I’m trying to think of a way of naming them so that you know which one I’m speaking of. It can’t be anything that symbolises sequence, you know, like Jesus A and Jesus B because being a B is always a little bit insulting and it has other connotations we do not like. I can’t make them Mr Jesus White and Mr Jesus Black!
4931
Tina understands. I’m certain hundreds of people will come up with nice symbolic names, but I don’t want to, just two friendly sounding names. Robbie thought he was funny and told me to just call them Luke and James! I can just see me saying to Jesus (either), ‘Hey Luke’.
It is safe now to explain the safeguard mentioned. While Arthur was writing, whatever he wrote was the truth, it had to be since our diary works that way. He asked Robbie and me to write in misleading information since what I write does not affect us. Can anyone (who was not there with us) work out which are the bits and pieces we wrote? I have now removed most of it, but I have left a few tiny unimportant sentences. What I say applies to our diary only and readers on this side, I doubt Arthur added my pieces into his story, so his readers have nothing to guess with.
At least we got a laugh out of this experience. When we handed back the nuclear missiles and all three hundred of their men still alive, I think they were disappointed. They wanted us to feel obligated to them. Maybe when politicians mature they will realise that standing by your friends in their hour of need is all that is necessary to make your friends feel obligated (and love you more). On the same day, Eddie got frantic calls asking what has been done to the missiles and are they still safe? Eddie offered to send over an Anadir scientist to explain how the new arming mechanism works.
An apartment was rented two blocks away from us for the two Jesus’s to live in. The first Jesus we met nabbed the name Christós for himself. It amused him because Christos is the diminutive for Christopher while also Christ in Greek is Christós. So, now we have a Christós and a Jesus. Both of them objected to sharing an apartment, but Robbie pointed out to them that the reason they are here is to get to know each other and that they each have their own bedroom and bathroom - which is more than he does! I bet Jesus was mostly miffed because he was looking forward to having some fun with the girls here. As he said, he would not have to use any powers, just his good looks and natural charm. It would have been funny if it hadn’t been true. I hope he manages to get Christós to join him. Actually, that gentle dignified way he has, I bet he is going to get the women who want to marry, while Jesus gets all the fun girls.
We timed our return so that we arrived here one day after the spaceships and all aliens left Earth to prevent the populations of all the big cities from organising panic parades. There were a few small riots, but the authorities cracked down on them. With everyone knowing that the Cherinians and aliens had left, the disappearance of anybody was seen as proof that they are Cherinians. It did lead to a few amusing incidents while those who are Cherinians managed to convincingly explain their absence.
My absence with Le’sase in my body seems to have made Efineh slightly unsure of herself with regard to me. Maybe she fears I’ll pull another vanishing trick. I’ve gently suggested she call Peter and go out with him, but she is not ready. Though I know she is not in love with Peter, at least she does not brood so much about Sebura. My little girl is growing up so fast and I now need to use my gifts to understand what she really wants. We must do it more often, adopt Normals that is, or else we will drift apart, even if we try to use our empathy to understand them and remain closely linked (in a non-Cherinian sense). As a child, it was not as obvious, but since becoming a teenager, I often find myself not understanding - or, expecting reactions different to what I get…even though they do make sense. That is a truth I had not thought of before, often the decisions we are compelled to make as Cherinians do not really make sense, but to us they do, because it is empathy affecting-guiding us. By the way, when I speak of empathy, it does not share the shallow meaning implied by those who believe in political correctness.
Latreia suggested that when we have another child, the child should not be of any one mother, that she should be as Diana is, of all of us. That way we all have the happiness of having a new child. It is a lovely idea, but we helped her see why it is not such a good idea. Even Robbie, who is a man, immediately knew it would not be - or should I add, he especially.
4932
For the 15th of February, the twin daughters arranged a party for their mother. Robbie asked to have a private chat with them. “You can feel in my heart how special your mother is to me? Will you allow me to do something to honour her?”
He took our breath away, Alki and Marian just sat with faces as white as sheets. Either he is the most courageous and foolish of men or else he has become far wiser than we are and he was.
So many people were invited to her party that Robbie had to bring Freddie back to our reality. We got permission to bring Freddie closer to Earth than he has ever been, so that he shines in our sky at three times the size of the moon.
