14 years later

  Megalodon City, Tundra, standard year 389 after founding

  “Robert will take you… somewhere.” Samantha Hawk said, taking a breath and praying for patience. “Whether he wants to or not. Your entire existences is his… responsibility.” She finished through gritted teeth.

  “You were going to say it’s his fault.” James pointed out, taking a bite of his apple. “Can Tony and Clara come?”

  “No. Tony and Clara cannot come. Tony and Clara, have school. Because they were not expelled.” Samantha said sharply.

  “There was an unforeseeable complication.” James pointed out. It had seemed like a brilliant idea at the time. And Tony and Clara had in fact been deeply and directly involved. Tony’s involvement had been so deep that the whole thing was his idea. But James was always assumed to be the leader, and always got the blame. There was no point in taking others down with him. And to give Tony some credit, it had been an epic idea. New aqueducts designed to carry Tundran seawater were being built to run through the massive, self contained buildings humans used to survive in the harsh frozen climate of Tundra. Attracted by the unusually warm water, Tundran sea life swarmed the aqueducts by the millions. And once complete, the aqueducts would provide a reliable food source for the entire human population. It was a great honor to have their school be one of the testing grounds for the new system. And it was Tony who pointed out that draining the school’s swimming pool and redirecting the aqueduct water teeming with fish towards the pool, would be an epic accomplishment. And it would have been. If it weren’t for the massive water surge caused by the tsunami. The school was only partially flooded.

  “I can miss a day of school. I’m already top of the class.”

  “You’re not top of your class at shooting.” Samantha snapped.

  “I’m second.”

  “And how is that top of your class?”

  James took another bite of his apple.

  “You are responsible for the consequences of your actions, James.” His mother continued the lecture, unphased. “Regardless of how unforeseeable the circumstances.”

  “It was a tsunami.”

  “Nevertheless.”

  ---

  “It was a tsunami.” James repeated, somewhat more defensively, as Robert Nagar sat across from him at the kitchen table later that morning.

  “They happen nearly every year.” Robert pointed out. “In the summer. And the current season on Tundra is… what would you say is the season, James?”

  “Summer.” James swallowed. It really had seemed like a brilliant idea at the time. “Where are we going?” James asked, suddenly eager to change the subject.

  “Work.” Robert said, getting up. “I don’t have time to babysit.”

  “You’ve never taken me to work before.” James said, somewhat wary but interested. "What am I going to do at Tundran Secret Service headquarters?”

  “That, will be entirely up to you.”

  ---

  There was nothing special about TSS headquarters, not on the surface. The security check was a bit more thorough than usual, the cold look in the guard’s eyes perhaps somewhat more intense. But the interior was just like any other, a drab Tundran gray and white color scheme, furniture that leaned towards muted dark colors between black, burgundy and brown. The people were somewhat of a mix. Some were so nondescript they practically blended into the walls. But not everyone. There were some that stood out, not because of their clothes, not even necessarily because of their physical appearance. It was something about the way they carried themselves. Something that drew the eye. Watching, James knew that his mother, who had once also worked for the Tundran Secret Service, would have been one of them. And all of them, every single one, treated Robert with visible honor and respect.

  “She’s ready for you.” One of the nondescript men said quietly, walking up to them. He looked down at James curiously, but said nothing.

  “Thank you.” Robert said with a nod. He glanced down at James. “Would you like to come?” He offered.

  “Uh.” James froze in the middle of the hallway as the streams of people carefully edged around them, trying to ignore the curious glances being shot his way. “What?” He said intelligently.

  “Would you like to come? For the interrogation. It is up to you.”

  “I can come for the interrogation?”

  “You could.”

  “Wouldn’t I… I mean… what if I got in the way?”

  “That is not a concern.” Robert said flatly.

