Unipsi, lovely entity

chapter 26: departure

Scilla was dreaming. Finally a normal dream, one of those that disappear gradually once awake. She was happy. In her blurred mind she saw a big villa surrounded by beautiful weeping trees and fields of flowers. In front of the villa entrance, on the porch Iris was waiting for her. Smiling while the wind moved her long hair. Behind her back 5 distinct creature, their kids. They resemble both of them and display all their species. One was about to spoke but then she woke up. Iris, the real one was moving. She was squishing out of Scilla’s arms as gently as she could.

Let’s see what she does.

Once free, Iris turned back and filled the void that she left behind with a big pillow. Then quietly she put back the covers around Scilla and walked away. Not much later, probably just 5 minute later, Iris was back. She placed something on one of the nearby desk and then tried to wake up Scilla gently.

“Scilla?… Scilla?… you should wake up…” while softly whispering so Iris was also gently poking Scilla’s foot. Scilla was already awake still she decided to play the sleeping part initially moving just a little to the fully sit in bed. In front of her Iris was holding a big steamy mug with both hands.

“this is for you. It’s hot black tea, do you like it?”

Scilla got immediately interested. Human Tea was sort of a luxury item for almost everybody except humans. Plants in the camellia genus apparently don’t really like to change planet and they usually die rapidly or get killed by other native plants. However Scilla had money and had the pleasure to drink some. She liked it but getting pure tea from Terra was an endless pain in the ass so eventually she stopped even looking for it.

“is this real tea from Terra?”

Iris however put on a perplexed expression.

“no. how could it be? We didn’t commerce with humans so far. It’s tea from Yoctas, one of the many esterian planet and probably the one with the better wheatear.”

“so it’s a different plant? Or did you find a way to keep it alive?”

“similar plant, different soil and no pesticides what so ever. For what I know it has a stronger taste but it’s kinda similar. Never had the real one”

“well thanks I guess. Why did you make it?”

“to.. to have an excuse to start a conversation. I know that usually people do so. I don’t know why.”

“you should also not tell the other party that your tea is an excuse”

“really?”

“yep. Just go with the flow and say what you have to”

“so… even if it’s a bit pointless… I’m sorry. Yesterday I was not… working properly….”

“tell me something that I don’t already know”

“well… how was it… oh right… thanks Scilla. I’m far from perfection, I strive for it yet I can’t reach it. I know it’s useless but it’s how I am.”

“I’m not asking you to change your ideals, just to lean on me if you ever need it. Exactly as you did once you started feeling sick.”

“Don’t you pity me? I’m a genius, built to be better than anyone else. Built to be an indestructible pillar of hope. Won’t you be disappointed?”

Scilla had already forgiven Iris. She knew that Iris was elaborating slowly her emotions and that Iris still need time to mature emotionally.

“sit beside me Iris”

Iris didn’t hesitate and did so. Now one beside the other with the mugs in hands, Scilla leant on Iris shoulder.

“I’m not in love with you because you are a hope pillar of civilization or some fangirl shit. I know that you are way smarter than me, but I also know that you can’t process emotions. I can help you with that.”

“will you really help me. Without getting anything back?”

“well I hope that if I ever need help you will help me back. Won’t you do that?”

“I can do that. no. I will do that!.”

“see. I can already lean on you as you desire”

Iris was happy. She was feeling useful and that was all she needed. However she was finally able to realise that she was not the only one with such feeling. Scilla wanted to be useful as well and she could understand emotions way better than Iris. So she leant on Scilla as well, compensating her wight.

“I’m scared. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to lose you neither. I have so much more to do and there is so much that as yet to be discovered. I don’t want to be a walking universal abomination.”

Iris tone was getting sadder and desperate, but gradually it was mixing with anger. Her eyes lit up like wild fire and deep inside them, a grey reflex. The Whispers were eager for revenge as well. Against who? they didn’t care, be it humans or the whole universe. Wherever Iris anger was going to be directed they were going as well.

“I don’t want to be the same Iris as the one in those fucking books. I have been alone for years, I don’t mind loneliness. But haven’t I done enough?. Haven’t I sacrifice enough?, give enough?. What more could I fucking lose? Everything I ever care about has either died, disappeared or left me. I even lost Natrix. The only thing left is you. I won’t let anybody take you away. You are mine. MINE!. I will crush everything that gets in the way!. I will…”

“I appreciate your possessiveness. But I’m not an object you can thrown around”

She is calming down. Bomb defused successfully.

