I
-°-oOo-°-
Chapter Twenty-Six: Southern Paradise
I
-°-oOo-°-
Tahiti Island
I
-°-oOo-°-
November 1821
I
-°-oOo-°-
Fitzwilliam Darcy wasn't brooding.
At least he hoped that nobody was aware that he was brooding.
Why would he be brooding after all? He was, for the first time in ten or twelve years, free to do only what he wanted with no longer any obligation save his duties as a father, a husband and an estate owner…
- You're brooding…
He looked up and frowned at Lizzie who was, for once, wearing one of these outrageously uncovering bathing dresses. It was, for now, covered with what the locals called a 'pareo' but she still was showing her nicely shaped legs.
Like him she was lounging in a comfortable beach couch. She was sipping an iced lemon and papaya fruit blend while keeping an eye on their two youngest children who were happily trying to stand on what the local called wave riding boards.
- I'm not! Must I remember you that you married one of the serious saturnine type of Darcys not one of the sunny smiling scoundrel-like type.
Lizzie made great efforts to hide her smile. When brooding, her husband's sense of humor wasn't at his best.
Some comments did, indeed, last for decades.
- You should try to smile more, love. And you'd note that there are not two types of Darcys but only one! The extraordinarily handsome, dashing and attracting Darcy type we Bennets do find irresistible.
He let a hint of a smile invade his face.
- And you are brooding because you're bored, husband mine!
Fitzwilliam sighed heavily.
- How could I not be bored, Lizzie? I'm just hanging around waiting for the day to end in order to do the only thing that's not boring me to death.
She winked at him.
- If my memory doesn't betray me and if you are alluding to the very activity I do have in mind right now, we did it also in the afternoon while the children were napping.
He nodded.
- We did indeed, and I am alluding to it… And even if it is as satisfying as that first time in the Groove, I must admit that I have great difficulties not to die of boredom the rest of the day.
She pointed at their youngest children.
- You are quite good with these wave boards, it looked like you were having fun yesterday.
- I did and it is fun to do it with the children trying to emulate me but after two hours I'm fed up with waves and salt and sun…
He sighed.
- I miss Pemberley and I miss Geoffrey and Janet… I even miss your father's humor!
He looked his wife into the eyes.
- We should go home, Lizzie!
- We came here to stay for at least a month, remember? I wanted you to change your mind and think of something else than politics and investments… You are no longer the Regent and we wanted to let Geoffrey get a picture of what is awaiting him in a few years when you quit your job as Prince of Wales.
Fitzwilliam nodded once more.
- I know, I know. But I had no idea that I would miss the whole awful political mess. I was indeed tired of it but after a week here, I'm bursting with energy and I'd like to do something, anything, useful again!
- Being with me and our children isn't useful?
- No, it is fun, and I appreciate it, but I could have the same in Pemberley while not losing ten hours a day doing nothing but burning in the sun.
- We no longer do sunburns, dear, and you know it as well as I.
She winked at him.
- And I do like the way your tan is evolving. A week more and you'll have the same skin tone as the locals. Nobody will be able to recognize Fitzwilliam Darcy under all that healthy brown skin.
- I don…
His answer was smothered by his daughter jumping into his lap.
- Pappa, come and surf with us… Charles wants to use the big board and I'm scared…
Fitzwilliam stood, took his laughing daughter under his arm and walked to his wife's seat.
- No reason to be scared darling, I'll show you how to use the big board. You'll see that there's no reason to be scared.
He kissed Lizzie and began to run towards the water where his board was being dragged by Charles to the sea.
Lizzie sighed, sipped the rest of her drink before standing up.
Time to join in the fun.
I
-°-oOo-°-
- Do you want us to cancel?
Fitzwilliam opened his eyes and turned around to look at his wife.
- Sorry to bother you, dear, but I am restless. I just can't find a reason to our presence here.
- We are here to relax, to be together and to spend time with the little ones.
Lizzie took her husband's hand and brushed it with a kiss.
