Secrets Revealed: The Flying Horse, Part 1

The flying horse has been mentioned several times throughout Rome's Revolution and figures more prominently in Rome's Evolution. The following is a deleted scene, excised from the current version. In the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome have this exchange while Rome was training Rei on how to fly a starship:

     “There is one thing I have wanted to ask you, as well,” Rome said.
     “Sure.”
     “When I was in your mind, I saw an image of a flying horse that almost killed you. Can you explain that please?”
     “Oh, that,” Rei said. “Sure.” He took a deep breath. “On my last night before I went into quarantine…”
     “Why did you go into quarantine?” Rome asked.
     “Before the dehydration and cryo-hibernation,” Rei replied. “You had to go into quarantine for a month to make sure that you weren’t harboring any noxious diseases or anything. They wanted to make sure the new world was as clean as possible.”
     “I understand. Go on.”
     “Well, I was on my way over to Raul and Sally’s.”
     “Sally?” Rome asked. “You were in love with her, no?”
     “Yes,” Rei answered. “I was in love with her. But she married Raul.”
     “Did that not cause bad feelings?” Rome queried.
     “At first,” Rei said. “But I let it go. I couldn’t really blame her. I was committed to going on the Ark and she wanted to stay on Earth. It worked out for the best. I got to know Raul and the three of us became friends.”
     “That is nice,” Rome said.
     “Yeah,” Rei answered. “So anyway, we were all going to have dinner together with my parents. I had borrowed Raul’s truck and spent the day getting rid of the last of my possessions.”
     “Why did you do that?” Rome asked.
     “Because we were only allowed to bring 20 kilos worth of belongings. I brought some books and some clothes and some music. That’s it. I didn’t really need anything else. Certainly not furniture. It’s not like I was ever coming back.”
     “So the horse?” Rome reminded Rei gently.
     “Yes. Anyway, I was coming out of a tunnel and I saw some people riding horses on the other side of the retaining wall.”
     “And your horses flew?” Rome asked, confused.
     “No,” Rei answered, “it was a bomb.”
     “I do not understand.”
     “Somebody set off a bomb on the bridle path and blew up one of the horses,” said Rei, disgustedly.
     “Why would they do that?” Rome asked with a slightly horrified tone.
     “Beats me,” Rei shrugged. “The goals of the terrorists were so obscure, that’s why nobody could ever address them.”
     “So they blew up a horse?” Rome asked.
     “Yes. Its carcass catapulted over the retaining wall and landed right on the hood of my truck. It smashed the windshield. The crash curtain never went off. It was just dumb luck that I wasn’t killed or injured seriously.”
     “That is horrible,” Rome said. “No wonder you wanted to leave your Earth.”
     “Yep. That and the global storms, pollution, overpopulation. We had pretty well made a mess of things…”
     “Yes, you did,” Rome said somberly.

More tomorrow...