“The prime minister of the democratically elected government of hums welcomes you to Mone, Prince.”, Igogo introduced himself and extended his right hand for a handshake.
“Thank you”, Kevin shook his hand.
“Don’t be surprised, my prince. The humans learned the art of handshake from us.”, Igogo remarked. It was clever how he acknowledged Kevin as the prince in one sentence and then declared him an outsider human, in the next.
“I am sure, they did. After all hums are their creators.”, Kevin responded tactfully.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong prince. I have utmost regards for them. Just that they still seem to be driven by instinct.”, Igogo said. Others around him kept smiling in approval of his prejudgement.
“I hope, I am able to grow up to the hum’s standards soon. I would need all of your guidance.”, Kevin responded aptly.
Keele and Boriri still stood at a distance but listened to every word very keenly. They were both happy to see Kevin handle the situation as per his training but knew that a few minutes were enough for Igogo to throw him out of balance.
“Who is the beautiful lady?”, Igogo acknowledged Seriri, being the gentleman that he was.
“Seriri.”, Kevin introduced her.
“Good that you have made some friends here. I feared you would be lonely so far from home.”, Igogo said. His tone was every bit as authentic as that of a true well wisher who was genuinely concerned but Kevin knew what this truly was. Igogo was trying to imply that Kevin was, after all, a human who was out of place among the hums.
“On the contrary, I feel completely at home.”, Kevin lied. It has never been easy for him to lie but he knew this was a game of wits. He continued, “I have friends there, I must accept but I have friends here too.”, Kevin looked at Seriri with admiration. He made it look real. He also put his arms around her waist and pulled her in gently.
It seemed to be working for Kevin. Other guests in the room found it easier to accept Kevin as one of them because of Seriri. She had been standing by his side the whole evening and had true admiration for him in her eyes. Although Kevin was only using her, even if he knew it only at a subconscious level, she took his gestures a bit too seriously. Finding his hand in her waist, she blushed and leaned into him.
Igogo found Kevin to be a tougher target than anticipated. He prepared his next attack with much more sophistication. “So, you are here to end my rule!”, he asked point blank.
This was Igogo’s sharpest attack yet and it was supposed to throw Kevin off balance. He had said it bluntly but covered it with a witty smile. Kevin knew he had to respond. Not responding would mean that he truly believed he was here to end Igogo’s rule. This would mean to the bystanders that he was over-confident and took the elections for granted.
Boriri realised that Igogo’s last comment had put Kevin in a fix. Any response from him would have made him look either an over confident fool or a spine-less coward. It was stale mate for Kevin unless someone else responded on his behalf. He decided it was time to join the conversation.
“You have had a long enough run, Igogo. It’s time for you to rest.”, Boriri too replied bluntly but with a witty smile. This is exactly why he had been listening to the conversations all along. Boriri had successfully saved Kevin and pushed Igogo on the defensive.
“Ah, Boriri. The mastermind himself.”, Igogo turned to Boriri. He had a big smile on his face.
“If you say so.”, Boriri smiled back.
“On a serious note, I am a fan of the king’s rule myself. Hums need it now more than ever. The prince has my full support.”, Igogo said, increasing the diplomatic tone in his voice. Maybe he was withdrawing now seeing Boriri on the other side.
“We need your support, Igogo. You are right, hums need the king’s rule now more than ever. It has been long overdue, don’t you think?”, Boriri asked rhetorically.
At first Kevin feared that the conversation between Boriri and Igogo would turn ugly but then realised that both of them were too mature to let that happen. He understood that although everyone around them could hear what they both said, only they knew what they wanted to communicate to each other.
“Have they introduced you formally yet, my prince?”, Igogo turned to Kevin and asked.
“No. We were waiting for everyone to arrive.”, Boriri replied before Kevin could.
Igogo looked around and said casually, “Let’s not keep the people waiting. They have waited long enough to see their prince. Allow me to officially introduce him to the hums.”, Igogo said as he proceeded to the center stage. Boriri nodded and indicated that Kevin should follow Igogo’s lead.
