“WHAT?” Ashley didn’t mean to scream it but did. She, of course, knew that her sister was off on some distant planet doing whatever Flying Girl did. A surprise visit from her parents was going to be a huge problem.
“Why are you getting upset?” asked her father.
“I’m not upset. I was just surprised. Sorry.”
He shrugged at the vagaries of teenager daughters and continued, “We thought we would spend a little time with Egg and Grammy. They have no phone service at the cabin, so we couldn’t tell them we were coming even if we wanted to.”
“When do you expect to be there?”
“Oh, let’s see. A day to Las Vegas, one day there, then a leisurely four-day drive to the mountain cabin. Call it six days.”
“Wait” said Mrs. Graystone. “The chances of us getting out to California again are pretty slim. So why don’t we stop at Hearst Castle and Universal Studios? Always wanted to see them.”
“Sure. That adds a day. We’ll be at Grammy’s mountain retreat in a week.”
“I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when we pull up,” said Mrs. Graystone.
“Oh yeah” mumbled Ashley. “It’ll be out of this world.”
*****
Back in the Mountains
Though it was only six o’clock, the sun was beginning to set behind the tallest peaks. The shadows it cast had the cabin firmly in their grasp.
Ezra looked at his watch – the first time since this morning when he had pretended a need to leave. “Eloise, I have had a most wonderful time. Even your stories of dragons and sea serpents I found inventive, amusing and believable. I do hope you write that book about these fantasy adventures. I’ll be the first to purchase it.”
“Thank you. I, too, have had the most marvelous time. You, my dear Ezra, are an interesting man.”
“Oh, I’ve had my moments. But, I’ve missed so many others.” The way he said it made Grammy feel like he wanted to talk about it, but wasn’t sure he should.
“If you would like to share that part of your life, I’ll make some dinner.”
His face lit up. “You don’t mind? I’ve monopolized your time for hours and hours.”
“My dear Ezra, I feel like I’ve known you for years. I haven’t felt this comfortable around a . . . a man . . . since my husband passed away. And that was fifteen years ago.”
“What was he like?”
Grammy smiled . . . and her face showed a hint of the very attractive young girl she once was. “In many ways like you – a great storyteller, a good listener and boyishly handsome. However, he wasn’t quite as tall as you are.”
“Prefer shorter men, do you?” he teased.
“Oh, my. No.”
Chapter 6 – Lost in Translation
Fair’Giggle
Six girls just stared at the seventh . . . no one sure what to say or do.
“Would someone please explain what is going on? Why do you all look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
Silence.
“Tee’ka, why are they so shocked?”
“Your sisters are under the impression that you were born of flesh and blood and that this creature (she pointed at the Shamie) is your pet. I am uncertain why.”
BreeZee thought of some questions that might help. “Tee’ka, how big is the computer complex that is used to create you and the others like yourself?”
“It is vast . . . occupying a very large part of this planet’s core.”
“Spirit, where is your computer?”
“In my spaceship, naturally.”
“Isn’t that tiny compared to what Tee’ka described?”
“Of course. First, it only has me to worry about. And second, it doesn’t have to create the complex and numerous simulations that the one on Laff’Alott must create.”
Well, that didn’t work. Spirit’s answers were reasonable.
Sylvia decided to try her hand. “Remind me again, what planet do you come from?”
“Paradox.”
“Oh, right. And your parents and brother are still there. Do you ever talk to them?”
Spirit flickered. “Don’t be silly . . . we talk every day. They are part of the simulation I live in.” She paused then added, “I’m sure I explained all this to you when we first met.”
Time to try something else.
Egg asked her ghostly sister, “Which room is yours?”
That question caused both Tee’ka and Spirit to flicker. “Actually, I don’t have a bedroom. I told Tee’ka I’d prefer to return to my ship when the rest of you sleep.”
Aeri’elle leaned over to Egg and whispered, “She’s lying. Her room was next to mine . . . but now it’s gone. There are only six doors . . . the seventh one, hers, is gone.”
“Yeah, I know.” She turned to Tee’ka and asked, “Before you said that you might know if someone was messing with your program. How?”
“I would run a self-diagnostic to compare the parameters of my current programming to the one I archive periodically. Think of it as a backup. If there is a difference, one that I can’t account for, then it would be reasonable to assume that I have been tampered with.”
“What does periodically mean? How often is that?”
“Usually once a year. Though it does not take long, it does require a substantial amount of power.”
“I want you to do a check right now, please.”
“May I suggest that it can wait . . . “
Egg cut her off. “I’m the customer and I insist you do it right this minute.” It came out rather rudely.
“As you wish. This will take just a few seconds.” She began to flicker at an incredibly fast rate. Sure enough, about fifteen seconds later she stopped. “Unfortunately, you were correct. My programming has been altered.”
“Where’s Spirit?”
“I’m right here, for goodness sake.”
“No you’re not.”
“EGG . . .,” but she didn’t finish. She slowly faded out of existence. A moment later, the seventh door appeared where it should have, then opened . . . and out stepped another Spirit.
The others stared at her . . . unsure if this was the real one.
