The door bursts open. Charlie Roderick storms into the room, fire in his eyes, blood flowing from somewhere within his thinning mat of snow-white hair.
The Oracle looks up with a grim smile on her face, and pushes a plate of cookies across the table to where an empty seat has been pushed out. Charlie walks up to the table but does not sit, instead he stand there and glares at the Oracle.
Outside, the sun is beginning to rise into the blood-red skies, filling the room with an eerie theme of death. The Oracle takes a sip from a cup she holds in her hands, and regards Charlie warmly.
"Well, I gue--" The Oracle starts, but Charlie cuts her off with a swipe of his hands. The plate of cookies catches in his open palm and flies across the room to smash into a full-length mirror. Both mirror and cookies shatter into a million pieces, the plate left intact by some strange force.
"Predict that, b****!" Charlie yells. The Oracle does not flinch, instead maintaining a cool gaze on him. "What do you think I am, stupid," he continues shakily. "You could have warned me at any of our past meetings. I could still be some nameless face working for some idiot French man, pockets full of money and content with my life--MY LIFE--but YOU chose--"
"Stop," the Oracle says. Charlie sputters, but no other words fly from his mouth. "You chose not to be told about what would happen to you. I know you've heard this before, but that's how it works. Noone can see past a choice they don't understand."
"Bulls***."
"Could be. For all I know, your Chain Reaction theory could be the real source of all actions made here and in the future. But for a reaction to have happened, there'd have to be an original action, don't you think?"
Charlie begins breathing heavily. His eyes are swimming.
My eyes swam. The Oracle was right, I knew, but I couldn't just let her carry the conversation as she wished. I was there for answers.
"Yeah," I spat, "You opened your mouth, that's the action. Just let me ask you something."
The Oracle inclined her head slightly to the side in question. As if she didn't already know what I was going to say.
"My life is terrible compared to what it once was. Why would you let me continue making these choices when they would contribute to..to... to this," I shouted, pulling a wad of my hair out with a wince. The strands were all sparkling white and frail, a physical manifestion of how I felt. Weak and tired. The hair had no trace of the vibrant green I had hacked my own Encoded Self Image to show, or even the dark silver-grey it flowed after my accidental code bomb exposure.
The Oracle took another sip of whatever she was drinking and sighed sadly. For some reason, that only fueled my anger.
"You're never gonna learn, boy," she whispered, then spoke louder, "You already made the choices, child. Now you are understanding why you made them."
"Bulls***. If I understood why I made the choices, I'd be happier with them."
"That's not true and you know it. You have a hard time thinking with that gash in your head. Did you do that to yourself? You should get it looked at. Anyway, I can't tell you what you're supposed to do next, because you've already chosen what to do."
"You're so full of it. Tell me what's going to happen to me. How am I going to fix this?"
"I'm afraid that the situation's out of your hands now. If you have friends, you better hope they care enough to help you, or else you will not survive."
I hesitated. Was she speaking the truth? Was it really out of my hands already? No...
"No. I refuse to believe you. I can't, I won't. It's not possible. You can't predict the future. I make my own decisions. I didn't already made them. It doesn't make sense."
"No, it sure doesn't," she laughed. Pulling a candy wrapper out of her apron pocket, she slid it across the table to me. "I know there's alot going through your mind right now. Trust me, if you keep a firm hold on your sanity just long enough, everything'll turn out great. Go on," she added, as I stared at the candy I had picked up, "It won't bite you. In fact, above anything, it'll help ease the pain."
"What pain," I mumbled. My head was throbbing, sure. My limbs felt like they were about to fall off. But I noticed I wasn't actually in pain.
"The pain of having to understand your choices."
I hate to admit it, but I think she was right when she told me about the candy.
I wish I had taken it.
Charlie Roderick wipes at the dried blood pooled around his brow and turns to leave the room.
"Oh, Oracle," he says. The Oracle looks up at him quizzically.
"I hope his kill code works on you, for all its worth," he declares. He leaves the room briskly, without closing the door. Seraph walks in from the hallway, and closes the door behind him.
"Do you think he will live," Seraph inquires.
