Vrin: Ten Mortal Gods (10 page)

Great.
I wanted answers not more questions! But I bit my tongue. If I was going to get anywhere I would need to cooperate. I took a breath. “Well, I’m on the planet
Vrin.
From what I can tell it is the twenty-first century but these people never moved beyond the middle ages.”

“Well, everything,
almost
everything, is far too perfect but there is a lack of detail in some of the natural effects.”

“A lack of detail? Such as?”

“Such as particles in a sun beam that don’t move, and the total lack of insects. And when I first got here there was a weird color problem but it has either corrected itself or I’ve gotten use to it.”

“That is a very interesting analysis.”

“Now let
me
ask a question.
Where am I?”

“Well we need to do it quickly because I don’t know how long this world is going to
be
here.”

“What?”

A tinge of fear and adrenaline shot through me.
Should I have said that?
What if this was Gaza?
--
No, it couldn’t be, these men were definitely surprised I had gotten through. Still...

“I’m afraid I can’t share that information with you.” If there was any chance this
was
Gaza I didn’t want to put my friends in danger.

It was a bluff and he called it. “You don’t want to do that, Robert. You need answers as much as we do and you know deep in your heart that I am your friend. I know you are confused and believe me I am sensitive to that. But there is too much at stake to go blindly ahead. I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you half of what you've asked for. Perhaps it will help you to remember. Your name is Dr. Robert Helm. You are a scientist and a programmer. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you where you are or why you’re there just yet. We don’t know what that information would do to your psyche. We have a psychiatrist here and we are consulting...”

“You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you.” I feigned a stretch. “Well, it looks like the sun is coming up. Think we should get started right away?”

“Yes. I think we’d better.”

It was nice we were actually talking now but as we chatted my mind kept wandering back to the conversation in the web. Who could I trust? Everywhere I turned, there seemed to be a conspiracy.

I was beginning to feel like Rath.

THE BRAVE KIND SNEAK

001001011001110

We continued our journey to Humphrey’s, this time side by side. My rapport with the young lady had completely changed. We shared some pleasant conversation and even a joke or two.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I give up. What
is
a dyslexic agnostic insomniac?”

Her eyes twinkled. “Someone who stays awake all night wondering if there really is a dog.”

It took me a second but when I got it we both broke into a roar of laughter. “Did Humphrey tell you that one?”

“Yup. He had to explain dyslexic to me though. He was always teaching me lots of new terms. When he told me what that one meant I thought I would never stop laughing.”

“Humphrey sounds like a good man.”

“Oh, he is. The two things he loves most in the world are making people laugh and arguing. What’s really fun is when he’s arguing with one person and making another person laugh at the same time. He used to have fun twisting my father’s words around. Then he would smile at us when Daddy became flustered. Humphrey's quite the character.”

Ristol had definitely seen its share of hard times. The buildings, most of which were made of barn board, were worn and lacked maintenance. And the people didn't look much better. They appeared tired, weathered, and very poor. But their eyes reflected strength and determination. Life was tough on them no doubt but I sensed that they stood strong and faced life’s challenges together.

I should have put my blindfold back on, but it was too late. The news of my arrival spread like wildfire. People came out and stared as we passed through town.

A woman came running out of a building. “Lord, wait! I beg of you! Wait!”

I slowed my horse and looked down at her filthiness. Her appearance was haphazard, as if she had lacked the proper time to get ready for the day. She was aged beyond her years. Desperation marred her otherwise pretty eyes.

“Lord, my son is very ill. I have given everything I own that he may be cared for but he is slipping away and I can’t afford to pay for an expensive doctor to come in from the city. Please help me. You’ve got to help me!” Tears ran down her dusty face.

My heart hurt to see her pain. I looked at Thana. Her expression was one of sadness. “Can I help her?” I asked softly, not wanting to put Thana on the spot.

“If there is a physical way I will help too.” She dismounted and approached the woman. “Shesu, where is he?”

“He is inside.” She looked up at me, her eyes silently pleading for help. I sensed she did not welcome Thana’s presence but she did not voice her thoughts. I gave her a shrug.

We entered the hovel where the woman’s son lay on a cot. The room looked like a medical combat zone. Jars, pillows, dishes, ointments, and other various articles littered the floor and counters. She had indeed been very busy. I stepped over to the cot and looked down at the ashen face of her son. He was visibly sweating. His pillow was damp. “Do you know what caused his illness, ma’am?”

She moved to my side. “He was running in the field behind our house when he stepped on a metal spike. Soon after he began to get sick.”

I went to the base of the cot and lifted the blanket and was shocked to see the piece of metal still protruding from the boy’s foot. I looked at Shesu, my mouth gaping. “Why has this not been removed?”

“The healer said removing something from a wound that deep might release his soul from his body. I didn’t want to take that chance.”

I looked at Thana, then back to Shesu. “What foolishness! The boy could have
died
from infection! Bring me some hot water, several clean rags, and some pure alcohol if you can get it. Thana, put something in the boy’s mouth so he doesn’t bite his tongue.”

