by Adair Hart
Levaran pointed to her plated forearm that had her utility handle attached to it. “My utility handle will cover ranged fighting, and I have shielded gauntlets for close-quarter combat. I can create a shield on my left and right forearms as needed.”
Emily bobbed her head. “Interesting setup. All right. Let’s do this.” She started the simulation.
A swarm of transformed rushed toward them.
Emily adopted a defensive stance. She drew her head back when Levaran surged forward into the transformed.
A light-orange shielding appeared that wrapped around Levaran’s fists.
Emily noted that Levaran did not move as fast as Evaran.
Levaran swung to the left and right as she charged into the middle of the transformed, who went flying in every direction. One of them jumped on her back. Levaran calmly grabbed it and threw it into the air, then punched it when it came down. It went tumbling like a bowling ball through the others.
Over the next couple of minutes, Emily dodged the few transformed that got past Levaran and used her staff to deal with them. Levaran had all but dismantled the rest of them. There were transformed on the ground that had their heads knocked off. Emily swung her gaze from side to side, examining all the transformed as she approached Levaran. “Those shielded gauntlets are pretty tough, but so are you. Do all plane forms have the same abilities?”
Levaran shook her head. “It varies. Plane forms can take on many different abilities, but it is informed by how the previous plane form died.”
“Ohh,” said Emily. “I guess spending a thousand years in a Time Warden siphon tank gave you super strength.”
Levaran sighed. “I think you’re right. I noticed I don’t move as fast as I used to.”
Emily eyed Levaran. “If you had this strength when the Time Wardens took you initially, would it have helped?”
“It would’ve. The Time Wardens would’ve been torn to shreds.”
Emily nodded.
Levaran swayed her head back and forth. “That was a good workout. I want to talk with your uncle alone before we all meet up again as well, but I’m up for another run at this if you are.”
“You want to talk to Uncle Albert alone?”
“As I did you. I wanted you to feel comfortable with me while I’m a guest aboard your plane form’s Torvatta. I didn’t get a chance to really introduce myself to you yesterday. Since I’ve never traveled with companions before, this is new to me.”
Emily chuckled. “Well, you seem just like Evaran so far, although you speak and look different.”
“I look better, though,” said Levaran.
Emily laughed. “All right then, round two!”
Levaran nodded.
Over the next forty-five minutes, Emily and Levaran went through several rounds.
Emily enjoyed her time with Levaran. She was easy to get along with and had a similar, yet distinct, demeanor to the Evaran Emily knew. Bonding with Levaran would be easier since Emily already knew Evaran, and it felt like she was talking to a different side of Evaran. She knew the plane forms were different, but Levaran seemed to have more in common with Evaran than not.
As she watched Levaran leave the holo room, she reflected on the pain that Levaran had to endure in the siphon tank for over a thousand years. She wondered what impact it had on Levaran’s views now. Although she did not see anything outright, she was looking forward to having Levaran aboard for a while.
Dr. Snowden sat down in a hover chair in the middle of the planar cartography lab. It was 9:00 a.m., and his sleep had been uneventful. After dinner with Emily yesterday, he had spent the rest of the night in the lab. Evaran had loosened the restrictions on the lab, and he could see other universes, timelines, and the like. Being back at the lab in the morning was business as usual for him.
The amount of unlocked information had been overwhelming. The one facet he appreciated was that every place Evaran visited had an information marker. Going through some of them was surprising. He remembered Evaran mentioning something about an Earth where Neanderthals had evolved. Although the information label on it was a simple title, expanding it opened up reams of information, more than he would have been able to digest in a few hours. He shook his head. All he needed was a sleeping bag. His attention turned to the entrance of the room as Levaran arrived.
“Hope I’m not disturbing you,” said Levaran with a bow.
“Not at all. Come on in,” he said. He noticed that Levaran, like Evaran, always seemed alert and wide awake.
She strolled in and observed the holographic model that he had been looking at. “Studying your plane form’s journey I see.”
“Oh, yeah. All this information. I don’t see how he keeps it all in his head. Maybe I do now.”
She nodded. “He has a link to the ship, at least in terms of knowledge.”
His eyes narrowed as he wagged a finger at her. “You know … when my nanobots acted up on our last adventure, I thought I saw tendrils from him reaching out to the shield. I guess that was his connection to the Torvatta.”
“It was. Even when a plane form leaves the ship, it still has a connection to the Torvatta. The issue is when the Torvatta is no longer available.”
Dr. Snowden adjusted his glasses. “Or if you don’t have one.”
Levaran sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. Without a Torvatta to keep me sustained, I withered in that siphon tank.” She clenched her jaw for a moment. “Never again will that happen.”
“I hear ya,” he said. “On a positive note, how did your sync thing go last night?”
“It went well. The plane form you travel with has been through a lot. He is very happy to travel with you and Emily.”
He cleared his throat. “As we are with him. It’s hard to see any emotional aspect with him, but we have become accustomed to his semiemotionless state.”
She smiled. “Oh, he has emotions … it’s just that his plane form has more in common with our main form than mine or others. Our main form doesn’t really have emotions, more like … to use something you may be familiar with … actions based on a predictive analysis.”
