Meanwhile in Lake, Octavius was back on his houseboat. He had just opened his fridge. He pulled out a large inverted mould and placed it on his kitchen counter. He placed an even larger plate facedown on top of the mould. He flipped both the mould and plate upright. Then, he gradually lifted the mould to reveal a large pink blancmange.
‘Yes, it’s holding its shape,’ remarked Octavius as he looked at the blancmange. ‘The next step is to taste it.’
Polly suddenly appeared behind him. ‘I really need to talk to you,’ she said to him.
‘Woah!’ exclaimed Octavius as he jumped backward. ‘I forgot you could do that. Those Bramley genes are strong in you.’
‘That thing is truly vile,’ said Polly firmly.
‘He’s a nutter, but apparently you want to take his side and cut me out,’ replied Octavius angrily.
‘Jennifer wants an alliance with you,’ said Polly. ‘That thing is just a bargaining chip. We need to keep him safe and content for now.’
‘Is that you talking or Jennifer through you?’ asked Octavius.
‘It is me,’ replied Polly. ‘Jennifer thought it would be good for my Sapien side to talk to you.’
‘Would you like a slice of this blancmange?’ said Octavius as he pulled a knife from a kitchen drawer. ‘It’s been a nightmare pulling together ingredients that work.’
‘Another one of your calorie-dense meals,’ said Polly. ‘Sure, the energy is welcome.’
‘Here goes,’ said Octavius. ‘As he slowly cut into the blancmange.’
‘You gain such joy from the little things,’ said Polly.
‘When you’ve been around as long as me, you realise it’s only the little things that make life worth living,’ said Octavius as he placed a lump of blancmange on Polly’s plate.
‘We are not going to attack Downs,’ said Polly as Octavius sat opposite her. ‘There has been a change in plan.’
‘Huh, back to business then,’ snarled Octavius as he dug his spoon into his lump of blancmange. ‘I was hoping we could relax a little.’
‘The Downs residents have found Sapiod X,’ said Polly.
‘So what? It’s not like he can talk,’ chuckled Octavius. ‘He might help them with some heavy lifting.’
‘They’re trying to use his DNA to find a cure,’ said Polly as she ate a little of the blancmange. ‘If it works, it’ll be more than just a cure. They’ll be stronger, much stronger.’
‘They won’t succeed,’ said Octavius as he looked down at the blancmange on his plate. ‘The Sentray DNA would be fully integrated with his Sape DNA.’
‘It would be unwise to underestimate Orcilla Carvaress,’ said Polly.
‘What’s the new plan?’ asked Octavius. ‘You clearly need me.’
‘We need to find a cure that will not make them invincible,’ said Polly.
Octavius began chuckling.
‘We need to send you out into the vast ocean,’ said Polly. ‘We want you to collect some special seaweed.’
‘What!’ said Octavius as he stood up.
‘Jennifer has the description of the seaweed and the area you are likely to find it,’ said Polly.
‘Sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me,’ said Octavius angrily.
‘Jennifer has analysed data from the Carvaress expedition vessels,’ said Polly. ‘We’ll give you a route that’ll keep you away from the Sentray.’
‘I want a robot crew I can control,’ said Octavius as he pressed his hands down on the table.
‘Absolutely,’ said Polly.
‘I certainly crave the ocean,’ said Octavius, nodding his head.
‘That must be the Sentray part of you calling,’ said Polly.
‘I need you to be honest with me,’ said Octavius in a serious tone. ‘What did you think of my blancmange?’
‘It provided plenty of calories,’ replied Polly.
‘I’m more concerned with taste,’ said Octavius.
‘If you intended it as a punishment, you succeeded,’ replied Polly.
‘Yes, it’s terrible,’ said Octavius, shaking his head.
‘You might want to try agar agar,’ said Polly. ‘It won’t give you the unpleasant aftertaste that your current version has.’
Octavius chuckled.
The two of them casually chatted for a while. After that, Octavius began loading up the Spirocopter that was parked on the roof of his houseboat.
The Spirocopter was Octavius’ personal flying vehicle. It was both huge and luxurious.
‘I haven’t taken you for a spin in a while,’ chuckled Octavius as he made himself comfortable in his giant pilot’s seat.
‘Hello, Octavius,’ said Jennifer through the radio. ‘I’m glad you’ve decided to continue our working relationship.’
‘Is there anywhere you’re not?’ asked Octavius angrily.
‘Your conversation with Polly was private,’ replied Jennifer. ‘I have segmented parts of her brain to protect her well-being.’
‘Even when you’re trying to sound nice, it comes off as creepy,’ said Octavius as he began his preflight checks.
‘Thank you for your feedback,’ replied Jennifer. ‘I pride myself on my commitment to self-improvement.’
‘I need these machines to help me: Roger One and Roger Two, and Belford,’ said Octavius.
‘No problem, you can pick them up from camp,’ replied Jennifer.
‘No, I want to pick them up from a rendezvous point,’ said Octavius firmly. ‘I’m not in the mood to see that wierdo's face. If I do, I might accidentally blast him.’
‘You don’t need to worry,’ replied Jennifer. ‘I’ve disabled all weapons in this vehicle.’
‘I don’t care,’ said Octavius angrily. ‘I don’t want to see him.’
‘I have highlighted a pickup point on your navigation system,’ said Jennifer. ‘I have also highlighted the location of your ocean vessel. When you arrive at your ocean vessel, your navigation system will be updated with the safest route to the locations where the seaweed can be found.’
‘You’re so kind,’ said Octavius in a sarcastic tone. ‘What would I ever do without you?’
‘Get lost at sea and never return,’ replied Jennifer.
