Penticore Prime

by Mark Chevalier

  “But I should be with you both,” protested Candor. “My place is at your side.”

  Janesska put a hand on his shoulder. “Your father is tired, nothing more. Stay, little one. It would please us both if you would continue to represent our house.”

  Candor nodded reluctantly, and then kissed her and said. “I shall be along soon.”

  Once they departed, Candor sat down to watch the rest of the proceedings. His mind was troubled by how drained his father looked. Not to mention his willingness to attack Ghedron. His eyes scanned the dais, but he wasn’t really paying attention. He didn’t even notice it when Zyphon sat down beside him.

  “Are you well, my old friend?”

  “I’m fine, Zyphon. Since I don’t have my memory, this is the first time that I recall being here. It has been an interesting experience.”

  “And you have negotiated it well. Did you hear Ghedron? He said that his mother was ill, and beyond the reach of the Healers.”

  “I heard him, and it’s a sad but inevitable part of life, I suppose.”

  Zyphon grinned, and Candor knew that he was up to something. “Perhaps not,” he said. “We should go now, and visit Seiss Theniass.”

  “Now, but you haven’t even spoken yet. I know you’re excited about whatever it is you’re doing, and I for one would like to know what it is. We can visit afterwards if you want.”

  Candor was deliberately trying to keep from meeting Ghedron again, but Zyphon was persistent. “I can always reschedule my unveiling. Besides, if we linger we may be too late.”

  “Too late for what, what are you talking about?”

  “Now we call Physician, Zyphon Olissar,” said Seiss Demast. The sound was loud enough to shake both Zyphon and Candor from their conversation.

  Yet Zyphon was at ease as he stood and addressed the Senedos Seiss. “I beg the Senedos Seiss’ pardon,” he began. “An issue has arisen, and I must regretfully postpone my part in these proceedings.”

  Candor could tell that Demast didn’t believe him. However, under the circumstances, and with his docket already full, the leader of the Senedos Seiss shrugged, and then removed Zyphon’s name from the agenda. “You have our pardon. Please see the clerk to schedule an unveiling once you are prepared.”

  Zyphon bowed, while taking Candor by the sleeve and ushering him from the arena. He tried to protest, but Zyphon was a force of nature, driven in a mad frenzy to reach the manor of Seiss Theniass Nassvhedt.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Candor demanded of his friend once they reached Zyphon’s transport.

  “We’re going to help Ghedron’s mother. What does it look like we’re doing?”

  “Perhaps you missed it, but I came really close to ripping him to pieces a few moments ago, I don’t want to see him again!”

  “Yes, I noted the confrontation,” Zyphon quipped, as he retrieved two cases from the back of his transport. “You must see past that incursion, Candor. This is more important than you realize.” Then handing one of the cases to him he finished. “Now come my friend, time is short.”

  Candor grumbled while following Zyphon. He didn’t know what was in the case, but it felt like a boulder. Fortunately for them the Great Hall was full, and foot traffic was light. With little effort, they boarded a shuttle to take them to the top of the tower, where Seiss Theniass and his family resided. Much of the ride was a blur to Candor, and he had a hard time believing that he was going to see Ghedron again, on purpose.

  It’s like poking an anaconda in the face with a stick, he thought. I’m sure we’re going to meet with some heavy resistance.

  The doors opened, and Candor followed Zyphon into a spacious glass-lined hall. He stopped for a moment, because the view from orbit was breathtaking. Clouds spun far below them in lazy circles, while breaks admitted a magnificent view of the ocean. Off in the distance, Candor caught sight of transports that leapt through space, and far above them, a docking ring extended some two miles beyond the tower. Meanwhile, the moon painted a surreal scene of technological mastery that Candor never dreamed possible.

  “Hey,” said Zyphon.

  Candor saw him standing at the end of the hall waiting for him.

  “We’ll have time for that later. Right now, every moment is precious.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  The entrance to the house of Nassvhedt was like his own, with large doors and a chiseled stone portico. Zyphon wasted no time in ascending the stairs. He placed the case that he was carrying on the floor, and put his hand on what they referred to as a chime plate. A moment later one of the doors opened, and Candor’s heart sank to find Ghedron standing there. He looked at Zyphon, and then at Candor.