  “Uh. Sure. Yeah, all right.” James nodded. It wasn’t that James was entirely stupid. He knew it was probably a terrible idea. He just didn’t have the willpower to say no to that kind of an offer. He wanted to ask more questions, about the nature of the interrogation, about who was being interrogated, but there were too many people, their eyes all on him. Recognizing him, waiting to see if he would make a mistake or say something stupid. Silently, James followed Robert down the hallway towards the elevator banks. They went back down. Way down.

  “Why is it not a concern?” James asked as they headed out of the elevator and down a much emptier hallway.

  “You’ll see.” Robert replied, his dry, somewhat hollow voice as flat as ever. He walked into one of the many rooms lining the windowless corridor, scanning his pass and waiting for the green light. Holding the door open, he gestured for James to precede him inside the room.

  The instant James walked in, he knew that it was definitely a terrible idea. Even worse than he thought, and he already thought it was a pretty terrible idea. But it was too late to back out. So he did the only other thing he could think of, he sat down on one of the two metal chairs, across from a chained woman who stared at him, her eyes bruised and dim. Electrodes were attached to her shaved head. James slid his gaze over towards Robert. Was Robert seriously going to interrogate someone in front of him? At worst, he had imagined Robert might ask someone some questions. He had not imagined… this.

  Robert sat down in the other chair, the expression on his face exactly the same as before. “I have some questions to ask you.” He said, turning towards the woman. As before, there is a light behind your left shoulder, that will flash red or green depending on whether your answers are truthful. If you do not answer truthfully, I will leave and come back tomorrow. Do you understand?”

  The woman started shaking.

  “If you do not wish to answer,” Robert repeated, in the same flat, expressionless voice he used when he spoke with James “I will come back tomorrow.”

  “No.” The woman shook her head, her eyes wide with terror. “I’ll answer. I…I’ll answer. I understand.”

  “Very good. How did you get onto the planet?”

  The shaking got worse. The woman did not want to answer the question. Instinctively, James knew she would betray someone if she did.

  “There was a ship.” The woman whispered. The interrogation went on, as Robert patiently gathered the details. First little things like the kind of ship it was and the route but then, bit by bit, he got to the more important things that would lead to others ending up in that room, like the owner of the ship and his associates. The funny thing was, once the woman started talking, it seemed easier. As if once she had given up the ship, it made it ok to give up everything else. She kept talking. She brought the weapon with her, yes, the ship owner knew. He had his own issues with the current administration. He wanted the president dead as much as the Sarayans.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  James started, sitting up straighter in his chair. He regretted it immediately, knowing he had brought attention to himself in that tiny, airless room where he should not exist. The woman’s eyes turned towards him, narrowing slightly as if just on the edge of recognition.

  “How did you get access to the Office of the President?” Robert asked, ignoring the silent exchange.

  James thought she would hesitate, but she didn’t. She rushed on faster, as if wanting to get it all out, wanting it all to be finished.

  “There was a woman, she delivered the coffee and baked goods every morning. I found a way to replace her.”

  “How?” Robert asked.

  The woman hesitated. For some inexplicable reason, her eyes slid back towards James. “Who are you?” She whispered.

  “I can come back tomorrow.” Robert offered. “If you are not ready to finish today.”

  “He’s going to kill me.” The woman said, her eyes suddenly focused on James. “Did you know that? He’s going to kill me today. I think that bothers you. Yes, it does bother you. Those gray eyes. I know those eyes. You’re him. You’re hers. She sat up straighter, her face suddenly contorted in rage. You’re hers. Do you know what she did? What she did to all of us? What happened to Saraya after she killed our president? It’s gotten worse. So much worse. She brought this hell on us! I hope she burns. I hope you all burn, your entire family. It’s not just President Thornhill’s blood on your hands. Look at what’s happened since he’s been gone!”

  Silently, James turned to Robert. But there was no help there, Robert simply sat quietly, to all outward appearances perfectly happy to let the scene play out as it would.

  “Um. Am I allowed to talk?” James asked.

