Chapter XXXII: Planet Death

The sound of a campfire crackled in the background. Philo opened his eyes. Everything looked grey; he rubbed his eyes trying to get the mist out of his vision. His mind felt foggy.

“It’s about time you woke-up,” spoke the man by the campfire.

“Who are you? Where am I? The last thing I remember was fighting Marcus. Did we win the kingdom?”

The man had some meat roasting over the open fire. He tore some of the cooked flesh and handed it to Philo.

“Here eat this. It’ll clear your mind. I won’t bullshit you. You are dead. Marcus defeated you in the fight.”

Philo threw the meat on the ground. How could he be dead? He could feel, taste, see, and hear. He had flesh and wore clothes. The outfit wasn’t the same as he had on earlier, the material felt strange. From Sage’s stories about the spirit world, he thought the soul lost its physical body.

“It’s not what I thought. This is a trick. I’m not…dead. You’re some kind of wizard…playing a cruel joke on me.”

The man shook his head: “I thought the same thing myself when I first got here. You felt it. You know in your heart that Marcus defeated you. Yet, here you are in the flesh. I should say in the new flesh. Truly, you died and now you live. We are on a planet in the ninth universe, where reality meets the unreal. I know Sage told you that good souls went to the Happy Place and that evil souls went to the place of Eternal Night. This is true, but like me you were not good and you were not evil. You are just a regular asshole like most people. This world is a place where you can improve your character, so you can go on to the Happy Place.”

Philo shrugged his shoulders. What could he do? He had to make the best of it. He was dead and lived again, still he felt somewhat in the dark about the mystery of life after death. Philo thought that after death he would have the knowledge of a god. It wasn’t so. He felt nearly the same as he had felt in his life on Thurlow. Maybe, he could question this man and learn more about his environment.

“How long have you been here?”

“Time is meaningless. It is but an illusion. I am Prince Virgil of Joy, your ancestor. At the time of Count Bruno’s arrival to my kingdom, my son was studying in the kingdom of Mirtha. Through my son, your grandfather can trace his lineage to me.”

“My grandfather? You mean King Cecil. Is he here?”

“Yes, he is on the other side of the planet serving a great monarch. We could make the journey there, but I think you would like to meet the king and queen of this land.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Because the queen is your mother and I am sure you would like to meet her.”

“But the king cannot be my father. Apollo will live forever.”

“True. The gods and goddesses will never make the journey to this world. The king is a man that you don’t want to meet, but meeting him will give you a chance to go on to the Happy Place.”

“Now you are bullshiting me by speaking in riddles. First of all why would I want to go to the Happy Place?”

“To be re-united with Shantora, your true love. In life I was a coward, so I was rewarded by being a guide to my family on Planet Death. It is true that many desire to stay. When you die here you wake-up at sunrise. You get a chance to do good or to do evil. We determine our own fate in this world. If you do the good thing that you were selected to do here, you get to go to the Happy Place. If you do the evil thing that you were selected to do here, you go to the place of Eternal Night. Many avoid doing the good or bad thing that they were selected to do. That way they can stay on Planet Death and enjoy the life that they always wanted to have. The king of this land is your gateway to the Happy Place or to the place of Eternal Night.”

Philo thought on this for long time. Why wouldn’t everyone do the good act that they were selected to do? What fool would pass up a chance to go to the Happy Place? Was it the loss of a physical body? And why would anyone do the evil deed that would cause them to go to the place of Eternal Night? Surely, a human’s free will would prevail against evil.

Prince Virgil interrupted Philo’s thoughts by saying: “One man holds the key to your eternal destiny. It is a most unique situation. If you forgive this man, you are will go to the Happy Place. If you kill this man, you go to the place of Eternal Night. And the worst part about killing him is this; he will wake-up again at sunrise. Your momentary pleasure will be for naught.”

Philo shrugged his shoulders and answered: “Well? Tell me who this man is?”

“Marcus, former president of Joy.”

The answer hit Philo like a ton of bricks. His eternal enemy, the man that Sage, Quicksilver, and Melissa had trained him to hate and to kill. He did not fulfill his destiny. To add insult to injury his mother had married Marcus in the afterlife. How had Marcus escaped going to the place of Eternal night? Were the Spirits out to get him? Perhaps all of life was their pawns – their toys. Philo’s blood boiled. His hate had grown for Marcus. How could he forgive a monster like that? Still, he remembered Shantora – the witch with the long hair, big brown eyes, and naked feet. The precious few moments that he held her hands had been the happiest of his life. It was a choice between happiness and revenge.

