by Dan Glover
It felt as if she'd been away for three thousand years.
Living in Edinburgh Castle was as lonely an existence as Lily had ever known, even more so than the years she spent thinking she was the last of her kind. Kāne was not the man she remembered. Rather than making time to be with her, he seemed to prefer working on his artwork.
She doubted he even missed her when she left. Up until this moment she thought the same about Lauren and Natalia... they had each other. Why did they need her? She was a nuisance, nothing more, a thing to be used and then discarded.
Still... she missed them both terribly. If not for the dreams of her old lovers perhaps she could have left those days of happiness behind. It was as if she was awake and only when she tried to eat and could not swallow did she realize her error. After her awakening it took weeks—often times months—to lull the old feelings back to sleep, the sense of being touched again, of being loved.
She had no place else to go, otherwise she would have left Orchardton Hall ages ago.
This morning she dreamed of the dragons again. This time they did not disappear when she looked directly at them. It startled her to see how much they looked like the gargoyles implanted within the halls of the castle; evil grins adorned their faces and their eyes gleamed as if they just feasted upon fresh meat.
The dragons had a name. They were not separate beings but rather part of a collective. Though she heard the name being whispered in her dream, upon waking she could not recall it though the memory left her feeling cold.
She knew such dreams—morning dreams—were apt to come true.
Chapter 5—Karen and Pete
She often reminisced how they became man and wife.
They were sitting upon the upper parapet at Orchardton Hall watching a full moon orange and bloated heave itself up out of the raging sea and drinking hard lemonade made from fresh lemons just off the tree and corn moonshine whiskey made by Pete in his make-shift copper and glass still sitting in a corner of the laboratory.
Karen told herself she was not in love yet when she looked into Pete's eyes shining in the blossoming light of the moon she knew she was only fooling herself. They spent their days together in the laboratory working on solving issues related to Karen's ongoing research into multiple parent invitro-fertilization techniques while their nights were spent apart.
When he was away she missed Pete more than she should.
She told herself he hadn’t the same feelings for her that she did for him. He was a life-long bachelor who was uninterested in an old maid like her. Yet there were times—like when he placed a gentle hand upon the back of her shoulder—when she sensed Pete did have the same yearnings, the same desires building within him that mirrored her own.
"I was never a big drinker before the Great Dying... now I cannot seem to get enough of it. The funny thing is, this stuff never gives me a hangover. Care for another drink, Karen?"
"I'd love another one, Pete... thank you. Go easy on the lemonade this time."
Pete was right. She never suffered from hangovers either. Though she couldn't be sure she postulated it was another advantage afforded by being close to the Ladies.
Since arriving at Orchardton Hall, Pete's age had regressed remarkably. When he first arrived on the Nautilus he seemed to be fifty years old or so even though Karen knew he was much older. The nanobots that Micah introduced into Pete's body halted the aging process but did nothing to reverse it.
Now he seemed twenty. The easy grace of youth returned to his limbs as his skin reverted back to the elasticity that it once possessed and even his mind seemed to grow sharper. His intellect rivaled her own in many areas even though her century of research into enhanced birthing techniques put her head and shoulders above him.
She appreciated how Pete deferred to her without attempting to take advantage. The years she spent working with Hector Ramirez at the Centers for Disease Control conditioned her to think of all men as parasites... now she realized she was wrong.
"Do you ever think about having another child, Karen?"
"I think about it all the time. Raising Sileas was a joy. I knew all along that she and Maon would one day marry but when it finally happened and she left, I had such a hole in my heart. Even now I wake sometimes thinking that she is sleeping in the next room. Before I catch myself I get up to check on her. Of course she is gone. Are you a father, Pete? Or is that an indelicate question..."
She suddenly realized that he might well have had a family before the Great Dying... that they might well all be dead now and dust. But Pete merely smiled and shook his head the way he had a habit of doing before he said anything important.
"No, not at all... I've been alone my whole adult life. My work always came first. By the time I realized what I was missing out on, I figured it was too late. I mean, what woman in her right mind would want a fifty year old out of shape male who had no idea how to socialize?"
"Well... I think you're kind of cute."
"Are you trying to seduce me, Miss Karen?"
"What if I am, Mr. Pete?"
He blushed profusely as he got up to fix two more drinks. There was a campfire on the beach with hazy figures gathered around it. Farther out to sea a storm was brewing. Lightening graced the clouds although here dim stars competed with the dominate moon.
"You must have had a sweetheart at one time or another, Pete. Tell me about her."
"When I was in high school I sat behind a girl by the name of Stephanie. I thought she was the most beautiful girl in the whole school. I could never work up the courage to talk to her, though. So I wrote her love notes and slipped them into her locker. That went on for months.
"One day she opened her locker and one of my notes fell onto the floor. A boy saw it and picked it up. I watched as he unfolded the note and read it. At first, I thought he might just give it back to Stephanie. But then an evil grin appeared on his face.
"Later on, he walked up in front of the class and began reading the note aloud to everyone. I wondered why the teacher didn’t stop him but obviously she was enjoying the spectacle too. Stephanie looked as mortified as I felt.
