XLII - Confessions

Casio set down his chain saw and sat on a stump. Sweat was streaming down his face. He was breathing heavily and he was tired.

Kamon stopped his chain saw and looked over at him. "Are you okay?"

"Take a break for a few minutes, would you?" a tired Casio pleaded.

"You can take a break and I'll keep working," Kamon said. "It'll be okay."

"No, it won't be okay!" Casio complained. "I don't want that chain saw roaring while I'm trying to rest! Take a break!!"

Kamon set down his chain saw and sat on a stump next to Casio. "Okay."

The two rested for a quiet moment. Kamon's cabin was behind them. Three weeks had passed since Mavox Pro's visit here.

"Why are we cutting these trees anyway?!" Casio finally grumbled. "I thought you wanted them left untouched forever and beyond into the next eon!"

"We're not cutting them all," Kamon explained. "Just this section south of the cabin. The money is needed to fund the peace foundation set up in Jasmine's memory. New trees can be planted; they will grow; then one day they can be cut and sold to sustain the peace movement."

"Yeah, well I think you're turning into a real flower child! Pretty soon you'll be over in the Circle with the rest of the peace-niks chanting mantras and inhaling funny stuff while proclaiming you want to return to nature!" Casio's own peculiar strain of sarcasm was flowing freely. Kamon could not suppress a grin.

"And what's so funny, anyway?" Casio continued grumbling. "I came out here with you for a little vacation -- not to train for the next live wrestling match on television!"

The two men sat on stumps for a while in silence, resting. It was well past dusk now. Stars were beginning to appear in the night sky.

"Casio," Kamon said at last, "you never did tell me exactly what the Delphi said when you presented her with the information on Quartz Lok's natural parents."

"It went something like," Casio began, changing his tone to imitate the Delphi's, " 'Are you trying to blackmail me, young man?!' "

"And how did you respond?" Kamon asked.

"I told her how glad I was that she understood the situation," Casio replied.

Kamon laughed. "And you have no compunctions about resorting to blackmail?" he finally asked.

"Are you serious?!" Casio exclaimed in disbelief. "If you think I am going to spend my time wringing my hands over the morality of the actions I took, then you really did fall on your head while climbing around out on the mountains! I'm one of the good women and don't you make no mistake about that! Case closed; done deal!"

Kamon did not respond. He had hoped to find some amusement in the conversation. He had not been disappointed.

"So, Hawk, as long as we're engaging in true confessions here, don't you think it's about time you told me what REALLY happened to the peace lady? Those lunatic peace-niks keep blabbering that she rose up into heaven to join Nome! Why don't you enlighten them a little? At least, enlighten me!"

"There are hundreds of thousands of planets with intelligent life on them in this universe," Kamon said. "Thousands of them with technology equal to ours or even more advanced. Each planet is inhabited by people who are in real danger of destroying themselves if they don't learn how to get along with one another. And even if they manage to avoid self-destruction, they'll still bring needless suffering to millions."

"I lie awake nights just worrying about 'em all," Casio deadpanned. Where was this headed?!

"Someone has to help the people on these planets," Kamon went on. "Show them the right path; teach them the essence of unity."

"WOULD YOU JUST PLEASE TELL ME WHERE THE PEACE LADY WENT!?!" Casio erupted.

Kamon pointed upward, directing Casio's attention to the night sky. "Do you see the Dipper up there, Casio?"

Casio followed Kamon's gaze, viewing the constellation. "Yeah. So? A bunch of stars form a thing that looks like a cup with a long handle on it! Big deal! If I wanted to go to a planetarium, I could have stayed in Positron!"

"Beyond those stars," Kamon answered wistfully, "making up the Dipper......that is where Jasmine has gone.....to pick up her brother....on a planet called Meltrona."

Casio looked down and shook his head in exasperation. "Okay, so don't tell your best pal in the whole world!"

THE END

Gary and Lee Hart