Epilogue - C.E. 170

He'd been waiting on the street outside his hotel for more than ten minutes and was starting to wonder if something had gone wrong with his publisher's promised arrangement of a car and driver while he was here on Aprilius One. He'd just made his mind up to call and check, when a sports car came zipping down the street and screeched to halt in front of him. The youth driving the vehicle hastily exited the vehicle and approached him with smiling apologies.

"You're Doctor Pool; I recognise you from our advertising vid. Sorry I'm late, Doctor. I hope I haven't inconvenienced you too much. My name's Andy and I have orders to drive you anywhere you want to go."

They shook hands and Francis Pool found himself warming almost instantly to the cheerful ingenuous youth before him. Though he was very young…

"Ah, I hope you don't mind me asking, but aren't you kind of young to be a driver?"

The boy grinned as he opened the front passenger door and held it while the older man got in.

"Been licensed for three whole months, Doctor. Don't worry, you'll be safe. My father and grandfather would kill me if I let anything happen to you."

The boy slammed the door shut and shot round to the driver's seat. Pool smiled in confusion at him as Andy slipped back behind the wheel and asked, "Where would you like to go, Doctor?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand. Your father and grandfather…?"

"Sorry, I should have explained. Technically I'm an employee of the firm while I'm on vacation from school, but it is really a family thing. I'm Andy DaCosta; you've probably been dealing with my father over your e-book, though my grandfather still helps out with some of our historical titles, and I imagine your work would be of interest to him, too."

The last statement had a hint of question in it. Pool smiled, the growing sense of familiarity he had been experiencing since meeting his young driver was now explained. "Yes, I've dealt mostly with your father, but I had the pleasure of meeting your grandfather at an historical conference in Orb about two years ago. We had an interesting discussion about the history of ZAFT."

The boy grinned. "Yeah, he's really into that. I could never see the appeal myself. History has never been of much interest to me; I prefer the future to the past. So, where can I take you Doctor?"

Pool slipped on his seatbelt as he replied; he had a feeling he was going to be glad of it. "I'd like to go to the cemetery, please. I want to visit a couple of graves in the older section."

"Right, Doctor. Um, do you want me to stop somewhere for flowers first?"

Pool was surprised, he hadn't considered that. "Ah, no. I think we can dispense with the flowers; I don't think the people whose graves we are going to visit would really care too much about that sort of thing."

The car whipped speedily and efficiently into the traffic stream of the conurbation and conversation lapsed for several minutes while the boy navigated through the busy downtown area. Pool was relieved to see that he was good driver, if somewhat fast, and felt himself relax. When they reached the relatively quieter streets of the conurbation fringe, the boy picked up their conversation again.

"If you don't mind me asking, are these graves we're visiting connected with your e-book, Doctor?"

Pool nodded. "Yes, it's the Joule family plot we're going to see. How much do you know about the subject matter of my work?"

The boy grinned. "Well, I'm kind of low on the food chain at DaCosta Publishing, even if I am family, so I don't get to see any of the manuscripts or anything like that. I mostly run errands, to tell the truth. But there's been a lot of excitement in the office about your stuff: a 'ground-breaking' biography of Defence Committee Chairman Joule to be launched in the centenary year of the First War. It's an important project for the firm and I know my father's pretty keen on it.

I'm personally not that hot at history, though. What I know about Joule, apart from the fact that he was head of ZAFT way back, is what's in the Lacus Clyne rock opera they brought out a couple of years ago. Have you seen it? It's still playing to packed houses here, but I'm sure Dad could get you a ticket if you want to go."

In the five years since Lacus Clyne's death there had been a spate of books and vids on various aspects of her life, both as the long-time leader of the PLANT Supreme Council and as a performing artist. Pool knew a great deal about the former, but relatively little about her as a singer, though her music was still popular. His ears certainly pricked up at the mention of Yzak Joule as a character in a rock opera.

"I wasn't aware that Joule featured as a character in a musical. How was he presented?"

Andy grinned. "Well, I don't want to get your hopes up for nothing, Doctor. He's not exactly a major character in it. It's all set back in the days of the First War, and it is really a sort of love-triangle with music, between Athrun Zala, Lacus Clyne and Kira Yamato. Joule features as a minor character who is himself in love with Clyne from a distance. From memory, I think he has a solo piece about unrequited love in the second act, and that's about it."

