Chapter 16: Horti is Off the Rails

“Do you think my people present an unacceptable risk in the other universe?” Horti asked.

“Your people vary, as do mine. Most are fine people who will be great assets on the other side. I am much happier since I met people who know you, but I don’t know what the others are like. How many Zyla clones will we bring into our universe?” Craig asked. He paused, then frowned. “There is something here that doesn’t ring true. Horti, my political radar tells a different story than the one told us. I woke up early and went through Zyla’s early history. You are startled. It was there, but we didn’t look at it as it was not our priority. There were scenes with Zyla and your mother together from childhood through to a long way in adulthood. There is too much to go through, but from what I skimmed, Zyla and your mother were close, and your mother loved her family. I don’t know where and how it went wrong, but Zyla was demonized. Zyla now also looks nothing like the Zyla of the past. I would swear they are different women.”

“That is very interesting but disturbing; Craig, was there anything else?”

“I also picked up another odd piece of information and a huge complication. Zyla’s boyfriend was your father. So if he fathered you, it raises questions. Did Zyla agree? Was it behind her back? It would take months to discover the issues from her point of view, but she didn’t start as an evil girl in a rotten family. Your mother liked her family. They were also on different planets from the ones we hear about. Horti, something terrible happened somewhere, and somehow and she turned rotten bitter, and twisted. Your mother is her focus. I had another shock. There is someone like Heather in Zyla’s household, and she looks like she is Zyla’s daughter. Zyla’s father was a delightful man and looked like my father. Your mother was close to him.”

“Do you think we are going after the wrong person?” Horti asked.

“We are chasing a terrorist who may or may not be the real Zyla. Heather is probably the real Zyla’s daughter. Your mother and the real Zyla had a falling out over your father. I can’t find out why and what happened. Yet, while that stuff is interesting and important, it changes nothing. We are chasing a dangerous monster, holding your and Chak’s mothers and threatening your people. We must find the mothers and protect your people and their planets. There is a serious problem at the top level. Of that, I have no doubt,” said Craig. “We don’t have the time to find relevant issues and sort out the old problems. How can we fix the relationship at this late stage?”

“I must get my mother back and get started on the gates as soon as possible. What should we say to your father when we return?”

“Horti, I am making no judgments. I am thinking about things step by step. The first step is to get your mother; the next step is to get Zyla or watch her leave. I haven’t had five spare minutes to bless myself and no time to think about who I like or dislike and what I will say to my father. Like every people, there are good and bad. When we retrieve your mother, we must find out how things went bad with Zyla. Zyla couldn’t have been evil if your mother made her a Grep. Something big doesn’t compute, but that isn’t the top of many priorities. We must remove the gate threats, recover your mother and Chak’s, and get gates built and everyone through, chop-chop!” Craig smiled. “Morale here is improving. People are rejoicing, and the police are cleaning out criminals with some help from vigilantes.”