by Power, P. S.
"There you are Alice. I didn't expect you for weeks. No one else is here yet." The woman got a hug, one that lingered for a while. It was just friendly though, not something that spoke of greater interest than relief and happiness at seeing an old friend.
Orange finally stepped back, looking around with a rather impressed look and finally shook her head.
"Like what you've done with the place. I kind of expected to be sleeping in a tiny shack or have to build a lean-to. This is rather more than that. Can you explain?" She didn't seem to be being mean about it, but there was skepticism there. Like Red had been breaking the rules.
"Sure. The treaty never addressed magic, so I went to Noram and learned how to build from Tor here. He even paid for my schooling, so it wasn't direct help from any of the others. Torrance Purple isn't a signatory, so there aren't even any by-laws to get in the way. This place was originally his work, but I can make my own now, a copy of it at least. Totally within the rules. I'm switching my entire land over to one that uses magic as soon as possible. If any of you try to get in my way, I'll fight. Not trying to be a bitch about it, but living in mud and twig buildings gets old after a few thousand years. I feel like I've been camping out ever since I left Noram. Or would feel that way if not for this place. My people deserve better." She looked feisty and like she was actually ready to start throwing punches if it was needed.
Orange looked around and nodded, "I can see this is something different. I'll want a full breakdown on how this new system works, but if it isn't too much for the world to handle you have my vote. That flying craft was something I'd like for myself, if I can work out a deal for one. Much faster than walking." She patted Tor on the back then, which required her to move several feet first.
"Now, are you claiming this isn't Burks too? He keeps saying he's "Tor", and that isn't supposed to just be a new name for him? I don't think I buy it yet. Good looking men always try to trick you, don't they? Normally into bed, but Burks and Denno always went in for far more subtle amusements. This seems almost heavy handed for one of them really."
Lyn went serious and shook her head slowly, as if worried about making a miss-step.
"This is Tor Purple, named that by Julie White in Soam. He's... I'm not totally sure, to tell the truth, kind of like a clone is my guess. Until recently he had all of Burks Rhetistics, but broke free of them about a week ago. That's a... problem we need to address. It may be a danger eventually, or not. I don't know yet. We're planning to cover that when everyone else gets here and we can lock you all in a room together, in case it's a plot."
The other woman just looked at him funny and nodded after a few seconds, clearly not trusting it all yet no matter what Lyn said. She did a few seconds later, when everyone else found them.
Hard to argue with the fact that Burks Green was standing right there, trying to give her a hug, Denno pushing him to the side playfully to take his own turn. It was different than what Tor would have thought Ancient beings would have done, but the tradition really did seem to involve warm family welcomes it seemed. He'd imagined stuffy ceremonies in foreign languages, possibly with robes and incense being involved. This way made a lot more sense.
No expensive robes to purchase for one thing.
They left Lyn to get Alice settled, and Tor started to go see about when dinner would be ready, that being the closest meal. He didn't get all the way to the kitchen though when there was a commotion at the front door, which was being left open, so that anyone could just walk in.
When Tor got there it was a group of four people, or rather one person and what would likely be three identical copies. Cynthia Blue and her children. She actually wore an all blue outfit, which was helpful, a nice thing that matched the other three with her perfectly. They all looked very similar and all seemed like women, with mid-sized breasts and wide hips, but weren't, most likely. Her line was hermaphroditic, having the sex organs of both males and females. Tor found that a little off-putting, but tried to let it go.
It was just who they were after all. In fact they were meant to be that way, so it wasn't a mistake or anything. Blue wasn't a freak, she was just herself. They all looked nice, pale like he was and with the same blue eyes on each. Not truly identical, but nearly so, with only the size being different. So kind of like him and Burks that way.
"Hello! I'm Tor. Um, Torrance Baker of Noram. Burks Green's grandson. Are you the Blues?" It was just a throwaway statement but the leader answered anyway.
"We are. We have come to participate in the mandatory summit called by Denorian Brown and Burks Green as is required by the treaty." It was said with very little inflection, sounding very formal and proper. Tor bowed by reflex, getting a similar move in return from the whole group.
Cynthia Blue looked around the large space, examining it, but didn't say anything more for a long time. The others all seemed to pay attention to different parts of the environment, then started speaking in a slightly strange fashion. The oddest thing about it was that Tor recognized it and understood most of what they were saying. It was "home tongue". What he grew up speaking in the back woods. The accent was a little different, but it was clearly the same basic language, built on Noram standard even. The words came quickly and fluidly, not following a strict pattern, but understandable for all that, once you knew what to listen for.
"First, this seems to be a self-contained structure with full climate control. There are no apparent sources of power or obvious energy draws, though physical work and light are being provided, power source unknown." The Blue saying this was the second tallest.
The shortest seemed to agree, pointing at the central column.
"That building style is atypical, likely meant as a show of power and material wealth. That or control over the environment. The open layout seems designed for visual impression, rather than most efficient use of space. The light quality seems to mimic full spectrum. This would be useful as a botanical unit. I concur with Second, the energy use is different than what I would have expected."
