Chapter 54: Cassidy X Esther

Cassidy sat up in her bed reading the newspapers Joel had been so kind to bring her. She took some comfort in knowing there would be a fireworks show that night, and that she would be able to view it from the window. Yet for this meaningless bit of good news Cassidy couldn't help being distracted by the horrifying realization that she would probably be an unwilling witness to the end of the world. Well, that wasn't quite true. Cassidy could probably kill herself successfully were she to really put her mind to it. In fact she had already been planning on making another attempt when Joel burst in.

And ah, that was the whole problem, Cassidy thought to herself, putting down the newspaper. One of the nice parts about believing in the the clairvoyance of her dream was knowing that Joel himself would have died shortly after Cassidy herself did. Cassidy had already forecast that such a death would have brought closure- to him, anyway. It would have been a meaningless symbolic gesture, which was typically all Joel could realistically muster.

Which naturally was what made the whole ongoing situation so baffling. Cassidy had long known that Joel was capable of murdering Jerry Shankar, should the right situation arise, if only because he had conspicuously denied having a willingness to do so on so many occasions. This willingness, in fact, was the entire impetus behind the death that Cassidy had foreseen. It was a noble attempt, following Cassidy's own death, to try and prevent Jerry's plan from coming to fruition, of a permanent war between the free states and those that stubbornly clung to the insistence that the American government still existed in any meaningful way.

In that version of the future, Joel was killed with trivial ease by Esther Okerye, albeit only after quite a bit of reluctance on Jerry's part. Jerry didn't want to kill any of his old comrades. That was why he had insisted on saving Cassidy's own life, completely indirect as her suicide attempt was in relation to any of his own machinations. But how had he known..? None of the material circumstances had changed since the last time Cassidy had spoken with Jerry, and she could tell then he didn't have a clue what she was planning. And yet-

Cassidy's pained analysis was interrupted by a knock on the door. She hurriedly shook herself out of her trance.

"Come in."

And who should be at the door than Esther Okerye herself, smiling politely, carrying a bouqet of...chocolate. Cassidy had no strong opinions on chocolate, mostly because she had no idea where it even came from in this day and age. But she appreciated the sentiment. Esther had clearly gone out of her way to avoid giving Cassidy dying flowers while still expressing the appropriate cultural sentiment typically associated with dying flowers. Cassidy smiled in response.

"It's good to see you," said Cassidy. "Although I must confess, I was not expecting so much consideration from as indirect an acquaintance as yourself."

"Oh it's nothing," said Esther bashfully. "I never got to properly thank you. The things you said to me last year, before I had to take you in...they meant a lot to me. I thought about them and they offered a lot of perspective to what I was going through at the time."

"I was being self-interested," said Cassidy, accepting the bouqet. "You really shouldn't overthink it. I seldom see the same person multiple times, but you should know that it's always the interpretation of my prophecies that matter more than the actual text of them. People hear what they want to hear."

"I know what you mean," said Esther, sitting down, nodding.

"No," said Cassidy, giving out a sigh. "I don't think you do."

Cassidy had a lot of time in this hospital bed to think matters over. She thought about what she owed to Jerry, or Joel, in terms of how she could influence events yet to come, in this strange new world where for the moment her power of prophecy appeared to be broken. The last time Cassidy had met Esther Okerye she had been about as dishonest as she could force herself to be, by just electing to talk about subjects with more long-term than immediate relevance. But knowing, as Cassidy did, that Joel was waiting for Esther on the rooftop, fully expecting that he would die up there, Cassidy did not have the heart to sugarcoat matters. Especially since, once Joel was dead, that would grant her the social attachment necessary to once again attempt the bliss of suicide.

"I have some bad news," said Cassidy. "Jerry Shankar is dead."

