Quasar is a living being. The planet itself is not alive, but the entire surface is interconnected as if it is a giant organism, with shared memories and experiences from billions of voices and minds mingling at all times.
It is that whole, that collective, those trillions upon trillions of Quasing merged together that allows us to evolve and advance, and eventually seek destiny beyond the boundaries of our planet and our solar system.
Tao
Cameron, wake up.
Cameron was out of bed before Tao finished the sentence, moving confidently in the dark. The sun had not risen yet, and the woods outside looked as pitch dark as they had when he had gone to bed just a few short hours ago. His window shutters rattled from a light breeze, but other than that, the entire house was still. Those signals told Cameron all he needed to know about what to wear this morning. He brushed his teeth, slipped on a long-sleeve shirt and running pants, and was out the door within two minutes.
To his surprise, his mother was still in bed. He tapped the door twice and walked in.
Give her one nudge and then let her sleep. She has had a lot on her plate lately; she deserves the rest.
“Mom,” he whispered.
She reached under her pillow. He knew she kept a pistol stuck to the wall behind the mattress. She had one in the drawer of the nightstand too, and a knife wrapped inside the pillow as well. Dad, on the other hand, was armed to the teeth. Cameron and Mom used to joke that he could accidentally discharge a shotgun if he just rolled in his sleep.
Both parents had worried about having so many guns around him when he was young and considered removing them entirely from the house. It took Tao, controlling a four year-old child, giving them an hour-long lecture exhibiting how much influence he had over Cameron before they acquiesced. They were in the middle of a war, after all.
His mother yawned. “Oh, yeah, I promised, didn’t I?”
“If you need rest…”
“No, no.” She sat up. “I could use the workout.”
A few minutes later, they were stretching against the wooden fence leading down to the main road. She wore several layers of clothing that covered every part of her body except for her face. She looked disapprovingly at his thin long-sleeve shirt and running pants.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
“You’ll overheat,” he responded.
She chuckled. “I don’t know how hard you think I’m actually going to go. I’m just here to instruct.”
You have two hours. Make the most of them.
They started jogging down the dirt road leading into the forest. Once they reached the wooded area, Jill tapped Cameron on the shoulder. “Tag, you’re it.”
She took off, barreling through the thickets and hurdling over logs, weaving in and out of tree trunks. He gave chase, following her not at a direct angle, but just a bit off to the side. The truth was, he was much faster than she was these days and could catch her within thirty paces. However, this was an old game and easily one of his favorite pastimes. It wouldn’t be right if he spoiled it too quickly.
Adjust to the elevation.
Cameron watched the dip as his mother jumped feet first into a ditch, only looking at the ground while she was in the air. She bounded to the side right as she landed, turning sharply away from him. He switched angles to follow. She grabbed a tree branch overhead and flipped herself smoothly onto it, then disappeared behind the trunk. He followed her up, but by the time he got onto the branch and looked around, he had somehow lost her. It took him a second to locate her again, but, by that time, she was already several meters away, running in another direction.
Seems Jill still has tricks up her sleeves. Careful with the soft mud on the right.
Cameron leaped off the high branch and rolled out of his landing. Within seconds, he had split the distance between them. One moment, he was twenty meters behind her. The next, she had disappeared again. Cameron maintained his trajectory for another fifteen meters before he came to a stop and listened. Nothing.
Watch out!
It was too late. Jill, lying in wait on the ground, tapped him on the foot with her hand imitating the shape of a pistol. “Bang.” Grinning, she tousled his hair as he helped her up. She held up one finger and then took off again.
Cameron gave her the requisite five seconds before going after her. This time, she headed toward Melon Hill, a series of mossy boulders and rises that looked like a giant watermelon patch. She scaled a boulder twice her height in two bounds and disappeared over the top. Cameron followed, taking a few more tries to claw up before he was able to get a solid handhold on the ledge.
“Use angles, dear,” she called to him. “You went a little too vertical that time.” Then she jumped off another boulder and was gone.
Use your core muscles more when you lift your feet.
