They'd wanted to use concrete for at least the perimeter wall, but I'd insisted on timber and had personally seen to it that at least two saplings were planted for each tree felled.
Thanks to the Murray fortune we now owned the nature reserve and camping grounds north and west of Lake Dillon, the Reservoir that served Zanesville. Officially we were redeveloping a defunct holiday resort with 100 extra chalets for fishermen, hunters and other watersportists.
The planning department never questioned why we'd started building in the head of a gulch surrounded on three sides by a 'U' of defensible hilltops, rather than down at water's edge with the existing facilities. Nor did they question the need for the ditches, earthen rampart and wooden palisades across the open end of the 'U'. They'd just been happy someone was spending money during the recession.
The O'hara were currently calling it Hill-16 but I was going to have them change that, the next time we all meditated.
I was just considering returning to the car, when Brook appeared next to me, putting his hand on my shoulder where I could brush my ear against it.
"We just had the shipment of frame-tents. If we need, we can house an extra 250 hara up here from tomorrow...if we had 250"
"That’s great, but I know I'm missing something" I said pensively
"Sixteen, two months ago you were a corporate kid, for Daananan's sake! You've gone from there to organizing this, of course you'll have missed something." he replied squeezing me reassuringly. "Now lets get down to Zanesville and start incepting all those Raptures that we've marked."
I nodded agreement. It was time to give in to instinct and multiply.
I gave the wooded slopes of Lake Dillon one last covetous glance and then followed him back toward the car.
---
So. How do you go about incepting people without being noticed? I guess that's the problem all of the tribes faced, right from the outset.
Actually, the solution was going to be ridiculously easy. All it needed was a plausible reason for our selected unhars to be away from home. Specifically a printed flyer saying that they'd won a complimentary vacation someplace.
Each batch of flyers had a date three days hence, on which the winners would be picked up and taken to 'the airport'. This gave the unhar some time to get the cover story circulated before they vanished.
The first batch consisted of three seventeen year olds fresh from school, a mechanic and, by extraordinary good fortune, a couple of cops.
Everything went perfectly, no alarm was raised and none of the unhara had second thoughts. Our run of luck with inceptions resumed and all six survived. None of them looked radically different physically, apart from the obvious aura of Wraeththuness.
The only problem came at the end of the two-week 'vacation' when I insisted that they had to go back into human society. Naturally they were reluctant. Very, very reluctant
By the time batch one was celebrating their 'graduation', batch two were deep in the agony of inception, batch three were getting ready for their harhune and our hara were busy selecting and contacting batch four.
On the face of it, everything was going well...at least locally.
Further afield there was enough disaster to keep human eyes off us. A cluster of three hurricanes had formed in the Gulf of Mexico and seemed to be orbiting each other. Pretty much every single oilrig and seaport down there was gone. The Lost City of New Orleans wasn't even visible above the waves anymore.
The war with Venezuela was 'going well', despite 'European interference'. This was accompanied by images of burning oil terminals and three mushroom clouds.
Twenty miles off the coast of Los Angeles a line of volcanic islands was forming. Air and sea travel into the west coast was now 'problematic' due to the ash plumes.
Further away, there were reports of yet another virulent new disease in India. Pakistan was threatening to nuke the infected region and India was threatening to retaliate. It was called Rat Flu, it wasn't bubonic plague, it was faster and more deadly than that.
Despite the battering the humans were taking, I couldn't help feeling that all this was still just the calm before the storm. I wondered if human civilization was a bit like Whilly E. Coyote running off a cliff and not yet realizing that there wasn't any ground under their feet.
I had a sense of foreboding; the war over resources between them and us would soon start in earnest. I was left in such a gloomy mood, that Brook insisted on taking me to one of Zanesville's finest restaurants to try snapping me out of it.
Despite my mood there was no way that I could resist the flattering attention that Brook lavished on me. In fact I think he was getting alarmingly adept at twisting me around his little finger. By the time he'd finished I was actually anticipating a luxurious five-course meal.
The romantic evening didn't go entirely to plan. The food was adequate, if over-prepared, but the staff really had a problem with our intimacy.
