The Winter Hive: Part One

Read the prequel: Theodore and the Queen Bee

Driving up the mountain roads often gave River a sense of exhilaration and this evening was no exception. In fact, this evening it was heightened.

Not long ago, his mentor Theodore had been invited to meet with one of the most infamous inventors left in the Ruined City, a reclusive who had lived through the Ruin itself and recently re-joined the world. It that the inventor had brought with him from his isolation a marvel of modern technology… though no one could say the exact specifics.

All of this was enough to make the evening special. But not long after the sun had gone down, River was surprised to find that Theodore had sent for him to join this midnight meeting and discuss one of his favourite projects. He was tense with anticipation and loving it. What luck!

The last they’d spoken, he’d begged Theodore to let him add Smartcash, one of his favourite crypto projects, to his presentation. He felt a potential when he thought of Smartcash… A feeling he couldn’t quite name. It wasn’t the first crypto project to do what it did, but it did so many things well. He loved the community spirit and the governance model and was hoping something he was personally passionate in would delight this famous individual, who had lived through the transition from magic to technology.

“Doesn’t it seem strange that during this inventor’s lifetime, the world has shifted to run on an entirely different system?” River asked Velvet, breaking the silence. She turned from the window to look at him for a long moment before answer.

“Strange...” she repeated, blinking slowly. She’d obviously been lost in her own thoughts. “Well… He is terribly old. No one lives that long any more.”

“That’s part of my point,” he replied, grinning. “Even something as elemental as lifespan has changed so much. We don’t live as long, we rely on technology rather than magic, we have less children.. All in the time that this person has been alive.”

“I think it’s more strange that Theodore sent for you and not me,” Velvet said. River couldn’t help but smile again.

“You don’t know anything about Smartcash,” he replied warmly. “You’re a crypto snob.”

“I’m not a snob. I only commented that I think it’s furthering inflating the market,” she responded quite directly, missing his teasing completely.

“Yes boss.”

She frowned at him for a moment before taking the small cake he offered her from the tea box of refreshments that had been provided. There was a moment of comfortable silence as the autocar steered them expertly up the mountain.

“Have you ever seen snow before?” Velvet asked him. River shook his head.

“Have you ever seen a house that responds to a person like it’s alive?”

He laughed.

“Well they do have those smart house things that someone was dreaming up…” He tried to finish his sentence but she crossed her arms and shook her head.

“No, that makes sense. You set up a series of systems that work together to make the house do different things. You build that. This one grew itself and responds to verbal commands. It’s not technology. It’s magic.”

“Maybe,” he said, chewing his own dessert thoughtfully. He was pleasantly surprised by these delectable honey cakes.

“How do you know magic really existed? Maybe it was just really really advanced technology that we forgot how to do.”

She opened her mouth for a moment to argue and then stopped. He decided to take his moment to deviate to what was really bothering her.

“I’m sure Theodore will contact us soon,” he said.

“I just find it suspicious that he hasn’t responded to any messages on his own scroll and just sent us that one from someone else’s,” she sighed. “I don’t like it. Normally you can’t shut Theodore up.”

He choked a little on his honey cake and washed it down with some of the garden tea they were drinking. Her eyes flicked to him and she gave him a wicked little smile which contradicted her next words.

“I’m genuinely worried.”

“I’m sure they’re having trouble shutting him up,” River laughed. “He’s probably so mad they’re interested in hearing more about Smartcash than Dash or Ethereum or something. He’s a snob too.”

“You don’t know what’s in my portfolio, River,” she said suddenly. “You don’t know how I feel about it.”

She crossed her legs and smoothed out her skirt, giving him that signature little smile again. She was right.

“True, I guess I’m very vocal about the things I’m passionate about,” he replied.

“You and Theodore have that in common,” she quipped, picking out another small forest cake from the plate. He grumbled good-naturedly at her.

“We can’t all play it so close to heart, Velvet,” he said. She took a moment to lick icing off her finger before responding.

“No, but then again, we’re not all meant to be bosses, are we River?”

“No, boss,” he laughed, holding his hands up in defeat.

The autocar rolled silently to a stop in front of the large, looming gates. The effect was eerie and Velvet gave him a look filled with meaning. He nodded and picked up his bag, turning back to her slowly.

