One of the mine poisons was a part of a new poison I found in people on all five worlds. People trade with each other. With every trader’s ship, mine poisons got into the farming worlds’ food. This new poison was another combination poison without a name. And, it started 50 years ago when Gedda Dier sent scientists to start that weapons facility in Esta Faho.
“What are you doing? You can’t mix that, you’ll cause an explosion—”
“We did this on Vohl, and you know why. If we seed this on every world of Rahn Estar, Mican can’t see what we’re doing.”
The other scientist added a vial to the mixture. “This is a common mine poison, and it’s in all of our Tessite mines, but in few others in the 4th. I think they will miss it.”
“I’m sad we have to resort to this, but the Zheien are going to die out anyway. With this, they’ll forget things. They might not realize how many people are dying every year.” The other one added a vial.
“With the amount of soldiers all of us have to contribute, they might just think it’s that. They don’t come back from Eriganh’s attacks. Look at what happened on Lisbaar. I want revenge on Rentappenen! My poor family.”
“Don’t think, my friend. Gedda Dier may be gone, but if someone finds her aandat and steps in it, we might yet win.”
“Did you know? Pasha Hamar died again last week.”
A gasp. “But, they were supposed to live again to fight! Are you sure?”
“Rahn Wenh Cet inspected the lab just before we released the agent on our soldiers. He figured out our secret and somehow, he ruined our work. Mican suspects us. But, we can fake an accident, can’t we? There’s just the two of us here. If we set it off, they won’t find our bodies. But, they will run a vaporizer to clean the lab. I can alter it to spare our work so that does it for us. Mican will fall, but our brothers will be the ones to do that. He is coming today with plans to move the facility. I put equipment and supplies in Burial Chambers, and my brother knows how to access it. We do not have wives or families here, and we miss them, don’t we? Mican can’t stop us from journeying to Elohaia, free from Eriganh and his evil.”
“You don’t want to wait and see if Gedda Dier comes b—”
“If she does, she’ll only live 2 weeks. How can she do anything? Recloning won’t work. We need to do this now. Mican is coming back!”
The first man smiled as he used a finger to stir the mixture.
An explosion of blue and purple flames rocked Mican’s ship and damaged it! He almost died, but they set it off too soon!
I jumped.
“What did you see?” Via held my head.
Pirad added a hand, and it went from freezing to hot! “I can use this! I have to go to Kirnonos!” He vanished in that white light.
Farley held me and cried. “This is how Fieran Tas and his scientists died? His son, Tasafier, taught me of weapons, he was my tutor, and he told me his father had secrets, but I nae knew—o, I must nae speak of this! Dear wife!”
Now that he woke up, I saw even more connections and wrote more progs. Farley helped me with some of the research that healers knew. A lot of his questions mystified them. They didn’t know about a lot of the poisons, that were classified by Science Service as harmless substances.
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People scrambled to Esta Faho, to write progs to contain ‘em! I designed a new kind of hazmat suit to filter out these new poisons. Scientists who design these suits in Fhiah helped me with it, and they changed the ScSv Guides to add them in every biome maintenance facility in the Alliance and in the Unified, plans spread by Hubs. Without testing?
But then, Zheien do a lot of things without all the testing we do on Earth in the US. I learned to relax a little when Pas showed me we were saving lives with our progs.
He and his ba were busy checking people’s progs, and I was able to listen in this new mindlink. It was kind of like the Healers’ Link master healers have with their group of nine healers, called an ennead, and master healers have links to other master healers. Pas is bald but he has wispy silver curls you can’t see except in strong light. His ba has short, brown curls. Imagined each curl as holding hands with someone’s line. He didn’t have enough curls. More like each strand held a line! Each tiny hair on his skin on his head. They have tiny hairs like suede.
The Diplomatic Link is a giant mindlink that Ry’nao has with all of his diplomats. A lot of my lines went into it, and I saw it at work. I found some of the same poisons in diplomats who lived and worked on Elshar Mashai when not on their respites. Some of those poisons combined and had healing properties, like a yellow sand they refine from Elshar Mashai sand called tis fuh, that Zheien use for heart problems. I found a lot more poisons and a lot more remedies from studying Elshar Mashai’s mines and people who worked there for a bit.
Via interrupted me. “You must sleep, Maiden. Hold your husband and sleep.”
I didn’t want to stop, but Farley made me lie in our leiwege. He was gray! I grabbed him! “Via, is it hurting him to do this with me?”
His sigh rumbled on me, almost as intense as Zheien do it! “Child, none of us can do what you do! Farley suffers, but if you rest well, his progs can fully run and help him.”
He kissed my forehead and quit fighting it. His exhaustion prog ran and gave him gvesa, one of the strongest pain herbs. All Zheien hate the way it feels. But, Via added a new herb, nanafir, with it, one I hadn’t seen. Farley just went to sleep. Via told me he won’t startle awake while that affects him. He might not avoid that feeling that he missed things, but for now, he’ll get good sleep.
“It is an herb we use in Leiea, to ease gvesa. He works to give him a more gradual effect which is less of a shock. When he wakes, he will feel sudden waking, which is unavoidable. I wish there was an herb that did our work without undesirable effects!” His eyes turned black.
I sighed. And, my family came over. Daddy sat on the bed. “I wish we could see you when you’re not working or sleeping! They give me time off, and I’m writing important progs! Can’t they give you an afternoon to enjoy the festival like they do us?”
Via thought to explain some of what we were doing, but I hinted that wouldn’t please Daddy very much, so he didn’t say anything.
“Daddy, Farley needs me. When he’s better, I’ll spend more time with all of you.” I yawned. I really wanted to spend more time with my sisters, not my parents or Karl.
And Karl startled. “You look so—pretty. All my sisters are pretty. I wish I was handsome!”
That shocked me! His tone suggested he was going to throw out an insult, and changed to nice, mid-stream. I looked up into his round face. He’s going through that gangly stage. “But, Karl, you are handsome. You and Daddy have those big, light brown eyes that ladies always find attractive, and you aren’t overweight like I am. You stay more active playing baseball.”
He smiled. “Really? You think the twins might like me? But they’re back on Earth.” He pulled at his blond hair to get it out of his eye. I wrote a prog to trim it shorter so he didn’t look like he stuck his finger in an electrical socket. He keeps it long but never brushes it.
I showed him the result and he actually smiled. “Hey, I kinda like that! Thanks, Sis!”
That’s when the diplomat with ‘em spoke up. “The Caissons decided to move to Ea~. Is an easy port from any world of Alb to here, only 4 minutes. Already, many parents of Earth allow their children to port with diplomats, or they take their children to friends who chose other Earthan colonies. Trading is an attraction to many Earthans, and all colonies have things to interest them. Our artisans teach a form of baking with interesting patterns, and some are similar to Scandinavian cookies, so their mea is eager to visit. Perhaps, if you sit with Haforamen and learn of him, you may discuss it with them when they come.”
Karl ran off to find Haforamen right then, and we laughed. But, I got too sleepy and Via ushered them away from our bed. I heard Pas coaching my sisters on more progs, and he brought an artisan to teach Allison a kind of sculpture she wanted to learn, on the next bed.
My parents made progress with Pas on the simple progs. Daddy looked at some of my code and Pas couldn’t answer any of his questions. That’ll be trouble. But even with that going on, I still slept.