by Jim Spencer
He shook his head, he didn’t have time to feel guilty for anyone, and he had to go home. And since he only had his father to look forward to, who would be glad to see him, he had to keep a straight face. His father could always tell when he was gloomy or thinking too much. ‘You’re a really bad liar’ he would say as well, when he tried to hide it. He was a retired worker, so naturally he only had time for recreation. And since no one went out and about until that time, he was always waiting in anticipation for his son’s return.
It’s all good, thought Arion. After all, his father was the only person in his family he looked up to anymore. There were others, but they simply never matched up to his level. He had earnt his retirement, and he was going to spend his time with him well.
Chapter 2
‘Hello son,’ said Sanion, Arion’s father. His father seemed a little pale by comparison to yesterday. Unsure what to make of this, he came inside and replied,
‘How you feeling Dad?’
‘Oh, I’m good, I’m good,’ he replied, although Arion noted this would always be his reply.
‘You seem a little peaky. Still got that stomach ache?’
‘No, it’s actually better today’
‘You had anything to eat?’
‘Don’t feel hungry’ his father replied. That was an unusual response, since his father loved to eat. Then again, it would take a couple of days for him to get better after a stomach virus.
‘We have a guest,’ his father informed him.
‘Really, who?’ he wondered. It wouldn’t be there family, they hardly visited anymore, not even his father’s brothers.
‘The Chancellor.’
‘He’s here now?’
‘Oh yeah this was unusual.’ thought Arion. Tali hadn’t come here for a while either and he only ever came on business.
‘Well, take a seat dad I’ll go to him.’
‘No that’s ok, I’m fine,’ said Sanion, though he was clearly limping. He had been spending the last couple of days mostly lying about on the floor. Apparently his stomachache was causing him back problems. Arion had never really come across symptoms like this before, so he figured it must be from the stomach virus. He sat his father down, after insisting twice and made his way to his living quarter to the guest room, with the chancellor in tow.
Most of the houses in this district were of circular construct. Apparently, a hole in the ground allowed people to feel more at home. Although it did make the rooms more spacious. He came into the room and sat down with the chancellor, who immediately got up,
‘How are you, my lad?’ He came forward to greet him and Arion quickly got up to greet him properly and asked him to sit down. He double pressed the side command from his chair and this put his home robot to work, making refreshments.
‘I do love that machine,’ the chancellor commented, looking at what Arion had done, ‘I believe I gave that to you as a gift, when your father got ill.’
‘Yes, it’s been a great help, thank you.’ Of course he knew deep down that the only reason he gave it was to ensure that Arion stay at work and carry on this formula.
‘So, to what do I owe this pleasure?’
‘Well, I just wanted to visit my lad…ok, and ask about progress, but hey. It can all be done in a social gathering, can’t it?’
‘Yes, I suppose so,’ the refreshments came in, his every flavour soda, a new variation. They drank as the robot came with seconds. Arion got chocolate peppermint twice. An unusual combination, but not disliked.
‘Hmm, strawberry and mango. Amazing!’ The chancellor exclaimed.
Arion decided not to waste time, ‘I’m very close to discovering how to control the GOD particle.’
‘Oh, how close we talking?’ the chancellor asked, taking away all bravado, though still clearly enjoying his drink.
‘I’m simply figuring out the last part, which is the answer.’
The chancellor started laughing, ‘You say that as if anyone can do it!’
‘I know, I’m sorry. Can’t help it sometimes.’
‘Well, I’m glad we’re nearly there. It’s been a long two years. Some people were getting worried.’
‘Oh yeah, which people?’
‘Well, you know council members. It costs a lot of cubes to keep an operation like this going you know,’ he mentioned, though there seemed to be a small amount of malice in his voice.
‘Another drink?’ Spotting a possible danger, Arion diverted the attention.
‘Oh, most certainly. My personal favourite is the mango and passion fruit. Amazing combination. Oh and of course strawberry and mango.’
He smiled as he thought through the words the chancellor had just mentioned. Nothing sinister, but he knew what higher ranks could be like. He had to tread softly. He could hear his father coughing slightly in the background. Partly annoyed because he felt the cough had gone, and partly grateful, he decided to excuse himself.
‘I think I need to tend to my father here.’
‘Oh yes of course. I’ll be on my way in the meantime. Oh, before I go, could I just make a quick communication from here?’
‘Sure, go ahead,’ and with that he left the room.
*
He sat with his father, trying to calm his cough down. Something didn’t seem right with him. He was somehow more pale. He sat him down and lay him to rest on the sofa. As his coughs slowed somewhat, he could hear the chancellor speaking to someone on the other side of the intercom.
‘I believe you have read this document, chancellor?’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Has everyone else in this council room read it?’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Then let me make this perfectly clear to you. The content of this document is a matter of national security, we need this to be completed, do you understand?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Then see to it chancellor, by any means necessary. This is something that requires our utmost attention right now. We cannot squander our days waiting any longer. Make sure it is done.’ With that the communication ended.