On the eve of her birthday, the guests arrived from a multitude of realities, with aliens of every species represented by a few friends at the least. For those who need a gravity lower than Freddie’s, the Anadir made available a new development; mini anti-gravity engines built into small sleds (made out of real materials, not Robbie’s void energies) so that those guests are not uncomfortable. We wondered whether they will be able to dance on them, but nobody did, so we still don’t know.
None of our guests paid any attention to our request and they turned up with presents for Diana. We estimated that there must have been over a hundred thousand gifts and, not counting Sparklers and Kinytians, over five hundred thousand guests.
Since leaders of every nation from all the realities were invited, it became quite confusing. We also invited every artist and singer we admire, every poet, writer and philosopher, and even a couple of revolutionaries (they did promise to behave and not approach their leaders unless they do so without discussing politics).
Invitations had read that guests should please arrive by eight, Athens time, in the evening. At eight thirty we stopped carrying the last few and Freddie blocked our shields for an hour so that if any latecomer tries to jump to us, they will be sent to the beach near Dar.
This, it seemed, was to be the first time Robbie would allow us to be treated like film stars or royalty. None of us put in an appearance until nine. Globes of coloured lights brightened wherever they hung in our sky and Freddie broadcast the voice of Alki so that all can hear.
“Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome to Freddie, the home of the Teller family and all Cherinians. Tonight we have gathered to celebrate the nineteenth birthday of a very special lady. She is the first human being ever created out of nothing but the purest love. There will be a storytelling in an hour so that you may all witness the magic of her birth.
We have with us tonight too many leaders of nations and species for us to mention them by name, but we have two special guests that most Terrans of every reality will be amazed to meet. Before I introduce them, an explanation is necessary.
Some time ago, as many of you are aware, the Teller family faced a crisis because they had been discovered by Terrans of a reality where magic is possible and all the wives and daughters of Robert were taken as hostage. Before a battle could take place, a figure of power appeared and enforced peace, releasing the young ladies. As unbelievable as it may sound, that figure was none other than an alternate of the man known to us as Jesus.”
Alki had to stop talking as the surge of voices shouting would have drowned out his voice for many. He gave them a few minutes and then raised his hand, asking for silence. He smiled.
“I know! We were just as shocked and overcome with awe. When I first came to realise that Cherine was no ordinary little girl, it was a great shock to me and I was badly frightened for a time. What I felt then was like nothing compared to how I felt when I met Jesus, for I was a strong believer of the Greek Orthodox religion and he is one of the three most important aspects of our religion.
The story has a twist to it. We became friends with Jesus and he has walked on our Earth and visited many of our churches, of all religions, not only Christian. Not long after leaving for his reality he shocked us by appearing among us again, looking worn out and in need of friends. Ladies and gentlemen, our Jesus had been attacked by a Jesus of another reality! I’ll tell you, something inside me crumbled that day, this was not the way any Jesus should act, as far as I was concerned.
4933
Robert negotiated a truce that will last five years. The conditions stipulated that both of them have to consider themselves adopted members of the Teller family, they have to live these five years with their family and consider the other their brother. Robert was wise in doing so, for we can already sense that much of the anger they felt has dissipated and they are slowly coming to understand and appreciate that which makes the other a unique individual. You all know what alternate realities are, realities where different decisions were taken leading to changes in society and the individual. In their case, it is time they grow back towards each other, as our many realities have been doing.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present to you Jesus and Jesus.”
The lights flared and the two men materialised next to Alki.
We have never participated in such an emotional welcome. Some fell to their knees; some wept and others laughed; some shouted and swore while others prayed. Irene, Noelle and Goldi helped in the background as both men emoted a calming and soothing force that gently helped the shocked people before them. Those who could read emoting better than others also discerned a sense of puzzlement, for we had not warned them from before that we intended presenting them.
“Our beloved guests, we have a reason for introducing both of them to you tonight. To honour his beloved Diana, Robert has decided to give to both of them what they wanted from us. First, please welcome Robert, Cherine and Diana, our birthday girl. For the first time ever the family are appearing publicly in their own forms.”
