Truth Hurts

"Ok Daddy," demanded Virginia, "Now, spill the truth. Who is Jet really? Why do you hide it from him? Please, I need to know so I can help him out. I don't like seeing him suffer like this."


Jet was sleeping on the bed, at Virginia's insistence. She did have to promise, however, that she wouldn't leave his side, so he could hear if she was in trouble, and he would be able to wake up and fight off whomever or whatever had wanted to hurt her. With her promise, he went to sleep.

"Are you sure you want to know? It isn't the sort of thing a person would be too happy to find out about themselves or one of their friends. I made a vow long ago to never tell the boy, to let him just be happy as he is, going on journeys to find treasures and Gella," Werner told her.

Virginia reminded him, "Gallows and Clive are blocking your way out. They will not move until you tell me the truth. Jet may be distressed by what he finds out, but he still needs to know what is going on with his body, and why he doesn't have any memories of the past, even if he says it's not important."

Werner sighed, and took a deep breath. Virginia certainly had her mother's spirit, even if she had inherited his looks. This was just the sort of thing Ekatrina would have done in the same situation. "Jet is part of a top secret experiment that we began to test the Filgaia Theory. The theory states that, just as we are living organisms, Filgaia is also alive. We began to shape the essence of Filgaia into a form, until we had managed to trap it into a test tube. Then, we began debating on what form the sample would take. I think it was my friend Elliot who first proposed creating a human being. So we began to create a special fluid made of metal, and some of the essence of Filgaia, hoping that by adding it to what we'd already collected, we could shape a human form out of it. We were ultimately successful on this front. The seven of us called this new life Adam, Adam Kadmon. But we needed DNA, as well as human organs to finish the job. The hardest part was thinking of how to find a donor for the project."

"Daddy," Virginia whispered, "What did you do next? If this 'sample' you speak of is indeed Jet, then you must have found a donor from somewhere. So how did you do it?"


"We had no choice in the matter. You see, Elliot had a young son named Jet, who was about seven years older than you. His mother had died when he was born, so he lived with his father at all times in the lab. Jet overheard his father and myself talking about what to do, and decided to use his own DNA. Organs, he said, would come later. But then something happened. We never solved this mystery, but while transferring his DNA to the sample, Jet somehow was killed. Although never proven, we think that he might have been under too much stress and had a heart attack. I remember how Elliot grieved after that had happened. He showed up to work each day for a week completely drunk. Poor guy was devastated after his wife's death, and now he had lost his son as well. Elliot told us to use Jet's organs for the sample as well, since he knew his boy would have wanted to help his father out. After that, the man began to think of Adam as his own son. Soon after, Yggdrasil exploded in an overload of energy. I managed to rescue the Filgaia Sample, knowing that he didn't deserve to die for the sins the seven of us had committed. For the next five years, I devoted myself to making sure he finished his growth. Finally, five years ago, he was born. But I didn't feel right using the name we had decided on. In memory of Elliot and his son, I gave the boy the name Jet Enduro, and taught him how to survive in the Wastelands. I thought he could have a normal life, never having to hear about his past, or his powers. But then all of this happened, and threw a monkey wrench into the whole plan," Werner finished.

Virginia asked her father, "What can I do to help Jet out? I want to make him happy, this side of him is just due to an overload of nanomachines, it's not how he really is. He's probably miserable."


Werner shook his head. "On the contrary, this is his true self. The self you always see is no more than a mask he made to keep himself from feeling vulnerable. I know, I've watched him for the past five years, trying to see exactly what kind of life he is making for himself. Jet cares greatly for you

Virginia, he's always trying to protect you from harm. Poor boy has been all alone for so long, that it hurts him to see the people who care about him to leave. Maybe I should have stuck with him instead of following him around. That way, he'd never have had to put up this mask."


"I'm going to tell him," Virginia said, "He deserves to know who he really is. That's what his real problem is, he's got no memories. So he has to cover up that void in his life with transparent dreams of becoming rich. If he knew why he has no memories, he might feel a whole lot better."


"That might help, I never thought about it like that. But what will help Jet out even more, is to know that you still count him as a friend, even though you know what he really is," Werner added.

Virginia exclaims, "Of course I still care about him! Whether you're a human or not doesn't matter, only that you're someone I can call a friend. You shouldn't treat a person differently just because of some factor that he or she is unable to help, like not being human. People who think like that are just plain stupid." She takes another look at Jet, who is sleeping peacefully.

Werner smiles at his daughter. "You've got a kind heart Virginia. That is why I know that you'll be able to protect Jet from his past. I must go now, go to the Yggdrasil. You may follow whenever you want to, once Jet has awakened. We might just need his help on this one."


Werner put on his hat and left. Virginia watched him walk away, just like she had ten years ago. But this time things were different. This time she understood his motives, and this time he wouldn't have to face the problems before him alone. She would see to that.

- - - -

Sky's Corner

Is it just me, or does Jet's real last name sound like the name of a Digimon? No really, they all end in -mon so I just thought of it. But when I told Teefa, she began making jokes about Digimon Jet being tamed by Virginia. Then she got Lufia to draw it. I should've never said anything.