by Rayann Marse
His eyes met hers, and he nodded. This was a small, seemingly insignificant moment. But Stella would remember it as a moment of solidarity between two scientists, two humans who had done their best to win out over irrationality and to understand the natural world in all its strange beauty. And, moreover, to use that understanding for the betterment of all life.
It was a moment when Richard came to her fully-fledged, and she understood who he was and what he wanted. There was not a conspiratorial bone in his body, she decided. He was, like her, a scientist and a person, and nothing more.
"I know that you would like very much to keep this quiet," Richard said finally. "But even the best of us can be compromised by our own emotions. Aurora... is she a friend of yours? Are you close?"
"Not really," Stella replied. "But we understand each other, I think. And we certainly don't hate each other."
Richard nodded. "I don't know her at all, of course, but it was obvious to me, from the way she looked at Ignu, that she is very much in love with him. Love is a most troublesome thing. It holds such hazards, doesn't it? Because it is the most beautiful state a human can achieve, more beautiful than understanding, more beautiful than peace. She will do anything for him. And if harm comes to Ignu... You understand that, no matter how logical you feel about it now, you will be overcome with guilt if this particular event does come to pass. You will feel that you could have stopped it. And maybe you will try and stop it, which would be the worst thing of all."
Stella had known all that, but hearing him say it brought it all into a clearer perspective. She saw at once how difficult it would be, how utterly complicated. The only thing she could do, she knew, would be to continue on as if nothing had happened. But would she be able to do it? Was it already too late?
"Bad things happen," Richard went on. "They always do..."
"Stella," Todd said.
She turned around to look at him.
"If I may go a little against my friend," the AI said, "I would like to tell you something. If you feel strongly that you must do something, then I believe you ought to do it. I feel it matters little where the knowledge came from. We have no idea what is meant to happen now, with the Web down. For all we know, you were already predestined to witness that prediction about Ignu and to stop it. When the time comes to act, I think you may feel a strong emotion one way or the other. Either it will feel right, or it won't. And you will do whatever feels right, won't you?"
Richard stood gaping at his friend. "But, paradox..."
"Paradox is our bread and butter," Todd replied. "We minimize the effects of our precognition. And we try to act in subtle ways, at the right time, making small adjustments to achieve the desired ends." He turned to look at Stella. "We call these 'fulcrum points' and they are the best way we have found to avoid catastrophic paradox. How can I explain... say, for instance, the Mindseat has made a decision to exile you. It hasn't happened yet, but it will if things continue as they are. We can see predictions of future events based on that decision. We see what consequences and events will arise from your exile. This allows the Mindseat to change its mind or to continue on, based on the desired outcome. This is a minimally paradoxical alteration. Since nothing decisive has happened yet, and future events are only theoretical, we operate under the assumption that nothing bad will happen. So far, we have been correct."
"But everything is uncertain now," said Richard. "The Web is no longer functioning. It's possible that all our meddling with the course of events has caused this breakdown. It might be our own fault."
All at once, seeing the state these two were in, Stella felt a sense of duty.
"I have to tell you something," she said. "I can't give you the details right now, for personal reasons, but... I think I might know the cause of the Web's malfunction. The inciting event."
They turned to look at her like she had just let out the loudest, stinkiest gas in history.
"What is it?" Richard demanded. "Tell us."
She made a placating gesture with her hands. "I think I know what's going to happen. I understand the course of events that lies ahead. I'm pretty sure I do, anyway. It's best if I stay quiet about it. If I'm right, I don't think we have anything to worry about."
Richard nodded at this, suppressing a stream of questions that tried to come rushing out of his mouth.
"We barely know you, Stella," said Todd. "How can we trust you?"
She smiled. "I'm meant to be here. Your Predictive Web said so. Hopefully, that's good enough."
She turned and went back down the steps before she got the urge to say more.
***
Leaving the tower, she set off on another walk around the perimeter of the bubble.
The prediction she had observed had taken place on the Menin ship. This meant that, somehow, there was a good chance that Ignu would find his way back to it. And if he did, it was likely that Aurora would be with him. And by extent, she and Gyrch as well.
In fact, it seemed almost certain that if one of them went, all of them would. And it had everything to do with the inciting event, the unknown variable that had disrupted the Web.
It had everything to do with Amnay and the means by which he had enacted his strange escape.
When she put all these things together, Stella saw only one possible chain of events. It came to her with one hundred percent clarity and truth, better even than the Predictive Web could manage. It felt right.
Chapter Sixteen
Abruptly, she came back to her senses and realized that she had been walking for a very long time. She thought she must have made at least two or three circuits of the bubble. Her feet were sore, and she was a bit hungry. But, most achingly of all, she was lonely.
She headed back to the factory and, standing at the door, she saw Aurora and Ignu retreating into the distance, laughing and stumbling down the road together, having the time of their lives. It made Stella feel lonelier still; it made her realize how cut off she had always been from the world around her. She had always been isolated, occupying a private world inside a bubble of her own. Even in a crowded room, even with a million people around her, she was alone.
