by P H Campbell
"The work here is barely underway," Tu'Brot replied. "We have been here a mere eighteen standards. Our primary goals have been stabilizing the planet's unusual crystal resonance to avoid catastrophic transitions to H-Space it used to undergo. Mostly, the people remain as they were when we first landed. Only locally has anything changed to any great degree."
After consulting with the others in the delegation, Seren announced, "Then I think we'll look at what's local, and what's not, if you don't mind."
They made the arrangements to have the delegation, Cinder, the Twins and Treah all travel together, since the R&R crews didn't have enough personnel to shepherd all of them individually. The "escort" wore ship-suit armor and were armed well beyond the level of technology of the planet on which they lived.
"I'm Commander Gordon Wainwright, UGW Fleet Security," a tall, fit and somber man introduced himself to the group. "It's my job to make sure none of you are hurt while you go where you want to go. I'll let you know if it's not a good place to visit, but it's up to you to decide if you want to go there."
"Are those weapons for show?" Markov inquired.
"They are variable setting weapons that allow us to use the proper amount of force to negate a threat," Commander Wainwright replied.
"Weapons will not be necessary, Commander Wainwright" Treah told them. "I can negate any threat here. My name is Treah."
Commander Wainwright's face showed an instant of shock, then he stood to attention and saluted, "Yes Ma'am." At Treah's nod, he turned to the four troops and ordered, "Secure your weapons."
The troops did as ordered, returning their weapons to their lockers.
That single display made Seren smile. And she realized that Treah was much like herself – someone extraordinary who elicited extreme respect from those who knew exactly who and what she was. That allusion wasn't lost on the rest of the delegation, all of whom knew exactly who and what Seren was.
Seren recalled back when they had started their inspection of the two sides that Treah had mentioned being a unicorn on her home planet, and this was her home planet. Magic worked on UGC 0751-C, as long as one had the talent. Treah had that talent.
The tour took the delegation on a mostly flying trip around various places on the planet. Mostly the differences weren't noticeable from the air, but were from the ground.
Seren realized that UGC 0751-C was even more backward regarding its technological level than was her own world. The level of technology appeared to be, at best, iron-age. Stone, wood and metal construction, with what she learned was animal hide and plant fibers used for clothing and other things. The variety of plant life was rather stunning, however little of it was exploitable for food, medicine, or textiles.
As for the people, they weren't thrilled to see the UGW whether flying or walking around. They weren't openly hostile to the point of violence, but their words and expressions left no doubt about how they felt.
"Commander, why is the UGW so hated here?" Seren asked.
"It's complicated, ma'am," Wainwright replied. "People get used to life being a certain way. They don't like change, even when change is better for them."
"Define 'better'," Seren suggested.
"Better health, better education, less violence, less exploitation," Wainwright replied succinctly.
"Did they want this kind of better?" Seren wondered.
Commander Wainwright looked at her, puzzled. "Why wouldn't they, ma'am?"
"Did anyone ask to be changed?" Seren inquired.
"The locals did," Wainwright asserted.
"Molly asked," Treah stated evenly. "The local regent was deposed by the people, and she talked his replacement into asking for help from the UGW."
"UGW Central ultimately decided to help," Commander Wainwright added. "This planet was part of the UGW and… well… got lost. Since it's a planet nominally under control of the UGW, they decided to bring it fully under the influence of the UGW again. The locals aren't happy about that. But the UGW has prior claim. And the locals are benefiting from the integration, even if they don't like it. We have very much slowed the integration process because of this. We don't want anyone hurt in any riots or demonstrations."
Treah looked like she would say something, then didn't.
"So different circumstances govern how the UGW handled this planet regarding joining the UGW," Seren concluded.
"Given the circumstances aren't even remotely identical, perhaps UGC zero seven five one charlie is a poor example of what we can expect from the UGW should we side with them," Morlendrus noted.
"I agree," Gliff nodded, looking darkly at Treah for suggesting the place.
"I apologize that my choice of example was not to your liking," Treah told them all. "It is quite literally the closest approximation to the circumstances by which The World might be brought into the UGW at least with respect to the level of impact on the societies the changes would bring about."
"Oh, my…," Walentia exclaimed, holding a mug.
"What's wrong?" Commander Wainwright asked at the startled tone of his charge.
"This," Walentia replied, holding up the mug. "I was thinking I wanted some water, and suddenly it was in my hand. It's like the magic has returned to me."
"I was thinking the same thing," Morlendrus admitted. "About the magic, that is. I feel it again."
Seren had been so focused on the matter at hand, she hadn't realized that she felt the same thing, too.
"It is as I suspected," Treah sighed.
"Wait, what?" Seren looked at the small woman with a mixture of confusion and anger. "You mean there's an inter-dimensional entity stuck here?"
"I have always known this planet was alive," Treah replied. "But only some could hear it, and fewer could talk to it. I was made of it, and so could talk to it."
"I don't really hear it," Seren admitted. "I feel it, but it's like it's not speaking the same language."
'Sis,' Seren heard a voice in her head. 'Let me out.'
