“And you returned with your leg instantly healed, without your healer healing you? Surely the one is just as impossible as the other? Next time we must use our technology to watch the bodies, the answer could be important and lead to new ways of exploring the cosmos.” A number of our friends agreed with her.
If you wish to read from an earlier book, from Book 01 to Book 10, use this link button to open the LC Book Index:
7021
Jade was fixated on what mattered to her. “That is for another day. If that reality does exist, we need to return there, we cannot leave Suzan in prison because of us and I don’t like the idea of Ferdin dying because of his loyalty to us.”
Robbie grinned. “What she really means is she is looking forward to seeing the faces of Swivin and Edward when we return.” After the jokes and laughter we went home to sleep for a few hours. We expected him to hold Jade in his arms but it made even more sense when he chose Cherine.
“We need to time event a jump to a reality we’ve never been to. The Wirms can get us there, but we must concentrate on the images we share with them representing the time we need to arrive.” He pulled Jade into his arms. “My little warrior, only you can do what has to be done.”
“What?”
“You must influence yourself so that you, as Stone, lose control and break my leg.”
As she stared into his eyes we felt a weight slip away, her heart suddenly lighter. Cassie giggled. “It’s a paradox but I love it - Jade gets to be responsible for breaking his leg two times!”
Robbie grinned back at her. “You’re close enough to Jade for you to do it, would you like to?” The sick feeling in her answered him and Jade giggled. She sent to Cassie a picture of our mental board and put a big tick on it for Robbie. We all laughed.
Robbie fixed the image of himself at the time of his arrival, walking on the wagon track towards the city and imagined Freddie arriving in the void. Freddie was jumped by the Wirms and we instantly searched for the Anadir and Sparklers. The Sparklers were not in sight, but we saw the Anadir Worlds in the distance. Robbie prepared a platform and five Anadir flew to the Worlds to warn them of their future while Spartans, with Leonidas, rushed off in the direction our Sparklers had arrived from.
Robbie left his body, as did Jade also, and they shot down towards the area Arrend should be. They returned with big smiles; we’ve arrived at the correct time. It means we have a couple of days to wait so we will not have to abandon the Anadir and Spartans. The Unation requested permission to send recording devices and we agreed with pleasure, we also want a copy of their recordings. Candy imagined the reaction of our Normals back at home when they see the video, with it ending as the zeppelin explodes with Robbie and Jade on board. She pleaded with Robbie and Jade to hide when we get back so that they come to the wrong conclusion. We allowed ourselves the nasty luxury of imagining how they would feel and then put away that idea. There are some Normals who love them and they would suffer, so we cannot do it. Empathia also pointed out that some of the non-Cherinian Talents might see it as the opportunity to create trouble. In my book, Empathia’s warning would have convinced me to play the trick, if it was not for those who will suffer. I’d love to flush the troublemakers out of hiding.
By the way, we were not the only ones in shock, so was everyone else. We had not really believed this reality exists and to find ourselves here is going to take some time for us to adjust. We really live in a miraculous Syncosmi!
We would have loved to ‘share’ with Arrend and Stone (the originals) but, although they do not seem to have any Cherinian abilities, their gifts might be dormant and be brought to the fore by us sharing, so we will only watch from the large screens. Half the screens will show Stone and half Arrend, merging whenever they are together.
We watched with great interest, simultaneously re-calling from memory what we’d already shared with them. If anyone has not tried switching from one sharing to the other a number of times within minutes, they are in for a bit of a shock. I found myself disorientated and my mind becoming fizzy by the fourth change and limited myself to one change of sharing per hour or major shift in interest. Of course most of us shared Jade’s memories when she broke the leg of Arrend while Robbie grabbed the opportunity to share with her as he carried her soul to Earth for her to influence herself. Somehow she set herself into a dispassionate mood, as if not directly taking part. If she had not, I doubt she could have provoked the rage in Stone. Robbie and Cherine wanted to be at the scene to watch Stone ride under her horse so Haven demanded to go with. All three of them flooded Jade with so much admiration and love when they returned that she hid her face in her hair. What nearly had her lips trembling were the feelings from Cherine. I wonder what happened to our Cherinian empathy when we saw Stone cutting the legs of soldiers to her right and left.
