“I am, but there’s still the Leslie issue. He’s still up there, and so are about four hundred soldiers.” I looked down at my shoes. “I don’t know how to get around that part yet.”
Phillip cocked his head to the side. He gave me a sideways glance and scrunched up his mouth a bit. “Yes, you do. You know you do. We gave it to you.”
“I know. I know you gave me control of the god rod.”
“Then why aren’t you using it?” Ross leaned in, slightly more interested now.
“Someone once told me that you have real power when you have power and choose not to use it. I thought it was dumb when I heard it, but it makes sense. I don’t want to use the god rod.” I stared into their eyes and waited for a reaction, but got empty stares back. “Did you hear me? I don’t want to use it.”
Ross waved a hand dismissively. “We heard you but can’t believe it. You have the power to set things straight up there.”
“I still have that power. I just have to find another way, which is why I’m asking for resources.”
“What kind of resources? What’s the difference between going up there with a bunch of machine guns and dropping a god rod on them?” Phillip asked.
“Oh, I don’t want guns. That’s a Leslie thing.” I laughed.
“So...what’s your plan?” Phillip pressed.
“Leslie used guns to take away our home. I would have access to plenty of them, right?”
“Of course, whatever you need.”
I nodded. “Right, but I don’t want to use them. That’s what Leslie used against us to take our home away. I don’t want to take his home away as he did to us. I want to offer him an option. I want to give him the option to earn his right to live or to perish. I fell in love with Circadia because it was so harsh. Leslie has yet to survive a deep night during Circadia’s circadian rhythms. I’m betting he won’t. I want to wait him out. Let the problem fix itself.”
Phillip and Ross looked back and forth between each other. Then Ross ventured, “You need a way to keep him out while nature takes its course?”
“That’s right.” I smiled.
THE SILENCE IN THE room was deafening. I stared at the red light on the camera with a blank stare. I’d finished my message. My time on Earth was over, and it was time to move on. On to bigger and better things, and hope that Earth could handle its evils. Of course, I would help from afar, but it wasn’t my fight. Circadia was. It was time to go home.
I stood, turned the camera off, and strode out of the meeting room. I walked down the whitewashed hallways that I’d recently called home in a sort of euphoria. It didn’t seem real, but it was. The corridors were empty since everyone was outside. When I reached the glass doors of the main entrance, I saw them waiting for me.
I pushed the doors open and looked up at the enormous rocket waiting for me as I stepped out. The people gathered around its base looked familiar, so I broke into a jog to reach them sooner.
“Aella, so glad to be going with you. The brothers told us you need some help reclaiming Circadia. They thought we’d be the perfect people for the job,” the farmer from Kansas said. The team of farmers stood behind him, ready. I smiled and shook his hand.
I looked beyond the group to see Axel Cason with his regular backpack hanging from one shoulder and smirking at me. “What are you doing here?”
“Wanted to see you off and give a few pointers to my man Chris here.” He wrapped his arm around my cameraman and video editor. Chris slightly shrugged away but laughed. “I would love to go with you, but I have work to do here. Chris will make sure everything up on Circadia is covered, and I’ll share it with the world here. I know it will be a success, so maybe it will inspire even more movement here on Earth.”
“I think you picked the perfect person to cover history on Circadia.” I smiled. I looked at Chris. “I’m glad you’re coming with us.”
“Me too.”
I smiled and nodded at both, then pushed past them and glanced around to see who everyone was. I noticed that I had seen most of them in passing but didn’t know them personally. I assumed they were mostly some of the Herrold brother’s techs, so I knew we would be in good hands. I turned to rejoin a conversation while I waited, then spotted a familiar face. Smith. He strode up to me with a small smirk. “What made you change your mind?” he asked.
I scrunched up my nose and looked into the sky, then back at him. “Someone once told me that there was power in having power and not using it. Didn’t make a lot of sense at the time, but I think there might be something to it.” I pushed his shoulder and laughed.
“There might, but we don’t know yet. Might be the totally wrong decision. You never know.” He shrugged.
“Yeah, might be.” I shrugged too. “We’ll find out one way or another.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
One month later, New Haven, Circadia was established and thriving. Crops had flourished in the short time we had been back. The introduction of bees only accelerated the pollination and productivity of the plants. Livestock was faring well. The only thing not faring well? Leslie Marshall.
Leslie and a few other crewmen had made camp right outside the enormous walls erected before the development of New Haven. There were only a couple of dozen remaining in his group, which was astonishing compared to the numbers we had left behind. I assumed they had either starved or had picked each other off as they grew tired of one another.
I heard his voice while I
