31.2: 《A|?》why are you dusting what was once dusted?

「page vi」

°

「

I once proposed a riddle—
“There exists a room without walls, ceilings, floors. 
There exists a door within that room. 
A person exists within that room. 
While that person exists in that room, everything that they could wish for will be theirs.
What would make them want to leave?
I can’t recall now what the answer was.

」

°

Atienna arrived at a small building in the Baobab Tree District. With her was Sefu as always. She’d spent the night at the apartment he’d been living at and so had only been able to briefly speak with Bachiru over the phone. Thankfully, he was safe and well—though he seemed to be under scrutiny by guidance officer’s. 

A single sign hanging at the front of the building was the only indicator of its identity: Kola Nut District, Guidance Officer 34th Eneo. The 34th Guidance Officer precinct in the district.

A man whom Atienna did not recognize sat at the reception desk inside the building. He had a large curling mustache and was dressed in a vibrant suit. He was rather engrossed in reading a colored magazine which featured Cadence and the Kaiser on the cover. He only noticed them when Sefu cleared his throat.

“Oh!” The receptionist brightened as he looked Atienna up and down. He was chewing something. “Miss Imamu here to see an Alice Kingsley right?” He began to lead them down the hall at the back off the office. He blew a bubble with the item he was chewing and then ate it with a pop! which was bizarre to see. “Miss Kingsley arrived here half an hour ago. I handed her all the pertinent case files as per your request.” He stopped short at an oak door. “I only had one copy though, so I hope you don’t mind sharing with her.” He held the door open for and disappeared as soon as they entered.

The room had garishly green wallpaper pasted on its walls and featured several out of places vases in its corners. A bookcase manned the left wall and a circular table manned its center above a brown and orange rug.

Sitting at the table was one Alice Kingsley. She was no longer dressed in the dress suit Atienna had seen her in when she’d arrived. Instead, she was dressed in a floral blouse and a long skirt that hugged her waist tightly but flared out wildly. At the moment, she was flipping through a thick stack of files, but paused in the action to look up at Atienna.

Atienna let out a breath and approached Alice. She held out her hand and introduced herself, “Hello, Alice. We’ve met before, but in circumstances that didn’t quite allow for proper introductions. My name is Atienna Imamu. I’m… a friend of Jericho’s.” She gestured to Sefu behind her. “This is Sefu, my… friend.”

Sefu stiffened at this before nodding at Alice.

“Atienna Imamu–I remember,” Alice acknowledged before rising and offering her hand.

It was difficult to discern what Alice was thinking—though Atienna assumed Alice thought the same about her. 

Atienna paused. “Thank you for coming.”

“I should be thanking you,” Alice replied, tone even as she sat back down. She gestured to the two chairs across from her. “I was concerned how exactly I was going to maneuver around given my current situation and you’ve made it easier for me. I would have liked Gabrielle to be here with me, but I believe she can do just as well herself.”

“Ah, I’m sorry about that.” Atienna offered an apologetic smile as she took a seat with Sefu. “It’s difficult here to give people access to places and things when they have VNW. I’m lucky because apparently I’m something called a ‘policymaker’ here so I believe I’m granted a bit more freedom in that regard.”

“Like Oberleutant Gilbert Wolff—rather, Policymaker Wolff.” 

“I suppose…” Atienna murmured. “It was easier to have you approved for this case given your expertise—”

“Easier than someone who’s role in Ndoto is a ‘guidance officer’—something akin to a peacekeeper? Given both of our diagnoses and the symptoms of VNW, I find it strange that my expertise still holds weight.” Alice paused then asked, “Is there another reason you asked for me specifically?”

Atienna’s mind went to the night she’d attended that ELPIS meeting at Jericho’s university—to the night the Alice on the projection screen turned and spoke to her. 

Alice was quite sharp, wasn’t she? And she didn’t have that quality about her that made her tip-toe around subjects like Cvetka did, like every opponent Atienna had personally faced did—including herself.

“I… just thought that you would be best at this type of subject,” Atienna said.  “I’m sorry if it’s any trouble.”

“It’s no bother.” Alice held her gaze for a moment. “It’s peculiar how they have such restrictions on people who exhibited VNW-like symptoms and yet they allow individuals who they believe have that condition to become involved in this sort of investigation.” She tapped the folder. “Isn’t it peculiar?”

“It is rather contradictory,” Atienna agreed. 

“Contradictory,” Alice repeated. “Would you use that word to describe how things are here?”

Atienna remained silent, considering.

“Absolutely contradictory,” Sefu said in her place. He slapped a hand down on the table. 

“I see.” Alice studied him for a moment before turning her attention back to Atienna. “And this Raincoat Killer case—what is your reason for working on it?”

Hm.

“I’m sorry—what do you mean exactly by that?”

“You’re in unfamiliar territory without any idea on how you came to be here. There is a war unfolding in Signum with saint candidates and ELPIS Leaders playing separate hands. Does it not alarm you as a True Conductor—viewed as a tool to certain parties—that you’ve become trapped in an unknown land?”

“Ah, it is quite alarming,” Atienna said. “It might be presumptuous of me but I… believe that this Raincoat Killer might be key in understanding what exactly is going on in Ndoto.”

“How so?”

“The murders apparently occurred right after we arrived here,” Atienna explained. “Of course, for most of the others like Klaus and Carl, it looks as if they’ve been in Ndoto the entire time. As for me—apparently I’d just returned to Ndoto from an excursion to the outside—”

“The outside—where there’s nothing according to what you’ve told us.”

Curious how she had added on that last part.

Atienna nodded.

“But people immigrate from the outside frequently.”

Atienna nodded slowly. “In order to escape from the nothing that’s outside is what I’ve been loosely told.”

“And what exactly caused this barrenness on the outside?”

“I assume it was a war of some kind—at least, that’s what I’ve gathered from conversation. No one seems to really enjoy speaking about it.”

“And why is that?”

“I wonder if it’s as simple as the want to avoid unpleasant things,” Atienna drew slowly. 

“Have you gleaned any information about those unpleasant things? Surely there are history texts about Ndoto floating around.”

“I believe being of VNW status limits our access to certain place and things. Klaus and I did read a couple texts about vitae at Jericho’s university, but—”

“Are you certain? Have you looked? Has anyone?”

Ah, the Jericho mention hadn’t moved Alice it seemed. Atienna remained silent for a moment as did Alice. Atienna wasn’t quite used to facing another who utilized silence as a weapon—rather, she wasn’t quite used to being unable to tell what that sort of person was aiming at in conversation. 

“I wonder if parsing the history of Ndoto would actually reap any benefit,” Atienna murmured. “Are there any clues in something that’s fictitious.” 

“Perhaps there are.” Alice started flipping through the files again. “So, to clarify: you’re acting on this assumption that this killer might be responsible for why we’re here since you both ‘appeared’ here around the same time.”

“I wonder if it’s that this killer is the one responsible for why we’re here or if it’s that they might be our opportunity to escape this place.”

“Could you elaborate on that?”

“I overheard Gabrielle mention that it was odd for a saint candidate to be behind this since, from what I’ve gathered, the syzygy—whatever it may be—hasn’t occurred in Signum yet even though it appears that… the date for it has passed. Perhaps that’s because several True Conductors are here. Perhaps all of them. As for ELPIS—the way the ELPIS Leaders themselves conduct vitae here goes against their very philosophy. The word ‘syzygy’ has an importance to both parties, so perhaps a member of one of those groups is sending a message of some kind.”

