“I’ll see you when you get back.”
“It is a possibility.” Chan bowed and the screen went dark.
Fucking inscrutable bastards . Williams leaned back in his chair. Still, they paid some hefty numbers into his personal account. He had no problems with that, for sure. And he reckoned it entitled them to dance naked upside down if they wanted.
He shrugged and stood. It was time to move on. Pity about Martine TwoSeven, but she was only a facilitator, although she had been one of the best. There were more out there. None of whom mattered very much in the overall scheme of things.
The director had no idea his words—and even his thoughts—were being overheard. In Theta, Martine and John stood side-by-side and listened in, Martine’s hand locked in his. She was standing, on two feet, a human with a body assembled—according to John’s loose explanation—from the energies within her cells.
He readily admitted he had little or no idea about the science behind their present forms. Then he touched her and asked her if she cared. She shook her head and smiled, laughing as hair moved and tickled her skin. There was no neural interface, no weight of wires anchoring her to her previous existence.
“There is so much we have yet to learn, Martine.” John took her to a window and let her look. “This is what our world used to look like. And what it will look like again in a few generations time. We could just exist here, pretend that it’s real and spend happy lives together. Everything you see and touch is present in this reality.”
He stared out as well, and yet Martine felt he wasn’t really seeing anything. “There’s a but coming, isn’t there?”
“Yes,” he agreed on a sigh. “We have this reality, but we also have the knowledge of other realities and what’s happening there. And, no matter where we happen to be or what form we take, we still have that essential humanity within us we call conscience.”
Martine leaned against him. “You can’t let them get away with it, can you?”
“No. I can’t. Others can’t. That’s why Theta was created, developed, however you want to describe it. This place, this Theta, is for us, the rare ones who can go beyond a single reality. Once here, we can meet, talk, exchange experiences and learn from each other. And we watch.”
“Watch what?”
“Watch who would be more accurate.” John glanced at her. “We watch those who we would ask to join us.”
“Like me?”
“Yes. Like you.”
“And who else?”
“We watch those who would control, destroy and otherwise completely mess up too many lives. Those who would grab more power than any one entity should possess.”
At that moment someone flicked a switch and the director’s voice came into the room. It was his conversation with the president of Shanxi.
Everyone listened, Martine most intently of all.
When he’d finished, she looked around. “Well, hi, folks. I’m Martine TwoSeven.” She spoke to the room and the several people there. “I’m of no matter, apparently.”
John grinned. “He is so wrong. And we are going to bring that to his attention. Immediately.”
She straightened beside him. “I can’t wait.”
Chapter Nine
It was confusing, being in not only a new place but also in a different reality. Martine found herself disoriented now and again, not physically but psychologically. Just accepting the concept that she existed in a different when made her eyes want to cross, and even though she was fascinated by Theta and its denizens, there were still moments when she wondered if it was all a dream…
…or if John’s facilitation of her had worked as advertised and she was really, one hundred percent dead.
He had chuckled when she’d made that comment. “I know, it’s completely outrageous, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “I’m having trouble grasping it.”
“We all do. Theta has been in existence for several generations now.” He put his arm around her shoulders
“It is a possibility.” Chan bowed and the screen went dark.
Fucking inscrutable bastards . Williams leaned back in his chair. Still, they paid some hefty numbers into his personal account. He had no problems with that, for sure. And he reckoned it entitled them to dance naked upside down if they wanted.
He shrugged and stood. It was time to move on. Pity about Martine TwoSeven, but she was only a facilitator, although she had been one of the best. There were more out there. None of whom mattered very much in the overall scheme of things.
The director had no idea his words—and even his thoughts—were being overheard. In Theta, Martine and John stood side-by-side and listened in, Martine’s hand locked in his. She was standing, on two feet, a human with a body assembled—according to John’s loose explanation—from the energies within her cells.
He readily admitted he had little or no idea about the science behind their present forms. Then he touched her and asked her if she cared. She shook her head and smiled, laughing as hair moved and tickled her skin. There was no neural interface, no weight of wires anchoring her to her previous existence.
“There is so much we have yet to learn, Martine.” John took her to a window and let her look. “This is what our world used to look like. And what it will look like again in a few generations time. We could just exist here, pretend that it’s real and spend happy lives together. Everything you see and touch is present in this reality.”
He stared out as well, and yet Martine felt he wasn’t really seeing anything. “There’s a but coming, isn’t there?”
“Yes,” he agreed on a sigh. “We have this reality, but we also have the knowledge of other realities and what’s happening there. And, no matter where we happen to be or what form we take, we still have that essential humanity within us we call conscience.”
Martine leaned against him. “You can’t let them get away with it, can you?”
“No. I can’t. Others can’t. That’s why Theta was created, developed, however you want to describe it. This place, this Theta, is for us, the rare ones who can go beyond a single reality. Once here, we can meet, talk, exchange experiences and learn from each other. And we watch.”
“Watch what?”
“Watch who would be more accurate.” John glanced at her. “We watch those who we would ask to join us.”
“Like me?”
“Yes. Like you.”
“And who else?”
“We watch those who would control, destroy and otherwise completely mess up too many lives. Those who would grab more power than any one entity should possess.”
At that moment someone flicked a switch and the director’s voice came into the room. It was his conversation with the president of Shanxi.
Everyone listened, Martine most intently of all.
When he’d finished, she looked around. “Well, hi, folks. I’m Martine TwoSeven.” She spoke to the room and the several people there. “I’m of no matter, apparently.”
John grinned. “He is so wrong. And we are going to bring that to his attention. Immediately.”
She straightened beside him. “I can’t wait.”
Chapter Nine
It was confusing, being in not only a new place but also in a different reality. Martine found herself disoriented now and again, not physically but psychologically. Just accepting the concept that she existed in a different when made her eyes want to cross, and even though she was fascinated by Theta and its denizens, there were still moments when she wondered if it was all a dream…
…or if John’s facilitation of her had worked as advertised and she was really, one hundred percent dead.
He had chuckled when she’d made that comment. “I know, it’s completely outrageous, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “I’m having trouble grasping it.”
“We all do. Theta has been in existence for several generations now.” He put his arm around her shoulders
Similar Books
