Chapter 1 (1/2)
Treize File
Aurora Borealis... it's not produced by the planet itself, but rather by the planets of the solar system. The storm at Mars' North Pole had settled and the stars stretch out overhead. Once, the atmosphere was too thin to make the stars twinkle. Since the terraforming, the atmosphere has become more like Earth's and now, the stars do twinkle. But when the air is dead calm, that's when the Aurora Borealis comes. Before your eyes, a white curtain floats down. The thin, filmy light is like nothing so much as the hem of an angel's or G.o.d's cape. And when it flutters, shades of indigo, purple, green and even sometimes red bleed across the sky. That's Aurora Borealis. I'm aware that my description is somewhat cliche but be that as it may, that most excellent curtain of light is like a graceful and solemn circle dance.
Surprisingly, you can see the stars s.h.i.+ning through all the fluttering. Tens of thousands of kilometeres to the east, it changes into a curtain of deep green. It looks as though it might be hiding the stairway to heaven, like the stairs are hiding behind the billowing curtain of light. Watching this ever-changing curtain reminds me of the majestic beauty of nature and the mysteries of s.p.a.ce. If it's this beautiful from Mars, I can only imagine how much more beautiful it would have been as seen from the North Pole of Earth.
There must be people who object to calling Sleeping Beauty 'Aurora.' The story tellers of old could have easily called her Thalia. But if the name of Operation Mythos was misappropriated from Tchaikovsky's most famous cla.s.sical ballet, it stands to reason we'd also use 'Aurora.'
”For 'Aurora's Awakening,' there must be a three song prelude,” Father said. In Tchaikovsky's ballet, the prologue is in four parts. I thought it might be missing one of those four parts so I decided to listen to it to be sure.
”So, that means...” I said, looking to Father and Master Chang with a displeased look on my face. ”The old data files need a pa.s.sword or something and these files are needed to make the capsule work?”
”Exactly,” said Master Chang. Not to me, but to the microchip that contained the converted data files that I was holding. That was the only way Master Chang could look at me. As soon as I handed over the chip, he practically s.n.a.t.c.hed it away to scan and check the contents. Master Chang opened up another program and turned on the holographic monitor in front of us; then, he entered the pa.s.sword. The pa.s.sword was the year and season in which the filed was recorded.
”With this, we can start the defrost systems of the capuse.”
I couldn't help myself, it had been bothering me [since Father Maxwell mentioned it and] I had to toss out my how-many-parts-to-the-prologue question.
”But doesn't the prelude have four parts?”
”This boy is the fourth part,” Master Chang said. He glanced at Father as the data loaded.
”My prelude is equal to any symphony.”
I thought Father Maxwell seemed a little suspicious, what with being a priest, yet given to speaking with such bombast.
”The real problem is the condition Aurora will be in once he's out of stasis,” Father Maxwell said concernedly.
He might be a little shady, but he was surprisingly likable.
”Successful awakenings from artificial hibernation have an 80% success rate, but I'm seeing some abnormalities in the neuron secretions of the hippocampus. Meaning there is a chance his memories have been wiped out completely.”
”The old AC memories?”
”Well, yes.”
”Hey, Father c.r.a.pswell [#1],” the boy called Duo b.u.t.ted in. ”I couldn't give a rat's a.s.s about that, tell me where my partner is.”
”That is best left to Doktor T and Professor W.”
I had heard both of those names before.
”Do you by any chance mean Snow White and The Warlock?”
”Duh! Who else?!”
”You don't mean this kid is going to pilot...”
”Ah, well... he's been trained to Aurora's level for the sake of the symphony.”
So that's why he was named after the Gundam pilot Duo Maxwell. But as I thought about it... this little boy as a piolt... 'hard to believe' would have been putting it mildly.
”Equal? Screw that, I'm loads better [than Aurora is]. You don't know jack, Fat Max [#1].”
”It's my fault he's got such bad language. I raised him by myself after his mother died.”
”Unfortunately,” said Master Chang in a clipped voice as he glared at the holomonitor, ”neither the 'Aurora Princess' and your son are [the best choices] for this mission.”
”Well, we can't just leave him like that, now can we.”
”......” Master Chang kept silent.
”Father, are you a Preventer, too?”
”No, no. I don't have nearly as much leisure time on my hands as Master Chang,” he said with a grin. ”Let's just say that we're old friends.”
”Zero is the number of times I've ever considered you a friend.”
”Hey now, are your or are you not the same guy who looked death in the eyes with me on that lunar base?”
”Hn. I would probably be able to breathe a little easier now if you'd actually bit the dust then.”
”Says you, geeze.”
I had never seen Master Chang speak so much before. Father Maxwell was probably less of a good friend and more like bad company.
”The three files have been downloaded. All that's left are your files.”
”Yup.”
