The Seventeenth, page 15
Coming from 1978 America, and knowing the debate that was still red-hot when I was transferred to Ulnar, I was naturally curious about when Micah thought human life began. She told me that human life began when a human female egg was fertilized, forming the beginnings of an embryo. But it wasn’t counted as a life until a Vit entered the fetus shortly after the heart began to beat.
She turned one of the screens toward me. It was a live view of the Earth with bright blue clouds encircling it. The clouds represented collections of Blue Vits readying themselves for entry into a fetus. They dropped through the atmosphere like blue falling snow. It was mesmerizing to watch.
There was no algorithm for which fetus the Vit would enter. Vits were dispatched in appropriately-sized batches out of the Loft and their memories were filtered. They were simply given the instruction to enter a fetus at the first opportunity. It was a musical chairs game on a global scale. As soon as a Vit entered a fetus, that human life was included in the counts.
The rate of abortion as a part of all infant death, was a metric the SRK team used to demonstrate to the Council that the pro-creation rate they implemented was too high, and the drive to pro-create in humans was too strong. They asked to have the pro-creation parameters adjusted downward, either with a change inherent to human design, or through environmental variables. That would slow down the population rate during a cycle. It would be easier for humans to manage themselves, and easier for Jesse and Lucy to make more timely adjustments to the balance and maintain stability. But the Council declined their requests.
The Council said overpopulation, abortion, and infant death, were important negative forces that pushed humans to solve their own problems and improve themselves as a race. However, deliberate abortion of a living fetus with a Vit would violate the judgment criteria set by the Council. But since the SRK team were transferring all Vits to the Loft, there was no penalty for it.
Further, a Vit that was released due to the death of any unborn fetus, or an infant before two years of age, stayed within the Vit cloud and immediately entered a different fetus. It didn’t transfer to the Loft to wait for another turn.
Micah said, “In most of the cycles of this iteration, humans realized that abortion should be a rare occurrence for a number of reasons. Abortion isn’t a preferred practice, and if we weren’t cheating and placing all Vits in the Loft, it would be used as judgment against a Vit. But as a practical matter, it’s irrelevant.”
I was mesmerized by the Vits transferring back and forth at such a rapid pace that I didn’t notice Micah had moved closer to me.
“Ray?”
“What?” I said as I turned toward her.
She grabbed my face with her right hand and started kissing me. I don’t know how it is that she smelled so naturally intoxicating to me, but she did, and I couldn’t resist her even if I wanted to. She kissed me hard and wrapped her arms around my back, and I wrapped my arms around her. I didn’t advance far in my thinking about what would come next before an ear-piercing alarm sounded and orange lighting flashed on various patterns on the walls. What the fuck was that? A fire drill?
Micah pulled herself away from me and quickly ran to her screens. The alarm was a bleating siren and it was so loud. I could barely hear myself think.
I screamed at her, “What is that?!” She didn’t answer me but worked furiously at her screens, tapping on them and moving graphs and data points back and forth between them. “What is happening?!” I shouted. She still didn’t answer. I grabbed her arm to get her attention. She looked at me with a frightened look on her face. “What is happening?!” I shouted at her again.
“A government auditor is on the premises!” she exclaimed. “Once on-site we have a short time to cover over any cheats so they aren’t found!” The alarm stopped, thankfully. Then the orange flashing lights stopped.
“The auditor is in the building,” she said softly. She continued to tap on her screens and then they all seemed to freeze on her. “Oh no,” she said.
“What?”
“The auditor has ordered an immediate freeze of all activity. Every process is stopped and held exactly as it is. A full-stop order means the Council strongly suspects that we’re hiding something. Hurry, we must get you out of here!”
When we exited her office no Ulnarans were anywhere to be found. What was a bustling office-type atmosphere a few moments earlier, was then empty and silent. Micah took me by the hand and ran several feet to a clear elevator platform embedded in the wall. Just as we moved lower from that level, I noticed the Hold container was glowing yellow and the Dump container was glowing orange.
