Rejection

I recentered my jacket after the light scuffle and looked around the plaza of the Basilica. The building sat at a corner of a three way intersection. Without the crowd, I realized how grand the plaza truly was. Everyone could fit without risk of being in the street, even with the foundation and Sol sculpture. They even put carvings into squares of the plaza with common phrases in Latin.

Pressing my back to the wall, I watched the unconscious man. “This mystery is only getting odder…” Half of me hoped he might reply, but silence as expected. A sigh left my lips as I looked up to the map in the sky.

Part of me wondered if one of the Clergy would come out now that the racket calmed down. If I could get something out of their tight lipped disciplines I’d count myself fortunate. But no such luck came. The man awoke first. Direct answers would be better and hopefully more useful than Louise.

He groaned and slowly looked around. From appearance, he seemed disoriented. I wonder if he even remembers me. Once his vision came upon me, I raised a hand to wave. “Yo! Your head cleared up?”

“Head? A girl? The hell?” He turned over sharply as reality flowed back for him. The sober look in his eyes was promising.

I nodded with a smile hoping I could look harmless. “That’s right. How ya feeling?”

“Feeling?” The man looked down at himself. His left arm had been stuck in maintenance mode the whole time. If I knew him better I might have tried to help find the override, but augments stopped being similar decades ago. I had as much as a chance to harm him poking about.

He started gesturing with his hand the five points of the rising Sol over his shoulders and head in prayer. “Current flow from Sol and cleanse me. Sacred truth bless me with reason and logic.”

They’re just going to quote from the Principles? “You recall anything from the last thirty minutes?”

That seemed to snap him out for the moment. “Thirty? How long was I out?”

“Fifteen-ish, I wasn’t counting.”

He folded up his legs sitting down. An introspective gaze came over him as he turned from me. I gave him the time he needed to try to pick up on everything. Hopefully, he had some back ups if his active memory wasn’t recalling anything.

Once he finished, he looked back at me scratching the side of his head. “There’s some blanks that I can’t recover.” He at least seemed calm and rational. So that’s something at least.

“Do you remember why you came to the Basilica?”

That popped him up a little. I got something he remembered thankfully. “Yeah, I’ve had some strange cough and thought the Clergy would be able to check me out.”

“Did they see you or was the door locked?” It would have been strange for a locked door to the Basilica. I didn’t know any that actually locked it. The idea was that they welcomed anyone and any time of day or night. They had staff all around the clock.

The man shook his head looking over to the door. “After I explained it to them, they said nothing was wrong. Any supposed malfunction was in my head and thus not real.”

“It looked pretty real to me. Why would they just turn you away?”

He pressed his hand to his head probably thinking about what happened. The Clergy had people specifically meant to help failing parts or just malfunctioning. It was one of their responsibilities. People trusted in them. Unless it wasn’t mechanical in nature, then I didn’t see why they’d turn him away.

“They just said there was no malfunction. Everything was working correctly.”

“Did they examine you? Did they check out the bio-neural connections? Anything to explain the coughing?” I stopped myself from continuing realizing that I had started walking up to him as I battered him with questions. His defensive look snapped me back. “Sorry…”

“No, nothing. I’m fine.” With that, he turned away from me. It surprised me that he just planned to walk away after he was pounding on the door. He drew the whole neighbor refusing to give up and now just accepting defeat? The hell!?

I walked slowly behind him at first. “Sir?” He didn’t stop. In fact, he moved faster away from me. The hell you’re going to run away from me. I want some answers! I ran out ahead of him getting in his path. “That cough didn’t sound fake to me or the pain on your face. I might not be a certified Priest or anything, but I can tell when something’s not right.”

“You don’t know shit, kid! Sol fortify me.” Once more the guy tried to out pace me.

Oh no you don’t! I sprinted out around him again. Was he really just going to pretend all that didn’t happen? “Wait a damn minute! Thirty minutes ago you were desperate to get them to help you! And now you’re just walking away?”

“Sol preserve me. That’s how it is.”

“How it is? What the hell does that mean? The Basilica helps people, you want help. They’re in the wrong!”

His eyes lit up the moment I said that. The man looked like he grew an extra half meter. Anger painted over every wrinkle and line on his face as he leaned down. I felt his intensity again, but different from his feral side. This was controlled and focused. “Not another word out of you, blasphemer!”

I paused hearing that thrown at me. “You’re gonna get sacreligious on me over your life!?”

“I ain’t dying!”

“You don’t know what are! Someone should look at that! I might not be Clergy, but I’m a Courier. I can get the House to check you out. You want answers don’t you?”

He brought his large hand up quickly to my shoulder pushing me away. While he did I could feel the pressure he tried to apply from his fingers. My jacket stood up to the grip, but it wouldn’t last. It wasn’t designed for such a thing. I batted his arm away with help from the jacket. “You need help!”

“Shut up. You don’t get it. This is Sol’s plan.” With that he walked off expecting me to stay away. And as much as I wanted to keep chasing after him for answers, I knew it was pointless. He had stubbornness on top of faith. That wasn’t a combination I could fight against.

I turned to look down the street. To my relief, it seemed we hadn’t drawn a new crowd. At worst, I bothered the neighbors. I needed to calm down, but I could still feel the heat of my emotions coursing through my blood. Rubbing my hands together didn’t really help to ease me down.

B popped out on my shoulder. “I’d say that was uncharacteristic of you, but then we’d both know I was lying.”

“What’s stopping you? That seems to be what everyone does here!”

“Heva…” I glared at him. “Val. They have a different culture. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

I kept a slow walk going. While pacing steadily back to the House, I kicked out my foot against the sidewalk. “It’s just got to be those damn Orthodox Sciens. They’re so insufferable to talk to. Everything’s self flagellation and procedure with them. Can’t have a rational conversation with them.”

“And you were a beacon of reason.”

My stride stopped as I looked over at him. “Yes! I get it! I’m being emotional. But what you want from me? The guy’s just going to ignore something potentially serious because the Basilica says it’s in his head. He needs help!”

“Yeah, but we can’t provide it.”

A heavy exhale of air came out listening to the truth. I ground my hands into the pockets of my jacket. B was right of course. I hated it. Even if I could find him, I already burned that bridge. If I had any chance of helping him it’d have to be from figuring out if it's all connected and solving it with someone else.

I tilted up to look at the sky map. Drawn clouds moved to obscure the sun making it a little dimmer. “I’ve gotten myself mixed up in something again, B…”

“I’d be shocked if you didn’t.”

“That predictable?”

“That curiosity and nosy.”

I nodded with another sigh. “Yeah, it’s too strange to just look the other way.”

He bounced off my left shoulder and climbed over to my right. With his little hand he pointed back towards the House. “Take care of the groceries first and then explore second.”

“Seeing the sights… So much for a relaxing tour!”