《Bedelia's Dilemma》 SETI and Sick Roomie this ¡°wouldthat ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°she¡¯d ¡° that my ¡°beautifulyourself ¡°these¡¯ll ¡°verymay If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. knewseethat I aandat thatIhe can¡¯t give well ¡°me is TomI Later Failed Future ¡°you loveas ifKeileyagain they ¡°twice ¡°areYoudeywon¡¯t ¡° ¡°cancer ¡°Cancerrunsruncancercould ¡°prevent Thanks BeckyOrganizedcheckbookgood can¡¯t ¡° ¡° ¡°tell white ¡°darker This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. That¡¯sfunny ¡°Eja fe ne! pleasesee gotleavelovedalwaystoldcalledscareddidn¡¯tkilled crazymindspanic ¡°this bodyneverLes nortlotcourtcruel marry ¡°knowpoisondie ¡° ¡°sickdiealoneby myself umar segfrighten Eja fe neevilcalm ¡°Givefrightens bruising ¡°listenfive calm ¡°helpcalmhe hurt ¡° ¡° Marriage In Jeans ¡°lovewantwith ¡° marriedhappydeclarewhenalso ¡°unwell ¡°Comepilot ¡°I unwellDS king very ¡° ¡°you well ¡° like ¡°here ¡°princesswillhappenedlove ¡° ¡°people naecouldn¡¯tHe This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. sorrowscomfort ¡°coldHealer ¡° ¡°see himyetzaonethat JosBedelia himoldcalmhelp ¡°isn¡¯tarmsguilt ¡°slaves ¡°Ejis faea naea!ShowWho can¡¯tsickstand realhe mysuccessfulcompetesher nowtellguiltyElshar Sleephealerevil ¡°died ¡°deceivemany ¡°business Ratting To Berto ¡° companies ¡° ¡° ¡°grow ¡° ¡° that lividonly Modestly-dressed lawyer¡¯ll lotwant Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡° ¡° want ¡° allsister ¡° shockednightmareI ¡°goodBecky ¡° ¡°died ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°Berto¡¯s ¡° Sharing My Life ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° cost ¡°need ¡°outbe Slow startmy ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° pet ¡° ¡° ¡°pay ¡° ¡°practical ¡° ¡°dirty The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°agency ¡° ¡°morning knew ¡° whathappy word ¡° ¡°agency has ¡° ¡°mad difficultI¡¯mhappy bekids family see it Future Panic diedus and week workrevenge ¡° loved lovewith Keiley save lookhauntedI Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. lose mindlesshe thissafe downusgood want Mama ¡° she ¡° that whenWe nae ¡°and ¡°feet ¡°save Plans For Moving ¡°him ¡°My ¡° ¡° Elshar Mashai wifehurtBedelia leiwege ¡°arm ¡° ¡°terrible never tnshey ¡° ¡°that ¡° ¡°must ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°usafter ¡°do do ¡° weigh ¡° ¡° The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡° lives livetelepathy ¡° cured narcolepsymalpractice ¡°charting Ithey flat Ihappy ¡° modifiednae sick ¡° ¡°Becky ¡°ElsieyouAntomias ¡°has togetherwill mine ¡°sleep ¡° ¡°aandatdaygood call IseverancelawyerEverybodyscumbags ¡° take ¡°happy ¡°killedme Sisters My 16 year old sister ran over. ¡°Mama, I¡¯m going with y¡¯all! Margarite¡¯s going, and the family she cares for is going, too, Sis!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad¡ª¡± Mama stared at my sister. Frowned. ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Priscilla, and I¡¯m 16, Mama. I can live with Bedelia and Keiley¡ª¡± Mama sobbed. ¡°You don¡¯t want to live with us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind living with you! Don¡¯t cry, Mama!¡± Silla hugged her. Mama clung to her! Wulai held onto my husband¡¯s arm and I realized he sent healing into him. ¡°Let¡¯s find a place to sit, Mama. How long before the ship takes off?¡± ¡°How many daughters do I have now?¡± She sobbed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose any of you!¡± Three others came close. They didn¡¯t look anything like me. ¡°We wanted to talk with you, but you were busy wrapping up the boutique. You can name us and we can be younger, if you want.¡± The other two nodded. One had blue eyes and blond hair, one was green-eyed with bright red hair, and the last had brown eyes and brown hair like Mama and Daddy. She pulled ¡®em all close. ¡°I was so worried about my figure and my stupid business, and I missed watching you grow up! Margarite was right! I missed it all! Atherton spread rumors about everything, where I sourced my fashions, how much I paid people who worked for me designing, what happened in my factories, all lies! I¡¯m so happy to get away from that.¡± Daddy led us all to where Elsie sat. She didn¡¯t look comfortable. Wulai put Keiley in a leiwege. Other healers put Elsie in one before she could refuse, and Mama and Daddy, too. My sisters giggled. Wulai went over healers¡¯ progs and meds for narcolepsy. My healer¡¯s record already had it set up for me. Wow. Daddy made some different choices. Apparently he learned Zheien healing in the other future, and how to write these progs, too. So they saw their futures? That¡¯s why Mama¡¯s so upset? Like Becky, I went home to check on them and found Daddy dead. Mama was drunk. I gave her vek ea to wake her up, but she died in my arms. That¡¯s when I went to Atlanta Police. Her autopsy said she was an addict. Someone got her with Elshar herbs. So much blood on my hands. How¡¯ll I ever make it up to everyone? Keiley pulled me close. Love, may we discuss, here? He made his Outer Circle look like Elshar Zheiea. Children ran and played, and a festival was going on. A circle of seven-sided buildings surrounded us. I hugged him. If it won¡¯t give you mind pain. We¡¯d call it a headache. I feel well enough, Love. Your mind must be free. We walked around, and my mind clung to him even harder than my arms, back on the ship. I¡¯m scared, Love. I am also, but we are an honest people. Every mission, I felt would be my last. That startled me! We never talked about his work. They tortured him if he did, and used herbs on him to make sure he felt a beating every time he thought of work. You were scared? Were you working on an important treaty? Nae, Love. Disputes. Diplomats who do this work are many, so persecution is common for all of us. That¡¯s horrible! I knew Elshars hate Zheien, but didn¡¯t realize it was that bad on every planet. Will they be after us at home? You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Nae. Elshars in my home fear other Elshars, so progs run for all, to prevent harms. We shall have safety. Keiley shivered. It¡¯s not cold. I hugged him. But, you¡¯re scared. Look up. Above us, it was past sunset. The sky was red and getting dark. A moon rose, about the size of our moon. Past it was the Milky Way! I didn¡¯t expect to see that here! Our skies were empty. He showed me how it looked. They had 4 stars! Here, I counted 22. In his home, no Milky Way. There was a faint, gray nebula low in the sky. Hard to see, even for Zheien eyes. So, what¡¯s scaring you so bad? Are there bad Elshars here? Nae. Newness will be difficult for us. Home had many dangers. Poisonings. Elshar slavers who came in the night for our children! All of us who served our king as diplomats, we had to watch on our respites. I couldn¡¯t imagine danger like that! We worried about break-ins, but burglars usually don¡¯t kill anyone or take hostages. So, you expect that to happen despite the progs? He nodded. I think many of us will yet listen for danger. Our sleep will be unwell. Is there anything I can do to help, Love? Pray for our people. Wulai popped in. My son, you overuse your telepathy. Will mine hurt him when it comes in? I looked down. Nae! Jos¡¯ telepathy is strong. You nae have worries as you had in Rainbow. Fear nae, you nae harmed him even there. I was well to protect him. Did I hurt Tom? I mean, First Prince Antomias! Nae! His heart was very weak. Slavers harmed him, nae you. Jos, you must rest. We looked towards the happy crowd, but as people walked from the commons to rings of houses, healers pointed towards another circle of buildings. People didn¡¯t look happy. What¡¯s going on? Last night, many had unwell in their homes. Tonight, healers bring all to Rainbow. That doesn¡¯t look like Rainbow! Wulai laughed, and we were back on the ship. ¡°Rainbow looks like other Zheien cities with sevens. Every world of Alb has a Rainbow Unwell Colony now. Molly sent clones of herself to all. Millie is ours. She will govern Earth Elshar Zheiea.¡± This ship was orange. Tom sat there and reached for Keiley¡¯s head. ¡°Is Jos unwell, Wu?¡± Wulai startled. ¡°How shall I call you?¡± ¡°My ba shall be Antomias, but he stays to conduct our business. Call me Tom, Wu. I am 3rd Prince. Tom is with his Becky, and she must sleep. I came in case one¡¯s telepathy wakes. May I touch you, Bedelia? I think yours is active!¡± I nodded. ¡°Thank you, Tom. I am happy to let you see me. I don¡¯t¡ªdo not wish my telepathy to harm anyone.¡± ¡°Nae these fears. I think you learn well of me. Ah, she is active and you already use fine control. Follow me.¡± We ran through a garden, and Keiley ran with us. We all giggled! Then, the view zoomed out to space and he told us about all 25 worlds of Alb. We ported between them and ended up on Elshar Zheiea. That festival was still going on. We zoomed down, but Keiley pulled me against him and gave the top of the portal a twist. Our feet rested gently in the sand, and I relaxed. ¡°O, such joy to take a portal without pains!¡± Keiley laughed, and I enjoyed the deep sound of it. A tenor laugh. ¡°I worry for you, my friend. Sleep longer.¡± ¡°But, I wish to wake and enjoy our travel, for I travel nae more. Cevit Ion released me.¡± His sorrow rumbled on us. ¡°As he did Tom, Farley, Nathan and all of us! But, all of us have bae like me to help in the Reign. So you will have Decision?¡± ¡°I fear I shall have to begin as a child, and I am unwell for it! What shall I do, if nae diplomatic work?¡± Tom hugged him and an older man came running. Everyone bowed! I let go of Tom and tried. Like a shot, he grabbed my shoulders. ¡°Lady, nae bow! I wish nae to harm herself in our pleasant customs. I am Nitomahan, King Of Esta Faho, and we are only a small people of 400.¡± ¡°Four-hundred?¡± I laughed, then my face burned. ¡°In Rainbow, how many were we?¡± The king paled, and his red-gold eyes went black. ¡°Three-hundred.¡± Tears jumped out of my eyes before I could blink. Great, I¡¯m embarrassing-- ¡°And, where was I, and what became of my people?¡± The anguish in the poor man¡¯s face got me. I sobbed. ¡°Tom said you died. I am not sure what happened to the rest. No one talked about it.¡± ¡°My liege, Tom was unable to speak of it. Slavers tortured him and put terminals in him. Rainbow removed them but even after, healers could nae reverse his training, which killed him. Becky tried to save him, and Bedelia could nae help, for the sight of old friends brought Becky excitement that was too much for Tom to bear. He felt such guilt, that Becky and he had to stay far from everyone, and o, Becky suffered without her friends! I am far happy that we may dwell in safety! ¡°Pirad¡¯s healing is well for us, Fa. Bedelia has skills to help you in your Reign. I wish to appoint Jos to our council to help our Earthans and Elshars adjust, and Bedelia¡¯s skills will help all. Feel how strong she is, in her telepathy!¡± Me? The king smiled. ¡°Ah, Lady Bedelia, so she is! Would this please you, to help my fine Council?¡± ¡°Yes! What do you need me to do?¡± Oh, I smiled! Important work! My New Job ¡°I wish you to visit all of my people on your ship, and learn of their well. I know all of my diplomats had to leave their work today, and I fear for them!¡± His sorrow rumbled on me! ¡°I wish them to know that I love them, and I trust them to find that work that pleases. Many feel useless in my kingdom without their familiar work. ¡°But, for the first time in our lives, we have safety in our home, if we can only believe it. Bedelia, Becky knows you well, and Tom, 3rd Prince, also knows you as he does. He heard Princess Becky¡¯s memories of you, how you encouraged her to have confidence and how you inspired her to speak to others. I wish you to use your powers of persuasion to help my diplomats. Will you?¡± I quivered. ¡°Yes, sir! I will talk to them all!¡± Part of me felt fake! I¡¯m terrified, and I¡¯m supposed to convince them not to be scared? But, it¡¯s a worthy challenge. If they just don¡¯t die of fear! He hugged me. He¡¯s shaking, too. If he¡¯s scared, then probably every Zheien in Esta Faho is, too! ¡°You have strength, in these changes. How then, shall I advise my people? Is it wise, for my healers to gather them in healers¡¯ arms, or should we rise and work, and, perhaps, die in it? For we have much work, even in our new world.¡± I didn¡¯t expect that question! But, I thought about all the Zheien diplomats who died in my arms, begging me to let them get up and work! ¡°My liege, if your healers want you to rest, you need to do that! Your people need their leaders to listen to their healers first. I can organize some Earthans to help while you do this.¡± I didn¡¯t know how I¡¯d get them to help, but organizing people is one of my strengths. He looked at Tom. ¡°Please, for me, do this, Tom. Help Bedelia to help our people while we are unwell. I will go with them and rest until Tom and Becky come to me.¡± Tom bowed. ¡°I am eager to serve, Fa. Rest well!¡± He rose and a huge group of people went with him to the other group of seven buildings, all a single color. The Rainbow I knew had one building with every wall a diff color, and the other buildings looked like these. But as each person passed me, they bowed. Some stumbled as they came up, and I grabbed arms to steady them, with a smile. Men, women, and even children, all with worried faces. Tom also did this. Zheien are very different than us. I¡¯d be very critical of an Earthan man who cried in front of me, but not these Zheien men, who are all like my Keiley. They are very strong, yet tender, and they all let their emotions show. If I¡¯m going to be a Zheien leader, I can¡¯t hide my emotions as I¡¯ve done all my life. They won¡¯t see that as strength, but as dishonesty. It was hard to do, but I quit trying to hold my tears back. I¡¯m a leader now, a Zheien leader, and to be strong here, I have to let my emotions show. Along with that, Tom guided me to share my strength. With my telepathy, he helped me touch minds, very gently. I showed the love I have for Zheien, these gentle people who never in their history started a war. I showed my hope that everyone will be safe now from Elshars who want to hurt them. It surprised me that many of these people weren¡¯t yellow-skinned. Some were green or blue. Tom let me know some came from Par Vu, a world of mostly sky blue Zheien, but some married yellow Elshar Zheien or green Eans, and the children can be any of those colors. Some yellow-skinned Zheien have brown children, too, and some Eans are brown. Most are yellow, but those who are don¡¯t treat the other colors any differently. A third of our people are Elshars. Not the haughty Elshar Mashai who mostly attack Zheien. Elshar, the Fatherworld, had hundreds of countries with diff customs. So, Mashai value trade above all and anyone who doesn¡¯t trade is seen as weak. But Ash Mashai value poets more than traders, and many other ethnic groups of Elshars valued artisans more. So our Elshars are mostly artisans who hurt themselves trying to trade. Trading with telepathy is brutal. You put in a few items, then if someone trades for your item, you track them with your telepathy and contact friends who might be interested. Even a person with very strong telepathy can¡¯t keep that up for long without hurting themselves. You can die from injuries, or lose your telepathy entirely! Any species with telepathy, not even Zheien are immune to that. As we touched minds, I felt people¡¯s headaches and Tom alerted their healers. He couldn¡¯t feel it? Bedelia, we have different talents. Earthans often have Gifts, Pirad told me. You have sensitive telepathy. Am I prying in their Inner Circles? My face burned. Outer Circle is where you talk to friends. Inner Circle is where your thoughts form before you decide what to reveal and what to keep private. Nae! Your telepathy is polite. We all try to hide mind pain, for we nae wish to burden others with worry for us. But, you can feel it, and is very well for their healers to know so they can try to relieve it! Our people are weary, but some are injured and must have healing. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. But, won¡¯t they tell their healers anyway? Many worry for their healers! In our colony, many had to work harder than most healers, and had injury from it. Healers got hurt? In Rainbow, Molly was always pushing her healers to rest and get healing just like she told everyone to do. I wasn¡¯t all there in Rainbow because I got brain-injured myself from that Elshar¡¯s attack, and my husband¡¯s injuries affected me through our mind link. Now I put a lot more things together from those memories. Tom made me quit after just the first 15 people, but he let me listen, and I could still tell him if someone had mind pain. As I did this, I noticed both my parents watching. They had awe on their faces. I guess this is like trying to picture Governor Brown crying in front of an audience. That¡¯s laughable! He¡¯s got more of a tough-guy attitude than most Republican politicians we¡¯ve known. Of course, I¡¯m a closet Democrat. Don¡¯t dare discuss politics in my family. Margarite also watched me with tears in her eyes. She¡¯d make a good Zheien. So would both her employers, who treated her like family. They run a restaurant with five locations in Atlanta, and their eldest son just became manager at one. I tutored him for his business associate¡¯s and taught him managerial skills. Margarite could¡¯ve, but she didn¡¯t think she knew enough. Most of what he knows came from her, though. Managing a household gives you a lot of soft skills that transfer into running a business. Like refereeing conflicts among employees. A lot of that is just good communication skills. Margarite taught me a lot about that, skills my parents really never learned. I think living with Zheien¡¯ll be good for all of us. Telepathy¡¯s a balancing act. With Zheien, you can be honest, but you have to also learn when to keep your guard up, like when you¡¯re near Elshar traders who might not be. Or, other Earthans whom you don¡¯t know. Zheien are experts at that. Even as injured as Keiley was, he still taught me a lot that was kind of automatic for him. The guards came up as soon as we stepped out of our room, in Rainbow. I had that going on here, like I always did in that future. Tom looked around the ship, and like a laser pointer, I saw where all my Esta Fahoans were. Tom and Becky are in a room with them on a tapestry of Esta Faho, next to us. Another room has Nespa, who¡¯s sleeping on his bed. It must be really hard on him that I got married. He wanted to court me in Rainbow. But, Elsie¡¯s lonely. The next room had Ella, my age, a programming student, who married Farleikon, another diplomat friend of Keiley¡¯s, and he¡¯s-- ¡°Hey, Elsie! You want a house, don¡¯t you? Ella¡¯s dad wants to design ¡®em.¡± She stood up, but cringed. ¡°There are a lot ¡®o people in there!¡± She has horrible social anxiety. ¡°Most of ¡®em are kids. Tom¡¯s brother is in there, too.¡± ¡°I can go also! I love children. Perhaps I distract them for you. Let me go first.¡± He ran in there. Sure enough, the kids loved him! Elsie took a deep breath, like for a dive. ¡°Okay. House, here I come!¡± She hesitated, but got her feet moving. I managed not to laugh. Time for me to get to work. I pushed Elsie in there and she kept her arms down. Pas, a healer, watched us and I pointed him at her. Good. All the others were sitting together near us. I went to Het Paren, another diplomat friend. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Bedelia, Keiley¡ªuh Jos Keil¡¯s wife.¡± This poor fella shook all over. He¡¯s really thin. ¡°Hello. King Nitomahan is eager for you to speak with us. I am happy he appointed you to our council.¡± ¡°Oh, he appointed my husband! I¡¯m just his helper.¡± ¡°Lady Bedelia, wives serve beside their husbands, and this is an equal position. Both serve us together. Is nae like Mrs. Brown, wife of Governor Brown, who nae sits beside him to sign legislation. She does other good things, but nae attends his meetings. ¡°May I explain Zheien governance?¡± ¡°Yes, please do!¡± I never knew anything about Zheien colonies, in Rainbow! People said Molly ran Rainbow like a Zheien colony, but no one explained¡ªwell, I didn¡¯t really ask. ¡°On Zhea~, we have a king, Ishmarel, who governs all of Zheiea, all 800,000 colonies of us. He has a council of nine members. Each of those represents a council of nine, who each represent a council of nine, and there are many. ¡°King Challet rules over us on Elshar Zheiea, our new world, and he wished to gather us. His Council has nine, and Wen watches over all colonies of Elshar Zheiea. Rahn Estar was 5 worlds to bring ore and foods to Elshar Zheiea, and trade with one another and the Council Of Par Vu, which was the closest Zheien world to all five, for trading. So, Wasa Mai, King Of Rahn Estar, rules over us, and his Council has nine. One for each of our cities. So our kings have council members to represent them. Mican represented Par Vu to us, but he now only represents Elshar Par Vu, because all Zheien of Par Vu moved to Escet Vu. Micansen represents all our Elshars. Millie is over Rainbow Elshar Zheiea, but you are her council member for our Earthans, now.¡± ¡°How many Earthans do we have?¡± Becky, Elsie and I, that¡¯s 3, then Ella¡ªBecky¡¯s parents came, 2 more, Ella¡¯s family, 6 more, and whoa! More people ported in. Are they staying? That¡¯s a couple and a little girl. Pas went to her, fast, and nodded for an aandat that zipped¡ªshe¡¯s sick. Her parents don¡¯t look happy. If I had a kid, I¡¯d want a healer to see her. Anyway, 14. Farley¡¯s talking to ¡®em and both Toms. And, away towards the wall was a lady with 5 kids. She looked scared. That¡¯s 20. And, in another room is a 21st Earthan, Yelena, with Nathanhai, another friend of my husband. That¡¯s in Esta Faho. Elshar Zheiea has more. Cevit Ion has a lady with him, that¡¯s Shannon. His clone¡¯s staying on Earth to be Seventh Galaxy Minister. All the galactic ministers had to let their clones take over, just like most of the diplomats? And they are all sick. Even Cevit Ion is looking white and not golden yellow. His wife looks worried. This ship is mostly Elshar Zheien, and about half of ¡®em have Earthan wives! Glad I don¡¯t have to track all of them. Then there¡¯s all the clones. I¡¯ll start with the hosts. Plans Change proposed There won¡¯t be any politics over who can live where. People aren¡¯t grouped by income level at their last job. None of Earth¡¯s measures apply. Everyone is equal. Truly equal. , all that Ella¡¯s A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. mine ¡°this ¡° I¡¯ll ¡° ¡°need ¡° I fear he expects to see many diplomats. If he nae sees them quickly, they may die. Why is that? Slavers oft think of things our leaders wish to know, to save others from torture or death! Is called giving one¡¯s report. We diplomats are the eyes of our emperor, and we watch for signs of a government¡¯s health. Slavers oft take us when we feel we are in a safe location. If we can tell our leaders, perhaps others have warning and take precautions. Only a few of us can take reports. I can.I think all of us are needed, Lan. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° The holo went on to list common mine poisons, and which of those were common in which known slaver mines. The mine on Titan is a bluemetal mine, and those have not got a lot of poisons that don¡¯t have cures. Vek ea is enough, if they only worked there. They¡¯ll be running hygiene on all the slaves before they leave the ship they¡¯re coming here on. So we won¡¯t get any contamination from poisons in their tunics, or on their skin. I knew from watching slaver ships unload. Rainbow didn¡¯t have a spaceport. Ships landed near that multicolored building. Healers made notes. How To Help Slaves ¡° ¡° ¡°If Esta Faho Goes raised his arms again. ¡°Now I shall let Pas, Master Healer Of Yeff, teach us how to help these frightened ones!¡± Pas brought Molly up there. ¡°Here is Molly, Queen Of Rainbow. She will speak to the slaves and tell them two rules. What are they, Molly, that all might repeat your words?¡± She bowed, a graceful Zheien bow with one leg far behind. She wore a cobalt blue dress and her healers¡¯ robes with Tessite symbols in two lines down the front where the edges of her white robe came together with two strips of blue for the symbols to hang on. It felt strange to see her in a dress! Molly wore blue jeans for her first few years running Rainbow, and I never saw her bow. That bow was as graceful as any Zheien¡¯s! Those red ringlets were bright red, not my dull rusty color. This girl started Rainbow Unwell Colony at 15, when most people who start colonies are maybe, 30. But she looked like a little kid! She opened her green eyes wide without using her eyebrows, which looks really weird! ¡°I have two rules, and you are all citizens of Rainbow for my purpose tonight, so remember, you have to follow ¡®em, too. Rule Number One is, Rest when you¡¯re tired. Tired hands might not be as gentle, and if you¡¯re rubbing ea fae on a Zheien, you have to be very gentle. So, what¡¯s Rule Number One?¡± Everyone repeated it, though Zheien said ¡®Rest when weary¡¯, and only the Earthans said, Rest when you¡¯re tired.¡¯ ¡°Good! Now, Rule Number Two is, ¡®See your healer if you don¡¯t feel good.¡¯ So, what¡¯s my second rule?¡± Some said it like that, but Zheien said, ¡®See a healer if unwell.¡¯ She sounds like her old Rainbow self! ¡°That¡¯s it, so all of you, follow it, also. These returned slaves need to see you following them. Now Pas¡¯ll teach you all how to be healer helpers. Rainbow needs lots of you!¡± She bowed again to Pas, who returned it. He¡¯s the bald Elshar Zheiea clone. His Esta Faho clone is younger with a head of brown curls. He waved up a holo of a trembling Zheien. ¡°This man is on the ship coming here. My son, did you hear Molly¡¯s rules?¡± ¡°Eae.¡± ¡°Please, sit and rest.¡± He waited for the man to sit. Then he sat in front of him. ¡°Did you see a healer, my son?¡± ¡°Eae. He told me I need rest.¡± Pas waved for a flat mattress. ¡°This is a leiwege. We use them to hold an unwell in comfort. My son, sit here, please.¡± He moved onto the flat, white mattress, but he still trembled. Pas spent a few seconds bending the sides up so he laid with his head back and arms out, but just slightly reclining. He pushed the man¡¯s legs together so his legs were up slightly and bent. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°All of you, this position helps mind pain. Returned slaves oft have it, from injuries, and oft from fear. Wave, and you have a heated blanket if he is too cool, and a cool blanket if he is overly warm. It will adjust as conditions change. This blanket is for you, my son.¡± He waved and it floated over him. The man smiled, but his lips trembled. He kept looking at another older man. ¡°O, would you like your friend to come to you?¡± He motioned to the man, who looked scared, but he came. Both men cried. Pas hugged the newcomer. ¡°Here, sit by your friend.¡± ¡°May I, Master?¡± ¡°You may.¡± Carefully, he sat in the leiwege and the other one hugged him. ¡°What must I do, to earn Fa?¡± Fa gasped and covered his face. Pas hummed and got him to look up. ¡°You earned rest with your bae, and he earned rest with you. Stay by him, and I teach you this new work. Both of you must rest now. I will put ea fae on you.¡± He waved and a huge bowl of the white foam sat on the floor. He got a handful of it and smoothed it on the younger one¡¯s face. ¡°See how he enjoys this, my son? Bathe his face while I bathe his legs.¡± He guided the older one to do that, then moved to their legs. The father obviously enjoyed doing this. And, the younger one loved it. ¡°O, I lie in healing!¡± The older one watched Pas and trembled. ¡°Ea, you lie in healing, and your fa puts ea fae on you. When in healing, you must rest. Your fa must also rest soon, and he may lie beside you. We go to my chambers soon. You are on a ship, and when he lands, you will be on Alb Seer. Some of you will go to MarKu, and some, to Ye~, some to Escet Vu, and some to Vasye¡ª¡± ¡°Vasye!¡± The older one wept. ¡°We go home, Bae!¡± ¡°Ea, you go home to Vasye. Here is a healer of Vasye to comfort¡ª¡± ¡°Fae!¡± The younger one reached. The older one gasped. ¡°Fa! O, is you, fa!¡± The man hugged both of them. Pas continued with his massage, until both of them stopped trembling, and he covered their feet. The older healer rubbed it into their arms and sat by them as they slept. I cried. Happy reunions are the best! So, Vasye¡¯s in Alb now? I mentally checked a map. All the subcolonies of Rainbow are there! Those were colonies taken by slavers, including poor MarKu¡¯s 70 decillion. They won¡¯t be taken now. I have hope that maybe my husband won¡¯t die! Pas stood. ¡°For every one of these, is different. Some may ask for family, and you should tell them when we land, we can contact them. Others bear ne reminder of home or family, so speak carefully. Ne ask questions. Merely listen. Use information they give, ne ask, for some were punished to ask, and if you ask, they might relive pains from terrible memories.¡± Like poor Tom. I shuddered. And, my husband. Seripae hugged me. It hasn¡¯t happened yet. I checked Keiley¡¯s vitals, just to reassure myself. He¡¯s peacefully sleeping. Elanapah, Keiley¡¯s healer smiled at me. Nae fear. He is well. I smiled at her. Wulai slept beside him. Guess he got sleepy early. He is pretty old. ¡°As for ea fae, this is healing. If one has scrapes, they heal when you put this on them. Ne fear to do this. At first, there is discomfort, then warmth, and healed skin. Zheien skin is easily damaged, so use your lightest touch. Slaves oft come malnourished, and skin is more delicate. Fear ne to touch heads, arms, and legs below here.¡± He rested his fingertips where his knees would bend. ¡°Ne touch above here, even if there is injury. You may pour ea fae there, but ne touch.