The Power of The Past
Lis Morris
Well, here 'tis, as promised:
Again, I'll post it in three parts since it is so long! Something weird has
happened to the tab spaces before the paragraphs.. sorry about that!
Book Two of the Chronology Series: The Power of the Past.
Prologue: Albia, Version 1.
It was still in prehistoric Albia, without a breath of wind, but then it
always was. A confused bee headed past, then flew back to the beelacanth
blossoms in the garden. It flew past a female adult norn. She had her hair
tied back in a ponytail, and her name was Sophi.
"Sophi food" she said, looking around for something to stop the hunger.
There were no other norns in sight. Sophi wanted, needed.. something. In
those early norns, desires and actions were only loosely linked; some
actions were nice at certain times, and at other times were indifferent, or
even nasty. Sophi curled up in a ball on the ground.
"Sleep" She leapt up and struck a pose, tapping her foot.
"Sophi bored." She announced. Her eyes tracked around the surrounding
vegetation. A food, an orange round food with a flat top lay on the ground a
fair distance away by the elevator. Had Sophi been able to read, she would
have been able to make out the single word ‘Honey’ on the side.
The food was a long way away, but looked a very attractive prospect. It
never even occurred to her to walk over to the food and pick it up; she
simply reached in that direction, and the honey jar settled into her hand.
She pushed it. Food was nice at the moment. Since she was a bright norn, she
wondered for a second if food was nice if she was hungry.
She pushed the honey pot again, then dropped it and forgot all about it.
What forces can change a world? Accidents, lucky chances, tragedies, a
unique individual or maybe simply the massive force of a population’s
beliefs. Modern Albia was about to change forever as the latter forces came
to play their part in its history. Sophi’s little tale is not strictly
relevant to the story of this particular world; but it demonstrates one of
the forces: the Power of the Past, the lucky chance.
Chapter One: Metamorphosis.
Albia, Version 6.
Chris stared at the sheet in front of him. No matter what he did, the
symbols and equations he was normally so fond of refused to make sense.
Maybe he was just tired, he told himself, not wanting to contemplate the
real reason why he could not concentrate.
This ‘real reason’ was sitting on the floor behind him, playing with a
white and red ball the Hand had given her.
"Annie push toy" she said, a big silly grin painted across her face. The
ball bounced merrily across the room, and hit Chris’ chair.
"Can’t you play with that somewhere else?" he snapped. He regretted his
harsh tone instantly, but it made no difference- not a shred of
understanding showed in Annie’s mild brown eyes.
"Look norn." she said, and gently kissed him. Chris smiled wearily, and
patted her fondly on the head. Even in her current condition, he still
adored her, mind and body, in a way no other norn had. The Hand had once
called it ‘love’, a word Chris had never heard before. He was the first norn
ever to be capable of such an emotion- for Chris was unique, a mutant who
had come one step closer to humanity than any other norn alive.
Unbeknownst to him, a thousand clones of him existed in a thousand Albias,
and his genome was being analysed by sentient beings living in a world he
could not begin to understand.
The terrible thing was that Chris knew he was a mutant, that he was totally
alone. No other norn would ever truly understand the pain of seeing a norn
dying and not being able to help, or the joy of seeing one recover to health
and happiness. Even Annie, his long term mate, one of the brightest norns in
Albia, brighter than him, really, would never understand him, even if she
ever recovered her intellect. His hand twinged, as it tended to when he
started brooding, as if to call him back to the present- or maybe to remind
him of the dangers of brooding too much.
How long had she been back from Prehistoric Albia? Long enough, Chris felt,
to have made some kind of recovery. Even her hair, once a long, flowing
white cascade down to her waist, was still an erratic fuzz on the top of her
head. He took off his glasses, and rubbed them in an habitual gesture. Annie
had always teased him about that. It wasn’t as if he even needed glasses- he
just liked wearing them.
The Hand suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, floating in the air.
(Chris had once asked the Hand how It floated, without falling like any
other object. It had replied, in its silvery not-heard voice "I just do".)
Chris tried to hide his almost instinctive guilty start from the Hand, a
mannerism built up over years of hiding the secret of his peculiar
personality. Of course, that was all in the past now. His hand spasmed
again, and he winced involuntarily.
"Your hand still hurting?" It asked.
"Well, yes. Sometimes." Chris admitted.
"I think you damaged the muscles in it. It should heal over time. I can
give you painkillers if you wish."
"No, it doesn’t matter, really."
"Annie push Hand!" Annie rushed over enthusiastically, and reached up to be
tickled by It. She giggled when the Hand did as she wished.
"Hello Annie" It replied. "How are things, Chris?" Chris tried to look
optimistic, but failed, and instead maintained a miserable silence.
"No change." He said, helplessly. "I can’t see any improvement at all."