7022
We loved watching, but we did not want to spend over a year doing so, so we would jump forward in time whenever both of them had nothing of importance happening to them. Despite that, we were in this reality for over four months before we reached the moment of embarkation. Less than a minute before the explosion, Anadir, Spartans and Robbie jumped to the zeppelin, grabbed their allocated person (one of them had to grab a cat that lives on board) and they were returned close to the city of Prince Edward. To make up for the shock, we sent our healers to rid them of all health problems. Of course Arrend and Stone had to be left on the ship to die so that they could return to us. Neither of them wanted us to directly share with their alter egos, but we just had to. We all wept as we felt their sudden pain and the instant of terror.
Our tears soon changed to giggles at the reactions of those we’d saved when they suddenly found themselves on the road just outside the city. They did not know the zeppelin had exploded, so they could not find any reason for them having been removed from there and they were freaked out, attributing their sudden arrival on British soil to supernatural agencies - none of them included, as a possibility, that it was their God. Maybe it was because they did not know their lives had been saved. Finding the crew with them only confused them further and none of them found anything to agree about, showing anger so as to hide their fear. Ferdin recognised the city and told them where they are. Since most of the passengers and all the crew were German, their suspicions instantly flared and they determined amongst themselves that whatever had happened must be a plot by the English. They carefully skirted the impossibility of any of their fellow passengers having the power to snatch them from the zeppelin which had already been over the channel, to deliver them to the spot they’d so suddenly arrived at, for they were pleased that they had found ‘someone’ to blame for their plight. It was naughty of us, but we enjoyed listening to their explanations and some of them, in small private groups, had us in stitches as they came up with the wildest theories. Of course the truth was even wilder so none of them came close to guessing the truth. We could tell that our alien friends are very interested (and sometimes amused) by the theories being propounded and are keeping note of all that is said.
Ferdin was just as shaken as the rest of them, but he had to restrain his upper lip from curling in disdain at the accusations levelled at him and the few other British passengers, and with a rigid back he turned away from them and started walking towards the city. The walk took them about seven hours and by the time they arrived, the entire city knew of the explosion and deaths.
Ferdin went directly to the house of Stone and Arrend, washed, dressed and walked over to the palace. At the gate he asked for Swivin. When Swivin saw him, his face paled and then flushed in a white hot rage. He ordered the guards to arrest Ferdin and take him to be interrogated. With a vicious look he stuck his face within inches of a frightened and bemused Ferdin. “It is clear you were responsible for the poisoning of Arrend and your offer to travel with him was made for the purpose of placing explosives in the air ship. I’ll see to it that you pay for your treachery.” Ferdin had been deeply worried as to the reason why those two were the only ones not miraculously transported along with the rest of them, so the words of Swivin provoked feelings of guilt in him without reason (survivors guilt). Jade burst into laughter, showing a total disregard of empathy for hapless Ferdin that should have flooded her heart. She soon had us all laughing.
Robbie mock frowned. “We better return before they start to torture the poor man.”
Jade was still laughing. “What do we tell them? That we were just dreaming we were with them?”
With his heart in his eyes he replied, “It was one of my best dreams ever - for it taught me to love you in more ways than I ever had before.” Her laughter died and she stared into his eyes as she sent to him, with her heart aching from her love for him, *Me too.* Of course we all get affected by such moments and she was embraced (in turn) by all of us.
7023
Hand in hand, Robbie and Jade jumped to an empty corridor close to the entrance to the private chambers of Prince Edward. The guard at the door had not heard of their death, so he found it natural that they were answering a presumed summons by the prince (as far as he knew, they could only have arrived by him if they’d been passed through by other guards). He opened the door and announced their arrival, expecting an affirmative nod, giving permission for him to allow their entry. The looks he received from the prince and those within the room frightened and perplexed him.
“Are you drunk!?”
“No sir. They are waiting behind me.” He looked back to make certain and hesitated. “Sir, the artist is no longer limping.”
The voice of the prince was cold and hard. “Let them in, but stand beside them ready to arrest them on my command. I want to find out how they intend profiting by impersonating Arrend and Stone.” Swivin and another officer with him moved to protect their prince with their bodies as the guard made way for Robbie and Jade.
“What a welcoming! Are you so dissatisfied with your portrait that you wish to arrest me?” Robbie was wearing a very disrespectful grin as he entered. “I guess exaggerated reports of our deaths have already reached you?”
“How can you be alive? You were both seen entering the airship and the news of the explosion have been confirmed by different sources!”
Robbie bowed. “I regret the distress you’ve obviously experienced and we are touched that you have grieved the loss of friends, but as you see, we are alive. Would you like an explanation? All I’ll say while we are not alone is that we both remember our past now.”
