A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (6 page)

“Precisely,” she said. “Your speech
apparently is not aimed towards the Mendaihu or the Shenaihu at
all. I am sorry, sir, but I must suggest you revise
immediately.”

“Shirai...” He dropped his eyes. “I'm afraid
the CNF won't allow me.”

She pursed her lips and nodded. She did not
need explanation. “Given the situation, I am sure many are already
aware.”

He frowned at her. “What is that supposed to
mean?”

“Sir, with respect, you don't need me to
answer that.”

Anger flared within him, but faded equally
as fast. He stared at her, thinking about her remark. In all
honesty, he was starting to get a good idea as to why this
particular awakening ritual had been performed, taking place on the
Tower as it did. Her reaction only managed to back that up. “Point
taken, Shirai,” he said. “But I refuse to go out and make a speech
to an entire province when I don't have the all the details. Unless
I hear from the ARU, the Embodiment theory stays out. Honestly, I'm
almost certain you’re right, but I can't base fact on mere human
certainty alone.”

That seemed to placate her. “I understand,
sir. As long as you were aware of the situation.”

Unexpectedly, the speech vidmat beeped and
awakened from sleep mode, and a new dialogue frame had opened. Had
he just inadvertently awakened it? He glanced down and watched the
words go by…no, this wasn’t his speech, this was a new document
uploading to his vidmat. He waved at it to minimize the frame and
glared at Shirai.

“What is this?” he asked, surprised more
than angry. He held his pose, frowning at the screen. “You have no
authorization to access private decks and vidmats without
permission.”

“Not for private homespaces or secure
servers, sir. I've linked directly, only to the vidmat before you,
and created a generic document which I have not saved to the
server. I believe you may need this information in the immediate
future, sir. If you choose to save it or discard it, that’s
completely up to you.”

He frowned and reopened the frame, and
scrolled back to the start of the document. He scanned the text,
only to stop at the end of the first paragraph:

We must face this Awakening Ritual head-on.
We should not just focus on who performed it, whether they be
Mendaihu or Shenaihu…nor should we only focus on apprehending them,
for it will do nothing to calm its intended purpose. We must focus
on the true motive behind it. This was a Holy Ritual of Spiritual
Awakening, performed by one of the strongest adepts in the
province, and I have already measured its reach, which is already
well past the initial shockwave. This was a mass awakening on a
global scale, and mirrors the same ritual and aftereffects of
twenty-five years ago. Which can only mean one thing: this ritual
was meant to awaken the Ninth Embodiment of the One of All
Sacred.

Goddess,
he thought, a chill running
down his back. “This is your work?”

“This is evidence, sir,” she said soberly.
“Expect a resurgence.”

Anton was struck dumb for a long moment, his
eyes wandering up to hers, then back down to the vidmat. He let out
a nervous chuckle.
If this is true...!
It was not what he'd
expected at all. The One of All Sacred, awakened again? He couldn’t
believe it. He began scrolling through the pages of Shirai’s
document, gingerly flipping each page as if it were dangerous to
the touch. Shirai was incorruptible as an AI, and her programming
was heavily guarded both physically and electronically, so chances
were extremely high that this information could be thoroughly
confirmed as true. This
was
dangerous information…Anton felt
his stomach drop and forced himself to back away from the vidmat.
He couldn’t read this, at least not until he knew what to do with
it afterwards. He turned back to Shirai, but found no words.

“The Mendaihu and the Shenaihu will act
soon, sir,” Shirai said. “According to what I've just given you,
there’s no reason for them to wait in silence any longer.”

Goddess!
Anton stared at her.
How
the hell would she know?

“I understand that you'll do what you can,
sir.”

“Shirai...” he managed.

“I am sorry, Governor Rieflin. But you had
to know.”

“But —”

“You will understand very soon, sir. Now—I
believe you have an important speech that you have a little under
an hour to prepare for. I will keep in touch with you, sir.”

Shirai blinked out of existence just as
quickly as she had entered. Anton stared blankly at the spot she
had sat in, suddenly terrified.