Gyrch was lying down on a cot when she entered their rooms, reading from a huge plastic binder filled with sheets of paper. She bent down to see what he was reading and saw a bunch of grimy pages filled with diagrams and notes. It was a maintenance guide to an old TIDE unit.
"Where'd you find that?" she asked.
"Grabbed it from Richard's lab. He didn't see me do it. I hope he won't mind. Is this your language?"
"Yep, that's English. It must have been in his ship, the one he got abducted from." She leaned in, expecting to get sucked into the ancient history on the pages, but it didn't happen. Suddenly, she did not feel like herself. She felt antsy, frustrated. Smothered. She barely felt like she existed at all. If she looked in a mirror, she wouldn't be surprised to find no reflection.
It was an ugly feeling, and one that was all too familiar. She had often felt like this in school, at the end of terms as she struggled to catch up on studies and to complete her final assignments. Whether it was a natural coping mechanism to stress, or just plain depression, she had yet to find an antidote other than time.
Love was the last thing on her mind. But luckily, it was the first thing on Gyrch's. He tossed the binder away, grabbed the back of her head, and pulled her down for a kiss. At first, she returned it stiffly, feeling numb and unworthy of pleasure. But, as he pulled her closer and dug his fingers into her scalp, she began to melt in the most wonderful way. She opened up, her body and mind and spirit burning suddenly back to life and expelling the gray fog which had briefly overtaken her.
A moment later, without realizing how she had gotten there, she was lying on top of Gyrch and he was hugging her tight, kissing her with animal ferocity, one leg thrust up into her crotch. Instinctively, she began to rock back and forth, grinding herself into the hard, unyielding muscle of his thigh. There was an itch now, betwee
n her legs. A need that had not been met since before her departure from Earth. It had been so very long, and she abruptly realized how badly she needed something to fill her up.
"Aurora and Ignu are gone," Gyrch said.
"I know," Stella replied. "I saw them going."
"I hope they don't return."
"So fucking what if they do? Let them see. I don't care anymore."
He tried to pull her in for another kiss, but she shoved back and stood up. He stared, watching as she slowly undressed, revealing her tight, brown body in increments. She turned around to shed her underwear, bending low, displaying the glistening reddish pink slit of her pussy to him. It made her shiver with delight; it gave her a thrill like no other. There was nothing quite like this, showing herself to someone who deserved it. She had wanted him to see this for a long time, unbeknownst to her. In some suppressed corner of her mind, where she shoved the usual human frailties such as superstition and jealously, she had also placed lust. Agron had made her do it.
And now Gyrch was bringing it back out again.
She undressed him next. Slowly and with infinite tenderness, he touched and explored her body, and when he at last plunged a finger into her she was more than ready; it sunk in like a hot knife into butter and she gasped, drawing up on her toes and biting her lip.
With hunger, she stared down at the purple monster between his legs. It was not quite so terrifyingly large as Agron's but it still defied all her wildest expectations of what a cock should look like. It was luridly colored, the shaft a deep wine color, the head almost fluorescent pink and slickly wet with precum.
She stood on the bed, with her ass facing outward, and bent her knees just slightly. This put her at a perfect level. Gyrch grabbed her by the hips and plunged inside, grunting and growling in impatient desire. He had become almost a different creature entirely, a wild, rutting beast. But still he leant over periodically, asking her if she was alright. These little moments of uncertainty and care were adorable, but in the end she really just wanted him to fuck her mercilessly, and she eventually told him so.
He got the point and soon threw her down on the bed and pounded her through the storm of several orgasms. They came faster and faster, with more explosive power, especially when she reached down between her legs and began to rub her clitoris. It was slick and engorged, hot and pulsing as waves of pleasure set her ablaze.
All told, their round of sex probably lasted five or six minutes. But it was worth a lifetime to Stella. And Gyrch couldn't hold it in for longer than that. She could feel and hear him getting close; she turned, sliding off the bed to kneel at his feet and let him paint her heavy breasts and dark nipples with hot, salty-smelling jets of cum.
She expected there to be a lot, but still managed to underestimate it. It was a river, blasting against her chest and then flowing down and down for what felt like ages, running along her belly and over her mound, through the folds of her pussy, and finally to the floor.
"Wow," she said afterward, absentmindedly playing with his balls. "You really made a mess. I'll probably just swallow it next time."
He grinned crookedly at her, eyelids drooping, and soon collapsed to the bed. She looked around for a moment, hoping to miraculously find something to clean off with, when she potted a folded towel under the cot.
"You planned this all along, you bastard," she said, grabbing the towel.
He reached out a lazy hand to help her wipe off. "I decided that it was time. I had to listen to Aurora and Ignu the entire time you were gone."
"It got ya in the mood, huh?"
"It made me realize what I was missing. And how much time we were wasting by pretending not to know exactly how we felt."
"Speak for yourself. I just needed some sex."
He lifted his head, eyes widening.
