Julian’s Proposal
It was not at all possible that being summoned by Julian Scott Bond, first level senator in the World Council, was a good thing. Looking around Julian’s office, Kieron Kwest could not help but notice all of the books, real original art, hand-made rugs and furniture. It was all from the Ancient World. Every time, he came to the Shakespearean Scott Estate in Bostonia, he was amazed by Julian’s wealth. While Kieron had acquired some of these things it had cost. Julian had inherited it all, even though half of it should have gone to Hamlet.
Julian had received his fortune by birth and theft, but Kieron Kwest had earned his. He was worth an estimated 500 billion credits, but Kwestscott Island alone was worth a billion, at least his half of the island was. The other half of the island belonged to Steffana and her sisters. No telling how much or how little their half was worth. They didn’t operate they way that everyone else in the Free World did.
He walked over to a glass enclosed book case and reviewed the ancient texts,Khan Lear, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet-
“Would you like to take a look at one of those?”
Kieron turned and crossed his arms impatiently. He walked back across the room to his seat in front of Julian’s desk.
“Those texts are the legacy of my family. Every member of my family is named after one of the characters in those texts…well everyone except Hamlet’s girls, Leevian, Gracen, Neptune, Sashana, Steffana-what kinds of names are those?”
Kieron looked at Julian with slight hostility and said,
“What can I do for you Julian?”
Julian smiled tightly, but it was not a smile that extended to his cool lavender eyes. Every time Kieron saw him he was stuck by how much he resembled Steffana, or rather Steffana resembled him.
“Maybe those girls wouldn’t have become such a pain in my side had they been named properly. Can I get you some tea, a cigar…or a relaxation scape, before we begin?”
“No. I have thirty minutes to meet with you, and you are ten minutes late.”
“Fine. Let’s get to it then. Steffana…she’s quite powerful, No?”
Kieron noticed that Julian tried to read a reaction in him. He gave him none and just stared at Julian. Julian seemed to be encouraged by this and continued. He brushed back his wavy violet hair and said,
“Unfortunately she’s become too powerful and must be dealt with harshly.”
Kieron knew it was only a matter of time before it came to this. Now he had to decide what was going to be done. He replied calmly,
“What do you have in mind?”
“Murder…maybe for someone as powerful as her we should refer to it as assassination, what do you think?”
He was talking about killing his own niece as if it were as mundane a topic as the daily prison riots in the Real World. Why did he want to kill her?
“Why are you asking me?” Kieron asked flatly.
“Well…” Julian paused, “I thought that maybe we could help each other.”
Kieron hated Julian for his underhandedness, his politics; the last thing Kieron wanted to do was help him. But he never knew when he might need him, so Kieron entertained him,
“How so?”
“Steffana is very powerful.”
“You’ve said that already.”
Kieron ran his hands through his living hair; it massaged his fingers. He was getting annoyed with Julian. He wanted him to get to the point already.
“Leevian, even more so.”
Kieron shook his head to indicate that this wasn’t an accurate assessment of the situation.
“Not really.”
“Oh…really? Well maybe you have some information that I don’t.”
“I just don’t think Leevian is all that powerful. ”
“Well, see this is why you can help me.”
Julian smiled disingenuously and uneasily again. Kieron could sense that Julian was really desperate, feeling as though he really needed Kieron, which Kieron realized was good for him. Julian continued,
“Even though they are my nieces, I understand why you hate both of them, given everything that they’ve done to you, ruining your business, slandering your name…and after everything you did for Steffana. How could she betray you?
Betrayed…Steffana had betrayed him. There was nothing that Kieron hated so much as betrayal. Julian knew this. He had probably read it in his mind, some how, when he wasn’t taking care to shield his thoughts. Julian was trying to arouse Kieron’s anger against Steffana. It was working. Kieron thought all the times he had wanted to hurt Stef-and badly-just as much as she had hurt him. But this time, he wasn’t going to give into emotion. There was too much at stake. He revealed none of this to Julian, instead he said very calmly.
“I do not care about Steffana, or what she says, or what she does. She is no longer my concern.”
Julian began to laugh, at first quietly, but then his laughter grew wilder, more sinister. It was evil. Kieron knew he was trying to irritate him.
“Oh you say that! That’s what you’ve always said! We both know that’s not true. If you kill her, she will no longer be a problem you.”
“She hasn’t caused me any problems lately.”
That was not entirely true.
“Oh but she will. There is something coming…something totally devastating- and it will have an affect on your interest as well.”
Kieron tried not to seem too interested, because he understood that Julian operated of fear. Once he sensed it on you, he would go in for the kill. As much as Kieron hated Steffana, he loved her too. They were connected. Her pain was his pain. It had always been that way.
“Whatever happens to Steffana doesn’t really concern me.”