Tor smiled and waved a hand at the room, answering in the same fashion they spoke automatically, "it's magic. Noram style magic. This particular structure uses virtual particles and quantum origination for most of the power requirements. The heating and cooling is a new form of geo-thermal energy. That also uses quantum mechanisms. Functionally it is here and real, but for the most part doesn't exist. By the way, it's also outside anything addressed in the treaty and I'm not part of that either, so all arguments as to that should be deferred- until it doesn't matter anymore." It was a joke, one that Cordes provided. For some reason all the Blues in front of him laughed as if it was devastatingly funny. It looked like the one called Second was going to burst something in her face she was doing it so hard.
The noise got attention, which got the others in. It was a bit of a relief, since the four in front of him were different. Not bad or anything, but a bit strange. It was like they didn't work under the same social rules at all or something. Being dressed alike in heavy clothing with thick cloth belts that had several pouches on them set the group apart a bit at well. It did look like useful design though.
Blue made her little speech about why she was there again for the group and then just stood, waiting for something. Lyn frowned at the woman the whole time, right fist clenching in anger. It actually turned white and Red started to grow both thinner and taller, if more slowly than normal, as if she was trying to fight her combat transformation, but wasn't quite making it.
"Easy there Lyn. I explained the magic thing to the Blues and no one has given a good reason it can't be used here at all yet. It really isn't in the treaty, and it isn't going to negatively impact the planet directly, so I doubt anyone will have a problem with it. Isn't that correct Blue?" Tor spoke gently, like Lyn was about to lose it to a combat rage, but none of the Ancients seemed all that concerned.
It was the Blue that hadn't spoken yet, the third tallest, that broke the silence, her voice a good bit less stiff sound
ing than the others. She used Noram standard easily and sounded remarkably happy.
"I have to concur First. I've studied the treaty and find nothing in it that would make the use of this process or technology forbidden to Red of Vagus. If it works as described by Tor of Noram this seems a very workable solution to the low infrastructure requirements of this land. We should study the magic used here to make certain, since it is different from the other Noram magics we have, but even if it isn't as efficient as it seems we may not have any recourse if Vagus wishes to use it."
That got Lyn to calm down fast, staring at the Third Blue hard. It wasn't unfriendly though, just shocked and a bit confused.
"That's... pretty much my whole argument. Let's make certain that this Blue gets one of the good rooms. What's your name dear, I don't think we've met." There was a lot of direct eye contact then, but Lyn broke that off after about fifteen seconds, because doing more would seem aggressive no doubt.
The woman that was also a man didn't blink, just explaining after a few seconds.
"I'm... I was once known as Cordes, Lyn. I made copies of myself and set plans in motion to make certain there would always be at least one of me in the world. Blue introduced a Rhetistics pack to the infant version of me, which allowed a five hundred year memory download. That seems about the limit of the technology. I'm also Blue of course, but while it may be hard to understand it's also me..." The body language changed then and she took a step forward toward Lyn, hand out but not touching her red tunic top.
"It's good to see you. I missed you, you know."
Tor sighed loudly.
"So that's two of us. I don't suppose you added the Rhetistic package to me too then, did you Blue? We seem to be having a bit of a mystery as to how that happened." He waited, but that announcement just got stares from the new party... and Orange.
That got everyone to move into the meeting room off to the right, a long hall with a large table that seemed to be made of light colored wood in the middle of it, and nice Noram style chairs instead of floor cushions for sitting. Tor liked that better himself, but hadn't suggested it. They were in Lyn's land, so it was all her choice.
They talked over things for a long time, hitting all the main factors about four times, but the main point that Tor appreciated was that none of the Blues seemed to think Cordes was dangerous to him.
Cordes Blue even seemed to think that he'd be just fine.
"I hit this body when it had no personality at all, so it formed to my mentality. There are biological differences between us, and you don't seem old Tor, but I know that if I'd come in at a later time I wouldn't have tried to supplant the hosts mind. I don't have that right. This was just to make sure I didn't fail in my duty, not some open bid for a longer lifespan. I came up with it as an idea when I was about six hundred years old and started noticing that I was breaking down physically. Not fast, but there were copy errors that didn't seem to be happening in some of the others. I tried to make sure I didn't add in any mental errors from the breakdown process. I lived for slightly over four hundred years past that, so I think I caught it in time. The only danger here is if Tor is a later version of myself, made after I started to really lose control of myself. I have no record of ever trying that, but I knew how and if I went insane, well, I might have thought to try it.
We should do a brain scan First, if I may use the equipment in the Desolo?" That Blue turned to the others to explain.
"The name of our craft. It's out front."
Cynthia Blue looked blank and stood, her moves smooth, but body language almost non-existent. It made her hard to read, and almost alien seeming to Tor.
"Yes. We need to assess this as a threat. If the danger is too great we should seek to end the experiment as soon as possible." She stared at Tor, her face blank and eyes a little icy but clearly suggesting they kill him if need be.
Tor shrugged, since it was a good enough habit to fall back on, one that was his as much as anything he ever did. He didn't want to turn into Cynthia with her lack of... anything.
