by David Harp
Chapter 13
Archie and Anastasius
When Archie finished telling the story to Brian and Jamie (who were only ten and nine years old), he threw his head back and spread his arms wide as if to make some great proclamation.
“She is our queen who has the genetic memories of the Nina Nizhoni, and is the only one who can translate the great secrets of the library.”
“That’s crazy,” Brian said. “That would make her thousands of years old, nobody lives that long.”
Archie laughed. “She is not old; she is the same age as you. Her DNA was preserved in the genetic code of the Indians who once inhabited this land. It was reawakened on the day you were born.”
“So where is she? Who are you, what do you have to do with the Nina Nizhoni?” Brian asked.
“I am the custodian of the library,” Archie declared. “The Nina Nizhoni people were experts at cloning life in the laboratory. They even perfected a method to retain their memories. I am an engineered genetic clone who has been revived after ten-thousand years in suspended animation.”
“Bullshit,” Brian shouted. He didn’t normally use vulgar language, but Archie was lying! He must be lying, Brian thought. He didn’t want to consider the alternative.
“I’m going to tell,” Jamie squealed, referring to Brian’s language.
Archie removed his thick dark glasses to reveal hideous glowing yellow eyes.
“It’s time for a new Archie,” the old man laughed.
Jamie screamed and ran away as fast as she could, but Brian stood his ground even though he knew Archie could see his knees quivering. Brian was not sure if bravery or fear was preventing him from running.
“You aren’t the custodian!” Brian shouted. “You’re a liar! There’s no such thing as the Nina Nizhoni. Even if they did exist they’re all dead now!”
Archie spoke softly, “There’s a little Nina Nizhoni in practically every human because early Homo princeps scattered to the four corners of the Earth. They intermarried with Homo sapiens.” He lifted his glasses to cover his eyes.
“Liar!” Brian mumbled. “I’m not like you. Why are you telling me?”
“My instruments indicate you and four others were born on the same day as the queen. You are bound by a force stronger than blood. You will recognize her glowing eyes, serve as her guide, and help her restore balance to the world.”
“So she’ll be a freak like you!” Brian shouted. “I won’t follow her, no one will. I’ll fight her!”
Archie’s composure softened. “She won’t be like me. I’m a genetically engineered organism without a soul. She will be irresistible; people will be drawn to her. I am nothing more than a biological machine whose single purpose is to maintain the library for my queen. Unlike you, I will cease to exist when I die.”
This is ridiculous, Brian thought. Even as a child, he wasn’t naïve enough to fall for such an outrageous story.
Real or not, the story frightened him. “Asshole, lying asshole,” Brian shouted as he ran away.
Brian and Jamie had nightmares for weeks. They told their parents what Archie said and his father reported it to the Director of the station. The Director said Archie would be banned, but that wasn’t necessary because the old man was never seen again.
The incident was so traumatic that Brian stayed away from Archbold for eight years. Jamie forgot the old man’s scary eyes and was one of the first people from Weeki Wachee to make friends with Haley.
Brian didn’t forget the old man or his stories. Haley moved to Bayport when his memories of the incident were finally beginning to fade. She was everything Archie said the queen would be: smart, pretty and had those glowing yellow eyes. Most people were captivated by her, but not Brian. His skin crawled every time he saw her.
He treated Haley like an enemy for years by calling her names, spreading rumors and trying to turn friends against her. He felt compelled to let everyone know she couldn’t be trusted, but Brian didn’t tell anyone except his parents what happened at Archbold. Nobody would believe me, he thought.
Brian’s feelings for Haley began to change after the lightning incident on his sixteenth birthday. Fear was replaced with fascination which grew into an awkward friendship. He felt even more comfortable around her when she began wearing tinted contact lenses. The day after high school graduation, Brian borrowed his dad’s car to drive to Archbold Biological Station. It was time to confront Archie, grow up and put the childish stories behind him.
