Communion

A far, faraway voice reached for me, as it did innumerable times in my sweet dreams.

“Awaken, you who inherited my will.”

I opened my eyes. A crystal chandelier hung above me, with incredibly detailed murals drawn next to it. Gilded edges and elaborate decorations marked the edge of the ceiling, as warm sunshine leaked in from the tall windows. Outside, the birds were singing and the trees were green, as a spring breeze brought the smells from a land faraway to me.

I raised my right hand and looked at my arm. Gone was the shine of nanomachine, replaced by a delicate silk fabric that gently wrapped around me. The sleeves flowed into what appeared to be a Victorian dress, with its many frilly layers topped by an impressive amethyst layer, which was itself covered in silver embroidery. I was wearing the dress of a Victorian princess in a palace.

Was I dreaming? No matter. If I closed my eyes, I should find myself aboard Locus Amoenus, sleeping soundly in my own bed. Maybe Burgundy would chastise me for oversleeping again, but for now, let’s let it go…

“Awaken, Lady Constance.”

I opened my eyes, and gone were the palace and the dress. In its place, the innumerable skyscrapers revealed themselves, the never-ending neon lights hid below the glamourous high-rises. Billboards extruded left and right out of the dimly lit street, promising a future to the downtrodden in a brave new world. Perspective colonists lined up for the cybernetic enhancements that help them survive the alien planets, not yet knowing the one-eyed beggar limping around the corner was once in the line, the failing procedure reducing him to a shadow of himself.

Above, spaceships soared, carrying unproven hope to a new world. Below, the muddy ground stank, driving those bound by gravity to despair. It started to rain; the perspective colonists, undeterred, continued to stand in the queue, while I watched in my bright yellow raincoat. In front a neon light, a holographic sign said:

“26 Dec 2137 – Welcome to European Southern Astrodrome”

Unsure whether I was still dreaming or not, I closed my eyes once again.

“Just wake up, Constance!” The voice had gotten irritated.

I opened my eyes for one last time, and before me was a pleasant flower field, flanked by grasslands that seemingly extend into infinity. Atop a small hill stood a woman in a crimson dress, a parasol in one hand, and her elegant hat in the other. She waved at me, and invited me to come closer; under the sunlight, I could see the nanomachines shine under her skin. I looked at myself; my nanomachines, too, shined under my skin.

I approached the woman, as spots of sunlight bounced off her silky, wavy brown hair.

“You really had me waiting, Lady Constance. How many times do I need to wake you up?” The woman spoke, her irritation obvious.

“I am sorry, but it seemed you had so much fun dressing me up. Besides, it has taken you a while for you to reveal yourself, right?

“Elisabeth, the Archon of Lavender. Or should I say, Empress Elisabeth of Austria?”

-----------------------------------------

On the pleasant plains in another dimension, I informed Elisabeth how I reached her.

“…Ah, so using Elven Ceremonies to limit the power output and making Emerald maintain your body were the key to the Rite of Ascension.” Elisabeth spoke, as she summoned a cup of tea from empty air. “But even if you do that, your brain would have died from your soul leaving your body. Without your brain, it will be very difficult for your soul to attach to your body.”

“I didn’t just ask Emerald to maintain my body, I asked him to assimilate it. Unlike flesh, nanomachines cannot decay from the absence of soul. Normally full assimilation like that would have killed me, but since I am already dead, it could be used to create a perfectly conserved body. I wrote the algorithm to do that, by the way.”

“That’s sacrilegious. You can’t be called human after. I won’t want to live like that.” Elisabeth appeared to be taken aback a little, conveniently forgetting that she was no longer human too. “But I see. That was why I never thought about it… I had no desire to live after almost 300 years of life. I thought, if the experiment failed, I could go and meet my husband and children…”

Elisabeth looked up the clear sky. The light blue sky, as if it was drawn by an artist’s brush, remained clear of any impurities. Perhaps, the sky, the land and the cup of tea were all created by Elisabeth; in this foreign dimension, it seemed that thoughts and ideas could become reality. What was she thinking when she looked longingly for the skies? I would never know.

“…I suppose you didn’t find them here.” I tried to pick my words with care.

“No.” She shook her head. “My soul got sucked into this dimension, and ended up strengthened by its energy. Unlike mine, my husband and my children’s souls dissipated after their death.”

A little melancholy showing on her face, she tapped her finger on the table. A palace and complex gardens sprouted before us, and I recognised it. It was a copy of Locus Amoenus, or perhaps the prototype of it, where Elisabeth and her children once lived. It seemed that in this dimension, thoughts and ideas would become reality. Not unlike how I created objects from nanomachines.

I thought of Reina’s mushroom cordial, and a dark brown bottle appeared at my hand.

“…Aren’t you too good at this? I know Emerald trained you to create objects on Bibliotheca Aeterna, and you are a nanomachine expert that invented Paddington. But it took me quite a while to learn to do that here.” Elisabeth was shocked.

“…I never mentioned Paddington.” But I had a hunch of what happened.

“I was watching you from your dreams. I had been giving you my memories in dreams since you arrived on the Bibliotheca, so the eventual full transplant will go smoother. That’s why I could see your dreams.” Elisabeth answered. “But that accursed AI had to be impatient. If he just waited for another decade or two, the transplant could have gone smoothly.”

“…Of course you were the ghost haunting my dreams. I need to thank Emerald for saving me from being haunted by you for decades.”

“How rude,” Elisabeth quipped, “you won’t find ghosts as beautiful as me anywhere.”

“You never showed your face in my dreams.”

“That is true.”

We chuckled.

A bell rang, signalling that the time was up. I stood up, turned around, and headed towards the infinitely expanding plains.

“Going already?” Elisabeth inquired.

“It’s time, after all. Amber probably cannot dance for much longer, and I have obtained a connection with you. My job is done here.”

“You don’t want to stay here?”

I smiled, as a comfortable breeze grazed my hair, and blew towards a land far away.

“You already know. I have promises to keep.”

Leaving my fate to the wind, I leapt into the air. Swirling wind detached me from Elisabeth’s beautiful garden, and pushed me towards a land where I belong. Watching my departure, Elisabeth simply smiled, as her figure faded into the background, and everything once again became a blurry bit in the backdrop of my consciousness.