All Rights Reserved © 2019, Rick Haydn Horst
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Growing up a shy, sheltered, closeted gay kid in the American South resulted in experiencing a great deal of school bullying. I tried not to draw attention to myself, to fade into the background and vanish, often longing for the power of invisibility. But I hadn't recognized that longing, that siren call, as
the path of least resistance
beckoning me with promises it would never fulfill. That's why my go-to coping skill relied upon keeping both myself to myself and my head down.
Nevertheless, as I should have expected, the strive for invisibility resulted in suffering with whatever circumstance people deemed fit to throw at me. My repertoire consisted solely of that coping skill (if one could call it that), and while nature has used
the path of least resistance
in many mechanisms of the universe, nature couldn't judge itself. With every instance that I failed to protect myself, it only served to reinforce my conclusion that I was a coward.
To survive on Earth--even remotely unscathed--one must have the ability to defend oneself. Like many people, I had the problem of lacking the skills to fight while my culture discouraged and hindered me from ever obtaining them. It taught us
violence doesn't solve problems
and
turn the other cheek
, but adults wouldn't live by such aphoristic nonsense. And my school reinforced the edict against violence through the hypocrisy of corporal punishment and expulsion. As a result, the cruelty to which my peers subjected me left me with an indelible sense of something undone or incomplete in the back of my mind.
I knew I would have the opportunity to learn to fight on Jiyū to complete that undone thing. I couldn't rely upon David to always come to my rescue. What if he needed me for a change? What if he, for once, couldn't protect me? I would have to defend myself. Besides, as David's mate, I felt I must keep up with him. If he could fight when the occasion arose, then I should have that ability as well.
I had convinced myself that we dealt with bullies on the mission to Earth. "They just had more power and influence than usual," I told myself. My personal experience caused that natural impulse; bullies stayed at the forefront of my understanding of hostile people. When I made the comparison, however, I underestimated our adversary. We fought a complex, self-serving entity that retaliated when anyone threatened its supremacy, even if only idealistically, and it never minded instigating violence or playing the victim when it suited its purpose. It wouldn't seek to intimidate us into making itself feel powerful. It had plenty of power, and it wanted something priceless from us. As David indicated to its agents on the gangplank of the Torekkā Maru in Venice, their money could never buy what they wanted. Our unwillingness to bend our knee to the mighty dollar made us targets but striking a bargain wouldn't end it (ask the Native Americans how that worked for them). Trade for land one day resulted in taking more from them the next.
The path of least resistance
meant invasion, occupation, and death. Of course, great resistance meant war since they would never accept "no" as an answer. As David said to me during our discussion of the Trust, there may come the point where someone gives you no other options, kill them, or they will kill you. Even the destruction of our culture would exemplify a form of death.
Among his many virtues, I appreciated that David kept his promises. He promised I would see Jiyū again, and I did. When we arrived, however, I expected a stay of short duration, as he also promised the British Government that he would return to help them. I understood and accepted that necessary promise. He wished to provide a
soft landing
for the good people of Earth.
Before commencing the delivery of the dire news, first came the joyous. No one could have missed it, for Cadmar stood before them. We all believed he had died, including his mate Tamika, who must have raced to the temple. During our decontamination, as Cadmar rinsed off, she burst through the door, and they embraced beneath the spray for some time. We donned our robes and left to avoid disturbing them.
With home came relief, but we couldn't feel cheerful. The people who greeted us in the red columned hall had smiled with their lively talk, but the news we brought lurked beneath the surface, and we knew that.
Our newcomers, Maggie and Rocke, made it rather clear that neither of them required an Au Pair. I felt negligent, but they insisted they wouldn't need me. They could manage their introduction into life on Jiyū with the aid of the hospitable people at the temple. They both knew we had much to accomplish when we arrived, and I knew they wanted to avoid burdening us.
We had settled the preliminaries, and with the joyous news over, we then relayed our circumstances. For the sake of expediency, I asked Venn to retrieve David's Trust uniform from our penthouse, and things progressed from there in the late afternoon.
"Where to begin?" David asked himself aloud to the crowd before him.
He and I stood atop the central platform of the Arena surrounded by millions of people, every member of the Trust. No one in the Trust's entire history had called an assembly until that day. When it came to the truth, we neither denied our circumstances nor delayed the dissemination of details. They wanted to know, and they wanted to act.
I looked upon the sea of colored uniforms, swords upon their backs. I saw them as a formidable group. To me, they represented people with the ability to stand up for themselves, and I admired them. They stood in silence, awaiting David's message. Our communication system, helmed by an artificial intelligence known as Iris, negated the need for a public-address system.
"I have much to say." With an intimate voice, David spoke as if individuals stood three feet before him. "As you know from our previous arrival with Amaré, the people of Earth know of our existence, but we have a complication. They know we exist and know the precise location of the portal."
There came a discord of speaking within the Arena.
"Patience," said David, "I have more. They deceived us with the reports of Cadmar's death. That fact remains our best news. During our search for his ring and body, the British and American military surrounded the portal's location, preventing us from leaving.
"Also, we learned that the British government has taken the Foundational Enhancement from Cadmar without his consent, and they have passed it to others. In the United States, Pearce broke his vow to not have a relationship without returning home. It appears they captured and coerced him to do their bidding. The Americans used him in the same manner, and they have the Foundational Enhancement as well. We do not know what he may have told them.
"Both countries have given the enhancement to a number of their soldiers. It has already spread to the civilian population, and some are seeking monetary gain from it. Before long, they will all have it.
"As you know, my mate Rick can read the ancient texts at the archive. It hints of something none of us had conceived; another portal exists on Jiyū."
One could almost feel the collective intake of breath, and a humming murmur sounded within the Arena.
"I beg for your patience," said David, awaiting their attention, "I have more to tell you. Another portal exists, the exit to which resides in Japan in a forest near Mount Fuji. We must find this other portal here because the Americans know its precise location in Japan.
