Reckless Faith Read online

  “I think it wants all of us to touch it.”

  “No way in hell,” said Ari.

  Ray moved forward. “If it was going to hurt us,” he said, “I think it would have done so by now.”

  Ray leaned his Remington against a tree and moved up to the orb. He placed his hand on one of the prints.

  Ari shook her head. “I can’t believe you two are so cavalier about touching something which is obviously from another planet.”

  “I’m scared shitless,” said John, “but we have no choice.”

  Again, this made little sense to Ari. She sighed.

  “Oh well, we might as well all die together.”

  Ari moved forward and pressed her hand on the orb.

  “Are you happy? Now what?”

  7.

  Before John, there was nothing. Behind him, there was nothing. John assumed that behind him there was nothing, since he couldn’t tell where was before or behind. He couldn’t even be sure he still had a body. When he tried to grasp himself, he found he couldn’t feel his arms. John realized that it was quiet, but then it struck him how quiet. Even in the most silent place, he could still hear the low hum of his blood rushing through his body and the steady pace of his heart beating. Here, there was silence that was terminal and complete. A fresh wave of ecstatic fear washed over him. At least his emotions were still working.

  “John!”

  It was Ari’s voice. John didn’t hear it, though. It was simply there. He though about replying, and he heard his own voice.

  “Ari?”

  “John?”

  This time, Ray’s voice made itself present.

  “I’m here,” John thought.

  “Where is here?”

  “I don’t know. I think we’re inside the...”

  John stopped thinking about talking. A person had appeared before him. That person was John. He was looking at a mirror image of himself, as if he was standing in front of a full-length mirror naked. For some reason, John did not feel embarrassed.

  “Are you two seeing this?” Ari’s voice said.

  “Yes,” said Ray’s voice. “Not very flattering, is it?”

  “What do you see?” thought John.

  “I see myself,” said Ari’s voice, “naked.”

  “Me, too,” Ray’s voice said.

  The image began to change. The first thing that happened was that the phantom John’s hair began to shrink. It grew shorter until the phantom became bald. Then, the phantom’s shape began to change. It was a slow process, but John realized that the phantom was losing weight. The lumpy features of John’s midsection that he had gained over the past few years disappeared. The phantom became skinnier and less muscular, until John recognized what looked like his high school age body. Then the phantom’s backward progress stopped.

  “That’s my sophomore year body,” Ray’s voice said.

  “How can you be sure?” John thought.

  “Because I gained a bunch of weight my sophomore year. This image I see got really chunky before it stopped. There was only one time I ever looked like that.”

  “I suppose this could be my sophomore year self,” said Ari’s voice.

  “I’d like to get a look at what Ari’s seeing,” said Ray’s voice.

  “How can you joke at a time like this?”

  “Why did it stop here?” John thought.

  The phantom disappeared. Again, John lost all reference points to reality.

  “That was strange,” Ari’s voice said.

  “That’s as far back as the three of us go,” said Ray’s voice.

  The statement was correct, but John wasn’t so sure. Suddenly another figure appeared. It was a human, at first glance. John stared at it in confusion. It was neither male nor female; in fact it was quite androgynous. John couldn’t be sure since it was wearing clothing. It had black, ear-length hair, and green eyes. It was staring unwaveringly at John, or at least where John presumed himself to be. The clothes it had on were quite curious. It was wearing a jacket that resembled John’s own, but was different. It looked leathery, and was greenish-brown as opposed to the olive green of his jacket. It was also a bit shorter around the waist. It was wearing jeans, which were dark blue. They were about halfway between the light blue shade of John’s jeans and the black of Ray’s. John had a flash of insight.

  The phantom was a combination of all three of them. The jacket looked like a morphed version of John’s military jacket and Ari’s leather bomber. The t-shirt it had on was the t-shirt that Ray was wearing. The shoes didn’t reveal any more clues since all three of them were wearing very similar brown hiking boots.

  “Are you two seeing this?” said Ray.

  “It’s all of us together,” John said. “It’s all of us made into one human.”

  “Very damn strange,” said Ari.

  The phantom stared at John. Time passed immeasurably.

  “Okay, now what?” said John.

  “Okay, now what?” said The Phantom.

  “Great,” began Ari, “we found an intergalactic parrot.”

  “Hello,” said The Phantom.

  John smiled. At least, he would have smiled if he knew where he put his mouth.

  “Hello,” John said. “I’m John.”

  “I know,” said The Phantom.

  “Who are you?”

  “I am.”

  “You are... what?”

  “I am.”

  “Fantastic, it has a god complex,” Ari said.

  “What do we call you?” asked Ray.

  “I am whom to which you speak.”

  “How’bout we call you Seth,” said John.

  “Seth?” exclaimed Ari. “Where do you get Seth from?”

  “I don’t know. It’s the first thing that came to mind.”

  “I am Seth,” said Seth.

  “Yeah,” began Ray, “but Adam and Eve didn’t have a third person sticking their genes into the mix.”

  “You want to choose another name?” John said.

