I looked at the woman sympathetically. Such a horrid feeling, for the gem to suddenly twist and turn. And to be told that the world would end unless she sacrifised her fetus. Such a hard thing.
Well I wonder how my attitude would have changed if I were getting paid for this quest. I wonder if there will be recognition for the tasks of enduring the twisting pain. It was worse than childbirth. I know it, all three of us knew it.
The window, behind us- continued to flicker.
"Nooo!" Shouted the woman.
It flickered once more- and then disappeared.
"The fetus swallowed the gate!" Albert shouted.
"Hey, what if we whistled?" I asked Albert.
"Yes, you could try that."
I looked to the woman, "Ma'am, if we all try whistling. That is how I found Theresa. It's about making some sort of effort- the gems will change color int he direction of the next gem. bearer. Maybe we can recapture the window by using our effort.
So sad. The circumstance. I miss the characteristics of all the people I waited on. The snobby, the abnoxious- the demanding customers. So much better than this physical torment I endured. And the monotonous effort of trying to whistle for half an hour."
"Ach! Get out of my sight!" The woman shouted in a high piercing scream.
Blood came gushing out of her mouth, her eyes fell out- and her tongue fell out. "Ahhh!" Her scream faltered as her lifeless corpse fell down.
Albert looked at me in horror.
"No! No! This is horrible. Now the gate will only be open for a limited amount of time- it won't be able to be recharged by the whistling effort of the gem bearers. The gate will be accesible through the fetus- for twenty four hours! On top of that, we have to whistle to find the fourth gem bearer, instead of being convieintly giving directions."
"Oh no, this is horrible." I agreed.
I have to admit, I'm not cut out for this. I'll just try to play the role of a super woman in charge of saving the universe from freezing to extinction. If it froze- really, it would cease to exist. All of its function would be gone. Essentially- it would no longer be a universe. It would be a big block of ice.
Albert looked at me. For the first time- he looked worried. His eyes were filled with despair and questioning. Through our painful- twisting- ordeal- he had remained calm, but at our present scenario- he looked struck down with horror.
"Albert. This is scaring me." I looked at him. It was not the horrible death of this young woman, right in front of us, that was disturbing him. It was something beyond the comprehensio of me. A terror in the face of death, 20 times as horrible as death.
"Twenty four hours, and we have to utilize our two gems- we will have to utilize the whistling technique, using the gem as a copmass. We won't be told the direct address, like before."
"This is terrible." I said, glaring at the dead body. I walked forward, and stared at the corpse. Her nostrils were flared- her eye sockets red- blood dripping from them. Her torso lay on the ground. She was very sexy- and seemed nice and pleasant to be around.
"Her baby will have to die. The gate is in his ribcage."
"That's so tragic." I said.
"Maybe we can somehow move the gate- by experiencing the pain again. I might be willing to endure the pain- in order to save his life."
"If we could inflict you with the pain again, the gate master might consider moving the gate."
"Gate master?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm sorry to say, there is no God. The universe is not a guaranteed system. It's a system fall of uncertainties. It is run by paid employees, doing their best to uphold the universes. Many individuals have tasks, and the world is dependent on their effort.
"In a fantasy world where God exists- there is no liklihood of errors, the world is guaranteed to move on. Here, in reality, mistakes happen- and there could truly not be a tomorrow, if parts of the system fall through, or if Bob the gatekeeper calls in sick too many times."
"So there is no God?" Theresa asked.
"Correct. The stability of the universe is dependent on our effort. We must please the gatekeeper. There are thousands of universes- so one ending is nota big deal to teh gatekeeper.
"When I ran for two days straight- he was pleased by my sacrifising relaxation. My ultimate effort translates literally to gold in their dimension- which can be used to buy objects to make the gatekeeping job more leisurely. So essentially, I am paying the gatekeeper to allow me to cross over to the other side."