Anaximander
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Ryker put the groceries he was carrying down in the kitchen and followed Iphigenia into the back of the apartment where the bedrooms are. Ben plopped himself down on the old leather couch in the sunken living room and turned on the TV. Anaximander heard a knock on the door and went to go answer it, assuming it would be Kane.
The surprise came when he opened the door to see his scraggly father. He was never up at this hour of the morning. "Dad?" Anaximander questioned.
"Matt," He sighed. His father always called him by his middle name, Matthias, which he shortened anyway.
"Please, just call me Nax, dad," Anaximander pleaded.
"No. I didn't know your mother was going to pick some crazy Greek names when I let her name you and Gen. At least Matthias I can shorten to something reasonable." His father ducked beneath Anaximander's arm and went right to the fridge to grab a drink.
"Dad, what are you doing here this early?" Anaximander asked.
"You know I haven't slept well since your mother died. And, I had a brilliant idea... Well, not idea, revelation, more so."
"Dad. Mom died 16 years ago. Gen and I were 6. Anyway, what was your revelation?" Iphigenia and Anaximander looked nothing like their father. They had inherited all their looks from their mother, blonde hair, blue eyes, tall height, and fair complexion.
"I've figured it all out. We do not live our lives by the Stone. I've seen it in the office once or twice." He then noticed Ben, sitting on the couch, the TV mostly muted in the background. "Hello, Ben," He said.
"Hello, Dr. Chase," Ben replied.
"Ben, how many times have I told you to call me March? And when are you marrying my daughter?" He directed at Ben. "And when is your man, Kane, is it? Marrying you? That's the only reason I can't keel over and die yet." March laughed at himself, Anaximander didn't find this funny at all.
"I have an engagement ring for Kane, I'd bet he has one for me, too. Though, we'll probably end up taking his last name, in the end." Anaximander told his father. "And you still haven't finished your revelation."
Ben peered down the hallway as far as he could to be sure Iphigenia wasn't coming. "I've already got my plan together. Our seventh anniversary is coming up in November. I'll ask her then. I assume I already have your blessing?"
March rolled his eyes, "Are you kidding? You've had my blessing forever. Gen had some rough boyfriends from the time she was 11 until she met you. Anyway, Matt, this revelation-" March was cut off by Iphigenia running down the hall, almost bear hugging her father.
"Daddy!" She called. Given, Iphigenia is 22, but she had always been a daddy's girl, which makes sense since she hasn't had a mother since she was 6. Anaximander heard another light knock on the door, and went to answer it, knowing it was Kane this time. No one knocked as light as him.
"Kane," Anaximander sighed in relief.
"Darling," Kane responded. Iphigenia and March were rambling on, poor Ben and Ryker didn't know what to do with themselves. Anaximander dropped himself into his armchair, Kane stood beside him, thinking about sitting in Anaximander's lap.
"Dad, please finish you revelation." Anaximander pleaded from his armchair.
"Right, right," He said, Iphigenia stepping out of the way and sitting with Ben. "Hello, Kane." Kane gave a nod to March. Ryker took his seat at the dining room table, yet again. "Anyway, my revelation. It all makes sense finally. I'm a therapist, you see, helping people cope with the loss of close loved ones from finding their Stones. But there have been freak accidents. There have been a few patients here and there that their loved one were not born in America, but died here. Unless it had been sabotage, it shouldn't be possible. And that's when I strung it all together. The Stone is not our life line, the Stone is our monument of our life. The old story of the scientist, the politician, and the doctor, it makes perfect sense why they would do this. There are very little records of the people of the past. With the Stones, there's records of everyone, but we aren't reliant on them to die. We're reliant on our brains to die. If you believe hard enough that you are going to die 24 hours after seeing your Stone you will, and that's why it works. We were all taught that 24 hours after, you die. Nothing else has ever been told to us. But there were such things as diseases, and murders that killed humans before us. That could still happen today, just no one had ever tried to murder someone besides sabotage. Almost all diseases were eradicated before we existed. That's when we became reliant on the Stone to kill us. The world needs to know it's not that way." March finished.
Kane stood taller, "Dr. Cha- March, sorry, why don't you run for the Challenges?" The Challenges were a competition every 7 years to choose a new Dictator of the World. After the first reign of the King and Queen ended about 90 years ago, the world decided they'd much prefer a Dictator who was kicked out and replaced every 7 years. Two years prior to the Challenges, people would start getting ready with their ideas and matching the needed criteria. The next Challenge would be in 2 and a half years.
March thought about the idea for a while. "Kane, you're a genius, but I don't match the criteria anymore." He concluded. Anaximander quickly pulled up the criteria on his phone.
1) Currently 20 years or older
2) Currently in a relationship or married
3) Is not related to the current Dictator
4) Is here to help not hinder with new ideas
5) Is at least bilingual
6) Lived in current country for at least 7 years
7) Has held a stable job for 3 years
His father met all the requirements, except one. March was no longer married, and never planned on dating again. Anaximander rested his face on his fist. His thinking face clearly evident. "Don't hurt yourself, darling," Kane told him. Everyone else in the room laughed. Anaximander rolled his eyes and backhanded Kane's arm. Anaximander jumped up in thought. He was lucky he was in the living room; at his height, he'd hit the ceiling anywhere else.
"Dad, what if I ran for the Challenges? If that's be alright with you." He added.
March thought about it for just a moment, "That'd be absolutely amazing, Matt. I always thought about running for the Challenges, but your mother never wanted to be my successor, and I never had good ideas."
Anaximander nodded, "Well, I guess I'd better get my shit together. I've only got two years."
YOU ARE READING
Dull Silver
General FictionL- Life O- Of S- Stone S- Souls Etched in your stone A brittle old skull and cross bone One day you will see And maybe you will try and flee Now our last question is asked What makes up your past?
