Peaceful Solutions

Caelan attempts to persuade the council against the plans of the DNP.

“What if they don’t go for it?” the young man’s voice was low, almost a whisper.

Galentus had always been a cautious boy, so I can’t say it surprised me to hear his voice so shaky.

“You know I would expect my own apprentice to have my back on any plan that I come up with.”

My voice was serious, but when I turned to look at the young apprentice my smile gave me away. Galentus relaxed a bit then, and chuckled to himself.

“Caelan, you don’t have to treat me like such a child. I’m turning 58 next month and I’m already a lot more intelligent than you were at my age.”

Even though 100 years had already passed since the creation of the Gift, I still sometimes had trouble remembering that looks didn’t give away age anymore. Galentus was 57 years of age and looked no older than he did at age 21. That was the power of the Gift, and if I hadn’t made such an important discovery I myself would have been dead long ago.

“Don’t forget it was the Gift that made you as smart as you are today. To answer your question my plan is full proof, and it is the only non-violent solution to our current dilemma.”

As I spoke I began to gather up the various charts, schematics, and maps I had created so that they would be ready for the presentation. If all things went well then the council would put my plan into motion by the end of the day.

My eyes wandered over the circular room one more time, searching for anything that I might have forgotten. A bright light caught my attention and I looked up to see a creature of various colors swim overhead the glass ceiling. I often dreamed about what it would be like to live on the surface, these creatures of the sea bored me.

There was only one creature I wanted to see up close and in person, and that would never be able to happen. Humans were too volatile to make contact with, most humans anyway. Besides, my kind had long since been unable to return to the surface. The UV rays would burn us alive, for we had adapted to the underwater cities we have lived in for hundreds of years. The sun would kill us in a matter of minutes.

Somehow I managed to fit all of my data into two crates, and so we headed off towards the council chambers. Nearly all buildings in our great nation of Regnum Tartara were made of specially designed glass, allowing us to see the outside water world as well as the various creatures that inhabited it. The council chambers were one big exception. My thoughts were interrupted by Galentus.

“May I ask you a question sir?” he mumbled.

“You may, although I am not sure I will have an answer to your liking.” My reply was saturated with humor, but I could tell that he was trying to have a serious conversation.

“Well I get that your plan is the only non-violent one that would have any effect, but the thing that concerns me is your choices. I mean how do you know these are the right ones? I’ve looked at the data on a few of them, and I don’t see how they would be of much help to the Human world, abilities or not.”

I quickened my pace unintentionally, although I’m glad I did because we were drawing close to the entrance to the council room. The truth was that I didn’t have the answer to these questions. When I created the Gift I decided that it was much too dangerous to test on anyone but myself. It fused with my DNA and altered it allowing me to gain an ability of sorts.

After that day my already high IQ sky rocketed giving me a number of different senses. I trusted those senses, and I knew of the one Galentus mentioned, but I could see something that he could not. My sense told me that he would take my Gift and use it to help people, which was my whole plan.

We entered the council room and I could tell it was Galentus first time here. I recognized the expression on his face, because it was the same as everyone else who entered this room for the first time.

The room was a perfect square and completely empty, the one exception being a circular table in the center of the room. The door slid shut behind us, and one at a time the screens began to flicker on. Each wall was actually a giant screen, which is why there was no view outside like most buildings had, and each of those screens was filled with the giant face of the four council members.

The council was made up of the four highest ranking members of the Dexteram Neptunum Posidon, DNP for short, which literally meant “The Right Hand of Poseidon”. It may have sounded like a fancy name, but all they were, were glorified politicians.

Three of the four council members I knew well, for they had been members since I was a young man and my Gift kept them alive even today. Tiberius, Vitalus, and Caius had all become close friends of mine through the years and had even urged me to join the council after the death of the fourth member. The only problem was I had never been interested in politics. My place would always be in a lab, making new and innovative ways to improve life.

Nero was the new fourth council member now, and it worried me to no end. This young one made my senses flair and my teeth clench. It could just be the way he climbed to the top of the DNP quicker than any Tartarian in history, or maybe it was his blatant hatred for Humans. Either way it mattered little for the one thing that I knew for sure was that he only cared for himself.

As we set the crates down on the metal desk, all the lights in the room dimmed, and Nero wasted no time.

“Please tell us that there is an important reason for your summoning of us today Caelan. I was in the middle of my final preparations on Operation Swift-Strike. Soon the human threat shall be no more.”

My teeth grit together unintentionally, but I stood my ground and took a deep breath. No child would get me to lose my cool. I began to pace the room as I spoke.

