The Lives of Tao

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

RECONNECT



Through the next century, I drifted, moving from animal to animal, observing and learning about man. My thoughts often returned to Temujin and the mistakes I made. I had tried to build peace through war. I would not make that error again. Undeterred in my ambition for a new enlightened world, I traveled from the Mongolian steppes to the kingdoms of the south and was spoken of as a mythological creature among the Chinese people there. Those who profess to enlightenment called me the Ho Lung, the Fire Dragon.



That night, Sonya came over to watch a boxing match, much to Roen and Antonio’s delight. The fact that she enjoyed sports was just another added bonus for them to have an even bigger crush on her. Antonio fawned over her every request, much to her evident amusement.

Having been knocked out several times by her, Roen was no longer as susceptible to her charms. To his surprise, she was the one to suggest staying over. The plan was to wake up at sunrise for a training session. The Chicago summer was in full swing and they planned to take full advantage of it by running along the lake. Afterward, she said she wanted to lay out at Oak Street Beach, lamenting how Lake Michigan was a poor substitute for the Caribbean, but it’d have to do.

Sonya also finagled the use of his bed, leaving him the living room couch. Roen wasn’t sure how she pulled it off, but at the end of the night, he found himself holding a pillow and blanket staring at the lumpy old taupe-colored couch his parents had donated from their basement. Falling asleep was never a problem though. Grumbling aside, he was asleep the instant he laid his head on the pillow, his shallow snoring resonating across the entire apartment.



A few minutes past midnight, once he knew that Roen was hibernating like a bear, Tao got up and walked his body toward his bedroom. There were still sounds coming out of Antonio’s room, which was expected as Roen’s roommate kept odd hours. Antonio saw Tao walk by and waved. “Where’re you going?” he asked.

“To my room,” Tao replied, eager to brush him off.

Antonio smirked and winked. “You mean to Sonya’s room? Sly dog. You could have told me you wanted to call dibs. I won’t try to compete with you if you like her. You’re my boy. I’ll let you have her.”

Let him have her? Tao couldn’t help himself. “You know what, buddy? You think you can beat me for her? You go ahead. Want to make a little friendly wager?”

Antonio looked up from the computer and raised an eyebrow. “Hmm? I see your newfound weight loss is accompanied by brain loss. What’s the bet?”

“Hundred dollars on her affections.”

Antonio whistled. “Not so friendly after all. Sure?”

Tao nodded.

“What if she doesn’t like either of us?”

Tao smiled. He said, “If she does not like either of us, then you win as well, yeah?”

Antonio grinned and walked up to Tao, extending his hand. “Deal. Honestly, if you find a girl who likes you, I’m happy for you, man. It’s win-win for me.” He grinned and pointed at his face, “But you’re not going to beat this.”

Tao winked and shook Antonio’s hand, and then walked over to his room and tapped on the closed door. Not waiting for an answer, he opened it and walked in, locking it behind him. The light was on and Sonya was sitting on the bed waiting for him.

“Hello, Tao. It has been a while.”

“It is good to speak with you again, Baji. How are things with Sonya progressing?”

“Very well. Her talent is unmatched; without a doubt the strongest host I have had in a thousand years, even more than her mother. You?”

“It has been a long time since I had a host this raw. I have to admit, Edward spoiled me. He was a joy to work with. I still have to settle with his family.”

“Shame on you, Tao. You should have seen to that already.”

“Unfortunately, Edward did not have a contingency plan with his family. He never wanted to think about it. Right now, Roen is too delicate to handle the trauma of condolences.”

“The young man is not doing too badly, Tao. He did start late but has progressed well. How long has he been with you?”

“Just under three months.”

“A pittance, Tao. He will be competent soon enough.”

Tao sighed and sat down next to her on the bed. “Time is a luxury I do not have. The Keeper has made it very clear Roen needs to be up to speed soon. He begins actual combat missions in two months and he hasn’t even held, much less fired a gun yet. The Keeper is correct, though. I need to be back in the field as soon as possible. With the current debacle in the Middle East with Israel and Iran, and the loss of influence in two South American countries, we are being pushed back on our heels. To make matters worse, China is poised to be the new powerhouse in the world, and the Genjix has made sure we have no foothold in their government. We are dangerously out of position in the world.”

