by Gini Koch
Thankfully, had to switch tables to do the intelligence briefings, so I could stop contemplating my parenting failures for a bit. We spent some important time bringing Kreaving and his command crew up to date on what was going on, including that we’d been flung around the galaxy by the Powers That Be and, therefore, had no real idea of where we were going and so forth.
We also shared Modern Superior History and described what parasites did and why I thought that we had a parasite in the sun. After the requisite questioning of my methods, and the subsequent listing of all the times Megalomaniac Girl had been right, they stopped arguing. Save worlds, solar systems, and galaxies enough, and apparently some people can be convinced that you might be competent.
Grentix Wheekus, the Eknara’s science officer, who was on the gorilla side of the Ignotforsta house, had been on the shuttle team, and she described the people and the inhabited planets. The planets were similar—mostly rocky with water, animal, and plant life, but each one had a predominant color. The planet we were on was red, but the others were blue, green, saffron, orange, brown, and purple. Resisted making a Beta Eight comment, but it took effort.
We were dealing with races that were humanoid and similar to each other—no one had taken the time to do DNA samples because of the situation, but the natives on each planet looked like the natives on the other planets. Plant and animal life was similar, too. The only real difference the Eknara’s away team has seen between one world from the others was that all the living things on any particular world matched their world’s hue in terms of skin color and hair, and that included the plants and animals.
The natives looked a lot like we did, as in like humans. They were smaller than us by a lot, though—Tito and the flyboys, who were the shortest guys with us, were taller than any of the males they’d seen, and I would be an Amazon for the females. Well, a lot like us other than the color thing and one other key factor—their skin was flaky, but not as if it were dry because it didn’t fall off. Grentix described it as almost as if their skin was a form of feathers, or heading that way.
Population estimates were a good million plus per planet, and there were people scattered all over each planet, not all clumped together, which presented us with the disheartening truth that we had no normal means to save the majority of these populations.
But the real bottom line came all too soon. “We could take these people by force, but they don’t want to leave,” Kreaving said. “If we aren’t willing to force them, there’s nothing we can do other than desert them for our own safety, because none of us have anything that we can use to stop this sun’s fast descent into a black hole.”
My music turned on. “Evil Is Alive And Well” by Jakob Dylan. Really didn’t think Algar meant that Kreaving or his people were the evil ones. “Look, we can’t just run away. This won’t stop here. If whoever’s inside this sun succeeds—and, trust me, they will—then we are looking at a galaxy-ending event. The galaxy-ending event, really.”
“Someone that powerful could end the universe,” Chuckie added.
“Chuck’s right and I agree with Kitty,” Reader said. “There has to be something we can try, something we haven’t thought of or can cobble together.”
Grentix shook her head. “We need a way to shoot something that will destroy this parasite or superbeing or whatever it is or is becoming without also destroying the star itself. We have nothing like that and, even if we did, no way to get it into the star without it burning up well before it reaches the target.”
“The shooting the ship might be able to do,” Drax said. “We need to figure out the what first, or the how doesn’t matter.”
While the others brainstormed ideas for what to toss at the sun, I tried to come up with some crazy plan. Nada. Knew we were all thinking about this wrong, but couldn’t say why.
My music changed to “Too Fast for a U-Turn” by Lit. Stopped fretting and focused on the song, because it seemed totally out of left field. So, what was Algar trying to tell me or make me think?
Well, if I thought about the song’s title and related it to our trip, we’d been going too fast to stop and help this system earlier. But that had been because Naomi had wanted us on Cradus first.
But why? This situation seemed far more dire.
Got distracted by Christopher suggesting we treat this like we did the other superbeings, Mephistopheles in particular. Heard that get shot down, since we didn’t have any self-contained nukes laced with alcohol on hand. Though I kind of figured I could get one out of my purse if I asked nicely enough.
Was about to chime in and support Christopher’s idea, when a new song came on. “Dear Enemy” by The Exies.
Considered this message from Algar. Had to be about Mephistopheles, and not just because Christopher had just mentioned him. So, thought about Mephs. He’d probably given me a clue somewhere in my dream. Not the obvious clues or answers, but a hidden one.
Got distracted again by Serene saying she felt she could create whatever explosives we might need, and everyone discussing how blowing up the star was just as bad as it turning into a black hole.
While Serene patiently explained that she wanted to create something that would target the parasite, specifically, realized that I desperately needed to talk aloud. And there was no one around who could hear what I needed to say.
Was tempted to grab Algar but, since he was in the mess hall with us, couldn’t come up with a smooth way to get him alone that wouldn’t seem just too odd to everyone and probably identify Algar as the DJ for Siler. But I needed to run my mouth with someone who could answer and also add in.
My music changed again, to Barbra Streisand’s version of “Life On Mars,” and I considered what Algar was suggesting. Well, why not? Per Mephistopheles, he, like me, was on a Fix Everyone Else’s Mess life journey, too.
Got up and went over to Wruck. “John,” I said quietly, “I need the Martian Manhunter. Can I speak with you in private?”
