The Jovian Legacy (31 page)

“Hello?”
he said wide-eyed. The group behind him, now silent, watched on,
their gazes intense. Jack braced himself.

“Hello,”
he said back to him, cheerily. “You are probably wondering
what’s going on.”

“Riiight,”
the man said with a lilt in his voice and spreading out the word. He
waited for Jack to elaborate.

Jack
cleared his throat. “First of all, I’m Jack Dunlop, and
a friend of….. Larry and Helga Bitner’s.” He
grimaced at his words while the man looked astonished. A woman
standing behind him (who Jack presumed was Claudia) also appeared to
be in shock.

He
spoke again, choosing his words more carefully. “I apologise
for alarming you. I am very pleased to tell you that your folks are
alive and well. They have been living in a…place where it has
been impossible for any contact, up until now.” Nobody said a
word so Jack continued. He looked directly at Claudia this time.
“Your parents didn’t perish when their plane went
missing. They were amongst a lot of people that were extracted from
their plane over the Bermuda Triangle, where, as you may be aware,
many other boats and planes have also gone missing. They are, in
fact, all living here on a place called Jovian, a planet thirty-five
light years away from Earth.” He stopped talking as Claudia
had turned white.

“Ray?”
she said in a small voice turning to her good-looking husband.

His
face blackened. “Who do you think you are?” he said
angrily. “Are you some sick computer freak that likes to go
round telling people their dead relatives are alive and well and
living with aliens?”

Jack
replied quickly, his mind flashing back to the last irate husband.
“Sir, I know it sounds farfetched.” He took a deep
breath. “Larry and Helga Bitner were here five minutes ago
with me. You have a houseful of guests, so I told them it wasn’t
the right time, and they reluctantly agreed to return tomorrow when
we thought you might be by yourselves, and therefore in a more...
appropriate situation.”

Claudia
said something quietly to her husband, who turned back to Jack.

“Yeah?
Well now’s good. These people are our friends. So put your
money where your mouth is, Buddy, and show them. Or, you might
perhaps choose to be traced and sued for causing emotional and
psychological damage to my wife,” he shouted at Jack.

Jack
held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, Sir. Please hang on a
minute while I call them back.” He excused himself and left
the room, picking up his link phone on the way out. Fortunately, the
Bitners weren’t too far away and were excited to hear from him.
They were back within a few minutes and, once again, Jack prepared
them. He let them go in first and watched from a distance, observing
them coming face to face with each other for the first time in
twenty-odd years. Claudia’s expression was a mixed bag of
bewilderment, elation and grief. Her cries were echoed by the many
friends in the background. Jack felt somewhat amused (but dared not
show it) at how Americans always get on the emotional bandwagon when
something nice is happening. Claudia’s husband Ray watched on
in disbelief.

Lost
for words now, huh?
Jack thought
smugly, reasoning that there definitely was something rewarding about
this reconnecting families thing.

He
knew he should once again bow out and leave them to it, and slipped
out of the room, returning with two drinks, placing them down in
front of the Bitners and moving quietly out again. He noticed before
he disappeared that the Bobaks and their friends had done the same
thing. There was a great party going on. It did seem strange,
though, that the parties were thirty-five light years away from each
other. Jack learned later on that Ray Bobak had become a highly
acclaimed actor and that they had just come back from the American
Golden Globe Awards where he had received Best Supporting Actor for
his latest role in a movie.

“Now
there’s a thought,” Jack said to Megan over the dinner
table that night.

“What?”
Megan questioned through her mouthful.

“This
guy Ray’s some celebrity hotshot and has his choice of
exposure. I wonder who he’ll choose to share his encounter
with aliens with. Imagine the uproar. Maybe he’ll do the
tell-all on the Oprah Winfrey show. He’s either going to
become a major sensation or he’s going to look like a dick,”
he sniggered.

“We’re
not aliens,” Megan chided. “Well, you might be, but I’m
not.” Jack threw her on the couch and pounced on top of her.

