Chapter 10: New friends

They waited outside the canteen for only a few minutes before the others arrived. Aubrey introduced Craig and his sons Sean and Harry to the group. Heather introduced Charlie.

“We have been to town several times,” said Craig, “and I know a cozy place for dinner. Aubrey asked my advice, so if you have another preference go for it?”

“It’s fine; we have not yet ventured into the wider world to eat. I am getting tired of bland food. Aubrey is chili mad and had chili withdrawals and fever the first week we were here,” said Horti laughing.

Craig smiled, then slowly nodded before leading the group through the portal.

The city had few buildings taller than five stories. There were trees and plants and gardens between every building. Paved winding walkways connected the buildings and showed off ponds, mini waterfalls, and gently flowing streams. The buildings were plain sandstone structures.

“The Dinnion are a desert people who largely lived below the ground. This is the original Dinnion city and is the only one with its early buildings on the surface. Beneath the surface, the planet is honeycombed with caves, caverns, and rivers. There are tens of thousands of these underground rivers. Other caverns enjoy fresh water from wells and deep cisterns. There is a lot of rain, but it only happens during monsoon season. The rains drench the ground, but the water evaporates or quickly drains underground. The rain is not frequent enough to support diverse surface plants. The desert plants look much like ours on Earth,” said Craig. “Only the huge trees thrive on the surface. The trees help the young trees survive until they hit the water.”

“Isn’t it unusual to live underground?” Asked Heather.

“Most ancients in their early development moved to live beneath the ground. They all do it once they can create underground spaces economically,” said Harry. “By that time, power is cheap, and it is easy to grow most food underground. The planet’s surface can remain pristine and is used for farming and recreation.”

“What about in the Collective?” Aubrey asked.

“The bugs live much deeper underground than most of the others. The Azloc, the spiders, live even further below the surface. Most ancients but not all, farm underground. Several plant types only grow on the surface within the Collective’s galaxy. Those plants exclusively use radiation for energy. Creating the same underground is a much less economically viable approach and exposes the farmers to unnecessary radiation,” said Sean.

“What food did you eat when you were with the bugs?” Heather asked.

“Recently, they began growing food underground sourced from Earth and the Empires of Felix and Cassius. It has dramatically lowered the costs of production of food. They also spend time in a humanoid form as they learn to enjoy cooked food. As a bug, I ate insects. They tasted fine but on the bland side. I got tired of the limited diet of raw stuff.”

“Did you know the bugs are tunneling below all the major cities on Earth and building massive caverns and caves to bury the cities and start underground farming?” Craig asked.

“Considering all our cities are above ground, and you have to rehouse everyone, I would have thought it was prohibitively expensive?” Horti speculated.

“The ancients produce power cheaply, and drilling systems are automated and self-repairing. They are massive and can work at a surprising speed. My sis ... Sorry I lost my train of thought,” said Craig.

“Your sister was saying, what about drilling?” Horti asked.

“My sister heard someone say the whole restructure and rebuilding of Earth would cost the emperor a day’s worth of income at most,” Craig explained. “Earth won’t suddenly move everyone underground; we will do it over time.”

“You don’t look comfortable, Craig. Is something wrong?” Horti asked.

“I just don’t feel right repeating my sister’s words.”

“Why, it doesn’t seem like an issue. I suppose it could be if you are breaking confidence.”

“Yes, I shouldn’t have opened my big fat mouth.”

“I can hardly imagine what you told me is a great secret. Someone at work told me they saw a TV program about the Collective, boring tunnels and creating underground spaces all over Earth.”

Craig led them into the restaurant. He twitched and looked agitated. His sons seemed to find their father amusing.

“The name of the restaurant seems vaguely familiar,” said Aubrey.

“It should be. It is part of a chain owned by my aunt, Lauren. She is the Chief Pooh-Bah of Earth and an entrepreneur of the first order. They opened restaurants last week in ten Dinnion cities. Lauren works with a chef who is a friend of the Emperor, and they have a great time,” said Sean.

Horti raised her eyebrows and looked at Craig.

