Little Cherine Book 08 - BPost056
Robbie has created a large platform and the Sparklers have created their World in it (to them it just feels as if it has gone there with those who are in the platform, while it also stays in Freddie with those Sparklers who are with us). Freddie has jumped to a neighbouring reality.
5451
Acting as the void, so that they cannot sense him, Robbie is grabbing the newly dead, while our healers collect the cells and they are instantly taken to the Sparkler World in the platform, where they are connected to their new bodies. For the old souls, plus those still alive, it seems that the newly dead soul just vanished instantly and they grieve, maybe they think some new kind of monster or change in the void is stealing them at the moment of death, altering their pattern of life and death.
We are in Freddie, as Robbie does not need our help in the platform and we have his body here with us, so we can rejoice, with their robots, to see them alive and young again, but we are also troubled. It turned out that once the newly brought back to life understood, they also became troubled and guilt was spoiling it for them. A robot asked us, on behalf of its creators, whether they can return as souls to comfort the older souls.
Since everyone seemed to be looking to me for the answer, I asked, “We can look after their bodies with our healers, if they are willing to explain to the older souls, we want to free them to return to a new life as their species, not some other. The Sparklers will help ensure they are not sent elsewhere, which means that at their next death they too will join you here. It can be done if you, as a group, agree to remain there until the last of your species is dead, or new volunteers offer to take a turn. I do not know how to solve the problem of those alive being troubled by the fact that the same older - soon ancient to them, souls remain, while the newer ones leave.”
The robot explained, though I think they are already able to understand us because of Claudia, and they took their time discussing it - I presume they did, for we cannot sense their chemical exchanges. The robot replied that each generation, once it understands the importance of secrecy, will replace the previous, reducing the problem. We did not think we need to ask whether they can be depended on to keep their word - we might have needed to, if they had tried to assure us.
The solution has helped solve their problem, but it has created another one for us. Robbie first went to them about three thousand years before they became extinct. Since we are needed there (Robbie as the void in the platform) and we are needed here for helping the newly resurrected dead, it means we have to remain here until the last one of their species on their planet dies - the robots confirmed that the last ones died, they did not vanish.
Because of all of us being so busy, nearly two months passed before Sol shared with Solomon. He instantly offered to take the place of Robbie as the void, while his people in a second ‘copy’ of their World help the ones brought back to life. Solomon understands and explained to those who do not, that for us to remain here for such a long time would change us, while also spoiling the diary for Arthur. I think this is the first time the Sparklers have made a conscious effort to help Arthur also and it made me happy.
Robbie has agreed that we travel to and fro between realities, so that we can visit here every hundred years, for a month. We compromised by agreeing to do so every three hundred years, so that we only visit ten times, which means it costs us less than a year in our time.
Arthur, unless something exciting happens, I will not write again until we have finished with the Hoïrafaï - by the way, us girls are insisting that we bring with us a number of the robots from the time their creators became extinct. During this time since they came to Freddie, they have not behaved like robots, socialising with us when we are at the taverna - they give us privacy if they see us eating as a family, otherwise they try to be by us all the time. I think it is not our company they need; it must be a strong sense of curiosity that compels them. Bernie wondered whether they are studying us in the hope of finding out in what ways we differ from them - organic versus robot thinking? I hope it is something more original than that. Still, we have sensed how they grieve for those to be left on their home planet. The robots who were in the future with us have admitted that a number of robots, they thought, gave up and wandered off to die on their own because of the pain of losing their human families.
“Robbie, during the last transfers, we must collect as many robots as we can - the Hoïrafaï will need them.” He hardly bothered to answer, shrugging in agreement, as if it was expected. Sometimes I try to not think of him as my dad or husband and find I still like him - and sometimes I’m not so sure…J
The Hoïrafaï are impressed by the Sparkler World, and equally important, they can enter it with the help of Sparklers who will be taking turns to be in their local void, meeting there hundreds, maybe someday tens of thousands of species. The major part of their population is to live on their own planet, in what is their future to them, but a group of about fifteen thousand are to remain in the Sparkler World; none have asked to remain in Freddie, even though many of them have been to visit. I suspect that not having mountains on their world, seeing the treehouses looming over us makes them feel unsafe.
5452
All our Inguel know that our latest experiences are thanks to Artanfel and they are proud of him. Cassie made a serious mistake, but luckily it worked out okay. She made a joke and called him the Blinking Scientist. The Irish prime minister explained, afterwards, to us, that there is a connotation to the name. “If someone wants to use a swearword, but they don’t want to use an actual swearword, they’ll say, for example, he is a blinking crook…or whatever.” When we first met them, he was one of those I did not like. He is small and wiry, but he does not have a chip on his shoulder of the kind such small men have; instead, he is hard, very hard, and his eyes are cold like those of a reptile, with his every action or thought planned out in advance. While we were on his planet, we found a conspiracy theory which claimed he actually is a reptilian alien, not a human being; one of an army of them sent to take over Earth. He still has cold eyes, but he has softened and can be quite charming when he teases and tells jokes.