Chapter 23

J
ack
was requested to attend a meeting with his colleagues, along with
Premier Tiberius and Marquis Ahmose. He knew why they wanted to see
him.

Premier
Tiberius spoke in great detail of Jack’s impending mission to
introduce genetic engineering to all countries on Earth. “The
seeds of Jovian will become plant and produce of Earth’s, and
eventually people of all countries will benefit with the same
advancement of taste and goodness as we have. As you know, it is
through our food that we have become such content people, with no
desire for greed nor power.”

Premier
Tiberius continued, “You would act as our representative and
through you we will introduce our genetically initiated produce of
all varieties of the vegetable and fruit family, which will in turn
be consumed by all animals and humans. As I have informed you, we
have introduced an ingredient which stimulates brain cells and alters
the formation of neurons so aggressive characteristics of all humans
and animals are all but dissolved, and at the same time, positive
characteristics are formed. It also enhances the senses and
everybody benefits. Our people are the proof of such engineering.
The produce itself is bigger, brighter and the taste incredibly
better as you have since discovered. It will be your mission to
convince the governments to make genetically modified food acceptable
and legal in all countries. For this you will be highly rewarded for
your efforts.”

Marquis
Ahmose took over, “We have commenced a trust fund for your
charges so they may each receive 40,000,000 Egyptian pounds by the
time they reach sixteen years of age, though although they are not
yet sixteen we have decided that, with the supervision and consent of
their legal guardians, they should have access to their accounts
immediately.” He then slipped his hand inside his suit, pulled
out an envelope and handed it to Jack. Jack knew they were
deliberately holding a carrot in front of him.

“There
are twenty-four access cards to the TBI. Please pass these on to
your parents,” Marquis Ahmose instructed.

Jack
opened the envelope and took out a gold-faced card, a rainbow of
colours sweeping over it as they did on his Lucre Box. It read,
‘Thebes Banking Institute’ .

“There
will also be remuneration for you. We will not leave you out,”
Premier Tiberius said, smiling. “You will be paid 10,000,000
Egyptian pounds per month from the date you sign the contract.”

“Where’s
my pen?” Jack grinned back at him, suddenly convinced.

He
drove home with mixed feelings, mulling over the events of the
meeting. He turned into the driveway, parked his vehicle and sat
there for a few minutes contemplating what lay in store for him, and
wondering how on earth had he got himself involved in such a mission.
He felt his jacket pocket that was bulging with access cards for the
girls - their future, and deliberated how he was going to explain to
them that he had to leave them and return to Earth to do a job that
could take years to accomplish.

“Let’s
have a family group conference in the lounge,” Jack announced.
Dutifully Megan hurried off to gather up the girls as well as Ben,
Nancy and Sobek.

They
sat around listening intently as Jack carefully and tactfully
explained what he was going to do. All the girls remained silent as
Jack told them of his mission and impending departure, some quietly
crying. When he had finished speaking all the girls unleashed into
buckets of tears. Even their ‘little’ gift of the bank
access cards didn’t soften the shock. They were about to lose
their very much loved ‘big brother figure’ and protector.

“Hey,
I’m not dying,” Jack protested, trying to console and
settle them down.

“No,
but you might as well be,” Eshe wailed, “you’re
going to be on another planet!”

Jack
could see how much they were hurting, and was unsure if he was going
to lose it too. “I’m sorry,” he apologised, pacing
out of the room and disappearing into the bathroom. The girls
watched him go, and fell apart again.

Throughout
the chaos no-one spared a thought for Megan. The girls assumed that
she, as their big sister and role model, would stay back with them.
But it was a different story for Megan. Her mind was spinning. In
fact, she felt angry with Jack. A lot of time had passed since
they’d first talked about returning to Earth. She’d
thought it was a good idea at the time because she yearned to see her
parents again.

But
now is now,
she thought,
how
dare he assume I’d be fine with it now?

