If this mission is about saving humanity and stopping the Khul, I’m on board with that, Jace thought.
He focused on his mother again. “Does the president know about this place? And the aliens and stuff?”
She gave him a wry look. “Now there may be some presidents that you want to know about this. But all of them? Think of their temperament.”
Jace grimaced. “Yeah, I can see why you wouldn’t want all of them to know. But that means… there’s really a Deep State?”
“Not like the conspiracy theorists think. But there are people in the government and private section who know and have passed that knowledge down to others who are deemed fit to know. Money from black bag projects funds us,” she explained. Seeing something in his face, she added, “It’s been controversial that we’re not out in the open.”
“People would love to know this. That we’re not alone,” he said.
“This will sound trite and you’ve heard it many times, but people are dumb, reactive creatures that fear what they don’t know,” she said with a sad smile. “Individuals are smart and open minded and eager for something new. We couldn’t allow politics and fear to run this place, Jace. It was--and is--too dangerous.”
Jace nodded after a moment. “I understand. But this can’t stay secret any longer, I don’t think.”
She drew in a deep breath. “Yes, we have a contingency plan for that. It is already starting.”
Jace didn’t know if he felt relieved or worried. The more people who knew, the more people would want to control what he did, would want to examine him, experiment on him…
I will not let them, Osiris said.
Jace’s eyes opened. You won’t.
They would impede the mission.
What’s the mission? I didn’t get a change to ask you before, Jace said.
I will keep you safe, Osiris said and then submerged again.
His mother hadn’t noticed his inattention, but perhaps like had been the case when he was speaking to Gehenna, time slowed and for her it had been less than a second.
“I was thinking about what happened to you earlier when you fought Khoth,” she said.
“Yeah, what about it?” Jace didn’t like thinking about what had happened. It had just been low blood sugar and lack of hydration, but it had scared it. It had put him back to where he had been. He never wanted to go back. Never.
“Your new body needs more calories to operate, more hydration, and likely more sleep, too. We… you need to be more cognizant of that,” she said.
He nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I need to be more careful. I’m sure that Khoth will have some space paste.”
He shuddered. His mother laughed.
“Don’t. Your poor father was so sick,” she said.
He grinned. “Is all alien food like that?”
“No, some of it is quite good. There is this fruit that is similar to grapes, but they’re this rich blue and they taste like a mixture of raspberries and bananas. They’re delicious,” his mother said with a smile at the memory. “The Alliance won’t share much with us, but they have shared their food.”
“And clearly Thammah has loved ours.” Jace grinned.
“That is a woman of my own heart,” his mother said. “Her love of Slim Jims is second only to yours.”
“Khoth played food cop and threw one away!” Jace sounded absolutely outraged to his own ears.
“Yes, well, he probably saved you from yourself,” she said and ran her hands over his arms. She became sober again. “There’s so much we don’t know, Jace. There’s so much that’s going to happen.”
“I know.” He rolled his shoulders back. “A lot is at stake.”
“Yes. Yes.” She nodded looking overwhelmed for a moment before she pulled herself together. Her eyes focused on his. “The desire to shield you is so strong. But I know that you’re so much smarter than I was at your age. Everything you’ve gone through… in a way it's made you a prime candidate for this. You think deeply, Jace. You see people and their motivations. You’re brave and kind.”
