26 Jan The Seer of Possibilities

Sometimes, otherworldly beings find interesting ways to try and contact you. They might capitalize on your use of a Ouija Board, or maybe come to you in a dream, or sometimes they speak through another person. They each have their own style and preference that’s particular to them. The one who contacted Jack spoke to him through his computer, or more accurately, via onscreen text.

The first time it happened, Jack was seated at his PC, playing solitaire. A blinking red light from the router indicated that his internet connection was down again. This was a near-weekly occurrence, and Jack simply made note of it and returned his attention to his game. That was, until the screen abruptly went black. A moment later, red text appeared.

Jack wondered briefly if he’d been hacked, or worse. Then he read the text, and everything changed.

“Hi Jack, I need a favor from you. You’re a very special person and I know you’ll help me. I can’t ask this of just anyone. I really need your help.”

Jack was thoroughly confused. The router light was still blinking red. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was on the receiving end of some sort of joke.

As if in response to his thoughts, the message continued.

“ I know this is weird for you. But I don’t want you to worry, Jack. I have just a small, easy favor to ask. I’ll make sure you’re rewarded.”

Panic-stricken, Jack reached around and pulled the internet cable completely from the wall.

“Still here, Jack. I don’t want to waste any more of your time, so I’ll get right to what I need. Tomorrow when you go to work I need you to move the large potted plant that’s next to the elevator on the ground floor. All you have to do is pull it out three inches from the wall. If you do it at 8:17 AM, no one will see you, and none will be the wiser.”

Jack sat there, shaking and unresponsive, trying to figure out what was happening.

The writing continued.

“Look, Jack, I’m asking you because I know you’ll do it. You won’t let me down. You’re special. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

This time Jack pulled the power cord itself from the wall. The red text blinked into oblivion.

For a moment, Jack wondered if he was dreaming.

Still reeling from the experience, he took a warm shower and got ready for bed, all the while trying to convince himself that he’d imagined everything, or that he was the victim of some elaborate joke. But, he wondered, who would play that kind of joke on him? He kept mostly to himself, and didn’t have any friends, or enemies, to speak of.

He woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. His shift started at 8:30 AM, and Jack was never late for work. Each day he pulled into the parking lot no later than 8:10 AM. Normally, he’d just go right in, but the message had told him to move the plant at exactly 8:17 AM.

Was he really going to do it? Overnight, Jack’s fear had mutated into curiosity. What was the harm in doing as he was told? So what if he moved the plant? It wasn’t wrong, or illegal. The most reasonable course of action then, in Jack’s mind, was to move the plant.

Jack made up his mind. He’d do it – he would move the planet three inches from the wall as requested – and nothing would happen. Then he’d be able to put this whole crazy matter behind him.

One minute before 8:17, Jack left his car and walked towards the building. He entered the foyer at the exact time he was supposed to. The message was right; the office was unusually quiet. Jack found that odd, as the building was normally busy this time of morning, but the temporary lull had been accurately predicted.

Jack took a deep breath and made his move.

He walked up to the large potted plant placed firmly between the two elevators in the lobby of the 10-story building. The plant was clearly fake, the same decorative office staple that dozens of people pass by daily without realizing it. Jack was surprised by its weight. He put some might into his effort and repositioned the plant as asked, then stood back and admired his handiwork. He turned and cast a glance around the lobby. People were coming in behind him and the lobby was starting to fill up. No one seemed to notice that the out-of-place plant; nothing seemed different at all. Jack skipped the next elevator and waited for something to happen… but nothing did. Finally Jack entered the elevator and made it to his 7th floor cubicle, on time as usual.

Jack’s co-workers, if asked to describe him, would likely refer to him as polite, quiet, respectful, and competent. What they failed to realize is that Jack didn’t care for other people all that much. That’s not to say he disliked anyone; rather, he had very little interest in getting to know them or being their friend.

All save for one.

Allie, the girl two cubicles away, was the sole exception. Smitten by her beautiful smile, natural blonde hair and slender figure, Jack was very interested in getting to know her better. In spite of his poor luck with women in the past, he seemed to be making progress with Allie. Every morning as he passed her desk, he’d stop by for a chat. Their conversations lasted only a minute at first, then two, and grew from there. Jack was pleasantly surprised that she actually seemed to like him.

On this particular morning, as usual, they spoke briefly. While conversing about Allie’s wild night out, the elevator doors opened up behind them. Out hobbled James Bentley, their boss.

