XII - Hypothetical

The next morning Kamon was at Delphi International Hoverport early. It had occurred to him that he had no specifics about their trip. Jasmine had left suddenly. She had given him no details, and he had no way of contacting her. Where did she live? If she had a phone, what was her number? He knew little about her.

He was taking a trip to Kefar with a woman he barely knew. What was he doing?!

What was their flight number? He had no idea. He checked out the flight screens -- departure times. Only one flight that stopped at Kefar today. Okay, so it seemed pretty obvious which flight they would be on........provided they weren't heading to a foreign country first, then changing to another hoverline along the way.

So, should he buy a ticket or wait for Jasmine? Did she expect him to buy his own ticket? That was fine; he had the money. But that wasn't the point. He was about to embark on a trip to a dangerous part of the world and he didn't know what was going on!

Elbe's question was most pertinent. Where did Jasmine get the money for these trips? A private financier? Who?........Or a government!?! Now that was a staggering thought.....What might he be getting into?

Why had she invited him along on this trip? She barely knew him. And most of what she did know about him had apparently come from a book --- the Council Journal of all places! So why? He was a council member, a high government official in the state of Marmot. Was it possible that he might be a pawn in some international spy game? That was a little bizarre....and improbable...maybe.

Kamon made his way to the ticket counter. This whole thing was improbable. He bought a ticket for himself. Although unlikely that this would be the wrong flight, he could change it quickly if that were the case. He wanted a ticket in his pocket. He was not going to be the fool if she arrived expecting him to have his ticket. He had it.

What was the matter with him!? He was not himself at all! His self confidence was fading. He had never concerned himself with what others thought of him. That was a weakness. And weakness could be exploited by women. He had learned this lesson early in life.

But Jasmine did not strike him as exploitive. She was confident, but not imposing. Her manner was calm, yet gracious. She seemed to carry no preconceived notions about a man. He had little concrete proof, but.......it just seemed true. He felt it. How could eyes like that lie?

He shook his head and smiled. His thoughts were beginning to be downright poetic, esoteric. Good thing Casio could not hear them. Kamon would never hear the end of it.

The Councilman looked at his watch. Seven forty five. Where was Jasmine? Boarding for the flight would begin soon! What if she never showed up?! He wasn't going to Kefar alone!

Maybe this had all been a misunderstanding. A woman just didn't invite a man on a trip half way around the world with no planning.

How dense could he be?! It could never happen. It was too strange!

"Shall we board, Kamon?"

He started at the sound of the gentle voice. Kamon turned to face Jasmine. She did have a strange way of appearing suddenly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kamon," she continued. "I did not mean to startle you."

"No, no," he said hurriedly. "That's alright. You didn't startle me. Well, you did, but it was my fault. I-I was simply lost in thought."

"It's quite alright, Kamon," she said, her eyes lighting with amusement. "I understand. I oftentimes find myself deep in thought. Self awareness is good for the mind. It leads to understanding, and we will need a good deal of that where we are going." She looked at the bag in his hand. "I see we have something in common. We both travel light." Her hand patted the small clothing bag slung over her shoulder.

Kamon shrugged and smiled. "It is something my father taught me. 'Be prepared to fend for yourself with nothing but what Nome gave you at birth,' he told me. We often went camping in the mountains."

"ALL PASSENGERS ON KIGER HOVERLINE'S FLIGHT SEVENTY-FOUR EIGHTY-NINE TO KEFAR AND ON TO GRAECIA," the voice came over the intercom, "NOW BOARDING AT GATE SEVEN. PLEASE HAVE YOUR TICKETS OUT AND READY FOR THE AGENT AT THE GATE. WE HOPE YOUR FLIGHT ON KIGER IS AN ENJOYABLE ONE. THANK YOU."

"Shall we go?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm ready," Kamon replied.

The two made their way to the boarding gate. Kamon showed his ticket to the agent as did Jasmine. They then stepped into the ramp and proceeded to the hovercraft.

She never mentioned a ticket! Kamon thought. Why? It was a lot to assume that he would understand the travel arrangements when they had never discussed them. But then this might be a part of her nature. She was a big thinker, a philosopher. Details perhaps were not of great importance to her......Then why was she talking with both the Fraus and the Clemens on Kefar? Details were of great importance to those feuding factions.

Kamon stepped into the craft and begin searching for his seat. What a fool he had been! He should have waited to buy his ticket until Jasmine had arrived at the hoverport! He might have been able to get a seat assignment next to her! That would be impossible now. The craft was packed. Stupid!

Kamon found his seat and settled onto the cushion next to the window, shoving his bag under the seat in front of him as he did so. Much to his surprise and without a word, Jasmine followed suit in the seat beside his.

