Protector of Children - 7. Chapter 7: Synergy

Synergy

Death

Dike had sent the boys to play in Nemesis’s room. I wasn’t sure what she wanted with us, but when she erected a shield so that only she, Gary, and I could be privy to her conversation I knew it was important. She didn’t mince words.

“Calvin, Bobby, and Kevin are becoming something different. It is something new, but it echoes something I have seen before. Exactly what form it will take, I cannot say,” Dike said.

“Cannot? or will not?” Gary and I asked, at nearly the same time. Gary’s eyes were sparkling, and I knew that mine were, too. As soon as Dike had given words to her concern, both Gary and I had seen it. And we saw that Dike’s vision of the future was threat to the three boys.

“I will not say,” Dike said. “For if I am wrong, I would do great harm. Will you please accept this? Both of you were once mortal. Your universe—a universe that is governed by science, logic, reason, and cause and effect—is crumbling.” Her voice lowered nearly an octave. She still looked like a grandmother, but she spoke with all the power of a god.

“Science and the laws of cause and effect still apply and will always seem to apply except where gods and spirits choose to interfere. But something dark has inserted itself into the human psyche, into the souls or mortals. Whatever it is, it is causing them to turn away from reason and logic.”

Dike looked at me. “You have seen it,” she said.

“Someone interfered, and both Chang and Richard Brooks, our new Asclepius, would have died horrible deaths well before their allotted time—had not you been there.

“Someone interfered, and Calvin nearly killed his brother and would have been killed by his stepfather—had you not been there.

She looked at Gary. “You were there when Kenny and Viktor were nearly killed before their time. You must have been at least suspicious that something was wrong with reality when Nemesis rescued the boy in the museum, and later at the death of Benji’s little brother.

“Not all of what has happened is wrong; the friendship you two have—” She gestured toward Gary and me. “Your friendship has served, in part, to balance what is going wrong.”

Dike continued. “Gods and spirits have powers that allow us to operate outside the bounds that restrict mortals. We can not interfere between cause and effect; but we can create effects that seem not to have a cause.”

She chuckled. “One mortal understood that, I think. He was a radar technician and a science fiction author. His third law said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. That applies, as well, to our powers.

“Many mortals perceive what we do as magic. The religious among them worship our acts as miracles. The rational ones, the scientists, think in terms of puzzles to be solved.

“For the past dozen centuries or more, most of us have operated within the narrowest confines of our Authorities. There are exceptions: Yahweh, for one, still insists occasionally on performing flamboyant miracles. I have never forgiven him for that stunt he pulled at Fatima in 1917. You have no idea how much effort went into trying to straighten that out.

“However, he is losing his powers. The charlatans and televangelists who want to be his heirs are eroding that power. So far, among those multitude, no single one has been able to seize more than a small fraction of Yahweh’s power. Zeus has stepped in, and is dealing with that, himself. I do not think we will see a new version of Yahweh.”

“What is Zeus doing?” Gary asked. It was off topic, but might have been important.

“It is not by accident that their theology is fragmented, and that each sect has selected a different portion of their scriptures on which to base their entire belief system. It is not an accident that fringe elements, such as that group which pickets military funerals with their ‘God Hates Queers’ slogans, receive so much publicity.

“You don’t think humans invented the ‘divide and conquer’ strategy, themselves, do you?”

Dike looked at us as if over the top of a pair of reading glasses, although she was wearing none. Her face was an invitation for us to speak.

I nodded. Gary started to say something, but I spoke first. And, I spoke to Gary rather than to Dike. I selected my words carefully, just as Dike had, for what the gods and spirits speak, we may create.

“Gary, you are the first friend I have had in more than two hundred years. You were my friend before and then after you received your Attributes and Authorities. You have the powers of an elder god, and are more powerful than I. Yet, you are my friend, and by that friendship, I ask you to listen to what Dike says, and accept it.

“I feel—I know—that Calvin is something more than he appears to be. My feeling is not entirely unbiased. When Calvin and I first met, I restored reality to keep his brother alive; then, I killed his stepfather. I knew then that he would remember what had happened and that he would remember me. No mortal should have remembered.

“I felt something else when Calvin first brought Kevin to me, and again when he and Kevin together met Bobby for the first time. Just as Calvin is something different, so are the three of them.”

Gary looked troubled. His lower lip curled over his upper; his jaw tightened. If I didn't know him, I might have thought he were pouting.

Dike waited, silently. She understood.

