall of monitors. “You have been quite the busybody, Jason. I have watched your exploits with great interest.” He tossed me a shadowed glance. “In fact, I have watched you most intently.”

He gestured, and the screen holding the image of the girl pushed forward and expanded.

“I tried to save her,” I said reflexively.

“This is not my daughter,” he said with distaste. “Her sacrifice was a charade intended to lure you to Kric' tu. He has dark plans for you, plans that would make your blood run cold.” With a twist of his wrist, the monitor returned to its original position.

“Plan? What could Kric' tu possibly need me for?”

“To stop me.” He laughed.

I let these words sink in, then stated cautiously, “With all due respect, sir, that's ridiculous. Even if I were able to stop you, why the charade? Why not just ask my help? And besides-- I was already trying to stop you.”

“His plan is confusing, is it not?”

What plan? How could I possibly help Kric’ tu accomplish anything? The frustration welled up inside me until I could not contain it. “What plan?” I snapped. Lucky for me, Gaza was enjoying my agitation.

“Does this information trouble you?” He gave a sinister grin. “Do you have a problem with a higher being using you as a plaything? You and I are not all that dissimilar on that particular point.”

He turned and drew another monitor from the wall. On this one, an aerial view of the battle raged. Kric' tu's forces had more than tripled. The only ones holding them back were the gods. The mortal army had been completely destroyed.

“Where are they coming from?” I asked.

“The Circle of Ghosts. And they will keep coming until they have conquered every last city in Vrin. But he is not content to rule only Vrin. That is why he needs you.”

“To go, beyond Vrin?”

Gaza smiled. “You are probably of no use to him anymore, but I have use for you. It's funny really. I didn't have a use for you as Sam’ Dejal, but as Charm...” he said, lifting his hands into the air for drama, “Charm has much to offer.”

He began to circle. I turned warily to face him. “I created your kind and called you sky searchers, a nomenclature describing a scholar who studies the cognosphere, which I also created. It is this role that has caused you to develop a familiarity with something of interest to me.” He wiggled his fingers in my direction and a book materialized in the air. It fell to the ground before me. “Do you recognize this item?”

“Yes. It is Davata Notrals.”

“This, I did not create.”

I squinted at him. “Then who...?”

He leaned an ear in toward me. “Who created it? God did. Tell me, Charm. Do you believe in the prophecies?”

“--Yes.”

“But they change! This does not pose a problem for you?”

“I haven't put much thought toward it. I've been, kinda busy.”

He rapidly drew in close. “Your schedule is about to open up!” He struck me in the chest and energy coiled through my insides.

“AAAAARGG!” I fell to the floor, clutching my chest.

“Put some thought toward it!” he shrieked, then began pacing.

I clutched at my gut and rocked back and forth. “It, ah, changes here in Vrin, but does not on the outside.”

“Why!”

“I don't know. I only know it speaks of things as if they have already happened.”

“I created Vrin from the very essence of the void! Every detail of this world came from my code. Nothing exists that I did not make-- except this wretched book!”

“So why would you seek to destroy that which you have created?”

My question took us both by surprise.

“Are you so dim?” He chided. “This world is nothing but a tool to return what was stolen from me.”

“Your-- wife and daughter?” I stated cautiously. “Who stole them from you?”

Gaza’s body shook as the words erupted from him. “GOD STOLE THEM FROM ME!” The room bent and expanded.

Terror stabbed through my chest.

“We are play things in an evil child's sandbox! Puppets for his amusement. What could God possibly gain from taking my family and leaving me imprisoned in the void! Was it not enough to take them?” He shook his fist at the ceiling. “What crime did I commit to deserve emptiness and despair!”

He no longer acknowledged my presence, but directed his speech to the stained glass windows above. “What crime did I commit to deserve torture in the abyss? What did I do to YOU? You sit on your throne as humanity squirms for your amusement! But you didn't expect me to escape! You didn't expect a human could wield power in your realm. But you were wrong! And your wretched book is wrong!”

He stiffened, and his gaze returned to me. In his burning green eyes, I saw confusion. “Stay here!” he said, then turned and walked away.