Pool grinned mentally at the picture of Joule painted by his young companion but didn't comment on it. "Perhaps if I have the time while I'm here, I'll take in a performance."

While they had been talking the car had entered the highway system that stretched for kilometres across this section of Aprilius One. The car picked up speed as Andy switched over to autonav. It would remain under the control of the computer system that operated all vehicles entering the highway, till they reached the exit point for the cemetery.

Andy stretched his arms and relaxed back in his seat. "It'll be about 30 minutes before we get to the cemetery, Doctor."

Pool smiled. "Thanks. By the way, you don't have to keep calling me Doctor, you know. My name is Francis. I'm 29, so 'Doctor Pool' still sounds too old for me, more like my father. He's also Dr Francis Pool, but he's a medical doctor."

"Ok, you got it…Francis. Names can be a real pain, can't they? I'm the third generation Andrew in my family. I've got a cousin who is also Andrew. Makes you wonder how these family traditions get so entrenched."

Pool looked quizzically at his young companion. "You don't know why your family is so keen on the name Andrew?"

Andy shook his head. "Nope. Never got round to asking. Too many other things on my mind."

Pool looked a little bemused. "I think perhaps you should ask your grandfather; you might find it interesting."

"Yeah, I'm sure there's a history behind it. DaCosta Publishing is big on history and the promotion of 'Coordinator Culture' whatever the hell that is."

He grinned: "To tell you the truth, I don't fit in that well at the publishing house. It's not really what I want to do with my life. I'm interested in environmental engineering; my sister already works for the family firm, so I don't see why I'm expected to as well."

"So what do you hope to do with your life?"

"Mars! I want to go work on Mars in the terraforming project. Hell, maybe I can do both. I might be able to persuade my family to let me work there and represent the firm on a part-time basis. Somebody must be writing books on Mars, right? Maybe we could be the first Martian publishing house."

They talked amicably about Mars' development and the logistics of the massive terraforming project which would ultimately provide a liveable environment for some distant future generation of Martian colonists. The domes on its surface and the network of PLANTs around the planet were already expanding rapidly.

Andy was waxing enthusiastic about the new spaceship engines: "…And the new Type 3 Henderson Drive makes it possible to do the round trip in a short enough time that tourism may now be a real possibility! People would be able to visit Mars and return in the time-span of a vacation. The economic spin-off from something like that would be immense!"

Suddenly he looked puzzled and then clicked his fingers in satisfaction. "That's what's been niggling at me! I knew that I'd heard the name Joule in connection with space technology somewhere, but I couldn't pin it down before. Now I remember; he was the one who pushed for the original Henderson Drive to be developed!"

Pool nodded and smiled at him with the pleased expression of a teacher who has seen an unexpected flicker of intelligence in a normally dull student. "You're quite right. The circumstances of it are described in my book. It was actually quite remarkable."

The warning chime from the car's nav system galvanised Andy to resume manual control of their vehicle as they were now approaching their exit point from the highway system. In a slightly distracted tone he asked, "What was that, Francis?"

Pool expanded: "The fact that Joule pushed to get the resources to perfect the Henderson Drive after the accident that killed Henderson is a testament to the man's single-minded dedication."

Andy swung the car into their off-lane and risked a curious glance at his companion. "Why was it such a big deal?"

"Because the accident that caused the death of Henderson took place during a secret demonstration of the new technology at which the only people present were Henderson, a technician, Joule, and his chief aide. Of the four, Joule was the only one who didn't die within weeks of radiation poisoning, and it still killed him five years later."

"Shit!" said Andy softly, as the car turned into the long tree-lined boulevard that led to the gates of the vast cemetery.

"There's actually even more to the story than that. I'll tell you when we get to the gravesite. It will perhaps enable you to understand why I wanted to come here today."

Pool's voice unconsciously took on the tone of an academic lecturer addressing a student. "The influence of Yzak Joule on PLANT politics and the development of ZAFT has been badly underrated. The peace and prosperity that we have gradually attained over the decades since the two wars have been largely attributed to Lacus Clyne's faction working in conjunction with the Orb Union. We've failed to recognise the third party that helped to ensure that stability: Yzak Joule and his network of supporters inside ZAFT. Joule himself made great efforts to keep his influence secret…and I'm sure that the full extent of it is unknown even to this day."