The Oracle pauses. "I... don't think so... but nobody can ever be sure, now, can they? Candy?"
The Oracle looks up with a grim smile on her face, and pushes a plate of cookies across the table to where an empty seat has been pushed out. Charlie walks up to the table but does not sit, instead he stand there and glares at the Oracle.
Outside, the sun is beginning to rise into the blood-red skies, filling the room with an eerie theme of death. The Oracle takes a sip from a cup she holds in her hands, and regards Charlie warmly.
"Well, I gue--" The Oracle starts, but Charlie cuts her off with a swipe of his hands. The plate of cookies catches in his open palm and flies across the room to smash into a full-length mirror. Both mirror and cookies shatter into a million pieces, the plate left intact by some strange force.
"Predict that, b****!" Charlie yells. The Oracle does not flinch, instead maintaining a cool gaze on him. "What do you think I am, stupid," he continues shakily. "You could have warned me at any of our past meetings. I could still be some nameless face working for some idiot French man, pockets full of money and content with my life--MY LIFE--but YOU chose--"
"Stop," the Oracle says. Charlie sputters, but no other words fly from his mouth. "You chose not to be told about what would happen to you. I know you've heard this before, but that's how it works. Noone can see past a choice they don't understand."
"Bulls***."
"Could be. For all I know, your Chain Reaction theory could be the real source of all actions made here and in the future. But for a reaction to have happened, there'd have to be an original action, don't you think?"
Charlie begins breathing heavily. His eyes are swimming.
My eyes swam. The Oracle was right, I knew, but I couldn't just let her carry the conversation as she wished. I was there for answers.
"Yeah," I spat, "You opened your mouth, that's the action. Just let me ask you something."
The Oracle inclined her head slightly to the side in question. As if she didn't already know what I was going to say.
"My life is terrible compared to what it once was. Why would you let me continue making these choices when they would contribute to..to... to this," I shouted, pulling a wad of my hair out with a wince. The strands were all sparkling white and frail, a physical manifestion of how I felt. Weak and tired. The hair had no trace of the vibrant green I had hacked my own Encoded Self Image to show, or even the dark silver-grey it flowed after my accidental code bomb exposure.
The Oracle took another sip of whatever she was drinking and sighed sadly. For some reason, that only fueled my anger.
"You're never gonna learn, boy," she whispered, then spoke louder, "You already made the choices, child. Now you are understanding why you made them."
"Bulls***. If I understood why I made the choices, I'd be happier with them."
"That's not true and you know it. You have a hard time thinking with that gash in your head. Did you do that to yourself? You should get it looked at. Anyway, I can't tell you what you're supposed to do next, because you've already chosen what to do."
"You're so full of it. Tell me what's going to happen to me. How am I going to fix this?"
"I'm afraid that the situation's out of your hands now. If you have friends, you better hope they care enough to help you, or else you will not survive."
I hesitated. Was she speaking the truth? Was it really out of my hands already? No...
"No. I refuse to believe you. I can't, I won't. It's not possible. You can't predict the future. I make my own decisions. I didn't already made them. It doesn't make sense."
"No, it sure doesn't," she laughed. Pulling a candy wrapper out of her apron pocket, she slid it across the table to me. "I know there's alot going through your mind right now. Trust me, if you keep a firm hold on your sanity just long enough, everything'll turn out great. Go on," she added, as I stared at the candy I had picked up, "It won't bite you. In fact, above anything, it'll help ease the pain."
"What pain," I mumbled. My head was throbbing, sure. My limbs felt like they were about to fall off. But I noticed I wasn't actually in pain.
"The pain of having to understand your choices."
I hate to admit it, but I think she was right when she told me about the candy.
I wish I had taken it.
Charlie Roderick wipes at the dried blood pooled around his brow and turns to leave the room.
"Oh, Oracle," he says. The Oracle looks up at him quizzically.
"I hope his kill code works on you, for all its worth," he declares. He leaves the room briskly, without closing the door. Seraph walks in from the hallway, and closes the door behind him.
"Do you think he will live," Seraph inquires.
The Oracle pauses. "I... don't think so... but nobody can ever be sure, now, can they? Candy?"
