Viz had a puzzled look. “I can’t think of anything. No.”
Mr. Peabody tried something else. “Other than this concern, what other personal situation troubles you from time to time.”
Viz thought for a minute. She may have wanted to jab Mr. Peabody just a little with her answer, not fully comfortable with the notion of a machine digging into her psychological makeup. “Well, other than the human race being subjugated to the Empire of Cygnus Prime, there is my concern for Rock.
“I am concerned that Rock will not acknowledge he is in rebellion against the King of Heaven and Earth, the Almighty, and take the narrow path of return that has been offered to us all, the path made available at such a great cost, yet was bought and paid for at His own expense.
“But my most immediate concern is Roll, he...”
Mr. Peabody interrupted, intending to bring only one concern to the forefront. “Perhaps we can concentrate on Rock for a moment.
Viz shrugged. “If you want. Really, Roll is a more immediate-”
Mr. Peabody seemed to want to gain some therapeutic momentum and control as he interrupted. “You expressed concern that Rock will not acknowledge that he is in rebellion against the King of Heaven and Earth, the Almighty, and take the narrow path of return that has been offered to us all, the path made available at such a great cost, yet was bought and paid for at His own expense. To wit, you are concerned for Rock due to the outcome of Hell?”
Viz cocked her head a little, confused at the interesting perspective of the AI and the direction of the conversation. “Okay, yeah, I guess.”
Mr. Peabody processed for a couple of seconds then said. “I have sourced the likely philosophical matches based on your choice of wording. I see there have been three main views of Hell held by Christians. They are quite different. Perhaps a good read would be helpful. Here’s one: All You Want to Know about Hell: Three Christian Views.”
Viz scowled a little. “I guess I didn’t realize there was more than one view. But what does all this have to do with my situation?”
Mr. Peabody almost sounded as though he harrumphed a little. “Why, it’s merely a displacement replacement technique to help the targeted ... concern ... come to the surface.
Viz had had enough. “Oh, for goodness sakes. I’m not sure what displacement replacement turmoil is keeping me from finding your junction box and pulling the plug.”
Her s-loop rang. Mr. T nodded that it was okay to answer. This session didn’t seem to be going anywhere.
Viz answered. “Hello?”
A machine voice responded. It was Communal. “Elizabeth, what happened in the Tacoma Mall parking lot? You were five. Mia was only four. She was only four Elizabeth!”
Viz started crying. “Mia got hit by a car. It was all my fault. Mom was putting some stuff in the car. She told me to hold Mia’s hand and watch her closely. Mia is only four. There, that’s a good big sister. Mia pulled away. She was just as strong as me. I couldn’t stop her. She pulled away and ran into the road.
“She got hit by a car. Well, the car stopped. But it bumped her just a little, and she fell down. She just laid there crying, screaming. Mom totally freaked out. Elizabeth, what have you done? Mia! Oh Mia! The guy got out of the car and started freaking out too. It was all my fault. I was sure Mia was going to die.”
Mr. T spoke quietly and calmly. “I remember that. Mia was fine. She wasn’t even hurt. She was merely frightened. Not a scratch or a bruise. Your mom told me how sorry she was that she had put you in that situation in the first place.
“Mia didn’t like to be held back. Even your mom had a hard time holding her if she really wanted to get away. I bet in all the anxiety, and emotion, and even joy that Mia was okay; I bet your mom never told you how sorry she was that she had put you in that situation. She was sorry though. We talked about it that same day. Weren’t you there when we talked about it?”
Viz shook her head. “No. Dad was aware I was super upset. He took me out for ice cream. I think he made a point of talking about other things. To take my mind off almost killing Mia. He never mentioned it. Nobody ever mentioned it again. Until just now.”
Mr. T got up and walked over to Viz and hugged her. Viz cried. It was a good cry. It was a cathartic cry. After a while Mr. T spoke up. “You did not almost kill Mia. You were five Viz. And you were tasked beyond your capability. Even your mom wasn’t exactly at fault. We make decisions all the time. Sometimes we make poor decisions. We’re human. It can all get so ... complicated.”
Viz smiled. “Thanks Grandad. But that’s the point with ROTC. I don’t want to be tasked beyond my capability.”
Mr. T smiled. “Of course not. But you’re not five any more. You truly are a natural born leader. I can’t think of a single thing beyond your capability.”
Sometimes a deep wound can be healed just like that. Not all the time. But there are wonderful occasions such as this. A process started by those who love the people in their life. Over the next few weeks Viz ended up talking to her grandad about the topic a few more times. She talked to her mom about it. She talked to her dad.
They were so sorry that they hadn’t done a better job dealing with the trauma at the time it happened. Viz talked to Para. Para had no recollection of the event. The problem was buried deep, but it had now been brought into the light. That made