“Steffana is destabilizing the world order, and you know what happened the last time the world order was destabilized.”
Kieron replied,
“She doesn’t have that kind of power. She’s just an entertainer. She sings….that’s all.”
“Haven’t you seen the news projections? Aren’t you appalled by what she’s been doing?”
Kieron was actually quietly relieved. It was about time someone woke up those dead Virtual Worlders. They were slaves… and they didn’t even know it. Even though the Real World was rough, at least it was free.
“What has she done…so she burst a few brain chips…and now the Virtual Worlders are reading…and thinking… what’s wrong with that? Free Worlders do those things all the time.”
“That’s because Free Worlders are free! Everyone can’t be free! There is a world order! Free Worlders are at the top, the entire purpose of the Virtual World is to serve the Free World, and the Real World serves the Virtual one. That is just the way it is, the way it has always been, the way it was always be.”
“It wasn’t like that before 2112.”
“Don’t be a fool Kieron!! Are you telling me you subscribe to Real World propaganda?”
“I subscribe to truth. You can’t deny the existence of the American civilization. In that world everyone was free.”
“And look what happened! That civilization caused the Third and Final World War. The world was never the same after that! We can’t ever go back to that chaos! This is why we have a strict world order in place in the year 4073. We can never return to the time before 2112. Now I realize some Free Worlders think the world order is too strict-”
“Maybe it is-”
“No! The world order must remain as it is. And any threat to it must be eliminated immediately. Steffana, Leevian…possibly even the other three … I hate to see it done, but it must be done. Think of what is at stake…my Free World of Bostonia, your Free World of Kwestscott Island. Can you imagine losing Kwestscott Island?”
“No.”
“Well then you have to protect it! You have to kill Steffana and Leevian.”
“I won’t kill them. I don’t have the same fears as you. I take the position of the more moderate Free Worlders. The World Order, as we know it, has been stabilized for the past 1000 years. Clearly Steffana and Leevian are no threat to it. They have caused a few minor disturbances in the Virtual World. But I think the Virtual World needs to be a little shaken.”
“I can’t believe that you would be so foolish Kieron! Are you afraid? Do they frighten you?”
Kieron laughed and stood up. “Your twenty minutes is up Julian. This conversation is done.”
Kieron walked toward the teleporter. Julian shouted after him,
“They are going to cause you immeasurable pain and grief unless you act quickly. They must to be killed, now!”
Kieron could feel that Julian was beginning to get exasperated. Before Kieron could reach the teleporter, Julian grabbed him,
“It is actually the World Council that wants them dead.”
Kieron was struck speechless. He knew that Steffana and Leevian had caused a few disturbances in the Virtual World but still… the World Counsel? The fact that the WC was involved changed everything.
“Yes…see now, I knew that would get your attention. You’re not a foolish man, though sometimes you act like one. The sisters and this prophecy…it has been discussed in secretive WC sessions for some time now.”
Secretive WC sessions…Kieron had heard of them, but he wasn’t convinced that they truly existed. He never wanted to believe they did. If the Free World was truly free, there was no need for the WC to hide information. But here Julian was, saying that it was being done.
“The WC is willing to pay quite handsomely, for whoever can silence them. I suggested that you might be convinced.” Julian paused briefly, then continued, -“If you succeed in the assassination, you will receive one hundred billion credits every year for the rest of your life…and not only that…, your nomination in the upcoming elections will be secured; you will be guaranteed a seat on the counsel as a fifth level senator. Don’t say anything-just think about that for a moment.”
Kieron’s head was swimming…it was a staggering amount of money being thrown at him…and for what? What in the hell could cause such a price would be put upon Steffana and Leevian’s heads. If this was true, if the World Counsel really was willing to pay so much to see them dead, then Kieron was sure that it would happen. If he didn’t take the job, someone else would. The businessman in him was tempted. One hundred billion credits and a seat on the World Council… money and power, just like that. It would be so easy for him to kill-someone, anyone to get what he wanted. He’d done it before; surely he could do it again. He could kill quite easily. Unlike most humans, it was a very easy thing for him to do because he was a telekine with both internal and external abilities. Internal Telekines had the power to heal or kill, but most of them were killers. Unlike most telekines Kieron could also fly, a very rare telekine talent. Internal telekines made the best healers because they had the ability to move things around inside the human body. For the same reason, they also made the best murderers. Kieron did not really know how to heal, because that required years and years of training. But he did know how to kill. Rarely did he murder, however. Only when it was absolutely necessary. Sometimes it was. He believed that he was probably the only telekine in any of the three worlds more powerful than Steffana.
