Coeus?

by Andur

  What can I say? “I am in.”

  “Perfect!” KaaHud claps his hands together and gestures for the door. “I was sure that I would manage to convince a reasonable fellow like you, so I organized a friend to keep you company. While we wait until the deed is done you can have fun with each other. She will also be the one to give you an alibi. Just in case. I doubt that there will be a mentionable investigation. After all it will look like an accident.”

  The door opens and a certain mermaid steps into the room. “Hi”

  “You!” I kept my temper in check as long as possible. But too much is too much! “What is this betrayal! Not you of all people!”

  Zeil walks closer and runs a hand over my cheek, then she sits down onto my right leg. “Sorry, Hon. But I always told you that I have many clients. Sometimes there are loyalty conflicts, but since you took the offer everything is fine now, isn't it? I promise you to make up for it.”

  I slump down and try not to drown in self pity. “At least tell me how you intend to kill my brother. There can't be any mistake. Killing siblings may be normal among my species, but being found out is just embarrassing and lowers the status. It cannot be traced back to me. Not under any circumstances!”

  “Oh, that's easy. You should have had the idea yourself. Your brother likes to take a walk along the railway which is running above the aquatic area. Though it's a little strange for a Zeen to do that. Isn't water poisonous to you?” The Binary asks.

  “Not really. Just too much of it. And it is no wonder that he likes that. We were born on the south coast of our planet's main continent. There you could always smell the salt from the ocean in the air. Walking along that railway probably feels like you are at home. Especially with the huge heating lights right above you.” I ponder.

  “Aaah... that's why.” The Binary nods in understanding. “No matter. Just a few hours ago there was a storm simulation for the oceanic lifeforms. The walkway will still be a little slick from the water and one of the other passengers will slip, pushing your brother over the balustrade. And down into the ocean he goes. It will be a terrible, terrible accident! If the fall doesn't kill him outright. Twenty feet make water very hard on impact. Then there is all that water in case he survives and the fact that Zeen can't swim. And no help nor land in sight for over a kilometre in all directions.”

  Why didn't I think of this! But no. “What if one of the intelligent ocean dwellers notices him and comes to the rescue!? Being submerged in water won't kill him instantly. He will survive long enough for help to arrive.”

  Zeil nods and makes a dismissive gesture. “Aw, you know that I am very friendly with most of the oceanic species. The Nig are always inviting me to dance for them. They like the slow swaying motions of my hips, though I think it's nothing sexual for them. One of my admirers happens to be a teacher and he was so friendly to have his school of youngsters patrol the area at exactly the right time.”

  “Baby Nig are completely different from the adults. The old ones are all formula and logic, but the babies have no brain at all. Just claws, teeth and a belly that's never full. Cute as long as you don't have to deal with the whole swarm. Of course my friend will do his best to protect the foolish dry thinker who stepped into the wrong element. But it is hard for a single adult to keep hundred babies in check. He has just twenty arms after all. That leaves about eighty hungry mouths with sharp teeth and tentacles with three centimetre long claws.”

  Zeil bares her teeth at me and snaps them together while making a clawing motion with her left hand. “They may get digestive disorders afterwards. I don't think that Zeen is on their normal menu. Maybe I should get them something that's easy on the belly. Just as a small apology.”

  Why do I have this sudden urge to save my brother? This is just wrong!

  90. ~What if...~

  “Nina, the personification of the quantum network was and is called a lot of things in her eternal existence. A goddess, a blessing by some, a tyrant and a curse by others. Some are still trying to find the reason why her creator harboured such a grudge against his species.

  But the one thing they all agreed upon was that if she isn't a pervert, she is at least a peeper.

  In her defence, Nina is still fighting her case in court. According to her, not watching everyone would be a violation of her duty of supervision. She is a superior being after all. Hence, if someone had an accident while she wasn't watching, though she could have kept an eye on him, it would be equal to non-assistance of a person in danger.