Kevin followed Igogo as he walked towards the center stage. He struck as an upbeat and energetic person to Kevin. He had expected someone serious and dull, but Igogo was far from it. He was popular and the hums absolutely loved him. Kevin could see this in the eyes of the guests who greeted Igogo one after the other. He appeared to be a celebrity among the hums. Kevin was finding it hard to reconcile the declining popularity of the democratic government and the celebrity status of its prime minister.
As they arrived at the center stage. Igogo began speaking in a mouthpiece.
“My dear Hums. May I have your attention please.”, Igogo began his speech. Everyone in the hall turned towards the stage and there was pin drop silence.
“Thankyou. As you all know, we finally rescued our prince from the humans a few weeks back. Thanks to Boriri who kept an eye on him throughout, we have a royal among us after centuries.”, Igogo paused. The hall was filled with applause. Kevin felt humbled by the warm welcome but he didn’t like the bit about being rescued from the humans.
Igogo continued, “We all know that hums need king’s rule. No one understands this better than I do. I deal with those problems on a daily basis and trust me when I say that we need problem solvers in those offices not politicians like me.”
Igogo then went ahead and described the kind of problems Hums were facing, “Our economy has been declining ever since democracy came to power and scientific progress has come to a stand still. We all know democracy is not equipped to make tough and long term decisions. Democracy is the governance of appeasement, it cannot bring in the reforms that are needed. Honestly, I can’t wait for the scholars and scientists to take over from bureaucrats and politicians. Our society has been running democracy for too long now. Let’s change that this time.”
Igogo turned to Kevin and said, “Kevin, my prince. I wish you all the best for the elections. They are a mere formality, trust me, I know it. Like me, most of the hums have already made up their minds. Kingship is yours.”, Igogo looked at Kevin with trust, faith and appreciation - all at once.
“How can someone be that good.”, Kevin wondered. He knew Igogo despised him but tonight he had managed to portray himself be Kevin’s biggest fan. Had Kevin not known him better he would have fallen for his gimmickry, similar to how most of the guests did.
Igogo had said all of it with a smile but now he turned serious and continued, “But a word of caution, my friend. If you mess up, I will be waiting.”
The hall went silent again. Did Igogo just threaten the prince? Was he so naive after all to openly do such an atrocity?
Of course not, he was clearly joking. He knew how to keep his audience entertained. Igogo started laughing hysterically and said, “I am just pulling your leg. Don’t mind me.”. He went ahead and shook Kevin’s hands once again, then pulled him to the center and announced, “People of Mone, I give you your prince, Kevin!”
The room roared with laughter and then applause as Kevin was given the center stage. Kevin had prepared a speech for the occasion. He had it memorised. He began speaking. Boriri and Keele knew what was in his speech so they ignored it and started chatting among themselves.
“I don’t know about you but I am surprised. It seems as if he really wants Kevin to win.”, Boriri suggested.
“Don’t get confused by his external remarks. He is a politician,
after all.”, Keele replied.
“I know but he gave a pretty strong statement about the problem solvers being needed in the ministry. I believe he just threw away any chance of becoming the next prime minister that he might have had.”, Boriri said. He was still wondering why Igogo did that.
“What else could he have done? Have you seen the news articles lately? People don’t care who is the king. They just want democracy to end. Everyone wants the bureaucrats and politicians gone. There is no way democracy is winning again.”, Keele tried to put Igogo’s behavior into perspective.
He continued, “He is just saying it now so that he remains a friendly face even after his loss. This way he gets to be the prime minister who brought back the king’s rule. Otherwise, he will look like a typical politician who didn’t want to step down.”