He blushed.

“Our younger cousins are coming to visit next week. They are competing in a tournament here. Chloe is fourteen, and Chuck is a couple of years younger. They are great fun; you guys are invited to dinner with us next week,” said Sean.

Horti looked at Craig and raised her eyebrows.

His face reddened further.

“Craig, you do blush well.”

“Dad never tells anyone who he is,” said Harry. “He has a bee in his bonnet about grandpa, avoids seeing him, but knows he was wrong about him. We call it his precious virtual grudge. It has no basis but exists as an avatar that won’t fade over time.”

They all smiled except Craig, who continued to blush and fiddle with his table napkin.

Craig looked no older than his boys. He was a golden-haired handsome, well-built man about a hundred-and-eighty-five centimeter tall. His sons were blonder and as attractive. Horti couldn’t recall if they looked like the Emperor.

“Does it have any advantages for you guys to be related to the Emperor?” Aubrey asked in his usual go for the jugular way.

Harry smiled and nodded his head. “There are few advantages as we chose not to take advantage of Grandpa. However, Sean and I got to study in the Collective way ahead of everyone else. We were offered places to study in the Empire of Cassius or the Collective soon after Grandpa returned the first time. We went to the Collective. It was a wonderful opportunity, and we had a great time in the Collective.”

“Why did you leave the Collective?” Aubrey asked.

“I had a girlfriend I liked. I met her when she was in humanoid form. We were only in bug form while doing our martial arts and flying. Her parents also liked the humanoid form,” said Sean.

“One day, my girlfriend mentioned to her parents while visiting that I was a praying mantis in my bug form. Her mother went ballistic, just like my aunt does. They are a beetle species that used to be one of the foods mantises ate. It was awkward.”

“It was more than awkward; she dumped Sean in front of all our friends the next day. It was nasty. He didn’t tell you that he used to call her his tasty morsel.” Harry grinned.

Horti laughed. Then they all laughed, lightening the mood.

“We would love to holiday with Grandpa. We haven’t had free time during his breaks. So, we haven’t been, but dad has. Philippa can be very persuasive. She and dad get on well together, and she can get him to agree to do things no one else can. She invites us to functions at the palace here nearly every week. We could have stayed there if we wanted. In the Collective, no one knew who we were other than we came from Earth. The bugs are warm and welcoming of strangers. Despite how different it is, we loved it. It’s not stuffy and pretentious like this place,” said Sean.

“We do see Orma Chatzke, the leader of the Collective. Her daughter Philippa is the empress we mentioned. We like Orma Chatzke a lot,” said Sean. “She runs the Collective and is a busy woman, but she always made time for us and arranged for holidays for us on the family estate. We have a wonderful time when we go there. Philippa’s sisters live there and love having guests.”

“What about you, Craig?” Horti asked.

“Dad was different. He accepted virtually nothing until he decided to come here. Once Earth became part of the Empire, he knew his company would soon be in trouble. That was when he changed his mind, came here, and lost twenty years. He looks like our brother rather than our dad,” said Sean.

“Sean and I think Dad came here because it is the place he could go to be furthest from Grandpa. He didn’t realize we could go through a portal or two and see Grandpa easily,” said Harry. “In his weird mind, it is far away.”

“Philippa sends us an allowance which we don’t need. Dad accepts nothing,” said Sean.

“When dad visited dad and Philippa on vacation, he discovered his gripe and grudge were on shaky ground. He is so used to holding it close to his chest and ruminating that he has not let go. Mum refusing to come here and dumping dad for a fanatical ‘keep Earth the same type didn’t help his state of mind,” said Sean and lightly punched Craig’s shoulder.

Craig said nothing, blushed again, looked down at the table, and clicked his nails.

“My mother is a featherhead and would never have adjusted here. She can rot in the wilderness,” said Harry. “I met her new boyfriend. He is a survival freak and a bigot. I seriously doubt things will work out for mum.” “What is your aunt like?” Aubrey asked.

