NC Chapter 5

Where everything culminates.

5

“Ow!” Nira yelled as Gerya pressed a pack of ice to her chest.

“Oh, calm down,” Gerya said, “It’s for your own good. The ice will lessen the pain from those ribs of yours.”

“Aren’t you supposed to wrap my chest up tightly or something?” Nira asked, holding the ice to her chest, annoyed.

“Oh, dear Creator, no! That would keep you from breathing deeply and might even cause lung collapse. No, the only thing for it is for you to keep an ice pack on your ribs at all times and lie down for at least an hour each day on your injured side.”

Nira looked her quizzically. “On the injured side? Why in the world would I do that?”

“Because you’ll be able to breathe deeply. Trust me, Nira, I know what I’m doing.”

Nira sighed in exasperation, but laid down like Gerya told her to.

“Good,” Gerya said, “Now, take this pain medication. Cracked ribs normally heal on their own, but I don’t want you straining yourself too much. You can still walk around and do the things you normally do, just don’t do too much heavy lifting or some of the more dangerous experiments in the lab. Got it?”

Nira nodded. It was fairly reasonable, considering she’d just fallen off a cliff a few hours ago.

“By the way,” Gerya said, “What happened back there? How in the world did you end up at the bottom of a ravine with only two cracked ribs?”

Nira breathed in, feeling only a slight twinge of pain from her ribcage. “It’s a long story, Gerya, but I’ll do my best. The real reason I came to see you has to do with my mother…” And so she told Gerya everything, told her about Liran’s death, her father’s grief, and how she felt guilty for not being able to do anything. How she’d heard about Gerya’s talents and wanted to learn them, so she wouldn’t feel helpless any longer. “I think that, deep down, I never really believed that the Creator existed. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t, and that’s why I felt your information was useless, that you were just using me. That’s why I left.”

“Then what happened?” Gerya asked. Her voice was soft, spellbound.

“As I was leaving, my mind was almost like it was at war with itself. I’d seen some of the things you could do, and I knew they weren’t fake, but I still felt just as helpless as I’d always been. As I walked down the mountain, those inner thoughts changed, becoming a voice I’d never heard before. It told me what I was refusing to believe: that I felt helpless, that I was doing this for my mother. He told me… he told me that I was the person he wanted to bring an end to the factions, to carry out my mother’s legacy. I couldn’t believe it, didn’t think I could do it, and that’s when it happened. I see what you meant when you said the Creator decides when someone can use this talent; it’s quite literal. The Creator gave me the power I was looking for. The problem was that, though He gave me a trail back up the mountain, I slipped on an icy patch and fell into the ravine. At that point, my memory gets a bit fuzzy. I remember trying to do something, anything to stop my fall. I think I messed with the law of pressure, because suddenly, the air below me was pushing me back upwards, slowing my fall. It must have been the sudden increase in pressure that cracked my ribs.”

“It must have been that,” Gerya agreed, “Rib fractures don’t normally happen because of falling.”

Nira stared at Gerya. Why was she being so calm? Nira was explaining how she’d run away, and Gerya wasn’t doing anything! She expected the older woman to berate her, scold her, something to make Nira know that what she did had been wrong. Not that she didn’t already know that, but she expected someone else to try and tell her.

“What?” Gerya asked, “What’s with the bewildered stare?”

“Nothing,” Nira said, “Just confused as to why you’re not angry.”

“Angry? I was afraid I’d find you at the bottom of that cliff dead! I’m just so relieved you’re alive, Nira. Besides, that little unscheduled trek you had turned out to be a lesson learned for the both of us.”

“If you say so,” Nira said.

“I’ll go make us some food,” Gerya said, “You must be hungry after all that.” She walked off to the kitchen area.

For the next hour, Nira just laid there, thinking about everything that had happened to her in the last day. She realized quickly that she was thirsty. Since Gerya had told her to lie there, there was only one thing to do. Tentatively, she looked around her, trying to see the laws of physics that she had been able to manipulate.

It’s not just a matter of seeing, she heard the Creator say suddenly, It’s a state of mind. It’s a bit hard to explain, but try to change the way your mind works.