¡± ¡°Know when to bring a healer. If you can ne calm one, wave to one in a white robe. If you see much blood. Or, if one ne sees you, but sees people or creatures you ne see. If one sleeps, go to one who is awake. My healers will go to all who ne wake to see if they merely sleep, or if we need to heal him. Always bring a healer to one who has pains. ¡°Now you know enough. All of you, stand, and I take you to those who need you.¡± Holos of slaves appeared around the ship. Pas had a group, well, both Pases, but every healer also had a group. BaO ¡° Keiley’s Fa ¡° ¡°work This ¡°warm ¡°bringanything ¡° answered ¡°nae ¡° ¡° ¡°small ¡° ¡° ¡°newcity thousand ¡°marriedsae marriedhappiness ¡° ¡° Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. this butallMarKuans ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°healingsee ¡°suffered she before ¡° ¡°healer Love, help me. I nae know! Ne share these memories with him. Let me see him as he sleeps. Have you concerns for your husband? He had memory problems in Rainbow, and you saw how he forgot that his colony lost that many people! This people will need much healing. I go to Rainbow Elshar Zheiea to help them. Those of Esta Faho are the most unwell of any of King Challet¡¯s people, and we need to understand why. His fa needs my ennead, and they wait in Fhiah for us. We land now. If you wish to enjoy the festival, we sit with these. Scary Landing Half the hull vanished. A girl screamed! ¡°Aaaah! The ship fell apart!¡± One of the pilots ran to her. ¡°Lady, normally I wouldn¡¯t open the ship like that, but this is Alb Seer. Theaspaura, King Of Fhiah, is coming to welcome everyone to a festival. Asha¡¯s ship is fine, and not damaged.¡± One of the purple fellas. ever Ashaall Theaspaura came. I expected a man who looked like a fairy-tale king, long, silver curls, and old. This man had dark curls to his collar and bright blue eyes like most people in Fhiah, with orange skin. ¡°Friends, I declared a festival, and healers tell me is well for most to enjoy this festival for an hour while we move those who need to go to other worlds of Alb. Your ships will now separate for your journeys home. Once all are on their ships, your travel is only 4 Earthan minutes. ¡°Those of you who are well, please, enjoy the festival for an hour, then one will guide you to your ship. ¡°I know those who came from slavery are unwell for this, so I have many bakers and sweeters to go to them.¡± He motioned to an army of people with trays! They came aboard. A healer had to carry a woman out, but other healers kept the tray upright. Or maybe a prog did. ¡°Welcome to Alb. I shall nae weary my Earthans who came with you. Enjoy the festival!¡± A lot of Earthans went out, including Ella¡¯s huge family. Ella stayed with Farley¡¯s family, and his DS Team stayed, too. Healers moved all of us to the yellow ship. Ella and Elsie and several other programmers kept working on progs. I helped brown-haired Pas with comforting some of the yellow Zheien in our area. Better than staring at my family. Mama and Daddy went out, too. We had a much smaller crowd without most of the Earthans. Most of them went with the MarKuan royalty. Cevit Ion and his family were near us. An Earthan named Leyla joined us. ¡°Pon is asleep, but Becky and Cara stayed with him. Is there anyone else from Marenalay?¡± ¡°Asha, Diplomat Of Elshar Zheiea, but Leyla, you should nae speak of this. They will be very unwell!¡± Pas frowned at her! ¡°How can he not talk about where he grew up?¡± Pas, the older one, ran to her. ¡°Lady, he must have healing for weeks, to be stronger. Jirris was there also, and he is very unwell from witnessing so many deaths.¡± Her blue eyes filled. ¡°Deaths? Who would hurt a Zheien?¡± ¡° firstYears fersiminsmy ¡° ¡° This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°much ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°happiness ¡°ever ¡° unwell ¡° ¡° ¡°together ¡° ¡° ¡°Decision ¡° ¡° help sawHe¡¯s ¡° New Home’s Secrets ¡°I ¡°beour ¡°allumar seg ¡°killinghadheyearsattacks Mican ¡° hissentenceicythat two ¡°thatI Cev, you should be resting, my friend. Mican is nae of our level! He just killed a healer on my ship! ¡°here helpeddid purposefulknowmany you ¡°some The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡° ¡° DS ¡° working ¡°homesite ¡°I himhim ¡° Per Naha was about the same age as Cevit Ion, and had dark curls. He bowed lower to Cevit Ion. His blue eyes wavered between dark and light. ¡°I am happy to welcome our Earthans, Elshars and Thordes! And, my bae and sae, you are home, at last! Since we accustom to new skies, I felt it necessary to delay you from your homes. People were eager to practice normalcy when they followed King Challet from ships, and eagerly made new homes to replace theirs of stone, for these firstships came from Elshar Mashai Zheien Colony. ¡°I am sad to report that all those of Marenalay died, though Pirad revived them later. Fear nae, for he revived the whole of Marenalay¡¯s Burial Chambers! These rebuilt Marenalay of Elshar as he was, and this is Marenalay Elshar Zheiea.¡± A holo showed a commons with the same seven-sided buildings in a circle, but every building, though a solid rainbow color and in that order, had a mural on each side! Beautiful work, and some of the colors were metallic. But not many people walked around. Healers bathed most of ¡®em in the yellow sand, or in shallow marshes, and there were fountains that sprayed sand! ¡°As you see, every person there needs his healer near! But, we lost nae more. Pirad revived Ashasiena, Master Healer Of Marenalay, who emigrated to Elshar Mashai with our forefahies. She had dismay that King Challet gathered all in a great festival in Ferrimos. The first day of this festival was very well, but that evening, as people went to their homes, we had incidents. ¡°She warned him to gather all to Ashapat¡¯s Chambers. They did, and many had such upset there, we moved all to Rainbow Elshar Zheiea. Our farms are automated, and we have nae mines here but on moons with nae people. These are our 5 bae moons, which were worlds. ¡°Ashapat heard much of Rainbow¡¯s methods, and we practice them, those of you with memories of them. I urge you, if you remember a helpful memory, please share it with a healer. All our healers share a mindlink so any information that passes, goes quickly to your leaders that they may consider your well. I wish health to all of you. ¡°When a Zheien colony must move, many have perils. I spoke at length with Ahstam, who advised Ashaserie. Ahstam always received unwell from ships of Failed colonies, and his ennead has perhaps, the most experience with unwell who had to leave their homes for a new place. He always taught that we rulers can nae merely let people to their homes. For a time, and this time will vary for individuals, we must bear life in healers¡¯ chambers, that we may have fast knowledge of new unwells. ¡°I led Kin Para in his start, when I was only 14, because Fa died. Fa ruled many years before I was born, and he neared 150 when Mea had me. Nae expected me to live, for nae many women can bear in her age! Mea died in my birth. Fa raised me to lead our colony. You might think, how is it that Kin Para, that I tell you I led the colony start? Because, we had many colony starts! ¡°Our healers bore the weight of knowledge that we lost colonists constantly. Demands of war and mine injuries took many of us of Rahn Estar, Esta Faho, Kin Para and farming injuries, Calladia and Sara Kia. And so, we brought more colonists from Elshar Zheiea. Our numbers grew in Rahn Estar, not from growth, but from workers for our shipbuilding facility and weapons research facilities there and on Esta Faho. ¡°Ahstam revealed to King Ishmarel that in most colony starts, people die, not from hazards of newcolonies, which are too numerous to name in a short time, but from the difference. Healers kept this secret for generations, thinking we leaders could nae bear to know it. They explained our numbers in terms of those who went back home or became travelers, or went as soldiers where few return. ¡°Ishmarel advised me to practice honesty. We wish nae to lose half of our newcolonists! Even on MarKu, nae a new world, and the most populous of all Zheien worlds, Ahstam feared we might lose half! ¡°We looked at Ahstam¡¯s methods, and even he was nae sure that he could provide measures to save them. ¡°And so, we asked of Pirad. I was shocked that he told us of Rainbow Unwell Colony, started by a girl of 15, an Earthan, in another future! She asked of Fhiah to run progs that would save lives. And, Fhiah¡¯s Council refused! Over years, however, her colony in Fhiah¡¯s Barrens saved more lives than any other healer colony in the Thirteen. When they granted a request by Queen Molly, mortality lessened by measurable amounts. ¡°I listened to many of these memories. Eae, we do sacrifice a bit of privacy, but mostly to servers. I pleaded with the Alb Council, leaders of every colony that is here, 25 of them, to allow Molly to run whichever progs please her for the well of all persons in Alb, nae only unwell! And all of them agreed. We signed a treaty that any world that moves to Alb shall use these measures to exclude slavers and maintain the welfare of our peoples. ¡°healersIshah ¡°ships Our Leaders’ Honesty ¡°Challet, King Of Elshar Zheiea, will now speak.¡± He bowed, and Challet bowed much lower. His silver curls shook on his shoulders. He had more pins on his sash than Cevit Ion! His uniform was orange-yellow with a yellow sash. Tessite decorations, similar to a master healer¡¯s, decorated the border of his sash. I hadn¡¯t seen that. He definitely fit my definition of a fairy-tale king, except instead of a crown, he wore a flat nine-sided hat of golden yellow with Tessite symbols on each panel¡¯s part of his headband. He was graceful, despite trembling. Cevit Ion let me know he is near 200 years old and he¡¯s waiting to be recloned younger until his wife is with him. Pirad is working on that. Outside, a bunch of people in white tunics and pants led riding animals of all descriptions! Some were like horses and in most colors we have ¡®em in, but others had different-shaped heads. I recognized dorna, like very muscular donkeys with cow faces. Caeln, kind of like camels, but they don¡¯t spit or have humps. They have very flat, soft backs, and they¡¯re slow. Healers love to put sick people on ¡®em if they want to sleep on one, because they¡¯re somehow good for Zheien mind pains. ¡°My people, we have much change in our lives today! I fear for all of you, especially my bae and sae who came from slavery! You are free, my children, and you have healers to care for you. Rainbow¡¯s healers can help any of you who have pain with certain thoughts, or even to hear your names. Please, tell a healer if you have pains. Remember the words of Queen Molly. Rest when weary. See a healer if unwell. These are wise words, so I also use them. ¡°My people, I asked all of you to come to Elshar Zheiea, all those of Rahn Estar who provided us foods and minerals to trade, and facilities that will yet produce ships and weapons, but we think the end of our long war comes soon. And, all those of K¡¯hasa Zha. Some fear to come, but we brought all who were willing, led by King Donterian. We will nae relent in trying to convince all of Zheien birth to leave K¡¯hasa Zha! We fear those who refused my request are trained to stay with slaver herbs. ¡°I sent many operatives, some of them, Earthans, to live as Elshar traders but watch for those taken as slaves. Most of us are here, and we number 20 quadrillion in K¡¯hasa Zha, 2500 in Rahn Estar, and our facilities on Rahn Estar and Esta Faho have 25,000 workers, mostly in the shipbuilding facility. But, these workers are nae part of our numbers, for they yet have citizenship in their Elshar homes. Perhaps 20% are Ishah. ¡°We offered for all to live on worlds of Alb, and few created or moved homes to Alb. They have lodging, but nae official homes as far as their Alliance records. Few are of the Unified. If one wishes a citizenship, he may ask of any diplomat, and we have the Diplomats House Of Rahn Estar. All are told of it. ¡°Adia Rayaline, Scientist Of Areon, discovered a new, plentiful fuel. Ships idle for centuries fly again! Pirad, Elder Of Bisillipia, came with healing and new tech for portals and ships that those of Zheien birth have nae pains to travel. Most species have nae pain, but there are some that nae travel for fear of death. Even those may now travel, so we will see new species among our traders who visit Alb! This is a time of miracles. ¡°Adia is now Queen Of Ye~, for she married Ryonne~, King Of Ye~, Ry¡¯nao¡¯s Unified Diplomat for four years, now! He is the youngest to hold such a post, and she is a worthy wife for a skilled one such as he. Many kings of Zheiea are rethinking our tradition of long courtships. They look to my kingdom and I advise them that a hundred years past, I advised all of my people to make their courtships a week at most. Our haste in courtship and marriage brought nae harms to us. Marriages are happy, and I lose fewer during this happiest of times! We are nae a foolish people. Perhaps Ryonne~ and his new queen lead the way for other kingdoms. Their people are happy, and even Ishmarel, King Of Zheiea, married his Alice today.¡± People waved their arms in the air, so I did, too. Cevit Ion told me the Unified Diplomat position is the 2nd most important and a joint position between the Unified and Alliance trade networks like Diplomatic Service, Traders Service, Science Service, Healer Colony Service and Education Service. Unified Diplomats rarely last 2 years because their missions are the hardest on our level. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Ryonne~¡¯s family has had many of them, so that¡¯s one reason Ye~ is so respected. They only have 2500 people. MarKu has 70 decillion. You¡¯d expect, statistically, for the largest Zheien colony to have the most talent. I expected him to talk about Adia¡¯s ability to see futures for people, or her prophecies about the fall of MarKu and other places that landed us here, but he didn¡¯t. ¡° difficultnaeminor I looked over at Cevit Ion¡¯s family. He kept a hand on Jirris in his lap. Held onto his dark curls! ¡°Our plan is to gather in the buildings of Rainbow, outside us. Those couples who wish privacy may have a room with familiar furnishings, and their healer will have a bed in the hall outside their portal. I ask that when nae needing privacy, all remain on a bed in the main chamber that we can offer healing oft. ¡°Many of us learned to ignore unwells, to make travel possible, and to do important work for our lieges. Now we can easily make cloned bae and sae, and each of them may choose to continue work that they have memories of skills to accomplish. Their records will state the fact that they are clones, and once, in the early days of the Alliance, clones were common and shared work. Any person may send his cloned ba or sa to do his work, on any world. ¡°There is nae need for death with honor in your occupations. Ry¡¯nao said we are to cease this practice, that we healers long protested! Of all Zheien, deaths of preventable unwells are most common in those mixed with Elshars, and all of us have yellow skin. The second highest number of these are Eans, those with green skins. Third highest is the Yeff, even though their skins are orange. Eans and Yeff had to undergo extreme genetic modifications to live on their worlds, but Pirad changed their worlds so they are now healthy!¡± His blue eyes turned light. He smoothed his white robe, that had blue-green borders, and Tessite decorations tinkled. ¡°Pirad gave us Elshar Zheiea, a world with nae poisons, and nae mines! All mineral that would be mined was moved to Esta Faho and Rahn Estar, and all mining, shipbuilding and weapons research is now automated. We gave choices to the 12,000 who work on Esta Faho, and they moved to Rahn Estar. Our combined facilities there are more efficient, and have more protections for workers. ¡°Most of the weapons facility moved to Lisbaar Alb to be with their families. There is only one family in the old weapons facility on Esta Faho, and we can nae convince them to leave. Pirad moved all of the mines of Rahn Estar, to Esta Faho. This includes all the mines of Rahn Estar and all its pollution, Kin Para¡¯s mines, Sara Kia¡¯s mines, and the unmined minerals of Calladia and Sara Kia. ¡°All worlds except Esta Faho will be farming worlds now, and automated, but for the facilities on Rahn Estar with their workers who wish to keep their homes on their homeworlds or other worlds of Alb. Most workers of Rahn Estar moved their homes to Samar Thaae. Most of Esta Faho chose D¡¯sharr Alb. These will continue to work on Rahn Estar.¡± Farms? On worlds with mine poisons? That didn¡¯t make sense-- Leaders’ Speeches King Challet continued. Zheien love long speeches. Elsie looked kind of bored, but held Nespa¡¯s hand. They looked cute together. Wulai¡¯s his healer. I worried. An Ishah man sat with them looking sad. ¡°My healers there are happy that now there is a Rainbow Unwell Colony on Rahn Estar for workers. Wasa Mai oft came to me with concern for our shipbuilders, whom had many injuries from overuse of their telepathy, or injuries from moving heavy equipment. ¡°Automation avoids the largest part of this, but we wished, long, to provide healing. Now, with Pirad¡¯s help, we can offer healing to all 20,000 workers. As you may know, Areon has four new shipbuilding worlds that it built recently, and brought with its star system. They advised Wasa Mai and offered plants and animals for Rahn Estar for parks to please workers, and grow foods from their homes. Now Rahn Estar has these parks among the residences of the workers, and they produce more work! ¡°Other shipbuilding facilities see this and plan to do the same. Instead of a landscape of rocks and barren, poison sand, workers walk past small squares with plants and animals. They may take of fruits and edible flowers or healing herbs. Animals are available as companions in their homes. People are happier. ¡°Harmful substances are filtered from winds and sands, and traded. What poisons one species might nourish or heal another. The Nefcot Ring gives energy for all manner of useful progs, to find these new resources and markets for them. ¡°Tech is nae limited now. All of you know how Ishah is poisoned from Elshar-owned mines, but even Ishah could mitigate effects so mortality is from hunger, nae mine poisons, but for workers. Ishah¡¯s population grew constantly from imports of workers, so, like Zheien worlds, they were unaware of how high their mortality was. King Dai¡¯nos provided means for large numbers to emigrate during the Panic, and King Theaspaura of Fhiah advised him to send them to worlds of Alb and provided great ships for them.¡± He spread his wrinkled fingers wide, and his arms. A thin Zheien. ¡°Among those who arrived, we received great numbers of healers able to work, and with food and healing, they work and have happiness. But, fully half have unwells preventing work, and many spent time in mines and have poisonings. Pirad hopes to cure most of these, but some of his cures take much time. King Dai¡¯nos is taking measures to heal his people, and most did nae move! Ishah are also a mixed people. They are nae as healthy as once we believed. Pirad is helping them. ¡°And, he is helping us. New progs run to try to detect unwells. We found that many of our workers on Rahn Estar needed healing and obtained it! And, former slaves who need useful work can now choose our shipbuilding and weapons facilities among many other places in Alb, with healing available that enables one to keep working! All that need rest may do so until their healers tell them they may work again. ¡°I wish to thank those who wrote progs while slaves came to join us. Our Earthans who write progs, our new server instructors, are learning quickly and saved many of our lives! I speak of Peh Ras¡¯ new wife Sharon, Camen¡¯s new wife, Lindy, Pondaiash¡¯s new wife, Leyla, Farleikon¡¯s new wife, Ella, and Elsie, who saved lives tonight!¡± I smiled at them all. How Elsie needed that! ¡°Thank you very much for your help to us! Your ideas gave Peh new ideas, and he tells me Earthans on other worlds of Alb are also changing our thinking! Father Of All blessed us with you, and I hope all my Earthans will tell us of any problems. We will assign a governor for your Earthan Colony soon, but until you give us your opinions, Millie, a cloned sa of Molly, will be your Governor. Bedelia is your new council member. Tell her of all your concerns.¡± I stood up so everyone could see me. Stacy studied me, that look of, ¡®I¡¯m going to remember her for later.¡¯ I smiled at her. She still had tension in her, like she¡¯d need to get her kids and run any minute. ¡°All provs of Elshar Zheiea touch your borders, that we may know of your well, and you may choose which of our provs are dear to your heart and ask citizenship from our kings. There is nae limit of which citizenships you may hold, from Elshar Zheiea or any other world of Alb. We wish all to be happy, and with citizenship comes protection. ¡°We encourage all Earthans to add at least one citizenship. Your Earthan citizenship of your native country remains, unless you have a reason to wish to sever it. Diplomats are happy to explain any part of Unified life to you. We are Unified but also Alliance, so if you have questions, please, ask. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°When we leave here, we go to Rainbow. Friends may stay by you. While there, you may design a home or site your existing home. You may place your possessions there, or keep them in our alt storage. Any pets you may have with you may stay by you, and we have progs to protect them as well as you, and they are entitled to healing and foods. ¡°If you wish a pet, animals will be on the commons and any who stay by you are yours. They, like you, have a record to show whom they prefer. Our pets may choose whom to stay beside. This includes riding animals and large animals. They can sleep on the bed with you or on the floor by your bed.¡± I wanted a pet, but didn¡¯t ask Keiley if he already has one. He looked to a room with his picture on it, and a silver gelsai bounded out. They have six legs and are big as a German Shepherd! She sat by his right leg and rubbed her head against it like a cat. Her triangular ears definitely reminded me of a cat, as did her huge eyes. But they had round pupils like ours. Blue, and turned light when he petted her head. A wave, and we saw her record. She works in his healers¡¯ chambers and her title is Serenah, Healer¡¯s Arm. That¡¯s another name for healer helper. She¡¯s 51 years old! Her record looked exactly like mine! Wow! ¡°It is important to follow Molly¡¯s rules. Rest when weary. Seek healing when unwell. For so many years of war, we had to work beyond what any caring healer wishes! Now is time for rest. ¡°King Challet already declared a festival to celebrate our new world and work is only half days, for those well to perform it. But, I say to all of you, ask of your healer before planning to walk among the displays. Many of you need more rest than this. We have many musicians, tutors, diplomats, artisans, those of too many occupations to name! Most of these will come to your bed if your healer feels this is well for you. ¡°And, all bakers and sweeters will bring trays to all, whether resting in a bed, resting on a cael or other riding animal, or walking in the festival. Our liege will add days for each couple who married on Earth, and who marries at home or in Rainbow. Nae fear that you miss! ¡°I urge all of you, keep your healer near, and you have nae, ask for one.¡± His eyes went from serious blue to black. ¡°Think nae that you nae need a healer. All of you do, for unwell can come suddenly in one already seen by his healer. I wish all of you to be well, and we see sudden peril at times when we nae expect this. Every person needs a healer by him.¡± That¡¯s what Napah said. ¡® ¡°So, here is Wasa Mai, King Of Rahn Estar, to speak with you concerning our worlds. Other kings will address their bae and sae.¡± Wasa Mai, a very old Ishah with barely any yellow in the folds of his white skin, ambled over to us. His blue eyes also wavered from dark to light, like everyone else¡¯s who spoke. ¡°My bae and sae, I see, perhaps a hundred of you who are mine. I was named an Elder and I am 20, but I appear older than I am because of our mine poisons.¡± Oh, that scared me! ¡°I wish to speak with many, but my healer tells me I have nae health for it. He tells me I must speak with a few today, and a few more, tomorrow, and I must use progs to tell me with whom I spoke, so I will.¡± He spread his arms out wide, and all three wide, flat fingers spread out. Narrower than the twin fingers of Zheien, but still rectangular. Light shone through them, like a hand on a flashlight. ¡°For those of you unfamiliar with our government, I am King Of Rahn Estar, the five worlds that existed to mine ore and raise plants and animals, for healing herbs and foods. I answer to King Challet, who answers to Cevit Ion, our 7th Galaxy Minister until Peatabus, 1st Galaxy Minister, reorganizes our government. He may leave things as they are with the members of the Alb Council. He may add an Earthan Colonies Minister. ¡°As it stands, Molly, Queen Of Rainbow also governs the Earthan Colonies Of Alb. I think is too much for a young ruler! I rule five small colonies, and have a Council, and each member of my council rules a council of his world. Zheien colonies have a king of their world and one for each prov, with councils of 9 members. Elshar colonies have a leader of their world, and a council, with ten members. Each prov, if he has more than one, has a leader and a 10-member council. ¡°In Rahn Estar, we did share rule with Elshar colonies, and so had members who were leaders of Elshar provs. Mican of the Par Vu Council oft came to us on his way to or from Elshar Mashai and we oft shared work.¡± I shuddered, and felt that cold again! Stam hummed. ¡°Now we have one Elshar to represent the Artisan Council and the Trader Council, and he is Micansen, Leader Of Elshar Rahn Estar.¡± Farley startled, and so did Tom! What¡¯s going on? ¡°He travels among our provs now, instead of worlds. I decided not to risk any more of our people. Pirad offered me automation for all of our mining and farming. We moved all of our riding animals and other animals with our people. Any rare plants, we brought with us. In this way, if we did suffer an attack from slavers, our losses are limited, but Pirad thinks we will na have any. ¡°Children, have you questions for me?¡± Most of us smiled at him. An Ishah diplomat came and led Ella¡¯s family off the ship. Healer’s Plans Then, he asked a healer to speak. This older man, Galarsmen, bowed to him, then to us. He had red-gold eyes that wavered from orange to black. Like Wulai¡¯s eyes. I sobbed. But he¡¯s got the strip of family color with Tessite symbols down the front. A master healer. I didn¡¯t like the term, but the Alliance still allowed slavery until just Wednesday when we moved! It¡¯ll take a while for derogatory titles to change. Outside, animals made soft noises and their keepers petted them. No one seemed impatient, waiting there, not even the animals. They didn¡¯t have bridles and just followed their keepers around or maybe walked over to a flower or grass to munch. The old healer¡¯s red-gold eyes stayed dark and he looked really tired. ¡°My bae and sae, we are ready. My sisters and brothers, come, and let none of our Zheien walk!¡± His white robe¡¯s borders were a yellowish-green. Not a loud color, but bright. It reminded me of some plants on Earth. A bunch of white-robed healers came in. ¡°Nae worry for protocols, Becky! Rest your head. My people understand¡ª¡± Galarsmen carried Tom off the bed and another healer carried Becky, whose neck trembled. Even her blond hair and the curls on her shoulders jiggled. But she looks better than she did. Their sky blue looks really good on her. He¡¯s light gray and not happy with being carried. King Nitomahan ran to Tom. ¡°Bae, are you unwell? Galar, what happens?¡± Galarsmen tried to bow and the older man took Tom so he could. ¡°Liege, he saw his future and has to marry now! Please, let me help him¡ª¡± Tom looked panicked. ¡°I wish Fa to help me, Galar. You may help me, after.¡± ¡°What do you mean, he saw his future?¡± Well, if I hadn¡¯t been so nervous about him seeing my memories-- ¡°Fa, share my memories.¡± He shook all over. Very gently, the older man held his head against his silver curls. ¡°O, Bae, such a frightening future! Eae, I think your Becky may help you with it more than I! We escaped much harm lastweek. My people, forgive this fast marriage, but Antomias is unwell, and so is his Becky! They must marry¡ª¡± ¡°How long does he know her?¡± A dignified Elshar stood there. Lots of pins on his sash, but none of the meaningless ones I saw on most Elshars in Rainbow. They walked past him. The sunny yellow ship opened to dark red sky with few stars. Other people got on riding animals, but they stopped to watch. Past him, I stood with Keiley, and Elsie. ¡°My people, you know my bae. Please, we must continue here!¡± Most people raised their twin fingers and swayed. We got with the program and did it, too. We left the ship and the sky was deep red. It kind of unnerved me, not to see many stars as in Atlanta, but five moons, one that traced a path through the other four. Buildings like glowing gems in bright colors sat in yellow sand. Beautiful flowers grew in it. We went to a sky blue building that came to a dull point. In that sky, those 22 stars shone in diff colors. Pretty. Healers carried all of the Zheien, including many in white robes who protested! Tom reached for Becky¡¯s hand and Galarsmen held their hands together. ¡°Becky, what is your fullname?