Prologue

March 2223

“What about case 727, Sire?”

“Not yet, Clem.”

“But we’ve had the cure for Leukemia quite a while now.”

“Just a little longer. I want to be more secure in the outcome.”

“Sire, if we wait much longer we run the risk of inviting adjustment complications as we have seen in a few of the others that went over 200.”

“I am willing to take that risk. 727 is important to me. I promised her parents personally, to take care of her.”

“As you wish Sire. Just let us know when the time has come.”

Chapter 1

July 2228

From the outside, the room looked like a bright scene from a Monet painting. Swirly splashes of yellows and blues and purples, giving the impression of a cheerful place to be. Somewhere you would want to be. You could even faintly hear, through the thick glass door, the classical music being pipped in. Sometimes Mozart, sometimes Bach and occasionally some other classical artist, and it was always calming. Everything looked beautiful and peaceful, from the outside. Then, when you walked in, you were hit with the feeling, and on rare occasions, the smell of, death. If the smell of death hit you – it was not a good sign. It meant something’s containment either shut down or broke open and it was lost – forever.

Thankfully, today it was just the feeling of death that hit Clem as he opened the door. With measured steps he respectfully, yet quickly, made his way through the strange path made by the containment units.  Each step took him further away from the light and colorful entrance and deeper into darkness. “Why do the clavigers have to be at the end of these things? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have them up front, sort of like a friendly face to meet your right away?” Clem mumbled to himself, fully understanding why it couldn’t be that way. A claviger was not a friendly greeter type of individual. It took a special kind of person to accept the position, no one sought it. They were handpicked by The Regulators.

Clem started to remember why he hated coming here and felt thankful he had risen to the position where he didn’t have to anymore, unless upon special request of the Sire; and he was very grateful the Sire’s special requests had grown fewer over the last several decades, since he started working for him. In his previous position, as a custodian, he would have to meet with the various clavigers to set up the post restoration support plan for the contents of the containment units assigned to him. Then he would oversee the plan’s implementation and monitor the adjustment period which included intervening when needed or requested. He witnessed the restoration only a couple of times before he told his supervisor “I really don’t ever need to see that part of the process again. I can handle my duties before and after without having to see the between part, it is just a little too, you know, for me.” His supervisor understood and never required him to be present at an actual restoration again. This was before anyone realized the importance of the first imprint, if the restoration was successful. That took a couple more decades to figure out and by then Clem was already supporting the Sire.

Clem reached the current end of the containment units and walked into a big open, soon to be developed, warehouse. Business was booming and soon this area would be full too, making the walk even creepier, in Clem’s opinion. At the end of the open space, a couple hundred yards away, Clem could see the hallway to the Claviger’s office. Between where he was, and where he needed to be, was very limited lighting. Cold concrete walls, yet to be decorated with images of life, accompanied him on the walk. Even though the walls were at least a football field length away from him on either side, it felt like they were closing in the closer he got to the hallway. “Just a little further”, Clem apprehensively whispered to himself as he finally walked into the corridor with its soft flickering fluorescent light bouncing off the gray walls. The first door on the left was where he was headed.

******************

Ahada was skipping and twirling as she made her way down the sun-filled hallway decorated with various shapes in hues of yellow and gold. She loved how the sun bounced off the designs and seemed to sparkle. It always felt like she was walking through a tunnel of golden glitter. She was on her way to her guide’s office. This was to be her second to last session with Ra’uf before she graduated into her new life. All the amazing possibilities laid before her.

By worldly standards she was seen as one coming into her own, slightly beyond a teenager but not quite a young adult. However, based on the small number of her actual experiences, only about 5500, many around her said she was still very much a child. Mainly because they weren’t privy to the details of her previous encounters.  Ra’uf and The Counsel learned early on that Ahada was not one to turn down a challenge. She was born determined to grow into her best. She used each experience to learn more about herself and her world. They were counting this still being true when she would be choosing her next one.