Metal straps emerged from the floor and clasped my feet firmly. I crouched to pull at them, but there was no give. They were part of the floor, and very tight. My eyes darted frantically in search of something to free myself, but nothing presented itself. The room was barren except for the panels and the glass cube sitting on a simple desk several feet in front of me. As I examined the desk, an image flashed in my mind. I saw a glowing screen, similar to the cube, and a panel with letters and numbers. A keyboard! That’s it! That was how information was entered into the system. But this cube had no input device. How did he enter information into the system? Was this a terminal or merely a monitor? Maybe it would respond to voice commands.

I directed my voice toward the cube. “Activate!” I said. No response. “Expand!” To my absolute astonishment, it began to grow in size. “Stop!” I said involuntarily. The cube became still. I shot a glance toward the doors, then back to the cube. “Expand!” The cube grew until I could make out the program on the screen. “Stop!”

Now what?

“--Search.” Nothing happened. I tried again. “Find.” A box opened on the screen. “Charm.” The screen went crazy. Entry after entry scrolled by, faster than my eyes could scan.

“Stop!” The screen became still. I glanced at the door. I needed to find myself in the program, in this room, with the metal straps holding me. The only method I had employed with any accuracy was the action category. If I could alter the location or state of an object, maybe I could track that object in the program based on it being the only object in Vrin that had changed in that way at that moment.

I fished in my pocket and pulled out a coin. Quickly I placed the coin in my mouth then spit it back into my hand. “Find wet coin,” I said. The screen blinked with three entries.

Q5T33KL, coin, gold, wet, water, 280, trunk

J224FT, coin, gold, wet, water, 4, pocket

H034A33, coin, silver, wet, saliva, 1, hand

“Locate H034A33”

The response appeared. Grid3U9Y9K1.

That was hardly any help! “Help commands,” I said. A list appeared on the screen.

I searched and scrolled, and searched... Until finally, I found what I needed. “Visual 3d grid3U9Y9K1” The room built itself on the screen in a matter of seconds. Every detail was depicted precisely, including myself.

“Transform metal straps to water.” The straps melted away from my feet.

Off in the distance, something hit the floor with a thud. I dropped to my knees and looked under the desk. There was no movement, so I crawled past the line of illuminated images, then stood. In front of me was a table filled with maps and photographs. And in front of that, a chair with its seat sitting on the floor, in a puddle of water.

In the center of the table was a screen displaying two prominent pieces of information. The first was a woman’s face, which crawled with activity, every detail was being measured and calculated. The second was a number, diminishing by one each time a new face appeared. One by one faces appeared on the screen and were methodically scanned. Was this how he was searching for his wife and daughter? What happened if the computer finished its task and he didn't find them? Would that be it? Would that be the end of Vrin?

Time was running out. It was vital that I be long gone before Gaza returned. But where could I run? Where could I possibly hide? If that number reached zero, no hiding place would be sufficient! I needed to buy time!

Frantically I slid the wet chair aside and dove under the table. Past the mass of wires, two tiny boxes sat on the floor. Storage devices I assumed. Taking away a storage device would stall him in his efforts! I yanked out the wires, slid out from under the table, and lifted a box. The doors to the chamber swung in. Below the panels, Gaza’s feet appeared.

In a panic, I looked about. There was a window at the back of the room. I bolted toward it.

“JASON!” Gaza sounded like a parent scolding a naughty child.

Particles of glass exploded all around me as I plummeted from, what I realized now, was a tower! The expanse below was dizzying! I twisted around in the air to see Gaza’s face materialize in the window. Mild irritation quickly melted into wide eyed despair, as he realized what I was holding in my grasp.

My mind called out to Kitaya. “Take me to you!”

“Hhnnnoooooo!” was the last thing I heard, before vanishing in a flash of blue fire.

In my sickened state, I could not decipher my surroundings. “Hide me quickly! He’s watching,” was all I could get out through The tender strand connecting me to Kitaya. Something soft enveloped me.

“Who is watching?”

“Continue doing what you were doing. Gaza is watching. You must get as far away from me as you can. You’re in danger here.”

“Not until I find out what is going on.”