This last comment was made more to himself than to his companion, as Pool's mind fled back to the many occasions during his research in the official ZAFT Archives when he was denied access to files of relevance to his work.

By mutual consent their conversation lapsed as they entered the cemetery. Pool had memorised the coordinates of the grave and the route to it, and gave concise directions to their destination. When the car stopped Andy turned and asked, "Would you like me to stay in the car?"

Pool shook his head. "No, not at all. This is a slightly sentimental visit for me, but not a personal one in the sense of there being any sorrow involved." He paused for a moment and then said wryly, "If anything, I think I'm here to apologise to Joule for what I'm about to do to him."

They got out of the car and Pool led the puzzled-looking Andy up the gentle slope till they came to a short row with three graves. He pointed: "There they are: his mother Ezalia Joule C.E. 23-88, Yzak Joule C.E. 54-117, and on his other side, Dearka Elsman C.E 54-112."

"Who was Elsman?" asked Andy.

"An interesting question; a good portion of my book is dedicated to answering it. Elsman was a childhood friend of Joule's, later a fellow cadet at the ZAFT Academy and team mate in the First War. At some point, I haven't been able to pin down exactly when, they also became lovers and remained devoted to one another for the rest of their lives. Against all ZAFT protocols about sexual relations between personnel serving together, Joule managed to keep Elsman with him as an aide-de-camp right through his time as a senior ZAFT officer. He resigned in C.E. 94 with the rank of Vice-Admiral and Elsman followed him into civilian life and became his right-hand-man in politics."

Andy's eyebrows rose. "I take it this is one of the reasons why people at work have been talking excitedly about your book in such hushed tones?"

Pool shrugged. "I'm not sure what the reaction of the public will be to the book. Your father thinks it will be a popular best seller because of the 'human interest' aspect. My previous work has all been aimed at an academic audience and I had originally intended this to be purely an analysis of ZAFT's development. Your grandfather persuaded me to take a broader approach, as a way of giving Joule some of the public recognition he deserves for the contribution that he made. Well, I say, 'Joule' but it was really both of them."

Pool waved his hand at the two neat white graves lying quietly together in the warm sunshine. "From what I've been able to reconstruct, although Joule was the leader, he did very little without Elsman's input and support. They worked as a team, but Elsman was even more secretive about his role than Joule himself."

Pool turned to look at Andy. "You remember we were talking back in the car of the deaths of the people at the first trial of the Henderson Drive? Well, one of the people who got a fatal radiation dose that day was Dearka Elsman. He died before Joule recovered from the coma he was in for weeks after the incident. Elsman made his own funeral arrangements: burial here, one plot along from Joule's mother. Joule himself filled the space in middle when he died 5 years later. And though I can't prove it, I think his death at that time was more a matter of his own choosing, than anything else."

Andy looked surprised. "Suicide?"

Pool shrugged. "An ambiguous death, certainly. There was medical evidence that he might have lived several more years if he had continued with the medication regime that he'd been on since the accident, though admittedly he was gradually losing ground to the damage done his body. It was well known amongst his contemporaries that he hated doctors and some thought that he just got pissed off with all the 'doctor bullshit' as one of them noted in his personal diary at the time. Personally, I think he chose his time to go. He certainly put a lot of effort into covering his tracks, which suggests to me it was carefully planned."

"So, if he was so good at covering up his activities, how come you've been able to discover all this stuff about him?"

"Being in the right place at the right time. By that I mean that just enough time has elapsed for a few key ZAFT records to pass into the open domain for historical research. Over the coming decades more will be revealed, I'm sure, but I was able to glean enough to give me some clues now. Most of the material on his private life came from sources not available in the PLANTs."

"On Earth? How the hell would the Naturals have records relating to senior ZAFT officials?"

"As a rule, they don't. The Royal Archives in Orb, however, contain some unique vid footage of private Royal Family functions and Joule and Elsman appear in some of them. Very revealing stuff about their relationship. They used to take vacations in Orb, sometimes on one of the Royal Estates where they could be assured privacy and security."

"How come they were so close to the Orb Royal Family?"

