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The traveler laughed. “To someone smarter than me, maybe. I’m slowly adapting to a permanent state of befuddlement.”

  “Oh, it’s not that befuddling. When you saw us in this park together from the bedroom window, you thought you were seeing us at that moment. What you actually saw was something at a later point. Your senses are adjusting. Once you’re fully acclimated, past, present, and future will seem real again, even though they’re not.”

  “Thanks for clearing that up.”

  They walked through the park’s maze of topiary. The shrubs changed shapes as the two strolled by. The traveler mimicked his companion, who did not react to the mutations.

  “What was Lorna like when she was a young girl?” he asked his mother-in-law.

  “Like no other child. I remember this time I was putting on makeup. Lorna was maybe seven years-old. She asked me why I wore makeup. I told her I wanted to look better. She said, ‘You don’t need it. Besides, it’s more important to be beautiful on the inside. And you are, Mom.’ Her kindness and wisdom astonished me.”

  “I guess she was always insightful.”

  “You should never guess.”

  “Unless I fully understand the question, right?” said the traveler.

  “There was no question. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just something somebody told me.”

  “Lukas Lambert?”

  Clara’s green eyes lit up. “Did you know him?”

  “Lorna introduced me. Sadly, he came to a bad end in the void.”

  “No one ends in the void. He’ll get a chance to redeem himself.”

  “How well did you know him?”

  “Very,” she said. “After all, he was a mirror of my husband, in a way. Lukas Lambert even guided me through a session of parallel universalism once.”

  “How’d it go?”

  “Too wacky. He was still refining his methods. There were a lot of dislocations. I didn’t do it again.”

  The traveler glanced past the park, at a grand mansion well beyond where he stood. Someone peered at him from an upstairs window. The person watching him was the traveler himself. The traveler in the park almost fainted. He sat on the ground.

  “Sebastian, what’s wrong?”

  “I, uh, I saw myself again.”

  “What?” Clara said.

  “Up in the window.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I saw myself from earlier. Remember my sighting of us in this park? Well, I just saw myself watching us. It messed with me. Another case of time gashes.”

  “Maybe this park isn’t the best place for you. Why don’t we go back to your home?”

  The in-laws zoomed to the doorway of Lorna’s and the traveler’s house. Lorna sat on a plush couch in the living room, across from the door.

  “Care to come in for a little while?” said the traveler to Clara.

  “No thanks. I need to locate my husband. He should be getting ready for the big event.”

  “Big event?”

  “Didn’t Lorna tell you?”

  The traveler shook his head.

  Clara said, “Whenever a person arrives here, some of the folks around town throw a big banquet. We couldn’t do it for you yesterday – it was your wedding. Some of the people you knew on Earth will be there. There’ll be speeches and food and other good stuff.”

  “Speeches? I hope I don’t have to make one.”

  “You won’t have to say much. Just announce that you’re glad to be here and thank everybody for coming. Nothing to it.”

  Lorna’s mother vanished.

  The traveler closed the door and went into the adjoining living room. Hands on hips, he glared at his wife.

  Glancing up from a book, Lorna said, “Oh geez. You startled me.”

  He frowned. A tense pause passed.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” she said.

  “You should have told me about the banquet they’re having for me.”

  “Oh yeah. This type of thing is so routine around here I didn’t think to mention it. It’s nothing to get upset about.”

  “Right. When does it start?”

  “Whenever you want.”

  “What?”

  “It’s your event. It starts whenever you want.”

  “But there will be all these other people there, right?” he said. “I mean, isn’t there a time scheduled so they know when to be there?”

  “The guests are tuned in to your preferences. They’ll be ready when you are. As soon as you decide to go, they’ll show up.”

  “This place gets weirder all the time. When should I have the banquet start?”

  “Wait a little while. I want a chance to ravish you some more.”

  Additional intercourse commenced on the gold couch, blissful as before.

