Minx Ep. 06: Three Worlds

Artemis frowned and her eyes darted from Dragon to Minx and back.

"It's good news," Minx offered, trying to respond to the woman's obvious enthusiasm. "You've been interested in him for a while?"

"Interested in him? What a bizarre expression! His genes are nearly perfect! Our offspring will share many of our best traits with almost no genetic problems. Our grandchildren, with the proper guidance and manipulation, will be dominant in our society! Supermen among supermen! Dragon, do you not see what I've assured for our genetic inheritance?"

"Hmm. Pass me a piece of cheese, will you Minx?"

"Dragon!" chided Minx. "Your sister is looking for your approval!"

"His approval?" Artemis shouted, angry. "Why should I want Snowflake's approval? I had hoped that he'd had enough knowledge of genetics and biochemistry to see what a great accomplishment I've achieved..."

"I am happy for you Artemis, very happy." Dragon nodded to her. "Our ancestors would be proud of your accomplishment."

Artemis stared at Dragon in shock. "What? Happy? Pride? How can you speak of such things when..."

"Quiet!" shouted Minx. The two hyperpeople stared at her curiously. "Why can't you just tell your sister that you're proud of her? And, why do you have to be so hostile when he doesn't immediately congratulate you? God! Are all hyperpeople like children when they're together?"

Dragon leaned over and put his hand on Minx's knee. "Perhaps it would be wise of us to leave..."

"No," whispered Artemis. "I'd be a fool of a human...sorry," she offered Minx. "I'd be a fool if I could not examine my own behaviour dispassionately. I have acted in an immature manner. Ramses' proposal came as a surprise, though one I'd hoped for. As much of a perversion as it is, truly, I was eager to have my sibling recognize my sudden success. It is animalistic and crude, but I think your approval does mean something to me after all...Dragon." She shook her head in dismay.

"So, you're the same, then. It's just she's been hiding it better." Minx took another sip of the sweet wine.

Artemis collected herself quickly. "Explain."

"Well, shortly after we met - he kidnapped me, really - Dragon mentioned he was considered emotional or sentimental by hyperman standards. Your people consider this a weakness."

"It is," Dragon and Artemis said simultaneously.

"That's debatable. Yet your concern for his opinion, when something is important to you, indicates that such things matter to you, too. Despite growing up in this society of psychopaths you both have an emotional bond. I suspect if Ramses harmed you in some way Dragon would not rest until he avenged you. And as for you, Artemis, why did you laugh when I had that altercation?"

Artemis' eyes narrowed at Minx. There was a pause of a full second.

"Sister!" said Dragon in a warning voice.

"No harm. I like you, Minx." She turned to her brother. "Are you bonded to her in some way...I think her people called it marriage in the historical records?"

"We don't have such things," Dragon pointed out to Minx.

"He's indicated he wants a permanent relationship with me," corrected Minx. "He might have been lying but I believe him. I'm not completely opposed to the idea of spending the rest of my life with him, at least not anymore."

"I believe in human society that would make us sisters, would it not," wondered Artemis, her eyes still fixed upon Minx.

"Minx..." said Dragon in a cautioning tone.

"The idea of sisters in our society," explained Artemis, "is one of feminine bonding and that we would watch out for each other and help when needed. The males do not engage in such sophisticated alliances, and most of our females never undertake this alliance in their lifetime. It would extend past any end to the relationship you share with Dragon. Though we both are potential rivals for sperm donors of the best genetic lineage, we would set that aside in this alliance."

"What do you think, Dragon?" asked Minx.

"In contradiction to all hyperman society, I care for my sister and would do anything to protect her. She is cruel and merciless. Contrary to that, she would treat you as a sister forevermore, at least in the human sense of the word, should you address her as such. I am surprised that she is offering this honour to you. It is rare among our people, and it is something the participants announce in society to ensure enemies are more likely to put aside their plans to hurt either participant."

"Artemis, my sister," began Minx, "though we may never meet again you will always be like a sister to me."

"And I, you, my sister. May I examine you, Minx?" asked Artemis suddenly.

"Uhm...sure?"

