Geoffrey noticed that she was watching him and walked over to her. He held out his hand to her. She took it and stood up. He walked back to his tent with her. When they were alone inside the tent, he put his arms around her and kissed her. She pulled back.
“You are not dying here,” she said. Geoffrey laughed.
“I know. I missed you.” Geoffrey answered. “Stay here with me.”
She saw he had set up sleeping arrangements to accommodate two people. She felt like crying, which was probably not the best response under the circumstances. There was no debate within her where she would stay. She knew that this is the only place she wanted to be. She took off enough clothing to sleep comfortably and extended her hand out to him.
When she had him close to her, with her head against his shoulder, hearing his heart beating, she asked, “Is it terribly painful?”
“What?” He answered.
“Living,” she answered.
“Most of the time, it isn’t. It doesn’t really hurt, but it begins to lose the novelty and the intensity. One of the things that make life feel so urgent and passionate is that you know you will die. There is a finite quality to all life. When that intensity isn’t there, a different relationship is built to life. You need to find what makes life feel real, urgent, passionate, alive. It is odd that not being able to die makes you feel utterly dead.” Geoffrey said.
“You are the worst salesman that ever walked the planet earth,” Emily replied.
“The thing is, Emily, living without human contact, always controlling your every action because you know you can’t experience intimacy, watching your every step, is also not living. I still remember so clearly the first time someone died, and yes, something died in me that day and never recovered. I wasn’t like you. I got angry. I thought that I was cursed, and I filled with rage. I left the village where I’d been born and took off into the world, determined to hurt others. When she found me, the trail of bodies I’d left was immense. I was closer to what Tristan is now. I lived for the pleasure of the moment of death. Now, I am repulsed by who I once was. Maybe it was for the best that I got the time period I lived. I was alive to see the empires rise and fall. I battled in wars from one end of the planet to the other. I was never kind.” Geoffrey said.
“I didn’t realize you weren’t like me,” she said.
“Maybe that is why I miss the pain. Who knows? I know that as my body feels stretched to the limit, and the world has also changed. The empires I built are tittering on edge. We are facing climate collapse and human extinction. There are no easy answers as to how to solve this. There is one gatekeeper left. She is a little girl guarded fiercely by Andres Montenegro.”
“She’s not the only one,” Emily said. “There are two others. I saw them when we were in AA001.”
“Really?” Geoffrey said, paying more attention. “Maybe then it would be possible.”
“What would be possible?” Emily asked.
“Andres, Drew or Goliath as most people call him, and I thought the solution, when the Earth gets to a critical point in extinction, would be an evacuation. If we could get six billion people off the planet into different planets, humanity and the planet may survive. The plan has issues.” Geoffrey said.
“I am listening.”
“We need to find or create more gates, but before that, we have to find planets that could handle the input of humans. There are a few gates on the planet. Ten at the moment. None go to places where people could survive long term. Maybe mine, but that is the only one. I don’t know. Maybe I am just dreaming of something impossible. Still, this future is yours. Human need will not be about making empires stronger and balancing world power. Human need is the planet’s need. Human need depends on the survival of land and animals. Love and compassion are definitely more useful than being a warrior.” He said.
“There is only one problem,” she said.
He laughed and held her closer to him, “Yes, that is a rather big problem. I am not particularly happy with losing you either.”
“We could wait for a long time,” she said.
“I wish that was the case,” Geoffrey answered. “I wish we could stay like this for a long time. Maybe we can.”
“Do you mean that?” She asked.
“We could try. I desperately want to die, but I am not ready to let you go either.” Geoffrey replied. “Just please stay alive.”
“I’ll do my best,” she replied and held on to him hard.
Emily thought about everything he said. She couldn’t picture the future. She saw the images she’d seen at the gate and knew with complete certainty that he was right. Destruction was heading their way. She didn’t want the responsibility either. For now, she had Geoffrey close, and he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to die. She would take time as it came.
Chapter 12
TJ56823
Journal 1
Several days later, they were landing in Mexico City. Geoffrey was with Emily and Tristan. Tristan wasn't particularly happy about the arrangement, but there wasn't much he could do about it. To make matters worse, it was now evident that Tristan was the third wheel. He sat looking out the window, happy to be in a different part of the airplane. They sat close with their heads together, a few rows up. It had been a rather trying few days. Emily and Geoffrey sat most of the time holding hands and doing the kind of stuff that Tristan found repulsive. They actually seemed to have a thing for each other. It was just odd.
Tristan was now in Mexico, just a bus ride away from the place where he would deliver the glass thing, then he was free. It was a simple arrangement. He didn't expect two people to be following along for no apparent reason. He was the one getting the cash. That was important. Then he could focus on his next mission, which was getting rid of Emily, maybe even Geoffrey. If he could do that, he could return to his life, feeling finally at peace. He would be a wealthy man, and that made him very, very happy.
