Little Cherine Book 09 - BPost007
Arthur chuckled. Yes, he decided, it could work, just wait until Samantha sees his writing in her diary! . . . . . .
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5661
We’ve lost Susan! She reacted so strongly to the scene of Robbie and Dommi making love as children that the girls toned it down when Robbie made love to Cherine. It did not help. Seeing Robbie with a child of eight years forced on her the realisation that he is probably making love to all the girls (apart from his daughters, she was not ready yet to visualise something so horrendous) and her mind became a hard knot of rage and contempt. She stayed to the end of the telling, which did not last much longer, since the girls were sensitive to her, and then walked off to their house, forcing her son and Robert to go with her. We are blocking their emoting so that they have privacy while she rages against us.
We did not feel like sitting among friends and strangers, we wanted to be a family on our own, so we went home. As Robbie sat down, he grinned at Cherine. “You see what a monster I am?”
“Yes, but you are my monster.” She grinned. “When I first met you, you did warn me that you are a monster. Monster of the garden you said. Was that deliberate, because you like smelling little flowers?”
“Hmm, you’re giving me ideas.” Playfully he grabbed her and the rest of the night became beautiful.
The days passed without us doing anything to win Susan over. Sheena missed her little friend and pestered everyone with the question, “Niho?” The only way to answer her question was to keep her involved in games with us. After three days, the family joined us at the taverna for supper and Nicholas was quick to get away from his mother so as to play. She ignored our family, talking only with those she sensed are not our inner circle of friends. Robbie forbade any of us from doing anything to soften her. I think he’s decided he wants to see whether she will change because of her Robert.
Alki had an idea that took our breath away and made all of us love him even more. He asked Aganthi to go with him to their apartment and had her smooth the largest wall of their sitting room. He then took Jade.
“Look at how the new big windows bathe that wall with a warm colour. Isn’t it a pity to have it standing so bare?”
“Aganthi said you got rid of the paintings that were hanging there.”
“I did not get rid of them. I’ve packed them for taking to our club in Kefalari. I want that wall to have only one painting, painted for me by my favourite artist. Will you do it for me?”
Jade was flattered, “You want one painting of mine to hang there by itself?”
“No! I want you to use the entire wall as your canvas.”
“I’ve never painted on that kind of surface.” She hugged him and he leant over for the kiss she wanted to give him. “What kind of painting do you want?”
“I’ll leave that to you and your muse.”
Jade had Robbie create a room with walls that have the same texture and light. She disappeared every day in there as she experimented and the only person allowed to peek was Robbie - just in case he could come up with any suggestions. He was fascinated by the effects she was creating and practised some of them on other mediums.
Angel and Christós are the only ones to leave Freddie these days. From our side, they’ll be gone for a part of the day, stay here for a couple of days and then leave again. We saw from her sharing that they are jumping to an alternate Earth and practising spells and ways of concentrating on the source. Some of what we saw her do in her memories was quite awesome! Christós says she still has a long way to go so it makes us wonder just what he is capable of.
5662
“Robert, we have to do something about Susan.”
“Why Dommi? We are not in a hurry, we can afford to give her time to calm down enough to think clearly. We also need the break.”
“What are you talking about! We’ve been here nearly a month now. Most of us are bored.”
“Good. Let me know when all of you are not and we’ll be ready to get going again.”
A number of minds flared up, but Dommi kept her cool. “Can you explain?”
“It should be obvious to all of you. We had a really nasty shock from the Muyzith, in addition to other adventures or pressures before and after. Dommi, we are all turning into adrenaline junkies. If we don’t take time to settle and be at peace, we’ll forget who or what we are supposed to be as we scramble from situation to situation. My loves, life must also be enjoyed at leisure and we must have time for ourselves. I’ve enjoyed concentrating on you rather than other people and that is how it is meant to be.”
