Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business RAINBOW GIRL - Book 4: Jahnson's World

Chapter One – A Reunion of Sorts

“You really are not going to tell me where we are going?” Myke-4 Astor asked.

“Have you ever heard of Jahnson’s World?” Dori asked him.

“It sounds familiar…” Myke-4 replied. “But I can’t place the name.”

“Then I will let it be a surprise,” said Dori.

* * *

They were met at the spaceport by an android, blue-skinned protocol Probe dressed in glossy black livery. It was accompanied by a bright yellow valet robot, roughly the shape of a fire hydrant.

“May I port your vehicle?” asked the valet ‘bot.

“Please,” answered Dori, activating with that single word a series of complex security protocols allowing the valet ‘bot temporary access to her flyer.

The probe led them to a semi-spherical two-seater taxibot. “This will take you to your check-in,” the probe announced.

The taxi took them to a very young, very beautiful hostess, platinum blonde, with olive skin and eyes the color of milk chocolate. “My name is Bunny,” she said. “I’m Mr. Jahnson’s personal assistant. I am sure he will want you to call him Ennis. This is Jiuzhaigou Forest, but I see that you have not chosen your own locale as yet. Mr. Jahnson will meet you in the restaurant in approximately fifteen minutes. It is quite an honor to have Mr. Jahnson himself as your lunchtime companion. I can accompany you to your table.”

As they walked toward the restaurant, attached to a large hotel, Myke-4 observed a large transparent dome opposite; enclosing what appeared to be miles of forest. Gateways into the dome were scattered along its base.

A concierge seated the two at their table; Bunny remained standing behind an empty chair.

Ennis Jahnson was a full two meters tall, and, Myke-4 estimated, at least five hundred pounds. He had the look of a man who had once been in the shape of a body-builder, and had not yet lost all of his muscle or definition. With his collar-length blonde hair and full beard, both streaked with white, he was an imposing figure who filled a room the moment he walked into it. Up lose, he looked something like a huge, middle-aged, well-musceled Santa Claus.

Bunny pulled out his chair for him.

“I always choose one guest—or couple, or family—to share Lunch with,” Ennis Jahnson declared. “And when I saw your names on the guest list—well, how could I resist.” He smiled broadly. “Three Legionnaires, together again for the first time!”

“None of us were ever Legionnaire, exactly,” Dori protested.

“Ah, but you were briefly a member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes!” Ennis Jahnson corrected her. “And Mr. Astor was a member of the Dirk Morgna clone's Legion of Rimbor!"

"Only until he led us all into Black Dawn," said Myke-4. "Programmed by Dr. Regulus and Starfinger. The others made him Deputy Leader, but I never trusted him. But what is your connection with the Legion, Mr. Jahnson?"

"Oh, I trained at the Legion Academy.” Ennis Jahnson produced a small holocube. “There is Mrs. Taine in the foreground, Grev Mallor, now the Shadow Champion of Talok VIII is on my right. The young lady in the Superboy uniform is Laurel Kent, also known a Manhunter. It’s a shame what ultimately became of her,” he added, half to himself. “And there I am. Of course, I was much too old to join the Legion proper at the time. I had already been in the SP for several years, but they thought that some training in the use of my powers might be beneficial. The others called that my ‘Herculean Boy’ costume.” He laughed gently.”



“Ennis Jahnson…” Myke-4 mused. “Animal Lad! What are you doing out here?”

“It’s a long story,” said Ennis. “But we have time. Don’t bother ordering, I ordered for you. Lunch is on its way.”

“It started with the clandestine takeover of Earth, and then the United Planets, by the Dominion. I was an SP on Venus, and I saw the way things were going. We got through the Anti-Xeno crisis all right, but I couldn’t agree with many of the SP’s new policies. I convinced UPGov and the Interplanetary Bank that I could make a go of an amusement park based on my powers, and they agreed. I moved here with my wife and son, and eventually bought the whole planet. Still making the mortgage payments, actually. But Jahnson’s World has been a great success.”

“Your powers,” said Myke-4. “Word is, you had the potential of being one of the most powerful Legionnaires of all: able to transform any sentient being into any animal.”

“Quite an exaggeration, I assure you,” Ennis replied. “I could never have been a real Legionnaire. Even when I applied with that dastard imposter Legion, I was well past the cut-off age for a membership.”

“But the power to change any living creature into any other creature…”

“No, no, my abilities are far more limited than that. In the first place, there is the conservation of mass problem. A one-hundred-fifty pound man transforms into a tiny one-hundred fifty-pound blue whale, or an immense one-hundred-fifty-pound fieldmouse. And in the second place… well, I have some sort of connection with The Red, a psychomorphic field which permeates the galaxy. But each individual will transform into one—and only one—particular animal, depending on a complex interaction of their history, personality, body type, and temperament. From my perspective, the effect is virtually random. I neither know nor can I control what sort of creature they transform into. I do have some limited telepathic ability, and am able to communicate somewhat with transformed humans or non-transformed animals—an ability I mostly used, at the beginning, to calm wild animals. Wild animals—that is, non-sapients—transform into humanoids, sometimes retaining a few animalistic traits, or sometimes fully metamorphosing into absolute human beings.”

Myke-4 looked up at Ennis Jahnson’s personal assistant, Bunny.

“No, no, she is perfectly human,” Ennis Jahnson supplied, as though reading Myke-4’s mind. “Several of my employees have secondary, useful animal forms, and most of them have gone through a Transformation, just to see what their other self looks like. Bunny, here, takes the form of a beautiful, blonde Dire Wolf.” He laughed. “Now, the first part of your transformational adventure begins at 1300 hours. I personally transform each guest on Jahnson’s World into whatever sort of creatures the Psychomorphic Field determines for them. I employ a number of Wardens—Saturnian telepaths, and android Probes—who are standing by, in case the transformation is too psychically overwhelming, or requires special care—such as, transforming into a fish.”

Myke-4 was rapt in his attention.

“The second part of the adventure is… well, Jahnson’s World has twenty major island continents, and a portion of each island has been terraformed to resemble a famous forest or woods. About half of them of Earthly or fantastical Terran origin—I am from Earth, after all—and half replicate famous wildlife preserves in other parts of the United Planets. We let our guests loose into the woods—and they enjoy whatever sorts of adventures they may find in their new forms until 0700 hours the following morning. All under the watchful eyes of our wandering Wardens, of course, in case someone gets into real trouble. Now, frankly, some of our guests don’t last past midnight, finding eleven or twelve hours in animal form is quite enough. But I’m not going to get out of bed to un-transform every guest lacking stamina. If you get tired, or bored, you will need to sleep in the forest tonight. You will have a full twenty-four hours to recover, in one of the twenty luxury hotels on each continent, courtesy of…” he nodded at Dori “Polamar Hotels. Checkout is at 1000 the following morning. New guests arrive at 1100, so I am kept quite busy with the turnover.”

“How many customers do you serve at a time?” asked Myke-4

“Well, it’s the slow season right now, so there are only about a thousand or so getting ready to go out into the woods today, and, or course, another thousand or so currently sleeping it off in the hotels. You will be assigned your rooms beforehand, just after Lunch, in order for you to make it as comfortable as possible before your Transformation. However I understand you have not yet chosen a Forest destination, which we will need before you are assigned. I understand that Dori has kept this little excursion as something of a surprise,” Ennis said. “I will gladly refund your full admission fee, if you examine the contract, hold-harmless agreement, and medical release, and find anything not to your liking.”

