Untitled Xenofic exerpt.

[runiclore]

The war goes not well...

Does it tire you?

... of course not. We have God. He is with us.


God could be reprogrammed. It was a ludicrous thought that drew a sharp laugh out of Karellen's lips before he sealed them shut again into a thin line. The sound was too abrupt in the stillness of his laboratory, which was usually filled only with the sound of computers running, fans, and the occasional breath or footstep. He himself hardly moved, even now when there was nothing to do but sit in his chair and stare at the screen of his terminal as it ran data checks and compiled numbers for his next project. It would not be ready for another several hours.

All else had been shut down for the night, and his assistants were gone, home with their families and surrendering to the call of sleep as it blanketed the city. Etrenank thrummed with a life of its own, running like clockwork despite the lack of human operators, a testament to just how unnecessary nature's creations were in the face of overwhelming technology.

That quiet solitude brought with it true peace. His love of the starry night was more than a little inconvenient, as Solaris ran on a schedule even more inflexible than the old war had been. To gain the tranquility he desired, Karellen forced his body to remain awake well past the time any sane man would have sought his bed, and when his time with the universe was spent and dawn stained the sky, he resigned himself to a day of coffee and mindless data input, because that was all he was useful for after a night without sleep.

Imagine that. After all of his advances in the field nanotechnology, he had not managed to devise a way to avoid sleep. Of course, his research was all about merging machine and body, and neither had infinite energy. Biology was too delicate to be forced in that fashion.

The readouts before him were a green blur. They flickered if he moved his gaze to the side, and he made a mental note to have the screen's refresh rate improved. Karellen was sure he had thought of it before and simply forgotten, but it was important. If he forgot now, he would remember eventually. And in the meantime-

He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, blinked at the screen, and tried to follow the text. Of course. He needed sleep. Time had caught up with him again.

A wave of his hand turned the screen off. The laboratory was plunged into darkness for a moment until the lights flickered back on at half power, but even that was enough to glare in his eyes and force him to blink until they grew accustomed to the illumination. He had been sitting so still the motion sensors missed him. Perhaps he'd fallen asleep without noticing too.

He shook his head again, tried to ignore his fatigue. It was difficult to push himself out of the chair and walk across the room to his coat, more difficult still to pull it over his head without finding himself stuck like a kitten trying to punch its way out of a paper bag. Miang would have laughed.

And just where was she right now? Not still hiding in her room with the boy, was she? A sour expression crossed his face, quickly smoothed. It would only be polite to check now, wouldn't it? At least for his own peace of mind. He slept better when he knew exactly where she was and what she was doing.

The door opened just as he raised his hand to pass it over the sensor, and he chose that moment to yawn. It turned to a scowl when he opened his eyes to see who was smiling sweetly back at him.

"I was just coming to wake you." The coy tilt to Miang's lips was nothing odd for her, just as irritating as usual. It looked out of place with her new face. "It would be embarassing to bring the brat in the morning and find you snoring over your terminal."

"Your concern is touching." The door slid shut behind him as he joined her in the hallway, and the security system beeped its readiness from the panel on the wall.

"Admit it Karellen - even you need a little mothering." She fell into step beside him. Thick, dark hair slithered over her shoulders and down her back, clinging to her uniform in all the wrong places. "And we really can't afford to have you passing out in the middle of our tests. This is the wrong time to push your limits."

His scowl couldn't really deepen anymore. He settled for lengthening his steps and forced her to speed up, though it wasn't as effective as usual. This new vessel of hers was almost as tall as he was. Her legs were distressingly long.

It became clear she was not going to allow him to shake her off when Karellen reached the door to his quarters and registered her presence just behind him, over his shoulder. "What is it that you want?" He spoke to the wall, head turned only marginally so he could see her at the corner of his vision. "Do you intend to tuck me in as well? I can manage on my own, I assure you."

Miang tilted her head, smile thin. "I can bathe you too, while we're at it." The smile disappeared. "We can't talk out here."

He wanted to sigh, but he bit it back. Instead he pressed his lips together and typed his password into the doorpad, and pressed his fingertip to the panel. The door slid open with a hiss, and he gestured her through first, following only a half step behind her. The door locked itself with a faint click, and they were in silence, only the light of another computer terminal and the night lamp on the table to illuminate them. He disliked the idea of a dark room and Miang together this late at night, but he did not feel like bothering with any more light. Sleep was sounding better and better as the minutes passed.

To her credit, Miang seemed to realize his state of mind; she got straight to the point, for once. "I was careless. This woman is the first in a long time to resist me, and it won't happen again. I apologize."

Karellen raised an eyebrow and strode to the table. "Aren't you used to this sort of thing by now?" His tone was soft, neutral as he emptied his pockets: keycard, gloves, a candy cane from his bravest aide, who had wanted to wish him a happy winter holiday. There wasn't much night left in which to sleep. He didn't want to upset her, lest it draw the conversation out.

"As I said, this is rare." There was annoyance in her tone, though it was not directed at him. "Most of them go quietly and eventually fade away, but this one bites back."

"Yet, you insist you can manage." He pulled his coat over his head and draped it over the table, and pushed his hair back into place as he turned to face her again. "Are you sure about this? I don't relish the idea of being attacked again in the middle of an experiment. You're a little stronger than I'm accustomed to, this time around."

Amusement sparkled in her dark eyes, shadowed by her hair and the dim light. It was an expression completely 'Miang,' something that looked the same with every host she awakened in. It gave a sense of consistency, no matter how different her face or figure turned out to be. "Worry about your procedures, Karellen. I'll take care of Karen."

The circlet came off, and it was deposited on top of the coat, perhaps placed a bit more carefully than his other belongings. It gave him something else to look at. Gazing at Miang had become awkward; she was closer than he would have liked. "Please do." He stared to speak again, but realized he had nothing to say, and forced himself to meet her eyes. Looking away was a weakness, and there were times when he wondered if she could sense that, like a wild animal.

He expected her to say good night and leave as she usually did, but Miang seemed to be in the mood to surprise him. She cut into his thoughts crisply, busniness-like. "Have you eaten tonight?"

Karellen blinked at her a moment. "Pardon?"

"Food, Karellen." She clipped the words. "Nourishment. Have you had anything?"

"I don't remember." Usually he had no problem following her lightning shifts of subject. Perhaps he was more tired than he thought. "What does that have to do with anything?"

She crossed her arms, looking remarkably like an exasperated parent about to give her child what-for. "We're trying to keep you on your feet, remember? Sleep and food go hand in hand to achieve that goal. You know that."

This time, the sigh did escape. He was too tired to care. "Tomorrow." He turned and made his way toward the bedroom door, raising his hand in something akin to a wave. "Follow your own advice, won't you? Good night, Miang."

It wasn't until the moment his door was about to close that he heard her. "Good night, Karellen."

*****


I want to write about Krelian. More specifically, good interaction between Krelian and Miang at a non-boring part of the timeline. I have more written, but this is the only finished scene. Maybe I'll continue some time. I started this months ago, so chances of that are unknown.

It's nostalgic, I guess.