Plans and a Need for War (TimeSaga 9: All 7 Chapters)

Plans and a Need for War
TimeSaga Story Nine
Chapter One

I could not help but say, “Jimmy, surely you have seen boobs before.”

With a mix of fear and innocence, he replied, “Well, everything else is miniaturized.”

It was hard not to roll on the ground with laughter.  For his sake I however tried to maintain some dignity, but I still sounded out come clear chuckles.  He worked hard to fight through his embarrassment to say something to improve his self-esteem.

“The outer skin is also quite tough.  It’s a metallic alloy that really will not be very elastic.”  Hearing me still chuckling, he added, “FER-RON is supposed to be practical.”

“No, Jimmy, she is supposed to be decisive.  That means that she needs to command everyone’s attention.  She is going to be very dangerous, so I want her female to give those around her a feeling of calm.  That means she needs to be pretty, which means large breasts.  Surely whatever substance meets our qualifications for the joints will have enough elasticity to give some bounce, some softness, to her chest.”

That got the lad speaking on a subject with which he had some knowledge.  I stayed attentive as he spoke on the alloys that had been recommended for the needs of our robot.  My expertise was not in any practical field, but my desire for this project to be done properly had caused me to follow the readings of Jimmy’s reports with research of my own.  I thus did have some knowledge to share.

Certain requirements of visual sensors were going to require the eyes of FER-RON to be red.  I disliked the color, although hushed Jimmy when he mentioned the hair would be blue.  He was explaining the range of frequencies the long strands would enable the robot to detect, but I had read the spec reports, so already knew the facts.  I however felt the color of the hair would subdue the intensity of the red eyes.

Jimmy did have some artistic skill, and we both were good at flow charts along with outlines.  Thus, while he did a simple drawing, I reminded him of certain requirements.  He thus wrote on his illustration to specify how each item on my list would be fulfilled.  When I mentioned the gyroscopes and monitors to help with the robot assuring its stance and situation, Jimmy looked at his drawing while making a comment.

“I really have no idea how large to make the breasts.”

I replied, “Do you want me to buy you a set of fake ones?”

“Fake ones?”

“You have never looked at sex toys?  You can buy simulated torsos to play with.”

I had fun with Jimmy while making him look at some of the catalogs I had.  My having them did not bother me, as I had not asked for them to be sent to me.  Some gained my mailing address due to my history of having switched sexes, although most were from salespeople hoping to make a sale from a need to speak to my own customers about changes to their bodies.  The problem of course was that my technology completely changed DNA, so had no real control over how their appearance would adjust.  Many told me to simply trash the catalogs, but people went through my trash for various reasons, so I usually collected them until I could gather them into one separate trash bag that would not present my company as treating the advertisements with any merit.

Seeing Jimmy’s ignorance of female features, I felt sorry that I had not gained any of the products for myself.  I however stressed certain details while telling him to possibly order some of the torsos for his reference.  When he tried to say that he would not need them, I mentioned something about the space between the robot’s legs, and that had him really display his ignorance.

He blurted out, “Who’s going to look there?”

I answered, “Every man that looks at her will want to know.  I want her that attractive.”

He straightened his posture and lowered his voice as he tried to sound authoritative.  “FER-RON is just a machine.”

“A dangerous machine.  We need her to not look like a weapon.  If I need to get a pervert to work with you…”

I felt pleased when I did not need to increase the seriousness of my threat, but Jimmy interrupted to say, “Okay, Dr. Beyonce.  I will take certain physical traits under consideration.”  Softly, he mumbled out, “Just don’t pick on me for what you find about the laboratory.”

“Accepted, although due to developments I might bring up the topic again, and use what I find about the lab as reference.”  Wondering if there were other problems than just the young man’s ignorance, I asked, “You have not imagined such things about Debra?”

His voice stayed strong as he answered, “Yes, but I doubt that I will be disappointed.  She is quite something to look at.  I do speak to her regularly.”

“Okay, Jimmy.  I accept that FER-RON might be embarrassing to look at and work on, but I want her that way.  What I hope it does is prevent you from showing her off.  She is my special project, and I want her stay that way.  Thus, for FER-RON’s modesty, if not your own, she stays away from the eyes of others.”

“I was expecting to keep her clothed.”

“Of course, but fashions change, so she will need to change clothes.  I would hope that she can do so on her own, but that will come with her internal programming.”

“Debra is sending me stuff to help with the basic code.”  I saw him smile, which I assumed was due to him thinking about the young lady.  “When I finally begin to assemble FER-RON, I will mostly be going off of Debra’s notes to integrate her internals and get the robot to work.  Is there a way to throw money to Debra, say as a consultant?”

“No, Jimmy, as there are legal requirements there.  You however can mark her as gaining hours as a minor trainee.  It possibly won’t pay, but it will enable her to gain work/study hours with her education.  Some school systems however do allow for some pay.  Have her let you know what her school requires, and we can make that happen.”

“Thank you, Dr. Beyonce.  I will keep you informed.”

I told Jimmy to keep at his work, then left to handle other matters.  The fact that I had been allowed away from RayWeight to visit my island did not mean that I was able to ignore work for a time.  There was also the fact that I enjoyed what I did, so just wanted to stay active in my business.  In moving to the living space of my house I however was bothered by matters other than work.

“Mommy,” Sally said rushing to me, “Daddy made a robot that looks like me.”

“He what?”

She brought me to the central computer station.  It was set up to handle matters of running the house, although I had also configured it to get generic messages.  I often got involved in my own projects, so it helped that those I hired, or my daughter, could assure that regular transmissions could be received and handled without requiring my involvement.  It was to that computer that my daughter brought me.

Having once been a man, I recognized that Joseph did not consider himself to be in trouble.  He in fact sent the words and pictures to assure that relations between him and his family stayed positive.  While I did not like what I read and saw, I had promised Joseph and myself that I would not duplicate the errors of my ex-wife.  I thus smiled as Sally spoke about what her father had sent.

“I think she is pretty, Mommy, but I don’t think she looks like me.  I don’t have pink hair.”

The girl I saw did look like Sally, although without her mannerisms.  The pink hair caused me to also notice the brightness of her golden eyes.  While I continued to feel a need to berate my husband for what he had caused to happen, I had to allow that he was correct in keeping his family informed of his activities.

“Come on, Sally.  Let’s go into my office and call him.”

She squealed in delight, and tugged on my hand attempting to get me to move faster.  I did not rush, as while I took steps I attempted to prepare for what I would say to Joseph.  As Sally displayed her joy in being able to speak to her father, I moved worried that I might spoil her mood.

Most of my trouble flowed away by simply allowing my daughter to speak to her father.  He spoke to her in a manner of clearly intending to explain things to me.  While I did have a number of questions answered, which removed some of my aggravation, I still had things that bothered me.

“Hold it, Joseph,” I interrupted after something was said, “you are saying that this robot –“

“It’s not a robot, Leanna.  The technology is yours, but developed along the path of Nicholas’ idea in creating his Foreskins.”

“Foreskins?”

“Yes, I know, horrible name.  They swear it will catch on and give their process brand recognition, but I think it will give fodder for jokes.  Anyway, what Nicholas is developing, and what I have developed, is not a robot.  Mary, the name for my girl, is real – I mean alive – although an artificial life form as well.  I would term her more of an android.”

I fought past my own disapproval by focusing on the science.  “Your reports have spoken of practical applications.”

“Yes, and Mary is proving herself as very capable as a data absorption unit.  That pink hair can receive a whole range of signals.  The mind is presently having difficulty sorting through it.  She is actually good at signals that are encrypted by jumping frequencies, but the trick is locking on it and focusing to keep identifying the flow of information.  The other problem is also that she is alive, and living people do not have cable hookups for direct input or output.  I still feel that she will have applications in the real world.”  He then spoke softly as if knowing that there was a further piece of information that I would definitely disapprove of.  “I have some contacts that are speaking to me of mass producing Mary.”

