Authors: Rain Oxford
“Are all guest rooms like this?” I asked.
“Well, you are special guests, but for the most part,
yes. The people of this world value beauty, science, and magic. Most feel that
all three are the same thing. Are you unimpressed?” he asked.
It took me a moment to realize he was talking to me.
“Why would I be unimpressed?”
“You haven’t touched anything. Most people touch
things they think are beautiful.”
“Oh, it is nice. I think the technology is
fascinating, but I grew up in a lavish castle, so I don’t need lavish to be
happy.”
“I think it’s cool, too, but I learned not to touch
breakable things and I haven’t really gotten out of that habit,” Dylan said. We
returned to the bedroom and Dylan laid Sammy down in the cradle.
Shiloh touched a place on the wall to the left of the
bed and the panels moved to reveal a closet, stocked full with clothes. “In
case you want to change clothes.”
I looked down at the sterile hospital clothes. “Where
are our clothes?”
He pulled out a hanger with the green shirt Dylan had
worn. “They have been washed.”
Then I thought of my bags that I left in the Aradlin
forest. I really had nothing sentimental other than pictures, and my clothes
could be replaced, but I hoped some draxuni puppy did not try to eat something
of mine and choke. Everything should have been safe in the dragon’s cave.
“How do we get something to eat?” Dylan asked.
Shiloh showed us to the shelf by the sink in the
kitchen. “Ask for food. Sudo has been assimilated, but you have to ask for
something we have.”
“Can I have steak medium rare?”
There was a small beep and a steak appeared on a
black glass plate. Dylan’s jaw dropped open. “That’s so futuristic it’s not
even funny. How many years ahead of Earth are you in technology?” Dylan asked.
“There is no comparison. Vaigda is the most
technologically advanced world by far. There are many wizards here who have
signed books and learned to travel, but they are all closely monitored to
protect our information from other worlds. Nothing is exported without my
explicit permission.”
“What about technological singularity?”
“Artificial intelligence is regulated. Vaigdans want
to be the best in the universe; we would never make something smarter than
ourselves.”
“That’s what they want you to think.”
“What is technological singularity?” I asked.
“When artificial intelligence becomes more
intelligent than people and can start creating even more intelligent
technology.”
“Like a calculator?”
“Like an android, capable of creating a virus that
can wipe out the human race, and ambitious enough to want to. If an A.I. is
independent of people and develops self-awareness, it might think it’s superior
to us and try to get rid of us. Or even make us servants. Earth already has the
technology to destroy the world, and computer systems that can reason and
predict actions, but our technology has no self-awareness.”
“Why do you have computers that can predict actions?”
“Mostly to play chess. The point is, if you simulate
of life, you lose control of it. There is a boundary crossed when technology
stops being a tool and starts making decisions on its own. There are
advantages, such as sending a robot out to explore another planet, but when you
put them in charge of the weapons systems…” he trailed off, probably imagining
horrible scenes.
“And that is why it is regulated,” Shiloh said.
Dylan shook his head. “Nobody ever understands until
it’s too late.” Dylan took the plate and set it on the table. A hidden cabinet
above the sink held cutlery and dishes. He cut a piece of steak with a knife
and what looked similar to a fork.
Dylan had once made me try a knife and fork and I
used them every chance I could since. “How is it?” I asked when he tried it.
“Tastes like steak.”
Shiloh left after that and I got myself a steak. It
was good, but I thought it needed some kind of sauce. Dylan laughed and said
that humans didn’t use as much sauce on their food as sago. Then we had to take
turns holding Sammy while the other ate, because Dylan’s laugh woke the fussy
child up. Dylan tried to give him some steak, but he spit it out, so we gave
him some fruit. He glared at the foreign fruit, then threw it at Dylan when
Dylan laughed at his disgusted expression. I wanted to laugh, too, that a baby
could make such a face.
Apparently hunger won out and he tried some. He made
happy sounds and gobbled the rest down. “Maybe we should try to get him to
talk,” I said in English. I didn’t want to teach him Sudo.
“Mama!” he screamed, as if to prove me wrong, and
reached for me. Dylan laughed, and then ducked to avoid the flying bowl.
“Sammy,” I warned gently. He frowned as he realized
his mistake and covered his eyes with his sticky hands.
I gave Sammy a bath in the sink since Dylan looked
like he was thinking hard about things. Thoughts of the present slipped away as
I started wondering about what I would do when everything was done and the
universe was saved. I never earned my last name and I couldn’t very well use it
after running away; my father would drag me back in order to sell me off. I would
have to move somewhere like Shomodii until I grew older in order to not be
found. It wasn’t like I really had to hide from everyone, it would just be
easier if my father did not know where I was. I would have to figure out how to
change my legal records. Maybe Kiro could forge me a new identity, but I really
didn’t want to live on a plot of land alone in Shomodii; I preferred the city.
