Page 14 of The Space Traveller's Lover

Shaillah tries to figure out precisely where she is.

It’s as though the grid of geometrically shaped columns and sinuous sculptures has wholly engulfed her, and suddenly, she finds herself floating inside the very place she thought was a mere imaging projection.

Am I inside a hologram? she asks herself.

“We come here when we want to feel close to home. I want you to experience how it feels like, to help you understand who you are. And I want you to meet our most revered High Counsellor, Zula-Or. She cares about you very much.”

Shaillah keeps gazing at him with her eyes wide open while he continues talking, unabated.

“Of course, she lives far away—on our beautiful planet Rom-Enjie. But we can reach her—right there.” He leads her in between the voluptuous buildings, gliding through intricately decorated pearl-encrusted columns.

She watches the inhabitants strolling in all directions, sometimes flying off towards the sky.

They all share similar body shapes and features as if they were all part of the same family, donning elegant bodysuits made of shiny, silvery fabrics.

They seem utterly unaware of Rothwen’s and Shaillah’s presence even if they pass close by.

Rothwen explains that only when invoking the virtual tunnelling inside the quasi-world can they contact the entangled space-time frame’s residents.

As they leave behind the heavily built areas, they enter a greener landscape filled with exuberant spiky vegetation growing on the smooth hills’ backdrop. Soon, Rothwen heads towards a conspicuously tall spiral-shaped tower.

“This is Zula-Or’s favourite retreat. She wants you to see it,” Rothwen explains as they land in front of the imposing helical structure.

Rothwen touches the blinking circle of light on the smooth white wall, causing a packet of rippling waves to spread outwards on its surface, its wobbly area progressively turning into a spotless mirror.

Shaillah smiles at the vivid reflection of herself appearing in front of her. She inspects her long silver hair, bright purple pupils, deep red lips, and smooth rosy skin.

“Fascinating!” she marvels, admiring the graceful, confident young girl looking directly at her.

“Walk through this virtual gateway. You will find Zula-Or at the other end.” Rothwen rushes his words as he pushes her forwards against the giant mirror .

She hardly has time to react as her whole body passes through the quivering surface. As a piercing cold sensation numbs her skin, she suddenly finds herself at the centre of a warm cavernous vault.

“Welcome home, Shaillah!” A honeyed voice greets her as she discerns an elegant spritely figure walking towards her.

The elegant woman is wearing a long flowing white tunic embroidered in tiny red crystals; an elaborate crown of red glassy petals sits tightly over her head.

As she walks, the stunning pink diamond hanging on her chest catches Shaillah’s attention.

Swirling from its gilded necklace, the beautiful stone incessantly sparkles through its flower-shaped golden mount.

“Zula-Or proudly welcomes you,” the woman says as she opens up her arms. “I feel so privileged, my dear child.”

Shaillah stays motionless, intently looking at Zula-Or, marvelling at her radiant, graceful presence and attire.

The lady’s supple and firm complexion shows a smooth pale skin; her long eyelashes and thin eyebrows frame a sharp gaze from her blue almond-shaped eyes, giving her a smart truthful aura.

The curly tips of her thick braided white hair almost touch the glossy floor.

“Come, Shaillah, come. I want to show you our special place.” Zula-Or warmly smiles while holding Shaillah’s hand and guiding her into the widening corridor.

As they stroll deep into the spacious half-lit room, Shaillah can feel the lady’s radiant skin through her palms, energising her body.

They tread over a downward spiral of floating steps, their path illuminated by rainbow-coloured crystal chandeliers.

As they reach the bottom, they walk through the rows of flowering bushes lining up the shores of a central shimmering lagoon.

The bright shrubberies’ vivid reflections blend onto the undulant waters, forming random flashing strokes as if a mysterious artist was busily conjuring a final masterpiece on an animated canvas.

The iridescent garden stretches far and wide—as far as the eye can see—packed with bulbous, spiky bushes covered in a multitude of colourful crystalline blossoms. So many flowers; it’s a wonder the stems don’t break , Shaillah thinks.

“Of course, these are not flowers as you know them. They are fast-growing precious gems,” Zula-Or explains as they both stop by the gleaming lakeshore .

“Tell me, my dear child, do you still miss your previous home?”

“I do!” Shaillah hastily replies as if she had been thinking about it all the time, but she immediately doubts herself.

