I sit next to Ross, our fingers linked as I watch the scenery roll past beneath us. It is an impossible landscape, incorporating the most stunning and exotic elements from an impressive array of planets. Ash has combined features that could never have possibly existed under human-friendly atmospheric and gravitic conditions. Also, the sky keeps changing. At one moment, I am looking at five moons; at another, through a series of rings, at another, non-combinant clouds bend the rays of sunset into gradient bands of green and purple.
Marius is clearly agitated, but Ross is quiet and thoughtful. « We’ll get this sorted, » he says. « It’s a complicated problem, and that kind requires time and patience to work out properly. »
Marius looks up at him. « Ross? » he says.
« Yeah, » says Ross, and he grins. Suddenly Marius throws his arms around him. « I know, » Ross says quietly.
« I don’t get it. »
« Remember when I told you I couldn’t contact anyone through their branch? Marius just figured out that the two of us have contact again. »
Marius seems embarrassed, looks silently out the window. Then I remember how upset Ailann was when he was trapped in a nul-chamber, and I feel stupid. I’m used to thinking of them as individuals because of my interaction with them, but I’m missing so much that goes on beneath the surface. They’re part of a communal organism, and losing that community must be terrifying for them.
He doesn’t look like he wants to talk about it, so I change the subject. « Why is there a shopping concourse in the middle of a mountain range? » I ask.
« Probably to discourage us from going shopping, » says Marius.
Well, what I really wanted to know is why my husband had a shopping concourse in his mental construct, but I suppose that’s a silly question.
The somewhat worse-for-wear hovertrain pulls up at the platform. As soon as we disembark, the destination changes to “maintenance hub: out-of-service.” I watch it recede into the mountains.
There’s a sign next to an enormous laughing Buddha which reads: “Welcome to the Sublime Materialism Shopping Concourse. Enjoy karma-free shopping!”
« Here’s a map, » says Ross. He places a finger in the northern section. « I think the others were around here – in the projection, I remember seeing the sign for that shoe store, Roots n’ Boots. »
« I’ve never even changed my shoes, » says Marius. « I mean, when I’m emanated, I do, sure, but in here? »
« It’s Cillian’s theory that our clothing is a kind of uniform, » says Ross. « Of course, as a military man, he would see it that way. Maybe you never changed your shoes because it never occurred to you to do so – just like we would have never looked outside of Daniel’s apartment if we weren’t prodded by circumstances. »
« But why would I want to change my shoes? » asks Marius. « What’s wrong with the ones I have on? »
I think about the hundreds of pairs of designer shoes sitting in my wardrobe. « It’s hard to explain. »
« It’s human, » says Ross. « I always have new and expensive suits – because a successful human businessman would. They don’t mean anything to me, though. Cu’enashti emanations tend to be a little single-minded. They don’t really have preferences. »
« That’s bullshit, » says Marius. « Driscoll and Quennel sure have preferences. »
« Because as artists, they need to have them, and also because Tara wants us to have personal traits. »
« When did you come up with all of this? » asks Marius.
« I was quiet for a long time, » says Ross. « You start to observe things when you’re ostracized. It didn’t turn out to be such a bad thing. A successful businessman needs to be observant; I know exactly how to sell shoes to humans. But as far as selling them to emanations, there’s only one pitch that works: they will allow you to serve Tara more effectively. »
All this time, we had been walking towards the shoe store. There’s an enormous hole in the skylight of the concourse, presumably where the bloobirds had entered. As we draw closer to the scene, we notice signs of combat: rubble on the ground floor, smashed glass from a downed lighting fixture, a bit of the second-floor railing that got ripped loose.
« No sign of anyone, though, » says Marius, entering the shoe store. « Neither hide nor hair nor reptilian scale. »
Suddenly, Marius is transfixed by a display of mountaineering boots. Behind the display, a monitor projects an image of a man in the mountains fighting what appears to be a pair of neoninjas. « These look pretty useful, » he says in a monotone. « What color should I get? »
Ross grins at me and shrugs.
Wynne strolls into the shop. « I knew you’d find us first, » he says. « I have at least enough luck for that. But my luck doesn’t seem to do me any good against the pleroma itself. In fact, I seem to attract trouble. If it weren’t for Ace, I’d be messed up right now. »
« Where are you guys? » asks Marius, wincing a little as he tugs a boot onto his injured leg.
« Those of us who stayed are in the security room, watching the monitors, » says Wynne.
« Oh, good thinking, » says Ross.