"Oh dear" It replied. It had hoped to see some of Annie’s intellect return
by now. As the Hand measure time, it had been an hour, after all. Maybe once
she started to recover, it would be quite quick. Annie had lost all interest
in the Hand, and the conversation, and had gone back to playing with the
ball. "It is certainly taking a long time, but I’m sure she will recover. I
really came to see how you were, Chris. I know you’re under a lot of
strain."
"Me? Well I…" Chris sighed explosively, and continued in a quite, subdued
voice. "I want Annie back. I’m so lonely without her to talk to." For a
brief second he looked as bewildered as Annie.
"I understand," said the Hand. It was always hard to read the Hand’s
emotions through Its flat voice, but It sounded genuinely sympathetic.
It may have continued, but then a ball bounced across the room, and knocked
Chris off his chair.
"Push!" Annie cried, running after it unconcernedly. Chris picked himself
off the floor, and rubbed the arm he had fallen on.
"Annie no! Don’t throw the ball at other norns!" the Hand chided. Annie
assumed the typical ‘I’ve been hurt’ pose of a Prehistoric norn, then looked
surprised, and slightly puzzled.
"Oh alright," she answered, and then picked the ball up and took it back to
the other side of the room.
Chris stared at the Hand in shock for a few seconds, then slowly smiled in
rising hope. The Hand could not smile, but it seemed to radiate happiness
too. It tickled Chris as if he was a child again, and then settled down to
play with Annie.
For Annie’s sake, the Hand and Chris had been keeping her confined in their
shared room in NornTown. Her condition had been kept a secret, her friends
only being told that she was ill, and being looked after.
Now, however, she was getting restless, so one fine sunny day, the Hand and
Chris acted together to take Annie for a walk. The Hand cleared their path
of other norns, and they wandered together in the Flower Meadow, slowly
moving towards the Forest. The Hand sped ahead to make sure that any other
norns had been disposed of, and Chris and Annie walked hand in hand through
the insect haunted grasses.
"What’s that?" Annie cried, pointing.
"It’s a butterfly." Chris replied. Annie was currently very fond of the
‘What’s that’ game. Chris could have got very sick of it very quickly, but
he knew it meant that Annie was learning new things all the time.
"Butterfly" She repeated conscientiously, and then frowned in thought. "The
pretty is a butterfly. What’s that?" She said, picking a small plant from
the ground near her feet.
"That is a herb called parsley." Chris said. He had been schooled in
Prehistoric Nornish, to help him understand some of her odd sentences. It
was a very simple language, composed of nouns, verbs and a few adjectives.
"Can Annie…" she paused, and corrected herself, "Can I push it?"
"Eat it. You eat herbs and food, not push."
"Eat it." she agreed.
"Yes" Chris nodded. Parsley had been one of her favourite foods. She took a
tentative nibble, then ate the whole sprig. Her face lit up
"Annie like parsley" she declared, and she ran off to find more, still
holding Chris’ hand. Chris allowed himself to be pulled along, laughing, in
the sunlight.
Enormous leaves filled the darkening sky overhead. Occasional shafts of
golden sunlight penetrated through to the small glade where Annie and Chris
were taking a rest at the base of a huge tree. There they sat, enjoying the
silence.
"Look pretty!" Annie suddenly cried, when a shape momentarily blocked out
the sunlight.
"What kind of pretty?" Chris asked sleepily. It was wonderful to get out of
NornTown, and stretch his legs. He had, it occurred to him, been as confined
as Annie during her long illness.
"Bird. A bird." She smiled in satisfaction.
"Good!"
"Annie look norn" she said, and stared Chris full in the face. His breath
caught in his throat. She was so beautiful! And as she recovered, it was as
if he was falling for her all over again, discovering her again. She had
come such a long way in such a short time, and her old personality was
beginning to emerge. To him, she was still the same norn she always had
been. Or rather, she would be shortly. Suddenly, Annie kissed him, a quick
peck on the cheek, then with rising certainty in her eyes, kissed him slowly
and sensuously on the lips.
Chris stood up hurriedly.
"No! that’s… not right." He said, flustered and out of breath. How could he
take advantage of her when she was still not recovered? It seemed wrong,
somehow.
Annie looked back at him, confusion and hurt in her eyes. She stood up
beside him.
"Why?" She frowned in concentration. "I… want it." she finished, struggling
for words to express her simple need. She stroked his furred cheek gently.
Chris gasped softly, and held her hand closely.
"Oh so do I." He whispered, avoiding her gaze. How long had it been? Too
long, far too long. He had never been interested in any other norns since
meeting Annie, and they had not made love since she had left for Prehistoric
Albia. It hadn’t seemed right, in a way Chris could not put into words.
Bitterly, he reflected it was probably another side effect of his odd
genome. He began to realise just how lonely he had been, on his own, with no
one but the Hand to confide in. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry, softly
placed his arms around Annie, who sighed, and drew her back onto to the
ground with him. As the sunlight faded into darkness, so did his guilty
conscience.
The Hand, who had been hovering above them, disguised by the leaves,
floated silently away.