“You think they’re reaching out—but to who? A saint candidate? An ELPIS Leader? Why go through this sort of display instead of doing something more apparent?”

“Perhaps they don’t want to be discovered.”

 “Given the fact that saint candidates have already gone through their grand revelations and based on their past behavior, I doubt that they would be inclined to go through such lengths to conceal who they are. ELPIS Leaders have never cared about concealing their identities to begin with. Many of us already know their nature.”

 Alice didn’t continue any further. Atienna supposed she was waiting for Atienna herself to say something.

Atienna considered this. “Perhaps it’s not us that they don’t want to be discovered by. Perhaps… they’re trying to hide from whoever’s… behind Ndoto.”

“A saint candidate or an ELPIS Leader who causes other saint candidates and ELPIS Leaders to feel as if they need to go into hiding…” Alice remained silent for a while before she said, “While what you’ve said about the motivations of both parties may be true, we’ve also seen ELPIS Leaders and saint candidates acting outside of that norm.”

Atienna recalled Alpha, Theta, Taurus, and then Sagittarius.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Atienna put her hand to her chin. “Perhaps it’s another inside conflict—similar to what we saw with ELPIS this past spring.”

“Perhaps.” Alice set down the files she’d been holding and taped them. “So, this Raincoat Killer has been at large for about a little over a month now. The first murder took place, as you said, approximately two weeks ago. It appears as if since then there have been a total of five more, each in a different district. The number of hands that were displayed in that recent crime scene clearly indicates that there have been more murders in Ndoto than what’s been recorded here in these files.  Where did the assumption that this killer was just one individual arise?”

“I’m not… quite sure.”

“A ‘serial’ killer is a novel concept in Signum,” Alice continued after a pause. She flipped through the folder. “This isn’t because individuals capable of becoming serial killers don’t exist. It’s because the conditions simply aren’t in place to make it so that a predator like that can ‘hunt’ easily. These types of individuals themselves are rare. Instead of their motivations being political, passion-driven, or profitable in nature, there doesn’t appear to be any rational motive behind their actions.”

No, rational motivation…

“According to these files, there have been several missing persons reports filed in what appears to be the outskirts of certain ‘districts’ which–from what I understand–house the more recent immigrants to Ndoto. Additionally, there appears to have been a handful of missing person reports in that area, though they haven’t been investigated thoroughly as of yet. It’s disjointed.” She looked up at Atienna. “I’ve heard that you’re exceptionally bright. What do you think of this?”

Had Jericho or Werner told her that? That was rather heart-warming but also rather apparent—so testing that line of patient confidentiality, was she? 

“Oh, I don’t know about that but… On the surface, my first assumption would be that it’s two separate killers. Perhaps more,” Atienna drew slowly. “The… display with the hands is just such a drastically different course of action than the previous murders. Either something must have changed or… it’s two or more different people.”

“That’s my perspective as well, so now let’s go back to the original question: how exactly did they come to the conclusion that it was just one killer?” Alice flipped through the files. “It appears as if that was the assumption from the very beginning.”

Atienna had indeed noticed that after hearing about the murders in passing. She hadn’t paid it much attention as it wasn’t pertinent to her situation.

“Perhaps because Ndoto is such a place where murder and violence is so novel that the idea of more than one person being capable of doing such a thing is…. beyond imagination. The idea that even a single person would do such a thing is…. beyond comprehension.”

“Beyond imagination and comprehension,” Alice repeated. She remained silent for a moment before she said, “That is how people who are from Ndoto might think, but should we follow along that same line of thought? Obviously, this alleged murder acts outside the norm of the Ndotoan mindset—but how did the Ndotoan mindset come to be to begin with?”

Atienna was thrown off somewhat by the question.

“The concept of homicide has existed since humanity has existed. The concept of intraspecies killing has existed before humanity—so why is it that everyone here seems to be so shocked that there’s murders in Ndoto?”

“Perhaps that’s only because Ndoto itself was created to escape those things.”

“Escape,” Alice repeated. She seemed to allow a pause. “Even so, why the surprise?”

“It’s rather…. pessimistic to think that people wouldn’t be surprised, don’t you think?” 

Alice held Atienna’s gaze. “I’m saying that as a resident of Signum I find the mindsets and behaviors of the people in Ndoto peculiar. Don’t you?”

“Well, they are quite different from the people that we know.” 

“That’s not what I’m referring to.” Alice studied her and then Sefu. “Have you and your group not noticed anything strange about the people here? Besides the obvious strangeness?”

There was a pattern here. Alice kept questioning their perception. Clearly, she suspected something. 

“I’m not quite sure what you mean,” Atienna replied after a pause. She indicated Sefu. “I believe Sefu… arrived here before we did so he might be a better person to ask.” That and Atienna was rather tired of being the focal point of the questions.

“Before you?” Alice’s eyes widened a fraction before she studied Sefu. “Exactly how long ago did you arrive at Ndoto, Sefu? Can you recall how you ended up here?”

“I don’t know exactly,” Sefu answered, “and I cannot.”

“Was it more than two weeks ago?”

Sefu nodded. “Yes, it was most definitely more than two weeks ago.”

Alice remained silent for a long moment. “Did you arrive here alone?”

Sefu shook his head. 

“Who did you arrive here with?”

Sefu’s gaze trailed to Atienna. “I arrived here with members of the Imamu tribe’s former chieftain family—but there were fakes.”

Alice pressed, “Fakes…? Could you elaborate on that?”

“People who look like the people we know but are not,” Sefu elaborated. 

“You mean people who’ve become ‘incorporated’ in a sense into Ndoto.”

Sefu shook his head. “It is more complicated than that.”

“What do you mean by that?” 

“They are themselves” —Sefu started making animated gestures— “but fake versions of themselves.” Now he sounded agitated and stared down at his hands. “Mockeries. There but not there. I’m—”

Alice held up a hand. “Okay, thank you for that, Sefu. I appreciate it. You don’t have to continue further.” After a pause, she asked, “Atienna, can you corroborate this?”

Atienna shook her head. “I mentioned it a bit earlier, but I arrived here by myself a little over two weeks ago.” For someone who was so attentive and pragmatic, she thought, Alice certainly seemed to like having people repeat information they’ve said before. Perhaps, she was testing something.

Sefu nodded. “Yes, the real you came here then but the fake—no.”

“I see.” Alice frowned and turned back to Sefu. “I have one more question for you though if you can manage—was there anyone else here when you arrived?”

Sefu looked up. “Yes.”

Atienna turned to him.

“There were the people we were with before,” Sefu said, turning to Atienna. “The Leonians, Capricornians, the Ariesian, several others—but they may have also been fakes. I am not sure. But besides them there was no one here. I am certain of it.” He jabbed his finger down onto the table. “This place was hollow. Empty. Nothing but skeleton buildings and dustless streets.” 

Something curled in Atienna’s stomach. Alice’s brows met.

“And one day, there were people. Just like that. They say it was all a delusion of mine but I am certain that is what it was. I am certain.” Sefu looked up to the ceiling. “They bloomed from nothing. And then the fakes took over.” He whipped back to Alice and once again sounded agitated. “I swear I am not insane. I cannot explain it but that is how it is.”

