Saturday Sample: The House of Clementine by Gill James, clementine juice,

 

CHAPTER ONE

"It's definitely a miracle," said Rozia. "I really hadn't dared to hope for this much."

Kaleem had to agree. Petri was sitting in the shade. Full sunshine might be a bit much for her, yet, even with the magic of the medicine on Zandra. She was weaving a daisy chain. Seven months ago, when they'd first come to Zandra, she could hardly stand the gentle light of a low-level electric bulb.

"She's doing well," said Kaleem. "It's nice to see her looking happy." He remembered the first time he met her. The poor child had been in constant pain. Now she seemed like almost any other child.

Rozia touched his arm. "I really am grateful. You know that, don't you? To you. And the Zandrians."

Kaleem shrugged. "There have to be some perks about being the Peace Child." He cringed inwardly at his own words. He never liked to admit to this role. He wasn't really doing much at the moment in any case. He felt a bit guilty that he had such a generous allowance from both Zandra and Terrestra and that even Zenoto invited him back frequently. He wasn't actually doing any work for anyone at the moment. Sure, he had to keep his languages and his knowledge of other cultures up but this was so much of his nature now that he would do this even if he wasn't paid.

"This has been lovely," said Rozia. "But we shouldn't push our luck." She turned to her stepdaughter. "Come on little missy. Time to go." 

Petri grimaced. "Oh. Do we have to?" 

It looked as if there was going to be an argument. It was good to see Petri behaving like any other kid.

"Yes, we do," said Rozia. She shook her head and glanced up at Kaleem. "I don't want to take any risks. This is the longest she's been out in daylight."

"I'm sure she'll be fine."

Rozia bit her lip and frowned. 

Kaleem touched her arm. "They are good, you know, the medics here."

"I know. I can't help worrying, though." Rozia started gathering up her things. "Come on then, Petri."

"Oh." The little girl began to pout . "I like it out here with Kaleem."

"Kaleem has to go as well. He's got work to do."

 He didn't want to go. He just wanted to stay here forever and stare at her. The woman who would be the love of his life forever, no matter what happened. Even if she eventually found herself another man. She was some sort of angel or saint. He remembered how good she'd been with the Adulkis. She'd been so patient with these difficult, both physically strong and strong-willed adults who'd behaved like children and they'd loved her. She'd forgiven him for the really horrid way he'd treated her and she'd understood that he'd only left her because he thought he was a danger to her. Now she was taking so much care of a child that wasn't her own.  On top of all that she was as beautiful as ever. The accident hadn't left any permanent scars –not any that showed, in any case. It was a surprise – and a relief – to him that she was on her own. 

"Come on then," said Rozia, grabbing Petri's hand.

"I'll walk with you to the transporter station."

Rozia nodded. "That will be nice."

Petri took Kaleem's hand. "Now you two are joined together, through me."

If only.

Rozia blushed deep red and looked away. "Don't be silly, Petri."   

 

As they walked Kaleem couldn't swallow. He couldn't think what to say to Rozia either. Whatever he said would be a lie; there was only one thing on his mind – how much he still loved her. He ought to get that out of the way first but suppose she totally rejected him? If he didn't confront her with this he could remain hopeful in his ignorance. Rozia just seemed embarrassed. He hated as well that he'd made her feel awkward. Perhaps he should keep his distance from her, pretend to be busy, put the whole problem on hold.

Petri had seemed oblivious to it all and had skipped along the pleasant pathway that was surrounded by artificial trees and bathed in late spring-light. She was singing to herself despite the brightness. Bringing her to Zandra had been the right thing to do. That was something at least. She would never have made this much progress on Terrestra.

A transporter came very quickly and Rozia and Petri clambered aboard. Something sank in him as they waved goodbye. Petri was enthusiastic. Rozia just looked sad. Was that a good sign? Was she sad that they were parting again? Or was it because she regretted seeing him today?

Oh, it was all too difficult.

He decided not to wait for a transporter himself. He'd do what he often did when he felt stressed. He began to jog, though he couldn't help chanting to himself as he ran "She loves me, she loves me not."  Well, whatever. Of one fact he was sure: he loved her and always would.          

It would have been three stops on the transporter, so a fair distance in fact. Yet it would only take him about twenty minutes to jog there. He began to pound along the pavements. They were crowded today and even the newly introduced channelling was not keeping people apart. At one point he almost bumped into a Zandrian droid.

"Oy, watch it snazzy boy," commented the machine.

Odd. That went against the normal robot code, didn't it? Though perhaps calling a Terrestran a "snazzy boy" was harmless enough. The machine was actually not hurting human life. But why would it bother? There must be some wrong programming there.

It didn't improve his temper. Nor did the jog have the normal mood-enhancing effect. It just made him feel tired, drained and aware that he wasn't quite as fit as he used to be.

He carried on pushing himself, even though his legs were beginning to ache and he was getting so out of breath that his lungs hurt.  At least when he finally got home he could be pleased that he'd kept going. So he arrived at his apartment block out of breath, sweating and with hardly the strength to command the door to open.    

He leant against the wall whilst he tried to recover. A few seconds later his breathing and heart rate slowed to something more normal. He still felt a bit weak. He decided to leave it a little while longer before attempting to get into the building.

One of the campaign holoposters caught his eye. His iris activated it. He watched with a mixture of disbelief and nausea as a fair-skinned, blond-haired Zandrian, who was so perfectly Zandrian that he was sure she was really a droid, described how Zandrians should stop offering so much medical help to people from other One World Community planets.

"We must put other Zandrians first," she said. "Whilst we feel duty-bound to offer help to the needy from elsewhere, are we actually helping them if all they do is drain our resources? Wouldn't it be better if we educated them to look after themselves more efficiently? Zandra's resources are not infinite."

"Stop," said Kaleem quietly. He should get the holoposter reported.

Now the strength returned to his limbs and his heart rate quickened again. He ran up to the apartment block door. 

The monitor recognised his iris before he'd even said his name. The door opened immediately. He felt a level of fitness returning. The poster had fired him up.

He remembered living in the old cave system on Terrestra. He could still see the Z Zone there as well. That place where people lived outside of the system because of their sincere beliefs. Everything was improving now and that was down to people working together. How dare anyone try to stop that?     

