Widhbo retrieved Tajlon from the prison cell and led the way to his new office. Two armed guards escorted them to the door.

"There is no need for you to join us," Widhbo said to the guards.

"What do you expect us to do?" one guard asked.

"Wait outside the door?" Widhbo asked sarcastically.

"We'll have to speak with Jejliard first." the guard said.

"A waste of time," Widhbo replied. "I need to carry out the sentence immediately."

"We're under orders not to let him out of our sight until he's uploaded," the second guard said.

Go ahead then," Widhbo said stepping aside. He waved a wing toward the doorway

The guards stepped forward to the entrance and faltered. Tajlon walked past them into the office, but the guards held back.

"Well?" Widhbo asked. "Having a little problem, are we?"

The first guard tried to enter the office by running through the doorway. He dissipated as he passed the threshold.

"Perhaps you will agree to wait outside?" Widhbo asked the second guard.

Jejliard came down the corridor to join them. He carried a bulky apparatus with him. "What's going on here?"

"It seems we lost a guard," Widhbo replied. "So brave, so foolish."

Jejliard approached the door to Widhbo's office and stopped short of entering. "What are you talking about?"

"He tried to follow the prisoner into the room and evaporated, sir," the second guard said.

Jejliard moved to the doorway and stopped when he felt the grid collapsing along with his program. "This is highly irregular."

"It's a little privacy precaution. I built a simple interference cage around my office. It blocks the power grid your kind is so fond of."

"My kind?"

"Yes, the program kind," Widhbo answered. "Now, I've shared my little secret. What is that contraption you're holding?"

"This is an isolation container which I devised to keep Tajlon's files separate from any function of the ship," Jejliard said. "I couldn't sleep last night, so I built this."

"Aren't you the clever one? I suppose you'll be wanting me to use it?" Widhbo said.

"Your choice. It's the best I could do with the materials at hand," Jejliard replied. "As long as Tajlon's files are truly banished, that will satisfy the terms of his sentence."

"I'll be happy to consider it after I've uploaded Tajlon into one of the magiton storage units. What an ugly box," Widhbo said. He took the isolation chamber and examined it. "You must have suffered a fatherly moment to make this. Not too bad for a first effort, though it could use a few modifications," he mused. "Run along and leave me to it. Tajlon is in a hurry to leave for Beldora."

"I don't want him leaving this ship."

"You realize once Tajlon has uploaded, his mortal self is free to go." Widhbo reminded him. "You chose to imprison his program, after which Tajlon is free to leave."

"Staying on Sora has nothing to do with his sentencing," Jejliard replied. "It's not safe for my son to return to the planet."

"It doesn't look any safer to stay here," Tajlon said from within the room beyond Jejliard's reach. "And for the record, my father's dead."

Jejliard looked at Tajlon and raised an eyebrow. "It's the girl, isn't it?"

"You're damned right it's the girl," Tajlon said. "Soshe needs me to be down there with her right now. Mara needs me. And we all needed you until this happened."

"I'm doing what I think is best, Tajlon. I'm trying to help."

"Well, you screwed up," Tajlon said. "What sort of psychopathic reasoning made you think killing my father was a viable solution?"

"Duplication was not allowed. Between us, I am superior."

"The hell you are!" Tajlon spoke through hot tears. "You erased a man's life. You won't get away with it. The ancients will eventually catch up to you."

Widhbo fidgeted uncomfortably and shuffled past the door, closing it in Jejliard's face.

* * *

The uploading equipment sat on the King's Table in the middle of Widhbo's new office. He had made the final adjustments and checked to be sure everything was right. "Ready?'

Tajlon examined the equipment, On seeing his name on the magiton storage unit, he hesitated.

"Not backing out are you?" Widhbo asked.

"No," Tajlon shook his head. He sat down. "Just contemplating what this means."

"Immortality," Widhbo said and handed Tajlon the helmet. "It can be boring, but the good usually outweighs the bad in my experience."

"What is that box supposed to do exactly?" Tajlon asked.

"The ship's program contains the real Jejliard, who is still your father. You father appears to be in a struggle to gain control. Last night he won long enough to devise this contraption," Widhbo explained. "If you can't connect with the ship, it won't have access to any of the files stored on your chip."

Tajlon said nothing and put the helmet on. It glowed brighter as it settled on his head. Widhbo initiated the upload. Tajlon felt an electromagnetic wave go through his chip like the surge of a giant wave before being pulled under. He passed out cold.

