Chapter 21
Draconians by nature are telepathic, the same way sharks have an electric sense. This does not mean that they are psychic, in the sense of the word humans would use the word psychic. They are not all knowing, they don’t see into the future or the past. They hear thoughts the way a person would hear a running narrative. They can manipulate active thoughts, insert thoughts, change a person’s focus and thereby root out memories, but they can’t go right to what they need to know. Most humans quickly give up everything a Draco wants to know, just because they have no psychic defense against an agent that enter their minds and go right to their greatest fears or pleasure.
Draconian social structure is vastly different than human because of this sense. Their social distancing is usually greater. In cluster groups of close proximity, a dominant mind will influence those around them. Most the time this done unconsciously, with like minds gravitating towards the dominant, and opposing moving away from the dominant, even away from the cluster. Groups acts together unconsciously, almost to a one like a single organism, with this being more true the closer in proximity they become. Cluster groups have distinct personalities. Changing the dominant mind usually results in a change in personality of the group. Dominant minds are comfortable taking over another body, and running it as its own. A really skilled, dominant mind can run multiple bodies simultaneously, allowing for varying degrees of autonomy depending on situations. Lesser skilled Draconians can simulate this by slaving robots, androids, and lesser tech.
Orish, the Draconian commander of the Galactic Ship Talon, had gone through extreme measures to isolate his witch. She was psychic. Her powers had been after he removed her brain from her body and enclosed it crystal globe. Her body was available to her, through tech. She could manipulate the body with the equivalent of a wireless joystick. Her pedestal contain the various crystals that were entangled with crystals in the simulated brain interface that the bodies she controlled wore. At her disposal in her private chamber were a number of bodies. Her body of origin showed signs of poor hygiene. She didn’t tend to it as much as a person who resides in a body might. She had programs that made the body eat and shit, but she apparently didn’t feed it quite enough, and didn’t exercise it. She cared more for the other bodies enslaved to her console. She collected bodies the way a child might collect action figures. Her favorite was shapeshifter. Its skin was comparable to an octopus, able to change color, texture, and density. The complexity amused her, but also, its sensitivity to environmental information. It was a perfect barometer. It could detect electromagnetic disturbances. Its whole body could discern noise. It could navigate a room with sound alone. Its visual range included the entire visual spectrum, plus. It could discern the thoughts of others and shifted its appearance in the presence of others the same way a mirror might reflect light. Though it was completely enslaved to her, one couldn’t completely eradicate its brain. Its brain mass was distributed throughout its entire body, through every organ.
Nimue’s room was almost a perfect sphere. The ‘great circle’ described the boundaries of her natural telepathic abilities. No one entered this room but Orish. As he approached, the shapeshifter took on the idea of his ideal mate. Orish ignored the creature, knowing full well it was male. The disdain for it somehow made it even more attractive. He focused on the globe on the pedestal. Inside the crystal was Nimue’s brain, LED lights spread out like a constellation of Christmas lights with splinters of pine needles, and holographic overlay that sometimes looked like Numue’s face, sometimes like a brain, but could become any image she was focused on.
Orish stroked the orb. “Ah, my dear pet,” Orish said. “You have had this clone now for a month, and yet, I still don’t have what I want.”
“Soul traps aren’t magic. There are necessary events that must occur….” Nimue said. Her voice came from a speaker on the pedestal. Visual aids gave her voice print a signature.
“I don’t want excuses. I want Jon now!” Orish said, tapping the globe.
“I know you do. But a mirror only works when there is light,” Nimue said.
“You have seen him,” Orish said.
Jon’s face appeared in the orb. “You know I have.”
Orish studying the image. It was useless, dead without being able to read thoughts. “Where?”
A planet became visible. There was information attached to it.
“The AI has exhausted known planets and not found a match,” Orish said.
“I suspect this planet is not in our galaxy,” Nimue said.
“Give me more information,” Orish said.
“I cannot give you what I haven’t seen,” Nimue said. “The soul trap is set. It is baited. He will come.”
“What bait?”
“I have whispered in his ears at night. I have promised him love,” Nimue said. “He hears my Siren’s call. He is searching for me. He will come looking and I will have him. If he remote views me, if he penetrates my primal sphere of influence, I will have him. If he dies, his soul will bounce to this clone out of familiarity with the bio-signature, and I will have him the way you have me. I will consume him, as you have me.”