A sudden pain in my hand made me look down. Sammy
frowned up at me in confusion, and there were baby teeth prints on my hand.
“Sammy, that wasn’t nice.”
“It’s because you were staring off into space for ten
minutes. He was just worried,” Dylan said, coming up beside us.
“Well, he should have said something instead of
biting me.”
The baby made a dramatic gasp. “Dada!” he screamed,
reaching for Dylan.
Dylan got a green look on his face. “We need to get
him to his parents ASAP before he adopts us. I’ve been thinking that if we are
going to go all over the universe, we need to put Sammy somewhere safe first.”
“What about the demon? Won’t it come after him?”
“I wasn’t really thinking of dropping him off with
Vi; I was considering leaving him with another Guardian, maybe even Edward. If
we can find Edward without revealing his location, maybe we can hide Sammy with
him.”
“Why not go higher? Tiamat?”
“I think Tiamat has enough to battle with right now.
Maybe we can find Nano.”
“I think everyone is busy now. We should ask Shiloh
who can help us.”
“Shiloh himself might be able to. We can leave Sammy
with Vivian if Shiloh can draw the demon away.”
We decided to table it for now and go to bed.
I woke to Sammy having a fit, which is even worse than waking up to the
screeching of an angry crow. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I opened them to
see Mordon trying to quiet the baby.
“He doesn’t stop crying,” Mordon whispered. “I think
his lack of magic is bothering him.”
I sat up and Mordon set him in my arms. He cried for
a few more seconds, then started quieting down. Once he stopped completely, he
looked up at me with a confused expression and then he laid his head against my
shoulder. I glanced up to see that Mordon’s eyes had turned black.
“Um… you okay?” I asked cautiously. Mordon closed his
eyes for a few seconds and opened them to their normal color.
“Yeah. I could see his magic even better than I could
smell it. It interacts gently with your magic. I bet that when he’s more
powerful, as in when we’re off his planet, the interaction will turn violent.”
“Hence, why I shouldn’t hold him under normal
circumstances.”
“I would say so. But, look what I found in the
closet.” He went to said closet and pulled out a papoose.
“No,” I said. “I’m not wearing that.”
He rolled his eyes. “You never know when you will
need your hands free, and if he fusses every time you’re not holding him, we
will have a hard time getting anything done.”
I sighed. It was too early in the morning to argue,
so I took the papoose and put it on. Sammy had fallen asleep, but as soon as I
laid him on the bed, he started waking up. The papoose had three straps around
my waist and over my shoulders that all connected at my back. Sammy settled
into the harness effortlessly and laid his head against my chest. I sighed
again.
Sammy woke up just as we were finished with breakfast
in order to demand his own food. After putting him in the high chair, I gave
him eggs and fruit while Mordon went to shower. I heard a nice slew of my
favorite Sudo cuss words. At one point even Sammy stopped eating to stare at
the door we could hear Mordon through.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Not sure yet!”
Sammy and I looked at each other before he went back
to eating. Eventually Mordon came back in, dry and dressed in fresh clothes.
“Gave up on the shower?”
He just shook his head. Then it was my turn. With
Mordon watching Sammy, I ventured into the glass shower. There were many nobs
and buttons, so I guessed and pushed a button. A slight misting of freezing
water came out of the sprayer at the top. When that quickly stopped, I turned a
knob. Instead of more water spraying, I could feel really cold pressure all
over. It wasn’t even air, just pressure. I gasped and pushed a different
button, causing more pressure, but it pulsed in a pattern less unbearable. I
almost didn’t notice the loud buzzing sound.
With the hope that I was now clean as I was dry, I
turned off the horrible thing and got out. I found a nice green, button up
shirt and what closely resembled jeans. After dumping half the contents of
Sammy’s baby bag, I went back into the kitchen. Mordon and Sammy were watching me,
waiting for my response.
“On all sci-fi shows, they say sonic showers are
awesome. That was horrible. Hydrosonic showers are horrible. If that is all
this world has, I pity these people.” I put the papoose back on, fixed my book
bag and the baby bag so they weren’t cutting off circulation, and put Sammy
back in the harness. He smiled, happy as could be. “If you head-butt me, you’ll
be eating peas for dinner,” I warned him. He just grinned, laid his head
against my chest, and clutched my shirt in his tiny fingers. God, he was cute.
