Log 1 Matter | Antimatter (15 page)

Tricia pulled her off the chair and they
headed back down past her room then Marc’s, Ashley and Henry’s, and
finally to Sacha’s end room, which was a lovely, warm room filled
with deep reds and dark wood furnishings. Ersen, Meg, and Gralten
were all on the bottom floor close to Mum and Dad’s end room. They
sat on the thick floor rugs since Sacha preferred wood floors. As
usual, everything was tidy, even her study nook.

As Sacha explained Virgo, Ara’s mouth dropped
open. She squeaked, saying, “It’s losing your virginity?”

“Yes, Ara. It’s followed by all Pure-Gens,
first and second generations, their households and families like us
that live on their planets. Other Inferors have their own
traditions. What we follow is close to the Pure-Gen way and the
most common way to lose virginity across all the races, but ages
vary. When you are old enough you will spend time with us females,
while your handsome man will be with the males—”

“What if I like girls?” Ara thought about one
of her female teachers who was married to a female model.

Sacha blushed and her voice was unnaturally
high. “Um, I’m not sure. I never really thought about it.”

Ara disapproved. Sacha was a nice flirt, or
so she had overheard one day, but always reading romance novels of
the male hero and feeble female kind. Boring!

Even Tricia shrugged. “I heard that they
still spend time with the males. I’m sure it’s the non-relation
that goes to the male side but I can’t remember why and I think it
doesn’t have anything to do with the sex or gender of a
person.”

“But what if I spent half the day with girls
and then the other half with boys, wouldn’t that be better?” Ara
decided that was better, and more fun. “It’s more efficient that
way.”

Sacha cringed. “Where was I? For the sake of
making it through this discussion, let’s say you will spend time,
all day—”

“That’s a waste of a whole day!”

“Ara, your efficiency monitoring is getting
on everyone’s nerves a little.”

She looked at each of them, her eyebrows
raised. “Is it?”

“Yes. We’ve tried hinting but that doesn’t
work with you does it?” Sacha asked.

“No.” Ara thought about the comments now, it
made more sense but she had categorized it as “Inferor Quirks”. The
times she’d spent in the palace, which were more frequent of late,
showed her those more like her were blunter.

“Ara, when I have Virgo—” Sacha winked at
Tricia “—I’d like you to waste that whole day with me.”

Ara smiled then, pitched her voice to the
correct frequency, and lied. “I would like that.”

Sacha beamed at her.

When they returned, Ara concentrated on her
dessert avoiding Ashley’s dark blue eyes and Henry’s green ones,
both beseeching her. She was a little hurt over Marc’s yelling that
she should be sent to her room. That night, she confided in Korbet
after he barely managed a mental,
“Honeybee, I’m…”

She said, cutting him off,
“I raised
Virgo, the land vehicle, at the dinner table because it was an
efficient use of our time, but they were all upset and then I found
out Virgo is also to do with sex and they were all like, ‘Ara, go
to your room.’ I still think it’s mean imprisoning children. But
I’m nine now.”

He said with a smile in his mind,
“Will
you still have six hundred children?”

“
No, a few hundred. Six hundred is not an
efficient use of my time.”

He was laughing again.
“You’ll be
registering a lot of Virgo then?”

“
What! No! Oh, for them, I guess … does
Virgo have to be registered?”

“
With the Planet of Law. I’m friends with
the lawyer who looks after all matters pertaining to the sexual
activities of Aryans. It might come in handy for you—”

She said indignantly,
“You’re teasing
me!”

“
Just a little, honeybee. I have to go,
I’m in the middle of—”

“
A meeting, I know.”

“
Lunch, actually, but with friends.
Bye.”

“
Bye.”

Her door opened revealing Ashely and Henry
sneaking around in the dark. She yawned. “It’s boring. Virgo is
about losing your virginity.”

“What’s that?” Henry asked in the darkness of
her room.

Ara shrugged. “Don’t know exactly but it has
something to do with sex.”

After Ashley and Henry left her room,
nattering away to each other, Ara lay down, still unhappy.