The holding of hands across the table and especially the kiss-like sharing of breath caused them to radiate disapproval even though they were professional enough not to actually say anything. It irritated me that a species that couldn't possibly understand what Brook and I shared felt able to judge us like that.
I didn't want to fight them. All I wanted was to focus on Brook, his body, his radiant mind, and the entire package. I wanted to exclude the restaurant from our shared reality so that it was just us and our meal.
Without realizing I was slipping dangerously close to the blissful calmness needed to create a visualization. Unfortunately my fantasy date kept getting marred by the waiters’ poisonous homophobic emotions.
Annoyed, I found myself wondering what Daananan would do in a situation like this? After daily practice at visualizing our tribal Dehar, I thought that I understood him well enough to guess.
The line between lazily contemplating the dehar and actually visualizing him was a frighteningly easy one to cross. To my slightly drunk surprise I found that I was inadvertently calling the Dehar into the visualization of a quiet restaurant space. Not understanding that it was an accident, Brook held my hands and leant all of his mental strength to the visualization.
For a moment the restaurant blurred away and I could see Daananan in his natural environment. Rolling hills and tree dotted, meadows stretched out before us with a large wooden roundhouse forming in the direction of the kitchens. The grass was the healthiest green with the sky a pale green reflection.
As I'd expected Daananan was present, leant against the trunk of a mighty oak.
I had been contemplating the Dehar on a daily basis since his creation. It came as no surprise therefore that even in this highly irregular magari, his body looked as real as anyhara in the normal world.
His bronze necklaces, earrings and armbands glistened in the bright summer light, highlighting his elegant tattooed body.
"Look at these servants waddling around as if they were kings." said Daananan smiling broadly.
With a shock I realized that my visualization had encompassed the entire restaurant, the field before me was dotted with the tables and their human diners. Most seemed unaware of their change in environment, but one or two seemed on the verge of sharing the ether with us.
One man was shaking his head and checking what on Earth he'd been drinking, a couple of others were looking directly at Daananan and one had risen from his table and was backing away from my elegant guest.
Without exception the waiters seemed oblivious, going about their business in a pompous, almost comical, way.
Daananan pursed his lips and began to whistle. At first it sounded like an imitation birdsong and then it changed into the sort of tune that might accompany a silent comedy movie.
A waiter passed between us and Daananan, his actions seeming to waddle in time with the Dehar's tune..it was hilarious and I couldn't help giving a slight chuckle.
As if my humor was infectious the humans also began to laugh at the waiters.
Nodding in satisfaction Daananan turned away and wandered slowly toward his roundhouse, his mostly naked form instantly attracting my renewed attention.
For Aghama's sake , bring us back sent Brook urgently
I blinked, what had I been thinking? Quickly I went through the routine I would normally use to close the harhune ritual.
I felt drained. Whatever had just happened had used agmara energy in much the same way as creating a lucky charm would. Without being told I 'knew' that Daananan had acted like a lens, focusing my agmara to create an effect on reality that was far more powerful.
After a moment I realized that the birdsong-like tune hadn't vanished but was in fact still there at the very edge of the Wraeththu hearing range. A human wouldn't have heard it, especially with all the giggling they were doing.
Giggling? This wasn't that sort of restaurant, this was a place for politely stoic use of cutlery, not fun, never fun. I paid closer attention and noticed that all the stuff-shirted diners were laughing and pointing at the increasingly confused waiters. The mirth increasing every time a new one emerged from the kitchens.
The effect wasn't just limited to the diners who'd been present when my Magari went off. As I watched a pair of newcomers arrived at the door and seemed unable to order a table due to the hilarity of the maitre'de.
Rooning hell, Sixteen
It was an accident!
We should go!
No, we have to stay put. If we run for it, they will think we are responsible. Besides, I need to know how long this lasts. I think we've just discovered something important about just how closely linked the etheric and real worlds are. We might even be able to use this as a weapon
As it turned out, we never got to finish our meal. Chef was upset by antics of the customers and, believing that some vast practical joke was being played, ordered that the restaurant be cleared. I last saw the man storming around the place looking for the non-existent hidden cameras and insulting the producers of a notorious TV show.
Once outside, Brook made the best of things and took me by the hand, leading me toward Riverside Park.
