“See?” Jack said to Landry. “The band-aids thing is good. I didn’t think about that one.”
“Jack.” He looked at Reynolds who was trying to get his attention. Kevin jerked his chin and Jack turned.
“Sic ‘em,” Jack told him. Reynolds climbed down from the bleachers and moved silently across the grass to the ice cream stand. Stacey was getting Grandma Maggie a Sno-Cone. Before the man behind Stacey knew what was happening, he was surrounded by Reynolds and a couple of SF. Startled, the man dropped his cell phone which he was snapping pictures and recording onto his voice mail. Reynolds ‘accidentally’ stepped on the phone and apologized. While the SF escorted the protesting man out of the park, Kevin stayed with Stacey and walked her back to her family. Daniel looked at them.
“What’d I miss?” he asked. Jack told him. “Where is he?”
“He’s gone,” Jack said. “Stace, honey, we’re having a problem with the media today, so please keep one of us or an SF with our. You want to tell us what the man said to you?”
Stacey handed Maggie the Sno-Cone and wondered if she was in trouble.
“Jack, it’s my fault, don’t blame her, please,” Maggie said, feeling terrible for getting the girl into trouble. Jack waved at her.
“I’m not blaming anyone, Mom, I’m just concerned,” he said. “No one’s in trouble except that reporter for not identifying himself and sneaking in a conversation with our daughter.”
“I didn’t say anything important,” Stacey said. “He asked me if I was one of the O’Neill kids. I said I was a Jackson kid but you’re my Dad, too.”
Daniel hooked an arm around her, pulling her in and planting a kiss on her cheek, “That was very good,” he told her. “Did you say anything else?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “That was when Col. Reynolds came over.”
“She’s fine, guys,” Sam said. “The Tigers are about to win, so chill!” Sam put an arm around Stacey and pulled her down to the bench. They were up moments later, yelling and jumping as two boys ran home while the run to first base was called out. The ball thrown to the catcher was missed and the last boy slid across the base. Tigers 4-3!
While parents rushed to find their children, Jack motioned to Reynolds.
“Tell both teams they’re invited to my house,” Jack said. “I’ll get dogs and burgers on the way home.”
Matty ran up and Jack caught him. “You made a great triple!” Jack informed him. “And that run from second! Like the wind!” Matty hung off Jack’s neck for a moment and then slid to the ground. “What?” Jack asked, seeing the look on the boy’s face.
“It’s just….. my… father… always told me what I did wrong. When he came to my games at all.”
Jack pushed the hair from Matty’s face. “Do you know what moves you did wrong?” Matty gave a nod. “Then why should I waste my breath telling you? Don’t worry about it; we’ll practice and you’ll do your best the next time. It’s just a game, Matt. The world won’t end if you drop the ball. Bombs, yes, baseballs, no. I’m proud of you, so forget Andrew. He doesn’t deserve your memories. Come on; you can help me find stuff for a cook-out. And maybe a stop at the barber’s.”
The next day, Jack sat in a private New York studio and talked with a famous reporter. Gabriel came in from Geneva, deciding at the last minute that he wanted lunch at his favorite Greek restaurant. Which wasn't in Greece. They assured the talk show host that there was nothing untoward going on. Odd things were happening to a few people because of the entire evolutionary thing, but there was nothing for people to get upset about. Jack demonstrated his abilities by healing a freshly made scratch on the host’s hand and Gabriel told everyone that Jack had done the same thing to him and he had seen Jack heal others. He made a point that he had never seen Jack harm anyone and didn’t think Jack was the type of person to harm someone. Outside of a battle situation. When asked about getting shot, Jack laughed and opened his uniform, showing the world his bared chest. Even his battle scars had mostly faded away, much to his disappointment; he earned those scars, dammit! He didn’t know where the story came from about almost losing a lung, but he was sound and healthy. Sure, he had been shot a couple months back; a graze on his shoulder. He flexed for the camera. His shoulder was fine. The two of them spun a good story and Gabriel filled it in with science talk about evolution.
