“Mr. Kaella, Mr. Kaella,” the hasty and professional director of the interview nodded twice, greeting both father and sun, while entering the salon. “Please, take your seats. We have to do a sound check.”
“Certainly, certainly,” said Prince, sitting in the armchair that the director waved to. Opposite the sofa, where apparently Babe would be sitting.
“So, I’ll be able to watch you unobstructed the entire time,” Prince thought, as far as he managed to gather his thoughts. “That is why you immediately placed my father in the armchair to the side. You’re dangerous. Dangerous…”
Chapter 28
“Where is Pascal?” the agitated staff shouted.
“Calm down! Quiet! I’ll explain everything to you,” Raul tried to outshout them.
“Quiet!” Margot shouted. “Let’s hear Raul!”
When the voices finally subsided, Raul said:
“Pascal is in a secure place and he is safe.”
“How is he safe?!” the head of security shouted. “How do you know that he is safe? How can he be safe if we are not by his side?! Who is protecting him now, anyway?! What do you think, Raul? Who are you to assess the level of his security? Not only you, how can Pascal know whether he is safe? What do the two of you know about that? You’ve been under my protection for years, shielded by my guys and you think that it is a given. I demand that you immediately take us to Pascal! Turn this plane around!” Liam started towards the pilots’ cabin.
Margot got in front of him. “Back off, Liam! Back off!”
“What’s with you Margot? So you’ve known the entire time! You lied to us too! How could you?! How can you leave Pascal to someone else?!”
“I didn’t know, Liam, I didn’t. I too am hearing all this for the first time. We’re all very upset. And scared. We all love Pascal. We all equally care about him. But we’re not the only ones. Millions of people love him. That man means a lot to millions. And neither we here, in this campaign, in his team, nor all those people would know about him had it not been for Raul. Raul motivated him to start the struggle for freedom for all people, to become our leader, to become the meaning, the hope. No one in this world knows Pascal like Raul does. No one respects and loves Pascal like Raul does. None of us understand what Pascal actually represents, and what is the scope of this… like Raul does. That is why I’m ordering you… yes, you heard well, I’m ordering you to sit down and to listen quietly to what Raul has to tell us.”
“What is he eating now? Who’s cooking for him?” wept Citra, Raul’s distant cousin and Pascal’s personal cook. “He’s picky… he can’t eat just anything…”
“Citra, calm down, Citra… Don’t overreact,” said Raul. “Pascal isn’t a child. He’ll eat something. You cook for him… I mean, of course you cook the best and he likes it best when you prepare something for him. But… that’s primarily for security. So that we’re sure that no one has gone near his food… that no one’s touched it, you understand?”
“There!” Liam exploded again. “And now, Raul, how can you know now who all is near his food? How?!”
“People, people… friends… Do you think it’s easy for me? But that is only until the elections, and after…”
“Why until the elections?” Margot was surprised. “Isn’t the most important thing that we are together and that we make appearances, that we are present publicly every moment until the elections?”
“Margot, allow me… I’m trying to say what happened… Why we made this decision.”
“OK, OK… I apologize, Raul.”
Everyone was quiet. Only Citra was still sniffling.
Chapter 29
Babe was extremely pleased with herself. Having transformed herself into the flag of Earth she reminded Prince of what he had grown accustomed to since he was a child. What was implied. She reminded him of who he actually was:
Prince Kaella, heir to the most magnificent throne in the history of mankind. Ruler of everything that exists. Having reminded him of his infinite power she injected him with the strongest dose of aphrodisiac. Directly into the vein. Judging by his reaction she had exceeded even her wildest expectations.
Babe started her interview with this great feeling of self-confidence.
“Dear viewers, it is my great honor to host on my show two men, father and son, two of the greatest persons today,” said Babe, looking directly into the camera.
After that introduction she turned to Mr. Kaella.
“Mr. Kaella, good day.”
“Good day to you too, Miss Babe, and of course, to your viewers,” Mr. Kaella said with a great smile.
“Greetings to you too, Mr. Prince Kaella.”
“Good day,” Prince greeted her too.
“Dear viewers, as you yourself have noticed, we are in the Kaella family submarine and we are sailing towards one of the numerous submerged cities. You can send your answer to the question which city it is to the number appearing at the bottom of the screen, along with the price of your message. The selected viewer that gave the correct answer will win a submarine trip for two.”
Babe looked away from the camera and looked at Mr. Kaella.
“Mr. Kaella, you like this type of outings?”
“Yes, but before I answer your questions I’d like to say in front of the audience that you look truly marvelous today, symbolizing our State, our planet. This is why I would like to invite our dear Consumers to follow in your footsteps, Miss Babe. Dear ladies, show in your appearance what you carry deep in your hearts.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kaella. I am truly honored.”
“To answer your questions. Yes, I enjoy these outings. This silence underwater relaxes me in a way. It allows me to think more clearly, to understand even better the progress that we have achieved compared to the society, well actually compared to the former, fragmented, constantly clashing human communities. Sailing down the avenues of these submerged cities, throughout our planet, I wonder how it is at all possible that in the not-so-distant past man’s level of awareness was so low.”
“Incredibly low, Mr. Kaella,” Babe agreed.
“If they had worked so diligently on developing the greenhouse effect and increasing the temperature on Earth, why then did they invest so much, why did they live in coastal towns and why did they defend them for so long, unsuccessfully of course, from the ocean by building futile damns? Why didn’t they realize that the waves of every following tsunami and super storm would easily get over those ridiculous walls? And my son, completely oppositely… I mean, I hope… that your viewers are aware that my son has dedicated his life to the struggle to save the planet and mankind.”
“Of course,” said Babe. “We are all immensely grateful to Mr. Prince for this. Mr. Prince, can you please tell us briefly what is the essence of your struggle?”
Babe was sitting in the middle of the couch with her legs tightly together, her body turned towards Prince. Only her head was faced the old Mr. Kaella. Being aware that during this introductory part he was being constantly on camera, Prince struggled with himself and held his eyes fixed on Babe’s face, as was becoming of a respectful interviewee. The two little Earths that dangled from Babe’s face wouldn’t let him be. Even from this distance, a lot closer, he could not see where the chains were anchored. He couldn’t see any rings. “They must be covered by the thick blue eye shadow around her eyes,” he concluded, and stopped thinking about it.