Chapter 5: Appointed Her Bodyguard

Colony of Two Dawns. Planet Sothis. Sirius Star System. Back to 2710 AD.

Sitting in his black leather chair in his home office, my father's grim countenance and worry showed through the deepening wrinkles in his frown. He held his hands together, clasped in a tight embrace as his elbows rested on his thick oak table—his usual pose when a delicate or challenging situation arose.

"So, this matter of vital importance is a pandemic?" Lord Commander Melnik asked the young lady whom Sir Khan and I brought home from the marketplace after the incident with the butcher's girl. We all sat around his impressive oak table. "I thought it was just a series of cases—just a few, but unrelated."

The young stranger took in the splendour of our home. Walls adorned in regal purple velvet created a rich backdrop, especially compared to the Lord Commander's grey hair and wrinkled face. Gold fittings gleamed with aristocratic splendour, catching the light that danced from the electric golden glow of candles scattered throughout the room.

The focal point, a wide fireplace of mesmerising grandeur, commanded attention from everyone in the room with its flickering flames. But a fifty-year-old woman passed by the fireplace—stealing our attention—with a tray of tea and biscuits, which she left on the table.

That woman, with that long, wavy, brown but greying hair, cast a glimpse of disgust my way. Wrinkles formed on either side of her eyes. Her brow furrowed just slightly, as if scrutinising me. I hated that as much as the ridiculous wrinkles around her lips and her tense jaw, which made her unable to voice her loathing towards me when my father was present. She was, as you might've guessed, my father's wife—but not my mother.

She sat on a chair on my father's left. The chairs, also in dark oak like the table, were adorned with plush purple pillows which bore the family's seal: a golden narcissus tied to an arrow.

In that lavish haven, the Lord Commander wielded power amidst an ambience of timeless elegance—something that had always inspired me to improve and make him proud of me.

"Unfortunately, my lord, that illness has spread considerably, so much so that by now almost 31% of the male population has been infected in Purple Rock," the foreign young lady with iconic blue hair replied. She sat across from my father in a tense pose. Those large golden loop earrings, like rays of sunlight framing her face, captivated my gaze, their gentle sway echoing the graceful cadence of her movements as she spoke with a firm voice.

I wondered whether she dyed her hair or whether it was natural. I had heard that, in other colonies, babies were born with their physical characteristics previously selected before birth. Was that her case?

I smiled at her when she wasn't looking at me.

"Suit Robotics is considering expanding their business in all hospitals there, of course, to make even more money than they already have," she went on as Sir Khan, who sat right between her and me, showed his disapproval with an almost inaudible grunt. "The population seems to adore the company and its robotic suits—they have got hardly any critical potential customers. People would rather discard their ill bodies and switch into a suit instead of curing themselves, regardless of the unethical consequences. They become slaves to rich people in other colonies."

The situation is upsetting. Luckily, Suit Robotics hasn't sunk its claws and fangs into our colony—yet.

"Yes, we know about that. I find this unsettling... and illogical," my father said, nodding in a serious attitude. "Well, from the point of view of Two Dawns, that is. We don't put our faith blindly into new technology, much less such unethical contracts."

She nodded with bright eyes and a gentle smile. "Yes, I find your society particularly interesting."

He sighed as his eyes got lost at a distant point on the horizon. "Becoming unpaid labour for a wealthy family that put the money into the project? That's inadmissible. We value human life more here."

The fire crackling in the fireplace was the only sound in the room for a long moment.

My father's wife put a hand softly on his with a smile, a gesture he returned.

"I agree, my lord," Mia said.

The sick whore that my father loved poured some tea for him and the guests, but not for me—as usual. I was used to her ostracism. It didn't sit well with me when I was a child, but as an adult, I knew better than to pay attention to such trifling details of her behaviour. She loved being petty and seeing me suffer—a trait of a true psycho.

"I was informed of such unethical practices when my son James..." He paused as he locked his eyes with mine. He bit his lower lip for a second before he went on, "When he had the accident that confined him to a wheelchair."

Oh, that.

"The healer that treated him didn't recommend such a procedure," my father added with sadness in his voice, "suggesting that traditional rehabilitation was a much safer approach to recovery. But... it hasn't produced the desired results yet."

I caught a smirk twisting the lips of that vile, middle-aged hag as she gently handed Sir Khan his cup of tea.

