Legends III : LEGENDS OF LIFE. Part 2.
by Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
---
Gillian's hand snaked through the dirt and found Jessie's. "It's
alright," she whispered, although her heart was pounding in
amazement. "I know who that is."
"Who?" asked Jessie nervously.
"I don't know how, I don't know why, but that is John Danziger."
Jessie's jaw dropped. "But he should have been dead years ago!
It can't be him...the planet, the Terrians, they would have known.
They would have told me!"
"Or me," realised Gillian. A startling new thought struck her.
"Perhaps it *was* him I was called to find."
"And not Devon?"
That caused Gillian to pause. She had been so sure that Devon was
calling to her, searching for release from her coffin. But perhaps
it was Danziger who was trapped instead...some strange phenomena
that suspended the advancement of his years and caught him in a
living hell. Anything was possible.
The man was still shouting and raving, screaming at the girls over
and over to go away.
"Uh...Mr. Danziger?" began Gillian, her face still buried in the
dirt.
He paused as he recognised his name. "What do you want?"
Danziger snapped, not lowering the mag-pro.
Gillian looked to Jessie, suddenly at a loss for words. "What do
we want?" she hissed.
"To help," offered Jessie. Gillian gave a half-nod in agreement.
"Mr. Danziger, we came out here to help you."
"I don't need any help," he snarled. "I'm here to watch over *her*
and that means you're not coming any closer, whoever the hell you
are!"
"You don't understand," protested Gillian. "We want to help Devon,
too."
"Devon?" Danziger repeated. His expression changed into one of
great hope. "You mean...you can save her? You can bring her
back?" He began to tremble, an old man overcome with the
possibility of having his love returned to him.
Gillian watched his reaction, and felt her heart breaking. This
was the man who's story she had read. A man she had admired for
his brave actions, and cried with when he lost so much. She had
even cried *for* him.
And now she was the one to tell him that Devon could never be
saved.
Slowly, Gillian lifted herself out of the dirt. "No," she said as
calmly as she could, but even so, she could not stop her voice
trembling a little. "I can't bring her back. But I can help."
"How?" barked Danziger angrily. "Why? What do you have to do with
Devon?"
"I can't explain it," Gillian replied. "But Devon called me out
here. I heard her in my dreams...and my nightmares. She's in
pain." Gillian tactfully neglected to mention the Terrians, for
she knew well of John Danziger's wariness of the race.
Jessie finally decided to face Danziger. As she got to her feet,
she said, "We can talk about this, if only you would put the mag-
pro down...."
But he had already done that, a stunned expression on his face as
he got his first good look at Jessie. "Julia?" And seeing her
brought back so many memories....
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
John Danziger hesitantly knocked on the door of Julia and Alonzo's
small house in the growing town of Devon. In the four years since
the colony ship had arrived, the growth in G889's population was
incredible. Ariel Martin had the notable distinction of being the
struggling colony's first baby, but since her birth three years
ago, there had been a literal explosion of children.
Life was thriving on G889 and all Council threats were forgotten
long ago with the revelation that Reilly was nothing more than a
computer. When the colony ship arrived, they had docked with the
orbiting satellite and disabled the program manually. The members
of the Eden Project were now safe in the knowledge that they were
on their own and the Council was a danger that lurked long ago.
Danziger listened intently and heard light footsteps approach the
door. It could only be Julia, because Alonzo was away on another
of his long exploration treks. Danziger wondered why Julia had
invited him over, because even though all of Eden Advance were
close, he and Julia were never especially good friends.
"Hi," she said softly when she opened the door. She looked tired
and there was more than a trace of loneliness in her eyes. She was
missing Alonzo.
"Julia, hi," he replied, shifting from foot to foot.
"Come in," she motioned, and led him through to the sitting room.
The house was small, as were most houses at New Pacifica, but it
had been built by Alonzo and Julia themselves a few months before
their marriage.
They sat awkwardly, Danziger still wondering what it was all about.
Finally, Julia began to speak.
"I'm not sure if I should be telling you this, John, but, well,
you're the closest thing Uly has to a father, so I was wondering if
you could have a talk with him or something."
Danziger frowned. "Is there a problem at the hospital?" Recently,
Uly had expressed an interest in learning to be a doctor and
helping sick children as he had been helped when he was younger.