He decided to walk up the twenty flights. Half way up he started running again.

Find your copy here 

 

Sunday Serial: The House of Clementine by Gill James, orange juice,

 

Rozia’s Ulog

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update. I'm sorry it’s been so long.  I'm not sure where the time went. 

We quickly got used to life back on Terrestra. It was almost as if we've never been away. Except of course Terrestra had moved on too and we've been living somewhere quite different. We took one of the refurbished former Z Zone underground apartments. They're almost unrecognisable and really luxurious now. Each has its own piece of cultivated land above ground level and we've actually managed to grow some fruit and vegetables. Being underground was better for Petri and we could go up on to the surface to deal with the garden at night. Some people thought we were a bit strange until we explained about Petri's illness.

"So why didn't you stay on Zandra?" they asked.

They couldn't grasp how difficult it had become there for outsiders like us. Surprisingly, Terrestrans have become really tolerant. Who'd have thought it? They accepted us anyway.

I managed to get work as a research assistant and rarely had to go to meets. I've been looking into super-crop growing. It's all so easy on Terrestra. Since the poison cloud went the planet has become really fertile again.

Petri enjoyed her schooling. She even managed to get to the meets and got to know the other kids. The medication isn't too bad here. They were able to give her enough to allow her a few hours in daylight without getting too uncomfortable.

At first we communicated with Kaleem quite a bit. I always made sure he could see I was wearing the brooch. In fact I never take it off - even though it's quite annoying when Petri keeps asking when we're going to get attached. It got really awkward though. He could never say much about what he's doing. I told him a little bit about my work and how Petri's doing. I've explained about the changes on Terrestra. Then there didn't seem anything more to talk about.

I was almost afraid of saying too much. I wanted to tell him how much I missed him. I'd have come back to Zandra in a heartbeat if he'd asked me. I just didn't dare say it, though. I had no idea what he was thinking. He looked so sad all the time and he was quite quiet. Can the Peace Child ever have a permanent attachment?

It became really worrying when he was tried and then confined on Zenoto. I'm sure they were listening in to all of our conversations. Perhaps that was why he didn't say much. I suppose also as he couldn't get out often he hadn't really got a lot to talk about.

He did tell me about some of the things that were going on on Zenoto. It was changing. The Zenotons were trusting each other less. It used to be almost like paradise. Now they were ready to stab each other in the back. It was no longer the Zenoto we all knew and respected. It had become like any other planet. Worse than many, in fact.

Then of course he had to go and disappear. Typical Peace Child trick. I tried to tell myself this was a good reason why I should give up all thoughts of ever being with him again. I should try and make my life on Terrestra really work.

Petri, of course, saw through me.

"You should track him down. Find out where he's got to. Let him know what you're thinking."

I always have to do what Petri says. She is so wise.

I got in touch with Nazaret and Marijam. They hadn't heard anything either and Marijam was clearly as worried as I was. Nazaret was more pragmatic, though. "Peace Child stuff again. You know what it's like. Anyway, no news is good news. We would have heard if anything bad had happened."

Then we did hear. He had been found. He was well. He had reconciled two opposing parties again. The threat was gone.

"You should get in touch," said Nazaret. "He'll be pleased. But he'll be shy about making the first move."

"Go on then. Do it," said Petri as soon as we finished the communication.

Well it took me a couple of days to get round to it.

He seemed shy at first, it was true. But as soon as I saw him I knew I wanted to be with him again. I think he wanted that too though he only told me in a roundabout way. It was all sorted, he said. Zenoto and Zandra would go back to the way they had been. The discontent was over. Trust would soon come back. "It would be safe again here for you and Petri," he'd said. "Will you come back?"

"I'll think about it," I said.

"There's nothing to think about," said Petri after Kaleem had disappeared from the screen. She was right, there wasn't.

Two days later I contacted him again and told him we would be back on Zandra as soon as possible.                                   

We had to wait weeks before we could get a place on a supercraft, even with Kaleem paying. But we're off tomorrow. We're a little scared after what happened on the way here and I'm still a bit apprehensive about being with Kaleem again but it seems like the right thing to do. Yes, I'm sure it is.

My next post will be from Zandra!   

                                 

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

Kaleem bit his nails as he waited at the supercraft docking station. It was busy today. Trade was working well within the One World Community now. Zenotons had become frequent visitors as they came to teach the Zandrians the mechanics of the non-monetary trade system. Zandrians were eager to learn. It had taken Rozia and Petri a while to secure their place on a supercraft. Terrestrans were finding a new lust for interplanetary travel.

At least they’d been in touch. Petri was excited about coming back. And every time Kaleem had spoken to Rozia she had been wearing her brooch. A good sign perhaps. But what would it be like when they got there? Would they be awkward with each other?

A Zenoton craft had docked just a few minutes before and its passengers were making their way into the waiting area. They had that confused look that all supercraft travellers had on arrival: they were bemused by the slight change in gravitational pull and the difference in air make up. Plus these seemed not to be seasoned travellers.

An attached couple fumbled clumsily. Oh come on. Why couldn’t they get this hall cleared faster? 

They wouldn’t let Rozia’s supercraft disembark until these people were out of the building. Their supercraft had left the stand and he could see Rozia’s hovering a little way away.

As the Zenotons made their way to the exit, the supercraft from Terrestra glided nearer. They always looked like huge whales as they moved gently into place. This one was moving a little too slowly, though, for his liking. It took several minutes that seemed like hours for it to finish docking, for the doors to open and the passengers to start making their way along the corridors. He watched the video hoping that they would appear any moment. What seemed like thousands of Terrestrans and a few Zandrians filed by. No sign of them. Had they changed their minds?

 Of course not. He shouldn’t be so silly. They’d spoken to him from the supercraft only two days ago. They’d been excited about getting here then. But what if they’d now decided to stay on the craft and return to Terrestra on her?

He bit his lip anxiously as the passengers carried on filing past.

Still no sign of them but then he spotted somebody he did know. It was so clear now why they had cast Karlo Dunston as him in the film. They did look quite alike. Especially today.

Karlo made his way over to Kaleem. He offered him a Terrestran handshake. “Howdy, alter-ego.” He nodded. “Love the eye shadow.”