What was wrong with her? If I was confined to a wheelchair, I'd go on living under the same roof as her as per my father's instruction—much to my dislike and hers. If I were her, I wouldn't be smiling at all.

"It's been two years now. It won't work," I said with a raspy voice. "It will never work."

With gentleness, he said, "Don't give up, son. There's still hope that-"

"With due respect, father," I cut his sentence as my eyes bore into his with the sharpness of a blade. "Don't fill my head with... that."

"With what?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "Hope?"

"Can we..." I grunted as I smashed a trembling fist on my lap. "Can we not talk about this?" I urged him.

Silence ensued with its ruthless coldness. Lady Melnik's smug face didn't go unnoticed by both my father and Sir Khan, who stared at her with incredulity and disdain, respectively. Mia simply sat in silence, with her lips pressed into a thin line.

"We'll talk later, son," he whispered to me, but he was still staring at his wife.

The door creaked open then. My half-brother Partick came into the room. "You called me, father? What's this urgent matter?"

"Come here, Patrick," our father said with urgency. Patrick came to stand on our father's right. "Let me introduce Miss Mia Tan, from Purple Rock. She has important information to give us. Miss Tan, this is Patrick—my eldest son and my right hand."

My half-brother stared at the foreign young lady with bright eyes. A smile crept up his lips as he approached her and kissed her hand. His good manners, despite being old-fashioned, made him a favourite among the ladies—that, and both the noble title he would one day inherit from our father, and the power and money that came with it.

However, she didn't blush like other young women did. She just smiled and nodded.

Then, my father addressed Mia again. "Now, Miss Tan, when I was briefed about the main details of how the suits work, I rejected the company's request to enter the hospitals in Two Dawns. I passed a law against the development of such technologies here, as well as their commercialisation. Not because this strange illness doesn't affect our colony, but for ethical reasons."

Patrick sat on our father's right. He ran a hand through his short and wavy light brown hair. Mia stole a glance as he did so, but she was serious, not coy or shy like many women were.

"The board of Suit Robotics threatened to sue me, and they did," the Lord Commander went on, "but they didn't succeed. I am fully entitled to pass laws in Two Dawns as I see fit, always considering the valuable opinions of experts, like my dear old friend, Sir Lionel Khan."

"When I first heard of what Suit Robotics was doing, I was thrilled to see an amazing breakthrough in both medicine and technology," Sir Khan said, "but then I learnt the social and economic consequences, which threw me off guard. Their greed surpassed any expectations I had. That's why I recommended Lord Commander Melnik to pass a law to defend our colony."

The Lord Commander said after a grunt, "Yes. The federal government turned a blind eye, which was even more unnerving. When I asked around among other federal counsellors in the capital, all my questions were dismissed, as if I were a fool who doesn't know about medicine—and I don't, but my questions were still valid."

"That was very rude, hon," the old hag said in a sweet voice.

Yes, you knew rudeness when you saw it, didn't you, old bat?

My father didn't reply. He simply went on with his reasoning, "I have to respond to my higher-ups in the federal government in every matter, but they will not defeat me on this one. Thankfully, our 'slow life' motto has always been a good shield against those who don't think like us."

"For the time being," I whispered in a grave voice.

"Come on, James," Patrick said with a dismissive attitude and smile.

"You need to be careful, father," I added.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mia asked. The brightness in her eyes shivered as if fear was taking root in her mind. "Are you saying that Two Dawns won't be able to stand independent for long?"

"Our ways have always puzzled our neighbouring colonies," I replied. "I know what they think of us—that we're idiots, mad, or pathetic. I hate it, but for as long as they don't declare war against us, that's fine by me."

"Would they do that?" Mia asked with alarmed, wide eyes.

"I hope not," I replied.

Patrick chuckled. "Of course not."

My father frowned at me while giving me a hard glare. "That idea is preposterous, James. You know what I think about your pessimism about this issue."

I pressed my lips into a thin line before I gathered the courage to reply, "They hate us, father. I've heard them speak about us behind our backs for years. They think of us as inferiors. And they sure love our raw materials."

"You must've misunderstood," my father said. "The federal government would never allow a war among its colonies."

"No, I heard everything clearly," I said. "They don't understand us—they never will. One day, they will impose their lifestyle and those suits on us, too. By force. Mark my words."