Still he could not just kill Steffana and Leevian without any kind or reason or provocation. To kill them for money and power would just be…evil. But there was something else that stopped him. For the right reasons he could kill just about anyone, anyone…except Steffana. He couldn’t kill Steffana even if he wanted to, at least, not without bringing extreme pain and near death on himself. As long as he could remember, he and Steffana had been intricately linked to the point where it was sometimes difficult for them to separate from one another. It was called an empathic link. It was a difficult bond to bear.
The pain of Steffana’s death would be debilitating. He knew, because he’d lived through it once before. He never wanted to experience pain like that again. The first time she’d died it had been from a grand mal seizure. As painful as that was, it would be so much worse, if she died unnaturally…murder…and then murder by his own mind. Kieron couldn’t even imagine the pain of murdering Steffana and having to feel it while she died. The pain, would probably double, in that case. He wasn’t going to kill her and he didn’t want her killed. It would cause him too much pain. It was in his best interest to do everything he could to keep her alive; but he knew if he didn’t kill her some one else would. He knew he had to find a solution to this problem, so he led Julian on.
“I have to admit Julian, this offer is very tempting. But if I’m going to kill Steffana, I have to know why the WC wants her dead. What is this really about?”
“Don’t you see Kieron? They are challenging the Counsel directly…openly mocking the World Order…we can’t have that.”
“They should be silenced. Not murdered. They’re harmless.”
Kieron knew that this was not entirely true. He also knew it was only a matter of time before the World Council found a way to hurt Steffana and her sisters. They were to powerful, and proud and boastful…no one gets to be that way and stay that way before some higher power brings them down. Julian argued,
“No they are not. They have upset too many inhabitants of the Virtual World with their music and thought, and are seriously challenging the status quo. All of this talk of revolution and integrating the three worlds…is incredibly disturbing.”
“But its just talk. They are no threat to the world order. They don’t have any power.. .they’re just entertainers, for the sake of the Ancient Gods! It’s only entertainment. They’re trying to reestablish what is it called…the arts…the performing arts.”
“They are on a mission. If they succeed it would change the world forever. Just look at the attacks they’ve made on our capitalist system…do you know that Virtual World spending in the capitalist system has decreased by 16%? Just who do you think has been the driving force behind that… I’ll tell you Steffana, Leevian, Gracen, Sasha, Neptune and the rest of their cohorts…what do the call themselves?”
“The Association.”
Kieron knew that Julian knew, because everyone knew of the Association. The Association was said to be responsible for bringing freedom, love, beauty and creativity back into the world. Everyone liked the Association.. .everyone except the conservative Free Worlders.
“Yes…those nuts. Well the Association advocates finding a way to merge the three worlds and overthrowing the World Council! You and I both know that can never happen. Imagine what would happen to Kwestscott Island? Our Free Worlds as we know it would be totally destroyed!”
Kieron looked at Julian as though he had lost his mind. First of all, the Association was not a political threat. They just didn’t have that kind of power. They were a bunch of actors, singers, dancers, writers, musicians…and the all had something that the whole world was lacking, creativity. They were incredibly entertaining. But they expressed a different World View, one that many Free Worlders were not ready for. Kieron personally thought the message was long over due. Julian assumed Kieron was anti- Real World, but Kieron had never made his position known publicly either way. Julian’s anti-Real World sentiment disgusted him. Didn’t Julian realize that he was from the Real World? Julian responded as if he had read Kieran’s mind. He probably had,
“I know that you once lived in the Real World, but you made it out. Of course now you realize that those Real World animals cannot be permitted to merge with the Virtual and Free World populations! It would destroy the human race completely.”
Kieron said nothing, revealed nothing.
“I mean, exceptions will always be made for exceptional people like yourself Kieron. You and your family should have been invited into the Virtual and Free worlds years ago. When you are elected to the World Council you can institute mechanisms which permit deserving Real Worlders access to the Virtual World, but certainly…total integration is out of the question agreed?”
Kieron chose his words very carefully. He wanted to be sure not to degrade his father’s legacy by denying his true ambitions to integrate the three worlds, but at the same time he wanted Julian to believe that he was on his side, for the time being anyway.
“Integration of the Real World, Virtual World and Free World is an idealistic dream. Neither Steffana nor Leevian could ever make it a reality. To do so would require a power beyond this world. I’m not interested in dreams, only what can be feasibly accomplished. I do find your suggestions appealing Julian.”
Julian seemed to be satisfied with Kieron’s response.
“So then you will kill them?”
Kieron avoided answering Julian, and instead pointed out.
“Several attempts have already been made on their lives. They have defeated all of their would be assassins.”
Julian’s purple eyes deepened from a light lavender to a rich violet. Steffana’s eyes did that, whenever she became annoyed or angry. Julian replied,
‘Yes. They are quite powerful. They can’t be touched- not physically anyway. Any harm to be visited upon them will have to come from the inside out. Even then it will require an extremely powerful force to hurt them. This is why the World Council is considering you.” Kieron looked at Julian quizzically.
