By the time Andrew returned to his apartment, Priya had already left. She had to report to the Mole Office that day so he had already expected that. Even so, he wished to have her company at that moment, after all the information that had just been forced onto him. He found a note on his refrigerator.

Won't be gone long, will be back for dinner. My turn to cook.

Andrew looked at the clock. It was five in the evening, at least another two hours to what they agreed was dinner time. He had asked Maya for the rest of the day off, hoping for some time to process and consider.

"Fine, but I want that report by Friday," she had said. 

Andrew slumped on the couch and turned on the television. Yet another documentary. This one was about the efforts in the terra-restoration zone, a domed area on the surface just a stone's throw away from Terran's main entrance. Here, scientists and engineers from the water, oxygen, and agricultural units were working on ways to restore Earth's original atmosphere and facilitate humanity's return to the surface. As far as Andrew knew, their efforts have only succeeded in making life underground better. Without a way to remove all the toxins in the air and return the blue to the sky, they might as well spend their time terraforming the Moon.

He changed the channel; this time it was a documentary on the history of reincarnation beliefs. Nothing exciting since he probably knew more than the producers. He changed the channel again, this time it was one on the history of the war against the Lemurians. He was there. Without a proper school system, some parents and teachers had decided to supplement children's education with a large selection of documentaries. Andrew just wanted to watch something funny. 

Frustrated, he turned off the television and slumped on the couch, thinking of the conversation he had just a few hours earlier. 

***

Rinpoche had called Maya and Hooke back in and asked the guard for two more chairs. The introduction was over.

"I don't get why the two of you have to leave the room," said Andrew. "It's not like I was saying anything about myself that you don't already know."

"They did it at my request," said Rinpoche. "I wanted to get to know you a little better, and it'll be easier for me to make objective observations without anyone who might influence your behavior." 

"I still don't know why you want to do this," said Maya. "I never did a psych-eval with Andrew when I hired him. Things turned out just fine."

"All will be explained. First, I have to ask if you know of soul cloning?" Rinpoche extended his palms to the three people on the opposite side of the table, an invitation to share.

"Should we have?" asked Hooke.

"I suppose not. It was a technology that the Lemurians once used about a thousand Earth-years ago. However, more enlightened thinkers had deemed the practice a little too unorthodox."

"More unorthodox than invading a planet and committing genocide?!" Andrew looked at Rinpoche's gentle demeanor in disbelief.

"Yes, Lemurians have their own set of moral standards. Anyway, just like how you clone animals and other humans, soul cloning recreates a soul from an existing signature. This soul can then be implanted in a functioning body and well, you get the idea."

The three of them looked at each other, then back at Rinpoche, unsure of what to think. Hooke broke the silence.

"You're saying that this technology allows us to play... "

"Oh heavens, no! If that were true, the whole process would be much simpler. No, no. A soul is a higher-dimensional object, and even the Lemurians are limited to the same three-dimensional perception that humans have. Do any of you have a piece of paper?"

Andrew took out a notebook he had kept in his pocket and tore off a page.

"Thank you. Now, when ancient Lemurians first made the soul, they would have to start off with a prototype in two-dimensions. Let's say this piece of paper is that prototype. Now, once it has undergone some quality control, they would then fold it, something like this... "

Rinpoche folded the paper several times.

"There, now previously, this piece of paper was spread flat in the spatial dimensions of length and breadth, and let's just say it had no thickness. Now after the folding, there is a clearer thickness, right? A new dimension has been added to this paper; the third spatial dimension of thickness."

"I get it!" Maya exclaimed excitedly. "So this means to get a complete soul, one would need to fold the prototype in other dimensions, ones that we normally would not be able to perceive!" 

"Hold on," Hooke interrupted. "I'm already having trouble grasping this whole idea of higher dimensions. Now you're telling us that it's possible to fold paper in the... what... fourth, fifth, sixth dimension?"

