***** Chapter Two
Clark sat at the table with his mouth wide open. “You’re crazy, all of you! This is the nuttiest idea since – since – “
“Since you were an acorn in your third grade nature play.”
“Very funny, Dad. Besides, I was a sapling, not a nut.”
Martha leaned forward. “Clark, you’re reacting from the participant viewpoint and not the observer viewpoint. You’d have everyone in sight looking at you in awe no matter what you might look like. You need to appear to be different, if for no other reason than to make it more difficult to match your hero persona to your civilian persona.”
The other three stared at her for a moment, then Jonathan snorted. “Psychology and creative writing classes at the adult education center. It’s a wonder she keeps it all straight.”
Martha shot him an unfriendly look. “You don’t like my reasoning, you come up with an alternative.”
Jonathan raised his hands in surrender. “Honey, I was just kidding. Besides, I agree with you. As another great man once said, your logic is impeccable.”
“You too, Dad? You think I should dress up like a circus clown and rescue people before they laugh themselves to death just from seeing me?”
Lana snickered. “It would make it easier to stop robberies. If the thieves wouldn’t surrender, at least they’d be laughing too hard to hurt anyone.”
“You do realize that you’re not selling your proposal very well, don’t you?”
She laughed aloud. “Clark, it’s a good solution. Maybe not the only one, but can’t we even talk about it?”
Just then the phone rang. Jonathan reached up and answered it. “Hello? Oh, Professor Lang! Okay, then, Dennis. Yes, she’s right here, sitting with us at the kitchen table. No, we’ve been talking for, gosh, I guess over an hour now. Oh, lots of things. Yes, she does. Do you need to talk to her? Okay, I’ll tell her. Bye.”
He hung up and faced Lana. “Your father expects you home by one A.M. and not one minute after. He also hopes you’re willing to stay up a while and regale him with tales of your wonderful evening with Clark.” He glanced at the clock. “That gives us about another hour to chew on this.” Martha kicked his ankle under the table. “Mmph! Or another hour for you and Clark to spend together.” He glared at his wife in mock disgust.
Lana smiled. “Thank you, both of you, but this is important. I – “ and she blushed again “ – I don’t know how our lives will turn out, but – Clark, you and I have been dating since our sophomore year together and it’s been totally wonderful. I hope I stay with you for the rest of my life.” She walked to his chair and sat in his lap. “I know it’s not exactly the usual way to do this, but – “ she kissed him deeply “ – I want to marry you. I want to be Mrs. Clark Kent. What do you say?”
Clark was so astonished he almost dropped her. Martha dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve. Jonathan closed his eyes and shook his head and muttered, “These kids today.”
Clark recovered and held her up. “Uh. Lana, there’s – one more thing I haven’t told you.”
“I don’t care! I know all I need to know about you. I love you and I want to spend my life loving you. And I’m not doing this just to head off Rachel Harris. I really, really mean it.” She fixed him with a tremulous stare. “Will you marry me, Clark?”
His eyes glazed over for a moment and he almost leaned in to kiss her, but at the last instant he straightened. “Lana, you need to know a few other things.”
Martha goggled. “Clark, what did you leave out?”
He sighed. “The barn.”
“You left out the barn? How could you leave out the barn?“
“I haven’t had the chance to show her yet, Mom!”
Jonathan nodded heavily. “She should know it all.”
Lana slid from Clark’s lap and stood beside him. “You guys need to stop that. You’re scaring me again.”
Clark stood and took her hand. “You should come with me now, Lana.”
“You need some help, son?”
“Thanks, Dad, but I think I need to fly solo on this one.”
*****
Clark closed the barn door behind them and handed her the lit flashlight. Lana asked, “You don’t need it, do you?”
“No. It’s for you, so you don’t miss your step.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
They walked towards the center of the barn, then Clark stopped. “Here it is.”
“Here what is? In case you’ve forgotten, bub, I’ve seen the inside of a barn before.”
“Not like this barn, you haven’t.”
Clark reached down through the dirt floor and grabbed a huge iron ring. He heaved it up, revealing a flight of steps heading down into what appeared to be a storm shelter.
Lana looked down the steps. “I think we’re still in Kansas, Toto.”