  “I am Seth,” said Seth.

  “Fine, that’s fine,” Ari said.

  “Where are you from, Seth?” asked John.

  “A place.”

  “Can you be more specific?”

  “A place. A place that is not this place.”

  “No shit,” said Ari.

  “Do you mind?” growled John. “I’m trying to communicate with this thing.”

  “I am Seth.”

  “Seth, where is the place you are from?”

  “Not here.”

  “Are you intentionally avoiding the question or do you really not know?” said Ray.

  “I am from the place that is not here. It is another place.”

  “Let’s try something else,” said John. “Seth, why did you come here?”

  “To find you.”

  “To find us? Ray, Ari and I?”

  “Yes.”

  “Or do you mean to find humans?” said Ray.

  “Yes.”

  “We’re humans, Ray,” John said. “Seth why did you come to find humans?”

  “To bring you back.”

  “Back where?”

  “To a place.”

  “Damn it, are you an idiot or what?” yelled Ari.

  “Take it easy, Ari,” said John, “it has probably never communicated with humans before. Seth, why do you want to bring us back with you?”

  Seth stared at John. It blinked.

  “Hello?” said Ray.

  “Hello,” said Seth.

  “Get me out of here,” said Ari. “ET was smarter than this stupid mannequin.”

  In a flash, the three of them found themselves back in the forest. The orb pulsed slightly.

  “Thank God, we’re still here,” said Ray.

  Ari, who had lowered her hand, turned to face John. “What the hell is going on here?” she asked. “This thing comes all the way to Earth from who knows where, and all it can do is stand there and act like a dullard?”


  John shrugged. “I think we need to give it more time to assimilate our language. It may be fundamentally different from the way it’s used to communicating. It may not be used to using verbal language at all.”

  “I agree,” said Ray.

  “I’m starting to think that we should get out of here and leave this thing to the professionals,” Ari said.

  “Are you kidding,” said John, “we’d never get anywhere near it again! And who do you think is the professional authority on this? NASA? They don’t know any more than we do.”

  “Besides,” said Ray, “what if we go running off and bring back the authorities and this thing is gone? We may have already gone crazy but that’ll prove it to everyone else.”

  “You guys can do what you want, but I’m through with it,” Ari said. “This is way too far off my weird-shit-o-meter.”

  John looked at the orb. The three handprints were still there.

  “We need you, Ari. Without you we can’t access it.”

  “Please, Ari,” said Ray. “Like John said, if it wanted to hurt us it would have done so by now.”

  Ari tapped her foot. “This is so nuts. All right, fine. But if this thing can’t get past shitting its britches I give up.”

  Ari placed her hand on the orb, and the men did the same.

  Again, they were in the inky blackness, disembodied in silence. Seth appeared, looking quizzical. John noticed that this time he could hear himself breathing.

  “Hello,” said Seth.

  “Hello,” replied John. “How are you, Seth?”

  “I am.”

  “Do you know where you are?”

  “I am here.”

  “Here is a planet called Earth. Humans are from Earth. It is our home.”

  “I am on Earth.”

  “Where is your home, Seth?”

  “A planet.”

  “Does your planet have a name?”

  “Umber.”

  “Umber? Your planet’s name is Umber?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re here to take us back to Umber?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because.”

  John felt his patience slipping. “Why do you want humans to go to Umber?”

  “Because humans are to go to Umber.”

  “What is the reason you want humans to go with you?”

  Seth appeared to think for a moment. “What is a reason?”

  “A goal, a purpose, a point.”

  “This is going nowhere,” said Ari.

  “It’s still learning from us,” said John. “We need to keep talking to it. If it can learn our language then it can learn more complicated concepts.”

  “Like walking and chewing gum at the same time?”

  “Yeah. Seth, your reason to come to Earth was to get humans. What is the reason for bringing humans to Umber?”

  “This thing needs more help,” said Ray.

  “Help,” said Seth.

  John intended to raise an eyebrow. “What?”

  “Save us.”

  “Is that why you want humans to go with you, Seth?” John asked. “You need our help?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why do you need our help?”

  “The reason.”

  “What is the reason?”

  “The goal, the purpose, the point.”

  “What do you want us to accomplish?”

  “To go with me.”

  “That’s the first time he called himself ‘me',” said Ray.

  “I’m hitting the wall,” said John. “I can’t figure out how to get by his circular logic.”

  “I am way too buzzed for this right now,” said Ari.

  “Yeah,” said John, “I wish I’d laid off the booze, too. We didn’t know this would happen.”

  “Now you know why I don’t like to drink too much,” Ray said.

  The black void changed. A much more palpable scene replaced it. John, Ray and Ari found themselves standing in a pub of classic English design. A long bar of mahogany stretched from the door to where they stood. Behind them, shadowy booths offered a privacy separate from the rest of the space. They were alone, save for Seth who manned the bar. All three of them instantly recognized where they were.

  “It’s the Publick House,” said John.

  “Yeah,” said Ari, “and would you look at us!”

