Chapter 2

“When his life was ruined, his family killed, his farm destroyed, Job knelt down on the ground and yelled up to the heavens, “Why god? Why me?” and the thundering voice of God answered, There’s just something about you that pisses me off.”

― Stephen King, Storm of the Century

“Oh no, here comes Kremsler,” said Lisirra the Zaos princess, sniffing.

“I think he is a sweet young man,” said Zafa smiling.

“Yes, you would Zafa. You are an accursed Destroyer Admiral. Why wouldn’t you find him sweet? He is a religious fanatic and wants to convert us,” said Lisirra.

“Lisirra, he is trying to relate to people in the only way he knows,” said Alfred KerRexem, the son of Emperor Cassius, and Jason’s cousin.

Lisirra rolled her eyes.

“Alfred, you are far too accepting and tolerant. You have no standards it must be because you are Jason’s cousin. It is sickening.”

“Greetings all, may I sit down.” Kremsler politely asked.

“No...” Lisirra started to say, but Zafa nudged her hard in her side, hard enough to leave her breathless.

“Kremsler, please join us,” said Zafa.

Lisirra glared at her.

“I wonder what is wrong with Ooryphyon?” Alfred asked looking towards the doorway.

Ooryphyon walked towards them. She was crying pitifully. Tears fell down her cheeks. Jason stood and opened his arms. She rushed forward and clung to him sobbing.

“What happened?” Begona asked.

“I took the outside route to get here, I love walking in the gardens. Ekford and Neg pushed me face-first into a thorn-bush.

“When I tried to get up, they pushed me back into the bush and walked off laughing. I looked around and I was upset to find there is no camera in that area. The cameras cover the campus but that section is a blind spot. Jason, you must do something!” Ooryphyon demanded.

“Perhaps I can speak to them for you,” said Kremsler, “I might help him see there is a better way. Bullies like them are often unhappy. They could enjoy a deeper spiritual viewpoint.”

“Kremsler, the same ancients who masqueraded as god approached us but we refused to let them suck us in, only you great ancients were. The Ordreg hate the ideas you espouse,” said Patata Belagrub.

Kremsler nodded sagely.

“Those two miserable curs will turn on you Kremsler,” said Patata, Ordreg crown princess from her chair next to Jason. “Those two are incorrigible. If I can find a legitimate opportunity, I will thump them. If I fight them, and if I can get away with it, I will make sure I hurt them badly.”

“Ooryphyon, Neg hates you because you beat him in the martial arts class. He is trying to exact his revenge but is too cowardly to do it on his own,” said Patata restlessly slamming her fist into her palm with her lower two arms.

Kremsler inverted his palms, picked up his plate and placed it on the rack and walked off.

“What can we do?” Ooryphyon asked looking at others at the table.

“Jason, I saw them jostling you while you were walking yesterday. Ekford bumped you and you did nothing,” said Lisirra. She looked around to ensure no one was listening. “I don’t think this idea of you going around incognito is a good idea. You thrashed Neg, now he bullies all the students from Earth. It’s all very well you transform into this ‘person’ but it causes trouble. Why do you need to hide your face? Be proud you are the Emperor and get over it.”

Ooryphyon frowned before stating.

“I think you are a wimp in this form. You don’t want to expose yourself so you avoid things even more than you used to. You can’t let bullies push you around.”

Jason sighed. “You know if we fight, the university will expel us. The policy is clear and Pleb spelled it out in several memos. Neg and Ekford are bullying people and pushing them. They know they can get away with it. I agree with Patata, we hurt them in fights. We use the reporting of bullying system to report them, as we have been told to do by the University. Let the University deal with it. I will make sure I hurt them when I can get away with it.”

“They know if they start with me, I will kill them,” said Lisirra, “I am unpredictable enough to do just that, but you must do more Jason.”

“If we make sure we walk around in pairs, we reduce our risk. They can’t get away with anything more dramatic. The university will send them home if they escalate their behavior. Sometimes a problem has to get worse before we can take effective action.” Jason stated reasonably.

“Jason, I am disappointed in you,” said Ooryphyon. “I agree with Lisirra. You need to do more.”