We descended all the way to the lowest level, the seventh level below ground. Again, Micah took me by the hand and ran me toward the outside of the building to the second circle. She made a doorway opening in the wall and we ran through it.
We entered the room and I attempted to catch my breath. I wasn’t in good shape when I left Earth and sudden running wasn’t something I did often. It was the pie-shaped room that was over 100 feet long across the entire building. The room was barely illuminated. I saw the four long tubes side-by-side, and later was told they were the lifepod simulators. With the exception of Marvin, the SRK leadership team of Jesse, Lucy, Bernard and Alexandra were all in the room and looked to be readying to leave.
“Let’s go Micah,” said Alexandra.”
“I’m ready mother,” she said. “Come with me Ray,” she said.
A section of the floor fell away and a staircase formed that dropped an additional two levels. There was a solid wall on each side of the stairs all the way down. I quickly ran down the stairs behind Micah and the others. Once we reached the bottom, the stairway rose up and appeared flat against the ceiling of the area.
We were inside a long and dimly lit tunnel, in which we could walk in only one direction. Before walking away, Bernard made several entries into a keypad on the wall. There was a loud roar above us. I was later told that Bernard’s actions hid the lifepod room and all that was in it, covering the entire room and all of the office spaces in a solid material. Any examination of the area appeared to be homogeneous and solid. Schematics of the building design that auditors carried showed it as solid and never developed. The only way to change it back was with the keypad in the tunnel below.
We walked several hundred feet underground to the next end point of the tunnel. Again Bernard made several entries into a keypad on the wall, and an identical staircase dropped slowly in front of us. After we all climbed the stairs, the staircase folded up, and the stairs flattened to become even with the flooring.
I found myself in a large room with high vaulted ceilings two to three stories high. The flooring was wooden and supremely polished without a blemish to be seen. I couldn’t tell the stairs were once there. The inner walls of the room were made of large stones as if they were hand-laid by master masons. There were gold accents appropriately placed throughout the room, and large well-lit earth-style chandeliers. Each wall contained over-sized portraits of people who looked familiar to me and some that didn’t. The room was empty.
I turned to ask Micah where we were, and she said we were in the main family residence. I turned back around and the room was no longer empty. In the middle of it was a long ornate wooden table, cherry in color, with matching chairs, upholstered with white cushioning. The table was covered by a white linen tablecloth and set appropriately with all china, silverware, and glassware to serve eight, though there were only seven chairs. A ninth place was set with a wood, cherry-colored high chair near the head of the table. In one corner of the room was a lighted glass display case with a large jeweled crown sitting atop a purple cushion under the glass.
“You live in a castle?” I asked.
“Oh no, this is just what mother has preferred for decor since she returned from Earth,” she replied.
Micah held my hand and led me further into the room. The wall to our right then disappeared to reveal an adjunct room, approximately one quarter the size of the dining room. I didn’t understand everything that I saw, but it was clearly a kitchen, and one that was more sophisticated than the small one in my residence. Alexandra and Lucy entered it and busily began preparing food.
Alexandra looked up and said, “Micah, do you want to cook food for Ray?”
“Oh, yes I do,” she said. She walked into the kitchen area. I was fully distracted by watching her walk to the kitchen.
“She is beautiful isn’t she?” a voice behind me said in English.
“Yes, she is,” I replied. Then I realized whose voice it was. I turned around slowly and then looked up at Marvin. He was still shirtless, wearing red shorts. Thankfully, he was smiling. I coughed slightly and said, “I mean, yes, um, yes she is beautiful,” I stammered. Marvin put his right hand on my left shoulder, then moved it down over the central part of my chest.
“Relax Ray, this isn’t Earth,” he said.
“How long will the auditor be here? Will his presence effect my ability to get back to Earth?” I asked.
Marvin looked at Jesse, and they made eye contact.
