by Dan Glover
Chapter 72—Not in Love
Karen knew better than to fall in love.
She told herself how she had never been in love with anyone. She had rarely met a person the equal of her own intelligence, save perhaps for Micah. There was something unholy about that man, however: something metallic and hard; perhaps they might grow closer with the coming years but the price seemed too high. Still, she felt his longings for her and for just a second she was tempted to stay at Cornell.
Her relationship with Marilyn began as a fling; it ended in heartbreak. Hector was nothing more than a mirage. The man died never knowing how close the shadow of immortality lurked.
"You knew Micah when he was just a kid, right, Karen?"
Pete approached her on the beach where they were waiting for Nate and Kirk to return. The sky was cinnamon, the ocean glass. A fresh sea breeze wafted over them, tickling the reddish orange and blue flames of the campfire leaping into a darkling night.
"I visited Cornell University in my college days. I met him there but I didn’t really get to know him."
"He once told me how badly he wanted you to stay there with him. He had a real crush on you."
"He was twelve years old, Pete."
"Age never mattered much to Micah. All that mattered was those damnable nanobots of his, and you."
"Are you telling me he still has a thing for me?"
"He kept an old picture of you on his desk, Karen. You are really much prettier in person."
"I remember him pestering me into letting him take that picture. I thought he was such a cute kid. He had a camera hanging around his neck like a tourist. I always hated having my photograph taken. I felt like such a geek."
"Do you think we're still infected with his nanobots?"
"I suspect we all are, Pete, yes. I'm guessing the whole American continent is contaminated. As they multiply and evolve they will eventually change the landscape in the same way they alter the bodies of living creatures."
"What will happen when they use up the resources in the Americas? Will they come looking for ours?"
"We have time before that occurs, Pete. It may never happen. Micah told me how he built protocols into his creation to prevent them doing harm to human beings."
"He also allows them to evolve on their own, Karen. There may come a day when their intelligence surpasses our own. When that day comes, we may be looked upon as pests rather than creators."
"I suspect even if that eventuality becomes reality, our proximity with the Ladies will override the electrical impulses generated by Micah's nanobots. They will be rendered harmless. There is no reason why we cannot peacefully coexist with them, and with Micah."
"Nate and Lily tell me that as long as we stay with your group, we will live virtually forever. Is that right, Karen?"
"As near as I can tell, yes... Lady Lily is thousands of years old. Once the Ladies leave our presence, we become ill and die within hours. These nanobots may offer a type of protection from that, however. Still, the side effects they present are not something I'm willing to live with."
"So we have to stay with Lady Lily all the time?"
"We don't have to be right beside her. As long as we're within a kilometer or so, she affords us protection. We've discovered her descendants also confer immunity to our species. Lily's sister, Lady Lauren, is back in old Scotland awaiting our return.
"Nate is Natalia's son but I used certain invitro techniques to genetically enhance his ability to mate with Lady Lily. That technique apparently worked to pass along the same aptitude as the Ladies to protect human beings from Lake Syndrome.
"You'll meet Maon and Sileas too. Maon is Nate and Lily's son. Sileas is my daughter. They are hybrids of both species. Alpin and Ena are their children. Lady Lauren's long lost son Kāne recently returned to us as well. So you see... there is a widening sphere of influence which will allow the human species to survive and thrive alongside these Lake folk."
"Oh... so you have a daughter... does that mean you're married, Karen?"
She liked the sound of disappointment in his voice and lingered a minute before she answered. Still, she told herself Pete had no real interest in pursuing a relationship with her... he was merely being inquisitive.
"No, I'm not married. I conceived Sileas by way of invitro fertilization using frozen embryos left over from Nate's conception. Kirk is the only living human male... or I should say he was the only one. Now that you, Ronald, and Freddi are part of our group, we'll have a much greater genetic diversity."
"Are there many human females?"
"When we sailed to old America there were thirty three human females."
"Why is there only one male?"
"I believe it has to do with the Lake parasite and its interaction with the human genome. I haven’t isolated the exact cause as of yet. But every human child born over the last century is female. That's the reason I worked so hard at genetically modifying embryos to be capable of interacting with the Ladies of the Lake. We were looking at the extinction of the human race as well as the people of the Lake."
"Nate isn't human? Who is his father?"
"We share a common ancestor with the Lake people from roughly twenty five million years ago. I used the mitochondrial nucleus of Lady Lauren to inoculate an egg from Natalia. I then procured frozen sperm from a man who died before the plague killed off nearly everyone. To the best of my knowledge, Nate is the first three-parent child ever born."
"I'm impressed, Karen. There were only a half dozen doctors in the whole world capable of pulling off that feat."
"I've gone even farther. Ena is a four-parent child. We were forced into some tough decisions by the dearth of males. I have a feeling you three men are going to be put to the test when we arrive home."
"You should know something, Karen. Ronald and Freddi are not into women."
"Oh... well that puts a different spin on things... still, they might agree to lend a bit their genetic material to us. They don't have to actually mate with the girls for them to procreate. I'm interested in knowing if their sperm has been affected like the other men were."
