XV - Atoms

"Where were you yesterday?" Kamon asked Jasmine. The question was almost accusatory. The pair sat at a table in the hospital eating breakfast.

"In the village," Jasmine answered.

"I didn't see you." Kamon did not accept her answer as sufficient.

"I was helping with rescue efforts, freeing people who were trapped."

"I was called away from the hospital several times to help free victims," Kamon pressed. "I would think our paths would have crossed."

"They obviously did not." Jasmine's explanations remained simple.

"I asked about you." Kamon would not let the matter drop. "No one said they saw you."

Jasmine's eyebrows rose slightly. "I don't recall anyone ever questioning my honesty before, Kamon."

Kamon liked Jasmine, but he was unwilling to let this subject pass without an adequate explanation. Yesterday had been a trying day. He had seen much suffering. "I'm simply asking questions. I never said I was questioning your honesty."

"You are hurt, Kamon," Jasmine said bluntly. "You are disappointed that I might have been absent in the midst of great suffering. When help was most needed, you were disillusioned to not find me among those providing aid."

"What if I am?" Kamon admitted to nothing. He was hoping she would continue. He was still awaiting a satisfactory explanation.

"You have high standards, Kamon," Jasmine said. "You demand much of yourself in time of crisis. Because you respect me and considering my chosen profession, you expect the same of me." Jasmine's voice turned soft. "I swear to you, Kamon, that I was in the village. I was helping rescue victims. I knew that you had established this temporary hospital. I deliberately stayed away because I did not wish to interfere. I tried to get the injured to you in a timely fashion. If no one noticed me, it is perhaps because I blend in to this village. Unlike you, I have naturally dark skin. I do not stand out." Jasmine placed her hand on Kamon's. Her dark brown eyes stared into his. Her tone was intimate. "I swear to you, Kamon, this is the truth."

Kamon accepted the explanation. It was logical....and he wanted to accept it. Jasmine's soft eyes moved him; they made his spirits soar. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like a grand inquisitor."

"There is no need to apologize," Jasmine said. "I am very pleased that you questioned me, that you would have been greatly disappointed by my absence when others sorely needed help. You are a preacher of peace. I cannot tell you how much that pleases me."

"I'm not a preacher of peace," Kamon scoffed. "At least not in the sense that you are."

"You came to the aid of the suffering in their hour of need," Jasmine pointed out. "You did not first question their politics, their religion, their social structure, nor their way of life. You simply helped when you saw their need. That is the mark of a peacemaker, Kamon."

"I recall your speech in the Circle," Kamon said. "I believe you said, 'A true and lasting peace can only be achieved through non-violence. Peace must not depend on force.' Those are noble thoughts, but I would not necessarily agree with them in all cases."

A quick smile graced Jasmine's face. "Then you are a preacher of peace in training, Kamon!"

Kamon laughed. He felt good. He needed this moment. Yesterday had been a hard day emotionally. "By the way, except for what you're wearing, all your clothes are gone. Mine too. I cleaned out our bags. I needed them for bandages. There was nothing else available. I hope you don't mind."

Jasmine's eyes held Kamon's. She spoke with great pride. "You are a good man, Kamon."

Jasmine and Kamon stayed in the village of Purus for more than a week, helping the residents bury their dead and rebuild their homes. Reconstruction involved difficult, physical labor. The villagers had no heavy machinery to aid them. But the labor was something to which Kamon was particularly suited. He immediately picked up a nickname -- 'the Giant'. Soon everyone in the village called him by no other name.

Rebuilding the school was high on Kamon's list of priorities. Education was important to him. He saw it as the key to advancement in any culture. However, he was informed that the Fraus had specifically ordered the residents of Purus not to rebuild the school. Formal education itself had been banned in western Kefar more than a year ago. The Fraus government suspected the Clemens schools were nothing but training centers for insurrectionists. Kamon thus reluctantly scratched this project from his list.

Kamon developed a close relationship with Integre. Her mother's name had been Athenon. Kamon and Integre buried Athenon in a private ceremony.

Questions about Kamon's background soon revealed that he was a member of the Marmot state council. Nothing could have shocked the villagers more. One of Marmot's council members helping them?! The ally of their sworn enemy? They did not understand it, but he was their friend. Perhaps there was much, after all, that they did not know about the great state of Marmot.

The villagers noticed how naturally Kamon settled into their simple way of life. Theirs was a meager existence and living with them seemed not to bother this high government official at all. The villagers' image of the rich and the powerful was suddenly thrown into disarray. Was the Giant normal or an aberration? An aberration was the consensus.

