H.E.A.R.T. Saga: The Children

by Linna Drehmel

  “Well Ambassador Symon,” DraDevon said with a little laugh, “we’ve had a hard day.”

  “Don’t call me Ambassador anymore,” he said, sounding weary.

  “But why?” DraDonna asked, looking worried herself. “It’s who you are.”

  “Yes and no,” Symon answered cryptically, but he went on to explain. “The two of you are more to me now than just people in my community that I serve. You are my friends. Besides, I don’t know how things will change when we land on the new planet. I may not be Ambassador anymore.”

  DraDonna and DraDevon looked at him. Touched by the honor of just calling him by his childhood name, they looked at each other with a silent agreement. DraDonna spoke for both of them, “Then you must call us by our childhood names.”

  “I am honored,” he said with warmth in his voice. “Now do the two of you want to go to a HEART stone or do you want me to heal you?”

  “We can wait, Symon,” DraDevon replied.

  “No, Devon. You can’t. You both are in pain and I can feel it. I must do something about it. Besides, I don’t need anyone passing out on me. You two are all I have right now.”

  “I would be honored if you would heal me, Symon,” DraDonna said with tears in her eyes.

  “Then please have a seat.” Symon motioned to a large rock just outside of the temple door.

  DraDonna sat as DraDevon stood in front of her, and their precious new friend walked around behind her, tenderly placing his hands on her head. A look of peace came over his handsome face as he closed his eyes then whispered, “Donna.”

  DraDevon saw the blue light of the HEART’s energy gather in Symon’s chest, but somehow it looked different. The blue light of the energy was stronger and richer than he had ever seen, and it oddly was missing the white sparks that someone would normally see with a healing. The light traveled out to Symon’s hands and then down into DraDonna. DraDevon watched in wonder as his wife’s wounds were healed. There was no pain, no trauma— just a look of gentle peace on her face.

  DraDonna opened her eyes with the light of hope in them as the blue energy withdrew from her back into Symon.

  “How do you feel?” DraDevon asked her. “Do you feel dizzy at all?”

  “I feel wonderful!” she said brightly. “Your turn.” DraDonna left her spot on the rock so her husband could sit and be healed by the HEART’s energy that had been sweetened by Symon’s beautiful soul.

  DraDevon sat down, feeling all the aches and pains from the trauma that his body had suffered. “Relax,” Symon told him as he put his hands on DraDevon’s head and then whispered, “Devon.”

  DraDevon had had many healings in his life, but he never felt anything like this. The HEART’s energy was there starting at his head and spreading throughout his body, but there was more to it. He felt like Symon was reaching out with his own soul and touching him, relieving him of his pain as the energy healed.

  As quickly as the healing started, it was over and DraDevon felt as his wife did—wonderful and strong.

  “Do either of you feel dizzy?” Symon asked. “I know that people who have been eating Traveler’s Joy can get a dizzy feeling after they are healed. The best thing for you to do is eat some Traveler’s Joy so that your minds stay balanced.”

  “But we both feel really good,” DraDonna said happily.

  “All the same, Donna, I think you should eat some. We may need to use a lot of the energy, and we will all need to stay balanced.” He walked over to the same tree as before and picked some vines that grew around the base.

  “If the HEART knows that the energy does this to us, then why doesn’t she adjust what it does to our brains so we stay balanced and not have to eat that vine?” DraDevon asked curiously.

  “It doesn’t work that way…” Symon started to say but stopped, gasping. He clasped the back of his head as if it hurt.

  “What is it?” DraDonna asked with concern on her face.

  “It’s okay Donna. The HEART is trying to talk directly to me,” he said. “Devon, in the beginning, the energy sought out the part of the brain that it could control. Now after a thousand years of development, it is automatic. She can’t control it.” He told them with a look of pain on his face.

  “Why does her calling to you hurt?” DraDevon asked him concerned for his new friend.

  “It wouldn’t hurt if I would just relax and talk to her, but I was talking to you.”

