Simone had spent her morning in the town's medical center, which was a hodgepodge section of rectangular old white metal shipping containers on stilts. The community had spent time to fit them into a makeshift infirmary of sorts with each container purposed for specific treatments.

She was hooking up a new saline pouch to the drip stand next to her mother who was still recovering at one of the hospital beds. Khyslaka sighed. She had recovered already recovered her Izpiritas, which was the Cretarian term for magic energy. Similarly to humans, Cretarian’s could absorb and apply cosmic energy to wield magic. The greater level of Izpiritas a mage could hold, granted them the ability to trace life energy to various planets and beings to summon them to their side for a temporary period. The period defined by the caster’s spell and ability. The Ashtra Ancestral Line had always held an abundance of levels of Izpiritas to summon high level creatures to command, which had ensured their seat of importance on the Star Council. Had.

“Simone. We need to retrieve the Ocularus Seal. Our family were once revered as Star Councilors with the power to decide planet fates. Now look at us. Bottom level fodder workers for Starcharter.” Khyslaka abruptly sat up to almost pull the drip stand on top of her.

Simone gasped when she saw her mother’s aura flare up with unstable Izpiritas. The woman was rambling off the cuff due to a mild delirium. But the topic was a regular conversation starter between them, and usually in the random quiet time.

“Not good. Not good. Glucose levels spiked. High endorphins of not good kind. Insomnia present. Lie back down or face an izpiritas blowback. Doctor’s order.” She scolded her mother as she rapidly keyed on her armband console to adjust the saline flow and reset the drip stand upright.

Khyslaka gave her daughter a weak smile and nodded as she laid back down. “Simone, find your father. He has the seal.”

Simone paused as she was adjusting the bed monitor, hovering at the bed-end. “To find father is difficult. No doubt protected by the Concordat Forces. What should I do when I find him?”

She asked but knew the answer to the question. Of course, her mother never forgave herself for succumbing to a weak emotion called love. And for a human man who ended up like all the other scheming humans hellbent on cultivating dominance and power over other races. When he had challenged the Ashtra Family for the Ocularus Seal using the Cretarian Old Ways, and won, no one could counter his right to the seal and his seat on the Star Council.

The man had succeeded in ensuring the Concordat Forces and humanity was not only made a Star Council race, and Earth protected under their dominion, but also a decision-making race for the Starway Galaxy. The consequence for the Cretarian Race was heavy, with their position within the Starway Galaxy reduced. Most of their influence was limited to Starcharter Enterprise company business dealings. So, this one seat had setback an entire race’s authority by half. Because of this, Simone and her family were banned from their home world, Lor. Whereas, humanity could come and go from the planet as they pleased.

That was fine by Simone. She was only interested in science. However, her mother, by ancestral rights, should’ve held her place at the Star Council Ocularus Orbit where all planetary decisions were made.

“You know what to do.”

Simone finished with her readings and nodded when the biological reports read normal. Her mother only needed a few hours then she could go back to her normal routines. She stared into her mother’s eyes and saw a cloudiness to the irises. Whenever a cretarian was troubled by thoughts, it should as a dull sheen to the color of their eyes. Her mother’s amber eyes constantly had dull iris color.

“Take back the seal from your father, but do it the honorable way by our people. We have to reclaim our council seat the right way.”

“Change is way. Way is change. Humans have a religious saying, an ancient Sanskrit mantra, ‘But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day.’ What is the past is to be learned but not delved. The future is what we make it. If we can’t complete our tasks for this life there is Samsara. Do right what you can do for this life. Finish off in next life.”

“Simone.” Khyslaka shook her head and dropped her next words with another sigh. “Fine. It’s your choice. But remember who are your people.”

“I know mother.” Simone made sure her mother was comfortable before leaving the infirmary with her irises showing a dull color.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

As she was walking through the mixed metal and stone paths back to Junkyard Town’s main street, she encountered Veronika who was also headed for the same way. The clone was ahead of her by a few meters, strolling calmly but with an upright posture that gave off an impression of strength. The woman was indeed a mystery for a human. Then again, all humans were.

