Chapter XII
Naydir, the Tipharet
Naydir's space was nothing like the exterior. It reflected her personality in such a way that it captivated her visitor. Zanda’s eyes had been mesmerized by the hanging crystal threads suspended above, emulating dreadlocks.
They stepped on a soft gray crystacrete floor while the walls, made of peridot, shimmered around them. A circular space in the middle of it housed a hexagonal table, bathed in sunlight. Lines of crystal decor leading toward the skylight created reflections, projecting over the surface covered with tens of old books, notes, drawings, and maps.
Zanda guessed it must have been related to Naydir's job which made her look to the other side, respecting her friend's privacy. "Oh! You can look, don't worry," Naydir said, moving to another section of the studio. The multicolored crystal threads extended into a balcony, where a massive view displayed the rest of Civitas Permacolae beyond the Porterum.
"Naydir, this place is fantastic!" Zanda exclaimed, thrilled for her friend.
"Right? I knew you'd like it," Naydir replied. "I designed it with the help of Tandor, a Binah friend who specializes in shaping crystals. Unfortunately for you, just like my hair, it's all going away soon. I'm reshaping everything for my second anniversary of becoming a Tipharet. In about two weeks, I'm throwing a party to celebrate it, and you're my guest of honor. You can invite whoever!"
Naydir's excitement made Zanda realize the socializing she would need to do after returning from Asporto. The gevurah stepped onto the balcony, her gaze drifting to the stagnums suspended on the horizon. Moments later, she turned to her friend. "Are you hungry? The last time I had a meal was hours before my Ceremonia, and it's been almost twelve hours.
“Tequila and soy nuggets with my flatmate, if you can call that a proper dinner."
It was Gia who responded behind them.
“That cannot be considered a proper meal, I should correct.”
Naydir laughed before tapping on the crocoite walls from the balcony. The crystal melted and reshaped into a variety of furniture, while the whole patio transformed into a full kitchen with a terrace. She went to the center, knelt, and touched the ground, from which an island and a couple of chairs carved in yellow citrine emerged.
Zanda, impressed, watched as Naydir gathered ingredients from a vertical cooling station on the left side wall and brought them to the island. "Do you remember what we ate every time I came over to your place? What your mom used to cook for us?" Naydir invited her friend to sit with a gesture as she grasped a small handle carved on metawood.
Naydir pressed a button, activating a laser she used as a knife. Zanda remembered clearly; they had had the same meal hundreds of times. "Monterrey grilled cheese sandwich." Her stomach grunted, savoring it by memory.
"It's my go-to on Wednesdays. When I got back from Uvelia, I had to ask Keta for the recipe. I'm not a superb cook, but," Naydir grilled bell peppers with some onions on a heated crystal pan that materialized on the island, "there's a possibility that I've recreated that same taste after an extensive process of trial and error."
Zanda was thankful Naydir had kept in contact with her mother. It brought her peace. "I haven't had one of those since the start of my training; thank you for visiting her. We haven't been able to catch up yet."
"You'll see her soon, and everyone. It's a slow process, getting out of the training mode," Naydir said, grilling four pieces of bread after applying some butter on them. “Earlier, I said I'd tell you what I've been up too, my role in Civitas. The fastest it happens, the sooner you’ll share with me your adventures as a gevuritah. So, the reason I'm here is my research."
A mix of different vegan cheeses, blended with grilled bell peppers and onions, created a smell that made Zanda salivate. Naydir left the cooking for a moment.
"Before anything, I need you to swear in front of our kabbalahs you won't talk to a soul about it. I'm still in the developing phase."
Zanda turned to the bio-digital consciousness, serious. "Gia, Luti. Today in front of you, I, Zanda Effenzi Luvel, state that I won't distribute any of the information Naydir Surnaye shares with me, the morning of December twenty-first of the year twelve thousand five hundred and eighty-six. Does that work?"
"A little over the top, but it does." Naydir commented, placing two ruby plates in front of Zanda. "Dig in."
The red material displayed the nutritional information of the Monterrey grilled cheese, both melt and crispy. "Thank you for making me salivate like this again. Excuse me." The gevurah grabbed the sandwich, smelled the butter in the crust, and taken a bite that exceeded all expectations.
"This is amazing!" She exclaimed with a mouthful.
Naydir brought two crystal cups with juice and sat with a satisfied smile. "Carrot and orange. It's good for your eyes." She took a bite and savored every chew. Once done, her friend continued, "As you know, a couple of centuries ago, we figured out how to make all of our crops superfoods by enhancing their seeds with new molecules of vitamins, proteins, and carbohydrates, right?"
"Yeah, that's why we could stop eating animals—basic data," Zanda had taken another bite. "I love this. You got the serrano in the cheese on point!"
