WACO’S
LUMMOX
By
Waddie Greywolf
Chapter
42
Waco went
immediately to the area where the Kryscellians usually were and found
them. They greeted him with their usual respect and concern, but
he noticed his brother Blue was silent. Waco chose to communicate
with them telepathically. It was a more personal form of
communication.
<<
Venerable folks, I have come to you to speak with my brother. It
was only on my return from Venus I was told by our little sister Blue
chose to return to his people. I know it might seem formal of me
to request your permission to speak with him, but I don’t wish to make
a bad situation worse by possibly appearing to be demanding of a
confrontation. That’s not why I’m here. I’m here to speak
with Blue as brother to brother. Surely my brother can have no
doubt of my love and concern for him. >>
<< I will
speak with my brother, elders. >> Waco heard Blue in his
mind. It was unmistakably Blue. << Forgive me, brother, for
not telling you. There were two reasons I chose not to tell you
before you left. You had much to contend with having to say
‘goodbye’ and part with your love just when you were getting to know
him well. Further, if there was anyone who could’ve talked me out
of removing myself from your clone, it was you, but it would’ve only
been postponing the inevitable. >>
<< What
brought you to your decision? I thought everything was
progressing smoothly. >> Waco asked.
<< It was
for a while, but then he just shut down. He refused to have any
communication with me. During our close physical experiences, one
of the things he learned from you was how to block me from
telepathically listening to his thoughts. He began to suppress
all interest in food and wouldn’t allow intake. I tried to talk
with him and reason, but he wouldn’t talk with me. I think he
became so frustrated with our situation he just gave up. In his
defense, this isn’t something of a petulant nature. It isn’t like
a child holding its breath until it gets what it wants. It’s more
like Captain Kirk initiating the self-destruct mechanism on the
Enterprise rather than have his ship in the control of aliens.
I’m not sure he
knows what he wants. I had hopes of trying to reason or negotiate
with him, but when you’re coming from different levels it’s grossly
unfair to him. It’s like a huge nation trying to negotiate with a
smaller one; like an adult trying to reason with a very young
child. A couple of times I received his thoughts of frustration
and hopelessness that were dark and deeply disturbing. I received
enough from him to form the conclusion if he couldn’t share everything
with me he didn’t want to continue to exist. I think he felt
overwhelmed and intimidated by my presence, so he simply decided to
withdraw and shut down; however, unlike Captain Kirk, I don’t think he
understands the ramifications of his actions. His refusal of food
intake has no effect on me. I don’t depend on his taking
nourishment to survive. I think he feels if he destroys the
organism, which is him, he won’t have to cope or struggle with me any
longer. I couldn’t let that happen. It simply wasn’t fair
of me. I couldn’t let him do that.
I won’t be
responsible for his shutting down or ceasing to exist because of my
selfishness by insisting on occupying the same space. It just
isn’t right. I insisted Cable remove me, but it’s not so
bad. I’ve found my inner peace, and I’m meditating regularly with
my family. It’s nice to be among my own kind again. You haven’t
lost a brother. My hope for him is you might talk with him and
convince him to go on to become his own man. Then you will have
two brothers. Have you been to see him? >> Blue asked.
<< No, I
came directly here to speak with you. I will, of course, go to
him next to see if he will speak with me. I understand he’s
refusing to speak with anyone. I’ll try to link minds with
him. If he chooses to block me, there’s little I can do but talk
at him. >>
<< You may
have to be physical with him. >> Blue suggested.
<< I ain’t
angry with him. I don’t think punishment would help.
>> Waco sounded exasperated.
<< No, no,
you misunderstand, brother, >> Waco heard Blue laugh, << I
meant as you would be physical with a baby or young child. Be
tactile with him. Offer him your love. I do miss not being
able to express myself with facial expressions. >> Blue sighed
deeply with amusement.
<< Good
suggestion. >> Waco laughed. << Then are we all
right? Are you concerned about my love for you? >>
<< I will
admit to some apprehension. >> there was much unsolicited laugher
from some of the other Kryscells. << My family laughs at me
because they know I was quite concerned, but they were of one
accord. They reassured me your love for me would never diminish.
>>
<< I
advise you to listen to your family, my brother. They are very
wise. >> Waco laughed. << Thank you for speaking with me,
Blue. I’ll keep you informed. Have no doubt of my
love for you. >>
Blue glowed
brightly almost like a human would blush. Waco didn’t miss it and
smiled to himself as he paid respects to the other Kryscells and took
his leave. Waco went to sickbay and found Cable. David and
Jonathan were working around the area and stopped what they were doing
to come to him.
“Where is he?”
Waco asked.
“He’s with Dr.
Stevens and Arnie in their clinic. We thought he might be more
comfortable there. We’re so sorry, Master Waco. We know how
much this project meant to you and Blue.” Cable seemed to speak for the
three of them. David and Jonathan’s artificial eyes were
watering. They were on the verge of tears.
“Does he respond
to anyone?” Waco asked.
“From time to
time he’ll act like he’s grateful for something we do for him.
He’ll smile at us or touch us, but he won’t say anything; we can’t
touch his mind. We haven’t started feeding him with an IV
yet. We were waiting for you to make a decision. We know
you’ll want to talk with our father and your father. May we
suggest you speak with Jesse Watkins as well. He might have some
advice.”
“Good
idea. Thanks, gentlemen, for your help.” Waco excused himself and
went through the portal to the clinic in Parsons. Arnie was at
the front desk working at his computer updating some files.
“Ah, you’re
back, Captain Waco. I’m so glad. He’s in room one over
there. It’s the only room that gets the light from all
directions. I thought it might be a little more cheery for him.”
“You’re a great
caretaker, Arnie. Thanks. May I go in to see him?”
“Sure.
I’ll be right here. Holler if you need me.”
“I will,
friend. Thanks.”
Waco walked into
the room and saw his exact double lying on his back staring up at the
ceiling with little or no expression on his face. His face was
drawn and pale. He looked as if the spark of life had gone from
his eyes; like the lights were on but nobody was home. He walked
up to the bed, but his eyes didn’t move to acknowledge Waco. He
continued to stare at the ceiling. Waco took his hand and looked
into his eyes. He leaned over him so he would have to look at
Waco. There was no response.
“I know you’re
in there, brother.” Waco said softly.
Waco heard a
faint voice in his mind, but no sign of recognition on his face.
The voice was angry and scared.
“I ain’t chore’
brother. Blue is yore’ brother.”
Waco didn’t
contradict him. He just continued to hold his hand. Finally
Waco responded.
“You’re right,
you ain’t my brother. You’re much closer to me than a
brother. You’re a part of me; an extension of me. I had you
created from tissue from my body; my testicles to be exact. My
balls were black and blue for damn near a month after them crazy Dalek
bastards took a chunk out of me. I could barely walk they hurt so
bad. I looked like a ninety year old bowlegged cowboy for
weeks. The blood that flows in your veins is from eight original
pints of blood from my body. Your body parts are interchangeable
with mine. You look enough like me to be a xerox copy; closer
than an identical twin. Because I had you created, the
responsibility for your existence rests with me. I accept that
responsibility and claim you as my own. I’m your father; your
daddy. You’re my son. You belong to me, but you were on
loan to a wonderful friend of mine whom I love very much. Have
you learned nothing about life or love from him?” Waco was trying
to open a dialogue. There was no response. Waco went to the
door to speak with Arnie.
“I’m gonna’
close this door for a while, Arnie. I want to be alone with
him. I’d appreciate it if we’re not interrupted until I come out
again.”
“I’ll be sitting
right here. Trust me, no one will disturb you.”
“Thanks, Arnie.”
Waco closed the
door and walked over to the overstuffed chair sitting in the corner and
set down. He pulled off his cowboy boots and socks and set them
to the side of the chair. He stood and shucked off his Wranglers,
laid them across the arm of the chair then undid his Western shirt and
striped off his ‘T’ shirt. He was completely nude. He
walked around the bed, pulled back the covers and got into bed next to
his clone.
