symbiosis
ˌsɪmbɪˈəʊsɪs,-bʌɪ-/
noun
BIOLOGY
interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both.
It felt like a reunion. The gang was back together and we were not only safe but we'd found ourselves somewhere that was actively friendly. This is a point I can't overstate: people were not trying to arrest, or shoot, or torture me.
I'd forgotten what it was like to be secure. A rock had been crushing me for months and months and I hadn't even known it until it was lifted off. I spent hours just staring out windows at the city, or lounging in armchairs, not even thinking about anything and allowing the place to flow over my senses. One of the doctors said I was in shock and it was my brain responding to the sudden change of circumstances. Maybe he was right, but I'd always thought shock would be unpleasant - this felt like a warm summer breeze on the coast.
That feeling lasted about a day, then the rock started coming down again. Sure, we were safe while we were here but there was still work to be done. We couldn't stay here forever. 'Here', while I'm on the subject, was known simply as 'Blue' to the locals. Apparently the companion world was called 'Red'. It was all very minimalist. The city itself was called Cord, which was appropriate enough.
Hold on. How could I understand them? And how could they understand me? It made a kind of sense that most of Locque spoke the same languages as on Earth, as they'd been socially engineering that convenience for centuries. But Blue had no connection to either of our worlds. Mysterious. Idle thoughts like that pop into your head when you're not being shot at, turns out.
They gave us some time to get back on our feet, which didn't take long as their medical knowledge surpassed even Earth's. The drugs from the detention centre were pumped out and we were set right by the end of that first day, although they warned us that the psychological impacts could be farther reaching. I spent most of that time alone in a fancy hotel room, adjacent to Furey and Marv's. Everything was pretty and smart and clean. It was so perfect that it actually felt a little bit weird at times, like something was missing.
A bit of dirt makes a place real, you know?
The hotel was next door to the enormous World Council structure, which was shaped like two spheres that had collided with each other. The metaphor wasn't subtle, and it took me a moment to realise it was an actual building and not a giant sculpture. It was a short walk down a corridor with a plush carpet and across a glass walkway, high above the city streets, after which I was directed to a waiting room. The far wall was glass, looking out across the cityscape. The ceiling was arched and arced down to one side. Everything was a red/blue two-tone, from the walls to the furniture. Some marketing guys probably spent days working up that one.
Cal was silhouetted against the glare of the sky. I rested my hand on Marv's shoulder momentarily as I walked past where he was sat with Furey, then approached Cal.
"Two questions," I said.
He raised an eyebrow. "Only two?"
"Number one," I continued, "how come I can talk to people here?"
"They have tech that auto-translates everything, I think. Was pretty crucial to getting the worlds to work together back in the day. I don't really understand how it works."
I nodded. Sounded legit. "Number two, then. What happened to all those guards at the detention centre?"
I saw Cal's jaw clench and he gazed out at the vehicles zipping through the sky. "I took them somewhere else."
"Yeah?"
"They won't be coming back."
"No," I said quietly, "I thought they probably wouldn't."
Cal turned towards me. He was in a visually pretty subtle form, just a handful of short, spiky horns extending over the top of his head and down the back of his neck, but otherwise looking Earth-neutral. "I've been tracking you for weeks," he said. "I'd just found you. I wasn't going to leave anything to chance. And anyway, those weren't the kind of guards who just worked there. They were complicit in just about everything."
"I've got other questions." I didn't look him in the eyes.
"Yeah."
"I'm not sure when to ask them," I said. "Later, I guess."
Double doors at one end of the room swung open and a man strode in wearing elaborate, richly coloured robes. "We are ready for you now," he announced.
So the World Council is a large rotunda with concentrically arranged desks orbiting out from the centre and seats rising up the walls on all sides. It looked more like a theatre than a government chamber. We had a desk all to ourselves and were ushered over to it.
After we were sat, a woman stood up and walked into the centre of the rings of desks, where there was a raised, illuminated plinth. From there, she spoke.