At the beginning of Kamon's second week in Purus, five vehicles rolled into town. In one of them rode Pertinax, the government administrator for this part of western Kefar. She had heard that a councilman from the state of Marmot was working in the village of Purus. The story was preposterous, of course. A high government official from Kefar's most important ally visiting the area without her knowledge? Ridiculous! And Purus was such an insignificant village at that! Yet, for days Pertinax had heard the same report from several sources, many of them reliable. Maybe there wasn't a Marmot councilman in Purus, but something must be going on there. Pertinax had thus come to investigate.

Pertinax brought a well armed convoy into Purus. She expected to encounter hostile villagers. The recent raid would be foremost in their minds.

Pertinax had her women stop some villagers for questioning. Had anyone heard anything about a Marmot councilman in the village?

Most of the detainees just shrugged their shoulders. The Clemens had little desire to talk to Fraus. However, a few people did choose to speak although it was little more than a couple of words. "The Giant!" they would say with broad smiles.

Were they mocking her? Who was 'the Giant'? What did that have to do with a Marmot councilman?

Pertinax spent a fruitless hour on her search. She was nearly ready to end this excursion. 'The Giant!' Had all these people gone mad?

Pertinax instructed the convoy to stop at one last location before leaving the village. It could not hurt. They had been almost everywhere else.

The vehicles pulled to a halt amid the ever present cloud of dust. Pertinax stepped out. A home was undergoing reconstruction here; a small group of people were busy at work around it.

As Pertinax walked toward the house, she noticed an arm reach up from under the structure; a hand planted itself on the hard dirt. It was tanned but without a doubt this was an individual with fair skin. There was a foreigner in the village after all!

The hand was husky, obviously a man's. In the next instant, a head poked its way above ground and the man nimbly scrambled to the surface and stood up.

He was half-naked! she thought in shocked amazement. No shirt! Covered with dirt!

The big man quickly strode to a pile of boulders. Hefting one into his huge arms he carried it back toward the house. She had found 'the Giant'. That much seemed clear. Was this man masquerading as a Marmot councilman? Who would believe that?! Yet, she had read that one of the male Marmot Council members was a big man. Perhaps that was how this man had duped the villagers. He was certainly big.

Pertinax approached the fair-skinned man. She could not help but notice the impressive physique and handsome face -- even under all that grime.

"Excuse me," Pertinax said to the big man. "My name is Pertinax. I'm the government administrator for this area. I'm checking out a story about a Marmot councilman."

Kamon grunted and nodded. He was straining under his burden. He repositioned himself, then dropped the large stone into the foundation he was constructing. "What do you want to know?" he asked, slapping his hands together to shake the dirt from them.

"Well, people have said there's a Marmot councilman in this village."

Kamon hesitated, then replied. "That's true."

"That's preposterous!" Pertinax scoffed.

"That may be," Kamon said, "but it's still true."

"Surely, you're not claiming to be a Marmot councilman?"

"I'm not claiming it," Kamon replied. "It's simply a fact. I am a member of the Marmot State Council, Councilman Kamon to be exact."

"And you can prove that?" Pertinax was not convinced.

"I can if you tell me I have to," Kamon answered. "I don't have my identification folder with me at the moment, but I can get it if you feel you need to see it."

"Assuming you are a councilman," Pertinax asked, "what are you doing here?"

"Building a house," Kamon answered.

"But why would you be here?" Pertinax still did not believe his claim.

"We are here to help these people," a voice from behind Pertinax responded. Jasmine came forward as the administrator turned. "Their village was destroyed by the government. That is a rather odd thing for a government to be doing to its people, do you not agree?"

Pertinax and Jasmine had crossed paths before. 'Troublemaker,' went through Pertinax's mind. "You again, Jasmine," the administrator sighed. "I might have known you'd be involved in this." Then turning to Kamon, she said, "I believe there is at least one man in the Marmot Council. Are you really that councilman?"

"I am one," Kamon answered. "There is another."

Pertinax felt uneasy. If his claim were true, she did not wish to insult a visiting dignitary from Kefar's most important ally by requesting that he get his identification folder for her to examine. But she did want some identification. It still seemed likely that he was an impostor.

"Here is his identification folder," Jasmine spoke up, producing Kamon's travel documents.

'Drat that Jasmine!' Pertinax thought to herself. 'Always acting as if she could read minds!' Pertinax took the folder and inspected its contents. Her eyebrows raised. The documents did indeed look genuine. The man was a councilman from Marmot! She looked at Kamon. "I apologize Councilman," she spoke with respect. "I hope I have not offended you. It's just that...well, these are troubled times, and this is a dangerous place. I could not imagine what you might be doing here."

