Society Rules (31 page)

Jackson made strong eye contact with her now. “But the Commitment fully entwines our destinies. We are born together in time, but the Commitment seals the connection. We will share the same date of
death
.”

Jackson shrugged in an attempt to lighten the words. “It’s just something to think about, when you are making your decision.”

“My decision was made a long time ago, Jax. Probably before I met you.” Indie was blithely unconcerned about that detail. She already thought that it was that way anyhow, so it was no startling revelation.

“So, our ability to make a ‘Commitment’, as you call it, is not related in any way to the legalities of divorce?” He shook his head, watching her face. “So, why the urgency?” she wondered.

“Because, legally, he would be your responsible party and could speak for you in an emergency, or if he could convince someone that you were, oh, I don’t know,
insane
, or mentally afflicted in some way. He could cause trouble, Indie.

“We need to limit ways that he can do that, although Will strikes me as a pretty resourceful guy. We’ve found that it helps our cause to follow the letter of the law, whenever possible.” He forced a thin, hard smile.

“We don’t need anyone to have the ability to put you at the mercy of any Federal agents. The government isn’t able to slap us all on America’s Most Wanted posters, because what are our crimes? As I told you, we have top notch legal teams, and unlimited resources, ready to come to the aid of anyone being stalked by the Feds, as well as a great many media contacts.

“It’s all about the government’s desire to control information and public knowledge. The last thing the government wants is publicity about their hunt for any kind of other worldly’ beings, shouted out from every newspaper. Their biggest liability is their desire to keep our existence a secret, in order to avoid what they fear would be panic, chaos or some other form of anarchy, the top fear of every governing establishment.”

He looked out through the glass walls, at the valley spread out beyond the confines of the living room.

“No, they have given up cornering us, trying to trump up some kind of charges against our Members, in an attempt to
detain
us in the normal sense. They now employ the ‘stalk and snatch’ method, which works well in isolated places; if they can catch us alone, we simply disappear like so many people do, without a trace.

“That’s when they begin their ‘research’, and the torture of our members can take place in the secret rooms of government labs.” He rested his head back on the chair with a look of disgust.

Glancing up at Indie, the look vanished nearly instantly, as he continued his thought. “It’s all in the name of security for the country, so they say. But in reality, it is to quench the curiosity of scientists, who are baffled by what we truly are.”

Indie finally spoke, but her voice was so small that she couldn’t be sure that she had really spoken aloud. “And, what exactly are we, Jax . . . ?
Aliens
?”

He cringed a bit at the word.

“Really, I wish you would uninstall that word from your vocabulary. It’s truly inappropriate.” His reproachful tone made her feel guilty, although she wasn’t sure why, exactly.

“Why? Why is it so ‘inappropriate?’” she demanded.

“Well, two reasons, really. For one, you are so terribly off track with your suspicions, and secondly, there is nothing ‘alien’ in the universe. Almost everything is part of nature, and has a reason for being, so I think to call anything ‘alien’ is a misnomer.”

“Look,” she began, a little impatiently. “Enough with the mysteries. I want to know, once and for all, what are you trying to tell me?
What
am I . . . and what are you? Are we talking semantics, here, all in the name we call ourselves? Just spit it out!”

He crushed her tightly to his chest, and she could feel his body, rock hard with tension. Indie pulled away and looked at him in disbelief. “Is it really that bad?” she asked, suddenly afraid.

“I am just so afraid that it will be more than you are ready to hear, more than you can accept. It’s pretty out there,” he admitted, with a rueful smile.

She stared at him for a long moment. “Okay,” she sighed. “Tell me about it your way.”

“Just ask me questions, and I will answer, and you may come to the conclusion on your own,” he suggested, eyes closed.

Indie closed her eyes as well, for a brief moment. “Okay then. Miss Maggie was obviously a ‘Member’, right?”

Yes
. The word sifted into her mind.

“She recognized me, and reported my existence to . . . someone, right?” He nodded, opening his eyes, and resting them on hers.

“They then contacted you, and told you that your ‘
Equal’
may be right here, in this little town.”

“Something like that,” he agreed, cautiously.

“Okay, so why didn’t you just skip on down to the nursing home, and present yourself to me?” she wanted to know.

“Well,” he paused, then continued in a rush, “your husband presented a problem. First of all, in the fact that you had one at all, and two, his job just happened to be somewhat incompatible with our kind. I was asked to be very cautious, to bide my time, and to try to happen upon you, away from your home, and your work place. I was allowed, if I saw you, to approach you, and speak to you, but not to touch you.” He shivered, suddenly.

“But,” he went on, “when I caught the very first glimpse of you, I have to say that the emotions that hit me were so unexpected, so powerful, that I was rendered quite literally incapacitated for several minutes, and you were so quick; you took off before I could react!

“I decided at that moment, that I had fulfilled the request of the Elders, and now, I was going to approach you wherever you were going, which happened to be at your work. I didn’t realize that Miss Maggie was about to move on.”

Indie looked down at her hands.

Move
on
. That was an interesting way to phrase it.

“When I was in her room, and she was relaying the story to me, she . . . she stopped time, somehow!” Indie’s voice broke at the absurd sound of this accusation.