A twitch appeared in my father's right eye. His jaw got tense, and he nodded curtly at me. "Would you be happy then, son? For being right and for finally getting a suit despite my prohibition?"

Those questions hit me hard, but the subsequent silence hit me twice as hard.

Did I want to be right? No, of course not. I loved the 'slow life' motto.

Did I want a suit? My heart was split on that matter. A suit would give me the ability to walk again. However, I'd have to pay a high price for it—my independence.

But then, I'd be free from that old hag who had tortured me as a child and teenager. I'd be free from my father's pity. I'd flee from this city, its bullies, its stupid social rules about bastard children like me, and all that shit. I would kill my wealthy masters and start a new life... somewhere.

The blue-haired beauty stared at me for a long moment... and took my breath away. Her blue eyes pierced mine with the fire of pride and disappointment. No woman had ever looked at me like that.

Of course. She hated the people who would rather abandon their ill bodies and choose a suit. She just said it a few minutes earlier.

Fine, hate me, beautiful foreigner. I bet you know nothing about how it feels to be mistreated, bullied, ostracised, and pitied for being a bastard, and later confined to a wheelchair, only to receive twice as much of all that shit.

My father then asked her, "Do they talk ill of us where you were born, Miss Tan?"

Her eyes abandoned mine and went back to his. "Not to my knowledge, no," she replied in a meek voice.

"Anyway, Miss Tan." He sighed. "The colony of Two Dawns is different, as you can see. The others don't understand why we push technology aside, like preferring direct and honest human contact instead of using social media all the time. It's not like we reject all tech; we'd rather have a much saner use of it."

"To be honest, I like that very much," she said.

I was glad that the topic of conversation had shifted to a different one.

Sir Khan explained, "Ever since humans first landed in Sothis and the colonies were established five hundred years ago, we have been using technology only as a means to get what we need, but we don't let it define our entire existence."

"Our terraforming dome provides stable weather conditions, just like in other colonies, for example," my father added. "But we choose to follow the seasons like on our former planet, Earth. Having spring, summer, autumn, and winter allows for Mother Nature to follow its course—even if the weather sometimes is bothering us, like a day with heavy rain or snow."

"I understand," Mia said with a smile. "Where I live, the terraforming dome only offers us a perpetual summer to suit the needs of hotels and restaurants. Since our colony is the choice for beach holidays on Sothis, and tourists bring a lot of money with them, it's not like we can choose. Sunny and warm weather is a must."

"I see. How is nature doing there, though?" Sir Khan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nature?" she asked with incredulity. "All plant-based areas are gardens, created and supervised by gardening companies hired by the local government. There are no woods and no wildlife, like here. I saw the magnificent woods when my plane landed. Breath-taking."

The brightness in her eyes returned.

"When I got the first glimpse out of the ship's window," she added, "I was stunned by the vastness and beauty of your skyscraper-like snowy mountains and cliffs, too. It was mesmerising!"

I flinched when she mentioned the cliffs.

"We do have hydroponic agricultural stations where we grow our fruits and vegetables, just like the other colonies," my father said. "But we also like to have some woods and plantations out there, susceptible to the natural conditions—which are quite varied, let me assure you."

"Then, you can compare the results," she replied. "An apple from the hydroponics facility must taste different from that created in the field."

"Indeed," Patrick said with a smile that displayed his shiny white teeth. "Natural apples are... amazing, really. They taste a lot more real."

She smiled back.

"Nature is a wonderful mother," Sir Khan said. "And technology advancements help. Comparing serves as a good reminder that technology is good, but for as long it's used with care and measure, following the laws of nature."

"Agreed," she said. "But the terraforming domes are ruled by an AI. Doesn't it define the weather in a strict pattern?"

"We added an algorithm to our dome that allows it to behave randomly from time to time—to surprise us with... for example, unexpected rainfall," Patrick replied with a charming voice. His eyes locked with hers as he smiled and asked her, "Have you ever been caught in the rain, Miss Tan?"

She hesitated for a second as her pupils dilated and smiled. "Never."

My half-brother chuckled just slightly. "It's quite... refreshing."

"Wow," she said almost breathlessly.