"After that day I never wrote any more notes."
"But didn’t you try and talk to her?"
"Oh, god no... I remember how one day she asked me to borrow one of my text books. All I could do was blush as I handed it to her. I couldn’t get my voice to work."
"So what happened to Stephanie?"
"I have no idea. Well, I mean I'm sure she's dead now along with everyone else in the old world. After high school I think she went off to college somewhere out west while I stayed in the east."
"Didn’t you ever have the urge to look her up on the old internet? I used to read stories of how people would find one another twenty and thirty years after they parted to renew old acquaintances."
"If you want the truth, yes, I did. She had a very unusual last name. But when I tried a search nothing came up. I figure she must have married. I seriously doubt I would have contacted her even if I did find something. Now that I've spilled everything about my secret love affair, how about you, Karen... have you ever been in love?"
"Once, many decades ago... would it shock you to know it was a woman and not a man?"
"Go on... I showed you mine, now you show me yours."
"Her name was Marilyn. She came to work for me while I was at the CDC. I was sleeping with my boss at the time. His name was Hector Ramirez. It was more of a convenience than love, at least that’s how I looked at it... what did they call it?—friends with benefits, only Hector wasn’t my friend. He was more a benefit.
"Marilyn was different. Hector was a lousy lover and an even worse boss. He stole my ideas and put his name on them without even giving me some small credit. He used me. I have only myself to blame, however. I knew exactly what was happening and I let it.
"I hired Marilyn as my assistant. She was a lot like me... homely, out of touch with her sexuality, and used to the abuse men hand out to wome
n. But there was more to her than that. She had a hardness about her. I sensed if she was pushed too far she would snap.
"I suspected she murdered her husband. Of course she denied it but being a doctor I recognized the symptoms of the disease that killed him. Before I hired her I ran a background check, of course. I discovered things that the coroner overlooked. Of course I didn’t let on to her what I suspected.
"God help me, Pete, I used the woman just like everyone else in her life. We began an affair. I blame myself... I was her superior. I should have known better. Up to that point Hector was the only lover I ever had. I wanted to know what it was like to be with a woman. When we got too close I pushed her away. I was afraid of what people would say.
"Eventually she took another lover, a man. When I walked in on them I was intensely jealous even though I acted nonchalant around her. Until that moment I had no idea how much in love I was with her. Still, I left her. We kept working together but I found myself being cold and distant to her even when she tried to make amends.
"Later, she became obsessed with religion. She told me how she thought we were doing the work of Satan. I didn’t understand how far she would go for her god. She hatched a plan with her new lover to take over Orchardton Hall.
"We had gone to CDC headquarters to gather some equipment and genetic material we needed for our research. Nate and Lily came along... their son Maon too. He was just a little guy, maybe two years old.
"Marilyn tricked us into going into the isolation chamber. Before we knew it, the four of us were locked inside. She left us there to die. On her way out she shut off the generator that not only provided light but ventilation as well. We would have all suffocated if not for Maon.
"He was the only one of us small enough to crawl through the ventilation shaft into the next room. He was able to find the keys and free us. I still have nightmares about that day, only we aren’t saved... we all die slow and horrible deaths and I'm always the last one to go.
"Anyway, the whole episode ended with Marilyn's death. Even now, I wake up wondering why she isn’t lying in bed next to me. I hear her voice when I listen to certain music that we both liked. Once I thought I saw her walking on the beach. Of course it wasn’t her... only one of the People who reminded me of her.
"I let Marilyn down, Pete. Sometimes I wish I did believe in a god so I could ask forgiveness for what I did. Or perhaps I should say for what I didn’t do. But I know that’s all a bunch of garbage. What I did is my responsibility. I have to live with it."
"Was Marilyn an adult, Miss Karen?"
"She was my age... and yes, I understand what you're saying, that she was old enough to be held accountable for her own actions. I agree. Still, when you see someone you care about going down a road you know will lead them to ruin, aren't you obligated to at least make an attempt at steering them right?"
"It sounds like to me that you did everything you could have done for the woman. If anyone or anything is to blame, it would be the words from that bible she kept harping on. Religion is an opiate for the masses. I think Karl Marx wrote that, but I also happen to think it's true. Some folk are not strong enough to stand upon their convictions and so they seek out a higher power, something that they can blame for their own actual or perceived failings.
"It sounds to me as if Marilyn was one of those unfortunate people who suffer from self-esteem issues. She thought she was doing the right thing by rebelling against the powers that be at Orchardton Hall. She became convinced that her god told her so. By listening to her god she was absolved of any personal responsibility for her actions.
"The whole history of the human race is checkered with folk just like Marilyn... people who believed so fervently in their god that they would do anything to gain his adoration. In every war ever fought, each side thought their god had their backs.
"If you ask me, Miss Karen, I'd say we are all fortunate Marilyn did not succeed in her endeavors. If she had, the future of the human race would mirror its past. Now, we have a chance to put war behind us. We can build a new world built upon the foundation of love and trust, not hate and fear."