Alice held up a hand. “Thank you, Sefu. I have no doubt that you hold certainty in your perception of reality.” Again, she turned to Atienna. “Atienna, did you know this?”

Atienna shook her head. “I… Sefu seemed troubled by what he’d experienced here, so I didn’t want to push him…”

Alice’s expression revealed nothing. “I see.”

Her favorite two words, it seemed.

There was a lull of silence.

“Let’s leave it at that for now. I don’t mean to sidetrack from our current discussion, but you wouldn’t happen to have come across anyone named Ferris Hart here, have you, Atienna?” Alice asked. “From what I understand, she took refuge with your group with her family. Have you seen her here?”

Atienna’s mind went to two instances. “I… saw her at the Small Services District. She was in the facility there along with someone named Agape Rosario—she’s associated with one of the crime organizations of the Twin Cities—”

“The Romano Family. I’m aware.”

Oh? So was Alice the one who knew everything now?

 Atienna concluded, “I’m not quite sure where she is now.”

“Ah, yes, those two. I recall seeing them in Small Services,” Sefu interjected. “They hung out together often. They spoke of strange things like going to the ‘original Ophiuchus.’ It made no sense.” He shook his head. 

Alice frowned for a moment. “I see.” She turned back to Atienna.  “I know this may be a forward request, but do you think you would be able to get Ferris out of the Small Services District like you did with Sefu?”

“Oh, it’s not forward at all. I’ll try…” 

“Thank you.” Alice returned her attention to the files. “We’re speaking of all of this as if all of this is fake and what we know as Signum’s history, but I believe we should be partial to the idea that this is real to a very specific degree when we approach this investigation.”

“Do you… think it’s not?”

Alice looked up at her.

“Do you not think it’s fake?” Atienna inquired. She cleared her throat. “I was actually… interested in your perspective of things given your expertise.”

Alice regarded her. “The reason I’m able to evaluate patients, criminals, people and diagnose conditions is because I’m an outsider to their situation. I’m able to see how they interact with and perceive the world around them without bias. What may be obvious to me may not be obvious to them.”

“Like how a reader would perceive a character in a book,” Atienna wondered. 

Alice regarded her. “An interesting way to put it.”

“Ah, I suppose. But are you not an outsider here?” Atienna briefly glanced around the room. “I mean…. in regards to the Ndotoans…”

“We’re at the center of this so it’s difficult to take an outsider’s perspective in this case. Our perspective is influenced by simply being in our current surroundings. The fact that we’re diagnosed here with a psychological condition that skews perspective paired with the fact that familiar parties are different from how we perceive them from memory is already an indicator of our own biases.”

Interesting.

“Ah, I see…. You describe it very succinctly, Miss Kingsley.”

Alice stared at her for a moment. “Going back to the case—is there any other information you’ve come across that you believe might be useful to this investigation?”

Atienna thought for a moment, hesitating. Then, she said, “It’s not quite pertinent to the investigation but it’s in regards to our potential location…” She then disclosed her theory on the threshold and her suspicions about Claire and Lavi.

Alice sat there silently taking in the information. She seemed to be turning the ideas over in her head, before she asked a question Atienna both had and hadn’t quite been expecting—“Why didn’t you disclose this information earlier?”

The question startled Atienna. Rather than being intrigued and concerned with the mystery of Ndoto, Alice seemed to be more focused on Atienna herself. Of course, Atienna thought. Alice’s interest was people above all else. It was a bit disappointing but understandable.

It took Atienna moment to recollect herself. “The… idea of a threshold sounds fantastical, don’t you think? I’d rather not suggest anything in such a serious situation—especially in a situation where reality in itself is questionable.”

“If you take an approach like that, then you’ll never arrive at any sort of conclusion.” Alice sighed. “But thank you for that information. I’ll pass your theory along to Gabrielle.”

The comment was rather stinging. Atienna supposed Alice wasn’t wrong. She wished though that Alice at least provided some of her thoughts on the matter. The woman was difficult.

“That was…. very insightful and helpful. You’re right,” Atienna said a beat after. “I’m glad you’re Jericho’s friend now instead of his guardian. It must have been a difficult decision to make.”

Alice’s eyes narrowed a slight fraction but her face became unreadable again. Then, it became empathetic. “How have you been adapting to the situation, Atienna?”

“As well as everyone else.” Atienna chuckled lightly. “I’m sure it’s difficult for you as well.”

Alice nodded. “Yours is a special case. You have to adapt to two entirely different situations. Firstly, Ndoto in itself. Secondly, from what I understand, you’re having difficulties connecting with your fellow True Conductors. If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly do you mean by that?”

Atienna nodded. “It’s peculiar…” She studied her hand beneath the table. “It’s hard to describe. The closest thing I can compare it to is when you see something out of the corner of your eye. You think you know what it is—a familiar face maybe—but when you turn, it’s no longer there.”

“I see.” Alice quieted for a moment before she continued. “So from that and from what I’ve gleaned from what you informed us earlier, the people here who are a part of your circle—individuals like Jericho and Werner—are themselves but in some sort of an altered state. Is this correct?”

Atienna averted her eyes briefly. “I can’t really say…”

“Have you tried speaking with any of the people in your True Conductor circle?” Alice asked. “Perhaps you could… glean something from them or understand their state of mind.”

She was most likely thinking about Jericho. Bias from someone who tried to distance herself from bias. Hah.

“It’s… rather awkward,” Atienna drew slowly. “But perhaps I should….”

Atienna leaned back in her chair. “I see. You speak of things being awkward which is understandable, but don’t you find any comfort in their small familiarities?”

Familiarities…?

“Being physically close to someone when they’re not really present… even when there are familiar shades here and there…” Atienna murmured as her mind drifted to the other five and then—to her mother. She immediately pulled her thoughts away from a distant memory.

Oh dear. Alice truly did know how to get to the bottom of things, didn’t she?

Atienna offered Alice a tight half-sympathetic smile. “It’s hard to put into words, but isn’t it the same for you and Talib?”

Alice’s hard mask cracked for just a fraction of a second—Atienna saw it. And it felt terrible and satisfying at the same time. After a minute pause, Alice asked, “Is that how you perceive it?” 

Ah. The latter feeling dissipated instantly.

“I’m sorry. What do you mean by that?”

“Let’s put that aside for a moment.” Alice turned her attention to the files. “We won’t get anything done by jumping around so I suggest we take action on the investigation. I would like to conduct some interviews around the sites where disappearances happened as well as interviews of where the murders happened. Could you arrange that?”

Atienna nodded. “Of course. I think I can ask Maria about that.” After a moment, she tried hesitantly, “I’m sorry if I said anything strange or…. hurtful. It wasn’t my intention…”

“You don’t need to worry,” Alice replied simply. “It doesn’t bother me.”

And, for a reason Atienna knew but did not want to acknowledge, that fact bothered her.

* * *

Atienna had the opportunity to meet up with Klaus the evening after at a small cafe. He’d somehow managed to obtain the number to the residence Sefu was staying and had rung them up for a meeting. She’d requested Sefu to stay and rest at home as she’d wanted to have some time with Klaus to herself.