“And has anyone ever been injured in one of your forests?” asked Myke-4.

“Oh, yes,” said Ennis. “’Nature, red in tooth and claw’, you know.”

“Injured seriously?” asked Myke-4.

“Yes.” He paused, evidently for effect. “But never injured permanently. We have excellent hospitals on-planet, and associations with other excellent hospitals off-planet. And no deaths at all since the park opened.” He winked. “Even Disney Galaxy can’t make that claim,” said Ennis.

“Well, Myke, what do you think? Are you up for an adventure?” asked Dori.

“Adventure is my middle name,” Myke-4 answered. “Myke-4 Adventure Astor.”

“I was thinking of the Enchanted Forest,” Dori said.

“Whatever you decide,” said Myke-4, seeming a little overwhelmed.

“An excellent choice for first-time guests,” said Ennis. “Mostly quiet, yet full of interesting sights. And nearly harmless,” he added. “Another time, when you are feeling more adventurous, you might want to check out the Seven Surprises Jungle,” he said.

* * *

Lunch was delicious and over quickly. Dori and Myke-4 were in their rooms before noon. They had been assigned separate rooms facing one another across a hall, and had a good full hour before they had to be in their places in one of the entryway buildings by 0100. As their clothes would not transfer with them, they were given modest, loose-fitting robes in which to wait in the comfortable sofa chairs. Looking around, Dori saw that most of the customers were Terran-looking humanoids, although there was a family of four H’Lvenites anxiously chattering as they waited. One luminous dial high on the wall showed the local time, one showed a countdown to the transformation. She was curious to see what the other guests would become, but as the second clock clicked over to zero, she was overwhelmed by her own sensations. Her body felt like melting was, stretching and compressing, and then she stepped out from beneath the loose-fitted, now ill-fitting, robes.

She had become Xolnaran Bird-of-Paradise, an flightless ostrich-like creature with vivid, extravagant multi-colored plumage. The H’Lvenites had become a selection of small, ape-like creatures. In the chair on her right, Myke-4 glided majestically up and out of his mask and robes, a fifteen-foot-long, salmon-colored cobra.

“Excellent,” he said, his serpentine hisses translated by one of the telepathic Probes in the room. “Shall we go?”

Dori fought down an almost overpowering urge to bite the snake’s head off, and consume the rest of it as a second luncheon. Variegated colors flashed from her feathers; she was unable to distinguish her natural aura from her plumage. As she and the Myke-4 serpent moved towards the opening, welcoming gates into the Enchanted Forest, a rumbling noise behind her drew her attention: one of the guests had been transformed into a miniature Earthquake Beast.

Fantastic idea Klar! Echo, Animal Lad, and the whole idea of Jahnsen's World. How exciting!

Chapter Two – Into the Woods

Dori Aandraison soon found herself alone in the Enchanted Forest. Myke-4 had slitheres off somewhere into the underbrush, without explanation, and she had been unable to follow.

The Enchanted Forest was an unending garden of mature fruit trees of various kinds, only some of which Dori recognized. Dense moss grew where the trees shaded the ground, sometimes creeping up the gnarled trunks. Clear pathways of short, thick grass meandered through the woods, areas of bright morning light that contrasted with the shadowy wooded areas. Dori reached up for one of the ripe-looking peaches as she passed; it was sweet and satisfactory, but she knew by dinner time this bird-form would be craving meat. The Xolnaran Bird-of-Paradise was both a frutarian and a carnivore, eating other unwary birds, snakes and even small xolins as it gorged itself during the summer months. Like most Xolnaran creatures, it hibernated during the winter, awakening five or six weeks before the summermelt to mate and allow the female to lay her eggs. The males and females sat together on the nest—actually more of a hollow dug into the earth beneath the snow—raising their body temperatures, and burning off the last of their tat stores. The tiny chicks hatched about a week after summermelt, and ate even more profligately than their parents, growing to half their adult size in only a few weeks before the winter hibernation period overtook them.

None of this really mattered to Dori, who would be comfortably housed in a relatively warm forest for only a few hours. With her date having made himself scarce, her one interest now was to explore. And maybe find where he had gotten to.

Ennis Jahnson, or his landscapers, had done wonderful work on this part of the planet. Sudden meadows of brilliant wildflowers appeared unannounced as one came over a hill. There was a truly impressive waterfall, and brightly colored fish resembling carp in the streams. Again, Dori’s avian body was tempted to snap one or two of the fish up, but there were strict rules about eating any living fauna on Jahnson’s World. You never knew who it might be. There were abandoned cottages in unlikely places, which, in the imagination, might have belonged to an elderly grandmother or a wicked old witch. Rolling hills led to led to rising trails up a steep mountain, to a precipitous cliff from which half the park could be glimpsed.

Toward evening, a gentle telepathic urging sent her back down the trails, taking a different path, and into a clearing, where picnic tables had been set up for dinner. What was apparently ham, roast chicken and small beef filets attracted her attention particularly. She saw the transformed H’Lvenites swing down from the trees, and gorge on salads of nuts and berries. From the streaks of juice in their fur, and their distended bellies, they had also been gorging on the fruit trees all day. The earthquake beast nodded at her as he wandered into the glade, turning to munch on bales of hay and straw. A panther-like wild cat and a thylacine offered her some competition for the trays of meat. A tall, long-necked, six-legged creature Dori did not recognize drank deeply from narrow-necked bottles of some fluid through a long proboscis. What was the etiquette here? Should she attempt to introduce herself? Would her birdish cries be telepathically translated? As for Myke-4, the crimson cobra was nowhere to be found. She suppressed a sense of irritation, then wondered if she ought to be more worried instead. Ennis Jahnson had indicated that not everything in these artificial forests was entirely harmless. She remembered a great cliff she had been overlooking earlier in the day. She realized now that the stream that flowed past one side of the glade had been directly beneath her there. She craned her neck upwards, and saw the cliff rising high above the clearing, red with the light of the setting sun. Raised in the protective environment of 31st-century civilization, had any unwary guest fallen from those cliffs?

The other guests soon began to wander off in different directions as night came on. Dori’s gaze was still on the cliffs, and the evening sky. A flock—was that the right word?—of night birds, or possibly bat-like creatures, fluttered across the sky. They poured out of their daytime hiding places—Dori could not see where that was—for several minutes. Despite her full belly, her avian mouth watered again.

As the sun set, the color drained from her plumage, and she took on the mottled appearance of a Xolnaran Bird-of-Paradise in the nighttime. Her eyesight was still keen in the darkness: every tree glowed warmly; every hidden animal was a pulsing candle. She imagined she was seeing into the infra-red. She caught a glimpse of a glowing, serpent-like flash in the near distance; she took off after it with long loping strides, but soon lost sight of it.