“Nero I am well aware of your planned extinction of the human race, and it is why I’m here today. You see I have come to offer an alternative plan, one that will require no direct intervention on our part. We have always kept out of the affairs of humans, and I do not think it wise to suddenly change a rule that we have kept for centuries. We are of peace and should not taint our hands with blood.”

Nero was now the one with grinding teeth, and I continued moving around the room locking eyes with the other three members one at a time. If I was to come out of this meeting the victor I needed to stay on the offensive.

“Humanity does not require extinction, what it needs is a guiding hand. We are long descendants from them are we not? We owe it to our cousin race to show them the way. Our knowledge can light their path, and with our help the good they could accomplish is limitless.”

Galentus handed me the first schematic tablet on cue, and after a few button presses a three dimensional image of a large round robotic droid came into view.

“This is the prototype schematic for my machine which I have dubbed Visitor. It has that name for a reason, for visitors usually come bearing gifts. This one shall hold the gift that we bestow upon every Tartarian child.”

The three members I was close with had all been silent up until this point. All four members had looks of bewilderment; however Vitalus was the first to speak.

“Caelan, I have known you for a very long time and you rarely make me question your judgment. I must say however that I do not see the reasoning behind your idea.”

That statement seemed to satisfy all other members including Nero who still seemed too shocked to speak. I handed the tablet back to Galentus and traded for the one of my twenty chosen ones.

“I’ve carefully monitored 20 different teens between the ages of sixteen to twenty one. If humanity is truly worth saving than once these twenty are given the Gift they will make a difference. Think about it, with the abilities they gain, these gifted could change the human world. Wars could be ended, dictators taken down, they could have a society like our own, one based on peace.”

All of the council was silent but I could see Nero’s eyes grow a little brighter, and I could tell he was done with being on the defense. Someone like him could never understand why it might be better to help the weak rather than destroy them.

“There is one giant flaw in your plan Caelan. What makes you think this bunch of children won’t just go mad with power and make things even worse? We are worried about the possible nuclear fallout of a human war, and you want to give twenty irresponsible teenagers abilities that could for all we know be far more destructive. You know as well as I do that there is no way to predict or control what ability someone receives from the Gift.”

From the looks on the others faces, I could tell they agreed at least in part with Nero. If I didn’t turn this meeting back around soon it would all be over, and humanity would be doomed.

“You are right Nero, I cannot predict or control what ability someone receives from the Gift. However I do have a plan in mind to help guide them to our desired outcome. There is one human I favor above the others, and I have chosen him to be their leader. This leader will have two years to gather the other Gifted and make some kind of difference. If we are not satisfied with their progress after two years than we should by all means follow through with Nero’s planned extinction. We have to give them a chance though, otherwise how could we call ourselves a peaceful society.”

The council was silent again, and for a brief moment all of my hopes faded away. A smile suddenly formed on the lips of Tiberius who had yet to speak.

“My vote goes to Caelan and his plan. No one needs to be harmed yet, and I think we should give them a chance to prove themselves as a species before we wipe them off the face of the planet.” Tiberius boomed in his deep voice.

Nero seemed to be shaking with rage at this point and he decided to put in his opinion once again.

“Well I urge the rest of the council members to think with more logic and reason before voting. My vote obviously goes to my own plan.”

Months of planning, preparation, and choosing now relied solely on these last two member and their votes. Caius had always been a friend to me and we had a deep rooted history so I was really only worried about Vitalus. My thoughts were interrupted by sudden laughter from Caius.

“In my opinion Caelan’s plan is the only one we can even consider. It might not work, but I am going to put my hopes on it because Caelan deserves that much. Humanity deserves that much. This man single handedly gave all Tartarians the gift of extended life. Maybe if anyone can help the humans it will be the man who saved us.” Caius voice was filled with emotion.

I turned and placed my tablet back on the table before turning to Vitalus. The expression on his face was indecipherable, and he looked as if he was lost in thought. Finally after two or three minutes he seemed to snap out of his trance, and he spoke.

“This leader you have chosen, what made you pick him besides his obvious genetic adaptability?” Vitalus asked suddenly curious.

That was not what I expected at all and I’m not sure why that would even matter. I might have to lie, because I doubt they would trust my actual reasoning.

“The main reason I chose him was instinct. After I gave myself the gift I gained a few extra senses. If I get a certain feeling about someone or something, I trust that feeling. This boy is the one I’m sure of it.” My voice was sure.

Vitalus looked disinterested at that point, and my heart sank. He licked his lips before speaking softly.

“You have my vote Caelan. However each council member will choose two each and you may choose two. The rest will be handled by Sinistram Neptunum Posidon. If you can agree with my terms then my vote is yours.”

My smile grew and I locked eyes with each council member in turn.

Author's Note

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