by Drew Avera
Kara took my hand and we watched as the ambulance drove away with Pontiff White. With everything happening so fast, I finally noticed we still hadn't accomplished what we were set out to do; to contact the scientist needed to save our planet.
I turned around to find the woman who had been caring for Pontiff White wiping tears from her own eyes. I walked over to her. "My name is Serus Blackwell," I said.
"I know who you are, Mr. Blackwell. Pontiff White has been telling me all about you for the last year. I could probably write a book about you, if I felt so inclined," she said.
I was caught off guard by her statement. I would have never thought Pontiff White would mention me by name. I did feel a sort of kinship with him, but I thought that was just me. "I'm sorry; I don't know your name."
She shot me a coy smile and extended her hand. "I'm Nila. Pontiff White's personal secretary.” Her short hair was styled behind her head and she was dressed in a pantsuit that made her look just as much business as it did elegant. She was a rather striking woman, maybe a few years older than I was.
I took her hand in my own. "It's nice to meet you. This is my sister..."
"Kara!" Nila said enthusiastically. Nila moved over to hug Kara in a friendly embrace. "I'm so excited to meet you. I loved your article about using magnetism to lessen the effects of gravity. I really think it would make construction crews capable of building more efficiently."
"Thank you," Kara said. "So you like science?" The surprise on Kara's face was endearing.
"I love it! My father dabbled in chemistry and I always loved the sciences in school." Nila spoke with the excitement of a child discovering a new toy.
"Well, how would you like to help us fix the artificial atmosphere and save Mars?" Kara asked, jumping right to the point of our journey back home.
Nila's eyes lit up and she grinned ear to ear. "What do you need me to do?"
"First things first. We need to contact all of the universities and give them the information I have here." Kara showed Nila the envelope. Every bit of data had been and mulled over ever since we infiltrated Faracon. Kara literally had the steps broken down to individuals tasks designated for each university to conduct. It was how she spent the last six months without going stir-crazy.
"You don't have digital files?" Nila asked. The bulky envelope looked out of place in Kara's hands.
Kara sighed. "Unfortunately, I don't. We came by this information while on Earth. Their technology is not as advanced as our own and these were archived underground. We went through great pains to obtain it and time is of the essence. Do you think you can you help us?"
"Lead the way," I said. Nila smiled and walked towards the entrance of the palace, and we followed her. The droning of the crowd grew quieter as the doors closed behind us and we were finally able to focus our attention where it was needed. It had been a year since I had stepped into Pontiff White's palace and it was still as marvelous as it was then. The large stone waterfall poured crystal clear water from three stories above, and gilded gold adorned the trim of the lobby.
"I certainly hope Pontiff White will come out of this. His demeanor has been so dark lately; almost as if he had given up hope," Nila said as we entered the elevator. "Now that you're back, maybe you can restore hope in the people left behind."
Her words made me cringe. It wasn't that I didn't want the citizens to have hope; I just didn't want to be the instrument of their hope. I didn't want to be an instrument for anyone anymore. "This is all because of Kara's brilliance," I said. It was my noble attempt at shrugging off the praise I was afraid to have pointed in my direction.
"I believe it," Nila said. "But don't sell yourself short. Pontiff White holds you in just as high regard."
An uncomfortable silence fell as we left the elevator and walked across the tiled hallway. Each step caused the tiles to illuminate under our feet. I remembered how nervous I was each time I walked into Pontiff White's office before he revealed his true intentions to me. I didn't recognize them as nerves then, but now that I had more of a grasp on my emotions, I could see the past more objectively.
Kara and I followed Nila to the desk in the center of the room and we watched as she typed in some commands. It only took a few strokes of the hand for her to set up the communication system we needed to contact the universities.
"It's all yours," she said, leaving the communicator to Kara.
"Thank you," Kara said as she took the communicator and began the long task of bringing the necessary scientists together.
I stepped over to the stained glass window overlooking the central courtyard and looked down on the city of Archea. This bird’s-eye view was amazing. I could see the city in such a different light from here. To be honest, I saw it in a different light for more reasons than just the change in elevation.
"Chaotic isn't it?" Nila said as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall in front of me.
"I haven't gone a moment without chaos in so long, I don't remember what normal feels like," I said.
She smiled. “I imagine a policeman has many burdens to live with, especially one with a conscience." Her words hit a bit of a nerve, but not in a bad way.
"You have no idea," I replied.
"Does the pain of your regrets make you more human or less human?" she asked.
I had never had anyone ask this question of me before. Anyone who knew my story always gave me my space and didn't pry too much into what I had done. I always figured they didn't want to rehash old wounds. Everyone in my personal circle was hurt by what was done to me. We all had the same pain in some form or fashion. "I don't know. Maybe it's a little bit of both. Why do you ask?"
She moved over to a box on the shelf. It was one I had seen before. "Over the last year I have had many conversations with Pontiff White. When he wasn't singing the praises of Serus and Kara Blackwell coming back to save us all, he would talk about his wife. Thirty years is a long time to mourn loss, both for a husband and for a brother. I just wonder if having a conscience makes the sting worse."
