Intentionality (9 page)

“Don't panic Sis, Skye just wants me to do her hair and then I can make it back in time for yours. That way we get more time together. I haven't sent an envelope, are you sure it's got my writing on it?”

No, I wasn't sure, because I had assumed. Now looking at the front, it is plainly obvious that it isn't my sister's writing. On closer inspection, it isn't a letter at all. The package is lumpy, almost box shaped. As I am absolutely certain that cameras survey our every move in the corridors (because I can hear the buzz of the motors as they shift position), I shall open my mystery package back at in the safe confines of the living unit. I am supposed to be going there anyway and as we are unscheduled today because of the preparations, the cameras are more likely to be set up to monitor us very closely. We are now like gold bullion ready to be transported. They will take no chances with our safety, just in case one of us has inherited the memory of a great invention, lost in the Evo-shift. Or better still a new skill yet to be available for the advancement of Intentionality. We are after all ‘the seedlings of hope' or as the gardener put it ‘buds ready to bloom.'

I have now torn open the package. I am sitting agog. I have in my hand two perfectly made anklets. They carry the design I have ordered for Lily, except I haven't even seen that yet. The design has been altered slightly; three orchids are entwined using rose, yellow and white gold. Along the clasp are the initials M, L and W.

Willem!

How does he get to know these things? He has a finger in every pie down here. I am too enchanted for fury at the invasion of my privacy. He is after all one of us. He hears our thoughts and even though he is not a relative, can't be a relative, not even by chance; he is connected to us. I understand this gift; it is a reason to remember him, to try to communicate once the distance has increased. I open my barrier and send a thought that can be translated by both Lily and Willem in different ways without Lily becoming worried.

“I loved the entwined orchids from the botanical gardens. That design was very thoughtful.”

Then there was silence.

There are two anklets, one I presume for Lily and the other for myself. The gardener suggested that I read the note carefully. There is no note, just my name on the front, and a franking stamp in the right hand corner to make it valid. We aren't allowed to open mail without that stamp, as it represents a certain checking procedure. Usually it even shows the date and time it was checked but the Monos have got it uncharacteristically wrong today.

7th October 15:00.

That can't be correct. It is the 6th of October.

I awake to dim light, the sort of fanned, flat light that escapes through a slight gap in a door. This light is moving, scanning. It emanates from the outer ring of my porthole. I can see a mass of gliding bubbles each following in a well-behaved line, released into the ocean from the depths below. A sub has docked in the dead of the night. Someone on board wants to remain either protected or aloof. It can only be Natura chaperoned by the Grand Acers. We are twenty-four hours away from the Ascension test and following harvest celebrations. I have heard that she travels badly, needing to prepare in the Acer sector before socialising.

It is the beginning of the end for my sister and I. Lily is still sleeping incredibly peacefully. She looks calm and confident. She began to ready herself last night at the ball. The excitement on her face was heart-warming as she breathed in every experience and she attempted to inscribe the event into her memory. She is incredibly intelligent, extremely well-suited to her Evo-gene. She loves to ponder and reflect. She questions and explores so easily in her mind, because it is free. My mind shall be free one day.

She uses her thoughts and understanding to explain things to those of us who are less gifted, in a humorous and composed style. Intentionality will immediately assess her as a value. I am certain that she will be more than capable of unlocking the hidden secrets of the past. My only concern is that she is sensitive, I worry that her mind thrives the way it does because she is protected so much by being part of a group and in particular, she, more than anyone else needed the support of a family unit. I am her family; we are a team. Perhaps the possibility of separation has hardened her. Maybe even focussed her potential, prepared her for the reality of the next stage in her life. I was so relieved to see her carefree dancing last night and that the girly giggle which represents so much of her inner thoughts has returned.