“Why are you all staring? It’s my hair, right? It happens every time I take a nap.” She reached behind her head and stroked her locks. “Does anyone have a brush or a comb . . . hey, stop laughing at me. I’m very sensitive about this unruly mop.”
*****
They explained to Spirit what had happened then settled down again in their respective chairs, mats and pond to discuss the situation.
“Tee’ka, you get to go first,” said Egg. “Give us your two cents.”
Before anyone could ask, Sylvia hurriedly chimed in with, “She means tell us what you think is going on.”
“Thank you Sylvia. First, I wish to apologize on the behalf of Fair’Giggle and myself. This has never happened before.”
“How would you know?” interrupted BreeZee.
“Excuse me?”
“If your program is so easily corrupted, this type of thing may have happened a million times and you would never know.”
“As I said, when I compare my current programming to my back-up, any discrepancies are revealed. I can then restore it to its original state.”
“Why can’t your backup be tampered with?” pressed the Wind’dancer.
Tee’ka flickered then said, “It is highly improbable that anyone would go to such lengths, but it is not out of the realm of possibilities. That is the reason I stated that I may or may not be able to detect any manipulation of my programs.”
“So who did this and why?” asked Bl’azzz.
“Obviously . . .,” replied Egg, “Queen Velveeta.”
“Empress Velveeta,” corrected Tee’ka.
“Whatever. She’s determined to see how good the Sisterhood is.” Flying Girl smiled and added, “Can’t blame her . . . we are awesome. But you’re right Bl’azzz, why replace Spirit with a hologram? That doesn’t ma
ke any sense.”
“Maybe she was going to use the fake Spirit to cause trouble. You know – try to get us angry at each other. Maybe break the bonds that bind us, so to speak.”
“Sylvia, that’s brilliant” complimented BreeZee.
“Thanks, but it’s just a guess. I may be way off base.”
“I have a question,” said Aeri’elle. “How come the phony Spirit knew Jynx at first and then a minute later didn’t?”
“If I may . . .,” offered Tee’ka. “Whoever did it wasn’t very good at making the programming change. However, one should expect future duplicates to be more sophisticated.”
“So what do we do?” asked Soo. “Go home?”
“Go home? Not going to happen . . . well, not until we’re finished vacationing” insisted Egg. “If the Queen of Hearts thinks she can best the Sisterhood, she’s in for a big surprise.”
“She’s an Empress,” Tee’ka corrected again. “The Empress Violetta Veeva Velveeta.”
“Oh my gosh, Tee, I know her name.”
“Should I ask . . . who’s the Queen of Hearts?”
“She’s the one who wanted to behead Alice.”
“Alice?”
“In Wonderland.”
“Is that on Earth?”
“More like under the Earth. You have to fall down a rabbit hole to get there.”
Spirit gave up and turned to Sylvia. “What is she talking about?”
“A famous fantasy story about a wicked Queen.”
“But not about a Wicked Witch. That would be the Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz,” added Egg most unhelpfully. Sylvia giggled at her goofy friend.
Spirit wanted to say something . . . but was too discombobulated to think of anything.
Aeri’elle smiled at her Earth sister. She was going to miss this kind of nonsense the most. “So what do you want to do, dear leader?”
“Obviously, we have to teach viva Velveeta a royal lesson.”
“Egg, I must insist that you address the Empress by her rightful title.”
“Tee’ka, that’s not going to happen until she learns to behave herself.”
“Egg . . .,” the construct replied in an unusually quiet voice, “this world is under her control, as are all the worlds in the Starlight Alliance. She is the law. To show her disrespect is a crime and the punishment is not something you would wish to experience. I beg you, for your sake and that of your friends, please refer to the Empress as is required of all that enter her realm.”
Egg smiled. “Thanks for your concern. Um, I’ll do this. From now on we’ll refer to her as ‘the big cheese’ . . . and only we girls will know that it means the Empress. It’ll be our little secret. Okay?”
Tee’ka flicked. “Acceptable. However, what is the significance of the phrase – big cheese?”
“On earth, there is a dairy product with the name that sounds just like the Empress’. It’s a big block of orange cheese. Oh, and ‘big cheese’ can also refer to the person in charge.”
Tee’ka smiled. “Then, it will be our secret.”
“Egg, do you have a plan?”
“Bree, I hardly ever have a plan. Even if I did, it wouldn’t work. That’s like an unbreakable rule.”
“So, what do we do next? Just wait till . . . the big cheese does something else?”
“I have a suggestion,” offered Sylvia. “We need to be absolutely sure that Tee’ka doesn’t get corrupted again.”
“And how do we do that, my Feminion?”
Syl turned to the construct and asked, “Could you check your programming more often . . . like every few minutes?”
“Yes, but the drain on the Laff’Alott power grid would spike. Those that monitor such things would investigate.”
“Couldn’t you tell them why you were doing it?”
“If I tell them that the Empress is behind this, no one would do anything to impede her plans. I would be ordered to desist.”
“Could you lie?” asked Egg.
Tee’ka began to flicker at an alarming rate. “NEVER MIND,” screamed Sylvia and their hostess returned to normal. “Egg, you’re causing a programming conflict. Lying is not what she was created to do but helping us is what she would love to do. Right, Tee’ka?”
