He has done it before and I don’t doubt he will do it again, so we of his family and close friends did not emote any feelings of disapproval.
4821
Robert ended up with all the Hetties and Eddies volunteering and he sat aside with them and the leaders of the CherInguel to discuss what they should do. Cher looked at them and moaned that it is not fair, she only has one person to help her. Cherry said to her, softly, in a stage whisper, “Yes, but you have Samantha!” I also promised to get even with her.
It was obvious Robert thinks he has been given a much more difficult job than his Cherine. I bet he’ll change his mind before this ends. I spoke to Robbie and he agrees that her Maria is allowed to help us. I took the two of them up to my apartment and sitting on the verandah we first explained to Maria and then discussed what should be done.
Chapter Two Hundred and Seven
“Your Cherine would not allow my Robert to meet her until he loved me. How can I go to this Robert? What if he loves me? Sam, you must go.”
“Actually, all three of us have the same problem. He must not love Maria or me either.”
She was relieved. “Then we must tell Robert we cannot do it and why.”
“I’ve never given up before starting! Would you really be willing to face him with that excuse?”
“Then what can we do?”
“Go to new Cherine first?” Maria asked.
We both smiled at her as if she had come up with a great idea. “That was clever of you!” Cher said. I felt how happy it made Cher that her little girl was feeling so good. It gave me an idea. Privately I sent it to Cher. She loved it. When she told Maria, Maria was so terrified that I thought she would wet herself. She protested, but both of us showed her we are confident she will succeed.
Cherine from now will have to be the new, local one.
The electricity tended to go off without notice, sometimes for hours, so Cherine went to bed with a night light on, but also a small torch and candle next to her. Tonight the electricity was on, so she closed her eyes, trying hard to concentrate on her parents only, as she does not like the emotions that come from outside. She heard a soft noise and started, sensing the person now in the room with her. Because Maria was afraid and a little confused, Cherine did not call out for help.
“Who are you. How did you get in here?”
“I am Maria. I come from Athens. Everybody in my Athens is dead, but I come here in Freddie. He is a spaceship.”
“A spaceship? Don’t you know that spaceships are a ‘she’ not a ‘he’?”
“They are!? Maybe Freddie does not know! I will tell him.”
“Anyway, why would you need to come in a spaceship from Athens? It is on the same world. Maybe you came in an aeroplane?”
“No. My Athens on another world so come with Freddie. Freddie has taken me to lots of worlds. Can I sit on your bed? I’ll tell you about where I been.”
Cherine was not afraid of Maria. She had guessed she is about seven years old and her thin body looked frail. She could also sense that Maria was afraid of her. Maria was trembling.
“Sure. You better get in with me, the heating did not work today and my bedroom is ice cold.”
Cher and I smiled at each other. We could feel Cherine is emoting a protective feeling and she is going to mother our Maria. Claudia was doing a good job and Maria was managing English by actually speaking in Greek.
4822
Once Maria was under the covers she lay without speaking, not sure what she should say. Cherine was not even nervous anymore, but her mind was racing. How did this little girl get into her room? She could see she is a foreigner so she concluded that somehow the girl came in during the day to escape from someone who wanted to hurt her. She did not entirely buy that story, as it did not explain why she had not sensed her until she suddenly appeared.
“I have a Cherine of my own also.” That startled her. She also felt a short sharp stab of fear. How did this girl know her name and what did she mean? She asked her. “My Cherine is from my world. Her daddy and mummy were dead but…another Cherine made them alive again.”
“You’re not making sense. Are you saying that on your world, a different one from this world, you have a Cherine whose parents died and then another Cherine made the parents of your Cherine come back to life? How many Cherines are there and how can any Cherine make dead people come back to life?”
Maria got confused, there were too many questions being asked at the same time. She said the first thing that came to her mind. “My name is Maria.”
Having felt her, Cherine controlled herself. “Nice to meet you Maria. I guess you know my name.” She softly giggled on purpose. “Do you know where your Cherine is right now?”
“Yes.” She pointed at the ceiling. “Up there, in Freddie.”
“Why did you leave her to come here? How will you get back to Freddie? Is it a big spaceship? Can it go faster than…oh, I’m asking too many questions eh?”
“Yes. I get confused.”
“How old are you Maria? Seven?”
“No. I think I am about twenty, but…Cherine made me look younger. I was very sick.”
