© 2004 by Andrew Wiggin
Chapter 22: The Quick Years
The Year 13
Deirdre's Story:
I had to go into town to pick up something at the drugstore, so I grabbed Emma to go along for the ride. We have a rule in our house: no parent goes anywhere without being accompanied by an eKid.
There have been rumblings over the years about us. We've heard them. We've read about them. We aren't necessarily the most popular people in eastern Georgia. It's strange to take a teenager along as one's personal bodyguard.
The eKids are powerful. No one really knows how powerful. We've spent their lifetime trying to teach them not to abuse their powers. And in the idyllic existence we've made for them, why should they have to display their strengths?
Emmy and I had been into the drugstore to pick up a prescription to help Donnie and me with our menopausal woes. We had parked in the little parking lot in the alley behind the store. The drugstore was one of the old-fashioned ones that still have a soda fountain, so Emma had lingered behind to pick up something to drink. I should know better than to walk the streets alone, but Statesboro is such a lovely, safe little town.
I saw him standing in the alley. I know it is my prejudices speaking, but I just am less than comfortable around men who have tattoos covering their entire bodies from the chin down; especially ones who weigh two hundred and fifty pounds and wear leather vests with no shirt.
Like any other woman, I pretended to ignore his existence and made for my car in the lot. I felt myself willing him away. After all, what interest would he have in a person like me, a late-forties, frumpy old lady? But it was not to be.
As I approached my car, he stepped in front of me.
"Hey, baby. Where you goin' in such a hurry?"
For the first time I looked him in the eye. I would have looked him in the eyes, but one of his was obviously glass.
I said, "Excuse me, sir, but you are in my way." I quickly glanced around and realized that I saw no one. I suspected that this man may not have my best interests at heart, so I issued a little mental distress call to my daughter, still in the drugstore.
He said, "You're her, ain't ya' babe?"
I replied, "I'm who?"
He laughed. "You're the Progenitor's bitch! I've seen pictures of your naked ass. I've always wanted to see that ass for myself. Come on, baby, let me see that ass."
I said, "Please young man, you don't really want to talk to me that way. It would be best if you just backed away before someone gets hurt."
Just then Emma walked out of the drugstore and came hurrying up to me.
"Momma, is everything all right?"
I said, "Everything's fine, sweetie. This man is going to allow us to walk past him and go to our car."
But the man had other ideas. "Damn, you are one hot little thing! You're sexier than your mama. I might just have to do me a family sandwich. Yeah, you two are goin' to have a good time with me."
Then the huge ugly thing drew out a large ugly knife. "Why don't you two just get in the back of my van over there? It's time for a little mother-daughter fuckin'."
Emma actually laughed. "Little boy, you aren't man enough to take care of one of us, let alone handle two at a time. Why don't you take your puny little dick home and whack off?"
I have no idea why she finds situations like this amusing. I said, "Now Emma, you leave the man alone. I'm sure that he doesn't mean any harm."
The fat ugly thing looked confused. "What the hell are you two sluts talkin' about? Now get in the van before I cut someone!"
Suddenly the man looked past us and I saw a look of fear come into his eyes. I turned but couldn't see anything. Emma whispered to me, "You wanna hear this?" I just nodded.
In my mind I heard a herald of trumpets followed by a voice that sounded suspiciously like Cecil B. DeMille in "The Ten Commandments". You'd think that Emma would have some originality.
The voice said, "Thus saith the Lord: If thy right eye offends thee, pluck it out. If thy dick offends thee, cut it off!"
I whispered to Emma, "Is that really in the Bible?"
Emma said to the fat man, "It looks like you already did the eye part; how about the dick?"
The fat man looked stricken. He pulled down the zipper of his pants and reached in and pulled out a truly puny penis. I said to Emma, "For heaven's sake, don't let him cut it off!"
I heard the sonorous voice of DeMille shout "Stop! Go sinner and sin no more! If you try this again, you will be eating your balls for breakfast!"