We left to wander the halls, looking for Shiloh.
Finally, we came across someone in a uniform, stopped him to ask for
directions, and were directed to a dining room. There was a large glass table
where many people ate, so it took a few minutes to spot Shiloh talking with an
older woman. When he saw us, he greeted us and asked how we enjoyed our night.
“The sleeping part was great,” Mordon said.
“The showering part was horrible. Do you use
Hydrosonic showers because we are in the sky, or does everyone use them?” I
asked.
“No, the land cities use both Hydrosonic and full
water showers. The water cities use only water showers.”
“There are cities in the water like there are in the
sky?” Mordon asked.
“Of course. Now, if you are ready to go, I would like
for you to solve the damage on this world first.”
“Why?” Mordon asked with suspicion.
“Because they have so much technology and magic that
simple wounds in time and space here could be catastrophic,” I answered.
Shiloh smiled. “Exactly.”
He led us to another elevator and just as it had
before, the door slid open a second after it shut. We stepped out into an
enclosed garden, where a clear ceiling let in light for the mass of colorful
flowers and plants. Some flowers were tiny, but several were larger than Sammy.
The dirt covered floor was stone and there was a
small pond with a waterfall in the middle of the large garden. Within the pond
were more flowers. Mordon pointed out one group of flowers hanging from the
ceiling that looked like small, purple skulls with hoods.
Shiloh led us out into another room, which was far
too classy to have an attached garden. This was similar to places on Earth like
museums or businesses; all metal, glass, and white plaster walls. Mordon looked
like this was the weirdest place he had ever seen in his life. We came to a
third room, similar to the last except it had shelves on the walls and ropes to
keep people back. The shelves were empty.
“What is this?” I asked.
“A museum. An empty museum. Artifacts started to
disappear slowly, but things outside the museum that were related started to
disappear as well. The more I try to help, the faster the damage grows.”
“Dylan.”
Mordon’s eyes were black again as he glanced around.
“I can see the tearing just like that hologram
showed. This place is full of tears and bright white holes and cracks.”
“Stay away from the white,” Shiloh warned, “that is
the void.”
“How do I heal it?” I asked.
“I have no god energy, so I have no idea,” Shiloh
answered helpfully.
I sighed and unstrapped the papoose, then handed
Sammy to Mordon. “Okay.” I sat down on the ground and cleared my mind. I first
focused on my book and my connection with Earth. Slowly I could feel the warm
presence of my world; she was hurting, but recognized me as her protector. Once
I had that stable link, I focused on Duran.
The larger planet was harder to link to, even though
I had been using its power for three years, but my name was in Duran’s book so
I knew I could do it. I also knew when I opened the link that Erono would have
access to me, but I had to trust that he wouldn’t strike at this moment. Duran
was in better shape than Earth. The magic of the world was highly in tune with
the people because so many of the people used magic, and that gave it a stability
Earth did not have.
With both worlds linked to my mind and power, I
reached for this new world. Vaigda was not the soothing innocence of Earth or
the hot aggression of Duran. It was ambitious. The people of Vaigda would
accomplish anything they thought up simply because they could. Dangerous.
Vaigda was dangerous, and the power was unstable. The world pressed against me
with curiosity, but not malevolence. I answered with a simple pulse of power,
not aggressive, but just as dangerous. It backed off and waited for my call.
I learned something in that moment; magic was meant
to be controlled, not used. So many people use magic without knowing how to
control it.
I pulled out the healing energy within myself and
drew magic from Duran and Earth. Vaigda’s magic tried to fight the invasion,
but I forced the world to try harder to rebuild itself. The universe is
constantly trying to fix itself, it just doesn’t work when the souls of
different worlds are in combat. Duran and Earth magic joined with Vaigda’s to
repair the damage and block the void. I couldn’t see the holes like Mordon
could, but I could feel them through my link with Vaigda. When the damage
stopped growing and started to close into jagged scars, I released my own
energy to join with the others’. The scars healed over until time and space was
how it was meant to be.
I opened my eyes to see Mordon and Shiloh in shock
and the room full of ancient artifacts. Then, all at once, my connection
snapped and I thought my head would explode. Vaigda reached out again to try to
sooth the wild energy inside me, but he wasn’t fast enough.
* * *
The annoying beeping told me exactly where I was; I
had woken up to the sound of a heart monitor so many times in my life that it
should have been my theme song. I opened my eyes and the lights automatically
dimmed. That was nice.
