The Star Whorl (The Totality Cycles Book 1)

by Emanuel, Ako

  “You’ve learned the control of self well,” Vespa Kareni’Tiv said, though she sounded a little sad. “Probably that predatory Gotra girl, of the Dun, once her famiya found out about ours. I am sorry that the learning of that had to be so – unpleasant.” She hugged him, projecting a comforting glyph to him. He took it in with gratitude, but it was unnecessary.

  “So – I didn’t shame you?” he asked quietly, looking from one to the other.

  Vespar-Drelano’Sev’Tiv laughed. “Quite the contrary, even now the intelligence that a male past the age of mating did not succumb to his first glimpse of a Tiphi-Genus woman of the Cav famiya, is circulating. You have probably added to the Tiv consequence, not that we need the boost in any way.”

  Kreceno’Tiv tried to smile. But the urge to track down the young woman he had seen was almost overwhelming.

  “What – what makes the Tiphi Cav so...?” he clamped his mouth shut, hoping that he had not insulted his mother. Not that he would necessarily be attracted to a non-famiya Vespa woman, but to talk so openly of the attractiveness of another Genus was unseemly, here on the Orm. He knew that without having to be told.

  Vespa Kareni’Tiv laughed, and waved away his contrition. “We have all learned to come to accustomedness with the attractiveness of other Genii, Krece. She is quite stunning, easily the most stunning of all the Genii. Hers is the oldest of the Genii, pre-dating all others, and actually the reason for the rise of the Malkia-mothers – her Genus was so successful, that the others that became the Malkia had to increase their aggressiveness and gloming to be able to compete for mates. Her kind were all but wiped out by them – so now, they keep themselves mostly hidden away. You are likely only to see one here, or mayhaps in one or two of your lectures in Tertius. Wherever they are, they are highly sought. And they rarely ever Genus-deviate.”

  So, being so venerable, her Genus probably had the highest Nil’Gu’ua ability of any of the Genii. It was a lot, a lot to take in, but thinking analytically about it helped control the urge to go find the young woman. He shivered and suppressed the Tiphir-reaction.

  Whorl Ninety Three

  As soon as they were back at the domicive on Gu’Anin, he turned to his parents and excused himself.

  “Where are you going, dear?” his mother asked. “Out with Becilo’Ran, to celebrate?”

  “I just want to do a little preliminary reading,” he said, with a brightness he did not feel. “And yes, later, out with Becilo’Ran.”

  She smiled and gestured assent. He took the staircase up to his suite two at a time, urgency riding him like he were about to take his ending exams again. If he were not going to be trained to his true level of skill, he would have to train himself, and he needed information to do it. He went to the dataSphere uplink in his suite and began to dig into the available information on the levels of Nil’Gu’ua, as if still excited to be evaluated.

  I have to do it now, he thought, compiling quadrils of data. If I do so after evaluation, that will raise suspicion. I really am glad for the warning.

  But on the surface, he did not see why his parents had been so subtly adamant about not showing his all. What kind of threat or intrigue required such deceit? He pressed his lips together, frustrated. The virtual glyphs of information scrolled on the glyphographic screen, complex glyphs that conveyed ideas within the intricacies of their forms. He let them flow over his consciousness, becoming immersed as they became a part of him, adding to his glyph.

  “Krece?” Vespa Karaci’Tiv stuck her head in after knocking on his port, breaking his concentration and immersion in the information. He smiled and invited her in with a jerk of his head. He welcomed the interruption – he was not finding what he was looking for, and his head was beginning to throb.

  “How did you like the Solidaris Orm?” she asked, coming in. “And the Totality?”

  “Wonderful,” he said, as she came to look over his shoulder. “I’ve never seen the Totality in such detail before.”

  “It is breathtaking.” She did not comment on the data that he had been absorbing, but turned and leaned against the study-station. “Are you excited to go to Tertius?”

  “I am,” he said, and laughed with her at his own serious tone. “Yes, I am. But it will hold no marvel for me, for you’ll be my ever-forward guide, won’t you?”

