01-01-2022 Alf Galt

Morgaine, Robert, and Keung stood before the door with the guard. The long silence is very awkward and they each fidget a little, suddenly the silence broke as the double doors were thrown open and Galt, dressed in a sparkly gold suit, oversized glasses that were rimmed with sequins and wearing platform shoes with high heels, stood in the doorway with a huge smile upon his face stood before them all.

“Deagol you old cock!” Galt began, halting when he didn’t see the elderly man in the hallway. He leaned forward to check the hall to see if his friend was elsewhere in the area. “Well who in the blazes are you then?” He finally asked.

Keung smiled wide and mocked a curtsy. “Anastasia and this is Ricardo he said waving to Morgaine, and finally this is Robert,” He finished.

Galt smiled wide and leaned forward to kiss Kueng on both cheeks, then the same for Morgaine, following on to Robert.

Morgaine checked the guard’s face and saw no reaction, apparently he was used to strangeness from their host.

“Come in! Come in!” Galt said walking into his apartment and waving them to follow. “I have a piece of Ye'randid here as well. Maybe you have something to talk about, maybe not, either way they are a parrot so don’t stare.”

The trio followed Galt in, the guard closing the doors behind them as they walked on.

“Has he always been like this?” Robert asked within Morgaine’s mind.

“No,” She replied telepathically. “He’s really settled down,”

Robert looked at her face and she was smiling like the cat that swallowed the canary. As they continued up the hall they admired the art that was adorning the walls, plush and clearly expensive carpets, and even the paper on the walls in elaborate designs. Robert heard the sounds of animals chittering about, squawking, and talking, it was like being in a zoo.

When Robert rounded the corner into the living room he was assaulted by the cacophony of sights and sounds. There was a gorilla playing Xbox against a chimpanzee. There was a group of birds in a small tree off to the side, the blue macaw seems to be ruling the roost while jabbering on in Bengali to a small group of mockingbirds. There was an entire wall dedicated to a large saltwater tank that housed a variety of fish and an octopus.

There was a raven playing chess with a lemur and from what Robert can see, the raven is winning.

“Where?” Morgaine began to say.

“From all over the place Ricardo,” Galt said with a flourishing wave broadly around the room.

“It’s Morgaine now,” She corrected.

“Of course it is and what a name that is! My dear did your parents enjoy the Arthur mythos or…”

“No. I enjoy the Arthur mythos. They had named me something else,” She said, while walking away from the eccentric man to talk to the parrot.

Oblivious of Morgaine’s barb, Galt walked to the bar, being tended by an orangutan. “Donnie. Could you make me a long island iced tea? I am parched. Bobby, Keung, Morgaine, can Donnie make you something?” He asked while dipping his hand into a large bowl of Chex Mix and picking out the peanuts.

“I love this stuff, all but the peanuts, I dunno, they give me gas, it upsets my stomach,” Galt said, taking up his drink just as Donnie finished.

“I’ll take a Coke,” Robert said.

“Donnie, you heard the man, he would like a Jack and Coke,” Galt said, walking a bottle of water over to the gorilla playing the Xbox.

Robert walked to the bar. “Just a Coke Donnie, please.” He said to the ape and Donnie smiled a toothy grin. The aped ducked down behind the bar, then popped up with a glass bottle Coca-Cola and a bottle opener.

Donnie popped the lid and then left it on the bar.

Robert reached out with his mind to the bartender. “Thank you,” He sent telepathically. Donnie responded through the link, “You're very welcome. Would you like something else? I make a mean cheese steak san,” The telepathic voice of the ape is warm and soothing, something that makes him seem very wise or of having a great deal of experience.

Robert was surprised at the length and clarity that Donnie could respond. The ape felt that and smiled.

“The body is more limited than the mind. My voice would never carry the meanings I wish to convey, but my mind, that is another story altogether,” The ape said mentally.

“Can you make contact?” Robert asked.

“No. Sadly, on this planet only a handful of creatures seem to have the ability to psychically link to other minds. It’s likely the physiology of these bodies which limit us. Humanity, for all their shortcomings, are a well designed and intelligent species capable of great good, and great evil,” Donnie sent through the connection.

Robert was taken aback by the entire exercise. He looked around the room and opened his mind to the thoughts all around him. It was amazing how deeply these animals thought. When he walked into the room, all he heard was the noises they all made, but now, with his mind open, he can hear the excitement in the room. It was beautiful.

“Which animals have the ability to make the connection themselves?” Robert passed the question through the link to Donnie.

Donnie pointed to the octopus in the large tank. “Horatio can, but be careful, Alf isn’t thrilled with him at the moment. You don’t want to get in the middle of that,”

Robert’s eyebrows went up in an impressed facial expression.

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Keung was outside at the large pond watching the fish moving through the water.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” He felt someone pass him mentally. He looked around and saw that Galt was sitting and laughing with a pair of ravens and Morgaine was chatting with the chimpanzee who was using a tablet computer to converse. He then looked for Robert and spotted him talking with the orangutan.

“Down here buddy,” He heard in his mind, he then looked down into the pond where an octopus was sitting on a large wet rock staring up at him.

“You?” Keung asked and the octopus reached up a tentacle offering it like a handshake to the young man.

“Me,” It replied. “The name’s Horatio,” The octopus replied with a pleased emotion attached.

Keung shook the tentacle. “Pleased to meet you, Horatio. My name is Keung,”

Galt was walking by, with one of the ravens now perched on his shoulder. Keung was trying to find a thought to send to the octopod when Horatio sent, “Please excuse me, I have something to do,” And then spit an inky water jet at Galt as he was walking by.

