The Chrysalid Conspiracy

by A. J. Reynolds

  “ENOUGH!” shouted Amelia. It was like freeze frame. The four boys stared at her, their eyes and mouths wide open. Fear emanated from them like steam.

  “Let’s have some quiet time, shall we? Zac, Miles, go and help your mum get the tea. Zendi, Partha, tidy this room up and put the furniture back where it was. Come on,” she added. “You don’t want to make me angry, do you?”

  The result was total and silent submission as they rushed to carry out their new orders.

  “Amelia?” asked Molly in amazement. “Can I hire you to stand there for the rest of their lives?”

  Amelia laughed, and replied. “Well, I’m no Mary Poppins, but that reaction even shocked me. What’s that all about then?”

  “You haven’t heard the stories that those kids are telling about you? Apparently, you’re somewhere between Wonder Woman and Zanitor,” Molly tried to explain.

  “Zanitor? That sounds like a lavatory cleaner.” Amelia remarked.

  “She’s the Queen of the jungle. It seems that her super hero antics always thwart the Ninja pirates from outer space. Because the boys know you, they feel they have the copyright on the stories of your adventures. Sorry.” Molly handed her a comic book and Amelia smiled at the front cover.

  “Wow, that’s some bitch. I notice she lives in a jungle, carries a sword and wears very little clothing,” she remarked. “And they wonder why so many kids carry knives these days. The media have glamourized it.”

  On the way back home, she resisted the strong urge to knock on the rectory door. Instead, she sat on the garden wall outside and slowly removed a ‘stone’ from her shoe. It gave her time to give the house a quick scan to see what she could pick up. She found deep frustration with a hint of rebellion from the girls and, surprisingly, anger and fear in equal proportions from the vicar. Pleased at the thought he might be suffering, she was totally unprepared for his wife’s emotions. Pure, uncontaminated sub-zero ice.

  Amelia shut it off instantly. It was so strong that she felt it might do her some damage. Never having encountered this before, she had no idea what to make of it. There was no indication of good or evil, anger or happiness. There were absolutely no emotions whatsoever. Then it dawned on her. Mrs West was like a huge iceberg, pushing aside any obstacle in her way, relentlessly pursuing her ultimate goal, whatever that might be. She was completely oblivious to anything else, even her family.

  Hurrying home in the warm sunshine, Amelia felt cold to the bone. She realised then that her life experiences so far had been very parochial, and to find someone like Mrs West in this small community made her aware of what she could expect from a wider world. She resolved, then and there, to be more selective in her use of her extra sense. She also decided to pay more attention to Maddy’s decision that she wasn’t ready for whatever it was yet.

  Sheila had arrived by the time she got back and while she worked on her mother Amelia finished the kitchen and generally tidied up. She deliberately avoided thinking about the coming evening, but the butterflies in her stomach were turning into a swarm of locusts, busily consuming her will to live.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Of all the thousands of questions and answers she needed, some instinct told Amelia this wasn’t the time. Proof of the conspiracy theory was enough for now and she was grateful for her mother’s cooperation thus far. She reasoned that if she kept her questions to in and around the family she would probably learn more.

  “So, who’s Lacey, then?” Amelia asked as they started on the wine later. Sheila had left, and her mother sat in her carver chair looking composed and confident.

  The time Lucy had been dreading had finally arrived and she had resigned herself to the consequences. She had also resigned herself to the idea that if Amelia became so angry she walked out; it would be no more than she, her mother, deserved. But at least the waiting would be over.

  This had always been her big worry, but somehow, tonight, she felt calm and she knew she was doing the right thing at the right time.

  “You’re a formidable opponent, Amelia,” she said. “You and Rayn are quite incredible. How did you find out about the foundation?”

  “Felix, at the Hunters Lodge. He said that’s where his restaurant got their flowers. After that it was guess work. Look Mum, you’re not going to get away with answering a question with a question, you know,” she pointed out.

  “Sorry my love, I just don’t know where to start. I’ve been going over this in my head so many times, but right now I’m lost,” Lucy told her, still smiling.