The chancellor came back in to the room, looking somewhat troubled. He helped with his father, who seemed to be getting worse.
‘I’ll see if I can arrange for him to go to hospital. It may take a couple of days.’
‘That’s fine. We need this checked; it’s been going on long enough.’
‘Yes it has,’ the chancellor exclaimed, though Arion wasn’t sure what the chancellor was referring to.
*
They sat in a transporter pod. Arion figured a bit of a change in environment would be a good thing for him. He seemed to be in high spirits besides the cough still being present. Everyone he knew was out here in the open. His family members were somewhere in the distance. They didn’t even wave. Somewhat annoyed at this, he moved his attention back to his father, who was coughing again. He couldn’t help but feel frustrated. In an environment where tribal systems did not exist anymore and people’s surnames had been eradicated, jealousy still prevailed.
Just because he had a good job and a means to support himself, no one seemed to think of him being worthy enough to talk to anymore. Shaking off his feeling of anger, he took his father further along the busy route of the massive hallway. Or at least that was what he called it. Some workers were handing out drinks to people and serving food as per their job. They were the workers of the country. Since people spent all day doing jobs of cleaning, fighting or in his case, thinking, they needed some away time.
Most of these evening workers would be women or teenage children who had not been allocated work yet. Initially this was looked at as low, until the chancellor explained that he did not wish to burden women too much with everyday life. They would do this as their job, which would last about 3 hours per day, or if they preferred, they could work during the day, in which case they would be put in the work system. They would either be a worker, scientist, soldier or cleaner. All for the good of…the country.
&n
bsp; Most people would be sick of hearing that word, but Arion found that to be quite good. They had managed to create a system that worked and kept everyone equal. Everyone worked, whether man or woman. No one was left behind, everyone was given the same treatment. And because we had no surname, we were all of the civil country, therefore all equal. The major shopping mall seemed to feel less busy than usual today, Arion thought as he made his way back home. His father seemed to be going ever more ill, if that was possible. Once back inside, he opened the door for him. He limped his way back in, clearly slower than before.
‘I think it’s best you rest, father. I’ll call an ambulance.’
‘Yeah, that’s a good idea,’ he replied, not arguing with him for once. He made his way to the toilet, mentioning he needs a breather, and Arion went to his intercom and decided to call the chancellor.
‘Hello, my lad. Calling a bit early don’t you think? You’re lucky I didn’t leave today. Not much to buy?’
‘I know, just came back. My father’s not feeling well, I need to take him to the hospital now.’
Silence for a moment, then ‘I’ll call them to your house now’ just then, there was a small thud on the door.
‘What was that?’ said the chancellor. Arion excused himself but left the phone on, making his way into the bathroom. Upon entering, he saw Sanion on all fours, attempting to vomit, only he hadn’t eaten anything today, so only spit was coming out. Partially relieved it wasn’t blood, he tried to pick up his father, but he was having difficulty breathing. Unsure what to do, he simply waited for the vomiting to finish which took an age. Once his father was back to breathing (shallow) he picked him up and rested him on the sofa.
‘We need to go now,’ he said to his father. Sanion was too weak to argue, he simply gestured his agreement.
*
They arrived at the hospital with the chancellor in tow. Another dome shaped structure, many miles away from his home, it housed over on hundred thousand people at one given time, with the science division, in this case, doctors, having access to the best resources under one roof. After sitting in the waiting area for a few hours, they finally got their turn and his father was admitted to hospital. Relieved that he would be taken care of, Arion made his way back home with the chancellor.
‘He’ll be fine’ Tali spoke of his father.
‘I know, he’s very strong. You know he lifted half a kilo of weight on his own once?’
‘Yes, I remember that story. A great man indeed, he has always been a fighter. He’ll get out of this, you’ll see,’
They drove in silence for a few minutes, as he came close to his lab. He wasn’t exactly feeling sleepy tonight.
‘Chancellor…’
‘I’ve always said, call me Tali.’
‘Sorry, it’s just I’m not feeling tired yet. Could you authorise for the lab to be opened tonight? I just want to finish off this last part of the formula.’
‘I don’t think it is a good time…’ the chancellor began.
‘There’s no better time.’
‘Well, ok then. I mean I would rather rest the brain in a situation like this, but it’s up to you.’
‘I’d rather do it.’
‘Very well, just give me a minute to make an intercom.’
‘Thank you.’
*
He was back in the lab. The chancellor had left for the night. There was nothing else they could do except wait for any results from the hospital. Until then, he had to occupy his mind. He was expecting the worst, but for now, he had to think about finishing his formula. Maybe this would give him the focus he needed. He went back to his digital whiteboard. The screen came back to where he was at. The mice were asleep, awaiting their eventual doom. And the machine was there as always.