Naydir winked at her. "You got it. Every bite of this sandwich is as good as my mother’s." Zanda felt compelled to admit the truth.
"Thank you. It means the world," her friend had said proudly, taking another bite. She pointed at her studio. "Back in Vietnam, when I was studying the story of the Murmuratus, I started thinking about the synthesis, and it got me wondering: What would happen if we merge molecules from different vegetables or create them?"
"You'd get frankenveggies?" Zanda didn't understood.
"No, my research pushes me to theorize we can create vegetables from scratch, new vegetables, not that there’s anything wrong with the ones we already have, but there’s nothing wrong with trying new things."
"Let's say you create a spicy tomato, with mixed DNA from a pepper, like a serrano?" Zanda had taken another bite of her sandwich.
"It can be done, we've created in my lab is what I call: ‘The PepperMix86’, a vegetable that combines all the different colors and flavors of Bell Peppers. You are eating one right now," Naydir said. "At the end my goal is to create new veggies. Some have tried before but not with the same elements my team is utilizing which might allow us to bring a new variety to the mix."
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“That was brain-melting. I hadn’t noticed! It tasted the same as the original; there is so much potential in your hypothesis. I can see the possibilities!” She was excited, understanding Naydir’s endeavor.
The tipharet smiled at her friend. “Yeah… I hadn’t thought about the fact that their tastes didn’t differ that much. I was working on creating a brand new spicy fruit. My hope is to have it ready by the party, and this time, you will experience a new flavor.”
“I’ll be here no matter what. How were you planning to create it?” Zanda’s eyes were closed, savoring another bite as she daydreamed about a taste no one had ever tried before.
Naydir showed a mysterious smirk. “Can’t say, my love. You’ll have to wait and see.”
“I swore not to tell anyone about it!”
“And I appreciate it,” Naydir tried to hold her laughter while chewing, annoying Adriaas; both sephirot devoured their meal as they had many years before. When they finished, the tipharet turned to her kabbalah.
“Luti, would you mind getting us a refill, dear?”
The green crybine dodecahedron approached right away. “Of course. Zanda, do you need anything?”
“I would say yes to something sweet.”
She did not feel shy about sharing her cravings in front of her friend.
“We got ice cookies; Ms. Nay made some a couple of days ago.”
Naydir seemed delighted with the kabbalah. “Yes! What a terrific idea. I’m proud of those.”
Luti flew away to the cooling station. For a moment, it shaped a small portion of itself into three levitating arms made of crystal nanite threads; they opened the door and removed two containers and took them to the table, one filled with juice and the other one with frozen cookies.
“Thank you...,” Naydir praised it and took the juice container. “Now, it is time for you to answer my questions.”
“Fair, go ahead.” Zanda was ready to share her life with her friend once more.
“What brought you to Civitas Permacolae?” She asked before drinking the juice.
The gevurah decided to share a simplified version of recent events.
“After my Ceremonia, I went to Zealand to meditate; a few hours later, Solandre and Aimiko summoned me to Gevurium. They gave me their knowledge in a Kabalatio. Refius, my mentor, and I are meeting here to discuss the matter. My plan since last night was to come visit before taking a Porter to the other side of Malkuth.”
Naydir stood up from her chair, piercing through Zanda with offended eyes. A soft red naadi emanated from her, menacing with turning redder.
“You had this information and only mentioned it now? You let me bore you with stupid multicolored peppers when something like that happened to you?” She was outraged, looking at her as if she had broken the Edictum Vitae.
“It was two hours ago…” And then she remembered she had had a long nap. “No, actually almost four.”
“In the name of Solandre and Aimiko, Effenzi…” Naydir brought her right hand to her forehead.
“Aren’t you overreacting a bit? Who was the one saying ‘Be patient, enjoy the walk, and the view…’ just forty-five minutes ago? You’re the only one I’ve told about this!” Zanda said, not sure if she should take her anger seriously.
“I had to give you furka somehow,” the tipharet broke out of character. “I want to hear about it in detail because that watered-down version won’t do it for me.” She sat back down, ready to open the container with the ice cookies Luti had brought.
Over the next twenty minutes, the gevurah related her morning.
“… then our naadis merged. After that, the connection broke, and I got back to my body.” She wrapped up as she devoured the last cookie.
“What happened with Gevurium?” Naydir’s curiosity fulfilled her.
“No idea, my merkabah overheated; it turned off. I sank into the ocean waters for minutes that felt like forever. Gia got everything back up, eventually. My kabbalah couldn’t reply, and that was terrifying…”
“I’ve heard of it before, it’s a common side effect from the Kabalatio called Astral Overheat. The connection and income of data were from a different dimension. The amount of energy and information your merkabah had to process must have been unheard of. It’s impressive that was the only problem you had to deal with…” Naydir examined Zanda’s bodysuit with care, analyzing it. “Would it be okay if I scan it? I fear there could be nanite damage that might affect Armis functionality.”
