The Unveiling (D'Shar Men)

Chapter Thirteen



"How've you been, Charlie?" Tavel asked as he sipped on his water. He'd told Lou Ann, Charlie's mother, he was taking the boy out for some long overdue male bonding. He’d planted the memory of Charlie's "father" having a rare genetic disorder that didn't show up until later in life. Charlie was twenty-three now, a senior at Chattanooga state majoring in mathematics. He'd known when the boy had showed signs of brilliance at a young age the Shar D.N.A. was not only compatible, it was thriving.

"All right, some strange things have been happening." He grimaced. They were seated at a back booth, in the far corner of the quiet restaurant, nursing drinks since they'd finished dinner.

"I thought it might be.” Tavel schooled his face into a concerned expression. "This is about the time," he paused to find the correct word, "complications begin to arise.”

"I don't know, Uncle Ted." Charlie shook his head, brow furrowed as he stared down into the Cola he stirred with his straw.

"Try me."

"As long as you promise not to send me to a loony bin," Charlie said. He stopped stirring and looked up to meet his gaze. "I'm getting stronger, and I don't mean I can bench press my weight kind of strength. I-I can lift cars." His eyes grew wide as words flowed out of his mouth like water from a broken dam. "I'm breaking door handles, bending the metal on pipes. How is that even possible?" His eyes darted back and forth rapidly.

Tavel could practically hear the wheels in his brain spin furiously as he tried to come up with some rational explanation. "When the logical no longer implies we must look toward another possibility."

"Why are you so calm about this?"

"Because I thought this might happen. It's time I told you who you really are."

"What do you mean, who I really am?"

"When your Father passed I kept quiet about a lot of things. I wasn't sure if you'd gain any of his traits and it would be dangerous knowledge to have if you didn't need to."

"Uncle Ted, I don’t get your meaning."

"I think you do and you're afraid to admit it, even to yourself." He released a sigh. Humans and their melodrama and self-denial. The boy was a genius! Why hadn't he worked out his father wasn't human?

"Let's just say, Brian was really … out of this world."

"My dad was an ... a-al … no." He shook his head. "No way."

"How else do you explain everything you just told me?" Tavel asked.

Charlie grew quiet. "Okay, say I believe you. Wouldn’t that make you one too?"

"Now you're asking the right questions."

"What do I do? I can't live like this. My God, if anyone found out about this, they'd dissect me."

Tavel nodded, playing the concerned Uncle. "I know. That's why I've been working on a cure if you will to suppress the Shar tendencies. You'll be able to live a normal life and no one will be the wiser. It's what your father would've wanted."

A look of complete and utter relief crossed Charlie's face. "When can we get started? I want to take care of this before people start to notice something's off."

This was too easy.

"Now if you like. I've mixed together some things from our place of birth and put them in a pill form. I promised Brian I'd take care of you before he passed, so I've been anticipating this." He stood. Charlie followed suit, and they headed out of the restaurant to his truck waiting outside. Once they were inside the cab, Charlie spoke.

"I have so many questions. I don't understand how no one could tell me this until now."


"Don’t be angry at your mother. She didn’t know. I hoped to spare you the truth, honestly. We've never seen a human hybrid. I figured you'd be better of not knowing unless it became necessary. When you were small, all of your tests came back normal, so I thought you'd been spared."

"Sparred? Is it so horrible to be an … alien?"

"Not for me, but it's all I've ever known. We Shar are a passionate people, and it'd be a lot to learn to control the intense emotions we experience on a daily basis. You've seen in small glimpses what the struggle is like, haven't you?" He saw Charlie nod out of his peripheral vision. "It'll only continue to get worse."

"Jesus."

You got him right where you want him. He'll swallow down the pills without thinking twice and finally I'll have the genetic link I need to reverse this affliction. It was a struggle to do the speed limit and remain calm with victory so close at hand. Soon the rapid aging would be permanently reversed. The gray hairs would return to their normal hue, the wrinkles would smooth out, and if he was lucky he'd reach the goal he'd originally sought to accomplish, a super being with an extended life. By the time they reached his house the strain of playing the role of concerned uncle hit. He needed to be in his lab, measuring, documenting and cross-referencing. He parked in the driveway, and they exited the truck.

"What's in this pill?" Charlie asked as Tavel unlocked the door.

"Herbs and plant from a planet similar to the one we originate from." Laced with some potent chemical compounds you don't need to worry about. He pushed the door open. "Go on in and have a seat at the kitchen table. I'll bring the pills to you."

Charlie entered the house in front of him, and he locked the door behind them and headed into his bedroom. His hand shook as he grabbed the plain Aspirin bottle he'd hidden the homemade pills in. The tiny, white circles rattled in the plastic container. Last chance, old man. He put his game face back on and headed into the kitchen. Charlie looked up, eyes glued to the bottle he held in his hand.

"How do you know so much about this stuff, Uncle Ted?"

"Back on Tagget I was what you'd call a geneticist. We constantly strived to keep our people in the best shape possible. Our life spans are longer, our constitution is heartier, but over time everything wears down. That's where I stepped in."

"Wow, that makes you a bit of a hero, Unc." For a time.

"Just a Shar with an affinity for science."

"Man, if I was in your position I would not be downplaying it."

Tavel laughed. "I didn't always. But I grew older, and the things that mattered changed." He'd grown up in a lower class family, where education was the only way to escape the cards they'd been dealt. His parents pushed the three of them in school. Merk rebelled, while Chanste followed in his footsteps, but with less success. But for him learning came easily and was something he enjoyed. He'd been ready to take on the world as he rocketed his way to the top of the Science field. Others were too safe and set in their old ways to make breakthroughs. He was a breath of fresh air in a stuffy society that needed a new wind. He'd been riding high when his Mother had fallen ill. Similar to what humans called Alzheimer's, the illness took away her memories, a bit more each day, as if someone were erasing her life and leaving behind an empty shell. It was here that the obsession with cell regeneration had begun. In the end he hadn't been able to save her. But he couldn't stop, especially not when he'd begun to see early signs of it in himself.

He'd told people he was working on making a better soldier for the Shar, which was partially true. The rest he kept to himself, until the mishap in the lab had changed all of his plans.

"So I just take this?" Charlie's voice brought him back to the present.

"Yes, twice a day, once in the morning, then again at night, and we'll monitor your response."

"Sounds good." Charlie took the bottle from him, shook out a pill, opened his mouth and tossed it back. He swallowed, and Tavel mentally cheered. Now the waiting begins!