"No, nothing like that," quickly assured Julia. "What I'm trying
to say is that Uly is growing up. And he's starting to
see...me...in a more-than-friendly-way." The last part of the
sentence came out in a rush, and Danziger stated dumbly at her for
a moment. Then the truth dawned on him.
"You mean that Uly has a crush on you?"
Her cheeks coloured, Julia nodded. "I never even saw it coming,"
she admitted. "We've always been close, particularly after he lost
his mother. I thought we were just good friends, but lately, well,
you know," she trailed off.
Danziger fought the impulse to laugh aloud. He'd noticed that Uly
seemed secretive lately - he was growing up and beginning to notice
girls for the first time. True, of course, teased him mercilessly
and seized every opportunity to irritate her 'adopted' brother.
"I knew someone was special to him, Julia," said Danziger, "but I
never guessed it was you." He suddenly remembered something. "Was
it you who he gave that bunch of flowers to a few days ago?"
Julia nodded ruefully. "He was so proud when he presented them to
me! He said he grew them himself, and they were to cheer me up
while Alonzo was away. And he's always doing other small things
for me - today, he held out my chair at lunch before I sat down!"
It was obvious that these small gestures were really beginning to
trouble Julia. While both the doctor and Danziger knew that Uly
would grow out of his infatuation, Julia was uncomfortable with the
current situation. Something needed to be done.
"Uly's been spending most of his spare time at the hospital
lately," Danziger realised. "Come to think of it, he doesn't bring
home friends in the way True does."
Julia nodded. "So do you have any ideas about what I could do?
Uly has the potential to be a wonderful healer one day and I don't
want to take his life at the hospital away from him."
Rubbing his chin (which was in need of a shave, Danziger
reflected), he suggested, "Is Uly aware how much you care for
Alonzo?"
"Of course he is, he was part of our wedding party!" Julia promptly
replied. "I'm sure he knows how much 'Lonz and I love each other."
"Maybe he needs to hear you say it," said Danziger thoughtfully.
"You could begin by telling Uly how much you miss Alonzo." Julia
leaned closer to Danziger, her blue eyes wide.
"Can I trust you to keep a secret?" Julia asked. Of course she
could, but she needed verbal confirmation.
"You can trust me," replied Danziger. "Shoot."
"I'm pregnant. With twins."
Danziger's eyes almost popped out. Julia was one of the last
people he'd expect to consider motherhood. She had her hands full
running the hospital and determining exactly what impact the
Terrian links were having on the Transformed children. There were
still many families wary of the Terrians and the planet, although
more open-minded parents encouraged their children to learn about
the Dreamplane.
"Does Alonzo know?" Danziger asked.
"No. I haven't told anyone yet. I don't even know if I want to be
a mother!"
Danziger sat back, a little stunned. When he'd learnt that Ellie
was pregnant, there'd been no questions as to whether to keep the
child or not. Danziger had known in that moment that a child would
be the best thing that ever happened to him.
But he could understand Julia's dilemma, too. With such a full
life and an all too often absent husband, it was no wonder she was
having doubts.
Danziger paused to phrase his next question diplomatically. "Do
you still have a choice?"
Julia nodded, and replied, "That's why I'm so scared. I feel like
I should discuss this with Alonzo, but I don't want any pressure.
This has to be *my* decision, and mine alone."
Nodding, Danziger silently agreed with her. He'd been pressured by
so many people to let baby True go: doctors recommending abortion
in case of brain damage, friends telling him he wasn't fit for
fatherhood, and his own guilt over bringing her into a world where
life was so difficult. Suddenly, he felt compelled to tell Julia
all of this.
The doctor listened quietly as Danziger shared his own experiences.
"True is the best thing that ever happened to me," he said
vehemently. "So if you have even the slightest desire to be a
mother, then go for it. I guarantee it's worth it."
Julia smiled at him. Come to think of it, she'd never met a parent
who regretted having children. She felt the edges of her
apprehension begin to slip away, and for the first time, was able
to view her own pregnancy as a good thing.
"I could have children!" she said in an awed voice. "Little
people, to love, to teach, to watch grow up." Julia was suddenly
struck by an intense feeling of excitement along with the fear of
motherhood.
