Anarchistbanjo's World

Chapter 2

Tobal hardly heard what his uncle was saying; his eyes were fixed on the unusual glyph on the top of the oak box. He had seen that symbol once before. It was when he and his Uncle Harry had gone swimming. Tobal had been about two years old and it was one of his earliest memories. That was before his uncle had been paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. It had been before his parents died. The water had been very cold, and there had been a woman with his uncle. They had been laughing and playing with him in the water. He had seen that same symbol of a man and woman within a circle. It was tattooed over his uncle’s heart. Years later Tobal had tried asking his uncle about the tattoo but uncle Harry had refused saying he must have imagined it. It had never been mentioned again.

But Tobal had remembered and had always been curious about why it was a secret. It was one of the few memories of his childhood and of his parents. It was a sacred memory. Now that same symbol was on this box, a box his parents had left for him. With trembling fingers he reached over, picked up the box and set it gently on his lap almost afraid to open it. The wood felt smooth and cold to his touch. His fingers slid along the latch and the lock clicked open.

Hardly daring to breathe, Tobal slowly raised the lid and looked inside. A yellowed envelope with his name was lying on top of dark green velvet. Nestled within the velvet was a large gold medallion with a heavy gold chain. The medallion had the same mysterious male and female image within a circle. Slowly and carefully he took the medallion out of the box and put it over his head. The medallion hung like a heavy weight against his chest covering his heart.

His heart was pounding and there was a lump in his throat as he reached for the letter. Turning it over he saw that it had been sealed with dark red sealing wax. The sealing wax was embossed with the same image. He had heard of letters being sealed with sealing wax but had never seen one before.

Putting the box aside on the bed, he carried the letter over to his desk, found a letter opener and carefully broke open the wax seal trying not to destroy it. Opening the letter with trembling hands he walked back to the bed and sat down to read. His uncle was staring out the window with haunted eyes that were looking at things in the past and not of this time or place.

“Dearest son, Tobal, if you are reading this, we are dead. We wish we could have been there to watch you grow and share our love as you were growing up. Events happened to make this impossible. We promised to do one last mission that is very dangerous and are writing this letter in case we don’t come back. You are in good hands with your Uncle Harry and Aunt Lilly. They love you and will take care of you. We asked them to keep this letter and give it to you when you come of age.

You have the right to claim ‘sanctuary’ in the City of the Sun and find your true destiny, just as we have. It is our wish and dream that you be trained in the values and beliefs we hold dear. While we can not control the choices you make in life, we would like you to know what we believe; the things we feel are worth living and dying for. You may never know us, but you can know the things we love and care about. Perhaps someday you will learn what we died for.

Take this medallion and letter to the Antiquities Shop on 2424 Oak St., Old Seattle, Washington, and show them to the proprietor. He will know what they are and what needs to be done. Your Uncle Harry will give you an airbus ticket. We would like to tell you more but there is no time left. Give our love to Howling Wolf. He can tell you what you need to know.

Your loving parents,

Lord and Lady of the Sun, Ron and Rachel Kane.
Dated this day 25 January, 113th year of the New Eon, sun in Aquarius, moon in Scorpio”.

There were tears in Tobal’s eyes as he looked up at his uncle. “What does this mean,” he asked?

His uncle shifted uncomfortably in the wheelchair and brought his attention back to the present.

“Your parents were research scientists and citizens of Heliopolis. The city-state has been called ‘City of the Sun’. It is a closed city-state on the West Coast that does not welcome commerce or communication with other city-states within the Federation. It was the classified nature of your parents research that was responsible for Heliopolis changing it’s status from an ‘open’ to a ‘closed’ or ‘forbidden’ city-state.”

“What was the nature of my parents research,” Tobal asked curiously?

“I am not at liberty to talk about it,” said his uncle sadly. “Perhaps later, when you are older you will be able to learn more. I was the one that found your parent’s bodies and attempted to continue their research after their deaths. There was a terrible accident in which your aunt Lilly was killed and I was left paralyzed. I was forced to close the entire project down as being too risky and dangerous to continue.”

“It was a very difficult time for me personally,” his uncle said. “Your aunt Lilly and I loved each other very much and I grieved her death for many years as well as grieving the loss of your parents. I promised your parents I would take care of you if anything ever happened and I’ve done the best I could. I know I haven’t been around here as much as I should have but I’ve put you in the best schools and made sure you’ve had the best teachers. You have done well and I am very proud of you but I can never take the place of your real parents.”

“How did my parents die,” Tobal asked? “Why didn’t you ever tell me about this before?”

“Nobody really knows how they died,” his uncle whispered, a tormented look in his eyes. “There was an air sled accident over a lake. I found them dead and floating in the water. There was no formal investigation due to the classified nature of their research. It was considered a Federation secret. Asking too many questions got a person in trouble really fast. I’ve always felt there was something wrong about the way they died but I could never prove anything and it was only a few weeks later that I was crippled. It seems someone really wanted to stop the research project. I’m sorry son,” he added. “But I’m risking imprisonment just telling you this much.”