“She is lovely. She is an unpretentiously warm and friendly lady. She can be tough in the nicest way and has a fierce temper. Her husband Dan is a lawyer and is a fine man.”

“What are your nephew and niece doing here unaccompanied?” Heather asked.

“Chloe and Chuck are lovely. They have shuttles and use them to compete in tournaments. We saw them every time they were in the Collective, and we see them whenever we can. They are brilliant and have astonishing powers,” said Harry. “They travel through the gates but only travel to secure areas. They also use heavily armed shuttles. They are more like tanks or gunships than domestic shuttles,” said Sean.

“They were preoccupied with magic powers when they were younger and used to talk about power all around them. They asked us if we could see these power streams. No one else saw them but us. Chuck and Chloe told me they learned to use them and mix them like recipes after they had a dream where a priestess granted them the use of their powers. They have Gromelix teachers who teach them runes and casting. It’s remarkable; we can’t wait to do something with these powers. The only thing we can do is draw them into us. It makes me feel good, but that is it,” said Harry.

“Can you see powers?” Sean asked.

“Yes, all of us can,” said Horti, “and we are learning to use runes and how to use the powers from Gromelix professors on campus. All of us have always seen them. We did the same as you guys, just absorbing it. That is a good thing as it increases your internal buffer.”

Sean, Harry, and Craig looked surprised.

“That is very interesting and unexpected,” said Craig. “Could you also be interested in simulations?”

“We were all interested in online games and took to your simulations like ducks to water,” said Heather.

“Dad, we must make sure when University starts after you finish summer remedial school” - Sean grinned and looked at Craig - “we also do a course with the Gromelix.”

Craig nodded absently.

“Hey, I am getting hungry; how do we order in this illustrious establishment; I can’t see any menus?” Sammy asked.

Craig raised his hand, and a drone delivered several platters of Japanese starters.

“I love it; we travel four galaxies away from Earth, a gazillion light years, and the first restaurant I visit in Vendaska is a Japanese restaurant with authentic sushi. It is a small universe. Thai food next week, people, will that be good?” Horti remarked and asked.

They all grinned.

“Sorry to rain on your parade; they also do a Thai feast,” said Craig grinning.

Sammy sat back and patted his stomach after they finished. “That was an excellent meal; thank you, Craig. Next time we will pay, said Sammy as they walked towards the portal.

“I think there is trouble between us and the portal,” said Aubrey. “That striking Dinnion woman with her friends behind her is looking at you, Horti. She and her pals spotted us and are walking this way.

‘When I tell you now, you put up a shield and set it to siphon power, then power to me, Heather. Aubrey and Sammy, power to me; stay behind the shield. We will use the usual routine. I will be the warrior. Do nothing that will kill them when the shield finally goes down. They won’t try to kill us. If they do, no holds barred.’ said Horti telepathically.

“Gardine, what do you and your fifteen henchmen want?” Horti asked.

“We will beat you useless pieces of garbage to a pulp.”

“Why?” Horti asked.

“You are a waste of space. You ran to the lecturer and told tales. Can’t you take a little teasing? Now you pay for the discomfort we faced, and the price you pay, you will pay in pain. You ugly primitive parasites are slow to learn your place. You are only fit to be the dregs of our society. If you don’t like it, you can return to your filthy mud hole and grovel there with the others of your kind.”

“You face us with a mob behind you where is your courage? I think you are a coward. Are you frightened to face me on your own? Do you have to involve my friends in your punishment exercise? Come on, yellowbelly, fight me one on one.”

“You and your friends must learn your place once and for all. We will inflict pain on you and your miserable hangers-on to make our effort worthwhile.”

“So, you admit you are a coward, do you?”

Gardine beckoned to her friends and walked towards Horti.

‘ Shield up and power to me.’ said Horti telepathically.

Gardine walked into the shield. The shield buzzed, and Gardine stepped back, wincing and holding her right hand. As she moved further back, she invoked her powers to bring down the shield.

Horti’s cast passed through the shield and slammed into Gardine. It slammed into Gardine’s chest and knocked her back two meters. Horti dashed through the shield and punched Gardine in passing, bowling her over. She turned to the next wide-eyed young woman and slammed her fist into her gut. Horti kicked the next dazed woman in the side of her leg.

