Chapter 68:
From new Ursula, with love
Daniel:
“And, honestly, for all we know, the ancestors might ride on the backs of the Gigantoboa. Don’t you want that for yourselves?” I ask a group of children, who are eyeing the Gigantoboa toys with excitement.
“Won’t the Gigantoboa eat us all?” A girl from the group, an elf, asks.
“There are snake charmers on Earth,” I tell her. “What is the Gigantoboa, but a large snake?”
“Well, for one, it has the temper to put a toddler on a sugar high to shame,” I hear a voice behind me. I turn around, and see Tony in the Dust-co, with a woman, next to him.
“Is this him? Tine?” She asks. Tony shakes his head.
“No, this is his mate, Dany. The curly red head is our little panty pooper,” I can see from the corner of my eyes, that Constantine is trying to hide his face.
“We never had curls in the family,” she says, and then looks at Tony. “Are you certain that this is our Tine?”
“I curled up his hair one day,” I rise my hand, volunteering the information. “For laughs. But it suits him. You can come out of the Dust-co now. Your game is up.”
The two touch down on the floor, much to the amazement of the children. Soon, they both look like your everyday Naga.
Isn’t it strange, that I find people like the Naga everyday ones now?
“Are you from another dimension?” The girl who asked if the Gigantoboa was going to eat her asks. Tony shares a look with his missus.
“Are you from the diplomatic envoy?” Tony teases. The girl puffs up her cheeks, and then holds the air there. She sort of looks like a rabbit, now that I think about it. “Ok, ok. We will tell you everything. But we also need the reporters and the Prime Minister to come. You know, I have tons of happiness potions to pay for.”
“You will pay? And you won’t steal again?” Constantine asks next to me. He has never looked more hopeful than at this moment.
“Was it stealing, when I took the emotion potions that my great-great-great-,” I can see that Tony is being difficult. So can his wife, apparently. She nudges him in the ribs, and he bows his head. “Ok, it was stealing. But I was so excited that the old Ursula 590 got enough mana back in its atmosphere, so I can visit, that I simply couldn’t help myself.”
“You could have said something. I would have been happy to share my potions with you,” Constantine says. Tony looks at his wife.
“See? He is a good sort. The old Angelid genes never lie,” he tells her. She turns to me.
“My name is Dorothea,” she offers her hand. I kiss the back of it, while she giggles. To Constantine, she gives a hug. Then, she pulls out a bag, an actual bag, out of her bracelet, and begins to take things out. Mostly paper figurines, but they are so well-made, that I begin to suspect that they are 3D-printed.
“Who wants a souvenir from New Ursula 590?” Dorothea asks. Before the children are finished with rising their hands, she already places one figurine of a snake that looks like the Gigantoboa into Constantine’s hands.
“The children,” he protests, and it warms my heart that he is willing to pass on the chance to get the very first gift from his grandmother, so a child can smile.
“This is a bottomless bag, my boy. I have tons of these. But I figured, seeing as you champion that grumpy snake, you’d appreciate something made by one of them,” Constantine and I share a look at that.
“The Gigantoboa evolved?” Constantine voices the thoughts of everyone present.
“It got vocal cords, and a better eyesight,” Tony tells us, and the kids begin to gape at him. “A couple wanted to come, to say hi, but we thought that they wouldn’t fit into the domes.”
“Talking snakes,” a Naga child murmurs. Personally, seeing as he is a half snake, I find it ironic that he is surprised. We are interrupted from asking further questions because Rodger and his security comes running. The reporters are close behind. I can also see Frederik and Ferenc in Rodger’s security team.
“You came,” he says, as he begins to blink furiously. “I don’t know how things are handled back on your home planet, but...”
He is interrupted by a snort from Dorothea.
“Ursula 590 was our home planet. New Ursula 590, and all the other planets on Dimension Beta, are the planets we populated because of the love we bear our children, and because the humans messed up big time,” she says. I blink at that. My theory was spot on?
“What happened, back during the Atlantis era?” A reporter asks. I blink again. What does she mean, what happened? Doesn’t she know? They have movies and lessons about the period, and everything.
“Sex tourism,” both Tony and Dorothea say at the same time. Someone covers their child’s ears. A reporter drops his microphone.
“What?” I ask.
“You heard us,” Tony says, with a heavy sigh. “Humans were these exotic, cute, and extremely fun lusty things, that wanted to find someone to imprint on, so they can live forever.”
“Or, for as long as the person who imprinted on them would live, which is still very long,” Dorothea adds, shaking her head. “What no one thought about, back then, was that there were so many of them.”
“And they didn’t lose their fertility, either. I tell you, until you see a human woman deliver a baby every year, for a century, you haven’t seen shit,” Tony says. I can see that the mothers in the crowd are openly glaring at him.
“Then...” One of the reporters manages to collect herself enough, so she can ask the question on her mind. “Where did our mana go?”
“That is a long story. I’ll tell you all about it, once I get my criminal record cleared,” Tony says, and Rodger folds his arms over his chest. I wonder, if Thea is going to tell us, if Constantine is the one to ask? Maybe, I can bribe her with his baby pictures?
