CHAPTER 005  (PETER’S VIEW)

 While Jackie and Daphne were entertaining themselves, Jason and I were debating what our next move would be. I wanted to use the Master PC to get knowledge of nanites, but Jay overrode me.

 “Those damn things are just too much trouble, unless we set up a clean room environment. We’ve got enough to worry about with short-life pheromones, I’d rather not worry about something that can remake itself to boot.”

 “Dammit, you know as well as I do that we could reset them to not reproduce! What in hell’s wrong with you, it’s always about magic these days!”

 “Hey, magic at least I can make a guess at the ripple factor. You wanna try that with nanites? Those fucking things make the sloppiest User look neat.”

 “I still think you’re over-reacting, Jay. If I set up a clean-room environment and set it to burn if the nanites escape confinement, would you consider it?” He reluctantly agreed to this proposition. So we spent the next hour or so working on the clean-room. I didn’t need an entire room to work with, since the nanites were so small, and with the technology I could already whip up, I could manage with less than a few cubic feet of space. We constructed a small test chamber made up of a small transparent steel cube inside of another, with a pair of inset waldo-arms to manipulate the inner workings. When we were both satisfied with the preparations, he used the Control Console to give me the knowledge I needed.

 I squeezed his shoulder in appreciation. “Thanks, bro. If my theories are correct, we might be able to use these things to solve our problem with Daphne’s parents.” I still wasn’t happy with the idea of having an infectious pair of people in my home, but I understood why Jay had to do it. There was simply no other way to keep them confined without someone getting wind of what we were doing. The idea of having a government agency, or worse, the media, getting involved was enough to give me the creeps. So, I’d turned my mind towards problem solving.

 Jay blinked. “I’d never thought of that. I was focused on undoing it, not compensating for the problem.” His short-sighted-ness was understandable. His talents, not to mention the Control Console, made it a lot simple to just undo things rather than working around them. I smiled again.
“You’re right, though. If we can resolve it so she doesn’t have that kind of effect on people, it’ll make our lives a lot easier.”

 “My thoughts exactly. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get to work.” He slapped me lightly on the shoulder, and wandered off to his lab. I shook my head behind his back. He meant well, even if he was acting like a reactionary. However, I wasn’t about to make the mistake of taking every word he said as gospel, even if we did agree on almost everything. Mercifully, Jay (nor I, for that matter) was the type to let ego get in the way of a better idea. “I’ve got to talk to Jackie. If Jay’s serious about this crusade of his, the two of us are going to have to patch the holes in his thinking. He’s liable to get himself killed if he tries to handle the rest of those fuckers the way he handled David.”  Unfortunately, Jason’s telepathy only worked between myself and him or him and Jackie, so I had to go get her myself. I knocked on Daphne’s door, and got a feeble “Just a second,” in response. I smelled the scent of sex on the air, and smiled to myself. Neither of my twins were wasting a second in making their sex lives more interesting.

 The door swung open a crack and I saw Daphne’s face behind it. “Is it dinner time already?”

 “No, I just need to talk to Jackie. Is she still asleep?” Her face turned away from me momentarily.

 “No, she’s up. Hang on a sec, willya?”

 “Sure. Daph, how’re you getting along?” I asked.

 “Oh, pretty well, I guess.” Her nervousness was evident. I made some banal reply, and she vanished. Jackie opened the door long enough to come out, then shut it.

 “What’s up, doc?” Her quirky grin and raised eyebrow dared me to ask what she’d been doing in there, but I kept my mouth shut on that score.

 “ I had an idea, and I wanna run it over with you while Jay’s still distracted.” Her eyebrow crept a little higher, and she followed me back to my workshop. Inside, I showed her the nanite experiment, and after briefly explaining what I was trying to do with it, got down to brass tacks.

 “I’m worried about Jay, sis. This crusade of his is liable to get him killed.” She agreed with me, and I sat her down in my chair while I leaned against the work top, gathering my thoughts. “I’m not so much worried about the two of us as I am about him. He thinks this is all his responsibility, and I’m afraid he won’t take adequate precautions for his own survival.”

 “Howso? We’re both identical to him, and we’ve both thought about it.” This admission on her part didn’t really surprise me much, since we were as paranoid as Jay was. “If we’ve thought about it, chances are that he has too, or will very soon.”

