Dyllys

Dyllys found Parris and Faran down in the hold of the ship. She caught sight of Esper as she weaved among the cargo that was to be unloaded.

“Where are we anyway?” Dyllys asked as she joined Parris and Faran near the cargo bay doors.

“This is a refugee colony that Parris helped establish. It’s mostly just cobbled together ships. The main body was an abandoned space center. Abandoned because it was too close to a black hole. We had an interesting time of rescuing it,” Esper explained.

“I thought you said that you were selling this stolen cargo,” Faran retorted, “Are you seriously going to charge refugees for supplies.”

“I just said that so you didn’t get the wrong impression of me, Boy,” Parris replied.

“What impression would that be, that you are actually a humanitarian and not a pirate at all?” Dyllys interjected.

“See, now my reputation has been tarnished,” Parris replied, “Well then let us be on our way.” Parris opened the cargo bay door and the hold was immediately filled with an array of noises and smells. Faran had never been to a place that sounded so alive or smelled so inviting. “Welcome to Rinascita.”

Faran watched from the side lines as Parris handed over his cargo to an older man. He could hear them talking about the stock. Parris had gleaned a lot from Interdire. He didn’t have just AS-24 androids, but medical supplies and food as well. The old man seemed so grateful to Parris, but Parris looked as if what he was giving wasn’t enough. He looked like a man trying to pay back a debt that could never be repaid. It crossed Faran’s mind that he had no idea at all about Parris’s past. He didn’t even know his full name, let alone his planet or origin. Faran felt ashamed of that. He had never given Parris a second thought, he never stopped and asked. He had never wanted to know. What kind of person did that make him?

Faran felt something hit his leg and roll away. He looked down and picked up a ratty old ball from off the floor. When he looked up there was a little girl standing there with a smile on her face. Faran suddenly had the image of Maya flash before his eyes.

“Is this your ball?” The girl looked to be about ten years old. She had ratty clothes on but looked well cared for. She smiled and nodded her head.

“Do you wanna play with us?” the little girl asked.

Faran glanced at the ball then at Parris who had stopped what he was doing and was looking at Faran’s exchange with the little girl. Faran looked back at the little girl and smiled, “I think I would like that.”

“Okay,” the girl said as she grabbed the ball. She seemed extremely pleased with Faran’s response like she hadn’t expected him to say yes, “My name is Torin. What’s yours?”

“I’m Faran,” he said and then let himself be led deeper into Rinascita.

Dyllys came and stood next to Parris and watched Faran with the little girl. The girl was talking to Faran like she had known him all her life. Dyllys had to smile at that. The girl’s innocence and acceptance was almost akin to an android's. It suddenly seemed to Dyllys that what Parris wanted to accomplish with the androids, their gaining the ability to feel, was achievable. After all, an android was just like a child in that respect, full of potential and naivety. Parris finished talking with the old man and then stepped aside and sat on a crate while he watched a few young men unload the cargo. Dyllys joined him.

“Why do you do all of this?” Dyllys asked. She was looking past Parris into the depths of Rinascita, watching all the people happily going about their business. Dyllys couldn’t remember the last time she had seen so many smiling faces.

Parris sighed, “That is a very complicated question. I guess I do this to try to atone for my sins. The day I found out the truth about the Ordalis wasn’t very different from Faran’s own awakening. I saw some horrible things and when I realized that I had contributed to those atrocities, I wanted to do all I could to fix my mistake.”

“But you didn’t know what you were doing, why blame yourself for things you didn’t know about.”

“Ignorance is never an excuse. I should have asked more questions. When one believes the lies that they are fed, they are as guilty as those that lied to begin with. I knew something wasn’t right. I chose to ignore it. That is my sin.”

“You’re a good person Parris. You remind me a lot of my Faran.”

Parris looked at Dyllys quizzically, “What do you mean?”