« What do you mean, those who stayed? »
« Most of us decided to complete the mission, but Ace and Balin got hurt pretty bad along the way. Chase and I are staying with them. »
On the way to them, we stop at the food court. « I’m supposed to pick up a few pizzas, » Wynne explains. « We got hungry, like we do outside. Weird, huh? Also, we were hoping that some energy might help with the healing process. »
But the attendants – a pair of chinstrap penguins – refuse to sell to Wynne. When I intervene, they put it on my tab. Pizzas in hand, we arrive at the security room. They’re all surprised to see me – delighted and worried at the same time. Ace has a bruise forming on his face. Balin looks bad – his arm is in a sling.
Wynne sets the pizzas on the table. « What kind do you want? » Chase asks Balin. « There’s chik-henn with dandelion, and also that weird sausage from Frangfrang. »
« I don’t eat anything from Frangfrang, » says Balin. « Who knows if you might grow another arm? Although right now, that could be useful. »
« I had to set it myself, » says Wynne. « I figured that since none of us knew how to do it, I might get lucky. »
« I guess I went a little overboard, » says Balin as he takes the slice of pizza awkwardly with his left hand. « I’ve never experienced an injury that didn’t regenerate right away before. »
« You saved Patrick, » says Chase. « It was awesome. »
« I should’ve realized that when I took out that bloobird, we weren’t going to be airborne for long, » says Balin. « I crashed. »
Wynne inspects Ace’s bruise. « It’s healing, » he says, « but it’s taking its time. »
« The wounds that I got from the pleroma healed immediately when I was accepted back, » says Marius. « That laser rifle is a different story. My leg isn’t healing at all. »
« The telepathic attackers are inflicting some sort of damage which is manifesting as physical damage in here, » says Ross. « We don’t understand the full implications of that. »
I know what Ross isn’t saying. If one of these manifestations of the emanations died, what would happen to the emanation? Then, in a moment of inspiration, I call out to the new, unknown emanation: « Hey, out there, can you recognize Balin and Ace? »
After a moment, there is a reply. “I can’t…grasp them.”
« Who are you talking to, and what do you mean by recognize? » asks Ace.
« It’s the new emanation, » says Ross. « We don’t know his name yet. »
« He’s from Ashvattha, » says Balin. « I recognize him. He chose to be the embodiment of peace. »
Yes, that’s right, one of the spiritual virtues Wynne picked. However, is that really the correct spark to be emanating in the middle of a crisis, Ash?
« The pleroma didn’t attack either Tara or myself, » says Ross. « After Marius was wounded fighting the hydra, something happened to make the pleroma recognize him. Also, when that happened, our branches hooked back up. »
« Oh! » says Wynne. « We still can’t communicate. We lost touch with the other groups shortly after they were out of visual range. Usually we can feel where everyone is. It’s really freaking me out. »
« It’s freaking me out not to feel Wynne, and he’s sitting right here next to me, » says Ace.
« Let’s share information, » Marius suggests. « From what we can tell, the pleroma is under attack by Molly and an unspecified number of CenGov operatives. Based on what happened to us, our theory is that the pleroma is reacting with some sort of automated defense system, but it’s mistaking the emanations for enemies until they undergo some kind of recognition process. »
« Wait, Molly? » says Wynne. « Isn’t she in prison? And CenGov? I thought we bitch-slapped them at Earth. »
« And they slunk back to Memehaven with their tails between their legs, but we didn’t really hurt them, » I interject. « And that’s a really bad idea, to humiliate a foe without incapacitating them. It sets you up for a revenge sequel. »
« Lorcan said as much, » Balin replies. « He said that we should punish them, but instead we let them off because Ailann didn’t want any loss of life. »
« What was the mission of your group? » asks Marius.
« To climb the holy mountain, » says Balin.
« I may be missing something, » says Ross, « but isn’t a spiritual pilgrimage a little impractical at a time like this? »
« It was Ellery’s idea, » says Ace. « A bunch of us went up into that monitoring room, but you can only see the sites being monitored. In order to locate the enemy, we needed to be able to see the whole pleroma at once. Ellery said that the holy mountain is at the center of the pleroma, and if there’s anywhere we’d get that kind of perspective, it would be there. So we came here while Ailann took a group to the armory to get weapons. »
« Ace, can you see the shortest route to success? »
Ace shakes his head. « Not since the attack. From what I gathered from the others, none of our special abilities are functioning. It’s like these are ordinary human bodies. »
« You’re telling me, » says Balin. « I can’t believe how weak my body feels. »
« Marius, you said that you deserted your group. What was their mission? »
« I was with Ailann’s group going to the armory. That’s why I was so close by when you arrived. They headed into Merenis, but I ducked back to the towers. I don’t know what happened to them after that. »
« Constantine didn’t happen to be in that group, did he? » asks Ross. « I’m getting a little worried about him. »
Marius shakes his head. « My group was Ailann, Cillian, Lens, Valentin, Mickey, Lucius, Ellery, Callum, Aran, and Cüinn. Between me and Mickey and Cillian and Aran, you can kind of see why we went for the armory. »
« Constantine wasn’t in our group, either, » says Wynne, grinning. « A pity, that. »
Ace winks at him. « Yeah, having Constantine around would’ve been convenient. »
Chase shrugs.