Maria was almost in tears. She felt she was making a mess of things and letting us down. We could not reassure her without Cherine sensing it. Cherine sensed her distress and kept to herself her instant disbelief. She knew Maria was not consciously lying, but…
“You are hiding something from me. Every time you nearly say something and then you say Cherine, but you do not really mean Cherine. What are you hiding Maria. Can you tell me?”
Desperately Maria shut her mind to Cherine and plunged into the memories of our Maria, trying to force her own mind to grow. A shocked Cherine felt herself being blocked and something seemed to warn her to keep quiet. She thought that Maria was falling apart and decided to wait for her to speak first. What she did though, was put her arm around her. Though Cherine was worried, as time went by she dozed off. It was nearly morning when Maria moved and she woke up. Instantly she felt a difference.
“I’m sorry that I worried you Cherine. I can now explain better.”
“Wait. I’ll get us some bread with jam.” Maria had expended a lot of energy and was starving.
As they ate, Maria told her story. Cherine, of course, knew it was all nonsense, but her gift was telling her Maria is speaking the truth - at least, as she knows it. Now Maria was not hiding any names and told her about Robbie and then later, about her own Robert. Even as Maria told her story, about alternate Earths, of travelling so far back in time, of aliens and so forth, she herself was filled with amazement. How had she lived through all that without understanding how miraculous it was?
“Something has changed. What did you do to yourself?”
“I opened the memories I have of the other Maria and taught myself to speak like she does. Her Roberto found her when she was much younger than me so she did not forget how to speak.”
Cherine sighed. “I wish I could believe you. It sounds too wonderful to be true.”
“You have a Robert on this world. He has been hurt badly and is in a hospital.”
“What you said about Roberts always loving their Cherines, I do not think that can happen with me.”
4823
“Oh, but it can! Let me tell you about my Roberto and Cherine.” As she did, Cherine was not the only one fascinated. Cher was drinking it in and when Maria spoke of how I manipulated the two of them she scowled at me. I calmly stared back at her and she looked away.
“Why didn’t they grab me and take me to your spaceship if it is all true?”
“You must not meet another Robert before you love yours.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.”
“You know that I can feel your feelings, you told me your Cherine is the same, so I won’t say you are lying. Maria, I think somebody has played a trick on you, making you think the story is true. If it was true, you would take me to your spaceship.”
Maria gallantly tried to convince Cherine there were good reasons why she could not come to us, but no Maria has a chance against a Cherine. Convinced she had messed up she was almost in tears, but Cherine kept on pushing, far too eager for the fairy story to be true for her to give in because of her empathy.
“We’ve got a couple of hours before her parents wake up, would you like to go get them?”
“No. You go.”
“Cherine, I am only here to help you. Yours is the responsibility to handle both Cherine and Robert. You must go.”
“She might scream if I go. You go Sam.”
“Ha! Now I’m Sam?”
“You are cruel!”
“No Cherine. It is just that I’ve known too many Cherines to fall for your manipulations. It is also not becoming of you to pretend you have forgiven me just to get out of facing an awkward situation. I’ll go this time because you are right, she might scream, but you handle your own dirty work from now on.”
I guess you are thinking I fell for her manipulations anyway since I ended up doing what she wanted? Not quite true. The only reason Cherine did not wake up her parents with her screams was because I appeared and instantly jumped back with them. I left Cherine to Cher and Maria and watched from behind them as they urgently tried to calm her. Sparklers filled the sky outside my window as they felt the emoting of a new Cherine. I warned all Roberts to stay out of sight when we jump to the taverna.
The best description I can think of for our new Cherine is to call her an ‘avid tourist’. She cannot get enough of seeing all of the inside of Freddie. When Freddie talked with her she laughed gaily, telling him of what she’d said to Maria and what Maria had answered. Freddie had a good laugh.
Dommi said to us that Freddie is a great healing place for any Cherine who has suffered from her gift. I had not thought of it that way, but she is right. Being in a world full of people (that many of them are aliens does not matter in this instance) who lack nearly all the evil that Normals emote must be therapeutic. Cherine acted as if it made her giddy with joy and she let go, her gift reaching out, tasting and testing, making certain all is as wonderful as she felt it is.
