Elysium Chapter 6

Maeve uses a digital afterlife service provider; 'Elysium'. This follows her journey.

6

          Maeve spent about half a day mulling around the flat; uncertain of what to do with herself. The temptation to obsess over Juno had faded. If Juno didn't want anything to do with her then; likewise. She had no interest in watching her partner move on without her, let alone; moving on with Miranda in Canada.

          Eventually, she cleared away the empty ice cream tubs and pizza boxes. 'Clearing away' may not be entirely accurate. She manifested it all away. A power she really could have used when she was still alive.

          Walking into the living room, she spotted the copy of 'So you're dead — your guide to the hereafter' laying on the coffee table exactly where she had left it 3 days ago. The screen was still on, even. Still on the page. Electricity didn't matter in this place. Technology never died... ironically.

          There's nothing else to do, she mused. Picking up the tablet and relaxing into the couch she manifested a coffee and a mountain of chicken tenders. She of course didn't experience hunger, anymore but eating was still enjoyable. She swiped to the next page.

         

So you're dead — Chapter 2:

         

Go touch grass

          By now,—if you completed the manifesting section and mastered the ability—you have, most likely, become quite bored, no? Having everything you ever wanted can be that way.

          Maeve found herself nodding in agreement. Though, she wasn't sure why. Neither points were really a reflection of her current situation: She wasn't quite sure an infinite ice cream and pizza supply counted as adequate manifestation practice and as for having every she wanted; not a chance. All the same, she was curious as to what came next.

          The Elysium Cooperation is fully aware of this issue and this indeed posed quite the problem among earlier settlers in Elysium.

          In short; The mind cannot entertain itself forever. So, why are you trying to? You don't exist in a bubble. Choosing Elysium means you are connected to all of Elysium's other service-users or 'deceased' if you prefer. Think of it like a holiday park. If you wish you can remain in your chalet never to interact with the outside world, alternatively, should you wish, you could see what's on... Simply go outside and explore. To be blunt: Go touch grass.

          Maeve looked at the front door. Outside? Others? It was an odd feeling. After being able to control everything around her for the last few days (physically at least); the thought of other people, other people's wills—separate from her own—scared her. It wasn't such a ridiculous thing to be scared of; The will of others had caused her much pain and grief in her short life. This was different, though; it was as if she was scared of others even having simple free will. Like the terror one would feel if the characters in a videogame were suddenly sentient, observing the player, watching, judging.

          Then again; what was there to be scared of anymore? She couldn't die, nothing in the world could hurt her. Her mind went back to Miranda staring at the cemetery entrance ... well ... almost nothing.

          She made a decision; focusing on her satchel hung up in its usual place on the door she began reaching out to it, beckoning it. In true Jedi fashion she was able to summon the bag to her left arm as if carried on an invisible wave of magnetism. It swung slightly as it landed on her shoulder. She did the same with the tablet; this time overshooting the levitation slightly almost sending the tablet crashing to the ceiling but in the end caught it as it came back down again; scooping at the air, like catching a fly and jamming it into her satchel.

          She stood facing the front door. Terrified by that absolute unknowableness of it all, but equally curious by it too. Grasping the handle firmly, she pushed open the door to the back alley sunlight blazing as always from a sun that wasn't there. She felt the breeze tunneling its way down the path as she made her way out into the unknown country.

          After a few minutes of walking through the small English village of Queensbury—her home for the last ten years—she decided to take a route she had never taken before. It was a safe enough bet that most of the village was just as she remembered, exactly because of that; it's what she remembered. Occasionally she came across street signs with nothing on them or text that looked AI generated; fragments of text. Then again, she had never taken the time to see what was on them. It hadn't mattered during her life.

          She wanted to know what would happen if she went somewhere she never had during her life. A country lane was as good a place as any to start.

          Just like the wordless/wordish signs she had passed in the village. The forest was strange; 'Forest-ish' was more accurate. It was made—she assumed—from what she remembered was in a forest. All those Geography and Biology lessons, coming in handy for once.

          Up in the distance, she saw signs of life. Some kind of building in the trees. Looking back she could see the path had wound in such a way that Queensbury was no longer visible. She was definitely not in a world of her own anymore. As she got closer to the clearing the smell of freshly baked cakes and scones reached her before she could see what it was: A black and white Tudor style tea room cafe, in the middle of nowhere.

          The area outside the entrance of the cafe was a marvelous thing: intricate geometric brickwork, six wooden tables shaded by striped green and white parasols, all bathed by an equally striped golden glow that filtered through the tree line. They were real wooden tables too, not chipboard nonsense made to look like the real thing. There was a smell to them mixed in with the scent of scones and jam.

          Sitting on the table nearest to the entrance was a man in his fifties drinking a cup of tea, smoking a pipe and reading a book. He noticed Maeve stepping through the clearing and beckoned her to come chat.
          Maeve didn't quite know what to say. She hadn't said anything in three days or so since the Juno bingeing had begun. She knew she should say something so in the end she asked simply; "W...what are you reading?"

