Purpose:
To determine whether the unique properties of parallel branch resonance can be used to increase nau’gshtamine production.
Participants:
Ethan del Eden’d, Blackjack Riordan, Ace del Eden’d
Materials:
Pollen-test and nau’gshtamine extraction equipment (which proved redundant). Participation of two parallel branches from Atlas and Goliath. In addition, the participation of two sets of “brother” branches is needed.
Hypothesis:
It is known that the sexual excitation of an emanated branch of Atlas or Goliath will produce pollen receptivity in the unemanated brother branch(es). The hypothesis is that stimulation of the interior parallel branch within the pleroma will result in additional nau’gshtamine production in the fruit resulting from that pollination. This will be compared to the fruit produced by the emanated brother, which should evidence no such increase. As a control, one of a pair of brothers on each tree shall be used as the stimulating agents. It is predicted that the apples they pollinate will evidence little or no difference in nau’gshtamine production from the apples pollinated by their brothers. Thus the difference in nau’gshtamine production in the experimental branch will be indicated to originate with the experimental branch and not as a result of the stimulating branches.
Procedure [Reported by Ace del Eden’d, Prince Consort of the Skarsian Matriarchy]:
« This is an awesome place, » says Blackjack, settling on the couch. « Wynne was right, Ace, you do have a great setup for pollination. »
I set our drinks on the coffee table, a round center surrounded by a circular couch. « It’s perfect. I feel like I designed it, but the first time I came down here, it was like this. I guess it responded to something in my personality. »
« I like that you can watch each other get off. »
« What’s up with the datapad? » Ethan asks quickly.
« Tarlach said that I needed it for the experiment, even though I reminded him that the memory of everything that happens to us is perfectly preserved in the wood of our branches. I mean, why would I need to record anything? »
Blackjack rolls his eyes. «When has Tarlach ever made sense? Just turn on the datapad. »
« Well, I’m looking forward to this anyway. »
« Me, too, » says Blackjack. « Wynne is great to pollinate. Too bad you can’t do him. Well, I guess maybe you can, with all of those experiments going on. »
« Are you going to try that, BJ? Have Whirljack pollinate you? »
Blackjack slurps his drink. « We really don’t get along, » he says quietly. « You mix a mean martini, by the way. Hey Ethan, how about you? »
« I’m not much of a mixologist, » he replies. « I’m more of an on-the-rocks guy. »
« Nah, I meant are you going to do the cross-pollination thing with Barnabas? »
Ethan fidgets, clearly trying to avoid the question. « If and when I ever go into a pollen-receptive phase, no. I’m not into that sort of thing. »
I should probably just let it go, but I’m curious. « Why not? I think it would be great if Wynne and I could emanate together. »
« Yeah, but your situation isn’t the same, » says Blackjack. « You were created from the same stuff as Wynne and Driscoll. Davy put it together so that it would work out well. Me and Whirljack, it was an accident. The split caused problems. »
« You don’t mean that. Whirljack loves you. »
« Probably. And probably hates me, too. Remember, when I first emanated, I tried to kill him. »
Ethan nearly spits out his cocktail. « You what? »
« Yeah, Wynne told me about that, » I reply. « It’s probably best to leave it in the past. »
« I wish I could be as close to Whirljack as you are to Wynne, » says Blackjack.
« I do understand, though. Wynne and I share everything – but Driscoll is a different story. He’s so distant. »
« Driscoll is a bitch to everyone, » says Blackjack. « I wouldn’t let it get you down. But Ethan, I don’t get you. Barnabas is a great guy, and the two of you work so well together. »
« Barnabas is a loser, just like me, » Ethan mutters.
What is it with these guys? We’re about to get some pollination action, but they’re behaving like somebody’s grandmother was used for kindling. I place my hand on Ethan’s shoulder. « Aww, Ethan…»
« Seriously, » says Ethan. « We’re virgins. It’s appalling. »
« You just haven’t had good opportunities, » says BJ.