“Let’s go,” he said with exaggerated solemnity. She kissed her teeth at his teasing and stepped out of the car.

He hurried to keep up with her as the autocar rolled away and she was through the gates without even knocking. He wondered if the gates were also under the house’s control. He froze as the air’s temperature dropped.

“Astonishing,” Velvet whispered as in one step, they crossed from sweltering heat to the diamond dust cool winter night contained within the house’s little pocket world.

“A marvel,” he agreed. “But not the marvel, for sure. Apparently this used to be common… little pocket worlds that responded to the will of the master.”

“Whose will is it that I should be so cold,” she responded, pulling her coat tight around herself. She skipped a little towards the door. “We can admire its beauty later through the windows.”

He smiled fondly and followed. The cool air was rather invigorating he found. And it was mesmerizing how the white ground sparkled, similar to sand but completely different as well.

The echo of Velvet’s knock drew his attention from the ethereal beauty of the frozen garden to the warm light radiating from the house. He jogged up the steps. The door opened and he gazed upward as a someone came into view.

“Hello, I’m Juliet. Please be welcome River, Velvet. Such a pleasure to have you with us,” Juliet said, gesturing for them to enter. She smiled pleasantly, showing no hint of surprise at Velvet’s presence. Her voice had a soft, low rumble to it, almost like a buzz. River found it strangely appealing and off putting at the same time.

“Hello Juliet,” Velvet said gratefully, darting into the house. He laughed and entered more slowly, examining Juliet.

“Are you the inventor?” he asked, looking around as Velvet kicked off her boots awkwardly. The bottoms were coated in snow that left little puddles on the floor. Velvet stepped in one of the puddles and frowned at it. Juliet handed her a pair of slippers from a small, heavy-looking wooden shelf.

“No, I am not,” Juliet replied. River waited but she didn’t elaborate as she watched Velvet put on the slippers. He kicked off his own shoes but didn’t receive any such offers of warm dry footwear and despite being the one invited, he felt a little ignored as he stood there in his socks.

“Come, we’ve been waiting,” Juliet said warmly as she led them into the house.

The Manor was large, festively decorated and was a vision full of small golden lights as candles and crystals caught then cast the light around. It was warm, though a different warmth than the sweltering heat he was used to. This warm was an answer to the cold outside, a warm generated by fireplaces and cooking and laughter all meant to envelop you from the snow.

Juliet led them to a dining room where several people were already seated, talking animatedly around their meals. He look around for Theodore but didn’t see him. Velvet gave him another meaningful look as Juliet gestured to their seats.

“Forgive me, but where is Theodore?” Velvet asked, sitting gracefully. The guest next to her responded by handing her a large dish filled with a delicious smelling unidentified meat and gravy. The exquisite cakes they’d had in the autocar which had seemed so heavenly suddenly dwindled to poor fare compared to the banquet that filled the table. River sat down eagerly and was passed his own dish, this one heaping with a mashed vegetable he was excited to drown in that gravy.

“Theodore is…” Juliet opened her mouth to reply when a man with pale hair entered the room.

“Yes, River at last,” the young man said in an excited but strangely whispy sounding voice. He sounded far older than he appeared. “I’m so pleased that you accepted my invitation.”

“The pleasure is mine,” River replied, shaking his hand vigorously. “I’m so honoured you invited me here to contribute.”

“Yes yes, I’m looking forward to it. But first, please do me the honour of having some dinner. It’s so late and it’s the least I can do to show my appreciation.”

With that, the man was off and River had to content himself with digging into the delicious food.

It was a heavy, hearty, glistening meal that warmed him from the inside out. The inventor spoke little and Juliet held the table with an understated but regal hand. She introduced the small number of guests to each other and provided topics for them to converse about. As far as River could tell, each of them specialized in a certain area though he couldn’t see what they were all doing gathered here. The individual to his side caught his attention by offering him a kind of glazed vegetable that smelled slightly sweet.

“What are you here for?” the individual asked as River gratefully accepted the offering. He couldn’t believe how hungry he was, though he supposed cold weather probably stimulated the appetite.