“I agree with Jason,” said Zafa. “We all like to catch problems early in their evolution. If we defend ourselves and use excessive force, we will turn the university against us. We must wait for the bullies to escalate their behavior and hang themselves. If we react to the bullies too early, we all risk our reputations. Jason must be the most careful. He could inadvertently expose who he is and the media would love to find an opportunity to bash the Emperor. He will damage his relationship with Pleb,” said Zafa.

“Yes,” said Lisirra, “suck up to Jason miss goody twinkle toes. If I see them in action, I will use my powers. They know if they touch Kalalal, she will slit their throats in their sleep. They know she is an assassin and is dangerous. They steer well clear of her. Jason your approach is pathetic and you are blissfully unaware of the needs of others. Ben needs your help; the bullies pick on him and his fighting skills are way behind most of the class. Jiskassa you could also do with some coaching in fighting as a human.”

“That is a good idea,” said Jason. “I can arrange a coach for us and extra for Ben and Jiskassa.”

“Ooryphyon I meet with Pleb for dinner tonight. I will talk to her.”

Ooryphyon sat with her big eyes full of tears. They dripped onto the table. Oory absently wiped the table with her sleeve.

Jason turned to hug her. She pushed him away.

“Jason, you avoid the major issues in your life. You live in your head and you ignore problems. As Emperor, you delegated nearly everything to others and even now, you cherry-pick something you are interested in. You want to study. You say you want peace to study. Well, we have bullies and next, they will bash us. It will get worse if you don’t do anything.” Ooryphyon sat with tears dripping from her big eyes her lips turned down.

“You have done nothing to find the kidnapped Teokraeus. The pirates took tens of thousands of us. The Destroyers hold millions of us. You send a few scouts to Destroyer planets, then what? When Ixal asked you to help her kill her mother, you led a targeted raid. When are you going to do something for us? While you play here at learning my people suffer. You abandoned us to gallivant to another universe. My parents spent ages under the ice. Pirates and the Destroyers stole our people. I suffered endless torture.

“Today bullies pushed me, yesterday they abused me. They pushed you also and you did nothing. You could kill both of them and not a living soul would object. We pay a heavy price because you wanted to study under a different identity.” Ooryphyon sighed then looked at Jason. “Do you honestly believe they will not escalate what they are doing? If you do, you are a fool!” Ooryphyon shouted before carrying on her tirade.

“Do you honestly believe we can go around in pairs and groups everywhere? If you think the university will do anything you delude yourself.

“I lived underground in a cage next to a bomb, waiting to explode if I escaped, for more than a million years. They broke nearly every bone in my body. I could not stand upright, they gave me no medical care. No one protected me. You abandoned me and my people. You even abandoned your own people. I ask you to do something for me and you suggest I walk with someone else. This is your university. Solve the problem.

“I think you often have your priorities all backward. You make love to your women; you offer more and more of them the opportunity to have your baby. You make pitiful complaints about how many you have, but you don’t change. Lisirra is a walking time bomb. She is explosive and overemotional. She moans non-stop about her body and criticizes you for everything. I can’t understand why you don’t deal with her.

“You preoccupy yourself with being the best academically. You whine and moan about your studies repetitively. I have had enough of that drivel. I am sick of it. So what if Annjus is cheating? I think she is just cleverer than you and she has done more work in the social sciences. So what if she and Emic fight better than you do?”

Ooryphyon waved her tiny fists in the air. “Lisirra suggested you get Ben and Jiskassa some tutoring, do it for yourself. You need more tutoring in fighting with sharp weapons and throwing. Solve the problems, stop moaning about them. Jason, I have had more than I can tolerate, of you and your nonsense.”

Ooryphyon slumped in her chair and supported her huge head on her hands with her elbows on the table.

Jason looked at her and sighed. “You make good points. I will see what more I can do for the Teokraeus. I will do what I can to deal with the bullying. I am thinking about it. We have exams next week and that is at the forefront of my mind. I am sensitive about the corruption issues amongst the Uzliumbax. I want to eradicate it. That is why I am preoccupied with cheating Uzliumbax.”