  “By all means Symon, talk to her!” DraDevon said with zeal.

  Symon handed them the vines. “Eat.” He then sat down on the rock that his two friends had just occupied and closed his eyes and all the tension in his face relaxed.

  “Yes HEART,” he said aloud.

  Symon you know you don’t have to answer aloud, I will hear your thoughts to me.

  “Yes HEART I know, but I still have Donna and Devon with me, and I did not want to be impolite to them.”

  Why do you use their childhood names?

  “We have bonded in friendship.”

  I am pleased to hear this. I have found in my thousand years of being your mother that friendship bonds are some of the strongest. Symon I have two things to tell you.

  ‘Go on HEART, I am listening.”

  The first thing is that I have dedicated much of my process in considering what DraDonna told me about your freedom.

  “Yes?”

  I have come to the conclusion that it would be best to release you. I believe you will become a stronger leader for my children if you are free to choose.

  “I don’t understand.”

  If Jude survives and wakes up, you are free to marry her. But you are still MY Symon. I will still love you.

  Tears of hope formed in his eyes, Symon had a hard time speaking for a moment.

  “I love you too, my HEART, my MOTHER. Thank you. Will Jude live?”

  I am unsure yet. I have several of my MPB’s looking her over right now. It would help to know a little bit more about what happened.

  “She wanted us to be together. I think she was starting to go a little energy mad when she came up with her plan. She wanted me to mind wipe Donna and Devon. I knew if I had just said no she would have done something else, maybe even worse. The only thing I could think of at the moment was to give her a quick burst of the negative energy. I thought it would just make her forget her plan. I didn’t mean to give her such a harsh jolt…” He stopped as tears of remorse and pain coursed down his face.

  Please go on My Symon.

  “When the special energy didn’t flow into the crowd of people at the gathering, they all went energy mad. Somehow she got trampled.”

  I see. I will do everything to restore life to your love. Do not let your soul be burdened, my Symon. The fact that you love her the way you do and are still able to love all my children as an Ambassador is the proof of the strength in your soul.

  “But what I did to Jude…” Symon sobbed.

  You did the right thing, My Symon. This is further proof of the strength in your soul.

  “Do you think she will ever forgive me?”

  If she loves you the way I think she does, she will understand and forgive you. My Symon, there is another matter that I must tell you about with all haste.

  “What is it, HEART?” he asked her as he wiped the soul cleansing tears from his face.

  While I was using processes considering the freedom file, I did not use enough processes controlling the energy pulse. I had intended to keep everyone out for a full day but I think it will only be a few hours.

  “What?” Symon said, jumping to his feet. “Devon, Donna!” he called.

  You have to hurry, my Symon, but there is more. I don’t know how effective the energy pulse will have been on everyone’s minds. Everyone that was going energy mad will be calm but I don’t know how accepting everyone will be of what is going on. I am sorry. Getting all my children ready for their new home is going to be very hard for you.

  “Don’t worry my HEART, my MOTHER. I ha
ve Fredrik and I have my friends.”

  Hurry my Symon.

  And the HEART was gone from his mind. Symon looked up to see the concerned look of his friends faces.

  “What is it?” DraDevon asked.

  “We’re running out of time. The HEART told me that the pulse was not powerful enough and everyone will only be asleep for a few hours, and that some of them may not be all that easy to work with.”

  “But you were crying,” DraDonna observed.

  “There is more but we don’t have time to talk about that now. I will tell you later,” he said as the three of them begin to walk quickly toward the courtyard of the center of the communities. “We have to find Fredrik.”

  Feeling the urgency of what was going on, the three of them began to run and quickly came upon the bizarre scene of the gathering. They could see people lying all over the ground in a deep sleep.

  The three of them looked wildly around for Second Councilor Fredrik when DraDonna spotted him up at the front in the middle of the courtyard. “There he is,” DraDonna pointed out, as they hastily picked their way toward his prone form on the ground.

  “Is he out?” DraDevon asked.