Cameron leaped from boulder to boulder and ran parallel to her as she dove around the side of an old collapsed stone wall. He took three big jumps across two rocks and a hill, and landed on the wall. Again, she had disappeared.
“I think she’s cheating,” he said, perplexed.
Did Jill invent an invisibility cloak in her spare time?
He sped down the length of the wall, balancing on its narrow ledge. He still didn’t see her. He backtracked. “Where the hell did she go?”
Watch the language. I promised your dad. Here’s a clue. Look at the ground.
Cameron noticed it a second later. There was a footprint in the mud. He jumped down and checked the bushes. A pebble bounced off his shoulder. He spun around and saw Mom coming out of the opposite bush on the trail, a ghillie cover wrapped around her shoulder. She held up two fingers.
“You did cheat!”
She shrugged, a smile from ear to ear. “I’m triple your age. I’m allowed to cheat.”
She has a point. There is no such thing in reality as fair play.
They continued the game for another hour. Jill was able to rack up a four-to-one advantage before she began to tire. Cameron was eventually able to catch up before they finally took a break. Next, she worked on his balance, both on his feet and while standing on his hands. She had him jump from rock to rock, always landing on only one foot. Then, she had him do handstands while on the stone wall, knocking one of his hands off, forcing him to quickly shift his weight.
By the time they were done, he was exhausted. Cameron looked at his mom as they walked back toward the farmhouse. Even at her age, she was able to keep pace with him. How could he ever fight the Genjix? He felt that he should have put up a better fight. His frustration boiled up. He didn’t feel that he had improved much over the past six months.
She is in her forties. Hardly an advanced age.
“Well, relative to me. I should be in my prime.”
You are fifteen. Easily ten to fifteen more years before your prime.
He wasn’t convinced, though. He would have to just practice harder.
Maybe your father is right. I put so many expectations on you. I am pushing you too hard.
“Obviously not hard enough. I suck.”
You are starting to sound like your father more and more every day. Have a pity-party on your own time.
“Has Roen called in?” he asked.
She shook her head, looking a little distracted. “Not yet. Your father should have reached Ontario by now. I’m surprised he hasn’t pinged me yet. I’m sure he’s just running a little late.” She emphasized the “your father” part of her sentence. He took the hint.
“Mom, why does Dad push me so hard but doesn’t want me to join the Prophus?”
She sighed. “Your father has a very complicated relationship with all this.” She gestured all around them and then tapped his forehead. “Especially that alien in you.”
“He doesn’t like Tao?”
“Oh, he loves Tao. He had always just hoped for something more for you than becoming an agent.”
“Well, it’s not his decision.”
She nodded. “That’s true. It’s yours. Or is it Tao’s? In either case, his way of coping with your becoming an agent is to either make you the best agent possible, or dissuade you from becoming one altogether. Why do you think he bought you that cello?”
“I’m tone deaf.”
“Yes, dear, we are all painfully, painfully aware of that.”
They reached the house and Cameron rushed upstairs to wash off the grime. If he could get ready in the next twenty minutes, he could take the bus for once. He had tried to skip the shower, but Jill would have none of that. He guessed it was for the better. Most of the other kids thought he was weird already. Stinking up the class wasn’t going to earn him any more points. He rushed through the shower, and then rushed out, throwing on whatever clothes he had readily at hand. He came down with five minutes to spare and saw Mom staring out the window, coffee in hand.
“Okay, I’ll see you tonight.” He hesitated. “Mom? Everything all right?”
She tore her gaze away from the window. “Have a good day, Cam.”
Something has happened to Roen. Press her on it.
“What is it?” Cameron asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“I’m old enough now.”
Jill hesitated, and then exhaled before finally speaking. “A forest ranger found a bullet-riddled Oldsmobile on fire off the side of the road.”
Check for bodies.
Cameron’s heart skipped a beat. “Did they find anyone inside?”
She shook her head. “No. They also noted that someone had built a fire ring around the car.”
The site has been cleaned. The Genjix.
“We have to find him and Uncle Marco.”
She shook her head. “I don’t have anyone to spare at the moment. I just… I just have to trust that your father is all right.”
