RESURGENCE

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

They say that time heals everything. If not, it at least makes one forget. Two years later, the boys had come a long way. They never spoke of the guilt or the remorse they carried each day, not even to one another, and slowly the burden became lighter. For Stuart, the guilt raised its ugly head as he slept at night, vivid nightmares plagued his sleep—dreams where he ran in fear of dying a slow, horrifying death. For Nick, loneliness was as punishing as pain. He kept his mind constantly busy or flashes of Bree’s face—with blood oozing out of her nose and eyes—would haunt him.

It was a hot June evening. A week ago, two years had passed since the tragic death of Franklin High School senior Bree Collins. It had stopped raining an hour ago after drizzling for most of the day. At Gordon’s house, Nick and Stuart sat with their host on the back porch. The air was soggy but had a sweet smell to it. Gordon had been drinking red wine with dinner and was now having a glass of port as dessert.

“Uncle Gordon,” said Stuart. “Do you believe in God?”

They had been talking about a recent mall shooting massacre that had killed nine people in Columbus, Ohio. Gordon frowned at Stuart and then exhaled deeply. He tilted his head back and stared up at the sky as if he was half thinking and half wondering. Stuart sipped on a pint of pale ale. Nick rubbed his chin as he contemplated Stuart’s question as well.

“I believe in God,” said Gordon suddenly. “But my belief is unlike most people’s. My belief is based on the fact that having no belief in the long run could turn humans into barbaric sadistic animals. So I choose to believe in the idea of God. If you were to ask me if I believed in holy men, and miracles, and holy scriptures, I’ll say no.”

“So you don’t believe in Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden?” asked Nick.

“What’s the point of staying in a garden if one can’t eat an apple?” asked Gordon as he smiled, “Who’s to say that this is not the Garden of Eden? I think we are here in this universe to have a chance to be creators. Look at God. God creates. God created the universe. God created humans and millions of other species. We humans live in awe of his creation. God probably put us on this earth so we can create the course of our own lives using the tool of free will. We are here to experience the feeling of being a creator. To feel like what God must have felt after creating this universe. We must keep creating, keep working, to feel like God. A man who tries to find God in books and songs is nothing but deluded. God is to be found in one’s work, in one’s creation.”

“What do you think about philosophers?” asked Nick. “All they do is think.”

“They create ideas,” said Gordon. “They create a believable illusion of understanding the mysteries of the universe. But, at the end of the day, philosophy is the language of Gods, known to a very few, spoken by many, and thought to be understood by all.”

Nick looked inquiringly at Gordon who was looking deeply into the glass of port he had held close to his lips.

“Talking about creativity,” said Nick to Stuart. “I remember you telling me about a great idea that you had last week. You never told me what it was.”

“It’s not a great idea,” said Stuart. “It’s a grand idea. It’s a theory, but if it's practically possible, it'll give both the philosophers and the holy men, a lot to think about.”

“What’s it about?” asked Gordon.

“Immortality,” said Stuart. “Living forever, life after life.”

“How?” asked Gordon.

“By Entropy reversal.”

“What’s that?” asked Gordon.

“Entropy is the degree of disorder,” said Stuart. “The universe is expanding and keeps getting disorganized as we speak. Because time is said to move in only one direction—likewise, entropy is said to always increase. But there are always exceptions. On the whole, the entropy of the universe increases, but at certain places the entropy decreases locally. A simple example of this is an air-conditioned room. We artificially reduce the entropy and temperature of the room. I have thought of a theory in which reducing the entropy of a human body and, hence, reversing the aging process, could be possible.”

“It sounds just as possible as traveling at the speed of light,” said Gordon sarcastically.

“It might not be practically possible, but it’s an interesting theory anyway,” said Stuart as he smiled and looked at Nick.

They started their research that very night.