A route automatically planned itself, as Lexan gave Joshua a thought command to find the nearest “closet”. It was all about timing. Lexan's mind started crackling and swirling. He had so many ideas, so many things he wanted to do. The thought of power flooded his mind, an emotion he has not felt before. He felt the inherent need to triumph over Nangern, to show Alary he had power to protect. Protect her from what? He did not know.
The route he had planned took him to one of the stranger Spheres where he had not been to before.
“Joshua, I need some alone time,” Lexan said, he cut off Joshua's Main Personality Interface. He needed his head to be clear for a few hours, for about thirty hours only until the date with Bloo, Nivua, and Jacque.
Lexan entered one of the pods situated in the multiple rows and columns in the Sphere. Hundreds of people walked past him, entering and leaving the pods as well. They were called “closets” for no other reason than that similar devices were in each and every dormitory where the actual closets would be.
The pod, with its greenish-dark color, stood open like a doorway. Inside was only darkness. Lexan entered, the door swung close behind him. A sullen voice welcomed him, Lexan mentally turned on a public profile that does not activate voice-interfaces. The chamber went quiet while it fed Lexan data on all the worlds and places available for him to visit.
He chose a world from the menu, a world where the three-dimensional physics of his world would apply as well. Yet the time passed much faster in this world. A month inside the chamber would seem like a day outside. Just what he wanted.
The dark wall in front of Lexan disappeared and turned green. The boy entered the new universe, with nothing around. This hidden, shadow world was as vast and empty as the “real” universe. Trillions of people are already here, right this moment, Lexan thought as he looked around the green planet he stood on. Septillion more have lived here since the beginning of time. This planet, it seemed, was either entirely abandoned or most of the population stuck to cities, not the countryside.
Lexan activated his nano-constructed computer which climbed up to his helmet, testing the air. It was breathable, even by Lexan. He took his helmet off and walked on. His NCC took a shape of a bird and flew off to check the surroundings, a trick Romul taught him. It sent him data which suggested that the nearest Shun village was teeming with life hundreds of kilometers away. The bird landed on his shoulder and dissolved.
“This is where it starts,” he said absent-mindedly to his NCC, which transformed once more , this time into a small cat, “This where it all begins.” Lexan looked above him at the green-blue skies. He smiled, it reminded him of Earth.
Lexan turned on a personal journal, something he should have done a long time ago, “I suppose I can't be the average teenage boy anymore. I feel a bit silly thinking I could be some kind of a hero but strangely enough, I think I can do some good in the world. Right now though, I need some time to think, and to train outside of school.
“Without homework, and without people to bother me, I should be able to advance my studies considerably. I might make this into a habit actually.” It was strange writing into a journal, he thought. And it was stranger running away from the world. He felt funny thinking of himself to be a hero, and he knew he may be wrong about all the assumption he made. However, something inside of him burned, burned like a fire, an inkling, a need to gain power, to overcome the world, and to not have anyone interfere and control his life.
He smiled once more, the troubles of the real world left him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I
The month flew by quickly. Lexan worked hard, he became one with nature, as much as he could at least. During the day, he'd work his body: chopping down trees with his bare hands, swimming through never-ending lakes, climbing tall mountains, and generally perfecting his physical form. At night, he would start a fire, and let the flames lick and engulf his body. He felt the burns, he felt the energy enter and leave. Lexan felt pain and power.
While working out his body gave him a new sense of accomplishment, an order to his life, it was not enough. The confusion in his mind could not be organized through simple exercises and tests of endurance. Lexan spent his off-days, the days where his body needed to regenerate, by playing with his NCC and perfecting the strange metallic creature. He decided, it would never become a lifeless piece of metal again.
The animals, birds, and fish feared him. They would not come close to him, but rather avoid him as much as possible, at first. Lexan showed his kindness, sharing some of the nutri-cubes with some of the sick that could not get up and get out of his way fast enough.
“I feel very different,” He had said to his journal during one of the last days, “It's as if it all makes sense. The discipline, the pain, the power, and all the experiences in just the few weeks, changed me somehow. I am grateful for the time I had to think, think clearly with no interference from a machine and from the busy world outside.”
Lexan had only a handful of days until he had to leave, and he chose to spend those days in deep trance and meditation. As his body recovered from the stressful routine, so did his mind need to adjust for the new insight, and radical changes in thinking. The ever-watchful cat that was his nano-constructed computer, changed shape into a hollow guardian, a statue of large proportions filled with nothingness.
No animal, no human would disturb Lexan. When the storms hit, as they did often, the guardian transformed into a covering that did not let a single drop by.
The guardian, having thoughts of its own, stared helplessly at the skies. It reviewed the past few weeks, remembering the times when Lexan ran through the storms, and let the lightnings hit his body. Soon, Lexan will ascend to a higher level, the guardian thought. With such dedication he had shown in this lonely world, he could become eventually a Grandmaster.
The guardian shut its eyes close, shutting down most of its functions besides the most essential and waited for Lexan to wake up from his spiritual, cosmic, mind-travels to lead them back to their own world.
II
“Finally you're here, we thought you were gonna ditch us,” Bloo looked at Lexan scornfully, “Where were you?”
