by Gini Koch
“Fair enough,” Gower said, as Martini and Christopher both pulled out phones and started dialing. “But why are the entities still inside the astronauts, and why are they confused about what they’re here for?”
“And why are we seeing dead people?” Chee asked.
Martini moved away from me. Both he and Christopher were having animated conversations with their fathers, and both of them looked pissed. I nudged Gower. “I’m right.”
He nodded. “Yeah, it makes sense when you explain it like you did.”
“The dead people?” Chee asked again.
“The people aren’t there. The entities are looking for them. They’ve seen these people, and they can’t find them now.”
“There are plenty of living astronauts who aren’t on parade here,” Chee said.
“I’m sure. The entities are confused. I don’t think they’re supposed to be destructive—after all, Alpha Centauri needs Earth and needs us populated with humans and A-Cs. I’d imagine that the entities can see us, possibly from much farther off than we could see them. So, they’ve seen every human and A-C who’s ever gone into space. It’s lonely out there, isn’t it?”
Chee nodded. “It can be.”
“They’ve been sitting there for decades, maybe longer, who knows? Just waiting for someone to trip their wire and give them something to do. So, they took an interest in the space travelers who didn’t quite make it to their border. Like . . . like a penguin observer in the wild. You get attached to the penguins, even though the penguins have no idea you’re there. You name them, you care about them. And when you come back the next year, you look for ‘your’ penguins. And maybe you don’t find them.”
“But how are the entities doing that?” Gower asked.
I looked at Christopher, and the answer radiated out like a beacon.
CHAPTER 34
“ONE OF THEM’S AN IMAGEER. Maybe another’s an empath or a dream-seer, like you,” I said to Gower. “Maybe these entities are a distillation of A-C talents. But somewhere in there is the imageer ability. Christopher drew a picture of his mother in the air for me by rearranging the molecules. It can be done, and I think that’s what they’re doing.”
“So, why are they, and the images, attracted to you?” Gower asked.
“Because a female can neutralize them,” Martini growled. He stalked over to us and he was furious. “They knew about this, and it never occurred to them that our former oppressors would do the same thing to Earth.” He rubbed his forehead. “You’re right, baby, completely. It’s the same damn thing they used on that warlike planet. We’re surrounded by a net. We cross it, the net tosses us back.”
“Humanely, which is an A-C watchword.”
“Oh, it’s better than that, though.” Christopher was also fuming. “If we make enough attempts, and no one’s clear on just how many ‘enough’ is, then they stop tossing back nicely and start killing things and making the net smaller.”
It was an ugly picture. “America isn’t the only country interested in space travel.”
“I know.” Christopher actually sounded angrier than Martini, which was saying a lot. “And this isn’t going to go over well with the American government, let alone in other countries.”
I thought about it. “It’s worse. It’s going to make Centaurion Division seem less like a positive. And the less positive you seem, the more the pressure there will be to turn you into a military division that’s fighting other countries.”
“What in God’s name are we going to do?” Christopher asked quietly.
“Jeff, what did you mean by a female being able to neutralize the entities?”
“Let’s just ask the source,” he said. I turned and saw Alfred and the rest of our group joining us. “Sure it’s safe to have Kitty, Lorraine, and Claudia all here?” Martini’s voice was dripping with both sarcasm and fury.
Alfred shook his head. “We didn’t think of it. We were establishing ourselves with the ranking superpower and protecting our new home from a terrible threat. Forgive us for not being as on top of things as your generation.”
Oh, the Martini men could both twist the sarcasm knob up to full. “Um, guys? Really, let’s focus. What’s the right thing to do in this situation, Alfred?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea. It was my grandparents’ generation who put up the Physic-Psycho Barrier around Beta Twelve.”
“Beta Twelve?”
Alfred chuckled. “We assigned each planet a sequence based on which sun they were closest to and where they were in order. There are eighteen planets in our system, ten are inhabited. The others might be now, but they weren’t inhabited when we were exiled.”