Cameron felt his heart slam against his ribcage, as if it was trying to break through his chest. His legs buckled, but Jill caught him before he could sit down on the floor. She looked at him with a renewed intensity. “Your father is fine, and you are going to school. Do you understand?”
“But Dad…”
“I will not operate under the assumption that my husband is dead until I have proof. For now, we have jobs to do. Yours is to go to school.”
“No way!”
“Tao, talk some sense into him.”
She is right. Anything could have happened. No need to jump to conclusions. A good agent continues his mission no matter what the cost.
“Get your butt to school, young man,” she said, grabbing him by the arm and leading him to the door. She looked up at the clock. “You’ve missed the bus. Bike to school and then bike straight home. I don’t want to get a call from Ms Federlin that you were late. Do you understand?” Then she pushed him so hard toward the door he stumbled.
Stone-faced and numb, Cameron turned around and looked at his mother. “Will you… at least let me know if you hear anything? I need to know.”
She shook her head. “Your mission today, as a Prophus agent, is to go to school. I will update you when you’ve completed your assignment and are safely home. Not before.”
Cameron curled his hands into fists. He felt his eyes well with moisture and his vision swim. “That’s so messed up. He’s my father!”
Jill kicked him out of the house before he could protest any further.
She is right. Otherwise, you will waste the entire day waiting for that message. Nothing you do right now will make a difference. Go to class. It is too early to panic. Now! Start moving your feet, Cameron Tan.
The rest of the day was a haze. He received a B+ on his History test, his first this year, but he didn’t care. He walked through the hallways like a zombie, numb and oblivious to what was happening around him. He didn’t notice the usual glances or the snarky laughs. When a group of the football jocks called him names, it didn’t register. All Cameron could think about was whether his father was alive or dead.
Cameron was sure this wasn’t the first time his father had been in danger. After all, the two of them had taken down the remnants of an IXTF squad just the other day. However, this was the first time that he could remember being unsure of Roen’s wellbeing. In all the previous missions, it had never even occurred to him that his father could have been injured or killed. Maybe it was because he was too young to realize it, maybe he thought his father was invincible, or maybe now that it had actually happened, all of a sudden it felt far too real. The waves of worry and fear were overwhelming.
Cameron, get ahold of yourself. Jumping to conclusions is the fastest way to drive yourself insane. What do I always tell you about intel?
“Three times a lady.”
Once you know she exists. Twice she has your attention. Three times a lady. Wait for confirmation of facts or lack of facts, and determine actionable items before you start to panic.
“I can’t help it, Tao. I can’t stop feeling this way. He’s my dad.”
If it helps, I am concerned as well. Roen is more than a friend to me.
“I don’t know how to deal with this.”
Focus on what you can control, and trust that your Roen is all right. In fact, I am sure he is.
“Really?”
Of course. I trained him.
Cameron was in gym class, standing far back in the outfield. No one ever hit the ball this far. It afforded him the privacy he needed to process all the conflicting emotions and try to tame his out-of-control imagination visualizing his father dying in a ditch or a prisoner of the Genjix. A hundred scenarios ran through his head, each one worse than the previous.
“Hey, Tan, heads up. Stop screwing around!” a voice yelled.
He looked up just in time to see a pop ball fly toward him. It made a lazy arc toward the center of the field. If he had been paying attention, he could have run and caught it. Heck, if he tried now, he might still be able to. However, this stupid gym class game was the last thing he could give a crap about. He stood there while the ball bounced off the grass and rolled toward the wall.
“You suck, Tan!” someone catcalled.
“Get your head out of your ass!” someone else joined in.
“Fucking loser!”
“Watch your mouth,” Coach Wannsik yelled. He looked over at Cameron. “Get the ball, Cameron. You’re not here to daydream.”
Cameron saw the white baseball poking out of the grass. What was he doing here anyway? This was all so stupid. His dad was missing! He had the urge to just walk away or kick the damn thing or throw it out of the field.
You are better than this. Get a hold of yourself. Find the calm.