"Your seat assignment is next to mine?" Kamon asked. He failed to hide his amazement.

"Yes," she answered. "Fortunate, isn't it? If you wish to have peace and quiet during the flight, I can be as quiet as a menhol mouse. I won't say a word."

"No, that's fine," Kamon said. "I enjoy talking to you."

Jasmine smiled. "That's very kind of you, Kamon. I enjoy talking to you, too."

Kamon felt good. The comment, the smile, the attractive face, the soft hair, the closeness....he was enjoying the moment. He had nothing to say.

Accepting Kamon's silence, Jasmine turned her gaze straight ahead.

The door to the hovercraft was sealed. The flight attendants began preparing for takeoff.

How had she gotten a seat next to his? The question came to Kamon. Had it really been chance? It seemed almost inconceivable that on a flight this large they could be thrown together by chance. The odds were very poor..........Yet it had happened.

The past few days had been filled with mysteries. Strange events in his life were becoming commonplace. Lightning that did not harm him, the strange dream, the piece of hair in his cabin........His eyes focused on the dark brown hair of the woman next to him. It was clean and lustrous. Very soft. The hair in his cabin seemed a perfect match.

Interesting.....but not significant. It wasn't her hair.

The craft rolled away from the terminal. It paused, then began a slow and graceful ascent. Straight up the huge craft rose, bearing its humanoid cargo. A short time later, it headed in a diagonal course toward the firmament. The craft would be high up in the atmosphere of the planet Arnot before it finally leveled off. The journey to Kefar had begun.

Kamon still felt the excitement of each takeoff. Perhaps, he always would. There was something intensely moving about defying the force of gravity. Floating. Looking down upon a world that had suddenly become quite small.

With his foot Kamon nudged his overnight bag farther under the seat ahead of him so he could stretch his long legs just a little more. His father had given him the bag as a present when he had decided to run for the Council. The present typified his father's style. The bag was useful, durable and well needed. Sparrow Hawk was a sprawling province. Kamon was very seldom at home during the long campaign. He saw his father very little........The end came too soon. His father never saw him take the oath of office on the floor of the Council chamber.

Regrets. Kamon wished he would have thanked his father for many things. His education, for one. It was not only the girls who wished to see him gone from the school for academicians, but the administrators as well. Someone had to keep insisting that he remain....someone on a lonely mission in life. The strained face, the ponderous silence....it was normal to find his father like this after every parent-teacher conference. It meant little to Kamon as a child; he finally understood it as an adult.

Kamon's grades were perfect; they weren't the source of his father's troubles. Socialization, however, was another matter. Kamon was a misfit; a malcontent. He never went looking for trouble, but it always seemed to seek him out. It did not take a genius to figure out that the school administrators must have wanted to be rid of the boy. They didn't want a boy at all.

How did his father manage to keep convincing them otherwise? Why did he even bother? His son was clearly not wanted at the school. Why did he not just put an end to the struggle and place the boy in the school for laborers? It would have been easy. It would have saved the man so much torment.

Kamon felt a soft touch on his arm. His head turned to look into a warm and tender face.

"That's a very nice bag, Kamon," Jasmine said soothingly. "Very compact and sturdy. Did someone give it to you?"

"Yes," he nodded. "My father."

"He loved you very much," Jasmine said. "I am sure he never regretted anything he ever did for you. It was his wish, his joy. And he undoubtedly knew that you loved him."

Puzzled, Kamon stared into her face for a moment, searching it. Strange comments indeed from a woman who had never met his father. She might know that his father was dead; it was a matter of public record. But her sympathetic tone conveyed more than simple factual knowledge. It was as if she had known his father. Even more odd, it was as if she could read his mind.

"Your face will grow permanently wrinkled if you keep it like

that," Jasmine said at last, commenting on his furrowed brow.

"How do you know about my father?"

"I know what you did for Acceptus' mother. Anyone who would go to that much trouble for a stranger would have a father who would be very proud of his son."

"How did you know about Acceptus?"

"He told me."

The questions were answered honestly, but the answers revealed little new information. "You just happened to be strolling past Acceptus' house?" Kamon suggested dryly.

"No," Jasmine replied, her dark brown eyes lightly sparkling. "I went to see how he was. I know many people, Acceptus among them. He had previously told me of his mother. I had suggested you might be able to help him."

"Why me? I'm not his Council representative."

"A hunch, perhaps," Jasmine replied. "As it turned out, a correct one."

