Body & Soul (English Version)
“Sir… That lady over there sent you this Midnight Special Magarita.”
All of a sudden, I recovered from an irretraceable drowsiness, my typical state of mind in the jazz club before the show, alone, dizzied by all the booze and chats from other tables. Still not fully appreciating the situation, I caught up with the waiter’s greeting. The android waiter pointed to the bar that flanked me, in the middle, where sits an astoundingly beautiful lady.
She was adorned in a cheongsam of veiled but mature elegance, its dark moss green hue, almost verging on black, embellished with patterns of pink and gold. The dress featured a water droplet neckline, branching into three delicate strands. My attention was particularly drawn to the golden plum blossom knot buttons on her cheongsam, intricately crafted, adding a touch of exquisite beauty. The high slit of the dress, extending nearly to her hips, presented her graceful figure in a manner that was both majestic and refined. On her right upper arm, a small lace armband was tattooed, an inverted crown. Her brunette hair cascaded down one side, complementing the earring that dangled from the other…
Once my sights crossed her, I could no longer gaze away, lost all my cultivated social awareness like a child. In that moment, I completely succumbed to her.
However, it was her who made the initial move on me. She raised her glass to me.
I raised back, had a little sip, trying to act cool, without a word.
I asked for the waiter again: “Who’s that lady?”
“You don’t know?” Even the android waiter was surprised by my out-of-place question.
I shook my head, awkwardly.
“You are in luck sir.” He answered gently.
“She is Louise, most famous Jazz Singer at our venue. It’s her farewell performance tonight.
“Last performance? Why tonight?”
“Why not tonight? She had sung a great many songs, and it’s time to move on… The actual reason is a mystery to us though.”
“I thought singers can’t live without a stage.”
“ ‘You can only sing so long with just one breath, no shorter, no longer’. That’s her own words. “ The waiter seems to have perfect memory.
“I am indeed in luck. A performance like this will be so hard to make a reservation.”
“No, it’s not public information. Not everybody knows about it. Louise wants this to be a normal night show, like all the others. She doesn’t need to make a scene. That’s the beauty of it.” The waiter smiled, like a real human.
–
This is a jazz club called “Nightingale”, located in the premium floor of a giant building, on a remote planetary colony with gravity of only 0.8g. In the scientific planetary naming system, this planet has a common name of “NKBC – 34 b”, but it’s more notoriously known as the “Sanctum of the Apostasy”, or simply “SOTA”. It was my first time on this remote planet, visiting some old friend. I heard the Nightingale jazz club was one of the best places to spend the night on SOTA. That’s why I came.
SOTA built its reputation by being a rather unvisited outcast from the major human colonies, with very sparce adjacent interstellar neighbors, a new home for the out-laws, deserters or the punished, much like the new American continent in the ancient 17th century. Here, nobody judges you by your history. Everything starts anew.
Through the augmented hybrid floor window, you could see the ammonia rain drizzling down from the atmosphere outside in the long freezing night of the planet. You could see dreadful lightnings from afar, luminating the dark yellow cloud in a split second. In many ways, SOTA is an unfavorable spot for human habitation, and that’s exactly why it’s the place to be for unfavorable ones.
I was enjoying the dazzling landscape of outside, interrupted by a small round of applause from audiences. A man with clearly artificial dark skin, in evening’s finest black dinner jacket, went on the stage, sat at the piano.
His introduction was brief, a mere warm-up for Louise’s main event. Before his solo, he drank his cocktail, and put it on the piano.
The first piece he played was “Body and Soul”, a well-known standard for experienced ears.
His intro sounded profound and complex, scales after scales, licks after licks, shreds after shreds, showing off his impeccable technical proficiency. He has a pair of notable big hands, each capable of touching keys two octaves apart. His hands allow him to play harmonically rich melodies, or known as “bar chords”, employing the fullness of the brass section. With his almost unfathomable harmony, his music has a certain mystic depth, as if the essence of his true expressions is coated by a dense layer composed of enormous chords.
Feelings changed when he gradually started to swing. He was a marvelous stride piano player, utilizing the vast register of piano to play like a band. His left hand was doing the job of the bass and drum, providing the temple and underlying harmony. His right hand completely took off, going up and down with his tantalizing Bebop improvisations. He controlled every note with ease, no matter how fast or how complicated, a top-notch master at work.
