“My dearest friend, it’s been three years since we met each other,” Tarek was beaming. “You should come back to Marsa Matruh, Egypt. I have finished the family compound, now. It’s beautiful.”
“We will have time to go through the details, Tarek,” Helena said, while kissing his cheeks to greet him. “Now please take a seat, we have to leave for Salina.”
“Alright, but first let me introduce Ghada to you. We are getting married next year. You know, the whole process of..”
“No need to tell me,” Helena winked, “I know that divorce papers take some time to take effect. You can bet I will attend your marriage!”
“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Tarek chuckled, “Even though we made the decision together, it was painful both for me and my former spouse. After all, we spent more than 74 years and had nine children together….that’s why I conceded to each and every request she made.”
“Okay, stop it now, please, Tarek,” Helena said, a finger on her mouth, “we are already late, I told you! There will be lots of time for catching up in the next few days.”
She then nodded at the pilot, who ordered the hellish seaman to undock the ship from the pier. Five minutes later, the hydrofoil was speeding at 40 knots on the calm sea surface, towards its destination.
“Now, Tarek, you can show me your compound. I heard it is more similar to a city.” Helena asked, enjoying small talk.
Tarek took out a small ball from his pocket. It was one of the latest virtual reality immersive devices. Two flashing lights popped up on the side of the ball, Helena and Tarek stared at them. The laser beams locked on their eyes, and started the projection, fully replacing their vision. The initial images of the compound had been shot from above, and it was just like flying. The only thing Helena was able to still see of the surrounding reality was the face of Tarek, who was explaining the virtual tour.
“This is the birdseye view. The compound stretches for four miles along the seaside, and has an overall surface of twenty square miles.” Tarek was visibly proud of his large village. “Half of it is covered by the solar generators and the desalination devices, then I built about four square miles of moresque gardens.”
“I assume the villas that pop up between the gardens are where you live?” Helena said, stunned by the richness of the vegetation.
“Indeed, indeed, there are seventy-three villas, one for each of my children and randchildren! I left a good square mile free for future expansion. I have been a great-grandfather for two years, now!”
The smile on Helena’s face faded, then she pointed at the perimeter with her hands.
“How do you manage security? I guess you are all immortals, yet Egypt has banned Telomerax and you need to trust a lot of people to run a compound that large,…” Helena then stopped, “…oh, I’m sorry for spoiling your show, Tarek! After so many years I have grown obsessed by threats, real and imaginary.”
“Helena, I know you mean well,” Tarek continued unfettered. “We run the compound ourselves, with the help of an array of droids and robots. All we have to do, is take care of our house, teach our children, look after our assets, and throw a good party from time to time. Oh, and of course the occasional trip abroad to visit old friends, like this week.”
“So the government is not bothering you?”
“Why should they? First, we do not use Telomerax. We don’t need it. Second, they owe me quite a few big favors from the wartime. I just have to be quiet and stay out of the political arena, and in exchange they will protect me. By the way, I am not the only immortal in Egypt. The Telomerax ban is actually little more than verbally-paid respect to the Islamic and Christian authorities, believe me.”
“I was in Cairo a few weeks ago,” Helena continued, “You smell the money and the economy booming everywhere, just like in Athens and in all Mediterranean cities.”
The comment made Tarek even more enthusiastic.
“You see? It’s like paradise! Egypt is the only country on Earth to be named in all the holy books of the major religions! It’s clear that God loves us, and now we have the proof!” He bursted into laughter, disconnecting his eyes from the slideshow ball. The sea appeared again, replacing the vistas of the Marsa Matruh complex.
“Okay, Tarek, let’s behave now, the party has not yet started,” Helena tried to contain the enthusiasm of her friend. “By the way, I thought Louis would have organized this party last year, on his 135th birthday. Why has he invited us now, almost one year later? I mean, Sicily in May is beyond beautiful, yet there is nothing special to celebrate these days.”
“All I can tell you,” Tarek answered, recovering some posture, “is that this is not about Louis. You know he has not been celebrating his birthdays since he lost Dora. No, this is about Dorian. He has made the decision to run for office in Sweden, so Louis organized a kind of farewell party before he permanently leaves to Sweden with Camilla and his family.”
“Run for office in Sweden?” Helena could not conceal her surprise, “He spent a lot of time there, helping rebuild the country, but why did he make the decision to enter politics?”
“We will hear from him tonight, I think there are several reasons,” Tarek paused to recap thoughts. “He’s been working there for several years, as you said. Then, Sweden was a very liberal country in the pre-war days, with lots of people using Telomerax, and at the same time one of the worst countries affected by the war. Today, there are fewer than one million people living there, and it seems that more than half of the population is made up of immortals.”
“I see,” Helena replied, “Well, maybe Dorian, a very well known immortal, wants to turn Sweden into the first immortal country, and become a kind of representative of the new species. Of our new species.”
“We will see,” Tarek replied, “Personally, I think it is another ill-fated adventure. Why keep stressing the differences? Just get along with them.”
“Yeah, just get along,” Helena echoed, and then changed tone. “How do you think Egypt will react if something bad happens in the Contended Territory of Israel?”
