by Aline Riva
As she closed the door behind her and went into the room next door, Joy gave a weary sigh as she reflected on all the years she had spent as a medic. She had never thought one day she would end up being Jekel's nurse. It seemed to make her promise to Murdock to always take care of Jekel seem so terribly ironic now...
Joy sat down on a chair by the window, looking out over green fields where in the distance, she saw the rooftops of rebuilt houses in the town of Sanctuary, the place was rebuilding, and with the help generously given from the City of Freedom thanks to the Vice Premier and the Culture Minister, Bullet was becoming a thriving place, too. But with talk of closing the borders, or at least making passage to and from the newly named Cyborg Valley tight, she knew she had a painful choice to make: Leave, and start a new life, or stay here forever? She felt as if she were simply waiting for Jekel to die, and the thought of that happening pained her heart, but as she sat there in silence considering her options and feeling no option could be for the best, because it seemed that all was lost, something happened:
Someone came along to change everything...
Joy had been sitting lost in thoughts of how to resolve an impossible situation, when there was a knock on the door.
“Can we come in?” asked Lynch.
“It's open,” Joy replied, and he entered the room with Elise, who looked glowing with the look of new motherhood as she carried a tiny baby wrapped in a blue blanket in her arms.
“You've had the baby already?” Joy exclaimed in surprise.
“Well I couldn't go a whole nine months...I had to speed up the process... Remember I once kept Fifi on hold for five years, and believe me the baby goes on hold but the pregnancy hormones don't!”
And then as they stood over her, Joy looked up at them.
“Where's Fi?”
“Upstairs in the Wired Circuit, Mandy's baby sitting while we popped over to see you,” Lynch replied, and then he looked at Joy and smiled, then looked to Elise.
“I really don't know how to explain this...over to you, Frankie.”
Elise stood there holding the child in her arms as she looked at Joy and in that moment the unearthly quality about her eyes reminded Joy yet again that Elise was no ordinary android...
“I want you to have this baby.”
Joy blinked.
“What? No, you can't give me your baby!”
“It's okay,” Lynch assured her, “It's not mine.”
“And it's not mine either,” Elise told her, “After Jekel fell and snapped his main cable I assumed you'd lost him. And I once almost lost Lynch and I know you thought you'd lost Melissa too...I couldn't imagine that kind of pain. So I implemented my second method of conception and using blood samples from you and the father created this child for you.”
Lynch looked at her fondly.
“You and your android logic,” he said softly.
Joy's jaw dropped.
“You took Jekel's blood -”
“Oh no, Jekel is a cyborg of sophisticated design,” she told her, “I would have trouble separating the cybernetic fluid from the blood to pull out the DNA...bit tricky. Here, hold him.”
And she placed the baby in Joy's arms as she looked down at the child who felt warm in her arms and instantly a part of her as she looked into the boy's dark eyes...eyes so much darker than Jekel's...
Joy looked up at Elise.
“So how did you manage to use Jekel's DNA?”
“I didn't. In addition to the cybernetic fluid complications, Jekel was critical. Blake Riley took him straight to surgery and I had to go and find you...”
Joy looked down at the child in her arms, feeling a wave of emotion sweep over her as she looked up again at Elise.
“Who...who is his father?” she said in a hushed voice.
“Your lost love,” she replied, “Captain Nathan Murdock.”
Joy recalled Elise reaching out, touching Murdock's cheek where there remained a single drop of blood as she had thanked him for his help. Then she cradled her son close as she sobbed tears of gratitude, holding her son - Murdock's son – a child conceived by the blood of the battlefield...
In the days that followed, as Joy shared her happiness with Melissa and her daughter got to know her baby brother, Joy began to feel as if perhaps it would make sense to stay in Cyborg Valley – even if one day the situation got worse between here and Freedom and they closed the border off completely, at least she would be with something she had once thought lost forever – family...
“I might stay,” she told Melissa as she settled her son down for nap in a rather grand cradle given to her by Riley who had said it had once belonged to his own son, “You're happy here, I think we can be too.”
Melissa smiled.
“I'd like that, mum,” she said, “We've missed out on so much. We can make up for lost time. And I can help with my brother – and help you look after Jekel too.”
As she looked at her grown up daughter, Joy wondered where the years had flown to.
“Thanks, Melissa. I do need your help, this means a lot.”
And then as the door opened and Riley walked in followed by Lynch, Joy turned away from her son's cradle and took in a deep breath, silently praying the news would not be bad.
“It's Jekel,” said Riley, “He's awake at last.”
She breathed a relieved sigh as she blinked away tears and hugged Melissa.
“Joy,” Riley said again, and by the tone of his voice she knew there was more and it was not good. She looked to him as she tried to pull herself together in a way that would mean she would not allow herself to break no matter how bad the outcome was...
“How bad is it?” she said in a hushed voice.
“He's awake but he's struggling. He needs to regain as much function as he can but he can barely move. He's losing the will to fight before he's even tried.”
Then Lynch spoke up.