Atienna had wondered exactly what Klaus had been up to since their parting. She’d been curious about what everyone had been doing. It seemed as if all that riled up energy to break out of Ndoto had dried up overnight. To think that they had spent about a week preparing for this one goal only to have it crumbled away in an hour. Atienna herself hadn’t been so sure about the goal to begin with since she’d already seen what was beyond the gates. However,  in general, most people didn’t truly believe in things until they saw it for themselves. Confirming reality with one’s own eyes. She wondered if their goal to stop the syzygy would end up the same—granted if the syzygy was real.

Atienna met with Klaus on the patio outside the closed Wibele. He had with him a satchel and a book on epistemology. He had taken a bike of all things to get to the Wibele and was panting when he arrived. 

“It’s weird,” he said through pants. “I’ve definitely gone through much worse in training at the military academy.”

Atienna assuaged him.

After they did the usual reunion greetings and sat down at an empty table, Klaus breathily asked, “How have things been? What’s going on?”

“It seems like the both of us managed to avoid dealing with the guidance officers unlike the others who arrived here recently,” Atienna murmured. “I assume… Carl is in the same boat as us—though I believe I overheard that my brother is dealing with guidance officer’s himself right now. That’s because they suspect him of having VNW and because of…”

“ELPIS,” Klaus finished. He adjusted his glasses. “I saw Hauptmann Weingartner on the television.” He winced and rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t believe Leutnant Wolff would do that. I mean—I know it’s not him, but…” He trailed off for a moment and stared into the dark windows of Wibele. “I wonder how it feels for them to be on the opposite side of things.”

Although Atienna already knew what the irony was, she was curious as to how Klaus would take it— “What do you mean?”

“Well….” Klaus pushed up his glasses. “For General Vogel and the other commanding officers, it must feel weird to be the chess piece instead of the chess player.” He glanced back at her and cleared his throat sheepishly. “Anyways, what do you think happened with the others? To Derik?”

“I’m not sure about Derik…” Atienna thought for a moment and said more to herself than to him, “He wasn’t with the peacekeepers and the others when they were taken away by Gilbert. Since he was… somewhat wanted by the guidance officers, I wonder if they sent him to the Small Services District…”

“Saints. I hope not.” Klaus shook his head. “Did you meet them then?”

Atienna drew herself out from her thoughts. “Meet them?”

“The hauptmann and the peacekeepers,” Klaus elaborated. “Since you knew about Derik not being there.”

“Oh, I met Alice Kingsley,” Atienna amended. 

“The peacekeeper with the Psychological Evaluations Department,” Klaus identified.

Atienna briefly explained her encounter with Alice and the investigation.

“Do you really think the person who did that is our way to get out of Ndoto?” Klaus frowned briefly  “I’ve seen a lot of things on the field—I mean, Derik is a very specific type of person—but I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who would do something like… that.” He thought for a moment. “I have heard stories about certain people who committed atrocities during the Reservoir War, but still…”

“Ah, I understand your apprehension…” Atienna tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and nodded. “But since we haven’t been able to make anything out of the gates, this is our next best option, don’t you think?”

Klaus nodded slowly. “If you need any help with the interviews or investigation, please let me know. I want to help. I’ll… try to ask around the campus too.”

Atienna offered him a reassuring smile. “That means a lot, Klaus.”

Klaus flushed and reflected the smile back. “It’s no problem. It’s my duty.”

Atienna pointed to the textbook. “That’s quite a unique read.”

“It certainly is.” Klaus chuckled. “I didn’t think I’d ever be able to take a class on this in my lifetime, but…” His expression darkened slightly.

“Are you alright, Klaus?”

“They said we’ve been missing for months,” Klaus muttered, “but we’ve only been here for a few weeks.” He paused, folding an ear into the book page. “One of us has to be wrong, right? And the group that’s wrong—by default—has to have been affected by whatever’s going on here. It’s hard to wrap my head around the idea of us being wrong, but either way…. it unsettles me.”

mbili—obscure inosculation 

---

Gabrielle Law was dropped off at a nondescript apartment on a nondescript street. The only thing that distinguished her apartment door from the others in the line was the WELCOME HOME mat at the front of the door. Upon entering, she found a disorienting space. 

The apartment half-resembled her apartment in the Serpens Establishment and half-resembled her childhood home in Aries. The living room walls were filled with photos of herself smiling with a collage of different people. Among those photos she spied one of herself posing with her father and her mother. It looked fairly recent—whatever that meant in that place.

It had been a long time since she’d spoken to her father. He hadn’t agreed with her becoming a peacekeeper and that had driven a rift between them. 

No use thinking about that now though. Although… it was interesting how her relationship with parents seemed to differ here. Actually, the fact that some alternate version of herself with such a detailed back history existed was beyond interesting in itself.

Someone must have had a lot of free time on their hands to machinate all of this. Gabrielle did believe that someone would be fastidious enough to put it altogether. Scorpio had bid his time during that month in December, after all. 

Gabrielle approached the photo of her family and tapped it before her gaze trailed to a photo hung just beside it. She froze. The photo was of her and a young woman with blonde hair smiling ear to ear. Gabrielle did not know the woman’s name, but she knew her.  She knew her face—though she’d never seen the woman smiling that before. No—the only expression Gabrielle had ever seen on this woman’s face was pure agony. Agony as she was consumed by Gabrielle’s own magenta flames on the battlefield.

The photo right next to it captured Gabrielle standing in-between two smiling young men who both had their arms over her shoulder. Emmet and Darion. Twins who had served in Gabrielle’s joint Taurusian-Ariesian unit. Blown apart, limbs sent flying, during the very same battle.

The photo beside that hosted Gabrielle surrounded by a dozen painfully familiar smiling children holding bouquets of flowers. Some held signs that read ‘Thank You!’ and ‘Gabe Rocks!’

The room spun.

Every single photo on the walls contained the faces of those who Gabrielle had not seen in nearly a decade—faces that still remained burned in her mind, many faces Gabrielle herself had burned away herself.

Another photo caught her attention amongst the dozens. In it was the image of Gabrielle herself, Elizabeta, Csilla, and Izsak standing in front of an ice cream parlor of some kind. It appeared recent.

Gabrielle felt the back of her neck become wet with sweat and a creeping sense of paranoia flooded her chest. Their eyes—it felt as if all their eyes were following her. The gazes of those she’d killed, those she’d failed to help, those she’d led haphazardly on the tails of a childish dream of peace.

Startled, she stumbled back into the table behind her but managed to catch herself. Mind racing and no longer wanting to be the subject of all those stares, she darted in the adjacent kitchen. Again—it was a mish-mash of her childhood home and her Serpens Establishment apartment. Stove, pantry, and and all.

She opened her pantry. Not a drop of alcohol in sight. Of course. The only beverage inside her pantry were fruit sodas of some kind. Cherry-flavored according to the label. Her least favorite thing. Even worse? It was in one of those annoying glass bottles she’d always hated opening.

Gabrielle took the soda anyway and turned back to face the living room. She cracked open the bottle and chugged half of the thing before she slowly re-entered the room with her eyes glued to the floor.

After taking a breath, she looked to her left. A picture of her standing beside an old smiling couple greeted her. The old couple’s gaze poured into her—their gazes becoming more and more twisted and piercing the more she stared.