“Jason you have no evidence Annjus is cheating. You just can’t accept how good she is at what she does. You have said she moves too fast. No one has detected any evidence of cheating. Emic is also fast, but you don’t suspect him of cheating. Corvus can beat you and both Annjus and Emic. He has amazing reflexes but you don’t accuse him of cheating.

“Jason, today I am not happy with you.”

Ooryphyon walked off.

Corvus put his arm around Jason as they walked to class. Alfred walked on Jason’s other side.

“You, my friend, are in deep trouble with Ooryphyon,” said Corvus.

“Yes I know, but I must not overreact to Neg. All my instincts tell me he and Ekford will push things too far and the university will have the grounds to expel both. I did not expect the blast I received. Oory is correct about the Teokraeus. I have done little to help them,” said Jason.

Alfred turned to Jason. “I suspect there are other deeper concerns hidden behind that emotional barrage. Ooryphyon acts like a teenager. Her moods are reactive and extreme. It is hard to know what lies beneath. Today’s events have shaken her far more than I would have expected. She also expects you to do everything she wants without regard for the consequences.”

“Countering an illogical demand with reason ain’t going to solve the problem,” said Zafa. “You are in deep trouble and she will find grounds to leave you! You will not solve the problem by any usual means.”

“Jason, I guess it must be difficult when she accuses you of actions you do not remember doing,” Alfred continued.

“I find it inordinately frustrating. Descent produces many unfortunate side effects. I am most frustrated by my inability to remember what happened. I can’t change that but I can get something done quickly to locate the lost Teokraeus. I will not be in a hurry to attack a Destroyer planet, even if we have more of their best fleets than they do. Every instinct of mine says war with them will not be a good way to go.

“I hope Ooryphyon will settle down. She is like a tight bowstring. She needs a friend to talk through her issues,” said Linda.

Andrea followed Ooryphyon out of the canteen. Andrea is calm and Ooryphyon responds to her,” said Corvus.

Jason shook his head and changed the subject.

“Alfred, did you and Corvus study accounting previously?” Jason asked.

Corvus patted Jason’s shoulder. “I have, Jason; all Gromelix need to know how to count their treasures. We study accounting in our War Colleges. Every good general and admiral needs to understand the economics of war. What about you Alfred?”

Alfred shook his head.

“From what you said Corvus, you read some dragon stories from Earth!” Jason continued.

“Yes, I have read all the stories you gave me,” said Corvus smiling, showing his long sharp teeth. “I am sure your people encountered dragons, but I can’t understand why there is no archeological evidence of their presence. The source of such legends interests me far more than accounting, sociology, the history of religious beliefs, research methods and even xeno-biology.

“What joys will this afternoon bring us?” Corvus sighed.

“Well, gentlemen, put on a brave face. The future depends on us,” said Alfred.

****

“Jason, you look upset and preoccupied,” observed Linda at dinner in the restaurant.

“I heard from Perdita who told me she wants to stay with her father. Brevis needs to learn about his grandfather and his people. Porquenta is doing a great job standing in for me. Perdita didn’t even suggest I visit,” said Jason.

“Did you offer to visit?” Lisirra asked. “You know since Brevis was ill, she was anxious about him and hovers over him like a shuttle parent. Your needs are not paramount in her mind. You are busy and have little time for them. It is for the best. You have plenty of children you can visit. You must have billions by now.”

Lisirra shook her head. “I heard Zafa say the Uzliumbax doctors can use all your sperm and implant the DNA into the egg. I am appalled to hear Admiral Pentasa Nefu, Zafa’s aunt conned you into impregnating all the Destroyer women who came along with her. Your doctors have zero ethics and are colluding with you. The pods are working twenty-four hours a day to impregnate them all. I cannot believe how much you have deteriorated since I have known you. You have no morals. Your behavior is indiscriminate and irresponsible.

“I ask one thing of you one simple thing. I asked for a new body. No Lisirra, we need the facilities to repair the poisoned Uzliumbax. All I want is one body. This ugly body lay in a stasis sack and rotted for more than a million years. I want to have children, but I will not do it in this tired old wreck of a body. Can you do as I ask? Oh yes, you can. You want to frustrate me and drive me crazy. I am at the bottom of the dungeon of dreck in your view. I am not worthy of your imperial favor. Every time I see that Zafa woman, I see all these other women getting pregnant and I won’t get pregnant in this hideous body,” said Lisirra waving her arms.

