Authors note: I advise reading my pervious story “Incubus, prolog” before reading this.

“When I was very young my Father would tell me that in the beginning was the word and the word was God. That God spoke into the darkness and said let there be light and it was so. What a marvel it was that the word had such power.”

Kim raced down the halls of the hospital. She had received word 15 minutes ago. There had been an incident at the bar, a fight. Paul had been hurt. She gripped the arm of their eight-year-old son Tomas, he struggled to keep up, she was hurting him. He didn’t complain. “Im looking for my Husband, his name is Smith, Paul Smith.” The man at the desk observed her coldly. “And you are?” Kim tried to remain calm “His wife, Kimberly Smith”. The man gestured “ID?” She pulled out her card with trembling hands. The man took a deep breath followed by a little ambivalent sigh. “Down that corridor and to the left, I’ll let Dr. Carr know your coming.” Kim took her ID back. The man gave a large false grin “Have a great day.”

“My Father also told be about the garden and the tree. Of the snake that was the most cunning of all Gods creatures. He told me that woman’s arrogance condemned man to a life of hardship, my father was like that. But that’s not what I saw.”

Kim came to small hospital room where her husband lay unconscious. He was dwarfed by the medical equipment that surrounded him. She fought back the tears. Tomas was being so brave. Her voice wavered as she spoke “What happened?” Dr. Carr spoke with well-practiced concern “Apparently some girl attacked the patrons of a bar your husband was attending. A lot of folks got hurt.” Kim was actively trying to stop herself from shaking now, when she spoke she could not hide the rage. “What girl did this?” Dr. Carr responded in that same practiced voice “I don’t know. The authorities are launching a full investigation, im sure they will get to the bottom of it.” Kim knew she had to ask. She fears the answer “Will he be ok?” Dr. Carr looked at her with all the false concern a decade of practicing medicine had thought him. “He has suffered severe head trauma, but given proper treatment we do believe he can make a complete recovery.” Kim let the tears come, she could barley contain her joy, Tomas squeezed her hand and gave her a small smile. “Oh thank God, thank God! Thank you so much Doctor.” Dr. Carr gave a small nod before continuing “but im afraid there is the small problem of the bill.” Kim’s heart stopped “What?” “Im afraid we are only able to offer our facilities to you free of charge for a maximum of three days. We no longer receive subsidies from local government and hospital revenue has been down lately. Here is what we will need in order to complete his treatment.” Kim could barley speak “We cant afford this”. Dr. Carr shook his head “Then im afraid there is nothing we can do for you. If you cannot produce the funds in three days your husband will be released into your care.” Kim shook all over “You son of a bitch”. “Im very sorry Ma’am. We don’t have the money to treat everyone. Better to have a hospital that can only treat some than no hospital at all. Im very sorry.” As Carr walked away Kim looked at her husband “look at what your drinking has gotten us into you stupid fool.”

“I saw the cowardice of Adam, his timidity, his inferiority. I saw the courage of Eve. To stand and listen to the serpent and realize he spoke true. To dare to defy the will of God. From that courage does all humanity spring. But did she really defy God? Or did she really do what he wanted all along?”

Kim sat in Howard’s office. He was the type of man she had sworn she would never deal with. A loan shark, and one in the employ of some very bad men. She felt dirty just sitting there. Her Mother had told her never to owe money. She would be ashamed. “So what can I do for you ma’am?” Howard asked with a big grin. Kim spoke softly but confidently “My husband, he was hurt.” “Ah yes the incident in the Bar, two fellows I know where involved it that. Black eyes and terrible headaches for both of them but nothing too serious, big men they are at that, hard to believe it was the work of one girl. It was the Bar incident wasn’t it?” Kim nodded “yes”. Howard smiled “Oh good, going on like that and he had been hit by a transport or something, well it wouldn’t have looked very good would it? So what do you need the money for, medical expenses? ” Again Kim nodded “Yes exactly”. Howard grinned “Good, good. Give me a look at your finical records and I’ll see if I can help you out.” Kim handed him some papers “Thanks, let me just take a look these. Nice weather today isn’t it?” Kim nodded nervously “Yes very pleasant” Howard looked over the papers. “Ah” he said after a moment. “Is something wrong?” Kim asked. “Well the thing is Kimberly, I can call you Kimberly? You don’t have the kind of income necessary to keep up the repayments.” “Please sir hear me out!” Kim pleaded. Howard nodded. “My husband and I have never had very much. But what we have we earned. We have worked our fingers to bone to keep ourselves in food. To keep cloths on our sons back. To keep shoes on his feet. And we have always managed to do it. I swear to you if you give us this money we will work that much harder to pay you back, pay back every last penny. I swear to you.” Howard looked at her “I know you mean what you say but you have to look at if from my perspective. Your personal income is negligible your home and possessions are worth next to nothing, all that’s going to happen if I give you this loan is several large men are going to come visit you in the night an cave in your skulls. Im very sorry Kimberly but I can’t give you any money.” He handed her back the papers. Kim stood up her face contorted with rage. She spat on his desk “Go hump yourself” She stormed out of his office. Howard watched her as she left. He spoke softly to himself “No one else is doing it.” Over his six years in the business he had picked up the nickname The Smiling Banker. How many lives had he destroyed, how many people had he given money to who he knew could not pay it back. But she was to poor to even justify that. He took a sip of water from his glass before hurling it across the room. It smashed on the far wall. He cursed into the empty room “I hate my life.”

“For if God did not want his children to eat from the tree of knowledge why did he place it in the garden? Why did he create the snake? Perhaps God wanted to see which of his creations would have to courage to disobey him? To stand against him when his commands were unjust? Would that not make Eve and her daughters the true chosen of God? His true children?”