“I think you might be right. I am getting old now. My instincts are all over the place.”, Boriri confessed. He continued, “Somehow my rusty brain still says that he genuinely wants Kevin to win. I know it's absurd but I just can’t get it out of my head. He was the one who disclosed Kevin’s true identity to roco and now he has gone out of his way to endorse him publicly. If he just wanted to be diplomatic, he needn’t go this far.”, Boriri was confused.
“Well, he disclosed Kevin’s existence to roco because he wanted to portray humans in a violent shade. He knew you were with him all the time so there was no point fighting the facts. He announced it himself so that he is seen as a supporter of the king’s rule. Don’t you see? He is a politician. The only way for him to stay relevant is to be a king supporter now.”, Keele again had a good point.
“I get that, but I would feel a lot better if I knew for sure that his smile and support for Kevin is fake right now.”, Boriri said.
“You know I can’t do that. He is still the prime minister. I cannot analyse him. It would be illegal.”, Keele knew what Boriri wanted but refused. Anyways, he didn’t seem to agree that it was necessary.
Boriri stood in silence. He was helpless. A third generation housebot like Keele could easily analyse a person’s gesture, facial movements and heartbeat to detect if he was lying. But it is frowned upon to do so unless the person has agreed for the analysis himself. Moreover, it was illegal to do this kind of analysis on government officers, including the prime minister. Boriri knew it was impossible for a bot to do something which was illegal, even if for the greater good.
To change the topic, Keele started speaking. “I and Kevin have developed a little theory about Igogo. We believe we have circumstantial evidence about how he could have been behind all of this. Including Soboro’s death and humans’ arrival on nole”.
“Let’s talk tomorrow. I need some rest tonight, It has been a long week.”, Boriri responded with lethargy. He looked tired. Seeing that the gala was going as planned, he seemed to have allowed himself a break. Tonight, all he wanted was to sleep peacefully.
Before leaving, Boriri asked Keele to stay back with Kevin as it was his first night at the palace. To this Keele readily agreed. Kevin’s speech was over now. Boriri waited for it to finish before leaving as a very satisfied man.
Everyone was still clapping as Igogo and Kevin walked down the stage. Igogo shook Kevin’s hand one last time and left the hall. Two roco bots stood with Kevin now. They were his personal guards and would follow him everywhere now that he was officially announced the prince.
“Why do I need so much security if hums are not that violent?”, Kevin asked Seriri who joined him after the speech.
“There are others here too, Kevin. Mone is frequently visited by Jaks, Forengs and other species of nearby star systems.”, Seriri responded casually as she posed for the flying cameras along with Kevin.
Kevin was surprised to hear this, he struggled to keep a straight face for the cameras. He asked, “How many species are there?”
“No one knows. The Universe is infinite. We have not found its edges yet. Every civilization has explorers who travel deep into the space and discover other civilizations. That is how we know each other.”, Seriri replied.
“So there could be civilizations much more advanced than hums? I thought you were the most advanced.”, Kevin asked.
“What makes you think that? Of course there could be more advanced species. Although we would never know that. An advanced species usually don’t reveal themselves to the younger species.”, Seriri responded as if it was common sense.
“Who else is here, then? Can you point them out for me?”, Kevin asked.
“Mostly Jaks, I guess. Some Forengs, may be. Forengs are as advanced as us but they are not as mature. And I am not saying this only because I am a hum.”, Seriri said with a wink.
“Why is that?”, Kevin asked.
“They didn’t have a wise race like royals on their side like we did.”, Seriri said. She added, “Although, You shouldn’t take a hum’s word for it when they criticize Forengs, neither should you trust a foreng’s judgement about a hum. We are competitors.”
She continued, “Anyways, I don’t seem to find a Foreng here tonight. Probably they didn’t like that we got a royal back on Mone. You see that group there…”, Seriri pointed out, “...they are Jaks. They look like us but are different in so many ways. You might find them interesting, they are much like humans.”
“Why humans? Are they also based entirely on your gene pool?”, Kevin asked.
“No, not that way. I meant they have similar physical, intellectual and emotional maturity levels.”, Seriri said.
