Shadow Seed 1: The Misbegotten

by Richard M. Heredia

  “Gawd, Eff, do you have to be so graphic?” she huffed, shaking her head in disgust.

  He peered at her from the edge of his eye socket. “I get graphic when I need to make a point, so deal with it.”

  “Well, you don’t have to make the point so unequivocally vulgar!” She walked a few steps away, calling her Neuro-Nanoswarm from Sleep to Active Mode, though she didn’t call up a Holo-screen. She motioned for the ‘Swarm to develop about her wrist, a more mobile format allowing her more freedom of movement.

  He didn’t seem to have heard her. “I’m still amazed we made it through those first few years, scraped and scrounging just to stay alive, usually but a step or two ahead of our enemies.” He paused to laugh to himself. “We sure showed them, huh, Flavy? No one ever would’ve expected a group of puissant Mutos to steal over a billion dollars and not get caught!” He laughed again. “We had those motherfuckers on their asses, especially after making the deal of the freakin’ millennium. It put us on the map, made our bones – whatever the fuck you wanna call it. Things were never the same after that.” He rubbed at his scalp, his thick fingers massaging his head reflexively. “It was only a matter of time and a matter of gathering Mutos to our cause. Within a few years, we were untouchable, and a decade after that we were bigger than Microsoft, Wal-Mart and Apple combined. You remember, right, Flavia?”

  She waved at him absently, still flicking various floating icons and applications at a terrifying rate. Her fingers were a blur.

  He seemed not to care, and went on. “Now look at us, my dear. We own more land than old Russia and China together, the gross GDP of the Synod almost exceeds the entire GDP of the earth at the time of our births, and we have more firepower, better technology than any one government entity in the Sixteen Worlds. And still, we are stranded here, above the very fucking city we once ruled, stranded like a pair of vagabonds!”

  Flavia stopped what she was doing and looked at him like he had just sprouted a second head. “God damn, Estefan, do you have to act like a fucking diva every time something doesn’t go your way?!?”

  He rounded on her as if he’d been prodded with a red hot poker. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”

  She deflected the question with one of her own. “Why the melodrama? You act like we don’t have means at our disposal.”

  “What means, Flavia, we’re fucking stuck on a god damned mountain,” he replied, though he tempered his tone, more out of curiosity than fear of bad tact.

  She sniffed at him. “You said it yourself; we’re bigger than this place, so why would we need to operate as if we weren’t?”

  He frowned deeply, but stayed quiet, then it hit him and his face flushed pink. “The orbital storage facilities, right?”

  “Yeah, you mule-headed ass, the orbital storage facilities,” she concurred harshly, talking down to him purposefully, admonishing him for his childish behavior. He should know better than that.

  He sighed. “I’m sorry, Flavy.” He gazed up at the heavens. “What’s coming?”

  “I accessed the nearest Synod-owned orbiter and our Skycar will be here in fifteen minutes,” she supplied her tone normal. She was satisfied he had understood her message.

  “I really am sorry,” he offered.

  “I know,” she mumbled, waving her ‘Swarm away, making her way back to his side. She took his hand within hers and gave it an encouraging squeeze. “All of this shit has got you wired tighter than a preacher’s asshole.”

  He laughed loudly. “Now who’s being vulgar,” he managed, but his heart wasn’t in it. He reached out and placed his arms about her shoulders, bringing her close and kissed her on the temple. “I love you, Flavia.

  “I love you too.”

  Together, they looked heavenward just as the first stars were beginning to reflect through the massive construct of Angel Free Town.

  Flavia leaned her head on his shoulder, her four inch heels making her only a couple of inches shorter than the man she leaned against. She watched in silence as the night deepened, content to wait, happy to stay quiet and enjoy the night. It was warm out, being summer, but not oppressively. The gigantic air circulators within the struts of the vaulted megalopolis made certain air from the upper atmosphere was constantly moving throughout the entire urban sprawl. It was heated where it needed to be heated and cooled when the temperature required it to be so, but it was always on the move. This was a good thing, she figured, because six hundred million people could raise quite a stink.

