by Biance D'Arc
Davin stopped a few yards from the crystal and Rick halted beside him. He turned to the Council, and saw all eyes were on them. The Councilors had swiveled in their chairs to watch their progress.
“Councilors, this man is my new assistant and perhaps the most crystal-gifted person I have ever encountered. His natural abilities not only rival my own, but surpass them in many ways.” Murmurs rose in the audience part of the chamber, which was full to the highest gallery. “Though he has come to the training late in life, Rick can do things I and my fellow Alvian crystallographers can only dream of. I propose to let him try his hand at healing this crystal.”
Rick started at his side, but Davin forged ahead. This was no time to be faint of heart. This was an opportunity.
“You really believe he can do such a thing?” Councilor Beyan asked doubtfully.
“I do,” Davin replied in a strong voice, above the whispers in the room.
“And what do you hope to prove by such a demonstration?” Councilor Gildereth spoke for the first time.
“I hope to show you all that humans are more valuable than you believe.” He let that sink in for a moment. “I also wish to secure Rick’s place in my facility. I want your guarantee that he will not be targeted for assassination as I was, nor removed from my custody—ever. This is very important to me, Councilors, and I will have your pledges of honor on all points.”
“First prove to us that he is worth such an outlay of trust,” Councilor Olin spoke from the farthest seat on the right. “Show us what he can truly do.”
Davin bowed his head in mocking respect that was again lost on the Alvians. “As you command.” He turned to Rick, finding a nervous smile quirking one corner of the human’s mouth.
“Are you sure about this, man?” Rick asked.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything, except maybe Callie, and you know how well that worked out.” The men shared a brief smile. “If you do this, you’ll be safe from them for the rest of your life. They wouldn’t dare harm anyone with the kind of power I know you have within you.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Rick looked a little stunned by the implications of what Davin had arranged, and he probably hadn’t even caught on to all of it yet. Davin had deeper plans than even Rick suspected. This wouldn’t be just to keep Rick safe, but also to allow him to live with them on equal footing. Truth be told, Rick would likely prove even more valuable to the Alvian race as a crystallographer than Davin—if he could begin by healing this crystal and proving himself in a spectacular way. Davin had no doubt Rick could do it. Now he just had to convince Rick.
Davin turned with Rick to face the damaged crystal.
“You can do this. Your power surpasses even mine.” Davin spoke in a low, urgent voice, for Rick’s ears alone. “I never told you this before, but what I said to them is true. You can do things I can’t even contemplate. I believe it’s because of your healing gift. Use it now. Show them what a human can do that even their best crystallographer can’t.”
“I hope you’re right.” Rick looked from the sick crystal to Davin and back again.
“I know I am.” Davin gripped his shoulder, squeezing once in reassurance before letting go and stepping back. “Do us proud.”
Rick stood before the Council Crystal, caught in its disharmony the moment he opened himself to it. If the Earth could cry, this was what it would sound like, he thought. He knew Davin and Callie believed in him. He knew without a doubt, they thought he could do this, but Rick wasn’t so sure. He’d never attempted something like this and didn’t know if he had the strength or skill to complete such a monumental task.
But he knew he had to try.
For the sake of Callie. And Davin. And all the humans who might benefit from the aliens realizing they were worth more than just their value as guinea pigs. And for the Earth.
This crystal needed help. Like many of the people he’d healed, this small piece of the planet needed his help to heal and be strong once more. Rick couldn’t turn away. Healing was what he’d been born to do.
With deliberate motions, he placed his hands on the pulsing, cracked core of the stone. His neck snapped back as the discordant energy flowed through him and he fought against the wave of pain, the cries of agony seemingly from the Earth itself.
Rick felt the power flowing through him. He felt his own power rise to meet it and morph it. He brought his will to bear on the swirling mass of energy, using touches of his healing gift, warned by previous tasks how a little of his healing gift multiplied exponentially as it reformed and bounced off the smooth planes of the crystal’s inner matrix.
It took all his skill and concentration, but he was buoyed by the knowledge that out there, among the watchers, his resonance mate waited. He understood the concept so much better, now that he’d begun to decipher the song of the crystal. He felt the rightness of their personal energies meshing and intertwining and he could also feel the way Callie meshed with Davin. Neither bond was stronger nor more perfect than the other. Both were as they should be.
Rick lost himself in the song of the Earth, learning things as he taught the injured crystal how to grow and live again. Little by little, the harmony returned as he focused on each fracture, each dark spot on the otherwise white energy of the quartz. Like the living rock, his love for Callie and her love for Davin enriched them all—enriched the Earth itself.
He never thought it possible, but Rick learned things as he lost himself in the cracks and fissures of the quartz matrix. Ancient truths as old as the planet. He knew now that the Earth needed healing as much as its inhabitants. People like him were created to heal the Earth, but it gave back as well. Whatever benevolent power that oversaw both the Gaia spirit and the spirits of all beings, had a master plan.
Rick saw only the tiniest hint of it as he nearly lost himself in the largest crystal he’d ever dared to touch, but he knew the truth of it. The small corner of the Master Plan he was privileged to be part of—for just that tiny moment of communion—gave him knowledge he’d never sought nor would fully understand.