Oh goodness. He’d almost forgotten about that. What would Rozia and Petri make of it? But they’d seen it and not commented. How strange.

Karlo rubbed Kaleem’s shoulder. “I was thinking of doing something similar. Being a bit snazzier. Seeing you like this gives me permission somehow.”

“So, what took you to Terrestra?”

“Family matters. Plus I fancied the trip.”

“Family matters?” Kaleem had always thought he was the only Terrestran / Zandrian hybrid.

Karlo laughed. “Bro, your father wasn’t the only one to sow a few wild oats.”

He wasn’t? “So were you…?”

“No, no. I was developed in a tube. But note my name begins with ‘K’!” He tapped the side of his nose. “Terrestra wasn’t as isolated as it thought it was. There were more visitors than you’d imagine.”

What? Was this Hidden Information?     

 Then he saw them.

They walked slowly past the camera. Petri was skipping ahead and then running back to Rozia. Petri waved up at the camera. Of course she’d figured out that he would be watching them arrive. In just a few minutes they would be with him.

“You must excuse me,” he murmured to Karlo. ”I can see my visitors.”

Karlo nodded. “Catch up some time then?”

They shook hands again and Kaleem returned to looking at the screens.   

Then there they were, at the barrier. Petri rushed forward and flung her arms round him.

“You’re looking good,” Kaleem whispered. He looked over her head towards Rozia who was clearly holding back. She was smiling though and then she started walking slowly towards him.

Petri was now dancing around him. “We’ve come back for ever, you know. Rozia says if you’ll have us. You will have us, won’t you?” 

“Of course I will. You know that, surely.”

Rozia was almost there. He could see that she was wearing the brooch. She was grinning now.

“Welcome home,” he said, when she was finally standing right next to him.  

She nodded and pulled him into an embrace.   

 

Sunday Serial, The House of Clementine by Gill James, orange juice,

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

As far as Kaleem could tell the voice was coming from outside of this building.

"Help. Is there anyone there? Help. Can you find me?"

The voice sounded familiar. It was definitely that of a female though he couldn't quite remember whose.

"Keep on shouting. I'll find you."

"Who are you?"

Kaleem hesitated. Should he reveal who he was? "Don't you have a communicator that works?"

The woman laughed. "That stopped working a long time ago."

He was now half way along the corridor that led to the outside. The voice was getting fainter again. So, she must be in the basement of another building nearby.

"Can you find anything to make a noise with?"

There was no reply. Never mind. Perhaps he'd be able to find her anyway. He sensed that she was to the right of him.

Then the tapping started. It sounded like metal on other metal. Good. She'd found something. 

The corridor now twisted and turned and gradually daylight mixed with the artificial light. The tapping was very faint but as soon as he was back at the surface and in the sunlight it became louder again. Yes, it was coming from the building next-door.

"I'm nearly there," Kaleem called.

He pushed open the door to the building and immediately found a simple staircase down to the cellar. Was this all a bit too easy? Was it some sort of trap?

"I think you're just above me now."

Now he recognised her voice. Dr Joahnsa Brooken. But it could still be a trap, couldn't it?

He crept down the stairs, looking and listening all the time. There were several doors in a hallway. One was partly open. He pushed it with his foot. It opened completely and artificial light flooded the room.

There she was. A very good holo or the real thing. Dr Joahnsa Brooken. But looking tired and a little dirty.

"I knew it," she cried. "I recognised your voice."

Kaleem nodded. "How long have you been here?"

"A long time. And it's a long story."

"Well, it'll take us quite a while to get back to civilisation. No doubt you'll be able to tell me on the way."

"I can’t move just yet. I've been tied up a long time. And gagged."

Kaleem frowned. "There's no sign of any ropes or a gag now."

"No. That's the puzzling thing. The ropes and the gag just disappeared a short while ago. That's when I started shouting. The room went warmer and stopped smelling so putrid. Then every time I moved a little the light came on for a few seconds."

She started rubbing her legs and arms vigorously.

"Tell me then."     

"It was actually about a week after you came to see me with Petri and Rozia." She paused and sighed. "That poor child. That's just another regrettable part of this whole business. And I just happened to be working on some ideas about how we might further help her. I was really getting somewhere. It was such a pity.

"Anyway, the door communicator sounded and two officials from the One World Community Steering Group presented themselves."

"You let them in?"

"Not straight away, no."

"What made you think they were genuine?"

"They passed all the identification tests. The dataserve didn't pick up any discrepancies. They checked out with the One World Site."

Kaleem nodded. "And what did they want?"  

She bit her lip. "What a fool I was. But they were convincing. They told me they wanted me to work on some top-secret disease control with a specialised community."

"The Daschians?"

"Yes. The Daschians."

"Why them?"

"Because they live a simpler life. Lived, I should say. Disease spread more quickly but immunity also increased more easily."

"And is that what you've been doing?"

Joahnsa rolled her eyes. "Not exactly."

"When did you realise that it was a con?"

"It took a long time, actually. When I first got here, everything seemed normal. They gave me an apartment that suited my status. You know, comfortable, bordering on luxurious. If anything, it was slightly nicer than my normal one. Nice view of the woodlands from the window. State of the art dataserve. Better finishes on the furnishings."

"What about the journey?"

"Again totally luxurious." She rubbed her eyes. "But looking back there was a bit of a clue there, I suppose. I was kept totally isolated. I wasn't allowed to talk to other passengers. In fact I'm not sure there were other passengers."

A whole supercraft just for her? That didn't seem believable. "Was that uncomfortable, being so alone?"

She laughed. "They gave me plenty of work to do. Besides, I don't keep a lot of company normally. I'm usually too absorbed in my work."       

"What was it like, then, working with the Daschians?"

"Fine. Absolutely fine. They're just normal people, you know. They've just always been a bit isolated."

This sounded familiar. "Just normal people". That was what he found over and over again. He'd met plenty of isolated communities. He'd even belonged to one himself once. "So, what were the particular outcomes of the isolation for them?"

"A low level of attachments so the community was gradually dying out. Fear of letting outsiders in because they might bring disease."

Oh even more familiar. But they didn't seem to suffer from the poverty he'd seen in Terrestra's former Z Zone. "But there were no problems with supplies of food or energy?"