A moment later, everyone in the office was startled to hear Bentley shouting and cursing in pain.

Allie was quick to inquire. “Oh my gosh! What happened, Mr. Bentley?”

“Ah, it’s my foot! That plant in the lobby, someone ought to move that stupid thing. I ran straight into it and twisted my ankle!”

Bentley winced each time his injured leg touched the floor. Allie rushed to his side to offer her assistance.

“Mr. Bentley, sir, let me help you. You can barely walk,” came Allies’s concerned reply. “Do you think you’ll need to go to the hospital?”

“No can do; meetings all day. Too important to cancel. I’ll just have to tough it out.”

Jack left Allie’s cubicle mid-conversation and sunk down into his chair, stunned. It was his fault, he was sure of it. For a moment he wondered how could he have been so stupid and careless. Still, he reasoned, there was no use in worrying about it now. The damage was done. Besides, a twisted ankle would heal. Everything would be alright.

* * * * * *

Upon his return home, Jack went immediately to his computer and turned it on. As soon as the computer booted up, the screen went black, and a new message, in the same familiar red, popped up.

“How was your day, Jack?”

He sat there, staring at the screen, unsure how to respond.

The message on the screen continued.

“Actually, I know how your day was, but never let it be said that I’m not polite. You’re wondering what’s going on. You want to know why James Bentley had to twist his ankle. Well, Jack, this chain of events isn’t done playing out. I don’t want to tell you too much too soon, but this will all make sense to you in short order. Just go to work tomorrow like you normally do. Don’t worry about a thing, Jack. You’ll be rewarded. You’re special. Talk to you tomorrow.”

Jack sat back in his chair. What was going on? Who was this was sending him messages? Jack was curious – perhaps even a bit excited – to see what would happen next.

The next morning at work, everything was business as usual. Jack noticed that the plant had been pushed back fully against the wall, probably by the night cleaning crew. James Bentley showed up shortly after lunch, hobbling into his office on his one good foot.

“I tell you, my foot is killing me,” Jack overheard him say, but apparently his boss had a meeting he didn’t want to miss, and wasn’t about to let him injury get in the way of that. Jack didn’t see Bentley again until 3 PM, when he was spotted limping up to Allie’s desk.

“Allie,” Bentley asked, “you’re not doing anything right now, are you?”

“Um, no, sir. Nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow, I guess.”

“Good… could you please drive me to see my doctor? I probably should’ve gone yesterday, but I just couldn’t get away. I’m pretty sure I broke my ankle. I barely made it here this morning. and driving is practically impossible. We can take my car if you want.”

“Yeah, of course, Mr. Bentley, I don’t have a problem taking you.” Turning to Jack, she said her goodbyes. “See you tomorrow, Jack!”

Allie put on her coat and trailed behind Bentley as he struggled down the hallway. She gave a half turn and a shrug in Jack’s direction, flashing him a smile, as she walked away. Watching her leave, Jack began to realize just how much she meant to him, and he was determined to ask her out to dinner when she got back.

A few minutes, the entire office overheard the blaring of a semi-trailer’s horn, followed by the sound of screeching brakes, and lastly, a sickening metallic crunch. Even on the 7th floor the collision was loud. The office workers gasped and ran to the windows.

A colleague gasped. “Is that Mr. Bentley’s car?”

“Hard to tell from up here,” someone responded. “It’s so banged up.”

The horrifying implications of what had just happened were immediately obvious to Jack.

“No, no, no!” he cried. “This can’t be happening!”

Shaking, Jack ran to the elevator and headed to the ground floor, accompanied by several bawling coworkers. As they joined the growing crowd around the scene of the accident, Jack heard the far-off sound of emergency sirens. Looking beyond the gawkers, he could see that the 18-wheeler had hit the car broadside, and that Allie had been ejected from the vehicle through the windshield, and was now lying on the pavement, motionless. Still seated in the passenger side of the car, a look of shock evident on his blood-covered face. Jack couldn’t tell if he was alive. The driver’s side, where Allie had previously been seated, had taken the brunt of the damage. The space she’d once occupied had been crushed to a third of its original size.

The crowd was stunned. The combined sound of crying, screams and sirens was deafening. From his vantage point, James watched in shock and horror as paramedics attended to his former companion’s twisted, broken body. But even before they arrived, he knew: Allie was dead.

