Ripped Apart: Quantum Twins – Adventures On Two Worlds (11 page)

The two men ran and seized the not-twins’ legs.

‘We’re going to pull you back,’ Mandara said in a steady voice. ‘Hold on tight!’

They pulled. With a roar of despair the Stroem collapsed back down into the roiling mass below.

Tamina was revealed, holding onto her brother by his feet, and he was still gripping one fine StroemThread in his outstretched hands.

As the Stroem released its support on their bodies, brother and sister swung back to hang vertically upside down and the light beams ceased flickering. Their unsupported weight made Tamina’s legs slide through the not-twins’ grip. Mandara and Shandur let go of the not-twins and hurled themselves forward, only to see Tamina’s feet disappear from view, her empty shoes held in the not-twins’ hands. Screams filled all the helmets.

A faint cry of ‘Why…?’ ending in a sob seemed to rise from the depths, followed by the sound of bodies crashing.

Instead of hearing the hoped for ‘…not?’ everyone’s helmet was filled with Mandara’s voice.

‘Lower the height of the safety beams,’ Mandara commanded. ‘Cancel all but this sector. Then full power here. Emergency Tachyon Transmission. Engage!’

Lellia did not need to speak to Control Panel, it had heard. Travelling faster than light and thus backwards in time, the Tachyons reinforced the selected sector.

‘Raise this sector!’ Mandara shouted, fear racing through him. It was the ultimate safety device, but only designed to catch a small object.

Just then the inner iris of the Lock opened and Mizena appeared. She was just in time to see Wrenden’s body come into sight, then his sister prostrate beneath him.

Having been told by House that the Stroems were exceptionally excited and her husband and great uncle were without helmets, she had taken the time to be fitted with one. So it was that a few minits later four very shaken youngsters and two suffering men had been helped into the cosy room. Wrenden had turned grey. He looked like an old man, a very old man. His face was haggard and his hair had gone white. Tears were streaming down his face.

‘He was climbing up one of the Stroems. It was slipping through my fingers. Then it thinned away to nothing. We had a wrist grip. I was pulling him up. We were all sliding into the StroemWell. He let go of me! I couldn’t hold him. I wasn’t strong enough. He’s gone and it’s my fault. I should have saved him.’ He choked. ‘I could have saved him… he let go.’

An anguished look was plastered all over his face. ‘He shouted “Never Apart” as he fell… That’s what the twins say.’ He looked around, appealing for an explanation.

‘I think it was his way of saying he’ll always be looking out for you. Wherever he is.’ Tamina wrapped her arms around her brother, hugging him as he howled his heart out. With tears in her eyes she looked around the room at the others. ‘We were so close.’ She looked down and pulled her brother tightly to her. ‘If Qwelby hadn’t let go, we would have been pulled over into the Well.’ She ruffled her brother’s hair. ‘We weren’t going to let go. We couldn’t.’ She sobbed and buried her face in her brother’s hair.

‘No. We weren’t. We couldn’t,’ Shimara and Pelnak said together, holding hands and looking at each other, shaking with shock as they remembered the terrible moments when they had heard the anguished cries and then almost immediately they thought they had also lost Tamina and Wrenden forever.

A long time was to pass before everyone was sufficiently recovered for the whole story to emerge.

Eventually, as life on Vertazia changed, the whole event was made into what was to become a famous HWFantasy: containing a serious question: What is Reality?

That was followed by a game playing follow-up whereby the various players, know as ‘GamesWrappers’ could act together to rescue the Qwelby character in one of several different and challenging ways.

Qwelby was sweeping down through the blackness of space, a black that was shot through with lines of bright light, sudden flowerings of mixtures of colours, bright reds, oranges and yellows. Shining shapes were moving across his vision. The lines of light were coming from them.

‘Focus. Remember where you are
,’ a sharp voice inside his head said. A sensation swept through him as though he had stepped under a waterfall, but the water was flowing through every cell in his body. His senses cleared.

He was astride Zhólérrân, his fire-breathing Dragon, leading a group of DragonRiders in yet another battle against space ships flown by the Solids who were intent on destroying his HomeSphere.
Mine?
Of course it is. I am the Dragon Kèhša.
Signalling to his Wing of Warriors, he whirled Zhólérrân into a spiralling dive towards the last target, intent on using the Dragon’s “Fire” to mindblast the crews of the remaining few attacking ships.