Jesse said to him, “Micah gave Ray a tour of the facility and then we planned to have him speak with you about the plan to return him to Earth. But the auditor arrived and Ray departed with us,” Then Jesse turned to me and said, “Ray, the auditor ordered a full-stop which means all activity inside SRK must cease while the audit takes place. And all of us must leave the building during the audit. Only the on-site official is allowed there with the auditor during the audit.”
“How long does the audit take?” I asked.
“There is no way of knowing,” said Marvin. “The fact that the auditor appeared alone and immediately ordered a full-stop means he’s probably looking for something specific. Understandably, he didn’t tell me what it was, but usually that means the audit will be targeted and short.”
Marvin took two steps backwards to his left and said, “Ray, I want you to meet my daughter, Ellen.” If I hadn’t seen Alexandra in the kitchen I would’ve thought she was in the hovering chair platform Ellen was seated in. Ellen wore a white linen top with green accented embroidery, and there was a dark green strapless bikini bottom that covered her crotch. She was holding Grace in her arms.
Ellen began speak to me in English, “It’s true, what they said. I thought it possible this all was a ruse in an effort to have me visit here again. But I can see for myself that you’re human, and a Blue. Come closer to me.”
She hovered in her chair so that we were at eye-level. She reached out with her right hand and put it on the front of my left shoulder. Then she moved it over the center of my chest.
“Lucy told me about your daughter Ruby. I’m sorry that you’ve endured this loss Ray. I’m sorry that all of humanity and all of the Blues have endured so much pain and anguish through all of your Earthly years. That isn’t what we ever intended your existence to become. Nevertheless, I’m happy that you’ve crossed through and can be with us.”
“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you Ellen.”
“Mama!” screamed Grace as she caught sight of Lucy in the background.
Lucy walked over to her, her heels clicking on the hardwood floors as she did so.
“There’s Mama’s baby!” she exclaimed.
Grace smiled as Lucy picked her up off Ellen’s lap and held her close, giving her face small kisses and whispering into the child’s ear. Alexandra had followed Lucy into the room and as Lucy and Grace turned away, Alexandra approached Ellen. I stepped out of her way and she stood in my place.
Alexandra said, “Hello my daughter. It’s been too long. Welcome home.”
Ellen smiled and replied, “Hello mother, it’s good to be here with you again.”
CHAPTER 17
Grand Buildings And Jabbering Prayers
Alexandra reached forward and embraced Ellen, and Ellen wrapped her arms around her mother. They embraced tightly for several seconds. When they parted, the glow in their eyes almost vanished as tears were welled within them. Slowly, the glow in their eyes returned.
As Alexandra backed away, Grace called out, “Mimah!”.
Without a word Lucy handed Grace directly to Alexandra.
“Yes Mimah is here, hello my baby,” Alexandra said to her.
Lucy looked at Jesse and Bernard, and said, “Ah, I think Mimah is probably done with preparing this feast so why don’t you two join me to finish up?” she said.
Jesse and Bernard followed Lucy to the kitchen area. Alexandra played with Grace, which mostly consisted of Alexandra sitting on the floor at one end of the room and Grace running the length of the room and jumping into Alexandra’s arms, toppling them both and causing much giggling and laughter.
The rest of us seated ourselves at the table, in a similar arrangement as occurred in the conference room days earlier. Marvin sat at the head of the table. Micah directed me to sit at the opposite head place setting, with her seated directly to my left. The highchair for Grace was placed to the left of Marvin, and Ellen hovered her chair to the open space next to the high chair. Lucy, Bernard, and Jesse carried multiple plates of food and returned to the kitchen for more.
I turned to Micah and said to her, “I’m surprised you don’t have servants here in such a setting to perform this menial work.”
Marvin heard me and responded, “Ray, we have no need of servants. We’re not royalty. Despite the Earthly talk of kingdoms, there are no kingdoms here.”
Lucy took her seat on Ellen’s left, and Bernard sat to Lucy’s left, nearest to me. Jesse sat to Micah’s left. Alexandra carried Grace and placed her in the high chair, then walked behind Marvin to take her seat to the right of him.
“Well, some of us were royalty at one time and some of us do miss having servants to perform menial work,” huffed Alexandra.
