Kate Andrews

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 

"So, I'll start you all off with the basics, and see which weapon works best for you, " James finished.

The six of us were sitting around a table in the small kitchen inside the minivan, drinking coffee and soda. James was explaining what he was going to do for our training. He claimed to be an expert in every martial art form on Earth, and some G'zoxian ones that the rest of us had never heard of. According to him, some of the weapons available to us were a bow and arrow, swords, and knives and daggers, along with a couple other that were new to me.

"Okay, cool, " I said.

James turned to me, his eyes cold, "Cool? You think this is cool? Do you not realize that the fate of your world and mine depends on your ability to take Zephigon down? Do you not realize just how serious this is? This isn't a game where you play with swords and win just because you're the good guys. This is real life and death. Not everything works out perfectly, like in your books. This is not cool. You should be back on Earth right now living your life,  but instead you're here and you're responsible for everything that matters." His voice was as hard as his eyes, which were glaring at me.

I immediately felt embarrassed. Embarrassed enough to want to sit silently and not say another word. But I had questions and I needed anwers.

"What do you expect? I know nothing. Boroda and Crobis told us what they wanted to, and they didn't bother with what we wanted to know. I have no idea what's going on. Aaron and Cassidy are the ones who spoke to Phaedril, and I have no idea what he told them. None of this makes any kind of sense, but we've been going along with it all day. So tell me, am I wasting my breath, or do you actually have some answers for us?"

James' eyes still resembled ice. Bright, green, attractive ice. But he had no reason to be acting this annoyed with me. We had met all of twenty minutes ago. What really bothered me was that he was not this way with the others. Just me.

"What do you want to know, " he asked slowly.

"Everything. Why us? Why humans at all? Why did  you guys need to bring us here, when you're oh, so much better at everything than anyone from Earth? And I need to know about Zephigon. Who is he? What is he doing, why is it so bad, and why is he doing it in the first place? Is he just an anarchist or a dictator or a madman? Or is he just a rebel? I can see why someone would be. Boroda doesn't seem like a very good leader."

James looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Boroda does okay. He's better at understanding how to run the planet than anyone else."

Intrigued, I asked, "Really? Crobis seemes like a much better choice. Anyway, he's the best of his kind, isn't he?"

"His kind? Do you mean the Wardors? Crobis isn't the best of them."

"That's not what Binstrome said, " I shot back.

James sighed, "Binstrome worships Crobis. He isn't objective when it comes to him. Crobis is not the best of his kind. He is what could be spared.

"I'm not going into that now, " he continued, ignoring the shocked look on my face, " I'll answer your other questions. The explanations are long and complicated, but you need to know. I'm not all that surprised that Boroda didn't tell you himself. It doesn't paint him in a good light."

For the moment, the only thing I was concerned with was James and what he was telling me. 'Knowledge is power', after all. I was not bothered with Seth, who was sitting next to me, listening intently, or Aaron and Cassidy, who were whispering to each other, probably about what James was saying, or with Kevin, who was bored and wasn't bothering to hide it. 

"I'm listening, " I murmured.

James lowered his voice, though we were alone in the minivan. I leaned in, as if I were witness to a great secret. 

"The history of G'zox is long and complex. I think you know that X-humans were the ones that created your planet. Much like that, the Wardors, Crobis' race, headed by Boroda himself, created the Hologons and X-humans. There are inter-breeds, of course, but that's besides the point. Here's where it gets interesting. The current Hologons and X-humans that you'll see, they're different. They have little or no emotions."

"What?"  I quacked.

"Yes. They are beings of pure logic. They have some fundamental feelings. Primitive ones. Enough to tell the difference between right and wrong. But they weren't always this way. The first million created, both X-humans and Hologons, had emotions as deep and complex as humans. Binstrome is one of them. That's why he's such an asset, and why he's so high up in the government. But you won't find any others. The next million ones that they created were made devoid of all sentiment because of what happened the last time."

"What happened last time?" I whispered.

"War, " said James simply, "Massacre. Murder. The love, the hate, the anger and aggression they felt led to it. Few remained. Slowly even they died. The humanity you so cherish is what leads to almost all destruction. Putting aside ego, and righteousness and anger and passion, it is easy to see how illogical all this ruin is."

The thing was, I coudn't even disagree with what James was saying. It made sense. Ego and anger and righteousness was what caused wars. But it was also what made us sympathetic and compassionate and kind. What made us human. And besides, without love and hope and passion, how could anybody be happy? 

"You're shocked because you think that love is what people need to stay alive, " James said, looking straight at me, "I can see it on your face. But let me tell you something. You're wrong. You don't need love. It's possible to live perfectly well without it. What you need is purpose. That's what keeps us alive. Having something to look forward to."

He paused for a second and then went on. "I've read the things you humans write. How you think it's such a tragedy that, and I quote, "People wait all week for Friday, all year for summer, and all life for happiness." You don't get it. You need that waiting. It keeps you going. Would you go through 12 years of school if you hadn't heard how much fun college is? Would you go through college if you did not know that you could finally do what you love at the end of it? Would you bear those years of  hard work if you did not want to see your family happy one day?  As long as you have purpose, you can withstand anything."

He was right. Again. 

It took me a little while to find my voice, but when I did, I said, "You keep saying 'you'. What about yourself? You said X-humans don't have emotions, but you clearly do. So what are you?"

"I'm half and half. My dad's a human, my mum's an X. She didn't tell him till after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him. So, yeah, you could so that I'm literally the best of both worlds."

Finally. This length is okay. I'll try for longer next time. 

Yes, James quoted Seamus Finnigan. 

Thanks for reading! Please vote and comment. :)