  ****

  Lorna and the traveler did not speed-travel to the banquet. They rode in a limousine that drove itself on autopilot. They made more love in the back of the vehicle.

  The car radio played throughout. Though rapturously preoccupied, the traveler caught brief snippets of the broadcast: “This is the Allen Jonah program … know what you’re thinking. How can this guy be on air in the void? It’s … should not believe everything they tell you here, folks. You are not safe … Jack … alter ego … strike any moment … not what they seem … Lambert Lukas … You have been warned.…”

  When the lovemaking finished, the traveler noted that that the radio was no longer playing. He reached into the limo’s front compartment.

  “What are you doing?” Lorna said.

  “The radio was on while we were having sex. I wasn’t listening to it, but I could swear I heard Allen Jonah talking. I listened to him occasionally on Earth.”

  She laughed. “Jonah is too off-the-wall for this place. It’s possible he could be here. I doubt it, though. That would …”

  “Quiet down a second. I’m trying to find the right station.”

  The traveler flipped through the dial. There was only static.

  “Damn!” he said, rejoining Lorna in the back seat.

  “Couldn’t find it?” she said.

  “Something was playing over that radio. I’m certain.”

  “Maybe it was a delusion.”

  “Good one,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Isn’t everything in this place a delusion? I mean, nothing is physical, nothing is real.”

  “Perception is real.”

  “Yeah, but delusion is perception too. You’re damned no matter what.”

  “That’s a bit harsh. I can’t deny there were plenty of reasons for cynicism in our prior world. There are none in this dimension. Do you prefer to be jaded anyway?”

  He shook his head. “Of course not.”

  “Then why trouble over distinctions between perception and delusion? Even on Earth those distinctions were never one hundred percent clear. Consider this: aside from survival, what is the primary objective of virtually all human beings?”

  “Beats me.”

  “Happiness, right? That’s what everyone wants. Things that once interfered with happiness are irrelevant here. Whether or not they are irrelevant due to delusion, why quibble? Embrace the contentment.”

  The traveler leaned back in thought. She’s right, he decided. The incredible sex they had enjoyed swayed his mind. He dismissed what he had heard over the limo’s radio.

  “You know, Lorna, you’re as sharp as you were on Earth. It’s possible delusion brought us together. If so, I owe a lot to delusion.”

  She kissed him on the cheek. “I love you so much. Thanks for being here with me.”

  “I wouldn’t be here without you.”

  The limo pulled up to a vast banquet hall. Out front stretched a banner from side to side of the building. The banner’s multicolored letters read: WELCOME TO THE CITY OF ONENESS.

  The traveler said, “What is the City of Oneness?”

  “Oh, that’s just an informal name for the void.”

  “What do
es it mean?”

  “I think ‘oneness’ indicates respect for individuality. Everyone here defers to the oneness of the individual, creating a oneness of spirit among the people. There is no coercion in the void. There is no State. We revere the freedom and peace of all.”

  “Sounds like a dream.”

  Lorna’s eyes sparkled. “This dream is real.”

  They exited the vehicle and entered the grand hall. Hundreds congregated inside. Objects in the arena were made of gold. Sculptures of astronomical value sat on tables throughout the room. On other tables were delicious-looking food items.

  The radical schoolteacher Cranston Gage spotted Lorna and the traveler. Approaching the couple, Cranston stuck a hand out for the traveler to shake and said, “Damn, Sebastian. The Regime must have gotten you too.”

  “Surely that doesn’t surprise you,” said the traveler.

  “Nah. You had it coming. It’s great seeing you again. Any idea who the mystery guest of honor might be?”

  “What? Mystery guest? Uh, it’s not a mystery. I’m …”

  “He’s kidding, Cranston,” said Lorna. “Nobody knows who the mystery man will be.”

  “How do you know he’s a man?” asked Cranston.

  “I don’t. That, uh, was a figure of speech.”

  The traveler said, “What the hell is going on?”

  Lorna held a finger up at Cranston. “Give us a second.” She pulled the traveler aside and whispered, “I should have told you that the guests don’t know you’re the honoree. Sorry.”