I thought for a moment about what she was saying. "I think killing a person affects the mind in ways that The Agency could never truly program out. At least that is my experience. Every hit I ever conducted took a part of me and crushed it. I'll never have that part of me back and I think anyone in a similar position as I was in faces that ghost each and every time they raise their gauntlet. Does that answer your question?" It was kind of therapeutic to talk about it, which was surprising to me. Nila was very easy to talk to.
She looked down onto the courtyard as the people below finally left their posts and disbursed out into the city streets. "I think every answer poses more questions," she said. She opened the box and handed it to me. "There are more questions here than answers. Even with The Syndicate gone, they control an aspect of our life. Why is that?"
I took the box from her and pulled out a picture of Pontiff White's deceased wife. Her name was Ambree and she was killed by a policeman's gauntlet when she was pregnant. It was a sad story, one that I thought I fully knew. Pontiff White held something back when he talked about it, and as I stood overlooking Archea with this woman, my curiosity was getting the better of me. Kara had her science to keep her company. Apparently I was left with this: a thirty-year long conspiracy.
Chapter 3
I could hear Kara speaking to someone via Pontiff White's communicator. She was calm and collected, which was her best method of distributing the information to everyone she needed to have on board to save the atmosphere. Sometimes I wondered how she could turn her emotions on and off like that; then I thought about the programming I received and I was thankful she had full control of her own thoughts instead of the slavery of serving The Agency.
"Nila, could you help me scan these documents and send the files out to all of the university science departments?" Kara asked.
Nila looked back at her. "Of course."
I watched as Nila walked over to the large desk where Kara sat. T
he documents were spread out over the surface, and Nila manipulated the computer to scan everything all at once. While they were busy doing that, my thoughts drifted back to the box in my hand.
There was something Nila said about thirty years being a long time to mourn, both for a husband and a brother. I understood Pontiff White lost his wife, but I was unaware of there being any brother. I read through the clipping and the obituary mentioned Ambree being survived by only her husband, and it mentioned the fact she was pregnant at the time of her death. Like she said, the answers posed more questions.
I closed the box, set it down on a table near the window, and looked out into the now empty courtyard. My thoughts went to Pontiff White as he undoubtedly was lying in a hospital bed connected to tubes and breathing machines. I knew he had past regrets, and I wondered how deep they went and what lies they covered, buried in the sands of time. Maybe, if he lived, I would be able to ask him.
I looked back at the desk to see Kara and Nila working to send out all of the documents the scientists would need to save the artificial atmosphere. I wondered if it was worth saving such a broken society. Things on Earth seemed so much simpler. Harris had his own problems, but at least the evil men on Earth were recognizable as such. Here on Mars, people feared the policemen without realizing those policemen were victims too. There were so many layers of corruption that it was hard to distinguish where one layer ended and the next began. Before long, you just ignored it all together and accepted what you could not change. Maybe now would be a good time to start over. Nila might be right; the people could have hope.
Pontiff White's communicator sounded and Nila answered. "The office of Pontiff White, this is Nila speaking, how may I help you?" Her voice was both soothing and professional.
The speakers on the desk revealed the nature of the call. "This is Archean General Hospital. We have Pontiff White stabilized, and we have an armed detail guarding his room. If you would like to arrange for visitation, please call us in advance." The voice was obviously recorded and robotic sounding. It was so void of life I would not have been surprised if the words had been typed into a computer before the call was sent out.
"He's a strong man," Kara said. "I'm sure he will pull through just fine."
"I agree. He has a lot of fight in him." I walked over to the desk as Kara stacked all of the documents together and placed them back into an envelope. "Are you good to go with that?" I asked.
"Surprised?" she retorted. She brushed back a tuft of hair behind her ear and stood up. "I've been itching to do this for months. I could practically do this in my sleep if I had to."
I smiled. "So what's next?"
"We have to coordinate between the universities to ensure everything is being done systematically. We can't afford any waste of time. I already have people going to the dams to reroute power from the normal grid to the generators that power the artificial atmosphere. That's going to take a week or so to get them all operating, though. After that, the science departments will begin the enrichment process of the uranium. It's all downhill from there," she said. There was a light to her eyes I hadn't seen since we left Earth. She had found a renewed purpose, something to drive her. Something other than missing Harris.
"That sounds great. Maybe in the meantime we can go grab Laurel and stop by the hospital to visit Pontiff White," I said. "We have some catching up to do." I looked at the box sitting on the table and thought about the questions I had for him. He obviously had opened up to Nila while the world was descending into chaos. Maybe there were things he was still holding on to.
"Yes, let's do that. Nila, do you want to come with us?"
Nila stood up and answered. "I'd love to. I know Pontiff White will be happy to see you two." She pressed her hands against her body to straighten out her pantsuit and adjusted her collar. There was nothing wrong with any of it, but I noticed she seemed to have a compulsion to touch up her looks.
"Then it's settled. Let's go see the man in charge," I said.