Apart from his technical virtuosity, his music was soulful, with delicate emotions. Occasionally, he slowed down the music, had a little taste of his own harmony, and the audiences held their breaths by the tension of his chords.
From his facial expression, it seemed he enjoyed his own performance even more than the audience. Every sway, every keystroke, was intoxicating, even carrying a hint of debonair charm. It was as if the piano keys were not just keys, but the beautiful contours of a woman’s body —— “handsome peaks and deep valleys”. It was as though he wasn’t just playing the piano, but caressing a woman’s body, at times teasing the hem of a dress, at times pulling at a ribbon, caressing every inch of flesh…
Perhaps in the heart of the pianist, he might think he is blending the most natural, primal desires of humanity with art, elevating them through art… After all, as food and sex are basic human needs, life itself is inseparable from sexuality. By openly accepting these natural gifts, we are merely practicing the spirit of humanism…
What Jazz is all about, is the feelings of the body and soul, just like the name of the piece. That’s it.
I pondered the philosophical implications in his music playing, lost myself again.
If this level of performance is just warming-up for Louise, then what level is Louise?
As I was thinking about Louise, my eyes met hers. She was looking at me as well.
Louise came to my table with her glass, sat beside me.
“Bonsoir.”
“Bonsoir, Louise.”
“You knew my name… ”
“Just had a bit inquiry from the waiter.”
She lit up a cigarette and said: “I love when Oscar plays this tune.” She pointed to the pianist with her cigarette in the hand.
So the jazz piano virtuoso is called Oscar.
I was able to observe her bracelet up close. It was an exquisitely beautiful piece of art. The overall style was that of a courtly aesthetic, comprising a blooming flower made of black lace, with two layers. The front part of the outer layer was connected to 11 small blue crystals, and the rear of the outer layer extended into a silver chain linked to her ring. The ring’s centerpiece was a slightly larger crystal of the same blue hue, surrounded by a black blossom.
Oscar finished his first piece, now the second one. All the audience focused on him, chatting as gentle as can be, fearing to interfere with his musical ideas.
I nodded, made my own comment: “In this scenery, with ammonia rains outside and glow of lightning, his piano playing is simply… moving.”
Louise smiled: “Do you know why it’s you?”
“No. Why?”
A thin stream of smoke exhaled out of her fabulous lips, she studded out her cigarette in the ashtray and said: “Because… tonight, you are the only one alone here by yourself… and I’ve never seen you before.”
My eyebrows raised: “So that’s why… Only regulars come here I suppose?”
“Only regular with a taste of jazz care to come. I know all of them. That makes you special.”
“No first timers at all?”
“No first timer is here alone. You are the first party-of-one first timer.”
“To all first timers! ” I raised a toast to her. Our glasses clinked.
We kept silent after our first drink together. I tried to steer the conversation to new topics, but this notion was again interrupted by the ending of Oscar’s last tune. Audiences stood up to cheer for him, and Oscar bowed back in gratitude, with the cocktail in his hand, to his worshippers.
Music continued.
An old tenor saxophonist came up stage, with bassist and drummer.
Just like the player, the saxophone itself was old as antiquity, with marks of rusted copper clearly seen. His stubble beard and hair were mostly white, projecting ages of life he had already lived. He was at least in his late sixties.
He stood at the forefront of stage, leading the band. He adjusted his breath, entered a meditative state.
He placed the mouthpiece in his mouth…
He began playing first, without accompaniment, just the resonant and sonorous sound of the instrument. A monologue.
The sound waves of the tenor sax propagated throughout the club, echoed, reverberated, a conversation stopper almost instantly. That sensuous sound of sax, like magic, straight to the heart, telling the story of an old man’s past, a tale nobody could forget…
Anyone with even a slight appreciation for music couldn’t deny the unique charm of his solo. It seemed to be more than just music. There was something deeper, yet at that moment, it was all about the music, communicating everything through its language.
Some say a saxophonist’s solo is like a bottle of red wine, better with age. But I find this analogy inaccurate.