  Then a strange thought occurred to her and she looked up Estefan unadulterated curiosity written on her face. “Hey, Hon?” she prodded to get his attention.

  “Yes, babe,” he replied, though he didn’t turn to look at her.

  “How come you always use lines from My Fair Lady for access codes with the Null-units?” She titled her head prettily, her eyes squinting.

  Estefan chortled as much as choked, her question being the furthest thing from his mind. He turned to stare down into her eyes; they’d turned the color of black beans as the sunlight faded. He bent down and kissed her lightly. “How many people out there remember – word for word – any line from that old movie about Eliza Doolittle? How many do you think?”

  Her smile was broad underneath the touch of his hard lips. “Excluding archivists and their ilk, no more than a handful I’d say, and most of the handful belongs of the Synod.”

  “Exactly,” he said as he nuzzled her cheek then went lower to her neck and began to kiss to delicate flesh there.

  “How come My Fair Lady though?” she wondered, through hooded eyes, enjoying the fluttering kisses he was applying to her skin. His overly warm touch was leaving an erotic trail in its wake. She felt her gut clench.

  “It’s one of my favorites,” he mumbled against her.

  She sighed and put more of her weight on him.

  “It was one of your mother’s favorites as well, wasn’t it?” she added, the memory of her long dead step-mother singing, “I’m getting married in the morning”, as she made breakfast on the weekend, suddenly flashed through with vivid detail. She could almost smell her famous drop biscuits and hear the sizzle of bacon.

  For the first time in a long time, Estefan didn’t stiffen at the recollection of their mutual past. He exhaled deeply onto Flavia’s shoulder, sending shivers up and down her spine.

  “Yes, it was,” was all he said.

  It made her wonder if he was thinking about the same thing she had been a moment before. She didn’t ask though, leaving it unsaid as she hugged her ward and held onto him tightly.

  Ten minutes later, the calmness of the night was split by the resounding thrum of the Skycar’s Grav-propulsion system as its’ sleek form settled upon the road behind them.

  “You summoned an Aegis IV?” he asked, his eyes dancing over the arrowhead shape of the vehicle that could take them from the surface of the planet into orbit in minutes. It was one of their newest and fastest models to date, built exclusively by the Synod itself within the guts of their sprawling factory in orbit, on the dark side of the Moon. So new, in fact, he hadn’t been certain any of them had been certified for service.

  She grinned and broke their embrace. “I thought you could use a thrill after being cooped up in a Null-unit for the last thirty hours with me.” Her eyes twinkled.

  “If you’d’ve told me you and I were gonna go at it like we did last night, I’d been willing to stay thirty hours more for a chance to do it again,” he reposted, his expression matching hers.

  She actually giggled and twisted at the waist like an eight-year-old girl. “Really?”

  “Absolutely!”

  She opened the hatches at either side of the Skycar with a wave of her hand over the main sensory unit. They climbed in, both taking a few minutes to gawk at the state of the art design of the technology surrounding them. It was ultra-modern, but it was posh at the same time. He’d have to personally congratulate the engineering team at Chaz Motors on this latest feat of g
enius. The Aegis IV was a work of art!

  “Where to, my love?” asked Flavia from the pilot’s next to him.

  “Home, baby-girl, I want to go home,” he said as he immediately activated his Neuro-Nanoswarm, making a system-wide inquiry searching for intrusions. It was something he did at least once a day.

  There were none.

  At his side, Flavia cycled through the start-up sequence, punched in their destination coordinates, letting the Skycar’s ‘Swarm pick which Grav-skyway they were going to use, then glanced over at the man she loved.

  “Very well, Keeper, Luna it is.”

  He smiled, waving away his ‘Swarm, eager to see what the Aegis IV could do.

  She hit the execute sequence and they ascended from the mountains on their way to the Moon.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~♦~~~~~~~~~~~~

  ~ Chapter 13 ~

  (Summer – 2018, Fall - 2017)

  A Strange Introduction

  [It takes him less time than he’d envisioned locating the spot where he had “paused” the Delving software. He is amazed how easy it is to use the program. ExTech had outdone itself this time around. He quickly restarts the process. In a fraction of a second, his is, once more, transported back more than three and a half centuries. He remembers an exclamation. His fingers begin to fly across the ghostly keys in the air before him.]