"I'm not offended," Kamon replied.

"Pertinax," Jasmine spoke, "I know you grow tired of hearing from me, but there is room for compromise in this country. We can bring peace -- if we want to -- if we try."

"Peace?" Pertinax asked rhetorically. "The Clemens can have peace immediately. All they have to do is stop their terrorism. Stop killing Fraus. But they won't."

"Would it not seem logical," Jasmine suggested, "that the Clemens would stop their terrorism if you were to grant them freedom?"

"They don't want their freedom!" Pertinax retorted. "They want to exterminate the Fraus and take this entire state for themselves! They've made it very clear. It has never been possible to negotiate with Clemens terrorists. History cannot be ignored!"

"To the children of this village," Jasmine countered, "you have brought violence, destruction, and death. These children will grow to adulthood and they will remember. They will know that you are the aggressors; they will know that you seek to exterminate them."

"We seek only to live in peace!" Pertinax was quick to interject. "We are not aggressors nor killers! But we will protect ourselves! We will fight for our way of life."

"While the violence goes on without end," Jasmine suggested. "You are sowing the seeds of future revolutionaries among the Clemens. You are creating animosity. You are fueling future violence. As I see it, you have two paths. The first, is the one you are presently pursuing. It will lead to unending conflict."

"We are strong and vigilant! We must meet terrorism with force! And we have! We also have allies in the world! Powerful allies! The mighty state of Marmot for one!" Pertinax shot a quizzical glance at Kamon. He was from Marmot.

"Yes, it is true. You do have powerful allies," Jasmine agreed. "But the people of western Kefar also have mighty allies. These allies will soon be drawn into the hostilities. Then you will have global conflict. And one day each side will have terrible, devastating weapons -- weapons that will be able to lay waste to this beautiful planet of yours. And they will be used. The temptation will be too great. Someone, somewhere, will ignite the spark which will set off global conflagration. The fighting will then truly come to an end -- permanently -- because there will be no humanoids remaining to continue the fighting."

"Global conflict?" Pertinax scoffed. "Terrible weapons? I think you are an alarmist. We will not allow the Clemens to arm themselves."

"You will not be able to stop it," Jasmine said. "I speak of weapons so powerful that you cannot even imagine their destructive potential."

"The stuff of science fiction, is that it, Jasmine?" Pertinax asked. "I'm disappointed in you. Usually, your arguments are much more coherent. In error, but coherent."

"I am not in error," Jasmine answered. "Nor am I speaking of science fiction."

"Science fiction or not," Pertinax said, "these people have few weapons to fight us with. We are maintaining order."

"It is a temporary order," Jasmine disagreed. "You are sowing the seeds of hatred. They will sprout and grow to maturity. Then violence will begin anew."

"And what would you have us do instead?" Pertinax asked, more as a challenge than a question.

"Put an end to it -- make peace. That is the second path you can follow. It is the only path which will ultimately save you -- and your planet. The choice is yours."

Pertinax shook her head. This was a useless debate. She had to be going. "Jasmine, I do want peace. I really do. But the solution is not as simple as you are trying to make it. We live under the shadow of decades of conflict. Mistrust. Hatred. These are feelings which cannot be swept away with the wave of a magic wand. I wish they could, but it is a useless dream."

Jasmine remain undeterred. "It can happen. If enough people believe in the dream -- it can happen."

"Well," Pertinax said, "I can't continue this debate forever. I must be going." She turned to address Kamon. "Again, Councilman, I welcome you to our country."

Kamon nodded an acknowledgement.

"This woman will teach you nothing useful about the situation here," Pertinax advised, glancing in Jasmine's direction. "She is an idealistic dreamer, out of touch with reality. Worse still, she is a meddler. She is unrealistically raising the hopes of these people. They have a place in our society -- to serve. It is all they are capable of. Look around you, Councilman. These are primitive people. They worship at a heathen altar. They are not like you and me. They understand only the rule of force."

"They seem not unlike me," Kamon replied soberly. "And I have learned that each individual should be free to pursue her own path in life."

"Already you have spent too much time with this woman," Pertinax sighed. "You are beginning to sound not like a Marmot Council member, but like Jasmine - a dreamer."

"No," Kamon shook his head. "Jasmine did not teach me this. I have seen it for myself. It is not mine to judge what another individual should be, nor to chart her future. It is for her to decide -- or him."

"Then I remind you, Councilman," Pertinax warned, "that you speak contrary to your religion, for I do not believe the Delphi would agree with you."

Kamon only shrugged in reply. He was much too wise to be drawn into a subject as dangerous as this.

