Chapter 18- Generations Collide (part one)

The sound of the rustling of leaves that whizzed past his head as he drove in the dim light of the new morning soon gave way to the sounds of civilization. Eventually Kaneda found himself driving into what he had once called his home. It was strange he thought, that he had not noticed the stink of exhaust or the noise of the city when he had lived there. Kaneda concluded that he now definitely preferred the roads in the woods to the chaos and confusion of the town and its highways. Still, in spite of himself it felt quite thrilling to be racing down the crumbling streets as fast as his bike could take him. He remembered how earlier that morning the Colonel had gotten a little mad with him when Kaneda told him to stay behind. Kaneda explained to him that the best way to find the gang was to think like them, and the Colonel knew nothing of how the rest of the Capsules thought. Bringing him along would just slow down the search. Eventually Colonel Shikishima had to agree with Kaneda and told him to be very careful. Tucking that old conversation away in the back of his mind Kaneda spent the next hour and a half driving around to all of the Capsules old hangouts, homes and even to the vocational training school, just in case. But he found nothing, not the slightest trace of his friends. He thought hard, trying to figure out where they could possibly be. Where else would a bunch of bikers go?

Kaneda: "Dosei, Tsubasa, Mikomi, Ashita, Yuusha…where the hell are you guys?"

Kaneda eventually came to the ruins of the underground complex that had once housed Akira near the Olympic Stadium. He had heard that it was being used as a homeless shelter in the wake of the "Akira Event". He thought that just maybe his friends could be there, trying to live amongst other survivors. Another hour passed and still nothing. Not a trace. Parking his now dusty red machine next to an enormous slab of uprooted concrete and asphalt Kaneda sat down in the dirt, defeated. In his momentary lapse into depression he began to think…

Kaneda: "This is totally ridiculous! Akira said that he revived everyone, including my gang. I've been to every place that those jerks could possibly be and there's no sign of them. What if…what is Akira really didn't bring them back? What if…"

"If the great lord said that they have arisen, then it must be true."

Kaneda rose up faster than a lightning bolt, having heard the strange telepathic message. He decided to try his own telepathy out. Maybe he could reach whoever had just spoken to him.

Kaneda: "Who…said that?"

And once again the voice spoke inside his brain.

"Your skills are weak. Very weak indeed. I can barely hear your voice child. It would appear that being in the presence of the great lord has only just awakened what abilities you may have."

Kaneda: "I asked…question! Who are y…you?"

"You are very rude child. You shall know my identity all in good time. The least that you can do at the moment is thank me for informing you that your allies are alive and well."

Kaneda: "Really? Do…y'know…where they are? P…lease tell me."

"At leas this time around you expressed some courtesy. I know where they are, they are here with me. They are waiting to meet him, we are all waiting to meet him."

Kaneda: "…You talking…Akira?"

"I know full well that you live at the side of Lord Akira and I wish for you to take us there, to take us to him as soon as possible."

Kaneda: "First of all…I'm no…servant if t…that's what you meant…by living…at his side. And he…no great lord. He's an equal…he's a friend."

"Ah how little you know and understand. Lord Akira is the ultimate power, born into the world as a mere human, transformed into my savior, a new god!"

Kaneda: "Akira's no god! He...always been human!"

"How can you consider him less than that? The power to literally move mountains, to bend hundreds to his will, to create an entire universe that fits in the palm of your hand!"

Kaneda: "…hold on a…second…"

"You held his own personal universe in the palm of your hand child, and moments before that you actually saw it all with your own eyes. Your eyes even had the chance to glimpse into the early lives of those subjects that came after I did."

Kaneda: "You…you're one of them?"

"I am what you might refer to as an earlier model, yes. Those in charge of the project believed me to be dead after one of their many useless experiments. They abandoned me, like a lifeless lump of garbage. But it was all a trick. I was freed. I am the nineteenth child of the process with which politicians and scientists had hoped to create the greatest power on Earth. And after Lord Akira's first awakening I devoted myself, body and soul to awaiting his return. And I am not his only follower child, believe that. You can find my followers, your friends and me within the oldest sections of the city, at a place where the stars in heaven meet our eyes. I shall be waiting; all of us shall be waiting. I am sure that you can figure out my clues child."

Kaneda: "Who are...you?"

"You may call me Lady Miyako, servant to our great lord and master. Now make haste and come before us."

And with those words still ringing within his brain Kaneda wasted no time in driving away from the shelter, all the while trying to figure out the clues that had been laid before him. The woman obviously thought of Akira as some sort of messiah, likely in a religious sense. She sounds like a cult leader of some kind, Kaneda surmised. As for her story about having been in the Akira Project Kaneda considered that to be total truth. She had carried on a lengthy conversation inside his head after all. As for the clues this Miyako woman had given him he could not figure that out as quickly as he had on the other points of his dilemma. While it was obvious that he had to go to the oldest section of the city Kaneda could not imagine a place where "the stars in heaven meet our eyes". What could the enigmatic clue possibly mean? The only way you could see the stars in heaven was either looking up at the night sky or…then it hit him…in grade school he had gone on a field trip to an observatory in order to study the constellations. That was where this Miyako woman wanted him to go, to an old observatory!

To be continued…