"I think..." I said "That I satirized them."
"What do you mean? I didn't see any goat-legs or unrestrained sex"
"I was reading one of the O’Hara’s books the other day, about the ancient human Tuatha de Daanan tribe...its called The Book of Invasions. One of the stories was about a bard who was offended by a king's lack of hospitality. The bard took his revenge by doing an impersonation of the King. The impersonation was so cuttingly humorous that the people could no longer take the king seriously and he was deposed." I explained "I was thinking about it just after that last waiter snubbed us."
"You think Daananan saw that in your mind and acted on it?"
"Sort of, I guess. I'm not sure quite how independent Daananan is. It's as if I'm an author and he's a character in my story. So far he's only done things that I would expect a Daananan character to do. Certainly
What happened was 'in character', our Dehar's core instinct is to protect his tribeshara... and you gotta admit those humans were bloody obnoxious"
"But... surely, he's a completely separate entity, I mean The Aghama..."
"...Is different. You've sensed it surely? He's a benevolent dehar, sure, but he's not a 'safe' one."
"I really must concentrate on my caste training, you seem to perceive so much more than I do" complained Brook wistfully
"There's no great secret" explained somewhat patronizingly "Once you understand yourself, the path to caste progression will seem obvious to you..my young Padawan learner"
Naturally, the last comment earned me a playful punch on the arm; exactly as I'd intended. I replied by shoving him toward a thorny mass of foliage.
I had the whole scenario plotted out in my head, we'd shove each other about for a bit, wrestle and then make wild passionate aruna in the overgrown scrub-brush that marked the edge Riverside Park. The whole act would be in full view of any passing humans, a sort of 'counting coup', proving that we could be express our love anywhere, anytime ...the perfect end to our evening.
As a result both of us were off balance and distracted when the Streetscum emerged from the shadows...lots of them.
In fairness, I did actually sense the wooden club before it connected with my head. I did manage to roll with the blow...but not quite quickly enough.
I remember thinking 'why is the river vertical?' and then everything faded out.
---
Ouch.
I tried again opening my other eye.
Sixteen?
I'm here I replied lying still
Thank Daananan!
Where are we?
The old Harper Factory, derelict land pretty much next to where they jumped us
I could feel that I was naked. That was bad. It meant the Streetscum had seen the truth of Wraeththu.
What happened?
About ten of them jumped us. I put up a fight, but one of them put a knife to you and threatened to slit your throat if I didn't surrender sent Brook After that they took us back here. They planned to beat the shit out of us and then ass-rape us. That went wrong in two ways, firstly one of them managed to get a small amount of your blood into a cut, and of course they found out that we're not exactly the same, when they stripped you.
What are they doing now?
Still tending the partially incepted one. They haven't decided yet whether to rape us or not...most don't fancy it, but others are attracted to the exotic.
How long was I out?
about a quarter of an hour
Have you tried contacting the others
They are on their way. They say that they'll take another fifteen minutes minimum he replied
The pain had vastly subsided during our sendings and by the time we'd finished the exchange, my eye was no longer swollen shut.
It was a shame that I'd accidentally expended all of my agmara reserves in the restaurant. I felt certain that this was exactly the sort of situation where invoking Daananan would have helped.
Except...I didn't feel drained at all! It took all my effort to lie still and not leap up and cheer like a loon. Somehara had clearly realized that they couldn't physically get to us in time and were instead engaged in aruna, somehow sending the raw agmara generated to Brook and me over the ethers...it was a neat trick, and when I found out who was doing it, I'd be asking them to show the rest of us. The only odd thing was the 'taste' of the agmara it had an aura of reptiles and snakes about it.
Now that had the power to act, Ash's words came back to me, warning me not to make my magari too 'showy'.. reality abhors a cheat, he'd said.
I ran through the meager list of magari and majhahn ceremonies that I knew, trying to figure out which would work best.
The most effective would have been the trick of turning a battery into a grenade, except we had no batteries. Luck and protection charms weren't applicable without more elaborate components.
That left only the nuclear option. A majhahn invoking Daananan. I imagined I knew my dehar well enough to realize that this wasn't going to be like the restaurant. This was not a matter of simple bad manners being punished. There would be deaths.