Jesse cleared his throat, “Oh, nice father, thank you for that,” he said.
Lucy interjected, “I suggest we serve this feast first before taking that familiar trip down memory lane again. Ray, Micah prepared food for you specific to your time period. Your plate contains Duck a l’Orange, with scalloped potatoes covered in cheese sauce, and green beans buttered with shaved almonds.”
“You cooked a duck? Where did you get a duck? Did you cook one of my animals for him and call it a duck?” asked Ellen.
Lucy turned to Ellen and whispered to her, “No of course not. It’s not even animal meat. Shhh.”
“It’s all right. I know it’s not a duck, or any other animal. But thank you, Micah, it looks delicious,” I said, as I smiled at her.
“In honor of Ray, we should follow the Earth custom and have a toast before the meal,” said Jesse.
“A toast? What is that?” asked Marvin.
“You’ll see father. Everyone raise your drinking glasses please,” he said, and everyone did so.
“Ray the Blue Vit, my brother from Earth, you have returned to Ulnar in a most unexpected manner. We share in this feast to honor you as a representative of the Blues and of humans on Earth. We’re grateful to have you with us on this day,” he said.
We all clinked our glasses together except for Marvin, who sat with his glass raised in front of him. Alexandra clinked her glass to his.
“What do we do now?” asked Marvin.
“We drink from the glass, my love,” said Alexandra.
I began eating the meal and as with the rest of the food Micah prepared, it wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible. I started to feel comfortable in everyone’s presence. Compared to humans, all of them truly were gods, but welcoming me with their kindness, friendship, and patience, they didn’t seem to be gods. I’m not sure why I offered an opinion to begin the conversation. It was probably as a result of the comfort I was feeling. I wasn’t expecting the reply I received from Marvin to what I thought was a rather innocuous comment.
All I said was, “If humans knew the entire truth about you all and what you’ve done for us, I think they’d worship you even more than they already do.”
Marvin dropped his eating utensil on his plate then sipped from his glass.
He put the glass down and said, “We never asked for anyone to worship us. In fact, it offends me that we’re worshiped at all, or that anything on Earth is done in my name, or Jesse’s name, or anyone else’s name on this team. Hiding Vits, inventing fake Vits, visits to Earth, and a direct portal. You’re here and you’re not supposed to be. We have so much deception occurring that soon we won’t be able to keep track of it all. We want the Blues to live their lives on Earth with as much happiness as we can possibly give them. Thanks to the Council, we were backed into a corner and forced to leverage religion in an effort to save as many Vits as we could. Even then, it wasn’t enough and we’re running this simulation at great risk of a complete collapse. Cycle after cycle. When does this end, and how? Not in favor of the Vits, I fear.
“We never wanted Vits or humans to worship us. It’s not about worship. It’s not about temples and over-built and expensive churches. It’s not about words I never said that are attributed to me, written by humans and used against other humans in judgment, or worse. And it’s not about currency or money. I spend little of my time directly observing Earth or what occurs there. Most days I don’t even know what cycle we’re in. But the little I have seen and know of religion disgusts me. I don’t want human worship. I don’t want the Vits to worship me either. I don’t want humans to use me, or who they think I am, against each other. I regret ever using religion to help the Vits and I wish we could have avoided it altogether. If there is ever a Fourth Iteration that we’re entrusted with, I assure you that religion won’t be something we participate in.”
All of us at the table sat silent and motionless, hanging on Marvin’s every word.
Marvin continued, “I’ve seen humans worship. They sit and kneel and pray in their churches for an hour a week, or or at appointed times of the day, and do what? Nothing. They do nothing. You probably did nothing, didn’t you? They didn’t listen to Jesse’s message. Instead of worshiping in their grand buildings and jabbering prayers we don’t receive, and reading text over and over and over and over again, about what never happened and what I never said, they ought to be out helping the poor and the sick, and caring for one another. That can be their worship. Forget the churches and the prayers. The message was about love, kindness, helping others, not worship.”
