He was not happy with what he saw. Robert continued to make mistakes, Normals would grow suspicious and he’d have to either get rid of them or else move on.
7911
When I saw that Robert had no interest in making himself wealthy, it made me proud of him. At least certain aspects of his personality seem to be consistent. He was amused by Cherine’s pleasure in having money and since a few hundred pounds was a vast sum to her it was easy to keep her happy without his having to empty any bank vaults. The pressure Robert was constantly under was forcing his mind to overcome the damages travelling to this reality had caused him, but without truly healing him since he did not go to the void. However, Cherine was not under any pressure and was happy that Robert treated her like a daughter. As long as he was there to protect her and provide her with some tenderness and love, she would not heal her mind and grow her gifts.
Because of his need to avoid being noticed, Robert made a mistake. He rented a small apartment in a fairly poor area. He must have thought the police would pay more attention if he moved into a wealthier area - which is not exactly the case. The police do ignore the poorer areas in some ways, but that advantage is more than offset by the curiosity of the people in those suburbs. In Greece, those areas tend to also be more closely knit, everyone knowing everyone else and with each of them sticking their noses into the business of everyone else, just for the sake of gossip and perhaps pulling the other down a peg or two. There is no joy as satisfying as malicious joy to those who are bitter and many of them are just as bitter as the sketo (no sugar) Greek coffee they drink.
Although Vincent and I knew some of the future and how Robert would change, we’d still feel cheered at every positive step he took - as if it could lead to his changing the future that awaited them. I don’t know if you (the reader and Arthur) have noticed that I hardly speak of Cherine and that our attention was almost solely upon Robert. Knowing that she is Vincent’s prime, this should not make sense and yet it does. We know she will die and it is important that we know for certain that Robert does not or cannot go to the void - the latter being preferred. As soon as Cherine dies Vincent must be in the void to protect her soul and return all the Cherines she holds back to their own bodies. Since I’ll only be watching without fighting anything Robert does, it will be safe for Vincent to be gone for a day or two.
Vincent and I don’t exactly live in each other’s pockets. Often I’ll stay at home to read or listen to music or just to think (by that I mostly mean I go back in time and live through memories that are precious to me) or else I might go for a walk on a beach, far from people. I definitely do not go for walks on Cypriot beaches - I just might meet Greek Cypriots who desperately need my help and I won’t be able to interfere at this time and it will make my life a misery. Vincent goes to the local kafeneio in the mornings for his toast and coffee and reads the Greek newspapers - just like the Greeks, he reads at least two or three of them. The locals have become quite fond of him because he’ll argue football (soccer) and politics just as passionately as a Greek. I stay out of his mind when he does that and try not to sense his emoting, those hours I think of as being his ‘private’ time. However, we do remain permanently linked to each other so that neither of us will have to suffer withdrawal symptoms.
It is very frustrating having to sit on the sidelines and watch another person cause himself problems because he doesn’t think of the obvious. Athens is a small city and foreigners are still rare - Greece has not been discovered by the tourists and with their present level of technology worldwide it is likely to remain backward for a long time. Robert and Cherine stick out, both because of their unnatural lassitude and the fact of an English child living with a Greek man. What was Robert thinking of when he chose to be a Greek! Not that I understand why Vincent had to go and be an Englishman! Anyway, all Robert would have to do is stay a while in London, maybe then in America or Africa. By the time he returned to Athens he’d be ignored. Instead, he acts as if he has to stay here for a reason that is only apparent to him…sorry, I called for Vincent, I’d been writing without realising what I was thinking. Of course! It makes so much sense. Robert must recall that he was told to come for Cherine, but he doesn’t know how to return. He thinks somebody is coming for them and that he only has to watch over the child until they arrive!
This has been a bitter thing to realise. If we had not arrived in their future, they would have been home already and nobody would have suffered because of us. I cannot view the damage that is to be inflicted on the mind of Evans and the other thousands I have not met, with the same equanimity I felt before. I now feel as if I’m partly to blame. Add to that my feelings of guilt as all this only happened because I thought I had found a brilliant way to help Cherine see how special she is to us and I should be wearing a hair-shirt and indulging myself in self-flagellation. I can see why they did it in the old days, physical pain is sometimes easier to bear than mental anguish. Well, it would have been if I was not also secretly laughing inside me - Vincent felt me and tried to take the blame so we’re having a huge daily argument as we each try to apportion the main guilt to ourselves while holding the other guiltless.
7912
If I was not a Cherinian I think I would have piled on the kilos. At first I thought it was just my imagination but I’ve checked and compared with my memories and so has Vincent. The food tastes much nicer - even if it is not as healthy to eat and is often heavy on the oil and garlic. I want some of this food placed in my food machine. At this time there are none of the rules about olive oil that exist in my time and no compulsions to avoid fat. What we get and eat at the tavernas is directly from the farms or their co-operative. They do not use the same cooking oils we use, what they use seems to be something between clarified butter (ghee) and lard and it makes the food so tasty!