“Oh stop with the games and deception Kieron! The World Council knows! No one becomes one of the most powerful and wealthiest Free World capitalist without extra sensory perception. We know you are a telekine. I know you are a telepath too. Everyone knows you have always been the one who can control Steffana Scott-Kwest, and she needs to be tightly controlled.
Kieron did not bother deny any of it. He and Julian had always known of each other’s powers. Kieron had known about Julian from the first time he had met him. At that first meeting, Julian had tried to read Kieron’s mind, and Kieron had done the same to Julian. They were excellent mindsheilders and no minds were read upon that first meeting, or any other. But they were both armed with the knowledge that neither was an ordinary human. It was also true that he was the only person who could control Steffana and her seizures. He had promised to do that when her seizures had been discovered by Virtual World doctors. If it weren’t for that promise, she would have been put to sleep, long ago. Julian thought it appropriate to remind him of this fact.
“She’d be dead now, if it weren’t for you. In a way, this is all your fault. This should have been taken care of years ago, when she was scheduled for elimination. We both know she’s always been a threat; you just considered your own feelings when you stopped her elimination, not what was best for the three Worlds; but that, my friend, is the way a World Counsel Senator would think.”
It was true that when the doctor informed him Steffana had to be put to sleep; all he had been concerned about was how he felt about her. He had never imagined that she’d be able to be independent, leave him, become one of the greatest musicians in the world, and cause so many problems. Julian whispered to him,
“I want you to tell me something.”
Kieron replied warily, “Okay?”
Julian’s violet eyes shifted around the room quickly, as if looking for a way to broach this topic delicately. Finally he said,
“Steffana has made public statements about your…past relationship…something happened between you two…it’s no secret… she fears you. May I ask …why?'”
Kieron said blankly,
” I have no idea.”
But he did. He couldn’t bear to think of that right at this moment Julian was trying to read him, even with his mind shield on. He really, really wanted to know what Steffana feared. Kieron gave him a mind shock and Julian backed off, saying,
“Very well, Kieron, keep your secrets about Steffana. It doesn’t matter why she fears you, just that she does. Let me ask you this…do you think killing her will be a problem or you?”
“No.”
“How can you answer like that? How can you be so certain?”
Kieron replied, “I know her, more completely than anyone.”
Julian was satisfied with that answer. As far as he was concerned the matter had been settled. Julian’s eyes began to fade to a lighter shade of purple. He spoke to Kieron quickly,
‘Very well Kieron. I don’t care how you do it, as long as it is done. I will set up a meeting with the World Council tomorrow, get the terms of our agreement in writing- and”
“I didn’t agree to kill her.’
Julian looked collected, but the deep violet back in his eyes belied his cool exterior. He calmly replied,
“I thought we had an agreement? But no. I suppose it is more money that you seek? Either that or more power. Okay, third level senator-but that is my final offer-”
“First level- or I walk and I’m still not convinced that this is necessary. You’re overreacting Julian-”
“SHE MUST BE DESTROYED!” The blue vein inside Julian’s left temple bulged, his eyes burned with purple hate, he was bursting with rage.
Kieron replied calmly,” I won’t kill her.”
Julian closed his eyes, massaged his temples, counted to ten. When he opened his eyes they were lavender again. He whispered,
“There is so much you don’t know, Kieron. There is a prophecy…and a destiny.”
Kieron laughed. “Oh God of the Ancient World! Surely you don’t believe in that?”
Kieron continued laughing, but Julian just stared at him solemnly, and said to him quietly,
“There is so much that you don’t understand. You underestimate them greatly. This will lead to tragedy.” Julian continued solemnly,
“There is a prophecy that speaks of five sisters and a destiny. According to the prophecy, these five sisters are destined to destroy the world as we know it. The five sisters mentioned in the prophecy are Leevian, Gracen, Sasha, Neptune and Steffana. ”
“Where did you learn of this prophecy Julian?” Kieron asked sarcastically.
“It is clearly elaborated in one of the secretive ancient texts.”
“One of those texts over there, in the book case?”
“Oh no. Those texts are fiction. The real ancient texts are under lock and key. The text that foretells the prophecy, also foretold the war of 2112. This text was written in 2012. It has foretold many future events with alarming accuracy.”
“Whatever.”
“Just listen Kieron. First of all… let just be honest… some humans have more highly evolved senses than others. You and I are two such humans. Do you care to respond?”
“No.”
“Well okay.. .fine. You don’t have to comment. I just want you to know, you’re not alone. Flying is a rare talent, but I’ve seen it before. Just like I’ve seen telekines move things with their minds, just like I’ve seen telemats make objects materialize out of nothing.”
