Extraordinary Mistakes

18. A boy with a manifesto

February 2013

"Xiuhtezcatl, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Matthew enters his living room.

Xiuhtezcatl, the leader of the Ariston community, sits on the couch, ignores Matthew at first, and looks instead to his left. He notices Rachel and a boy in the garden dancing without a care in the world. This makes him smile. Realizing that, despite Matthew's strict education, she still has some moments of joy.

"You won't be pleased."

"My dear friend, please." Matthew smiles and approaches him. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can work it out."

"We can't." Xiuhtezcatl crosses his arms and avoids looking at Matthew. "I've met with the president. He wanted me to give you five, but I said no. But," he gets up and walks around the room, "we'll surrender. Me and some others will go to prison, but everyone else will be free."

"Why... would you... that's ridiculous." Matthew's heartbeat increases. "We are winning!"

"Deep down, I know you can tell the difference between your narrative and the truth."

"We are winning! Look at the numbers, they have lost thousands."

"They have thousands to lose!" He places his hand on his chest. Looks to the garden again, the children keep dancing and giggling. "Ten of us are thousands of them. I want my people to live, not just survive!" 

Xiuhtezcatl's shoulders give in and Matthew scoffs.

"Do you know what protecting the community has done to us? My sister holding the optical illusion to hide us in plain sight, the amplifier helping her, the healers taking care of them... they are in excruciating pain! Their side effects are destroying their souls. And for what?!"

"For what?!" Matthew shouts. "You say you want your people to live. This is the only way that we can."

"We've lost!"

"No!" Matthew throws a vase against the wall.

Rachel and the boy are too focused on their happiness to hear it. Matthew holds his chest, trying to normalize his breath. Xiuhtezcatl looks at him and clears his throat. 

"You haven't changed. Remember when we met? You were a boy with a manifesto, and you still are."

"My circumstances haven't changed, how could I...?" Matthew pushes his hair back and looks up.

"They have... you are an adult now, a father. This will be your fatal flaw."

"What nonsense is that? My fatal flaw is invincibility!" Matthew sends a fuming glance.

"Do you know why it's called that? A fatal flaw?" Xiuhtezcatl tone drops.

"Why the sudden lesson?" He scoffs. "Sure, I'll take the bait. Because there's the idea that once you have the new power it will slowly shut down your body. It will kill you much earlier than you would without."

"That's the modern interpretation. The story that my people carried through the centuries is that you were supposed to kill anyone who had it. No matter who. If you saw someone with a second power; they were to die. All they had to do, was keep it a secret, and still they couldn't hide it, they loved to show it around. It wasn't the power that killed them, it was the ego."

Matthew's laugh fills the room.

"My dear friend, we will win. My daughter is an element controller, with Amy's amplification, we'll win. And when we do, that victory will be for all deviants, even the ones who crossed us."

Xiuhtezcatl laugh's fill the room.

"I doubt it. The only reason I'm not dead now is because I'm not really here."