If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don't like mistakes.

Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters.

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“

The pendulum swings between logic and nonsense. Black and White. The further you pull to either side, the further it will swing to the other in the end.

”

-Kaleid worldview

***The Void, Aether***

***Gideon***

She's doing it again. And I gave her twice my portion of food. “Cyla, why are you always stealing my carrots?” I get up and walk to the kitchen's stove. This time she can't bother me since I've already planned ahead. Afterwards I return to her side with new side dishes on my plate.

Cyla doesn't stop chewing and engages in a mental discussion instead. ~Because it's teasing you. And yesterday you thought that I got round.~

That's definitely a drawback in a relationship with a telepath. I even have to be careful what I think. Maybe I should put a little more effort and training in guarding my thoughts.

~I heard that!~

I click with my tongue. “You got round. It's a fact and perfectly normal for women in your condition. Why would that annoy you?” I answer perplexed.

Cyla swallows being obviously carried away by her hormones. “And yesterday you allowed those two awful aliens to visit us. Illin wanted to know where we drop our babies until they are old enough to speak. And that Ayo tried to use one of his scanners on me.”

“I am sorry. I don't like them myself, but keeping an eye on them somehow fell onto me. There is no chance in hell that I give them another tour through the city and so I took them with me.” I answer.

“Just make sure that the Forlorn doesn't get close to a child. I am not entirely sure what she is capable of.” Cyla grumbles.

“Sure.” I trace the tattoo-like discolouration of her skin to woo her into a better mood. After a while I realized that she doesn't just channel energy through her tattoos, but the skin seems to be much more sensitive in that area. It's actually quite entertaining to tease her by touching it.

“I think Illin isn't the problem. She is trying very hard to understand us humans. It's Ayo whose motives are very dubious.” I explain. “At least the current teleportation node is in a dead area of space. That's why we are having more time for our visitors.”

“Yes, I actually wanted to ask about that. Up until now we placed each teleportation node in a major civilised system, like the Forlorn, Grahu and Jeebes. But this fourth one is somewhere between the stars.” Cyla asks.

I shrug, thinking back to the Jeebes. They are some kind of amoeba and were very indifferent towards our actions. Our diplomatic exchange can be reduced to the statement that we stay out of each other's way. We don't bother them and they don't bother us with their huge organic ships. I really liked them. Very simple and straightforward people.

“We are in a region of space which can be seen as the main wave-front of the Drazi emigration wave. It's very likely that a teleportation node which is located inside a system will get attacked sooner or later.” I explain.

“Shouldn't we take more protective measures then?” Cyla asks while almost choking on her meal.

I shake my head. “We are somewhere in between the stars. I can't imagine how they could find us, even if they knew that we are here.” There is no chance for them to be that lucky. “They wouldn't even find us if they knew almost exactly where we are. This node will use the latest stealth tech, which would require them to close in to a few hundred kilometres. If you think of the vastness of space that's even more luck than finding a needle on a football field.”

Cyla relaxes visibly. “And the next destination will be the same?”

“Yes.” I answer. “And afterwards we'll stop at a Kaleid system and then we'll make our way through a few coalition-worlds until we are at the gathering place for the society.”

Cyla raises a questioning eyebrow. “And those Kaleid and the Coalition are?”

I sigh and start sharing what I know. The Forlorn suggested to place a node at a Kaleid world since they think that they are very unproblematic negotiation partners. The Kaleid are some kind of aquatic life-form and look like a combination of a catfish and a squid. They are fairly well known traders throughout the galaxy. The Forlorn always paid them a visit when their diplomats travelled to the gathering of civilised species.

The next stops are even less likely to have something against the teleportation nodes. The Coalition is a conglomerate of several different alien species which are working together. Their societies mixed at some point a few thousand years ago. It led to a shared government for all the included species. Since hostility towards foreigners is almost unknown to the Coalition Illin thinks that they will embrace the benefits of the teleportation node.

The last stop on our list is a star system close to the black hole in the centre of our galaxy. It serves as a gathering place for the society and is in great part managed by the Zeen. That's where I expect us getting into trouble.

The more I look at the galaxy's political landscape, as it is described by the Forlorn, the more I think that the Zeen are the driving force behind the alliance which is chasing the Drazi.

The Opach are the main party behind this war. And according to Illin the Opach are akin to vassals of the Zeen. Ayo himself said that he is aiding us with technology because he dislikes the Drazi. Since we only know Ayo we can't say for certain if his actions are sanctioned by the rest of his species, but my theory still stands.

I start eating again after having ended my lengthy explanation.

“So that means that we'll have less unexpected interruptions which influence our daily lives?” Cyla asks with a satisfied voice and continues before I can verify her conclusion. “That's great! Actually I've a present for you.”

A present? For me? I feel honoured! What is it? A new sex toy? A wild night in bed? Actually I don't really care about the belly as long as we can share our feelings. Mind-sex is so much better than the pure physical experience.

