The Network

"Just follow the directions." Maggie was working overtime. I reached in my wallet and pulled out three hundred dollars and dropped it in the front seat. "That's if you get a speeding ticket." The cab accelerated.

We got to the annex gate house and I was immediately confronted by a captain. "Mr. Timmins?". I confirmed. "I am Captain Treavers, I have been tasked to get you to LAX as quickly as possible. The generals transport is fueled and waiting. The FAA has authorized a priority flight plan and the tower has cleared our departure. Follow me sir." He took off at a jog and I followed. A sleek corporate jet with Air Force insignia was warming up waiting for us to arrive. I was plopped into the seat and buckled down. The wheels were already moving before Treavers was buckled in.

I was rather shocked by the quickness that this was all put together. "Does this happen a lot Captain?"

"No Sir, never seen it before. I was just informed that you are a priority and my bars depend on the success of the mission." I thanked him. What else could I do?

On the flight I recognized a concerted attempt to break my micro links. Someone would drop and I had to find others to replace those that were lost. I spent almost the whole flight replacing my losses and maintaining my feed. I landed and was surprised when a police car was waiting for me. Lights blaring, I was at the hospital in no time.

Someone at the front desk asked if I was alright. My forehead was sweating pretty badly. The strain was beginning to show. I sensed Rebecca on the second floor and headed for the stairs without answering. I felt her crushed spirit and sped to the office where I knew she was. She felt me coming and met me at the door.

"They say she's gone Robert. I can still feel her but they say she's gone." Rebecca, my angel, I looked her in the eye and feed her strength I couldn't afford.

"I caught her. She's still here." I was getting a headache. The strain was becoming worse. Rebecca held me and cried into my shoulder. I looked past her to two doctors, one behind a desk and another standing to the side.

"Mr. Timmins, I am Dr. Lemen the neurosurgeon on call when Ms. Jones was brought in." He looked a little uncomfortable. I could tell he had bad news. "As I regretfully told Ms. Jones," he was pointing at Rebecca, "her sister has a large tumor on the right side of her brain. If we had found it a year ago, we may have been able to remove it.Today the tumor is so large I am not sure it would be ethical to operate. We would have to remove too much of the good tissue. Frankly, we don't even understand how she is holding on."

I looked at the doctor behind the desk. Obviously an administrator. "Get me another doctor. Cost is not an issue." I wasn't settling for defeatism.

"Dr. Lemen is the best neurosurgeon in the city. Probably the country. I don't think..." I didn't let him finish. Someone else entered the room. I ignored him.

"Who's the best in the World." I wasn't going to spend time arguing. Solutions are the only thing I was interested in. Dr. Lemen answered.

"That would be Dr. Tuluoi. He is in France. I can get him to consult but, I don't think he could get here before Ms. Jones expires." A voice behind me spoke up.

It was Thornbird. "Dr. Tuluoi has cleared his scheduled. He is awaiting your call Dr. Lemen." Thank god someone was moving faster than me. "If you like your job Thompson, an operating room better be being prepared for Dr. Lemen."

"Of course Mr. Thornbird." Obviously the administrator has dealt with Tom before. "Dr. Lemen, operating room two. Put together the best team you can in two hours." The doctor left the office quickly with his new mission in mind. Thompson made an excuse and left the office for our privacy.

Tom looked at Rebecca, "Mother is on the way and she is going to try and stop this." Rebecca looked torn and Tom looked back at me. "This may not end well but, if she has her way it is guaranteed to be worst case. For us at least."

"Why would their mother try to stop this?" I was exhausted but, I knew sleep would be the end of Samantha.

"Not the girls mother, The Mother. You've lit up the whole network Robert. How many people are you linked with?" What the fuck is the network.

"Two maybe three hundred. I don't know, but I am going to need more soon. I running out of steam." I hope I didn't sound as bad as I felt.

"Dear God man. Your girls are exceptional and they can at most handle five. Mother maybe ten. How are you doing this?" Rebecca open herself to me and released blocks that I never had the heart to break. Everything became clear. I also realised I needed Mother.

