The Krakow Klub (58 page)

He initially thought that the millions of
robots he had created already to maintain Mylea’s physical
appearance and the infrastructure of Mylean society would be able
to do most of the work associated with the repopulation of the
planet. As his analysis progressed from the practical and rational
chores facing him to the emotional side of Mylean development, Maxx
realized just how much work he had ahead of him. It would not be
enough to simply get the work done; the workers must appear to be
Myleans, not robots, for the environment to appear normal to the
young Myleans.

The task Maxx had assumed was a monumental
chore in his simplistic configuration. Now it had grown into a
behemoth that was taxing the limits of his capabilities. But his
guilt at having failed the Myleans in their hour of need and
allowing them to become extinct drove him to do whatever it took to
see that the new generations he was creating would be not only be
equal to, but even stronger than, the previous gnereations.

Maxx realized that he needed John Scott’s
help. John Scott was the only adult biological being in the
Universe that could be called Mylean; even though he had been born
and raised on Earth. Maxx needed John Scott to help him fine tune
the environment in which the young Myleans, cloned from their
ancestral DNAs, would be raised into adulthood.

But John Scott was still struggling with his
own emotional traumas - he was still in the process of healing from
that Bloody Thursday at the Greenbrier. He was emotionally drained
and not ready for additional stress. However Maxx was persistent
and preyed on John’s Mylean heritage to persuade him to join in and
contribute to the Mylean rebirth.

Can their tenuous relationship hold together
long enough for them to successfully complete the Mylean rebirth
project?

John Scott is haunted by knowing that he is
part Mylean. And he was struggling to understand his Mylean side.
How much of his persona is Mylean? What is a Mylean persona? He has
never met another living Mylean. John longs to know the answer, but
will he make the long trip to visit Mylea? It is not the distance
that bothers him – it is the time.

The twenty year round trip will age him very
little, but his friends back on Earth will be much older when he
returns. Can he forgo all those years with his friends and make the
trip.

Can he ever truly know himself if he does
not?

Now that he has found Julia, his life has a
new meaning and purpose which he will not risk losing. He could
never leave her – not even for Mylea.

John Scott knows that happiness comes from
within – nothing can make a man happy until he is happy within
himself.