I tried for a few days to enjoy the boredom, but to tell the truth, I think I was born a junkie. Perhaps all those thousands of years I spent creeping around so slowly on my roots as Le’sase were dull enough to keep me sparkling like a shooting star for a few lifetimes now that I can really move. Whatever, I found a way to have some fun. I go to visit Hesina for an hour or so each day. It has kept me smiling the rest of the time, which earned me a lot of sour looks from some of my loves.
I went with Lucy to visit the Elipians. They have broken up into smaller groups so as to have the pleasure of meeting each other unexpectedly every now and then. There is always a group close to the taverna so that they can pass on to the others our latest news. Lucy decided to visit Shorayne. I was pleased, for she has the best mind of all of them. When she heard of our theory about brain cell connections multiplying among the youngest, she checked with her healer whether it is also true for them. It could not answer positively, so she alternated with her mate, each taking turns, spending a day or night, as a very young foal.
Lucy yelled, ‘Shory’ and threw herself at her with joy. Shorayne is used to her and caught her.
“My little flower of the sun, you have come to spend the day with us?”
Shyly Lucy asked, “Do you want me to?”
“Do stay, but change to an Elipian so that we can run together.” Having shown her love, she now politely greeted me. “Samantha. You visit us too rarely. You have a new theory to tease us with?”
“I have a room full of them in my mind, whenever you want, come share with me.”
5663
She laughed. “You would want me to become the Samantha of my people? Is it such a pleasant state to be that you would wish it on me?”
I teased, “Whenever I’m not making a fool of myself. You do realise that you could never become a Samantha? To do so you would have to have yourself a Robert, the best lover and companion anywhere.”
“But I do! Is not my Koreïn such a male, is he not my Robert? Does not Asimi have her Robert too?”
“You see? I meant to tease you and made a fool of myself.”
Lucy betrayed me with a giggle. “She is teasing you Shory, she is feeling you spoke a truth she had not thought of and is pleased.”
After spending some time on pleasantries I asked the question that has been bothering me for some time. “Shorayne, I should ask this question of Sharipya, but if you offer privacy, I will ask you.”
“Privacy agreed. Including my Koreïn?”
“You may share with him if he respects our agreement. As you know, Robert and our entire family love Sharipya. We also admire him a great deal. As for your race, Robbie often says he wishes we were all as good and honourable as your people. For those reasons, I need to understand the real problems that are preventing your people becoming Cherinians in large numbers. Is there something about us or Cherinianism that bothers them?”
She extended her claw and scratched at the ground, tearing it open. Obviously this was a sign that she was very troubled. When she looked at me again, I sensed a sadness in her eyes.
“Perhaps you should ask why it is that Sharipya and Asimi have not had a young one. Or Koreïn and I.”
“Should I ask you why or should I take the question home with me to think on it?”
Even Lucy giggled in her mind when Shorayne replied with a smile, “You may take it with you.”
“Is it the obvious reason Sam, they fear they would lock their children into their family circles and have to make love to them?”
“From what they’ve said in the past, it would seem so. To be honest, if it was not preventing them from becoming Cherinians, I would be tempted to leave this problem unsolved.”
Everyone was amused, but they left it to Cherine to say, “I can’t believe it, our Samantha willing to leave a problem unsolved?”
“It has drastically cut down on the number of births by everyone.”
Robbie scowled at me, “I see, you wish to use a problem to prevent another problem from arising.”
“As I said dad, we’ll have to solve it or else we lose the Elipians.”
“How do you intend doing that?”
“I have the feeling the answer is obvious. I better spend more time talking with them, I’m certain they have the answer.”
He chuckled. “I bet they’ll be surprised when they find out they do.”
“Was I right Shorayne?”
5664
“Yes. Apart from the problems we have heard you and other species discuss, it would also not be honourable to tie our children to us, they must have their own future. We would be stealing from them.”
I sat leaning against a tree trunk to think while Lucy played with her friends. I dredged out all the memories since we had first met Sharipya, but nothing seemed pertinent. A group of Sparklers must have realised I was deep in thought, so they used the opportunity to dance around eiu and chat with her. A memory of something said by Solomon returned to me.
“How does going to the void affect you?”
