They called it Oak, and no one could tell him why. It was a large, empty room, and its grey walls, soft floor tiles of an unknown matter, and calmly luminous ceiling put him so at ease he found it difficult to stand watch while she questioned the entity who spoke through its computer puppet. They had such things on Matamat, and though He Is Alone Because He Stands On The Wall, And From There He Sees Only Danger And So We Must Turn From Him For We Become What We Continually See had no professional ties to those who communed with those creatures, he had heard things, namely that they could not be trusted. But he sensed that this machine ghost was different. It spoke with the elusive candor of divinity.
The Other Human had a selection of information devices laid out on the floor.
“Stan,” she called.
He Stands On The Wall, And From There He Sees Only Danger And So We Must Turn From Him For We Become What We Continually See went over to her, waiting for instructions.
“Or, whatever you said your name was. Hold this.”
She handed him her drink.
“Just, stand over there. I’ll call you if I get thirsty.” She sighed. “I wish Marius could help me.”
He Stands On The Wall, And From There He Sees Only Danger And So We Must Turn From Him For We Become What We Continually See took a few steps back and was still. He pondered what he’d seen of humanity while brooded over her devices. The Harbingers had impressed him, and only for their radiance, but for their depth of vision. Fitting, it seemed, that they were given names that told a story, as opposed to the base superficial the non radiant humans preferred.
The Other Human activated a device. An image of an energy wave appeared, and the entity spoke through the computer.
“Warp drives operate by flattening spacetime in a confined field around the vessel, while simultaneously forming a curv...”
The Other Human deactivated the device, and activated another. Again, it displayed a holographic rendering of an energy wave.
“To generate gravity by conventional means, a sufficient ratio of mass is required to exert pull on smaller objects.”
The Other Human began examining the other devices. He Stands On The Wall, And From There He Sees Only Danger And So We Must Turn From Him For We Become What We Continually See peered over her shoulder and noticed they each were labeled with the nondescript grunts her kind were named by.
The entity continued. “Edenic philosopher Aiaroc Naal Lovesong, famous for her thesis on tangent physics, speculated that an effect in miniature could be channeled on a larger scale to another location, with causality itself being projected through a tangent strand. Engineers on the world of Bastion were already well under way constructing...”
She activated another. This one showed a new wave, repeated indefinitely across a funnel band that expanded equally outward as it progressed, then contracted again so that the funnel continued in a loop.
The ceiling darkened and a low rumbling noise rose in volume till He Stands On The Wall, And From There He Sees Only Danger And So We Must Turn From Him For We Become What We Continually See wondered if the computer were suffering a malfunction.
The Other Human held out her hand expectantly. He Stands On The Wall, And From There He Sees Only Danger And So We Must Turn From Him For We Become What We Continually See rolled his eyes, a universal gesture, he’d found. He set the girl’s bottle down next to her and went back to the wall.
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“Stan,” she said, irritated. She turned, and when she saw her bottle on the ground, she glared at him.
“I’m here to protect you,” he said. “And I told you to call me ‘Sam’, not Stan.”
She shook her head and took a drink, then sat in silence while the rumbling died down.
Ungrateful cur, He Stands On The Wall, And From There He Sees Only Danger And So We Must Turn From Him For We Become What We Continually See thought.
The rumbling grew again, and the room filled with red light. Voices echoed, some violent, others fertile, some morose and unmotivated. He Stands On The Wall, And From There He Sees Only Danger And So We Must Turn From Him For We Become What We Continually See decided to check the hallway again, partly to alleviate his boredom. The Other Human ignored him.
Outside Oak, he felt like Sam again. And he saw The Human of all people. He was dressed in a uniform and had removed his facial hair. He nodded at Sam, but said nothing, though he did nod subtly towards Oak.
“Erik,” said a woman in a white robe. There was a small group of humans walking towards The Human from further down the hall, where the misunderstood sciences had rarely visited shrines built for their honor.
“Jasmine,” The Human replied. They embraced. Then she introduced him to the others in her party, not referring to him as Holloway.
Sam turned the other way and stood by the window. Looking into space, he felt a longing for his home. He’d hoped to find acceptance on Albion, but it seemed only the Harbingers had any interest in him, and that interest had so far only been professional. He worried he might have been taken advantage of.
A scream took him away from his thoughts. But he didn’t hear the scream. Somehow, he just knew it was uttered inside of Oak, so he burst into the room with his covertly holstered pistol drawn.
Oak was filled with voices now. They chanted in words that sounded contorted, and there was a harsh flickering of white light against absolute darkness. The Other Human was scrambling to collect her data devices. They were above her, suspended in the air. She was desperate to gather them. She caught one. Another. Another. Then she caught one that was glowing bright and the room went quiet and dark.
“OTHOMINIAN!”
She screamed again, and even He Stands On The Wall, And From There He Sees Only Danger And So We Must Turn From Him For We Become What We Continually See felt terrified. There was a presence in the room, though he saw nothing but The Other Human. Then the entity spoke, her voice unmarred by the machine she spoke through.
“In seven thousand years, the matter will be settled. Either Haleon will succeed, or I will. There is no space where we can coexist. Not in Ulro. Not in Briah. Not even in Beulah where we once played together as children. He has placed himself in direct opposition against me, though I seek a balance, and so the man who once championed reason has become a harbinger of insanity. I grieve for him, for my brother, and I pity the others who have lost all sense of purpose. They must all be put down, and when the thing is done I will perish as well, for the Wheel will roll over all when it is finally set in motion.
“Do not think that I promise peace, mortal. Peace will accomplish nothing. This is the folly of pacifist thinking; that one may begin the race at the finish line and receive their trophy without taking a single step. Mountains must be climbed, food must be hunted or grown, and rivers must be crossed. There is no way to peace save through the traversal of inevitable conflict. Should you prove worthy, as have my light bearers, you, and any others who wish, may participate in the labor. But know that our opponent thinks of nothing but his vision. One who quibbles over love and loss and desire will be tossed aside should they dare to stand. Choose between lives; one of want or one of heart, and remain in that choice, for neither I nor Haleon have patience for indecision.”
A razor thin line of white light split the room in two from ceiling to floor, and on one side burned a red fiend with many eyes, while on the other a wheel of spheres circled around a beating heart that glowed hotter than a blue star.
Then Oak was as if they were never there, and The Other Human only wanted to go to her home and wallow on her sofa. When she fell asleep, Sam carried her to her bed.