Talking about food and comparing tastes and Vincent confirming my opinion - when did Vincent start eating? It seems to have happened without us noticing it! I can’t ask him, it would be too embarrassing, sort of like asking…when did you become a human being. I still remember when he teased pappou and pretended to drink whiskey; he said, at that time, that he did not metabolise it, he sent what he swallowed off into space. When did he decided to keep what he swallowed? Knowing Robbie, I bet it was when he first tasted chocolate
I’ve watched movies about idiot savants and the dual levels their minds exist in simultaneously. I’ve even spent a lot of time in one (the Indian writer) and yet it felt strange to watch Robert. Even here, even now, in some ways he is brilliant and he has powers that he knows must remain secret (I don’t know whether he understands why). In so many ways though, in little things that most people know so as to survive, he seems to be ignorant or not care about them. Does he think that because of his powers he does not need to worry about such details? I honestly don’t think so, I believe he does not think of them unless experience points them out to him. Unfortunately, experience almost always comes at a price.
This world does not have laws about child sex per se, as ours did not before the nineteen eighties. There are very few permissive societies, as there were with us in the nineteen seventies, but it seems governments did not consider it necessary to make specific laws about child sex. It does not mean that society is willing to turn a blind eye when the adult makes it too obvious. The sad joke is that Robert was not having sex with Cherine, neither of them even thought of the possibility. However, there are enough instances of it occurring for people to imagine the worst. A rumour grew up around them that Robert takes drugs and that he stole the foreign child and by keeping her drugged she does not resist his sexual destruction of her body and mind. Robert did not even sense the anger of those around him until it exploded in his face.
Robert chose a chocolate for him and Cherine at a periptero (pavement kiosk) and went to the little window to pay. Robert is always polite and being British finds it natural to wait his turn. As he made to pay, an arm shot passed him with cash offered in the fist and a man demanded a packet of cigarettes. The man inside the kiosk turned to get the cigarettes and Robert ordered him to serve him first. The man behind Robert started to shout, telling him that just because he can have his way with a child by drugging her he must not think he can order him around and that he’ll beat him up. Before Robert could react a crowd gathered and they were all hostile to him. The women demanded that their men bring the little girl to them and then beat up Robert. Quickly, Cherine was torn away from him and the first punch hit Robert on the nose, breaking it.
Because Robert felt that what was happening was unfair, he exploded in a rage. Within a minute all the men were lying on the pavement or road with injuries and Robert knocked aside the women who tried to place themselves between him and Cherine. The two of them walked back to their apartment and very soon the building was surrounded by a crowd and then the police arrived in force. Not much of what the police were told made sense, but they were worried about a riot plus they had the excuse that Robert had beaten up seventeen men who needed medical attention. It was not of any interest to the police whether he was provoked or not, any man who beat up so many men and even attacked a couple of women and had the entire neighbourhood up in arms had to be guilty. Robert was just as stubborn about his rights and that he had been attacked first, so he refused to obey the police and kept his door closed.
A few months previous to this incident, Robert and Cherine had gone to Plateia Syntagmatos and walking around through a park they had seen the city palace of the king and queen. Cherine must have been impressed because it stuck in her mind and when she saw that the present conflict could lead to bloodshed or being separated from Robert, she succeeded in arousing herself to an extent so as to find a way out for them that Robert would not object to. She suggested to him they go to the palace and meet the king. She was certain that if they explained to the king what had happened, the king would order the police to leave them alone. They teleported to the palace grounds.
7913
It could be said that the security around the palace is almost entirely directed outwards and is mostly decorative to impress dignitaries from other countries. A man with a little girl walking around inside the grounds did not inspire dread, not even a slight suspicion; everyone who saw them thought they entered through the gates and were guests. When Robert asked where he could find the king, he was directed into the building and then someone led them to the royal family.The Greek government tried to keep what they learnt a secret while ambassadors were urgently called to meet the president. The ambassadors were just as stunned and refused to report to their governments unless they were supplied with some definite level of proof. The king arranged with Robert for a demonstration to take place in his private gardens the next day.
The demonstration was designed by men of peace, mainly the king. The poor man found himself in a very difficult and distasteful situation. He was terrified of Robert and the powers he’d seen in private. However, for a person of his position to be hosting and representing internationally an adult male who seemed to be using a child for sex would tarnish not only his image, but that of his country and people as well. He discussed it in private with his president, but the man was not a royalist and telling the king he had no choices in the matter, he left him to his own fate, pleased that if it did cause a stink it might help rid Greece of the royalty he disliked.
Robert was asked to destroy targets set out in the garden and he did so. Most ambassadors have military men posted at their embassy and they declared themselves unsatisfied, claiming all Robert had done could have been staged by a third rate stage magician. Robert succeeded in frightening them when he asked whether they would be satisfied if he levelled Mt Ymittos. Luckily some of them gently told him it would not be necessary to go to such extremes, but if he could blow up a derelict ship at sea they’d be convinced. Robert happened to tilt his head up as he drank the last of his glass of beer and he saw the moon in the clear blue sky. He chuckled.
