Sorry for the delay. I just got the internet hookup in my apartment this evening.
From last time...
"Esteemed members of the High Council, we submit for your approval our selection for colonization." The old scientist cleared his throat as the holographic projections appeared to give the councilors three dimensional images of the tiny, isolated planetoid that would one day be home to Krypton's survivors. "This particular planetesimal orbits a minor red dwarf, similar to our own star. It is exceptionally dense, similar to Krypton, so it has a comparable gravitational pull. It lacks a true atmosphere, but over time, this can be remedied. There is no evidence of tectonic or meteorological activity and it is compositionally stable…"
"I hope the distinguished gentleman will pardon me," Rae Et began as she stood from her seat and interrupted him. "But you say there is no atmosphere and no meteorological activity on the planet, correct?"
"Yes, madam, but the temperature range of the planet is suitable and given time…"
"So am I correct in saying that the lack of an atmosphere will make this a most inhospitable environ?"
"Well, yes madam, but it is not an insurmountable problem."
"Sir, how far away is this little planet, say as compared to the planet of our origins?"
"They are roughly equivalent, madam, though in different directions of course."
Rae Et smiled. "Of course. But this planet you are suggesting is a far more hostile future home than our previous one, is it not?"
Dar Rhys stood up at Rae Et's statement. "My honorable colleague, certainly you are not suggesting…"
"Suggesting that we look at all alternatives? I must say that I am."
Shai rose to his feet. "Our people made an earnest vow never to return there."
"And under all but the most extreme circumstances, I believe we would always maintain that vow, Councilor," Rae Et replied coolly. "But these are the most extreme circumstances and we must ensure our survival. We did not voluntarily leave that planet for this one. Our ancestors were taken from their homes and transplanted on this desolate space rock. For millennia, our people have struggled to overcome all obstacles and to eventually flourish into this great civilization that we have today. We have faced every conceivable challenge, bearing the accidents of life with grace and dignity. But we must be prepared to draw the line. Why jeopardize our chance for survival when there is a perfect world we can inhabit, we will not be foreign intruders, merely pilgrims returning home after thousands of years of exile."
"You are not talking of an empty utopia waiting for us to inhabit it." Dar Rhys's normally unflappable calm momentarily took its leave of her. She spoke loudly and forcefully. "The planet we left behind has its own inhabitants and we affirmed that we would have no part in disrupting their world. We cursed those that took us from our home planet and marooned us out here on the edges of a seemingly desolate galaxy because they turned us into a people without a history. They stole our past from us through their interference, you are suggesting that we do the same to them."
"Nonsense!" Rae Et shouted. "These people are our brothers and sisters, we are of the same kind, our return will not jeopardize their primitive culture or civilization."
"You scorn them," Shai chastised Rae Et. "Because you forget that our superior technology and understanding are the products of outside interference and not of our own progression. But if you are so determined to lord your superior understanding over these people, how do you think these primitive beings will react to learning that life exists elsewhere in the universe, that they are not alone? You know that it would throw their world into turmoil. They will not be ready to deal with this information, nor will they be prepared to welcome millions of their Kryptonian cousins as indefinite guests.
"Besides, we do not know what was done to us to allow us to survive here. Returning to the planet of our origins may prove dangerous, and somehow I feel that we will not be the ones in danger. We cannot even consider the possibility, it cannot be allowed."
A low murmur began to echo through the chamber as it grew steadily louder. Councilors chatted nervously as the dispute continued. The pounding of a heavy gavel suddenly quieted the room. Li Han, the co First Minister stood up. "We will have decorum in the chamber," she announced. "It is the policy of both First Ministers that this line of debate ought to be aborted at once. We will not hear of a return to the planet of our origins, it would violate everything for which our predecessors stood for us to so thoroughly disrupt that planet as to throw it into calamity. We will put forward an immediate vote on the acceptance of the Astrophysics and Aerospace guild's suggestion. The First Ministers endorse said plan and hope that the Council will as well."
The role call vote was taken and the plan passed without objection, though with several notable abstentions. The co First Minister stood once again and turned to the representatives of the scientists' guilds. "Very well. The High Council has accepted your proposal. We trust that the expeditionary forces will be sent out post haste."
The representative of the Astrophysics and Aeronautics guild nodded slightly. "Your excellence, we shall be prepared to launch in ten days time."
