The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (67 page)

Farraway knew better than to take the bait.
“I brought you in that night with the best intentions, Alix. I had
to make both of you aware of what was going to happen, without
actually
telling
you. Do you think you would have believed
me then if I told you that your partner's little sister is a
reincarnated deity? Probably not. But I had to at least set both of
you on the right path.”

“And that's where Kai and Ashan came in, to
make sure we stayed there,” Poe finished.

“I only wish I could tell Caren what I've
just told you, but the truth at this time would devastate her.
Right now, she knows enough. She knows her parents died noble
deaths, preventing Kaalen from attacking anyone else.”

“Understood,” Poe said. “She'll find out on
her own, in time. But one thing, Dylan...”

“Yes?”

“Why Matthew? Why Vigil? What could they
possibly have to do with all of this?”

Dylan laughed at him, clearly amused.
“Pashyo, I thought you’d have figured that out already! Why do you
think I snagged Matthew from that idiot governor’s hands so damn
quickly that night? They're the direct link to Shirai, Poe! They're
the direct link to the Mirades Tower AI!”

Poe winced. “How could she possibly...?”

The Mirades Tower.

Poe's next words died on his lips.

That
had been what he had sensed all
these years. Those sleepless nights, those slow afternoons, when he
stared at the Tower from his living room or kitchen windows,
feeling something ominous emanating from its spire. He
had
sensed something, and it had been Shirai all this time. He'd sensed
her spirit signature, impossible as it felt, impossible as it
sounded. Even now, as he threw a tiny gossamer thread out that way,
he felt her, a presence almost as large and expansive as the Tower
itself, neither friendly nor aggressive. Just there, observing all
and recording it for prosperity in her databanks.

“She's...”

He remembered the conversation he'd had with
Madeleine a few days ago, about her role in the last Season of
Embodiment, when she'd defended the Mirades Tower from a Shenaihu
attack. Madeleine hadn't fully explained that Shirai was not only
sentient but spiritual.

“This is why Rieflin is shutting down the
ESD,” he said. “She’s too vulnerable right now.”

Farraway nodded. “And he did the right thing,
too. She'll be completely severed from the outside world, at least
by landline and satellite. Spiritually is another thing entirely,
but we have that under control.”

“Don't tell me,” Poe said, raising a hand.
“Seriously, I don't want to know. As long as
someone
can get
a hold of her, we're still in the clear.”

“Right.”

Poe pursed his lips and snorted out a
frustrated sigh. “Shit,” he said.

“What?”

“That means I have to head over to the
warehouse.”

Farraway smirked. “Guess you do.” He stood up
and rounded his desk again. Poe was up and standing by the time
they met face to face. He grabbed him by the forearms and smiled.
“Alix Eiyashné, Peace, Love and Light to you, my friend. Strength
and faith. I know you have both in abundance.”

“Maybe too much sometimes,” he said with a
weak laugh. “Thank you, sir.”

“It's about blessed time you showed up,”
Sheila said, leaning back in her chair. “We were getting lonely
without you.”

Poe had stopped in the doorway of Sheila and
Nick's office after he'd left Farraway’s, and now he slowly stepped
in so they could see his full costume. He felt silly showing off
his Elder uniform like this, but he couldn't pass it up, especially
to his closest friends and coworkers. He was not just showing off
his new Mendaihu rank; he was showing them that he was still an ARU
agent. He wasn't going to forget the people he cared for the
most.

“Pashyo,” Nick said with a smirk. “Edha Fesh
Piann here is in the big leagues now.”

“Don't make me displace you,” Poe teased. “I
can do it, you know.”

Nick's smile grew. “Last I knew, I could
hitch a ride.” He laid a hand on Poe's shoulder and gripped it
tight. “Good to see you again, Alec. We were worried sick about
you.”

“I've returned,” Poe said, and gave them a
deep bow. “Elder Alix Eiyashné, at your service.”

“Hey,” he heard from the corner of the room.
Christine Gorecki was leaning up against the wall, nodding in deep
appreciation. “You did good, Alix. You did
damn
good. I’m
proud of you.”

