Conjecture.

It was the first thing I stared at after I woke up the next morning. It was mammoth. The picture on my postcard didn’t do it justice. The Tzoid was this enormous complex of a four-walled pyramid missing its topmost point, and it was surrounded on all corners by even taller obelisks that also had flat surfaces on top. There was a niche carved into the side of this mountain where it rested. That must’ve been why we didn’t see it before. The mountain obscured our view. The Tzoid glowed the night before when I saw it from our window, and it glistened this morning when the daylight hit it. I could feel it call to me, like there was something within that awaited me to experience its magic. I took another sip of tea as I heard Etand turn off the shower.

Unlike my first memory of the cabin, I was the first one awake here. Maybe it was the anxiety of the unknown that got to me, but I couldn’t find it in me to get much rest – not here, and certainly not with that thing out there. Luci and Soren walked back into the room after going downstairs for breakfast. I noticed they had brought up some food for me and Etand as well. That was kind of them. I began wondering what would become of us after we got to the Tzoid. These people that I didn’t even know two days ago were quickly becoming good friends. Part of it had to do with the fact that none of us had anyone else here, I’m sure. What was it that the Orcala called us... the Belonging?

Etand came out of a dark bathroom looking refreshed in his other set of clothes. We all felt that way once we cleaned up and changed. Downstairs, we went to meet the shuttle driver in the lobby as Aj told us to do the night before. Out of curiosity, I went outside to look for our car, but it was nowhere to be seen. About that time, a van pulled up and the driver stepped out. “Are you the people I’m taking to the Tzoid?” he asked.

“I believe so,” I answered. “Say, weren’t you the guy we saw when we first arrived last night?”
“Yes that was me. I’m Manuel Mann. I work for the Tropical Mountain Inn now and then.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said. I offered to shake his hand, but he declined, and I could understand why. Manuel showed us that he had no hands, yet he was eager to point out that the van he drove was customized for his condition. Most of the driving was done with his feet. Needless to say, we helped loading our little duffel bags into the back. I opted to sit up front with Manuel so I could see the Tzoid as we approached it.

The early morning drive gave me another opportunity to think long and hard about our situation. I was curious. Just about everyone I’ve met here is impaired in some way. My traveling companions are all blind, deaf or mute, and just yesterday we met a guy that had a fake tongue, and now him. Why is that? I mean, what was I missing?

“The big picture,” said Manuel. “That’s what you’re looking for isn’t it?”

“Huh? Oh, well…yeah.” I answered.

“Don’t worry. This isn’t a bad conclusion, for me at least.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I used to be like you. I remember it more than most people around here because I rediscovered my history through the Tzoid.”

“I’m not sure I follow you.”

“Look, we all washed up on the beach down there. And I’m sure the Centaurs found you too, so we’ve all been through it. I was on a similar journey, but I failed. Look at me now. I was a writer at one point, and I even failed at that. For that reason, I tend to think my having these stumps was due to me not applying their use earlier. And hey, this isn’t so bad. The people are nice and I’ve learned to adapt pretty well.”

“What do you mean, you ‘failed?’ Failed at what?”

“Listen, you can’t make it. I’m not the only one that’s tried.”

“Make what?”

“Make it out of here,” he asserted. “You do want to make it out of here, right? I mean, I’m sure you’re like me – wanting all these answers to questions you can’t even explain. Well, give up. It’s easier.”

This information caught me quite off guard, but I was sure I wasn’t about to give up on whatever this was.

“Do you still want to go?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” I answered assuredly.

We pulled up to the outer gates of the complex and got out. We were awed by its magnificent size. “Here, you might want this,” Manuel said as he handed me a strange palm-sized object.

“What is it?”

“A Themet gave it to me when I embarked on the Walk. I never found a use for it, but it might come in handy for you. They called it the Eye of Fate, but to me it’s a worthless piece of shit.”

“Then why would I need it?”

“You never know,” he said as he stepped back into the van. “Wait! Aren’t you going to wait for us?” I asked.

Manuel looked up to the Tzoid and back at us. “You won’t need me to,” he replied. And just like that he drove away, stranding us here.

We were met at the entrance by Brother Guy Cauntz, who described himself as a Themetic monk and temple guardian.

“So this place is a temple?” asked Etand.

“Yes,” said Brother Guy, “a very sacred one at that.”

“So what are we doing here?” I wondered aloud.

Brother Guy had an answer ready for us. “We get many like you. People come here who are on a quest to find themselves or discover the reason for their existence.”

“Is that why we’re here?” I asked.

“Perhaps. That is for you to decide,” he said.

I looked around again, as confused now as I was when I washed ashore. I remembered the familiar aspects of the first part of our journey, how things seemed like stuff I’d drawn or written about in another time in my life. “Tell me, Brother, what is this place,” I inquired. Brother Guy just smiled and invited us into the courtyard in front of the Tzoid.

“Confidence, my son. Confidence will reveal all.”

All I wanted were straight answers, but that seemed impossible here. Etand had apparently had enough mystical mumbo-jumbo too, and was becoming frustrated. “Aside from listening to your cryptic advice, what are we supposed to do?” he asked.

“Make a choice. Would you like to remain here, not knowing why or whenst you are here, or would you rather seek solutions and a return to normal? If you prefer the latter, you may enter the Tzoid at your will, one at a time, to return to the lives that you’ve known. If not, you can remain here in Montedio permanently.”

It felt like an ultimatum from a religious nutcase, but I felt like we were short on options. Luci was becoming scared again as well. Then I thought back to Phocus, and his faith in particular. If a robot can have such a devout belief in something he doesn’t know to be true, then surely I could at least take a chance on what Brother Guy was telling us. Etand thought the same thing, and spoke up to say so.

“Okay, I’ll go, but on one condition. I want her to go in with me.”

Luci seemed enthused at that suggestion, and Brother Guy politely obliged. Etand and Luci turned back to Soren and myself.

“Good luck,” I said. “It’s been fun. I wish you the best.”

“Oh, I don’t think this is the last we’ll see of each other. Think positive. Don’t think in terms of goodbyes.”

The four of us embraced like the friends we had become, and Luci escorted Etand into the dark, narrow passageway leading into the Tzoid. Almost as soon as they entered though, Brother Guy told us their journey was a success.

“How do you know,” I asked.

“As a Themet, I can sense when it is so.”

Soren volunteered to go next. After seeing Etand and Luci do it, he was eager for his own turn. I hugged him briefly before he set of into its shadowy interior.

“The young man was also successful,” Brother Guy informed me.

“I guess that just leaves me. What’s in there?” I asked.

“I cannot reveal that to you, for I do not know. The experience is unique to each individual who enters.”

“So I just go on my own faith?”

“You understand now. When you are ready, it’s your turn son.”

I could feel my heart beating faster and faster, my pulse rate increasing. With adrenaline surging through my veins, I took a deep breath and ran – faster than I thought I could – into the darkness of the Tzoid. I refused to look back. After all, I intuitively knew that there was no turning back anyway. The wheels of change were in motion.

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