During these years, Robbie did not abandon the scientists investigating the twin Sleeper galaxies, visiting them as promised about every eighteen months. They were amazed to hear about the blinking star and what we found there, but it helped them relax, for Robbie offered them more time, if they need to stay for a few years extra.
Since we have quite a bit of time to wait, Robbie jumped us to the reality where the Inguel-Kinytian teams are restoring damaged planets, timing it so that we can help return the population and move the teams to their next project.
I know I have not mentioned it, but we have done a few tellings with the politicians present, so they know of the project, but actually seeing, experiencing the return of species to life as a project that covers such a large part of a galaxy, with so many worlds to be healed, it sort of numbed them for a while. At least one thing has changed for the better. When we do something to help others, we no longer sense from them a secret questioning of what our real intentions are. The problem is that they are starting to drift in the opposite direction, and we don’t want that either. Heck! They are even starting to show signs of enjoying our sense of humour!
“Robert, the three Sleeping galaxies, we have found about twenty nine thousand sapient species. The scientists tell us that the galaxies are unstable and they will begin to destroy each other within the next fifty to a hundred million years.”
“The Sparklers of this reality, I have not seen them here…”
“You can identify us that well Robert?”
He laughed. “I deserved that. I presume most of them are watching over the Unation people and, in the future, closer to our time, to the people of Earth and others? Could you ask their Solomon to visit us here?”
Solomon only had time to nod and his alternate appeared by his side. As he was about to greet us, I knew what Robbie was going to ask of them and took an intuitive leap forward, to the next obvious step, and Cherine just had time to jump into my mind as I went ‘Ohh…’ and violently withdrew, as if terrified of my idea. I added this paragraph afterwards, after Robbie wrote for us - which is good, as he wrote of my idea for me, it is too humongous for me to handle.
5453
Robert: Samantha thinks that her withdrawals show she is a coward, but it is not true. Any decent and sensitive person capable of thinking of an idea which is going to affect and save trillions of species, I have no kind of numbers I can use for the number of people of those species, is going to become overwhelmed by what they are causing. In a way, I suppose she also feels responsible for all of them.
The alt Solomon stopped himself from greeting us, for all Solomons know what it means when this sort of thing happens to Sam, and I suspect he trembled slightly inside himself, as if suspecting how she is going to alter the lives of all Sparklers for all of eternity. At the same time, Cherine opened her eyes and began to bawl like a baby, desperately needing me to hold her. I quickly pulled her into my arms and then pulled at Sam, holding her also as she opened her eyes. She stared at me, blankly, for a moment, but before I could become afraid, I saw her eyes come alive again.
“Oh Robert…Dad, this is too big for me…”
“Take your time love.”
“I mean it dad, it is too big, there are too many things that could happen, that I have not thought of yet, for me to speak. But I cannot keep quiet and allow so many lives to be lost.”
Maria brought her a condensed milk coffee, placed my cappuccino before me, and turning back to Samantha, lightly drew a finger across her cheek. “Drink your coffee, koukla mou, you need to be strong.” Sam stared at her, then looked up at me, for a moment forgetting her fears. I laughed.
“I know, she is astounding me by the way she is growing. I suppose it is natural of all souls.”
Aware again of everyone watching her, she took a sip and then told us, “I was going to ask, please don’t ask Solomon, any Solomon, to do what you were thinking of, as there is something else they can do, if all the Sparklers of all realities work together. Dad, if I speak, I will be changing them into gods in the eyes of countless species…”
I could sense the fine tremor of her body, the same for Cherine, who was tightly holding Sam’s hand, so I knew I am about to hear something which is going to change life for all of us. I could also sense our Solomon wanting to plead that she does not speak, but he could not, not if it means they will be saving lives - for that part of it was obvious to everyone.
“I need to organise my thoughts, but I’ll tell you my thoughts as they are now, if you agree not to feel I am foolish for the mistakes I will make. First of all, I am going to assume that time is not important, it hardly matters, because as soon as we identify a problem, even if it is a hundred million lightyears away, we can return in time to a period before it became critical. For example, say we see that a galaxy is approaching another galaxy and they are going to cause each other substantial damage, but it took a billion years for the information to reach us, the time the information comes from is not important, not even if we only see them after they collide and damage each other. We cannot see, from a great distance, whether solar systems were removed before the damage occurred - am I right?”
“Are you suggesting we return in time to save all the solar systems with sapient beings?”