“You are my friends . . . the first of flesh and blood. I would do anything for you – anything within my programming.”
“Could you become solid again?”
“Certainly, but why Egg?”
“Please do it.”
Tee’ka complied and Egg walked over and gave her hug. “That’s why.” She turned to walk away but the computer girl grabbed her and returned the hug.
About twenty seconds later, Egg had to tell her new friend, “Tee, hugs normally last only a few seconds. Maybe five, ten tops.”
“Apologies,” but the other girl was smiling. She flickered and returned to her non-corporeal form.
“Tee’ka, could you put a copy of yourself on my ship’s computer?”
“One moment,” and she disappeared. A hug’s length of time later, she reappeared. “Your computer could contain my programming but it does not have the power to run it. If you were hoping I could use it to verify any tampering, I must tell you that it’s not possible. Thank you for considering such a thing.”
Everyone went silent as they considered other solutions.
It was Jynx who came up with an answer.
“Grrrrrr.”
“Yes, Jynxie?”
The Shamie did the oddest thing . . . it changed from blue to green to blue over and over.
“What the heck is she doing?”
“I’m not sure. She’s obviously trying to tell us something.”
Egg rolled her eyes. “Ya think?”
“Your companion is brilliant,” said Tee’ka. The girls forced themselves to look away from the color-switching Shamie. “She is suggesting a solution.”
Egg looked at the other girls to see if any of them understood. Apparently, Jynx was smarter than all of them . . . put together. “I’ll bite . . .”
“Rephrase that, please.”
“Huh? Oh, right, Syl. What’s our four-footed freaky friend suggesting?”
“Grrrrrr. BURP.”
“Egg, she’s very sensitive . . . like me. You’re hurting her feelings.”
“You’re killing me . . . both of you.” (Alarmed by that statement, Spirit looked to Sylvia who just shook her head as if to say ‘it’s not what you think”). “Sorry, Jynx. I meant ‘what is our cute, cuddly cupie-doll suggesting?”
“Grrrrrr.”
“Shut up.”
Tee’ka explained, “Jynx is suggesting that I install a warning light that will let you know if there has been a change to my programming.”
“How would that work?”
Tee’ka flickered for a few seconds. “It is very complicated and I do not wish to bore you (translation – ‘you’re all too dumb to understand’). Suffice it to say I’ve set up a means to detect a programming modification. However, I will not know I am different, but this warning light will have detected some kind of change . . . but not what that change is.”
“Where’s this warning light?”
“The tip of my wand will glow red like this . . .”
“. . . however, I may not be aware of its significance. If you bring it to my attention, I may have no idea what you are referring to. Most definitely, I would deny that I have been changed in any way.”
“So how does that help us exactly?” asked Egg.
“First, you will know that I am acting as an reluctant agent for someone else. And second, if you request that I compare myself to my back-up file, I would then recognize that a change has occurred and I can ‘reset’ myself.”
“Well, that’s something.”
“Tee’ka . . .”
“Yes, BreeZee?”
“If we told you that we wish to be alone, what would you do?”
“I would leave.”
“How would
we get you back? How do we contact you if we change our minds?”
Soo interrupted with a question. “What are you getting at?”
“What happens if she . . . if Tee’ka . . . goes red but she’s unable to reset herself because whoever is behind this doesn’t give her the power to do so? Or if her backup has been tampered with. Do we really want a corrupted Tee’ka staying with us?”
“Bree . . . you’re getting smarter by the second. I’m beginning to think you’re not the real Wind’dancer but some imposter,” teased Sylvia.
But no one laughed. If Spirit could be replaced, why couldn’t the others?
The girls remained silent each looking with concern at the others for signs that they weren’t who they said they were.
“Alright, stop it,” demanded Egg. “I know what you’re thinking but we don’t know if it’s even possible. Tee, could we get replaced . . . like Spirit did?”
“Yes and no . . .”
Egg interrupted with a “Why is it never easy?”
“If I may explain . . . replicas of each of you can be created. But no power on this planet can give the replicas flesh and blood. When I become . . . solid . . . that is just a reproduction of me. It does not contain anything living other than my thoughts.”
“Well, then all we have to do is stick a pin in each of us to see if we bleed.”
“Egg, that’s not going to happen,” said Bl’azzz. “If I don’t like teacups, how do you think I’d react to someone stabbing me?”
“There is an easier way,” said Tee’ka. “A replica is a machine of sorts. It doesn’t breathe. If you hold a mirror to your nose or mouth, it will cloud up with your breath.”
“Now that I could handle,” said the fraidy-cat dragon.
“I’m telling you right now, I’m not going to be the one to hold anything near your mouth, you fire-breathing freak-a-zoid,” teased Soo. (well, we can assume she was teasing).
“If I might answer BreeZee’s other question . . . to call me once I’m gone, one needs just speak my name. I won’t hear it, but the computer complex will recognize the name ‘Tee’ka’ and summon me.”
Box Set #3: The Serenity Deception: [The 4 book 3rd Adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 18