Chapter 4

"Welcome to my parlor."

Dennis winced, "For some reason, Saric, that phrase always makes me a little nervous."

The four had just gathered in Saric's house for their Saturday meeting. The room Saric led them to was tidy, with a large tan sofa, flanked on both sides by matching recliner seats, all facing a central coffee table. A television stood opposite the sofa in a large entertainment center, along with a VCR, DVD player and stereo. Beside it stood a large bookcase, filled nearly to overflowing. On the other side, a similarly large case held videos and DVDs. A thick layer of dust over most of them told them that the Kelvrosas were not terribly enthusiastic when it came to watching movies. The bookshelf, however, showed signs of having its contents disturbed frequently.

"I'm sorry, but that's what it is. I'd call it the living room, but aside from when guests are present, no one spends much time in here."

Dennis shrugged, "Still, we've more important things to be discussing than the correct name for the room we're in. Which class shall we deal with first?"

"If you guys don't object, I have something else I'd like to bring up first. Saric already knows, but I couldn't get the rest of you alone yesterday," Elaine said. Receiving confirmation, she held out her hand, looked towards the bookshelf, and with a pop, The Unbearable Lightness of Being was firmly held in that hand.

Dennis jerked back forcibly, jamming his wings against the back of the couch in the process. Kentaro blinked, paused, then blinked again; trying to make sure his eyes had not deceived him.

"I'm not sure how, but I've developed the ability to mimic my mother's Gift, and yes, Saric, I can confirm that it is mimicry and not theft, as she used her Gift last night."

"An amazing addition to an already formidable arsenal," Kentaro said, smiling slightly.

"Give a little advanced warning next time you do something like that, please. I bang my wings enough without help," Dennis grinned, looking a little pained.

"At any rate, I'd rather this little addition to my Gift didn't become common knowledge, at least not yet. What I brought it up for was to ask if you guys could help me figure out how it happened."

"Describe the situation in which you first developed your new ability, please," Kentaro said, closing his eyes to get a better mental picture.

"I was in the hospital, just like every afternoon. My mother was brought in with a deep puncture wound in her arm. I went to find a doctor, he told me he needed bandages immediately, and then turned his back to work with my mother. I concentrated on bandages, and suddenly they were in my hand."

"I see two possibilities. This has to do with your genetic relationship to your mother, or there was something else at play. Did you just see her, or did you have some kind of physical contact?"

Elaine thought back to the incident, only two days ago, though it seemed longer. After a moment, she nodded, "I think I touched her sleeve, trying to comfort her. I wasn't very rational at the time."

"Her sleeve? Near her injury?"

"Yes."

"Did you come into contact with her blood?"

"Yes, but I work in a hospital. I come into contact with blood on a fairly regular basis."

"Don't rule out the blood just for that, there could be other factors at work," Saric interjected.

"Perhaps we are working at this the wrong way. What one thing, or combination of things, were different about that day, Elaine?"

"Well, obviously my mother was in the hospital"

"Important though that is, I do not know that it has any direct bearing on this."

"How do you usually feel when you're working?" Dennis asked.

"Calm, relaxed, and generally good about myself. I feel like I'm making a difference."

"Would that at all describe how you were feeling when your mother was brought in?" Dennis continued.

"Not in the least. I felt frightened, helpless, and vulnerable."

"Perhaps it has to do with your emotions, then?" Saric pondered.

"But I've been frightened before since I got my Gift. When Marcon was on the rampage, I felt all of those emotions."

"As I see it, there are probably multiple criteria. At it's heart, Gift is about a change to our genetic structure, so I would be willing to wager that biochemistry is at the root of it. Perhaps, though, it is not one chemical, but two, that need to be simultaneously present for you to inherit another person's Gift."

"Kentaro, I know that Japanese is your native language, but for the benefit of the rest of us, could you please speak English?" Dennis joked.

"Adrenaline, Dennis. It's present when one is feeling one of those heart-pounding emotions."

"Right. Sorry, forgot about that. So you're suggesting a combination of blood and adrenaline is to blame?"

"That is my hypothesis, but it remains untested, and I do not think any of us want to try scaring Elaine and then bleeding on her."

