GAIA

by Morton Chalfy

  "This way."

  Aquarius moved through the forest as though he were on a paved street and Lucas struggled to keep up. Every so often he called out for the older man to "wait up" while he panted in his path, afraid of losing him in the thick growth. They were climbing and Lucas felt every step upward as a new burden and finally called out, "Stop!" He sank to a seat on a fallen tree trunk and tried to catch his breath. Aquarius came back to stand in front of him patiently while his breathing normalized.

  "It's only a little way further," he said encouragingly, "and then you'll be able to rest as long as you like."

  Lucas slowly got to his feet and lifted his pack. Mercifully Aquarius moved a little more slowly and in a couple of spots helped Lucas up and over some rocky obstacles. When the younger man thought he could go no further they came to a small meadow. From its center burbled a tiny spring that flowed in a trickle down the mountain. At the edge of the meadow grew a bush of surpassing thickness. Holding a branch aside Aquarius motioned him through. Lucas had to remove his pack and duck down to pass by and found himself in a sort of natural room formed by the bush around its base.

  "Here's home," said Aquarius. "Relax."

  Happily Lucas fell to his knees and then stretched out in weariness.

  "The altitude's tough on me," he gasped.

  "You'll get used to it in a couple of days. Or weeks. Just rest there for a while, I need to take care of some things."

  "What about Moms and them," asked Lucas. "How will they find me?"

  Aquarius grinned at him. "Maeve knows where you are," he said and disappeared through the bush.

  Lucas sighed at his own transparency and weakened by the climb into thin air promptly fell asleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Harrison dressed as nattily as his wardrobe allowed for his dinner date with Helene. The prospect of another night of love making, facilitated chemically or not, lifted his spirits. He might be engaged in a shadowy game of espionage or in an elaborate self-delusion but imminent romance relegated everything else to unimportance.

  Helene arrived at the restaurant just as he did and they grinned at each other's obvious eagerness. They embraced and kissed and held hands as they entered. Dinner was helped along by an expensive wine and at the approach of a shared dessert Helene held her hand out with two pills.

  "I thought if we took them now we'd be just ready when we got to my place."

  Harrison took his, "Down the hatch," he said smiling. "Though I don't know how necessary they are tonight."

  Helene's answering smile went a long way towards making his statement true.

  The night made its leisurely way to one climax after another until they were lying side by side, exhausted and happy on the sweat soaked bedding.

  "Goodness, I've missed that. Nights like this make living meaningful."

  Helene rolled toward him, "If you stayed around we could do this as often as we liked."

  Harrison looked closely at her. Helene had always been a "don't make any plans that include me," kind of person, intent on maintaining her personal freedom from onerous attachments. Was she now open to commitment?

  In reply he said, "Oh?"

  "Yes, oh. When you were gone I missed you and it surprised me. Now you're here and I want more of you. Does that surprise you?"

  "Yes it does. I like it, don't get me wrong, but you were always, umm, don't try to tie me down."

  "Things change. People change."

  "In that case count me in."

  In the morning they went out for breakfast and then went to Harrison's office.

  "I need to handle my mail and then we can loaf the rest of the day away."

  Among the messages was an encoded one from Sam which informed him of the visit from the government agents and Lucas' escape. Worried by the idea of Lucas on the run in the wilderness he sent back a query for more information. The answer, "He's okay," came back immediately, ending communication without satisfying Harrison.

  "What's wrong?" asked Helene.

  "Oh, nothing."

  She gave him a derisive look. "That's no answer to give a lady. Not if you want to establish a trusting relationship."

  "Let's go for a walk in the sunshine," he said.

  "While you think of what lie you can tell me?"

  "It wouldn't be a lie, exactly."

  They made their way by robocar and elevator to an exit to the outside, emerging onto a huge plaza that surrounded a Grow Tower. When they were out of earshot of any listening devices he said, "I am keeping a secret, but it's not mine and not mine to share. Maybe later sometime I'll be able to tell you, but not right now."

  "Okay, I can accept that. Where would you like to go?"

  "I'm for hanging out in the plaza until we want to eat again and then eat at the Salad Bar."

  He indicated the Grow Tower.

  "Good idea. I love the fresh air that place creates."

  They strolled around the perimeter soaking up the unaccustomed sunshine and watching the bustle of people moving purposefully around or, like them, just catching a few rays.

  "I've got two weeks of vacation coming that I have to take before year's end. Want to plan it with me?" asked Helene.

  "I think I can take that much time and I'd love to plan it with you."

  "Great. Do you know much about the Gaia movement?"

  Harrison's nape hair stood to attention. Carefully trying to control his voice he said, "Sure do."

  Helene took no notice of his increased wariness, "Well, I saw Moms give a talk on it. She's sort of the High Priestess and I want to go and see her in person."

  "Oh, okay."

  "Well, I'm interested and I liked her and what she had to say. She runs sort of a retreat somewhere in the Rockies and we could stay for a while and get some good spa time while I see if she's the real deal."

  "Okay. Sounds good."

  "You wouldn't mind?"

  "No. Not at all."

