You take a seat on a stone bench. The surface is warm from the sun.
"What's your name?" Francesca asks, her hands resting on her long white skirt.
You give your first and last names.
"Matamoros... And your father?"
Gabriel. You ask the reason for this sudden interest, but she doesn't answer immediately; instead, she stares into nothingness as if searching for threads of Ether. Worried, you call out to her. Francesca reacts, looks at you, and surprises you by speaking of your father's occupation as a revolutionary, as well as facts about his death in the Salamanca rebellion against the Matriarchy, including the day and the method—details that even you didn't know. You start looking at her as if she were a specter. She, realizing your apprehension, rests her small hand on your fingers on the bench to let you know she is flesh and blood.
"You are ashamed of him."
How could you not be? He was a good soldier, and a great father; he taught you and Isaac how to defend yourselves. But his cause was outlawed, besides ending in failure. There's a reason you had to escape from Spain. Ten years on the run, and you don't even have the accent anymore. Your Jaspanglishinese is neutral, aseptic.
"Everyone who burns their life away in the divine war ascends to heaven. The factions, the methods, even the result—none of that matters."
You are still not sure if her serenity relaxes you or makes you even more uncomfortable.
"Every man, woman, or child who perishes with a weapon in their hands earns their mark in The Mortuary. I do not exaggerate about immortality. It is vital for the great mission that we remember the costs and lessons of war."
The Mortuary, the black book of the dead, one of the insignias of the Belichology cult. In high school, you had a goth girlfriend who told you about its existence. Rumor has it that the members of the cult know it by heart—millions of names, millions of lines. You ask Francesca about the authenticity of the myth. She smiles and nods.
"It's simple. I just perform a few little mental tricks. Like opening an office filing cabinet, or using shortcuts for a series of folders on a computer... But in your head. I could teach you."
You tense up. Now the invitation is even more obvious. But would you really be interested in leaving your body and soul to a cult? You would have to drop out of university. You would disappoint your mother. Isaac, well, Isaac wouldn't care.
Join Belichology (Scene 17)
Say goodbye and catch up with Isaac to go to the university (Scene 11)