********
Part Three...
Three Months Later…
"Very good, Lara, relax. Remember you are in control, separate mind from body, thought from feeling, good," Tun Lau spoke in soft soothing tones. He'd been the physician present at Keir El's birth as well.
Lara nodded as she focused. She squeezed Jor El's hand tightly as she centered her mind, shutting out all external sound and allowing her thoughts to focus inward. She felt the brief intense sensation as her mind became fully aware of everything around her. It was a single moment in which every sound was too loud, colors and lights, too bright and every physical sensation, even the feel of fabric against her skin was far too intense. Every nerve ending in her body tingled and fired. The sensation passed immediately, though none too quickly as far as she was concerned, and her mind transcended from its state of normal consciousness, through absolute consciousness to the disconnectedness she was seeking.
It was that moment of absolute consciousness that prevented children from learning the skills of meditation and self-control. It took years of training and discipline to achieve a state of control that allowed one to break through the barrier of absolute consciousness to a level of mental consciousness and total control over the physical self without being overpowered by sensory perception. No pain could touch her here. Sounds and images in the background faded to nothing.
She was conscious of the fact that Jor El was beside her, holding her hand and gently encouraging her, and that Tun Lau was still giving patient instruction, but it was as though she was aware of these things through her mind alone, without the aid of her senses. She could not feel Jor El's hand with her own, but she knew that it was there. She could not hear the doctor's words, yet she knew what he was saying. She felt no pain, no tiredness, no aches. Instead, her mind was able to exert perfect control over her body, with no possible source of distraction.
Tun Lau instructed her to push again, so she pushed. Her body of course, clamored for relief from the pain, but her mind was closed off to the desires of her body. The will of the mind was able to subdue the wants of the body. She pushed again, hearing in her mind the encouragements spoken by her husband and her doctor.
She was unaware of the passage of time. It may have been five minutes, five hours or five days. Tun Lau entreated her on. She could discern the excitement in his voice and in Jor El's touch. The time was near. She pushed harder this time and a sound filled the room. Suddenly, she could hear nothing but the cries of a newborn. In a surge of lightheadedness, she spiraled back into normal consciousness, her mind and body reconnecting. She looked up to see Jor El smiling, he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
Tun Lau held their baby in his arms. He smiled at them before handing her the tiny child wrapped up in blankets. "Your son," he said quietly.
She was overcome with joy and knew that Jor El shared her happiness and excitement. She watched as he reached out to touch his son gently, a look of wonder on his face. "Our son," he murmured in amazement. She smiled wearily, her body was tired but she cared not. The tiny form in her arms with his shock of dark hair squirmed vigorously, but his loud cries had subdued. She rocked him gently. Pacified, his cries were no more than a soft whimper.
"Kal El," she whispered his name.
********
Jor El sat beside his son's crib. It was late and all was quiet, but he could not sleep. Lara lay exhausted in bed, sleeping peacefully. Their little son had already woken her several times tonight, hungry or in need of changing. Now little Kal El lay asleep, his dark little eyes lidded, his tiny chest rising and falling with each breath. He was but a few days old and already he'd changed their lives completely. Tomorrow, Jor El would begin work again. His mother would also arrive to help Lara take care of Kal El. He knew that his wife wanted to spend every possible moment with her son, but he also knew that within a few weeks, she would be back at work, helping to ensure that their son had a future to enjoy.
Kal El fidgeted slightly, his tiny thumb finally finding its way to his mouth. Jor El looked down at his little son. "I will take care of you," he promised.
********
Jor El looked up at his friend nervously. He felt his stomach clench. The sterile, stark white office began to spin. "Tao Scion, what is it? Please, tell me? What is wrong?"
Tao Scion chuckled softly. "There is nothing wrong, my friend. The contrary in fact." Tao Scion stood beside Jor El's chair.
Jor El sighed audibly. "Then Kal El is all right?"
"Certainly." Tao Scion placed a hand on Jor El's shoulder. "Your son is fine, Jor El. I did request a specialist to see him, though." The look of worry returned to Jor El's face. "An empath," Tao Scion explained. "He's a healthy child, no signs of physical or neurobiological problems. He's alert, happy, and from what I can tell, he'll be quite intelligent. He's a special child, Jor El."
Jor El ran a shaking hand through his graying hair. "So he is all right?"
