Journey of Rick Heiden Ch. 21-22

Anger welled up inside me for what they had done, and what they might do given a chance. "Cadmar was right!" I yelled. "You are locusts! The impending wasteland of your world may be the harvest of your people indulging in your incessant greed, but you will not consume ours!"

David pulled me from the gangplank onto the ship. He guided me indoors, and he held me out of the sight of the people on the cobblestone, as the Japanese crewmen retracted the plank. Captain Okamoto, a slightly overweight, kind-faced man, waited patiently, clearly understanding the intensity of the situation. He looked a bit taller than Maggie with a simple smile and an air of authority in his voice. He and his crew welcomed us with a long low bow. We did likewise in appreciation, but there were also western handshakes all around with a friendly greeting.

As we pulled away from the promenade, I peeked behind a curtain to see that the delegation had retreated from the water's edge and begun the walk back toward San Marco Square, taking Pearce with them. The Interpol officers stood recording the departures of both groups. I felt sure we would meet with these people again in Japan, or others just like them, but I desperately wanted to be wrong.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Pearce's deception and betrayal sent us reeling. It hit David hardest as they grew up together, and while all of us felt angry, Cadmar expressed the utmost disappointment and anger.

"And that demonstrates the reason, when our people come to Earth for service, that we ask them to refrain from having relationships. If they catch you, someone will use them against you!"

The ship's steward kindly provided the remainder of our group a meeting room to discuss our situation. The room looked as one might expect aboard such a vessel, with rounded and smooth finishes of woods with nautical coverings.

"David had a relationship with me," I said to Cadmar. "How is that different?"

"Pearce probably had a relationship with this person for years and has at least one child by the sound of it. David has kept his word, and only at the end of his time here did you meet, and you were coming to Jiyū to live. It seems, whoever is with Pearce doesn't want to leave Earth, providing the weasel told them about it at all."

"Pearce did the wrong thing," David said, "but we must remember he is just a flawed human like the rest of us."

"Are you forgiving him already?" Cadmar asked.

"Forgiveness or no forgiveness changes nothing, Cadmar," said David. "For ourselves, we must try to understand his point of view, learn what we can from it, and move on. Emotions are running high right now, and yes, you're understandably angry and disappointed. Pearce and I grew up together, so how do you think I feel? After I arrived here, I spoke to him every other Sunday without fail for ten years, and not once did he mention a relationship or that he had children. I feel like I didn't know him at all."

"He didn't have his fertility controlled," I said.

"So, it seems," David said.

"I watched Pearce," said Maggie. "When you told them that you found the device, I thought he looked pleased."

Everyone looked at her. "Honestly?" I asked.

Her expression informed me what a stupid question that was.

"Maybe, he wanted you to find it," said Julien. "What sort of device did he plant?"

"An electromagnetic pulse generator," said Aiden.

"So, what should we learn from Pearce?" Maggie asked.

"That you can't trust people," Aiden proffered.

"No, Aiden, we can trust people," said David. "If we search within ourselves and know our trustworthiness, other people just like us must exist. We must hold onto that, or we follow the example of those who oppose us. They trust no one. They make demands and take what they want. What we should learn is that, given the right leverage, we are not incorruptible, and we must guard against that. Many of you have family here. I will ask that you do what Pearce either wouldn't or couldn't do. If they try to get to you, please, come to us and let us help you. Julien, as our liaison, you're probably the most vulnerable. Can you ensure your wife stays safe before we leave the mobile service area?"

He nodded and took out his mobile, "Oui, she will not like it, but I will make the arrangements." He left the room for the deck.

"As for the rest of you," said David, "could our adversaries get to you?"

"My grandmother is up in years," said Maggie, "but she's not someone to mess with. As a young girl during World War II, her family went through a terrible ordeal. She's tough, and she would die before she let them use her."

"My parents and I don't have a close relationship," said Aiden. "If they think it would make a difference to use them, they're mistaken."

"I love my birth family," I said to David, "but I've left that life behind. You are my family now. You all are."

"I have no one," said Rocke. "My parents had no other children. I'm a bachelor, and my remaining parent died last year. As a ship's captain, I guess I married the sea."