Ethan laughs bitterly. « How many years has it been? Harsh shows up and gets laid on the first date. »
« You’re every bit as gorgeous as Lugh, if you’d only take care of yourself a bit, » says BJ.
But this doesn’t cheer Ethan at all. « That’s it, exactly, » he fumes. « Barnabas and I are nothing but Owen and Lugh knock-offs. The last thing I need is to look like Lugh. The last thing I need is to go chasing after Barnabas. Don’t you get what just went down with Constantine? I need to establish my own brand. »
Fortunately, this dismal conversation is interrupted by Tara entering her bedroom. She hadn’t expected to see Wynne, and her smile is like first light after a long, cold night.
Blackjack whistles. « Holy compost, she’s jumping on the bed, » he mutters. « Man, what is it about mammary glands in motion? »
I close my eyes, wanting nothing more than to slip into Wynne’s branch, sharing his experience, but Ethan interrupts my reverie. « Ace, this is kind of weird. You’re inside the pleroma, but your flowers get pollen receptive too, don’t they? »
« That’s how it works with half-brothers, » I murmur.
« Is it really okay? » Ethan persists. « I mean, that I’m alone with you in here…»
« It’s fine. The other Goliath branches can pollinate me just as well from where they are. »
Blackjack comes to my assistance. « Ethan, you’ve got to learn to take advantage of your opportunities. How often are you going to get this kind of access? If Ace were on Atlas, I’d have my hand down his trousers by now. »
« BJ is so uninhibited, » Ethan says ruefully.
This is getting annoying. « Ethan, you have to let yourself go. Just lose yourself in Wynne. »
I decide to take my own advice. Screw Ethan if he doesn’t understand the basic facts of life. The next thing I know, BJ is howling, « Spread those petals! » It takes me longer to recover. Because my half-brother is being pollinated, I’m receptive – long after the others have scattered their pollen, I’ll be feeling it penetrate me. It’s so delicious, so good, so warm and wet.
Wet?
Ethan is sucking my dick.
« Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt a private moment, » says BJ. « I’m gonna go check and see if you’ve got a beer in the fridge, ok? »
Ethan pulls away, blinking rapidly. « You don’t have to stop. »
« Wha…I…the last thing I remember was fucking Tara, and now I’m on the floor…»
I close my eyes again, stretching languidly on the couch in a hazy, pollen-induced bliss.
« I brought a brewski for the two of you, » says Blackjack, placing one in Ethan’s hand. Ethan, still kneeling, stares disoriented at his face. Blackjack grins. « That’s how it goes. One minute Tara is the only thing in the universe, the next, it’s all pollination. But that passes pretty quick. Then it’s back to business as usual. »
« But I…but he’s…» Ethan gestures at me.
« It just looks weird to you because he’s inside, and we usually don’t get to see it from an outside perspective. He’s gonna be tranced out while the pollen settles. Drink the beer. You look like you could use a chaser. »
Ethan frowns, suddenly aware of the taste in his mouth. He takes a sip rapidly. « I can’t believe I did that. »
I can’t believe they’re talking about me as though I’m not in the room. But maybe I’m not in the room. I’m a branch of a tree, a branch covered with flowers yielding themselves to glorious impregnation. I’m the most recent emanation of Goliath, the 13th, just like Wynne was the 13th emanation of Atlas. That means there’s twelve other emanations on my tree to satisfy my needs. Eleven more than Ethan.
I really don’t get why some branches are so uptight. I love pollination.
« Have you lost your nuts? » Blackjack asks Ethan. « I told you, that was a primo opportunity, and you reacted like any healthy branch would. Don’t be a prude. »
« Barnabas is going to be so angry, » Ethan murmurs.