  Three hundred years later the lawyers are still at their wit's end about that one.”

  -From when the mages got themselves a goddess, but forgot about the religion.

  Sol, Aether

  Gideon

  It has been over a year since I decided to step up to intergalactic politics and I think that I can be satisfied with the reports. Ayo's brother had an unfortunate accident and now I have someone who has the ear of the Zeen government. Ayo is already in deep shit, just by taking my deal. It will be easy to influence him to forward information of my choosing to his government.

  In addition KaaHud is doing a really satisfying job. I may not like the guy himself, herself, itself, whatever he is, but I was right when I judged him as a capable individual in his own right. Yes, he may be a cut-throat and a gangster boss, but an honest one.

  When I compare that to most politicians, then I really prefer the gangster instead of having to deal with a smiling bastard who is just thinking about his own benefit. And in the meantime I met a lot of politicians personally. What can I say, I guess it comes with my accursed job.

  Of course the gangster is also only caring about his benefits, but at least he isn't hiding himself behind such a facade.

  I sigh and drop the report, placing my feet on the desk. Yes, being burdened by the position of an elder is the best. I've to find a way to thank Nina for taking that additional responsibility off of my shoulders. Due to myself ending up with two government offices she managed to persuade the elders into doing something about it. The short solution was to reinstall Hedeon until the end of my term of office. I myself will have to wait for another six years until a new elder is chosen.

  If I am unlucky I'll end up with the same job. What a horrifying thought.

  At least I have Cyla and the kids to calm me down. The little ones are so cute in their attempts to get control over the mansion's network. Aurelia and her brother are very competitive when it comes to networking problems. Nina and Exo are teaching them a lot and I am a little envious to be honest. I wish I could ditch this stupid job to play the lazy sloth for a few years.

  Suddenly my secretary sticks her head into my office. “Excuse me, there is someone who wants to see you.”

  I grumble. I relax just once and in the next five minutes I am interrupted. “Fine. I'll receive the visitor.”

  There is no reason to ask for the identity of this guest. The fact that he managed to reach my secretary shows that it is an important person. Anyone else would have been stopped by the guards. I may not reside in the main government quarters, but the building I had built on Aether is more than enough to keep away people who have unimportant problems.

  I am an elder now, so I had to have an appropriate office in Aether. There is no way in hell that I would ever travel back and forth between Aether and Mars on a regular basis.

  The door opens again and a certain someone steps into the room. For a moment I almost have a heart attack, but then Nina waves her hand and winks at me. “Hi, I wanted you to be first to see my new avatar! How do you like it?”

  “It looks like your digitalized version... is there a reason for the yellow hair and the downsized bust?” I point at her chest. It is still unreasonably large, but far from the figure which she is using in the projection.

  Nina suddenly walks forward and hugs me. “Silly boy. When I create a body, I still have to stick to certain limitations of the physical world. I don't want my organic representation to fall over bec
ause of the weight, or having any other unnecessary medical problems. Unless you resort to cosmetic measures there is only so much a woman can be.”

  Finally she lets go of me and throws back her hair. “And about the hair, well, let's call that a creative intuition. I simply wanted to go for the colour.”

  I nod, already arguing with myself. “So it takes you a year to grow a full sized clone for yourself?”

  “More or less, and don't call it a clone. It's a facsimile for the n-th time.” She gestures at the door. “But now we have to go. You have to introduce me to the family and especially my sister.”

  I gulp while I am being dragged forward. Sister? That can only mean that she wants to meet Sadina. Of course they already know of each other, but up until now it seemed like Nina intended to stay away from Sadina. What changed?

  And how will Melan take this development? Does Nina intend to stay at the mansion from now on? “Nina, forgive me for being slow. But you showing up with a real body somehow hampered my mind. Up until now I only thought of you as an AI. What do we intend to achieve by doing this?”

  Choosing the word we, as to compared to you, is a careful diplomatic consideration of mine. I don't want to make her mad for no reason.