A holographic display promptly appeared between the three of them. There were various scans of Minx's body and a table of values in an unknown language. Bones, musculature, and internal organs were all on display, making her more than a little uncomfortable at the intrusiveness of the hyperwoman. Minx thought she recognized the double helix of DNA, yet the characters beside it were unrecognizable. Other shapes appeared that might have been molecules.

"Incredible!" said Artemis, studying the display carefully.

"She had already performed the scans," explained Dragon. "For my sister, when it comes to science, manners are dropped. Such an intrusion would be considered very rude among our people. As you allowed it you shouldn't feel any embarrassment, Minx. Artemis' interest is purely scientific."

"The perception of rudeness is silly in the face of scientific discovery. How much progress has been lost because someone took offense at a trivial and imagined slight? What is your home world?"

"Earth," responded Minx.

"A false memory, I believe," corrected Dragon. "She is riddled with them, and her true background is a mystery. She is at least one hundred years old, and I suspect a few decades older."

"Hey!" shouted Minx with an uncomfortable smirk.

"Those base pairs...I've seen this before. Morovan! That RNA is characteristic...the DNA faults are each countered...that's an unusual protein...Ah! That's the function..."

"Hopefully this does not take long," sighed Dragon as he grabbed a morsel of cheese.

"We don't have anything else to do right now," replied Minx. Her own curiosity was making her stare at the display. Some of the biochemistry was beginning to make sense, aided by a long-forgotten memory.

"I mean, that when she gets neck deep in a scientific mystery she can forget time. She could be at this for hours or days..."

"Got it!" announced Artemis.

"Got what?" asked Dragon.

"She's one of us."

"No, my parents were human," said Minx.

"Possibly false memories," countered Dragon.

"The chemistry does not lie. Minx, you are at least partly one of us. I suspect one of two hypotheses. The first is you are true hyperwoman, and somehow this clan has remained entirely hidden from history, and from us for centuries. You left the group and some accident caused your memory lapse, though this would not explain false memories. I am familiar with all surviving genetic lines among our people..."

"How in the galaxy do you have that information...?" asked a shocked Dragon.

"Bah! Engineering viruses for specific purposes is child's play. No-one misses a few cells collected at a parliament, and I've been able to piece together a complete genetic map of our people, and of each clan among our people. Stop interrupting with arguments against things that are so easily done and with none the wiser, Dragon."

"My apologies, sister. The false memories could be mental constructs her subconscious introduced to allow her to live among humans..."

"But that's not..." began Minx.

"I believe you had another hypothesis, Artemis?" interrupted Dragon.

Artemis stared at her brother in a calculating way. "The second hypothesis is that Minx is the result of cross-breeding between our people and humans. It has culminated in her, a being with very few genetic flaws and many of the benefits or our kind."

"Is such a thing possible?" questioned Dragon. Minx gave him a confused look, remembering that to be his hypothesis after his own investigations.

"Of course! Only fools believe that nonsense about us being two separate species. I am no fool. Though the likelihood of such a descent resulting in her genetics is almost unbelievable. Yet, the first hypothesis is also almost unbelievable. Such a group of hypermen should have left some record among our people and yet there is none." The smile on Dragon's face gave her pause. "What is it?"

"I had told Minx your second hypothesis some time ago. However, someone has implanted her false memories deliberately. I do not know for what reason. She is supremely adaptable, intelligent, and has the physical capabilities of our people. And yet she was wandering the galaxy alone and unprotected."

"I wasn't alone...and I wasn't just wandering the galaxy! I had a job...at least I did before I took up with you."

"I'm sure they'd take you back into the guild the moment you turn up again in human space, my dear. I have no doubts that you were, perhaps, one of their most successful bounty hunters. I'm depending on your past success to at least open some doors for us."

"I hope there won't be any trouble about you."

Artemis whirled on her brother. "You're going into human space? You've been going into human space?"

"Others do, they just keep it secret from you," said Dragon calmly. "Will you think on Minx's origins, Artemis? I would really like your insight into the matter, as I'm sure Minx would."

"Of course. Anything for my sister," she smiled sweetly at Minx. "And, anything for my sib...my brother."

"Good. There are a couple of other matters we need to discuss. Minx?"

"Artemis, if I was doing something that hyperpeople considered to be wrong, or a really stupid idea, how would you react?"