Firstly, the excellence of a bottle of wine starts with good brewing, using quality grapes and fermentation techniques. A mediocre wine, no matter how long it’s stored, can’t escape mediocrity. It’s like people, who must first have outstanding mind and talent to be appreciated of value in the first place.
Secondly, wine deliberately aged in cellars seems too contrived, aged for the sake of aging, lacking the spontaneity and drama of fate, thus not legendary enough. A legendary wine, like a legendary person, often doesn’t deliberately choose the path of glory. It is arranged by fate, like a bottle of wine sunk with a battleship in an imperial naval battle, only to be discovered centuries later by a salvage team – such a wine truly bears the legend.
The same principle applies to the saxophonist’s solo. First, his skills must be masterful, enabling him with enough musical vocabulary to express. It’s a fundamentality for all great musicianship. Second, only technique is certainly lacking essence. Music is just a medium. The musician’s own story and interpretation is what truly captivates the audience. Was he a fugitive of justice before? What made him here on SOTA? It might be a total coincidence, but why him? His fate intertwined with ours, right here, right now.
“What did he do when younger? How does his music reflect it? ” I wondered to myself.
“Do you know what tune is it? ” Louise asked me.
Perhaps it was my deep pondering again, such that I had missed the melody. I started to listen more carefully.
Now, the sax solo had become a trio. Bass and drum kicked in. The steady walking bass line underscored the chord progression, and the drummer brushed gently to create a smooth feeling.
Everything connected in my head again. I knew the tune.
“It Could Happen to You… right?”
Louise nodded pleasantly, “Looks like you knew your stuff.”
“I am just a faithful listener.”
“Faithful listener is all we need. Nowadays, our audience is declining. Less and less people truly understand jazz.”
“It always has been declining. Why are you still singing it though? ”
“Why would I bother with anything other than Jazz? ”
I shrugged, watching the trio on the stage. Jazz was flowing in the room, both through me and her.
After a while, I couldn’t resist asking her: “So… It’s your finale performance tonight?”
She replied with playfulness: “The waiter already told you everything… ”
“Not really. He hasn’t told me the reason why you retire. You care to tell me yourself? ” I tried to be natural and playful as her.
Louise didn’t look at me, but stared at the saxophonist, and spoke slightly languishingly; “ I sang for him like a songbird, and all has been sung now. ”
“Who’s him? ”
“Someone I knew… ”
I saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes for a few seconds.
I don’t know what to say.
“Mr. Pierre… He was like you are tonight, so special. He just appeared in my life, so unexpectedly, yet so memorably.”
“Was he a lover of yours in the past?”
With a nearly unnoticeable smile, she said: “Not exactly. No words can describe what he is.”
“I am sure there are.”
Louise paused, and said: “Do you know why I love the song ‘Body and Soul’ ? ”
“I shouldn’t know, naturally. Why? ”
“It was the first and last song he’s ever sung to me… ”
A sense of melancholy emerged in the atmosphere, and I could only say: “Sorry, Louise… I didn’t know he had already… ”
She didn’t even take my apologies, but said otherwise: “Do you believe in love at first sight? ”
The abruptness of the question stunned me. That was almost too childish to ask in a setting like this, in adults’ world. But I could definitely see the dead seriousness on her face.
“Maybe? I never had the experience. ”
“Everyone is uncertain until they actually encountered it. ”
The way she said those words were so firm and easy. She was simply telling the truth.
Louise gracefully crossed her legs, her beautiful thigh revealed through the slit of your cheongsam dress. I noticed a patterned black silk ribbon tied around her thigh.
I impulsively thought that she must be the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen.
“Hey… You care for a little story sharing? ” She asked.
“Oh, most definitely. Would you mind sharing it to me? ”
“Not at all. You don’t know me and I don’t know you. We probably won’t see each other again after tonight. So, why not have some sincerity of strangers? ”
“Let’s drink to the sincerity of strangers! ” I raised my glass again.
She drank as well.
I waited for her to start, still a little more than an Earth hour until nine. She’s got plenty of time to talk.
“I wasn’t always a jazz singer… I had a whole different career before. A life on the edge.”
“Isn’t everybody on SOTA ? ”
She laughed elegantly to my witty response.
