by Vi Grim
'Who's that?' asks Annie.
Oops! 'Just a friend,' I say coyly.
Annie smiles and gives me a wink
When we get back, the house is empty. They're all gone and there's a wee note on the table saying, Along at the rocks, J.
We follow the little footprints along the beach and find them at a large rock pool practicing kung fu. I have trouble trying to keep the kids quiet for a moment while the baby goes to sleep, and he has them doing kung fu! There's a zinode swimming around on her back holding Idris, who is all but asleep and the other five are walking across the large pool, walking on water! The little two, Vinny and Cosmo, are holding hands as they toddle across.
We stand and watch for a moment, totally fascinated then, as usual, I blow it by opening my big mouth, 'Jesus-'
The spell is broken and the kids tumble into the deep pool as if falling through ice. The toddlers go down to the bottom, while the others flail about on the surface. I dive down and grab the little ones. Instinctively holding their breath, the little ones are just fine.
One thing is clear, living where we are, right by the beach; the kids should be able to swim. It seems to be as good a moment as any, so the lessons start right away. After all, you never know when you are next going to be walking on the water and some stupid woman comes along and makes you lose your concentration!
Nelly is a big girl now. She's four. It's almost scary how fast she's growing up; she'll be leaving home soon. I don't know what to get her. I visit Castor and look through catalogues and rack my brains but just can't think of anything. It takes a while, but I finally click. If she really needed something she'd be telling me. Me hunting for a present is just to make me feel good. It's as good a reason as any but I don't get her anything. Does she complain and make me feel guilty? Of course! Once she has recovered from the shock of not getting something she didn't know she needed, we go shopping and eat lots of yummy ice cream and buy her some grown up, four year old clothes. If there is one thing I'll like to give her for her birthday, it's her dad. With Jesus and Azziz around there are some men in her life but they're not her dad; he's special.
Jesus is OTA this year. I think the whole Christmas thing last year was all a bit much. It's nice to have people remember your birthday but to have it as a two week national holiday and an excuse for selfish decadence must get a bit much, especially for someone so Zen.
He's probably hanging out with Tat, sitting cross legged on a mountain top thinking of sex and sausage rolls or playing snap with the sentry slugs.
22
Nineteen today. I stand naked in front of the mirror and look at myself.
I'm a woman, I must be with my three kids, but I see a girl looking back at me. My body has taken a few knocks and gained some scars but nothing compares with the hammering the kids have given it. They came from this body and suck strength from it as they grow. Hopefully they'll repay the debt by looking after me in my old age and not push my wheelchair off the nearest cliff.
My hair has grown back and is half way down my back, thick and straight. It's not blonde anymore, it's darkening up and has turned brown with hints of red and gold. I'm happy about that, the darker it grows, the stronger I am.
I like my eyes. I try to look into them and see me, but what I see is an unfathomable depth like I'm looking into a distant galaxy. There's sparks like diamond and reflections from a hall of mirrors at the same time. Does the light come from within or shine from outside? Probably a bit of both. That mysterious spark is why I'm here, it's why Zeus saved me to be his apprentice and why people take the gamble of trusting in me. My eyes used to be bright blue, now I'm not quite sure. Have they turned cold and grey with all the death that surrounds me? Is there a hint of jealous green? Or are they just bouncing back the colours that surround me like the colourless sea which is vibrant blue in the tropics, grey in England and a cold dark green at the poles? My eyes lost their innocence long ago but there's still plenty of spark in them.
23
Shade is on the cover of Time magazine, and News Week, and The New York Times. He's everywhere. More good news. Planet Earth is on a Roll, and Earth Enters the Age of Aquarius shout the headlines.
'What is the Age of Aquarius?' I ask.
'It's a load of waffle,' says Castor. 'The Earth has a wobble on. No enough to make you drop your cup of tea but a definite wobble. If you were to look up at the North Star then get a little distracted for a couple of thousand years and look at the same spot again, it's not going to be in there. The Earth will have wobbled into Aquarius. Anyway, I didn't get you up to talk wobbles; I wanted to bring you up to date on Earth. Things are going good.'
