A New Divide (Science Fiction) (18 page)

              "Mmm. My god."

              "Good, heh?"

              "Brings back the memories. This right here, is the best sandwich of my life."

              Virgil and I sat on the boardwalk, shoveling down our delicious food, at the restaurant where my father had taken us after the first time I had arrived in Arcadia fifteen years ago. It was a pinnacle that would forever remain sacred in my diverse collection of memories.

              I burped loudly and Virgil gave me a strange look as he lit up a cigarette. "What?" I asked.

              "You haven't changed one bit since you were a kid. Look at you licking your fingers."

              "I'm serious, I might have seconds. Hey. Just one second, Virgil," I said as I snatched his lit cigarette away from him.

              "Boy, I swear."

              "Relax, Virgil, I know you have extras."

              "I'll relax after I'm done beatin' you senseless, kid."

              We laughed and Virgil lit up another cigarette. We sat in silence for a moment, and after my smile had faded I asked him a question. I had been curious for so long, I wanted to know.

              "Virgil?"

              "Yeah, kid?"

              "How do you know Commander Wyman and President Harris?"

              He took a puff of his cigarette in an attempt to get comfortable. He then leaned back in his chair, and ran his hands through his grey hair, as he spoke.

              "We go way back; long ago, all
four
of us were in the GDR's first recon. We were soldiers."

              "You were a soldier for the GDR? Jesus, how long ago was this?"

              "I have always been a soldier, kid. And this was over four hundred years ago, and over a thousand years after we departed from Earth."

              I rubbed my head and picked at his brain again.

              "You are so old that you have lived to see our relative time change twice. You really are a dinosaur, so old, you are so damned old."

              "Are you done? You little prick?"

              "Hell no, you intrigued me. You said there were four of you though. Who was the other?"

              "He was the most interesting, righteous, and most intelligent man I imagine that I will ever meet. He once told me that
a picture can paint a thousand words but the right words can paint a thousand pictures.
He really had a way of putting things in perspective. Mark modeled his leadership ideals off of him. I can't even remember his name, but I remember what he did. Things change and sometimes the people do too."

              "Why have you never told me about this?"

              "Damned brats, you always want to know the 'why' of things. Repression is a very powerful tool, kid. I used that tool to survive; I hope that you never have to do the same. We had the opportunity to create something, something new, and beautiful and revolutionary, to humanity, and . . . it all just went to shit. I can never talk to David again after he rejoined the GDR."

              "What happened? What was it?"

              Virgil rubbed his head in frustration and then shook his head. I now knew that he had a secret that he was not ready to share with me. "I don't remember, no, I don't wanna remember. I had to forget it, and I think that's one of the reasons I am still alive. I got bad things coming to me, so I'll carry that burden until it comes round. For now I'm going to focus on helping you out. I do have a promise to keep, after all."

              We sat in silence for a few moments while we slowly smoked our cigarettes.

              "Well, after this is over, after you've fulfilled your promise you keep going on about, I want to help you, Virgil. It's the least I can do. I mean, hell, if it weren't for you I wouldn't even be alive."

              Virgil laughed as he tossed his cigarette into the vaporizing ashtray next to him.

              "Ha-ha, fair enough, kiddo. I think we have a deal." I heard a familiar voice right behind me just then; it was strange, almost like I sensed his presence before he spoke.

              "You know you shouldn't smoke. It's a terrible habit."

              Virgil stopped his attempt to grab his cigarette back from me when he looked over my shoulder, and saw the man who was speaking. Virgil's eyes opened wide, and he slowly melted back into his chair, and he looked shocked.

              "I thought you quit those nasty things, Virgil," the mysterious man said.

              "Well, you know old habits die hard." I took a puff of the cigarette, and turned around to see the man who had addressed us. When I laid my eyes upon him, I didn't recognize him at first. I was puzzled. I knew who he was, but I could not pin it down. My question would be answered when the man, who wore a rough black beard, along with a tattered vest and torn-up jeans, stepped out of the shading of the awning, and into the light of the rising suns.

              "No, it can't be," I said to him.

              "It's been . . . far too long,
my son
." I dropped the cigarette and my jaw in disbelief. I knew this man, his voice, his posture, and composure. My father was alive, and he was standing right before me.


CHAPTER 11 - THE SHOW MUST GO ON

             
The air had accumulated
a certain thickness, and I felt it weigh heavily on my shoulders. I instantly felt uncomfortable. I felt a warm, compassionate stare as we sat there, in silence, for almost a minute. A minute to wrap my head around what had just happened, and then he spoke.

              "I'm so sorry, Collin."

              I slowly stood up and pushed my chair in. The cigarette had rolled to the underside of Virgil's boot. He stomped on it, as he also stood to his feet. He was still in awe at the appearance of this most unlikely guest.