Baji shook her head. “How were we supposed to predict the rapid ascension of the communists? Aligning with nationalists was a losing position, but the right thing to do. We were in too deep regardless.”

“Have we made any headway with the Vatican?”

Baji grimaced. “We have lost ground. Our bought neutrality is over. With Jerrix as the new pope, expect a cleansing from within that will push us out entirely. It will become as bad for us as during the Dark Ages.” She grabbed a stack of papers on the desk and handed it to him. “The last few months of intelligence reports you have missed; fun reading.”

Tao took the stack and skimmed through them. “Like watching someone slowly suffocate,” he muttered.

“It is worse than you think. There is a proposal on the table to build a safe haven in the event we need to go dormant. Some believe this generation is lost.”

Tao looked up from the papers. “Really, that bad? Where?”

“Greenland.”

“Figures.” Tao scowled. “Too unrealistic to hope for a nice isolated tropical island?”

“Completely.” Baji chuckled. “Real estate is too expensive.”

“How are our financial figures looking at least?”

“That is our lone bright point. Tresk was spot-on in predicting the right revenue-generating models. Thank goodness for our cosmetic pharmaceutical division.”

“Indeed,” Tao replied. “Such an irony that our quest for mankind’s greater good required an appeal to their shallow nature.”

“No one wants to pay for a cure for cancer, but Heaven forbid a man lose his hair or an erection.” Baji hesitated. “There is one more thing, Tao. A Decennial has been called, and the Genjix have agreed. They are working on a date now. Initial date proposed is sometime middle of next year, possibly in Spain or Singapore.”

Tao scowled. “We called it? Why? The last one set off the Korean War. What good does the two sides talking ever achieve?”

“The technological curve on this planet is increasing exponentially. Both sides have adjusted their timelines; the Genjix by as little as two hundred by their plan; ours by seven. We have reports that the Genjix have begun prototyping this Penetra scanner. Code name: Longbow. Our people are focusing on disrupting the supply lines for its parts. The design list requires very specific pieces of technology. The manufacturing plant is the underwater facility off the coast here. It is impossible to infiltrate. Intel has also confirmed that there is a massive three-phase program in the works, with the Penetra program being the first phase.”

“Longbow, huh. It must be a game changer to carry such a lofty name,” Tao murmured. “We are losing this fight one step at a time. The planet is following the Genjix timeline.”

“And now Command is scrambling for reconciliation,” Baji said. “They fear total capitulation.”

Tao spat. “Fools. We have been on the brink of capitulation for five hundred years. Already, we see the effects of their industrial push. If the Genjix have their way, the planet will be barren and stripped of all resources in order to achieve the expedition of the return.”

“Acceptable losses by the Genjix.” Baji shrugged. “Be sure to burn these documents when you have finished with them. No need to put your boy in a panic yet. When do you think he will be ready to take the field?”

Tao shook his head. “Not sure. Definitely not until we overcome his physical deficiencies. He could be destined for a desk job.”

“Hardly, Tao,” Baji snorted. “You were always one of our best field agents. You coaxed the most out of even the most helpless ones. Look at what you did with Genghis and Shamshi-Adad. If my memory serves me, Shamshi-Adad wanted nothing more than to breed horses and children, especially after his father gave the kingdom to his brother. It took an inordinate amount of prodding from you to get him off his rump to go conquer his own kingdom. He did much more than that. Assyria was a bona fide empire back in the day.”

Tao laughed. “I did set that one right. Shamshi-Adad – that man was quite the rascal. I am quite proud of that one.”