Despite her excellent night-vision, the Enchanted Forest was creepy at night. She wandered for another couple of hours, trying to find one of the edges of the ceiling dome. At last she saw the only half-concealed entrance, a short distance away. She now felt a great urge to climb a tree, and discovered her legs were perfectly adapted to the task. Indeed, she seemed to have two sets of knees on each leg. Finding a largish tree nearby, she climbed until the branches were just able to hold her weight. Then she nestled down, her head under one feathery wing, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

She was awakened by the same gentle, telepathic urging that had led her down the mountain, but this time it rang with the insistence of an alarm clock. She climbed down from the tree, and headed toward the exit she had seen the night before. She was the only guest in the anteroom; a Probe stood holding the familiar, voluminous robe. She only had to wait for a moment before she was transformed back into herself again. Apparently, the morning un-transformations did not all happen simultaneously.

“It is suggested you may want to return to your room,” the Probe said, “To dress and refresh yourself. Breakfast is now being served at the hotel restaurant. You may choose from a buffet, or one of our servers will take your order. Room delivery is available at a small, extra charge. The restaurant closes at 0900 hours, and re-opens from 1100 to 1300 hours for lunch.”

Chapter Three: Side Effects

Dori sonic-showered, changed her clothes, and wandered down to breakfast. She knocked on Myke-4’s door along the way, but there was no answer. The bacon, eggs, sausages, ham, and breakfast steaks revolted her, after all the protein she had had the night before. She settled for waffles and a big bowl of some hot, sweet, creamy-smooth oatmeal-like concoction of some grain whose name she couldn’t remember. But it was a specialty of the Polamar Hotels, she knew.

There was still no sign of Myke-4 when she knocked on his door after breakfast.

Too well-rested to sleep, she perused the hotel amenities. There were swimming pools, raquet-ball courts, climbing walls, anti-grav chambers and numerous other sporting activities. There were any number of holo-vids available, and even a holo-theater for those who enjoyed holo-vid watching with a social aspect. There was a fine electronic library with the most recent best-sellers available for rent or download.

At 1015 hours, there was a knock at her door.

Expecting Myke-4, she was surprised by Ennis Jahnson and Bunny.

“May we come in?” the blonde proprietor asked politely. Dori gestured them to do so.

“Your companion has been injured,” Ennis Jahnson began. “It is serious, but not life-threatening. It is also unusual, as these occurrences are rare. He took too readily to his new form; it was necessary for us to send two of the Probes in to the Park to retrieve him. One of the Probes was badly bitten, but will recover. Your companion has been re-transformed, but currently still believes himself to be a scarlet cobra, according to our psychiatric personnel. Although we have seen such cases before, they are unusual, as I say. But the few we have seen have worn off within less than twenty-four hours, with no ill effects. A good night’s sleep usually does the trick. The individual awakens as though from a dream, unaware that his delusion of otherness was, in fact real. He is currently being held in our hospital, near the Sherwood Forest Preserve, with mild restraints, and a milder sedative. You may visit him, if you like, Unfortunately, I need to begin a new day, but Bunny, my personal assistant, will be your companion today, and will help you navigate the planet. You are, of course, free to stay without charge until your companion is fully recovered.”

“This doesn’t happen often?” Dori asked.

“It almost never happens,” Ennis Jahnson assured her. “How do you feel about your transformation?”

“It was exhilarating, sometimes boring, Interesting to inhabit another creatures body, and, to an extent, its consciousness. I can’t imagine being convinced it was my natural state, or wanting to stay that way.”

“The two of us will remain with you, if you like,” Ennis Jahnson promised. “Although mornings are on a tight schedule. Do you have any further questions?”

“No, really, I’m fine. I am concerned about Myke, but your staff seems to have the situation under control. Do you think my seeing him might help?"

"It is doubtful that in his current state he would even recognize you," said Bunny. "But we will try, with proper precautions. He is under close watch by several telepaths."

How many Saturnian telepaths do you employ?” Dori asked.

“About eight hundred,” Bunny answered. "Not just Titans."

“Then I imagine there is plenty of mind-power here to bring Myke back to his senses,” said Dori. “I know you are a busy man, Mr. Jahnson. Please, I’m sure Bunny can be able to meet all my needs.”

“Thank you for being so understanding,” said Ennis Jahnson. “I had rather expected more screaming in horror.”

“Oh, I’m screaming on the inside, don’t worry about that,” said Dori. “And I will certainly want to hear what Myke-4 has to say when he wakes up.” She escorted Ennis Jahnson to the door. “Better luck for you today,” she added.

“Why did he feel it necessary to try to employ himself, and his own personal assistant, to look after me?” Dori asked Bunny when they were alone. “I would think that a staff psychologist or psych-trained telepath would be more appropriate.”

“As for that,” said Bunny, “I am trained in psychology, although it’s not my specialty. I’m actually a General Practitioner, with an emphasis in nutrition, and personal fitness.”

“Wait—you’re Mr. Jahnsons personal physician?” Dori asked.

“Part-time,” said Bunny. “You can see his age is beginning to tell; he needs to lose some weight, and not all of that in muscle mass. He refuses to use a trim-ray; he says he put it all on naturally, and he can take it all off naturally. After Transformations I do a shift at the hospital three times a week. We’re all cross-trained; I also work as a Warden during the busy season.”

“I thought all the Wardens were telepaths,” said Dori.

“All the employees here also work as Wardens,” Bunny explained. “And yes, we are all telepaths, of one level or another. My mother is from Hyperbad on Earth, but my father is from Titan City. They’re both living on New Titan now.”

“My chief function, of course, is to follow Ennis around, and make him look important, and keep an eye on him at meals. He really is very good at sticking to his diet and exercise regimen, at least when someone is watching. But sometimes he assigns me a special project, in order to go out and eat what he likes; I can let it slide for one meal. Besides, I know the ins and outs and hot-spots of Jahnson’s World like no one else, and can keep you entertained while your companion recovers.”

“So you expect that Myke ending up in a hospital bed is a sort of a half-day vacation for you,” said Dori.

“I didn’t mean it that way…” Bunny apologized.

“No, I understand,” Dori replied. “Jahnson’s World is a place people come to escape, to have fun, to experience a moment of magic. And you think I might be hurt that Myke-4 abandoned me in the Enchanged Forest, and has turned my moment of magic into his moment of madness. And you think, perhaps, I might be feeling a little hurt, and you would like to show me that Jahnson’s World really is a place to have a good time, with or without Myke-4. Well, OK. Maybe you’re right. But let’s go to Sherwood Forest, make sure the patient is resting quietly, and then see what kind of trouble we can get into today.”

Most of the transportation around Jahnson’s World involved the small, hemispherical taxibots that Dori had been introduce to when they had first arrived there. The moved at speeds from a few miles per hour to supersonic. Bunny, on the other hand, knew of a series of short-range teleportation gates hidden throughout the compounds. It required a bit more walking, but it was, in the end, far faster.

“First of all, do you have a last name?” Dori asked.

“Chandrasekar,” Bunny answered. “And my full name is Bernardinne. Ennis wants to take you to dinner, you know.”

“I thought he was married, with two kids,” said Dori.

“Divorced,” said Bunny. “And the two kids are older than I am, and living their own lives back on Earth. But no, there isn’t anything romantic about it. You know how he meets with one group of guests for lunch each day? Well, he thinks of it as a special treat… for them. You know, having lunch with Mr. Jahnson himself, on Jahnson’s World. So he wants to have dinner with you, because he thinks his august presence will somehow make up for your losing your companion. If you don’t mind my asking, just what is your relationship with Myke-4, anyway? I would really have thought you would have been more distraught.”