"I think I can live without the benefit of a test for now," Elaine shuddered, "It's not so much the blood, but the idea of intentionally spilling it just to test a theory that turns my stomach."

"Well, be open to the idea, and if the scenario should express itself that you are feeling an adrenaline rush when there happens to be blood present, I am sure you can field test the idea then and there."

Elaine nodded, then turned to her backpack, "I don't think we're going to come up with anything else about that subject. Shall we start in on the schoolwork?"

A trio of groans echoed through the room as the boys pulled out their math books.

It was several hours later, and they were all tired, but the homework that was due on Monday had been dealt with, and some inroads had been made in that massive paper Mr. James wanted for English. Saric couldn't help but think it was a very good thing Arrowhead had a library far larger than was normal for a town that, before Marcon, had held twenty-five thousand.

That thought caused Saric to sigh. The last census, taken after Marcon's death to find the exact cost of his rampage, indicated that Arrowhead now held approximately seventeen thousand five hundred people. Sparkweaver, who was unable to detain them any other way after Marcon had hit them with his Gift, had actually killed many. Those few who had been captured died within days, for they were so enraged that they did not pause to eat, drink or sleep. There were still a few who were bitter towards Sparkweaver for that, but most were just grateful that he had finally managed to kill the one who was ultimately responsible for the death of their spouses, parents and children.

Elaine had picked up on the sigh.

"What's wrong, Saric?"

"Nothing really. Just thinking about Marcon. How could one man be responsible for so much suffering?"

"He had help, remember. He had a fair number of willing followers."

"Still..."

"I know, Saric. Hopefully, we can keep that sort of thing from happening again."

"And if we can't?"

"Then we'll deal with it, hopefully with fewer casualties and less suffering. There isn't much else we can do."

"I suppose you're right. I felt so useless last time. If I hadn't been so afraid, I could have been out there, trying to talk some of Marcon's less fanatic followers into changing sides. I probably could have saved lives."

"We were all afraid, Saric."

"I shouldn't have let that stop me."

"When it comes right down to it," Dennis replied, "None of us had the courage to fight the good fight."

"Yes, but you and Kentaro didn't have your Gifts yet. You had a good reason to stay out of the fight. I didn't."

"You make too much of Gift, Saric. Had I not also been frightened, I could have contributed to the fight with nothing more than my fists and my training in stealth."

"If there is a next time, I'm not going to spend it cowering in a corner somewhere. I'd rather die than live knowing I can't do anything useful in a situation like that."

"I think we all feel the same way about that," Dennis said. Elaine and Kentaro nodded.

"Moving along to a more pleasant subject, did you three have anything planned for after we got this stuff done?" Elaine asked.

"I thought we might watch a movie, or maybe go outside and enjoy the fresh air. There's a stream back behind the house, if anyone would like a peaceful walk, or perhaps some fishing?"

Everyone perked up at the thought of fresh fish, Kentaro most of all. He seemed almost to be bouncing with eagerness.

"I haven't had decent fish since I left Japan. Where do you keep the rods, Saric?"

Within fifteen minutes, they were all casting lines into the stream. They had even found a new and better use for dumplings: they made decent fishing bait. There was no accounting for the tastes of fish.

A little over an hour later, it was growing dark, and they had caught enough fish between them to offer each of their families a better dinner than the usual fare. They divided the catch up evenly, and then Elaine, Kentaro and Dennis bade Saric good evening, with Kentaro vanishing in a burst of speed, and Dennis carrying Elaine on a somewhat bumpy, but extremely swift, journey through the evening sky.

The next evening, in an opulent room in a house on the outskirts of town, Lucas met up with his liege. It had been two years ago when that boy tried to kill Lucas. Genetic cleansing, indeed. What a barbaric concept, even if Lucas had been Giftless. True, no one but his liege knew he had a Gift, but that didn't excuse attempted murder. It was thanks to his liege that the boy was in prison and Lucas was still breathing. Lucas took his debts very seriously.

"I need you to do a bit of observation for me," his liege was saying.

"As you say, my lord. Where do you want me to be?"

"The middle school. The students there are young enough not to know you, and I need you to keep an eye out for those who might need help. Students are often reluctant to come to the authorities about problems, and I want to do something to head off any major incidents."