“You’re using sex to snare him?”
“This is his weakness,” Nimue assured him.
“Yours as well,” Orish said. He scratched the shape shifter. The brain in the globe shivered. “You want me to fuck you, but I will not submit to your kind.” He frowned. “Humans are stupid.”
“All are affected by bodies,” Nimue said. “Even you.” Inside the globe the female that the shapeshifter had assumed was mirrored. “I see traits that remind me of your mother. She was rather domineering, wasn’t she?”
Orish brought his fist down on the orb that contained her brain. Nimue laughed.
“I do not fear death, friend. Set me free, and you will not find another seer of my caliber for a millennia,” Nimue said.
“I have time,” Orish said.
“No, you do not,” Nimue said. “What you need to change your fate is out of reach…”
The shapeshifter began to change form, melting into a form smaller than Orish. He stepped back. “What trickery are you up to, my friend?”
“Shhh,” Nimue whispered.
A series of strobe lights illuminated the clone of ‘Jon.’ The LED’s on the halo he wore like a sweatband went bright, and crazy busy like a Christmas tree ready to explode. A brain simulator kicked into high gear, accelerating breathing. Nimue pushed a sense of drowning, struggling. The shapeshifter reached out its hand and took Jon’s arm. The hand was human, female. It was familiar. Her voice was familiar.
“I got you!” Loxy said. “You’re safe. Breathe. I got you.”
“Loxy?” Jon asked.
“Yes,” she said. That “yes” was accompanied by a second voice saying yes, simultaneously. A voice from a pedestal. Jon registered something in the globe, maybe a gold fish, morphing as his eyes darted, coming to rest on the solid creature that was almost all muscle. The draconian glared down at him, saliva dripping from its jaws.
“Oh, fuck me,” Jon said.
“Now, or after we escape?” Loxy said.
“There is no escape,” Orish said.
“Seriously, Orish, don’t you know anything about role playing?” Loxy and Nimue said.
“You’re not Loxy,” Jon said.
Loxy beamed the most unusual smile he had ever seen on her face. “I am Nimue. Your goddess, and you will obey me.”
“I cannot read his mind,” Orish said.
“Of course not, Orish. He has a simulated brain, not a real brain,” Nimue said.
Jon sighed. “I guess that means I won’t be whiling away the hours…”
Nimue and Loxy laughed. “I love your humor. It will not help you.”
“I do not understand this humor,” Orish said.
“Leave me to interrogate my pet,” Nimue said.
“No! I want answers. Why has Space Force enlisted you as a seeker?” Orish said.
“They found an artifact that has a full bio-signature lock that only Jon can unlock,” Loxy said. Nimue’s voice was not a part of the ventriloquism act.
Orish looked at Nimue brain. Her body shrugged. “That’s interesting.”
“Seriously?” Jon asked Loxy.
“Oh,” Loxy said. “Isn’t it?!”
“Where is this artifact?” Orish demanded.
“Oh, it’s a moving target. I can’t get you to it now, but I can get you to it then,” Loxy said.
“Loxy,” Jon said.
“I am sorry, Jon. I don’t know what’s come over me,” Loxy said.
“I want you to be quiet,” Nimue said.
“What you look for is also looking for you,” Loxy said. “Didn’t you know that?”
“There is a finding Nimue joke here somewhere,” Jon said.
Loxy laughed.
Jon frowned. “You never laugh at my jokes. Who the hell are you and what have you done with Loxy?”
Loxy kissed him. She sucked at his mouth and ran her hands around his head and lifted one leg to hug him. Orish pulled her free, one hand to her shoulder.
“You will tell me the location of the artifact,” Orish said.
“Read my mind and take it,” Loxy said.
Orish glared, raised a finger at her. “No.”
Loxy was amused. “A telepath with fear?”
Orish retrieved a weapon from his belt and pointed it at her. The spatial temporal coordinates appeared on the brain orb’s heads-up display. He shot Loxy anyway. Nothing happened.
“Leave this body, and I will destroy it, and send a signal back to your host body and fry anybody you’re attached to,” Orish said. “If this information is wrong, I will destroy you.”
“As you wish,” Loxy said.