“Lisirra, you look gorgeous!” Razza observed.

“This body is old, I have wrinkles, I feel tired, I feel irritable and I am totally pissed off. You don’t deal with our feelings and needs, Jason. You upset Ooryphyon and even Andrea is leaving you for her original husband,” announced Lisirra triumphantly.

Jason sat with his mouth open. He slowly turned and looked at Andrea.

“Is this true?”

Andrea sighed.

“As a clone, I have no family of my own. I have met with the father of my original once previously. He and the husband of my original contacted me recently. We spoke several times. I have agreed to meet with them and spend time with them these coming holidays. Jason, there is some unfinished business there that I must resolve.”

“Andrea, I thought your father treated your original abominably as a child and your husband abused her,” said Jason who sat with his mouth open.

“Yes, that may be true, but they are the only family I have and I feel I must explore the relationship. They both were pleasant and welcomed me. Alana and Cassius know them. I have discussed my decision with them,” said Andrea.

“Are you coming back?” Jason asked with a catch in his voice.

“They are trying to encourage me to return to live with the husband of my primary who assures me he loves and misses my original, as does my father,” explained Andrea.

“I am devastated to hear this Andrea. I love you very much, I will miss you terribly.” Jason said with a catch in his voice.

“Jason, you don’t really, need me. You are close to Yoyo and you have Zafa, her aunt Pentasa and Valsam and her sisters. I am just one of many Admirals.” Andrea continued as Jason sat shaking his head.

“Jason nothing is certain in this life. Nothing is forever. We enjoyed our time together, and we had a good time. Who knows what will happen? Cassius has always told you and me that if I was free, he would reemploy me in a heartbeat.”

Jason sat looking at Andrea. A tear fell slowly down his cheek.

“I can’t believe what is happening,” said Julia

Andrea swiftly wiped her mouth with a napkin, stood shakily, then walked from the table.

“Jason, you don’t deal with our emotional needs,” said Ooryphyon tearfully. “You confront most military problems but you avoid emotional issues. You can’t let bullies get away with anything. We sense you are not the man you could be. I am less than happy with you like Andrea.”

Lisirra turned to Jason and waved her finger at him. “Jason you also need to tackle problems more ruthlessly. I heard the story about when you went to Mespa 49 to fetch your fleet. You nearly caused a disaster because of misplaced compassion,” said Lisirra. “You also need to look after your women better. There is no reason I can see that you don’t take action against Neg and his sneaky sidekick, Ekford. We can go to their rooms and beat them up. I have a device to block the surveillance. I can also get maskers so they won’t see us at night,” Lisirra added.

“Lisirra, please get those maskers from your father. We may need cloaking devices to help us deal with more than the bullies. I am meeting with Pleb. We have exams and I don’t want to act prematurely and stuff up our university option,” said Jason.

“Damn it, here comes Kremsler, and Zafa is back!” Lisirra grumbled and frowned at Zafa.

Zafa moved behind Jason’s chair and rubbed his neck as she passed.

Kremsler sat down. “How are we all this lovely evening?”

Several at the table nodded.

“I encountered friend Neg as I was walking along. He assured me he only has benign and pleasant thoughts. He offered to show his good intentions by punching my face. While his cowardly punch may have missed, I did not and left him lying on the walkway. I also put in a formal complaint!”

Linda smiled and looked at Kremsler benevolently.

“What do you think about the course on comparative religions Linda?” Kremsler asked.

“I like the course and find it stimulating. I learned a lot. Kremsler we met the original anthropologist from the Cassius Empire who played God and donated many religions to Earth. Until this course, I never realized similar tricksters did the same to you guys and other ancients. I look forward to learning more about the mystical beliefs of the Azloc, Uzliumbax, Tyrannosauruses, and Gromelix,” said Linda.

“We Destroyers knew of many religions but accepted ours as the best one,” Kremsler said.