After arriving at the station he began asking if anyone knew where the old man had gone. A couple people remembered Archie, but no one had seen him since the incident eight years earlier. The Director suggested Brian speak with a part-time research assistant who started work soon after Archie disappeared. “I think the young man is his nephew,” he said. “There is an uncanny resemblance.”
As Brian entered the office a strange looking, but oddly familiar, young man was sitting behind the desk. The man looked up with a wide smile.
“Well if it isn’t Mr. Adams! Look how much you’ve grown,” he said with enthusiasm. “I’m so happy to see you. You were my favorite student. Where have you been all this time?”
“Do I know you?” Brian asked.
“Come on now, look a little closer. You know who I am,” the man winked. A sense of panic washed over Brian. It couldn’t be, he thought.
“Archie?” Brian whimpered as he began to tremble.
“That’s right, but around here I’m known as Anastasius. It means resurrection. Clever don’t you think?”
Brian wanted to run, but instead stood quivering like the little boy from eight years earlier. He felt his legs buckling as he dropped into a chair in front of the desk. He sat motionless for a moment, then managed to speak.
“They said you were banned from ever coming back.”
“Archie was banned, I wasn’t. Don’t tell anyone I’m the old man or they’ll take you away in a straitjacket,” he said with a chuckle.
“This can’t be real,” Brian said. “I came here to make sense of what happened, to put it behind me. I wanted to make amends with Haley, but this makes it worse!”
Anastasius leaned back in his chair. “Oh I see, you’re trying to understand your feelings for the queen.”
“You don’t know me,” Brian responded. “How could you know why I’m here?”
“I know more than you think. Human events aren’t as random as they appear; it is simple physics. Every interaction is preceded and followed by a shadow on the space-time continuum. I know that sounds like science fiction, but it’s a basic tenant of the physical universe. I use a device similar to radar, but it tracks biological interactions on an immense scale.”
Brian sat dazed, unable to move. Anastasius pulled out a sheet of paper-like material which stretched across the entire desk. It was covered with marks, apparent coordinates, and writing similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics.
“When the queen was born, five linked lifelines appeared. The device indicated the queen’s medallion bearer would visit Archbold numerous times before 1993. The small size of the shadow indicated it would be a child who would later have intimate contact with the queen.”
Brian looked up in panic. “What do you mean by intimate?”
Anastasius continued without answering the question. “I spoke with every child who visited Archbold for over a year. The shadows changed when you and Jamie arrived. It meant one of you was the person for whom I was waiting. Then the device was able to calculate that you would return for the key. And here you are, just like the machine predicted.”
“What key? What are you talking about? I didn’t come looking for a key. You couldn’t have known I would return because I didn’t decide until two weeks ago.”
Brian glared at Anastasius and snapped, “What makes you think I’m going to help a queen who is going to rule over us?”
“It isn’t like that Brian. She is here to help mankind, not rule over them. You’ve seen this girl. I
n fact, you’re connected to her, so listen to your heart. What is it telling you?”
Brian’s posture relaxed as he reflected. “That’s the thing,” he responded as he remembered the times he’d mistreated her. “The person I know is a smart, sweet and shy seventeen-year-old girl. She isn’t a queen.”
Anastasius smiled as he recognized Brian’s affection for Haley. “The queen is in her genetic code to awaken when she is ready.” He leaned back in his chair. “The time has come.”
Anastasius opened a desk drawer and pulled out a gold medallion. It looked like an enormous coin, three inches across and a half-inch thick. It was attached to a leather cord. “Give this to her, she will know what to do.”
“What is it? Brian asked.
“It is the key to her genetic code,” Anastasius replied. He handed the medallion to Brian as he demonstrated how to place it in Haley’s hand.
Brian was stunned by the weight of the artifact. It must be pure gold, he thought. Then his heart sank as he recognized the pattern on its face. Etz Chayim, the same shape as the scar on his foot!
