The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (26 page)

“I would like to reiterate
my argument,” he began. “I would like to retract my objection. It
is a
concern
. I
am deeply concerned about the safety of this province, edha
Mirades, as it is my duty to be so.”

“As are we all, General,”
Nandahya said. “As are the Mendaihu Elders. The Mendaihu Gharra are
protectors of Earth, in the literal sense. Even instances where
they must protect us from
ourselves
. It is their duty to
remember our spiritual history, so they can protect and teach us in
the future.”

“Like a never-ending cycle,” Anton said
offhandedly. He hadn't meant to say it aloud, and immediately
regretted it when Nandahya scowled at him. She composed herself
quickly and turned back to General Phillips.

“The Governor has a point,”
he said, finding the upper hand. “This cycle of seasons has
continued since the First Meraladian Landing nearly two hundred
years ago. But that would also mean that the first Gharra-related
season of Embodiment too place the year
before
the Landing, would it
not?”

“It certainly would,” Avador Kariktasi said,
and stood up. He was in his early sixties, had a bit of a paunch on
him, but otherwise looked in perfect health. He was a very large
man, nearly as tall as Anton at close to seven feet. General
Phillips cowered ever so slightly in his presence.

Unlike Mancka, he was not
soft-spoken. His voice carried clearly across the room so even
Jack, still sulking on a couch at the far end of the room, could
not ignore him. “As a sehndayen-ne, part of my teaching is in the
history of the Mendaihu and the Shenaihu, and how they played a
part in the Meraladian Landing,” he explained. “It is true an
Embodiment did take place about a year before Landing. Of course,
Meraladian timekeeping is slightly different than that of Earth's,
so I can only say that it would have taken place roughly as
predicted. Unfortunately for us and for the rest of the world, the
reigning Dahné on Meraladh back then, and all his successors, have
never officially released the events that took place on
Meraladh
and
Mannaka at that time.

“I shall not hazard any guesses as to what
happened. Both worlds survived as we can obviously see, and have
not encountered another Embodiment since. Apart from that first
Season, it seems to be a purely Gharné event.

“And so, General Phillips
and Governor Rieflin, I will concede that it has been a cycle,
sometimes a violent one, and one that we have been unable to fix on
our own. It is not a political uprising. And it is not a social
breakdown. It is
history
. It is fueled by spiritual
memory, we know that much. Who among us do not wonder about our
origins? The Gharné from Mannaka and Meraladh; the Mannaki and
Meraladhza from Trisanda. And the Trisandi? Where did they come
from? Were they the originating species? We don't know. Perhaps the
answer is still
there
, but most of us do not yet have the ability travel such
distances.

“I understand your new
concern. Yes, there
are
those who can Lightwalk to Trisanda and back on
their own, without assistance. They are the strongest of Mendaihu
and Shenaihu here on Gharra. All Mendaihu Elders and Shenaihu
nuhm’ndah can travel there at will, as can the One of All Sacred.
They have visited countless times, trying to find that answer, the
one we are all looking for. And there we will find the source of
these seasons of embodiment.”

Avador turned to Nandahya and Anton and
nodded solemnly. “If the Mendaihu Elders advise no military
interference, you have my blessing to follow their word.”

Nandahya bowed in return. “Sa’im taftika,
edha Kariktasi. We appreciate your support.”

Avador flashed a quick
smile in response. He sat down quietly, scanning the rest of the
room as he did. There was an unnatural quietness hanging over
everyone, a discomfort one could only describe as
facing reality
.

“There is little choice,”
Nandahya said, breaking the silence. “I wish most of you could
understand and grasp these spiritual memories embedded in all
Meraladians. You will in time, but right now, so very few Gharné
Mendaihu fully understand it. I can’t rightfully say it's like
instinct, as it gives the elitist impression that
only
Meraladians and
Mendaihu have this spiritual link.
Everyone
on this planet has a
spiritual link to everybody and everything else, not only on Earth
but in the rest of the Universes. That is why we need the One of
All Sacred; she possesses that link. She sees it, senses it,
uses
it the best she can
while looking out over all of us.