  "Oh good." Helene put her arm in his and they walked toward the Grow Tower. "I'm glad. I'm really interested in what she's doing and I'm glad you're willing to go along with me."

  Harrison nodded, thinking, "Is she faking this? What does she know?" He went back over their personal history looking for a time he might have mentioned his sister but couldn't think of any. Still, he felt suspicious of coincidence and was made wary by her suggestion. "Things were seemingly going so well," he thought, "and now the curve ball arrives. Stay on your guard."

  The line to the fresh salad bar was long but it moved at a good pace, one that avoided frustration but wasn't rushed. Whey they had filled their plates and gotten drinks they found a table on the perimeter. The sun shone in on them through photovoltaic glass which softened the light. The interior was light and cheery, the dining area was under an atrium that reached four stories up the building and gave the impression of a cathedral to the sun. By a trick of architecture the top of the atrium concentrated the sunlight into a ball that mimicked the real sun and the light seemed to flow down the glass walls.

  "I love this place," said Helene. "I love the light, the fresh oxygen from the plants, the atmosphere they create. I just love it."

  Harrison grinned at her enthusiasm.

  "I like it pretty well myself," he said.

  "And I'm excited about our trip," she said. "I've wanted to go there for a while but I never had anyone I wanted to go there with before."

  The sincerity in her voice convinced that part of Harrison who was her lover but the other Harrison, the pseudo-spy, the mock mole, remained wary and suspicious.

  "Do you have any dates in mind?" he asked.

  "Vaguely. When I get back to my desk I'll check my work calendar and give you some options, okay?"

  "Fine."

  "But the sooner the better from my point of view," she said.

  "Sure. I'm pretty certain I can arrange the time."

  "Good." She looked at him wistfully. "You don't think I'm crazy to be interested in Gaia, do you?
" she asked.

  Harrison was startled by the question and his suspicious side relaxed just a notch but remained wary.

  "Not at all. I find myself in agreement with them on a lot of things."

  "That's how I am. When I listened to her speak I kept thinking, "I agree with that. "That's how I feel," and, "I can support that," until I thought I want to see for myself. So many groups seem to start out okay and just morph into ways the leadership can gain wealth and fame."

  "That's certainly true but I do think she is different. She certainly comes across as sincere."

  "Doesn't she? Well I just want to see for myself."

  "I'm all for it," said Harrison. "I'll be ready when you are."

  When they parted it was as an established couple, agreeing to meet for dinner and then spend the night together. On the way to his office Harrison was thinking furiously. He wanted to ask Lucas to check Helene out by hacking her computer but Lucas, he knew, was not available. The next best thing was to send Moms a coded message in the hope that her techies could do the job.

  "It's a curious coincidence if it is one," he thought.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  For Lucas the next several days were a foretaste of life as an old person. Any task that required energy, like walking the hundred yards to the rough latrine and back, left him tired, feeling weak and out of breath. By noon on his first day at Aquarius' camp he had begun a system of spacing his efforts to allow recovery time and lying down between exertions.

  On the third day Maeve appeared at the camp carrying a basket of goodies and a request from Moms. "Harrison wants this person checked out," she said giving him Helene's vital information.

  "How come? What am I looking for?"

  "He's not sure. She's a friend of his." Maeve's emphasis on the word "friend" left little doubt as to what she thought it meant, "and she's expressed a keen interest in meeting Moms."

  "That's natural. He's her brother."

  "He doesn't think she knows that, at least he never told her. He just thinks it's a wild coincidence."

  "Okay. I'll be glad to have something to do that leaves me in one place."

  Maeve looked around the rude encampment. "Altitude making it rough?" she asked, not unkindly.

  "Yeah. And everything's an uphill walk both ways."

  She laughed at that and he could hear her desire not to hurt his feelings in her voice.

  "Where's Aquarius?" she asked.

  "Out taking care of something. That's all he ever says when he leaves. "Got something to take care of," Lucas mimicked Aquarius' gruff tones and drew a more normal laugh from Maeve.

  "Do you think he'll be back soon?" she asked.

  "Not very soon. He's only been gone about a half hour. I don't expect him until mid-afternoon. Why?"

  "How's your energy level?" she asked.

  "Do I have to walk anywhere?"

  "No."

  "Then it's good enough if you mean what I hope you mean."

  "Oh, I mean it," she said and drew him to the sleeping bag.

  For the next several hours Lucas felt almost rejuvenated. They made love, slowly as befits an old man or one made old by altitude, and then ate the picnic Maeve had suppled. Afterward they lay side by side while she brought him up to date on the events and the gossip at the ranch.

  "How hard are they looking for me?" asked Lucas. "I don't pick up any chatter about it on the net."

  "That's funny. They visited us the day you took off and again the next day but not since. Nobody knows what to make of it unless they're lying low waiting for you to think the coast is clear and come home."

  The word "home" struck Lucas hard. On the one hand it sounded like an expression of love and acceptance from Maeve which warmed him deeply. On the other it told him he was still an exile and quite literally had been thrust into the wilderness. He was amazed that one word had brought up such conflicting and powerful emotions.