The fat man turned and ran like hell. Both Emma and I were laughing by the time the man's van had sped down the street. I hugged her. She can turn even a dangerous event into a comic misadventure.
I said, "Emma, that man is a menace to society. We should do something to be sure he doesn't try to harm anyone else."
She laughed. "I saw 'A Clockwork Orange', Momma. That little heavenly vision is implanted in his brain. Every time he thinks about being violent he's going to have a visit from an angel."
I was shocked. "Emma, I didn't know you had any religion at all. When did you read the Bible?"
She just shrugged. "Of course I've read the Bible. Do you take me for an illiterate?
H. sapiens
like their religion, Momma. I sensed that the fat man was raised in one of those Southern Baptist sects that drive Daddy crazy. He doesn't go to church, but he still thinks he will burn in hell for all of the bad things he has done. Maybe now he'll stop doing bad things and he will end up in whatever weird little vision of heaven he sees.
"One day I'm going to write a book quoting all the contradictory passages in the Bible. I'll write a chapter using one set of verses, then another chapter condemning the previous chapter with another set of verses. I'll call it 'Dueling Bibles'".
I was horrified. "Well if you do, please use an assumed name. Don't mention your father at all. Please don't involve IAM in this. Most of the Religious Right already believes that we are blasphemers and heretics. Your father is the Anti-Christ. Don't give them any more ammunition."
We drove home. Everyone was waiting for us and we were mobbed when we got out of the car. Andrew looked so worried. I don't now whether Emma had somehow let the others know about our little confrontation, or if the others had sensed it by themselves.
He said, "Dee Dee, are you okay? Emmy, are you all right? That S.O.B. didn't hurt you, did he?"
Before Andrew could start lecturing me on making sure I am safe, I went for a preemptive strike.
I said, "Andrew, just calm down. We were never in danger. Emma is our personal little anti-violence crusader. She convinced the man to leave us alone and to be good from now on. He won't be a danger to anyone ever again."
Andrew hugged Emma. He always hugs Emma. I heard him whisper to her, "Maybe we can sneak you into the White House. You can train the President to be anti-violent and we can stop having all of these crazy little wars."
She just smiled and basked in his affection. She is a sucker for her Daddy's affection. So am I.
The Year 18
Donnie's Story: New Man U.
New Man University is ten years old. Already it's one of the most respected institutes of higher learning in the country. That certainly has something to do with the advances made in scientific areas by the faculty and students – mostly the students. But it also must in part be due to the integrity and ethics that are such an integral part of the university.
After we received our charter we started hiring the best possible faculty. We pay top dollar to top-of-the-line professors who want an opportunity to teach the intellectual elite of the world. The top minds on earth don't teach at New Man U. The top minds are the students at New Man U.
We've got research facilities being built constantly, upgrading to state-of-the-art hardware, much of it designed by our own students. We've received additional funding from major corporations who only want the opportunity to take advantage of the research that is a minor by-product of the education of the next generation. None of that research involves weapons.
Ours is a unique setup. Every attendee of New Man U. is on full scholarship. We don't charge anything. However, we make them sign an honor pledge when they come to school. They agree to give the University endowment fund 10% of the net profits of anything they develop while in attendance, continuing for five years after graduation. Like Andrew says, somebody has to pay for all of those scholarships. We can't expect Elle to devote her entire life to financing New Man U.
We don't do contracts. Contracts are things written to let people know what they can do to get out of the terms of the contract. We don't work that way. We have the eKids state that on their honor they will give back to the university some of what they got out of it. There is a stipulation in the pledge that if any kid really needs the money, the pledge is null and void. They can honor the pledge or not honor the pledge. There is nothing legally binding about it. We try to teach them that legality doesn't matter. It is their word of honor that counts.
We aren't a four-year college. An eKid can come to New Man U., stay for as long as she likes, announce her graduation and leave. If at some point later the eKid decides to return to the University, she will merely renounce her degree and come back. All of the older eKids are females. The D-generation didn't start popping out males until later.