"Imagine," she continued softly, "having a daughter. Loving her,
giving her the chance to do the things that I never could. Like
making her dresses for her first dance, teaching her to braid her
hair...."
Danziger smiled, liking this sentimental side of Julia that was
often hidden. "You'd be a great mom," he reassured her. Julia
turned to him and again smiled, her blue eyes glowing with so much
feeling.
"Thank you John, thank you so much." Her voice was low and sincere
as she took his hand. "I feel like everything's beginning to make
sense now."
"And Uly?"
"Uly...I could tell him that I'm going to be a mother. That might
help him realise that his crush will never amount to anything."
"Just one more point, Julia," interrupted Danziger quickly.
"What's that?"
"You should tell Alonzo *first*...."
They both laughed at that. "I can't wait to see his face when he
hears the news," Julia chuckled. "I don't think he ever imagined
being a father!"
"Ah, 'Lonz will love it," predicted Danziger. "He's done a hell of
a lot of growing up ever since we crashed here."
"You're right," nodded Julia. Her eyes misted over. "I wish he
were here."
As she spoke of Alonzo, Danziger saw the light in Julia's eyes and
felt a touch of sadness. There was something similar missing from
his own life yet he couldn't quite fathom what it was. Someday, he
would remember.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I'll never forget that day, Julia," Danziger said sincerely.
"That was one of the closest times we had. And remember the twins
- Lissa and Ethan - you were radiant when they were born."
Gillian, listening to the vivid testimony, stifled a sniff. These
moments had not been in Bess's book, but were a poignant reminder
of how wonderful things *could* have been if the circumstances were
different.
Julia never did have the chance to see her daughter grow up. She
died when the twins were barely four years old. Life wasn't fair
sometimes. Tragedies happened and there was nothing anyone could
do to prevent it. All you could do, thought Gillian, was bear the
pain and someday, hope you could smile again.
She watched as Danziger, old, old John Danziger, smiled hopefully
at Jessie. "I didn't think I'd see you again," he said. A small
frown crossed his forehead. "Why did I think that?" he asked, more
to himself than the girls. Then his eyes grew wide. "You died,"
Danziger said simply.
Jessie nodded. "*Julia* died," she emphasised. "My name is Jessie
and I am one of her descendants. But!" and she held up her hands
before Danziger could protest, "Julia's legacy lives on. Her work,
her spirit, is not forgotten."
Danziger stared at her deeply. "Well if you're not Julia, then why
are you here?"
***
It was an impossible situation, Gillian reflected. She and Jessie
had explained to John Danziger over and over their purpose, but he
still wouldn't let them near the ship that housed Devon's coffin.
Nor could he give a reasonable explanation for his being alive. He
refused to believe that Gillian and Jessie had been called out
their by Devon's spirit and accused them of trying to destroy his
sanctuary.
Most puzzling, though, was the fact that he readily accepted that
Jessie was Julia's descendant. There were gaps in Danziger's logic
and Gillian was beginning to reluctantly concede that the legends
were true. John Danziger was crazy.
The girl wanted to visit the Dreamplane to see if the Terrians knew
why Danziger was alive. Jessie was trying it at that very moment
and Gillian waited anxiously to hear what she had learnt. But in
the meantime, she continued quizzing Danziger.
"How did you get here?" she asked, using a new tactic. Perhaps it
was her "why" questions that were causing the problems. Whatever
the problem was, she hoped she got past it soon. There was nothing
more irritating than not knowing. "How long have you been here?"
she tried again.
"I have always been here," replied Danziger enigmatically.
Gillian finally lost her patience. "What is that supposed to mean?
I know all about you, John Danziger! I know how you crashed on
this planet and hiked to New Pacifica! I know how you founded the
town of Devon! I know that you watched your daughter grow up and
marry Ulysses Adair! And then you made the statue of Devon for
everyone to see! So don't you *dare* tell me that you've always
been here, because I know it's not true.
"I expected more from you," Gillian continued bitterly. "Bess
wrote of a strong, brave, kind and noble man. The type of person
who would tell you the truth no matter what the circumstances. Now
I know she was a liar."
"Bess is not a liar," Danziger said evenly. It seemed that
Gillian's rage had not fazed him the slightest. "I have always
been here," he repeated.
