by John Bluck
Lena picked up a stick with one hand and the spoon-knife-fork with her other hand.
"One thing I've noticed is that you don't use the stick at all," she said. "We hold food in place with it while we cut with the eater, like this." She sliced a piece of poultry.
Wilson copied her, pressing a piece of chicken down with the stick and dissecting it with the knife edge of his "eater" utensil.
"You did it well, Bill," she said. "That's all I noticed that you did contrary to custom."
"I'm glad I didn't embarrass myself too much," he said as he scooped up some creamy noodles.
"As far as beverages go, make sure you always sip them with the straw," she said. Lena sipped some tea from a plastic cup through a straw.
"What's your life like here?" Wilson asked. He sipped punch which tasted like a tropical fruit.
"I own a small flower shop," she said with a nectar sweet voice. "I'm there, or I travel. I look for new kinds of flowers and herbs."
"How did you get involved in dimension travel?"
"I'm a botanist," she replied. "I met Raven some time ago at my shop. Officials from the agency sent him to meet me because they wanted to begin a new effort to research vegetation on other worlds. Somehow, agency officials had learned of my work, which was to find new plants here on Sunev and classify them. One thing led to another, and I became a partner with The National Dimensional Travel Agency (NDTA). My mission is to study plant life, especially flowers, on different worlds," she said. Her hazel green eyes sparkled.
"You're lucky to get to do your work and travel to other worlds, too," Wilson observed. "You're like one of our astronauts."
"That's true," she said. "Sometimes I don't like the publicity, but I got used to it after a while."
"So, you're famous?"
"Well, sometimes reporters ask us questions about our dimension travels," she admitted.
It was evening, and Wilson was tired. His wound hurt even though it was just about healed, but in spite of this, he was excited. He also wanted to learn as much as he could about his beautiful companion and her fellow aliens.
"How about Richard – how old is he, and how did he get into the agency?" Wilson queried.
"Dr. Raven was born seventy-three years ago."
"He doesn't look older than the early forties," Wilson said.
"Of course, that's the result of the nano medicine we all have access to," she said. "Richard was born the same year that our scientists discovered the 'Elusive Particles,' what Earth scientists call Higgs bosons."
Wilson swallowed some noodles and said, "I recall that a Scottish scientist, Peter Higgs, had proposed that a particle, later called a boson, could exist in huge quantities even in the vacuum of space."
"One time, I visited a huge library at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana," she said. "I read technical articles your scientists wrote about that. As I remember, your physicists theorized that a cloud of invisible bosons floats throughout space. Those researchers wrote that the boson particle might weigh more than an iron atom, but less than a uranium atom."
"I haven't paid much attention to the history of the search for the Higgs boson," said Wilson, "but I remember that some scientists who looked for the boson proposed that other dimensions like yours exist."
Lena paused and sipped some tea from the straw in her cup. "A few of your scientists guessed that particles fly through the ocean of bosons in space," she said. "Some of these particles get more massive as they hit bosons. Theoretically, just one of the flying particles would eventually gain an infinite mass. To eliminate this problem, some scientists proposed that the massive particles had to enter other dimensions."
"It's complicated," Wilson said.
"Yeah, but those scientists were right," Lena said. "Many more than four dimensions exist."
"It's interesting that you've studied our science right on Earth in our libraries."
"Yes, and we've studied your civilizations, too," she added.
Wilson adjusted the napkin in his lap. "To get back to the boson particle, how did your people discover it?"
"I'm not sure how it happened," Lena admitted. "But I know that they took pictures of parallel sets of bosons in the fifth dimension, that of Earth."
Wilson sat straight up. "You mean from your dimension your scientists detected bosons in my dimension?"
"That's what it amounts to. But long before that happened we detected more and more of your world, little by little," she said.
"How did it all begin?"
"By accident a few of our researchers first took pictures with some new experimental gravitron cameras that just happened to detect things on Earth in the fifth dimension," she replied. "Scientists were surprised to see ghostlike images of Earth objects. Of course, at first they didn't realize they were looking into another dimension sensing its gravity and various things there. Our researchers saw scenes on planet Earth, similar but not the same as they would be on Sunev."
"So, that's how your people first detected us?"
"Uh huh," she said. "Eventually, it was apparent to our scientists that some reports of ghosts, haunted houses, and other such phenomena were due to tiny, gravity-induced cracks in the fabric of the universe that let people peek into dimensions next to theirs without special gadgets."
"Interesting," said Wilson. "This story shows what we all know, that a lot of scientific discovery is due to dumb luck." He shook his head.
"After our scientists improved their devices, we saw people on Earth, in strange dress," she said. "Later, researchers modified a microphone so they could listen to sounds on alien Earth. Little by little, investigators learned about your planet. They decoded the major tongues of the worlds in each dimension on either side of Sunev, the languages of Earth and Triod."
"Triod?"
"Triod is a third world, similar to Earth and our planet, Sunev," she said.
He looked into her hazel green eyes as she stared into space. She blinked and squinted while she tried to find the words to describe the third planet.
"Scientists learned that Triod was very rich in natural resources, but was inhabited by primitive natives," she said. "At that point we knew there were at least three parallel worlds."
