Charlie Boone
by Geron Kees
Life Is Like A New Suit of Clothes, Charlie Boone! - Chapter 8
They were still seated in the command chamber of Investigator, but now they roamed in mind in a group within Charlie's second presence. Perhaps not surprisingly now, Amtapora, Grim, and Castor were along for the ride with them. The link they had established with the quantum minds, and the less easily described mind that was Castor, seemed to now be permanently open to them if they desired it. It did not provide communication in words with the alien shipmind, nor the entity from the island of Mnidoo Mnis, but it did heighten their ability to interpret what Amtapora and Castor were trying to tell them, and both communications could be assisted by Grim, who very much understood human language.
"I still see a sphere," Rick argued. "Or, maybe it's better to day that what appears to my eyes is a sphere."
"Your brain can only interpret shapes in three dimensions," Grim pointed put. "My analysis of the object before us indicates it may not be as smooth as it looks."
Charlie could sense Rick's confusion, and, indeed, shared some of that himself. "You're speaking topologically?" he finally asked.
"Yes." The quantum mind's satisfaction with Charlie's question seemed obvious. "A true circle is smooth, in that its edge is continuous and formed with no bends, gaps, kinks, or corners. A sphere presents the same way, but with one more dimension. In both instances, the edges are utterly smooth. That would not seem to be the case with the object before us."
"Then why does it look smooth?" Robin asked.
"It's a matter of scale. The object is of such great size, and you are limited by the resolution of your eyesight, that it must appear smooth to you. However, my senses, and those of Investigator, are much finer. We find that, on a scale not obvious to your eyesight from any distance, the surface edge of this object possesses many tiny angles, kinks, and sharp edges that are essential to its shape and cannot be smoothed out."
"That would explain the sense of chaos I got from observing it up close," Charlie said.
Robin uttered a strange mental sound that came across very much like a surprised whistle. "So...what? It's like a fractal?"
"In some respects, yes," Grim returned. "It is topologically a sphere, but differentially can never be one. It's possibly a four-dimensional exotic sphere, somehow manifested here as a three-dimensional object. This object has no truly solid surface here in our space. Studies have determined that four-dimensional space comes in a variety of forms topologically identical to normal space, but each represents what is essentially an alternate reality to the others."
Charlie took a breath. "If I entered such an object in my second presence state, it could then simply turn me back the way I came?"
"There are actually a myriad of solutions for such an event, depending on where you entered, but only if you had done so physically. You could have found yourself in another location of our own universe, or any area in a number of alternate realities sponsored in four-dimensions, or at any point in time between the creation and end of this universe, or another. But your second presence is rooted in your physical manifestation in this universe, and is unable to be separated from your physical self. So, you were simply treated in the least complex manner possible, which was to deny you entry at all. But your second presence was not turned about, so to speak. It was reversed through itself, resulting in motion directly back along its original path."
"So the barrage the Loturi were loosing on the defense wasn't just absorbed or ignored," Rick said. "All that energy simply went somewhere else, without ever being a threat to the planet below."
"That would be my assessment."
Adrian sighed across the mental link. "There's that beer again."
Amy laughed. "You're not the only one! And I don't drink!"
"I don't think any of us are going to understand this well," Charlie said. "Maybe even not at all. In fact, that these fifth-order minds can get this stuff and even manipulate it to their needs suggests a difference in viewing the universe that simply awes me. I don't think for a moment that we can follow what they've done here."
"We don't need to know how they did it," Browbeat suggested. "Just how we can get around what they did!"
"That is actually a realistic statement," Grim conceded. "Armed with the knowledge that this is not a conventional defense at all, we must now come up with an unconventional means of circumventing it."
"It seems clear we can't go through it," Charlie said. He smiled to himself. "So, like you say, the only alternative I can see would seem to be to go around it."
"And how would you do that?" Rick asked. "If this is not a three dimensional structure, just finding a way around it might take a lifetime!"
"I sense this defensive globe as cold and indifferent," Amy said then. "It seems not to really be there, even though I can see it with Kip's filter. And, now that I look at the planet beyond it again, its feel somehow doesn't jibe with what I am seeing of it."
"I feel from this defense some sense that reminds me of Gretchen," Horace added. "Or maybe Pyewacket. There is something very personal about this globe that is not really there. Could that be because it is made from the thoughts of real beings, these Ardvoon?"