Father Maxwell tossed him the chip. Master Chang loaded it into the computer and downloaded the data.
”Are you going to download all that?”
”This is just the bare minimum.”
If Duo or myself didn't interviene, those two would soon be going for the jugluar. I wasn't normally one to pose stupid questions, but it was my responsibility to see this operation successfully accomplished. It was therefore in my best interest to go ahead and ask.
”This is probably a silly thing to ask, but this data is also from the AC era, correct?”
”Yes.”
”Is AC 130 the earliest history on record?” [Kathy or Duo #2]
”Are you really going to upload all that old data into Aurora?” [Kathy or Duo]
”If Aurora wakes up now, the body will be as good as it was when he was first put into stasis, but it's entirely possible that the mind has 'reset,' leaving it no more advanced that a baby's.” [Chang]
”What about checking that data?” [Kathy?]
”Did you want to censor something?” [Chang]
”That authority has been entrusted to President Catalonia.” [Kathy]
”Huh, so Dorothy's gotten along pretty well then. I've never met her myself.” [Father Maxwell]
And there was my proof that Father Maxwell was not a Preventer- to call the representative of the Earth sphere by her first name was unheard of.
”She's a brilliant broad... if Relena were at the helm, there wouldn't even be any Operation Mythos.”
Even if he was a Preventer, there's no way he would ever call his commanding officer a 'broad.”
”Say what you will, I'll have a look at Father Maxwell's files all the same.”
”Looks like it'll take some time.”
”What?”
”It might be better to say you'll experience it rather than read it,” Father Maxwell said, twirling a pair of sungla.s.ses. I didn't know what he meant at first, but then I realized those sungla.s.ses were actually the latest of virtual visors. It meant that the files had been recorded in 3D, and the contents of those files was sent straight to your brain as if you had experienced the events as a guest or onlooker.
”Aurora's mind was sophisticated. Can we really recreate it with just those files?”
Master Chang looked unsure.
”It's a risky bet... things might not go according to our expectations.”
”So he might betray us, like he did before?”
”I can't deny that that is a possibility.”
”It was pure luck this guy got to be Aurora... anyhow, it's a dangerous gamble we'd better make a bet we won't regret.”
Father Maxwell gave me a little wink.
”Well, I'm pretty beat after looking at all this.”
”Whatever... you're always like that.”
”I don't need a Preventer like you to tell me that.” [Er, Duo Jr. seems to be a Preventer then?]
I copied Father Maxwell's microchip and checked the file in question. It showed up on the holomonitor as a list of years and names and was separated into several chapters.
”Father, what's this?”
”You could call it a history book, or even a biography. Either way, everything about the past was processed by a special program called 'ZERO' and put onto this chip.”
”Why does it start from AC 130?”
”If we gave him memories fo all human history, he'd turn into an omniscient megalomaniac or something. That's why we're only giving him recent history, so he doesn't go bad. What he needs isn't a history of Mars, but a history of After Colony.”
I looked at Duo with sudden interest. Either he was bored stiff with our conversation, or in a huff because he was lying on the sofa in the back of the room. He had his back to us and his long brain hung limply all the way to the floor. For some reason, Father Maxwell looked nostalgically at Duo as he said:
”This isn't the tripe printed in history books, it's all the what we knew- the real behind the scenes stuff- that's really important.”
”However much ZERO figured out, we can't be sure your own subjectivity hasn't colored the files.”
”And why should you be? In any event, I have tried to be as objective as possible.”
”That's what I'm afraid of.”
”Hey, I'm being modest here... or aren't you Easterners familiar with the concept?”
And they were fighting like a pair of five year olds.
I focused on the files. 'Treize Khushrenada' was the very first heading. Since it was just text, I could read it on the holomonitor. It was, however, completely different from my own image of Treize. This is how Treize is portrayed according to the Preventers:
Treize Khushrenada (AC 171-195) Executive of Romefeller Foundation and unifying Commander in Chief of the secret society named ”OZ.” As his grandfather was commander in chief of Romefeller, Khushrenada was born into elite society. Moreover, he was extremely charismatic and by his excellent politics, collected many supporters and followers.
All his actions were backed up by his unique philosophy and aesthetic and the Treize & Lady Une Faction showed tremendous confidence in them. He was very aware of the sin of war and took it upon himself to memorize not only the number of casualties, but also the name of each and every person killed in the war.
Following the OZ coup de tat against the Alliance, Treize spoke out against Romefeller policies. That resulted in Treize losing his position for a time and he was put under house arrest for treason. After the death of Duke Dermail, he returned as the Commander in Chief of OZ.
Thereafter, he received the rank of Head of State from the Earth United Nation's Queen Relena and declared full war against Milliardo Peacecraft who was representing the colonial revolutionist group White Fang declared full war.