We had to get rid of all Roberts. Feeling her would make them love her too much. She met all the Cherines and when they admitted the reason why they had got rid of their Roberts, it made her feel special and healed a lot of her memories. They taught her how to see that Normals cannot help themselves, that we should not judge them according to their emoting or deeds, but search for the good in them. They spent days talking to her about the miracle of being Cherinians and answered all the questions she thought up. They made certain she knew that none of it can happen without our Roberts.
“Maria said the Robert of my world is in hospital! I forgot!”
4824
“Don’t worry. There is a healer from one of us with him constantly. We are not healing him, just ensuring he does not worsen. You must be the one who heals him. Cherine, he tends to develop a fever at about five in the afternoon and it breaks at about ten in the evening. I suggest you appear at the exact moment his fever is the highest. You will seem like a miracle and he’ll love you.”
“No.” I was proud of her when she refused. “I’ve heard of some of the tricks you’ve played. I will not make myself appear to be some kind of wonderful vision. I will go to him and talk to him as I am. If he loves me, then I’ll know he really does.” She giggled. “He would have to be a perv to love an eleven year old! Maybe I should look older?”
Our Cherry baby was amused. “Don’t worry, all Roberts love children. Make him love you as you are and I promise, you will find it sweeter being loved as a child.”
Since Cher could not very well appear with Cherine in Nairobi, I had to take her. None of us had been to the hospital, so I took some dollars, changed to look like a man and we jumped. The center of Nairobi was ringed by troops and we could not find a taxi. I asked for directions to the hospital and we began to walk. After half an hour we saw an Indian dhuka (shop) open, despite the troubles, and bought two cold drinks. The owner shook his head, warning us it is dangerous to walk. I offered to pay well for someone to take us. When I told him how much I’d pay he arranged for his local driver to take us. I paid him, keeping just enough to give the driver something.
I had not realised what a sorry state the hospital is in. The army is protecting it, but seeing that we are white (Caucasians) they let us through. A nurse took us to Mr Teller. Cherine pleaded with me to enter with her, but I refused. He has to concentrate on her only. The door was open and I could hear what they said and by taking a peek I could get a glimpse of them now and then. I also followed their discussions from her mind.
Robert was lying on his side, his back turned to the door, lost in his thoughts. Cherine stood still, careful not to make any noise and felt his emoting. She became curious and I helped her sense the general drift of his thoughts. He was impatient with his body, angry that it was taking so long to heal. He needed to get back to his work, he felt that too many people depend on the team coming up with answers so that they can grow some food.
Quailing inside herself, she made her tone sassy. “Robert Teller, are you planning on saving the whole world?” Startled he turned to look at her and groaned as his wound hurt him. He saw a young girl with a cheeky smile whose eyes seemed to be teasing him, laughing at something.
“Who are you?” He gentled his voice. “What a sight for sore eyes! I thought there were no more European children in Nairobi. Is your father an ambassador?” He chuckled. “What if I do plan on saving the world? Will you help me?”
“If I do, then you won’t get any of the glory. Everyone will say, look, that lovely Cherine saved us.”
I could sense him. Roberts really are suckers. He was enchanted by her cheeky look. “Are you here with someone?”
“I don’t have any family here Robert. I only came to Nairobi to help you get well so that we can start saving the world.” She found it funny to be telling him the truth while making it sound like an outrageous lie.
With eyes that twinkled, as if his pain was forgotten, he replied, “If that is the case, then I better get well very fast. It is not often lovely girls want to save the world.”
“You will, don’t worry about that.” She was going to ask him if he thought she was pretty, so I stopped her. Surprised she looked towards the door. She decided I was right and giving him a quick smile she said, “Be ready in the morning, I’m coming to collect you. Robert, you better sleep well as we will be too busy to sleep much afterwards.” Before she could lose her courage she stepped forward quickly, leant over and kissed his cheek. “You better shave.”
As she flounced out of the room he stared at her, bemused. He was emoting wonder - wonder that someone so innocently cheeky and self confident can exist in this world that has gone mad. We had helped Cherine get her healer, had our healers teach it, so the calm and lessening of pain was ironically felt by him as being due to his strange visitor. The healer had its orders and within an hour he drifted off into a long and healing sleep. I smiled to myself as Cherine and I walked around, not ready yet to jump back home. Half in jest I thought, ‘Sleep your last innocent sleep Mr Robert Teller. You do not know it yet, but you are already ensnared by your biggest love for all time.’ I like these two, they will make a good Cherine and Robert, I can feel it.