“George, my friend for all that means,” Gary said at last. “You gave Nemesis to me. In a parking lot behind an abandoned shopping center, you made him mine when you told me to help him. Later, you told me what I needed to know in order to love him fully and completely. You must have known that he would become my responsibility—and a great deal more.”

Gary turned to look at Dike.

“Dike, you gave Bobby to me. You were very clear that I was responsible for him, and would be for a long time. Now, you’re telling me that he may be something … something I cannot protect, something I cannot control, something that may be a danger to others whom I am bound to protect.

“That is very hard to accept.”

Dike did not, as I expected, assume her divine aspect. She nodded, and patted Gary’s cheek.

“Yes, it is hard to accept—but it must be accepted.

“That is a conundrum. You are right, of course,” she said. “But neither you nor I can stop what is about to happen. I do not think it will be a bad thing. Still, all we can do is wait and see, and prepare the boys as best we can.

“This is something that is greater than all of us. Do you understand? All we can do is teach the boys that which is right and that which is good, and hope that they will remember that.

“Can any parent do more?”

Gary and I exchanged looks. We both, I knew, had thought of ourselves as fathers to the boys, even though we’d never dared speak of it. Now, it was out in the open, under the careful eye of Dike. We both looked at her, seeking her approval.

I nodded; then, Gary nodded. I could feel that he wasn’t happy, but also that he understood that Dike was right—and that she approved.

Dike

I knew Death’s thought: that our words created reality as often as they reflected it. I knew that was why he hurried to speak before Gary did. Death has had more than two hundred years to grow into his Authorities; Gary, much less time—microseconds in comparison. I debated saying what I knew had to be said: that Death and Gary were so much more than lovers and parents to Calvin and Nemesis; that Gary was so much more than a guardian to Bobby; that Death and Calvin were so much more than rescuers to Kevin. Death and Gary were mortals, so the parent analogy worked for them. It will likely be centuries before they could understand, much less adopt, the more intimate relationships toward which they are moving.

Nemesis

Dike didn’t pull her punches: she ordered me to take the other boys to my bedroom. I have a little trouble thinking of it as my bedroom, since Gary and I sleep together in his bed every night. Well, except sometimes when Bobby and Benji visited.

I also have a little trouble thinking of Calvin as a boy. He’s only a few years older than I am, but he has a depth of mind and soul that makes me think he’s a lot older. Like I was—am—was. Whatever. That thought lasted only until the bedroom door closed, and Bobby started tickling Calvin.

It wasn’t more than an instant before Calvin and Bobby were on the floor, rolling around, tickling each other and laughing. Kevin looked a little … left out, I guess, so I poked him in the ribs. He looked at me kind of funny. I poked him again, and he started giggling. It wasn’t long before the four of us were on the floor, together. Then Benji came in, and there were five.

I think I was the only one who felt it when Dike put up a shield so that she could talk privately with Gary and Uncle George. I probably felt it because I’d been there when she’d done it, before. Still, I figured she had a good reason, and kept the tickle-fest going until everybody was worn out.

We lay on the floor, trying to catch our breath. I couldn’t help but notice that Bobby and Kevin had ended up on either side of Calvin, with Calvin’s arms around them both. They kind of looked at each other, and I felt that they were all aroused—and attracted to one another. I could also feel that Calvin was nervous about that. I guess I would be, too, if my lover were Death.

Actually, I would feel nervous about getting hard for another boy, except that I didn’t, any more. Except that I just had. My penis was as stiff as it ever got. Ah, it was just the playing, and rolling around, I decided, and pushed the thought aside.

Calvin

Dike had left. Gary said he would take Kevin to get some of his things from his old home and then for a visit with his little brother whom Gary and Uncle George had rescued at Dave & Busters. Nemesis agreed to take Bobby and Benji back to Erewhon. Uncle George wanted some alone-time with me. We retrieved Impala from the valet. Before we reached the freeway, we were in the air somewhere over South Dakota.

Uncle George parked Impala on a different bluff. We faced east, and watched as night fell and the sunset behind us painted the rocks colors that ran from rose to something like a purple-gray. I knew Uncle George wanted to tell me something. I figured he would after he’d had time to think about it. I was right.

“Calvin? Dike told us something, today. She didn’t say it was secret…”

I filled in what Uncle George didn’t say.

“It was about us,” I said. Uncle George knew when I said, us I meant Nemesis, Bobby, Kevin, and me—the kids.

Uncle George nodded. “I think she wanted Gary and me to have time to understand it before we told you and Bobby and Kevin. And Nemesis and Benji, even though it doesn’t directly involve them.”

Uncle George started thinking, again. When he spoke, his voice was calm.

