“Is it wrong to be curious? Wanting to know everything there is to existence. I’ve dedicated my life to making it my sole priority… at all times. So what if I had to send my boy away just so I can focus on learning. It’s not wrong.” says Helra Khiv to herself as she sees a rocket woosh! away to space, “Wrong is an imaginary term created by people for their self-satisfaction by inducing guilt in others. There’s no such thing as right or wrong.”
Saying those words she jumps off the roof from where she just watched the launched rocket at a distance. It’s still night time so nobody sees her pull this stunt. She is falling but things seem to be in her control. A few floors down she digs her right palm in the wall and slips inside from an open window, “Back to work.”
Planet Iv, is a world like any other that supports complex intelligent humanoid life. It’s home to the superior species Ivkar. They are blue blooded humanoid beings with big brains and tough body. After all the science and technological advancements they have accomplished in the mere four thousand Ivkar years, they can’t help but consider themselves to be superior. The favorite subject of these people is what they call practical philosophy. To be able build devices that answer the big ‘unanswerable’ questions. One name among the top philosophers of the planet is Helra Khiv.
Having said that Helra is having difficulty focusing on her work. Whenever she closes her eyes to think about something her son’s innocent face flashes in front of her eyes. She hasn’t been much of a mother to this boy. Most of a mother’s job was delegated to a nanny. Still for the times she has been there were priceless to the boy. Although consciously Helra has no value for those moments, her subconscious is throwing those memories at her to make her feel guilty.
Helra is struggling with her thoughts. No matter what she does she is unable to suppress her feelings for the boy. She simply lays on the ground staring at the sky outside the window thinking about that rocket and her boy on it. Then suddenly she drifts off to sleep. A couple of hours later she is woken up by the first ray of sun light falling on her face.
“No, no, no! how could I…” she says walking at the window to watch the sunrise. “I’m sorry lord Rakhus. I am very sorry for wasting my time.”
Lord Rakhus is their god, the life giver, their sun. They actually believe that their star is alive, which in a way it is. That’s why despite having a scientific mentality they still believe in god. “No creature is any more living than a planet or a star.” they say.
Helra is focused on praying to her god. As she stares at the sky suddenly a flash of her son’s face passes from front of her eyes. She hoped that at least sleeping over it would help her forget. Apparently that is not the case. She joins hands and asks her got for an answer. A way to forget him. A way to free herself from this guilt of sending him away.
“Why is this happening to me?” she cries. A sudden response comes to her head in form of an echoing male voice, “The bond a mother shares with her child is more than just genetic. No matter how hard you try to suppress it, your primitive brain won’t let you forget.”
Helra stays stead there for a moment trying to make sense of the answer. As she stands there she feels the light falling on her face get warmer. Suddenly she opens her eyes and smiles.
“I got it. I need Kralial,” says Helra. She quickly changes into a nice blue dress with a huge skirt. Then walking to the window she thanks her god. She then jumps out of the window plummeting to the ground.
Kralial is a unique fluid metal that helps the Ivkar improve their thinking capacity. The process is simple, heat the metal in Rakhus’s light only enough that it gets thinner and then using a brush paint a temporary network on the skin. This hellps them process their emotions more practically. (It’s works similar to Neurocond ink from Akari system). It works like a drug and has its own side-effects. Hence it is illegal to use it without prescription. Still this does not stop the top philosopher of planet Iv. Whose gonna say ‘no’ to her.
Helra is plummeting to the ground face first like a bullet. It’s a twenty storey drop. Still the fall does not bother her. Rather she enjoys it. Then just a few meters away she turns herself upright and starts spinning very fast. Her skirt suddenly opened like an umbrella which creates an air cushion to slow down her descent and land safely like a superhero.
Helra is a practical woman. “Guilt is for the weak minded.” she says and yet she does not understand why she is feeling guilty to send her son away. Maybe because she tricked him into believe that he would be back in a couple of days. The truth is, the place where he is going it is more likely for him to never return.
Knowing this any good mother would say, “I’m gonna go get my son back.” but not Helra. Her words are,
“I need to forget this.”
She stands while looking around to ensure that nobody saw her pulling this stunt. Then she quietly walks away down to a subway station to get Kralial.
TO BE CONTINUED
“Once a mother, always a mother.”
– Helra Khiv
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