« Dude, I thought there wasn’t anything between you and Barnabas. »
« There isn’t! It just doesn’t seem fair that he wasn’t here, is all. »
« Well, he’s signed up for an experiment of his own. »
« That’s right. »
Ethan’s tone is too dejected to ignore. I sigh, sitting up and taking the beer. I raise the glass to BJ. « Thanks, man. »
« I knew it, » says BJ. « You miss your brother. Plus, you forgot that Barnabas will be in a different experiment, and now you’re jealous. »
« Am not. »
« Stands to reason you would be. Lugh would be jealous, and you’re half made of Lugh. »
« But Lugh got to be in the experiment with his brother, didn’t he? »
« Well, when you think about it, so did you, » Blackjack refutes. « You’re Owen and Lugh’s half-brothers, so you and Barnabas have to be following their pollination cycle. If you wanted to pollinate Barnabas, you had an opportunity during their experiment. »
« You guys should have a foursome, » I blurt out without thinking.
Ethan looks like I’ve punched him in the face.
« Bottom line, » says Blackjack. « Tara would love it. »
Procedure, continued [Reported by Her Eminence Tara del D’myn, Matriarch of Skarsia]:
I handed the datapad back to Wynne. “A foursome?” I said, incredulously.
“What do you think?”
“Wasn’t the experiment supposed to involve Ace and Blackjack?”
“That didn’t seem like much of an experiment to me, sweetness. Ross says it felt more like a focus group. Maybe you should go inside and find out.”
“Wynne…” He was playing games with me. Or Ash was. Or both. And it was pissing me off, since I had been waiting so long to see him. Then I had an idea. “Actually, maybe the problem is that we need a bigger data pool. Owen and Lugh are full brothers, as are Ethan and Barnabas. But the two sets of brothers are also half-brothers to each other. There’s too many variables. We need a control group. Like a normal set of brothers, and a normal set of half-brothers. That’s why Blackjack and Ace are involved. We’ll just get you and Whirljack, and we’ll be all set.”
“Dammit, Sweetness, you think I play games? You’re setting up a chess match.”
“You can be king, you know.”
Of course this news traveled faster than I could move. By the time we arrived at Ace’s apartment, sticking Patrick with emanation duty, the others had gathered, and there was considerable grumbling.
« You just need to be patient, » Owen was saying. « I was a virgin for seven years – and I don’t even want to talk about what I went through. »
« Young branches have it easy these days, » says Whirljack. « There’s a sense of entitlement. Look at Harsh. He shows up and basically demands sex with Tara! Back in our day, we had to work for it. »
« Well, that isn’t quite what I meant, » says Owen. « I just meant to say that when it’s meant to happen, it will happen. Your time will come. »
« Or you will come in time, » adds Blackjack.
« I don’t know why we’re here anyways, » says Ethan. « We’re not into this kind of thing. »
« We’re here because you were getting it on with Ace, » says Barnabas.
Whoa, he does not sound happy.
« You’re here because Tara wants you here, » says Whirljack. « It doesn’t matter whether you’re into it or not. I know. »
Blackjack doesn’t say anything, but he slams the door on the stasisstorer when he gets another beer.
It’s my turn to lecture Ethan and Barnabas. « I think you’ve got it all wrong. What happened to Constantine was liberating for him. It wasn’t just that he made himself unique; he discovered a new source of pride and pleasure. You’re not going to get anywhere by defining yourself by what you won’t do, or denying yourself something potentially enjoyable. »
Ethan scratches his head. Barnabas stares at his shoes.
« We just feel overshadowed, » Barnabas says finally.
« There’s no reason to feel like that, » says Blackjack. « For one thing, both of you are hard workers. Lugh just poses. »
Lugh already has his shirt off and is primping his quiff in the mirror. I can’t say as I blame him – if I were Lugh, I’d probably be that vain, too. Also, he knows that I’m checking him out, and so is Owen.
« What? » Lugh says.
« Don’t diss my brother, » says Owen. « Whenever anyone needs a shoulder to cry on, who’s there for them? »
« Hey dude, it’s not like I’m all that useful, » says Blackjack, plopping on the couch.