  John and Ray looked at each other. John’s hair was down past his ears. Ray was sporting a shaggy goatee. They turned and looked at Ari. She was wearing this semi-see-through skirt thing with a similar top that bared her midriff. Ray smiled.

  “I remember that little number,” he said.

  “This is a memory,” said John. “We’re inside a memory. This is how we all looked senior year.”

  Ari nodded. “It must be. The Publick House was sold and renamed. It doesn’t look a thing like this anymore.”

  “Hello,” said Seth.

  “Well, you’re a crappy bartender. You haven’t even asked us what we want.”

  “At least we’re not disembodied anymore,” said Ray.

  “Seth,” began John, “why are we here?”

  Seth stared at them. Without looking down, he picked up a glass and started wiping it with a cloth.

  “You three again,” he said. “You’re my best customers, you know that?”

  “He’s playing a role,” said John.

  Ray furrowed his brow. “With such a charmer as you, Seth, how can we resist?”

  “You are learning,” said Seth.

  “High praise coming from him,” Ari said.

  “This is where you learned.”

  “Learned what?” asked John.

  “About us.”

  “Look at it outside,” said Ray. “It’s raining.”

  John shrugged. “It’s not doing anything, Ray, none of this actually exists.”

  “I think I know why we’re here.”

  “Oh?”

  “This is early senior year. This is the year we were all in Astronomy together. Today was the day that we’d all just purchased our textbooks. Remember? We came in here and it was empty. The bartender was the only one here.”

  Ari smiled. “That’s right. We sat in the back and read the first chapter together. We were so studious.”

  John laughed. “Right.”

  “So by saying that we learned ‘about us,’” began Ray, “Seth is talking about when we learned about astronomy. Since he’s from the stars, that makes sense.”

  “How is it that we learned about Umber from the very first chapter?” asked John. “The first chapter was nothing but introductory.”

  “Yeah, but it summarized a little bit of what we were about to study. Maybe Umber was mentioned.”

  “I’ve never heard of Umber before,” said Ari, “and if it was in that book I would have remembered it.”

  It was an arrogant statement, but John and Ray had no reason to doubt her.

  John looked out into the rain. “Maybe it was called something else. If we had the textbooks we could look. Too bad we’re a three hour drive from the nearest one.”

  “No we’re not,” said Ray, pointing.

  In one of the rear booths lay three backpacks. The three approached it. John reached into his pack and removed a book. It read “Astronomy, Fourth Edition, by...” The author’s name was missing, as was the publisher’s. John turned over the book and there was an illustration on the back. The picture was out of focus and looking at it hurt John’s eyes. John flipped open the book and found the same for the words inside.

  “Shit,” he said.

  “We can’t read it because we can’t remember it,” said Ray.

  “Back to square one,” said Ari.

  “You are learning,” said Seth.

  “Yeah, we’re learning that you’re great at creating useless illusions.”

  “It is time for you to learn.”

  “We’re all ears,” said John.

  “Good,” said Seth, an
d smiled. It was the creepiest expression any of them had ever seen.

  Time passed.

  “Well, what’s the lesson?” asked Ari, exasperated.

  “Find me.”

  Like a slide being changed, the world switched around them. It was so disorientating that all three humans fell over. Back in the woods, they picked themselves up. The orb shimmered and was dark.

  “Find him?” asked Ray. “What the hell?”

  “The sphere hasn’t moved,” Ari said.

  John rubbed his arm. “I think he means find Umber.”

  “Great, we’ll just call up William Shatner and have him give us a lift.”

  “I think we need to find Umber in the textbook,” said Ray. “Find out what we supposedly already know about it.”

  “What would be the point of that? It’s not like he needs us to tell him where his home is.”

  “It’s a test,” said John quietly.

  “A test?”

  “I think so. Seth doesn’t want just anybody. I think we have to prove ourselves.”

  Ari smirked. “If that’s the case, I hope there aren’t any follow up questions or we’re boned.”

  John looked at the orb. The three hand prints were gone.

  “We can’t do anything else here right now. We need to get our hands on that textbook.”

  “I don’t have mine any more.”

  “Neither do I,” added Ray.

  “I do,” said John. “It’ll take us six hours round trip just to get it, though. And there’s no guarantee that this thing will still be here when we get back.”

  “You go,” said Ray. “I’ll stay behind and watch it. Hopefully it’ll realize that we’re still interested and it won’t go anywhere.”

  “You’ve got brass balls, buddy,” said Ari.

  “There is no way I can drive right now,” began John, “I say we try and get some sleep and leave first thing in the morning. We could be back by noon tomorrow with the book.”

  Ray nodded. “I agree.”

  Ari laughed. “Sleep? I’m going to need more gin.”

  8. October 5, 2003

  The night passed fitfully for John and Ari. John was worn out enough as it was, but Ari’s rest was chemically induced. Ray did not sleep as well, however. He worried that they were taking too many risks with the orb. He was also not so secretly terrified of being left alone with it, even in the bright daylight.