- You know that they really like it here. They love the sea, the beach and the surf. They love the people around here with their simplicity and joviality. And they love even more to have their father and their mother doing stupid but fun things with them…
- We could do some fun things in Pemberley too, couldn't we?
He could feel his wife's doubtful look burning through his little lie.
Of course, they couldn't. In Pemberley, or in London, or in the whole of Great Britain if he was frank with himself, he was the Regent. The man who was renowned for his impassiveness and self-control, the archetype of the perfect English gentleman that nothing could surprise or shake up. No, that man could not be seen indulging in fun or silly behavior.
- Perhaps not, said he finally.
Lizzie crouched at his side and embraced him.
- We are hidden on the other side of the world, love, but that does not mean that we are cut from everything that interests you. Give William a call and ask him if there is not one thing or the other, he could not realize himself and where a trusted family member would come handy… You could embrace a small task. One that needs only a few hours a day. I'm quite sure that the little ones won't begrudge you the time such an endeavor would force upon you.
- What could he use me for?
- You won't know if you don't ask him, love. I'm quite sure that Grand Great Britain will be able to use some of your skills even if only part-time.
She could hear him sigh. She knew why he was reluctant. He had always hated it to show himself not in total control. He had hated it when he was a simple gentleman farmer and his twenty years bout as regent had only worsened this trait of him.
- You are the only man William knows who has more experience in managing the Kingdom than himself. I know it was I who insisted that we made a break and that you stopped any official work for at least a few months. But I was wrong. You are just not the type of man who's able to cut all links with his former job. It makes you relentless and grumpy.
- I'm certainly not grumpy…
- If you say so, dear… But even if not grumpy you are still relentless and for you there's only one cure to that particular illness: get yourself a task or two!
He changed position and she found herself with her head on his shoulder and his fingers playing with her long hair.
- Have you looked around us? Apart from the mansion and a dozen official Council buildings, we are, more or less, in the middle of a thinly populated wilderness.
- Don't play dumb, love, you are at just a second from a mental call to William.
She looked at the clock that, thanks to those fancy fluorescent numbers, was discernable even with no real lighting.
- It's eleven hours earlier in London, you can probably reach him while he is at lunch or in a pre-lunch discussion with his councilors. I'm quite sure he wouldn't be bothered by a quick hello.
I
-°-oOo-°-
Of course not, Uncle, how's the vacation?
Full of vacationing activities?
Fitzwilliam could feel his nephew's amusement.
Would it be that you're bored, Uncle?
It's not a full-time activity, being bored, I mean, but it seems that I add a few minutes every day. It appears that I'm not the idle type of Darcy…
There is no idle Darcy around, and you know it, Uncle. Would it bother you a lot if your relentless nephew was about to draft you in his service again?
Must I come back to London or Pemberley?
There was as much worry as hope in Fitzwilliam's thoughts.
Not yet, Uncle, soon but there is a part of the job I would need you to do that includes a lot of preparations and those preparations would be best done out of the limelight. Under the cover of an idle vacation would be perfect…
What's the job?
Did you know that I had another half-sister?
William, who was very aware of the traditionally strained relations between his father and his Uncle, made great efforts not to send amused emotions within his thoughts.
No, I didn't but I'm not really surprised. He does have a record of women in his life.
He's faithful since he married mom…
Since your mom lets him marry those with whom he would have cheated on her, I'm not sure you can grant him that virtue!
William who had learned to love Maureen as much as his biological mother, wasn't shy to let his Uncle know his amusement.
You are laughing at me, Nephew…
I'm laughing at your foolish jealousy, Uncle. Papa is Papa and you have no need to always compare you with him. He's famous and notorious and even nefarious but when it comes to admired and trusted, it's you the people think of. And so, do I!
He opened his mind to let his Uncle feel the truth of his thoughts.
Papa is a force of nature but he's not the rock you impersonate so easily. He'll get you out of trouble with a stunt and a flourish and you'll love him for it but if you want a cool and precise mind to work on a difficult problem, it's not him you'll ask first, believe me!
