by Saxon Andrew
“Do you think she’ll come back?”
Sam sighed, “We can only pray she does.”
Jon said, “Duke Robbins.”
Sam turned around and faced the throne. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“In the future, if you even think about abdicating your title you will contact me the moment that happens and inform me about what’s happening.”
“I will, Your Majesty.”
Jon stood, took Maranda’s hand, and left the throne room. As they went through the door Maranda said, “You’re not angry?”
“No, Sam just made me and his parents proud. He’s become everything they wanted him to be. If he had discussed this with me, I wouldn’t have believed him about the Cats losing their way. I had to see it to believe it. He did the exactly right thing.”
“They’re proud of both of you, Jon.”
“I know.”
• • •
Robby looked at his father, “Thank you.”
“No, thank you, Son. You’ve shown me what a great man you’ve become. I also ask that you inform me of any future events like this before I’m placed in an awkward position.”
“I will; I promise.” Robby went and pulled Jennifer over, “Father, this is Jennifer Aman.”
Robert looked at Jennifer and said, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Robby said, “How do you know about her?”
“You told your sister about her.” Robert looked back to Jennifer and said, “You’re just as beautiful as Robby said you are.”
Jennifer’s face turned red and she bowed, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
Robert looked at Robby, “I expect you to bring her to Earth to show her around.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Robert teleported away and Jennifer turned to Robby, “You haven’t told your parents about me. Are you that ashamed?”
“Jenn, you’ve refused to even admit I’m anyone special. I’d never be that presumptuous.”
“But you’ll tell your sister?”
Robby shrugged, “I tell her pretty much everything.”
“Well, you can tell your parents.”
“What are you saying?”
“It’s like our trainer said the first day of Armor Training. I want one of the very best men to be in my life. There is no one that could stand close to what I see in you. If you really want me, and I don’t see how you could, I’m yours.”
Robby pulled her in an embrace and kissed her.
Dort nudged Gon with his elbow, “It’s about time.”
Gon made a stirring motion, “You just have to let it simmer a while. Kinda like that paste you exploded in the cafeteria.”
Dort smiled, “Hey, was that great or what.”
“Some of the forks are still stuck on the ceiling.”
“A lasting tribute to how great minds work.”
“You could have used a glue that was a little less powerful.”
“Where would the fun be in that?”
Gon shrugged.
Sam looked at the ceiling and wondered what Jixie was doing.
Chapter Ten
Jixie landed and found her mother waiting on her. She rushed over and gave Jixie a huge hug. “It’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you so much.”
“It’s good to be home. I’ve missed you, too.”
They spent time discussing all the events since Jixie had left and after her mother had told her about all that had been learned in the new studies, Jixie said, “Has everyone been matched?”
Her mother sighed, “Yes.”
Jixie clapped her hands, “Good.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Maybe you’ll lighten up now.”
“Jixie, one of the Elders wants to speak with you.”
“Which one?”
“The Senior.”
Jixie stared at her mother, “Why would he want to talk with me? He never speaks with anyone but the most advanced elders.”
“He saw the information you sent to me and he says that some of it is troubling.”
“Mother, I’m not worthy of his attention. What could I have possibly uncovered that would interest him? I’m little more than a hatching.”
“He asked my permission to speak with you and I told him I’d ask.”
“Has anyone ever refused to speak to him when requested?”
“I’m not aware of anyone.”
“Mother, I don’t want to do it.”
“Why not? I think it’s an honor.”
“He may decide to keep me here and I must go back.”
“Jixie, you are an adult. You control your actions.”
“Could you have prevented me from leaving if you really wanted to force the issue, Mother?”
Jixie’s mother raised her eyebrows and said, “I guess if I wanted to use some of the really old conventions I might have stopped you.”
“Well, I’m sure the Senior knows every convention ever made.”
Jixie’s mother stared at her, “This is really important to you.”
“It is.”
Jixie’s mother thought about it and Jixie heard her say, “Senior, my daughter has returned for a visit.”
“That’s wonderful, when may I see her?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“She is concerned that you might want to keep her here if she meets with you. Is that a possibility?”
“If she possesses information I find critical, I might ask her to stay.”
“Then you can only meet with her if you don’t ask her to stay.”
“Are you telling me that she’s refusing to see me?”
“No, I’m telling you as her parent that she will not see you if you disrupt her study.”
“She hasn’t started her study.”
“This current path she is following is her study.”
“Will she be coming back?”
Her mother looked at Jixie and she nodded.
“She will visit periodically.”
“Then if we only have this opportunity, the High Caste will be coming with me to speak with her.”
“We’ll be waiting.”
Jixie was trembling, “Have you ever been in the presence of the caste?”
“No, I have not.”