"Haven't you gotten tired of living alone?" Cadmar asked.

"Oui," he said with a bit of a sigh, "I left the captain's chair for many reasons, including that one. I needed a change once the treatment cured me. I needed to live and fully appreciate that gift. As I told Monsieur Cadmar, Monsieur David, you can count on me, whatever you need."

"Rocke, please just use our first names, there is no need for formality," David said, "You're among friends here."

"Très bien, merci (Very well, thank you)," he said. "I will endeavor to remember, David."

A few minutes later, Julien reentered the meeting room. He sat down, his head in his hands in exasperation. "Oh, merde, my wife is furious. I fear I will have ongoing repercussions from this."

Once we entered the Adriatic, the Captain took the time to show us around. They built the ship as a concept ship, and it had some unique engines. Everything looked clean and well maintained. The ship had six decks, with amenities that included a helicopter pad, a pool, a hot tub, a sauna, a spa, a gym, a formal dining room, a breakfast room, a meeting room, two lounges, and twelve enormous guest cabins. The cabins had every modern convenience, with a queen-sized bed, a bathroom with a shower, a seating area, and a secure place to stow our bags and clothing.

The crew kept the galley exceptionally clean. We met the chef, a man known as the highly respected Chef Shima. Whatever Chef Shima wanted, he got.

David and I returned to our room to unpack and relax a bit before lunch.

"So, what do you think of the room?" he asked.

"How can I possibly cope with only one private deck, daddy, and no hot tub?"

He laughed. "This ship is too much."

"It is," I said. "I think it's beautiful outside, but the inside, I don't know." I shook my head. "I noticed before we left, but they made the table in the meeting room with veneer. They used veneer on all this too. I don't know much about ships, but do they build them all this way?"

"Well, this is a concept ship," he said, "perhaps it's just how they built this one, and they put most of the money into the exterior and the engines."

"That's possible, I suppose," I said.

David smiled at me and held me tightly.

"You made me so proud earlier," he said between kisses.

"Did I?"

"You stood up to those people on the promenade. You've grown, you know that? You would never have done that before."

"I got angry," I said. "I had grown so accustomed to doing what authority figures asked of me, keeping silent with my head down. I don't know that person anymore. Do people on Jiyū get angry? Everyone seems friendly. Do they consider it bad form to get angry?"

We sat on the couch of our sitting area with his arm around me. "Don't worry about that. Anger gets a bad reputation on Earth, but we recognize anger as a normal human emotion. People get angry all the time, even on Jiyū. The question is, what do you do with that anger? Anger passes on its own most of the time, so let it. Don't fight anger or revel in it; neither response is healthy. Just let it pass."

"Aiden curses and yells, is that a healthy response?"

"Not really," said David, "but that was his frustration. Frustration feeds anger from a sense of powerlessness, or from not accepting the personal choices of others. People on Jiyū don't seek to control anyone, and we accept the decisions of others, especially in matters that don't involve ourselves. We all must give to others what we expect from them."

"What do you do when they don't return that in kind?"

"We communicate with one another. All this has a rub though, these ideas and concepts function on Jiyū because we all live by them, and it creates harmony. Not that we're perfect with it, but we do try. Most people here don't think that way. The people of every society here must give up part of their freedom to live there. You don't have the freedom to steal, murder, or rape people, but the cultures here have cultivated people with the desire and the freedom to take advantage of one another in many ways, control their actions, and limit their choices. In doing so, it hinders people's ability to mature. That's part of the infantilization I spoke of before. They never become empowered, and it leaves their lives filled with frustration. They never learn to make good choices, and they never learn what serves them. They think what serves them gives them what they want in the moment.

"Many people here do what the authorities tell them, because either formally or by example, people taught them to listen to authority, and they never master themselves. Many people here only refrain from doing things because law enforcement exists, so the system threatens them into complying. Then, of course, we would also find people so far gone no amount of authority or threats would make them behave themselves. People on Jiyū don't need such things, and many people here don't either. They're ready to live in jiyū. It's a shame everyone else is holding them back. The people holding them back, their lives have remained controlled, so they seek to control others because doing so is acceptable here. They want to feel empowered in some manner by taking power away from someone else, and the cycle gets repeated over and over.