Fitzwilliam sent a thankful thought to his nephew. William was a lot like d'Arcy, but he had been able to teach him patience and tolerance. And it did make a very good mix for a man who had great responsibilities.
Well, what's your new half-sister to do with the job you propose?
She's been selected by the Emperor of China to be his spokeswoman in diplomatic matters.
As in discussing an agreement, an alliance with China?
Exactly, it seems the new Chinese Son of Heaven has a real understanding of what will happen should he go on hiding his head in the sand! So, he came out and proposed to the most interesting of the available Powers, aka us, to enter a diplomatic relationship.
And coming out with another half-sister as a trump card is a shrewd move.
He could have used it with France too, Papa is one of Napoleon's leading Aristocrat and I'm quite sure Lexi will love her new sister. She's a trained assassin, like father, by the way…
Fitzwilliam couldn't help but let his amusement be felt.
Yes, I concur, Lexi will love her but that's not half so strong a lever than your Mom's support. I suppose she's already met your mother?
She did and Mom likes her…
Your mother is a saint, William! She loves your rascal of a father with her heart and her soul and she's ready to see his very actions as perfect, so there's no real limit to who she's able to love. And once she's gotten into your mother's good graces, both you and your father are won over. No, Great Britain was the evident choice for that diplomatic move.
He took a few seconds to remind himself of what he knew about China.
You will need to learn Mandarin and get the latest reports about the Middle Empire, Uncle. And that you can do from where you are. I'll have a plane full of reports and a teacher in the air this very afternoon. You should, depending on the weather and the winds, get the whole mass of documents within two or three days. Use the time between to please Aunt Lizzie, she will probably see you a lot less after your homework has arrived.
You need me soon? You want me to play a role in the negotiations?
Not at all, Uncle, I have diplomats aplenty and Uncle Gardiner is on deck to deal with the tech and finance matters. What I need you for is going to China to represent Grand Great Britain at the signing ceremony. I would have asked you in the end but the more you can prepare for the encounter the better.
You want me as the British Legate in China?
I'm not sure, Uncle. It is an important step and I already know that China will be a very interesting but difficult ally and having you in China to have a look at the political evolution could be of tremendous importance but I'm not sure how it would be received by Yonglin or your pears. You were the de facto ruler of Great Britain for eighteen years! Sending you to China could be seen by the British Aristocracy as a demotion or even a deportation. And I can't even begin to imagine how the Chinese Emperor will react. Will he see it as a mark of respect to have my most famous and respected Uncle nominated as GGB's Diplomatic Delegation's Head or will he frown at my treatment of a trusted relative who has with his own hands built the Kingdom and the Commonwealth to what it is now?
William's doubts were palpable even at fifteen thousand miles distance.
So, I can't say that I want you there for any longer period of time. But you could be the man who goes to China to officially sign the Treaty in my name.
You could go, couldn't you?
Father is skeptical about Chinese honesty. He considers that the Chinese are so full of themselves that they can decide that a word given to an outsider is not really binding. So, he advised me to send a normal diplomat.
Not me?
Not you. He knows you would go with Lizzie and should something happen to your wife, mamma would be very unhappy.
And still you ask me to go?
Because it is important and because I do trust you and your experience. I believe we need to take a few risks in this matter. It would be a mark of respect for the solemnity of the Treaty to have the both of you sign it. What happens after the signature will depend on your feeling, Uncle. If you feel that it would be a good idea -for whatever reasons- for you to be there a longer stretch of time, you'll have your nomination papers already signed and approved by the Parliament at your disposal. Should you feel that staying would be unhealthy, you'd just have to get out of Beijing as fast as possible while respecting the protocol.
When do you want my answer?
I already know what you are going to answer, Uncle. Do I need to ask mamma to have a word with Aunt Lizzie?
Not yet, I still believe I'll be able to convince her that it is a good idea. And since she was the one to push me to call you, I believe she's already aware that something must be done. She's felt my restlessness growing for days, now!
