Synthesis

Note: all characters are over 18, as established in previous chapters.

*****

Master of Elements: Chapter 13 - ... Synthesis

"Good and evil are the same thing" — Heraclitus, 544-484 BC

At first I assumed I was dreaming; after all I was sure I was asleep. It had been a long and exhausting day and the hotel bed was quite comfortable. But it wasn't like any dream I could recall. Dreams can be vivid but they are generally incoherent and discontinuous, with random things following one another in quick succession. This one was not like that at all, involving - as it currently was - a long tedious walk through a dull landscape.

Besides, I had the distinct suspicion I knew where I was. There was something about the sky and terrain that suggested I was in the Aether world, as I called it, that parallel world which could not be entered physically but could be explored with the mind. If I was correct, then how I had got there was a mystery. I had certainly not willed it.

If it was the Aether world, it was a part I had never seen before. I seemed to be in a vast white salt flat with little of interest to see except for a range of barren mountains some way off. It was hot, dry and baked by a fierce sun, although none of that seemed to bother me much, confirming my suspicion that I was here in mind only. I had appeared in this featureless nothingness and, in the absence of anything better to do, had eventually set off toward the mountains, which at least promised some change from the monotony.

I had been walking for what felt like several hours, with the mountains slowly drawing nearer, before anything interesting happened. Despite my earlier assumption, the ground had proved not entirely flat, having little ridges and hollows, not deep but sufficient to hide a person. There now appeared, climbing onto one of those ridges, the figure of a man. He was still some distance away, so I couldn't make out any details, but he obviously saw me too as he began to wave. Hoping for some answers, I headed for him and he moved toward me, clearly intent on meeting me half-way.

As the figure drew nearer I got a better picture of who it was - definitely male, with black curly hair and beard, and dressed in a flowing white garment covering his whole body. With a sinking feeling I realised the overall impression was of ancient Greece and, wonderful civilisation as that might have been, I was sincerely hoping I had had my last involvement with their legacy.

Eventually we reached each other and halted. Although I had never seen this person before I was suddenly convinced I could put a name to him. "You're Kyrios ... I'm right aren't I?" I said, almost accusingly. "Have you brought me here ... wherever 'here' is?"

"Yes Christóforos, I am Kyrios and I did summon you. I apologise for the intrusion but I had no choice. Also I'm sorry that you arrived so far from where you are needed. The process proved difficult to control. You are inside the Gift of Theia, although, as you may have guessed, you are also in what you call the Aether world. The two are connected."

"Why have you brought me here?" I asked bluntly. "My task is done. We trapped the Creature. What more do you want?"

"Come, I will show you. I think you will understand why it was necessary when you see." Kyrios turned and walked back the way he had come. I followed him; there wasn't anything else I could usefully do.

We walked in silence until we were climbing the ridge on which I had first seen Kyrios. When we reached the top he stopped and pointed down into the shallow depression on the other side. In the centre was the Theia stone - or rather its manifestation in this place, given its physical form was still back on Earth - but for once I had no eyes for that beautiful rock. All my attention was absorbed by the five figures sprawled around it.

They were dressed in diaphanous and revealing robes in white, red, blue, green and silver and were the most beautiful and desirable of women in their varied appearance and - as I well knew - charming personalities. But none of that mattered now, for they lay unmoving, not even, so far as I could tell, breathing. I was stricken by sudden horror, convinced Athena, Brigit, Freya, Jenny and Matsu were dead.

I completely forgot my companion and ran down the shallow slope of the ridge into the hollow. The first person I came too was Freya, lying on her front, her blonde hair splayed out on the ground around her head. I crouched next to her and gently turned her body over. The Swedish girl was very pale and her eyes were closed, but then I realised with a rush of relief that the arm I had touched was warm. I put my ear close to her face and realised that she was breathing too.

Somewhere the rational part of my brain was reminding me that in this place the bodies I was looking at were not real and only did things like breathing out of habit, but those thoughts were overwhelmed by the realisation that Freya was alive so probably the others were too. I actually sobbed with relief. Mercifully, Kyrios arrived to put my remaining fears at rest.