Gabrielle went over to the photo and flipped it around so they were no longer staring at her. When she looked to the left of the photo, however, she was again met with a smiling gaze—so she flipped over that photo too. She did it again with the next one. And the one after that. Over and over again. Soon, she’d rounded the entire room.

Finally, Gabrielle sank into the sofa behind the table she’d nearly tripped over earlier and stared at the walls. The only photos still showing were the one with her family members and the one with the Wtorek family.

Gabrielle chugged the rest of the drink before tossing it across the room. She stared up at the ceiling. She laughed. It was funny. Really.

After a moment, she recollected herself and thought—

Running around and busting doors down hoping to break out was obviously not the most brilliant route to take here. Plus she had to consider the people that were around her: the Ndotoans. She’d heard here and there about the theories some of the others had. Internal manipulation, external transmutation, Diverger presentation, maybe a bit of both, etcetera. The fact was that the people here had a pulse—

—even the ones that were supposed to be dead.

Damn. That was what made this difficult. The scenario that everyone here was under a manipulation of some kind didn’t explain how the dead were walking around again. Maybe they were random people transmuted with the appearance of the dead and being manipulated? That seemed like a lot of leg work. Besides, how in the world would they be able to transmute over so many people? Saint candidate shenanigans? Using proto-conductors? But proto-conductors didn’t work here for whatever reason. Or maybe it was just the proto-conductors Gabrielle and the other Signum soldiers had with them that were faulty. Maybe there were other proto-conductors here that worked. But why would the people of Ndoto need proto-conductors when they could conduct without conductors?

Oh, right. Conducting without a conductor. Another gigantic puzzle piece. 

Investigate. Recuperate. Don’t Stagnate—

Gabrielle finally noticed that there was something on the table in front of her. A stack of files. She leaned forward and flipped through them. They were all labeled. The first two read:

VNW GUIDANCE – FERRIS HART

VNW GUIDANCE – AGAPE ROSARIO

“Well, talk about being dropped right onto my lap.” Gabrielle’s brows rose.

Wasn’t her KM-level or whatever it was called restricted? She hadn’t fully grasped what that meant yet but she’d assumed it had to do with information restriction and access restriction and all kinds of other restrictions. The guidance officer who’d taken her here had even explained that she was to be put on leave from her guidance officer duties until she recovered. Apparently, they hadn’t thought to clear out her apartment. How privacy-respecting of them.

Gabrielle began to peruse the two files. 

The files stated that Agape Rosario and Ferris Hart—both currently being held in the Small Services District—contracted VNW approximately two and a half weeks ago. That was when that group with Atienna Imamu and that loud-mouthed Derik Stein said they arrived, right? There were some additional details about their VNW ‘delusions’: Ferris thought she was a peacekeeper and Agape a business owner. Which was perfect in Gabrielle’s books. That meant Ferris was alive and safe—and sane.

Beyond that information was miscellaneous data on the two women. What district they lived in. Their alleged occupations. What year they immigrated into Ndoto. Their KM-levels before their VNW.

It was a lot of detailed information. Almost to detailed to be fake.

Gabrielle glanced down at the file at the bottom of the stack. GUIDANCE COUNCIL CONTACT INFORMATION, the label read. Inside the folder were several papers listing names next to numbers and positions. 

“Well, this is really ‘dropped onto my lap now’, isn’t it?” Gabrielle muttered. She scanned the room and waited for someone to pop out and say ‘You’ve got me!’ When no one did, she scanned the file in the folder and found the first name under the occupation ‘Guidance Council Member’: Azizi Jino. 

Jino. A tribe in Virgo in the Tenbo Region. Everything really did revolve more or less around Virgo around here, didn’t it? So much so that it almost blatantly painted Virgo itself as the culprit. The country, not the saint candidate—unless it was the  Virgoan saint candidate behind this. But… There was no active Virgoan saint candidate. 

Still, it warranted investigating. She would have to ask some of the still sane Virgoans what the general conducting type of most Virgoan saint candidates had been.

Back to the main point: Azizi Jino. The chieftain of the Jino tribe of Virgo. Wait. No, that was the son of the chieftain. 

Wait a minute. 

Gabrielle found the next name with the same occupation. Ewatomi Maneo. She was also the daughter of the chieftain of the tribe. Further investigation led Gabrielle to conclude that the entire council was composed of not the chieftain members of Virgo’s tribes but their children.

A leading council made up of a bunch of twenty-somethings sounded chaotic. Best to ring them up and see exactly how chaotic.

Gabrielle scoured her house for a phone and found what she believed was one in her bedroom. It looked quite different from what she was used to, consisting of a slender receiver resting on top of a slender dial pad. She pulled it off the hook and waited to connect to the operator. When she didn’t, she spent roughly fifteen minutes trying to figure out how to send out a call. Eventually, she reasoned that she had to physically dial the numbers herself.

After a few trial and error and incorrect calls, Gabrielle managed to work out how to use the dial system. The first number she successfully connected to Azizi Jino, but it wasn’t Aziz who answered.

“Mr. Jino is busy at the moment at a meeting,” the secretary whose name Gabrielle hadn’t been able to catch. Tapping resounded from her end—very long fingernails against a typewriter, it sounded like. “He’s busy all week, so it may be best to contact him next week. Preferably, next month.”

Well, that was a jump.

“It’s sort of important,” Gabrielle said, winding her finger around the cord.

“What was your name again, ma’am?”

“Gabrielle Law,” Gabrielle tried.

There was a lengthy pause.

“It looks like you’ve recently been deemed a VNW infectee, Miss Law,” the secretary drew, tone higher-pitched. “I’m sorry but for safety reasons, I’m going to have to decline your visit with Mr. Jino.”

“So just because I’m sick, I can’t get a word in with my community leader? That’s a bit discriminatory, isn’t it?”

“It’s for your safety as well, Miss Law,” the secretary replied, smile evident in her tone.

“Could I get an address at least?” Gabrielle tried. “Maybe another?”

The secretary hummed. “Well, in order to visit our facility, you need to have a KM-level above 3 accompanying you given that your KM-level is temporary suppressed to level 2 with your condition.”

“I have friends,” Gabrielle lied. “So what’s the address?”

* * *

Gabrielle decided to do some reconnaissance in the outside area half an hour later. The apartment complex was bright, lively, mundane. She was greeted by neighbors as she rounded her way around the apartment complex down to the street. Most offered her sympathies for her VNW diagnosis—it seemed as if everyone had seen Gilbert Wolff’s performance on ‘television’. Some sweet old lady even offered her cookies which Gabrielle happily accepted.

The streets themselves were crowded but not cluttered with pedestrians in bright, outrageous clothing. The round vehicles that rolled along the road were just as bright. No matter where Gabrielle looked, she couldn’t find any public disturbances or hecklers whatsoever. No beggars or ill-looking children, no weary faces. Nothing strange, grim, alarming. Just normal people going about normal things.

Even before this current war, Gabrielle wasn’t sure if she’d seen anything like this in Signum before. Sure, there were the post-Reservoir War celebrations but those days had a fervent energy to them that wasn’t exactly coming from a pure or good place.

As she strolled down the streets, Gabrielle couldn’t help but think that this place was rubbing her face with it. Maybe it was all Scorpio, she mused. But then she thought of the Talib she’d met at the Foxman’s residence. Maybe someone else had become Scorpio.