Pool smiled at his young interrogator. "You really do need to read more about the history of the First War: Elsman actually fought for Orb at one period in the war and they both knew Lord Athrun Zala before he was the Prince Consort. They all served in ZAFT together in both wars, though there was some complex shifting of allegiances which affected both Elsman and Zala hugely for the rest of their lives. The records are very incomplete, however, and much has to be surmised."

Andy shook his head dolefully. "I think this is why I don't much like history. Too much sifting of conflicting or incomplete data to find out what really happened and then not ever being sure, even after all the effort. Not like engineering where things are precise and you know whether you've solved a problem, or not."

Pool grinned, suddenly looking much younger than his grave scholarly manner usually allowed. "Perhaps you should read my book before you give up on it? History can be enjoyable, and we all need to know where we've come from. People like Joule and Elsman spent their lives to give us the peace we now have. If you don't know the price that's been paid for something, how do you know its true value?"

"Huh, I guess you have a point," said Andy, looking strangely uncomfortable. "So, how did you find out about this stuff in the Royal Archives?"

"Didn't they brief you? I'm from Orb; I teach history at the University of Orb. Princess Lenore, the Official Keeper of the Royal Archives, is also the Chancellor of the University. When she learned of my project, she granted me special access."

Andy blushed, and struggled to formulate the question on his lips without seeming rude. Pool guessed what was on his mind; he'd had this reaction before from Coordinators in the PLANTs.

"Before you ask, no, I'm not a Natural. I'm second generation Coordinator, born in Orb. There have been discrete clinics in Orb and the Oceania Union since the end of the Second War, quietly turning out Coordinators. It's sort of an open secret in our part of the world, but I admit, we don't normally travel outside our own region on Earth. Still too dangerous. I've been to Armoury One to do research in the ZAFT Archives but few other places in the PLANTs. And never before on Aprilius One. Hence my being given a 'native' as my guide and driver."

"Sorry," said an abashed Andy.

"Think nothing of it. It's happened before; I'm sure it will happen again."

As a way of changing the subject, Pool dug out his pocket vid unit and tapped in the code for one of the screen caps he had downloaded from the Royal Archives. He offered the vid unit to Andy.

"This is one of the images that appear in my book, with official permission from the Royal Archivist. It shows Joule and Elsman as a couple. They were at a picnic in the palace grounds and someone took vid of them, er, 'smooching' under the trees."

Andy, recovering rapidly from his embarrassment, actually snickered: "Smooching?"

"Well, take a look," said Pool

Andy studied the little image carefully. Two young men stood with their arms around each other, heads tilted back, staring into each others eyes. They had obviously either just kissed or were about to do so. Their clothing was old fashioned but not bizarrely so. They were both good looking, but the one with grey – no, silver hair, was a bit effeminate, Andy thought.

"Which one is Joule?"

"The one with the silver hair."

"No shit! I thought he'd be the other one."

Pool smiled as Andy passed the little vid unit back to him. "Yes, many people judged Yzak Joule wrongly by his appearance in his lifetime. They usually paid dearly for the error, too. He was a tough bastard."

"So this is why you said before that you felt you owed Joule an apology? Revealing his sexuality?"

"Not so much that, but revealing his influence on ZAFT and other things. I suspect I've barely scratched the surface but other historians will come after me, when more material becomes available. Historians are a little like sharks when they smell blood in the water."

Andy simply looked puzzled by the analogy.

"Never mind. Anyway, I suppose we should be going. I think your father has a media conference arranged for me later today and I should go get ready for it."

They both turned in silence for one last look at the modest graves. Pool bowed his head for a moment. You spent your lives well. Rest in peace. Forgive me.

Andy had his own last comment to Pool as they walked together down the slope to the car: "I guess they're going to have to revise the rock opera, huh?"

"Perhaps they will write Joule and Elsman one of their own. Joule would have hated that! I'm not sure about Elsman – the man had a quirky sense of humour."

The two slipped back into the vehicle which slowly retraced its way back to the road. The noise of its engine gradually faded, leaving the quiet graves on the slope to slumber on in the sun, with only the occasional sound of birds to disturb the silence.

END.

A/N. It seems logical that extended lifespans would be another aspect of superior Coordinator biology. Lacus Clyne born C.E. 55 did not therefore die till C.E. 165. By Coordinator standards, Ezalia, Yzak, and Dearka, all died young.