“Gentlemen, what if I draw a huge letter ‘C’ on the moon in honour of Cherine? Would that convince you?” Aghast and finally terrified, they watched as the letter ‘C’ was drawn over the surface, spanning the entire breadth, from pole to pole. Astronomers at large telescopes were to confirm that the letter had been etched by Robert gauging a canyon into the surface that was about two hundred meters deep and three hundred wide. No more demonstrations were called for.
The governments could no longer prevent his existence becoming known since the public had to be given an explanation for the lunar ‘C’. Newspapers interviewed Robert and his simple, calm and gentle ways soon won many of them over - they must have been desperate to believe he was benign as the alternative was too scary to contemplate. He confirmed that he was only visiting their planet, that he is waiting to be collected and that he has no wish to make any further changes to their planet or styles of life. Then, when Mt Etna exploded and lava flowed too quickly for everyone to be saved, dozens of cameras captured Robert stopping the lava or diverting it while Cherine flew the few trapped people out. It did not take long for Robert and Cherine to be asked to help wherever there was a flood, fire, earthquake or other catastrophe.
Robert was not happy with their new lifestyle. They were obliged to visit country after country and take part in parades and official functions that bored him. This had been their life for the last five months and when he was given his planned itinerary for the next two months he put his foot down and insisted they be allowed to return to Athens and be left alone to live their lives - though he did offer to help whenever lives are at stake. A small group who’d done a good job of convincing Robert they were his friends, insisted he should at least take a tour of the USA as it would be embarrassing that he had visited the other big powers but not them. Reluctantly he agreed, after extracting a promise that this would be the last visit anywhere. Since most of his ‘friends’ were employed by the USA to keep him company and report his every word, they were happy to promise, confident they can wheedle him into taking extra trips back to America during the coming years.
Those who spoke against Robert and Cherine were prudently not given prominence by the media and Robert thought everyone was happy that the two of them were on their planet. By now he was tired of the glitter and eager to return to their quiet style of life and he let down his guard. In Charlotte a sniper shot Cherine in the face, the bullet exiting at the back of her head, taking most of it with.
The world (luckily, Robert also) thought that what they sensed was only Robert as he went berserk, levelling the city within less than a minute, not sparing one life. I stopped Vincent by urging him to the void and then sat weeping until he returned. We’d both been linked too closely to them so that we could share as they travelled and her death and the sight (from Robert) of her face and head being torn apart totally devastated both Vincent and I. I know I will have many nightmares about it.
7914
Vincent returned with the soul(s) of Cherine inside him and then he refused to leave without me. He was afraid that Robert is now totally awake but insane, and using his powers he might sense me. I refused to leave as this Robert has a large part of the soul of my Robbie imprisoned within him. He countered that our arrival in the future had shown us that Robert was still alive, but there was no way for him to know whether Robert had found and destroyed me or not, so he would not leave without me. I know exactly how far I can or should push Vincent, so I hugged him and told him to jump us back to Freddie.Vincent did not wait to give explanations or answer questions. Grief was tearing at him and he needed to take care of the Cherines before he could withdraw to grieve in private - or alone with his family. Not one person knew how to react. They felt incredible joy that their Cherines were back, their eyes already opening, while they felt Vincent and me and grieved for the pain they felt within us. God but how I dreaded having to tell them; I could just imagine how a multitude of realities will react to the murder of an entire city. Only those Cherinians who love us will also grieve for the Robert who committed the crimes of anguish (I can’t find it in me to describe them as crimes of passion as they do in courts).
My loves felt my need and left space for Alki to come to me. He placed me on his lap and I curled up against him so that his shirt would soak up my tears as I allowed him to share my memories. Nobody asked to share when they felt him and they anxiously waited, dreading the news that would have to be given to them.
“Samantha, agapi mou, how will our Roberto bear such evil?”
Surprised, I looked up at him. “Was it evil pappou? After seeing what the bullet did to Cherine’s face? I would have probably reacted as he did. What will be evil is if we do nothing to heal and bring back those his damaged mind ruined or killed. No, what fills me with despair is how do we help that composite Robert and Cherine see that they were not responsible for what they did? They are no longer what they were when they were created, they have acquired a personality of their own and therefore have the same rights any human being does and must be helped to continue existing.”
Not only the eyes of Alki rounded with surprise. He gave a short laugh. “Our minds are still trying to catch up with what happened and you are worrying about the future!”
“I’m not, Vincent did not bring back to life the new composite Cherine. She has her own soul now and Vincent left it with the Sparklers and that is not right.”
Cherine took my hand. “What would you have us do love? Another Cherine for our family?”
I grinned. “Two of you is bad enough. Before we talk, can I have a big hug?”