Gabrielle wondered if there were any liquor stores nearby.

She stayed there, leaning against the wall of a small bookshop for a while, and watched it all pass by. Eventually, the sky darkened to a rose color and the crowds thinned. The streets emptied. Soon the only people ambling down the road were a gaggle of twelve elementary school students headed by a guidance officer. She watched them go until they rounded the corner and disappeared from her sights.

“Miss Law, what are you doing here?”

At the familiar voice, she turned and found one Olivier Chance standing beside her on the sidewalk. He had on a bookbag of all things and had a soccer ball tucked under his arm. 

“Well, I live here.” Gabrielle looked him up and down. “The question is what are you doing here?”

“On my way home from soccer practice.” Olive indicated the ball in his hands.

“Is that so, Your High—” Gabrielle caught herself and thought for a moment. She then tested, “Well, I know you as a prince but you’re apparently not. Still, who wouldn’t want to be called ‘prince’ here and there, Prince Chance?

Olive quirked a brow and smirked. “Why not king?”

“Well, that’s very confident of you.”

Olive went around her in a circle as he looked her up and down. “So, how’re you settling in, Miss Law? How’s the VNW?”

“As about as well as anyone who has VNW,” Gabrielle resounded casually. “How about you? How was…” She eyed the ball. “Soccer practice?”

Olive eyed the ball. “It was fun. Can’t wait for the real thing.”

“Real thing?” Gabrielle’s brows rose. “Say, since you have your feet more on the ground than I do, would you mind if I picked your mind about a couple Ndoto things?”

Olive shrugged. “Sure.” 

Gabrielle looked over her shoulder. “About this tree thing I keep hearing about—who planted it—”

“Why are you asking about the tree?” Olive asked back.

Gabrielle turned back to him. “Just curious about it is all. It seems really important.”

“It is.” Olive pointed up at the sky. “You’re only here because of the tree.”

You’re? Not we?

“What does that mean? And who planted it?” 

“It means that the tree is what lets Ndoto be Ndoto. You know—without all the bad vibes getting in from outside.” 

Interesting.

“How does it do that? And not to beat a dead bush but who planted it?”

“Don’t know. One of the original Ndotoans? Maybe a gardener?”

Gardener?

Olive shrugged. “Maybe one day I will know. You have to be at a higher KM-level to dig into the research of things like that. What I do know is that it’s because of the tree that I can do things like this—” He held out his free hand and twisted glowing flames around his fingertips—

Gabrielle grabbed the boy’s wrist immediately causing the flames to dissipate.

“Hey! Ow! What’s your damage, Miss Law?” Olive struggled against her grip and dropped his soccer ball.

Gabrielle pulled him closer and stared into his eyes, searching. “Who are you?”

Olive did a double-take. “What?”

“Who are you?” Gabrielle repeated.

Olive made a face. “Miss Law, have you lost it? What are you talking about?”

“Your vitae. The color. You’ve got it wrong. Olive Chance’s vitae—or whatever you call it here—is a bright crimson red. I know the Olive Chance here also has crimson red vitae because the kid was messing around with it and showing off the night we arrived.” Gabrielle squeezed lightly. “And the color of your vitae just now was a bit too orange to be red.”

Olive shook his head. “What? It is red!” He twisted his hand slightly and produced a crimson flame on his palm. “You’re seeing things!”

Gabrielle jerked him forward again, dissipating the flames. “I’m pretty sober right now, so I’m pretty sure I’m not seeing things.”

Olive grimaced. “Look, Miss Law, you have VNW. You’re… not well. I get it. But if people see you act crazy, you’re going to end up at the Small Services District.” He sighed. “Look. Let’s pretend that none of this happened. I’m just going to head home and—”

“I’m not that easily convinced,” Gabrielle interjected. “I’ve faced plenty of better liars and manipulators who’re better at both those things than you.”

Olive stared at her tense and wide-eyed for a moment before his expression fell flat. 

Gabrielle arched a brow. “So—what are you? A Transmutationist? A Diverger?” She paused then tried. “A saint candidate—”

Olive opened his mouth. Gabrielle waited. And starting from his mouth, five pulsating copper lines stretched out across his face like a five-point star. A split-second later, Olive’s face split into five pieces. Like peeling a fruit, those five pieces fell outwards revealing not a skull but a spiraling red flower. Instead of veins, there were roots. Instead of eyes, leaves.

Gabrielle released him—it—immediately and stumbled backwards. She clenched her hand for her conductor, but felt nothing. Her mind raced, her heart pounded. 

A transmutation, she thought. It had to be.

With that thought, she reached out and grabbed a hold of the thing’s wrist again. She managed to keep the waver out her voice: “Well, now I really have questions.”

The thing immediately ripped its hand out of Gabrielle’s grasp and darted down the sidewalk. The petals of its head closed back up into a face. But instead of hosting Olive’s dark head of hair, the thing’s hair was a light blonde color. Instead of having hazel-green eyes, its eyes were blue. The rest of its features were disturbingly distorted—like a blurred photo, like smudged ink.

It took Gabrielle a moment to rip her feet out of place and chase after the thing. She pounded down the street and watched incredulously as it somehow grew farther and farther away from her regardless of how much harder she pushed herself. Then—it rounded the corner.

Gabrielle rounded that corner a second after and grounded to a halt as she was met with a sparsely dotted street. That group of elementary school children Gabrielle had seen earlier—thirteen total—was ambling down the sidewalk behind the guidance officer.

Gabrielle started after the group but paused when she heard commotion behind her. When she turned, she found that the empty street she’d just turned out of was now full of street life and traffic—apparated in from nowhere.

When she turned back to the cluster of children, there were only twelve.

* * *

Gabrielle returned to her apartment shortly after. Her mind buzzed. Her hand felt numb. She went to her pantry, grabbed another bottle of fruity soda, and began downing it as soon as she threw herself down on the living room sofa. She stared at the two photos still showing on the wall dazedly. She almost didn’t notice that the phone in her room was ringing.

When she moved to the room to answer, she said nothing and listened intently.

“Gabrielle?”

“Alice?” Gabrielle was surprised to say the least. “Is that you?”

“Yes, I was able to find your number in a phonebook. Are you alright?”

“Huh. Interesting. And yes, I’m fine,” Gabrielle noted. “It’s good to hear from you. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I was dropped off at my supposed apartment last night and was fortunate enough to have gained the attention of Atienna Imamu. She requested my assistance in investigating the case we saw earlier regarding the dismembered hands.”

“Ah, the Virgoan advisor.” Gabrielle took a sip of her drink. “Weird. I got the impression that people who had VNW were restricted from doing things like that.”

“As did I.” Alice proceeded to go over her meeting with Atienna Imamu and Sefu Imamu and theories in the murderer.

Gabrielle listened as she stared into the bottom of her bottle.

“Well, that does sound like a mystery. I think you’re headed in the right direction with the investigation though,” Gabrielle said. After a pause, she asked. “What do you think of her? Atienna Imamu.”

“She’s well-mannered and polite.”

“What do you really think of her?”

“She’s not a patient of mine,” Alice replied. “Do you expect me to psychoanalyze everyone who steps into my view?”