"Do not be afraid Christóforos, the Mistresses are all alive, although quite helpless at the moment. Back home they are lying unconscious in a room not far from where you are sleeping. In my opinion it is more than they deserve. They have been very foolish and reckless; the stone was never meant for them. Now you see the wisdom of our plan to create a Master to control them. I told you that females cannot be trusted to act with sense."

This comment did not please me. I had been overwhelmed by fear and then by relief and all that emotion easily turned to anger and so I snapped back at Kyrios: "Can I remind you these women just saved the world! Show some respect. We have all lost our powers; I imagine they were just trying to get them back. Maybe that was wrong, but I can't to blame them for it. God knows I've felt the loss too."

The ancient Greek sage ignored my reaction and said, "Now you must inflict their just punishment. Use the stone to strip them of all remaining power so they may never attempt anything like this again. That's what I brought you here to tell you. Then it will be over, although if you have any sense, you'll give the sluts a good whipping too before you send them on their way. They certainly deserve it."

Unintentionally Kyrios had just told me that he had no power in this matter; all he could do was offer advice and opinion. If action was needed I had to do it and use the real Theia stone on Earth. And I was also certain I didn't like his advice. "No," I said. "I won't be doing that, so forget it. I want another option. How do I restore the powers of the Mistresses of Elements? There must be a way."

Kyrios looked cagey, from which I realised I was right, it could be done, but he didn't want to tell me. So I just stared at the spirit of the first Master of Elements, letting him know I would persist until I got an answer. Realising this, he finally sighed and told me what I wanted to know. "Yes, there is one way you could do that ... but it is dangerous and you're not going to like it."

"I don't care. Just tell me what to do."

"Come, I must show you something first," Kyrios said, turning on his heel and walking away.

We left the five Mistresses of Elements lying in the hollow. Kyrios insisted they were in no danger and on that point I believed him. Other than us and a few straggly desert plants growing among the rocks of the nearby hills, there was no sign of life in this place. It was toward those hills that my guide led me. They were much closer now and after less than half an hour we were already scrambling among their lower slopes. These were pathless, but Kyrios seemed to have a specific destination in mind.

We kept climbing. When I looked back, I could scarcely make out the hollow where I knew the girls were and they were now invisible. If this place had been physically real, I would have been labouring from the climb, but mercifully my phantom body was made of sterner stuff, although my mind was still convinced my muscles were aching. That was one of the rules of being in the Aether world - whether pain and pleasure it still felt real.

At last we reached the top of the hill we were climbing. I saw that it was not alone but the beginning of a ridge line heading away from us. My guide spoke for the first time since back in the hollow. "Not too far now. Maybe an hour's walk and the way along this ridge is more level."

On we went and the going was indeed easier without the climbing, although still scattered with boulders and dangerous sudden drops. Finally, we approached a higher elevation, a small hillock on the ridge. Another ten minute climb and we had reached the top and I finally understood why I had been brought to this place.

In this high and lonely eyrie was what seemed to be a man, naked and exposed to the elements, chained to a rock by massive links of unbreakable steel. But although its form might be different I knew my enemy, just as it knew me. This was the result of my forcing the Creature's will into the Theia stone. It was bound here, helpless and suffering for eternity.

I was reminded of the myth of Prometheus, who was imprisoned in a similar way and tortured as well. I wondered if my enemy was also punished in some horrible way but I felt no sympathy for it if it was. It had killed far too many innocent people for me to feel sorry for it. The Creature regarded me balefully but did not speak; nor did I address it. Instead I turned to my guide and asked; "Why have you brought me here?"

"You asked how the lost powers of you and the Mistresses can be restored. I know of only one way. When we first tried to create a Master of Elements that thing chained over there, which you call the Creature, got most of the power. To regain that strength you must correct our original error by uniting yourself with the Creature. Take your enemy's essence within you, become a single being, and you will be healed. Then you will be able to restore the powers of the elemental Mistresses as well."