  “What do you want? This house is in a state of unrest,” he growled as his face darkened with smoldering anger.

  “I know, we’re here to help you,” replied Zyphon, as if he were in a race with death itself. “I also know that this house will be in a state of mourning for its matriarch very soon, if you do not allow us entry.

  “You cannot help.” Ghedron replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “Our physician has informed us that nothing can be done.”

  “I am Zyphon Olissar, a direct descendant of the line of Dyphoss. I may yet be able to intervene for the benefit of your family. So, will you allow us entry, or no?”

  “Not with him at your side,” replied Ghedron. “The son of Sador Shuveen will never step foot in this manor!”

  “Nonsense!” retorted Zyphon. “He is my friend, and I require his assistance.”

  “What is going on?” said a thick voice from behind Ghedron. “In a time of peril and grief, what would have my son in the throes of such anger?”

  “Father, I will see to these troublesome interlopers.”

  “You shall do nothing of the kind,” replied Seiss Theniass. “No matter our personal feelings, we are Penticorians, and we shall treat each other accordingly. Who is at our door?”

  Ghedron stepped back, and an aged Penticorian appeared in the doorway. Candor was amazed. Aside from his mother, he had never seen such bright blue eyes, or a smile that could warm your heart with such depth and feeling. Seiss Theniass was short by Penticorian standards, most likely a byproduct of his advanced age. Yet his presence was still commanding, even as he leaned on his cane. Both Zyphon and Candor bowed, as the old Penticorian smiled.

  “I have heard of you, Zyphon Olissar. But your friend with you, I don’t know him.”

  “That,” spat Ghedron, “is Candor Shuveen, the son of Seiss Sador.”

  “How very interesting. So, you are Sador’s child?”

  “I am, Seiss Theniass.”

  “Sador is a good citizen, and an honorable Penticorian, I know him well.” Theniass looked at the two of them once again and asked. “What brings you both here?”

  “We come to offer you aid,” Zyphon began. “I meant to bring this to the attention of the Senedos Seiss this very day. Yet when I heard of your beloved matriarch’s plight, I thought it best to come right away.”

  “Ah, I see,” replied Theniass. “The line of Dyphoss runs deep in your veins. Let me guess. You have perfected another strain of Healers, and you think that it will save my dear Kythonia. I can assure you that she is quite beyond the help of Healers, or rejuvenation.”

  Zyphon gave Theniass a solemn and decidedly serious look that caused the elder to pause. “I am not going to rejuvenate Shajin Kythonia. I am going to incarnate her.”

  The elder canted his head to one side, leaning forward on his cane to scrutinize Zyphon. “I have never heard of incarnation. However, you have the look of youth overcome with passion. I have no doubt that you think you can do as you say.” Theniass sighed, and then coughed. Finally, he opened the door completely and said. “Ghedron, take them to your mother.”

  “Father!” Ghedron protested. “What if they injure her?”

  The elder waved a wrinkled hand in the air to stop his son’s tirade. “If they do her harm, then what is to b
e made of it? Will she not go into the arms of Eos? If Zyphon says that he can help your mother, then let him try. We are no worse for the attempt.”

  Ghedron was furious, and his skin flushed an even darker shade of green. Candor thought it made him look like a snake, but he fought down the urge to take him apart for his insolence. Especially for calling us, “troublesome interlopers.” I’m doing this for Zyphon, he reminded himself, as he felt his fingertips dig into the meat of his palms. Candor had no doubt that if he’d had fingernails, he would have drawn blood.

  “Obey my wishes, Ghedron,” said Theniass in warning. “I have not passed into the arms of Eos yet. I am still the Lord of this manor.”

  Ghedron emerged from his anger, and bowed to his father. “Follow me,” he said as he motioned for them to come inside.

  The layout of Nassvhedt manor was different from what Candor was accustomed to seeing. Especially in the manors that were constructed underneath the dome. Instead of long open hallways with spacious rooms, the house of Nassvhedt was a catacomb of smaller rooms that faced a central staircase. Following Ghedron, they entered a hallway on the ground floor where the staircases met. Passing through an arch at the end, they emerged into a room with luxurious appointments. Candor looked around, and concluded that at one time it had been a receiving room, or living room. Obviously as the health of their matriarch deteriorated, the room was modified to serve her needs. It was then that something caught Candor’s attention, as in the far corner his ears picked up on the lilting voice of a female singing.