As Ahada danced her way to Ra’uf’s office she pondered the three choices they had briefly discussed. Her most recent experience ended in her late teens with terminal illness, which returned after being in remission. The one before that took place in a concentration camp where she was burned to death at age six. Because her previous two experiences had been intense Ra’uf and The Counsel were allowing one option which would be very easy.

Ahada knew of friends who had reached this point after a couple hard engagements and decided they wanted a break and took the easy option presented. She noticed how it seemed to either stunt their growth or, worse yet, set them back. She didn’t want that to happen to her. They had given her three choices. They had been laid out to her at a very high level view. The first would be easy with no big lessons, basically an extended vacation. The second choice would be a fairly moderate experience. It would be humble and honest, yet still offer her a chance to impact lives for the positive.

The third one captivated her and at the same time left a heavy feeling in her gut. It would be the most intense experience to date. It also promised the biggest payoff. The only snag was the payoff had the potential to be good or devastating, depending on what decisions she made when on the ground. Yet, even with this questionable outcome silently disquieting her, she felt a sense of pride when she thought of the third choice. Ra’uf told her this option was a sign that the counsel took notice of her growth from her last two engagements and her studies in this between-time. They were showing their trust in her abilities by offering it to her. He said there wasn’t anyone else they could see taking on this choice and succeeding, like she would.  She was smiling to herself when she turned the corner and reached Ra’uf’s office door.

“Ah, there is my beloved pacachy,” piped Ra’uf. This was his pet name for her. He started calling her this when the natural joy and dancing of her soul started to express itself as her individuality developed. This joy also brought with it a bit of humor on the childish side and that, to Ra’uf, was a breath of fresh air, even if not everyone appreciated how that humor was expressed. The Counsel, in past, had been wary of Ahada and feared her humor prevented her from learning the deeper lessons she needed to move forward. Ra’uf had spent the better part of this intercession helping The Counsel see the mature depth of Ahada’s humor and how it opened her to an understanding not possible with only a serious demeanor.

“Please come in. I am very excited to talk with you, and show you more details about each life expression.” Ra’uf opened the door and bowed to her, sweeping his arm to show her the way in as if she were royalty.

Ahada glided through the door and found her seat. On the table in front of her were three folders. They were in order of her three choices and each marked with a name. The names were, in folder order, William (Willy), Nancy, and Kavel. She was very excited and wanted to grab them, open and devour the information they held.

“Ra’uf,” she accidently said his name a little forcefully in her excitement, “It seems like this time is a little different than last time.”

“Ah, my ever observant pacachy,” Ra’uf chuckled. “There were only two choices last time and The Counsel and I made the decision for you based on where we sensed your soul was and taking a chance on pushing you to further growth and wisdom. Last time at this point we showed you some of the main highlights of the expression as you prepared for reentry.”

“Got it. That makes sense. I guess it is really sinking in that The Counsel sees I have reached a level of maturity, at least the first level of it.” Ahada said giving Ra’uf a smile of satisfaction.

With a gentle Laugh Ra’uf confirmed, “Yes, for the most part they feel you have.”

******************

Clem stopped in front of the Claviger’s door, took a deep breath, politely knocked, and waited for the “Come in” before opening it and walking into the office. On one hand he was glad for what the Sire had sent him to do and on the other, he was fearful. Although the process had been improved upon year after year (and decade after decade) it still had its risks. The longer they wait for some of the entities, the more chance they may exhibit adjustment issues upon awakening. He prayed heavily that, for one of these entities, it would be a smooth restoration and readjustment period. He dreaded the thought of what would happen if it wasn’t.

“Good Day Claviger Bentley,” Clem forced a smile and tried his best to sound honestly friendly.

