Ascent of the Aliomenti (39 page)

“You screwed up, Will. Your word could have prevented this.
You
should have realized that they’d change, that them staying together would cause such terrible repercussions. You should have
forced
them to move apart.”

“I do
not
force people to act against their will,” he snapped. “They wished to stay, and it is not my right or my duty to make them do otherwise.”

“Will’s the real enemy!” another man shouted. “He’s setting us all against each other! He’s getting people together to make their breakups so emotional that we fight among ourselves!”

“How on earth does that benefit me?” Will shouted. It might not benefit
him
, but he could think of someone who would do exactly what had been proposed. “How does it benefit
me
if people are arguing and fighting and destroying each other? I’m the one who puts down no roots in any outpost, who has no true home. In what way does it benefit me to try to set everyone to fighting among themselves, especially those who, like James and Elise, truly loved each other?”

“You lost your wife,” one man said, his voice fraught with cruelty. “And now you want to make sure that no one else ever knows that joy. And so you sabotage their relationships, set them against each other, so that they destroy themselves and
their
relationship. It’s too painful to you to see others happy; it reminds you of what you’ve lost.”

Will stared at him, dumbfounded. “I don’t want
anyone
to feel what I felt when I found out I’d lost them. But I
do
want them to know that joy, and for them to be able to take advantage of our long lifespans to make sure that feeling lasts far longer than I had with my wife. I’ve spent centuries –
centuries
– working here to help every one of you build incredible wealth. We’ve lived through wars and plagues that wiped out so many others, and yet here you are accusing
me
of trying to make your lives
worse
? That’s the stupidest thing I think I’ve ever heard, and I’ve lived a
very
long time.”

“It’s the truth,” a man replied. The voice chilled Will, for it was the voice of the third man from his own distant past that he’d met that very day. “I
know
it’s the truth. You weep for your wife. You feel pain at the memory each time you see someone else happy. You long for true love again.”

Will stared at the man he knew as Athos. “You are confusing facts with emotions, friend. Everything you said is true. I do weep for her loss. I do remember that love each time I see a happy couple, and my sorrow at my own loss is remembered and genuine. And I do long to experience all of that again. Those points are true. Where you err is the belief that the true pain you describe provokes me to act to inflict it upon others. That part is
not
true.”

“We’ll see about that,” the man said. “We’ll hold you captive, and I’ll find out the full truth of your past, about what motivates you, about what it is you’re trying to accomplish with people like James and Elise—“

“I’m not trying to
accomplish
anything with the two of them!” Will shouted. “I’d love for them to reconcile. I
want
them to reconcile. I wish that I knew why they started growing apart so long ago, what happened between them that’s caused this rift. I don’t. Why don’t you seek the truth from the two of them? Wouldn’t that be more useful than trying to blame
me
for the troubles they’ve had?”

“But I’ve already
done
that, Will,” the man replied. “I have analyzed everyone, noted strengths and weaknesses, and have gathered information to help me form the correct conclusion. There is no doubt as to the fact that you’ve loved and lost. You claim that is not something that motivates you into action, action that would destroy the chance for others, yet those who’ve followed their hearts and love into those relationships – far too often with
your
encouragement – end up coming to a bad end.”

He was right again; so many who had started into a marriage-style commitment had grown distant, and many partners had suicided as the relationships crumbled. James and Elise would never accept such an ending; both would stick it out to the end of their days, which, based upon the intensity of their fighting, would likely be this very day.

Yet it was hardly something Will had encouraged. “Again, you make claims as to my motivations, and how those could be twisted to be the cause of what’s happened today. Yet you did not answer
my
question.
Why
did James and Elise start to grow apart? It was a sudden thing, not a gradual thing. The distance was instant all those centuries ago; it was only the hate which grew to such massive intensity, gradually, over time, and escalated to what we see today. If you have such a great ability to learn the truth, why not seek
that
truth?”

“I have sought it and know it, Will,” the man replied. “And yet again, it is
your
fault.”

Will raised his hands. “Enlighten me.”

“You told them, years ago, that having children would be a major decision in their lives, and that having children as a member of the Aliomenti would potentially produce offspring more powerful than their parents, and as such be a risk to both the secrecy and the safety of all of us.”

Will nodded. “That has been our approach since our founding. It is important to have that information when making such important decisions.”

“The young James and Elise, you see, had chosen to have a child together. And then you made the warning commentary. Children born to Aliomenti might well be born so powerful as to be uncontrollable by their parents. Did you fail to consider that your warning might split a previously united decision? That is what happened, Will. Suddenly aware of the risks, one of them became filled with doubt, and changed their mind on the issue. That statement you made had ripple effects. But for you, Will, they’d have made the same choice on this front, and possibly still be together. Instead they ate the ambrosia, the decision was irrevocably made, and the anger of the permanence of that decision has led to this day.”

Will was stunned. “The problem in your story isn’t me. The problem is the ambrosia. Why do we not let people have the choice of whether they want to take it, and
when
? Why have we had rules that require consumption of ambrosia within two years of joining, on penalty of losing Energy and memory of our group forever? If they’d been permitted to take more time, a decade or more, perhaps they might have come to an amicable decision and agreement, and avoided all of this. Yet you want to blame
me
? I provided them with information. I did not try to persuade, or coerce; I merely informed them of the potential risks. For that, you blame
me
for this war? That’s an insult to me.”