“But you should only have eight at the most,” Chee said. “At least, according to our calculations.”
Alfred shrugged. “Your calculations are wrong, and, due to a variety of good reasons, none of us have mentioned that until now. I know, the idea is that the second sun would cause orbital disruptions. But our planets have lemniscate orbits.”
“You mean the planets make a figure eight?” This seemed unreal to me, but then again, so did hyperspeed, and they did it all the time.
“Yes,” Alfred nodded. “Exactly. But only some of them. There are specific reasons for it, the metals at our worlds’ cores for starters, but really, now is not the time. Alphas One through Three are uninhabited, Alpha Four is our home world, and Alphas Five through Eight are also inhabited. Betas start with Nine, and Nine through Eleven are uninhabited. Twelve through Sixteen are inhabited, Betas Seventeen and Eighteen are not. Beta Twelve is the problem planet.”
“And the net thingy?” I couldn’t come up with that word again on my own.
“Physic-Psycho Barrier. It’s referred to as a PPB.”
“What does it mean?”
“Physical and psychological barrier,” Alfred explained, only somewhat patiently. “It works like a net.”
“Looking for both a physical and a psychological presence?”
“Hence the name.” I marveled at how Martini’s father could get the exact same amount of frustration into his tone as his son.
I looked up at said son. “Ergo, why our unmanned craft have gotten through—computer brains are not the same as human ones. And the entities are looking for both the physical and mental presences of those they saw before. They’re drawing their pictures for the astronauts in the hopes said astronauts will show them where their penguins went.”
“Penguins?” Martini looked confused. “How did we get onto flightless waterfowl?”
Oh, right, he’d been on the phone. “You explain it to them,” I said to Gower. I went over to Michael’s cell. “Have you cross-referenced?”
He nodded. “I’ve compared every person that came by without speaking to the archives. All had been in space before, and all are dead.”
“Do you still see them out there?”
He looked. “No.” He looked back at me. “They disappeared as I verified they were dead. But they might come back.”
“No, they won’t. I’m going to get you out of here soon, Michael, I promise.”
“Thanks.” He gave me a very seductive smile. “So, have you and Jeff declared for each other yet?”
This was a new one. “No, not that I know of. What does that mean?”
Michael shrugged. “It’s how we A-C’s begin the commitment process. We declare for each other. It puts both parties off the market—bad form to try to break up a declared couple.”
Interesting. Martini had never mentioned this. Ever. “Nice custom.”
“And until you’ve declared, you’re open game.” He smiled a very wide smile. “Let me know if you want to have dinner some time.”
Martini’s massive possessiveness started to have a little more clarity. “So, um, in the A-C world, is it against the rules for undeclared couples to play the field?”
“Not really. Until you’ve declared or accepted someone’s declaration, it’s pretty common to date other peopl
e. We mate for life—you want to be sure you’re with the right person.”
I’d taken some animal life sciences courses in school, and mating for life was one section I’d done very well in. Interestingly enough, while many creatures mated for life, most of them would still “date” outside of the mated pair. Only one kind of bird actually both mated for life and discouraged any form of philandering. It seemed I was dating a humanoid black vulture. Who’d have guessed it? Not me, obviously.
“It’s kind of different for humans.”
Michael pointedly looked at my left hand. “I see no ring—marriage, engagement, or promise.” He looked back at my face. “Seriously, be sure before you decide.” He smiled widely again. “Jeff’s not the only one with moves, trust me.”
The realization that Gower’s younger brother was truly hitting on me with intent to score a grand slam was shocking. I found myself wondering if my perfume really lived up to its hype. I had had an active dating life, both before and after Brian, and I knew I’d dated more than Martini had. But I wasn’t used to being the “it” girl of any group. If I hadn’t been in love with Martini, this would have been a lot more exciting. Seeing as I was, however, the situation was awkward at best and relationship-threatening at worst.