Cherine was right. Where could the new Robert and Cherine go? They could not be adopted into any existing Teller family. Since we’ve changed our rules and now search for the souls of those who should have become the Robert and Cherine of their reality (if there is no Robert and Cherine), we cannot find them an Earth of their own. It is not that they need to be leaders of any kind, but having two Teller families within the same reality is not prudent - there are bound to be clashes sometimes. As I write I can’t help wondering whether what I say sort of gives the feeling of a feudal system at work. Robbie will be very upset with me if I’m right.
Nobody else in the family sees the settlement of the composite Robert and Cherine as being an urgent matter to be solved immediately as their thoughts and hearts are concentrated on getting our Robbie back to being the man he really is. I was therefore pleased when Sol joined me in privacy to ask me what I thought of her idea. At first I thought of her idea as not being practical because I tend to think of the inhabitants of that Athens as being imaginary, actors appearing only when the curtain is raised for another show. I’m talking of the Sparkler World Athens. I know that Robbie does not want any Terrans making the Sparkler World their home so I had to explain my thoughts and ask her to wait until Robbie is with us to make the decision. Almost archly, she pointed out that the decision should belong only to the Sparklers. I disagree, but avoided starting a discussion as I also am eager for Vincent to return so that we can leave to collect all the Roberts. Hmm, since Robert is a despot and considers that reality his domain, will he want to fight us when we appear? I can’t see him tamely agreeing to us taking over and also removing all the Roberts from within him.
7915
I’m surprised Vincent is taking so long. Kirsten has not put in an appearance either, so I’d say I had not realised how badly affected Vincent had been by Cherine’s murder. I’m sorry he was with - as our protector he should never have to sit by and watch a Cherine being killed without being allowed to fight for her. Apart from hurting him, it is a bad precedent.
Since we have to wait anyway (I can’t convey how delighted I am that not one of my loves or close friends has expressed a wish that Vincent hurry up), I asked Solomon to consult with the Cherinian Council as to whether we (ethically) owe reparations to the new reality. I tediously explained that we will bring back to life and heal all the damaged minds and compensate everyone whose property was damaged or (as with the city of Charlotte), rebuild the entire city so that it is as alike to what it was as possible. We will even heal their ecology and provide them with food machines and empty their hospitals. What I meant by reparations is some form of compensation that goes above what we normally do for an Earth when we first discover it. Solomon came back with the decision that we should. I refused to accept their decision when I read it and explained that the debt, to the extent that it exists, is ours and belongs to the Teller family - the extended Teller family of all realities, not the Cherinians in general.
I’m in big trouble now and Robbie will be very angry when he returns but, until he does, I am the least favourite Cherinian of the month. It seems that not only Terran Cherinians are angry with me, all our alien friends are very angry and they claim they feel insulted. My loves have rallied around me, but they are trying to stay neutral so as not to exacerbate the situation any further. The Council has issued a statement, the first really formal statement we’ve ever seen from them, taking the responsibility for reparations on behalf of all Cherinians and of all the species and realities - without mentioning the Terrans. I won’t mention it as I think it was either a mistake or a political statement and either way I’ll only make it worse for everyone.
That night, when we went to bed, Dommi and Cherine hugged me to them so that I’d sleep nicely sandwiched between them. I was in heaven until Dommi said, with a sigh, “I can’t wait for us to get Roberto back - while he is away it seems that every time Samantha does the right thing she gets us deeper into trouble.” We did not end up going to sleep. We laughed, spirits high once more and went for a Milo and toast with fig jam or honey. I did get to sleep between my two loves and I was happier than I’ve been for a long time. Is that why Vincent returned the next day?
I don’t think I’ll forgive him and Kirsten for a long time - as for the giggles from their daughter, I hold the two of them responsible, not her. We were at the taverna enjoying our breakfast when Vincent, Kirsten and Amelia appeared, accompanied by the silver boy - who looked exactly like a silvery robot version of Robbie! Vincent sat down next to Alki and smiled gratefully at Maria when she poured him a coffee.
“I’m going to need this coffee. I’ve been struggling with a question of ethics for a couple of days so I decided to present my thoughts to all of you and abide by whatever decision you make. It is expected that we will return now to collect all the Roberts. Doing so means we are likely to be faced with a fight and many are likely to die - which is very unpleasant, even if brought back to life again. Perhaps we should start off by considering the following: At the date Samantha and I first arrived there, it did seem to me that Robert had cost the people whatever his dictatorship was to cost them, they’d made the sacrifices and things had now settled down to a large extent. The result of Robert running the planet is that preparing for war is no longer a major slice of the budget of every government. Money is now being spent on improving conditions for mankind with even funds being allocated to developing systems for decreasing the damage from pollution.
For purposes of my argument, I am going to treat the prime Robert as being equal to all the other Roberts since his being a leader or not should not impact in any way on our future as he has taken the attitude from day one that he should be a leader who does not lead. So, prime Robert is to be thought of as an equal to all Roberts for the purpose of giving equal consideration to all the Teller families.
