Outsider

[Laowai]

She crossed the room silently; stopping before him she smiled and stared down at him. He pulled her close, kissed her stomach gently and looked up at her; she looked exactly the same as she had all those years ago when he had met her.

His wife who he held, whose warm flesh was soft to his touch, who he had laid with all afternoon.
Zarita Crusellas, Zarita Laowai his wife; who was dead.


He got off the bed and moved to the counter at the side of the room, dipping his hands into the small basin there he splashed his face with water; catching a view of himself in the mirror as he did so. He also looked as he had some thirty years before.
It never ceased to amaze him, this place was timeless, and it would be so, forever, as long as it existed.
At least that's as much as anyone supposed.

It had been a month since he had been here last, but six months since they had been able to physically interact. These times were precious, they lasted as long as they lasted, it could feel like hours, days, time in whatever reality it was, didn't work the same as outside, it was all perception, emotion.

Eventually he would sleep, and sometimes when he woke, he would still be within her reality, other times; he would be back outside in the crystal chamber, with her gentle voice in his mind, whispering how much she loved him.

He sat back on the bed, sitting beside her and she stroked his arm.
"You're running a risk you know, using your crystal to talk to those things."

Ben nodded, "I know, but it gives me an advantage. Puts them on edge, its an in that I wouldn't normally have."

"But do you want that in?" He looked at her; "Ben, you're a hack at this! This is how these things communicate every minute of their lives. You've had what? Thirty years? and most of that is here, with me, you know we dont even fully understand how it works."

He put his hand over hers as if to reassure her, "I know, but its worth it if even to get an understanding, or to give one..."

She shook her head and sighed a little "you are a stubborn one Benjamin Laowai, You will try things you know you shouldn't..."
Sitting up she looked at him more earnestly; "But seriously, be careful, you are dealing with things here no one really understands, and.."

"you're worried they might learn too much" he said.

She looked at him "Yes, but not just about Tangier, about us, about what we can do."... And a slight sadness crossed her face; "that something could happen to you, that you might not make it back here we dont know how far these things can reach.."

"I'm working on that" he said confidently and he kissed her on the forehead, "unaided, Ive been able to be heard across 2 systems at least..."

She looked a little surprised "Two? Systems?! - but how is that possible, we've only ever been able to make it work with ships in orbit, and that's the furthest we've been able to try?!"

"I dont know" Ben replied, "maybe its because as you said, this is how they communicate, I dont know, my sensors I put in Iota clearly showed their vessels there when I was in Kappa, and they were responding to my thoughts..."

"I hope to make it work over more."

Zarita's brow creased, "Wait....You're experimenting with it?"

"Slightly, more that im trying to find ways to give it more power, increase its range."

He summoned a crystal in this thoughts and one appeared beside him, picking it up he showed her, "Ive already had some results, quantifying the energy it uses, all we need to do is find out, how too give it more, or take more from it. And then I can talk to you. From a long, long way from here."

She looked unconvinced and he could tell, but he knew she trusted him enough not to do anything stupid. "don't worry" he said "Ive already found a way to interface these with our computers, at least so the energy is readable, I'm taking things one step at a time."

She sensed there was something else, " There's a but isn't there?"

There was, and he looked slightly sheepish; "I need another one."

"Another crystal?! What on Crete for?"

"I need to connect one to a computer, to record their communications..."

She looked perplexed, "Can you even do that? Ben? We cant waste one!? If anyone connects through it they will bond to it and it will only work for them! Outside of Tangier that's useless!" She paused and considered.. "at least until your experiments show results, if we waste it that's one of us in the future that cant use one!?"

He knew she would raise that objection and had already taken it into account; "no one will physically touch it" he said.

Holding the crystal between them he said, " They have to be held to work, no one, not even myself will physically touch it," thus he thought the crystal in his hand away and it vanished, taking her momentarily by surprise ..."no one, will bond with it!."

"Zarita, I know whats at stake here, please its important."


As he left his wife physically again, some hours later, he cradled the second crystal in the container he had made specially for it using his own. It interfaced perfectly and would link into the computer system he had been installing on the gunboat.

As he made his way to the surface where he had left his Titan, he held his own crystal in his hand, and her voice came into his mind, clear as if she had been standing beside him.

***be safe my love, come back to me again, and be careful***

In his own mind he formed an image, one of the things they had shared only a few hours before, locked in each others arms and where words had no place.

***you always know the right things to say*** her voice said again.


He smiled to himself as he strapped himself into the cockpit of the Titan, started it up and lifted off into the cold, overcast Tangier sky.

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