Martini clearly picked something up because he was next to me now, arm wrapped around me. “What are you two discussing?” he asked in a tone that indicated he already knew the answer.
Michael gave him a grin, and I recognized the look on his face—it was a very male expression. I’d seen athletes give each other looks like this, right before a meet or a game, when they were ready to fight over something they both wanted, like a championship . . . or a girl.
This made me much more nervous than any romantic stress between me, Martini, and Christopher ever had. I took a shot at defusing the situation. “Um, Michael, do you have any special A-C talent? Like, Jeff’s the best empath on Earth, and Christopher’s the best imageer. Do you have a talent?”
He gave me a slow smile. “Not like that.” It was clear what he was insinuating. Martini had insinuated, well flat out said, the same when we’d met. But he’d been funny and charming. Michael was sexual and predatory.
I could feel Martini move from angry and jealous to Raging Bull. “Keep your damned hands off her.” His voice was low and he was snarling.
“Up to her, isn’t it?” Michael sounded amused and confident. Under some circumstances this could have been flattering and appealing. Under this one, it wasn’t. I realized I was huddling closer to Martini—because I was scared. I found myself thanking God there was a sturdy, locked door between the two of them.
“Michael, cut the crap.” Reader was there, between Martini and Michael. He sounded mad and also disgusted. “You aren’t interested in her, you’re interested in screwing with Jeff and Christopher.”
Michael’s eyes narrowed. “James, you have no idea what I’m interested in.”
Reader barked a laugh. “I’ve watched you for years. You think you’re a playa, Mr. Smooth with the ladies. If you ever stopped to think about it, you can’t keep a girl because they all get sick of being your latest conquest, being shown off like this week’s bowling trophy. You don’t give a damn about any of them—if they’re hot and especially if someone else cares about them, then you’re interested.”
Michael looked at me. “Make your own decisions. Just remember, you’re not committed, and it’s a smart girl who checks out her options before making a final decision.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.” I managed to get this out without my voice shaking.
Reader turned around. “We’re all caught up on the penguin theory. Let’s figure out how to get the entities out of the astronauts.” He looked at Martini. “Let it go, Jeff,” he said under his breath. “I can tell she’s not interested and I’m not empathic. Don’t let him get to you, it’s what he wants.”
Martini gave Reader a curt nod, spun us around, and dragged me back in front of Chee’s cell. Reader came with us. I buried my face in Martini’s chest. His hearts were pounding, and I knew I was trembling. “Jeff, how bad are your blocks?”
He sighed. “Going up and down. I’m having trouble . . . ”
“Because you’re so badly hurt.” I tried not to worry and failed. “Michael’s sure picking a great time to be an aggressive predator.”
Reader put his hand on my shoulder. “True, though predator’s the wrong word. He’s always been a jerk. It’s one of the reasons he and Paul aren’t close—it drives Paul crazy the way Michael treats people.”
“He seemed nice when we first got here.” Martini’s arms were around me, and I could feel him starting to pick up how freaked out this had made me because he relaxed somewhat. He stroked my back and my head.
“He can be nice,” Reader said. “But he has to know where someone’s limit is. Under normal circumstances, anyway.”
I moved my head to look at Reader. “What do you mean, normal circumstances?”
He grimaced. “Michael’s had a real competition with Jeff and Christopher, all their lives. They’re the same age, but he has no A-C talents, so he’d never be in the positions they’re in. He’s an astronaut, which is pretty impressive, to both A-Cs and humans, but it’s not enough. Jeff’s in charge of the Field, and that means Jeff’s in charge of everything any time it matters. That’s a huge responsibility, and one Michael would love to be given but will never have. Christopher, as the head of Imageering, is pretty much Jeff’s equal in most situations and is his right-hand man in any others. Again, not a position Michael can ever achieve.”
“And his older brother is the Head of Recruitment and the Sovereign Pontifex’s right hand.”
“Right, again, a position Michael is unlikely to ever achieve. Recruitment requires the ability to see into a person’s dreams, for a variety of reasons. So he tries to one-up whenever he can.”