Orish stormed out. Loxy turned to Jon and stroked his cheek. “He owns me. I am about to own you. What a lovely chain we make.”
Loxy went back to loving on Jon. Both Jon and Nimue protested.
“No,” Nimue said, breathlessly. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
Loxy ignored the protest, taking Jon to the floor. “I always wanted to make love to Spock’s brain.”
“I am not Spock,” Jon and Nimue said.
“Either way, I am about to fuck you both, body and soul, forever linked,” Loxy said.
“Who the fuck are you?” Jon asked.
Loxy paused, looking down into Jon’s eyes. He could see the LED’s reflected in her eyes. He thought of Star Trek and Christmas if they were one thing.
“You really don’t want to know,” Loxy said. She smiled deviously, grinding over his pelvis. “Interesting. I have one of those, too!” Before he could protest further, she covered his mouth and sucked out his breath and tongue with a force that was not human.
All of Nimue’s pet bodies fell to the floor and writhed in unison with the one pretending to be Loxy. She was now in control of the pedestal.
निर्मित
The bank was nicely lit with a terrestrial light that seemed brighter and bluer than Mars might have been. Looking through the large plate glass windows that framed the lobby suggested it was brighter than Earth. There were white walls, lots of glass, and dark tiled floors, making the building seemed ultramodern, and practically sterile. Three Suns Bank promised the best services in banking. Heather told herself, there can’t be three suns, to which Karma quickly corrected her: “planet LTT 1445Ab is in a tri-star system, and it is host to life.”
“No way,” Heather said.
“An article at C/Net discuss it as ‘possibly’ having life, July 23rd, 2019. You don’t think they just throw words like, possibly, breaking the long tradition of denying there is other life out there, without having a little more data than, ‘oh, we found another planet…’ do you?” Karma asked.
A floating orb approached Heather and asked her to follow. It led her to a desk. The desk was not housed in a private room, but was inside a white circle inscribed into the floor. Stepping inside the circle allowed Karma to manifest using their tech. Chairs rose from the floor on both sides of the desk- two on Heather’s side, one on the opposite side. Heather stepped back out of the circle. Karma disappeared. Heather stepped back into the circle. Karma reappeared. Karma didn’t seem amused. The orb, a baseball size light, shot away. A female ‘folded’ out into existence, brushed herself off, said a polite ‘hello,’ pulled up the chair and sat down. She appeared to be human. She had pleasant features, blond hair, and her name tag fluoresced “Claire Reilly.” Her dress was professional black and white, with black stars tracing the white border. Her gold ear rings were tiny galaxies.
“Have a seat, Heather,” she said. “May I call you Heather?”
“Are you real?” Heather asked.
The woman studied Heather, head tilting in a mimicry of Data from Star Trek. Her smile became more pleasant, and her eyes sparkled with life and humor. It was not clear to Heather if they actually sparkled due the manipulation of lights, or there was something conscious expressing itself through her eyes.
“I am real. This holographic form, of course, is an avatar. I chose Claire because I thought you would find her pleasant and trustworthy. I like the name Claire. She is a real person on Earth. I was going to go with Clara, but I didn’t think you would be open up to a knock off of a Doctor Who character. Was I mistaken?” Reilly asked.
“Clara?”
“Jenny Coleman,” Karma said.
“She’s Jon’s preferred banking avatar,” Reilly said.
“Jon crushed on her big time,” Karma said.
“I know, much heavier than he did Amy,” Reilly said.
“Amy?” Heather asked.
“Amy Pond. OMG, how can you not remember Amy?” Karma asked.
Heather blocked her mind, closed her eyes and waved her hands for the merry-go-round to stop. “Why are we talking about Jon?”
“Because you’re focused on him and he kissed more girls than Captain Kirk,” Karma asked.
“More companions than Doctor Who?” Reilly added.
“More love interest than James Bond?” Karma said.
“More rushed and fondled over than Kirito,” Karma said.
“You win!” Reilly said.
“Yay me,” Karma said, sitting down in the chair. She rubbed the arms of her chair. “This is actually nice. You should try it, Heather.”
Heather glared at Karma and then turned back to Reilly. “Show me the real you.”
“I don’t think you can handle the real me,” Reilly said.
“Show me anyway,” Heather said.