I then asked : “All jokes aside. What did you do? ”
“I used to work for Myriad Insignia. An agent. ”
Goosebumps crept all over my skin.
On SOTA, the least thing you want would be hearing somebody bring up the name “Myriad Insignia”, a mystic but absolutely existent interstellar organized-crime syndicate, because it means trouble for you.
All humans across stars might know their name, but nobody outside of the syndicate could confirm ever seeing them. Once you’ve seen their faces, you are doomed. They are the lord of the deep dark space and corners of the human world, but it is rumored that they have unknown ties within the High Curia of the Trans-Stellar Human Society.
“Wow… ” I was shocked, “I am sure I am not a target of yours, right? Interstellar politics is never my thing… ”
“No… I won’t harm you. don’t panic. ” She softly patted my hand on the table, “I said I used to. Not anymore. ”
“What did you do for them? ”
“Something you could imagine for an agent. ”
“Ok, I see… ” Both of us didn’t say explicitly, but it’s easy to imagine what an agent of syndicate could do. Scenes of her killing popped out in my head. She was the angel of death.
“You don’t believe me? You sounded doubtful.”
“No. To be honest, I am just… a bit surprised. I am not familiar with this line of work. ”
She leaned closer and whispered to my ear: “If I say… I could knock you out in precisely three seconds right now, and you will stop breathing in five. Would you believe me? ”
I could literally fell the cold breeze oozing out of her lips and said :“I guess I’d better believe you. I don’t want to find out if you really have that capacity.”
She leaned back, satisfied.
I continued to ask: “How was it, your work? Did you like it? ”
“I had no choice back then. I wanted a way out of the military. ”
“You were a soldier? ”
“My birth was a crime on my planet. It was the law of my home planet that planetary natives are strictly prohibited to procreate with an alien human. For the sake of ethnical purity, you see? My mother was a native, and my father was from another planet. They fell in love, and he got her pregnant. My parents were both executed when they found out about me, and I was sent to an orphanage… ”
“And you joined military early on? ”
“Joining the military was the path for most of the orphans on my planet. I was a tough girl, training even harder than men. So I was admitted into the Special Tactical Operation Force, the most prestigious branch of our military. ”
“Special Tactical Operation Force… So you were not just a regular troop, you were specialized forces. ”
“Our planet was having a long and strenuous war with our planetary neighbor. Both were trying to take over our native stellar system. ”
“It’s like the great Martian-Earth war seven centuries ago. ”
“Our unit was on other interstellar missions as well, crusading around many systems and colonies. My body went through a number of augmentations and modifications during that time, and I didn’t even know who I was, just a killing machine for my planet, I guess.”
“How did you get out of it? ”
“I got bored of my life, and I wanted to truly discover myself. But you need to know… The specialized force has utmost secrecy level, you can’t just move in and out freely. It’s not a contracted job, it’s enslavement. I was a fighter, but also a slave. Just at that time, Myriad Insignia contacted me through their channel. One of the deputy general in our military summoned me in his office and expressed their interest in me. The deputy general is their contact inside our military. He is not even my direct superior, he’s three ranks higher than my unit captain. That’s when I realize how deep the web entangles… ”
“I guess you took their offer?”
“I accepted their offer, willingly, without knowing specifically what it was. I just wanted an out. The deputy general simply nodded and said he will take care of it. Nothing happened on the scene, but I knew wheels started turning beneath the surface. About two Earth months later, I was on a mission on a distant planet with deep valleys and steep mountains. An accident happened to us, of course carefully orchestrated, and I went missing. Nobody found my body. I was declared death since no human could survive the harsh winter of the planet on their own. The truth is, I was injured and taken by the syndicate. At that time, I thought they are my hope, they are my savior. ”
“Are they? ”
Louise didn’t answer right away… She seemed to be thinking herself.
