I sent her my reply and she cottoned on very fast. With excitement and joy in her voice she said, “But that’s wonderful! It means you can choose to have any kind of body you want, whenever you want!”
Goldi clapped. “Yes! This is wonderful! I wish my family were here to see you the way I do.”
Robbie groaned in his mind. “That’s all we need! If it comes to Freddie, how will I know it really is not you?” He waved his hand at us. For a moment we worried and then we swept each other into a giggling fit.
Cherine dared ask the question, which was really what had worried him. “You mean, what if he comes to us as you and makes love to us?”
There was no way we are going to let it know about Freddie, so the problem is not real. We concentrated on Goldi, carefully staying aware which of her is our Goldi. After all, if it can assume her body and personality, perhaps it can also access the knowledge and gifts in her brain. For the sake of clarity I’ll continue to refer to it as the boy.
Bring
He instantly disappeared so we understood we should be with her the next time. We made certain all of the local family and friends also came, taking the risk it might confuse him to see duplicates - if he is able to recognise faces that well, we haven’t had any indication that he can with the two Meli’s and Goldi. He can if the differences are major, as with Iona.
He arrived on the fourth day - as the silver boy again. He did not seem to be worried about the number of visitors and went to stand before Goldi (I left what I said in the previous paragraph just to show how making presumptions about aliens is wrong).
Talk brings end, tear is. Explain not forgotten. Understand
We quickly analysed between us mentally what he’d said and though we could not work it all out we came to the conclusion he wanted to tell us about himself so that we understand him and he is not forgotten. Goldi told him of our conclusions.
*Try harder be clear. Evolution not create for bodies. Mind between worlds, watch suns create, but no other mind. Alone watch suns die and new suns create. Decide accident. See life in bodies, but not hear music. See small lifes create on cold worlds. Too many lifes too many cold worlds, not accident. See lifes never alone. Think accident not accident on cold world. Try to go cold world. Damaged.
Suns die before heal. Watch lifes. Accident not good, no mind be together. Choose, stay or damage. Choose damage. Body damage mind. Talk damage mind. Mind die. Good not alone so die*
With tears on all our cheeks we listened as Goldi put into words what we understood. “You are not alone, there are more of you, millions, maybe even billions. Do you know about alternate realities?” He did not and she explained. “Come with us to our reality and we’ll help you find another like you.”
Mind tear, die. Take thoughts for other mind then not tear to know?
Goldi turned to Robbie, her eyes beseeching him to find a way to save him.
“Mind, allow me to explain what I’ve understood as I wish to help. Did you form out of energies in space, your mind created out of lattices of energy? As you are a being that belongs to the vacuum of space, forcing yourself into a body is tearing those lattices apart and you are dying?”
Too real
“If you leave this body immediately and I come to space, can you find a way for me to see you? I think I may be able to save you.”
Too die. Save alternate He spoke to Goldi again. Give thought to save?
“Yes.”
I called out, “How will we find your alternate, we have not seen or felt any such mind.”
He pointed at Goldi, his eyes locked with hers, See music, find
Sobbing she promised and pleaded with him to allow Robbie to try to save him.
Too die. Body one or two return, then die. You come not be alone? Hear your music with me?
We promised and as he walked until he had to let go his body we followed, talking to him and emoting whatever love for him we could. He returned the next day and towards the end we realised he was hardly aware of us anymore. The next morning he arrived, smiled at Goldi and we walked by his side. He started to stumble and then collapsed. His bright blue eyes burnt fiercely for a moment as he stared at us and then faded. His body lost its hold on the reality of the material world and faded, at the last only wisps of grey blown apart by the slight breeze.
He never gave us a name. As a single mind, alone in the vastness of the universe, he had no need for a name. To us he is Silver Boy. We have grieved for him, just as if he truly were but a child, which he was in some ways, however ancient he really was. Robbie (and all of us) have promised Goldi we will search for his alternates so that they do not also die just for the beauty of feeling they have shared and been a part of something outside themselves. We hope his gift of ‘thoughts’, his experiences of being our Silver Boy, are enough to save them. Perhaps if they learn from him how to communicate with us they will not need to die while sharing from us and all the species they meet.