Two darted a few steps away from Horti, then turned. The cheerleaders shouted to each other and moved back several steps preparing to fight. Horti was angry, angrier than she could recall ever being, but she was in control, doing what she had done many times before in the game. She had control of some of her powers, and so did her friends.

Horti vaguely noticed someone to her left and then another to her right. She attacked one girl after the other, her actions smooth and coordinated. Horti was in a dream, raging and seeing a haze of red. Then she was back; something hit her side, and she felt severe pain; she was paralyzed, her body went rigid, and she lost consciousness.

“You sustained injuries in a street brawl. Something sharp punctured your right eye I replaced it with a cybernetic implant. The university will give you a cultivated eye in two days at the eye clinic in the Central University Hospital. You broke bones in both hands, sustained a deep abdominal tear, and received a stab wound in your back. Someone tore your left breast with claws,” said the medical AI. “I repaired and partly reattached your breast.”

“Is that all?” Horti asked groggily.

“You had deep lacerations all over your face, neck, chest, and abdomen and hematomas in both thighs. Your body was a mass of bruises. I repaired all your injuries. You are fit to face the police. They are waiting to interview you,” said the AI. “Do you have any questions relating to your medical condition?

“Thank you for treating me. Do you have any information on how my friends are?”

“I cannot comment on the medical condition of anyone else. Your friends are in the waiting room. They will take you home if the police release you.”

“Thank you. I recall something hitting me, my body went rigid, and I was unconscious until you woke me. What happened?”

“The police stunned you and seven others in the mob. The stunner simulates a physical impact before it paralyzes you and you lose consciousness. You slowly collapse downward. That way, you do not sustain a head injury.”

“I lost awareness for a while; what happened during the fight? I knew I was fighting, and I was fully aware, then I knew I was fighting and in an angry dream.”

“All your memories of the fight are present and intact. You went into a berserker state. Use the dresser; your clothes are unusable.”

“Thank you.”

Horti stood uncertainly in a transporter circle after the AI ejected her from the pod. She walked to the dresser dressed casually, wearing shorts and sandals.

A police person of indeterminate sex approached her and suggested she walk to the nearby office for an interview. “You are the last person we interview, and I expect you to tell the truth.”

“I thought you guys could extract the stuff from my memories, and then you know the truth.”

“We only go to those lengths in cases of serious crimes. A brawl instigated by primitives doesn’t qualify. One of the other students informs me you have a grudge against her and collected your friends and tried to intercept her and her friends in the city. Is that true?”

“I assume my friends said it was the other way around?”

The policewoman nodded.

“As I am a primitive and do not know your legal system, may I ask questions to assist me in navigating the legal ramifications of the event?”

“It is the right of every citizen to ask about the legal system before and even during questioning. We do not permit lawyers to advise in minor cases.”

“Thank you very much,” said Horti politely before asking her next question.

“If it is our word against theirs, how do you decide?”

“I judge the evidence I receive and my impression of the truthfulness of the answers. We offer you both the opportunity to accept or reject my educated opinion. If one party disagrees with my opinion, then both parties move to the next step we call double jeopardy.”

“What is that?” Horti asked.

“The AI adjudicator interrogates you and monitors your physiological responses and reactions, and forms a judgment at the second level.”

“Let me guess. Then, if one party disagrees, they go onto triple or quadruple jeopardy. If you are the one lying, you get a nasty punishment, and what happens if you decide to go to the pods?”

“Pretty good processes of a deduction from a girl from a primitive world!”

“In our primitive world, street cameras assist in such cases. I am sure you have an equivalent, as this is the capital of the most advanced ancients, but you couldn’t find the device that messed it up?”

“That is true.”

“Yet, I would lay odds the primitives would not know such a device existed and, if they did know, would not know where to acquire such a device,” said Horti.

“How long have you been here?”

“We have been here for five weeks. This is my third time in town and the first time eating at a restaurant. If we found such a device by some unlikely miracle, we would not be able to dispose of it.”

