○O○
Tattie watched Cris's eyes follow the woman out the door.
"Cris."
"Hmm?"
"Do you remember my name?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course I do."
"Just asking." Tattie turned and walked out into the corridor where Celestra was in casual conversation with Tarnus. From where Tattie stood, she could see her own reflection in a window across the hall. Reflected there also was the image of Celestra. It was of little wonder why Cris had focused on her. Though Tattie had bathed, she was far from being at her best. Her hair was a mess, her clothes, though cleaned, were ragged, and her eyes were red from crying.
Shortly, Cris joined them, wrapped in a sort of toga, and on his feet were cloth sandals.
"All I need are some gold leaves in my hair and a fiddle."
Everyone looked at him blankly.
"Never mind. Where are we going?"
"To the second level where all the best shops are located," Celestra said, her voice sounding more sultry to Tattie than before, now that Tattie was aware of how disheveled she looked.
Outside the House of Healing, they climbed aboard a platform that hovered but a few centimeters above the street. Everyone took a seat. Tattie sat to Cris's right, and to his left sat Celestra. As the platform began to move, Celestra started pointing to sights of interest. Tattie watched Cris watching Celestra.
The platform hovered into one of the great pillars that supported the city above and began to rise up an internal shaft.
Once in the main market district, everyone disembarked the platform and followed Celestra into a large building where were displayed all manner of clothing from durable working clothes to the highest in formal fashion.
"Here," Celestra said, "you will be provided clothing both befitting your pending honor and suited for whatever awaits you outside the city."
Two men and a woman now appeared on the scene and conducted each person away to a separate fitting.
After a rather long walk through a combination textile mill and clothing store, Tattie was ushered into a room where awaited a platoon of women who were obviously tailors. They centered Tattie in the room and went right to work.
Tattie stopped the women as they were about to start. "Can you provide me with a garment that will catch a man's attention?" The women all smiled and proceeded to take her measurements. Next, she was led to a room where she was allowed to wash her body, after which came a bath containing scented oils, then a massage which drained away her worries nearly as well as Geldneth Nordthok. Next, her hair was attended to, then her nails and feet. From here, she was shown a dressing room where her new garments were laid out. She was greatly pleased.
○O○
When Cris had completed his renewal, and donned his new clothes, he was led to a waiting area, a beautiful room with a view out over the center level of the city and the crater floor beyond. There were fruits and sweet breads on a magnificent hand carved table, and a three-piece ensemble played soft music from a corner.
Cris arrived to find Tarnus waiting. He was not shocked to find the huge man looking like a Viking. He was clad in baggy, black, woolen trousers, his shirt appeared to be some form of leather and fit him like a glove, and it was, of course, sleeveless, exposing his massive arms. Two ornate leather belts crossed in front of his powerful chest, the center of which held a large silver disk with the visage of an angry morka deeply engraved into it. His hair had been taken down from its braid and now cascaded down his back, and over his shoulders hung a cape, gray-green in color.
"Wow, Tarnus—that's a good look for you. Where's the horned helmet?"
"That would be ridiculous. I am dressed as my father's father dressed for battle. Step back and let me look at you."
Cris was dressed in a tight-fitting two-piece, dark gray garment that closely resembled his old uniform. He sported a wide black belt and a new satchel. His boots were a mix of some sort of leather-like rubber and canvas, twenty-five centimeters tall, and they laced up, as did his old combat boots. From his old satchel, Cris had retrieved the insignia he had saved from his original uniform and provided them to the tailors. The captain's bars had been sewn in the center of his chest, his astronaut wings were over his heart, and Old Glory was on his left shoulder.
The door opened, and Celestra glided into the room. "My, but you two are quite handsome in your military wardrobes." She looked right at Cris and added, "Quite nice."