"But I know someone who might have a better chance of translating things," Seren went on and conjured her alter ego.
Miralenda popped into existence, fully clothed, fully real, and fully alive.
Everyone stepped back, shocked that another Seren appeared out of nowhere. Only this Seren wasn't exactly like the one they knew. Her hair was longer and styled differently, not to mention she collapsed on the ground once she became fully solid.
"I'll take that," Miralenda Gravtok held out her calloused hand for the staff Seren held.
"I think I can fix you," Seren replied, handing her ancestor the staff so she could stand.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Commander Wainwright demanded to know.
"Give us a moment, Commander," Treah told him. "We are in no danger."
"I tore a planet in two, but no, no danger at all," Miralenda sighed as she got to her feet. She looked down at herself, touching herself here and there and sighed again. "I think I'm real. How did you manage that, Seren?"
"The magic here is… strong," Seren asserted. "And that's an understatement."
Miralenda braced her feet against the ground and cast the first spell she'd ever cast since the Sundering.
"Oh, that's much better," she grinned as her legs straightened and became sound, healthy and whole for the first time in her life.
"Who is this woman?" Commander Wainwright asked.
"My many times great grandmother," Walentia stated, shocked.
Miralenda looked over at her relative, finally able to say what she hadn't been able to say for decades.
"Walentia, I'm very sorry for what I had to do to you," Miralenda told her sincerely.
"We can talk about that later, honored ancestor, but I forgive you," Walentia replied.
"How is that possible?" Commander Wainwright demanded in an astonished tone.
"Magic," Miralenda and Seren stated together in such synchronization it sounded like one voice.
"I'm basically a genetic clone of her," Seren tol
d him, gesturing toward Miralenda. "It gets very complicated trying to explain how that came about, because that explanation raises more questions the answers to which are even harder to explain."
"Miralenda, it is good to see you again," Markov smiled, recalling when Seren first introduced him to her. She'd been introduced as Korana, but he knew that was a World family name she'd taken.
"Grandfather!" Miralenda grinned and raced to embrace him. "I'm so glad I can give you a hug this time." Turning to the others, Miralenda looked sheepish and said, "He's older than I am. My father's father's father's father's father was him. My great, great, great, great grandmother carried his son in her womb to the colony on, well, they call it The World now."
"Does that mean you're not in my head anymore?" Seren asked.
'I can be if we want me to be,' Miralenda used mindspeech to reply.
The twins winced, as did Seren, "You need lessons," the Twins and Seren said together.
The rest of the delegation stood around and stared, trying to grasp what, exactly, was happening. Those who knew Seren had a good idea of what had happened, and what the importance of that might be. The rest were basically clueless.
"Are you going to vanish?" Seren asked, never before seeing her as opaque and real as she was now.
"What did you conjure, sis?" Miralenda smirked, knowing the explanation would come to Seren once she thought about it.
"You," Seren gestured, then rolled her eyes at the implications of what she'd done. "Oh…" She reached out and took hold of Miralenda's wrist. There was a pulse, it was warm, there was no sense of "magic" or any sign that she was any different from anyone else who also breathed.
"But I didn't do it any differently than I did in the past," Seren noted.
"It's not what you did," Miralenda told her. "It's the magic you used to do it. Here, things you imagine become real, and alive." She glanced over at Treah, who had said nothing the whole time.
"Don't they?" she asked her.
Everyone else turned to look at the UGW representative who wanted them to come to this world.
"They do," Treah acknowledged. "When created by one who has a mastery of its magics, then all creations become real. It appears that Seren has such a mastery."
"So, what's this all mean?" Gliff demanded to know.
"It means you're all stuck with me, now," Miralenda asserted with a wink. "And I'm kinda hungry, and a little thirsty. Do you have anything to eat? Last time I had a meal was about eleven thousand standard years ago."
CHAPTER 11
The group decided a return to the R&R ship was in order. The escort informed Tu'Brot that the delegation had unexpectedly added a member. It was quite surprised when not one, but two Seren's exited the expeditionary vessel they'd taken for their survey and inspection. It only recognized the real Seren by her shorter hair style and armor.
"This is unexpected," it said.
"Tu'Brot, all activities to mitigate the resonance field in the crystal structure of this planet must cease immediately," Treah informed him. "The crystals are not minerals, but a living, sentient entity, and our efforts here are harming it."
Few things could overwhelm the mental processing powers of a Synthi, but Treah's declaration, in her official capacity, did that for a moment.
"Captain Forrester," Tu'Brot called out.
"Yes, Tu'Brot?" the intercom responded.
"Immediately cease all operations in your division," Tu'Brot told her. "We will explain once we understand more. Once divisional operations have ceased, please report that to UGW Central, and inform them that it was Council-member Treah's order. A report will follow."
"Yes, Tu'Brot," the Captain replied.
"Sounds to me like someone broke someones' cookie jar," Miralenda remarked.
"More like someone had ulterior motives for coming here," Seren decided, her disapproving glare on the UGW representative.
"There is that," Miralenda grinned at Treah the way one might tease a close, personal friend. "Not to mention keeping secrets."