Galt spun around and glared angrily at the octopus, Keung could feel the amusement through the link and heard the thought blast Horatio sent to Galt. “Screw you, you blasted peacock!”

Galt turned his nose to the air and stomped off.

“Now. You were saying?” Horatio asked Keung, who was trying not to fall off the pool ledge laughing.

“How did you come to be here?” Keung asked.

“The peacock found me at an aquarium a decade ago. He brought me here, not really much to the story,” Horatio replied.

“Isn’t ten years a little ancient for an octopus?” Keung asked, clearly confused.

“The Terran species of octopus are short lived, yes. However Ellithani, the octopod race from the planet Woatuu, are rather long lived. I had been an Ellithani at one point in my existence, apparently, like IFA has activated some part of the octopus body I now inhibit that has given me such longevity,” c said within the boy’s mind and physically shrugged using a pair of his tentacles.

“Trip the hell out,” Keung said in genuine surprise. He then tipped his head towards Galt. “And what’s the deal with him? Why are you upset with him?”

“I have been arguing with him for months about attempting to create an environmental suit that the Alliance had designed for the Ellithani. I may not have all the technical expertise, but I have a rough idea at how to start,” Horatio explained.

“Seems reasonable. What’s the issue?”

“The issue is, he simply doesn’t see the need for it. ‘Explore with your body here with your fantastic mind,” Horatio said, giving a good impression of Galt in Keung’s opinion.

“I suppose, there is something to be said about…” Keung began.

“All of that nonsense went out the window when I lived past sixteen. This body is not one to explore any longer, it is altered by my soul. Now, I lived the agreed upon life of one of the natives and now, I want to explore what else it can do with an environmental suit, I think that is fair,” Horatio snapped.

“Okay, let’s say we find you a design. Hell, let’s say we find the design and I even know someone who can make it, what then? It’s not like the humans are going to accept that an octopus is just going to be walking among them,”

“What then? Who cares what the humans think is normal and what isn’t. Have you seen the news? They have Knightscope robots patrolling the malls of California. I could be in the belly of one of those things and no one would be the wiser. Fuck man, don’t take his side, his side is a bummer. Embrace the chance to expand our knowledge!” Horatio railed and slapped the water for emphasis.

“Horatio! Behave yourself with our guest,” Galt butt into the conversation vocally.

“Peacock!” Horatio shouted telepathically.

Keung laughed at the upset, but ten years with Galt, yeah. That would test anyone’s patience.

“Tell you what buddy. I’ll make a case for you. In fact. What if I told you that, I happen to know an AI here in the Sol system that also came from back home?”

“You beautiful boy, tell me more,” Horatio pulled in his limbs and hugged himself tight as his camouflage reflex went wild with a joyful expression.

“So, did you ever happen to meet Myna?” Keung began.

“The name sounds familiar. Who were they?”

“She was the companion of Jyn’itol. Her nanny AI became her life partner,” Keung explained.

“I think I remember something about that, but honestly most of my memories from back home are watered down. Let’s just say sure and continue,”

“Fine. Jyn’itol was my previous incarnation, my original self before division here on Earth and Myna followed her here. Took her over a hundred years but she got here,” Keung continued.

“Wait. That doesn’t make sense. Homeworld…”

“F’inlitary nan Geritari,” Keung excitedly said.

“Yeah. F’inlitary nan Geritari,” Horatio just accepted. “Weren’t we around seven lightyears from Earth? That shouldn’t have taken very long in slipspace,”

“She didn’t use slipspace to get here,” Keung stated.

“Why?”

“Doesn’t matter, she’s here, well. She was here,”

“Was?”

“Yeah, longstory, but her subparts are still here and Robert, Morgaine, and I know how to get a hold of them,” Keung said smiling.

“And you think they would have the designs?”

“Oh yeah. Even if they didn’t, they would definitely have a better starting point than we would without them,”

“Well get on the phone ET, get me an audience!” The octopus said excitedly.

Keung smiled wide and glanced around the room, at all the diverse versions of his colleagues on the journey, how Galt had brought them all together and given them all a place to congregate and socialize. Looking at Robert chatting with the orangutan and Morgaine laughing on the couch while playing Call of Duty with a gorilla and ravens dancing and squawking from the back of the couch while the others played. It was beautiful.

He felt as though he could finally do something for the journey that he had been neglecting to do for decades. He can now help others again and not just himself. He pulled out his smartphone and scrolled through the contacts. When he reached HAL on the list, he hesitated. How would HAL react to this call? Had the AI forgiven him or could this call be the thing that pushes the AI out of his reach completely?

“Hey. Robert,” Keung shouted across the room, to get over the noise of everyone else.

Robert didn’t respond in kind, instead Keung felt his words in his mind. “You should really come over here and socialize with Donnie, he’s a hoot. What's up?”

“I need a favor. Can you message HAL and ask him about an environmental suit for one of the Ellithani? I’m looking for a design that can be adapted to my new friend Horatio,” Keung replied in thought.

“Sure thing.” Robert replied and pulled out his cell.

“Hey HAL. You got a minute? Seems we have an octopus buddy that is in need of an environmental suit, apparently you might have a design ment for Ellithani within your circle of friends,” Robert sent in text.

“An Ellithani suit? Sure. I’ll ask around. Now that Emerald City is up and running, a great deal of things that were stored away are being unpacked and spread out throughout all the AI community,”

“Emerald City? Like in Oz?” Robert asked.