[REDACTED] Wu

The past, in a place far away ...

"Reality." I say, a single word, laden with meaning.

My audience stares at me in silence, attentive but nervous. These trainees are the latest batch from the Directorate's academies, but their lack of initiative and excitement is disappointing. I was appointed to provide this lecture not just because I'm an excellent teacher, but also because of my experience with the Tombstone system itself.

The assembly hall had already been cleared of the camp's inhouse students, giving me space to conduct this lecture for the visitors. A large screen had been set up on the wall, coupled with a camera facing the stage. The screen displays a stream of real time footage of me speaking as the camera records everything for posterity.

"Yah turned this world against us." I continue, my gaze sweeping across the audience, "War. Discord. Even now pestilence stalks the land and the air is poison."

The audience nods in silence. Good, some response at last.

"How have we managed to persevere?" I ask the crowd.

Silence.

"Anyone?" I quiz mildly, disappointed by my students clamming up. The answer really should be obvious to anyone paying attention at the Academy.

"The Tombstone System." I continue unflustered, "Laymen know it as the Faith Denial Field. But it is far more than that."

"Its what let us take back our planet from the Holy Empire?" someone from the crowd finally speaks up.

"Very good, yes." I smile, gratified by the audience finally participating in the lecture, "The Tombstone is both our salvation and strength. And all members of the Directorate must be schooled in its principles and operation."

The crowd becomes jittery again. Come now, what do they think is going to happen? Learning does not need to be difficult.

"Or at least in the system's basics." I smile reassuringly, "Nothing terribly complicated, as long as you put your heart into it."

I clasp my hands, warming to the meat of the subject matter as the camp guards dim the lights in the assembly hall.

"The roots of the Tombstone System can be traced to one of the fundamental truths of that old monster Yah." I lecture before pointing at one of the students, "You. What is that fundamental nature?"

"Trinity?" the man licks his lips, a slight sheen of sweat building on his forehead.

"Correct. Trinity." I nod in agreement, "Three persons in a single godhead. An identical essence, shared in three ways."

My will flexes, reaching out into the invisible spectrum. And deep within me I feel a split, like a coupon being torn from its book.

The crowd turns about in surprise as I begin speaking again, but this time my voice comes from the opposite end of the hall.

"Humanity too, bears the same trait." my doppelganger intones, emerging from the darkness, "Within each of us is a trinity, waiting to be roused from slumber."

"For even Yah admits," I laugh lightly as second doppelganger greets the crowd from the side of the assembly, "each of us is made in His divine image."

"Ego." the first doppelganger snickers with a playful wave of his hand.

"Id." the second one grimaces, unhappy about being separated but his voice nevertheless placid.

"Superego." I conclude with a bow, "The three who are one."

The crowd stirs, murmuring with awe. Of course they knew about all this already, but as the saying goes, seeing is believing. What I have displayed is nothing more than simple human achievement. And there's nothing better to use in inspiring the next generation to even greater heights. I heard that when the Directorate recruits its operatives, the recruiter often pulls off a similar trick. Both to awe the subject and to make him realize the gravitas of the situation.

Its a good ruse though. All things considered.

But a poor teacher is satisfied with just teaching parlor tricks. And I am no poor teacher. My doppelgangers step back into the shadows before dissipating into the frequency. A warm feeling suffuses my chest, as what was separated is whole once more.

"And if we are made in Yah's image," I continue to hector, "Why can't we accomplish what Yah can? What stops us from doing so?"

"Divine blessings?" someone in the crowd raises his hand.

I frown. Nonsense like this should have been stamped out in the Academy. Standards are slipping. I really need to have a word with the person in charge one of these days.

"Nothing." I give the ignorant student a harsh glare then sends him shrinking back into his seat, "There is nothing in this world that can stop humanity from doing what Yah can."

Putting both hands behind my back, I narrow my eyes, making sure each and every student understands what's coming next.

"Bring out Arsenio." I tell the camp guards. He's being stubborn again, but that's fine. If Arsenio wants to serve as an object lesson, I do not mind in the least.

The guards salute and pull Arsenio out from the adjacent waiting room. The dear inmate grits his teeth, looking venomously at me, muscles taut with anger and tension. Arsenio knows what's coming next. He just refuses to accept reeducation. So as a responsible teacher under the three Cardinal Principles, it is my duty to make him understand his wrongdoing.