  “But your mother knows.”

  “Our immediate families were informed. Nobody else has a clue. Be discreet.”

  Just then Lawrence Alister – drunk and ratty as ever – stumbled by, pointed at the traveler, and said, “You’re the one, aren’t you? I have a knack for seeing things ahead.”

  “Who? Me? You jest.”

  Lorna pulled on her husband’s shirt sleeve. “Pay him no mind. He’s so hammered nobody’ll believe what he says.”

  Lawrence shot the couple a morose look and said, “This is not a celebration; it’s a funeral. He’ll get you folks in the end.”

  “Who? Who will get us?” said the traveler.

  Lawrence staggered away.

  The traveler raised his voice. “Don’t leave me hanging like that, man.”

  “Forget about him,” Lorna said.

  “Did you hear him?”

  “I’ll take him seriously when he sobers up.”

  Trumpets blared. The attendees quieted and took to their seats.

  Lorna said to her husband, “This thing is starting. Let’s sit down somewhere.”

  They found two unoccupied seats. The audience faced a large dais at the back of the room. There were eight empty chairs at the dais.

  As an instrumental song played at high volume, the little white-haired man, who had twice accompanied the traveler on the elevator in the receptionist’s lobby, went to the podium at the center of the dais. The man, author of “Dreams and Nightmares,” stood there grinning as the music soared to a triumphant crescendo.

  The traveler whispered to Lorna, “Hey, I know that guy. What is he doing here?”

  She laughed. “That old sage? We affectionately call him Mayor White Hair.”

  “You’re joking. The City of Oneness has a mayor?”

  “It’s just an honorary title, nothing formal. He’s highly respected. People often consult with him about perceptual dilemmas in the void. A standard gag is that Mayor White Hair has been here long enough to have created the void.”

  “That would make him God.”

  “An amusing thought,” Lorna said. “Even if he was God, he’d be too modest to own it.”

  The music ended. White Hair spoke into the podium’s microphone: “I have known you all from the very beginning. That is why I am delighted to see everyone here today. I won’t reveal the identity of our honoree. Instead I will introduce someone who filled a vital role in that honoree’s Earthly life. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in saluting the honorable Sebastian R. Flemming the Second.”

  The traveler’s father advanced to the stage and exchanged a hug with Mayor White Hair. The onlookers clapped enthusiastically. White Hair sat in a chair on the left end of the dais.

  “Let’s hear it for that visionary leader and poet,” the traveler’s father said into the microphone, “the small man of white hair.” The crowd applauded. The traveler’s father continued, “Forgive me if I’m a tad nervous. Whenever I addressed audiences like this in my previous existence, there were always a few informants amongst the bunch.” The crowd laughed. “Hell, when I got up here, I was half-tempted to check this mic for bugs.” The crowd laughed again. “You folks are too kind. Enough of my stale humor. Before I introduce our guest of honor, there are five special individuals I want to welcome. The first is a person we’ve come to know and love as ‘the woman who chose her own reality.’ She truly needs no further introduction. Please join me, with a huge round of applause …”

  A discordant mix of Gregorian chant and psychedelia blasted the traveler. A green blotch absorbed his vision for several seconds before a fiery door in the night sky became visible. The traveler plummeted toward that door. The Gregorian psychedelia drifted into a faint song that grew louder and louder. An off-key choir bellowed a chorus ad nauseam:

  Jack Jack turns day into night

  Jack Jack makes darkness from light

  Jack Jack puts you on his hook

  Jack Jack cedes you the first book

  Jack Jack though mythic he seems

  Jack Jack will steal all your dreams

  The singing was absurdly distorted, becoming unintelligible. The ominous lyrics unleashed sharp pangs in the traveler’s head and stomach. He fell through the burning door. He caught ablaze as his sight returned to a green blotch that blanked his consciousness.