“It is a great source of joy seeing and being with my loved one in the purest state.”
“I apologise, I did not define my question correctly. I meant, when you return to your bodies, how do you feel, are you drawn to returning to the void? If so, how do you counter the attraction - do you need physical contact, such as sex?”
“If it is my time for mating, then the pleasure is more intense. At other times we find that exerting ourselves by running or participating in physical contests helps to realign our souls.”
I was excited, this was my last question, “Do you ever mate while carrying a child?”
“There are stories of females having needed to mate, but I do not know of any that have done so at such a time.”
“I think we should call Sharipya and Asimi.”
We could sense that Sharipya was pleased I’d initiated this conversation. He must have felt we viewed his inability to convince his people in Freddie to become Cherinians a failure on his part, while he did not know how to explain without insulting us. The four of them listened with very serious faces as I repeated the questions and answers while including my thoughts. Before giving them my conclusions, I felt it would be kinder of me to take a dig at Sharipya if it would help him become more open and trusting of us.
“Sharipya, I hope you realise that it was Noname who helped focus me so that I understood the problem?” He was startled, then dismayed and shamed as he recalled those days. I gave him full points when I realised from the looks on the faces of the other three that he shared with them. “He thought it would be better he allow his people to remain dead than accept life from a people as degenerate as Robert. A fully adult male enjoying sex with children, especially his own, that was as low as anyone could sink, he thought. I bet he even felt his own mind had been dirtied by the knowledge that any adult could do that.”
“The shame is mine.”
“No, it is not, the shame, such as there may be any shame, is ours. Noname was right Sharipya. However, I am glad you had the wisdom to come to an understanding that different species, even different people, have different needs. Do you remember how we nearly turned our backs on the Wirms? We were right, but also just as wrong as Noname was. You would have shown us great honour by speaking of the problem for it would have meant you love us enough to trust that we would not misunderstand you.
Now, as far as I have identified the causes, I see three factors as being of importance, influencing the infant and locking it within the family circle.
Should you have a child, it too should go to the void as soon as possible and become a Cherinian, if it is not already. If only sexual fondling would have helped it when you returned, you would have had a problem. Your species has a different way of solving the needs and attraction of the void, so we can cross that one off the list.
5665
With us, the female does enjoy and need sex during her pregnancy and the tenderness and love they felt in their parents affected many of my sisters. I was different because I came to be born especially because I already loved my Robert so much. That your females do not enjoy sex at such a time only partly solves the problem. I see a lot of love by each of you for your mate and you frequently caress and show your love and the infant would pick that up, but since there is no actual sex, it should only help the child love the parents more than usual.
Since we must face all the problems right now, I must point out to you that having healers does mean that your females can ask their healers to make the chemical changes that make them desire to join with their mate sexually, whether she is expecting a child or not. It would have to be up to your females to refrain from doing so.
The third aspect of the problem is also a part of the second. The love you feel for each other is far deeper and stronger than it is for non-Cherinian Elipians, as it is with us. The foetus will feel the love the mother feels for her mate and will be born with a very strong love, trust and respect for the father. It is up to you to guide that love so that it does not cross over into the forbidden.
As for taking our family as an example, it is wrong of you to do so. We should only be used as an example of how things could be under extreme conditions. Our Robert has needs that he cannot control, I’m not talking of sexual needs, but needs of the heart. For him it is almost inconceivable that a child of his belongs someday to a different Kaleidoscope World. He panics at the thought of any child of his not being part of our World - that is one reason for us not having a male child, for he will want to form his own family and World. I do not think you will have the same problem so you will not desperately need to bind your children to you.”
Lucy was almost in tears. “You helped them Sam, but you have caused us problems. Feel Robert!”
“I’ve not said anything he did not know my love. If he hides from certain truths, I would prefer that he does not so that his love for us is pure.”
Cherine appeared, nodded at the others and then reached up for a kiss. “You twist and turn our hearts and minds so quickly, thank you, you gave the correct answer.” She quickly left me and walked over to the four Elipians who were obviously in the grip of strong emotions. She looked so tiny and frail before them and yet they blocked off their emoting and stood silently waiting for her to speak to them. She laughed.
