I nodded as the countdown continued.I nodded as the countdown continued. When it reached "now" the sky blanked and suddenly we were over Ops. "We're ready for the landing," I announced. "Copy," Fawn replied. "Landing," I said. "Home again, home again, jiggety-jig." I laughed softly as the shuttlecraft was once again pulled below the surface of Ops and the doors closed over us. "It's all so much!" Oenone said with a gleeful giggle as she dove into the beautiful pool of waters that stretched out in front of us. "I do not believe how much power I have had here!" "Millions of years have been compressed for us by travelling forward," I said, sitting by the edge of the pool as she swam naked through the waters. "You and I, we have only watched six years, Oenone, but for Pendor, millions have slid by as Fawn has pulled us along, stopping as I order to make sure that life is taking the path I most intend for it to take. The azzies keep the process moving forward while culling those lines that might compete eventually with my plans." She swam over to me and folded her arms over the rock I sat upon, holding her head out of the water. "Centaurs first?" "I've already begun work on them," I said. "I've even chosen the field where they will be released." She frowned slightly and then disappeared under the water. Knowing full well she could hear me, I said "Something wrong?" "I do not want... visitors." "They're not visitors. They're going to be my children, Oenone. They're going to be the people I bring up into the world. Reah called me a godling, and I'm going to prove her right. I'm going to create a life where there was none." She walked out of the pool and sat down next to me, her limpid curls dripping with water. She touched my cheek gently, her fingers cool. "I have had the most peaceful six years of my life here. I have been allowed to be alone, and to be at peace. I have left my old life behind, Kennet, and all for you." "I couldn't have reached this," I said, gesturing around, "If you hadn't been there at the start. The power you wield when nobody limits you is unbelievable, I agree." "That does not matter," she whispered. "I did as you asked, and you did as I asked. There is no bargain between us anymore. I have no right to ask you to cut your dream short because I like Pendor the way it is now, alone, pristine, unmolested. |