Anarchist Knight

Chapter 2A-The Box

Looking at his uncle Tobal saw an aging cripple with unkempt hair, a sunken chest and liver spots on his skin. He still had the use of his arms but his legs were withered and misshapen like tree limbs tossed in a storm. It was hard to think of this broken man as Lt. Col. Harry Kane, Federation Officer once retired and now called back into active duty. It was hard to think of him as his father's brother.
It was his uncle's eyes that gave Tobal chills though. They were burning with some unseen torment and held some unholy knowledge or wisdom that pierced Tobal to his very core. He suddenly realized he had always been a little afraid of his uncle even though he didn't know why. All he knew was his uncle was or had been at one time a very dangerous man.

"It's time I gave you this," Uncle Harry waved distractedly toward the box lying on the bed. "Promised your parents that I would when you were grown up. God knows you’re grown up. You've probably aged five years in the last two months."


Tobal hardly heard what his uncle was saying, his eyes were fixed on the unusual glyph on the top of the oak box. He had seen that symbol once before. It was when he and his Uncle Harry had gone swimming. Tobal had been about two years old and it was one of his earliest memories. That was before his uncle had been paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. It had been before his parents died. The water had been very cold, and there had been a woman with his uncle. They had been laughing and playing with him in the water. He had seen that same symbol of a man and woman within a circle. It was tattooed over his uncle’s heart. Years later Tobal had tried asking his uncle about the tattoo but uncle Harry had refused saying he must have imagined it. It had never been mentioned again.

But Tobal had remembered and had always been curious about why it was a secret. It was one of the few memories of his childhood and of his parents. It was a sacred memory. Now that same symbol was on this box, a box his parents had left for him. With trembling fingers he reached over, picked up the box and set it gently on his lap almost afraid to open it. The wood felt smooth and cold to his touch. His fingers slid along the latch and the lock clicked open.

Hardly daring to breathe, Tobal slowly raised the lid and looked inside. A yellowed envelope with his name was lying on top of dark green velvet. Nestled within the velvet was a large gold medallion with a heavy gold chain. The medallion had the same mysterious male and female image within a circle. Slowly and carefully he took the medallion out of the box and put it over his head. The medallion hung like a heavy weight against his chest covering his heart.

His heart was pounding and there was a lump in his throat as he reached for the letter. Turning it over he saw that it had been sealed with dark red sealing wax. The sealing wax was embossed with the same image. He had heard of letters being sealed with sealing wax but had never seen one before.

Putting the box aside on the bed, he carried the letter over to his desk, found a letter opener and carefully broke open the wax seal trying not to destroy it. Opening the letter with trembling hands he walked back to the bed and sat down to read. His uncle was staring out the window with haunted eyes that were looking at things in the past and not of this time or place.

"Dearest son, Tobal, if you are reading this, we are dead. We wish we could have been there to watch you grow and share our love as you were growing up. Events happened to make this impossible. We promised to do one last mission that is very dangerous and are writing this letter in case we don't come back. You are in good hands with your Uncle Harry and Aunt Lilly. They love you and will take care of you. We asked them to keep this letter and give it to you when you come of age.

You have the right to claim 'sanctuary' in the City of the Sun and find your true destiny, just as we have. It is our wish and dream that you be trained in the values and beliefs we hold dear. While we can not control the choices you make in life, we would like you to know what we believe; the things we feel are worth living and dying for. You may never know us, but you can know the things we love and care about. Perhaps someday you will learn what we died for.

Take this medallion and letter to the Antiquities Shop on 2424 Oak St., Old Seattle, Washington, and show them to the proprietor. He will know what they are and what needs to be done. Your Uncle Harry will give you an airbus ticket. We would like to tell you more but there is no time left. Give our love to Howling Wolf. He can tell you what you need to know.

Your loving parents,

Lord and Lady of the Sun, Ron and Rachel Kane.
Dated this day 25 January, 113th year of the New Eon, sun in Aquarius, moon in Scorpio."

There were tears in Tobal's eyes as he looked up at his uncle. "What does this mean," he asked?
His uncle shifted uncomfortably in the wheelchair and brought his attention back to the present.

"Your parents were research scientists and citizens of Heliopolis. The city-state has been called 'City of the Sun'. It is a closed city-state on the West Coast that does not welcome commerce or communication with other city-states within the Federation. It was the classified nature of your parents research that was responsible for Heliopolis changing its status from an 'open' to a 'closed' or 'forbidden' city-state."

"What was the nature of my parents research," Tobal asked curiously?

"I am not at liberty to talk about it," said his uncle sadly. "Perhaps later, when you are older you will be able to learn more. I was the one that found your parent's bodies and attempted to continue their research after their deaths. There was a terrible accident in which your aunt Lilly was killed and I was left paralyzed. I was forced to close the entire project down as being too risky and dangerous to continue."

"It was a very difficult time for me personally," his uncle said. "Your aunt Lilly and I loved each other very much and I grieved her death for many years as well as grieving the loss of your parents. I promised your parents I would take care of you if anything ever happened and I've done the best I could. I know I haven't been around here as much as I should have but I've put you in the best schools and made sure you've had the best teachers. You have done well and I am very proud of you but I can never take the place of your real parents."