NanoSymbionts

by Joseph Philbrook

  “I know,” Sam admitted. “Would you just open the portal?”

  Ahead of them a black disk appeared. As they slowly drifted closer it suddenly transformed into an image of Hillside's shuttle bay. Then just as suddenly as they had left, the shuttle was inside the hanger level.

  The three of them exited the shuttle and walked towards the elevator. Behind them the shuttle cradle lowered the shuttle through the hole that appeared in the floor. Where other mechanisms would see to it that the shuttle was serviced and stored in it's designated storage rack.

  When the elevator opened Stephanie stepped out of it, wearing only her customary grass skirt.

  “You're just in time boys,” the half naked blond girl said. “We've just received an automated distress call from the remote portal link on the planet LosLand...” She broke off in mid smile and asked with a suddenly concerned look on her face, “What's wrong Sam?”

  “Nothing!” he snapped at her. Then added in a more friendly tone, “At least nothing I want to talk about Stephanie. But thanks for your concern.”

  “You don't sound very thankful about it Sam,” Stephanie replied. “But I know when to butt out.” Then turning her attention back to all three of them. “It's just a bare portal jump away. Would you boys care to check it out with me? The portal link will be ready in about an hour.”

  “That would just about give me enough time,” Jake said. “To use some of Hillside's prime nano-material reserves to rebuild my microfusion power source.” As he said this Jake produced the still weakly flashing device which was disguised as a cigarette lighter. “It could use a somewhat more robust design. So I guess I'm in too. But I'd like to talk with Cindy before we leave.”

  “That might be a problem,” Stephanie said. “Last I saw her she was on her way to spend the day at Sandra's lab.”

  “Figures!” said Jake.

  “I guess I'm in as well,” Jess said.

  “Me too,” said Sam. Then he added, “I don't think I'm ready to face everybody here anyway.”

  Jake frowned for a moment.

  “You did say LosLand, right Stephanie?” he asked.

  Though he didn't actually need to. His nanites would have recorded everything he heard. He didn't usually preserve such things in long term storage but his standard record loop was configured to hold the past 24 hours of audio/video data.

  Jess picked up on Jake's intent and followed up with another question. One that he was 99.9% sure he knew the answer to.

  “Isn't LosLand still a feudal culture with an excessively rigid moral code?” he asked.

  Stephanie raised an eyebrow before she replied.

  “Yes and yes,” she said as she glanced at each of them in turn.

  “I thought so,” Jake began his pitch. “You're welcome to come along Sam but once we get there you're going to have to operate in full stealth mode. The people there wouldn't react well to your natural appearance and usual demeanor. One look at your tattoos would start a riot. And frankly, even the blacks of your eyes would likely be enough for them to decide to burn you at the stake.”

  Sam thought about that for a second. He was well aware that having the whites of his eyes tattooed black had made his appearance disturbing to some people.

  “So how about I test some of the espionage gear that Sandra designed for me?” he suggested. “Like overlaying someone else's image over my own, so that they won't exactly see me.”

  Jake sighed.

  “Yeah, that might work if...” Jake hesitated briefly. “Look Sam, I wouldn't want you to take this the wrong way. But it's easier to change what you look and sound like than to conceal the way you normally move. What I mean is, it might be best if you mapped a female image over your own.”

  Sam didn't quite smile.

  “Thank you!” he said as if he'd been complimented.

  Almost an hour later, the four of them met in the small portal chamber. Jess was there first. He was wearing an unadorned steel helmet and an overcoat of fine chain mail. Under which he wore a leather tunic and knee length boots. Strapped to his back was a pair of sheathed short swords with their handles sticking up. One behind each shoulder.

  Jake walked in wearing a slightly more ornate hooded tunic and sandals, with a long bow slung over one shoulder and a quiver full of twenty arrows slung over the other.