Tarek’s smile disappeared. He took the ball back into his pocket and pondered an answer.
“It’s clear that Egypt will support the Arabian Union, that’s no secret. I hope the Israeli Remnants do not pursue some plot. They should be happy with the land they managed to preserve during the war, and the JRC is their new safe haven. They made the decision to leave their country, after all, and now they cannot complain if somebody else settled there, defying all pests and epidemics.”
“Assume they do,” Helena continued, “Obviously, people are working to prevent any conflict, but you never know how things can pan out. We learned that the hard way. Do you think Egypt would go to war?”
Tarek lit a cigarette, ignoring the signs forbidding smoking.
“You’d better put that out,” Helena warned. “Otherwise a fire extinguisher microdrone will fly over your head in seconds and spray you with foam. On the other hand, if you want a free shampoo, that would be the quickest way.”
Tarek quickly put the cigarette out in the seat garbage tray, then sat back in his chair, in frustration.
“Another war could definitely be possible. Despite the disasters, claims have not ceased. The Arabian Union is claiming to have Dubai and Fujairah back from the Indo-Pakistanis, South Korea wants half of North Korea back from China, China does not like Mongolia to have become a province of Russia….let’s stop it here. It could trigger a chain reaction, like before.”
“Like before,” Helena whispered, “Five billion people perished, there is a new immortal strain of people, and we have overcome all energy and resource issues for the next few hundred years, yet things continue just like before.”
Helena sat back in her seat too, her eyes staring at the hydrofoil’s ceiling
“Is this the reason why you arrived here a day later than Aurora?” Tarek asked, “Some meetings you had to attend?”
“Yes, for some meetings,” Helena no
dded. “Now let’s stop it. My holiday is just about to start, and I won’t let bad thoughts spoil it. Look, the harbor of Salina is just in front of us!”
Tarek looked out of the window, the harbor was a few hundred yards away. The village around it was completely dwarfed by the two cones of the volcanoes on the island. The hydrofoil slowed down, preparing to dock.
Chapter 5
“…and that’s why I believe I will be able to turn Sweden into a model of coexistence of mortals and immortals, with no discrimination whatsoever and equal opportunities and rights for all.”
Dorian finished his speech, and the small crowd that had gathered on the terrace of the Santa Marina Hotel burst into applause. He noticed that one of the most excited faces belonged to Celine, the granddaughter of Aurora, who was forced to flee South Africa with her family. Now, at age ten, she was trying to jump onto the shoulders of her great-grandmother, Helena, who was sitting in the first row.
Dorian turned towards his father, who was on his left at the conference desk. Behind them, the sun was setting over the sea, cooling down the mild May evening. Louis stood up to say something, visibly proud of the challenge Dorian was taking on.
“Thank you very much, Dorian, I think we can now let our guests enjoy their dinner. We will be hanging around here for a while, the media can wait until tomorrow for the interviews.”
He tapped on his smartwatch and the small storm of video-streaming drones that had been flying around the speaker’s podium, broadcasting the conference on the Internet, landed on their ide pads behind the desk.
He then stood up, and noticed that Tarek had gotten ahead of all the people in the first row in reaching out to Dorian. He was shaking hands with him vigorously, and congratulating him in Arabic. Louis scanned the terrace.
A small crowd had formed around Camilla and her children, and another one was forming around the mayor of Salina, the biggest one, Louis could not help notic without some amusement, was building up in front of the buffet. He waited a few seconds, feeling relieved that for once he was not in the spotlight. After all, he was among friends and relatives. Even the people of Salina were now starting to consider hime part of the community. He turned towards the sea, while Dorian and Tarek continued to discuss and move towards the buffet, following the rest of the crowd.
Louis partially closed his eyes, anticipating the moment where the evening calm would claim back the corner of the terrace where he was standing, when a hand gently rested on his back.
“I thought you were still looking after Celine, Helena,” Louis said, without taking his eyes from the sea. “She is incredibly lively and bright. She paid full attention to the whole speech of Dorian.”
“She is,” Helena quipped, “Aurora says she is her favorite granddaughter.”
“You seem far less excited than she is for Dorian taking initiative,” Louis said with a smile, then turned his eyes to Helena. “The same applies a bit to me, too.”
“You know what I think, Louis, and I told Dorian this several times,” Helena said. “He is looking for trouble, for him and for his family.”
She took Louis under the arm and started guiding him downstairs, away from the crowd.
“I agree, it’s difficult. But he has a good chance of being elected and entering the Swedish government, as minister of social affairs. I think he can help shape the discussion in the right fashion, bridging this growing rift between mortals and immortals. If you think at the end there is no meaningful distinction, at least in countries where Telomerax is legal, that is really crazy.”
They walked outside the building, moving towards the harbor. Helena got closer to Louis, turning her voice into a whisper.
“Listen, Louis, the rift is just getting wider. You see what type of pseudo-scientific crap is being circulated on the Internet. The immortals are being accused of transmitting immortality without controls, creating once again the risk of pest storms. Then, there are the claims that are actually true, for example, about the intelligence gap becoming apparent beyond age fifty, even if you use Telomerax. The war being a vivid memory nonetheless, conflicts are on the rise everywhere.”