Oh, but he was weary. Aurigan life began in the solid, third dimension, then progressed over some two thousand years through to the ninth where they existed as pure group consciousnesses free from all constraints of Form, and needing only the energy from distant stars to survive. Extending outwards though a series of concentric orbs from the central third dimension three hundred kilometres in diameter, the whole space ship was finally enwrapped in the energies of those existing in the much faster vibrations of the ninth dimension.

Although designed to be as self-supporting as possible, the HomeSphere still needed to enter planetary systems. Advanced scouts had said that there was no planet suitable for a future home. All they had wanted to do was to pass slowly through the system, re-energising the whole race as they cruised close to the sun, and replenishing stocks from any uninhabited planet of nutriments essential for those existing in the lower dimensions.

Dropping down into the third dimension they had made contact with the inhabitants of the fourth and fifth planets and explained their simple needs. The HomeSphere’s course had been at an acute angle to the ecliptic and on a heading to keep it at a great distance from the inhabited planets. Yet once again they had been met with suspicion, mistrust and an almost overwhelming assault.

It was inevitable that a few warriors were lost in each round of fighting. More serious was that the mental anguish all Auriganii experienced from sensing the destruction of so many sentient life-forms was taking its toll on the cohesiveness of the whole race, and threatening to destabilise their DNA. This latest conflict was bringing to a head deep-seated divisions that were threatening to turn into a disastrous schism. Even though by now battle-hardened, he was tiring from the repeated death and destruction. And he was beginning to wonder not only how long he and his warriors could continue, but whether the race would survive.

Its handful of small escorting ships drifting lifeless, their energy projectors silent, a lone battleship was still heading for his HomeSphere.
There it is again, that strange feeling that I created it. But that was thousands of years ago. And who was she that led our people on board?

Although he was only just over six hundred sun cycles old, already all his DNA was fully activated and he existed at the highest level of the seventh dimension, making sliding between dimensions easy. But maintaining a presence in the solidity of the third for long periods, whilst also using to the full his energy capabilities of the higher levels of vibration, was extremely fatiguing. He was fast approaching the point where he would have to let go his Form and return to the seventh dimension to recuperate and re-energise.

With a great effort of will he summoned his flagging reserves for the final dive. In a blending in which Rider merged with Dragon they Harnessed the minds of Warriors and Dragons. As they launched a mighty, concentrated blast to end the battle, the young Dragon Kèhša shuttered his mind in a vain attempt to blot out the anguished, mental screams of the dying Solids.

A lone gun turret flared from the crippled ship. Excruciating pain seared all down the right side of his body. Helplessly, he tumbled out of the now destroyed harness, the mind shattering scream of his beloved Dragon ringing through every fibre of his being.

Flaming DragonBreath, sparkling laser beams, the mental screams of mind shattered Solids: through it all and as always, the Dragon Kèhša had seen a beautiful, golden-maned, silver Unicorn accompanying his Wing. Now she was speeding towards him.

He cursed the Rider for the dangers she took, time after time, following him and his Wing so closely into the thickest of the fights, regardless of the danger to herself and her Unicorn. His people could not afford to lose her. She was the pre-eminent of all healers. It was only through the application of those skills to people’s minds that the Auriganii remained united and continued to thoughtpower the HomeSphere on what had become an interminable quest.

‘The people cannot lose their Dragon Kèhša. Nor he his Zhólérrân!’
His Dragon thoughtsent a reminder of its own need for healing. A healing that came especially from the almost symbiotic relationship that existed with a Unicorn, that engulfed the Riders of both and left him uncertain in his pain deadened mind of whether he was man or Dragon and loved the woman or the Unicorn, or both.

Surely there will be a day when there is no more war and I will be able to allow my love for her to unfold.

Tumbling through space, feeling sick as a variety of images revolved around him and unbelievable weary, he surrendered to what he thought was the inevitable.
My last fight. The HomeSphere has been saved.

A comet was roaring towards him.
So much noise in the quiet of deep space?
It looked like a Stroem with an elongated tale. It had a face.
Kaigii!
He stretched out an arm and was swept into its fiery wake…

*

A feeling of peace swept over Tullia. The blackness of deep space was restful, the myriad tiny pinpoints of stars. But? Some were much larger, moving as she watched. They were not stars. Spaceships? She was in an HWAdventure? A sensation swept through her of being under a waterfall, the water flowing through every cell in her body.