Some will claim that their Robert should be returned as he is their friend and they’ll miss him. Does that justify declaring war on an entire planet? The wives will claim they need their Robert as the leader of their family and as a focus for their sexual activities. Those families that have a Samantha no longer require Robert as a leader - to an extent this applies to the Cherinians in general also. As for the sexual aspect, that may be solved in an acceptable manner without causing so much distress.
For the purpose of illustrating what I felt would be a satisfactory solution to the problem of the ladies, I have asked Ambros to send Silver Boy with the appearance of Robert, but as a robot, so that you can see what an attractive alternative it is. I believe the Unation could make working copies of such robots available within days. If each Teller family is provided with a robot Robert, they will quickly realise they have the better end of the bargain. As a robot he can perform sexually all night without needing to sleep. He will never have demands of his own to make so it means the ladies can concentrate solely on their own wishes and needs. Not a very important point, but probably of interest to many - it is not illegal within any legal jurisdiction for a robot to have sex with minors. Samantha will be liberated so that she can now show the full extent of her forceful and brilliant personality without having to worry that she’ll bruise the ego of her Robert - that applies mostly to our own Samantha, but is probably equally true for all other Samanthas. All Samanthas are subservient to their Cherines and all Cherines show the same respect to their Dominiques, so everyone should be happy.
7916
How do you vote, shall we cancel the proposed journey and leave the Roberts to their enjoyment of their present status?”
Towards the end Vincent was not doing so well; not only were most of us girls (of all Teller families) glaring at him, he was also unable to stop himself from chortling and laughing and giggling. Poor Amelia really looked embarrassed. The worst of it was that Vincent had not noticed that cameras were recording for the media from our planet and many other alien planets. By the time he realised it was too late, as stopping would have looked worse. As it seems to be with Vincent, the public loved his joke and he has grown in popularity. It also helped to lessen the anger felt by many that us Cherinians had allowed one of us to kill so many Normals. I’m still trying to work that last one out, I’d have expected them to grow even angrier at Vincent for using the situation to make a joke.
We were swamped by requests from governments whose leaders wanted to come with. The same happened with the United Nations. We had to explain that before they can meet their counterparts, it is likely we will have a war to be fought against Robert and his agents and that war will be fought using psychic powers, so there is no guarantee that anyone will be safe in Freddie. Despite all I’ve said, I must emphasise that I have no intention of taking a hard line against Robert with regard to his destruction of Charlotte and the deaths of the soldiers sent against him, I can empathise with how it must have felt for him to have Cherine killed in front of him. What I do find difficult to forgive is his systematic oppression of mankind afterwards, since he no longer has the ‘excuse’ of needing to protect his Cherine. No Robert cares that much about himself, so I find it impossible to justify his acts.
The governments insisted on their leaders coming, as did millions of Normals, each with a reason; to study the social, financial or even commercial evolution under a worldwide dictatorship were some of the reasons among many. Hettie advised us to take as many as we can so we agreed to a million from each reality - but, for the first time ever, we put the condition that no children will be allowed.
Friends of the various Teller families arranged to deal with all the guests and the logistics as they sensed us becoming testy because of the delays and excuses for even further delays. Just when having to deal with an impatient Cherine made me feel that one more day will see me exploding in anger, Freddie announced we are leaving for Robert. He has promised to arrive within hours, so we all rushed for a shower and fresh clothes, just in case we have our Robbie back soon.
Freddie arrived openly, a little closer to Earth than the moon is. We can do so without worry as they are only now starting to send their first rockets into space and there are no satellites or junk in higher orbit to crash into. Freddie monitored the radio broadcasts to give Robert the opportunity to communicate with us first. The stations advised their listeners that there is no reason for panic and that Robert is protecting them. Other than that, there was total silence about us, not even the usual speculations by callers phoning in. It seems the public have learnt it does not pay to be curious if Robert has announced he is handling the matter.
Within three hours Robert set up a shield that covered the entire planet - he must be using a large number of Talents spread over all the continents to keep it equally powerful. The Wirms and the Sparklers are not affected by the shield, but we decided it would not be safe for us to test it - trying to jump to a specific place on planet and being blocked could have unforeseen results.
One of the Cherines made herself the same age the composite Cherine had seemed to be when she was shot and then asked Freddie to broadcast a message from her to Robert. She told him she has been brought back to life and invited him to visit her in Freddie. The message was re-broadcast every two hours, but Robert did not respond that day. When he did respond it was with an invitation for her to visit him. He advised her he will send a platform and that once she enters he will bring her to Earth. He warned that any attempt by others to follow will result in their total annihilation. Cherine decided to risk it and go. Her family and all of us tried to warn her that once she is inside the shield she will not be able to return unless he lets her go. She gave us an impatient look and without arguing with us she promptly sent him her reply. An hour later Freddie warned us that a platform is approaching. We decided to let it enter so as not to inconvenience Cherine. Cherine did not object when we asked her to allow a Sparkler to go with her. It entered her and she stepped into the platform and it departed. Once it was outside Freddie it disappeared and then we sensed Cherine on Earth.