“What have I done, Mother?”
“I don’t know. You must know something that has them worried, Jixie.”
“They have me worried.”
“I can’t really blame you there. This is what the Study is all about Jixie. Your fellow hatchings will be so envious that you have found something that has captured the attention of our leaders. Very, very few have ever done that.” Jixie’s mother thought a moment and said, “No one has ever done that.”
“I’d be happy just to be ignored.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen. Cheer up. I’ll stay here with you.”
“Don’t leave me, Mother.”
“You know that will never happen, my child.”
• • •
Sam sat on the hill on the training grounds looking up at the stars. Jixie had been gone five days and he worried that he had seen her for the last time. His wrist unit vibrated and he looked and saw Lyla’s face on his display. He took a deep breath and pushed the button, “Hello, Lyla.”
“I was at the meeting with my father when you confronted the Cat.”
Sam stared at the beauty on his display and said, “Why did you call, Lyla?”
“I’m hoping we can give it another try. I was stupid and I see I made a mistake.”
Sam stared at her and after a few moments he said, “I’ll think about it.”
Lyla’s face showed a moment of anger and then she said, “I’m not accustomed to being told no. That only makes you more attractive to me, Sam.”
“I’ll talk with you later, Lyla.” Sam disconnected the call and Lyla suspected her father was right; but Sam not wanting her made him more desirable. She was not going
to give up without a fight.
Lyla’s wrist unit vibrated and Mark appeared, “What time should I pick you up?”
“Never, I’m done with you.”
Mark stared at the display wondering what the heck just happened. Last week she was telling him she loved him and now she dropped him like a bad engine.
Lyla stared at the picture of Sam in the news photo; he was the Realm’s newest hero. She had to get close to him. If she could just get him alone, he’d be hers again. She called her father.
• • •
Jixie looked at the five beings that were the real authority of her people. She felt the power of their intellect. The Senior looked at Jixie and said, “I have looked at the information you gathered from your current playmates and there are some issues that bother me.”
Jixie said, “They are not playmates, Senior.”
The five leaders and Jixie’s mother looked at her with a level of surprise, “Then what are they?”
“I’m not sure what term should be used. This venture started as simple play but has become something that I don’t have a word for. This is more than play.”
The Senior looked in Jixie’s mind and said, “I see. We’ve learned that the structure of reality is different than what we have always assumed. You’ve been affected by your proximity to the new forces that we were unaware of.”
Jixie looked at the Senior, “You have always known how reality functions. We study to find our way to your understanding of how everything is connected. Our life is a struggle to attain your level of insight.”
The Senior smiled, “And the youngest among us shows us that we are as far away from reality as our youngest hatching. Our view of everything has been smashed.”
Jixie started shaking her head, “That’s just not possible. I am nothing more than a grain of sand in your presence. I’m just an inexperienced hatching that is struggling to find her way.”
One of the High Sect said, “It is that struggle that has redefined all of our beliefs.”
“What did I find that has changes so much?”
“You found not just one Creator but two. In our reality, Creators do not exist. However, we now know that they do and that crushes every foundation we have used to see reality.”
“Why?”
“Because we now know that we also had a Creator and it died.”
Jixie was shocked silent.
Jixie’s mother said, “It died?”
“Or it was killed. The end result is the same.”
“How?”
“That’s what we must determine and you need not have worried about sending your daughter back to her quest. She must go back.”
Jixie said, “Why?”
“Because we sense the Creator of the place you’re going is also going to die. We must know why. We assumed we knew every detail of reality but missed the most important part; the one that made all the rules that govern us. If a Creator can make them, another could change them.”
“How do you know this is happening?”
“We can see and hear her. She’s losing her strength. We don’t know why. We thought we knew all there is to know and suddenly we discover that we are as blind as our youngest hatching. We must determine what’s happening in order to find out who we are.”
Jixie’s mother looked at her and smiled, “You are different, Jixie. You always have been. Go and find out what must be learned.”
“I’ll send you everything I see, Senior.”
“That would be greatly appreciated. I think you might want to open a dialogue with those things called Cats.”
“Why?”
“They are directly connected to the Creator. Perhaps you can find out from them or possibly talk with her directly.”
Jixie stood and hugged her mother and went out to call her ship. Her mother turned to the five beings and said, “She’s just a hatching.”
The Senior stared at Jixie as she boarded her ship, “She’s so much more than that. She not only sees things, she feels them. We lost that ability long ago.”
Jixie’s mother stared at the Senior as he said, “We’ve worked so hard at seeing things that we lost the ability to feel. That is where we lost our way. She is our only way to save ourselves. If all the fabric of our beliefs are wrong, we’ll lose our connection with each other. Our intellects will start to unravel if they are not brought back to reality. She’s the only one that can save us.”