Jack sprinted to his car and raced home, desperately seeking answers. Arriving at his house, he stormed into his office and paused. There it was. His computer. He reached for the power button, but then hesitated and retracted his hand. He wanted to turn it on, but was afraid of what he’d discover. Was he really the one responsible for Allie’s death? The whole chain of events had started with him. In truth, he already knew the answer.

Finally, after several minutes spent pacing the room, Jack mustered the courage to boot up his PC. The screen flickered and then went black, and the familiar text appeared again on the screen.

“No, Jack, it’s not your fault. I know you’re blaming yourself. But all people die eventually, some just sooner than others.”

Jack stared at the screen. He resisted the urge to throw the monitor to the ground. After a moment, the writing continued.

“Jack, I’m going to tell you something, and I really need you to seriously consider everything I’m about to say. You thought you were in love with Allie. The truth is, you were just lusting after her. Forgive me, but every once in a great while it’s best to be blunt. Jack, she wasn’t the one for you. She would’ve made your life miserable. Yes, you would’ve found the courage to ask her out. She actually was interested in you. She thought you’d make a good ‘project.’ Sad for her, really, not for you. I want you to think back to all the things she told you. Why did her last boyfriend break up with her?”

“Because she cheated on him,” Jack mumbled under his breath.

“Because she cheated on him, Jack. She would have done the same to you. She would have made you happy for about two months, and then miserable for the next four years. Sneaking around, laughing at you behind your back, spending all your money. Once you finally got rid of her, you would have been so jaded that you’d never date again. This is true, Jack. I see all future possibilities, the ones that come to pass and the ones that don’t. You’ve seen how she really is, Jack, but you let your lust for her blind you to the truth. Together, you and I have made sure you avoided that path. One more thing, Jack; this isn’t done playing out yet. There’s more to come.”

“No! You monster! You killed her!” Jack screamed and threw the monitor from the desk. It landed on the floor in an explosion of sparks.

Jack barely slept that night, and the next day he wasn’t sure he wanted to go to work. But his curiosity had been piqued, and his anger had subsided somewhat.

No work was done that day at the office. The company brought in grief counselor. People shared their thoughts, cried and hugged. James Bentley had survived the accident, but was in a coma. The doctors thought he might recover eventually, but no one could be sure.

Late in the afternoon, Jack was approached by Diego Salbara, the head of his division. Salbara was blunt and upfront, and he offered James’ position to Jack. Technically speaking, it was a promotion, albeit intended to be a temporary one, but Bentley would be out for months, at least.

“Let’s keep this low key for now,” Salbara told him. “I know it might seem quick, but the Lancaster project Bentley was working on can’t be stopped. It’s too important to the company. I need someone in charge right away. This can’t wait.”

Stunned, Jack accepted the promotion. He left work with a strange mixture of feelings, not really sure how he felt about anything. On his way home, he stopped at the electronics store and bought a new monitor. He made it home and powered up the computer. Once again the writing appeared on the screen.

“Jack, I want to be the first one to congratulate you! I’m proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

Jack stared, unblinking, at the screen.

“Jack, I must beg your forgiveness. I haven’t properly introduced myself. I am the Seer. As I said before, I see what will be, and also what can be. Mine is a powerful gift indeed. But for all my power, Jack, there are… limitations. I can see and make predictions, and, with enough effort, I can communicate. But I don’t have a body. Regrettably, mine was taken from me a long, long time ago. That’s why I need you, Jack. Think of me as an artist of sorts; a painter, if you will. And you’ll be my brush and canvas. I want you to work with me, Jack. It’s quite simple. All I ask is that you complete simple tasks for me from time to time.”

In spite of everything that had happened, Jack had to admit he was intrigued.

“Before you decide, I’d like to make two things clear. First, I’ll never lie to you. Secondly, I’ll never ask you to do anything which itself is wrong or illegal. Yes, bad things will result, and sometimes people will die. But they’re going to die eventually anyways, right, Jack? And the bad will always be balanced out by something good happening to you.”

Jack winced at the thought of the harm he’d already done and considered pulling the plug again, but he fought the urge. Hadn’t he been misled already? After all, if he’d known at the time that Allie was going to die, he’d have never gone through with the original favor. Yet the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the Seer hadn’t lied to him; it had only withheld information. Moreover, the Seer was right. Everyone would die someday. Why not let some good come of it?

“Work with me, Jack. Together we’ll make incredible things happen. Oh, the things we’ll do, Jack! They shall have great consequences! It’s going to be beautiful, Jack, and you’ll be rewarded each and every time! That’s the beauty of my art. Simply complete one single, seemingly insignificant task, resulting in a series of events, and culminating in a wonderful reward for you!”

