Known Afterlife (The Provider Trilogy, Volume One) (30 page)

"But the world around you was beautiful," Stalling said. "You cut a wake of love and joy through the world. One could not help but feel better when they were around you. People learned to follow the
ir bliss by your example."

Muzar shook his head and began to laugh. Laughter not heard since they last escaped to their remote spot on top of the ridge looking down upon the lush valley they once called home. It was infectious and together, as if seventeen
again, they laughed until their bellies ached and tears rolled from the corners of their eyes.

"Strange," Muzar said, taking a deep breath fluttered with emotion as he regained, while slightly less rigid, his original composure, "how the perspective of an
other soul can provide a glimpse of your true self when you need it most. For it is you I would have described in such a manner. It was you, the memory of those long nights on Carter's ridge gazing at the stars, solving all the world's problems, which triggered my transformation."

"Your boundless empathy for those less fortunate; your passionate anger at the flagrant injustices in the world; your belief that, if determined enough, one man could make a significant, meaningful difference; your unwavering fait
h that everything happens for a reason, a resolve that only intensified after the murder of your parents. I used it all, the raw material molded together to form my new self, the catalyst for my rebirth."

"Sustained by this tiny spring and the rations I ha
d recently stolen, I lived in this place so long, I lost track of time itself. At first, fear and self-preservation kept me here. As the long hours of darkness mounted, I began to address the voices in my head that dictated my current reality. At first, the fearful child who ran from anything unknown or foreign, then the judgmental influence of adversaries protecting their self-serving perceptions of the world and finally the opinions of respected peers and role models like you. Disconnected from emotion, I listened to the voices, patiently allowing each to exhaust and fade from consciousness. It was then, in the vastness of silence, my desire for change overpowering my fear that I began to visualize a new world in which to live in."

"What if I told you I ca
me here today to ask you to expand your influence beyond Blacadoma?"

"Who are you to say I have not already?" Muzar coyly countered Stalling's open-ended question.
He is still the same Muzar I grew to love, the only person who truly challenged me.
He had counted on Muzar, by this point, not only being aware of the influence he was having on the free world, but also motivated by the knowledge.

"You misunderstood my question. The reality you have imposed onto Blacadoma seeps into the rest of Antium a
s we speak. Large groups dedicated to the Stewards of the Law are cropping up everywhere, not just in Drakarle but also in every province, including Ecifrica. For the first time in over two millennia, policy-altering schisms are being formed within the C.O.S. Everything that was once perceived as untouchable is now up for lively debate."

Muzar nodded with understanding. "It is all the chosen point of intention."

Stalling studied Muzar for several moments, amazed by and drawn toward the contentment exuding from the man, to the point he had to remind himself of the harsh living conditions of this place. On average, once a week, Muzar took the life of another human being. No doubt, a fierce existence but a welcome dilution compared to the average of killing another human everyday experienced during his first two years in the hellhole known as Blacadoma Caverns. Against all odds, he has managed to improve his plight. Despite his perseverance and bountiful faith, he must know deep inside it will all end poorly, and soon. Stalling decided to take a different tact.

"Alterian Enterprises has experienced phenomenal growth since last we spoke," he said in a business like tone.

"That is excellent news," Muzar replied. "I never doubted you would succeed once aligned with a product or service you believed in. So what gift have you bestowed to the world?"

"Well, assuming we continue to maintain the same patterns of the past three years, we will have accomplished nothing short of completely changing how the world communicates
."

"Interesting. So, have you enhanced the wallscreen or telipad? Or did you focus on the infrastructure and improve the grid? That's it, you have finally expanded the grid into the rural, less affluent provinces."

"You are close," Stalling said with a smirk, openly admiring his friend's keen mind despite being a little naive. "While my father made his fortune in real estate—just as his father, grandfather and great grandfather had done—Dad used to always say to me and others close to him: Telecommunications is a safer investment than property. Betting on where people will want to live or recreate, while not a blind guess, is a fickle thing with no guarantees. Man's desire to communicate and share information, now that is something you can take to the bank."

"Sage advice," Muzar replied half heartily. Stalling sensed the other's urgency to return to the life outside the room start to mount.

"Dad backed those words with actions and by the time he and Mom passed, he was a major stakeholder in both General Technology Company and Drakarle Telecom & Cable Corporation. Soon after we finished school—about the time your pro bladeball career started to take off—I became obsessed with learning everything possible about the industry controlled by the duopoly. Learning the technology behind it all was the easy part. It was the getting my arms around political and bureaucratic bullshit surrounding the industry that was the hardest. But once I did, it became painfully apparent that the Church had no intentions of allowing a third party into the game, at least not using the same technology."

"I may be dumb to a lot of things Stalling, but even I could have saved you a lot of time and effort."

"Well, it was not a complete waste of time. Actually, looking back at it, it was time well spent, for if I did not go through the exercise, I may have never imagined the human wireless network."

"Human...wireless? What the hell are you talking about?"

Muzar’s intrigued response pleased Stalling. "As I learned more about the industry I concluded early on, if I were ever able to somehow weasel my way in as a third provider, the capital required to lay cable was too intensive. So I started to research wireless communications. Imagine having all the video and audio features of a telipad, while moving around freely rather than staying fixed in one location. The cable grid would become obsolete.