"I know what it reminds me of," Browbeat offered then. "It has a feel like of some of the new realities I visited in the lower level, made by people who really weren't very good at it yet. Almost like it was put together in a big hurry, without enough thought about what it was supposed to do."
"There's an idea," Horace answered. "Beings as able as these Ardvoon are still products of our own universe. Whatever this defense is, they have borrowed it from elsewhere, so to speak, and maybe that means they really aren't very good at building such a thing yet."
"There is a big difference between them and the hernacki," Kip agreed. "The hernacki are not products of our universe at all. They transcend all the universes out there, if Keerby is to be believed, and so their power to manipulate all of them, and to understand them, would be greater than beings born of a single universe."
"Not very good at it," Charlie repeated. He laughed. "It's kind of hard to grasp the idea that people that could create something like this defense sphere really weren't very good at doing it. But, it does suggest that they may not have thought of all the ways someone else might get around it, too."
Robin's thought sounded curious. "You have something in mind, Charlie?"
"Maybe. How about we all return to the ship and discuss this? We'll need to do some serious thinking if we are to try the idea I have just now."
"We could get something to eat, too," Rick suggested, a smile among his thoughts. "Lunch seems like ages ago!"
"That's my Ricky-tick!" Adrian sent, sounding happy.
Charlie turned his second presence about, and the distant globe of Investigator quickly grew, until they were returned once again to the command chamber within.
"I am fed, and so able to resume battle," Rick said later, after a good meal. He patted his belly and grinned. "Lead on, McGruff."
Adrian smiled and rolled his eyes fondly, but didn't say anything, by now used to his boyfriend's insistence on associating a certain crime dog with the Bard of Avon.
The food supplied by their new vessel was growing on them. Charlie wasn't so certain now that adding pizza to their stores would really be that huge an improvement over some of the tasty exotic dishes they'd been eating of late, though he was not about to voice that sentiment aloud. A guy had to look out for his safety!
Robin made an impatient sound. "You were saying you might have an idea, Charlie?"
Charlie took a moment to look around the command chamber. They still seemed to be floating on a platform in space, with the planet nearby, and the bright orbs of the four Loturi vessels to the other side of them. The distant stars presented in uncounted numbers, the vast spaces between them seemingly made small by distance and perspective. The universe was enormous, and it was just one of...how many?
He sighed, his thoughts coming back to this tiny part of this universe. "The Cooee," he said, looking around at the others.
Everyone stared at him a moment, before Browbeat tittered. "Of course!"
Kippy turned his head to look at the small flyer. "Of course, what?"
But Browbeat was not to be deterred in his glee. "Of course...whatever Charlie says next!"
That brought some smiles, and caused Kippy to reach up to scratch the flyer's brisket with a finger.
Robin narrowed his eyes in thought. "Are you suggesting we somehow go through the Cooee to get around this defense?"
Charlie shrugged. "The Cooee is a mirror universe to our own, a coordinate-for-coordinate duplicate. There's the matter of the lack of time progression there, and the fact that dark matter is the norm and that there's very little of the normal matter we're used to. And some of that was placed there by people like the Madracorn." He held up a hand. "Traveling through the Cooee allows us to get to places in our own universe by ducking into that universe, traversing the distance to our desired coordinates in no-time, and then reemerging into our own universe. As such, that method of travel should circumvent anything that manifests in this universe, even this weird defense the Ardvoon have come up with."
"But you need a ship to do that," Rick pointed out.
Charlie smiled, and looked around the command chamber. "And a fine one we have here, too."
"There's a problem with that idea," Robin said, watching him with interest. "You can't go into or emerge from the Cooee near a gravity well. In fact, you need to be a good distance from any to go back and forth between the two universes."
Charlie nodded. "True. A gravity well will deform the matrix needed to get into and out of the Cooee."
Robin sighed, looking like he thought Charlie was playing with him. He turned and waved a hand at the nearby world. "Planet? Gravity well?"
Charlie leaned forward to smile. "Handling gravity is a skwish talent. Max can do it, Pacha can do it--"
"--and we can't do it!" Rick interrupted, shaking his head. "And, besides, both Max and Pacha do it on a fairly limited level. I don't know that either of them could handle countering the gravity of an entire planet."
"I know. I'm not talking about enlisting them. I'm supposing that we can come up with a way to do this ourselves."