  "Maybe I'll get some clues researching Helene. If I find something how shall I communicate it?"

  "I'll come back the day after tomorrow in the late evening with another picnic. You can report then."

  "It'll be too late to go back if you come in the late evening," he said and then realized what she meant and grinned at her. "I mean, that will be perfect," he said. "And hey, what happened when you and Sam visited the neighbors with the drones?"

  Maeve laughed. "When we got there Rick, the owner, came running out of his house. He was excited and agitated and immediately said, "I'm so glad you figured it out. Look Sam, I didn't want to do it but the feds gave me a cock and bull story about your place being in danger and would I check on it every once in a while and send them the tapes. I didn't believe them but I thought I couldn't tell you directly so we flew the drones in a way that recorded nothing but animals. I was sure you'd be able to tell they were ours. I'm surprised it took so long for you to get here."

  "Of course Sam told him we were grateful and that we hadn't wanted to come over too soon and thanked him for his help and then went off with Marlene and sent me home alone."

  "Did you believe Rick?"

  "Oh yes. He's Marlene's older brother and really likes and respects Sam."

  "I'm glad I was able to work it out. And I do like your idea about a late meal."

  "I thought so," said Maeve rising. "And I better leave now to beat the sunset. And you better get back to work."

  For Lucas getting to work meant a laborious search through Helene's personal and work communications. Breaking into her accounts was easy for him as he had all the tools of the agency for which he had worked at his disposal but once in the real work began. His experience, and the voice of his mentor in his memory made him read every word, look at every image and parse every message. He spent that night, the next day and night and most of the second day at the task. At the end he concluded, albeit tentatively, that Helene was clean. She was also intelligent, artistic, passionate about several topics and not above playing office politics.

  Her interest in conservation of the environment went back to her grade school years and her interest in Gaia about as long. She was strongly sexual and her mentions of Harrison were part of a longish line of lovers, both men and women, but included no long term liaisons. Lucas found that the more he looked into her life the more he found to like about her and concluded that his grandfather could certainly do worse and would be lucky to have her for a consort.

  By the time Maeve appeared laden with a picnic and some artifacts of civilization to make camping life easier he was ready to give Helene a conditional okay. The condition was ITLOPK, In The Light Of Present Knowledge.

  They shared a meal in the quickly passing evening light and discussed his findings by the light of the moon. Aquarius joined them briefly, primarily to take a bite, assess their mood and then left to enable them to have some privacy.

  Lucas was still not acclimated to life at ten thousand feet but he was on his way. His energy for lovemaking was higher than it had been and his recovery time was quicker. Maeve noted both changes. "Pretty soon I won't be able to keep up," she said to his delight.

  "I'll take that as a promise and prognosis," he replied and then quickly turned gloomy.

  "What is it?" she asked.

  "I'm afraid that my being a fugitive is going to eventually tear us apart. You can't keep climbing up here forever and I equally can't just live here as the hermit of the hills."

  "It's only for now," she said. "We'll find a way forward."

  "But..." his voice trailed off.

  "But what?"

  "But I want to be with you all the time. I want to have children with you."

  Maeve blushed and grinned. "Well that's a possibility. I wouldn't count that out."

  "Not up here," he said.

  "No, not up here. But our game isn't over. We just have to keep working and keep the faith."

  Lucas was ready to launch a rant to express his frustration when Maeve pressed herself against him and drew him into the b
ed bag. His frustration and reluctance melted in her caresses and their night ended on a loving and satisfying note. Exhausted, lying side by side and watching the stars he felt more hopeful about the future.

  "Lots of places to hide out in the wild lands," he thought before falling asleep.

  Chapter Thirty

  Harrison spent a week with his emotions in turmoil. Helene's interest in Gaia made him wary and suspicious but their newly blossoming love affair was exhilarating. Most of the time he was on an emotional high. Love made the world brighter, more interesting and love at his age had a definitely rejuvenating effect. At odd moments, though, the fear that he was being played to gain access to Moms crushed his mood into blackness and filled him with despair.

  When Moms finally, through code in a banal message, told him that Lucas had given Helene the "all clear" his relief was enormous. His explosive "Yes!" at reading it was so loud and forceful he startled himself. He immediately looked at his calendar to identify possible dates for a trip and sent them to Helene with a passionate notation, "We can make it into our own version of a honeymoon," he wrote.

  Her response came moments later, "Is that a proposal or a proposition?" Harrison re-read his original note and thought quickly about his true feelings.

  "A proposal, I think," he answered.

  "Accepted, I think," she responded. "We'll discuss it over dinner."

  Harrison thought about it all afternoon. Late marriages, and especially late second marriages, had gone up steadily in number and percentage as humanity's life span edged over a hundred. Old lovers reuniting had become a cliche'. Youthful passions that had been thwarted by circumstance often smoldered deep in people's hearts and when circumstances were altered by death or divorce burst into flame once more. He and Helene had drifted apart the first time through inattention and the lure of other sexual adventures. This time around their attentions were focused on one another and they were carrying on their own mutual sexual adventure.