“Oh, I’m worried, all right” said Dori. “But lately I’ve been trying recently to temper my emotions." This is what she said, but a telltale golden aura, spotted with flaming red, gave her away. "It seems like Myke-4 and I are always going on out on our first date. In the last couple of years, we’ve gone out maybe fifteen times. He’s a member of the Substitute Legion of Super-Heroes on Throon, they’re kind of the governing council there, I just finished a stint in the United Planets Diplomatic Corps, and so I was pretty busy, too. Whenever our schedules cleared, we would see hang out together for several days, then it would be months before we could see each other again. He’s kind of a funny guy, interesting, but hard to read, and it’s not just the mask. He was raised on a Terran outpost under Khundish control. He was tortured—vivisected, really—at a young age, until his family escaped to U.P. space, He’s complex; deep I think, but reserved. We’ve never even kissed. I mean, with his rebreather, it’s kind of impractical. Jahnson’s World was my try for a romantic getaway. Alone, together, in the woods. Sharing the same hotel. Together for forty-eight hours, straight. Didn’t work out the way I planned.”

Chapter Four - Escape
The hospital was a small, two-story, u-shaped building. Myke-4 was in a room on the first floor. Except he wasn’t.

A lone nurse was in the empty room. Her ID badge read, ‘Meiko’. “We have a runner,” she said.

“Where is he?” asked Bunny.

“That’s it,” said Nurse Meiko. “We don’t know. He’s blocking his thoughts; or, something is blocking his thoughts. We have a pretty strong general impression he’s still somewhere in the Sherwood Forest Parkland, but no one can get a fix on him. Should we alert Ennis?”

Bunny checked her chronometer. “No, Ennis is in the middle of the Orientation Lunch, and has Transformations in an hour and a half. I’ll talk to him then, if need be.”

“We’ll find him,” Said Dori. “We’re on an island of telepaths.”

“Dori,” Bunny said, “You’re glowing blue.”

“Yes, that happens when I’m feeling… hopeful,” she replied. “Yes! That’s it! Who’s your most powerful… I don’t know… long-range telepath? The one who might have the best chance of finding Myke herself?”

“That would be me,” said Nurse Meiko. Dori ran to her, giving her a hug. The blue aura brightened and extended around them both.

“You can find him,” said Dori. “I know you can. You can see where he is.”

“Yes,” said Nurse Meiko. “Yes, I can. Good grife, he’s out in the World proper.”

“What does that mean?” Dori asked.

“It means,” said Bunny “That he has left the compound, and is out in the wild, undeveloped, alien portion of Jahnson’s World. “Meiko, What kind of appropriate Shifter do we have in-hospital?”

“Dora is on the second floor,” Nurse Meiko answered.

“Excellent. This is our lucky day,” said Bunny. “Have her grab a jetpack, and meet us in the World airlock.”

Bunny and Dori hurried out of the hospital, and fairly ran past the entryways into the forest. Beyond the polymer dome, there was a cleverly concealed, heavily sealed door leading to an airlock. They were joined there by an apple-shaped woman, only slightly shorter than Dori herself, wearing a silvery nurse’s jumpsuit, and a null-grav jetpack. She had classic Titanian coloring: blonde hair, pinkish skin, rosy cheeks, bright pink eyes.

“Dori, this is Dora,” Bunny said breathlessly. “Dora, Dori. Dori, Dora.” Bunny’s eyes unfocused slightly. “Ennis Jahnson,” she said, into the air. “Ennis, we need an emergency transformation. It’s Dora, in the airlock beside the Sherwood Forest Park. I’ll give a further report later. It involves the patient Myke-4.”

The apple-shaped nurse shifted away. In her place stood a three-hundred-pound golden gorilla, still wearing the silver polyelastic nurse’s jumpsuit, and the jetpack.

“Have you used a trans-suit before?” Bunny asked, opening a drawer in one wall.

Dori shook her head.

“You put it on like a pair of panties. In this case, right over your clothes is OK. Tapping the gold bar—right where a belt-buckle ought to be—will activate them. Otherwise, they activate automatically in adverse environmental conditions. These suits are programmed to activate to any environment outside Jahnson’s World’s controlled artificial one.” She handed around the three trans-suits. “We are very careful to preserve the natural environment in the outside World. That means decontamination before and after entering.”

After the three women had put on the suits, Bunny hit a big red button. Air quickly cycled out of the chamber. Dori felt her tran-suit balloon slightly against the vacuum. Then the atmosphere came back, some sort of semi-opaque gas. “Bacteriocide,” Dori thought. Then vacuum again, then clear air, then the door opened into another world.

Nurse Dora took off immediately took off flying. Dori was left with Bunny to take in the scenery.

It had been late morning at the hospital. Out here, in the real planetary atmosphere, it looked like midnight. Bright stars shone in a purple-black sky. There was one small, silvery moon. Mushrooms taller than a man dotted the ground out to the horizon. Some were grey, some white, all were brightly dotted with splotches and splashes of color. They all glowed with a dim, ghostly light. Dori was glowing a bright blue along with them, thinking her best thoughts of Myke-4, somewhere out in that mushroom forest.

“We keep it the same time everywhere in the Parka, even though they’re spread all over the planet. Artificial light switches on and off on a twenty-four hour Terran cycle. The polymer shields brighten and darken. But the World itself turns on its own seventy-hour day. And each island is unique, isolated, and has its own peculiar flora and fauna. These are called Lucifer’s Mushrooms, a single organism covering a million square miles. What you see above the surface are only the fruiting bodies: billions of miles of mycelium twist, weave and grow under the surface.”

“How could Myke have gotten out through that airlock?” Dori wondered aloud. “If he still thinks he’s a cobra… a cobra doesn’t know about trans-suits, and he couldn’t have survived exposure to the vacuum.”

“He’s confused now, half-way between snake and man,” Bunny speculated. “I can’t imagine how he got the outer airlock door open, or how he even knew it was there. Most guests just walk past it without even noticing it, and there are cybernetic security protocols. But he’s here, and alive, and near. I can sense it.”

“Is it my imagination,” said Dori, “Or are those mushrooms slowly moving toward us?”

“The ground can feel our presence,” said Bunny. “It’s just curious. We’ve seen this before, It’s nothing to worry about.”

The mushrooms were drifting faster, like flotsam caught in a tide. Dori’s aura of hope flickered. A sparkling, golden force-shield sprang into life in its stead, just outside her trans-suit.

“How do you have a portable force-field?” asked Bunny.

“It’s not something I do intentionally,” Dori assured her. The mushrooms were morphing, thick tendrils growing from their bodies. Mycelium crept up the feet of Bunny’s trans-suit.

“Obviously, the organism feels threatened by our presence here, for some reason” said Bunny. “Maybe if we moved to a different part….” She began pulling at the delicate roots clinging to her ankles. One of the mushroom’s tentacles touched Dori’s force-field, then pulled back in shock. Dori reached for Bunny’s shoulder, and the golden aura extended around them both. The mycelium fell away. “Dora has your friend, and she will be back shortly. Perhaps we should move back into the airlock.

The flying gorilla came soaring back through the air, carrying the unconscious Myke-4 Astor in her arms.