“To you as well,” Bentley strained hard trying to sound even more friendly. “To what do I owe this honorable visit?” The two of them had been prep school classmate’s way back and actually started at Bavel Corporation around the same time. Throughout their lives Bentley seemed to always be in competition with Clem, who was the least competitive person one would ever have the chance to meet. This competitiveness between the two men made Clem uncomfortable. It reached the zenith point when Clem, a relative nobody at Bavel, was chosen to replace the Sire’s previous right-hand person, Ellie. Bentley felt he should have been chosen based on his track record at work, achievement awards, and the high esteem in which many of those in key leadership held him. But he was passed up. He figured leadership’s way of trying to make him feel better was to give him this crucial position as Head Claviger. He figured wrong.

“The Sire has a request for two entities to be removed and placed in the primer chamber,” Clem said with his best “official” voice. He then handed Bentley the certified forms with the Sire’s signature sanctioning this request.

Bentley took the forms slowly from Clem while he looked at Clem’s face for any clue that might explain why the Sire himself would be making this request. It had been several years since the last request. He almost forgot what the forms looked like and what he was supposed to do with them.

Clem refused to show any emotion at this point despite the fact his heart was racing with the anticipation for this to finally come to fruition. Bentley had both forms in his hands now and lifted his glasses up and placed them sideways on his nose to get a clearer look. The right nose pad arm was resting on the left side of his nose now. Clem always thought this was such an odd way to move his glasses out of the way so he could see closer. “Most people either take them off or put them on their forehead somewhere. The really smart ones would just get bifocals”, he chuckled quietly to himself.

Bentley howled with excitement, breaking formality. “What? Please tell me this is not a sick joke.” It was very out of character for him to show this much emotion. “The Sire is finally requesting 727 for restoration? I honestly thought this day would never come!”

“I know, “Clem responded quietly. “I couldn’t believe it myself when he handed me the papers. I dared not comment to him for fear he would change his mind if I pointed it out.”

******************

“Here you go, an old favorite from your last experience.” Ra’uf handed Ahada a Caramel Highrise coffee drink from Caribou Coffee he had conjured up. It was the one thing she kept lamenting she missed upon her return. Every so often Ra’uf would surprise her with it. When that happened she came to learn that it usually meant he was trying to soften her up before some tough news.

“Mmm, mmm” Ahada quietly sang to herself. “Oh, this is what Heaven tastes like to me.” She sipped it and savored the luscious caramel flavor in hot milk, with a couple shots of espresso added for a kick, and of course, topping it all off with whipped cream and caramel drizzles. She sat the cup down for a moment. “What exactly are you warming me up for?” she asked with a smirk.

“Ah, apparently I have accidently trained you like Pavlov’s dog.” He laughed.

“Woof, woof,” Ahada replied.

Ra’uf laughed. He was going to miss seeing her while she was away. She was one of his favorites to guide. Ahada had a way of finding the funny perspective in any situation. She had taught him how to not take things so seriously, and that was a gift. Through his years as a guide he had lost his sense of play and humor. When he was first paired with Ahada he was dreading it. She had a reputation for not taking anything seriously. The Counsel hoped that the two of them would have a good effect on each other. Ra’uf had grown too serious and lost perspective of the bigger picture. Ahada had appeared not serious enough.

 Through their times together he realized she took everything very seriously and was quite determined to grow and become what she was created to be. Her humor was a way to help keep her perspective clearer and not turn into a “dud”, as she called many on The Counsel. This helped him ease up and find a way to balance his own soul’s growth.

“I am going to leave and give you some privacy. You hang here and check out the different life expressions. Hopefully, when I get back, you will have made your choice.” Ra’uf smiled and left his office.

Ahada carefully picked up the first two folders from the table, Willy and Nancy. It was time to read over each one and make her choice. She was looking forward to reading the high level snapshots of each of the personalities. Choice one, Willy. This was the “vacation” The Counsel was letting her have, if she wanted. A rich, silver spoon type. Good family, good school, perfect wife, 3 kids, and a dream life. Willy would live to a very old age and probably die peacefully in his sleep. The downside, as she saw it, he never would seem to find a meaning for his life. He wouldn’t have an adverse effect on anything or a positive effect for that matter. He would stay in his tiny circle of existence and be content to spend his money and live his life in luxury. This life would be a tiny blip on the radar screen. It would be safe and boring, in her opinion.