Robbie hated making a grand entrance, but he had to so as to honour his Cherine and Diana. They floated down out of the sky in a crystal ball. As it touched the earth it cracked and split in two for them to walk out. Robbie was holding their hands and he turned and bowed to them. Cherine paid him back by curtsying to him.
Robbie took over, speaking now for all to hear. “We consider both of you our friends. It is just as well that you are who you are, for you are so powerful that I could not have withstood an attack by you. We have been aware that in your wish to grow, you have yearned to share with Cherine so that new doors in your mind can be opened. Doing so we hope will make you even better people, but it has the added risk for us that you will become even more powerful. We trust you will use our Cherinian gifts wisely so that the sharing brings only honour to our Diana in whose name this is done. Please allow Cherine to touch your hands.”
Even non-Cherinians felt it when the two of them shared. To us Cherinians, how do I describe it! It was as if the link between us brightened and it grew overwhelmingly stronger. For a while all of us were in a daze. The guests were allowed to talk among themselves, have a few drinks to help them recover and only when we sensed they could concentrate on us again did Alki call for their attention once more.
“As if you have not been subjected to enough shocks for one night, get prepared to be enchanted. For the first time ever, all the wives and daughters of Robert are to be presented to you in their true form. I warn you, many hearts will be broken tonight.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, Dominique.” One by one we appeared and he introduced us, giving a little verbal sketch of who we are. He made me blush with his description of me - and I’m not going to tell you what he said, Arthur.
To tell the truth, it was awful feeling so many Normals falling in love with us. As beautiful as their emotions were, they also carried pain with them. The worst hit were Diana, Goldi, the twins, Gilli and Coral. We all knew that once they hear Wendy (all the Wendies) sing, they will also fall in love with them. I suppose it will have to be classified as one of the costs of meeting Cherinians.
During the telling they showed how Diana came to be, the effect she had on Robert, our fears and the fight Robbie put up to save her when she began to fade away. Diana could not bear all the emoting and she jumped back to our home to wait for the best of it to calm down a bit.
At Athens time midnight, Freddie put on a show for all those on Earth who could see him. Dazzling colours splashed across the surface in celebration of Diana’s birthday. On his own initiative he then changed his outside appearance so that he looks like our Kaleidoscope World. It won us a lot of hearts and new Cherinians, but we still feel he should not have done it. Of course we did not express our opinion, since he has the same rights we do, but he felt us and argued it was time we did, that everyone should know what they can become.
4934
The party did not have a defined end to it, guests reluctantly leaving as and when they had to return to their daily lives. When we returned to our Athens home, we saw the first sign of how we will have to pay for the decision by Robbie. The armies of Nato have encircled the area we live in, blocking and controlling the entrance to all vehicles and people on foot. A call to the prime minister of Greece and to Bruce himself did not help. No government on Earth is willing to risk the consequences of some crazy trying to kill any of us. Though Robbie told them we would not mind such attempts, they refused to budge. Bruce pointed out that it is also the only way we can have some privacy. It feels as if our days of innocence died yesterday. Now we will be known wherever we go.
Oh!! I am so silly sometimes! When we go out now, we will project.
It has given us some laughs though. Every newspaper seems to have a caricature of Robbie. They exaggerate his features to make him look arrogant, stern or weak and it gives us the giggling fits. A few really brave cartoonists have also done the same to Cherine and some of us girls. Alki was the easiest for them, they usually make him look bear-like.
Some immature hackers managed to get our email addresses and we’ve had to agree with the servers that they shut down our emails because they cannot handle the traffic.
Our first time we chat like this from home and it is not a joyous occasion. Arthur, not only how can we go about living our lives while we worry; how can I write? Me ti kefi agapi mou? (Kefi - mood, often also used as ‘joyful mood’)
Arthur, you can be quite a bastard at times. You knew that life would not wait for us and I’d have to write of it for you. First of all, we have explained to both our friends and they have promised to use all their powers and magic to help us find you. They link (one at a time) with Lynda when she searches for you and she says she is seeing much more clearly now and her controls have improved. Robbie told both that he does not think Lynda will find your reality, that we need some new power to find you.
I have been ordered to write to you as much as possible and get you to chat with me so that we can try to sense how the words are carried to and fro. Cooperate with us love.