“He was lying unconscious, in a ring of mushrooms,” Dora reported. “He was half-covered with a cocoon of mycelium. Clearly, something happened here that traumatized the organism, but we may never know what. He probably won’t remember, and there are no recording devices out here.”

Stripping off their trans-suits, Dori, Bunny, and Nurse Dora returned to the hospital, and put Myke-4 back to bed. Nurse Dora increased slightly the strength of the restraining field. “I think I’ll keep this form for awhile,” the gorilla explained. “And take over this case, personally. He seems to be resting peacefully, but he has clearly suffered additional trauma, and his mind is strangely occluded.”

“Dori,” said Bunny, “I need to attend Ennis during Transformation. Will you stay here for an hour or so? I’ll come back for you.”

“Practically, there is nothing I can do here,” said Dori. “The social expectation is that I would wait patiently and heroically by his bedside, until he heals and regains his senses. But frankly, I’d like to come with you.”

“You know, he may be comatose, but still able to hear you,” said Nurse Dora.

“In that case,” said Dori, “Myke, we’ve had some good times together. I hope we’ll have more.” She laid her hand on his. “But I feel like we’ve been strangers for the past two years, We can never pick up where we left off; it’s like starting all over again every time. Get well soon, and we’ll start over again, OK?” She turned to Bunny. “Well, Doctor Chandrasekar, can I accompany you to Transformations?”

“It would be nearly unprecedented,” said Bunny. “But as Ennis’ executive assistant, I am going to make an executive decision, and say yes.”

They began the walk through the stepping gates.

Interesting turn of events. I wonder just what happened to Myke? Looking forward to more.

Chapter Five: Ennis Jahnson

They began the walk through the stepping gates.

“Not to pry, but isn’t Myke-4 kind of old for you?” asked Bunny. “I mean, if I’m any judge of age.”

“And how old do you think I am?” asked Dori.

“I don’t know—about my age? Although clearly you tint your hairl I like the purple highlights.”

“The purple highlights are completely natural,” said Dori. “They came in about the time my husband passed away: about thirty years ago. I’m closer in age to Ennis Jahnson than to you.”

Bunny examined her face closely, as if looking for traces of lines or wrinkles. “You are Terran, right?”

“Yes, Xolnaran,” Dori replied. “My parents emigrated there from Thanar, before I was born. My grandparents were from Phlon.”

“Interesting,” said Bunny. “My husband is part Phlonian, on his father’s side. Either his grandmother or grandfather, I can’t remember which. But he grew up on Titan, just like me. My family lived there until it was destroyed, then Naltor, of course, then New Titan.”

“Brande Corporation built that, didn’t they?”

“Yes, right in the Naltoran system, as a sister planet. You can see Naltor as a bright star in the night sky. Brande even put a ring around New Titan, the Starbow. It’s beautiful there. They even restored some of the original fauna of Titan in the Preserves: Tri-Hydras, Scorpion Beasts, and Tentacaglors.”

“Beautiful,” said Dori. “Is your husband here on Jahnson’s World?”

“Yes, he’s a sous chef at one of the Polamar Hotels here,” said Bunny.

“OK, I’m going to tell you something Ennis surely knows, but you probably don’t. My late husband was Irveang Polamar.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No, not at all. Which is why I don’t particularly understand how things work here. You have twenty four-star Polamar Hotels on Jahnson’s World, but they are all staffed and run by your own employees, who also moonlight as telepathic Wardens. How does that work?”

“Ennis purchased franchises for the hotels; they get a piece of the action, and we have to follow their guidelines and standards, but he actually, ultimately, runs them all. Realistically, there is a hotel manager at each of the hotels, who runs everything but the kitchen, and a head chef, who runs that. A forestkeeper runs each of the Parks, so Ennis has about sixty employees who report directly to him. Again, realistically, there is a pecking order, and a director of each of those groups: the hotel manager, maitre d’, and forestkeeper at Schwarzwald are the seniors in each of their departments.”

“Ennis still seems overtasked for a C.E.O.,” Dori noted.

“Tell me about it,” said Bunny. “He never takes a day off, the parks run 24/7, During the busy season, everyone is on call 24/7, but during the rest of the year, it’s thirty-six hour week, with days off, and vacation time. Obviously, though, the parks can’t function without Ennis’ personal involvement every day. That’s why he needs a personal assistant who is also his personal physician.”

Ennis Jahnson’s office was on the first floor of the hotel opposite the Schwarzwald Forest Park. Dori was surprised. She had never seen such a Spartan executive office. At right-angles to the office door, there was a old-fashioned faux-wood desk, with a personal desktop Omnicom and padded chair. Across the room was a wallscreen, and on the fourth wall was a second wallscreen, showing a satellite view of Jahnson’s World from space. Aside from that, there were two other padded chairs, a ceiling-high rack of memory crystals, and a water dispenser. A small door probably led to a closet.

“This is the heart of Jahnson’s World, a place few have ever seen,” Ennis Jahnson greeted them.

“Oh, don’t give her that line,” said Bunny. “You spend at least four hours a day in here on calls to your investors across the Galaxy. People see you in your carefully composed environment at your desk in your office over holo-vid every day.”

“All right then,” said Ennis. “’Where few before you have ever ventured’. Have a seat, and watch the magic.”

A series of rooms flickered by on the viewscreen. Most were empty.

“There are twenty anterooms associated with each Forest or Park,” Bunny narrated. “Each anteroom has seating for twelve, so we can accommodate up to forty-eight hundred guests at a time, More, if we do two shifts. We’ve never hit that number of guests yet, but we have come close. We currently have 1,038 guests scheduled for Transformation today. Each anteroom also has a Warden and a Probe on-duty during the Transformation, in case of any problems or distress.”

“You actually have almost as many employees as guests,” Dori observed.

“If you include the employee’s families who live here, and the Probes, we have substantially more. Not during the busy season, of course. Then, we are stretched pretty thin,” said Bunny. She checked her chronometer. “OK, quiet time for the next few minutes.”

Ennis Jahnson stood at his desk. The wallscreen flickered, and then came to life. An anteroom swept into view, with a dozen humanoids relaxing comfortably under their loose pale-gray robes. Ennis Jahnson, made a small gesture, and the room erupted in a chaos of beasts. He swiped his hand, and another anteroom appeared. Another gesture, another transformation, another swipe of his hand. The whole procedure took about seven minutes, it was only1305 by the time all the rooms had been transformed. Ennis Jahnson continued to swipe through the empty rooms, checking to see that they were indeed empty. Satisfied after a few more minutes, he collapsed at his desk. Bunny went over to examine him, some sort of small scanning device in her hand.

“The first time I took his vital signs after one of these sessions, I was alarmed,” said Bunny. “But he seems to recover quickly, and the exertion is not physical, but mental, and evidently emotional.” She handed the C.E.O. of Jahnson’s World a lollipop. “Fifteen grams of glucose speed up the recovery nicely,” she said.

“I’ve got them all in my head now,” Ennis Jahnson said to Dori, tapping his temple. “A thousand quiet animal voices, softly murmuring in the background. I am the first to know of any distress in the Parks, although it takes a Probe or a Saturnian to track the problem down to its source.” He turned to Bunny. “So, we had a runner today? All taken care of, I presume?”

