Chapter 17: Reunions

A few minutes later I stood as the crèche began to make new sounds. I could hear Agent’s voice speaking from inside the unit. Abby must be awake! I quickly wiped the bead of sweat that had formed on my brow in the 29-degree humid room. The lid began to open. As the room light spilled into the crèche basin, I realized the flaw in my plan of being here to greet my daughter. She was as naked as I had been each time I was awakened in the device.

I looked around quickly and saw that Uxe had left a bundle of cloth similar to what she had been wearing. I went and quickly got the garment and returned to my waiting position. Abby was fully awake and watching me through the open lid. I looked away embarrassed as she quickly climbed out of the crèche and stood there unashamedly in front of me. I manned up and finally met her gaze.

Neither of us said a word as we sized each other up. She was beautiful. I could see much of Ana in her along with plenty of Abrams. Her skin was lighter than Ana’s had been but darker than mine. Her face had a few of my features. Her body was that of a fit young woman in her prime. I realized suddenly that I must have appeared the same to her as my body likely looked to be the same age as hers.

This was my daughter! She was not the little girl my first daughter had been. She was a fully grown woman. As our eyes met and we stared at each other, I also realized that this woman was old. Her eyes projected an intensity that demonstrated lifetimes of knowledge and experience. Now, I was the one who felt naked in front of her piercing gaze.

“Father,” she said simply.

I smiled and extended my right hand. She glanced at it but instead, smiled and stepped forward, hugging me firmly. At first, I stiffened in her embrace but soon I relaxed and hugged her back just as hard. The emotions welled up inside me and I felt the tears begin to stream down my face.

After a moment she pulled back a bit but still held onto my arms. Looking deep into my soul she asked, “So, are we free?”

I smiled through my tears and nodded, “Yes, we are free.”

A smile broke across her face like the sun’s first kiss of a new dawn. She took a deep breath and sighed. After a moment, she noticed the wrap I was holding and took it. I averted my eyes while she dressed.

“Please excuse me Father while I find sandals. The blasted machine always removes my calluses when I undergo rejuvenation.”

I had never noticed that. Of course, I seldom went barefoot. Who would? Sharp gravel and thorns hurt! In a minute she had returned from her quarters wearing a pair of simple hardened leather sandals. Her wrap had been tied around her waist leaving her upper torso exposed. Thankfully, my body failed to react.

“What is the year?” she asked.

“It is December 14, 2930.”

“Eleven years. Hmm. Come, walk with me. I would greet this new world.”

I followed her outside. When we had exited the building Uxe stood and ran to Abby. She quickly knelt and then stood and gave my daughter a quick hug. The joy was clearly showing on her face.

“Look at you Mother. You are so young!”

“And you have grown so much Uxe. You are nineteen years now correct?” Abby said.

That shocked me. This little girl was nineteen? She was so small!

Uxe must have been excited because she switched to her native language and began chattering with Abby at a fast pace. I let the pair talk for a few minutes before Abby said something which had Uxe quickly bowing and running off. Abby motioned for me to follow as we set off on a stroll around the clearing.

“I apologize Father. The girl was excited. I guess I should say ‘woman’ now. My, how she has grown.”

I could not imagine the girl being much smaller, “She is still so small. How can she be nineteen?” I asked.

“The machine’s work,” she said with a scowl. “It was constantly tinkering with the tribe. On top of the general reduction in size, most were made mentally simple. Uxe is an exception to that as she was made specially to have the intelligence to assume my role as progenitor for the tribe.

“At least that was to be her role until the machine reduced the number of new embryos it was sending to almost nothing. To counteract her intelligence, she was made even smaller and weaker than normal so as to not exploit her superior mental abilities over the others.”

She stopped walking and looked at me, “I must ask Father. Do you retain the power to change things for the tribe? Can you restore their fertility and allow for improved offspring?” she asked.

—yes to both, John.— I heard in my implant.

“Yes, Abby,” I replied.

“Good, I suspected as much. Mother said that if you were ever to return, it is likely that you would have bent the machines to your will.”

We eventually strolled over to Habu. Abby slowly circled the aircraft inspecting it closely but did not comment.

Finally, she looked at me and said with a smirk, “It appears you are indeed the Sky Father.”

I just rolled my eyes which caused her to laugh.

—John, there is a gift for Abby in the replicator. Ohmu says you owe her ‘big time’. —

I opened the cockpit and then the replicator lid. Inside was a photo card like the one I carried which had images of my wife and first daughter. I saw that this one had pictures of Ana, myself and ... I choked up a bit ... my first daughter.