  “You can do whatever you wish.” Robert answered.

  And then, because James was not, after all, entirely stupid, he asked what suddenly seemed to him the most relevant question “Am I allowed not to talk?”

  For the first time that morning, the briefest of smiles crossed Robert’s face. “Yes.” He said.

  James nodded, and sat silently, his gray eyes on the woman across from him.

  “How did you replace the woman who brought the baked goods?” Robert asked again.

  “I killed her and stole her pass. She looks a little like me. Like the way I used to look.” She whispered, her voice suddenly quieter, the exhaustion showing through. “I look like her. Did you know that? I used to look like her. Like your mother. I’m his type. That’s why they sent me. Do you see it boy?”

  James sat in his chair, silent.

  “Are there more coming?” Robert asked.

  “There are always more coming.” The woman answered.

  “Do you have any knowledge of plans for an additional attempt?”

  “No.” The woman collapsed into her chair slightly, deflated. They were coming to the end of it. Everyone in the room knew it. She knew it. She could try to keep it going but she hurt, and she was tired.

  “Is there anything important you’re not telling me?” Robert asked.

  There was a long, taut silence as the woman stared at him. She turned back to James. “It’s your fault.” She said. “It’s your fault I’m going to die here today. You could have stopped it. I hope you remember that. I hope you remember it for the rest of your goddamn life.” She spit in James’s general direction.

  “I need you to answer my question.” Robert repeated, his voice as flat and emotionless as ever.

  “Just do it.” The woman whispered. “Just get it over with.”

  “If you don’t answer my question” Robert repeated, with seemingly infinite patience “I can come back tomorrow.”

  “No.” The woman shook her head, shrinking back into her chair. “No. Nothing. There’s nothing. You have everything.” She put her head down.

  “James.” Robert said.

  Gray eyes huge in his pale face, James turned towards Robert.

  “Do you wish to leave?” Robert asked.

  “Wh-what?” James asked.

  “Do you wish to leave now?” Robert repeated. “It is your choice.”

  James turned towards the woman who stared back at him, her eyes suddenly wide with fear. He hesitated, hating himself for being there and for stretching out something that he instinctively knew should happen as quickly as possible. “No.” He said after only a brief pause that somehow felt like an eternity. “No, I don’t need to leave. Just do it.”

  And then it was done. Just like that, a heartbeat after he said the words. James stared at the dead woman, his stomach twisting.

  “James.” Robert said. “Please look at me.”

  James looked at him.

  “What she said, she said to get inside your head. You had absolutely no control over what happened in this room, and whether she lived or died. Do you understand that?”

  “Yes.” James said.

  “If you are ever unsure, I am here to remind you. Had you tried to attack me to prevent this, you would have failed, had you begged, you would have failed. I am not suggesting you would do any of these things. I am simply telling you the facts. What happened here was always going to happen. You were just an observer.”

  “Why?” James asked.

  “That, is an excellent question. Come on.” Robert got up. “We can talk about it over lunch.”

  ---

  James stared down at the sandwich on his plate as if it were a baby penguin, about to spit necrotic poison in his face. The thought of lunch left him at serious risk of losing his breakfast. They were in Robert’s office. No longer wanting to look at his food, he looked out the large window, towards the city and the sparking blue ocean beyond, completely unfrozen during the Tundran summer. The day was unexpectedly bright and sunny, with barely a cloud in the sky.

  “Why?” James repeated, his voice nearly as flat and expressionless as Robert’s.

  “Who do you want to be when you grow up, James?” Robert asked, unexpectedly.

  “Not you.”

  “Then who?”

  “You know the answer to that.”

  “I don’t.” Robert shook his head. “I know what your father and mother want. I’ve never asked what you wanted.”

  “I want to join the navy and be the president, like my dad.” James said. On a different day, perhaps he would have appreciated being asked. No one ever bothered to ask.