  “Mother Fuck, what the hell took you guys so long!” exclaimed Jacob after he’d recovered from nearly pulverizing the door. I had saved them by about a Hare’s breath. “What the fuck, were you both counting your pewbes or something? That was like forever!”

  “Calm down, dickweed,” I chastised him, frowning deeply. “I told you things with Katie were rough at best. She was having a tough go of it. So back the hell up!” I countered intentionally harsh to throw him off kilter. “What’s wrong with you? Damn, Jake, don’t you pay attention to anything people say to you?”

  That seemed to forestall him as he edged back, away from me, a sour look of his own. He always looked like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar in situations such as this.

  Behind him, Ramona craned her head to get a look at me and the scene beyond. She had a small crease between her eyebrows. I smiled at her, over my Cousin Jacob’s shoulder. Her eyes caught mine. I hoped my grin would be enough to calm whatever anxiety she might be experiencing, because of the lengthy time Katie and I had made them wait on the front porch. Her eyes opened wider as Katie came forth and into the bright sunlight of the day, casually dressed, feet still bare. My other cousin was still stunning, even without make-up (which I have always told her she never needed) or having run a comb through her hair. Her short nap and our brief tussle had mussed it slightly. It seemed as though she had run her fingers through it a few times to straighten it out.

  Ramona eyes came to rest on mine. She searched my face for a few seconds. Her anxiousness skewed toward suspicion, almost like she was trying not to be jealous, knowing she had no grounds to feel that way, but couldn’t quite help it.

  I’d hoped my cover wasn’t blown, that she couldn’t see or have any hint that I’d just made out with Katie. I desperately didn’t want her to get the impression, if they hadn’t been there, on my doorstep, I’d be making love to my cousin. Even if they’d come later, it still would’ve happened. I wanted to make sure she had no clue. But how?

  “Hey, you guys, how have ya’all been?” asked Katie with the southern cheer she’d picked up living in Oklahoma. Her amiable tone sliced through the growing tension like a samurai long sword, potentially saving my bacon.

  “Damn, Katie, you look fine as ever.” Jacob’s way of saying hello, I guess.

  Fucking tool!

  “Hi, Katie,” managed Ramona through a calm veneer, obviously trying to keep other thoughts out of her mind. “What took the two of you so long? We were kinda waiting out here a while.” She asked the question of Katie, but her eyes fell back on me. I swore I could already see a slight bit of accusation in them. If there was one thing Ramona could sniff out faster than a dog turd, was when something had passed between two people. She had a special sense, even back then. One that I’d come to count on over the years. One that has saved our lives countless times…

  “Sorry about that, that was my fault, I was on the phone with my mother and she wouldn’t let me get off. You know, badgering me about all the bullshit of the past week and shit. But, I didn’t want Estefan, to leave either, because… well, because there are just some things I don’t want to face alone right now…” Katie was playing into the comment I had made to Jacob earlier. It was a beautiful ploy. I could already see he had accepted the excuse by the look on his face. Besides, he was already so blinded by lust for my cousin, he would’ve believed anything she said. The moon was made of cheese. The Cubs¹ won the World Series. He would’ve nodded like an idiot, his eyes glued to her ass.

  It was Ramona that kept glancing back and forth, the cast of her face unchanged. She hadn’t believed – completely – what Katie had said.

  “Well, that’s Steve for you. Always willing to lend a helping hand,” and she hadn’t meant that as a compliment. I knew that at once.

  Katie seemed to recognize for what it was and changed the subject. “Come one in, you guys, the TV’s on and Aunt Patrice left us a ton of money, so we can order some food and chill.” She motioned for them to enter.

  She and I stepped out of the way to let them enter the house. Right before Jacob crossed the threshold and passed between us Katie rolled her eyes at me and shook her head subtly. With such alacrity, only I could discern her annoyance with my girlfriend. Then, she turned and followed Jacob inside.