  “For we lie upon the stars of Eos, our tower dost shine,” she sang. Her voice was like silk on the wind, drawing Candor in. “And someday soon united we shall be. In glory and majesty, and fadosh unfettered. We walk with the Goddess, both now and forever.”

  Zyphon stopped at the large circular bed of the dying Shajin. Candor couldn’t believe his eyes, because there she was, the female he had seen through the window of the shop! She didn’t notice them approaching as she gently caressed Kythonia’s arm, while dabbing at her tears. Candor believed that golden eyes such as hers should never be allowed to shed tears, unless they were tears of joy.

  “Thalia,” called Ghedron, “we have guests. They are here to see our mother.”

  Thalia, thought Candor, etching the name into his memory forever. It was the most beautiful name he had ever heard, matched only by her beauty. Why does she have to be the sister of that bottom-feeder, Ghedron? Oh sure, my parents would be thrilled if I brought her home. The daughter of the leader of the Out-World Faction! I’d never hear the end of it.

  Her eyes narrowed as she recognized Candor, and she frowned, suddenly angry. Candor had no idea what he’d done to illicit such an emotional response. “How can they help?” Thalia demanded as she got to her feet. “I thought that our mother was beyond the assistance of the Healers?”

  “That is true,” replied Zyphon. “However, I am here to perform an incarnation, not a rejuvenation.”

  “Incarnation, what is that?” she asked.

  “I would explain it if I could, but from the look of Shajin Kythonia, time is of the essence. I honestly don’t know if I can perform the procedure once the body has ceased to function. So please,” Zyphon said as he urged her to step aside.

  “Father said to let them in,” added Ghedron. “He said that we are no worse for the attempt.”

  Thalia was conflicted. On the one hand, she wanted to protect her mother. Yet on the other hand, she knew that the end was close, and her father was right. If they tried and failed, then the results would be the same. She nodded, and started to leave.

  “Wait,” said Zyphon. “Please, I need both of you for a moment.”

  Placing his burden on the edge of the bed, he opened the case and retrieved four syringes. “Both of you have a portion of your mother’s DNA. I need a sample if I am to reconstruct her.”

  “Zyphon, I hate needles,” said Candor. “Don’t expect me to help here.”

  “Needles…? Ah yes, it must be another odd name you have come up with for the tissue extractors. Not to worry, I’ll see to it.” Zyphon did, first taking blood from Ghedron, and then repeating the process with Thalia; who winced in pain as the needle entered her arm. Candor wanted to reach out and comfort her, but every time she looked at him it was with a disdain that confused him.

  When Zyphon was finished, Thalia left the room. Clearly, she had no intention of witnessing the death of her mother under these circumstances. Ghedron was another matter, however, as he stood by the wall nearest his mother, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for Zyphon to begin. Zyphon directed Candor to set his case on the bed next to Shajin Kythonia. As he opened it, Candor saw a sphere containing a gelatinous green mass suspended in a stasis field. On the side, a console activated, with a photonic screen that floated in the air directly in front of him.

  “Matriarch,” said Zyphon, as he stared into Kythonia’s eyes. They were bleary, as if she were only half awake.

  “Who is it?” she said in return, her voice weak and cracking. Finally, she focused on him and replied. “Who are you, young Seiss? Have you come to take me to Eos?”

  “I am a physician, and my name is Zyphon Olissar. I need to take some of your blood, because I need a sample of your DNA. I will then clean and combine that sample with that of your children. Now this,” he continued as he held up one of the syringes. “This is to ease your discomfort. However, I need you to promise me something, Shajin.”

  Kythonia’s vision was crisp, and she locked onto Zyphon, convinced that he was telling her something of the utmost importance. “I need you to hold on. Be brave and take heart. Keep all the strength that you have, and draw it closely around you. For you, Shajin Kythonia, are about to be reborn!”

  It took a great deal of effort for her, but Kythonia nodded, and her eyes opened wide as she fixed both Zyphon and Candor with an iron gaze. Zyphon wasted no time as he introduced the sedative, and took the matriarchs blood. Then reaching over to the case in front of Candor, he inserted the blood contents of each needle into a small access port. A floating helix of DNA appeared, and Zyphon stood next to Candor, as he began to manipulate the crystal rods on the control panel. It took him roughly twenty minutes before he nodded with satisfaction.