"Precisely! Well, not paper, but yes, that's the idea. You even got the number right. A complete soul is a six-dimensional object."

"Sure," said Andrew. "But something bothers me. Physical bodies can be made effectively alive without a soul. I am living proof of that, heck, my droid friend is proof of that. But the soul is like an individual's true identity, the essence of immortality, and you just described it like it's some  dead thing we can do Origami with. I can't believe that's all there is to it."

The room fell silent, even the tropical bird sounds seemed to stop, as if something divine had taken an interest in the answer.

"Your intuition is spot on," said Rinpoche, an incongruous look of solemnity now on his face. "Tell me, Andrew. Do you believe in God?"

***   

The apartment was now rich with the aroma of Sri Lankan beans as Andrew switched on the coffee maker for the third time that afternoon. Priya had once told him that drinking coffee was probably one of the worst ways to deal with stress, but to Andrew, it was a case of fighting fire with fire. Unable to sit still any longer, he began hopping up and down as he stared at the blinking cursor on his laptop. It was supposed to be a simple compilation of all the children he had interviewed, their past lives' identities, and the evidence supporting their claims. A simple matter that could have easily been knocked out in an hour now took him a micro-eternity, the bewildering things he had learned hacking away at his focus. He thought about asking Priya to hold off dinner, that maybe he needed some alone time. He had to keep all this 'voodoo' stuff on the down-low whenever she was around.  

Just as he was about to shut off his work for the day, there was a knock the door. Priya wasn't due to arrive for another hour, and Andrew wasn't really in the mood to deal with a potential stranger. He contemplated pretending not to be at home, but decided it might be Maya wanting to drop off some materials. He was wrong.

"Good evening, Sir. We are from the One Life Society. Do you have time to talk about our Lord and Savior... "

Andrew had no qualms about shutting the door in those people's faces. He made sure to give it a solid slam as he did so, in case they didn't register his contempt for them. They weren't as bad as the School of Reincarnation, at least they don't actively resent droids or preach about the triumphant return of the Lemurians, but they still got on people's nerves. They were mostly members of faiths that do not believe in reincarnation and hence reject anything that comes out from the CRS' mouth. Science deniers had always rubbed Andrew the wrong way, especially those who took refuge in thousand-year-old beliefs.

What made Andrew angrier was that some of their views might be valid.

***

"God?" Andrew shot a horrified look at Rinpoche. "No, absolutely not!"

Rinpoche's solemn look soon dissolved into slight bemusement, as if he had just heard the greatest contradictions to emerge from a learned man's mouth.

"You study reincarnation. Why is it so hard to believe that a God, or some higher power, might exist?"

"I... well... that would imply the Universe is made with some grand design! Much of modern science has shown that this isn't necessary!"

"Just because modern science has shown it's unnecessary doesn't mean that it isn't real. If you're talking about Occam's razor, don't forget that that is an entirely human construct."

"Based on sound evidence!"

Maya cut the two of them off with a quick wave of her hand.

"Can we get back to the point, please?" 

Rinpoche gave Maya a nod of understanding and Andrew a big wide smile.

"I'm sorry, I got carried away. Anyway, ancient Lemurians were confronted with a problem. They were a warring race and were constantly turning out physical clones to fight their battles. Soon though, these clones, being the sentient, thinking beings that they are, lamented over the fact that their non-cloned counterparts could be reincarnated and thus, be effectively immortal. They, however, had only one life and were expected to lay it down in combat."

Rinpoche paused, looking to gauge the engagement of his listeners. When he saw their gazes fixed on him, he continued.

"So the Lemurian scientists at the time developed the soul cloning technique, and then they discovered that this wasn't enough! The souls they had created were stuck in their fallen bodies. To use the analogy you all like so much, it was like tying an empty balloon to a flat object, it'll just flop about helplessly on the same plane. They needed to find a way to fill these balloons with air... " 

"Helium," Maya interjected.

