The Nexus

Chapter 12

Thomas was on his way to the room that he was occupying during his visit to the Thistle Lodge, the name for the underground lair he was staying in. He didn't actually have a home anymore and had sworn off all belongings in an attempt to become less attached to material things and get closer to enlightenment. Yet he had still only seen The Nexus a few times, and was beginning to wonder if the reasons people saw it was because they were fully present, like they said they were, or if there was something else to it. Emma had seen it, hadn't she? And she was a complete sociopathic murder, pretty far from enlightenment.

Thomas shook off the thought because it was not a thought that he imagined an enlightened being would have, and did his best to convince himself that it was a useless line of thinking. It did not matter who could see what, he just had to stay in his present moment.

But then the present moment sent him a jolt as he turned the corner and almost ran into Emma as she was standing outside a dorm room.

"Well, hello, Emma," he said, doing his best to sound completely calm. This woman had a way of looking at him like he was a deer in the woods and she was a hunter ready to feed the family, or just entertain herself with a kill. This time, though, when he looked in her eyes, he saw something else for an instant; confusion

It was as if she had been in some far off place in her head and didn't recognize him. The look cleared away and her face became mostly blank. It was that blank look that sent chills through his body, not even a semblance of a smile or a sneer, just blank.

"Hello, Thomas," she said in a pleasant enough tone and reached for the door.

He was not amused with the fact that her room was right next to his, but did his best not to show it. "Well, off to bed I suppose," he said, making small talk and he walked around Emma.

The hallway was plenty wide for the two of them, and there were even doors to more rooms across from theirs, but Thomas still felt claustrophobic and did his best not to brush against Emma and to be silent. Kind of like one would if they came upon a poisonous snake. Thomas was not completely terrified of her, just very cautious and struggling with another problem he was having: a latent attraction for the woman that he knew most people must feel for her.

Emma just stood with her hand on the door handle as he passed by and when he got to his room he reached up to turn the knob. Emma startled him with a question, "Thomas, why are you here?"

The question took him aback. He supposed he should just answer honestly. Everything he had been taught since he had joined The Alliance was telling him just to surrender to the moment and allow his truth to be told. "I was drawn to The Alliance because I have always been interested in Eastern practices and I feel like I fit in here. Like this is where I'm supposed to be, at least for now."

"Do you feel like the Nexus is going to make you taller, make you normal?"

For a brief second Thomas was completely insulted until he looked at her and realized she was serious. They had told her about the Nexus and she had apparently come to the conclusion that The Nexus was some sort of genie or God that grants wishes. She really wanted to know his answer. Her intention was not to insult him, but he felt it necessary to let her know that it had.

"That was a very rude question, but no I do not feel that The Nexus will change me in any physical way. In fact, I don't feel that The Nexus is a good thing in and of itself. I think it just exists because it does, just like anything. I don't even think people are actually creating it. I just think that whatever people want to see, they eventually see. Whatever people want to invent, they eventually invent. I feel like we create our own reality and that The Nexus is just what some people have created as a reality. The more people believe in it, the more it will manifest in the physical form."