« You can say that again, » grumbles Whirljack. « What, exactly, are we supposed to be doing? »
« Good question, » I reply. « Well, it seems like the experiment was to have a foursome with the brother branches, so we should probably have a foursome with the control group, too. But first, we have to lay down the parameters of the research. For one: what’s the purpose of the experiment? For two, what’s the underlying hypothesis? Oh, and according to the CCPR Code of Conduct, I have to assure myself that everyone here has informed consent to the experiment. »
« Like we’re going to say no to you, » says Whirljack.
« Or, for that matter, the Mover, » says Ace.
« Yeah, I know. It’s a little ridiculous, but rules are rules. »
« Maybe the hypothesis is: What Tara wants, Tara gets, » says Blackjack.
« That’s not a hypothesis, » says Owen. « That’s an axiom. »
« This doesn’t make a lot of sense, » says Lugh. « When Owen and I did our experiment, we knew exactly what we were trying to find out. »
« Um, wait, are you guys looking for this? » asks Owen. He produces a datapad sitting on Ace’s coffee table.
« It’s back, » says Ace. « It vanished while we were distracted by pollination. Except that all the fields are filled in now. »
I scan the contents. « How can the data be tabulated? I haven’t done any pollen-testing or taken nau’gshtamine measures. »
« We can smell a supernova at the edge of the galaxy, » says Whirljack. « Do you think we don’t know how much nau’gshtamine is in our own fruit? »
« Then the experiment is complete. The idea was to see if Ace’s fruit has more nau’gshtamine than Wynne’s. The rest of you were the control group. »
« Oh, » says Ace.
« Oh well, » says Ethan.
« Is that it? » asks Blackjack. He looks a little disappointed.
It does seem like a waste. I make a decision. « Well, if I understand how it works, as long as I’m on the inside, no one gets pollinated. So if we have an orgy, it shouldn’t affect the results of the experiment at all. »
« Sounds like a plan, » says Wynne.
« We’re already here, so we might as well, » says Owen. « When you’ve got apples, make juice. »
Ethan eyes the door nervously. Blackjack comes up from behind him, puts an arm around him. « Dude, he says, how much of a loser are you? This is yet another opportunity. If Tara wants an orgy, you don’t turn her down. Or do you want to be a virgin forever? »
« I’m not into brancest, » Ethan mutters.
« There are six branches here other than your brother, » says Ace. « Are you going to pretend that you’ve never felt a pollination attraction? After what happened between you and me? »
« Just because Ethan is a slut doesn’t mean that I am, » sniffs Barnabas.
« Whoa, did he just insult everyone else here? » says Blackjack.
Ethan’s lower lip trembles. « You know you can’t really help what happens during pollination, » he says defensively. « Normally, I don’t go in for that sort of thing. »
« If you’re worried that this is a violation of your n’aashet n’aaverti, it’s Tara’s idea, » says Whirljack.
« I’m getting the feeling that no one wants to screw me, » I complain loudly.
It’s like eight puppies banging their noses against a pet store window.
And then I have a wicked idea. Eight luscious men, willing to do anything to please me: why not take advantage of the situation? After all, Ash knows my kinks better than I do – that’s the way Cu’enashti are made. Chances are he set this up on purpose. « Well, I can’t do all of you at once. So I’m just going to sit here and watch, and I’ll pick out the top performers. »
Wynne grins at me. « Oh that’s evil, sweetness, » he says.
« Looks like we’re going to put on a show, » says Ace.
« That’s so unfair, » says Barnabas. « Lugh and Owen have an advantage because they really are into each other. And Wynne has an advantage because he’s the golden boy right now. »
« Wynne has an advantage because Wynne was created to have an advantage, » says Whirljack. « I’m sick of your whining. It’s time you learned the meaning of n’aashet n’aaverti. »
Whirljack turns to Blackjack and kisses him. It’s a long, sensuous kiss, one hand wrapped around behind gently in the small of BJ’s back, the other entangling itself in BJ’s long, red hair. BJ stiffens in surprise, and then melts because he wants it.
Dammit, Whirljack, he wants it and you know it, you’ve always known it, and now it’s a game of desire and dominance that even Wynne can’t distract me from.