I'll give the orders for the reports and the teacher. Is there an airfield available or do I need to send a seaplane?
A seaplane would be better, there's no real airfield here. But if you want me to go to China after my vacation, I will need an official airship. We came here with the regular Airshipline.
I'll send you what's needed for a Vice-Roy in activity…
What's a Vice-Roy going to do in China? Will I be the first step of an incoming invasion?
Fitzwilliam could feel a hint of embarrassment in his Nephew's thoughts.
Well, not really but you know that Fitzgibbons has asked to be authorized to retire?
No, I didn't but what has the Vice-Royalty of India to do with China.
Nothing and everything, Uncle, said William after a few seconds of silence. You know that the new more Eastern Asian dependencies Britain has acquired have asked for another Vice-Royalty. But the Foreign Council, not very prone to multiply what they call Under-Kings everywhere has demanded that I transform the India Vice-Royalty into an Asian Vice-Royalty.
The Indian Rajahs will never accept, protested Fitzwilliam. I should know, I've fought them and their parochialism for decades. They will fight this change to the bitter end.
You are right and wrong at the same time. They did fight it, but Pitt came up with a solution they all accepted unanimously.
Unanimously? That's highly improbable. I never got them to all agree on any point, even minor, William. I always needed the Canadian or the American votes to get the majority needed. Once done they would accept the majority's decision, but I've never seen the Sikhs and the Bihari agree on anything! Not once in fifteen years!
Well they have accepted on two conditions! That the Vice-Roy's Capital will stay in India and that the next Vice-Roy of Asia is a certain Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Fitzwilliam could feel his nephew's amusement.
So, it seems that after eighteen years of patient work you've finally got all of them to agree on one point: you are the leader they want at the Sub-continent's helm. And you are free to choose where you want to establish the new Royal Residency.
Why do I, just now, feel like a trapped animal?
I don't know, Uncle, but what I know is that in a few minutes you'll again feel like somebody useful and needed. And you'll be a lot less relentless because of it.
I
-°-oOo-°-
- Did you know?
- Not the details, only that they were all complaining that the most experienced Statesman of the Isles was slowly dying of boredom. So, I was quite sure that they were looking for a way -any way- to save you from such an awful fate.
- I'll have to spend a lot of time in India.
- I'll spend most of it with you, but I hope that we will be in Pemberley at least for Christmas. Janet will probably come and live with us most of the time. At least until she has decided what she wants to do with her life.
She made a face.
- It will probably mean that you'll have to stand down in favor of Geoffrey in Wales. He won't like it at all.
Fitzwilliam frowned at his wife.
- What do I not yet know, dear? India is a long way from Pemberley and Spalatro and you don't look like the separation with your sister is imminent.
- Yes, and that's because said separation isn't going to happen anytime soon. Jane has called earlier -don't ask me how she knew but she clearly knew- that she had decided that your nomination would be a great opportunity. Her words, not mine: it is time that we have a look at the situation of our Indian sisters. There is need for an acceleration in the fight for women's rights in the Sub-Continent and you can't deny that she's the perfect figure head for that task.
Fitzwilliam couldn't decide if he was deliriously happy that Jane would come to be with his wife or if he should be scared to death by the perspective of Jane d'Arcy roaming his Vice-Royalty to stir up the soon to exist feminist movements.
Well she's done quite well in Great Britain and the other dominions and everything has been done without any violence and bloodshed. Let's hope the Indians will react in the same manner even if their civilization is so much more different.
He forced himself back on track. They all had known that the Caste system would have to evolve and perhaps bringing in the changes by upgrading the women's fate would be a good approach. But for now, more mundane problems would have to be faced.
- We will need a big mansion with a huge nursery and enough guest suites to accommodate the rest of the family, he said finally. Shall we look on a map where we want to live?
Lizzie nodded but he could see that she wasn't totally happy with the situation.
- What's bothering you?
- I'm wondering if we shouldn't put a stop to this new Capital City nonsense. There are probably already thousands of public servants living in the current Capital city. Do we really want to force them to move?
- There is no real Capital City for India. The Rajahs always refused to have one. We have a lot of public servants in Delhi and Mumbai and quite a lot more disseminated all over the country. It seems the Council of Indian Affairs -which was nothing else but the Club of Indian rulers- has decided that the subcontinent finally needs a real Capital City. And they give me the choice because, as usual, they know that they will not be able to find a compromise.
- But they will accept your choice?
- Yes, if I'm the Vice-Roy, they will accept my choice!
Lizzie stood up and stirred in her books until she found the Atlas of the World.
- Let's have a look at the maps and, even if it is not really a problem anymore for us, at the climates we will find in India. And once the position of the Capital City determined, we'll place our House right in the middle of it. We'll ask for a local architect to build it for us in the local style but with every modern feature we are used to.
Fitzwilliam nodded.
- You'll have to learn the language, dear, they quite liked it when I was able to speak with them in their own tongue. I suppose it was my acceptance of their cultural differences that finally helped me to win them over.
- I've asked Jane and she has already hired a teacher and she -the teacher not Jane- is en route to join us with the official Vice-Royal Airship and its protection group.
Lizzie couldn't help but sigh.
- It seems that we are done with discreet personal trips on regular liners. Our next move will be mightily visible and probably endlessly broadcasted all over the world. The New Vice-Roy of Asia on the move will be quite the attraction. Especially once the journalists learn who's been nominated.
A dark thought came to his mind.
- Once more it seems that the family is trusting the places and the honors. I should perhaps refuse. We've got enough, haven't we?
- You haven't been paid by the Crown for the whole Regency. And I do doubt that you'll accept a raise of what Fitzgibbons was paid just because your new domain is twice as big as his was.
Fitzwilliam let a satisfied smile show on his face.
- Probably not…
His smile increased.
- I hope you won't be angered but having been drafted out of my retirement does make me happy.
- First you were on vacation, not retired and second, I won't be angered by something that is pleasing the man I love, answered Lizzie. We still have a few days' vacation and I hope you'll spend as much time with the children as you did until yesterday. Once the airships are here, I'll let you off the hook to give you back to Great Britain. Meanwhile the husband and the father are ours.
I
-°-oOo-°-
It was the middle of the night, probably a few hours over said middle of the night when Lizzie felt the tiny thought tap in her mind.
She had no problems to recognize the author of the call.
Jane?
Indeed, sorry for the hours, I'm quite sure it is not the middle of the afternoon where you are, but I needed to contact you immediately.
Has something happened?
Nothing serious and nothing implying a health problem for anyone. It's just that Jonathan has just taught me a few new subtleties about this new mind clicking thing.
Like being able to click in around half the world?
That's exactly what I mean. You'll have to ask Charles or Charlotte to give you the same lessons, I'm not yet able to master it and it will be a long time before I'm able to teach it but I wanted to test immediately if what he implied was true. And you are the only person far away enough to really judge its efficiency.
And why would that be and what were you so impatient to test?
Because you are my beloved preferred sister and I know that there is a link between us that facilitates the whole process. As to the what, sister dear, you already know it: there's no range for thoughts, love. Once you know how to focus your mind in the right way, you can touch the people you want to contact -if you have what Jonathan calls their mind-print- even if they are on the other side of the world.
We could already do it, couldn't we?
Not in the extraordinarily personal manner I just did it with Charles and Charlotte. Thanks to machines we knew how to hold a conversation with each other over long distances and we had mind-sharing over long distances now we could become one mind whenever we want it. We can not only hear each other, we can feel each other's emotions. And it is, as I'm currently demonstrating it, instantaneous. You're still grouchy when awoken in the middle of the night, I can feel it!
And Lizzie could feel her sister's enthusiastic pleasure about the circumstances.
One should believe that a fifty years old mother of six children would be a little more mature, shouldn't one, teased Lizzie who was feeling her sister's pleasure smothering her own petulance.
