by K R Sanford
“So, one thing led to another and you’re wearing the white coat,” said Hector.
“Yeah, so?” she said as if he was turning the small talk into a cliché.
“Sorry, I’ll see what’s keeping Marco,” said Hector. He turned to leave.
“No, it’s alright,” said Chris. “It’s so quiet now. You must have places you go to when you’re by yourself. It’s the real business of being a starman, isn’t it?”
Hector, taken aback by the thoughtful inquiry, studied Chris’ face. She formed an inviting smile. He replied. “I would be lying if I said I hadn’t wondered what it was like on the other side, this breaking through to the unknown.”
“All living things break through with every breath they take,” she said.
“That sounds like a song title. How long can you hold your breath?”
“Let's go to my cabin later and you can time me?” she said.
“Alright, let’s leave Walters in the hallway so the crew can drop him into the nearest garbage crusher.”
Chris laughed, “They probably would. So, what do you think about bridging this spacetime loop?”
“I can’t think in multiple directions at the same time like the Amedans or Legion,” said Hector.
“You mean, dimensions; you can’t think in multiple dimensions?”
“No, I can’t do that either, well, not like these guys. But, it’s funny, I somewhat understand what they are trying to do. It’s bold; it’s brave and it’s intimidating as hell.”
“Yeah, said Chris. “The project has balls and its gaining support. The more we work on it the more people get what they are trying to do. And, the way the Emperor approaches the work, like a kid with a new toy. He makes people infectious with excitement. I mean, there’s an adventurous thrill in the air that people want to take hold of like a holy cause.”
“I can’t agree more,” said Hector. He reached around Chris’ waist and pulled her tight against his body. He kissed her full on the lips. She swooned and fell into his embrace. She lost herself in the heat of the moment.
“Someone’s coming, do you want to get some pancakes?” said Chris wiping Hector’s juice off her lips.
The hallway door sprung open. Balrug was holding the door open with one hand and pushing Marco away with the other. “I know my right from my left,” he yelled at a whisper. “I don’t live under a rock, you know.”
“Hello, Chris,” said Marco. “You remember, Balrug?”
Chris pulled her communicator from her pocket. She brushed her thumb over the face. She held the device in front of Balrug. “I think you do. Isn’t that your house?”
“What? Are you with the Secret Service? Look, the little witch is turning on me. What’s with him?” Balrug pointed at Walters. “He’s admiring your ass, that’s for sure.”
“What?” Chris spun around. “He’s awake that’s all. Hey,” she barked. “When people stare at others without permission, Mister, that’s how accidents happen. And I know you don’t want another accident, so, don’t push it.”
“What do you what from me?” said Walters.
Chris screwed up her face, “Hang on, Walters, we’ll be with you in a minute.”
Hector caught Chris’ eye, “Another pep talk?”
“He’s ready,” she replied. “Are these guys our replacements?”
“Yeah, I guess they are,” said Hector.
“Where you two going?” asked Marco.
“Were going to get some pancakes,” replied Hector.
“Oh, okay, see you around then,” said Marco.
“Alright,” Hector replied, leaving Balrug and Marco to give, ‘The Speech.’
The Cafeteria was full. Hector reached for his communicator. “I’ll get us on the waiting list.”
“No need,” said Chris, pulling her communicator from her pocket. “Our table is ready.”
The booth overlooked the runway. The super-highway was being extruded at blinding speed.
“This whole place is the most surreal I’ve ever seen,” she said, “except for the Emperor’s Court, I guess. She touched the back of Hector’s hand with the tips of her fingers. In that fleeting moment Hector submitted to her female prowess.
“Try not to think about it,” she said. “Everything happening around the Emperor can distort your perception of reality. He’s a powerful being. He has a multi gravitational field. And, when he’s moving he can create a spacetime warp. So, be careful, even when he is sitting down, spacetime can oscillate. It can be a challenge to concentrate in a normal train of thought.”
“You’re amazing. How do you know so much about all this?” said Hector.
“Environmental Services,” she said. “We are in the business to identify environmental hazards like radiation and toxic mold. Not to mention checking for zero gravity pockets.” Chris’ expression was deadly serious. “Not to mention psychopathic personality disorders like Walters.”
Hector broke eye contact. He contemplated then replied. “I’m concerned how we can provide security for someone like you while you’re here. We can use your help on the Eagle.”
“I appreciate being needed as much as the next Joe,” she said. “You carry important dignitaries onboard all the time. The thing is I’m here for now. And, I’m telling you this because sometimes it is necessary to keep a low profile. Especially, when trying to avert crisis before panic.”
Hector inspired, gazed into Chris’ eyes. With a comforting smile he said. “I agree, good thinking. Thanks again for helping us back there in medical.”
“Oh, finally!” she announced. “Here’s our pancakes, will you look at that.” Steam billowed between them. The waitress set their breakfast on the table.
Hector sat up straight taking in the aroma of the butter and basil. He licked his lips watching the butter drip off the pancakes onto the blueberries. He growled, “Umm, I'm so hungry.”
Chris laughing, “When did you eat last?” She turned to thank the waitress.
