One Nation, Under Jupiter

FEBRUARY 2, 2766

Ever since Ghana's economy began to decline, New Antioch has seen its fair share of African immigrants, fleeing to Nova Roma in search of a better life. I was now sitting in the home of one of them, sipping a chilled glass of red wine in his hand. My African friend had adapted well to his new homeland. Save for his skin, and a few trinkets of his old life in Ghana scattered around his house, one would assume he was a born Roman. His unsuspecting neighbors know him by a pseudonym, which he has asked me not to disclose. However, he was born as Dinkee Kanuntee, grandson of the great Ghanaian biologist Kee Kanuntee, to whom we owe the theory of evolution.

"I never saw him too much," Dinkee began, his thick accent making his flawless Latin feel foreign. "When I was a little boy, my parents took me to visit him...maybe once a month or so. You like some wine?"

"Yes, please," I answered. Dinkee gestured to his slave, who hurried forth, pouring a glass for me and Servius. As he gave me my drink, I noticed the young slave looked not too different from Servius himself. He was a little paler and had a full head of hair, but he had that same confused baby face. The two of them could've been cousins for all I know.

"Thank you," said Servius quietly, taking his own glass of wine.

"Anyway, as I was saying," continued Dinkee. "When I did see him, he was nice enough. Always got me presents, asked how I was doing in school...the typical stuff a grandpa does. I never knew how important he really was until well after he'd died."

"But there were things that made you suspicious before then, weren't there?"

"Yeah, yeah, there were. At the start of every school year, we'd all introduce ourselves to the class. I'd always say my name, and the teacher always asked the same thing. 'Did you say Kanuntee?'" He asked in a mocking high-pitched voice, his lips curled into an idiotic grin. "Some of the other kids would shoot me funny looks too. I never thought it was because of my grandfather, though. Back then I thought it was just because Kanuntee's a funny name, even back in Ghana."

"Forgive me for asking, but are you, you know...like your grandfather? Religiously, I mean?" I grabbed my necklace, rubbing the swastika out of habit. Dinkee leaned closer, squinting at me uneasily.

"No, I'm not. I've got my gods, thank you," he pointed at a wooden symbol hanging on his wall. An equal sign surrounded by two curved blades. Looked almost Chinese. "You call him Jupiter, I call him Nyame. It was Nyame who made the animals and man, and it was my grandpa who figured out just how he did it." He took another sip from his wine, then gestured at his slave for a refill. "All these years later, and I still don't see what the hang-up is, why I've gotta go around with a fake name. We all love the gods in Ghana, but we never got crazy about it like you do here."

"Your country's spent most of history as a major center of trade, hasn't it?" I asked, trying to recall the bits and pieces I could remember from the book Professor Fidenas lent me. "Maybe Ghana collectively became more concerned with the material world over the spiritual. You know, if that makes sense." Dinkee was paying no attention to me, his eyes fixed on his slave as he brought him more wine. The poor guy had a nervous look on his face, his glance darting from me, to his master, to an empty corner of the room.

"Yeah, maybe," Dinkee said lazily, looking at his newly filled glass of wine. "Of course, now your country's richer than mine. You're still as crazy about the gods as ever." The two of us looked at each other, an awkward silence filling the room. Servius waved the tape recorder in front of my face.

"Anyway, Mr. Kanuntee, could you tell me how your relation to your grandfather has affected your life? Any, you know...bad experiences? He is a bit of a controversial figure, no offense."

"Back home? No. Like I said, we're not crazy over in Ghana. Even if someone did have a problem with my grandpa, they're not idiots. They know the difference between him and me."