I tried to lead the conversation: “Did they give you more meaning like you wanted? Did you discover your true self? ”
She removed her bracelet, revealing the scars beneath it, and said: “You see, it’s the scar from that accident. I’ve never repaired the skin. Often, I dream about the past, about things I don’t want to remember. Sometimes I can’t distinguish between dreams and reality. This scar is my reference point, a reminder that I am still alive… ”
She extended her wrist towards me, giving her consent for touch. I gently touched the scar. In that moment my hand made contact, it was as though I could feel her past… Then, she softly put her bracelet back on, covering the scar, as if concealing her past along with it…
I was moved by the intimacy, and asked: “Tell me, how does a woman like you, become a woman like you? ”
She continued and answered my earlier question: “I guessed the syndicate did give me a way out. I was registered dead in my old world and my name disappeared. I entered another world like a ghost. They transformed me from an effective killing machine to a lonely wolf that walked in the shadows of the night, lurking in everyone’s dreams… Like other agents of the syndicate, we are the reason for those accidental deaths of high-ranking officials and uninvestigated data leaks.”
“Sounds like the job of an agent. Nobody knows your true identity since your past was classified info, and you legally died in an accident, a heroin for her planet. ”
“The job of an agent was different from that of a soldier, more versatile. I played a lot more roles than just a blood-thirsty soldier. However, I sold my soul to the syndicate. They expected my absolute royalty. I loved when they needed me to. I stole when they needed me to. I spied when they needed me to. I killed when they needed me to. I was still a puppet for them, a gilded engraved silver pistol. ”
“Still no freedom?”
“Freedom had been a fairy tale to me. All powerful organizations couldn’t care less about the value of an insignificant individual. No matter it’s the military or syndicate. They are not interested in freedom and feelings. That’s not how things work in their world. ”
She finished her drink and continued: “They still did things differently than military. They didn’t lay out a step-by-step combat strategy and a detailed agenda like in the military. They only gave me briefings and orders, and they wanted perfect execution. Error-proof. ”
“What happens if you make errors? ”
“When substantial error occurs, agents either die on the scene, or hunted down by the syndicate. There’s no room for failure. ”
“So, not surprisingly, Myriad Insignia is an insanely disciplined organization. ” I unconsciously lower my voice so that other tables can’t hear this fearful name.
“All successful organizations are, more than you could ever fathom. But… high risk, high payment. I made more than sufficient money by running on edge. ”
“How deep did you go into the Myriad Insignia? ”
Louise ordered two more scotch, one for her, one for me.
She said: “You never know how deep the web entangles. Do you know only 4% of our universe is constituted by detectable normal matter, and 73% by dark energy. The syndicate is like dark energy, undetectable, but their influence spans the whole human world. I was only deep enough to see how things happen inside, but never to see how things evolve or how decisions are made. I was comfortable with what I knew. Knowing too much isn’t necessarily a good thing. You ought to be very cautious with your own curiosity inside the syndicate.”
Her sudden touch of physics intrigued my dangerous curiosity. I asked with hesitation: “Is it true that the syndicate has deep ties with the High Curia? ”
Our scotch has arrived, the waiter reminded her of the time. It’s 8:30, thirty Earth minutes until her performance.
“Maybe… I don’t know anything more about that than you do. These types of things aren’t meant for us to know.”
…
Both of us fell silent, enjoying our fancy drinks. I could hear the cubed ice hitting the sides of the glasses as we drank.
Oscar went on stage again, with his favorite Martini cocktail. Trio became quartet. The tune changed to Stardust, another timeless standard. The musical collaboration of the band was seamless. They didn’t innovate anything new, just sounded like an old record from 20th century. The original taste of the age-old jazz, the sound of a great old century, as if the music of this quartet took the audience for a trip back in time.
…
“So, you haven’t told me who Mr. Pierre is yet… ”
She put the glass down: “He is the reason I am here on SOTA. He’s the reason you see me tonight. It was my last mission from the Syndicate, an order to infiltrate a masquerade on an interstellar spaceship named Orcasus.”
“A masquerade on spaceship. Interesting.”
“The spaceship was orbiting near a massive O-type star called Theta Lupa, near its end of life, at the verge of supernova explosion. The Astronomers announced the estimated time of the explosion. The upper society has a taste for spectacles, especially a supernova explosion in our own galaxy during our short lifetime. So, a grand masquerade event was organized to honor this astronomical extravaganza. The masquerade was very exclusive, invitation only. Most of the important people from all over the human colonies gathered on Orcasus spaceship, disguised, of course.”