 “Right, but because we’ve diverged from his personal time-line, we think of things in ways that he can’t, or won’t.  And on that note, I’ve had an idea that I want to vet past you. You and I are clones of Jay, with the trifling matter of a replicated X chromosome in your case. Would it be possible, given your knowledge of magic, to snag his spirit if he gets killed, and then implant it into another clone?”

 “Possible, but somewhat difficult. I’d have to get his consent for such a thing to work.”

 “Shit. Okay, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now, here comes the tricky part. Since I don’t think we want him as vulnerable as he’ll be if we restore him like that, what if we used magic to make you pregnant with his clone?” Her look of surprise was gratifying; I had the literary background Jay and Jackie both shared, but none of the practical knowledge. “ We could even use the Control Console to age him once his new body gets old enough.”

 “Now that’s an interesting proposition. From what I’ve read, a reincarnation like what you’re talking about would neatly sidestep the immortality problem.” When I looked puzzled, she elaborated. “The Immortality Problem is an ancient paradox of sorcery. If you wanted to make yourself immortal, there are several workings that will do just that, but each has an increasingly inconvenient side effect; some of them require that you become a vampiric being, others make you a thaumivore, an eater of magic. What you’ve got in mind is something like what the Buddhists believe about the Dalai Lamas.”

 “Good to know, but will it actually work? If we implant his spirit in a clone, we could also recreate his memories via the Master PC, I think.” I stressed the last word. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I couldn’t see a problem with it, except perhaps Jason’s commands to let me use the Master if he were killed or rendered unable to use it. I assumed that the command would simply remove my block against touching the Control Console, neglecting to take notice of when or if Jay ever became able to use it again.

 “If he can give Daphne all new memories with his magic, I don’t think Master PC would find it any more difficult. But how are we going to get him to consent?”

 “I’ll leave that to you, dear one. You’re much better at persuading him than I’ll ever be.”

 “I kind of doubt that. You’re both members of the Dick Brotherhood. You’re much more like him than I am.” Her good humor took me away from the gloomy permutations of time I’d been dwelling on.

 “Maybe, but he likes you best.”

 “Does not!”

 “Does too!” I stuck my tongue out at her, and we broke down into giggles. “Seriously, though, do you think he’ll give you any grief about the whole consent thing?”

 “I honestly don’t know. We both know that he’s stubborn, not to mention contrary. Not to mention, he believes in death. I don’t know that either of us can predict how he’ll take to serial reincarnation.” I nodded and shrugged in dismissal. “I have to say, though, that I’d never once thought about just using my womb as a healing device. Good thinking there, brother.” I bowed mockingly.

 “Hey, what’re alternate twins for?” A change of topics was definitely in order, I thought. “So, how was Daphne? Is lesbian sex as intense as straight?”

 “Apples and oranges, Pete. Woman/woman sex takes a little more invention, since we don’t have some of the same equipment, but it’s also a little easier, since we know where to touch and how hard to press in different spots to make each other crazy.” She got this haughty expression on her face. “That’s about as much info as I’ll give you. If you want any more, you’ll have to try it for yourself.” I snorted derisively.

 “If you think I’ll try and talk Jay out of one of the better self-preservation ideas he’s had, you’re crazy.” Jackie looked at me thoughtfully.

 “I wondered when you’d finally get around to admitting you care for him.”

 “What’re you talking about? I’ve not concealed that I love him.”

 “Bullshit.” She shook her head sadly. “You and him are so much alike. Different as your minds are, you both react the same way.” I asked her what she meant. “Neither of you will admit how much you care for each other. At least you’ll admit it to me, if noone else.” I was flabbergasted. I mean, I’ve never thought I needed to say it. We’re the same person, more or less. Why should we have to rely on such a human way of reassuring each other?

 “I don’t get it, but apparently you think it important that I say something to him.” She nodded.

 “Much though none of us likes to admit it, we’re human. Humans need each other to remind themselves of who they are. You know that as much as I do.” I thought about it for a moment or two, and still didn’t get it, but resolved to do as she asked.

 “Well, as fascinating as all this is, Jay probably has dinner ready. You wanna get Daphne, or should I?”

END CHAPTER 005