Rick's eyebrows were not the only ones to bounce upwards.
"My acquaintance with gravity is that if you miss a step, you fall on your face," Horace said, not unkindly.
Amy laughed and dropped a hand on his arm, to squeeze it affectionately. "We've all done that!"
Charlie smiled. "I confess that my own acquaintance with the rascally old fella isn't much better." He nodded. "We'd have to learn, I guess."
Robin frowned at him a moment, and then smiled. "Amtapora?"
Charlie nodded. "You're not so slow, after all. Yes, I was thinking that Amptapora probably knows more about gravity than any of us. And, he's a telepath, even if we can't directly mind-touch. But we have Grim and Castor to assist us. I'm hoping it won't be as difficult as you think."
Robin offered a toothy smile. "I'm game. I'm just hoping it's not as hard as Horace thinks!"
"Me, too," Charlie agreed. "We only need to counteract the gravity of the planet for the very short period of time it will take to go into and re-emerge from the Cooee. Just long enough to get inside this barrier. That seems to me, at least, to simplify the problem."
Amy smiled at him. "So that brings the job down from impossible to almost impossible?"
Robin beat Charlie to an answer. "We have the knowledge that manipulating gravity can be done, because Max and Pacha'ka can do it. That means it's not impossible at all."
"What if this protection goes all the way down to the planet's surface?" Rick asked. "There would be no way to transition to the other side in Investigator."
Charlie shook his head. "That seems not to fit with what Grim told us about the defense. He said it has influence in our universe, but no real physical presence here at all, like in something you can touch. It would be something you enter, not lay a hand upon, not a thing so much as a condition of space-time. That would seem to imply to me something local, that the defense is like the skin of a balloon, simply interposed between us and the planet. It only needs to be there at all to do what it does." He sighed. "But this is something we'll talk about more with Amtapora, Grim, and Castor."
"Whoo-hoo!" Browbeat called, looking happy. "We might actually be able to do this!"
Charlie smiled. "One other thing. I was thinking of bringing Chi Baradee in on this. That would probably entail bringing at least one officer from Anon's ship to accompany her."
Kippy smiled at him. "I think that's a good idea. This is their problem, after all."
"Can't hurt," Adrian agreed.
"You hope," Rick added, looking not at all sure like he thought it was a good idea.
Adrian leaned over in his seat to kiss his boyfriend's cheek. "Trust me."
Rick wasted no time in smiling, and returned the kiss promptly. "Okay, I will."
It was Second Captain Rorna that accompanied Chi Baradee aboard Investigator. As First Captain, Anon said he was unable to leave his command, but that he felt confident that Rorna would be an able representative. Kippy teleported to Roorisk to pick up the pair of Loturi, and soon they were all positioned in a comfortable arc among the seats of Investigator's command chamber. The members of Charlie's group the Loturi hadn't met yet were introduced, and Baradee and Rorna introduced to them. A moment of silence followed, as the visitors looked curiously around the command chamber. Rorna's eyes moved everywhere, obviously impressed with the amazing view around them, but also holding some puzzlement at the lack of instrumentation and a larger support crew. But he refrained from asking the questions his eyes so clearly revealed, sitting quietly and allowing Chi Baradee to open the conversation.
"We thank you for your assistance in this matter, and hope we can resolve this problem peaceably." She looked around the command chamber. "Quite a view you have here."
"It's always nice to see what's going on around us," Charlie said, as if it were a trivial matter.
"It's an impressive vista," Rorna agreed then, staring at Charlie. "We have nothing like this in our own fleet."
"I'm sure you could have, if you so desired," Charlie replied. "And now, to the reason we have brought you here: we are working on a way to get to the surface of the planet beneath us."
Rorna's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "That would seem to be impossible. We've been unable to analyze the defense, but it seems impenetrable."
"We aren't planning to penetrate it," Robin spoke up. "We are considering a way to go around it."
"Around it." Rorna repeated the words as if they held some sort of magical power. "And how do you propose to do this?"
Chi Baradee held up a hand. "We are not here in pursuit of secrets," she reminded her companion. "We are here in pursuit of a way to speak with the Kawisp."
The Second Captain turned to gaze at her. "Naturally, if we can bypass this defense, we will be in a position to do exactly that."
"That's all you want to do, is to speak to the Kawisp?" Kippy asked.
