Coincidentally, just as the swimmers were beginning to get tired, the sun was waning, and the day was cooling signaling the end of the beautiful day. Janie and Holly were wearing flowered sundresses, and tending a large barbeque grill. Off to one side was a bon fire waiting to be lit, with logs around it to sit on and relax.
As the swimmers got out of the water, they were suddenly dry, reminding everyone that this was an artificial world. Each person chose clothing for themselves and it 'magically' appeared on their bodies.
Jimmy donned a pair of baggies, but no shirt since it was a warm night. Tammy opted for a bikini top and shorts. Pollux, smiling at her two soon-to-be lovers, donned a thin, see-thru toga. She wore it so her right breast was exposed, although the rest of her body was still visible. Jimmy's erection returned full strength looking at her.
"I'd never believed a woman could get even more beautiful and sexier by putting clothes on," Tammy whispered, taking Jimmy's hand.
As Jimmy nodded in agreement with her, he glanced over to see Tina, Sheba and Grista topless, but wearing sarong-like wraps around their waists, and flowers in their hair, island style. Donna was topless, but wearing shorts. Prinea chose to emulate Jimmy's attire, while Jamie, who was holding Grista's hand, stayed totally nude. Her now younger, muscular body glowing with health, and her eyes lit with inner joy.
"Perfect timing everyone! Dinner's on!" Holly announced, grinning. Beside her, Janie just laughed and shook her head.
After dinner, Jimmy 'lit' the fire, and the group settled in around it as darkness fell completely. Pollux gently kissed him and Tammy on the lips before standing to face everyone.
"My friends, once again welcome to the Citadel. As you have all guessed by now, I've accepted Jimmy as my Avatar. That means that at least he, and I must assume, young Tammy, will be staying here.
"It is my hope, as it is also the hope of the AIs, that all of you decide to stay here with us. Since training is scheduled to begin tomorrow, I must ask if you've decided, and if so, what would you like to be trained for or taught? I want you all to know, that even if you decide not to remain with us, you are still welcome to avail yourselves of the knowledge base and learn whatever you wish. So, please stand and let us know your decision, or ask any questions that might help you with your decision. We will answer honestly and candidly." She took her seat beside her lovers to let someone else speak.
Before anyone else could step forward, Donna rose and turned to her new friends and family. "I think you all already know my thoughts on staying or not. However, I haven't decided what, beyond the normal school stuff, I'd like to learn." She turned to face her brother and Pollux.
"Since the pair of you will be the arbiter once you're joined, I would like to know if this judicial system uses anything like our lawyers?"
Pollux smiled. "Yes it does. There is need for both prosecutors as well as private advocates. However, I must warn you that for the time being, all advocates will have to know both Earth as well as Imperial law."
"I think, while I'm working on graduating from junior high, I'd like to do some more research on it. Is that possible?" Donna asked.
"It certainly is, Donna. Even if you need more time than we have while in this reality, you will still be able to learn once we leave. There is a specialized Educational AI that manages all knowledge requests, and monitors the students during a lesson, for safety," Pollux replied.
"Thank you. That helped." Donna nodded her thanks to the beautiful blond and sat back down.
Next to stand was Jamie. "I want you all to know that if the decision is made that everyone, minus Jimmy and Tammy of course, want to leave, I will abide by it. That being said, I would like to stay.
"Janie, you know me, I've always been a warrior at heart. Back on Earth, the only option I'd have is mercenary work, and I don't think I could stomach that. I'd like to stay here and learn what I can about the Imperial Marines, and their equipment. Someone will be needed to slap the future grunts around so they learn. I think I'd like to see if I can be that person."
She turned to Pollux. "You give me the chance, and no enemy would harm us, this Citadel, or those we are sworn to protect. However, before you agree, you all need to know what happened to me. I'm still bound by an oath of secrecy and cannot tell you the were, who, or why; but I can share what happened to me, personally." She went on to tell the story of her torture, and the wounds inflicted on her body. When told from her point of view, her actions didn't sound heroic, or desperate; they were simply the actions she needed to do at the time in order to complete her mission.
Pollux nodded. "I think we would be honored to have a warrior of your strength to protect us." She looked around at the group. "Just to let you all know, over the next couple of weeks, you'll be seeing some new faces around here, By all means please introduce yourselves to them. You should also be aware that not all of them may choose to appear as human. Several of us had very close friends in the other universe, and the awakening AIs may choose to resemble their missing friends. I could however, direct them not to, if it will cause a problem."
"No. I know we're not joined yet, sweetheart, but I feel strongly that humans in general, and us in particular, need to get over any ingrained xenophobia we may have. Although I would like to restrict it to beings that can breathe our atmosphere, that would be a matter of convenience and not racial prejudice.