4935
I promised and he has deleted. We spent many hours chatting, but nobody could sense how it was happening. Robbie tried as the void, using his energies as a dye to ‘catch’ any energy being used to transfer the information, but it did not work, he saw nothing. Christós talked with him and Arthur was tickled pink (as he said) to be chatting with Jesus and made a few jokes about what would happen to him if he told people in his reality that he talked with Jesus.
Robbie is now taking this seriously and has asked that all scientists of every species, including those of the Unation of the present time, try and help us find you. Arthur, if our Cherinian gifts, combined with the magical powers of both Jesus’s and the intelligence of so many scientists don’t find you or a way to get to you, I’ll be very surprised. Be patient my love, we will.
Both Christós and Jesus are in demand and they do not have much time to themselves anymore. They are also considered major prophets by the Islamic religion (I may be wrong, but it feels to me like it is a truth which is more true than it was) and they were invited to go on hadj to Mecca. They have also been invited to synagogues and to meet holy men in India and Tibet. China announced that they are both free to enter and leave Tibet without any formalities.
Efineh has dropped Peter. She met and now keeps company with a young man who spent a couple of years studying in the monasteries close to the borders of Tibet. Irfan has a really gentle soul, is very serious and thoughtful and has enormous patience. He has not learnt to be cynical and sees the best in everyone. Not good material for the husband of an Efineh, but I’m happy to see her with him. They had only been going out for three weeks when she gave him her virginity and now she enjoys coming to dance with us in the void. He is from Sweden, but speaks perfect English.
It is time we take Dirkie back. He has already seen too much of his future. At first Robbie thought to keep him in Freddie and block his finding out anything about our time, but he then changed his mind. We do not know why. I suspect that Robbie wants to see whether time is elastic enough to allow a person who is not really bright and has no influence on his society to break the rules. The idea makes sense, but it also plays hell with the theory of evolution. Nature more tolerant of its failures!? I’m not being unkind towards Dirkie. He is a nice man, a good father when he is not drunk, works hard and is loyal to his friends. I cannot pretend he is bright or that he has much of an imagination. He might resent authority and even pit himself against it in small ways, but he does fall under the category of sheep, exactly the kind of man leaders depend on to win their battles for them.
Being with us has changed him in many ways. For instance, he soon discovered that everything was for free in Freddie and that it included booze. Nobody would have stopped him if he had overindulged and yet he hardly ever had anything stronger than one bottle of beer. He joked about getting stinking drunk the first night he gets home, saying he would have a party that lasts three days, but we could sense it was a form of bravado, that he was worried about how he would keep our existence a secret if he drinks. That must be why Robbie decided to return him to his own time. (R: Actually love, that is not the reason. It would not be fair to deprive him and his family of those important years together. Sometimes we have to take a backseat, other people are just as important.)
Alki suggested we return to South Africa three months after our departure date. Not one of our homes, despite paying for companies to guard them, still had our things. They had all been robbed. Alki was furious, but Robbie grinned and said we have made many people happy. Since we only expected to be here for a few days it hardly seemed worth buying furniture and so on again, but we did need some basic stuff. Since we have money with us, we bought what we needed.
“I’m surprised! The coffee shop has done well. My manager says that people have been going out more now that the elections are over. How did your shop do Sam and Alki?”
Alki said, “Our manager claimed the blacks have been robbing them blind and that he dare not do anything about it because he will be accused of being a racist.”
“Was he telling you the truth?”
I nodded. “Yes, though it was also an excuse for him to steal. Everybody there has made money except for us.”
“What do you want to do about it?”
4936
“If we can stay long enough, I want to set things straight. If they want to mess it up after I’ve given them the business, it is their own problem. While it is ours, they do not have the right to take what they want.”
“Good girl. I was worried that you might want to wash your hands of it. We’ll stay as long as you need.” He grinned. “At least here I can sit in a coffee shop all day without anyone thinking anything of it.”
“You just want to ogle the little girls on their way to the movies.”
“Hmm, some of them are real little angels, adorable. I saw one yesterday that…” He broke off, laughing as we all attacked him.
Why is it Robbie ends up having all the fun? Though his coffee shop is inside a shopping mall where it is supposed to be safe, he had an attempted robbery.