Rorna gave him a matter-of-fact look. "We want to stop them from passing the information they have stolen to the Abask." He gave his head a brief nod. "If talking will accomplish that, I am all for it."
"And if talking will not accomplish that?" Amy asked.
"We have no designs on the Kawisp," Baradee stated firmly. "Just on the information they carry. This is one reason I am along on this mission."
Charlie's interest rose a notch at that. "Oh? Will you share how that might assist us?"
The old woman stared at him searchingly a moment before smiling. "I like what I sense about you, Commander Boone. You're a fair man, and I sense you mean what you say. So, I'll tell you." She leaned closer to Charlie. "One of my talents is an ability to recognize data patterns in an electronic digital form, and to disrupt them. All I need do is get close enough to the Kawisp to sense the information they carry, and then I will simply destroy it for all time."
Rick offered Charlie an interested look at the admission. "That's a talent I've never seen before."
"But one that obviously has value," Horace suggested. He cocked his head at the Loturi woman. "You can sense digital data streams everywhere you go?"
The old woman frowned at that. "Significantly, I sense none here aboard your vessel, if that's what you mean. Your systems are either magnificently shielded, or you are using some other form of communication to tie your technology together."
Charlie turned his head slightly towards Kip, and his boyfriend nodded at him. "She's telling the truth," he sent by mind-touch.
"That's an interesting fact," Charlie returned. "But something I think I sensed by the telepathic nature of Amtapora. I believe the people that built this ship had unheard-of technological means to replicate and share thought that would be a mystery to non-telepaths. Their machines are linked by telepathic means, a network that the crew apparently shared in."
Kip gave a mental sigh. "There's a lot to explore here, my love."
"And we have time, Kip. Plenty of time."
"You have us at a disadvantage," Chi Baradee said then, watching them closely. "Your telepathic abilities allow you to share plans that Rorna and I cannot participate in." A sense of disapproval seemed to come with her words, almost as if she had caught Charlie and Kip whispering behind her back.
Charlie nodded. "It's our nature, and not something designed to deceive you. Comparing notes is automatic with us."
The woman nodded, allowing a small amount of humor to shine through. "It's a good thing I like and trust you, Commander Boone. So, I won't mention this subject again."
"Thank you, Chi Baradee. And may I say that those feelings are reciprocated?"
Second Captain Rorna blinked his eyes through his dark mask, something that made the naval officer appear quite innocent and cute to Charlie's way of seeing things. He had to remind himself that the human love of furry critters needed to be balanced against the fact that the Loturi were an advanced, star-faring people, with goals of their own. Still, he had to smile at the way the man affected him.
"We wish to accomplish our aims peacefully, if possible," Rorna followed with. "Anon gave me strict instructions to cooperate with you in every way possible, but to use my own judgment in making final decisions." He turned to his companion. "I very much trust Chi Baradee's abilities. If she is of a mind that working with you is the best way to accomplish our goals, you will find complete support from me."
Chi Baradee looked pleased by that, and smiled at Charlie. "So...what do you plan to go around this alien defense?"
"We were thinking of making a very small transition through the Cooee...um, through darkspace, to get inside the planetary defense."
Rorna immediately looked skeptical. "The initiation matrix will be distorted by the planet's gravity well. Most likely you will be unable to enter darkspace at all. But if you do, you may wind up anywhere, or nowhere!"
"We understand that. It was our plan to shield the initiation matrix from the planet's gravitational well."
The Loturi officer leaned back in his seat. "Is that possible?"
"We think so," Kip said. "There are members of our people not here with us now who can manipulate gravity. We know it's possible. We are considering ways to birth that talent in ourselves."
Chi Baradee gasped. "You mean to create new talents you do not possess at this time? But...we are each born with the talents we have! They bloom throughout our lives, but it has always been thought that they were there to begin with, and must simply mature over time."
Rick nodded. "But don't you have talents now you were not aware you had when you were young?"
"Yes. But that was because they needed time to come to life!"
Robin shook his head. "We have found that circumstance and necessity can mother these new talents, as well. That those with ability already can actually learn new talents to fill a need for them. And, that a group working together can often produce results that an individual working alone might fail to accomplish."
Baradee nodded slowly. "You are telepaths, and I can see where the group mind concept might assist in areas that a lone mind may never reach on its own." She leaned forward. "Are you proposing to make me a part of such an experiment?"