Reilly nodded. She folded away and was gone. A moment later, a Japanese Giant Flying squirrel descended from the rafters and landed on the desk. Heather was so started she stepped back, and fell into the chair. The squirrel waved at her, then rubbed its whiskers back. It was wearing a collar with tiny LED lights that rotated through the spectrum.
“My experience is humans don’t take our kind seriously,” Reilly said.
Heather sat forwards. “I hear Reilly.”
“Well, I don’t have a human voice. We could text if you like,” Reilly said. The avatar of the human Reilly reappeared. She pulled closer to the desk, and petted the squirrel. “I really think you’d prefer me. May I stay?”
“Squirrels run the galactic bank?”
“We’re good at putting away for the winter,” the squirrel said. The avatar Reilly added- “We’re the caretakers of the forests. You can’t get better investment returns than that.”
“I would like to take a loan. I want enough for a ship, ready to fly, and I need a downloadable pilot,” Heather said.
“But you have everything…” Human Reilly said. The squirrel raised its hands and she stopped speaking. The squirrel opened a holographic interface before him, and pushed information with both hands. “We’ll extend the loan under several conditions.”
Heather sat back, frowning. “What conditions?”
“First, you have to agree to us reserve cloning you,” Reilly the squirrel said.
“What?”
Human Reilly explained, bringing up a holographic display of a cloning vat and body in stasis reserved for emergencies. “In case something happens to you, specifically you die, we have a clone here for your soul to re-occupy. This guarantees that you don’t escape the repayment schedule by death.”
“Wait wait wait,” Heather said. “You can clone a body to prevent death?”
“Sure,” Squirrel Reilly said. “Some souls are too valuable on the playing field of life to let die. Space Forces uses it for their Twenty and Back program. Humans from earth are always complaining about death, but seriously, death is luxury that borrowers and lenders just can’t afford.”
“Death is a luxury?” Heather said.
Human-Reilly nodded. “Spirit World is much saner than physical incarnation.”
“There is a spirit world?” Heather said.
“Forgive us,” Karma said. “We have not been engaging the life tutorials yet.”
“We understand her trajectory,” Squirrel Reilly said. “Very unfortunate.”
“Explain that? It’s unfortunate I didn’t stay on Earth and die on schedule?” Heather said, crossly.
“Unfortunate that you didn’t fulfill your life contract. Unfortunate that you didn’t discover your ultimate truth,” Squirrel Reilly said. “And consequently, you’re a liability. The bank won’t proceed with a loan without a backup copy of you so that the terms of the loan can continue until appropriately concluded. We can’t have you skipping back to Earth, fulfilling your contract, and leaving this debt unpaid. Earth can have you, but then you’re ours for the duration of the terms of the loan.”
Heather simmered quietly. The squirrel scratched its chin. Human Reilly rocked in her chair. She gave Karma a flirty eye. Karma returned it. Heather scowled and hit Karma’s arms. The squirrel took an acorn out of the crystal bowl on the table.
“What? I can flirt if I want to,” Karma said. “Not like you’re meeting my needs.”
“You can’t have a need, you’re a…”
“A what? I may not be housed in a body like yours, but I am person. I have flare and personality, and if you don’t take advantage of that, I am so going to hook up with Jon,” Karma said.
“Jon is so cute,” Human Reilly said.
“We like Jon,” Squirrel Reilly said. “His animal totem patron saint is the squirrel.”
“Then you should help me for free,” Heather said. “I am trying to find Jon.”
“That’s not really a selling point,” Squirrel Reilly said. “Tell me why you want to connect with Jon?”
“He’s cute,” Karma said.
“He’s very attentive,” Human Reilly said.
“Oh, his eye caresses are palpable,” Karma agreed.
“Right?! I love the way he stares…”
Squirrel Reilly raised its hands and Humam Reilly and Karma fell silent. Karma ‘mouthed’ the words, ‘we should do a threesome with Jon,’ with added hand gestures. Human Reilly gave the thumbs up and then looked away. Karma became aware of Heather glaring at her.
“A girl has needs a ship can’t accommodate,” Karma said.
Squirrel Reilly looked at Karma. “Depends on the personality and make of the ship. Some are downright randy.”
“It gets lonely out in space,” Human Reilly said.