His voice was curt. “How could that save you from the explosion? No bodies were found.”
“I know, they are all entering your city right now and the foreigners are very angry - they think they arrived here by some trickery of the British. I’m sorry to tell you I think you have a serious problem to deal with. If you’ll forgive my presuming, Prince Edward, I’d suggest you send officials to welcome them and provide some hospitality. They are tired and very frightened.”
Robbie and Jade had to recount various conversations with Prince Edward before he was convinced they were who they claimed and appeared to be. He then demanded to know how they’d escaped, but Robbie insisted he first send officials to house the other ex travellers. When he asked whether Ferdin had arrived, Swivin blushed and, excusing himself, rushed to order his release.
“Prince Edward, I am not being deliberately obstructive or disrespectful. What I have to tell you will have political repercussions and you’ll lose the advantage of being the first to negotiate with us, if you refuse us. We have no objections to Swivin being present; he is a good man and loyal to you and knows how to keep his mouth closed. If you do not object to my butler being brought to your private rooms, we’d like him to be with us. He is a wise old man and you could do worse than bring him to work for you in the palace.”
“First tell me the facts and we can discuss your recommendations once you have convinced us of your sincerity. Guard, send for Officer Swivin and stand outside once he has joined us.”
I sort of like Edward. He is atypical of most princes I’ve met. He rarely stands on ceremony in his private chambers, is a good judge of character and when he gives his trust he does not switch loyalties easily. For those who do not have dealings with princes, it may not have become obvious, but he is also different in some ways that might not be to his advantage. For instance, other princes have advisors, but I doubt any of them are as close to their military officers. From the way he talks to Swivin I suspect they grew up together and when they are alone they probably drop most of the formalities. There are kings and princes who do not allow such informality to their own families! He is a bit narrow-minded at times, but he is still young enough for us to hope for some improvements in that direction. I must not forget to add that I like his sense of humour. Edward contained most of his curiosity until Swivin arrived. He cocked an eyebrow at Robbie, giving him permission to speak.
7024
“I’ll address Swivin first as it may help both of you. Do you recall when you first met Stone and asked for her name? She mumbled something about a stone and you asked whether that was her name? Her real name is a kind of stone, may I introduce you to Jade, one of my wives.” He took Jade’s fingers to his lips and kissed them.
“One of your wives!? What do you mean?”
“I have over fifty wives.” Robbie laughed with delight at their facial expressions. “You’ll meet the rest of them soon. I am not a Moslem, just in case your mind went in that direction. The rest of what we have to tell you is far more shocking, so don’t concentrate on the number of wives I have - unless it is out of envy.”
Edward turned to Jade, his voice dry. “He is your husband? Am I wrong or is he insolently enjoying himself at our expense?”
“A little. His name is Robert. Robert Teller. What he told you about the number of his wives is true.”
“I would not have thought him man enough to handle one woman like you, never mind another fifty.” Robbie laughed aloud at the look on her face.
“What do you say to us asking Samantha to join us? Her appearance should be an effective shortcut.” *Not a chance in hell o’ great Pasha. I like Edward and Swivin, do it the long way and be nice.* His lips twitched. “She refuses to come. Okay, let me tell you about a certain precious little girl called Cherine.”
He told them and they did not believe. As a matter of fact, both Edward and Swivin were annoyed with him for taking them for fools. Robbie sent me a grin. “Prince Edward, please touch my hand.” Jade touched Swivin and they disappeared, for Edward had held back, wondering what Robbie intended.
Robbie sat down to reduce the fear he sensed in Edward. “Prince Edward, forgive me for speaking to you as one man to another, for no disrespect is intended. When I arrived here, I was a man without any memory of his past. I did not have any money or friends and I feared my future. I was fortunate that you happened to cross my path and not only gave me work, allowing me the opportunity to prove myself, but also grew to trust me enough for me to feel we are friends. You do not realise what an extraordinary man you are, there are not many princes with your open mind and ability to accept and give friendship. Being a prince has not spoilt you and that speaks well of your character. Such friends are rare and I treasure the closeness we had achieved. If you are thinking I hold any resentment for being imprisoned, then you must believe me to be a very shallow man. I give you my word that I intend you no harm. All I wish is to take you to my home to meet my family. You will be back in your palace within the hour - I guarantee you that as Arrend and as Robert.”