Long before they approached him, Robbie had sensed them and was ready. Five men stood around the entrance of the shop in a position to prevent any of the customers from escaping. One of them came to Robbie, which showed they know who the owner is.
“There are five of us with guns. If you do not want to die give us the money in the till and safe.”
“Do you represent some charity organisation?”
“What?” He stuck the barrel of his gun into Robbie’s ribs hard enough to hurt him. “You will not think you are so funny if I shoot you. Get me the money!”
“I’m sorry, I employ a manager to run the business, I’m only here to enjoy myself.”
The man spoke to one of the others and he went to the tills. Robbie glanced up at one of the security cameras.
“They will not interfere. When we leave, you and your daughter are coming with us. I’ll teach you not to treat us like a joke.”
“You are threatening my daughter? I would not do that if I were you, she can be quite dangerous if she gets angry.”
Roula looked at Robbie and relaxing, smiled at him. “Daddy, must I make the bad man go away?”
“Would you do that for me sweetheart? My coffee is getting cold.”
Roula got up and tugged at his arm. “Come with me, I will show you where the door is.” He pointed his gun at her.
“For this she will die also. Ayeee!” He screamed and threw the red hot weapon away. His gang panicked when he screamed and showed their guns, their fingers tightening on the triggers. Try as hard as they did, the triggers would not budge. One of them grabbed at the money and they turned to run, terrified now. Robbie waited until they were outside the shop and their legs gave way. Within minutes security guards arrived and not long after the police came.
Robbie tried to un-fuse the mechanisms so that the police would not wonder about how all the guns had frozen solid, but he could not. Though it meant the robbers would be set free, with a curse he made the guns disappear. (Ha-ha. I made it sound as if he could perform magic. I meant he swore in anger.)
As anyone who knows us by now would guess, Roula got a lot of loving attention from all of us and went to sleep feeling dazed by her happiness. As for Robbie, he only got teased by us for making a mess of it (do you believe the ‘only’ part?).
Dirkie arrived the next morning with a large envelope. He handed it over to Robbie.
“What is it?”
“Most of the money you gave me.”
4937
Robbie waved it away. “Keep it, the money is yours. I suggest you ask Alki how you should invest it - just don’t ask Sam, she is a lovely girl, but not that bright when dealing with money.”
Dirkie laughed. “If she were a boy, any man would be proud to have her as his son.”
“Yeah, but as a girl…what can we do, we each have our cross to bear.” Dirkie was aware that I would share every word spoken so kept his mouth shut, grinning as he wished Robbie all the best as he left. Guess I was wrong, he does have some brains!
Alki refused to help me deal with our problems, so I warned the staff that we would be closed the next morning for a staff meeting. In the morning, when we shut the doors to the public I saw someone had stayed who I knew is not employed by us.
“You better let the gentleman out, this meeting is only for staff, not your friends.”
“I am from the Union. I have been asked by the staff to represent them.”
“They have a complaint?”
“They are worried that you are about to fire some of them.”
Firmly, I replied, “The only ones who need to worry are those who have been stealing from us.”
“You are not allowed to fire anyone for stealing. You have to suspend them on full pay until the case has been heard in court - in six to twelve months, depending on the courts. If they are proven guilty then you must pay them any leave and sick pay due, plus severance compensation.”
Thank goodness I felt how angry Alki was. He had been amused, but now he was seeing red and it helped me keep control of myself. I asked Vincent to help and I very quickly sensed him deliver a package behind me. “I see. I had not been warned you would be called in, so I did not ask my attorney to be present. Let us discuss this calmly and examine the repercussions. People who steal from me have rights, but I the victim have none? I think we should even out the odds a little.
We have the following choices. I name those who stole the most and you and they have two choices. They sign a document admitting they stole and resign without any further claims and that is the end of the matter. Or, if you so wish, I suspend them, call the police and supply them with my evidence and lay charges. When they are found guilty I will also sue them for damages so that when they come out of prison they work for the next couple of years to pay me off. Let us start with Jerry. Jerry, come forward and look at this piece of paper. If you are convinced I have enough evidence to put you in jail, you make your decision - not the gentleman from the Union. He is only allowed to advise you. Remember, whatever he says, you are the one who risks going to prison, not him.”