I had to reply, “You do not manufacture people.”

“Foreskins are not actually people, although they are actually alive.”  His voice trailed off, then it picked back up as he said, “I am warning my contacts that there are going to be legal issues as people attempt to categorize what Foreskins actually are.”

“Well, I cannot say that I approve, but you are correct to keep me and Sally informed.  We do love you, Joseph.”

Sally chirped, “Yes, Daddy, we love you.”

Joseph replied, “And I love you and your mommy as well, Sally.”  I saw a change in his eyes even as he continued to smile while adding, “Leanna, we both know the potential for disaster of your technology.  Honestly, I am hoping to direct people toward keeping a benign attitude to what can be done.  The Solomon Foundation is however sitting on dynamite that the human race is going to have to defuse.  Nicholas is working in one direction.  I am hoping to put a better design on their process.  You have your own directions.  Hopefully, we can prevent the human race from being eradicated and lead them toward a prosperous future.”

“I fear that in attempting to handle the portal the Solomon Foundation activated we will do things that will have our names go down as criminals.”

“Charles Nobel created TNT, and afterward did all he could to have history remember him kindly.  There are however good uses for TNT.  You started off presenting the good uses for you technology, so already have a good reputation.  I am not wanting to tarnish your name, Leanna.  I am working with Mary, and will assure some decency in how the production of her is done.  Nicholas will however be the one to cause the bad feelings, but he is trying to do good as well.”

“It is still my technology, Joseph.  In the end, I will have to answer.”

“I am still your husband, Leanna.  In the end, I will have to face you in private.  I don’t want you mad at me at that time.”

Plans and a Need for War
TimeSaga Story Nine
Chapter Two

I did not have a large staff. The improvements I made to my island forced me to have someone present to tend to things, but I did not hire any unnecessary people. That meant that I had no cook. I did give my hands for my yacht orders to tend to things about the island, but their work around the pier and beach actually did not overlap with the duties of those who stayed. The extra personnel did however bring some needed social interaction, so somebody among my staff did usually feel like cooking.

Coming out of my office, Sally and I smelled something good. Going into the kitchen, I actually found the captain of my yacht working on some Oriental seafood recipe. He allowed Sally to help him while mentioning what he wanted to cook, then what he was cooking due to the type of fish he caught and what ingredients I had.

As she sat down to eat some food, my daughter suddenly said, “Okay, Roy, good luck.” Seeing me focus on her, she explained, “Roy says that he and his brothers are about to actually go into action.”

I pulled out my phone and called Ted. He verified that the Solomon Foundation was about to open the portal. He however knew nothing more than that. He actually told me that I had better connections with Nicholas than he did, which had me stare at the phone wondering if I should call.

After telling Sally to stay quiet, I punched in a number only to hear the voice of Nicholas to say, “I don’t have time to speak right now.”

I replied, “Just letting you know that I accept what you are doing, if not your method. Please be careful, Nicholas.”

“We have to take a step, Leanna. I am not going innocently, but boldly. Somebody has to.”

While looking at Sally, I said to Nicholas, “You are not taking the step, but Roy, Al, and Nick are.”

“They are just tools, Leanna.”

“Don’t argue with me, Nicholas, but just say that you will be careful.”

Sally hugged me. I could tell that she could sense the emotion in the moment. She probably was not just detecting my seriousness of the moment, but Roy’s concern for his fate. Luckily, Sally did stay quiet, enabling me to hear Nicholas’ reply.

“I have trained and prepared for this, Leanna. This is not a rash action. Trust me, this is not a rash action.”

“I actually accept that as an honest response, Nicholas. Thank you for taking the call.”

“You’re welcome, Leanna.”

After terminating the call, I hugged my daughter while saying, “That is all I can do, Sally. Well, we can pray, and maybe we should do that.”

Sally was still of the age where some simple answers would satisfy her. My words of comfort, and the possibility of someone greater being in control of events, eased her mind. I thus found myself able to send her to bed at the usual time without any trouble.

I walked away from her room wondering why she had not spoken of hearing Roy. It was not that Sally usually did, but some link did tend to develop when Nicholas put his boys under stress. Considering what I expected to occur, I did worry about my daughter’s rest being disturbed by Roy.

Returning to my office, I activated some links to check on what was occurring with Nicholas. What I found was that he was traveling from his laboratory with Zychi to the site of the portal. Accepting that Sally would get a number of hours of rest, I activated another link as I tried to get myself ahead of the situation.

Joseph must have been busy with something, as his voice was distant as he said, “Hello, Leanna.”

“I need to ask you, Joseph, where did the base design for Mary come from?”

I became scared of what I might hear as moments passed before he answered, “From me… us.”

“Us?”

“I was present for the making of Sally as well.”

The equations for determining the setting of my machines passed through my mind as I challenged my husband. “No, you weren’t.”

“Yes, Leanna. I was training with you in preparation of my taking over the Turkey office.”

“But there is no way you can determine the position of the egg from you. It took me assuring certain facts of the placement of the device for me to have any confidence in being able to produce Sally.”

“We didn’t have sex just once, Leanna. In fact, we were quite playful in our time together. Further, we are still playful when together.”

I did not believe what he was saying. In fact, I have to say it was because of my complete non-acceptance of his words that my mind jumped to another possibility. What scared was the realization that it almost certainly was the truth. While Joseph tried to calm me by speaking of some of the antics we would do with each other, I interrupted him to say what I believed.

“We did not insert the device just once.”

His voice went very low as he replied, “And there was not just one device. Rudy understands that science is not perfect.”

My voice went low as well as I followed with, “Rudy is very good.”

“I made the statement for him to not depend on such a small device in such a delicate place working properly, and he took the initiative to make the duplicates. Luckily, we were both very worried, so you allowed yourself to be inserted more than once.”

He was very correct, although I jumped the conversation to the point I considered important, “You could have told me, Joseph.”

His voice grew stronger as he declared, “I did tell you, Leanna. I promise. I have not hidden anything from you.”

I thought back to the conversations on our personal projects. Certain statements I could recall, although I had relegated them to Joseph simply interested in my science. My pride in the man came from him able to truly relate to what I considered important. My history however also proved me as someone who would focus on her own work without any concern for other aspects of my life. I thus had to allow that Joseph had indeed mentioned his process of creating Mary including a possible timeline with another daughter than Sally.

I however did have to ask about something that bothered me. “Mary does appear to look a lot like Sally.”

He replied, “You mean besides the pink hair and gold eyes.” I did not verbally reply, although did nod. “Well, I do not believe they will when they grow up. They are however both our children. Sally, completely, with Mary more manipulated to tweak out certain rare traits and have them combine with certain influences. There is a lot of – I want to say – humanity in Mary, because she was my first, a prototype. In considering making more, there will be a much more simpler process that I feel will not give them the personality of Mary.”

“Will they still be our children?”

“Mary – I mean Sally, is our child. Mary is too, at the original genetic level, although not much of it is actually retained. I have not exactly figured out how to duplicate moments. I mean, once your process makes a change, it has changed to our timeline, so it is no longer applicable. That is where I am working. I need to create a static period in time that I can then focus on. It will allow me to then create a series, a limited series, but a series of like foreskins.” He looked at me, saw my glaring visage, then answered my question. “No, Leanna. You cannot stop me. I can actually go into a hospital and offer to pay for an abortion in return for a certain procedure at the RayWeight building.”

“Okay, Joseph. I cannot fuss at you, since what you are doing is in our field and along our line of research. With my technology in RayWeight proving itself, I guess that I would rather have you playing with it than someone I cannot get fully involved with.”

