"Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature." ,

An unseen honeycomb far above us dribbled amber liquid across the morning sky. Riding in the vehicle with the seats faced toward the front, with the manual control engaged by a driver, the drive felt less surreal than the day before. Maybe that was the point. It might have been their small act of kindness toward a person lost in a foreign land. Our car snaked around the slope, where the lights hadn't touched the night before. Crops that looked like grain grew in fields on either side of the road, although the plants were darker coloured than they would have been back home. I watched them ripple in the breeze as we drove. After a period of silence, Gem said to the driver, "Pull over at Twisted Grove."

Under my breath, I added, "Please."

The driver turned into a little parking area at the side of the road. We got out in front of a small grove of trees. A wooden walkway wound through the brambles. "I think we both need to see something pretty," Gem said, bobbing his head toward the path. He began to walk on the boardwalk without glancing back to make sure I was following, stopping beneath a twisted bough that passed low over the walkway. Walking up behind him, I discovered a beautiful view from the spot where he stood. Limbs that lay on the ground wound around each other like lovers lost in licentiousness, while others ran straight for meters before they turned at sharp angles to wrap around the trunks of neighbouring trees. Branches reached out for their paramours, separated from them by a few meters of black soil. Hands linked. Boughs twisted in the shape of hearts—a few of these were cracked and broken.

"There's a grove just like this back home," I said to Gem's back. "Our class stopped by after going on a field trip to the museum in North Battleford."

"I remember." He turned to face me. "You looked for a long time at a sign that listed theories about why the trees were so strange."

"In the end, I decided I'd rather not know."

I kept to myself how jealous I'd felt, watching Casper stand beneath a branch that looked like it was touching his shoulder. It wasn't long before I'd started to shiver, thinking maybe there was a branch hanging just over my shoulder; someone's eyes on my own back, wishing they could touch me as much as I wanted to touch Casper. I'd been too afraid to turn around.

"What's going to happen when we get to the Penitentiary?" I asked, desperate to shake off the memory.

"If we're lucky, we'll have enough time to talk about what's happened to you. Maybe we'll be able to get a few answers from our prisoners."

"And what if we aren't lucky?"

"The Ministry will take the detainees before we get a chance. For all we know, they might let them go."

"Don't they realize what's at stake?"

Gem shrugged. "Do we know?"

I scowled. "I think I figured it out around the time I discovered how Denovo killed my brother."

"I'm sorry, Rory. I didn't mean it like that. My brother is—"

"Cruel?" I interrupted.

"Deceptive," Gem said, heading toward the car. He stopped to catch my eyes as he opened the door. "Keep your temper in check if you see my brother there. Can you do that?"

"I can try. I do not promise anything."

"I guess that's the best I can hope for." Gem shut the door behind me after I got in. After several minutes of slow driving, we stopped in front of a metal gate that blocked the road.

Armed guards exited shacks and approached both sides of the vehicle. "Identification," one of them said to Gem. He put his hand on a pad the guard presented to him. The guard standing next to my window held out a similar pad so that my hand could be scanned. Alarms began to blare. The next thing I knew, there were guns pointed at us.

"Permission to exit the vehicle," Gem calmly requested.

"Slowly," the guard next to his window said.

Gem got out and told the man, "I can explain. Stop and think. You know who would have the same handprint as I do."

"But... But how?" The man went white and just stared at me until Gem cleared his throat. "I will open the gates," he said. Gem got back into the car. We waited in silence as the gates groaned open. The only word to describe the expression on the guard's face as we passed through was reverence.

Our progress halted around one kilometre past the gates. Once again, we waited. After a minute, the hillside blocking our path began to slide to the side, revealing a hollow metallic shell that opened into a tunnel. We entered the tunnel and began to move at a downward angle. Our car crept along for another two minutes before entering a cavernous space where vehicles of various sizes and descriptions were lined up in neat rows. We got out and began to walk. The sound of our footsteps ricocheted off the stone walls. The air of the parking garage was chilly and damp, making me think we'd probably driven under the harbour. Gem's brisk pace was a struggle to match. It only allowed me enough time for a sideways glance at a couple of the most significant vehicles. Parabolic indentations with hammers positioned over striking surfaces made these particular vehicles hard to ignore. My best guess was that they were ultrasonic devices: The indentations likely amplifying vibrations that were created by the hammers.