How exactly is that supposed to work? Nira thought, but tried. It was extremely strange, but somehow, she managed to do it. It was like a glass door slid out of the way of her eyes, and the glowing light of the Creator’s laws shone plainly before her. She saw all of the gas molecules and atoms bouncing around her. Reaching out with one hand, she touched the energy that gave the law its purpose, changing it. Without a sound, the minute particles of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the air coalesced, becoming warm and solid, much like glass. Nira shaped the solid gas into a cup shape, then manipulated the hydrogen and oxygen together to fill the cup with water. It wasn’t a lot, barely a few mouthfuls, but it was enough to quench her thirst. She held the cup to her lips, noticing how exhausted mentally she was.

I assume that using this power exhausts the mind? she asked.

Kind of, came the reply, It has to do more with a mortal touching God’s power than it does with the exertion necessary to manipulate it. The human body is imperfect, and so too much exposure to divine power exhausts it.

It made sense. Nira couldn’t even fathom how the Creator had made these laws; she was only just learning how to change them. She drank the whole glass of water, then let the solid nitrogen sublimate back into a gaseous state. With her state of exhaustion, it was no surprise that soon she was asleep.

Nira was gently awoken by Gerya, who was holding a plate of food for her. She took it eagerly and slowly ate it all. “Did you have a nice rest?” Gerya asked, cleaning up the dishes, “It’s no surprise you needed it, after how little you got last night.”
“It was fine,” Nira said, “I also practiced a bit more.”

“Practiced?” Gerya asked. Nira could tell Gerya knew what she was talking about, but the old woman wanted to hear it from Nira herself.

She decided to not tell Gerya, but show her. Pushing that imaginary glass door open again, she concentrated on the glowing law of pressure inside of a bottle of water on Gerya’s bedside table. She changed the law, making it so water inside a plastic bottle exerted too much pressure for the bottle to stay together; with a popping sound, it burst apart. Gerya looked at it with no surprise, but with pride. “I’m not the only one anymore,” she said happily, a tear welling up in her eye, “And to think, you’re already doing so much so quickly. The Creator was right, Nira; you are special.” She stood up. “Now that we know about the Creator’s existence, it’s only right that I should teach you about prayer and His doctrine. Not the corrupted version taught by the Faith, but His real teachings. I’ll go prepare a lesson; you can start moving around again, but take it easy.” She went to the library area and immediately began searching through different books.

Nira, meanwhile, went straight for the lab. She wasn’t planning on doing any experiments, she just wanted to keep up with current events back in Khienca. She slapped her forehead as she realized that not only had her personal devices been tossed off the cliff, now one of the three laptops in the lab had been as well. Oh well, there were two more. She logged on to the laptop, typed in her name, and immediately checked the news. With a start, she realized that her face was in all the headlines. “Daughter of Late Governing Board Member Still Missing” read one, while another said, “Search for Nira still Ongoing”. She hadn’t realized that her father would cause such an uproar about her disappearance.

A message appeared in her online inbox. She paled visibly, realizing that the main info-net database would have been notified the minute she logged on to any computer with access to it. She opened the message.

So there you are, it read, How in the Creator’s name do you have access to the info-net in the mountains? It was from Kunar, another member of the Council that her mother had been friends with.

You’d be surprised, she typed back.

Creator’s hands, are you all right Nira? The entire city has been looking for you!

I’m fine, Kunar, she said, You can call off the search.

Absolutely not, came the reply, Not until you’re safe back in Khienca. Your father has been notified already.

WHAT!? she typed, using the caps-lock button to express her fear, Kunar, why in the Creator’s muddy hands did you do that!? I ran away partly to get away from him!

Nira, he’s the only family you have left. Nira didn’t reply, and soon enough, Kunar messaged again. Wait, are you on the Mount? Dear Creator, Nira, did you go to Gerya?

And what if I did? Nira said, You know nothing about her, Kunar.

She could almost see him shaking his head at her message. Nira, this is the most classic case of Stockholm Syndrome I’ve ever seen.

Gerya didn’t kidnap me, Kunar, I went to her of my own accord, and I’m not leaving. Not yet.

There wasn’t a reply for several minutes. He’d probably called the chief of police and was talking it out with her. Finally, a new message came in. I hope you know what you’re doing, Nira. I’ve called off the search for now.

Thank you, Kunar, she typed back, relieved.

Her relief was short lived. Just then, another message came in. This one was from her father. Heart pounding, she clicked on it to open it.

I am outside the cave, it said, and Nira’s blood turned cold, Come out. Alone. Do not tell the woman why. Fail to comply and I will blow up the mountain.