After a few minutes, I was able to sit up. My head
still hurt, but it wasn’t agonizing. Mordon was sitting in a chair beside the
bed with Sammy curled up against his chest. The walls were glass and I
understood that we were back at the clinic on Vaigda. I felt Vaigda’s magic
gently brush against mine like a worried pet and I attempted to send calm
thoughts back, but I wasn’t sure it worked.
Mordon woke at the sound of the rustling bed sheet
and blinked blearily at me. When he realized I was awake, he stood. “Are you
okay? Are you still in pain?” he asked.
“I’m okay.” Or I was until I felt a sharp pain in my
jaw. “What did you do that for?!”
“You died! You stupid fool! You died and you’re
okay?!”
I didn’t realize I had died, and for some reason that
caused me to chuckle. “It wasn’t the first time.” I wondered if it would be the
last. “Owe! Would you stop hitting me?!” I demanded when he punched me again.
“No! I will hit you until you’re not okay because I
sat here for three days knowing you could die again any moment and that was not
okay!”
I don’t think I had ever seen him scream so much, but
he was furious. This time he nearly broke my nose. I grabbed his arm and pulled
him into a hug, a little bit because he was my best friend and upset, but a lot
because I didn’t want to get punched again. “I was asleep for three days?”
“You were in a coma for three days. When you passed
out, we brought you here, but you died right before they could get to you. You
were gone for about a minute before they could get your heart to start again.”
He would have been referring to Duran minutes; one Duran minute was about three
of Earth’s.
Sammy started wiggling around until Mordon had to
step away, but the little child got a grip on my arm and refused to let go.
“Dada!” the baby cried. Mordon handed him over.
“Yeah, kid, I’m not your dad. Nano’s going to be
upset. What did Shiloh say? Is Vaigda okay?” I asked.
He crossed his arms. “I don’t care how Vaigda is. I
told Shiloh to get out and not come back.”
I had to laugh at that. “I forget you’re younger than
me sometimes, but you always remind me. Guardian’s don’t do what they’re told.”
“Of course not,” Shiloh said, the door sliding shut
behind him. “That would make us servants instead of powerful warriors. Are you
feeling better?”
“If I say yes, are you going to hit me?”
“He better not,” Mordon growled.
Sammy looked up to see what Mordon was upset about.
Shiloh laughed and came closer. Before Mordon could do anything, I felt a jerk
in Sammy’s power and Shiloh went flying back into the glass. It looked like he
had been shoved by a really strong person.
“Mine!” the baby screamed at him.
Shiloh stood up quickly but kept his distance. “What
is that child?” he asked, staring at Sammy like he was a monster.
“Protective,” Mordon answered.
Sammy must have realized Mordon was calm now so he
laid his head against my chest… hard. I would have another bruise for my
collection.
“What’s the status on Vaigda?” I asked.
“My intention was for you to heal three pivotal spots
on this world and the healing would spread. Instead, you healed the entire
planet with one shot. When Duran and Earth retracted, your magic returned to
you, and between the hyperactive god energy, the overload of nominal energy,
and the snapping of the link between the three worlds, it was too much for your
body. Your powers and your mind are growing and adapting, but your body is
still young and not used to magic.”
“I have practiced magic for three years now.”
“Even a Guardian is flesh and blood. You can become
stronger, but it will take time, and even when you are as old as Kiro, you will
still be vulnerable.”
“Great, you’re almost as encouraging as Kiro. Really,
love the pep talks. You can stop now.”
“Glad I could help. When you are rested, I can take
you to meet Enki, god of Vaigda.”
“Enki? As in, the Sumerian god of wisdom and water?”
I asked. Immediately, I mentally flipped through every book, article, and
website I ever read, and every documentary I ever watched on Sumerian mythology.
Shiloh nodded. “Humans have heard of him, yes. Most
of the gods can be found somewhere in your history. I am surprised you
recognized his name, though. Did you study religion on Earth?” he asked.
“Just as a hobby. Is he going to try to kill me?
Apparently all the other gods are.”
“Enki is a kind and wise god. He is willing to hear
you out. After you convince Enki that you are not out to destroy the gods,
Madus would be willing to listen to you. Madus always agrees with his favorite
brother.”
“I am ready to meet him now,” I said. Mordon glared
at me.
“Then please come with me. The meditation room is
best for this.” Shiloh led us through the halls again, this time into a
different dark room.
The only light came from a circular pond in the
middle of the room. The water was blue, but it glowed. There were two
multicolored fish swimming actively in the water. The rest of the room included
a dark padded floor and four cushions sitting around the pond. We each sat on a
cushion, except for Sammy, who sat in Mordon’s lap.