During the Eve Wars, Khushrenada challenged Peacecraft to a duel aboard Libra. Peacecraft refused and discharged Libra's big guns. As a result, Treize gave the order to commence the largest MS battle in history. The battle grew confused and Treize's final opponent was Gundam pilot 05. The battle was fierce, but ended in defeat for Treize whereupon he forfeit his life. He died at 24.
There aren't supposed to be any errors in that account. But those files of Father Maxwell's were unbefitting the uncommon hero. Surely he was a man of many mysteries. Why did he care about the fallen soldiers? When did he start memorizing the names of the dead and the number of casualties? When was his ideological and philosophical root severed and supplanted with a seed of pessimism? The answers were in those files. I borrowed Father's virtual visors and plugged them into the computer. I put on the visor and the word ”ZERO” popped up on screen. The calculated history was input directly into my brain. It was AC 170; it started one year before Treize was born.
AC 170 WINTER
Two lovers stood under the Aurora Borealis: Ein and Angelina. In the most northern part of the North American continent, there was a city called Yellow Knife. The couple stood in a field of snow and admired the beauty of the Aurora Borealis. The gorgeously resplendent curtain of light twinkled on endlessly. Later, even the locals would admit it wasn't often you saw such a marvelous sight (as was seen on that night). To call it the ultimate beauty of solar wind and magnetic fields wouldn't do it justice.
”Earth is beautiful from s.p.a.ce... I thought it was the most beautiful thing,” murmured a wide-eyed Ein. ”But then I came to Earth and actually saw this world and it's fantastic; inundated with beauty.”
”Ein...”
”Earth is beautiful... it's so beautiful, and yet...” Ein was troubled. Angelina guessed at his feelings.
”...”
Even though she understood what he wanted to say, she could offer him no words. On this beautiful Earth, ugly war would continue ceaselessly. And they were considering taking the war beyond the Aurora and out into s.p.a.ce. Ein pushed his worries aside and smiled. He decided to express his feelings about something else that was beautiful.
”The Aurora is beautiful, but nothing holds a candle to you.”
Angelina turned her eyes demurely downward at hearing his brazed admission.
”I'm not that pretty...”
Ein touched his fingers to her jaw and tipped her face to meet his.
”Don't look at me,” he said, ”look at the Aurora.”
”What?”
”I want to see the light reflected in your eyes... nothing else could possibly surpa.s.s that in beauty.”
They gazed into each other's eyes and then kissed pa.s.sionately.
Ein Yuy was born in AC 150. He was the nephew of colonial Problem Conference Engine representative Heero Yuy. Heero Yuy placed much confidence in him and by the tender age of 20, Ein had been entrusted with bridging the gap between the colonies and Earth. The current trip Ein was making to Earth was for the sake of promoting peaceful negotiations with the Cinq Kingdom, a medical state, and the Romefeller Foundation.
Angelina was the sole daughter of Romefeller representative Duke Cinquante Khushrenada; she was born in AC 152. Her father doted upon her from a very early age and she lived a life free from want. She often attended ceremonies and parties that promoted relations between the colonies and Earth. No one could have forseen the changes one of those mere parties would bring not only to her, but to all of mankind.
Ein and Angelina met at one of those parties on Earth. They fell in love at first sight and finally, after many a secret meetings, they managed to sneak away to the North Pole. It was unclear whether or not they actually inteded to elope at the time, but Angelina's feelings were unshakeable after sharing the Aurora with Ein.
”No regrets?”
”You're leaving after all?”
”Yes.”
”I love you, Ein.”
”And I, you, Angelina. But there is work to be done.”
”Then I am going to s.p.a.ce, too.”
Ein shook his head almost imperceptibly. There was no way the great house of Khushrenada would permit their only daughter such an outrageous flight of fancy. Any more than Ein Yuy could part company with his uncle Heero and stay on Earth. In words, it was impossible. Reality was a bitter pill to swallow for both halves of the couple. Nonetheless, they were so distraught over their parting, they considered any and every conceivable method to prevent it, so earnestly did they love one another. In the end, however, Ein was forced to leave Angelina behind and return to s.p.a.ce.
People who have known absolute beauty, however, reject living among what they would henceforth consider the polluted ma.s.ses of humanity and are given to acting irrationally.
The first time Angelina went to s.p.a.ce alone happened a month after she had stood in the snowy field watching the Aurora Borealis with Ein. He was on L-2 colony V08744 and attempting to prevail upon an anti-Allicance resistance group to give up at least military means of resistance. V08744 was, at the time, the most extreme of the anti-Alliance factions. Since it's construction in AC97, it was seething with malcontent and loathing at the squalid living conditions and ceaseless rioting brought on by a long reign of poverty. All that rage was pointed like a spearhead at the United Earth Alliance. Ein, however, had been successful in his persuasion. He had convinced the resistance of Heero Yuy's ideal: create equality for the Earth and the colonies both.
