William is Dead

The Converter's body pulsed gold once, twice and three times. With a detached coldness it pressed the male into its torso, embedding him into the hollow. When its arm moved away, Will could see he had been inserted face inward. His body was utterly still as the flesh of the Converter slowly moved over it, not enough to cover it completely, but just enough to keep it locked in place.

Will and Emily watched with mouths and eyes wide open, as the Converter went rigid, its arms contorting at odd angles. The woman it held was still struggling and screaming, but the focus was on the torso. The man it had embedded into itself was glowing a blinding white; he looked like a badly drawn negative silhouette of a naked human form. The ground trembled and the air around the Converter shimmered in waves radiating outwards.

The lines that ran from the hollow all lit up like a string of lights, the energy flowing outwards into the Converter's body. A moment later, the cables attached to its body did the same, pulses of energy travelling outwards towards the central structure. A scream rose from nowhere. It reminded Will of the scream he had heard when he'd seen people shoot out of The Source.

This time it came from the man inside the Converter. They all heard it; a primal scream of fear and agony that grew ever louder and cut through everything, even the humming. Will could not have said how long it went on for, only that every minute he listened to it, the world around him seemed to stretch on and on. His own body was shaking, not just from the movement of the ground, but from a visceral reaction to the scream itself. He could barely breathe and despite its absence, his mind could feel his heart threatening to hammer out of his chest. He could feel the scream searing itself into his body.

Emily's fingers gripped tighter and tighter. He looked to see her face was locked into a grimace, teeth bared and jammed together. Neither of them could move, even when they tried. Not until the scream died down and the lights faded, and the Converter shook its head as if waking up from a reverie.

As soon as the humming faded along with the rest, the frightened screaming of the woman was heard again. Not a single one of the Shepherd paid her any attention.

The Converter reached into its hollow and pulled out the remnants of the drained man, all of which faded into sparkling motes as soon as they were released from the torso. Will and Emily watched the remnants spread out, fading like sparks from a fire. There was nothing left.

Emily let out an explosive breath. She was crying silently. He reached over and wiped away a tear. He wished he had something to say to help her feel better but anything good about this world had disappeared on seeing the Ritual.

The look she had in her eyes was naked terror and it hurt him to see it.

He took her hand and held it tight, as he turned to look at the Converter. There was a silence in the air broken by the occasional crackle of energy around the great creature. Even the woman had stopped screaming. She was staring wide eyed at the air where the last pieces of the man had gone.

The central structure was glowing wildly, wisps of white energy rolling off like liquid smoke. The brightness of the cables waxed and waned, and even the buildings around them were more opaque. The power the Converter had taken had made everything more solid.

"We need to get out of here," said Will, quietly.

"Where will we go?"

"I don't know. But right now, we need to get out of the city.

The humming began again, softer this time. Will's head jerked up to look at the Shepherds. They were different, he thought. Their auras were more extensive, their arms longer and their postures more upright, even those who were suspended in mid-air. They spread their arms again. So shocked was the woman, that she barely moved nor made a noise as the Converter pressed her into its torso.

"Now," said Will. "Let's go."

---xxx---

The Final Questioning

They snuck away quietly.

Everything felt surreal.

As they walked away, the city, even with its emptiness, felt far more oppressive than before. Will and Emily were both subdued and barely spoke as they began to move faster the further they got from the central structure.

Once she felt like she could speak, Emily asked, "What are we going to do, Will?" Her voice was shaky.

"I have no idea."

"We can't go back to the building."

"I know."

"M-maybe there's another place. S-some place they don't go, o-or they'd never find us," suggested Emily.

Will wanted to believe that, but he could not. He said nothing. He led Emily to the outskirts of the city. Along the way, looking at the platforms made him feel sick. How many of those holograms were people who had gone through the Ritual?

He felt as though he had been given new eyes again, and this time, instead of letting him see more, they felt like his old eyes; the kind that had made the world drab greys and blues.

"Will? What are you thinking?"

He slowed. "I don't know."

"Well, what do you think? Do you think there's somewhere?"