“I remember when I thought I couldn't go on,” he told her, “But then Fi came along and the amazing thing about babies is, they give people hope...Do you still love Ash? Do you love him enough to forgive him for what happened with Mandy?”
Joy looked at him in surprise.
“Of course I do! I've been telling him that every single day I've looked after him, I tell him he's forgiven, I tell him I love him!”
“Then maybe we have a way to give him something to fight for?” Lynch suggested, “He needs a reason, Joy...”
A short while later, Joy entered the bedroom where Jekel had been locked in his coma for months, and found him sleeping in a half sitting position, resting against many pillows. Lynch went in with her, standing back away from the bed with the baby in his arms as Joy sat on the edge of the bed, stroked his hair and spoke softly to Jekel, as if waking a sleeping child.
He gave a sigh and turned over, then he slowly opened his eyes and recognised Joy and at once, tears filled his eyes.
“I can't move!” he said tearfully, “Joy, I can't move... can't get up...”
Joy swept her hand over his hair, then she brushed a tear from his cheek.
“You will,” she promised him, “You just need to try.”
“And...I've got this thing!” he said as his voice broke up again, and he unsteadily raised a weak hand to the left side of his head and touched the metallic veneer that covered the strip of metal beneath it.
“I can't even cover it properly with my hair...I look like a cyborg!”
“But you've been a cyborg for years,” Joy reminded him.
Jekel looked tearful and heartbroken.
“But it didn't show on the outside!”
Joy took a mirror from the bedside table and held it up.
“Look again,” she said, “Just look, Ash...”
Jekel drew in a deep breath as he blinked away more tears and looked at his reflection. Then he saw it – the intricate, beautiful pattern engraved on the veneer...
“Oh!” he exclaimed, “I've got a tie to match that!”
&nbs
p; “And I'm sure Riley will have many more ties made to match it in any colour you like,” Lynch replied, “And some fine suits too...you're going to need them.”
Now his tears had dried as he looked over to Lynch with interest, and Joy realised he had just managed to find the strength to sit up a little steadier too without leaning back on the pillows for support.
“Well of course I need nice threads I always have done - but what's the occasion?” he asked.
“On the day the battle ended the fires burned into the night. It's been decided the anniversary of the coming of peace in Cyborg Valley should be marked with a yearly festival – Firelight. We will have a stage and a screen and a link to Freedom City. With Steph as Culture Minister she'll be granting passes for everyone who wants to come along. And we need a host. Someone with experience, someone whose been in the public eye before, in the days of the old world...Of course, you'll have to get out of that bed and back on your feet...you've got a year to do it, Jekel. You manage that, and you'll be the new world's first cyborg celebrity.”
Suddenly hope shone in his eyes.
“Too right I can do it!” he exclaimed and he struggled to sit up further but weakness held him back as Joy placed her hand over his.
“Don't do too much too soon, we'll get you there,” she promised him, “I'll get you there. I love you, Ash.”
“Love you too...” his eyes blurred with tears again, “I'm sorry about what I did... with Mandy...it was a mistake -”
“And that's in the past,” Joy promised him, “It's me and you now...and someone else.”
Confusion clouded his eyes.
“Someone else?”
Joy smiled.
“Something happened,” she told him, “After you fell from the tower and your cable snapped we all thought you wouldn't make it. Elise believed you wouldn't make it...so she took a sample of blood using her secondary conception method and gave me a son...”
Jekel looked into her eyes, as if he had just heard something he dared not believe to be true.
“You have a son?”
Lynch brought the child over to his bedside and handed the baby to Joy, who cradled her son in her arms as she thought on her decision. She had thought long and hard about the matter, and in the end, had asked herself, What would Murdock do? And that answer had come in a heartbeat: Anything, whatever it took, to save a life... All the same, as she spoke again, she felt a tiny fragment of her heart break while the rest of it filled with love for Jekel.
“He's yours,” she said, “He's your son, Ash.”
Jekel caught his breath, for a moment his weakness took over and he blinked away tears as he clung to Joy's hand, fighting to stay sitting up unaided.
“I have a son?” he said as happiness filled his gaze.
“Let me help you hold him,” Joy said, and she sat closer to Jekel, supporting his weak arm, as she placed her son against his other arm and steadied him, allowing Jekel to hold the baby for the first time.
“Have you named him?” he asked.
“Travis Storm Jekel,” she replied.
He gazed down at the child in his arms and then looked to Joy as love shone in his eyes.
“Hello Travis,” he said warmly, “I'm your Daddy. And I'm going to be the best Daddy in the world, I promise you that, son...”
In the months that followed, Ash Jekel made a remarkable recovery. While Riley worked on the plan for the Festival, Jekel ran through his stage routine until he had it perfected. When the brand new newspaper from Freedom City was finally up and running, Steph took great delight in requesting pictures from the upcoming festival line up and given her previous experience, Elise was happy to take the pictures – even turning up early while Jekel was still in bed, and as she playfully took a picture of him laughing as he grabbed at the sheets and barely managed to cover himself, she looked thoughtfully at the picture and remarked, “We'll take some with you on the stage too but I think I know which one the paper will prefer...”