Oh, dear Creator, it was happening. Her father, driven almost insane with grief and pain from Liran’s death, had completely secluded himself from Nira since the day her mother died; now, that grief had been mixed with fear over her whereabouts, while the knowledge that Nira had gone to the woman Liran had died trying to disprove was probably the last straw. Nira was terrified of what he would do now. He had always had violent tendencies, but now they were magnified. What would he do?

She closed the computer and forced herself to remain calm. Gerya could not know what she was really doing, and any outward sign of anxiety or fear would alert her.

“Gerya!” she called, “I’m going to go outside for a bit to meditate.”

“That’s fine!” she called back, still looking through books, “Just don’t stay out too long.”

Nira walked calmly to the hatch, opening it slowly and walking outside, where the sun was just rising to high noon.

There he was. Bezlen, her father, stood outside the cave in a formal suit. She could have believed that he had just come up here to discuss scientific discoveries with her, or possibly to defend her in court, were it not for the gun he held in his hand, the barrel pointed at Nira. There was also a switch in his hand, with a wire leading to a large pile of explosives piled at the base of the mountain’s peak.

“Hello, Nira,” he said, “It’s been a while.”
“Father,” she said, “Why are you doing this?”

“That’s what I’ve been wanting to ask you,” he said, hand and gun shaking, “Why? Why leave me for a traitor that even the Faith condemn? I just can’t make sense of it.”
“That’s because you’re too wrapped up in your prejudices, father!” she said forcefully, pointing at him accusingly, “You’re too focused on how you feel about Gerya understand what she’s doing!”
“You will not speak to me like that,” he said angrily, “You’re defending the woman who killed your mother!”

“No,” Nira said, “Gerya didn’t kill my mother; that experiment did. Mother died trying to disprove Gerya’s theory, and now you’re going to kill her daughter for the same purpose! We need to end this destructive cycle, father! Aren’t you tired of the bickering, the prejudices that these two sides cause? Gerya is, I am, and we both want it to end. We want to create a world where everyone is equal and where science and religion are one and the same! We have proof that they are the same, but you’re just too blind to see it!”

“What, you mean that this Creator made the laws of physics?” he shot back, “Yes, I read her second paper, the one that was destroyed before its lies could be widely known. This isn’t proof, Nira, it’s pure delusion, fantasy! Come home, forget this wild dream of yours. It can never happen.”

“You’re wrong, father,” she said, “And I will not leave.”

“If that is how you feel,” he said, hand steadying on the gun, “Then you can both die.”

Nira, in the instant before he pulled the trigger, pulled the sliding glass door of her mind open again. As he fired she manipulated the laws around her, creating a solid sheet of pure hydrogen that, by changing the laws of pressure and momentum, she made impossible to break through force. It was much like those drops of glass she’d seen that were unbreakable at the head, but could be shattered easily by moving the tail. This sheet of solid gas was like those drops, but without the tails. A bullet wouldn’t even come close.

The gunshot rang out through the mountain, and the bullet embedded itself in the barrier Nira had made. The strange thing was, Bezlen didn’t even look surprised. “Now!” he shouted, and two black-clothed figures jumped down from behind and grabbed her. Members of the police special-operatives unit, they quickly restrained her. “No!” she screamed, “Stop! Father, please!” She began to cry tears of fear, realizing what her father was about to do next. “PLEASE!”

“It’s the only way, Nira,” he said, refusing to look at her. Two more operatives ran up the path to the cave and began setting up a blast shield. When they were finished, they gave her father a thumbs-up. Gaze hardening, he pressed his thumb down so forcefully on the switch that it turned completely white, all blood forced out of it.

The cave exploded, gushing out dust and rock as the explosion triggered a cave-in of the entire peak. There were more explosions all around the mountain, destroying the fortified walls of the cave bunker. Nira screamed in agony as the quake continued, burying Gerya under tons of rock and snow.

“There,” her father said, still emotionless, “It’s done.”

More rumbling started, but this time, Bezlen looked perplexed. He stared at the rubble of the mountain’s peak, struggling to retain his composure. With an enormous burst of sound that Nira couldn’t describe, the rubble in the very center of the cave-in pushed outward, changing into smoke and steam that quickly dissipated. From this cloud, Gerya stepped out, battered and bruised, but smiling mischievously.

“You know,” she said nonchalantly, “If you’re going to blow up a mountain, don’t give the old lady time to get out.”

“What?” Bezlen said, sputtering, “You… but… this isn’t possible!”

