Syn spun around and jabbed a finger at the Barlgharel, “She’s insane. She did all this. Splitting me from the Sisters. The Disc. All of it. The Madness. That horrible, crazy bitch did all of it.”
Blip zipped around to put himself between Syn and the Barlgharel, “What are you talking about? Where did you get all that?”
“She told me! She said all of that!”
“When?” Blip said.
The Barlgharel responded, “She is known to meddle. But she can’t do everything. We still choose. She just nudges.”
To the Barlgharel, Syn blurted, “She’s evil.” Then she looked at Blip and in the same breath, said, “Just now. We were talking just now. I was in a white room, and Olorun was there, and she told me everything.”
“When?” Blip asked.
“Now! Now! What don’t you understand about ‘now’? Now! I was just talking to her.”
Blip’s eyes went wide, “We were just standing here talking, and we heard the Disc separate. I turned to ask you about it but you were staring off at the stars. Then you just started yelling.”
“I’ve been talking to her for a long time.”
Blip said, “We’ve only been on the bridge for a few minutes.”
The Barlgharel spoke, “She nudges. She twists. She can twist time. At least in your head.”
Syn stopped yelling. She gazed at the Barlgharel. Her arms hung at her sides, and a spray of spittle floated in the dark of the room, illuminated by the blue of the screens around them.
Moments passed and Blip said, “Let’s go back to the others.” He led the way, his glowing internal tubes now bare and lighting the world around them.
43
DESCENT
“Stillness is to be secured in the tradition of naming. The sound that calls you must first echo inside, from the filament burning in the soul.”
Pigeon grabbed ahold of Syn’s hand, interlaced their fingers, and squeezed tight. The Jacob doors opened, and the two floated into the Jacob lift, followed by Blip. Huck floated around near Arquella and Bear, trailing after.
Pigeon turned around. Behind them, outside the door, stood the Barlgharel. He would have to descend in the larger cargo lift—one large enough for his bulk.
Both sets of doors shut, and the Jacob started its descent. The two gazed out the window. The sunstrips glowed brightly, without flaw. There were no broken panes. No damaged segments. Already the world’s differences glared distinctly.
Below them, the white clouds drifted lazily. In the unobscured patches, green hills and trees broke up the blue of the great river Lokun.
Pigeon gasped. Syn squeezed her hand and felt her own heart race.
Home.
She was home. Syn closed her eyes and allowed the tension of the last days to wash out of her.
“Where do you sleep?” Pigeon asked.
It was an odd question. Of all she could’ve asked, but perhaps it made sense. To Pigeon, she would sleep where she felt the safest. So where did Syn feel the safest in this new world?
“In my tree.”
Pigeon looked at her.
“You’ll see it soon. This Jacob drops off near its base. It’s a short walk to it.”
Minutes passed, and Syn was proven right as they descended below the clouds. Green foliage erupted amongst the tops of the white tendrils of cloud, massive branches split into hundreds of smaller ones, a jungle base that seemed to spread on into the infinite bending horizon, and in the midst of it all, the great tree of Syn’s Disc rose up, and it was marvelous. Syn sighed at the spectacle.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Pigeon said.
Syn nodded. It was all she could do.
The Jacob slowed, and the doors opened. From the green jungles ahead, Eku walked out, her form dark against the bright grass.
Pigeon gasped again. “Is that a…”
Syn’s habit to race out was halted by the recent memory of the other tiger. She shook her head. No, this is my world. She reached down and wrapped her arms around Eku’s neck before nuzzling her head in the soft fur.
She stood back and grasped Pigeon’s hand once more, staring into the girl’s wide, dark eyes. “Welcome home,” Syn announced. Then Syn leaned her head on Pigeon’s shoulder, “Welcome home, Avia.”
Avia hugged Syn, holding her tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered in her ear, “Thank you.”
Streaming from the arriving Jacobs, the Ecology entered the new Disc and their new world.
Arquella approached Syn. “Is this Paradise? Is it safe?”
Syn paused to consider. There were threats over here, but none that could damage a bot. There were no wild bots, no hazards, and no burlys waiting to surprise them.
Syn shook her head, “It’s safe. Just don’t kill anything.”
“Is it Eden? It looks like the promised Garden,” Arquella insisted.
Bear’s high voice added, “Just like the Book said. Is this the end of the Great Mystery?”
Syn struggled to answer and Avia, who had been Pigeon, looked at her with large, confused eyes. Syn finally said, “This is my paradise.”
The words were enough for the bots. Arquella bobbed in understanding and returned to the others. She, Bear, and Huck joined the amassing multitude and led them out to explore.
Rather than racing back on a bike, Syn and Avia, with Eku and Blip at their sides, took the time to walk the distance back to the great tree. Each living thing startled Avia. For a long time, she huddled close to Syn, uneasy about the strangeness of this world. With each step, the sense of delight took over, and she ventured out—first to look at flowers and then to stare at squirrels and admire the myriad bots moving to and fro. Above, the giant jellyfish sky cleaners bobbed. Over the treetops, lumbering and docile tree movers stepped. Amidst them all, monkeys swung and dogs bolted through. The world burst at the edges with life and activity.
The last of the walk ended with Avia running through the trees, her smile large, laughing at the wonder of it all.
44
A GLASS DARKLY
That night, the Ecology swarmed into the empty spaces of the Zoo to sleep throughout the night. Several brave parties ventured out to the settlements on the Rise that they were so familiar with. Within days, the Disc would be filled with all of the various life of the Ecology.
Avia and Blip followed Syn to the tree, to climb the stairs and sleep in her treehouse. Bear was unable to make the ascent, so Arquella stayed with him at the bottom. Huck joined them up above. Soon, they were all fast asleep—except Blip, who stood sentry at the entrance, his internals glowing brightly through his broken shell.
Syn laid her head down on an old pillow and closed her eyes, with the image of Blip guarding the door as the last she saw that day.
Avia curled close behind her, and she felt the girl’s warmth through the blankets. “She’s still out there.”
Syn replied, “Ya. Somewhere.”
Avia said, “I’m scared of her.”
“Me too.” Behind them, Eku purred. Syn added, “But we are safe here.”
“Okay,” Avia sighed, her words a thin whisper.
The darkness of fatigue soaked through, and Syn drifted into its embrace. Sleep filled with the fangs of recent dark moments, panic unattended, fears left to fester. Sleep without rest.