“So. You stole this knife from my government to save your mom? Pretty dope.” Prince Fog started.
“No, I was saving them. My mother would have killed every last one of those guards, and no one’s gonna buy bloody lettuce.” I half-fibbed.
Prince Fog thought my joke was funny. I soon learned he had a nice, easy going laugh, like if chuckles could be casual.
I stared into his deep brown eyes. I was really glad my skin tone wouldn’t reveal my blushing.
He was referring to the annual migration of the Moon and Sun countries. In the land of Zemlya, there was no day and night cycle. The sun and moon were literally anchored to their people, so when we move, the celestial bodies move with us, thus the migration was necessary. In Sun country, the sun is out all day and night, and the Moon country stays completely unlit year round, using artificial light and the stars to keep them out of the dark. While this was okay for humans, the animals and plants in the ecosystem had an EXTREMELY hard time adapting to this lifestyle. So, to make sure the earth stayed in balance, at the start of every winter each year, the countries would switch places, the Moon people migrating south and the Sun people migrating north so that each place in the continent got their fair share of sunshine or moonlight. Of course we have built settlements in the north and south so that we don’t have to keep rebuilding places for us to live every time we migrate. Just think of it like moving to your summer home every year, then after one year, you return to your normal home, if that makes sense. The reason the sun hadn’t come with me as I ran to Moon country is because just one person can move a whole celestial body with them. Their people as a whole must work together to move something as big and powerful as the sun or moon.
My eyes widened. “Moon country actually started migrating south already?”
“Yep.” Fog said triumphantly, as if this was something to brag about. “In order to not run into the Sun tribe while the international migration occurs, I’ve ordered Moon country to migrate early, so our countries don’t cross paths while migrating. The capital, Lunar city, which we’re in right now, is the first city that migrated this year, which makes an example for the rest of my people to follow suit and go to their alternate cities soon.” He explained.
“Yeah, but Sun country isn’t even THINKING about leaving the coast yet! If we haven't left, when the rest of your country gets here…” I didn’t want to even think about how much conflict would erupt. Our contries hated each other!
“Oh… oh no.” said Fog, rubbing his eyes. “Why did I not think of that when I made that decision!? I’m guessing we moved really close to a town in Sun country?” doubt dripped from every word in his sentence.
My eyelids lowered. “My capital is legit 30 miles away.” I pointed a thumb in the direction of my hometown. Ah, no wonder those Moon people who chased me were able to walk to my city. Their capital was only a half hour away!
This was bad.
Fog stared at the sky for a long time. “I knew it wasn’t good for me to go to that royal meeting. I knew I would screw up. But, No, my parents thought I was ready to make decisions for the whole country, and they let me lead us right into Sun country. My first big decision as prince, down the drain.”
I felt bad for the dude. He had a lot on his shoulders as prince of his country. “In Sun country, we don’t have a king or queen or any of that. We’re anarchists.” I told him.
“So I’ve heard. What’s that even mean anyway?” Fog asked me.
“Eh, we’ve got no government, basically. The people just live freely and do what they wanna.”
Fog looked tongue-tied.
“Really, thanks for saving me, Prince Fog.” I had never met a prince in real life, and never dreamed of meeting one, so the fact that he had just saved my life was… unbelievable.
“No problem. And hey, I hate that title, the whole ‘prince’ thing. You can call me Fog.” he said coolly.
Okay. I’ll take him up on that.
“So, is Moon country always so… cold?” I rubbed my shoulders, trying to keep in as much warmth inside me as possible.
“For the most part. Especially up north in the mountains. But once we finish migrating south and get to our cities settled down near the beach, nights become much warmer around here.” Fog told me.
“What?”
“...Doesn’t that lead to chaos?” he asked me.
“No!” I yelled, a tad annoyed. Did the Moon people really treat themselves so highly just because they had a central government complete with a king and queen? “We live fine!”
“Okay, sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you… they just make anarchy look so...Third World in my country. I don’t know too much about the real Sun country.” Fog put emphasis on ‘real’.
“What do you mean the ‘real’ Sun country?” I asked him.
“Oh c’mon now. My mother hates Sun country and wouldn’t tell me the good thing about there for anything.” I honestly don’t think that place is really as bad as my country says it is. I mean, I can’t really believe the Sun people are so barbaric they’ll bite my arm if I’m around them for too long. So far, I’ve known you for ten minutes and you haven’t acted brutish at all. Actually, my people have been acting barbaric, pulling knives out on people!” Fog told me.
So he wasn’t some stuck up prince from some high-tech megacity. He was just a kid who’d been told horrible things about the country he was taught to hate all his life. I liked him already.