"It's a good thing we don't co-process our thoughts," Seren sighed. "I knew Treah was more than she seemed."
"You are an exceptionally intelligent woman, Seren," Treah smiled sadly. "But my status within the UGW is not well known outside of those who have a need to know."
"What, exactly, is this all about?" Gliff demanded, his ire rising with the number of vague references the three women were making.
"I think our side of it is obvious," Miralenda shrugged. "This planet has the same 'magic' The World used to have, only it's hugely more powerful than anything I've felt. Since the magic in The World came from an entity that caused the Time of the Sky Fire and led to the Sundering, we know it's alive, and sentient. Now, we have to figure out how to help it go back where it came from – or at least something along those lines."
"What will that do to the planet?" Tu'Brot asked.
"Oh, that's the part I left out," Miralenda noted. "The planet IS the entity. Or that's what I'm picking up here."
"It's true," Treah added. "Our probes bear this out. The planet has a solid core, but has a magnetic field. We thought the crystals had something to do with it. Beyond that, Tu'Brot should tell you the rest."
"The composition of the planet is unlike any other natural planetary body," the Synthi explained. "It is, essentially, a thin conglomeration of matter around a denser core. The crystalline structure of the planet's interior created a world with twice the density of Earth, and three quarters of the size. Those crystals radiate an unusual energy signature we have been unable to classify…"
"That's because it's not energy we normally see in this dimension," Seren asserted, as Miralenda nodded.
Tu'Brot considered the possibilities and showed agreement with that hypothesis.
"I informed my fellow council members of my suspicions regarding a the possibility that the crystals in my home planet may be a sentient entity after you spoke to me about the entity which created 'magic' on your world," Treah added.
"What made you do that?" Seren wondered. "There's no real connection except 'magic'."
"Proximity," Treah replied. "Why did the entity from your planet enter our dimension in the first place?"
"That's hard to translate," Miralenda remarked. "The best way I can describe it is that it was looking… for… something…" her voice trailed off as she, and everyone else connected the dots. That something was probably the planet upon which they stood.
"But how did you know?" Seren wondered. As she asked, her brain delivered the obvious answer, "You were part of that entity."
"I was created and recreated by it," Treah agreed. "I am of this world in all senses of that phrase. But it is not of this dimension."
"You're me!" Miralenda realized. "You were created by the magic to be its voice!"
"Just so," Treah nodded. "But I had much to learn about this dimension and the inhabitants of it. The simple mechanics of life were foreign concepts. Even the means of communication were alien.
"When Humans first came to it and terraformed it, the entity tried to communicate with them, but only created magical creatures from the minds of those who lived here. Over time, the outside forgot the society here and became closer to the entity, though not of the entity. That lack is why they are so hostile now. The entity is, for lack of a better term, upset with the direction of its existence because of the efforts of the UGW to suppress its nature."
"I thought some mad scientist created the creatures of the planet with DNA from the colony stores," Commander Wainwright remarked.
"They could not have survived without magic infusing them," Treah stated flatly. "The 'mad scientist' as you say gave them that magical infusion." She then returned to her narrative.
"When the Scouts, Katy and Tigara, first arrived, they found Molly, who told them about me. When they approached, I knew, from the entity, what I had to do. It created me for that reason. And so, with the entity's help, I asked to become human. The entity grante
d me my request, altering me so I was human, save for my connection to the entity which still allowed me to use its energies to do magic."
She smiled again, and added, "Molly always wondered why I was so quick to join forces with the Scouts, even though at the time, it seemed like I had a good enough reason to do so."
"The entity knew the Scouts were coming?" Tu'Brot asked. "According to your files, they created you a thousand years before they arrived."
"I've got this one," Miralenda held up her hand. "The entity is in this dimension, but isn't of it. That's an important thing to keep in mind. To it, time isn't linear. It's really hard for humans to wrap their brain around the concept, but to the entity, a thousand years ago could be tomorrow, a billion years from now, or right now. When it sensed a need for Treah's creation, it created her to be there at the moment that need had to be fulfilled. Give or take a millennium, that is."
"Very well put," Treah complimented her.
"So, what do we do about this?" Miralenda asked Tu'Brot.
"Until I hear back from the council, I can not say," Tu'Brot replied.
"I know what we need to do," Seren stated.
"As do I," Treah nodded. "The council will not like it. McGrew Ports will not work here."
"You're talking about moving the population at some point, aren't you?" Cinder spoke up for the first time, trying to keep score about what was happening.
"Yes," Treah agreed. "But with our current state of affairs, we lack the ready means to do that."
"How many people are here?" Cinder asked.
"About three million," Treah informed her.
"We have a colony ship," Cinder reminded them.
"Which might be used to relocate the Fusions," Treah pointed out.
"They have their habitat, we can tow it where it needs to go," Cinder shrugged. "Besides," she added, "If we need it for that, they'll be in stasis. They'd not even know we did it, if you want the help."
"In exchange for?" Treah asked.
"Exclusive rights to territories not already claimed by the UGW on our side of the border," Cinder told her. "My deal is that the UGW can't officially, or unofficially, expand any more into Shade Alliance space."