“So what are you suggesting to do?” Louis asked, stopping at the beginning of the pier. “Should I tell Dorian to just retire on an island, like I did? By the way, do you also keep meddling with politics and power, or am I wrong?”
“I am not suggesting anything, I am just afraid he might become a target,” Helena replied, sighing, “As for the meddling, you are right. It’s just that I cannot help myself. I tried to retire several times, but somehow there is always somebody coming to you with a new request, a new problem to fix, a favor to be returned, and it never stops…”
“It never stops because you want it to continue, Helena,” Louis interrupted her, then softly asked “Would you do it, if Guillermo was still with you?”
“You know I would,” Helena replied immediately, “I think you wanted to ask me something else, though.”
She stopped in front of him, her eyes staring at him.
Louis hesitated, shocked by her response. He looked around, then stared back.
“You are right, that’s not what I meant,” he pulled her close to him, “What I actually meant is, would you continue your life, leaving me alone for long days on this remote island?”
She reached up and kissed Louis. She then leaned back, keeping him in her arms.
“Don’t ask me to promise what I cannot keep,” Helena whispered, then kissed Louis again, “All I can promise you, is they won’t be long days….just a few trips from time to time.”
“Alright,” Louis laughed, “Looks like you are placing the burden on me, to give you reasons to stay on the island.”
Helena was beaming, she hugged Louis again.
“I know you will do your best, Louis,” she whispered into his ears, as he petted her hair, “but I will have to go at some point, you know it.”
Louis kissed her again, then he turned toward the village. “It’s time to go back to the reception. I am sure people have noted our absence by now.”
Helena slapped his back vigorously,
“Dr. Picard, you have been fighting with the Mossad, the pest storms and survived the Third World War, and you fear some smalltown gossip?”
“Yes, Madam,” he snapped back, hurrying toward the hotel, holding Helena’s hand firmly, “Believe it or not, it still gets on my nerves. Even at the age of one-hundred-thirty-six.”
Chapter 6
Tarek was observing the mummy of Ramses, in the brand-new, mile-long building of the Egyptian Museum, that stretched along the Giza Pyramids site, when a European tourist stopped next to him, to join him.
“How ironic that the first people that organized all their society to prepare for life after death, are now the few that do not want to come to terms with death’s defeat?”
The person addressed him in English with a mild Greek accent, yet Tarek answered in Arabic.
“Maybe. Or maybe we are just holding ourselves true to that original intuition, that life is nothing but a preparation for death, and we are avoiding dangerous delusions.”
The tourist stayed silent and smiled, staring back at the mummy. Tarek waited for a while and spoke again, this time in Hebrew.
“I was expecting you to ask me why I am not abiding by the laws of my country.”
The tourist did not take his eyes away from the mummy, and snapped back.
“Well, I guess maybe you just need a bit of extra time to prepare yourself?”
Tarek laughed and moved away from the mummy, walking down the corridor of the huge Pharoah’s Room. The tourist followed him, navigating through the crowds that were buzzing in the museum’s halls.
Tarek took the escalators to the third floor, and he ended up on the half-mile-long balcony that was overlooking the Pyramids. The musem was located to the west of Giza, and the sunset was painting the desert a pinkish hue. He stopped to take in the view. The tourist came up next to him on his left
, and pretended to shoot some pictures from his drone camera that was flying nearby.
“You see?” Tarek said, “It has always been a marvellous place, yet your ancestors made a fuss until they managed to get back to their Promised Land. Apparently, things haven’t change since, except I agree that Cyprus nowadays is a far less attractive place than Egypt used to be under the Pharoahs.”
The tourist chuckled.
“You know we are restless people, Tarek, we are never at home except in our land of honey and milk.”
“You are not only restless, Yaakov,” Tarek thought it was time to get to the point, “You are also damn clever. That’s what makes you dangerous to yourself and to all the others around you. Then you call me from time to time, to bring in some wisdom….”
“Look,” Yaakov interrupted Tarek, as if he expected the comment, “I know at Mossad they tried to stop those fanatics of the ‘Moshe brigade’ before they could carry out their attacks, but it was too late, they had already seized control of the autonomous vehicle control system of Beirut..”
“…and they turned all the cars of the city into attack devices - running over pedestrians, crashing into buildings, half-destroying what has become again the pearl of the Mediterranean, and further exacerbating the tensions with the Arabian Union.” Tarek said, finishing his sentence, “It took me weeks to persuade my contacts that it was a terrorist fringe in the Tel Aviv Strip, with no connection with the JRC or the Mossad.”
“I hope the help we gave you to stop the attacks and identify the culprits was evidence enough to support your efforts,” Yaakov whispered. “Eli Mahlab does not want a clash with the Arabian Union. He still believes that an acceptable deal can be settled to rebuild Israel without a war with the Arabian Union.”
“There are now fourteen thousand dead bodies too many between Eli and that deal,” Tarek commented coldly, “but we have time to bridge the gap, don’t we?”
“Yes, if it does not get wider, Tarek. That’s why I am here.”
The Last Enemy - A history of the present future - 1934-2084 Page 39