4825
While Robert slept, millions of men were appearing in the worst hit areas all over the world, teaching families how to use food machines. By the time he woke up, close to a hundred million families had eaten their first healthy meal in a long time. Robbie could not sit in Freddie while this was going on and drifted, as the void, with us beside him, sensing the joy we have brought. It is at times like these that it is especially wonderful being a Cherinian.
By morning we sensed that Cher has truly become the Cherine she should be and the three felt the circle snap, pulling them into becoming one indivisible unit of love.
Invigorated by what we’d experienced the previous evening, Robbie decided to actively participate. We scrambled like crazy to stay with him as he went to Earth. His first stop was in South America. Using his energies he destroyed all their weapons, guns blistering the hands holding them before they could drop them with shouted curses. Larger weapons were trashed into pieces of scrap metal. Aeroplanes and missiles were grounded, their motors fused. Over the next five days he stopped three wars.
By now every government on Earth knew that they have visitors. The information could not be hidden from the media, as over two billion people have received food machines. Sorry, I jumped ahead, let me return to our new Robert.
The nurses of the hospital still maintain the habits of British hospitals of forty years ago and wake their patients at five a.m. This used to be for patients to be washed, beds made and breakfast eaten before the doctors did their rounds. Nowadays there are no clean sheets, nobody who cares to make the beds and breakfast is available if your family brought you some. Foreign patients receive food from their consulates or the companies they work for.
Robert was woken up and he lay without moving, trying to put off the awakening of pain. He soon realised that he felt wonderful, full of energy and when he moved and there was no pain he examined himself. He pulled off the dirty blood and pus filled bandages to find he does not even have any scars. Filled with wonder he sat up, looked out the window at the brightly coloured garden, lost in thoughts of what he knew is impossible.
“You can’t kiss me good morning before you shave.”
“Jesus! You are not a dream!” He floundered, not knowing what to say or do. He had instantly realised she had healed him and was in awe of her. “I’m sorry, what I meant was that I thought you were not real, a vision of my fever.”
“How does toast, fresh real butter, honeycomb and as much coffee as you can drink sound? I’ll give you five minutes. Get dressed and shaved so that we can leave this miserable place. I hate hospitals.”
“I don’t have any clothes. I think they burnt the clothes I came here in, they were torn and covered in blood.”
“Oh!” She stared at him, at a loss for a moment. She giggled. “Okay, take my hand and we’ll go get you some clothes. Robert!”
“What?”
“Don’t you dare fall in love with any of the other Cherines.” He had no answer for that and she did not give him time to worry about it. She touched him and jumped directly to our home.
She felt that none of us were at home so she took a bewildered and frightened Robert to a guest room, told him to shower and shave and came to our bedroom to grab some clothes. She entered and saw our bodies and jumped with fright. She soon realised we are astrally projecting and quietly took some clothes, taking secret peeks at Robbie as he lay in the nude with Candy and Shelif in his arms. Embarrassed at having done so, she ran out of the room.
She did not know it, but she more or less had Freddie to herself as nearly everybody was either distributing food machines or with the CherInguel as they studied the planet. Many just went to Earth and secretly helped the ill, using their healers to save as many people as they can.
Once Robert had accepted he was not dreaming, that he is not in danger and that his life has changed, he shaved, showered, dressed and ate the best breakfast he’d had in years. He is a nice Robert, but he is a bit of a prig. When Cherine offered him a packet of cigarettes with his coffee he lectured her about smoking. Luckily she found it funny.
4826
She was so anxious and excited about showing him around Freddie that she ended up, without thinking of it, making him believe that this is her world and that she is some kind of supernatural being. At lunchtime she was not in the mood for the taverna and took him to an extravagantly decorated restaurant in one of the treehouses. When she suggested food she’d seen our Robbie eat, he meekly agreed, not daring to refuse her. A glass of wine helped embolden him so that he could ask what was on his mind.
“Are you an alien? Have I been abducted?’
Only then did she realise the wrong impression she’d created and laughed, half in embarrassment. She did not know why, but she suddenly felt very serious and asked him, “If I am and if I have, do you mind?”
“Mind? This place is like heaven.”
“I suppose you would think so, since it was designed by a Robert.”
