Fantastic Children 2 Ch.10Chapture 10: At the Bottom of the Deep Clear Sea"Hasmodai…Hasmodai…Hasmodai…"When he opened his eyes, it took him several minutes of blinking before the blurriness cleared, and even after, he barely recognized Soreto. Her face was streaked with blood, her eyes and nose puffy and swollen."Soreto?"She looked relieved. "How many fingers am I holding up?""Some of them," he answered.He was sitting in a chair. He leaned forward to stand, but a wave of pain and dizziness seized him, and he closed his eyes again. His head felt…he put up a hand to feel the back of his head, bu
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.11Chapter 11 : The Burden and the TransienceIt was unfair, Dumas thought, that the universe should make its own rescue so complicated. Once again he was coming up short in the number of souls he needed to relocate.He thought there was a good chance that those in the ship's control room might have survived, because that part of the ship was designed to detach from the body in disastrous circumstances. His sister Tina had been in there.If she had not survived, he had no more interest in saving the universe. Let it all fall down. He owed the rest of creation nothing.Agi had almost certainly been killed, and that was a serious inconvenience
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.3Chapter 3: Teo: Small PlanetTeo took a deep breath of sea air and let all the tension leave his body with it. He had not thought that the day would come when he was relieved to be leaving home. He loved his sister Serena, and was happy she was in love and going to be married, but he did wish that she had fallen in love with someone he actually liked.Lately Rogan had been casually asking questions about whether Teo planned to go to college, and exactly when, or whether he had been looking for a part-time job yet, and even about which of the siblings actually owned the house their parents had left them. Even Serena seemed to be impatient
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.4Chapter 4: Pollux and Dumas: Tearful MorningsBuilding the device had been the easy part. Keeping anybody from knowing about it had been nearly impossible. Pollux had watched Castor tinkering with his own project for half an hour before feigning disinterest and boredom, and wandering off to dismantle a portable computer on his own."I just want to see what it looks like inside," Pollux told Doctor Mellert when she started asking questions. "I've never had one I was allowed to take apart before."As he disassembled the machine bit by bit, he laid the parts out neatly on the counter of the lab. All but the parts he needed. Those he secr
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.14Chapter 14: Widening RipplesThe Atalanta was even more enormous than it had appeared from the wreck. Hasmodai sent a probe into it with the scanner, but if the ancient vessel had a matter transference system, it was deactivated, broken, unrecognizable or undetectable for some other reason. There seemed to be a number of hatches, some sealed over with ice or other encrustments. Hasmodai finally was forced to warm one of the smaller airlock hatches enough that the ice released when he activated it. The task nearly depleted his considerable energy reserves, but he was able to enter the airlock and seal it after
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.5Chapter 5: Soreto, Winter, Belle: BeginningsThe ship in which Dumas had traveled from Greecia was uncommonly small and functional: as was only reasonable, if he had planned to abandon it and return via the Zone. The equipment was packed tightly and efficiently into the hold, and once the two robots that Dumas called for had been activated, the Greecian scientists stepped back and let them take care of the unloading.Soreto had absorbed the data Dumas had brought with him, as had the others. Now she continued to study it in detail on a data pad. Having something artificially implanted into your memory was quick and useful, but vi
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.1Fantastic Children 2: Lost SoulsChapter 1: Ian: The continuation of the dream."Far, far below, beneath the crystal clear and shining deep blue sea,A tiny little flower sleeps so peacefully.Soft and gentle breezes sing a quiet tune while flying through rainbows,And all the fish are playing in the sky to and fro."The baby Ian held in his arms stopped squalling and settled into curious silence, looking up at his sixteen-year-old cousin as they rocked on the porch together. Ian smiled down at the newborn. Another family member. The thought sent a stab of delight though him. The baby was moist and warm and gave of
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.2Chapter 2: Pollux: The Butterfly and the WaspSwiftly the wasp fliesThe butterfly drifts softlyTo the same blossomThe wasp flies at 250 km/ph. The butterfly drifts at 10 km/ph. They start at the same place, and reach the same flower simultaneously. If they each traveled 27 km, how much earlier must the butterfly have started? Round to the nearest minute.Castor Weaver scrawled the final answer on his paper and slid it toward the examiner with thinly veiled contempt. He looked away as the man examined the test paper. Pollux could feel his twin's irritation, but it was nothing new. Castor had been born angry."You got the answers