"Well, as far as I know there's only one way to find out... we'll ask them. I'm fairly certain they will be amenable to your suggestion."
"So... are you like Ronald and Freddi? Or do you like women, Pete?"
"I guess it depends upon the woman, Karen."
Chapter 73—Sacrifice
Amanda saw tigers in the wild all the time, lions too.
They abounded in old Scotland, feeding off the gnus that proliferated throughout the island from north to south. Both species were doubtlessly the result of escaped zoo animals turned feral. The tigers and lions of old Scotland seemed to ignore the People. There had never been a big cat attack.
Sileas had awakened from her coma the previous day. She was still groggy and though she had no idea where she was her words were clear and intelligible. Amanda felt sure Sileas would make a full recovery from the horrendous head injury she suffered in the hold of the Liberty.
Maon used a machete to chop poles from saplings and using palm fronds he constructed a crude shelter. Each day was like the one before: hot, muggy, and seemingly unending. Other than gathering firewood and plucking fruit from nearby trees there was absolutely nothing to do.
"Can we re-float the Liberty, father?"
"We might stand a chance at pumping out the hold. She might right herself if we emptied her of water. I'm swimming out there now to see what I can manage."
"I'll go with you."
"You should stay here, darling Ena. I'd rather you were with Amanda when the baby is ready to come into the world... I wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to help."
"He's right, sweetie. You're due any day now. Stay here with your mother and me."
It was difficult convincing Ena to slow her frenetic pace even with the impending birth of her baby. She carried firewood, brought buckets of fresh water from the closest spring... a trek of over three miles the
re and back... and foraged for food constantly.
Though she wanted to help out, Amanda couldn’t leave her patient alone for more than a few minutes at a time. Though Sileas seemed to be making a miraculous recovery, Amanda worried that a relapse might occur if a blood clot had formed.
Though she had thoroughly researched the medical journals in the Archives, all that knowledge was only theoretical in nature. She had never actually performed any type of surgery, much less something as complex as drilling into someone's skull. Still, Amanda had located a hand drill and assorted bits in Maon's toolbox and boiled water over the open fire to sterilize the instruments she thought she might require in that eventuality.
She couldn’t let Sileas die yet at the same time Amanda knew she had to act in a propitious manner. If action was needed, she had to accomplish the task in as an efficient and competent manner as possible.
As she watched and waited, Amanda kept having visions of Ena. Since their kiss a few nights ago, the girl seemed to have turned cool toward her, or perhaps it was her own trepidations that were manifesting in the guise of another. Amanda had read a great deal about the psychology of love and she recognized the symptoms both in herself and in Ena.
If they acted on their desires, there would be no going back for either of them. Amanda knew such a love would demand sacrifices she might not be ready to make, and she understood how Ena had been hurt too badly by Alpin for it to happen again. If she really loved the girl, it was better to allow Ena to come to her and not to push.
It was hard, though, especially being so close to her. Amanda found herself wanting to be around Ena as much as possible. She rued the time they spent apart wondering if Ena was thinking of her too. She told herself no... that she was simply imagining a love that didn’t exist.
Now, Amanda was wishing Ena had gone with her father. At least she would be safe. She had never seen a tiger as big as the one that stepped out of the forest. She heard its approach and though she was prepared for something big, this thing was something right out of one of her nightmares.
Sileas was in no condition to stand up, much less to run. She would doubtlessly make an easy meal for the tiger unless they could somehow lead it away from her.
"Maybe if we each run in different directions we can distract it."
She barely heard Ena's whispered voice.
"We can't leave your mother here."
The tiger didn’t charge. Rather, it sat on its haunches and licked its enormous chops as if waiting for something. Amanda couldn't understand how a beast that large could survive on an island so small. They'd seen no animal life here other than tiny sand shrews and leaping green lizards that sunned themselves upon the volcanic outcroppings of rock dotting the island.
"It almost seems friendly, darling Ena."
"Those teeth don't look any too friendly, darling Amanda. He looks as if he could swallow us whole. What are you doing?"
Amanda began to walk toward the tiger. He raised his eyes to her nonchalantly as if wondering how she might taste. His coat was so shiny it gleamed. As she drew closer, she realized the tiger was even larger than she though. His shoulders were a good meter above her head.
"What are you doing way out here all by yourself, pretty kitty?"
She talked to him not expecting him to answer but to salve her own nervousness. He yawned, displaying a set of razors in his mouth made for tearing flesh and muscle from bone. And then, much to her amazement, he lay down, rolled over on his back, and looked at her as if saying: rub my tummy you big dummy.
Amanda turned to take a look back at Ena. Her friend was clearly aghast... a look of fear filled her eyes as she fondled a small pocket knife in her clenched hands as if ready to jump between Amanda and the tiger.
"So you like to have your tummy rubbed, do you?"
Amanda's whole body was shaking as she reached up with a timid hand and touched the tiger on his stomach. He immediately began rumbling like a volcano getting ready to erupt. His fur was soft like duck down. As she rubbed his belly his eyes closed, his mouth hung open and a look of contentment washed over his enormous face.