The woman took a sip from her goblet before answering. "There is very little our people truly consider to be evil, Minx. Stupidity might be the only truly evil act capable by any thinking being, and that has a self-correction mechanism discovered by humans in the mid-nineteenth century. Wrongness is subjective, of course. You may kill someone in a duel and thus ends their genetic line which could have led to someone like me, someone capable of making leaps in thinking that seem impossible to our peers. You saved your life by removing the potential of someone far greater than you. What is bad? What is evil? There is no genetic code for such things."

Minx took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Why was this such an effort for her? She felt she could trust Artemis. "I have a free artificial intelligence aboard my vessel."

Artemis sat upright. "What?" she shouted. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Minx, you must slave it to your will..."

Minx put up her hands. "Please wait. I've known Aphrodite for a long time. Aphrodite monitored the speech about the strange matter and her analysis is that the man was lying."

"And, I agree with the assessment," asserted Dragon.

"I trust Aphrodite."

Artemis looked from one to the other. "This conversation makes me uncomfortable. First a free A.I. and now the suggestion that someone lied in parliament!"

"I already discussed the lie with Ramses." Artemis' mouth dropped open. "He wants proof before he acts one way or the other, and I assume you do too. Minx and I are heading to investigate the matter for ourselves. Do not tell anyone of our plans, except for Ramses if you so wish. We will message you what we find and you can pass it on to Ramses to discuss, again, if you wish."

"That sounds rational." Artemis laid back and stared at the ceiling. Minx looked up to see a painting that might have been copied from something in an Italian cathedral. "The two of you have given me much to think about. I will find pleasure in solving these riddles, as much as in combining genetics with Ramses. To think of the newfound value he'll place in me should your investigation reveal the strange matter threat to be a lie, or should my investigation reveal a second society of hyperpeople unknown to our own people all this time!"

"There's more," whispered Dragon.

"You certainly came bearing gifts, brother! A new sister! A genetic mystery unheard of in our society! A mystery that could destroy the galaxy or reveal a deadly conspiracy amongst our own people!"

"How do you know the conspiracy is deadly?" asked Minx. "If there is no strange matter, then there is no danger."

Artemis turned her head to look at her. "Dear innocent sister, when our people are involved it's always deadly. I have much to teach you of our society." She cast a disdainful look toward her brother. "Someone has been negligent in his instruction."

"I've been easing her into the situation. Minx is quite capable without any lessons I may give her. As for the last matter, Morovan survived the purge and exodus of our people from Earth centuries ago," stated Dragon.

"You're talking about what he did on Anima," said Minx with sudden realization.

"What is Anima? Where is Anima?" asked Artemis, again alert.

"We can give you the coordinates, but the people there are under our protection, Artemis," responded Minx. "Not one of them is to be harmed."

"That's one world down for Dragon's lifelong aspirations." Artemis smirked at her own joke. "One world out of trillions." Minx smiled when she spied the pained look upon Dragon's face.

"Those plans have changed, sister. However, that world is under our protection. Feel free to investigate what you need there - I'm sending the coordinates and the results of my own investigation to your A.I. now - and if you tell the inhabitants that you're a friend of Minx's they are likely to treat you like a queen. Morovan had a base there. He experimented on various lifeforms creating a varied race of bipedal and intelligent animal-people. It's definitely his handiwork. There were computer records."

"Morovan!" gasped Artemis in delighted anticipation. "An actual base containing equipment he worked on! His unknown experiments! His records!"

"The only geneticist to rival your own skills, sister."

"Ha! His accomplishments were far greater though he toiled in an age of barbarity, primitive equipment and scientific ignorance! Imagine what he might have accomplished in our time and with the tools I use...wait! You said he survived the overthrow and worked to build a new race on a faraway world? The coordinates you've sent me are far from Earth! He must have lived for decades after the fall!"

"Who knows what secrets he uncovered?" asked Dragon with a shrug.

The trio took a moment to sip wine and eat some food. It seemed clear to Minx that they had changed Artemis' life with their news. She only hoped Dragon's sister proved as reliable as Minx believed her to be.

"Could he have been the first hyperman, and he simply used his gifts to create your race?" asked Minx.

"I think not..." Artemis' thoughts prevented the completion of the sentence. "A novel idea! It would explain his long life and his great accomplishments! How could a mere human achieve what he did?" She sat up suddenly. "Another great mystery to ponder! Imagine if it were true! Humans create a hyperman, and then he goes on to create a race of similar beings!"

