The Great Altruist (15 page)

           
“You talked in your sleep again.”

           
“I’m fine, really,” Genesis said. “I’ve coped with this for ages before we met; I can wait a little longer.”

           
Jadzia shook her head. “There’s no need to wait,” she said. “I know what I want.”

           
Genesis rung the water from her hair and sat on the warm rock in front of Jadzia to dry off. “Okay,” she said. “What would you like to do?”

           
“I want to stop Adolf Hitler.”

           
“How do you propose we do that?”

           
“Stopping the invasion of my homeland didn’t work - and probably never will. Denying him what he wanted only emboldened him further. So I think there’s only one thing left: we need to stop him from seizing power.”

           
“That’s not going to be easy. After all, he was legitimately elected into
office
.
”

           
“There seems to be only one event that will change his ascension.”

           
“And what of your parents?”

           
“Don’t worry; this happens after they’ve married. It shouldn’t change events in Poland too drastically.”

           
“That’s quite a gamble. What event are we talking about?”

           
“The coup in Munich, when Hitler tried to seize control of the government. I can’t remember the year or a lot of the details. I only remember he was tried for treason and should have been sentenced for five years.”

           
“But he
was
sentenced for five years.”

           
“Yes, but didn’t he serve less than that?

           
“Eight months,” Genesis said, now worried that Jadzia’s memory was failing her so frequently.

           
“Maybe if he served his full sentence, it could change everything.”

           
“What makes you conclude that?”

           
“Nothing. It just seems like a pretty good place to start and it won’t also jeopardize my future, which I know is a major concern for you.”

           
“Thank you for thinking of me.” Genesis stood and hovered into the air, already gathering her strength for the leap into the stream. “So all you want to do is change the judge’s sentence?”

           
“Yeah, pretty simple, right?”

           
“When would you like to leave?”

           
“Now,” Jadzia said. She hopped to her feet and placed her hands at her side.

           
“When you come to, you’ll be in the body of the Presiding Judge, Georg Neithardt. He’s the least likely to put up a fight. But remember, this guy likes Hitler already, so you’ll have to push his mind hard to get what we want.”

           
“Got it. Wait! What’s the guy’s name again?”

           
“Neithardt,” Genesis repeated. “Are you sure you’re okay to do this?”

           
Jadzia rubbed her temples and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “Let’s get this over with.”

           
In a flash of blue light, Jadzia and Genesis abandoned their home in the clearing for the first time in nearly a decade.

           
When Jadzia opened her eyes next, she was in front of a courtroom in the body of the Presiding Judge as Genesis promised. Currently, Hitler was in the middle of his final speech before the court handed down its sentence. With passion and charisma uniquely his, Hitler’s words reached, not only the people sitting in the court, but apparently, the judges as well. If Jadzia was to call this mission a success, she needed to convince the people present that Hitler was to serve his full sentence.

           
“For, gentlemen,” Hitler concluded, “it is not you who pronounce judgment upon us, it is the eternal Court of History which will make its pronouncement upon the charge which is brought against us. The judgment that you will pass, that I know. But that Court will not ask of us: 'Have you committed high treason or not?' That Court will judge us ....who as Germans have wished the best for their people and their Fatherland, who wished to fight and to die. You may declare us guilty a
thousand times, but the Goddess who presides over the Eternal Court of History will with a smile tear in pieces the charge of the Public Prosecutor and the judgment of the Court: for she declares us guiltless.”

The people in the courtroom applauded and cheered constantly throughout his speech, as though they were in a theater. Jadzia’s challenge to persuade the other judges might be an impossible one, so she wasted no time.

           
As she forced her ideas to the judge’s vocal chords, she spoke in a language she did not understand. She recognized it as German and although the words were unfamiliar, she was certain Genesis could fill in the blanks. She forced the old man’s body to its feet and shouted: “Sit down, Mr. Hitler!” The room fell silent and Hitler obeyed reluctantly. The other judges looked at one another in dismay at their colleague’s uncharacteristic actions. “You may believe that the Court of History may find you free of guilt, but the Court in Munich finds you nothing but culpable in the deaths of the twenty men who lost their lives as a result of your failed putsch.” She paused and looked around the room and made sure all eyes were on her as she delivered the coup de grace.
 