"Right, helium. They needed to find a way to fill these balloons with helium so they can float in higher-dimensional space and away to a new body. Problem is, there is no known scientific way to do so. There were, however, supernatural ways."

Andrew was now visibly uncomfortable, constantly fidgeting in his seat. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear what Rinpoche was about to say next.

"The Lemurians thus begrudgingly called their old cults for help. These cults, eager to make a return to mainstream attention, said yes. They summoned... well... let's just say something. We don't know for sure if they summoned God, Gods, or some lesser entity, but it was effective. The balloons filled up and the clones became complete; mind, body, and soul."

"Why did they stop?" asked Hooke, now completely entranced by the tale. 

"What happens if you summon God one too many times? The Lemurians created millions, maybe billions of fully-souled soldiers. According to what records they had, the cultists lost their minds, choosing to cast themselves into the void of space rather than breathe life into another cloned soul. By that time, it no longer mattered. The Lemurian army had more than enough for their never-ending conquest."

There was a good five seconds of silence just as Rinpoche finished his story. Maya was the first one to speak.

"When we met all those years go, you told me that you only knew the basics of reincarnation science since, and I quote, 'I was just a soldier'. What you just said does not sound like something a soldier should know." 

"That's not true at all!" replied Rinpoche. "Most soldiers know this story. After all, like most of them, I'm a cloned soul too!"

***

"A cloned soul... God... " Andrew's throat was dry from all the coffee and he had dowsed the acids with floods of water. His heart was racing from all the caffeine, and he was starting to sweat in an air-conditioned room. He did this whenever there was something really heavy on his mind. He had done it when he learned of his family's death, and he had done it when he learned what the enemy could do. He was doing it at that moment when his world view had just taken another blow. He started doing jumping jacks, then push-ups, then sit-ups, his sweat now a torrential flush that darkened his shirt. He felt his heart about to explode, and he almost wanted it to explode, to send those feelings flying out of his chest and into the enigma that was this world, this very confusing and senseless world. He then remembered that there was nothing waiting for him after death, so he let himself fall to the floor, drowning in his own breath.

"I need to talk to someone," Andrew found himself saying out loud. He looked at the time; Priya was coming in about ten minutes. There was no way he could let her see him like this. Would she even listen to him? He sent her a text.

Sorry babe. Urgent matter at CRS, will be home late. 

She had once told him that Sun Dancer customers were fond of canceling at the last minute, a result of what she calls 'expert-tease' where a droid apparently fixes itself just before the experts arrived. What kind of tease was this going to be? She must have already bought the food. He could only hope she hadn't used her own meat rations. After putting on a change of clothes, he walked out the door and nearly sprinted into the dimming lights.

***

"I don't think I can approve of this," said Hooke, rubbing the sides of their nose before burying their face in a palm. 

"But Hooke! This is huge! Do you not realize what this all means?" Maya protested.

"Of course I do! That's why I can't approve of it! Besides, you want to summon God to play God, do you not see how ridiculous this is?"

Rinpoche kept silent as the two bickered among themselves in the corner of the room. Andrew too ignored them, keeping his focus on the man who had just dumped some heavy lore. 

"What were you doing when we were alone? You said you wanted to get to know me better, but I still don't know anything about you," he asked accusingly. 

"That was honestly just me trying to get to know you better, understand a little about who I'm working with. The mind of Thongwa Yeshe is a compassionate one, but the mind of Lemurian soldier 8214 is less trusting, having been taught that all other species are nothing more than insects to be crushed."

"Huh!" Andrew now felt that his initial skepticism was at least somewhat justified. "I take it then that your compassionate side won over the other."

"No, there was no fighting. The two sides have learned to understand each other and live in harmony. They know the power of understanding, and that's why I would like to understand as much as I can."

"Oh yeah? What do you understand about me then?"

"You are awfully reticent about the fact that you have lost your soul. You described that moment with so much detachment it felt like it happened to somebody else. You seemed more concerned about the SoR and the fact that research progress had been slow. I find it hard to believe that these are important matters when you know that everyone but you is immortal."