“I’ve stolen something from Gaza’s fortress, something that will ensure I will never be safe again, a vital tool Gaza is using to find his wife and daughter. They were not killed. Gaza still searches for them.”

“What? How do you know this?”

“I don't have time to explain, but Gaza’s lost his faculties. There’s no reasoning with him.”

“Then all hope is lost.”

“Not entirely. I have a plan. But I need to get out of here undetected, which means you’ll have to leave. Gaza’s watching you, and if he sees me here, we're both in danger.”

“How will you protect yourself?”

“By staying as far away from the gods as possible! I'm going to seek out Arganis as I originally intended, and as much as I would like you to come with me, I need to go alone.”

“I will have a servant prepare a horse and supplies for you. I will tell him I am sending Moota on a journey. Go to the stable. The horse will be left unattended.”

“Thank you.”

“Stay here,” she whispered through the thread.

“Okay,” I whispered back.

Her footsteps grew fainter, and a door slammed. I thrust the cover off me and went to the window. Night had descended over Trinador. Tiny lights danced like fireflies in the trees. Good. The night would conceal my escape. It would be slow going by horse, but if I attempted to travel through another thread, Gaza might be able to track me. I looked up at the three glowing orbs in the night sky, and was thankful Gaza had a liking for moons. I would need their light. I leaned out the window and took a deep breath.

Suddenly the sky flashed a brilliant orange. I jerked my head back in. The walls began to groan with a deafening vibration. Is this it? I thought, gripping the windowsill. Did I push Gaza over the edge? The vibrations mutated into a resonating hum, and in the distance, muffled screams of terror echoed. The voice of Gaza boomed out. “CHARM! YOU HAVE ONE DAY TO RETURN WHAT YOU HAVE STOLEN!”

And as quickly as they had begun, the vibrations ceased, leaving me shaken, but somewhat relieved. He didn't know where I was, which meant I was safe-- for the moment.

I gathered my wits, and a measure of courage, and made my way down to the stables. My destination, Pagnia. Time was running out and it looked like the fate of Vrin rested on me.

I followed the roads but kept a hood over my head to shroud my identity. The landscape was cold and lifeless in the blue moonlight. Shadows shifted restlessly among the trees. As Charm, growing up, I could remember playing in woods like these, but now they seemed empty. It never occurred to me then to consider the lack of insects. Vrin never had such things, and I’d never noticed. Now, however, I found their absence troubling. Vrin had been my home, but now it was nothing more than an imperfect shadow of a world just beyond my memory. I wanted my Vrin back, the one I had built my life in.

I hunched over, and pushed the horse harder.

The sky was beginning to glow with the first signs of dawn as I entered the well-manicured area of Pagnia. The town was all but deserted, and as I guided my horse along, his footfalls echoed loudly through the vacant streets. When I reached SCAR’s hideout, there were no signs of life, and the door was bolted, so I guided the horse around the back to find a way in.

A cellar door gave me access. I creaked it open and groped my way down the stone stairs. It was dark, except for the faint light from a lantern in the far corner. I moved in closer. And that’s when I saw him. A figure lay next to the lamp on a wooden cot. But that was all I saw, before a sharp pain shot through my head, and everything went black.

I squinted. The light was bright. A river rushed past me and turned into a waterfall but I could not see its base. The sun was high in the sky and seagulls played in the wisps of cloud above. I sat down on a gray rock and absorbed the beauty of the mountain scape stretching out before me. It was peaceful here, even though I was not sure where here was.

“You have questions,” said the man in white next to me.

“I always do,” I replied.

“Yes, but now you have a question you have never thought to ask before, which is not surprising really, since you are no longer the person you were.”

“I have been here many times haven't I?”

He smiled. “Oh yes.”

“But I have never asked you what this place is.”

“Right. You never asked because you never thought to. You had never known any different.”

“But now I've changed.”

“Yes. Now you carry in you the imprint of Thomas Tardin and this causes you to consider things you would have never thought to consider before. Thomas believes this is a dream because that is what Charm believes, and Charm has never been able to see this place as it truly is. But Thomas can't understand why it is so vivid, and thus the question. I know it's disconcerting, but don't worry, we will eventually pass beyond this realm and enter into more familiar territory.”