“For you,” I said as I handed the card to her.

Her hand covered her mouth as she looked at the images. When she found my first daughter she asked, “My half-sister?”

“Yes, that is also Abby.”

“Amazing! Soon I would know her story if you will share. Thank you for this Father. I have not seen Mom in centuries.”

“The presence here did not allow you images of her?” I asked.

“No, the machine became very hard to deal with over the past few centuries. Other than threaten death upon the tribe if we did not continue its embryo implantation process, it seldom interacted with us at all.”

We went silent for a while as we continued our stroll.

“Mom spoke of you often ... what little she knew of you that is. I wish to hear your story also if that is possible.”

I had no problem with that. Over the next few days, we spent a great deal of time together just talking. I told her about my life and that of my previous family. She told me of her life and of Ana’s. Occasionally we would separate as she tended to the needs of the tribe. I made myself scarce during those times as I still made the tribe extremely nervous. I was not sure if they thought me a god or a demon, but I knew they wanted little to do with me.

Dinners were separate as she and Uxe ate with the tribe. Suppers were our meal time together though and we shared each other’s cooking. Well, I shared some of her and Uxe’s cooking and they tried some of the food I had Habu prepare. Some they liked and some not so much. I had to laugh when Abby requested a piece of Key Lime pie. I had given her mother a piece during our brief moment together in Nicaragua and it must have made an impression for the tale to be passed down to her daughter.

Uxe was mostly in the shadows when Abby and I talked. I felt like she was half servant and half acolyte. She never seemed to be upset and her calm demeanor went a long way towards convincing me that she was as old as Abby said she was. During the days, the tribe began to be treated for their lack of fertility. Abby and Uxe would lead them into the medical chamber at a rate of four per day as the treatments took a bit over three hours.

In between these treatments, Abby and I continued to share our stories and time together. She had experienced such a long life that sometimes I felt like the child next to her. She had borne four children in her first lifetime and two more during her second. All had been provided by the master A.I. Four had survived to start families of their own, again provided by the master A.I. The other two had been deformed or more likely, failed designs, and had quickly perished.

She had known love and had shared moments of her long life with three partners who had been like husbands. I found I had a kindred spirit in that we had both lived through the loss of our children and spouses.

The days together became a full week. Her tribe had started to overcome their fear of me and recently I had been invited on a fishing trip. I was surprised to find that their version of fishing was to simply pour some sort of poison into the water and then scoop up the fish that floated to the surface. When they showed me the teeth on some of the fish, I vowed to never go swimming in that river ... ever.

They were a simple folk and would not speak much in my presence. Our only communications were by hand signals and even with that, many times they would just quietly leave my presence. Abby and I discussed other changes to make to them besides just making them fertile. She was hesitant to make major changes so in the end we had the medical crèche just make minor improvements to their intelligence. We even asked for Naomi’s advice (Abby reluctant and suspicious of that) and learned that the tribe would improve rapidly over the generations on their own.

Uxe continued to flutter about. I learned that she was not a direct descendent of any of the children that Abby had borne for the simple fact that no children shared the direct DNA of their parents in this tribe. When I asked if Abby wanted to undergo the fertility treatment she reminded me that she was already fertile. She had always been so but had lacked a mate able to give her a true offspring.

I unthinkingly hinted that now with members of the tribe undergoing the fertility procedure that maybe in the future she could find a fully functional husband. Her cackles of laughter at the thought brought home that she was actually an old woman. Suddenly I felt like a kid who had been found wanting by a grandparent and I apologized.

Nine days after I had arrived, after our evening shared meal, Abby asked me into her chamber for a private discussion.

As always, she was blunt and to the point. “Father. You are now lord and master of this world. What will you do?”

Her words rocked me to my core. At first, I wanted to deny what she had said but then the truth slowly sank in. Leave it to her extensive life experience to get to the heart of the matter. I realized that from beyond just her point of view, with the A.I. being tied to me, and with that A.I. now in control of the world, what she said was indeed fact.

“I’m not sure.” I said quietly, “What should I do?”

“You should rule,” she said firmly, “Much like mom and I have ruled this tribe, through subtle means at times or through direct dominance at others, you must similarly rule this world. I ask only four things of you.”

I was still too stunned to argue so I simply asked, “What four things?”

“First, continue to help my tribe naturally grow and as they expand, let them have the entire Amazon basin. Discourage other, more advanced humans, from settling in this area. The tribe will always remain somewhat primitive, but they will also act as the proper stewards for this rich land. A land which the Earth clearly depends on for so many reasons.”