“Yes, everything is under control,” Bunny answered. “We have never had anyone with this level of disorientation before. Very unusual. And we lost him, telepathically, for a few minutes. Very unusual.”

“And you, Mrs. Polamar, are just as unusual,” said Ennis Jahnson. “A Polamar, staying in her own hotel, at her own expense, without asking a discount, or demanding special treatment. Very unusual.”

“Not Mrs. Polamar anymore,” said Dori.

“Widow Polamar then? My very late condolences.”

“Time heals,” Dori lied. “But Xolnarans just do not take patriarchal names at marriage. Call me Dori, or Ms. Aandraison, or even Rainbow Girl. The Polamars are, for the most part, wonderful people, but I married Irv, not his extended family. Especially not his great-uncle Herald.”

“I knew Herald Polamar,” Ennis Jahnson laughed. “He loved Jahnson’s World. Must have visited here a hundred times. Transformed into a four-hundred-pound slug.”

“That seems appropriate,” Dori agreed.

“But tell me, how did you enjoy the Enchanted Forest?” Ennis Jahnson asked. “Did you see our brace of unicorns?”

“No, really?” said Dori. “I missed that.”

“Genetically modified albino goats,” Ennis Jahnson clarified. “Their horns are designed grow around each other in a helix, forming a singe horn at adulthood. We have unicorns with both left-handed and right-handed spirals. How about our Pig Village?”

“No, sorry. Did I really miss all this?”

“Descendants of ordinary Earth hogs, but they have developed the behavior of building personal shelters. Some build huts of hay or straw, some use mud and sticks and twigs. Haven’t got a brick-laying pig yet, but we can hope. What did you do if you didn’t take in the sights?”

“Mostly, I was just hungry all the time. I suppose that’s natural for a bird-of-paradise, but I didn’t take in much of the detail of the scenery. I remember there were beautiful colors, though. And you have a very nice waterfall. I just fell asleep right after dinner, and slept all night.”

“You missed the fireworks at midnight, then?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Perfectly serious. The show lasts a good half-hour, in each of the Forests. Bright and loud. Evidently, as a bird-of-paradise, you are an extremely sound sleeper.” Ennis Jahnson shrugged.

“You seem to have recovered completely,” Bunny informed him. “I ought to get back to the hospital. I think I will work in Sherwood Forest today, unless you have any objection.”

“I leave it to your discretion,” Ennis Jahnson told his executive assistant. “Dori,” he said, “These next four hours are my prime time for conferences with my investors. And my creditors. You may accompany Bunny back to Sherwood, return to the Enchanted Forest Hotel, or I can assign you another personal guide from my staff. You are my special guest here, and until your companion recovers, you may travel freely between the entire score of islands. However, if it is not inconvenient, I would like to meet you at the Enchanted Forest Hotel Restaurant for dinner, sometime between 1800 and 2000 hours.”

“1800 hours would be fine.” Dori smiled. “And I would like to go back to Sherwood Forest Hospital with Bunny, if she doesn’t mind.”

Pig Village! I got a laugh out of that. I find this world fascinating. Also got a laugh out of Uncle Herald

Chapter Six: Hospital & Restaurant

“He’s got up and walked away again,” announced Nurse Dora, still in her ape form. “We found him creeping down a hall, headed for a rear exit. We have increased the restraints on him-- again. We don’t want to continue to sedate him; hopefully, when the current sedative wears off, we will be better able to evaluate his present state of mind. His thoughts still seem hazy and chaotic, unfocused and goalless, but physically, he just seems to want to wander. We can’t figure out how he keeps getting loose of his restraints.”

Bunny puzzled to herself for a moment. “Dori, you said he is a member of one of the super-hero groups? What exactly are his unusual abilities?”

“Well, they call him Echo,” said Dori. “He can broadcast high-decibel sound blasts, from sub-sonic to ultra-sonic ranges. I understand mostly he uses them as a devastatingly destructive attack, but I’ve never actually seen him use his powers.”

“Can we focus some sort of directional wide-range sonic sensors on him?” asked Bunny. “I’ve never heard of our having such a thing in any of the hospitals, but maybe Medtech can rig something up.”

While Dora got on the line with the central Jahnson’s World medical technology center, Dori pulled Bunny aside.

“Why am I in a room with a gorilla?” Dori asked. “Mr. Jahnson said that some of his employees had useful animal forms, but do they switch between them with impunity?”

“As a gorilla,” Bunny replied. “Dora is fully ten times as strong as any ordinary Terran, while retaining all her natural intelligence, manual dexterity and communication skills. She is excellent at gently subduing patients—although the Lucifer Mushrooms managed that quite effectively for Myke-4. But it’s always a strain and a distraction for Ennis to use his abilities. It’s easier for him to do a couple thousand Transformations in twenty minutes than to perform the same number spread out over the whole day. When we have an Emergency Transformation, the employee usually retains their animal form until the next regularly scheduled Un-Transforming at 0700 the next day, unless it is really inconvenient.”

“Medtech is bringing up the new sonic sendor apparatus now,” Nurse Dora announced. It was only twenty minutes before the tech support team had it installed.

Bunny looked at the sensor’s readouts with interest. “He seems to be-- I don' know-- humming?" Ranging up and down through the sonic spectrum, seemingly looking for frequencies that resonate with our equipment. I suppose that when he hits one that corresponds to the restraint generators, he just sustains the frequency until the generators fail—but before they actually shatter. Like an opera singer, making a crystal goblet vibrate and hum, but pausiing just before it actually breaks. Ingenious, but apparently regulated entirely from his subconscious.” She turned to Dori. “When he awakens, you can tell your friend that his abilities probably make him the greatest locksmith in the galaxy.”

Dori looked down at Myke-4, sleeping beneath his mask. “Oh, get well soon, Myke,” she said. She gently kissed an unmasked spot on his jaw. She felt something—a small trembling.

“Grnk,” said Myke-4.

“Do you hear that?” said Dori excitedly. “He said, ‘Grnk’!”

Bunny and Nurse Dora smiled.

Dori stayed with Myke-4 until dinnertime, but he showed no further signs of improvement. She sat, held his hand, paced, and talked with Bunny about her family. Her husband, Olea, the sous chef, transformed into a giant sloth; not a particularly useful form on Jahnson’s World. Bunny found this amusingly ironic, considering to her husband’s natural frenetic and fussy temperament in the kitchen. Sometimes people’s animal selves were very accurate reflections of their personalities, and sometimes just the opposite. Bunny and Olea had a little girl, not quite two. Little children were not usually Transformed—Ennis felt them incapable of giving informed consent. Employees worked four days, off three, and had a two-week vacation every year, which Bunny and Olea usually used to travel to Naltor or New Titan, where most of their extended families were. Otherwise, their lives were caught up in the tripartite daily cycle of Jahnson’s World, as yesterday’s guests were untransformed and admitted to the hotels, new guests were welcomed, transformed, and sent into the Forest Parks, and day-before-yesterday’s guest sent home. Dori suggested calling the transformed guests ‘Avatars’, but Bunny insisted ‘Animal Selves’ was more accurate, as they were just as real in their animal forms as in their human ones.