7917
Her family were sharing from her and they each in turn opened to allow everyone else to share from them. We saw the platform open within the opulence of a palatial room with chandeliers and statues all around. Robert stretched his arm toward Cherine to help her out of the platform and we all gasped. The hardness within him has sculptured his face so that all softness is gone. It is difficult to credit his having a healer with him so gaunt.
His voice was cold. “Welcome Cherine.”
She noticed that nobody else was present. “You’ve been too many years on your own Robert.”
He grimaced. “Not as alone as you may think. Do not move until I tell you it is safe to do so.” He concentrated and Cherine found herself being enclosed within something we can only call a prison cell. “Fresh air, food and drink will be provided every day until I decide what I should do with you.”
“Why are you doing this Robert? Don’t you love me?”
His eyes were ice cold as he turned away. Going to the door he opened it, reached and a six year old Cherine entered the room. He stared at our Cherine, “Did you think I would not realise you are an imposter? The Goddess will not find I have disobeyed her in any way - I have protected Cherine as she ordered and will continue to do so until she releases me.”
The little girl tugged at his hand and he leant down. “She is like me! How is it? How can she also be a Cherine?”
“She is not, she is only pretending to be you so that I leave you. That will never happen. You may go now, I’ll come to you later.” He let her hand go and, with a last puzzled look at Cherine, she walked out of the room.
“You are making a big mistake Robert, I am a Cherine - there are many Cherines, we are all alternates of each other.”
“You must be more powerful than I expected. How dare you try to impose your will on Cherine - did you think that because she is young you would get away with it? I’m going to teach you a lesson.”
Shock showed on his face when he felt her easily fend off his attack. Rage now contorting his face he stepped up his attacks and we realised he was pulling power from those linked to him. None of us had time to react, not that we would have stopped him - Vincent, emoting his rage at a Cherine being hurt by a Robert disappeared from our side and appeared next to Robert. His arm shot out and grabbing his shoulder he squeezed, breaking bones in his vice like grip. Robert screamed and collapsed to his knees as Vincent blocked his mind. The planetary shield collapsed.
In a cold fury our Cherine joined them and Vincent found himself forced away from Robert. Cherine changed to The Light and a part of her flowed into Robert, healing his bones and mind. In adoration of her he remained on his knees. For the first time ever, Cherine as The Light wept. She’d looked in his mind and seen how she’d affected him when she’d ordered him to follow the Cherines and thrust him into the maelstrom that tore at his understanding of what he’d just experienced from her and the order she’d given. Shattered by the image of her weeping because of him, Robert desperately tried to explain to her that he had tried to follow her orders, that he had done the best he could to keep Cherine safe. He is the first ever Robert to have been enfolded within her arms as she gently soothed his mind. Robert fell asleep within her glowing arms.
We wept and our emotions were also shattered, but we had to act quickly. Robert had released all the Talents and we dared not allow them to start taking independent action. We shot down to Earth in the tens of thousands and blocking them, brought them to Freddie. Hettie, Eddie and others appeared where the government leaders waited for instructions from Robert and healing their minds also explained that Robert is no longer in charge - that Authority has evolved back to them. They were told and shown that we will be helping them and Cherinians remained with them to help them re-establish their authority. The following days were a mixture of good and bad, but for us Teller girls, of all realities, they were also a time of unbelievable joy and love. Cherine The Light took Robert to the void and from there sent back our Roberts. She stayed with the ‘composite’ Robert in the Sparklers World - which caused the Sparklers to disappear from Freddie, even the Spartans rushed off to experience having a Cherine The Light living in their World. To the Roberts, as we threw ourselves at them, laughing, crying and babbling about things that sounded crazy to them, it was almost a time of fear as they could not work out what we were telling them. Robbie noticed that our Cherine was not with us and he stared at us blankly when we told him that she is in the Sparkler World with the Robert.
7918
This time every single one of us needs to be healed and it will take much longer than usual. In a sense, I can say that luckily, having an entire planet in turmoil and needing help, did more to heal us than our own efforts to heal each other. As soon as I could, I returned to Dottie to thank her for her help and to heal her husband. Dommi had to join me and together we helped his mind re-knit itself. He’ll never be exactly as he was, but thanks to our help his mind is stronger and we suspect Dottie will find him more intelligent than he was. I hope it brings them happiness.
Apart from keeping my promise, I have done little to help this world. While everyone spends their days and nights healing and returning the planet and people to the way they were before Robert interfered (they did bring back to life the policemen sent to Cyprus), I spent much of my time in my apartment on my own or I walked in the mountains where the homes of Vincent and Lusalith are. I don’t go close to their homes, but I love the tropical jungle with the myriad lifeforms. I’d not imagined Robbie had brought such a great diversity of life to Freddie. When my thoughts grow too dark, the flutter of gem-bright wings remind me that whatever sorrow can bring to darken my soul, love can fill me with colours again.