As painful as the process may be.

"You dare claim to be equal to god?" Arsenio demands as he's dragged up to the stage by the guards. He's not resisting so much this time though, so maybe he's improving somewhat? One can only hope.

"Reality is fungible." I explain to the crowd, "It bends into the shape of whomever has enough will. Divine miracles, the powers exhibited by the Elect during the war, they are all based around the same principle."

At my gesture, the guards throw Arsenio to the floor and start beating him with their batons. Arsenio grits his teeth, refusing to scream. The camera duly starts recording his punishment.

"For instance, right now, no one is beating Arsenio." I continue the lecture as the crowd goes wide eyed, "His injuries are the cause of falling down the stairs."

"Bull -" Arsenio gasps but I cut him off.

"Is anyone beating Arsenio?" I ask rhetorically.

"No sir." one of the guards answers as he gives Arsenio another hearty blow to the chest.

"How did he get injured?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Fell down the stairs sir." the other guard huffs as he kicks the man hard.

"Just so." I clap my hands, "Therefore students, Arsenio here was never beaten. Understand?"

There's a low rumble from my audience and a few reluctant nods. But even more dubious looks. Nothing more than what I expected.

"Play back the recording." I tell the technical staff. The screen shimmers as the footage skips back for about a minute in time.

And there's a collective, very gratifying, gasp from the crowd as they watch the full HD video of Arsenio falling down the stairs.

"This recording was not tampered with." I say, "It is being streamed live, as I speak to all of you. I had determined that Arsenio was not beaten. And therefore he was not."

The crowd begins to clap in applause, true, honest admiration on their faces now. Now they truly understand.

"Why are you hurt, Arsenio?" I turn to the man and ask solicitously.

Arsenio's face distorts grotesquely as he struggles against the tidal wave of reality crashing into him. His memory doesn't lie. Arsenio knows what really happened. But memory doesn't equal fact.

Reality does.

"I ... I .... fell down the stairs ..." Arsenio visible deflates as he mewls pathetically.

"This is the heart of the Tombstone System." I intone to my audience, "To amplify the will of humanity. To silence the word of god. No world setting is beyond our reach. With the Tombstone, Earth prevails."

"Earth prevails! Earth prevails!" the trainees cheer rapturously, their voices rising to the roof of the hall.

"Of course, control over the Tombstone is not easy." I take up the subject again once the cheers die down, "It requires discipline and sacrifice. A strong will is not tempered overnight. However, I believe each and every one of you today -"

"Why can't we reverse the environmental decline then?" someone in the crowd pipes up. Squinting, I realize that its the same person who was talking about divine blessings just now.

"If its just a matter of will, shouldn't the Tombstone System be able to do something about it?" the trainee prattles on.

The guards roll their eyes and give me a look. Every session has its resident troublemaker. I've been expecting it ever since the lecture began. And my response is always the same. Turning the troublemaker into part of the lesson.

"Nothing is beyond humanity's will." I say flatly, unleashing the power of the frequency against the delinquent. Reality bends again, erasing the objectionable statement and replacing it with something else.

"Maybe the Tombstone runs on something?" the troublemaker squawks, "Something that only god could provide?"

"Nothing is beyond -" I begin to speak again but this time a sharp pain stabs into my heart, silencing me.

"And whatever it is," the troublemaker rambles, "its running out. It started running out ever since we drove Yah away?"

Something's wrong. Reality is pushing back at me. There's true faithful her -

"Hey, commandant." Arsenio chuckles unpleasantly at me, "I've got a lesson for you as well."

Before I can shut him up, a bright flash tears through the hall, followed by an earsplitting roar. A wave of hot air buffets my body, sending me sprawling to the ground. The guards are bowled over as well, cowering impotently. As my eyesight clears, I take in the crater in the middle of the hall and the bloody pieces of meat scattered all over the place. A few students stagger weakly about, bearing terrible wounds. My first instinct is to go to their aid, but another pressing matter interferes.

Gunfire. Coming from outside the camp. The warning klaxon howls in defiance, urging the camp's security to rally.

We're under attack.

Arsenio's foot presses down on my chest as he towers over me.

"You knew." I curse.

"Sure. But let's get back to the lesson, commandant." Arsenio smirks as he pulls out a wicked shiv from his pants.

"Do you know about taqiyya?"