He nodded and got up. Everyone was really into the brainstorming— since Brian was suggesting creating a probe with the remains of the Eknara and A-C hyperspeed—though we got a couple questioning looks. “Want to try something,” I said to those so looking, “and only have John witness it if it’s a stupid idea. Be back shortly.”
We headed out and I headed us for the good ol’ supply closet. Interestingly, my music stopped playing once Babs was done doing a great cover of a Bowie classic. We didn’t speak until we were inside.
“What’s going on?” Wruck asked me.
“I need to talk to someone. Well, really, I need to talk at someone, but have that someone add in. And what I need to talk about can’t be shared with the others. Any of the others.”
He cocked his head. “I’m intrigued. And I promise not to share whatever it is we talk about with anyone else, not even Benjamin and Malcolm.”
“Great! Because I want to talk to you about all the dead people who talk to me.”
CHAPTER 79
WRUCK STARED AT ME for a moment, then sat down on some boxes. “Alright, I’m now officially intrigued.”
“Super. Um, where to start . . . people visit me in my dreams a lot. And not via the DreamScape which I only discovered existed at the beginning of our latest Foray O’ Fun.”
“All dead people?”
“Oh, no, just ones I know. And, in one particular case, killed.”
“Who would that be?”
“Mephistopheles.”
Wruck looked thoughtful. “Interesting. Why him?”
“Because he likes me. Seriously. And, honestly, by now, I kind of like him.” Gave Wruck a brief history of the Heartwarming Me and Mephs Story Coming to a Hallmark Channel Near You. “So, I know there were clues in what he told me, clues specifically for this situation, but I don’t know what they were.”
“Alright. But you said ‘people.’ Is there someone
else?”
“Yes, only she’s not dead. Well, not really dead. Dead as far as everyone is concerned but not. Unless that made sense.”
“Somewhat. I know the history. Of the women who’ve died that you were close to, I would have to guess that it would be one of the Gower women.”
“Yes. Naomi. Gladys visits me in my dreams. Occasionally. Mephs is, realistically, my most reliable dream interrupter.”
“Paul and Abigail’s sister is not dead? Does Charles realize his wife is alive?”
“No, thank God, he does not, and this is one of the big ‘tell no one’ things I was referring to. Besides, as I’m about to explain, she’s dead to us for reasons.”
Wruck nodded. “I won’t say anything to anyone. But, explain what you mean.”
Heaved a sigh and described what had happened during Operation Infiltration. “So, she’s a superconsciousness now. And I’m really sure she was at the controls when we were sent from the Eagle Nebula to Cradus.”
“She’s not the only powerful force working with or through you, is she?”
“No. We have ACE. We have Sandy. There are others.” Managed not to say that Wruck was rooming with one of them. “But I’m pretty damned positive that Naomi was at the controls when we went from Nazez to Cradus. And I’m positive she sent us on an erratic path so we’d go past this system, solely so we’d pick up the Eknara’s distress call.”
“Then why did we go to Cradus first?”
“See, now, that’s why I need you. Because, while that is the question of the hour, I don’t know. The situation there was, for the Cradi, dire, but it’s nothing compared to what’s going on here. And yet, Naomi sent us to Cradus first and didn’t give us any help in figuring out how to get back.”
“Which was why we got to know the Cradi so well.”
My brain nudged. It was there, it was right there, but I wasn’t able to grasp it. “Right,” I said slowly. “So, the question is—why was it important for us to go to Cradus first? And stay a lot longer than we’re probably going to in this system?”
“Because of what we learned there?” Wruck suggested.
“Possibly. Probably.” My brain nudged harder. “Maybe because of what we . . . got there?”
“Well, realistically, they got more than we did. We left them almost half of our rabbit population. Though they did give us some nice metals.”
Jerked. “They did. But I got something more. I got a part of Cradus and Spehidon. Specifically, something with both their essences inside it.”
“How would that help in this situation?” Wruck asked.
“John, currently, I have no freaking idea. That’s not the way this game is played, but I appreciate your trying. So, okay, let’s just assume that my present from Cradus and Spehidon is going to help. But we still have to get whatever into the star to take out the whomever in there. Wish we knew more about them.”
“Does who’s in there matter?”
Pondered this. “I’m Shealla, Giver of Names . . .”
Wruck was quiet for a few moments. “And?” he asked gently.
“And everything had a name. And what doesn’t have a name needs one. Names matter. The name is the thing and the name affects the thing. The parasites are Superior soul vessels or whatever, but they contain the entire essence and, from what I’ve gleaned, ancestral memories, of the Superior they’d originally been.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Thought back. It had been a long time since Operation Fugly, after all. “I think . . . I think Mephistopheles named himself. The other in-control superbeings, those were ‘imaginatively’ named by Centaurion Division. But I think Mephs told them his name in some way.”
“You’re sure?”
“No, not really. But I think he influenced the naming choice, let’s put it that way. He, like you, chose a name he felt was fitting.”
“Why does this matter?”
“Again, don’t know, just know that it does. Just like I knew I had to give the other PPB net we were fighting a name during Operation Invasion, to put her on the same footing as ACE. But Lilith is, therefore, taken. Not that we know that the Superior in there is male or female.”