Kim arrived at the hospital. She had still not found the money but she would not let him spend the night alone, not tonight. Tomas was strong for her. Dr. Carr came to greet her, “Ahh Mrs. Smith. We began treatment on your husband as soon as we confirmed payment it looks like he will make a full recovery.” Kim was shocked “How?” Dr. Carr looked at her slightly confused “A Mr. Timothy Howard provided the funds. You didn’t know? “No, and I don’t care. Just let me see my husband”. Carr nodded “Very well. Fallow me”

“I have become the word. I have become the word spoken so clearly that none of Gods true children can defy it.”

Howard ascended the stairs to his apartment. He had the money to do it himself. If this had been an act of charity he would have. But it wasn’t, he was done. He had used their money. And now he was done. He opened the door; three men waited for him, he smiled at them “Hello boys!” Shots rang out in the night. To many to count. More than was needed. “If I was going to do it,” he thought to himself “this wasn’t a bad way.” He died smiling.

“But if I am the word. And the word is God. What does that make me?”

Kim stroked her husband’s forehead. His eyes slowly opened. She smiled at him. “Hi” he said groggily “What’s going on?” Kim could barley contain her joy as she bent down and kissed him. Tomas grabbed his father hand and finally aloud himself to cry. The family embraced. An explosion rocked the building. Kim’s ears rang from the noise. She let out a scream. Tomas fell to the ground. Outside someone screamed “The Alliance is attacking!” A second explosion, that person never screamed again. Needier did Kim.

“What does that make me Sir?” Aliester asked again. William Arman held his glass of whisky in his trembling hands. Aliester sat across the room from him at the grand piano. He was playing a tune William did not recognize. Williams’s daughter sat between them on a splendidly embroidered sofa. Her eyes where fixed on her father. She held a gun to her head. William had no idea how this young man had gotten into his home, or why his daughter was doing what he said. All he knew was that Aliester had told her that if any hostile action was taken against him she was to pull the trigger. And William knew she would do it. He could see it in her eyes. He could hear it in her voice when she told him yes. She had only turned 21 two days ago. He took a drink from his glass and found his voice again “I don’t know what you are”. Aliester smiled. “That’s ok, I was just thinking out loud.” William looked at his daughter “What in the name of… what are you doing here? Who are you?” Aliester continued to play the piano. “My name is Aliester Lao, im a student of the Academy.” William nearly choked on his drink. Aliester continued “Im here to talk to you about recent events. Was it not made quite clear to parliament that my employers wanted River Tam and her bother alive?” Allison’s eyes remained fixed on her father. William spoke “We took your employers wishes under advisement but after the failure of the two men they sent to retrieve her we felt she needed to be neutralized. The information she was carrying was just too sensitive!” Aliester closed the piano lid and got to his feet “And the raid on the Academy, the death of one of our top people was that necessary to?” “Parliament felt.” “Parliament felt what you told them to feel” Aliester interrupted. “The great William Arman, champion of the virtues and ideals of the Alliance. You thought my employers could never move against you? You counted that they could not remove you without it looking suspicious?” Aliester smiled “well no one ever counts on me”. William steeled himself and began to speak “We are elected officials”. “Fact is” Aliester interrupted again. “You where right. My employers couldn’t move against you without turning parliamentary opinion against them. You’re just to well respected. That’s why they took the liberty of having this written up.” Aliester handed William and piece of paper. William looked at it “What is this?” Aliester looked at him. “It’s your suicide note.” William looked at him in shock “You can’t be”. “You know” Aliester again interrupted “That Operative you sent, he made the good doctor fall on his sword. I must say I admire his sense of poetry. Even if he doesn’t know he possesses one. Im sure he did it out of some sense of honor. I on the other hand have no honor, but I am a poet.” Aliester pulled out the gun he had kept in his coat pocket. William recognized it. “Your daughter was kind enough to show me where you kept this.” Aliester placed the gun on the table in front of William. “Pick it up”. William hesitated. “Pick it up” Aliester repeated “and for the sake of your daughter I would strongly advise not pointing it at me”. William reached over and took the gun in his hand. “Now here is what it boils down to” Aliester began “You will take this gun you will place it to your head and you will pull the trigger. If you do not do this, your daughter will die. If you attempt to make any hostile action towards me, your daughter will die. So the question is whose life is more important to you? Yours, or your child’s? Allison’s eyes continued to bore holes into her father. A tear ran down Williams’s cheek. “How many lives have been destroyed?” Aliester asked “since the birth of the Alliance? How many by the creation of the academy? By Simon saving his sister? By your Operative? By a word he gave on the bridge of a ship? A chain of Hundred’s of thousands of little tragedies until we finally get to one you actually care about.” William looked at Aliester. “You promise you’ll let her live?” Aliester nodded. “You have my word.” William placed the gun to his temple. “Please don’t make her watch.” Aliester shook his head “I have to, but I promise she wont remember.” William took a deep breath and spoke “God also told Adam and Eve that if they ate from the tree of knowledge they would surly die. Does that not make God a liar?” Aliester shrugged “depends on how you look at it. Good thing for you im an atheist.” William cocked the hammer “Long live the Alliance.” Aliester grinned “Long live your daughter.” William fell to the ground dead.

Aliester told Allison to sleep, and she did. Her father would be found dead the following morning. A tragic loss to the Alliance. When asked about the strange young man seen leaving there home that night Allison would tell them he was just an old school friend of hers. They had already sent him his next assignment. It was the one he had been waiting for. He looked over profiles of the ship’s crew. He stopped on one name. She would be useful. Aliester smiled to himself. “Hello Kaylee.”