*

“Ladies and gentlemen,
emha si edha
of the province of Bridgetown and surrounding provinces; members of
the Crimson-Null Foundation, the Bridgetown Metro Police and Fire
Departments and their subdepartments, and members of the press.
Thank you all for coming or connecting.”

Anton stood behind the podium, quickly
wiping a bead of sweat from his brow and nervously scanning the
crowd before him. Shirai’s words still hung on his conscience…he
wanted, so desperately now, to divert from the script in front of
him and speak from his heart, speak the
truth
for once! He'd
reread the speech four times since Shirai left, and it sickened him
each time, knowing he’d have to play by the rules out of fear. Not
exactly
his
fear…but everyone else’s. The CNF counselors had
taken his words, a speech he’d slaved over on his own for six hours
straight until he knew it was perfect and true…and in return they’d
given him yet another lifeless, go-by-the-book piece of talking
point drivel. He sighed quietly, frustrated by his own lack of
spine, knowing there was little else he could do at this moment.
All that was needed was his fatherly gaze upon the crowd and a
knowing look of intelligence for the cameras. He was good at
that…he’d been trained well, and he’d had the practice over the
years. The speech spoke for itself; he knew the pattern by heart.
Introduce yourself, gently bring up the problem, make them
believe it’s not as bad as they think, pad it with promises, and
tell them we’ll keep them updated
, he thought. Nothing but
empty words. His only consolation was that they’d decided not to go
full-on with the fear route, giving him a blockbuster of a speech
that would scare everyone senseless so they’d do the work behind
the scenes in relative peace while the populace stayed paralyzed.
If he’d had his way, though, he would have flat-out refused their
script before even setting foot in this room. That time had passed,
and the community needed an answer. He had to give them something,
even if it wasn’t the full truth.

It’ll be truth enough,
he reminded
himself. He adjusted the lapels of his jacket, looked out over his
audience, and continued.

“Mere hours have passed since the crimson
cloud of an Awakening Ritual surrounded the Mirades Tower. Mere
hours we have spent, questioning, studying it all: who was behind
it and wondering, ‘why the Tower?’ Mere hours, sifting through the
situation for answers. Who could have performed a ritual of such
magnitude? What could their motives have been? Were they even aware
of the consequences behind their ritual?

“Citizens, I will say first that both the
Mendaihu and Shenaihu Elders, and many other spiritual leaders
worldwide, all find this act deplorable, and have graciously
stepped forward to assist in the welfare of anyone who has been
affected, directly or indirectly, by the shockwave created by this
ritual. At the end of the speech, your local networks will run an
interactive list of all leaders and Elders should you need
help.

“We do have a shortlist of suspects right
now, and a course of action is being planned by the Branden Hill
District Headquarters of the Alien Relations Unit at this very
moment. It is our understanding that there are eyewitnesses and
spiritsensers, both Meraladian and human, who have witnessed or
been impacted by the event, and many have come forth to give their
side of the story. We are hoping to have the suspect apprehended
and this case closed by the week's end.”

He paused, taking a breath to calm his
nerves. All this was true, all of it helpful…but it just was not
the real truth!

“As for the shockwave...” he started again,
calm and introspective. “Reports say that the shockwave lost most
of its strength nearly two miles from its epicenter, the Mirades
Tower, according to ARU ground and FireFlighter aerial observation.
Most of the physical damage is condensed in the half-mile radius
around the Tower, where the shockwave was strongest. Many of the
skyscrapers in the immediate area took the brunt of it and because
of this, damages were at a minimum.

“We do not have a concrete number of lives
possibly lost from the night before, though initial reports state
there were no fatalities. It is the lowest in history when compared
to similar spiritual incidents in this city, including the schisms
of twenty-five years ago.

“The souls of Bridgetown were being watched
over by a Supreme Being last night, it seems.”

Anton paused and took another deep breath.
It was a contemplative pause, one he’d mastered so perfectly during
these speeches. He added to it by taking a quick sip from his water
glass. He hated putting on this act…but given the situation, he
didn’t think it would have made any difference. For all the public
knew, this had all been a freak accident.
Well, then,
he
thought.
Let them believe that for now. They’ll find out sooner
or later. They always do.

