The House on Infinity Loop

by Bonnie K T Dillabough

  The shortest one also looked to be the oldest of the three. "Mistress Jenny," she sent with a little bow. "My name is Wellis, and these are my assistants, Gras and Cheb." And both girls bobbed their heads as well. "We will be your attendants while you are here. The seamstress will be here shortly to take your measurements for suitable attire."

  The girl named Gras held out the tray she was carrying. "Before all of that, we must feed you."

  She set the tray on a small table, just large enough to accommodate two chairs, and laid the place setting with what looked like chopsticks as well as something she recognized as a finger bowl. Last she placed a tall goblet which probably held water. This was the most inviting as her throat was horribly parched.

  "Thank you," she said, inclining her head. The three faces before her looked as if she had used a vile curse word.

  "Kind miss," Wellis sent, "we are not of a station to deserve any thanks. We do as we are told. There is no honor in this."

  Jenny nodded, though she felt she should shake her head instead.

  She sat at the table and for a moment she wanted to weep. She was so tired and confused and scared. However, she would not want to show any weakness to these or any of the inhabitants of this place.

  So, she sat and ate what appeared to be some vegetables that had been steamed atop some kind of noodles. The glass did indeed hold water and when she downed it in nearly a single gulp, one of the girls immediately refilled it. The napkin in her lap felt like fine linen and the chair she was sitting on was upholstered with something similar to the damask-like curtains that hung over the windows of the room.

  She almost felt like there should be a minuet being played on a harpsicord in the background.

  Another knock about the time she had completed her meal admitted the seamstress and her minions. She had Jenny stand up and turn before her, clucking her tongue and shaking her head as if she faced an impossible task to make Jenny fit for polite society. Jenny rolled her eyes and suppressed a sigh.

  She felt swarmed. The seamstress was taking measurements and calling them out loud in a language that might have been some variation on German, guttural and harsh. The consonants almost sounded as if she were spitting them.

  Finally she stopped, harrumphed without saying a word to Jenny mental or otherwise and stomped out of the room, her minions stomping behind her.

  "She didn't even ask what colors I like," Jenny sent sullenly to Tidbit.

  Wellis made a shooing motion towards the bathing facilities. "Clean clothing will be brought to you when you are finished. All necessary things are prepared for you. Please leave your garments in the basket next to the bath. There is a robe hanging behind the door."

  The "bathing facilities" took Jenny's breath away. The tub was more like a small pool, not actually long enough to swim in, but Tarafau could have stretched out in it and had room to spare. There appeared to be steam rising off of the surface of the water, so Jenny tested it and breathed deeply. It was perfect for the long soak that she so desperately wanted.

  She undressed and slipped into the tub, immersing herself completely before floating for awhile, doing her mental exercises, relaxing every muscle one at a time. Once she began to relax to the point that she felt she might fall asleep, she set about washing herself and found soap, and shampoo. The towels that had been laid out on the edge of the tub were deep and soft. There was one for her body and one for her hair, which she had lathered three times instead of the usual one, having not had any kind of real bath or shower for days. The soap they had used on their trek had not had a pleasant smell, because anything even lightly resembling perfume would attract insects. And then it had only been washcloth baths.

  As she wrung out her hair with the towel, she realized it was getting quite a bit longer than she usually wore it. There had been no time to even consider other than basic hygiene for what seemed like a long time. She brushed it out and wound it into a knot on top of her head and donned the soft, plush, resort-style robe.

  When she went out into the salon of the suite, her maids were standing there as if they had been at attention the entire time she was in the bath. Tidbit sat on a cushion with a disgruntled look skewing his cat face. "They brushed me," he sent. "I'm 'such a good kitty', or so they tell me."

  Wellis waved toward the door opposite the bath room. "I have set out some clothing for you to sleep in. Get some rest and we will see you in the morning. If you need anything just ring." And she pointed to a button on the wall next to the bed. The clothing they had laid out was a grey granny-style nightgown, similar to what she had worn as a kid, but with no trace of the flowers, lace or ruffles a little girl might wear.

  Jenny simply nodded and closed the door behind her, after letting Tidbit in. Interestingly enough, they had laid a blanket on the floor next to her bed, apparently to accommodate Tidbit.

  "Lay it on the floor next to the door," he sent. "Don't block it, but make it so I could catch an ankle, if I needed to."

  Jenny did as he asked, got dressed for sleep and climbed into the queen-sized bed between clean sheets and under a soft thick blanket and fell into a deep sleep before she could have another thought.

  Chapter 36: Where's the White Rabbit?

  For the first four days she followed the exact same routine. Her maids would knock on her bedroom door and when she responded, they would bustle about pushing back curtains that let in only the dimmest grey light, lighting lamps and preparing her bath.

  By the time she emerged from the bath, her clothing for the day had been laid out on her bed and once she was dressed, there was a breakfast of the same vegetables over something like rice, noodles or quinoa. In the meanwhile, her maids would make over the "nice kitty", brushing him while he endured it with wise-crack remarks only Jenny could hear.

