The next day, JoJo creeps into his grandfather’s reading room only to find him fast asleep in his chair. The boy stands still in front of his beloved Papa and gazes at his peaceful face. Very carefully, Jojo climbs into his Papa’s lap only to find him wide awake and grinning.
“Did I wake you, Papa? Are you mad at me? Can I hear more of that story? Please?”
Jethro Hodge laughs heartily, “Can I answer one question before you ask another?” The boy nods and settles himself on his Papa’s lap then looks expectantly at his grandfather. “Alright.” Hodge began. “I’m not angry with you, JoJo and I’m happy to continue the story. Where did I leave off?”
Joachim scrunches up his face in thought. “Um, people were fighting about their Gods and made their enemies sick… I think.”
“Good lad! The sickness was a new disease, called a virus. The virus could think for itself!”
“Was it a person, like us, Papa?”
“No, but he thought like a person. He decided he was going to kill all the people on Earth. They began to call him Omega…”
“How come, Papa? I never heard of a Mega before.”
“Omega in the Greek language means ‘the end,’ JoJo. Omega had decided to put an end to all the people on Earth.” Jethro pauses; sees that JoJo is attentive, so he continues. “The scientists who created Omega tried to find a cure – a way to stop the death. They failed. As people all over the world continued to get sick, everyone looked to the United Nations for a solution.”
“What’s the Nitednations, Papa?”
“It was a group of people from every country in the world. It was their job to help solve people’s problems.”
“So they were nice people?”
“Yes, they were, JoJo. They decided to try to save as many people from every country in the world as would fit in our spaceship.”
“You mean Divine Semper, Papa?”
Jethro smiles and ruffles the boy’s hair. “That’s the one, lad! They flew about a million people to the Space Agency Base on the Earth’s moon, and boarded them on the ship…”
“Wow! A million people, Papa?” JoJo searches his grandfather’s face as he thinks about it. “Is that a lot… like a hundred?”
“It’s a lot more than a hundred. Then the people got on the spaceship, and it left on a long journey through space to find Genesis.”
“That’s where you work, right Papa?”
Jethro laughs and ruffles JoJo’s hair once more. “That’s right, my boy! We are building a city where we can go to live one day.”
Joachim looks troubled, and his lower lip begins to tremble. “Papa, what about our house? Can I bring my toys and Rex?”
“Of course you can bring your dog and your toys! It will take a while, but we’ll build everyone new homes to live in.”
“What about Semper, Papa? Can we bring that too?
Jethro Hodge smiles and hugs the little boy tightly to his chest. Good question, Joachim, he muses.
Stay tuned for the final installment of this story!
- MY BLOG HAS MOVED! - January 31, 2017
- 24. A Daring Proposal! #RRBC - January 27, 2017
- REVENGE: WHY NOT? #RRBC - January 25, 2017
- 23. JoJo And Jethro #2 #RRBC - January 20, 2017
- CAN HUMANITY BE SAVED? #RRBC - January 18, 2017
The Coastal Crone
December 24, 2016 at 3:48pmAlways nice to find your story! Sort of a Noah’s ark for space.
John Fioravanti
December 24, 2016 at 4:23pmThanks for finding my story, Jo Nell! I never thought of this story in quite that way, but you are exactly right! Golly! I should have named ArcGeneral Thomas Hastings, “Noah”! Hmmm… when I create a series of novels from these stories, I could change the name then! Thanks for the idea!
jinlobify
December 23, 2016 at 6:07pmIt looks John, as if you are starting on a new series, one that starts so sweetly. Looking forward to reading more. :D.
John Fioravanti
December 23, 2016 at 6:58pmStarting a new series is the plan, Joy. Thanks for your support!
Jan Hawke
December 23, 2016 at 1:28pmEnjoying this Alpha portion of the Genesis story very much 😀
John Fioravanti
December 23, 2016 at 3:13pmI’m glad you’re enjoying these prequels, Jan. One day I’ll dedicate a new series in this time period. In the meantime, I’m having fun exploring new characters and the fleshing out of the Genesis story from the very beginning. Thanks for your continued support!
John W. Howell
December 23, 2016 at 10:05amSuch a wonderful way to bring everyone into the backstory. Great job, John.
John Fioravanti
December 23, 2016 at 10:40amThanks, John, it sure is a lot for a five-year-old to digest, and in the next post we’ll find out what else life has tossed at young JoJo. I appreciate your support, good sir!
John W. Howell
December 23, 2016 at 4:07pmSure is interesting. 🙂
yvettemcalleiro
December 23, 2016 at 6:39amThis was a perfect excerpt for the holidays. A child, his grandfather and a bedtime story of sorts. 😉
John Fioravanti
December 23, 2016 at 10:36amThanks, Yvette, I thoroughly enjoy exploring the personal side of some of these characters whose main role is a leader with substantial professional responsibilities. I’m happy you’re enjoying these stories and I’m grateful for your continuing support!
Gwen Plano
December 23, 2016 at 6:23amSuch a sweet exchange…. while discussing so ominous as the Omega virus… The story is captivating…
John Fioravanti
December 23, 2016 at 10:33amThank you for you kind words, Gwen. I enjoy writing these and I’m glad you’re enjoying them.