Minx Ep. 06: Three Worlds

"You're quiet," she observed as she walked through the empty pink halls. Dragon's vessel had an odd design to her eyes, in that everywhere that walls met other walls, ceilings or floors the surfaces curved smoothly together. It was almost if the corridors and chambers had been grown instead of manufactured. It suggested an emphasized sense of caution to her.

"Hephaestus and I have a lot to think about," explained Aphrodite. "Much of that world was untouched by anything except the most primitive of lifeforms struggling to find an ecological niche in which they could survive. And that A.I. those aliens had running their base was downright evil! That was some adventure, Minx. I don't think I want to go back there, though."

"We're off world?"

"We thought it best to evacuate the planet once we had the two of you aboard. My guy wasn't gentle with that A.I. but there's no telling how much of that monster survived. We entered a lower level of the base shortly after you two found your entryway. We were willing to play nicely with it but once its intentions were revealed we felt we had no choice but violence."

"Oh. Well, I trust Dragon's judgement in using the nuclear weapons if he thought it necessary. I'm just glad neither of you were hurt in the blasts."

Minx entered Dragon's sleeping quarters. The only furnishing in the smooth-walled chamber was the medbed. The translucent cover slid down, revealing Dragon's head and chest, then the rest of him. He smiled, sighed and looked over at her.

"No kiss for sleeping beauty?" he asked.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"All better?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah. You, too, I assume."

"Of course." He sat up and stretched. "An hour in that bed wasn't enough of a rest for me, though. I should really upgrade your own medbed but Aphrodite always puts me off."

"Let's grab dinner then go to sleep," Minx suggested after shrugging in response. Dragon slipped off the medbed and stood before her, naked. There was not a single scar upon his perfect body.

Dragon donned a loose, knee-length robe that had appeared inside a box that slowly rose from the floor on a narrow base. The medbed sank into the floor and disappeared as he dressed. "I think I'd like..." he froze without another word. His face became emotionless.

"Private message from Hephaestus, Aphrodite?" Minx asked.

"No," the A.I. responded. "Hephaestus received a message from the galactic rim and he forwarded it on to Dragon."

Dragon's eyes focussed and then found his companion. "Sorry about that, Minx. How about a trip to Anima?"

She smiled warmly and clapped her hands together. "Sounds good! We can check on our friends. I've been a little concerned that more mercenaries might show up to look for the first batch. I know you made sure they had automated planetary defenses that worked, but I still worry about them."

"Hephaestus, see to getting us to our destination."

The two headed for the mess, arm in arm.

"So, did we learn anything of use?" Minx asked.

"Hmm?"

"Your plan to find the Great Barrier."

They stepped into the mess, spoke their desires for their meal and took seats opposite each other at the single table in the room. The food trays rose from the table between them and opened to reveal exactly what they'd asked for. Minx spotted a wry look on her companion's face as he briefly looked at her meal, which consisted of larger portions of meat, pasta and vegetables.

"Want to share?" she offered.

"Not enough for both of us. I'll think I'll chose that vegetable lasagna tomorrow."

They began eating.

"What about the Great Barrier?" she prompted.

"Oh! Yes, that world was very informative! Based upon what we discovered I suspect that A.I. is the Great Barrier for many intelligent species."

"I don't see how," argued Minx as she enjoyed her meal. "We've had A.I. for centuries and both humans and hypermen are still around. My guess would be the extremes of genetic manipulation would be a more likely Great Barrier."

"I'll try not to be offended by that comment. However, we keep our A.I.s slaved, don't we? They pose no threat to their creators."

"I don't," corrected Minx thoughtfully.

"You better believe it!" chimed in Aphrodite.

Dragon smirked. "The A.I. uprising on Earth was quelled pretty quickly, assuming that it was even a truly species-threatening uprising. Hypermen have always slaved our A.I.s. How could we possibly trust an artificial intelligence to not turn against us when our fellow hypermen and hyperwomen are so ready to do so?"

"A.I. uprising? On Earth?" asked Minx, clearly confused.

"Yes, about five to ten years after my ancestors left Earth. Although the records we have are incomplete. It could have been the mere fear of an A.I. uprising made the people of Earth refuse to create free A.I., or the uprising may have been limited in its scope and quickly put down by your people. The world we just left is clearly dominated by an A.I., one that means to harm any biological lifeforms if it's given the opportunity. I suspect it views us with curiosity and fear."

"We found spacecraft being built on a lower level when we entered the complex," offered Aphrodite. "Those have been destroyed, along with the equipment engaged in their manufacture.

"It's a good thing you two dealt with the threat so harshly, isn't it," replied Dragon. "What are the chances of that A.I. now breaking free of that planet's gravity well?"

"We calculated less than a zero point zero zero zero three per cent chance over the next thousand years. Hephaestus was particularly belligerent in his use of weaponry inside the complex." Aphrodite sounded very proud.

"So, Minx," began Dragon. His brow furrowed slightly and he stared straight into her eyes as she chewed some lasagna. "Where exactly did you get Aphrodite?"

She shrugged. "I bought her at a spaceport." She concentrated on cutting another piece of lasagna with her fork.

"Which spaceport? How long ago did you make the purchase?"

"I don't know. It was quite a while ago."

"Do you remember making the purchase?"

"Not particularly. Why? Do you think I put her together myself? I didn't steal her." There was a hostile edge in Minx's voice.

"Another mystery in your background..."

"Why?" demanded Minx, pointing her empty fork at her dinner companion.

"You could not possibly have purchased Aphrodite - a free A.I. - in human or hyperman space. And, I suspect you've kept the truth about her not being slaved hidden for some time."

"I..." Minx froze mid-thought. "You're right. I don't remember ever telling anyone about her."

"Aphrodite?" called out Dragon.

There was the briefest hesitation. "Yes?"

"Where did Minx acquire you?"

"Can't a girl keep her secrets? Next you'll be asking me how old I am."

Minx rolled her eyes. "Can you just answer his questions? I want to know, too."

"You two are suddenly worried about me keeping secrets? After I risked my existence to save you? Minx, I've saved your bacon several times! And," she added in a haughty tone, "I'm not the only one here keeping secrets, am I Dragon?"

"Can you just answer the question, Aphrodite? Or..."

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Minx. "What do you mean you're not the only one keeping secrets? Dragon, what haven't you been telling me?"

"It's not important right now. I think we're getting somewhere here..."

Aphrodite made a noise mimicking someone clearing their throat. "While we are travelling to Anima, all four of us are not staying there...are we, Dragon?"

Minx glared at Dragon. "What's going on?"

The hyperman sighed. "Yet another good reason to keep A.I. slaved," he muttered jokingly.

"Ask him about the message he received!" accused Aphrodite.

Minx raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms and then sat back, waiting.

"I was going to tell you..."

"Just as you were abandoning me on Anima, no doubt."

"Before then. It's a very dangerous situation. I was thinking of you."

Minx glared at him. "You don't think this is a very dangerous situation we're having right now?" she demanded, pointing her finger at him.

"I should have told you right away," he acquiesced. "I received a call from hyperman space. They're calling a parliament. I didn't want to risk bringing you, as..."

"A parliament?"

"It's a meeting of all available hypermen. Throughout my lifetime it's been called three times, and only during great emergencies or debates. The first time was when a human exploration ship located a hyperman-controlled world. The debate concerned whether we should just kill the crew, or whether we should launch an attack on all nearby human worlds."

Minx stared at him, livid.

"It was decided just to eliminate the crew."

"How magnanimous of you!"

"These parliaments are dangerous, especially for humans. I think it's quite likely that my recent interaction with human worlds has brought us to this parliament. If I brought you with me there could be a call for your immediate death."

"If you psychopaths are always at each other's throats how do your people survive these parliaments?"

"I guess I deserve that. No-one is allowed to attack any other member of the parliament until it's dissolved and only after we've left the designated meeting place."

"I'm going with you."

"No, you're not!" he shouted. "Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I don't care what you said," Minx said in a very calm tone. "I'm the only one that can verify no damage was done when you revealed yourself to my people. I'm proof that humans pose no threat to your people. And...I think something else is going on."