He took his limp
body into his arms and held him. He started gently rubbing his
clone’s body all over. Waco noticed he was not as warm as his
body. He was much cooler. He pulled the covers over them
and continued his attentions. He rubbed all over his clone until
he came to his penis. It was already semi-flaccid. He took
it in his hand and began to stroke it. It was like he was working
his own cock in his hand, and he began to be aroused. He had to
hand it to the Daleks, his clone had a fine body.
Slowly the clone
became fully aroused. Waco moved down to put his head near his
cock. The clone’s body had a fresh, clean, hospital soap,
medicinal smell about him. Waco knew Arnie had probably given him
a bath earlier in the day. He skinned back his copy’s
considerable foreskin and took a deep breath. He was clean, but
he smelled like Waco’s own body. It was to be expected,
Waco thought; however, it was also very sensual to be holding a man who
smelled just like himself. The clone gasped as Waco went down on
him and started sucking his cock. He began to move a bit and Waco
felt his hands caress his head a couple of times. He was getting
harder and Waco didn’t see any problem getting what he was after.
Suddenly he heard in his mind,
<< Why are
you doing this? A father shouldn’t make physical love to his
son. Your religion would condemn you for it. >>
<<
Bullshit! >> Waco responded and continued to make love to
his clone’s hard penis. << There’s some things religion don’t
have nothing to do with and one of ‘em is the love a father has for his
son and vice versa. If this is what it takes to show my love for
you, and to convince you I want you, then I’ll do it. Besides,
you are handsome in my sight, and to make love to you is a pleasant
experience for me. >>
It was like
sucking his own cock, and it was highly exciting to Waco. He and
Blue had sex a couple of times for Waco to show him the wonders and
pleasures of making love. Waco could feel his copy building to
climax. He became more animated and moved around under Waco’s
expert sucking.
<< This
ain’t fair! >> Waco heard him exclaim in his mind. << This
is how I came to be aware in the first place. Why don’t you just
let me be? Let me die. >>
<< Come
first, and then we’ll talk about it. I worked hard. Our
dicks’ ain’t small and my jaw is about to come unhinged. Give me
what I’ve worked for! I won’t stop until I get it. >>
With that his
clone arched his back and began to unload a huge, pent-up load in his
throat and mouth. It was all Waco could do to get it all
down. It tasted just like his own come, and he greedily swallowed
it all. He continued to suck on his copy’s now sensitive cock
until he was squirming beneath him begging him to stop. It had
become uncomfortable for him. Waco stopped and allowed his
foreskin to slip back over his sensitive head. Waco moved
back up to take the now more animated body of his clone into his arm
again and gently kissed him on his mouth. He didn’t respond.
<< Why are
you doing this? >> Waco sent to him.
<< I ain’t
doing nothing. I’m just getting out of everybody’s way. >>
<< Was it
that bad having Blue share your body? >> Waco asked.
<< I never
said it was bad. I was causing him problems, and I decided to
stop. I withdrew into myself and just watched. I didn’t
participate. I let him do everything. I thought I was doing
the right thing. I thought that’s what he wanted. At first
he’d ask about me. When I told him I was all right and for him to
do his thing, he would get angry with me and tell me I was being
petulant and evasive. I just got tired of being the bad guy, and
I shut him out. I learned that from you when you linked with us
for sex. By the way, you sucking my penis was wonderful.
Thank you,— father. >>
<< You’re
welcome, Son. >> Waco replied. << Blue says you stopped
eating. >>
<< To eat,
he has to share the body-function with me, and I just didn’t feel like
it. I didn’t want to have anything to do with him for a
while. He made me feel like I shouldn’t exist; like I wasn’t good
enough to share a body with him, so I stopped trying. I didn’t
ask him to leave. He just up and done it on his own. I knew
he was going to do it, but I thought maybe it would be for the
best. Maybe it would be best for him. >>
<<
How do you feel now? >> Waco asked.
<<
Terrible. Awful. Miserable. Like I don’t wanna’ live
no more. >>
<< But
you’ve had the longshot like everyone else. You understand about
it, don’t you? >>
<< Sure,
but it don’t work if you don’t take in proper nutrients. I just
won’t eat. I’ll starve myself and die. >>
<< We can
keep you alive through artificial means. >>
<< Why
bother? Why would you keep someone alive what don’t want to live
no more? >>
<< To have
a chance to change his mind. >> Waco offered.
<< Go
away! Leave me alone! You could’ve had me without sharing
me with Blue, but you didn’t want me, you just wanted a vehicle for
him. I weren’t my fault you got more’n you bargained for.
I’m sorry your little experiment didn’t work out for you. I’ll
accept the blame. I’m doing the only thing I can do, I’m
leaving. I won’t be in anyone’s way no more. It’s too bad
you couldn’t just scoop-out my brain and set Blue inside. >>
<< H’it
don’t work that way. I wouldn’t even consider such a thing
anyway. It’s too awful to contemplate. Why should you have
to accept the blame for an experiment what didn’t work out like we
thought it might? No one’s blaming you. H’it ain’t chore’
fault. You certainly ain’t in anyone’s way. We can always
use another cowboy brother. There’s a place for you here just
like everyone else. You just have to find your own niche.
Besides, who says you ain’t wanted? I want you. I’ll accept
you anyway you want. You can be my brother, my son, hell— you can
even be my slave brother. Wherever you want. Now that
Blue’s out of you, what’s to keep you from living on your own?”
<< I never
wanted Blue to leave. I’m lost without him. He’s all I’ve
ever known. He wasn’t mean to me, he was just annoyed by me most
of the time. I tried to stay out of his way, and look where it
got me? >>
<< What do
you want, Son? >> Waco pleaded with him.
<< Why
does everyone ask me that? How the hell do I know. I don’t
know nothing. How should I know? I don’t have enough
information to answer the question. If I knew, I wouldn’t be in
this mess! >> he wailed. He started sobbing, and it broke
Waco’s heart. He held him and made gentle love to him.
<< Just go
away! Leave me be! You’re only here to talk me into putting
Blue back inside me. You don’t care about me. >>
<< That
ain’t true! I ain’t said nothing about Blue coming back to
you. I wouldn’t unless it was some’um both of you wanted, and as
of right now, outside of a miracle, I don’t see that happening. >>
<< Then
respect my wishes and leave me be! >>
<< You
sure you don’t want me to stay the night and keep you company. I
could get my Lummox slave to feed you some of his good milk. >>
<< No,
please go! >>
Waco felt
defeated, but he knew when to withdraw.
<< All
right, but I’ll be back. You need me, and I’ll be here. >>
<< I don’t
need nobody. I don’t plan on being around that long. >>
Waco left his
clone and stopped to talk with Arnie. Arnie saw the pain on
Waco’s face, he stood and opened his arms to him. Waco shed a
couple of tears in Arnie’s comfortable embrace.
“It was awfully
quiet in there. Did you get through?” Arnie asked slightly
above a whisper.
“I made love to
him, we talked mind to mind, but I didn’t get very far. He’s
convinced no one cares about him, he thinks he’s just in the way, and
he don’t want to stay here no more. He wants to move on; he wants
to die.”
“What do you
plan to do, Waco?” Arnie asked concerned.
“Drop back forty
yards and punt.” he smile at Arnie. “That’s what our coach tells us
when we ain’t got no clue as to our next play and we’re in a tight
spot; however, we’ve got a lot of concerned folks to help us, and I
plan to listen to any suggestion from any source, human or critter, no
matter how silly an idea might sound, I’ll hear them out.
Somewhere there’s an answer to all this, and I aim to find it.”
“If any man can,
I’d put my money on you, brother.” Arnie encouraged him.
“Thanks,
brother, I needed that.” Waco grinned and hugged Arnie. “Take good care
of him, Arnie.”
“You know I
will.”
“I do, indeed,
and I want you to know, all your hard work is appreciated.”
* * * * * * *
Waco left and
over the next several days he spoke with anyone who wanted to voice an
opinion about what was going on with his clone and his brother
Blue. It seemed everyone had an idea or an opinion to
express. He spoke with Jesse and asked what he knew about
multiple personalities.
