Infinite Testament Read Free Page A

stupid
man,” was the best translation Stephen could offer. Stephen shook his
head in disdain and continued waiting.
    Once Miles’ nightly ritual was over, Stephen took him
inside to watch TV news, his own nightly ritual. It was good to stay
informed, Stephen always figured. He flipped on the TV.
    “Tonight, a milestone is reached. The number of
suicides reached since the ILD has reached a staggering 1.5 billion…”
    This news frustrated Stephen. 1.5 billion was an
insane number. How can that many people despise their lives that
much? 1.5 billion people have killed themselves since the discovery of
the ILD. 1.5 Billion . Stephen just turned the TV on, but it
was already enough. He turned it off. “Come on bud,” he called to
Miles.
    Together, they headed to bed.
    Stephen hated hearing about how many lives he helped to
end.

3
    Stephen looked out the window and saw the tiny world below
him. He never cared much for flying and neither did Miles, who was
patiently sitting on his lap. With all the traveling Stephen was forced
to endure, it was nice to have a plane of his own.
    Stephen enjoyed the view of the world below.
Everything looked oddly miniaturized, like they were transformed to toys.
Unfortunately, that vanished as he rose above the clouds. From there,
abstract visions of a million things came to life. The clouds offered
nothing but possibilities that would simply change every few seconds.
What started as an innocent bunny could transform into a golfing
alligator. The clouds were pastels of possibilities. That didn’t
interest him. When the clouds came, Stephen slept and waited for his
destination.
    He was en route to Los Angeles to give a lecture on the
ILD. He would be speaking at UCLA to members of the medical
community. The speech would be focused on the theoretical issues and
facts available. Next week, he would be in Washington D.C., where he’d
have to give a perfect speech to the members of Congress. After
that he’d meet with the president to discuss the ramifications of the ILD in
American life. The speech to Congress was going to be televised live
nationally. The immediate UCLA speech was more of a preparatory speech
for his big national address.
    Stephen was the primary voice and elite thinker in the
field. Everyone had an opinion on what the ILD meant or what properties
surrounded it, but only Stephen’s opinion was treated as canon.
    He glanced out the window.
    The waves crashed. Stephen and Bruce
were two 8 year-old kids frolicking in the summertime enjoying their vacation
away from school. Come fall, they would be in third grade. They
played on the not-so-crowded Silver Beach at Saint Joseph, Michigan. They
were covered in sunscreen; their protective mothers (who were busy gossiping
and relaxing) wanted to keep them safe from the strong rays piercing their
young skin.
    Stephen was building a sandcastle with the soft white
sand. Armed with only a bucket and a palm sized shovel, he had amassed
quite a structure. He had filled the bucket with sand and water at least
a dozen times. The structure consisted of four tall towers with connecting
walls. In the middle, was a large Tower Of Babel-type structure.
While it wasn’t completely sound, for a six year old, it was impressive.
    Bruce, on the other hand, was digging. He had created
enough trenches in the beach to start a war and have plenty of cover space.
Bruce didn’t use any tools, only the hands on his arms. He dug like a
dog, flinging the sand between his legs. Swipe, swipe, swipe. He
was like a machine. He found himself at a particular hole that managed to
get so deep, he wasn’t visible to Stephen anymore.
    Stephen yelled, “Bruce!”
    “Yeah?” Bruce’s response went straight into the sand
and failed to reach Stephen’s ears. Bruce propped up his head and waited
for a response, receiving none. He resumed digging and continued his
descent.
    Stephen yelled again. “Bruce!”
    Bruce halted his digging and stormed out of the
trench.