Bunny took Dori down to the Sherwood Forest hotel restaurant, but Ennis Jahnson was late. After ten minutes, a waiter apologized, told her he was on his way, and offered a complementary glass of Dentrassi wine. It was another ten minutes before he arrived. In the interim, Dori indulged in two glasses.

“So sorry,” Ennis apologized. “I am not making a very good first impression. Or, considering how long you have been here, second, or third impression, for that matter.”

“And why, to be blunt and undiplomatic, would you be interested in making a good impression on one lone guest at all?” Dori asked.

“To be equally undiplomatic and blunt, it is primarily because you are a Polamar,” Ennis confessed. “And my business is inextricably linked with Polamar Hotels. I would not want to bite the hand that feeds me, or see my franchises revoked.”

“Believe me, I did not come here to evaluate the quality of your service for my in-laws,” Dori assured him. “However, were I to file such a report, I would note the high quality of your services here: not only of the admittedly unique Transformational experience you offer, but your excellent hospitality staff, and your equally excellent hospital staff as well. Even your robots are clean and well-maintained, and the android Probes do not have the usual faint aroma of formaldehyde. I am, in fact, more than a little intimidated by the competence of your staff. I have peeked behind the curtain of Jahnson’s World, and in some ways the workings behind the scenes are more magical than spending the day in the skin of another living creature.”

Ennis Jahnson gave a sigh of relief. “I am pleased for my own sake, but still somewhat concerned about your situation. I understand your companion Myke-4 is still unresponsive, I am considering sending him off-world, to Daxam perhaps, if he does not show significant improvement soon. I would need to contact his next-of-kin if I were to do so, however. Do you know how to reach them?”

“Sadly, Myke has no next-of-kin. He was orphaned by the Khunds. I do have a very hopeful feeling that he will recover soon,” she said, glowing a little blue. “This is just the sort of thing that seems to happen to Myke-4 and I whenever we get together; it is not nearly as bad as the time we got food poisoning on Zyzan.”

“Let me order you something special—and perhaps a little surprising—from the menu,” Ennis Jahnson offered.

“I know the menu of the Polamar Hotels Restaurants backwards and forwards,” said Dori “Unless you have some sort of local specialty, I doubt you can surprise me.” Dori noted that Bunny was consulting her Omnicom.
“Is there some new problem, Bunny?” she asked.

“Only that Ennis got away with one free meal today, and skipped his workout this morning,” Bunny replied. Eyeing Ennis Jahnson firmly, she promised, “I will get you back into trim, whether you like it or not,”

“You wouldn’t mind if your personal physician had dinner seated with us tonight, instead of standing behind your chair all evening?” asked Dori.

“Well, I did say your wished were to be respected,” Ennis Jahnson turned to Bunny. “If you haven’t eaten, please join us for the evening.”

“Thank you,” Bunny replied. “I consider this ‘on the clock’, and a meal with the CEO will not change that. I am off beginning tomorrow, and I expect to take the full time. I have left copious notes about the current situation for Bjorn.”

Dori ordered for herself and Bunny, Bunny ordered for her boss.

“So, Dori, what have you seen?” asked Ennis Jahnson. “Is the mystique of Jahnson’s World stripped away for you?”

“You take great care to make it seem much more adventuresome and dangerous in the brochures. It all rather reminds me of the Grav-rides at Disney Galaxy. Plenty of twists and turns, a little stomach-churning, but actually perfectly safe. Of course, I only saw the Enchanted Forest Park.”

“We do have more hospitalizations from the Vorn Forest,” Ennis Jahnson admitted, “But mostly bruises, abrasions, sunburns, or the occasional broken leg. No worse than retro snow-skiing on Earth.”

“On the other hand, getting to know your staff first-hand: you hide them behind the title ‘Wardens’, as though their only responsibility is for the guests’ safety. But these are really quite challenging positions. Your staff seem to be highly trained experts, outstanding in their various fields, as well as daunting telepaths, as well as, in your presence, shape-shifters. A very impressive group, from what I have seen so far. Over-qualified, almost.”

“I have been fortunate to have found a variety of multi-talented individuals to help me fulfill my dream,” Ennis Jahnson answered. He pushed his empty plate away, setting his tableware crosswise across his plate—an affectation Dori had never before witnessed. “There is a degree of chauvinistic blindness within the United Planets, in that most employers do not consider the usefulness of the inherent abilities of their more diverse employees. R.J. Brande set an example of how diversity can lead to success, but few have followed it. McCauley has tried it, but his attempts have been more exploitative.”

“You consider yourself an entrepreneur on the scale of Brande and McCauley?” Dori asked.

“No, far from it. Nowhere near that level. But to be successful, emulate success,” Ennis Jahnson answered.

The conversation continued for some time, and the evening wore on.

“If I may interrupt,” Bunny interrupted at length, “Olea and Matti are waiting for me at home, I will soon be on overtime, so I will leave you two alone now.” She turned to Dori. “Don’t let Ennis order a second dessert after I leave.” She strode gracefully yet purposefully out of the restaurant.

“Well, my dear, you have gone deep beneath the surface of Jahnson’s World,” said Ennis Jahnson. “I shall have no secrets left.”

“You mean like the very interesting planet that exists outside the carefully controlled environment of the Forest Park Domes?” asked Dori. “Bunny and Dora took me to see the Lucifer Mushroom. I would be interested to know what other alien wonders this planet holds.”

“Nothing anyone is interested in,” said Ennis Jahnson. “That’s why I got the planet on a discount.”

“So tell me about your ex-wife,” Dori needled.

“Dear me, you seem to be enjoy making an old man feel uncomfortable more than any other entertainment I have to offer.” He paused thoughtfully. “I will tell you this much. I married an Ishtaran—from Venus, you know. The Ishtaran marriage contract is for seven years, renewable upon the consent of both parties. I was with the Venus Science Police back then. We were very happy, as happy, I suppose, as newlyweds ever are. We started a family. I was fortunate. We renewed our vows twice; we were together for twenty-one years, standard. But, I had left the SP, and begun the Jahnson’s World project, and she thought it was foolishness. Our youngest was fourteen, an adult, ready to go out on his own. Our daughter was already making her own way on Earth. Reina—my wife-- had her own projects she was interested in; she felt the marriage had run its course. She did not renew; went back to her ancestral home on Venus. At the time, Jahnson’s World was just one big debt. She wanted no part of it, and deeded her community property share back to me. I don’t believe she ever regretted it. My vision for this planet is unique, I suppose, and not easily shared. My son and daughter come and visit about once a year, during the summer months in their hemisphere. We otherwise keep up with regular texts and regular holo-calls. I can’t say we are a close family, but we like one another. I even still hear from Reina occasionally. She will be remarrying soon, a style and design consultant, in the same business that she is now; apparently, the two are more than modestly successful. So you see, I have a life beyond entertaining my nine hundred thousand or so guests each year.”

He stood up and stretched.

“You are an engaging and entertaining dinner guest,” he said, “If, perhaps, infuriatingly direct. I certainly hope that things will resolve themselves quickly with Myke-4. Not that I want to be rid of you; I hope that you will not be put off by recent events, and consider returning to Jahnson’s World again one day. I will make sure to find time to read your autobiography, Then, next time, perhaps we can discuss your family.”

After Ennis had gone, Dori ordered two servings of Cherries Jubilee, one of her favorites at the Polamar restaurants. But after the waiter had ignited them both, flamboyantly, for Dori’s entertainment, she just sat and watched them burn, deep in reflection.

Chapter Seven: Break-up

Dori slept soundly, only a little disturbed by dreams of snapping animals pursuing her. She was awakened by a knock on her door at 0900. She expected it was another of Ennis Jahnson’s employees, assigned as her tour guide for the day.

It was Myke-4 Astor.

The trip back to Throon was uncomfortably quiet. Myke-4 remembered only very little of his time as a scarlet cobra, within the Enchanted Forest. He almost remembered becoming lost in the scarlet mind of the snake, his higher mental functions reduced and subsumed into an instinctual quest for food, shelter, and concealment. But he claimed to have no memory at all of his un-Transformation, and the subsequent time spent as a hospitalized human. A full day of memories was gone, like a long, dreamless sleep, until he had awakened early that very morning.

“Dori, I think we need to… not see each other for awhile,” Myke-4 began, as they entered orbit around Throon, awaiting clearance for descent to the surface.

“That’s always the way it is,” Dori said. “We see each other, we get busy, and we start all over again from the beginning.”

“No, it’s different, this time,” said Myke-4. “It’s not you…”

“I know, it’s not me, it’s you,” said Dori. “I’ve said it myself many times.”

“No, it’s not you, it’s not me, it’s Ennis Jahnson. His powers, and the way he exploits them, is just creepy. I don’t want to be reminded of the experience for awhile, What does he charge for the bizarre experience of Jahnson’s World?”

“You may as well know,” said Dori. “A neat one thousand credits.”

“A thousand credits?” said Myke-4. “That’s the annual living allowance for a full-fledged Legionnaire!”

“Possibly not a coincidence,” said Dori. “And that’s per guest, by the way.”

“You spent two thousand credits on this adventure? That’s…”

“That’s enough to buy a fairly nice hovercar, yes,” said Dori. “Would you have rather I had just given you the cash?”

“No, no. On Throon,” said Myke-4, “Well, we have everything you could possibly want. No one even keeps track of credits, except those with residual associations with the United Planets. But out on Jahnson’s World, it’s all about the money: the rich and privileged giving away money to other rich and privileged… it just keeps it all in the family, doesn’t it? Meanwhile, worlds like Braal go wanting…”

“Myke, it’s really not like that,” Dori said. “Think of all the…” The dash indicated clearance for landing. Dori programmed in a slow descent.

“No, I’ve seen this before with you,” said Myke-4. “The way you move effortlessly through society, the exotic locales you are so comfortable in, your friends and acquaintances and contacts… There’s no use denying it: we come from two different worlds—two different, irreconcilable worlds—and that’s why we’ve never really been able to really click.”

“I can’t keep away from Throon,” said Dori. “I have so many friends there. Can we just agree to be—well, if not friends, then polite acquaintances?”

“It won’t be a problem,” Myke-4 promised. “Dori, you seem a genuinely nice person, but you don’t seem aware of your own privilege. It’s just… I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and… Well, we always seem to see the Galaxy through your eyes, and I wish I could show you the Galaxy through my eyes.”

Dori left Myke-4 outside the citadel. She had felt something when she had kissed the forehead of his mask: what was it? She was supposed to be the Sub’s expert on emotions, but this puzzled her. She set course for Xolnar, and Sixteenth City.

Interesting discussion on the differences between Dori and Myke. I can understand Dori's mixed emotions.

Addendum: Whatever Happened to Laurel Kent

Ennis Jahnson reflects on his old association with Laurel Kent: “It’s a shame what ultimately became of her.”

In the last Universe where we saw Laurel Kent, she was an Oan Manhunter, who had been masquerading as a human for a millennium.

On my Earth-K, Laurel Kent was a actual Terran, ostensibly of fractional-Kryptonian descent, who was accepted to the Legion Academy. She had a close working relationship with Jed Rikane, ‘Power Boy’, whose powers complemented hers.

A renegade Oan manhunter conspired with the semi-immortal Professor Ivo to attack and incapacitate Laurel with a kryptonite bullet. Sometime between Laurel's admission to the hospital and her release, the robotic Oan manhunter replaced her for a time.

The true Laurel was kept in a stasis chamber similar to the one used to restrain Professor Ivo.

After the Oan manhunter’s destruction, Laurel was found and released. She was severely traumatized by her injury, hospitalization, and imprisonment, having never experience pain or injury before.

She became obsessed with finding a way to immunize herself against kryptonite. For centuries, great scientists had studied this problem without success, not only the Superman family, but Brainiac 5 and others.

Eventually, Laurel decided to take another tack.

She traveled back in time, tracked down the moment when the legendary hero Sigfried slew the dragon and bathed in its blood, gaining invincibility. She surreptitiously bathed in the same dragon blood he had, carefully brushing her skin free of laurel leaves. Like the hero Sigurd, she also drank a little of the dragon's blood, giving her the ability to understand the language of birds.

She then time-traveled to 15th-century Florida, seeking the Fountain of Youth. She failed to find it.

Traveling instead to yet another past era, she obtained Achilles’ invulnerable armor from the estate of Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus).

Back in the 31st century, she acquired the two-thousand-year-old sword Excalibur (Caledfwlch or Caliburn) from the nymph Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, through the simple expedient of asking her for it. It was the scabbard of Excalibur that Laurel was looking for; for whoever wore the scabbard could not be killed in battle. Excalibur itself has the magical ability to flash so brightly as to blind its enemies; this power was of little interest to Laurel.

She eventually also made her way to the outskirts of Hades, and bathing in the river Styx gained additional invulnerability, as Achilles mother had bestowed upon him. Careful to submerge herself completely, as well as swallowing great draughts of water, to make herself invulnerable on the inside as well.

Doing a favor for the elderly Olympian gods, she secured from Olympus a steady supply of Nectar and Ambrosia, delivered by one of the children of Hermes (usually Angelia) on a regular schedule.

Using the complex and hazardous Rite of AshkEnte, Lauel summoned Death herself, and attempted to make an pact with her to escape death. The contract is currently still under negotiation, regarding certain specific details that still need to be ironed out.

She has befriended a sentient moon (naming her Cinnabar), and reached an agreement that should Laurel be killed, the moon will attempt to resurrect Laurel’s body, and seek out her lost soul.

Laurel Kent now resides on the Sorcerer’s World; Cinnabar resides in a synchronous orbit over her head. A nascent Dark Sorceress, Laurel spends her time studying with Necromancers and other dark magicians, seeking to further uncover the secrets of true invulnerability, freedom from pain, and immortality.

Sadly, her bizarre dark obsessions have estranged and alienated all of her old friends from her days with the Legion and the Academy. Jed Rikane is particularly saddened by the loss of her friendship. Laurel now lives a dark, weird, lone and solitary life on Tharn, although her magical abilities—and connections with the magical worlds—grow more powerful every day.

I would tell the full tale of Laurel's journey to Oxford College in 31-century Great Britain, through the Looking-Glass, across the chessboard-lands as the Red Knight's squire, down to Hades and the River Styx, there and back again, but that would take up a full ten chapters. Perhaps another time.

Wow. I guess the thought of mortality can make people very much afraid... interesting alternate fate for Laurel!