Octavius turned to look at Polly, who was now hovering next to him.
‘I’m sure she’s just estimating the most likely outcome,’ said Polly as she looked back at Octavius.
Octavius growled as he turned on the Spirocopter’s engines.
Around fifteen minutes later, Octavius arrived at the rendezvous point. Polly exited the Spirocopter, and Octavius’ requested machines boarded.
‘I finally get to have some alone time with you again,’ said Octavius as he looked back at his robots.
They responded by making beeping and whirring sounds.
The next day in Downs, Yassme was having another picnic in the Agriculture Zone with Hamlet, fluffy Lily, Scott, and X. This time Phillip had joined them.
‘Hello, X,’ said Yassme to X.
‘Hello, X,’ replied X through the mind voice.
‘That’s good,’ said Yassme, sounding pleased. ‘You just need to think of my name, not yours.’
X clapped his hands playfully.
‘Hello, X,’ said Yassme to X.
‘Hello, my name,’ replied X through the mind voice.
‘Well, that’s progress,’ said Yassme, clapping her hands. ‘A huge leap from yesterday.’
‘Hey look, the weirdos are coming,’ remarked Hamlet through the mind voice.
Yassme turned around. She could see the seven Linap approaching. Benny and Duffo were carrying a picnic basket each, and L9 Linap was carrying L1 Linap.
Yassme turned back around to face Hamlet. ‘You need to be on your best behaviour,’ said Yassme firmly. ‘We need to show them we’re friendly.’
‘My nose is picking up cake,’ said Hamlet through the mind voice. ‘I’m sure this is going to go well.’
‘Mind if we join your picnic?’ called out L2 Linap. ‘We were told this is the best spot.’
‘Of course you can,’ called back Yassme. ‘The more, the merrier.’
The Linap opened up their picnic baskets and pulled out two large picnic mats. They spread them out next to where Phillip was sitting. They took the food out and placed it on the mats.
Hamlet eagerly stared at the food. Drool began to drip from her mouth.
‘Are these Sapes your pets?’ asked L3 Linap.
‘Oh no,’ replied Yassme. ‘We consider them friends.’
‘We’re all friends here. No pets,’ added Phillip.
‘It appears your society has reverted to a primitive form of socialism,’ remarked L2 Linap.
‘That wasn’t really our intention,’ said Yassme. ‘I guess it just happened. Everyone just wants to help out. Then we just take what we need in return.’
‘It seems to be working wonderfully,’ replied L2 Linap.
‘It’s destined to fail,’ said L7 Linap. ‘Even if we assume we’re all honest, the talented and the ambitious will desire to be rewarded.’
‘The Downs residents are simply not like that,’ replied Yassme as she gestured towards both Scott and Phillip.
‘Those who have risen to positions of authority are not Downs residents,’ said L7 Linap with a slight smirk on his face.
‘I can’t take it anymore,’ blurted out Hamlet through the mind voice. ‘That cake with the coconut icing is burning a hole in my brain.’
X quickly grabbed the coconut-iced cake and shoved it in Hamlet’s mouth. ‘For you, friend,’ said X through the mind voice.
‘Talking Sapes, I love it!’ exclaimed Duffo.
‘You made a device to help them talk,’ said L1 Linap as she smiled at Yassme. ‘It’s very impressive.’
‘It’s only fair everyone has a voice,’ said Yassme.
‘It’s absolutely brilliant!’ said L7 Linap as he nodded. ‘I have to know how it works.’
‘Sure, I’d love to,’ said Yassme as she smiled.
Yassme went on to explain how she developed the mind voice. They all listened enthusiastically. X took the opportunity to feed Hamlet and fluffy Lily the Linap’s picnic food. They did not seem bothered, as they were so interested in what Yassme had to say.
‘Now, I’m even more impressed,’ said L7 Linap. ‘You did it all without even needing to insert a chip into her brain.’
‘Nobody’s putting chips in my brain,’ said Hamlet angrily through the mind voice.
‘You never complain about me putting chips in your mouth,’ giggled Yassme.
‘We should probably head back,’ chuckled L2 Linap. ‘This picnic has made me hungry.’
‘Sorry, these guys are food fanatics,’ replied Yassme.
L9 Linap picked up L1 Linap as the others packed the picnic baskets.
‘You know I could help you,’ said Yassme to L1 Linap. ‘I could add bigger wheels to your wheelchair. I might even be able to help you walk again with some therapies.’
‘That would help so much; thank you,’ replied L1 Linap.
The Linap walked off together.
‘This mind net is a true game changer,’ said L7 Linap excitedly as he looked at the others. ‘It’s crazy that she’s just wasting it on Sapes and whatever X is.’
‘It’s sweet,’ said L1 Linap. ‘Just let it be.’
‘I sense some division in their leadership,’ commented Duffo. ‘The twins are never together. They seem to have very different priorities.’
‘How about you focus on learning about yourself rather than starting rumours?’ said L1 Linap as she glared angrily at Duffo.
Three days later, Octavius reached his designated ocean vessel. He climbed out of the Spirocopter and walked over to it.
‘This doesn’t look like much,’ he said to himself as he looked at the tatty ocean vessel.
He and his robots climbed aboard. ‘Damn, the doors are too small,’ he said angrily as he walked around the deck. ‘I’m going to need you to bring something comfortable out here for me,’ he said to Roger One.
Roger One scurried through a door. Octavius looked over the side of the vessel and watched Belford fuelling it. Then he heard the distant sound of thunder. He looked out to the ocean. He could see large clouds moving in their direction.
‘This doesn’t feel like it’s going to be much fun,’ said Octavius to himself.
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my 
