The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe Read Free Page B

her slumber to begin a new kind of Season of Embodiment.
Perhaps he thought it was time to bring everyone else along with
her, Meraladhza and Gharné alike. I'm inclined to agree with him,
to be honest. It has been two hundred years since we first set foot
on this planet. The same planet we seeded with our own kind eons
ago. It’s time to take that next step.”
    Saisshalé smirked at him. “Over two thousand
years after Gharra's last mass spiritual awakenings, you expect
these people to take another step after only two centuries of us
being here? Quite a few Earthbound people are still coming to grips
with the fact that the Trisandi are their ancestral kin, Natianos.
Two hundred years is way too soon for another slap in the
face from the hand of reality.”
    “A fair point,” he countered. “Yet the
evolution of Gharra in those two centuries has far surpassed the
evolution of Gharné religion in two millennia. It was time the two
caught up with each other. And as Shenaihu nuhm'ndah, I couldn't
let this new awakening happen without both sides being a part of
it. Once Nehalé did his part, it was inevitable that I follow.”
    Saisshalé nodded. “Ah yes, that inevitability . You spiritual fools blame fate for all of
this? We are a product of what's already gone on. The Shenaihu are
the way they are because of their abandonment far back in our
history. They used to be allies of the Mendaihu on both Trisanda
and Meraladh. They haven't changed one bit, and neither have the
Mendaihu. Because of that abandonment, the two have become
spiritual enemies whose contention has become blurred over history.
The Shenaihu and the Mendaihu have evolved separately, just as the
Gharné have from us.”
    Natianos frowned at him. “Let's say the
Mendaihu evolve, as you say, to the next level, and the Shenaihu do
nothing. What would happen then?”
    “It would still play out the same, Natianos,
can’t you see that?” Saisshalé said, impatience creeping into his
voice. “Evolve or die. And eventually the Mendaihu and the Shenaihu will merge and become one again, and there’s no avoiding it.
That isn't fate, that’s evolution. Our choice then is whether we
want to retain our independence and individuality.”
    Natianos stared at him with a wilting look.
He couldn’t tell if this man was trying to make a point or just
being contrarian to annoy him. “Of course we want our
individuality! That is exactly why I called for you. If the One of
All Sacred had gone through with the Ascension ritual, who knows
what would have happened? Would she have gathered all the Shenaihu
and all the Mendaihu together and turned everyone into
cho-nyhndah?”
    “That seemed to be her plan,” Saisshalé
said.
    “She doesn't have a plan!” Natianos snapped.
“She's a fifteen-year-old kid from one of the northern sectors of
Bridgetown who has no idea what she's doing half the time. She's
relying on instinct and conferring with emha-sehndayen-ne Eprysia
Kaalen whenever she can.”
    Saisshalé laughed again, bouncing back off
the couch and swinging his hands at him. “Ampryss! Well, then!
Never let it be said that times of spiritual upheaval are boring!
I'm finally beginning to see why I have been summoned here,
Natianos. You want me to counter whatever the One of All Sacred
might want to do, is that it?”
    Natianos exhaled. “Not blindly. I have faith
that you know when it will be time to act.”
    “And when to sit back and observe,” Saisshalé
added. “You have more of a plan than you're letting on, I can sense
that. Don't tell it to me — I don't want to be influenced.”
    “I won't. But I still would like to know,
dear sehnadha. Where were you before you were summoned?”
    Saisshalé saw the question coming nodded
quietly to himself, weighing his response. “I promised, and I shall
deliver, but only what is pertinent. There are things in my past
that you should not know, or you would be influenced.”
    “Fair enough,” Natianos said. “We