Julian paused and attempted to read Kieron’s reaction. Kieron revealed nothing. Julian continued.
“I’ve seen empaths bend and break from all the pain and suffering, they pick up from those around them. Empathic powers seem more like a curse don’t you think?”
Kieron said nothing, but he knew, all two well, what a curse it was to have empathic powers. It was a weakness he was determined Julian would never know about.
“I don’t believe in such things, Julian.”
Julian whispered harshly, “Don’t deny what you are! You are a telekine and a telepath!”
He wouldn’t deny it. It was what he was, a flying telekine, with a few telepathic powers, and a very strong empathic connection…to Steffana. But he wasn’t going to admit any of it. Instead, he said,
“Would you please get to the point Julian, this conversation is tiresome.”
“The prophecy foretells of five sisters who have all four powers, telekinetic, telematic, empathic and telepathic.”
Julian looked as though this explained everything. But really it explained very little. Kieron already knew about the sisters powers, still he doubted that they had any ability to threaten the state of the world.
“Most humans, like yourself, only have one or two of these extrasensory powers. But not Hamlet’s girls. Oh no. They have all four; and I know you know that. Don’t bother deny it. But, there’s more. They each have an individual power that no other humans have, do you know what they are?”
Beyond the typical powers, they had a few others, but he wasn’t quite sure what they were, but he knew, that some how, especially when together, the sisters were very, very, very powerful. They managed to do all kinds of things ordinary humans could never do.
“Leevian has the power of vision. She can see a variety of future realities. She uses that power to lead the other four. Did you know that?” Julian gave Kieron a spiteful smile. Kieron ignored it. Julian continued,
“You, of all people know the kind of power she yields over her sisters.”
It was true. Kieron knew that Leevian had total and complete control over her sisters. He blamed her for the destruction of his partnership with Steffana. Could she see the future? Kieron was doubtful. But it didn’t matter. However she had managed it, she had the control. She’d convinced her sisters to follow her blindly. She was their leader, the keeper of the destiny, the seer of all that was to be. They believed in her completely.
“If we eliminate her, the other four sisters will have no vision, and that will seriously jeopardize their abilities. Can’t you see why I want her dead?”
Kieron nodded slightly. He understood why Julian wanted her dead, but then Julian wasn’t entirely sane.
“The prophecy says the second eldest sister has the power to move anywhere in the present time, in any of the three worlds, without detection. She can also shape shift. She blends gracefully into her surroundings and then she appears. Have you ever seen Gracen do that?”
Of course he had. Not only could she do that, but she could take people with her. It was funny traveling with Gracen.. .a very odd sensation. But he’d never reveal her secrets to Julian. He liked Gracen. Like her name suggested, she was graceful. She used her powers carefully, cautiously. She was everything that Kieron appreciated and respected in a woman who had extraordinary power. If only Steffana were like Gracen, things would not have come to this. He had warned her. She was far too cavalier.. .and now she was being targeted for assassination, unlike Gracen. Kieron wasn’t about to betray Gracen to Julian, so he only replied,
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Julian insisted,
“You do! Now, moving on to Sasha. Sneaky, slithery, conniving, Sasha. Of all of Hamlets daughters, she is the one that most reminds me of him. She’s a pathetic coward, the way she’s always peeping around comers and spying through curtains. I know you know what Sasha can do.”
Of course he knew what Sasha could do. Not as advanced as Gracen, she could simply become invisible. She was sneaky, and manipulative, and dishonest. She always managed to be just where she was least wanted, completely undetected. Sashana was a spy. A very good one.
“Now as for Neptune, according to the prophecy. She has the ability to travel into the past, completely undetected. But clearly she is no threat. All that traveling back and fourth, has, it seems made her quite crazy.”
Neptune was slightly off. There was no denying that. She never, ever seemed to live in the present; perhaps it was possible that she could visit the past. According to the destiny, on which Kieron was actually very well versed, Neptune’s task was to study the landscape of the Ancient World, so that the sisters would know how to restore the world to its previous state, when the time should come. Neptune did seem to be in touch with an ancient wisdom at times, yet she also spoke with the innocence of a very young child. Neptune was a paradox. She never seemed to be quite totally in any of the three modern worlds.
“As, for Steffana.. .well you know…she is an absolute mess. The prophecy says she’s cursed. An early death was predicted as being a possibility; and that would have put an end to the destiny. She did die… but then she came back. Nothing good can come of that. She needs to be laid to rest permanently.”
“Does the prophecy give her a power?”
Kieron knew her power, everyone did now, but for some reason he wanted Julian to acknowledge it. It wasn’t fair the way Steffana’s family treated her. The cursed one, the weak one. Julian wasn’t the only Shakespearean Scott who wanted Steff dead. Leevian had even wished for it once, although she’d never admit it.