"He shut Mother out. She tried to stop it earlier and he just blocked her and then blocked her from me. I only know Samantha through him now." She was crying again. I pulled her close and sent my love flowing in. I now understood the network and why my angels didn't want to tell me. It's not that they didn't trust me, they had to make sure thousands trusted me. I had knowledge and I needed power for my baby. I reached out now that I knew what I was looking for. I could have just pulled it in but, I asked for it to be pushed. I begged, I pleaded and thousands relented. I had power when Mother walked in the door.

"What are you doing here Thomas?" Mother looked ancient. She walked with confidence, unlike what her looks would suggest. She was a small woman dressed in an old brown tweed skirt suit. She continued into the room as if she owned the place.

"You know why I am here Mother. You also know why I won't leave." Never heard Thornbird explain himself to anyone. He was still reverent to her even though he was putting his foot down.

Rebecca released another block and I became aware that my girls were Thornbirds daughters borne of an ancient breeding program. I sent more love to Rebecca so that she knew that it didn't change things between us.

"Rebecca, you need to get him to stop." Mother was not addressing me directly. "Your sister is gone, we can't change that. You will follow her down and take Robert with you." I took my new strength fed some to Rebecca. Her head snapped up with confidence.

"We are going to save her." She looked at me and stroked by soul. "We will never abandon Samantha." That's my girl. Mother finally turned to me.

"You're going to kill Rebecca." She didn't mince words. "This is futile, you are powerful but, you can't fix death."

"I need your knowledge." I wasn't going to argue with the woman. She either helped or she should just get out of the way.

"I suppose you'll just take it if I say no." That was one hell of a bitchy assumption. One of my angels was dying and this woman was playing word games. I linked with her and busted through five blocks just to prove I could, then pulled myself back. She gasped. I can be an asshole too.

"If you won't help us, you need to stay out of the way." I needed her but, I wasn't going to rape her mind to get it.

"Only the ancients knew what you want and we lost that during the purge. What healing I know costs. What you need will cost lives. Think of the hundreds you're linked too, do you think they're ready for that kind of sacrifice. Think how their pod will suffer when you rip one of them out." She was no dummy so I increased her knowledge.

"I am linked to thousands now. I won't risk anyone." I heard Thornbird suck in his breath.

"The math doesn't change. Nature is a zero sum game. Even if you can figure out how, how many souls are you willing to sacrifice to return her to you? Most likely you will fail and others will die anyway." She was pleading with me now.

"Show me what you know." I asked her again. She knew I could just take it but, I wouldn't. I gave her all the cards.

"Please Mother." Mother turned to Rebecca as she pleaded. Mother moved closer and lovingly placed her hands on the sides of Rebecca's head.

"I am so sorry sweety. I loved Samantha too but, she's gone. You have to show Robert how to break the link." She was caressing her cheeks and pushing her disheveled hair back behind her shoulder.

"He broke the link on accident the second day after bonding. He .. we will go with her before we destroy the link again." Rebecca was as resolute, "He is the link now. I feel her through him and I can feel the others helping." Her face shifted to serious. "We are one or we are none." Mother dropped her arms and staggered back. She was beginning to understand our determination and was shocked that Rebecca's bond superseded the needs of the network.

I opened myself to Mother, I let her feel the power of the thousands I gathered. She sensed their willingness, all there of their own free will. She reached to Samantha through me and felt the structure of the fed that was holding her here. She saw that it was intuitive to me. She learned more in those few seconds than a lifetime of practice and she knew I needed more. When she saw my love for my angels tears filled her eyes and she sat heavily in a chair. Talking was futile, I would succeed or die trying. She sensed what I was. One of my power hadn't existed for over five hundred years. She opened herself to me.

I learned. Most was history of the network going back hundreds of years. Her memories were mixed with those of hundreds before her, passed down from Mother to Mother. The memories were truncated at the great purge when we were known as Druids. We hid our ceremonies in the woods to hide from the growing christian power. In less than fifty years, we were almost wiped out before the network was taken underground. Most of the knowledge was lost.

Druids only goal is to bring harmony to the world. Leave everyone and everything they touched better. Capitalism was just another tool for them. I was a perfect candidate for philanthropy. In exchange for helping to save the world, my angels bonded with me. The more people I help, the deeper the bond. We were one. One of many.

