Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business RAINBOW GIRL: BOOK 18 - DORI'S WORLD

CHAPTER 1: ENNIS & DORI, TOGETHER AGAIN

Ennis Jahnson was in his office snacking on a bowl of hard-boiled quail eggs, and reading on an Omnicom. As soon as Dori walked in, he put down the pad, got up from desk, and gave her a welcoming kiss.

“I’ve missed you,” said Ennis.

“We talked every day,” said Dori. “But I missed you too. What’s that you’re reading?” she asked curiously.

“Your cousin Mari has published a book,” said Ennis. “‘The Legion of Super Ex-Girlfriends’, it’s called. I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to get several private interviews with former paramours of the Legionnaires. Zynthia Leing, Iresa Gibbor, Ethel Niwtyn-LeFeaugh. Even has a chapter on the High Seer of Naltor, although no interview, of course.”

“Why is Ethel in there?” asked Dori.

“It appears she and Tenzil used to date,” said Ennis. “This was long before Niedrich’s time, of course.”

“Mind if I take a look?” asked Dori, picking up the Omnicom. “I’m surprised she didn’t send me a free copy… hm, I wonder how Ord Quelu and Nam’Lor feel about being in a book with ‘Ex-Girlfriends’ in the title… Yes, she included me. No, I never dated Dirk Morgna, he was only a boy…”

“He was what… only five years younger than you?” asked Ennis.

“Yes, but five years is a lot when you’re a ‘nager,” Dori clarified. “Yes, Myke-4 and I dated irregularly for a couple of years, but a lot of girls get involved with sociopaths… and she calls me ‘Doris Polamar’... she ought to know better…” Dori put the pad back on Ennis’ desk. “I suppose I’ll have to purchase a copy, just to see what dirt she’s spreading on our old friends. And you may as well know now, my given name is ‘Doris Emma Aandraison’, although everyone has called me Dori since I was twelve. How was Jahnson’s World in my absence?”

"Six weeks, and Jahnson's Planet will be fully operational," Ennis announced. "The new official names of our worlds have been approved by UPGov. Jahnson's World will now be known as Tesoro. Our small moon is to be named Fortunatus. Incidentally, the Interplanetary Bank will be opening a satellite branch on Fortunatus, including a small residential area for its employees, under a surface atmospheric dome. The artificial Jahnson's Planet will orbit Fortunatus, under a more extensive polymer sphereshield."

"We are still engaged?" asked Dori. "It wasn't a hoax, a dream, or an imaginary story?"

Ennis embraced Dori, and kissed her again. "Engaged," said Ennis. "And everyone on this world knows it by now."

"You realize you will be marrying a pauper?" Dori asked. "The Polamar Trust will be cutting me off the moment I say, 'I do'."

Ennis Jahnson threw back his head and laughed heartily.

"For someone who has rearranged my finances so effectively these past years, you have taken little thought to your own," he said. "Dori, you are, and always will be, part of the one-tenth of one percent; one of the billion wealthiest Terrans in the United Planets."

Dori looked puzzled.

"Unlike most of the Polamar heirs, you have been very frugal with your stipend," Ennis reminded her. "For two decades, half of it went to your father, and he never touched it. the Polamars can't take that away from you. Cleverly invested, you should be set for life. You own two homes on Xolnar, and one undeveloped piece of property. You collect rental income. I don't think you should have any financial worries."

"I will lose all the Polamar shares forever, though. They’ll take back my runabout-- it's leased through the Trust. And I will lose Iridium House on Earth-- and all the staff-- all my friends there. I wonder what will become of them? I suppose some Polamar or other will ultimately move into the place. And I will lose my apartments in the Schwarzwald Hotel. They will revert back to the Trust as well. I suppose we will have to find another place to live; I don't think the two of us will fit in your office."

"We have an entire new world to choose from," said Ennis. "We can live anywhere, everywhere, or nowhere. As for transportation, you still have your father's star-cruiser. And I would imagine that you still have most of your salary from your time as a United Planets Ambassador. They generally set up an account at one of the smaller banks on Weber's World. Do you even know your balance there? That alone must come to ten thousands of credits ore more."

Dori started in surprise. "I never... can you believe I never even thought they might be paying me all those years?" she said. "I had quite a generous expense account at the time-- I pretty much lived off that..."

"The problem is, you haven't the constitution to be truly poor, or truly rich: you don't want things enough. I, on the other hand, want too much."