Esther blinked rapidly. Then she started laughing nervously. It was only after that awkward moment passed that she finally engaged with what Cassidy had said.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Esther. "I talked to him just this morning. Gave him a full report. In fact, he told me to see him here tonight, with you. The Social Justice Army is-"

"Dead, I know," said Cassidy. "Save for Barack Worthington, who you took care to send to the black site alive. I daresay Jerry had that recording you wanted of him. It's little surprise that you couldn't break him, but Jerry did. His own hateful kindness, knowing how much it meant to you that Barack Worthington fianlly be humiliated to an extent he couldn't possibly rationalize."

"I don't like your use of the past tense here," said Esther, grimly. "There's no way that Jerry is-"

"Jerry might be a God like you and I in spirit," said Cassidy, "but we are all mortal in the end. A single knife point by surprise is all it takes to kill any of us. Even you. Jerry might have been cautious when it came to regular people. Dangerous people. But he's always been willing to let his guard down when it comes to us-"

"What's this God stuff anyway?" asked Esther, desperately trying to change the subject. "I always wondered what you meant by that. Who are the Gods?"

"It's actually not so epic and fantastical as it sounds," said Cassidy. "In a way it's actually misleading. It overstates our importance. My power, for example, derives entirely from the willingness of other people to listen to me. Most of them don't. But even for those that do, my agency in affecting future events is quite limited. After all, I must tell the truth. This isn't a moral affliction. My conceptualization of the world is quite beyond yours. And that isn't boasting. My Oracular powers originate from my being able to process information to its logical conclusion. They are often useful only in broad strokes. I could tell, for example, that you would inevitably have a falling out with the Social Justice Army, due to your clear discontent and disgust with the organization. But I didn't know exactly how that would happen."

"That hardly sounds so impressive," said Esther, leaning back, dismissively blowing air up her own face. "It's obvious to me that it was never going to work out."

"Yes," said Cassidy, "but you didn't know that at the time. That's the nature of my ability. Everything, even events yet to happen, feel to me as obvious as they do in retrospect. And likewise I can't change them, even if they haven't happened yet, because short of having retrospect, well, nothing seems obvious."

"Is that why you're called Cassidy?" asked Esther, in a faintly mocking tone of voice.

"No," said Cassidy. "My name is for the most part a coincidence. I was actually named after the title character in the old Butch Cassidy movies. My parents were strange people, tolerant of too many oddities. I suspect that's part of why I was lucky enough not to be institutionalized when I was younger. Especially not after I correctly predicted the breath of my brother..."

"Right, um," said Esther, nervously. "So why am I a God then? How did you come to that conclusion?"

"For a long time," said Cassidy, "I have suspected that the world as we know it, after the Great Blackout, has been naturally dominated by a few Godlike figures. The irony is, that we ourselves, the namesakes of these Gods, have little direct influence over the world as we know it. The mere fact that I am the Oracle of Des Moines gives credence to my words even when they turn out to be vague, esoteric nonsense. If the right interpretation of these words comes to the right ears, I can unintentionally foment revolution."

Esther impatiently tapped her fingers on her chair. Cassidy realized to her embarrassment, as was often the case, that she did not actually answer the question.

"Ah, sorry," said Cassidy sheepishly. "To expand this to you yourself, Esther Okerye, you are the Goddess of War. People fear your name. They are terrified of you. the announcement of your arrival means certain death. Those few that manage to escape spread your legend elsewhere."

"Funny," said Esther dryly, still tapping her fingers on her chair. "I never had that idea."

"That's because you never had cause to speak to people in the free states," said Cassidy. "Indeed, the entire raison d'etre of the Social Justice Army as an organization was that they were bringing a better world, not meaningless death and destruction to any who dared to oppose them. Neither you, nor Barack Worthington, nor Homer Ikari, nor Huma Reid ever understood that."

"I killed her too," said Esther, cracking her knuckles. "Did you know that too Oracle?"

"It doesn't surprise me," said Cassidy. "I knew that she would die doing something stupid. And anything that would put her on your bad side certainly qualifies. Not that this was a particularly unique quality to messr Reid, of course. Your own sister met the same fate."

In that moment the dank, white room was deathly silent. Barely even the sound of breathing was audible. Finally, Esther stood up, and leaned in on Cassidy.

"What did you just say?"