The ball was so very special, an extravaganza of inventive spirits and playful anticipation. It perfectly matched our needs. Lily was continually amazed by the food. To maintain the illusion theme, we had planned for it to look like one thing, yet taste like another. The cakes that were iced with a subtle shade of orange in fact carried the flavour of chocolate. Those that were covered in melted chocolate tasted minty and so on. To spice up the three experiences we planned to evoke other responses too, some of the chocolate delicacies tasted of cheese or were exceptionally spicy, nothing to make people ill, or to dampen the magic, just enough to make them feel like they were part of a game. We over-indulged just in the name of research!

The prize entertainment of course was the researched and extensively practised magic show. Each Seeder had been asked to prepare a trick for the entertainment section of the evening. This old world traditional show-time was scheduled to be somewhere in between the food tasting and the dancing, but such was our excitement to show off our new skills in the realm of magic, that many tricks were conveniently married with the food spectacle. Skye opened the proceedings by skilfully removing the tablecloth from our heavily laden table without first taking off the contents. Glass vases vibrated and gleaming cutlery chimed musically together on its short journey towards the edge, but nothing escaped over the precipice onto the floor below.

Astonishing, if not a little risky, but then that's Skye all over.

‘The magician challenge' was of course a huge temptation for Lily and me to take advantage of our twin talent. No one has ever known what we can do. Our twin communication has always been completely hidden and well formed. So we practised one of the oldest tricks in the magic instruction manual. A simple card technique that should be focussed on a trick of the eye and sleight of hand, however using our Evo-skill made it completely foolproof. I was chosen to be the magician ‘Magic Mae' and Lily was the beautiful assistant. I offered a random Seeder a fanned out set of cards, she was invited to choose one pristine card, we chose in rehearsals not to mark the cards in any way as was suggested, this of course enhanced the mirage impossibility. The Seeder was instructed to memorise the card and replace it back into the fan. She was also ordered to be very mindful as to where its new position was going to be (to place it in a different position to the one it was nestled in previously). Of course Lily had seen the card and had communicated its name to me even before it was back in the fan. This meant that I didn't even need to be near the Seeder at all. After a few initial perfectly staged attempts, I became so completely sure of our communication that I left the script and on more than one occasion, even left the table to select another tasty treat from the chocolate mountain. On my return, I just needed to act out a little bit of extreme mind searching before revealing the name of the card. Nothing could have been easier, but the crowd sat in raptures for almost an hour trying to work out how my 100% record was prevailing.

To conclude the evening Summer called us all into the room of mirrors. She had planned for this from the beginning, long swathes of rich gold fabric embellished with glass beads dropped from the centre piece in the ceiling, creating a secluded cocoon. Huge, square, luxurious seat pads scattered the floor, floating candles had been arranged in huge mirrored bowls and beautiful music began calming the atmosphere, wrapping us in love and security. It was in this mirrored Aladdin's cave that we were to pass on our gifts to each other. These are not the ornate and somewhat ceremonial harvest gifts. These gifts are the real Seeder tradition. We of course know to do this because we hear about each harvest and the preceding farewells. Each Seeder creates a simple friendship band, using only the embroidery silks to hand from the sewing boxes in our life studies classroom. It is a rule that we choose three colours. One thread must be blue to represent The Nest and its underwater location. The other predefined colour must be golden to represent our destination, the ‘golden' city of Intentionality! The last colour must best reflect the personality of our chosen recipient. The band is then wrapped and carefully labelled with a short explanation.

We opened our humble and meaningful gifts simultaneously in the sanctuary of the cocoon. There then followed an eerie silence. One I am sure of deep reflection, whilst we took it in turns to tie the bands to the wrists of our friends. We are now joined in allegiance with one goal; we will ascend. We will aspire to be supreme contributors to our new city, for we owe it to the Acers for every selfless luxury they have bestowed upon us, while we have been growing up.

I am looking at mine now. The note is extremely well written and quite thought provoking. I seem to have a completely different opinion of myself looking from within to the Seeder who clearly just sees the façade.