***

A few weeks later, Marc caught up with her on
the dirt track heading down to the valley, the Katron Ranges were
on his right. The tall trees kept it cool and her feet made little
noise over the damp leaves lying on the path. She walked while he
was on horseback. He’d seen her leave and her little face looked
decidedly unhappy. “Ara, wait up!”

She turned, shoulders slumped, and watched
him. He linked to her mind as she struggled to raise her lips for a
smile. He frowned a little and slid off his new black and white
horse, Whack. “What have you been doing lately? I’ve hardly seen
you.”

She shrugged and patted Whack’s head, he was
grinding on the bit. “Studying, playing with Tek.”

He draped an arm around her and they started
walking. Whack trailed behind and swished his tail. Marc said,
“You’re angry at me.”

“No.”

“Hurt then, over what?”

He stopped and turned her but she averted her
face and a hand brushed something away from her cheek. “Hey, what’s
with the tears?”

“Nothing, I’m being silly.”

“You’re rarely silly, Ara. Or quiet.” He
teased but studied her face as she glanced around seeking to change
the topic. He knew that she felt awkward. She wasn’t very good at
things like this.

“Was it the whole Virgo thing?”

She shrugged.

“Ara, I overreacted because Tricia raised it
the day before the dinner and I panicked.”

She studied his face now, worried for him.
But the truth was he had been embarrassed because he had been
thinking of Jamie, not Tricia. She hadn’t picked up on that stray
thought and he had to be careful. Ara hadn’t actually met her
guards; she had just ordered them about. Ara’s face turned sharp as
she tried to calculate something.

“But you’re only one hundred and thirty-three
calculating the age Maya has given”—Marc started at that—“and your
recent birthday. So, she’s older?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, she’s ready?”

“Virgo is rarely conducted with the one you
love. They must be mature and experienced, caring … I don’t
know.”

From her stubborn look, Ara didn’t
understand. He saw her confusion but, in truth, he was as confused
as she was. He wasn’t really that young, but locked into a biosuit
made inside the Cardinal Unit. They all were. Pen, Terance, Sacha,
and Ersen, to trick Maya. However, his younger siblings weren’t
Aether enough and had actual bodies. The matter in this region of
space bonded with their embryos and because Aryans were too close
to the Core they were not what they were supposed to be. Marc had
seen research from those trying to determine what the Aryan would
have been without the matter heavy and high-energy properties. The
test results were unclear.

“I’m worried she may look at me differently
afterwards.”

“Oh. I suck at this.”

“We know.” But he was teasing her. “Tricia
wants to invite you too. She thought it might help you understand.
It’s common for young ones to watch.”

She screwed up her face. “So, I’d have to
spend all day with giggling females, and then watch Tricia do it
with others looking on behind a trellis?”

“Horrible, I know.”

She glanced up, startled, and saw his grin.
“Marc!”

“Ara, you’ll come to realize people will
generally react based on their own perceptions and experiences,
things that have happened to them in the past or present making
them feel vulnerable, and when locked in those perceptions it is
hard to see beyond.”

“You create your own castle walls and
turrets?”

“Good analogy. And mostly we’ll climb the
turrets to see over the walls but often not.”

Ara glanced at him and then asked, “Marc,
will I cause the release of antimatter, killing billions?”

Shocked, Marc turned her so forcefully he saw
he had frightened her at first. He gripped her shoulders. “No, no.
Shit, Ara. You heard that from somewhere?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Marc couldn’t break through her barriers when
he sensed she hedged. He was so distraught that Ara seemed to
believe him. “You are connected somehow to the Cardinal Unit, and
there is some purpose, but you are not and will never be
responsible for killing people. That decision is not yours to make.
How long have you worried about that?”

“Just a little bit.”

He hugged her tight. “Come on. Let’s go
home.” He felt a strange buzz at the words “go home” and saw Ara’s
eyes widen. “What was that?” he asked.

“Ah, I don’t know.”