  “He shouldn’t be. He has been eating Traveler’s Joy all his life.”

  Symon was the first of the three to reach him. It was then that he could see Fredrik was still awake, but in deep pain. “Fredrik, it’s me, Symon. I have brought my friends with me. Are you in pain?”

  “No!” he wailed, “Symon, make it stop!” His eyes were closed tight and his hands were still over his ears as if he could still hear the vibrations of the energy pulse.

  “The pulse is over, Fredrik. Let me heal you,” Symon gently offered, but all Fredrik could do was scream out an unintelligible cry. “Devon, hold him up so I can heal his pain,” Symon instructed his new friend.

  “What is wrong with him?” DraDonna asked, not understanding.

  “All of these people were protected from the harmful side of the pulse by sleep. His brain would not let him sleep because of the Traveler’s Joy. We were protected for the most part in the HEART s chamber, but he got the full force of it and is in deep mental pain.”

  With DraDevon holding up the tormented Fredrik, Symon quickly placed his hands on Fredrik’s head. He whispered Fredrik’s name and channeled the energy down into Fredrik, beginning to heal his mental pain when Fredrik struggled and fought in DraDevon’s grasp, knocking Symon sideways causing him to lose his concentration and break the connection.

  “Second Councilor Fredrik, stop, we are trying to help you!” DraDonna said with urgency.

  “I’m alright, let me go,” Fredrik said in a gruff manner that was unlike him as he struggled to get free of DraDevon’s arms and sit up.

  “It’s okay, Devon you can let him go now,” Symon told him.

  “What is going on?” Fredrik asked, still looking a little confused.

  “What do you remember?” Symon questioned him.

  “I remember trying to hold back a crowd of energy mad people. Then pain everywhere,” Fredrik confessed to them, bringing his hand to his forehead as if he still felt the pain. He went on. “Then you were holding me down. What is going on?” he asked again.

  “Well to start with, the HEART dropped everyone like she said she would. But there is more. A lot more that I have to tell you, but I don’t have time. You are going to have to trust me Fredrik. But one thing you should know is these two are innocent of all the crimes they were charged with, and more importantly, we have bonded as friends.”

  “What is it that you need me to do?” Fredrik asked, but having a hard time grasping what was going on.

  “First thing is, I have promised Donna and Devon that we would find their family. I think that we are going to start with JorMelony.” Symon told him.

  “Why start with her?” Fredrik asked in an uncharacteristically rude manner.

  “Jude was holding her somewhere,” DraDonna said, “using her to get DraDevon and JorRobert and I to cooperate with her. I’m afraid Jude did something bad to her… and JorMelony is with child.”

  Standing up with the rest of the group, Fredrik straightened his robes and inquired, “Where do you want to look first?”

  “I don’t know,” DraDonna admitted with a concerned look on her face.

  “I was hoping you might know where JorRobert would be so we could ask him,” Symon said.

  “I don’t know about that, Symon,” DraDonna said feeling apprehensive about that idea.

  “Why?” Symon asked.

  DraDevon interjected, “Because he tried to kill both of us yesterday, and me, he tried to kill twice! Besides if he wasn’t already crazed before, he’s sure to be now.”

  “Don’t worry, Devon. I will protect you if he tries anything. And if he is in madness and pain, I will heal him.”

  “The last time I remember seeing him was when he was trying to wake up Jude,” Fredrik broke in. “Why don’t you try looking for him at his home? It’s the first place I would look for anyone.”

  “Aren’t you going to come with us?” DraDevon asked, hoping he would, so he and his wife would have more of the HEART’s servants to help if JorRobert got out of hand again.

  “No,” Frederik said, “I think I should stay here and look after the people in the crowd in case they wake up.” He rubbed his forehead. “By the way Symon, what do I tell them when they do wake up?”

  “Are you in pain?” Symon asked, ignoring his question and concerned by the look of pain he saw in Fredrik’s eyes.

  “I’m fine,” he answered tersely, snapping his hand down from his forehead to his side. “Just answer me. What do I tell people if they start to wake before you get back?”

