The War In His Mind

Chapter 12

Abraham and Israel opened the thick wooden door to the command tower. Inside was nothing except a ladder and staircase.

Abraham took the lead and took the first steps towards the top. The staircase was protected by four walls. It was a decent sized shaft that lead all the way to the top of the tower.

The top room that looked over all of Uptown was dark. Abraham raised his pistol into the air and pointed it at the man in the shadows. He ignored them, starring out into the darkness that covered Uptown.

Abraham took small steps towards him. The sweat from his brow dripped down over his eyes.

He flinched. Partly because a drop touched his eyes, but mostly because the man in the shadows moved to the side.

"Tell me..." O'Neil said "...what was it like watching her drift away?"

From the moment Abraham saw the man in the shadows, he knew he was O'Neil. That was unmistakable. The only question left unresolved was why he stood there and didn't take action against him.

"It was..." Abraham paused "...painful."

"Ah...painful. Would you say it's the kind of pain that hurts more than the shattering of any bone?"

Abraham kept the pistol steady. "No..."

"Of course! That would be too simple. A breaking bone is tangible. You can feel it. Watch it heal. You can experience the happiness when it's fixed. With this pain, there is no happiness. There is no telling when, or if, it will end..."

O'Neil stepped out of the shadows and into the light of a small wall lamp "...There is only the coldness of watching it eat away at your soul."

Abraham lowered the pistol. He was stunned by how accurately O'Neil portrayed that new emotion. That feeling of desperately wanting to go back in time and change the past.

To fix the unfixable.

To save the damned.

"It was her...wasn't it? Your wife?"

O'Neil smiled. "She was more to me than my wife. She was my best friend. My soul mate. The woman who would've been queen."

"Why did you put me through that?"

O'Neil turned to the mainframe behind him. He adjusted the lights so that the men could see each other clearly. "I wanted to show you why this city was made. You believe you're somehow immune from pain and suffering because of your glitch. I'll tell you- you'll feel that more than most."

"Why? Why didn't you erase my mind like before? Why didn't you take the pain away from me?"

O'Neil nodded his head. "Because there is a time and place for every punishment. What good would cleansing you do? You'd just find some way back to this state of mind..."

O'Neil moved closer to Abraham. Israel grabbed his arm pulled Abraham back and away from O'Neil.

"What is better? To break a man's mind and watch it heal over time...or to shatter the soul and crush any hope of salvation?" O'Neil said.

Israel got in front of Abraham. "Is this some mind-game made to toy with us?"

"Oh no... I have no desires of dealing with you. You're a by product. A result of sabotage..." O'Neil pushed Israel aside and looked Abraham in the eyes. "...If there's a weed in the garden you must remove the entire root so that the corruption shall not overtake the good fruit."

Abraham's chest tightened with fear. It was a hot, burning sensation that dripped down to his toes and rose to his head, all at once. It was pure instinct. He couldn't control his body. He raised his pistol and aimed it at O'Neil.

"Shoot me? Really? That's your plan?"

A single bullet left the chamber and stuck O'Neil in the right shoulder. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his shoulder with his hands. His screams filled the air and echoed through the room.

Israel stood still. He couldn't believe Abraham did it. "Are you going to finish him off?"

Abraham ignored Israel. He walked towards the mainframe and began to work.

He opened the source code that created all beings inside the city. With a few segments of code, he changed the new clones into original, random beings. People of all ethnicities, genders, ideas, and creeds on Earth would be created in Wonder City. It would be a place of diversity. Abraham imagined a future where various parts of the city would contribute their own culture and unite to create a beautiful place to live.

"O'Neil will live to see his work crumble beneath him. He will watch as I erase his order and establish a new empire in this world."

"Don't you think that sounds a lot like him?"

Abraham swiftly locked eyes with Israel. "I'm nothing like that man...my work is far superior to anything he will ever create."

Israel backed off. He looked back to where O'Neil was. He was gone. O'Neil must have crawled away while Israel and Abraham were focused on the code.

"Hey..." Israel said "...he's gone."

With a calm demeanor, Abraham responded with words that startled even himself. "Where ever he is, what ever he's planning...I will soon wipe his legacy from every world he's ever touched."

Abraham paused, looking at the massive keyboard and the extensive array of levers and buttons.

"Do you believe that it's possible?" Israel asked.

Abraham shook his head from side to side. "I don't know what I believe... but I know we have to try."

A small rectangular object sitting on the edge of the control panel caught his eye. It was his book- marked with "Property of #937."

"How did that get here?" Abraham said. Next to it was a large human shaped shadow. It was the same dark figure that told Abraham he needed to fight.

Abraham stared at the forehead, looking for its eyes.

"Remember, Abraham." He spoke as if was an old, fatherly teacher conjuring a fundamental truth buried deep inside his pupil. "Remember yourself. Remember your people. Remember your purpose."

Abraham closed his eyes and saw visions of many people, a beautiful and diverse crowed, walking through Wonder City. The smell of burgers cooking wafted before him and the sound of children playing echoed in his ears.

He came to his senses, returning his attention to the world of the command tower. In the distance, from the great hall, the first true citizens of the city walked into Uptown- just as he had many months ago. On their faces were the same sensations of awe and wonder Abraham had. Though, unlike Abraham, they had each other. They embraced the others around them, screaming and shouting in joy- child like in their behavior.

Oh, how simple it was to be like a child, Abraham thought. He felt his own cheek muscles pull a smile onto his face.

Despite all of the decor in the city, he had never once found the world to be such a beautiful place.