Dyllys smiled, “He always wanted to fix the world. He said that to fix the world all you had to do was set in motion what you felt it should be, and to do that all you had to do was inspire one person in the direction you thought the world should go. Then they in turn would inspire another. ‘Soon,’ he would say, ‘the whole world would be exactly as you envisioned it should be.’ He was such a pacifist. He would have like you. You have the same ideals. You never know, he might have been right, maybe my Faran knew someone in your past and they made you who you are. It’s a nice thought. It makes me feel like he is still alive, even if it is just his ideals.”

“I think you are right.”

Dyllys looked at Parris, “About what?”

“He does live on. In his dreams he never imagined he would see the end of the Ordalis. His was a generational dream, something to be passed on. So you’re right, he does live on. In me, in you, and in all these people here on Rinascita who have never even heard his name. He gave birth to the start of a mighty nation.”

“Thank you,” Dyllys said and watched Faran playing with the children. Here, she could almost believe that what Parris said was true. Her Faran did live on in all of them. It was a nice thought, a good dream.

* * * *

They spent the night amongst the inhabitants of Rinascita at the behest of most everyone that they encountered. They had a feast as a celebration for the return of old friends. Parris couldn’t refuse. Late that night, a small group gathered around a holographic fire. Parris explained to Faran that a real fire out here with such a limited supply was foolish. Faran had asked why they would have a pretend one, then.

“Have you ever sat around the warm glow of a fire before?” Parris asked Faran.

“No,” Faran replied.

“I have,” Dyllys said and she was smiling as she stared into the fire. Even without the warmth of it, the coals were a captivating sight. “Faran and I would go out into the forest late at night in the fall when everything was frosted and chilled, and we would light a fire. Something about its sounds and warm glow always made us think of the most intense things. Most of my favorite conversations were said around a fire. I always thought it inspired a change in a person’s thoughts because of the change from one substance to another that we were witnessing.”

Parris gestured at Dyllys as if to say ‘there you have it,’ and Faran just laughed. There was intimate conversation going on all around them and then suddenly they could hear soft music coming from across the glowing fire. A few of the residents had come across worn instruments and were serenading those few that were still awake to hear it.

Dyllys closed her eyes and leaned her head back onto Parris’ chest, “Sounds like the Roma that used to come through my parents villa on Tossu, before it was occupied by the Ordalis.” Parris smiled and started playing with Dyllys’s silver hair. He imagined it the rich black it had been before, and then imagined her skin its brilliant olive tone. It seemed wrong for this woman to be in this form. Then he frowned.

“What happened to your hair?” he asked suddenly holding the ends of it in his hands. “Didn’t it used to be longer?”

Dyllys pulled away slowly from Parris. Faran was looking at her hair now, noticing that the length of it was indeed shorter.

“It’s nothing at all.” Parris wanted to argue with her, but he could tell she didn’t want to talk about it. He already knew what the answer was. She was dying, a lot quicker than before.

Parris could hear running footsteps coming up behind them and suddenly the music stopped. When he looked up, Esper was standing over him.

“What is it, Esper?” Parris asked.

“It’s the Interdire. They’ve found us.” A murmur began through those assembled, and then a moment of panic descended as those who were sleeping were woken.

Parris got to his feet and looked at the old man he had been talking with earlier that day. “Giuseppe, get everyone prepared to move. You have to leave this area as fast as you can.”

“What are you going to do?” Giuseppe asked.

“We’re going to give you time to get away. It’s not you that they are looking for.”

Dyllys grabbed Faran’s hand and pulled him to his feet, “Come on Faran.”

Faran looked back at the group of people at the fire, most of them running in various directions shouting to those fast asleep in their homes. Then he looked at Dyllys. She met his gaze and then let go of his hand.

“You have a choice to make. Fight or flee. I won’t make you come with us. This is your choice Faran. This is where you choose who you want to be. I’ll support whatever you choose.”

Faran looked back at the fire. He could see Torin on the other side--she too seemed to be waiting for what he would decide--and then he ran. Away from the fire and back to the ship, Dyllys close behind him.