Enough time had passed, and Atxi couldn’t put it off anymore. Kasumi had continued on her travels, but after being tutored by Hannah and Irsu, she was coming to grips with the fact that this was indeed Real.
She never had gotten back to the ‘anthropologist’, or the ‘Movie Director’ about her people. She was under no obligation to do so, and everyone agreed that there would be plenty of others to answer questions.
The Classes had gone well, and she had learned how to read the local language, she had learned how to use the Technology that seemed to be everywhere. She had asked question after question, and learned things she had never imagined. Things that had just been the ‘power of the gods’ for all her life.
Irsu had stayed on to help her learn. At first she was grateful, then nervous. He was definitely leading her in one direction, though she could tell he was trying not to pressure her into it.
But at last, the biggest question couldn’t be put off. Atxi had learned about the Solar System. She had learned why the sun came up every day, and set every night. She had seen pictures of the Sun, taken from a lot closer that her eyes could see. She had seen pictures of the Earth, taken from far enough away that she could see the shape of it, and that there was nothing underneath.
I was meant to go to the Sun. Huitzilopochtli was going to take me to The White Place, and I was to be with The Sun...
She had been crying out to Huitzilopochtli for months, trying to reconcile her beliefs with those pictures; and received no answer. If her own Gods weren’t going to help her, she would have to plead her case personally.
Once she’d made up her mind, she was sorry she had waited so long. She was up early, and out of the Dorm before breakfast, looking for Irsu.
Irsu was walking with half a dozen young dogs, all of them straining at the leads he was holding. “You have pets.” She observed. “You didn’t seem the type.”
“They aren’t mine.” He said with a smile, scratching one of the pups behind the ears. “Back in the Old Days, they would train animals like this for helping with the disabled. They could do a lot of useful tasks for their human friends. But here in this world, there are no disabled. So we’ve got a small army of creatures who are full of love and loyalty to humans, looking for a way to be helpful.”
“What do you train them for?”
“A lot of things.” Irsu said, as he reached into his bag and pulled out a large orange, tossing it to her. “We’re a very busy planet these days. If these guys can pick up a specific person by scent, deliver a message back and forth, fetch a specific tool; seek out a specific fruit or plant… Every little bit helps.” He petted the nearest one. “There’s not much training to do at this stage, beyond letting them get used to people giving them direction. I help out here and there.”
The puppy nearest to Atxi was up on his haunches, reaching up at her playfully with his paws, and despite herself, she was smiling back. My mother raised animals like you for food.
Irsu found them a place to sit, and for a few minutes, they sat in the grass, eating oranges, feeding bits to puppies, who wagged their tails happily. It was a purely innocent moment, and almost made Atxi forget what was bothering her.
“Irsu.” She confronted her guide over breakfast. “There’s been a mistake. I don’t belong here. I belong with my own people. I belong with Huitzilopochtli.”
Irsu bit his lip. “Oh, Atxi. I was hoping you’d realize this on your own, but-”
“No, I know what you’re going to say.” Atxi held a hand up. “You’re going to say there was never any such thing; but if you’d wound up in my afterlife, I could have said the same to you. I want to speak to whoever makes that choice.”
“The word you are searching for is ‘prayer’.” Irsu said lightly.
“No offence, Irsu. I know you’re an honest man, and I know you want to help. But I don’t accept this place, and I want to ask someone…” She tried to say it kindly.
“Someone higher on the food chain than me?” Irsu guessed.
“Yes. How do I do this?”
“The Judge.” Irsu said, not offended. “But I doubt he’ll give you an answer you want to hear.”
~oo00oo~
Walter started with the kids. They would do odd jobs for little luxuries. He could get them mowing people’s lawns and scrubbing their windows; and pay them in candy. There were rules, back in OS; but here, it was a lot simpler. There weren’t even worried parents watching over his shoulder every second.
The hardest part was finding customers. People did their own plumbing in this world, so scrubbing their windows wasn’t a hardship they cared to pay for; but he was still as good a salesman as ever.
The currency was bland, compared to the kind of greenbacks he was used to. He hadn’t seen much of it being used, even in the marketplaces, which were mostly food-based. Walter wondered how a world so focused on beauty could have such such unimpressive cash. It was practically monopoly money. The answer came to him from David, who was checking in on how he was going:
“It’s because we’re not worried about counterfeiting.” David told him patiently. “Back in the day, money had to be made in great detail, so that it would be difficult to fake. That’s not how it is anymore.”
“I honestly don’t know if I’m happy about that.” Walter drawled. “I’ve only made a hundred credits or so, all week.”
“Walter, that’s more cash-on-hand than I’ve had since I was old enough to know what money was.” David commented. “You know that I was serious, when I said-”
“I know. I know, you guys are all about money being the root of all evil, all that good stuff. I’ve heard it before.” Walter promised kindly. “But I remember the people who help me out when I need help. I promise, I’ll do right by you. That’s how it works here, right? You take care of each other, and live forever for it.”