          The older man smiled a kind soft smile. "My dear, everything, anything. It's wonderful. When I was still alive I never had the time to do this... just sit and read. A million voices, a million things to be done. No time to just slow down and be ... you know?"

          Maeve returned his smile and sat across from him at the table. Looking at the header on the page he was on she read 'Great expectations.'

          "A classic, today... That's what I felt like. Charles always had a way of making his characters so... real... didn't he?" With trembling hands he clipped a brass ornate bookmark to the page he was on and shut the book to turn his full attention to his visitor.

          Maeve was doing well so far so attempted another question "Is this your... um..."

          "Little piece of heaven?" He asked, laughing to himself. "Yes... yes it is."

          Maeve appreciated the joke. Sharon could take lessons from this guy she thought to herself.

          "Edmund." The man shook Maeve's hand. They were warm hands, soft and wrinkled. "...and you are?"

          Maeve felt so embarrassed to have seemingly forgotten all social rules of engagement within such a short span of time. She shook her head a little, smiling, as if shaking the cobwebs away. "Maeve. Sorry I'm..."

          "New... I can tell. It's all quite a lot to take in isn't it? I mean when I signed up for Elysium I didn't know what to expect but I didn't expect all this." He held up his hand as a butterfly perched itself gently on his fingers. "An entire world at our fingertips. It really is quite something isn't it?"

          Maeve watched his hand tremble again and had to ask. "Why are you..."

          "Old?" He winked at her smiling. His ability to sense what she was thinking and what she was going to say spoke volumes about Edmunds intelligence; it was a warm intelligence, bright and inviting like a crackling fire but sharp and refined like a diamond. "It's what I came to know." He motioned to the tablet sticking out of her satchel. "I've read that section too." He waved his hand over the copy of great expectations the book morphed into a hardback copy of 'So you're dead' but leather bound as it had been before. "Not the best read. I must say; too corporate. But yes, I considered making myself young again but what need do I have for it here? I don't feel pain. Every day is a new adventure and I am old enough now to know I needn't feel undue shame over what I am... After all It's our flaws that make us human. If they were ever even flaws to begin with."

         The wind brushed the trees gently as splashes of light seeped in.

          "That was beautiful." Maeve said.

          "Yes it was rather, wasn't it? One moment." Edmund waved his hand with purpose over the oaken panels of the table a book with scribbles appeared in a glow of light as he snapped a fountain pen into existence. He brought the pen to the paper with hand trembling less but then hesitated looking slightly into the distance. "What was it I said, Maeve?

          "Um... something about flaws making us who we are." Maeve couldn't quite remember how he had said it.

          Edmund let out a laugh in spite of himself. "Even here I can never quite get to the pen in time. Bloody writing" He closed the book and held it to his chest. His soft gentle laughter was infectious as it blended with the chatter of birds and sound of a babbling brook somewhere in the distance.

          Maeve couldn't help but join in. After a few moments of joy she probed further. "You're a writer?"

          "Oh aren't we all, Maeve?" he asked. "Writing each scene of our life with every moment; a new chapter with every season of our lives. But yes, in my life, I gave it a jolly good go. I never won a Pulitzer or anything but if my writing reached even just one person; I shall think myself extraordinarily blessed."

          A bark sounded from the building; out came a small push tray with french fancies and a pot of tea. The tray was pulled along by a russell terrier—bizarrely—using a leather strap tied to the handle. The dog was graceful and slowed as he approached the table. He then dropped the tether, proceeding to yip happily running circles at Edmund's feet.

          "Good boy, Bertrand." Edmund dropped the book on the table, picked the dog up and pet and nuzzled him. "My dog. He's a very good boy."

          Maeve was taken aback for a moment by how absurd yet wholesome the whole scene was.

          "I'm a writer too." Maeve said.

          Edmund looked up at Maeve. "A writer or an author?" He asked not in a cold way but inquisitively and playfully.

          "What's the difference?" She asked.

          "Well," Edmund gave the dog a few more pets "A writer just writes things but an author gives their reader something they have never considered before." Carefully navigating the cup around Betrand he took a sip of tea. "Sorry, couldn't help myself, had that one pulled on me when I was a young writer... not yet an author, I suppose." He smiled. "What have you written, my dear?"

          "Oh, just sci-fi schlock really: 'Light beyond the void', 'Aeon's End' 'From here to Andromeda'?"

          Edmund motioned over his book once more the cover changed into a collection of her books. "I shall have to give them a thorough read, thank you."

          Maeve gave a small nod thanking him back.

          "Now, I suspect, on some level, you're at somewhat of a loss of where you're going next, no?" Edmund hadn't missed a beat and this time was no different. "If you aren't busy, and after some tea of course, might I suggest The Green? There's a bandstand there and I believe there's a brass concert in an hour or two."

          Maeve nodded. It was nice to have met someone that made her feel human again.

***

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Elysium Chapter 5  (13+) Maeve uses a digital afterlife service provider; 'Elysium'. This follows her journey. #2340232 by M

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