Owen shrugs. He and Lugh are in it for themselves; my attention is a plus. They go about their business while Ethan and Barnabas watch, flabbergasted.
« Up the stakes? » asks Wynne, sharing a glance with Ace. Now it’s getting interesting. The two of them are an unbeatable pair, with Ace able to see the most probable route to victory, and Wynne able to skew probability in his own favor.
Ace and Wynne grab Barnabas and shove him onto the couch. Before Barnabas can protest, Ace shoves his tongue into the prone man’s mouth.
« Hey! » Ethan protests.
« What? » asks Wynne. « You didn’t want him anyway, right? »
Ethan looks at me helplessly. I feel sorry for him – but then again, the boy’s got to learn.
Wynne is removing Barnabas’ trousers, but Barnabas isn’t fighting. He’s looking at me directly. When he sees me looking back, he flushes.
Meanwhile, Whirljack is taunting his brother. « Come on. You’ve wanted to screw me since the day you emanated. »
Lugh is now naked, and Owen has subtly maneuvered him so that I get the best view. Owen has had long practice in this.
Ethan, now defiant, keeps looking at me.
My attention is diverted by the sound of Blackjack moaning. Whirljack is teasing a nipple with his tongue. He’s very good at that. I know. When Jack was only one man, he was the best lover I could have imagined. Now, when Blackjack moans, he blinks back tears because he wants to be inside of Whirljack beyond just sex. But Whirljack always pushes him away, a half of himself that he rejects, even though it makes him weaker.
« Hey, Ethan, » says Lugh. « Why don’t you just come over here and have a beer with us? We’re not going to win, so we might as well chill. »
Owen looks at me, smiles and shakes his head. Both of us want to tell Lugh that he’s too fucking nice, but that’s exactly why we love him so much. Owen also knows that he hasn’t really lost anything: he won’t ever lose Lugh, and he won’t ever lose me, and his time will come.
The disappointing thing is that Lugh is so beautiful, the most beautiful man in the room, and I love to watch him fuck. Ethan could be that beautiful, too, if he would let himself.
« I can’t do this, » says Barnabas, pulling away from Ace and Wynne. « Not that I don’t want…I mean… »
Well, he’s erect. It’s pretty clear what he wants.
« I just feel like I’m using you to get even, » he finishes.
Now that isn’t what I expected to hear.
Barnabas looks quickly at Ethan, then glances away. « I mean I know that you got called up for the experiment, and that you couldn’t really help yourself, » he says hastily. « It was an automatic reaction under the circumstances, but still… » Barnabas crosses his arms. He’s a strong man, trying to turn pain into anger, the way strong men do.
Lugh is trying to decide whether to say something. Owen shakes his head. Lugh looks heartbroken, more concerned about Ethan than himself, and I want to hand him the contest right now, hand him the contest with the rest of the universe included.
Wynne was right. This was a cruel idea. And the person who could say something to make it right is probably me. But I don’t want to, not yet, because it would break whatever’s happening between Whirljack and Blackjack, and the raw edges would form a thick scar.
Despite what he said earlier, somehow Whirljack has ended up on top. Blackjack is sobbing into the pillow.
« Do you want me to stop? » asks Whirljack, genuinely concerned.
« Not ever, can’t you understand… »
Suddenly, I feel it. The quick blast of unbelievable heat, hot enough to split timber, the horrible snapping sound beneath the roar of the explosion, the taste of splinters, the agony of being ripped in half.
The next thing I know is that I’m weeping in Wynne’s arms, and the rest of them are surrounding me, looking panicked.
« You accessed their branch, » Wynne tells me. « You’re capable of that while you’re inside, but none of us thought you could do it without our help. »
« Did you know about that? »
Wynne nods. « I was around when it happened. »
« I didn’t, » says Owen. « I can’t remember…»
« Neither of us can, » says Lugh. « That was when…that part of us is missing. »
« But we could’ve accessed it in Whirljack’s branch, » says Owen. « We didn’t. »
« Why would you want to relive that? » says Lugh, throwing his arms around him.
