ARC OF THE IMMORTALS/ Book 1 — Part 2

Pursuit: 51/ Touzdae & Luna

Recap: Warrior Jac integrates with Jac. They are completed. Touzdae’s mafa shows her a scene of their past and freezes it. Her mafa is about to reveal her experiences when she is pulled out of the vision by Jac’s

— involuntary exit.

Bendel, Baz, and Harry are plotting to capture Fish’s species en-mass.

Touzdae goes to the cockpit of the Needlecraft and learns of Warrior Jac’s action. She feels his love for her. As soon as she says “duplicate Jac” her spirit bilocates away.

Recap done for now. And…

The shops appeared, consumed by a misty shroud. Jac stepped into the fog. It was the bosom of the gatekeeper’s realm. This is interesting, Touzdae thought as she followed. I feel as though I’m tethered to my Jac.

In the envelope of fog, a stocky man clad in a shabby overcoat appeared. He scurried down the cobblestone street. Jac walked hurrying slowly in his path. As if he had blinked he was inside the gatekeeper’s shop. The stocky man transformed into a man of medium build. He had fine impeccable features and was soft-spoken:

“I see you are well once again and whole — one person instead half of two. You seek talents? Just a moment,” and he disappeared into a curtained interior space as Jac shrugged.

He returned morphing into a woman.

She laid three cards on the countertop.

“I was mistaken, you need three potions,” the woman whispered.

“These are potions? They look like talents to me,” Jac said.

“Both,” she stated in a clear voice that cut across the shop. Jac peered at the cards in the dim light. “Besides they are not for you. They are for her,” she said as she changed again into the tall man with a white coat and long bony fingers.

Bendel, Baz, and Harry arrived at the sphere. One hundred fifty warships populated the inside of the sphere. Bendel addressed all the ships at once and informed them of the plan. The sphere folded space for the Nez Fish and they traveled in an instant to the outside rim of their galaxy.

Touzdae bilocated spirit and body to Goto-ak’s shop. She waited for 6 hours to see him. He looks very different with wrinkled skin and white hair and full beard.

“Hi, Touzdae,” he greets her.

“Can you tell me what I said when we first met to discuss duplicates?” Touzdae asks.

Goto-ak wags his head no.

“We never met and we had no such discussion. Have you talked with Luna about this?”

Touzdae in her frustration stormed off. She went to the apartment. The bedrooms were wrong. Her room had all Luna’s clothes and accoutrements. Her things were in Luna’s room. This does not make sense, she thought. More waiting.

Luna returned home a day later.

“Where have you been?” Touzdae demanded.

“With Jac of course. Do you have the report on Bendel?”

“Did you make a duplicate of yourself?”

“We are twins, why would I do that?”

“Get me out of here,” Touzdae cried to the heavens.

“You want me to evict you?” Luna set off into a laughing fit.

Touzdae ran from the apartment, thinking: Get me back to the Needlecraft in the Well.

The Nez dropped out of folded space exactly at the edge of the galaxy. It took a few minutes for them to get their bearings. Baz spotted one of the space fishes interspersed with nebula gases. They spent the first day tracking almost 100 of the species.

Touzdae bilocated to a cramped space for about 20 seconds. Blink, she transported to the cockpit of the Needlecraft. She joined her body that was already there.

The paradox rings, she thought, excited. Paradox reversed my role with Luna. All this because I impulsively decided to create a duplicate. I couldn’t decide between Jac and Bendel. So very foolish of me.

Review the cramped space, an impression of a voice in her head told her. It’s the probe from the Fish, sent by Bendel with the exact forcefield erected by one of the Jacs. She adjusted the scanners. The two force fields shorted the other out between 30 to 120 seconds.

“That would expand the paradox effect,” Maja said.

“Exactly,” Touzdae said. “So, I’m not crazy.”

If you want to catch-up on any chapters you missed in part 2 [Part 2 contains link for contents of part 1 for reading with continuity]:

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Thank you for joining me in the adventures that span lifetimes and worlds. Blessings on your journeys and odysseys. (If you do NOT wish to be tagged, let me know, and I’ll tag you not):

K. Pearson Bradley| Dougfrombk | Rebecca Romanelli | Joseph Lieungh | Dr. Preeti Singh | Ravyne Hawke | Dr Mehmet Yildiz | Kris Bedenian | Alberto García 🚀🚀🚀 | Blaine Coleman | Lee David Tyrrell | DL Nemeril | Rip Parker | Annelise Lords | Libby Shively McAvoy |