21

He was there during the delivery. He wouldn't have missed it for the world! Jor-El loved Lara more than anyone or anything Krypton had to offer, but now, someone else had just made his top two list. His wife had given birth to their son. This was not the Krypton way. Oh no! Quite the contrary, natural childbirth was considered somewhat radical and had been out of vogue for more than three centuries. Instead, a test tube conception was carried to term by an incubation chamber, sparing the parents of any pre-natal responsibilities, and eliminating any chances of birth defects and mortality during birth. Anything else was simply unsanitary and uncivilized. Oh, yes! This was the Krypton way! There were no feelings of worry, no feelings of doubt, no feelings of disappointment, and as all too many Kryptonians were beginning to realize, no feelings at all.

Over the span of time that Krypton's people used this method of procreation, they had, as a race, become as sterile and detached from each other as the method itself. They had developed into a cold, uncaring group, avoiding all physical contact whenever possible. The institution of marriage was nearly dead; made unnecessary as the children born in the incubators were, with few exceptions, raised and educated by the Procreation and Development Council. And the Council did everything in its power to see that all of their charges continued the legacy of the "Krypton way."

Only the very elite families bothered with any form of marriage, and then no real ceremony was performed. Only a contract between the parties was needed. After all, love was practically obsolete, with the only real reason for marriage being a device to extend whatever control and influence a clan might have on others. In some cases, these elite mergers could even circumvent the council, allowing themselves the right to raise and educate their children as they saw fit. But the price was a steep one. Any familial unit raising children outside the influence of the Council had to become even more detached from them - at least publicly - else be disgraced and held as "un-Kryptonian."

One of these elite families was the one which sired Jor-El. And he followed the "Krypton way" as though it was gospel for the first twenty of his years. Then he met Lara. She was part of a revivalist sect that had sprung up in the last century that believed that there was more to life than what Krypton's people had come to accept as normal.

It was during Jor-El's last year of college. His good friend Kimda and his brother Zor-El told him about a demonstration they'd seen on the campus. All three of them were dressed in traditional Krypton garb leaving only a small oval of face uncovered.

"Never have I seen such a thing as this. These people were not dressed as normal Kryptonians would be, Jor-El. They had nothing covering their hands... and precious little on their heads!" Zor-El was thoroughly excited. "And there was something else - they actually made skin to skin contact with each other! Can you imagine that? I saw the hand of one person grasp the hand of another! A handshake, I believe they called it. They said it was a form of greeting."

"A greeting, you say?" Jor-El found the idea rather distasteful, though he had to admit that he was more than intrigued by the idea. "Kimda, I know of many ancient rituals of Krypton and how the ancestors behaved, but I never heard of anything like this... handshake, have you?"

Kimda, smiled slyly at his colleague, which in itself was an unusual act for most of their people. "Who's to say where they picked that up. It may even be something from an alien culture. Furthermore, who's to say that these people are wrong. I, for one, am glad to see a little emotion and life for a change."

"Emotion...?" said Jor.

Zor-El interrupted, "Yes, I agree, Kimda! It's definitely a refreshing change. Ever since I could remember this existence was only that - existense! Today, Jor, I actually felt alive!" Zor reached up to his head covering and ripped it off of his head. "Look at me, brother! I'll bet you never even knew that I had brown hair, did you? What color is yours?" Next the gloves came off. "Someone hand me something - anything - I just want to see what it feels like to the touch."

Kimda picked up Jor-El's computer pad and tossed it to Zor. "Aha! Are you afraid that I will actually infect you with some horrible disease now that my hands are uncovered?"

"No, not at all. I just thought you would enjoy a game of 'catch.'" Once again, the amused look returned to Kimda's face, "How's it feel?"

For a moment or two, Zor-El said nothing as he ran his fingers all along the device as if discovering it for the first time, and then he replied quietly, "Like I've never felt anything on my fingers but those damned gloves... til now!" Zor gave his brother a glance and then left the room abruptly.

Jor's eyes followed his brother until he was completely out of sight, then he turned to Kimda. "What is a 'game of catch?'"

The amused smile faded as Kimda appeared as if he had betrayed himself. "Just a child's game, Jor. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry? On Krypton, children do not play games, Kimda. You know, that's the second explanation you've come up with for these unusual things since you've both come in here. Now I'd like to know, what's really going on here?"

As Zor-El had done moments before, Kimda was silent, then answered, "Why do you care to know?"

Stunned, Jor stuttered out, "W-what? What do you mean?"

"I said, why do you care to know?"

"Well... I suppose it's because... I am concerned about my brother's behavior."

"Concerned? Or embarrassed, perhaps?"

"A little of both, I guess. But Zor is practically grown up, whatever he does really has no bearing on anything I do anymore. I guess I'm just worrying for my brother. I would hate for him to get hurt."