Tao Scion laughed aloud. "Relax, my friend. This is something to be happy about."
Jor El finally smiled and laughed, somewhat nervously. The sound was odd to his own ears, as though he were out of practice.
"Lara is with him," Tao Scion continued. "I explained all of this to her. Why don't we go join them? The empath should be here soon."
Jor El stood on shaky legs as the remnants of fear leeched out of his body. His son was all right. When he'd received Tao Scion's message that afternoon he'd been terrified. From the moment he received his friend's call until the present, he'd been reliving the pain of losing his daughter, the images and emotions vivid in his mind, as though no time had past at all. The tenseness and terror had begun to pass and peace was settling in. For one moment, he was going to savor this contentedness.
********
Lara and Jor El stood beside the crib of their son and watched him sleep. "What does this mean for him?" Jor El wondered aloud. He thought about what Tao Scion had told him. The normal psychological tests performed in the routine examination had yielded noteworthy results, leading Tao Scion to call an expert.
'Your child already shows a remarkable degree of empathy,' the empath had explained to them. 'It is the skill we cultivate to create great leaders.'
"Nothing," Lara replied. "Kal El will choose his own future, with our support. He has no predestined fate, just like us, he'll have to make his way in the world. We owe him that opportunity."
Jor El smiled as he kissed the top of his wife's head. She was, of course, right. The empath had explained to them that such a trait in a child had to be dealt with carefully, that with special schooling and guidance, Kal El could be trained to lead his people, but that at the same time, such a child would be more impressionable to negative influences. And every day their world grew more perilous. Nonetheless, it was not their choice how to proceed. When Kal El was old enough, he would decide for himself where his path lay. Until then they could do no more than love and protect him the way all parents hope to do.
Jor El smiled. Their son's shoulders were still far too tiny to hold the weight of their world. For as long as they could they would shield him from that responsibility. Oblivious to all of this, their little boy slept, his shock of black hair framing angelic features, his little chest rising and falling with each breath.
********
"Congratulations."
Jor El looked up from his schematics and turned to look behind him at the source of that well-known voice. The word rang completely hollow from her lips, devoid of sentiment and sincerity. "Rae Et," he addressed her coolly.
"A calamitous time to bring a child into the world," she began, staring at him through narrowed eyes. "But a blessing nonetheless, especially a child so gifted as yours appears to be. He shall be an important man one day."
"If he so chooses," Jor El corrected her.
"As you know, I too, have a young son, and he shows such promise." Jor El thought he saw a hint of motherly pride in her eyes, but even if it weren't a figment of his imagination, it was gone in an instant. "It is for their sake that we toil so. We must leave them the best possible world, we both agree on that, but where we disagree is how to create such a world."
"You would do so by only saving those you consider worth saving," Jor El snapped.
"And you would enter a fool's errand in jeopardizing the entire colony out of sentiment." Her voice was cold and even. The exchange did nothing to disturb her calm demeanor. "I had hoped to convince you to withdraw your proposal and support my own. It seems we shall just have to let the Council decide."
"I have faith in the Council," Jor El replied.
"As do we all." With a sinister smile, Rae Et silently slipped out of the laboratory.
********
The cavernous room seemed to rumble. A hundred anxious and upset councilors argued furiously, forgetting all rules of decorum. The tension sat heavy in the air and the last speaker's comments had sparked outrage among her opponents. Debate descended into nothing more than a furious din as councilors shouted across the debate floor at one another.
"There will be order in this forum!" Shir Om, the co-First Minister demanded as he stood. Shir Om wasn't a tall man, but his features were stern and his presence commanded respect. For him to demand silence during debate was uncharacteristic. He was generally taciturn, allowing his co-First Minister to guide debate when necessary. "The proposals are on the floor. Discuss the merits of both, but I ask that you do not allow the conversation to again degrade to this utter chaos."
"If I may?" Shai began, addressing the First Ministers as he stood.
Shir Om nodded curtly.
"If it pleases the Council, I suggest we consider again Jor El's proposal. It is incumbent upon us to help as many people as we can. We have no reason to doubt our scientific advisor and the figures that he has quoted to us."
"No reason except the fact that Jor El's emotions cloud his thinking," Rae Et interrupted. She stood and faced the First Ministers. "Jor El is an honorable and capable man, but his judgment is impaired. He's lost one child and has just brought another into the world, he is guided too much by these emotions and incapable of doing what is best for our society as a whole."