"My Castle in Spain... that's all I really want," said Dori. "That's an awful lot, though. A small city! But I can't really want it... it's already mine! It was a gift from Irv before we were married; so the Polamar Trust can't take it away from me. Although it's not in Spain any longer; it's on your Planet now."

"Our Planet, you mean," said Ennis. "It's our planet, now."

CHAPTER TWO: A NEW EMPLOYEE

"We have a serious problem to discuss," said Dori one day. "You are tied to this Amusement Planet by an inflexible, every-day-of-the-week, every-hour-of-the-day schedule. I, on the other hand need to socialize, and I have friends scattered throughout the Galaxy. I would be very happy if we could figure out a way to travel together."

Ennis was thoughtful. "I can certainly arrange half-days off, either afternoon or evenings, with little trouble. And I think I need to start doing it: I won't live forever, and I would hope that Jahnson's Planet would continue on after I am gone. There are the self-sustaining residential cities, and the two new Hunting Parks. I see these as the wave of the future of this project."

"You can't wait to travel until you die," said Dori. "And a half-a-day's journey, even by starship leaves little time for socializing."
"I'll tell you what we need," said Ennis. "We need to employ a personal teleporter: a Vrygan, or a Kwai, perhaps. A Gil'Dispan or Vulxan. Maybe someone from the Sorcerer's World. Someone who can serve as a personal chauffeur, taking us quickly to some distant destination, and then bringing us back just as quickly. We could put him on the payroll. If we arranged things properly, I would only have to be on-the-job a couple of hours a day. We could take vacations for weeks at a time."

"I'll look into it," said Dori.

Dori came to Ennis Jahnson's office a few days later, accompanied by a heavy-set, middle-aged man with blonde-and-silver hair, and deep-set blue eyes.

"Ennis," said Dori, "I'd like to introduce you to Reges Questar of Zentor."

Ennis Jahnson fairly jumped from his seat. "Reges Questar! The author? My son loved your Hero of Three Galaxies series! I used to read from it every night at bedtime! And the Orb-Men of Zentor Chronicles! Is it really you?"

"Thank you, yes," said Reges Questar. "But- er- I believe your fiancee has asked me here in another capacity."

"Mr. Questar is also a natural teleporter," Dori explained. "He has interstellar range, and instantaneous travel times."

"You're applying for the chauffeur position,?" Ennis asked.

"Well, yes, it seems appealing to me. I've wanted to start writing again, but frankly, I've just gotten too comfortable at home, living off past glories-- and residuals. I need to get out, see the Galaxy, get the old juices flowing again. And frankly, sales aren't what they once were, and I could use a few extra credits to maintain the lifestyle to which I have become accustomed."

"I imagine Dori could put together a sort of travel itinerary for the coming year, and my personal assistant Bunny can have the the necessary contracts drawn up."

"You would hire him just like that?" asked Dori.

"Oh, do you have any objections?" asked Ennis. "Have you read Alauda of Space? This man has the heart of a hero."

"No... I'm sure... well, you trust my judgement that much?" asked Dori.

"I trust your judgement implicitly, and Mr. Questar is known throughout the Galaxy," said Ennis. "His life is, almost literally, an open book. He has a stellar reputation."

"You flatter me," said Reges Questar.

CHAPTER THREE: HOGSMEADE

“Can I invite myself to dinner, if I bring a cake?”

“Oh, Dori, you don’t have to bring anything but your radiant self,” said Manna Alben.”We have dinner at around 1930; Thom is out late with extracurricular activities.”

Dori was on her way to the Enchanted Forest Park Entrance when she actually ran into Thom Greyson.

“Aunt Dori! I thought you left Jahnson’s World,” he said. “But I’m glad to see you.”

“I did leave. I’ve been gone over two months, Thom,” said Dori. “Didn’t you miss me? I’m on my way to visit you and the Albens now.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” said Thom. “Hey, let’s use Door Seven instead of Door Six. I want to show you something.”

They headed down a bit further. This would mean doubling back to the Albens, but Dori had mostly come to see how Thom was doing, anyway. Thom made his way through the Enchanted Forest like someone perfectly at home. The maze of little twisting pathways seemed all alike to Dori, but Thom led them on with confidence. They paused behind a hedge, and peered over it.

“I’ve seen the Pig Village before,” said Dori. “It does look larger now, though. And is that a pyramid?”

“It is,” said Thom. “They still build woven structures of sticks, twigs, hay, and straw, but they have a regular production line for mud brick, and they have been building round-roofed houses with keystone arches. They even paint the structures, too. Look at the younger pigs-- some of them have started painting their bodies, as well. The younger ones walk on two legs, but as they get older, they revert back to four.”