David hesitated. “Not exactly.”
Walter looked over. “What do you mean?”
~oo00oo~
Judge Dailey was young-looking, like everyone. But Atxi could tell at once that he had Authority. While the world lived in peace, it still had questions that needed answering, and matters of administration to settle. Getting a sit-down with a Judge was not difficult, but finding free time in his schedule was much harder.
“In Bible times, the Judges would sit at the Gates to a city and hear petitions, offer counsel, render judgements as needed, and mediate disputes.” Dailey said as Atxi sat with him. “Here in this world, there’s very little that involves crime and disputes between brothers. But when someone needs counsel, I am happy to give it.” He closed his Bible, giving her his full attention. “And Irsu felt that I should be the one to speak to you, as I was a Tribulation Witness.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Irsu tells me that you’re still viewing this world as a form of Christian Afterlife. You wouldn’t be the first Returnee to think so, but something I can assure you is that this is not an Afterlife of any kind. The way I can be certain of that, is because I was here when the world began. I did not die, Atxi. And I never will. This is not an ‘other world’ in any form. And at first, it needed someone to build homes, plant crops, gather resources. I was one of those people.”
Atxi said nothing, though she felt a tremor hit her, deep in the gut.
“This cannot be an afterlife, if you never have to die to get here. It isn’t a Heaven of any kind, or the place would have been built and prepared for visitors before we arrived. What Heaven requires you to weave your own underwear?” He looked at her. “Was yours? I’m told that when you got here, you thought it was Tialocan. Was that place meant to be anything like this?”
“I don’t know, exactly.” Atxi admitted. “All I know is, I wasn’t meant to wind up here.”
“That man who left when you came in? He is a Roman, who died in the name of Jupiter fighting against the Gauls, in the fourth century. A thousand years before you. Did his soul take a wrong turn on the way to the Elysian Fields?”
Atxi scowled. “Irsu said the same thing when he showed me The Tree.” Atxi gestured at the door. “Why couldn’t he just go where he wanted to go?”
Dailey had his Bible open. “‘Then Elijah approached all the people and said: ‘How long will you be limping between two different opinions? If Jehovah is the true God, follow him; but if Baʹal is, follow him!’”
Atxi blinked. “I don’t understand.”
“The Old World had a million different ideas. Whether they believed they’d be re-incarnated as an animal, or would have to Pay a Ferryman, or even the idea that they’d be in Hell, tormented for eternity. All of those beliefs, all of those billions, are all coming here.” The Judge looked at her earnestly. “This world is the one described in our scripture. You ask all those people what they thought it would be like? Only one group what they expected. It’s not a mistake, because it’s happening to everyone who ever lived. This world was always where we were all going.”
Atxi set her jaw. “You’re very polite about it, but you are calling me stupid. A girl who died for her belief in a fairytale.”
Dailey nodded. “Would it help you to know that I was in the same boat, once? I was not raised a JW. At the time, it was an unpopular opinion; and part of me always wondered: If a thousand people tell you that you’re wrong, doesn’t that make you wrong?”
Atxi hesitated. Those ‘thousands’ of people were here now, telling her she was wrong; which was surely his point. “Brother Dailey, when you were outnumbered a thousand to one, your faith was sufficient to tell you that you were right.”
“This is true.” Dailey admitted, opening his Bible. “But my faith told me that this world was coming, and it came. You can have faith that the earth is flat, but the earth does not change shape; no matter how certain you are.”
Atxi had no answer to that.
“‘I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who imparted power to me, because he considered me faithful by assigning me to a ministry, although formerly I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. Nevertheless, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and with a lack of faith.’” Dailey read. “A good third of the Greek Scriptures were written by a man who spent his early life torturing and executing early Christians; until he saw the Truth for himself. A truth so bright it left him blind. This verse applies to you, Atxi. And all the people who invaded and pillaged your people in the name of the Lord will say the same.”
Atxi looked down. “Then why do I still believe in Huitzilopochtli?”
“Because God does not brainwash his people.” The Judge was smiling. “And that’s no small thing. Some of the largest religions in history have beaten children for asking difficult questions, rather than blindly obeying. I’ve spoken to members of religions that would drug people as part of their worship. That’s not faith, that’s abuse.”
“What about this place?” Atxi countered, pointing at her face. “What happens to the people who don’t accept your religion? Is it really any better?”
“Jesus said, ‘Every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit; a good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit... Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men’.” The Judge said lightly. “As a rule, you know a ‘good’ faith because of the good its followers do.”
“I got that from my faith.” Atxi insisted.
“Seriously?” He pointed at her. “Atxi, you grew up hoping to get your heart cut out!”
Heavy silence.