¡± ¡°Becky Kimberly Edwards.¡± She still sounded hoarse! ¡°And, your occupation?¡± She flinched. ¡°Student.¡± She changed majors from Computer Science to Art, and her father said she¡¯d never get a job. Probably still upset over that. She¡¯s talented, can¡¯t he see that? ¡°Becky Kimberly Edwards, Student Of Earth, I, Antomias, First Prince Of Esta Faho, I love you with all the love in me! I invite you to hold the hands of Esta Faho in the strength of our family as my wife. In this Petition Of Marriage Without Courtship, by the Ancient Protocols of Zhea~ and Esta Faho, and also Rahn Estar, Becky, will you agree?¡± His deep voice has strain in it. I hoped that rude Elshar doesn¡¯t make trouble! ¡°Yes, I, Becky Kimberly Edwards, Student Of Earth, love you, Antomias, First Prince Of Esta Faho!¡± Poor Becky. I know she¡¯s worried, too. King Nitomahan kept their hands together. ¡°I wish to declare my children¡¯s Wedding Festival of Nine Days! Please, my people, enjoy it!¡± His voice broke as he lifted Tom. I felt so bad for them! Pas carried Becky at a run towards the sky blue building that is our palace. People¡¯s emotion rumbled on me like a personal earthquake! They¡¯re unhappy! ¡°Becky! Congratulations!¡± Elsie sounded out of breath. ¡°Maiden, let me carry¡ª¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t coming to that other building? But they said everybody had to go there!¡± She looked after them, panting. ¡°C¡¯mon, Elsie. I guess royalty has different rules. Keiley has to go this way.¡± I pulled at her arm. Healers walked with us, holding each of us by the other arm. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. We stood in front of the palace and Keiley waved for a holo of our Petition. Pas took him off his feet. He looked shocked. But, he was asleep when Wulai and Elanapah and Napah all died! He¡¯s awake and heard me remembering it. Grabbed for my hand! That Elshar, Micansen, came to us. ¡°Jos, how did our liege find a wife so soon? Is he unwell?¡± Keiley put a hand out and he took it, gently. ¡°I know is hard to understand, but a member of Adia¡¯s Team which we joined sees futures for certain persons.¡± ¡°Futures? How is it possible? Is this a sign that war ends soon?¡± ¡°It may be. There is more. Micansen, we should nae speak of this much. Many Earthans have Gifts. Pirad warned many on our ship, nae to speak of these things. To do so might jeopardize our future.¡± His eyes went from serious blue to black! ¡°Then, I will not ask any more. Is there anything I can do? Should I go to more of our Council? Did our liege say anything to you?¡± ¡°My friend, I think you did enough. Surely, with all of us going to healers, Council will wait to make any decisions on our matters. I think they can wait for our rest. Do you know? Bedelia and I are now council members, and represent Earthans. We will help you also, my friend.¡± ¡°Tom will not think so, that we can wait, and Nito looks worried! I want to rest their minds, or they will not get healing.¡± Boy, did I misjudge this fella! He¡¯s pale. Bowed to me. ¡°Lady Bedelia, I welcome you to our council, and if there is any way I can help you, I will.¡± ¡°My friend, I wish only to show you my marriage and tell you, I experienced it, and I cannot explain it. I saw our future together, and so Bedelia did, and we felt the love we shared in those memories. I was injured so badly I could nae work, and Nito died, and Tom also had injury from slavers such that we could nae see one another! We are nae strong without our friends. Bedelia fears that I die because she held me in my death, twice! I wonder that my poor wife has sanity!¡± Hearing the anguish in his voice made me cry again, but this Elshar hugged both of us. ¡°Oh, how terrible! And Tom married Becky, and how did they fare? Did he recover to come back home?¡± ¡°I¡ªplease, dear wife, show Micansen what you saw. You have more memories than I.¡± Pas frowned. But, Micansen touched my mind, like a Zheien would, just waiting on me to decide if I wanted to show him. A very polite Elshar. So, I opened up and let him see. I worried, but Pas is holding Keiley. Micansen¡¯s grief came to me, and he cried, too. ¡°My brother will destroy us, but I can stop him. Pirad said he could make me Zheien. If I am like you, I can do more, because Zheien are very strong. Nito touches many minds in a day. Think of how much more work I could do for him! Rest well, Jos. When you see me next, I will be like you.¡± Keiley frowned at him, but Pas hummed and he fell asleep. ¡°Micansen, wait!¡± But he already vanished in a portal. ¡°Pas, several people in Rainbow tried that, and Pirad had to make ¡®em what they were! Why would he even offer?¡± Pas sighed. ¡°Bedelia, I am only a healer. If Pirad offered, perhaps he has a well reason. I know Greg and Briahh improved his work.¡± ¡°Who? Oh, Greg, the fella who helped me. His wife delivered babies in Rainbow.¡± And he sat and stared most of the time! But he wasn¡¯t like that when he helped me share memories to that cylinder. Maybe a lot of us are running, trying to escape a fate that¡¯s chasing us in the shadows. And what about Wulai? His death didn¡¯t come for years from now! Why¡¯s he dead now? Didn¡¯t have time to ponder that. Healers put us on a dorna and we rode across to Rainbow. Pas carried Keiley and another healer carried Fa, who didn¡¯t wake up. Elsie was in a leiwege with Nespa. She sighed. ¡°Well, now I know what it¡¯s like to be married, too. I think. It did record, didn¡¯t it, Lanapah?¡± He sighed, and it rumbled, though not as much as a Zheien. He¡¯s Ishah. ¡°You are married. How I wish my cousins lived, to see this day! O, Het, sleep, my friend¡ª¡¯¡± Het sat up with his brown eyes wide. They turned red-gold! ¡°O, healers bring us Wu, Nepah and Elanapah!¡± The whoosh of a portal woke up a lot of people, who cried! They ran in carrying our healers! ¡°Fear na! We are healers! Do you always have such fear, to hear a portal?¡± One lady sobbed. ¡°Elshars come in portals to attack us, to steal our children!¡± I gasped! How horrible that must have been! ¡°Be calm, lady. Portals nae bring dangers to us, nae ever. Healers, please, if you must port, go to our spaceport for it! Many have fears, and we cannot help them!¡± Lots of healers cried! A whole bunch of Ishah healers rode in on animals and jumped off. ¡°O, be calm. Let us all bathe in healing muds¡ª¡± ¡°Muds! We will die¡ª¡± Via’s Last Word ¡°The sands here are safe, and the muds are very well. Galarsmen, please, bathe yourself that they see. When you do so, they will know, sands and muds are safe.¡± Old Galarsmen held up shaking arms. ¡°My people, follow me. Let one carry you outside. We must learn new things, and this is hard. I trembled to walk in these sands, but Via came to us, a well clone of my master, and he showed me there is nae harm here. I will bathe, and you may see my well, after.¡± Everyone got up, but their healers carried all but several Elshars in red or blue robes. In all the confusion, the healers with Wulai, Nepah and Elanapah walked with us and we all hugged ¡®em. Ladies carried ¡®em, and Wulai was my age! That¡¯s his wife! Nepah laid in the arms of a hefty Ishah lady who smiled really big, and a smaller Ishah lady carried Elanapah. But all of ¡®em watched Galarsmen tromp into the nearest marsh outside and he sat with a big splash. Mud got all over healers near him, who laughed and rubbed it in their faces or arm. He laid in the water and moved mud over all of him, and when some of it broke the surface, it foamed and covered him. Then he sat up and rubbed it in his open eyes, his face, down both arms, and his legs from knees to toes. ¡°Ahhh! These muds are like those of Fhiah, or Par Vu, or even MarKu, if some of you traveled far. Whether white like Fhiah¡¯s, or brown or blue as Par Vu¡¯s, or orange of MarKu¡¯s, they are just as well. Come, all of you, bathe and see how much well comes to all of you!¡± Yellow, golden yellow, bloomed in his skin and people¡¯s happiness tingled on us! Then, everyone went to the nearest marsh and we had a mass bath! I giggled as I enjoyed the foam. When it dries, dust blows away, like magic! I bathed my husband. We both had so many pleasant baths in this sweet-smelling mud, in Rainbow. White or golden, he enjoyed it just as much. Some were hesitant to sit in the water and needed some encouragement. Healers pulled ¡®em in. That kind of shocked me, because Molly was adamant that no one needed to be pulled or pushed! A few people got upset, but it was obvious they saw things we didn¡¯t. Healers reassured people, that they¡¯d fall asleep, and they did. They answered a lot of anxious questions. ¡°Why did Asaferan nae hear me?¡± ¡°When we lack well bathing, this can happen, that one relives a memory. See, he warms now. Nae speak of this, for he nae remembers, tomorrow. As long as he bathes oft, this happens nae again. He was on Opherap for 5 months before a friend could come with a ship, eae?¡± People grimaced, but most didn¡¯t know where that was, like me. Diplomats go everywhere. Soon, most slept, or at least, smiled. Ella grabbed handfuls and bathed Farley¡¯s head with it. He startled awake. Galarsmen held a handful of dripping mud up to his nose. ¡°You used much ea fae, but this is better, my son. Nae fear it. All muds, here, and in our home, are same.¡± His red-gold eyes went to medium lightness. He gave a tentative sniff, then breathed in. ¡°O, is well ea fae! I nae ever saw yellow! To bathe in muds in our home, Ella, is to poison oneself, there, on Elshar Zheiea, and even K¡¯hasa Zha! I had to be ever careful only to bathe in our fountains, and nae on windy days, ever.¡± Galarsmen sighed, and it rumbled on us. ¡°If only I knew our fountains were unwell! Elshars oft shook off their garments near them and we had gradual poisonings. How grateful I am that nae Elshars of Par Vu may trade here!¡± His eyes wavered again. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Brother, all may trade here, but progs watch all for signs of unwell behavior.¡± An Ishah walked beside us. ¡°Why carry you umar seg? He is na needed here¡ª¡± ¡°Nae needed! Know you how many wake with terrors, and nearly die?¡± Those eyes went black! ¡°We have better herbs for this! Pirad can remove the terror from memories without harsh herbs such! Did you see him, Brother?¡± Galarsmen paled. ¡°I had nae time! So many needed me today¡ª¡± ¡°How was your sleep before today?¡± ¡°Sleep? How can anyone sleep when people are dying? I took nes, as I did every night this week, so I could¡ª¡± The healer gasped and waved for vek ea and gave it! All of Galarsmen¡¯s healers gasped. ¡°You must nae give a master healer¡ª¡± ¡°How many of you are master? Wish you to lose him? I am a clone of Via Of Ishah. Will you argue with me? I have all of his memories!¡± They all bowed, even the ones in leiwege! Most were. ¡°I know you love Galarsmen, and I love him, that he saved his colony with his methods. But, know you, I will change much of what you know. We have progs to prevent the use of umar seg. You are trained to use him too oft, and all of you have unwells of memory because¡ª¡± ¡°But, umar seg removes poisons! We must use him oft¡ª¡± ¡°Guides of Ishah state that more than once in a year is unwell! Did you study, when you became healers? All in Healer Colony Service must¡ª¡± ¡°We know of them, but who has time to study? Our healers¡¯ chambers stay filled, and we can nae even sleep long, for slaver attacks. We must watch our diplomats, for their sleep is unwell¡ª¡± ¡°Then, I must teach you of unwells of sleep. See this prog. I alter him to run on all of Esta Faho. When one is exhausted, he must have well sleep. My enneads will stay by all of you. All of you have much exhaustion, and I nae ever saw this but in Rahn Estar. I ask of Wasa Mai. See, he comes to me!¡± Wasa Mai stepped out of a portal, in a white tunic. Rubbed an eye. But, he looked at the prog. Laughed. ¡°Ah, I wished for rest for my poor people, and now they shall have him! Eae, Via, run this. My people, nae be frightened. I have an army of healers and diplomats to sit on your beds and watch, and even they will have rest from this prog when needed. ¡°He brings another diplomat if yours must sleep, and if one sleeps before he can bring one, the prog brings one before it works. All of these know of our plight and volunteered to help us. Many are students in Sigan Mas from worlds such as Siar that suffered attacks as we did. Siar is here in Alb, and runs progs similar. ¡°So does all of Ea~. The Alb Council approves as we speak, and I concur. Run it, Via, and any prog you feel necessary. I wish nae to lose even one to overwork! Now is time of healing for us, all of us of Elshar Zheiea, and King Challet also approves. Run him on me, and I sleep by Galar.¡± Wow. I guess healers disagree about things like any scientific discipline does. People gasped! Zheien, anyway. Via waved, and every Esta Faho Zheien immediately yawned, and fell asleep! Wasa Mai leaned against Via, and another him carried him into the yellow mud. The ones on their feet had an Ishah healer to scoop him up and put him in the muds. Everyone got a leisurely mud bath, and got carried into the yellow building. I was shocked that a good many of the Ishah also went to sleep. So it works on anyone. As he said, another Ishah healer came to work in his place before he laid down, often where he was, even on a cael. Animal tenders seemed to just walk by the cael until a healer came. Some went in the festival, that was still going. An Elshar near us also got zapped. He wore a diplomat¡¯s uniform. His healer put him on a cael, put a long, white tunic on him, and the cael walked to an Elshar lady carrying a tray. She gave it to another lady and climbed up beside him to hold him. Several Elshar artisans¡ªred robes¡ªcarried sleeping people to healers with confused looks, and Ishah healers carried them in, too. Some just looked sleepy until a healer picked ¡®em up and they went to sleep, too. Ella laughed. ¡°This is like something out of Sleeping Beauty!¡± Oh, I held sleeping Keiley and giggled. It was! Then she had to explain the fairy tale about the princess cursed to die if she pricked her finger on a spinning wheel¡¯s spindle, but the fairy¡¯s blessing just made the whole kingdom sleep until true love¡¯s kiss woke her. One of the diplomats got a mischievous look and kissed his sleeping wife¡¯s forehead. ¡°Ah, she is immune to the True Love¡¯s Kiss! Or perhaps, my love is nae true enough¡ª¡± She laughed and pulled him down, then fell asleep again. ¡°O! He works! I am true love!¡± He laughed and held her. Then he, too, fell asleep. Ella put her head down, then startled. ¡°Love, it¡¯s safe here.¡± He tried to lift his head. A diplomat put his hand on Farley¡¯s forehead. ¡°Dear friend, I am Fespa, Diplomat Of Par Vu, Parveia, and I am rested, and well. Sleep long. I am here to watch, in Galarsmen¡¯s Chambers Of Rainbow.¡± ¡°Rainbow?¡± He struggled to open his eyes, and his healer hummed. His body went limp. Ella sang. When he heard her, he relaxed. Another girl came over and sang. This one could sing opera! She looked a little like Sarah Brightman with black curls and light blue eyes. They sang for a long time. I just held my husband, and Wu¡¯s hand, and he¡¯s warm. I fell asleep fast. Answers And Mysteries I woke up when Wu sat Keiley up so he could eat festival pastries. Heard music going outside. Wanted to go dance! But not without my husband. His eyes stayed black. ¡°Wu, can you nae carry me in the festival, just for a short time? We miss so much!¡± His powdery tears dripped yellow stars on his light green tunic and pants. Wu¡¯s head nodded as he held out a pastry, and it broke against Keiley¡¯s collar. ¡°Dear friend, we are too sleepy. Eat, and sleep more, Nes.¡± Another healer laughed, and pulled his hand to Nespa, who barely kept his eyes open. Elsie held his head against her shoulder with one arm while she poked screens. She smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel bad, Love! You my sleepin¡¯ prince. When you get some good rest, then we¡¯ll have fun. Dat festival gon¡¯ go fer 81 days! Ella an¡¯ I gon¡¯ git these progs all fixed up fer everybody. Da more ya sleep, da betta dey work!¡± ¡°They do? But the second night of our festival, we must search for ourselves in the figures! Will we miss it?¡± That healer pushed sleeping Wulai into his wife¡¯s arms. Finished feeding Nes and Keiley. ¡°Nae this worry! When you are rested, then you may plan your festival. You will nae miss any of our pleasant customs, my son. Rest. Diplomats think they are immune to all unwells, but you need this rest the most! Your festival will wait for you.¡± Keiley groaned, then went limp and snored. The healer carefully pulled him and Fa, who already slept, together and put their hands so they could grab hair. ¡°Why do they do that?¡± ¡°O, my cousin lived many years in Esta Faho. He was Stationed Diplomat Of K¡¯hasa Zha Bonet. He said that when Elshars attacked, they tried to sneak into homes. Parents thought if they held to their children¡¯s hairs, they woke if an Elshar tried to take him. Eae, nae child ever left a parent¡¯s arms. Others cried, and diplomats fought them. Some kept weapons in their beds. Others slept in corrals. They organized corrals and families that all homes were near a riding animal. When Elshars attacked, those too young or infirm to fight mounted and fled! Others, diplomats skilled in riding, acted as decoys and projected images of children or elderly riding with them. Farley was very skilled in this, and oft took 6 ferrisnae with him, and projected images on all. Trained the ferrisnae to pretend injury until an Elshar got close, then kicked him or moved so he fell from his dorna. ¡°We lost too many to exhaustion or incomplete healing. Farley oft rose while Konomai treated him with nesfa, to ride ferrisnae during attacks! Galar nearly lost him, many times.¡± I grimaced. Ella was asleep and didn¡¯t hear that. Even I knew, if a Zheien gets hurt and needs nesfa, he has to get good rest to recover well, from a severe head injury. All these diplomats got released¡ªbecause of too many severe head injuries. Oh. We were near Cevit Ion¡¯s bed. Ahstam looked tired. Pas got him to sleep and held Cevit Ion, but Jirris still startled awake, then Cevit Ion startled, and his father looked very sad. That Thordes fella held Jirris, too, but he didn¡¯t hold his hair like his family did. All of ¡®em had nightmares. Rose shook her finger at Rish. ¡°You need to sleep more, too! Thordes aren¡¯t immune to lack of sleep, either!¡± Jirris lifted his head. ¡°Rish? Is it time?¡± ¡°No. You need to sleep¡ª¡± ¡°But our children¡ª¡± ¡°The kids are playing outside! They have festival pastries to eat! Healers are telling them to go play, not putting them in beds. Children are happy.¡± Jirris cried. ¡°Did someone ride to the market today?¡± Rish hugged him. ¡°Listen. Hear the bakers?¡± ¡°Wish you a festival pastry?¡± A lady held out a tray. ¡°Ejis nae, did you take them to the children?¡± Poor Jirris sobbed. Cevit Ion sat up and reached for him. ¡°Many brought trays to children, but there is enough for everyone.¡± ¡°Jir, we have nae famine. Rest. Nae more long rides to the markets. Bakers have plenty.¡± He blinked at him. ¡°They do?¡± ¡°Eae. Nae this fear. Have you mind pain again, Ba?¡± ¡°I dreamed of Marenalay. O, I should nae speak¡ª¡± ¡°Ba, you can¡¯t just pretend it didn¡¯t happen.¡± Rose hugged him. Another hand touched his hair. ¡°Jir, you should rest.¡± ¡°Ghen?¡± His blue eyes went very light! ¡°Ba, strengthen me! I must recite¡ª¡± ¡°Can you nae wait¡ª¡± An older man held his head. King Challet rushed to them from the other side of the bed. ¡°Nae! Let me hold you, Nephew! Eae, recite now! O, look at this sweat on you! Ghen, bring¡ª¡± ¡°I am here!¡± A man ran in from the corrals! ¡°O, happiness! Sor, Cev, rest! I had enough well to see to our animals this morning. Let me help¡ª¡± ¡°Ghannen, I must hold him. Help your sae! Recite quickly, Jir!¡± ¡°Ghen, Healer Of Herds, Of Elshar Zheiea, I, Jirris, Master Diplomat Of Elshar Zhei¡ª¡± His head dipped, and Challet caught it! ¡°I wish to recite¡ªPetition Of Marr-age¡ª¡± ¡°By the Protocols of Elshar Zheiea and Zhea~, our home, Ghen and Jirris, Children, you are married! Lie here and rest. Hold him, Ghen.¡± Challet pushed his limp body into her arms, but she wasn¡¯t awake. All of them sighed, then pushed themselves against the couple and grabbed their hair. Jirris smiled, then snored. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Rish held his limp hand and sobbed quietly. Rose stroked his blond curls gently. And I felt like I shouldn¡¯t have seen that. Zheien feel terrible when they can¡¯t finish a petition, and a master diplomat¡ªthat¡¯s gotta be worse than regular diplomats. He stayed dark gray. Healers bathed ¡®em all in the blue foam and waved a white gown on King Challet. Like all of ¡®em, he grabbed hair. One hand got some of Cevit Ion¡¯s and Cevit Soron, that¡¯s Cevit Ion¡¯s daddy, and his other hand rested on Jirris and Ghen¡¯s heads. Ghannen grabbed Ghen¡¯s hair, then lost his smile when he felt Challet¡¯s huge finger, kind of a ¡®huh?¡¯ look. I smirked. Ella and Elsie worked on progs, and Pas, both of ¡®em, helped. Both ladies kept a hand on their husbands as they worked. Didn¡¯t seem to be routine stuff. Other programmers came and yeah, lots of telepathy going on privately. Worried faces. I knew of Peh Ras and Sharon in Rainbow. Her sister, Lindy married Camen, he¡¯s huge. But they died because she had a stroke. She looks good now, they helped with programming. It¡¯s embarrassing, to know so much about strangers! cried healerfrightens ¡°slavers ¡°nae ¡°naeaccustom ¡°shipchildren ¡°master ¡° ¡°Micansenthey creepy ¡°paradiseflowershealersbedsmanalong ¡° ¡°work thisthisthisthese ¡° ¡°hide ¡° shade ¡°mefeel ¡°pastries Stacy I rushed to the others, but Becky was staring at that bed, the one with Math~an on it. That¡¯s Ella and Farley¡¯s bed! But there¡¯s at least 5 other couples on there, and some are his relatives from Titan. Uh oh. She paled. Somethings¡¯ not right! Yelena looked nervous, too. Then Becky pulled us outside. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Becky? You¡¯re pale!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t see that man¡¯s arms?¡± Yikes, that was Farley? Math~an went to Farley! They kind of looked puzzled. She led me away from the door. Lowered her voice. ¡°There are mine poisons that make Zheien¡¯s arms and legs twist. Get your healers to look at your husbands. But tell ¡®em not to hide from their healers.¡± All of us nodded. ¡°But, why would they hide from a healer?¡± Elsie blinked her brown eyes at her and cocked her head. All those beads in her braids rattled. She always looks classy. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I wish I did! That¡¯s like going to a doctor with a broken arm and saying, ¡®I don¡¯t want to wear a cast today. I just won¡¯t say anything!¡¯ Maybe they see it as a sign of weakness.¡± Becky sighed. A diplomat was walking by and came over. Bowed. ¡°Yea Becky. Are you troubled? I am Het Paren, Diplomat Of Rahn Estar, and I came to help.¡± Glad to see him on his feet! Maybe because he is not from Esta Faho? ¡°Het Paren, you are a diplomat. Why would you hide from your healer?¡± He paled. ¡°If one hides from his healer, perhaps he fears his healer thinks him unfit for his work! Any of us wish to work as long as we can. But Cevit Ion changed our Guides, rules every diplomat must follow. Some Zheien of yellow skin have frequent unwells, and herbs nae work reliably on us. Because of this, some avoid a healer. Or, wish to die in honorable work, but Cevit Ion now releases us to Decision again and wishes nae to die when a healer can save him. If one has two severe injuries to the back of his head, he must leave his work. ¡°Pirad can give his memories to a clone, and his cloned ba might choose his work and his skills are useful. Do you know of one who hides from his healer?¡± Becky got the memory-sharing stare. He paled! ¡°Thank you, Het Paren.¡± ¡°Do you have other questions?¡± That skin was barely yellow after this, and he shook all over. I worried. People can be dying, and we wouldn¡¯t know! ¡°No, thanks! Are there any other Earthans here besides us? With husbands from Esta Faho?¡± ¡°There is a lady with five young ones and an elderly mother. She worries. Shall I take you to her? She is in Piedmont Park.¡± Elderly mother? Oh. Now, she¡¯s on my list, too. That has to be Stacy. I wanted to talk to her. ¡°Piedmont Park! Let¡¯s go!¡± Elsie, Becky and I were excited! Yelena, too. ¡°I love kids! With five, maybe she could use a hand!¡± He opened a portal and helped us step through. It was like stepping in a bathtub with warm water, then stepping out in a cool breeze. We stood by that huge lake. But, instead of mud and weeds, there was yellow sand all the way around the lake and plenty of places to sit! And lots of tall trees of many kinds! The lady looked up. All her kids had a frightened look! That diplomat bowed. ¡°One needs me. Are you well, Lady Becky?¡± She tried to bow and fumbled. So she curtsied. ¡°I am well. Eae yeo!¡± He smiled and ported away. She looked after him with a sigh. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Becky. This is Bedelia, Elsie and Yelena. We¡¯re from Esta Faho.¡± ¡°Esta Faho? Where¡¯s that?¡± I waved up a map. ¡°Here¡¯s Piedmont Park, and on the east side of it are the 5 cities of Rahn Estar. The Earthan Colony¡¯s kind of around the Beltline, but I think a lot of people might put their houses between the lake and a city, whichever city they want to be near. Ferrimos is where King Challet lives. To our south is¡ªMarenalay? But, I thought it got destroyed! Maybe they rebuilt it.¡± I opened my mouth to tell ¡®em it¡¯s rebuilt-- ¡°How long does it take to walk the Beltline? I heard there¡¯s more parks than Piedmont.¡± Elsie smiled. ¡°Oh, an hour and a half! Answered my own question! I learned to write progs, so I¡¯m havin¡¯ to look up things all the time. There¡¯s 13 parks.¡± ¡°Progs?¡± Becky¡¯s green eyes went wide. ¡°Programs. You know, like software. I help Ella write ¡®em, but she¡¯s teachin¡¯ me. She should be out here, not in there! Where¡¯s Rainbow on this map? Oh, north of us. Yeah.¡± The map had other provs around us. But they were from Elshar Mashai, where the Zheien Colony moved from. Half of this planet is K¡¯hasa Zha. I heard about that place in Rainbow! Elshars poisoned it. Did they poison Esta Faho? ¡°I wish I could do something clever like that. My parents made me get married at 13.¡± ¡°But dat¡¯s illegal! Ya have to be 16 an¡¯ go to Juvie Court¡ª¡± ¡°My parents and his made me go to Mississippi. I¡ªdon¡¯t mind me. People don¡¯t like drama. I¡¯m Stacy.¡± Why didn¡¯t Mississippi change the law, too, like Georgia did? Just awful! Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Becky shook hands with her. ¡°Listen, my name is Becky, and I¡¯m Antomias, 1st Prince Of Esta Faho¡¯s wife. If you need any help, I¡¯ll help you get it. School¡¯s provided here for everyone.¡± She kept explaining. ¡°Food¡¯s provided, and any clothes you want to design or copy, like if you saw something on a website. If we all wanted to dress up like Disney Princesses¡ª¡± Becky made a sky blue dress with a much higher neckline than they do, complete with butterfly wings that moved! And a magic wand with sparkles as she moved it! Cool! Stacy stood up and wore a white one that looked awesome on her! I had a yellow one, Elsie a brown one with diamond-shaped panels in a variety of bright colors with African-looking designs, and Yelena had a pink one! All of ¡®em got excited! I giggled. Always wanted to be a princess, growing up. But I changed mine to light green, our family color. Wished my husband was awake to see it! All Stacy¡¯s kids had brightly-colored outfits! Her boys had prince costumes! She giggled. They ran around and the girls pirouetted. Their medieval hats and caps didn¡¯t move. ¡°And, clothing formers don¡¯t cost anything! Food doesn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°But, I looked at the food. It¡¯s all restaurant food!¡± She looked down. ¡°There are no limits. Absolutely none! And the treaties that Earth is considering in the UN won¡¯t have any separate accommodations for the poor. No food allowances or any of that nonsense!¡± She got this worried expression. ¡°Stacy, are you all right?¡± ¡°Mom! Her oldest girl, about kindergarten age, shook her arm and she didn¡¯t look at her. All the kids got upset! An Ishah healer popped in. ¡°Oh, what is wrong? Mrs. Boswell? I need help, here!¡± Five other healers picked up the kids, but they didn¡¯t want to be picked up. That¡¯s weird! The kids screamed, and the frantic healers tried to talk to ¡®em, and Stacy¡¯s healer didn¡¯t seem to know what to do! All the kids tried to get Mom¡¯s attention. Stacy¡¯s healer made her sit down. Stacy still stared into space, with this horrified expression. Blinked. ¡°Oh, my, I went to Merit Colony with all my kids! We got sick because I went in the clinic! They said¡ªI¡¯d lose my baby!¡± Merit Colony! I felt sick. She hugged her big belly. Becky put her arms around her and she cried. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You all got aandats, right?¡± ¡°They gave us white ones, on the ship! I¡¯ll be¡ªin debt¡ª¡± ¡°No, you won¡¯t!¡± That first healer came closer. ¡°Lady, there is na cost! Do you feel all right? What happened?¡± ¡°I saw my future! Will it still happen?¡± She shook all over. Becky sat beside her on the padded bench. ¡°No! These futures can be changed! That¡¯s why we¡¯re here with the rest of Elshar Zheiea, because they saw what happened to¡ª¡± Because King Challet asked us all to come here. All yellow Zheien. They all came from his original colony, the one they created for all the Elshars who married Zheien, before Feia Na created the Ishah. Stacy trembled. ¡°I didn¡¯t choose to come here! I followed some of the people I saw when we went to the place with the white sand, and I didn¡¯t know which ship to get on. Is it too late to choose another one?¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t a time limit. Why don¡¯t you live here for a while? If you want to move, you can take your house with you. It¡¯s easy to move the whole thing, and doesn¡¯t cost anything to do it.¡± ¡°They said I could have a house, but I didn¡¯t want the one we lived in¡ª¡± She looked sick! ¡°You can have another one! That diplomat might know who to ask.¡± Whoosh! He stepped out of a portal. Stacy shook harder. Her brown skin went kind of grayish. That Ishah healer waved. ¡°Oh, daughter, I can help¡ªyou fear men? I can bring another healer.¡± ¡°Ejis nae! Should I leave?¡± Het Paren went white, and his eyes, black! His record showed him as having brown skin. I hadn¡¯t seen it. ¡°I knew you¡ªbut you married Serie. I¡ª¡± Her five year old? ¡°Ejis nae!¡± He got the blank stare. A lady healer came for Stacy. ¡°What¡¯s w-wrong with him? Is he sick? I upset him!¡± She cried. All the kids got upset again! ¡°Listen to me!¡± Becky held her hand and kneaded it. ¡°It¡¯s okay. He¡¯s seeing his future. I don¡¯t know how that happens. He¡¯ll talk to you in a min. We have plenty of healers, so nobody¡¯s dying.¡± My heart beat fast. If he was from Esta Faho I¡¯d be more¡ªbut he¡¯s from Rahn Estar. They have mine poisons, too. Becky put him on the bench beside her, on the other side of her lady healer. ¡°Daughter, have some of this.¡± The healer held out a vial of white powder. ¡°I¡¯m¡ªpregnant¡ªis my baby okay? She was sick in that other future! I lost babies¡ªis she one of the ones I lost?¡± She sobbed. ¡°Oh, your baby is all right. You had healing, and you may have more any time. Let me take a look.¡± Gently, she put her tri-fingered hands across Stacy¡¯s forehead. Those blue eyes stayed a serious blue. She¡¯s worried. I¡¯m worried! Het Paren’s Marriage After a few tense minutes and three checks, the healer talked to her. ¡°For now, your baby is fine, but I think Pirad needs to see you soon. He can grow your baby to any age you wish, and add Elshar traits to make her strong.¡± She just looked overwhelmed. The diplomat came to life! ¡°Ejis! This is Serie?¡± He watched her playing in the water with a stick. A duck got curious and swam over. She dropped the stick and held a hand out. The duck put his long neck under Serie¡¯s arm and she petted him. Giggled. Stacy sobbed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do! I¡¯m 18, and I don¡¯t want to be married to Jim, and I¡¯m all alone out here with my kids, and I¡ªhow old are you, Het?¡± He smiled. ¡°I am 17. We are very near the same age. I could marry you, to save your honor. Is easy to sever a marriage from an evil one! In the other future, King Theapet did so. But, I could ask of¡ªKeris Pon is on the council of Esta Faho and has authority¡ª¡± An Elshar stepped out of a green swirl, and Stacy froze. His eyes turned black. Dropped to his knees! ¡°Lady, I will not harm you or anyone! I am here to help!¡± Her lips trembled, and she rubbed tears off. The brown skin on her face reddened a bit. Het waved and gave her a white cloth. ¡°He is nae as the Elshars you remember, who threatened.¡± ¡°But¡ªthat other Elshar¡ªthey found him guilty--¡± ¡°Lady, I hope to earn your trust.¡± Keris Pon got in a Zheien bow with one leg behind, eyes on her. ¡°I would not ever harm another person, unless he threatened my people. I represent artisans. Here is an example of my work, when I am not listening to the concerns of our people.¡± He waved up a tapestry of Piedmont Park that had a duck and five ducklings. Every leaf on the trees was detailed, and the ducks were very realistic with cute poses, and sunlight gleamed on the lake. Dogwoods and wisteria bloomed. He put it in her lap. ¡°Oh, this is beautiful work! I wish I could make something beautiful. They didn¡¯t have any art courses in my Christian online school.¡± She sighed. ¡°Lady, you and your children may have tutors, and you may study as many subjects as interest you.¡± She traced a duck, then tried to give it back. ¡°This is my gift to you, to welcome you to our colony¡ª¡± ¡°But, this must be worth a lot! All this metallic thread, and it¡¯s big!¡± He laughed, not a haughty laugh, but soft and pleasant. ¡°Lady, all our materials are available to everyone who wishes to use them! All supplies are shared in a Zheien colony. ¡°We produce our threads from the output of our mines and farms! Most of these metallic threads are made from common metals that would go in a waste pile, in other colonies. We take waste rock and weeds to make pigments for our artworks! ¡°If it cannot be eaten or traded, scientists try to find uses for it, and our colony has an interesting variety of art forms. Poets write poems to describe beauty, and musicians sing or play instruments made from our waste materials. All that we produce can be traded, but we can also choose to give something to a friend. ¡°Het tells me you no longer wish to be married to a cruel man, is this correct?¡± ¡°Yes! I want a divorce! Jim beat us all, and made us eat spoiled food, and threatened to put us out on the street! I tried to leave him, but he always found us.¡± She looked down and trembled. How awful! ¡°What is a divorce?¡± Keris Pon looked at Het. ¡°It is a legal document ending a marriage, created by a lawyer in United States Of America, Earth, by local laws, by particular reasons legal in that place.¡± Het had the serious blue eyes now. Keras Pon nodded. ¡°We are a Unified colony. All that is required, to end a marriage, is your wish nae to be married to this man. You are now unmarried.¡± Stacy looked up. ¡°That¡¯s it? I don¡¯t have to go to court?¡± ¡°Pach ay! Here is your Alliance record, that shows things about you, if you wished to trade. You see it in your language, but I see it in Elshar, which I speak and read. What does it say?¡± She looked scared. A holo of her rotated, like I saw in some video games I played with my friends. Her name was above it, and below it was the word UNMARRIED. A nod. ¡°But, can he¡ªif he comes here¡ª¡± ¡°If he comes here, he will not leave his ship! I have authority to prevent him from all of Alb, this star system that includes 25 worlds! And, added a red mark to his record. If he attempts to trade, any who know it will not trade with him. A red mark, for any citizen of the Alliance, tells all around him that he is a danger to them. Anyone who tries to kill can be given a red mark. No world in the Alliance allows someone who is dangerous to threaten another.¡± ¡°But, he¡¯ll come after us¡ª¡± ¡°Lady, if I could send him to Ih Esta, I would, but Earth did not join it yet. Once it does, and they see he has a red mark, I think he will have an investigation, and memories that I saw of his cruelty are attached to his record. Because of the way Ry¡¯nao had Earth¡¯s Alliance Charter written, its Provisional declared every person of legal age a trader. This gives you protection. He will never hurt any person again. ¡°The red mark I gave him is permanent, and I submitted your proof. Your healer found many old injuries on you that would prevent you from being able to trade well. This is part of my proof. No ruler in the Alliance or the Unified can erase the red mark I gave him, and in Alb, we run progs to keep bad people away.¡± Het Paren knelt in front of Stacy. ¡°And, I wish to marry you to keep your honor safe. I will protect you.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t marry somebody I just met! We didn¡¯t even have the first date!¡± She cowered. One of the Ishah healers gasped! ¡°Het Paren, quit hiding! Have you moisture, on your skin?¡± He looked down. At first, he was muscular, and bright yellow. Yellow faded to dark gray, and he was skinny enough to pass for someone in a famine! Green sweat dripped off his twin, flat fingers! And, his arms and legs were twisted tightly around with huge splits bleeding lines down the sleeves of his sky blue uniform sleeves and pants. The cloth twisted around his limbs. That healer gasped and very gently, eased him into his arms. All the kids got hysterical! We all ported to that yellow building in Rainbow, on a bed. Healers ran to us! This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Keris Pon wept. ¡°You can¡¯t die! Healers just told me your father cannot serve us as Stationed Diplomat Of Rahn Estar To Esta Faho, and we need you to fill his position!¡± Het Paren gasped and clutched at his hand. ¡°Fa is so unwell?¡± ¡°Cevit Ion released him and Peatabus asked Wasa Mai to appoint you. But I think you are unwell also!¡± Those black marble eyes on Het Paren stared at the arch, and another him came running. ¡°Ba, ejis! Keris Pon, I am able to serve you. Healers, save my ba!¡± He cried. Nine of ¡®em sang. Elsie gasped, and waved up his medical records. Slid icons around. One of the healers sat Galarsmen up and he stared at them. Sighed, with a wave. A lot more records scrolled. Healers saw this and they sang louder! Looked scared! Elsie worked faster! Finally, one held staring Het Paren up. Looked at Stacy. ¡°His mind is linked to yours! You must marry him or I can na save you both, and I na know if even this will. What say you?¡± Stacy was hugging several of her kids and trying to calm them down. ¡°But, he married my daughter.¡± ¡°Lady, his mind is linked to you. This future is changed. Only similar minds link. This only happened because he is dying, and his mind reaches. You must decide now!¡± That poor diplomat already looked dead! But, she nodded. ¡°I pronounce you married, Children. Carry them to privacy.¡± Healers took the screaming kids and ran Stacy and Het Paren to the hall in back. Galarsmen wept. His healer made him sleep again. Suma came to help the kids. When she knew what happened, she got the healers to back off. They were trying to put them on their laps and the kids didn¡¯t want any part of that! Serie, the oldest girl, was just sitting there sobbing. The lady rubbed her back and she didn¡¯t try to shrug the hand off. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Suma, and I¡¯m here to help. You look really upset. Want to tell me about it?¡± She shook her head and her curls went everywhere. Her brother grabbed her arm. ¡°Serie, stop! Daddy hits!¡± ¡°Your Daddy won¡¯t come. They won¡¯t let him come. Your sister¡¯s not hurting anyone, so you don¡¯t have to grab her. It¡¯s all right.¡± He was sobbing. ¡°It¡¯s okay to cry. You¡¯re scared, aren¡¯t you? Want something?¡± She waved up a variety of snacks and candies. Serie glanced up, then looked outside. ¡°We can¡¯t!¡± ¡°Yes, you can. All of you can have anything you want on here. It¡¯s my present to you, because you¡¯re having a hard day.¡± Serie poked a box of sour candies. The next oldest boy got mints and put half the roll in his mouth! Suma didn¡¯t say anything. The other three wanted juice and sucked on it while they watched Suma. Lucy, the 2 year old, threw hers onto the bed, then watched Suma. ¡°I think you¡¯re angry. Are you angry, Lucy?¡± ¡°Mama!¡± ¡°Mama¡¯s not far away. Want to sit with me until you can see her? Or would you like a stuffed animal to hold?¡± She waved up a variety. All the kids reached for one. Serie held out her arms and Lucy got in her lap. Serie had a big, pink teddy bear on her other arm, and Lucy had a white duck. The other kids put their backs against their sibs so they all made a tight group. ¡°It makes you feel better to be together, doesn¡¯t it?¡± They all nodded. ¡°That was scary, but all these people in white, they¡¯re here to help. Your mama has a new daddy. He¡¯s nice, and he¡¯ll protect you.¡± She smiled. ¡°Daddy hit!¡± The middle boy covered his face. ¡°No, this daddy won¡¯t hit. He¡¯s got two fingers. People with two fingers never hit.¡± ¡°No hit? No, no, no. No hit!¡± He giggled. These poor kids! But, they have Suma. She seems to know what to do. I wondered if I could ever learn to be a good mom. ¡°I¡¯ll stay with all of you until your mama comes back. You have an uncle. Want to meet him? He¡¯s Zheien, and he has two fingers, and he loves you. Want to see? His name is Paranor.¡± Another diplomat came to the bed. He was crying. But his skin was brown. He¡¯s scared his brother¡¯ll die! ¡°Sit here, Paranor. These are Stacy¡¯s kids. Here¡¯s Serie, and she¡¯s 5, in the yellow dress. She has brown eyes and brown curls, and pretty brown skin.¡± As she gave each fact, she smoothed the hem of the dress on her ankle and gently stroked her arm. Serie moved closer to Suma. Touched her hair. ¡°You have brown hair, like me.¡± Hers was straight. ¡°Yes, I do. And my eyes are brown, like yours.¡± ¡°But, you¡¯re white.¡± She touched her forearm. ¡°Yes, I am. But skin is good, whether it¡¯s brown or white, because it¡¯s part of you.¡± ¡°Skin is good?¡± She frowned and rubbed her arm. ¡°Yes. Skin is good. Look at Paranor¡¯s skin. He¡¯s yellow.¡± Oh, my. Now he is. ¡°And, he has two fingers. He¡¯s an alien.¡± ¡°We¡¯re on his planet, so we¡¯re the aliens, now!¡± Suma giggled. ¡°We¡¯re aliens! Like Guardians Of The Galaxy!¡± Serie laughed. ¡°Guardians Galaxy boom! Boom!¡± The older boy pretended to take aim. ¡°I¡¯ll save you!¡± Suma laughed. ¡°Yeah! Paranor, this is Brian, and he¡¯s 4. He¡¯s got brown hair and blue eyes like Paranor has.¡± ¡°Not blue eyes.¡± Brian moved closer to him. ¡°Paranor¡¯s worried about you, so right now, his eyes are black. When he¡¯s happier, you¡¯ll see the blue.¡± ¡°His eyes change? Why can¡¯t my eyes change?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re not from Esta Faho, silly!¡± He grabbed his hand, then let go! ¡°What happened to his hands? Ew!¡± ¡°His hands are Zheien hands. His feet are, too. Paranor, can I show him your foot?¡± ¡°I wish nae to frighten a child! Perhaps I should leave¡ª¡± Brian got in his lap. ¡°Don¡¯t go! Daddy, hold me!¡± He hugged him and Paranor did. ¡°Paranor is Het Paren¡¯s brother, so he¡¯s your new uncle.¡± ¡°Uncle! Uncle Pear! I like pears!¡± He chuckled. ¡°Would you like one?¡± ¡°Uh, huh!¡± A wave, and Paranor gave him one. Sitting with the kids seemed to help him. Yelena went back to sit by her husband. I thought about trying to talk to her. But, Keris Pon waved to me, and I went out of there. Paused to kiss Keiley¡¯s forehead. Dying to ask his healer¡ªbut he needs rest. I stroked his arm and didn¡¯t feel any moisture. What if I can¡¯t see through it? What if they¡¯re all hiding from all of us? Council Business I walked fast to catch up to Keris Pon. He bowed. ¡°Lady Bedelia, I am Keris Pon. We have much work.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready. What do we need to do?¡± ¡°I gathered many of our artisans in Piedmont Park. There is an area on the lake where we can speak to them all. Many are very upset. You slept when we had trouble this morning.¡± Tom put his arms around Becky. ¡°Can we invite Oparnen here? I wish him to meet Becky, that he ceases his complaints. Dear wife, can you bear? You need nae bow to him. I will nae.¡± ¡°Bae, we must show him proper respect, or he speaks with Mican! Already, this morning, he threatened to force our artisans to go with him to Par Vu!¡± Tom looked very worried. ¡°Perhaps we delay this meeting until Micansen¡ª¡± ¡°Nathan tells me he plans travel. Every artisan with whom he speaks, Nathan sends Peratise to him, and he confides in her. Soon, she takes their testimony to Wasa Mai. He will nae stand for it. So far, five leaders told her they wish nae to leave, and none of their people. That is 250 of our people. Only 50 are traders, and nae one chose to leave with him. Here, people have choices.¡± Fa rubbed his eyes. ¡°If I know him, he comes before Micansen wakes in a Zheien body. Pirad gave him telepathy of a Zbbat, and his wife, also, and Oparnen fears he takes his traders to lead.¡± ¡°Micansen? Who refused to rule beside you because he wishes nae power?¡± Tom laughed. King Nitomahan smiled and his eyes went light. ¡°Oparnen thinks himself Mashai, but once Micansen wakes, he can nae¡ª¡± A holo stood just inside of the doorway of a gruff Elshar. Elshars look like us, but for the blue eyes that turn light or dark with their moods. And, his were black marble eyes. I tensed. ¡°I demand you let me take my people to Par Vu! If Nathanhai was a man, he would not send Keris Pon¡¯s wife to do his work, pach ay!¡± Two Elshars held a struggling woman in DS blue! Tom jumped up and landed by him. ¡°Release Peratise now! Where is Nathan?¡± ¡°If you want to see him again, stop holding my people¡ª¡± Five large Zheien held weapons on him. ¡°You must nae hold citizens of Alb! Release him now!¡± The Elshars holding the woman let go and she fainted into a healer¡¯s arms! She¡¯s Zheien! Fright like that can kill somebody! A very thin Elshar¡ªKeris Pon--ran up and kneeled in front of the soldier. ¡°He is on Oparnen¡¯s ship, and he lined it with merite¡ª¡± ¡°Keris Pon, I warn you¡ª¡± He flinched. That soldier, an orange-skinned man, got oranger in the face. ¡°Nae harm him! I will watch.¡± Keris Pon sobbed. The soldier put him on his lap. ¡°Speak freely, and let all of these people hear. Do any of you feel that you wish to leave? We nae hold any here!¡± ¡°I want to stay here, with my wife and family! He threatened to give my son Exorbar! He is a child! Many of us hide in our homes, for fear of him! Let me open his ship and get Nathan! He tried to stop him and he gave him umar seg! I thought our progs protected us!¡± ¡°Req will investigate. Peh Ras comes!¡± Req helped Molly with progs in Rainbow. The best programmer in Fhiah! Peh Ras is probably his equal. A yellow Zheien, Peh Ras, with an Earthan girl, Sharon, ported out there by them. The Zheien waved up a screen. Frowned. ¡°I see tampering. Who has access to our progs? Oparnen, you are the last to see Nathanhai¡¯s progs for healing. I keep your account from any of us and give you a red mark.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that! I¡¯m a council¡ª¡± King Nitomahan stood up off the bed and they saw him. ¡°And I say, you are nae longer council! Nae here. Once I called you friend, but your acts warrant Ih Esta, and I bring him from Rahn Estar. I am sorry, that you chose this evil.¡± His upset rumbled so hard, the ground shook! That thin Elshar ran to a portal. A few moments later, he whooshed back, holding a Zheien in a diplomat¡¯s uniform. White. ¡°Did they attack? Ejis-¡± He held his head and curled up. ¡°Put me on my feet! Get dorna!¡± His gray skin dripped yellow sparkles. He¡¯s dying! If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Yelena ran to Nathan, crying. A healer beat her to him. Got the Elshar to put him in the sand-- ¡°Ejis nae! We must nae touch sands, on the ground!¡± He rolled up his twin-toed feet! ¡°My son, we lay on Elshar Zheiea. Rest. These sands¡ª¡± ¡°Get dorna, I beg! We must ride!¡± ¡°Is nae an attack, Nathan. Rest. Is over.¡± Attack? She took his hand, and he jerked it away! ¡°Ejis nae! He brought a woman to dishonor me!¡± Nathan cried. She cried, too. ¡°I didn¡¯t come to dishonor anybody! We¡¯re married, Nathan! I¡¯m Yelena.¡± ¡°I have nae maiden! Give me a dorna!¡± ¡°You must calm! I can give nae herbs. You had¡ªmaiden, nae leave him! Do you know of umar seg?¡± The healer gently pulled her back down by him. They spoke quietly. How horrible! That man who gave him that and took his memories away had another man in a black robe in front of him, an Ishah with three-fingered hands. ¡°I heard all testimony, and find you guilty. Oparnen, you will na leave here.¡± He slashed across his front! Another man whooshed in, and he wore white, but not the bright white of healers¡¯ robes. More a grayish white like dirty laundry. Didn¡¯t hesitate, but shoved a handful of leaves in the Elshar¡¯s mouth. The memory ended and I felt disoriented. Blinked as the sun came from behind a branch. ¡°Is Nathanhai okay? How much did he give him? Is that all he gave him?¡± Keran Pos sighed. ¡°All of our Zheien are ill! But Nathanhai¡¯s healer says effect of umar seg is gone from him. We are fortunate that Oparnen had nae opportunity to give¡ª¡± ¡°Did they check him for mine poisons?¡± ¡°Ella and Elsie worked all morning to adjust many Zheien¡¯s progs¡ª¡± ¡°Did they check Nathanhai¡¯s?¡± He waved and studied screens. ¡°Esta ay! They found new ones¡ªbut they have new counter-herbs. He is much better now. Sleep helps him while his progs work. My poor friend was very frightened! When he did not recognize Yelena, I thought he would die, he became so cold in my arms!¡± Poor Keris Pob sobbed, so I hugged him. ¡°Okay, so how are all our artisans doing? Is your wife okay?¡± He nodded and ran hygiene on his face. ¡°I worry for her. Many artisans married Zheien, and they are scared also. But¡ªMicansen wishes to represent all of our traders, Elshar and Zheien, so when he is able, he will comfort them. There are only 50 traders who are Elshar, so this is why he wished to be Zheien. ¡°But the Elshar Elder came, and she is very unhappy with his decision. I do not know how to please her. She is very concerned about Elshar things, and most of us have had so much persecution from Mashai, we act Zheien. She is very old, from old Elshar.¡± ¡°I see. I don¡¯t know much about Elshars who aren¡¯t Mashai, or do I? Pirad gave me knowledge.¡± Facts started popping into my head. That¡¯s cool! Comparisons¡ªI know everyone¡¯s ancestry in our colony! The Elder, I know hers? Useful. ¡°Oh, you are a distant cousin of hers. Your ancestor went to Lidara Colony. So did Micansen¡¯s¡ªhe¡¯s not Mican¡¯s brother? He¡¯s his wife¡¯s brother. They were from Lidara. Mican¡¯s Mashai!¡± Keris Pon gasped! ¡°I think we should not discuss Mican.¡± He trembled. Mican is not from this level, Napah said. Are Elders? Pirad¡¯s an Elder. Molly is. Ry¡¯nao is. And there were many Elshar Elders. ¡°How did Elshar Elders become Elders?¡± Keras Pos looked behind me, gasped, and did an Elshar bow. I turned around and also did an Elshar bow, then a few dance steps. A Lidaran Friendship Dance. This lady was young! She returned it. ¡°Ah, you learned well of your tutor! What prov are you from?¡± She spoke Lidaran, not the Elshar I learned poorly. I answered her in it. ¡°I am not Elshar, but Earthan. Pirad taught me so I can serve our Elshar Artisans here in Esta Faho. I am Bedelia, of the Council Of Esta Faho.¡± I bowed and held it with my hair drooping right. This confused her. ¡°Pirad, who made Micansen Zheien?¡± ¡°Esta. He is an Elder.¡± Her medium blue eyes went black. ¡°Do you approve of Micansen¡¯s change?¡± I didn¡¯t quite know what to say! But, honesty is best. I work for a Zheien government. ¡°I saw my future, and in that future, people who changed themselves to be Zheien became ill. Pirad had to change them back. But, he has new knowledge that might change what I know.¡± She shook all over. ¡°Micansen is very ill. His healers think it is too much of a change for him! He likes his Zheien body and wants to keep it.¡± Her voice got very strained, though she tried not to show that. She loves him. If I can read anyone, she¡¯s showing all the signs. ¡°Would you like me to talk to him? I only know him from meeting him once, yesterday when King Nitomahan appointed me. I came from Earth yesterday because I married Jos Keil, Diplomat Of Esta Faho.¡± My voice broke. ¡°You are also worried! Why is everyone here ill? I hoped to help because we had many of the same mine poisons on Lidara, but from imports.¡± Imports? I touched her mind. Risky. Did you know Mican, in Lidara? Yes. He is not what he seems. He might hear. She shook all over. What should we do? I have remedies for some poisons that were on Esta Faho. Our scientists want to help. But, I tried to ask King Nitomahan and he collapsed. I think Mican trained him. Oh, my! ¡°Should we go sit with Micansen in Healers¡¯ Chambers?¡± Maybe she can tell Elsie. I would like to meet Elsie. We ported back there. Elsie was hard at work. Micansen wasn¡¯t there. Both of us gasped! Elsie startled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Bedelia?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Micansen?¡± She looked from me to the Elder lady, who sat on the bed. A healer hugged her. ¡°Oh, I am sorry. Were you close to Micansen?¡± ¡°I had¡ªhopes--¡± ¡°I am very sorry. Pirad had to put him in stasis.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He had terminals, and Pirad must study.¡± ¡°Pirad is an Elder?¡± ¡°I na know, but he is very smart.¡± I put my hands on her shoulders. ¡°Pirad, can we see you?¡± He appeared. The lady gasped. ¡°You are an Elder!¡± Pirad clicked his face into frozen surprise! ¡°Falarnen? Please, come to my lab!¡± They vanished. Scared Artisans weird was ¡°per ¡° ¡°hates ¡° ¡° studied ¡° ¡°notfighting kill If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡° ¡°save ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°he thatthat ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Earthans Of Esta Faho Her sister¡¯s a mess, but she¡¯s been a prisoner of a horrible man. They had a Tudor style house. I used the brass door knocker. Becky¡¯s dad came to the door. ¡°Oh, Bedelia! Come in! Maybe you can explain why they wanted Becky to meet with Wasa Mai. I thought she¡¯s just Princess Of Esta Faho.¡± Thoughts raced through my mind. Why would he want to see her? ¡°Nitomahan is our king, but Wasa Mai¡¯s his king. If he wants to see her, now, during this time when healers are trying to get everyone to rest, it¡¯s important. None of the Zheien are able to go see about things. That¡¯s why Nitomahan appointed my husband, Jos Keil and I to the Council to represent all of our Earthans, I think.¡± ¡°This is Dunapa, and he represents our Artisan¡¯s Guild.¡± Guild isn¡¯t quite the best word for their group, but it¡¯s a familiar term. This man ran an air courier service on Earth. He¡¯s probably figuring out his company. Some of his employees came today. So, 3 more couples! And they are sitting in the living room. He led me through their foyer. Everything had an American Colonial theme, from their nicely carved dining room table to the carved sofa legs. Very tasteful. Plates on the wall had scenes from the American Revolution. Quite a contrast to the yellow sky outside with fluffy yellow clouds golden against it. And two moons. ¡°My wife¡¯s up in Rilley¡¯s room with her two kids. I¡¯m having a business meeting down here to decide what to do about my company.¡± I heard a piano playing ¡°Someday My Prince Will Come¡± and Dunapa looked upstairs with light eyes. He let me know that the young man playing is Osanor, who¡¯s 13. His mother¡¯s teaching Mrs. Edwards voice lessons. She sang it, beautifully. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m a Business major, and grew a client¡¯s company from a juice event cart to 5 brick-and-mortar stores! Maybe I can help!¡± ¡°Wonderful!¡± ¡°May I go see Os and his parents?¡± He bowed again. ¡°You¡¯re their boss?¡± Dunapa chuckled. ¡°We artisans are all equals. I only make sure all my artisans have what they need.¡± ¡°I like that! My company¡¯s like one big family. Sure, go up.¡± He smiled, and his green eyes had that merry look Becky had between semesters. ¡°Rilley and her kids are asleep on her bed. Osanor is in her room playing the piano for them, and Jamie is with his parents in the sitting room, first door on the right.¡± ¡°Thank you. Lady Bedelia, please let me know when you are ready to leave, or if you need anything. I think Umpat can answer your questions. He¡¯s our best trader!¡± That must be the trader in cobalt blue robes, a master trader, but he had red clothes under ¡®em. Never saw that in Rainbow! But, I never went to that market. Keiley needed me. Umpat had a holo up describing trading. Elshar trading. I¡¯d seen holos like that in Rainbow. They lost me. Three couples jumped up and rushed to me. ¡°Everyone, this is Bedelia, and she¡¯s our council member! I¡¯m not sure what that means, but she¡¯ll explain.¡± He smiled at me. Perfect teeth. His silver hair had one wave in front. Young, for that. Looked 30s like the other couples. He wore a beige sweater vest over a long-sleeved dress shirt. Beige slacks. So did all three men. The women wore dark blue dresses, pretty similar styles. Josh Edwards¡¯ tie was also that shade of navy. Had a gold logo of a plane with a package under a parachute in the middle. Cute. I shook their hands and my mental display kept their names straight. And warned me that healers don¡¯t recommend that Earthans learn trading yet. We talked, and Umpat smiled. ¡°So, do you trade?¡± ¡°Healers are not recommending that we Earthans learn it. They suggest that we pass our items to the trader group, like they suggested to the artisans.¡± His eyes turned black. ¡°But, everyone needs to learn to trade! Our colony needs trade!¡± I waved up the chart that Keris showed the artisans. He told all of them to stop trading at all, today, and see their healers. Umpat leads the Elshar traders! Keris didn¡¯t tell him? As I described it in English for our Earthans, I showed Umpat our meeting. His face got red. ¡°Does this count for businesses, too? My General Manager Terri Hennesy wouldn¡¯t leave Earth, and she¡¯s running things back on Earth. I¡¯m worried about my employees who stayed! Diplomats tried to get all of ¡®em to leave!¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°You can have a diplomat check in with them every day. Send them holos of what you¡¯re doing here, your house, and what your life is like here. Some of them might take a little while to warm up to the idea. If you¡¯re open about how your lives changed and show them, some of them just might be waiting to see if they ever hear back from you again!¡± People on Earth whose relatives left usually didn¡¯t hear from them. Diplomats warned people not to send holos, but to let a diplomat visit them in person. Slavers are already active on Earth, a lot more than they were that I remembered! Why? I tried not to show how nervous that made me feel. Our family had relatives who didn¡¯t come, too. One man-- ¡°So, what will we do here? I don¡¯t think Zheien need packages delivered. I¡¯m Oliver Wendall, General Manager. They don¡¯t seem to need managers, either. If I¡¯m not learning trading, what can I do?