Kyrios was right in predicting I wouldn't like his plan - I was appalled by the idea. "Unite with that thing! It's wholly evil and a killer. It murdered my friend Gwydion Jones and it has tried to kill me and the girls many times."

"When the Master of Elements was spilt you - or rather your line of predecessors leading back to me - got the strength of compassion and love. You will have to use that strength to control the impulses to destruction that absorbing the Creature's spirit will bring to you along with all that power."

I was pondering this when, to both our surprise, the Creature spoke. "What's in it for me?" it said.

Kyrios and I stared at it in amazement. The Greek sage recovered first. "You get no say in this. You are a monster, not a person. You were never meant to be and you deserve nothing."

"I may be imprisoned here for all eternity and yet I am; I live. You are proposing to erase my very existence. I think that gives me the right to some say." My enemy sounded unapologetic, defiant and - despite its situation - oddly confident. It worried me as to why.

"You have 'erased the existence' of many down the years without mercy," I said in a low tone, "including a friend of mine. Why should we care what happens to you? Oblivion is no more than you deserve."

"Because what the Greek is proposing cannot be done without my consent. I am too strong for you to absorb my power unless I allow it to happen. So I ask again, what's in it for me?"

I turned to Kyrios, "Is that thing right?"

"I don't know for sure ... but I fear so. We have never been able to destroy it, only exile it for a while. Even you with the help of the Theia stone have only been able to imprison it." Then, seeing my look, he added, "Remember you asked if there was another way. I never wanted this."

I stood silent for a while, thoughts racing through my head. I realised there was something I needed to know, something we had never understood. I looked at my enemy chained to a rock, appearing human although it was wholly alien. "What is it that you want?" I asked.

"To rule and be obeyed; to be worshipped, feared and adored in equal measure by other living things," it answered.

I believed it, but had another question. "Why? What's the point?"

This seemed to give the Creature some pause, as if it had never considered such a notion. Finally it said, "To feel alive."

This made some sort of sense. Until it has been suffused with colossal power and intelligence by the Theia stone and the meddling of Kyrios and his colleagues, what was now the Creature had been nothing more than unaware bacteria. To be suddenly elevated to god-like power must have been confusing for its brand new mind. It was a thing unique in the universe, with no one to tutor it, nor any moral compass to guide it, having missed out on such emotions. No wonder it was seeking validation. It was indeed a monster, but I thought the real villains were the humans who had created it.

"Very well, here is the deal," I said to the Creature, turning my back on Kyrios. "You allow me to absorb your essence and we will live a duel existence, on the understanding that you accept I am in charge in both. On Earth you stay in the background and I get to live the life I choose, but we will also maintain a presence in the Aether world and here I will allow you to enjoy the pleasures of ruling - but as a fair and just constitutional monarch. Some of the most progressive nations on Earth have such governments, as in Scandinavia ..."

I stopped, realising that both Kyrios and the Creature were staring at me in bewilderment, having no idea what was referring to. But never mind, I could deal with the details later. "Aside from enjoying existence and a position of authority," I continued, "you get to escape being bound to this rock for all eternity. Those are my terms; do you agree?"

"Yes, that is acceptable," the Creature answered.

"You can't trust it," noted Kyrios.

"No, but that comes back to what you said earlier. I will just have to be the stronger. With the help of the five Mistresses I'm certain I can manage that."

Kyrios sighed. "I don't like this. But if you are determined, then we can begin the ritual."

"I am," I said, certain my choice was right.

*****

Two years later, I was sitting up in bed in my luxury London flat with my wife Mrs Brigit Ward, nee McCarthy. We had been married for just over a year and in most respects it was a conventional enough marriage, although certainly not in all. Had I shown interest in another woman Brigit would have called me out on it, just as any wife might, but she made an exception for a certain four other ladies. Indeed she would have taken me to task had we not shared our lives - and our bed -with them whenever the chance arose.