“Stealing my girl would certainly be one-upping me,” Martini snarled, back to tense.
“Jeff, for God’s sake, look at her face if you suddenly can’t pick up how she feels about this. Kitty’s freaked out, not flattered.” I loved Reader, I really did. He gave Martini a close look. “You need to go into isolation.”
Martini snorted. “Yeah, like that’s an option.” He heaved a sigh. “But you’re right. And I’ll try to calm down.”
“Good.” I swallowed. “I figure Claudia, Lorraine, and I need to go into the cells with the astronauts.”
Reader nodded. “Yeah, according to Alfred, best guess is that the entities need to join with a woman in order to dissipate. We figure one woman per astronaut, just in case.”
“Then, let me say right now I’m not going in with Michael, and if he acts like this with either one of the girls, he can keep his entity and stay in solitary for the rest of his life.”
Martini’s body started to relax. “Who do you want, baby?”
“Want would be the wrong word. I’ll go in with Brian. It’ll crush him if I don’t, and he’s already taking a lot of ego beating with my having explained that I’m with you and not looking to make a change in status.”
Full Martini body relaxation. “Okay, but I’ll be watching.”
“I hope so. I have no idea what’s going to happen.”
“No one does,” Reader said. “But I guess we’re going to find out.
CHAPTER 35
“SORRY ABOUT MICHAEL,” Chee said. He sounded really down all of a sudden. “He gets that way sometimes.”
“It’s okay, Daniel. Not your fault.”
“I suppose.” Chee looked despondent.
“Are you okay?”
He shrugged. “I suppose. Guess it doesn’t really matter.”
This was weird. “Um, okay. Talk to you in a minute.” I took Martini’s hand, and he and I went to Brian’s cell. Reader came along, too.
“What’s up with Chee?” Reader asked me.
Before I could answer, Brian saw us. “What the hell are you doing holding his han
d?” he shouted at me. “Get away from him! Things are bad enough, you don’t need to make them worse!”
“Brian, what’s with you? He’s my boyfriend, you know that.”
Brian started pounding on the door. “Get away from him, from all of them! It’s bad enough being all alone, you don’t have to rub it in!”
Martini pulled me away from the door. “Okay, you’re not going in there.”
“Something’s really wrong, more wrong than before. Brian wasn’t like that, ever. He’s not a violent person.” I looked at him, then at Chee and Michael, who were looking suicidal and glowering, respectively. My brain kicked. “Oh. Jeff, stay here. I’ll be okay.”
I let go of his hand and went back to Brian’s cell. “Brian, please stop,” I said softly. “I understand, I do.”
He quieted. “What do you understand?”
I looked into his eyes. “I need to talk to you, whoever you are inside Brian. If I come in there, will you hurt me?”
Brian’s eyes seemed foggy all of a sudden, and he shook his head. “Help. Please. So lonely.”
“I know, I understand. Are there three of you or just one of you here?”
“Can’t answer . . . not like you.”
“What are you like? Animals? Insects? Run through Brian’s mind and see what sounds familiar.”
“Kitty, what are you doing?” Martini hissed.
“Hush, Jeff. Seriously, hush.”
Brian’s foggy eyes looked at Martini. “Hates me.” He sounded angry.
“No, loves me. He’s afraid you’re going to hurt me. He won’t let that happen.”
“Feel the hate.”
“Yes, but it’s not directed the way you think. He’s jealous. Look in Brian’s mind, you’ll understand why.” Brian’s head nodded. I knew it wasn’t Brian doing the nodding. “James, can you, only, come here please?”
Reader was next to me quickly. “What’re you doing, girlfriend? Jeff’s ready to pop a vessel again.”
“He needs to calm down. The entities are reacting to the discovery that their penguins are dead, okay? They’re upset and reacting based on the person they’re inside right now. Get everyone away from the cells, but where the astronauts and entities can see them. Then please come back.”