She was sure of it now... she was definitely and assuredly in love.
Chapter 6—Taboo
Natalia missed her Lily.
"Why do you suppose she stayed away from our door for so long, darling Lauren? Is it possible that she is angry with us?"
"Our sweet Lily has found that which she thought she lost forever. Kāne is my son and I love him unconditionally yet it troubles me how those two are drawn together as closely they are, like magnets that cannot be pulled apart."
"Your son and mine have something in common, sweet Lauren. They both love our Lily."
"I fear our Lily's obsession with these two men will be the ruin of everything we seek to build. I dream how our idyllic existence is pulled apart by coming violence. Do you not feel it too, precious Natalia?"
"But I thought we were past all that, my lovely Lauren. You always tell me how your kind hasn’t the taboo against multiple lovers as we humans once did, how you are a peaceful race."
"This is true, darling Natalia... but Nate is half human. His feelings on this matter do not mirror my own, or our sweet Lily's, for that matter. His jealousy runs deep."
"Ginger tells me that Nate is being seen with girls of the People. Are we to expect more babies soon, sweet Lauren?"
"This was Lily's plan all along. Nate is to be the father of a new race of beings, hybrids between your people and mine. However, I am unsure how she'll feel about it now. Perhaps she went back to Kāne in order to give Nate this opportunity. Is that possible, my darling Natalia?"
"Of course it is, but I fear our Lily is more obsessed with your son, sweet Lauren, than Nate is pulled to these girls of the People. They were lovers once, our darling Lily and your precious Kāne... is that right?"
"They were with each other ages ago. I've always heard it said one's first great love is the deepest. Who is your first love, my darling Natalia?"
"Our Lily was my first great love. Until I met her I was completely alone in the world and dying a slow death. You are my second, my lovely Lauren. But you know that already."
Natalia noted how the roses in Lauren's garden were particularly beautiful that summer as if they too sensed portends of disaster and were taking advantage of the peaceful lull to strengthen themselves against the gathering storm. A gentle rain swept in from the sea enlivening not only the lush trees and flowers bursting with life but her spirit as well.
"We should pay our lovely Lily a visit, my darling Natalia. She seems to be developing a habit avoiding us. Is it possible she feels ashamed of her actions?"
"But she must know our love for her is unconditional, darling Lauren. What has she to be embarrassed about around us? Tell me... are we to travel to Edinburgh Castle?"
"Our sweet Lily is coming home soon. Karen told me how she received a visit from Ginger who informed her of how her mother Mindy went back to Kāne. I suspect his two lovers will not be pleased at seeing each other."
"So our lover is on her way home! That is good news, lovely Lauren. Do you know when she'll arrive?"
"No, I do not know for sure though I expect she may be here any day now. I feel we must give her some time to herself but not too much time. Otherwise she may think we are angry with her for deserting us."
Natalia remembered the day she met Lily. They were both riding a train from Paris to Moscow. She had gotten up to get a drink in the dining car and when she returned, she saw Lily sitting with her eyes closed and a tiny smile upon her lips as if she was having an erotic dream. Though she was loath to disturb her, she couldn’t help herself.
Within minutes of meeting they decided to share Natalia's sleeping compartment for the forty hour trip. Though she didn’t understand why, she began feeling better. Up until the time Lily boarded the train, Natalia had been taking morphine pills to stave off the pain caused by the cancer ravaging her body. She could barely walk from one train
compartment to the other without becoming exhausted.
Soon, the pain dissolved, her appetite returned, and her energy was renewed. By the next morning Natalia noticed how her hair had begun to grow back in and her skin tone had taken on its old hue. Her eyes were no longer sunken hollows, she could actually taste the food she ate, and the feeling was returning to her benumbed hands and feet.
"What are you doing to me, my sweet Lily? I feel like a young girl again."
"I do nothing, my lovely Natalia. I merely love you."
Now, three hundred years later, Natalia was thriving while the ontology doctors who sentenced her to death all those years ago were dust blowing through the deserted streets of a world that no longer existed.
"Will we fight wars too, mother?"
When her son Nate was born, she knew without being told that he was destined for great things. By the time he was four years old the boy had read most of the books in the library at Orchardton Hall so she took trips into surrounding cities with Lady Lily to procure new ones for him to read. He was particularly intrigued by the endless stories of war.
"No, my son... we will not fight wars. As our people become more numerous, we will proliferate throughout this new world. There is plenty of room for all here. And should we become too numerous, gaze up at the sky... each star you see has planets circling around it. One day we will fly to those stars and we will populate the universe with love and not out of hatred.
"When I was a young girl, I was not allowed to go to school. I could not read and write until I was nearly a woman. When I did, though, I loved to read stories about space travel. But my people fought so many wars they had no money to spend on building space ships."
"I've read about money but I don’t understand what it was, mother."
"Money was a means of exchange, my precious son. It was meant to be a good thing but as time went by money became too important to most people. We loved it more than life itself. I was as guilty of that as anyone.