Earth Keepers

by Jorge Alejandro Lavera

  “And what about the daughter?”

  “We need the father because he still has power over his daughter. And the daughter...you’ll understand when you see her. But to save you the surprise, it’s the most perfect experiment I’ve achieved to get Gea back.”

  “Another replica of Gea? You didn’t say anything to me. This one came out well?”

  “Better than good, it’s incredible. A resounding success.”

  “Didn’t the previous ones die? How did you perfect it so much?”

  “I managed to gather several lines of Atlantean heritage to achieve the optimal result and I got it with the daughter, Sofía, but it wasn’t so perfect. Why do you think I gave Raquel cancer?”

  “You sure are cold-blooded.”

  “They’re just humans, daughter.”

  “Sofía, too?”

  Tzedek smiled.

  “Technically, she’s your stepsister.”

  “And why Damaris?”

  “Because I happen to know her personal likes and I know she’ll be interested immediately. Just like Navarro with you. And now hurry, they are probably getting impatient.”

  Althaea sulked.

  “I’m not going to lie to him.”

  “Don’t, it doesn’t matter, they won’t know what questions to ask. Just don’t give them any information they don’t ask for. Just tell them the essentials. Besides, you know you’ll hurt their feelings if you talk about this, since you worry so much about the humans’ feelings. Speaking of that, if you don’t do it, I may need to lock him up or kill him and make his daughter collaborate with us by force. I’m betting you wouldn’t like that, either. There’s no way in the world I’ll let this slip through my hands. You already know why I love her.”

  Althaea sighed.

  “I’ll do it, but not because you’re ordering me to, but for the good of all, especially theirs. Besides, I like the man.” She looked at the conservative clothing she was wearing. “I’m going to go change.”

  Tzedek sighed, relaxing. They had the girl. After so much work, he hadn’t lost everything. Now, he only had to wait until she grew to the right age, inject the Atlantean nano-organisms, make her wear Gea’s jewels, and he’d have her back. He thought about the last two capsules in the gold chest. And then...

  Finally, after so many thousands of years and so many failures, his most ambitious project was close to becoming a reality.

  COMBAT PRACTICE

  Atlantis, Year 2 of the interim reign of Tzedek

  Gea returned from her visit to the Council of Kings in time to change for her combat training.

  “Anything interesting at the council?”

  ‘You know nothing interesting ever happens there, Father. If there’s ever a competition for wasting the most time, those meetings definitely deserve a first place medal.”

  “Until you can learn to speak like a statesperson, you’ll keep going to the meetings. You know the theory, but not how to apply it. And they are good diplomats. If you understood diplomacy, you wouldn’t have said what you just said to me.”

  “If you understood diplomacy, you wouldn’t have said what you just said to me,” she imitated him in a mocking tone.

  Tzedek scowled.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Father. The Council of Kings, in its wisdom, has been debating the importance of arriving at a decision shared by the largest number of votes instead of a simple majority, especially when they’re controversial situations, to then reduce the claims of the affected people. The Atlanteans are pleased to see our regents seek to reach agreements that involve and represent as best as possible the will of the majority, without losing sight of the needs and rights of minorities,” Gea recited.

  Tzedek snorted.

  “That did sound like something one of my court informants would have said. Remember that despite the bad opinion you may have of them, there is no better group of diplomats in the kingdom.”

  “There is no better nest of rats, you mean.”

  “Those rats keep the peace between twelve kingdoms.”

  “I don’t understand how they do it, since they’re just waiting for one of them to stumble so they can devour them.”

  “And that’s why you’ll keep going, because you don’t understand. Maybe you should attend the public audiences, too, so you’ll understand the difference between the politics that the public sees and how things are arranged in private.”

  “The audiences, too? When will I have time to live? I’d love to live my life, not yours.”

  “You’ve got a ton of time. But I do not, and looking at your combat training scores, I see that you no longer need me to be present. You’ve definitely got better at this. Thus, from today on, you’ll go to combat without supervision. I trust that you won’t let them hurt you or that you won’t hurt them.”

  “Father, your combat advice is very useful to me, is it necessary for you to be absent?”

  Tzedek looked at her closely to see if she was being sarcastic, but he saw that she was serious.

  “I don’t have any more advice to give you. What you need is practice and keeping in shape. I have complete confidence that you’ll give it your best.”

  Gea knew when Tzedek was done with a topic, so she didn’t insist any more. Besides, this was making her late.

  “Okay, I don’t want to make Coach Pavilis wait, so I must go.”

  “I’ll see you at dinner,” Tzedek said with a wave.

  Gea hurried to change the public service apprentice robe for her battle armor. She adjusted the leather and metal pieces with the speed that practice gives. When she finished putting on her boots, she looked like a warrior from the Ninth Kingdom, one of the famous Amazons. She checked her outfit critically and made a mental note that she needed to replace the shoulder pads—they looked worn. Alexis had a tendency to hit her in the shoulders when he had the chance. She had to work on that. A cut in the shoulder could incapacitate an arm.