"This world has produced people who react to frustration and anger rather than respond to it. Frustration alone doesn't necessarily induce anger because we can utilize it to motivate ourselves. The people who live in Jiyū's environment don't live in continual frustration, so anger doesn't become a common or constant companion. As a result, people there seem friendly. Our world works nothing like this one."

"Do people on Jiyū have the freedom to murder, rape, and steal?" I asked.

"Yes, of course, and all of us do those things as much as we want," said David.

"But those things don't happen on Jiyū," I said.

"My point exactly."

A knock came upon the door.

"Entrees vous seafood plate," I said, using an exaggerated southern accent.

The door opened, and a young Japanese man stood there, eyes wide. He laughed. "Seafood plate?"

David smiled, gesturing for him to come inside. "Just a joke, young man, what can we do for you?"

He entered and closed the door behind him. "Sir, I had that exact question for you." The man who spoke English with clarity looked seventeen years old and about five feet eight. He wore an untucked, well-made white button-up shirt with grey pants made of linen. "I am Saburo, the head cabin boy, assigned to assist anyone who stays in the master cabin. I keep the room clean and tidy, change the sheets, take care of your laundry, and I bring your meals to you if you prefer to eat in the cabin. I also deliver messages, among many other ship duties."

"You sound like a busy man," I said.

"I am. However, your needs are my priority. I have no other tasks on the ship that I cannot drop to assist you, in or out of the cabin." He handed David a wireless communication device. "This will make finding me easier on a ship this large. Just push the button, and you can talk to me. A charger for it sits by the bed."

"I wouldn't exactly feel comfortable with having a servant," David said.

He smiled. "If it makes you feel better, you can think of me as a personal assistant. The position of cabin boy may sound a bit menial and servile, but it has a long history and has adapted to the modern world. I have an excellent job here with benefits, a great deal of upward mobility, and I have ambition. So, please, don't think of me as a servant. I see this job as merely a step in my journey to captaincy. I enjoy what I do here, and I look forward to doing it for you as I have dozens of other couples. With that said, can I do anything for you, sirs?"

"Do you know the stop on this journey?" I asked.

"We stop for fuel, water, and provisions in Mumbai. Anything else, sirs?"

"Do you know us and our situation?" David asked.

"Yes, the captain apprised all the cabin boys of your group and your situation," he said, smiling. "He felt it would help us to help you and provide us with an idea of what to expect."

"That's excellent. You said you could do laundry here," said David. "That's great, but we have a bit of a problem. When we came back to Earth, we thought we would stay in London with the cool weather. Most of us only have cold-weather clothing, Rick and I only have two suits like these, and we're heading toward the equator, so you can imagine how uncomfortable we will get. How can we acquire some summer wear?"

"I will have to give that some serious thought, sir. You've made a reasonable request, but an unprecedented one; guests usually bring the clothing they need. I will ask and get back to you today on that. In the meantime, you can stay inside where we have climate control."

"Would the captain and crew frown upon nudity by the pool?" I asked. "We have no wish to offend anyone."

"I take it you have nothing to swim in either." Saburo smiled. "I would never dare to presume by suggesting it, but nudity by the pool is not uncommon, and you're welcome to do so on the open sea, but not while docked in Mumbai due to their local laws."

"Excellent," I said. "Could we have our clothes washed later today? They have a treatment to keep them clean, but they would probably feel fresher if properly washed."

"Certainly, just call me, and I will take care of that."

Afterward, we left for a delicious lunch, and we appreciated that Julien informed the chef about our eating habits; we eat more.

On the early morning of the third day, we entered the Suez Canal at Port Said. Things aboard the ship had taken on a more comfortable feel. We failed to acquire clothing more conducive to hot weather and had taken to walking around in just our pants with the trouser legs rolled up. Maggie did the same and wore a cropped tank top that she brought.

The captain invited everyone to the bridge's upper deck to witness the spectacle of the container ship convoy proceeding north. I noted one consistency about them. The shipping yard had packed them all as full as they could get them --some dangerously so. I didn't have much knowledge of such things, but a possibility occurred to me. The value of carrying what they brought with them must drastically exceed the cost of taking the ship through the canal, as I had to presume it wasn't free.