"I said," Cassidy replied fearlessly, already determined not to think in terms of self-preservation, "that I knew your sister would die doing something stupid."

"And what might that be?" asked Esther, coming in close to Cassidy's face, a definite snarl forming over her face.

"She tried to save the world," said Cassidy.

Esther's face softened, and she quietly plopped back into her chair, a stunned expression on her face. Esther's look was so vacant Cassidy wasn't sure Esther had any conception of what else was in the room anymore.

"Jill Smith had a sort of unhealthy hero worship when it came to you," said Cassidy. "I don't know what, exactly, her childhood was like. Or yours for that matter. But she clearly believed that you had a noble spirit and were only motivated by a powerful desire to do the right thing."

"That's insane," said Esther, barely moving. "I was just looking out for myself. And then for her. That was all. Are you saying that all this...?"

"Yes," said Cassidy. "I never had much chance to dissuade her of the notion. Before meeting you I had no idea what her sister was like, I only knew that her interpretations were obviously unrealistic. I attempted to warn her, for whatever that's worth. But it was no good. She was-"

"Headstrong," said Esther quietly. "Yes, I know. I gave up even trying to talk to her after awhile. I thought, she was an adult, I'd given her a chance to make her own choices. That was all she needed. All she deserved."

"You can still help her," said Cassidy. "I think Joel has a notion of finishing what she started. And if he's right-"

"Let's talk about Joel," said Esther, once again leaning forward, interrupting. "What does he think about Jerry Shankar being dead?"

Cassidy breathed out slowly. Well, she had always known this part of the conversation would be both unavoidable and painful.

"Joel was the one who killed Jerry Shankar."

"Where is he?"

Cassidy hesitated to reply again. She already knew what was almost certainly the result of Esther meeting Joel. But in the previous prognostication, Jerry was still alive. That was a critical part to how that confrontation played out. Yet if anything, Jerry already being dead would seem to suggest an even worse outcome-

"Listen," said Esther, coming in close, and very calmly putting her hands around Cassidy's neck. "If you know what I am, and what I'm capable of, then I can make this easy, or I can make it hard. But you probably also know that no matter what you say, I will find him. You aren't protecting him."

Cassidy had to think the matter over longer than was probably appropriate. After all, she wanted to die, and Esther could make that happen quick. But then Cassidy thought about how Jerry had sacrificed his own life to rescue her. She then thought about how badly Joel would need her help for whatever cockamamie plan he was attempted. Cassidy always considered herself very selfish at heart, but simply considering the wishes of those two friends, without even getting into the others, made her want to at least feel like she had tried to give them something in exchange for all the kindness they had offered her through their lives.

"He's waiting for you on the roof," said Cassidy, exhaling as Esther let go of her throat.

Esther looked ready to dash out the door. Cassidy was only able to bring her mind together just quickly enough to arrest her with a single commanding word.

"Wait!" Cassidy cried out. "What are you hoping to accomplish? There's still a place for you, Goddess of War. You don't need to simply destroy without purpose. We can give you something, a part of what Jerry had to offer..."

Esther stopped in the doorway. She turned around slowly. Cassidy was a bit astonished to see, for the first time, Esther smiling. It looked monstrous- a grin from ear to ear, almost perfectly calculating to instill absolute horror in whoever saw it.

"You want to know what Jerry offered me?" asked Esther. "He promised me screams. The endless, endless screams, of every enemy I ever had. And Joel is one of those enemies now, isn't he? I'd like to hear your scream too, before this is all over. But right now? You're enfeebled and stuck in a hospital bed. You can't even fight back. I wonder what kind of a fight Joel will give me, once I force him to choose between the truth and death."

And with that, Esther was gone. In spite of everything, the pain, the horror, the turmoil of the situation, Cassidy admired that Esther had figured it out on her own. Joel, the God of Lies. The perfect counterbalance to the Goddess of Truth. And in this odd way Cassidy took comfort. In her visions, Esther's reasons for murdering Joel were entirely practical. In this strange new timeline, Esther was taking Joel's subterfuge personally.