« I didn’t either, » says Ace. « Of course I knew about it, but…»
Ethan is crying, too. « I never bothered to look, » he says, « and I didn’t bother to look at what happened to Owen either. I didn’t want to know. I’m so selfish. »
Lugh goes over and hugs him.
« Why are you so good? » he asks. « I’ll never be that good. »
« You don’t have to be anything other than what you are, » Lugh tells him.
I give Wynne’s hand a squeeze and go over to join the two Jacks. Blackjack is curled into a ball, devastated. Whirljack looks found out.
« How could I possibly protect you if I let myself feel that? » he mutters guiltily.
I slap him.
For a moment, he’s stunned.
« I love you, you fucking idiot. How dare you suffer like that? How dare you let your brother suffer like that? »
« It’s not like we can do anything about it, » he says, quietly.
« That’s completely wrong, » says Barnabas. « When you look at what Ailann can do by himself – he could’ve healed that by now, easily. And now that there are five trees in the grove, and we’ve got Yggdrasil and Ashvattha, which are basically dynamos, if we all put our heads together, Atlas should be able to repair that split in…»
« …2 minutes and thirty-eight seconds, » finishes Ethan.
« It’s not that simple, » says Lugh. « Atlas healed Owen’s branch. I happened. »
« He means that if the branch were to heal, then there would only be one of them, » says Owen. « But Tara said that no branch is expendable. »
« I didn’t intend it to make you miserable, » I tell them.
« Ask Ross about that, » mutters Blackjack.
« That’s not fair, » Wynne cuts in. « Everything turned out great for Ross in the end. We all would’ve been so much poorer for his loss. »
« So what you’re saying, » says Blackjack, « is that it really doesn’t matter if you lose me. I’m redundant, right? »
« See how he twists things? » says Whirljack.
It’s obvious to me that Blackjack really needs love right now, but Whirljack just isn’t getting it. Of course, it’s always hardest to forgive yourself.
I sit next to BJ on the couch. He’s still coiled up, so I wrap my arms around him from behind. « What is it you want? What do you really want? »
« He knows, » says Blackjack. « That’s why he could play me so well all these years. »
« I have to focus on Tara, » says Whirljack. « That’s the only important thing. »
« You’re wrong, » says Lugh.
Ethan gasps. Ace’s hands fly to his mouth.
« Tara is the most important thing, but she isn’t the only important thing, » says Lugh. « And that was her choice. She made us evolve beyond the rest of the Cu’enashti, elemental creatures who will perform any service for a crumb of affection. She made us take responsibility for ourselves. She made us evolve into a suitable mate for her. »
« Lugh, sometimes I think you’re the only one who gets it. »
« It’s because I love Owen, » he says. « Loving Owen, I can love myself. I and I can love himself. And loving ourselves, we can love you better. »
Whirljack turns his back on us. He says nothing.
« You wanna know the truth? » asks Blackjack. « He used to be the big kahuna. But when Ailann came along, he wasn’t such hot stuff anymore. So he uses the split between us to make excuses for himself. »
« Fuck you, » says Whirljack.
« BJ, that’s not fair, » says Lugh. « We need to come together at a time like this. »
« I think that was what Tara had in mind, » sighs Ace. « It seems to have gotten sidetracked. »
« I’m okay with it, » says Ethan. « I’m over myself. Some of you guys have had it so rough…I just want us all to be support for each other. Owen, Lugh, you’re my brothers. »
« That’s what I like to hear, » says Lugh, giving him a big hug.
Ethan turns to Barnabas. « Can we be honest with each other? »
« I was being a jerk, » says Barnabas. « Ace is great. »
« I think you and Ethan are great, too, » says Ace, « but the bond between brothers is special. No one should come between that by telling you what to do or feel. »
« I’m guilty too. I tried to force things. »
« It’s okay, Tara, really, » says Barnabas.