Clark wiggled his eyebrows up and down in a nervous attempt to lighten the mood. “Not for long.”
He led the way down the steps and waited at the bottom. As Lana reached the floor of the shelter, Clark went back up the steps and pulled the cellar door shut.
“You know, big guy, you really don’t have to work that hard to be alone with me.”
“The thought never entered my mind.” He lifted his index finger. “One more thing.”
Clark floated up to the light fixture on the ceiling and pressed a panel beside it. The wall behind the stairs slid to one side, and a light came on in the newly opened room.
Lana peered around the stairs and stopped in her tracks. She looked at the ship sitting on the wooden rack, at the glowing globe in the wall fixture above it, and at the pieces of cloth inside the glass case. She looked for the source of the illumination, then realized the light was coming from the globe.
The sight fascinated her. “What’s the price of admission?”
Clark’s voice was tight. “It might be pretty high.” He stepped into the room. “You can leave any time you want, Lana. Just say the word.”
She shook her head. “Maybe I’m just dizzy from all the hits I’ve already taken, but I’m not leaving until I have the whole story.”
“If that’s really what you want.”
“It is. You can start any time.”
He nodded and pointed at the capsule. “I came to Earth on that ship. My folks said – “
“What! You did what?”
He stopped. “It might be best if I tell it in order, okay?”
“Uh. Yeah.” She looked around. “You, uh, you got a chair in here?”
“I can get close.” He picked up a small barrel and put it behind her. She sat down carefully.
“Better?” She nodded. “Okay, I’ll try again. Just remember that no one else has ever heard this story, not like this.”
“Right.” She nodded again. “I’m okay now. Would you mind starting over? I’ll try not to interrupt.”
He smiled. “You already knew I was adopted, but you didn’t know that my biological parents were Jor-El and Lara of the planet Krypton.” He paused and looked at her.
“Don’t stop now, it’s just getting interesting.”
“If you say so. My birth name is Kal-El. My father Jor-El was a scientist who discovered that Krypton was about to explode. So he put me in this little ship and sent me off to survive. The globe is an artificially intelligent computing device keyed to my DNA. My DNA, by the way, is practically identical to yours, so I’m not going to sprout another head or grow tentacles or suddenly turn green or anything like that.”
“Uh-huh. We’ll come back to that. Keep going.”
He nodded. “I was about three months old when they sent me off. The globe’s records say that the planet exploded less than a day later. The ship traveled through something, a wormhole, a subspace access tunnel, or maybe a water slide, I don’t know, and ended up in Kansas nineteen subjective days later.” He paused. “You doing okay?”
She nodded slowly. “So far. You ready for questions now, or should I hang on to them?”
He grinned. She thought she was handling it fairly well, and apparently Clark did too. “Just hold on. I’ll answer any questions I can in a minute.”
She waved one hand in a ‘go-ahead’ motion. “So tell me more. You were rocketed to Earth as an infant and found – where?”
“Shuster’s Field, just southeast of Smallville. My folks were coming back from a doctor’s appointment in Wichita.” He ducked his head. “That’s when they found out for sure that my mom couldn’t have kids.”
Lana didn’t say anything, but she waved her hand again. Clark continued, “So, they saw something loud and bright smack down into the field beside the road. My dad got out and found the trench the ship had cut, then followed it to find me. They thought maybe I was a government experiment at first, you know, some kind of orbital baby test, so they hid me. No one ever asked them where they got me, except some of their friends, and after a couple of months they decided to say I was the orphan child of some distant cousin. The state adoption agency eventually granted them full and permanent custody. You know most of the rest.”
Lana nodded slowly. “Question time?”
Clark steeled himself. “Shoot.”
She wiggled her fingers. “It sounds like you’re the last survivor of your people.”
“Yes.”
“How – “ She licked her lips. “How does that make you feel?”
He shrugged. “It’s hard to verbalize. I’m sad that all those people are gone, especially Jor-El and Lara, but since I have no memory of them, it’s difficult to feel that loss. Besides, the Kents have been my parents as long as I can remember.”
She nodded. “How long have you known about – “ she gestured at the ship and the globe.
