The Rise of Planet Rubicon - Part One

by Dasrim Hasik

  She stood up and motioned for them to follow her up a curling flight of stairs, the stone steps looking extremely elegant in relation to the rest of the room. It was very obvious that no expense was spared in the construction and furnishing of the Remembrance Hall.

  As Jack went up the stairs, he noticed the recessed lights were sparkling differently.

  Alara whispered softly; "They are a memorial to those who lost their lives defending our City against the rebels that got pushed back to Schaler."

  He nodded and saw how many lights there were. A piece of him sank, feeling incredibly guilty that such destruction occurred when he wasn't even here. He was supposed to be the king and that meant that you stayed and fought alongside your fellow citizens. You defended your city, your country. Wasn't that how things were supposed to go? While he was on earth, people were giving their whole lives to protect what he had created. He felt undeserving.

  Bridget patted him on the back, but she didn't say anything. He figured that it was for the best, really. You couldn't really trust anyone here to say anything, but the support still felt good. He would speak with the Silent Sages and see if they could fill in more for him. Of course, part of him was aware that he couldn't necessarily trust them either. Just because the Silent Sages were supposed to give him information didn't mean that he would actually get anything good.

  He would still need to ensure that he was filtering everything through his mind first before committing it to his heart. Still, some things didn't need skepticism — lost lives were lost lives. He could tell by the collective sadness around him that this hall meant something, and it wasn't about fooling him. It was honoring people that definitely deserved their respect.

  The receptionist pointed to two very large doors that opened automatically to a large half circle table, where many women gathered around the table. Their eyes immediately locked onto his, but there were no smiles to be had here. This was business, plain and simple. He couldn't really get away from all of the things that needed to be done, and he knew that this would probably not be a good conversation.

  "Your Highness. We have been expecting you. It is time to settle matters, yes?"

  He bowed to them, because he saw that Alara and Bridget had done the same. There was an air of distaste around Alara, and he could tell by her face that she didn't really want to be here.

  "Alara, you can wait outside if you want. I don't mind." Alara looked relieved. "Thanks. I'll go wait outside. Bridget, you coming?"

  Bridget shook her head. "No thanks, I'd rather be here."

  The Silent Sages seemed to hover in their chairs, covered in smoky gray clothes. They had a look that was all business, yet there was a bit of softness in their faces as they looked at Bridget. It was almost as if the answer pleased them in some way, but Jack couldn't be sure why that was.

  Alara closed the door behind her, and the Sages got down to business.

  "Good king, are you here to stay, or will you be departing again?"

  Jack gulped. That was the big question everyone wanted to know, wasn't it? He nodded slowly and then found his voice again. "I do indeed plan to stay, and I would like to rebuild the City to its former glory and then some. However, I need help learning things again...I have forgotten many things, and I am embarrassed to admit that. But until I get more information, I'm stuck admitting my faults to you and anyone else willing to help me..."

  He trailed off, feeling like a complete loser. People had lost their lives while he was gone, and those that remained weren't happy to see him. What made him think that he could turn things around? Something at his core pushed him to have a little more resolve than this.

  Come on, now, the voice hissed, the confidence traveling around and around his body until he squirmed. You know that you are king. You can do anything you put your mind to.

  That trite statement made him annoyed, and he thought about shutting the voice up. It was that same voice that got to him earlier but he couldn't place where the voice came from, or even who else was in his head.

  You know what I am. I am you. Now, turn to the Sages as a king, not as a boy.

  Jack frowned, but the voice had a point. Even if he assumed he was a sane thinking man, he was putting up the wrong impression and he wasn't sure if he would get another chance to speak. So he sat down as a king would and say simply; "I expect your assistance, being that you seem to have great leadership abilities here, and many powers."

  One of the Sages spoke. "You have not regained your stonecraft?"

  Stonecraft? He didn't really know what they meant, but he might have a clue. He thought back to the things he had manifested. Was that part of this stonecraft business, or was it something more? He knew that he wanted to do big and bright things, but could he really carry that type of power around him at all times?

  The Sage that spoke to him giggled to herself. "I assume that means a no. You seem confused. Stonecraft is what we call this ability of yours to create the world around you. It is your world, after all. You have shaped and cared for it, and breathed life into it.

  We are merely reflections of the world that you desired all along. You are from Earth, yes? You brought so many desires and untapped feelings with you when you first came here. The world that formed around you was a direct result of those early longings."

  "How did all of you get here?"

  "We inhabited the planet from the work of another Dreamer like yourself, but they departed long ago — generations ago. There were conflicts in the past, and we merely went with the flow, sensing what would be and trying to work for a better future. We are not surprised by your departure. You simply stopped dreaming."

  "Why did I do that?"

  No Sage spoke after him, looking at him with confusion. "My good king, I have no idea why you stopped dreaming. I do know this: you must believe fully in your mission. It is not like you can just go back anyway, even if you wanted to."

  "Can you see my world from here?"

  "Yes."

  Without him speaking the desire out loud, a large screen popped up in front of him. It was like watching a movie, a movie that he truly craved with all of his heart. He began to see the reality that he once knew play out in front of him. He saw his mother and father going about their business, fighting about this and that.

