NC Chapter 3

Read and find out. I don't want to spoil anything.

3

Unfortunately for Nira, the following days and weeks weren’t filled with nearly as much excitement as that first one. They did many of the same things, yes, but nothing else supernatural happened during them. Nina found that the meditation sessions each morning were actually quite relaxing, despite the mountain face facing the direction of the rising sun. She still didn't understand what Gerya meant about “clearing her mind”, but it was nice to be alone with her thoughts. Not that what preceded it was at all calming. Gerya was a fan of century-old alarm clocks, the ones that were seemed to be hard all over Kholib when they went off.

“So tell me, Nira,” Gerya said one day as they were working in the lab, “What law are we studying today?

Nira looked up from her hydrogen peroxide flask just long enough to answer. “We’re experimenting with the laws of chemical reaction in creating new substances.”

Gerya laughed. “How very scientific of you. Put it in layman’s terms for us old people.”

Nira rolled her eyes. She knew perfectly well that Gerya knew what she had said. “I’m putting chemicals together to make a new thing.”

“Excellent. And how do you plan to do this?”

Nira pointed at the flask of peroxide in her hand. “Most peroxide used for medicinal purposes is only about six percent pure, as anything more concentrated will melt any part of the body it comes in contact with. This, however, is forty percent purity. That level of concentration is necessary for the reaction that’s going to take place. I’m going to take this peroxide, and add it to this common dish soap,” she pointed at another flask, “And create a foam volcano.”

Gerya chuckled. “That was much more blunt, Nira. What happened to the chemistry jargon?”

She shrugged a response. “That’s what’s going to happen. A foam volcano.”

“Show me.”

Nira nodded, but then stopped. “You’re not wearing safety goggles, Gerya.”

The older woman rolled her eyes and grabbed a pair from a hook on the wall. She snapped them on her head with a note of finality. “There,” she said, “Are you happy now?”

“Perfectly.” Nira laced her fingers together and cracked her knuckles, a nervous habit she had picked up from her mother. The woman had always done it before she did an experiment, saying it was good luck. Nira didn’t believe in luck, not anymore, so she dove straight in. She took the flask of peroxide and poured it into the soap. She’d made sure beforehand to stick the soap inside a large pan so the foam didn’t overflow onto the linoleum; she also held the flask in her unbandaged hand. Her left one was still recovering from its burn a few days ago, when the water flask had randomly started boiling. It was disorienting not using it�"she was left-handed, after all�"but there was nothing else she could do without risking a flask breaking. It still hurt to grip anything in the injured hand.

There was a single moment where nothing happened, a moment full of anticipation. Both she and Gerya watched as the peroxide hit the soap, dissolved, and caused a massive spout of orange foam to gush upward. The geyser didn’t go so high as to cover anything in foam, but it was still an impressive eight inches. It held for a few more seconds, then sputtered out, little rivulets of liquid foam running down the neck of the flask.

Gerya clapped quietly, a small tapping of her palms that barely made a sound at all. Nira couldn’t tell if she meant it to be patronizing or not.

“Bravo,” Gerya said, a bit sarcastically, therefore answering Nira’s internal question, “Well done. But what was the point?”

Nira glared at her, frustration and anger boiling away inside her, like the peroxide and the soap in the flask. What was the point? Nira didn’t know, and Gerya wasn’t helping. She’d come here to learn how to do things like what she’d done outside meditating, when she’d levitated herself by accident. She wanted to learn how to do the things people talked about in hushed whispers when referring to Gerya the Outcast. What was the point? What was the point?

“That’s what I’ve been asking you!” Nira finally snapped, rage exploding, “You’re the one who told me to explore the laws of science, but you haven’t told me why!”

Gerya froze. This was the first time Nira had raised her voice at Gerya, and it was especially disconcerting because she had always acted so subservient around the older woman.

She sighed. “I’m sorry, Gerya.”

“Don’t be,” Gerya replied, all sarcasm gone, “You’re right. I haven’t told you why you’re doing any of this. The problem is, Nira, is that I can’t. There are very specific rules to this, and one of the first is that I can’t tell you why you’re doing this.”

“Creator shatter the rules, Gerya!” Nira exclaimed, “Isn’t that what you did in trying to bring the factions together?”

Gerya chuckled. “Creator shatter the rules, eh? Well, he can’t very well do that.”

Nira frowned in confusion. “What?”

“Oh, nothing. Now please be quiet; I’m trying to think of what I can tell you.”

Nira was about to say something, but quickly stopped. If Gerya actually wanted to tell her secrets, by all means, Nira would shut up. This was why she’d come here, this was why she’d abandoned her home and her factional allegiance.

“Nira,” Gerya began, “Think about the laws of the universe. I don’t mean any specific one, but think about the concept. What do they accomplish, what is their purpose?”

Nira thought for a moment; this hadn’t been the explanation she’d been expecting. “I suppose…” she said, “They keep the world in balance, so that it makes sense.”