Cameron closed his eyes and breathed. In. Out. Like how Tao had taught him, he tried to keep his wild emotions present, embraced them even, but still tried to find that calmness. Controlled. Manageable. This time, it didn’t work. He snarled and stomped to the ball. He picked it up and hurled it as hard as he could back at the group of students. The ball traveled long and fast, easily reaching the home base and bouncing off the back fence. Well, no one said his aim had to be good.
Nice throw.
“I surprise myself.”
Throwing a ball is nothing more than good t’ai chi.
“I could kind of see that.”
The rest of his day flashed by. All he could think of was getting home for some news about Roen. It wasn’t fair that Mom wouldn’t let him know. What if she had heard something by now? She was wrong. He deserved to know right when she found out. Well, nothing he could do about it now. He had to get home.
After the last bell rang, Cameron hurried to his locker and ran through the gym toward his bike. He bet he could cover the forty-minute ride in fifteen if he pushed himself. He nearly bowled over Coach Wannsik on his way out.
“Hang on,” Wannsik said, blocking his way. “Watch where you’re going, son. You’re going to hurt someone. Hey, Cameron, that’s quite an arm you have there.”
Cameron’s first two impulses were either to shout at Wannsik to get out of his way or to just bowl him over.
If I was cruel, I would teach you a hard lesson right now about spiting yourself with stupidity. However, knowing this situation, my advice would be to speak softly. Anything else will simply delay your trip home.
“Thanks, Coach,” Cameron said breathily. He tried to find the calm. Embrace it. Squeeze the calm. Truth was, he wanted to tear that damn calm apart into little pieces and stomp on it. However, he bit his lip and flashed Wannsik a smile.
“Why don’t you try out for the baseball team? With an arm like that, with a little work on control, we can use that. You know, a lot of Division One schools offer great…”
Cameron stood there for five minutes as Wannsik continued on about the merits of college scholarships. That wait hurt him worse than the one time Roen broke his collarbone when he was twelve years old in a freak sparring accident. Finally, when the coach was done with his sell, Cameron politely declined and bolted for the sports field.
When he got to the bicycle racks, he unlocked and pulled his bike out of the rack, and jumped on. He had already begun pedaling when he realized that something was wrong. He looked down; his tire was flat. He looked behind him. Both of them were.
Cameron jumped off and checked the treads. Someone had slashed them. With a snarl, he threw the bike to the side. Several mocking barks came from the field and he saw a group of those jocks laughing. He began to stomp toward them.
No, Cameron.
“I’m sick of them. I’m going to teach them who they’re messing with. I’m going to break –”
No. You will not.
“They’ve been picking on me since I moved here. I’m going to make sure they never pick on me again!”
You are more powerful than they. Direct your power up, not down.
“It’s not fair!”
Things rarely are, son. You have more important things to deal with right now.
Cameron shot them one more glare and stomped back to his bike. He picked it up and threw the frame over his shoulder. If he ran the entire time, he could make it back in about two hours. Three, maybe, with this bike.
Behind him, he heard those jerks throw more insults his way, taunting him with chicken noises and baby crying sounds. God, with humans like these, it sometimes made him want to be a Genjix.
Stop! You will take that thought back, Cameron Tan.
“Like hell I will, Tao. Those fucking kids are the scum of the Earth.”
Do not judge an entire species based on the actions of their worst few. That is the trait of the Genjix. The Prophus choose to look at the best of humanity. That is our difference. If you cannot learn this, then you cannot be my host. And watch your language; I promised your father.
At that moment, no matter how hard Cameron tried, he couldn’t stop it. He began to cry. Tears streamed down his face as he lugged the bike over his shoulder and jogged home. He was so embarrassed; he probably looked ridiculous too.
It is all right, Cameron. There is nothing wrong with what you’re feeling, though you are right about one thing.
Cameron sniffled. “Right about what?”
You do look a little ridiculous.
Cameron caught himself chuckling in spite of how he felt. A little of the pressure bottled up in his chest was let out. “You’re supposed to make me feel better, not worse.”
I know. I sometimes suck at this job. Now, get home and see if we can find some good news about your father. How fast can you run?