He wrinkled his eyebrows. “Really …”
“As an example, we know a plane should have certain characteristics. We also have a baseline of what we consider to be good. After observing the plane and gathering new data, an action would be performed when compared against the baseline. That’s a simplistic overview, but the plane form you travel with has that mentality more than the others. His speech is even closer to it, although what would pass as speech in our main form would be very different. Think … fluctuations in the interaction of cosmic energy, planes, and other things.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad his baseline turns out to be good then. I guess seeing the Hoxscarus was considered good.”
“The Hoxscarus appearing outside the plane upon formation was considered an unintended effect of plane creation, but one which I … well, we, in this situation, appreciated since it was something created from Syrilus indirectly.”
Dr. Snowden furrowed his eyebrows. “I notice you keep referring to our Evaran as ‘our plane form.’ I guess it would be odd for you to call him Evaran, considering you call yourself that.”
Levaran bobbed her head. “It’s … unusual, as our raw essence is the same. There isn’t a protocol on plane forms meeting, much less sending more than one to a plane. Then again, a Synesian breach has created an unusual situation.”
“I bet that the plane being Syrilus was also a big factor.”
She nodded. “I miss her so much. She was … a steady hand that was always there.” She looked off into the distance for a moment, then back at Dr. Snowden. “I see why Evaran enjoys traveling with you. Good conversations.”
“I feel like I’m talking to Evaran … I mean … our Evaran,” he said with a smirk.
She smiled. “I will go by Levaran, and you can call him Evaran. I’m okay with that. Whatever makes it easier for you to understand. I didn’t want to inte
rrupt your studies, but I did want to make the effort to meet you personally.”
“It’s okay, and I appreciate that,” he said. “If anything, it gives me more of an insight into Evaran, since your plane form seems to show emotion more.”
“You’re a wise being,” she said as she studied the holographic models. “What were you researching?”
He swiveled in his chair to face the models. “Oh … just something Evaran mentioned during our abduction. He said he saw a parallel Earth that was run by Neanderthals.”
Levaran nodded. “Evaran showed me that. There was quite a distinction between them and your species.”
“I bet,” he said. He rubbed his chin. “Speaking of Earth, maybe you can answer something for me … How much time had Evaran spent on Earth before our abduction?”
“He arrived several years before meeting you and Emily. However, between that event and your introduction, he has spent roughly forty-five of your years exploring your planet and humanity’s timescape, at least up to a certain point.”
“Wow … that’s a lot of … exploring,” he said.
“In the grand scheme of things, not so much.”
He nodded. “I suppose … you don’t know his age …”
“I do, but that is something he should tell you if he feels the need to. Emily also asked about it,” she said.
He snorted. “He’s pretty secretive about that.”
“There’s a good reason. I suppose I can tell you, and you can tell Emily. In another plane, I ran into an energy that can form a beam that can destroy not only the plane form, but also the raw essence. In that instance, I was lucky. That plane form was able to leave before being utterly destroyed. To produce the beam requires a specific variable in order to modulate it. Age. Since then, age is not discussed. Some hints may be given for parts of it, but that is the extent of it.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Oh … I didn’t know that. He could’ve just told us that.”
“He could’ve … but if your mind was ever probed, then those who didn’t know about it before would then know. If not of the energy, at least that variable.”
“Isn’t telling me this dangerous then?” he asked.
“Normally, yes. However, you have a planar link now and have seen more than any mortal was meant to see. Syrilus allowed you into a plane event. That is highly abnormal. If I had companions and they wanted to know my origin, they would not have gone as far as you have. Evaran and Syrilus have decided that it is worth the risk.”
Dr. Snowden gulped. “I appreciate you telling me this. I … realize how special this is.”
“Perhaps if I had companions, I would have changed my view as well.”
He chuckled. “Watch out for us humans. We can be feisty.”
“Of that I’m sure,” she said with a smile.
He shook his head. “You know, I really enjoy talking to you, in any form.”
“The feeling is mutual,” she said, looking around. “I’ll let you get back to it. I just wanted to stop in and say hello.”
“I’m glad you did. We still have about an hour before the meeting.”
“Yes, but I wanted to talk with V alone,” she said.
“Gotcha. Okay, well, looking forward to having you on board.”
She bowed slightly, then exited the room.
He rubbed his cheek. Questions he had been hoping to have answered were now being discussed. Evaran’s age. His plane form. His previous time on Earth. Dr. Snowden shook his head. All this recent knowledge just opened up more questions to explore. Maybe now that they had broken past the planar part, there would be more answers to some of the questions pertaining to their previous adventures. He smiled and went back to the holographic models.
V studied the outer container being created in the research lab. It was being fitted with the inner container that had been made when Levaran had re-formed. His scanners picked up the approach of Levaran. Her profile, of what he had stored on her, pulled up in his mind. A few milliseconds later, he turned to face Levaran as she neared. “It is good to see you again.”
“And you too,” she said. “Anxious to see the process that created you?”
He nodded. “I am. Have you given it a name yet?”