And then Jessie came back, the oddest expression on her face as she
said, "He is *not* here."
"Not you too," Gillian groaned, burying her face in her hands.
Jessie laid a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. "Trust me,"
she said. "Watch."
Jessie stepped close to Danziger, and although he glared at her
sternly, he did not lift the mag-pro. He watched, seemingly
uninterested as she reached out to touch his shoulder. Then Jessie
grew bolder, and swung her hand downwards.
Her arm went straight through him.
"What?" burst out Gillian.
Jessie waved her arm around the whole area the image of John
Danziger occupied and she encountered no resistance. The picture
flickered a little and it finally dawned on Gillian that John
Danziger, the man she had been speaking with, was nothing more than
a virtual reality projection.
"Mr. Danziger - you're not real!" she breathed.
"I am here to protect," he said evenly. "I have always been here."
And that was the truth. Gillian stared at the figure, her thoughts
racing. Someone had constructed a VR recording of John Danziger,
and placed him out here at the ship. Someone who had given him the
memories of the real John, yet in a sense, this image had only
existed for one purpose and in one place. This also explained how
Danziger - or a facsimile of him - could be alive after so long.
But who would have programmed such a warning device? And at this
old age? There was only one man who could have done so, Gillian
realised. John Danziger *had* been here. Somehow, he had crossed
the plains by himself after the fire that destroyed his home.
She remembered the dreams of a man struggling through the desert
until the wind overtook him. It may have been a metaphorical
storm, emphasising the traumas John Danziger endured to, against
all odds, reach this place where his Devon lay.
Was this where he had died? Danziger had been an old man. He'd
travelled with virtually no supplies, and nothing to aid him on his
quest for a lost love. It was an obsession that had taken his life
from him.
Things were beginning to fall into place for Gillian as she sat and
thought deeply, her gaze fixed on the image of John Danziger. His
final act...to set up a lasting image of himself to still protect
Devon's memory, and preserve her beauty for eternity.
If only Danziger had known what harm he was doing when he decided
to put her back so long ago! Devon was a spirit trapped between
two worlds, and if she had loved John Danziger, then *her* love had
long ago passed beyond the veil.
A solitary tear tricked down Gillian's cheek. It was a tragic love
story, for neither had ever had the chance to tell the other how
they felt. Danziger's love had become a fatal obsession. And
Devon - Devon was still trapped in those few moments before death.
The moments when all revelations became clear, when her life would
pass before her eyes and she would know that it was too late for
most things. All she had were seconds to tell the truth within her
heart - and Gillian believed that she had -and still- loved John
Danziger. The planet, and the spirit of Devon, had showed the girl
that.
Gillian had to tell Devon that Danziger loved her, and then she
would die in peace. And if Danziger's spirit hovered anywhere
near, then perhaps she would believe the truth.
Gillian recalled Jessie's cryptic words near the Valley of Dreams.
"All but two...." Maybe by allowing Devon to die, the essence of
John Danziger, wherever he was now, could also finally be at peace.
It was a bittersweet thought. Now Gillian was more convinced than
ever as to what she had to do. All that remained was getting past
the guardian of Devon's tomb.
Jessie again passed a hand through the image of Danziger. The
guardian flickered, according to where Jessie's hand was. Using
that information, the girls were able to track the source of the
projection. Thankfully, it was situated on a part of the ship well
away from the hatch that Danziger would not let them go near.
"Mr. Danziger," Gillian tried one last time. "You have to let us
inside the ship - it will help free Devon. She's alone and afraid
and she needs release. Please?"
But the guardian had been programmed to keep everyone away at all
costs. He replied, "No," and Gillian said sorrowfully, "Then I'm
sorry." She nodded to Jessie, who disabled the VR device and John
Danziger's ghost flickered out of existence.
"That's it, then," Gillian called to Jessie. "The last problem
overcome." A sudden thought struck her. "Unless he rigged the
ship hatch to explode on contact!" She was only half-joking.
Jessie was more solemn. "The story is about to end," she gravely
said. "John Danziger's fate is no longer a mystery."
"No," agreed Gillian, nodding her head. "Somehow, he made it out
here, whether the planet or the Terrians helped him, or perhaps it
was the force of his own will. Then he constructed the security
system."
"And then what?"
