JC: Ed Biggers
Part 6: Doyen
Chapter 11
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

Captain Nathan Jones sat at the table exhausted from making the trip 
from the dorm to the dinning room. After a week in the infirmary, 
they had given him a portable parallel walker. The next week, they 
had moved him to a first year dorm room that he shared with three 
naked roommates, a man and two women. 

At Bethesda, he wouldn't have been forced into such an active life 
without months of physical therapy. There were times when he 
wondered why he had accepted to be transferred here. Of course, it 
had been the female Druid with the artificial leg that had convinced 
him. She functioned as though her artificial leg was just part of her.

So far, this entire ordeal had been tougher than boot camp. At least 
in boot camp, normal rules of society applied. Men bunked together 
and were separate from women. You didn't wake up in the morning 
to find your roommates having sex with each other. You didn't have 
people having sex in public. Here it was a free-for-all. The fact of 
the matter was that he was horny.

One of the Carter kids entered the room and spotted him. He 
shivered at the sight of the youngest boy. The kid was weird, too 
weird for his taste. The boy seemed to know things that he shouldn't. 
He put his neutral face on, the one he used when dealing with people 
who were too powerful or too criminal to allow them to know your 
real opinion.

Without waiting for an invitation, William sat down at the table and 
said, "I see by the careful expression on your face that I make you 
nervous, don't I?"

'Screw the neutral face approach,' thought the solder as he answered, 
"A little."

"I'd say a lot. It would probably be easier for you to imagine me as a 
thirty year old midget rather than a little boy," commented William. 

"How come you aren't naked?" asked Nathan.

William shrugged, stood up, and then pulled off his blue robe. 
Returning to his seat, he asked, "Are you more comfortable now?"

The man stared at the boy sitting in front of him. He noticed the two 
scars that crossed his chest. He asked, "What's with the scars?"

William looked down at his chest and then answered, "I cut myself 
in grief when my grandfather, William Redman, died."

The soldier sat back and stared at the boy unable to believe that he 
had cut himself in that fashion. He knew that his father had died a 
couple months ago, but the boy didn't seem to have the kind of grief 
that would motivate him to cut himself over his father. He asked, 
"Why didn't you do that when John Carter died?"

"You're really asking why didn't I grieve the same way when Daddy 
John died," restated William thoughtfully. A full minute passed 
before he answered. "No one has ever asked me that. I shall have to 
think about it." 

William was actually surprised that someone had asked a question 
about himself that he had never considered. He thought about his 
father's death for a moment and his reaction to it. The Gods and 
Goddesses had taken his father. He wondered if it was a difference 
between the two cultures at play within him. His Native American 
side grieved in a very different manner than his Druid side.

Nathan had watched William think about his question and realized 
that the young boy really did think things through. He apologized, 
"Sorry, I was just curious."

"There was nothing in your question to apologize for. I find it 
interesting that I don't have an answer. So how are you settling in 
here?" asked William changing the topic. 

"I haven't figured out all of the rules here," answered Nathan.

"There are only two rules," replied the young boy with a grin. He 
knew that first years had a hard time understanding the full 
implications of the rules. It wasn't a surprise to him that Nathan was 
having a difficult time after only a week.

"Right. Protect the weak from the strong. If it harms none, then do 
it."

"See, you know all the rules," replied William with a wink letting 
the other know that he understood that the rules were much harder to 
understand than to spout.

"You're probably the wrong one to ask, but I was curious why the 
first years are not allowed clothes," asked Nathan.

"It's part of protecting the weak from the strong," answered William. 
He had thought about that question a lot in his time at the school and 
had identified a reason for it. His father had set up the program in 
the college, but had never explained his reasons for some of the 
rules to anyone. He wasn't sure if the reasons that he had come up 
with were the same as the reasons why his father had done it.

"Why?"

"People are at their most vulnerable when they are naked. The 
students here are invulnerable to that problem after the end of the 
first year. The experiences of this year can protect them when all 
others are weak. It also helps teach them the full implications of the 
first rule. The crowding, the loss of privacy, and the nudity makes 
violating the first rule almost automatic. The first years can't learn 
the rule deep inside them where it counts without that environment. 
The environment is enforced to protect them even if it hurts a little 
at first."

Nathan sat back and thought about boot camp. Close order drills, 
close-cropped haircuts, and Drill Sergeants screaming in the faces of 
new recruits served many of the same purposes. It was all part of 
taking a bunch of civilians and molding them into soldiers. He could 
understand that and it allowed him to better understand what was 
going on here.