“What?”
Remembering her own recent fears and worries she gently explained to him. Being an adult, despite the evidence of his own eyes, he found it difficult to believe her. She led him out onto to the balcony and as they leant against the balustrade she explained a lot of what he’d seen but not understood. He stared at the spaceships above them.
“All the ships belong to aliens? This Robert, he does not have any?”
“Apart from Freddie? He does not need them. He can make one instantly if he needs it. He calls them platforms. I know what you would enjoy, his wives made an art gallery with paintings of his and his daughter Jade. I bet you must be curious about how you would paint if you had become an artist.”
“Can we do that later please? I’m still in shock, I would not be able to concentrate.”
Shyly. “Robert, would you do me a favour? I need to go home and tell my parents that I am alright. They must be worried sick. I’ve been gone for days.”
“Your parents? Are you really the age you seem to be?”
“Yes. I’ll be twelve in three months.” She had lost her confident and cheeky look and he saw she is vulnerable for some reason. He tried to use humour.
He wagged a finger at her. “Young lady, asking me to go meet your parents and explain to them why you’ve been gone for days when we have not even been out on a date yet is rather forward of you.”
“Oh.” She blushed, wishing she could jump to get away from him.
“You are not going to tell them we are getting married or anything like that are you?”
Miserably she looked away. Gently he touched her. “Cherine, I was teasing.”
“You mean you would marry me?” She pretended to be delighted, just like a child. He fell for it and she felt how his heart sank and he became afraid. She laughed at him. “There! That will teach you to tease me!”
Once they were more relaxed with each other, he offered to go with her to her parents, though he admitted he did not know what he should say. She said it is okay, she would go later with Sam. He could not understand why he did not like the idea of her going to her parents with another man and insisted he will take her. She took his hand and jumped. He looked around, uneasy.
“This is my bedroom.”
“Jesus Cherine! What will your parents think if we come out of your bedroom?”
As she blushed and prepared to jump again, the door slammed open and Marian screamed when she saw them. As she rushed to grab her daughter she was screaming for the police and her husband. Cherine saw she had no choice. Still touching Robert she jumped back to Freddie.
“Gosh, we won’t be able to go back there for a while. Your home will be full of people and cops.”
4827
“You mean that cops are not people?” She knows how our Robbie loves to play with words and she guessed right, he loved it.
When we got back they were sitting at the taverna, Maria fussing because they would not eat anything. Quickly all the Cherines projected themselves as girls of about six or seven. Cherine let us share her experiences of the day and though we were amused, we were amazed at how quickly she has taken to using all the gifts we helped her open. Robbie let her feel his admiration - and his amusement.
“I better go get your parents.” Robert watched in amazement as Robbie aged himself until he looked like a stern man of about forty five with greying temples.
When he arrived in her apartment it was still full of people, but the police had left. There were screams and gasps as he materialised.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry to have startled you. Please return to your homes as we will be distributing food machines in this neighbourhood tonight.”
Ignoring the guests, Robbie went to the parents and without a word touched them and jumped back to the taverna. “Please join us for supper.” Yeah, I know, he has a weird sense of humour sometimes.
I think he had forgotten that the parents might not have recognised adult Cherines, but they would as they are, children. If our Cherry baby had not been fast enough we would have had an extremely embarrassed Marian, which means she would have hated us. She helped her control her body, that is all I will say.
Maria did not bother bringing out supper. She did bring two glasses of Scotch and the bottle. Once the two of them had some colour back in their cheeks our problems began. Both Marian and Eric are hard people. Life has forced them to become so and we were patient with them. Their daughter tried to explain, make them feel some of the wonder that has filled her heart, but they were deaf to all that mattered. They did not insult us or shout or anything. I think they were too careful, maybe too afraid to do so. They just sat there like two grim judges, condemning us with their eyes and naming us freaks in their hearts. We helped their daughter see what they were thinking, as she was getting upset by their emoting. We did so to help her calm down, but it made her angrier.
“If you think they are freaks then you better get used to the fact that your daughter is one also.”
“Excuse me.” Robbie’s father turned Cherine to him. “I’ve been there. Take your young man for a walk and let me talk to them. Robert, why don’t you all go for a walk?”