“Well, no,” Gabrielle drew. “But she is associated with a certain friend of ours. Right? So I figured you’d have sort of an interest in her.”

Alice sighed. “You have no shame do you?”

“You know how the pattern goes with True Conductors. Strange things tend to usually center around them.”

Alice remained silent for some time. Gabrielle challenged her with equal silence.

Finally, Alice relented: “From what I’ve heard from others, Atienna Imamu is a shy, thoughtful, kind, somewhat indecisive, and reserved woman.”

“So, a wallflower.” Gabrielle set her bottle down.

“Yes, exactly,” Alice said. “But that’s not the impression I got from her at all.”

“Oh?”

“Let me give you a scenario. You have a friend who has a friend who has a friend. You don’t know the second friend nor the third friend. The third friend at the very end of the chain has fallen into unfortunate circumstances. You hear of it from the first friend who has heard it from the second friend. How do you react?”

“Offer condolences obviously.”

“But they wouldn’t be emotional, earnest condolences.”

“Well… I don’t really know the third person.”

“Exactly. But would you be curious about what happened to them?”

“Maybe.”

“So if you were curious, you would try to tiptoe around asking about what exactly that third friend’s unfortunate circumstances were.”

“I guess.”

“How the second friend would feel is how it felt when I was speaking with Atienna.”

“So… she’s insincere?” Gabrielle’s brows rose. “Well, she does only know you through Jericho, right? And she’s an advisor too, so a half-politician. No surprise there.”

“I wouldn’t say that it was insincerity,” Alice said. “It was more like she wasn’t interested in who I was but instead was interested in what she could glean from me—rather, what she could get out of me. She brought books during our discussion, and I think that’s a perfect way to describe how she regards other people. It probably isn’t noticeable to most, but she talks to others like she’s trying to read them like a book. Regardless, our conversation felt more like a sparring match than a friendly discussion.”

“So a bad influence on our friend?” Gabrielle teased.

Alice sighed. “Why ask me if you’re not going to take this seriously?”

“I am being serious.” Gabrielle cleared her throat. “Let’s hope this Raincoat Killer turns something up.” She thought for a moment before she continued, “Since you were kind enough to tell me that story, let me give you a run down of my own day.”

She then informed Alice of her encounter with the fake Olive on the street and the strange circumstances surrounding it.

“So, I can’t really say if I’ve got a suspect since I’m not really sure what I saw was what I saw,” Gabrielle finished. “Somewhat convenient how this VNW we’re allegedly diagnosed with is the perfect tool to wave off anything strange that’s going on.”

“I see.” Alice was silent for a moment. “I believe we should see if anyone else has experienced what they believe might be hallucinations. The moment we start doubting our own realities is when we lose our ground.”

“Right.” Gabrielle noted, “Then maybe we should keep an eye out for imposters too. Just in case what I saw has any merit.”

“I’m certain it does.” Alice paused and then muttered. “Fakes…”

“Fakes?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll speak with you tomorrow, Gabrielle. I need to find a way back home.”

“Got it. I’ll hear from you then.”

The line disconnected, leaving Gabrielle in the quiet. Before she could think of what to do next, the phone was ringing again. 

Gabrielle picked it up quickly— “Alice, what is it?”

“…Gabe?”

Gabrielle felt her heart drop into her stomach. “Izsak?”

Somehow her body had recognized his voice before her mind had even registered it.  

“Gabe? Gabe, is that you?”

The room around Gabrielle spun.

“Are you doing okay? I heard from Liza about you getting VNW. Did the guidance officers get everything sorted out for you?”

Gabrielle slowly rose to a stand and walked to the doorframe with the phone still in her hand. She peered down the hall into the living room. From here, she could see the photo containing the Wtorek family and herself.

“Gabe?”

“Yeah.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment. The longer it dragged on, the more dread began to build at the pit of Gabrielle’s stomach—

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your old pal Izsak. You’ll break my heart.”

The feeling dissipated immediately.

“No, I…” Gabrielle swallowed. “I still remember you, Izsak.”

“Well, that’s good.” Izsak chuckled in that very specific way of his—a chuckle more for the other person than for himself. A laugh of reassurance. “You should come by this weekend—or before even. Csilla’d probably be excited to see you. Plus Liza’s been wanting to go out for a while. We could swing by the Grainery District. How about it?”

Elizabeta too. Peacekeeper. Csilla. Saint candidates. Izsak. Gamma. ELPIS Leader.

“You still there, Gabe?”

“Yeah… I’m still here.”

tatu—decomposing phantasmagoria

---

“Ah-hee.”

Jericho pulled on his recyclable, sustainable socks. 

“Ah-hee, please.” 

He grabbed his cruelty-free book satchel from around his desk chair and packed in just one sheet of compostable paper and a wooden pencil. If he wrote small enough, he could fit an entire day’s worth of notes on this one sheet. He had once turned in a report for a seminar class using the same technique to which his professor had written ‘next time just kill a tree.’

“Ah-hee!”

Jericho felt the back of his shirt being weighed down. He glanced over his shoulder and found his sister Sidra squinting at him.

He frowned. “What?” 

“What do you mean ‘what’?” Sidra released him. “You know what. I’ve been asking about it the entire week. The catering thing!” 

Jericho turned. “So you’re more interested in the catering that’s going on outside of my art project than my actual art project?”

“No, I’m equally interested,” Sidra said matter-of-factly. “But, Ah-hee, they’re going to have food their from the Market District. We haven’t gone there in months! It’s been forever since I’ve had a good halva.”

“I brought you some from the Wibele—”

“That was weeks ago!”

“You know the Market District mass produces commodities. You have no idea what they put into their food there. You have no idea whether or not it’s organic—”

Sidra rolled her eyes. “Okay, but you’re the only one who cares about that, Ah-hee. Not everyone cares about what they put in their bodies. Please, Ah-hee. This is once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“You can get the halva yourself once you go to university.”

“But what if I don’t?”

“What?”

“What if I don’t go to university.”

Jericho frowned again. “You’re going to college. How else are you going to get your KM-level up?”

Sidra made a face. “There are other ways…”

“What else would you do?”

“Maybe I want to be like Cadence,” Sidra said, cupping her face with a hand. “Maybe I want to be a singer. You can learn a lot of wise things from being an icon.”

“You know mom and dad wouldn’t approve.”

“But they would approve of you persuading me to go to college,” Sidra drew, a glint in her eye. “You know what’s a really good way of persuading me? I know you know.”

Jericho sighed and relented, “Alright. Fine. I’ll get you just one.”

* * *

Talib was waiting outside for Jericho by their bikes. As per usual, they talked about classes and some of Talib’s more eccentric ideas about the world. They didn’t discuss much about ELPIS as Talib technically was not a full member. Rather, Talib had accompanied Jericho to a meeting one day on a whim and had been helping out on-and-off since then. He had not participated in the demonstration during the weekend and was tactful enough not to bring the topic up.

They separated upon arriving on campus as they had entirely different classes. After Jericho’s last class of the idea—a multimedia class in which he was currently working on a group project. He’d been delegated leader of the group for some odd reason—though he was not unfamiliar with being put in such positions. He didn’t mind it. In fact, he enjoyed it when people relied on him. That being said, he was no pushover. Everyone had to do their fair share of responsibility.