“It’s like an interstellar gala. I guess Mr. Pierre was invited too. ”
“Yes. I was informed that Mr. Pierre would be one of the guests. Just after the supernova masquerade was announced in the circle, I was sent to abduct one of the invited guests from Meiders Complex and the syndicate had her identity falsified, so that I could enter the masquerade as her.”
“What exactly did the syndicate want you to do with Pierre? ”
“Get close to him and kill him. It was a strategic move for the syndicate.”
“What a brutal spoil of a phenomenal astronomical event! Who is he to the syndicate, did you know? ”
“He was a traitor of the syndicate, escaped the syndicate with too many classified information. The syndicate must eradicate him for safety. At least that was what I was briefed before the mission.”
“But actually? ”
“A key detail was deliberately omitted in my briefing, for the sake of my clear judgement.”
“Somethings are better not to know… You said it yourself.”
“I knew about this key detail coincidentally through a mutual acquaintance of me and him. The fact is, Pierre was forced out of the syndicate in an internal power struggle, inadvertently. He was charged with treason. But that’s still far from the truth. ”
“How so? ”
“He was not just someone from the syndicate. He was the prince, the adopted son of the former Supreme Overseer of the syndicate. He was the best agent there had been, and a potential successor. ”
“So, the leader of the syndicate is called Supreme Overseer… That’s something new.”
“His talent disconcerted other high-ranking members, a threat for their lust of power. They all waited for Supreme Overseer’s demise, coveting the throne like starving wolves. For them, Pierre was merely an adopted son, a bastard, and too young to be convincing. In the final hours of the old Supreme Overseer, Pierre stayed at his deathbed until the end. But those wolves already launched preemptive moves against him. A so called ‘purge’, but a targeted ruthless massacre inside the syndicate, Pierre’s wings were cut down, feathers stripped. At the same time, the Supreme Overseer died, and Pierre lost the game. Power shifted as swiftly as the wind. At the last minute before they got to him, Pierre escaped the doom, and disappeared. ”
“And they discriminated him with treason and took the throne rightfully. Classic persecution since ancient times.”
“Distaining his name was simply not enough. They could only be satisfied until they see his body, no matter where he went. That’s where I came in. ”
“Hence the masquerade. Love at the first sight? ”
Louise lighted one more cigarette using the candle on the table, every move of her was so mesmerizing… “I walked into the masquerade with my mask, Vivaldi’s Winter was already playing, a few hours before the estimated explosion. We could already see the intense activities of Theta Lupa with our bare eyes through special observation lenses on the ship. I looked for him.”
“How would you know who is who with mask on? ”
“Strangely, he found me first. He knew I would be here. He ambushed me from the back, locked my hands with handcuffs and held a knife on my neck… He was so adept and tough, but I could tell he was gentle on me, not meaning to kill. In the midst of all dancers, he whispered to my ear —— ”
I knew you were sent to kill me, Miss Lisa. But please no worries, I am fully prepared to survive tonight, with you, since it would be a shame to miss the fireworks…Let’s just enjoy the masquerade, shall we? Would you do me the honor, to dance with me?
“That was our first clash, between two agents, between two lonely souls… ” She recited those words as if she was reliving the scenery again.
“Your name was Lisa back then? ”
“Lisa was one of my many names… ”
“I could feel his charisma through his words. Did you dance with him? ”
“How could I refuse? There was something different about him you could instantly feel, not to mention he had his knife on my neck.”
“How was your dance? ”
“In that dance, I fell in love, completely, for the first time… ”
I was about to drink my scotch when I heard her words, and I stopped, put the glass back down. Falling in love within just a dance? That only existed in dreams and imaginations… Time ceased to flow, and she continued her cigarette. I squeezed a sentence out of my mouth: “So… That’s love at first sight… ”
“There’s no tangible way to explain it. The experience was the intersection of sanity and emotion, a natural, irresistible urge inside me, almost animalistic. So absurd, so unreasonable, yet so peaceful, so tranquil. Like kids playing games on the open field, care-free… I’ve never had a real childhood, but that felt like childhood to me. ”
“The magic of a dance… What was the music? ”
“An unknown ballade orchestrated for strings. I don’t know the exact origin. ”
“You had never completely loved somebody else before him? ”
“In our line of work, love is just our deadly weapon against men. You shouldn’t commit more than needed, or it could hurt yourself. Complete love is a dangerous thing, a tattoo. It softens people, leading to poor judgement. ”
“A cost you must pay for being an agent. But you fell for him. You failed your mission. That would lead to dire consequences, like you said… ” I replied.