“Thank you, Leanna.”

Not wanting to speak against my earlier statement, I however felt my husband needed to know my limits. “I always knew that my technology had a dark side. Mary seems to be something good. Don’t let me see the dark side, Joseph, although I really want to say that I hope you never see it.”

“I married you because I support your beliefs, Leanna. It is Nicholas who needs to hear your words, but he is also working against a serious threat. I started to work on Sally – I mean Mary, to check on his technology. Mary is an amazing girl. It would probably do you well to spend time with her.”

“Joseph, I entirely understand a man’s infatuation with his own work. However, Sally is your daughter. Mary, however alive she might be, is your project.”

“Mary was created –“

Having been along the path that I felt Joseph was now traveling, I felt that he needed a jolt of reality. “I don’t want to hear it, Joseph. Sally is our daughter. Whatever you have done to Mary, has taken her far from the place that Sally is.”

“Uh, uh, Mary calls you ‘mommy’ as well.”

“From what you have said, I probably am, but let me say again that what you have done with Mary has taken her far from the place that Sally is.”

I felt relief in not seeing strong body language or hearing strong words from Joseph. “Yes, that is true. Mary is not fully human, but I believe that someone is going to take the matter before the courts about them being human.”

“That is probably a future problem for you, but Sally and I are your family, Joseph. Do not forget that.”

“I won’t, but it is not that easy to get away from Turkey. I am not going to speak against my help, but the regulations in Turkey are not as forgiving as you have in Australia, Leanna.”

“Even though I am on my island, Joseph, I am having to spend time double-checking what is being done at my facility. I thus understand. Sally and I do love you, Joseph. You are not in trouble. Take it from someone that did not have an understanding wife, you are not in trouble.”

I saw his features soften. It helped not sensing that he would push my acceptance to a point where I might state something negative. I thus waited for what he might say.

“Mary is not dangerous, Leanna. It won’t be me causing trouble, but Nicholas. Keep a watch on him.”

Thinking of the problem that had me involve myself with Nicholas, I asked, “How does Mary relate to Nicholas’ foreskins?”

“What?”

That question basically answered my own, but I felt a need to help my husband recover from his confusion and supply some background information. “Surely with Mary and Nicholas’ boys being created through the same manner, they have some common ground for relating to each other.”

“They have never met, Leanna. Mary has intercepted things they were involved in, but she intercepts a lot of information. Most of my time with her is getting her to focus through the barrage of information for the things of immediate importance.”

Those words actually answered my question. Mary could well be getting psychic signals from Roy, but was not able to fixate upon them. Sally however was not constantly assaulted by a multitude of communications, so when Roy reached out for others she was the one who responded. That however implied that my technology did create something in common from those affected by it. Me, and the patients of my process had a more involved history, so not so influenced. Sally however was purely from my manipulation of time, with Mary and Roy even more so. I found myself wondering about why the connection. With all of mankind having a common process, what was it about our manipulations of time that connected our resulting children? Wondering if I could find the answer in my equations, I spoke words of closure with Joseph then set myself to thinking about extrapolations of my own science.

Plans and a Need for War
TimeSaga Story Nine
Chapter Three

I was attempting to extrapolate some things about my science when Sally opened the door to my room to ask, “Mommy, can you pray with me for Roy?”

Honestly I wanted to continue my train of thought. Both Nicholas and Joseph had pushed my concepts into avenues I feared would result in the desecration of my good reputation. I knew that there could be a bad side to my technology, so had limited my research to what I knew to be positive applications. Understanding what Nicholas and Joseph was doing, I feared what might be done, and had set my mind to chasing those avenues in a hope of preventing disaster. Sally was my daughter, and a result of my toying with my own science, so I broke my train of thought to deal with her.

“Is Roy going into action?”

“Yes, Mommy, and he is worried. He says that it might not be so bad, but he has seen the videos of the korlocks –“

“Korlocks?” I blurted that out, then remembered that I had heard Nicholas use the word for the aliens in his reports. “Oh, yes, the aliens. I can understand why he would be worried. They were rather destructive, and it took us some time to figure out how to handle them.”

“Roy and Al and Nick are supposed to make friends with them.”

“That would be the better outcome, Sally. Going to war against them, against anyone, should not be something to look forward to.” Suddenly, it struck me that I had found the solution to my daughter’s concern. “That is what you tell Roy. You tell him that meeting anyone can be a troubling experience, but usually rewarding. He thus should not fear meeting the korlocks, but of what could happen should we not attempt meeting them with kindness.”

It troubled me to see Sally close her eyes before speaking to Roy. What the actions told me was that she had learned to initiate communication with the lad. I found myself troubled by the idea of what I had given birth to, although felt good that I was indeed raising her to be a good girl.

The conversation went along the way I had suggested. I watched as Sally kept her eyes open and acted normally once the communication with Roy began. Whatever Nicholas had created seemed to be much more powerful psionically than my daughter. Of course, he had used my science to breed Roy, while Sally was only produced as a normal girl. While she should not have been anything but a normal girl, I found myself having to worry that pulling the child from another timeline had given her abnormal traits. Only the fact that she otherwise looked and acted as my little girl enabled me to keep a smile on my face while listening to the conversation.

Finally, I heard the confident tone of my daughter say, “Mommy and I are going to pray for you, Roy.” She then reached to grab my hand while saying, “The portal is about to be opened, so we need to pray for Roy and Al and Nick.”

Worried that I would get a call, I did not allow Sally to take me into another room. There was a crucifix on a wall in the hall, and I did go out to get it. I then knelt with my daughter in my office and spoke to God of our concern for the children of Nicholas.

When I felt her grab me and squeeze I knew that she was receiving some contact from Roy. I thus reached up with my free hand and activated a link on my computer. Misty alien images were easily distinguished as moving about the military facility associated with the Solomon Foundation. The people were using speakers and special weapons against the attackers, although were obviously acting in a manner that followed some strategy and not just killing opponents. I felt Sally move, as her body stayed in contact with mine, before she asked about what I was watching.

“Do you see Roy, Mommy?”

“No, but I do believe that Roy and his brothers are being put to the test, Sally. We need to keep praying for them.”

She did not return to a kneeling position, but asked about what she was seeing on the screen. I felt that her curiosity was a good thing, so took the time to explain. Sally did not just accept the acknowledgement of the monsters being what were called korlocks, and the people fighting were using what had been discovered to work, but she probed for deeper knowledge, some of which I had to admit were questions we adults were asking as well.

She finally turned the conversation to the topic I had been preparing myself for. “Mommy, Roy says that he and his brothers are to be friends with the korlocks.”

“And I am having to support Nicholas, their father, for trying that option. If we did not try to reach out with a sign of peace, of friendship, then we would be wrong. What I have heard in your contacts with Roy are good things. Roy seems to be a very good boy. What he is trying to do is something that needs to be done. That is why I am willing to sit here and pray for him. In a way, we are praying for the korlocks as well. If we can become friends, the situation will be better for both humanity and the korlocks. If not, I fear one of us will find out just how terrible the other can become.”

Sally knelt on the floor, but her words were not to God. “Roy, please try to make the korlocks our friends. Tell them that we don’t have to kill them, but can be their friends.”

I grabbed my daughter and held her as she screamed. Her body felt paralyzed from the tension in her muscles. All I could do was hold back tears while speaking soothing words. Finally, I felt the arms of Sally come around me to hold me as she sobbed out some information.

“He’s trying, Mommy. Al and Nick do not seem to be helping him however, but Roy is trying to be friends with the korlocks.”

I replied, “Tell him that sometimes we must stand alone, but you also tell him that we are here doing what we can to help him. Tell him that he is not alone.”