Although it was still early morning and I had just brought us a cup of tea, Brigit already had her laptop out and was busy checking our investments. She had turned out to have a head for business, which was just as well as we were by most standards filthy rich. There had been a considerable amount of funds left over after our adventures but that paled into insignificance compared to the discovery that the billionaire Jose Tesorero had left me a huge fortune in his will.

I had never even met Tesorero, but he was the Steward, financer of the Master and Mistresses of Elements in their struggle against the Creature, and I guess he wanted to ensure that in the event of his sudden death, as sadly had occurred, we still had all the funds we needed. Quite reasonably, members of his family had objected to the will, but as the sums involved vastly exceeded my needs I was happy to reach a settlement with them that saved us all a lot of lawyer's fees. I gave three quarters of the money back in exchange for settling the family's claims on the other quarter.

The money was enough to set not just Brigit and I but all the girls up for life, but my new wife had not rested there. Money begets money and clever investments had grown our collective wealth. My contribution was to insist we spent it wisely and for the general good. Quiet philanthropy was my new interest. Hers too; aside from her astute business dealings, Brigit had founded a charity with Jenny that supported African farmers toward increased financial independence and another with Matsu which worked for cleaner oceans.

I was considering all this as I watched Brigit concentrate on the screen in front of her. She would have thought she looked a mess, hair still ruffled from sleep and without any make-up. I thought she looked as gorgeous and sexy as the first time I had seen her back in the farmyard in County Kerry. She had moved on from stock prices to checking her emails and suddenly looked up, a beaming smile on her face. When she spoke she sounded excited. "Good news, Chris. Freya has confirmed she can come to London next week and she can stay for a while, maybe ten days! It'll be good to see her. I miss my sisters."

"Me too; I wish all of them could be with us more. But at the same time they have their lives to lead. They are all doing so well and I love to see them succeed."

This was true. The money helped open doors, but my ladies were a talented group and they had taken full advantage. Athena Makris was no longer based in Greece but was now, at just 27, a fully-fledged Professor of Physics, albeit at a minor Italian university. But I was certain her career wouldn't stop there. The paper she was working on regarding parallel universes was going to cause a scientific storm when she finally published. As she had wryly told me the main problem she was having was proving mathematically what she already knew was true given she had been there - but that of course had to remain our secret.

Sarah 'Matsu' Chen was also progressing in academia. I was pretty certain we would end up with a second professor in our group eventually, but for the moment, having finished her degree, she was fully engaged in her new job with the Taiwanese Institute of Marine Biology, researching the implications of global warming on fish stocks.

Freya Nordlander had perhaps benefited most our new wealth. No longer a real estate agent, she had been able to return to her true love of film and the theatre. No amount of money could make her an actress, but she had started a talent management agency in her native Sweden and had soon demonstrated a flair for it. It seemed that the skills needed to persuade a client that a half decent house is the one of their dreams are similar to those required to convince a director they really should take on one of your aspiring young actors for a part. One thing Freya had never lacked was the self-confidence to sell an idea.

Jennifer Kitaka had not gone back to Uganda. She remained a committed Christian, but her experiences with us had made her question some of the sterner aspects of the faith I which she had been raised. As she put it to me, hers was a God of love and forgiveness not harsh judgement. Nor was she any longer training to be a nurse, having instead gained a scholarship in the US to study as a doctor. That I was the one who had endowed ten such scholarships, named in memory of the unfortunate late Dr Okello, to support students in their medical studies, might suggest some favouritism. This was not so; Jenny had won her place on merit and through her own efforts. When she put her mind to something, I noticed it generally got done.

And what of our elemental abilities? Well, my absorbing the strength of my former enemy had worked. I had been able to restore the girls' powers and gained new ones myself. Individually each Mistress of Elements was supreme in her own sphere and more powerful than I, but I had an all-round capability that made me at least their equal. However, I had forbidden open displays of our powers. I knew it would draw attention that would eventually be our downfall. The girls and I made use of our abilities, but subtly, in small ways that would not be noticed - and always to benefit the world.