Anita dragged Nate to the hospital herself. The cliff was not tall. There was ample leaf cover and underbrush. He was not injured. But he couldn't move or talk. His XO sent a distress signal to Anita. It diagnosed him as having a paralytic stroke.
Of course, XO sent a distress signal to Aniket too. All timekeepers on the island received Nate's distress signal. An old timekeeper from a widowed pod responded. He arrived with a crew and helped airlift Nate. He warned Anita and Nate not to play recklessly in remote places like that. Warkeepers use a word 'combat readiness' to signify health. This does not mean they are healthy. They go to the field since they are kids. They have many hidden injuries. They keep receiving sequelae throughout their lives. They work through the sequelae until they achieve combat readiness, but it still doesn't mean the sequelae are gone. Their whole life is a work in progress. It is best not to be reckless just because they're on vacation.
Aniket was left alone in the virgin forest. He took half a month to discover, dry and roll his own blend of cannabis. After he smoked his weed in peace and fed his pet dogs, he left the island and went to see Nate.
Nate was young and healthy. It didn't take him long to recover mobility. Like the veteran who helped them said, it was an old head injury from years ago that resulted in his situation. But Nate had a different idea about it.
'It is as if my body is torn into three parts. I can feel and use all three parts perfectly. But I can't feel myself.'
Aniket was tired from his flight. The creed of an addict said one must always bring his stash with him. There were a lot of mechanisations he had to put in place just to board a couple of civilian flights. He got tired of his useless life.
He scooched shamelessly and took over his dad's bed. Nate pet his head and took the chair. He knew very well why the rascal was tired. Patient and family member were reversed.
'Nate…if I tell you my Maa did this to you, would you believe me?'
Nate pat Aniket's face from above his head. 'It's not like that kiddo…'
'I'm not talking about psychology or some spiritual aspect. I'm talking reality here. You know how they died…'
After fifteen days of rest and silent recuperation, Nate came to a place of equanimity about what happened.
He merely stroked Nikki's face in silence.
However, Aniket thought he didn't believe him. 'Don't believe everything XO tells you. XO can be manipulated.'
'Don't talk conspiracy Nikki. The time tribunal will not take it well if they hear your remarks.'
XO is the most inviolable, almost sacred piece of technology used by timekeepers. It represented their creed in both action and philosophy. It was already a hundred years old at that time and never once was successfully attacked by enemies. It never glitched, never gave itself away, never stopped growing. Progeny is a very old, historical organisation, several hundreds of years old. But only after XO did it become an entity that has meaning, stability and a righteous drive that unites all timekeepers.
To say XO can be manipulated is not a small remark, even in private. Aniket was young and didn't understand, but, XO watches everything.
'Nate…' Aniket squeezed his eyes shut. He opened them and called, 'Dad.'
Nate paused and pat his cheek. 'Ok, tell me.'
Aniket looked at him and shook his head. He put his hand on his forehead and shook his head again. This was not a sign of headache. This was when the thing in his head is too large and he cannot speak.
Aniket was born a genius. He had many communication problems as a child. Mostly because the connections he made were too large. There were not enough words and emotions he knew, in order to express them with.
However, his artmothers just couldn't leave him be like that. They devised a certain method to help him talk. They created a safe environment for him to speak with his limited expressions and without losing his self-esteem.
They call it…the womb.
Nate sighed and gave in to his fate. He dimmed the lights and got into bed. Pulling a thick sheet over the both of them, he warned, 'Do any hanky panky and I'll show you how well I recovered, on your nuts!'
This nasty kid has a history of harassing both mom and dad!
Aniket shook his head and urgently put his head in the darkest place, Nate's chest. His whole body was shivering. Nate rubbed his back to calm him down. Aniket stammers and gets frightened when he must talk about his ideas. The ideas are frightening because they never exist anywhere in the world. His artmothers always believed he will be the world's most revolutionary scientist and inventor. They were so convinced it would happen, even until the end, even though his path has changed. Nate never knew why. He never heard Aniket talk about the big things in his head. He just heard of the symptoms of when he's going to.
'N-nate…N-nate…'
'I'm here, Nikki.'
'Um.'
Just like a caterpillar searching for place to spin its cocoon, Aniket struggled a long time to find a comfortable place in the 'womb'.
Nate was tired of it. He tightly held the boy's neck in his elbow and locked him in place.
'Nikki, if you keep being scared, you'll never achieve anything in life.'
His artmothers never reprimanded him. Aniket felt sorry for himself. He fell limply against Nate's chest.
Nate felt sorry when he felt the wetness against his chest. But he was very clear this bastard was using his saliva to produce the effect of tears.
Just that this bastard…was his bastard, after all. He kissed the little devil's head several times. Until he felt he was in a safe place. This is what she taught Nate. To create a safe place for the devil to stop his mischief. For the devil to share his thoughts.
Nate kissed his son's head a few more times to reassure him. 'It's okay now. Tell your dad what it is.'
Aniket felt that his head was always very heavy. But when the womb cocoons him in warmth and darkness, it doesn't feel light. Aniket doesn't feel it at all. It feels like he no longer bears the weight of his own self. Thus it is safe.
'Nate…' he whispered. 'Input the code I'm giving you into your XO. Do it thrice. Do it in ten seconds.'
Aniket touched Nate's index finger and passed an XO code directly through touch. Nate was surprised, but he immediately followed Aniket's instruction. Ten seconds later, he felt that the world was quiet.
'Nikki…this…'
Aniket pulled himself closer into Nate. Nonsense, his artmothers were very soft when they cocooned him. This womb is not remotely as good. There's nothing to hold on to and no good smell. It's frankly repelling.
But Aniket didn't leave it and only tightened his grasp. 'This is proof that XO is no longer active in both of us. Nate…XO can be manipulated. I've manipulated it since I was eight years old. I taught my Maa how to do so as well.'
Nate understood why Aniket was scared now. But more than that, he finally knew why the artkeepers hid Aniket.
He truly is…the genius of the century.
But this genius was no warrior. His conscience is too heavy. His guile is too little. He must have lived in fear his entire life. The entire pod did.