“Just do the same for Roen. He will come around. As for teaching him how to fight, what about that ever-so-modest and humble fighting style of yours you created in China during the fourteenth century, the one you claimed you discovered when you saw the bird and the rat fight? What did you call it, the Grand Supreme Fist? I am surprised you did not call it Tao Fist. It is no wonder Napoleon and Lafayette could not stand each other. There was too much ego in the room.”

“It was a magpie and a snake, and I swear I was not the one that came up with the name. San-Feng came up with that on his own.” Tao paused thoughtfully. “You know, I thought the Grand Supreme Fist might have been too difficult for him, but it actually might be a good fit. Learning it requires unlearning everything about body movement, and Roen never had any to begin with.”

She said, “Well, Dania and Sonya never understood your Supreme Fist, but Roen might. He just needs to apply himself.”

“The problem with Roen is not his desire. It is his self-doubt and awkwardness. He is also very stubborn. Trying to convert him to the metric system is trying to teach a Gaul haiku.”

“It just takes practice. You will think of something. You always do. You invented half a dozen martial arts. If you could do that, I am sure you could train him in one of those to some degree of aptitude.”

“That is a bit of an exaggeration. If you looked at all those martial arts, they were all similar, just different means to an end.”

Baji threw a playful jab at Tao, which he blocked. “Rubbish, Tao. All combat ends at the same place. It is the training that is important. Just figure out what style of combat Roen takes to and run with it.”

“Perhaps,” Tao replied.

The two spent the rest of the night reminiscing over better times and chatted about the future. All in all, it was nice to enjoy each other’s company without having to deal with hosts. The sun was just appearing over the horizon by the time they decided to turn in. The effort required to control their hosts was quite draining.

“We should speak again soon,” Baji said as she escorted him to the door.

Tao nodded. “I look forward to it.” As he turned to leave, he stopped and grinned. “One more thing; humor me with this one. Not if, but when Antonio decides to make his move on Sonya, have her tell him that she is flattered – but her heart is set on Roen.”

Baji laughed. “Sure thing, Tao.”

He winked and hurried off to bed before Roen woke. As he laid his host back on the couch, Tao thought back to the time he spent in China after Temujin. His mind wandered to the years after he left the Mongols and moved south to the Yuan Dynasty where he met San-Feng and created the Grand Supreme Fist.

As he often did when he thought about the past, Tao reminisced over the many mistakes he made. A few key moments could have changed the world for the better or hindered the Genjix’s rise to dominance.

Tao mulled over his conversation with Baji until sunrise lit the apartment. The problems of the Prophus weighed down on him. It bothered him that he was on the sidelines during such a critical time. If a Decennial was scheduled, he needed to be there. With Roen’s current progression, his attendance was in doubt. While Tao did not value those old fools meeting under a banner of truce, it was still an important event.

At this rate though, his host was ill-prepared for such an intense encounter with so many Quasing in one place. The man might crack under the pressure and get himself killed. But Tao could not even consider putting Roen into a combat situation until Roen could handle himself in a fight. There had to be something he could do to accelerate Roen’s training. Training with Sonya had taken him far, but Tao needed to change his approach somehow.

The magpie and the snake. Tao searched his memories of that one vivid moment in history. While events of that fight were not in any history books, it launched a thousand schools of study.

San-Feng had stumbled upon the two animals fighting. The magpie was trying to eat the snake. However, each time the magpie attacked, the snake would evade the magpie with its loose and supple body, always staying out of range of the magpie’s sharp beak. And then just as the magpie missed, the snake would strike, springing like a tightly wound coil releasing itself. The magpie then used its wings to evade the snake’s attack by striking at odd angles to trap and peck it. The snake would always recoil from harm’s way and strike back with lightning speed. Again and again, the two fought their dance of death.

Finally, after a fierce fight, the magpie took off into the sky, seeking easier prey. Tao, having inhabited birds and snakes before, knew exactly how they fought. He had envisioned the instincts he had when he occupied those animals. It was that moment of revelation that led him to teach San-Feng the Grand Supreme Fist.

Damn it. If I can create the all-powerful Grand Supreme Fist, I can teach this lug how to fight. Roen, wake up!