Keep an eye on them Brook, defend my body if you have to.
I slipped into the etheric realm like a flying fish emerging from the water into the bright tropical sun. Mentally I drew the sign of Daananan's realm and entered it.
I became a conduit for the agmara energy within, letting it flow freely allowing the realm to form without any guiding hand. The first thing I noticed was the roar of a great sea hitting the shore in a restful yet savage rushing. Gradually my vision cleared and I beheld a completely new part of Daananan's realm.
I suppose it was only logical, I was doing my visualization in a different physical location, therefore the etheric terrain would also be different. The Nayati and the restaurant had both been places of lush pastoral beauty, of green skies and greener hills. The sky here was the same healthy color, but the land was completely different.
I was stood on a beach of sorts, except that instead of sand the ground was made of hexagonal rock formations that seemed to be the ends of vast crystalline columns that burrowed deep into the earth. Opposite the sea was a cliff formed from similar crystalline shapes and created an effective boundary to the scene.
A memory stirred, I'd seen a picture once. This place was like The Giant's Causeway in Ireland. A place created by long dead volcanic forces. There were differences however, in the real world the natural hexagonal columns had been dark and granitic; in this realm they were shot through with veins of glistening white mineral that added an exquisite alien beauty to the harsh environment.
If all went well, l I resolved to set up a Nayati in the physical world so that the other Tuaththuans could share my sense of wonder at the place.
Slightly embarrassed that I'd let the wildly alien environment distract me, I drew Daananan's symbol and watched it morph into the outline of the Dehar.
Daananan appeared slightly different this time, where before he'd had delicate and decorative armbands, those armbands were now thicker and more like armor. His necklace had also changed, becoming a bronze yoke of leaf-like armor plates that protected his shoulders. Of his loincloth there was no sign.
I somehow sensed that Daananan thought that a warrior should be reliant upon skill alone and that armor (and clothing) was for lesser beings.
A gleam of light caught my eye and I turned. One of the hexagons had begun to glow with the brightness of the sun and I was forced to shield my eyes. Slowly something emerged from the rock, slender, roughly 7ft long and glowing fiercely.
The light faded and I realized that I was looking at a spear made of pure light hovering vertically a few inches above the ground. It was too bright to see clearly but I got the impression that it was engraved with an intricate flowing pattern.
I glanced at Daananan and then back at the spear. Was this his weapon or was it intended for me?
Daananan was clearly not in a talkative mood, he simply smiled and gestured with an open hand. The spear was intended for my use then. Hesitantly I reached out and touched the weapon.
Agmara surged along my arm and into the spear. With a chill I realized that this weapon was as alive in its way as Daananan was; using it would not be without consequence for me. It was the sort of weapon that couldn't be put down until it had fed on the etheric life-force and agmara, of another. That agmara could come from me or my enemy...the Spear of Light made no judgments.
Thank you Dehar Daananan
In response Daananan took me in his arms and hugged me close. It wasn't an erotic embrace, but rather that which a parent would give a child who was about to do something dangerous...like, say, go to war.
The hugging embrace seemed to fade after a while and I found that I was alone with the spear. I felt the chill of cold metal and raised a silver skinned hand to my neck. I was wearing Daananan's armored necklace.
Some possible explanations flashed through my mind but I didn't have time to contemplate them.
Taking a deep breath I pulled the eleven streetscum into my visualization, making them appear as ghosts, so that they were not yet fully aware of their new environment.
Most of the streetscum were huddled around a prone figure who was clutching at his wrist. The boy's arm was slightly more solid and I imagined that this must be because my blood was in his veins.
Focusing on him I pulled him fully into the visualization. His eyes widened and he struggled to push himself away from me, even though I was several feet away. His ghostly realworld friends ignored me, trying to calm him, clearly thinking he was delirious.
My name's Sixteen. We need a quick chat before I kill your friends I said
"No! get away from me!"
The ghostly friends seemed confused by his words, for now I ignored them.
You got a bit of my blood in your veins when you beat me up. Our blood is mutagenic. Your arm is reacting that way because those few spots of blood are trying to re-write your DNA. Unfortunately you probably didn't get quite enough to finish the job. Your only chance to live is for us to give you another transfusion
"I don't want to die!" he wailed rather pathetically.