  The ‘girls’ came in together. They were both wearing flowing ankle length silk gowns that in themselves did little to hide their feminine charms. They also had hooded woolen cloaks fastened about their necks. Which if properly draped over their shoulders would conceal enough. So that only a close look would reveal the color of the gown beneath it. Of course at the moment, both of their cloaks were draped behind their shoulders, effectively uncloaking both front and profile views of the ‘girls’.

  Stephanie's silk gown was a delicate shade of pink. Her woolen cloak was a deep shade of burgundy. She carried a simple wooden staff which she appeared to use as an aid to walking. She moved with a rigid stiffness that seemed to suggest back problems.

  Her nubile companion's silk gown was a delicate chartreuse and her cloak was forest green.

  Jake eyes widened when he saw how much Sam had managed to look like his Cindy.

  The Standard attire for ladies of the court in LosLand didn't actually require that ladies do much to hide their feminine charms. Especially when escorted by champions who were able to defend their virtue. Thus the gowns were traditionally fairly translucent.

  “Sandra's handiwork is getting better every day,” Jake said. “Heck if my nano-pods hadn't confirmed that it really is a body-cloak you're wearing Sam, I'd think my Cindy was back and pulling my leg. Speaking of which Sam, don't be surprised if I wind up dumping a wet blanket of nano-pheromones on us all...”

  “What's the matter Jake,” Stephanie asked with a grin. “Are you afraid of not being able to tell the difference?”

  A look of hurt and anger flashed across Jake's face but he held his tongue.

  “It's a reasonable fear Jake,” Stephanie said a little more gently. “I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to tell either.”

  “The difference is Stephanie,” Sam spoke up crossly. “Like me, you don't much care which gender you're playing with. I think it was very insensitive of you to say such a thing to Jake.”

  Stephanie sounded sincere when she responded.

  “Sam's right,” she said. “I shouldn't have said that to you Jake. I'm sorry.”

  By then however, Jake had regained his composure.

  “Forget it!” he said. “I don't want my friends to be afraid to joke around with me. It's just that you caught me a little off guard. But it looks like the portals ready. Shall we go?”

  Stephanie opened a drawer under the main console and removed 4 crystal disks. She tossed one of them to Jess who quickly tucked it away in a small pocket concealed on the inside of his tunic. She held another out to Sam.

  “This is your recall device Sam,” she said. “Take care not to lose it. With it you can signal the portal control system to open an escape portal back to Hillside. Jake of course, like Steve, doesn't actually need one.” As she said this she held out a third disk towards Jake. “But Steve always took one with him anyway.”

  Jake looked thoughtful for a second.

  “Why break with tradition,” he said as he accepted the disk from Stephanie.

  The portal opened into a dimly lit cave. What light there was shined dimly through a waterfall that fell from some place above and billowed out over the cave mouth. An unkempt man dressed in crudely made leather had been sleeping on a fur against the far wall. He sat up suddenly, obviously startled by their arrival. He looked at the four of them with obvious skepticism.

  “Who are you?” He demanded as the portal closed behind them. “And where is the old man?”

  Stephanie gestured toward a small stone pedestal in the center of the chamber where there was a crystal disk similar to the ones the four of them carried. Then she held up her recall d
isk for the stranger to see.

  “Are you not the one who called us forth?” she asked. “And which old man do you speak of?”

  Darg thought quickly. The woman was holding a disk much like his own and she had appeared by way of a magic door like the one the old mage had left by.

  “It was I who called,” he acknowledged. “But I was expecting the old man who gave me this disk.” As he spoke Darg retrieved his disk from the pedestal and tucked it in his neck pouch.

  “It was however a long time ago,” Darg admitted. “Tell me he still lives.”

  Jess stepped forward.

  “If the old man you speak of was indeed the one who left that disk here,” he said. “Then yes, he lives. But he is away on another long voyage. So we have come in his place.”

  “He would have told you,” Jake explained. “To use the disk if you needed help. I am his apprentice. As such I bid you to tell me of yourself and of your need.”

  Darg looked closely at Jake. Then he shook his head.