Choice two was Nancy. This one peaked her interest. She was a lesbian. This sounded very interesting to Ahada, very out of her usual experience and comfort zone. Nancy would come from an inter-racial family. Her mother white and father Hispanic. Her childhood would be marked by poverty and sexual abuse by a family friend, which would eventually steal her resolve to be a Social Worker as she matured into adulthood. In college she would meet and fall in love with a woman leading to her coming out and expulsion from her family. Nancy’s life would end early either from murder or accidental death. The time of death was preset but the form would be determined based on a choice point. Interestingly the choice point was not noted in the folder. “Hmm, curious that this is left out, what could be that dramatic?” Ahada pondered to herself.

Ahada put the first two folders back on the table. She stared at the Kavel folder. This was the one she would probably choose. Her mind was already made up even without reading it. Just the way Ra’uf made it sound pulled her in, never mind that it also caused a feeling of discomfort in her gut. Intuition seemed to be trying to tell her that something was a little off with this one. She pushed that aside, picked up the folder and began to read.

Kavel would be born an heir to an amazing fortune. His father would be kind and gentle. His mother would be domineering but unconditionally loving. He would be an only child but not spoiled. He would be taught the value of hard work and earning money in a very honest way as well as giving back to those less fortunate. There would be a choice point, actually two and possibly three, in his life as well. This would cause him to either choose the way of a darkening of his soul and destruction to the world or a way that would bring more light into his soul and freedom and healing into the world.

“Shit, this is more daunting than I imagined,” Ahada began to worry. “Do I really want to take on this responsibility? Can I really handle this? Once I am there and entrenched in the experience can I trust myself enough to remember who I am so I will choose the right direction to produce the best outcome?”

******************

“DAR-I-US! GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW!” Syntyche screamed at the top of her lungs.

“What my lord. What do you need?” Darius came running in short of breath.

“I just saw the vapor monitoring for last month. Why didn’t you tell me the vapor levels had increased?”

“There was only an increase of .005%. That didn’t seem to warrant any red flags.”

“Darius, ANY increase warrants a red flag!”

“Yes, my lord. I won’t make the same mistake again. I will let you know if there is ever any sort of increase going forward.”

“Thank you.” Syntyche gathered her emotions back in check. “You may return to what you were doing.”

Darius turned away from Syntyche and walked through the door of her office. He had no clue what had just happened. A normally cool Syntyche was visibly panicked about a miniscule increase in the vapor readings.

“I hope this doesn’t mean the prophecy has started,” he pondered to himself. “No. No one believes that crap.” And with that Darius returned to watching TV at his desk and eating his bologna and cheese sandwich.

Syntyche pushed a button on her coat collar, “Please get Ra’uf and have him meet me in my office ASAP.”

“Yes, my lord,” a female voice on the other end responded.

******************

Clem remembered one last thing to tell Claviger Bentley, “Before I forget to tell you, the Sire and I have let the Controllers know. They will be expecting your request.” Then, with a polite handshake, Clem turned towards the door and left Claviger Bentley’s office. He let himself breath normal again as he walked his way back out.

Bentley continued to stare at the papers in disbelief. Sire had finally requested 727. There were so many times over the years people would ask when 727 would be considered and he would act like he didn’t understand what they were asking about. After a while everyone stopped asking and assumed it would never happen. Gossip had started a few decades back that Sire didn’t dare call for 727. Rumors ranged from 727 being ruined in the meltdown of 2069 to the fear of a possible PR disaster if something were to go wrong. There had already been way too many disasters in past. Yet, under Bentley’s watch the disasters had diminished. He and his team had developed and come close to mastering the restoration process.