              "Collin, we should talk. You see, I—"

              I took my arm and hooked him as hard as I could in his jaw. He stumbled backwards and fell over a table. It caused quite a commotion at the restaurant. People gasped, and Virgil quickly rushed towards me. He attempted to grab my arm, but I quickly made my way out of the restaurant. I ran, and I ran.

***

[--]

-The Alexandria-

              The skies of Arcadia were swarming with traffic; Mark did not consider, with PGL's ban on the Salaran teams, that attendance for the games had dropped significantly. Therefore, visitors for the opening games were leaving much earlier than expected. This caused an aerial traffic jam at the exit points of the GDR's sector defense network. The ships in the Gannon sky were at such a number that they created clusters that began to cast a shade over the planet.

              So in the meantime our Good Commander decided to pursue other matters. He was aboard the Alexandria coordinating his fleet's position all over the solar system, when the Alexandria's pilot came rushing forward. "Commander Wyman, sir?"

              "Yes, Captain?"

              "We have just received word from Admiral Myers and Admiral Brawn. They have reached their separate destinations, and have begun assisting the locals. No presence of the crusader army has been detected, but they have set up defensive perimeters."

              "I wonder why our old friend Arcoh has been so silent as of late. No matter. Tell them to stand fast, and to begin preparing themselves for the assault fifty-five Gannon days from now."

              "Yes, sir."

              Silas approached Mark with haste as they walked through the halls of the Alexandria. "What's our status on our departure, Vice Admiral?" Mark asked Silas as they entered the bridge. "Well, sir, our warships have left the exosphere and await our arrival past the GDR defense platforms. Thankfully President Harris gave you the security codes for the GDR defense network."

              "Very good. Tell them to make their way to Rayden and Minerva and begin assisting the locals. I have already contacted General Wright and he anticipates our arrival very soon."

              "Very good, sir," Silas said as Mark walked down the main platform of the bridge, and pulled up the command sphere on the lower observation deck.

              "Where is your sister, Silas? She should be helping to take care of this mess, not you."

              "I'm not sure, sir; I haven't seen her since last night," Silas responded as he rubbed his hands through his hair. Mark frowned slightly as he addressed the pilot of his flagship.

              "Captain?"

              "Yes, sir?"

              "Why haven't we been cleared for departure? Our fleet awaits us on Rayden."

              "Well, sir, the Alexandria is just too large to fit through the GDR's channels. The channel director says it's far too risky yet; we may have to wait a while longer until the traffic clears. Otherwise we would be scraping the remains of smaller ships off our hull for months." The pilot's comment frustrated Mark; his glorious flagship was so large, it could not fit through normal channels in the sky. They would have to wait for the GDR to clear a path in between the massive space platforms in the outer atmosphere. Even with the GDR defense codes in his brain, they were still stuck.

              "Very well. Contact me as soon as we get the green light."

              "Yes, Commander."

              He turned to Silas, who looked confused. "Silas, find your sister. An ambassador cannot do a general's job."

              "Yes, sir, I will do my best."

              Mark tapped his temple and activated his transmitter. He walked up to the railing and looked down at the bustling city several hundred kilometers below, which was coated in gold from the rising suns. Mark watched as a storm was rolling from the northern continent of snowcapped mountains down onto the incredibly massive city. "Virgil, do you read me?"

"What's up, boss?" Virgil asked after a short silence.

              "We are preparing to depart." Virgil sat at the same restaurant table staring out at the ocean, the sunlight glimmering in his eyes. He tapped his hand on the table and leaned back into the chair. "I might need your help with that one, partna."

              "What's the problem?" Virgil sighed as he flipped his sunglasses over his eyes, and lit up another cigarette, looking out at the storm clouds that were filling the distant horizon. "Well, something very unexpected happened."

              "Is he all right?"

              "Yeah, he's fine physically, but emotionally not so much." Mark sighed as he calmly rubbed his forehead.

              "Virgil, can you please tell me what is going on?"

              "Kid's father showed up. Collin decked him and ran off, then he ran after him. So I'm sure they are having a heart-to-heart talk. Knowing Collin he probably won't listen, he'll just run, and run. Arcadia is a big place, brother."

              Mark stood at the floor-to-ceiling windshield of the Alexandria for a moment before he summoned a bridge technician over to him. "Well, Virgil, grab your airship. We'll track his bio energy signature and find him in a heartbeat."

              "Sounds good, boss man."

              Virgil deactivated his transponder and placed a ridiculous amount of credits on the table to compensate for our food, and the slight damage I had caused to the restaurant. Then he quickly darted off to his airship in an effort to discover where I had run off to.