Joahnsa shook her head. "No. All supplies were delivered by droid. Droids maintained all life support systems as well. The Daschians had no need to contact other universals."

"So tell me more about the work that you did."

Joahnsa shook her head. "It seemed perfectly legitimate. I did find a defect in them. Every single member of the Daschian community I tested was suffering from an as yet not recognised disease that stopped their immune system functioning properly. It may be that at some point in the past they knew this but have since forgotten. That may have been why they isolated themselves."

"So it all sounds like legitimate research. So why did the One World Community want you to do it and why so secretly?"

"Because for a starter, they weren't the One World Community. They were really working for Exton."

"So, nothing to do with you helping a couple of Terrestrans?"

"I don't think they were even aware of that. No, they wanted to scare the Daschians."

"Why?"

"To help convince other Zenotons that Exton is right."

"I don't follow."

"The Daschians make only a little contribution to the Zenoton economic life. They did some outsourced work. If the Zenoton enabling system is going to be replaced by a monetarist one, they may not have survived anyway. In such a system they would not be able to get the medical aid they are almost certainly going to need in the future." Joahnsa covered her eyes. "It was my job to show them that."         

  "When did you realise there was something wrong?"

"It took a long time. It really did. It only started to become clear two days before the suicides."

"So what happened?"

"All three executives seemed on edge and then one started threatening me. Told me I'd better get on with reaching a conclusion to my findings."

"He was hostile?"

"Yes, he said they would have to replace me and that if they did I'd have to be held in isolation indefinitely - perhaps forever. I knew too much."

"How did you react?"

"I told them I could only go so fast. But they then said I had to present what I had found to the Daschians straight away."

"That must have been tough."

"It was. They looked devastated. When I'd finished speaking there was silence. They all left the meeting room without saying a word. And the supposed One World Executives were all but dancing for joy."

"So that's what led to the suicides?"

"It seemed so at first. I was pretty much left to my own devices after that meeting. Now that it was clear that the Executives were bogus I didn't feel inclined to work for them anymore. They didn't come near me, though. So I just went for a walk, looking for some of the people I'd got to know. I couldn't find anybody anywhere. But then I heard a vague noise from next-door - I think where you've just been. There is a huge secret meeting place down there. Did you know?"

"No. I only saw a disused slightly decrepit building."

"How long have I been here exactly?"

"How long do you think?"

"A few days?"

Kaleem shook his head. There was a lot that didn't make sense about this. Obviously Joahnsa was a bit stiff from having been tied up but otherwise she seemed fine. She ought to be dehydrated by now. "Maybe a little bit longer. So, what happened at the meeting?"

She shook her head. "It was terrible. They were planning the mass suicide. They had it all really under control. They'd stock-piled the right sort of lethal wands. Women and children first, whilst they were heavily sedated, and then the men." She sighed. "I tried to stop them. I really did. I told them we could find a way of making them healthier. But they told me it wasn't just about this disease. They didn't want to live in this new form of society."

"So, when were you tied up?"

"Shortly after the suicides started. In some way it was a relief; I didn't have to watch it. It was eerily quiet, though. They were so calm about it all. And it was then that I found out the truth about the people who had brought me here. They admitted that they were working for Exton. They said that my work here was now done and that I wasn't needed any more. And then they went away."  

"Scary. But it doesn't explain why the bands and the gag just disappeared."

"No, it doesn't. But I can still feel the effects of them." She rubbed her wrist. 

"What were the executives were like?"

Joahnsa shrugged. "They looked like quite normal Zenotons. Their ordinariness completely fooled me. There was one thing, though. One of them had a small tattoo on his arm. A picture of a small orange hanging from a branch. Another had a badge with the same picture on his sleeve. These were so tiny I didn't notice them at first."

"Did the third have anything similar?"

She shook her head. "But he did often wear that orange colour that was in the tattoo and badge. Does that mean anything?"

"Have you heard of the House of Clementine?"

"No. Is that what all of that orange is to do with?"

"Most likely."

"So what is it?"

Kaleem frowned. "Apparently it causes people to commit suicide en mass."

"How do they do it?"

He sighed. "It's a long story and I can't be certain. But it's a very perfectionist organisation. It's also quite controlling and will get rid of anybody that gets in its way."

"Was I getting in its way, then?"

"They probably saw it that way." He hesitated to mention the beast. That would sound so improbable to someone as scientific as Joahnsa, though there was still the mystery of the disappearing restraints.

"So, what next?"

"Well we need to get out of here for a start. There have been massive floods so that is going to be a challenge. But I have a feeling that some good people will be on to that already. It's all beginning to turn around."

"Oh? How do you know?"

Kaleem grinned. "Peace Child instinct, I guess."

"I could do with some of that. Seriously though, how can I follow this?"

"You've done some really valuable work here. It will have another application, surely? It's terrible about the suicides but they weren't your fault."

Joahnsa grunted. "Difficult not to think that I caused them."

"Well you must stop that. And how about in the meantime you do more work on Petri's case? Perhaps we can persuade her and Rozia to come back to Zandra." If only.

Joahnsa stood up and brushed herself down. "Okay then. Let's go. I'll follow you."

Kaleem heard footsteps in the corridor.

"Kaleem are you there?" someone called. "Is everything all right?"                                             

 

          

     

 

   

                                

          

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

Kaleem and Joahnsa made their way outside. All traces of the horrible smell had disappeared. The air was now sweet and fresh. There were four people waiting for him: Jadee and three men he only vaguely recognised. Kaleem quickly introduced Joahnsa to Jadee and filled Jadee in with what had happened. The three men introduced themselves. 

“We don’t know exactly who these so-called One World Community executives were, except that they were undoubtedly from the House of Clementine,” Kaleem explained.    

One of the men stepped forward. ”Did you find anything of this beast?”

Kaleem shook his head. “No. The place was empty. There were signs that somebody or something had been living there but it’s not been there for a good deal of time now, I should think. There was some excrement but it doesn’t smell anymore. It seems to have been some sort of animal. I’m not sure how intelligent it was. It was well housed so maybe somebody’s been looking after it. Come and look for yourselves.”

Jadee shook her head. “We need to get on if we’re to get to the bottom of all of this.”