“Why not?” Asked the policewoman, a thin smile barely evident.

“As superior numbers attacked us, we could not eliminate such a device. Yet, someone called you, and you did not find any device.”

“You are correct; we use static drones that launch in the case of an incident as judged by our police AI. An interested bystander called us.”

“Yet you have not checked to establish who called you?”

“No, it was a member of the public. The witness was not present when we arrived.”

“Can you confirm who called it in?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Am I entitled to ask you to find out as I believe it is pertinent to our situation? If it is a member of the public, the person could be a valuable witness.”

The policewoman sighed, pulled out a cumbersome slate from her pack, searched, and then looked at Horti in surprise.

“Does it make sense to you that seven of us would plan to beat seventeen young Dinnion, some of whom regularly beat me to a pulp during martial arts classes? None of us are advanced martial arts experts. Granted, we are primitives, but we are a warlike people, and if we attack others, we ensure we have superior numbers or better weapons. If I planned to attack Gardine and her minions, I would have found forty more sophisticated fighters to have a reasonable chance. Does that sound like a reasonable proposition?”

The policewoman nodded. A tiny smile transiently flickered once more on her poker face.

“Now, am I correct? You are questioning your initial impression but don’t know how you can prove it. You lose points if one of us doesn’t accept your preliminary judgment, and Gardine comes from a prominent family with influence. You weigh whether I would fold when I discover how nasty the punishment becomes in the next stage?”

“Yes, you have remarkable powers of deduction.”

“You nearly said for a primitive, didn’t you? Now you are asking yourself who is she and are the police minders after me, and is someone entrapping me? What have I done wrong?”

The policewoman laughed.

“What if I can prove to your complete satisfaction exactly what happened, and so can Gardine simply and without going to the pods? What if you could see what was happening from street level better than you could with the cameras?”

The policewoman raised her eyebrows.

“What if we both could give you the fight exactly as we saw it from the original taunts before the beginning of the fight? So can all the others involved? You could know who interfered with the surveillance without using the pod and an expert interrogator.”

“That is not possible unless you are carrying micro-holovids.”

“It is possible without micro-holovids, and I will teach you how to do something that few people know other than the Emperor and me, and no, I don’t know him, but yes, I learned he did as I propose doing. This will be useful for the rest of your career, and I permit you to claim the technique as your own.”

“Go ahead, please.”

Horti pointed to the slate of the policewoman. “I have a holovid I produced which shows you blow-by-blow exactly what I saw through my eyes. It’s on your desktop. Open it, and we’ll watch it together.”

“Are you having me on? Is this some arcane magic from your planet?”

“That is ridiculous; we primitives don’t have arcane magic. Let’s watch it, and then I will tell you how I did what I did and teach you how to do it.”

The police officer placed her slate on the table, set up a hologram, and watched the events unfolding from Horti’s perspective.

“That was remarkable; it was as if I saw it through your eyes and ears.”

“Yes, you did see it and hear what I saw and heard.”

“Now, do you want to interview me?” Horti asked, smiling.

“You have given me all the information I require to decide who is guilty of instigating the fight.

“What is Gardine’s problem with you?” The policewoman asked.

“She is an attractive, spoilt, indulged youngster who parties her life away but finds herself in an education remediation program surrounded by primitives and her friends. She doesn’t like my flat face. I am too serious, doing too much work, and trying to make her look lazy. I am a stupid primitive and shouldn’t even be here,” said Horti.

“You have had further conflicts with her?”

“Gardine has been sabotaging my engineering projects or arranging for someone else to do so. From what she said, the university has got wise to her activities. She is acting like she is in trouble and wants to punish us rather than take responsibility for her sneaky actions.”

“I find your way of thinking unique and interesting. I will be flexible. What would you do in my shoes? I know she is the guilty party, and we will punish her. Her friends are also in trouble. Can you suggest something that would add finesse and polish to my actions and help get me promoted?”

