Close Remembrance

Chapter 4-1

Chapter Four

The next day, Mia finished running the simulation for the third time and sent the digital results to Saret, hoping that he would get a chance to look at them soon. Without his feedback—or Adam’s input—there was really nothing else she could do to move the project forward at this time.

It was only eleven a.m. on Wednesday, and she was already done with what she had set out to do in the lab for the day. Of course, she could always do some mind-related reading or watch some recordings, but that was something she tended to do in her spare time outside of the lab. Lab hours were for doing actual work, and Mia hoped she could find something to occupy herself with until she got the necessary feedback on her current project.

As usual, Saret was gone somewhere, and the other apprentices were in Thailand again. They’d left her alone in the lab—which Mia thought was probably a sign of trust. She doubted Saret would leave just anyone around all the complex lab equipment.

Getting up, she walked over to the common data storage facility—a Krinar device that was light years ahead of any human computer. Mia was just beginning to learn all of its capabilities, so she decided to use the downtime to explore it a little and brush up on some of the other apprentices’ projects. The data unit responded to voice commands, which made it easy for Mia to operate it.

The next six hours seemed to fly by. Absorbed in her task, Mia hardly felt the passage of time as she read about the regenerative properties of Krinar brain tissue and the complexity of infant mind development. She took a short break for lunch—requesting a sandwich from the intelligent lab building—and then continued, fascinated by what she was learning. It seemed like the project that took the other apprentices away from the lab was even more interesting than what Mia and Adam were working on. Feeling slightly jealous, Mia decided to ask Saret if she could somehow get involved.

Finally, it was five o’clock. Although Mia typically stayed later in the lab, she decided to make an exception today, since nothing much was going on. Leaving the lab, she headed home.

Arriving at the house, she wasn’t surprised to find that Korum wasn’t there yet. His schedule was far more grueling than hers, although it helped that he didn’t need to sleep more than a couple of hours a night. He actually got a lot of work done at night or early in the morning when Mia was sound asleep.

Making herself comfortable on the long floating plank in the living room, Mia decided to use the time to call Jessie. They hadn’t spoken since before Mia’s trip to Florida, and she really missed hearing her friend’s bubbly voice.

“Call Jessie,” Mia told her wristwatch-bracelet device, and heard the familiar dial tones as the call connected.

“Mia?” Jessie’s voice sounded cautious.

“Yep, it’s me,” Mia said, grinning. She knew that the call would show up on Jessie’s phone as coming from an unknown number. “How’s it going? I haven’t talked to you in over a week!”

“Oh, I’m good,” Jessie said, sounding a little distracted. “How’s your family? Did they already meet Korum?”

“They sure did,” Mia said. “Believe it or not, they loved him. But hey, listen, are you busy right now? I can call back another time—”

“What? Oh, no, hold on, let me just go into another room...” A short silence, then, “Okay, I’m good now. Sorry about that. I was just hanging out with Edgar and Peter. Do you remember Peter?”

“Of course,” Mia said. Peter was the guy she’d met at the club—the one Korum had almost killed for dancing with her. Mia still shuddered when she remembered that terrifying night, when she’d thought Korum had found out about her deception and was going to kill her. In hindsight, she’d been an i***t; she should’ve known even then that he would never harm her. But at the time, Korum had still been a stranger to her, a member of the mysterious and dangerous Krinar race that had invaded Earth five years ago.

“He still asks about you,” Jessie said—a bit wistfully, Mia thought. “Edgar tells me he’s really worried—”

“That’s nice of him, but there’s really no reason to worry,” Mia interrupted, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. “Seriously, I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life...”

Jessie fell silent for a second, and then Mia heard her sigh. “So that’s it, huh?” she said softly. “You’re in love with the K?”

“I am,” Mia said, a big smile breaking out on her face. “And he loves me too. Oh, Jessie, you don’t even know how happy he makes me. I could’ve never imagined it could be like this. It’s like a dream come true—”

“Mia...” She could hear Jessie sighing again. “I’m happy for you, I really am... But, tell me, do you think you’ll come back to New York?”

Mia hesitated for a moment. “I think so...” She was far less certain now than before. With each day that passed, college and all that it implied seemed less and less important. What use was a degree from a human university if she were to continue living and working in Lenkarda? She learned more in a day at the lab than she could in a month at NYU. Did it really make sense to spend another nine months writing papers and taking tests just for the sake of saying she got her diploma? And, more importantly, would Saret let her return to the lab after such a long absence? Given the rapid pace of research there, coming back after nine months would be almost like starting over.

“You don’t sound sure,” Jessie said, and there was a sad note in her voice.

“Yeah, I guess I’m not sure,” Mia admitted. “Korum is fine with it, but I just don’t know if I’ll be able to return to my internship if I leave for so long...”

“So you like it there? At the K Center, I mean?”

“I do,” Mia said. “Jessie, it’s so nice here... I can’t even begin to tell you how awesome some of their inventions are. Korum has a zero-gravity chamber in his house. Can you imagine that? And he’s got a floor that massages your feet as you walk on it.” Not to mention the fact that Mia was now pretty much immortal—but that was something she was not allowed to talk about outside of Lenkarda.