“Why is it always about sex?!” Heather asked.
“Everything is about sex,” Squirrel said. “The whole point of existence is creative evolution.”
“If there is a spirit world, why do we need sex? Why would we incarnate at all? Why the secrecy and the lack of knowing from which we come?”
“To prepare you for reality,” Squirrel said. “The nature of the universe is sexy. And, the ultimate reality is that even God doesn’t know where she came from. She only knows an eternity of love. We are the children and she loves us and we do what children do. We grow up.”
“Some of us,” Human Reilly said.
“But…”
“Look, Heather. I am a banker, not a spiritual philosopher. I don’t want to be a guru in this incarnation. I like banking. I like rolling in coins, even if it’s only virtual. I like collecting stuff and storing stuff. It’s what I do. I am good at it. And quite frankly, you shouldn’t be looking to a guru to answer questions for you. You should answer your own questions. You get so perturbed by everyone else’s answers anyway, so why not unpack the universe on your own. The fact that you exist at all is a marvelous wonder. You may consider the fact that you exist as a gift, and that you have meaning. Others wanted you to be here or you would not be. Someone, somewhere, found you worthy to incarnate, and that is the first measure on which I will extend a loan. They don’t just let any soul incarnate, much less incarnate in human form.”
Heather stared, dumbfounded at the Squirrel.
“She doesn’t even know the right questions to ask,” Human Reilly said.
“That’s clear,” Squirrel Reilly said.
“What does that mean?” Heather said.
“You don’t need a loan…” Human Reilly began.
“Don’t tell me I have everything I need. I am not waiting around for…”
“You already have a line of credit established,” Squirrel Reilly said. “Planet Bliss has agreed to fully finance your mission, no caveats or terms.”
“Planet Bliss?”
“Compliments of Loxy Isadora Bliss,” Squirrel Reilly said.
“I love Loxy,” Human Reilly said.
“Oh, me, too,” Karma said.
“She reminds me of Melody Anderson,” Human Reilly said.
“Right?!” Karma said. “Go, Flash, go!”
“Flash, I love you, but we only have fourteen hours to save the Earth,” Human Reilly said.
Heather looked to Squirrel Reilly. It shrugged.
“Did you see her in Firewalker?” Human Reilly asked.
“You mean the 1986, cheap knock off of Indian Jones, with Chuck Norris and Lou Gossett?” Karma said. “Loved it.”
“How can you know movies that I don’t?” Heather asked.
Karma shrugged. “Just because your parents wouldn’t let you watch movies doesn’t mean I didn’t sneak off to watch movies,” she said.
“So, after the Bliss disclosure, I take it you’re not interested in the loan,” Squirrel Reilly said.
“How do I get access to my funds?” Heather asked.
“How would you like it?” Squirrel Reilly asked.
“What’s the most common currency? Diamonds?”
“Never do diamonds,” Human Reilly. “Or gold. I recommend credit. A card. Or a ring. Or a bracelet.”
“A bracelet?”
Reilly brought out several trays of jewelry. They were an assortment of tech, wireless, capable of communicating in any language and with any modern merchant, interfaced through Three Suns Banking. Heather hesitated.
“Don’t worry about service fees. That’s covered through the Bliss account,” Squirrel Reilly said.
Karma leaned closer to scrutinize the jewelry. She favored one of the rings. Heather agreed. She touched the ring, and Reilly removed it so she could handle it. It was onyx black on the outside, and dark sapphire blue on the inside. She slipped it onto her ring finger and nearly screamed when it adjusted its size to fit. The inner blue illuminated. Gold script illuminated on the outside of the ring and then disappeared, like the writing on the One Ring when placed in fire.
“Perfect fit,” Karma said.
Heather sighed. “Alright. Next stop, the store,” she said.
“Oh, you don’t want to shop on Mars,” Human Reilly said.
“You really don’t,” Squirrel said. “You should go with.”
“Oh! That would be lovely,” Human Reilly said, clapping her hands. “I am really good at math, like physics and everything. We could turn this into a Pretty Woman shopping scene. I am even good with fashion! I am good at appraising. Maybe we can sing girls just want to have fun and make a montage video...”
“They did that. Night of the Comet,” Karma said.
“Oh yeah. Let’s play scary noises,” Reilly said.