“I should manipulate you by telling you that Samantha did what she did on behalf of Lucy and for the love she holds for you. The truth is, she did it for her and for all of us, for all those who call themselves Cherinians. Our existence without your people at our side would be far poorer. I hope you will now find the words to open the hearts of your people. It will bring me much joy.” Robbie appeared by her side while the rest of the girls came to Lucy and I. I silently giggled as she wriggled her fingers behind her back at me, laughing at my teasingly naming her in my thoughts the grand manipulator.
Arthur, I’m sorry, but I have decided to stop writing in the diary. This should be a joint effort, like a relay race, each of us taking turns at carrying the baton. It is time one of the girls takes over for a while and then the next and so on. I’ll still come to chat with you, perhaps we’ll even spend more time chatting now.
No. Wait. That is not fair to you. I’ll tell you why, but please don’t try to convince me I’m wrong.
I have come to accept that while I write it must be mostly from my point of view, the events or emotions that touched my life. For a long time now I have felt uncomfortable. Whenever I say or do something and I’m praised, I write about it. It smacks too much of blowing my own trumpet and I find it embarrassing. Even if this diary were for my own eyes only, it would be wrong, too egotistical.
5666
I relegated Cherine to second place, with her consent (very amused) and put you in her place. Don’t think that only you manipulated me, the girls did. Not one of them would agree to take over! I got Robbie to make me a brand new and shiny trumpet and it blows louder than the old one. You asked for it!
The next days were very exciting for us. At an accelerating pace, the number of Elipian Cherinians grew. There was a festive air, the land was filled with witnesses of all shapes and sizes as everyone wanted to be present, while each evening groups gathered to talk - the more fun loving of us turning the gatherings into parties. Robert and Susan could not avoid learning of the reason why we were celebrating and she did not pull a face when she heard why the Elipians had not become Cherinians earlier and was told what I had said to convince them. When I found her staring at me, I could tell she was thinking of our private talks.
If we ignore the visit for timing, according to Cherine’s birthday we have been travelling in Freddie for over four years! Visiting alternate Earths and having our sweets in Kefalari sort of takes off the edge of our homesickness, but I hope we return after we have finished with this Earth. Those who came with never bargained for such a long stay and I guess the more enterprising among them should make some good money from chat shows and articles. When they first arrived, that was on all their minds, but since becoming Cherinians, their eagerness for wealth has toned down. The problem is that many of them are starting to think of Freddie as their home.
It is very rare for an idea to come to me out of the blue. It is more of a case of an observation leading to a thought, and then ideas flow from there until I arrive at a different way of seeing what I already know. isi-mi-Metti has deliberately kept herself at an age just before their ‘puberty’ and is still a child, though her soul is entirely hers now. In many ways she has grown from her studying of so many other species and seems to be friends with everyone. Her favourite is still Syrina and they visit each other often. Syrina asked her what the life expectancy of their spaceships is and we were all surprised when she answered that they are known to live over eight thousand years.
5667
I tucked away her answer as an interesting bit of information, but the next day it returned to niggle at me. I wondered what was bothering me. It took another two days of fermenting for a vague idea to begin to coalesce. I met Solomon and had him confirm what I recalled and then sat behind my waterfall to allow thoughts to flit around without my interrupting them with logic.
“I think not Robert. They are not able to survive in an atmosphere as thick as this. They have also engineered themselves so that they now live in symbiosis with their spaceships.”
Those were the words that were haunting me; tantalising me with suggestions I could not understand. Solomon had explained in more detail, but I needed to speak to an Inguel. Our friend an-Fisp answered my call and I explained what I knew and asked for more details.