“it’s obvious that you are no object. Still my initial plan was to kidnap you.”

“really?”

“yep. I wanted to bring you to weeping sky and lock you in.”

“so you just changed way of doing things?, instead of force you are controlling my mind with chemical components.”

Scilla was joking and teasing Iris a bit, however Iris felt it necessary to clarify her position.

“I only tiered to make you fear me. Once I understood your immunity I sort of gave up. I want to preserve your brain and personality so I never release anything that could change your perception of me. I no longer desire to force you into anything.”

“good to know. Exactly like you, I appreciate honesty and so I have to ask. Isn’t Natrix the ship? it’s here how could you have lost it?”

“the Ship is Natrix Demone Urlante or NDU if you prefer. I called the automated AI partition in my brain Natrix as well. But my creation died. The artefact killed it. It was a special AI, one that could not have backups.”

“oh. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“don’t be it. After all it was a parasite that I built inside my own brain to limit my conscious self. Now I have all my brain at my disposal. I’m stronger now.”

Scilla moved her arm around Iris body to squeeze her closer. She knew that she was suffering.

“you don’t have to put up a facade. You can tell me that you miss it. I will…”

Iris put down her empty tea mug and hugged Scilla back, face in her side, with all her strength. Scilla just stood there. Speaking was not what Iris required in that moment.

Time passed and finally Iris pulled back. Her face was back to “normal” but it was clear as the day that she was still hurt.

“shall we go eat something? I didn’t really prepare anything because you know… I have no idea how to cook most stuff.”

“sure, lead the way. But how could it be that you don’t know how too cook?”

Iris moved toward the kitchen and Scilla followed her. Iris didn’t reply until inside the room where she pulled out a small data-pad with a cooking book open.

“you see, this shit is too vague. ‘cook until golden brown’. What the hell is golden brown? Also colour is influenced by how our eyes are built, by the light, reflection and so on. How the hell should I know? Then this, add salt and pepper to taste? How should I know? If it doesn’t kill me it’s fine….”

Iris kept on explaining “massive issues” with cooking books that could all be defined as taste preference or feeling.

So she doesn’t know how to cook because she is basically unable to understand that most of cooking is pure feeling and intuition? Well I should have seen it coming.

“see this one as well says to mix until dense. How much dense? How many resistance should it make? How much viscous friction? You see! You see what I’m speaking about right? Scilla?”

“yep I can see it. You pointed out… well all the recipes so far…”

“it’s not my fault if they are wrong”

“they are not wrong. You miss the concept of feeling while cooking and mental elasticity. Well I guess I will teach you that as well?”

Exactly as it happened on the Sheridan, Iris immediately rushed to Scilla, all exited.

“really!?! really?!?!”

So cute. I guess she is no longer sad.

“sure. I don’t take back my words”

Once in front of the cooking robot display Scilla noticed a peculiar element. A digital integrated clock showing 11:32.

“Iris I think your clock is broken. How much did we sleep?”

“it’s a planetary net synchronized clock, it’s correct at the pico-second. We sleep through all the evening, night and also morning of today.”

“what? How the fuck did that happen. I can understand your case of being ‘fighting’ with the artefact but also me?”

“maybe my powers consumed your energy as well because you are too close. Don’t really know. Sorry.”

“don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. I guess I will have breakfast/lunch with you and then go home.”

“you don’t have to go home. I’m already flying you there”

“what? We are flying?”

“yep.”

how is this possible. A feel no disturbance at all, no movement. It all feels static as if time isn’t even running.

“can you tell me how it’s possible that I feel nothing?”

“oh, you have to keep it a secret but it’ kinda easy. All ship’s walls and plates in general are filled with additional internal plates and components. Those are made with gravron elements.”

“yeah that tells me nothing, but if I have to guess it’s related to your gravity pull device right?”

“exactly. Do you know how current works?”

“a flow of charges through a surface.”

“a bit reductive but yes. So the base of current are electron or holes that are a lack of electrons. Gravron elements comes from a different universe where electron are gravity charges and gravity can be obtained as we obtain current. The ship has a transformer that basically converts the energy carried by electron into energy that is now carried by grav-electron and this new moving particles generate gravity fields all around the ship. This way I can manipulate gravity as I please with limits ralated to my own power supply and inertia forces. So if a move slowly I can null all forces working on you except basic gravity pull and so you feel nothing.”

this is a revolution. If we have something like this we could make ship with drastically better top acceleration, we could remove those massive gravity generators. But where the hell did they found such materials? Should I ask? Nah, better ask her at a different time, I don’t want to be too pressing.

