Six Vices and A Superpower

Chapter 12

Mrs. Olivia's family still hadn't arrived.
Several hours had passed since the accident.
Her husband was out of town and could not reach the hospital until two days later. Her son was studying at a boarding school in another city. The school had managed to contact them, but for now, there was no family member available to sit beside her.
By late afternoon, officials from the school had arrived.
Mr. Wilson was there.So were Michelle and Jenna.Freddie sat quietly in one of the chairs outside the intensive care unit.
The rain had started again.
It tapped softly against the long hospital windows, turning the city outside into a blur of grey buildings, headlights and umbrellas. Every few minutes, thunder rolled somewhere in the distance.
Jenna walked toward Freddie.
'Let's go home.Freddie, you've been here since morning.You've done enough'
Freddie shook his head.
'No.I'm staying.He looked towards the ICU doors and said,'I want to stay.'
Jenna looked at him for a moment but didn't argue.Freddie himself didn't understand why he was doing this.Why was he sitting in a hospital corridor for someone who had never missed an opportunity to humiliate him?Someone who had made him feel small.Someone who had repeatedly told him that he was wasting his life.
He could have walked away.Nobody would have blamed him.Yet something inside him refused to leave.Perhaps he was doing it for himself.
Perhaps he simply didn't want another person to experience what it felt like to be completely alone.That was the last thing he wanted anyone to feel.He looked down at his hands.
For some reason, he thought about his father.
Then about his mother sitting alone on the floor that morning.Finally he closed his eyes.He didn't know what he was becoming.And he wasn't sure he liked it.
The doctors eventually came out.
They explained that Olivia had suffered several fractures in her leg and another fracture around the rib cage. Fortunately, the MRI results were reassuring, and there was no indication of a serious brain injury.She needed surgery.
The waiting began again.An hour passed.
The rain outside grew heavier.Michelle sat beside Wilson, occasionally checking the time.
Jenna had gone to get coffee.Freddie remained in the same chair.When the doctors finally returned, it was evening.
'The surgery went well',one of them said. 'She'll remain in the intensive care unit tonight. Her family will be contacted immediately if there is any emergency.'
'Is she conscious?',Mr Wilson asked.
'Not yet.'The doctor walked away.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Wilson looked at Freddie.'You should go home.'
Freddie didn't answer.
'Come on,' Wilson said gently. 'Your mother is waiting.'
This time, Freddie stood.
Michelle picked up her bag.
'We should go too' she said. 'We have to visit Jordan tomorrow. He's not doing very well.'
Wilson looked at her.
'Jordan?He is been keeping to himself again. I told him we wouldd come by.'
Wilson nodded.
Outside the hospital, the rain had almost stopped.
The pavement reflected the white hospital lights.
For a moment, Wilson looked up at the dark sky.
Something moved behind the clouds.
He wasn't sure whether it was lightning.
Or something else.Far above the hospital, hidden among the clouds, a faint blue light appeared.
Three figures stood silently on the roof of a nearby building.
Robs 2 watched the hospital through a transparent screen.
Robs 2: Subject Olivia's emotional activity has dropped significantly.
Robs 1 looked at the readings.
Robs 1: Temporary neurological shock.
Robs 3: No.
The others turned toward him.
Robs 3: Something else has changed.
On the screen, Freddie appeared.
His image was surrounded by rapidly changing patterns.
Robs 2: Subject Freddie remained with her.
Robs 1: Why?
Robs 3 watched him carefully.
Robs 3: That is what we need to understand.
The blue light disappeared.

The next morning the rain had cleared.
A pale morning sun entered through the hospital windows.
Wilson and Freddie arrived early.
A nurse approached them.
'Mrs. Olivia regained consciousness a little while ago.',
Freddie stopped.
'She's awake?'The nurse nodded.
'She's doing well. But don't stay too long. She's still weak.'Freddie hesitated.Wilson noticed.
'Come on.I don't know if I should go.'
'Why not?'Freddie didn't answer.
Perhaps he was afraid of seeing the woman who had made him feel worthless.Or perhaps he was afraid she would still be the same.They entered quietly.
The nurse was adjusting the IV channel attached to Olivia's wrist.Olivia looked nothing like the woman Freddie remembered.Her face was pale.
Her hair was dishevelled.Her eyes were open, but strangely empty.She stared through the small window beside the bed.
Outside, the city had already begun its usual rush.Cars moved through the wet streets.People hurried to work.Buses stopped and started.The world was moving.But Olivia seemed to be watching it from somewhere outside herself.
For the first time, there was no judgment in her eyes.There was no criticism or the need to control anything.The accident had reduced her world to something painfully simple,breathing pain and being alive.
The nurse looked at Wilson and Freddie.
'Don't talk too much. She needs rest.'
Freddie had brought a small bunch of white peonies.He placed them carefully on the bedside table.Olivia looked at them.
She said nothing.
Wilson tried to begin a conversation.
'How are you feeling?Does anything hurt?'
Olivia continued looking towards the window.Wilson stopped.
The woman who had never seemed to run out of opinions was completely silent.Perhaps it was the pain or shock.Perhaps something deeper.
Freddie stood beside the bed.He didn't know what to say.
After a few minutes, Wilson gently touched his shoulder.,'We should let her rest.'They turned towards the door.
Then Olivia spoke.Her voice was barely audible.
'Why?'
Freddie turned around,Olivia looked directly at him.
'Why did you save me?'Her face was still expressionless.
Freddie looked at her for a long moment.He remembered every word she had said to him.
Every humiliation.Every time she had made him feel that he wasn't good enough.
Then he remembered the moment he had seen her lying on the road.He could have walked away.But he hadn't.Freddie lowered his eyes.
'I don't know.'
Olivia continued staring at him.
Then Freddie said quietly'I was wrong about you.'
For the first time, something changed in Olivia's expression.Just the slightest movement in her eyes.Freddie turned to leave.Olivia whispered:
"Thank you."Freddie paused.He didn't turn around."I know."He walked out.Wilson followed him.Neither spoke.
Outside the room, the morning sunlight had become brighter.But in the reflection of the hospital window, for one brief second, Wilson saw three figures standing across the street.
Robs 1.
Robs 2.
Robs 3.
Wilson blinked.They were gone.Only the wet street remained.And somewhere far beyond the clouds, three emotionless beings were beginning to understand that the human experiment was becoming something they had never predicted.
The aliens were still watching.