'Good,' I say. 'I'm glad you're watching because I never give it a thought.'
'You have more important things to do. This dude, Shade, first appeared in the papers a month ago. He's been giving to charity and has set up numerous foundations to help kids in poor countries, including inner city ghettos in the US. Here's a photo of him talking to President Obama at a charity bash. He's completely charming and manages to get even the most hard-nosed business men to support his causes.'
The screen flashes up a photo of a huge shiny yacht berthed in a run-down fishing port with sunken boats all around.
'This is the one hundred and thirteen meter long motor yacht Sex belonging to one of the Russian billionaires, crooked men who have all but stolen their wealth from the people. After a chance encounter with Shade at a street cafe, the owner gave orders for Sex to sail immediately to Puntland, a pirate lair in Somalia, to be used as a floating school and medical centre. Unbelievable.'
'It must be the power of The Book.'
'I would like to think so,' says Castor. 'When I went to do background checks on him, I found that Renard had already done the donkey work and compiled a file. It's good to see him doing something useful, maybe he's changed.'
'Fat chance!' I say.
'Shade was born in Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan in 1972, mother was a seamstress, father a coal miner. Did his schooling in Astana, worked his way up through the local communist party and on the breakup of the Soviet Union secured the mining rights to a large area of wasteland. Oil and gas was discovered in 1999 and he made his fortune. He's been an incredibly shrewd investor and is on track to becoming one of the richest men on Earth. He has a long list of celebrity lovers and hangs out with all the right people.'
With his rugged features, designer suit and trademark dark glasses he looks ever so handsome.
'He's been voted the most eligible bachelor on Earth. There's one for you Em.'
'I'll have to kill him first!' I joke.
24
Castor calls me back up again a week later. He's angry.
'Pollux said that there's a lot of construction on Camillo. I've been keeping quiet about it because I didn't want to upset you but just look at what I've found on the Church of Christian Finance website,' says Castor, frowning as he opens a web page on his cockpit screen.
'Buy a Slice of Heaven. Five star beachfront condos on Paradise Beach, Heaven. Have cancer and ready to drop? A heart murmur and think you might die? Is life too much and you want to end it all? Do it now! Kill yourself! A Slice of Heaven, the development people are dying to visit. Satisfaction guaranteed. No risk, your money is held safely in escrow until you push the pay button on the terrace of your condo. Prices start at $10 million. Call now and talk on the God phone directly to Heaven. Last few apartments selling now. This is your last chance to go to heaven. Don't wait, buy now before you miss out.'
Behind the text is a photo of a massive apartment complex curving along a pristine golden beach. At the very edge of the photo, overshadowed by the building, I can see my cottage.
Bastards! What are they doing to my Camillo?
I'm madder than I've ever been before. My fighter appears on the beach, I teleport into the cockpit, strap myself down and we're off.
The zinode who thought up the emotion powered fighter is a genius. Renard doesn't even k
now what's hit him. His moon explodes and I see his yellowness tumble down towards the sea, then disappear with a big splash. The beachfront condo is reduced to smoking rubble even before Pollux's moon orbits into sight.
A slimeball whizzes past me spinning down towards the surface. The fighter's just about to blast it when Pollux whispers, 'No, let it go.'
It crashes down onto Camillo, followed by another and another. I don't want to look at what's happening. 'Look after Tat,' I say and head slowly back to Zwingly, still fuming.
We don't want to go straight back to live on Camillo; I want it to be revamped before we move back. We form a committee. I never thought I would be one of those old people who sat on a committee but here I am. I want Camillo's future to be planned and the more brains the better. Castor and Pollux and our zinode helpers are virtually here as well. First we decide what we want, then work on how to get there. One thing is clear; that's that I should concentrate on my children and not be trying to do everything. Zeus is the best at running asteroids but he's not around. We need someone with clear vision and lots of drive. We could steal Napoleon from Juno but he would just do everything his way, he's too much of a bossy boots.