“Not long after Nemesis came into his powers, I took him to meet someone who gave him lessons on how to use his sword. The person was D’Artagnan. Do you know of him?”

“Sure,” I said. “He’s the fourth musketeer…”

I knew, then, what he was going to say. A bunch of little things came together in my mind: the thoughts and feelings when I first saw Kevin on the bridge; how I felt when Bobby kissed Uncle George; the tickles this afternoon; and how Kevin and Bobbie had ended up cuddled with me. I knew, but I wasn’t sure what I knew.

“Wait a minute … Bobby and Kevin and me. We’re like the three musketeers?”

“Dike said that the three of you were becoming something. She said it was going to be like something she’d seen before, but also new and different. I think that the synergy and friendship of the three musketeers will pale beside that which she foresees for you.”

“But you don’t know what that is,” I said. Uncle George shook his head.

“Well, it shouldn’t be hard to find out,” I said. “Greek mythology … sorry, you know what I mean, I know it’s real … and a trio. How about a fruit smoothie at that internet café?”

* * * * *

“There’s a bunch of threes in Greek history,” I said, after a few minutes on the internet. “I’ve found at least … five places, now, where three is important. The Fates, Cerberus, the Graces, Chimera, and a Giant named Garyon. What’s with the number three?”

“It’s a sacred number in more than one world-view and set of superstitions,” Uncle George answered. “Why, I don’t know. Perhaps simply because it’s the sum of one and two, the first two numbers. Entire religions have been founded on sillier notions than that.

“Yahweh’s followers have created a three-headed god; the Greeks were content with a three-headed dog and a three-headed Giant.”

“Actually, that’s probably not a good comparison.” I said. “Yahweh’s people have created a three-person godhead, not a three-headed god.” I giggled.

“Not sure the difference is that clear,” Uncle George said.

“Yeah, well, I’m sure the three of us aren’t going to have anything to do with Yahweh’s religion. Let’s get back to the Greeks: are we the new incarnation of one of their trios? Or are we something completely different?” I asked.

“You’re not Cerberus … he’s still guarding the gates of the underworld. I don’t think you’re Chimera or Geryon. I have never seen either of them, but neither makes sense. You certainly aren’t the Graces: they’re the goddesses of joy, charm, and beauty.”

“Are they still around?” I asked.

Uncle George shook his head. “Not that I know,” he said.

“Then, why couldn’t we be they? I mean, Nemesis’s and Gary’s Attributes and Authorities were once held by girls. Besides which, I kind of like being something happy, like joy. And you’ve told me I’m beautiful.”

I thought I had him with that, but his frown let me know I was wrong.

“Because,” Death said, “because I saw something much darker in Dike’s vision.”

Sometimes, he spoke as Uncle George; sometimes, as Death. I was getting accustomed to that, and accustomed to what it meant. Uncle George spoke of happy; Death spoke of … of fate, of necessity, and of the dark things that were our enemies. I guessed what he meant.

“That leaves the Fates,” I said. “And, they’re as dark as it gets, I think.”

The Fates, to the Greeks and later the Romans, were three women who controlled the life and death of every human and, according to some, of the gods, as well. One of the three Fates spun the thread of each person’s life. The second measured the length of that life. The third cut the thread at the point of the person’s death.

It’s come back to death, I thought. I figured out the first day that Uncle George was Death. Now, me?

More practically, I asked, “What about Kevin? And Bobby? If we’re the new Three Musketeers … are they going to come live at the ranch?”

Uncle George got such a look on his face that I had to smile.

“I hadn’t thought of all that,” he said.

* * * * *

Uncle George took a cell call from Gary. “He and Kevin are back, as is Nemesis. We’re invited to stay the night.”

After supper, Death and I went to one of Gary’s guest rooms. We were still on duty, and out of the stream of time that governed the ranch.

“Uncle George?” We were cuddling after some heavy-duty sex.

“Hmmm?” His response was muffled because his lips had found mine.

I pushed him away. This was serious.

“Uncle George, this afternoon, while you and Gary and Dike were telling secrets, we boys had a tickle-fest on the floor of Nemesis’s bedroom. I got really hard, and I felt … I felt like I wanted to kiss Kevin, and I know he wanted to kiss me. And Bobby, too. It’s like … it’s like sex is going to be part of this three musketeer, thing.

“That’s not right!” I said.

Uncle George propped himself up on one elbow, and looked at me. His free hand wandered over my tummy for a minute or so, and then retreated. He knew he couldn’t distract me that way, but it had given him time to think.