Sally spoke loudly causing me to wonder exactly how the psychic contact between her and Roy was managed. “Hear that, Roy? We are here! You are not alone!”

I kept my daughter in a strong hug even as she did the same with me. She did not scream, but I could tell from the tension in her body that she was sensing something of the distant struggle. Just as she was attempting to let Roy know that we were here supporting him, I worked to assure that my daughter knew that I was supporting her.

I said, “Tell Roy that the soldiers are containing the invasion of korlocks. Thus, don’t let himself be distracted.”

Sally replied, “I think he is being bothered more by Al and Nick, Mommy.”

“He deals with them daily, Sally. He thus should know how to get them to do their part.”

I saw the face of my daughter tense up before she said, “He says that it’s not that easy. He says that the alien intelligence is affecting them in ways Dr. Pathulma had not foreseen.”

“So, Roy is in communication with the aliens?”

Again I saw Sally’s face display concentration before she answered, “Yes. He says –“

Her body suddenly slumped. I looked to the screen to see the men displaying surprise as the aliens suddenly disappeared. While definitely concerned about what happened, I first put the body of my daughter on a couch out in the living room before grabbing a phone and making a call.

As soon as Ted answered I commanded, “Tell Nicholas that he needs to send me a report of what happened. Tell him that if is open and honest about Roy, Al, and Nick, I will be open and honest about what I know as well.”

Ted said, “Uh, yes, I was watching as well, Leanna. While I handle this matter, what will you be doing?”

“Worrying about Joseph. Honestly, Ted, I don’t know why he isn’t having the same problems with Mary that I am having with Sally.”

There really was not much of a pause, which told me that Ted easily made the connection with what I said. “Can I tell Nicholas that you will include information concerning Mary as well.”

“If it is pertinent, certainly. At the moment however, it seems not to be.”

“Considering that Joseph and Nicholas are actually working with similar concepts, I believe that I can use information about Mary as bait to get Nicholas to speak. Let me work on my end, Leanna.” Before I could close the connection, he asked, “How is Sally?”

“I believe mentally fatigued. I suspect Nicholas’ boys are as well. Still, the threat Nicholas is working with affects all of us, so we all need to be informed.”

“I will use those words as well, Leanna.”

I did check on Sally. It relieved me to see her stirring. I however told her to stay lying down before going to check on my husband.

As if completely oblivious to the situation with Nicholas, Joseph answered my call in a relaxed, friendly manner. He then paused upon me asking about Mary. When Joseph finally spoke, it was with a demeaning paternal tone.

“Sally and Mary are two completely different girls, Leanna. Don’t let the fact that they are both girls bother you.”

“I am letting the fact that they are both products of my technology bother me, Joseph. Of all the girls on this planet, it is our Sally that Roy B2, Nicholas’ Roy, another product of my technology, that is contacted.”

“That bothers me because Sally is my child as well.”

Wanting to regain control of the conversation, I said, “Sally is a lot more our child than Mary.”

“Uh, yes. Anyway, it bothers me more because Mary is supposed to be a gatherer of information.”

Attempting to figure out just how much Mary could do, I asked, “How about military information?”

“Well, actually, that was what I was working with Mary to perform. Nicholas however is on the other side of the globe working with military forces that are not completely benevolent to our government. It should thus not be surprising that Mary did not detect anything of that nature.”

Feeling my own emotions calming down, I asked, “You did not develop Mary to gain mental information? It seems that is what Nicholas tried to do.”

“No, Leanna. Nicholas' boys are more human than Mary. I did not so much breed Mary as use her as an adaptable system to correlate technologies. She is not a real girl, although is as well. Like I said, she is more android than foreskin, although not a robot." As if to move the conversation along, he quickly began to say, "It is hard enough instructing Mary to work with the large amount of data she receives without also having her sift through mental patterns. I mean, I have some knowledge of various sonic and electromagnet waves, but really none of any supposedly mental signals.”

That actually did sound like my husband, so I tried to sound pleasant as I said, “Well, Nicholas seems to be facing his own problems, and it is somehow affecting Sally.”

“Let Sally know that I do care about her. I however will also let Mary know that you were worried about her.”

“That’s fine, Joseph, especially since that was what I was doing, I guess. Anyway, I told Ted to pull data from Nicholas. Might send the report to you.”

"More than willing to help, Leanna. I do love you.”

As I closed the connection, it shocked me to hear Sally ask, “Mommy, is Mary my sister?”

“Yes, no – your father is playing in areas that are very questionable, Sally. You’re a real girl, Sally. Mary has been altered in ways I could not completely follow to be something different. Roy, Al, and Nick have also been altered. Exactly how real, how human, they are is something that you will probably grow up hearing debated.” Worried about my future relationship with Sally, I added, “It does help me to feel that these other children seem to be good children, but they are products of our science. That’s why I am building a robot. I want it clear that I am building a tool for mankind. With children, you can never be certain.”

Plans and a Need for War
TimeSaga Story Nine
Chapter Four

I believe that Nicholas sent me the report because he knew I had a method of learning things anyway, and that my method would support my bias. The amount of details concerning his rationale for doing what he did and how he did I felt was an attempt to justify his actions. Honestly, I had no fault with what he was doing. My problem was with the ones directly involved in the process. Sally should have been nothing but a normal girl, but from the first showed signs of having been affected by my toying with the timeline. The children that were completely a product of manipulation I felt might be further affected by the science that created them than their designers could realize. It was facts of that nature that I sought evidence of in the reports.

Where I felt Nicholas had possibly helped or hurt his cause was in his evaluation of the boys after the portal had been closed. It seemed that Roy and Al had been co-joined twins requiring a delicate heart procedure to separate. Nicholas had felt that the result would give him two boys with exactly similar characteristics. From the first however Roy had been dominate. Al’s hair turned white, and he displayed dependence upon Roy. Nick had gone through the training properly, but Roy had been especially stressed as Al showed insecurity. The notes of Nicholas indicated a desire to put Nick in the lead, although the strength of Roy from his struggles made him the better choice for assuring success even with the need to care for Al.

I did speak to Sally about things in the report I felt she would have knowledge. She stated no contact with the mentality of Al or Nick. I mentioned Al and Roy being identical twins, so being genetically the same, but Sally indicated nothing of considering the two the same. Her relationship with Roy did have her consider him the dominate member of the three lads. Her knowledge of Al was actually of what I would consider the younger, or ‘kid,’ brother. Sally’s impression of Nick was more of being an equal to Roy, in spite of him being a completely separate sibling.

After verifying those facts, I worked on accepting the data about the entity that Roy contacted. Nicholas called it Tranos, which was a shortened form of Trans-Gnostic, or knowledge from beyond. The report mentioned Roy actually getting the entity to use the name for itself, but I could not help but believe that the intelligence simply considered the matter of an identifying name to be a trivial point. The contact seemed to present Tranos as the influence controlling the korlocks with Nicholas mentioning a later opening of the portal to verify some suppositions or at least gain some further facts.

Activating my phone, I found it pleasantly surprising to have Nicholas quickly accept the intrusion. “Yes, Leanna? Questions?”

“Not really, but just wanting to gain a further update on the health of the boys.”

“I would like to tell you that they were not harmed, but I accept that you already knew that. The contact with Tranos was psychic, so mental aptitude tests will be required before I can give you a substantive answer.” Before I could ask, he answered a question. “They are still resting. They did eat, being boys, although quickly returned to their beds.”

“Okay, Nicholas, thank you. My robot is far from being ready. If you are willing to take up the initiative, I have to commend you. However, those boys of yours might prove themselves, but they are –“

Suddenly, my attention was attracted to a distant sound. I cannot say whether Nicholas heard or if he turned seeing me react. He then moved back as the face of two lads became attracted to my face on the computer screen.