“Not sure,” he said, pouring a ladle of maple syrup over his pancakes. “I remember the last time we were here fifteen years ago our appetites disappeared. There’s something strange about the energy field. I guess, let me think, not since the Emperor ordered refreshments at the reunion.”
“So, that was . . . twenty-eight hours. You haven’t eaten for twenty-eight hours.”
“Good thing you ordered pancakes.” He stuffed his mouth with the fluffy old fashioned cakes and syrup.
Chris, smiling, filled her cheeks with the fluffy sweet cakes. She sucked her teeth and manipulated her tongue for a warm slippery swallow.
“What happened to this guy, Walters?” asked Chris.
Hector, pushing his empty plate to the side, wiped is mouth. “Does it matter?”
“I don’t know. I would not gamble on it. Personally, I would confine him for a very long time.”
“I’m with you,” said Hector. “And, speaking of personally, a thought keeps running around my head.”
Chris turned her full attention to Hector’s next words.
“We need to know the mind of the Emperor. And, we need a list of questions for when we have a dialog with him.”
Chris raised an eyebrow. “I heard, ‘we need’ repeated several times. What do you have in mind?”
“Now, you’re talking,” said Hector. “Come with me to my quarters. Help me make a list of questions for the Emperor.”
Chris nodded, “Yes,” she replied. “This is a wonderful idea. I’m ready, what do you say we get out of here?”
Hector opened the door. His quarters were more like a contemporary New York flat than a starship stateroom. Chris was immediately taken in by the tasteful décor. The living room was the bedroom with a large observation window at the far end. The view outside pulled ones attention to the vast expanse of stars. At the bottom of the window one could see the cargo ships tethered along the length of the runway.
The center of the room opened to a short hallway that led to the
kitchen and dining room. On the other side was the study and bathroom. She walked straight through the door without hesitation. She stopped to run her finger over the polished maple entry table. She breathed-in the bouquet of flowers arranged in the gold leaf vase. “Your place is intoxicating. I’m drawn right in. You’re a clever decorator, Hector.”
Hector chuckled, “Thanks,” he said. “I’ve never understood why people waste the living room. To show their guests who they’re not is pretentious.”
“They probably have kids and need the room,” said Chris as she gazed at the paintings on the walls. “Oh my, you have the ‘Starry Night’ by Van Gogh.”
“Yeah, seemed fitting considering,” he said. “Can I get you something?”
“No, not for a while,” she said. “I was just thinking of something pretty crazy.”
“Like what?”
“You said something about knowing the mind of Legion.”
“Yes.” He replied.
“Well, let’s say, he recognizes the duality of nature, negative and positive. Let’s say, he likes to play with these dynamics in high energy states.”
“Okay, this is interesting and why does he like to do that?”
“Because he can,” she said.
“That’s it?”
“No, come on Hector, you have to help a bitch out here, right?”
“I don’t know what you mean. But, I like your style,” he replied intrigued.
“It’s like when opposing forces meet in a contest. And, the reality of the contest becomes the same thing. Only the forces evolve. And the forces become more advanced, or else. Or else, they get brushed aside and put-out-to-pasture.”
“Yeah, yeah, this is good,” replied Hector.
“Right, so,” she scrambled up on the coach next to Hector. “In some ways, let’s say he thinks in a way like a pregnant aphorism. I will give you an example in a quote: ‘Truth is sometimes an octagon, and in that, I am one. Contradiction is a cardinal element in life and of itself may be no contradiction. In me contradiction itself; as a principle, finds its own reason for existence. My awareness of my own paradox does only one thing to me: it makes me laugh. No, contradiction has a place in human nature, in social value or as it has in mathematics. Contradiction is neither true nor false. It is. I am convinced of the validity of contradiction. There are many worlds. Each world is true, at its time, in its own fashion. These words come from the great movie actor turned philosopher, Errol Flynn.”
“I know this name, Errol Flynn,” said Hector. “I have seen The Adventures of Robin Hood many times. What he said about the many worlds; it is true throughout the multiverse in its own contradictory way.”
“Yes,” replied Chris. “Now, you can see how the Emperor thinks about the future.”
“No,” he said with a faint grin on his face.
“Yes you do,” she screeched, jumping to her knees and pouncing on his neck.
Hector grabbed her and spun her round on her back kissing her full on the mouth.
Chapter 11
______________________________________________
WARFARE
Famous quote repeated by Julius Caesar to the Roman Army.
“If you want peace prepare for war.”
General Sun Tzu, circa 450 BC
“What’s this guy’s story?” asked Marco. “I heard he came from a wealthy family and joined the military after a falling out with his parents.”
“Yes, it was something like that,” replied Balrug. “He was the classic prodigal son; seduced by greed and drunk with the forbidden fruits of his money. Walters abandoned his woman and child. He left them behind after a violent storm that destroyed their home. Then he turned his back on his family and friends in disgrace. He joined the military and worked to send support for the child but was no longer welcome in their home. So, he became obsessed with power. So much so his obsession made him delusional when he worked close to the Emperor Lord Legion.”
“Delusional? I don’t know whether to hate or pity the poor bastard. We all go through this getting real phase in one form or another and at different times in our lives. Not unlike this temple,” replied Marco. “This mishap has the hallmarks of the Emperor.”