Then to explain further, she started speaking again, “In general a younger species is always more physical, Kevin. As we evolve, we tend to value softer skills like intelligence and emotional maturity over physical traits. Eventually, physical traits lose their evolutionary edge. For example, a hum is no longer as rugged as a human or a jak but is far more intelligent and emotionally stable.”, Seriri replied.
“If Jaks are so young then why have hums revealed themselves to them? Isn’t this against the policy?”, Kevin asked.
“Jaks are one of the first nextgens that we created. We put them on a planet very near to our Karbaka star system. This was a mistake. The other species which were engineered subsequently were put on far off star systems to make sure that accidental discoveries were rare.”, Seriri paused.
“Are they a threat? Is that why I have two bots looking after me?”, Kevin asked.
“Not in particular. Your security is mostly a precaution.”, Seriri dismissed Kevin’s concerns with confidence.
She continued, “Having said that, I must admit that they are not as nonviolent as us. As I said earlier, they are more like humans, obsessed with war technologies and the lust for power. They are driven by emotions too.”, Seriri responded.
“That is never good, right? Being driven by emotions.”, Kevin asked rhetorically.
“What do you mean?”, Seriri asked.
“I mean, letting emotions influence you is never a good idea - right?”, Kevin clarified.
“Don’t get me wrong Kevin but emotions are not a bad thing. On the contrary, they are very useful. Although, being driven by them is bad.”, Seriri explained herself.
“I don’t understand.”, said Kevin confused.
“Emotions are the most powerful force within us, Kevin. They live in our most basic of instincts. They are raw capsules of energy fuelling creativity, motivation and endurance within us. Think of them as potent juices which fill you up inadvertently, without warning. In this state you can either channel this energy consciously and achieve temporary heights of excellence or you can lose control due to its overwhelming force and be carried away like a rudderless boat.”, Seriri explained.
“What are you saying then? Is it good or bad?.”, Kevin asked.
“Nothing can be categorically good or bad, Kevin. Except, maybe, for intentions.”, Seriri said. She then continued, “Being too emotional is as bad as being emotionless. A boat in the ocean is threatened equally by shallow waters or tall waves.”
<
br /> “Is it about balance then? Not too much, not too little.”, Kevin wondered if it was as simple as that.
“There are three types of responses an individual could have towards emotions. Based on these he can be classified as naive, fool or wise.”, Seriri said turning towards him. The cameras were all gone now.
She continued, “Kevin, The naive are helpless in the face of emotions. They do not understand it, let alone be able to control it. They float like rudderless boats, without direction, riding on the random waves of emotions. This is what I meant by ‘being driven by it’.”
“The fool thinks he understands emotions. He perceives it as a storm which has come to push him off course in an otherwise calm sea. He drops his anchor and clings onto reason and sanity in an effort to avoid being swayed by emotions. He may remain unmoved in the storm but he risks being torn apart by it. I call such individuals fools because they are the worst impacted by emotions.”, Seriri paused.
“And the wise?”, Kevin asked.
“The wise prepare for the storm and look forward to it. They keep their sails ready in anticipation. When the storm is through, the wise are always better off. They never risk being torn apart by it because they never resist it. They merely channel it to accelerate towards their goals.”, Seriri finished explaining.
Kevin stood in silence trying to understand Seriri’s theory.
Seriri added, “It's not only the balance, the difference is in how you use it. A nuclear bomb and a nuclear cell both work on the same principles but one is disastrous and the other a gift for any civilization.”.
“I get it now. Emotions are not bad, not bad at all.”, Kevin said.
Seriri stared at Kevin as he wrapped his head around her philosophy. Meanwhile, Moriti walked up to them and asked, “If you guys are ready, scholars would want to meet the prince now.”
“Let’s go.”, said Kevin and began walking towards them. Moriti lead the way for Kevin while Seriri followed him happily. She was enjoying the limelight more than him.
Earth To Nole: Return of the Prince Page 7