He took another breath and continued.

“As of now, the Crimson-Null Foundation
takes no active role in the investigation, aside from observation
and assistance when needed. It is certain that Bridgetown is not
under any kind of attack from terrorists, human
or
alien.
All corners of the BMPD, the FireFlighter Department and choice
Mendaihu and Shenaihu agents have taken this case under their wing
to help bring this case to a swift close.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, the end to this
investigation is coming swift and fast. Many of the investigators
involved have eliminated many of the dead ends that had plagued
them over the past six hours. I commend their efforts, and I am
confident that their work will be fruitful within the next
twenty-four hours.”

Anton paused again, eyeing the audience. It
was here that his ghost-editors had ended the speech with something
flowery and consoling, something safe and patriotic to calm the
public’s fears until the next time…with absolutely no mention of
what the Awakening Ritual may have actually been for. Now that he
knew, however, the temptation to tell the public was fierce, but he
understood the consequences that would bring. A tightness knotted
his throat. He dearly wished that Shirai's prediction would be
flat-out wrong, completely off the mark, yet he felt the truth
behind it. It was unexplainable, this instinct he felt; it was a
truth that dared to be wronged. His thoughts couldn't conjure up an
answer to the dare, and his conscience refused to.

Maybe less than twenty-four hours,
he
thought.
I can't keep this hidden.

Sitting near the front, alongside the press
corps, he saw the frail form of Jack Priestley, frowning at him. He
shuddered, hoping no one had noticed. Jack had edited most of
Rieflin’s speech himself, turning it into the sterile piece of crap
that it was. Well, the little man now had the best seat in the
house. He exhaled slowly, and stared straight into the vidcams set
up in the rear of the room. This was the unscripted moment, and he
wasn’t going to let it pass him by. If he was reprimanded
afterwards, to hell with it. His conscience would not let this
pass.

“As an aside…” he started unevenly. He
cleared his throat and started again, editing Shirai’s words in his
head as he went. “…I have also received reports that there are
people gathering at an undisclosed location within the Waterfront
District, for what is being billed as a peaceful demonstration, a
vigil of sorts to pray for and help those affected. Though
permission had not been granted by myself or by my officers, in
light of recent events I have chosen to let the vigil continue, as
I have been given word that no rituals have been planned. A select
number of BMPD officers are already on hand at this location in
case of any emergencies, and will remain there to keep the
peace.

“Lastly…I must mention that I have heard a
Mendaihu practitioner is allegedly behind this ritual. However, I
feel I must remind all of you that the Mendaihu
do not
condone this act. The Honored Mendaihu of Bridgetown completely
understand the ramifications of this ritual, and are already taking
steps to ensure that peace remains in this city and that all who
were affected are taken care of immediately. And as your Provincial
Governor, I do not condone any acts of violence against the
Mendaihu in response, whether you are Gharné or Meraladhza,
Mendaihu or Shenaihu, whether provoked by this recent event or not.
I will
not
condone any violence at all. None! There will not
be bloodshed in my city!

“I will also explain this — the effects of
an awakening ritual are minimal, as one must actively participate
in order for the ritual to cause any change. There are those who
have been affected by the shockwave, specifically those within the
close radius of the Mirades Tower, and with the help of the
Mendaihu, the Shenaihu and other spiritual Elders, they are
all
being cared for. But I will — no, I
must
repeat:
the effects are minimal, and if you feel you are experiencing the
adverse effects, I ask that you seek your nearest Elder as quickly
as possible.

“Until then, I will retain any other
information that comes my way, until it is proven without a doubt
to be true. As your Provincial Governor, I flat-out
refuse
to provide my citizens with false or incomplete information. In the
meantime, I must continue my stance in alignment with the
Crimson-Null Foundation as an observer, and
only
as
observer, until further notice. I trust the BMPD, the FireFlighters
and any other association involved with the investigation, fully
and completely. I will leave all further questions to my
officers.