Kamon considered the soft face. Always guarded answers. There wasn't anything she had said that he couldn't have figured out on his own. Acceptus had insisted on his, and only his, help and Jasmine had later indicated knowledge of his trip to Sanitas Manor with the man. Simple deductive reasoning could have brought him to the conclusion that Jasmine knew Acceptus and had pointed him in Kamon's direction.

Jasmine's knowledge of his father seemed more puzzling, however. Despite her explanation, she had spoken as if she had known his father......or had been reading Kamon's thoughts.

"Would you care to discuss the situation in Kefar for a while?" Jasmine changed the subject.

"Sure. Why not?" Kamon shrugged. "It's a mess. If we were talking about rational people, the solution would be obvious. The Clemens want independence; give it to them. They have been assigned to a hellish part of the island anyway. The land holds little real value to the Fraus. At best, the Clemens eke out an existence on it. But it is the lack of trust that stands in the way of a peace agreement. The ruling Fraus believe that if the Clemens achieve independence it would be the first step toward the destruction of the Fraus on Kefar. I would have to admit that the Clemens leaders have said as much. And their continuing terrorist attacks on the Fraus cities are ample proof that they are very serious. So, even if the Fraus leaders were inclined to negotiate with the Clemens, which they are most definitely not, how do you carry on rational talks with terrorists?"

Jasmine listened intently to Kamon's analysis, then responded. "You saw an injustice in your own state of Marmot -- the inequality between the two sexes. As a result, you petitioned for male suffrage. It was a long and difficult struggle, but in the end, you were successful. However, what if no one had carried on 'rational talks' with you? Where would you have found yourself?"

"I never tried to kill anybody," Kamon replied with a level gaze. "I never threatened innocent people."

"That does not answer the question, Kamon," she said, shaking her head.

"The question is hypothetical. You are proposing a worst case scenario and I have made it a point to never respond to such queries. None of us really knows what she would do if confronted with conditions so repugnant that she could not tolerate them. You are asking if I would resort to violence. I can't give you a checklist of the specific conditions which would cause me to act in a particular manner. Each of us must face a crisis when it happens and act then, guided by our own internal moral compass. Only then can the hypothetical question be answered truthfully. A premature answer based on conditions not in evidence is useless."

Kamon searched the face staring into his own. The woman was carefully mulling his answer, he was sure of that. He did not wish to offend her, but he suspected that only the truth would do with this woman, and he was not inclined to give false answers anyway.

"I noticed you did not renounce the use of violence," she said at last.

"Neither did I advocate it," Kamon pointed out. "I don't understand the point here. Are you trying to justify the acts of the Clemens terrorists? You are the preacher of peace. I heard you in the Circle. Your statements expressed a philosophy which is most demanding. Why then would you try to defend the actions of terrorists? It runs counter to everything you stand for."

"I do not endorse terrorism," she responded calmly. "However, if I can follow the path by which terrorists come to their present state of mind, perhaps I can find the proper arguments which will lead them back to peace. My own anger would not resolve the situation. It would simply push them farther away. Someone needs to be the peacemaker, Kamon. Someone needs to try. If not, there will be peace for no one."

Her dark, brown eyes captured the sincerity in her words. Kamon studied them carefully. Noble and unrelenting. Compassionate. She could express much of herself with those eyes.......And he enjoyed being near her.

"Do you understand, Kamon?" she asked quizzically, breaking the silence. "You do seem to have a tendency to go quiet on me. It is most odd, since my readings of the Council Journal would indicate that you are generally very vocal during debates."

"What? Oh. Yes," Kamon stumbled in response. He had lost track of their discussion for a moment. Get a hold of yourself! he exclaimed inwardly. "I'm sorry," he said. "I have a tendency to ponder things from time to time -- lose myself in the process. I spend a great deal of my free time with Casio and he tends to ignore me when I'm lost in thought. He just keeps chattering on as if I'm listening, even though he knows I'm not. I don't mean to be rude. I hope I haven't offended you."

"Not at all," she assured him. "It is good to think -- and to wonder. You will be well served in life if you continue to do so."

For the rest of their trip, the two talked at length about Kefar and the volatile situation there. However, little was added to Kamon's initial assessment of the conflict. Such is the way with most disputes among people. It seems extraordinarily complex to the actual disputants, but to an outsider, a solution is immediately obvious and simple, thus proving what enormous barriers mistrust and hatred can erect.

Kamon posed some questions about Jasmine's personal background, but her answers revealed little. He had to be careful not to use any information that Elbe had given him. Then she would know that he had checked on her. He did not want that to happen.

So, where did her parents live?....'They were no longer living.'

Any brothers and sister?.....'A brother.'

Where did her brother live?.......'In another country.'

What did he do?..........'Preached peace.'