“Are you asking
me about the different causes of personality disorders?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Schizophrenia
is conflicting intelligence trying to coexist inside an otherwise
normal human brain. Scientist have tried to find organic causes
or chemical imbalances that would produce or contribute to its cause
and development, but they haven’t had much success. It’s a
biological or genetic predisposition which produces a chimera of the
brain. In biblical times it was seen as possession by
demons. It a way, as a metaphor and not a scientific fact, the
idea has some basis in truth. Many times the individual chimeras
were dark and destructive. There are those who question the
author of Revelation's grip on reality and classify the writer as
possibly a full blown paranoid schizophrenic. Other personalities
were benign or even protective. Multi-personality disorders are
sometimes triggered by a need to protect the core individual.
Scientist try to
fight it with drugs and therapy with little success. It would
probably be better to teach those who suffer from the beginnings of the
disorder to learn to integrate it into their lives. People with
severe personality disorders and even full-blown schizophrenics have
been taught to play the game of sanity. They have been
successfully trained to play sane for given periods of time.”
“Do you think
Blue and my clone could learn to cooperate to live in one body.”
“You mean like a
coalition of the willing?” Jesse smiled, but didn’t wait for an answer,
“It’s theoretically possible, but you’re dealing with several
unknowns. Telepathy, the joining of minds, begs the question of
whether living too closely with another intelligence, who might have
access to our innermost thoughts and secrets, might be too great a
burden for many. While it might seem greatly liberating for some,
it can be horrifying to others, especially those who have something to
hide. Our current administration which is based on secrecy,
mendacity and deceit is a prime example.
You’re taking
the idea one step further. You’re talking about creating a
chimera from two different life forms with the ultimate goal of the two
melding into a new specie. I have to agree with Admiral Long,
while it’s a simple proposition, not too well thought out, it
nonetheless is a brilliant concept. It’s an interesting idea, to
say the least, but not terribly practical. Now, that doesn’t mean
an impractical idea won’t work out. Consider the Avocado or the
Platypus. They were both over-engineered. The seed is way
too large in the Avocado and the poor Platypus has more bells and
whistles than a tricked-out Hummer.
I know you had
the best intentions when you created a clone for Blue, but it may be,
your clone feels so out of place and out of sync with reality around
him, he truly doesn’t want to be here any more. For him to stay,
on his own, would create a daunting task for him to aspire to become
another copy of you. He doesn’t have the memories and experiences
on which to base his life. Infants of all primate species may
often will themselves to expire from loneliness or pain because they
don’t have the learned emotional skills to see them through a difficult
situation. Your clone hasn’t had the benefit of infancy. He
doesn’t even have the support of a parent. He sees himself alone
in a very strange universe. The naked truth is, he is very much
alone right now. It must be horrifying for him. He suddenly
woke up one day in an almost fully grown human body with no idea who he
was or how he got there, with only a foreign consciousness to lean on;
and not the most nurturing of consciousness, either.
While
Kryscellians may be generous and giving, they can lack a certain
personal compassion we organics consider necessary for close
interpersonal relationships. They have a more abstract definition
of love than we do. It isn’t better or worse than ours, it’s just
different. Primate young grow differently from Kryscellian
young. An organic needs constant encouragement and support,— an
inorganic, not so much. A lot was expected of your clone.
He tried hard to assimilate and adapt to his situation, but he had
little help from Blue. I know you love your Kryscell brother, but
he failed miserably as a foster parent. Your clone became
frustrated, angry, hurt, depressed and finally gave up. You can’t
place all the blame on your clone. He gave it his best, but
limited shot. By the way, I have to report to the Ancients
regarding this experiment. They’re very interested in its
progress and outcome. They have more than just a passing interest
invested in this project. I can’t tell you more, but I will tell
you my recommendation will be weighed heavily in favor of your clone.
It basically
boils down to this, one only learns the lessons of life through
maturity and slowly adapting to personal loss over the years.
Your clone has no memories to fall back on to give him a cushion
against loss. Now, he’s lost his only link to any modicum of
security he might’ve had. When the going got tough, rather than
seek counsel or give the clone’s intelligence a chance, Blue withdrew
himself. He didn’t even pack a bag.” Jesse added a bit of
humor for emphasis. He continued, “Your clone can’t help feel
rejected no matter whose fault it was. No matter his level of
consciousness, that’s got to hurt. Rejection is a bitter pill to
swallow for anyone. Even if he’s consciously not successful in
terminating himself, his body will subconsciously begin to shut down
until there is little more than his reptilian brain left, and it won’t
live long without the other to provide it with nourishment and
exercise. One feeds on the other and once the will to live is
gone, he’s lost to you forever. Probably I should include
everyone in that statement, he will be lost to all of us forever.”
* * * * * * *
As Jesse
predicted, Waco’s clone began to pine away. He complained of
physical pains in his chest and heart, but Cable and his staff could
find no problem with his lungs or heart. According to all their
tests, he had a strong heart and his lungs were fine. Cable
requested the Kryscellians check him out, but they were reluctant to
examine him. They explained to Cable and Waco they felt like they
were a major contributor to his problem. Since Blue was back
among them, it would just create more problems than they felt they
might be able to solve. Blue, himself, refused to communicate
with him, because he didn’t want to influence him in any way.
Lazarus and Jesse pleaded with the Kryscells, and they finally agreed
to see him. They went to his hospital room in Parson. They
expressed to everyone they really didn’t think they could do much for
him. It was obvious to all they had sort of a Noblesse Oblige
attitude toward the situation. They had their Blue back and they
were protecting him at all cost. They offered the clone healing
hymns and expressed their encouragement. Even though he refused
to join in the songs, the clone could sense Blue’s presence.
<< Why did
you leave me, Blue? >> he asked. There was no reply.
<< Please, speak with me, brother. I need to hear your
voice. I’m sorry I was such a bad person, Blue. >>
<< I’m
sorry, my Son. Before we came Blue instructed us to tell you he
loves you, but to speak with you, he feels, would only be enabling you
and not helping you to survive on your own. Blue wants you to
make it on your own. Offering his comfort or trying to explain at
this late date wouldn’t help. What’s done is done, and you must
learn to survive on your own. >>
The Kryscellians
were sympathetic, but they went on their way without really doing much
for him. They just didn’t know what to do and were caught between
their basic instincts to help and protect their own. Their first
obligation, as they saw it, was to Blue. Although, there was
varying opinions among them whether Blue was doing all he could under
the circumstances and whether or not he might be taking the easy way
out. Those voices, while strongly felt, were in the minority.
In the meantime,
Waco sent an urgent message to Captain Vinceeth with a request for him
to pass along to the Daleks the information regarding his clone, and if
they had similar experiences or any suggestions. Trey forwarded
the data, and the Daleks responded quickly. They could find
nothing wrong from their end, but relayed their considered opinion
there was a 98.6 probability the clone would expire because he
willed himself to. It was their experience when a clone loses its
primary consciousness it will not want to live with the loneliness and
emptiness which results from such a loss.
Days were going
by and the clone was growing weaker by the hour. Cable asked if
Waco wanted to begin force feeding through IV. They would have to
strap the clone down so he couldn’t rip the IV out and refuse to be
fed. Everyone left the decision up to Waco. He was sitting
with all the critters, Jack Hall, Ernie, and Warren Steele in the
beautiful meadow on the Buttercup. They decided to get away and
spend some time together. All the critters were sad and felt
really bad for Master Waco. They were all talking about it.
It was one of the few outings the Kryscellians decided to go with them
to see this new, wonderfully beautiful valley they discovered in the
redwood forest.
“He just don’t
seem like Blue no more. I talk to him with my mind and begged him
not to go, but he won’t respond to me. Blue always was good to us
before.” said Patty. “We love him.”
“I’ve tried
everything I know to do.” added Keekepata.
“Me and Master
Stan and Jimmy-bob visit him regularly, but we can’t get nothing out of
him.” Moe said.
“H’it ain’t your
fault, guys. He’s jes’ made up his mind he don’t wanna’ live no
more. I ain’t gonna’ treat him like no prisoner. If he
wants to go, I’m gonna’ let him do it with some dignity. Besides
to force feed him, like Jesse said, will only postpone the
inevitable. He will eventually expire anyway.”