As we observed the ships from the railing, I stood between David and the captain. "Captain Okamoto, how much does the canal authority charge these ships for the passage?"

"The last I heard they charged them over fifty-five million yen."

"We're not familiar with yen," said David. "Would you know the equivalent in British pounds?"

"Roughly three hundred and eighty thousand in pounds, I believe."

"That's a lot," I said. "Does it cost that much for us?"

"No, our fee is inconsequential," he replied.

"Speaking of fee," said David, "or rather a 'small precious gift,' when will you want that?"

The captain appeared uncomfortable. He tried to tell us without speaking loudly, but the wind and ship noises prevented us from hearing, so he invited us somewhere quieter. When we got to his office behind the bridge, he offered us a seat. It had a generous space with a desk and a seating area decorated with a detailed map of the world on one wall, and an ancient map of Japan sealed beneath glass on another.

He asked if we would like some whisky, but we politely declined. I decided to get to the point. "The small precious gift. I'm curious why you hadn't already mentioned it."

"I hadn't mentioned the treatment because I have already received it," he said.

"You have it, already?" I asked.

"Who gave it to you?" asked David.

"I agreed not to say anything," said the captain, "and I hoped you wouldn't ask."

I had no difficulty guessing. "Captain Dupré gave it to you, didn't he?"

"I hope that will not upset you," he said. "He is an honorable man, and although he didn't say it explicitly, he cares a great deal about you all."

David gave a little smile. "No, there's no reason for it to upset us."

"What did he tell you?" I asked.

"Captain Dupré told me he was willing to provide it," said the captain, "and that he didn't want the rest of you to know or feel obligated do it. He said your enemies had put you through enough, and he swore to help you get home whatever he had to do."

I looked at David, and he had a faraway look in his eyes.

"Do you have any other questions, David?" I asked.

He shook his head. I thanked the captain for his honesty, and before we left for our cabin, I assured him of our silence on the matter.

I laid upon our bed, and David lay beside me on his side, his arm propping his head. "I don't know what to say," I said.

"I believed Rocke when he said he would help us. He didn't want us to know, taking no credit."

"Besides the apparent desire to help in the most honorable way he could," I said, "perhaps he didn't want us to object, or maybe he didn't want us to worry about it. Let us stick to our word and say nothing to him unless it becomes an absolute necessity."

"Agreed."

My eyes lingered upon David. His bright amber eyes shone in the light from the window. I ran my fingers through his hair; he closed his eyes and smiled at me. His smiles took hold of my insides, and they reminded me of my luck in having him in my life. "A change of subject," I said, "did you know I sometimes watch you while you sleep?"

He opened one eye. "That might sound creepy if I didn't love you so much."

"That thought has occurred to me."

"Do I entertain you while I sleep?"

I could feel my forehead furrow. "I could never relegate you, in any way, to anything as mundane and superficial as entertainment."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's flattering of you to say."

"Was it? Well, I apologize, I never had the intention of resorting to flattery. I merely stated the facts of the matter; I assure you I do not find you the least bit entertaining."

"That takes a great weight off my mind," said David in sarcasm. "For a moment, I wondered what brought on such aberrant behavior. So, why then do you watch me sleep?"

I looked him in the eye. "Hmm, now that I think about it, I shouldn't have mentioned it. If I tell you, you'll accuse me of idolization, and that will lead to a rabbit hole of a conversation with magic food and tiny doors. I don't want to go there." I tried not to smile.

He smiled and kissed me, which, of course, led to more kissing, and one thing led to another at that point. On such occasions, we had no problem with the ship, but the time would pass too quickly, and we would return to the typical blandness. We didn't have much else to do onboard the vessel, it didn't suit our needs. One of the lounges had a blackjack table, a roulette wheel, a poker table, and a full bar. We don't gamble or drink. No one wanted to see anything from the ship's film collection. As for their library, they only carried books and magazines written in Japanese. Not even I found them all that diverting. We looked forward to our morning exercises, and we had our time by the pool. The crew probably found us as dull as we did our time aboard the ship.