Julian looked past Kieron and replied,
“Her powers are creative or destructive- that’s all it says about her. She’s the cursed one. She can go either way. As the youngest, she can take the place of the oldest. Though the weakest, she can become the strongest. She can use her power for good or for bad. Ancient peoples, I believe they were called Chinese…they had a word for it.. .Yin-Yang. Isn’t that funny?”
“Well then.. .maybe Steffana is doing good things-”
“No! Kieron! Don’t be swayed by your emotions again, this time. Steffana is evil! She has been corrupted by Leevian! We have to kill her.”
Kieron was bored with Julian’s rambling. He knew, all too well about Steffana, and her sisters and their powers and all the pain and grief they had caused him with them. Still, as far as Kieron was concerned they’d only done good things over all. And as much pain as Steffana had caused him, he still knew that she was not evil. She was not cursed. She was not weak. After all these years he still believed in Steffana. He refused to give into the hype, the paranoia, the fear. He stared off into the distance, at the bookcases at the back of the room. He tried to read the titles…so many anxiety texts. He wondered what was in them. Did any of them explain how the Shakespearean Scotts had become so tragically dysfunctional? Julian asked,
“Am I boring you Mr. Quest?”
“Yes. This is ridiculous. This is insane. I will not kill her because of your lunacy.”
Julian’s eyes turned from deep violet to complete blackness. Kieron could see that Julian’s murderous intent. If Kieron had been a lesser man, Julian would have resorted to brutal force, or worse brutal mind control, but he was no match for Kieron. Before Julian tried anything rash Kieron explained,
“I can control her. That is what I will do for you…and the World Council…I will control her.”
Julian seemed to contemplate this for a moment. Finally he spoke,
“Well…fine then … I don’t care if you control her, or use her, silence her, or kill her, as long as she is no longer a problem. Welcome to the first level Word Counsel, Senator.” Julian extended his hand to Kieron. Kieron hesitated briefly, before he shook it.
“I really have to go now, Julian.”
Kieron quickly headed toward Julian’s teleporter. Kieron’s hand burned from where he had touched Julian. It didn’t feel good making deals with the devil. Kieron shut the teleporter door and immediately began punching in his coordinates. Before Kieron could even finish the coordinates to take him back to his office, he was struck by a wrenching pain, deep inside his gut. He punched the last coordinate, sent it, and then fell to his knees grabbing his belly.
After ten minutes of the pain, Kieron wished he would just die. He had safely teleported back to his office on Kwestscott Island, but he couldn’t even open the teleporter door. He lay, crumbled on the teleporter floor, waiting for the pain to subside. After about forty-five minutes, it finally ceased. He opened the teleporter door and collapsed on his ancient black leather sofa, a real true artifact of the ancient world. He sent a voice projection out to his secretary Ananda,
“Ananda?”
“Yes Mr. Quest?”
“I don’t want to be disturbed for any reason for the next hour unless…it’s about Steffana.”
“Of course Mr. Quest”
He’d only felt that pain once before in his life. It was the pain of his soul being torn in two and ripped outside of his body while the other half lay inside of him bleeding. It was the pain he’d felt with Steffana’s first death. He wondered if the pain meant she had died again. With her death, all those years ago, the pain had brought him to his knees and rendered him practically unconscious for a week. But this time, the pain had come and gone, so she probably wasn’t dead. One thing was for certain, empathic pain like that could only come from Steffana. Something had happened to her and he had been weakened by it.
He raised his head slightly to look out of his office window on to the Pacific Ocean. He needed to be soothed so he put his office on suspend and commanded the office to hover. On his voice command, his executive suite detached from the 52nd floor, floated down just above the ocean. It hovered there, above the ocean waves. To live in the free world was a wonder. A wonder that was now being threatened.
In a few hours the sun would set. He wished that he could watch it. But he knew he didn’t have time. He had to find Steffana and wrestle back control over her mind. He was not looking forward to it. She and her sisters would not go down without a fight.
Steffana. While he tried to relax, his thoughts turned back to Steffana.
Steffana and her sisters actually believed in the God of the Ancient World, the God they called the Christ, as well as the ancient religion Christianity. While it still remained in bits and pieces in the Free and Real Worlds, it had been totally eliminated in the Virtual one. The morality and humanity of it did not coincide well with the politics of the World Council. But many of those in the Real and Free Worlds relished the belief in this Christ. Kieron had always only believed in the revolution.