“No one can stop time, Indie. Not even the Creator. Time marches on. It is meaningless to Him. Miss Maggie happens to have the gift that allows her to alter people’s perception of time. It is a mind trick of the most complicated type. She could have held us there, had she not been dying, speaking as long as she liked, and only moments would have truly passed.”

He shook his head in admiration. “It’s one of the greater gifts, and speaks of her ancestry . . . of . . . of the
Virtues
.” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, allowing her to absorb this information.

Indie saved the last word he spoke, to ponder later.

“And what are your gifts?” she asked, a little shakily.

“Well,” he looked around, as if trying to find moral support from the furnishings. “I do not know the full scope of my gifts, but I have a small idea . . . I have the gift of knowing the mental words of others, but it isn’t fully developed as yet, seeing as I have not had the Commitment of my
Equal
, but this is not special among us . . . we can all do that little trick, though some more fully than others. None of us can
fully
know the thoughts of Man . . . but many of us can get pretty close. Close enough to perfect for our purposes.” He lifted his shoulders.

Hmmm
 . . .
the
thoughts
of
MAN
.

Indie filed the word in her mental scrapbook, but said nothing, busily tying every nugget of information together to form her conclusion.

“I have quite the capacity to learn as well as teach and have a photographic memory. I sometimes have quick flashes of potential future events . . . not quite a future-sight, but along those lines.

“People are naturally drawn to me, and I am unusually persuasive, which I have used shamelessly in my life, and I seem to be able to channel positive energy, and help others achieve their goals. I am classified as a warrior, although I
try
to hate the thought of violence.” He paused.

“Part of my Society job includes . . . well . . . things I will go into more detail about later. But I also know that I will fight to the death to defend what is in my charge, and that I stand loyal to the Creator, and ready to give myself to whatever purpose is asked of me.”

Wow.
Indie thought to herself.
That
was
one
heavy
statement.

“I guess it was,” he sighed. “But, really, although I am well trained and famously good at what I do, I’m not sure that I am
extraordinarily
gifted in comparison to some of our kind.” He continued to look sideways at her.

“Are you freaking out, yet?”

“A little,” she admitted, “but I think I can take more.”

Jackson leaned back in the chair with a bemused expression. He pushed back the now dry wayward tendrils of her hair. “You are really something, you know?’ he whispered.

She stiffened at his words. “Yes, but
what
?” she whispered back. “What am I? Am I . . . human?”

“You are human-
ish
.” He spoke the word with a small smile, although she knew he wasn’t thinking anything slightly resembling humor at this moment.

“
Ish
? What in the hell is that supposed to mean, Jax? Human-
ish?”
Indie was trying hard to control her horror, but losing the battle.

“Indie, please . . . don’t lose it. Retain your senses. You said you could handle anything, as long as it is the truth, right?”

“I know I said that, but . . . oh my God. Not . . . not
human
?” She was beginning to take on a greenish hue.

“Listen, Indie. You are more human in some ways than our charges. We were the first of
this
form; life on this Earth did not look like this initially.
We
brought the image of our Creator . . .” Jax looked as if he’d spoken out of turn, and turned the thought aside.

“When the Ancestors were instructed by the Creator to come down, to teach and assist the life that was forming on Earth, they came down into the flesh. They became the life form . . .
this
life form, only we came as the life form was always meant to be. You could say they were human beings,
perfected
.”

Indie’s eyes narrowed. “Perfected in the Christian Biblical sense?” she asked. He shook his head.

“No, perfected in the flesh. Immune systems able to stop any kind of invasion by bacteria or virus. Strong, healthy with an unlimited capacity to learn, and to love. The ability to feel and enjoy pleasures with senses that made the other life forms pale in comparison.” Jackson clutched at her hands in a pleading gesture.

“We are built to last. Our lifespan are much longer than that of the Human Population, but we have been trying to infuse these qualities into humanity. If you pay attention, the human life-span is ever increasing. The medical field can only claim some of the credit, but the dominant factor is the gradual infusion of the genetics from the short supply of Society Members.

“In short,” he summed it up, “we are what humans were always meant to be.”

“They came down . . . into the flesh?” she whispered. An idea that was so unbelievable, so incredible, that it threatened to shake the very foundation of her sanity, was beginning to take shape in her mind.

Jax held her tighter, as if to prevent her leaping up and running away.

“Yes,” he softly answered the question she wasn’t even sure was fully formed, in her mind.

“Jax . . . who is ‘the Creator’?” Indie choked out.

“He is simply that,” he answered. “The Creator of all that is, all that will ever be.”

“Are you speaking of
God
?” Indie was no disbeliever, but to have this set in her lap was nearly more than she could comprehend.

“That has always been an assumption of Man, the human authors of the Bible, and tales of all cultures, that they believe in God, or Gods. He himself is the Creator,” his voice was soft, reverent. “Or
God
, if you will.”

She inhaled sharply, and began to shake, violently. “And he sent the Ancestors down, to take form among the life here?”

“Yes,” he answered simply. Quietly.

But then felt a need to elaborate.