Star Minds Interregnum

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "Not really." Wysten started walking through the museum rooms without stopping to look at anything. "I kind of like Alahairo, especially out of town."

  "There's only cemeteries out there!"

  "Exactly."

  "Don't you have any live friends?"

  "Some." Wysten shrugged. "And I never went to uni. Is that where you met your girlfriend?"

  "Yes. Not all Ulba'wissians are warriors and she was the prettiest on my course. It took me a couple of years to seduce her, but then we became inseparable. Remember Cybercop? We used to watch it together..."

  "Yes, I bet Maldak was the reason you chose Ulba'wis for your studies," Wysten replied. "What happened to him anyway? Haven't seen him anywhere in ages!"

  "Because you don't follow galactic gossip." Raken chuckled. "When Cybercop was canceled, he moped around a little, then he met Endonald Rotshy who had just inherited a fortune on Wega, and moved there. Lots of Ulba'wissians followed, and we were among them. I'lli'nya's family wasn't very happy that she'd chosen a fair-skinned man..."

  They had reached the top floor and the museum coffee shop. They got themselves a cold drink and a pastry and sat to continue their conversation.

  "I bet Dad wouldn't have approved of her," Wysten said. "Is that why you didn't come back?"

  "Exactly. We eloped and then spent ten years on Wega. I was a bodyguard and she stayed at home. We didn't feel the need to marry, being together was enough. For six years we lived above our possibilities to keep up with our new friends and ended up indebted to Ivanka Rotshy, Endonald's sister."

  "Oh. I hear they have weird ways of dealing with debts there." Wysten stared at him with open curiosity.

  Raken nodded with a sigh. "Slavery to repay debts. The first year I spent in Ivanka's bed, then she sent me to fight in her arena... all the while keeping I'lli'nya in her brothel."

  Wysten chuckled. "And you're still together after all that?"

  Raken smiled. "Obviously our love is stronger than what we thought. I finally managed to earn my freedom, and here we are, ready to tie the knot... Will you be there?" he pleaded. "I doubt her family will attend, at least my brother should be present!"

  "Maybe." Wysten averted his eyes and Raken didn't insist. They were talking again. Maybe Wysten needed only a little more prodding, possibly from Tamara.

  Raken started to hope his brother would forgive him and they could be a family again.

  ***

  Only a few days were left 'til the wedding. Mansion Nevermind was bustling with life again, and even Wysten had come back to his old bed, forcing I'lli'nya to move into their parents' former bedroom. Raken's brother would go back to his own apartment after the ceremony, but a whole week before the wedding date he decided to spend it at the mansion.

  And then a visitor showed up, unannounced. The robot butler came to the busy living room to tell Raken a Miss Vera Vadim asked about him. I'lli'nya was talking to Wysten and Tamara, so Raken went to the entrance to greet the visitor, a little puzzled.

  Vera Vadim was the daughter of Jenko, who had hired him as a bodyguard for a few years. While in his service, Raken had seen him divorce Vera's mother and marry then twenty-five-year-old Ivanka Rotshy who was half his age.

  Vera Vadim was now twenty-five herself, with straight brown-black hair, fair skin and an honest face. That was all that was left of the lanky teen he hadn't seen in six or seven years after he'd left the service of Jenko Vadim. Vera had an hourglass body now, and it looked completely natural. Unlike Ivanka, Vera didn't seem to be a fan of cosmetic surgery.

  She brightened at the sight of him and smiled mischievously at his startled expression.

  "Hello, Raken," she greeted. "Long time no see."

  "Indeed," he answered, gulping down his surprise. "What brings you to Alahairo? I thought you were sent to study on Gweltaz?"

  "Yes, and when I came back, you had vanished." She pouted. "I eventually discovered you'd ended up in the clutches of that bitch who had married my father and was wondering how to get you out of there when you got out on your own. Well, sort of."

  "I had earned my freedom," he retorted. "My teammate had just arrived, and Ivanka wanted to keep him a little longer, but his father didn't think so."

  "Yes, I've heard the bitch had a close encounter with a Sire aristocrat." Vera chuckled. "My mother was very happy to inform me of the event. I was hoping you'd go back to you apartment or start looking for new jobs, but you vanished..."