“That guy was creepy,” Karma said.
“If you want an accountant, she can go with,” Squirrel said.
“Okay,” Heather said.
Reilly jumped up. “Yay!” She approached the edge of the circle even as a baseball orb attendant was descending. They met at heart level, and she continued outside the circumference of the desk space, becoming one with the orb- a self-contained, floating holographic emitter. She was like a kid, almost bouncing with her excitement.
“Come on! We’ll take a portal to one of the most magical, modern, commerce Bazar in the Universe,” Human Reilly said. “A magical place, where Chatuchak meets Khan Al-Khalili meets Ridely Scott and Philip K Dick.”
“Somehow, this doesn’t sound like ‘over the rainbow,’ kind of place,” Heather said.
“This is not your great grandmother’s Oz, that’s for sure,” Karma said.
Karma took Heather’s arm to keep her from exiting the circle. “Can I have one of those orbs?”
Human Reilly looked to Squirrel Reilly. It nodded, clicked its teeth, and a new orb descended and stood poised on the outer circle to capture karma when she exited the circle. Karma stepped into it, absorbing it, and becoming one with the orb. She spun, touching herself, and then hugged Heather. “I am a real life girl!”
“This is overwhelming,” Heather said.
“Oh, you aint seen nothing yet,” Human Reilly said, taking her arm.
Karma took Heather’s other arm.
“Don’t you dare even sing it,” Heather warned them.
“We weren’t going to do that,” Karma said, seriously, with a side glance of amusement to Reilly.
“Not the whole chorus,” Reilly said.
Karma skipped to keep up.
निर्मित
The portal was everything like the movie Star Gate, only bigger. Big enough one could drive a tractor into it. There were a number of lesser gates to either side of the prime one. The surface of it moved like the surface of a swimming pool, turned up on its side. It was as thing as the skin of a bubble, but it looked deep.
“You don’t want to think about. You just want to dive right in,” Reilly said. “Not really dive. Just walk, normally, but don’t stop. It gets freaky as you approach the event horizon.”
“What do you mean, freaky?” Heather said.
“It messes with your perception,” Reilly said.
“Maybe we should take a ship,” Heather said.
“We could. There might be a ship heading that way this week. Could take several months to get there, unless it’s direct, and then it depends on the ship’s FTL rating…” Reilly said. “Oh, come on. Let’s just do this.”
Karma and Reilly guided Heather to the gate, arms locked in hers. Their gate attendant walked with, made sure the gate was attuned to their destination, and gave them the go signal. There was traffic waiting to use the gate, and so some urgency for them to move forwards and be gone. Another attendant handled the gate controls, a pedestal with a table of glowing crystal stones, as if she were playing a game of ‘Go’ with rainbow tones.
Heather balked, but her companions with the orbs were as solid as she and they moved her forwards. The change in perception was tangible. There was the smell of ozone, like after a heavy rain with lightening. There was a curious static charge brushing against her and around her, as if a blanket was a dryer was tackling her. She felt as if balloons and Styrofoam packing chips were clinging to her and her hair seem to be tugged by unseen forces. The thing that bothered her the most, though, was the change in vision. The closer to the film of energy, the greater her periphery vision expanded. It was the opposite of tunnel vision. It didn’t just expand outwards, but seemed to wrap around her so that by the time she was nearly touching the film, she could see in 360 degrees. Had she any strength in her legs, she would have balked and ran away. Her companions rushed her through.
Heather remembered nothing of the journey. They simply arrived on the other side of the gate, instantaneously. Her companions had no trouble escorting her away from the gate. She was all too happy to move away from it. As she did, her vision return to normal. Reilly took them to a place away from the gate to recover, ordering drinks and snacks.
“See,” Reilly said. “Not so bad.”
“We’re not doing that again,” Heather said.
“It didn’t harm us,” Karma said.
“How does that not harm us?” Heather asked. “It warps your brain?”
“Physically, it did nothing,” Reilly said. “Matter is much more insubstantial than people experience in most places in the Universe.”
“I saw in all directions,” Heather said.
“Your consciousness is a point perspective that sees in all direction. It can go anywhere in the Universe instantaneously. The body simply turned off and back on,” Reilly said.
“Not doing that again,” Hea