“How did they disappear?”
“There is a word for what happened, though I fear it may not exist here, we call it teleportation. It is the ability to think of where we want to be and be there within an instant.”
“You are not Satan? You would not admit it if you were.”
Robbie gets distracted far too easily. He thought of our imps and chuckled. “I am neither devil nor god, just an ordinary man who has been loved by goddesses. Wait until you meet the rest of them, I promise you, you will envy me with all your heart.” He sent to us that we should be adults when they arrive.
“You ask too much Arrend. You speak of the supernatural and then demand I trust you.”
We could feel him. There was no way he would trust Robbie enough to willingly allow him to touch him. Cherine caught us by surprise, jumping to them as an eight year old. He pulled back, as if the chair before him could afford him some kind of protection. He was close to panicking.
7025
“I am Cherine, the girl he told you about. I am going to send to you how I feel inside me so that you can know there is nothing to fear.” She sent not only love, but the kind of sweetness we normally only feel from Diana and Goldi. Even his fear could not blind him to what he was experiencing.
Stumbling, he moved to sit on the chair he’d used for protection, sinking into it heavily. “If that is the power of your magic, I am lost.”
Cherine moved towards him. “Thanks to you, our Robert and Jade had a good and interesting life here and all the family and our friends are grateful to you. Please stand up. You are a prince and I want my family to see a prince who does not fear anyone.” Her face softened. “We are aware of how terrifying it must be for you, but if you are brave for a short time, you’ll see for yourself that we truly are friends.” She leant over and kissed his cheek, emoting love again. Tears came to his eyes. “Oh god.” He let her take his hand and came to his feet, towering over her.
He said what he knew Cherine would want to hear, “I would prefer to go with you as a friend, not as a prince.”
Irene had already brought Ferdin and discovering Swivin with us, he almost clung to him as he stared wide-eyed at all of us, barely aware of the strange environment he found himself in. Prince Edward, Cherine and Robbie appeared and he relaxed slightly.
We’d all intended giving a little curtsy when introduced, but Dommi leant over to kiss his cheek. “Welcome Edward, friend of our Robert and Jade.” We took our cue from her and did the same. He stood like a creature mesmerised and incapable of believing his eyes. Robert took his arm and led him to a seat by a table that had a glass of whiskey waiting for him.
Robbie did not hide the amusement in his voice, “I warned you.” Some of us giggled.
“They all love you?”
Tongue in cheek he replied, making fun of himself, not us, “Oh yes! They adore me. Hard to imagine eh?”
Swivin had recovered his poise at the sight of his prince and moved to stand beside him protectively. Edward looked up at him. “Relax, we are here as equals.”
“Never that my prince.”
“As children, you beat me up often enough and as an adult you’ve protected me faithfully. Swivin, if they wished to harm me, what could you do?” He chuckled. “What makes you think I want to be protected from such a beautiful group of ladies?” Alki laughed the loudest and everyone relaxed, ready now to treat him as an ordinary but gallant man who is liked by all of us.
We talked for a couple of hours, then Maria brought out a meal fit for a king and then, they, Robbie and just a few of us, nibbled cheeses and sipped some of our Sister Chara wine. Prince Edward sat back and looked at our sky. “What are those things?”
“As zeppelins are airships, so are these spaceships, built or grown to travel from planet to planet. They belong to other species.” Robbie cocked his head. “We intended briefing you about them soon, as we cannot ask them to stay hidden indefinitely. Prince Edward, over the years we have made friends with many different species. Some of them may seem terrifying, but all of them are Cherinians and friends of our species. Iona, why don’t you visit us?”
She suddenly appeared on the table, close to Allan. She ran up his arm and perched on his shoulder. She lovingly caressed his cheek a moment and then spoke, “Welcome Prince Edward. I am Iona, a female child of my species and sister of Kikibiqua, known to your species as Allan.”
“I am honoured to meet you Iona. How is it that you and …Allan are sister and brother?”
“My father had died and I was grieving. Allan felt my pain and tried to heal me with his love.”
Edward relaxed, his voice softer, “He must be a special man. How big are you as an adult?”
“May I stay a child and allow my father to show you?”
“Your father?”
She was grinning mentally. “My brother pleaded for Robert to bring him back to me, so he did.”
Gradually the three of them were introduced to our alien friends. Robbie asked isi-mi to be one of the last. “Prince Edward, I now have a very special species to introduce you to. They are called the Inguel and one of their children is my daughter. I am mother to her. isi my love, will you come to me?”