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.6Chapter 6: Tarlant, Baldwin, Dumas: Wheels Within Wheels"Tarlant? TARLANT!"Tarlant snapped awake guiltily at Agi's shout. Not that he had much to feel guilty about. He was a mechanical engineer, and now that all the equipment had been assembled, and research was the goal, he was mainly useful as an assistant or when repairs or adjustments were necessary.He hurried toward the sound of the shout, readying his apology, but it was not necessary. Agi was staring in consternation at Squeak. The robot was aligning one of the enormous sensor panels—if they had had time to construct the facility properly, th
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.15Chapter 15: Embraced by WaterPirya had awakened from suspended sleep many times before, but it had never been this blindingly, sickeningly awful. She collapsed to the deck, her legs too weak from the stasis to hold her, cold and wet with the remains of the preservation gel that still clung to her clothes and hair. Supporting herself on trembling arms, she struggled to cough up the slime that remained in her lungs.As she did, she felt the touch of a hand on her shoulder, and a voice speaking to her, frightened, earnest and repetitive. The accents and intonations were so strange that she didn't realize for some time that it was speaking in
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.16Chapter 16: Crossing LinesThe walrus didn't even look up as the pod silently flew by over its head."Sorry," Belle said miserably."It's fine. It's better to follow a hundred false leads than to risk missing that one time…"The scouting flight was going much better than Soreto had feared. Belle kept her eyes open and her mouth shut, for the most part. Now, when Soreto was dazzled and worn out from the glare of the sun on ice, Belle still was managing to pick out dark spots and movement.It wasn't her fault that all of those spots had been seals and walruses and oddly, tourists. Where had all the tourists come from so suddenly? Sur
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.9Chapter 9: WreckageDumas lounged over a couple of cargo crates. He was sitting near Mel, and while his dark glasses hid his eyes and his focus from the others, all of his attention was on her. Mel's face was damp and white, her terror palpable, her every breath a soft whimper at the back of her throat. It was all his doing, and he felt no pain about it.He took responsibility for it. When young Gherta Hawksbee had finished her postgraduate work and completed her Master's degree, Dumas had seen to it that she was installed as the director of the GED group, at an age where many of her fellow students were begging for internships o
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.7Chapter 7: Seth Soreto Hasmodai: SurrenderLord Seth stood on a tall rock and stared out to sea. Over the water he could see Ketplaque Island, near enough that the little white squares of houses were visible among the dark green foliage. Some of the researchers working at the Rugen Institute lived there, at least during the week. There were no other islands in sight. The GED group had originally chosen Kuril and Ketplaque for the privacy their isolation would give.But Seth knew that over the waves and out of sight, there was a tiny, lonely island with a 200-year-old shrine on it. In it
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.8Chapter 8: Belle, Tina: VoyageThe sun wasn't even up yet. Belle trailed along after Damien, and yawned. NOBODY got up this early.One of the smaller buildings was being fitted out as a 'ship' and everyone was hurrying back and forth like ants, or talking earnestly in small groups. Now they were all wearing those silly dark grey costumes, some even increasing the gorfyness of it with long, black coats. Except Damien. His jumpsuit was white, with a sheen like silk, and he managed to make even that look cool.Belle couldn't understand how Ian could be so preoccupied and involved with these people. They were awful, nothing like his friends
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.12Chapter 12: Floating in Unending SpaceSoreto continued to stand watch, swaying on her feet. I ought to wake Tina, she thought. But Tina was sleeping so peacefully. And even moving to wake her felt as if it would require more energy than Soreto had left. Her body was made of lead, her mind of mud.I ought to just lie down and sleep, she thought. What was she guarding against? There was nothing here that could harm them but the cold, and there was no keeping that away.There was a noise of metal on rock, and Soreto snapped back into wakefulness. The sound came again, closer."Tina?" She pushed at
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.17Chapter 17: Alien"Yeah," said Belle. "Right."What did they think she was, stupid? Belle supposed that it might be a sign they were forgiving her that they would try to play this sort of prank, but seriously."It's the truth, Belle," Flo said. "Haven't you wondered at all? About the technology? About…about…""How about the spaceship?" Kalie asked. "And the robots?""Please." Belle rolled her eyes. "We didn't go into space, did we? And the robots are lame. In Japan, they have a robot now that can take you out on a date, order dinner, flirt with you, and kiss you goodnight. Your robots just do machine stuff