Charlie nodded. "And Rorna, if he wishes."
The Second Captain looked surprised. "My abilities in that area are limited, I'm afraid."
"Maybe now," Browbeat said with confidence. "But when we're done, your skills may have grown a little."
The man looked startled by the idea, but then not unhappy at all with it. "I will assist in every way I can."
Charlie nodded, and established his second presence. His friends joined easily, and Chi Baradee, as well, once she was shown she could do it. Rorna had to be coaxed, almost led into it; but once a part of Charlie's presence, seemed to take to it naturally. "This is incredible!'
"It is quite beyond anything I have experienced, as well," Baradee agreed. "Who are these other presences I sense nearby?"
Charlie introduced Amtapora, Grim, and Castor by name, without stating that these were not life as the Loturi probably knew it.
Baradee took a startled breath, anyway. "I sense one of these intellects can communicate with me by language, but that the other two are so alien that language is impossible. These are other members of your crew, Commander?"
"Yes," Charlie answered, happy it was a basic truth and that he didn't have to lie. He wasn't sure that Baradee would feel deceit while part of his second presence, but he didn't want to test the theory.
"Amazing," she continued. "I have never sensed minds as alien as these. But I sense that this Grim can interpret for the others, somewhat?"
Charlie was surprised by how sharp the women's mind seemed to be. Among her own kind, she must be quite a talent, indeed. "Yes. Grim can better interpret what Amtapora and Castor wish to convey than we can. It may take some getting used to for you."
"I have no telepathic talent that I am aware of," Rorna said then. "Yet I am hearing your thoughts as cleanly as if you were speaking to me."
"This is an artificially created environment, one of my own talents," Charlie admitted. "Not only can we join in mind, but we can travel about together in thought."
"We can take you out to the Ardvoon defense, so that you can sense it yourselves," Kippy offered.
"I would love to go!" Baradee said then, her delight clear.
"I would be interested, as well," Rorna agreed, sounding excited now, too.
"Then we'll go," Charlie told them.
They swept out from the command chamber into space, and crossed to the Ardvoon defense in mere moments. Both Loturi issued mental cries of surprise, but Charlie immediately sensed that they were thrilled, and not at all fearful.
"I see nothing, though," Rorna told them, after they had arrived.
"I'll let you see with my filter," Kippy offered.
In an instant the defense became visible, looking again like a monstrous gray glass globe. Both Loturi issued amazed thoughts, but then quickly went silent as they studied the alien defense.
"A deceptive-looking thing," Baradee finally decided. "It offends my senses, somehow. It appears a globe, but something about it suggests it is something more convoluted than that."
"You're quite perceptive," Robin told her. "This object seems to be an exotic hypersphere of some sort, an object presenting in three-dimensions, but actually the product of a four-dimensional, or even higher-dimensional, universe."
"How can it then be here, then?" Rorna asked. "Our own universe would seem to be structurally incompatible with such a thing as this."
"The Ardvoon are fifth-order life forms," Horace reminded. "Not only were they able to conceive of such a thing, but they also found a way to turn it into a defense for their world."
"How does it work?" the second captain asked.
"It presents to our eyes as a sphere," Browbeat told him. "But it's really like a sphere that is layered and has been opened so that leaves spread out all around it. Each leaf addresses another point in space-time than where what we see is located. Maybe in our own universe, maybe in another, or even a different period of time in either, or neither. Your bombardment looks to your eyes to have been absorbed, but it's actually redirected to some other face of the leaf-sphere -- some other location, time, or dimension -- and so doesn't affect the planet below at all."
Charlie grinned inwardly at that. The little flyer had a quick mind, and he listened to everything they discussed. His grasp of things was at least on a par with their own, if not even greater!
Baradee must have sighed back aboard Investigator, something that appeared quite clearly in her thoughts. "What are your kind called?" she asked Browbeat.
The little flyer tittered happily in thought. "I'm a Pintuckin. And I'm pleased to know you and Rorna!"
"We are honored, as well," Rorna said. "This is simply an amazing experience!"
"So, if we tried to pass through this sphere physically...we would find ourselves elsewhere in time or space, or perhaps both?" Baradee asked.
"Yes," Browbeat went on. "The many opened leafs of the sphere are parts of its presence elsewhere, and elsewhen."
