The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) 📕

you crossed the fold. You’ve been at the center of all the drama these past three years. SkyTower, the civil war, the Solomon uprising, Salvation, realignment. Stirring the pot doesn’t begin to describe it. If James and Samantha are killed on Hiebimini, and you were suddenly to vanish on Tamarind …” He pointed two index fingers at Michael then shifted them toward the Void. “Who would speak up for you? Who would tell the stories of a brave young couple who fought the prejudice of the mighty Chancellors and changed history? How quickly would the Chancellors erase their memories?

“This is what we are, Michael. But you knew that when you took the uniform. Every reason in the world to hate the Chancellory, but enough idealistic hubris to think you could change us. Maybe even become one of us.”

Aldo was right about all of it. The truth was never farther away than the tip of his nose. But the rage blinded him. The killing distracted him. The camaraderie and the sexual escapes fooled him.

“Why, Aldo? Why are you telling me this?”

He shrugged. “You asked. But remember, while my speculation carries a high probability, it does lack certainty.”

“No. I mean, why warn me of what’s coming? Aren’t you risking your command? I know you want to be part of that invasion, too.”

Aldo responded with a jolly guffaw.

“Want? How delightfully naive. No, Michael. The Admiralty tells its legions what they want, and the rest of us execute their vision. Have you not been paying attention?” He wrapped an arm around Michael like a wizened grandfather. “Yes. I want to return to Hiebimini. I want to know what happened thirty-eight years ago. I want to know about these so-called Jewels of Eternity. I took this command rather than evacuating Tamarind because it gave me the inside track. But truth be told, I’m about as likely to see Hiebimini as you.”

Maya’s words cut through Michael’s fleeting desperation. “You two will be reunited,” she said. “There is no force that will come between you, even though many will try. Some paths are unshakeable.”

In an instant, he saw the path.

“Aldo, if there was a way for both of us to get what we want, would you consider it?”

Aldo smirked as if bemused.

“I’m five months away from fifty years of service. If I’m still banging about, they’ll give me a medal. Are you going to suggest some insane notion that will put my medal at risk?”

“Insane is probably a good description. Yes.”

“Let’s see now. They called me insane when I claimed the Fall of Hiebimini was the result of an alien attack. They called me insane again when I walked away from my second turn at Admiral to run this dreadful facility. Therefore, I must be insane. Do you concur?”

Michael avoided a smile. This might yet be a Chancellor trap.

“Yes, sir. It does appear you’re insane. I think we both are.”

“OK then.” Aldo stood erect and offered Michael a side-nod. “Thank you for clarifying matters, Lt. Cooper.”

Michael reciprocated the salute. “Anytime, Cm. Cabrise.”

“Best we return to our duties now. I assume your admin stack is fully accessible?”

“It is, sir.”

“Good to know, Lieutenant.” He tapped his right temple twice.

Michael did the same then dared to hope.

27

JaRa, Aeterna

1 day after inauguration

 

S AM SLEPT ON A PILLOW inundated with her tears. She couldn’t count how often she awoke during the night, the ferocity of Brother James’s voice tearing at her soul. Twice, he showed her his light, and twice she saw past the monstrous exterior and into his heart. She wanted to love him when he commanded the crowd at Inauguration and boasted like a visionary who would change the universe. But another voice whispered from light-years away until she uttered his name for the first time in months. “Michael.” Sam long assumed she’d break down if she let him back in. She wasn’t wrong.

She wound herself into a tight knot, having kicked the sheets off the bed overnight. Though the sun was long up, casting beams through the skylights, and many voices outside her habitat indicated the young city was alive, Sam saw no reason to move.

“Here you are,” Rosa Marteen said, cheery and gracious as she set a container on the bedside table. The thirteen-year-old immortal, who accompanied Sam on her diplomatic meeting, arrived at the same time as the previous three days. “We harvested the first melons yesterday. I filled your cantaloupe with pomegranate seeds. You need the energy, Samantha.”

From her self-imposed cocoon, Sam saw a tall glass of orange juice, its color deep, laced with pulp.

“Thank you, Rosa, but I’m no use to anyone.”

“This is your fourth day, and everyone in JaRa works. I think they tried to be patient. Eat first then come with me, Sam. You can’t stay in here if you don’t earn your keep.”

“Is that an order?”

“Yes. Miguel said it came straight from Admiral Valentin.”

She’d seen little of Col. Miguel Lennox, who piloted Sam to the diplomatic meeting. Rosa continued:

“Miguel said you could work with my team today.”

“Which is?”

“Food preparation. Every day, we see something new from the gardens or the orchards, and we’re learning how to process, preserve, and cook. The work is hard. We have seven hundred mouths to feed, so everyone must contribute.”

Sam thought about James’s words the day before, and a condescending notion popped into her mind.

“Women in the kitchen, huh?”

    “I don’t know what you mean.” She handed Sam the orange juice. “Here. Sit up.”

She felt like a fool. “Sorry. I know everyone rotates assignments.”

“That’s the goal. We become experts in how to manage every aspect of our society. No specializations.”

“Right.” Sam remembered a few bits she learned the first two days here, before the madness of Inauguration took over. “‘You have