Moho (Part One: Rise of a Symbol) (3 page)

“So you are a genius,” she says seriously, and gives me a look. It's a look that signals heartfelt admiration but also utterly unjustified expectations. “Excellent. You may end up being my tutor.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” I say.

“Here we have another famous person.”

“Yes, I am
very
famous,” I say seriously.

“No, I mean him,” she says
, and points towards an enormous statue. She didn’t understand the joke. My heart sinks. Embarrassing.

I was so taken by her that I didn’t look around us. We are standing at the end of a small path leading from the dunes up to this statue.

“Every single Springstone on Persadia was used to make this statue of Cosmo,” she tells me with a sense of pride. I feel my piece of Victor’s Springstone against my chest and wonder if I should tell her that there are at least two other Springstones but she is so happy staring at Cosmo that I choose not to.

Cosmo poses as one would expect: legs apart, perfectly straight back, looking into the distance. His right fist is pointed towards the ground. His left arm is raised and his left hand is stretched out flat. It reminds me of how he took in the applause at the selection. His facial expression is friendly but there is something arrogant in his face. But it may also be my perception of him. What is undeniably too much is the size of this statue, easily three times his real height.   To sum it up, I just don’t like it. But I must admit that the use of Springstones was a smart move. The warm, golden-white light evokes memories of this
, in retrospect, utterly protective feeling of The Spring.

“Maya?”

“Moho?”

“Why are we here?” I ask to Maya's surprise. “I mean, what’s the purpose of the Islands?”

"Cosmo has united the leading authorities in the fields of body, mind, and essence connectivity right here on the Islands. They are organized in several departments and help you develop your skills in those areas," she explains seriously. "Oh, excuse me, I forgot to list matter connectivity."

Well, that really cleared things up.

She leads us towards a group of odd-looking trees she refers to as 'Springtreegrove'. I was so taken by her that I didn't realize that we aren't alone any more. More and more people are heading into the same direction. When we arrive at the Springtreegrove, I get nervous and realize that coming to the Islands was an astonishingly foolish decision. There are hundreds of people hanging out in the grass, chatting, and laughing. The atmosphere is very relaxed. They seem to belong here. But I? I don't know anything about the body, mind, and… I can't even remember the other kinds of connections… How are those people in the Springtreegrove going to react when they find out I’m a fraud? My stomach turns. And then Maya makes it worse.

“I should go to my Springtree over there. Yours is the last one on the left,” she lets me know. Our
trees are on opposite sites of the grove…

She wants to shake hands and stretches out her arm towards me. That is kind of cute. I shake hers and she loosens her grip. But I don’t want her to leave me and so I pull her closer. She looks at me with innocent wonder in her eyes. “What are you doing?” she asks.

“Connecting,” I answer and press my forehead against hers. I feel her warm skin against mine and her hot breath against my chin. Her eyes are firmly pointed towards the ground. Then, when she lets go off my hand but I don’t let go off hers, she smiles and closes her eyes. I can’t say for how long we 'connect' like this but she eventually pulls back her head. She just stands there for a moment before she turns around and leaves towards her Springtree. I follow her into the grove and make my way through the crowd towards my tree.

The
trees form an almost closed circle except for a small opening towards the peaceful ocean. With the last rays of the day, the sun illuminates the trees. Very extraordinary trees, actually. There are about three dozens of them organized in two rows and each is entirely unique in size, shape, texture and color. My Springtree, for example, has a knobby, orange-red bark and countless yellow branches that seem to grow like weeds out of the thick trunk. I guess it's pretty but the random collection of exotic trees and the fact that I don’t know anyone makes me feel even more out of place. I’m not sure if I can get used to all of this. The grass is simply green, though. So that’s a start.

I observe the people who are standing under the branches of my tree. They must also be new here. And yet they seem to know each other. I want to join one of their small groups but no one seems to notice me and I’d feel better if someone invited me into their conversation. So I end up not talking to anyone and simply observe the large crowd in the Springtreegrove.

I don’t see Aleeya anywhere. Or Cosmo. I'd really like to talk to him. The only person in the crowd I recognize is Maya. She is standing across the grove under a very tall purple tree which has very long, puffy, beige leaves that blow in the wind. A young man is talking to her and they both seem to enjoy their conversation. Maya is happy. She talks a lot but also listens with great interest. He and Maya touch each other’s arms quite often, which makes me uncomfortable.  They appear to be very good, probably old, friends. Still, watching them makes me more and more jealous by the minute.

“Brilliant, isn’t he?” a soft voice next to
me says. I look to my left and see a man with glowing skin and an infectious warm smile. He is beaming with joy and his presence makes me feel better immediately.

“Who?” I ask.

“I’m talking about my tutor, Ravi. You know, the young man you were staring at?” he asks. “The one who is talking to Maya?”

“Oh, okay. So you are new here, too?” I ask.

“Yes. I arrived about a week ago. My name is Aziz, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say and go for a hand shake but, as I should have known, he leans in with his forehead and goes for a hongi. I pull back my hand to save the moment and do the same. It’s s still awkward, though.

“My name is — ,” I begin.

“I know your name. And I’m surprised that you still feel the need to introduce yourself since you are a famous site of the Islands yourself now,” he jokes.

This comment sounds eerily familiar because this is exactly the same phrase Maya said to me earlier.

“I’ve heard that before,” I say.

“Yes, you did. Maya said it to you,” Aziz notes.

“I know but you shouldn't know. We were alone.”

“True again. But Maya’s memory of your conversation is on MNOP.”