Kaleem looked at the three men and then at Jadee. “Doesn’t it feel as if something has changed?”

Jadee shrugged. ”What do you mean?”

“Doesn’t it all seem lighter?”

“I think I know what you mean, but it doesn’t really make sense.” Jadee was frowning and biting her lip.

“So what can we do?” asked one of the men.

“Maybe we should go in after all then and see if there are any clues as to who or what has been living there,” said Jadee.

Should he confess what he knew? Would they believe him? Change was happening, he was sure. But when would it show up? 

“All right. Let’s do it.” Kaleem indicated that they should follow him. He hoped that all trace of the beast really had gone.

They all started making their way towards the entrance.

One of the men’s communicator’s buzzed just as he was about to enter the cave. He pressed the send button and stopped walking as he watched what was happening on the small screen. “Wait,” he muttered. “You’ve got to see this. Turn on your news channels.”

They all did as he asked. Kaleem could not believe what he was seeing. Pangwit Exton was speaking. “There is actually no need for a president on Zenoto. Yes, perhaps there needs to be some sort of administrator. A chairperson, even, as they used to be called. But not one that has a casting vote. Just someone to keep order and make sure constitutional rules are followed.”

“So how will the planet be governed?” asked the Zenoton reporter.

“By a group of Zenotons who will sit around a round table, like Terrestra’s King Arthur and his knights. They will be the democratically elected representatives of the people who will work with the best interests of the people always in mind.”

“And what of yourself, sir?”

“Naturally I shall step down. I hope, though, that I may be elected as an executive.”

“And will you still push to change the monetary system?”

“No. It’s not in the Zenotons’ best interests. I was wrong. I was wrong about the barrier too. I have ordered it to be taken down.” Exton nodded and walked back into the building behind him.

“This is an extraordinary turn of events,” said the reporter. “And just as extraordinary is what is happening on the streets.”

The camera panned out to show Zenotons shaking hands, hugging and patting backs.

Kaleem quickly found a Zandrian channel. The same was happening there. The brown tunics were mixing freely with the ordinary people. A Zandrian reporter’s face appeared. “All of this on top of the latest poll that shows that over 97% of Zandrians wish after all to remain in the One World Community. Another referendum will be held tomorrow.”

And Terrestra? It had remained quiet and mysterious during all of this upheaval. What was going on there? What was happening to Rozia and Petri?

His communicator buzzed. Then they were there. Rozia and Petri waving to him. They both seemed to glow. “It’s great, isn’t it?” said Rozia.

“Yes, but what’s been happening on Terrestra?”

“Not a lot. Everything’s been really quiet. They shut down a bit. They started to cut themselves off again, like when we were younger.”

“You look well, Petri.”

She giggled and waved.

Rozia smiled. “She’s been spoilt by the New-Zoners. We’ve still been using the Zandrian wands but we’ve been eating a lot of the fresh vegetables grown here. It’s done us both good.”

“Good.” Kaleem couldn’t work out what to say next. He longed to know whether she would come back to Zandra. Could they take their relationship forward again? Or had that just been a one off?

In the end they both spoke at once. Petri laughed. “Honestly, you two. Just get on with it.”

Kaleem nodded. “You go first.”

“Well, she’s doing really well. But we’ve been invited back to Zandra. They’re going to work on a permanent cure. So, we’re setting off as soon as we can get places on a supercraft. Will you be coming back soon?”

“I hope so. I really hope so.”

Joahnsa grinned. “I hope I’ll be able to help too.”   

He was interrupted by Jadee. “Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything else here to do. Let’s get back to civilisation.”       

About the Peace Child Series:

Book 1 The Prophecy

Kaleem Malkendy is different – and on Terrestra, different is no way to be.
Everything about Kaleem marks him out form the rest: the blond hair and dark skin, the uncomfortable cave where he lives and the fact that he doesn’t know his father. He’s used to unwelcome attention, but even so he’d feel better if some strange old man didn’t keep following him around.
That man introduces himself and begins to explain the Babel Prophecy – and everything in Kaleem’s life changes forever.    

 

Book 2 Babel

Babel is the second part of the Peace Child trilogy. Kaleem has found his father and soon finds the love of his life, Rozia Laurence, but he is still not comfortable with his role as Peace Child. He also has to face some of the less palatable truths about his home planet: it is blighted by the existence of the Z Zone, a place where poorer people live outside of society, and by switch-off, compulsory euthanasia for a healthy but aging population, including his mentor, Razjosh. The Babel Tower still haunts him, but it begins to make sense as he uncovers more of the truth about his past and how it is connected with the problems in the Z Zone. Kaleem knows he can and must make a difference, but at what personal cost?

 

Book 3 The Tower 

Kaleem has given up the love of his life in order to protect her. He now lives and works on Zandra. A sudden landquake, not known on the planet for many years, destroys many of the forests his father has planted to bring life back to the planet. The new relationship Kaleem has helped to establish between the Terrestrans and the Zandrians is also under threat. A third party gets involved and Kaleem has to use all of his diplomatic skills to keep everything on track. Mistakes cost him dearly and he looks set to lose Rozia for a second time. The Babel Tower mystery, others mysteries and sadness plague him. Can he find a way through to fulfil his role as the Peace Child?

 

Find out more here.  

 

Gill James is published by The Red Telephone, Butterfly and Chapeltown.  

She edits CafeLit.

She writes for the online community news magazine: Talking About My Generation

She is a Lecturer in Creative Writing and has an MA in Writing for Children and PhD in Creative and Critical Writing    

http://www.gilljameswriter.com  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B001KMQRKE

https://twitter.com/GillJames

See other episodes: https://www.cafelitmagazine.uk/search/label/The%20House%20of%20Clementine

 

 

                                              

                   

     

 

 

Sunday Serial: The House of Clementine by Gill James, orange juice

 

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

Mist swirled all around them. There was a stale smell in the air. The ground was slippery, as if they were walking on damp leaves but when he looked down Kaleem could see nothing. He could hardly feel the ground beneath him either. "Is this place for real?" he murmured.

"Oh yes."

"Where are we then actually?"

"You may as well say we're walking though the mists of time. Excuse the cliché."

"Oh."

"Just keep walking. Concentrate. Just listen to your footsteps. Think only about your breathing."