A frown was forming on Andrew's face. He wasn't sure that he liked where this was going. 

"This is my compassionate side talking now," Rinpoche continued. "It's not healthy to bottle up feelings like this. Let them out, you'll likely live longer that way."

Andrew leaned back, away from the man who was now getting too close.

"Maya, 2IC, I think I'm ready to go now."

***

If there was someone Andrew could always count on to be alone in the evening, it would be Maya. She had no family left, and she had no interest in starting another one. Some of the other scientists at CRS said that her eccentricities were a result of the great loss she had suffered, though they admit they didn't know her before the invasion began. 

"Oh! Andrew! This is a surprise! Are you not spending the night with Priya?" 

"I need someone I can talk to... about this morning," Andrew was still panting. 

"Ok... Come on in. I'll make coffee."

"No, no coffee... not right now."

The two sat in silence for several minutes, shying away from any eye contact. Andrew realized that he had rushed over here on impulse, without thinking of what to say. Maya was never good at small talk, especially with someone who she was not supposed to get close to. Andrew's mind wavered between thoughts, unable to hold one for long enough to turn into sentences. Maya had yet to turn on the lights in her apartment, and as the artificial sun began to dim, they became ensconced in a darkness that matched the silence. In the end, it was she who started speaking.

"So... crazy day, huh!"

"What's up with Rinpoche?" 

Maya was taken aback by Andrew's abrupt question. She leaned to the side of her couch and switched on the lamp, trying to cast light on the words she knew were coming.

"I don't trust him, Maya. I don't like how he got so much out of me when I got nothing out of him. I still don't know why he's helping us, why he wants to help me, and why he's not like the other Possessed!"

"Andrew, I already told you before we met him. He really does just want to help humanity, out of compassion. We were obviously skeptical at first, but he did fly here in a stolen Lemurian craft with a whole set of tools and weapons. Then he just gave them all to us and surrendered willingly! He even wrote instructions for each one of them in case we killed him before he could explain himself."

"Well, why didn't he tell me that? And wouldn't it also make sense for him to talk to you and Hooke before bringing me into the picture? Why did he have to spring this onto me? It's just messing me up!"

"We did talk with him the day before, and he did tell us about soul cloning," replied Maya, her usual poise of haughtiness absent. "He just didn't tell us about the whole 'summoning God' thing. Where did that come from anyway? That question you asked about the whole thing not feeling right?"

Andrew sighed and looked away from Maya. 

"It was kind of a spur of a moment kind of thing. I just felt that when I lost my soul, I lost a whole lot of other things too. I didn't actually expect him to drop that bombshell on us." 

Maya shook her head, annoyed by Andrew's sloppy yet effective approach. 

"Look, we trust him, ok? Without him, I wouldn't have Lemurian technology to reverse engineer, and we'd probably all be dead right now, if not slaves to the Lemurians. Thanks to him, we now know for sure there is life after death, and that it is possible to influence it to some degree. So naturally, we trust his decisions."

"Come on! What if he was playing the long con? Why did he wait until now to tell me about soul cloning, when he had known of my existence for several years?"

Maya got up from her couch and walked into her bedroom. She returned a minute later, holding a light blue folder.

"I think a lot of your questions could have been answered if you hadn't suddenly asked to leave, but I don't blame you. It's a lot to take in. I can speak with Hooke and Rinpoche to see if we can arrange another meeting soon, but for now, why don't you take a look at this report."

Andrew took the folder from Maya and opened it up. Inside was a stack of neatly stapled papers, and on the top was one with the title: On the Acquisition of Possessed Subject 0215: Thongwa Yeshe. 

"You bring this sort of thing home?" Andrew asked, slightly concerned.

"Nah, just copies I can easily burn," replied Maya with a wide grin.

###

Next: Scarier than Nukes, to be uploaded on 22-August-2020, before 1200 Singapore time