By pure impulse I reach for Cyla and try to hug her. But my wife slides past my arms, skilfully avoiding them. She hurries out of the room with a speed I wouldn't have expected from a pregnant woman. For a moment I think about following her, but whatever she has in store for me seems to be a surprise.

After a few moments she returns with a sizeable package in her arms and a photo on top of it. She sits down next to me and shows me the ultrasonic photo of an unborn child. “That's our daughter.”

I take the photo from her to have a look, but to be honest I am rather uninterested in grainy black and white images. So the doctor confirmed the gender. “Ah, so that's the present. I'll make sure to have it with me and show it around.” Isn't that what parents normally do?

Cyla frowns and shoves the package closer to me. “Half of the present. The other half is this book.”

A book!? I reach for the package and lift it. Who the hell needs a tome that weighs about a kilogram? I frown and look at Cyla. “Is that some kind of spell-book or encyclopedia?”

“One thousand four hundred and seven pages. The newest edition based on the latest studies and research.” She hugs my side, rubbing her cheek against my shoulder.

I rip the cotton paper from the package and read the title. “'A guide to being a parent.' 'How to educate a young techno-mage from birth to childhood and what comes afterwards.'”

Blinking, I skim through the book and its overly detailed contents. “Hahahaha.” There is no way in hell that I'll read this. “Thanks. I guess.” I think there is still space in the upper right corner of my bedroom's bookshelf. That's where I store all the stuff which I won't ever take a look at.

“You will read this.” Cyla whispers from my side with a scary expression on her face.

Did she read my mind? No, I am fairly sure that she didn't. I place the book carefully in front of me. “Did I say otherwise?”

“I know you well enough.” She answers. “You are trying hard to avoid thinking about the baby. But we have a responsibility as parents and as techno-mages we will have to take extra care of our child's education and mental health. You yourself know how it is to be mistreated by people who aren't up to the job.”

“Hahaha.” I push the book a little further away, using just one finger. Why do you think that I don't feel up to the task. “I hoped that you'll take care of that? I mean, you are the mother? Didn't you just say that we'll have a daughter? She'll surely be more attached to you than me.”

Cyla places a hand on the tome and pulls it back in front of us. “I'll surely not take care of her ninety-nine percent of the time. We will study this together, each evening until we are done. We are in this together, even if you might think that you aren't up the job. It's also new to me. And at the end there will be a test, so don't even try to do this half heartedly.”

“A test!?” I scratch my chest and catch myself searching for a way to escape this situation.

Cyla's grip on my arm turns tighter. “Yes. Don't forget that you are the one who took out my chip. All this is entirely your dick's fault. And even if I will be the role model for our daughter, you are still the father. And the second child could be a boy. I'll make sure that you can't make a mistake in our children's education.”

“Children!?” I try to get up, but find Cyla and myself surrounded by a set of her drifting gravity-distortions. One of them broke my leg just by getting close to it.

As I watch, another one crumbles the metal pot on the stove to a tiny ball, so I decide that it's much safer to stay put and hug Cyla. “Dear, you didn't say that we are having twins?”

She returns my embrace with a warm smile. “No. I just want to have more than one, so they can play with each other. And if we put another bun in the oven right away they won't be that much apart in age.”

“I see.” I rub Cyla's back. “And if they can entertain each other they won't pester us that much. There is logic behind that.”

Cyla takes my head and gives me a deep kiss, even using her tongue to snake between my lips. After a while we part and she pats my cheek. “So you understand. You had your sisters to play and our children will have each other. I am glad that I don't have to fall back on the contingency plans.”

“I feel a little stupid for asking this, but what are the contingency plans?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Since you understand there is no harm in telling you. I intended to drastically cut back our happy time, using your grandmother against you, potentially even performing a few naughty dances in our bedroom. Just to show you what you are missing out on. Since you are a healthy male I doubt that you would be able to keep your wits together after a few nights.”

Why do I love an evil mistress like her? I lick my lips and put on my best gentleman smile. “But since I am all up for your family plans, all that isn't necessary.”

“No?” She buries her cheek in my chest. “I am so happy. How did I even get the idea that you could have objections.”

I start playing with her pony tail while cuddling her. “Aw. Pah! Objections. No way!” Being crumbled to a tiny ball surely hurts as fuck and I don't want to test my energy form. But I want something for investing all that time of boredom. “Though I think that all these responsibilities will take a heavy toll on my mental stability. I think I'll require a few benefits to soothe my mind.”

“Benefits?” She asks.

I grin. “Yes, like extra attention when we make out. I want complete control once in a while. It would be so great if I would get to try a few new dirty things. Don't worry. Since we are sharing minds I'll only do stuff you like.” Mainly searching for her weak points.

“Dirty things he says.” She pokes my chest. “I wonder whom you got that from?”

.