  “Okay. Start by telling me who Lacey is, and we’ll work together from there,” Amelia said reassuringly.

  “The Lucy Lacey Foundation was set up as a cover to scour the world for rare endangered plants and animals. Girder and Elsa handled the animals, reptiles and insects, the exotic sanctuary is just a front, Maddy and I do the botanical research and development and we worked together on the microbiology. Those weekly packages are our way of communicating data, ideas and suggestions.

  Amelia relaxed, confident that this was true.

  “Lacey was George’s last name.” Lucy continued. “Maddy used that title as a convenience. We had nothing to do with the running of it, or any administration, just the name. It’s worked out well, though. Since George… er, since we lost George, and I miss him terribly, she’s changed the name to the Mgee Lacey Foundation and, as Alyson pointed out in her own inimical style, ‘Now that the flower shop is no longer a viable venture, you both accrued a considerable remuneration, Mrs. Mgee and Mrs Jaxson are now senior directors on a salary, which relieves them and their daughters from the burden of poverty.

  “In other words,” explained Lucy, “we don’t have to do anything except get very well paid. I suspect it has something to do with the local government compulsory purchase orders.”

  “That’s nice to know Mum, especially for Bridie. She and Rayn have struggled for so long. Although I suspect that something always seemed to turn up when they were desperate. Was all this a part of the conspiracy, keeping us broke all the time?” responded Amelia.

  “I’m afraid so, but there was always a large umbrella somewhere, which proved itself, especially in my case.”

  “Is this the reason you’ve stopped working and dumped everything? This, and the compulsory purchase order?”

  “Actually no,” said Lucy. “Something else came up, but I can’t talk about it at the moment. Sorry. We do our best. It’s not easy living a lie, you know,” she grinned.

  “Mum, please don’t worry. I understand, and I plan to listen to everything you have to say without anger or indignation. I don’t care about the things I know you can’t tell me. So light that cigar you’re fiddling with, relax, and tell me about my father, would you please?”

  “Yes, well, excuse me if I get a bit misty. I still miss him, even after thirteen years. I can’t tell you where he came from, or how old he was. He didn’t know, at least that’s what he said. I met him at college. He was post grad doing a study on Palaeography. That’s…”

  “I know what it is Mum,” Amelia interrupted. “I also know he was an expert on Sanddancer hieroglyphics, and compiled the Jaxson codex translation as well.”

  “Yes, my love.” Lucy was stunned. “How on earth did you learn all this?” She shook her head in disbelief and struggled on. “Anyway your father was doing what he believed in, and I supported him all the way. When he died I vowed to do everything I possibly could to make his dream a reality.” Lucy kept her voice level, despite the searing memories.

  “What was he like? As a person, I mean. You have no photos of him.”

  Lucy began to unwind and her eyes became alive again as a result of Amelia’s question. “I was advised to destroy all photos, which I did, much to my regret. What did he look like? Well, you know Mykl? Your dad was slightly smaller and slimmer and wore rimless glasses, and without the earring. But, in general, there’s a good likeness. I shouldn’t say this but, when I first saw Mykl in the shop, my mind
stood still. It was such a shock. Then I saw the way you looked at him and my heart fell apart. So, by the time I recognised that woman I was halfway to a padded cell. I’m sorry.”

  “You apologise once more, mother, and I’ll brain you. What do you mean, the way I looked at him?” Amelia grinned and blushed at the memory of the moment.

  “We won’t go there just now, my love. Anyway, your father’s name was unpronounceable, so I called him Sol. He was, after all, my sunshine. He didn’t have a last name so he became Solomon Jaxson. You would have liked him. Sensible as well as intelligent, fantastic sense of humour and very kind and caring.”

  “Much as I’d like to stay on this subject, Mum, can you tell me how we got to where we are now? Start with dad’s death. I’ve got a dream to justify. What happened the night of the accident? If you can, that is. I’m sorry.”

  “Who’s apologising now?” smiled Lucy. “It’s difficult, but I owe it to you. So here goes.”

