20. Carter

TWENTY

CARTER

" D ad!"

I looked up from the compad in my hand as a broad shouldered, square jawed Masari raced into my office. His eyes, so much like his mother's, swam with worry.

"Dad, I just heard. Are you all right?"

He sat down on the edge of my desk and rested his hand on my shoulder. I cocked an eyebrow.

"What's gotten you so worked up? You're acting like someone died."

He flinched.

"Don't even joke about that, Dad. You know good and well what I'm talking about. You're not going to be the nominee this year."

I cackled with laughter and squeezed his hand.

"That's what's gotten you all worked up?"

"I can't believe you're taking this so well. What happened? I thought the party loved you."

I leaned forward and put my hands on my knees. Ajax offered me a hand but I waved him off and rose on my own. I limped over to the window and stared out over Starlost City. Unlike its namesake, the city rested firmly on the ground, not on an island zipping through the sky.

Like its namesake, I considered it home.

AJax joined me at the window, staring out at the glowing city lights.

"I heard there's more than a million people living here now," he said.

"Indeed. The city continues to grow. So much so that it no longer needs me."

Ajax looked at me as if I'd grown a second head.

"That's not true. We still need your leadership."

I chuckled and turned to face him.

"Younger men and women handle the reins of government in all but name anyway. My time has passed. I want to be at home, with your mother, not spending all my time in endless meetings."

Ajax remained by the window as I slowly walked back to my seat. I settled into the chair. Ajax rested his hand against the window and stared out at the nightscape.

"You didn't even put your name up for nomination, did you?"

"You always were a smart lad."

Ajax sighed and came to sit on my desk.

"I'm hardly a lad any longer, Dad. I'm the Second at the Killmonger Sage Tower, and I took a lifemate years ago. I stopped being your little boy a long time ago."

"That's where you're wrong. You'll always be my little boy, even if you have grown up taller than me. Don't forget I'm the one who took out Grhoma Jark."

I mimed a punch or two at him. He laughed, but then his face grew somber.

"How is Mom doing these days?"

"She's doing fine. The Twins stop by between classes at the university to see her quite a bit. I know she's been lonely, though. That's part of why I want to retire."

Ajax's tail twitched, telling the story his mouth would not.

"Go ahead and ask me, son."

"Fine. Why do you want to retire, if not just to spend more time with Mom?"

I gestured out the window.

"Take a look, Ajax. We've created a republic that stretches all the way around the globe. It's always sunny somewhere in the Republic, as they say."

Ajax nodded.

"It's true. Are you feeling like there is nothing left to accomplish?"

"Not at all. The Masari are yet to be fully unified."

Ajax stared out the window as a cargo aircraft streaked through the sky. Its escort of combat hovercraft appeared only as smaller amber trails.

"It's not your fault the Traditionalists think Castes are more important than advancing as a people."

"Careful, son. Don't be prejudiced. Many of the Traditionalists are not violent, and they truly believe that they are advancing the Masari as a people, just in a different way than we are."

Ajax made a frustrated sound and threw his hands up in the air.

"They are wrong, though."

"You and I may think so, but we bring our own prejudices and experiences to every judgment we make." I sighed, and stroked my chin while I gathered my thoughts. "Look, son. It's easy to lump people into one group, and think of them as more or less a singular entity. It's too easy, in fact. Don't judge all Traditionalists by the actions of the extremists who claim to speak for them."

Ajax stood up, his eyes filled with challenge.

"And if the Traditionalists blew up this building tomorrow, and you died, would you want me to seek revenge?"

"No, son. I would not want you to seek revenge. I would want the people responsible to be found and dealt with appropriately, especially so they might not harm anyone else. But revenge, hatred, prejudice…it's all the same thing, Ajax. Never forget that."

My son stood up, and he offered me his hand. This time I accepted his help to stand.

"I actually didn't come by to talk politics, Dad. I have some news. Sula's pregnant."

I gasped, a grin stretching my face from ear to ear.

"Oh, that's wonderful news. It's going to make your mother's day. Or night, whatever. You know, when I first woke up in this body the Masari rolled up their sidewalks when the sun went down every night?"

"Yes, we were all a bunch of savages or something before your beneficence…"

We continued to trade jibes as we left my office behind. A Masari in the red and gold hue of a Guardsman saluted me.

"Good evening, Mr. President…I guess I'll have to stop calling you that, pretty soon."

"It's all right, Bojac. I've grown rather tired of hearing it, anyway. I'm looking forward to my life as a civilian."

Bojac bowed his head toward Ajax.

"Your father will be sorely missed."

Ajax smiled, but did not respond otherwise. We walked to the lift and took it to the ground floor. Ajax held my arm while I slipped into the cabin of my air car.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive, Dad?"

"I'm fine."

"You say that, but last year didn't you run into a constable?"

I sighed.

"I'm not that old yet, Ajax. People a lot younger than my mere century have accidents too, you know."

Ajax gave me a look.

"I think we both know you're a little north of a century, Dad."

I cackled with laughter as we rose into the air. I joined the line of traffic moving toward the north end of Starlost City, where my dwelling lay.

"Say, Dad, does it ever bother you that I didn't follow you into politics?"

I gave him a look.

"Are you kidding me? I'm very proud of you, and the things you've accomplished with the Sages."

"Keep your eyes on where you're going, Dad."

"Sorry."

I swerved to avoid a line of traffic and dropped down to a lower level. The maneuver was technically illegal, but no Guardsman would dare pull over President Gro.

"Are you sure? I mean, Liria didn't go into politics, either, and the twins are dead set on being Engineers. You don't have anyone to carry on your legacy."

I slowed the air car down as we approached the cluster of glass towers comprising our housing complex. I could see our penthouse lights, guiding me toward the rooftop landing pad.

"My legacy isn't something I worry about, Ajax. Besides, how could I ask for a better legacy than having such fine children,..and soon to be, grandchildren."

I set the air car down on the roof and shut down the engines. The wind picked up, buffering us as a glass tube extruded from the roof. Safety fields of antigravity particles kept us safe from a freak gust that might send us flying off the roof.

"I remember when the only flying vehicles were open air hover carts and skybreaker harnesses."

Ajax laughed as we entered the tube.

"Now you're just trying to sound old."

The tube drew us downward, and the rooftop nightscape gave way to a warm and inviting penthouse suite. Green, white, and beige decor lent a vibrant and natural feel to the otherwise spartan surroundings. Arael had never been much of one for clutter. She preferred temporary art to static forms.

"Did you remember to pick up new lithium packs, beloved?"

Arael strode out of the bedroom, tying the belt of her silk robe. Her face had a few more lines every year, and yet she was still the most impossibly beautiful woman I had ever seen.

"Oh, Ajax. I didn't know you were coming into town. Where's your lifemate?"

"She's still on Old Starlost, but she'll be here at the end of the week. I guess you could say I'm the advance guard…

I watched, my heart warm and full, as my eldest child told my lifemate she was going to be a grandmother.

About retiring, I had not a single regret. None.