"You may knot realize it, Jor-El, but worrying or caring for anyone is becoming more and more unusual these days. Your family is one of the lucky ones. If they had not been so important in stature, you and your brother would probably not even know each other. Other families have their offspring taken away by the PDC shortly after birth. The parents don't object because they haven't carried the children for nine months or had any time to become emotionally attached to them in any way. I, myself, never saw my parents but five times in my life that I can remember. The first time was when I was entering school at four years of age. The second, when I moved into secondary school. The third, when I got myself in trouble with a schoolmate over a dispute about a paper I wrote. The fourth, when I began my college term. By the last time I saw my father, my mother had just died. His reaction was in true Kryptonian style. He said simply, 'It is the way of things.' Question: Have your parents ever hugged you?"

"Hugged...?"

"Never mind, I can already tell what the answer is. Jor-El, come with me tomorrow. See these people and what they are like. They call themselves the "Open Heart." After you see for yourself how they actually... love life... You may be ready to follow your younger brother's lead."

It was a long night for Jor-el as sleep did not come easy. All he could think of was his brother tearing the hood from his head and Kimda's words. And he thought of his parents. It was true. They never had embraced him... or Zor... with anything resembling love. He decided to go with his friend and his brother to the demonstration tomorrow and see what this cult was about.

Next morning, Zor and Kimda arrived bright and early and both were dressed in bright clothing with no skullcaps or gloves. It was a sight that Jor-El was unprepared for.

"Kimda, I half expected this from you, but Zor! You really don't want to go parading out in public like that, do you? Look at yourself!"

"You know, my brother? That is exactly what I am doing for the first time in my life! I am looking at myself! And I like what I am becoming. Don't you understand what this is about? We as a people need to find each other again. We have become so sterile, so far removed from each other that we are stagnating. No one looks to new ideas anymore. No one wants to reach out for them lest they become infected or, even worse, that they might actually care about someone."

"What about our family, Zor? What about our parents? What would they think about this... movement?"

I'm going to tell you something, Jor. And it shouldn't come as much of a shock to you, because I believe you already know it to be true. Our parents really don't care what we do. They only care about the "El" name. That is the only reason why you and I have been lucky enough to be raised and educated outside the influence of the PDC. It is the only reason we have managed to stay in close proximity to each other. And it is the only reason that we even get to see our mother and father. There is something very wrong with that. Everyone should be able to enjoy life, love naturally, and touch each other both emotionally and physically. And if you will get out of that Kryptonian "monkey suit" and into these clothes that Kimda and I brought you, we'll show you something that will change your life - maybe even change all of Krypton - if you will only allow it to."

Jor-El didn't on the face of it like the idea of such a massive sudden change in the Kryptonian way of life, but he had decided to see this demonstration, so he changed into the outfit that Zor and Kimda had brought to him. It was a green outfit with yellow and red trim. Long sleeves covered most of his arms, but no gloves covered his hands, nor was any sort covering surrounding his head. Only a narrow headband was worn around his temples. On the shirt, a sort of symbol depicting a sun, only it couldn't have been Krypton's star. This one was yellow instead of their more familiar red sun.

Kimda noticed Jor-El's confusion. "It represents the solar system of a very special planet I have discovered," he said. "I'll fill you in on that later. But right now, let's go! There is one young lady there that I think you really must meet..."

The three of them exited the dormitory room and although Jor was somewhat embarrassed by his new clothes, he made no further protest about them.

When the three comrades arrived at the demonstration, Jor-El was fascinated by the openness of the people there. Not just the participants, but many of the bystanders as well. At least three different persons came up to him to perform this "handshake" thing Zor had told him about, and one very pretty young lady with long blonde hair gave him a hug. It was easy to distinguish the proceedings of the demonstration, however, from the goings-on of the crowd. The participants were singing songs, dancing to pre-choreographed steps, and on every occasion possible, hugging each other. There was one moment that took Jor-El completely by surprise when the same young lady that hugged him earlier, found her way onstage and actually kissed one of the demonstrators on the mouth! Kimda noted Jor's reaction and said, "You could probably stand to learn something from these people."

But nothing excited him as much as another girl. This one with beautiful ebony hair, a lovely figure, and a creamy complexion. Jor-El couldn't take his eyes off her. Her dress was considerably different from the garb Krypton women usually sported and her demeanor carefree. There was much going on with the demonstration, but Jor was oblivious to all except this exquisite gem of femininity. He watched and waited for her to speak or sing or dance – anything as long as it was her.

"What do you think, Jor?" said Zor-El.

"Beautiful!" replied Jor, as if entranced. "Simply beautiful!"

"Yes, that was my impression, too. I've never seen anything like it, have you?"

"Never! Who is she?"

"She? I was talking about the… Jor-El? You are talking about the presentation, aren't you?"

"Hmmm…? Huh? Oh! The presentation! Well… yes…I guess it is… different… and I admit it is refreshing to see people actually enjoying life so much."