Rorna made an almost spluttering sound among his thoughts. "Then, there is no way to deal with this defense!"
"Not true," Robin countered. "We do think a transition through darkspace will get us inside the defense. In this way we won't interact with the sphere at all, and if we don't do that, none of its peculiarities can affect us."
"There's the matter of the planet's gravity affecting the transition matrix," Rorna reminded.
"A thought occurs to me, quite suddenly," Baradee broke in. "On how you managed to teleport to our vessel. You had used this very same talent we are all a part of now to visit our ship, unseen and undetected. You had actually been there, allowing you to teleport later to meet us!"
Kippy chuckled over his private mind-touch with Charlie. "She is sharp, isn't she?"
Charlie smiled inwardly. "I'll say!"
"It's true," Charlie agreed with the woman. "My talent allowed me to investigate your vessel before going there."
"Such a talent is dangerous!" Rorna decided, alarm invading his thoughts. "Were we enemies, you would have us!"
"But we're not enemies, and you have sensed you can trust us," Charlie immediately returned. "Having such a talent and not applying it to a situation like this would have been poor use of resources."
"We are not here to argue," Baradee said then, her touch surprisingly light. "Rorna, you have felt as well as I that our new friends can be trusted. Let us not damage that trust now!"
A brief flow of turbulent sensations arrived from the Loturi captain, and then were suddenly and completely suppressed. "I apologize," the Second Captain offered immediately. "I was reacting as a soldier would, not as a friend."
"There is no need to apologize," Charlie sent calmly. "We are new to each other's kind, and there will be a period of doubt. Working together to solve this problem will surely help with the trust issue."
He withdrew them then, and returned them to the command chamber of Investigator.
Baradee blinked at him from her seat, and smiled. "A most invigorating method of travel."
Rorna gazed at him solemnly. "I apologize for my outburst again, this time in person."
Charlie nodded. "I actually understand your surprise and doubt completely. As a commander, myself, responsible for the well-being of others that travel with me, such thoughts seem quite natural to me." He smiled. "We'll not let it bother us, okay?"
Rorna seemed to release his breath, and settled back more comfortably against his seat's invisible backrest. "A most comfortable couch you have here."
"Commander Boone," Grim spoke up then. "Amptapora has offered a suggestion for allowing us to transition inside the Ardvoon defense perimeter."
Rick offered a low whistle, obviously happy to move away from the brief tense moment with Rorna, "Well, let's hear it!"
Charlie nodded, "Go ahead."
"In respect to counteracting the gravitational influence of the Ardvoon world: Amtapora suggests it will be possible to do this by effecting an artificial curvature of local space-time equal to the influence of the planet's mass, at a point in space that will cause the gravitational forces to balance out at the face of the hypersphere. We can then make a transition through the defense without the transition matrix being distorted."
"Oh, is that all!" Rick replied, grinning.
"What does this mean?" Baradee asked.
"May I answer, Commander?" Grim asked.
Charlie waved a hand, smiling. "Oh, be my guest!"
"Variations in the gravitational field propagate as waves, affecting objects in space by causing the distance between two points to change slightly. When gravitational waves pass through space, they cause a dilation in one direction and a contraction at right angles to that direction. This means that objects in the path of these waves will experience a tiny stretching and squeezing as the waves propagate. Gravity is a geometric consequence of the properties of space-time in the neighborhood of attracting masses. Mass-energy tells space-time how to curve. Therefore, altering the mass-energy in a localized spot would, in turn, alter the curvature of space-time locally, thus changing the gravity in that area. The distribution of masses determines the curvature of space-time, and the motion of masses is determined by this curvature. By creating a mass-energy equivalent to the Ardvoon world at a distance that will cause each propagation of gravity to balance in the area of the defensive sphere, we should be able to perform a brief transition through darkspace that will leave us inside the perimeter."
Baradee turned to gaze, wide-eyed, at Rorna. "Does this mean anything to you?"
The man nodded. "Yes. It is also my understanding of how gravity propagates."
Baradee gave a little shrug, and turned back to Charlie. "Proceed."
"Thank you," Grim continued. "Gravity propagates at the speed of light. It will only take minutes for the two planet masses to balance out, which should have a nearly immeasurable impact on the Ardvoon world over time."
Charlie looked over at Robin. "Sounds energy-intensive."
The older man laughed. "You think?"
