It wasn’t her grandfather Ita was upset with … at least not directly. Although he was somewhat to blame for the mangled mess of emotions that wrestled within her, she kept a tight rein on the anger that threatened to steamroll everything else.
“I refuse to work with that thing.” She spoke even as her hands gestured the words, and had to focus on not signing too quickly. Although Oswald had a communication device that translated her speech into text, her deaf grandfather preferred to give her his full attention.
“He is a man.” It was only in the last decade he lost his hearing, so Oswald had no trouble speaking, except the inflection of his words tended to fall a bit flat.
“It’s a genetically engineered –” Ita caught herself nearly making the mistake of using the term human. “– creature. We can’t trust it.”
Her grandfather leaned back in the easy chair and sipped from the cup of tea she’d given him. The upholstered seat was one of the few furniture items in the rather Spartan quarters they shared. When she first gave it to him as a gift a couple of years ago, he’d gently protested she was spoiling him. But it pleased her that he enjoyed the subtle luxury it offered.
His gaze leveled over the cup and on her. “We must.”
“The Red Sea was coming together just fine without that thing’s involvement.”
His lips twitched. “The Elite haven’t discovered our project … yet. If they do, Deuce may be our last chance to keep them from destroying it.”
The Elite … barely human themselves anymore, yet representing the worst humanity had to offer. When Oswald was a young man they began their tyranny of demanding every person submit to the biotechnical improvements they deemed necessary. During the ensuing war they engineered several atrocities to capture or kill those who resisted, including this thing that now called itself Deuce.
It was one of several Intellectual Militant Prototypes, more commonly called IMPs. She admitted technically it was a man, but designed to be stronger and faster … and as cunning as a serpent. This one in particular killed her father three years ago.
Her father … Oswald’s son. On a certain level, his loss was greater than hers, yet somehow he managed to discover enough grace to forgive that … brute.
And now it claimed to no longer believe the Elite ideology, and offered to help her people….
“It’ll betray us. How do we know it’s not here precisely to sabotage the Red Sea?”
“He’s cast his lot with us. Only a handful of IMPs have ever defected to our side before, and the Elite immediately targeted and killed them. He’s already lasted longer than the others because he’s laid low, helping to train and plan instead of getting involved in battles.”
How unfortunate it had learned from its predecessors’ mistakes. “That sounds like a convenient scheme to destroy all our work. It already knows too much.”
“He yearns to atone. Understanding the project in more depth will help him to best develop the means to defend it.”
“I’m not going to help it bring us to ruin. Have one of the other team members do it if you insist on taking this gamble.”
Oswald’s features loosened. “Working with him will be helpful to you.”
“I don’t need its help!” As soon as the words burst from her, Ita wished she could retract them. She didn’t like showing anger to him.
His somber expression swelled her remorse, and Oswald drew a deep breath as he set his cup on the broad arm of the chair. He held out both hands, palms up, and she placed her own there. The warmth from the tea seeped from his skin into hers.
“I ask this of you not only because I know you can do it, but because I pray it will also help you find peace.”
Ita couldn’t imagine how any of this could work. The IMP couldn’t be trusted and she had no interest in making peace with it. Yes, she understood she was supposed to forgive it … but what practicality was there in forgiving the snake that struck down her father?
Still … as much as she wanted to spurn her grandfather’s request, the awe and respect she’d always regarded him since childhood had wavered little over the years. His mind was still sharp and intellect undimmed, but that wasn’t why she reconsidered giving in to his request.
Ita softly pulled her hands from his in order to sign her words. “Is it worth taking this chance?”
He regarded her steadily. “Is it worth saving humanity?”
Ita drew a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders before locking her gaze on his. There was no getting out of this. Well, there was, but continued refusal would wind up haunting her. She thought of that reluctant prophet who stood before an unfathomable fire and argued with God that He’d picked the wrong man for the job. That was an event she could really relate to now….
“All right, I’ll do it,” she grumbled, “but only because you’re the only person who could ever get me to say yes. But if that Deuce so much as fidgets in a way I don’t like, I won’t be held accountable if he stumbles off a catwalk.”
“I know you’re a better person than that.”
Truthfully, she wasn’t so sure herself. “Let me freshen up your tea.”
As Ita carried the cup into the kitchen, she pondered how much civility she would have to maintain around that creature. Maybe her grandfather was right. Maybe practicing patience around a personification of the devil would be restorative for her.
But she was still going to carry a blaster at all times while it was around.