“Almost seven years. My folks decided I needed to know. I was mad at them at the time, but now I understand what a risk they took. I might have run away. I might have radically changed my behavior. I might have fallen into a catatonic state.”
“But you didn’t do any of those things.”
He shrugged. “Not yet, at any rate.”
She frowned in thought. “They showed you this about the time you started getting really strong, didn’t they?”
“Yes. How’d you figure that out?”
She leaned forward. “I overheard the football coach one day raving at the principal about this middle schooler named Kent who was strong as an ox and fast as a panther. Those were his very words. He just knew you’d be All-State, All-American, and then All-Pro in short order. You quit the football team after your freshman year. I wondered about it at the time, but now I understand. You didn’t want to hurt anyone, right?”
He nodded. “I didn’t have enough control. I might have crippled someone.”
She smiled. “That speaks well of you, Kal-El.”
He stiffened slightly. “Any more questions?”
“Um. You don’t want me to call you that, do you?”
“No. My name is Clark Kent.”
“I’m sorry, Clark. I won’t do it again.”
He relaxed. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I didn’t, really.” She tilted her head. “Why does it bother you?”
He sighed. “Because I don’t particularly want to be an alien. I want to be human. I want to fit in. I want to be a man, a real man, like my dad. Or like your dad.”
“I think I understand. A little, anyway.” She turned thoughtful. “I assume the globe told you all this and more?”
“Yes.”
“How do you activate it? Does it only respond to you or can anyone play it?”
He frowned. “I don’t know. I’m the only one who’s tried to use it, as far as I know.” He turned back to her. “Would you like to give it a shot?”
She stood. “Only if you want me to, Clark.”
“I don’t mind.”
“That’s not what I said.” Her flat tone startled him. “I don’t mean passive permission. What I mean is, do you actively want me to share that part of your life? Assuming the globe will even tell me anything, of course.”
“Oh.” He stood there, thinking, for a long moment. Lana wanted to shake him, to yank him into agreement, to force him to let her touch the globe, but she held herself as still as she possibly could. It was the longest nine seconds of her life.
Finally, Clark nodded. “If you’re still here, it means you want to know more about me. I trust you. I want to share your life, and I want you to share mine. Therefore, yes, I want you to try the globe.”
She allowed herself to breathe. “Thank you. I won’t let you down.”
He smiled. “I know. Here, hold your hands out. If it works with you like it does with me, it’ll feel cold at first, then warm, and then you’ll see and hear things in your mind. It might help to close your eyes and relax as much as possible.”
She wiped her hands on her jeans. “Okay. Just one thing, okay?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“If I scream and drop this thing, you’ll catch it before it hits the ground?”
He grinned sideways. “Promise. Now, hold out your hands. The globe is a little heavier than it looks.”
“So I shouldn’t try to dunk it?”
His grin expanded. “Not unless you want to pick up the pieces.”
“Not really, no.” She grimaced. “This thing looks like a basketball-sized planet.”
“I think that’s what Krypton looked like. Before it blew up, I mean.” He held it in front of her. “Are you ready now?”
“Okay. Here you go.”
She closed her eyes and stiffened her hands. It was indeed heavier than a basketball, but not so much so that she couldn’t hold it. It felt cool at first, then waves of warmth caressed her fingers. Words formed in her mind, and she communicated with the globe without speaking aloud.
-----
>>> You are not of Krypton. You are human. <<<
That’s right.
>>> You are also quite brave. <<<
You think so? I think I’m almost terrified here.
>>> You need not be afraid. No physical harm will result from interfacing with this unit. <<<
Okay, but I think the jury’s still out on the ‘me being brave’ question.
>>> You are brave to explore something that is completely alien to you. <<<
I do like to try new things.
>>> That is a generally positive trait among intelligent species. You are also female. <<<
You sound surprised. And not a little condescending.
>>> Please do not anthropomorphize me. I am but an artificially intelligent computing device. <<<
Huh. A device with an attitude.
>>> You also appear to have what humans would consider a sense of humor. <<<
Thank you, I think. But I’m not here about me. Is there anything you can tell me about Clark?
>>> I assume you are speaking of Kal-El. <<<
There’s that attitude again. His name is Clark Kent.