Jack stood, as if in a stupor, contemplating the meaning of it all. The Seer continued.

“Oh, Jack, I can see you’re having trouble with this. Do you realize that if I were to stop talking to you right now, and leave you to your own devices, that in the end it would make little difference? In two weeks’ time you would return, begging to join me… That’s right… you’re going to say ‘yes.’ It’s only a matter of time. So, instead of waiting, why don’t we cut to the chase? Let’s get started, Jack. When all of this is over, you’re going to thank me. I promise you.”

Jack considered what the Seer had said. His initial feeling of revolt was slowly fading. He paused, and then for the first time, he placed his fingers on the keyboard and responded directly to the Seer.

“What do you want me to do next?”

* * * * * *

As years passed, Jack did every favor the Seer asked of him, and as the Seer had promised, Jack was rewarded for his actions each time. The rewards often came in unexpected and interesting ways. One of the more memorable experiences for Jack happened about two years after he first agreed to get involved.

“Jack, I need you to go downtown tomorrow,” the Seer requested. “Enter Garmin’s Liquor at exactly 12:37 PM. A man will ask you a question. The answer you’re to give him is ‘27.’”

As always, the Seer’s instructions were simple and direct, yet mysterious. The next day, as requested, Jack entered the store. Standing in front of him at the counter, filling out a lottery slip, was a burly construction worker.

“Let’s see here,” the stranger mused aloud. “My birthday, that’s the 15th. My wife’s birthday, that’s the 24th. And my kids’ ages: 2, 10 and 13.”

The man scratched his head and looked around, zeroing in on Jack.

“Hey, buddy! I need another number. Ya got one for me?”

Jack smiled and replied, “27.”

“Really? I was thinkin’ bout playin’ 35. But you seem like a guy who’s in the know. Let’s go with 27!” With that, the man completed his slip and paid for his lottery ticket. “See ya, pal!” he said happily, giving Jack a pat on the shoulder on his way out the door.

Jack tried not to put any more thought into what would happen to this man.

“Just let these things play out, Jack. You’ll never guess how things end up, so just let yourself be surprised,” the Seer had advised him.

Still, it was impossible not to wonder about these things from time to time. Considering the way the Seer worked there was no possible way that he’d actually helped this man, but a losing lottery number? It was too simple, really. He couldn’t imagine he’d actually given him a winning number. So, when two weeks later Jack ran into the same man again, this time at the grocery store, he was surprised.

“Hey, buddy! I remember you! Check it out… I won!” Indeed, the man looked like a million dollars, dressed in brand new clothes, and sporting a new gold watch, not to mention a big, goofy smile.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, but I’m glad you’re here! I coulda never won without you. Hey, lemme buy these groceries for you! No, wait… that’s not good enough! Hold on just a second…”

Reaching into his pocket, the man removed his checkbook and promptly wrote Jack a check for ten-thousand dollars. “It’s the least I can do for my good luck charm! Always gotta treat people right!”

After thanking the man, and feeling a bit confused by the whole thing, Jack raced home to his computer. After turning it on, the Seer’s writing appeared on the screen.

“Well, Jack, how does it feel to be ten-thousand dollars richer?”

“It feels good… but we’ve never helped anyone before. Why are we starting now?” Jack asked that question with a tinge of guilt. He never liked to admit that people were being hurt by his actions, but in this case his curiosity drowned out any feelings of remorse.

“Oh, Jack, we haven’t helped anyone. Yes, that man is happy now, but he’ll have lost every last penny within two years. You saw it for yourself; he just gives money away! Old friends, lost relatives…they’re all going to come asking him for money. And there will be some very bad investments as well. The stress of losing everything will lead to his wife leaving him. She’ll take the kids, too. He’ll be alone and broke, a ruined man who would have been much better off if he’d never won. You needn’t feel bad, Jack. It’s the man’s own stupidity and greed that will do this to him.”

Jack felt some regret, but the Seer’s rationalization, and focusing on his own reward, always put him at peace in the end.

Through the years, no two tasks were ever alike. Sometimes the effects of his actions were obvious; other times, they caused a chain reaction so complex that he simply could not follow it.

One such request, in particular, stood out.

“Go to the County Administrator’s building,” the Seer once advised, “and park in space number 43 at 4:47 PM.”.

Jack did as he was told, and two months later he met and fell in love with Donna, his future wife. He wouldn’t have known the two events were linked if he hadn’t asked the Seer about it.