  “You may call me Darg,” he said. “His apprentice you may be. But if you have not been prepared for the peril he bid me to watch for then you are not yet ready. Please send for your master before it is too late.”

  Jake considered correcting the man as to the nature of the relationship he had with Steve but he decided to let it pass.

  “As my friend told you,” Jake said. “My teacher is away on a long journey and so is not available. However, he prepared me for many things. I merely need to know which of them this one is.”

  Darg wasn't convinced that the young mage had the wisdom to understand.

  “Perhaps he has prepared you,” Darg said with a shrug. “Though if you were truly prepared for that which is upon us. Then it is strange that you would knowingly bring defenseless women into such danger.”

  Darg didn't see the lady in the red cloak move the staff she was leaning on. In fact he didn't see it move at all but he was suddenly aware that it had moved. Just as he was aware that it had suddenly stopped moving, just short of his testicles.

  Jess stepped closer and looked Darg in the eyes.

  “It would be a mistake,” he said as he glanced downwards at the staff Stephanie held motionless between Darg's legs. “To think that these particular ladies,” Jess let his eyes drift sideways to where Sam was now carefully trimming a nail with a small but razor sharp dagger. Which had been exquisitely carved from some glass like green crystal. “are all that defenseless.”

  “We are far from defenseless sir,” Sam confirmed. “But my friend is forgetting her manors.”

  Darg noticed that his loins suddenly no longer felt crowded. He glanced at the Lady in the red cloak who was once again leaning on her staff. When his eyes refocused on the lady in green he noticed that she was no longer holding the wicked looking dagger. Though he never saw her put it away.

  “It's unseemly for us to be so forward,” Sam continued. “As to so shamelessly demonstrate our unladylike talents.”

  “But the truth is,” the apprentice interjected. “We are stronger with them than we are without them... Now tell us who is Darg and why did he call us forth?”

  “Very well,” Darg replied. “I called you forth because I've seen the omens in the sky. As well as some villages burned to the ground. And some more that appear untouched. Except that they are now empty of people. If that is not enough to tell you just which danger is upon us, then perhaps I shall have to tell you just who I am.”

  Darg's shoulders drooped and for the first time since they arrived he looked like a tired old man. Then Darg suddenly squared his shoulders.

  “But that is a tale that is long in the telling,” he said in a firm voice. “And it is one that opens old wounds. So if I am to tell it I shall first kindle my cook fire. So that I might share with thee, a pleasant tea that will make the telling easier.”

  Darg gestured toward a small iron kettle. That was sitting on a few rocks in a pile of ashes next to a small bundle of wood. Which looked to be barely enough to boil the water.

  “Save your wood,” Jake said.

  Then he used his repaired ‘lighter’ to send a jet of burning, superheated hydrogen at the rocks, quickly heating them till they were red hot.

  “That should be hot enough to bring it to boil,” he added when he extinguished the flame.

  Darg looked very closely at Jake.

  “Indeed,” he said. “But I doubt that the old seeker, who was my friend, would have wasted so much power heating bare rocks when the wood was handy.”

  As he spoke he rummaged in his pack and produced a small bundle of dried leaves with a distinctive blueish tint, which he tossed into the nearly boiling water.

  “Asulrod?” Jess inquired. “Where did you get that?”

  “Yes, that sounds like the name the old seeker had for his favorite pipe-weed,” Darg replied. “He planted it in a few secret gardens where it can still be found. I like it's calming effect better as a tea.

  I must apologize however. For when I offered to share my tea with you, I neglected to mention we would also have to share my cup, as I only have the one.”

  As he said this he held up an unusual mug that had been fashioned from some kind of quartz like greenish gray crystal. The inside of the mug was polished smooth as glass but the outside had been only crudely carved into the shape of a mug.

  “Not to worry, Darg,” said Sam. “For cups we have. And I for one, would be delighted to share some tea with you. But we have also been remiss. My friend's names are Jess, Stephanie and of course...” With a little flourish she gestured towards Jake. “Our lord and master here is Jake. You may call me Samantha. Is the tea ready?”

