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Stories from the Verse
In Verse Proportion
Chapter 142: Slade 212
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Brown 243
Slade tapped his fork meaninglessly on his plate as he stared unseeing at his dinner. Shella obviously noticed.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He collected his thoughts. She was patient but waiting.
“It’s happening again,” he finally said.
“It?”
“Derek arrived. The gods are bringing us together, and that means they have something for us to do, something big.”
She shrugged. “It seems to me you are doing something big. My world didn’t have any of the things you’ve given this one, and Derek has already started working on a--what do you call it? A computator?”
“Computer. But the last time this happened, we lost.”
Shella took another bite of her dinner before replying.
“I don’t know how you can say that. You’ve heard how Zeke managed to kill them all with one shot. I’d say we won. It was a tough fight, but Joe and Zeke walked away, and the other side did not.”
He nodded. “All right. We won. I,” he emphasized, “lost. That girl killed me.”
“I’m not sure that girl was a girl, in the ordinary sense, and face it, she was an incredibly good fighter, and you did extremely well against her. In fact, I think I’ve heard you say you’d like to spar against her again, because she was the best fighter you’ve ever faced.”
“That’s true. I still lost.”
Shella’s sigh sounded like exasperation.
“You held her engaged in combat long enough for our side to win. You succeeded where a lesser man would have failed. You did not lose, because you played a key part in a battle which we, together, won.”
He nodded. He didn’t really believe her, but there was sense in what she said.
“Anyway, it’s happening again. We were here first, and then Joe and Zeke arrived, and now Derek and Vashti. I tell you, the gods are up to something, gathering us in preparation for something big.”
“Why couldn’t it just be that the gods want us to give these parakeets the machines of other worlds? I mean, Derek actually brought a flying ship and a--whatever that thing is called.”
“The robot. Yeah, but why? I mean, why do they need all this technology, and why do they need it in a hurry? I mean, had we not arrived they would undoubtedly eventually have discovered everything we’ve given them. It just would have taken them a bit longer. All I can think is that they needed us to give them all this because something is about to happen, and they’re going to need it. And probably they’re going to need us, too. I’m worried about it.”
She smiled. “Well, you shouldn’t be. I don’t think Odin would have brought you here if you weren’t ready for whatever’s coming.”
He nodded. That was the best thought he’d had yet. Of course, she gave it to him, but then, that was part of why she was there, to give him good thoughts.
“Thanks,” he said, and returned to eating, still in a contemplative mood wondering what was going to happen, but a bit less worried about it.
There is a behind-the-writings look at the thoughts, influences, and ideas of this chapter, along with twenty other sequential chapters of this novel, in mark Joseph "young" web log entry #456: Versers Prepare. Given a moment, this link should take you directly to the section relevant to this chapter. It may contain spoilers of upcoming chapters.
As to the old stories that have long been here:
