Westward
Bound (part 1)
Voice of Ulysses Adair
"Yesterday we left the ship, we left my mom. I can't believe that we've
left her. Mr. Danziger told me my mom asked him to look after me. I don't want
him to; I don't want anyone but my mother. Mr. Danziger told me that we would
find a cure for mom. That we would be back for her. He spoke so confidentially
that I know he believes it. I just don't want to be without her"
The
Eden Advance crew slowly headed west to New Pacifica. The usual banter was
gone. Each member quietly contemplated the previous day. Each wrestled with the
decision, the group's decision, to leave Devon behind. In their minds they knew
it was the correct decision, there was nothing that they can do for Devon. She
was safe. They needed to get to New Pacifica; they needed to set up the colony.
They needed to be there for the other families. It is what Devon would want,
what Devon would do if it had been one of them. They knew all this, but they
were all still unhappy. The decision was particularly hard on Uly, Yale, Julia
and John.
Uly
quietly sat on the back of the transrover. True, who was sitting beside him,
asked, "Is there anything I can get for you, do for you?"
"Yeah,
leave me alone"
"Listen
everyone. It has been a week since we put Devon in cold sleep. Julia is no
closer to finding out what is wrong with Devon today then she was when we put
her in there. If she doesn't know is wrong, she can't cure her. We still have a
long way to go to New Pacifica. We still have a colony to prepare. New Pacifica
isn't getting any closer and the longer we stay; the more unlikely it is that
the colony will be ready in time for the other families. Those families were
counting on Devon setting things up. She can't right now. We can't help Devon
but we can move on. We can start the colony. We can give those families a
better start then we had. We can fulfill Devon's promise." As he spoke,
Danziger tried to make eye contact with his fellow travelers. It was a trick he
learned from Devon.
When
no one spoke, Danziger continued. "Look Julia has samples. We can download
all of Elizabeth's information. Julia can continue to do research. If she finds
something, a possible cure, she can come back and try it out. The rest of us
will continue on to New Pacifica. Julia, Devon and a driver will catch up."
"Why don't I just
stay here while the rest of you go onto New Pacifica", Julia offered.
"No,
you're our only doctor. We need you in case anyone else gets sick or
hurt." After a brief pause, Danziger added, "OK, are we ready to
vote?"
Glancing
around he noticed a few heads bob up and down. "Anyone in favor of
continuing on the New Pacifica?"
"Ok, all in favor of staying here?"
Three hands quickly shot up, Uly, Yale and Julia.
True
recalled she was confused. She didn't want to leave Devon behind but she wanted
to leave the place that had brought so much unhappiness. She decided that she
would follow her father's lead. Her dad never raised his hand. He hadn't voted
so she hadn't voted. Even without their votes the majority had elected to
continue their journey.
True
thoughts returned to present and she glanced at Uly. "Uly", she
tentatively said. "If I could do anything to make your mom better, I
would."
Uly
glanced at True, he said nothing.
"Honest
Uly. Dad and I will look after you until your mom is better. Julia will find a
cure. Don't worry, your mom will be fine."
Finally
Uly spoke, his voice filled with the despair and sorrow he felt. "Thanks
True. I feel so helpless; I don't know what to do. I don't know how to make my
mom better. I have to help her."
"We'll
think of something. Maybe Yale could dig up some records from old Earth
illnesses and we could go through them. Ya know, find out what is making your
mom sick. Then Julia could make her better."
"That's
a great idea! Let's ask him now." Uly suddenly didn't feel so hopeless. He
could do something. He could help cure his mother.
The
children jumped off the transrover and rushed to Yale. When told of their plan,
he enthusiastically agreed. He didn't mention that he and Julia had gone over
those records a thousand times since Devon had fallen ill. This would give Uly
some hope. Bring him out of the shell he had erected around himself since Devon
had become sick.