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.18Chapter 18 Falling DarknessAs the work on the Atalanta proceeded, Hasmodai felt himself less troubled by thoughts of the team and the mission. Random thoughts that brought his former colleagues to mind tended to provoke more anger and resentment than guilt. He remembered every rebuke, every act of disrespect, every time one of them had hurt him or failed him. Then, he let thoughts of them go completely. There was no room for those people in his life now.If Pirya had not been there, Hasmodai felt he would have loved the Atalanta with all his heart. The ship needed him as much as the woman did, and it was beautiful and full of po
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.13Chapter 13: Bei NachtNight, when the ocean rocks meAnd soft starlightLies upon its broad waves, Then I free myself completely From all endeavors and all loves, And stand still and simply breathe.Alone, alone, rocked by a seaThat lies cold and silent with a thousand lights.Then I must think of my friends,And sink my gaze into theirs,And ask each, silent and alone, "Are you still mine? Is my suffering a suffering to you, my death a death? Do you feel of my love, my misery,Even a breath, even an echo?"And the sea quietly blinks and rocks,And smiles: no.And from nowhere comes any answer or greeting.--Herman H
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.19Chapter 19: Daybreak"Wake up, Tarlant!"Soreto was pushing at his shoulder, calling his name urgently. Groggily, Tarlant opened his eyes and looked at her. There was something different. She was...smiling. He sat up and rubbed his eyes."You did it," he said. Above the sound of the wind he could hear the choppy, static-filled transmissions of the research stations, and a projected green field glowed above the control board, sparkling with bright flashes whenever snowflakes were driven by the wind past the aura of warm air the robots radiated."There's some tea for you, there," Soreto
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.20Chapter 20: A Scattering RegatheredIf not for the shielding wall that protected the landing pad from the wind, it might have been dangerous or impossible to start the helicopter. Once the engine was running and the rotors safely whirring, it would be simple to fly, Cooks thought. The wind was blowing in the wrong direction, though: it might take more time to reach South America than he had planned on. Cooks had a friend in Chile. Hadn't seen him for years, but he was still pretty sure he'd be able to land his helicopter on the ranch quietly and depart from there with some forged identity papers. A
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.21Chapter 21: Clearing SkiesPollux was gone.Castor fidgeted. He had spent the last few days under constant supervision, finishing his project and being displayed to all the visiting executives and dignitaries by Doctor Mellert.He had felt that something odd was going on with Pollux, but hadn't had the time or opportunity to analyze the situation. And now, where he usually felt the presence of his twin, there was a frightening void.Pollux was gone.Castor could feel him out there, somewhere, but far away, and…altered somehow. Could he be dead? Could Pollux actually have taken that final step that he had considered so often?Pollu
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.22Chapter 22: Cold ComfortDumas swore as he piloted the escape pod toward Sei Station. He had not realized until he entered the pod and started the engine that there were no scanner controls. But he thought leaving the pod and taking one of the hovercraft's utility vessels instead might make him look foolish and indecisive in front of the scientists.So he had made the truly foolish choice to take the pod. The storm and the snow blowing off the landmass made it difficult to see where the island was.But Dumas was not nearly as absorbed with the difficult flight as he was with the strange sensations in his own heart, an
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.23Chapter 23: UnforeseenDumas swore. He ought to have worn his bodysuit under the designer outfit, even if it did ruin the lines. Still, he was not a complete idiot. The bodysuit was in the escape pod. He made his way to the pod through the killing winds, away from the shelter of the station. The parka did little to shield his face or bare hands, and did nothing at all to protect his thinly clad legs, but he managed to get to the pod and activated the hatch control.A message flashed: Not Recognized. The hatch did not open.Somebody had coded a recognition lock on the escape pod.Dumas
Fantastic Children 2 Ch.2424: CoalescenceAgi had no idea what to do about Hasmodai. He had heard bits of his ranting and paranoia, had been told the entire story by Soreto, and knew that Hasmodai had been healed now, at least physically.But he kept himself apart from the group, refused to answer any questions, and kept staring into the ocean with haunted eyes, like some ancient sailor who has heard the Sirens calling. Agi hoped Hasmodai wasn't thinking of throwing himself overboard. The water was cold here, Agi knew from experience."Agi, I think you need to come look at this." Soreto was at the scanner, and something was flashing on the display. The rest of the
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