But he understood enough to know that whatever else was true, his love for Callie was part of the Master’s Plan. As was her love for Davin and the deep and true respect each man held in their heart for the other.
Rick was lucky, in a way. He had a small amount of empathy that told him just how Davin felt about him, Callie and their new relationship. Rick saw that Davin had no such ability and that he’d need reassurance. As a healer, Rick could do no less than offer it—once he’d set this poor, ailing crystal to rights.
Pulling out of the matrix by slow degrees, Rick became aware once more of the silent chamber around him. Dancing light met his eyes as they refocused on the real world outside of the world of the matrix. Stunned expressions on Davin’s and Callie’s faces were his second vision of awareness. The Alvians wore varying degrees of interest on their calm facades. He could see now how empty they were, when compared to Davin. He was as they should be—full of life and emotion. They were nearly blank slates, going through the motions of life, but never really living.
Rick pulled his hands from the living crystal, glad to see it pulsing with renewed vigor and health. If he could believe his empathic senses, this little piece of the Earth felt almost…happy.
But such concepts were hard to apply to the vastness he had been privileged to glimpse while immersed so fully inside the matrix. He rested his hands at his side and felt the faintness of expended power rush over him.
Davin was there to prop him up, with Callie on his other side, emanating worry. She must’ve moved around the Council table while he’d been immersed. He took her hand in his, offering reassurance to counter her anxiety.
“Don’t worry, baby. It’s not that bad. Give me a minute, and I’ll be okay.”
“What just happened here?” Councilor Beyan asked.
Davin answered, still supporting Rick. “I believe it’s what our ancestors would term a miracle. And this on
ly proves my theory.” Rick could feel Davin’s smugness and joy, and Rick realized the Chief Engineer was playing a deeper game here than even he had guessed.
“What theory?” Councilor Gildereth wanted to know.
Rick felt his strength return and stood away from Davin’s support. He spoke in a low tone, meant only for Davin’s ears, though Callie undoubtedly heard too. “You’re on, brother. Give them both barrels.”
Davin spared him a grin before facing the Council with the air of a showman about to unveil his final and most impressive trick.
Davin grabbed at the opportunity that had been handed to them all. This is what he’d been waiting for—a chance to tell the Council and all Alvians just what they’d thrown away. He couldn’t have planned it more perfectly and he would take every advantage of this twist of fate.
“Councilors,” he began. “What you have just witnessed is something I have only read about in the histories of our race’s greatest crystallographers of antiquity. It is what we would term a Master Working and it is something done only very rarely in our people’s past. I freely admit, I could not have healed that crystal. I think Councilor Beyan will understand the complexities involved. And as she has intimate knowledge of my own strengths, weaknesses and abilities, she is perhaps best positioned to vouch for what I say.”
The Council looked to their own. Councilor Beyan was the most qualified among them in matters of crystallography and did, in fact, have responsibility for much of the power grid through the engineering facilities she oversaw, including the biggest—Davin’s Southern Engineering Facility.
“What the Chief Engineer says is true. I do not understand how a Breed could do what our most talented crystallographer could not. Please explain, Davin.” Beyan turned the group’s attention back to him and he bowed his head slightly in polite respect.
“Rick St. John is the most advanced pupil in the pilot program I set up, with the Council’s permission, some time ago. There are several others who could equal my level of ability or somewhere just below, including my resonance mate, Callie. These are just the ones already in training. There are also many others of lesser strength that are still more apt than most of the Alvian candidates I’ve seen in the past decades. Simply put, crystal gift among the humans I have tested and trained is stronger and more prevalent than in Alvians of the past few generations.”
“If what you say is true, do you have any hypothesis as to why?” Councilor Gildereth asked.
Davin nodded. “I have conducted a study, keeping careful records which reside on my facility’s network. I would be pleased to make these observations available to you and any of the scientific community that has an interest in checking my data or taking the study further. I believe it is crucial to the continuance of our entire race to discover the root cause for the lack of crystal gift among our young. I have a theory, but as genetics is not my area of specialty, I would appreciate other scientists taking up the analysis.”
“What is your theory?” Gildereth asked again.
“As you all know, I am a throwback, with all the emotions of our ancestors—perhaps tempered somewhat from the brutal aggression documented in our forefathers—but still emotions. Yet, despite that perceived flaw, I have the strongest crystal gift on this planet among our people. I did some research early in my career and gathered data on other known cases of throwbacks who had crystal talent. Eventually, I expanded my research to include all cases of documented throwbacks. All had crystal talent to some degree or other. Many were quite strong and lived out their lives—until insanity set in—as high-ranking crystallographers.”
Mara 12 stepped forward from the crowd to face Davin, mild curiosity marring her features. “If I may address the Council?” She waited and received permission to speak. “I can confirm these facts. It is something I have also been researching. The incidence of genetic throwbacks does correlate to an elevated rate of crystal gift. Though what that implies for Breeds, I have yet to theorize.”