Will could hear that need for agreement and reassurance in her voice. He stopped and looked at her. Worried about how she'd react, he shook his head. "I don't know. But I have a hard time believing there is. This is their world and they're far more powerful than we are."

Emily's shoulders slumped a little. She nodded.

"But maybe we can avoid ever being part of the Ritual. It's like you said, maybe it's just dependent on how much of our darkness we shed. You know, maybe we need to be in a certain state of mind to be able to take part, and if we avoid that then they can't do anything to us."

"I hope you're right," she said in a small voice.

"Me, too," whispered Will to himself.

They were out in the empty plains when they finally stopped. In the distance, the Golden City was more visible now, but because he knew the surge of power it had experienced had done that, he had no desire to look at it. The beauty of it had gone.

"Which way is the building?" Emily asked.

Will looked around. There in the distance, he could see faint outlines. He pointed to it.

"So, we avoid going in that direction then," said Emily.

"The problem is, wherever else we go, there's a city," pointed out Will.

"Okay, but they can't all be the same, right? Maybe if we go to one of the others and go through it to the other side? Leave from there?"

"It's worth trying."

"I know it's unlikely we'll get anywhere, but who knows?" Emily sighed.

"Right."

Will started walking with Emily in tow. He made a concerted effort to keep the building to one side and focus on the horizon. They travelled for a long time, but even so, they reached the outskirts of the far city quicker than should have been possible. Before, Will had seen this as a fluke, but it was clear now the physical distances in this world did not correlate to what was seen.

They approached the city carefully, keeping an eye out for any of the Shepherds. None appeared. They began to walk through, but very quickly, they realised something was wrong. They found one of those hologram platforms and approached it.

"This is the same scene," said Will, watching the adults berating the teenagers on the sofa. "It is, isn't it?"

"Yes," confirmed Emily.

"What the hell? Are we in the same place?"

"Maybe you got turned around on the way here?" Emily suggested.

Will sighed. He shook his head. "No. I know I didn't. I kept the building on the same side the entire time. Let's keep going. Maybe this is just some trick or something."

It was not. Every platform with the holograms they had seen before was here. It was either the same Golden City, or a replica.

They came to the central structure again and it was empty this time. There, on the ground was a faint outline of where the Converter had sat, along with a few burn marks. Will looked at the central structure and tried to compare it to the memory he had of the one he'd seen in the Ritual. There was no difference that he could discern.

"I think this is the same," Emily said. She was looking around nervously.

"Let's keep walking to the other side," said Will.

The rest of the city was the same. Vague roads and buildings, walkways, and those platforms with holographic scenes, except these were all new. He took it as a sign they were in new territory. When they reached the outskirts without an encounter, they both breathed a sigh of relief and kept going.

It was not long before Will stopped and growled in frustration.

"What is it?" Emily asked.

"Building right there. Looks identical to the one we've been staying in."

"But—"

"I know."

"It might not be. Maybe we should look inside."

"And risk them seeing us?"

"I don't know what else to suggest, Will," Emily sounded slightly exasperated.

"You wait out here, I'll go in and look."

"But—"

"Please, Emily. I don't want you to get caught if I can help it. We haven't encountered them out here. They only ever appear in the cities or our dorms."

She didn't like the idea, but she nodded.

"I won't be long," said Will.

"Please."

Will walked up to the building and stopped at the entrance. It certainly looked the same as the one he'd been living in. He entered and began to walk through the corridors, and It wasn't long before he realised the layout inside was identical.

He felt more confident when he encountered no one and began to jog. Before long, he was in the main hall. There were a few humans there, sitting around and chatting. One was playing the piano. Some of them glanced at him when he entered and he stood frozen in place, staring in disbelief. He recognised every one of them. He let out a shuddering sigh.

One of the men called out to him, beckoning him to join them but Will ignored him. He wasn't going to stay here if he could help it. He left the hall and headed towards the exit. He did not make it.

He ran around a corner and almost collided with Y.

"Hello, William Dormin."

"Y," said Will, willing himself not to react in any way.

"It is fortuitous I have come across you."

"Oh?"

"It is time for another Questioning."