"Are you suggesting that one must not have children in order to make sound decisions?" Li Han asked pointedly. Shir Om sat silently beside her, his expression guarded and unreadable. As all co-First Ministers before them, they were technically married to one another. They had no children and their personal relationship was unknown to all. They seemed to get along quite well, having been raised together since early childhood, but one wondered wistfully if both had given up any chance at personal happiness in order to take up the mantle of co-First Minister.
"Of course not," Rae Et apologized graciously with a bow of faux humility. "I am merely suggesting that our human emotions may lead us to make decisions our hearts demand, but that our minds know are wrong. Passion clouds our judgment. Level heads must prevail."
"And your level head would turn this into nothing more than a genetics experiment!" Shai exclaimed.
"Order!" Li Han demanded.
Dar Rhys stood. "If it pleases the Council, I think we should, in fact, consider the population implications of Councilor Rae Et's proposals. The esteemed Councilor has suggested thinning the pool of potential colonists through genetics screening."
"It is necessary to maintain the integrity of the colony," Rae Et rebutted. "With such a small pool, the presence of serious genetic defects could be disastrous for the viability of the colony."
"And what do you suppose we screen out, how will you determine who lives and who dies?" Dar Rhys demanded. A roar rose up in the chambers again as councilors began yelling furiously at each other. Shir Om demanded order, to no avail. The normally subdued chamber of the High Council of Elders had spiraled into pandemonium.
********
"The child will be a problem," she said dispassionately.
"The child? But he's merely an infant!" Alon exclaimed.
Her chair was slightly elevated, allowing her to look down at the two younger councilors on the other side of her desk. "And in the new colony, people will be afraid. They will cling to the promise of leadership. They will demand a savior, and they will look to him. They will put their faith in the promise of greatness, however stupid and naïve it may be."
"So you wish us to eliminate him?" Shertal asked. He stared at her unblinking, his cold eyes fierce with a glimmer of cruelty. Rae Et smiled to herself, knowing that she'd judged the younger man well.
"Precisely," she replied.
"There will be others like him," Alon replied. "He is not the only gifted child in our world."
"No, but he is the son of Jor El. He will hold a position of favor above all else, unless we prevent it."
"Why now? Why not wait until later, when the opportunity presents itself?" Alon demanded.
"It is too risky. We must create the opportunity, not wait for it to come to us. The murder of the child could create calamity in the colony. We cannot allow that to happen," Rae Et explained forcefully. She would not be swayed.
Shertal stood abruptly from his seat. "We will do as you wish," he said, his hands clasped in front of him respectfully. Alon quickly stood to join his colleague and they bowed slightly before departing.
********
Lara worked quietly in her area of the lab. She glanced up to see her husband buried in his work, oblivious to his surroundings. It was late and they had been working without pause since morning.
"We should go," he said without looking up from his work.
"I'm sorry?" she replied, caught off guard.
"It's late, and that son of ours is going to grow up without his parents there to watch him," he looked up at her and smiled. She marveled at how he always seemed to know what she was thinking. "Let us go," he repeated. Hand in hand, they slipped quietly out of the vacant laboratory.
********
"Hello?" Jor El called as he opened the door to their living quarters. What met his gaze was far from what he'd expected. The room was dark and the lights wouldn't turn on. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. A soft groan broke the silence.
"Mother!" he exclaimed as he raced to his mother's side. She lay motionless on the ground in the middle of their sitting room. The furniture was overturned and everything breakable in the room appeared to have been broken. He knelt beside her, pleading like a child with her to wake. She finally began to stir in response to his frantic, panicked attempts to rouse her.
"Kal El," she whispered weakly. Jor El looked up, fear welling inside him, but his wife had already raced to the child's room. He heard her cry and it pierced his heart. She raced back into the room, holding the still form of their son in her arms. Their eyes met and he could see the tears streaming down her face.
"I'll call for help," he whispered hoarsely. He stood and raced to summon medical help. His heart pounded and his hands sweat as he spoke into the communicator. The dryness in his throat made it difficult to form the words. "I don't...I don't know what happened," he explained agitatedly into the communicator. "We found them this way, please, send help quickly!" he entreated. He terminated the communication and immediately called upon Tao Scion. The bile rose in his throat. He wasn't going to lose his son.