“But,” Gerya continued, “Something no Science member has ever asked is why? Why do they exist? Why must gravity pull things toward an object, instead of repelling it. Why is mercury a liquid at room temperature, while steel is not? Why do the numbers 1, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on appear so frequently in nature? Why can numbers and symbols explain the concept of turbulence?”

Nira frowned. Gerya was right; her mother had taken those laws for granted, never questioning their existence. “Are you saying there’s a purpose behind their existence?....” realization dawned on her, “Are you saying the Creator made them?”

“Exactly,” Gerya said, smiling, “And that is why I believe Science and Faith should not be factions, but one and the same. The Science Faction claims that the Creator cannot be real because he performs miracles that defy the laws of physics, but by my logic, since He created these laws, he can manipulate them as well.”

“But that makes so much sense!” Nira exclaimed, excitement returning, “Why don’t both factions know about this?”

“You think I didn’t try to tell them? That was one of the main points of a second treatise I wrote; unfortunately, all copies were banned and destroyed within months of my publishing it. There was no way for the information to circulate beyond the GBSF and the Pontiff’s Council.”

“So He is real,” Nira said, breathless. This was it, the confirmation she’d been seeking, almost like a Faith member’s pilgrimage to Jaur-sulom to discover God. “But,” she said, another question striking her, “If the Creator can manipulate the laws of physics, why can you do it too?”

Gerya stared at her. “Who says I can?”

Nira rolled her eyes. “Gerya, I’m not stupid; that must be the way you have these strange abilities. I’m guessing you changed the law of thermodynamics that first day to warm me up when I was cold.”

“You,” Gerya said, smiling, “Are incredibly perceptive. I should’ve expected nothing less from a woman of the Science Faction. You’re again correct, that’s exactly what I did. Unfortunately, Nira, we’re now treading on ground where I hands-down cannot say anything, not even in circulatory language, to explain to you that question. It’s something you have to discover on your own.”

“What?” Nira replied, aghast, “But we’re so close, Gerya. We can’t just stop this discussion here; this information is why I wanted to come here in the first place!”

“I know, Nira, but my hands are tied. I can’t say anything else on the subject.”

Nira growled a bit. “Ugh, even your answers give me more questions! This is so stupid Gerya; I just wanted a straight answer.”

Gerya didn’t answer, she just had an apologetic look on her face. “Come on,” she finally said, “Let’s break for lunch.”

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

That night, Nira lay awake, mind working as quickly and fully as it had been all day. Gerya hadn’t brought up the subject of the laws of science and the Creator again; they’d had an afternoon meditation session, which Nira failed miserably due to her mind being “clouded by frustration and resentment,” as Gerya put it, and a discussion of some of the latest discoveries made by scientists.

I can’t keep doing this, she thought to herself, This redundant schedule is stupid. Gerya won’t tell me anything important, these meditation sessions aren’t helping. Why did I even come here? Did I legitimately think that a pariah of both Science and Faith would be able to tell me anything useful? She’d been a fool. Abandoning her father, still grieving after her mother’s death, leaving her friends and job to go after a woman she knew had been denounced and banished. What had she been thinking?

Gerya, being asleep, was completely unaware of Nira’s inner turmoil. But then again, why did Nira care if Gerya knew or not. She was becoming increasingly sure that the old woman was just desperate for company, so she’d made up these stories about possessing strange talents in order to get people to come visit her.

But no, Gerya was able to do these things. Nira was, however, sure that it wasn’t something that could be taught to someone else. Gerya was just doing this for the company.

Well, if that was the case, then Nira had had enough. She wasn’t going to dance around to this woman’s tune, regardless of how up-to-date her laboratory was. She missed her home, the hustle and bustle of the Science faction’s capital city. She missed saying hello to friends and strangers alike as she walked down the street; and, as much as she would hate to admit it to Gerya, she missed her phone and music player. She hated not being in touch with the current events and social circle of Khienca, and finally, she came to a decision.

It’s time for me to go, she thought, getting up quietly so as to not awake Gerya to her flight. She grabbed a nearby flashlight and started looking around, trying to find the pack she’d brought on the hike up here. She vaguely remembered Gerya tossing off somewhere when she’d first arrived. Where had that been?

Eventually, after a few minutes of silent, careful searching, she found it stuffed in between one of the sofas and a shelf of books. Sighing in relief, Nira grabbed the pack and took it over to the kitchen area, where she packed it with plenty of provisions for the two-day trek back down the mountain to Khienca. Finally, not without hesitation, she went to the lab and swiped one of the laptops stored in a cupboard. It was only fair for Gerya to replace the one Nira had foolishly tossed over a cliff.

There, she thought, Ready to go.

Wait, no she wasn’t. Mentally slapping her forehead, Nira grabbed a heavy coat from a rack set up in an area where Gerya stored her clothes. Nira noticed that interior designing became very odd when there were no walls separating rooms. Still, it was easy to find everything. The coat was a bit big, but it was just more material to keep out the cold.