The tunnel exited on the bottom level of a pyramid-shaped room that reminded me of pictures I'd seen of the interior of the Luxor in Las Vegas. The space in the middle was open, giving an almost unobstructed view to the pinnacle where there was a giant Penitent symbol suspended by chains. Story after story of walkways looked down to the floor. Rooms lined the walls on the periphery of each level. On the bottom floor were openings of various sizes that lead to other tunnels. Above rows of desks on the bottom floor, there were screens and control panels. Directly under the dangling symbol of the kneeling figure at the center of the building, Pastor Doral stood on a raised platform. I followed Gem as he weaved around people. He stopped in front of the older man and stood at attention.

"At ease, Partner Gemini," Pastor Doral said. Gem watched out of the corner of his eyes as Pastor Doral walked in a circle around me. My muscles twitched. He finally asked me, "Are you rested?"

"Yes, thank you. I want to see Casper now, please. I've waited long enough," I said.

My stomach churned as a shadow passed over Gem's face. Pastor Doral's brow wrinkled. "Casper isn't here?" I squeaked. Filled with anger, I turned toward Gem and screamed, "You told me Casper was safe! I should have insisted on seeing him. How could I relax before I knew he was safe? How could you let me?"

The room began to spin. Gem caught me under the arms as my knees gave out. He lowered me to an office chair. I put my foot against Gem's thigh and pushed as hard as I could, sending the chair careening backward until it ran into one of the desks. Gem straightened his posture and said, "I didn't see the point—"

"You don't get to decide what I'm allowed to know! If I asked you a question, the only thing you should have done is give me an honest answer. I already have too much guilt to carry for not doing enough to show Casper that I cared for him without adding this load. Where is Casper? Do you even know? Would you tell me if you did?"

"After what you went through, I thought you deserved to feel safe for a night," Gem said.

"Even if that decision permanently costs you my trust?"

Gem's expression looked pinched. "Casper wasn't at the theatre. We don't have any leads. All we know is that Denovo moved him to a secondary location. After everything you'd been through, I couldn't stand the thought of telling you before you had a chance to rest—" Gem suddenly stopped speaking and stared behind me. I followed the path of his eyes and landed on two guards leading Denovo along the outer edge of the room. I launched myself at Denovo, but I didn't get far. Gemini threw himself in front of me. His fingers pressed painfully into my muscles as he guided me back to Pastor Doral.

"Why would you allow Denovo to be traipsed through here if you had no intention of letting me confront him?" I shouted at Pastor Doral.

"You're going to have to get used to seeing—" Denovo's laughter rang against the stone tunnel he was lead into, cutting off Pastor Doral's words about what he thought I'd have to get used to seeing.

I leaned into Gem's shoulder and quietly spoke into his ear, "Casper never would have taken my safety for granted. He would have insisted on seeing me."

I wouldn't have blamed Casper if he'd shunned me when he realized I was the reason he was in danger. Instead, he pushed aside his fear for his safety and put my needs first. He did everything Denovo demanded, no matter how demeaning, hoping it would be enough to keep us safe. I knew that I'd let Casper down by not doing anything I could to help him, even if it cost me everything. Pastor Doral interrupted my thoughts by saying, "We're working hard to locate your friend. In the meantime, there's a lot we need to understand. Please, sit down so we can talk."

I couldn't fail Casper once again by refusing to cooperate; not if there was a chance I knew something that might help him. I went back to the chair, sat down and stared at my feet. It felt as if I was floating in a pool filled with porridge. "Let's get on with this. What do you need to know?" I said to Pastor Doral.

"Do you know where you were pulled through? Why were brought here?" Pastor Doral asked me.