“I knew from the start. The syndicate wouldn’t tolerate my sin. But I chose to be a sinner for a man like him. ”
“What did you talk about in the dance? ”
“I told him my story and he told me his true story… The betrayal of comrades and the false loyalty to the old Supreme Overseer. He was a wandering orphan in the streets as well before he was adopted at 11. The Supreme Overseer was a true father to him, and the syndicate gave him meaning of life, a sense of belonging, redeemed him from void… The syndicate was more than a place for interest, but a home to him, which he had given blood and soil. When his father passed, those who pledged allegiance and who he fought with, showed their true faces. They saw Pierre merely as part of his father’s reign, a hound dog from streets, an interloper of power, someone to be sacrificed…”
I sighed: “Our hearts are darkened not by the conspiracy of enemy, but by the betrayal of friends.”
“When he escaped in exile, it was as if home is no longer a home. He said to me —— ”
How pathetic is loyalty? How pathetic is to believe and love? The life of exile bears more meaning than bearing a tarnished soul…
“His old self had diminished, and a new one reborn. He had his redemption. ” Louise said as if she had the revelation.
I listened with some deep thoughts, and said like a poet: “The age-old conundrum of humanity: Better giving power for soul? Or soul for power? ”
It seemed like Louise didn’t hear me talking, but continued tracing her own memory: “I still remember he held my hands and said —— ”
Never think you and syndicate are mutually needed. For those in power, they pay you money but demand your soul in return. Any soul is expendable for them. Don’t sell your soul so easily, Lisa…
“I could tell he was sincere with his words. He was true to a stranger like me, just as I am to you…”
“How could you tell he was not lying?”
“A woman’s instinct. It was our mysterious connection.”
“I’d say Pierre was an idealist…”
“He certainly was. But I’d say he was a cowboy in a cold vicious world. I had a sweet spot for cowboys.”
“What did he think of you then?”
“Simply a pretty girl worth saving.”
“What about the fireworks? The supernova explosion? ”
“That’s the point of him meeting me.”
“How so? ”
“It was discovered by astrophysicists orbiting the Theta Lupa on the observational spacecrafts only several Earth hours before supernova explosion, that the scale of the explosion was underestimated by several magnitudes. The astrophysicists tried to spread the warning, but the space is too vast even for electromagnetic waves. It was already too late. This meant that there wouldn’t be time for Orcasus spaceship’s engine to prepare a sufficient acceleration to escape. Then we’d be unable to survive the radiation from the explosion, even in our orbit. ”
“I don’t understand…”
“You see… It was Pierre all along. He knew about the energy underestimation by the Astronomical Society beforehand, from an obscure group of astronomers. And he knew about me long ago and he had been watching my every move as an agent. I was not a stranger to him. He specifically chose this occasion to appear and have our encounter. He wanted to be on this spaceship destined to be doomed, just to dance with me.”
“He planned all this just for you? Pierre was truly something else. A romantic from head to toe. Wow…” I commented in awe. “But how exactly did he save you?”
“Before all the big shots in masks started to panic, enjoying their esteemed masquerade, he led me out of the ball room, across the whole spaceship, to the section of emergency evacuation pods near the exit portal. Those pods had special designs to protect from extreme radiations, life-sustaining hibernation system, and constant emission of signal for help. All people on Orcasus would forget all etiquette and kill each other for one emergency pod when they heard the bad news, but we were there early.”
“I guess that that point the supernova explosion already took place, but it still needed time to arrive at your orbit. Nothing travels faster than light.”
“I went into the pod and prepared all procedures. You know what he said to me before I launch?”