  "Well, at least we don't have to worry about feeding two ungrateful children right now. The boy took off, the girl's gone... maybe we'll actually have money for ourselves for a change."

  Jack winced, hearing his father's gruff voice. His mother, bless her heart, had the frame of mind to actually sound a little guilty.

  "Oh, stop. You know that it's nice to actually have the children here, but I guess they're ready to leave the nest a little early. Why don't we curl up and watch a movie...or something?"

  Jack realized that they had moved on without him. Like it didn't matter that he was gone. His sister moved on to live with that guy from a well-off family, and he had decided to move to another planet. Talk about distance. It hurt him a lot more than he imagined realizing his parents didn't have any more need or desire for him in his life. He imagined his school friends, the few that he had, didn't really have anything to say either.

  "Would you like to see more, my good king?"

  Jack shook his head. He had seen enough. He didn't need to be reminded that he came from a nowhere life, from a nowhere town that no longer had any use for him. No one could even pretend to worry about him. The only reason why he didn't cry was because he knew that he would be showing a weak side of himself and that wasn't what he needed in the slightest either.

  These people had to begin trusting their king again, and it was time to honestly give them something to trust. He bowed. "I am fully committed now to building the city of Reversia to higher and higher heights. Please do not worry about my faith or my commitment in this mission. This grand purpose...truly means everything to me."

  The Sages began to fill him in on the important pieces of the mission, including m
ore about his stonecraft powers. As they spoke, more bands of confidence seemed to wrap around him. For once, he felt important. Powerful. Capable of absolutely everything. He looked over at Bridget's face and felt even more incredible. She was looking back at him with adoration and that felt nice too. Even though he was pretty into Alara, he wasn't going to turn down a woman looking at him like he was the most awesome hero in the world.

  Eat your heart out, Bruce Wayne. A new hero's in town. He was about to bow and leave the Sages when another memory struck him out of nowhere, almost knocking him down.

  "Hey there, Jackie.The usual?"

  "Uh, yes ma'am. Six eggs, big steak, cheese grits, a small bowl of oatmeal, and maybe some toast?"

  The woman's eyes were so kind, so understanding.

  He looked at her nametag. Millie. That seemed like such an odd name compared to some of the ones he'd seen around the City, but it fit her. His Millie. His floating island of calm with so many other things to do as king. It was always just Jackie and Millie, with coffee and plenty of food and her simple desire to give him some peace against a world that seemed to ask the world of him.He had a special seat in the kitchen, watching her make all of his food personally. It was that extra touch that made him truly feel cared for in this new land...

  He blinked, rubbing his eyes. Another memory? Why did they seem to attack him out of the blue, like these memories were important? He wasn't sure who to talk to about them. The Sages might not give him a straight answer. And why were they called the Silent Sages when they obviously knew how to talk? Too many more questions he couldn't answer. Hopefully that would go away as well. There were so many things that he wanted to say, to ask, and to get answers to.

  But it felt like he had taken up enough of the Silent Sages time. These were not women that you wanted to tangle with. He could tell by the way everyone acted around them. Also, he had more questions that he wanted to ask, and rudeness was a surefire way to make sure that he wouldn't be able to get the answers he craved.

  That just wouldn't work long term, so he figured he would just go back later and get his questions. Plus, when he got back to Quiet River he could practice more stonecraft, as it were. He made a quick exit after another deep bow and figured that he might as well get the ladies home as well. They would want to finish exploring the city.

  Chapter 12: The City Electric

  Walking out of the meeting room at Remembrance Hall was nice. Alara fell into step behind him, throwing Bridget a glance as she was perched so close to Jack. Jack wanted to enter his palm into a speedy marriage to face, but he figured a facepalm would be far too obvious.

  The women obviously hadn't fixed whatever it was that loomed unsaid between them, and he wasn't going to enter that fight. Nope, not him. He did want to know more about the families that made up the City. The Five Families that made up the Council seemed to be a safe topic.

  "So, Alara, has your family always run the Council?"

  Alaranodded, a bit too proudly. "Yes, we have. It's always run by the males of the family, so I've always been on the sidelines...but it's not like we women don't have our roles too."

  Jack nodded. "I can imagine. So what's the deal with the sashes and the pins?"

  Alara continued walking at Jack's side, explaining things here and there. She explained that every family of the Council had a family color which matched their sash. They also had a family symbol that meant something to them. Her family went by the dragon, while others had a bear or a snake or even a lion. "It's a big deal to be in the Council, and we take our role seriously as part of the leadership class. After all, the lower classes have to be kept in line somehow."

  Jack made a face. "Is that really how you see them?"

  Alara shrugged. "Trust me, it's not like they really care what we think. They're lead only by their base desires, and they live in terrible little places because they can't seem to find the intelligence to do better with their lives."

  Years of hearing the same line of reasoning applied to his family sent color back into his cheeks. He held up a hand.

  "If that's how you really feel, why are you with me then?"

  Alara laughed suddenly. "Darling, you're the king. You're far from being one of them."