“Does she know?”
“Not yet.”
• • •
Sam sat on the hill and felt his wrist unit vibrate. Dort heard it and said, “Who’s calling?”
“Lyla.”
“T-R-O-U-B-L-E.”
“She’s hard to ignore.”
“Not if you’re from a different species. I can look at her objectively and I’m telling you she’s not what she appears to be.” Dort heard the unit vibrate again, “Are you going to answer it?”
“No.”
“Sam, Jixie may not be coming back.”
“I know. Jennifer says her mother didn’t want her to come here. I guess I need to just accept that we’ve lost her.”
“What do you mean, we?”
Sam sighed, “I’ve lost her.”
“Well, you should know that if the one you’re searching for is not at the last place you saw them you need to look elsewhere.”
Sam and Dort turned around and found Jixie standing behind them. “Where should we have gone to look?”
“What about up there.”
Sam looked up at the stars and said, “I’ve been looking there since the moment you left.”
“Well, I’m sorry I’m late. Time is just not the same at home.”
“It isn’t the same here with you gone.”
Dort looked at Sam and decided he needed to leave and teleported away. Jixie walked forward and said, “I believe you did something before I left.”
“I did.”
“Can you do it again?’
“Count on it.” Sam took Jixie in his arms and kissed her long and deep. He broke the kiss and she said with her eyes closed, “Just one more time.”
Sam smiled and this one lasted much longer. When they broke the kiss Jixie leaned back and said, “Sam, I need to talk to the Cats.”
Sam rolled his eyes and fell on his backside.
“What?”
“You don’t want to know. You can see them, can’t you?”
“Well, yes.”
“Look for the one called Pride. He’ll be easy to find, he has a surly expression.”
“Is there something I should know?”
“Yes, we just threatened to resign our commissions and abdicate our titles if they wouldn’t leave you alone.”
“Really?”
“They didn’t take it very well.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Would you do the same for us?”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
Jixie thought about it and wondered if the Senior and Sect threatened to come after her friends what she would do. ““I guess there isn’t a difference. Do you want to be here when I call him?”
“Yes, and I need to know why you want to talk with him.”
“There is a problem with your Creator. My leaders ask that I talk with the Cats about it.”
“Then give him a call.”
Jixie looked at the sky and said. “Are you the one called Pride?”
On El Prado, Pride jerked his head up and said, “I am. Who is this?”
“I’m the one you’ve wanted to find. Will you come and speak with me.”
“I was told you would leave if we tried to question you.”
“I didn’t say come and question me; I said would you come and speak with me.”
“What’s the difference?”
Jixie laughed, “If I asked to come and question you, what would be your response?”
Pride thought about it and tilted his head, “I see. Intent.
”
“Exactly.”
Pride appeared and Jixie was shocked by the Cats size, “You are enormous.”
“I get that a lot. I suspect that compared to your natural size, I seem to be even larger.”
“You have no idea. However, my leaders thought I should communicate with you.”
“Why?”
“They wonder why your Creator is dying.”
Pride’s expression went from curiosity to shock, “What are you saying!?!”
“My…Elders are troubled. The concept of a Creator is not something they have factored into their understanding of reality and the discovery of one has them disturbed. They’ve determined that we once had a Creator and it died. They see that the one here is losing strength and will also die. They want to know why.”
Pride looked up at the sky and kept his head raised for more than five minutes. Sam had never seen a Cat look up to communicate that long. Pride lowered his head and they saw the extreme sorrow on the huge Cat’s face as he sat on his back legs, “She has refused to say anything about it. Her mate has confirmed what you’re saying. She is losing strength and the Father is frightened. They don’t know why this is happening.”
Sam looked at Pride and said, “When the body is sick long enough, it begins to die.”
Pride looked at Sam, “What are you saying?”
Jixie said, “Sam told me that evil is like a cancer. If not treated and removed from the body, the body dies. I think her sickness began long ago and was brought into remission, but now the cancer is growing again.” Jixie looked up at the sky and said, “The number of civilizations that are being attacked is increasing in numbers.”
Pride fell to the ground and Sam saw the Cat’s tears. “We’re losing this fight.”
“That’s because you don’t want to win it.”
Pride jerked his head toward Jixie and said, “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You’re sending millions of warriors and ships out to fight against evil civilizations that are destroying others. You move to prevent them from attacking planets or go to remove them once they’ve landed. You’re avoiding going to the source of the attacks and removing it.”
“We’re not strong enough to take on the home planets. They’re stronger than we are and outnumber us.”
Jixie stared at Pride and said, “How many of your species are there?”
“We number about a billion.”
“And how many of you have armor?”