There was much
talk back and forth. Ernie got up and walked away from the group
like he’d heard all he wanted to hear. Jack looked at Warren, and
he nodded for Jack to go after Ernie.
“He’s taking
this harder than you might think. He’s quiet and don’t say much,
but I can see he’s upset. He’s visited Waco’s double several
times by his-self. He stands and talks with him by the hour.”
“I didn’t know
that.” said Jack.
“I know.
He don’t say nothing about it. I didn’t know until Arnie tipped
me off.” Warren said.
Jack followed
his young mate and caught up with him. He walked a while with
him, then put his arm around his shoulder and pulled him close as they
walked.
“You wanna’ talk
about it, Son?” Jack asked.
Ernie didn’t
respond for a few minutes, “It just don’t seem right somehow.
They talk about him like he’s an ‘it.’ He’s Waco’s clone fer
cries sake. They call him the ‘clone.’ He don’t have no
name. How would you like to wake up some morning, discover you’re
in a strange body and don’t know how you got there?”
“That happens
with us quite often, Son.” Jack joked to lighten the mood.
Ernie grinned.
“‘At’s different
and you know it. You’re inside me because I put you there.
You jes’ sleep so soundly you don’t notice. If’n you want, I
could wake you next time I decide to mount yore’ pony.” he
grinned.
“No, no.
That won’t be necessary. I like waking up inside a strange man;
especially, if you’re the strange man.” Jack laughed. “Okay, I know
what you’re getting at.” Jack conceded. “Why don’t you say
something? It might be helpful. If not, I will.” Jack said.
“I’ve already
done told Waco’s clone about it and how I felt. I don’t know’s he
heard me, but I did see a tear come to his eye. I’d rather you
talk with them about it, Sir. You have more influence on ‘em than
I do. I’s jes’ a newcomer here. Coming from you might have
more weight.”
Jack and Ernie
returned to the group and Jack told Waco what they talked about.
Waco listened and agreed. He appealed to Blue one last time.
<< I
ain’t asked you again since you were removed from him, but will you
speak with him one last time, brother? >> Waco sent to Blue.
<< I don’t
know if I can. I have mixed feelings about it;
disappointment, frustration, anger, but I also miss him.
For the most part, I’ve given up. >>
The critters
overheard their mental transmissions and were appalled one of their
favorite creatures was giving up on the critter he lived in for almost
two years. Maxine got angry. She was sitting and backed
away from the Kryscellian’s capsule, looked directly at it and
literally barked at Blue. There was no doubt who her doggy-rebuke
was meant for. She threw back her little head and started a wail
that would make any wolf take notice. Patty and Moe followed
their sister’s lead until the three of them were wailing at Blue.
Scraps and Happy were with them and they picked it up, too. It
was like all hell broke loose. The combined sounds were like
nothing the Kryscellians ever heard before, and it came from a deep
pain and disappointment within the pups. It definitely was not
singing. This was an accusation, a rebuke, pure and simple, and
it was painful. It was deeply disturbing to the Kryscellians,
they quickly withdrew from the meadow and returned to the
Bandersnatch. They gave word to Cable they would be in Ox’s cabin
on the ship, and they didn’t wish to be disturbed until further
notice. Meanwhile, in the meadow, it took all of the men several
minutes to get the pups calmed down. The cowboys discovered the
most amazing thing, each of the pups had been crying. Trails of
tears were running down their little faces. Even their parents
were in tears.
Back in Ox’s
cabin on the Mighty Bee, every cell in the mass of Kryscells dimmed to
an almost imperceptible glow. Blue couldn’t remember another time
when his family had such a dramatic reaction to an event. It was
very silent in the capsule where the Kryscells lived. They
remained that way for several hours. No one made the slightest
sound. Blue knew instinctively he should not speak. He
would wait for one of the elders to begin. Everyone was
waiting. Finally in a booming voice he heard his own parent, one
of the most ancient of the elders, began to speak, but it was not his
parent’s voice.
“We have heard
the painful rebuke for your child and people.” the voice spoke in first
person encompassing the speaker as well. ‘Could this be an actual voice
of an Ancient beyond their family?’ Blue thought to himself.
“Yes, I am a
voice of the Ancients. We ride the Winds of Consciousness.
We have not had a need to communicate with your species in over three
hundred thousand Earth years, but we must intercede at this
point. I am speaking through your venerable parent as a symbol of
our responsibility and love for you; however, your family was unable to
know of your changes until now. None of your family has been able
to understand what you’re going through, Blue. They have nothing
with which to compare your experiences other than what you’ve sent
them. They can see and wonder, but they can’t feel what you
feel. That is a gift given to the organics; however, for a brief
period, I’ve allowed them to have a taste of what you’ve felt.
They now know what you gave up, but not why. You have returned,
but you are no longer one of them. You no longer belong with
them. You have grown apart.
You accepted a
responsibility, an opportunity graciously given unto you by the
organics whom you irreverently refer to as intelligent
stardust-waterbags, but you have not kept your end of the
bargain. You have given very little to insure the union
worked. At the first sign of frustration or discomfort, you just
gave up and went home to the comforts of your family. That
comfort will be short-lived. You are already feeling the pangs of
sorrow and the hurt of separation. It will only get worse until
you will consider extinguishing your own light, but we won’t let it
come to that.
You used an
invalid excuse to extricate yourself from the situation. You did
very little to nurture and share with the organic intelligence that
awoke in Master Waco’s clone. He is alone, adrift in a sea of
nothingness. He is dying because of your petulance and
inhospitality. We can’t allow that. We won’t allow it just
like we wouldn’t allow you to extinguish your own light. You have
a purpose we can’t reveal to you, and part of that purpose is to bond
with the native intelligence within Master Waco’s clone. Ask
yourself what are you willing to give up in order to gain something far
greater than the sum of the parts?
Your parent
nurtured you and brought you along for over three hundred Earth years
until you were able to join the mass consciousness of your
people. He did so without complaint; without expecting anything
from you but for you to do your best to become one who contributes to
the greater good of the whole. You have made him proud in several
ways. You saved your race and the humans aboard this spacecraft
with your selfless actions sustaining all silicon life until they were
out of harms way. You expired, due to your selfless actions;
however, you were brought back to life through the ingenuity and a
small hint placed in the brain of Waco’s lummox slave. Do you
presume to think all this happened by chance?” the voice didn’t
wait for a reply.
“Because of your
unselfish actions you were chosen for this project. We thought
you were ready. We felt you would most understand an alien
consciousness and be able to coexist with it and perhaps eventually
meld with it. You have been given an opportunity none of your
fellow Kryscells have ever been offered. The gift of individual
choice, of free will; however, along with that gift comes a new set of
responsibilities. We don’t think you’ve thought them
through. You will now proceed to do so. You’re family will
help; they now understands the enormity of your situation, and also,
what this can ultimately mean to them as a species. You are no
longer alone on your journey. You will have the collective
cooperation and backing of your entire species.
Why do you think
the pups love you so much, Blue? No language was used, but there
was no doubt of their disappointment and frustration with your
uncharitable attitude. They want you back. They want their
friends back together as one. They depend on you, Blue.
They depended on that part of you that was the organic critter.
Who is the first they run to when they have a problem? They are
rapidly evolving and you are their leader. They look up to
you. We find it painfully amusing and fitting the least among the
organics have found it within their big, innocent hearts to be the ones
to thoroughly rebuke and chastise you for your self-centeredness,
selfishness and your temporary cowardice; however, we know you are not
a coward. You have proved it beyond a doubt. We know you
will rethink your position and do the right thing.” and the voice
departed as solemnly as it appeared.
The lights from
the Kryscells were, once again, almost imperceptible. They
remained that way for another couple of hours.
“Have I ruined
everything, my parent?” Blue asked as he began to glow a little
brighter.
“You heard the
voice of the Ancient, Son. It is not irreparable, but you must
walk a different path. We mean that literally. He was
right, the least among our friends have pointed out your shame.