Jerry examined the document which listed exactly every item he had stolen, the date of theft and how much he had sold them for. At the bottom of the page Vincent had written his Johannesburg address and the name of the village he comes from, with what family he has there.
I leant forward and whispered to him, “Never steal from a sangoma. I looked in your heart and got all the information from you.” He dropped the paper as he leapt back from me and then cowered. The Union man became agitated and demanded to know if I had threatened him.
“I never threaten anyone. All I did was tell him I could see into his heart and knew my evidence was correct.”
With the Union man sputtering threats, I gave those I wanted to fire their papers also and they all looked afraid.
“Those who wish to resign go to the cigarette counter and sign. You will be paid off for the days you worked. That is all, any holiday pay you are due I am giving to you and taking back as partial payment for all you stole. The rest of you, those who have decided to listen to your Union, wait here until the police arrive.” I saw that all of them went to sign. “As for the rest of you, I know that you also stole, but you were not as greedy as them. From now, anybody who steals will be reported to the police, I will not give you a choice. Go to the back for your morning coffee and then return to your jobs, we are opening the doors in fifteen minutes. Rod, I want to see you in the office.”
4938
I sat behind the desk and stared at him sternly. Alki leant his hip against a desk watching.
“Them I expect to steal from us. You on the other hand were paid a high wage, enough to enable you to live in a nice house in a good neighbourhood, buy a car and send your child to a private school. Here are the amounts I know you stole. In this envelope are photos of you stealing the money. All told, you have stolen about sixty thousand Rand. You will sign this loan agreement acknowledging a debt of one hundred thousand Rand. Same as with those outside, it is your choice. You sign and resign without notice, waiving any claims, or I call the cops.”
He was trembling. “I don’t have that kind of money!”
“You will pay off the debt over three years.”
“Even if I get a job, I won’t earn enough to pay you off! My family will suffer.”
“You should have thought of that before. I would guess they will suffer more if you go to prison.” He was caught between a rock and a hard place. He was terrified of going to prison; as a white man he would be picked on, but he knew he could not pay us back. He also knew that there are no jobs available. He was ruined either way. I sent Alki a ‘what now?’ but he refused to answer me.
“Go home and discuss it with your wife and give me your answer in the morning.”
As soon as he was gone I turned on Alki. “Stop being a shit, you know I don’t have experience. Help me out.”
“Running a business or being leader of the Cherinians, the rules are the same.”
I was too busy running the store during the day, but that evening I gave it a lot of thought. I had cheated, used my Cherinian gifts to nail the bastard, so my hands were also dirty. Then I decided that it had nothing to do with how I handled him, my guilt is between me and my conscious.
I might be asked, why did I not take into account the suffering of the staff and their families, but worried about firing Rod? Was I becoming a racist? The answer is simple. How you treat others has to depend on their own mores and customs; their upbringing is important. If I gave my black employees a second chance, according to their culture they were bound to see it as a weakness on my part and continue stealing - and it has nothing to do with my being ‘white’; even if I had been black, the same rules of behaviour would have applied. Rod would see and appreciate it for what it is meant to be, a second chance.
I forced myself to be cruel and allowed him to plead with me. I tried to look stern. “You did not give in to temptation, you were planning on stealing from us the day we told you we had to leave, so it makes it very difficult for me to be lenient. Rod, we will give you one more chance. You will sign the documents and if you betray our trust again I’ll come after you and ruin you.
You will keep your position here, running the business on your own. By now I think you know that I have ways of watching you, so be careful. If you make an honest mistake and lose us money, we will not punish you. If you lose us money because you are too lazy to do the job properly or you steal from us,” I waved the papers at him, “we will use these to destroy you.
You will draw your salary and then pay in cash one thousand Rand per month to an account I give to you. That means you will no longer be able to afford the small luxuries you are used to, but I think you bought enough luxuries from the money you stole to satisfy you for some time. You will see one of us once a year and you will always have your books up to date so that we can see how the business is doing.” I leant forward, staring him in the eyes. “I expect to see a good profit each year. Understood?”
Alki made fun of me, teasing me, but we all felt that he was pleased with the way I’d handled Rod. I’m not. It may be human nature, that only with fear, imposing our will in certain cases, do we earn respect, but it does not feel right. I wonder, does having to deal with Normals change Cherinians back to Normals in some ways?