  Lucy paused for a moment to take a sip of her wine, before continuing. “The official story, confirmed by the police and the coroner’s report, says that Dr Jaxson was driving too fast and was above the legal alcohol limit. The truth is, we were both well over the limit and we were going too fast, but I was driving. No, don’t say anything, just listen,” she said when Amelia gasped. “We’d been to a conference then a dinner dance and shouldn’t have driven home. Bad decision. We were being chased and I didn’t know what to do.

  Somebody had driven up behind us and rammed the back of our car. They did it several times and all I could do was increase speed to try and get away from them. I don’t remember the impact, or what we hit.

  The next thing I knew, I was lying on the grass, unable to move, and somebody was trying to stop me breathing. It was a woman and I caught a glimpse of her profile when she looked up. Something must have interrupted her and she let go of me. Just after that, there was a huge whoosh, as the car burst into flames. Then I passed out and woke up several days later in hospital. I tried to tell them I was driving but they convinced me it was a natural self-induced delusion. When what I thought was the insurance money turned up, (I found out eventually it was donation from Chimera.) George appeared, got me out of the sanatorium and proceeded to put me back together again. I’ve been denying the truth for so long, but when I recognised that woman I was certain your father had been murdered and I knew I wasn’t crazy. Somebody placed him in the driver’s seat. It hit me hard and well…you saw the results.

  Lucy had stood up to the questioning well. Amelia poured her mother another drink. “Here, get that down you,” she said. “That must have been hard to explain. I’m sorry to put you through this.”

  “Actually,” said Lucy, “it’s the first time I’ve said it out loud and I’m glad it was to you. I still can’t get my head around it. Do you believe me?”

  “Oh yes, mother, every word. There can’t be any other explanation. We have ourselves a murder.”

  “Oh Amelia, you do believe me. Thank you. I wasn’t sure,” Sighed Lucy.

  “Oh, I believe you Mum. I’ve lived it.” She then told her about her dream. “It’s a bit mixed up, that must be my own interpretation. But all the essential parts are there.”

  “So you think she had time to track our movements and plan her attack?” asked Lucy.

  “Yes Mum. Setting the car on fire sounds like the sort of thing Ryxyl would do if she couldn’t find what she was looking for.”

  “It’s just as well she didn’t get the chance to move me,” replied Lucy. “My pelvis was smashed. But why would she do this? What does she want?”

  Amelia’s hackles rose as her extra sense did a ‘double take’. It dawned on her that her mother wasn’t asking a question, she was merely making an enquiry. She already knew that Ryxyl was after the codex and wanted to know if her daughter did also. Amelia decided to let it slip by.

  “I guess she wants to be Zanitor,” she replied brightly. “She’s a comic strip character, Queen of the Jungle, your friendly neighbourhood megalomaniac. And we’re in her way, somehow.”

  Lucy reached out and took her daughter’s hand. “She wants to be the Sanddancer’? Well, there’s only one. One leader, loved and respected by those she serves. And I’m afraid that position has already been taken,” and she gave Amelia’s hand a knowing squeeze.

  “But there’s so much I don’t know, Mum. And why me?” Amelia was almost begging for answers.

  “We’re wandering into areas that I can’t discuss, my love. You’ll have to trust me. But I can tell you one thing. Your father was a Sanddancer, and as such he was concerned with the survival of mankind, which relies heavily on the survival of the Sanddancers. The conclusions to his work on this were that every ten or fifteen thousand years the population of Earth becomes too large to sustain it and billions die of starvation. He said he never believed the alien visitation theory, or the wars of self-destruction and self-inflicted annihilation.

  The two species, us and the Sanddancers can’t interbreed. Your father being a Sanddancer makes you the first hybrid. You’re development has been guided more to normal human than Sanddancer, hence the chrysalid conspiracy You are unique, Amelia. You Rayn and Sheila are the genesis of a new species. A new species of the genus called ‘Homo Superior’.”