  The tea had a slightly pungent yet mellow flavor. They all sipped it from their cups as Darg explained.

  “To tell this tale properly I must start at the beginning,” Darg began. “And for me the beginning was when I was but a boy. I was an orphan who had been harshly treated by the midlander riverman named Fotgor who took me in and gave me the name Darg.

  When I eventually ran away from him I became a nomadic woodsman. As such I traveled far and wide. Having as little to do with other people as I could.

  One day I found and began exploring an old mountain trail. But when I made camp for the night there were strange omens in the sky. I found them very frightening. And I could find no meaning for them. I didn't get much sleep that night. But the next day the sun shined brightly. So I shrugged off the omens and continued to explore the trail.

  Now to understand what happened next you should first know that I was then, as I still am, an excellent hunter and tracker. When I choose to go unnoticed in the woods, neither the fox nor the wolf see me. There were signs that someone was on the trail ahead of me. So I moved with great stealth as I tried to find out who it might be.

  Before long I spied an old man acting strangely on the trail ahead. But when I crept closer to find out what he was doing. I suddenly found myself hanging from a tree by a rope snare. Then the old man was before me. He prodded me with his walking stick and proceeded to interrogate me. That was my first encounter with the old seeker. He kept me a prisoner for a day and a night. At first I was embarrassed and angry with him. But he treated me kindly and eventually released me. Yet idiot that I am, I sought to secretly follow him.

  Only to wake up in the morning bound hand and foot. He scolded me for hours about my rudeness before he again released me. This time however, he asked me to walk with him to the other side of the mountains. To this day I don't know how he convinced me to accompany him. But accompany him I did. And so I began a new life among what turned out to be my father's people.

  I met there, the love of my life, a fair maiden named Gwanon. We were wed and lived happily together until tragedy struck. It wasn't long after we were wed that we were cruelly betrayed. It never would have happened if the old seeker hadn't been away. But my Gwanon paid for her loyalty to me with her very life.

  Darg appeared distraught from the memories
his tale were invoking within him. He quivered slightly for a couple of seconds. Then he resumed his tale.

  “When I had followed the old seeker from this cave into the land of my forebears. He showed me an ancient mountain castle named for the Twin Falls from which the Bluefin river is born. He told me it was once the seat of a great kingdom. And that even now it was a wondrous place. Somehow he talked me into becoming part of the community that resided there.

  The old seeker was thought of as a well respected mage by the people there. He had but to show his face and they would welcome him like visiting royalty. Since I was with him, they welcomed me as well. Before long I found myself dressing in a manor resembling your attire Sir Jake.”

  “Just Jake,” Jake interjected. “Thank you.”

  “It was there,” Darg continued. “That I was smitten by my beloved Gwanon. To win her love, I truly embraced Twin Falls and made it my home. It took me two years to win her heart. And another two before we could be wed because her mother, Benatch was against our union.

  During that time, the old seeker was often gone on some journey or other. He would be there for ten or twenty days, then be gone for fifty or even ninety. I didn't notice at first but he seamed worried about something. A little more so each time I saw him. He was gone the day Benatch told the priest, Argnoth, that Darg wasn't my birthname.

  I hadn't been deceitful about it, I simply didn't know what my birthname was. Gwanon had long known of this ere I ever asked for her hand. But I curse the day we told Benatch of it. For she soon brought the matter to Argnoth's attention.” Darg paused and took a large gulp of his tea. “A more sanctimonious man than that accursed priest has yet to draw breath.

  He thought it improper that I hadn't publicly announced my shameful lack of a birthright before wedding Gwanon. It wasn't long before he convinced most of the good people of Twin Falls that I had worked a great deception on my wife. Then with Benatch's backing, he proceeded to declare our marriage invalid and Gwanon unfit. She was given over to her mothers custody. And since our marriage was deemed false and Gwanon was deemed unfit to make her own decisions. Benatch was able to have me imprisoned for stealing her daughters virginity.