"Joking!" she said quickly. "I do like you, Gyrch. A lot. I like spending time with you."
He lay back down, closing his eyes and letting out a contented sigh. "So, we do feel the same way. I also like spending time with you. Although I don't quite understand your humor."
"You'll learn to love it," she said.
"Perhaps I already have."
***
And the days passed.
As Richard had said, they were nearly impossible to differentiate. There was a clock at the food storehouse, which was a kind of gathering place for the town, and Stella got in the habit of walking there every morning when she woke, just to know what time it was.
By that method, she trained herself to wake at the same time each day. She got into a routine, stuck to it religiously, and was able to comprehend the passage of time to a degree of accuracy akin to that of the Predictive Web, when it was actually functioning.
It had been two and a half weeks, give or take a day.
And what had changed? What new things had they learned? Not much, but there were some. For instance, she learned that Ignu enjoyed running as well. About two days after their arrival on Titan, she struck out on her first run around the bubble and was soon lapped by Ignu, striding along at an easy fifteen miles per hour. He looked back, giving her a little wave and a smile, his face beaded with sweat. He was almost naked, and every inch of him was covered with perspiration. Later, when she asked him about it, he said he had done ten laps.
"Thirty miles?" Aurora, sitting next to him, asked.
He nodded and continued eating, like it was nothing.
Though Stella had never expected to have something in common with the brute, she quickly grew used to seeing him on her daily jogs. Sometimes, he would even slow way down and go with her for a little while. They wouldn't talk much, because neither of then lugged a translator with them. They would just run in silence. And every evening, when they saw each other at dinner, they would share the details of their runs.
When she wasn't running, Stella would sometimes talk with Aurora. She would share science lessons with the Dutchwoman, and the Dutchwoman would repay her with stories from history. Sometimes, they would drag Ignu or Gyrch into these discussions. Two or three times a week, they would all sit down for a language lesson. Gyrch would play close attention, doing his very best to get the hang of English, and he made quick progress. Ignu couldn't care less for learning what he obviously considered to be a useless language, but he did put a good effort into getting Aurora up to speed with Menin. With Gyrch's help, both women quickly gained a basic understanding of the language.
Through these and many other activities, they cultivated a little community of their own. The rooms at the back of the warehouse soon became a lively place, a lived-in place. The two couples got along well. And, by the end, Stella would say that they were thoroughly attached to one another. They were a family, whether Ignu wanted to admit it or not.
Once, while Stella was coming in from a run, she found Aurora giving Gyrch a haircut. Another time, she saw Gyrch and Ignu playing the game of Hangman, with far more reverence than it really demanded. Apparently, Aurora had neglected to mention that it was a children's game.
It was things like that, little things, that made those days on Titan feel like some of the happiest in her life.
Especially the private hours she spent with Gyrch. She thought she already knew what love was, but she actually had no idea. This was love. The thought that she had never experienced it before was almost tragic, until she realized how lucky she was to be experiencing it for the first time with Gyrch.
Soon, they would have to leave. This chapter of their lives would end, and a new one would begin. She had no idea who would write it, whose hand would grip the pen and scratch out the stories of the future, but she was ready to see what would happen next.
Chapter Seventeen
The ship came during their third week of life on Titan. It was not a Lancer, at least not one of the new ones. This ship was bulkier, irregular in shape. When it landed, after the bubble had carried it into the colony, a gangplank descended from its belly and a dozen or so Menin came striding out.
> This was an unplanned arrival, and it was a little while before Richard came out to meet them. Stella and the others were there first, watching as the new arrivals stood in the orange light of Titan and looked around, patiently studying the strange place they had come to.
Finally, Richard did come, accompanied as before by his guards. The Menin from the ship were surprised to see him, but only vaguely. They must have known they would meet a human male here; the Mindseat must have informed them, but apparently they weren't quite prepared for what he looked like.
"Greetings!" he said in Menin, which was met with the same mild surprise. "Has the Mindseat sent you?"
One of the Menin, the leader apparently, stepped forward. "Yes. We have been sent to outfit this colony with new technology."
"Oh! Yes, they did hint something about this the other day. But I didn't know it would be so soon. What are we getting? I hope it's a new water reclaimer, ours has been acting a bit strange lately..."
The Menin said nothing more. A group of them went back up into the ship. Stella was expecting them to return carrying something huge and heavy between them, but when they came back, all but one was empty-handed. Whatever the thing was, it was small enough to be cupped in a single Menin palm.
"We must have a nice flat wall, devoid of decoration, about seven feet square," said the leader.
"Well," said Richard, turning left and right and gesturing in both directions. "Take your pick, really."
The leader nodded and gestured for everyone to follow. He walked over to the nearest building, ran his hand along a section of the wall, deemed it suitable, and gestured to the one who carried the technology.
The holder came forward, lifting the apparatus and sticking it in place about seven feet off the ground. He pressed a button; the apparatus made a horrifically loud noise, emitting a small puff of stone dust. The Menin pulled it off. There was no mark on the wall. Or none visible to Stella, at least.