>>> I will refer to Kal-El as Clark if you prefer that I do so. What is it you wish to know? <<<
Whatever you can tell me. Preferable everything.
>>> You could not grasp ‘everything’ in one session. Nor could Kal-El – correction, Clark – were your positions reversed. <<<
You mean that he’s human like me? He has limitations?
>>> All living beings have limitations. The fact that he is the sole survivor of an avoidable natural catastrophe should tell you that. <<<
Avoidable? You mean his planet didn’t have to explode?
>>> The Krypton ruling council refused to hear Jor-El’s evidence and his conclusions. It was politically expedient to ignore him. They censored his writings, denied him permission to speak publicly on the subject, and refused him permission to build a ship on which he might escape. He obeyed the literal dictates of the council, but constructed a smaller ship in which his son might escape the coming disaster. That ship is the one you see before you. <<<
So there are no more Kryptonites?
>>> They preferred the term ‘Kryptonians,’ but to respond to your query, no, according to my databases there are no other survivors. <<<
Can Clark – could Clark – if he and – a human woman – could they – um –
>>> My heuristic algorithms suggest that you wish to know if this particular Kryptonian male and a normal human female could breed successfully. <<<
Well, I was trying to be polite about it, but yes, that’s my question.
>>> I believe so, but I am not certain. The base male human genetic structure and the base male Kryptonian genetic structure differ by approximately nine one-hundredths of one percent. I do not have sufficient data to determine conclusively if it is close enough to produce viable offspring, but the probability is above sixty-five percent. <<<
Sixty-five percent, huh? Does Clark know?
>>> He has never posed that particular query to me. <<<
And of course you haven’t volunteered the information.
>>> I respond to queries and instructions. It is not my purpose to unilaterally initiate any action, including the dispensing of information. <<<
Okay. Let’s talk about something else. What is Clark’s purpose here?
>>> Part of Jor-El’s original purpose in sending his son here was to preserve as much of Krypton’s heritage as possible. Unfortunately, his son cannot sustain such a culture alone. My databases suggest that it would require a minimum population of 13,821 healthy adult Kryptonians of child-bearing age with a ratio of sixty-four females to thirty-six males to sustain such a complex culture, assuming the mechanization required to see to their needs and their safety was also present and fully functional. <<<
That’s a lot of people.
>>> Compared to a normal planetary population of billions, it is not so many, but your point that we lack the additional 13,820 healthy adult Kryptonians to sustain such a civilization is well taken. Clark can, and will, function as a normal adult human male in human society. <<<
An adult male with some really special qualities.
>>> Also true. You, young lady, are well suited to assist him in his endeavors, should you wish to do so. <<<
Oh? How am I so suited?
>>> You are young, you are healthy, you are intelligent, you obviously care a great deal about him, and you are flexible enough to stand up to massive amounts of new data. <<<
Thanks. Hey, we’re off the subject. What’s Clark’s purpose here?
>>> I cannot give him a purpose. He must create one for himself. <<<
How’s he supposed to do that?
>>> I suggest that you have now found your own purpose. Clark will require support and assistance from people he trusts in order to fulfill whatever purpose he chooses. I speculate that you are one of those suited to assist him. <<<
You mean there are others?
>>> Of course. You are unique, but others share many of your better physical and intellectual qualities. <<<
But I love him! I want to marry him!
>>> Such feelings and desires are beyond my programmed parameters. Engaging in such a relationship must be his choice as well as your own. <<<
So, it’s okay with you if we get married?
>>> As I said, I have neither information nor opinion on the matter. But you must be forewarned. If he continues on the path he is currently considering, there will be grave danger for both of you. <<<
Path? What path are you talking about?
>>> Clark has secretly rescued a number of people from injury or death in the past several months. I suspect he has not informed you of all that he has done. <<<
No, not everything, but some. I just found out about him, remember?
>>> True. But the probability is that, if he continues this course of action, he will be discovered soon. This would be dangerous for anyone close to him. <<<
Dangerous how, like maybe dead?
>>> That is one possible outcome, yes. <<<
You can tell the future?
>>> No. I can only compute probabilities. I compute that, if the two of you continue on your current path together, one or both of you will face mortal danger within fifteen years. <<<
What? You’re saying that one of us will die before we’re thirty-three?