How clues become so obvious in retrospect! We’d thought he’d walked with his eyes downcast because he was thinking, making up stories and now we see he was enjoying the feel and sight of him being attached to the world, a part of it. We’ll probably recognise other clues, but they will only hurt us, for we grieve the loss of a mind that did not have a soul.
Solomon returned and without him saying a word we rushed to the void. He had brought back with him another two Sparkler alternate nations and with our two (Spartans and Sparklers) the void was a glory of emerald stars.
*This will be the largest and most sensitive transfer to our World Robert, I did not want to take any chances and asked for help.*
*It’s a pity we can’t both be the void to strengthen me. Despite what Sam, thanks to Arthur, said, I am feeling nervous.*
*Since the words were written by Arthur we are confident you will manage. His assumptions have always been your strength. Robert, your sphere only needs to be strong enough to provide some stability while we move him. With so many of us Sparklers, the pressures should be almost perfectly even.*
*Is Ambros ready?*
Solomon sent a laugh. *He does not know what fear is. I have the feeling he is drunk from so much new knowledge and believes we can do anything we want.*
*I don’t like the idea of putting him at risk without him fully understanding and agreeing to the risks.*
Cherine enfolded him so that her motes would sweeten his soul. *Stop procrastinating love, you can do it.*
We all danced around our Robbie to exchange kiss and while he was flooded with the ecstasy of love he withdrew to become the g-void. Vincent and Kirsten folded us within their energy and we followed the Sparklers into normal space.
Goldi conducted for Robbie to sense from her the shape and size of Ambros and a sphere formed around him. The instant Robbie confirmed the sphere was ready, Sparklers surrounded it and they vanished. Goldi gave a cry and we rushed to share from her. She replayed within her mind the moments before Ambros was taken and his disappearance and the sight-sound seem to smash-clash-reverberate throughout our souls. All souls from Freddie jumped with us to the Sparkler World.
Solomon (ours) briefly appeared to ask us to wait a couple of hours. We looked up at the sky, but could not see anything different from previous visits - though it would have been hard to with so many Sparklers swooping and dancing everywhere. The Kinytians, Wirms, Fegorians (here they can float at a higher altitude) and various others also filled the skies so that we wondered that none collided. Cassie and Jade laughed joyously and sprouting wings they flew above us.
Robbie asked me, “What are my limits Sam?”
“Doesn’t it depend on the amount of energy you can take from the void without starving the Sparklers and Worlds? Dad, what happens to the energy after you’ve used it?”
Allan had shared and he shook his head, as if baffled by Robbie. “Surely you did not expect the energy to return in one cloud, or whatever you call a mass of energy? You should check the general level of energy available and check whether it increases back to what it was.”
Robbie nodded. “It makes sense, but I can’t do what you suggest. The void teems with rivers of energy, much of it not in rivers, as Sam has described it, so I cannot see any gradual infusion of energy, if that is how it returns.”
“That’s easy to solve! Robert, you have found many pockets where the levels of energy are low, why not take energy from a part of the void that has energy to spare, move to such a pocket and release it in that vicinity?”
“I’ll try, but it will have to be later, I want to be here for Solomon’s surprise.”
Four Solomons materialised by us. ‘Ours’ stepped forward with a smile.
“We are ready. First of all, so that you know how our World has been changed. We created a vacuum large enough for Ambros to feel comfortable in with nearly zero gravity. The vacuum begins about five kilometres above the land and continues to infinity as far as we can tell. We did not want Ambros to suffer from lack of variety so we created a galaxy that constantly but gradually changes in appearance. The suns of that galaxy do not emit photons that can damage him, but they do release the kinds of energies he needs to survive.
There would be little point in bringing Ambros here if it remained difficult for us to communicate and if he could not enjoy new experiences. Thanks to you, we Sparklers know the benefits, pains and pleasures of assuming material bodies, so we have evolved a solution for him. My friends and loved ones, please welcome Silver Boy!”