"Denovo didn't exactly lay out his master plan. I'm just lucky he didn't put a bullet in my brain the moment I stopped being useful. I was at an observatory when I came here, but I have no idea where I ended up on this side. As for the rest of your question, I don't presume to understand Denovo's plans."

One look at Gem told me I wouldn't be able to keep the propaganda films Denovo had forced us to help him create from him. After all, I'd been furious with Gem for keeping things from me. "There's something I need to tell you," I said. I watched Gem's expression transition from curiosity to disgust as I confessed the whole story. I couldn't blame him for not being able to hide it.

"The implications are worse than you've guessed," Pastor Doral said to Gem as I finished.

"What do you mean?" Gem asked him.

"I know who Rory and Casper were pretending to murder in that scene," Pastor Doral answered.

Gem's face drained of blood. He sputtered, "It can't be. How could it be?"

"Are you going to let me in on your theory?" I said.

"You were acting out the murder of the Prime Minister's second self," Pastor Doral said.

"But that must mean—"

Pastor Doral finished my thought, "Two days ago, our Prime Minister dropped dead in the middle of giving a speech in Parliament."

Gem looked like he was going to be sick. I almost asked him where his lecture about euphemisms was now, but for once kept myself from blurting the first impulsive thought that crossed my mind. Instead, I told them, "Denovo made me announce in front of the audience in the theatre that I'd brought myself to Incepterrene to finish what I'd started on Earth."

"We have a custom of appointing the Penitent leader as Interim Prime Minister in the event of the sudden death or incapacitation of our elected leader. Denovo is setting a trap," Gem said. As he pushed his fingers through his hair, Gem looked as if he was pulling the pin on a grenade. He looked ready to march down the hall, find his brother, and beat him to death with his bare hands.

"I believe the two of you need a break. I need to consult with some people about the conclusions we've drawn together. Gemini, maybe you could take Rory to the Moon Pool? Come back in about an hour," Pastor Doral said.

~ ~ ~

The walls glittered in the light cast by the fixtures spread out every few meters as if we were travelling into a gold mine. This place was filled with Fool's Gold. "Things didn't go well for Charlie in the Moon Pool," I muttered.

"Not Penny's boat," Gemini said quietly.

"You've watched Lost?" I asked him, understanding right away how ridiculous my question was. Just like Gem had been forced to live through my Leonardo DiCaprio phase, I also knew that he couldn't help but remember a few things about Lost. Gem just nodded.

"My brother told me the reason I watched the show so many times was that I didn't understand it," I said.

"You mean the ending? Nobody understood," Gem said, flashing me a grin.

"Death. That's what my brother was talking about."

Gem's smile disappeared. "To be fair, the only way a person can understand death is....Well, you know."

"Yeah, I know," I mumbled.

The tunnel widened as we walked, opening into a space filled with quivering, viridian light that cascaded into the room through an aquarium ceiling that held back the water on the other side. We weren't alone. On a raised platform, a man stood dressed in robes that were the same shade as the water. He sang, as dancers twisted around each other, imitating the movement of seaweed underwater. The sound of his voice vibrated through the crystalline ceiling with a haunting tintinnabulation. The voices of a woman and man who stood on two other raised platforms rose and fell in imitation of whale song. A woman sat on the floor between the platforms. The faces of a group of children seated around her looked at us over tiny shoulders as we walked around the room.

"They're looking at you. Your presence on Incepterrene is the worst kept secret in recent Penitent history," the woman said to me.

"Why would they care?" I asked her.

She didn't answer right away, giving me a moment to examine her more closely. Her presently gray hair might once have matched her dark skin. Her face was smooth and lineless, contradicting the signs of age in her hands and hair. Purple as lilacs in the height of bloom, it was her eyes that were her most remarkable feature.

"My name is Partner Paully. The reason the children care is that it has never happened before. Not even when Incepterrians could pass through the membrane to Earth. Humans have never crossed to our side. Being able to watch you walk around with Gemini is a miracle, so the children are naturally amazed. Children, this is Rory Lyon. She is second self to Partner Gemini." They let out a collective gasp. The woman swooped her hand in a motion that mirrored the ellipse of students seated in front of her.