And the missing cadet and Jack’s son? Jack laughed it off. Yes, the cadet was on assignment for him; the young man had done a service to his country, no Jack wasn’t going to specify, and the young man was rewarded with an off-world mission. As for Jonathan, well, he was living off-world because that’s where he wanted to live. He was helping some friends establish a colony. Not an issue, as far as Jack was concerned.
Once more, Jack and Gabriel warned the world not to be afraid of the changes some people were going through. It was normal. Weird things might begin to crop up, but it was now normal. And maybe some reporters should learn to be a little more responsible about their reporting.
While Jack was playing in front of the cameras, Daniel had stopped at a gas station on his way home from the store. Olivia was in her carrier in the backseat. She was making noises and enjoying the sound of her own voice as she looked around.
“Dr. Jackson.” He looked around and saw that a local newspaper reporter had pulled up to the pump next to him. Daniel knew there were two SF close by; it was his concession to Jack for leaving the house. He glanced at Olivia. She was watching the strange man, but she wasn’t upset about anything.
“Bill Weller,” Daniel acknowledged, recognizing him from around town. “How’s the Fifth Estate?”
The man smiled in appreciation. “It’s well, thanks to all the fodder over the past year.”
Daniel also smiled in appreciation. He wasn’t too nervous about this particular reporter; Weller wasn’t the hyper type, which kept his articles usually buried somewhere in the center of the paper.
“I’m honestly not following you,” the man said. “I just saw you as I was driving by and thought I’d stop. Can I get a quote from you?”
Daniel thought about it. “What we have to do is to be forever curiously testing new opinions and courting new impressions.” Walter Pater.”
Weller smiled again and nodded. “That’s a good one, I hadn’t heard it before. Doctor, I live in this town, so I know there’s nothing to be feared about all these changes going on with people. Hell, my own kid is learning things faster than I ever did at his age and I envy him. I had a hell of a time in school. I think like all good parents, I want better for him than I had. At least I hope I’m being a good parent. Is there anything you can say to the parents about their kids?”
“Love them,” Daniel said. He put the hose back and leaned against his car. “Love them and support these new things that are happening. This is a normal thing that is occurring. We’ve known about evolution for years. We’ve seen it happen in other species, right before our very eyes. Now it’s happening at home. Yesterday the world was flat, today it’s round. This is still the same world and we are growing up. We are being told to accept responsibility for our actions because if not, we will destroy ourselves. Look at North Korea. The actions of one man who refused to accept his neighbor. Eleven million people are dead because of one man. Eleven million, Bill. And the rest of us billions will be cleaning up his mess for years and God knows what all that radiation is going to do to the population and the planet. Chernobyl is still coming up with oddities and that was only a small localized spill. Mother Nature is telling us that we are no longer children. She thinks we are ready to be adults. Let’s honor the Mother by accepting Her challenge.”
“And do all these changes have anything to do with this alien partnership?” Weller asked.
“You mean the Unified Worlds?” Weller nodded. “No, not really,” Daniel said. “We aren’t the only humans to be going through this leap, just the largest concentration of humans. It’s happening on a planet called Langara, too. The u
nification is about worlds coming together to support each other. To look out for each other. Our world happens to be one of the few with such diverse separation of countries. Most worlds are under one government. Most worlds have only a few million people to their populations, thanks to the Goa'uld decimating them. We are just barely squeezing into the Unified Worlds. There are rules, a treaty, which all members need to follow. Believe me, we’re barely making it. I think the UW council is taking a few shortcuts because of General O’Neill. After the Korean incident, I certainly wouldn’t have accepted us on the membership roster.”
“Treaty? Can we read it?” Weller asked.
Daniel shrugged. “Sure, it isn’t a secret.” He took out his BlackBerry. “What’s your email?” Surprised, Weller told Daniel his email address. “I’m sending this from my public email, so don’t abuse it…. there you go.”
“Who wrote it?” Weller asked. “The… who are they…. Anun….”
“An-un-naki,” Daniel supplied, and spelled it out. “They had input, but I wrote most of it. The initial council representatives tweaked it for their needs.”
