CHAPTER 206: LOVE, LOSS, AND LOGISTICS

Zack had the four boys hang back for a moment—he needed to inform them of the deal.

"Okay, this is the way it’s going to go, boys. Eddie, you and Willie will take over your cabin. You will be roommates—you keep your room, he takes the spare room. The two boys will stay in guest quarters for the weekend, leaving Sunday afternoon. They will not be allowed to stay overnight, nor will you be allowed to stay in their quarters. Daylight hours contact is fine, but after 9 o’clock, no contact."

He paused, looking directly at Vincent and Jeremiah. "Vincent and Jeremiah have work to do next week. Come Friday evening, they will pack a bag and they will be here Saturday morning. Starting then, for two weeks, the four of you will live together as two couples in Eddie’s place for the next two weeks following."

"This will be a make it or break it event," Zack continued firmly. "After two weeks, we’ll sit down and discuss everything. If you get along fine, then you stand together as two couples. But if you cannot get along, there will be no coupling. They will see their sons born—no problem—but they will not have any contact with you or the child after it arrives. Celeste will have access to her grandchildren regardless, but the boys? No contact with you or the children until they reach transition age."

His expression grew stern. "This may seem very harsh, but these are my rules. It’s either make it or break it. Now get outta here, enjoy the weekend, and think about what you’ve gotten yourselves into."

Both young couples walked out of Zack’s office in a state of shock. This next week was going to be hell being apart from one another, but the following two weeks would bring a great deal of adjustment. Suddenly they’d have someone looking over their shoulder, monitoring every move they made—and they weren’t thinking about Mr. Zach at all, but about each other. They would have to work as a four-person team with no independence, relying on each other for their futures.

Both couples made their way to Eddie’s place. It was sparsely furnished and very plain.

"I’m sorry it’s not fancy, but it’s only been me that’s ever lived here," Eddie spoke up. "I’ve lost so much I didn’t need anything fancy. But Jeremiah, you need to know the truth about who and what you’re getting involved with."

Eddie took a deep breath before continuing. "When I first transitioned, I was dumb and stupid, and I let someone on top of me and he bred me. Z1 is all I’ve ever known in my life, and Mr. Z—he’s been the best thing that could ever happen to anyone. I was alone because the father went back to his ranch and I was scared. He set me up in this place and I started to make it a home for me and the child that I was expecting."

His voice grew heavy with pain. "Out of the blue, the father filed paperwork through the Council claiming custodial care of his child. If I wanted anything to do with my child, I had to give up everything I knew, everything I loved, and become his servant in order to keep my child. Because we hadn’t filed any prelim papers of conservatorship, he had all the rights."

"Mr. Zack tried his best—I won’t ever fault him because he fought against the Council tooth and nail, and it almost cost him the Z1," Eddie continued, his voice breaking slightly. "When I went into labor, Mr. Z was the one that delivered my son. He cleaned him up and tied his cord off, showed him to me, and they took a photo for records which I received a copy of. I wasn’t allowed to handle him or nurse him. Mr. Z held on to me as I had to watch my newborn son being taken from the delivery room by a council officer so that the father could take custody."

Tears began to fall as Eddie pressed on. "Every month since then I have mailed off a card to my son, told him that I love him and I wish him the best. I never got any back, so maybe he saw one after they were delivered by the Council representatives, or the father just threw them away. We have no bonding, but at least I know what he looked like."

"Mr. Z apologized for not filling out the proper paperwork because we had no idea, and I do not blame him for the loss of my son," Eddie said quietly. "He went by the rules—where the child was conceived and born is where the child belongs. But someone had something on someone else in order for my child to be taken. I sent him a transition card last week with all of my contact information in case he ever wishes to get a hold of me."

Eddie’s voice hardened with determination. "Jeremiah, there’s one thing I won’t ever do again—I will not lose another child. Don’t even think about trying to take our children from me."

Jeremiah’s heart was breaking as he held Eddie tightly. "I’ll guarantee you one thing—no one, no one will ever take our sons away," he said fiercely. "I know it’s not the Genman way, but if they even try, there will be plenty of individuals six feet under."

Willie had no idea that this had happened. He laid his hand upon Eddie’s shoulder. "This will be our pack—protect our children from all who wish to harm them, no matter the cost."

"I have eighteen brothers that I can call, and they’ll be here as soon as they get word from the city," Vincent agreed. "Plus, there’s a little Sicilian woman with a wooden spatula who can get very mean. If someone messes with her grandchildren, I fear for them because she will have no mercy, and they will not find any bodies."

There came a knock on the door, which Willie answered. It was Mr. Zach. He saw the tears in Eddie’s eyes and saw the baby book laying on the table. He walked over to Eddie and laid his hand on his shoulder.

"History will never repeat itself again—that much I will guarantee you," he said gently. "Now you boys need to take a few minutes and come on out and finish up the celebration. This is enough of this. It’s time to make the tour."

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The whole interactive tour was amazing. Townspeople and Genmen near and far were amazed at the information that had been amassed within the exhibit—shackles, cages, living quarters, and even breeding rooms were all intact. The new mockup of the original bridge and its viewer screen as it played the last moments of flight data for the crash were especially amazing to individuals.

But the second section was the most talked about one. The display featuring a holographic recording of historical fact of a Genman going through the process from conception to birth, and Tim’s ultimate Genman experience, was by far their biggest accomplishment. Zach had Emma take a bow along with Tim. People couldn’t believe that there was a real Tim—they thought at the beginning it was just special effects, not knowing he was a real person. He posed for so many photographs that it was unbelievable.

The children were off limits, even though people asked for photos to be taken with them as well.

"My children are just that—children, not sideshows," Tim told them firmly.

The food court promoting Mr. Zack’s famous pancakes was a sellout hit. People began to make standing reservations at Donnie’s, the ultimate restaurant experience of the Z1. In fact, they were making reservations to come back to the restaurant on separate dates in the future. No one could believe that one human could be so determined to bring the truth out about Genmen.

What was even more amazing was learning that the Genman actually came from the original planet Georg, and they were known as Goran. Details of the division and split of the planet’s inhabitants—how the second planet was colonized by the warrior race of female rulers—was quite interesting to everyone. No one knew that Genmen males were slaves, or even the fact that Goran males were slaves up to a point. Genmen males were used as breeders to supply an unlimited workforce for the females that ruled them.

Some of these facts were unsettling to a lot of Genmen and humans alike. Some humans began to express their opposition to the local government and the way that Genmen were excluded from certain legal rights guaranteed to all by the planet charter itself, set up by the old Earth alliance.

Amongst the crowd there were a lot of educators from the city, specially invited, and several had come up to Emma and Mr. Zack, wanting to know if school programs could also be made available so that students could learn the entire history of both humanoid races that populated the planet. Mr. Zack put all of that right into Emma and Carter Hawthorne’s capable hands.