The Unchanging Human Spirit
By geri fitzsimmons
Cabrea of the DeDiann sang loudly in time to his running feet. "Son of battle and danger." His Exercisemate speeded up and slowed according to its predetermined program. "Can you trust the stranger?" His breath came faster but his lung capacity easily compensated so his voice never faltered. A sharp citrus scent from the sweat that peppered his flesh mingled amiably with pumped-in pine and heather smells, enhancing the outdoorsy effect of the closed-in chamber. Two gloriously orange-crested emerald parrots chatted on a low Maple branch, while higher above in the trees a pair of Morning Doves cooed to each other. Created for his pleasure, Cabrea appeared to be running through miles of grasslands, while in reality he remained in one small area.
The surfaces within his cubical had been coated with several layers of liquid reflection allowing him the perfect view of his naked body. In his armpits and below his tight belly the body hair was as curly, crisp, and wheat colored as any onetime birthed of his clan. Smooth unblemished skin, allowed only the barest kiss of tanning, fit snugly over sculptured muscles and bones. After several lifetimes, the DeDiann still enjoyed his sensuous flesh and the warmth of the blood flowing through his veins. His forehead now measured twenty inches up from the tip of his nose, caused by the cranial enlargement required to accommodate his multiple-brain. Still, he had not gone bald. For this he was required to thank his ancestors. He did each time he brushed the golden mane that grew naturally on his head. Fueled by humorous thoughts, his lavender eyes brightened to lilac.
A Face to Face.
He laughed out loud. The Bonsigh Witch was up to her tricks. Lovely Cray never admitted it, but Cabrea had guessed before their second life cycle, that the Bonsigh Witch deliberately called the face-to-face sessions. There was no doubt one of Cray's reasons was to force their colleague Meath of the O'Enra to put his neglected body into some semblance of a human shape.
In his mind the DeDiann pictured the O'Enra. The idea of that over-fed blob of fat cells and unused muscles wiggling on an Exercisemate, whimpering for the machine to be gentle, increased Cabrea's amusement. They had been competitive youngsters during primary school and hadn't cared for one another then. And so while the O'Enra possessed intelligence equal to if not surpassing his own, the DeDiann still took extreme pleasure in ridiculing his associate. It was not because Cabrea was intentionally cruel; it was just Meath was so uncommonly easy to tease.
The boisterous music began to slow into a ballad as the program created the cooling down atmosphere. Cabrea spread his body on the Transporter that disengaged from the main machine and moved towards the far wall. The wall folded in on itself as he drew near, the opaque colors became translucent and then spread out disclosing the white beach and melon green waters of the bay. The first of the planet's suns was rising to the east. Mist filled the air as powerful suction from the blue-white giant drew water from the oceans to create the clouds of the morning sky. The second sun, a small golden sphere rising in the west, followed to splash shades of color across the pale horizon and bathe the land and water in glittering light. This natural phenomenon, more attractive than any artificial display, was an enjoyment this DeDiann rarely missed.
His new 'Womb' had just been issued assuring him of yet another lifetime. Cabrea was spending this final year of his present life engaging in activities he wouldn't normally attempt. Before noonday he often found himself wandering the 'olden time' city streets. He found pleasure in watching the onetime birthed-especially their rowdy children.
Late morning found the DeDiann standing in the warm sun among the common people waiting for the BattleBrat to materialize on the landing pad. Cabrea had decided on this special 'high' today. He felt the rush of adrenaline as keen as any onetime born when its massive gunmetal doors faded away and the contents began to disembark. An oppressive silence settled on the crowd of hero worshippers as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. The majority he imagined were tourists who had spent a good deal of 'Coin' to experience this. His own heart fluttered within his chest though he'd viewed this sight many times before.
