Civic Duty (6.2)

"Sorry I've been so long, Rivi. I tripped and scraped my knee. I had to go back and clean up," Dan said, as he walked over to Rivi and sat in the chair next to her.

"Let me see," she said, getting up from her chair and then kneeling at his feet.

"I'll send for a first-aid kit," the President said, standing and signaling one of his men standing idly on one side of the room.

"There's no need, Mr. President," Rivi answered quietly. "I can handle this. Dan's already done a pretty good job of cleaning this out."

Rivi lifted her hand and held it palm down above Daniel's knee. She then closed her eyes and focused on the shallow scrape.

President Malcarosi watched with confusion as the skin on Daniel's knee started to knit itself back together. Amazed even further, Malcarosi watched as every sign of the cut seemed to vanish. Not even a scar was left.

Rivi opened her eyes and sat back on her feet. She rolled her head to stretch her tired neck, closed her eyes once more at a small moment of dizziness, and reminded herself that comp amalgamators should stick to computers. She smiled and looked back up at Dan as she waved her hand over the torn fabric of his akat. Daniel looked slightly embarrassed.

"No harm done," Rivi replied, smiling as she united the atoms in the torn fabric once more.

"How did you ...?" the President asked, backing away slightly as Rivi stood and returned to her seat beside Dan.

Rivi hesitated and looked over at Dan, who met her gaze, and then turned to respond to the president's question.

"Rivi, along with the other children, has learned quite a bit. They are ... different," Daniel said.

President Malcarosi sat in his chair, looked over at Daniel, and then back at Rivi.

"I'd heard something about that, but I don't know how much I actually believed at the time."

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you," Rivi said.

"Not at all. That's okay. What is life without a few surprises?" President Malcarosi said with a smile.

Dan chuckled inwardly. "A few surprises" was largely understating a typical day with Rivi.

At that moment, a scientist rushed into the room and went out the door at the other end.

"I wonder what's—" the President started, as he looked the way the scientist had run.

He didn't finish his question though. The President's gaze had fallen back to Rivi who had closed her eyes as if listening to something. She frowned, gripped her head in her hands, and fell off her chair to her knees. She was grimacing in pain, the source of which eluded the President.

Dan, the president, and the president's security man rushed to Rivi's side. Dan knelt and placed a hand on Rivi's shoulder in concern. A few scientists ran into the room arguing loudly with each other as they went to their computers. Having had enough, Rivi jumped up, causing Dan, the president, and his guard to step back a pace.

"Quiet!" Rivi yelled, spreading her arms wide.

Everyone in the room looked at her, shocked. One scientist turned back around after a second and tried to proceed with what he had been doing.

"The computer will not respond to you," Rivi replied, as she walked over to the nearest computer.

The scientist, seeing she was right, stood and demanded some explanation.

"What did you ...?" he stammered.

"Shh," Rivi replied.

She closed her eyes, approaching the nearest computer.

"A message is coming in from your colony on Mars," she said to the stunned-looking scientist seated in front of the computer with which she was amalgamated.

"Yes, but we are having a problem receiving it," the scientist said.

"Won't the National Aeronautics and Space Administration be receiving this?" Dan asked.

"Yes, but they are having the same problem. Something is wrong with the satellite orbiting the Earth. The scientists are trying to see if they can fix the problem from down here. But, as they will soon see, the problem is too complicated for them to fix from down here," Rivi said.

"How ...?" a scientist asked from across the room.

"Your computer told me," Rivi replied. "Will you show me your satellite dishes?"

"We don't really have the time for tours, miss," the scientist replied.

"I don't want a tour!" Rivi snapped. "I can help you fix your problem, if you will show me to your satellite dishes. And never mind 'how,' we don't have time. I think there may be something wrong on Mars," Rivi replied, as the scientist sitting in front of her opened his mouth once more.

"I'll show you," the scientist said quietly as he stood.

"Thank you very much."

The scientist led the whole group outside to a large open area. A dozen towering dishes stood in a line. Rivi walked out to them. She held up her arms and reached out with her mind. After she repaired and readjusted the misbehaving satellite, she received the message clearly. Slightly dismayed, Rivi walked back to the scientists.

"As for how I did it—I'm a comp amalgamator," Rivi said. "The satellite is fixed, but apparently, something has happened. The colony on Mars has withstood a critical amount of damage. They're calling for assistance."

"We'd better call NASA," the President said to his guards standing behind him.

"You can do that, but I'm going to go help the people in that colony," Rivi announced.

President Malcarosi raised his eyebrows and turned to look disbelievingly at Rivi.

"I'm sure our guys can handle this. You're just a kid Rivi,"

"I may look fourteen years old but I am certainly not 'just a kid.'"

"Any help we would send would normally be sent from the lunar colony. They are set up for that sort of trip, we aren't," the President argued.

"I already have a faster way to get there," Rivi smiled.

President Malcarosi considered Rivi for just a moment longer before slowly letting out a deep breath.

"Alright. If you think you are up to it." President Malcarosi said, finally giving in. "I'll have someone call ahead to let them know you are coming. Is there anything you think you will need?"

"Dan, will you come? I may need your help."

Dan nodded.

"Someone will have to call my foster home, though. I know the school called them before we left, but they'll still be worried because of that fire this afternoon."

"I'll personally make the call," President Malcarosi said, nodding.

"You might want to have one of your aides call them. They're both Democrats," Dan joked.

The President nodded with a chuckle. Appeased, Daniel followed Rivi as she walked back out to the middle of the field away from the satellites. Rivi used her mind and pulled the silver cube through the wall of the hollow sphere that hung on the rope around her neck. She placed it on the ground and expanded it.

"Do you have confidence in me?" Rivi asked Dan as she looked over at him.

He looked from her to the cube, swallowed, and then nodded. Rivi took his arm and led him through the side of the cube. Rivi then twisted the cylinder on the bracelet around her wrist, and the cube was lit with a bright green glow.

"How will we get to Mars?" Dan asked.

"You might want to sit on the floor, I'm not exactly used to doing this yet." Rivi replied, as she manipulated the cube until it was floating upwards into the air.

Dan looked around him at the sides of the ship, as he sensed the cube rising faster than an elevator.

"Whoa!" Daniel exclaimed, when they escaped Earth's gravity and he started to float up off the floor.

Rivi smiled at his obvious surprise. As her hair began to float around her, she changed her body's normal magnetic charge so that her feet would be attracted to the cube's floor. She changed the cube into a ship, which elicited another exclamation of surprise from Dan, floating above her. Rivi let him enjoy his freedom from gravity while she formatted her ship to be compatible with her computer. It took her a few minutes before she was satisfied. She then sat in the chair at the front of the ship, took out her triangular computer and plugged it into the specially-designed docking station in front of her seat.

Rivi looked at the other seat beside her and then back at Daniel, who was watching from the ceiling. Frowning for a moment, she created a seatbelt for the seat and waved a hand to Daniel.

"You might want to come sit. You'll get hurt if you come crashing from the ceiling as we land on Mars," Rivi said, grinning.

"Right," Dan replied.

He pushed off the ceiling with his foot, grabbed the top of the chair, and pulled himself into it before strapping in.