“that’s amazing.”

“thanks.”

their lunch moved on without more shocking events. Scilla would have loved to ask about Iris newly acquire powers but that would not be a wise decision. As for the gravron material. Better move slowly.

Scilla was brought home successfully and Iris with her ship stayed there almost all the time. In about a week they resupply the Sheridan, convert an emergency exit into a connector for Iris NDU and were getting ready to say goodbye to Icar 3° for the time to come. Obviously the Lean government has already started moving guided by Csuicha’s ideas. Now all that was left to do was plotting a route and start exploring, it was time for Iris to demonstrate her knowledge.

On the Sheridan main deck Scilla, Idra, Morea and the other ship officials had gathered to discuss “their” plan. In front of an interactive map of the known space. Idra took the lead and started explaining.

“I suppose it’s my time to shine, and so let’s start with the basis. The space we live in was once populated by too many species to keep track of, yet with my work and the one of other colleagues we esterian come to a conclusion. Once upon a time an ancient alien species ruled over our planets and that explain why there are so many ruins scattered on almost every habitable planet. A know a lot of you already believe in ancient extensive terraforming but I will be clear. It happened and also didn’t. Most planet are habitable by nature and are similar because universal law are universal. We share a lot of common traits because we all developed on similar planets so evolution defined us similarly. But it’s undiscussed that we were not the first. My researches showed 2 mayor species before us in recent times. The Morfian and the Valurk. So far I have looked mostly for Morfian ruins and I tracked a new one that I need to explore.”

“Sorry Miss Idra 511 Weeping Sky…”interrupted a rare male Lean. His figure was small, just a bit taller than Idra and old. Probably double Scilla’s age, so more than 80 years old. His skin was a pale red and his haircut was extremely short on the side and long in the middle. He was not wearing a power armour so it was a civilian. His voice was both scared and exited.

“I’m the head of… well I’m basically in charge of all scientific matters and engineering of the ship. I’m.. I’m asking out of curiosity… but will you have time to introduce us more about those species… you see for science?”

Suspicious? I have known this man for years and not even once he showed interest in others lean. He is not even married at his age. Was he bought but Serafia to approach Iris?

“Who are you little man?”

“oh sorry, I’m the ittiro Lucero Castro, I discovered…”

“I don’t care what you did before. Yes I will explain gradually what I know about those species in future meetings.”

“thanks you very much”

“now as I was saying. I have found a new ruin on a moon that has no native species...”

“that is good, less work for us” said Morean.

“inside Xoraxta’s borders” concluded Idra.

Xoraxtas and Leans were not in good relations. Xoraxtas, due to closer beliefs and “good heart”, gave aid to Droxis during the extermination war. Some Xoraxtas thought that a war was not needed especially and extermination one. Others simply liked the Droxis and other again helped the Droxi due to their religious beliefs. Lean are highly against religions and there is not much to add. Most Xoraxtas believed in some sort of divinity so friction was inevitable. Yet it never escalate to a war. Those small creature were too afraid to oppose the Leans. Due to their bad relationship Xoraxtas borders become more patrolled, just in case.

“well the moon is in Shimuya solar system and it’s the 2° moon of the 3° planet.”

“you are telling us to trespass on…”

“Morea let her speak. Idra pleas go on.”

“thanks. Next time I will cut your subordinate tongue and eat it. Now Shimuya usually have just 1 destroyer patrolling it. I can take it down. But they change patrol unit every 33 hours. I know when that happens. So we get there a few hours later. I destroy the enemy and then we get to work on the moon. Easy. In and out in less than 24 hours.”

“are you sure that there won’t be any problems?” replied Scilla.

“yep. I have studied their patterns for way too long and the only inconvenience could be a scientific ship.”

“you won’t ask us to do anything related to the destroyer?”

“just gain a bit of time faking some communication malfunctioning. I will kill them all and remove all possible source of your involvement. Plus both out ship are unknown to them so they won’t know anything until it’s too late.”

The air around the table was extremely tense. They were scared but not Scilla.

“swear it and I will follow your plan.”

“you should have more faith in me commander Lis. So I swear on my family name that we well be succesful”

“I do trust you and know what you are capable of. I just don’t want to put my women and men at risk because for your careless decisions”

“don’t worry. I already pulled some ticks like this.”

“ok. We are in.”

Scilla was the only one convinced by Idra’s words. She will not let her down. Not after helping her. It was the opposite. Idra had the spotlight and she was going to show the unbridgeable gap between them.