Shades Of Forever

Why didn't you tell me about the trees, Sky?

We're waiting for Chief Engineer MacWillie to regain her senses, Huckens fretting uselessly over her supine form, the clan leaders quietly discussing something among themselves, and Box is pestering me with questions.

"What is there to tell? They're trees. They've been here my whole life. Why didn't you tell me they had reality in them?"

Some of the clan leaders look oddly at me, perhaps concerned that I'm talking quietly to myself, but Broom must have explained some bits and pieces to them because they don't interrupt.

I didn't know they had reality in them! I didn't sense anything when I broke them down for biomass!

"Well, then I don't know why you think I was supposed to know something was strange. I'm the ignorant barbarian, remember?"

Box ignores my jibe, moving on to another question.

And how did he heal her with a non-causal expression? That's impossible.

A blinking outline appears around Window Doctor, who's describing something to Broom and Great Grandpa with small hand gestures.

"You heal me all the time," I shoot back, confused.

Yes, because I'm integrated with you! I access your infinities, not someone else's! Every time non-causal healing has been attempted on another party, it's ended... poorly.

"What, like the medicine didn't work very well?"

More like the test subjects' internal organs turned into the nearest freshwater fish, or their face got replaced by the color blue, or any one of countless other outcomes that most definitely did not cure them, and most definitely rendered them deceased. It's not supposed to work!

"Well," I shrug, "it works for us. Oh look, Chief Engineer MacWillie's waking up."

Huckens is helping the groggy woman into a sitting position, straining to lift her bulk but determined to do it anyways. She rubs at her eyes, then pats at her side in increasing disbelief.

"What in the never-god's moist asscrack just happened? I feel... better."

"Mister Window Doctor fixed you back up," I say proudly. "With medicine."

Chief Engineer MacWillie stretches her arms overhead experimentally, and looks surprised when nothing hurts. She twists back and forth several times, then pushes herself to her feet, ignoring Huckens' clumsy attempts to help.

"Aye, and there's a sentence full of words that make no sense. What'd you see, lad?" She turns to Huckens. "Hidden pocket surgeon after that mumbo-jumbo with the plants put me under? Traumapatch? Nanodoc?"

Huckens swallows, tugging at the frayed collar of his strange black clothing.

"Errr, Chief, it was the twigs and moss that fixed you up. I th-th-th-" he struggles to get the word out, but Chief Engineer MacWillie waits patiently and he finally does, "think it was non-causal. The healing."

Chief Engineer MacWillie's patience evaporates like rain hitting a Glowbeast's skin.

"Yer what?" she bellows, frantically feeling at her body. "That's a poor joke, young master Huckens!"

"Sorry, Chief," Huckens says miserably. "I didn't know what they was doing, and then it was over so quick." He brightens up slightly. "For what it's worth, I think it worked. You're not a fish."

Chief Engineer MacWillie hyperventilates a few seconds longer, then with a visible effort forces herself to calm down. It's slightly disturbing in a way - I saw her banish the Entity with nothing more than a 'three-quarter inch spanner,' whatever that is, like it was something she'd done a hundred times before, yet now she's worrying over some basic medicine.

I'm trying to tell you, Sky, that wasn't normal.

Window Doctor strides over, drawn by the commotion, the rest of the clan leaders joining him. He marches straight up to Chief Engineer MacWillie and stares into one eye, then the other, then prods at her side. Stunned, she lets him, and he nods in satisfaction.

"Hmmhmmhmm, yes, a full recovery. Very good." He turns his head. "Water, give them some snacks. These two are visibly malnourished."

Water Breeder steps up, reaching into his purse and pulling out some of the dense shimmerfruit and darkfern balls that the little ones adore. The fist-sized spheres are chewy without being overly sticky, and the chopped pieces of shimmerfruit explode with flavor inside the nutty darkfern dough.

...you're drooling, Sky.

Water Breeder passes two of the treats to Chief Engineer MacWillie, and then another two to Huckens. They both gobble them down with noises of obvious delight. I reach out expectantly but Water Breeder smacks my hand away with a gentle smile.

"Always trying to ruin your meal. You can have one after you tell us what's going on, Sky."

I sigh, stomach still grumbling from my lack of breakfast this morning, but it looks like everyone's here and there's no immediate emergencies that need addressing. I clear my throat.

"Okay, so, uh, after I left Dirt and Torch..." I look over at the two Idiots, alternating between watching us and keeping an eye on the surrounding forest, "...you told them what happened, right? With the fight in the hollow, and the cave?" Dirt nods, and I continue, "well, a lot of other stuff happened."