After speaking with his professor briefly on a historic art topic once the class concluded, Jericho hopped on his bike parked outside the lecture building and began making his way to the student center. His presentation wasn’t until an hour and a half later, so he wanted to see if any of his friends or fellow ELPIS members were free to hang out.

As he pedaled past the bus stop on the way there, however, he found himself slowing to a halt and looking over his shoulder. He’d seen correctly: sitting at the bench there was Alice Kingsley. Jericho immediately backpedaled and came to a stop in front of her.

Alice nodded at him in acknowledgement. 

“Professor,” Jericho greeted her. “What are you doing here?”

“I was trying to get back to my apartment,” Alice answered after a pause. “The Judge District apparently.”

“It seems as if you’ve taken the wrong bus.” Jericho looked around. “You’re back on campus. This is the Child of the World District. Several districts away.”

“That’s quite clear.” Alice’s expression was difficult to read. She studied him. “You attend classes here?”

“That’s right.”

“What’s your area of study?”

She was obviously curious. Jericho was curious as well. And he was disappointed. Not in her, of course. Nor was he disappointed in Volker. Rather, he was disappointed in Gilbert Wolff and the media that had manipulated the two into speaking against their organization. They had taken three steps forward and two steps backwards. Still, the net was positive. 

“Graphic design with a concentration in photography.”

Alice eyed the camera hanging at his chest. “I’m assuming Benì influenced you there?”

“And who would Bení be?”

Alice stared. “No one to you I suppose,” she eventually replied. “Where are you off to?”

“To the student center to meet with some members if they’re there or friends. After that, I have that art presentation.”

“Friends.” Alice put a hand to her chin. “Are you popular, Jericho?”

The question was rather obtuse, and he wouldn’t have expected it from someone like Alice. However, he understood she was rather confused.

“The concept of popularity is absurd, wouldn’t you say, professor?” Jericho pushed up his tinted glasses. “As if any thing or person in the same category has any more value than anything or any person in that category. People and things in separate categories can’t even be compared.”

Alice’s brows were just ever so slightly raised. “That’s an interesting perspective.” She looked him up and down. “You mentioned a presentation?”

Jericho smiled slightly. “Would you like to see? I could help take you home after my presentation.”

* * *

The building that hosted his art project was at the center of campus, so it was a bit of a drive. Jericho took the time to re-familiarize Alice with some of the campus buildings and attractions. As she was sitting behind him on the passenger seat of the bike, he couldn’t read her expressions. Though he supposed he shouldn’t mind what she thought of it. His only purpose was to show her. It was her purpose to decide.

The entrance of the presentation building was lined up with stalls that were just beginning to be lined with foods and produce. Jericho recognized several classmates amongst the stall runners and gave them head nods and waves when he caught their attention. He could feel Alice watch him the entire time. It seemed as if in her mind the relationship between the two of them was quite different than what it actually was.

“There are quite a lot of art major presentations going on today in here,” Jericho explained to Alice as he parked his bike at the rack adjacent to the entry stairs. “So the art clubs on campus and several other external organizations have decided to make a profit of it. One of my sisters wants me to get food from a specific stall, so I’d be grateful if you could remind me after my presentation.”

Alice stared at him.

“Of course, I’m not supporting those sort of conglomerate organizations that mass produce foods like that by any means—”

“Your sister?” Alice inquired.

“Yes, Sidra.” Jericho began leading her up the steps into the building. “You’ve met her several times before.”

“So her name could have been Sidra,” Alice said, tone revealing nothing.

“Could have been?” Jericho inquired.

Alice didn’t respond.

“She’s the second oldest behind my younger brother Ahlam,” Jericho explained further after a pause. “Hayal is the youngest.”

“They call you ‘Ah-hee’?”

“When they want something, yes.” Jericho let out a breath. 

“I see.” Alice let out a breath too.

They entered the building just as a class let out and the marble entrance hall became flooded. Given the fact that it was most likely the last class of the day before the presentations, Jericho’s intuition told him TAs would soon be up and down the halls preparing the building for the evening’s event. He supposed he would have to make it quick then.

Jericho led Alice down the corridor past several small rooms. Eventually, they reached the room at the end. Given the fact that the room’s only light source was the light from the outside hall, it was rather dark inside. The room itself was perfectly square and just barely spacious enough to squeeze about twenty people inside. The walls were entirely white save for painted black swirls that touched every corner. The ceiling was clouded with them as was the floor. At the very center of the room was a large wooden pole that reached up to the ceiling. It was painted the same color as the swirls on the walls. Most of the swirls themselves were drawn in such a way that it looked as if they were springing out from the top and bottom of the pole.

Alice looked up and then down, left then right. “It’s perfectly mirrored on all sides. Quite literally. That’s an impressive feat.”

“I’m glad you noticed that.” Jericho couldn’t help but smile. “I had Olive help me work out the calculations for that.”

Alice regarded him for a moment before turning her attention “This is a rendition of Ndoto’s tree, I’m presuming?”

“It is.” Jericho studied her expression for some sort of reaction.

“This is your art project?” Alice asked.

“It is.”

“Interesting. It’s rather minimalistic.”

Jericho gestured to the pole. “Touch it.”

Alice studied him for a moment before she slowly paced up to the pole and pressed her palm against its surface. The area of contact immediately began to pulsate with soft colored light. That light sprung up and down the tree, coloring the path behind it with the same shade of vibrance.

Alice took a step back and took a breath. “The color of my vitae—”

“The paint is lined with pollen and seeds from the tree,” Jericho explained, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, “so when you touch it, it displays back the colors gifted to you by the tree. A reflection of the tree itself and a metaphor of not only how we return to the tree but of how Ndoto is colored as a whole.”

Alice didn’t say anything for a long while. The light dimmed. Soon all the branches were black once again. Jericho didn’t quite know why but he felt nervous anticipating Alice’s response.

“I see that you put a lot of thought into this,” Alice said after a stretch of silence. “And you explained your thought process so succinctly.” She didn’t say anything else.

Jericho glanced at her. Briefly, he saw it on Alice’s face: a flickering smile of melancholy pride.

moja/mbili— quiet frondescence 

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Atienna Imamu swung by Ndoto University’s student art gallery on a whim. It was late into the evening so there were not as many people wandering the halls. It seemed as if the university’s advertised student art gallery was winding down.

She paced down the hall, peering into the other rooms that hosted different art projects. Eventually, she made herself down to the room at the very end. When she entered it, she could barely see anything as the only light illuminating the room came from the lights outside the hall. 

A man stood at the center of the room in front of a sleek black pole that touched the ceiling. Jericho.

“Hello, Jericho,” she greeted him as she stepped into place beside him..

He turned. “Atienna…? What are you doing here?” He looked over his shoulder. “You just missed Alice. She went to the bathroom if you wanted to talk to her. She mentioned you two were working on an investigation together—”

“I read about the gallery, and I wanted to see it.” Atienna faced the pole—rather, the trunk of the replica tree. “What did everyone say?”

“They enjoyed the spectacle,” Jericho answered, “but I’m not sure they understood the message.”

“What did your professors say?”

Jericho let out a breath. “They said it was all style and no substance but it was decent style so I received a passing grade.”

“Ah,” Atienna drew, studying Jericho, “so they mean it lacks soul.”

moja— premeditated abscission

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