I did have one naughty thought I would not like anyone outside my family sharing. I was thinking about the composite Robert and how he’d come to the conclusion that the only way he could protect Cherine was by placing the entire planet under his control. How many have thought that way, albeit it has mostly been on a smaller scale; if this village or town or city fears my wealth and power I am safer…and so is my family. It was that same illogic that drove the leaders of the Globalists. Well, I know that kind of thinking never works, that all dictators and despots only achieve an illusion of control since they are never loved. I then thought of how my loves tease me, claiming I’m a would-be dictator and I thought, Robert should have come to me for advice on how to be the best dictator ever. I laughed at my fancy, but I was reluctant to share with my family for a few hours - maybe I was afraid they’d think I seriously want to be a dictator? No, it’s not that, for the first time, I am feeling shy.
We were all horrified to find out that the six year old Cherine is not six, she is actually four and a half. Robert found her and took her from her parents without letting them know where she is or that she is even alive. In his mind he’d found the Cherine who’d died (that memory was blanked out) and he used his healer to help her grow back to the age she should have been - which was a permanent seven to eight years old. We did find out much later on that Robert did have flashbacks or dreams of his making love to children, but for some reason those dreams never included the physical sensations and he angrily denied, to himself, the existence of those dreams and did his best to forget them. Despite those images, not once was he tempted to use Cherine sexually. As a matter of fact, he does not seem to have had any sex drive at all.
I don’t know whether Cherine would have thought of it anyway or whether I just caused another paradox. Cherine told me that when she shared as I wrote the above, she decided that when we return home and she returns in time as The Light, she will see to it that the composite Robert has no sex drive. Poor guy, I guess that’s one more thing I have to feel guilty about.
Because of all that was written, I looked back at some of what I’ve said and done and I felt shamed. Dottie risked her child to help us and all I did was heal her husband! How could I? I called on her and asked to bring them to Freddie for a visit. She was nervous about it, but when she arrived she was in a giggly mood. She told Sheena that her social status within her village has risen because of her visit. We let them have a good time and grow used to seeing aliens, Richard learnt to ride on the back of a Freddie-born Elipian and his day is not right if he doesn’t see the Elipians for at least a few minutes,. He also is fascinated by the Fegorians, especially when they noticed him staring at them through the shield and communicated with him. It is the first time he’s heard voices directly inside his head and it excites him - and scares the living daylights out of his mother.
7919
Dottie and her family are not the only local Normals in Freddie and once they lost their fear of us we talked to them about the realities that have Cherinians (and other groups, we had to add that in, since Campbell and many Ipohin are with us The year is 1988 in this reality, but it feels like it is 1950. The Second World War never happened. Hitler did invade Poland and so on, but the Poles had not believed the Allied politicians and had prepared for the invasion. They used primitive means to defend themselves, like digging traps for tanks to fall into and they saw where the German army was likely to come from and filled their fields with mines. The Germans succeeded but at a much greater cost to them and the time delay gave the rest of the Allies time to prepare and America was more generous in their supply of weapons. The war died out with Germany in possession of Austria, Poland, Holland and Belgium. With the allied forces ringing them, Hitler was forced to withdraw from Belgium, Holland and Austria but they kept most of Poland. The Soviets decided they wanted a slice of the pie and they attacked at the wrong time. Without winter decimating their troops, Germany struck deep into Russia. Hitler found he was suddenly popular with the Americans and the two countries joined forces to contain the communist threat. Eight years later communism collapsed and the Soviet Empire turned towards European style socialism. Then Robert arrived and then we did. A fifty year history lesson within one paragraph, perhaps I should become a teacher?
I soon discovered I was not the only one wanting to add meals cooked here into our food machines. We had guests of our world from most countries and they all discovered the joys of real food. Our healers did tell us (for the Normals) a long time ago that eggs are good for us and we do not need to stick to a maximum of an egg every second day as we’d been told. Margarine got the thumbs down while butter, in moderation was shown to be healthy. Meat, with none of the mutations and pharmaceuticals and hormones previously injected, was also added back to the list of foods we should eat. We were told that our lifestyles, as Normals, is far more important than the food we eat. As long as everything is enjoyed in moderation and we are physically active, our bodies know how to make use of the cream in dairy products and fat in the meat. If your world is not as advanced yet, Arthur, check your farmers and compare their longevity compared to those who live according to the latest advertising. You may argue that farmers tend to be larger, but then they do live a harder life and a bit of body fat is useful for them. Anyway, as I started off saying, our set of realities are going to experience a flurry of recipes being exchanged and I will not be surprised to see the ‘lean-mean’ recipes with fat-free this and that gradually disappearing from all food machines. I’m glad to see that people are turning their backs on those who think they are wiser than nature.
We have left the Inguel, Anadir and so on to deal with the ecological problems - and with the local politicians being supported by ours, they are getting back into the swing of things and are even accepting that certain things need to be changed in accordance with what our politicians are advising them. We’re staying out of it and are only here to act at their request for solving problems. What is holding us here are the one thousand six hundred and eighty or so Talents. Robert did not choose them for strength of character, he was more interested in using cowards and selfish people who would give him blind obedience. This time Robbie wants to find a way to avoid amputating them so we’re hanging around.