“I haven't done anything yet,” he said, and
walked up to her. They fell into a close embrace, the same hug they
shared with each other as close friends for life, as two people
whose minds and souls trusted each other completely. He leaned over
and kissed her on the forehead.

“Once again, I thank you,” he said softly.
“You've gone above and beyond when it wasn't your duty or your
calling to.”

Christine blushed. “Hey, you know me.” She
looked up at him, eyebrow cocked. “You've missed a hell of a lot
over the last day and a half.”

“So I've heard,” he said, sensing the mood of
the room cooling off. He let go of her and leaned up against Nick's
desk, between Nick and Christine. “Shenaihu are gathering in South
City, rumors going around that they're about to have their own
Awakening ritual.”

“Not that they need it,” Sheila said. “They
already have Saisshalé.”

Poe nodded gravely. “But they don't have the
organization. At least not in the same context. They have their own
community, but they haven't congregated in one place. Their
community is more of a spiritual link.”

“A hive mind?” Nick offered.

“No,” Poe shook his head. “A psychic link.
Meraladians remember the spirit signature of a person they've met
only once.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You're familiar with a sehna lumia?”

“You mean where Denni’s been going over the
past few weeks,” Sheila said.

“Exactly,” he nodded. “Every being with a
spirit has access to his, her, or its own sehna lumia. All we need
to do is learn how to access it.”

“And the Shenaihu?”

Poe shifted his stance and exhaled. “I didn't
realize it until recently, but what the Mendaihu have been going
through the last few weeks is much the same thing, only in a
different context. They’re gathering physically at the warehouse.
The Shenaihu on the other hand are remembering their spiritual link
and their connections with others simply by scanning for other
Shenaihu. Once they find one, the connection 'turns on' another
piece of ancestral memory. It's sort of like visiting a sehna lumia
by association.”

“Why the Mendaihu at the warehouse, then?'
Nick prodded.

Christine answered that one. “The Mendaihu
are as communal as the Shenaihu, but in different forms. The
Shenaihu like to maintain a bit of solitude and individuality. Just
the knowledge of having another Shenaihu in the area is comforting
enough. They need little else.

“The Mendaihu, on the other hand, find more
comfort in physical closeness, thus the warehouse community, the
positions of Mendaihu Gharra as protectors of Earth, and so on. And
because of that, their spiritual connection with others has to be
consciously initiated. They don't need the permission of the target
in question, but at the least they respect one’s boundaries.”

Poe smirked at her. “DRL research?” he
asked.

Christine nodded. “And personal,” she
added.

“So with this Season of Embodiment...” Sheila
started, leaning forward on her desk.

“Roughly every twenty-five years,” Poe said.
“Once every generation. It's not a consciously scheduled thing.
It's merely an end result of cycles and fates intertwining, just
like everything else.”

She stared at him, frowning deeply. “You're
kidding me.”

“It's true,” Christine conceded. “That's why
hardly anything has been written about it except in dusty forgotten
tomes. Each time this event takes place, it's hard to judge whether
or not it will happen again, or if it does, to what magnitude it
will go. Sometimes it's a street riot, other times it's an all-out
war. By the time the next quarter-century rolls around, we’re so
caught up in the latest cycle of events that we rarely ever see a
new Season coming.”

The room quieted for an uncomfortably long
time, each of them in their place, letting all of that sink in. Poe
was surprised by his own ambivalence, a reaction extremely unlike
him. He had to remind himself once more that he was an Elder, where
it was not his place to judge but to protect. He was a mediator and
a Protector of everyone.

He glanced at his watch, saw it was nearing
seven. He would have to make it over to the warehouse soon...all
four of them would have to go this time. Sheila and Nick had their
parts to play in this game, even Christine. She was a new element
in this cycle, having chosen to become the historian, chronicling
the true story for future generations. She would want to be there
when it started, and, if it was her choice, she would want to see
the ending. Despite all that, he still felt guilty about having
gotten everyone involved. But like everything else, it was a twist
of fate and therefore not his fault. It just happened. His heart
and his spirit felt otherwise, because the chances of any of them
not surviving this Season of Embodiment were unknown. He was not a
reality seer.

