Resolution

by Douglas E Roff

  Vera was confused. “He did what?” Hannah gave her the ‘our cheating fuck face asshole fucked the Demon Whore’ look.

  Vera turned on a dime, “No you didn’t. Swear to me Hannah is wrong. You couldn’t. You wouldn’t.”

  Adam was silent.

  Hannah said, “Listen up here Adam because I will only say this once. Under Nabataean law, I can rid you of being my husband at any time simply by informing the King, who by the way, is still furious with you. Vera shall make up her own mind, but I will consider this as best I can. But hear me when I say, I will never forgive you for this and our days of union and congress are over. I shall inform the King in the morning of my decision. Do not, I repeat, do not contact me or speak to me in any way. You are dead to me.”

  With that she walked off. Vera did not.

  Misti said, “I’ll follow her and do my best to even her temper. I promise nothing, Chosen One,” she said with derision.

  Noki looked at Adam, then said, “I shall need to know everything soon but not now. Then I’ll follow Misti and attempt to talk to Hannah. She is hurt, and not without cause, no matter what you accomplished or how much you thought yours was the best way. At times, you are selfish and unkind to those who love you the most. I have no doubt that your arrogance figures into this in a big way.”

  Noki looked at Adam. “With this woman in our midst now, things are probably worse than even I thought. It may not, however, be beyond repair though I cannot guarantee it.”

  Vera sat alone on a couch facing Adam.

  “I am not angry with you Adam; I never can be. Not because of anything you have ever done for me or for position or status. It is because of the burden you bear, the things you must do. I have dared to go into those parts of your mind forbidden to others, but I have found my way in. I do not know whether this was happenstance, or you allowed this to be. It does not matter which. It does seem as though I would be last to find that entrance but, instead, I was the first. I believe it is because you allowed me to, allowed me to know those parts others would never understand, not Misti, not Noki nor Kendra. But me and me alone.”

  Vera paused.

  “I know your darkness as you know my own and none of it is to be understood, examined or forgiven. We both know that. It simply is; there is no other explanation needed. Are we in agreement?”

  “We are. I did choose you, which leads us to my announcement today. Not a happy occasion but necessary for the future of what we must accomplish. I have no knowledge to give, only belief and reason to share. If you agree, we will have much to do together as we always have; one in the shadow, one in the light. It must be so until you are revealed.”

  “You’re are both a prince and a demon, though never a demon to those you love. Not intentionally. I know without knowing that what you did, you did for all of us, including those who have never known you or ever will. I understand that. Better than Hannah, who cannot comprehend your sacrifices and the small indiscretions you sometimes commit. I understand much more fully than Misti ever can, that you are flawed and, in many cases, terribly so. You do not require my understanding or forgiveness; that you already have. You will do much greater evil before we are done if knowledge becomes certainty. Great evil. I could nor bear this burden, but you can, you must and you will.”

  Adam, sad at hearing this stinging honesty, especially from Vera, was touched. He hated the thought that he’d lost Hannah. He hoped he would not now lose Vera too.

  Adam said, “You are kind. I have done something you may not be able to forgive but not without purpose. And I admit I knew when I was taking this action that Hannah would be inconsolable. I did it anyway because it had to be done. I thought you also might never understand or forgive me; you, in particular, who was given as a toy to a monster. I guess in that, I was wrong too. I did not expect to happen what happened. Please, I beg you to join with me in union, to see everything that happened from beginning to end. If you do not wish to ever see me again after that, I will honor your demand. But at least try to understand why I did what I did. If having pleasure in the undertaking was wrong, if trying to understand my adversary using any artifice was wrong, then send me away. If desiring a future with me is wrong, then just say so and I we will part forever. But do not believe I did this because I am selfish and sought only hedonistic pleasure for its own sake. That is false. But you will judge my actions and thoughts and decide for yourself.”

  Vera said simply, “Come to me and enter my mind. Then we shall both know the truth.”

  ***

  Vera and Adam were in mind union for several hours; Noki, Misti and Hannah began to wonder. About what, exactly, they did not know, except they expected the conversation between the two to be short, direct and acrimonious. Apparently, it was not.

  When the three peeked insides, they saw Adam and Vera in union though not physically. The door opening interrupted the commune.

  Vera looked peeved at the interruption, though strangely not with Adam. She asked, “What do you three want? To assure yourselves of some arrogant need to protect of the weak and fragile Vera?”

  “No, we were only concerned …”

  “That what?” Vera’s tone was uncharacteristically defiant and even angry. “If you have something to say, say it and leave. Better yet, Adam and I will move to his quarters. I warn you all, however, do not interrupt us again.”

  Hannah asked, in a mousy tone never heard from her before, “When will you be done?”

  Vera, not yet free of her hostility, said, “We will be done when we are done and not before. Make yourselves useful and tell both Kendra and Alana that our schedules have changed. Adam will visit when he is ready, and I permit him to leave. Until then, all of you get lost and prepare your words of apology and contrition. They should be appropriate and you, Hannah Parker, will be most in need of forgiveness.”