Chapter 68:
From new Ursula, with love
Daniel:
“And, honestly, for all we know, the ancestors might ride on the backs of the Gigantoboa. Don’t you want that for yourselves?” I ask a group of children, who are eyeing the Gigantoboa toys with excitement.
“Won’t the Gigantoboa eat us all?” A girl from the group, an elf, asks.
“There are snake charmers on Earth,” I tell her. “What is the Gigantoboa, but a large snake?”
“Well, for one, it has the temper to put a toddler on a sugar high to shame,” I hear a voice behind me. I turn around, and see Tony in the Dust-co, with a woman, next to him.
“Is this him? Tine?” She asks. Tony shakes his head.
“No, this is his mate, Dany. The curly red head is our little panty pooper,” I can see from the corner of my eyes, that Constantine is trying to hide his face.
“We never had curls in the family,” she says, and then looks at Tony. “Are you certain that this is our Tine?”
“I curled up his hair one day,” I rise my hand, volunteering the information. “For laughs. But it suits him. You can come out of the Dust-co now. Your game is up.”
The two touch down on the floor, much to the amazement of the children. Soon, they both look like your everyday Naga.
Isn’t it strange, that I find people like the Naga everyday ones now?
“Are you from another dimension?” The girl who asked if the Gigantoboa was going to eat her asks. Tony shares a look with his missus.
“Are you from the diplomatic envoy?” Tony teases. The girl puffs up her cheeks, and then holds the air there. She sort of looks like a rabbit, now that I think about it. “Ok, ok. We will tell you everything. But we also need the reporters and the Prime Minister to come. You know, I have tons of happiness potions to pay for.”
“You will pay? And you won’t steal again?” Constantine asks next to me. He has never looked more hopeful than at this moment.
“Was it stealing, when I took the emotion potions that my great-great-great-,” I can see that Tony is being difficult. So can his wife, apparently. She nudges him in the ribs, and he bows his head. “Ok, it was stealing. But I was so excited that the old Ursula 590 got enough mana back in its atmosphere, so I can visit, that I simply couldn’t help myself.”
“You could have said something. I would have been happy to share my potions with you,” Constantine says. Tony looks at his wife.
“See? He is a good sort. The old Angelid genes never lie,” he tells her. She turns to me.
“My name is Dorothea,” she offers her hand. I kiss the back of it, while she giggles. To Constantine, she gives a hug. Then, she pulls out a bag, an actual bag, out of her bracelet, and begins to take things out. Mostly paper figurines, but they are so well-made, that I begin to suspect that they are 3D-printed.
“Who wants a souvenir from New Ursula 590?” Dorothea asks. Before the children are finished with rising their hands, she already places one figurine of a snake that looks like the Gigantoboa into Constantine’s hands.
“The children,” he protests, and it warms my heart that he is willing to pass on the chance to get the very first gift from his grandmother, so a child can smile.
“This is a bottomless bag, my boy. I have tons of these. But I figured, seeing as you champion that grumpy snake, you’d appreciate something made by one of them,” Constantine and I share a look at that.
“The Gigantoboa evolved?” Constantine voices the thoughts of everyone present.
“It got vocal cords, and a better eyesight,” Tony tells us, and the kids begin to gape at him. “A couple wanted to come, to say hi, but we thought that they wouldn’t fit into the domes.”
“Talking snakes,” a Naga child murmurs. Personally, seeing as he is a half snake, I find it ironic that he is surprised. We are interrupted from asking further questions because Rodger and his security comes running. The reporters are close behind. I can also see Frederik and Ferenc in Rodger’s security team.
“You came,” he says, as he begins to blink furiously. “I don’t know how things are handled back on your home planet, but...”
He is interrupted by a snort from Dorothea.
“Ursula 590 was our home planet. New Ursula 590, and all the other planets on Dimension Beta, are the planets we populated because of the love we bear our children, and because the humans messed up big time,” she says. I blink at that. My theory was spot on?
“What happened, back during the Atlantis era?” A reporter asks. I blink again. What does she mean, what happened? Doesn’t she know? They have movies and lessons about the period, and everything.
“Sex tourism,” both Tony and Dorothea say at the same time. Someone covers their child’s ears. A reporter drops his microphone.
“What?” I ask.
“You heard us,” Tony says, with a heavy sigh. “Humans were these exotic, cute, and extremely fun lusty things, that wanted to find someone to imprint on, so they can live forever.”
“Or, for as long as the person who imprinted on them would live, which is still very long,” Dorothea adds, shaking her head. “What no one thought about, back then, was that there were so many of them.”
“And they didn’t lose their fertility, either. I tell you, until you see a human woman deliver a baby every year, for a century, you haven’t seen shit,” Tony says. I can see that the mothers in the crowd are openly glaring at him.
“Then...” One of the reporters manages to collect herself enough, so she can ask the question on her mind. “Where did our mana go?”
“That is a long story. I’ll tell you all about it, once I get my criminal record cleared,” Tony says, and Rodger folds his arms over his chest. I wonder, if Thea is going to tell us, if Constantine is the one to ask? Maybe, I can bribe her with his baby pictures?