By now they were inured to the shock of seeing the most outrageous forms and they politely greeted our isi. As she talked and emoted, they sensed her sweetness and soon forgot her insect like appearance. She explained about their souls and why Robbie became her mother.
“You are able to change your appearance at will?”
“Watch me.” First he aged himself, became a child of about ten and only then did he change to another species. He became an Elipian. Stunned by his beauty and grace they stared open-mouthed. “The true Elipians are on their way to meet you. Wait until you meet them, they are an amazing species.” Robbie changed back and sat down. “Now, let me tell you about the void.” They then met the Anadir and Spartans and they were thoroughly cowed by their awe. At that moment Robbie called for the Wirms and Freddie was filled by their joy as they appeared.
Pretending cheekiness I asked him, “Edward, do you think your world will welcome them?”
He shook his head. “Many will fear them, unless they are able to sense them as we did. Perhaps even then.”
“We wish to ask of you a favour. Since your elder brother is first in line to become king and you may not find your duties as prince as onerous as they’ve been in the past, would you agree to our appointment of you as ambassador of all Cherinians?”
He looked to Robbie, who laughed. “That’s our Samantha. Whatever she asks, she does so on behalf of all of us.”
“I would be honoured Samantha.”
“I doubt it. It is more likely you will be reviled as traitor of your species - until they come to understand what our arrival at your planet means for them.”
“It would still be an honour.”
“You are gracious sir.” None of us indicated that we had sensed his fear. “It might make it easier if we first appear unannounced, meet the leaders of various nations and as part of our negotiations I ask for you to be our ambassador. By then they might not fear us to the same extent and be envious of your appointment.” We had already promised to do a telling for them, starting the next day, and I was in a mood to tease. “We are curious as to your real opinions of Arrend and Stone. What did you really think of them and why did you give them such easy access to your confidence?”
He gave Robbie an apologetic grimace. “I admired the talent of Robert and I liked him. Whatever advice he gave me, I knew he might be impractical most of the time, but it was honestly given, so I listened and only adopted or allowed his influence to affect me in that which made sense to me. The truth is, the one I truly valued and listened most closely to was Jade - despite her being as naïve as a child in some areas. She was usually practical and down to earth and Swivin and I believed she could weave strategies that would tie in knots the best strategists of any country. When she helped defend us from Lord Gavah, I asked Swivin to find out what reward she would find acceptable. I’d hoped to confiscate part of the estate of Lord Gavah and present it to her. Her reply caused us great distress, for it left us with no way to show our gratitude and we remained obliged to her. She asked that we cancel the proposed award ceremony - or rather, that we do not include her as a recipient. Other than that, she declared herself satisfied if she could retain her position in my service.”
7027
He remained silent a while and we could sense he needed to speak so we waited. “The division of our country did not result in prince trying to assassinate prince as the treaty would not allow any principality to grow in size or influence. It did not prevent attempts by ambitious aristocrats who translated in their minds our position as princes, as being positions of weakness. Lord Gavah was a serious threat as he was acting with the support of another prince who is cousin to me. Robert was a good influence on me and he made me think deeper at times than I might have, but the presence of Jade was pivotal. Without her brash interference I would not be sitting here with you. I believe other plans to replace me have been shelved until they’ve ascertained she has moved on.”
All us girls voiced our appreciation of his acumen in realising how special our Jade is, without allowing him to sense our amusement and the jokes that were flying among us about Robbie. As usual, Robbie cut short our fun. He knelt before Jade and took her hands in his. “I am so proud of you my heart could burst. You truly are my better half.” I am not going to try to describe her emotions. Afterwards, only half joking, Cassie told her that since she is the better part of Robbie, she is allowed to choose Robbie as her special for the night. We enthusiastically agreed and she was a really happy girl for days.
Having given notice that there would be a telling, everyone made arrangements to be free to share. We do not have tellings that often anymore and they all wanted to be a part of it. As a rough guide for you Arthur, think of each of your books as being presented over three nights, each telling taking about five hours. Since there is much you have left out, you have no clue as to how the girls have to compress and use only the highlights - good or bad. From the second to the fourth telling, we felt the embarrassment in Edward grow, but we did not give him an opportunity to apologise. Only Robbie has the right to do so.