“How many are there now?” asked Dori.

“Less than a hundred,” said Thom. “But a dozen good-sized extended families, with houses back among the trees, arranged around this central clearing. It’s a little bigger than a Pig Village now; I’ve started calling it ‘Hogsmeade’, from an old book I was reading.”

“But how could they be evolving intelligence so fast?’ Dori asked. “Are they going to be demanding recognition by UPGov as a sapient species soon?”

“Actually, Mr. Jahnson doesn’t think they’re really intelligent. He thinks they’re kind of piggybacking off the ambient telepathic field here. Sort of… psychic parasites. Symbiosis, really, since it’s probably people’s expectations that are determining the pigs behavior. The ‘three little pigs’ story, you know.”

“Ennis was starting more than he realized when he put ‘three little pigs’ and ‘three bears’ in his Enchanted Forest.” Dori had a thought. “You’re not turning in a bear now, are you?”

“No, s’funny,” said Thom. “I was curious-- you know, how Mr. Jahnson’s powers would affect me-- so I arranged for a private session with him, when he wasn’t too busy. Well, it seems that in spite of my curiosity, subconsciously I must have a real fear of being changed, because Mr. Jahnson gets disabling empathic feedback when he tries to use his power on me. He can’t do it. His powers don’t work on Durlans, either, so I’m not the only one on Jahnson’s World he can’t transform, but it was kind of weird.”

Dori thought about this on the way to the Albens. “So Ennis feels your fear when he tries to transform you?’ she said. “Do you think he could force you to transform, even though you were afraid?”

“Maybe,” said Thom. “But I don’t think he would. He says he has a sort of vision or premonition of the shape a person will take just before they change, but he didn’t even get that far with me, because it was just so unpleasant. Say, has he ever transformed you?”

“Yes, twice,” said Dori. “I become a Xolnaran Bird of Paradise. It’s OK, interesting, really, but I’m really ravenous in that form, and always come out of it with indigestion.”

“Hey! Thom!” a deep, gruff voice echoed from up above them. Thom quickly searched the canopy.

“Hey! Charlie!” shouted Thom. A ball-shaped orang-utan was waving to them from the tree-tops. He quickly swung away out of sight.

“That’s Mr. Txarlz, a Braalien,” said Thom. “He’s a regular here. Probably comes twice a month. He was injured in the Imsk-Braal wars. Lost his magnetism, and paralyzed from the waist down. He’s really rich, but there’s nothing any doctors can do for him. Even exoskeletal prosthetics don’t work. He’s still paralyzed in orang-utan form, but his arms are so strong he can move freely on the ground or through the trees. Grampa Jorn invited him to dinner with us right after I moved in with them. He doesn’t wear clothes like the Albens, and Gramma Manna kind of disapproves of him. Or, at least, pretends to.”

“You really have settled in here,” said Dori. “Doesn’t is seem strange, compared to Fronterra?”

“I think Life is strange everywhere,” said Thom. “But… well, I’m on a Moopsball team now, and I’m taking lessons with a Jazz band. I’ve got a lot of friends here, something I didn’t have on Fronterra. And I’m taking Empathy lessons, too. Which means I know when someone here says they like me, they really like me.”

“And is there someone special you like?” said Dori, thinking of little Sesor Neombre.

“Aunt Dori!” said Thom, indignantly. “What a question! Maybe.”

CHAPTER FOUR: DINNER CONVERSATION

“How are Joss and Bell doing?” Dori asked Manna Albens.

“They’ve settled in well on Mardru,” the old she-bear replied. “He’s working for CoAgMar as a senior bioengineer. They’ve purchased a little house on a small plot of land, and Bell is running a private seed garden. Exotic greens, mostly mail-order from off-planet hobbyists.”

“Greens?” said Dori. “I’m not sure I understand. You mean Earth-plants? Chlorophyll only?”

“It’s an old farmer’s term,” said Mrs. Albens. “It means leafy vegetables. Of course, it includes such things as amaranth, radicchio, and purple kale, so not necessarily colored green. Here, help me get these plates onto the table.”

The meal was entirely made from the Albens’ hothouses and hydroponic gardens. Small meatmelons, a hot potato-and-radish salad, mixed berries garnished with violets, sweet porridge of course, and hexe-brot for dessert. Thom also received a large glass of some sort of milk. There was a great deal of food, but it seemed that Thom and the two old bears had hearty appetites.

