Chapter 20: Avogadro’s Number (Πβ reprise)

Samuel awakes to find himself behind the wall of Wonderland, where he started his journey so long ago. No longer encased in the protective biomimetic suit, he is dressed only in rags of stained clothing. Nearby, Samuel sees Station 42 and the long tunnel lined with tapestries and electric lights through which he travelled – months ago? Years ago? Samuel was unsure. He enters the tunnel. The decadent figures on the tapestries seem less shocking to him now, not so much a reminder of a banished past, but of a life more recently lived.

As he walks back into Dome City, he tries to recover his memories of his time outside, his mind is fogged with the reconstruction of thoughts that could not have been, that conflict with the fog that endlessly interrupts and occupies his mind. He tries to shove the memories back, keep them at bay, but they resurface, vague figures great and small, strange geometries, peeking out of the fog and then returning. Upon getting back to his apartment, La Nouvelle Marne (a strange sight after such a long time), Samuel is again greeted by the reflection in a pool of condensation formed at the base of a maintenance hatch; unlike the past, however, as Samuel walks past the puddle he clearly sees an image in the still water. It is himself. But in the image, he seems to be wearing a shining suit of some kind. He realizes then what the communication is that is blocking his mind: the Πβ signal.
The realization is trigger enough to allow the Six Secrets to slip through the cracks in the signal and into his conscious mind. This disables the Πβ signal for Samuel, allowing him to finally see the world with clear eyes, a critical mind, and in full color. From the sheer enormity of the contemplation, he collapses on the floor of his apartment and all of the memories of his journey come flooding back into his mind.

Eventually, Samuel returns to the reality he once knew, but he retains the secret knowledge given to him by the Dream Master. He sets off to the Church of the Beloved Humanist to find ‘epIk, only to discover that there was no such Shaman. He goes back to the Occupational and Civic Reinvestment Training Facility hoping to find a like-minded individual in Avogadro, the fellow traveler with whom he might relate his story, but discovers that Avogadro was removed from the facility after tampering with equipment in restricted areas. Moved to fill the void, Samuel becomes a Storyteller, going by the strange name Kopesh-Ra, and shares his memories as serials over the AirNet, furtively broadcasting the Six Secrets of the Solution with the knowledge that he is birthing the foundation of his own Dream City, the utopia that he can still visit in his memory and his stories.