But still, in the ancient texts there were many stories about him. Some believed these stories to be true. Kieron was of the mindset that much of the ancient texts were fictitious. Kieron had actually read some of the ancient texts. Steffana’s father Hamlet had many different copies and versions of these ancient texts, though he had declined to say how. It was illegal to possess ancient Christian texts, in any world, Real, Virtual or Free. But the powerful Free Worlders always did whatever it was they wanted to do. No one had known it, not even his own children, but Hamlet had been a Shakespearean Scott and the Shakespearean Scotts had everything that could be had. So now Kieron understood how Hamlet had gotten the texts.
Hamlet used to read them to Kieron, Othello and Sashana. The story Kieron best remembered was the one about the Christ’s friend called Lazarus. He remembered that one because it explained the origin of the term “Lazarus Effect.” In the story the Christ brought Lazarus back from the dead.. .and that was supposed to have happened over 4000 years ago, 2000 years before the year 2112. But it wasn’t until after 2112 that there came to be this thing known as the Lazarus Effect. Even considering the Lazarus Effect, there was nothing that could explain Steffana’s return six months after her death. Even Steffana couldn’t explain it and she had been the one who had been dead. The Lazarus effect typically happens, a day, at most a week, after a funeral. The Lazarus dead come back for brief, unexplainable, farewell visits. But Steffana, he died, and then had come back, for good. Years ago she had died, but now she was living as though there had never been a death. So, Kieron considered that even if Steffana was dead again, it didn’t mean that she would stay that way. After her return from her first death, she’d become so much more powerful than even Kieron had imagined she could be. If Steffana had just stayed with him, he knew that none of this would be happening. How he loved Steffana. He’d loved her enough to make her his wife. But now all that was gone…torn sundered.
Torn sundered was a word whose origins were in the ancient texts. When marriages were formed in the Ancient World, a man of the ancient religion would marry a couple by saying, “What God has formed let no man tear asunder.” But Leevian had managed that which the God of the Ancient World did not permit. She thought she was special. The keeper of the destiny. She’d made it clear to all of the sisters that their destiny came before anything else. Steffana made the decision, the destiny came before him.
As the youngest sister, all her life Steffana had been told she was a cursed child, the weakest link, the breaker or fulfiller of the destiny. Leevian had once told her she would destroy the destiny and end the world because of her own weakness. All of this just because she had decided to marry Kieron. God of the Ancient World, what a mind game! Leevian didn’t even have to use her telepathic powers to control Steff. She’d brainwashed her with all that destiny crap. The Shakespearean Scotts were crazy, totally crazy…all of them, even Steffana-no especially Steffana.
Before her death, she had been the weakest out of all the sisters. She was the only one totally unable to control her telekinetic power. Whenever she became afraid, she would have seizures. Kieron had been the one to help her with the seizures. He had even helped her to develop her fifth power, the one that was unique to her. God of the Ancient World, who would have thought that this power would have become the one thing that truly could change the three modem worlds? Not Kieron, not even Leevian, which was odd since she allegedly had the power to see into the future. But then again, Kieron considered that maybe Leevian had known about Steffana’s power all along and had just never mentioned it to Steffana. How would Leevian ever have been able to control Steffana, if Steffana knew, that she would become the most powerful?
Steffana’s unique power had initially seemed useless, but in the end, it had turned out to be the most incredible, wonderful, beautiful…no one, not even Kieron, could have predicted so much power coming to Steffana… all through her music.
Steffana had the ability to see music.
She told him that it was everywhere, in the air, in the leaves, in the trees, in the blades of grass, inside every human heart, especially there. There had never been a time when she could not see it. In fact some times it was all she could see. There was no instrument that she could not play; she was absolutely the most talented musician in all of the three worlds, Real, Virtual and Free. This had made her, very, very powerful.. .but also a bit unstable.. .and there was nothing worse than an unstable telekine. When there was enough fear or anger inside of Steffana, she could bring a two or three story building tumbling to the ground.
Even though Kieron knew he needed to check on Steffana, he was completely exhausted from the pain he experienced in the teleporter. He decided to take a few pain and sleep scapes to recover from the incident…and then he would deal with Steffana and her sisters.
It seemed that he’d been asleep for no more then ten minutes when the soft blinking lights awakened him. The Office security system had been activated, and a soft voice called out “Intruder, Intruder, occupying the entrance to Mr. West’s executive suite. Intruder, Intruder. Kieron called out,
“What is the problem Ananda?”
When he raised his head to look out upon the ocean, all he could see was blackness. Apparently several hours had passed and it was deep night. Ananda had gone home. He was, disoriented; he didn’t even know what time it was. Kieron called out to the office security system, “Reveal the intruder to me.”
He knew it had to be Gracen or Sasha. They were the only people that he knew of who had the ability to slip past his building’s security system, or any building’s security system, for that matter.
A teleprojector floated off the wall where it was stationed to where Kieron way lying. It was Gracen. She did not look good. He instructed the system.
