Second Self

Chapter 15

"The instruments of darkness tell us truths. Win us with honest trifles, to betray us in deepest consequence." Shakespeare, Macbeth

Nothing about the man reminded me of my brother; not his broad shoulders, muscular frame, crow's feet, laugh lines or clear complexion; nothing apart from his red hair. This one feature was enough to send images spiralling through my mind of what Daniel might have looked like if he'd lived to be this man's age. "This is Casper's Sentinel," Gem said, breaking into my thoughts.

"That must mean Casper's still alive," I whispered, afraid to speak any louder. I'd been fooled once before when Denovo had told me Daniel's Sentinel had survived his experiment in breaking the bond between Sentinel and second self. Now that I didn't have any reason to think the man had outlived my brother by even a second, I had a glimmer of hope that Denovo still needed me, and by extension, still needed Casper to keep me in line. On the other hand, Denovo's modus operandi was playing bait and switch.

I couldn't help remembering when we read Macbeth in tenth grade. In the play, Banquo said the instruments of evil use bits of truth to gain our trust, only to betray us when it counted the most. It made me wonder if Denovo's lies might contain a thread of truth that Denovo planned to cut the moment I tried to use it to pull myself out of this pit of despair.

Bait and switch.

Both things might be right at the same time. Daniel's sentinel could have survived my brother's murder, only to be murdered later to cover-up the truth. If that's what happened, it was still within the realm of possibility that Casper's Sentinel could be alive while he was—Bait and beat-me-bloody with the switch.

Catching sight of Denovo's unconscious form, I wondered how he'd feel if he learned upon waking that he'd been this close to being able to witness my soul getting crushed. I was probably giving Denovo too much credit. He might be a genius at reading facial expressions and body language, at least compared to me, but that didn't make him a mind-reader. Denovo couldn't know that my worst fear was that Casper was already dead; that he died alone and afraid, with a bag over his head to keep him from taking any comfort from the fact that Earthly soil would be his final resting place.

The few meters between myself and the red-headed answer to the question of Casper's safety felt boundless. Even if he were to tell me that Casper was safe, I would be afraid it was another bait and switch designed by Denovo.

I decided I'd kick the man's foot to wake him so I could ask him what happened to Casper before I had time to talk myself out of it. He didn't stir.

"What's up with this guy? Why isn't he waking up?" I asked Gem, pressing my weight down on the man's big toe.

"I gave Colla something to keep him asleep until we arrive at our destination. I don't think he'd appreciate waking up with a broken toe," Gem said.

"What's our destination?" I said, stepping away from Colla to look out the windows. It was all I could do not to shout 'holy shit,' drop down and hug the floorboards. I didn't know their flying vehicles were capable of passing through the stratosphere. It was a stomach-churning surprise to discover this fact when the lights of Incepterrene were already radiating into the darkness far below.

Continents on the surface were lined up around the equator. One of them was as large as North and South America combined, although it had a different shape, while the others were much smaller. Strips of blue wrapped around the top and bottom of the globe, weaving between the continents and lapping the ice-capped poles. A smaller holographic version of the planet was spinning above the control panel, revealing the face of the sphere I could see below us was very similar to the other side of the globe. It was all so orderly.