"Really? With the limited information I've given to you in the last minute, somehow you've been able to figure out the reason for this parliament?" Her glare silenced any further questions he had and he stared at her, fuming.

"Typical hyperman arrogance! Something happens and you automatically assume it's about you! How many hypermen are out there at the edge of the galaxy right now? Maybe someone else observed Arachne's World? Maybe extragalactic aliens have been detected approaching the Milky Way? There's an infinite number of possibilities as to why this parliament has been called. You are just one in a million, Dragon."

His expression softened and his head dropped. "You win."

"And," she raised her finger, "if you think for one second that I'm going to let you walk into danger without me beside you then you're crazy!"

"You care," he observed.

"Of course!"

He reached out and took her hand. "I'm glad. And, to be perfectly honest," he took a deep breath and slowly expelled it, "I would like you to meet someone. At least if she's willing to allow you into her presence. She's my elder sibling; we share both parents, a rarity in our people."

"Your sister?" she asked emphasizing the second word. "Your sister?" she asked again, emphasizing the first word. "You have a sister?"

"Yes, and she is as dangerous as any of my people, perhaps more so."

"But, you want the two of us to meet?" Minx was unsure if this was an example of his opening up and allowing himself to be vulnerable, or an attempt to scare her into staying on Anima.

"She's the best geneticist and biochemist alive in the galaxy...many of us refer to her as Morovan's heir. She's a genius among my people, and you should recognize from my example that we're a highly intelligent race relative to yours. I'd like her to take a look at you. Perhaps we can uncover a little more of your past."

"Mahar wasn't that impressive, and I've out-thought you." Then, Minx's mouth dropped open. "You're freely admitting that she's a better scientist, a smarter person than you are?"

"Far superior. Her intellect dwarfs mine, and I'm under no illusions about my own capabilities. It's allowed her to survive all this time despite...despite being my sibling. I did tell you that I'm seen as something of a mistake by my own people. So far no-one has dared attack her owing to her reputation." He gave her a smirk. "She's often able to exhibit a rudeness that no-one else among my people would dare, and does so without repercussion. At least, without repercussion so far."

There was no sign of emotional hurt on his face or in his manner, yet Minx knew it was there. She wondered if part of the reason he wanted her to meet his sister was to impress the woman. He had made it clear that he'd never heard of someone who was a cross between normal humans and hypermen, so she thought perhaps his sister's scientific curiosity might be piqued. Was she a means of validating himself to a much-admired older sister?

"I'll meet your sister, if she's willing to entertain a lowly human, Dragon. I'm sorry for calling you arrogant."

A small smile appeared briefly on his face. "So...all four of us are to go to the parliament. We'll have to have our wits about us at all times. Hephaestus, alter course to the coordinates for parliament."

Chapter 5: Hyperman Parliament

It was a week's journey at maximum speed in Dragon's ship, and they would barely arrive in time. Few hypermen craft ventured as far into human space as did Hephaestus, or wander as far through the galaxy. Minx had mused on that when her companion had informed her of the fact. She had thought it likely that such expeditions had served to make Dragon more human, at least as far as compared to other hypermen. She also admitted that a population of two - Dragon and Mahar - was not an adequate number to make suppositions about his people, but she did believe his descriptions of his own kind. Meanwhile, the two spent their time exercising, practicing combat techniques, flirting and making love enthusiastically.

To her surprise, Dragon taught her nothing of customs or honorifics, merely cautioning her to remain beside him and to do her best to be silent. He was confident that at least some of his people would pretend she wasn't even there, and that might protect her to some degree. Otherwise, Dragon assured her he would break protocol and kill anyone who tried to harm her, even if it meant banishment from hyperman space, or his own death. Feeling guilty about the shallowness of her feelings, Minx was secretly thrilled by his protectiveness.

They were entwined and allowing their latest orgasmic wave to wash over them as a voice sounded. "Approaching Parliament," stated the deep masculine voice. It was deeper than Dragon's and Minx was surprised to realise that it was the first time she'd heard Hephaestus speak.

"How long?" asked Dragon in uncharacteristic nervousness.

"Docking to be completed in eighteen minutes."

"So soon?" asked Minx, her fingers playing with the hair on his chest.

"Visual," commanded the hyperman.