They put in place teams of psychologist, religious experts, as well as the doctors they had always had. As they continued to come close to perfecting the physical aspect of the process, each restoration gave them more insight into the possible issues they could encounter after the physical recovery was stabilized. In the beginning, no one had seriously considered the mental or spiritual aspects of what they were trying to do. Under Bentley’s guidance they started to and it was this that turned things around dramatically for Bavel Corporation. Bentley couldn’t help but feel like this request was a testament to his work as Head Claviger. He let himself feel a little bit of pride, but for only a brief moment. If anything went wrong with 727, it could be his downfall.

He had been so focused on 727 that he took little notice of what entity the other request was related to. He didn’t care at this point. He needed to get preparations ready for both and was very focused. 727’s restoration was the main thing that mattered to him right now.

Bentley picked up his phone and dialed his lead Claviger, Stanley.

“Hello, Claviger Bentley. What may I do for you this fine day?” Stanley asked in a professionally polite tone.

“Stanley, I am going to be bringing you paperwork for two entities the Sire has requested for restoration. I will be overseeing this personally and am entrusting the preparations to you.”

“Yes sir. I have been prepping ten others, do you want me to continue with those or hold off?”

“Can you give those to Claviger Daniel?”

“Yes, I believe I can. The couple he was working on were put back on hold due to some minor complications with reentry.”

“Well then, do that and I will be down shortly.” Claviger Bentley hung up the phone and sat back in his chair and started to breathe again.

On the other end Stanley took the phone away from his ear and stared at the receiver. “What the fuck,” he accidently said out loud. Thankfully no one in nearby cubes heard him. “What entities could it be that the Sire requested that he and Claviger Bentley supervise,” he pondered. “Could it be? No. Too much time has passed. It would be too risky. But with the new company strategic growth plan they rolled out, it may be just the risk the Sire is willing to take. No matter what, looks like we got something big going down, or rather waking up.” Stanley chuckled to himself.

******************

Slowly, with measured steps, Syntyche made her way to the deepest level, politely called “the basement”, but in trusted company they called it the “crypt”. There were many rumors over the years around what was on the other side of the door. Whenever Syntyche was asked about it she would just smile and say “I don’t dare tell you. It is the stuff of nightmares.” Her face would be all scrunched and serious. When she would turn and walk away from them she would hold her giggles until far enough away for them not to hear her. In reality it wasn’t so much what was beyond the door that was scary, it was what was held on the seven lower floors, on the other side of the door.

An impromptu meeting had been scheduled with her counterpart on the other side. Both divisions had been seeing increases in the vapor readings. On Syntyche’s side it was seen as a serious concern, which was why, after talking to Ra’uf, she put in the last minute request for this meeting. It was dramatically affecting the results of the experiment that had been designed for Ahada and those like her. Syntyche and The Counsel were seeing how the vapor issues were tipping the results more towards the other side, even when it was something pulled from their Louvnit Division. The other division, Lawcipher Division, didn’t see an issue with it at all. They rather enjoyed the turn of events that seemed to be leading them back to a place where they could start to exert more force.

Meeting with her counterpart regarding work related issues was never pleasant. They each had their side to uphold. It made discussions, like the one she was about to have, rather antagonistic. However, when they met outside of work for the rare but special social occasions, they enjoyed each other’s company immensely. There was a long history between the two of them and it was only by a few choice points handled differently that Syntyche ended up in the Louvnit Division and Jezey ended up in the Lawcipher Division.

She arrived at the second to last door. This one she was allowed to go through. On the other side was a neutral room where the two sides meet. Neither side was allowed entrance into the other’s area, except for certain special occasions. Syntyche opened the door and walked in. She scanned the softly lit room. It was a nice size and set up like an employee lounge. The two security cameras, near the Lawcipher entrance, were up and running as indicated by the little green light on the top of each camera. The Lawcipher Division was very big on making sure everything ran as it should, or rather as they believed it should. The leather couches against the east and west wall looked worn but were empty. Her eyes continued to scan the room and landed on the table in the center of the room, she let out a sigh of relief. Jezey wasn’t there yet. She found her chair at the ornately carved oak table in the center of the room. She took a few moments to gather her thoughts and considered the possible directions the discussion might take once Jezey appeared.