“Then let me help you out,” Davin said, facing Mara 12 in rude breach of Council etiquette, but he didn’t care. “I believe emotion is key to crystal gift. By breeding out all emotion, we are killing ourselves. The humans have both emotion and some Alvian DNA. The two together creates optimal conditions for the development of the crystal gift.” Gasps sounded from some of the onlookers. Few realized the word Breed stood for “half-breed” in the human tongue—a clever way for scientists like Mara 12 to disguise the fact that they had found Alvian DNA among the survivors of humanity. “This is something we need to consider carefully as we continue to colonize this planet.”
“Is this true?” Councilor Gildereth pretended ignorance for the benefit of the vid pickups, no doubt. The Council was fully aware of the history of humanity.
Forced into a corner, Mara 12 had to come clean. “I have discovered the presence of Alvian DNA in some of the native population, it is true. To what extent our forefathers influenced humanity is still unclear.”
“Unclear, my ass,” Davin heard Harry’s unmistakable voice in his mind, only just realizing the young man was seated among Mara 12’s entourage. Davin caught the wink Harry sent him, trying not to laugh. This was going better than he’d expected.
Murmurs from the gallery met Mara 12’s statement. Davin caught Callie’s eye and she smiled at him. Her support meant the world to him. Rick came up behind her, shielding her and cupping her shoulders in his large palms. He looked stronger and seemed ready to protect her, should it become necessary. He nodded, the message of solidarity clear, as Davin turned back to the Council.
“Our people have been kept in ignorance too long. If we are to make a go of living on this planet—of continuing our way of life, indeed, our very race—we need to consider the ramifications of what we have done by draining all emotion from our genetic code. At the very least, we should cultivate and repair our relationship with the native inhabitants of this planet. Though most Alvians will never understand their emotional moods, we must comprehend that without them, within a few generations, our current way of life will be over. The crystal gift lost to us is strong in humanity and we will need every bit of it if we are to continue to grow as a society.”
The Councilors seemed to take all that in, a few conferring privately among themselves before turning back. Councilor Hearn spoke for them all.
“You’re right, Chief Engineer. Perhaps we have kept some of this information to ourselves for too long.” Hearn looked over at his colleagues before facing the chamber once more. “We’ve been discussing a solution to this dilemma for some time and I think the moment to act is upon us. By order of the Council, all Breeds will be tested for crystal gift and those who prove to possess it in sufficient quantities will be invited to study crystallography. Chief Engineer, since your pilot program has proven successful, we ask that you expand your current program and oversee the creation of additional sites, as necessary, to accommodate however many of the Breeds are found fit for use as crystallographers.”
“I can’t believe it.” Callie’s whisper reached Davin’s ears and he tried and failed to suppress a grin. It wasn’t total victory, but it was a definite step forward. Humans would have at least a chance now, to live under better conditions and prove their worth. Alvian society moved in slow increments since emotion had been drained from the people. Slow, deliberation marked almost every decision, unlike the hotheaded—and often disastrous—decisions made by their ancestors.
But they were moving forward, and in a direction that looked hopeful for humanity. That was something.
The Council meeting broke up after that, the level of conversation rising in the chamber as vid commentators repeated the startling revelations of the past hour. Davin, for one, was relieved it was over. He didn’t want or need this kind of excitement in his everyday life. Political intrigue was not something he enjoyed, though he’d been sucked into it many times since he’d gained the position of Chief Engineer.
All he wanted now was to go h
ome with Callie and Rick, and begin to build a new, happier, more secure life for the three of them. It would take some getting used to, but now that Rick had very publicly proven himself an even more powerful crystallographer than Davin, he hoped things would be better for them all.
There was a calmness to Rick now that hadn’t been there before he wrestled with the crystal. Davin didn’t know quite what to make of it. Perhaps it was only fatigue after using his psychic gifts. Davin wasn’t sure, but he hoped it meant Rick was finally coming to terms with what must be. The three of them had to share their lives in order for them all to be happy. He knew full well that Callie’s happiness dictated his own—and Rick’s too.
Davin was ready to join his new family when Mara 12 caught up with him. Harry stood silently behind her, his expression suitably calm, but his eyes sparkled with triumph.
“You have my compliments, Chief Engineer. I didn’t anticipate these events and the more subtle game you were playing beneath the surface. Congratulations.”
“You may see it as a game, Mara 12,” Davin said, trying to keep hold of his temper, “but I can assure you, to the humans in my program, their lives and living conditions are a very serious matter, indeed.”
Mara 12 waved away his words. To her, he knew, they meant less than nothing. She simply did not understand the emotion behind such serious circumstances.
“I cede your point, but my admiration of your political prowess stands. I will be more cautious next time we deal together. Your actions may have just cost me a large number of my test subjects. That is not something I welcome, nor was it a possible outcome I had anticipated. If I had known this would happen, I would rethink my willingness to help you.”
“I understand, Mara 12, but I will let you in on a secret. None of this was planned. I had no idea the Council Crystal was so badly damaged. Please remember, I was on the run with no access to news for many days. When you said there were power fluctuations, I expected the normal grid interruptions that would happen should my facility go off-line. I had no idea this crystal had cracked. Everything that happened as a result of Rick’s healing the crystal was serendipitous.”