Will hesitated.

Y tilted its head. "There is something unusual about you. Is something wrong?"

"No. I just... wasn't expecting another Questioning right now."

"Do you ever expect them?"

"... No. I suppose not."

"Shall we?"

Will thought of Emily and tried desperately to think of an excuse to leave. "Is there any way we can leave this for another time?"

Y was silent for a few beats, before it said, "Is there a reason?"

"I just... I don't know if I can stomach delving into my psyche right now. Not quite in the mood, you know? But I have been thinking about things. I'm sure our next session will be interesting to you." He wasn't sure whether to add that last bit, but why not? It couldn't hurt to dangle the idea of a future in which he was happy to talk to it.

Y was having none of it. "If you are worried about your friend, there is no need to be."

"My friend?"

"I believe her name is Emily Whittaker. She is back in the building, where she belongs."

Will stared. His blood ran cold and then he felt a roll of anger building up, but he suppressed it. "She was outside of the building?"

"She was. But you knew that, did you not? You know by now, surely, there is no point in lying to us? You and she went to the Golden City. You watched the Ritual, we see," said Y, tilting its head. Will hated that head-tilt. "What did you think?" Y asked.

"You know?"

"We knew. We allowed your observation."

Will's anger spread through his body, tensing him until it burst. His face twisted into a visage of fury. "That was fucking inhuman."

Y nodded. "Yes. For humans, we are not."

"How could you allow that to happen?"

"Allow what?"

"The Ritual. The death. Didn't you hear him? Didn't you hear those screams?"

Y nodded. "Yes. It is part of the Ritual."

"And you're fine with it?"

"It seems the Ritual is painful. That is what the screams indicate, no?"

"Don't you fucking understand? Nothing about this is okay. You lied. You said it was an Ascension. You said people from here move on to somewhere else. Somewhere better! All we've heard is that's the point of the fucking Ritual!"

"Who are you to say that is not the truth?"

Will looked at Y, disturbed at the otherworldly calm with which he was faced. Nothing he could think of saying or doing would come out properly because he knew it would be ineffectual. That was the worst of it. To Y, it was simply a process; to Will, he had seen a horror he could never have imagined in all his years of being alive.

"What are your thoughts, William Dormin?"

"What do you care? I'm not going through with this. Fuck you."

Will ran.

The world around him shifted and suddenly he was in the interview room, with the familiar table and chair and Y standing there, impassive and lucid. Will ran again, and again the world shifted, and the same scene played out.

He rounded on Y and prepared to punch it, but his arm disappeared and reappeared hanging at his side. When he tried again, the same happened.

"What the fuck?"

"William Dormin, do you not realise by now? Whatever you observe, it is because we allow it. Whatever you learn, it is because we allow it. Whatever actions you take, it is because we allow it. You have no power here."

Will's eyes widened as the truth of that hit him. He staggered back in defeat and ended up against the wall. A wave of nausea hit him and he doubled over breathing hard, hands on his knees.

"You must have questions," said Y.

"I have plenty of questions," said Will, looking up slowly. "I don't know if I want to know the answers."

"More hiding?"

"You... you just don't understand. Do you have any idea how harrowing that was for me to watch?"

Y walked over to its chair and sat down. "Tell me."

Will glanced at the doorway and the absurd impulse to run hit him yet again. "I think I'll stay here, thanks."

"Whatever makes you comfortable. I am curious to know your thoughts."

"Why?"

"Call it idle curiosity."

Will regarded Y with some suspicion. "I severely doubt anything you and your species do is motivated by idle curiosity."

"Why is that?"

"Because everything you've done so far is calculated. Isn't it?"

"Elaborate."

Will narrowed his eyes. Everything about this Questioning felt different, and not just because he had seen the truth of the Ritual. It was almost as if this was no longer about events in his life, but more an experiment to see how he would react to things.

"The lie about being unchanging. The lie about the Ritual. Making people happy before sending them to their slaughter. Need I go on?"

"Interesting. You view it as a slaughter."

"What else would you call it?"

"Ascension."

"Not from where I'm standing."