“Back in OS, I took a lot of convincing. By the time all this came along, I was convinced.” He reached out and took her hands. “I’ll tell you what they told me: Never stop asking questions. Never stop trying to find the facts, never stop challenging what you’ve been taught. If your teacher is ignorant, find a better teacher, or find the answers yourself. And never, ever stop ‘peering into’ the sacred things of God.” He looked into her eyes so earnestly. “There’s no blood being spilled here. Not for money, not for war, and not for any God. The ultimate Comparison test. Jehovah is the one who provided Peace On Earth. If you can believe that this world is indeed real, and if you can accept it is a good world, then maybe you can take a leap of your own.”
It was the right answer. One that made sense to Atxi, even if she didn’t like it. “Judge, if all this is true… And I can’t find a reason to refute it yet; then it means I’ve spent my life chasing someone’s daydream.”
“You weren’t a fool, Atxi. Just misinformed. A victim of the most elaborate lie from the most powerful liar there’s ever been. You were tricked. As were so many others; including, for a time, the majority of us here. But we recognized the Truth when we heard it. That’s the only difference between me and you.”
Long silence.
Finally, Atxi shook her head. “No.”
He didn’t push. “Back in the old days, the Witnesses were evangelists. There wasn’t a single community in the world that they didn’t try to preach to. Every door, every street, every language. Or as many as they could. Certainly more than anyone else. Because time was running out desperately for that world. In this world, there is nothing that can distract you from God. Nothing that can injure you, or take your life before you make up your mind. Time is on your side now.”
“Time. But not forever.” Atxi said. It wasn’t a question. “That much I’ve figured out on my own.”
The Judge regarded her silently for a moment, and pulled out his Bible again. “Isaiah 65:20. ‘No more will there be an infant from that place who lives but a few days, Nor an old man who fails to live out his days. For anyone who dies at a hundred will be considered a mere boy, And the sinner will be cursed, even though he is a hundred years of age’.”
Atxi nodded. “Sounds like a long time, doesn’t it?”
~oo00oo~
David was having a similar conversation with Walter. “I tell you this so that you’ll know where your priorities lie in this world. You heard me and my father say it: All problems can be solved with time.”
“And I plan to give it my full attention, once I've established myself.” Walter promised.
David looked at him pointedly. “Walter, I’ve been hoping you’d figure this out on your own, but it’s clearly not sunk in: You’re chasing after a life that doesn’t exist anymore. A life that was lived in a world that doesn’t exist anymore.”
“I know.” Walter said without hesitation. “Rest assured, I’m giving this world the due consideration. But when I make a decision about the future, I do so with resources. It’s what I do.”
~oo00oo~
Judge Dailey was as gentle as he could be. “Some of the heroes of our faith made the breakthrough instantly, the second they saw something new. A lifetime is more than long enough to change your mind about something, Atxi.”
“If I’ve been praying to a fable for my entire life, I’m not about to swear my soul to another one. You don’t make mistakes like that twice.” Atxi growled lightly. “And I’m still not entirely convinced this isn’t just a very elaborate test to see if I belong with Huitzilopochtli.”
~oo00oo~
“You know that there are no bargains to be made with God, right?” David asked. “I just want to be clear on that point, Jehovah is not the least bit impressed by how comfortable your house is, or how full your bank account is.”
“I understand that.” Walter nodded. “This world is about 20% what I expected, and 15% what I hoped for the future. I know better than to think I can ‘renegotiate’ my life with God. But this is how I make my world better. Anyone would do it if they had the same kind of mind, the same kind of expertise that I have.”
David could have argued that one, but knew there was no point.
“Once I get things running, then I can give the rest my full attention.” Walter promised. “But if I don’t make this my top priority, the fact is, it’ll always be on my mind. I keep my focus where it has to be.”
“And if you don’t succeed?” David asked.
Walter finally looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what if you don’t make a mountain of money?” David clarified. “The world has changed; and a lot of people have tried chasing El Dorado over the course of human history. What if you aren’t the first one pull it off?”
Walter gave him a pitying look. “You really have no idea, do you?”
David sighed, and stood up to leave. “Okay.”
~oo00oo~
Judge Dailey didn’t push Atxi any further. “It’s not an easy thing to make that much of a change. It will be hard. When I made the decision back in the Old Days, I thought that it was right that it’s hard. Something like eternal life in paradise shouldn’t come easy. It’s the ultimate prize, after all.” He closed his Bible, bringing the meeting to a close. “My advice? Look around. Really look at the world. Take part in things. Talk to people; listen to their stories.” He smiled, eyes misting. “They are very wonderful stories.” He released her hands. “But Satan’s world is dead, and I hate the idea that it’s still claiming victims, even now.”
“That much I understand.” She rose with him as their meeting ended. “Thank you for your time, Judge. I’m sorry it didn’t work out better for either of us.”
“It worked out fine, Atxi.” He said with a warm smile for her. “What you said, about how you’ve been chasing an illusion for your whole life? Your life has barely begun. Take one step on the straight and narrow path, and you’ll have eternal youth. What’s the first few moments next to that?”
Atxi nodded slowly and left, heavy-hearted.
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