“What did he say? ”
“He said —— ”
Lisa, from now on you don’t exist in this world anymore, again. But this time is total freedom. No military, no syndicate, just yourself. You died from the supernova explosion. You can be anyone you want now. I did this for you because I want to set your soul free. Promise me, pursue your own meaning of life.
“I promised him, and I asked him: ‘What about us?’ He said like a knight to a princess —— ”
I wish you remember me as I am in this wonderful night of fireworks. We will become strangers again… Don’t let me be in your way.
“And he kissed me for the first time, also the last time.”
I wondered to myself, what it’ll feel like to kiss a woman like Louise…
“Before I could say goodbye to him, he locked my pods into ready position. The door closed and the pod launched. Almost in a blink of an eye, I was ejected into the space, by myself in the pod. I could see from space that he launched his pod as well, in separate direction. I thought this would be the end of us. But his voice popped out of the telecom —— ”
Before I go, Lisa, I want our farewell to be a song. Would you like to hear Body and Soul?
“And he started singing it to me, in his own style and temple. I listened with tears, tears of a thousand feelings.”
“So that’s your story with Body and Soul.” Now I finally understood.
“He didn’t finish it, he couldn’t, because the supernova explosion’s energy wave reached us, the intense gamma ray interfered all signal. Everything cut down. Everything fell silent. Just me, him, and the birth of a supernova before our eyes…”
“That’s hell of a firework…” I held my glass of Scotch, that’s all I could say since I’ve never seen a supernova myself.
A drop of tears slid down of her glamorous cheek, but she stayed composed, nevertheless.
She started singing softly:
I spend my days in longin’
You know it’s you that I am longin’
Oh, I tell you I mean it
I’m all for you body and soul…
Her voice was so soothing but full of texture, reminded me of Dinah Shore.
“I guessed you never met him again?”
“I always dreamt of him coming to my shows here on SOTA, sitting in one of these tables in the Nightingale jazz club. Just watching me singing… Still no luck by now.”
“That’s the way it is…” I raised my glass and said my toast: “Let’s drink to Pierre and all the cowboys we loved! ”
“Santé !” She finished her scotch and stood up.
It’s close to 9 o’clock now. Louise would be soon cheered for on stage.
I asked my last question before she left me for duty: “Where would you go after your finale?”
She put her hand on my shoulder from the back of my seat and said: “Somewhere far away, farther than SOTA…”
“Safe travel, Lisa.” I touched her hand as a gesture of goodbye.
She smiled to me and went for the stage.
–
The audiences applauded and cheered in great excitement. I applauded as well, just like a regular audience.
Now, Louise stopped being the woman who shared a few stories with me. She became the songbird of the night, the embodiment of nightingale. Her past had gone with the scotch we drank together. Nobody but me knew anyway.
She picked up a wooden bass and started playing, without a self-intro whatsoever. She was confident that everybody knew about her musical reputation.
She sang while playing the bass. Her voice was nothing less than a gift from our creator. Through microphone, it was silky and mellow, with bittersweet elegance, carrying a lightness but not frivolous, floating the air, a reminiscence of Ben Webster’s breathy saxophone style. Each deep note of her bass became a pearl strung on a ribon made of her own vocal.
She was simply a sonic delight.
Oscar’s accompaniment struck a perfect balance with her vocal, so as the drums and guitar. It was almost like Tai-Chi, all different moves pulling in together in harmony, as if five streams of water merging into one enriched river of sounds.
“The balance… That’s the true marrow of jazz…” I thought to myself.
I watched Louise’s performance as a faithful listener, by myself at my table.
–
I left the Nightingale Jazz club at the end of her show, without any word with Louise. I wanted to preserve the sincerity of strangers, forever.
The ammonia rain began pouring, the endless tears of SOTA, hitting the roof of my personal shuttle in the air. My shuttle was flying aimlessly, just to give my time to think.
I got tired of automatic pilot, and I switched to manual.
I thought of Mr. Pierre, a man Louise used to know. A real cowboy. He must be somewhere in our galaxy, a colony I might’ve already visited.
I didn’t know what he looked like or sounded like.
Perhaps I never will…
Nevertheless, I will never forget this story, of love and redemption, of freedom and rebirth, of Body & Soul…
–
written and translated by Charlesking Yao.
12/28/2023