33
Time passed too quickly the next four months. Jor had turned in his final report on the disappearance of Kandor to a lukewarm reception from the Science Council. There were many who were quite open minded about extra-terrestrial life, but there also were a few stodgy religious zealots who, despite their scientific background, felt that Krypton was the center of the universe and supreme in the eyes of her god, Rao. There may be other people on other planets, was the thinking, but none were as developed as Rao's chosen. Among these fanatics was a particularly terse and cruel man, Mal-Vol.
Jor-El was aware of Mal-Vol from the first day he became a part of the Council. Vol had been a colleague of his father - had, in fact, been a great friend of Jor-L's through their youthful tears in the Science Council, until differences of opinion began to tear their friendship apart. While Jor-L seemed more interested in ways to better Krypton's people and learn about the worlds around them, Mal-Vol became more and more immersed in his own particular concept of the natural order of things.
As time went on, Mal-Vol would often be seen very publicly leading protests against any groups or individuals who dared to deviate from his own idea of civilized life and morality which he liked to term, "the Krypton Way." There was one group that drew the greatest part of his attention, and that group was the Open Heart Movement. Vol kept extensive records on the cult and its members. He called the leaders of the movement - Lyla Lerrol, Lara, Allura, and even Jor-El's best friend, Kimda - criminals, and constantly pressed the authorities to arrest them on the pettiest circumstantial charges. Fortunately for Open Heart, no real laws were ever broken, and rare were the times when any of its members were ever taken into custody.
Each success of the movement was taken as a personal slap in the face to Mal-Vol, and each slap in the face made him twice as bitter for the experience. It was no surprise then, that the rift between himself and Jor-L became completely impassable when the sons of his former friend joined "that cult." There was certainly no chance of any reconciliation once Jor-El and Lara's wedding became a matter of public celebration. The last words Vol said to Jor-L was just the day before the ceremony. "If you and your wife lend any credence to this unholy union, there will be a terrible price to pay, Jor-L! Heed my words! Rao will see that these heathens and those who would support them will be punished eternally!" Jor-L had been on the fence about going to the wedding until Mal-Vol's ultimatum. After all, Sara was very devoted to her faith, and the Open Heart represented a dramatic departure from their standard way of life. But no one was going to threaten him, his wife, or any member of his family as far as he was concerned. Despite "the Krypton Way," he very much loved them all, and if his son was getting married, by Rao, he was going to be at the ceremony, even if he had to go naked!
Mal-Vol unintentionally paved the way towards bringing his rival's family ever closer together. It was a setback that he would never forget... or forgive.
He went out of his way to malign Jor-El's report, categorizing it as science fiction instead of science fact. Vol's allies in the Council followed his lead and made light of Jor-El's findings. Fortunately for Jor, his own supporters rallied behind him and it became apparent that a power struggle that he never solicited nor wanted was beginning to take place.
The theft of Kandor gave Jor-El and, he hoped, the Science Council itself, many things to think about. Too many "what-if's" lingered in his mind. What if... the unstable nature of element 349 was the reason for the tremors. What if... there was no way to nullify it. Jor certainly had not been able to find any way to reverse or even block the strange ore's effects on the soil around it. And what if... there was no limit to how widespread or how deep the network of its roots would grow. It could get into the core of the great planet, and then...
Jor-El found himself looking for contingencies in case the worst took place. His search led him to an aging fellow scientist named Ken-Dal, a master of space travel theories. He had often heard his father speak of him and how Krypton could have benefited by embracing his ideas of reaching out towards the stars. "The Krypton way" played as great a role in keeping the great planet's people chained to the ground as its tremendous gravity. But Ken-Dal was a forward thinker, and kept his dream alive that someday, Kryptonians would take their place among the stars as great explorers of galaxies. He was credited with developing the principle of antigravity to a fine art, and it was rumored that he had even found the secret of safely propelling spacecraft at tremendous speeds, surpassing the speed of light itself many times over.
Mal-Vol's cronies, however, continually found ways to convince enough Council members that Dal's ideas of far reaching space exploration were either too expensive or too risky, and space travel remained limited to the great planet's moons and nearby planets that orbited her sun. Despite the setbacks he had incurred thanks to "the Krypton way", the now retired Ken-Dal never became bitter nor gave up hope that one day his dream would come to fruition. He continually felt that someone someday would take up the torch he had lit, and carry on his legacy. And it came as no surprise to him that the someone turned out to be Jor-L's son.