“That is not what shook me up, this part of the idea we have discussed before dad. My idea was this, what if we divide our universe into a hundred parcels, placing one hundred platforms for holding a Sparkler World in each one, and…say five million Sparklers per platform to maintain a watch for galaxies about to collide. Solomon, how many alternate Sparkler nations have you contacted? Would it be at least one hundred million?”
“When it comes to large numbers, we are not good at estimating them, but if we have not, we can.”
“Shall we use as a rough estimate that the maximum solar systems we’ll have to protect in each galaxy will be about one hundred thousand? Not sapient species, Solomon, solar systems with life, evolved enough that they might someday evolve a sapient species. Even a very small maybe is enough. Look at it from a selfish point of view, we need to know that there will always be new friends with a unique way of seeing life for us to meet, and where some planets do not evolve sentient beings, it will not be a loss, for the rest of life it creates will be different and a miracle and joy for us to see and, even if only as observers, to be a part of.
So, for each collision, we may need to move two hundred thousand solar systems. I don’t know the time frame needed, but let’s say we are collecting them a million years before the galaxies begin to affect each other and we have to wait for a million years after they’ve stopped affecting each other and both galaxies have stabilised - placing our solar systems back again will cause some disturbance, but not enough to become a problem - I hope. Solomon, will each Sparkler nation be able to take hold of a solar system, without disturbing it, and jump with it, either to the future or to the Sparkler World?”
5454
“Our removing them will not affect the surrounding systems?”
“I don’t think it will matter, since we will have collected all those that have life.”
An Inguel said, “Samantha, if the turmoil is violent enough and if the two black holes become one, there will be enormous destruction with new nebulae being formed and the suns being born within them could have an effect on solar systems at quite a large distance.”
I replied, “There is no reason for the solar systems to be returned before stability has been achieved. Maybe we will at some time think of ways to help stabilise the galaxies?”
The scientist was shocked. “It could take a billion years!”
Sam waited for me to answer. “Not for the species who are waiting within a Sparkler World. For them, depending on how long the Sparklers want it to be, it could be as short as a day or two or a thousand years or two. As Sam said, time is not a factor we need to worry about.”
Sam asked her, “Do you know how often, as an average, collisions occur?”
“I am not sure our universe is as yours, with the alternates, are, Samantha, and we have not lived here long enough to average what we note.”
Sam nodded. “Then I’ll guess at one per thousand years…oh no! I forgot that sometimes there are collisions of more than two galaxies - I think the most we’ve seen is eight galaxies. Solomon?”
“It only means that more alternate Sparklers will be offered the opportunity to rejoice at saving an entire species.” I grinned as I sensed Sam send him a kiss.
The scientist spoke as if she were mumbling to herself, “Sometimes the black holes get too close and they become one. The explosion as they merge is bound to kill - and sterilise all the solar systems.”
Sam asked, “I presume such an event will still be followed by a new galaxy forming around the black hole. If the people are afraid of becoming part of such a galaxy, we can offer them the choice of being inserted into some other smaller galaxy.”
Samantha became embarrassed all over again, because the Greek prime minister said to Alki, “I can see now why Athens called to her.” Alki actually blushed! I took pity on her and pretended to be tired and we returned home. I was not surprised when Cherine made herself a five year old and went to Sam to be held. She knows our Samantha better than I do, for it was the best medicine for Sam and she woke up next morning full of life again.
I liked Robbie writing for me, he did it nicely this time, but I’m also glad to be back.
Because of Neauti pleading for it to be preserved, the Sparklers, despite what I’d said, so that she would feel happier, created/brought a Sparkler World and stationed it by the Sleeper galaxy - the Blink Star and the Hoïrafaï planet is too far away for her to feel it to be of use.
The prime minister of India, approached Claudia as she sat by herself on the grass - she was mentally reading the pages of a book she had ‘photographed, for reading later. She sensed him and noting the page, she closed the book and looking at him, asked, “Has your India ever had a woman prime minister?”
“Yours has? No, perhaps our world was too dangerous a place for our voters to think of the possibility?”
She looked lost in her thoughts for a moment and then she replied, “I wonder whether we will evolve to the point where we feel nostalgic for the days when Normals were cruel and violent?”
“How can that be possible?”
5455
“Have you ever spent a day or more eating nothing but sweets, chocolates and cakes? What if the day comes when we are forced to block ourselves for a short while so as to be nasty? I wonder if I’ll have the courage to do it.”
Gallantly he told her, “You are far too brave a soul for you to question your bravery.” I thought it was nice of him, since he hated the idea of any of us girls being capable of being nasty.
She grinned. “You wanted to ask me something?”
“Our adventures are coming to a close, we are to be returning home soon?”
Her ginned broadened again. “You would like to take one more trip?”
“It will never be offered again, to visit in Freddie with all of you. One more would be satisfying.”
“What kind of trip? An adventure where we save a species or solve an enigma or visit somewhere - a world of extraordinary beauty.”