  “Meeting up with the family of course. I have a lot to catch up to if I ever want to be considered as a real family member. Don't tell me that you forgot about putting this strong wish for kinship with your family into me. I was really on withdrawal for the last year. It took forever to grow this body inside one of my secret facilities...” She keeps talking while I am led out of the office and towards the next teleportation chamber.

  “This will be a... difficult situation, Nina.” I have to try to get a grip on the situation. Grandma and the others will freak out. “I hope you don't expect too much.”

  Nina makes a snorting sound. “Don't fear. Of course I understand that this project of mine will take a lot of time. But I already invested a lot in talking to the other family members. Being omnipresent and all, I am quite confident that I managed to build a good relationship with everyone.”

  “Sure.” There is only so much I can think of. Before I am able to come up with a solution, we are back at the family mansion. To my shock I find out that everyone is awaiting us. And by everyone, I literally mean everyone.

  There are Cyla with Aurelia and Ares, her brother. I admit that his name was a joke on my part. Much like some Americans name their children Ketchup or Spaghetti.

  Then there are of course my cousins with their respective partners and my grandparents, including my parents from both sides of the family tree.

  “Hi, all! It's so nice to finally meet you all in person. Sorry for using Gideon's account to call in a really urgent family meeting, but I wanted this to be a surprise!” Nina runs forward, greeting everyone in person.

  A dull thud marks the mental exit of Cyla's father. He drew a hard ticket when he got his mutation and whenever there is something agitating or surprising him, his lights simply go out. It's somewhat of an old, running gag by now.

  Though it got worse during the recent months. Hardly anyone pays attention to Gregor when he blacks out. Only his wife Kassidy makes sure that he isn't dead by casting healing magic.

  When we returned to Sol, Cyla and I paid a visit to her parents. Apparently Cyla didn't think it to be necessary to mention Aurelia and Ares to her parents. We were at the centre of the galaxy after all, so all there was were letters and calls. She really could have mentioned the kids though.

  So when we showed up on Gregor's doorstep, Aurelia in my arms and Cyla's belly screaming that a second child is already on the way, he almost had a stroke. I already heard about Cyla's reasons for having a grudge against her father, but sometime I really have to research the guy whom he shooed away.

  Maybe he saved her from a really awful fate? I certainly have to thank him for destroying Cyla's first love or I might not have had a chance with her.

  I return my attention to the awkward situation when Cyla approaches me with raised eyebrows and a superior expression on her face. “So you still think that she isn't dangerous?”

  I shrug my shoulders submissively. “She is the god of the quantum net? Who are we to deny her the wish to socialize with us?” I put my arms behind me and straighten myself. “Okay. I admit. I wanted a god who is everything the other gods are not.”

  Cyla's eyebrows rise even higher. “Meaning?”

  I let my shoulders go limp. “She is very interested in us and I don't think that her behaviour will stop any time soon. The gods of other religions are always just a silent force which never shows itself. She is...” I turn my attention to Nina who is shaking Sadina's hands and throwing dirty glances at Ed. “...interested in her charges?”

  91. ~Epilogue I~

  “What is it that all equations have in common? They have a solution.”

  -Nig wisdom.

  Sol, Aether

  Ed

  “That's the third time you sighed. What's wrong?” Sadina asks from my left while clinging to my arm. We are currently on the sofa in Gideon's living room and waiting for the third annual space race to begin.

  I put a smile on my face and try to ignore the fact that being without my mask feels really strange. Without the stupid thing everyone sees through me much too easily because I am particularly bad at hiding my emotions. “It's just that I am bored. With Nina around I have a lot of free time. All I got to do recently is office-work and the occasional deployment against an alien species.”

  “You are such a bad liar. At least now we know for certain that Gideon is related to you.” Nina interjects from my right side and places a kiss on my cheek. Then she throws her right leg above mine, snuggling up to me entirely too close.