  Ramona came directly toward me, putting her finger in my chest at first, but then reconsidered her tactics. She visibly eased the tensions from her body and placed her hand on me over my pounding heart. “We have to talk, Eff,” she whispered. She immediately placed that same hand over my lips when I made to say something. “Not now, my love, later. Then, you can explain to me what was really going on in here.” I was about to protest even louder, but again she cut me off. “Not now, Estefan! We’ll do it later. I might seem overly jealous and conniving at times, but I am respectful as well. She is your family, so there will be no big blowouts or nasty scenes today. I promise.”

  Who the fuck was this girl? I had asked myself looking down at her from a newfound vantage.

  Then, she leaned forward and kissed me on the lips! She didn’t have to tilt her head back or stand on her tiptoes, Ramona was only an inch or two shorter than my five foot nine inch frame. She merely came forward and planted a good one on me. “Uhmmm, very sweet,” she muttered when she pulled back a few seconds later. “Who would’ve ever imagined my boyfriend would have lips that taste like a girls’…” Her expression was coy, but the look didn’t match her eyes. I knew that she knew! I was caught. I hadn’t even cleared the gate yet.

  Katie was right; this was going to be a lot harder than anything I have ever tried before.

  Ramona stepped away and walked into the house. I followed, watching her round ass sway back and forth beneath the tight fitting; strapless summer dress she wore. The floral print was yellow and somewhat blinding in the sunlight. She walked from side to side on the balls of her feet, her Nike speed trainers radiant and spotless. Her gait made her middle-of-the-back, wavy, dark brown hair swoosh to the right, then the left. She was being seductive, trying to get me to notice her. I typically did notice her when she did that, because Ramona was fun to look at with her voluptuous figure, blue-gray eyes flecked with black and her very feminine carriage. She wasn’t as naturally beautiful as Katie, but she was deft with her make-up. She never put on too little or too much, but just the right amount. She always styled her hair in the latest fashion, giving one the impression she might be a model. But her luscious curves were way too much for those tall, emaciating creatures that walked the runways of the old world. She didn’t have the athletic body that Katie had, though Katie hadn’t gone near any t
ype of physical activity that didn’t involve sex in many years. Rather, Ramona had the body, at sixteen, which most women twice her age would grow into, and did she ever know how to use it.

  It had taken Ramona all of two seconds to get my attention the year before when Tirza had left me in the lurch with nothing but disgust and frustration in her wake. It had been nearly three weeks after Tirza had dumped me. I was pretty bummed out about having to whack off in the shower instead blowing my load into sweet little Tirza. I had been deliberately walking slower than usual through the halls of my High School, meandering wildly lost in thought when I had met Ramona.

  Now, I said I met her then, but in order to recant this little tale with any degree of truth, I must tweak the words a bit. I must say, on that particular day, it was - shall we say - more of an “encounter” with Ramona, rather than an actual “meeting”.

  *****

  [He switches memory paths. A new, very familiar scene unfolds.]

  The crowds were still thick on the second floor of the school that fall day. It was during the first semester of my sophomore year. I was stopping here and there making brief conversations with friends and acquaintances not too keen on making it to my photography class on time. I was fairly popular already, though I wasn’t nearly at the pinnacle of my “school fame” I would come to enjoy later. I had made good progress, though, in the two short months I attended Benjamin Franklin High School, tucked nicely in the northeastern corner of what used to be Los Angeles. This would also prove to be the second to last complete year of formal schooling I would receive for the rest of my life, but I’ll get to that later.

  At that time, on that day, I was seeing my friends from just about every clique I was affiliated with, and, since I didn’t just hang out with one particular group of kids, I had many greetings to give out. I was walking down the hall, gabbing away when, all of a sudden, one of the classroom doors swung open, right where I was walking. It flew so fast around, if I hadn’t brought up my hand when I had, it would have bashed me in the face. I stopped the door and moved to the aside simultaneously, grateful I hadn’t been brained by the door. I had just enough time to see a blurred figure move right across my path, so quick I could only discern the figure was female. There was little I could do to avoid bumping into her. In the instant, it registered it was, in fact, a girl before me, I suddenly felt her hand cup all of my junk – the frank and the beans! Then, she whispered into my ear just as our bodies came together…