"I guess I can accept that for now. I'll need to think about it some 
more, though."

William sat there for a moment and then said, "Momma Ling says 
that you walk like the Frankenstein Monster."

"What?" asked Nathan taken by surprise. The children had accepted 
his injury without a second thought and to hear William talk about 
how he walked was very out of character.

"She says that you need training in the martial arts and wants to start 
your training next week. I agree that you should start your training 
next week, but my reasons why I think so are totally different from 
hers."

"And what are your reasons?"

"The second rule. To protect the weak from the strong."

"Are you saying that I'm weak?" asked Nathan surprised by the 
young man's mention of the rule. He wondered if the kid knew that 
he had killed more than one person bare-handed.

William stood up and picked up his clothes before he answered, 
"There are two voices at war within you. The strong one thinks that 
you are less than you were. The weak one believes that you can 
emerge from this better than you were. I think we need to help the 
weak voice win."

Nathan watched William walk away as though he had just made a 
passing comment on the ability of birds to fly. The boy paused and 
put on his robe before leaving the dining room. The kid was weird, 
definitely weird. Despite the strangeness, he found that he liked him 
a lot. 

Ed, Kelly, and Linda arrived at the table and sat down without 
asking for permission. Linda said, "I see you were talking with 
William."

"Yes. He's a very unusual child."

Ed laughed at the understatement while Kelly shrugged her 
shoulders. Although she had heard that a lot, Linda answered, 
"People keep telling me that, but all I see is my baby boy."

"Ling is going to start your martial arts training next week," 
commented Ed.

"I know. William told me," replied Nathan wondering what was the 
big deal about having Ling train him. He had advanced martial arts 
training in the special forces and felt that he could probably teach 
her a thing or two. At least, he could have when he still had his leg. 
He knew that she had pulled him out of the bed and into the 
wheelchair that first night with relative ease, but he hadn't been 
expecting it. 

Ling arrived at the table and saw that there were not enough chairs 
for all of them. She sat down at the next table and said, "Betsy and 
Leroy will be here in a few minutes. I tell you, that girl is about to 
wear me out. I'll be glad when I start training the good Captain there. 
It'll give me an excuse to put her through two training sessions a 
day."

Captain Jones asked, "Are you telling me that you're training that 
little girl in martial arts?"

"Yes," answered Ling, "I am training her. I have no doubts that if 
she had the strength required that she could take you in a fight on 
your best day."

He recalled the short-lived temper tantrum where Betsy complained 
about not getting to throw him into the wheelchair. It made him 
wonder if she could have done it. That was a scary thought. Ed 
watched the expressions on Nathan's face change as he thought 
through what Ling had said. 

After a minute, Nathan said, "All of your kids are a little scary."

The comment caused Ed to laugh uncontrollably. It was perhaps the 
most accurate assessment of the Carter kids he had heard in ages. At 
the school it appeared to him that the students got used to the kids 
after their first week of exposure. He didn't know why the students 
were so accepting of the kids, but they were.

Ling said, "You had better be done with your walker before next 
week. It will be rather difficult to train without it if you can't even 
stand up on your own."

"You've got to be kidding," complained Nathan. He was just at the 
point where he could make any kind of distance without having to 
stop and rest. 

Shaking her head, Kelly said, "She never kids when it comes to 
martial arts training."

Betsy tore into the room followed by a puffing Leroy. He collapsed 
into the chair and said, "I give up. We've got to find a better solution 
than trying to keep up with her."

Ed asked, "Ling, can she take care of herself against the typical 
attacker?"

"Of course, she's been trained by me and she's faster than 
lightening," answered Ling with more than a little pride. Her 
daughter had the required skills and the strength to take advantage of 
all the weak points of an adult body. It didn't take much strength to 
attack the knees, groin, and instep at ground level. Any adult that 
actually picked up the girl would find that she knew how to attack 
the neck and chest in a manner to cause significant damage.

"Select areas where she can go and places for her to avoid. Strap a 
walkie-talkie to her in addition to your tracker and let her go," said 
Ed. 

The three wives all looked at Ed as if he were crazy. Leroy 
immediately understood what Ed was saying. Nodding his approval, 
he said, "That's not a bad idea, Ed."

"She's a little girl. You can't let her run wild. She has to be 
supervised at all times," countered Ling. 

Winking at Leroy, Ed asked, "So where is she?"

The wives looked around in search of the little girl. Ling started 
swearing in Chinese when she couldn't find her. Fishing out her 
tracking device, she saw that the pointer indicated that she was 
across the dining room. Looking over there, she spotted Betsy 
standing under a potted plant talking to a couple of students. Ling 
grunted, "Point taken."