We all screamed (just us girls, our males are still too inhibited to show their emotions like us) but we held back, this moment belonged to our Goldi. A number of fingers had to press against her back to make her take a few steps forward. They stared at each other for a few moments.
“Goldi. The Sparklers have told you what they have done? They showed me the mistakes I’d made and designed a brain that suits my needs. I’d blindly copied without knowledge of what I was doing. My brain now is layered in such a way that I can think without destroying my energy network.” He smiled. “I can now sense what you told me about - Goldi, yours is a beautiful mind.”
Flustered and at a loss for words she replied, “Thank you.”
“For seeing that?” He turned to Iona. “My fast little one, I regret I can no longer be as you. The brain I use must not be changed, but I can still race with you if you wish.” Iona sensed all eyes on her and she shyly ducked between Goldi’s legs.
He turned, obviously searching. Solomon pointed him towards Robbie. “Robert? I apologise, I still have difficulty in hearing the differences in those of the same species. My gratitude for sweetness of caring.” Robbie blushed and Solomon grinned, obviously having told him to say that so as to embarrass Robbie. “Solomon has shown me how to keep this part in unity with my main body Ambros. I have a message and question from my main I. Solomon has opened the path for us to learn from all the computers in Freddie, only keeping private from me that which you or others would not wish to share. I need time to know and see how it is all one. My question is, when you travel to other realities, will you allow me and my alternates to hear each other? ”
“With pleasure. The more of you we find the happier we’ll be. I have a question or two of my own before Samantha starts.” Everyone chuckled and I promised I owed him one. “Your body, how real is it and is it made as ours are, can you eat and drink?”
“He can Robert. He does not need to limit himself to Terran foods, he can eat anything, food of any species, as long as it can fuel his body.”
“As long as Ambros is in our World and we are in the same reality.”
Silver Boy turned to me. “You have questions? He has asked his two, as requested.” We all burst out laughing. With him taking us so literally I foresaw Robbie will be having lots of fun.
“Can you sense our emoting?”
“Sense? Your writing suggests you can feel others. I mostly sense in colours and music. The emoting you just experienced changed your colours and the music lilted. Can you sense me?”
“We can’t, that is why I asked.”
He turned to Solomon. “What is needed for them to sense me?” Solomon didn’t know how to answer him.
“When you said to us ‘gratitude’, what did the word mean to you?” I asked. “Was it a mental appreciation being expressed or did you feel an emotion?”
“Gratitude is not logical?” He paused in thought. “I think much of what I have not understood in my studies is due to not understanding emotions.”
“You said you could now sense Goldi. What did you mean?”
“Her music…her colours…” He stumbled to a halt as he saw he was not giving the answer we were hoping for.
“Solomon, can his body feel pain and pleasure?”
“The body can, I don’t know if the mind can.”
I turned and grinned. “Empathia and Haven, why don’t you handle it?”
Empathia told Haven, “Samantha has a bone she needs removed from her finger, would you like to help me?”
“Bone? What bone?”
“A mean bone.” Robbie spluttered with laughter, avoiding my eyes.
Solomon was proven right. Silver Boy arrived in Freddie amid a cloud of Sparklers. The first thing he did is look down at his feet touching the ground. It was afternoon in Freddie so we took him around, showing off a little. For a time it looked as if he would swoon from sheer delight. Goldi was the first to guess.
“The music, because Freddie is a closed world the inner walls and treehouses affect the music.”
Once he understood the reason it seems he was able to adjust what he saw/heard. By then it was too late for us to be of much use to him as we were lost in our own worlds of wonder. Luckily he had other species eager to speak with him and when we came to he was gone, examining their ecological sections.
“Allan, do you remember how you were when we first found you?”
“Mmm, yes, more or less as I am now - broke.” I gave him a moment to enjoy his own wit. “You’re thinking of Arthur? If you get him, he’ll adjust.”
“With some difficulty?”
“I suppose so.”