The Talents are blocked, but we can sense their emoting and there is a lot of anger and hatred directed at us. They also feel betrayed by their Robert. Ours and various other Cherines have been surreptitiously monitoring them and at best they have arrived at the dismal figure of fourteen possible Ipohin out of the lot of them with zero Cherinians. Michael was angered when we told him and made it very clear that he does not want any of them as Ipohin. In the end I was forced to ask Campbell to join me for a drink in a club high up in the first treehouse.
I gave him a smile. “As soon as I start explaining what I want from you and why, you are going to feel insulted and angry with me. That’s okay, you have the right, but I want you to promise me you’ll hear me out and control your anger long enough to think of what I’m really saying and then in a couple of days you can answer me.”
“I don’t think he’ll react with anger,” we both looked up with surprise as Goldi joined us, “Arthur is a nice man and he knows you are not his enemy anymore. Trust him to understand you Sam. May I join you for a drink?”
7920
Almost stuttering, Campbell confirmed she should join us and he ordered a soft drink for her. We were both surprised, as it is extremely rarely that anyone sees her as an adult and she is devastatingly beautiful with the kind of magnetism that makes even aliens sense her as someone very special. It took me a while to get back to the discussion I’d been preparing to have with Campbell.
“You are old enough to recall what our world was like before the Cherinians became public knowledge and you’ve watched the way entire populations have evolved over the half century since then. Would you agree that there are very few people as vicious and hard as there were in the beginning?”
“On the face of it. Life is easier for everyone and a number of fears are not as dominant as they used to be. Just the food machines and the healings on their own are enough to soften people. It does not mean the changes you see are permanent. Bring back the spectre of starvation and stop healing everyone and watch how quickly all the worst in Man returns to dominate.” I can’t honestly say whether I was more interested in his arguments or the reactions of Goldi as she listened. It only takes one Goldi for me to feel sorry for most men; how can any male believe that behind such a delightful and ethereal face exists a mind brilliant and sharp as his - there is a difference because of the differences between the sexes, her thinking tends to concentrate on the emotional aspects, always preferring to explore the systems of synergy to those of coercion for instance. The funny thing is that I also feel that way about very handsome men. I find it easier to believe an ugly man has an intellect worth respecting.
“I’ll grant you the points you are making because they are true. Arthur, when does the change become permanent? Would a million years of softness, as you put it, mark our species for all time?”
“It is not the loss of hardness that could alter our makeup as a species Sam, it is the loss of ability to face reality in a pragmatic way. That is my theory. Ten million years from now, despite empathy and compassion, let disaster strike and men and women feel starvation gnawing at their bellies, let them know their children will die if they do not fight to secure them some food and we’ll revert - and probably be worse than we’ve ever been for a while.”
“Worse?” Goldi asked.
“I think so. If all are the same, all are fighters, then they have to exercise more care as gratuitous violence begets gratuitous violence in return. If those being attacked are soft with empathy, compassion and ideals that forbid violence, will those attacking go to extremes? Read your history Goldi and you’ll see it has always been so. The worst excesses occur at a time that civilisation crumbles.”
“Then we’ll never achieve anything!”
Campbell glanced at me and I grinned. “The two of you are taking the conversation in a different direction from what I’d planned. Goldi love, what Arthur says is true, but it is also based on what I’ll call historical truth. That is how it has always happened so that is how it will always happen. History repeats itself is a common saying, however, the strictly correct saying would have to be amended to state that history repeats itself in the broad sweep, but not in the details, so over a number of repetitions history evolves and changes.” I gave Campbell another smile. “Would you contest my statement?”
“In general, no. With respect to human nature…I might have to.”
“Why? Are we, in all aspects, exactly the same as the first men were? Have we not evolved? Arthur, Goldi, how can the Cherinians not evolve if Cherine is to carry us with her to a new level.” I sipped my wine, nibbled on little squares of cheese with tiny pearly onions and grinned again. “The example you gave. Let us say there is such a catastrophe and there is food to feed forty but there are a thousand to be fed. Goldi, would it be wrong if all thousand starve because they each insist that another be saved?”
“Yes. Total extinction of a species is the largest crime. They have to adopt an equitable system so that at least the forty are saved.”
“If there is no equitable solution for minds that consider the death of another as being far worse than their own death? What then my love? At any cost Goldi? At any cost? Do you really believe so?”
Campbell cleared his throat. “As you said Samantha, you asked for me to make a point. Shall we return to whatever you intended saying that would hurt my feelings?” He chuckled. “At least you do acknowledge I have feelings, I presume?”
I looked him in the eyes. “The fact that Goldi is here speaks for that by itself.” I returned to examine my original thoughts in case anything had changed. “Arthur, whether human nature is capable or not of changing, the only hope we have of it altering and evolving for the better is by us believing it is possible.
I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.
- posted: 11th Aug, 2020
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