The Paragon of Eden
Chapter 13

Deelia floated in the pool of hot water. The steam rose and permeated the room, and her breathing was slow. She barely felt anything. That was good. She was feeling tired, and now she was doing what she could to heal.

Those elites didn’t give her very much, did they? They had been doing their part of using her name and history to expand and develop stronger technologies and funding. She hadn’t seen Kod in a while. He had sent her a letter that told her he was leaving. He didn’t say anything about coming back to get her.

Deelia didn’t even tell herself she was being forgotten. It was like her thoughts were slowing down, coming to a halt. Nobody was there for her any longer.

At least she had this bathtub. She must have been there for an hour or more, not keeping track of anything, disappearing. The elites let her do it. They didn’t even check up on her. She could starve to death under their eternal gaze, apparently.

Deelia was feeling tired. She didn’t sleep, though. It would take a different kind of sleep to ease her worries. She was contemplating Doht’s escape. He promised her that she wouldn’t have to worry about him, but she could never know. Gerra seemed to think otherwise, in fact. She didn’t object to the offer, but she was aware of the danger.

Why didn’t she object? Perhaps she was feeling this same weariness that Deelia felt. Life had been emptied. Something needed to change, and even all the wonders of the UPOA couldn’t help.

There was only one person who had saved Deelia from an impossible trauma before. And she wasn’t sure if he would come save her again. She needed to heal, but she could only do so passively. Well, if she died here in the bathtub, it wouldn’t really matter, would it? It was the same either way. No need for any kind of saving.

She crawled out of the water and stood, her joints aching with every movement. She was slowly contemplating that escape. A part of her from weeks before screamed at her to go, but she just stood there, not wanting anything. No desire drove her onward.

She began to move, and the tiled floor was slippery. It annoyed her to proceed with such caution. Indeed, floating on the water and waiting for death was much easier. Why was she going through this trouble? It wouldn’t do her any good.

But she would be saved.

Where would she go?

Away from here?

No, it didn’t even matter. Nowhere was worth it anymore. What had happened to her?

Deelia turned around and almost fell. That set it in stone. It wasn’t worth it to get out of here. It wouldn’t be worth the trouble.

One more step was all it took for her to slip. There was fear, but it was whisked away by the comfort of knowing that she no longer dreaded what was to come. She no longer cared about what happened to her.

Someone caught her. She never hit the ground because someone was in the room with her and caught her in his arms, and when she looked up, at his face, she saw that it was Hau. Where had he been? Why did it take him so long to come back? Was he here on the Angels’ behalf, or was he acting on his own? Either way, it was Hau, and he had Deelia’s best interests in mind. It was like a real angel, not a member of the Angels of Dusk but a real, heaven-sent savior. In her darkest moments, Deelia was saved by him once again.

Hau placed her on her feet, wrapped her in a huge blanket, and took her hand.

Deelia finally found it within her to speak. “Hau!” she exclaimed.

“Wanna get out of here?” he asked her.

“Yes.” Was this an illusion? Was this what she saw before she died?

Hau took her out of the large room and into the bedroom. Deelia took a moment to reflect on all the splendor that had been sucked out of the bright confines. The two made no other pause entering the hallway, and soon, they were running down each turn, hand in hand, no fear in the world.

They ran down the corridor and passed many more rooms. They came to lobbies with desks and sofas and paintings and fish tanks and empty spaces with enough room to hold their own ballroom dances. There was nobody around. That was weird. It didn’t matter, though. Deelia was overcome with a strange kind of ecstasy. It was as if all her dreams were coming true. It was suddenly impossible for her to be upset.

She noticed that she was naked under the blanket. Well, if it had taken her that long to realize, it didn’t really matter. Hau didn’t seem to care.

They came to a balcony and looked beyond, onto the outer reaches of space. There was a small courtyard there, full of flowers and grassy patches. Trees were planted in perfect rows. They grew with perfect symmetry. There was no one there to interfere with the perfection of the little garden.

In the center of the scene, there was the Paragon. Its perfect white shell stood opaque and unmoving, and its center opened up into the cocoon where it could be controlled from. Hau ran up the white ramp that the Warback had made for the two of them. Deelia followed, her blanket trailing in the wind.

They left the courtyard together, bidding the people and their horrible castle farewell. This structure was massive, though, and it took some time in the air before the full mothership came into view. It was composed of bulbous sections, sharp spikes of architecture jutting out at precise angles. The ocher plating faded into gold as the more civilized areas came into view. All around it were Warbacks and turrets standing guard, protecting a massive oblong shape that absorbed every other detail in its size. Nothing pursued them, however. Where had everybody gone?

Eventually, the two of them left the DA and were finally alone, together.

Deelia was too happy to speak. She felt warmer than the bath could have ever made her. She hoped it would last forever. She hoped, even though she began to tell herself it meant eventually fearing death again.

“Did you replace Eden there?”

“No.”

Hau was smiling. He seemed genuinely happy to see her. He must have put in some effort to save her. Hadn’t he? Where had he been?

“Where were you?” Deelia asked.

“Making preparations.”

“For what?”

“You’re asking like you’d know if I told you.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“I wasn’t planning to. I was planning to show you.”

Deelia didn’t press him further. Inside the Paragon, the two of them floated like fish in a pond. She couldn’t disturb Hau, though, because he was busy flying.

“When are we getting there?” She asked.

“A little while yet.”

“What will it be like when we get there?”

“Where? Eden?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll see. We aren’t going there right now, though.”

“Why not?”

“I’m waiting for everything to be ready. We can’t just escape and leave the rest of the world behind, you know?”

“Yes,” Deelia said, and she thought of Doht and Gerra.

There was silence again, and Deelia bathed in the lukewarm air. There was enough heat from the joy inside her to last her the hour it took for them to get where they were going. During that time, the hum of the Paragon droned on and resonated with her soul. The atmosphere was comforting, stimulating enough to sense it, and harmless enough to make her feel safe. Though she floated in the air of the Paragon’s chamber, Deelia was overwhelmed with sensation. What had happened to her? For a time, she was dead, and now, she was so full of life that she felt she had been dead all the times before.

Eventually, the Paragon created the TH it required to reach its target. Once again, it crossed an indeterminate amount of distance in a single leap. It twisted space around itself, making that giant eyeball in the universe, and then it went through, and then the TH disappeared, and everything was seamless again. The stars were different, but everything was the same. It would be some time yet before they reached their destination.

“Close your eyes,” said Hau.

Deelia closed her eyes. It was a few moments before she opened them, but her imagination did not spurn for how little she wanted to leave her state of mind. She was content to wait.

“Open!” Hau said excitedly.

It was the Sanctuary. They were in the room with the water and the flowers. The only Warback there this time was the Paragon. The orange lighting that had taken the space before was gone, and it looked to have been cast into a sleepy twilight. Deelia had not seen the place like this when she had spent her days there. It felt good to be rid of those other Angels.

They stepped out of the Paragon, and in the center of the dais, there was a table and two chairs, both of immaculate, carved white wood. Hau sat on one side, and Deelia went to sit on the other, hugged by the fluff of the bedding she wore. There were teacups and little spoons and a pot of sugar and the teapot itself and napkins and small plates with cakes on them.

Deelia ate them without remorse for her stomach. She drank the tea, and it had cooled just perfectly. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she made sure the first thing she saw was Hau’s face. He sat there, enjoying his meal as well. They were two in a perfect pair. Both of them shared the same joys of life. Both of them were overcome with happiness at this time of their lives. She didn’t need to ask why.

Once they were finished, Deelia sat in idleness. Hau was almost done too.