He was Alix Eiyashné, son of kiralla,
descendant of Trisanda. And he was cho-nyhndah, equal parts
Shenaihu and Mendaihu. The only thing he could do was observe and
protect. He only hoped that he could fulfill that duty to the best
of his ability.

It was closing in on nine o'clock when
Christine's car pulled up to the front of Moulding Warehouse. They
climbed out and stood in front of the main entrance, its door open
and waiting. They looked within and saw bustling movement,
last-minute preparations being made. There were many people here
that he knew, if not by name or face then by spirit signature, all
with a singular mission: to prevent a war from taking
place
.

Had it really come to this? A spiritual war
to gain control of an artificial intelligence? But Shirai wasn’t
merely the Tower AI, but a technical construct that housed an
actual Gharné soul. She was one of a kind, created by a Mendaihu
and protected by a small band of jacker punks. And the Shenaihu
wanted her badly.

Inside the warehouse, the floor was brightly
lit and the air was warm, a stark contrast to the cold air and the
darkness outside. About a hundred feet in he saw seven people
standing patiently, waiting for them. He could sense them better
than he could see them, but he knew who they were. Denni stood in
the center, a big smile on her face and her spirit brimming with
joy. She held Caren's hand tightly.

“No turning back now,” Poe said, and turned
to his left. Sheila stared at the doorway with the same steel
intensity she'd always shown during investigations. She noticed his
glance and turned to face him.

“I'm ready,” she said.

He nodded, and turned to his right. Nick
still looked skeptical, but he’d already made his choice. He
understood his role and its importance of what was to come, even if
he had no idea what was going to happen. He felt an immense pride
in helping the Mendaihu, the people who had saved him a number of
times during his tenure as a BMPD officer. He felt at peace with
his surroundings, despite its chaos. For him, the most important
thing was that he felt
at home.

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends,” he
said. “Once more.”

Poe snorted out a laugh. The last thing he'd
expected from Nick was for him to quote Shakespeare. It was a much
needed dose of levity.

Christine, standing a few feet behind Poe,
felt more nervous than scared. She'd faced many demons before, and
had simply chosen to view this as yet another. She trusted Poe as
her brother and her spiritual sibling, and was willing to go forth
and witness it all, both good and bad, if that was to be her own
fate. She did not need to say anything; Poe had sensed everything
she was thinking and feeling at this moment. He felt that warmth in
his heart, knowing she would be with him throughout it all.

Sheila and Nick looked at each other, nodded,
and walked forward. Just as they approached the door, Nick stepped
aside and let her walk through the door first, theatrically waving
her through. She laughed at his ridiculousness and slapped him on
the arm as she passed by. When he walked through, she took his arm,
and together they continued towards the waiting crew.

Poe stood there for a few moments, waiting.
Christine came up from behind him and stood to his left, still
looking at the open door.

“Are
you
ready for this?” she
asked.

“Was I ever?” he said. “I'll have to be.”

“At least you're honest,” she grinned.
“Should I...?”

He offered his arm. “I'll walk you to the
door. I have to be the last one in.”

She offered him a weak smile.

“Don't worry, it's not like you and I are
getting married.”

Christine let out with a nervous laugh. “You
ass! This is serious!”

“I know,” he said. “That's why I said it.
Shall we?”

She nodded. “Here we go.”

They walked slowly. All the movement within
the warehouse had slowed to a stop, at least temporarily. He took a
single nervous breath, trying to ignore the fact that five thousand
or so Mendaihu, Shenaihu and cho-nyhndah were in that warehouse
right now, had their eyes or their senses trained on that one door
frame.

They came to the door, and he stopped.
Wordlessly, Christine let go of his arm, leaned over and kissed him
on the cheek, and nodded twice.
Pride
, he thought, as he
sensed her emotions. She was proud of him, proud to have known him,
proud to have been able to work with him for so many years. She
walked through, and kept walking until she'd joined the others. She
stood just apart from them, not officially part of this circle, but
an observer and a participant. They were all waiting for this
moment.