Wow. I mean that is just creepy. Everything one sees is accessible to
everyone? Didn’t she feel like that was a private moment? If I had access to MNOP, I would make that memory private. It seems like it meant more to me than to her. I'd tell him but Aziz seems like a very open person who probably wouldn't understand my discomfort with the navee attitude towards privacy.

All of the sudden a tall, white figure squeezes itself between Aziz and I and a rock-solid fist hits my stomach with such force that I sink to the floor, gasping for air. I try to
breathe but my lungs won’t let in much air. When I look up, I see the white figure standing next to Aziz. Both of them look at me with deep concern. The man who punched me is wearing a ridiculous looking white bodysuit that sparkles wherever the sun hits it. His whole body, including feet, hands, neck and hair, is covered by the bodysuit. Only his face and his belly are visible and weirdly enough, he is missing a bellybutton. I'd laugh at this costume but I'm also angry. I feel blood pushing through my neck up into my head. My breaths become deeper and more frequent. Ready to revenge myself, I clench my right fist. I try to get up but my stomach still hurts. I take in a few more breaths but that makes my stomach hurt even more.

“Are you alright, my friend?” Aziz asks and helps me up.

“Of course not. This idiot punched me!” I yell.

“I just bumped into you. Accidentally, of course. Punching you would be the last thing on my mind,” the man claims. And he is playing it well. There is not a hint of sarcasm in his face and yet there is not a genuine bone under his absurd, glossy bodysuit.

The deep urge to beat the crap out of him overcomes me. I can barely restrain myself. My anger pushes my fingernails deeper and deeper into the flesh of my right palm.

“Shut your foul mouth and wipe that vicious grin off your face
, or I’m gonna do it for you!” I shout.

“Good evening, Xerxes. Why don’t you take a walk around the Islands? You may find someone who is in actual need of your service,
” says the soothing voice of a woman behind me. It’s Aleeya. For a short moment, Xerxes stops smiling and I can see the resentment Aleeya’s untimely arrival stirs up in him. Then he switches back to a smile and leaves without giving any one of us another look.

“There is no better form of revenge than success,” Aleeya whispers into my ear before she leaves to take her place in the grass behind Cosmo. He suddenly stands in the opening of the grove to our left,
with the setting sun and the ocean behind him. He knows how to present himself with a maximum of dramatic effect. Then the whole grove sits down. The chatter around us ebbs and the applause starts flowing. He opens up his arms, absorbing every single cheer. Literally. He waits until the crowd is tired of applauding and the very last clap has faded. Then he begins.

“Welcome. Welcome mentors, welcome learners,” he says as if the first greeting was for himself. His eyes wander around the crowd
, or the tree tops above. It’s hard to tell.

“I’m especially proud to welcome my elite, handpicked choice of this cycle’s selectees,” he continues and looks in our direction. I try to make eye contact in the hope that he remembers me and the amount of explaining he has left to do, but he avoids looking into my direction. “Let us shower this extraordinary accomplishment with thunderous applause!” And so they do
, but merely for maybe two seconds.

“Enough!” he shouts before he softens his tense face back into his signature self-indulgent smile. “As part of our long standing inauguration tradition
, all selectees will now take The Vow," he says and turns towards us before he adds, "rise and repeat after me.”

All selectees under the tree around me stand up immediately and so I feel pressured to do the same. Cosmo holds his right hand up flat and lays his left hand on his chest. He waits until we all replicate his posture and then he continues.

“I will keep my needs satisfied and my essence happy at all times. I will use the resulting Essenchi for creation only.”

“I acknowledge The Spring’s authority. Becoming a Creator is the sole reason of my existence.”

“I am aware of my elite standing in naveekind and will share any memories, thoughts or knowledge regarding Cosmo's Islands with fellow Islanders only.”

“I am not human. I understand that both Dark Times were caused by the vindictive nature of humans and I will report any human behavior to the Chastener Association of Persadia.”

When Cosmo finishes this last sentence, he stares right into my eyes. I gasp out of shock and can't take my eyes off him. Then the selectees repeat the sentence like they repeated all the previous ones
, but this time without me.

“The Spring gives light and takes it away.”

“Create!”

The selectees around me are beaming with joy and the crowd cheers but I don’t feel cheery. I feel sick. What exactly have I just vowed to do?

“I will keep my needs satisfied and my essence happy at all times. I will use the resulting Essenchi for creation only.”

Sounds impossible to pull off but generally not a bad thing. And what is Essenchi?

“I acknowledge The Spring’s authority. Becoming a Creator is the sole reason of my existence.”

I guess I’m okay with that. I didn't know that the reason for my existence is to become a Creator. Whatever that means. But at least I have a purpose now.

“I am aware of my elite standing in naveekind and will share any memories, thoughts or knowledge regarding Cosmo's Islands with fellow Islanders only.”

I had assumed that the islands were an exclusive place and I don't even know anyone on Persadia to share stuff with.

“I am not human. I understand that both Dark Times were caused by the vindictive nature of humans and I will report any human behavior to the Chastener Association of Persadia.”

Maya had told me about the reason for The Dark Times and I suppose I cannot have another outburst of anger like before with Xerxes. Silence will be my maxim, I suppose.

“The Spring gives light and takes it away. Create!”

I know that The Spring has given me light but why would it take it away? And that creation is kind of a big deal here seems evident by now.

The crowd is still clapping but when Cosmo clears his throat, the chatter ebbs a second time.

“The light is coming. Rise to pay your respect,” he demands. Every single person stands up straight and stares towards the sky. The sun is now almost gone but it still takes a few moments until I see a golden-white light flying from The Spring towards us. It's astonishing that The Spring is still visible from Cosmo's Islands considering how long we'd travelled.