“Calvin,” he said. “We know that Kevin is gay. We know that his first boyfriend—his crush, really—had rejected him. I saw that, even though he didn’t tell us, and I know you saw it, too.

“Bobby doesn’t yet have a boyfriend, but he’s had several partners at Erewhon.”

“How do you know that?” I asked. “And what about Benji? I thought Bobby and Benji…”

“I know because Bobby broadcasts so strongly. And Benji? At one time, I thought he and Bobby might someday become boyfriends. But that’s changed. What he and Bobby have is brotherly love, and cuddles. It’s a good thing, but it’s not what we’re seeing, here.

“We have three willing, interested, and capable boys who are going to be tied together in some mystical and magical way. If sex is going to be part of that, if you were to have sex with Kevin and Bobby, it would be a good thing. I would be happy for you—and for Bobby and Kevin.”

“But, Uncle George!” I said. “I thought …”

And then I shut up. What had I thought? I wondered. I wanted to ask Uncle George, but I could tell that he was tired. So I kissed him and closed my eyes.

My sleep that night was troubled. I woke often. I tried to lie quietly, so not to disturb Uncle George. My body may have been still, but my mind raced. Who was I to think that I could bind Death to me? He was an immortal spirit. Why would I think I could be his sole and exclusive lover? I was Calvin King, a kid who had grown up isolated from most of the world and raped by his stepfather. I had found someone I loved and whom I thought loved me. No! I knew Uncle George loved me! But …

Exhausted, I fell asleep before I could complete that thought.

“Calvin?” Uncle George’s voice penetrated the fog that blanketed my mind. I opened eyes that were sticky with … with the residue of tears. Bright sunlight painted the walls … it must be late morning. I jerked awake.

“What time …?” I began, when Uncle George put his lips over mine, cutting off what I was about to say.

“We exist outside of time, remember?” he said, when the kiss was finished. “In Chicago, it’s nearly noon; but we will join Gary and Kevin and Nemesis for breakfast at 7:00.

“You did not sleep well. You finally fell asleep just before sunrise. I have therefore lain with you until now.”

“You … you could have gotten up …” I began.

“For nothing would I have missed this chance to watch you sleep,” Death said. “But something troubles you. Will you share that with me?”

“Um, I kind of did, last night,” I said. “Kevin and Bobby, remember?”

Uncle George nodded. “I remember. And I remember what I said. Apparently, that wasn’t enough.”

He sat up and pulled the duvet around our shoulders.

“Many children have two parents and love both of them. Many people have more than one sibling, and love all of them. Others have multiple aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, and love them all. For most purposes, it is considered okay to love more than one person.

“When it comes to sex for procreation, however, monogamy seems to be the norm. There’s probably a reason for that, a reason based on evolution and science. The human child needs protection and nurture for much longer than most other animal species. A genetic predisposition to monogamy—at least until the child is weaned—may be a survival trait, something encoded into our genes by thousands of centuries of evolution.

“This does not apply to the kind of relationship we have. That is to say, the genetic mandate does not apply.

“There is no reason that you cannot love Kevin and Bobby. There is no reason that you cannot enjoy sex with them. I would not love you less; nor, I think, would you love me less.”

Uncle George kissed me, and then led me to the shower. We had swum naked together at the lake; we had showered together in … where was that? Oh, yes. Omaha. But this was the best, so far. He covered me with body wash; he massaged shampoo into my hair; he rinsed me off and then … after I did the same to him … then he penetrated me while warm water ran off our bodies. I splashed my essence against the wall of the shower when I felt his heat pulsing inside me.

Death

Gary was the only other person moving about when I walked into the kitchen at 7:00 AM.

“Calvin didn’t sleep well last night,” I said after a good morning. “He’ll be along in a minute.”

Gary nodded. “I take it that you told Calvin what Dike said?”

I nodded.

“Neither Nemesis nor Kevin slept well, either,” Gary continued. “Although I’ve not said anything to either of them.”

I explained what Calvin had said about the sexual attraction among the boys. “I suspect that both Nemesis and Kevin were as worried about that as Calvin was.”

“Were worried?” Gary said. “You resolved it?”

“I hope so,” I said.

“Calvin and I need to go back to the ranch,” I added. “We could stay out of the normal time-stream longer, but Calvin isn’t as accustomed to that as I am. He needs to be grounded in reality every once and a while. We should take Kevin with us, I think.

“Bobby, too, but not right away,” I concluded.

Gary nodded. “I will explain to Bobby and to Nemesis,” he said. “They’re his friends … he needs to know. Besides, they may need his experience … and, someday, his power.”