******************

Claviger Stanley cleaned up his desk in anticipation of Head Claviger Bentley’s arrival. He needed to find the files for the ten restorations he was working on and pass them onto Claviger Daniel, as well as give the appearance of everything being in order. He knew where the folders were. He thought of his desk as organized chaos; like the Creator when bringing things into reality, he would joke at people’s comments. Claviger Stanley’s breathing started to speed up and become shallow. The files weren’t where he thought they were. “Crap,” he panicked to himself. Lifting up his comic books, old scraps of paper with reminders that no longer made sense, last week’s sandwich wrapper, and the invitation to last year’s company holiday party. Still no sign of the files. He started to sweat just a little as his hands moved ever faster digging through the not-so organized chaos on his desk. Then as his head turned to move another pile of chaos out of the way he saw the files to his left. They were stacked nicely on top of the filing cabinet. Suddenly he remembered he had already set them aside.

“What a dummy,” he quietly whispered to himself. Claviger Stanley stood up straight, adjusted his bow tie, and let his breathing return to normal.

******************

Ahada found herself sinking into ever deepening worried thoughts just as Ra’uf came back into his office. She looked up from her own place of fear and noticed that he’d come back seemingly agitated and concerned. He was unsuccessfully trying to hide his nervousness. He closed his eyes, centered himself and took a deep breath. After a moment of silence, he began to speak.

“So,” he began with a tinge of shakiness in his voice. “How is the review going? Any decision on which assignment yet?”

Ra’uf still stood in the doorway. His hands were shaking. He tried to stuff them in the pockets of his hooded thobe. Thankfully Ahada was still engrossed in reading and didn’t notice the slight quiver in his voice or his hands. He liked neither lying to her nor trying to manipulate her into doing anything, yet at this point it seemed that he may have to. It all depended on what expression she chose. He prayed she chose the one they NEEDED her to choose. He dreaded the thought of what he would have to do if he couldn’t convince her.

Historically there have been a few times when The Counsel has surprised, for lack of a better description, an expression by tricking it into thinking it was going to experience its final choice. However, during reentry the expression noticed a subtle change in what they were told they would experience. At this point either the expression would abort the reentry somehow or would continue on but would never quite be able to adjust.  Even with the SMB’s in place the expression would sense something was not quite right and struggle to live out this expression. More often than not most would choose to end their experience early whether consciously or unconsciously. Once they returned it took a long time to rebuild trust in their guide and The Counsel. Ra’uf wasn’t willing to lose Ahada’s trust this way and his hands were tied if she chose differently.

Once more Ra’uf asked, able to hide the nervousness and fear better, “Pacachy, how is it going?”

“Fine. What happened? You look more white than usual.” She commented.

“Nothing happened.” He hated lying to her. “I just ran back in anticipation of your choice. It is getting close to the reentry window.”

“Oh, did the timing change for that? I thought I still had some time.”

“Yes, it did change. There have been some interesting developments. We are really excited to get you down there and see you blossom.” Ra’uf was doing his best to smile from his heart to hide what he was feeling in his gut.

“Well then,” Ahada smiled. “I assume you want to know what expression I am going with.”

“Yes, beloved. I would love to hear.”

“Then you will be happy to know I am going with the insane choice, although my stomach slightly knots when I think about it. I am going with Kavel.”

Ra’uf lets out a huge sigh. All the muscles in his body relaxed and his heart returned to a normal beat.

“You made the wisest choice, my little Pacachy. You won’t regret this and will have the most amazing time.” One last lie from Ra’uf and Ahada’s choice was sealed.