Lilly is having a meltdown. She's lost one of her doll's little knitted booties. We turn the house upside down looking for it but can't find it anywhere. It's been stolen, and I know who's taken it. That's the man for us, John Smith the sock thief. He's a town planner. I like him, we might lose the odd sock but at least we know where to look for it. I go to visit him on Juno, get the missing bootie back and make him a proposal. He says he'd love to help with the planning but is not a leader; someone else can do that.
Him and Daphne, move to Camillo. They stay in my cottage while they're getting things started; it's good to have it being lived in.
Camillo goes to Psyche for a refit. They tidy up the mess left by the Preacher Man and his followers, put in farms, replant the forests and stock the sea with fish, make a few changes to the landscape and construct a town and some villages, install all the pipes needed to bring water in and take pee away, and build a road network to link it all together. An extra black hole is added to her core to provide energy, and on Jesus's request, the resonator is upgraded to give better surf.
The committee argues about cars and buses and the Internet. I really like Juno, which is living in a bit of a time warp. They get around on foot or by horse and have the convenience of electricity without the clutter of electronics. The Zinodes come up with such a good anti-car argument that everyone agrees against cars and buses. They say it's a matter of perception; Camillo's a smallish asteroid and if we can get around quickly, it shrinks in the mind's eye and become tiny. If we can only get around by walking or riding, the asteroid will seem huge with vast unexplored wilds outside the little bubble that we live in.
The kids make the decision on electronics for us. We have a rainy day and they're driving us crazy until Azziz nips down the video store and picks up a few DVDs for the kids. Suddenly the fighting and whinging stops and they're glued to the screen like zombies. We'll have electronics, and the more processors and chips, the better!
As an afterthought, I ask for a couple more rooms to be added onto my house. There's getting to be a lot of us.
25
Not having much in the way of seasons, it's hard to keep track of time on Zwingly. The days turn into weeks and the weeks into months, then Castor gives me a call.
'It's ready!' he says excitedly.
'Ready, what's ready?' I ask, trying to remember if I ordered something on the Internet.
'You asteroid!' he exclaims. 'Camillo is all fixed up, repaired, modified, replanted and back in position, waiting for you!'
It's so out if the blue, I don't know what to say. I'd sort of forgotten about it. That's what motherhood does to you; your brain turns to Swiss cheese. 'Wonderful!' I say.
'You can move back on anytime. Your cottage is free, John and Daphne have moved back to Juno,' says Castor, then adds, 'I can't wait to get back.'
It takes me a little while to get enthusiastic. We've been here so long that we've kind of settled in. Vinny, Cosmo and Idris were born here, the older kids have friends and we're into a comfortable routine.
We talk about it for days, then decide to just do it. At the end of the Sunday afternoon jam session, Janice announces that we'll be leaving. No, there won't be a leaving party but we will have an asteroid warming once we've settled back in.
The next morning we visit the people who weren't at the jam session to say bye, pile all our things and kids in the middle of the room, and click!
It's summer in Camillo; just the tail end of it when the days are starting to draw in a little and the sun is losing its oomph. Having just come out of refit the asteroid seems as confused as we are. The clouds are scurrying about not knowing quite what to do with themselves. There used to be three but there seems to be more now. There's hot sunshine one minute, then a snow squall the next. Pollux assures me that it'll settle down in a week or two.
Once we've put everything away and made ourselves at home again, it's like we've never been away. Janice decides to stay for the time being. We're all so used to being together, that it's hard to imagine being apart, even if she is just down the other end of the beach. I'm glad she's staying, I love her singing and joie de vie and Lilly and River are best mates.
We head off together to look around my property. The garden has been planted out, and although some of the plants look a little confused, is flourishing. The bougainvillea has covered the walls in magenta and the Peasgood Nonsuch has huge apples on it.