Weller glanced at his cell phone which was recording the conversation. “What about colonization? This is a pretty crowded planet.”
“There will be no colonization unless people start behaving themselves,” Daniel told him. “If they can’t get along here, we are certainly not going to inflict the rest of the galaxy with our garbage. Responsibility begins at home.”
Daniel cut the conversation off and excused himself. “My responsibility begins with making sure my children eat and have my attention while their other two parents are out of town.”
He drove out of the gas station and glanced at Olivia in the mirror. “How was that, Liv?” he asked. “Not too much damage?”
She considered him and then held out her bottle. It was empty. “Da! Bbbbbbbrrrr….” He reached into the bag at his side and came up with another bottle. He handed it back to her and she sucked happily on the juice.
As Daniel waited at the stop light, a parade of classic cars went by. He took his sunglasses off to better admire the view. A thought struck him and he picked up his cell phone. It took about ten rings.
“What? Daniel, I’m doing an interview.”
“Then why did you answer the phone? You owe me a birthday present, right?”
Jack looked at Gabriel and their host and the red light on the camera. “Yes?” This should be good, he thought to himself, and put the phone on speaker while holding a finger to his lips, shushing everyone.
“A car.”
Jack looked at the phone. “You have a car.”
“I don’t have a cherry red ’67 Mustang.”
Gabriel put a hand to his mouth, trying to keep silent. Their host took the cue and also kept silent.
“A what? Daniel, do you know how much a ’67 Mustang costs?”
“Jack, it isn’t too often that I splurge, so I’ll get it myself, if I have to.”
Jack rolled his eyes and lowered his face into a hand for a moment. “I’ll go halves,” he finally said. “We may need to take out another mortgage…. Daniel?”
“Yes, Jack.”
“While you’re on the line, how about answering a few questions from our LIVE audience.”
There was silence. “Why did you answer the phone?!” Daniel hissed. Gabriel and their host, as well as the crew, began laughing.
“Well, I was kinda hoping you were going to talk dirty to me,” Jack said, arousing more laughter. Daniel swore at him in Jaffa. “Knew I could count on you, honey buns.”
There was silence. “Honey buns?”
“Sweetie pie?”
“Sweet…… Jack!”
“What’s that song I seem to remember hearing years ago…… sugar kisses.”
…… “Gabriel?”
Gabriel got hold of himself and cleared his throat. “Yes, Daniel?”
“Do me a really big favor? Smack him.”
Gabriel backhanded Jack’s arm as the crew laughed.
“Dr. Jackson? It’s Larry. Can we talk a moment?”
“Yes, of course,” Daniel said. Jack moved his phone closer to the microphone. “And it’s Daniel, please. How are you, sir?”
“I’m fine, thank you. We’ve been discussing these rumors of miraculous healings, as I’m sure you are aware. Could you comment on this?”
“I’m sure both Jack and Dr. Thorn have been reminding everyone about this leap we are going through, so I won’t bother to repeat them. All I can say is that it’s nothing we haven’t seen others do. Off-world, I mean. I think we would have begun this sooner if not for our societies being semi-phobic about anything that a sacred text doesn’t tell them exists.”
“Are you saying our society is in the midst of religious hysteria, Daniel?”
“Do you disagree?” Daniel countered. “We have lots of examples of so-called strange things happening through the history of this planet, but no one believes it if it isn’t verified by the AMA. How many people, mostly women, were burned or drowned in recent history in Africa for no other reason than a freak fever or whatever? We are barely out of the dark ages, Larry. It’s happening and people need to accept it.”
Their host leaned over the table, looking thoughtfully at the innocent cell phone. “According to General O’Neill, he’s able to heal cuts and scrapes. We cut my hand and he healed it right in front of us, so I’m certainly not going to deny his skill. How far does it extend, though?”