  The clothing the seamstress had created for her was all in various shades of grey and black. No wonder she didn't ask Jenny for her color preference. The only spots of any color in her rooms beside the beige and tan were the tapestries which held colored mandala-type designs. Instead of the robes worn by Sam and her parents, these clothes reminded her of paintings she had seen of the Quaker settlers of the United States. Plain dresses with loose fitting bodices, high necks, gathered skirts and simple satin slippers, with optional bonnets. None of it was trimmed with anything like lace or ruffles. A good thing, in Jenny's opinion. The cloth was soft, however, which was a relief as she had been dreading the idea of some scratchy penance-inducing material.

  As soon as her breakfast was finished, Mynah would come to "instruct" her. These teaching sessions were more than a little strange, but actually somewhat useful. She still had no idea what Sam and her family were planning for her, but she did know somewhat more about the dimension and planet on which she found herself.

  It turned out that this planet was on the very edges of the solar system it belonged to. The sun was so far away that the only light was grey and even the two moons that orbited the planet were wan and almost misty, more like a nightlight than anything else. The galaxy that claimed its orbit was far away from any other and their solar system was on the far edge of that. They were so tenuously connected to any of it that their planet could very possibly go rogue at some point, breaking away to float between galaxies and solar systems, at which point all life which existed here would be snuffed like a candle that had burned out.

  This would happen eventually. Mynah had been certain about that, but it wasn't an urgent concern, as things went. This was thousands of years in the future.

  The only thing that prevented the planet from being a ball of ice, with no atmosphere or liquid water was a very hot core and strong gravity. Jenny felt as if she weighed an extra twenty pounds, which took some getting used to, but she was adjusting.

  The food they ate wasn't vegetables at all, as it turned out, but several types of fungi that was the only thing that would grow in the low light of this world. Jenny began to understand the lack of color in her surroundings. Color was
seen by the human eye only when light was present. She wondered where the colors had come from in the tapestries she had seen, so she asked Mynah.

  He replied that the planet had not always been so dark. Their planet had been drifting farther and farther to the edges of their solar system for thousands of years. Over time they had developed many types of artificial light, but their eyes were not used to it, so they only used the brighter lights for things such as surgery or research. Because of this, the irises of their eyes were covered in a black film to protect them from bright lights. This was kind of like having permanent sunglasses, which also inhibited their ability to see and appreciate color.

  Day in and day out, Jenny learned that the history and culture of the Fleistians was long and, as Jenny had suspected based on the tapestries in the hall, bloody. There were two very different, very separate cultures on the planet, and although King Namal claimed to be the "true" king of the planet, there was another king as well who he labeled "the usurper.”

  His name was Nivi and he reigned in the kingdom his people called the Kingdom of Cindu. Cindu translated to "continued light" and they believed that the people of Namal had strayed from the original teachings of their forefathers. Nevertheless, they would have let King Namal rule as he would, over those who wished to be reigned by him, as long as Namal would leave them to pursue their own beliefs.

  There were two portals, one in each kingdom and many wars had been fought over them. King Namal had wanted to control both of them, but the people of Nivi had defended their portal to prevent Namal's armies from dominating the ability to travel. Recently there had been a period of relative peace mostly because of Namal's involvement in the Groga raids. His tactic was to eventually gain full access to the Alliance gate system, which would mean that the Nivian's access to the gate would be a moot point.

  "So why are they giving me all of this information?" asked Jenny one day. "I don't understand."

  "I would think it would be obvious," replied Mynah, a genuinely puzzled look on his face. "They know if you know the truth, you will be amenable to aiding our cause. Engoza says you have a logical mind and will fall in with our plans as soon as you realize how important it is."

  Jenny had mulled this over carefully.

  "And if I don't 'fall in'?"

  "We will have to extract information from you unwillingly. I do not suggest it." He scratched at his immaculate head as if he was completely mystified by this thought. He didn't look at all threatening, just stating a logical fact.

  By the fifth day, Jenny was having trouble sitting still. She knew her team was still out there fighting and although she now knew a lot more about Sam and her people, she hadn't been out of the room once in that five days, not that there was much to see, if she did get outside. She realized that this was nearly as effective as the sleep deprivation would have been in the thinking room. She blessed Lova for the hours she had spent strengthening her mental skills.

  The absolute boredom was a bizarre form of torture. No one spoke an unkind word to her. She wasn't deprived of food or sleep. Her surroundings were as nice as any grand hotel. She was completely comfortable, and she just wanted to run.

  She asked Wellis about a gym or workout room, but the concept was foreign to her. Mynah said she should not strain herself.

  So, she cleared a space by moving some furniture and started running in place. It was a bit awkward in skirts, but she managed it. "I can listen while I run, Mynah," she told him when he looked alarmed. Her maids were beside themselves, burbling in their strange language and wringing their hands. But Jenny persisted, and Tidbit sent a feeling of great amusement. If he had been in his human form, he would have been holding his sides laughing. As it was, his rumbling purr spoke of his enjoyment of the spectacle.

  As she continued to jog in place, Mynah shrugged, gestured to the maids to settle themselves and continued his instruction. At no time had he asked for any information from Jenny. She would tell all as soon as she had a full understanding of their plans, Mynah assured her, and if she did not, well, she was made very aware of the consequences.