"Anyway, I'd love to know more about this illness," my father asked her. "If no doctors from Purple Rock have got a clue about what to do, it must be something serious. It's an extremely dangerous illness. Purple Rock is enormous and quite advanced in many fields, especially medicine and tourism. What are the symptoms exactly?"

"To sum them all up real quick, they include failure in the motor neurons. Those are in control of the body's motor functions. If those don't work properly, they cause people to fall, to be clumsy, tremors, inability to chew, swallow, and talk even, eventually making basic life-sustaining functions, like breathing or control of the heartbeat, collapse. There is also a loss of the sense of smell. Most patients show a life expectancy of a year.

"My father was infected when I left," she added, her voice going down an octave, sinking into sadness. "Although I'm a doctor and I seek to heal people in general, he's the reason I'm looking for a cure so desperately. I don't think he has much time left."

My father's eyes summoned his trademark pity to aim it all at her. "So, this has become a personal issue."

"Sadly, yes," she replied. "To make matters worse, I haven't found either cooperation or the knowledge I'm looking for in other colonies. Yours is my last hope."

"How so?" he arched an eyebrow.

"I've met the top doctors in other colonies, like in New Paris," she said as she fidgeted with the fingers on her lap, "but none of those experts were forthcoming or interested in the least to help me find a cure to this illness."

She scoffed. Her eyelashes looked sparkly, as if tears were starting to emerge, and she looked so forlorn that I... I wanted to hug her.

"I had never met doctors who don't care about saving people," she said with a breaking voice. "But, since in Two Dawns, you have a more genuinely human approach, I think I've come to the right place. You seem truly caring people. A natural approach to medicine might be the key to finding a cure, maybe."

"I sincerely hope you find what you're looking for," Sir Khan said. "And thank God that illness hasn't spread here."

"If you had known about this illness, that would've meant I wasn't alone fighting against this," she said, and then she sighed. "Or maybe developed a cure I've been unable to find."

"Is there any chance you're infected?" my father asked.

"It only affects men," she replied.

Sir Khan said, "You may use my personal library and lab, young lady. I'll assist you and provide any knowledge you need. I'll show you around later."

His smile was infectious to the point it drew a big one on her face. "That would be fantastic!"

"If your drive and passion for medicine leads you to a successful outcome," Sir Khan said, "I want Two Dawns to be prepared, in case the illness spreads here."

My father then said, "But if you're successful, Suit Robotics won't be pleased."

"I know," she answered. "They tried to kill me before I tried to leave Purple Rock."

"What?!" everybody in the room asked with astonishment.

"There's a target on my back," she explained. "Wherever I've been to, assassins follow. I've grown used to watching my back. I took self-defence lessons, which came in pretty handy. That and... a gun, of course. They knew my intentions because... I vividly defied the marketing and ethics committee they sent from the capital to Purple Rock four months ago. A part of me wishes I hadn't called their attention that much when I opposed their views and business ethics... or lack thereof."

What the actual fuck?! I had never met a woman as daring as her.

"Who are these assassins?" my father asked.

"Mostly suits. Sometimes they hired a human thug."

"And you've survived all those threats, alone?" Sir Khan asked.

"Yes, sir."

As daring and fearless as Vanessa. Damn.

A smile appeared on my lips before I could force it to disappear. The issue was too serious to smile about it—but I loved tough women who pushed through life, not the other way around, letting life push on them.

"I won't allow this to go on any further," my father said in a commanding voice. "You shouldn't worry about your safety when the cure to a foul pandemic could be within your grasp—if you had time and the resources necessary to do so. The survival of the human race and our colonies is at stake."

He smashed a fist on the table, making all the teacups tremble.

"I shall appoint you a bodyguard so that you can concentrate on your mission," he eventually said.

"I don't know. I should be fine here—for as long as they don't hire more thugs, or suits come from a ship to kill me," she added with a sour voice.

She wasn't safe. That issue was way worse than drug dealers, that treacherous son of a bitch Ian Trennik, and any other criminal I had to face when I was an astroguard. I wished I could do something about it!

Sir Khan cleared his throat to call for the Lord Commander's attention.

"My lord, why don't you appoint your son James, who's a former astroguard, to protect her?" the old man asked. "He will be the perfect bodyguard, don't you think so?"

Hello, my sugar cubes!

Wish granted, James. I hope you know what you just wished for! 😉

Stay tuned to know more.

XOXO

Mar

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top