My personal colour is a vibrant orange. This, the note reasons, is to stand for my unusual passage through the programme. I apparently stand out from the crowd, I seem strong but conflicted. In the way that orange is a mixture of two other very vibrant colours fighting for supremacy.

Lily is white, pure and uncompromised. I suppose her white lessens the glow of my orange to more of an ‘easy on the eye' pastel shade! That's how I have remained camouflaged all of these years. I thought I was at a disadvantage because of my brain buzz, when all along it gave others the impression of inner strength!

Now it's over, we are one step closer to our goal. The excitement as we left the recreation section was overwhelming. I wouldn't be surprised if many of my friends were unable to sleep last night. They too will have spotted the secret boarding of Natura. There is a distinct possibility that Skye is stalking her right now! I don't suppose Natura will be entering The Nest unannounced, like The Captain however. I should expect she demands full ‘First Class' treatment with the Grand Acers bowing and throwing rose petals at her feet, like the royals before the Evo-shift.

This morning, Lily and I intend to walk the full length of The Nest. We want to see it all, every sparkling corridor, every travelator. We intend to stare through each porthole and sit in our favourite areas, reliving our time here; the Edu Pod, the recreation sector, Deck Zero and finally of course we shall dine in peace inside the botanical gardens.

The morning disappeared at the expected speed, why are precious days on a different timing system? Is it that way in Intentionality I wonder, or could it be that the Grand Acers are covertly adjusting the time continuum?

Three o'clock is almost upon us. I worked out the mistake on the envelope. I think it is a secret spy communication from Willem. Why he needs to do this when he can talk to us from anywhere in The Nest is beyond me, but I have explained to Lily and she has accompanied me back to the botanical gardens, as this is depicted on the stamp next to the franking.

We are sitting in plain sight amongst the long grasses that spray out from the sides of the vegetable plot. We are near enough to the shed to view movement, but covered enough to hide from the head gardener. It's all very exciting! Like being in our own film for a moment.

“Mae, I am behind you, but I am not alone. Don't be shocked when you turn around,” communicated Willem.

“Lily, did you hear Willem?”

“Yes I certainly did and now I have goose bumps. I'm not sure whether it is excitement or fear.”

We held hands as we turned our necks slowly to see the view behind us. We could just see the outline of Willem standing tall behind the grasses. Lily began to stand, the sort of slow rise of a person in shock, head moving in a fixed stare but body slow to respond. I think it was the sudden realisation that the near drowning was not a figure of her imagination, because clearly standing in front of her was the knight in shining armour. Next to Willem, stood the comforting silhouette of the head gardener and next to him was a withered looking old man. He was being held up by Willem and looked like he had made a monumental effort to remove himself from his sick bed to be here.

“Hello, lovely to meet you Sir. Can we get you a chair?” I asked quite loudly and deliberately slowly so that the old gentleman could hear me.

“You don't have to shout my dear. My ears may have given up but there's nothing wrong with the communication receptors in my brain yet,” communicated the old man.

I physically jumped, not just the fictional jump that authors write about in scary situations. Lily and I both reacted at the same time and in the same manner. First a swift jump backwards and then my heart thumped so hard in my chest that it hurt. This was closely followed by a tingling sensation along my limbs and into my fingers. I literally lost any capability for rational thought, in exactly the same way that I had done previously, when Willem rose out of the air hole those few weeks ago.

The old man had spoken in my head. Of that I was completely certain, but how and why this secret had been hidden from us all this time was of course still a mystery.

“Sir, would you mind if we spoke out loud, as you can imagine my sister and I are quite overwhelmed at the moment,” I communicated politely.

It was Willem that broke the gaping chasm of silence.

“I need to introduce you to my family. You know my father, he has been the head gardener here while you have been growing up and this is my grandfather. He was in charge of this beautiful oasis during its infancy,” explained Willem.

Yes that's all very nice, but why are they here this afternoon of all times and how is that man able to talk in my head, when Willem said that my sister and I were the only ones?