  Today's lesson was to be about King Namal's allies. Although they tried to make it appear that the Fleistians were in charge, Jenny had a growing suspicion that King Namal wasn't pulling the strings.

  It turned out that their allies were a powerful entity in a separate dimension who had conquered most of their own universe. Their appetite for power was not quenched and they wished to spread their influence. When they had discovered the portal that led to King Namal's domain, they swarmed in so fast that they were in the fortress before there was any chance of response.

  King Namal had immediately welcomed them as if they had been invited and made a pact of friendship on the spot. The Insenium, as they called themselves, seduced Namal to see their side of things very easily as it expanded his horizons from global domination to see the bigger picture of what they could do with full access to other dimensions. Not to mention an opportunity to use the Groga, whom Namal's people had conquered a couple hundred years past.

  Thus, Namal had instituted the Groga breeding program to raise himself a huge army of soldiers who didn't have the wit to even know they were slaves. He had established a large city not far from his fortress where Groga were trained from striplings to be a cog in Namal's war machine.

  The majority of the Groga population, however, lived on a planet in another dimension entirely, accessible by Namal's gate.

  So far, the Insenians had not stirred themselves beyond giving instructions to Namal which he promptly executed. The early raids did not start with Miriha's gate village, but with dimensions not yet established with the Alliance. The plan was to use the smaller raids to train their soldiers. Ultimately, when they were up to strength, they would tackle the Alliance more directly.

  "How many soldiers will it take to be 'up to strength'?" Jenny asked, dreading the answer.

  "We are nearly there. Right now, there are over a billion in training and ten times that on the Groga world on standby. There are two classes of Groga, the soldiers and those who serve the soldiers by providing food, clothing and weapons. For now, they wait in readiness to serve the great cause of King Namal."

  "And what exactly is his 'great cause'? I don't recall you saying."

  "Why, to put all universes on an equal footing, to eliminate all crime and war, and to take away the necessity for beings to make decisions for which they are not qualified. When King Namal conquers all, he will be given the power to control everything. There will be no poverty or conflict. All will live in harmony and the multiverse will be in order."

  Jenny barely controlled a gasp, turning it into a cough. She stopped jogging and simply stared.

  "And what decisions are we not qualified for, again?"

  "Why, pretty much everything: What career to pursue, where to live, who to turn to for help, what to believe in. All would be generously given to each being in the multiverse by those much wiser than they. They need not worry about making wrong decisions for they will be taught everything they need to know and no more. In this way, the stress of choosing wrongly will be eliminated and they can live peacefully, confident that their lives are ordered."

  "And you think this is a good thing, do you?"

  "Do you not? By putting your trust in those put above you, you will never have to be worried about anything again."

  "Except dying of boredom and being forced to be something someone else wants me to be," thought Jenny to Tidbit.

  "This is the worst evil," agreed Tidbit. "The ability to choose and to make mistakes is part of what allows us to grow and learn. Beings who are not allowed to struggle and learn from their choices eventually stagnate and are reduced to simply supplying basic needs. There is always a hidden motive for those who espouse this line of thinking. They never do it from the kindness of their hearts."

  "My dad used to say, 'the reason so many mice die in mousetraps is that they don't realize why the cheese is free'. You kno
w I can't stand for this, Tidbit. I think I'm done playing around. What do you think?"

  "I think you should follow your instincts, Jenny. They are usually very good."

  "Mynah, I'm afraid I can't agree with your agenda. The whole, 'under the control of the evil empire' thing, doesn't work for me. It's a total deal breaker."

  "Pardon? I don't think I understand," he said, clearly confused. "All would be peaceful, and everyone would have what they need. We would keep them from making horrible mistakes…"

  "Or any progress. You would stifle that which makes life worth living. Peace is not worth the price you are charging for it."

  Mynah shook his head and wrung his hands. "I have failed then. Failure is not pleasant, no it isn't. And you refuse to reconsider? Engoza said you would be reasonable."

  Jenny looked into Tidbit's golden eyes. The cat gave the slightest nod.

  "Indeed, Mynah. Bring on the torture. It can't be much worse than this."

  Her maids began to wail and Mynah, mumbling aloud and shaking his head, slammed the door on his way out.

  "Now what?" she sent to Tidbit.

  "Change your clothes. You can't do much in that outfit," he sent dryly.

  Ignoring the howls of her attendants, she marched into the bedroom, slipping out of her slippers. Her old clothes, remarkably, were in the clothes press and her boots where she had stowed them under the bed. She knew she would be unlikely to escape, but she couldn't just sit around.

  As she left the bedroom, one of the maids, grabbed her arm. "Young miss, you mustn't. They will punish us all," gesturing to the other maids who were cowering together in a corner.

  "I have no choice. I cannot agree to this foul plan to destroy the multiverse. People will not just lay down like trained animals. They will fight and fight and fight. The multiverse will be plunged into unending war, or destroy itself in the effort. Not all cultures are like the Groga, and many of them are so much more advanced than Earth, where I come from, or your planet. I must do what I must, and I'm sorry if it harms you. How about you help me escape and we can all get out of here?"