"Who knocks on my d...? Eh? Oh, it's you, Jor-El. What brings you to an old man's house?"
"I have a matter that is most urgent, Ken-Dal. I beg you to please let me enter and discuss it with you."
The door swung wide for Jor to enter. Ken-Dal had a smile on his face as wide as the Rainbow Canyons, but that was not unusual. Ken-Dal had always tried to see the lighter side of things. Even during the tough times when he was enduring Mal-Vol's cult, he would always take an optimistic view of things. If those religious fanatics got under his skin, he never showed it, always taking each setback in stride. "They are only doing what their interpretation of Rao's Word tells them to do," he would say. "The people of Krypton will someday see them for what they are, and my work for what it is. I am at peace with the belief that a manned Kryptonian spacecraft will travel to a distant planet someday... and soon!"
As Jor made his way into the old man's abode, he had to stifle a smile of his own. The house was littered in every direction he could look with books or half finished projects. "Please pardon the mess, my young colleague. I'm afraid I haven't been too keen at keeping the place tidy. You know, ever since Matty died, I just haven't been able to keep things in order. I do miss her so much... so much... Ahhh... But enough of that! Refresh my memory, why did I send for you again?"
"Actually, sir. I needed to see you! You see, I have discovered..."
"Oh, where are my manners? You must be thirsty! Can I get you some tea or something else to drink? I know that I have some just freshly made... er... somewhere around here... or was that last week...?"
"Uh... No thanks." Jor found a chair that had several half finished circuit boards in the seat.
"I heard about the passing of your father. Please accept my condolences. He was a good man. I know just how you must feel. I lost my Matty not too long ago, too. You know, I do miss her so much…"
Jor swiped away the circuit boards and sat. "Professor Ken-Dal, let me get right to the reason that I am here. I have need to learn as much about inter-stellar space travel as you would be willing to teach. I already have an acquaintance with the subject, so I am not exactly a novice. I believe that with your help, a great spacecraft could be fashioned that could conceivably transport a vast number of people to another solar system. I have reason to believe that such a voyage may be necessary in order to save our people from extinction. Will you help me?"
Ken-Dal had one hand resting on his chin and appeared to be fascinated by Jor-El's plea. He stood in this position for several seconds, slowly stroking his chin as if smoothing a non-existent beard while deep in thought.
Finally he removed his hand from his chin, looked at Jor-El, and replied, "So... will that be tea with sweetener or without?"
The young scientist was devastated. Clearly, Ken-Dal was going to be no help in the race to save the people of his planet. "Thank you, no, Professor. I guess I made a mistake," he said as he rose from the chair. "I'm sorry I took up your time."
"I'm sorry that you made a mistake, Jor-El. But mistakes happen all the time in our business, don't they? But we mustn't ever let them get the best of us. After all, making mistakes is how we learn, isn't it? That's what Matty used to say. You know, I miss her so much!"
"I know that you do , Sir. I guess I need to be going."
"Well, it was nice to see you again, Jor-El. Please give your mother my regards. Oh, and be sure to bring a good computer with you when you return tomorrow."
Jor was puzzled as he opened the door. "Return tomorrow...?" He echoed.
"Well, yes! You'll need it when we start to work. You did ask me to help, didn't you? Tsk-tsk. You're so young and already going senile. But I can overlook it. Matty used to say the smartest of us have our ecentricities. We should start early tomorrow. Be here after breakfast." The old man started to close the door as Jor exited, but abruptly stopped and asked Jor, "Thank you for coming, and I hope you enjoyed your tea."
In the days that followed, Jor became a very busy man. Despite the fact that his work on the Kandor theft was officially over, he continued to experiment with element 349, testing its properties and trying to discover a way to reverse its effects. The quakes continued to spread and intensify, and Jor became more and more convinced that his first Council case was directly tied to the other. Meanwhile, he found himself driven to learn as much from Ken-Dal as he could, that is, when he wasn't seeing to his wife's needs.
Lara's pregnancy was almost to term, and while she had never complained, Jor knew she was in great discomfort most of her final trimester. "Perhaps we should have used an incubation chamber for the birth, Lara. I hate to see you hurting so much."