“She’s okay. Let her into my office when I land back in the building. ”
The office landed, and the office door popped open to allow Gracen to enter Kieron’s suite. Her hair was tousled all out of place, which was very unlike Gracen. She had a few fresh scratches that had not been treated on the side of her face. She looked like she had been crying. She was beautiful in a very classic way. Like Steffana, she had dark violet hair and lavender eyes. Unlike Steffana, she rarely lost control of her emotions. He’d never seen her eyes turn deep velvet blue, or violet. Steffana had always had a wild unruly look about her, but Gracen was always very well groomed. Kieron had never before seen Gracen so disheveled. She said to him breathlessly,
“Kieron, I need your help, you are the only one who can help us now.”
He asked,
“What’s happened?”
“Leevian is dead and our destiny is in jeopardy.”
Leevian was dead. That explained the pain. Kieron realized that he’d felt Steffana’s pain over Leevian’s death. Initially he felt relief that it wasn’t Steffana, but then guilt, and then confusion, and then more guilt. It was late and he was very tired. Whatever the problem was, he was going to tell Gracen it would have to wait until tomorrow.
Kieron asked Gracen,
“What happened to Leevian?”
“We don’t know…we were performing on stage this afternoon just as always and then, some how, someone got to her. We have no idea who or how., .The Association should have been able to prevent it.. .but she collapsed on stage. It was murder. That we do know. She was fine before we went on stage. An internal telekine created an aneurism in her brain.”
So.. .Julian had been interviewing other potential assassins…powerful telekines, just like Kieron. He was so angry! He could have handled it, if Julian has just given him the chance.
“Please help us Kieron…we can’t lose the destiny.”
Kieron thought that Leevian had trained her sisters well. Even in the wake of Leevian’s death, all Gracen could think of was the destiny. But Leevian was the leader and if she was dead, what would happen to the destiny? He asked Gracen,
“How can there be a destiny without Leevian?”
“Leevian was not the destiny! She was the keeper of it.. .and now, it’s up to Steffana. She must become the new keeper of the destiny.”
Kieron looked at Gracen skeptically, he had never truly believed in any destiny. All he had ever wanted of Steffana was for her to forsake that idiotic notion, and help him in creating their own destiny. Destinies could only be created and not kept. But he knew he would be wasting his time explaining this to Gracen.. .or any of the sisters, really. When it came to this destiny, they were fanatically driven. Kieron said,
“Gracen, I know you are upset. It’s late, but I think you should go home, get some rest. Save the destiny talk for the morn-”
“It is our destiny to end human suffering as we know it, by uniting the three worlds, the Real world, the Virtual world, and the Free world. Once this has been accomplished human kind we be elevated to the next plane of existence and the earth will be restored to its former glory, as it was before the year 2112. It will be restored to the time of the Ancient Gods, but specifically the Christ…among others. All will be well when our destiny is fulfilled.”
She had said this emotionlessly, trancelike, almost. She wasn’t making any sense. Kieron could see that she was traumatized. He yawned and replied,
“I know. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
Kieron thought of how Gracen had recited the destiny as if she was speaking of well known scientific principles, like gravity, sun erosion, Virtual World sky shields…she spoke of this destiny as if it were absolute truth. He didn’t know why, but he asked,
“What happens if you all don’t fulfill the destiny?”
“The world as we know it will be ravaged by darkness and human kind will be no more.”
Kieron replied lightheartedly,
“Oh yeah…that’s right. Well since the fate of the world and all human kind is at stake, I guess, I’d better do what I can for the destiny. I’ll get right on it tomorrow.”
“If you don’t believe, I don’t know if you can help Steffana and if you can’t help Steffana all will be lost.”
Kieron became more alert, “Steffana? What’s wrong with Steffana, is she okay? ”
If she had brought down a building, or two, he just hoped it had been in the Real world and not the Virtual one. He didn’t need any more problems with the World Council or Julian. “She-”
Gracen stopped…Kieron knew that there was something she had decided not to tell him. She continued,
“She’s built invisible walls around herself, to contain her pain. It’s the reason you probably can’t feel any of her pain, can you?”
“I felt something this afternoon but now…” Kieron tried to sense Steffana, but he couldn’t feel anything, which was strange. He said to Gracen, “I can’t sense her.”
Gracen explained, “It’s the walls. I can’t get through them, neither can Sasha or Neptune. She thinks she’s doing the right thing, but the pain will kill her.. .or even worse, she’ll be corrupted.”
The Scotts spoke of corruption as if it was something that they could catch. Based on his last conversation with Julian Scott, he was beginning to believe that maybe corruption was catchy for them. Kieron wanted to probe Gracen for the information that she was withholding, but he knew he did not have the time. This wall was what had caused her death the first time. So he said to Gracen,
“Take me to her.”