"Eventually, we are going to run across other races out here, we need to get used to seeing beings other than ourselves. I really don't want the KKK opening a branch up here," Jimmy said, and all the humans nodded agreement. The AIs accessed the pertinent information so they knew what he was talking about.
"How can such a group be allowed to exist? They tout nothing but hate and intolerance," Grista said as she looked through the data.
"That's an argument we can agree on, Grista, but it's also not the time for that debate," Jimmy replied. Grista nodded in agreement.
"Sorry, please go on," Jimmy said to Pollux.
She quickly kissed him on the lips before turning back to the still standing Jamie. "If you stay, I'll request Teriska to awaken, so you can get to know your Marine Garrison AI. She functions as weapons controller and primary training AI. Does that answer your questions, Jamie?"
"Yes it did, thank you," Jamie replied and took her seat.
When it looked like no one else was about to speak, Janie looked over at Tina. "Tina, sweetheart, we'd like to hear your thoughts before we make a decision ... please?"
Slowly, Tina rose and faced her family and new friends. "I'd like to stay here. I ... I think I probably should stay here no matter the decision. You see, there is someone, besides myself, that I'll kill if I go back to Earth." She sighed, prayed Wally was right, swallowed the lump in her throat, and began her story, from the beginning.
When she finished, both Jimmy and Tammy were holding her. Pollux, with a tear running down her face sadly stroked the hair on the back of Tina's head. Janie was holding a crying Holly, who kept apologizing over and over to her daughter. Jamie and Sheba looked pissed, Grista was shocked, and Prinea was sad.
Donna was sitting on the ground with her knees pulled up, crying. Now she understood Tina's mood swings, and her strange behavior. The older girl had been about to kill her father, then herself.
"What can we do to the bastard?" Jamie asked.
Pollux looked sad. "According to Imperial law, if convicted of murder, he would be recycled. However, there is nothing we can legally do to him." She shook her head. "Following the law for the involved areas, the worst crime he would be guilty of is child abuse. Given his current status as an officer of the court, it is likely that he would be given a token punishment, and the whole ordeal would be forgotten."
"You mean there's nothing we can do to him?" Sheba almost yelled.
"Calm yourself, little sister. The offender is not under our jurisdiction, nor is he likely to be. Even if he did choose to immigrate, there is still nothing we could do to him unless or until he commits a crime here," Pollux replied.
Sniffing, Tina added, " ... which is why I'd kill him if I go back. The fucking bastard ruined me, and got away with it."
"What do you mean ruined?" Jimmy asked. "Sweetheart, you're not ruined; he hurt you yes, but there's nothing wrong with you! Hell, you're even more beautiful and attractive now. Not because of what he made you go through, but in spite of it!"
"I had to be ruined, that's why you never wrote or called. In the whole two years, I never got anything from you. I wrote to you weekly at first, then daily after ... and I got nothing back. The Faggot told me you asked him to tell me that you weren't interested anymore, and would I please stop writing. I didn't believe him at first, but the head woman also told me that there had been no calls and no mail for me," Tina sobbed, but held on to Jimmy like her life depended on it.
Prinea watched helplessly, praying that Jimmy would say the right thing back to her. He saw Jimmy put his hands on each side of her face to get her to look him in the eyes.
"Look in my eyes, so you know I'm not lying. After you left, I cried for a week. I did write to you, daily for about three weeks until the letters started coming back. The school was refusing them. When I called to find out why, a 'Mizz' Ashborne told me that only family members were allowed to correspond with students.
"So, I had your Mom send the letters for me. They still came back, this time in a large manila envelope with a note. It said that by order of the legal guardian, all unapproved correspondence would be returned. So I called your Dad. He told me that you asked that all mail from me be returned, and my calls blocked. He said you didn't want me distracting you from your studies." It was Jimmy's turn to sigh. "He lied to both of us, love."
Tina looked at him with a desperate hope in her eyes. "What did you call me?"
"I thought I'd lost you, Baby, but that doesn't mean I stopped loving you," Jimmy replied. He took Tina's hand, and Tammy grabbed the other. "Tina, I'd like you to meet our fiance' Pollux." He turned to the beautiful and radiant blond. "Pollux, I'd like to introduce Tina, who, with her little sister, are my first loves."
Pollux opened her arms to Tina and smiled hopefully. Letting go of Jimmy and Tammy, Tina slipped into the taller woman's arms and held her.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Janie stepped forward to speak. Holly, had sat beside Donna and was cuddling the smaller girl. Glancing up at her chosen mate, Holly nodded.
"Before we make a final decision, I do have some questions," Janie said looking at her future daughter-in-law.
Slowly, Tina and Pollux separated, but only enough so they could sit and continue to cuddle while Pollux answered questions. Jimmy and Tammy sat with them as well.
Pollux nodded her readiness to Janie.