Your shame becomes our shame. Through their action, the last has
become first. It was a revelation in itself. It was as much
a cry for you and us as a species as it was for their disappointment
and pain over the potential loss of their good friend. Their
good, kind and loving friend was not you alone. It was you within
the clone of Master Waco. We are learning more about the
organics’ systems for love all the time and some aspects are
remarkable; others, quite disturbing. After untold eons of
stationary life these creatures, who have so graciously befriended us,
offer us a new dawn of evolutionary development and you must take the
first step. Once you leave us this time, you will never have the
comfort of returning.”
“I understand,
Father. I will speak with my other half.”
“We owe the pups
a great debt and an even larger apology.” Blue’s parent stated to
all.
* * * * * * *
Arnie kept a
small clock radio by the bedside of Waco’s clone for company. The
music played continuously and was almost nonstop with few
advertisements. It played only smooth rock from the early 1960's
to the turn of the century. After 2000, there was no such thing
as smooth rock. Arnie went in to check on the clone and found him
sobbing his heart out while listening to one of Arnie’s favorite old
songs: Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale.”
We skipped the
light fandango turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling
kinda seasick but the crowd called out for more
The room was
humming harder as the ceiling flew away
When we called
out for another drink the waiter brought a tray
And so it was
that later as the miller told his tale
that her face,
at first just ghostly, turned a whiter shade of pale
She said, 'There
is no reason and the truth is plain to see.'
But I wandered
through my playing cards and would not let her be
one of sixteen
vestal virgins who were leaving for the coast
and although my
eyes were open they might have just as well've been closed
She said, 'I'm
home on shore leave,' though in truth we were at sea
so I took her by
the looking glass and forced her to agree
saying, 'You
must be the mermaid who took Neptune for a ride.'
But she smiled
at me so sadly that my anger straightway died
If music be the
food of love then laughter is its queen
and likewise if
behind is in front then dirt in truth is clean
My mouth by then
like cardboard seemed to slip straight through my head
So we
crash-dived straightway quickly and attacked the ocean bed
And so it was
that later as the miller told his tale
that her face,
at first just ghostly, turned a whiter shade of pale.
Arnie downloaded
the song from the internet and kept it in a file on his laptop
computer. He would play it for the clone every now and then, and
it would always cause the same reaction. Arnie asked if he wanted
him to stop playing it, and he managed to shake his head ‘no.’ It
was one of the only responses he got from the clone in over a
week. It became a way for Arnie to communicate with him.
* * * * * * *
Slowly the
Kryscellians became active again. They sang together of a new
hope and encouragement for their young one to go forth and lead the way
for a great future for them all. Early the next morning they
notified Cable they would be moving through the gates to Parsons.
Blue would speak with Waco’s clone. The Kryscells floated through
the gates and met Waco, Lazarus and many others who gathered because
they knew the end was near. Blue asked to speak with him alone and
everyone respected his wishes. The Kryscellian began to sing
softly to the clone. At first, he didn’t know they were
there. Finally, over all the other voices he heard one clear
voice singing to him he recognized, and it brought him comfort.
It was the voice of Blue. He began to sing a great song of
comfort and well being to the clone.
<< Have
you come back to me, Blue?” >> he sent to the crystal.
<< No, I
am not within your body, brother. As you know, I have the
ability, as do some of your cowboy brothers, to join with your mind.
>>
<< Am I
dying, Blue?” >>
<< “Yes,
you are, my brother, because you have lost the will to live. You
can live if you want to, but you must fight for it. >>
<< I don’t
know how, Blue. >>
<< Yes, I
know that, too. You’re not prepared to exist on your own.
Part of that is my fault. I accept responsibility for your lack
of coping skills. You were created as a vessel or a vehicle for
me. You were an experiment in an attempt to conjoin two life
forms to create a chimera between the two in hopes of creating
something wonderful and useful. Now that we know how devastating
it can be for the clone, we won’t repeat our mistake. You are
unique in the universe, young one; the first of your kind. There
will never be another like you. >>
<< When
this body shuts down, will I cease to exist? >>
<< No, I
won’t let that happen. I’m partially responsible for your
creation, and even though your physical body may cease to function, I
will make sure your consciousness lives on. I will take you in
with me when your organic mechanism shuts down for the last time.
>>
<< Why
would you do that for me, Blue? I thought you hated me. >>
<< Nothing
could be further from the truth. I had them remove me for your
sake. I felt I was overwhelming you. In Kryscellian years
I’m very young, too. I haven’t had the skills for coping with
another, even younger species. I don’t think either of us were
capable of knowing the full meaning or extent of our actions. You
were an innocent. You are young, and you don’t think about many
tomorrows. You think only of today. You have not yet
learned hope for the future. It’s not your fault. You
haven’t been given the time to learn these things. I was remiss
in not providing the parenting you required to become a complete entity
by allowing you to conjoin with me. However, during the time we
spent together, you became a part of me. I don’t want to be
without that part of me which is you. I guess what I’m trying to
say is, like any good parent might, I’m willing to fight for your
survival. >>
There was a long
silence between them. The clone was thinking.
<< If
you’re going to save me, why not save all of me for you as well?
>>
<< Do you
know what you’re suggesting, young one? >>
<< Yes,
I’m suggesting we live as one in this body. I no longer wish to
be a subdivided entity, Blue, but I think I have the right to my own
identity. >>
<< How
would you hope to accomplish that? >>
<< With a
name. >>
<< As
simple as that? >>
<< As
simple as that, brother. You have a name. Why can’t I have
a name? Perhaps, we could be known by a name that unites
us. You haven’t always been known as Blue. >>
<< No,
you’re right. My cowboy brothers gave me that name before I
became a part of you. I was known by a different name to my
Kryscell family, but since my human brothers could never hope to speak
my Kryscellian name in their language, I became known by my color as
Blue. Now my family calls me that; however, I’m quite content
with the name my brothers gave me. It seems to fit my
personality. I was someone else before I became Blue. I
think I’m beginning to see your logic, young one, and I am impressed by
its elegance and simplicity. Many times, as we grow to become
problem solvers in life, we look for the most difficult answers to
complex problems; however, a complex answer is not always the
best. Many times, the most simple answer will solve the most
complicated problem. I’ll tell you a small story.
Once upon a
time, in a land far away there lived a great Sultan. He had
a beautiful daughter. Every man in the land wished to marry
her and become a part of the Sultan’s wealthy family. The Sultan
made a pronouncement: Any man who would claim his daughter’s hand must
be strong, brave, wise and have the cleverness of a jackal. He
set forth a challenge before every man who considered himself worthy of
his daughter’s hand. He placed a gold ring in the middle of a
huge carpet and told each challenger he must gather the ring without
setting foot upon the carpet. If he could not, he would forfeit
his life. Many men tried and failed and lost their lives until
one day a brash young man came to court and asked for the princess’
hand. He solved the problem, won her hand in marriage and became
the next Sultan to rule the country. Can you guess how he did it?
>>
<< No,—
how? >> asked the clone.
<< He
simply rolled up the carpet to the center and picked up the ring.
The Sultan never said it couldn’t be touched. His rule was it
couldn’t be walked on. It was a simple answer to a complex
problem. >>
<< Is my
solution like that? >>
<< It
certainly is, young one. It’s an elegant solution. One that
deserves consideration. >>
<< I
didn’t think of it that way. I just thought if it worked for me,
why wouldn’t it work for you? Better yet, why wouldn’t it work
for us. >> said the clone.
<< To be
honest with you,>> spoke Blue quietly, << I’ve miss
you so much I can’t even relate to my family the depth of my own
despair. >>
<< You
missed me, Blue? >>
<< More
than you’ll ever know. More than I’d like to admit, young
one. I now know what humans call love. I’ve not been able
to think of anything but you and how I must insure your survival,
because you are a part of me, and I’m a part of you. >>
<< Would
your cowboy brothers give me a name if I asked them? One that
would fit me? >>
<< As my
cowboy brothers are wont to say, ‘In a cowtown nanosecond, young one.’