  He awoke in his seat amid the audience at his banquet. At the chairs on the left side of the dais were Mayor White Hair, Lorna, and her parents. Seated on the right side were the traveler’s mother and brother.

  At the central podium, the traveler’s father said into the microphone, “Without further ado, I wish you all to welcome, with maximum affection, our newest addition in this realm of wonder: my son, Sebastian R. Flemming the Third.”

  A standing ovation followed. Still shaken by his latest hallucination, the traveler remained in his seat, bewildered. He realized that it was time for his unprepared speech. He uncomfortably advanced to the central podium and hugged his father.

  The crowd remained standing as the traveler said, “Thank you for being here. I don’t know you all, but hopefully I can become more acquainted with some of you.

  “I wish I was a polished orator. This is nerve-racking. It reminds me of a time in my prior life when I had to deliver a speech to a class of schoolchildren.” He eyed Cranston Gage in the front row. The two friends traded smiles. “It wasn’t one of my more impressive moments. Why do I bring it up? Uh, perhaps because I’m not sure what to say.

  “I’ll close with this. The people up here on this platform with me, well, they’re better company than I deserve. Lorna’s father, Lambert Lukas, has been instrumental helping me along the way in my weird adventures. I’ve just started getting to know my mother-in-law Clara. She’s a fantastic woman. My mother and brother are too great for words. Then there’s my father, a man of incredible dignity and courage. I do not merit his name.

  “That brings me to my wife Lorna. Without her I wouldn’t be here. I was nothing and nowhere before she came into my life. She is the main reason I am who I am today. Any honors you reward to me rightfully belong to her.

  “Thanks for coming out.”

  The crowd’s applause was warm and vigorous. Yet, the traveler could not savor the accolades. He was too jarred by the creepy song of his most recent vision.

  ****

  It was a cordial affair. The traveler talked and laughed with family, friends, and acquaintances
. He met too many new people to remember. He basked in the welcome.

  As the event neared an end, Lorna said to her husband, “I’ve got to get you alone. Hey, when this thing is over, you want to go on a honeymoon somewhere?”

  The traveler smiled. “What do you have in mind?”

  Just then one of the traveler’s greatest heroes on Earth, Gabriel Manchester, approached the couple. Manchester was more dashing in person than his campaign videos.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” said the former Grand Premier candidate. “This lovely wife of yours told me a lot about you. I’m Gabe Manchester. An honor to meet you.”

  The two men shook hands.

  The traveler was tongue-tied. “I, uh, goodness, this is, uh, well, it’s more than an honor for me. I’m a long-time admirer. Thank you for being here, Mr. Manchester.”

  “Please call me Gabe, Sebastian. I owe you an apology. A member of my family did grave harm to your family. Will you accept my deepest regrets?”

  “Geez, Mr. Manches – uh, Gabe. You weren’t to blame. No apology necessary.”

  “Thank you. You are understanding, but my family’s deeds shame me.”

  “Unburden yourself,” the traveler said, beaming. “You deserve high praise, not shame. I have long envied your courage.”

  “You shouldn’t. Your own courage was immense enough to bring you here. That quality intrigues me. At the risk of interfering with your plans, I would be remiss if I did not request your company for a short while. Will you please go on a drive with me?”

  The traveler peered at Lorna and said, “I don’t know, Gabe. As agreeable as that sounds, I am recently married. I do not wish to desert my bride. How about a rain check? I would be glad to get together with you just about any time. We could do lunch or …”

  “Gabe Manchester shouldn’t have to settle for a rain check,” said Lorna. “Take that drive with him. I can skip over our time apart. I’ll catch up with you at a fantasy destination.”

  “Where?” said the traveler.

  She winked. “It’ll be my little surprise. When your visit with Gabe is over, just wish yourself to my location. See you soon.”

  She kissed the traveler on the cheek, hugged Manchester, and walked away.

  The two men materialized in the front seats of a chic sports car. Manchester was behind the wheel. The vehicle’s interior was made of gold. The radio played low.