Awakening on Orbis Read Online Free PDF Page A

her.
    “How long is this going to go on for?” Theodore interrupted as he walked toward us. Max pulled away.
    “Not long
now,
” I complained.
    “Good, because there are some things we need to discuss,” he said, and thrust something in my face. It looked like the taps we used to get at the Illuminate on Orbis 3.
    “What is it?” I asked him.
    “Queykay has us handing them out all over Murat,” Max said.
    “No one refuses them,” Theodore added. “Some people even try to resell them.”
    I poked into the tap with my softwire. Accessing something like a tap was almost as easy as breathing for me now. I no longer thought about the mechanics; I simply concentrated on the outcome, and the contents of the device filled my thoughts. The tap contained moving images of Ketheria with the glow all about her. She was smiling and touching people softly, people who were kneeling in front of her. Some were crying, some rejoicing. It was all strangely eerie, as if Ketheria were some sort of god. This was followed by more images of crowds streaming up the walkway that led to this building. The fictitious events played out inside my head stronger than my most vivid memories.
    “I don’t get it. Ketheria has never been here before,” I said.
    “It’s an advertisement,” Max informed me.
    “The Trading Council is going to have Ketheria hold sermons or something,” Theodore said.
    “Hach knows about this?”
    Max nodded.
    “What does it mean? They’re using
us
to start a religion?”
    “OIO is not a religion,” she argued.
    “But some aliens distort it for their own gain,” Theodore said. “They prey on those who worship the Ancients.”
    “He’s right,” Max said. “I think that’s what the Trading Council is attempting to do here, but OIO is actually a philosophy. It’s the art and science of cosmic energy. It helps you to interpret the events in your life so you might gain control. They believe that everything, even your thoughts, goes out into the cosmic soup and has the potential to affect everyone else. Through this energy, we are connected with everything in the universe, no matter how close or how far. Nagools try to master this energy, releasing only constructive energy while avoiding deconstructive energy. But even they look at the arrival of Ketheria as a messiah, as if she’s going to help them tip the scales of the deconstructive energy they claim plagues our universe.”
    “They think it’s that bad?” I asked.
    Theodore scoffed. “Have you seen it out there? This place is a hellhole.”
    “And Hach is trying to capitalize on this?” I said.
    “The Trading Council is. I’m certain of it,” Theodore whispered.
    “Queykay has been the one making us hand out the taps,” Max reminded him. “I think most of Hach’s work is with mining or something.”
    “You just wander around the city handing out taps? Isn’t Queykay afraid we’re going to try to escape?”
    “Where would we go? This is by far the best place on the ring. Besides, our staining would make it easy for them to find us.”
    I shook my head. “It doesn’t make sense.”
    “Yes, it does. Hach is a Citizen,” Theodore reminded me.
    “I know, but you remember him, don’t you? Remember how he acted toward that other Citizen at Odran’s party?”
    Max was nodding. “The one who didn’t like knudniks much? I think her name was Pheitt.”
    “Hach was golden.” Theodore smiled.
    “I can’t picture him doing this. Why would he want to start a religion? You said he was into mining? This doesn’t make sense.”
    “Well, he’s doing it,” Theodore insisted.
    “Vairocina?” I called out. “You can show yourself. It’s just us.”
    Particles of light pooled in front of us, and a figure began to form. Vairocina had started changing her appearance ever since she had begun projecting her holograph for us. Each time it seemed as if she was trying to look a little older. Her new look was not lost on Theodore, who always