“Jack, when you parked in that space, you caused the person who would’ve parked there to use a different spot. She bumped the car next to her. She barely made a scratch, but she called her insurance agent anyway, causing him to leave the office late. He missed his train home, and while waiting for the late train, he was mugged and stabbed. He’ll never fully recover. The muggers took his credit cards and used them.”

The complexity of it all made Jack’s head spin.

“You know, Jack, I could keep going with this, but there’s another 23 people involved. Sometimes these favors are going to be very complicated, but let’s just say your action ultimately caused Donna to be in the exact right place for you to meet her.”

Jack’s relationship with the Seer grew. Though it very much remained shrouded in mystery, over time the Seer divulged enough information, such that Jack, at last, began to come to some understanding of its nature.

From historical references, Jack understood the Seer was thousands of years old. When still alive, it had been a powerful fortune teller and artist, who foretold future happenings through paintings. A foolish king, who misinterpreted its prediction and lost a battle as a result, had the Seer executed. Unencumbered by physical senses and existing in a lonesome void, the Seer’s abilities expanded exponentially.

After some time, the Seer learned to communicate with the living, and began reaching out to those it found responsive, Jack included. The Seer, of course, appeared to know everything about Jack. All things considered, Jack considered the Seer a friend, albeit a dead one. Jack was grateful to the Seer as well. As a result of the agreement between them, Jack had a well-paying job, a nice house, a beautiful wife, and the respect of others. For the first time in his life, he realized he was truly happy.

Twelve years passed, each one – in Jack’s opinion – better than the last. Task after task was completed, usually about one every month. One day, while Jack sat in the office of his large rural home, he the Seer came to him with another request.

“Hello, Jack. I have a favor to ask of you. This one’s the easiest yet; you don’t even have to get up. Call Riago’s Pizza in exactly two minutes, and let the phone ring three times. Then you can hang up.”

Jack smiled, nice and easy. He no longer wondered about how these tasks would play out. He trusted the Seer and simply did as he was told. Jack made the call, exactly two minutes later.

The quietness of the household was broken 30 minutes later by the ringing doorbell.

Jack found this odd. Neither he nor Donna were expecting anyone. Jack looked out the peephole and saw a pizza delivery boy. The logo on his cap said “Riago’s Pizza.” Jack opened the door.

“Here’s your pizza,” said the boy, thrusting a steaming box into Jack’s hand.

“There must be some mistake,” Jack replied. “I didn’t order a pizza.”

“Look, I don’t care if you ordered it or not,” the delivery boy barked, before spitting into nearby bushes. “Mr. Riago told me to take it here, so that’s what I’m doing!”

Jack stared at the boy with a combination of curiosity and concern, and couldn’t help but notice his short temper and unusual appearance. about the boy was young – no more than 17 – but extremely muscular, and exceptionally tall for his age; possibly six-foot-six, or more.

“It’s already paid for by credit card,” the boy said, extending his hand as if expecting a tip. “Just take it.”

“I… I honestly don’t have any cash on me,” Jack replied.

“Whatever,” came the disgusted reply. The boy looked past Jack into the house, then turned and walked slowly to his waiting car, looking over his shoulder as he walked.

Jack closed the door and took the pizza to the living room, where Donna was watching TV. After explaining what had happened, he excused himself to go to his office, promising to return shortly.

Donna opened the pizza and took a piece. “Come back soon, sweetie. This pizza’s got all your favorite toppings on it.” Donna giggled as she took a bite.

Arriving at his computer, the Seer’s words appeared on the screen.

“Confused, Jack? Don’t be. Your neighbor down the road ordered the pizza. Mr. Riago told that boy the correct address, but a ringing phone made it difficult for him to be heard clearly. Still, you’ve got to give the boy credit; at least he got the street right.”

“So… my reward is a pizza?” Jack typed, a little confused.

“Yes, Jack, your reward is a pizza, but that’s not all. You also got the chance to spend a little time with your wife. Go down there, share the pizza, enjoy it. When you’re done, make love to Donna. That’s not one of your tasks; that’s just some advice I think you should follow.”

“Oh, by the way, your neighbors who ordered the pizza are arguing right now, over the silly fact that the pizza didn’t arrive. Some of the things people argue over amaze me, they really do. Their fight is going to get very heated, but you don’t need to worry about that. Go, enjoy your night.”