“Kremsler, this is the third time I have heard you starting to evangelize about the Destroyer religion. It is tiresome. While I am grateful to you for putting Neg on his ass and telling us, I have had a shit of a day and I have no patience with this stuff. I will never be receptive to evangelizing. I have already told you religion is behind most of the conflicts on Earth where I come from and when you tell me you have the only true religion, I know why.

“The Destroyers used their religion to justify killing others and rampaged through this Universe more than once. Please don’t bring up the Destroyer religion in my presence unless as a part of a class discussion. I like you and I am happy to be your friend,” said Jason, “but I am not happy to hear about your religion over and over.”

Kremsler looked around the table. “I am sorry for intruding. The religion is intrinsic to who I am; it is part of my identity and being. I promise I will think about what you have said, the last thing I want to do is antagonize you guys.”

Kremsler stood and walked off.

Jason saw Ekford walking after him. He stood and shouted. “Ekford, I suggest you leave him alone unless you want to deal with all of us.”

Ekford paused, took a step to follow Kremsler then walked back to his table while glaring at Jason.

Ooryphyon smiled at Jason and put her arm around him, then kissed him on the cheek.

“When Annjus fights you, she fights as if she intends to kill you but restrains her blows at the last instant. She is utterly ruthless and commits herself totally to win. That is how she can win against Corvus. He is more relaxed about winning. He doesn’t care as much as Annjus does. Emic’s fighting is technically brilliant, but he also lacks Annjus’ killer instinct,” said Lisirra. “With the sword or throwing disks, she is better technically than anyone else. You have great potential but you need as much training as she has had. I was serious when I suggested that you get someone to spend time training you. Find out if they allow it. Ben and Jiskassa also need a lot more of the fundamental techniques. Both of them are good athletes and they will catch up with some help. You must learn to fight as well as you can. We get ourselves into so much trouble when we are with you we must be able to fight whoever attacks us. Now we have the Gazronnaas, however we have some weak links.

“Ben has a superb brain, he is catching up fast on his own academically,” observed Lisirra before she turned back to Jason, “but he is behind us physically and in fighting skills. Jiskassa is competent as an Azloc but not to fight in her humanoid form,” Lisirra added then frowned and turned to Jason.

“I was thinking about Kremsler. He has the manner of a priest and presents as a kindly thoughtful guy. I have talked to him several times and I think he is a decent human being. At heart, he is truly a priest. He needs some kind of priestly function. It is his calling. I don’t know who can give it to him. He told me he is very interested in the runes. He told me the old Destroyer religion was full of runes, but he could not explore it. The men forbade it. It fascinates him. Now he is hoping he can learn about runic powers through the Gromelix. Try to be nice to him. Religion has been the only way he has known to engage with others,” said Lisirra.

“Why can’t you be thoughtful and nice like this more often?” Jason asked.

“I feel horrible, weak and unwell in this body most of the time. At the moment I feel great. It doesn’t last long. Jason, I see your potential, but you and your women drive me crazy. I know I am hard to deal with. The therapist AI said the abuse I faced as a child damaged my personality, and I also have Zaos personality disorder,” Lisirra informed Jason then laughed.

“It is time to get to bed, you guys.”

Lisirra started to rise from the table. They all followed her out of the door.

****

“Oh, what joy,” said Ben as the group walked to class. “Another torture session, of runes. Griffexor how is it you Gromelix don’t get tired when you do magic like all the rest of us do?”

Corvus in his small dragon form turned to look at her as did Jason.

She blushed.

Griffexor was in her humanoid form. Her skin was pale. She was a gorgeous woman with platinum blonde wavy hair. She looked at Corvus as if she hoped he would answer. He smiled showing his large mouth filled with dragon teeth. He raised one of his thick eyebrows.

Griffexor blushed even more deeply.

After an embarrassingly long pause, she spoke. “We are the only species we know of who have a natural reservoir of casting power, or magic as most of us young ones call it. We can cast many times without being depleted. When you deplete your reservoir you get tired as you use your essence. The reservoir fills slowly of its own accord over the day. We use magic to fly and build up our storage capacity from childhood every time we fly.