“How can we pass beyond, if we're not moving?”

He put his hand on my shoulder. “It's like riding the bus where you find yourself engrossed in a book or a conversation with the person next to you. You're oblivious to the scenery passing by outside.”

“It's peaceful here. I don't want to move beyond.”

“Well, you know something Thomas. The real mystery is you never really leave. It's all a matter of perception.”

My brow furrowed. “I'm not following you.”

“Don't worry. You will soon forget we had this conversation, and it won't matter that you don't understand.”

“So why have the conversation at all?”

“The answer to your question is very complicated,” he smiled, “but you're going to ask me anyway.”

I laughed. “I suppose I will.”

He repositioned himself on the rock. “Focus on me, and don't look away until I tell you, or it will hurt considerably.”

I focused on him and immediately something began to happen in my peripheral. The scene shimmered like Jello. Lights and shapes melted around me, swirling and pulsating like a living organism.

When it stopped he said, “There we go.”

My muscles loosened and I turned to examine my new surroundings. We were no longer outside on a mountain range. Instead, the mountain scene sped by just outside the window of the train. I looked back at him, and then around at the plush compartment.

“Where are we going?”

“To answer your question,” he winked.

“What does that mean exactly?”

“We need to go where you can understand, which means we need to enter the void. Look- we're approaching it now.”

Out the window I saw a tunnel approaching. Car after car disappeared inside, and then it was dark. The train began to slow with a steady squeal, then stopped.

“Are we there?”

He gave me a nod. “Follow me if you want your answer,” he said. As he stood and stepped out of the compartment, I followed closely. He led me down a thin hallway and through a sliding metal door with a tiny window.

We were alone as we exited the train, and we soon found ourselves standing on a jet black platform watching as the long silver train disappeared into the night, taking its light with it. And then for a moment, all was still.

“Are you still there?” I asked.

“I'm here,” he replied. “I'm always here.”

“Are you going to answer my question now?”

“Yup. In three, two, one-”

I felt as if all of the information of the universe came flooding into my mind and I was immediately at one with it. Every question I could have ever thought to ask was answered, including the one for which we had made the journey.

The answer to my question was connected to the very nature of my existence. I was not simply flesh and bone, but a complex multi-dimensional being. As a man, I could not possibly comprehend the other aspects of myself, but they still existed, and they still effected me.

“So it's that simple?” I said.

“It's only simple here, because you are in the nexus.”

Another question entered my mind, but as it occurred to me to ask, the answer was there. I wondered about the dark void I had experienced before Vrin. It had not been like this. I remembered a vast and lonely place. The knowledge which suffused me offered the answer-

I had created that void from the essence of Dantra, the same substance which Vrin itself was made of. While in Vrin, within Dantra, impulses from the computer triggered responses in my brain, and they in turn molded Dantra, using my connection to that spirit realm.

“We are nearing The Separation. You will soon pass into physical consciousness, and you will no longer be aware of me.”

“Thanks for the help,” I said.

I sensed a smile as I passed through The Separation into dream.

A dark feeling hung in the air on the street outside my childhood home. A soldier brushed by, wearing a World War II uniform, and clutching a rifle with a wooden stock. I followed him for a short distance, then bolted across the neighbor’s yard to hide behind some barrels. I peeked out, no one saw me, so I hunched over and scooted across the lawn. Bursts of gunfire rained down on me from the neighbor’s house. I ducked and rolled. The fire ceased.

I poked my head up then made my way toward the darkness past the open cellar door. Again gunfire broke out. I dropped to the ground and dirt exploded in small eruptions all around me. --But I was not afraid; I was no longer effected by the things of this world. I stood and faced the window. A shadowy figure took aim. But the barrage of bullets passed right through me.

My perspective shifted and I found myself watching from outside my body. Every shadow in the neighborhood began shifting and moving. Coming alive. Approaching from every direction. Surrounding me. Pressing in on me. Hoping to receive a touch from their holy one.

The last thing I saw were my glowing metal eyes-- and that was all I remembered, once I was fully awake.