Widhbo placed Tajlon's magiton unit in the isolation chamber and teleported to the outside the the hull. He had adapted the design so it would attach to an unused docking tripod. Once the chamber was securely in place, it now served as an external prison cell. Sora would never be able to access it. After checking to see all was in order Widhbo returned to his office. To his surprise, he found Jejliard standing over Tajlon, who was still unconscious.

"You don't have permission to be here. This is my private office," Widhbo pointed to a sign on the door which read "Captain's Quarters. Keep out. Trespassers will be prosecuted'. "How did you get in here?"

"How do you think?" Jejliard asked. "I convinced Sora we botched the trial because I wasn't in the flesh. Your dramatic exhibition weakened the prosecution's argument. I requested mortal formation to better deal with the situation."

"Good for you," Widhbo said and wriggled to get between Jejliard and Tajlon. "I suggest you leave." He fluffed his feathers to obscure Tajlon from Jejliard.

Jejliard ignored the vexation. "You've already uploaded him?"

"No. He always naps here after murder trials," Widhbo said in a snarky voice. "Of course, I uploaded him."

Jejliard looked over the magiton storage units remaining on Widhbo's desk. "In one of those?"

"Like one of the few individual units which contain their own nuclear power supply. The others will have to interface with the ship's power grid. I plan to install those as communal game parks for the rest of the crew to use."

"Why didn't Tajlon show up in the ship's files?" Jejliard asked.

"Because he's not there. Tajlon's personal unit will never be connected to the ship. I've installed it in your isolation chamber which is now mounted outside the hull of the ship. Just so you know, I've frozen the lock so don't get any ideas..."

"Good."

Widhbo was not expecting that response. "Good? Does that mean your honeymoon with the Sora is over?"

"Let's say I tried to get a divorce and failed."

"How so?"

"I electrocuted myself. I tried a second time, but Sora was two steps ahead of me and cut the power."

"Hmm. You should've predicted that."

"As master programmer you could give Sora a direct order not to regenerate me," Jejliard suggested.

"I could. But I don 't want to aggravate the beastie. It's infatuated with you, for the moment anyway," Widhbo said. "It's a chaos creature with a fickle heart and I'm convinced you're serving as it's leash. Without your rationality for a guide, who knows what it might do."

"When I leave this office Sora will try to interface with my chip again. I can't guarantee my behavior when I'm under Sora's influence." Jejliard's eyes brimmed with tears. "I never wanted to hurt Tajlon. Surely you know that."

"Jejliard, the father? No," Widhbo said. "Jejliard the Sora? He wants access to Tajlon's chip at any cost."

"I know." Jejliard had already faced the truth. It was cathartic to admit it. "I can't stop Sora from controlling me."

Widbho was curious. "How are you managing this little reprieve?"

"Theopian tea," Jejliard said. "I brewed some to try and help me sleep last night. I didn't sleep, but until wearing off this morning, it brought me clarity. I could see my situation and what's been happening to me. I realized drinking the tea might only be a coincidence, so I drank some more after the trial. It worked. I'm myself again."

"How very fascinating. For the record, there was no trial. It was a travesty." Widhbo considered what Jejliard had just told him and moved aside. It made sense and he was convinced Jejliard was trying to protect Tajlon from Sora.

"Why not keep a flask handy?"

"I don't want Sora to get wise of it."

"Brilliant. You'll be happy to know we are preparing the transports as we speak. Hal, Greyla and several others are going with Tajlon. They would much rather die on Beldora than stay here," Widhbo said.

Jejliard placed a hand on Tajlon's arm. "Make sure he gets away before the tea wears off. I won't be able to control my actions then. I'll stay in here until the transports take off."

"They should be gone within half an hour at most."

"So this is goodbye,' Jejliard said. "They are going to the Lost Mountains?"

"Yes. They might make it once they get underground."

"The surface radiation levels may already be too high."

"It's a chance they are willing to take," Widhbo said. "What happens when you run out of tea?"

"You and I both know the answer to that. The ship wins. I've made peace with my mortality, Widhbo. My only concern now is Tajlon. I'm willing to die, but the ship won't allow it."

"Now that you are flesh and blood again, it can't regenerate you unless it takes back your remains due to the law of non-duplication."

"Meaning?"

"You have to convince it you're still alive and die where it can't find you," Widhbo replied. "In here perhaps. I'll bring the tea to my office. Keep it in here."