I have been in and out of consciousness for the past few hours as the remaining medications in my body run their course. Every time I open my eyes we seem to be flying over somewhere new. First a city, then a forest, now a mountain range. I stare aimlessly into the blue sky dotted with only a few clouds.

“You still alive back there?” Naomi asks snapping me out of my trance.

“Yeah. How much longer?” I ask as I aimlessly stare into the deep blue sky.

“Why?” she asks as she turns her head far enough to see me. “You in a rush? It won’t be much longer. After all, it’s only been three hours since lift off.”

I sit up from my slouching position. “You mind if I ask you one more question?”

“What is it?”

“When you found me, was there someone lying beside me?” I lean forward waiting for a response.

“There was a man by the name of Timpuji. Is that who you mean?” she asks in a grim voice.

“Yes,” I say. “How do you know his name? Was he alive?”

“No.” She pauses for a second. “He was dead as well… Sorry, Elvion. I and other Gandole know of him as a tyrant because he’s the creator of the Brotherhood.”

“A tyrant? Timpuji?” I yell but soon after calm myself. “Is that… what you think?”

“No,” she replies boldly. “The man I saw was no evil man. He merely wanted to protect his family, his culture. Anyone could understand that.”

“Why didn’t you save him too, like you did me?” I ask.

“If we could resurrect anyone, my mother and father would still be alive,” she says almost yelling. “You’re different. The machines my grandfather used to bring you back from the great beyond were Pure Black Technology that only work for a pure Aidoshian. The nanites inside you cannot revive dead tissues. They can only speed up the healing process.”

“You lost your mom and dad?” I ask not really wanting an answer. “Sorry. I did not know we were so much alike.”

“So,” she says in a sigh trying to push along the conversation, “Timpuji could not have been your father. He was not pure like you. We tested samples of his blood.”

“No he wasn’t, but he was like my father.” A tear rolls down my face. “He was the… the one that brought my new family together.”

“Who were your real father and mother? I want to know which families were pure. I might be able to find out if any of your relatives weren’t in Aidon the day of the siege. What is your mother’s maiden name?”

“Animu (Anǝmōō) Faron Gaysion and my father Pirshaned (Pir-SHāned) Serehain Nova.”

“Those names sound familiar,” she says.

“They were killed for finding Black Technology in Sorrows Cave,” I respond.

“No,” she says and then pauses. “They’re the ones who were executed for creating artificial Black Technology and selling them to terrorist organizations.”

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“That’s impossible. Don’t slander the name of my parents,” I yell.

“Grandpa did not test them years ago so it’s possible they were pure,” she says over me.

“Test them for what?” I ask. “And how did he know my parents?”

“They were scientists in the same field,” Naomi explains. “My grandfather spoke fondly of them before and after their deaths. Unlike himself, they could test Black Technology on themselves being Aidoshian and they were considered the greatest Black Technology researchers. Some even think they were on the verge of becoming Black Technologists.”

“What is a Black Technologist?” I ask. “I’ve never heard of that before.”

“It is the name the scientific community gave to the ancient race that created the Pure Black Technology or anyone that can create Pure. Your parents were the closest to becoming Black Technologists. They set the bar for the entire scientific community studying Black Technology.”

“You talk as if you were there,” I say.

“The Copy Seed I have allows me to remember every detail of my life. Like a computer when you press save. I can archive my memories. You will gain a similar ability once you are implanted.”

The jet slows and begins its descent. I look out the window expecting to see a runway or a city but all I can see is forest surrounded on all sides by mountains.

“Are we going to land in that?” I say alerted.

“Crash landing,” she yells.

“No, pull up!”

The plane’s wings scrape the canopy like icing a cake. The birds flock from their perches fleeing for their lives. Just before we meet our doom the trees end revealing a clearing.

Naomi chuckles.

“You suck,” I say realizing I’ve been had.

She continues mocking me until she lands the plane in the open field. I realize we actually have a connection. Both of us lost our parents, both of us want vengeance upon the Gandole and we are brought together by grief. She is of a different nation but, also knows the pain of losing family and not knowing where they are. If anything, she and I are the same. I had Timpuji and she had her grandfather.

The plane stops in the center of the field. She opens the cockpit. Then climbs out and walks out of sight behind the plane. I get up and step out of the plane. I am unsteady and fall. Sharp pain courses through me from my side but, still no bleeding. I rise to my feet. Naomi is under the left wing, I see her reach up and pull a lever down and the wing folds upward. She walks to the other side. It is unbearable for me to move so I sit on the lush grass. The air is thicker here than in the Aidon and very humid. The sky seems bluer and the green field has a sweet smell that calms my soul. When this is all over, I think to myself, I’m going to bring Fantasia here. She’d love it.

“Are you going to stay out there?” Naomi yells from the cockpit.

I was so fascinated by the scenery I did not see her climb back into the jet.

“Yeah, it’s nice out here,” I reply.

“Suit yourself,” she says.

Suddenly the ground begins to shake and the peaceful sensation leaves. The earth underneath me gives way and the jet moves downward into the soil. When we are far enough underground that we can no longer see the forest, metal doors close over us. Lights ignite like a solar flare on the metal walls that are so slick and shiny I can see my own reflection. We move deeper and deeper into the warm bosom of the Earth.

Suddenly this gigantic “elevator” stops. An old, rusted over door is in front of us. I can tell it was once magnificent. Some of the inscriptions can still be read and part of its beautiful carvings can still be seen. I can almost hear it calling out to me forcing me towards it. I scratch away some of the accumulated grime.

Only one will enter the asylum of The Divinity and he will be the one who will ride the Rift and tame the Vortex. Though we will be dead and gone, this prophecy will last forever as our God does, is inscribed on the door.

“I did not know you spoke Painted-Latianeus (Lat-tyane-ōōs),” Naomi says as she walks toward me.

“I don’t. It’s in…” I look at the inscription and sure enough it is a different language. How am I able to speak a language I don’t know without realizing it?

“You can’t open this door even if you wanted. Not I or four hundred pounds of C-4,” she comments.

“Is the Rift inside?” I ask as I turn to her. “I need the Vortex to get in, don’t I?”

“Yes,” she nods. “My grandfather was told to come here by the very same Oracle who told him he’d have to save your life. Only he and a hand full of scientists know of this place. None of them except myself and my grandfather were associated with the Gandole. It is completely unknown to the Gandole, therefore the perfect hiding spot,” she says as she walks back to the jet.