One should indeed, but the more I age and the more I believe adulthood is a myth parents have invented in the hope to get their offspring to behave. I don't feel adult at all, Lizzie. I feel in love with life and Mankind and it makes me overflow with happiness.
Lizzie had, at first, sensed a hint of remorse in her sister's thoughts but it was now smothered under layers of bubbling satisfaction.
And that's exactly why I couldn't wait to share with you the pleasure and excitement of my discovery.
Well, since I'm awake and no longer grumpy, I must admit that it is great news. We will never be divided again.
A fear insinuated itself in her mind.
There is a way to not be linked, isn't it?
Of course, there is, love. Not be linked is the norm. Both must agree to the link. Hadn't you answered to my call I wouldn't have been able to mind share with you. That's the other reason I didn't wait till your morning: it is easier when you are asleep because dreams are on the same layer of consciousness than this mind-reaching. I knew you would recognize me and accept the call. Had you been awakened it would have been a lot more difficult.
What happens if we stop sharing?
We return to our normal isolation, that's all.
How many can share at the same time?
For now, the tested quantity is twelve…
You mean they go on sharing even if they are separated by thousands of miles?
It's what Jonathan says and it had the ring of truth when he shared it with me. They are a lot more evolved than we will ever be, love. They will reach heights together we will never be able to imagine.
I do fear so, agreed Lizzie. I just hope we will be good enough to become role models.
In all due modesty, I dare to affirm that they could have found worse. We are no saints but when it comes to decent Human Beings, our family is better bestowed than most.
You are right, Jane dear, and I'm happy you called. I do know now that we will have a lot of occasions to share.
I hope so… But we will have to come up with a schedule. We are twelve hours apart, after all.
We will find a way; I have no doubt. But since you have already awaken me, let's use our shared time smartly. You probably know that Fitzwilliam will soon come out of retirement?
Yes, William has informed us, I believe congratulations are on the agenda…
I
-°-oOo-°-
It had been a long time ago, but Fitzwilliam remembered how it had been when he was fathering his first twins -and d'Arcy's children at the same time- and the difference was evident.
Geoffrey, Janet and their cousins had been bright babies and smart toddlers and discovering the sheer pleasure to hold one of them in his arms and seeing them smile at him were memories he would cherish to the end of times. But Upgraded children, meaning children born upgraded- were a hugely different story.
First because bright was no longer enough to define them and because the toddler phase had lasted less than a week.
They weren't growing a lot faster, but the enhanced muscles and bones had given them a physical precocity that was amazing.
With less than two years his youngest were doing with ease things a five-year old kid would have had difficulties to master.
And even if they weren't very loquacious -in the sound producing type of speak- they were very chatty thinker.
We are not chatty at all, commented his daughter who had the habit to continually listen to her parents. You and mamma think all the time and most of the time you forget to dampen your thoughts. It's as if you would speak aloud -hear shout- all day long.
It's not easy, love, said Lizzie. We are just discovering, with your help, that there are different level of thought emissions.
We explained, protested Charles. Plenty.
Fitzwilliam smiled at his son's style. Charlotte was taking tremendous length to speak as good and grammatically correct as possible while Charles just spread the message all around him, probably in a hurry to do something else, more interesting.
I like my thoughts to be finely chiseled not rough around the edges…
It had been Charlotte who had first reacted to his thoughts. He forced himself not to dwell on the fact that within his family -at least with the twins- his thoughts were open and no longer secret.
You mean pompous, don't you?
Not at…
Please, Charles, don't fight with your sister on details, said Lizzie who was like her husband on the children's channel. I like both your ways to communicate. Charlotte's precise and complete. Yours is direct and concise. Both do the job finely.
Thinking together is so much easier and faster than mimicking speaking, protested Charlotte. But there is really no reason, when doing it, not to use all the words available to communicate the right message.
We don't need mimicking speaking and using word-thoughts. We can do it a lot faster and easier with direct thoughts.
Lizzie could feel her son's frustration with his parents' foibles. She was happy that it was Fitzwilliam who reacted.