Marc studied her for a moment before resuming
their walk. Ara cheered up a little after their talk, and rode
behind him on the way home with her head resting on his back. Marc
missed Aven, his real sister, but they had been angry with each
other for a long time. Mostly it was to do with Ara, but in Marc’s
mind Aven’s hatred went deeper than their division over his charge.
There was something else about Ara that Aven detested. He knew he
should mention that to Jamie as well but Aven wouldn’t hurt Ara.
Would she? Besides, Aven was working with them. Her programming was
brilliant and she managed to keep Maya from seeing certain parts
inside the Cardinal Unit. Jamie had benefited from Aven’s
programming over the years too.

Marc saw the homestead ahead, and dropped Ara
off. As he watched her climb the steps along the side of their
home, he turned Whack around and rode to visit Jamie. He decided to
tell Jamie, not about what happened between him and Aven, but that
Aven hated Ara. What Jamie did with that was his business. But
inside, Marc felt he was betraying Aven somehow. He gritted his
teeth and nudged Whack into a trot.

Ara brushed her teeth as she thought of Marc
and their talk. He seemed sad but she couldn’t get past his public
mind. She wanted him to be able to talk to her like she could with
him. Her mind and heart were a little easier now but it still
disturbed her that somehow she was linked to genocide. Sleep came
easily and she dreamed of Trickster that same night.

Aryan Dream – Le Planae

She was in a hot, sticky, wet jungle. Around
her insects hummed and clicked. There was a buzzing all around her
close to the ground. Trickster popped out from a dense population
of tall palms sweat dripping down his smooth brown chest.

“Where are we?”

“A jungle habitat.” His feet were bare and he
wore a cloth, covering his penis, attached to a leather thong tied
around his waist.

Did he think she was stupid? “Why are you
dressed like that—” she squealed as a large insect landed on her
arm with razor sharp pinchers ready to dig into her flesh. She
wildly shook her arm and jumped around.

He calmly brushed the green critter off and
looked down at his clothes. “I’m Tuan, from the Hurun Clan.”

“What’s that?” she asked, trying to recover
some dignity, and pointed to his axe, not really caring about his
clan. He never seemed to mind her blunt and rude ways.

Trickster lifted it. “A tomahawk. I made it.”
He straightened his arm and offered it to her.

Ara took it and was surprised it wasn’t
heavy; she studied the dark metal and bindings. Sweat dripped down
her back and the bindings were feeling sticky from the heat. She
stared at the green insect heading for Trickster’s foot thinking to
chop off its head.

“Come.” He turned and strode away.

“Wait!” She ran after him as he moved quickly
and quietly through some bushy trees with trunks covered with moss.
She had to climb over strange, thick, bright green vines that
intertwined and looked like a weird snake. There were crawly things
too that had made a home in the gaps in the vines. Everything
smelled damp and water droplets fell from the leaves to land on her
head. Ara complained loudly and stopped to pull a long caterpillar
thing out of her hair.

“Come.” His voice was quiet but commanding as
he disappeared into a thick mass of tangled trees, vines, and
undergrowth.

She stamped her foot, squishing some bugs
with her bare feet. The crunching noise and hot liquid moving
through her toes made her squeal again. “Oooh! Trickster!”

His face appeared through the mass of green
and he parted the bushes for her. Ara walked over to him, trying to
drag her foot over the grassy ground to wipe off the gooey remains
of the bug. She shoved herself through the foliage and past him
into a clearing. There was a woven mat and blanket, a jug of water,
tools near a fire pit, and two cups. Next to those was a long box
of deep reds, with markings.

“Do you live here?” Her eyes locked on to the
box.

“No.”

“What are you doing here then?” Ara knew her
questions could get annoying and Trickster didn’t seem to like to
talk, but he didn’t get annoyed either. She wanted to ask about the
box but thought that might be rude.

“Hunting.”

“I don’t like hunting.” One of the kings on
Saratoga was always hunting and Caleb liked to talk about it. She
looked again at the weapon. The tomahawk blade was a dark red
metal, the feather brown. Ara ran her fingers along the feather.
“Is this from your wings?”

“Yes.”

She handed back his tomahawk and, even though
she liked the roping texture around the handle, the feather, and
the dark metal, she didn’t want to say that. She hoped Trickster
didn’t mention the green insect she had considered beheading.