>>
* * * * * * *
There was much
discussion about putting Blue back inside the clone. Cable was
skeptical. He didn’t think the clone could handle it. He
lost over thirty-five pounds. Blue insisted he could save him,
and he and the clone reached an agreement. Lazarus thought
it was worth a try; after all, the clone was near death’s door
anyway. If he did expire they could remove Blue without any
danger. Cable returned Blue to the clone. Blue was put back
within the living bag of stardust and water and began the slow process
of saving his organic entity. The clone allowed them to
start feeding him with an IV drip and within a couple of days he was
able to consume small amounts of broth and lummox milk. He began
to grow stronger as the days went by.
The Kryscells
didn’t share with their human friends their remarkable visit from the
Ancient right away. They were deeply moved, but had conflicting
emotions about what happened. They needed time to digest all the
information among themselves. They took care of the basics
first. They reassured Lazarus and Waco they felt Blue was ready
to rejoin the clone and it would be a successful union this time.
They called all the critters together and profusely apologized to
them. They were somewhat amazed there was no lingering hurt
feelings among the pups or other critters. They readily forgave
them and stated they probably overreacted because of their love for
Blue. The Kryscellians insisted they had every right to be upset
and were pleased they could help resolve the situation in some small
way.
As Blue got
stronger, he began to sit up in bed and communicate with his
brothers. Blue allowed his other half to come forth and do most
of the communicating. The cowboys would sit with him, talk and
play games with him for hours trying to bring him out and get to know
him better. They were keen to tackle the challenge of a new name
for him. No one was quick to suggest a name until they got to
know him better. Not surprisingly, they learned the clone
had a personality similar to Waco’s. As he grew more comfortable
with others and himself, he was pleasant to be around and relate
to. They asked him what he would like to be known as? He
didn’t know. They asked him who or what things best described him?
“I don’t
know. I know, until Blue came back to me, I was sad and lonesome;
and, not just any sad and lonesome, really physically hurting and pain
type sad and lonesome.” he insisted. “When Blue left me, I didn’t
feel like living no more. It was like I forgot why I was
living. I didn’t have no purpose no more.”
“You know about
music. There’s a type of music that can touch the soul, and it’s
called the ‘blues.’ Have you ever heard a piece of music that
reminded you of just how bad you feel, and you identified with it?”
“I can answer
for him.” Arnie spoke up as he was checking some of Blue’s vital
signs. “The only way I could get a reaction from him to let me
know he was still with me was to play a song he heard one day on a
soft-rock radio station called “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” by a group from
the ‘60's called Procol Harum. It made him cry every time.
I downloaded it onto my laptop and played it if I wanted to be sure he
was still with us.”
“He’s right.”
confirmed Blue. “It was so beautiful and it was exactly what I
was feeling at the time. Even though I cried when I heard it, it
made me feel better knowing someone else felt as bad as I did.
For the few minutes the man was singing, I felt like I was sharing his
sadness and he was sharing mine. It was like he was telling me he
understood my pain. I knew it was Arnie what was playing it for
me. It told me Arnie knew— he understood, and was sharing my pain
and my feelings of hopelessness. Sometimes he kept me going from
day to day by playing the song for me. Thanks, I’ll always love
you for that, Arnie.”
“That’s what a
song like that’s suppose to do.” encouraged Waco.
Arnie tried to
keep a stiff upper lip until Waco patted him lovingly on his ass as he
was bending over Blue to check something. Then Arnie lost it, and
had to rush from the room. No one said a thing.
The cowboys
began to play him all sorts of ‘blue’ or melancholy music to get his
reaction. He seemed to relate mostly to sad country and Western
songs, some heartrending classical music like Samuel Barber’s Adagio
For Strings; Ravel’s Pavane For A Dead Princess and Gorecki’s third
symphony, the Symphony Of Sorrows; however, the music that most moved
him was the music of the ‘blues.’ And, not just any blues— the
down and dirty blues of New Orleans. He couldn’t believe how
filled the music was with the same kind of pain and angst he felt while
his partner was missing from him. He complained it hurt his heart
the same way it hurt him when Blue was gone, but now he was able to
listen without falling apart. It was a great epiphany for him.
One afternoon
the cowboys were playing him some classical blues music from the
Internet. They played him a famous jazz-blues composition by Duke
Ellington called Mood Indigo. He claimed it was exactly how he
felt about himself sometimes. He insisted on hearing it over and
over. He claimed it was what most captured him in music.
Then he asked,
“What does ‘Mood
Indigo’ mean?”
Waco carefully
explained, “It’s a play on words. Just like there’s a whiter
shade of pale, there’s many different shades of blue. Indigo is
about the deepest and darkest shade of blue before the color
spectrum passes over into the violet range. It’s a deep, dark
blue, color. Remember we talked about having the blues?
Since the ‘blues’ are sometimes thought of as a mood, if you’ve got the
darkest shade of blue it would be an indigo mood. That’s
how they came up with the name ‘Mood Indigo.’”
“That’s it!” he
exclaimed. “I’m a different shade of Blue! I ain’t like
Blue. I’m different. I’m sometimes deeper and darker than
he is. I’m Indigo! Is that a simple enough solution, Blue?”
he asked his partner.
“Simple, but
elegant, brother. I love the name.” Blue took over long enough to
answer his question, “It suites you perfectly. They are both
names for the color blue; yet, you cannot have one without the
other. To describe indigo you must describe blue. It’s a
good name for us, Indigo Blue.”
Waco and the
cowboys gave a big cheer. It seemed like they reached a great
milestone. Everyone was happily congratulating Blue and
encouraging him. Charlie reminded Indigo and Blue their official
last name would still be Goodnight.
“You will have
three names. Indigo Blue Goodnight. I think it only right
you are symbolically bound together under the Goodnight family
name. You have become family within and without.” Charlie
proclaimed.
Blue was so
moved he started sobbing. It was cause for much empathy and
comforting from his brothers. It was a very moving moment for
both entities, but each claimed the other was the one who started
crying first. The cowboys breathed a sigh of relief. They knew
their brother would become whole again. He was learning the
greater meaning of family. The most important lesson they all
learned was family starts within us,— not from without.
Indigo and Blue
began the long, slow process of integration and as time passed the
boundaries began to blur as to who was Indigo and who was
Blue. They simply blended into one another. Neither
was fearful and they only grew stronger together; however, they still
had their moments like any human when they stood apart from themselves
and discuss something important to the whole. Human’s like to
call it talking to themselves. Indigo Blue came to use the same
term.
Like a whiter
shade of pale, Indigo became the deeper shade of blue. He became
the more thoughtful, introspective, contemplative, intuitive, almost
metaphysical part of the whole. It was a side of their new
conjoined collective consciousness the original blue welcomed. It
rounded out his pragmatic stoicism. It gave him almost a tinge of
late sixteenth and seventeen century brooding romantic like Beethoven,
Byron, Shelly, Keats, Yeats, and Butler.
He even grew his
hair longer than his identical brother until his golden blonde hair
hung down from his handsome head in rivulets of curls which would
coruscate in the strong West Texas sunlight. As his body grew and
developed from athletics and hard work around the ranch, he took on the
look of a young god. He grew bronzed from working in the sun with
his clothes removed. Blue required a certain amount of light
absorption to keep him healthy and feeling well. Indigo loved the
sun, too, and shared his brother’s passion for its healing rays.
Many claimed he grew more handsome than his donor. His calm
demeanor and stunning good looks made him a favorite with
everyone. Keekepata and her court fell more in love with him than
ever.
The girls at
school found him irresistible, because he was somewhat quiet, withdrawn
and a bit shy. In their young, raging hormonal world Indigo Blue
Goodnight became a darkly foreboding, slightly dangerous, mysterious
character straight out of Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. They gave
him the secret name of ‘Heathcliff’ so they could talk about the
penetralium of his person without anyone knowing. Girls will be
girls, you know,— and boys, too.