  “You shall be as you were, when you were only five-hundred years old,” Zyphon told Kythonia.

  Kythonia smiled, and almost laughed. Candor knew that it was the human equivalent of asking a ninety-year-old woman if she would like to be eighteen again.

  The photonic screen changed into the silhouette of a body. “Put your hands here, and here.” Zyphon said, as he directed each of Candor’s hands onto the control rods.

  “Wait a minute. I shouldn’t be doing this,” Candor protested. “I’m not a physician.”

  “I have to prepare the neural connections for the fadosh transference. I need you to do this, because it must all happen at the same time, and I cannot do both.”

  Zyphon saw the look of terror in Candor’s eyes when he realized that there was no way out. Whether he liked it or not, he was going to be an integral part of either the life, or death, of Shajin Kythonia.

  “What, did you think that I brought you along just to observe?” Zyphon smiled and clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, you can do this. It’s not as difficult as it looks.”

  Zyphon spent the next ten minutes showing Candor how to operate the controls. Basically, it was his job to manipulate the stasis fields, as Kythonia’s new body was being constructed.

  “The substance is an organic blank, so to speak,” he told Candor, while Ghedron peered over their shoulders. “It’s the same element used to grow simulacrums. The nanites take the cleaned DNA, and then impregnate the blank. Now as it grows you must keep the stasis fields constant around the body. If they falter, then the body will become contaminated, and useless. At the end of the procedure you will notice a small black access port on the right arm of the body. In the future, it will be the only de
fining characteristic for one who has been incarnated. When I have finished my part, I will hand you the connector, and you must insert it into the arm, and then activate this control.” He said, pointing to a bright blue crystal rod.

  “Once that is complete, I will monitor the transference. Stay vigilant, because once it begins it cannot be stopped. It will happen quickly, to reduce the stress to Shajin Kythonia.”

  Zyphon let Candor practice in a test mode, while he continued preparations. Thirty minutes later everything was ready. Candor noted the sweat on Zyphon’s brow, and could feel his gut twisting into knots. Rerouting the system into an active mode, Candor informed Zyphon that he was ready, even though his hands were shaking. Zyphon nodded, and the incarnation began. In the space of a heartbeat, Candor activated the sequence, and the sphere expanded into the form of a body.

  “Whoa!” exclaimed Candor as he almost lost containment. “That was fast!”

  Zyphon didn’t answer, and Candor didn’t dare to look at him. He heard a grinding wet sliding sound, as Zyphon inserted the remaining needle directly into Kythonia’s skull. In response, the matriarch gagged, and then coughed as she cried out in pain.

  “Hold on!” Zyphon exclaimed. “Don’t leave us! Do you hear me, Kythonia!?”

  “What the heck is going on?” Candor shouted in panic.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Zyphon commanded. “Just keep your eyes on those fields!”

  “Look, that field!” Ghedron warned, now standing directly beside Candor.

  “I know, I know!”

  “But look, that side is faltering!”

  “Who’s screwing this pooch, you or me?” Candor fired back. “Stop backseat driving!”

  “What’s a ‘pooch’?”

  “Never mind…never mind! Just keep your eye out for the port on her arm. You’re so eager to help, then you make the connection when Zyphon hands it to you! You got that, Zyphon? Give the connector to Ghedron!”

  “Understood!” Zyphon replied.

  The body floated in the stasis field above the bed, next to the writhing form of Kythonia. Candor heard Ghedron gasp, and he could see what was happening in the photonic screen. What was at first a lifeless mass of gelatin began to solidify. Flesh rippled and flexed as the beautiful blue-gray complexion of a Penticorian female began to emerge. Long black hair floated in midair, surrounded by a neon glow from the field that surrounded it. Candor could barely keep up, as the body’s transformation almost outpaced his reflexes. Fingers lengthened, and feet changed proportions as organs and tissue were constructed at an accelerated pace. Candor realized that what he was seeing was an act of creation, the act of a god. The nanites continued their work, and the DNA of Kythonia Nassvhedt was written into the flesh of her new body.