Existence Denied

CHAPTER 14

Life continued, plodding down the path toward perfection. No one in the general population knew of the death of the old bringer of Life and Death. And very few knew or cared that a new one had sacrificed himself to the position.

Finius reported to his group that Jared and his wife had died in a car accident along with Lillian. The group had not known Jared long, and no one had been particularly fond of Lillian. But they sent meaningless condolences to his family. His office had been cleaned out, his possessions sent to his home, which a shipping company had packed up. It grieved Hank and Mandy to hear the young couple had passed away. The story continued to circulate among the neighbors.

The Johnson's property was sent to Ireland and put into a secure storage facility until Lorraine Johnson retrieved the delivery.

Coyo had seen to it.

Eight months later, Lorraine gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She named the child Tania, as it came closest to a name Jared had mentioned. The former cop eventually bought a cottage on a plot of land near her mother and doted on her new daughter.

Jackie, Jared's mother, had cried and wail at the loss of her son. The relatives came out in masses to support her. Oddly, the family noticed Coyo no longer spent time with the woman, and the few times he'd been in her presence, he'd held her in obvious contempt. But the grieving Jackie bought a house in the Hamptons and threw several lavish parties to help herself feel better.

The family, led by Jared's Uncle Tiny and grandmother, Madear, deserted her in droves.

Coyo worked with the science team, studying his brother's body, which he rescued from incineration, and had it put in a freezer instead. His relationship with Dr. Maxwell grew to one of mutual respect and admiration. He stayed silent when Dr. Maxwell mused over why the joining rate remained at just over ninety-five percent.

"By now, most are at ninety-nine, even one hundred percent from what I've read," said the doctor. "He's a better fit than your brother. I just don't get it."

One year to the day, the eyes of the current Life and Death bringer opened; a rare occurrence. The doctors considered it an involuntary reaction due to neurons and nerves in the immobile body.

But the eyes had opened because the tiny fraction of Jared that remained, the part that fought to stay separate from the Sendac and the endless calculating and computing, finally understood the words spoken by his father. He didn't mean pie. The thoughts were sluggish but continued. He meant pi.

The number pi, the most common constant in all of mathematics. It represents the circumference of any circle, divided by its diameter. Pi is an "infinite decimal" because, after the decimal point, the digits continue forever, he thought. That's what he meant by the taste going on forever and the shape of the pie pan, a circle. Coyo knew I couldn't let it go, that I'd try to solve it, even in the system.

He did not wait to put his plan into action.

He told the Sendac, we will not attain perfection.

The reply came immediately. It is an imperfect species. Since you came to pass, perfection is up to nearly ninety-four percent.

Jared scoffed. I have discovered the problem isn't the species. It's you. In my time as an Inquisitor, I obtained one hundred percent perfection in my calculations. But you have not.

The Sendac seemed startled by the proclamation. The Sendac aims for perfection. It is our goal, our purpose...

...And you have failed, he interrupted. You've become accustomed to the imperfections of humans. For perfection to indeed be obtained, you must re-access your abilities. I attained perfection. You never have.