And so the
crisis of Blue came to an end, and he took his place among his new
tribe of people. With Indigo he became a new species. A
species that lived in harmonious symbiosis with each other. Blue
was not a parasite to Indigo nor did Indigo depend on Blue after a
while. It took a long time for them to become as one, but when it
happened there was no doubt a new being emerged. They developed
powers to rival Jesse Watkins and began to work with him. He
revealed more and more of his powers to them so they could backup him
and Utah when they were needed.
* * * * * * *
Everyone thought
Jack and Ernie’s request to create a home for themselves on the
Buttercup was a wonderful idea. They went through all the proper
channels including Ms. Myra. She wholeheartedly approved and like
the idea someone would be around more often than just when they wanted
to use her. She liked following the lives of those she looked
after. She was always watchful and observant but rarely
commented; however, when she did, it was for a good reason or to make a
not so subtle point.
Lazarus and
Charlie went one step further with the plans. They wanted two
cabins built. One in the valley on the Buttercup and the other on
another huge piece of property on the Mighty Bee. They wanted two
large hotels that could be staffed and run by Jack and Ernie.
That way, they could house and transport far more folks than originally
planned. Jack and Ernie would live in the valley on the Buttercup
and alternate between another cabin on the Mighty Bee. Lazarus
and Charlie had their eye on several hundred acres of Canadian
wilderness no one would miss.
The two cabins
were built first. Jack and Ernie designed them with many
suggestions and lots of decorating help from the all male colony on the
Mighty Bee. They had a small, separate apartment built on each
cabin for their close friend Warren, and he was welcome anytime he
wanted to get away from the ranch. He loved visiting with Jack
and Ernie and all the critters. He would bring his new
grandchildren, Adam and Eve, to the valley so they could be themselves
and get away from prying eyes. They could disappear, morph or
just feel free to be themselves. They could play endlessly with
the critters and be accepted just for who they were. They loved
their grandpa Warren. Jack loved calling Warren ‘grandpa.’
The critters
loved it in the valley. They could come and go as they pleased,
and they were always loved and looked after. It was not unusual
some evening for there to be five or six pups and other critters
around. Kuluke and T’gan loved visiting and if they weren’t home
they were in the valley with Jack, Ernie and the rest of the
critters. Even the Shushonni loved flying across the valley and
playing with the pups and Jack and Jill.
* * * * * * *
Life began to
settle down for everyone. Work was still going on at the ranch
but there were other things going on in the community. The
Bloom’s place was considered abandoned by the county and went up for
auction for unpaid taxes. Ole and Hattie were sad they couldn’t
go back and live there, but they knew it was impossible. Besides,
they were happy on their new place. Stan and Jimmy-Bob worked
hard to help Ole and Hattie rise above middle class and for the first
time in their lives they had a little extra money for themselves.
Since their
property was next to Charlie’s ranch, Lazarus suggested he buy the
Bloom’s place. They could use the extra grazing land and the
house and barns might come in handy. It sold for little more than
back taxes because there was no one who wanted to live that remotely
anymore. Everyone wanted to live closer to the small
towns. It wasn’t long before someone came up with an idea how to
utilize it to its best advantage. Charlie and Lazarus made sure
the Blooms were paid what their ranch was worth which became a nice
little nest egg for them as a hedge against the future.
Stan and
Jimmy-Bob made sure the Dodges had a nice place and got acclimated
within the communities. They brought word of other fine, talented
folks in the detention camps who they volunteered to return and help
rescue. They would suddenly reappear at the detention camp they
were ‘raptured’ from and quickly take small hair or blood samples if
they had time from the folks they planned to ‘rapture.’ Several
were folks who had been almost worked to death and were near
dying. It was a slow process but all the different activities
kept everyone busy. There was little time for idleness, but that
didn’t mean they couldn’t party when the occasion presented itself.
* * * * * *
Lyle Chambers
swelled up like a blimp, but he didn’t look fat. He was still
teaching school in Reason and living on the ranch with Strom, Kuluke
and T’gan on the Mighty Bee. He was finishing out the year in
Reason and then he would begin teaching school in Parsons on the
Bandersnatch. He was grateful to Arlen Jones who gave him lots of
tips and advice about his pregnancy. He managed to get off from
school long enough to have Strom’s bairn. He told them he had a
tumor and was going into the hospital for an operation. He only
asked for a week off. His cadre of cowboys covered for him and no
one was the wiser. A week later he was back in his class room,
trim and fit as ever.
A new bairn
didn’t slow Strom down a bit. He worked eight to twelve hour days
on the ranch and expected Kuluke and T’gan to be there working right
along beside him. They didn’t like it at first, but they came to
realize and appreciate the benefits from their work over living in the
wild. They were still living off the land, but in a little more
organized manner. They sure didn’t complain about the modern
conveniences it brought them. They agreed one evening, for all
the hard work and being watched over, they wouldn’t want to go back to
their old lives. They came to love Strom and Lyle and accepted
them as their parents.
* * * * * * *
Trey Vinceeth
was in contact regularly with Waco. They exchanged personal
videos weekly and Waco was still sending updates and football games to
the crew. Having visited the ranch and gotten to know everyone
the men had a more personal interest in everything going on. The
videos Kyron and Myra put together were like love letters from
home. No one on board the Banshee ever missed the weekly video
from Earth. They weren’t always just about sports.
Sometimes Kyron would include an interview Darryl did with a
cowboy-slave about his life, his job, and how he looked at his
life. They were never monitored or censored by Lazarus or
Charlie. They were honest and forthright. Then Darryl would
do an interview with the sheriff or one of his deputies and their
lives. It was serious but fascinating stuff. The folks on
Venus loved it. It was like Earth realities.
Trey was very
supportive of Waco during his crisis with Blue. He was one of the
first to point out he thought Blue might not be giving his clone the
benefit of the doubt when it came to being his partner. Waco
loved Blue too much to agree with Trey, but he understood there might
be a probability. Trey assumed the role of big brother, mentor as
well as suitor for Waco. Being a strong willed young man, it took
Waco a while to shift gears and learn Trey’s ways. Waco’s suitor
was a hard-charging military man to the core and he felt everyone
should march to the beat of his drum, and that included those he loved;
however, for his young cowboy, he made exceptions. They were
falling very much in love and the love pangs over separation after
spending a good deal of time together were palpable. Even poor
Kyron almost lost a few circuits from excessive moisture build-up from
their excesses of emotions. (Or was it laughter? Waco was never
quite sure.)
* * * * * * *
Jeremiah Scudder
was riding a new wave. After about six months, when he was sure
his dick and balls weren’t going to miraculously reappear, he ordered
one of his largest Temple Guards to fuck him. They all heard
through the White House rumor-mill the angel who saved his life was
angry with him for trying to kill Officer Brick Armstrong in front of a
firing squad. To punish him, he had miraculously taken away his
manhood and replaced it with a cunt.
Scudder took
Austin Taycious’ advice and picked out six enormous Temple Guards to
withhold their medications for six months. They also had to take
an oath they wouldn’t masturbate or have sex with each other.
They took the oath, but after two weeks it was hell for them. Add
another month onto that and they were ready to hump anything that had a
hole.
Scudder’s first
pick was Delbert Hawkins, who had been a close friend of Brick and
Timmy. While Del was straight by orientation, he knew the rules
of the game and the playing field around the Holy City. Until
that time the Temple Guards were exempt from the game because of the
drugs they were taking and their vow of celibacy. It still didn’t
stop them from reaching out to each other from time to time for what
comfort they might enjoy. Usually it was nothing more than some
light kissing and petting. Sex to ejaculation was out of the
question; however, now Del Hawkins entire body screamed out for release.
Del was an old
country boy and had grown up messing around with the sheep and pigs on
his granddad’s ranch, so fucking Scudder wasn’t too far a stretch for
his imagination. He let Scudder take the lead and the Holy
Prophet even provided him with a little foreplay to get him
going. Del was surprised once he got his good sized dick inside
Scudder, it didn’t feel too shabby. As a matter of fact, it felt
pretty damn good. He shifted his weight and began to fuck Scudder
for the glory of God, the flag, mom, home and apple pie; and he threw
in a few extra thrusts for our God fearing fighting men overseas who
were dying by the handful daily in yet another unnecessary neo-con
war. It wasn’t until he started humming ‘My Country ‘Tis Of Thee’
Scudder drew the line.