We did not leave. What with flying lessons, taking the boat to the Vaal river and the good food and entertainment, we sat back and relaxed. Just as important - with prices so low, it was fun shopping. In all apparent earnestness I teased the girls that it is dishonest of us to buy things now and take them into the future where prices are nearly ten times higher. I explained that by Cherinians jumping into the past all the time we are forcing the prices up and that is why everything is so expensive in our time. The way they keep hitting me with pillows, perhaps we should stock up on pillows while they are still cheap?
4939
Alki had no compunctions about investing in a number of companies that he knew would do well and convinced some of the girls to invest whatever cash they have. Just to give an idea of what kind of profits we are talking about: one of the banks, at the value of their shares at that time, was worth about four hundred million Rand. In our time, about thirty years later? About four hundred billion, or more. Alki says that to buy it would cost far more.
On the other hand, I found and bought a lovely thatched cottage with a beautiful garden in an area called Muldersdrift. With it I also have about two hectares of fruit trees. I am puzzled as to why I bought it since it is not likely I will visit here often. I guess I wanted it because it is so lovely and reminiscent of an older era. Perhaps life will become like that again when all are Cherinians.
That was quick! I don’t have the house anymore. I sensed Efineh had a secret so I pestered her (I’m allowed to, I’m her ‘mother’). She admitted she is in love with the house I bought! I quickly called the lawyers and asked them to change the documents so that the deed will be in her name. My little girl cried in my arms when I told her. I drove her back there and we took a hundred photos of the house, garden and her. I saw there is a stable and the present owners told us that there are a number of trails she can ride on, but warned me it is not safe anymore for a young girl to go riding on her own. They were emoting, so I guessed they were thinking that I am a foreigner and will not believe them and Efineh will get raped and maybe killed. I could not help wondering how they will react when they see pictures of us in the future and realise they sold their house to a Cherinian (so that Efineh would be as she is known in the pictures I took, the two of us went as we normally are, except for me being an adult). Efineh is going to enjoy showing her people and parents the house she owns.
There was a feeling growing in us that it is time for us to return home. Dirkie is our problem now. If we leave, he will suffer from being cut off and his end of the link will strive to reach out to Cherine. There is a Cherine at this time and if she feels him, we do not think time will be elastic enough to forgive us.
We organised a big barbecue with everyone we know from this time invited. It got off to a great start with everyone arriving in a good mood. A company had set up a jumping castle and slide for the kids and we soon lost Robbie as he sat with a beer and cigarette staring at the kids, enjoying the sound of their yelling and laughter. Everyone could tell that he was deep in thought and though a few did go towards him to jolly him into forgetting his problems, they found themselves swerving away from him. It was Cherine doing that.
Before anyone could get drunk and while the meat was sizzling above the red coals, Robbie asked Dirkie to go to his office with him. Cherine, Dommi and Athia went with. Robbie explained our predicament and offered him two choices. Either we move him, his wife and kids into the future, or else we block off his link and the memories of the link and all Cherinian happenings.
“You will remember all of us as a strange bunch of foreigners who came and went and who also were your friends. I have checked and you and your family are all well in our time. When we get back to our time your blocks will be fully released.” Robbie smiled. “I know that you will then want to tell all your friends and family of the adventures you had with us, so I promise to visit you and show everyone how we are honoured to call you our friend.” If we are very strict in our interpretation of the truth, Robbie told a white lie. He had not checked. What he meant, and it was this that made his assertion that all are well true, was that if anything has happened to any of them, he will bring them back.
Dirkie emoted his pain as he agreed. In an effort to buy even a few extra minutes, he tried to get a conversation started. “I have one thing about the future that troubles me. Robert, the food machines, was that a good thing to do? Isn’t it going to mean that even more people will not want to work?”
“Have you ever really been desperate Dirkie, had to watch as your children starve? I’ll tell you how I think on this matter. I can imagine how a man, in the early days when we depended on the sharpness of our eyes and the swiftness of our arm, must have felt when he looked around him and saw all signs of life had departed and there was nothing to eat. Nowadays we are several steps removed from that, no longer feeding off little rabbits playing in our fields. Now we depend on our wiles, cunning or sweat to take from other men pieces of paper (that they in turn took from other men in a similar fashion ad infinitum) so that we can feed ourselves.