I saw the needs of healing and realised that the cost of repairing Samantha was as high as Mother had said. I could now mend a bone by trading some of myself or very little of many. To mend Samantha, I would need hundreds of thousands and I would still take too much. I felt Mother try to sooth me as I understood the costs I would never pay.

I tossed aside Mother's assumptions about the history and separated what I now knew was fact. I smiled as I realized Mother didn't fully understand her own memories. I saw what I needed and walled off the solution from Rebecca and Mother and, out of respect, I thanked Mother. It was obvious once understood but the cost would still be high, just not as high as Mother surmised. I sent optimism to Rebecca and flooded her with love and happiness. Our links grew as her trust in me began to erase her grief.

I closed my link to Mother and my eyes to the world as I searched deep inside. I knew they were there, I expected them to be even smaller than the network as Mother understood it. I looked deeper since my first search failed. At first, I only sensed them. Then they became more apparent to my inner sight. They were like little hairs that were always there, but never noticed. I smiled when I realized the never ending amount of them. They were infinite to my mind and beautiful to my soul.

I picked one at random and gasped as I connected. It was an old soul, sluggish but powerful. It was like a warm blanket as my mind melded with its. It had knowledge it didn't care about and it shared with me. My blocks were useless as its essence just went around them and knew all of me. Surprisingly, it did not follow the thousands who were channeled to me. I sense it wanted permission, not really a moral thought, more of a 'just the way it was' thought. It filled me with power, more than I expected. I replaced some of Mother's network. I connected to another, younger soul. It wasn't as strong but still added to my power and shared all. They both understood my goal and had no issue with the task or the cost. They simply accepted my free will as my own, something that should not be toyed with or questioned.

I connect to more of the hairs, some young, some old and others ancient. More power streamed into me and I dropped more of the modern druids from the network. Some of the hairs were too distracted to connect to. I sensed they were entranced by young minds, possibly children. I left them and went on to others. Within seconds I had replaced the old network with my new one and added power well beyond what I thought was possible. My mind was racing as I realised what could be done. I had knowledge of ancient minds, my ancestors thoughts. They were not complete and were provided by those who didn't care to understand. I now knew my baby would survive.

I was having trouble concentrating. I felt Samantha being prepped for surgery and could feel her and see her. I was looking through Dr. Lemen's eyes. Other images kept intruding. There were too many people here at the hospital and way too many thoughts running through my brain. I was putting up blocks but, it took too much attention as the power continued to overflow. I smiled when I thought of Mother's memory of the ceremonies in the woods. They weren't hiding. I opened my eyes and looked at Mother.

"I need your help." I made it sound like a request, not a demand. She didn't hesitate and probed into me. I opened and I heard her gasp. The power I was channeling was immense. I educated her quickly as our links would allow. I taught her how to build blocks in others and she began to close off my random thoughts from the power. She was talented and learned fast. She never questioned the source of the power and just trusted. My mind was clearing. I was gaining the tunnel vision that was required.

I probed into Dr. Lemen's mind. Mother frowned internally at that but, didn't try and stop me. It was like pushing water through a rock. The pores were there but, the rock fought me the entire way. I looked deep, I needed his medical knowledge of the tumor. I couldn't fix what I didn't understand. I saw his concerns and the challenges he was facing. The scalpel was a hundred times to thick for the job. I saw the tumor as he expected to see it. I saw the brain tissue as it should be. I saw the veins he expected to be too entwined with the growth to be properly separated. He thought he was going to kill her faster or at worst, leave her as a vegetable. He saw no upside, quite possible the worst day of his life. It cost me a lot but, I pumped confidence into him. I had no link to fed him with, I just had raw power and I shoved as much through as he could absorb. He started thinking sharper and began to ignore the negative. It was the best I could do.