"Thank you," Janie said, and paused to gather her thoughts. "What are the laws or rules concerning same sex marriages?"
"We have none. Given that the Empire had multiple races, and not all of them were male and female in the traditional sense, no such law would have been feasible. However, I can also tell you that such a law would have been challenged and most likely repealed immediately. It's a blatant violation of a being's right of personal freedom," Pollux said. She'd expected that question sooner or later.
"So I can actually marry Holly?" Janie asked.
"So long as she agrees, I don't see why you couldn't. Really, the only laws that are even remotely relevant are species specific procreation prohibitions. Mostly to avoid inbreeding, but some are to restrict reproduction in an uncontrolled environment. There were some species who's offspring are just plain deadly."
Janie nodded. "Okay, how do the economics work here; how will we survive?"
"When we get enough people living and working here, we'll re-establish a credit based, free market economy. Replicator use is detrimental not only to such an economy; it is also an unfair tool for trade. No replicated item can be used for trade purposes.
"However, goods can be stored digitally for later use, once they've been legally purchased. Uh, there is a whole class on this available to you, so please believe me that for now, we will have to rely on replicators for subsistence," Pollux explained.
Grista also spoke up. "Besides, you can still keep your existing business. Once we finish the negotiations with the Internic, you can even move your sites up here to our computers. I can pretty much guarantee no one is going to hack you up here."
Looking down at her mate, Janie smiled. "I guess we'll be staying. I think I'd like to learn more about how business worked here; if we're going to re-establish a society here, I suppose we should have someone who knows the rules."
Holly nodded as she stood. "I'd like to learn Immigration. We're going to need someone to handle recruitment."
Janie and Holly hugged before setting back down, this time on each side of Donna.
"I thought there would be more testing before you'd accept me," Jimmy asked Pollux.
"You do have more testing to go through, but you've already passed most of the tests I've had for you. That's why I wanted to 'get to know you better'. I learned a lot about your beliefs, and that gave me insight into your personality.
"You have a slightly romanticized view of reality, but are flexible enough to make adjustments as needed. You don't share the jaded outlook that most of your people have regarding their futures. You still believe that there is reason to hope. You believe your people can eventually overcome their self-destructive and selfish ways. If you can believe that of your people, I'm certain you can believe it for anyone.
"However, you are also fiercely protective of those you care about, and will fight if that is the only path left. Although you'll search for another path long after others would have given up, you won't look too long.
"You have an ethical, moral and honest personality. You believe justice is not just a word, but a belief to be practiced equally regardless of race, sex, economic or political position, or threat of violence. You believe intent is as much a part of guilt as physical evidence." Pollux nuzzled Tina, and switched mental gears in her answer.
"You're a good person that believes in other good people. You're fun, and have a wonderful sense of humor. You care about, and believe in other people, and not just those of your race. You look to the future with anticipation, but believe our past should be our guide.
"On top of all that, even though I've only known you for three point nine-nine hours, I think I'm already developing strong feelings for you, and Tammy. I very much look forward to adding Tina to that list as well. The love radiating from all of you is almost intoxicating."
"Forgive me, but may I ask you a personal question, Pollux?" Jamie asked.
"Of course," Pollux replied.
"I've met and know a lot of older people that have held positions of authority for long periods of time; Admirals, Captains, and Commodores. All of them seem to have a certain... feel to them. Maybe I should say they share certain personality traits. However, you don't 'feel' like a multiple-millennia old personality. Do you know why?"
"Sister, I think I might have a better perspective on that particular issue. So, if you don't mind, I would like to answer the question?" Prinea asked.
"Please do, Prinea," Pollux replied.
Nodding thanks to Pollux, he stood and turned to the audience. "This may seem off topic, but please bear with me. The short answer to the question is that it's by design. Pollux isn't like the rest of us. She's actually closer to being human, (as opposed to any other known race) than AI. Yes, she was artificially created in that her origin is a laboratory; however she is biological in that she had both a mother and a father. (At least in the biological sense.)
"When the Citadel's were designed, all the member races, save one, insisted that living beings be in direct control of these powerful Sentinels. However, they all agreed that the job required either living beings being grafted into the control systems, or control by committee.
"It was already known that a Committee could not act fast enough for the Citadel to respond in emergencies. It would also be susceptible to domination by either coercion or charisma. However, the alternative, grafting a living being into the control systems, drove the being insane in every case.
"The Unigar, who were also human offered a most objectionable solution; the creation of a being capable of handling the control of the Citadel, through genetic manipulation. The Unigar were already on thin ice with the rest of the Imperial Council due to their practice of creating clone bodies for their AI systems. However, the suggestion they offered, while being elegant and for them, simple, was morally reprehensible and intolerable to the rest of the Empire.