She
needed to have it out with him. Jack was sitting on the stool in the
bathroom with his head in his lap.

“What
about me?”

Startled,
Jack looked up, baffled. “What do you mean?”

“Am
I supposed to be coming with you, or staying here?” she
questioned, looking at him sharply.

“Well,
of course you’re com…,” his voice trailed off.
“W…what were you expecting to do?”

“What
was I expecting?” Megan half yelled. “Jack, in the
beginning, when you were preparing to come to Jovian, you gave me a
choice then to come with you or stay behind. I chose you over my
parents. Now you want me to choose again? You want me to choose
you
again?” Jack had never seen her like this before. He suddenly
felt squeamish.

“How
dare you do this to me again!” Megan screamed, her eyes
blazing.

“Megs,
I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say…I thought you
wanted to see your parents again,” Jack said meekly.

Megan
took a deep breath. “That was ages ago, Jack. They’re
probably dead by now!” She hadn’t finished. “You
turn everyone’s world upside down and you don’t know what
to say? That’s a hell of a copout from someone who calls
himself a family man. Maybe it’s because they aren’t
biologically yours. Is that it?”

Jack
couldn’t believe his ears. Her remark hurt like hell.

At
that moment Megan felt so bad at what she’d said that she broke
down. “Oh Jack, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it,”
she apologised, now angry with herself for adding to the upset.
After a few minutes of calm, Megan wiped her tears away and looked
vulnerably at her boyfriend of a few years.

“Let’s
work it out, aye, our family is strong enough to get through this,”
he said softly, stroking her hair. They went back into the lounge,
where the girls were still crying, and sat down with them.

Although
they had managed to calm the girls down, the two weeks approaching
the departure date were the worst ever. Jack had organised
everything in numbness by switching himself into autopilot. His
closeknit family unit was suddenly in pieces. His intention to
settle everything down hadn’t worked, it had only drawn it out,
and it had been the most upsetting time with his relationship with
Megan. She had had to make her choice, the worst possible choice any
young woman would have had to make - her boyfriend, whom she loved
with all her heart and depended on, or her clones of whom she
cherished and loved so very much. Her heart literally ached when she
faced her beautiful young sisters to tell them she was going back
with Jack. Back home. The girls were utterly shattered. They still
had their adopted parents and Sobek, but they themselves were very
upset about the whole thing.

The
day of departure came all too quickly and the entire household was an
absolute mess. Megan and the girls, that had never had occasion to
cry so much before had red and swollen eyes. None of the girls had
ever been clingy, but on that day they wouldn’t let go of
Megan. Jack realised then and there that he’d asked too much
of Megan, who looked completely washed out. He felt like such a
selfish bastard to have put his whole family through this.

“And
for what?” he said to himself, “So people on Earth can
eat sweeter apples?” For the first time in his life he hated
himself.

They
met Premier Tiberius and Marquis Ahmose at the Thebes Federation of
Science. The Lucre Boxes, one of them given to him by his distant
cousin Siptah and the other that he already had in his possession and
had handed over to the Federation years ago, were both sitting
ominously on a stand awaiting them. Jack shuddered at the sight of
them again.

The
promises of returning for visits were lame to the girls’ ears.
In fact, they didn’t seem to hear Jack speaking to them,
appearing that they had lost faith in him. Empty promises. He knew
he was letting them down big time.

It
was heart wrenching to say goodbye to everyone. Megan wondered if
she would ever see them again. She became unsteady on her feet and
Jack rushed to her aid. The whole scene was incredibly disturbing.
Every minute worsened as their time of departure loomed. Megan was
being suffocated by the girls, all wanting to have their last cuddle
before they let her go. She sobbed along with them, trying not to
leave anyone out. Jack’s heart went out to the girls as he had
to literally pull Megan away from them while they desperately clung
on, choking back his tears as he had to forceably wrench her away.
The look on their faces Jack will never forget. He placed Megan’s
trembling hands on one Lucre Box while he held her around the waist
and pushed the other box into hers.