« Oh, come on, » says Ace.
« Chasing tail is too much work, » says Chase. « Also, it would be kinda ungrateful to my big buddy. »
« I’ve never had Constantine either, » says Balin.
« You’re joking, » says Wynne.
« I don’t know him very well, » says Balin.
« What does that have to do with it? » asks Wynne. « He’s hot, and Tara gave him a license to fuck. »
« I suppose I prefer a bit more emotional connection with my partners, » says Balin, putting his good arm around Chase.
« Balin, for that you deserve a medal, but I can give you a present instead. Also, you have my permission to fuck Chase any time you want to. »
An enameled box marked 68 appeared in my hand. I open it, and a blue moth flew towards Balin. I was a bit relieved – I wasn’t certain that, under the circumstances, it was going to work.
Balin swallowed the moth.
“His Most Sublime and Eminent Radiance Balin del Shambhah’d, Archon of Shambhala. 45th to emanate, 68 in the color scale, resonates to 337. 1.967 meters tall, cock size 20.55 cm when erect, apparent age 30. Archon of Ashvattha. Totem is Cinnamomum camphora, the camphor tree, fixed star is Arcturus, the bear-guard, also called Tian Wang, the celestial king’s throne, or Daijiao, the Blue Dragon’s horn. Esoteric symbol is the Minchiate trump La Forza, Strength. Dessert is blue longevity buns filled with nau’gsh paste. Function is facilitative gravity, proto-conscious tendency is endurance, designated Strength. Blazon is magnifique, on a pile argent an Archonate cross, magnifique.”
Balin grinned. « Ross, Marius, I can feel you again. »
« It recognized him after you gave him the gift, » says Wynne. « Maybe that’s what you have to do. »
« I doubt that’s the case since Marius already had his gift, and Ross never got one. But it couldn’t hurt to try. Number 71. » For a moment, a sign flickers above my hand. I recognize the Cyrillic lettering of the Russian word for “coming soon.” « That’s what it said over the empty spaces in the gift shop reserved for the unemanated ones. It’s like Chase never existed. »
Chase shrugs. « Story of my life. »
« Don’t say that, » says Balin, giving him a hug. « Hey, my arm is healed! »
Marius nods. « That’s what happened to me. I wish this leg would heal also. »
« What was the gift? » asks Wynne.
« I’m not sure, » says Balin. « My senses seem heightened, but not in a way it’s easy to place. I can sense that Marius’ leg isn’t getting any better. »
« Look, my wound is superficial, » says Ace. « Now that Balin is okay, we should get back to the mission. »
« It could be safer to stay here, though, » says Marius. « I’m supposed to keep Tara safe. »
« Sooner or later, the zombies will come, » says Chase.
« What?!? »
« This is exactly the kind of place that gets overrun by zombies in all those Apocalypse holos. I’m just sayin.’ »
« That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard, » says Ross. « Well, maybe not the most ridiculous, but it’s up there. »
« I wish I were so confident. If Chase thought of it, then it’s in Ash’s imagination, and the pleroma is likely to manifest it. That’s the logic of this dream world. »
« I’ve got a gut feeling she’s right, » says Wynne.
« But as long as recognized ones are present, the zombies won’t attack, right? » says Marius.
As if in reply, there’s a thunking noise at the door.
« They’re here, » says Chase.
The door is ripped off its hinges. A zombie lunges directly at Wynne. « See what I mean about my luck? » he says.
Ross steps in front of it. The zombie immediately diverts its course towards Ace.
« All right, Ace, Wynne and Chase, get in the center. The rest of us, on the outside. We’ll try to squeeze through that door. »
« There are a lot of zombies in the way, » says Ross.
« Just shove them to the side. Pretend you’re trying to get to the barrier at one of Whirljack’s concerts. »
Balin shoves hard, maybe a little too hard. An arm flops off and hits the floor. « This is disgusting, » he says.
Amidst grave dirt and decaying body parts, we squeeze through the door and make a dash for it. We’re somewhat hampered by Marius’ bad leg, but fortunately, these are slow zombies.
« Hey! » Marius yells. « Crampons! »
« Maybe I can massage your leg, » Chase offers.
