Prodigy Returns (book 3)

Chapter Fourteen

In the morning, Alex awoke to Kyodin putting on his armour. He was outside the force field dome with his back to her. Alex sat up on her bed of air and placed her feet on the ground.

"Good morning," Kyodin said, turning around as he heard Alex stirring about. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a baby," Alex said.

"Is that one of those Earth sayings?"

"I guess so. Sorry."

"It's okay, I like having you around and hearing about Earth. It makes me realize there is a whole other world out there."

"That's actually a saying on Earth," Alex said. "It's meant to inspire people to explore the world beyond the confines of their sheltered existence."

"I would have really liked to visit Earth," Kyodin said with despair.

Alex paused to reflect on what she was about to say. It wasn't clear whether Maxim had told Kyodin about the transporter, but even if he had, Maxim believed Earth was in an irreversible state of disrepair. In such case, life on Titan would be thought of as better than going back to a desolate Earth. As the former Leader, many people may put an undue target on the backs of Maxim Morrison and his family as they may be blamed for the planet's woes.

Alex then thought about the reality of the situation. Like it or not, Kyodin was her responsibility now. Maxim was gone. As a much wiser and more mature older sister, she needed to have an honest relationship with him.

"Kyodin," Alex paused. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and I have to tell you something." She wasn't ready to tell him that his father was dead — that would bring a great sadness to his heart. Kyodin was a very happy person and Alex saw no need to jeopardize his emotional state in a survival situation. She would tell him when they got back to camp.

"Yes, Alex?" Kyodin responded with interest. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure what you've been told about the current state of Earth, but the planet is fine. It's not doomed like our father may believe."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a bit complicated and I'm not sure how much knowledge you have about systems of government."

"I know that father was the Leader of Earth and he would tell people how to live, and they had to listen to him because he was the wisest man on Earth."

"Well, that's not exactly true. Maxim... I mean, our father was very wise indeed, but he was certainly not the wisest man. On Earth, our political system is largely self-governed so the people decide how they want to live, what policies become enacted, and who they want in government. If ever someone in government was deemed to be corrupt or incompetent, the people had the right to remove them with a majority vote."

"What's a majority vote?"

"It's when more than half the people decide one way rather than another. The idea comes from creating the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. In other words, you want to make as many people happy as possible."

"I understand. That sounds like a good system."

"Actually, democracies have a lot of problems — voting on issues is very time consuming and people are often ignorant of the implications of their vote, and in some cases where 51% of the people vote one way, and 49% are opposed, then a large portion of the population becomes unhappy. In these kinds of situations, among others, the government may need to intervene and try to find amicable solutions that would make as many people as possible happy."

"I think I understand what you're saying," Kyodin said.

"But suppose there was a problem that the people and the government could not solve. What would they do then?" Alex asked rhetorically.

Kyodin took a moment before saying, "I'm not sure."

"This is what happened on Earth," Alex said, recalling the events. "The planet was thought to be doomed, lots of people were dying and seeking answers, but nobody had any solutions. Our father had a very difficult decision to make — if he stayed on Earth, everyone would likely die and the human race would become extinct. However, if he left, there was a chance he could rebuild a new civilization and preserve millions of Earth's species."

"So he left," Kyodin said.

"If the planet was in an apocalyptic state as our father believed," Alex continued, "then it would become a very dangerous place to live, especially for a former Leader. Aside from the thing that was causing the death, other humans were perhaps the most dangerous aspect."

"Why?" Kyodin asked.

"Humans are really kind if their basic needs are satisfied. But when everyone is vying for scarce resources and people become desperate, they can justify doing some pretty awful things in the name of self-preservation."

"Wow, I never knew this."

"We don't dwell on it, but in the back of our minds we know things can turn ugly pretty quickly in these types of situations. We all try really hard not to allow our emotions control us. For the most part, humans are kind to each other, but this ugly side is a part of our nature too. It's the same reason why I attacked you — I thought you were trying to take away my most precious resource."

"Alex, you said Earth is fine now, so how did the problem get solved?"

Alex thought about how honest she wanted to be in this situation. She decided to be as vague as possible to mitigate the amount of questions that would undoubtedly follow.

"They came up with a solution that had not previously been considered."

"Wow, that's really fortunate."

"Yes, but unfortunately our father had left before the solution was implemented so he doesn't know Earth is okay. That's why I came to Titan, I need to tell him and bring him back."

"Alex, I'm sorry to tell you, but I don't think our father will go back to Earth," Kyodin said sombrely. "He's very old and his health is not well."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Alex said. "Maybe I can just take you back to Earth then."

"That would be amazing," Kyodin said as his face lit up with joy. "But since we're here, it's my turn to show you around. Come on, I want to show you something cool..."