"We are all pleased to make your acquaintance," she said. Her voice was commanding and bold but seemed without arrogance. "There are representatives here today from Blue and Red. As well as government officials we also have in session numerous scholars and portal scientists. This is understandably an exciting time for them. I represent the city of Cord. My name is unimportant." She gestured towards us. "Perhaps you could nominate one of you to represent your group in this chamber?"
Cal got to his feet immediately. "Thank you for welcoming us," he said. "Since I introduced myself to you I have received nothing but kindness. I am pleased that you have extended this warm welcome to my friends."
"A warm welcome is the start of all good things," the woman said. "Please continue with the proposal you were outlining before you departed to locate your friends."
"Apologies again for that inconvenience," Cal said.
An inconvenience? Man.
"As I have already explained, I come from a world called Locque. We have been under siege for centuries by a rival dimension called Earth. My friends here can now corroborate my tale, especially their associate Rose Furey who is a native of Earth."
"We believe you, Cal," the woman said. "But what would you have us do?"
"Our people need support," Cal said. "Your technology would give us an edge in reclaiming our world and pushing out the invaders. Perhaps we could even unite our worlds, and introduce a new colour to your flag."
"Let us not get ahead of ourselves," she said, smiling. "We are happy to provide assistance, but this will not be in a military capacity."
"We are hopelessly outgunned," Cal said. "We are slaves in all but name. Slaves cannot throw off their shackles without fighting for freedom."
The woman on the plinth shook her head. "Incorrect," she said. "The slave can free themselves through the careful use of tools, also."
"Even then, the chains can be relinked. They need to be destroyed entirely."
I stood up and put a hand on Cal's back. He looked around at me, a little startled. "I've got this," I said, winking.
Reluctantly and unsure of himself, Cal sat back down.
"Hi," I said, immediately feeling like I'd gone too chirpy.
"Kaysaleen Rodata," the woman stated.
"Yup. First up: it's really clever how I can understand you. Clever stuff. Secondly: I felt you guys were getting a little over-excited about your metaphor. And thirdly: I've got a different plan."
"Proceed."
I took a breath. "We can't afford escalation. There'd never be any hope for Locque or Earth. Especially Locque."
"Then what would you propose?"
"I want a social revolution. I want to win through everyone being awesome. And I mean everyone. This situation exists because a handful of select, powerful people run the show, and always have. I want to bypass them. Go to the source. People power." I looked around the assembled delegates, each with the name of their host city printed on a label in front of them. "But, then, I guess you're the powerful people around here."
The woman and some of the others in the room laughed. "I am not powerful," she said. "Not as an individual. I have power in my current role, but that will not last. In another year I will retire from this position and return to my ordinary life. Others will be selected at random to fill my place. There is no persistence of power on Blue."
These guys.
"You guys," I said, waggling my finger at the room in general. "You're all just a bit to good to be true, you know."
The woman looked down at the floor for a moment, then raised her eyes again. "What we have now was not won easily. Our society was forged by martial law and enforced behaviour. That was centuries ago. Most of the consequences have been positive: we have peace, and we have a united society. But many have wondered whether there could have been a better way to get to this point."
"Want to find out?"
And that's how it went. We talked and talked and I told them what we'd been doing. Cal sat in silence, listening. The World Council committed to helping, but without laying down anything specific. But hey, it was an ally. We didn't have many of those. Not without serious caveats.
We all gathered back in my room, where we collapsed into the armchairs and onto the bed. Furey went over to a window, where she lent on the sill and watched the sun begin to descend.
"That seemed to go pretty well," I said.
"You've been doing some thinking," Cal said. "I don't think you're quite the same as when we went our separate ways."
Marv had been quiet ever since we got here. There was ice in the air whenever Cal was in the room, which was pretty much any time we were together. I knew what he was thinking: he wanted to know if Simons had been telling the truth. Had Cal been manipulating us the entire time?
"I need to go back," Furey said suddenly, before I had time to speak. She looked at Cal. "I need to go back to Earth."