Heero Yuy's was a name destined to go down in the history books, but would it be for his legendary leaders.h.i.+p and brilliant political skill or, from another perspective, because of his nephew Ein Yuy's quiet contributions of strengthening intercolonial relations?
After Ein successfully persuaded the resistance group, Angelina unexpectedly appeared before his eyes.
”Ein,” she said, suddenly throwing herself into his arms and kissing him for the first time in a month. Eine spared but a thought for the onlookers, then without even considering the danger, embraced his greatest love.
”Angelina.”
The couple got married on V087444 at the small Maxwell church. At the end of December AC 170 (by some accounts, it was Christmas day), the star crossed lovers, the most perfectly matched couple in all of s.p.a.ce, became husband and wife. Among the attendees was Ein's uncle Heero Yuy, who gave a short speech of congratulations.
”May the future of these two be full of blessings. We the people of the colonies did not leave Earth to start a war, we cam to love and to love one another. We would like you to think that s.p.a.ce exists for the sake of love.”
There are now no traces of the Maxwell church (which should have stood to commemorate the couple for years to come). In AC 188 a group of anti-Alliance colonists staged a coup de tat. More than 240 people died when the church was burned to the ground. All the world over, the event has been referred to as the Maxwell Church Tragedy. If Heero or Ein had lived, if they had been on L-2, perhaps the tragedy could have been avoided. However, talk of how history could have been different, the would-haves and could-haves, is just so much wasted breath.
For the time being, though, Ein and Angelina started their life together on the colony. Their life was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with happiness. more than ever before, Ein served as Heero's right hand man, working vigorously to deepened intercolonial cooperation. Because of this, however, he and Angelina could not stay in one place long. Instead, they continuously shuttled around from one cheap hotel to the next. As Heero Yuy's tools of persuasion in colonial political activities were purity and integrity, he never once used money from his backers or campaign funds or personal wealth (to support himself).
Also, the Cosmo Arma was hostile towards the colonies and feared Heero Yuy was scheming to unite all the colonies (against earth). They were vascillating over whether or not to result to desperate measures and a.s.sa.s.sinate Heero Yuy. Likewise, Ein, too, was forced into more secluded political activities.
There was no reason Angelina, daughter of the plutocratic Khushrenada family, should have been satisfied with such a vagabond lifestyle. And yet, she continually a.s.serted that, as long as she was with Ein, she was happy. And that was how she lived her life until the summer of AC 171 when she happened to meet Heero Yuy again.
AC 171 SUMMER
”It has been too long, Uncle Heero,” said Angelina, who was pregnant with her first child.
”h.e.l.lo, Angelina. You've grown even beautiful.”
”How nice of you to say that... but your flattery is wasted.”
”But Angelina, if you want a smooth birth, Earth is preferable to the colonies,” Heero said as he stroked his bushy eyebrows as was his wont.
Angelina was surprised to hear Heero Yuy, visionary of the colonies, spouting hundred year old superst.i.tions about the dangers of giving birth in s.p.a.ce.
”There is no need to worry. The medical team from the Cinq Kingdom has already solved that problem. Today, there are no abnormalities of the womb caused by being in s.p.a.ce.” Families like the Winners were even conducting tests on DNA manipulated test tube babies.
”Of course there aren't. I was merely concerned for the baby's grandfather, Duke Cinquante Khushrenada.”
”What about my father?”
”Since you came to s.p.a.ce, he seems rather depressed. When he heard about the child, he became terribly worried, or so I gather.”
There had been information about peole employed by Khushrenada to bring Angelina back to Earth. It was hardly unusual for an old fas.h.i.+oned man such as Cinquant Khushrenada to fear the old superst.i.tions about giving birth in s.p.a.ce. Most people on Earth firmly believed that bearing children in s.p.a.ce usually ended in death for both mother and child. That vicious fallacy was intentionally spread in order to prevent further loss of great minds to the s.p.a.ce colonies.
”I could sound out Romefeller if you'd like...”
”Uncle, I am afraid I must decline your offer,” Angelina said resolutely. ”Our child has no connection whatsoever to the rest of the Khushrenadas.”
”But Angelina...”
”Heero had spoken out of worry for Angelina, but his words fell on deaf ears.
”Please, uncle, do not worry about us. We will manage somehow.” She then changed the subject by asking about something that had been bothering her, ”What about you, uncle? Aren't you going to marry? I think it should be your lineage that carries the future of the colonies and the Earth.”
”As long as there is someone who can continue my work, that is enough. Just so long as the name Heero Yuy doesn't fade from the history books.”
And then, Heero foreshadowed the future:
”If something should happen to me, Ein will continue in my place. And...” he gently touched Angelina's swollen stomach and a tender smile lifted his lips. ”I'd be honored if this child might also.”