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Farewell
-- Chapter
15
1. As
the sea of stars filled Bri's window, he could not help but wonder how
long this journey would last. Vejhon had long vanished, no longer
a glimmering speck in the skyline.
2. A thousand possibilities ran through Bri's
mind, "Would this last a year or a hundred years? What will
happen to Vejhon while we're gone? We brought the flag with us,
so are we refugees from our own shell?"
3.
Certainly, new epics would unfold as a result
of this evacuation. "Are we the only ones in the Universe to have
taken this course?" he wondered. Undoubtedly, other
shellans
were wondering similar things aboard other
Cardships.
4. He studied the room's appointments: A timer on
the wall to his right kept track of their time away from
Vejhon. A holographic representation of Vejhon was built into the
wall beneath the timer. A plasma panel marked special occasions
and historic
events.
5. Kyle'yn knew that Bri wanted to touch the
Balipor flag one final time
before it was locked inside it's display case.
6. The air inside the case was
forced out to seal the contents when he closed the
panel.
7.
He set the case on its designated shelf under the clock, stepped back
and saluted. Then he took two steps back to dismiss
himself, and returned his attention to the window.
8. "Only
Mother knows where we are now," he thought, not recognizing the stellar
formations any more.
9. He thought about Zam El's Orb, where The One
preserved Zam El aboard a spherical boat before the shell
collapsed. Vejhon's
shell had never collapsed, but the story possessed moral
significance. "This is our Orb," Bri
compared, "Maybe the fables are disguised
prophecies?"
10.
"We did not fall to the ground helpless," he defended, "begging The One
to save
us." He meant everyone, "We used
our minds to create a way." He stepped closer toward the glass
window, "Either way, we thank The One for
our survival. We thank The One that the destroyer did not know
this solution. He
lost because we lived." The irony of ironies in contrast to the
consequence of inaction.
11.
The allegory came forward, "Why did Kor
say that millions would die because of me?" He did not need to
remind anyone that he was instrumental in saving nearly 4 Billion
souls. For possessing such disdain of theatre, Kor was
full-time drama. "What was it Kyle'yn said?
Responsibility," he remembered, "We lived because we learned the
meaning of
responsibility."
12.
"What's going on at Balipor right now?" he wondered, "Are they
ransacking the place?"
13. For the first time in his life, the symbol of
Vejhon was desolate and lonely; he sensed and felt nothing as if a
recording had been erased. "For
however long it takes," he said, "I'm bringing justice with me when I
return." He meant it.
14. The
Cacci Dai had appointed the Presidential Office with lush amenities
built into the walls, ceiling and floor. Pleasant surprises would
appear
later.
15.
The office was appointed for President Aqu'Sha with some of his
personal effects placed on his desk. He picked up a framed
picture of Aqu'Shas children and smiled sadly, remembering Aqu'Sha's
quiet
bewilderment as items kept vanishing from his Balipor office one
by one.
Aqu'Sha thought that he had misplaced them himself, and didn't even
notice
everything that was taken. Bri expected a Presidential pardon for
re-locating the President's stuff. A pardon that would never
happen.
16. As he looked over the room, he realized that the
room should serve a
higher purpose. "Aqu'sha was the first martyr," he reflected,
"I'm re-designating this room as a memorial for all to visit."
The
Director's office was close by, and Kyle'yn could read Bri's thoughts
from anywhere, "I warrant,"
he said psionically.
Bri grinned, "I'm grateful that my conscious has a voice."
"And a name," the Director gently inserted.
17. "Let's redesignate it,
'The Hall of
Remembrance," Bri said, "All who perish, from this moment forward, will
have their names
recorded
here…in this tomb." His 2nd Presidential Order: So Mote It
Be. And so it was done.
THE
LETTER
18. There was a wine-colored, tri-folded letter
with a Presidential seal laying on Aqu'Sha's desk. The color
scheme matched Aqu'Sha's personal stationary so Bri thought nothing of
it. It perplexed him that he didn't notice it sooner...
"How did this get here?" he wondered. He could have swore
that it wasn't there when he picked up the photo of Aqu'Sha's children
a moment ago. "Strange... I missed it
somehow."
19. The letter was addressed: "My Son."
Aqu'Sha had three sons and
one daughter. Bri approached the desk and picked up the letter;
it was not Aqu'Sha's style to ignore any of his children unless he
specified only one child by name. Now he was intrigued.
20. It was his right to break the Presidential seal, so
he snapped the wax, unfolded the letter and began reading:
21. "I write this from a far away place. I'm forbidden to
reveal my identity. I can tell you that the Hand of God has
been with you since before you were born."
22. That was a curious salutation, he thought... "before you
were born..." Vejhonian lore believed in a pre-existence, but
such beliefs were not attributed to any particular sect.
23. "I knew you then."
24. Again, Bri looked away. The writer certainly knew how
to capture the reader's attention, "Who... knew who then? Is this written to
me?" he asked.
25. "Your birthright grants you abilities that are blocked to
most, but with great power comes great responsibility. Everything
that I could tell you in writing has already been recorded in your
epigenomic memory. I just wanted you to know that you have never
been alone and I'm very proud of you."
26. The letter was signed: "Your Father." Bri felt
like he had been smashed with an emotional hammer. The letter had
been written to him and he was fighting back deeply repressed
emotions: He wanted to scream, "Why do you care now?" Then
remembered how pointless it is to grieve over the
irretrievable. Especially now.
27. He remembered his last conversation with El Sha and quietly
lipped the name, "Daniel?" leaving a small pause for doubt.
Underneath the signature was a monogram that represented the fabled,
non-existent Corlos. And that ridiculous underground litany came
to mind, "Life through Light and Death; Beauty and Savagery."
28. "What is it with that?" Bri questioned the litany's origin,
"Micha said it was really Jolvian." Micha had come aboard with
Vicar
Jaxon. Bri always felt better when Micha was around.
Jol had unofficially loaned Micha to him, since they served as
novelties to each other, for lack of a perfect description. The
two had
dispensed with cultural formality more than once in the name of
friendship, and virtually created a law unto themselves. Now, Bri
didn't need anyone's approval, except for his own.
29. "Mother?" Bri queried out into space psionically, testing
the new psi-strata. "I'm here Darling," she responded from 11
miles away in a recreated pantheon copied from her home, "It's
beautiful!" she complimented. She let him read a private thought,
"The vegitation, the creek, everything. It's perfect!" Then
more sympathetically, she added, "I was with you during your moment of
grief." There were no psi barriers within
the ship's interior.
30. Bri smiled, "I'll see you more often now, Mother." El
Sha had read the letter from his mind, and thought it would be best to
to
let him approach her about it, when he was ready.
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