« It’s okay, » says Ethan, grasping Barnabas by the hand.
Everybody looks at Whirljack.
« No it isn’t, » he says, leaving the room.
Data:
| Emanation | Nau’gshtamine content/apple (average) |
|---|---|
| Atlas (Wynne) | |
| Blackjack | 327.22 mg |
| Lugh | 285.49 mg |
| Owen | 301.05mg |
| Whirljack | 194.68 mg |
| Goliath (Ace) | |
| Barnabas | 274.74 mg |
| Ethan | 275.36 mg |
Results:
The hypothesis was completely incorrect on a number of levels.
- The difference in nau’gshtamine amide-t produced by Barnabas and Ethan was negligible (.62 mg) compared to the highest and lowest producers (132.54 mg difference between Blackjack and Whirljack). Exclusive access to the unemanated receptive branch seems to have no effect.
- In general, the emanated branch seems to produce more nau’gshtamine amide-t, but both apples pollinated by Barnabas and Ethan on the unemanated branch contained more of the active component than the apples pollinated by Whirljack on the emanated branch.
- The use of brothers as a control is unreliable. Although Barnabas and Ethan produced almost identical amounts of nau’gshtamine amide-t under differing circumstances, Lugh and Owen produced noticeably different amounts under the same circumstances.
Debriefing:
Ace: It’s too bad things didn’t work out. I’d really like to get to know Ethan and Barnabas better, if you know what I mean. I do have a nice setup for pollination, and they’re always welcome.
Ethan: That was heavy. I have to think about it some more. But now I know that I can’t let my ego get in the way of my relationship with my brother.
Blackjack: I don’t want to talk about it, especially not with Tarlach.
Tara: Ash, fix this.
Conclusion [Reported by Wynne Rafferty, Prince Consort of the Skarsian Matriarchy]:
Blackjack is pretty broken up about the whole thing, no matter how much we try to comfort him. Even Tara isn’t making any progress. Finally, Ethan jumps up and runs out of the room.
A few minutes later, he comes back – with Seth. It was something we’d all forgotten – BJ and WJ have Goliath brothers, and they don’t share the same ones like Lugh and Owen share Barnabas and Ethan. Whirljack’s brother is Ari; Blackjack’s brother, obviously, is Seth.
Seth has a good heart, but lacks the sense to piss downwind. I hope this turns out okay.
He sits down next to BJ. « We’ve never really had much of a chance to talk, » he says.
Suddenly BJ opens up. « Whirljack hates me. He thinks I’m evil and worthless. »
« I’ve conducted an extensive study of evil, » Seth says. « In the first place, there are far worse than you. The faults you’ve committed were out of fear or ignorance, not malice. I think there are few sentient beings who have not made similar errors. In the second place, I concluded that love is a far better path than condemnation as a remedy for evil. »
Blackjack sniffles and wipes his nose on the back of his hand.
Seth puts his arm around him. « Come with me, » he says. « It occurs to me that the church is in sore need of a study of brotherhood. Perhaps we can discuss it over a bottle of communion wine. »
« That was good thinking, » says Ace when they are gone. He rests his hand lightly on Ethan’s shoulder.
« I agree, but I’m still worried. »
« So am I, » says Tara. « Blackjack is so vulnerable, so needy. »
« Sweetness, it’s not BJ that worries me. It’s Whirljack. He’s totally lost it. »
Tara looks at me, puzzled.
It amazes me sometimes that such an intelligent woman can be so dense. « Whirljack has built his existence around n’aashet n’aaverti. Whatever demons were driving him, he just walked out on his Chosen. »
Future Investigation:
The results of this experiment were influenced by factors unaccounted for in the experimental design. There may have been certain unforeseen physiological variables, but most likely, psychological factors played a large role. A potentially interesting line of study would be to apply a battery of psychological tests pre-pollination (mood and stability indicators etc.) and cross-reference the results to multiple instances of pollination.
The results of Seth’s theological study are forthcoming.