¡± He had a desperate look. Saw that on so many Earthans in Rainbow! ¡°Zheien do things a bit differently¡ª¡± ¡°A lot differently!¡± Another man laughed. I did, too. People relaxed. ¡°Yeah, a lot! But, don¡¯t worry. While you¡¯re deciding what to do, Umpat, why don¡¯t you teach them how how to help you? A lot of people in Zheien colonies take items to the market and trade in person, because it¡¯s fun! You can teach them about that. I saw dorna carts in our market.¡± That kind of startled me, but they all have aandats. Rilley has a dorna sleeping on her bed. Like a donkey with a cow head on him, and he¡¯s white. I might like one. ¡°Dorna carts?¡± Umpat waved one up and described trading from one. That¡¯s like delivery! His traders¡¯ kids go around to artisans with carts and carefully put their artworks in. They have regular routes. For heavy items they can use containments, but they have plenty of time to talk with friends. Some of his traders are too injured to trade using telepathy, so they also have carts. Artisans make a lot of stuff, so their route allows for trips back to the same artisans. The artisan area is spread out near the green building, that¡¯s local trade, and the bakers and candy-makers have an area between that and the blue trader¡¯s building. That¡¯s where the open market is with eaezhfee tables in bright colors. ¡°I think my kids might enjoy that! My eldest son is always asking when I¡¯m going to give him a job with the company!¡± Oliver smiled. ¡°So does my son! They could do a cart together, couldn¡¯t they?¡± David Wendall is Operations Manager, and Oliver¡¯s younger brother. ¡°Oh, yes! Anyone can do this. My youngest daughter is 5, and she goes with my 6 year old daughter.¡± We saw them happily putting fragile artworks in their cart. Containments kept them safe. This was a model of a tree with lots of tiny leaves. Oliver¡¯s wife nodded. ¡°In my spare time, I want to take singing lessons like Jamie!¡± ¡°Why wait? Tutors can work anyplace, even on a dorna cart!¡± I pointed out an artisan giving lessons to a driver! They all got excited! I realized they did barbershop quartet every Saturday night. ¡°Zheien love music! You could Her parents are scared, but they trust Suma, and she¡¯s the best Rainbow has. Becky¡¯s mother was upset. that Becky¡¯s with Wasa Mai and not with them. I promised her parents I¡¯d do anything they needed me to do, but for now, they have a house and all the healers they could ever want. Mr. Edwards wants to design houses, but we don¡¯t have any other new colonists, so he¡¯s thinking about helping if the other worlds need someone. He has contacts. Mrs. Edwards is nice, and very pleased with Becky¡¯s new family, but they hope Tom¡¯ll be able to visit with them soon. Both Tom 2 and Tom 3 have been over to meet all of them, and Myrillis, who now calls herself Rilley, likes ¡®em and so do her kids. My 16 year old clone also comes over, and she has 16 year old Suma, too. Friends are important. But they decided to make her 13 again. Suma¡¯s 16 now wants to be 13 so Rilley will have a friend her age. It¡¯s a good idea. And, she¡¯s getting married tomorrow. What? Her music teacher fell in love with her and he¡¯s been abused, so they mindlinked. Her parents wanted to talk and I let ¡®em. But, since Zheien don¡¯t have sex, they¡¯re both safe, and they¡¯ll still live with them. His family moved in. Everyone¡¯s really happy with that. I went to Ella¡¯s parents and met them and their four other kids. And, they have a clone of Suma who¡¯s 16 like their oldest girl. All the kids have friends, and some on MarKu who are Earthan, oh and Ye~. They¡¯ve already gotten together to play baseball with Karl, who¡¯s 14 and a good pitcher. They seem like they have what they need, and Pas lives with them. The kids are really messed up, and the parents are Type 3¡¯s like my parents and me. I suggested they might want to be friends. Suma¡¯s doing all of them some good, so maybe I need to talk to her! My parents already like her. Then, over to Stacy¡¯s. Her husband¡¯s out of danger and the kids are adjusting well. And, a cloned sister of Suma¡¯s is living there to help. Het¡¯s family moved in. So they¡¯re helping, too. Also visited with the 2 Tom¡¯s. Tom 3 has an Earthan wife who¡¯s happy, and I filled her in on some things, including Piedmont Park. They¡¯ve been to the festival, and I felt a bit left out. But, when Keiley¡¯s up to it, we¡¯ll have our fun then. He¡¯ll be here to help Tom. Tom 2 is taking coursework on the Sleepshare, like virtual Sigan Mas school. You learn as you sleep, as long as when you wake up you use what you learned, or you forget it all! I got excited about that. But, Tom 2 will be doing missions. I don¡¯t want to think about that! Visited with some of the other cloned sisters and brothers of Earthans. Some left. Others are now kids, so they¡¯re living with whomever. The Earthans didn¡¯t seem to need me as much as our Elshars, which struck me as really weird. But, they all have Suma. I think I¡¯ll be a lot busier when our Zheien get back on their feet. Healers Chambers After I visited with everyone who wanted to see me, I went for a long run in Piedmont Park, but felt guilty, so I didn''t run as long as usual. By myself, I knew progs still monitored me. I hadn''t mentioned that I have bulimia nervosa. If I binge on pastries and make myself throw up, healers will know. So, I didn''t. I just went for my run. Sooner or later, I''ll have to talk to Suma about it. Not now! I waved up a full-length mirror and looked at myself. Becky says I''m not fat, but she''s just being nice. Can''t find a single nice thing about the way I look. After my run, I''m shaking. Can''t be this way in front of healers! But I have an excuse. Keiley. What''ll I do when he''s awake more? Our minds are linked! Later. I''ll think about it later. Or, I''ll just find something to do. Maybe I can volunteer as a healer helper. Oh, I felt guilty for going for a run when I should be seeing about my husband! Kept seeing his death, over and over. At least I can just run hygiene to freshen up. Came back to the yellow Rainbow building, and healers kept asking me questions. What is Earth like? Are there mines? Slavers? I realized they were wondering if Elsie was a slave. Her healer worried about her. ¡°She works so! I tried to get her to walk in the festival, and she wishes to wait! Did one train her so?¡± Oh, it was hard not to laugh! I showed them how I worked at jobs and how scared I was of losing that one and having to job-hunt again. Totally foreign to them! Then I talked to Elsie. "You are taking breaks sometimes, aren''t you, Girl? Healers are worried about you." "''Bout me?" Elsie laughed. "I''m havin'' the time o'' m''life out here! I love my work, an'' it''s important, makin'' folks feel better! An'' I can eat while I do it an'' I won''t get fat! Calories self-adjust. Ella said dey had it in Rainbow, so somebody wrote it for Alb. It''s runnin'' on all the worlds! Pirad used people''s memories to write ''em, but dese programmers dey had on de ship, made ''em better! All of us had ideas, too." But she lost the happy smile as she looked at all the sleeping people. "I guess I could go see th'' festival if I wanted. But Elshar Zheien, dey can get bad fast. I watch everybody''s progs with one I wrote. If dey readings get off, I can get Ella to look. Hopin'' I''ll figure out what she does, soon, so I can do it, too." Ella didn''t even take time to talk. She had a line of programs waiting. A red icon blinked, and she went pale! Stopped what she was doing and passed it to Elsie, who got busy. I looked at the two records. One was King Nitomahan, and the other was Tom. Their readings went down by a lot until Ella did something. All of the records waiting were council members! Another prog had a list of former slaves. They had a column of numbers indicating the number of times a parameter dropped below 50%. Most were in the double digits today. She and Ella are saving lives. She¡¯s scared if she takes a break, someone will die. Whoa. Kind of like me. Every time I walk out of here, I¡¯m terrified I¡¯ll come back and that bed¡¯ll be empty, like Micansen. But I need to do something. I''m not saving lives, just sitting here watching them. But, Elsie looks at her husband every time he groans in his sleep, and that fear in her eyes¡ªit¡¯s not just fear of someone dying, it¡¯s him. It¡¯s his brother, who has a very worried healer. He got hurt at Sigan Mas, and there went his dream of being a diplomat with Nes. Fa woke up crying. ¡°Bae! O!¡± Keiley hugged him. ¡°I am here, Fa.¡± He has beautiful blue eyes. I stroked his blond hair, that has shades of blonde to brown all through it. Soft hair. He smiles, and my heart just melts! ¡°I dreamed I lay in the mine and you were nae!¡± ¡°Keil, take of bis tia.¡± ¡°Must I?¡± Then, he saw me and inhaled ¡®em. I rubbed the back of his head, and he flinched like I was going to hit him! ¡°Fa, I am your sae. I will nae harm your head.¡± ¡°I am a coward, to fear my sae!¡± ¡°Whoever hit you was a coward, because nice people don¡¯t hit!¡± Several people stared at me. Then, talked to their healers. ¡°He who hit me was wrong?¡± ¡°He who struck me should nae?¡± A chorus of ¡®em rose, and healers comforted all of them. Fa looked up at me. ¡°Please, Sae, touch me.¡± He tried to relax as I used an even gentler touch. Wulai put tnshey on my hand. I rubbed in a lot. ¡°Eae, sae, you are nice! I should nae fear.¡± ¡°Fa, you should listen to Napah. He is a nice healer.¡± Napah smiled at me and his eyes turned light blue. Keiley''s don''t change. Maybe he''s too worried about Fa. I held his hand and he gripped it! Fa¡¯s blue eyes went light, too. ¡°Eae. Napah, you were always nice to me. I love you, Napah!¡± ¡°I love you also, dear friend! Did bis tia help you?¡± ¡°My sae help me! I love you, Sae!¡± We hugged, and Keiley hugged both of us. The whole family got in on the act! Including Daddy and Mama, who came and added their arms. Daddy sighed. ¡°I love living with Zheien! I¡¯m a lot happier here. Keil, I¡¯m happy to share my sae with you!¡± ¡°Eae? Beh is your sae? She is a very nice sae, ah¡ª¡± ¡°I am Lucas Stone, but you can call me Lucas.¡± ¡°Lukas. Lucas. Eae.¡± His eyes turned darker. Zheien think in spellings, at least, diplomats do. ¡°If you need help, just ask. I won¡¯t get mad. I¡¯m Lucas.¡± ¡°Lucas. Healer.¡± Is this my grumpy father, just joining in a group hug like this? It felt good. ¡°Well, if my telepathy would just happen, then I can earn my white robes.¡± Fa rubbed the left side of Daddy¡¯s face. ¡°I sorry. You lost?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°I never had it yet! I¡¯m Earthan, so we aren¡¯t born with it. I¡¯m not hurt.¡± But, I had mine immediately when I got recloned! He doesn¡¯t? Fa spread his fingertips across Daddy¡¯s forehead. Napah took his hand off. ¡°He is nae injured. I am his healer also. Lucas, I think yours comes today.¡± ¡°Nap, when will I wake? I sleep too much! My bae needs me!¡± He sobbed. ¡°O, but you need much rest while I must give you nesfa. Fear nae! This is your second day¡ª¡± ¡°Second! O, is too long!¡± Napah hummed. Fa looked very sleepy. ¡°Please, Nap! I nae¡ªBeh, Sae!¡± I held his head and rubbed it. ¡°Fa, you need to sleep to be well. Everybody¡¯s having to sleep a lot, and they all hate it, but you are very tired. You had to work too hard. Now, it¡¯s your respite. You¡ª¡± ¡°Respite? Now, Sae?¡± His eyes went light. ¡°Eae! You can get some good rest. It¡¯s your respite.¡± He nodded. ¡°My respite. Bae, we can rest now.¡± ¡°Eae, Fa. We always wished for rest, on our respites, eae? We can rest together.¡± ¡°Together! O, I wish I could see¡ªLucas! Know you Konaris? He is my dearest friend! I fear to look for him. Will you?¡± Daddy waved up a map and the arrow pointed to our left. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s on that bed! With Farleikon and Ella.¡± Ella looked up. So did Farley. ¡°Fa, there is Keil!¡± ¡°Keil? O, help me!¡± Their healer picked him up and jumped onto our bed. I expected a big bounce, but the bed didn¡¯t move. ¡°Keil! O, I feared to ask! Keil!¡± ¡°Kon! O, happiness!¡± They hugged and both of ¡®em fell asleep. Their healers put ¡®em in a leiwege and fed ¡®em ice cream while they snored. ¡°Won¡¯t they choke?¡± Daddy stared at ¡®em. Both of ''em have brown eyes, but hers are darker. Ella hugged Farley and took a bite of a pastry he offered her. Wulai shook his head. ¡°Nae. We absorb. This must seem strange, for Earthans and Elshars can nae. We have absorptive chambers where you have lungs, stomach and other areas.¡± ¡°That¡¯s interesting. I need to start learning this, now that we¡¯re settled in. Can I apprentice to you, Wulai?¡± His face turned orange. ¡°You must speak with Napah. I think he can nae release me to a student for a month, perhaps longer. But, ah, Risa?¡± A middle-aged healer bounced over to sit by Daddy. ¡°Wulai, I am Risentah, and I can take a student! I hoped an Earthan might have interest in healing.¡± This healer didn''t look sleepy. Orange skin. Oh, his record says Risentah, Master Healer Of MarKu. They sent a lot of healers here from other worlds of Alb. He''s yellower than other orange Zheien. ¡°Well! I¡¯m Lucas Stone, but you can call me Lucas! On Earth, I¡¯m a surgeon but I did rotations in a lot of different specialties before I decided to do surgery. I did a year of cardiology, a year of radiology, and a year of pediatrics.¡± Risentah blinked. ¡°Oh, a learned one! I am sure Pirad would want to speak with you, before I take you as my student. He wishes to know more about surgery, but the other subjects might also interest him.¡± Pirad just appeared on the bed, and Daddy startled badly! ¡°Hello, Mr. Pirad. I am Lucas Stone¡ª¡± ¡°Yes. I saw all of your memories. They are very helpful to my research. If you would agree to clones, I could do much more for the Earthans coming to Alb. I can add much of Earth¡¯s knowledge to each of them, and give them Dosilian bodies.¡± ¡°I thought Dosilians were the enemy.¡± Pirad looked at me. ¡°Not all of them! The mind is more important than the species, though the species can add capacity to the mind.¡± His appearance was less skeleton-like to me and more aliens from movies. That dark green skin''s not like in Close Encounters--and his huge eyes are interesting. Green with yellow whites. ¡°So, you don¡¯t want me, you want me in a more suitable form, is that it?¡± Daddy laughed. ¡°Yes. I can make your brothers better.¡± ¡°Can you make me better?¡± ¡°I can, but not without changing you so your family will not like it. Dosilians are very different. I have better success with Elshars, but they have not the capacity for much greater intelligence.¡± ¡°So, I should choose to be Elshar? What¡¯s the advantage to that?¡± ¡°Greater intelligence and physical strength¡ª¡± ¡°No! Lucas, I don¡¯t want you to change that much!¡± Mama looked horrified! With progs, it''s like the beauty parlor, with a wave. Now, every blond curl is neat like she always wanted. ¡°What if I also gave you an Elshar body? Then you would be more the same, as you are now.¡± Pirad looked at Mama, who flinched. ¡°I think we should stay Earthan!¡± Mama got her exasperated look! Daddy laughed. ¡°But, we could be geniuses! Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t want that, Bedelia Heather Candler!¡± He teases her with her full name. She didn''t take Stone when they married because her boutique was already famous. ¡°We¡¯re already members of MENSA!¡± ¡°The average Elshar could easily join it, if he stayed sober long enough.¡± Several artisans on the beds got dark eyes. Artisans don''t usually like fostok. Mashai do on other worlds, but not in Alb? My server educated me. My memories are full of drunk Elshars, but they cure ''em here in the Alb System. Nice! But Pirad''s probably speaking of Elshar worlds not in Alb. Daddy smiled and raised an eyebrow at Mama. She shook her head. I wanted to laugh, but I didn¡¯t. His hair was the rust color of mine in pictures, as a kid, but it''s brown now. His receding hairline doesn''t show since we got here. ¡°Okay, I guess we¡¯ll just stay Earthan. For now.¡± She just frowned at him. Pulled at her blond glory. Pirad clicked his face into that smug expression. ¡°There is no hurry. My lab will be here. But, the sooner I can have clones, the better my work for Earthans.¡± ¡°Go ahead! I always wanted brothers.¡± ¡°I can make 6 for you now. Think of traits you want them to have.¡± Recloning made both of ''em look a lot younger. ¡°No! They¡¯ll be after me!¡± Mama looked horrified! Tucked her curls behind her shoulders. ¡°I can remove memories of you from them. And I can make them look different. I already have your Elshar clones on Earth living in your home. They are eager for revenge on Atherton.¡± Mama slowly nodded. ¡°I did agree to those. But they all stayed on Earth, didn¡¯t they?¡± ¡°One couple moved to MarKu. They do not resemble you.¡± I have an aunt and uncle? Finally, Mama agreed for Daddy to have Dosilian clones, but she didn¡¯t want herself cloned again. Daddy let Risentah teach him how to give Keiley a massage with tnshey. Mama went for a walk. Probably, for a run, the way she was shaking. I thought about what Becky said, and shuddered. Keiley didn''t look like he has twisted limbs, but maybe he''s hiding from me, even as he sleeps. Can I learn to see through it? Maybe Risentah can teach me. Seeing Through The Disguise ¡°Risentah, how can I see through the healthy image they all put up?¡± Daddy looked irritated. Uht oh. But, Risentah looked puzzled. Looked around at all the sleeping bodies. Farley was now on our bed, sleeping against his fa, who had both hands in Fa¡¯s hair. I grinned. ¡°They sleep. Nae can hide while sleeping.¡± ¡°Esta Fahoans do! Math~an visited from Escet Vu, and¡ªwell, I didn¡¯t see it, Becky did.¡± I shared her memory, just a glimpse of twisted limbs, because Yelena got upset. He gasped. Took Fa¡¯s hand, very carefully, and he grimaced. ¡°My son, I must see all, to heal you. Why hide you from me?¡± ¡°We must. Mican watches us!¡± ¡°Who is this Mican, that you fear him so? You were gone many years, my son. Surely he is gone¡ª¡± ¡°He is yet on the council of Par Vu Elshar Colony. They did nae move to Alb. Ih Esta seeks him, for he is a slaver! He is forbidden to come here.¡± A diplomat sat with us. ¡°I nae understand. If he was on Par Vu¡¯s Council, how do people of Esta Faho even know of him?¡± The old diplomat sighed. He also had orange skin. ¡°I visited Esta Faho long ago to negotiate a treaty modification. Mican once had responsibility for all 14 worlds of Par Vu and all 5 of Rahn Estar that were farming and mining worlds. Rasa Mai complained for years to Ih Esta that he interfered with his governance! Mican had argument against any provision for the well of these people! I was nae successful, and o, my health suffered! My king assigned me to duties in our prov on MarKu. When I heard Esta Faho had needs, I came to help. ¡°Mican treated all cruelly, Zheien or Elshar. All feared him. Loud thoughts of all near us suggested he sent Elshars from Par Vu to attack them!¡± Risentah frowned at him. ¡°Nae hide from me. How long did you have moisture on you, my son?¡± He laughed. ¡°Ever since that mission! My healer says to rest oft, so I do.¡± ¡°May I see your healer¡¯s record?¡± The man got very orange in his face, but waved it. Tasener, Master Diplomat Of MarKu, Fig. His healer was Dasenpie, Master Healer Of Fig, MarKu, in Pie¡¯s Master Ennead. And, he died recently! Risentah made him lie down! ¡°Do you see Senapai?¡± ¡°I am healthy enough! I had nae unwells since we moved to Alb.¡± A shudder, and he had yellow sparkles on his skin! Ella startled and waved up his chart, and worked on it. With a frown, Risentah looked at what she was doing. She also had Dasenpie¡¯s chart. He had some of the same poisons affecting him, and died of a massive stroke! Zheien say, ¡®his mind spilled¡¯. A young healer, to die at 49! I felt scared! Risentah¡¯s upset rumbled on us! ¡°What are these poisons?¡± Daddy pointed to several lines. ¡°Mine poisons that should not be on MarKu! Many are unique to Esta Faho. My son, this was last year! Did Dasenpie hide records, that you continued to work?¡± Poor Tasener cried aloud! ¡°I think you know you must leave your work¡ªI need help, here!¡± Eight other healers ran to him! Daddy did CPR, but Risentah showed him a prog that did it. They worked on him, but waved him to stasis very quickly. Daddy got very red in his face. ¡°My son, nae of us could save him! Ella, nae this sorrow. Your work is well.¡± But she just dived into her work again. That reminded me of what I do when I can¡¯t handle things. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Risentah held my hand. Noticed how I gripped my husband¡¯s. ¡°You are fearful, Daughter. Show me again, what Princess Becky showed you.¡± I thought about it and he held my mind open and saw Farley¡¯s open record, because Ella was working on that. ¡°Ella, Child, you were present during Math~an¡¯s visit?¡± Her blue eyes filled and had that haunted look. They got the memory-sharing stare. I looked at Keiley, and instead of his sunny yellow skin, he had gray. His arms, his legs, even his twin-fingered hands and feet had deep twists in fingers and toes! I gasped. Risentah grasped my shoulders. ¡°What see you?¡± Oh, I wanted to look away! Run out of this building! But I made myself keep looking at my husband, and all the orange cracks in his skin. His blood¡¯s all over my hand. I sobbed. The healer hummed and all of it healed. Those other 8 healers were still here and added their hands to his shoulders. Their harmonies calmed me. When his hands healed, it was like I could see more. But, Risentah asked for Pirad, and he didn¡¯t come. He got other healers. Daddy had this look of utter surprise on his face. I went from person to person and held their hands as they slept. Healers came and sang healing, and their skin healed up. Other teams of healer went to each person to untwist limbs and hold them in position. I saw what Ella saw. They do that, but the limbs just twist again when they¡¯re done. It¡¯ll take months, or even years. Can¡¯t think about that! Why isn¡¯t all the ea fae and tnshey they¡¯re putting on people keeping them healed? I led them from one to another, for hours. And, why can¡¯t the healers see it? They need me to do this? Why me? Elsie went with us and modified progs. Daddy learned from her how to do a little of it. Had some ideas that she didn¡¯t like. Apparently healers have trouble convincing Esta Fahoans to run progs, but they have the right to refuse a treatment. When Daddy heard that, he quit suggesting that things run automatically, but he made a list of suggestions. Whatever they were, Elsie didn¡¯t like a lot of ¡®em. She¡¯s too polite to say anything, though. Halfway through the room, Elsie¡¯s stomach growled. Risentah smiled. ¡°O, we helped many! Let us eat, then rest.¡± I hate eating in front of anyone. But, to please them, I did. After one, a warning flashed on my screen. ¡°Daughter, you should eat two pastries, or choose another food.¡± I felt really hungry, but didn¡¯t trust the calorie-counter. ¡°I can eat later. If I eat a little, but more often, I¡¯ll burn more calories.¡± He got a blank look. Then I had to explain calories, dieting, and stuff most people do but I don¡¯t. Didn¡¯t want to admit to what I do. ¡°Daughter, our progs measure what you need, and every activity. You were active today, but you nae felt well after. Are you unwell?¡± I didn¡¯t know it measured that! Because he had the worried medium-blue eyes, I let him check me. Glanced at my file. I had an ulcer in my esophagus that was infected. That¡¯s cured. Erosion of my teeth. Also cured by Zheien healing. I hoped they wouldn¡¯t discover my bulimia! But all of that¡¯s cured, isn¡¯t it? Shouldn¡¯t worry. The progs make sure a person gets all the nutrients they need, and cuts calories if they are too much. Seriously? So I can eat all I want, and calories are just reduced? They told me that in Rainbow, and I gained weight. Didn¡¯t think I looked very good, but the progs will run unless I tell it not to do something, and then I¡¯ll have to explain it to a healer. ¡°Perhaps is too much for you today. We can continue tomorrow¡ª¡± ¡°But, these people are suffering! They need¡ª¡± ¡°You are the only one who can see their suffering. Daughter, you must care for yourself. Is very difficult, to be the only one with a talent. Ella can see connections between our progs, and only she can see dangers we can nae. Elsie is the only one who can help Ella, and nae knows why. Becky can see operatives who threaten. Bedelia, is clear to me you have a special talent, and we must protect your health that you nae fall unwell. ¡°Newness of our colony is harming many here. In other colonies, many died in every colony start! I am here to try to prevent that, and your work is vital for us. Please, Lady, eat more, then sleep. These will nae die because you rest. Every person has a healer to watch over him.¡± His blue eyes filled. Those pleading eyes convinced me. I ate another pastry, slowly, and counting bites like usual. Never had any food so delicious on Earth, even that pastry shop at the Galleria! Should¡¯ve just waved up a salad with vinegarette. I was tired. Carefully hugged Keiley, and he woke up long enough to kiss my forehead. Risentah made me sound very heroic! Keiley studied me with blue eyes wide. ¡°Are you well? You healed too many! Risentah¡ª¡± ¡°Cease these worries! I saw her! Merely hold your wife and let her sleep.¡± ¡°I slept all day! Must I sleep more?¡± The healer pointed to his ¡®weariness¡¯ graph, which was high. Keiley groaned, and I stifled a grin. He¡¯s so dramatic! But all the Zheien are. We laid down and I enjoyed the feel of his arms around me. Daddy was off giving massages, thank goodness. For now, I¡¯m grateful that my husband¡¯s sleeping, and I don¡¯t have to explain my odd habits. Another Day Of Sleeping Zheien I ate with my family. So awkward, sitting on a bed! Tom startled awake. ¡°Where is Becky?¡± I touched a mental map. Alb Seer. She went there, last night! Why? But, she sat up, right next to him. ¡°I¡¯m here! What¡¯s wrong?¡± Why would I see this? I closed the mental display. Saw the healers lean the Zheien back. They won¡¯t be getting up today. I gave Keiley a hug. Becky and Elsie went towards the entrance, and Stacy got her kids in a line and followed. Yelena, too. Ella was still working, but mainly checking records. She smiled at Elsie, who had been about to go back. It felt funny to eat with my parents, but nice. Margarite walked with me. ¡°I am sorry I did not see you yesterday. I felt guilty to take time from your husband. How did you meet?¡± We walked towards Piedmont Park. I told her about seeing my future and our quick marriage. Skipped all the upsetting things. Becky showed Stacy how to see if her husband¡¯s okay, and a holo of Ella came up! What¡¯s going on? ¡°Do you need to go?¡± Margarite pulled at her brown hair, and I saw a bit of silver at her temple. That shocked me. Did I think she¡¯d never get older? ¡°No. Just distracted.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy for you about your council position. I wish I could do something important.¡± ¡°You¡¯re important to your family!¡± She looked down. ¡°They all decided to have Zheien tutors. With the server, it¡¯s easy to manage a household. We are still friends, but I designed a house. I feel so out of place! No one needs child care.¡± ¡°Oh, Margarite, you can still¡ª¡± A red icon blinked on my mental display. A couple¡ªa Zheien couple in Ferrimos wants to talk to me. Ferrimos? That¡¯s in Elshar Zheiea, not here! ¡°Excuse me a minute.¡± Their holo stood there. They explained telepathically, after a couple false starts. They are adopting a kid from Earth and need advice! I smiled. ¡°This is Margarite, and she is a nanny! No one I know has more knowledge about how to care for an Earthan child.¡± I looked at her and how her face brightened! ¡°I will try to answer your questions. How old is she?¡± ¡°She is 6 Earth years. Last year, she went to live with a couple, but they changed their minds about adopting her, so Annalisa is fearful about us. She loves to read about space, so she decided to move to Alb, if Atlanta decides she can come. But, our hands disturb her. For now, she lives with a couple who nae wish to leave. They think of Annalisa as a difficult and willful child. She wishes to sleep with them and they insist she is a ¡®big girl¡¯ and must sleep in her room! We offered for her to sleep with us, but her parents think we are wicked!¡± I laughed. ¡°Zheien are not wicked! In other countries than the United States, families share a bed and it¡¯s perfectly normal! Do they know about our progs?¡± I explained, but this poor couple is distraught! ¡°Look, call your healer. Server, can I talk to this social worker?¡± Suma came up, one of her. ¡°Hi, Bedelia! Their diplomat¡¯s going to see them tomorrow at 2 pm. I can talk to them. Margarite, hi! I¡¯m Suma and I¡¯m the Rainbow Therapist. Great to have you on board! Would you be willing to talk to all our adoptive parents at once? Zheien are volunteering to adopt Earthan kids, and Fulton County has 117,000 kids in foster care. The Alb Council divided them and Elshar Zheiea is taking 5,000 of them divided between the provs of Elshar Zheiea, K¡¯hasa Zha, and the 5 cities of Rahn Estar. ¡°I have a lot of clones. Your skills are going to be so much in demand, if you were to agree to be cloned, it would help a lot. A lot of families will want to talk to you!¡± She looked completely overwhelmed! ¡°But, all of these children have foster parents! They are not going to come with them?