"Please, sit down with us. We're in the middle of a lesson." Imitating their cross-legged positions on the floor, I sat down amongst them and listened as the woman continued her lesson to the children.

"Today, I'll teach a particular lesson since we have a special guest. The most important thing to remember is that all Incepterrians are Sentinels, whether or not we have a second self. We are the guardians of our minds, spirits, and the thread of conscience that links our people to each other. In seeking forgiveness for our sins, we find abundant grace to share with others. We must remember what happened when the energy lines that joined Earth to Incepterrene were active. Our people used them to rob the Earth of resources. Humans were different back then. They struggled for survival. Our leaders said the resources of Earth were wasted on humans, even suggesting we should create colonies by slaughtering the humans for their land.

"That's when the change happened. Members of the killing squads died, all at the same time, after crossing back to Incepterrene. The gates slammed shut. The energy lines couldn't be used anymore to pass to Earth. They first noticed the fatal connection in the people directly connected to the genocide. In the millennia since then, we've come to realize complicity is a little more complicated than we originally believed. Nobody is immune.

"The punishment we faced for our sins seemed relentless. The only relief we found was in choosing to transform the connection into something other than punishment. We realized that humans could help us see our lives. They could focus our prayers. They could be a daily exercise in Empathy. Sentinels don't believe we can erase the sins of humanity with our prayers, or our deaths. In our prayers, we ask for blessings to be given to humans, and to be united in death with them so that we can speak to them at least once in our lives."

The thought of Gem wanting to join me in death was enough to drive me to scream. Knowing these truths seemed pointless if it couldn't be changed. Nobody should be bound to another person—not without consultation or consent. They needed to understand that at least how they reacted to this mess was within their control. "Anyone worthy of that kind of devotion would be quick to reject it. I suspect there are more crappy people in the world than these kinds. What point is there in a bond to a human who can't even find purpose in their existence, never mind inspire someone else to find meaning in life?"

Gem's face was red with embarrassment. His shame at my words was something I refused to accept, not when I knew that I was only pointing out the obvious. Some people weren't worth getting hurt over.

Partner Paully softly answered, "Empathy is more work when you hate the person. In such cases, the sacrifice is greater than when you love them."

The children squirmed uncomfortably in the silence that fell. Partner Paully smiled reassuringly at them before asking, "Would you like to tell the children a story?"

The kids glanced at me with excitement beaming from their faces.

The problem was that I couldn't think of a story that would be funny enough to lighten the mood. "What kind of story do you think I should tell?" I finally asked.

"They'd find it fascinating if you belched the alphabet," Gem said.

"Let your heart decide what story it needs to tell," Paully answered. I looked around the semi-circle of children and saw a canvas painted in many shapes and hues, just like most elementary classes on Earth. The question I faced was what picture I could paint for them to show a piece of my heart. The only thing that came to mind was Daniel's freckled face. I began as soon as the children stopped squirming. "My brother was my protector."

"Like Gemini?" A little girl asked, gazing admiringly at him.

I glanced at Gemini and noticed he had a pinched expression as if he was having trouble sitting cross-legged like the children. I shook my head at the girl and said, "Not like Gemini. It was different. I could touch my brother. He was my blood." The children gasped as if I'd blasphemed.

"How many of you have a brother or sister?" Gemini asked the children. Most of them put up a hand. Gemini nodded. "How many of you have a second self?" Only one little girl kept her hands at her side. The other children threw her pitying glances.

"Your siblings need you more than your second self. Rory can hear and remember me now, but it was her brother who was there for her during the years she couldn't. Hopefully, you have the kind of family who will be there for you, because there's no way your second self ever will be. Not unless they happened to be like Rory. As far as we know, Rory is one of a kind. What I'm trying to tell you is that you shouldn't turn your back on your family for the sake of a second self who can't appreciate your sacrifice. There's an expression on Earth: 'Blood is thicker than water.' People tend to forget the original expression was closer to, 'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.' In our case, we can't mistake what we have with our second self as being a covenant. They didn't choose this relationship any more than we did." The little I knew about Gemini's relationship with Denovo was enough to tell me he wasn't talking about how things were, but rather how he wished they could be.