Zula-Or raises her chin as a nostalgic streak flashes through her sharp, glistening eyes. Then she adds in a melancholic tone, “When I was very young, I also missed my home. But I was too far away, and of course, we did not have the means we have now.”

Zula-Or pauses, checking on Shaillah to ensure she’s listening attentively.

“Back then, we had discovered planet Earth’s riches, and we did not waste any time settling down.

We went, and we stayed. We showed the humans how to find the vast deposits of diamonds and precious metals.

We taught them how to build magnificent sky-high monuments.

For a time, we lived in harmony. We even interbred.

But it was not to last. Humans became very controlling and eventually saw us as a threat.

They started killing anyone of Rom-Ghenshar descent as they tried to eliminate every trace of our civilisation.

“So, we had no other alternative but to flee for our lives, but not before emptying all their precious mines and taking away all the tools we had given them. We unleashed massive wildfires and then endless floods. We thought they would never recover. We returned to our mother planet, licking our wounds but wealthier and wiser, and we swore that one day we’d be back. ”

Zula-Or’s face beams in a triumphant glare.

“And now, after ten thousand Earth years, we are ready to fulfil the dream of our ancestors. We have been closely observing the humans. We know their weak and strong points very well. We’ve prepared everything.

Now we’re ready. But this time, it will be unlike anything they have ever seen.

We’ve grown stronger, smarter, invincible. We are immortals.”

Zula-Or’s self-conceited grin changes into an impatient grimace as she adds, “Of course, we would’ve finished our mission long ago.

But we were held back by the unexpected—let’s also say non-negotiable—demand.

We had to change and delay all our plans so we could bring you into our world first, lest we incur the rage of one of our finest space warriors—oh no! —our finest.”

Zula-Or pauses as she notices the look of disbelief on Shaillah’s face.

“I s-see,” Shaillah stutters. “Why me? ”

“The strangeness of our universe often conspires to thwart even the most carefully planned mission. Nobody could predict it. But as soon as Rothwen saw you … and knowing where you come from—”

“Where do I come from? Please tell me now—”

“Listen, Shaillah, you have regained what is rightfully yours. Your Rom-Ghenshar ancestry was always within you. We only needed to activate it.”

“I don’t understand,” she mumbles.

“My sweet child, you were … artificially created.”

Shaillah’s heart sinks. She covers her mouth with her hands whilst closing her eyes and shaking her head, refusing to believe Zula-Or’s words.

Zula-Or grabs Shaillah firmly by the chin, ordering her to open her eyes.

Then she stares intensely at Shaillah while, with her other hand, she takes one of her crystal petals off the back of her headpiece.

Suddenly, Shaillah finds herself trapped in Zula-Or’s arms as she feels a sharp blade against her neck, slowly cutting into the flesh.

Shaillah helplessly watches as she is immobilised while her blood drips in a steady thread onto the floor. At any time soon, I will faint , she fears. But then she realises she does not feel any pain, and she is not even feeling in the slightest bit dizzy.

Zula-Or takes the blade out of Shaillah’s slashed skin. Immediately, Shaillah covers her bleeding neck with her hands, but she is wholly astounded to feel her wound sticking together and healing under her fingertips.

“Does it hurt? Do you feel weak at all?” Zula-Or probes while placing the red crystal blade back into her bristly crown.

Shaillah shakes her head.

“That’s because you have our rapidly regenerating high-energy supercells. They would starve of oxygen in Earth’s weak atmosphere.”

“Who created me?” Shaillah asks timidly while caressing her healed neck.

“I designed you, Shaillah. You are very special, one of a kind. Our Chief Scientist, Athguer, sculpted your genes to perfection. You are the most advanced hybrid replica we ever created. I’m so proud of you.”

“Why do you do this?” Shaillah asks, completely baffled .

“We design all types of replicas, place them in different planets as fertilised eggs, and check their progress from time to time. So, we did the same with humans, studying them as they are born and develop in their environment, getting to know them intimately, changing them, and controlling them. But when we started with you, we decided to embed Rom-Ghenshar supercells into your body. It had an amazing effect. Look at you!”

“It’s all too hard to believe right now.” She sobs.

“Don’t cry, Shaillah. You have now this amazing opportunity to get to know who you are and to realise your potential. You’ll soon understand your abilities and power. I admire you so much.” Zula-Or praises her.