"That's the plan. I'll take my shield and weapons off, in case it becomes needed. Here..." He struggled out of the amulets, except his clothing, and then remembered that he hadn't taken a weapon with him at all. It was a bad habit to get into over all, going unprotected, but for the moment he kind of had to, didn't he? Go unarmed into the world and risk death to protect the others around him.
The scan was painless, and made a picture of his brain that appeared before them all in the air, like it was floating. That part was fascinating, since it glowed lightly in multiple colors. Tor didn't understand it all, but it was kind of unique looking. Almost pretty in a way.
The craft was small, but the sides opened, turning it into a tiny building with only a little extra work. One with a silver roof on it. With the addition of some fibrous material on the sides it could be turned into something like a tent. They didn't bother with that though, since the weather was dry and warm enough for everyone.
Cynthia and Lyn looked at the image and nodded, pointing at things and speaking a language that Tor didn't know at all. Cordes didn't either, but the other Blues and Burks did. Denno looked at him and shrugged.
"I was never that into medicine past cloning. Mainly nano's to tell the truth. I like the simplicity of the field."
Tor waited for a while not knowing if he should expect a cutter to the back of the neck or not, since the conversation got excited at more than one point. That was a little nerve wracking, but he tried to breathe deeply and stay calm and relaxed. If he had to die it might as well be before he did any real damage to the world.
Finally Lyn spun and winked at him.
"We all agree that you should be fine. We don't know how much this will affect you from now on, but the Rhetistic pattern is identical to the one in Blue Cordes. That means that it only has the first five hundred years of his life. We were mainly discussing some differences in brain structure that none of us have seen before. You seem to have unusually dense connections between neurons. I was wondering if it had to do with all the deep state meditation and building you've done. We're going to run scans on everyone else to see if they have similar things too. Burks is up next. This is fascinating... But probably not that interesting to you, since you aren't familiar with the science yet." She turned back and started working to move Burks into place, which meant Tor had to stand up and get out of the way.
Head still attached to neck and everything.
Tor didn't get it though, the part about why Burkes needed a scan too, so finally left, wondering if they were actually going to feed people that day or not. It was pretty late.
"Anyone hungry?" He said it lightly as he started to leave, but there were some nods of agreement, so it wasn't just him. It might just be horse meat and local vegetables, but that was better than starving, wasn't it?
He popped his head into the kitchen to find Carlos and Ali running around, with Timon and Trice backing them up. Tiera was sitting off to one side shelling something that looked like peas next to their mother.
"Hey! You're all back. Wonderful. Is the Kingdom still there? I've been talking to the King, but he might be lying to keep me from running back to try and save things."
Tiera spoke first, sounding like she was giving a real report.
"Minor crises, but Builder Sam took care of it. Major fire in the north, so he ran one of your rivers through the area and set up pumps to actually fight the blaze. Worked really well. He's also setting something up like that in your Wildlands. Already has a small army of kids from orphanages up there camping out and planting seeds. Nothings sprouted yet, but then they wouldn't have. The King's brother is helping him. Staying at the Palace and dunning everyone past the rank of Baron for funds and materials to help out. It seems to be working too. I don't know the exact figures, but everyone kept trying to avoid the man, which has to be a good sign. He even got a gold out of me and Timon each. Probably would have been more, but we don't carry much. That's ha
lf a year's allowance after all. Speaking of which, can I borrow some coin if I need it later?" The girl dimpled at him sweetly.
"Hmmm. No. Make your own. We have a template set up, learn to make copies and sell what you make. That or do some deliveries. You can do both." She could too, he was certain of it.
Ali, moved carefully, holding a large focus stone tray with a deep side, hot pads wrapped over the side. It looked like roast meat, but more like lamb than horse. It smelled good either way. After she set it down on the smooth black counter that looked to be made of obsidian glass, she spoke, a proud look on her face.
"Yeah, building is easy, at least making copies. Lyn had me do one up this morning." She said it casually, like it wasn't a big deal, looking at the tray in her hands and not making eye contact with anyone.
Half the room rushed her, doling out hugs and pats on the back. Tor almost felt like crying. It was great, a wonderful thing that he hadn't really been certain she could do. He kissed her hard enough that his own mother cleared her throat. Prude. He pulled back though, so as not to embarrass her.
"That's enough in public. We don't want to set a bad precedent or make everyone think that the people of Noram have loose morals." She looked at Trice when she said it for some reason, which got a blush from the girl, even though that wasn't something she normally did at all.
It probably meant that Trice had slept with someone and got caught by his mother. Possibly someone inappropriate. Who that would be Tor didn't know. She wouldn't sleep with Timon, he was too young. Tiera too, though that was closing in on legal. It would be a little bad though, because his family wouldn't understand it at all. Besides, Tiera didn't really care for her that much. She didn't offer to fight the girl in the kitchen, but there was a physical distance between them even now as they worked, so it wouldn't be that.
It didn't make a lot of sense to Tor, since his mother wasn't really a prude, and short of doing something like that she wouldn't care what Trice did, would she? She'd been raised as a noble even, so would probably be a lot less concerned than Tor would. The nobles didn't get jealous very much at all as a group. He stared at Trice who looked away from him obviously and noticed that Carlos was... snickering. At him.