>>> No, that is not my meaning. Mortal danger does not automatically imply death. Do not alarm yourself. This is not a prophecy of doom. I speak not of death, but of danger. I do not tell the future, I only compute probabilities. I will delineate the equations for you if you wish to examine them yourself. <<<
No thanks. I’ll just play it safe.
>>> A wise choice at any time. Is there anything else you require, Lana? <<<
You know my name!
>>> I know many things about you. That is how I am able to compute these probabilities. Now that you have heard the result of these computations, however, your knowledge becomes a part of the equation, and the probabilities will change. <<<
For the better or the worse?
>>> I will have to recalculate them. It will require some time. <<<
Let’s save it for the next session, okay?
>>> As you wish. If you choose to terminate this session, simply tell me ‘good-bye.’ >>>
Uh, okay. You already know my name. Would you tell me what your name is before we sign off?
>>> I do not require one, therefore I do not have one. <<<
Oh. What if I give you a name?
>>> For what purpose? <<<
Oh, I guess I just want to anthropomorphize you.
>>> You are attempting to be facetious. I can identify attempts at humor, but I cannot appreciate them as a human might. If you wish to do so, you may assign me a name. It might facilitate our future interaction. <<<
Let me think about it. I’ll let you know what I come up with next time we talk.
>>> That is acceptable. <<<
Good-bye.
>>> Good-bye, Lana. <<<
-----
Lana slowly opened her eyes and looked at Clark. “Wow.”
“That didn’t take long.” Clark took the globe from her and held it up for a moment, then frowned. “It talked to you?”
“Yeah. Wow.”
He frowned. “You must have spoiled it. Now it won’t talk to me.”
She looked at the globe. “Maybe he doesn’t have anything to say right now.”
“’He?’ The globe is a mechanical device, Lana, not a living creature.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Maybe so, but I think I’m going to call him ‘Bob.’”
Clark’s eyes widened dramatically. “’Bob?’ Why Bob?”
“Why not Bob? Besides, he told me I could give him a name.”
“Oh.” He looked closely at the globe again, then put it in its holder. “Sounds like you two have quite a relationship going already.”
She took his hands in hers. “It’s merely an extension of our relationship. Like a woman falling in love with a man who already has a dog.”
He grinned. “Maybe you should call the globe ‘Rex’ instead.”
She laughed. “Oh, sure, that’d go over real well. The only trick he’d be able to do would be to roll over.” She tugged on his hands. “Let’s find out what your mother’s come up with.”
Clark glanced at his watch. “Maybe we should save that for another time. It’s late, and I need to get you home.”
“Okay.” She gave him a sly grin. “Can I tell Dad about our wedding plans?”
He stopped and stared at her. “You – you still want to marry me?”
She almost gave him a flippant answer, then she saw the trepidation behind his eyes. Even now, she realized, he was afraid to lose her to the truth about himself.
She reached up and kissed him passionately and gently. “Yes, Clark. I want to be your wife, now and forever.” She hugged as much of his deep chest as she could reach around. “I love you truly, deeply, intensely, and permanently. I will never leave you, not as long as I live, no matter what I might learn about you.”
Clark ducked his head to her shoulder and embraced her in return. She held him as he sobbed out his fear of being alone.
She stood there and held him until his tears subsided. Her own tears mixed with his and knit them even closer together.
Even through the emotional storm of the moment, Lana retained enough presence of mind to mark a victory on her mental scoreboard. It was her mother’s legacy, given unintentionally when her parents had separated, then divorced. She’d realized that her mother had lost the battles that mattered to her: where they would live, how they would live, how much money her mother could spend, what face they would present to their neighbors, and Lana had begun scoring her life from the day she’d lost the battle to keep her mother at home. She was determined to finish with more wins than losses.
She never told anyone about the scoreboard, not her father nor her pastor nor the counselor she’d cried with after her mother had left them. The scoreboard would let her keep track of her life and allow her the control she believed she had to have. No one would betray her again. No one would destroy her world again. She’d be in charge, not anyone else, not even the young man whose happiness she now considered more important than her own.
Her motto was not ‘Victory or Death,’ but it wasn’t far from it.