“Really?” Gerya said, “You don’t blink an eye when your own daughter creates a barrier of solid gas, but you’re dumbfounded when an old lady turns stone into smoke? Please. Who do you think taught her?”

The two operatives who set up the blast shield lept forward, trying to restrain Gerya, but she just waved a hand and their clothes caught fire. They shrieked, dropping and rolling on the ground, trying to put out the flames. Nira watched their frantic attempts in slight horror; she had no idea that Gerya could do something like that.

Gerya looked at Bezlen, but nothing seemed to happen. Nothing, that is, until Bezlen attempted to raise his gun to Gerya. When he tried, his arm only trembled. “What’s going on?” he demanded, “What have you done?”

“I changed the law of gravity,” she replied, “So that it is impossible for you to lift your arm while that gun is in your hand. Put it down.” He did so, simply opening his hand and letting the gun fall to the ground. Only then could he even move his arm.

“Now then,” Gerya said, “Would you like to explain why you tried to shoot my student?”

“Wha-” Bezlen asked, “How did you even see that?”

“Please, you think I don’t have surveillance cameras around this mountain? As soon as Nira walked out here, acting far too calm to not be suspicious, I went to my security room and saw everything. I don’t have audio, though, so please enlighten me to exactly why you wanted to shoot your own daughter and blow up this mountain.”

“You want to know why?” he said, anger building up again, “It’s because of people like you! People who have an impossible dream of changing how the world works, and your words infect our loved ones who destroy their lives in search of it! You posture with your grand powers, when all you want is control of everything and everybody!”

“I assume you’re referring to your dear wife? Liran was a wonderful woman whom I knew all too well, and she would not destroy her life for a dream she thought impossible.”

“You knew my mother?” Nira asked.

“Of course, Nira,” Gerya said, “She was on the Governing Board that labeled me an outcast.” She stared at the two operatives restraining Nira. “You two had better let go of her, or you’ll suffer the same fate as your friends.” They quickly let go of Nira and ran back down the path. Nira assumed they wouldn’t stop until they reached the bottom of the mountain.

“Are you all right, Nira?” Gerya asked, laying a hand gently on her shoulder.

“Yes,” she said, “Just very scared and shocked.”

“That’s perfectly logical, considering your father just tried to kill you. Come on, let’s go see what we can rebuild in the bunker; I managed to save the majority of it by controlling the rocks’ fall, making them create a dome to keep from crushing the entire cave. I have a feeling that with some time and scaffolding, the whole cave will be perfectly fine.”

“But you,” Bezlen said from behind Gerya, “Will not be.” He lunged forward, at the same time pulling something from inside his coat pocket. Nira knew enough about his hunting hobbies to know what it was.

She could do nothing to stop it. One second, Gerya was standing facing Gerya, the next moment, she was on the ground with a knife in her back. Nira screamed, crouching down in some desperate attempt to try and help the old woman.

“It’s no use,” her father said, voice still emotionless, “The knife punctured her lungs; she’ll bleed out in a matter of hours. So primitive, but so effective.”

Nira’s entire body went rigid. That voice, that utter lack of any kind of compassion or guilt, represented everything wrong with this world. The thought that nothing could change, the belief that this divide between the human race would persist forever… No, she wouldn’t let that happen. She would prove him wrong. And she would start with showing her own father that there were consequences to his actions.

“You,” she said through gritted teeth, “Are no father of mine. You’re nothing but a sick, slimy excuse for a human being that isn’t worthy to even kiss this woman’s feet, let alone speak to her!”

Please, Creator, she prayed, Give me the strength to do this.

You have it, a voice came in her head, For it’s better for one man to die than to let this entire world collapse through schism and division.

She called on her special kind of sight again, seeing the world around her in terms of the laws of physics, these intricate creations that only a genius of the Creator’s level could have woven so tightly together in perfect harmony. The law of pressure, that glowing energy around her father, that’s what she needed. Without even reaching out a hand, Nira willed the law to change, reducing all pressure from the air around her father. With nothing to hold it back, the pressure and tension of his own blood pulsing through his body ruptured every vein, every artery simultaneously.

She didn’t watch what happened next, only caused a burst of pressure in front of her father to push him off the cliff. A wet, gurgling, terrified scream accompanied him on his fall all the way down to the bottom of the ravine, three hundred feet below. She heard a faint thud, and then silence.