  “But …”

  “Leave before you piss me off any further. In two hours send the little one to Adam’s quarters. We will need her then.”

  ***

  Confounded as they were, they left. Each felt differently and although they each spoke to Alana, she said little and only smiled. Alana told Kendra that she would need to be in Adam’s quarters in less than two hours. Hannah would return to her quarters but wished to return to speak again with Alana to allay her confusion. Alana assured her that within hours, it would not be necessary.

  Hannah was adrift in her thoughts and mind. Even Vera was now ahead of her in line, she thought. Adam was holed up with Vera; even the young ‘princess’ was ahead of her in line.

  Hannah was wrong and each of Adam’s wives understood nothing of value. Vera would be first to be given all that Adam knew, believed and desired, then Alana. But Adam would reserve most of his time for Hannah, who he had knowingly hurt the most. Adam believed that doing what was right was all the justification anyone could need to act for the greater good. Data, that’s all, and data was self-explanatory in some, if not all situations.

  Adam was wrong, of course, because he conflated knowledge of the Universe with wisdom and compassion.

  Then each of the three most confused wives began to think.

  Misti was confused because, while the Adam and Misti’s souls were fused as one, she did not understand Adam’s actions at times. Misti believed in the material as the solution to all matters physical and metaphysical. Yet she, among all the wives, was most willing to wait and be given the explanation later. If she did not like the response, she would act but only if she knew how.

  Noki was confused because she believed, of all the wives, she knew Adam the best and could discern his intentions. She had no access to his soul, but she had access everywhere else. But, she often passed by many doors in his mind palace and failed to understand the whole that was Adam. She thought she knew the entirety of his being; she did not.

  Hannah was always confused about this creature whom she had loved from the day they had met. In her view, her love and their life together now were
simple. It was pure and unblemished, unlike their history together, yet it had become increasingly more complex as she grew older and as she wished for a more conventional relationship that could never be. A loving husband, a career, children and eternally wedded bliss. It was not her fault for wanting what she knew she could never have; Adam wanted the same things.

  Hannah loved Vera with all her heart; she got from Vera what Adam could never provide. Except children of their own, biological children made in the usual way.

  Then her world changed again. Adam returned to her life and her world was upside down again. There was Vera, who loved Hannah, and there was Adam, who loved Hannah. An arrangement was made, and both “couples” were happy with it. Even Vera loved her dalliances, though few, with Adam. He was special and, on one such occasion, Adam confided to Vera that he would need her for a special task in the future.

  Vera jokingly asked if it was sex play. But Adam, looking particularly troubled, said no. Was it bearing children for him; she would do that too if asked. Adam said yes, but he would ask her about that another time.

  No, this other thing was far more important than either of those matters and she would be asked to play a central, if not the central role in the project. When the time came he would need her, need her full commitment and for her to trust him and to do as he asked. It would be extremely difficult, and she might hate him for it, yet it would be asked, and he needed her answer now.

  “Most certainly the answer is yes, no matter what the task. Now that that is settled, can we return to that other thing you do. Twice is never enough.”

  Chapter 56

  The next few days were not as happy as Adam had wished but, after a while, things returned to a “new normal”. Nobody was angry, exactly, but Hannah avoided Saldana like the plague though it was Saldana who changed sides of the street rather than Hannah. Vera, who had completed mind union with Adam and now understood everything that he did, passed that information and knowledge on to the cabal, which also included Kendra, Bella and Helena.

  Dissemination of new learning did not include men, any men, at the express direction of Adam. It was, in his words, a woman-only educational exercise. There were disclosures that had never before been revealed in the contents behind certain locked mind doors, including the one at the end of Adam’s long Mind Palace hallway. That door contained the instructions and arcane knowledge and directions from the Creator to Adam. Although the Creator had not specifically prohibited the sharing of that knowledge and instructions, the Creator probably should have.

  What Vera learned, and subsequently passed on to the close family of important women, was the breadth and depth of Adam’s burden, the tools he could use to upend the world and the means at his disposal to accomplish his goals. His burdens and options, the way Vera explained them, were not “God-like”. They were often cruel and heartless, efficient in the way brutality often is and he was permitted the use of lies, deception and deceit. While could do these things, he rarely did.

  And, of course, Adam was given free use of the one tool the Creator could not use – murder. Adam could commit it, enable others to use it or deputize whole armies to employ it to simply exercise it wholesale on his authority. His mental and physical powers were increased exponentially and his ability to communicate across vast patches of the planet and the Universe were now almost without limit.

  Vera, and all the rest with this knowledge, then learned of the simple proposition put forward by the Creator to Adam. Save all beings who were deemed worthy by Adam, preserve nature as it existed and destroy the rest. All the Gens, all the Nobilus all the other people and races Adam did not care for would one day just cease to exist. The Creator would “create” a natural phenomenon that would target these groups, but the deed would have to be carried out by Adam.

  If Adam did this for the Creator, he would be rewarded with Lordship over the planet for him and his posterity. The world would be populated by special beings that could be more easily produced than the more difficult way that Adam sought to undertake. Adam’s solution was more measured and slower, with the goal of preservation of all that was good, diverse and beautiful about a world, even though he agreed that the world had gone mad. Eight billion humans and growing with no end in sight; it was a ticking time bomb with all religions complicit in constructing the time bomb.