"And then...he must have died. Here." Gillian shivered. She
didn't want to come across a skeleton, for there would be no cairn
of stones to mark his passing. No nicely dug grave, nothing but a
pile of withered bones.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
John Danziger blearily rubbed his eyes, feeling the dirt that
encrusted his face and seemed to be all over him. The sandstorm
was passing and he could finally see again. He stood tall (or as
tall as he could manage with his aged, aching back) and surveyed
the horizon.
The old space ship lay before him. He stumbled backwards in
surprise. How had he arrived there already? The last thing he
remembered was struggling through the desert...and the
wind...and....
Something had transported him halfway across a continent. Danziger
uttered a silent prayer of thanks to whatever force that had done
that for him and then smiled in contentment. He was finally home.
It was the place where it had all started. The beginnings of the
love that took over his life, and even now, Danziger refused to
recognise it as an obsession with what he could not have. He
believed his love to be pure and steadfast, telling himself that
Devon had felt exactly the same way. And what did it matter anyway
if she hadn't? Those moments for truth had ended in the past, with
her death. Now he would die while protecting her memory.
He couldn't wait to see her face again. All he had left was one
strand of dark hair that was fragile beyond belief, yet he kept it
close to his heart and could not bear to lock it away, even if to
preserve it.
Danziger suddenly recalled a dream he'd once had, the second time
he came out here. Just before Devon died.
....He could see her, just on the edge of his vision, a wraith in
the moonlight that danced away from him constantly. She was
nothing more than a spirit that could never be caught...Danziger's
gaze returned to the ship as he fell to his knees in defeat. He
heard the seductive calling of destiny....
And now he was back here to fulfil his destiny. He would complete
his life near her, and perhaps they could be together somehow.
Danziger entered the derelict spacecraft, a smile appearing upon
his face as he realised that, even after another half-century, the
systems still operated and the cold sleep capsule was working
perfectly. Devon's body lay untouched.
He let his gaze fall upon her, and sighed deeply. Her face
remained haunted, her features frozen into the tragic image that
had haunted Danziger himself for half of his life. He loved her so
much.
"I missed you, Devon," he whispered, imagining that she could hear
him somehow. "I did everything I could to bring you back, I tried,
I really did. But the medical advances have been slow. And I
guess I'm too damn old now." He pressed his hands against the
glass, leaning against it for support as his aged knees trembled.
"This is how it ends, huh Devon? All our hopes, and our dreams,
they crashed down around me the day you got sick.
"I may have lost you," he went on softly, "but I never stopped
loving you. I built a statue of you in the city - did you know
that we named the city after you?
"Devon," Danziger sighed, "I have so much to tell you. Uly got
married - to True, of all people! Isn't that wonderful? It's as
if the Danzigers and Adairs were meant to be together somehow. You
and I couldn't but our children could and they fulfilled a destiny.
"You should see their children. I swear, there was a little girl
who looked *just* like you. Diana, they called her. She had your
eyes, and I suppose that's why I never visited True and Uly that
often. It hurt too much. I was much closer to Bess' kids - Ari,
John and Wendy. We had some great times together."
Danziger's voice took on a more sombre tone. "But they all grew
up, and they didn't need me anymore. Only you did, Devon. I could
hear you calling to me and that's why I had to come. We'll be
together for eternity..." he promised.
Danziger spent the next few days examining the old ship and pulling
out pieces he decided he could use. He was aware of his body
failing and knew that death fast approached. But he did not care.
With painstaking carefulness, he constructed the devices designed
to guard Devon's new shrine. The motion sensors and the cannon,
and then finally, the guardian projection. He gave the image his
own memories of happy times of Eden Advance, hoping it would prove
to be a legacy of their lives. He wanted everyone to become a
revered legend as they deserved.
During these days, Danziger neither ate nor slept. It was as if he
could sense his own death nearing and did not wish to waste any
time on things that would soon have no meaning for him.
Finally, everything was finished. Devon would be protected
forever, and he, John Danziger, was by her side as it was meant to
be. He took one last look at Devon's image behind the ice, and
gently pressed his lips to the cold, cold glass. "I will find you
again, Devon," he promised. And then he completed his physical
journey and fulfilled his destiny. The tragic soulmates would lay
side by side forever.
---
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