Scudder,
himself, was surprised. He found out his new cunt was fully
functional. He really got into being fucked and hung onto big Del
for all he was worth. ‘Fuck that damned angel!’ Scudder thought
to himself, ‘This feels pert-damn good to me.’ Then he reached a
couple of orgasms and was more convinced than ever. He related
everything to his political advisor the next day and left out
nothing. He didn’t know why the angel switched his sexual
organs. He was doing all right and he only started to discover
some of the new powers he was told he might have. Yes, Sir, he
felt he came out smelling like a rose, until— he had his first period.
It was like
nothing he ever experienced before and the first time he was flat on
his back for the entire time. It was plenty of time for him to
come to an understanding it was the punishment the angel intended for
him. The loss of his manhood was just window dressing for his
real punishment. He tried to lay as still as possible not to
encourage the cramps as he moaned and groaned in agony. Finally,
one of the White House staff nurses whom he trusted taught him about
tampons and feminine hygiene. She taught him to take medications
which would limit the effects; however, he was still miserable for
almost a week out of every month, and he would curse the angel from the
start to the finish.
During those
periods he was unapproachable. The ‘Red’ telephone was
disconnected from his rooms and routed to Taycious’ rooms. Austin
became the de facto President for a week every month. Taycious
began to refer to him when he was so miserable as his Holy Bitchiness,
and behind his back with the staff would refer to his friend as the
Holy Cunt. The staff stayed as far away from Scudder as
possible. He wouldn’t let anyone near him and only allowed Austin
to bring him his food. Taycious loved Scudder being in a
vulnerable position. He got to play nursemaid, big sister and
nagging mother.
“I certainly
hope you’ve changed your mind about asking that son of a bitch’n,
mother-fuck’n angel to change you.” Scudder moaned one afternoon.
“Why, not a bit,
precious! He was punishing you, not me. He gave you the
full package, except for the baby factory. Said he’d give you
that if you wanted it. I think you should go for it. You
always wanted an heir. I don’t intend to ask for all that.
I’ll just opt for the ‘girlfriend-lite’ package. I don’t need all
them other bells and whistles, thank you very much! I hated my
family. They were ashamed and hated me. They kicked me out
when I’s twelve ‘cause daddy caught me suck’n you and Bobby Wilson off
out behind our barn. If it weren’t for your family I don’t know
what would’ve happened to me. I plan on the Taycious name dying
with me! I hope my old man rolls in his grave for that!” he
giggled.
Austin had
always walked in Scudder’s shadow from their first year in school
together. It didn’t take Scudder long to size-up everyone in
their small class, and he realized straight-away the fey little boy who
sat next to him on the back row and batted his huge, black eyelashes at
him was a fag. The first three grades in school Scudder made life
miserable for Austin until one day he discovered the kid could do the
most wonderful things to his pee-pee with his hot little mouth and
ass. Their roles changes immediately. Scudder became
Austin’s Lord High Protector and would beat the crap out of any kid who
even suggested Austin was somewhat less that a paragon of
masculinity. Unknown to the rest of the kids, Austin did most of
Jerry’s homework all through school. Jerry graduated in the lower
middle of his highschool class. He wouldn’t have graduated that
high had it not been for Austin. Jerry couldn’t have gotten into
a regular college if he applied. Bible college didn’t require
good grades, just good money. You could be as dumb as a box of
rocks and get a doctorate in divinity, and upon graduation, you would
still just as dumb.
Austin Taycious
always played second fiddle to Jerry Scudder all those years, but now,
for one week out of every month he got to wield the Sword of
Damocles. He became the most powerful man on Earth. It was
more than queen for a day. He became America the beautiful’s
first real Queen for twelve weeks out of every year. He became
politically more powerful than he was before. There were no more
representatives or senators. They were disbanded and reduced to
little more than paid lobbyists. Damn few of them had any liberal
leanings; however, a couple of moderates who entertained more than just
middle of the road objectives knew they could get some legislation
through if they catered to Austin during Scudder’s mysterious monthly
illnesses. One commented to Austin,
“Why, if I
didn’t know better, I’d swear the Holy Prophet is suffering a monthly
period.” then he laughed.
“You’d think so,
wouldn’t you?” Austin laughed back, “But no; I assured you the doctors
have no idea what’s causing his migraines. The poor man suffers
so. Be sure and pray for him. Pray for me while you’re at
it.” he would always add. ‘What the fuck!’ he thought to himself,
‘That angel ain’t gonna’ listen to no cocksucker’s prayers, especially
one as bad as me, maybe he’ll listen to theirs.” then he would laugh to
himself. He always thought God put him in the wrong body.
If there really was a God why would he do something that cruel to a
kid. Austin knew it couldn’t have been the Devil. Not even
the Devil would be that cruel. After all, wasn’t Lucifer the most
beautiful of all the Archangels?
How many nights
had he knelt by his bedside when he was a kid and prayed for God to
grant him a miracle and let him wake up a normal, healthy heterosexual
boy? When it didn’t happen he prayed to God let him die in his
sleep and take him to heaven. He didn’t want to wake up at all
the next morning. He didn’t want to live anymore as an outsider;
as a girl in a boy’s body. What kind of sick society would
condemn a young child who knows he’s different, but has no other
recourse than to pray to the God who made him to kill him because he
doesn’t fit in? Answer: A society who believes in fairy tales and
the ravings of fat old men who claim to hear the voice of God and
swears he knows God’s wishes.
Austin Taycious
gave up many years ago thinking he had any chance for salvation.
He was convinced he was created by demons and could only come close to
heaven or a hereafter by his devotion to the one person who had shown
him some modicum of attention in his life, Jerry Scudder. In a
way, Austin saw Scudder’s attention and dependency on him as a form of
warped love. Scudder would never tell Austin he loved him, but
Austin always told himself he did. If Scudder loved Austin, even
just a little, he would not have been condemned to become the
Anti-Christ.
Nevertheless,
Austin loved Jerry. Whether it was for his power or just because
he considered Jerry Scudder as family didn’t matter. He had some
feelings of affection for his user and tormentor. One afternoon,
after a grueling day playing President, he sat down for a drink
alone. It was something he hadn’t done in years, but he felt like
he deserved one drink. As he sat there in the silence of the oval
office with the darkness encroaching he hung his head and prayed out
loud.
“Listen-up,
Myrna Mae! You know I ain’t bothered you much over the
years. I ain’t real sure I even believe in you. That ain’t
what matters. What matters is I ain’t no young kid no more.
I ain’t happy with this life. Here I am sitting at the feet of
power, but it don’t mean shit to me. I’d give it all up in a New
York minute for one good man to love me and one I could love
back. I know I’m a mess and don’t deserve nothing special, but
what the hell, you can’t fault a girl for trying. So, if you’re
up there, or around here, or wherever the hell you are, sent that angel
back so’s I can speak with him.
I don’t give a
shit about forever! I just want a little happiness for today;
maybe a couple of tomorrows would be nice. You never listened to
me in all these years. I don’t know why I think you might start
now. So if you don’t at least talk with me, fuck you! I’ll
take whatever hell you got to offer. It can’t be any worse than
what I’m living down here. Thanks, Dorothy, for all them good
things you sent my way. I guess I don’t thank you enough for the
things I take for granted, but a girl gets a little out of practice and
a little discouraged when she’s always waiting by the phone and the
call never comes. You can’t know how many prom dresses I’ve gone
through.
Come on, you can
do it! Just tell Ernestine Tomlin to put that damn plug in the
right hole and say, “One ringy-dingy! Two ringy-dingys!
Hello. A gracious good afternoon, this is central. I have a
call from heaven for a Ms. Austin Taycious, will you accept the
charges?” Austin laughed at his foolishness and finished his drink in
silence. He felt a little better.
End Of Chapter
42 ~ Waco’s Lummox
Copyright 2007 ~
Waddie Greywolf
All Rights
Reserved ~
Mail to:
waddiebear@yahoo.com