Jack followed the Seer’s advice, cuddled with Donna as they enjoyed their meal, and then made love to her on their big, comfortable living room couch. Donna fell asleep on the couch shortly after 11:00 PM.

Jack lay there awake, thinking about this latest favor.  Something about it just felt… odd. Carefully extracting his arm from under Donna, Jack left the living room and headed upstairs. Sitting down at the computer, Jack typed, “Are you there?”

“Yes, Jack, I’m always here. I’ve been waiting for you to come back. That pizza delivery boy, he was quite a specimen, wasn’t he?”

Jack looked quizzically at the screen. The seer continued.

“He’s a horrible employee. He was hired only three days ago and already Mr. Riago wants to fire him, but as a physical specimen, he’s strong, fast, and very observant. For example, he noticed that you didn’t lock the front door after he delivered your pizza.”

“What?” Jack asked, and he started to get up.

“Sit down, Jack. I need to tell you something important, and locking the door now won’t change your situation.”

Jack slowly took his seat again at the computer, looking behind himself as he did so.

“You see, Jack, it’s true that I never lied to you. Everything I’ve ever told you is 100% honest. But I’ve withheld certain… facts. You see, I told you that every task causes something bad to happen to someone else and something good to happen to you, but there’s a third thing. There’s an ultimate goal that each task was working toward.”

“Remember Allie? …Of course you do. What you probably don’t remember about her is that she was helping to pay her brother’s way through college. When she died, he had to drop out. He was going to be a great psychologist, but now he works in a factory instead. That’s really too bad for our pizza delivery boy. He could’ve used a good therapist a few years ago, but that good therapist wasn’t there for him. Instead he was attended to by some quack.”

“And remember our lottery winner? I know you do. He was a neighbor to our pizza boy, after he lost all his money, of course. He beat the boy senseless after the boy jumped into the street in front of his car. Quite a traumatic memory for our young lad. And his mother didn’t care about that incident, didn’t protect the boy at all. She couldn’t, not after using all the drugs given to her by her boyfriend, who happened to be one of the muggers who robbed that insurance agent. He bought the drugs with the money he made from the robbery. Do you see now the scope of my artistry?”

Jack sat, glaring at the monitor. He wanted to get up, to check on Donna, but he was too scared to move. The Seer continued.

“Jack, you’ve done over a hundred tasks for me, and each one has served an ultimate purpose, to psychologically destroy this boy, turn him into a monster, and bring him here tonight. Don’t you see, Jack? This involved tens of thousands of people, and billions of possibilities. If you had failed to complete even one of the tasks, the whole chain would’ve collapsed.”

“This was orchestrated by me, and set in motion by you. Together we’ve done something wonderful. This is a masterpiece of human manipulation. Our masterpiece. And it all begins and ends with you. Two perfect points in time. Tonight, after a wrong address and no tip, this poor boy finally snapped. He’s downstairs right now. He’s slitting Donna’s throat, at this exact moment.”

Jack heard a short, muffled scream coming from the living room, followed by a gurgling noise.

“No!” Jack screamed and stood up, starting to run downstairs.

“Jack, stop!”

The voice startled Jack. It was inside his head. For the first time, the Seer was talking to him directly. It was a pleasant voice, a feminine voice.

“You can’t do anything. She’s already gone. He’ll be coming for you shortly, and you can’t stop him.”

“But… why?” Jack cried, tears welling up in his eyes.

“It’s not an artistic masterpiece if it doesn’t begin and end with you, Jack… I want you to appreciate the fact that I’m speaking to you directly. This requires all of my energy, and as a result, I’ll have to rest for several years before I can contact anyone again. That’s how special you are to me. Please don’t feel bad about this, Jack. I want you to take a moment and enjoy our accomplishment as much as I do.”

After a brief pause, the voice continued.

“Do you know what, Jack? If I’d never contacted you, you would have lived for 85 years. 85 boring, meaningless, bitter years. And your funeral would have been unattended. I gave you 12 great, meaningful years. You were happy, and together we did something beautiful, something unique.”

Jack paused a minute and considered his 12 years of happiness, and his tears of sorrow mixed with tears of joy. He turned and looked at the computer, while behind him, the massive hulk of the demented delivery boy appeared in the doorway, a bloody knife in his left hand.

On the screen, the last words from the Seer appeared.

“Don’t you have something to say to me, Jack?”

Jack wiped his tears, and absorbed everything the Seer had just told him.

As his murderer approached, Jack said mouthed his final words:

“Thank you.”