"How do you plan to power this experiment?" Charlie asked Grim.
"The gravitational field of a planet is a macroscopic effect resulting from its mass, and altering this field would necessitate manipulating space-time on a similarly large scale. The effect only needs to last long enough for the ship to make the transition inside the defense perimeter. From what Amptapora has learned of your abilities, he thinks that Kip and Adrian might be able to amass the needed energy to assist with this task."
It was all that Kip and Adrian could do to keep from looking aghast. The two stared at each other a moment, before Kip turned to Charlie."Um...we've helped to power many skwish effects before now," he offered slowly. "But this seems a little large for our abilities, don't you think?"
It was Grim that answered. "Amtapora only suggests that you try it. You must not mistake your talents for manipulating energy as being the same as acting as conductors of the forces you can add to a process. The amassing and directing of such forces is wholly external; otherwise, you would be consumed by the very forces you master."
"But I don't usually know where I am getting the energy I add to a skwish procedure," Adrian argued.
"I don't, either," Kip confirmed. "I've always just seen it as reaching out and grabbing hold of a sort of universal energy that seems to be everywhere."
"Amtapora thinks he can help you to better understand this process," Grim returned. "And perhaps master it, as well."
Adrian laughed. "That sounds better!"
Charlie shook his head now. "I don't want to get too technical on all this. I do like to know what the science is about, but not at the expense of confusing everyone involved." He smiled at Baradee. "I think the physics is less important than the results. So...perhaps we just stick to understanding what we need to do to get this done?"
The Loturi woman nodded. "I, for one, understand talents better intuitively, rather than seeing them as a product of science."
Adrian sighed, and smiled at Kip. "I'm thinking this job will require more than a couple of lightning bolts!"
"Amtapora will guide you," Grim told them. "He is even now settling in his mind the steps that need to be taken."
"How can we possibly assist with this?" Rorna asked Charlie. "It seems quite beyond our abilities."
"You will be a part of our group mental processes. Add whatever you think will help. You will further assist by being there and being ready to act once we have reached the planet. I have no idea how the Ardvoon will react to having their defense circumvented. Fifth-order beings are capable of a lot of mischief, when so inclined."
"They may do nothing at all," Robin suggested.
Charlie frowned at the older man. "What do you base that notion upon?"
"Elias. He said it was a trait of his people to observe others, but not to get involved in their affairs."
"They've already gotten involved, by protecting the Kawisp," Adrian pointed out.
"Yes, but this defense may have been a sort of knee-jerk response, and that's as far as it will go. They may have only done what they have done because it amounted to holding off an outside influence on their own world. I can see them initially protecting the Kawisp, or even just isolating them, but then simply observing what happens thereafter."
"Who is this Elias you speak of?" Chi Baradee asked, staring at Robin.
"One of the Ardvoon," the man explained. "The one that asked for our assistance here."
"Kip and Adrian must first practice amassing the necessary energy to power any project we decide upon," Grim told them. "When the time comes, they will need to be fast and accurate."
"Should we experiment here, within sight of the planet?" Robin asked. "Won't that be like telegraphing our intentions?"
"I would suggest we move out of the system to perform the experiment," Grim returned.
Charlie turned to Rorna. "I assume you'll need to speak with First Captain Anon about going with us outsystem?"
The Loturi actually smiled. "It would probably be a good idea. Just so he knows we are not being abducted." The smile turned to a grin then, showing a fine set of teeth.
Charlie laughed. "Then let's get to it. Rick? Robin? Would you two work with Kip and Adrian, and get started with Grim and Amtapora on the power procedure? Maybe use one of the science labs, so you aren't distracted." He turned to Horace And Amy. "And would you two take our guests around to the other side of the seating circle and put them in contact with Anon?"
Amy smiled at him. "You going on vacation, or something?"
Charlie rolled his eyes at her. "I just need a solo moment to get my head straight on all these details."
Rick got to his feet and held out a hand to the others. "Come on, fellas. Let's get the sparks flying!" Robin, Kip, and Adrian stood up from their seats.
Amy and Horace also rose, and directed Chi Baradee and Rorna around to the other side of the seating circle, where a holo link would be established with Roorisk.
Kippy turned to smile at Charlie a moment before following the others, and Browbeat's wings fluttered into motion at his shoulder. "I don't want to mess up your concentration, Kip," the flyer said then. He lifted from Charlie's boyfriend's shoulder and came to hover near Charlie. "Can I stay with you?"