  “And what is it that you think people who serve in the navy do?”

  “I…” James paused. “I suppose they kill people.” He said, with reluctance. “Sometimes.” He added.

  “It is rather romantic, isn’t it? To imagine blowing up ships in space. But who do you think is on those ships?”

  “But we don’t torture them.” James said, digging in his heels. “Or put electrodes on their heads. I’m not… I’m not disrespecting what you do, Robert. You keep my family safe. You’ve saved our lives. I know that. I just… I just don’t want to do those things.”

  Robert nodded. “I understand. I don’t want to do them, either. That’s the problem, you see. Usually, you want people to love their jobs. The woman who delivered those baked goods to the Office of the President, I’m sure she loved to bake. But when it comes to killing and torturing people, you don’t want the ones who love it to be the ones doing that job. It creates bad incentives. Eat your sandwich.”

  “I’m not hungry.” James said flatly.

  “Your mother won’t be pleased if you skipped lunch.”

  “My mother might not be pleased about a lot of things.”

  “You would be surprised.” Robert said.

  “Did she ask you to… no. She didn’t. She wouldn’t. I know she wouldn’t. This one’s all you, Robert.” James forced himself to look down at his sandwich, forced himself to dampen the confrontational tone of his voice.

  “She did not ask. But she will understand.”

  “Good for her.” James muttered.

  “You can turn it off.” Robert offered, his eyes on James.

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “The empathy.” Robert explained. “You can turn it off. It is a choice, for you, to feel this.”

  “I don’t think it is.” James said with a frown.

  “You are mistaken. It is a choice.”

  “Is that… is that something my mom said?” James asked, puzzled by Robert’s certainty. “It’s not a choice for everyone, is it? Most people feel empathy whether they want to or not.”

  “Some people do, yes.” Robert shrugged. “Biology is rarely binary. Empathy, loyalty, aggression, even life and death. It is rarely all or nothing. The most empathetic can be terribly cruel under the right circumstances. But yes, your mother can also choose, whether to feel empathy or not.”

  “It’s not like a switch you can flip on and off.” James said.

  “That is also correct.” Robert agreed. “The more often you turn it off, the colder you become. Over time, some people can lose their ability to switch back entirely. Lose their ability to feel.”

  “I don’t need to turn it off for this.” James said flatly. And then he took another bite of his sandwich. Just to show that he could.

  “No.” Robert said, his voice softening unexpectedly. “You don’t need to turn it off for this. You’re stronger than that. Come on.” He said, getting up from his desk somewhat abruptly. “You’re done with your sandwich and the day is not yet done. It’s time to go.”

  “Where?” James asked with trepidation as he followed Robert out the door.

  “I have nothing else urgent on my agenda. I can take the afternoon off.”

  “To do what?” James asked, hurrying to keep up.

  “Go fishing.”

  ---

  “It’s just fishing, right?” James asked, not bothering to mask his suspicion as he got into the car next to Robert, heading down the open summer road, free of snow, towards the ship docks just outside the city.

  “Yes.”

  “We’re not going to torture the fish or interrogate or… or really do anything in any way weird with the fish, right? Nothing that I have not previously done with fish.” James added. He really wanted to be clear on this point.

  “Why would we torture fish?” Robert asked.

  “Maybe they know something they haven’t told us yet.”

  “That is indeed possible. But their communication skills are limited. I deem it to be unproductive.”

  “Right. So we’re not gonna do that.”

  “No. We’re just going to catch fish.”

  “Ok. Because in the spirit of free choice, if we’re doing anything else with the fish, I’m out. Just completely, 100% out. Not in.”

  “Are we going to kill the fish?” Robert asked. “Or just catch it?”

  James hesitated. “Well we have to kill it to eat it.”

  “That would be preferable, I agree.”

  “We can kill the fish as quickly and painlessly as it is possible to kill fish.” James said carefully.

  “I can do that.”

  “Good.”