I startled. A glow built in the chamber and—no, it can’t be!

Citsa Wilnes appeared, but her face changed to other faces, in a steady stream. That laugh grated on my nerves. “Oh, are you surprised to see me? I told you, Cis-Adia, we are parts of the same whole. I am your Councillor, Oeket.”

Kirnonos and Pirad sat harshly on the floor, but they bounced.

I frowned at her. “Surely you want to save our thirteen galaxies, do you?”

She laughed. “Thirteen galaxies. Rentappenen promised me The Padrisa, and I want it! Don’t you want to have real power?”

“I want no power. Ry’nao rules us in fairness and wisdom. I would not trust you with my papa’s deciplex!”

“You do not know who you are talking—look at your Zheien. They are so fragile, aren’t they?”

Ryee collapsed, and had a seizure! His body spread and his eyes stared at her! Pas tried to touch him and a jolt threw him into the wall!

I glared at Citsa and she grabbed her head! “You will not control me!” Dark green dripped from me, like rain.

She vanished. I ran to Ryee. He lay still on the floor, and was half the weight he was secs before she appeared. I sobbed.

Pirad lifted him. “Kirnonos, do you have materials?” Ry’nao helped Pas up. Thank goodness for walls of eaezhfee! The old healer lunged for Ryee’s hand. He clung to it!

“I do, and I can reclone him now.”

Ry’nao trembled. “Her Councillor is insane! I must protest—”

Kirnonos shook his head. “Rentappenen would kill you before you reached it. Did you see what she did? She killed all the rogue members of her Collective!”

I sobbed and fell into Pas’ arms. “No! I never meant to—”

Kirnonos took me from him. “They were Aryllan and evil. The ones left are frightened, but loyal. More shall be added for you to fight Eriganh. They will create a new Councillor for you. I think you have friends on the Council who helped you.”

We appeared in a green obsidian chamber with vaulted, domed ceilings. A table appeared with six men. All were Ryee! Unmoving, unbreathing—breath choked my throat—

Pirad laid Ryee on one of these bodies. He groaned.

I sobbed, and crystal tears fell from my eyes. They shone like rainbows! Kirnonos set me on a high chair and put my hand in Ryee’s. He clung to it. “Ay, where—” He looked up.

With a quick jab, Kirnonos put a dark green leaf in his mouth. His golden eyes flew open! Relaxed into a stare.

Another Bisillip ran to him. “You must be more gentle with these Zheien or we shall not have good results. I apologize, Ryonne~. My brother does not know what I learned. Zheien are fragile!”

Ryee looked up at him. “I feel ne offended, Taredias—”

“He touched your mouth! He was rough!” His thin chest heaved. Behind him, Kirnonos gathered up my tears. Put them down Ryee’s tunic with a swift motion.

He chuckled. “I saw his intention. Mind pain left me. I have ne unwell with you, any of you. This is my mission, to help Ay defeat Eriganh. My life belongs to my Emperor.”

Kirnonos leaned over him. “You do not understand the importance you hold. Cubes are tied to different traits in the Host, and the Collective creates an entity called the Councillor.

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“You must preserve your life. The White Cube of Light is fueled by love. Her love for you is her power. If you die or become weak, it will distract her. Oeket knows this and damaged you. I cannot repair all of it if I used fifty clones to blend with you.“

Ryee startled. “I am injured? I ne feel it. Mind pain was severe, but I think.”

“I am lending you my intelligence that we may speak, so you know what I do here. We do not experiment on slaves or anyone. We learned from large slaver facilities that were liberated, facilities that did experiments that are forbidden, such as Deesamor.”

“Deesamor?” Ry’nao sat beside me on a green cube. Trembled.

“We helped create the Cubes for your Council. I disagreed with the model, but Rentappenen insisted this would be the most beneficial. It is flawed. If those who create clones for the Collective are not careful, they create an insane Councillor.

“Adia was right to destroy the rogue clones, but will they find the mistake and correct it? Or did Rentappenen infiltrate the scientists who create clones for it?

“Rentappenen is a Councillor. He can be influenced by what we do with the Cubes. I can improve both of you to compensate for Oeket, if she is still insane. I can add minds to you to advise you. Minds from my level, the Second Level.

“First, I must have all of your memories, to put them into your clones.”

“Clones? Why?”

“I can send some of them to Adia’s Collective, without Rentappenen’s knowledge. The Fifth Level is not that different than the Third as far as cloning tech. The ones who do not wish to sit in a building for the rest of their lives may help you on Earth. You do wish to invite Earth to join the Unified and the Alliance?”

All of this talk frightened me! Ahstam carried me to a table and put me on a clone of myself. She was Zheien? Beautiful orange skin. “For this, you must be Zheien, to strengthen you.”

Eanne~ shuddered. “Is this ne evil? All of her clones, I hear their hearts beating!”

Pirad walked to him. “They cannot live without our terminal to breathe for them. Recloning gives them life and the ability to think and move. Without the Host, they are alive, without sentience, parts grown to replace the injured ones.”

He trembled. “As they do in Ilhanhsa, or Noi Haas?”

“No. Why take parts from living slaves and put them in other slaves? We create alives, we do not trade them. Not since Taredias was a slave. He taught us how they suffer.

“We created this tech as an alternative which is kinder. Slavers captured his lab to use his tech for evil, and that is how Ilhanhsa and Noi Haas came to be. Now we work to fight slavery.

“You are troubled, my son. Go and sit by Ryonne~.” White light flashed under his hand on Eanne~’s forehead, and his color deepened. A smile, and he sat by Ryee.

“Help him share memories to this cylinder.” He gave him an emerald green cylinder much bigger than those in my lab. It filled his large hand. Pirad pulled his hand down to Ryee’s forehead. He frowned, and deep red bruising spread under it.

Eanne~ gasped. “He harms him!”

Pirad kept his hand there. “Is necessary. Pas can heal this as you work.”

Pas sat in a chair beside him and touched Ryee’s head. Hummed. Relaxed as it helped. As soon as he healed it, bruising reappeared. Tears filled his redgold eyes.

Ahstam helped me. But what have I to share but sorrows and morbid thoughts? After my first time with DF, I knew I was to die, and horribly!

“O, you had many sorrows, but you also had joys, sae. Share all. Clones absorb what they absorb, and we have help for your sae.”

“My—daughters? Will they be babies?”

“Ne, they shall be 18 years, as you. Unless you wish them to be differing ages. They may decide to be sisters. We can also make brothers or sons, if you wish. I have hundreds, and they all wished to be brothers to me. I could ne bear—”

His wife had a heart defect, and died in childbirth. His other son also died. But I showed him how Laura Martin created a way to save many in Ye~ with heart defects, including Ryee’s older ba J~oie. Ahstam’s wife and son will live again soon.

The old healer paled! Another Ahstam replaced him and two others carried him out. I felt awful.

Ryee gasped, on the table. “My ba shall live?”

“And, your sa E~Janne who lies in Burial Chambers.” I sobbed. She was only four! But, I saw all of Ye~’s Burial Chambers emptied but for 20. Kirnonos showed me that he could raise the 20! So many were children. His clones are doing this work, now.

We saw all my life, and Ryee watched. He did not think my mistakes horrid. I felt his love for me deepen.

I watched his life, and sobbed. Oh, I felt as if we married, and he died!

But, Ryee also felt sorrow, watching my life. We saw all of my memories of Earth, and they went into our cylinders. After this, he also felt that we married, and I died, because we are not married and—