Kimda joined into the conversation. "Exactly what I was trying to tell you yesterday! It seems to me the only lives most Kryptonians seem to care about these days are the clones they've taken to keeping for harvesting body parts. Now, that's a crime against nature as far as I'm concerned."

"Now, wait a minute, Kimda. That process has saved a lot of lives…"

"Saved? Or taken? Jor-El, you make it sound like those clones are inanimate objects. Whether created by Rao or scientists in a lab, they are alive – as alive as you or I – and what do we do with those lives? Why, we put them into a freezer for cold storage until we need to cut them open for parts to transplant. Those clones are people, Jor-El! Just like us. And it is not only cruel that we bring them into the world, but we torture them and slaughter them, too! Now that's what our current culture has brought us to, and that's enough reason by itself that it must be changed!"

Jor-El was silent. All the points Kimda brought up were thoughts that he himself had entertained many times. His parents had had a clone created for him as a child, and they made it a point that he see it at a youthful age, supposedly to desensitize him to the "creature". But it had just the opposite effect on him. Repulsed by what he saw, he determined never to allow any transplant from such an abomination. He couldn't believe he was using the same argument - the same excuse! - to Kimda that he had heard so many times before from others and rejected.

Zor broke the silence. "Come on, men. I believe you wanted Jor to meet someone, didn't you, Kimda? They've taken a break. Let's see if we can visit."

Worming through the masses, the three confederates made their way to the rear of the makeshift stage. There sitting on the steps was the young girl who had hugged and kissed so many people. She was about nineteen or twenty and dressed in brightly colored silks. Her already pleasant demeanor brightened even more at the sight of Kimda and his friends.

"You came! Again! Oh, I'm so happy to see you, Kimda!" She threw her arms around him and gave him a great squeeze. Then it was Zor's turn. "And you! I almost didn't recognize you! Look at yourself! I didn't even know what color your hair was! Give me a hug, Zor!"

Zor obliged, and said, "I was telling my brother the same thing about my hair the other day, Lyla. He was… curious, so we dragged him along. This is Jor-El."

Lyla gave Jor a hug. "Welcome to the Open Heart, Jor-El. I see you've come dressed similar to ourselves. Are you a convert or as your brother said, just 'curious'?"

"At this point, curious, I suppose. This all seems very strange to me. But I do admit that your fellow... whatever you call yourselves... are certainly a breath of fresh air. But... earlier I saw a young lady - black hair, beautiful... and she was dressed... Well, to be honest, I'm not sure how she was dressed. I couldn't keep my eyes off her face."

All three of them interrupted Jor-El in unison. "Lara!" followed by laughter. It was a sound Jor-El had not heard very often in his life, but he liked the way it made him feel inside. It made him feel almost as good as the sound of Lara's name.

"Is she promised to anyone? Can you introduce me to her?"

Kimda giggled with delight. "Always the scientist, eh Jor-El? You just can't wait to get to the heart of the situation, can you? No, she's not promised to anyone, and yes, we can arrange a meeting. Lyla, can you ask Lara to come out here for a moment?"

"Sure, I'll only be a jiffy. Wait here... Oh, by the way, Zor-El? Speaking of meeting someone, my sister asked me if she could meet you! Do you mind? She seems very much smitten by you."

"I guess so. If she's anything like you, she must be wonderful. What's her name?"

"Allura. And I think you two would hit it off just dandy!" After Lyla disappeared into the backstage area, Jor looked at his friend with puzzlement in his eyes.

"Jiffy...? Dandy...?"

"Earth expression... just go with it."

Jor-El, still puzzled, could only mouth the words, "...go...with...it...?"

After a short time, Lyla returned with two companions. "Zor-El, meet my sister, Allura."

"Pleased to meet you, Allura," said Zor to the golden haired beauty. " I didn't know you were Lyla's sister, but I saw you dancing during the presentation. Do you think you could teach me some of those steps?"

"And Jor-El?" Lyla said. "This is Lara."

There was silence for a moment as Jor seemed to choke on any words that may have been in his throat. Lara finally smiled at him as she realized this young man's dilemma.

Jor-El had never seen a Kryptonian woman smile at him until Lyla a few minutes earlier. There was something different about Lara's though, but whatever it was, he didn't care. All he knew was that he wanted Lara to smile at him for the rest of their lives. Remembering the handshake thing that Zor told him about, he finally thrust his arm toward her somewhat awkwardly. Lara gently took his hand with both of hers. She started to say something to Jor-El, but then it became her turn to be tongue-tied. For the longest time, they just stared into each other's eyes as if searching for that piece of the soul that would bind them forever to one another. At last, Jor leaned in towards Lara and kissed her lips very tenderly.

Kimda, watching all this with Lyla, turned to her and said, "Well... he certainly learned that pretty fast, didn't he?"