We might be growing a little blasé about the various tactics that have to be adopted, for we would not have bothered monitoring them if not for Cherine. We knew she was hurt and we had to be ready to soothe her, explain why she should not get upset. Wilfred managed to get through to them and helped them understand how wrong they were - well, to an extent. As they bent, it became easier to talk to them and when they went to bed that night (their daughter firmly wedged between them as they went into their ‘home’), they did not radiate the same coldness anymore.
Robbie was fascinated by Robert. Actually most of the Roberts are. Here is a Robert who is not interested in the arts and has a passion for saving endangered species and for repairing damage to the environment - he would have been the ideal ‘mother’ for our isi-mi-Metti. 
“I used to think I would have to spend all of my life studying new subjects every few decades so that I would at least know something about everything. I am relieved to see that it will not be necessary. All we need to do is visit enough realities and we are likely to find an alternate who has specialised on any subject we can think of.”
Here is the strangest part. All Cherinian women were attracted to him except for all those who already love a Robert. Of our family, not one of us could imagine any girl preferring this Robert. Perhaps the key word is ‘girl’. He does not exhibit any of the urgent need to care for children. Perhaps he sublimated it by getting so involved in his work. That night, we agreed we might have to age Cherine.
At least Robert has the same passion for science fiction that ours has. Breathlessly he asked whether it is allowed for us to visit any of the spaceships. Iziko took him on a tour of the Unation ship and he was much more impressed by that than by Freddie.
4828
The one thing he does not want to see is the void. We did not press him, as we are already working all the hours of the day helping people on planet. It is only natural that when we go to a new Earth, that those of us who started as Normals search out our alternates. We felt Claudia when she went to her home. Felt her would be the wrong word. She flew into a terrible rage, smashing her old home into rubble, killing the parents and their friend who was already dying.
We had to nurse a weeping Claudia who shook as if she had a fever. We enfolded her in our love and everything else was forgotten by us for two days. Everyone talked with her, including Robbie, but it did not seem to help. On the second day Alki came to visit.
“Would you all leave please? I want to talk with my granddaughter alone.” We all left.
“Tell me koukla mou, are you filled with anger or is the sickness I feel in you because of what you did?”
“I don’t know.”
“I have two things to say to you. First of all, I am very proud of you. Anyone who would not do what you did for those you love, they do not have the right to call themselves human beings. Claudia, I wish you were my real daughter, but I could not love and admire you more if you were. As for grief for the two lives lost. How did it happen? Did they die from the sickness?”
“No. Britta ran away and she took drugs and died. My alternate knew she was sick from what he did to her and heard that Britta died, so she killed herself.”
“Have you asked Roberto to bring them back?”
“He said he will.”
“Good. Then keep your tears for when they are brought back. They will need to see your tears so that they know they are loved.”
He had not said anything we had not, that Robbie had not and yet, coming from him the words calmed her and she grew stronger. Later that evening she let us take her to the taverna and Maria brought her all the foods she knows are Claudia’s favourites.
The next day, Claudia went to Socrati.
“When our Robert does something wrong we have established some kind of mechanism to deal with it. What about when another Cherinian commits a crime?”
“Think about it Claudia. If one Cherinian feels insulted or aggrieved by the actions of another Cherinian, because we do not have a court, they are forced to settle the matter between them, with sometimes friends or family helping. If we create a formal justice system, we will be trying cases every week. What is worse is that the courts can only punish or force one party to make reparations to the other. We will have lost what the gift of Cherine brought us. They will forget to use their empathy and anger and bitterness will remain.” Claudia saw he was right and did not want to be the cause for making such a change. She sat thinking while Socrati watched her.
“You feel a need to be punished for what you did?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe I am guessing, but I think you do not want to be judged by Cherinian born. You want us who were Normals to judge you?”
“Yes. They would not understand.”
“A Cherinian not understand!?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Let me think on it. Do I have your permission to discuss this with Roberto?”
4829
Robbie was troubled by Claudia’s need to be punished. He told us that it has come about because Claudia had forgotten to think of her victims as humans and that is why she had not used her gift of empathy.
“I know it is so, because I recognise that is how it was with me. Perhaps it would be a fitting punishment that she be taken back in time by me and she feels them as they are being killed by her.”
I don’t like his idea and we can sense that Cherine is also uneasy about it, but we do not know what else to do.
