The girl’s heart warmed as she saw her father's name appear in bold letters on the screens. He was a star and lived his life without her. She (along with billions of humans) smiled proudly. The positive energy returned around the Multiverse.

Laurent Lapierre & Mall-ik Lapierre

Deep Below The Fuller Glacier

Mercury, Solar System, The Cold

The broadcast began with darkness and red sparks of glitter. There was no introduction. Humans would now see and hear these aliens.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," repeated the sand creature to itself.

Grix floated alone in what he considered a laboratory below the surface of the Fuller Crater. Before him was the machine designed to observe dimensional shifts. The Martian's individual particles floated as close to the device as possible without touching it. At regular intervals, several of the rocks forming his cloud compressed and released a single photon. The ball of light entered the machine at precisely the same location and began its long winding path. As it moved, behind it was a streak of light. It bounced until it slowed and blinked out of existence. Each time was the same, it twisted upon itself instants before it vanished. The creature's frustration multiplied. "Come on guys,” it yelled. You're missing this, come and see. The deviation is increasing. Come on you morons!"

"Stop working," resonated a different shaky voice from deep within the labyrinth of ice. "Come prepare yourself for the Festival of Lights," it said joyously. The words only increased Grix's frustration. They'd been stranded for almost a million years and today of all days, the others were getting stoned out of their minds. He wasn't sure what infuriated him more, the lack of respect he was getting from the entire community or the sheer stupidity of his race.

All of the others were getting ready for the great euphoria.

A strange tribal sound, a music capable of resonating with these creatures began to fill the crevasses of the glacier. Marilyn illustrated with maps a network of gaps forming a larger homestead of the Martians. The irregular pattern looked like an ant colony. She pinged their location of each creature with a flashing pixel. Nearly one hundred creatures were preparing themselves for the festivity. Puffs of smoke were moving in pairs making their way slowly to the surface. Their movements were erratic dancing to the music.

"They are coming," yelled Grix in frustration. "I promise!" Grix had cried wolf one too many times.

His laboratory wasn't the largest cavern. It was just below the surface was a flat opening about the shape of a human mattress. With time, the music increased in amplitude and began to make the room vibrate. The testing was over as the machine was barely holding to the wall. These creatures were holding something like a rave party.

"My turn," said one sand cloud floating slowly to the area where most concentrated. On the ground was some silver-looking powder. The creature who'd just declared his turn positioned itself above the powder and moved like a fish trying to lift sand from the bed of the ocean. Some of the dust and powder began to accelerate.

"Don't take too much," replied the second creature as the powder started to diffuse amongst the red grains forming the alien creature. "Last time you had a big hangover, remember. Two hundred grains max."

The creature did not heed the warning. Hundreds of silver shining specks joined the red ones and began to dance. "Awesome," said the creature as it moved aside from the drug and let another grab some of the silver sand. Like a drunk getting out of a cab, the creatures moved erratically and began making its way to the surface. The music played and one by one they all joined in the euphoric celebration, with one exception.

Grix finally made his way up to the euphoria room, did not grab any of the silver specks and floated to the top of the glacier. "Guys, whatever alters the seventh dimension and changes our destiny is here, now. Come on, this is important." The words fell flat. The creatures were enjoying themselves.

"The opening arrives!" said an inebriated voice, "Let's rise and touch the sun!"

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," grumbled Grix to himself.

The creatures rose, slipped to the surface and continued up.

***

Laurent Lapierre was wearing a long white robe. In the digital world, his body was whole. Sophie smiled to herself back in Electoral Central. He father was not playing the Jester, he was himself. The cotton was flapping in the wind. Next to him, also wearing a robe stood the alien boy. Both were on the surface of mercury as if time, space and science were beyond them. They were holding hands in the center of the Fuller Crater. They seemed impervious to the hostility of their surroundings the same way Marilyn was able to warp reality in her world.

Laurent wasn't playing Round 28; he was living it. The couple was wearing matching laced leather sandals which wrapped all the way to their knees. The couple was out of a Greek play. Mall-ik loved their costumes. Laurent was teaching the boy about earth's history and was now in the early Roman period. Mall-ik was smiling ear to ear and made it impossible for viewers not to share in his excitement. Sophie was happy to see her father enjoying himself. He had a new purpose in life; he was the creature's guide.

Below their feet was the white ice of the glacier. It was clean and the layer of dark ash was conveniently removed. The two human bodies were breathing air and looking up at the magnetic vortex forming above them. By some fate of magic, a padded leather table appeared next to them. On it, the hundred balls nested in carefully crafted openings. Inside the spheres, the figurine of Marilyn was absent but the sand was gone.

Watching back in the Command room of the Electoral Center, Liam in Sophie's head said, "Your worries seem to have been misplaced. It appears Mall-ik allows your father complete control the digital environment. Holding the boy’s hand, it seems like their power in the digital world rivals Marilyn's. I am sure this must be very upsetting for her."

"You think my father put Mall-ik's name there on the screen?" The question surprised Liam; he had not thought about it.

After a short moment of reflection, he confirmed, "That seems very improbable."

Sophie felt like something was about to transpire on the screen. Unbeknownst to the people present in the Electoral Center and the Attractor, Marilyn was now broadcasting the image of the young girl watching her father. She was important enough to warrant a side by side broadcast.

The same way Marilyn had illustrated the magnetic fields around mercury, the computer intelligence began to superimpose a map of the level of Rho waves in the game room emanating from Sophie’s mind. There were two sources of Rho energy; the first was a gentle flow pouring out of cables from the walls, split equally into the minds of the players. The second and much more powerful and wild source emanating from Sophie's mind. Gushes like wild lightening was pouring a healthy yellow color in every direction. Only a small portion was making its way to Laurent, yet the father was getting more energy from his daughter than the other thirty players combined.

