Parallel Lives, Theo of Thebes

Part 1, A Parallel Life

Energy, having already been in existence, is incapable of being destroyed. Thus it stands that the energy of a man, upon his death, must be routed to some other place. Where the man has gone however, none can say.
- Biblicia Scientifica 2207ADCE

The climate in Cork had taken on that arid quality that had become so common of late, even in these northern latitudes. A young man, Theo, moved with a hurried skulk along the southern bank of the river Lee hoping to cling to the nearby shade of rectangular high rise buildings. 

Such actions had become increasingly necessary in this time of constant change, and uncertainty. One did not want to be exposed to the harshness of this new sun, which had turned from a nurturing force for humankind, to an increasingly hostile entity to be distrustful and wary of.

Theo looped a few more streets, careful to keep his exposure to the unbidden sun to the minimum possible to prevent any damage to his skin. The link between the burning sun and defects in one's DNA was well known, and because of the commonality of such burns his lack thereof made him a desirable test subject. 

Machines had taken over much of factory manufacturing, as well as even the design of other machines, but they had yet to monopolise pharmaceuticals entirely, and still depended on humans to test their drugs on. There was little other work for the unskilled, which now included many of the formally skilled, or anyone else who could be replaced by one of these machines.

He passed a few others on the roads. Every one of them, both those content to burn a little, or those careful like him kept their heads down and their mouths shut. It was just how things were done these days. 

There were a few people in his building he felt he could trust, that he could treat as a fellow human. But neither Theo, nor anyone he crossed, could imagine approaching a stranger, or treating them with anything less than the utmost suspicion, such things were not done, it was discouraged to the extreme, and had become the normal mode of thought after a few generations of this policy. 

Rounding one final corner, Theo wiped the sweat from his brow and entered the Medicus. Passing through the doors, a rush of cool air hit him, infinitely refreshing, as these were luxuries not afforded at home. He swiped his ID card through a slot at the reception desk, and the woman behind directed him to his seat in the waiting room by a tilt of her head.

Taking his seat, Theo cast his glance to the nearby table, which had a wide array of magazines splayed on top of it. 

He rolled his eyes dismissively. In a world where even the poorest among them had an omniTab, what need had they for something as archaic as a magazine? Even still, the sheer novelty of the spread got the better of him, and his hand, which had been reaching for the tablet in his pocket, froze momentarily, before instead moving to a magazine on the desk. 

Theo flicked through the pages with an impassive look, inspecting the magazine more as an artifact of the past, than giving its pages or writings any real credence. After much precursory flicking, he found the magazine stopped on a page with an image of a large marble pillar, worn to time, but still somehow able to grasp him. 

He found himself entranced by the image before him. The buildings of Cork had been optimised, he knew the town hall, at least, had once looked differently, but aesthetics had given way to pragmatism and everything had become, as a result, sterile. 

The idea a mere pillar, an object whose sole role had been to uphold whatever was placed atop it could have such an ornamental finish fascinated him. 

The curves and lines near the top were carved, by hand he realised, with such care and attention for such a meaningless structure. Yet, upon seeing it, he had trouble assuring himself the pillar was indeed meaningless. His pragmatic upbringing in a pragmatic culture had left little room for expression except on the very pinnacles of society. 

Some laureate may well create a painting which could stir a viewer, he had seen such a specimen being transported before. But paintings were created to be expressions of art in and of themselves. Not necessarily so with the pillar. A pillar could be pragmatic, yet someone had chosen to eschew this. 

Theo flicked through the pages of the magazine. More pillars, more arches. It seemed, with each new specimen, that an entire culture had chosen to neglect this thought that Theo had imagined as some kind of law. Something functional, could at once be beautiful.

A member of staff entered the room, and addressed Theo, ending the trance. "Ah, one of our regular subjects." the man proclaimed. "Come with me."

Theo dropped the magazine, still open, down on the table and followed the man down a series of twisting halls to the testing room. "Today..." the man began... "We will be testing an exciting new product. As usual, we require you to sign this waiver, as the device, though perfectly safe, has not yet been approved for widespread release."

 
After signing the waiver, and walking inside the testing room, Theo found a peculiar metal box lying in the centre, it had a hole on one face. 

Theo twisted his body to try to glance inside, but could see nothing but darkness. "Please stay away from the machine." the staff member spoke. "You must first be dosed with this before we allow you inside." The doctor flicked a needle full of a violet liquid, and then, satisfied with the result, demanded Theo's arm. 

Theo offered his arm without caution. Being used in this way was par for the course, and not at all unexpected. How could anything function if he were to question it at every turn? He'd always been told that society functioned on cogs, and cogs must all do their part, or the entire project would come grinding to a halt. That was a bad thing, surely.

He tensed as the needle broke his skin, relaxing after the initial discomfort. The doctor plunged the syringe, and watched in satisfaction as the dose was delivered. He removed the syringe, and almost immediately, Theo began to lose balance.

 
"In." the doctor ordered, motioning towards the hole in the metallic cube. Theo crawled over to the cube, and rubbed his hands along its sides. Completely flat. 

The only notable feature was the hole where his head was to go. Even in his slipping awareness, he found himself cursing the cube. "Why didn't it have any curves?" he lamented, as he stuck his head inside.
"No love... There's the problem. This thing may be technically impressive, but I can't love it."

Even in the isolation of the cube, he could make out an audible 'tsk' from the doctor, before his awareness slipped him completely.

Theo awoke later, under a hot sun hanging high in the sky. He immediately panicked. His livelihood depended on him avoiding the kind of defects this might give him, he had to...
He stopped. 

Glancing around, he wasn't at all home, the landscape was foreign and rural, but what perplexed him further still was the sun. It was a hot day, but he couldn't feel its oppression in the same way he had all his life, he squinted, and then realised he didn't have to squint quite so hard. 

Whatever else had happened, it seems the sun had softened. Putting aside his initial trepidation, an unconscious smile came over Theo's face, something within him realised it could explore this place freely, whatever it was, and wasn't confined solely to movement after sunset, or careful navigation through the shade of buildings during the day. Lucky thing, because there didn't seem to be buildings enough to take shade under here anyway, and any that could be made out, were far too small to be of service to the task.