  She ran to the combat room. She preferred to fight in the open air, but ever since that idiot citizen had got close without permission in the middle of combat to see how they fought, and she almost took his head off without noticing, Tzedek decided it would be better to practice in an enclosed area. Of course, the incident was the gossip of the palace for several weeks.

  Alexis was waiting for her in the salon. Gea entered and closed the door as she greeted him.

  “You’re late, Princess Gea. And where is Tzedek?”

  “That’s why I’m late. Tzedek isn’t going to be here.”

  “Oh,” answered Alexis disappointedly. “Should we postpone the practice?”

  “No, on the contrary, Tzedek has given permission for us to practice unsupervised, he wants me to ‘practice and keep in shape,’ in his own words. He says it isn’t necessary for him to be at the practices.”

  “Good! Then let’s not waste any more time.”

  Gea took her water bottle from her belt, drank a little fruit juice and left it in the corner. They approached the center of the room and did the protocol salute before starting the fight.

  Gea’s responses were instantaneous and he could no longer approach her or penetrate her guard like he could at the beginning. But the princess could not get through her coach’s defenses or win easily. They ended in a draw most of the time.

  After twenty minutes of intense combat, they were both tired, but Tzedek made her practice at least half an hour every day. Gea hooked her trainer’s sword with his and it suddenly flew through the air. Alexis staggered back in surprise and she took advantage of this and pushed with a sword stroke to the chest. He fell, flat on his back, groping to try to find the sword he’d lost, but she jumped on him and rested her sword against his neck, barely separated by Alexis’ arms which served as a shield. He stayed still, his face less than six inches from Gea’s, blue eyes against green eyes, both panting and sweating profusely. Finally, he relaxed his arms and her face moved closer to his. He thought about lowering Gea’s guard to trip her up and get he
r off of him, but she suddenly gave him a brief kiss on the lips. Alexis’s eyes widened like a fawn before a hunter. Was this a trap? Was she toying with him? His heartrate doubled, so hard he could feel it beating in his own ears. If her father found out about this, he could lose his job and maybe his head. And worse, it could affect his reputation. She kept looking at him from a few inches away for what seemed like hours, but it must have been just a couple of seconds. Her aroma. Her face. Her eyes.

  “To hell with it,” Alexis thought, and he gently returned the kiss. This time it was a little longer and she smiled. She sat up suddenly, and pointing to the sword that was a few feet away, said:

  “Practice isn’t over yet.”

  “Princess, I don’t think I can serve you as a training dummy anymore.”

  “Nonsense, I need to keep fit and there is no one better than you.”

  “In that case...I’d like to get something out of my head, otherwise I won’t be able to concentrate.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “Princess Gea, can we see each other outside of here? Whenever you want, maybe tonight. I know a place I think you might like...”

  Gea laughed but then got serious. She was aware that Alexis was attracted to her, but she couldn’t deny that she’d made innuendos more than once. It had been decades since she’d had a partner, and this man was magnificent, both biologically and mentally. She knew she was constantly under a magnifying glass, so she had to be careful. Any kind of relationship she tried to have would be torn apart by her father if she didn’t have his immediate approval. But she couldn’t think of any reason her father would be bothered by Alexis. He was from a good family, the best in what he did, he knew her well, he respected her, and he was so handsome. What more could she ask for?

  “Tonight my father will be waiting for me, but I’ll think something up so we can see each other tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Is it too soon?”

  “How many centuries are there until tomorrow? I’ll have to train the whole time so I won’t go crazy waiting.”

  “Save some energy for taking me for a walk.”

  “I will, then.”

  The last minutes of the fight were the most intense ever of their training.

  GEA’S JEWELS

  Rho, December 2, 2027. 12:30 p.m.

  Althaea and Sofía tried to wake him up. Juan Carlos sat up suddenly. Maybe he should have listened to Raquel and left the matter alone.

  It was too late now. He looked at Althaea and Sofía and smiled.

  “Oh, daughter,” he said sadly, hugging Sofía.

  “I’m very worried, Dad.”

  “Don’t worry, Gea, everything is going to be okay.”

  Sofía tensed up and broke away from him. She looked her father in the face and jumped back with a yell. They could both see that his right eye had changed to light green.

  “Juan Carlos is completely disoriented, but as time goes on, there is less and less of him and more of Tzedek,” Raquel said.

  “Oh, you, what a bitch you turned out to be,” Juan Carlos snapped, looking at Althaea. He was completely disgusted. How could he have fallen so easily? It was obvious everything had been too fast.

  Althaea blushed.

  “What are you talking about?” Sofía asked.

  Althaea sighed. She and Damaris looked at each other.

  “My father ordered me to seduce you. But our feelings were sincere. We aren’t prostitutes, nor are we Tzedek’s slaves. If we hadn’t liked you to begin with, we wouldn’t have followed his orders. I liked Juan Carlos and I still like him. More than that, I want him. In human terms, I can say that I love him.”

  “How many others have you said that to?” he said, furious. All he could do was repeat over and over how stupid he’d been.

  “Juan Carlos, for Tzedek it may have all been a deception, but for me it wasn’t. Don’t torture yourself. I’m not fooling you,” Althaea assured him, touching his shoulder. He moved away from her touch.