Robbie, carried away by his liking for his friend, decided to be a spoilsport. He took him for a short walk and spoke once they were out of earshot. “Prince Edward, may I address you as Edward only? There are so many with titles in Freddie, that life would become boring and stilted if I had to use them for all.”
“I have already agreed to come here as just a friend. Please do.”
“You do know what the girls are all expecting me to do?”
“I haven’t a clue - about what?”
“About you. They expect me to apologise every time you try to, so that you give up. It not only amuses them but, for some reason, it is seen by our friends, aliens and Terran, as an aspect of myself that they love. You are embarrassed by your comments with regard to myself as Arrend. Please do not be, you were deliberately set up by Samantha. She suspected how you felt and knew that once you realised the role I’ve played in the growth of our people, of all species, you would be embarrassed. As Arrend I was exactly what you said. As Robert, I am not as you are beginning to think of me, so no apology is needed. There never is a need for apologies when the truth is spoken.”
“But...all the things you did…”
“Please do not confuse what I am as a person with what my powers make of me.”
He stopped and stared at Robbie, obviously jolted back to reality. “Are you truly that blind? The man you are because of your powers are one with the man you always were. If not, then explain why you did not become a Doris?”
“With Cherine as my source?”
7028
“That is too glib an answer, she was a child, she loved you and could have easily been manipulated by you.”
Robbie shook his head. “No, that which is the nature of Cherine, that cannot be manipulated. I would have destroyed her and lost my link that gave me powers.”
Edward looked at him strangely. “For a man who prides himself on his honesty, even should it cause him pain, it is amazing how dishonestly you face all you should take pride in. Cherine could not have made you become the person you are. She could not have turned you into the impractical dreamer you are - and you are you know, whatever else it is I am to see in the future tellings, that much is already obvious. I look forward to learning how it is you managed to succeed despite your drawbacks.”
Robbie frowned at him. “Damn! I should have played the apology game with you, it would have been safer for me. Share with me what Cherine is emoting thanks to your words - that all my loves are.” As Robbie opened to him Edward collapsed to his knees, transported to a world of emotions he’d never sensed before.
Here is the strange part. Although Robbie promised he would be back in his palace within the hour and he did not know of alternate realities and our ability to jump in time, the days going by did not fill him with unease, he still believed Robbie would keep his word somehow. It is certain that even should he have no way to return earlier, he would not begrudge one second of his stay with us. He is not just enthralled by the telling or by Freddie. He has shown a rare ability to be a friend to those species most Terrans avoid, because of their similarity to creatures of our world that are considered dangerous or unclean. As for Iona, her new place of pride is his shoulder and the first time she caressed his cheek, emoting her feelings, his heart sent her love without him really noticing, just as if she were a Terran child.
Swivin has not opened to us the way we’d hoped he would. It could be that seeing his prince so enraptured forces him to hold back. We do not understand why he avoids Stone (as he still thinks of her when she is not a little girl). As for Ferdin, he has become a close friend of Alki and it is not a rare sight to see the two of them deep in conversation with Leonidas. His questions are wise, but almost none of them have to do with Cherinianism, he mostly is interested in learning what drives the Normals of our Earth, as if he is hoping to learn of social customs that can help advance the people of his country. Perhaps the tellings will open his heart and mind to new ways of thinking.
7029
I’m going to quickly change the subject, I’ve had enough of his mood - whatever it is. Edward did not need more than the lessons the old man sent Robbie on, after he’d given them a lot of thought, for him to become his most fervent admirer. He now listens to every word Robbie speaks as if he is the Delphic oracle. Robbie has withdrawn and is careful not to say much, apart for asking for a coffee now and then.
This must have been one of our loveliest tellings. I think the girls were mostly concentrating on Edward and his feelings affected them. I’m certain it says something about the possible future of inter species relationships, for this time all species seemed to feel the same way we did about the tellings. Our interactions and sharing of so many experiences must be drawing us closer so that they can share even the nuances of our family relationships, as we are also beginning to share some of what is important to them.
As the tellings progressed we’ve noticed that Swivin no longer spends all his time protecting his prince. Whether Edward noticed or not we do not monitor. Swivin is not just a typically simple military mind and much of what he saw troubled him deeply. Even though Jade mostly stayed at the apparent age of seven-to-eight, he started to seek her out and they went for long walks. What he has seen, the principles he sees rule us, they have found an echo within his own heart and he yearns to live his life according to the way he sees life now, but his sense of duty towards his prince brings them to a conflict with his traditional ideas and he cannot reconcile them. Jade found simple ways to open him to new ways of thinking where few reconciliations are required. Jade asked Haven and Robyn to share, in the hope they will contribute their own thoughts. The result was that Haven wandered around deep in thought for days, slightly shifting her own conceptions and achieving a healthier balance. Robyn just stayed Robyn, but she remained closely linked to Haven in case she is needed.