Until a couple of years ago we weren't even able to 'feel' thought words, Charles. We are still learning what it means to 'think together'.
We know and you don't 'think together', papa. You use your thoughts as you've learned to use your tongue. But it is not at all how it works. You don't have to use an intermediary medium in order to share thoughts. You have just to click yourself into the other's mind and you share all the thoughts. Instantly. Aunt Jane has done it with hers.
I suppose the problem is with the way to click oneself into another mind, said Lizzie with a lot of amusement within her thoughts.
You do it as soon as you are asleep, mamma. It's just when you are awake that you seem to unlearn it.
We do?
Of course, you do, and even if your range is laughable you know, when you are together and touching…
And not forbidding it to yourself, added Charlotte while sending them a picture of their entwined fingers.
..How it must be done. Thinking is so easy… It is the first thing we did, even before we knew that we were touching each other. As soon as you must focus to do something, it is because you force yourself into limits. It would be so easy to think with those who remained in Europe. We do it the whole day.
Lizzie who was still very reluctant about the whole thought exchange thing, looked at her husband. She could see and feel that he was sharing her reluctance. They had both been born with the intimate knowledge that their thoughts were theirs and that at least that part of themselves would always be their own…
And that's why everybody lies, interrupted Charlotte. When you're clicked into each other's thoughts lying just becomes impossible. You all speak about honesty and how you value it but in fact you don't like it at all. What people really do love is lying and making up falsities. We don't lie because we know that our real thoughts are open to those who want to have a feel for them.
Lizzie couldn't help but sigh. Charlotte was right of course. It probably was a 'Charlotte' trait, to be right… A society where people knew what the others were really thinking would be a society where real honest interactions would become possible. But how could it be possible to survive the truth. She had so many defects and foibles, having them known by everybody would have shamed her to death…
That's just crap, mamma, said Charles. What you consider defects and foibles are so commonly shared by most people that we -Charlotte, the cousins and me; I mean- take no longer any notice of them… We know you all as you are, mamma. We love you as you are. And there will never be a disappointment in our live because we could discover that you are not as we imagined you to be. We no longer need to imagine what our parents are: we know them intimately and our love is based on truth and realities, not illusions and false hopes. We don't know if the former situation was better or not, we live in our new current reality where what you think and what you are are open books for us.
And how could that not be tremendously frightening. Who wants to be known by its offspring like an open book?
Lizzie felt her son's amusement.
What about it, mamma? What you consider foibles and sins are nothing but illusions. You spend half your lives imagining what others will think of you. Hurting yourselves by imagining how others are judging you. With us you don't need to fear anything of the sort. We've been part of you, and we know you intimately. And we love you for what you really are, not the image you try to project to the world. And no, mamma, we are not disappointed with either of you. Not at all. We believe your old ways a little ridiculous and sometimes difficult to understand but we still are very happy to have you as parents.
There was a silence and she knew that Charles and Charlotte were sharing thoughts together. Thoughts they didn't want to share with their parents?
Not at all, we don't dissimulate or simulate, mamma. We are just able to share on a level of togetherness you and the oldsters will never be able to reach. We can become one and when we are one our thoughts are in common and no longer shared. We hope someday you'll find the courage to consider learning the skill but we don't have great hope. We can do it because we have done it since we have been aware of our selves.
Lizzie looked Fitzwilliam in the eyes. He nodded, showing her that he agreed with what she was thinking. How could he not when they were sharing their thoughts? Even, like now, on an unconscious level… She was just realizing that the first upgrade had been a small and easy step for mankind. Being stronger and smarter and able to heal at high speed had not changed them essentially. Upgraded humans were still 'normal' humans. Sharing thoughts had brought an entirely new level of human awareness. This new last step, the very step their children were showing off, was something else, entirely… Something that could, were it badly explained, frighten a lot of normal people.
That's why we believe that it would be unwise to let it be known, said Charlotte. We all agree that normal Human Beings -should they learn about it- will feel badly about this new change.