“Let’s go and see Marcus, perhaps I can forgive him. After all, I know killing him would be pointless.”

Prince Virgil had his doubts; maybe they should go and see King Cecil.

“Why don’t we journey to other side of planet and see your grandfather. It will give you chance to let some of the hate go. The trip would make you make forget your life on Thurlow. We would spend a few seasons with Cecil, by the time you returned you’ll pretty much forget about Marcus. Forgetting is the same as forgiving.”

Philo gritted his teeth and replied: “No. I will not be apart from Shantora any longer than I have to.”

Prince Virgil sighed. He knew he had made a mistake in telling Philo about Marcus. He should have waited. Why wasn’t he more like his half-brother, Sir Basil? He remembered all his failures; the battle with the troll, where Simon the muleskinner had saved the day, and the fight with Horton where the Sun Sword had fallen from the sky at the right moment. Keala his wife should have been a bright spot, but she was the one who killed him in the end. Once again, he had made a mess of things. The tone of Philo’s voice told him what the young warrior would do. Prince Virgil knew from his own experience that you couldn’t change what you were. He was a screw-up and Philo was a warrior.

“I will lead the way,” spoke Prince Virgil.

They passed through a village where Philo stopped to buy a sword.

“I would feel naked with out it,” the young warrior stated.

Prince Virgil bought a dagger from the same blacksmith.

The sun passed the sky three times before the duo made it two the palace of Marcus. The palace reminded Philo of Silverbelle’s. Prince Virgil and Philo met with Queen Delphine. Sudden business had called King Marcus away and he would not return before nightfall. Queen Delphine looked Philo in the eyes. He was a handsome youth with his father’s muscular build.

“My son, I had you in my arms for only a few moments. It was such a comfort to me to live long enough to see you. The last thing I ever did was name you.”

Philo had tears in his eyes and he replied: “I have always wondered what my mother was like. How could you have married Marcus? He caused your death, he killed your father, and he killed me.”

“I don’t know. When I first saw him, I screamed at him and clawed out his eyes. I killed him five times. Everyday he allowed me to kill him. At sunrise, he lived again. So I stopped killing him. He would come to life anyway. I would chop off his hand and at sunrise a new one grew back. Finally, I asked him why he allowed me to attack him. He told me that he wanted my forgiveness. In time I forgave him. We would talk everyday and forces beyond my control caused me to fall in love with him.”

Delphine had tears in her eyes and Philo embraced her, giving comfort to his mother.

Prince Virgil sat in a corner and kept silent. Mother and son had forgotten about his presence. It was for the best. The prince knew he had to save Philo. Hadn’t Delphine and Philo suffered enough? Virgil knew that they were victims of a game played by the Wandering Spirit and the Dark Spirit. A game they called good versus evil. One of them had softened Delphine’s heart and allowed her to fall in love with Marcus. Why hadn’t Marcus been sent directly to the place of Eternal Night? Prince Virgil knew that answer too. The Great Spirit, the all-powerful being, had spared Marcus to balance the playing field.

Nightfall came and the party of three could hear footfalls. Prince Virgil knew that the king was approaching. The chamber door opened and Marcus entered his wife’s private chamber.

“What’s this, my dear? I’m sorry I didn’t realize you had company.”

Philo looked the man in his eyes. The fool had entered his mother’s chamber in the nude. Hearing about the facts and seeing them was two different things. Anger filled Philo’s heart; he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. He was going to behead Marcus. Before Philo could draw his sword, a dagger flew through the air and struck Marcus in the heart. The big man fell backwards to his death. Delphine ran to Marcus and pulled the dagger out of her husband’s heart. She sobbed aloud: “I know at sunrise he’ll live again, but it pains me to see him dead.”

Philo looked at the scene before his eyes and pity filled his heart. Seeing his mother cry and Marcus dead removed the hate. He felt a great burden lifted from his shoulders. Philo collapsed to the ground. Delphine ran from her husband’s side to her son’s.

“What happened to my son?”

Prince Virgil walked over to Delphine and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“His soul was freed. He is in the Happy Place, re-united with his one true love.”

“Why did you kill my husband?”

Prince Virgil said nothing. He walked out of the room, picking up his dagger as he departed.

Dedicated to the memory of Philip Jose Farmer