Nirvana Effect

40



Callista’s town car drove much faster than any other mode of transportation Edward had used in the past months. It was an older model; he was taxing it to its limits on the roughshod road.

Rain began to splatter and then pour onto the windshield. The only lights he had on the road were the moon and the headlights. Still, he took his chances and kept up the pace.

The highway would only take him to the edge of Onge territory. From there he’d have to hike through the jungle. The most direct route to the village was straight through the thick of the wild. Otherwise he’d be forced to make a long trek on the winding cart path of the traders.

Edward slowed as the rain intensified. He couldn’t keep track of everything - watching the road, the potholes, the curves, riding the hydroplaning, focusing through the beating of the water against the car top, and all between the wipe of a windshield. 160 kilometers per hour had been quite easy to manage twenty minutes ago before the rain. Now 60 kph was quite taxing.

The dull ache in his body had lessened even further. It worked. It worked it worked it worked! He smiled, thrilled, and pounded the steering wheel with his hand. He hadn’t had time to celebrate. The revelation had been smothered in the other, equally momentous revelation: She loved me. It had been real. She loves me…

His mind turned to the trance substance once more. There was no sense in getting giddy. If he did not solve his problems with the nirvana effect and Mahanta, there was nothing to celebrate.

Part of the problem was solved. He had in his pocket the t-pill, the answer to the after-pain and the key to keeping a step ahead of the Onge. Edward’s trance was longer and barely hurt. He wondered how many times he could take it in a day.

Three times in less than two days had been unbearable. It was quite likely that he could trance four or more times each day with the t-pill and still not get the same after-pain as one injection.

He quelled his excitement. He needed to concentrate on the road. The rain eased, and he accelerated. The road dipped downward.

Edward saw a pair of lights ahead. He squinted past his windshield wipers. At the bottom of the hill, he spotted an old purple car parked on the side of the road. Its headlights were still on, illuminating the rain, and it was parked cock-eyed on the shoulder. Edward could not slow down. He couldn’t waste any time. As he zoomed by, he could make out two figures. They seemed to be natives. The adult figure was changing a tire. The other was a boy, pacing in the rain, as though supervising. The boy jerked his head up to Edward’s passing car as soon as he heard it. Edward could see the face distinctly. Tomy.

Onge in a car? It was one of the most bizarre things he’d ever seen.

His spine chilled. If he had stayed the night, it could have been much more complicated. Cars turned the “sun and moon” trek to Lisbaad into just a few hours. How did they get cars? Why?

The why was obvious. Mahanta had more secrets.

Edward watched them in his rear view mirror. He saw just the headlights for a moment, then the silhouette of Tomy jumping up and down in excitement. As Edward reached the top of the next hill, he saw Tomy’s car swerve back onto the road. The boy must have somehow recognized him.

Edward accelerated further. Still, the headlights in his rear view mirror were getting closer. It wasn’t until he hit close to 150 kph that he began to gain some distance. He hoped that the road didn’t swerve. He was relying on blind chance. The windshield was smothered with water mere moments after the wiper passed. He could only see a good twenty meters in front of him, and at that speed on that road, he may as well have been blindfolded.

Edward resisted the temptation to pop another t-pill. For every danger he faced now, there were ten more waiting for him once he got to the jungle. He would definitely need a trance to get through that trek; and then there was his encounter with Mahanta, if he ever reached the boy-turned-god. He would have to take his chances, here.

Edward hit the top of another hill. The car caught air, and Edward wrestled it into staying on the road. Tomy and his tribesman were almost out of sight. Edward needed to get several minutes ahead of them to be able to hide his car without their detection.

Will I get it back? He remembered Cali’s humor.

That depends on if I die. He smiled. He wondered what she would have said to that. Probably, well, then you can’t have the car. He’d be in her bed right now.

I should probably start slowing down. I’m getting close.

The car hydroplaned, then skidded through a muddy spot on the dirt road. He shot past a windblown sign: “Hard Right Turn Ahead”. Edward slammed the brakes. The car slid further.

Ahead Edward saw a massive clump of trees. He had reached the edge of the jungle. The road twisted at an odd angle to shoot into the woods. It was meant to be taken at 40 kph. Edward was still zooming at 120. He pumped the brakes, then yanked up the hand brake as he took the turn.

It wasn’t enough. The car responded to him, but the rain and the terrible road were merciless. In his slide, the back tire slammed into the dirt incline at the edge of the curve. The car spun left. It started rolling. Edward braced himself, getting as low as possible in the vehicle, thankful he’d buckled his safety belt.

The car only made a quarter roll before its hood slammed into a tree with a deafening crack. The back swung around and made its own impact against another. The collision jerked Edward sideways towards the roof of the car, the seat belts digging hard into his shoulders and torso and knocking the wind out of him. His head got dangerously close to the roof of the car, but stopped with a jerk before he hit it.

The engine had stopped running. The car had no power. The only sound Edward heard was the rain. Except for the bruising pain from the seat belt, and the soreness in his neck, he was uninjured. The collision had thankfully left the cabin more or less intact. He sat there just listening to his own breathing. Any minute now Tomy’s car would be coming by.

Edward took a moment to pray before he did anything else. God, thank you for sparing my life. It’s a sign to me that I’m not working against you.

Lord, please forgive me for the breaking of my oath. Please do not forsake me. Every sin I have committed against you I will make up tenfold.

I know you have a purpose for me, Lord. Please give me the strength to fulfill it. Give me the strength for what I must do.

He didn’t say, “Amen.” He felt it wiser for his whole night in the jungle to be a prayer. He felt he somehow had a better chance mid a direct communication to his maker.

And God, I know it’s stupid, but please let me have Cali. Please don’t take her from me.

His scientist side told him that there was no evidence of a God that actually meddled in the affairs of men. At that moment, he hoped there was. After all, he’d just seen his life flash before his eyes.

Edward tried the door facing up. It wouldn’t open.

Edward pulled himself out through the smashed windshield. One of the remaining glass shards scratched him. He ignored it and strained his eyes to the north. Down the road a couple kilometers away, he saw the pair of headlights he was looking for peek out over the hill. He still had a minute before they reached him. They were driving much more slowly, now. They must know about the turn. They’ve done this trip a few times.

Edward’s mind started down the path of, how long have the Onge been doing this?

The pressing necessity of dealing with that pair of headlights, however, forced his thoughts to the task at hand.