Chapter 13

Mr. Wilson and Michelle arrived at Jordan’s house late in the morning.Jordan was lying in bed, weakened by fever. His face looked thinner than it had the day before, and his breathing was heavier than usual.
'How are you feeling?'Wilson asked.
Jordan barely looked at him and said,'Fine.' Michelle stepped closer.'Did the doctor come and see you?',she asked.
Jordan gave a faint, humourless smile.'What can doctors do for a half-broken man like me?'
'Did you take the medicine he prescribed?'
Jordan said nothing.
Wilson waited for a few moments before asking, 'Should I serve you something to eat?'
'No.'The silence that followed became uncomfortable.Wilson finally began telling him about Olivia.He explained the accident, the surgery, and how Freddie had stayed beside her when her family couldn't reach the hospital.
'That was why we couldn't come yesterday',he finished.Jordan slowly turned his head towards him.His face changed.
'So you have time for everyone else in the world.'
Wilson looked at him, startled.
'What?You have time for Freddie. You have time for Olivia. You have time for Jenna. You have time for everyone.'
His voice rose.
'Then why bother coming here at all?'
'Jordan,Why bother with a handicapped man who worked with you decades ago?'
Michelle moved closer.
'Jordan, that's enough. You're sick.'
But Jordan continued.
'It is always about your choices. Your worries. Your preferences. You never think about anyone else.'
'That isn't fair',Wilson said, his voice becoming slightly irritated. 'There was an emergency. You can't behave like this every time you're upset. I have always done my best for you.'
Jordan stared at him.'I know',the words were quiet.Then he added,'Don't.'
Wilson frowned,'Don't what?'
'Don't tell me about your best.'
Michelle immediately stepped between them,'Jordan, stop.'
Jordan looked at her.'You don't understand.'
'I understand enough',Michelle said sharply.
'He's been taking care of you for years.'
Jordan gave a bitter laugh. 'And you think that makes him some kind of saint?'
Michelle's expression hardened.'No. I don't.'
Wilson looked at her.For a moment, something almost painful passed across her face.
She had spent years resenting Wilson.
She hated how easily people trusted him and how quickly they praised him.And how every good thing he did seemed to make her feel smaller.But none of that had ever meant she stopped loving her brother.
And she would not sit quietly while someone tore him apart.
'You can be angry with him',she said. 'You can blame him for whatever happened between you two. But don't pretend he hasn't been there for you.'
Jordan's eyes narrowed,'He was there because he felt guilty.'The room went still.Michelle looked at Wilson.Wilson said nothing.
Jordan continued,'He is always trying to save people. Do you know why?'
'Jordan',Michelle warned.
'He wants everyone to think he's good.'That struck something inside Wilson.Michelle's voice became quieter.
'Maybe sometimes he does.'Wilson looked at her again.'But that doesn't make everything he has done a lie.'Jordan stared at her.
Michelle continued.
'You're angry with him. Fine. But don't confuse his imperfections with a lack of love.'Jordan's expression changed slightly.For a moment, even he had no answer.
Outside, clouds gathered over the city again. A faint blue light flickered across the wall.
None of them noticed it.
But somewhere beyond their sight, three figures watched.
Robs 2: The librarian's compassion contains desire.
Robs 3: Then it is not compassion.
Robs 2: The boy's greed contained love.
A pause.
Robs 1: Perhaps humans do not separate emotions the way we do.
Robs 3: That would make emotional classification impossible.
Robs 2: Or it would mean we have misunderstood emotion entirely.
Back in the room, Jordan pressed his fingers against his temple.His headache was worsening.
His eyes were red with fever and anger.He looked at Wilson as though he had been carrying something inside himself for years, waiting for the right moment to finally put it down.
'You want to know why I'm angry?'
Wilson said nothing.
'It isn't because you didn't come yesterday.'
His voice trembled,'It's because you keep pretending you don't know.'
The room became completely still.
'It has been thirty-five years, Wilson.'
Wilson's face tightened.
'Thirty-five years since what?'
Jordan's eyes hardened.
'Since the fire.'
Wilson stopped breathing for a moment.
'You remember?',Jordan laughed softly.
'Remember?',he looked down at the arm that was no longer there.
'How could I forget?'
Michelle's face changed.
She looked from Jordan to Wilson.
'We were firemen', Jordan said. 'We went in together. There was a child trapped inside.'
His voice became quieter.
'I went forward',he looked at Wilson.
'You were supposed to follow.'
Wilson's lips parted, but no words came.
'I called for you.'I called again.',hw continued after a pause
Jordan swallowed,'And you didn't come.'
Michelle looked at her brother.Wilson remained completely still.'You were afraid',Jordan said.
Wilson finally answered.
'Yes.'The word barely escaped him.
Jordan stared at him.'You were afraid to take one more step.'
Wilson lowered his eyes,'The fire began to grow. I tried to go inside.'His voice shook.'It almost swallowed me.'He paused.'I couldn't move forward.'
Jordan said nothing.
'I heard you.'Wilson's eyes glistened.
'I heard you calling for me',He took a breath.
'And I still couldn't move.'
For the first time, there was no defence in his voice.
'I told myself I was trying to find another way.'
He swallowed.'But the truth is,I was afraid.'His voice almost disappeared.
Jordan looked down at the arm that was no longer there.
“You left me watched me go in,when I needed you the moat you dis not come!
Jordan's voice broke.'I lost my hand theen my career my life as I knew it.'
He looked at Wilson.
'And all these years, you've brought me food. Medicine. Soup. You've fixed things in my house. You've sat beside me when everyone else left.'
His mouth twisted into a bitter smile.
'I always wondered why.'
Wilson finally looked at him,and said,'I did this because I cared.'
Jordan shook his head leaning back against the pillow.“But that wasn't the whole truth.”
Wilson said nothing.
Jordan stared at him.
'You were paying a debt.'
The sentence landed harder than any accusation.
Wilson's eyes lowered,'Yes,I wanted forgiveness.”
Michelle looked at him.
Jordan's expression did not soften.
'I wanted to erase what happened to you',Wilson continued.His eyes filled with tears.
'I wanted to believe that if I stayed long enough and if I helped you enough if I never stopped,maybe one day I wouldn't remember that I left you there.I wanted to erase my guilt.'
Michelle looked at him.
For years, she had wanted Wilson to understand that he wasn't as perfect as everyone believed.
But seeing him now, stripped of every excuse,she felt something else.She reached out and quietly placed her hand on his shoulder.
Michelle said nothing.
Her jealousy had not disappeared,neither had her resentment.But neither had her love.
And perhaps that was what the aliens still could not understand.One emotion did not erase another.Humans could be jealous of someone they would still protect.They could resent someone they would still love.They could know someone's faults completelyand still stand beside them.
Outside, the first drops of rain began striking the window.Somewhere beyond the walls, the three beings watched.They had searched human emotions as if they were separate substances.
Greed,anger,attachment,jealousy,ego,desire.
But here they were again;one emotion buried inside another.
Compassion carrying guilt,anger carrying grief,love carrying fear,jealousy carrying love.
Perhaps they had been searching for pure emotion when there was no such thing.
Perhaps the contradiction was not contamination,it is the true nature of emotions.
The blue light disappeared..