  “Hey!” Sadina hisses from my left. “Don't overdo it. We have children here!”

  I pale, letting my eyes wander down to Aurelia. The toddler stands in front of the sofa and watches us with interest and wisdom in her eyes. It doesn't match her age. Techno-mages are freaky! Upon noticing my stare she smiles warmly. Totally unlike her father! “Don't mind me. It's not like I am completely clueless on what adults do behind closed doors. I just lack the physical need for now, but according to the books it's an understandable and necessary thing. But that doesn't mean that I am not interested in the interactions between different genders.”

  Nina nods and places her head on my shoulder. “See? There is no problem with cuddling. And besides, we promised to share Ed. Right, Down, The, Middle! I didn't cross the border, Sister.” She runs a finger from my forehead, over my nose, and down to my groin.

  “We will see about that!” Sadina copies Nina's actions, leaving me intertwined with two beautiful women. It's every man's dream, but somehow it doesn't feel like I have anything to say in this relationship.

  Gideon, Hedeon and Arend enter the room, immediately throwing mischievous glances at me. Arend is the first one to reprimand me. “What's this, Ed. We invited you to our man-evening and you show up with a beauty on each arm?”

  “I had no choice, they said that they want to accompany me.” I answer to defend myself.

  “Yes, we have to make up for several years of unrequited love! How dare you to place a ban of women on a social event!? It's not like you could keep me out anyway.” Nina complains.

  “This is about principle.” Hedeon explains. “We sit down and try to talk about men's stuff while trying to ignore the fact that a woman is listening in. And it seems like you two have Ed firmly under your thumbs. So leave him to us and get lost. He won't hook up with one of us even if you don't keep watch.” Hedeon gestures at Nina's and Sadina's round bellies and I feel sweat breaking out on my forehead.

  Yeah. That's one of my biggest mistakes ever. How could I have been so dumb to do it with two women at the same time!? But when they both sent me positive signals my brain simply shorted out. First with Sadina whom I chased after for years, regretting my decisions with her. Then that fatal night with Nina, who is
Sadina too and yet not. I am still confused about my feelings. I wonder if I will ever stop having a bad conscience about it.

  At least they somehow came to an agreement in terms of sharing me with each other... though they made it clear that I lost my vote in this relationship when I created a love triangle.

  Sadina sighs and lets go of me. “Fine. Nina, come! Let's give the men a little room. I don't want anyone to see me as a control freak. They can have their fun.”

  Nina points at Aurelia who is standing in front of us. “Then what about her? She is a woman too.”

  Aurelia's eyebrows rise, but Gideon defends her. “She is just a child, even if she already knows a lot of things.”

  Aurelia shakes her head. “No. It's okay, Dad. I don't feel mentally prepared to learn about what men talk about when they are by themselves.” She raises her chubby hands towards Nina. “Grandma, let's have some fun. I heard that there is a circus from Earth visiting the colony. I've never visited a circus.”

  “Oh, Dear. Of course we will visit the circus with you. We will take your brother too while we are at it.” Nina lets go of me and picks up Aurelia. Then the two of them leave the room with Sadina on their heels.

  When they are gone I take a deep breath and try to relax. Freedom! Even if it is just for a short while.

  While Arend is busy with carrying tons of snacks and drinks into the living room Hedeon takes a seat right next to me. “So? How is it to do my daughter? Times two!”

  I decide that it is better to stare at the wall where Gideon's private home cinema will display the race. What can an honourable man like me say in a situation like this? Okay, maybe I am not that honourable any more. There simply is no correct answer to this question.

  All I can do is stand by my mistake. What's done is done! “Exhausting?”

  “I see!” Hedeon answers, but I still avoid his eyes and take one of the drinks which Arend is offering me. “Thank you. So your project is getting really popular, it seems. According to the projections you have almost as many viewers as the yearly tournaments.” Break the ice and draw his attention to something else.