"Where you stand is unimportant," said Y, with a tone of finality. "You are lesser."

As if those words had triggered him, Will stood up straight. "Lesser? At least I don't go around ripping people apart."

"We will concede that the process is painful, but consider that the process takes a few seconds, against a lifetime of shedding the negative aspects of your thoughts and memories. And your kind learn to shed their pain, also. We offer contentment before the final pain. The pain is ephemeral."

Will said nothing.

Y turned its head to the side. "And then, when they are gone, they are Ascended to a new plane."

"According to who? You? I didn't see that happen. I saw that giant thing, that, that... Converter, rip that soul to shreds."

"The Source tells us."

"The Source? Infallible, is it?" Will asked sarcastically.

If Y noticed the tone of voice, it didn't show it. "The Source is everything. The Source saved us. Before it, we were adrift, much like your kind. We have changed to become superior. The Source ensures our survival and maintains our world. Our cities, our technological prowess, even the fuel for it all, is only possible because of The Source. The Source is endless and all-knowing."

"Fuel... You mean, us? The dead?"

"Is that so different from your own world?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do not your bodies become a source of nutrition for other lifeforms? Do you not eat other life forms to fuel your own selves?"

Will wanted to say it wasn't the same, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Whether he liked it or not, he couldn't help but see Y's point. He even agreed to an extent.

"Much like your kind fuel themselves and their societies with the bodies and essences of lesser forms, so do we. Another cycle of life and death, but in a different world."

"You said none of you can die."

"The Source has made us immortal, for as long as we have a way to maintain our world. It gave us your dead."

"How?"

"We do not know. It will not tell us all its secrets, nor will we ask. It does not owe us anything."

"And that's why you revere it so much. And that's it? That's the entirety of your world? What are the buildings for? What are the holograms for?"

Y stretched an arm out to the side. The room suddenly extended several feet in one direction. Will took a step back involuntarily from surprise but managed to maintain his composure otherwise. A small platform appeared in the middle of the new space and a hologram came to life.

It was a young woman standing in front of a mirror, doing her make-up. She was beautiful. She lined her eyes, applied mascara, and began to work on her lips, before growling with frustration and throwing the lipstick aside. Gripping the sink in front of her she stared at the mirror and began to cry, causing long trails of mascara down her cheek.

"Why doesn't he love me?" She asked her reflection.

"What is this?" Will asked quietly.

"A moment from the life of a woman named Leena Masani. She had just learned that her husband was unfaithful to her. This was the aftermath."

Y waved its arm and the hologram disappeared.

"Why are you so interested in our lives if all you do is use us to power your cities?"

"We lack originality, William Dormin. Our reliance on The Source means we do not have any reason to do what your kind does. Diversify, create, destroy. We have only the cities to create, so we stay inside when the storms come. To put it simply, your lives are entertainment. We enjoy watching them. We enjoy trying to understand them. We enjoy taking them apart to examine each element. Your kind are endlessly varied, endlessly unpredictable. It is fascinating."

"What?" Will's face contorted with vehement shock. "That's it? We're—what? We're soap operas to you? Do you have any idea how insulting that is?"

"Insulting? We have never forgotten anything we have received from your kind. There are stories here that stretch back so long that you would never finish witnessing them all. Here, your kind has a kind of immortality in itself. Is this not appealing?"

"No, it isn't! You've reduced us to nothing but fuel and entertainment!"

"I see."

"Why the fuck are you even telling me this? Why do you care what I think?"

Y stood up slowly, walked around the table and stopped in front of Will. There was a heavy silence hanging in the air. Will felt it grow until it felt oppressive and he wanted to break it. Still, he kept silent. It felt like a battle of the wills, a battle between his curiosity and Y's silence. He was glad it was Y who broke it.

"You are a source of fascination to us, William Dormin."

"Why?"

"Because occasionally, amongst the dead comes a specimen like yourself. A specimen that, despite our best efforts, resists our attempts to turn them. A specimen that is endlessly curious and willing to ignore our requests. You will last longer, much longer than the other dead you've come with, until you are the only left. We choose to observe those specimens much more closely."