Everything came into focus as a sharp pain lanced though her mind. She felt her heroes’ screams and urged Trellûa, her winged Unicorn, towards the tumbling DragonRider. Merging with her Unicorn, she poured all her energy into Trellûa. Golden light sprang forth from the Unicorn’s horn, spiralling towards their heroes, the young Dragon Kèhša and his Dragon.

The HomeSphere itself had dropped into the third dimension in order to feed that level of the sun’s emissions though to its own, central core where the Seed Generation lived. The unicorn mounted healers operated from the fifth. It saved them the exhaustion of having to maintain third dimensional Form and made them invisible to the attacking Solids.

Right now he needed more than energy healing. Calling up all her skills, she mindmelded with her Unicorn and cloaked them both in Form. Dipping down into the path of his ‘fall’, freeing herself from the harness and steadied by Trellûa’s strong wings, she stood up, stretched forth her arms, caught the unconscious Rider and slid back down onto the Unicorn’s back.

She wrapped her arms around the still burning man and cradled him to her breast, focussing every iota of energy into her love for him. Half aware of the whinnying being replaced by the high pitched, almost bleating sound of her Unicorn’s pain for the moments it took to quench the fire. With Zhólérrân circling them, they carried the Dragon Kèhša back to the Sphere where many Healers were working.

Born within the same sun cycle, the race’s need for her healing abilities had propelled her much faster than normal through the life cycles. As with her hero, all her DNA was already fully activated and she existed at the highest and Formless level of the seventh dimension.

In the early days of the wars she had fallen in love with the young Warrior through his impetuosity and daring in leading the defence of the HomeSphere when the Auriganii had nothing other than a few Dragons with which to protect themselves. She had promised herself that she and Trellûa would always be there to care for all the Warriors and Dragons, and particularly the Dragon Kèhša and his Dragon as they plunged into the thickest of every battle.

Just as his daring and disregard for his safety had resulted in his becoming the leader of the Warriors, so had her skills resulted in her being accepted both as Unicorn Kèhša and the Chief Conciliator. That evolvement had been a surprise to all. Not only were both so young, previously their race had had little concept of or need for leaders.

She longed to be able to stay with him, but could not. Because she was the most powerful Healer, now that the fight was ended her first duty was to see to all the Winged Healer pairs, then tend to the most seriously wounded Dragons and Riders. She would find time for the young man later, and when she was certain of being able to conceal the almost overwhelming love she felt for him. She must not let anything distract him from the onerous burden he carried, responsible for protecting the people she had led onto the HomeSphere he had created.

I had lead…? He had created? That’s thousands of years ago…

Cutting off that train of thought and returning to the present, she refused to allow herself to recall the number of times she and Trellûa had gone to the aid of Zhólérrân and his Rider, or the times when he had saved her from her rashness in following him and his Wing of Dragons so closely into battle. They owed their lives to him, and although she would never let the thought escape her, once again, both Dragon and Rider owed theirs to her and Trellûa.

Willing hands reached out as her Unicorn alighted in the HomeSphere. As he was taken from her arms, the six long fingers of her left hand gently caressed his dragonsuit, reassuring the baby scales that people would care for them until Zhólérrân had recovered.

A brief pang at the parting was replaced with the feeling of relief that flowed through her as she discarded her blue skinergysuit and returned to the freedom of the seventh dimension. The battle had been short, her energies were high and she was able to maintain her Impression of Form that gave her an apparent physical presence that she knew was an inspiration to all her Healers.

Even at that high vibrational level she could not but help grimacing. Started by a child’s simple drawing, she was faced with what had become a popular symbol displayed throughout the several dimensions. A simple curved line representing a smile, above that in a typical, Aurigan V-shape, a pair of eyes, pale blue ovals with large purple centres, both limned in silver.

She knew it was to honour the Auriganii who had created the HomeSphere and launched them on their momentous voyage. And she knew the Dragon Kèhša shared her own discomfort in that it represented their own, extremely rare colouration, a mark of their genetic inheritance from the QeïchâKaïgï, the identical, man-woman twins who had created the HomeSphere then encouraged the whole race to travel with and around it. Nevertheless it was disconcerting. Along with the half whispered thoughts of
‘Kèhša’
that seemed to follow both of them, it was as though the symbols were saying: ‘Your ancestors saved us when our sun was dying. Now it is your turn.’

A comet was streaking its way towards her. It looked like a Stroem with an elongated tale. It had a face.
Kaigii!
She reached out an arm and was swept into its fiery wake…