where they could all be safe and live a civilized life. It sounded nice, but my bullshit meter was in the red.
“What do you think?” I asked Cortez as the teens set off toward the Bi-Lo.
“Let’s play along for a while,” he said.
We could smell pork barbecue before the Bi-Lo was even in sight. The place was doing a fairly brisk business, considering there probably weren’t a hundred people within twenty miles of here. A man with kind eyes greeted us at the door. He didn’t have to introduce himself.
“Hello, Rumor,” I said.
He no longer looked like a Jumpy-Jump—he was dressed in a pair of tattered blue jeans and a green t-shirt —but as he hugged me like a long lost brother and cried that I was the man who had let him see the light, the singsong accent was the same.
“Come, come, you look hungry,” he said. “Let me prepare you a plate.” He guided us toward white plastic chairs with a gentle hand on my shoulder blade.
Cortez and I each accepted a paper plate of pork with a side of corn.
“Enjoy your food,” Rumor insisted. “When you’re feeling good and plenty we can catch up, and chat a little about what we have to offer you.”
“What you have to offer us?” Cortez said, eyeing the food warily.
Rumor waved at the plate. “There are no tricks here. My trickster days are long behind me. Eat, then we’ll talk.”
Cortez and I looked at each other. I shrugged.
“Can we get our friends?” Cortez asked Rumor.
Rumor assured him that by all means he should fetch our friends. Cortez went to get them while I ate.
I willed myself to eat slowly, to savor the wonderfully juicy meat, despite the urgent cries from my stomach that I eat faster.
The concrete floor of the Bi-Lo was scattered with tents and sleeping bags. Here and there people sat conversing in white plastic chairs, always in twos, one person holding a Styrofoam plate and mostly listening.
“How have you been doing?” Rumor asked, handing me a paper cup of sweet iced tea. He swung a chair around and sat so our knees almost touched.
“I’m not dead, so, better than most I guess.”
“Are you happy, though, Jasper?” Rumor asked. It surprised me that he remembered my name. Of course, I
“No. I’m hungry and scared, and people are dying all around me. Of course I’m not happy.”
“I once offered you happiness,” Rumor said.
I didn’t get what he was saying, then I remembered. “Ah, the vial of blood.” I paused in my eating, eyed the food on my fork.
“Exactly, the vial.” Rumor pushed his palm toward my plate.“Eat. I can see you tensing, like a deer who’s just heard a branch crack. I gave you my word, there are no unexpected seasonings in the food.”
I ate. It was too late anyway. But I couldn’t help distrusting this guy. I’m not sure I could ever forgive someone for doing what he did. That he was regretful for killing Ange’s dog now, after I infected him with Doctor Happy, did not seem to merit absolution. I’ve never been a huge believer in giving people a pass for hurting other people just because they’re sorry about it later, and when that regret is virus-induced, I’m even less inclined.
“So that’s what this is all about? You’re recruiting people to the virus?”
Rumor laughed merrily. “Yes, of course!”
“But it’s not in the food?”
“We don’t trick people. We invite them here and offer them an opportunity to join our tribe. If we were going to introduce you to the virus by force, wouldn’t it be easier to surprise you with a needle as you walked in the door?”
That was true. “If you want to spread the virus, why don’t you just do that?”
“Is that how you would do it?” Rumor asked.
“No.”
He shrugged. “That answers your question. We respect people’s rights, as long as they respect others’ rights.”
I didn’t say anything. If they were so damned ethical, why hadn’t the people with the sign told us they were infected with Doctor Happy right up front? And then there was Deirdre. Sebastian hadn’t given her any choice.
Outside, Cortez appeared, trailed by the others. I waved them in. Baby Joel was sleeping in Colin’s arms, still looking too small to be real.
Rumor went straight to Ange and hugged her fiercely; he was so much bigger than her that she almost disappeared inside the one-way hug. “Little Peanut! So good to see you again.”
Rumor led everyone to the food table. I followed and shamelessly fixed myself seconds. As we settled into chairs, Rumor came and stood in front of our little group. “Can I give you my patter? Then if you decide not to join us, you can all fly away with food in your bellies.”
“Sure,” I said, my mouth full. “But I doubt you’re going to find any converts here.” I thought of Deirdre, falling end-over-end to her death.
“That’s fair enough.” He covered his mouth with his palm, considering for a moment. “I have to alter my pitch, because you already know so much. You know this virus was engineered by scientists. These scientists realized that if the human race was going to survive, we have to take the next leap in evolution ourselves. What do we need to survive? We don’t need more hands, or two heads, or to fly. We need to be healed. Our violence, our sadness, our loneliness, our fear… they are a sickness that is killing us.” The cadence of his speech was mesmerizing. It was like listening to a good sermon.
“Look at what’s become of the world under yesterday’s people.” He swept his hand around the room with a flourish, as if all the suffering and death in the world were spread out before us. “What do you think? When the ashes settle, shall we let the same people have another try?” He laughed. “Would you like another helping of the same rotted stew?”
No one responded. Rumor went on.
“We are the future, my friends. We’re going to build a world based on loving kindness, not ego. We convert violent people every chance we get, against their will if we must. If you’re violent, you forfeit your right to choose. But for others like you, it’s your choice. We offer you food, companionship, a safe home. We offer you the future.”
“Hold on,” I said. “This safe home—it wouldn’t be Athens by any chance?”
“It would indeed.”
“Son of a bitch!” Cortez said. “Everyone in Athens is infected?”
Rumor bowed his head. “Only the converted are permitted to live there.”
“Sebastian, you bastard,” Cortez muttered.
“When did he plan on telling us?” Ange asked. She looked angry enough to pull Sebastian’s ears off if he’d been there.
Rumor spread his hands. “Can I finish, please? What questions do you have for me about joining us? Why are you so angry? Tell me your doubts.”
Sophia spoke up. “I’m happy the way I am. I’m not killing anyone; I’m not filled with hate.”
“Clearly you’re a good person,” Rumor said, moving to face her directly. “But don’t we all strive to better? Don’t we all want to reach our greatest potential? This will lead you toward that self-actualization. It’s like an extremely nutritious vitamin, only for your mind instead of your body.”
He waited for Sophia to respond, but Sophia only crossed her arms and shook her head.
“There are thousands of foreign entities already in your bodies! Consider all the helpful bacteria in your digestive tract. And this virus won’t change you. I’m still me.” He pointed at his chest. “I’m more me than I was before I felt the needle’s song. Only in my case it was not a needle, it was a water gun!” He laughed merrily. “The virus freed me to be far more me, far less of the streets I grew up on. I’m still me, just a much friendlier version of me.”
I looked around at my tribe, gauging their reactions. You couldn’t help but get a little caught up in Rumor’s words. But it was irreversible, and there was Deirdre to consider. What if it wasn’t as pleasant as it seemed from the outside? The scientists behind this had also created the bamboo, and that hadn’t turned out all that well. Who