Chapter 14

The rain continued for days.
Eventually Wilson got to chance tk speak to the alines.
'Why are you really here?',he asked.
Robs 1 gave the usual scientific explanation.
But Robs 2 finally told him the truth.
Their planet wasn't destroyed by an external catastrophe.Their civilizationdestroyed its own emotional complexity.
They eliminated jealousy,grief,anger,attachment,fear and desirebecause they considered them inefficient.They achieved peace and perfect logic through this. But then,their civilization began dying.Because nobody cared enough to protect anyone else.They could do extraordinary things with their machines but everything seemed meaningless.That's why they came to Earth.They weren't really studying humans.They were searching for something they had lost.
Robs 1 interupted:
Why do humans continue to care when caring causes pain?Wilson thought about Jordan,Michelle,Freddie and his own guilt.
Then said,'because the pain doesn't make the caring meaningless.'
Robs 2:But it is inefficient.
Wilson:'So is love,forgiveness,grief.'
Then Robs 2 asks the final question:
Then what makes it worthwhile.
Wilson answered,'We don't know.And that's why we keep doing it.'
The next morning, the rain had stopped.
Wilson stood beneath the old tree in front of his house, feeding the birds as he did every morning before work.He scattered pieces of bread across the ground.The birds gathered around him.One hopped close to his shoes.Another picked up a piece of bread and flew away.Wilson watched it for a moment.Above the clouds, something moved silently.He checked his watch,eight o'clock.He picked up his bag and walked toward the llbus stand.He put the last piece of bread on the ground because someone might need it.