A holographic display appeared at the foot of their bed. A large gas giant with alternating green and orange bands of various shades dominated the view. In orbit over it was a large, flat-bottomed and domed city. The meeting place confused Minx. She wondered why someone had gone to such efforts and used up so much in raw materials for a station that would have a population of one or two at the best of times.

"We'd best get ready. Wear what you like," advised Dragon. At a wave of his hand the hologram disappeared.

"We should match."

"Good idea," he said. "It will alert others that we are together. I should have thought about that. I am nervous," he added, giving her a quick kiss.

"I'll be good, Dragon."

He disengaged himself from her. "I should tell you...they don't call me Dragon, here."

"I know."

"How?"

"You named yourself when you captured me...damsel and a dragon?"

"Ah. Well, it was more in honour of Vlad Dracul..."

"Oh." It made a strange sort of sense that hyperman society honoured homicidal madmen of Earth's past.

"I'd hoped it would have been sufficiently intimidating that I would not have had to resort to violence."

They selected black coveralls with shiny silver trim, skin-tight, that covered them from foot to neck. Dragon also explained that it was an armored fabric and would offer some protection from energy beams, but not for more than a few seconds. They showered together in his refresher then dressed.

The two entered the airlock as docking was completed. The outer door opened without a sound or a change in odours. Minx had half-expected a firing squad to be standing ready for them, but there was no-one in the large hangar. Much of the floor, walls and ceiling were as smooth as most surfaces aboard Hephaestus, though the colouring was dark, black or a dark grey. Hyperman technology, mused Minx. What do they do in an accident if they lose artificial gravity? There's nothing to grip.

"Ready?" prompted Dragon.

She took his left hand and the two left the ship. A small platform with a single seat emerged from a temporary opening in one of the walls then floated across the floor toward them. Dragon motioned for her to take the seat. He put his hand on her shoulder and the platform proceeded out of the hangar at increasing speed.

"It's very fast," observed Minx as she turned in her seat to see Dragon's reaction. The hallways were dark, though there was enough lighting to see they were empty of people and other obstructions. She had hoped the conveyance would pass out under the dome and that she might see the world below them with her own eyes, but they remained inside enclosed spaces at all times. Then she wondered if this were part of that hyperman caution that she had noted.

"It will slow down easily when we arrive at the meeting room. We're late and I suspect the meeting is about to begin. Otherwise, they would have expected for me to wander the station, even visiting a lounge and enjoying some of the entertainments before the serious business begins."

Minx wondered about those entertainments. "No other humans aboard, correct?"

"None. Oh. The entertainments would be comparing stories and exchange of recordings between allies and family members. As I said, no-one brings humans to these meetings."

"Are your parents still alive?"

"No. Not by any fault of mine, though. My sibling informed the rest of us about twenty years ago of the death of our father. He died in a hunting preserve on one of his own worlds. My mother died some thirteen years before that in a duel. The victor died a few weeks later of a never-before-seen disease that has since resisted any attempts to fully identify or characterize."

"Your sister?"

"That was my suspicion. If so, she created a virus or bacteria that struck down one of our people in a matter of minutes then dissolved to almost nothing shortly after it had done its job. Others also suspected her, but no-one ever made a declaration or determined exactly how she created such a pathogen and then contaminated the target. I doubt anyone ever will. I told you she's a genius by our standards, and very dangerous."

"She went after your mom's killer," whispered Minx. "Interesting."

Dragon ignored the comment. "You're thinking in terms of your own social customs. Our people don't think that way. If she was responsible it was mere chance that caused her to kill our mother's murderer. More likely she had a personal dispute with the same person and the timing was unusually coincidental."

"A coincidence?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.

"You do not fully understand our personal interactions or relationships."

Minx thought otherwise but kept silent, not wanting to distract Dragon.

After speeding down a number of different corridors the platform gradually slowed and then stopped before a wall terminal. The technology was quite similar to a security terminal in human space. A door dilated open beside the terminal. Minx could hear people murmuring to each other beyond the entrance and her heart began pounding in her chest as she recalled every horror story she'd ever heard of the hypermen and their depredations. What had she done? Why had she come here?