  She laughed her tinkling laugh. “Will I? No, no, I won’t be there to hold your hand all the way through or be your lit beacon in the darkness! I’ve passed with full marks and distinction, and I will intern with Father to gain knowledge of the workings of the Solidarim. My skill level will be confirmed, and then – who can say?”

  He sighed dramatically. “So, I must blunder through on my own? With no wiser head to be my overseer?”

  “Yes, for a while, all cases being equal,” she laughed again, plucking his sleeve. “I’ll be back and forth from the Orm to here. And when you have need of enlightenment, I’ll be there. Are you going out with your friends to the Bustani this dark-time?”

  “Probably,” he gestured assent. “Will you come?”

  “Probably. I think Jararo’Mev will be there.” She managed to say it without looking abashed. Jararo’Mev was her new love-interest. Where, exactly, her previous Geni’vhes had gone, she would not say.

  “If you are to come, then he undoubtedly will be,” Kreceno’Tiv smiled, said, sure. Jararo’Mev was clearly interested in his sister, had been before, and he knew the feelings were now mutual, with Ve-Dorilo’Sem gone. “He’s perfect for you, no matter what vocation you choose.”

  Tucking in her vuu’erio, she touched his hand, then left.

  Whorl Ninety Four

  They were actually able to get into the Bustani, the usual crowds greatly thinned, due to the reduction in the population.

  “Oh ha, Krece!” Ro-Becilo’Ran said from a far corner. “Back, are you? Over here, with us!”

  Kreceno’Tiv changed course, Vespa Karaci’Tiv right behind him, as Jararo’Mev was also with the group, and obviously looking out for her. They joined the group, sitting with the others in the curved lounges.

  “How was the Solidaris Orm?” Ro-Becilo’Ran said, jovial, but his joviality was brittle, as if something was wrong. His vuu’erio waved and tucked, waved and tucked, and his glyph was perturbed, but whether by thoughts and feelings, or an excess of celebration, he could not tell.

  “I enjoyed it,” he said, puzzling, but trying not to let it show. “I saw the most beautiful girl there, Becil, she had eyes like rainbows...!”

  “Not as beautiful as Karaci’Tiv,” Jararo’Mev said, his neutral bluish-gray already taking on the faint red and black markings of her Vespar-induction, and his physique changing ever so slightly, overtly proclaiming his attraction to her.

  “I wouldn’t know,” Kreceno’Tiv said, though, of course, he knew intellectually that his sister was very attractive.

  “Sure you do, you just wouldn’t say,” Vespa Karaci’Tiv said, turning a sassy shoulder.

  “No, I won’t do that either,” he laughed. “As I was saying, I saw a Tiphi Cav young woman there, and...!”

  “You saw a Tiphi Cav, and you’re not wearing Tiphir-colors?” Thy-Lerefo’Gol expulsed, staring at him. “Are you sure you’re still male? Did Pavtala Ralili’Bax take it with her when she left?”

  The reminder of his former Geni’vhes made all the fluid seem to drain from his face. How quickly he had forgotten her! But she was out of his reach, and gone from his life, probably forever. Was it best to just move on, as the Tiphi young woman seemed to make it easy to do so?

  “I’ll show you, if you like,” he said mock-grimly, though not all of it was pretense. There was something there, in what Thy-Lerefo’Gol had said, another teasing at the edges of his mind, something about Pavtala Ralili’Bax, but it almost hurt to try to bring it up.

  His friend held up his hands. “Hives above, no, if you say it’s there, I’ll take your avowal on it!” Then he playfully covered Thynnu Tikati’Pas’s eyes. “Beside
s, you might scare my pre-mate, and then we’ll never get past Geni’vheris!”

  “I don’t know, you know how curious we can be,” Thynnu Tikati’Pas said, her eyes twinkling as she tried to lower Thy-Lerefo’Gol’s hands and eyed him salaciously. “Ralili never talked. But seriously, a Tiphi-Genus? They’re as hard to find as a Malkia-descendant! Was she really beautiful?”