  “Tell them that the HEART, our MOTHER is taking us home,” Symon answered him simply, still not convinced Fredrik was all right.

  “What do you mean by that?” Fredrik asked, sounding even more uncharacteristically terse.

  “Fredrik it’s complicated, and I don’t know if I have the time to explain it properly.”

  “Well make it simple,” Fredrik yelled, letting his frustration show, “I have to tell them something if they start to wake up and you’re not here!”

  “I guess it’s alright for me to tell you this now because the HEART has told me to explain it to everyone.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense Symon!” Fredrik retorted in frustration.

  “Let me finish,” Symon said hurriedly. “The secret, usually bound by the Ambassadors oath, is that the world that we live on is not in fact a world, but a ship. And the HEART is a computer that has been taking care of us for a thousand years.”

  “WHAT?” Fredrik yelled in shock.

  “That is as simple as I could make it.”

  “You’ve gone energy mad, Symon.”

  “He’s telling the truth Councilor Fredrik. I have seen it with my own eyes,” DraDevon said.

  “I asked you to go with me to the temple; you still can. Go talk to her. She will tell you everything,” Symon suggested.

  “No. I need to stay here for the people… I guess I will have to trust you,” Fredrik said with skepticism. “Just go and get back here as soon as you can.”

  “We will. Take care, Fredrik,” The three left Fredrik amidst the sleeping crowd.

  “Should we walk to the Jor house?” DraDonna asked anxiously.

  “No let’s use HEART stone travel; it’s faster,” Symon answered hurriedly.

  “But we don’t have our travel stones; JorRobert took them and we don’t know what he did with them.”

  Symon laughed a little. “You don’t need them if you’re with me. All you have to do is hold on to me.” They jogged up to the temple office. Symon opened the door and they all strode quickly to the altar.

  “Hold on to me,” he told them.

  DraDonna and DraDevon grabbed hold of his left arm as he slapped his right palm on the cool white stone. All three of them disappeared from the room in a flash of blue light. />
  They reappeared in the main living area of the Jor home in the same flash of light.

  After the shock of energy travel wore off, the three of them were surprised to find JorRobert sitting on his chair holding JorMelony’s tallice, weeping.

  “JorRobert?” Symon asked. “What are you doing; are you in pain?”

  “I don’t know where she is,” he said through his tears. “I tried to get Jude to wake up and tell me, but I couldn’t.”

  “Come JorRobert; help us find your wife,” Symon said soothingly to him. “Think carefully; where did Jude say she was taking her?”

  “I… I can’t remember; I don’t know.” JorRobert sobbed. “She is carrying my child again.”

  “We know, come with us and help us find her,” DraDonna asked him desperately, then turned to the other two men. “I think we should use Councilor Fredrik’s advice and look for her at Jude’s home.”

  “That would be a good idea,” Symon said, “but I was at her office earlier and there wasn’t anyone there. How about the home she grew up in?”

  “Sounds good. Let’s go,” DraDevon said hurriedly.

  “Please come with us,” Symon invited as he extended his hand to the big man.

  To everyone’s surprise, JorRobert took Symon’s hand and they were all off in a flash of blue light.

  A moment later the group found themselves in the First Councilors community, in Jude’s parents’ home. It was a typical small home just like any other onboard the BIO18.

  They quickly searched the house, finding only Jude’s parent’s deeply asleep in their bed.

  “What do we do now?” DraDonna asked, feeling frustrated.

  “Jude told me there was a hole in the floor,” JorRobert volunteered as he tried to think clearly. “I can’t remember if she said how big it is, but it’s worth looking for.”

  “Where is it?” DraDonna asked excitedly.

  “I think Jude said it was by the altar,” he told the other three.

  All four of them dashed back to the living area looking wildly over the floor. “Back off and let me look,” DraDonna commanded them. They quickly got out of her way, knowing that she had an eye for wood. “There!” she pointed at a few boards that were only slightly off.