“The misuse of power is a constant temptation. No doubt the Emperor saw it coming,” said Balrug. “If we were to ask him, he would be more than gracious and tell us every detail. I have known Legion for a very long time. I come away with appreciating my own life and my own place in this multiverse.”
Marco took a deep breath. “Well, I guess we better get to it. You’re turning the knob the wrong way. Did you forget your right from your left? Here let me help you.”
“I’ve got it. Don’t be such a pest. I know my right from my left,” said Balrug, as he pushed the door open with one hand and held Marco back with the other.
Balrug, admiring Chris’ dominance with Walters, smiled. Chris returned the smile. She said her farewells leaving with Hector on their all-important mission for pancakes. “What’s this now?” he asked looking at Walters.
“What do you want from me?” said Walters.
“Your cooperation,” replied Balrug.
“Well, I’m not going to cooperate, not willingly anyway,” said Walters
“Oh good, that means you can listen,” retorted Balrug.
“You are wasting your time, Balrug. I don’t plan on being around for you or anyone else. And, for that matter, I don’t care to share this universe with anyone.”
“I can understand why you would feel that way,” said Balrug. “Let us worry about that, Jim. Since you have proven your decisions to be unsound, we are going to show you why that is. Then we are going to give you some tools so you can live by yourself in peace, how’s that?”
“My mind is made up, so piss off old man.”
Balrug and Marco took a seat next to the viewer. They watched the activity outside on the runway.
“Where . . . where’s the place you’re talking about?” asked Walters
Marco turned from the viewer. “Are you talking to us, Walters?”
“Yes, Walters is talking to us,” he said.
“Is it talking to us now in the third person? Is it?” chided Balrug.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Walters. “I can’t move.”
“He doesn’t want to leave us does he? He just got here,” teased Marco.
“I’m stuck goddam it!”
“She shot you up with some crazy medicine shit, so lay there and relax,” said Marco.
“Who?” Walters said.
“Who; where have you been? Chris: the one in the white coat and tits.”
“Oh yeah,” he said. “I’d like to fuck her shit.”
Marco chuckled, “She’d probably let you.”
“You think so?”
Marco raised his hand in disbelief. “I thought you were planning on killing yourself. Now you want to stick your dick in Hector’s new squeeze.”
“Oh, I’ll fuck Hector too.”
“Now, there is where you better watch your mouth. Hector doesn’t have a sense of humor,” replied Marco in a tone of caution. “I’m very disappointed in you, Walters.”
Walters fell silent; breathing heavy. He moaned. Balrug raised an eyebrow. Turning to Marco with a knowing smile, they both sat back and waited for Walters to speak first.
“What’s next?” whispered Walters.
“Are you in any pain?” asked Marco.
“No”
“We go through your senses, one by one. We activate your presence of mind. It’s a here and now thing.”
Walters stared at the ceiling for an awkward moment then turning his head away he replied, “Okay.”
Balrug and Marco gave each other a glance of caution. “Okay,” said Marco turning to Balrug with an affirming nod. “Listen to the sounds around you. Hear the hum of the work outside, the voices in the corridor, the growl of the sanitation tank off-gassing. Listen to the muffled vibrations
of your inner ear trembling from shock.”
Walters moaned.
“Jim, may I call you Jim?” asked Marco.
“No”
Marco looked to Balrug. Balrug shook his head. “Okay, ‘Mister Walters’ it is, then.
Let’s move to your sight, your vision. Look at the texture of the light, look don’t react. See the different shades and shadows on the walls. See the lights that move. Look at the lights that are more difficult to determine than the light that draws your attention. See the colors, the colors and nothing else. Look at the shadows. Look at the patters and abstract shapes. That’s fine, Mister Walters, you are doing fine.
Okay, now what you feel. Your middle finger is what you feel. It's the largest of your five senses. Feel your reproduction; your family, your off-spring. Are you hungry? Feel if you are in the moment or in your imagination. Give yourself a moment to feel something other than your pain, if only for a moment.
Next, test your sense of smell, your olfactory gland. This gland has direct connections in two areas of the brain, the amygdala and hippocampus. More than any other sense, smell is what triggers emotional and memory response. It’s like when you smell the perfume of a long lost lover. In your mind you are immediately transported back to that time.”
Walters groaned, “I know this.”
“Okay good, very good,” said Marco. Balrug nodded and Marco continued.
“Your sense of taste can give you some clues. Also, it is a reminder to put others first in polite society. It’s a wise policy if nothing else. I remember when I was banged up like you are now. I had a coppery taste in my mouth that told me I had broken bones.”
Walters groaned again. Marco watched the body lay still on the examination table. “Still can’t move? The effects of the drug will start to wear off in a half hour or so.”
“What’s next?” said Walters.
“Let’s recap. We went through the five senses we all connect to the forces of the universe. When you stretch out your hand you can remind yourself of these five basic senses. This is where you connect to your real home: the now . . . the nasty here and now. This is your real home, the present, where you make it happen, where you are responsible for what you do. But there is more and we will get in to that.