This was Marilyn’s way of telling the world Laurent and Mall-ik were cheating.

Returning to Mercury, the boy looked at his new surroundings, looked at the sky and asked, "Where are we?"

"Isn't this place wonderful? We are the first humans here. Well, the first Metil and Human here," he corrected himself. "Remember, we spoke of the planets. This is one of the closest to the sun. Our real bodies are back on mars," he looked up at the sky and pointed at a red winking light. "Fourth rock out. Mercury, where we stand, is one of the Roman Gods we discussed this morning. Mercury is the equivalent of Hermes in the Greek mythology."

They were in the shadow of the rim, yet the boy said, "The sun is big here."

"Yes, twice what we can see on earth. It never rises fully here but if we move a bit, we should see it. You want to see the sun?”

“Not really. It burns the eyes you said.”

“True but only in the real world. Mercury was the God of thieves and travelers. He had little wings on his heels, right here. He gestured. And the Romans were dressed like us. That's why you look this way. Like it?"

"More!" the boy knew Laurent would oblige.

"On earth, where your sister and I am from,” he pointed up at the blue shining star. “The sun appears much smaller. The atmosphere makes it yellow; here it is white. Back home we cannot see these details of the gas. You see from here how the surface appears to bubble."

"More father." As the boy used that word, the brain waves created by Sophie reacted. She felt a pang in her heart of seeing the boy call Laurent father. This wasn't jealousy; only envy. Marilyn’s split screens was illustrating to the viewers that Sophie's waves fluctuated in real time and how they were connected directly to Laurent's every word. The boy pointed at the spinning colors around them, "What is this? What is it called? It’s beautiful.”

"As I told you, Marilyn's world is a game and in it, she wants us to feel important. She does games and missions. She says our mission today is to help two men who are watching this game. They are traveling here and moving quickly. Look up, they are moving fast in this direction," he looked up and found what he was looking for. As if on cue, the sun reflected on the golden sail. "See the gold light, next to the blue?"

"Yes."

"The earth is the blue and their ship is the gold."

"A gold ship?"

"No. But it has a heat shield in front of it which is gold plated." Laurent waved his hand in the air, and a replica of the ship appeared immaterial. "It looks like this." The man was truly compelling in the digital world. He now was so powerful, with a wave of the hand, he could create illusions. "The two men in the ship are quickly making their way here, and unlike us, they can't walk down here without protection. Mercury is too cold or too warm for human life. There is no air to breathe either."

"Your species is weak."

"What have I explained?"

"Evolution," replied the boy.

"Yes. Every species and creature evolves from its environment. You in your rock-form can't survive or even enter our dimension."

"Superman comes from Krypton, and he's stronger."

"Superman is a comic book character."

"I like him, he is great."

"Most boys your age share your view."

Around them, ashes from mercury began to rise caught in the spinning magnetic field. The sight was beautiful. Marilyn illustrated images of the formation of the vortex but this time from within the tube. The white robes contrasted with the darkness of this place. "Our role is to find out why the martians about to rise between our feet do not react to these little balls. Another player tried and failed to convince the creatures to enter them. Emilio plays next and we must help him with that."

The boy grabbed a ball. He held it in his hand. As he did, the sand came alive and the dress of the figurine started to wobble. "What are they, a game?"

"No one really knows," began Laurent. The man was born to teach. His eyes sparkled an audience. "The President thinks the sand is a creature, a life form of sorts. The creatures stranded here should be able to slide themselves into these. These balls will transport them to their home, and the travelers will shoot them back."

"That's a bit stupid."

"Why?" asked Laurent.

"Don't know. It just sounds like a stupid plan."

Laurent laughed, "Agreed, but this is not our show."

"Are we the good guys?"

"I think so."

"What is this?" repeated the boy pointing at the spinning colors slowly forming. Laurent had evaded the question the first time the alien asked.

"You come from a different world. While this is my world, my species has never seen this. Air movement on earth does this occasionally. Watch the pattern. Around and around, but focused. We call it a tornado. That's only a visual demonstration. What's going on is much different. You and I are lucky to be here."

As if on cue, sand began to rise between the cracks of the ice. The sand puffs formed one by one. In the light, they sparkled red and silver. The boy stepped out of the way to let them rise. They looked a bit like a group of sea mermaids, moving in water.

"Are those martians?"

"I think so. Like you, they've become exiled. Stranded away from home. These creatures once lived on mars. They have been here so long." Mall-ik moved his hand, feeling attentively for the wind to guide his hand. As if he were playing with air out of a window of the family car driving along the highway. His fingers passed between the grains of sand and cut a creature. It reformed immediately. "We need to talk to them."

"How?"

The boy tried to grab one of the puffs of smoke carefully. He waved his hand in the rising sand. Even cupping his hands around one proved pointless. Then he grabbed a ball and tried to touch the alien with it.

"Look, the colors are different." Mall-ik placed the ball next to one of the floating creatures. He was right; the real creature had a silver shimmer the others lacked.

Nothing seemed to work. The creatures were now floating high in the sky and dancing. Then, as time passed, one by one, the creatures lowered and returned down below the ice and slipped away as the vortex faded.

"Any idea?" asked Laurent. They were running out of time; he looked around.

"There," he pointed close to the ground. "That one, do you see. Its color is all red."

"Where?" asked Mall-ik.

"This one, it's smaller. It's like the ones in the balls." Compared to the others it seemed sad. It was much smaller and did not move. Mall-ik pulled on Laurent's hand, and both stepped closer. They got on their knees to observe it.

"What should we do?"

"Put the ball next to it."

As Mall-Ik did, a grain of sand touched the boy's hand. The screen went dark and down on earth was a long and very lucrative commercial break