"I will be there starting tomorrow morning, my lord."

Lucas' liege pointed towards the closet, "Take these clothes. They will make you less conspicuous. Everything else has already been arranged. Thank you, Lucas."

"It is my pleasure, my lord."

The pieces were all fitting together. Lawrence Elton Wentworth, IV, was sick of the new order of things. Back before the apocalypse, he had had money, power, influence, and luxury. Now he was expected to dirty his hands with menial work like a peon. That, at least, would change. Sparkweaver was an idiot not to work to restore the old ways, and Wentworth had no intention of being governed by an idiot. If only Marcon had listened to his advice, the two of them would be running this miserable hamlet. At least no one knew of the connection between the two. No one who still drew breath, at any rate.

Lucas was working out very well, and his loyalty ran surprisingly deep. For now, he was nothing but a pawn, to be used and sacrificed for the long-term goal, but he showed promise, and Wentworth would have to consider giving him at least part of the real story. For now, Lucas would be keeping an eye out among the children for problems, and Wentworth could continue to incur debts from them. The little stunt with Roe had already begun to give him the widespread popularity that he could make use of. The one good thing about life after the apocalypse was the easy availability of tools that had the brains and the abilities to follow orders, without being smart enough to cause problems. These children might not be fully rational, but with their Gifts, they should be able to accomplish much without Wentworth ever being put under suspicion.

And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snailUnwillingly to school.

'Aside from the whining, Shakespeare pretty much nailed it, ' Saric thought, as he grudgingly departed his house for the unpleasantries ahead. It wouldn't have been so bad if math hadn't been the first period of the day, but such was life. It seemed appropriate that the sky was overcast. It was Monday, after all.

The walk to school was rather pretty, but otherwise fairly routine. Saric found himself walking towards the math room with a half-smile on his face. Much though Roe might torture the subject, there was beauty to be found in math. It was not until Saric had already taken his seat that he noticed that the young man in front of the class was not Roe. He waited until the bell rang, then introduced himself.

"Good morning, class. My name is Mr. Feldwythe, and it appears I'll be your teacher for the next several weeks. Mr. Roe fell down the stairs at his house yesterday, and broke a few bones. I'll," at this point, Mr. Feldwythe was interrupted by loud cheering from the less restrained members of the class, "... try to cover things as well as I can until he recovers."

Mr. Feldwythe proved to be an apt teacher. His hands nearly blurred writing equations on the board, but his voice remained steady, and the equations lost their mystical, unknown aspects. Suddenly, they were just numbers, no longer enemies to be fought and conquered, but just facts of life. The homework assignment seemed less intended to torture or confuse than simply to give the students practice with something they now felt comfortable with. Saric was impressed, but he was still bored. Reviewing things he already knew, no matter how well they were presented, could only do so much to excite his interest.

Remarkably, Mr. Feldwythe seemed to pick up on his boredom, and called him, along with a few other students, to stay a few minutes after the bell.

"You guys don't seem particularly enthusiastic about the subject of math. Is there anything I can do to spark your interest?"

Saric was somewhat startled. Skill at teaching, sharp observance, and courtesy were not traits he generally associated with math teachers. It took him a moment to find his voice.

"Sir, it's nothing of your doing, but, at least speaking for myself, this is all review. My parents got me started on math early, and kept me supplied in textbooks. I'm not sure exactly how much I know about math, but I learned this stuff years ago."

"Didn't Mr. Roe issue a general proficiency exam? It's fairly standard operating procedure to begin the school year with one."

Saric chose his words carefully, "Mr. Roe is, perhaps, a bit too interested in the subject of math, and at times seems not to be as fully aware of the classroom around him as he might optimally be."

Mr. Feldwythe smiled, but there was little humor in it, "In other words, he spends all period looking at the blackboard and reciting problems while running through them at full speed. Is that about right?"

"When he's not being an arrogant, power-mad little prick," one of Saric's classmates interjected.

"I can see this class is going to be a lot of work. Expect a proficiency exam sometime very shortly. We'll see where we go from there. Now you'd all best hurry if you want to make it to your next class on time. I'll see you tomorrow."

Saric nodded, thanked Mr. Feldwythe, and made his way to his next class.

