I sit in the observation dome. An odor that one of the Prophets once called mutton-pork—that sweetly cloying and unmistakable scent of cooked human flesh—hangs in the air. The others are still feasting. Preparing for our “birth” as the figurative release from Deck Three will be. I absently run my fingernail down the lines of scars. Think of all the souls that have followed that path to rebirth and immortality. It is for them, for the universe, that I fight.
And the battle is now engaged.
My people do not understand the depth or intricacies of that combat.
After all these years, I have a face for my True Enemy. Since we were confined on Deck Three, I filled the role with Captain Galluzzi. Not that he really was the enemy, being nothing more than the universe’s tool, the one it used to create us.
If there was a parallel in human history it might have been Rome and the early Christians. But for Rome, there would have been no Jesus. But for The Corporation and Miguel Galluzzi, there would have been no Irredenta. Pontius Pilate had to play his part in the creation of the Christian messiah, Galluzzi served the same purpose in creating us.
But now I have Kalico Aguila.
The physical embodiment of The Corporation.
The Corporation had to play its role. The Irredenta had to be raised in the midst of its lies, deceit, and inhumanity. Trust me, we’d bought it all, been faithful followers and believers. Never questioned that The Corporation—and all it stood for—served the ultimate good. That it was kind, just, and caring.
Which made the Harrowing and Cleansing epically traumatic. When faced with brutal Truth, it was to discover that The Corporation had deceived us on every level. To discover that we’d been played for complete fools had been soul numbing.
So much so, that some never could justify themselves with the Truth.
But they’ve since been purified and will be reborn with a full and better appreciation for the universe and its fundamental Truths.
When first looking upon Kalico Aguila, I must confess, her scars gave me the slightest bit of hesitation. The woman has undergone an Initiation of her own, made her own sacrifices of pain and blood. I hadn’t expected that from a Corporate figurehead. But then, the universe makes no mistakes. The scars are there to warn me: Here is an opponent you must not underestimate. She will try and pervert the Truth. Seek to mislead the Irredenta from the Revelation, the True path, and the teachings of the Prophets.
She will be ruthless.
Praise be to the universe. I am warned.
To do battle with Kalico Aguila, I need my people united. The feast serves not just as a means of eliminating dissension among the ranks, but as a reminder of our unique identity. We are the chosen. We are the living dead. The vehicle through which they shall become immortal.
Staring out at the billions of stars, I am made humble. Aware once again of my failings, my weaknesses, and overwhelmed by the responsibility that has been laid upon my shoulders.
I am Blessed by the knowledge that I am no longer alone. It’s not just me, but all the human beings I have incorporated into my flesh and bone. They pulse with my blood, live in each cell of my body. I am they, they are me.
As long as the Irredenta are united, without divisions and rancor, we shall win. The universe, in its wisdom, has prepared us. Marked us as separate.
At the time, I didn’t see the genius of the Initiation. I was lost in the moment and trying to comprehend when Guan Shi began to scarify her flesh. I thought it a penance. That the pain and mutilation was a way to atone for guilt and previous sin.
And yes, the terrible agony of scarification is an offering to the universe—each of us sacrificing and suffering at the most personal level. What more intimate and honest sacrifice is there than to proffer from our own bodies?
Accepting that belief, I have given more of myself than any of my people. I can think of no other way to prove my devotion.
And the scars serve the dead. Not only are they a path leading to immortality, they demonstrate the willingness of the pure to suffer on their behalf.
How simple of me to think that’s all that the Initiation was.
Only today—face to face with Kalico Aguila—did I realize the universe’s true genius: the scars set us apart. The Irredenta will never fit into Corporate society. They separate us from the rest of humanity in a way that can never be bridged. They unite us as a people in a way that no feasts, no shared experiences ever could.
So, now, as we emerge into our inheritance, I am reassured that no failing or inadequacy of my own, no heresy, or doubts on the part of the Irredenta, will cause us to fail.
I pity Kalico Aguila.
She has only The Corporation to serve.
I have been chosen to fight for the universe.