I do not see that we have evolved in any way if we cannot introduce into that equation a new formula that handles those numbers that fall out of the system. If we cannot feed the hungry, if one man, woman or child anywhere in the world goes through the agony of starvation while we sit by, how can we say we evolved from animals into human beings! I say that all we can lay claim to is sentience, nothing else.
4940
What pride can any of us take in naming ourselves Cherinians - which really means we are calling ourselves ‘people with empathy’, or in final analysis, humans, if we have the means to alleviate suffering and do not do so? Dirkie, whatever the other truths are, if you can feel one child who is suffering the pain and despair of hunger, how can you go out there and fill your plate with food and eat it? There is still much about our world, of our time, that sickens us, but at least we no longer have to bear that guilt.”
The girls were gentle and when they finished they made certain they left him with a warm happy feeling. He went out to the braai and became the soul of the party, making everyone laugh and dance. Unfortunately, with the loss of his memories, he started drinking heavily again.
The next morning, I shared with Robbie. “What you said about us not being able to name ourselves humans if we can stand by without caring, watching as people starve to death, I liked it. Now I can feel free to re-categorise those of the Cabal, plus those who think they are only part of something, a social and political theory called globalism, back to something else that is pre-human.” I was surprised when he did not tell me off. I guess he has had similar thoughts.
Before we left I went to our shop and took nearly all the biltong (jerky) we have and a few kilos of boerewors (even though I don’t like it) for those who would enjoy it. We shared the biltong with Eddie.
The instant we returned, we all jumped back to South Africa to release the block on Dirkie. He has moved! Robbie asked the neighbours and one of them remembered Robbie and gave Dirkie’s new address. His new house is much nicer and in a better suburb. We thought of ringing the buzzer at his gate, but then decided to jump into his garden to surprise him. Two Doberman dogs came running, snarling and intending to attack. Before we could use our powers a door opened, a young woman stepped out, saw us and shouted, “Robert! Roula! Sit!” She stared at us in puzzlement as we cracked up, laughing, pointing our fingers at Robbie and Roula, telling them to sit.
“Jesus!” She ran back into the house and we heard her shouting, “Dad, mom, they’ve returned! They are here!”
Dirkie’s wife remembered and bringing the rest of us cold drinks she made Robbie a coffee.
Robbie sat back, relaxed as we talked. “It seems you are doing well. I like your new home.”
Proudly, “I bought it. I’ll tell you something, I’m going to pay it off within five years. I’m not going to keep on paying those bastards interest forever.”
“What sort of work do you do now?”
“I went private. I was due for promotion, but my boss called me in and told me they were promoting my assistant, a coloured chap who knew nothing yet, over me. He asked me to teach him what I could, quickly. I told him to go fuck himself and I resigned. Best thing I could have done. I now have my own company and a team of technicians. We do telephone installations in new buildings, install new systems in existing offices and have a number of maintenance contracts. With Telcom promoting all the idiots who knew nothing, they lost their good engineers and they cannot offer a decent service anymore. As they say, their loss, my gain.”
“If I may make a suggestion, I’m certain the tax laws are the same in this country, ask your accountant whether it pays you to pay off your mortgage. As you are self employed, I think tax-wise it might be better for you to carry on paying interest.”
Dirkie was not listening to him, his thoughts a-tumbling around in his brain. He turned pale and stood up. “You are the Robert! I was right!” He was trembling. “I mean, you are Robert, that chap, the Cherinian! Robert Teller!” He turned to Cherine. “You are Cherine! We’ve seen you on the news!”
Robbie must have been enjoying the way they were reacting, for he delayed asking Cherine to unblock him. I was more interested in the reaction of the daughter. She had a nervous smile on her face, but she was emoting a cynical attitude, as if wondering what we need from them. Cherine must have felt her and yet she gave Robbie the thumbs up, both for the mother and the daughter. The other five kids were not at home, so if one of them turns out to be unsuitable we will end up with a problem, since Robbie intends asking Cherine to link them all.
I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.
Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου
(Alexander Zenon Eustace)23rd January, 2020
- posted: 23rd January, 2020
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