“Alone, I just needed some time to think. I went to the caves,” he lied. Jacque saw the awkward situation come up and decided to intercede before it blew out of proportion.
“Yeah, this war is heavy stuff. I can barely believe it's happening,” Jacque looked at all of them seriously. Bloo glanced upon him and the whole quartet entered the restaurant. The place was nothing special, it was a bland white-walled restaurant with rounded corners. The whole feeling of the place reminded Lexan of an ice-palace. The white walls shone brightly as they reflected the dim hazy lights overhead.
They walked down to a nice patch, an indentation that formed arched walls all around. The floor produced a rounded table and four chairs. As each member of the little group sat down, the chairs readjusted for comfort.
A droid came in, dressed fashionably in synthetic fur overlays. The temperature lowered further once the guests were seated. The walls, Lexan noticed, flickered into translucence. The doorway, which originally house two glass doors through which one could stare in and out of the restaurant, suddenly held the image of a brutal snow storm. The winds raged and crashed against the window panes by the door. Snow-flurries swirled in. A faint outline of mountains could be seen beyond the smooth, ice and snow covered plains. The atmosphere was set.
“May I offer you an icy water to drink?” The waiter said, and then handed out skin-covered wooden menus. All synthetic of course. Every individual letter looked either carved in or burnt into the material. Lexan gave a mental command, unconsciously already, to turn the page. The page turned, new text burnt and carved itself onto the wooden-tablet, leaving no trace of the previous inscription.
Silently, Lexan and the others punched in their requests. The waiter bowed and took their menus, leaving four cups of tea on their table.
Nivua took hers and stared at it with confusion. She sipped and smiled, enjoying the taste. Bloo did not really enjoy hers, cold-blooded as she was, turned her nose away from the steaming liquid, “How could you drink this?” She smiled and looked at Jacque who gulped half of it down.
“Not all of us are averted at the thought of a hot drink.” He smiled.
“You know, we haven't been on an actual date like this in a long time,” Nivua turned to Jacque and placed her hand over his.
“Yeah, we should do this more often.” He smiled and kissed her. Lexan saw a bit of envy in Bloo's eyes. Strange, he never noticed it before. He noticed the smaller things now. How Nivua's kiss was unsincere, made only to feel either Lexan or Bloo jealous. Also, how Bloo seemed strangely distant.
“Is something wrong, Bloo?” Lexan asked, looking at her intently. Nivua and Jacque turned toward them with awkward looks.
“No. Why do you ask?” Bloo turned to Lexan, looking rather innocent. The boy saw her face flush a bit, revealing a guilty secret.
“No reason. Never mind.” Lexan took a sip of the hot, herbal tea. The chemical analysis showed a blend of herbs akin to chamomile and peppermint. Jacque saved the situation once again.
“So, what does everyone think of the war?” The usual avoided topic, politics, seemed better than the general silence.
“I think it's too exaggerated. The Outlaw Alliance will beat them before they ever get here.” Nivua said absent-mindedly, drinking her tea.
Bloo answered to that, “I disagree. I think the UR should send its forces out to the Independent Nations. I don't think those swine Nethers should be given a chance to attack us at all.” Her face twisted slightly in disgust.
“Their attack could have been provoked, you know.” Lexan said, eating roasted insects off the middle bowl. It somehow appeared while they were talking. Another delicacy. Lexan's thoughts somehow slipped back to Nangern and Alary. Unconsciously, he looked around, just to make sure that she was not around by a chance.
“Oh yeah, and who would provoke them?” Lexan turned back to see the three others watching him intently.
“I'm not sure but you never know. Do you think the UR is really as righteous and innocent as they make us believe? ”
Jacque added onto the conversation, and it took another turn. As they continued to wait for the food, Bloo defended her own position in which she numerously stated that all Nethers should be annihilated, that the Aetheri should have invaded them first while Nivua continued to talk about peace talks, and about the war being just another way the politicians want to accelerate into the “Empire” cycle. Jacque kept on asking questions, taking neither side. Lexan stayed silent, thinking about how he'll be meeting Romul and Remu later on.
He noticed Bloo's violent thoughts, and aggressive opinions. She was always a very relaxed person around Lexan. They never really discussed politics before, that's true, but who would have thought her opinions seemed quite the opposite of her general personality? Nivua, on the other hand, seemed much more knowledgeable about the situation than the average person. Tackling the situation from another angle where the media, and the United Republics are just using this to gain more power. A very conspiracy-like and paranoia views. Jacque seemed cooler about it. He already mentioned a few times about how he wished to join the Free Militia, a non-profit military group in the United Republics that the government usually employed. Nivua disapproved, of course, she did not want him to get hurt, nor did she want him to support such a cause.
The food came in, the droid swung around and brought four hot, steaming, dishes. Lexan ordered a thoroughly cooked and grilled animal. It seemed rather large, and Lexan did not think he would even be able to finish it. Nivua ordered some kind of fish, while Bloo ordered a steaming, grilled bird. All of the food seemed either grilled or steamed, hot for travelers who came in, away from the freezing cold outside.