“Right now?”
“Do you have anything else to do? It’ll take half an hour,” Naydir believed in doing things at the earliest chance.
Zanda theorized Refius could take a while to arrive.
“No, we have time.”
That phrase energized her friend, who’s Nadii changed to tones of orange before fading away. “Let’s get on with it, then. Luti, play Mozart and open the interface. Follow me, Zan.”
The gevurah stood from her seat and followed Naydir back into the studio. The skylight filtered the light on top of the hexagonal table, where a holographic interface awaited commands.
Zanda separated from her merkabah, rearranging the structure of T.H.I.C. and Armis while her right foot stepped out of it, followed by the rest of her body, peeling off the nanites. Her suit remained static while the Kosovar turned and witnessed the piece of yellow biotech sealing back on itself.
She remained covered by her silkaphene unitard, a comfortable clothing piece meant to protect her skin from the Merkabah’s everchanging structure and temperature. “How long will it take?”
“Not long, an hour or less. Do anything you want in the meantime. You said you didn’t sleep much last night. I have a bed here; do you want to take a nap while I work?” Naydir offered as Gia came in, flying from the balcony.
“I apologize for the intrusion. Zanda, Refius is here,” the kabbalah announced.
“Gia, would you mind showing him the way here?” Naydir responded before her friend could.
Her companion sent out a route after she approved. With that settled, the tipharet continued with her task, moved the merkabah without effort, and placed it on top of the table, where it floated with ingravitas technology. The interface activated a holographic cylinder around it. All information and data from it were displayed for both sephirot to read.
“This merkabah is incredible. I’ve seen nothing quite like it,” Naydir paced around the table, impressed, studying the analyzed data from the suit.
“The Superior Sephirot in my Ceremonia said it was a first of its kind for my generation,” Zanda sat in a chair that emerged from the floor.
“The future of our species has to have vanguard gear...” The holographic cylinder augmented the merkabah, allowing the study of its nanites from up close.
“I don’t know what to think,” the gevurah admitted, struggling to digest that responsibility. “What if I fail?”
“You will, but whatever the reason is, own it, learn from it, and rise above. There’s a reason too why it happened to you, trust it even if you don’t know it.”
Naydir always made sense of things, which helped Zanda to relax.
“That’s what I’ve been doing for the past few years, going with the flow. I get frustrated when this new endeavor to Sectum comes to my head. How am I supposed to live up to those expectations? It’s impossible. I’ve been a gevurah for less than twelve hours, and have to carry an entire generational weight on my shoulders? It’s insane to think about the repercussions of each choice when the ramifications are irreversible,” Zanda felt a weight lift from her after sharing that with Naydir, who kept analyzing the merkabah, pacing around it.
It was good to have someone aside from Gia or Refius to talk about her path. Back on Malkuth, she had grown close to a group of gevuritah but, after her Ceremonia, it seemed it would be a while until all of them would be reunited again in the same room. Only two members of her entourage had graduated with Zanda while the rest stayed in Asporto, continuing with their trainings.
“Malkuthians are always in constant change, and you know that. We won't be the same in a century. Solandre and Aimiko don’t want you to do it alone. You might be the next step in our evolution, but you won’t get anywhere alone. There’s a generation coming right behind, and you won’t have to carry it. It’ll carry you,” Naydir said just what her friend needed to hear.
“You’re right. I’m freaking out. The whole first assignment in Sectum gossip from Tabitha got me off balance, and then Solandre and Aimiko threw that bomb at me…” The gevurah was thankful. When they were younger, Zanda would advise her, but now, the roles had switched. It was a pleasant change.
“Remember, this is not about you, my soul; it’s about everyone in here together, in aequiteism.”
Naydir dug into the structure of her state-of-the-art Armis while a piano concert eight hundred years old played in the background.
A few moments later, Gia swirled around with an announcement.
“Refius is outside.”
“About time,” Leaving the workshop, Zanda walked to the entrance, followed by Naydir and both of their kabbalahs.
The senior gevurah passed through as the peridot dissolved around him and Nenu, his orange companion shaped like a rhombicosidodecahedron. He looked as he did the night before at his apprentice’s Ceremonia; a beard a couple of months long covered his thirty-eight -year-old-looking face while his usually shoulder-length crazy hair was tied up. His characteristic clear blue merkabah had hypnotizing patterns.
Zanda paced to him with heavy pace.
“Missing me, already?”
****
That's it for Chapter XII!
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