Chapter 17: The Una

“A crafty enemy will set a weak ambush you are meant to break through. Confident that you have dealt with the threat, your guard relaxed, and you walk into the stronger, second ambush.”

—Robert Jordan (2010). “Lord of Chaos: Book Six of ‘The Wheel of Time,’” p .498, Macmillan

“We delayed leaving for twenty-four hours as the asteroid field was rich in rare metals and minerals. We built missiles and stored energy and charges for the weapons. We have sufficient ammunition to cope with a sustained battle and enough material to replenish our supply thrice. We arrived here thirty-six hours before you woke for the first time,” said Janet.

“How long was I in the transdim room?” Jason asked.

“You were in there for five days! After two days, we thought you weren’t going to come out. We kept the sentries in place. You surprised them when you opened a different door further up the passage. While lying on the floor, the guards said you were talking to a ‘Winston.’ We thought it was a hallucination, as you were in the room for so long,” Janet added. “You only lost twenty percent of your mass in the room.”

“The medical AI told us you had a different brain to most, and the integration would take a long time. She thought you would be in the pod for two weeks,” said Phoebe. “The integration was slow at first, then accelerated. The pod kept us informed of your progress.”

“We were surprised when the AI told us you brought back a companion called Winston who was helping you. We looked everywhere for him. Could he cause problems on the ship?” Phoebe asked.

“You don’t need to worry; Winston is in a transdim space inside me. He is asleep at present, but as he communicated with me telepathically, I suspect he will talk to you guys the same way.”

They looked at Jason aghast.

“I have never heard of anything like that,” said Phoebe. “I hate the idea of something knowing my every thought.”

“Did the AI tell you anything about my crystals?” Jason asked.

“Yes, the medical AI spoke about your crystals every time we communicated. She said you acquired huge crystals and an unprecedented number of crystals. What happened in there?” Janet asked. “How many crystals did you get?”

“When I reached the table, it was full of enormous crystals. The biggest was thirty centimeters long. I looked for my slot, and there was a board of slots with pairs of holes randomly arranged. I didn’t have time to count the crystals on the table. An emerald attracted me. I was trying to locate its slot when a funny little man came along, pulled on my trouser leg, and introduced himself to me. He had an obscure, long name. I called him Winston, which sounded like part of his name in the middle of a long string of gobbledegook. He announced he would put the crystals onto my board and had more crystals to give me. He wanted to come back with me. He said he would put himself into a trans-dimensional space within me and be an adviser.”

“What manner of being is he?” Connie asked.

“I didn’t have the time to ask. I liked his look and the feel of him. I had transient concerns he would enter me and take over my body, but I felt he was a good person and decided to trust him. While talking to him, I put the emerald crystal into its slot. I knew I wouldn’t have a hope of slotting in even a small number of the crystals into my slots as I had an emerging migraine. I heard the voices of the entities in the distance. I agreed to take him with me. He placed the remainder of the crystals into the slots quickly. He then opened his case, which had crystals arranged in rows. All were as long or longer than the ones on the table. Winston put them into my slots. One was dark and multicolored and was thirty-five centimeters long and fat. It jumped into the air and flew to a slot, and disappeared. Winston tried to catch it while it was in the air, but it evaded him. It was extraordinary how it flew to an appropriate socket.”

“Maybe Winston is one of the people who put crystals on the table?” Connie asked.

“I’ll ask him later. I can communicate with him in his trans-dimensional space; we spoke briefly. I don’t believe he presents a risk to us or the ship. He can’t leave me as he can’t live independently on the ship,” said Jason. “He has shown no malice and helped me acquire crystals, gave me more crystals, and helped me escape. He even told me how to fight the creatures that subsequently attacked me. I am not worried about Winston.”

“Tell us the rest of the story,” asked Connie.

“After I put the Emerald in its slot, the environment stabilized, and the images clarified and straightened. My nausea reduced, but the headache grew as Winston put more crystals into the slots.

An enormous white apparition with massive jaws and teeth appeared and attacked me. I shot fire out of my hands and incinerated it. Then I sent a stream of fire below the planks and heard screams.”

“That is interesting. We can’t use our powers in the transdim room you were in,” said Janet. “What else happened, Jason?”

“I fell off the plank on the way out. I clambered back up after grabbing a plank while falling. As I got close to the door, the vermin attacked again. I pushed against the attackers, a technique that Winston suggested. It was highly effective. I felt energy run down my arms and then form a concussive wave. The things attacked as a group, but the push shattered them. I found the door with Winston’s help and jumped out. There were a few left, and I blasted them before I slammed the door shut. Once out, the headache incapacitated me.”

“What are those creatures?” Connie asked.

“They look like solid white smoke and have long hands with long fingers and black claws. They have huge jaws and long teeth. I could hear and understand the creatures in there. They knew who I was and wanted to get me.”

“How many crystals did you get?” Phoebe asked.

“I received four hundred and forty-six crystals, according to the AI. As Winston put crystals onto my board, my sockets increased exponentially. I’ve plenty of slots left!

“No one else reported slots increasing,” said Phoebe. “As far as we know, our slots do not increase.”

“The pod told me the crystals are changing me. Even though I feel spaced out and fatigued, I feel back to normal.”

‘Give it good to the bitches; treat them rough, and they will love it,’ said a voice telepathically. It was nothing like Winston. Jason looked around for the source. No one was there. Jason detested the voice’s approach.

Suddenly Jason was so tired he couldn’t keep awake. He desperately wanted to close his eyes.

“Suddenly, I feel so fatigued I can’t keep my eyes open. I am going to lie down for half an hour. I will get back to you as soon as I recover.”

Jason walked to his wardroom, lay down, and fell asleep. When he woke six hours later, he called out for Winston.

‘Winston, are you there?’

He heard nothing for a few long moments.

‘Yes, Jason?’ He heard a weary Winston reply.

‘Did you hear a voice say something about giving it to the bitches, treat them rough, and they will love it? It sounds as if it came from inside me, and I found it disturbing,’ said Jason. ‘Immediately after, I felt drained.’