I thought about her first request. It seemed to make sense. I could see the logic in making the entire area a natural preserve, current human residents included.

“Second, allow me to die.”

What! I opened my mouth to speak, interrupting her.

“Please, hear me out,” she cut in before I could. “I have lived three full lifetimes. Although I am pleased with the start of this fourth I am also tired. I would ask that you allow the machines to reset my current body’s age to that of a woman in the last third of her life. I would feel more comfortable with that status. Furthermore, a decade or perhaps two is all I need to set this place on the proper path. Allow me to naturally expire when the time comes Father.”

She held my gaze until I eventually nodded.

“Third. Soon you must leave this place. This is not your place and you have many duties elsewhere.”

Again, I tried to interrupt.

“Father. I can tell you are uncomfortable here and are restless. You have told me of the important decisions which must soon be made. You need to go make them. We will still be in contact and you may visit often but it is time for you to focus on the rest of the world’s needs,” she said and paused, giving a moment to realize that she was again right.

“The fourth thing I ask of you is that when you leave you take Uxe with you.”

“What?!” I asked, surprised and confused at her request.

“She has no life here. Her higher intelligence is out of place in these surroundings. Also, the duties for which she was created are no longer needed now that the tribe’s fertility issues are being resolved. Take her with you and let her thrive in the world of knowledge, technology, and advanced humanity. Her training and upbringing will serve you well and she will become a valued assistant. Also, if possible, her stunted form should be adjusted to be somewhat more normal.”

I had to agree with that last part. Living with a prepubescent body as an intelligent grown woman would be challenging and frustrating. I took a deep breath as I thought about Abby’s requests and advice. She was right in that I was restless and tired of this jungle’s weather. I admit that I missed the creature comforts of home.

Naomi had even recently hinted that she had prepared a comfortable habitat for me up at the space station when I arrived for a visit. I noted the ‘when’ was not an ‘if’ in her statement and took the hint that she required or possibly ‘needed’ my presence occasionally. I focused my attention back on my daughter after my woolgathering and said that I would agree with her requests. We then parted for the night and I spent over an hour in my bed thinking over what she had said before I fell asleep.

The next morning, I made a few preparations for departing. I planned to fly out of here just before noon. This would put me back on Nautilus well before dark. Guayaquil, Ecuador was 1,300 kilometers away from here as the crow flies and we could make that in three hours easy.

Uxe was flittering around like a hummingbird on energy drinks. I was happy to see that she was wearing a full-body wrap today that covered most of her body. Rather than for modesty reasons, I expected Abby or the A.I. had warned her that the aircraft flight would be cool.

I had learned that Uxe leaving with me had been her idea and she and Abby had had long discussions about her future and possibilities of life elsewhere. I was slightly saddened when I mentioned to Uxe that we had enough cargo room to bring along a decent amount of her belongings if she wished. She had simply replied that she had nothing except for a few carved stone totems, a bone comb, and the cloth wraps that she wore.

Abby and I took a long walk later in the morning and simply enjoyed each other’s company. Toward the end, she finally started speaking. I learned that the last time she had been placed into bio-suspension, she had instructed the A.I. to not wake her unless the tribe was again expanded. If it did so without increasing the tribe, she would take her own life.

Secretly, she had been waiting for me and the chance that I would stop the machines somehow. She had been so happy when the crèche lid had risen, and she had seen me standing there. Her gamble had paid off. She was also happy to have gotten to know me just as I was happy about knowing her.

An hour before noon we were out in front of the medical building. Uxe was inside taking care of business as I told her that once we were on the road there was no stopping for pee breaks. Abby had hidden a grin upon hearing my stern warning and at Uxe’s worried look as she ran off back into the building to remedy that.

“Be nice, Father. Although she is nineteen, she is naive about a great many things and not used to intelligent banter and horseplay with someone more her equal.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. She knows she can communicate with you whenever she wants right?” I asked.

“Yes. Now that you have commanded the machines to obey my instructions I will be available for her ... or you, whenever you need.”

Uxe returned from the medical building and I gave Abby Abrams Branco a long hug. We then climbed onboard Habu. It had fabricated a few additional padded cushions overnight which would allow Uxe to half sit on my lap and half snuggle into the starboard side of the small cockpit. I thought we would make it just fine and unlike what I had told Uxe, we had plenty of time. That meant we could stop to stretch our legs a few times without missing our schedule.