Aurora Over a Dead World

Chapter 14: The Irony of Astrology

"Perfect! I finally finished the repairs." I glance at the clock on the wall showing it’s well past midnight. Since I never got much sleep back in the army—there was never this much free time—I’m still not tired.

I reconnect my arm back into place and try moving it, seeing that it’s completely fine now.

"Hey, Nexus... now that I have some free time, I need your support with my students’ studies. Obviously it might be a bit early to teach them certain things, but I at least need to teach them about Nemesis."

"So tell me, how much data on her is currently in the system? Also, I’m using my access as Zenith the Commander, not Zenith the teacher. Even though I lost the position, it carries the same authority as Nadir’s, which is permitted." When I say that, Nexus goes momentarily silent, processing the request.

"[Files Regarding Nemesis are classified. Only high-ranking officials or those with major military standing have access to them.]" Nexus speaks in a way that makes it clear she won’t tell me much.

"...So I’m not supposed to talk about any of that with my students?"

"[Affirmative.]"

"And how exactly can you stop me from talking about what I saw?"

"[...Reporting to superiors?]"

"And what will they do? Try to wipe my memory? I’m going to tell my students about Nemesis, and lack of access isn’t going to stop me. But if you don’t want to help with that lesson, fine. At least tell me this—is the virtual reality simulator ready?"

Back when I was fighting like crazy just to survive alongside Nadir and we were nothing more than irrelevant soldiers, the government was working on a super simulator.

It analyzes the brains of all users who log into it to "recreate" an experience. More specifically, it steals data from your brain about a monster you’ve fought and artificially replicates it so others can fight it.

Of course, this machine is flawed. It’s highly subjective and only uses the strength you remember. Often the real monster is several times stronger, and the opposite happens too—sometimes the simulation monster is stronger than the original if the person whose data was collected had trauma and was weaker when they faced that monster.

"[It is currently ready, and has already been named—]"

"Okay, okay, I don’t care about the name. I’m going to love using this machine." Putting my "dear" students up against some of the monsters I’ve faced will be great. Plus, it’ll also be interesting for me to train against Nemesis.

Even though the Nemesis in my memories is far inferior to the real Nemesis, whom I’ve never seen fighting seriously.

’In the simulation I’ll also be able to use my powers freely since it’s just a data projection...’ I can’t wait to use this machine and be able to use my powers without risk, even if it’s not real usage.

"[I take it you want the machine prepared for use?]"

"Yes, yes, tell Astrid I need her tomorrow! I’m going to combine this with the lesson on monsters. It’ll be a mix of practical and theoretical class!" These girls need to see the things I’ve seen.

"[I should warn you beforehand that the machine stores data from other uses and reallocates it when used by third parties, so it’s possible to face monsters you’ve never seen before.]" Nexus says something else that interests me.

"Is that so? Even more than perfect. I was dying to crush some of the fear monsters... but what happens to someone who dies in the simulation?"

"[The simulation functions through pure data projection, so nothing actually happens. However, the pain memories from injuries and strikes will be carried with the user. So if a monster attempts to torture the machine’s user, it will be forcibly shut down by the security system to prevent brain damage.]"

"Hahaha... of course the machine wouldn’t be perfect..." Pain is real. That’s good news. This way the six of them will get to feel what it’s like to actually get hurt in a fight.

"[You have 1 new message.]" Suddenly, Nexus sends me a soft alert.

"Who?"

"[Sender: Nadir. Recipient: Zenith.]"

"Aaaaahhhh SHIT... are you serious? It hasn’t even been two weeks!! That guy is way too needy... just read this crap already." I get immediately frustrated. The "traitor" who tossed me into this boring place is now sending me a message. I wonder if it’s more apologies.

"[Apologies, but I cannot decipher the letter. It is merely a collection of random scribbles with no logic, pattern, order, or recognizable technique among the billions of basic human encryption data points used in letters.]"

"...Delete that trash. I already know what it is." The same as always. Nadir asking me if I want to sleep with him.

"And send him a message. Tell him ’Energy’ is at half." I sigh, staring up at the ceiling with some remorse for being so harsh with him when he also needs this.

’How I hate that we’re the same being...’ I don’t know exactly what happened to us in the past that split us into two, but just like our names indicate, there are a lot of "underlying meanings" in our relationship.

In astronomy, Zenith is the highest point in the sky directly above an observer. For example, if you look at the sky and see the highest point where the sun or a star could be, that’s the "zenith." It’s the opposite of nadir, which is the point directly below you.

Nadir, then, is the lowest point in the sky relative to an observer—that is, directly below you, on the opposite side of the zenith. If you imagine a line going from the zenith passing through your body down to the ground, the nadir would be the point where that line touches the earth "below."

But the relevant point in these names is that both Zenith and Nadir belong to the same axis. They are opposites connected to the same thing. I don’t know why both Nadir and I know that these are our names.

And we have no memories from before, when we were a single being. We only know we were meant to be one being, and that our names represented that forced division.

That’s where the problem comes in. We belong to the same axis. If Nadir and I don’t "recharge," we’ll end up forcibly merging again—and the way to prevent that is physical contact.

In childhood, just hugs were enough. But as we grew, the amount of energy our bodies needed to avoid merging increased, up until now, where the contact has escalated to sex, though not very frequently.

It honestly sucks. I hate sleeping with Nadir. It feels kind of narcissistic considering he is me. And Nadir always seems weird about it too. I don’t know if he likes it, or if he’s just uncomfortable because we’re forced into it to keep from becoming one.

’It’s so ironic...’ Physical closeness is what keeps our physical, spiritual, and mental fusion apart, so to speak.

’We’ll probably need to refuel in a month...’ If we hit "red," Nadir and I will start sensing each other’s exact spatial position and will be able to find each other no matter what.

It sounds so stupid. Some would call it romantic, but to me it’s just a curse. Nadir being literally me makes him the least suitable person to be involved with me.

"Nexus, any message that isn’t important that Nadir sends, I want you to ignore." I know he’s going to insist on that same stupid, nonsensical message for a while, thinking I’m forcing myself to endure the lack of "energy."

Unfortunately, neither he nor I know what this "energy" is that separates us. Maybe it’s just the vector chip itself generating it. Who knows, right? Maybe in the future we’ll be able to find out.

"Also, Nexus, wake me up very early tomorrow. I’m going to start taking walks every day from 4 a.m. until 5 before going to the school." I give orders to Nexus as I get up to brush my teeth and go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.