¡± Suma shook her head and her brown hair went all over the place. ¡°Not many will even consider it! Fulton County considers it a very good thing. They ran the abuse prog and fully half their foster parents are now history and they need placements as soon as it can be arranged! A few are being aged out of foster care, or have been emancipated. And, a few are happy with their placements. But, they are asking kids what they want and most of ¡®em want to come here. Diplomats are making contact with thousands daily and giving them a choice. We have one here already?¡± Elsie¡¯s record came up! I gasped. ¡°You know Elsie?¡± ¡°Yes! She¡¯s been living with us for 3 years. She¡¯s underage?¡± But, how could she get a job? Pay for her rent and groceries? ¡°Her fosters will probably go to jail for not reporting her missing! There¡¯s a list of her relatives. Molly woke up her aunt and her mother! Oh, Molly¡¯s on MarKu. Her Elshar clone¡¯s been busy!¡± ¡°But, Molly¡¯s in high school¡ª¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Suma got this funny look in those brown eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t ask how, but she¡¯s 18. All of her clones except for a 12 year old that lives with her best friend¡¯s family. She¡¯s happy to be 12 and I check in with her. That one didn¡¯t marry a clone of Binneas. But Molly and Ben Nias are in Emory Med School together. Elshar clones. Neal and I have a pair of those living in my old apartment on Earth. She has Berto¡¯s genes and a lot of his skills, but my memories. Your clone and Jos¡¯ are living in her apartment.¡± I gasped. ¡°She¡¯ll get yours killed!¡± ¡°They¡¯re working together to take down Atherton¡¯s drug network. That detective agreed to a clone, and they¡¯ve already arrested hundreds. The UN Vote is Monday, then Ih Esta will be busy. Don¡¯t tell Elsie anything. Her fosters are mixed up in this. She¡¯s innocent. I made sure Atlanta Police knew she¡¯s been working honest jobs and paying her rent. And, one of her clones ¡®pretended¡¯ to help her fosters get new clients. She knew things and got out just in time. They stay high too much to keep track of a teen. Elsie had suspicions, but when her clone went for a visit, she found some paperwork from Atherton¡¯s companies. Took an opportunity to help get evidence. Elshars found Atherton and helped him with slaver herbs. Your friend¡¯s a heroine, to volunteer for this! She wants revenge for what they did to her in the other future.¡± And, that was my fault for getting her that last job with Atherton¡¯s company. I thought it was far enough away from him. ¡°Bedelia, are you okay?¡± Margarite had me by the shoulders. I nodded. I¡¯m always okay. Even when I¡¯m not. Margarite went to talk to that couple. I excused myself and went for a run! How many people are going to die because of things that I did? How can Elsie even be friends with me? Thought I had the entire Beltline to myself. I picked the wilderness part of Piedmont. Even this had a new jogging path. Pushed myself harder. Beside me, Suma caught up. ¡°Wanna talk about it?¡± I slowed down. Limped. Tried not to do that. ¡°You¡¯re pushing yourself too hard. If you need to talk, I¡¯m here. If you want to wait, I¡¯ll still be here. I¡¯m also a healer, if you want it.¡± ¡°Would you?¡± I let her see me. Noticed a privacy screen running. ¡°Look, you can¡¯t hold it in forever. I can keep a secret. Remember our talks in Rainbow?¡± She knows a lot of my secrets. I opened up. I need someone. Never even told Margarite about my eating disorder, because I was too ashamed. She and her family got killed-- ¡°Look, you can¡¯t take responsibility for anyone who died. Slavers happen, and Atherton was the worst Earthan slaver. He¡¯s Heden¡¯s puppet. There are already thousands of Heden¡¯s clones on Earth, and some are little boys who are serial killers. That¡¯s how Elsie got hurt on Earth. It would¡¯ve happened¡ª¡± ¡°Maybe if she¡¯d never met me¡ª¡± ¡°Do you know how many people died because of Atherton? Thousands. Probably tens of thousands who got taken for slaves! I kept track of all the stats, in Rainbow! I¡¯ve never hated anyone in my life, but I hate him! Jesse, my step-father, was mixed up with him. He destroyed Mama!¡± Suma cried. When she broke, I did. We hugged and yellow light glowed. What¡¯s doing that? My knee quit hurting. More. My anxiety went away! That never leaves, no matter how long I run! Like a cloud just lifted and took all the guilt with it. She¡¯s right. I never wanted Atherton to hurt anybody. He just did that all on his own. And they won¡¯t die, now. She let me see how my clone had a meeting with him and dumped Exorbar on his desk. It¡¯s the nastiest slaver herb known. She¡¯s immune. But tiny amounts are usually enough. She had to give him a whole vial. Just grabbed his throat and dumped the vial in his mouth. He¡¯s been recloned. It wasn¡¯t enough. There was enough on her clothes to disable all his bodyguards around his Peachtree Plaza office. None went in the vents. That ditsy secretary¡¯s now an operative and she had protection. Did a victory dance in his outer office as all his crooked officials fell with stares and a stupid smile. That look on his face when he fell! He made fun of me, the way I smile, the way half my smile goes crooked when I laugh. But that stupid grin, that slobbering, half-crooked grin, I¡¯ll remember that forever! Oh, I laughed! Finally, I got revenge! ¡°My sister¡¯ll be coming back soon, won¡¯t she, after that?¡± Suma had that sad expression on her face. ¡°She took over Atherton¡¯s companies. ¡°He saw his future and his wife had an affair with one of his competitors. Before we could get her out, she went in a red portal from Atherton¡¯s office.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know they had red ones! Is she coming here?¡± Suma took a breath. ¡°Red portals are what scientists use to get rid of highly toxic materials. It¡¯s a one way trip into the nearest sun. Miserable way to go.¡± His wife was nice. Once, I had stomach flu and she picked a fight with him. On the way to his office, she had a cup of coffee from a really upscale place that had gold leaf on top. Offered it to me, but I was too sick. So she poured it into the back of my PC. ¡°This is your ticket home. It¡¯s his office server.¡± Oh, that smile on her face as she turned on her stiletto heels and strode into his office. He was cussing up a storm. ¡°Wondering what happened to your server? I did. You two-timing¡ª¡± The door closed. Charlie came in. ¡°Our LAN just went down! Oh¡ª¡± He pulled the PC out from under my desk. ¡°Honey, get ya purse and leave. I gotta work. All of you, take a day off! I can¡¯t pay ya, but I can tell ya this office ain¡¯t doin¡¯ nothing this afternoon. Last time she pulled this, it was 3 days.¡± So, I joined the ten other workers from his offices and got the first elevator because I was quick. We heard him yelling all the way to it. I felt bad. She stuck up for us with him. Showed up at odd times with doughnuts or snacks for the coffee area. Didn¡¯t know her well, but nobody deserves to burn up in a sun! Memories Of Rainbow Suma and I talked for a while. I agreed to a treatment plan for my bulimia, so I won¡¯t damage my joints running too much. Healing the same thing over and over gets ineffective. Didn¡¯t know that! All my physical damage from frequent vomiting, that¡¯s healed now, but anxiety at mealtimes and getting out of habits like restricting what I eat, that will take time. Now I have a prog to let me know things I can try when I feel antsy. And, Suma¡¯s my healer now. A new clone of her will work in Esta Faho in Galarsmen¡¯s Chambers when we leave. She¡¯ll stay in Rainbow for now. There¡¯s one Rainbow, this city of 7 buildings south of the Earthan Colony, and ours is the yellow one. Some of K¡¯hasa Zha is in the red one, too. But many of them went to their healers chambers today. ¡°It seems really weird to me that K¡¯hasa Zha is in better shape than the rest of Elshar Zheiea.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°In the other future, people from there were poisoned from touching the mud! You know Zheien have to bathe, right? Elshars were poisoning the bathing muds with mine waste from Esta Faho, mixed with Exorbar.¡± I gasped. ¡°I know, right? But they moved most of the Zheien. It also affects Elshars, but Science Service is involved, and Ih Esta. We¡¯re hoping it never becomes widespread, like it did in 7840. It¡¯s 7818 right now. You didn¡¯t come to Rainbow until maybe, 7833? I can¡¯t check it. If you remember how old you were in those future memories¡ªI came to Rainbow with the Yeff¡ªI don¡¯t know how old I was. I can¡¯t think about that much.¡± She shook her head and that long, brown hair fell in her face. With the Yeff! They were already there when I came. After slavery. I wouldn¡¯t want to remember that! ¡°What happened to the rest of Esta Faho?¡± I didn¡¯t really want to know, but-- ¡°We only knew about Prince Antomias, Jos Keil and Farley. Bedelia, you felt like you didn¡¯t love Jos Keil because you didn¡¯t die with him. Do you know that when a Zheien¡¯s very unwell, sometimes his telepathy gives out? Your mindlink¡¯s very strong. If I do this¡ª¡± She waved her hand near my left ear, and I got very irritated, like fingernails on a blackboard! ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ve got a mindlink. ¡°But, Jos Keil had very damaged telepathy. He kept reaching for Prince Antomias, but he had to stay in a merite room and you did, too. So did Farley. All the Elshar Zheien did that, because they stayed terrified. Over time, it damages their telepathy more. Zheien telepathy isn¡¯t like ours. Reaching with it is optional for us. Not for them. You love him. Don¡¯t ever think that you didn¡¯t die because you didn¡¯t love him! You didn¡¯t die because his telepathy was too damaged for him to reach.¡± I swallowed. ¡°So, if he dies now, I¡¯ll die with him?¡± ¡°Yes. But, I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s going to die. People in K¡¯hasa Zha are already going to their provs. Some are going home with a healer there. I talked with Ashapat, he¡¯s the Master Healer for Elshar Zheiea. He thinks people are getting less scared. Pirad says he can keep people from dying, and he did.¡± ¡°Micansen died.¡± ¡°Pirad brought him back. There¡¯s a privacy containment, so you won¡¯t see him until he¡¯s better.¡± ¡°So he removed his terminals?¡± She looked uncomfortable. ¡°No, he¡¯s still studying. Micansen is functional, like he was, but he¡¯s Elshar now.¡± ¡°What did that Elshar Elder lady want?¡± ¡°She¡¯s why he¡¯s not dead. All she wants is to remind the Elshars that their heritage is good, that it¡¯s not Mashai.¡± ¡°So, she¡¯s not trying to replace Micansen?¡± Suma laughed. ¡°No! She¡¯s not staying. Unless she falls in love with Micansen. That might be happening, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°A lot of the Artisans were scared. Maybe I should talk to them!¡± We reached the Esta Faho commons and I looked over towards the festival.¡± ¡°She did before you woke up. They know now. Micansen¡¯s having to sleep a lot. Even Elshars are affected by ¡®the newness¡¯ as they call it.¡± ¡°Then, I better go help the healers to heal more people. You know about people having twisted limbs, right?¡± I thought surely she did, she knows more things that I don¡¯t. But, I had to explain, and she was comfortable with letting me share memories. Sure does make long explanations fast! ¡°Be careful. A lot of us Earthans have Gifts¡ªabilities from higher tech levels. Sounds like you have one. So do Becky and Ella. Use this prog.¡± Suma waved up a new one. It warned you if you thought about what happened when Earth got the New Tech and a certain Kajarian who fought interplanetary war in a certain yard. Yeah, I was worried about that. But on the list of people not to mention was Mican. Why, if he can¡¯t even come here? Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be out here. I should be sitting by my husband, or taking healers around to check people.¡± Realized how long we¡¯d been walking! Suma took my arm. ¡°Bedelia, you need to take walks. It¡¯s okay to take care of yourself. When you have a talent like this, it¡¯s easy to just get lost in it. So many people need me, I just have to force myself to take some time, like this little walk with you. This is my break from my routine.¡± That surprised me. ¡°Really? It isn¡¯t like work to you, talking about all my problems?¡± She laughed. ¡°No! I mean it is work, but it doesn¡¯t feel like it. Remember, I came from a public school environment. Teachers resented me because they thought my hours were 9 to 5 and I didn¡¯t go home to do lesson plans. No, I went home and stressed about all the kids I didn¡¯t get to talk to that day because I had 3 schools to spread myself over! And I had to limit what we talked about to mainly their schedules, and getting their work done.¡± Oh, she frowned! ¡°I can¡¯t imagine¡ªthree schools to one person! Why didn¡¯t you go back to school and get your degree so you could practice?¡± Uht oh. That was the wrong thing to say. ¡°School psychologists have everything practicing psychologists do, including my license, so I could have done that. But, I wanted to help kids. If I had known what was waiting for me in school systems¡ªwell, I did research it on social media¡ªbut when I actually did it, I realized how bad it really was! I¡¯m so much happier talking to people here, and I can take all the time I want. If I need more time, I just get Pirad to make more clones of me!¡± She let me see how frustrated she was, kids who needed to talk whose parents would never take them to therapy, and she had to cut appointments short. ¡°But, how are you handling your fear of people dying? Your husband nearly died after your marriage, and Wulai died, too.¡± Her brown eyes seemed to see right through my tough facade. Tears ran down my face again. I hate to cry, even when I¡¯m alone, but she¡¯s right. I need to deal with it. ¡°I¡¯m scared. I¡¯m scared something¡¯ll happen while I¡¯m not there!¡± ¡°Did you see this prog?¡± Oh, one to zip me back if someone I¡¯m close to has a crisis! I didn¡¯t know about it. We talked about how to set it. I made it so even if Keiley got sick, I¡¯d be there in less than a second! That helped a lot. She showed me other progs I could run like that. And how to see new ones. They¡¯re adding them all the time. ¡°Molly used to fuss that they wouldn¡¯t let her run progs like this. Why can we run ¡®em?¡± ¡°The Alb Council saw memories of that! Pirad sees all the memories people share to those cylinders, but he saw his future when he met Adia. He showed them how frustrated he was that Fhiah¡¯s Council didn¡¯t want even a server invading people¡¯s privacy, but later they changed their minds as people died. Alb Council decided the sacrifice of privacy is very small, and no one wants people to die, not even one! So, not only do the 25 worlds run them, but every world that comes has to agree to run them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so glad! This is better than Rainbow was!¡± But, Suma got teary. ¡°Pirad had a lot of memories of Molly and I complaining. We sat with her diplomats and shared every time someone died and progs could¡¯ve warned us! Molly constantly went to Fhiah Council and showed ¡®em. It took years to get changes because council members would visit other councils and Fhiah¡¯s huge! Talking to that many of 6 decillion people took a lot of time, even for Zheien. ¡°The Alb Council decided to act fast because they were scared that people would die. They first ran it Monday. That night, a lot of people got sick when they went to their new homes, scared Elshars would invade. Healers got alerts and ported to ¡®em. No one died. But that¡¯s when all the healers moved people to healers chambers, but even there, people were very scared. ¡°They talked to Via, Master Healer Of Ishah, and Ahstam, Master Healer Of Zheiea. That¡¯s when they decided to move everyone to the Rainbow Colonies. Because, Zheien are new to Rainbow, they don¡¯t expect Elshars to invade there. They see it as a new place, not home, so they accept that it¡¯s scary.¡± ¡°But, wouldn¡¯t their home healers chambers be comforting?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing. All these 20 Zheien worlds have different skies than Zheien are used to seeing. Even colonies that never got invaded have problems because it¡¯s like a colony start. Healers didn¡¯t tell people that in every new colony, they lost half their people because they couldn¡¯t handle the newness. There are a lot of risks in a new colony because of unknown poisons or other things the scientists can¡¯t predict. But Zheien need their homes to be safe. Fear killed most of them, but healers blamed that on the other things, including having to send troops to war. They were scared that Zhea~ wouldn¡¯t send colonies out if they knew!¡± I frowned. ¡°Healers weren¡¯t honest with their leaders?¡± ¡°They felt it was better to let them think other things killed people. No one lied about it. But, Pas told King Ishmarel, on Adia¡¯s ship. He felt they should take precautions. Ahstam trained him. So, because Pas spoke up, Ahstam contacted Via and they talked to the Alb Council, because Ishmarel felt they should.¡± ¡°Was Ishmarel mad?¡± Suma laughed. ¡°No! He was very upset, but he and his father just talked to the Alb Council and they worked it out. Nobody¡¯s mad at the healers! They all just want to help their people.¡± Knowing about this made me even more happy to be part of a Zheien government. Here was something that could have torn it apart, but they just sat down and talked about the problem, without blaming people for it. If they don¡¯t have to hide things, I don¡¯t need to hide all my negatives. When I can learn not to do that. Suma made me use a prog to remind me to take breaks. Then I ported back to healers chambers and got to work. Suma was right. I did need that break. It¡¯s hard to see all the misery here. Cevit Ion’s Family Healers led me to Cevit Ion¡¯s bed. I was a bit nervous. It had Challet, King Of Elshar Zheiea, Cevit Ion who was 7th Galaxy Minister. His clone¡¯s back on Earth doing UN stuff. His brother Jirris just married Ghen. All of Challet¡¯s Council is here, and Wasa Mai is visiting. Jirris¡¯ eyes were dark blue and went black when I took his hand. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Bedelia. I¡¯m on King Nitomahan¡¯s Council.¡± Such a cold hand! I felt his struggle to project that healthy image, more than I felt from others. His hand¡¯s icy! And sweaty. When he realized I could feel it, he trembled harder. I waved up ea fae and rubbed some on it. ¡°Why do healers follow you?¡± There was a slight waver in his voice. Sara, Cevit Ion¡¯s wife, took his hand and put it in his Thordes buddy¡¯s hand. That struck me as odd. His brother¡¯s Cevit Ion. I swallowed. Honesty, right? ¡°Most of our Esta Fahoans are sick, and they hide it, like you are doing. Our healers are fearful and wish to heal everyone.¡± Tears powdered down his cheeks and he turned light gray. ¡°What do you see?¡± ¡°It is harder for me to see through your image. Maybe my Gift is more for Esta Fahoans. I am sorry this is uncomfortable for you, but your family is worried about you.¡± ¡°I wish nae to worry them, but I miss Pondaiash, my tutor! If he sees me, worry shall kill him!¡± He was on the next bed with his wife, Leyla holding him and her two girls, all looking scared. ¡°My son, I think worry is worse for him! Can his healer bring him, and will you let him see so your healer can help you?¡± His hand got even colder! ¡°I fear for him!¡± I hugged him, and to my shock, he was a lot thinner than he looked! He clung to me and wept. ¡°I think you are afraid of more than that. If you share your fears, healers can help you more.¡± ¡°How? When Cev became minister, I had to hide from everyone, so they nae knew of him. I could nae tell anyone of my family and had to live apart from them, and all of them are strange to me! Rish!¡± He grabbed for his Thordes buddy¡¯s hand. ¡°It is hard to learn not to hide when you form the habit. I hide things, too.¡± Oh, that was awkward! But if he¡¯s going to trust me, I have to let down some. ¡°You do? But you are Earthan! Did you have dangers because of one in your family?¡± His concern for me nearly folded me! I almost laughed, but I did have dangers, because of Atherton. ¡°I¡ªworked for a slaver. Because of me, my parents and my best friends died.¡± My voice broke. ¡°O, I am sorry, Lady! Your husband comforts you?¡± ¡°I love Keiley, but he died in my arms, twice, and I¡¯m scared!¡± I sobbed, and cried. Wasn¡¯t going to do that! But, like magic, as I held Jirris, his image quit and his healer, his friend Rish, put his hands on his head and sang healing! Rose, his wife, sang some comfort for me. Pondaiash¡¯s healer brought him. He wept when he saw Jirris in this condition, but his healer sang because he was hiding, too. Somehow, when I quit hiding, all of ¡®em who heard my memories stopped, too! Even Cevit Ion needed healing from Ahstam. That¡¯s one of his clones and he had been hiding, sitting next to him. Wow! Because they couldn¡¯t hide around me all these men, including King Challet, got healing and looked lots better! Cevit Ion pulled Jirris into his arms. ¡°O, I am sorry, Ba!¡± ¡°I love you, Cev! Perhaps I can feel safe now.¡± His wife and Pondaiash added their arms and all of them got the sunny yellow color back. Rish made them all share a platter of pastries. As they ate, healers sang and they put weight on! All of these men were thin, but you¡¯d never know it because they hid it, even from their healers! Jirris fell asleep, and so did Pondaiash. But Cevit Ion hugged me. ¡°Lady, you have a great Gift! Nito is very fortunate to have you on his council!¡± ¡°I am happy that you have healing!¡± ¡°I wish for healing, for you and all of Esta Faho! You have trials even we nae have!¡± Didn¡¯t want to agree with that! I never had to worry about slavers coming to snatch me, as a kid. All the Elshar Zheien, whether on worlds of Rahn Estar or K¡¯hasa Zha, or on Elshar Mashai, they all had that. Half of ¡®em spent time with slavers. Horrible! Challet pulled me into his lap and hummed. ¡°Lady, I wish to reassure you. All of us have healers. All of our lost, they live again, because of Pirad. Know you of Marenalay? Zheien Marenalay and Elshar Marenalay are here with us¡ª¡± Pondaiash snapped his head up, from a sound sleep! ¡°My liege, is Fa here? My family?¡± Challet frowned. ¡°I feared to upset you, but eae, they are all here! Asha, can he bear?¡± The old healer picked him up. ¡°Let me take him to them. Leyla, Becky, Cara, come!¡± They all ported to the next bed, and happiness from those Zheien relatives tingled on us. We all laughed! So did Challet! ¡°Lady Bedelia, you are well for us, all of us! Thank you, on behalf of our people! We all feared for our Pondaiash, for slavers took him, he escaped, and his ship crashed on Earth. This is how Leyla met him, with her family. They had to marry quickly. Asha feared all of this was too much for him, but feel his happiness, and that of his family? Now the burden of worry is gone from him! Jir, see this!¡± The king let go of me and lifted Jirris, who startled awake. Blinked sleepily at the happy family, about 20 people, on the next bed. ¡°O, happiness! Pon has his family! How he missed them, years! So many of Marenalay, gone from us, and all returned? O!¡± His happiness tingled on me! He had Cevit Ion¡¯s hand and Rish¡¯s hand, and both of them giggled. I did, too. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. But, I looked at Wasa Mai and gasped. He was also watching, but with sad eyes. His image dropped because his attention was all on them. I moved over and took his hand, and before my eyes, his skin turned dark gray. Dripped green sweat-powder. Those eyes looked at me, sunken eyes. ¡°Oh, na fear, Lady Bedelia. Pirad recloned me, but he cannot compensate for years of poisons. You can see through it, but Pirad must heal me.¡± Pirad appeared next to him and white light flashed, but he looked the same. No one else saw it. Pirad looked at me. ¡°Do you know why I cannot heal him?¡± Me? I shook my head. Pirad sighed and his lips did the fan thing. ¡°I will speak with Ella about his progs, then.¡± He popped over to her bed and startled her! Wasa Mai hugged me. ¡°I fear for my colonies, Child! Becky found Dosilian enemies here, and they are na of my level! Please, see all of my people. Healing will comfort them. Because you helped my friends, Cev and his family, I know you can help others in my kingdoms, also. Fear na for me. When I fall, I have bae to take my Reign.¡± I hugged him harder. He¡¯s dying? ¡°It will be a few years more. My bae are helping me with meetings. They are able now, but I have to be here because I am fahie to all of my people. I will always be that, even after my death. I lived many lifetimes because Pirad recloned me. ¡°Your husband is awake. Go and spend this time with him. You need it, don¡¯t you?¡± I nodded and ported over there. Keiley looked good, though four healers held his limbs untwisted. His eyes went from dark to light when I ported over. ¡°Dear wife! O, let us walk in a garden near here!¡± We appeared in a huge garden near the sky blue palace. Except for the huge front doors with decoration, it looked like all the other buildings. ¡°O, the Kings House always has doors designed on Zhea~ from which all of us came. Nitomahan had ancestry in Esta Faho Prov of Zhea~, which moved first to Elshar Mashai, then to Esta Faho, which was¡ª¡± He lost the happy smile. ¡°I should know the name of our world!¡± I hugged him. ¡°It¡¯s all right. Tell me about Esta Faho Prov.¡± We walked in the garden. This is his Outer Circle, a virtual telepathic place, but it¡¯s so real, it¡¯s like we really are here. I enjoyed the flower scents without having to get close because Zheien senses are better than ours. The feel of his straight hair in my fingers came from his and my senses at once and made us giggle. It¡¯s blond on the ends and gradually turns brown at the roots. Every part of it feels my fingers, and he enjoys it. Forgot his upset about that name. ¡°Each of our worlds came from a different prov of Zhea~, in our ancestors. We had different talents with mining, so scientists selected worlds that needed those talents. ¡°Rahn Estar had many scientists who knew mines with materials for shipbuilding and weapons. ¡°Some of ours worked with them, but knew mines like ours with materials for the most powerful weapons known. Our weapons facility was on our world before our colony came, established by Lisbaar that supplied them for the war. I know little of that. Farley taught me what I know.¡± He looked through to our bed, and Farley was talking with Ella. His head nodded occasionally and his face got orange. Keiley got embarrassed, too. ¡°Y¡¯all shouldn¡¯t be embarrassed, Love. This rest is good for all of you.¡± His anguish about it got stronger and tears powdered his cheeks. ¡°How I long for this to be over, this torture of herbs! I wish to wake and speak longer with you, Bedelia! We are strange to one another, and I wish so for you to know me more than one who barely speaks, as I was!¡± I thought about him in Rainbow. ¡°Love, we talked a lot there! You shared all your sorrows with me, and I did with you¡ª¡± Not all of it. Scared to upset him too much, or his heart-- ¡°Eae, you feared my death, but Love, I am strong. I have nae unwells of my heart. Please, nae hide from me!¡± Keiley sobbed and clung to me. I opened up and let him see what I showed Cevit Ion¡¯s family. That was hard, and I felt really dumb the way my crying sounds. Like happened with them, he wasn¡¯t able to hide any more, and Wulai gasped! He brought several other healers, including Pie, the older bald one. ¡°Pienog, help me! I cannot help my wife!¡± Didn¡¯t realize Pie was his shortname! Oops. He hugged both of us, a bit awkward when healers still had all his limbs stretched out! ¡°Nae this fear. You feel nae as much sleep near you today, eae? We decrease our herbs as you have more rest. Soon, you may walk in the festival. For now, I see more and can offer healing¡ª¡± ¡°And, I shall sleep!¡± My poor husband sobbed! ¡°I can give nes if you promise to sleep long, after. You will have an hour with your Bedelia.¡± ¡°Only that? She needs to share many sorrows with me, and fears my death! O, that we never met, that I cause her this suffering!¡± I gasped, and both of them looked at me. ¡°Keiley, I never knew that I could be a good person, without our love! I probably would¡¯ve let the slavers¡ª¡± I had plans to help Atlanta Police more, before I found Nespa, but when I took him to Molly¡¯s and knew Keiley was still alive, I decided to go to Rainbow. Because of my husband, I died there, not with slavers. He saw it, and had a seizure! Oh, I felt awful! Healers let go, and I talked fast as his body went limp. ¡°Keiley, I love you! I¡¯ll be here! I won¡¯t leave you!¡± Pas rubbed the back of my straight, rusty hair. ¡°Nae this fear. I am sorry he can nae wake¡ª¡± ¡°How do I stop upsetting him like this!¡± I felt so exasperated with my emotions! I used to have more self-control! Gently, Pas re-propped my husband and those healers untwisted his limbs again. This time, they put tnshey on him because they were splotchy and maroon with bruises! That vanished with the tnshey, thank goodness! Seeing that just upset me more. Pie held a vial of the white stuff. ¡°Breathe this. I know, is painful that his upset brings shakings, but you need this honesty. Nae can hide for long. Know that he is strong enough to bear it, knowing your sorrows. All who marry have trials, which are greater when sorrows are also great. Elshar Zheien have more than any. But know what I know, that both of you are strong enough to bear. Jos Keil spoke the truth when he told you his heart is well. He is mostly well, and healing. Nae of his unwells threaten his death now.¡± ¡°But, Pirad said, after recloning he can¡¯t fix everything!