They both had black hair. One appeared slightly taller than the other, although both had a similar lean build. The taller one had dark blue eyes while the smaller one had bright blue. The color in the face had me recognize that there was something unusual about them, but their actions declared them to be normal boys.

The slightly smaller one asked, “Dr. Beyonce?” Reading my expression properly, he said, “It is so good to see you. I am Roy B2, and this is Nick B2.”

“It is good to see the both of you,” I returned. “How is Al?”

“Aw, he’s sleeping. We shared the same heart, but not the same body, and his does not seem as good as mine.”

“How’s his mind?”

I saw the boys look to each other before Roy answered, “I don’t know. He claims that Tranos is friendly, but I don’t think so.”

“He might be right, and you might be wrong. Still, initial impressions are not always the best. Take your time and do all your can, including speaking with your elders, before making any final decisions.”

It was Nick that replied, “But the monsters –“

“What I saw says that we have found a way to fight the monsters.”

“There are bigger ones.”

The words really did not bother me. It did not matter to me whether he actually knew, suspected, or simply overheard things from those caring from him. I spoke to let the lad know what did bother me.

“Nicholas is trying to keep this war from becoming the war of other youngsters. That is what you are fighting for. You are to hopefully prevent this meeting with aliens from erupting into war that will bring other children into direct life-and-death struggles. You said that there were bigger ones, well, that usually means older ones. That would imply that those we are fighting are the youngsters of the aliens. To prevent other children from dying, our own or the aliens, we need to come to some truce. That is what I have been led to believe you boys are to do.”

Both chirped, “Yes, Dr. Beyonce,” before looking back to see Nicholas smile.

Feeling that I had said what I needed to, and believing the mood to be positive, I said, “Okay, Roy, Nick, I believe that both of you need some rest. It was nice meeting you both. Hopefully we can meet again under more pleasant circumstances.”

Roy asked, “With Sally? I would like to meet her as well.”

“Of course, as I am certain she would like to meet you.”

I saw a couple of young ladies come in when Nicholas commanded Roy and Nick to return to their rooms. The boys took a moment to again say farewell to me, then obediently followed what I assumed were nurses. As Nicholas returned to his seat, he spoke to me.

“Thank you, Leanna, for handling that as you did.”

“I saw what scares me, Nicholas. I saw boys. I don’t know if they are mature enough to handle the responsibility being placed upon them.”

"As you said, Leanna, your robot is not even ready. My boys are much more ready.”

I wanted to read into those words a feeling of Nicholas being smug. They were not said in such a fashion however. Maybe he did have tones of being correct, but I really could not say that they were stressed. I thus only said words that I felt needed to be spoken.

“Let me warn you, Nicholas, that you will not be judged solely on the results of those boys, but on how you acted after being offered advice by capable people.”

“I am sorry, Leanna, but I am responding to your threats and listening to your advice. I am also being kind to the boys. While they are products of my technology, they are being treated well and given time to assert their personalities.”

Allowing a smile to come to my face, I said, “Well, it was nice seeing them display some ease in coming into your office.”

“They really do not have the permission, but boys will be boys.”

“Children need to push their limits in order to learn about themselves and the world they live in. I get the impression that you have been trying to let them know that they live in a good world.”

“Ah, yes, Leanna. I do not believe they would fight for it if it were not.”

That was an opening I had been looking for, and I took advantage of it to ask, “About worlds, have you learned anything about the world on the other side of the portal?”

“We should, Leanna. I believe that we did manage to get a robot to the surface. When we next open the portal, hopefully some information will be received.”

“Then I will look forward to further reports. Thank you for your time, Nicholas.”

“Actually, Leanna, I must thank you for how you have treated the information you received. It seems to be most positive. I truthfully resent that you have Ted call me instead of you calling yourself.”

Yes, I did believe that Nicholas deserved some explanation of why I did not call myself. “When I have Ted call, I am usually emotional from dealing with the situation, Nicholas. Thus, be kind to Ted. You simply promise him that you will provide a report, then give me time to calm down before calling me.”

He chuckled before asking, “Are you admitting to reacting as a woman, Leanna?”

“I am a woman, Nicholas. When I reset the fertilization of my egg with an X chromosome instead of a Y, I became a woman. This body is that of a woman. It somehow experienced the life I lived, but its development from the gamete on was that of a woman. The mind has my memories of my previous experiences, but the brain itself is as female as the rest of the body. Yes, I thus find myself thinking as a woman.”

Before I could say it, Nicholas did. “We are playing with dangerous technology, Leanna. Do you think the korlocks are a race of people who have suffered from their toying with the fabric of time?”

“If they are then they are at fault for not being able to properly advise and warn others. We thus need to take their existence to heart and not just work to not suffer their fate, but to leave markers for others so that they do not see us as only monsters.”

“I am not a monster, Leanna. My boys are not monsters. We are trying to do what is right.”

“It’s a constant struggle, Nicholas. Remember, it is a constant struggle.”

Plans and a Need for War
TimeSaga Story Nine
Chapter Five

I spoke to Ted the next morning. He laughed hearing me compliment him on being my intermediary while I was being an emotional woman. Ted then spoke of our knowledge of women.

“If Nicholas had ever been married, he would know to thank me for not having him face the wrath of a woman.”

“I have to say that I believe that I surprised him when I allowed that I was thinking like a lady.”

“Well, he might learn, as I am told that he has set things in motion to develop a female foreskin. I really do not have access to his data, but his association with Zychi does allow for some leaks. Sometimes you however cannot trust those tidbits of information, or do not know how to properly place the fact as it might apply to a larger puzzle.”

I did not know how to take that piece of data either, although I did want Ted to know how I was going to treat the information. “Well, I believe that I have pushed Nicholas enough at the moment. He did admit that there will be another opening of the portal, so I am not going to make waves. At the present, I believe that he is willing to keep me informed, and I do not want to destroy that level of our relationship.”

“No, you’re right. It is good that Nicholas is speaking to someone outside his little project.”

“Yes, as I am worried. I was fighting to keep my genie in its bottle, but I find myself wondering if the aliens are going to present us with a larger problem.” Suddenly something in my conversation with Nicholas flashed through my mind. “Although… Nicholas hypothesized that the aliens might be a race that discovered my technology and were lost to that genie. Considering that they do seem displaced, somehow, it could be that they are no longer present in a time sense. There is no way to check that hypothesis at the moment, except to try and see if other methods of affecting them could be managed.”

Ted was not really a science guy, even though he did have a good knowledge of chemistry. He also had worked to gain an understanding of the theories that drove the projects he felt would be worth money. Considering that my research had paid off substantially for him, he could speak with me and listen to me with a level of understanding.

I saw his eyes move almost simultaneously with hearing Sally announce, “Hello, Uncle Ted!”

“Hello, Sally,” he returned. “Your mother and I were wondering about Roy, Al, and Nick. Have you heard from them?”

“No, Uncle Ted, as I was sleeping.” She climbed into my lap while saying, “Mommy, I’m hungry.”

I ended the call with Ted to go make breakfast for my daughter. Honestly, I was a little hungry myself, so made a little extra. Sally ate with a smile on her face declaring her pleasure in having some regular time with me. Even though she was with me all the time, I knew that I could get so fixated on my projects that other things were entirely oblivious to me. That nature had ruined my first marriage, but I was glad that my daughter could appreciate the periods when I was not so engrossed.

The phone rang again, and I saw that it was Joseph. Sally shouted with pleasure at being able to see her father. I activated the phone accepting that for some reason this early hour was going to be spent on family.

“Hello, Sally,” Joseph said in a matter-of-fact manner that stated clearly his mind was on business. “Leanna, have you been in contact with Nicholas?”

I answered, “Yes, Joseph, and his boys.”

