Failure. Oh, lamentable failure!
I cannot imagine how things could have gone so wrong! The setting was perfect—a music venue on Vellum: a planet of perpetual dusk. A glowing curtain of azure water surrounded the stage at the base of Phorin Falls while glowing pink and purple baubles hovered above the audience, pulsing in time with the music. The band was a shared favorite of Cariad and Amara. They had a lovely time, and by all accounts, they should have been madly in love with each other by the end of the night.
But it just didn’t happen!
I’d been posing as a barista for a few Vellan months and quickly noticed how perfect they were for each other. Cariad worked with me at the coffee shop, and Amara was a regular. When the two got going, there was undeniable chemistry. Heartbeats quickened, faces flushed, and laughter burbled up as if they were schoolgirls.
I orchestrated the concert after learning about their mutual affection toward the band. I didn’t just buy the tickets; I ensured that the act came to town. I hacked into their systems, imitated tour managers and booking agents, and jammed a concert into the middle of the week when the poor band should have been getting some much-needed rest.
Cariad and I drove to the concert together, but I broke my own spark plugs, so the two of them could drive home. And do you know what happened after that?
Nothing!
They drove home, made polite conversation, then said goodnight and went their separate ways. No kiss. No declaration of love. No plans to meet the following day. And yes, I know what you’re thinking. “Perhaps they just weren’t interested in each other after all.” But this is untrue! If I know anything, I know of love!
The next day, Cariad called in sick. Only she wasn’t sick. She spent the day lying in bed, tearfully watching romance movies.
Amara called her ex. Her ex! In a clear move of devastation, she reconnected with a toxic miasma from her past.
There is no way in which I could accurately describe my dismay. Sometimes, the universe was so utterly cruel in its indifference!
03to 02Ping.
02I am beyond miserable!
03I am still on Caligo, in a town called Oxbow. My mortal charge wanted to share a hotel room. I declined and made a log of the surrounding area, documenting the nocturnal habits of local fauna. It’s morning now, and I’d prefer it if you relieved me of Miss Carrera sooner rather than later.
02Oh, the suicidal one. Goodness, Hugo, I’m sure you can solve that without me.
03She wants off the planet. All variables point to an unpleasant outcome should I deny her request.
02Fine. Fine, fine. We’ll save your mortal. If we can. Honestly, with all the resources at our disposal, I don’t know how we can be so utterly ineffective sometimes. Prepare yourself, my darling Hugo, for we may try. We may devote ourselves to the cause of saving this ingenue, yet still fail horribly!
03I have no problem with that.
My dyad was, at times, as heartless as the universe itself.
I gathered the intel required to pop in next to him on a quiet street in Oxbow. It was a quaint town, its streets lined with white-trunked trees and deep purple leaves. Electric vehicles hummed pleasant harmonies as they sailed by. Hugo was sitting on a bench, feeding a flock of curious gray birds.
Typically, whenever I popped from one place to the next, I made it a habit to disperse first. There’s nothing quite like appearing next to (or inside of) some poor old lady with a weak heart. Dispersion also gave me a second to find the right form before I coalesced. I am, by no means, an emulator, but I have saved a number of forms that are the “Vesper” of each and every planet.
On Caligo, I had no preset form, so I took a moment to examine the passersby (as well as Hugo, who looked dapper as usual). The dominant species thrived on contrasts. Color was muted in the low light of a distant sun, with high contrast serving as their primary form of decoration and identification.
In the end, I took on my Codan form with a few changes. It would have taken hours to get all the bits and pieces right, but the generic bipedal look did the job well enough.
“This place is a little depressing,” I said, stepping out from behind a park tree. I dropped down onto the bench beside Hugo. “Not enough color. Where is your girl?”
“Sleeping in.”
“Well, wake her. I don’t love a society simmering in Consolidation. You never know when they’re going to blow themselves up.”
“I would think you’d find that exciting in a romantic sort of way.”
Hugo thought that if he added “romantic” to the end of any sentence, it would appeal to me. He wasn’t wrong, but one aspect that eluded him was that, while I loved a good fictional tragedy, I couldn’t stand it in real life. Unlike him, I did not see transients as non-entities. I didn’t want to fall in love with his suicidal girl. I didn’t want her to break my heart by the mere ephemeral nature of her existence. She would die eventually, and if I could not make every moment before that count, then I would have failed her.
“Let’s just go get her,” I said. “We’ll pop her over to Coda. Their atmosphere’s comparable. Though she’ll need inoculation.”
“Of course. Among other things.”
Miss Carrera’s hotel was small but quaint. Cream colored flowers grew in each windowsill, and a lit sign proclaimed, “Scenic views. Fitness center. Complimentary toiletries.” Everything in town was lit with bright white signage, even during the day.
Hugo opened the door to find Eira still in bed.
02She’s not already dead, is she?
03Don’t be ridiculous. She has a pulse.
02Some species maintain a pulse for days after they’ve expired.
“Eira,” Hugo said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Wake up. Vesper has arrived.”
She moaned and rolled over and peered into the room, confusion washing over her as she blinked her eyes open at me. Once she focused on Hugo, though, some part of her relaxed.
And that was the moment. That image of Eira’s round little face staring doe-eyed at Hugo as he watched over her from above. There was something in his gaze, too. A care not usually wasted on transients. The man had waited all night for her to get enough rest before contacting me again.
Did he like her?
All thoughts of Amara and Cariad flew out the window. Their love was a flash fire compared to the inferno rumbling under the surface here. Like a volcano just waiting to explode. I could barely contain my excitement. I had to bite my lip hard to stop myself smiling. I couldn’t let Hugo know. He might kill the girl himself if he suspected feelings might be forming.
“Oh, I…” Eira muttered, sitting as she idly brushed her fingers through her hair. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Eleven hours.”
“You probably needed it, poor thing,” I said, rushing to the bed to sit beside her. I took her hand into mine. “Hugo’s told me all about your situation. So devastating. But don’t worry, we’ve been around the galaxy a time or two, and know exactly what to do. But first and foremost, know that nothing that has happened is your fault, my dear Eira. Late-stage Consolidation isn’t good for anyone. It’s a toxic wasteland of energy, power, and deep, deep ignorance.”
“I left my curler on,” she said, and a ballet of facial expressions danced across her features: doubt, shame, disgust, regret.
I pulled her into a deep and reassuring hug. “My dear, sweet Eira, it’s not your fault. Your society is at a tumultuous crossroads, either destined for destruction or technological integration. Take solace in knowing that this is the worst time to be alive for you and your kind.”
“That is strangely comforting.”
I stood, taking her hand to pull her out of bed, and deposited it into Hugo’s. “Let us shed ourselves of this pernicious society and whisk our dear friend into a land of merriment, love, and happy-ever-afters, shall we?”
03You’re overselling it a bit, don’t you think?
I gave Hugo a wink before popping us all away.