I just… killed my own father, she thought. Nira began to shake, to tremble, so much that she could no longer stand. All that adrenaline, that righteous anger, was gone, and all she was left with was a dying mentor beside her and the knowledge that she had just committed patricide. The shock was so great, she began to black out, until a voice from down the path leading to the ruined cave called her name. “Nira!”

She knew that voice. Trying desperately to shove back the anguish, the shock, the guilt, she called weakly, “Jarin?”

“Nira!” he called again, and the joy and relief in his voice was plain to hear. She saw him running up the side of the mountain, ignoring any danger or cold. He ran to her and embraced her, saying through tears of joy, “I saw the explosion on the mountain and I feared the worst! I’m so glad you’re all right!”

“I am,” she said slowly, beginning to sink into despair again, “But Gerya isn’t.”

Jarin saw her, lying on the ground behind Nira, and gasped in astonishment. He crouched down to try and help the old woman, but Nira shook her head. “He said that the knife punctured her lungs. There’s nothing we can do.”

“‘He’?” Jarin asked, “Who?”

“My father,” Nira said, trembling harder, “He stabbed her, so I pushed him off the cliff.” She didn’t mention what else she had done to him, she didn’t even want to think about it.

“Nira…” a whisper came from Gerya.

“Gerya?” Nira gasped, scooting closer, “Please, don’t speak. Save your strength.”

Gerya tried to laugh, but it only came out as a cough. “I know when a stab wound is fatal, Nira. I’ll be fine; I went into this situation knowing what would happen.”

“What?” Nira said, “How? Why?”

“The Creator warned me that I was to be a teacher, the mentor to the woman who would change the world. I’m old, Nira, much older than my body would make me seem. I knew, and the Creator confirmed it, that my job was to guide this person, and then I could finally give up this weary existence and go home to my God.”

“But why?” Nira said, “You’re just going to leave me?” Nira began to cry again, “How could you do that after everything that’s happened?”
“You are the woman the Creator has chosen to bring this world together, to mend the divide. I’ve done my part. Please, Nira, understand yours; this world needs someone not only from the Science, but who understands the Faith. With all my words, all my arguments, I was still imperfect. You can be so much more than I ever could, Nira.” Gerya turned her head weakly to Jarin, “And you. Nira needs a companion, someone who understands the Faith better than she does. Together, you two are to finally end this schism and bring the factions together.” Gerya began coughing again, this time blood. It must have seeped into every part of her lungs, making her unable to speak or breathe.

Nira, with tears streaming down her cheeks, smiled and said, “I understand, Gerya. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

It is time, the Creator said to them, I will not let her suffer this painful death. With your permission, I will take up her spirit myself.

“Do it,” Nira said, “Take her while her last memory is the three of us together, finally understanding our roles for the future. And let her remember that I love her as a mother, and as a friend. I’ve been trying to get my mother back for years now, and though I’ve known Gerya for only a few weeks, I love her just as much as Liran.”

Gerya smiled and closed her eyes. With a final sigh, her chest stopped struggling to take in air, and the color left her face.

Nira cried again, letting Jarin hold her as the grief entirely overwhelmed her.

“Nira,” he said softly after a minute or two, “Look.”
She did, and gasped as she saw not Gerya’s body, but a new plateau jutting out from the mountainside. On this little patch of ground, a small clump of white rose bushes grew. It was an impossible sight; fragile flowers such as these should not have been able to grow and flourish in such thin air and cold temperature.

My last gift, the Creator said, So that she may always be remembered as the pure individual she was.

“Thank you,” Nira said, tears drying. She stood up.

“What are you doing?” Jarin asked.

“I’m going to do what the Creator has sent me to,” she said, “I’m going to tell the world about Gerya, and I will bring these factions together.”

“We’ll do it together than,” Jairn said, “Because I’m never going to leave your side again. The last time I did, things didn’t turn out so great.”
Nira laughed. “Looks like we’re stuck together, then,” she said happily.

“Looks that way,” he agreed, holding her close, “So, what’s the plan?”

“Frankly, Jarin,” she said, “I have no idea.”

“What a perfect plan,” he said. They began their descent of the mountain, but not before Nira caused a plaque of pure nitrogen to form out of nothing, and changed the law permanently around it so it would never break. On that plaque, she wrote

Here lies Gerya the Outcast, the Creator’s own servant, whose beauty and purity will now be seen by everyone who comes here.