The Scarecrow of OZ by S. D. Stuart Read Free Book Online Page B

second-generation hybrids. Our parents were created in a lab.”
    Zee frowned. “Where did you hear nonsense like that?”
    “It’s not nonsense. It’s the truth.”
    “You don’t know anything about our history.”
    “That’s because there is no history. We were deemed abominations of science and sent here to OZ to die.”
    She studied the ceiling for a moment before settling her eyes on his.
    “I don’t know what you were told, but our history has nothing to do with science. Hybrids have been around for a very long time. We were the gods of long ago. Worshiped by the humans. Until they stole the Brahmastra, a weapon of immense power that could destroy anything you pointed it at. The humans used the Brahmastra to destroy the capital city of the hybrids. When they believed they had destroyed every one of us, they turned that weapon on each other. A few of our people survived and moved to a place where the humans could never reach them. Their plan was to wait for the humans to destroy themselves, and then we would be free to roam the world again. But with each passing century, humans didn’t die out. Instead, the expanded into every corner of the world. It was getting harder and harder to stay hidden.”
    What she was telling him was absolutely unbelievable. Meaning, he did not believe a single word of it and wasn’t about to listen to her spin fables from her childhood.
    “Listen, Zee…”
    She raised her hand and cut him off.
    “Let me finish. Despite remaining hidden, we kept an eye on human advancements, and the evolution of their society. Fear and superstition had given way to logic and reason. All the ancient writings and depictions of our people were seen as fanciful attempts of prehistoric man trying to make sense of the world around him. My parents remember the day when the humans found us again. To explain why we looked part animal and part human, we said that we were test subjects in a genetics project. We felt that they would believe that more than if we told them we were the gods of their ancestors. And they did believe us. But the human’s reaction was to outlaw genetic manipulation and send the hybrids here. My mother was pregnant with me when she was relocated to OZ. She told me these stories and made me promise to never forget them. Never forget the true history of our people.”
    Caleb thought her parents must’ve wanted to instill in her a sense of worth to offset the treatment of the hybrids by the humans in OZ. It’s a shame they had manufactured an entire mythology, stretching back thousands of years, instead of having to explain that science had only recently created them. He could tell by the conviction set deep in her eyes that nobody would be able to convince her that what she just told him was anything but the truth.
    “So, this is what you believe?”
    “This is what we all believe, Caleb. Everybody but you.”
    “Then how come this is the first I’ve heard of it?”
    “It’s a rather hard pill to swallow if you’ve been fed the lie for as long as you have. We had hoped to tell you when you were ready. And we’d hoped you would be ready once you were crowned king.”
    “Why is it so important to everyone that I am the one crowned king?”
    A new voice interrupted from the doorway. “I believe I can answer that one.”
    The Southern Marshal strode into the room. “Thank you, Zee. Why don’t you go out and make sure everything is ready for the pre-coronation feast?”
    Zee bowed low as she backed out of the room. Caleb noted how she did not stand up as long as she was still in view of the Southern Marshal. He assumed that as soon as she disappeared around the corner of the doorway, she stood up and went on her way.
    “Still on that same old question are we?”
    “You never gave me a straight answer before.”
    “I want you to be the king for the very same reasons they want you to be the king. “
    “And what is that?”
    “Because they will listen to you.”
    “That