The internal reservoir is not the only source of power. Our masters can directly access power from within the environment and cast indefinitely at a pace determined by their natural ability and the available power in the environment. My mother is a grandmaster and I have seen her lift a frigate and drill a hole through a mountain. Learning the rune sounds, however, takes us as long as everyone else. You must learn all the runes before you can access the powers more directly. It takes us years to master the runes. The more you practice the more your reservoir builds, but few of our grandmasters learn to detect power in the environment.”

“Griff, how does this power differ from our other powers that are augmented by our crystals?” Ben asked.

Griffexor glanced at Corvus. He smiled but indicated to Griffexor to speak.

“It comes from a different dimension. Powers of both types leak from other universes. The crystal which is already in the dimension that attaches to the other universe helps channel the power. None of our scientists have been able to find or utilize the dimension from which the runic power leaks. Our scientists can’t explain why. My mother can see streams of powers, draw them to herself and cast. She says it is like filling a big pot. Each casting requires different sizes of the pot and different times to fill. My mother is very strong. She says the runic powers are more subtle and have a greater effect for the amount of energy used. She can create amazingly sophisticated castings. She has taken to cooking with a vengeance. She says they are similar disciplines. For the beginner, they all need to follow recipes. When they understand the process if they have the talent, they can make new things. She also says the powers are different and she can blend them to create subtle castings. She said it is like selecting between different varieties of similar ingredients when cooking.”

“Griff, you are by far the youngest Gromelix I have met, and I heard you are around my age which is amazing. How is it they let you out at such a young age?” Ben asked.

Griffexor almost stumbled as she walked, blushed, and looked down at the ground.

Corvus spoke from behind Ben.

“Griffexor is an amazing young woman, but shy. She won’t tell you the real story as she is so self-effacing and humble. She finished her schooling when she was five. She was three feet high when she began University and completed her two year science undergraduate degree in less than a year. She was too young to look at a future career so she studied engineering and specialized in device design, then moved on. She has hundreds of patents to her name from ideas she came up with when studying. She wanted to learn medicine but decided as she had an interest in magic to enter the faculty of Runic Studies. Her mother, one of our most famous grandmasters taught her. She did more in five years than most masters did in five hundred thousand years. She has more ability than almost any other Gromelix.”

“That is impressive Griffexor, no wonder you are so good in our class,” said Ben smiling. “What else can you tell us about this illustrious young lady, Corvus?”

“Her grandmother is the queen. She recently began her studies in medicine but started in the medical undergraduate sciences. She was sidetracked by several emerging interests in research and published several well regarded papers in her areas of interest. She began her medical studies with the Gromelix last year, but as all of us must spend time in the military, she was sent to study here and will undertake medical studies as her specialty area.

“She and Ben sound like similar prodigies,” said Jason. “I have seen both of them moving quickly up the ranks academically.”

They walked into the classroom together. “Good morning Professor Omulix,” said Jason. Corvus greeted his aunt and kissed her on the cheek.

Griffexor bowed deeply towards, Professor Omulix.

“Griffexor, that is completely unnecessary, but I thank you for the respect you have shown.”

Professor Omulix nodded her very red head of hair along with bright blue eyes in her humanoid form.

“As you are all here we will begin. I am going to go through the three sounds needed to cast a flame in your hand. Such a flame is useful in the field to light a fire reliably. It forms the foundation to build upon to cast a fireball that is almost impossible to douse. As we have done before I will make the sound, you repeat it and we do the three sounds one after the other and get them to overlap. There is a fourth sound and a gesture to turn the base cast into an offensive weapon. You must practice every day as often as you can to produce the fire in the palm of your hand. That practice will increase the size of your power reservoir. It will be obvious to all of us who is practicing and who is not. It goes slowly in the beginning but soon speeds up exponentially.”

The professor led them through the three sounds and speeded up the harmonizing of the runes.

“Now put out your hands and cup them.

“Now we blend the sound.”

She went through the sounds overlapped and blended them. One after the other students created a fire between their hands.

“Maintain the sound.”

Jason watched fascinated as the flame burned above his hands after the third effort. His fire was one of the last to light but was a little larger than the tiny mini-torch of the others. He felt a mild headache, but he experienced an odd vague sense of difference in himself. Within a few minutes, he began to feel better and the dull ache in his head dissipated.