***

             
I ran faster
than I think I ever ran in my life that day. Even more so than when I was in the PGL training camp, and believe me, that is
really
saying something. Our histories certainly have a way of catching up with us. His arrival, and my reaction to it, caused this "chain reaction" in my brain. My emotions solidified, and through it came my internal voice of reason, after I had run down the boardwalk to where the rocky wall ended, and those white beaches began. There, I rolled up my sleeves, and I sat in the sand. I wiggled my toes through its soft, and soothing surface. It was the rocky shoreline that lined up against the only unoccupied surface of Gannon, Gannon Mountain Park. It was a nature reserve the size of a continent that stretched from the city limits of Arcadia, and it encompassed the north pole.

              The mountains were sprawling with wildlife and vegetation the first colonists had planted in the initial attempt to terraform this world, and the many others like it. After the colonists had terraformed the planet they found they had to leave vast sections of wilderness, in order to regulate the oxygen, for it is not man-made creations that balance an atmosphere; it is the living things. The coastline was undisturbed and I was, again, alone with my thoughts.

              I stared at my tattoos, my ever-changing tattoos. I started to see the resemblance between them, and myself, my constantly changing emotions and circumstances. It was a pattern, the tattoos reacted with how I felt. I never noticed because, ever since the first time I saw them, I had wanted to cover them up with my vast selection of jackets, and thin long-sleeve shirts. I was afraid of being judged, for being different. My time spent with my new friends showed me how foolish this idea was, but the thought of it still intimidated me; the incredible burden I had to bear if Eden found out.

              I pondered the significance of my future to the background of the massive green mountain ranges behind me. Like Cyrus said: it will all come, with the discipline of time.

              Just then I heard my father's voice. I glanced over my shoulder, saw him running across the beach, and straight towards me. "Collin! Collin!"

              I could not have cared less to hear his words; nothing he could say would make me feel differently about everything that happened between us. Then I thought that maybe talking to him could give me just a little peace of mind. In that moment my pride would make me turn back to the first option. I convinced myself that I did not care; I continued to stare out at the ocean as he ran up beside me. I could hear his heavy panting, as he stopped next to me, leaning on his knees to catch his breath.

              "Whew! So you finally decided to stop running, huh?" I remained silent as I stared away from him, squinting, as the sunlight was damn near blinding me. My father sighed, and plopped down on the sand behind me. We didn't speak a word to each other at first.

              I think it really surprised him that I decided to break it. Funny how stubborn we both were. "How the hell did you find me?"

              He scooted up towards me, as the storm clouds slowly began to cover the city in the distance. I could see the lighting crashing down from the heavens, and the thunder echoed across the white beach.

              "All of Eden knows that you are here on this world, Collin. That's all that they've been talking about. You should have seen the news. Collin King, lone survivor of the Rayden Comets, retires. They are calling it the end of an era. You've created something, a legacy, something that will last forever. Collin, my boy, you must utilize that."

              "Is that why you decided to look for me? Do you want to cash in on your son after all these years?"

              "Of course not! But damn it. You are right. I am sorry I left. You must understand it was always for the better. My god, look at you, all that you achieved after I left. Son, what has happened to our people?" I got very angry when he asked that. I was already infuriated. What other reason would he have to come see me, than for help for himself?

              He should have been there to see it himself. So I spared him the actual events, and gave him a short version. "They took everything, they killed everyone. I only lived because of what I am, but I suppose you already knew that, didn't you?"

              I raised my forearm to him, and he gazed at my colorful morphing skin imprints before my wrists. We sat in silence yet again for another few minutes. The storm was rolling across the horizon and it began to stir up the ocean. The lightning strikes could be seen far in the distance, but it began to grow more sporadic, as did the many echoes of thunder.

              My father diverted the question; he was clearly not ready to answer, and changed the subject. "You know this planet here is more like Mother Earth than any other planet we have discovered. They say it is practically identical. When we first arrived here, much blood was shed over which nation would inherit it as a new home. Funny how hard we will always try to hold onto our same traditions instead of adapting to change. That's how I knew I would find you there, at that same diner we went to long ago."

              I finally turned to him and looked straight into his eyes. His attempt to change the subject failed, and I restated my question.

              "Why didn't you tell me?" He sighed and stared towards the turbulent sky.

              "Some things are better left unsaid. Some things are just easier to figure out on your own."

              "Is that why you left? So I could figure out my life on my own? You have any idea how that made me feel? You are a bastard."

              "I did it to give you your own life, your own identity. Because of what you are, you had to become your own man, Collin. Take a look at yourself. You are alive. You have created a legacy; all you need to do now is use it. Since you like asking so many damn questions, why don't you ask yourself this? Did you really turn out so bad?"

              I cracked a smile at him and he could not have been more correct. Damn it, I hated him in that moment. I hated him for being so right.

              "I suppose that's why you had Virgil look after me?"

              "Son, you never needed anyone to look after you. You needed somebody to guide you, needed someone to show you the way. That was something I could only do for so long."

              "I still hate you."

              "I know, kid. I know. That's what I want to change. Hopefully in time, you can find it in your heart to forgive me. There is so much I need to tell you, Collin, maybe then you can understand your . . . condition a little more clearly."