  "I came here. This is my home."

  "True, but it's also the place you avoided for years as far as I can remember."

  "I was afraid my family wouldn't accept my girlfriend in their midst."

  "Would that be I'lli'nya? You're still with her?" Vera asked, disappointed.

  "I'm marrying her in two days," he answered. "Since you're here, would you like to attend the wedding?"

  She pouted for a moment, then grinned. "I'd love to. Although I'd rather be the bride, but I guess it's too late, isn't it? Can I be part of your stag night?"

  "We already had that." Raken tried to remain serious. "What would your father think of you showing up on an alien planet and offering yourself to a stranger?"

  "His former bodyguard," she replied with a shrug. "And he doesn't care. He's courting one of my friends at the moment. He's fifty-seven and is going after a twenty-five-year-old! My mother is rightfully disgusted with him."

  "What about your brother, what does he think?"

  "He doesn't care. I guess he lost his father when he married that bitch Ivanka. And I think he likes men."

  "Oh, man, who will continue the Vadim name, then?" Not that Raken cared about that. Jenko had brothers. He wasn't surprised that Jenko's son had turned out gay, though.

  "Even if Ivanka avoided pregnancy, doesn't mean another bitch will deny him another fatherhood, so he can feel young and dumb again," Vera answered. She put her arms around his neck. "Since I'm late for your stag night, can I give you my gift before the wedding? I have booked a hotel room... why don't you come tonight?"

  She kissed him passionately, then whispered the hotel name and room number in his ear before letting him go. She waved good-bye and left, leaving him gaping once again.

  ***

  The night before the wedding, I'lli'nya went to sleep in Tamara's room. Then the day came and Raken woke up anxious and worried, with an impending sense of doom.

  "Why did I decide to make it official," he muttered as he wore his ceremony clothes – tight gold and blue garments with long sleeves and loose trousers. He wore boots and Wysten put the wedding brooch on his embroidered jacket without commenting.

  "I mean, I could have just moved in with her somewhere, or taken a trade or..."

  "What do you plan to do after the wedding?" Wysten asked. "Go with Tyrell to take care of tombs like Dad did?"

  "No! But maybe I'lli'nya's parents will help us to set up a trade somewhere... after all I'm Alahairian... I should be traveling, trading and whatnot..."

  I'lli'nya's parents had arrived the day before. They both had dark skin – he was tall and bulky, she was pudgy but gorgeous, much like her daughter – and stood out in the crowd of fair-skinned relatives.

  Since they followed different religions, Raken and I'lli'nya had opted for a civil union. They left Mansion Nevermind together to reach the Town Hall. Raken went in first and waited by the mayor with Wysten and Tyrell, while I'lli'nya's father walked her towards them.

  The bride had an elegant, form-fitting golden gown, with a low neckline and puffy sleeves. Her frizzy hair was combed into an elaborate hairdo with a tiara, and she had a silver necklace and matching earrings and bracelets. Raken thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen – again, fifteen years later – and all his doubts and fears vanished as she put her hand in his. He lost himself in her doe eyes and Wysten had to clear his throat to remind him where he was and what he was supposed to do.

  The wedding banquet was in the mansion's garden, acres of green where a cat
ering service had set up tables and chairs. The day was sunny and there was a real band playing some music in the background.

  Raken and I'lli'nya toasted with everyone, made the rounds through the various tables, then went back to sit at their table for two, as they waited for the wedding cake.

  "When did Vera Vadim get here?" I'lli'nya asked, leaning towards Raken and keeping her voice low.

  "Uh, two days ago, why?"

  "Ah, so that's why you spent a few hours in town without me." She grinned. "Not that I missed you."

  "You didn't?" he frowned.

  "Your brother kept me entertained – or tried to," she answered with a giggle. "I think he came after me only to spite you, but I kept him at bay... did you?"

  "What?" He was too busy glaring at Wysten, who was seated next to Vera.

  "Did you keep Vera's hands off of you or did you enjoy her company?" I'lli'nya asked, pinching his arm. "Stop glaring at Wysten and answer my question!"