“That’s marvelous technology. Tell him to be careful, but that he is doing mankind a great favor by working to open up that portal and deal with the korlocks. Marvelous, marvelous technology.” His eyes turned to Sally while saying, “If Nicholas can pull this off, Sally will grow up in a much different world than what we lived in.”

Not willing to deny my own advances, I said, “I believe that you and I have already assured that.”

“Yes, it is becoming a different world, but what Nicholas is hoping to have his boys open up will go far beyond that. Next time that you speak to him, let him know that he has my support.”

He then terminated the call causing Sally to exclaim, “Daddy!”

I spoke from experience. “Your father is surely caught up in his work, Sally. He had something to say to me, and that was the reason for his call. There will be other times when he will have his mind on us. I am sure that he loves you and me, but our love for each other must be for all times. If your father is presently absorbed in his work, we must accept that and continue to love him.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“Honestly, though, you will probably find me engrossed in my work as well. Still, your father and I need to know if Roy contacts you again.”

“Will you be working with people or robot?”

That question took me by surprise. While I accepted that Sally would know things about what I did, I found it strange that she might consider my two major projects to have a different effect upon me. I thus paused to ask a question in return.

“Does it matter?”

“If it is robot then you do not get mad. If it is people, you get mad.”

I had to allow that the words had some sense. I could always call Kevin back. If I found a problem with what was being done to a patient, I felt that it needed to be resolved immediately with other things, including my daughter, being able wait. I thus thought over my response to assure that my words would make sense.

“Roy is a person too, Sally, so I will get mad if you do not tell me. Still, I will probably be working on the science that created Roy, so information about Roy will fit my attitude.”

“Okay, Mommy.” Almost no pause before she asked, “Uh, Mommy, is Roy not human?”

“I believe that people will consider him human, but he is truly a product of science – my science. You are probably going to grow up having to face certain issues, or simply watch as others face those issues.” I hugged my daughter while saying, “I suspect that you will face those issues, as you know Mary, Roy, Al, Nick, and probably others. They might need your support, Sally.”

“I really have not met Mary.”

“I have not either. I am getting the feeling that Joseph, your father, does not want me to see her – or maybe does not want her to see me. Still, Sally, I suspect that we will meet her.”

The fact that I only met Roy and Nick because they rushed into Nicholas’s office while speaking to me put my husband in a respectable light. I felt that he was not keeping Mary from me, but simply not mixing his ‘work’ with his family communications. He had the benefit of caring for a girl, while Nicholas had active boys. He was also training Roy, Al, and Nick to face combat situations while Joseph planned for Mary to just be for data collection. At some level I however knew that all the foreskins were human, and that the fact would probably not be deemed respectable by a percentage of the public.

Thinking to try and share some of the day with my daughter, I was considering what to fix for supper when Sally looked to me and said, “Al is awake, so Roy is asking for us to wish him luck.”

I could not help but blurt back the question, “So soon?”

“They want to know if there is any information being transmitted by the probe. Roy also feels that it is best if he and his brothers get more direct experience with the korlocks.”

“Tell Roy that we will be praying for him.” Thinking of my own thoughts, I asked, “Has he had breakfast?”

Sally followed me into the kitchen as she discussed various meals with Roy and me. I found it entertaining that he wanted more meat into his diet, but accepted the culture of those around him. From the conversation along with the way that I had met Roy, I gained the impression that Nicholas was being a good father figure for his boys. Even though being trained for war, they were not kept in cages or under strict discipline. I thus found Roy to be very much like a real boy, and found myself wondering about how Joseph treated Mary.

It seemed that while the children had their conversation, Roy and his brothers were brought into position to perform as trained. Being alerted to Nicholas’s actions, I took moments between steps in my food preparation to activate monitors and set them to certain signals. I saw nothing being reported about the portal being opened, or even worries about the korlocks, so prayed for Roy and his brothers to again have a relatively minor situation.

As I was getting out certain pans, Sally suddenly screamed. Of course I became concerned. She however did not appear hurt. I thus settled next to her to comfort and let her know there was no need for her to scream.

Sally did not look at me as she said, “It says its name is Urnaquay. It says that it will do as we ask.”

“Do as we ask?” I replied. “Why would it say that?”

“Roy says that Nicholas is telling him to ask about the world.”

Regularly dealing with people, I quickly instructed, “No, Sally. Tell Roy the first thing you do is assure that you have a meeting of minds. Talk to Urnaquay. Ask it about itself.”

“It says that it does not know about any world, but that we are free to come look.”

I could tell that she was listening to another voice. I was not afraid for my daughter, but actually worried about some boys far away. While I understood that they had a close relationship with Nicholas, I tried to assert my own authority in the manner I used my voice in speaking to Sally.

“No. Tell Roy to ask Urnaquay about itself. Tell Nicholas to remember the story of the Trojan Horse.”

Now my daughter turned to look at me. I saw a confused expression on her face. Considering the situation, I felt that was a good thing. What surprised me was hearing the phone ring, and I looked at it wondering if I should answer.

Chancing leaving the contact with Sally, I went and saw that the call was from Nicholas, who asked as soon as I answered, “What is this about the Trojan Horse? There is no actual gift. They are allowing us –“

I interrupted him to say, “Nicholas, you need to leave the portal open for that.”

“Well, yes, but –“

This time it was not me that interrupted him, but I believe Roy whose words were relayed through the contact with my daughter, “This is BIG!”

Plans and a Need for War
TimeSaga Story Nine
Chapter Six

I knew there was big trouble when a number of media sources suddenly activated to the presence of strange semi-material presences appearing as far from the location of the portal as Greece, Russia, and China. I saw Sally’s lips moving, so assumed she was talking with Roy as I switched channels and checked various other sources of news. While the sounds of the television spoke of people being very frightened, I sat down and tried to work out methods of the korlocks appearing in so many places. Equations and theories were passing through my mind when the voice of Sally let me know of a more pressing source of trouble.

“Dr. Beyonce, it says that it means to do us good.”

Understanding that my daughter had allowed the mind of Roy to speak through her, I replied, “It is not being good. The world, our world, is being seriously attacked. This is war, Roy, and that entity is the enemy.”

“Al, AL! Al, it is attacking our world. Al, IT IS ATTACKING OUR WORLD!”

The phone rang, and I felt some relief seeing the ID of Nicholas, although I asked what I felt was the important question upon activating the link. “Are you watching the news?”

“No,” came a softly worded crisp reply.

There was a short pause. I did not hear anything, except for the same words through Sally. Listening carefully, I however could hear another voice. I had not met Al, although had been told he was the sickly member of the three boys. His voice sounded whiny and weak, but it was stressing the power and grandness of Urnaquay. My own interest in the situation had me listen long enough that Nicholas was able to make a substantial statement.

“Yes, Leanna, I see the problem. What would you suggest?”

I had to quickly get my mind to consider Nicholas’, and the boys’, situation. “You are in a tight situation, Nicholas. You have set yourself as the mediator. This is now war, Nicholas. The next phone call to come, if one comes, is to have me advise militaries about how to attack. I however expect that they know, as the Solomon Foundation has been politely open about their portal and situations dealing with it. Thus, Urnaquay has to know that he has instigated war. What he is about to learn is just how vicious, cruel, and adaptive we humans are in dealing with aggression. You need to get Urnaquay to understand that now.”

As if to stress those words, the news agencies from America and Japan suddenly reported the success of loud blasts of sound from their military. They were also mentioning the strange type of weapons being carried by the soldiers. Accepting that we humans were already meeting the enemy with deadly force, it did not surprise me to hear the shrill voice of Al over the phone.

“I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU ALL!”