****

Upon hearing Nathan groan, Ed looked up from the folders that he 
was examining. With an exhausted expression on his face, the 
military man settled into one of the chairs at the table. Ed smiled at 
the obvious exhaustion as he asked, "So how was it?"

"She's good. I'll give her that," replied the soldier. He had never had 
anyone push him to his limits with the unerring accuracy with which 
Ling had identified them. Every movement that she required him to 
make was performed in slow motion. Moving as slow as she insisted 
was far harder than he could have imagined. 

"Yes, she is," remarked Ed with a smile. The poor captain had 
suffered through two weeks in this environment and was only now 
starting to relax. 

"I have no idea how many times I fell over." 

The Captain understood why everyone had taken the opportunity to 
warn him about getting trained by Ling. She gave no quarter to 
weakness and forced him to face it head on. During those infrequent 
moments when he was ready to quit, she was in his face getting that 
last little bit of effort out of him. She didn't accept excuses. Can't 
balance with the fake leg? Big deal, he'd better learn how and do it 
now. He had thought the therapists at Bethesda were tough. Come to 
think of it, he had thought that training in the special forces was 
hard.

Ed interrupted his thoughts when he said, "I need you to look over 
the plans for my Halloween Haunted House this afternoon."

"Excuse me?"

"You're my aide now," replied Ed looking at the young man. 

"A Halloween Haunted House? It's the middle of March."

Ed nodded and said, "Yes. It will take about three months to get 
contractors lined up to build it. Another two months or so to get it 
built, a month to move it out to Arizona, and then a week to get it set 
up. We've got to double-check the concept and engineering now."

"You want me to examine the plans for a Halloween Haunted 
House?" asked the soldier, still not sure that he had understood what 
Ed had requested him to do. 

"Yes," replied Ed knowing that it was probably the last thing that the 
special forces man expected to be asked to do. That was why he had 
selected that particular task for him. 

"I don't know anything about Haunted Houses."

Nodding his understanding, Ed said, "It's time for you to learn. The 
plans are over there."

Nathan picked up a stack of rolled up papers wondering what he was 
supposed to do with them. Uneasy, he stood up and left the table 
thinking that he would show them to Beth since she appeared 
interested in buildings. As he hobbled away, Ed called out, "Don't 
show them to the kids. They aren't allowed to see the plans until 
after Halloween."

Nathan, disheartened at having to abandon his plans of going to 
Beth, replied, "Okay."

Ed watched Nathan walk away with a smile on his face. For the next 
few months he was going to send dozens of odd jobs Nathan's way, 
challenging the man in ways that he would never expect. The time 
spent in the Special Forces had trained Nathan that there was very 
little in this world that he couldn't over come. It was time for Ed to 
teach Nathan that there was very little that Nathan couldn't 
accomplish in the civilian world.

Little John put a hand on his father's shoulder and said, "You're 
pushing him hard."

"Yes. Maybe he'll break down and turn to one of our young female 
students for a little comfort," replied Ed.

Little John laughed and thought about what William had said to him 
earlier that week. As he dropped into a chair, he said, "William says 
that I will meet the love of my life soon."

The comment captured Ed's full attention and he turned to Little 
John in surprise. He asked, "Are you ready for that?"

"I don't know," he replied, "but I am a little envious of the 
relationship that Beth has with John."

"Envious?"

"That's not quite the right word for it, but I don't know what is the 
right word. I'm not jealous since I don't want their relationship, but I 
want one like theirs. Envy? I don't think so. I wish to have someone 
with whom I can share things. It must be nice to exist in that kind of 
relationship where you don't have to put into words everything 
you're thinking."

"Hmm, I know what you mean. Sometimes language doesn't quite 
capture the subtleties of what we are feeling," commented Ed. 

It amazed Ed that his children understood so much of the world 
without having had the chance to experience it. The fact that Little 
John had brought this to his attention made him wonder what his son 
wanted to accomplish by that act. He asked, "What do you think 
about what William said?"

"I'm curious how I'm going to meet anyone new when I'm here all of 
the time."

"Good question."

Smiling, Little John replied, "It wasn't a question."

Laughing at the attention to detail of his son, Ed retorted, "I stand 
corrected. It is a good subject for curiosity."

"So?"

"So what?"

"How am I going to meet anyone new when I'm here all of the 
time?" asked Little John.

"Did you ask William?" It didn't matter if Little John had asked or 
not, Ed was going to drill William concerning why he had told his 
brother that he was going to meet the love of his life soon. Making 
guesses based on behavioral projections was one thing, but wild 
guesses like that were something else.