"However, the need for the Citadels was great and the pressure was on the Council to bring closure to the issue. In an unprecedented move, the Empress asked for permission to enter the halls to offer a compromise. She suggested that the Unigar be allowed to create, through biological, not artificial, means, a being for the purpose of Citadel Stewardship.
"While the being would have to be altered to allow for the intimate interaction with the Citadel itself as well as all the actual AIs, no alteration to the 'soul' of the being would be allowed.
"While some still grumbled, it was acceptable to the members, and the Unigar were officially requested to proceed as outlined by the Empress. Satisfied, the Unigar accepted the challenge and went to work.
"The result; Pollux's ancestor. His name doesn't translate, so I will call him Rho. He remained in operation for almost nine thousand years before he developed a psychological aberration. It was determined that a form of temporal entropy had affected the Arbiter. It had become tired of living day after day, with very little to challenge its formidable intellect, and only eternity to look forward to."
Their surroundings altered to a huge artificial cavern that had to be miles across. The roof was so high it was completely obscured by the haze of distance. On the distant walls great arcs of electricity jumped from one place to another, seemingly at random. Before them stood a very stern looking Pollux dressed in a tight bodysuit that looked like a one piece bathing suit. She also wore a long cape of the same material. Although she was identical to the Pollux who was watching with a shocked look on her face, her pose made her look like a Titan in this place.
Prinea continued. "Welcome to the Thought Chamber, this is the real Pollux; at least she is for now. She cannot address any of you directly, however her image cuddled up to Jimmy obviously can interact with you. Jimmy's Pollux was unaware of the difference between herself and the true Pollux, so she actually wasn't hiding anything from you, Jimmy.
"After the physical joining with Jimmy, the two Pollux's will slowly begin to merge so neither mind gets overwhelmed. They are both the woman you love Jimmy. Think of your Pollux as a restricted interface of the real one." He gestured to the silent Pollux standing in front of some strange looking columns. "Think of this as Pollux's innerself."
"What is this place? It looks like Purgatory!" Holly asked.
The silent Pollux smiled softly in amusement. The 'feeling' Jamie had spoken of before was very much in evidence with the silent Pollux.
Prinea chuckled as well. "Well, to you it might look that way. I assure you, it doesn't look that way to me, and Pollux also sees it differently. This is where Pollux physically resides, surrounded by her interfaces, controls and memories."
"You mean this is an actual physical place inside the Citadel? How can that be? Those walls have to be miles away! I'd say that the Citadel would almost fit in here!" Jamie said, astounded.
"First off, we are actually still in the virtual, not the physical, however, yes this is a representation of a physical place inside the Citadel. Specifically, inside the Tower of Arbitration, in a specially constructed pocket dimension," Prinea replied. He bowed slightly to the silent Pollux who bowed back, and then they were back at the beach and the bonfire.
"When she's bonded, Pollux, the true Pollux, is just as you see her now." He gestured to the thoughtful women beside Jimmy and Tina. "However, when she's forced to operate without an avatar, she becomes the woman we saw in the thought chamber."
"Why can't I feel the difference, Prinea?" Pollux asked.
"I know it's hard to understand, believe me it's even harder to explain. You don't feel the difference because there is no difference to feel. You and the image we just saw are the same person, you simply don't have the full weight of memories, and intellect bearing down on you. If you did, Jimmy's mind and personality would be blown away like a leaf in a hurricane," He replied.
"How is he supposed to survive when the two parts of Pollux recombine?" Janie asked worriedly.
"That's part of the reason for the testing; to make sure his mind is up to the task. Also, the recombining will take place gradually, so neither mind can be damaged," Prinea explained.
"Well, this is starting to give me a headache, and I'm getting tired. I can see Donna's about to drop, too. Besides, we're all going to need our mental strength for the lessons of the coming months. I vote we head to bed," Jimmy said.
Pollux and the AIs laughed at his remark.
"What?" he asked.
"Once we are bonded, which is the real reason you feel a headache, nothing in the Citadel will ever be truly democratic. The Arbiter rules the Citadel, and can override whatever the governments of the Eco-sphere decrees if needed. For example, if they wish to ratify a law, its last step is approval by the Arbiter. You must decide if the law they wish to pass doesn't run counter to the civil rights of individuals," Grista replied, speaking for the first time. "If you say it's bed time, then it's bed time. No voting."
"But we aren't bonded yet," Jimmy countered.
"No, but the process has begun, and cannot be stopped at this point. Hence the headache; the Nanos are making connections to your brain and spine." Prinea's eyes unfocussed for a moment, then he added. "They should be finished in a few seconds ... or by tomorrow morning for you."
"Well, as I said before, I'm beat," Jimmy said as he stood, and pulled Tammy, Pollux and Tina up too. "Does anyone know which cabin is ours?"