I heard Nicholas’ voice even though he had covered the mouthpiece, but I hoped to stress his words by yelling to the one I knew could hear. “ROY! Focus on Urnaquay! You can deal with Al later. Right now you have to resolve the problem, and the problem is with Urnaquay!”

“But Al is my brother! We shared hearts.”

“I know Roy, but he is being affected by Urnaquay. Thus, to help him, you must deal with Urnaquay.”

It helped hearing Nicholas then yell, “Nick, can you help Roy? I will handle Al!” As whatever was muffling the sounds through the phone was removed, I heard Nicholas mumble, “You are listening anyway, Leanna, but I might need this to talk to you myself.”

I was extremely grateful for the open connection, as it allowed me to listen in on what Sally was experiencing. As a very concerned parent, I felt a strong need for the link. It however broke my concentration to see a computer activate with a communication from Joseph, although as another parent I felt that he also needed to be part of the activity.

“Leanna, I assume that you are a part of what is going on with Nicholas?”

“Indirectly, Joseph. I do have an active link with Nicholas.”

“Yes, well tell him to have his boys step back. I am going to handle this.”

He laughed in a manner very unlike the man I knew. Joseph had always had a rather confident attitude, but it was more sociable than domineering. This laugh however sounded like a deep chuckle that chirped due to losing energy as it had to fight its way to come out. Since I was dealing with children, I felt a need to check on the child with the man who was my husband.

“Joseph, how is Mary?”

“Mary? Oh, Mary. She is a lovely child, lovely child.” His eyes grew wide as he said, “She can tell you so much, Leanna. She is learning to control it, and has come out to be a great help.” The chuckles again sounded as he added, “I have learned so much from her. The poor, poor korlocks. Tell Nicholas to have his boys step back.”

Before I could respond, Sally exclaimed, “Daddy!”

“Mary! Oh – not Mary. Uh, uh, Sally? Yes,” Joseph again chuckled. “Our two little girls look about the same, Leanna. They are both wonderful children. Oh, those poor, poor korlocks. Don’t you worry, Sally. Your daddy is going to stop this korlock nonsense. I am going to give you children the universe.”

I could only whisper, although I tried to put some force in the words. “Joseph, what are you going to do?”

“What I know to do. You see, that’s the joke, Leanna. We know, or at least are coming to know. I know. Mary told me. It’s all inside her head. The korlocks don’t know. They found this power and played with it without coming to fully understand it. They are offering things that they truly do not have, so it should not surprise you that I am going to be able to take it from them.”

Suddenly, from over the phone I heard the shrill words, “You LIE!”

I recognized the voice, although it helped having Sally, although possibly Roy, say, “That is Al. We are not exactly able to handle him.”

Joseph however seemed aware of who had spoken. “Oh, yes, you alien mentality. You need to fear us humans, as we are really not nice. You also give us knowledge, and we will use it for evil purposes. There is not a commandment from God that we have not gone out and sought to break. We do it with full knowledge of what we are doing, and get ourselves condemned to Hell with the confidence of it not being able to hold us either. You don’t have that, korlock. You are going to die.”

The voice of Al seemed to rise in pitch as he repeated, “You lie! You lie! You lie!”

From Sally came the words, “Dr. Beyonce, Al is glowing.”

It did not help my own mentality to hear Joseph say, “Playing with the children, korlock? Oh, you are naughty. Let me stop you right now.”

Considering that I also heard the words over the phone, I suspected Roy was close, so spoke hoping Nicholas would directly hear. “I don’t know what Joseph is doing, but please, Roy, try to gain some reason from Urnaquay.”

Joseph did not close his connection, but just walked away from his computer. I saw him confidently smile as he closed the door to the room behind him. Not certain at all about what he was up to, I put my focus on the connection I had.

“Roy, I don’t know what my husband is going to do, but he just left. Please, do your best.”

Again from the phone and through my daughter I heard the reply, “I am trying.”

It helped hearing Nicholas command, “Yes, Roy, work with Leanna. Nick help me with Al.”

Suddenly, a strange noise came over the phone, then the shrill voice of Al exclaimed, “Oh, no, you cannot stop me! I do have power, and I do know how to use it!”

The voice of my daughter changed in a manner letting me know that it was her speaking for herself. “No, ROY!”

Only through the speaker of the phone did I hear, “No, Al! You’re my brother. We shared hearts!”

Loud voices of Nicholas and his boys sounded over the phone. Nothing clear and definite were said with me clearly understanding that some type of struggle was taking place. I gained the impression that the two boys secured Al in some manner before Nicholas again could be heard to say something definite.

“We only need your mind, Al. Now, speak to Urnaquay and let us come to some arrangement.”

Instead of replying, the shrill voice of Al only laughed, which made me glad to hear Sally speak with a more sober voice. “Can I help, Roy.”

Over the phone and with the voice of my daughter came the reply, “No, Sally. This is the job of me and my brothers.”

“That WENCH!” Al shrieked. “That is why you are not influenced by Urnaquay! I will get her, then you, Roy, will be able to see the light as well.”

Suddenly, the lights flickered. I considered that strange considering that my own source of power was from my own generator and not through some public grid. As I checked certain instruments, I heard the voice of Al continue to shriek.

“No, NO! What is this? Oh, NO! I will not, cannot be stopped.”

My power came from my own technology of affecting time. What I saw was something affecting the time stream in a much greater fashion than I felt was possible. I felt such had to be the work of Joseph, but I could not understand how. Attempting to determine what my husband was doing, I looked to my daughter to assure that she was not being overly troubled. What I however saw was a glow of some strange power, and wondered what type of technology had produced it.

Suddenly, Roy and Al were in the room. Both boys were physically no older than my daughter. The one with dark hair, that I knew to be Roy, had some strength in his form. Al had white hair with a very lean physique, but he was the one that sent his brother flying across the room with just a minor movement of his arm.

I screamed and raced forward as Al pounced upon Sally. Roy also rushed toward his brother. I easily determined that the strength in Al was not from his own body when he just glared at us and a barrier of energy shocked us to have us fly back. As I tried to get up and go to Sally, I saw her lifeless body drop as Roy stood to try and reason with his brother.

“Why, Al? Our mission was to bring peace, not war!”

“War? WAR!” Al shrieked in reply. “I did not even know the concept, but it is coming to me now. Yes, humanity, we are at war.”

Plans and a Need for War
TimeSaga Story Nine
Chapter Seven

I stood feeling a strong need to get to the body of my daughter. Thinking of the force that had thrown me against the wall, I looked to Roy worried that he would again be attacked. Seeing him close the distance between him and Al, I felt that I would see the two boys kill each other.

Roy said, “Al, we shared hearts. Surely there is some love, some concern for what you are doing.”

“Love? We are weapons, Brother. You know what our last name is? B2, a batch identifier. We are not human. Urnaquay is more human than we are – more alive than we are. Love? Yes, I know love, but I just do not have love for humanity. With this frail human dead, the one you so tenderly talked with, you should now be willing to talk to me.”

The only reason that I did not say anything, because I felt it best to allow Roy to speak with his brother. My only desire was to go to my daughter and check on her. I however looked to Roy wondering if he would again encounter a barrier. Why he did not say anything I did not know, but allowed that he was attempting to find the right words. The reason Al did not say anything however became apparent as a shoulder lifted with the rest of his body acting strangely.

“No, NO!” he shrieked. “What are you humans doing?”

I answered that question. “What we do amazing well, which is to destroy the efforts of others. No matter what grand scheme one of us has designed, our history speaks of it failing due to the acts of others.”

“No. You can’t, you can’t, you can’t.”

His body jerked in a couple of spasms, then disappeared. I took the opportunity to rush to my daughter. Roy however just dropped to his knees while wailing out his sorrow.

“I cannot feel him! We shared a heart, but I can no longer feel the extra beat!”