"Yes and he told me to ask you," answered Little John feeling a little 
frustrated that he wasn't making any progress in getting an answer to 
his question.

"Then I guess we will have to leave here for a while. I suppose a 
weekend trip or two might be appropriate," commented Ed. He had a 
few trips coming soon and he couldn't see any reason not to bring 
William with him.

"Thanks. I'm looking forward to going somewhere this weekend," 
said Little John. He didn't understand why he was being driven to 
leave the college. William had reinforced something that he already 
felt.

The reply took Ed by surprise, particularly since he didn't remember 
suggesting that they were going anywhere this weekend. He asked, 
"This weekend?"

"Sure, why wait? I'm ready now," said Little John.

"Ready for what?" asked Ed.

"To meet her!" 

"Who?" asked Ed enjoying the chance to tease his son.

Little John groaned and put his head in his hands out of frustration. 
He said, "To meet the love of my life."

"Where are you going to meet her?" asked Ed. 

With a sign of frustration, Little John answered, "I don't know and 
that drives me crazy."

"I tell you what we'll do. I've got to go to the North Carolina State 
University and visit the Marine, Earth, and Environmental Sciences 
Department. We'll drive up Friday morning. That afternoon, we'll 
visit the campus so that I can see what kind of work they're doing 
there. Then, we'll go where ever you want for Saturday," replied Ed. 
It wasn't much, but how else was he to pick a spot where a young 
kid was going to meet the love of his life.

"Great," answered Little John as he stood up to leave. 

Ed watched Little John leave, wondering what was driving his son. 
The children were developing in directions that none of the parents 
could have predicted. Little John was still interested in animals, but 
lately he had been studying genetics and genetic engineering with a 
passion. It was almost scary what the kid knew about genes.

Shrugging his shoulders, Ed returned to his studies concerning the 
geology of North Carolina. Next spring he was going to take the two 
geology majors to a number of significant geological areas as part of 
their senior field training. He was planning a number of two-week 
tours through geologically significant areas of North Carolina, 
Arizona, South Dakota, South Africa, Columbia and Antarctica. Part 
of his plan was to include a dozen geology majors from six colleges 
and universities across the country as members of the expedition.

He had just finished establishing which Colombian mines they 
would visit when Beth sat down across the table from him. She 
watched her father work for a minute before deciding that he wasn't 
really that busy. "Daddy Ed."

"What is it?" asked Ed looking up at his daughter.

"There is a field trip to Virginia and I was wondering if I could go 
with the students."

"Ask your mothers," replied Ed knowing that the mothers would 
probably countermand anything that he said.

"I did and they told me to ask you."

She was telling him the truth making her reply even more puzzling. 
Usually, the wives automatically said no to any field trips. Curious, 
he asked, "Where's the field trip going?"

"To a number of government agencies including NSF, NSA, FBI, 
and the CIA," answered Beth with a smile.

"Hmm, I can't think of a single reason why you should meet a CIA 
agent," remarked Ed with a grin. 

"What?!"

"Really. They are all horrible people."

"But you work for the CIA," said Beth.

"Oh, I guess I forgot," replied Ed with a grin.

Realizing that her father was teasing her, Beth pouted and adopted 
the pose Kelly used when she didn't appreciate one of his jokes. She 
charged, "You're teasing me."

"I guess I am," replied Ed before he said, "You can go. Please take 
Nathan with you."

"Great, I'll let the moms know," replied Beth before she skipped 
away. 

He watched her skip away amazed at how there were times when 
she acted like an adult and then would turn around and do something 
like a child. Skipping was a movement of the young and he 
wondered when was the last time that any of the other students had 
skipped. 

Packing up his papers, he stepped away from the table to head back 
to the apartment. After a few steps, he stopped and looked around to 
see if anyone was watching. It took several faltering attempts, but he 
finally remembered how to skip. He skipped the rest of the way back 
to the apartment, receiving a number of blank looks from students as 
he passed them in the halls.

Jordon Hall at North Carolina State University where the Marine, 
Earth, and Environmental Sciences Department was located was a 
very modern looking building. Driving towards the building, he was 
reminded of mesas in Arizona. However, on passing the building, 
the glass walls reminded him of quartz crystals seeking the sky. He 
looked over at Little John and asked, "What do you think of that 
building?"

"It looks nice. I bet Beth would enjoy it a lot more than me. She's 
still into architecture," commented Little John. 