¡± ¡°Pirad taught me how to adjust his progs, Lady. He will have problems with memory, and certain other unwells, but he will nae travel where progs can nae reach. He nae has the severe injuries that harmed him so in the Rainbow you remember. Pirad saved all of Esta Faho¡¯s Burial Chambers¡ª¡± ¡°Then, why aren¡¯t they here? Esta Faho¡¯s population is still 400, when other cities are bigger now!¡± Pie sighed, and it rumbled on me. ¡°Most of them were colonists with relatives in other colonies, so they returned to be with their families. Esta Faho had more who came to replace those who died. If they stayed, Esta Faho would be larger than K¡¯hasa Zha!¡± That made me feel a lot better! I¡¯d thought Pirad couldn¡¯t wake them up! I didn¡¯t want to leave my husband, but healers took me to other beds. This building holds thousands! After about a hundred more, I went back to Keiley and hugged him for a nap. Days Of Healing I watched Micansen marry Felarnen, that Elder lady. She¡¯ll live here, with him. They wouldn¡¯t let him leave healers chambers, but they got a room in that hall for married folks. People would go down there and I¡¯d hear their bellsongs, and my face burned. When that happened, Ella and Becky, if they were in here, got red faces, too. But not one healer did! Just we three can hear it? I¡¯d get antsy to go run, but sometimes, I¡¯d come back from a run exhausted, and still had high anxiety. Suma¡¯s prog offered me strong-tasting candies as one strategy I could try. One of the sour and bitter ones worked well, which surprised me. Tasted awful, but my anxiety level went down. Days passed where I¡¯d take healers around, then Keiley woke up and we¡¯d take a walk in that garden, and shared things. Sometimes he¡¯d shake and his progs¡¯d run, but he didn¡¯t have any full-blown seizures. That got better. He was gradually awake more. Finally, Wulai went in the festival with us. Oh, what fun! I was glad I waited until Keiley could come with me! Becky was in another meeting. Elsie came, Nespa came with Elsie, and even Ella. Farley had a great sense of humor. It was fun seeing Keiley with his friends! Yelena and Nathan came, Tom 2 and his lady, and Stacy with Het Paren, who looked much better. Becky¡¯s sister and Os danced a while, then joined a musical group and she learned some more piano while playing duets with him. Her family made a choir and were very good! We didn¡¯t last long. Healers made the fellas lie in the nearest mud puddle when they so much as yawned, but everyone seemed happy to have a mud bath in the middle of a festival. Since we were near the musicians, we had entertainment and lots of yummy pastries. I still felt awkward eating in front of people, but I watched their surface thoughts¡ªso rude! But no one watched me eat. That helped a lot, to know people didn¡¯t pay attention to me as I thought they did, all my life. I realized, a lot of things just weren¡¯t as hard. I still hid a lot of jumbled feelings, but guilt over eating a second pastry in a row wasn¡¯t intense now. Trusted the progs more. Keiley wasn¡¯t as tense in his sleep here. After a couple hours, healers decided to port us back, and I led a smaller group around to about a hundred more Esta Fahoans. The last hundred. After that, I spent more time visiting with our Earthans. These days, it was more worry about their husbands than what they were going to study, or do for work. Or, people worried about relatives on Earth, who didn¡¯t marry a Zheien. There are 35 worlds in Alb now! ¡°What can I do to make my brother leave Earth? Could you talk to her, the next time Gospenden visits her?¡± Kelly worked for someone on Escet Vu! How does he know about me? I sighed. ¡°I have relatives who won¡¯t leave. There¡¯s really nothing we can do. In that other future, people I knew were there when friends or relatives got snatched, and they still wouldn¡¯t leave. A few did, and I was sorry it took that.¡± And, Keiley was too sick to stand visiting them, once they came. Felt bad that I couldn¡¯t tell him how they fared in Rainbow. I didn¡¯t know. ¡°Even after that, they wouldn¡¯t come? How many people went to slavers? I didn¡¯t see my future.¡± He shook his head and red curls flopped. He¡¯s not much older than me. I sighed. ¡°In the other future, a billion people left Earth and a billion Elshars came, but I never saw any accurate estimates of how many became slaves. Maybe half of those who left, did. But they didn¡¯t talk about how many were taken from Earth, or what proportion of the billion left unwillingly.¡± Politicians won¡¯t talk about negative things. That didn¡¯t change-- ¡°But, with this tech, surely they knew how many people vanished!¡± ¡°You know how politics works on Earth. Nobody wants negative press. They couldn¡¯t do anything about it, in the future I saw, because they didn¡¯t agree to progs to track it! But the new treaties have provisions to prevent things. There won¡¯t be any Merit Colonies because that¡¯s how Earth lost a lot of people to slavers!¡± ¡°Merit Colonies? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°You know how public housing works, right? They gather poor people in one place to provide services. Except it doesn¡¯t work. Too many people need public housing and never qualify, or they get there, and crime increases because of drugs. Now they build more mixed-income housing, but funding for that is hard to get, so most people at the lowest income end up homeless. But we don¡¯t count them except once a year. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°There¡¯s a provision in both treaties to make Earth take care of poor people, and they showed how it¡¯s profitable, because if people have their needs taken care of, they contribute to society.¡± He frowned. ¡°How can lazy bums contribute? Especially if they stay drunk!¡± ¡°Not all of them are addicts! But healers can cure addiction with vek ea. When people are given the option to take it, 90% do. The other 10%, 2% of them used it within the¡ªoh, the Alliance Treaty passed today! That provision is one they accepted, so all people can get a healer for free. Look at this!¡± I waved up stats between Wed and today, Monday, January 25th. ¡°So, 92% of all Earth¡¯s addicts are under a healer¡¯s care, and already have tutors to help them learn new work. People who were homeless now have homes and half of those were working, even homeless, so the number of homeless working is 75% now, with another 15% seeing a tutor daily. They¡¯re making an impact on Earth¡¯s economy.¡± Another graph showed that. Many people were working 3 jobs, and now they are only working at one, but still growing the economy. That shocked me! Unemployment also dropped, despite the number of people quitting jobs. Kelly smiled. ¡°Looks like life got better on Earth. I¡¯m almost sorry we left, but I love it on Escet Vu. I¡¯m in school myself to learn social work. I¡¯ll be working on MarKu in their Earthan Colony¡ªwell, Earth MarKu¡ªbecause that¡¯s where most Earthans are coming. We also have a contract with Earthan Colonies to help new colonists adjust. They have the same deal as Alb does, but they don¡¯t hire social workers. All of their workers are skilled trades, like mining or farming, or people with degrees in things like mining or research.¡± ¡°Will the miners have protections against mine poisons?¡± ¡°Sure will! They have research teams to make sure of that. Some of the research is because of progs you are running in Esta Faho. I spent half the day with Ms. Ella and Ms. Elsie learning about that, to reassure people on Columbia and Waf. Some of them saw their futures and worried, because in the other future, they had to trade hard to afford things, and some got poisoned on those worlds. Progs run to protect them, and that¡¯s why they went there anyway. They saw how many colonists died there, and they want to prevent that.¡± That made me feel good! In the other future, I was worried about so many deaths in our 50 colonies, and most of those were on Columbia and Waf. Twice as many on Waf because of the harsh conditions! But there was a lot of argument about slave trade there. The UN voted for no slave trade in any of Earth¡¯s colonies, where they didn¡¯t in the future I know. Slavers make a lot of false promises. It¡¯s good to know they are running the same progs we enjoy here, on Earth and all her colonies besides the ones on Alb. It shocked me how picky Earthan Colonies is! Alb takes anyone, but you need high skills to be accepted in any of the Earthan Colonies. No disabled or elderly people? The age cutoff is 35 there. But he and a lot of others are here to learn about mine poisons from Ella and Elsie. Not the other programmers? ¡°Oh, I talked to Peh Ras, King Challet¡¯s prog instructor. He taught me a lot, but he told me Ms. Ella knows a lot more than he does. She discovered that combinations of substances that aren¡¯t poisonous alone, are in combination with others. And, she designed a new kind of hazmat suit that all of Diplomatic Service is using on their teams! How can an Earthan be better at this than a Zheien? Peh Ras is the 2nd best prog instructor in Alb, and Be~saech Of Ye~ is the best, and both of them said Ella is better at this than they are!¡± I shrugged. ¡°Maybe she just had a different approach.¡± We looked at trading. Sure enough, Earth was trading a lot of things as a whole, and Alb was making a lot of trade from the relatively few Earthans here. My items were already gone and still trading, and I had 82,000trade already! It¡¯s only noon, so it can trade a lot before sunset here! Other Earthans had similar balances, most not as high as mine. Ray Green had four times that. But her husband Asha¡¯s the top trader for King Challet. The Earthan Colonies were sitting pretty, too. That trade bal made them able to give their workers more protections and injuries went down. More healers came to work in them. Housing improved. So did Security and a dozen other headings. Earth also improved conditions for all Earth¡¯s people. No one was starving or homeless since Wednesday, but productivity improved drastically among workers, and they had increases in health and mental health as the biggest reason for that. In 5 days, they proved that Merit Colonies with all their rules and restrictions didn¡¯t work. In this future, Becky wouldn¡¯t have died of cancer. Maybe all the people I knew wouldn¡¯t have died-- But, a list came up of my missing relatives. Of 569 people, 32 were already missing. Another list of 159 showed families moving to worlds of Alb, but not here. Some were related to me and some were my friends and friends of my relatives. I¡¯m happy they are coming, but 32 missing in 5 days? That depressed me. Even with all the changes? ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m looking at a list of mine, and 13 are missing. At least my brother¡¯s not on it. Yet. Thanks for talking to me. My cousin¡¯s here! Gotta go, but thanks!¡± He ported away. Another Earthan¡¯s holo came up. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Roberto Gonzales, and I live on Hearrh. Have you got time? I¡¯m worried about my relatives.¡± ¡°Sure! I have time.¡± He ported to me, and I repeated most of what I told Kelly to him and 16 others in succession, from all over Alb! I went back to healers chambers worried, but everyone was crying! Galarsmen had a stroke! Move To Esta Faho I felt awful that I wasn¡¯t here in Rainbow, but I was talking to Earthans who weren¡¯t even my responsibility! I hugged my husband and his progs ran. ¡°Nae, Wu, please!¡± ¡°My son, all of us are upset. Sleep. Bedelia, nae this guilt! All who come to you are yours. We nae see political divisions here as Earth does.¡± People left in groups, on riding animals. We¡¯re leaving Rainbow? He¡¯s right. They thought I had some answers, so they came to me, and maybe the server pointed me out so they¡¯d come here. I shared my day with my husband, then he smiled as he fell asleep. He¡¯s happy I helped them a little. They brought riding animals for us. I got excited, and all the Zheien still awake tingled! Micansen reached for my hand as healers carried us, so I grabbed it. He¡¯s Elshar again. ¡°Thank you for comforting our Elshars! Many told me how you said Felar wanted them to be proud of their heritage.¡± I didn¡¯t say that, but¡ªmaybe Elshars have memory problems, too, if many said that! Felarnen smiled. ¡°I am happy to join your colony. We court, and Mi¡¯s healer said we can see my house today!¡± ¡°I am sorry, Elder Felarnen, but I did not say you could go to your house! We go to Galarsmen¡¯s Chambers with our people.¡± Not our house? But, that¡¯s the best plan. She gasped, and tears streamed down her face. ¡°It is only for a short¡ª¡± ¡°I never had troubles remembering! What is wrong with me?¡± ¡°Think of your courted. His unwells affect you. Micansen, which animal do you want?¡± But, if they¡¯re courting, why would his unwells affect her? Elshars don¡¯t usually get mindlinked! What did Pirad have to do? Felarnen watched Micansen, whose black eyes went light. ¡°A dorna. Can we ride a fast one, Hanapeh?¡± He chuckled. ¡°In a few days. But we can trot, if your joints can handle it.¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t care! Let¡¯s go!¡± He didn¡¯t notice Felarnen¡¯s worried expression, or the slightly darker blue of Hanapeh¡¯s eyes. He¡¯ll regret it later. But, he¡¯ll have fun. We got on a slow-moving cael and were still loading up as their dorna, like cow-faced donkeys, rode snorting off into the distance! Dorna snort when they¡¯re happy, and these were loud. The animal handlers giggled. It wasn¡¯t as fast as a horse gallop, but close. Others on cael barely moved. Keiley barely woke up long enough to hug Wulai¡¯s arms around him. I let Daddy try to lift me up there, but caels are tall! ¡°O, let me help you, Lucas!¡± Risentah lifted him with me still in his arms! Daddy chuckled. ¡°Hey, this is fun! Up you go, Sweetie!¡± ¡°Thanks, Daddy!¡± He didn¡¯t get me right against Keiley, but my husband pulled me over. Even so sleepy, he¡¯s strong and gentle. Daddy hadn¡¯t picked me up since my teens! Before that! Pas carried Galarsmen, who didn¡¯t wake up. His eyes weren¡¯t closed all the way. Both of ¡®em have beautiful red-gold eyes but I watched Pie, not him, that curled-up, shaking body! Everyone watched them with sad faces. Galarsmen is Esta Faho¡¯s only master healer. I hate the term ¡®master¡¯. But Elshars run the Alliance and make the titles. Until last Wednesday, slavery was legal in the Alliance. In the future I remember, they never abolished it! Why now? They put Keiley¡¯s parents up here and we slowly ambled through the woods near us. I¡¯d been so afraid I¡¯d never see a tree here, but there were lots of diff kinds, and not just in the Earthan Colony. This was the border between Rainbow and Rahn Estar, on the side away from the Elshar Zheiea Spaceport. Or, Jackson Spaceport, as it¡¯s now called, Elsie¡¯s idea? Cool! With a life-sized holo of Maynard Jackson to greet people! A little bit of Atlanta to enjoy, besides the Beltline, of course. Can¡¯t see it from here, but we¡¯re enjoying a longer ride than others who took a ship. Keiley and his family are in good enough shape for this. Cevit Ion and his family were with us for a while, but veered west. They¡¯re headed to Ferrimos. They all look worried. I am, too. Will everyone get sick in familiar territory? This is kind of like their test, to see if they can handle going home. If they don¡¯t get sicker in Galarsmen¡¯s Chambers, maybe they¡¯ll be able to go home, soon. Have to think positive, after all. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Keiley rested his head against my shoulder and went to sleep. He¡¯s warm. Relaxed. As long as he¡¯s good, I am. It worried me that he didn¡¯t ask for one of those rooms in the hall. Maybe he¡¯s been sleeping too much to think. The ride was long, and I sure enjoyed the sunny day! The yellow sky had golden clouds, not many, as we trodded along. Animal handlers¡¯ kids ran with us and pulled flowers to put in our laps. I had several petunias in bright yellow, the green of our clothes, and shades of red. One kid added more of the light green, blues and purples. Beautiful! They noticed people¡¯s faves. I didn¡¯t see Galarsmen¡ªoh, he¡¯s in his chambers already! That was a holo, to reassure people who are now asleep. He went on that ship, and that¡¯s where Elsie got off and was sad that the spaceport didn¡¯t have a sign. Becky fixed her up. Becky¡¯s so thoughtful! She¡¯s a good princess to help Tom and King Nitomahan rule over us. Our king must be really upset. Galarsmen¡¯s his healer! And several people saw Tom take Becky into the woods to find a rare little animal. That one they found is sitting on Galarsmen¡¯s shoulder. Good. Our ride took us through dense woods, then through a large farming area, into the commons of Sara Kia. It looked like Rainbow, but people stopped what they were doing to come offer us pastries. I felt guilty for eating again so soon, but it was lunchtime, anyway! Becky¡¯s in Calladia, where we¡¯re heading after Sara Kia. So many beautiful flowers, all along our journey! Several Elshars walked with us to ask me questions. They also went to other Council members. ¡°Are they going home? Our group is going to Terat¡¯s Chambers, not home.¡± One artisan had tears in his eyes. ¡°Do not worry, my friend. All of Elshar Zheien is going to their healers chambers now, but in a few days, they will go to their homes.¡± Almost said again, but most have new homes. Especially in Elshar Zheiea and K¡¯hasa Zha. They had stone homes with dirt floors! Those are in animal corrals now in those provs. Most of our cities have those in the corrals, too. We passed a lot of them. Several Earthans came to me, too. ¡°Are you our Council member? Sara Kia doesn¡¯t have a Council member for us yet.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t? I¡¯m happy to help until you get one. What do you need?¡± ¡°They sent a diplomat to my parents¡¯, but they don¡¯t want to come. What can I say¡­?¡± I repeated myself to five of ¡®em as we passed through Sara Kia, then Calladia. Two more artisans came up to me. ¡°Our Council, they are all in healers chambers! Will they be all right? Elshars tried to take our Council! Princess Becky saved us, all of us! She brought Ih Esta to save our king!¡± That¡¯s just too close for comfort! Several of them showed me memories of it, but I just got glimpses because their telepathy was too much! Risentah made ¡®em quit! ¡°Lady Bedelia is Earthan! Please, Bahies, one and then another if ever you speak with an Earthan! Lady, let your telepathy rest, for at least a day, after this.¡± Well, that¡¯s disturbing! I thought after that Elshar tried to cause trouble in our council, we¡¯d be safe! This council had 9 Elshars trying not to leave, but to take over! I felt shaken! Becky¡¯s doing all this wonderful stuff, and they want me to do it, too, but all I can do is see through Zheien hiding things, not Dosilians! Pirad said they aren¡¯t even on our level! That prog warned me, too. They look like Elshars. I tried to reassure ¡®em and pointed out our abuse prog. Noticed some new mods on it from Ella and Elsie. Good. That just helped me calm people down. And, myself. We saw a lot of Earthan kids, mostly with healers. Several Earthans came up. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Andrea, and I¡¯m a nanny. My family doesn¡¯t need me any more, and my¡ªwell, Susie hasn¡¯t got an intellectual disability now and she¡¯s embarrassed because I used to have to change her diapers. She doesn¡¯t want reminders of her old life. So I guess I need to live someplace else than Esta Faho. Where should I go?¡± An Elshar diplomat came to stand by her. ¡°Andrea, welcome! You know about our progs for abuse, right? It¡¯s not just for that. There¡¯s a part that lets your client not see you if it upsets her. It doesn¡¯t tag you as an abuser.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you! I was worried about that!¡± Her blue eyes filled. I hugged her and she clung to me. ¡°You can live anyplace you want. There are now 35 worlds, and here¡¯s a diplomat to tell you about them. Did you have help to contact your landlord, or did you live with your family?¡± ¡°I lived with them. But, all my things are in my cube. Diplomats already went to my family but none of them wanted to come. I¡¯m scared!¡± I talked with her for a few minutes, then that diplomat started his long explanation of the worlds and how someone can design a house for her, and education options. There wasn¡¯t anyone needing a nanny right now. That made her sad. But all these kids have Zheien families waiting for them. Families have lots of help, so it made sense to me that no one in Alb was looking for a nanny. Most moms in Rainbow took their kids with ¡®em, and progs made that super easy. There was always a Zheien willing to entertain a child. A lot of moms just stayed home with their kids because they could. It was almost sunset when we reached Galarsmen¡¯s Chambers. Becky wasn¡¯t there. Elsie and Ella were hard at work. Even though it wasn¡¯t late, I was really tired. Risentah sang healing for my headache. Bad Feelings I woke up and still had a headache. Keiley was holding me, crying. ¡°Oh, Love, it¡¯s just a headache, and it¡¯s not bad¡ª¡± ¡°Risentah said you nearly lost your telepathy!¡± His black eyes were past wide! Reminded me of a cartoon, but he¡¯s scared. ¡°It was an accident. I¡¯m okay.¡± The old healer put his hands on my head. ¡°Nae think to share memories! Let your telepathy rest today.¡± He hummed the rest of my headache gone. We ate festival pastries, and I ate three. Still felt guilty, but I just enjoyed Keiley¡¯s rapt expression as we shared bites. His eyes stayed almost a colorless blue. Oh, I savored our time together with him awake! He thinks his nose is too big and his face isn¡¯t round enough, but I love his face. To me, it¡¯s the face I long to see more than anyone¡¯s. ¡°Love, let us go walk in our festival! O, we missed.¡± His eyes turned black. Wulai shoved him! ¡°You nae missed any! Perhaps, in name, but this festival will last many weeks more! Go, and enjoy, and let sorrows go by you!¡± He laughed, that hearty tenor laugh of his. Then, my husband¡¯s happy expression came back. A holo came up and startled Ella. ¡°When you comin¡¯ over? I wanna go to the festival wid¡¯ ya!¡± Elsie giggled. ¡°Ella, is it okay if I go spend some time with my sista¡¯?¡± ¡°Go ahead! I¡¯ll call you if I need anything!¡± Ella smiled. Farley smiled, too. He was sitting up helping with her progs. Lots of Esta Fahoans were sitting up doing things today. Some were already enjoying the festival! So happy! Maybe we¡¯re past the worst of this. Elsie caught me up. Apparently, I missed Becky¡¯s sister¡¯s wedding a few days ago. Oops. Becky and Tom are in Kin Para today, together! Keiley felt like racing me on a dorna. Elsie and Nes rode with us, but the prog slowed us down. Keiley frowned. ¡°What happens?¡± Then he noticed how Nes was shaking! ¡°You alright, Nes, Honey?¡± He blinked, and rubbed his eyes. Wulai was riding with him, and looked the same way. Risentah and Daddy rode over to ¡®em. ¡°My sons, you must nae ride fast! Nae of Esta Faho should! Jos, are you unwell also?¡± ¡°I am well, but if you wish us to ride slowly, we shall! Nes, are you unwell?¡± ¡°I¡ªthink I had shakings. I will ride slowly, Ris. Wu, are you unwell?¡± ¡°I have nae shakings! Why, Ris, why do I feel strangeness?¡± His chest heaved. Risentah hopped onto the dorna with them! ¡°Let me see you. Ah, your progs ran, my friend. Nae concern. Let us enjoy the festival.¡± ¡°Eae, I am eager to eat pastries!¡± But, we just ate! Risentah just shared another one with him. Keiley watched them with deep blue eyes. Felt his struggle not to think of some unpleasant memories. Diplomats had to be the watchdogs when they came home exhausted from respites. When Elshars attacked, they all mounted dorna and rode off in all directions so they couldn¡¯t catch them. Getting good sleep with all that going on wasn¡¯t possible on their respites. We rode around and watched some displays after we dismounted. Our dornas followed us like dogs would. Keiley started to watch a diplomat with a language lesson, paled, and led me to a pottery display. I didn¡¯t mind, though he worried that I might. ¡°I like watching potters at work!¡± Then we enjoyed more music. Rilley and Os were playing, and today, she did a more complicated part. They sure enjoyed themselves! After a couple hours, Nes looked sleepy, so he and Elsie sat in the mud. We walked around for another hour, then my husband needed some time in the marsh, so we went back to them. My headache came back, so I slept in my husband¡¯s arms. He sang a Gentri song he learned from listening to Os called ¡°Lullabye¡±, and sounded just like the lead singer. Oh, I enjoyed it. I might sign up for voice lessons. A hand on my shoulder woke me. ¡°I am sorry to bother you, Lady Bedelia, but Council meets soon. Are you well?¡± Nes still slept and Keiley put a hand on his blond curls. We both assured him that we were. Elsie smiled at us. ¡°Go run our government! I¡¯ll jes¡¯ enjoy th¡¯ festival wid my hubby.¡± Elsie giggled. She had a prog up. But, Wu took him. ¡°Ella needs you, Elsie.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Keiley smiled at her, then nodded for a portal, and we stood in front of healers chambers. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re a walking encyclopedia! Oh, there¡¯s Bedelia!¡± Becky looked good, maybe a bit tired. Her light green eyes are a pretty color, not drab olive like mine. I tried to walk fast, and kind of fell forward in slow motion! Keiley leapt from behind me, landed over my head in front, and gently pushed my shoulders back. ¡°Love, be careful! Did you harm yourself?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m so clumsy!¡± Usually, I don¡¯t move fast and do all right. So embarrassing! He held me. ¡°You nae ever traveled to a world with our gravity. Nae this guilt. You are nae clumsy, my love, nae at all!¡± He kissed my forehead. ¡°But, I lived in Rainbow for years! I should be able to do this!¡± One hand swatted to emphasize my statement, and he had to catch me again! ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll never get this!¡± My rusty hair¡¯s not a pretty shade, and I feel fat. Bedelia is slightly underweight! I heard Becky¡¯s thoughts that she likes the way I look, which made me feel better. And-- I felt the same way about learning to walk in low gravity! Elsie laughed. ¡°You an¡¯ me both, Sister!¡± I relaxed. I¡¯m with my bffs! Becky rushed over with little hops. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve been doing some exercises I learned in Rainbow. Remember how Molly used to get around?¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s just like I do! Keep up the good work, Becky, 1st Princess Of Esta Faho!¡± Milly, Molly¡¯s clone for Elshar Zheiea. She runs Rainbow Elshar Zheiea and our Earthan Colony. She must be here for Council. Her red ringlets bounced as she hopped over to steady Elsie. Who shook her head. ¡°If¡¯in I didn¡¯t have Nes, I¡¯d be in trouble!¡± ¡°See this prog, ladies? Run it, and you won¡¯t fall, even if your husband¡¯s not on the alert like Jos Keil, here. Good catch, my man!¡± ¡°Hey, he¡¯s my man!¡± I laughed. Milly¡¯s ringlets were bright red, on the orange side. She giggled. ¡°Just a figure of speech, you know. My man is sitting with the unwell back in Rainbow. I thought I¡¯d check in with all my Earthans and see how you¡¯re holding up. It¡¯s been a wild week! But, I think most everyone¡¯s better. Poor Galarsmen! Pas¡¯ll make him rest up before he lets him start healing again.¡± Tom put a hand on her arm. She had on a beautiful cobalt blue dress with her white robes and Tessite symbols over it. All 16 of ¡®em. That shows her willingness to improve everything. In Rainbow she didn¡¯t care for bowing and all! ¡°Prince Antomias, what can I do for you?¡± Her green eyes opened wide. Like a Zheien¡¯s. ¡°I worry for our Master Healer! Will he heal? He is my healer, Molly.¡± Becky looked at Tom. He knows she¡¯s Milly, right? But, they all have memory problems. Worrisome, that Tom has them, because he¡¯ll be king someday! ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Pas knows what to do for him, and he thinks he¡¯ll recover completely. I wanted to talk to you before our Council meeting. And, Ella, I want you to come with us. May we meet in your office?¡± Ella, and not me? ¡°Certainly, Queen Molly. This way.¡± We all walked towards the sky blue building that was the palace. Tom got her name wrong again? I worried. He shouldn''t have that much trouble getting her name right! Becky looked back. ¡°See you later, Elsie, Bedelia! Have extra fun at the festival for me!¡± Millie didn¡¯t correct her, so I stayed back. My prog¡¯ll warn me when to head for the meeting. Why does Milly want to see them before the meeting? All Kings¡¯ and official offices in Zheien palaces or in the Trade Office¡ªthat¡¯s the green building or the blue one¡ªthe Diplomats House, all of ¡®em are lined with merite. Telepathy can¡¯t pass. The day turned a bit rainy, but not wet, just misty. Not cold. No thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail, blizzards, earthquakes, tornadoes, or nuclear power plant accidents. None of the dangers Earth had. I still felt like one was pending. We were near the festival. Elsie needs a little attention right now, too, I bet. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t help Ella if she¡¯s dere! I¡¯ll go ta healers chambers. I can check progs. You should come too, Bedelia.¡± Her brown eyes gave an expectant look. ¡°I would, but when they finish¡ªoh, Council¡¯s already meeting? I¡¯d better wait with them. Elsie, you okay?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m okay! I¡¯ll check progs real quick, den I¡¯ll go get my sista¡¯. Her Zheien fam¡¯ly¡¯s distractin¡¯ her for a bit.