  He looked at her. "She stole a kiss. She tried to get more. I just couldn't," he said. "Because I love you and only you. I've been obsessed with you for the past fifteen years. And this morning I wondered why I'm marrying you. Now I know. Because I can't live without you."

  She grinned. "And that's why I married you," she said. "No man ever said these things to me but you!"

  They briefly kissed, then both watched Wysten and Vera again.

  "Do you think they like each other?" I'lli'nya asked. "Like really like each other?"

  "Seems so." He smiled. Maybe his grumpy brother had found someone to love. Maybe Vera would take Wysten to Wega or around the galaxy and they'd explore their relationship and the Star Nations together. "This time I will keep in touch with him, no matter what we decide to do next," he promised.

  I'lli'nya approved with a nod. The waiters brought the cake. And soon the younger guests flooded the space in front of the band, dancing the rest of the day away. As he pirouetted with I'lli'nya, Raken noticed Wysten and Vera were dancing together a very sensual dance and he smiled.

  Looking for Home

  "You know, number seventeen is a sign of bad luck on my planet," Alex had said. "Why don't you wait for next year to go back home?"

  Lyssa could see he was worried because she wanted to leave, but she doubted that Galactic year 5217 or 5218 would make any difference. A year from now she'd probably feel as bummed as she was at the moment, and she had no reasons to stay – not anymore. Whatever had tied her to Alex was history – they were just friends now. And her beloved father was now a disembodied entity in SETH World's mainframe.

  SETH World was a space station in the form of an artificial moon, built for scientists and post-humans who wanted to experiment with enhancements for their bodies and minds. It gravitated around a binary system, but it wasn't a real planet.

  Lyssa was an ESP who had moved to SETH World following her father, a prominent scientist from Alahairo, and had spent about ten years there. She didn't need enhancements, but her psionics had been very useful to test the interfaced radio transmitters of the enhanced Humanoids that allowed them a form of telepathy.

  She had called SETH World home – until now. The last intense year had brought too many changes in her life for her to cope. First Alex – who was quadriplegic from a bad accident and had used an exoskeleton to be able to walk again – had uploaded his mind into an android body modeled on him.

  After almost a year, seeing how well the biological brain had adapted to an artificial frame, Lyssa's father had decided to upload his mind into cyberspace and give up his body. He'd said it would allow them telepathic communication and that they could have a shared consciousness, but it didn't seem so.

  Alex's father, an eminent neuroscientist, said there was the risk of loss of individuality, but the possibility of multiple existences – including one where his wife could be brought back to life into virtual reality – had tempted Lyssa's father so much that he had decided to proceed with the upload.

  Lyssa felt betrayed. By Alex, who had fallen in love with somebody else as soon as he had regained full control of his body. And by her father, who didn't understand her much, and even if he loved her, there was some kind of uneasiness within him towards her – especially now that she was grown up. He could see her mother in her, and that hurt, since he was still mourning his beloved wife.

  Jonathan Wright had moved to SETH World hoping to sort of resurrect his wife, or find an alternative way to be with her again, and the mind upload happened to be the right solution. For him, not for Lyssa, who felt orphaned now that both her parents were disembodied entities.

  Lyssa drifted off to sleep, still thinking about her conversation with Alex – how he seemed concerned, but now that he could shield his mind and was in love with somebody else, she wasn't too sure he was being honest. The android body allowed him a form of telepathy, but that hadn't brought them closer. Quite the opposite.

  And then her mother visited her, reminding her how precious and unique she was.

  "But Mom, I'm all alone now!" she whined, trying to keep the ghost with her.

  "No, honey, just go looking for home. Find your heart. Alex obviously wasn't the one. Rod is coming here, use his starship to go back to Alahairo or Vilas Lok or wherever you want. He and your father were childhood friends, inseparable... Rod's wife used to be jealous of their friendship!"

  "Because she couldn't read their minds like you do." Lyssa pouted. She'd inherited her powers from her mother, and like her mother, she had to keep them secret if she wanted to have a normal life. Not that on SETH World she'd had a "normal" life, among enhanced Humanoids and other telepaths...