That figured. Which country?.....'He moved around a lot.'

Anyone special in her life? It was really hard for Kamon to come to that question and make it sound right............'All people everywhere; but in direct response to the spirit of the question -- no.'

Kamon's spirits soared. It was a truly wondrous hovercraft flight.

Twelve hours after their craft left Positron, it touched down in Incongruens, the capitol city of Kefar. Jasmine and Kamon grabbed their small bags and exited the hovercraft.

Once inside the port, they came to a security station. Each of their bags was thoroughly searched. Jasmine and Kamon each stepped through a metal detector before retrieving their bags.

"They're very cautious about visitors," Kamon remarked as they walked.

"Yes, they are," Jasmine agreed. "Terrorist attacks have become a great problem within the past few years. Many employ explosives. Two months ago, a high rise in the heart of Incongruens was rocked by an explosion. Twenty people died; over a hundred were injured. The incendiary device was determined to be of foreign manufacture. As a result, anyone or any package entering the country is now thoroughly searched. They're scared...and cautious."

"Yes," Kamon nodded. The two stepped on a down escalator. "I read about the bombing." He lowered his voice. "And you're going to talk to a terrorist -- a murderer -- while we're here."

"War has an ugly face, Kamon," Jasmine said soberly. "I must confront that face if there is to be peace here."

"So you're doing more than talking to both sides," Kamon suggested. "You're attempting to negotiate a peace?" His question carried his amazement. In one sense, it seemed logical. Why else would she be speaking with the Fraus and the Clemens? But given the animosity and distrust between the two ethnic groups, it seemed inconceivable that someone would be attempting to bring the two sides together.

Jasmine did not answer immediately. "We are talking," she finally said.

"Who are you talking to on each side? How high up?"

"I think it better not to say right now, if you don't mind," Jasmine replied. She glanced at a couple that was walking close to them.

Kamon understood. "Maybe later then?"

"Not right away, Kamon," Jasmine said. "But in due time."

Kamon nodded his acceptance. "This isn't officially classified as a 'war' by the way. It's civil unrest -- terrorism."

"The Clemens believe it to be a war, a fight for survival." Jasmine looked at him. "Would you fight for your survival, Kamon?"

"Would you fight at all?" Kamon countered with a question.

Jasmine's only response was a slight smile. She turned and headed toward the vehicle rental area. "We'll be renting a jeep, Kamon. If you don't mind, I would like to drive to western Kefar, immediately. I can drive while you rest. Moving through time zones can be hard on the humanoid body. I do not wish to tax you too much."

"I'll manage," Kamon replied confidently. He could do anything she could do.

Jasmine rented a jeep. She paid cash. The company required her to put down a two-week deposit since she had no credit card. Kamon noted the transaction with interest. Cash -- where did she get it? And no credit card.....her transactions would be difficult to trace. No numbers tied to her were fed into a computer.

They exited the hoverport with a key to their rental vehicle.

"That's a great deal of cash to be carrying around," Kamon commented. "Wouldn't a credit card be handier?"

Jasmine looked both ways, then started across the street running in front of the hoverport. "I prefer cash."

"Why? A credit card is safer."

"I'm safe." Jasmine looked directly at Kamon. "Am I not?"

"Yes," Kamon answered quickly. "Very safe." He decided to drop the subject.

Thirty minutes later they were outside the city, cruising west on the highway.

The Clemens were segregated in the western part of the island. It was logical, therefore, for Kamon to conclude that it was Jasmine's intent to first speak with the Clemens. What she might say or do exactly he did not know. It was difficult to believe that she was carrying on discussions that would lead to peace in Kefar. It was a state that had endured conflict between the Fraus and Clemens for centuries. Admittedly, the present unrest was proving to be more violent than in the past. Weapons of destruction had grown more efficient.

"So who will you be talking to in western Kefar?!" Kamon shouted over the roar of the engine and the wind.

The wind whipped Jasmine's dark brown hair. "All in good time, Kamon!" she shouted back. "You will see! You will learn!"

She didn't want to talk about it. Okay. He would have to accept that for now.

Two hours passed. The smooth, well maintained concrete abruptly ended. The road was now gravel based. It was filled with chuckholes. The ride had turned rough. Kamon and Jasmine were jostled continuously. Dust swirled around them.

"Did they suddenly run out of money when they were building this road?!" Kamon shouted.

"No!" Jasmine answered back. "We have entered western Kefar!"

Kamon continued to bounce and sway with the vehicle. Where was he going? What was he doing? Thoughts of espionage and treason raced through his head. He glanced at Jasmine. Who was she? What was he getting himself into?

END OF CHAPTER