The Last Days of Krypton - Kevin J. Anderson [41]
“Is that good enough?” She snorted. “I don’t believe it’s just an obscure bacterium or undetectable virus. I believe the Forgetting Disease is a symptom of what is happening to all of Krypton’s society.”
Jor-El had already read his mother’s theories and agreed with her thesis, though it frightened him. For so long, Kryptonians had had everything they needed; they lived happy lives, free of ambition or purpose, devoting themselves to comforts and diversions, simply whiling away the days. Although violent criminals were true abnormalities, genius and innovation were equally rare. That was one reason why genuinely brilliant men like Yar-El and his two sons managed to invent so many new things. Few other people made the effort.
Sadly, Jor-El’s father had lost touch with the world around him.
People in Kandor muttered that the man had been too brilliant for his own good, that too many ideas had created a bottleneck in his head. In his last year of sanity, Yar-El had become increasingly manic, then swiftly lost his awareness of reality. Now catatonic, unable to break the logjam of thoughts, the old man was lost in another universe…a Phantom Zone in his own mind. Jor-El shuddered at the comparison.
Charys had spent years trying to understand both what had happened to her husband and what was causing the increasing number of anomalies on Krypton. According to her theory, everyone had been forced to be “average” for too many generations. “One cannot constrain an ever-growing thing without consequences,” Charys had said.
If society inhibited the bell curve for too long, radical spikes would appear at either end. Some anomalies took the form of unorthodox geniuses like Jor-El and Zor-El, while others were heinous criminals who demonstrated their “genius” through violence and destruction rather than creation. Like the Butcher of Kandor.
Jor-El leaned close to Yar-El, looking deep into his eyes, but the old man did not focus. “Father, we need your wisdom! You have to help us with this crisis. Zor-El has discovered something very disturbing.”
Charys turned to them. “What crisis?” She glanced from one brother to the other.
Jor-El quickly described the situation while his brother added details. With a grave nod, their mother said, “You both need to go to Kandor to explain the problem. If the Council has any sense, they’ll devote Krypton’s resources to a concerted analysis and solution.”
“If they have any sense,” Zor-El emphasized.
“I was hoping Father would hear the problem.”
Charys spoke encouraging words into her husband’s ear. “These are our sons, Yar-El. Can you speak to them? They need you. Krypton needs you.”
Suddenly something changed. Their mother picked up on it first, but Jor-El also noticed a difference in his father’s breathing. The old man shifted his body. He blinked and seemed alive again. Yar-El looked first at Jor-El, then at his brother. “My sons—good sons! Listen to me.” The two leaned toward him, eager for any insight he might offer. “Do not be afraid to have children.” Already the light was fading from Yar-El’s eyes. “I am very proud of the ones that I had.” He focused on some far-distant point, and his breathing went back to the shallow, mechanical rhythm of inhale and exhale.
Charys was visibly moved. Even though Yar-El hadn’t been able to help his sons, his words acted like a tonic on her. “He hasn’t reacted that way in a long time! He saw you. He knew you.”
Jor-El tried not to let his disappointment show. “But he offered no insights on the crisis at hand.”
Charys looked from one brother to the other. “Then you will have to solve that problem yourselves.”
CHAPTER 16
The pulsing red heat of early afternoon drove most Kandorians inside their buildings of veinrock or filtered crystal. Shops and offices closed down, and the pedestrian walkways were nearly deserted. But the plodding business of government continued inside the Council temple.
While his brother scanned the posted schedule, Jor-El insisted