Seeing that he had decided to discontinue the conversation, Pertinax chose to depart. There was nothing to be gained here, and perhaps it would be prudent not to press the point further. Despite his strange views, the man was a member of the Marmot Council. At least he said he was. Despite the fact that all his papers were in order, it was still difficult to believe.

"I do hope you will take time to enjoy some of the more pleasant spots available in our state, Councilman," Pertinax said in a gracious tone.

"The people here are very pleasant," Kamon replied.

With nothing more to say, Pertinax climbed into her vehicle. The convoy then drove away.

"What was that about 'devastating weapons'?" Kamon asked Jasmine after the vehicles were well away.

"Atomic power," Jasmine answered bluntly. "The splitting of the atom."

Kamon disguised his surprise. "Atomic power? What are you talking about?"

"Don't be coy, Kamon. You've heard of the Atomic Project."

Kamon lowered his voice. "That's a top secret government project. I'm not even supposed to know about it. How can you possibly know? And why are you so sure about my knowledge of it?" Thoughts of espionage flashed through Kamon's mind. As preposterous as it might seem, was he after all involved in a game of international intrigue? Was he the willing dupe?!

"I assure you, Kamon, I am not involved in espionage," Jasmine seemed to address his thoughts. "My purpose is as I have stated from the beginning -- to bring peace."

"I never spoke of espionage," Kamon said. It was more of a question than a statement. There were moments when serious doubts about Jasmine were uppermost in his mind. This was just such a time.

"But it was a logical thought," Jasmine said. "I was simply speaking to that."

Kamon nodded. What had he gotten himself into? It was a legitimate question, one he should be asking himself. Was he about to betray his country?

"I would never betray you, Kamon," Jasmine continued. Her voice was soft, her tone intimate. "I would defend you with my life."

Jasmine's dark brown eyes stared into his. Kamon could not deny the power of 'the look', for want of a better term, the way that Jasmine's eyes could capture him, hold him. She seemed so genuine, so sincere. Yes, she kept things from him, but she appeared to be filled with.....goodness. He hoped so anyway.

"Let's not get melodramatic," Kamon attempted to say in an easy manner. "I hardly think you'll need to defend me."

"You are so very understanding," Jasmine said. The intimacy in her voice remained, and Kamon had to acknowledge its effect on him. "Walk with me, would you please, Kamon?"

He nodded and the pair stepped away together.

"I am very grateful for your patience," Jasmine went on.

"What are we doing here, Jasmine?" Kamon asked. "Certainly the people of Purus need help, but is that our only purpose here?"

"No," Jasmine admitted. "We have much more to do. I still expect to bring the Clemens and the Fraus together."

"On this trip?" It seemed implausible to Kamon.

"Yes."

"Then who will you be talking to? For all practical purposes, we're out in the middle of nowhere."

"The time has not yet come, but it will soon," Jasmine answered. "Then you will know. It is better to wait."

"For who?" Kamon demanded. "I'm not sure I need all this protection, if that's what you're seeking."

"Trust me, Kamon. Even though you have no reason to, please trust me."

Kamon walked with Jasmine in silence. A frown was on his face. Finally he spoke. "A while longer, Jasmine. But very soon, you must provide me with more answers than you have to date."

"Thank you," Jasmine said. "It will be soon, I assure you. But on this note, I must unfortunately leave you for a while. No more than a day."

"Where are you going?"

"Out of the village."

"I figured that," Kamon said. Espionage. The thoughts returned. He wanted to trust her, but she always chose the path shrouded in mystery. Where was he headed here? What was Jasmine doing?

"I need to help someone," Jasmine explained.

"And you don't want me around," Kamon added for her.

"It's not like that. I do want you around, but I can't for this."

"Then what is it like?" Kamon pressed. "What's going on?"

"Later." Jasmine was ending the conversation despite a clear resolution. "I must go now. I prefer to leave on a positive note, but if I do not, it is entirely my fault." She moved away from Kamon.

"Jasmine." Kamon's voice stopped her. "Be careful. If you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask."

Jasmine's face softened. Her eyes held his. "That means a great deal to me, Kamon. Thank you."

Kamon watched Jasmine go. He had spoken with his heart, not his head. What was he doing?! Was he being charmed into betraying his state?!

Kamon watched as Jasmine scaled a barren hill. Where was she going? Why had she not taken the vehicle?

'No more than a day', she had said.

On foot? In this stifling heat? How far could she get? What kind of business could she possibly have out in the middle of nowhere?

Kamon stood watching until Jasmine passed over the hill and out of sight. It made no sense. But then, very little about Jasmine did.

END OF CHAPTER