"Actually, I was wondering if a quirk of genetics resulted in a hyperman - Morovan - and then he started his work."

Artemis stared at Minx. "An even more intriguing idea! What natural processes would have to work to achieve this? Is it even possible? A planet of billions with mixing of genetic material over hundreds of years of world-wide travel. There were eugenics programs in a few societies there in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Despite the obvious failings of such programs with their limited knowledge and technology could they have kickstarted a process which accidentally resulted in the first hyperman? It seems unlikely, though perhaps it was enough for the mental leap and Morovan, himself, bridged the gap to add improvements to the physical? I'm going to need a couple of weeks to work my way through all the possible potentialities and calculate the probability of such a thing. I've been playing with toys when these great mysteries sat right in front of me this whole time!"

"Shall we leave this to you, then?" asked Dragon, rising to his feet and motioning for Minx to rise as well.

"Of course! Of course!" Artemis stood belatedly. "This has been a most enlightening conversation. In fact, this has been the most exhilarating day of my life!"

Minx stepped forward and threw her arms about Artemis. The hyperwoman froze in place, ready for combat, and stared at Dragon in shock. "I'm so glad I met you, Artemis. I've never had a sister. I'll have to introduce you to Aphrodite the next time we see each other."

"It's called a hug," offered Dragon.

"Oh!" Minx released the other woman and stepped back sheepishly. "Sorry. I was caught up in the moment and forgot you were a hyperwoman..."

"No...no. That's fine. It's a human custom, correct? I don't have any interactions with humans. It felt...good. Warm. Soft." She met Minx's eyes. "You are allowed to hug me in the future, you and you alone."

"And Ramses, of course," suggested Minx mischievously.

"Why?" asked Artemis. Minx realised that Ramses might be the woman's first love interest, first sexual partner, and in this society there was very little in the way of affectionate touching.

"How exactly were you going to mix your genes with those of Ramses?"

"Combine the ova and sperm..."

"Clinically," Dragon explained to Minx in a gentle voice.

Artemis looked back and forth between the two. "You're not suggesting we rut like animals?"

"The old-fashioned way gets a lot of use for a very good reason, Artemis. Dragon and I frequently..."

"I'm leaving," Dragon stated, and then he quickly walked out of the room. Minx noticed that his face had reddened slightly at the sudden turn of their conversation. She waited for him to walk out of hearing distance before continuing.

"As I was saying, Dragon and I frequently have sex. I've had a few partners over the years. The act is very pleasurable when done correctly. And, it is a bonding interaction, physically and emotionally. I'll have Aphrodite send you some information."

"Hi, Minx. You want me to send her audio and visual recordings of you and Dragon...?"

"No!" Artemis jumped in alarm at Minx's shout. "Sorry, Aphrodite was sending me a message, a rather inappropriate suggestion. She can be too inquisitive. Aphrodite, send her A.I. some instructional books and videos. I know we had some videos, unless you've deleted them. And Dragon must have had something that would fulfill the same purpose; he's a man."

"You mean..." questioned Artemis shyly, "males prefer this animal coupling?"

"They get a lot of enjoyment out of it. It's almost like they're laying claim to your body, and therefor you. In this society that should really appeal to the male ego. And these hypermen do have big egos, at least from what I've seen so far."

"Can I talk to you further about this...if I have more questions? I understand the mechanics involved, of course, but..."

"No problem. I'd be happy to pass on what I know. There's more to it than just mechanics."

Artemis grabbed Minx's arms and pulled her into her chest. They stayed standing like that for a few seconds, then she released her. It was perhaps the most awkward hug Minx had ever experienced.

"Usually the arms go around the person when you're hugging, like this. And you give your partner the freedom of movement so they can wrap their arms around you, too."

She demonstrated.

"I've learned much today. I think you had better catch up to Dragon before he wanders too far. Others may consider you a mere human, unless you wish me to announce your genetics to our society. I'm confident you would be accepted on a probational basis. Although, I'm sure it would result in a number of proposals that would upset my brother. Strangely, I don't wish to see him upset. I hope Ramses does not learn of this and think me a degenerate."