Together we left the office and headed towards the transport where Laurel was waiting. The courtyard was empty and the sky was growing dark. I didn't know what time it was or how long we had been back, but it felt like only a few minutes had passed because of all the activity since our return. We made it to the transport to find Laurel waiting in the vast cargo bay. She sat with her head rested against her hand and her elbow propped against a table.
"Well, it's about time you came to get me," she said with mock sarcasm. She stood up and hugged me. "Were you able to get in contact with all of the necessary people?"
"We were," Kara said. You could almost smell the pride oozing from her.
"I noticed an ambulance came to the courtyard. What's going on?" Laurel asked.
I scratched my head nervously. "Pontiff White had a heart attack or something and had to be rushed to the hospital. We were about to go visit him. Do you want to go with us?"
Laurel nodded her head. "Who's this?" she asked pointing at our new friend.
"I'm Nila, Pontiff White's secretary," she replied.
Laurel extended her hand in greeting. "My name is Laurel. I'm Serus' fiancé."
Both women shook hands and smiled coyly. "All right that's enough chit chat. Let's go see if the old man is awake enough to talk," I said.
"Let's hope that seeing you doesn't give him another heart attack," Kara joked. Now wasn't the time for such a thing, but I still had to chuckle at the thought. That would be my luck. I come home with high hopes, and then manage to kill the only man who can bring this world together just by visiting him in the hospital.
We left the transport and began our walk towards the hospital as the sun fell beyond the horizon. It was a busy day, but by the looks of it, it was the most successful day we've had in a long time.
Chapter 4
The walk to the hospital didn't take very long, and it was rather refreshing, considering the sea breeze blowing through the streets. It was a far cry from living on the transport with its oxygen generating system creating synthetic breathable air. There was an odor to it that passed over time, but nothing beat fresh outdoor air. Even Earth felt different. The salt in the air reminded me we were truly home and not roaming through the wooded areas around Midican. Of course, being home brought its own challenges, but I did feel as if we belonged here. This place held so many memories, good and bad. It was where I felt tied to my past, to my parents.
Together we entered the hospital and approached the receptionist's desk. "Hello,” I said. “My name is Serus Blackwell and we are here to see Pontiff White.” I tried to be polite and thought I did a decent job of it despite the urgency of the situation. I knew Pontiff White was stable, but for how long?
The man at the desk rolled his eyes as he scrolled through the list of patients. I thought he might be ignoring us until he finally spoke. "We have not received any calls for visitation," he said condescendingly. The twerp was asking to be beat down for his attitude. It was like the fact I was a policeman meant nothing to him. That should have been my first clue things were very different on Mars now.
"That's my fault, I'm afraid," Nila said. "I'm Pontiff White's personal secretary and I took the message. Perhaps I neglected to call in advance, but surely you can put us into the system." She spoke in a way that made her sound both friendly and authoritative. Being the personal secretary for the pontiff put her in high standing; that was for sure. Unfortunately, the man didn't seem to care about authority.
The man took a deep breath and ran a hand through his spiky blond hair. He stared at Nila with a look that could kill. "I suppose I could, but if I did that for you then I would have to do so for every person who walks through here expecting special treatment." He wrinkled his nose and went back to what he was doing before we came in.
His superiority act was getting under my skin and, if I had my gauntlet on, I would have felt tempted to use it, but that would have been a wasted effort. Torturing or killing a man did little to teach him a lesson. That
was just a little something I learned from my time with Harris. "I think you can drop the attitude. The lady said she made a mistake, and since we are already here and you don't look very busy, then perhaps you can put us into the system so we can visit our friend who is recovering in this hospital," I said; biting each word to try to stay as polite as possible.
"Oh, is my attitude a bit too much?" he asked with a shrill voice that didn't sound normal. He made a gesture that suggested he felt himself to be above us and I thought now would be a good time to level the playing field. I was tired of playing nice; it was time to show him I meant business.
I grabbed the man by the back of his neck and slammed his face down onto the counter. He yelped out of fear as I turned his head and shoulder, making it so that he was leaning backwards with his back on the counter. His legs jutted out, trying to support his weight, and I knew he was powerless. I had him pinned down. "Yeah, I would say your attitude is a bit too much," I whispered.
"I'm sorry!" he yelped. The man was ready to either weep or piss his pants. He was practically trembling in fear and the stench of it was rather satisfying.
"Don't apologize to me, apologize to her," I said as I pointed in Nila's direction. She stood with here elbow resting on the counter and the side of her chin on her fist.
"I'm sorry, ma'am!" He stammered the words out, but it was good enough.
Nila choked back a laugh. "I accept your apology, provided you put us down in your system so we can see Pontiff White now." Her words were far more considerate than the ones I would have used, but harsh words weren't really necessary when you had a man's life in your hands.
"Right away," he said. I released my grip on him and he immediately stood up and began working the computer system. Within a few moments, he handed us visitor passes and sent us on our way. "Down the hall and to the right. Once again, I'm sorry," he said for good measure. I looked back at him, cutting him a glance I knew he would remember. He swallowed hard and slunk back into the shadows around the corner and it was all I could do not to laugh at him.