"This was not an original idea, the technology, at least in concept, had been around for over two decades. To my dismay, I learned, only because my shareh
older status provided access to information others did not, that the incumbents had already received the exclusive rights to develop and maintain future wireless network and supporting equipment. Even worse, they had started the production of both over a decade ago and were simply sitting on the technology. It just wasn't in the interest of either's bottom line to undermine the present and very profitable status quo."

"So I am guessing you found a loophole, something within the rules of the dysfunctional ga
me that got you in." Muzar said, enjoying his recollection of Stalling's persistent intellect.

"I did, but the source of the idea did not come from any preexisting technology. It came from a project I had started five years prior that, originally, I did no
t foresee providing a solution to my commercial endeavors to break into the telecommunications industry. The intention of the project was to provide a deeper insight into how the human mind operates."

"OK, I'll bite, why are you studying the brain?"

"The plasticity of the human brain is inherently designed to evolve. It never stops reconstructing itself from our continual pipeline of experiences to create a predictable memory system. This memory system, or conditioned sequence of patterns, is what I believe each person uses to project his or her personal version of the Universe." Stalling turned from the spring to look at Muzar and gauged if the other was tracking with his attempt to explain his controversial experiment in layman's terms. Muzar met his eye with an intensity he was uncertain how to read. No turning back now, Stalling had thought, full disclosure is the only way. He must make an informed decision on his own.

"To put it in simple terms, each mind writes, produces and listens to its own symphony.
Beautiful, magical mathematical equations created in response to the desire our shared Universe has to observe its own reflection. Diversity amongst all of us is the key to our universal growth. The more each mind awakens to its potential the faster we grow as a whole. Conversely, every detrimental practice imposed on our collective psyche by a culture whose only interest is in its ongoing replication, taints the well of consciousness and prohibits any meaningful growth. Do you understand?"

"I understand S
talling. You have never been content to rely on faith alone, no matter how tangible the accumulated evidence. Your joy of life is found in the elusive balance between the realist in you that requires the quantifiable and the mystic in you that cannot deny the existence of realities beyond human comprehension."

"Fair enough. But you need to take your understanding of who I am one step further and fold in my commitment to stay equally active to both sides; in my unwavering belief that, if aligned with a cause
bigger than myself, my continual activity will yield results for both sides. What I have taken the long road in telling you, is that I have discovered that balance, a way to keep one foot in each dimension. A way to rid ourselves of our suffocating society and usher in a new one built on the foundation of equality and love."

The bromidic tone of his own voice irritated Stalling but he was pleased to see that Muzar's body had relaxed in response to the sermon. "So what exactly are you proposing?" Muzar caut
iously inquired. "Forcibly imposing your views and beliefs on the world? How does that make you any different?"

"It doesn't and that is not my objective. My only desire is create a beacon of hope for all life, a light that cannot be extinguished by the han
ds of man or any other material force."

"I share that desire and have come to believe it can be attained. Maybe not in my lifetime but if I can help spark that light then this lifetime has not been wasted."

"What you have done here over the past four years has sparked that light but I fear it is a light that man can and will extinguish, sooner rather than later."

"How do you know this? Can you see into the future? All that matters is the present now and that which we have control, in how we choose to percei
ve the world around us."

"I do not disagree with you Muzar, it
’s just I cannot find a way to change my perception, given what I know."

"Which is what?"

"That the same government who sentenced you to this place for defending innocent women and children, is determined to prevent your truce with the Ecifricans from ever materializing."

"They are too late, there is too much momentum to stop it from happening."

"They have ascertained the same, which is why they believe there is very little recourse outside of erasing the situation entirely."

"Erasing? How do they intend to do that?"

"Well, according to my latest intel, they had narrowed it down to poisonous gas or sending down armed troops. Most likely, it will be a combination of the two."

"What of the public outcry? Do they not broadcast the on goings of this place to the world? How do they plan on justifying their actions?"

Stalling was surprised but not shocked by Muzar's look of genuine disbelief. "This is what I came here to tell you. The movement you have started is now viewed in very black and white terms. The Church of Salvation, at least the conservative majority in charge, have concluded destroying the fledgling movement now, before it can blossom and bear fruit and consequently they lose all hope of ever stopping its growth, and oppressing the public backlash with the same vigor, is the only option. Believing that in time, with good reason based off precedent set throughout history, your martyrdom will simply fade from consciousness."

Stalling fought the guilt welling inside at forcing his friend to consider such a horrid scenario as he watched Muzar contemplate the outcome of that potential reality.

"So be it," Muzar said with determined resolve sewn into his face. "Nothing has changed; I still only have control over my thoughts and actions. Let what may come, come."

"I came here to present to you an alternative, an option that, in the short-term, can prevent the
wholesale slaughter of the Blacadoma inmates."

"And in the long-term?" Muzar asked, doing little to hide the hope in his eyes.

"We create a world absent of human ignorance. A world where the inherent harmony of quantifiable science and the mysterious, but undeniable, energy called God, never ceases to evolve or influence the positive growth of man's mind, body and soul."

The two turned back to face the spring and allowed the silence of the small cavern to settle over them. Several minutes pas
sed as each mulled over the implications behind their dialogue while enjoying the quite presence of the other