  “I actually stopped breathing, for a centi-mark,” he answered. He felt the Tiphir-induction at mentioning her try to come over him, and he suppressed it.

  “Oh ha, Krece,” Ro-Becilo’Ran said, rocking up to his feet and gesturing. “Come with me to get another set of freshments?”

  Kreceno’Tiv gestured assent and stood up to follow, encountering enigmatic glances from the others as he did.

  Whorl Ninety Five

  “What’s wrong, Becil?” Kreceno’Tiv asked, quietly. “Something’s wrong. Aren’t you going to Tertius?”

  “Oh, I’m going,” Ro-Becilo’Ran said, gesturing assent. “But...” The pained and confused, hurt glyph that tangled around his friend’s glyph was almost painfully apparent, and Kreceno’Tiv could guess the why of it. Ro-Becilo’Ran’s parents had cautioned him, as Kreceno’Tiv’s had, about showing his true Nil’Gu’ua ability. But his friend had not looked into the deeper implications of the warning. He just knew that he had been told to not show all that he could do, and that it had been a blow to his self-regard. He waited, however, for Ro-Becilo’Ran to articulate his fret himself.

  “They told you, didn’t they,” Ro-Becilo’Ran stated. “They told you not to show your full Nil’Gu’ua at Tertius.”

  “Yes,” Kreceno’Tiv confirmed.

  Ro-Becilo’Ran pulled him into a small, private ante-room, then growled out his frustration.

  “Why?! Why would they tell us such a thing?!” he raged. Kreceno’Tiv blinked. He had never seen his friend so upset. Ro-Becilo’Ran was usually so easy-going, unconcerned, unaffected by most things... why should this be a sore-point for him?

  “There’s a reason, there has to be,” Kreceno’Tiv murmured, but that did nothing to soothe his friend’s bruised feelings.

  “Don’t you think I’ve pondered that?” Ro-Becilo’Ran said, angry. “Don’t you think I’ve looked? What possible reason could there be, except the desire for those older than we to keep us below them? Like the OSI, it’s just one more device of control, more propaganda from the Gu’Anin Magistrate Council and the Solidarim to keep us pacified!”

  Kreceno’Tiv wanted to gesture a negative. His parents were not so credulous – they would not give him a false warning. There was more going on than mere propaganda or controlling the populace, he was sure of it.

  “We’ll keep looking, keep trying to find the reason,” he said, touching his friend’s shoulder. But Ro-Becilo’Ran jerked away, looking back at him resentfully.

  “So you’ve been glome-clouded into it, too!” he accused, glaring at Kreceno’Tiv. “You’re going to understate your ability, when we get to Tertius, aren’t you?!”

  “No,” he lied, convincingly. “No, I won’t understate myself.”

  “Avow that you won’t,” his friend insisted.

  Kreceno’Tiv sighed and held out his hand. “Becil, you know me. I’ll avow it, if you insist, but you know my glyph better than anyone. Could I ever lie to you?”

  Ro-Becilo’Ran smiled and gripped his shoulder rather than taking his hand and reading his glyph as the gesture invited him to do.

  “I knew you wouldn’t be duped into that nonsense,” he said, happy again, happy to have an ally in his belief. “We’ll show them, at Tertius! We’ll amaze everyone with our feats of glyph manipulation! And I’ll finally know your Nil’Gu’ua! Now, let’s get that refreshment for everyone!”

  Kreceno’Tiv tried to smile in return, and, for the most part, succeeded. He felt horrid, for finally, successfully lying to his friend. But deception and circumspection seemed to be a necessity, even in the Ministries, if not in the Solidarim itself, and he had to learn well if he was going to accomplish all that he had set himself to do.

  If the deception is going to begin, he thought dourly, it might as well begin now.

  They proceeded back to their seats, refreshments in hand, when something caught Kreceno’Tiv’s eye and made him stop cold. One of the displays. He turned to it, incredulous, feeling his Nil’Gu’ua rise in heat and rage.

  Okon?!