Ninth Millennium Navigator

31

Matthias lay naked in the inner chamber of his lome. 

The temperature was customized for healing his sickened body. He was as comfortable as he imagined he could get. He felt the tension of a slight smile against his cheeks. This odd naturally-forming gesture made him uncomfortable.

In a way, he thought recent events had eaten him up inside. 

In another way, he felt re-invigorated or somehow reborn. 

He now had the opportunity to appreciate what had transpired. He wanted to regain the appreciation he had mastered; yet. something nagged at him about the reality of things. His minds battled over the tragedies that had happened compared with what a brilliant experience it had all been.

He was watching a show that Calissa had complied long ago. He had seen this on innumerable times with and without her. Dark blue lines danced through a bluish haze in the air and on the lome walls. The entire atmosphere was accompanied by winterfresh smells. The lines were constantly growing, widening, stretching, and fading. They almost formed shapes, but at the last minute, they would disburse. Nothing notable could be identified before it dissolved or transformed again. The shape never seemed to take the complete form of what it could have been. At the moment before the shape was discernable, it would be lost. It was very emblematic of fleeting thoughts, he now realized. The shapes would appear all around him on the blue-toned walls. 

Occasionally, though, if he happened to catch the right one, a rogue shape would manifest itself into some form: a dog, a tree, a mountain, a warrior, a boat, a shovel, a satelite. At the moment of realization, it would explode into a multitude of colors. Every imagineable color would radiate out from the critical center of the shape. The shape was there, then gone, instantaneously. The only sound was a rush of air that trailed the monstrous explosion. The fresh smell would intensify briefly and a burst of cold air would rush from the spot.

These explosions helped make the observer aware of other shapes forming out of view. The speed of events prevented the observer from ever seeing the shape unless that observer happened to catch it before its destruction. There was a frustration to missing so much of the performance, but that much more of a thrill when a shape was identified. It capitalized on the thrill of seeing the rare shooting star.

After multiple viewings, he was now seeing the show in a new light. Calissa had learned a lot more than he had thought. He had not given her enough credit for her perspective. She had developed a strong appreciation for all things.

He found himself reliving the final moments from several days back. He had been literally overwhelmed with extreme emotions. He had looked up at Calissa while the fury inside him raged. 

Did tensing muscles cause the loud coarse scream? Or, did the coarse scream produce the tension in the muscles? 

Calissa had turned and fumbled through the lome exit. Matthias slowly looked down to what remained of her sister. It was like an odd dream – or, more appropriately, nightmare. He had seen the last inequitabe surprise she would ever produce. The smile faded and the fire died. The Supernova was consumed.

He kept his hands upon her throat for what seemed an eternity. He wanted to let go, but he was afraid of what might happen. It was as thought she would fall apart were he to let go at that time.

He eventually pulled away from her limp body, yelling, "Damn you! You just couldn't stop it," with what remained of his voice.

A low bed of pillows had formed from the floor beneath the body, but Matthias barely noticed as his gaze was falling elsewhere on the floor. He could not stop looking where Calissa had directed him. He could see the marks there, though they were subtle. The few small indentations could be no other, but the yellow tinge that outlined them was unmistakable. The color and structure had changed slightly since he had removed the material. The yellow in the indented portion had faded away, but an unsightly darker ring had formed around the uneven edge. From a distance, the discoloration would not be easily noticed, but to someone who knew what to find and what it meant, it was a clear sign.