“Though our computers are comparable in abilities to those of the Unation, there is a limit to what they can do. We no longer have the history of how it began, but the system has proved itself and we have continued to use the methods of our forefathers. Volunteers, usually late in their third age, are connected in symbiosis to the computers directly. Over the years they lose their exoskeleton and grow new connections that give them finer control over internal and external life support, navigation and so on. As you were told, our ships live for a very long time and the lives of those who volunteer are extended to or by the same length. Before becoming a Cherinian, I too had dreamt of the day I would be offered the opportunity.”
“And yet you have such strict rules about modifying or mutating yourselves.”
“There are a number of exceptions Samantha. Those who are chosen are offered the opportunity as a reward and there is no pressure to accept - not that I can recall anyone ever declining. When we have to terraform planets, or mine them, sometimes it is necessary to adapt the body so that we can survive the radiation and other extremes, such as gravity or temperature. Usually we are able to reverse those adaptations once they are no longer necessary for our survival. Why does it trouble you?”
“I’ll come to that. So what you are saying is your spaceships have two lots of crews, the one permanent and the other free to leave the ship when they wish to.”
“That is correct.”
I was troubled, but I also could not help emoting a huge grin as I called for Robbie and the girls. I blocked his attempt to share what had amused me; I felt I had earned my moment. I burst out laughing.
“Dad, you’ve been had! God, the Inguel pulled a fast one on you and though you had the details you did not realise it.” By now, my family and some close friends had arrived and I shared with them and they all laughed. Robbie was turning red as he stared at me.
“an Fisp, do you know what she is ranting about?”
“She has been asking about our two crews.” Everyone howled with a new bout of laughter at his puzzled response.
“Have pity on him kori mou and explain to him.”
“Dad, the Inguel had the answer to all of them becoming Cherinians all along, we just did not ask the right questions. You fell for their argument about dropping out of the gene pool.”
“And that has to do with their two crews - of their spaceships? Why do they have two crews? You do mean for each ship?” After that, he clammed up as everyone howled with laughter.
From his colours I saw that an-Fisp was beginning to understand what I was on about. Suddenly a huge crowd of Inguel surrounded him and their excitement as they slapped each other was obvious to all.
I decided to let the Inguel explain to everyone else, once they had calmed down, so I shared with Robbie. I also reached for him. *Dad, I’m feeling too beautiful inside me and it is as if I am aching to explode, please hold me.* Quickly his arms went around me.
5668
At last we have an acceptable explanation and way for all the Inguel to become Cherinians if they want to. Because we have grown to love so many of them, this was a day of great joy and we celebrated. The imps pulled one of their best tricks or practical jokes ever. They projected themselves as newspaper boys (maybe out of some old movie) and ran around shouting ‘Extra, extra, read all about it’ and they handed out fake newspapers with the heading ‘Samantha strikes again!’. They also included what they called a ‘collection of Samantha’s notable quotes’, such as, Samantha describes herself as a member of the Lepidoptera family (butterfly), and so on. They made my face burn as they claimed my most recent newsworthy quote, definitely a misquote, was that I complained I feel I am too beautiful.
For a while I wondered how they managed it as we do not have printers that could print the newspapers, but the answer was simple and it goes to prove their uncanny ability to rope in anyone. They convinced the Unation leaders to print them in their ships. I’m told they have framed a copy and it is displayed in the office of the admiral. I refuse to go and check to see whether it is true - it is too likely that it is. As Ordinx always wishes for, this is a joke they will savour for a very long time. One last thing, I have been very careful not to say to the imps ‘I owe you one’. I am wise enough to know when to keep quiet - and, now that I think of it, maybe it is the best kind of revenge, frustrating them.
isi-mi-Metti asked Solomon for a Terran body and though I had been hoping for some wild sex to release my feelings, I was rewarded instead by having her sleep in my arms. She actually cried until she fell asleep. What a beautiful feeling it was, sensing her love flooding me.
In the morning, after breakfast, Robbie sat with a cigarette and coffee. “Well, do we go and stop a war or do we wait here?”
Angelica piped up, “I have a Samantha kind of idea. I think it would be nicer to go save an alternate world of Inguel as you offered Syrina - she must have been crazy not to choose that as her honeymoon. I bet even our Inguel who hate us would have to think again and decide you are really their friend.”