Behind her, the door opened again. A tall woman with long, flowing, black hair entered the room with her head down. She was dressed in tight, dark green garments with no ornamentation, no visible buttons, no belt, and she wore tall, black boots. The clothing accentuated a body of stunning proportions. Indeed, the low-cut front and ample cleavage were among the first things Cris's eyes fell to.
Now, she stopped and slowly raised her head. He almost failed to recognize Tattie until their eyes met, Tattie seemed to blush, but at the sight of Cris's stunned face, she laughed. The warmth raced from his head to his feet and back up again. In her lowest voice, she whispered, "Well, what do you think?"
In an impulse he found uncontrollable, Cris moved swiftly toward her, took her into his arms, and kissed her with great passion. As they kissed, a light began to glow from where her breasts met his chest. The light grew in intensity until the entire room was ablaze and everyone could feel the warmth of Cris and Tattie's union.
As the two separated, the light faded. The expression on both their faces was one of awe. No one in the room spoke.
Tattie was the first to recover. She smiled at Cris and said, "I guess you do remember me."
"That happened in my dream at the pond…what was that?"
"I shared that same dream, as well. I do not know what caused it…I've never heard of such a thing."
○O○
From the second level, the four advanced to the third level. Here, they knew that the interface with the Velka Mislay was located, and also the videkanica maintenance facility.
"Celestra," Tattie asked, "is there news of our friend, Capek?"
"Your—friend? Do you mean the videkanica?"
"That's right," Cris interjected, "our friend. What's his status?"
"I'm afraid there is a problem with his mind that can only be repaired by replacing his brain. This would of course mean returning a videkanica to you that you would not recognize as Capek."
"So…you left his mind alone?" Tattie asked.
"Yes."
"What's wrong with it? With his mind?" Cris asked.
"Much of the code therein has been corrupted…we know not how. Among the corrupted codes are the safeguards that protect us from them."
"Safeguards?" Cris asked.
"Yes, programming that prevents them from committing acts of violence against we true life forms. You should be aware that he is dangerous now. Would you not prefer a new videkanica?"
"No," Cris and Tattie said in one breath.
"Take us to him," Tarnus ordered.
The videkanica maintenance facility was a very large complex servicing all the robots that kept the city running smoothly. In the dark depths of the structure, Cris, Tattie, and Tarnus entered into a good-sized storage room where many crates of spare parts were stacked.
In the back, under the watchful eye of several armed guards, Capek was held against the wall by an electric barrier field that looked like a large panel of shimmering blue light.
The three ran up to Capek who was against the wall, spread-eagle. His many external injuries had been completely repaired, he looked for all the world as if he were fresh out of the box.
"Oh, Capek, I'm so sorry!" Tattie was very upset.
Tarnus grabbed Cris's shoulder and said, "I'll get someone to release him." Then, he darted off.
"Capek, can you hear me?" Cris asked.
"Yes, Cris, I hear you."
"Tell me what happened after you discovered the Lautmen with my elixir bag."
"We
ll, sir, a great many considerations ran through my mind. Paramount among them was code. I live by my written code. It exists in me as a permanent, inseparable part of me. My code is who I am. However, I realized that without that bladder, you might cease to function, to die. As a result, Miss Tattie would, I felt sure, also cease to function, though perhaps not die.
"I discovered that, since I had become a videkanica without a purpose, I had allocated my function to you, my companions. I understood that to do so would require an earnest attachment to you three and your cause. This, you call devotion, and devotion often requires sacrifice. I decided to sacrifice a part of myself in order to remain true to that devotion. Of course, I calculated a sixty-three percent chance of survival."
"You sacrificed the code that prevents you from killing—injuring—people, didn't you?" Cris asked.
"Sir, I knew that those creatures would not willingly surrender the bladder. Without it, your life force, Tattie's mental state, and our cause would all be forfeit. I would like to have it noted that I did offer the Lautmen the opportunity to release the bladder and pass unmolested.
"I did not cause a cessation of their life force until there was no alternative."