And the paper did choose the barely covered picture. It was the first picture of the Valley's cyborg festival host, along with others showing him on stage in his fine suit. Those pictures were in the newspaper opened up by the son of Sylvia Payton, who had grown depressed and long since given up his job, much to the dismay of Steph – he had simply had enough of the prejudice he was met with every day as the only cyborg in the City Guard... Then he looked at the pictures of Ash Jekel, and noticed the fancy veneer on his metal plate, and took in the sight of his fine threads, and then he turned to the mirror and finally, called to his mother who was out in the kitchen:
“Mum!” he said excitedly, “I think I've found a new career! I want a fancy veneer for my plate job. And I want you to find me a tailor too – a good one!”
A few months later, Cyborg Valley held its first Festival – an occasion that was marked by the contrast of the barbed wire and armed guards at the barrier checking passes and the extra security due to a new and rising threat – the anti cyborg movement named End Cyborg Life, who had made bomb threats. But the only incident that occurred at the start turned out to be a loud boom that shook the nerves of festival goers - until Ash Jekel walked out on stage, gave a charming smile to the audience and said, “Sorry folks, that was me – I dropped the mike!”
And despite his reservations and the doubts of the others in the ruling circle, Joshes disapproval was dashed aside by a delighted Vice Premier, who had now learned of her son's new plans and completely approved, as did Steph, for both cultural and personal reasons...
The world was changing. It was a world of two cultures divided, by the changes that were happening as sure as Cyborg Valley was becoming a thriving community....
Chapter 14 : Firelight
Four years Later:
The fourth Firelight Festival was in full swing. It was a warm summer afternoon and Fifi was sitting with a group of children as they watched a puppet show and Elise sat with her, enjoying the show as much as her daughter.
Over across the other side of the field, Riley took to the stage to give a speech, and was met with much applause. Elise turned her head, watching as the man the cyborgs named King Steel said his piece:
“Some day we'll forget the hurt, the reason for our tears and those who caused us pain. We already know that no happiness can be found in acts of revenge. What matters is not the past, but the future and how we chose to live it. We choose to smile, to forgive, and to love all over again. We are not your enemy, we are the ones who fought for freedom against the same enemy as you, and we should stand united now in peace as we did in war. Until the division between us is closed, our hearts remain open to those who do not understand us.
I speak for all here at Cyborg Valley when I say, I hope that today has helped many to gain a better understanding of us and the struggles we face – struggles that could be alleviated by compassion and unity. Education is vital, it matters that those who consider themselves Organic understand that we are also organic – we are all human, but some of us happen to also be cyborg, a choice that is never made lightly and always in desperation or under threat of death in the absence of any other decision.
I'd also like to remind you all that not every citizen of Cyborg Valley is cyborg – many have organic loved ones who choose to stay – and although you keep our borders tightly controlled, we will always open our gates to those who wish to join us, and welcome them warmly.”
As the crowd applauded again, the sound carried over the hillside, down into the now thriving town of Bullet, where Lynch and Flynn sat together drinking in the bar.
“Give it ten minutes,” Lynch said, placing the by now slightly scratched old phone on the bar, “She brought the motor home up here just so she could call me... she always calls me when I'm in the pub!”
Flynn chuckled.
“I'm surprised she's not pregnant again.”
“Oh no,” Lynch replied happily, “She couldn't keep my erm....stock any longer than six years... so I can safely
say she won't be surprising me with any more kids...which is a relief since she once said I had the potential to father a whole village!”
Flynn laughed again.
“Well there's nothing wrong with that...you've got your little girl she's lovely.”
Lynch thought of his daughter as pride shone in his eyes.
“Yes she is,” he replied, “But when Elise said my sperm supply was gone I was so relieved...I don't think I've ever been so glad to be half machine!”
Flynn looked at him in surprise.
“Do you realise what you just said?”
Amusement danced in the eyes of Felix Lynch.
“Oh yes,” he replied, “I do...I'm glad to be half machine, I've never been more relieved about it in my life!”
And he chuckled.
“I'll drink to that,” said Flynn, and the two men clinked beer glasses as they laughed again.
Later as the sun began to set and the festival was moving to a close for the night, as the crowd applauded and Jekel smiled as he cast his gaze about the vast audience that filled the wide open space at the back of the grounds where the home of Blake Riley stood looking white and palatial against the greenery that surrounded it, he raised the microphone and spoke again:
“This is the fourth year of Firelight and its wonderful to see so many people coming together to celebrate our culture and our valley. As always the most important message we send out from this festival is education because we need to keep getting that message out there, that cyborgs are human too and the only difference we have is the robotic parts inside us. And that does not define anyone – it's what is in our hearts and minds that matters, its about unity.”
As the crowd applauded and whistled and cheered and Jekel stood there cutting a dashing, slender figure in his dark suit as the metallic veneer set at the side of his head, part shaded by his dark hair as it caught the sunlight, he looked down from the stage and gave a wink to a cluster of women who were calling his name.