55 The Monkey Who Never Lies (2/2)

After a short pause, Devin went on to explain.

”You see, not anyone can take over my shell. You need the necessary security clearance. Since I don't remember authorizing you to take over, someone higher than me might have given you the clearance. Otherwise, you won't be able to enter that world as a cat.”

”How could that be possible?” It was Mina's turn to be shocked. ”Why would I be involved in all these afterlife bureaucracies?” she wondered aloud.

”You see,” Devin insisted, ”that monkey never lies. You should try to remember.”

”How could I remember something that I don't remember?” Mina exclaimed with frustration.

'This man was only making things more complicated. Isn't he supposed to be the one with all the answers? Why is he making things even more confusing!'

”How can I have a special identity when I remember everything ever since I was a child!” Mina protested.

Devin looked at her as if sympathizing with her plight. ”Even if you remember everything from the moment you were in your mother's womb, you could still be missing something. A memory before your current life.”

”You mean I was reincarnated or something?” Mina suggested.

”Reincarnated? Of course not!” Devin replied quickly. ”If you received enough authority to use my shell you wouldn't be a candidate for reincarnation.”

Appalled at the man's reply, Mina couldn't help but shoot him another question.

”How could that be the case, did I live such a vicious life in the past?”

”That's something that only you could answer.”

”How did this become all about me again? I'm a victim in all these!” Mina complained to which Devin had another reasonable answer.

”Didn't everything start because of you? You managed to throw off the balance in the Network. This Network is the afterlife as humans are so fond of calling it. If it's not your time to go yet, Baba will take you back to your body and you will wake up.”

A fluffy hologram of a black sheep appeared before Mina and the sheep escorted what appears to be a soul to a hospital bed. While Mina looked at the images, Devin continued.

”If you're supposed to die, some other creature will escort you to where you are supposed to go.”

The hologram disappeared and it was replaced by a miniature model of what she saw from the pod.

”You can't go back to another time. Each era is built like your esophagus, but with a stronger stopper. It's impossible for souls to do a backflow.”

”What if there's reflux?” Mina asked in a serious tone. ”And I'm the regurgitated soul?”

While asking the question Mina couldn't help but wince at the comparison.

'Seriously, we're going to compare this entire network to an esophagus? What am I supposed to be -- the vomit? This Devin guy is not creative at all!'