"Have you visited Triod?" he asked.
"Yes, but I didn't go until after we brought civilization there," she said. "Our people colonized Triod."
"Why?"
"Because that world was almost untouched," she said. "We needed gold to build more fusion machines. There are also minerals that are abundant there that we need to make advanced alloys."
"It must have been a big job to colonize an entire planet," Wilson said.
"It's an enormous task," she said. "To cope with that huge job, our researchers developed part humanoid, part robot beings called cyborgs. Nanotechnology and nano medicine enabled scientists to produce cyborgs."
"You mean your researchers developed the cyborgs that attacked us?"
"Yes," she said. "The Sunevian government placed cyborgs on Triod to improve that planet. In a short time they multiplied until there were millions of them. This population explosion was unforeseen by scientists. Some of the cyborgs on Triod revolted, and a long war began, which we still fight."
"Wow," Wilson said in a quiet voice. "Were they slaves?"
"You could say so," she said. "They aren't as humanoid as you and me, even though they are just as smart as we are. At least that's what our leaders have told us over the years. At any rate, the revolution spread, and millions of cyborgs joined the fight for the independence of Triod."
"Do you think this war will end soon?"
"I think not," Lena said. "It's been underway for twenty-five years. Sunev does not want to cede the control of Triod to the cyborgs because large areas of that planet are almost untouched. The cyborgs live on one continent, but the rest of Triod is unexplored. It could continue to be a lucrative colony of Sunev, and could supply gold and other valuable resources to our people for centuries t
o come."
"Do you have any cyborgs here on Sunev?" Wilson asked.
"There are many cyborgs, here. Some have joined the revolt as have some of our cloned people."
"You have clones here?"
"There are lots of clones," she said. "Nanotechnology and advanced study of the human genome helped make possible the creation of human clones."
"That makes sense," Wilson said. "I have one last question. How could millions of cyborgs multiply in just a few years?"
"Our scientists designed the first cyborgs to mature a year after their creation," she said. "Just as your wound healed fast, nano medicine enables the organic tissues of cyborgs to grow quicker than normal. Robotic factories mass-produced the machine parts of the first cyborgs, and scientists seeded the cyborg brains with memories and experiences. In a year a huge army of them were born, matured, and were smart enough to work."
"Could they mate with each other?"
"Yes, and they also mated with natives on Triod."
Wilson began to nod off. He woke when his chin hit his chest. "Sorry, Lena," he said. "Our conversation is intriguing. I look forward to learn more of your history, but maybe we should resume tomorrow."
"I know how to wake you," she said. She took the belt off her dress and stepped out of her garment. "I want to mate again."
She touched his cheek with her fingertips and kissed him there.
"Your wish is my command," he said. She's a dream come true. I wonder if she wants to get pregnant, but she must be on birth control.
She unbuttoned his shirt and unfastened his trousers. Next, she removed her bra, and he took off the rest of her clothes as well as his own. She pushed him back into his chair and mounted him. They made vigorous love.
They rested in an embrace, and then she said, "Tomorrow, I'll tell you a few things about Raven you need to know to understand him."
"I'm more interested in you," he said.
"I'll tell you more about me, too," she said. "Hush-hush things."
Chapter 8 – The History of Richard Raven
Wilson awoke, and at once he noticed that Lena had slipped away, probably in the middle of the night. She must want to keep our affair quiet, he thought. It was nine in the morning, April 11 on Sunev.
He rolled out of bed and walked barefoot to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth with salt and water, the custom on planet Sunev.
There was a knock at his cabin door. He spat rinse water from his mouth, wiped his face with a towel, and rushed to the door. Through the peephole he saw Lena dressed in her vibrant, light green mini-dress. It was the same one she had worn the day he had met her, just before the battle at the hospital.
He swung the door open. "Good morning, Lena," he said. "Come in."
"Good morning, dear," she said while she went through the doorway. As she entered the cabin, he noticed her perfect legs. She wore nylons and black leather sandals and carried a tray with breakfast for two. "I took the liberty to bring you our first meal of the day."
"That's very thoughtful," Wilson said, as Lena set the tray on the round dinner table. She kissed his cheek, and then she took the dishes from the tray and arranged them on the table.
"It was no trouble." She glanced up at him. "I know the ship must leave at three this afternoon for Earth so you can arrive by 11 a.m. at your hospital office. I thought we could discuss some options for your trip, and we could pick up on our talk from last night."
She poured coffee from a carafe into two mugs.
"I have a vague memory that last night you told me that cyborgs can mate with Triodian natives," he said. He pulled a chair away from the table for Lena, and she sat.
"Lots of cyborgs have married native humanoids from Triod," she said. "They have children who are a mix of the biological parts of cyborgs and human beings."
"How can that happen?" Wilson wondered out loud. He sat down and poured cream into his coffee.
Lena picked up her eating stick and her 'eater' utensil. She lifted some scrambled eggs towards her mouth, but paused to speak. "The biological parts of the cyborgs contain Sunevian DNA, and the natives of Triod have similar DNA. In fact, your earthling DNA is also very close to mine. So, our species are close enough to have children."
