a tale in weekly parts

(formerly Albert and Jarvis)

In episodes 1-88, Albert and Jarvis told the story of a bitek construct that had been in the lives of the Grahamson family for three generations. Appearing in the form of a shepherd's hut (Jarvis) and its elderly occupant (Albert), an earlier experiment had resulted in the birth of Aloysius, a non-manifesting human/bitek hybrid. Alice and Alex, the two children that Aloysius had fathered with his wife, Magdalen, displayed strong bitek capabilities from an early age, though Alice was significantly more precocious than her younger brother. Albert and Jarvis nurtured and enhanced these capabilities through many adventures until the point where, to prevent a global catastrophe, the two needed to act together. The action needed more power than the two possessed. To produce stonger hybrids, Alex's seed was used to produce a young in a distantly related hybrid female in another dimension, while Alice was impregnated using her own bitek components. Albert and Jarvis absented themselves from the lives of the Grahamsons to allow Alice's pregnancy to progress in a safe, normal environment.
You can see the full story so far at this link.

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Episode 106

“Zak, come here, son,” Al said.

Zak came trotting around the corner with three dogs in tow. “What is it, Granddad?”

“Albert and his hut—”

“Jarvis, Granddad.”

“Whatever. They’ve definitely gone?”

“Yes.”

“And they won’t be coming back?”

“No.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“Excellent.”

“What? How can it be excellent? I thought Albert was your father?”

“Yes, but I didn’t know that until just.”

“I still can’t see why you’re so happy about it.”

“Look at it this way, lad. We haven’t so much lost a man; well, kind of a man anyway; as gained fifty square metres of land. And not just any land. It’s well-shaded, free-draining land that’s not been disturbed in more than fifty years – apart from the hard-standing I put down, and that’ll make a smashing base for a shed. What’s happened is I’ve gained an allotment with the best land in the area.”

“What’re you on about?” Madge shouted from behind the leylandii.

“Come and look at this,” Al said.

Madge came around from behind the trees, followed by Alex and Alice. “What am I looking at?”

“Your new patch of garden.”

“But the sun never gets through to this part.”

“So this is where you plant the shade-loving plants you can’t grow in the main garden.”

“Ooh. Does that mean I can grow rhododendrons, hostas, ferns and bamboo?”

“I was hoping you’d mention something we can eat,” Al replied.

“Like brassicas—”

“What the bloody hell is brassicas?”

“Cabbages and stuff.”

“Yes, that.”

“And beetroot?”

“Why on earth would anyone want to grow that rubbish?”

“Some people like beetroot.”

“No bugger I know!”

“I like beetroot.”

“Is it too late to disown you?”

“Will you two stop squabbling?” Alice shouted.

“Just having a bit of fun, love. Nothing’s meant, is it, Madge?” Al said.

“Not by me, anyway,” Madge replied, “don’t know about misery-guts here, though.”

Al scowled.

“What’s the pH of this patch?” she asked.

“PH? What’re you talking about, PH? All I know is PH shows where a pub is on maps, and you know where the nearest one is; it’s the one I go to sometimes, the Traveller’s Rest. Got a picture of a shepherd’s hut on the sign. Here. I’d never thought of that. You don’t suppose it’s named after Albert, do you?”

“Aloysius Grahamson, stop being obtuse, and don’t change the subject. Little pee big aitch; shows how acid or alkali the soil is.”

“How would I know that?”

Zak shimmered briefly. “I’d leave it alone, Grandma. It tends to be a tiny bit acid, but that’ll be okay. Cabbage, sprouts, spinach and salads will love it.”

“And beetroot?”

“And beetroot.”

“You know about these things, Zak?” Al asked.

“We do now,” the boy replied. He turned to his mother and said, “Mum, Alex; we need to meet. Coming?”

“We?” Alice asked.

“Yeah. We, Zed. Xander and Kris will be there, too.”

“I’m in,” Alex said quickly.

“Me, too,” Alice added.

Al and Madge stood looking into space as Alex, Alice and Zak disappeared from view.

***

In a clearing close to a woodland, Zak and Zara stood side by side, shimmered and merged into one. On a bench nearby, Alex was seated beside Kris and Alice beside Xander. They were all looking towards Zed, all more than somewhat confused.

Zed looked up and faced the others. “Albert based his action plan on an understanding that the destruction of the planet would be the result of a major conflict linked to the rise of a despotic ruler. Albert was in error.”

“Are you saying the war won’t happen?” Alex asked.

“It will happen, all right,” Zed replied, “but its cause will not be linked to the unsuitability of the holder of high office.”

“So this individual won’t be a problem?”

“He will be. He will cause major problems to his people, but the war will not be a direct result of his disastrous rule.”

“Then what—”

“The war will be an indirect result of global climate change.”

“How?”

“Rising temperatures will render some parts of the planet incapable of supporting human life. Refugees will flee those places in their millions and try to settle in more suitable areas. This will give rise to local tensions, leading to closed, protectionist governments. Other parts of the planet will lose access to clean water which will lead to more refugees. Regional food shortages will cause raiding parties from poor communities to attack better-off locales where food and water are plentiful. All these things will come together to effectively result in every population being at war with another bloc or with itself.”

“Can this be prevented?”

“Let us finish. This war will be the result, not the cause, of the planet’s fate.”

“Then what will be the cause?”

“Climate change.”

“Please don’t tell us this is inevitable.”

“Of course not. Nothing is set in stone. This is statistically the most likely future, and it’s the one that will happen if everything continues as at present with no intervention.”

“So what can be done? Is there something you can do? Albert was talking about preventing a birth, as though that alone would change the course of history.”

“And it would. Preventing a birth would mean that the despot wouldn’t be there to take high office, and a vast swathe of people would be saved a lot of unpleasantness. It would also have an effect on the rate of global climate change. But that would not, of itself, be enough to prevent the catastrophe. That needs concerted action by the entire population of the planet. It is a political movement, which is not something that we can directly influence.”

“Why not?”

“Because it means convincing billions of people to make what will be, for them, uncomfortable, possibly expensive and certainly counter-intuitive changes to their lifestyle.”

“But if it’s to save the planet…”

“Convincing them is the issue. It’s a job for politicians and civic leaders, not for bitek constructs.”