SINS OF THE DREAMER
By: Anna Parrish
Prologue
The church, and the government had become one, unified, three hundred years previous. So the government not only made the rules, and enforced them, they taught God. They taught Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. They taught the Ten Commandments. They taught, and the people listened. Though not often used, every member of the government held a military rank. It kept everything simple...if a person served the government, he also served the church... he also served the military.
There were over fourteen hundred planets under their rule, their authority. So many people, so many souls rested on what they decided, and may God have mercy on their souls if they made a mistake.
Chapter 1
Four-year-old George Eckhard raced his trike up, and down the back yard on the man-made path. His small legs pumped hard. He pretended he was a cabby, a star ship captain, a space-trucker... Bushes flew by as the strange, little boy rode past. His mind was active, vitally alive.
He had a sand box, and a swing set, complete with slide. Twice a week, children were asked in to play with him. Five days a week, he went to pre-school. He was already reading at third grade level, and calculating double-digit sums. He loved life, loved his play area, loved everyone at the hospital. He was only partially human, but equally loved by everyone in hospital. George was ?their? child. Despite so much attention, he was well-mannered, well-behaved. He was always willing to help anyone who needed assistance. There was always someone ready to hug him, or to accept one from him.
Around, and around he went. The summer sun beat down making the day warm. White clouds drifted overhead. Birds sang in the trees around him. A blue, butterfly fluttered close by him. He stopped long enough to watch the tiny, flying insect, admiring its beauty. Sometimes, just sometimes, he wished he could fly, although he didn?t know where he?d fly to. It was just the idea of moving about so freely in the air. When it flew away, he began his journey again, around, and around. He jerked to a stop when he spotted a grinning Andrew standing by the door. The man held a ball.
George left his trike there on the path, and rushed up to his best friend. Andrew shifted the ball into his left hand so George could grab his right hand. His whole being welcomed the child. Latching on, George grinned up at him. "Hi!"
"Hi, yourself. Want to play a game of toss-about?" Andrew asked. Laughing, George nodded. "You stand over there." His chin pointed the way. The little boy ran in that direction. He laughed again in sheer joy as he turned to face the man.
"I?m ready!" The child grinned. He danced, there was so much happiness, and life surging through his small body.
Andrew threw the ball. George missed it. He ran after it, scooping it up. He threw it back. His aim was better than his catching. Fifteen minutes into the game, the door opened once more. Mrs. Parker came out. She held out her hand to George, who ran to her, the ball held in front of him. "Did you come to play with me?" he asked hopefully.
"I can?t. It?s Monday. They?re here to test you again. There?s no time." His face fell, the joy went out of his eyes. She touched his non-existent ears with a gentle finger, first one, and then the other. "I?m sorry."
He bit his lower lip. "I wish they would forget me," he whispered. "They make me sit still, and won?t let me go." He hugged her. "But I?ll do it because you want me to, and cause I love you!"
"I know. You?re their enigma, a mystery for them to solve, but I will pay closer attention to their testing. I won?t allow them to keep you so long." She led him in, and took him into the room set aside for the examinations.
Amos waited in the room set aside for the tests they were running on George. The boy entered, stood staring at the man for a moment. Sgt. Amos Soliva was bald, short, skinny. He wore dark green clothes. He was seated at the table, fiddling with the gear. He smiled when George came in, but George did not smile back. Amos?s smile turned into a scowl, yet he greeted the child. "Hello."
"Hello," George murmured. He reluctantly sat down..., and the testing began. Two, and a half hours later, he grew weary. George tried in vain to stifle the huge yawn that slipped out. Ashamed, he apologized, "Sorry."
"Are you tired?" Amos asked.
George was honest. "A little."
"We have one more test. Then you can go with Beatrice to take your nap." George nodded. "You remember this one, don't you? You tell me the color of the card before I turn it over." Again, the boy nodded. He wasn't very good at this game. He rarely guessed the color correctly, and that always seemed to disappoint the scientist who sat on the other side of the table. "Good. What color?"
"Pink?"
The man frowned, then turned the card, and the color green appeared. George guessed wrong yet again. The man chewed his lower lip as he recorded the failures on his tiny note pad recorder.
Mrs. Parker entered the room. "It is time for his nap."
"We're almost finished." The man quickly tried to hide his displeasure. He hadn?t been quick enough. George caught it. He was pretty sure Mrs. Parker had to for she was awfully smart.
She bent close to the scientist. "We have discussed this before," she murmured low. "You have tested him for more than two hours. The time limit was two hours, not two, and a half."
"Mrs. Parker..."
"He is just a little boy."
"A little boy with a gift." The reply was sharp. "Forgive my outburst, but you don't understand."
"I understand he is a child who is tired."
"But..."
"I understand you are having difficulty in unearthing the exact type of gift he has, but keeping him awake, making him work while he is tired will not locate it any faster. I am taking him to his room, and putting him down for his nap."
"Yes, Ma?am." As the older woman picked up the child, the man scowled down at the cards. She carried the boy out, and shut the door.
"I don?t think he likes me," George whispered on the other side.
"I doubt he likes anyone."
A few moments later, as Mrs. Parker smoothed the blanket around him, the boy asked, "Why does that man always become upset when I can't do what he wants?"
"You must not be disturbed by him."
"I'm not. I was wondering why he become upsets when I'm not able to do what he wants me to do."
"He's trying to locate a gift God has given to you."
"I have a gift?" George Eckhard seemed surprised.
"Yes. He's trying to discover what it is."
"Do you know what it is?"
"No." The woman gently stroked his whitish-blond hair.
"If we don't find it, will God take it away?"
"No. Now, you sleep. Hash has a surprise for you when you wake up."
"What is it?"
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?"
"No." He grinned up at her. "I love you."
"I love you too, little one. Now sleep, and dream good dreams."
"Tell me how you found me again." He snuggled beneath his blanket.
"How many times have you heard it?" she asked, smiling at him.
"Please!"
She sighed. He giggled when she tickled him "All right. A tramper located a wreckage of a ship. Our hospital vessel was the closest to it, so we were sent to investigate. There were two humans inside, dead, and with them, we found you."
George sat up. "And I wasn?t dead."
"No, you were not."
"And you didn?t know why!"
"No, we did not, and we never could figure why you still lived."
"You didn?t know what I was because I was new!"
"We knew you were partially human, but the part was new to us. Andrew said your psi-scan shows you were high on the Auxiliary Prophetic Conception scoring. It was more pronounced than Earth-norm, but he had trouble deciding on the cause of it. It fluctuated. He thought it might be the alien part of you that produced this elevated rating, but he wasn?t sure."
"I like Andrew."
"He likes you."
"I know. So do you!"
"Very much, George. We tried to read the data banks on the ship but couldn?t. They were too damaged. We towed the ship here. The government allowed us to raise you."
"I?m glad! You?re my friends."
"I?m glad too. Now sleep!"
"Yes, Ma?am."
He nodded once, lay back down, and closed his eyes.
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