Wilson shifted in his chair. "We could have children?"
"I believe so." She smiled and then ate some eggs. "Don't worry. I'm on mandatory birth control pills."
"Are the cyborg-Triodian offspring okay, or do they have problems?" Wilson asked.
"There have been no more problems other than those that occur on occasion when a Sunevian marries a person from Triod," she said. She picked up her coffee mug and hesitated. "But there's one remarkable fact about the cyborgs. If one of them suffers an injury or dies, technicians can recreate that being. They recover backed up memories from the creature's old brain, or from central computers. Then experts create a new mechanical-biological body and put the cyborg's recovered memories back into his new brain to reincarnate him."
"That's unbelievable," Wilson said. "I have another question. How has the public here reacted to dimension travel?"
Lena sipped her coffee. "More routine dimension travel began after our scientists learned how to visit Triod. The mass media of Sunev publicized the adventures of dimension travelers, and the public came to accept it as routine as space travel."
"What kind of publicity was there?"
"Our citizens still enjoy televised stories and documentaries about D-travel," Lena said. "D-travelers tell wild tales of weird places and humanoid people alien to Sunev."
"So space travel that NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese, and others conduct is a good comparison?"
"Space travel is a first-rate analog to dimension travel," she said. "The state controls D-travel, just like your governments control most space travel. When I tell you about how Raven became a D-traveler, you'll see that he, our other travelers, and astronauts have much in common. They are ambitious and focused. I know this because I, too, went through traveler training."
"Raven is as determined as an astronaut?"
"Yes," she said.
"You know a lot about him?"
"He's told me a lot." She set her eating utensils next to her plate. "Even at an early age he wanted to be one of the few chosen travelers. He studied science incessantly to reach his goal."
The candor with which Lena told the story of Richard Raven surprised Wilson. He wondered, how did she discover details about Raven? Perhaps, on long trips to other dimensions, he had confessed his innermost thoughts to her. Maybe she had been his lover.
"Even today, I see that he is very determined," Wilson said. He drank some orange juice.
"Yes, and when Richard was a child, he studied so much that he had little fun," Lena said. She frowned. "At age fourteen, he began his university studies, five years ahead of his schoolmates."
"He must have admitted all of this to you," Wilson said.
Lena squirmed in her chair. "He told me too much. So, please don't tell him that I spoke about him, okay?"
"I won't say a word to him about this talk." Wilson wondered, why would she volunteer so much private information? She's only known me for a short time.
"Thank you," she said. "He graduated at age eighteen from college, and two years later he was a doctor of dimensional studies. The National Dimensional Travel Agency accepted him as a cadet at age twenty-two." She paused and looked to the ceiling, like she had held something back.
"What is it that bothers you?"
"I guess I'll tell you more," she said. "On Triod he fell in love with a green-eyed woman of twenty-six years. She never knew he was a traveler because he was forbidden to tell her."
"Why?"
"Back then the agency wanted to make sure that the natives of Triod did not learn that Sunev existed," she said. "Later, the secret got out, and we sent in cyborgs and colonized the planet."
"What about the woman with whom Raven fell in love?"
"She taught him
to love and to be more than a knowledge machine," Lena said. "He learned to care for her, but he had to leave one day when his mission ended, which was long before colonization and the ascent of the cyborgs on Triod. He could not explain to her why he had to go. She committed suicide." Lena shook her head, held her hazel green eyes in a squint for a moment, and trembled.
"It's an unhappy story," said Wilson.
After her emotional moment, Lena said, "Richard still looked as though he were twenty-eight because he took nano drugs to maintain his health. At that time doctors gave this mixture only to those persons who were thought to deserve it."
So, Sunevian doctors once gave nano medicine only to the elite with few exceptions, thought Wilson. Do they still limit its use? "Did you ever love Raven?" Wilson heard himself ask.
"I was younger when I first met him and vulnerable. He was a hero, and I looked up to him. I did love him at one time. Though my love died hard, it did end. He's still a friend, though."
"Why do you still go with him on missions?"
"I'm just as excited as he is by exploration," she said. "He gave me a chance I thought I'd never get. NDTA recruited me to be a companion for Richard after his tragic love affair."
"Oh?"
"On Sunev there are many girls like me who serve as companions for powerful men." She squinted again as if she stared at the sun.
A loud hum on the speaker in Wilson's cabin interrupted them. "Attention, please evacuate the ship," Raven's voice boomed from the speaker. "There's a large crowd of protesters on the tarmac. When exiting, move to the top floor of the hangar offices."
"Let's go," said Wilson. He stood, took Lena's hand, and helped her to her feet.
"They must be Alliance demonstrators," she said, as he guided her to his cabin door. "They're probably Sunevian clones and cyborgs who sympathize with the rebels of Triod."
"So, there's discontent here, too?"
"Yes. We'd better get to the top floor fast," she said, as they rushed into the hallway of the ship. The pair rapidly walked out of the vessel to a staircase on the side of the hangar that contained three stories of offices.
As they began to go up the steps, he whispered to her, "Do most men who have power have a girlfriend as well as a wife?"