“My associates may plead otherwise, but I not only find you guilty of high treason, I also find no reason to...” Jadzia stammered. She tried to force her ideas to the man’s throat again, but coughed instead.
What’s wrong with me?
she thought.

           
All eyes in the court were fixated on the Presiding Judge. Hitler remained motionless. Jadzia started her idea again: “I find you guilty of high treason and wish to sentence you to...a prison term of...” Her words found no articulation in Judge Neithardt. “To a prison term of...” she tried to say again. Still, she could not complete her thought. Genesis provided no answer. Again, she attempted to pronounce sentence: “No more than eight months!” Shocked at her own words, she covered her mouth and sat down. The court erupted in cheers as the other judges concurred.
Genesis, if you’re listening, please get me out of here!
she thought.

           
Seconds later, she was back in the clearing in the shelter she called home. Genesis appeared immediately and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what happened,” she said.

           
Jadzia gripped her head. “Was there something wrong with his mind? Was it poisoned?”

           
“He agreed with Hitler, but he was no Nazi. His mind was normal compared to theirs.”

           
“It was like there was a block in my throat, as though I had no other choice but to utter what I did.”

           
“Are you okay?” Genesis asked.

           
“No, my head hurts,” she answered as she held her head between her hands. “Is something wrong with me?”

           
“Of course not! You probably just need some rest.”

           
“Okay,” Jadzia said. It was nighttime in the clearing and so she climbed into the tree shelter and laid her head against her pillow of cotton Genesis made for her. Within mere seconds, she was asleep.

           
Almost an entire day passed before Jadzia awoke, and when she did, Genesis sensed something different. Jadzia at first acted as she always had when they were alone. She laughed a lot and stayed in the shelter until the sun set. As they ate dinner, she stopped eating suddenly and looked at Genesis with a look of
concern
painted across her face.

           
“How old am I?” she asked.

           
Genesis didn’t answer at first. She laughed instead, convinced that her question was a joke. Jadzia’s expression didn’t change though. “You’re almost thirty,” she answered.

           
“I should have known that,” Jadzia said. “I
’
m having a hard time remembering a lot of things about myself. I remember everything I’ve shared with you and most of the knowledge you’ve shared with me. But huge blocks of my memory aren’t there anymore. Am I just getting old?”

           
Genesis smirked at the suggestion. “I doubt it. Most people don’t lose memory of their age until they’re eighty.”

           
“Then what’s wrong with me?”

           
“I don’t know,” Genesis said. “I have an idea though. Come with me into the stream; I want to check something.”

           
Jadzia was back in the stream, conscious as she was when she left the shelter and when Genesis first transferred memories into her. The stream appeared as it had before, and so did Genesis, a massive bundle of points of light and threads weaved together in the rough shape of a female. A single thread reached out to Jadzia and connected to her.

“I’m going to look into your mind. I promise it won’t hurt, although it may feel weird,” Genesis said.

           
A gentle jolt later, Jadzia felt what she perceived to be Genesis inside her mind. True to Genesis’s word, she felt no pain but instead, felt her friend’s emotions coursing through her. As Genesis probed deeper, their thoughts and feelings melded, as though their souls began to merge. Instead of just watching Genesis’s memories play out in her mind, she was finally able to understand the intense feelings she so often tried to explain in words but couldn’t - the knot in her stomach, the uncontrollable desire to help people in need, the very altruism that ran in her blood.

           
Genesis suddenly withdrew from Jadzia’s mind and pulled her instantly out of the stream and back to the shelter. Once Jadzia felt at home in her body again, Genesis resumed their conversation.

           
“Your description of missing memory was more accurate than you realize.”

           
“What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

           
“The links in your mind are disappearing. That seems to explain why your memories are no longer there. It looks like something is eating away at them.”

           
“What could possibly do that?” she asked.

           
“It’s strange, but it looks like...the new information you have.”

           
“What information?”

           
Genesis tried to meet Jadzia’s eyes as she spoke, but she could only hang her head as she realized what was responsible for her friend’s illness. “The information I gave you.”