“I apologize this confuses
you, but I speak the only truth I know. The One of All Sacred
is
real
. The
Mendaihu are
real
. The assaults by the Shenaihu nuhm'ndah rebels are
most
definitely
real! I defy any of
you to say that the events of late September did not happen the way
they did. We must assume that the coming month will indeed be
dark.”

Again, General Phillips stood up. His
demeanor was subdued this time, almost reverential towards her. He
bowed slightly before speaking, and kept his eyes from making
direct contact with hers. “I must interject here, emha Mirades, and
ask that we at least create a military plan when —
if
— the
time comes to warrant it. I understand that every previous
Embodiment season has been unique; some involved battles that
nearly decimated the city, while others amounted to little more
than a few street fights. That is the wonder of this event, emha.
We cannot predict any of it until it is too late.”

Nandahya responded to the General's new
approach with equal warmth. “The Governor and I have already taken
this into consideration.”

“Thank you, edha Mirades,” he said, but not
without hesitation. He'd wanted to add to that and thought better
of it, and sat down.

“Is there something else?” Anton asked.

The General leaned forward again and faced
Anton, but did not rise again. Nor did he avert his eyes, like he
had with Nandahya. Anton didn't always get along with General
Phillips, and he rarely expected any subservience him. He leaned
forward himself and waved the man on.

“Sir, if I may, I simply must bring up the
subject of the communications snafu we had near the end of the
Blessed Event,” he said. Anton smirked openly; he was surprised the
man hadn’t brought it up earlier. “In retrospect, no harm was done,
and as it turns out the Special Forces were only needed for
security and traffic. Regardless, it still disturbs me that we were
hacked so easily. What if it really had been a provincial
emergency? The fact that some kid was able to breach our firewalls,
tell
you
what to do and make you order us not to do anything
—”

“He didn't order me at all,” Anton
interrupted with just enough calm to make him listen. “It was a
mutual decision between emha Mirades and myself. There was no
coercion from the man in question, only concern.”

“…sir,” he said.

“And for the record, the man in question
happens to be a part of Vigil.”

Phillips peered at him. “Are you sure you
want to admit that for the record, sir?”

“Yes, I do,” Anton said. “And emha Mirades
concurs. Let’s be brutally honest here. For all the chaos Vigil may
have caused the corporate world over the years, in the end their
cause, much like the Mendaihu Elders, was for a greater good. I
won't bore you with examples, General, as they are easily found
anywhere. Except for this — this young man who tied up commlinks
around the city during the tensest moments in my governing career
was the one who saved our asses that day. I'm sure you've read the
briefing on alternate scenarios of that afternoon, had we gone
ahead and stopped the rituals taking place at the warehouse.”

“Mother Nature prevails,” the General
sneered.

“Perhaps so. But he was right.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Will that be all?”

General Phillips exhaled. “Yes, sir, that is
all. Thank you.”

Anton could not hide his grin. “You're
welcome, General. I appreciate your eagerness in this
discussion.”

“Shirai?”

“Yes, Governor Rieflin,” the young bodiless
female voice called out. “How may I help you, sir?”

Anton glanced at Nandahya and flashed a smug
grin at her. She chose to ignore it and shooed him away. Stifling a
laugh, he turned back to the Mirades Tower AI he’d just paged.
“High audio and visual security in this room, Shirai. Councillor
Mirades and I will be discussing sensitive matters. Two private
recordings for Nandahya and myself for later use, if you
please?”

“Yes, Governor,” she said. “Private recording
commencing.”

“Thank you.”

“Honestly, Anton...” Nandahya huffed. “You
didn't need to rub it in his face like that.”