I did not feel for him, but I cried all the same in realizing that Sally was dead. I picked up her body and took her to a couch. After kissing her corpse, I wondered about who I should contact before realizing that I had links open.

As I called out for Joseph to answer, the voice of Nicholas asked, “What did your husband do, Leanna?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, then accepting him as also being a parent I said, “Roy is with me. Al has, well, disappeared. I will be checking on that as well.”

I believe Nicholas fell back on his research as I did just to regain control of our mentalities. I had medical staff, but it hurt me further to have verification of Sally’s demise. Roy allowed himself to be checked out with certain readings being discussed with doctors Nicholas had looking over Nick. I kept waiting for Joseph to come back and inform us of his own actions, but that was one connection that just eventually turned off without any answers being supplied.

Roy was a help the next few days as I made arrangements to bury Sally. He had a good mind, and was willing to do almost anything I asked of him. I did ask him about the research of Nicholas, but Roy could not give any clear information. He looked like a boy, acted like a very polite lad, and displayed the mentality of a curious youth not having any real foundation for his information. Roy however did know my daughter, and I accepted had a kind of relationship with her, so he helped me in that I felt I had someone with me who truly could share my grief.

The world of course wanted to know about the attacks. The Solomon Foundation came under intense scrutiny not just on how they worked the portal without concern for the threat of the korlocks, but also for using lads as their main agents in dealing with the aliens. I thought it was a wise move for Nicholas to step back and allow Nick face the investigators, although considered it strange that the rest of those who had headed the company also did not step forward. While the world sought to learn about the attacks, it eased and distracted the minds of those probing into the events to find themselves confronted with a young man.

Two ladies showed up claiming to only check on Roy. He however treated the pair as close friends. He called the two sisters, although they looked and acted as if having entirely different backgrounds. Darlene had long hair she tended to keep violet in color. She was a quiet person, although very knowledgeable, who claimed the simple dye helped to present her true personality better than anything she would say. Barbara was a yellowish blond, who I felt also used a dye to her hair, who had a very outgoing personality aided by a very cowboyish accent. The two ladies doted on Roy, who they called ‘Little Master,’ although I could tell had authority over him to assure that he gained proper care.

It bothered me that I had not heard from Joseph, but I had enough to keep me occupied. I did keep checking on him, as I felt he needed to be present for his daughter’s funeral. None of my efforts however met with any success. It was as I heard from another close contact that I found out about Joseph.

Rudy said, “I will be there, Leanna, but then you need to come with me and attend the funeral for Joseph.”

“What?”

“I cannot say what happened, Leanna. They found his body across the road in some scrub. The claim is that he jumped from the roof of the RayWeight building, then was dragged by animals. The whole thing sounds suspicious, but let us first attend to the bodies before worrying about the investigations. I do have people on it, trust me, so time is not being wasted.”

It did hurt that I had not been told, although I was relieved that I would not miss the funeral. It also hurt me to have my mind jump to what he had been doing. While I was wanting to find out in order to praise him for stopping the threat of the korlocks, I suddenly wanted to know some facts to enable me to accept his death. In attempting to make sense of what I had been told, I found myself wondering if there was another funeral I would need to attend.

“Rudy, what about Mary?”

“That is what has been keeping me busy, Leanna. I however have not found out anything about Mary. I have investigators looking for evidence of her as well. Once we get certain matters handled, you can work with me to uncover the facts.”

I wanted to do my own checks on the investigators Rudy hired, but found the funerals to be a magnet for other investigators along with the media. I found myself unable to adequately grieve for my lost family as I had my time filled with interviews of various kinds. Roy was a help in managing the arrangements, and I grew to appreciate the lad as we shared things about our lives and not just our sorrow in the ones we had lost.

Both of us were discussing our love of ice cream as we ate a meal while I cleaned out Joseph’s apartment in Turkey, when he looked up with a puzzled expression. I was mystified as I saw him smile in an excited manner before rushing to the door. My expression also turned to one of surprise to see a lad looking like Roy approaching followed by Darlene, Barbara, and Nicholas.

While there were three adults with him, Nick also tried to act mature even as he showed pleasure in being reunited with his brother. While Roy began speaking about all he had done with me, Nick kept a pleasant smile while listening. Some facts were relayed, but he mostly allowed Roy to speak. Finally, once we were all seated in the house, Nick provided some information to his brother.

“You need to come back with us, Roy, as you and I now have control of the Solomon Foundation.”

I had to interject, “Don’t tell me, Nicholas, that you have not made your own power play.”

He replied, “In a way, but don’t question the ability of these boys I created. Their talents are unrefined, but I believe very capable. It does seem that Joseph did something before he died that truly removed the present threat of the korlocks. I doubt it is permanent, but should let us get a foothold through the portal and begin to learn the technology. As you can surely understand, once we humans set our minds to something we are quite capable of advancing to make use of a resource. What scares me is what we have now found is unlimited in scope. However, it will be the youth,” his hands indicated the two lads, “that gain this future, so they should be there to see to its development.”

Nick said, “It is technology similar to your own, Dr. Beyonce. The portal is a tube through time. As space is constantly moving, holding time constant enables a column before the present location and a future one. I have been able to grasp that. Father, and other scientists in the foundation express further understanding in how the aliens possibly managed to create columns to other places in space.”

I further simplified what was said by making a conclusion, “You’re opening the portal back up.”

“We had to in order to assure that your husband did not die,” I mentally thanked him for not saying that Joseph killed himself, “in vain. We have gotten information back from our probes, and what we have learned has us believing that a habitable world is there waiting for us.”

Nicholas added, “We need to move now, Leanna, before the wackos get enough power to stop us.”

I asked, “Just how vocal are the wackos right now? Roy and I have tried to follow your actions, but there has been little reported about the Solomon Foundation.”

Nick answered, “They are growing, Dr. Beyonce. Luckily, we are among Islamist and Hindus. Neither have the zeal of the Europeans, although the Islamist do toward advancing to spread their faith. Thus, already there is a growing group preparing to move to this world. Father and I hope to support those efforts while mitigating things to keep others also able to make use of this technology. That is where we need Roy. I will work with Father while we are hoping for Roy to be our administrator beyond the columns.”

The brother that had been with me exclaimed, “Wow! You mean I get to go to this other world?”

Barbara answered by stressing a warning. “It will be a lot of work, Little Master. You will have to handle the technology and people.”

“Well, I guess that I am going to have to get to work.”

I believe we all smiled at hearing a positive attitude, while Darlene was the one that replied, “Yes, Little Master. Nick will mostly be with Nicholas, your father. Barbara and I will mostly be with you coordinating your lessons with various authorities.” I saw her look to me as she added, “Hopefully, Dr. Beyonce will continue to be one of those authorities.”

I answered, “Gladly. Roy has not been a problem at all.”

Nicholas said, “Let me say, now that I can in person, about my sorrow in the loss of your husband and daughter. I do not understand the loss of Joseph, but let me say that it seems that he died accomplishing something that will benefit humanity. As for the loss of Sally, that assuredly troubles me more. The fact that you have been willing to care for Roy I consider to be extremely gracious.”

“He knew Sally as well, Nicholas, and has been having to deal with the corruption and loss of his twin brother as well. It has helped to have someone like him to grieve with me. However there is a continuing concern in that I have another daughter, in a way, that has gone missing.”

“I promise, Leanna, that if I find word of Mary, I will let you know.”

Nick said, “We have done things to look, Dr. Beyonce. We will continue to do what we can.”

Nicholas was nodding even as he added, “We can change the past, but not the future. We can however continue to work to hopefully make it better. I hope to continue to have your support.”

“Of course,” I easily answered. As long as we can stay friends, I believe we will have a future to be proud of.”