“I’m interested in cryptos,” he responded awkwardly around a mouthful of food. He realized belatedly he should have swallowed first. His companion laughed and pulled absently at one of the wealth of green braids that had that had escaped their ponytail.

“I love cryptos,” a person with lovely deep blue hair across from him commented, leaning forward slightly. The person next to her with violet-coloured hair shook their head and sighed before responding.

“Whimsy, you barely know what they are,” was the reply.

“Aren’t they those cats that you’re so fascinated with, Yuvy?”

River laughed and the violet-haired person puffed out their cheeks and appealed to him with a long suffering look. He nodded in understanding. Since the recent wave of crypto games, people were associating the amazing technology as solely a platform for whatever popular game had currently become the face of it. It was cute but rather hard to keep explaining it was more than that.

“It’s an amazing innovation in technology,” River said helpfully. “The games are fascinating, but I’ve been more interested in other applications. Currency for example.”

“The money person then,” was the response of the green-haired person next to him. River smiled and self-consciously ran his fingers through his own hair.

“I guess so. Really I’m not an expert, just a passionate amateur. I’m excited to introduce everyone to the project. It’s powerful. With Smartcash everyone who holds it gets to vote in the space. Funds are allocated to a Community fund and proposals are funded if enough community members vote yes. It’s really qui…. “

“Honestly, River, not at the table,” Velvet interrupted, rolling her eyes. River grinned sheepishly.

“I guess I do go on about it but it’s really very interesting.”

The person to his left laughed heartily.

“I’m the same,” he said. “Get me started about flowers and I won’t stop. I’m the garden person. Thorn, nice to meet you. River was it?”

River nodded around his food. He patted his lips with his napkin in an attempt to appear respectable before answering.

“Nice to meet you too, Thorn,” he said, grinning. “You mean that frozen garden outside?”

“Oh no, that’s wild isn’t it? And much beyond me. I haven’t had much chance to work with winter gardens. I’m more of the summer-time garden guy,” Thorn replied, laughing. “That seems more art than functional, though the plants there would bloom again if it warmed up.”

“You mean the snow doesn’t kill them?” River was surprised.

“Some of them, it would,” Thorn replied, applying a golden spread liberally to a warm roll. “Some plants only live for a season and wouldn’t survive anyways. But some plants do last multiple seasons and are made for that kind of weather. They would just go to sleep in the winter and wake up in the spring.”

“That right there sounds wild to me, being from an island where the temperature is pretty consistent” River laughed,

“Are you sure that’s not magic?”

“No, just biology,” Thorn said, raising his eyebrows but smiling. “I’m sure there’s many things we used to know more about that seem like magic these days.”

“You know I was just saying the same thing myself,” River said conspiratorially. He glanced over to Velvet to see if she was still listening on his other side but she was deep in conversation with the person next to her, a woman with warm brown skin and a rich rosy hue to her hair.

His thoughts were interrupted by Juliet standing. They all stopped talking and turned their attention towards her. The inventor smiled into his glass privately.

“We’re so pleased you could join us,” she murmured, that strange buzz echoing just under her voice. “And I appreciate everyone’s patience at this late hour. We have promised you a marvel in exchange for your wisdom and advice in an even greater project, an even greater marvel.”

She paused for effect and looked around at them.

“So, what do you think of the marvel?” she asked.

“What marvel?” the blue-haired woman across the table from River asked. She look around and shrugged her shoulders.

“I’ve seen marvels of magic, not technology. I’m delighted really, but they’re not unheard of.”

Juliet tilted her head to the side curiously and smiled that same private smile River had seen on the inventor’s face.

“I am the marvel,” she said, then waited. They were all silent.

“What do you mean you’re the marvel?” Velvet demanded finally, standing up. A few other guests were startled by her exuberance but River was used to it and was starting at Juliet intently, the strange buzz of her voice nagging at him.

“I am the technological marvel,” Juliet repeated, giving Velvet a warm smile. There was another moment of silence and Velvet crossed her arms, her frown becoming a bit bewildered. After a moment, Velvet’s shoulders trembled for a moment and her body language took on a keen attention River had seen before. He was confused. Clearly she had understood something he was missing.