“We think that we carry the same Evo-gene as you and Lily. It's weaker because it hasn't been cultivated, if you will pardon the pun, and it works to our advantage down here to keep it a secret. My family just couldn't let you walk out of The Nest tomorrow, never having seen or met you both. You see there is a distinct possibility that we are related. That you both genetically originate from the family my great grandmother may have created after she was taken away from us. If that is a reality it means that she survived the kidnapping. It also means that we are in effect step siblings.”

Lily has slumped to the ground, she is listening I can tell, but she isn't making a sound, no eye contact, nor any visible movements. She has withdrawn into her mind. She will be calculating the facts, weighing up truth with wishful thinking.

“I thought you told me that Lily and I were the only ones that you had been able to communicate with,” I asked accusingly.

“That's true though Mae, no other Seeder has ever been able to hear me. I was as shocked as you because I thought my family gene was unique. As I said we keep our quirk a secret, you of all people can relate to that,” he retorted.

“Children we must not waste time with the small inaccuracies of our smoke screen. Willem we are here to ask Mae and Lily for their help, a little family favour!”

That was the voice I knew well, the calm and confident words of the head gardener, whose name I had never been able to ask but whose loyalty and kindness was never in doubt. No wonder he was always on hand during the bad times to give me the quiet and solitude I needed. He knew exactly what was going on in my head.

“What would you like us to do sir?”

“We have in The Nest, a small but determined group of Mono Elders who are working peacefully towards the day when we are again equal to the Acers. We have outstanding physical skills and knowledge to impart. Many of the techniques mastered after the Evo-shift are known only in the Mono community. Intentionality would be rendered completely dormant if this knowledge were to be withheld.

“We choose to continue working because it is in our interests to do so. Under the rule of both Eden and Eve we were treated with respect. However, we are becoming more and more disconcerted by the actions of Natura. She has ruled forcefully, she demands more and more hours from each of the Monos for no return in living conditions or privileges, she is a greedy, selfish Head of State, feared not adored.

“A less peaceful group of young Monos have begun to form plans that would entail the synchronised shut down of many services, concluding in the enforced take-over of Intentionality. This is not what the Mono Elders here in The Nest have been working towards, as it is just this sort of enforced take over that split humanity during those first lost years, after the Evo-shift.

“Therefore we need a little bit of hope to give to The Resistance Group, a chink of light emanating from the impenetrable walls of Intentionality. We know that your Evo-gene also carries the ability to translate texts. We also know that there are, hidden in the vaults historical documents explaining the agreement made between the Mono community and Eden. This arrangement of Mono labour and Acer academic endeavour was never supposed to persist after Intentionality was sustaining life effectively. We need you both to look for the documents and relay the contents to us via our mind communication.”

Silence again from Lily, I can also produce only a sound from the clearing of my throat.

“I am so honoured sir. To trust us with such highly dangerous information is inspiring. We have always tried to be respectful towards our environment and to the people who perpetuated its smooth running. We shall of course discuss your request at length. I don't even know at this moment if we are to be stationed anywhere near important documents. However, if we are, as you say family, we should at least make attempts to ensure that your way of life is stable if not enhanced,” replied Lily.

I am shocked, what has come over my sister. She is so calm and measured. I know that she will do anything to protect me, but will that loyalty really stretch to virtual strangers? Especially ones that we are not really supposed to speak to, let alone assist in a monumental life changing shift of power.

“I can only ask that once you are happy and settled in your jobs inside Intentionality, that you open up our channel of mind communication and listen once again to our plans. We don't expect anything from you that would put you in danger. We ask only for proof that the documents exist and that it states an agreed end to the situation. We can then open the lines of negotiation with Natura ourselves,” concluded Willem's father.

Lily and I left the botanical gardens quietly, feeling that a very important part of our lives had suddenly fallen into place, we had a purpose for our hidden talent, and without even discussing it further I knew we were both in agreement. What harm could a little reading and reporting do?