As Nira made her way to the hatch that led to the outside, she glanced back to where Gerya was sleeping away in the darkness.

Goodbye, Gerya, she thought, saluting sarcastically, And thanks for nothing.

The hatch made a small scraping noise as she pulled it open, but if there was one thing Nira had noticed about Gerya over the last few weeks, it was that she could sleep. Nothing woke her up until the alarm clock did. Maybe that was why she needed one that was so loud.

The air was bitingly chilly as she stepped outside. How had she survived the nights out here on the way up? So much of that journey was vague; Nira had been exhausted by the end of it, and couldn’t remember exactly when she’d lost her jacket on the way up.

Flashlight illuminating the narrow path, she started her way down, making sure to avoid slippery patches of ice that would send her sliding down the cliffside.

Why? a quiet part of her asked, Why are you leaving?

There’s nothing for me here, she told herself, Gerya’s a stupid old woman who just desperately wants someone to talk to. It doesn’t matter that she was right about the existence of the Creator, she can’t teach me about these so-called talents. Besides, I got the information I came for.

But you can’t know for sure that Gerya can’t teach you. You’ve always dreamed about this, dreamed about a way you could have saved your mother. Why give up the chance?

Nira stopped. What was she doing, saying? She’d made her decision to leave; there was no time to second-guess herself. Such thoughts would just make the journey harder. She thought she’d gotten rid of her doubts.

It’s not like these doubts just went away as soon as you left, that quiet part of her continued, You can’t ignore them. Your mother died, your father doesn’t pay attention to you anymore; you’re as lonely as Gerya is. Why kid yourself anymore?

Why are you saying this? Nira thought, I’m leaving, and that’s final.

Ah, but I don’t think it is, came the reply, You can’t leave. Not yet.

Nira froze. That part of her, the quiet voice… it no longer sounded like her. The voice wasn’t a part of her anymore.

“Who are you?” she shouted in the darkness, “Where are you? Why are you telling me this?”

I went to great lengths to get you to Gerya, Nira, it said, And I don’t want you to leave. Not after everything I’ve done for you, not after your mother. You need to be happy again, to learn that as much as you loved your mother, you cannot let her death destroy your life, as it did your father’s. Your mother wants you to stay, Nira. Think about that.

Nira began to cry, heaving sobs as her tears streamed down her cheeks to drop on the ground. She fell on her hands and knees, crying so hard she could no longer stand. Who was this person, who could tell her things she’d been trying to tell herself for years now? Who could reduce her to a child on the ground, crying for her mother?

“I want her back,” she gasped, hardly able to get the words out, “I want my mother back.”

I know, the voice said, a tone so sympathetic and loving that she started crying harder, And I want you to know that you will see her again. But first, you must do all you can to carry on her legacy. For better or for worse, Liran wanted an end to the factions, the squabbling. She just went about solving the problem in the wrong way.

“But how?” Nira said, calming down a bit, “How can I do that? I’m just a girl, with no mother and a father who doesn’t love anyone anymore. What can I do?”

You can learn, and grow. In more ways than you ever thought possible. All you have to do is ask for my help.

Nira was starting to understand just who she was talking to. “You’re… you’re…”

Yes.

She gasped, stepping backward. “Yes, please, please help me. If anyone can, it’s you.”

Very well.

Nira stood there, waiting for whatever help it was the voice was giving her. Slowly, she began to feel peaceful, warm, despite the bitter cold all around her. She started crying again, but this time because the feeling of love and peace was completely overwhelming.

Take my blessing, Nira, and do what you have to.

What was that? She looked around in the darkness, not believing what she was seeing. All around her, there was a glow, but not from any conventional light source; it looked like the glow was coming from the air itself. She saw the individual atoms, molecules of CO2, oxygen, and nitrogen. They swirled around her in a complicated, intricate symphony of motion. She could see an… energy of some kind, dictating this movement, telling the molecules how to move to stay in a gaseous state.

Is that… the law? she thought, The law that says that oxygen and the other elements are gases at this temperature?

What was more, she could almost… touch it. She reached out with one hand  and felt the warm energy flow around it. She tried to move it, make a gas molecule slow down, and the energy of the law moved accordingly, causing tiny flakes of pure oxygen to solidify. They fell into her palm, not cold at all.

Did I just…? solid gases were supposed to be beyond freezing cold, that’s what the law of temperature said. She had just changed it.

This is what you can do, if you stay, she heard the voice say. Suddenly, the glow, the law, was gone. What remained was a small trail of light, leading back up the trail the Gerya’s cave.

Thank you, Nira thought, thank you… Creator. She began to follow the light back up the path, completely entranced by its beauty. So entranced, unfortunately, that she didn’t even see the icy patch her foot came into contact with.

She slipped, not even making a sound as she tumbled off the cliff and plunged into the abyss below.