“I’m confused,” he said out loud. The other guests murmured in agreement but Velvet ignored them all and walked deliberately over to Juliet, who waited serenely.

“You…” Velvet repeated slowly. She reached out and cupped Juliet’s face almost tenderly. For some reason, River was riveted by it.

“..were not born,” Juliet finished for her, leaning her face into Velvet’s hand. Velvet’s face was full of wonder.

“You were made,” Velvet whispered. “Oh sweet darkness. You’re an android.”

“What’s an android?” River asked.

“A machine made to look like a person,” Velvet responded.

“No!” Thorn replied in disbelief, standing up. “It’s not possible. How could such a thing be possible?”

“All things are possible,” the inventor murmured, his soft voice carrying and silencing them. He was staring at his glass thoughtfully, giving them no hint to what was happening in that private world of his. River blinked slowly. The violet-haired woman across from him who had known about cryptos was wide-eyed, while the woman who had been talking to Velvet leaned her head onto her hands as if fascinated by what was unfolding.

“What a delight,” she said, brushing her rosy curls back from her face.

“What is she made from?” Velvet asked forcefully, walking around Juliet in a small circle.

“Velvet, that’s rude,” River replied absently, still staring at Juliet in shock. Juliet seemed unconcerned by Velvet’s prodding, letting the other woman poke her side and even lift her hair. In fact, she seemed to understand what Velvet was looking for because she touched a spot under her ear and to River’s horror, a small section of the skin on her neck seemed to open up and he saw the glint of wire, metal, and small blinking lights.

“Sweet ocean,” Velvet whispered, her fingers trembling a bit as she stroked the edge of the panel. Her face was very close to Juliet’s and River wondered if androids had preferences around personal space.

Juliet smiled and took Velvet’s hands in her own, stalling the woman’s inspection of her. Her serene smile never wavered and she seemed more amused than annoyed.

“I am the lesser or two marvels we’ve gathered to talk about,” she said in a stage whisper, pitching her voice so they all could hear. At this, the inventor unwound himself quickly from his reverie stood.

“I trust that many of you will want to verify what I have claimed.. Please take this evening to get to know Juliet and let her prove the magnitude of what has taken place” he said, looking at each of them in turn. “Tomorrow, we will reveal everything.”

With that statement, he was gone out of the room before any of his guests could respond. Juliet smiled and shrugged.

“I’ll find you all accommodations for the evening,” she said brightly.

River fell back in his chair, overwhelmed with what was happening. He looked into the bottom of his glass and wondered if he’d need a drop of something stronger than his warm chocolate brew to keep up.

“This is madness,” he said to himself.

Later, when Juliet had shown him to his room, he sat on the bed with his face in his hands, trying to process what had taken place.

There was a knock at his door and before he could respond, Velvet let herself in and stood staring at him.

“River, what is that?” she asked, pointing to the bed. He frowned and looked behind his back to see a soft toy sitting on the neatly made bedspread, resting again the mountain of pillows.

“I don’t really know,” he said, picking it up. It had a round face and ears and a charming black nose. "It must have been here already."

“It looks like a bear,” Velvet commented, answering her own question

“A bear? I’m not too familiar with animals but seems rather a small doesn’t it?”

Velvet sighed.

“It’s a toy, it’s not supposed to be lifesized, River.”

She picked it up and frowned at it, turning it over.

“Maybe someone thought I needed company to sleep,” River joked to lighten the mood. Velvet passed him the stuff toy which he hugged to make her smile.

“She’s real,” Velvet said after a moment of silence. “I checked. As far as I can tell, she is and does what the inventor says she can.”

“But that’s so….” River trailed off. “Uncanny… I guess.”

He thought of the strangely ominous noise in her voice when she spoke.

“And no sign of Theodore. Juliet dodged my questions every time I asked,” Velvet added. “If we don't hear from him, we'll have to contact the big boss, Storm. This whole thing has been uncanny indeed. I can’t imagine what they have to show us tomorrow.”

River looked at the toy bear in his hands and frowned, nodding.

“Same here. It certainly can’t be any stranger than today…”

Velvet shivered and River hoped his words would prove to be true.

-- TO BE CONTINUED --