"No, Jor-El (oooh!), I would not have it any other way but this. Pain is part of life, but for every pain I (ouch!) have, the greater the pleasure it will be once our child is delivered (ow!). Besides, each time he kicks, I know he is alive and doing well."
"Then he must be doing very well since you've been fidgeting more than I have ever seen you in some time."
"I won't disagree with that! He is very definit...OW!"
"Another kick?"
"No, this is...(ouch) different. I think it's time. Maybe you should contact Dr. Kemma... and tell Kerra, too."
Dr. Kemma was almost as nervous as Jor-El, as natural childbirth delivery was an almost forgotten science. Those in medical school still studied the method, but few of the graduates had ever used the skills in actual practice. Kemma was one of those. She tried very hard to not show her fretfulness, but still, she was more edgy than usual as she went about her task. Her years of med school, and recent study on the subject allowed her to do what was needed. And Kerra, thanks to her experience from her mother's birth, served as a sort of hybrid between nurse and midwife, offering support. Kemma, fortunately, saw this as an opportunity to learn rather than as a hindrance, and with Jor at Lara's side coaching, the process went smoothly. In a short time, the baby made its way into the world.
After the birth, Lara said the light the doctor was using looked like a giant star shining sweetly on their child's entrance. Jor liked the analogy. "A star shining on our son's birth? I think you just named him, darling! I know we went over name after name before seeing this through, but it just came to me when you said that. We should call him Kal-El. It comes from the ancient Kryptonese meaning 'star child.' What do you think?"
"I think it's perfect! Come here, little Kal-El, give your mother a hug!"
Jor-El's family was overjoyed at the news. His mother said she thought the baby looked like him, but that "the child should outgrow it eventually, thank Rao!" She couldn't help but smile with pleasure when she met little Kal-El... and Jor couldn't help but smile at the thought that his mother - his mother - had actually made a joke. Zor couldn't be there because of his responsibilities with his experiment, but Jor phoned him with the news.
"Congratulations, Mister straight and narrow," said Zor-El on hearing the news. "I knew you'd get that girl in trouble the minute I saw your eyes meet hers back in college. Is the little fellow close enough that you could show him to his uncle."
Jor pointed the lens in the base of the phone at his young progeny. "There he is, Uncle Zor! What do you think? Does he favor his father's side of the family. or the mother's?"
"Definitely the father's. But I have it on good authority that they grow out of it, thank Rao!"
"That's funny! That's exactly what Mother said." Jor brought the camera lens back toward him. "I hear you have a quite a 'baby' of your own about to be born."
"Ah, yes. My biosphere experiment! Argo City is about to begin a new age, Jor. The basic construction of the dome is now complete. All that remains now is to detect and seal all the micro breeches that may exist, and to get rid of any surplus material that we won't need or want. By the way, do you have a use for about 20,000 tons of lead?"
"Lead? That element is next to impossible to find on this planet. How did you end up with so much?"
"A couple of my colleagues were concerned about radiation leakage for some reason. They managed to get hold of what I guess is just about all the refined lead available on this continent. I finally convinced them it was unnecessary. It's not like radiation is coming up from the ground or anything."
"I could probably use some of it, but not that much." Jor thought lead might be useful in containing the effects of element 349.
"I'll see if I can cut you off a slice or two. What kind of projects are you getting into these days?"
"I... am busy with the Science Council's bidding. I've been investigating the tremors our world has been experiencing lately. And of course the Kandor disappearance is still an open case... officially."
"Yes, you've told me they weren't too receptive of your theory."
"I know the explanation sounds implausible, but after reviewing the evidence, I'm sure it is the truth. I have finished the thought transfer crystal, also. I am currently programming as much history and scientific information as I can into one that I plan to give to my new son when he is older."
"Everything you ever wanted to know about Krypton in less than a minute!"
"That's pretty much the size of it. And finally, I have been working to learn as much about space travel and propulsion as I can."
"You should call Ken-Dal. I've seen a lot of his work and it is brilliant."
"Exactly what I've done. In fact, we're putting together a couple of models to experiment with. The first one is set for a launch next month. We may even include a living payload; a small animal, perhaps."
"You may want to keep current on the biosphere project, too. What we learn from this could just be very beneficial to a long term voyage in space. I am very excited about it... And I'm very excited about your 'Star-Child.' Congratulations again, brother. I hope to see my nephew in person soon. Stay in touch."
"Take care, Zor."