“Are you asking if he can raise the dead?” Daniel asked. Jack lowered his head for a moment, knowing what was coming by the tone in Daniel’s gentled voice. “His father and his niece, the mother of the children he adopted, are dead. His son Charlie died about ten years or so ago; if Jack had had the ability then, he certainly would have saved his son. No, Larry; Jack’s our band-aid guy, no more, no less.”
The crew was silent. “Thank you, Daniel,” Larry said after a moment. “General, I’m sorry for bringing up those memories. I knew about your family, but I didn’t follow the pieces.”
“I’m fine,” Jack said. “It’s okay, Danny. How about we change the subject? I believe the topic of marriage was on the list.”
Their host nodded, grateful for the opening. “Daniel, would you mind?”
“Not at all,” Daniel said. “I’m all for marriage. What about it?”
“There’s another round of arguments to amend the Constitution, specifying man-woman only marriage,” Larry said.
“Short sighted of them,” Daniel said.
“How so?” Larry asked, curious.
“Well, out of the hundreds of worlds that we know, only a very small handful are specific on that subject. Most planets don’t care about who marries whom as long as everyone is legal age and consenting. Actually, most planets have what we call common law marriage or handfasting, which is what we did for our ceremony. And no one places emphasis on numbers within the union. Other planets consider it legal because there is a contract between the parties and there were witnesses to the vows and the signing of the contract. A few planets have a spiritual leader that blesses the union, but it isn’t necessary; other than that, it all boils down to contracts. We may be more advanced than most worlds in the technology department, but our social skills are lacking. We need to catch up and remind the government that the bedroom is none of its business. The government’s business is civics, not my bedroom. …. Oh, hey, I need to go. The baby is making her bad diaper face and hell is about to break loose.”
“Thank you for taking time for us, Dr. Jackson,” their host said. “You’ll be on the show with your new book soon?”
“Yes, in a couple of weeks,” Daniel said hurriedly. “Jack –Mustang.”
“Yes, Daniel.”
There was the sound of an unhappy baby making her situation known just before the line was disconnected.
“Larry, do you see what I deal with everyday?” Jack whined. “Out of left field, Lar. I never know what Daniel o
r Sam are going to come up with, much less the kids, and yet people seem to think my family is a danger to the American way of life. He wants a ’67 Mustang, Lar. Cherry red. How American can you get?”
“And you’re going to get it for him,” Gabriel continued.
“And I’m going to get it for him, God help me,” Jack said, leaning back wearily in his chair.
“And speaking of the Man,” Larry said, watching the two in amusement.
“Who –Daniel?”
Gabriel shook his head. “Capitol M, Jack.”
“Oh. How about we not go there?” Jack suggested.
“I read an advance copy of Dr. Jackson’s book,” Larry said. “There are enough holes in it to drive a spaceship through.”
Jack lifted an eyebrow. “That’s a good one,” he said, shaking a finger. “But I’m afraid you’ll need to ask Daniel about any holes. I didn’t help him write it.”
“Come on, Jack, you are infamous for your anti-religion stance,” their host said.
“And?” Jack asked. “I am anti-ignorance and anti-intolerance. I don’t care what other people do or how they worship, so give me the same consideration. And I’m not going to explain myself; it’s no one’s business.”
After discovering that no one goes where Jack doesn’t want to go, they took phone calls from their listening and viewing audience. Many people tried to push Jack into the discussion and they all failed. A few military personnel wanted to know about gays in the military. Jack told them that if Alexander the Great could deal with it, so can they. Gabriel was more helpful, answering questions from worried parents about the odd things their kids were doing. He also encouraged anyone not tagged with the new locator ID’s, that they should do so. He assured people that the tags did not monitor thoughts or any brain activity; the tags only told a machine where that person was at any given moment. It was a great invention in the face of kidnappings and runaways. The tags were being given out for free, so if anyone tried to charge them they were to notify the authorities. Gabriel also swung the conversation to medicine and let everyone know that his office was putting a protocol together for Stage 3 human trials for diabetic and heart disease cures, and they could thank General O’Neill’s people for bringing the ideas in from the stars. The phones began to ring off the hooks.
Unification: The Anunnaki Unification Book 5 Page 15