No reason they ever learn about it, said Fitzwilliam. It is not like the first Upgrade where we were infected and had no choice. This time we let Ishkalon convince us that it would be a good thing. Outside from our direct descendants it won't spread if we don't want it to spread.
But it will still spread in the future, said Lizzie. Our children will have children of their own and within a few generations the power to share thoughts will become more common throughout the population.
Should we have refused, Lizzie? Have we opened Pandora's box?
I don't know if we should have refused, the fact is that we have accepted it and there is no going back now. We have that gift in us now and we have shared it with our children. And they show us that we really underestimated its true potentiality. We saw it like an extension of our language skills, and it can be lessened to be just that, but it can be so much more.
They felt both their children's agreement.
That's so true… Thoughts are not just a special form of language. They are not material and for what we can say after we've tried what we could, they have no range and they are felt by the receiver on the spot. Even here on the world's other side, we can send and receive thoughts from our cousins who are in Pemberley as easily here as we were able to do it while at their side. What is limited in range is our capacity to feel other people's thoughts. We need to see them to feel their emitted thoughts.
Can you read their thoughts?
We can feel what they broadcast around them, answered Charlotte.
And normal people, added Charles, are very generous with their broadcasting, believe us. They have no idea how noisy they are. Luckily for us it is rather easy to protect oneself from outside thoughts. Clicking your thoughts with another is the easiest way. Once you share a mind you no longer feel any outsiders' thoughts. That's probably the main reason we clicked so much into each other's minds in the beginning. It was so much quieter…
And it is so much more efficient, smiled Charlotte in their minds. Once clicked our minds are like one!
Lizzie couldn't help but frown. She liked it when she was able to share thoughts with Fitzwilliam. Especially when they were occupied in activities young children shouldn't even be aware their parents were following. But it was only a sharing of emotions. Was it the same for the young ones?
Could you be more precise, dear? I'm not sure that's a way to use our gift your father and me have ever understood.
As said, you do it when you sleep, said Charlotte. So, you know how to do it when you are not restrained by the rules that dominate your minds.
This time it was Fitzwilliam's frown that was felt throughout their little think tank.
And you are not?
Of course, we are but we don't have those silly ones born out of your past inability to do smart things with your thoughts. We always knew -felt?- that we were able to share our thoughts and we soon learned to click into the other's mind. First it was only possible for Charlotte and me but soon we learned that it was possible to do it with the others too. Before our births we were already an efficient common entity.
What is a common entity, asked Lizzie.
We when we are clicked together, came the immediate and common answer. Once clicked, we share our memories and our thinking-pool so we think so much better when together than alone.
What's a thinking-pool, asked Fitzwilliam. What's the difference with a common entity?
The thinking pool is the what allows each of us to think, said Charles. It's, for what we know, the electromagnetic webnet that covers and contains us. And when we click into another's mind, we both increase the available thinking pool.
They could all feel Fitzwilliam's doubts.
Isn't there a brain that is what we are thinking with?
There is but it is only a part of what we use to think. That's why we have a different name for it. That's why we call it the thinking-pool and that's what we share when we click.
And the more the better, added Charlotte. It works also with more than two and we believe -no real way to be sure- that it is more efficient with greater numbers added. That's why we love to click to follow our lessons. We learn faster and we understand a lot more.
And what's even better, the individual who has been part of the thinking-pools keeps what we've learned even once outside of the group…
Which explains the facility with which you learn things, commented Lizzie. And with that speed we will have to change your whole curriculum. You already know more than five years old and it's increasing daily.
We quite like our current teachers, mamma. They just need to realize that we have different, more evolved, needs.
As long as you want them to remain with us, they are welcome, answered Lizzie. I'll speak with Jane to get it done.
Good, said Charlotte but Lizzie was aware that Charles was sharing that answer. Will you come with us to the beach?
Of course, answered Fitzwilliam, we have three days left before work is catching up with me. Those days are yours…
And the nights are mine, sent Lizzie on what she hoped was still their very private communication channel.
I
-°-oOo-°-