Alright. He'd been there before. Meditation had always been good. Meditating and moving at the same time was a bit different though.

The ground did gradually become more solid. The mist cleared a little.

"So now we have it," muttered Meelak. "Now it's becoming real."

"What's becoming real?"

"Me. You. The Beast."

"What do you mean?"

"How on Zenoto do you think all of this happened? Or anywhere? Every reality is the result of a dream."

"Are you saying I dreamt you?"

"Didn't you?"

Had he? Kaleem couldn't decide. Perhaps he'd always been a bit bothered about how plain and boring he was. And yet when he was younger he'd always worried about how different he was from others. Had he tried too hard to be the same?

He glanced at Meelak. He positively sparkled. Did he want to be like that? He thought he rather did, actually. He held himself taller. The mist lifted completely. The sun was shining and steam was coming from the ground.   

Meelak stopped walking. "We are almost at the sacred place," he explained.

"The sacred place?"

"The very centre. Listen to the silence."

Kaleem listened. He could hear nothing.

"Have you ever heard such silence?" Meelak asked.

Kaleem certainly hadn't. He shook his head. There was just nothing. No sound at all. He couldn't even hear his own breathing. 

"Some call it the still small voice. Some find it through meditation or what the old monks used to call mindfulness. Empty your mind. If you can't, count backwards. See every single number and think only of the numbers."

Ah. That again. That was at least familiar.

"Start with a hundred."

Kaleem began to see the numbers in his head. 100, 99, 98, ...

Meelak disappeared. The mists dissolved. All he could see now was bright light. He was still aware of Meelak, though. He couldn't hear him or see him but he knew that he was still there.

"Just concentrate on the numbers," a voice in his head said. Was it his own voice? Meelak's? Someone else's?

He was suddenly aware of an almost overwhelming peacefulness.

"Don't think about it. Don't try to define it," the voice said. "Open your eyes and look."

He opened his eyes.

Everywhere was light. A white light, edged with gold.

He could now see Meelak again. "This is the sacred place. Remember it well."

"Is it really a physical place?" asked Kaleem.

"It's real. Which is more real? The truth or the physical world? What is the physical world?"

Kaleem began to hear soft sounds. The hint of a breeze. The rustling of leaves, perhaps. Maybe a stream running in the distance.

"Oh yes," said Meelak. "It's hard to stay in the sacred space."

"What's its purpose?"

"It'll always bring more clarity when you go back to your own world. Come to it often. But now we have to move on."

He sort of had done that, hadn't he, from time to time? This type of meditation. Perhaps he could now use it more often as a tool?

And he had the feeling that now something had changed though he couldn't quite define what. 

"Look," said Meelak. "Look at me closely." He stopped walking, put his hands on Kaleem's shoulders and turned Kaleem to face him. He nodded.  "Yes, look at me really carefully."

Kaleem found it hard to keep eye contact with Meelak.

Meelak shook his head. "You've got to look right into my eyes. You've got to see who I really am. There's nothing to be afraid of. I am you and you are me. At the moment we are two extremes. There is a middle way. We must find that and then we can be one. We're better together. Come on now. Look into my eyes."

Kaleem swallowed and tilted his head upwards. He felt drawn in by Meelak's eyes.

He pulled back a little and looked at Meelak's face. It was actually rather fine. His features were emphasised by the lines and shading. He was well defined. Did it give him more authority? Kaleem peeped though his eyelashes. He could still see Meelak clearly. He looked bold and confident.

"So, what is it you see, Peace Child? Is there anything abhorrent here?"

Kaleem shook his head. Meelak was only beautiful.

Meelak grinned and nodded. "Don't ever forget any of this."

Could he ever be like that though? Really? He touched his own forehead. Then he looked at his finger. There was a smudge of pink on it.

Meelak smiled. "You have to make the changes."

"How can I do that? I'm so used to being me."

"You'll figure it out."

Kaleem wondered whether he would. How could he become more like Meelak? Yet apparently he was already. He looked again at the smudge on his finger.

Meelak nodded. "You're only going at half speed at the moment. All that you do is good, very good even verging on excellent. But it lacks the final buzz."

Kaleem nodded. "Yes I get that. I really do get it. But how do we become one?"          

"You need to stop thinking of us being separate. We are actually one."

"It's difficult."

"Oh yes. Most certainly. Nobody said it had to be easy." Meelak jumped and clicked his heels in the air.

Was he supposed to do that?

Meelak grinned. "Go on. What's stopping you?"

Kaleem tried it. He landed clumsily and a pain shot through his ankle.

"Don't worry. You'll get used to it."

Meelak started humming. He couldn't do that, could he?

"It's easy, you know. Everyone can sing. Everyone can hum. Just hear the note before you attempt to make it. Take a deep breath first."

Kaleem took in that breath. And surprise! He found he could hum.

They carried on tramping forwards. Their footsteps were just as in tune as their humming. Kaleem didn't know where they were going. It didn't seem to matter. All that actually mattered was that they were together. Humming and walking together felt like working together.  

Kaleem began to notice odd things. Light on a leaf. Clouds forming shapes. Faces in rocks. Were these his thoughts or were they Meelak's? Occasionally he looked at Meelak. Meelak smiled back and nodded. "You're getting there."

The ground started to slope away. The path went down steeply. It was covered with leaves, just like on Terrestra. Without stopping to think, Kaleem jumped into the leaves and then slid down the incline. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Meelak doing the same.

Kaleem felt a strange jolt. Then Meelak was no longer there. Had they become one now? Did he feel any different? Kaleem couldn't tell. 

He carried on down the slope, not really sure where he was going.

He touched his face and then looked at his fingers. Yes, they were smudged again but this time the colour was darker. He'd become Meelak then? But what was left of Kaleem? Did he feel any different? Maybe. Less frustrated. More willing just to see what would happen. Perhaps that was useful.         

Kaleem carried on walking. He could really sense Meelak inside him now. But then Meelak had always been there hadn't he? Or should have been? He still had to get that sense of oneness rather than that of there being some separation. He walked on, one foot in front of the other. He started to hum again. That at least felt natural now.