“Really? A floor that massages your feet?” Jessie sounded jealous now.

“Yep, and a bed that does the same thing to your whole body. All their technology is amazing, Jessie. Believe me when I tell you this: it’s not a hardship to be here at all.”

“Yeah, sounds like it,” Jessie said, and Mia heard the resignation in her voice. “I guess I just miss you, that’s all.”

“I miss you too,” Mia said. “Maybe I’ll swing by for a visit in a couple of weeks. Let me talk to Korum about that, and we’ll figure something out.”

“Oh, that would be so nice!” Jessie sounded much more excited now.

“We’ll make it happen,” Mia promised, smiling. “I’ll let you know when we’re coming over. But, anyways, enough about that... Tell me about you and Edgar. How are things going on that front?”

And for the next ten minutes, Mia learned all about Jessie’s new boyfriend, his latest acting gig, and the stuffed panda he’d won for Jessie at an amusement park. It seemed like the two of them were becoming increasingly close, and Mia was glad he made Jessie so happy. If anyone deserved to have a cute, caring guy, it was her former roommate.

Finally, Jessie had to go to dinner, so Mia said goodbye and went to change before Korum got home. He’d mentioned taking a post-dinner walk on the beach, and Mia wanted to make sure she had her swimsuit ready.

“So when do you think the Council will finally decide about the Keiths?” Mia asked, taking a bite of sweet pepper stuffed with mushroom-flavored rice. “Are they still doing the investigation?”

Korum nodded, picking up a piece of mushroom with the tong-like utensil the Krinar used in place of forks. “Loris is being difficult, as you’d expect. He’s got a couple of Councilors on his side, and he’s claiming there’s no way Saur could’ve erased the Keiths’ memories. Supposedly, someone from the Fiji lab told him that apprentices don’t have access to that kind of equipment.”

“Really? So, what, he’s still saying that you and Saret are responsible for this?”

“I think he gave up on the idea of framing Saret,” Korum said, a mocking smile appearing on his lips. “He’s now seeking evidence to come after me.”

Mia stared at him, concerned about this development. The black-garbed Krinar she’d seen at the trial didn’t seem like someone who could be trifled with—and he truly hated Korum. “Do you think there’s any chance he could cause trouble for you?”

“No, don’t worry, my sweet,” Korum said reassuringly, though his eyes glittered with something that looked like anticipation. “He’s just trying to delay the inevitable. He failed as the Protector, and he knows it. Once his son and the rest of those traitors are sentenced, he’ll lose all of his standing—and his position on the Council along with it.”

“And you don’t mind that in the least, right?” Mia asked, regarding him with a wry smile. For better or for worse, her lover tended to be quite ruthless with his opponents—a personality trait that made her glad she was now on his good side.

Korum shrugged. “It was Loris’s choice to risk everything for his son. Now he’ll pay the price. And if I have fewer people who stand in my way as a result, then all the better.”

Mia nodded and concentrated on finishing the rest of her stuffed pepper dish. Despite everything, she couldn’t help feeling just a tiny bit sympathetic toward the Protector. After all, the K was only defending his son. She imagined she’d do the same for her child—not that she had to worry about that anymore, she reminded herself. Pushing away the unpleasant thought, Mia looked at Korum instead, studying him covertly as he finished his meal.

Sometimes it was still difficult for her to believe they were so happy together. By Krinar law, she belonged to Korum—a fact that still made her very uncomfortable. As a charl, her legal standing in K society was murky, to say the least. If she didn’t love him so much—and if he didn’t treat her as well as he did—her life could’ve easily been miserable.

But she did love him. And he loved her back, with all the intensity in his nature. As a result, he seemed to be trying to suppress his inborn arrogance, knowing that it was important for her to be regarded as an equal. There was still a long way to go, of course—the gap of age and experience was too wide to be bridged easily—but he was definitely making an effort in that direction.

After they were both done with the meal, Korum stood up and offered her his hand. “Up for a walk, my sweet?” he asked, giving her a warm smile.

Mia grinned. “Sure.” She loved these after-dinner walks on the beach. They’d done them almost every night when they were in Florida, and she’d learned a great deal about Korum during those quiet times.

Taking his hand, she let him lead her outside.

They walked for a couple of minutes in silence, enjoying the soft evening breeze. The sun was just setting behind the trees, and an orange glow lit the sky, reflecting off the water shimmering in the distance.

“You know,” Mia said, thinking about their first meeting in New York, “I still don’t know your full name. You said I wouldn’t be able to pronounce it if you told me, but I’ve never heard anyone call you anything but Korum.”

He grinned. “Our full names are generally only used at birth and at death. Do you still want to hear it?”

“Of course.” She imagined something totally unpronounceable. “What is it?”

“Nathrandokorum.”

“Oh, that sounds kind of nice,” Mia said, surprised. “Why don’t you use it more?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s just the way it’s been with us for a long time. Full names have become nothing more than a formality. I doubt that anyone besides my parents knows that I’m called Nathrandokorum.”