We have decided not to bring back the alternate Claudia and Britta at this time. Once the local Cherine and Robert love each other and are ready to grow their family, then we will. It was decided that when we do, those two and their family (Teller) will bring up the parents by asking volunteers to adopt them. None of us, not even Claudia, feel we have to bring back her fathers’ friend. He’ll just have to move on to his next life. Maybe we are not being fair but, being Cherinians does not mean we are always fair. We dare not ignore our own feelings and needs, for we then run the danger of becoming less human than we are.
4830
They have not evolved their media beyond what it was like for us in, say, nineteen seventy. They do not have the equivalent of CNN, not only because of their lagging technology, but also because of the heavy cloud cover and many storms. They have sent satellites into space, but they are primitive and do not monitor space. Robbie and some scientists placed platforms in orbit all around the globe so that anybody with a television can pick up our message. His message will be instantaneously translated into twenty two languages, ensuring that most people will understand. He changed to what is teasingly called his patrician look so that the local Robert will never be identified and the cameras rolled.
The message was repeated non-stop (worse than the advertising on our world) for twenty four hours. He introduced us, explained why we have brought the food machines, warned them what the consequences of pollution will be over the next ten years and showed them pictures of other Earths where there is no life above bacteria levels. He introduced the leaders of the CherInguel team and explained that the whole planet will go through some major upheavals. To repair the damage will take about a hundred years, but there would be little point in us repairing the ecology if they continue to pollute the planet at a rate above its ability to regenerate. I liked his line, ‘all life pollutes’ but it irritated some. What he was saying is that all life pollutes its environment to an extent, but if controlled, the pollution is handled by nature.
To assist them reduce the polluting of their planet, he offered to supply them technology. He offered the same kind of deal we’ve struck with our own planet and some other realities. He offered to meet the leaders of the world at the United Nations after one week. He let the broadcast end with a clip of an Earth sunny, with blue skies, green fields and flowers as children run around playing. It faded away with only the sound of their laughter lingering a while. After two minutes the whole message would play again in another language.
We did search for the local Eddie and Hettie, but from what we found out they did not learn how to take over young bodies and had long since died of old age. The local Cherinians will have to decide whether they want them brought back. I think they will.
We want to jump Freddie forward in five year leaps so that we do not spend a hundred years here. The CherInguel have already placed their ships in orbit around Earth. The question now is, do we keep Robert and Cherine with us, or should they be returned? If they are to return, we must stay another month or two. First they must love and link and then we want to help them acquire a small family and some friends. Okay. We are staying.
Robbie asked for a Mansfield volunteer couple and he got them. A Hettie and Eddie agreed to live on Earth for the full hundred years. They were supplied with a spaceship to use as their base so that they are not forced to live within any country on Earth. It could appear to prejudice their neutrality if they do. Robbie took the couple with him when he went for his meeting. Due to bad weather less than half the leaders were present so their U.N. representatives attended in their place. As soon as agreements were signed the CherInguel teams placed massive equipment at strategic points to begin cleaning the air and repair the ozone holes. We did not have a large stock with us, but we gave what anti gravity engines we had and now our friends openly go to Earth in the millions to heal.
Cherine is not getting a chance to win her Robert’s heart. He sometimes spend twenty hours non-stop with the CherInguel, watching, learning, arguing. He is so excited by what they are teaching him and by seeing how they go about repairing his world that he cannot bear to be apart from them. Robbie insisted we have to be fair to him so we jumped six months, leaving him behind.
When he was brought back to Freddie we all mentally gasped at his appearance. He has not been eating properly, has not shaved and looks ready to collapse. Enthusiastically he went into details of what has been done as he ate. An Allan took him home, made sure he showered and shaved and then put him to bed while Allan’s healer brought him back to tiptop condition.
“We’ll have to leave this reality so that you have a chance to make him love you. Cherine, he cannot love you if you turn into a wallflower, show some spirit girl, drive him crazy if you have to, my Cherine did.”
Robert woke up to find we are by the Fragile Galaxy.
This was a bad move by Robbie. Robert was fascinated and spent all his time visiting the Imefi, asking them question after question. We let him have his fun while Robbie brought in some materials needed, and then, at a suggestion by the Robert and Cherine of the reality where the three girls went by mistake, we went to their reality.
I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.
Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου
(Alexander Zenon Eustace)19th January, 2020
- posted: 19th January, 2020
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