Then don't die. Let me show you what it could be like I sent
I visualized him getting up from the floor, leaving his human shell where it was, and walking to me. Once he was close enough I exhaled, sharing my breath with him.
I felt Daananan's presence briefly as he added his breath to mine. When The Aghama had reshaped Jasem's soul I'd assumed that it was something only He could do. I was delighted to find that either I or Daananan or a combination of us both also had the power to add the missing soume ingredient to the male mind.
Using Instincts that had only just been implanted the streetscum exhaled back, and we repeated the cycle bringing some degree of balance to his twisted mind. Soon he'd seen and experienced what we were and what we could be. I could sense that the desire to be Wraeththu had flowered within him and he was entirely ready to complete his inception as soon as physically possible.
Will you help us?
"I. Will. Be. Wraeththu!" said his real body through gritted teeth.
Turning away, the etheric Streetscum quickly returned to his body.
Now that I had all the allies I was likely to get, I pulled the ten remaining streetscum into the visualization.
Naturally, they were taken off guard, unable to understand how they came to be in this new environment. Some raised their weapons, others just gazed in slack jawed confusion.
"Last chance boys. become one of us, or die" I shouted swirling the spear round in what I hoped looked like a dramatic way.
"Get the mutie!" snarled one who'd clearly watched X-men one time too many.
My arm moved without my willing it, the spear lunging out and impaling the human through the heart. Without any command from me it began to feed, draining the human of every iota of agmara as if I'd placed a miniature black hole in his chest. The dead human winked out of the ether like a lightbulb being switched off.
To their credit the streetscum didn't let their friend's death distract them and they charged en masse.
My new unhar friend decided to mix it up at that point by sweeping several of them from their feet.
Despite their bravery they were still human, I was too fast for them and with Daananan adding his skills to the mix the result was never in doubt. I moved as if I were dancing striking one pose after another, and with each pause in the dance another human died.
Before I knew it we were down to two humans. Realizing that they were the last they backed away toward the white foamed waves. I recognized one of them, it was the jerk that had tried to kill Jin, his wrist still bandaged from where I'd broken it.
"Look around you boys. Last chance. Join the Wraeththu and have the ability to create stuff like this ...or die"
The broken-wristed streetscum frowned and then smiled slightly. Somehow he'd understood the nature of the magari and was visualizing his own weapon, a scimitar faded into existence in his hand. I allowed him a few extra seconds of life as I appreciated the shear will power that the human needed to excerpt in order to do as much as he did.
"Clever boy" I murmured and then impaled him before he could even lift his weapon. I'd like to blame someone else for murdering such talent, but I can't, I did it. And I still can't regret it.
"I surrender!" said the last streetscum hurriedly getting to his knees.
The Spear of Light was still hungry. In a very simple, almost aware way, it urged me to take yet more life. Firmly I denied it.
Coming down from the adrenaline fueled mania of combat, I deliberately focused on thoughts of compassion and healing.
The Unhar, walked over to his friend and lifted him to his feet.
"Its all right Dan. Let him kiss you and you'll understand how lucky we are that we met them." he said
"I'm scared" admitted the human.
"Don't be" said his friend
It took a moment or two to persuade him but eventually he allowed me to share breath with him. With one hand in his hair I felt the spear in my other hand suckling on his fear until there was none left.
It occurred to me that, actually, having at least some fear was a good thing.
Annoyed with the spear, I focused my attention on it and the hexagonal crystal below it. Slowly, it sank into the crystalline rock and I felt as if a great weight had been lifted from me.
I heard Daananan's voice then saying cryptically It is well that you understand its nature
I shuddered and refocused my attention on the two genderless unhara stood before me. This visualization had been full of negative energy and I needed to find a balance or that before I closed it down.
What was needed was a present for the two unhar, something unique. I summoned up all of my remaining agmara and focused my will on the palms of my two outstretched hands.
Slowly a blossom formed in each hand, the petals shimmering with delicate ever-changing colors. Gently I placed one flower in the hair of each unhar and then sent them back to normal reality.