  Thus, when Rodnick James brought another cargo of material for the scientists, she decided it was time to leave. Go home, wherever home was. Following her mother's advice and forgetting the men she had cared for on SETH World. They obviously didn't care about her, so she might as well leave. They wouldn't miss her.

  Rod was an old friend of Lyssa's father and she'd known him since childhood. He had his own starship and he specialized in technical parts and electronics, so he often visited SETH World, if only to grab a coffee with his childhood friend and reminisce while robots unloaded his ship.

  Rod's ship, the Rift Venom Wing had very good cargo space, but below average passenger space. It had average sensors, good shields and weapons, and a crew of thirty people. An average fuel supply granted an above average speed, and Captain James always delivered on time. He had sometimes brought more scientists to the big space lab – including Alex in a wheelchair, accompanied by his father, some seven years earlier.

  Rod was surprised not to find his old friend in the hangar when he docked, and Lyssa could easily read his mind. His thoughts were puzzled and then worried as he started wondering about the implications of her presence in the hangar. Had something bad happened to his friend who had been perfectly healthy during his previous visit some six months ago?

  Her father had never bothered to tell Rod about her powers and the captain had just assumed they'd both moved to SETH World after the death of Lyssa's mother because that was the only way the widower could cope with the loss. Besides, Jonathan was a scientist, he moved from lab to lab even before the death of his beloved wife, who used to follow him everywhere.

  "Welcome, Rod. If you wish to speak with my father, I shall take you to the computer room," Lyssa greeted. A brief hesitation, then, "Will you take me back to Alahairo?"

  "If this is what you want," he answered with a smile. "But what happened?"

  She took in a deep breath. "Dad uploaded his mind to the mainframe. I wish to bury his body in the family tomb near Mom."

  Rod gasped, his eyes widening in shock. "Is he...?" Death was a thought that scared him. He wasn't a scientist who wanted to achieve immortality by uploading his mind to a computer.

  "His body is. His mind now lives in the mainframe," she explained gloomily. Her finger made a gesture to encompass the hangar around them and the whole space station. "I gu
ess he feels closer to Mom that way." She shrugged, lowering her eyes. "The virtual reality must be better than this."

  She wasn't sure she liked the real world much anymore. She felt lost and lonely. She didn't have real friends on SETH World – yes, Alex had been nice to her, but since that bitchy Sire had showed up with her perfect artificial body, he was smitten, like many others on SETH World. From wheelchair to exoskeleton they still talked, but when he upgraded to a bionic frame, he completely forgot her until the day she told him she was leaving.

  "So you decided it's time to go home," Rod said, thoughtful. "I know you don't have anyone left there, but I'll gladly add you to my family, in the name of the friendship I had with your father. My wife will be happy to have you, your mother helped her in the past and she is still grateful."

  "Thank you, Rod. I might visit my cousins on Vilas Lok as well, but for now the cemeteries of Alahairo will do."

  "But tell me, Lyssa, what did you do on SETH World? Do you have any enhancements?"

  "No, I only assisted Dad in his experiments. He took me on as apprentice, and you know he's the best electronic engineer of the universe..."

  Rod smiled. "He sure is, but can he teach?"

  "Oh, he could, trust me!" Lyssa didn't mention that her telepathy had allowed her to grasp concepts without her father having to explain much, because she could see what he meant in his unprotected mind. "I wasn't happy when he decided to upload his mind into the mainframe, but he said we'd be all right, since I'm a telepath and..." She gasped and put a hand over her mouth.

  Her eyes widened as she stared at Rod, ready to panic, but Rod didn't react to her slip. He seemed to be concentrating on something else.

  "And were you able to help him adjust to his new... form?" Rod asked with a concerned expression.

  "Yes." Lyssa cleared her throat and lowered her eyes. "He's doing fine, having the time of his life with virtual reality, but... he's disembodied. I can't live with two ghostly parents." She pursed her lips, frowning. She'd slipped again. But once more Rod didn't ask what she meant. He was still too taken aback at the thought of his friend's unusual choice to give up a real body – and a daughter – to go and live inside a computer.