Her father being the biggest of them all, and he must’ve been some charmer to win her mother over. But that meant Simone couldn’t be a civilian of Lor even if she wanted to be anyway. So what point was there in aiming for the Star Council Ocularus Orbit. Still, her father could usurp the seat for the Earth Ancestral Line.

“... But remember who are your people.” Simone whispered her mother’s words to her.

That was a loaded question if there ever was one. If she were to delve into her DNA she could safely say that humanity and cretarian were her people. Perhaps it had to do with one genetic structure having more weight over the other.

“Weak noncovalent influence the Peptide bond formations. New protein influenced can’t be changed so easily.” She shook her thoughts aside.

It didn’t matter whom she identified as her people. Scientific future was all that mattered, regardless of people, politics or communal motivations, science will be prevalent to guide the generations.

She looked at Veronika again, seeing her body smaller as their distance increased between them. “But here is a big mystery before my eyes. Will she be that weak noncovalent to reshape a new protein?”

No point thinking on it further. Especially, when there was a bomb that needed to be diffused. She hurried her steps to catch up to the woman who was still deep in her thoughts.

Veronika heard Simone call out to her to break her chain of thoughts and stopped to face her. “Simone.”

“Everything okay?”

“Just thinking things through. Is your mother okay?”

Simone nodded. “She’ll be back to normal in a few more hours.”

“Do you also run the town medical center?”

“No. Helping Dr. Morton to care for those who were impacted by the mine. A brilliant surgeon and health technician. Naturally, no bedside manner.” She bowed before Veronika with her thanks. “If you and System hadn’t disarmed the Bioreshaper, I fear none of us would be here to live to tell.”

“You said that the alien device at Bing Bing was a Bioreshaper?”

Simone nodded and further explained her understanding of the Ichemotian device, which had been forged to reorganize planet organisms into an evolution.

“So they were the first advance race in the galaxy?”

Veronika listened to Simone recount on how the Ichemotian had made magic and passed this onto other races so they could reshape their own worlds.

“Seriously?”

“At first, I brushed aside the stories as fantasy. Surely they were just another organic race like us. However, seeing evidence of a Bioreshaper has made me think that perhaps there is some truth. It’s not improbable to reconstruct base compounds and protein chains to be more cooperative with external energies.”

“True.” Veronika nodded. After all, she had acquired her own understandings of magic and tapping into cosmic life forces. At one time progressing levels toward immortality: Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Spirit Body to enter into the immortality stages. She had been one step away from entering the Deity Transformation phase where death couldn’t come by mortal hands. But that was along a defunct pathway. The rules naturally had changed when she entered a new universe. Her current path to immortality was not only having to restart and relearn but also discover and reshape her understandings of this universe's laws.

Simone’s eyebrows lifted with pleasant surprise. “You don’t disbelieve this?”

Veronika smiled. “What is belief but a decision to accept what is real. Real in one world is false in another.”

“Interesting.” Simone mused, as she thought over her words. “Have you ever tried summoning magic?”

Veronika thought it over and pinged System with the same question.

[Summoning is the ability to manipulate spacial energies to open a portal link and communication line to a specified being for temporary teleportation and control. A summoner needs magic powerful enough to also manage a large spacial realm as a go-between. So, no this is not within your capabilities yet] System confirmed and went offline.

“Nope. But this life is still young. Anyway, too much thinking can rot the brain faster than a bad apple.” Veronika slugged her arm over Simone’s shoulder and dragged her down the path at her pace for Fast Food Tavern.

Simone chuckled and found her mood lifted as their topics talked about lighter and trivial subjects. And she was able to learn more of the clone and come to a belief that Veronika was definitely more of a person than what was grafted into her body.

“A clone construction can be close to genuine but not genuine. She is her own person.” She nodded and decided to think nothing more of Veronika’s makeup.