“What is important to think about is that your parents wanted this for you. They wanted you to ‘claim sanctuary’ and become a citizen of Heliopolis. They believed that by going there you would be able to know who they were and what they believed in. Since you refuse to finish the year out and graduate from Tavistock Educational, I’m offering this to you. I’ve already spoken to the school and you have earned enough credits for an early graduation.”

He looked sternly at Tobal and there was a trace of anger in his gray eyes. “I had to call in some pretty big favors. You have no idea how many strings I had to pull so your name will appear with this spring’s graduating class. It’s time to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Grow up and move on. Do something with your life that your parents would be proud of.”

Tobal’s dark eyes flashed in anger but lowered as they met the burning intensity of his uncle’s glare.

“Are you a citizen of Heliopolis, like my parents?”

“No, I was a Federation officer in charge of security. I never applied for citizenship although I could have. After my accident I was retired, although they would send for me occasionally to consult with,” he added bitterly. “That was several years ago, but now it seems there is renewed interest in your parent’s work. I was just out there and they are talking about opening the program up again after all these years. Maybe you can find out more when you get there. If you learn something keep me informed ok?”

Tobal gripped the medallion and letter tightly. “I will,” he promised through tears. In a choked voice he asked, “When can I leave for Old Seattle?”

“You’re not going to Old Seattle,” his uncle said. “You’re going directly to Heliopolis where the sanctuary program is.”

“But the letter tells me to go to Old Seattle,” Tobal was confused. “I’m supposed to take the medallion and letter to someone my parents knew. That’s what I need to do first. They will know what I need to do next. That’s what the letter says.” He looked stubbornly at his uncle.

“There is no one to meet at Old Seattle,” his uncle barked. “They are all dead! All of your parent’s friends are dead. They have been dead for fifteen years! I am buying you an air bus ticket for Heliopolis and that is where you are going. That is where the sanctuary program is. Do you understand me?”

“Yes sir,” Tobal replied meekly, shaken by his uncle’s outburst.

He remained quiet but inside he was seething and planning how he was going to exchange his air bus ticket destination for Old Seattle. That’s where his parents had told him to go and that is where he was going.

Tobal Kane curled up in a dark corner of the Airbus and looked out upon a moonlit night. It was the 18th of February and the full moon cast a soft light on the snow covered landscape far below. There were no clouds and he could see stars twinkling like diamonds in the night sky. It was one of those rare nights that you want to remember for the rest of your life and he was trying to impress the smallest details into his soul forever. He was leaving the only home he had ever known and he was not going back.

He felt the vibration and hum of the airbus against his back and below he saw the lights of New Rome growing smaller and receding into the distance. He was lost in his thoughts. The airbus was relatively empty and he was left to himself.

It had been a simple matter to purchase his own ticket to New Seattle. There were no flights into Old Seattle and that was the closest he could get. He simply booked a flight for a few hours later than the one he was supposed to be on.

Uncle Harry hadn’t even seen him off at the airport. He had sent the driver instead and the driver dropped him off outside the terminal. Money hadn’t been a problem since he had a spending allowance and he had cautiously supplied himself with enough cash to stay for a week or two in Old Seattle if he needed to. Since he would be paying cash Uncle Harry should never find out. He thought he had enough Euros to cover any expenses that might come up.

The Euro was the global currency acceptable in all city-states around the world since the establishment of the Federation. He was carrying almost five thousand Euros and also had a credit card his uncle had given him for emergencies. As long as his expenses were reasonable his uncle had always picked up the tab. Tobal was determined to find the Antiquities shop if it still existed. He was also determined his uncle would never know about it. Nervously he touched his jacket pocket and made sure the letter was still there. He could feel the weight of the medallion around his neck.

Staring out the window into the night Tobal thought about his parents and what Uncle Harry had told him. He hardly remembered them at all, just vague memories without proof they were even real. They had been mysteriously killed when he was only two years old. His parents had been working on a classified project but something had gone wrong and they never came back alive. Their bodies had been found floating in a nearby lake. The investigation had officially listed the cause of death as accidental drowning even though his uncle said his parents were both strong swimmers.

His uncle would never talk about his parents and whenever Tobal asked his uncle would change the subject. There was no one else that Tobal could ask. His uncle had known his parents and worked with them. He didn’t remember his aunt Lilly unless she was that woman he remembered swimming with Uncle Harry the day he had seen the tattoo. Uncle Harry wouldn’t talk about her either. She had been killed in the same mysterious accident that crippled his uncle.

It was all very mysterious and now he was flying into the night headed for some “Forbidden City” his parents wanted him to go to. It was the only thing they had ever asked of him. It was their dying wish and he would do just what they asked. He fingered the medallion. There was a calm power coming from it that relaxed him, especially because it was a gift from them.