Cris turned around at the sound of approaching feet. It was Tarnus and Celestra. "Celestra, release Capek immediately, do you hear?" Cris demanded.
Into the light, Celestra walked slowly. "I hear you. Are you sure this is a wise decision?"
"His was the same choice all who go into battle make. We are ready to sacrifice our lives, but we understand that we may have to sacrifice an arm, a leg, an eye, or as Capek, here, did, a part of himself no one can see. That wound is as painful and permanent as any. I, for one, will serve with him."
"As will I," added Tattie.
"And I," agreed Tarnus, his booming voice echoing through the chamber.
"Very well," Celestra said and the shimmering barrier vanished.
"Thank you," Capek said, "all of you."
"More than cause, soldiers fight for one another," Cris said, and slapped him on the back. "Ouch. Damn you're hard as rock."
"Actually, my shell is a carbon-based polymer of—"
"Come on Capek, we have miles to go before we sleep."
"But I do not sleep, Cris."
Once outside the videkanica maintenance facility, Celestra guided them to another floating platform and they sped to the center of the city. Here stood a sixty-meter-tall domed cylinder of glistening white stone about twenty meters in diameter. At its base, a set of wide, arched bronze colored doors stood open, and three armed guards stood at each side.
"I've seen a lot of armed soldiers since I've been here," Cris commented to Celestra.
"Since the Rapna attack you brought down on us with your arrival—we have heightened security."
"Don't get testy, we didn't launch the attack, we were its target."
"I'm sorry, but the man on the bridge with you who was killed was my cousin."
"Now, I'm the one who's sorry."
Celestra nodded.
As they reached the door, Celestra stopped them. "This is as far as I go. From here, you'll descend into the inner city, the guardians of the temple will guide you from here."
"I have a question," Tarnus said, "is the city often attacked by Rapna?"
"Not since the wars ended."
"Why, then, did these Rapna attack just as we arrived, and fire solely upon us?"
"Bruckna knew your destination, did she not?"
"Indeed, but not our exact location nor when we would arrive, let alone the exact time we would be on the causeway. You see, an attack with that sort of timing requires planning. I presume you've not allowed Bruckna to keep Rapna on the edge of the city, eh?"
"Of course not."
"Then the Sorgina has eyes in the city," Tarnus declared.
"I'm sure that possibility has been considered by our military," Celestra said.
"No doubt. I wonder if the Great Mind has considered it?"
Celestra gently nodded her head toward Tarnus, and then bowed just perceptibly. "Goodbye to you all, and whatever the Velka Mislay has in store for you I do wish you the very best of luck."
As she floated away, Tarnus asked, "What do you think, Cris?"
"I think, my friend, that she knew before we arrived that they have spies here. The question is—why have they chosen to hide it?"
"Perhaps they are ashamed?" Tattie suggested.
"Perhaps," Tarnus repeated.
The room inside the tower turned out to be an elevator that took them down several meters into the inner city. When the doors opened, they entered a bright and beautiful chamber that must have been as large as the diameter of the upper city itself. Brilliantly colorful flowers were everywhere to be seen, carpets of the moss that replaced grass on Nazer were abundant. There were ponds and streams, waterfalls and even trees. Art was also in evidence: statues in both metal and stone, motion art, paintings, murals, even performers were about entertaining young and old alike.
Many hundreds of people were here in this park-like setting, walking, talking, and some were seen ridding a sort of unicycle. There were children playing in an area reserved for them. Older people sat on hovering benches that slowly made their way through the park. Cris could identify Geldneth, Portigalweg, Parenmerians, and a couple of races he had not seen before. The overall impression was idyllic—pastoral.
They had stood there but a moment drinking in the sight when a military officer in a red and blue uniform, another that reminded Cris of the sixteenth century, approach and saluted. "Excuse me, I am Lieutenant Sliv Magna, I am your escort."