He
glanced over and saw Julia riding in the ATV. She was exhausted. Like Yale,
Julia hadn't slept. She drove herself hard to find a cure. She was genetically
engineered to be a doctor. Why couldn't she find a cure? She and Devon had
started off at odds and things had only gotten worse when her involvement with
the council was discovered. In time, Devon had come to trust Julia and the two
became friends. For both women, friendship had always come hard but once they
had begun a tentative friendship, it had quickly blossomed. Next to Alonzo,
Devon was the closest person to Julia. How could she not save her friend? She
vowed that she would do whatever necessary to cure Devon. She was angry with
Danziger for asking to press on to New Pacifica. Deep down she knew it was the
right decision, but she didn't care. She would stay up nights to run and re-run
the experiments. No stone would remain unturned in her quest to cure her friend.
"Julia,
True and I want to help you research old records to help you find out what is
making mom sick."
Even
over gear, Julia noticed the look of hope in the young boy's eyes, in his
voice. She smiled for the first time in an eternity. "Thanks Uly. That
will help a lot. I'll tell you what, when we stop for a break, we can go over
an approach."
"Great Julia! Don't
worry we will find a cure", Uly signed off and began to walk with a
purpose. He knew that a cure would be found. He hoped that he would help find
it quicker. He had been very lonely since his mother had become ill. There had
only been the three of them, Uly, Yale and his mother. Yale was great but he
couldn't replace his mom. No one could. He knew that he would have to help the
other Syndrome children, whether his mother was better or not. It would be a
lot easier if his mother were there. Until this planet, he had always known
that life was short, unfair. But it never occurred to him that his mother would
die before him. It never even occurred to him that his mother would get sick.
Syndrome children grow up with the knowledge of death, their deaths. Not their
strong, healthy parents. His mother had always been strong for him, now he
would be strong for his mother.
True
walked up to her father. "Dad, guess what? Uly and I are going to research
old files to help Julia find a cure for Devon!"
Danziger
smiled at his daughter. "That's great, True-girl. I'm sure that Julia will
be glad of the help. Just be sure that she doesn't tire herself out."
"I
will Dad, I'll keep an eye on her"
"I know that I can
count on you"
True
ran off towards Uly. Danziger watched her go. She was growing up so fast, he
thought. He also realized how much he asked of her. She had a lot of
responsibility for a girl her age. He had to be careful not to put to many
burdens on her.
He
had inherited Devon's job. He had to get the colony setup and ready for the
Syndrome families. He wasn't sure he had the skills for that kind of job. Sure,
any of the mechanical stuff but layout and planning was never his thing. Yet he
welcomed the challenge. It would keep his mind off Devon. He hadn't felt so
helpless since Ellie's accident. If it wasn't for True, he's not sure how he
would have survived. In order to provide for his infant daughter and the
support of Ellie, he had taken on a lot of extra work. That had taught him that
by pushing himself he would be too tired to think. He didn't want to think. He
and Devon's relationship was unsettled and he didn't like things unsettled. He
was attracted to Devon, what red-blooded man wouldn't be. Not even a month ago,
he and Devon had made love for the first time. With the advent of spring and
leaving winter camp, they had been hard-pressed to find time to explore their
relationship further. But had managed to steal away for brief interludes, never
discussed the future; they took things one day at a time. He tried not to
analyze their relationship, but often found himself doing so. He enjoyed their
verbal spars and admired her intelligence and determination, even though it
annoyed him to no end. Beyond that he wasn't willing to admit. The Elder had
thought that he was in love with Devon; he tried pushing it off as romantic
musing, even though he didn't think the Elder was the romantic kind. The sense
of loss he now felt supported the Elder's claim but still he fought against
acknowledging his feelings. Concentrate on True, concentrate on Uly,
concentrate on reaching New Pacifica, concentrate on his fellow travelers. He
often repeated the mantra hoping that he wouldn't have time to think of Devon.
So far it hadn't worked. He still fought to keep her imagine from his mind.
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END
OF PART 1