Charlie offered his own shoulder. "Happy to have your company."
The flyer tittered happily and dropped to a rest there. He leaned close to Charlie's ear as the others moved off, and lowered his voice. "I'm having a great time, and I'm learning a lot!"
Charlie smiled. "Not just you!"
"It's a shame, though, that you had to hide who you really were from the Loturi." The flyer looked at him closely. "They're nice people."
"I know. It's for the safety of Earth, though. Humans...we aren't ready to be a part of galactic affairs yet. We can't even run our own planet. And our one brush with the Arpathant was enough to scare me. I don't want the empires to know about Earth right now."
"You guys certainly don't look like you're from Earth!" Browbeat sighed softly. "We're all wearing new clothes."
Charlie squinted at the flyer. "Meaning?"
"Well, you guys, and me...and even Elias. I was just thinking--"
As his friend's pause got longer, Charlie smiled. "You were just thinking," he repeated patiently.
"Oh, yeah. I was thinking of all the people Elias has probably been in the time he's been on earth. He's probably changed his appearance any number of times. It probably got to be commonplace for him, like putting on a new suit of clothes."
"Oh." Charlie nodded. "Kind of like you, and your new appearance?"
"A little. He needed to fit in, without drawing a lot of attention. That's kind of what I wanted to do, to stop being a giant bug that scares people, you know?"
"You were fine before," Charlie said firmly. "Not scary at all." He reached up a hand to gently rub the flyer's brisket. "You worried unnecessarily. You just have to remember that fuzzy people that fly and talk are simply not going to be commonplace on our world anytime soon. People would be just as surprised at you now as before you changed."
The flyer tittered softly. "I've realized that now." He looked around the command chamber. "I guess it's only out here in the empires, or in the lower layer, where everyone is different, that I really fit in."
Charlie offered a small frown. "I don't think that's true. And fitting in is a requirement that's far too overemphasized. All you really need in life is a place you feel comfortable, with people who accept you for who you are. There's little joy to be had in feeling a need to impress strangers. The only people that really count emotionally in any life are those who care about you, and those who you care about in return." He smiled then. "I'd say you've found your spot already, wouldn't you?"
Browbeat made a contented sound. "Yeah. I was just realizing how happy I really am." His expression grew more solemn then. "I'm sorry I'm taking away your private moment."
"I didn't really need one," Charlie confessed. "Getting things right in my mind seems to happen on its own, without much intentional mulling. Talking with you has settled my thoughts just as well as if I'd stood by myself for a few minutes. And this was much more pleasurable."
"You've dropped most of the attitude you had when we first met the Loturi," the flyer said, tittering. "The tough guy act."
Charlie also laughed. "I told you guys that my plans have a way of mutating."
Browbeat leaned his head against Charlie's cheek and nuzzled him. "We didn't have to get involved in all this stuff, just to let Elias know why he can't sense his people."
"I know. But I like the Loturi, and the problems they're having with the Kawisp are not the doing of the ones we know now. What happened so long ago, horrendous as it was, wasn't intentional, and I think they have tried to make up for it. This chelpee group would rather make trouble than get over it."
Browbeat sighed. "Old hurts are the worst hurts."
Charlie considered that, and then nodded. "Past grievances have a way of living on, you're right. But this situation has currently struck a wall, and something has to give. There must be a way to disarm the Kawisp of the knowledge they have that might cause Loturi lives, without adding further damage to either party."
"Think all this stuff we're trying to do will work?"
Charlie turned his head and smiled at the flyer. "I actually have no idea what Amptapora wants us to do!"
"It was a little obscure, wasn't it?" They both laughed.
"I think there's a good chance that something will work," Charlie resumed. "Amtapora has a lot of know-how we don't have yet. And we have some very good people involved with this project. What do you think?"
"I think that life requires new clothes, sometimes. We just have to put them on and do what we have to do."
Charlie sighed happily. "There you go." He drew his head back to smile his friend. "You do look great in your new clothes, I must say."
Browbeat was silent a moment, before gently rubbing his furry cheek against Charlie's. "I think I like being one of the good guys."
Charlie nodded, and stroked the flyer's brisket another time. "Wear it with pride, my friend. It looks good on you."
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