The airplane pulled up to the gate, and they filed out onto the airport. Tristan was exhausted. It was his third airplane: Nairobi to Paris, Paris to Atlanta and Atlanta to Mexico City. Tristan thought about taking one more plane to the Yucatan peninsula. He changed his mind when he realized he could spend several days in a nice hotel enjoying the advantages of civilization in a big city.
They had a little clothing they had bought in Arusha, but he wanted more clothes. He wanted an expensive scotch. He needed a five-star restaurant with a world-renowned chef. To be fair, the hotel in Arusha had been impressive. He required the clubs, the bars, the hipster hangouts, and some fashionable clothes. All that could be found in Mexico City. He was surprised that Geoffrey agreed.
They maneuvered their way through the airport and were in a taxi to the hotel shortly after. Tristan sat in the front seat of the car looking out at the city. What a strange mix between stupendous wealth and extreme poverty. Nairobi had felt like that too. He had only driven through that city as he traveled to the airport. Mexico City felt alive and enormous. He figured he could probably escape the clutches of his captors, too happy to be alone in repugnant romance land, and go explore. Geoffrey knew him well enough to know that Tristan wouldn't leave to deliver the package on his own. He was curious about why Geoffrey wanted to be involved. He didn't quite buy the protection of Emily. To be fair, she did need protection once Tristan delivered the spiral.
As soon as they were checked in, Tristan announced he was heading out into town. Emily waved goodbye. Tristan stepped out of the hotel and looked around him. He didn't speak a word of Spanish, but he figured that someone would understand English. It was the civilized world, after all, and Tristan needed alcohol, good food, and women in that order. He was standing on the sidewalk of a vast avenue, looked up, and saw some statue of an angel. Tristan looked down and saw another statue.
He turned to the doorman at the hotel. “Where can I get something to drink?”
The doorman looked a bit confused. Tristan made a motion with his hand as if to drink. The d
oorman smiled and pointed beyond the flying angel. Tristan thanked him for giving him a rather generous tip and walked towards happy oblivion.
EB26392
Journal 1
Emily waited for Geoffrey to finish a phone call. A smartphone arrived for Geoffrey along with the passports. To her surprise, he knew how to use it. She looked out the window to the expansive city below her. It was overwhelming.
When she heard him say goodbye, she spoke, “Do you think it was safe to let Tristan head out on his own?”
“For the Mexican population?” Geoffrey answered. “No. It is not safe. But they are also pretty good at taking care of themselves. I am sure he will have some hard lessons to learn if he gets carried away.”
“Sometimes, you can be heartless,” she replied.
“It is a flaw of time. Everything seems rather petty. You learn to tolerate what once would have been completely unbearable.”
“Tristan?” She asked.
“Yes, Tristan,” he replied.
“What are we going to do?” She asked.
Half an hour later, they were walking into a giant museum. Emily stood watching men flying through the air tied by ropes to their feet outside the museum. Emily had loved all the small shops with food she had never tasted. She lived in Los Angeles and knew Mexican food better than most, and even Mexican candy existed at any gas station. These were not industrial candy, but more locally made. She wanted to eat everything. A pinwheel caught her eye, and she wanted to take it with her.
Geoffrey convinced her to follow him into the museum. She wasn't really the museum kind. Emily loved art, but she found museums overwhelming. She walked to the atrium feeling small and insignificant. Geoffrey handed her a ticket, and they walked into the courtyard of the museum. It had a giant waterfall fountain in the center. To the side, the museum spread around her. They walked into the first hall dedicated to the development of mankind. She held Geoffrey's hand as they walked together.
“It seems morbid to look at the development of mankind when we have spent three days discussing its extinction,” Emily said.
"I want you to see how far humanity has gone and what it looked like when I first visited Mexico," Geoffrey replied.
"What year did you arrive in Mexico on your first visit?" She asked.
“846 AD.”
“You actually saw the civilizations displayed in the museum alive and thriving?” She asked.
"Yes, I did," he said. "I wasn't exactly afraid of the oceans. I knew that I couldn't die, and I knew the earth was not flat. I lived in ancient Greece. I had been to AA001. Strangely it has not changed that much in several thousand years. As a result, I knew there was land in this direction. It felt like a rather exciting adventure."
“Did they really practice human sacrifice?” Emily asked.
"Yes, but that's nothing new. I came from people who also practiced human sacrifice. I think humans do some bizarre things." Geoffrey continued to walk down the hall.
Emily felt that the statement described more about Geoffrey than she cared to know. She understood his blasé attitude about so many things. Geoffrey’s mind was so open, it felt invasive. It was uncomfortable. She wondered if one day she would be like that. She would see things that were obviously and clearly wrong and not react because she had seen so much that was worse.
"I wanted you to look at more than just the people I once knew. I wanted you to see the timeline of human history. This modern world is a short amount of time compared to how long humans have been around. For most of human history, people have lived in small communities, many times nomad, working the land, or following the herds of food." Geoffrey said.
“Why is this important?” Emily asked a little sarcastically.
"If in your lifetime, the human race is facing extinction and evacuation is the only option, then they will return to this kind of life. The idea is to teach humans to survive in these kinds of communities again. One of the biggest flaws with my plan is that there are very few people alive today who can survive that lifestyle. Even by the time I was born, most humans lived in larger groups. Learning how to function in extended family units won't be easy. There has to be a transition. I am not sure what that transition should be." He added.
“Are you training me for your departure?” Emily asked.
“Of course,” he said.
“But you won’t be dying,” Emily said.
Geoffrey looked at her with tenderness. “I think the world will be in good hands.”
Emily saw Andres Montenegro walking towards them. Geoffrey immediately went to greet him. He was followed by a really handsome teenager. The teenager had attitude and style. Everything about him spoke money. He almost felt like a younger version of Tristan, but this kid didn’t have Tristan’s darkness. Geoffrey walked back with them.
“Goliath, I’d like you to now officially meet Emily, my successor.”
Emily gave Geoffrey a dirty look and shook Andres Montenegro’s hand. “It is nice to see you again. Why are you Goliath?”
“It was a nickname from the army, and it stuck. Most people call me Drew. Goliath is tied to my work.” Goliath answered.
"How did he end up with you?" Geoffrey asked, pointing to the teenager.
“Hello to you too. I don’t think we’ve met.” The boy responded. “Samuel Mueller. And you are?”
“Geoffrey will do,” Geoffrey replied.
Emily was holding back laughter at the exchange. She extended her hand toward the boy. "I'm Emily. Nice to meet you, Samuel."
Sam shook her hand. It surprised Emily how self-assured he was. There was no insecurity in the boy and also no innocence.
"I know your father," Geoffrey said. "We've crossed paths on several occasions. I am surprised he never mentioned me."
“Why would he have mentioned you?” Sam said.
“I get around,” Geoffrey answered.
“Let’s get somewhere quieter where we can talk.” Goliath led them out of the hall.
Goliath and Geoffrey walked ahead towards a series of chairs in the courtyard. They sat down and waited for Emily and Sam to join them. Emily was still trying to figure out why they were meeting. She was aware that Goliath had been at AA001 with them just a few days before. Now he was in Mexico with some teenager needing to discuss something with Geoffrey. Emily knew he wasn't the gatekeeper. When they began to talk, it got more baffling. They weren't really saying anything. How is your family? How are the kids? How's your home? Emily couldn't understand the purpose of the meeting. After about twenty minutes of small talk, the two men stood up, said goodbye, and Goliath walked away with the teenager following closely behind.
Geoffrey took Emily’s hand and returned to the hall in the museum. Emily was annoyed. She felt she had missed the whole exchange and couldn’t figure out why it even happened. And what’s with the kid? She waited to see if Geoffrey would give an explanation, but nothing really happened. She should have known better. A man who doesn’t talk, shouldn’t be expected to suddenly begin sharing.
"I want you to look at the way the houses were set up around a campfire. The doors go inward. It is important to create a safety barrier from both animals and other humans. The people will have to be on a planet that has extensive wildlife because they will need to eat. Of course, some animals will be imported, but one of the main reasons to do this is to give nature a chance to heal here too." Geoffrey continued with the lecture as if the meeting with Goliath hadn't happened. Emily could feel the rage rising.
"Once societies got bigger, the whole dynamic of power changed. It will be essential to sort the kind of power structure that can survive extreme pressure. My guess is that a third of the human population will perish in the experiment, whether it is from disease or starvation. Most people now live in cities totally disconnected from the land. " Emily walked some distance away as Geoffrey kept talking. She wondered when or if he would notice she was upset.
He kept the monologue going completely oblivious. They
had now traveled through half of the museum. He still hadn't noticed there was anything odd about the exchange. It became a challenge. Emily wondered if they would travel through the whole extensive museum with his ongoing lecture on the survival of the human race, and he would never notice that she was angry. She began to study him as he talked. He was an odd character. She somehow adored him. It made her wonder if it was like picking up a rather unfortunate looking dog from the shelter, the one that pees on the carpet and barks all night, but somehow is so cute you have to have him.
His lecture was attracting some attention, especially once he got further in the timeline, and he was no longer lecturing about the end of the human race. He was talking about his own experiences with the cultures. He spoke of friends he'd known and the way they had lived. He discussed their dress and their food and explained the legal system. Emily had a headache. She wondered if he had spoken this much in years. He was not exactly excited or passionate about what he was sharing. He just felt that it was something she needed to know.
Dance of Life: The Belief Chronicles: Book One (Chronicles of a Planet's End) Page 17