Something was wrong. Elaine noticed that the moment she stepped into the hall. People seemed to be giving her an unusually wide berth. Somewhat puzzled, she made her way to history.

This time, the board held the title "Precursors To Genesis" on it. It appeared Ms. Taggert was working her way backwards from the present. After everyone was seated, her lecture began.

"Good morning class. Today, as you no doubt noticed, we are going to discuss the events that led us on the road to a new world. Does anyone know what the first major event in the chain was?"

A girl Saric had noted seemed to take an exceptional interest in the class raised her hand.

"Yes, Cassandra?"

"September Eleventh, 2001."

"Very good. Yes, the terrorist attack upon the World Trade Center got America in the right mind frame. American society might well have dealt with this, however, if not for October Twentieth, 2004.

Shortly before the election, there were two other terrorist attacks. The first one targeted Disney World. Terrorists had been gradually sneaking explosives into the park over the course of the past few weeks. When the fuse was lit, the entire park was consumed in a giant explosion. There were very few survivors. The second attack hit the canals supplying water to Southern California. The damage was so severe that it took weeks to repair the canals. Citizens of Southern California tried to go to other areas with an adequate water supply, but the roads had never been constructed with the thought that the entire population might take to the streets at the same time. A huge fleet of fire-fighting choppers was pressed into service as emergency water carriers, but even with the best efforts of the government and private groups combined, tens of thousands of people died of thirst. The reaction of the people to this set of attacks was fairly predictable. They elected an even more conservative government than had been in power previously. New laws were enacted, and the constitution was amended three times. The twenty-eighth amendment stated that those under suspicion of acts of terrorism were automatically classified as non-citizen enemy combatants, eliminating their access to the Bill of Rights. The twenty-ninth amendment repealed the first, second and sixth amendments. The thirtieth amendment repealed the fourth, fifth, and eighth. Can anyone tell me what rights were sacrificed by the latter two amendments?"

Cassandra raised her hand.

"Yes, Cassandra?"

"Right to freedom of speech, religion, the press, peaceful assembly, right to petition the government, right to bear arms, right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, right to know of what they were being accused, right to confront witnesses to their crime, right to subpoena witnesses in their favor, and right to an attorney were all repealed in the twenty-ninth. In the thirtieth, right to protection from unreasonable search and seizure, right not to be held unless indicted by a grand jury, protection from double jeopardy, right to refrain in testimony to self-incrimination, right to due process of law, right to compensation for federal seizure of private property for public use, protection from excessive bail, fines, and cruel and usual punishment were sacrificed."

Ms. Taggert's eyes had widened slightly.

"Very good, Cassandra. I see you spent quite a bit of time studying the constitution. Yes, the citizens of America willingly sacrificed all of those rights, because the government promised that doing so would make them safer. And then there was another terrorist attack, on January third, 2006. This one was actually engineered by an American group, who, having given up all hope that the country might reverse its course, took matters into their own hands. The Americans in question chose the third of January for a very specific reason. Who can tell me why?"

Cassandra raised her hand.

"Yes, Cassandra?"

"The twentieth amendment states that Congress must by law meet at least once every year, on January 3rd, at noon."

"Correct. Despite incredibly increased security, or perhaps because of it, these citizens were able to utterly destroy Congress. They had assembled in secrecy, despite the best attempts by the government to find such groups, and then infiltrated the security guards. As such, they already had access to very potent weaponry. New congressmen were elected, and the nation struggled on. During all this time, funding had been increasing for the military, but no one was quite sure where to send them. The military began getting more creative with the ways they used their funding, and finally authorized research on a mutation virus. They had hoped to create stronger soldiers and smarter officers, but, as I'm sure you've noticed, things didn't exactly turn out as they'd planned. Shortly before the virus was released, there was a radical reversal of public opinion with regards to security, and grassroots movements were well on their way to restoring the constitution as citizens finally realized that Uncle Sam wasn't keeping them safe, and was himself swiftly becoming the worst terrorist of all. The election of 2008 took place in the middle of this reversal, and relative moderates were elected to positions of power, much to the chagrin of those who were previously in command. They felt that America was too frightened to possibly remove them from office. Unfortunately, the moderates also had more arrogance than sense. Any questions?"