Chapter 28; FireBird on Smudge

In my yacht, comfortable on the sofa, the monitor before us, I say; "They can be virtually invisible."

I was speaking of the five cyborgs I had deployed. I had sent them from the two stones where we had sat earlier in the day.

The two stones where I had come to the decision, or more honestly, didn't.

I loved Priam as I had no other, as I would love no other. Regardless of what might be, if I could translate it clean, I would.

I had dispatched the cyborgs... they were grey doughboys in human shape.

Priam had seen them leave the ship, along with the small 'batwings' (drones) which perched on their shoulders like parrots.

These cyborgs could adopt any shape but never look as human as my androids. For my purposes, grey doughboys are good enough.

Now I turn to watch Priam's face as I gave the order of invisibility.

Priam has such a beautiful expressive face, I could watch him all day.

"How did you do that?" he exclaims, seeing one of the cyborgs 'disappear'.

"Cameras on the back transmit to the front, front to back, so it seems you are seeing through it."

He keeps watching. If one really watches, he is able to see the little distortion when the cyborg moved. It could be thought of as heat, wafting from the ground, causing a shimmer. Unless one is aware, one won't see it.

One won't see the cyborg.

Priam's eyes turned to mine, holding that wonder that elevated me to the highest level of ecstasy.

The feeling was overwhelming, and I had to turn back to the screen as if there was something to monitor to catch my breath.

There was nothing for me to monitor. This was not the job I'd been paid for.

I'd been hired to find a guy who should be around Pier One, trying to sell diamonds. I'd sent an avatar to lurk by Ahmet.

My avatar would find and collect the diamond thief.

My purpose of coming here, coming to this jungle had been to leave Priam.
Leave him, and run away.

But Priam did not need to know that.
He did not need to know I mistrusted him.

I didn't need to know it either.

I, the Universe's greatest liar, pretended we were tracking dangerous criminals into the jungle beyond Pier Four.

Priam was either the most cunning deceiver in existence, or the most innocent.

I was going with the second because I loved him so much that to not see him for a single day would tear my heart from my chest.

If he was on a mission to kill my father it was easy to avert. My father never left Newfrance. We need never return.

I had travel brochures from nearly every Normal settled world. Some were rather beautiful. And I'd never seen Earth.

Considering how much money I'd get when my avatars returned the diamond thief,
and whomever else I captured on Smudge, we could travel to Earth. There, he being a Eugenic, me a Norm, wouldn't raise an eyebrow.

I looked at him.

Dressed in normal clothing, walking with me, he could be the recipient of normal good genes. There were naturally occurring beautiful people. Gennies avoided normals so eyes seeing him with me would assume he was just beautiful.

I couldn't tell him my plans of never returning to Newfrance. I couldn't let Priam know for a second that though I would die believing in him, I couldn't risk my father's life.

We would be together for as long as possible, maybe I would have his children.
Maybe we would be 'married' in some sense of the word.

Maybe he'd leave me next month, next year, okay I had now, and I was diving into it, my eyes closed.
Sort of.