I relate the tale of my run across the foothills, my ambush of the Corporate Marauder patrol, exploring the first mountain and finding nothing, watching the Hellhound orbital shuttle come down from the sky, fighting our way up to the base on Fishhook, the battle between the Entity and the cruiser, and then Chief Engineer MacWillie and Huckens using the engines to drive the Entity away.

"-and then we woke up this morning, and I brought them back here because they didn't have anywhere else to go," I finish, coughing slightly. "It was a busy day. Can I get some water, please?"

Dirt steps up and wordlessly hands his canteen to me. I take a big gulp as the clan leaders stare at me expressionlessly, Broom still busy writing in her stained journal. That was a lot of talking, and it's only after recounting it all do I realize just how much happened yesterday.

A 'busy day' is perhaps slightly understating it, Sky.

I hand the canteen back to Dirt, then grimace.

"Oh, and I lost one of your cloaks, Dirt. Sorry."

His eyes crinkle upward as he tucks the canteen beneath his current cloak.

"I consider it a small price to pay to have you back, Sky Idiot," he says quietly, then laughs. "As well as being able to play some part in one of the greatest Idiot stories I've seen since Book herself. Punching a hole in the universe, twice..." He walks away, chortling to himself, leaving me to face the gathered clan leaders.

Broom jots one final note, then snaps her journal shut. The sound seems to break the other clan leaders out of whatever stillness they were locked in, and Butterfly Builder shakes his head in disbelief, stocky arms folded across his broad chest.

"That is... a lot to take in, Sky. Broom and Axe filled us in on the way here about what Dirt and Torch reported, and obviously we all saw the lights last night, but... it is difficult. Without proof, you understand? Not to mention these outsiders you claim are but two among countless many." He spreads his arms almost helplessly, as if he wants to believe me but can't quite get himself there. Next to him, several of the other clan leaders nod.

"...I can show you my limbs, if that'll help," I say slowly, understanding their reticence but still feeling wounded by it. Great Grandpa Axe taught me the village has always had to adjust to survive, but some take longer to adjust than others, preferring the comfort of what they think will always be, rather than what currently is.

"Any proof would be welcomed," Moss Water replies in a sober voice, her thin hands worrying aimlessly at the corner of her book. "I agree," Stove Mind chimes in, adjusting her spectacles once again. I take a breath, preparing to manifest my limbs, when a chorus of shouts causes me to halt.

"Wait!"

Dirt, Torch, Broom, and Great Grandpa Axe are all holding their palms out, signs of consternation on their faces.

"At least give us time to turn around first, Sky," Broom reproaches me, wheeling Great Grandpa around through a half-circle, the old man clutching his blankets tightly around his shoulders. Dirt has already vanished somewhere, and Torch is busy hiding behind a tree trunk, though I notice her peeking out from behind it. I wonder if Dirt told her about the fight in the hollow, and she doesn't really believe him. The other clan leaders look around in bewilderment.

"Broom," Darkfern Baker starts hesitantly, "what are you doing?"

"Don't mind me," Broom says cheerily, her back to me and hands over her face. "Already touched that stove. You can show them anytime you're ready, Sky," she calls out, and I manifest my limbs.

Several seconds later, after the shrieking and vomiting begins, Chief Engineer MacWillie and Huckens walk up beside me.

"Chief, what's happening?" Huckens asks, confused. Chief Engineer MacWillie ignores him.

"None of them have integrators, do they?" she asks me quietly.

"No." My voice is just as soft as hers. "I still don't even know what an integrator looks like. What I remember from meeting Box for the first time is... jumbled. Hazy. There was a lot going on."

I remember the Combat Marauders cutting down Wires, taking me to pieces as I tried to flee, panic racing through my veins. The frozen pain of missing limbs, the sick disorientation of half my face flying off. The slow lassitude of death.

"It wasn't a good time."

"...aye, that I can believe." She turns to look at me square on. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I know me and the lad were in the engines, but we were still a part of it. Your people would've had every right to let me die."

Huckens looks like he wants to protest but she shushes him, still holding my gaze. There's a part of me that wants to snarl at her, leap and rend and tear with my limbs, but I'm getting used to ignoring it. That's not who I want to be, and while I'm not sure that part will ever go away, I don't have to let it define me, so I simply shake my head instead.

"Killing you won't bring Wires back. It would just make the world a little bit emptier, and I don't think he would've liked that. Besides, I'm sure you lost friends too."

Her eyebrows raise.

"And aren't you wise beyond your years for a fifteen year old scrap of a thing."

"I'm seventeen and a half," I retort, heat suffusing my face. "It's not my fault I'm small for my age. Great Grandpa says I'll get my growth spurt any day now!"

She chuckles.