Looking around at the children, I saw several hands fly to their chests. Glancing over to Paully, I saw her mouth curl like a comma, turning her face into an incomplete sentence. She gestured for me to continue, so I picked up where I left off.

"I used to have days where I felt trapped in someone else's dream. I worried that I would disappear if the person woke-up. One day my brother took me to a cemetery and told me to choose a gravestone. He wanted to tell me the story of a person's life. I picked the stone of a person who'd died of old age. He told me about her happy childhood, her loving family, and friends who stayed by her side all of her life. The parts I liked the best were the ones about friends since I didn't have any of my own. My brother told me about important first-time experiences in her life: Kisses, loves, and heartbreaks. She had a career, marriage, children, and grandchildren. When she died, it was the next natural step. She wasn't afraid."

Glancing at Gem, I saw in his eyes an unfocused, faraway look. It was if he'd been transported back in time by my story. The children looked lost in their imaginations. "Did you choose a second stone?" Paully asked.

I nodded.

"I selected a lamb shaped marker that was placed for a child. It sat at the foot of an adult woman I'd guess was her grandmother, based on the dates. Where I come from, children used to be buried with family members this way." Several children shuffled closer at the mention the other place that all of them knew was so intimately connected to their own lives.

"What did your brother tell you about the child?" Paully said.

"He told me the boy was born sick, but he might not have died if he'd been born today."

"That must have scared you," Paully said.

"My brother made it better by telling me how the baby's sister grew up and named her first child after him and how his family came to visit his grave."

"As soon as those people died, there'd be nobody left to remember the boy. Didn't that bother you?"

"Not really. I told myself that he'd became part of my brother's story."

"Your brother's story wasn't true. How could it be? He didn't know the child. For all you know, none of the things your brother said were true, including the part where anyone remembered the boy."

"Right. That was my brother's point. The facts of the boy's life didn't change because of my brother's story. Telling the story didn't bring the boy back to life. Stopping didn't wipe the boy's existence from the fabric of time. My brother said the purpose of stories is to help us understand and feel better about our lives, but they don't change anything. Nobody created me in a story. I won't disappear because they stop telling my tale."

Paully looked around at the children and said, "A story told to the correct people can change the world."

"If those stories make you change the way you live your life," I said.

A girl with braided hair tugged on my pants. She gazed up at me with eyes the same shade of green as Daniel's and asked, "Where do you take us when we die?"

As far as I knew, there wasn't any religion on Earth that included an explanation of where the interdimensional beings who were connected to our spirits went when we died. We didn't take them anywhere, as far as I knew. I decided to answer the question with a reduced version of the lyrics of an Iris Dement song, Let the Mystery Be. "Some say when you're gone, it's forever. You don't come back. There isn't anywhere you go. Some say you rest in God's arms—"

Noticing a couple of children were drawing circles on their palms, and a few more were glancing at Paully for reassurance, I decided to change my strategy.

"My brother left his body. Casper, a friend of mine, was taught different things about what happens to our spirit after death. Having different beliefs about this is common on Earth because the truth is that we can't know for sure. My mom believes in Heaven.

My dad never told me what he believes. I can't know for sure where my brother went when he passed away. Until it happens to us, we can't know. I'm sorry for not having a better answer."

Partner Paully and Gem said in unison, "We live in hope." The children echoed them.

After a few seconds of silence, Gem whispered, "We need to head back to Pastor Doral."

"I have to go," I told the children. They all smiled and waved, except for the child who hadn't put her hand up earlier. I crouched in front of her and whispered, "Don't despair if it never happens for you. Wait and see if you don't receive a gift of greater value. You will get a chance to understand yourself better than any of them."

For a moment, the child's eyebrows scrunched together. As we turned to leave, I noticed her forehead smooth, and a smile spread across her face.