I took a slow look around at the beautiful savage landscape, trying to remember every detail so that I could visualize it again another day. Daananan was standing hand on hip roughly next to the hexagon stone that I'd placed the spear in. I hadn't noticed him separate himself from me and he had also reverted to his original jewelry clad form.
Thank you Daananan I sent and then began the mental ritual that would return me to the normal world. With each step in the procedure my weariness increased. By the time the roaring of the sea vanished I could hardly stand.
---
Soft hands held me and kept me upright. I smelled Brook's aroma and knew that everything was ok.
My entire tribe were present with the exception of the six currently in the throes of inception, even the six unhar who were still in their forale period had turned out each holding a baseball bat. They stood in a wide semi circle clearly holding back...but extremely eager to come to me.
Across the floor were eight human corpses. There wasn't a mark on any of them and not a single spot of blood was visible. I felt sick, but at least there was no blood. Blood would have made me puke.
Why couldn't they have joined us? It was such a waste; particularly Broken-wrist, for a human to have the will-power to shape the ethers, such a rotten waste.
I realized then that there was more light than there ought to have been from just the streetscum's campfire. Looking around I realized that the light was coming from the two survivors...or rather from the two blossoms glowing in their hair.
I was amazed. I had no idea that such a thing was possible... I'd imagined that you couldn't take a thing out of the etheric realm, only in to it.
"Can I see the flower...Dan? Isn't it" I asked, my voice sounding weak
Obediently the new unhar reached into his hair and held the flower out to me.
I looked at it with all my senses. It wasn't real after all, it was still essentially etheric in nature, like a hologram or a ghost.
"Thank you. Its beautiful" I said "Those flowers are unique. I haven't a clue how I got them to cross over but I suspect that they'll only continue to flourish if you contemplate them for a few minutes every day...you'll understand better once you're incepted"
Naturally everyhara wanted to share breath and discover exactly what I'd gone and done this time. As that was likely to take a while, I suggested that they could turn it into a celebration party and a welcome for the newest unhar.
Naturally Brook insisted on sharing breath first and also took advantage of the fact that we two had already been stripped naked by our captors.
Once I had relived the event for Brook he showed me his memory of events. The Spear of Light had been visible in the real world as the very faintest of glows. Brook was certain that no human outside of my visualization would have seen it, to them it would have looked as if I were doing a dance.
Fortunately somehara had decided to do some thinking whilst I was doing all the sharing of breath. The eight corpses had been dragged away out of sight and the eight unhara had been shipped back home.
I could tell that their thoughts would soon drift toward an arunic orgy.
It had been an incredible ego boost sharing thoughts with them all and understanding that, without exception, they'd been concerned for my safety.
It seemed only fair to let them have a good time before I told them what I'd discovered...none of them had been having aruna earlier and none of them had thought of sending the agmara in my direction.
Basically there was somehar else out there. Somehar we didn't know.
---
Naturally I spent the next day feeling alternately god-like and then guilt-ridden. There had to have been a better way.
Not that I had much time to worry about it, Somehow I'd blinked and missed the fact that there were now over thirty Tuaththua, each with their own needs and agendas and all of them looking to me for leadership.
Not least of the complaints was that we 'originals' were in a nice cozy villa, like we were royalty, and everyhara else was out in drafty log cabins on Hill-16.
I got around that one by setting in place a rotation system. Brook, Amnil and Suriv had permanent residence. Everyhara else would get a turn if they wanted it...and yes that had to include me to be fair.
They were right. The cabins were drafty. But compared to a gene-lab's cell or roughing it under the stars it wasn't that bad.
Despite the draft, I slept well that night, being in the forests and close to nature had its own attractions. Of course having Brook decide that my company was more important than a comfy bed also helped.
Whilst my village took shape around me, I found that, rather than work at the planting of crops or the cutting of timber, I spent most of the mornings making decisions that hara really ought to have thought through for themselves and the afternoons teaching the newest hara how to meditate and visualize.
I think that the exercise of my mental muscle must have been helping me as much as it did them. Regular visualizations seemed to make Daananan more solid and real within my mind.
It was almost possible to imagine that we'd already fought the war with humanity and were now masters of the land...almost.