Ed drove around and found the parking lot that the guard had told 
him he was to use. He was lucky to find a parking space, only 
having to wait a few minutes for someone to leave. There were 
never enough parking spaces at universities. That reminded Ed that 
he had meant to donate the money to have a three-story parking lot 
built for his school in Phoenix. 

Walking to the building, both of them received the kind of stares 
that were the result of people seeing a Druid for the first time. Ed, 
wearing his black robes, strode forward with his normal intensity. 
Little John, carrying a book bag and walking rapidly to keep up with 
his father, was a subject of speculation since he wore the blue robes 
of initiates. Despite his young age, Little John carried himself with 
just as intense of a look about him as his father. People moved out of 
their way, although there was no need.

It wasn't long before they had reached Ed's destination. Ed looked 
around trying to find a place for Little John to wait for him and 
noticed that an empty classroom was open just down the hall. 
Pointing to it, he suggested, "Why don't you wait for me over 
there?"

Little John didn't answer, but headed to the classroom that Ed had 
pointed out. On entering the room, he found that it wasn't as empty 
as Ed had thought. A girl who looked about two years older than 
him was seated in a desk reading a book. For a moment, he didn't 
know what to do. He wondered if he should announce his presence, 
just sit down at another desk, or find another classroom. He set his 
book bag down and said, "Excuse me, may I study here?"

The girl jumped, not expecting anyone to disturb her. She turned and 
looked at the intruder. She frowned as she considered the blue robe 
that the young man was wearing. The last thing she needed was 
some weird kid hanging around. Intending to put him in his place, 
she said, "I have a night gown just like that except it is flannel."

Little John wasn't insulted in the least and laughed as though it was a 
joke. He replied, "I will admit that my school uniform is a little 
pretentious, but I never thought of it as nightwear."

"The only school where students wear robes like that is the Druid 
College," remarked the girl.

"Yes," replied Little John in a matter of fact voice.

The girl stared at Little John for a moment while debating if she 
believed him or not. She was sure that if an eight-year-old kid went 
to school there, then it would have been in the news. She asked, "Do 
you expect me to believe that?"

He smiled and answered, "Not really, but the truth is the truth 
regardless of what you believe."

That he hadn't disagreed with her was a surprise, but the manner in 
which he framed his response was even more surprising. She said, 
"I'll withhold judgement at the moment."

"You don't talk like you are ten," replied Little John. 

"I'm advanced for my age. I'm graduating high school this year," 
remarked the girl. 

Little John looked at her wondering if she was the one that William 
had said he would meet. Her hair came down to the middle of her 
back, she had bangs, and the cutest nose he had ever seen. She was 
cute and smart, the later more attractive to him than the former. It 
seemed too good to be true.

He picked up his book bag and moved down to sit closer to her. As 
he walked over, he said, "I'm John Carter."

On hearing that, the girl decided this kid was crazy. She retorted, "I 
thought you were a little older and had died."

"That was my father," replied Little John with a slight break in his 
voice that belied the emotions that the memory invoked.

His words cut through her like a knife. She couldn't believe that she 
had said something that cruel to him even though she couldn't have 
been expected to know his identity. Stammering, she said, "I'm 
sorry. I didn't realize."

"That's okay," he replied. He glanced down at her book and noticed 
the material she was reading. He commented, "Botany?"

She glanced down at the open book and nodded her head. When she 
looked back up at him, she said in a defensive voice, "It's my 
passion."

"Mine is zoology," he replied as he opened his book bag and pulled 
out the book that he had brought to read. 

Over the next hour, the pair of them chatted about plants and 
animals. In the course of their discussions, he learned that her name 
was Susan Grundy and that she was planning on going to college 
somewhere, but hadn't made up her mind as to the school. Her father 
wanted her to go to North Carolina State University since he worked 
there and could watch over her. She appreciated his desire to protect 
her, but felt that he would be over protective. 

Little John explained how he was finishing the first year at the Druid 
College, but it was counting as high school for him. He told her that 
he was going to live on a reservation for a year before returning to 
finish his degree at the Druid College while his parents returned to 
Arizona. The comment about his parents returning to Arizona 
required that he explain that his parents were in a group marriage. 
She found the concept of having three fathers and three mothers 
rather disturbing. 

Ed watched them talking from the door recalling the reason that 
Little John was here and shook his head. It made sense that he had 
met her here. If Little John were to meet an equal, it would have to 
be on a college campus somewhere. It was hard to believe that 
William was correct again, but he could see a strong bond emerging 
between the two youngsters.

Their discussion was interrupted when Ed said, "Hello. I leave you 
alone and you find a friend."