He looked very sad as he told her, “I am like a child, I want them all; you choose for me.”
Claudia giggled. “Robert is going to love to hear of this.”
“That I wish for another trip?”
“No, that you have become like a child.” When she burst out laughing, he realised she is teasing Robbie and kept quiet.
When she was by Robbie, all he asked her, was, “Where do we take them?”
“I like the idea of taking them to see something beautiful and Goldi’s Planet is the most beautiful of all, but I also like an idea Diana has. She would like to take them to see an Earth which has no people and is as it should be, so that they can dream of making their Earth like it.”
Robbie did not let us see which option he was choosing and only told our guests that we are going to cruise around for a while, so as to help all of us relax. If our guests had any doubts, they soon forgot them, for Cherine asked Wendy and Candy to sing and Iona to dance. Afterwards, the adults were glad to have a few drinks too many once we played some waltzes, tangos and other ballroom dances (they mostly had to dance with us and they were amazed that we know how to dance them, plus Claudia did a rumba with a South American president and that led to other more exotic dances. We have stopped counting the times we have had cause to be grateful to both Robbie and Dommi for insisting we learn as many kinds of dances as possible.
“How far are we from the Unation galaxy?”
“A bit over six and a half billion lightyears. Are you in a hurry to return, Admiral Halisi?”
“But we are already back there, are we not?” There are only a few number of people, outside our family and direct friends, who Robbie allows their efforts to trip him on logic, enjoying their discrete gleeful emoting.
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5460
We spent days discussing it amongst ourselves, then discussed it with Arthur again and then with our very closest friends - people whose help we’ll need to make a success of it. For instance, at any time and however angry I am, there is one person I’ll never go against (strangely it might not be true with Cherine) is our pappou Alki.
If Arthur had waited for us to solve the problems and then asked for a favour, we might have turned him away, but luckily he told us in advance. He has asked that we go for an extra adventure so as to help him finish this book - it means it lies open on his computer with what is still to happen to us, all the way to the natural ending of this diary (what was written by the Arthur of our time). It makes us feel weird! He has promised not to rewrite any more books. As far as the books are concerned, he must return to the book of his time as soon as this book is done with. There are times when I feel my understanding of what he has done slip away and I find it impossible to believe we will never slip up and let the cat out of the bag, but as Dommi reminded us, whatever discussions we do have that we should not, I don’t have to report them in the ‘Arthur’ copy of our diary.
Our problem is, we could go to another ten realities and not find enough to finish this book and I do not want to write any more about the Cabal. It also means we cannot return to our Earth, for then our calendar date will change and Arthur, however dense he is about certain matters, would notice and ask questions. The same of any new species we may meet, if we do, they’ll have to stay out of Freddie until our Arthur is ready to learn about them. We are taking a few days off, and then we’ll take a trip. I have the feeling that if our Arthur of our time knew what is going on, he would be furious - with himself.
As we ate breakfast, each of us lost in our thoughts, Candy said, “I don’t think we should go looking for new species; the diary is supposed to be all about Cherine, so let’s go meet a new one.”
We agreed, Cherine kept quiet, so Robbie asked Lynda, “Can you find us an interesting one…you know, not the usual run-of-the-mill kind.” Lynda, and we, grinned, knowing he has set himself up for some stormy times with our Cherine.
Late that afternoon, Lynda reported, “I think I have found a seven year old Cherine…but, I think she lives on a farm outside of Arusha.”
Robbie frowned. “What could have made her reality so different?”
Without thinking, Lynda replied, “It is because she hiccups.” She was just as surprised by what she said, so we did not pester her for explanations. We’ll be there in the morning.
This is a lovely Earth, forests have not been stripped to any great extend and the slightly smaller deserts make the planet appear more lush. Not because the locals are wiser, but because there are less of them - especially in Asia. Some deadly disease must have run its course, wiping out millions per day, for there are large tracts in the cities which are not inhabited, acre after acre of buildings lying in ruins or gutted by fire. We sent our healers and they reported that the disease has faded away, leaving only antibodies in those who have survived.
I left my loves and walked a while in the garden. As I’d hoped, Cherine sent Robbie to me. I gave him a smile and asked for his hand. As he took mine in his, I sheathed us and jumped to normal space so that we floated above Greece. Lying cuddled up against him, I enjoyed the moment as if it were a special gift, which it was, and then sent to him in privacy, *Bernie, she rarely gets a time with you, let this be her adventure.*
*You don’t realise it love, this business with Arthur returning to meddle in our lives twice, it has been a shock to you. You need a time of fun and scheming.*
I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.
Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου
(Alexander Zenon Eustace)13th February, 2020
* posted: 13th February, 2020
If you wish to read from an earlier book, from Book 01 to Book 07, use this link button to open the LC Book Index:
