Why would Ori want to meet here? Jessica parked her royal blue rental car in the near-empty parking lot of Medlock Park. She hadn’t met up with Ori since their encounter in Nicaragua. However, Jessica couldn’t help but question if that interaction counted as a meeting.
The empty baseball fields at the park were frosted with white from the early morning dew. Jessica imagined how packed this park must get during baseball season. She looked at the dashboard clock. It was four forty-five. I’m a little early. She got out of the car and walked around the park grounds to explore and stretch her legs. As she walked, she saw the first signs of activity. A woman was wearing a bright yellow reflective vest, walking her two dogs along the path. Jessica also saw an elderly couple making their way to a bench in front of the playground. The morning had a pleasant mist, and it was surprisingly warm for an autumn morning.
Jessica walked down the concrete path toward the largest baseball field. She saw a figure sitting on a green bench in the distance. Could that be him? As she got closer, she saw that it was not. She slowed her pace when she saw another man emerge from the thick fog around the wooded path on the opposite side of the field. She could tell by his walk, even from a distance, that it was Ori. The man on the bench stood up, and he and Ori had a short exchange. As Jessica approached, the man shook Ori’s hand and continued onto the path, eventually disappearing around the corner.
“Good morning, Jessica,” Ori said with a smile as he walked toward her. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” Jessica replied. “Is this real this time?”
Ori laughed. “As opposed to what?”
“I don’t know, a dream,” Jessica suggested. “Basically, should I expect to wake up on my couch or something?”
Ori laughed again. “No, you won’t wake up on your couch. And even if you did, it doesn’t necessarily mean that something isn’t real. But…” Ori paused. “We’ll get into that later.”
Ori’s clothes were not what Jessica expected. He was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt with a hood, black joggers, and a pair of black-and-white running shoes. He also had on a baseball cap.
“This is a new look for you,” Jessica commented.
“Is that what you want to talk about today?” Ori asked, bemused.
Jessica smiled and shrugged but remained quiet as the elderly couple from earlier walked by them, each with a walking stick. Ori and the couple exchanged friendly nods. Jessica followed them with her eyes as she wondered where they were going.
“This path.” Ori pointed to the cement walkway in front of the bench. “It curves around the baseball fields and leads into a nature preserve of sorts called Mason Mill. It’s a pleasant five-mile walk if you are ever interested.”
“So, who are you exactly,” Jessica asked, “and how is it that you are sitting out in the public as if the world doesn’t think that you are dead?”
“Mmm.” Ori nodded as if this was the thread of conversation he was anticipating. “Why don’t we take a walk? I think better while moving.”
They headed in the same direction as the elderly couple. The concrete path converted to wood as soon as they were under the tree canopy.
“You know my name,” Ori said. “I can sit in public because the world thinks that I don’t exist. Most people didn’t know I existed in the first place, and many of those who did know of me think that I died.”
“And yet, you are here, walking around as if everything is normal. How is that possible?” Jessica asked.
“It’s not so difficult. People’s memories are short. And otherwise, society, for the most part, lives completely online. If you remove all trace of yourself from the internet, voila!” Ori motioned as if he had just performed a magic trick. “You essentially cease to exist.”
“Why did you fake your death?” Jessica asked.
“That, I did not do. Well, I didn’t orchestrate the whole thing. Someone else plotted it. My team identified the culprits and handled the situation. We just let the world think that the conspirators were successful.” Ori stopped, and Jessica instinctively did as well. They stood at a three-way crosswalk. Ori looked straight, to the left, and then to the right, before crossing.
We are the only ones out here.
“You should always be careful,” Ori said.
“What?” Jessica asked. Did he just read my mind? She shook her head almost imperceptibly. Impossible. “Why would you create one of the most successful enterprises the world has ever seen, then just walk away?”
“Running that company was never my end goal,” Ori said. “I did it out of necessity. We needed the Singularity Group because it granted us more access, and it provided a much-needed boost to innovation.”
“Access to what?”
“Access to everything,” Ori said. “People, ideas.”
“But why go through all of this?” she pressed.
“The short answer is that we needed to jump-start a series of initiatives to get you back on a sustainable development plan.”
“What are you talking about? And who is ‘we’?”
“You’ve met the team—Evelyn, Jordan, Tony, and Vau. They are the main ones, but there are other key members.”
“What do you mean by development plan?” Jessica said.
Ori didn’t reply immediately. He led her off the path onto a dirt trail that led up a hill. After climbing for a few minutes, he stopped, tilted his head straight up toward the trees, and inhaled deeply. Then his attention shifted to his wrist where he adjusted dials on his watch.
Jessica repeated her question, “What do you mean by a development plan? I don’t understand. And what are you? You haven’t aged a bit.” Jessica lowered her voice. “You’re not some type of vampire, are you?”
Ori laughed and shook his head. “No, I’m not. Hey, how’s your head?”
“It’s fine. Why?” she asked before rubbing it. At that moment, Jessica realized that she had forgotten about the incident at Zach’s house. “Don’t avoid the question,” Jessica said. “What are you?”
A fog rolled in through the trees. Jessica watched, wondering whether they should head back.
“That wasn’t an attempt to avoid the question. I paused because I’m concerned for you,” Ori said.
“Why?” Jessica asked.
“Because, Jessica,” Ori said, “we’ve had this conversation before. You know everything about us.”
“Wha—” Jessica said, then she laughed. “You’re joking, right?” How am I supposed to know these things? I haven’t seen you in years.
Ori regarded her for a moment, and then said, “You know what, change of plans.” He made more adjustments to his wristwatch, and oddly enough, the fog cleared. “Let’s go,” Ori said and walked back the way they had just come, back toward the baseball fields. “Your memory lapse is a real cause for concern, especially considering that you are my scribe. More importantly, what is in your brain is the key to saving civilization as you know it.”
“Wait, but—”
Ori cut her off. “You are going to be confused for a bit, and that’s understandable. We need to see someone so that we can start sorting all of this out.”
“Where are we going?”
“Buckhead.”