Shesu quickly put a pot of water on the fire then ran out the door. Thana rolled up a cloth, put it in the boy's mouth, then gently took his hand. He watched as I firmly took hold of the spike. He turned to Thana with pleading eyes.

“Sorry, son,” I said. “But this is going to hurt. Brace yourself.” I pulled gently, then harder. There was some resistance. So I gave a firm tug then stumbled backwards as the spike came free.

The boy twitched in agony, then passed out.

Shesu returned with the cloths and a large flask. I took one of the cloths and applied pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. Once the bleeding slowed I dipped another cloth into the hot water and carefully cleaned the infected area. After removing as much of the oozing puss as I could I poured a liberal amount of whiskey over the wound. It was fortunate for the boy, and us, that he was unconscious.

The young man began to move his head, mumbling something unintelligible. His mother moved quickly to his side.

“This should stop the bleeding,” I said as I finished wrapping the area. “And hopefully any further infection. You will need to change the cloth three or four times a day and keep the area around the wound as clean as possible. As for your son’s fever, it should go down if you tend to his foot properly.”

“How can I ever thank you?” she asked, kneeling before me.

“You can thank me by taking care of your son. It is my hope that his condition will improve. Use this if it does not.” I handed the woman a coin. “Rub it softly in your hands and pray to me if your son’s condition worsens. And do not go to that healer again. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Have faith, and he will be okay.”

A crowd had gathered in front of the woman’s house. We mounted our horses and began to move but it was difficult to get through. “Make way!” yelled Thana. The people began to move aside but it was still slow going. Pleading eyes looked up at me. I could have easily delivered these poor folks from their poverty but Thana would not have approved. Was there anything wrong with offering a little comfort to these unfortunate souls?

I thought back to what Thana had said earlier.
“You take away our strength, and replace it with dependence.”
Perhaps she was right. Pain makes a person stronger. Without sorrow growth is hindered. Who was it that said through pain comes change? I couldn’t remember but it made sense. If I were to take away the challenges of these people’s existence what service would I be doing them? It would take away their sense of accomplishment, maybe their sense of purpose.

Humphrey may have been right to a certain extent but I felt his convictions were a bit extreme. I didn’t think offering a little help could hurt-- but then again where would I draw the line? If there
was
a divine plan I was given my power for a reason. To use it irresponsibly would be wrong. I knew this. But to not use it at all would be just as bad.

Eventually we reached the other side of the bewildered crowd. Thana turned to me and spoke. “I think we shouldn't stop for supplies. We should have enough for now and Humphrey will take care of us when we get to his cottage.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

“Again I feel I need to thank you for respecting my wishes-- and also for helping Shesu and her son.”

“You don’t need to thank me, I enjoyed helping them.” I smiled to myself. If the woman ever did rub that coin she was in for a surprise. When their backs were turned I had used the web to create a solid gold coin covered in brown chalk. It was worth enough to pay for a certified doctor and then some-- just in case. Again I thought,
a little help can't hurt.

The mighty Dessa Forest appeared on the horizon. It was extremely dense and as Thana had said the horses would not be able to get through. We found the hiding place her father had cleared out long ago. It was a small pocket just inside the wood, partially overgrown from years of disuse, and cut out at the site of a natural spring. The horses would have grass to eat as well as plenty of fresh water.

Thana located a crude gate made of twisted sticks and brush, disentangled it from the overgrowth, and pulled it across the opening. The gate had a dual purpose. Not only did it camouflage the hiding place but it would also keep the horses from wandering off.

The path through the gnarled wood was still partially formed so we didn’t have to hack much. An occasional tree branch needed to be cut but for the most part, it was passable.

My mind drifted. So many bizarre things had happened in this strange world, it was hard to sort through it all. The thing troubling me most was the fact that I was apparently playing a part in some kind of experiment and the guys running it were unwilling to tell me where I was, how I got here, or the purpose behind it all. If I could only unravel that mystery then maybe I’d be able to figure out the dynamics of this place-- which might help us to combat Gaza.

Before my contact with the outside world this place had been mystical, almost awe-inspiring. But now that I knew others like myself were in control somehow it wasn’t the same. The magic was watered down; it saddened me.

As I had thought all along, I was no god. I merely possessed the power to effect this place. The others were no different. --But what I couldn't figure out was how the
people
of this world fit into the mixture. They must have been created for the experiment, synthetic simulations perhaps, but they were
so real
. When I helped the woman and her son not once did it occur to me that they might only be computer simulations. I was completely immersed in the event. Even if I’d felt sure they
were
simulations I still would have felt compelled to help them. After all, who was I to judge?

I looked at Thana walking in front of me. Every detail about her seemed real. She approached a branch, reached out, snapped it, then continued on. Her shoes crunched upon the leaves on the ground and her hand absently brushed a strand of hair off her face. I could faintly smell her musk oil perfume. If she was a simulation she was the most complicated simulation I’d ever seen or heard about.

It ate at me. This place was too real to be virtual, yet too different to be real.