I followed the link to Samantha and quickly located the mass. I identified the good tissue and the bad and I detected where they met. I saw how they bonded to each other. I followed the good tissue and began breaking the bonds with the bad tissue. It was like scraping old paint off a house. Little specks tried to hang on but, I was relentless. I bypassed the veins at first. Dr. Lemen had been particularly concerned of this aspect. I continued to free the rest of the tumor which seemed to take forever. After I finished one section there was always another gripping tight. By the time her skull had been opened by Dr. Lemen, I had completed the bulk of the task. The opening had released the pressure on Samantha's brain and her link grew stronger. I felt Rebecca cheer internally as she flooded her sister with love.

Only the hard part was left. I needed Mother more than ever now. She knew what to do. My angels would survive but there was a cost they wouldn't understand. I released the block on the solution to Mother. In an instant she merged it with her memories and saw from where the power was drawn. Then she saw the cost.

"Oh god." Mother jumped up and ran to Rebecca and embraced her. I rebuilt the sisters connection between them. At first Rebecca was ecstatic. I flooded her with all my love and said goodbye. Rebecca screamed and Mother flowed into her.

I ripped hundreds of entwined veins within the tumor and gave all of myself to rebuild them. Creating living matter cost power and soul, I gave it mine as I channelled the immense power given to me freely. I had trouble hanging on and feared I wouldn't finish. I felt other hairs connecting and I let them in and more power roared through my mind as the last vein sealed. I faded as I felt Mother telling me she had them. My angels were safe. Everything went black.

Dr. Lemin looked at the tumor and sighed. The mass was too big. The skull was open now, so he would try but, experience told him it was hopeless. He secretly hoped he would hit a vein and spare this poor woman any suffering. The nurse handed him the scalpel and probe and he dropped the lense over his eye. He placed the probe at the side of the growth and lifted carefully to expose the good tissue and give him a target for the separation. Unexpectedly, the tumor kept coming. It didn't seem to merge with the brain at the end. He was encouraged as he lifted further and flabbergasted when he rolled it right off the brain. He inspected the surface of the brain and found it fully intact. No damage. The bottom of the tumor was shredded. He began to think that it had been a long time since he attended church.

My mind began to return to me and I tried to open my eyes. Light flooded and I closed them again. I wasn't sure if I had attained heaven or hell. Two shares slammed into me. One loving and one angry. Still not enough information to pick between the two.

"Robert, are you with us?", it felt like Samantha, it must be heaven.

"You better wake up and explain yourself. How dare you try to die on me." Maybe it was hell. "I felt you leave me again. You know how that feels, how can you die without me."

"It's over Rebecca. Let it go." Samantha seemed sensible to me.

"You were out cold. You didn't even feel it." She was crying. "I thought I lost you. I wanted to die and Mother wouldn't let me." I wasn't prepared to survive. Strangely, I felt like shit for not dying. I felt inside and sensed the hairs subtly connected. Not overt like before just there and quiet. Almost like they were just listening. I opened myself and sent a steady flow of love to my angels.

"I'm sorry Rebecca. I couldn't bare your death. It was selfish but, I couldn't do it." My voice sounded horse, my mouth felt like it was full of cotton. "...and I couldn't leave Samantha alone." The light was still too bright to open my eyes. I felt a straw against my lips and I pulled in cool water. I heard curtains being drawn and the light dimmed. I opened my eyes slowly and they adjusted to the dimmer light.

Before me stood a smiling Samantha, her beautiful hair replaced by stubble . It would have given her a kind of punk look if wasn't for the scar. I tried to smile and my chapped lips began to crack so she only got half of one. To the right of the bed was Rebecca. Her eyes were bloodshot and tears had drawn trails down her cheeks. I was swimming in guilt for not dying. How could I have done this to her and survived. "You have to forgive me angel." I felt my eyes water. She started bawling then collapsed on top of me. She was gripping me hard so tried to hug her back my muscles didn't want to cooperate. I was awfully weak.

"You're lucky you didn't wake up two weeks ago. She was waiting with a baseball bat." Samantha inserted with a bit of humor in her voice.

"I would have never hit him. Just scare him like he scared me." She was shaking and I tried harder to hold her. My body wasn't cooperating but, my mind pulsed my loved laced with contrition into her soul.

"I deserve the bat." I let her down after her 'all or none' statement to Mother. I was with her until I saw that I could save them both. I just couldn't let my angels die.