  Amelia didn’t speak. She wasn’t capable. Her mind had shut down. There were no questions she could ask and no answers she would be able to comprehend. All the evidence she and Rayn had uncovered, plus their extensive logic, told her this was probably true, but her ordinary common sense said it was impossible.

  “All we had to do was give you a human social upbringing,” said Lucy, “so that when your natural talents develop fully you could see things from both species perspectives. So Maddy dreamed up the ‘chrysalid conspiracy’. Enough now. Please keep this between you. The rest is up to Maddy, when she…”

  “I know, Mum. When she thinks we’re ready. Don’t worry; I’m beginning to understand what she means. Thank you for this. I know how tough it’s been. I just want you to know how much I love you.” Amelia leaned forward and gave her mother a hug. “We don’t have to live a lie any more. I’m so proud of the things you’ve achieved, the obstacles you’ve had to overcome and the sacrifices you’ve had to make. I don’t know how Rayn and I are going to handle this New Species thing, but I promise we won’t go looking for the answers and give you more trouble. I gather there’s a lot more to come, but at least we now know enough to wait.”

  “Thank you for that, my love.” There were tears in Lucy’s voice again as she looked at her daughter. “You are right, there is a lot more to come. And I promise you, it will go way beyond those vivid imaginations of you and Rayn put together. All you need is patience and, above all else, trust.”

  They carried on talking after digging out some of the rolls left over from lunchtime. Both of them felt a lot more relaxed and Lucy told Amelia more about her father. “His work on the codex translations had revealed that Homo Natura, the Sanddancers, separated from modern man and it became impossible for them to procreate together for some reason. Maddy and her crew investigated this and came up with some theories. You see, the codex covers tens of thousands of years and at the moment we only have random chunks of it. In the later parts, some bitter home truths came to light and Maddy realised it was essential that the two species should one day combine. She set up a series of criteria that one of our females must fit to stand any chance of success.”

  “And you fitted those criteria? Is that all your relationship was? Just scientific?” asked Amelia, shocked and scared.

  “No,” reassured her mother. “I failed miserably. But we fell in love and your father threatened to abandon the scheme.”

  “So what happened? Where did I come from?” Amelia was intrigued.

  “Well, Maddy being Maddy, she went back to the codex and came up with more theories. It transpired that there were certain organic substances that might work, along with some corrective surgery to
readjust my reproductive system. We thought long and hard about it, but we were too selfishly in love to deny the possibilities, and went for it. Win or lose. It’s something I make no apologies for, or say sorry about.” Lucy was quite adamant that she’d made the right choice. “It took a long time, was very dangerous and extremely painful. But we made it, and you were the prize.”

  Amelia felt as if she were crying inside. She was so proud at what she’d heard. “So I’m one hundred per cent natural then? No genetic enhancement? A genuine new species?”

  “Of course. Well, sort of. Once you were conceived, you just needed a little tweaking. And yes, you’re as near to natural as we could get. I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you, but what the hell. I did a lot of the work on my own alterations with Maddy, and I did warn her of the possibilities of over-advancement. You’ve progressed faster and more successfully than was anticipated. You still have many more, shall we call them ‘talents’, to develop. But I don’t think Maddy accepts that.”

  “You must remember,” Lucy continued. “The Sanddancers are strange creatures. So let’s be careful. And the combination should help iron out some of the problems.”

  “Problems? Is that a warning of some kind?” asked Amelia anxiously.

  “No, nothing physical. More racial, in an evolutionary sense. The original Sanddancers are non-aggressive pacifists by nature. The new Sanddancers must be able to defend themselves if necessary.”

  “Who against mum, who will we have to fight?”

  “Anybody who wants to take what you have, the old story of ‘might is right’.

  “But you said the human race is finished, so who is there to fight?” Amelia persisted.

  “There will be survivors of both races my love; and the usual divisions will reappear, you can be sure of that. Who knows what will happen in the future. If conflict occurs then you must be ready for it, prepared and trained at all times to defend your people. In short; war. We just don’t want the Sanddancers to be the aggressors.” Lucy said.”