Bernie shook her head with a sly humour. “No, I think we should stay here. Robert was right, look at how useful it has been getting bored. If we stay longer, Samantha will end up solving all our problems - since she cannot stand being bored.” I decided I would spend the day in my apartment since I could see that if I stayed I was going to be the butt of their jokes for this day also. The girls quickly grabbed me, though they were laughing too much to be really effective at stopping me, but I stayed.
As was expected, we had many Inguel visitors this day and I vaguely listened as they argued their strategies with Robbie. He could sense my thoughts were elsewhere and handled it on his own. Mainly there were two schools of thought - that the CherInguel (or we) should publicly broadcast our arguments or do so quietly and privately through the CherInguel who’d remained on their home planets, so that they spread the word without challenging the authorities at this stage. The Inguel tend to be conservative and law-abiding, disliking confrontation, so they preferred the second alternative. Neither argument was overpoweringly preferable, so it would have been a matter of choice if Cherine had not interceded.
“Angelica has already proposed a better plan. I think we should do as she said and let the new ones argue on our behalf.” It had to be explained to the Inguel and when Robbie agreed it is time to go, they fell silent, crouching to the ground as they blasted each other and everyone in Freddie with their emotions. I was forced out of my thoughts by the raw power of what they were emoting, looked up at the screens, quickly going back in my mind to hear what had been said while I’d been concentrating on my own thoughts. I admit I was not being sensitive to them when I spoke aloud.
“The permanent crew, why aren’t they Cherinians?”
iv-Clark was the first to absorb that I’d asked a question and he forced himself to concentrate on it.
“They still have at least three thousand years of life, so we did not consider it urgent. To tell the truth, though they know of all that is happening, I do not think they considered the possibility either. They are happy where they are.”
5669
“If there is an accident and your ships die, they would not die? The second crew would live since they are Cherinians and can use their healers to create new bodies, but the permanent crew should be allowed to die? Actually, what I have been visualising is something different.
From what I understood yesterday, their bodies are no longer viable if they are removed from the ship? That must mean they can never come out to walk around, eat, drink, or make love. That is a sad and pale existence.”
“They are happy Samantha.”
“Only because they do not realise there are other possibilities.”
I felt his puzzlement, tinged with a hint of fear at changes he knew my answer might bring, “What possibilities?”
“Each of them has a specific job to do? Can others be trained to do their jobs? In that case, why not train at least three for every altered body? If they are Cherinians they could all have bodies and take shifts doing their work, using the altered body, in the same way Robert allowed Henry to use his. Would it not also be safer having replacement crew? That way all could also lead a full life and even have families again. Have I done wrong to propose this my friend?” He was keening with grief, or so I thought, and I was really worried I’d done something wrong. He felt my worry and controlled himself.
“You are right Samantha, friend of aliens, what you felt was mostly our own feelings of guilt. The answer was obvious and we should have done it a long time ago. The stability of our ships would also be enhanced, since none would have reason to withdraw into insanity - as does sometimes happen.”
My thoughts carried over to another natural conclusion. I only shared it with my family, but Robbie insisted I speak aloud. “When we first came to you, we were told that you did not recall the promise of your ancestors. You also explained that your technology has concentrated only on biological solutions and nothing lives long enough to act as your reminder of the past. Why have you not used your permanent crews to do so? If they pass on their knowledge to the new ships, would that not have supplied you with the continuity you need?” I grinned. “They would then also be your historians, giving their job much more prestige, would it not?”
Much later, someone thought to ask Robbie which reality we are in.
“I have chosen a reality where no species has been killed by a fire-world.” Robbie felt the excitement of the kids and understood. Apologetically he explained to them. “I’m sorry, I did not mean the reality you originally come from. We cannot return there until we have saved all those waiting to die.”
Chapter Two Hundred Thirty Eight
Robbie is guilty of assuming. He reasoned that if he is there at the time the fire-world appears in the reality we’ve gone to and we heal it, that explains why the reality is not dead. In this case, one other aspect pleases me. The Inguel of this reality will not have to carry the guilt the first Inguel did.