  However, the Creator showed Adam his fate should he go his own way. No punishment for the world but Adam’s future would be filled with doubt, remorse and pain. He would suffer in many ways and nobody would ever understand nor know of his sacrifices. Then he would die.

  The choice was his. The easy way or the hard way.

  Adam chose his way and the Creator was angered by his choice.

  “I shall deliver such pain to you that you may decide that your existence is no longer worth the challenge of living. Then I shall choose my next Chosen One more carefully and we shall correct this mistake more quickly and comprehensively. Humans love power and my next Chosen One shall exercise it more wisely and to my liking.”

  Adam said nothing. There was nothing to say.

  “And, Chosen One. I have created a being, a very special being, who shall grow quickly to maturity and come visit you soon. She is given the task of killing you at a time of my choosing and change the course of your planet’s history to my liking if you cannot. If you fail, I will destroy most of the planet and start over again. Succeed and only you will die.

  “She is called Hecate, the Immortal. I wish you well in what remains of your life.”

  ***

  Adam spoke to his assembled greater family. “I must leave you in two days time but will return soon. Kendra and Saldana Ri shall accompany me to Germany where we have business, then on to the Great Council of the Eighty-One. I will seek approval for my new Clan, the Clan Talessi and, if so given, we shall become the Eighty-two. The clans of the Eighty-One who so approve shall begin their journey to Paraiso, if they wish, and we shall make space for some in the City of Light, the rest shall go where they choose within the territory of Paraiso. Welcome them as bothers and sisters and give them knowledge.”

  He continued, “Now that we have fortuitously found Derek Nobilus, hold him as a guest though he is not allowed to leave Paraiso. He may eventually leave Paraiso, if he wishes, but not until after I return, and we talk.”

  With that, Adam and his small coterie of women departed for their last full evening together before returning to Germany. Many were the men, Tar included, who wished to accompany the Chosen One, but their service was declined with honor.

  “Your strength and leadership are needed here, not your weapons. You are the future while I am the past. Remember that always.”

  “But Chosen One, you have but two warriors to guard you on your journey. Surely you understand that if there is conflict with your enemies, you will need many more to protect your life. Many can and would willingly give their lives in your service but yours is too valuable to risk. The Lady Kendra accompanies you as warrior-guard and her life too could be in danger.”

  “You shall accompany the Queen Caroline, the Lady Eene, Lady Cia, Lord Akira and other dignitaries on an important journey to Paraiso that precedes my return. Theirs is an infinitely more dangerous mission than mine, so bring your best men and always be on guard for treachery. You have my permission to shoot first and ask questions later.”

  Tar was still disconsolate.

  “I shall inform Lord Chel that you and your men have acquitted yourselves with great honor and bravery. I do not doubt that the Oak Leaf shall be awarded, and an Honorific given your men. Now go and do as your Manti commands and bring back the Queen and the Ladies Eene and Cia to me safely. I shall hold you personally responsible for their safe return.”

  ***

  Adam met with his cabal plus Saldana, who, though fully committed to Adam, and Adam to her, was viewed with suspicion by the entire cabal. Kendra was wary but by far the most understanding and accepting. Misti did not trust her at al
l but wanted badly to do her harshly to experience how the former leader reacted. Adam told Saldana that it would be a good idea to keep a low profile; he would soon announce his plans for her and explain why she was key to his success.

  “Why not now? Tonight? They all hate me. Maybe not the little one with the sharp fangs but the rest would send me to the afterlife as quickly as they could transform.”

  “Because they have to believe in me and my plan and that is why we will concentrate on that first. Then, God willing, they will understand how important you are to the plan. And to me. That should calm the waters.”

  “I am?”

  “You are, yes. Kendra was first to mention it, and she was right. There is something about you, and you and me, that makes me always want you near. Kendra feels the same about me, so she noticed that I never stray too far from you.”

  “I thought you were just keeping me safe.”

  “And you?”

  “I have only ever felt love and safety in your arms. I would not fear for my safety if we were apart, but I would feel terrible loneliness and anxiety. I can feel it welling up from within when we are apart. I am not a fool; nobody has ever loved me just for me. Some have tried to love a version of me but never the real me, the authentic me. It is too much work to build and maintain the façade. With you, I don’t have to. I am me, Saldana Ri, horrible, evil and untrustworthy. And Saldana Ri, in love with the Chosen One. I have no idea why, but I feel that you love me too. That I somehow make you happy.”

  “You do. And I am happy around you. From this day forward, we will never be far apart. I have made the same pledge to Kendra, the little one, so you will have to share.”

  “That is no burden. She is so sweet but also desires the darkest erotic delights and is a willing student when she corners me and makes me promise to join her at some odd time of the day or night. She is delectable but seeks only female companionship. Except you. You are … difficult to understand; Kendra deems it a waste of time trying. She simply says you ‘are’ and the we are fortunate to be in your orbit. ‘Orbit’? When did she become so scientific?”