“Well Samantha, how do you plan to alter my world? Am I allowed to know in advance?” Robbie hid his smile and gave me the go-ahead.
“In almost every reality we’ve been to, up to now, Great Britain has played too important a part in the history of the world for their influence not to be felt in a planetary sense. Somehow your world came up with a new twist, resulting in great changes. I do not want to influence your world so that patterns established elsewhere are mimicked by your planet, as I see too much that I like here.
There is an injustice that must be rectified. Your country must become one again - although attitudes I’ve sensed suggest that the Welsh, Scottish and Irish will not want to be part of the United Kingdom. That is up to your countrymen to negotiate - perhaps finding a compromise that provides you with the strength of unity while allowing each of the people to maintain their own culture and a voice in matters that affect them. We’ll have to return the three of you and then Freddie will appear in your skies. We’ll broadcast our messages of peace and our wish to meet your people. Edward, we will not favour any particular nation, apart from the minor ways we have favoured Greece in other realities. As a neutral party, we hope to convince the Europeans they must relinquish their stranglehold on Britain.”
“Mrs Samantha Teller, if I may request clarification on what may be a minor point to you?” I nodded, long since having given up on convincing Ferdin he should just call us by our first names - as a butler he found the idea distasteful and reeking of disrespect. “What of our technology? You’ve shown us that you have brought the technology of your partners from other solar systems to similar Earths not as advanced as yours. Are we to be exempted?”
7030
“What would you prefer? Do you think of the possibility as an exemption or as holding your people back?”
He glanced at Edward who nodded for him to answer. “Surely that depends on whether suitable people of our world will be linked as Cherinians? If yes, then as an exemption; if not, then as holding us back. To further increase the complexity, should none of us be linked, I think that only some of the advanced technology should be made available - only that which will free us from constant toil so that we grow. Such a selective advance would be considered by myself as an exemption.”
“Edward, Swivin, do you agree with him?”
“I see why Robert suggested we bring Ferdin as advisor to the palace. He has stated our position succinctly.” Swivin also agreed.
Robbie asked, “Cherine, would you like to answer the first part of his question?”
“I do not sense that the people of this reality are any more or less suitable to be linked as Cherinians. The question is, how do we do it if they do not have their own Cherine and Robert?”
Robbie asked, “Do you feel there is a reason why they should not have a Teller family?”
She nodded. “I’ve not sensed they want one. Perhaps they fear Cherinians would alter the political balances to their disadvantage.”
“Edward?” I prompted.
“I am embarrassed if that is the impression we’ve given. We just never dared dream you would consider it.”
“Robert?” I asked.
“We’ve already established certain rules. I consider it not only highly unlikely, but even impossible that a Robert and Cherine are to be born in this reality. What we do need to establish is whether their souls exist. If they do, then we’ll have to divert them from whatever their futures would have been so that they become the Robert, Cherine, Alki and so on of this reality.” We sensed Empathia, so Robbie asked, “Empathia?”
“I would prefer to use the Jina program, only announcing ourselves when the time is right.”
Gina flushed, flattered but embarrassed. “If you want to call it a program then you should use the correct name. I only copied what Kiris did.”
All three guests of this reality want a Teller family for their world. We cannot consider the decision as being unanimous as they only represent a tiny segment of the populations and nations of their world, but we cannot ask the others at this stage. The responsibility is always ours, even if we asked a hundred government leaders, so we can only hope that their agreement is the attitude most would take if they become as enlightened as these three. As most will love to split hairs and accuse us of being biased by calling these three enlightened, perhaps we should just accept all responsibility without any excuses.
It has been decided that Stone and Arrend will return, pretending the same amazement and puzzlement as the other survivors and go to Germany as had been planned. If they, with any allies found among the Europeans, can bring the necessary changes, that will be one less imposition, as it would be considered if we request it.
We thought that since we will be in the same reality, Freddie would regulate our day and night time so that it coincides with those of Robbie and Jade for them to spend nights in our beds. Dommi put her arm around Jade and Cherine quickly joined them as they approached Robbie.
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)- posted: 29th May, 2020
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