Our Wirms wished us to the correct time and place, arriving just as the infant fire-world did. We took a moment to savour our good feelings when the creature aimed for a star without planets. I guess, someday we will have to find a way to check that no species live on or in any of the suns. The older fire-world the rodeo girls have learnt to control has obviously lost its compulsion to send energy back home so we waited to see how this one would accomplish its task. The answer was very simple. The ‘black hole’ effect or attraction Robbie had experienced with the first fire-world he fought drew solar energy to it and, we presume, sent it back through the tail - the opposite of what ours does.
We arrived to find a catastrophe in the making.
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Sending energy to a sun is not the same as adding water to a pool. The sun cannot absorb the energy and store it for releasing slowly. The Inguel had created the same webs of ‘space-trees’ and they were being destroyed by the sudden influx of energy that was bouncing off the sun. Urgently the Sparklers rushed to save souls, while all the healers we had tried to collect tissue samples.
As quickly as possible Robbie filled a platform with victuals and a few other necessities and grabbing the rodeo girls returned to the head of the fire-world. The girls used the same methods to communicate and force the creature to leave the sun. Robbie waited until he saw it had allowed itself to be directed to an area without suns and then joined the girls to keep them company since they will have to spend months there.
From our side we barely had time to see the tail end stop sending energy and Robbie was back with our little heroines.
“We have a few months to get your people out of here. I suggest you contact them immediately. You will use your spaceships?”
“We are prepared. Will you come with?”
“Meet with them first and then one of you can jump here to collect me if you need me.”
Our Inguel were devastated by what they’d seen. To know that even if the programming of the fire-worlds had not gone wrong, it would have destroyed their ancestors, was an excruciating shock to their ego. Before this could translate into a worship of us, we made certain they understood that all we did was done by and for all Cherinians.
While the CherInguel, Sparklers and our healers handled the emergency, Freddie jumped back to ‘our’ alternate reality, jumped again to the reality where the terraforming teams were working and arriving at a time that one of them had completed their job, we explained what we need them for. With the new Inguel having faced such catastrophic losses, they will need to find at least one solar system ready for them. Since we now have the space, Freddie opened for their ships and we jumped. We took them to a dead reality (we will deal with the local fire-world later) and choosing the same solar systems as our Inguel are using, we let them enthusiastically get to work. They asked that we return with their alternates two thousand years in their future.
Freddie returned to the parallel universe three days after we’d left and we saw an amazing number of small vessels waiting for us. It transpired that most of their older (larger) spaceships have died. Our Inguel section began to fill up with resurrected Inguel and then the rest were taken to the Sparkler World while the Unation ships left to find stragglers and those marooned, unable to travel to Freddie. Even with those the Sparklers and healers had brought back, it was obvious the population is less than half of what our first rescue had brought to us.
All the Roberts, even our newest one, helped Robbie and Vincent as they rushed to attach Inguel vessels, with some of their trees inside capsules, to the outer skin of Freddie. Where he could, without weakening the structures, he opened passageways between the vessels so that they can mingle. CherInguel will be jumping to them and bringing them into Freddie in groups, especially the families with children. Our ecology will take quite a beating with so many of them walking around.
For the first day or so, all of us stayed at home. The rescued Inguel were too profuse in their expressions of gratitude and we preferred to give them time to settle down. Alki and the other Roberts had to act as our spokesmen, but it turned out that our Inguel spent those days talking very earnestly, doing all they could to explain who we are, what we hope to represent and, lastly but not least, some of our idiosyncrasies. When we returned to eating at the taverna we only had to meet with the leaders, who knew by now how to avoid irritating Robbie.
Once we had them all and a full day of searches by Sparklers had not discovered any further Inguel, we expected to be leaving soon. Instead, Robbie called the scientists.
I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.
Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου
(Alexander Zenon Eustace)23rd February, 2020
- posted: 23rd February, 2020
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