“PPB net?”
“Um . . . Physic-Psycho Barrier. I think that’s the correct term. I’ve done my best not to worry about it because the abbreviation is so much easier. It’s what ACE was but, due to being freed, is not anymore. Lilith isn’t one anymore, either. We scattered her to the galaxy.”
“And, again, does it matter?”
“It might.”
We were quiet for a few moments. “Do you think this Lilith is inside the sun?” he asked.
“Ooh, good one. But no. Because I think Mephs would have insinuated that in some way, and he didn’t. At all.” Thought about Mephs’ warning. “He was talking about his own people. John, do you have any idea who Mephistopheles would have considered his right-hand man? Or woman. Or whoever he might have considered one of his top lieutenants, either worse or better than he was?”
“You mean someone whose counsel he would have wanted?”
“Yeah, like his Chuckie or Christopher. Or his Goebbels or Mengele.”
Wruck shook his head. “I might have known at one time, but it happened so long ago. Let me see if I can come up with anything.”
My music turned on and I was treated to “My Goddess” by The Exies. Considered if this was Algar telling me that the being in the sun was female. Then considered how I might be able to confirm.
Sent a text to Tim. Got a snarky reply back. Sent the same request with more stern language and some nasty words. Waited. The reply came. Verified certain words and got confirmation. Always nice when the Megalomaniac Girl Skills were fired up.
“Interesting. Okay, John, I had Tim ask the Ignotforstans if the natives referred to the sun in any way, if they thought the sun was a real person or people or whatever.”
“What was the response?”
“They feel that the sun is a mother-goddess who is manifesting to give them an uplifted life.”
We exchanged the “oh, really?” look. “They used the word ‘uplifted’?” he asked.
“Yes, Tim said he verified that.”
“And we’re sure that it wasn’t a Z’porrah who came to them?”
“Lemme check.” Sent another text to Tim, who replied quickly. “Nope, he already asked. They don’t know who the mother-goddess is—she spoke to them in their hearts, per what they told Grentix and the rest who were on the shuttle’s away team verified it. Same words on every planet.”
“The Superiors had no gods. They considered themselves gods once the uplift happened.”
My music changed to “Mama I’m Strange” by Melissa Ethridge. Considered this. “You know . . . when we were fighting them, way back when during Operation Fugly, I saw absolutely no reproductive organs on any of the in-control superbeings. I assumed that they reproduced via parasitic infection. But, when we were talking during my dream, Mephistopheles insinuated that he was born. In fact, I asked if he’d been born and he said ‘just like you were’ and tapped me on the nose.”
“I’m not going to ask about the last part. But yes, the Superiors could reproduce. Similar to those from Beta Twelve, via a form of cloning where the DNA from each was combined to create a new life.”
“That’s kind of how we all do it, but I assume you mean in a lab, versus bumping uglies. Not that I actually think human and A-C genitalia are ugly.”
“Let’s not go there.”
“Wow. Everyone’s a freaking critic. Fine, fine. So, anyway, would Mephistopheles consider his mother his right-hand person or an advisor or similar?”
Wruck looked thoughtful. “Since joining with you I’ve spent some time researching human history. Your father has been very helpful in that regard.”
“Yeah,
Dad lives for the teaching, even if he’s somehow still on sabbatical from ASU.”
Wruck chuckled. “It’s amazing how the father-in-law of the most powerful man on Earth can get concessions.”
“You make it sound so dirty.”
He grinned. “I’m proud. At any rate, in many cultures, especially ones from your biblical times, the most powerful woman in a kingdom was not the queen, since she could be and often was, ah, replaced.”
“You mean killed.”
“Or divorced. Even then it was a viable option. But since most of Earth is so patriarchal, the king has the most power in most cases. And therefore the most powerful woman would be the Queen Mother.”
“Huh. Interesting take.” My music changed to “The Last Of The Real Ones” by Fall Out Boy. Hoped this meant that whoever was in the sun was the last really dangerous Superior.
Wruck looked like he was trying not to laugh. “I’ll point to your own mother as the obvious example.”
“But I’m one of those disposable queens you were talking about.”
“Not in this situation. But your mother holds great sway with both you and Jeff. Far more than his mother does.”
“Well, that’s true. Mom’s been in covert and clandestine ops for, like, ever. Lucinda makes the best brownies in the galaxy. Different skills.”
“You’re proving my point. If you’re looking for a female who was likely to influence Mephistopheles, then I believe we could count his mother.”
“And if we take his ‘just like you were’ statement to its fullest, we’d add ‘born of woman’ and that definitely says Mama Mephs is in this sun. But why would he want me to stop her?”
“Does he really? Could he be fooling you?”
Considered this. Wasn’t the first time I had, after all. “No. He’s sincere. The Powers That Be that allow him access to me are on our side. I rarely get visitations from our true enemies. I mean, it’s happened, but nothing like with Mephistopheles. After all this time, I’m willing to take him at his word, because, frankly, every time he’s visited me in my dreams, he’s helped me, always greatly.”