He looked at the calculations on the screen, all there to control the movement of a small particle. Smaller than an atom but more powerful than anything seen before. It was a matter of the unseen. This last part would give him the ability to simply push this particle slightly, but that push would be enough. His lab was secured and encrypted so none of his data would be captured. He always wanted creative control over everything he did, especially something as sensitive as this. The chancellor had to go out of his way to ensure this had happened, which meant building this lab of his own cubes.
No one had access except Arion and no one could look in except him. Of course, once everything was discovered, he had a clause which stated that he would give it to the council chamber for the results to be distributed, but until then, it was his. It was probably why the chancellor was on edge. He had risked everything to make sure that this went through smoothly. If there was even a moment of doubt, then the whole country would be against Tali. He looked at his numbers and symbols and once again they stopped making sense.
‘Maybe I should just guess the answer,’ he thought to himself. That did seem better, since he had gone to the limit of his human potential. He decided to add the first number that came into his mind and simulated a run of the formula on screen. The particles showed up, they began to move and the atoms shook. That hadn’t happened before, he told himself. Then out of nowhere, the atoms began to shake vigorously. That again had never happened before. Then without warning, the particle in between, known as the god particle, made a slight movement.
Excitement rushed through him. That had definitely never happened before. It shook again, shifting position slightly and then going back into place. Now he had to hope the atoms came back into place and didn’t explode, which was always the problem. They shook and shook. Worry began to encompass him again. Against all odds, they began to slow down. This went on for ten seconds, though it felt longer, and finally they stopped and stabilised. He couldn’t believe it, he had worked it out. Not practically, but theoretically he had worked out how to influence the god particle. He had guessed randomly and stumbled upon the truth.
*
He saved his work and went back home, only to sleep less than an hour. A restless night was followed by a long day at the hospital. The chancellor was with him the whole way, and he did mention to him that he had stumbled across the answer last night;
‘Look, that is good news, but we need to concentrate on your father at the moment. Once he’s back up and running, then we’ll work on extracting the data from your lab, with your permission of course.’
‘Naturally.’ They spent the rest of the day simply filling in forms about his father’s medical history. Only his father never had any medical history to speak of. He had never gone to the doctor before and had never been to a hospital except to visit the odd friend.
‘I guess there’s always a first time for everything!’ The chancellor exclaimed. Arion faked a smile, but felt somewhat uneasy at this information. He had never realised it, but his father was never ill as far as he could remember.
‘Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Tell you what, since your work is done here, why don’t you go take a holiday for a few days. Loosen up, visit the family. You need them.’
‘Have you informed them?’ agrion asked. He had completely forgotten in his anxiety.
‘Yes, my lad, I have. Well, one of your uncles anyway. They’ll come over tomorrow.’
‘Not today?’ said Arion, but to himself.
‘Don’t worry kiddo. He’ll be fine. You’ll see.’
Arion nodded and made his way back home, to rest as much as was possible in such circumstances.
Chapter 3
Cordell was looking over the surveillance of the eaten guard. They had just gone out and retrieved the remains of him a few minutes ago. The only good thing was that the Nargus did not like the taste of metal, so that allowed them to keep their resources. Cordell was the lieutenant General of the city guard. The only two above him were the General and field marshal. They were off training new cadets today, so he got stuck with this.
Well, another couple of months and I’ll be the general here, he thought to himself. He was due a promotion very soon.
It was the least he deserved, since he had done this his entire life. He was a well-built man, for his age, always worked out to maintain his body, which he called his sculpture and was still surprisingly handsome for his age. Then again at 62 years of age, more attracted to legacy than youth. How would the people remember him when he died? Would they look at him as the army man of civil country, or would he be the one who bought peace between civil and tribe country. A difficult task to achieve, especially considering they had been fighting for 103 years now.
Nonetheless, he had managed to get talks going with them, and they had come under an uneasy settlement over the last few years. Although some issues still needed ironing out. He said ironing out, because these were very delicate matters indeed. A slight misinterpretation and it could lead to war again, which was the last thing civil country needed right now. He continued to survey the outside, no trace of the Nargus. That was good, for now. He ordered for the barriers to be closed down.
‘We have enough charge for another 24 hours if needed,’ his major general advised him.
‘I would rather use that only if we need it.’
And with that the power source was closed off and the lights went out. The gates were closed and he sat down, probably for the first time today, after a ten-hour shift.
All in a day’s work, he thought to himself.
They were in another large construct spanning for miles, which was their interior training ground. In all fairness, they were the only people who ventured out into the real world anymore. The rest of the so-called diplomats all stayed indoors, because it was safer. Perhaps they were too afraid of the outside world. He didn’t know, honestly didn’t care anymore. Politicians would debate like they always do. He would simply do his job. Either way, he was used to it by now. Finishing off his patrol, he made his way to lock the final door, when he saw a slight movement. No one was supposed to be here.