###
The word for the short story this month on #BlogBattle is Tea, which turned out to work in quite nicely with this installment of the serialization I’m writing. If you’re new to these stories, you can go to my BlogBattle Short Stories page to catch the previous chapters. And be sure to check out BlogBattle for all the other tales using this prompt!
a. e. branson 
I so hear Ita’s resistance here because, as you well know from comments, I’m equally sceptical that Deuce might be unwittingly running a bio-surveillance subroutine without even knowing it! Big ask though Abe, trust a unit that swapped sides after killing a family member. Pondering how I’d deal with that is quite an internal philosophical WTF!
Bit like asking someone who stole your family heirlooms round for tea…
Nice debate though betwixt grandfather and Ita. Culminating in “Is it worth saving humanity?” Good question relevant to now if all you watch is the news which seems to focus entirely on negative scenarios suggesting no it isn’t 😳
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I totally understand the trust issue: I’ve heard accounts (very rare, of course) of people forgiving someone who murdered a family member, and find such scenarios very intriguing because, well, I doubt I’d be that gracious…! The whole setup with Deuce killing her father felt like such a powerful conflict I just had to use it. Again I’ll have to admit these serializations won’t give that relationship the justice it deserves, but hopefully there will be enough ‘snapshots’ to get that progression across. As for the question “Is it worth saving humanity?” you’ll notice Ita responded with a shrug before she agreed to Oswald’s request. I think you and she would get along quite well…. 😉
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Ha, ha… I do believe I have a modicum of empathy with Ita here. To me the conflict is definitely there Abe. Or is that me reading the series and developing my own conflict. Much as I do like IMP and his “new” motives I’m highly sceptical simply because he’s genetically engineered and consider DNA the equivalent of software code which can be manipulated once it’s fully understood!
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Ooh … I’m afraid if I give that comment the full response it deserves, I’ll tip my hand about the plot…! 😉 So for now I’ll be coy and mutter something about there’s free will, and then there’s strong willed…. you’ll just have to wait and see!
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Interesting…I can see I have some catching up to do!
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Thank you, and I hope we get to see more of your work on BlogBattle!
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[…] “Burning Bushes” by A.E. Branson […]
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Lost my first comment because I wasn’t logged into WordPress. As my mother would say, “Oofta!” So, the theme is an appealing mix of sci-fic with Biblical roots. Nice. I loved the relationship between the grandfather and Ita. By the end of this ‘chapter’ (?), I was drawn into Ita’s challenges and her inner life — ready for the next episode!
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Ah yes, those little technical difficulties that make life interesting…! I’m glad you enjoyed this episode and just wanted to make sure if you’re inclined to ‘catch up’ its predecessors are on my BlogBattle Short Stories page. Hope you’re catching the other contributors’ stories as well!
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I’m almost caught up . . . these days of pandemic mean every day has new challenges and no schedule! May your writing go well.
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Thank you! I finally did a little catch-up on my own reading and see you have a story as part this month’s venue. Welcome to BlogBattle and I hope to read more of your contributions!
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I am s intrigued and must go back to read the previous instalments. This kind of story is right up my alley. Love how you intertwined the trust / forgiveness issues. The two so often go hand in hand. The construction and language of the piece also fit well with the theme and should help the reader connect with the ideas being expressed.
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Thank you. One reason these installments are fun to write is because it allows a little more exploration of the characters when there are several ‘snapshots’ to work with. The challenge is trying to keep each episode from feeling too much like a chapter, although a little bit of that can’t be avoided…!
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A very cool story is going on here! The characters are very unique!
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Thank you! Gary keeps hinting the next prompt word will be a doozy!
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I really understand Ita’s point of view here — I think we’d all struggle to forgive that which killed a parent. You write these characters marvellously, and their arguments are utterly believable — I’m taking notes!
Based on what we’ve seen, I *think* Deuce is on the up and up, but after listening to Ita and realising how much is truly at stake, I have to say… I’m having my own doubts. So I completely get why she’s less than enthused about the whole affair! It is a huge gamble, to let a supposed “ex enemy” in on your big, game-changing weapon. Especially if that’s the ace up your sleeve! But if your grandparent — a bereft parent, at that — truly believes this is the best course of action… how can you say no?
Oswald is putting a lot of trust in our little IMP friend… not only because the fate of humanity depends on there being no betrayal, but so does the trust of his granddaughter — which, strangely, feels like the more important of the two… I hope it works out — or, at least, if it does fail, it’s not due to Deuce backstabbing the Rabble!
Awesome stuff, as it always is. Impeccably written, too!
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Thanks! Like I’ve mentioned to Gary, the Deuce-Ita interaction just can’t get full exploration in 1,000 word bites, but I hope to drop enough hints to keep the momentum going. And the gambling motif is a recurring theme I’ve had quite a bit of fun playing with though these stories…!
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