Vinny walks as far as the garden, but then his legs stop working, so he goes on my shoulders while the bigger kids run ahead down the narrow track through the sugar cane. A clanging of bells lets us know they have found the sheep. Crossing the paddock, we stop in the shade of a mango tree to eat bananas then puff our way up to the hilltop. It's my favourite spot here on top of the bluff. I love to sit on the edge, looking out to sea and chill.
With six kids, there's no chilling going on.
'Nelly, get away from the edge!' I screech.
'River, stop pushing Lilly! River, NOW!' shouts Janice.
'Look out Cosmo!' yells Annie, as she dives to stop him going over the edge.
We beat a hasty retreat and head back home for tea and medals.
I ask Jesus to take charge of the organisation of the asteroid.
'It'll be my pleasure,' says Jesus, delighted that I've asked him.
'Where do we start?' I ask.
We are going to need some rules.'
'Rules, I hate rules!' I protest.
'Rules,' he says. 'When you have more than a few people living together you need rules. I would start with something really simple like: You need to show respect for one another. All disputes will be settled by arbitration with the management having the final word. Then make up more rules as needed.'
'Sounds good to me.'
Jesus and me make a tour of the asteroid.
We start at my place looking at the trees. Apart from the pine trees that were destroyed by the building they are all doing well. I've still no idea what they are but they've grown almost as tall as me. Jesus arranges for sapling umbrella pines to planted to replace the missing trees.
Next stop is Pollux's moon. It's lovely to see Pollux again.
'Thanks so much for sorting things out Emily, I thought they would stay forever and I'd never see you again.'
'I'm so sorry,' I say, giving him a big kiss. 'It was all my fault.'
He reddens up and a big tear rolls down his face. It's a bit tricky to give a slug a hug but I spread my arms wide and push myself against his face.
He gives Jesus and me an overview of the asteroid and proudly points out all the work that has been done.
The land on Camillo is a big island floating in the ocean. On the north side is the mountains. Streams cascade down their rugged slopes towards the flatter land on the south side.
The west end, which used to be scrubland, has changed into a patchwork of fields and orchards, in the middle is the prairie and the east end is heavily forested hills.
There's some new islands in the ocean and lakes in the mountains.
The most noticeable changes are the new towns and the road network linking them together. 'Kastela, the main town,' says Pollux,' is just over the hill from your house. It'll be easy for your kids to walk or ride their bikes to school. Campos is the village at the west end that will service the farming community. Alaro, up by the prairie will be the centre for sheep and cattle farmers, and there's a quarry there, and Deia, in the hills at the east side will be for the lumberjacks and furniture makers.'
A flash of lightning comes from over the mountains and we watch the clouds chasing each other around. 'There's some feisty ones,' says Pollux laughing. 'We're going to have trouble with them.'
'It looks wonderful,' I say marvelling at Camillo. Having been away so long, I don't really feel like it's mine anymore.
Jesus has never ridden a bicycle before and has a few tumbles trying to get started. I run alongside him shouting instructions until he gets the hang of steering, then he comes unstuck and crashes at the bottom of the first hill when he can't find the brakes.
There's a network of cycle tracks all over the asteroid. Starting at Azziz's cafe, the track wends its way through the sand dunes, skirts around my place then over the low hill to reach Kastela. From the top of the hill the view of the town is spectacular. Because of my fear of slimeballs, the towns are walled for protection with gun turrets ready for when they come under attack. Kastela is based on Dubrovnik and is an absolute gem. I'm looking forward to walking around the city walls. Now Camillo has towns and stuff, it needs maintaining, and a population of zinodes has shifted here from Vespa. I like zinodes. They embrace life and live it to the full. They're passionate about work, love, their children and football. On the way into the town we pass a football pitch where a team wearing gold and maroon stripes in training. I hope they'll let me play, and my kids too. Nelly is almost old enough. She loves football.