  Bridget coughed and said; "I don't think the class system is fair at all. Just because you come from humble beginnings doesn't mean that you cannot be a man or woman of worth and substance."

  Alara huffed.

  "Of course you would say that, coming from a family in the merchant class."

  Bridget whirled around. "There is nothing wrong with working for an honest day's pay, or finding the skill to run a business. Not all of us can laze about all day and still have food on the table."

  The two women locked eyes, and Jack realized that he would need to step in or this would become all manners of messed up, really quickly. He coughed. "Look, everyone's going to have their opinion. But where I'm from on Earth? Nobody in my family has money. And yeah, we fight a lot. But I still manage to have hobbies, interests, passions...I have my own mind, okay? I'm not a low life, scum, or any other choice words you have for me. And now that I’m back, I really want to see what we can do to make things a little more even for everyone. I think we might be missing out on a lot of untapped potential because of former attitudes."

  Alara's eyes could have burned a hole through him, she was so angry. "Since you're the king, I guess there's no way that anyone can disagree with that, huh?"

  She stormed past him and said; "I'll be at Quiet River if you want me." She tapped her family pin and vanished, leaving Jack with a thousand questions that he didn't have time to even explore.

  She'll come around. If she doesn't...I don't know what to do. Sure you do, chimed the voice. You know exactly what you're going to do. You're going to lead like you promised, no matter what Little Miss High Class has to say about it.

  Bridget looked at him expectantly, that same radiant smile on her face.

  He took her hand and said; "Let's go look around at the city. It feels like we've been trapped in this hall for a long time."

  Bridget nodded at him, her freckles indicating her joyful mood with a literal fireworks display of colors. "Yes, we've been here for a few hours. I want to show you Millie's, and my favorite bookstore, and even some of the usual stuff." She squeezed his hand and they rushed off to the car.

  If JANE noticed that Alara did not return with them, she didn't reference it to Jack. That suited him fine. He really didn't want to talk about it, because he didn't understand it. Her point of view hurt him.

  He was honestly one of those people she just put down, just like her father had. Of course, he assumed that she was really just copying behavior that was probably as normal in her home as reaching for the newspaper. They had all of the resources in the world at their disposal, so what did they worry about anything for?

  He was still hurt, but he had to brush that aside and deal with the needs of his new nation. They needed him now more than ever. He wanted to practice his stonecraft and begin putting things into place. "So, what do you guys have? What about like, a library? A place for everyone to read at their leisure and stuff... and oh yeah, schools."

  Bridget shook her head.

  "If you want education, it's done privately by the schools run by the leadership class. You have to apply to be accepted and very few are granted those passes. Some of the other classes form their own training, but it's really not very organized."

  "What class are you from? I don't know anything about this... has it always been this way?"

  A quiet nod told him all he needed to know. "It was never brought up to you, but it has been in place since the Other Dreamer brought things into being. You have the king, then the warrior class, the merchant class, the artisan class, the servant class, and the floating class. Everything is about status, really. The warriors enjoy a lot of attention because they are the protectors of the nation.

  The leadership class makes all of the laws, while yo
u are busy creating new things for us to enjoy and appreciate. While we can all manifest small things, it is only the king that can make the sweeping changes that would transform our city."

  "So what do the Silent Sages do?"

  "They can help recharge you when..."

  Jack frowned.

  "When what, Bridget?"

  "When you start doubting yourself again. You just didn't go to them. You began having doubts and they multiplied until they began to control you. I couldn't reach you, and I knew we would lose you. So I decided to go back to your planet and at least look for you. Thankfully your town was very small compared to some of them that I had visited, so it was easy to find you. From there, I just blended in until I could be sure it was you. Oh, Jack, please don't leave again. I would do anything to make sure that you don't leave again. You hurt so many people when you left. Why weren't we good enough for you?"

  He held up a hand.

  "Whoa, I never said that. I don't even want you thinking that. If I had any doubts it's because...well... stuff like this really doesn't happen to me. Nobody is waiting to tend to my needs like this. I mean, it just doesn't happen that way, in my experience. This is all new for me, and it was probably new for me then too. I just need a little time to get things together. I'm sorry if it hurts you — I'm really not trying to do that, either. You matter to me, Bridget, and I'm glad you brought me back."

  A hand went up to his hair and ruffled it.

  "Thank you. You matter to me too, Jack...ugh, everything is so complicated. I shouldn't even admit anything to you. You're with her and well..."

  Jack gulped and blushed. "I wouldn't say that just yet. Alara sounds pretty angry with me, and I'm not really sure if I have anything left with her."

  Bridget rolled her eyes.

  "Are you kidding me? It's all about status with her. She's from the most influential family in the City. She wants to be married to the king to please her father, even though he isn't always your biggest fan. And I guess she just ignores your Earth past because it doesn't fit what her family thinks is ideal. If it helps, I don't care about your background. I care about if you can rebuild the City or not. I care if you're a good man. I care that you want to heal the land around us. Those things are worth caring about. How much your clothes are and what type of house you live in aren't really worth caring about, if you ask me. It's all about your intentions, and what you manifest based on them. That's what I believe in, anyway." She patted the front dashboard of JANE and sat back, choosing not to say anything else.