Shaillah looks down while in deep thought as Zula-Or softly caresses her face and wipes away the tears, giving time for Shaillah to come to terms with her real self while inspecting her closely.

“Your beauty and strength are as evident as the radiance of this gem-studded garden. Your indomitable soul shines through, my dear Shaillah.” Zula-Or proudly says as she keeps staring at a disconcerted Shaillah.

While evoking the past aeons of her life, Zula-Or can’t help but draw striking similarities between herself and Shaillah.

“Shaillah, Shaillah.” She repeats her new name as if trying to get used to it, encouraged by Zula-Or’s warm and uplifting gaze.

“Yes, correct. Perfect!” Zula-Or holds Shaillah’s shoulders, energizing Shaillah’s body with her all-pervasive vigour. “You will soon get used to it. With every passing moment, you will become one of us—the most advanced civilisation in our universe.”

Zula-Or’s vibrant tone and revitalizing aura slowly help Shaillah let go of her vanishing past and embrace her inevitable future. The more she dwells on it, the more she comes to accept her heritage and her new life.

Shaillah’s eyes glisten with profound confidence as her newly found identity and sense of belonging lifts her spirits.

“What about you? Who created you?” Shaillah brazenly asks.

Zula-Or smiles widely before bursting into ecstatic laughter. She straightens up her body in a self-satisfied and flaunting posture.

“I am one of the Oi Renski ” (Originals), “my dear child,” she announces pompously, but then she adds in a sombre tone, “Although … I was once mortally wounded by a human. ”

Zula-Or composes herself while looking defiantly into the distance. “I managed to survive. Our experts worked tirelessly on me. They regenerated every cell in my body from its original fragments, copying and reloading them into new ones. So I survived with all my features and thoughts intact.

“There is a distinguished race of originals, those who have lived for aeons. We are revered for our wisdom. We append the -Or to our names, but you can call me Zula.” The lady talks to Shaillah in a mellow voice while hugging her tightly.

Then Zula-Or takes off her dazzling pink diamond necklace and places it around Shaillah’s neck. “Here! My sweet child, my gift to you. Wear it always. It’ll give you energy, help you on your journey.”

Shaillah clutches the brilliant pink diamond now hanging on her chest, feeling its radiating energy enter through her palms and run through her body.

“Thank you, dear Zula. And however hard to believe, thank you for showing me who I am.” Shaillah gratefully smiles and then puts her hands together, bowing to the wise lady.

“I am your shelter, your guardian. Come to me whenever you need me,” Zula-Or reassures her.

As Shaillah looks back into Zula-Or’s radiant pupils, they share a deep connection, as if a long-time separated mother and daughter have suddenly found each other.

“What about Rothwen?” Shaillah abruptly asks as if her words have escaped from her mouth unintentionally.

“What about him?” Zula-Or snaps, looking inquisitively at Shaillah.

“Oh, I can hear your desperate fluttering heart! There’s one thing you can never do, my dear child.

You can never hide your feelings from me.

I know all about this attraction between you two and a mighty one at that.

It has disrupted all our plans. We tried to stop him, but he would not relent.

While you were growing up among the humans, he would not lose sight of you.

And he would keep visiting your place more often than he would want to admit. ”

“I feel so different when I’m with him,” she confesses, unable to control her quivering voice or stop her cheeks from blushing. “He makes me feel special. Is he a replica too?”

“What he is—and you should never forget it—is an elite space warrior, a tireless invincible soldier. He never settles anywhere. For him, this mission is a mere insignificant chapter in his unending list of victories and adventures.” Zula-Or raises her long arched eyebrows in a warning gesture.

“Then I may also be a small adventure for him,” Shaillah ponders, an uneasy glare flashing through her face.

“Hard to tell. He is unpredictable. He can be alluring, but he can also be as icy and unforgiving as a dead star. Don’t be fooled by his charm.”

“I won’t!” she says firmly, holding her head high and stroking her diamond to absorb its uplifting energy.

“My advice for you, my dear child—be yourself.” Zula-Or’s cautionary words fade into a distant echo as Shaillah’s body starts spinning.

She extends her arms, trying in vain to stop the whirling motion that is inexorably and progressively pulling her back as she is sucked into a cold all-absorbing vacuum.