“Edev. Based on Emily, Dr. Snowden, Evaran, and you.”
“An acronym. It is pleasing,” he said.
She chuckled. “I figured you would like it.”
“It is unusual to hear you laugh.”
“I bet it is,” she said with a half smile, “but you now know that I am Evaran, just in a different plane form.”
“I do. I think Edev will be of great value to you.”
She put her hand on his shoulder. “Just as you have been for the Evaran you have traveled with. I was able to sync and saw your various outer-container forms. Although I know that each form is unique, I think your current one has a special bond with Evaran, and I think you’re an excellent friend.”
His chest lights glowed a bit. Subroutines that caused pleasure were executed when around Evaran in either form. Although each Evaran had a different organic marker to him, Evaran and Levaran registered almost identically. Other than the physical features, he had calculated that there was less than a two-percent deviation in behavior that he had analyzed so far.
“I like this outer-container design. It’s been modified slightly, but the base idea is the same. On the ones I used, it was just a thick layer. A2 was not just my creation, she was also my friend,” said Levaran, looking down. “Although Edev will not have the memories of his predecessors, I’m sure he will be just fine.”
V tilted his head. “You have given Edev a male persona.”
“I believe that is how Edev is forming. As you know, you can choose the persona you want, and based on my scans, Edev will probably have a male persona.”
He ran a calculation in his head. “There is a high probability Edev is taking input from the environment and has detected me. Perhaps this is a contributing factor.”
“It could be,” she said. “I don’t know the decision-making process that goes into that. Why did you take on a male persona?”
He pulled up memory files of Jay Beerman. “I enjoyed the company of a human who showed me Earth culture. He said I was his ‘metal brother from another mother.’”
She laughed. “Earth slang. I got to see some of that during the sync. They have some unusual phrases, but they make me laugh, given their context. I can see why you chose the way you did. These humans are intriguing, and if they are indeed the Hoxscarus’ ancestral form, even better.”
He nodded. “Dr. Snowden, Emily, and Jay are my friends. Sanjay was too, but he is no longer active.”
“They’re good ones to have,” she said, eyeing V. “When Edev has finished connecting to the outer sphere, I bet he would appreciate some help adjusting to this new environment. I will of course be there for him, but it may be very helpful if you could give him a hand.”
“I will give both hands.”
Levaran chuckled. “Excellent. You should be able to communicate wirelessly with him. I think the holo room will also help in his training.”
“He will be my metal brother from the same mother.”
She laughed. “That he will be. What do you think of your origin now that you know it?”
“I have stored it in my database, and it brings me pleasure to know that I am unique and of value to Evaran.”
She nodded. “You know that when Syrilus saw you, she knew you were the creation of her and our main form’s essences.”
V pulled up a list of probabilities that he had stored when assessing that situation over the last day. He took a statistical average. “Analysis. I calculated a ninety-six-percent chance of that possibility after our first meeting with Syrilus.” He tilted his head. “Query. My outer container is analogous to a plane form. If my inner container was crushed, what would happen to my essence?”
“It would be absorbed into the planar dimension that power
s the Torvatta, and any previous knowledge would be lost,” she said. “The only way to re-form for you is in an Evaran plane form re-formation. You are linked to the plane form and have as much of the plane form in you as I will have with Edev.”
“I hope the probability of my demise is low.”
“Me too, my friend.” She perused her ARI. “It’s about time to meet up. Are you ready to go?”
His chest lit up. “Let us do this.”
Dr. Snowden swept his gaze around the conference room. It was intriguing to see Evaran and Levaran together, especially since he knew how rare that was. He sat to Evaran’s left with Emily, while V in body mode sat next to Levaran on the other side. His attention focused on the holographic planet that shot up from the table.
“We are going here,” said Evaran. “It is where I first encountered the matter mages and Hoxscarus fighting and where I got my UIC. Levaran will get hers, and I will update mine to work in this universe.”
“The matter mage colony we visited when helping the Fredorians?” asked Dr. Snowden.
“You are correct. I suspect the same situation is occurring in this parallel universe,” said Evaran.
Dr. Snowden wrinkled his eyebrows. “You think they’ll help?”
“I do, and I will ask them to create a shell. We can then hook up the re-formation energy container to it in order to create Levaran’s Torvatta.”
Levaran raised a finger. “We’ll have to mark the areas we want as dimensional areas, and then we can hook it up. One thing to note is that this must be done in a universe cell so that the dimensions are not bound.”
Emily chuckled. “Huh. So get a UIC and a Torvatta shell, exit the universe, and then apply a re-formation container with planar energy to the shell. Simple.”
“Only if you have another Torvatta,” said Dr. Snowden with a smirk. He glanced at Evaran. “These matter mages could be crazy or something.”
“We shall find out,” said Evaran. “I suspect they will be in line with what I know from our universe.” He drew his lips taut for a moment. “When we arrive, Levaran and I will go out. It will be safer for the rest of you to stay here for this. We can ask the Hoxscarus to assume humanoid form, and after they stop fighting, we can talk to the matter mages. I will need to use a translation orb.”