The man sneered. “Then be insulted. You’re a danger to this community. Let the warriors fight it out in their fashion. We know the root cause of their conflict, and we’ll make sure that you can’t instill such anger in us ever again.”

Will sighed. They never learned. “Look, whoever you are—”

“My name is Victor.” The man straightened a bit as he spoke, his posture suggestive of a military background.

“Victor, I’m not going to sit in your little jail—”

And then he felt Tacitus’ hands on him again, and collapsed to the ground. The hands and feet of the others started beating on him, started trying to punish him for a crime that he’d never committed. He was able, in his mental fog, to put the nano-based exoskeleton in place to limit the damage, but he couldn’t seem to shake Tacitus’ hands. His eyes felt heavy, and his vision blurred, as if he would soon lose consciousness.

And then, suddenly, all of them, including Tacitus, were thrown to the side, as if a massive burst of Energy had scattered them, and an invisible burst of wind came upon him. He felt the familiar displacement of teleportation, and suddenly he was gone from that place.

He reappeared on the island of Eden, a place only he knew about. He thought about the familiar stream, the house he’d built, full of submarine prototypes and sample propulsion systems. He thought of the unexplored caves he’d long wanted to visit, but which he’d neglected in order to focus on building his submarine. He thought about all of the memories this place held.

And he thought of the fact that he’d nearly been killed just moments earlier.

He was still lying down, his back on the soft grass of the island, the familiar breezes and salty scents a welcome relief from the open warfare he’d left behind. His rescuer was next to him, breathing heavily, exhausted from the effort of dispersing his attackers and teleporting them so far away.

It took time before his eyelids gradually lost the excessive weight they’d seemed to acquire, and he was finally able to open his eyes. He blinked, trying to regain his focus, trying to see the clear blue skies filled with fluffy white clouds, trying to clear his mind to process what had happened. But his primary need at that moment was to identify and thank his rescuer.

The person shifted and rolled away from him, moving into a crouching position nearby, and he felt a set of eyes upon him, staring at him as if he was the main attraction at a carnival.

He heard the sound of tears rolling down cheeks, a sound he’d developed the ability to hear after centuries of training his senses. It was a sound difficult to hear except in complete silence, a state to be found on this uninhabited island paradise.

His eyes finally cleared... and then filled with tears of his own.

The blue eyes were upon him, eyes that did not look upon him with loathing or regret, but with love. They were not eyes belonging to someone that wished to be somewhere else, but instead wished to be nowhere but right here, with him. They were eyes that said so much with no more than a single tear’s departure from their midst.

She leaned down and kissed him gently on the cheek. “It’s good to see you again, Will.”

He was unable to speak, but did manage a genuine smile in Hope’s direction, before exhaustion finally overwhelmed him.

XXX

Bonds

1700 A.D.

When he finally woke, Will found himself in his bed, covered with blankets, and felt a sense of calm he’d not experienced in an eternity.

Hope was poring through the papers covering his desk, papers depicting his ideas and designs for the submarine he’d long since completed but continually improved. Her face, in that zone of concentration, was the one he liked best. It showed her beauty and her intelligence in a perfect combination. It was the same look that had entranced him, both seven centuries in the past and four centuries in the future.

She sensed that he’d finally awakened, and flashed a smile in his direction. “Hungry?”

He nodded, stretched, and climbed out from under the covers. “What do you think?”

“Hmm?” She glanced down at the papers and realized what he meant. “This? I don’t know what to think, because I’m simply incredulous at the idea. This looks like a boat... with a top... that sails
under
the water?” She walked over and handed him a plate with fruit and a mug of water.

He nodded, quietly amazed at the conversation. It was as if the centuries of separation had never happened. “That’s right. I’ve worked on it for a long time, made a lot of improvements, and it’s quite the sight to behold. It’s been something to keep me occupied, and keep my mind busy, since...” His voice trailed off.

Her eyes fell, and she dropped her head, looking toward the ground. “Look, I know what I did hurt you, but... I had the best of reasons.”

He arched an eyebrow, a means of asking her to explain.

“Not long before I... ran off, we had one of those late night conversations the three of us often had. The two of us and Eva. Eva fell asleep, and then you did. I don’t remember what you said, but it kept me awake, thinking, after both of you had dozed off. While I was thinking, you shifted in your sleep, and something fell out of your pocket.

“It was fascinating, because it looked like a scroll, and at the time we didn’t make any kind of paper or papyrus. I unrolled it, and, well... you know what it was.”

He was surprised. She’d found his diary? “I’m guessing it had something written on it?”

She shook her head. “No, there was a very realistic painting of some sort. It showed me, with dark hair, holding a baby girl with a little boy standing near me. I realized it was a picture of me with our children.” Her eyes misted over. “I needed that, because the duration until they’d finally be with me seemed so overwhelming. Seeing what they’d look like... it really helped.”

Will nodded. He’d seen the picture, as well, and to the same effect.

“But that wasn’t all. While I was looking at that image, it.. vanished. And words showed up. And those words... they were the reason I left, and they told me what I’d need to do with that huge amount of time available until our future meeting, until our children would be born.”