He would have liked to look in a mirror. Fat chance of that out here. But as he looked down to the ground he noticed something silvery and shiny. A small piece of metal. He picked it up. He held it up in front of him. It made an efficient enough mirror. Oh, yes, he was Meelak indeed. But his eyes were Kaleem's. Was he going to carry on looking like this? Would others accept him this way? Time would tell, he supposed.

He put the piece of metal into his pocket. That was a Kaleem act all right.

He still wasn't sure where he was going. He was confident, though, that he was going in the right direction. He stopped worrying. Meelak became a little more cautious. The scenery was changing. He was now walking on a path. The sky was becoming brighter, the mist now completely gone. He would soon be where he needed to be, he knew it.  

He sensed he was nearing civilisation or at least a place where civilisation had once been. What looked like abandoned houses began to appear at the roadside. What were these places? What had happened? In the distance he could see there was somewhere more built up.

He sensed, too, something he thought might be to do with other people's feelings. A feeling of utter blackness. Meelak? No. They were one now, weren't they? And Meelak would never feel that desolate, would he? There was a faintly unpleasant smell as well. It gradually got stronger.

Then he was in the middle of the built-up place he'd seen in the distance. It was exactly where he'd been when everything had gone black and Meelak had appeared.               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

This was it then? The place where the most evil part of the Clementine Order was hanging out. What happened to all of those ideas of excellence, then? This was so poor and desolate. Even Terrestra’s Z Zone had been more pleasant. It had at least functioned. But this place was squalid and deserted. The door was battered. There was a smell of decaying rubbish. It was deadly silent. 

“Anyone there?” called Kaleem.

He thought he heard a groan. It didn’t sound quite human. He pushed at the door. It crumbled and gave way. A cloud of dust rose into the air, making him cough and making his eyes run.

This wasn’t really a proper dwelling at all. It was a cave with a door across its entrance. It was cold and damp inside. The smell of rotting rubbish grew stronger and made him gag.

“Where are you?” Kaleem called again.

Something rustled. Were there rats as well? 

His eyes got used to the dark. The dim light from his communicator helped him to see a little more easily as well. Maybe it wasn’t just a cave after all. The walls were certainly lined with high quality tiles though they were filthy. There were tiles underfoot as well but they were broken in places. 

He could hear a low moaning, like someone in pain.

He took a deep breath. Yes, he needed to see what this was all about. It was the sort of thing he did, wasn’t it? It didn’t get any easier though. Confronting what might be labelled the enemy was always scary even when you knew what to do.   

He followed the corridors towards the noise. As he rounded one corner he could see that he was moving towards the light. Then the cave opened out and he could see the source of the noise.

He had never seen anything quite like this. Was this some sort of intelligent being? It was an alien form, not from a colonised planet, though it had a vaguely humanoid shape. It had no hair and what passed for skin was a dusty orange. It had a head but no neck. It appeared to have limbs; there were four of them at that. The beast was sitting in what looked like a mixture of blood and excrement. If these were bodily fluids though they were different from anything he’d seen before. The liquid was streaked green and purple. So this was the source of the putrid smell he’d noticed from the beginning of his journey into the cave. It was much stronger here.

The beast seemed to be sleeping. What might be described as a chest was heaving up and down. It breathed then. Was it taking in oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide? Or did it breathe another way? What was it exactly?

It stirred and grumbled to itself. Its eye lids opened. It probably couldn’t see though; there were only milky cataracts in the sockets.

“Well, boy. What do you want?”

It knew he was there and that he was male. How? Was it some sort of telepathy?                                  

“Tell me boy. Or go away. You’re disturbing my peace.”

It was sophisticated and intelligent enough to run a translator programme then. That was Terrestran English  - and almost without any accent at all. 

“Speak!” A dart of blue light shot out of the tip of a long protrusion at the end of one of the creature’s upper limbs.

Kaleem dipped out of the way.

The creature made a deep gurgling sound and started to shake. Kaleem had the impression he was laughing. ”Very clever. Tell me what you want or I will get you next time.”

What did he want? Well to find out what was really behind the House of Clementine. But how did he broach that? “How do you know where I am? You can’t see me surely?”

The creature wobbled again. “I can feel you. Sense you. Don’t even you humans only use eyes to check? The other senses do most of the work. Surely you knew that?”

He’d heard the theory before but never really had the opportunity to test it.

The creature laughed.  “Oh, and I can tell you’re a snazzy boy.”

“You can? Who are you? And why are you here?”

The creature wobbled again. “You haven’t figured it out?”

Kaleem shook his head. Now what?

“Before you ask. Yes, I know you’re shaking your head.” He pulled himself up. “I am the incarnation of Oroban.”

Incarnation? This thing wasn’t of the universe, then? And if not, then where had it come from? Kaleem shuddered.

Oroban sighed. “I am trapped in this body. In this piece of rotting flesh. It is dying but not quickly enough.”

“So where have you come from? What are you doing here?”

Oroban sighed again. “I am from a different realm. I am a demon of the first class. Some of you might call my home Hell. But you universals don’t really understand the other realms so you make up all sorts of interesting stories. Very colourful sometimes.” He started shaking again and now it really did sound as if he was giggling. “Fire and brimstone. Whatever next?”

“Well, what is it like? The place you would call home.” 

“Like nothing you could imagine. And it isn’t even distasteful or unpleasant. Not as much fun as this very physical world, though. Or at least, how this world is when you have a functioning body.”

“So what is a demon then?”

“We’re partly made up from the imaginations of the physicals. Then we become a test for them. Each demon develops his or her own specialities.”

“And yours are what?”

“Speaking the truth. Predicting the future. Commanding other demons.”

“But you’re connected to the House of Clementine?”

Oroban made a sound that Kaleem now recognised as a chuckle. He plucked at his leathery skin. “You’d noticed the colour?”

“So you’re saying the Clementiners invented you? Do they - worship - you? The bad ones?”

Oroban chuckled again. “It’s not that simple, my sweet Peace Child. They don’t believe in me as such. They may have a sense of something lurking in the shadows but they don’t really know I’m here. Their thoughts and actions have brought me into being. As I get stronger, so do their deeds. And as they become more competent at those things their deeds become more effective. It has gone so far this time that I am stuck in this wretched body. Yes, the Clementiners mainly invented me but the hearts of ordinary universals can also reach me. You remember the ones in brown? Yes, they come up every now and then. When everything is uncertain. When they think they’re being deprived.”