"You are definitely someone's pet. How on earth did you get onto this island, big guy? Your fur is wet. You must have been swimming."
She continued rubbing the fur on his belly almost afraid to stop. Finally, the big cat yawned again, rolled back over onto his feet, and stretched his enormously muscled limbs one by one.
"Come on over here, Mr. Tiger, and meet my friend, the amazingly beautiful Ena. Please don't eat her, though."
She didn’t expect the reaction she got from the tiger. He put down his head and followed her to the campfire like a puppy dog. Ena's eyes were wide as saucers watching the tiger growing ever closer.
"It's okay, sweet Ena. He's friendly. He has to belong to someone. I bet he even has a name. Do we have any kind of meat to feed him?"
"We've got the rest of the turkey jerky in the locker. But look at him, darling Amanda. He could eat a horse."
"He looks hungry so I'm getting the meat for him."
Amanda knew the twelve kilograms of jerky were but a morsel for the tiger but he happily chewed on it as she brought a bucket of fresh water for him to drink. Two swipes of his tongue emptied the bucket so she brought him more. Six buckets later his thirst seemed quenched.
Having eaten and drunk, he promptly turned round and round in the tall grass and then toppled over onto his side and went to sleep, his enormous tail swishing away the insects alighting upon his flanks and his rumbling purrs echoing throughout the campsite.
"How on earth did a creature of that size manage to survive on such a small island, darling Amanda? What could he eat? All we've seen here are small lizards and toads."
"I don’t think he's been on this island for long, my sweet Ena. I think he swam here just a little while ago."
"But we're in the middle of the ocean. A tiger that size couldn’t swim from the mainland... he must have hitched a ride on a boat, my wondrous Amanda. Maybe Nate and the others have come to our rescue."
"But where are they, sweet Ena?"
Chapter 74—Raccoon
The bear had obviously never encountered a man before.
After taking a long sniff of the air she gathered up her cub, grunted, and toppled off into the undergrowth as Alpin finally started breathing again.
He found it strange yet comforting that both tigers and bears tolerated his presence, much like the sea creatures that he encountered on his swims deep beneath the ocean. He in touch with the animals of the wilderness in ways he had never appreciated with human beings or even among the people of the Lake.
He took up residence in a centuries-old villa just outside of the harbor town of Duirinish on the Isle of Skye. He enjoyed the solitude here. During the day he scavenged necessary items from dilapidated stores and ransacked the libraries that still stood locked and protected from the elements. At night he dreamed of Ena lying next to him soft and warm; often times just as he was coming fully awake he believed he heard the cries of a newborn echoing through the empty halls of the abandoned building where he slept.
Alpin saw a patch of white bobbing on a blue horizon. Standing on a mountain top in the early pink of dawn looking to the southwest he spotted what he perceived to be the sails of a ship.
He cursed the fact that he had turned her away. Though he rationalized it must have been the deleterious effects of Kāne's presence he knew better. He didn’t know what a great thing he had with Ena. He killed the love that had blossomed since the day she was born.
Perhaps she was finally coming home.
He told himself it was probably an optical illusion caused by the sunlight refracting across the ocean's surface, perhaps reflected by a structure on the Isle. Going into the villa he retrieved his high-power binoculars.
He didn’t want to go back to Orchardton Hall without a good reason. Here his mind was clear and he'd been thinking heavily. He realized he had the chance to educate an entire sp
ecies. He read voraciously of both old books and new chocking his brain full of detritus that one day would hopefully spill out in words of his own.
He wondered if he should simply stay put. There was no real reason for him to return. It was possible, however, that the others might one day come looking for him and he had no wish to put them in danger or to worry anyone.
Standing on the top of the mountain once again, he focused the binoculars upon the patch of white. The image of a schooner leapt out at him. Figures of people dotted the deck but the ship was too far away to make out who they were.
It was the Nautilus.
He knew the ship since he sailed with Grandfather Nate many times, and Ena. The Liberty was bigger. He scanned the horizon for signs of the second ship without success.
Ena was on the Liberty.
Panicked, he rushed back to the villa where he stayed, grabbed a change of clothes, stuffed some viands into his backpack, and went outside to kick his motorcycle to life. It was a two hour ride back to Orchardton Hall. From the looks of the ship's position, he should arrive about the same time they did.
It was one of those oddly brilliant spring mornings that emerged like a mirage every couple of months interspersed with cloudy rainy days. The newly greened scenery blurred by him as he gunned the engine as fast as he dared. The roads were gone so he had to take care traveling alongside the old trails dodging trees and tumbled rocks that lay directly in his path.
Ena was on the Liberty.
The words kept popping into his mind, haunting him, reminding him of the last time they spoke. He was rude to her. She came to him asking for his help and he turned her away. His sailing expertise rivaled Grandfather Nate's and she knew it. Now, the Nautilus was returning without the Liberty. There had been an accident and Ena was no doubt lost with the rest of the crew: his mother, his father.
Amanda disappeared too. It was apparent she sailed with the Liberty taking his spot as the fourth crew member. She knew nothing about sailing a ship so he was certain she would be more hindrance than help, yet she went... no doubt in part to spite him.