“Yes I did, and you know it,” he said. “I had
to put General Phillips in his place. The man has always been
trigger happy. Granted, he's the best at what he does and I value
him because of that, but wars aren't fought with heroes and
villains anymore. The Special Forces Unit should know that by now.
Especially now.”

Nandahya dropped down onto one of his couches
and sighed. “I know that, Anton. And I agree with you, don’t get me
wrong. The problem with our Units is that they're still trained in
keeping the peace through presence or force. That may work in some
situations, but most definitely not in spiritual matters.”

Anton nodded. “So you think the ARU should
remain the primary security unit during this time?”

“They’re the only ones who know what’s really
going on, yes,” she said. “General Phillips does have a point,
though. It’s much better for us to have a backup plan than no plan
at all.”

Anton crossed his arms and leaned back in his
chair, studying her. “What do you suggest, then? I've been trying
to think of a better way to run this operation since our talk with
Vigil, and I still don't have any good answers.”

She smiled and raised an eyebrow at him.
“Don't have any, or don't have any that make sense?”

“Both,” he said. “How does one convey to the
masses that we've entered into a new spiritual renaissance without
sounding like a lunatic? We've kept a strict line between church
and state since the first Meraladians landed. I can't just go out
there and start preaching the Word of the One. Nor can I just
pretend that she doesn't exist. And now that she's here in the
flesh, how do I show alliance without showing allegiance?”

“Tread slowly and at your own pace, not at
anyone else’s,” Nandahya warned. “There are those who will question
why you aren’t following the Will of the One, and there will be
those who will question why you are.”

“Either way I'll be pissing someone off,” he
said. “I play both sides, run the provinces like I always have, it
makes things like this — like our meeting today — that much more
jarring. I'm sure half the PGC thought I'd lost all my power to
you.”

“Far from it, Anton. We just have different
priorities. I just happen to have more of a grasp on the Blessed
Event, being Meraladian
and
Mendaihu. You understand it from
a sociopolitical standpoint. I understand it from a sociospiritual
one.”

“Is that even a word?” he grinned.

“I don’t see why not,” she said with a smile.
“But still — I picked up on how it affected the spirit of everyone
in the Sprawl and beyond, Anton. I see a spiritual alliance forming
out there, where everything is interconnected. What affects one
person could easily affect everyone else.
That
is what I'm
afraid of. One bad call and another pocket of dissension could pop
up. I know this is thinking in extremes, but I'm afraid that one
day another rebel group like the Shenaihu nuhm'ndah will pop up
because of some mistake I've made.”

“I doubt it'll ever get that far,” Anton
said. “But I wouldn’t rule it out either. That's the school of
thought I've always followed. Keep your options open just enough to
know which ones need to be closed.”

Nandahya looked at him, worried. “Spoken like
you've already made plans, Anton. Something you wish to tell
me?”

“Just an escape option,” he said.

She pushed herself forward in the chair.
“From what?”

“From all sides,” he said. “Yes, I know it
sounds like a pathetic attempt to destroy the path as I go, but it
isn't. Vigil actually inspired this plan. I'm expecting the
Mendaihu Elders to call, and the Embodiment season will commence.
And there's been rumors that this one is going to be one hell of a
war. And if these rumors are true, then the Sentinels and the
Special Forces, even the ARU aren't going to be of much help. You
do agree on this point, don't you?”

Skeptical, Nandahya nodded slowly. “Go on,”
she said.

“As a last resort, I plan to unplug the
Edwin-Akandia.”

“Pashyo, Anton!” she gasped. “How could that
possibly help?”

“Balance,” he continued. “If it escalates,
ordering Phillips not to advance won't be enough. There will be
pockets of dissension, and they'll do whatever they can to move the
cavalry forward. This would include hacking into Tigua Space
Station to play around with the EAP. Rebel groups could easily go
in there, find all their enemies, and kill them all in one go.”

“That's a bit extreme,” Nandahya countered.
“Do you expect anyone to have the ability to do that?”