"Aye, sure you will. As far as 'friends,' well, I can't say that's a thing I've ever considered." Huckens splutters, and she tousles his hair with a broad, scarred hand. "Aside from the lad here, of course."

"Why not?"

"Do you know what 'involuntarily volunteered' means?"

My forehead pinches as I try to untangle the contradictory set of words.

"...that doesn't make sense. They're opposite things."

"Aye, but out in the galaxy, it means if your corpo thinks you can serve them better elsewhere, that's where you'll be, no matter if you like it or not, and they'll act like it was your decision all along."

"...I think we have something like that." I explain to her how each generation has to have at least one Idiot, and she nods.

"Aye, that's close, but it sounds like your village doesn't force an... 'idiot,'" she smiles for some reason, "to do whatever it is an 'idiot' does. You just identify the most likely one, then let them do what they will."

I scoff.

"Well, no, of course we don't force people to do jobs they don't want to do. What would be the point of that? 'Every Idiot finds their melty rock, but not all melty rocks are the same.' Everyone knows that. We'd never learn anything new if all the Idiots had to do the same thing."

Chief Engineer MacWillie stares pensively into the shadowy depths of the forest.

"...it's different out there. I never wanted to be in the combat forces, and that's the truth. I've always loved tinkering with the engines, ever since I was a babe, but I wanted to see other places too. Visit foreign people without having to walk across a carpet of bodies afterwards." She rubs her chin, focus returning to me. "You think you should maybe put those away at some point?"

I look around at the cluster of moaning clan leaders writhing aimlessly across the ground, clutching at their heads. There's vomit everywhere, and I think Butterfly Builder wet himself. I sniff the air. He definitely wet himself. I hastily make my limbs disappear, and in the distance I can hear Dirt cackling with laughter as he relentlessly mocks Torch.

"...whoops. Uhh, they'll be okay, right?"

"Most likely," Chief Engineer MacWillie agrees genially, "though you might get a punch or two to the stomach once they're feeling better."

"Oh, we don't solve our problems with physical violence," I reply in a shocked tone, "that's a very unhealthy thing to do. We talk them over and work towards a common resolution. Otherwise the village would be a terrible place to live."

"You could've fooled me from last night, Sky whatever you are," she roars with laughter, setting the leaves to shaking overhead, and I blush.

"...that was different," I mutter, trying not to shrink away from her uproarious mirth.

"Aye, if you say so," Chief Engineer MacWillie grins, wiping tears from her eyes, "if you say so. Bloody hell but does it feel good to be able to laugh properly." She settles down. "As to our original topic, no, Sky, I'm not grieving any friends lost in the fighting. If the lad hadn't made it, I might be shedding a tear or two," she grabs him in a rough headlock, "but we wasn't on that ship because we wanted to be." She tousles Huckens' hair again. "Isn't that right, young master 'disorderly misconduct on account of putting the boot in on the sector administrator' Huckens?"

Huckens wriggles furiously but can't escape her implacable biceps, and eventually sags in defeat.

"...had it coming," he grumbles. "Nobody talks about our nan that way."

"Aye, lad, and I'll wager any amount of Bumsnirphle's you care to name he did it because they knew you was good with the engines and wanted an excuse to snatch you up. It's what the corpos do."

"...really?"

She pats his head, then lets him free.

"Aye. We're just meat for the machine." She surveys the gaggle of disheveled figures slowly putting themselves back together. "So, now what, Sky?"

I think hard.

"Well, the clan leaders will probably have some questions for you two," I pause, "after they clean themselves up, but now that the village is safe, we should be able to help you find your way back to where you want to go."

Chief Engineer MacWillie puts her hands on her hips, chewing on her lower lip. Her expression is intense, as if she's contemplating some massive internal calculus. She opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again, then frowns. It looks like she's debating with herself, only I have no idea what about. Finally, she speaks.

"Aye, fuck me but it has to be said. Your village isn't safe, Sky. It might never be again."

I try to process the statement, but I can't. We defeated the Entity. There aren't any more Corporate Marauders. Why wouldn't the village be safe? I'm about to ask that very question when Water Breeder comes stumbling up, flecks of sour vomit staining the front of his carefully embroidered tunic.

"Sky Idiot, I am not giving you a treat anymore! That was a horrible experience, and I did not enjoy it! I'm not speaking to you for a week!"

"I thought you didn't use violence to solve your problems," Chief Engineer MacWillie whispers to me as the willowy man staggers unsteadily away, frazzled ends of loose hair flying free from his twig covered plaits.

"Physical violence," I whisper back. "Emotional violence happens here all the time. We're only human."

MacWillie's laughter rattles the leaves once again.