“Thom’s Empathy instructor is impressed with the level of refinement of his powers,” Jorn Albens remarked. “He seems not only able to recognize emotions in others, but even identify the source of the emotion. Not just able to sense fear, but to specifically pinpoint fear of heights, for example.”

“You’re a funny sort of person, Aunt Dori,” said Thom. “I’ve never met anyone like you. It’s like… you have two personalities. You always seem to have two feelings about everything. Most of the time they’re in sync-- but one is usually more powerful that the other. Do you know why?”

“Well, it’s a little complicated to explain,” said Dori. “You’ve heard of the Green Lanterns?”

“Sure,” said Thom. “They’re like… interstellar philanthropists?”

“Well, I’d never really thought of it like that,” said Dori. “But yes, sure. They have ‘power rings’ which tap into the energy of will-power. But there are other colors of this energy as well, associated with different emotions.”

“Oh, sure,” said Thom. “We had a Yellow Lantern from the Sinistral Corps visit Fronterra. He wasn’t very welcome, though. The Elders didn’t really take to him.”

“The Sinistral Corps’ yellow energy is associated with Fear,” Dori explained. “I believe that is their motto: ‘Conquest Through Fear’. And there is more to the ‘Emotional Spectrum’. These energies are in some sense sentient, and I am… well, connected to them.”

“Are you saying,” said Jorn Albens, “That you have all the power of the Green Lantern Corps, and the Sinistral Corp, and every other Lantern Corps?”

“I suppose so, at least theoretically,” said Dori. “Realistically, though, my access to the Entities of the Emotional Spectrum is pretty limited. It seems to increase with the intensity of my feelings, but if I try to exercise too much power… well, it’s more like the Entities are controlling me than the other way around.”

“You talk about them like they were… people,” said Thom.

“Well, not people, more like… monsters,” said Dori. “No, not really. I’m told that they aren’t even really sentient, more like… forces of nature.”

“Told you?” said Manna. “Who could tell you about these things?”

“Well, I’ve been studying the Entities of the Emotional Spectrum for a few years not. I have a couple of scholars on Lupra who have helped me… But it seems like every time I start making progress in really understanding my powers, something terrible happens, or I draw the attention of some other Entity, or… well, this is really too much information. All I really wanted to say was that I think Thom is sensitive to the Entities’ influence on me and my emotions, which is why he is picking up… well, call it secondary Empathic background energies.”

“Wow, you are really amazing,” said Thom. “No one would imagine that you’re living this secret life; you seem so down-to-earth and normal.” He stammered a bit. “Not that you’re not normal… I mean you’re not, but in a good way.”

“Do you think I could be a Green Lantern?” Thom asked the Albens. “How great would that be: traveling around the whole galaxy, helping people?”

“Oh, I don’t know if there is exactly a course of study or career path for that,” said Manna. “I believe you have to be recruited.”

“Pardon me for pulling out an Omnicom at the dinner table,” said Dori. “But this is a series of books Zellani Vakk, my Luprakon friend, translated. They supposedly tell all about the history of Entities of the Emotional Spectrum, including the Green Lantern Corps.” Dori pulled up the site. “Funny, almost no one has looked at them. I would have thought they would have been more popular.” She showed the site address to Thom and his foster parents. Thom’s eyes grew wide with excitement.

“I’ll show this to my Empathics instructor,” said Thom. “She might really be interested in it, too.”

CHAPTER FIVE: VACATION PLANNING

“Well, that was quite an interesting day,” said Ennis, when he and Dori had re-united at the Schwarzwald Hotel.

“Problems?” asked Dori.

“No, no more than usual,” said Ennis. “But we had a guest transform into an omnibeast. Remarkable creatures. Perfectly adapted for like in air, earth, water, fire, and the void of outer space. I wonder if anyone knows if they are capable of time travel as well? I’ll have to do some research.”

“With all you have to do, you’re researching the obscure beasts your guests transform into as well?” said Dori.

“Just trying to be a good host,” said Ennis. He smiled. “I suppose I have buried myself in my work for the past few years. Perhaps the two of us can cure me of it… a little.”

“Perhaps,” said Dori, “This is one of the things we need to negotiate during the engagement period.” She kissed him on the forehead.

Ennis turned serious. “Dori, speaking of our engagement,” he said. “I think it’s time… well, I think it’s time you met my parents.”

“Your parents!” Dori exclaimed. “Really… I’d never considered… you’d never mentioned them. Tell me about them!”

“They live on Earth,” said Ennis. “Only around seventy-five years old. In very good health. But it’s a little complicated… you see, they’re members of the Firmamentalist Jesine Assembly.”

“The FJA? Well, I’ve heard they’re... good people. Some people say they are a little odd, though, right?” said Dori, hesitantly.

“In fact,” said Ennis Jahnson, “My father is First Elder.”

“Wait,” said Dori. “Jahnson! You are related to Jeremiah Jahnson, the founder of the FJA!”

“He was my great-grandfather,” said Ennis. “I had better tell you the whole story.”

“I imagine,” said Dori, “It’s going to be a long night.”

CHAPTER SIX: ENNIS’ STORY

“It began some two hundred years ago,” said Ennis, “At the end of World War VI. The Earth was in ruins, the population devastated. The few survivors that were left were trying any number of things to prevent such a catastrophe again. There was psychic reconditioning going on in some places, attempts at eugenics, and genetic screening and manipulation. Some people looked to supercomputers as the ultimate arbiters of peace. Some looked to new religions.

“There was a man named Ben Sahara who undertook a synthesis of all Earth’s major religions. He attempted to re-write the Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the writings of Kung Fu-Tse, the Tao Te Ching, the Aqdas… many others was well… into a single, coherent narrative. It was his life’s work, and as an old man, he still was not finished.

“As he worked on his “final book” of scripture, he also developed a group of followers. They became known as the “Jesine Disciples”, an error based on a misunderstanding of Latin. You see, in old Latin, ‘Canus’ is dog, while ‘Canine’ is dog-like, or, all dogs generally. So we have ‘Felus’ for cats, and ‘Feline’ for the species of cat. ‘Bovus’ and ‘Bovine’, ‘Ovus’ and ‘Ovine’, ‘Cervus’ and ‘Cervine’, and so forth. Well, Ben Sahara’s disciples looked at all the prophets and holy men throughout history, and called them the ‘Jesine’. They believed that by studying the old scriptures, and by applying the teachings of Ben Sahara, they themselves could become ‘Jesine’ people.

“Well, as I said, Ben Sahara was growing old, and still had not completed his masterwork. So he chose an intelligent and devout disciple, my grandfather, Jeremiah Jahnson, to assist him. It was something of scandal, as Father Jeremiah was a lowly Deacon, and not part of Sahara’s inner circle of High Elders. But when he began to work with Ben Sahara on the “final book”, Jeremiah Jahnson was appalled. Much of the Jesine Disciples work was raising money, so that Sahara’s work could continue uninterrupted. But by that time, Ben Sahara was living in opulent luxury, as were the families of the First Elders. Remember, this was less than a century after the end of World War VI, and much of the Earth was still being rebuilt, and there was a great deal of scarcity and hardship.

“Well, Jeremiah Jahnson renounced religion of any kind, and decided that what was really needed was an entirely new path. He drew a group of followers from within the Jesine Disciples, and retired to the desert to try and create a new kind of man: a ‘Jesine’ ideal; honest and incorruptible, but also powerful and independent, a virtual demi-god. He didn’t know how they were going to do it, but he knew that religion would play no role. So the Firmamentalist Jesine Assembly was born. There had already been a Fundamentalist Jesine sect that had splintered off decades before. They believed that following all the various commandments and proscriptions among the various religions would lead to perfection. But Jeremiah Jahnson believe not in what had been, but in what might be, so he coined the word ‘firmamentalist’, looking toward the future, rather than ‘fundamentalist’, looking towards the past.

“Over the next… well it has been nearly a century and a half… various conventions and practices grew up among the Firmamentalists. They are spartan and ascetic, and largely luddite, believing in the development of human powers rather than relying on machines or other artificial aids. They do not believe in marriage-- my parents were scandalized when I married, although I had renounced their beliefs years before. Rather, they take temporary ‘consorts’, and seldom have more than one child with each partner, hoping to keep the gene pool thoroughly mixed up. Most of all, they are entirely atheistic.”

“But Ennis,” Dori interrupted. “What about Darkseid, and the Olympians, and the Asgardians? Humans have had intimate contact with them over the years.”

“As well as the Source, and the Presence, and the entity known as Wally, who have manifested from time to time over the years” said Ennis. “Yes, well, as Jeremiah Jahnson said, ‘Just because they exist doesn’t mean you have to believe in them’.”

“So you are taking me to visit your parents, who consider marriage an abomination, to announce to them that we are planning on getting married,” said Dori. “And seeking their blessing, perhaps?”

“Oh, please, don’t exaggerate. It’s not like that. Well, not entirely like that. Well, actually, I suppose it is a lot like that,” said Ennis.

“Sounds like fun,” said Dori. “When do we leave?”