End of Part One.
What??? A happy ending part way through a story? This is unheard of! Well,
you'll have to wait and see what Part Two has in store tomorrow....
Indigo
Lis Morris wrote yet another faboo part to her story...
>What??? A happy ending part way through a story? This is unheard of! Well,
>you'll have to wait and see what Part Two has in store tomorrow....
AUGH, LIS!!!
It's 3am here, in CA. I haven't gone to bed yet, so for me tomorrow is your
today. Thus, I will be waiting EXTRA long till I can read the next part!!
::covers face with hands:: It's torture, I tell you, utter and severe
torture...
Indigo
--
"Avoid reality at all costs."
Remove Z from email to reply
Founder and Leader of the RfNS (Rights for Norns Society)
Listed on Who's Who at AGC!!
ICQ UIN: 1530587
AOLIM: Indigo3721
Still working on my blasted homepage...
http://www.netcom.com/~shailagh
Lis Morris
Indigo wrote in message <6nq72p$r...@sjx-ixn10.ix.netcom.com>...
>Lis Morris wrote yet another faboo part to her story...
>>What??? A happy ending part way through a story? This is unheard of! Well,
>>you'll have to wait and see what Part Two has in store tomorrow....
>
>AUGH, LIS!!!
>
>It's 3am here, in CA. I haven't gone to bed yet, so for me tomorrow is your
>today. Thus, I will be waiting EXTRA long till I can read the next part!!
>::covers face with hands:: It's torture, I tell you, utter and severe
>torture...
>
>Indigo
Serves you right for staying up to late! <gg> There's a strange feeling of
power in knowing it's sitting here all written on my hard disk, and I can
make everyone else wait for it <veg>.
Anyway, do you like it so far?
Lis Morris,
Get your hippy norns and grorns here!
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/morris_family/hippy.htm
Argh it's a geekcode! www.geekcode.com
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.12
GS d- s+:- a-- C++ U! P L- E? W+++$
N++ o? K? w++ O? M- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP--
t++ 5++ X- R* tv-- b+++ DI-- D-- G++ e++(++++)*
h!>- r*% z-*
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
"When you've got your back to the wall, the only thing
you can do is turn around and fight"
Antonia Blair
Lis Morris wrote in message ...
>
>>AUGH, LIS!!!
>>
>>It's 3am here, in CA. I haven't gone to bed yet, so for me tomorrow is
your
>>today. Thus, I will be waiting EXTRA long till I can read the next part!!
>>::covers face with hands:: It's torture, I tell you, utter and severe
>>torture...
>>
>>Indigo
>
>
>Serves you right for staying up to late! <gg> There's a strange feeling of
>power in knowing it's sitting here all written on my hard disk, and I can
>make everyone else wait for it <veg>.
>Anyway, do you like it so far?
>
>Lis Morris,
Good story!!
Tonia
Mike Davisson
Usually it means that something terrible is about to happen. :)
Hurry up and write part 2.
Lis Morris <lis_m...@msn.com> wrote in article
<#i1cP5Kq9GA.206@upnetnews05>...
Pinstar1
<snip story>
Andy: great story, now is he gonna kisspop her or what
Polinesia:<brawk> shut up andy!
Andy: can you quit it with that squalking, its VERY annoying.
Polinesia:I can't help it, it <brawk> just sorta comes out!
--
Bad spellers of the world... Untie!
Lis Morris
Pinstar1 wrote in message
<199807061528...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
Chris: Only you prehistoric norns kisspop, actually. We are more advanced
than that. Reread it, and maybe you'll figure out what was going on!
The Hand: Don't be so patronising!
Pinstar1
>Chris: Only you prehistoric norns kisspop, actually. We are more advanced
>than that. Reread it, and maybe you'll figure out what was going on!
>The Hand: Don't be so patronising!
>
Andy: sorry, with the winged wonder over here squalking, I miss a few details
somethings
Indigo
Lis Morris wrote in message ...
Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!!!!
That's why I'm going INSANE waiting for the next part!!!
Bibbleboopbibblebibbleboopboop... Insane, I tell you!!
Indigo
Mike Davisson wrote in message <01bda944$3e493fa0$048e...@inlink.com>...
>> Bibbleboopbibblebibbleboopboop... Insane, I tell you!!
No, I can't make my head spin. ;)
Mike Davisson
Indigo <Shai...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in article
<6nrhae$k...@sjx-ixn10.ix.netcom.com>...
> Lis Morris wrote in message ...
> >Anyway, do you like it so far?
>
> Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!!!!
>
> That's why I'm going INSANE waiting for the next part!!!
>
Sounds to me like you're turning into R2D2.
> Indigo
> --
> "Avoid reality at all costs."
:)
Jason Westman
And here's what Indigo sez, with a mouth full of PEZ!
>>Sounds to me like you're turning into R2D2.
>
Have you tried?
=> Jason!
--
"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
--Bill Gates
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