“Tomorrow. Early in the morning. Meet me at the end gates of this place. I wanna show you something.” I said, heading for the gates that left this city.
“You mean you want me to go with you to Sun country, the one place my parents tell me time and time again never to visit?” he asked me.
“Yeah, I’ll show you how ‘barbaric’ we really are.” I playfully used hand quotations.
He smiled mischievously. “Sure.”
And we headed our separate ways.
Location: The Royal dinner table, Lunar city, Moon country
Time: 7pm
I was sitting at the dining room table, waiting for my father. After that whole incident with that pretty girl and some of the M.C.I.A. officials, I was eager to hear his explanation on why Moon country officials were just waltzing up to people in Sun country. With knives.
My parents soon walked into the room. While mom went over to the waiters to discuss our food serving sizes and our drink preferences, dad sat at the head of the table. I would usually be sitting at the seat directly to the right of him, but today I sat at the tail, staring at him until he noticed.
“What?” He asked me.
I placed the pocket knife I got from the girl yesterday on the table.
Dad’s eyes widened slightly. “Fog? Where did you get that!?”
“From…” I debated telling him I got it from the M.C.I.A. so he wouldn’t go after that girl from Sun country, but I was not a liar. “From some girl from the other country. She got it from an M.C.I.A. official, which a few of them had chased her all the way from her Sun country settlement to here. Weird huh?” I said angrier than I wanted to let on I was.
“A Sun-ian that ran here from Sun country with a knife!? Fog, I tell you time and time again that you must watch yourself! That could’ve been a dangerous encounter! You know we’re not on good terms with Sun country! Why would you get so close to one with a knife in hand!?” dad asked me.
He was missing the point.
She ran into me! And she didn’t just have the knife! I just told you one of the M.C.I.A. staff had it, and he was wielding it at her mother!” I yelled. “The girl took it from them and ran off to protect her mom from being cut! But why were the M.C.I.A. pulling knives out on people in a country we don’t get along with in anyway!?” I yelled.
My father’s face went from surprised to warning. “Don’t you raise your voice at me, young man. I have no idea what our officials were doing in Sun country. Maybe your mother gave the order.”
I turned to my Ma, who I now noticed was staring a hole into the kitchen counter.
“Ma, did you order some officials to go into Sun country to threaten some lady?” I asked her.
“...well, not threaten, exactly.” Ma said in a low voice. That was unlike her. She usually used her voice at full volume, regardless of the time of night.
My mouth opened in disbelief.
“You see, I was only trying out a new toy.” Ma slowly started. “See, I sent some of the Moon Central Intelligence Agency to Sun country’s capital to offer a buying proposal to any Sunian with a lot of land. We’d buy their land for a reasonable price in order to have a food growing ground for Moon country. But I guess the upgrade I got for their brains was a bit too… much.” she struggled with her words, then busied herself with helping set up our food plates.
“Upgrade? Ma, what are you talking about?” I was genuinely confused. I also felt a tad guilty for blaming all this on my father, but I didn’t have time to let the guilt sit in.
“Well, you see, scientists are developing these kind of, well, SD cards that can be temporarily planted in your brain. You simply have surgery for there to be a slot in your head or neck, then plug in the SD card that has been packed with programming to access any specific situation it has been set for. See, there are different types of SD cards, but they all put basically a phone home screen in your eyesight.”
Ma must’ve noticed my eyes widened, so she explained them somore.
“You can see of course, but in your peripheral view you can see your mission, the weather in degrees, and if you pull up a mini tab, even someone's public status, like if they own farmland or not. I really think this whole upgraded-mind thing will go far in our country. The SD cards in the M.C.I.A. officials' heads were meant to show the people who owned farm land, but I guess fight mode was somehow activated.”
“Fight mode!?” I yelled.
“Oh calm yourself Fog. Fight mode is only programmed in SD cards made for the marines and M.C.I.A. officials for dangerous situations. But I’m guessing there was a malfunction in those men’s cards.” Ma told me
“A malfunction in all five men’s cards?” I raised an eyebrow.
“-Or the men turned that mode on themselves. Look, I’m sorry someone almost got hurt, but I only sent those men out to try to get some farm land. Eclipse knows they haven’t been exporting nearly enough food this year, and we don’t have enough vegetables that can grow only with Moonlight to sustain everyone in this country. But Sun country is so bestial they probably always get nives pulled out on people.” said Ma. “Now, enough chatter. I’m starving. Let’s eat!” announced Ma, who then dug into her steaming brussel sprouts. Me and dad gave each other the same look: What is going on?