“You could ask her about her emerging problem at the university. Say I want to jump a step, go for quadruple jeopardy, and want the truth to come out about her accusations and the fight. Say, I was confused about what she was accusing me of. She then knows she will get quadruple jeopardy if she disagrees with your judgment. You will get her to accept your judgment and get the praise of your superiors, who are worried about her prominent family. Yes, I know we primitives surprise you.”

“How did you create the video and get it onto my slate.”

“I read the manual and did all the tutorials and simulations on my crystal. I am one of the few who love manuals and read every word. I asked the AI to package a presentation to you of all I saw and heard after we left the restaurant until I was unconscious.”

“How do you know the Emperor uses the same technique? Do you know him?”

“No, I don’t know the Emperor. The manual said the Emperor used the technique often. It is easier than getting brain dumps and experts to go through the memories. I am surprised it is not a commonly known and used technique by you guys. If people knew in minor cases, they would get in quadruple jeopardy if they did not give up their recent experience, they would hand it over most of the time. If I were responsible for security, I would get a police crystal override built into every crystal.”

“Horti, I will do you a favor in return. I will interview your professor. Our Regency regards the sabotage of the work of others as a serious crime. The issue came up due to Gardine’s assault on you. She accused you of telling tales. I can inform them of what happened to you. It will protect you from prejudice. Her prominent family will intimidate the university to cover up her problem if they can. If the university knows the police are involved, it helps them act.”

“Thank you, that is a very clever idea,” said Horti.

“We are seriously underestimating the ability of people from Earth!”

The other six were waiting for Horti in the waiting room. Craig led them to where they could get drinks and a snack.

“What happened, Horti? We were worried about you,” said Craig. “You were with the policewoman for a long time. Did they arrest you?”

“I explained to her in my way what happened, and she believed me implicitly. We are totally off the hook; Gardine is in deep trouble, and the police will go to the University to pursue the sabotage issue. They are fair and reasonable here, and she quickly saw what happened. I could illustrate my case clearly, so she heard what I said and saw what I meant.”

Craig looked at Horti with his head to the side. “Pull the other leg!”

“Horti is a great strategist, and she uses her words carefully. She doesn’t lie directly unless she is joking. She looked happy, so the outcome is as she told you,” said Aubrey looking at Horti with narrowed eyes. “The police officer didn’t believe a word any of us told her. I thought Gardine and her pals convinced her the primitives are jealous of Dinnion’s success, and we bring them down. You did something different. I know you, Horti!”

Craig looked from one to the other.

“You somehow showed her something or told her something no one else did,” said Sammy. “The policewoman would have been less hostile to us if she could produce a witness or camera footage. Someone knocked out the city surveillance in our area, so she saw nothing.”

Horti shrugged extravagantly and raised her eyebrows. “How could I do something so remarkable? Do I keep a camera in my hat?”

Craig looked at Horti, puzzled. “You weren’t wearing a hat. Was there a camera in your lapel or your hair?”

Horti looked at Craig. “I usually carry a camera in my left earring.”

“You are both idiots,” said Harry, smiling. “Dad, stop pulling her leg! Horti, carry on.”

“I will work it out, Horti, if it is the last thing I do. You found a way to get it out of yourself,” said Heather.

“You are not the type!” Horti grinned.

“That was a clue. I remember the last time Horti said that; it was around five years ago. It was when we missed something in the game manual. Do you guys know of any way of getting your memories out of your crystal?” Aubrey asked. “It will be somewhere in a manual we haven’t seen. I’ll ask my crystal.”

“Grandpa does it all the time. He sends us his interesting snippets and complex battles. His stuff goes to plenty of people. Porquenta uses grandpa’s battle experiences for setting up new simulations,” said Sean.

“Here it is! The manual on the crystal has a tutorial on creating presentations from events you have witnessed. It is easy peasy. You ask the AI to present what happened between two specified times. Horti is the only maniac I know who knows every detail in a manual,” said Aubrey triumphantly. “All of us could have saved ourselves a lot of aggravation. Horti would have made it an unforgettable experience for the police officer. Go on, show us what you did, Horti.”