Bloo put up a bulletin for all four of them to read. She wanted to lower the temperature, the others sent agreements and the temperature in their little concave lowered considerably. Lexan changed his avatar's clothing. Simulated fur ruffled under the cold air that came in as the door to the restaurant opened.
It took them a long time to eat the food, but they ate it all. Even Lexan, to his surprise, finished his large course. It must have been because he had not eaten real food in so long.
Bloo and Jacque excused themselves and left to the bathroom.
Nivua moved closer to Lexan and spoke, “I've seen the way you look at Bloo. How disapprovingly you looked at her during the whole conversation.” She smiled, a kind of evil smile.
“I just don't agree with some of her views.” He answered and stared at Nivua. Her eyes sparkled seductively. Her hands reached for his across the table.
“Look, she's been with lots of guys, she never keeps anyone for more than just a couple of months. I’ve seen how she is,” Nivua started.
She then started listing all of Bloo's bad qualities, “You two don't even go out anywhere together,” she mentioned, upon which Lexan retorted, “You and Jacque don't either.”
“Look, you know that I'm a party girl. I like to have fun, I like to go out. I like to enjoy life,” Nivua continued, “Jacque is a good guy. But he likes to stay in his dorm too much, listening to his music or whatever. He goes out with the guys and leaves me.”
“That's your own problem, Nivua. Jacque is my friend.” Lexan replied and paused, “And, I love Bloo.”
“I know you are like me, Lexan,” She said, looking at the boy in front of her seriously, “I know you like to party and have fun. And I know you don't have that with Bloo.” Her eyes narrowed.
Lexan thought for a second. What she said so far, all of it, was true. He liked to go out and have fun. Bloo, as laid back as she was, always ended up making him stay at her place to watch a movie. No restaurants, no hang outs. The first month, they walked and explored the whole planet. But after the initial euphoria of the new planet faded, she just stayed in. Lexan did not understand why, and after two more months, now, he could not figure out why he had not noticed before.
“Lexan,” Nivua looked at him and leaned in. Her lips touched his, Lexan did not struggle or pull away. He just sat frozen. He did not enjoy the moment, he could not because there was too much on his mind, he was too stunned to realize what was happening. They were locked in the position, her hand on the back of his neck, bringing him closer.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Jacque screamed at Nivua, his personality computer automatically muting the channels so that only Lexan and Nivua received the message.
They separated. The girl stared at Jacque, speechless. Lexan just sat, wide-eyed.
Jacque jumped closer and pushed Lexan off his chair, “You damn bastard. What is wrong with you?” He ran around the table and started punching Lexan.
“What are you doing with Nivua?” Jacque said between the hits. With every word, he punched harder and harder until some hits started shaking the floor.
“Nothi-” He tried reply, but Jacque cut him off, “Shut up, I don't want to hear it.”
He turned to Nivua, “And what were you doing with him? I leave for five damn minutes, and come back to see you kissing my roommate. You damn slut.”
Lexan threw up blood into his helmet as Jacque's crushing fists broke a couple ribs. He struggled back, landing a few blows to Jacque as well. The blows started to cause concussive waves which other patrons in the restaurant responded to. The waiter-droid alerted the security. Soon enough, two large androids pulled them apart. Jacque calmed down a bit, and stopped punching Lexan who held onto his stomach, feeling blood trickle down from his nose. The blood was a simulation, but on the inside it felt real.
Jacque threw a couple of credits down on the table and dragged Nivua, by her arm, “We're leaving. And I'll be telling your damn girlfriend about this.”
Both of them left, the androids downloaded the data about both of them and sent out a message if ei
ther of them wished to press charges, neither did.
Bloo came running and stopped Jacque and Nivua before they left, “What the hell did your whore girlfriend do, and what did YOU do?”
Nivua answered before Jacque could open his mouth, “Whore? You're the last person who should be using that word.”
Bloo turned back to Lexan, keeping her chill as she saw the two large androids ready to intercede in case of any more conflict.
“Why were you kissing Nivua?” Bloo's eyes narrowed on Lexan, her tone angry.
“I did not kiss her, she kissed me.” He reached the bottom of his helmet, to let the blood out but could not. The shield wouldn't start, his whole face was splattered with blood.
“It doesn't matter, you didn't stop her. And you're not even apologizing!” Bloo’s temper finally let loose. She started yelling at Lexan while Lexan did not even reply.
“She kissed me, I was too stunned to pull back. No big deal.” Lexan turned; he wanted to leave. Just go, be away from Jacque, from Nivua, and even Bloo. Nivua's words got to him. He did not even know why he was wasting his time with her. He could have any other girl, someone more suited for him. Someone, with whom, he could have a normal conversation.
“It IS a big deal. Shut up Lexan. I don't want to see your face until you come back with an apology. And a damn good one!” She turned to leave.
“Fat chance of that happening,” he mumbled back and was sure Bloo heard it too. Lexan was tired of this drama. He really was. Bloo cared too much about her social life, she cared too much about her reputation. Her personality did not match his and he did nothing wrong. How would she react if Jacque all of a sudden kissed her? Would she damn apologize, after Nivua beat the hell out of her? I don't think so, he thought.
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