"Magna, did you say?" Tarnus turned on the boy. Cris thought there might be trouble.
"Yes, Captain Tarnus. You knew my father Knoslave Magna."
"By the horn of Nether, a finer officer I never knew! How is your father boy?"
"Captain—he is dead, killed by the order of Caval Du Mal who had discovered he commanded at the battle of Arden Atako."
"I am sorry, boy. I see you do your father proud by following his path."
"I hope to avenge my father on as many Lautmen as I possibly can."
"I believe you'll get that chance before too long, young Magna."
The young lieutenant led the four through the park and to a set of prominent steps that ended at a set of arched, metal doors, polished as bright as gold. As they ascended the steps, the crowds stopped and began to gather at their base. At the top, the doors opened to reveal a long tunnel with an arched ceiling. On either side, an escort of the guard of the temple, armed only with tall stalks of flowers, stood at the ready.
The lieutenant saluted Tarnus. "Fare thee well, Captain. Perhaps we will meet again on the field of battle where together we can take many heads in the name of my murdered father."
Tarnus placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Farewell, Son of Knoslave Magna. Remember this—a cool head stays upon the shoulders on the battlefield. Bring your anger with you, but leave your hate in your tent."
The four of them, Tattie, Cris, Tarnus, and Capek started down the long tunnel. The guards marched along beside them.
After thirty meters, the door behind them closed. At fifty meters, the guard halted, and the four companions continued on alone. The farther they went, the darker it seemed to get. A hundred-and-fifty meters down the tunnel, they reached its end and entered a dimly lit room.
What Cris could see was a far cry from what he expected. The room was dark and seemed vast without walls or ceiling; the floor looked to be a black mirror. To his left and right were Greek-style columns that supported nothing. Between each was a large urn of fresh flowers.
From above, a white sphere seemed to float down out of nowhere. It began to hum then to glow, its light falling on the reflective floor beneath. The air itself under the globe seemed to congeal. An image began to form, a humanoid form. As Cris watched he discerned the figure was female. Color started to come to it, and then he could make out some detail.
"Mom?"
"Hello, Cristóbal, darling. How are you?"
"Mom?"
"Dear, stand up straight in front of your friends, and close your mouth." She walked blithely toward them and right up to Tarnus. "My, but you are a big one. Cristóbal will benefit from your experience and wisdom." Next, she moved to Capek. "Let no biological entity say that you do not possess life. You are possessed of courage, nobility, and an uncommon amount of common sense—traits lacking in far too many biologicals." Then, she laid her hand on his shoulder.
Capek was about to respond when Mrs. Salazar hushed him. "All forms of life have their flaws, you tend to be too verbose."
She then walked past Cris to Tattie, whose eyes were enormous. "You are a beautiful woman, Tattie. I always knew my Cristóbal would bring home a real beauty. And better yet, you are beautiful inside, as well." She then leaned in toward Tattie and asked, "Earmen zantezen duza, ez duza?" (You will take care of him, won't you?)
"Yes," was all Tattie could say.
"Zur zenon mitziatzu sauna de agea?" (Your love for him is true?)
"It is my truth, and I carve it in stone."
"Belldurik ez, Tattie, esnotwoko lazner isanga stuen." (Fear not, Tattie, he will awaken soon.)
Both women smiled at one another.
Mrs. Salazar moved now to Cris and took his arm. "Come, let's sit at the table and have a chat." When they turned, Cris was stunned to see his mother's kitchen table and chairs sitting on the floor behind them. As they all sat, the entire kitchen formed around them.
"Cris," Tattie asked, "is this your home on Earth?"
"My mother's, in Tulsa." Cris turned to the image of his mother. "I beg your pardon, but you are obviously not my mother, who's a hundred and fifty thousand light years away from here."
"Of course not, Cristóbal, we use this form to make you more comfortable, more relaxed."
"You read my mind, I take it?"
Across a Sea of Stars Page 27