  Sofía looked at Damaris in horror.

  “Sofía, you know I didn’t lie to you,” she heard in her mind, as Damaris approached her.

  Sofía put her hand up to keep her away.

  “Stop. We’ll talk about this later, but right now we have something more urgent...you two...” she said, looking at both of them and pointing to her father, “I need to know how to fix this. As much as I searched, I couldn’t find anything that helps.”

  “There was someone who knew more than anybody how to fix this. Gea had to confront problems like this, and worse, in her life. Maybe some of her memories are stored in her jewels,” Damaris offered.

  “Gea’s jewels were dangerous,” Althaea stated, a little doubtfully. “Besides, the memories might be there and they might not, you know no one could use them after her.”

  “If anyone can use them, it’s Sofía. Have you ever known of anyone else who had the power of projection that she has, after Gea?” demanded Damaris.

  Althaea was quiet for a moment. Then she admitted: “Not really.”

  “It doesn’t hurt to try,” Damaris commented.

  Althaea sighed.

  “Maybe not you, but it could be dangerous for Sofía. The bad thing is I don’t see any other alternative.” She paused. “Okay, let’s do it. We have to go to the Control Center. Juan Carlos, stay here resting, while we see if we can figure out something to stop this.”

  “Sofía, the jewels...” Juan Carlos started to say, but suddenly he frowned and couldn’t continue talking.

  “Dad?”

  Juan Carlos bent his head and they could see how his hair was literally turning white on his right temple, towards the back.

  Sofía covered her mouth to stifle an exclamation.

  “We have to do something!”

  “I’m afraid we’re out of time,” Raquel said.

  “Sofía, don’t use them. No...no...yes of course you must use them. They’ll help you,” Juan Carlos stammered, with a visible effort, until finally he threw back his head and stopped trying.

  They waited a minute and since he couldn’t say anything more, they just made him comfortable. Althaea, Damaris, and Sofía headed to the Control Center, while Raquel stayed to watch him.

  WALK THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE

  Atlantis, Year 2 of the Interim Reign of Tzedek

  The next day, Alexis went by the palace before sunset. He announced himself, asked if he could see Princess Gea and armed himself with patience when he was ordered to wait. He had to take a deep breath, because his heart was beating out of his chest from nerves. What the hell was he doing? Gea was driving him crazy. He was walking into the lion’s den. They were going to check out his entire life down to the smallest detail, if they hadn’t already. Not just his life, but for sure his family’s, too, and all of his ancestors. He didn’t have anything to hide, but if he became a nuisance they could always make something up or blame it on some unknown relative. He knew how palace machinations worked and he didn’t want to be part of that. On the other hand, he was getting involved with the princess, and probably future queen. Again, what the hell was he doing? Wouldn’t he be better off to take a cold shower and forget about it?

  A few minutes later, Gea came out wearing a gala gown. If Alexis was nervous, now, in the princess’ sight, it would be impossible to calm down. She was wearing a white gown that only went to her knees, fastened over her left shoulder, leaving the right one and part of her back bare, so that underneath he could see the white sash that encircled her chest. The toga was cinched around the waist with a utilitarian belt. Forget about her? Only a corpse could forget that vision.

  “Princess, for a minute I was afraid Tzedek was coming out with some guards to throw me out of the kingdom.”

  “My father doesn’t get involved with my love life. Except, of course, if he thinks it’s beneath a princess,” she lamented with a bitter grimace, “so you needn’t worry. On the other hand, try to forget I’m a princess
. Outside of the palace, call me Gea or you’ll see how mad I really get.”

  “Very well. The dress looks fantastic on you. Do you realize it’s the first time I haven’t seen you dressed in armor? I regret not being a poet because I recognize the awkwardness of my words. You are beautiful and...I don’t know how to express it.”

  “Poetry isn’t my thing, Alexis. Your words and your gaze are enough for me.”

  “Are you ready to go, then?”

  “And may I know where we’re going?”

  “First, I want to give you a little gift.”

  He gave Gea a small bag that he was carrying on his belt.

  “What is this?”

  “Something I thought you could use...”

  Gea untied the knot on the little bag and inside found a complicated twisted leather double loop.

  “Hmm, I’ll ask again, what is this?”

  “In our fight yesterday, I noticed that the same thing that happened to me could have happened to you, so I got this knot for both of us to use. This part goes over your wrist. This other is tied to the hilt of the sword and the strip goes over the back of your hand so as not to hinder your grip. Even when they hit you directly in the hand, the sword will not go flying. Worst case scenario, it will be loose, but then you can get it back if you have use of your hand or the other hand if necessary. It goes on and off very easily, with a movement of the wrist, see? But it won’t come off accidentally. The point is that you won’t lose your sword. I designed it myself.”

  Gea smiled appreciatively, came up and gave him a kiss.

  “A thoughtful gift. That you very much, Alexis.”

  Alexis blushed, but was pleased. He quickly changed the subject.

  “Shall we go?”

  “Where?”

  “Come with me and it will be a surprise...Gea,” he invited her, offering her his hand.