GLASS SOUP by Jonathan Carroll (funny books to read .txt) 📕

“Where are we?”

Haden didn’t know where they were but he knew exactly what was happening. Chaos was coming after them. If it succeeded now, it would erase the world Simon Haden had created from his life’s experiences and memories. We are the days of our lives, the experiences we have and what we remember of them. Erase those things and what is left of us? If Chaos destroyed his world, it would destroy the world Isabelle had fled to for refuge with her unborn child.

They could hear it coming now. Like the sound of a summer storm rolling in, they heard it coming toward them.

Haden reached out and grabbed Leni’s arm while they were running. “Remember before when you conjured that version of me? That guy you remembered me as being?”

“Yes, Simon.”

He stopped them. “Do it again, Leni. Do it right now. Conjure every version of me that you can think of; every me you can remember.”

She did not ask why. She did not have time.

In seconds she surrounded them with Haden after Haden, tens of them and then a hundred at least, all summoned from Leni Salomon’s memories of the time she’d spent together with Simon when they were both alive.

Kind, well dressed, funny and charming Haden. Scruffy, hungover, selfish and bad-tempered Haden. Scared and vulnerable, surprised and childlike, mean and manipulative. Short hair, long hair, dirty hands, just-manicured ones, suit, pajamas… One after the other these Hadens flooded out of her mind and memory, surrounding the three people like a rush-hour crowd at a big-city railroad station. They emerged from the ethers fully realized. Since they were different versions of the same man however, they immediately began talking to each other and comparing notes. Leni, Isabelle, and Simon watched it happen.

“Why did you want this, Simon?” Leni asked.

“Because Chaos is trying to destroy my memories. If it does that, then it destroys my world—this world.” He looked at Isabelle. “And then she won’t be able to survive. That’s why they tricked her into coming here on her own. She’ll be stuck here in whatever’s left. I don’t even know what that would be, some kind of limbo.”

“But why them?” Isabelle gestured toward the hoard of Hadens around them.

“Because they all have memories, but they remember things differently. When I’m pissed off I remember things differently than when I’m in a good mood. When Chaos meets these guys it’s going to have to sort through all of it, all of them, to find out what’s true before it can erase things. That will give you some time to get away. You two have to go now; right this second.”

“Go where? And what are you going to do?”

Haden smiled. Neither woman had ever seen that expression on his face. “Now it’s my turn. I’m going to stay here and use this”—he touched his temple—“to make more me’s—lots and lots of them. As many as I can before it arrives. Then I’ll just sort of lose myself in the crowd and hope that it doesn’t find me for a while. But you have to leave now. No more talking.”

“Where, Simon? Where can we go?”

He nodded at Leni’s question. He had expected it, thought about it, and knew the answer already. “If I do this right, Chaos will have to stop here for a long time and work through all of these guys and their memories. It will have to figure out which are Leni’s people and which are mine. Then which memories are real and which aren’t.

“That should give you enough time to get some place in this world that still exists. After that I don’t know, Leni. You two are going to have to figure it out later. Right now you’ve just got to get Isabelle out of here.”

Moved, Isabelle protested, “But what about you?”

He gestured around them with both hands. “I’ll be fine. I’m here in good company. I know these guys.” He took Isabelle’s right hand, squeezed it and dropped it. “Go now. I’ll be fine. I’ll see you.” He motioned for them to leave.

“Wow, Simon. Wow. Thank you.”

“You are welcome. And good luck with the baby.”

“Simon?” Leni pointed to the growing crush of Hadens around them. “I just thought of another Simon to add to this group. He’s a good man after all. And he just surprised the hell out me.”

Hearing her compliment, Haden’s tense face relaxed a moment. He saluted them and walked straight out into the crowd. It quickly grew and grew as he moved until the women couldn’t tell which one was the real Simon anymore.

“Let’s go.”

To their very great relief, the women did not have far to travel before coming to a recognizable place. At first they hadn’t known what to expect, so they were suspicious of everything. There was still nothing around them; it was as if Simon’s world had been swept clean or they were at the beginning of a new one. It reminded Leni of being inside an airplane as it came in to land on a completely overcast day. The only thing around them was various shades of shifting gray, like thick clouds outside a plane window.

It lasted only a few miles. As they walked, this gray began to evaporate and what appeared to be some kind of border crossing loomed in front of them. They saw that they were now walking on a primitive, badly paved road. It led to a small booth and the kind of moveable gate you see at rural railroad crossings. What was absurd was that all one had to do was step off the road a few feet, walk around this booth/gate, and you would cross over to the other side of the border unhindered. There were no other fences or barriers to keep you in or out.

The surrounding landscape was brown, barren, and rocky. Off in the distance loomed a high and dramatic mountain range with jagged snow-covered peaks. The steel blue and white of those mountains contrasted dramatically with