« No, not cramps, crampons. In that sporting goods store. Those will be useful if we have to scale that holy mountain. Also, we should go back to the shoe store and get more mountain boots. And maybe grab some parkas. »
« No way am I ever wearing mountain boots, » says Wynne.
« You think you can climb in vlizaard loafers? » says Marius.
« It’s a moot point, » says Ross. « There were only three pairs of boots on the display, and you took one. »
« We might as well get the ones we can, » I advise, grabbing a backpack and shoving in crampons and rope. « Get the parkas, too. »
« There are four parkas, » says Ross. « One is a woman’s, and one is huge. One fits me perfectly. I think I see where this is going. »
« You can have mine, » Balin says to Chase, draping him in the enormous object. « I can handle the cold. »
« Your boots will be useless to him, » I warn Balin. « He won’t be able to walk in something so big. »
By this time, the zombies have caught up with us. The last time I saw a crowd this dangerous at a mall was on Black Box Day, when Starlight Honain Silver held a sample sale. And all I had wanted was to grab a cappuccino – sample sizes never fit me, and Quennel would kill me if I went back to prêt-à–porter.
« We’re not gonna shop in peace until they rest in pieces, » says Chase. « I got an idea. »
He dashes across the concourse to a shop named Garden Places. From a large, central display, he seizes a commercial quality weed whacker.
« I didn’t know Chase could move that fast, » mutters Marius.
« You should have seen him when the bloobirds were chasing us, » says Balin.
Chase fires up the weed whacker and runs the length of the central hallway. Zombies totter and fall as their legs are cut out from beneath them.
« That’s kind of gross, » I mutter.
« How do you think the grass feels? » Ace asks.
The zombies are crumbly, and a cloud of dust envelopes the area of the concourse where they continue to thrash footlessly. It’s musty and causes me to cough. Then the concourse PA system activates.
“His Exceedingly Highness Donovan Chase, Grand Pasha of Procurement. 22nd to emanate, 71 in the color scale, resonates to 353. 1.735 meters tall, cock size 16.80 cm when erect, apparent age 27. Drug overlord. Totem is Myristica fragrans, nutmeg, fixed star is Gomeisa, the bleary-eyed. Esoteric symbol is the Minchiate trump Il Carro, the Hovercar. Dessert is highweed brownies with nau’gsh cream. Function is visionary gravity, proto-conscious tendency is insouciance, designated Why Not? Blazon is orchidia, on a pale wavy argent a highweed leaf, proper.”
« Geez, » says Chase, scratching his head, « it’s embarrassing to have your cock size announced in a shopping mall. »
« Apparently, incapacitating zombies is enough to get recognized, » says Wynne.
« Chase, wasn’t your dessert poppy-seed loaf? » asks Balin.
Chase shrugs. « I don’t do opium anymore. »
« I just found a parka in Chase’s size, » says Wynne. Chase returns the borrowed parka to Balin, and we make our way to the shoe store, stepping over the flailing zombies as they grab at our ankles. As expected, there are now four pairs in sizes that perfectly fit me, Ross, Chase and Balin.
« There are some sweaters and jackets in the store next door, » says Ace. « They don’t fit perfectly, but it’s better than nothing. »
« This fits okay, » says Wynne, grabbing a leather bomber jacket from the racks. « I think it was meant for Chase, but I’m only a little shorter than he is. »
« Guess what I found, » says Ross, grinning. « NBAI! It just goes to show the efficiency of our franchising agreements. Anyway, I got some javajuice and dough-notnuts for the road. »
« I’m worried. I don’t think that the ones who went ahead are going to make it up that mountain. They’re likely to hurt themselves trying. On the other hand, we’ll probably just skate right through. »
« Who was with you guys? » asks Marius. « I could see Patrick and Rand in the holo projection. »
« We also had Tommy, Thomas, Ari, Whirljack and Blackjack. »
« Tommy, » I murmured. « My closest friend. His twin, Thomas. And…»
« Holy compost, » says Marius. « All the others have got Gold Cards. »
« That doesn’t make any difference, » I say, lying through my teeth.
I feel like scum. They’re all part of Ash, my true husband. I love all of them. But every now and then I fall in love with one of them, and it makes it so difficult not to play favorites.
« But that’s a good thing, » says Ross. « It might make them easier for the pleroma to recognize. »
« It isn’t enough on its own. Otherwise, Wynne would be recognized. »
« It worked for me, » says Ross.
« We’re missing something. It’s not operating on a unified principle. There’s enough variation to make me wonder if there’s a random factor at play. »
« Blind luck, » says Wynne. « Where’s mine when I need it? »