¡± She smiled. So glad she¡¯s got her sister! And, her mother and aunt are about a hour away from the Spaceport! She¡¯ll be busy this afternoon. I ported over there by the Kings House. Two servants swung the doors wide. ¡°Hello, we will lead you to the meeting!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± The other lady giggled. I took their twin-fingered hands and let them lead. Good thing I did! The halls went on forever with several shortcuts to other halls! Admired the sky blue walls, which had rainbows in ¡®em from the setting sun. Perfect time of day for a meeting, with this light show going! They swung these doors open. The rings on them looked like horses, but they are ferrisnae. Beautiful work! They had more of the head and neck showing than the ones on the outside doors, which were bigger. Inside, eight other couples smiled. Micansen ran to us. ¡°Everyone, please welcome Lady Bedelia, and her husband Jos Keil, whom all of you know well. Please, Friends, sit by us!¡± Felarnen sat in the chair nearest me, and that¡¯s my chair. I sat, Keiley on my other side, and Keras Pos was next to him. They all introduced themselves. But, Micansen sweated. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong¡ªaaahhh!¡± He grabbed his temples! They all did, including my husband! White portals took them away! Where?! I stood up but I was the only one left. ¡°Where¡¯s my husband?!¡± I screamed! My mental display didn''t show him! Or the others! Those two ladies came running. ¡°O, let me call a healer¡ª¡± I tried to find Pirad. He¡¯s not there? But his clones are in all these colonies! I waved up a white portal to go fast! Escet Vu! Search For Pirad! If I can find Pirad, I¡¯ll know what happened to my husband and our council! I appeared in a circle of buildings. Blue Zheien ran to me. I recognized Math~an, Master Healer Of Escet Vuans, from that memory of Becky¡¯s. I bowed. ¡°Math~an, where is Pirad?¡± He paled. ¡°He died today! Why are you here from Esta Faho?¡± ¡°I am sorry, but I must find Pirad now!¡± I aimed the portal at MarKu. My heart pounded in my ears. Longest four minutes¡ªno, white is faster than deep blue. Only a minute, maybe. Records show a person¡¯s death. It doesn¡¯t make sense, that I can¡¯t bring up his record, to find out what happened to him! The ground zoomed up, but these portals don¡¯t have to be steered. I bounced on orange sand and water splashed. I didn¡¯t care. People stood and came close. Pie ran to me. ¡°Lady Bedelia, why are you here?¡± Oh, my, the king and queen came running. ¡°Please, Pie, I have to find Pirad!¡± ¡°He died! Stay with us. You are pale!¡± I ported again. What other subcolonies were in Rainbow? Surely he¡¯s on Alb Seer! I aimed it there! The capital¡¯s Fhai, that city across from Rainbow. It¡¯s not¡ªit looks like Rainbow Elshar Zheiea. Nobody lives there. No sub-colonies. I didn¡¯t flinch this time as the ground zoomed up. White sand. Came out in front of that beetle-green building I saw across the creek. I don¡¯t know who to ask for, here! A man ported out. ¡°Lady Bedelia, Council Of Esta Faho, I am Tedaeus, Council Of Fhiah. How can I help? Many worry for you on MarKu, Escet Vu and Elshar Zheiea!¡± His bright blue eyes went wide! I shook all over and a white-robed healer ran for me! ¡°Please, I have to find Pirad!¡± I showed him what happened. He paled! ¡°Let us port¡ªwe can nae? But Kirnonos opened his lab to us! Hersa!¡± A huge yellow Zheien ported to us! ¡°Ted, what is?¡± ¡°See my memories! I think we are attacked!¡± My heart raced. Cold sweat dripped off me! Is Keiley dead, and I¡¯m dying, too? This man also paled, but other men in black uniforms like his ported to us. Some had purple¡ªthat¡¯s Science Service! ¡°Friends, we must reach Kirnonos! Be~saech, M¡¯Naga, you have wives¡ª¡± One of them bowed. ¡°I am M¡¯Naga¡¯s ba Naga. I have ne wife, but all of his memories of Tunnels on Ye~. Saech with me is Be~saech¡¯s ba and he ne has wife yet. We can go with you. Both of us know these traps well.¡± ¡°Traps?¡± Even my voice shook. ¡°If we can nae port, surely Kirnonos expects an attack, and activated them again! Tell me, Lady, why need you to go there? You should stay and let us get contact¡ª¡± ¡°My husband needs me! They ported terminals from him! He may be dying, and I will do anything to get to him! I know Pirad ported him there!¡± I sobbed. Even if I¡¯m risking my life, I¡¯ll do it, anything! This time, I have to be there! King Theaspaura ported to us. Took my arm. ¡°Surely your husband wishes you to stay in safety while these brave ones go to dangers! They have training you lack, Lady.¡± His bright blue eyes filled. Dark brown curls to his shoulders startled me. The way people talked about him, he''s old! ¡°Please! If he¡¯s dying, I want to die with him!¡± I sobbed, and he caught me. A healer hummed and I felt stronger. A diplomat took me in his arms. ¡°Lady, I am a friend of Jos Keil, Joeap. I will watch over her safety, my liege.¡± He bowed holding me, as gracefully as if I wasn¡¯t there. I clung to him and reached for Keiley. Nothing! Theaspaura held my head against his chest. ¡°I dread to send you, but I will. Joeh, I wish you both to survive this. Take no risks that you may avoid, with my blessing. I shall pray in the Temple for all of you!¡± ¡°Eae yeo, my liege! Come, let us go quickly!¡± We ported to a green tunnel that seemed to go into infinity! Beautiful, with a very high ceiling. I don¡¯t know what I expected, but not this! They waved a tight black suit on me, very thick. It had heat in it. The air was cold enough I saw my breath. How? They all wore these before we ported. All of us ran impossibly fast, for hours! I got exhausted, from the anxiety, from fear! My eyes watered from looking down that tunnel. I stayed cold, too cold to shiver. They didn¡¯t slow down, they gave a hop and crouched. Three of them stepped onto squares. Giant balls fell from the ceiling and swished past them as they dodged. A wall edged up. They had to dodge 3 or 4 times before the wall was far enough up for them to jump. Three jumped, and three more had to dodge the balls, which lowered with each swish. There were 10 of us. My man was last to step on a platform but this ball was already on the floor. He jumped. Other side was very narrow. A flood of tiny animals covered ground ahead of us and all the Zheien paled. Squeaks echoed. ¡°They are fia? How can we get past them? There are too many!¡± Saech pulled out a packet and threw it. What looked like grain spilled. ¡°Run past!¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The fia went for the packet. When they ate all of it, they went after each other. Didn¡¯t see much as all of us ran at top speed. The din of their squeaks echoed! Again, it was hours. My carrier¡¯s heartbeats echoed in my ears. Two strong beats, and a weak one. That¡¯s a healthy heartbeat for them. Strong triples tell a healer there¡¯s a problem. I didn¡¯t feel sweat on my carrier, but would I? I wasn¡¯t even running and felt exhausted. Depressed. I closed my eyes and felt for my husband. Nothing. Either he¡¯s unconscious, or¡ªno! Which healer told me? That our mindlink is strong! That if he died, I would, too! Suma said it and she knows healing! So he has to be alive, he has to be! ¡°Lady, we must have hope. Are we past all of the traps?¡± ¡°There is one more, soon. When we see spires above, we shall be in Kirnonos¡¯ prov.¡± In the distance, I saw them, above the sides of the walls. Moons rose behind them. Lots of tiny moons. As we went down the long hall, I counted 14 of ¡®em. But when the 14th rose, the men stopped. I heard hooves behind us. What¡¯s that? ¡°O, friends brought dorna carts! We must spring this trap quickly, that they nae have trouble! Are we sure there are only three?¡± ¡°There are three, and here is our next challenge. Watch yourselves! Sharpnesses come from the floor and ceiling!¡± As he said it, a row of spikes shot to the ceiling! All of them moved back. But one ran forward. ¡°Catch them! If one hits the floor, we fall!¡± He caught the first one and laid it on the floor with a clang. They all moved so fast it was blurs! My man ran forward and zig-zagged between more. His friends ran ahead of us to catch more. This went on for a while! But clopping came behind us. We passed open rooms. ¡°Is one of these Kirnonos?¡± ¡°Nae. We have far before we see him. Ignore them. Nae knows if traps are in them. So far, I nae hear a reply.¡± Footsteps ahead of us startled us all! A Bisillip ran. ¡°Why did you come? Are more coming? You should not be here!¡± Joeap ran to him and bowed. ¡°This lady fears for her husband¡ª¡± ¡°Take her back! You will bring them!¡± ¡°Who? We are soldiers of King Theaspaura¡ª¡± ¡°I know who you are and all of you are foolish to come here! Do you know what we are fighting? We cannot be distracted! Do you care about the fate of the Thirteen? There is war here!¡± Gasps. We walked into a war? Hoof-beats stopped behind us. Another Bisillip ran up. ¡°Habir, do not send them back! It is too dangerous¡ª¡± ¡°They should not be here!¡± ¡°They are here now. Let them come. They are very tired, and I will not lose any.¡± ¡°Foolish Zheien, and an Earthan who started it¡ª¡± ¡°Remember your time as a slave, what future you avoided.¡± ¡°They are obviously not slaves!¡± ¡°No, and we want to avoid that fate for all of them! Friends, forgive Habir. Come. Kirnonos¡¯ Lab is this way. Bring your dorna. When this is over, you will need them. I taught my traps not to activate for the species we know.¡± ¡°I warn you, they can take these forms.¡± ¡°And Kirnonos can detect them! Such worries! Follow me, all of you!¡± They looked exactly alike and my server didn¡¯t work down here. Odd. Why would they do that? But, if they are scared, I should be. Their chests heaved, with loud clicks, like a ship engine. We walked down that hall. I wanted to get down and run, but I felt like I¡¯d faint if I stood up. Keiley must be dying. Too depressed. My carrier hummed, but it didn¡¯t work. I sagged in his arms, just lying here. A room to the left had beds. All our council members laid there. I stared at their chests. They weren¡¯t breathing. He carried me to Keiley. I put out a hand. Gasped. ¡°He is in stasis. Lie beside him. To save you, I must also put you in stasis.¡± Spots danced in front of my eyes. It¡¯s too much! It¡¯s all too much! ¡°Now that I have you, I can save him.¡± That¡¯s Pirad! If I found Pirad, maybe that¡¯s enough. ¡°Are your clones all dead? They said they were.¡± Couldn¡¯t get my telepathy to work. I thought about all the faces. He looked shocked! Doesn¡¯t he know? ¡°Sleep now! Do not think!¡± I put my arm over Keiley, and the cold hurt, but I¡¯m with him. Maybe he knows. And, one by one, they got up. Becky stared at Keiley and Pirad ran to us with a green cylinder. Clink! Clink! Pirad touched his forehead. Flash! Keiley sat up. I hugged him. My arms shook and he hugged me. He shook like I did. An Ishah healer gasped and made a leiwege for us and shoved us into it. Felarnen, Elder from Lidara. ¡°Mic, what happened?¡± ¡°Who dared put terminals in an Elder?¡± ¡°Mican, of course! I dared to disagree with him! He sent me to Lidara as a weapon. But, I had Tessite jewelry from my slaver. When I dressed her, she taunted me by putting a Tessite tiara on me. My terminals malfunctioned! So I trained her with her own slaver herbs. She suddenly demanded I dress as a soldier. And, our soldiers wear helmets. I had mine made of Tessite. ¡°But, when we married¡ªwhat happened? I feel so foolish!¡± Tom begged Becky to stop. ¡°Who else is down here, Tom? I can¡¯t see the red any more, I don¡¯t know who to save! Who¡¯s next?¡± Red? What? ¡°My love, you saved them all!¡± ¡°Ella. And Farley.¡± Milly¡¯s voice. ¡°Can¡¯t you send someone to look? They¡¯re on Esta Faho!¡± Ry¡¯nao¡¯s voice! ¡°I have a Team.¡± Tom carried Becky in there. ¡°Where is Pirad?¡± Ry¡¯nao looked up. ¡°Tom. Here is a bed for you.¡± He waved, and Tom put Becky on it. ¡°Is Becky ill?¡± ¡°She is dying!¡± He fell on her! I sobbed. Keiley¡¯s gray! He cried, too. ¡°Kirnonos, can you help her?¡± ¡°I have not anything left! We defeated them, but all of us are exhausted!¡± Tom wept. I think we all did. Keiley¡¯s arm twitched. I heard high-pitched whistles. ¡°We won¡¯t leave. Bedelia¡¯s next to you. Both of you are okay. Kirnonos is going to reclone you.¡± Milly? Or Molly? He leaned over. At first I thought he was Pirad, but he sounds more creaky in his voice. ¡°I will work fast.¡± Flash! White light warmed me up and I had a little strength. Another Bisillip carried him to a bed! I held Keiley, but he¡¯s cold. ¡°I had terminals!¡± His body shuddered. He¡¯s still gray! ¡°I am here, I am with you.¡± ¡°Risentah? Wu. I need Wu!¡± ¡°Nae fear. Wu is unwell, but we care for you well. Let us port home. Nae fear. There shall be nae pains.¡± ¡°If I am unwell, please, nae port us! Let us take a ship!¡± ¡°O, I can nae bring a ship, but here is a dorna, to comfort you. Hold to her neck. She is yours, if you wish.¡± I couldn¡¯t sit up, but Joeap sat me up. ¡°I can bring a ship, if they wish one!¡± Risentah put Keiley¡¯s arms around the calm dorna. She was the color of my rusty hair. He put my head on her, too. We laid in a leiwege. ¡°Whether ship or portal, my son will have great fear. A portal nae takes as long. Let us go!¡± The roar of the white portal drowned out what he said. We shot into black space, dotted with colorful stars, and the Milky Way ahead of us. Beautiful! We veered, and I just watched stars and tried to pick out constellations. Are they even the same ¡®way out here? No, there¡¯s only 22 stars. On a clear night, not in Atlanta, you might see 2,000. That¡¯s not enough for constellations like we know. There¡¯s still the Milky Way, but I didn¡¯t see it now. I held Keiley, and worried. He¡¯s cold. A Zheien shouldn¡¯t be. His heart skips. Not even triples. Past him, other healers held the other council members. All of them, eyes black as this space. Only Becky and Tom weren¡¯t moving. Ella and Farley were on their other side, also not moving. But, Risentah is holding us. My headache¡¯s back and that noise isn¡¯t helping! But, it¡¯s only a min between worlds of Alb. I held onto Keiley. He¡¯s breathing. I¡¯ve got him! In front of us, our golden world flew up, and we dropped through the roof of the yellow building. That dorna snorted! It’s Over Galarsmen¡¯s robes have greenish-yellow. It¡¯s not the color of our clothes, but sort of close. Is he related to us? We didn¡¯t hit the bed. Risentah stood above us and lowered our leiwege. Quiet, at last. ¡°Children, we are here in Galar¡¯s Chambers.¡± ¡°And, I am here.¡± ¡°Master, please lie down! You must have rest.¡± ¡°Tom is here. I will rest by him. I am near you, Jos, if you need me.¡± He vanished from Keiley¡¯s side of the leiwege. But he smiled. ¡°I feel you, Galar. Rest well. He was very unwell, Bedelia. Ejis! Are you unwell? Your head aches so!¡± ¡°Fear nae. She has ves mat to help her. Is like nesfa. Too many touched her mind yesterday. Rest.¡± ¡°I had terminals! How is it I speak?¡± ¡°Pirad recloned both of you, to add healing. To keep it, you must rest. Eat, and rest. Here is betasin. I know you love the sweet ones. I nae saw this one since my youth! Taste.¡± Looked away before he bit it so I didn¡¯t embarrass him, but I watched his Adam¡¯s apple bob. Felt his delight. ¡°Dear wife, you must taste this!¡± Risentah guided it down to me for a bite. I took a bigger one than I meant to, but it had a spice that made my mouth tingle. Very tasty! Risentah helped me share it with my husband, who giggled. ¡°Such delight! Is well to be in your chambers again, Galar. I missed you.¡± He didn¡¯t answer, and Keiley¡¯s fear rumbled on me. ¡°O, he must sleep now. Fear nae. Sleep is well for him. You must also sleep.¡± ¡°We were in Council, and¡ªdid we discuss? Tom must know, Risentah!¡± ¡°Tom sleeps. Here is his hand.¡± Oh, my, it¡¯s gray! Dripped green sweat! But Keiley¡¯s gray, too. His unwell¡¯s affecting me. That¡¯s why my head hurts so bad! ¡°Ejis, Tom!¡± ¡°Fear nae, Jos. I married Becky!¡± A giggle. ¡°Eae, she is as well for you as my Bedelia, for me. And Ella for Farley. How lonely he was! And our Nes has his Elsie. Nathan has Yelena. Even Het has a wife, Stacy. Can they come here, Risentah? I wish to see them all.¡± ¡°My son, they sleep, as should you! Farley, nae come, lie here and sleep¡ª¡± ¡°I should comfort my friends, Healer. Let me carry the others to them so they¡ª¡± ¡°You are unwell to carry! Lie here by your wife.¡± Risentah lifted him and left. My eyes just closed. Too tired. But Keiley giggled. ¡°Farley, I am happy you will rest. Risentah takes nae as a challenge, do you, Risentah?¡± He laughed, too, as he came back to sit in front of us. ¡°Farley sleeps, as should you! All of them sleep. Is late, my friend. Speak in the morning.¡± His arms shook as he tried to pull on me. ¡°My arms are unwell!¡± ¡°Fear nae. Sleep. I care for you well, all of you have healers, and you will gain strength.¡± But I felt awe of people near us. ¡°Joeh, I was so worried!¡± ¡°Ted, we passed all the traps without injury! But many here are very unwell!¡± Gasps. ¡°O, they need but rest¡ª¡± ¡°Did they all have terminals removed? Or did one attack Kirnonos¡¯ Lab? King Theaspaura sent me, and he must know!¡± Another healer came in and I only heard about him. Via, Master Healer Of All Ishah! They said his clone was coming here. I¡¯m not getting warned about this? A privacy screen came up between all us council members and everyone else. ¡°I can now tell you who I am and why I came. Nae concern, the Battle Of The Cubes ended, and we are victorious! Many died, on many worlds, but we are safe now, as safe as we can be with what happened. ¡°Mican was Host Of The Black Cube Of War. He is dead, and we ported his body into Alb. This Mican was a clone. His host died on Lisbaar when it exploded. Three star systems perished in that explosion. Gedda Dier woke long enough to set a trap for him, and for Rentappenen, who also died there. Mican could nae port, for his genetics trapped him there. But he made a clone with similar genetics, who could only live a short time while using the Cube. This is why we cautioned all of you nae to think, nae to draw his attention. ¡°I urge King Theaspaura to meet with Pan Sana, King Of Par Vu, and discuss what harms Mican did to his people! We may speak freely now.¡± Via stood there shaking, but bowed to the council member. ¡°And, I wish them to know of the bravery of Lady Bedelia Of Earth, who risked her life to go down to Kirnonos¡¯ Lab to find Pirad, and tell him his clones died! This brave woman ported to Escet Vu first, then to MarKu, and when she knew his clones were dead in these 3 worlds, she ported to Fhiah and begged soldiers to take her with them, when she could nae stand on her feet! We could see that she was very unwell, and probably because of her husband¡¯s peril!¡± Keiley sat up, gasped, and tried to jump! Risentah grabbed him, then this elderly Zheien jumped and held him down! ¡°Jos Keil, my son, nae think to bow!¡± ¡°I nae ever thought to see you, Tedaeus, Council Of Fhiah To all your shipbuilding facilities! This is great honor on my family, that you wish to see my wife!¡± The large Zheien hugged us both, and his silver curls jiggled. ¡°O, is honor on my family, to meet this fine woman, who nae hesitated when we voiced worries of an attack! I heard her thoughts, even if she were to die in this attempt to reach you, she refused to stay in Theaspaura¡¯s home, in safety though he begged her to do so!¡± Keiley sobbed. ¡°You had unwell, and chose danger to come to me? I would nae ever ask such of you, Bedelia, my Bedelia!¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t bear the thought of you dying and wondering where I was!¡± ¡°Dear wife!¡± This stranger wept, too, and hugged us tightly together. Kissed our heads. ¡°I am happy to know you. This is too much excitement, Healers, but I wished to assure my liege that they reached here without incident. Will they be well?¡± His bright blue eyes poured yellow tear-powder. Risentah laughed. ¡°Nae is dying in this chamber! They are recloned, and Jos will need much healing, but they need but rest and my care. We have enough healers to care for them. When Pirad is able again, he can help them more than I, but even if nae, I can heal them. Fear nae.¡± ¡°Then, I must return. I apologize that my visit must be brief, but I am happy to tell my liege of your well. Know this, all of you, that we of Fhiah offer any assistance you may need. Merely ask.¡± I rubbed the back of his curls. ¡°Eae yeo. If ever I can help your kingdom, ask of me.¡± ¡°Lady, children will learn of your example and you inspire greatness of them. Rest well.¡± He smiled, then got off the bed. ¡°Via, will you return with me? Will your people be well without you?¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The old healer smiled. ¡°Eae. We are well, at last. I know more than Mican did, and taught Pirad, Kirnonos and Taredias, with their friends. Poisons are gone from all our worlds, now, and we may heal. I am ready.¡± They walked out, and no one cried when I heard the whoosh of the portal. I took his words into my dreams. At least, I think I did. Keiley¡¯s gratitude tingled on me as he fell asleep. The next few days kind of blurred into a half-existence. I forgot what I was saying mid-sentence. But so did my husband, and his poor friends! Even Becky and Elsie did. Slowly, I understood that all of them and all of the Council had terminals and Pirad couldn¡¯t fix all of it. But, we were able to sit in the festival. Micansen got to his feet. ¡°Lieges, we must discuss the treaty with Par Vu!¡± King Nitomahan smiled at him. ¡°Lesonarah went to Par Vu lastweek. His treaty is signed, my friend. Sit, and enjoy this music.¡± ¡°But, Lieges, the treaty with Elshar Mashai! Elshar Mashai Zheien Colony needs¡ª¡± But they are all here on this planet! His healer tried to get him to sit down. He wept. ¡°Habis ha! No one will ever trade with me again!¡± He slapped a tear off his face and stared at the wetness, eyes black! An Elshar trader in cobalt blue robes came running. ¡°Micansen, dear friend, I will trade with you!¡± ¡°So will I!¡± A crowd in cobalt blue¡ªall master traders with white clothes under the robes¡ªgathered to help him sit down. ¡°You will not chastise me?¡± A bunch of artisans in red robes stopped what they were doing and ran over here! That first one hugged him. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it! The Mashai all left when Oparnen tried to take us! We are all happy here, and when you feel like leading us, we¡ª¡± ¡°What do you need? I¡¯ll do it now!¡± ¡°My friend, just sit here. I go to all of our people once a week and hear all their concerns. Tular had a dispute, and the trader simply gave his item back! Then that trader got his friend to offer more trade for it, then traded for it with that friend. We haven¡¯t had to call Terisch. All the traders are making trade, and we¡¯re all happy.¡± Micansen looked a bit confused. His healer put a leaf in his hand. ¡°Take this and be happy. Your people are all right.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re shaking a bit, is all. If you don¡¯t want it, I¡¯ll take it back.¡± ¡°Why am I shaking? I was strong!¡± He cried. The healer put the leaf in his mouth and hummed. He gave a sigh and stopped shaking. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s better.¡± The man sat by him and put an arm around him. He kept dark eyes, and got the memory-sharing look with the healer. That lady sat by him. ¡°Mic¡ª¡± She wiped tears off his face. His healer nodded, a bit emphatically. She smiled. ¡°I think it is time we ended our courtship. Don¡¯t you agree, Mic?¡± He looked stricken! ¡°I¡ªI--¡± She held up a necklace that sparkled. ¡°May I wear my fermahie¡¯s necklace? Is tradition in our family to choose the one from a favored ancestor, for good fortune, in marriage!¡± ¡°But, if they take her out of stasis¡ª¡± ¡°Pirad cannot help me. We did not have stasis, when we first came to Lidara.¡± She sighed, and got teary. ¡°But, I have you. I brought my house from Lidara. Perhaps one of our bahies will live in it.¡± She smiled. Micansen waved up a very flowery document, recited a long love poem, and Becky¡¯s sister and her husband played, ¡°Someday My Prince Will Come¡±. The happy couple seemed to enjoy it, then put their namesigns on the document, then their handprints. Ella whispered that usually, Zheien use namesigns. An Elshar explained that when Elshar had Elders, they adopted some Zheien customs. Because a lot of Zheien married Elshars and vice versa, they formed Elshar Zheiea as a pact between Elshar and Zheien. Lidara was the first prov of old Elshar to adopt namesigns on their marriage records. Elsie and Nes joined the long line of dancers that stretched along the entire commons in the middle of our city. So did Stacy and Het. Rilley and Os. Keiley and I. Tom and Farley sighed. Pas hugged them. ¡°Ne this sorrow. Soon, you gain strength.¡± Farley got teary. ¡°How long, Galar? It seems with every mission, I am longer in your chambers.¡± Galar wept. But Konomai, Farley¡¯s healer, hugged him. ¡°Farley, you are only a week in Galar¡¯s chambers. You will heal. Hold to your Ella, and rest in your festival. Did you know? Today, tomorrow and the next are your days, to celebrate your marriage to Ella. And, to remember that she saved us. You helped her in this. Think nae much, but enjoy music, and eat pastries.¡± Tom pulled him against us and kissed his head. ¡°Eae, and when, Pas? We shall enjoy the three days of our Wedding Festival, and celebrate my dear wife, who saved our lives at great sacrifice of her health!¡± I knew our three days already passed, but why upset him? Becky¡¯s loud thoughts were like she told me. I tried to look normal. Nathanhai tried to hug them both and fell against them. Healers bent Tom¡¯s leiwege to hold them all. O, Tom, are we all unwell? Yelena is unwell¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m nae unwell, Nathan, you are! I feel fine!¡± She helped her husband get his arms around them. Group hug! ¡°My wife is well? O, happiness!¡± He giggled. Tom¡¯s happiness tingled on us all. ¡°Ah, my well friends! Soon, we also rise. But today, we may enjoy the dancers as they step past us, and eat many pastries! Our colony is well, and Rahn Estar is also well, and Elshar Zheiea is well. Our healers care for us. I had nae fright in my sleep. Did you, Farley, Nathan? Perhaps Galar will let us to our homes soon.¡± Of course, Tom woke up often, sweating, like Keiley still did, and our families still held onto the hair of everyone! But, I did notice that every day, it took less time for him to look around and realize, no one else is upset. We are well. Everyone had older parents and other relatives sitting close. My family and all we Earthans had many relatives, too, to enjoy this festival with us. None of them understand all this higher level stuff. I sure don''t! Maybe it¡¯s well, that injured men make up things to explain what they can¡¯t remember. Maybe I¡¯m doing that, too. But, I can hug Tom, and he¡¯s not miserable, and we are all improving together. We made it. I startled. I shouldn¡¯t be listening to Becky! Keiley swayed as we waited for music to start. A bunch of people came to thank Becky. She kept Esta Faho safe. Ella defeated Mican and destroyed the weapons facilities¡¯ biomes. I didn¡¯t do anything. Except like that Bisillipian said. I started the foolishness of 10 people risking their lives to go to Kirnonos¡¯ Lab and get through traps. But, because I made it, Pirad was able to heal Keiley and reclone us. What if he hadn¡¯t? We danced for a few feet, then all of us had to sit in the muds. Healers shadowed us to make sure we made it. Keiley frowned at his shaking arms. Healers had to untwist ¡®em and hold them for him, and it hurts. I hummed that song, ¡°Lullaby¡± that Gentri, an all-male group, sang. His muscles relaxed, and his eyes turned light. My headache went away. How does that work? Nitomahan got his Ishah healer to bring him and Galar, who wanted to come, too. ¡°Bedelia, you told Pirad his clones were nae. Because of this, he made more and sent us! His clones died fighting in a war of levels, and now we have peace! Mican is truly defeated because of Becky¡¯s bravery. She manipulated time to break his ship from an old repair! And Ella brought down an ancient server that Mican could nae reclone himself! All of you worked to save us, including you, Elsie. You learned from Ella and continued her work, despite your grief!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do what she did!¡± ¡°You saved lives when she went to stop Mican! Bedelia went to Pirad and sent his clones, and they saved many of us! Millie knew where she went and sent rescue for them. I am grateful to all of you! My kingdom lives, because of you!¡± Millie was on the side with King Nitomahan. Blushed. That healer helped Keiley hug me, and he fell asleep. But I stroked his hair and watched the graceful dancers. Hands reached and grabbed our king¡¯s hair and Keiley giggled. ¡°O, I love our friends, Bedelia, and I love you! Anything is bearable because of you.¡± His eyes, that colorless blue, closed, and I grabbed some of his hair, too. And, enjoyed his smile. It didn¡¯t fade as the patient healers untwisted his arms again. None of them can hide it, now, but they look a lot better. All the Esta Fahoans will need this therapy for a while. I didn¡¯t feel as mindless as I did in Rainbow. So grateful, just to hold my husband. He¡¯s warm. His heartbeat is steady triples, two strong and one weak, so I know he¡¯s not dying. He¡¯s just tired, like I am. No sweat on him. We have time to get to know one another, in this future, and I don¡¯t have to worry about death. I¡¯ll save my other worries for tomorrow. Right now, I¡¯m enjoying the festival, and the feel of my husband near me. Nothing else is important to me, in this moment, just this.