“So, we’re talking about evil?”

“Good and evil. Two sides of the same coin. Okay, I’m one of the manifestations of evil. But the House of Clementine isn’t all bad is it? You do know that it all started out with Obek Lampeter growing clementines to perfection? That isn’t evil, is it?”

“No. But when the pursuit of excellence excludes and corrupts?”

Oroban nodded. “That’s all part of universal nature. You universals; when you are good you are very, very good. But when you are bad you are horrid. It’s all comparative isn’t it? And snazziness is always so important isn’t it?”

“If you could get out of this body would it make a difference?”

“Something would change. It would allow the lighter side a better chance.”  

“So how can you get out?”

“I can’t. I can’t even die. Some Clementiners are good enough that the body is decaying. But others are evil enough to keep me here.”

“Are you in pain?”

Oroban nodded. “And so undignified.” On cue, the demon farted loudly and purple liquid flowed out from him. The smell was overpowering and Kaleem began to retch.

“I am so sorry. I have lost all bowel and bladder control.” Oroban’s voice quivered as he spoke. Was the demon close to tears? He chuckled again though. “I could do with a dose of your or Clementine’s snazziness.”   

Kaleem managed to recover. He chose to ignore the smell. “Do you even eat? Or drink? Do you need food?”

“I can enjoy a physical existence on the same terms as you physicals when the body is fit and well. But the only food I consume now is the evil that the Clementiners and other universals send me. As you can see, it’s enough to give me the runs. Oh, and that was a particularly good one. President Exton threatening to attack Lupino. Poor little isolated planet. Such a defensive little leader. So scared of the big boys that he shouts all sorts of abuse and makes empty threats. Exton should know better. You know better don’t you? Oh yes, that fed into this putrid body all right.”                     

“So, what can we do?” 

“Can you kill me, Peace Child?”

“I don’t know.” It would be murder, wouldn’t it? It would make him as bad as the evil Clementiners, if not worse, surely?

“Don’t forget, I’m not real, not in your sense of the word, even though I’m manifesting really strongly. Once the body has gone, I am gone and there will be no trace of me at all.”

“Well, can I kill you? How?”

“You could bash my head with a rock.” He chuckled. “Oh yes, I created the torcal rocks. They couldn’t form naturally here. But one of those would be superb. Go on. Pummel me to death.” He nodded to the side of the cave room and there was a large rock. It looked like something that would belong to the cave but not in its present state with the lined walls and floor.

Oroban chuckled again. “As you’d expect, we can do clever tricks. But it’s all illusion. You may certainly use the rock but what you think will have even more power.”

“And what should I think?”

“Good thoughts. And in particular what is good about the House of Clementine. Go on.” He nodded towards the rock again.

Kaleem picked it up.

“You can do this thing.”

Kaleem hit at Oroban’s head. The rock slipped right through it.

“Good thoughts, Peace Child. Good thoughts.”

Kaleem struck him again. He thought of how well the Clementiners treated their workers. The demon gasped. With the next blow he thought about his knight’s training. The demon slumped forward. Next the very high standards the Clementiners set themselves and the one he set for himself.

Oroban cried out in pain. But then he laughed. “Go on Peace Child. You can do it.” 

Then Kaleem couldn’t hold back. He hit the demon over and over again. A blow for the perfection of the Zenoton non-monetary monetary system. Another for the excellent medical system on Zandra. One for the gentleness of the Z Zoners on Terrestra. One for the kindness of Saratina. One for the perfection of Rozia. One for the lovely nature of Petri, always so cheerful despite her pain. One for everyone’s sense of snazziness. One for a society without brown tunics. Now that he’d got started, he couldn’t stop.

Oroban weakened. He became unconscious. He began to fade. Kaleem gave him another blow. “That is for the goodness that is the basic nature of all universals.”

There was a loud bang. The unpleasant stench was replaced with a faint smell of orange blossom. There was no trace of Oroban. Everything seemed lighter.

Kaleem sat down, exhausted.

But then he heard a voice calling. 

About the Peace Child Series:

Book 1 The Prophecy

Kaleem Malkendy is different – and on Terrestra, different is no way to be.
Everything about Kaleem marks him out form the rest: the blond hair and dark skin, the uncomfortable cave where he lives and the fact that he doesn’t know his father. He’s used to unwelcome attention, but even so he’d feel better if some strange old man didn’t keep following him around.
That man introduces himself and begins to explain the Babel Prophecy – and everything in Kaleem’s life changes forever.    

 

Book 2 Babel

Babel is the second part of the Peace Child trilogy. Kaleem has found his father and soon finds the love of his life, Rozia Laurence, but he is still not comfortable with his role as Peace Child. He also has to face some of the less palatable truths about his home planet: it is blighted by the existence of the Z Zone, a place where poorer people live outside of society, and by switch-off, compulsory euthanasia for a healthy but aging population, including his mentor, Razjosh. The Babel Tower still haunts him, but it begins to make sense as he uncovers more of the truth about his past and how it is connected with the problems in the Z Zone. Kaleem knows he can and must make a difference, but at what personal cost?

 

Book 3 The Tower 

Kaleem has given up the love of his life in order to protect her. He now lives and works on Zandra. A sudden landquake, not known on the planet for many years, destroys many of the forests his father has planted to bring life back to the planet. The new relationship Kaleem has helped to establish between the Terrestrans and the Zandrians is also under threat. A third party gets involved and Kaleem has to use all of his diplomatic skills to keep everything on track. Mistakes cost him dearly and he looks set to lose Rozia for a second time. The Babel Tower mystery, others mysteries and sadness plague him. Can he find a way through to fulfil his role as the Peace Child?

 

Find out more here.  

 

Gill James is published by The Red Telephone, Butterfly and Chapeltown.  

She edits CafeLit.

She writes for the online community news magazine: Talking About My Generation

She is a Lecturer in Creative Writing and has an MA in Writing for Children and PhD in Creative and Critical Writing    

http://www.gilljameswriter.com  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B001KMQRKE

https://twitter.com/GillJames

See other episodes: https://www.cafelitmagazine.uk/search/label/The%20House%20of%20Clementine