OVER THE SILVER SKY TO THE WORLD OF NEVER : Part 363 - I Haven't Got Anything To Wear.

TODAY I ASK THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION THERE IS. WHAT ABOUT ME? NO NOT YOU. ME.

Here it comes, the question mankind has been asking since before time began. But what about me? I can't wear shorts. My legs are funny. Judging by the huge number of people who point at me and laugh whenever I wear them. I can't be the only one in this unjustly oppressed minority. Even if I am that makes me the sole member of the smallest minority there is. What I want to know is does that mean I can't be a minority? Do you need a minimum number of members to qualify as an unjustly discriminated against subgroup? There should be more guidance on this. The system is so confusing. Trans people make up 0.6% of the population, that's a protected minority that gets a fuck ton of support by people. Those with autism make up at least 1% of the population and no one gives a fuck about them. So from that you could get the impression the smaller the minority is the more it needs to be protected. But the system isn't consistent, because brown people make up a much larger proportion of the population and they are a protected minority. What qualifications do I need to be in a protected minority? I know brown and trans people have suffered horrendously over the years, but you haven't seen my legs. Body fascists aren't permitted to fat shame. So my legs should at least provoke a couple of angry anti leg shaming Tweets or an article on one of those websites. Fuck it. I'm going to start aggressively promoting my outrage. Calling out people and organizations that don't have a my legs anti-discrimination policy. The ones who donate to charities that promote my legist causes. I bet if I look hard enough I could find some. It might take a while. I will find it though. This I swear.

(The copyright to this image is the property of University of Derby/Youtube.com.)

"Is he looking even more dishevelled to you?" Scarlet's chief porter asked.
That got a few puzzled looks from the assembly.
"Yeah. He's looking a lot happier though. Got a bit of a spring in his step. Do you think....?"
"Yes I do. Even though you told me not to."
"I didn't actually forbid it. I only told you it was inadvisable with your limited resources. Your barbed comment has been noted and a suitable response will be issued after careful study."
This time he thought the others were laughing at them rather than him. Pip confirmed this.
"That's good to see. They haven't really changed a bit. Their mutual antagonism has only evolved. Into something equally horrific. What are you two talking about anyway?"
"We think Shazia and Kulathorn have finally done the dirty deed. That's why he's late."
Very casually, Scarlet slipped her arm around Jake. Her man grinned at her.
"He's had an epiphany I expect." He added.
"Either that or he pulled her into a suitable cupboard and banged away like a wild animal."
The general agreement reached was it was about time. The Neanderthal skidded to a halt.
"Ah? I thought you'd already left...? Pip!"
He started absentmindedly patting pockets.
"I delayed my departure. Didn't Shazia tell you?"
He smiled at the name. A distant look on his craggy face.
"Must have slipped her mind." The pocket inspection moved up a notch. "Now I'm sure I had my slate. Where did I put it?"
At the tap on his shoulder he turned to find Shazia holding it out.
"Here you go Kulathorn." It was her turn to be bashful. "Our last conversation was very informative, perhaps we could continue it later."
They were both hanging onto the computer pad. Staring into each other's eyes for a long time. She noticed the others eventually, before drawing his attention to the them.
"Yes Kazia. There's a lot we can go over I'm sure."
Their hands touched making both of them jerk slightly. Jake had been too quiet for too long. Holding his errant tongue for the last few weeks had been more than he could stand.
"I like calculus." He shrugged. "I don't really. I just thought I'd say something that seemed intelligent."
"Well you failed." Revenge was sweet for Scarlet. It had come sooner than expected to.
Kulathorn was back in the room. He consulted his slate.
"You'll be happy to know the Matriarch has passed on." He stated, not looking up as his finger moved over the screen.
Scarlet gave a nervous smile.
"Is that something meaningful to The People, because where we come from it means she's died."
The nonhuman grinned.
"It means the same to us. She died two days ago."
To say they were devastated would be too small a word. A chasm opened up in each and every one of her fellow travellers. So deep it left them speechless. As they struggled to come to terms with her loss. Some choked, others gave strangled cries. Scarlet was deathly pale. Jake was incandescently angry.
"What the fuck? I know you have different ideas on these things, but this is bullshit. You must have known she was dying. We've been dicking about all over the solar system. When we could have been bidding farewell to our dearest friend."
"Why would you do that? She'll be back in a few days... Oh... Sorry." He flicked his screen a few times. "Due to some confusion, I've got this in completely the wrong order. My mistake."

Pip further postponed her departure. Auntie Pengelly could wait a while longer. The fact was Kluke had a single purpose. To find someone like Daisy in his universe. That done, he had to protect her and keep her alive. His builders had programmed this into him from the very beginning. At the end of his quest to defeat the Diranni, Kluke should have dissolved back into the pattern he was in the dark matter. Only he'd fallen in love with the Matriarch and she with him. When he was gone she would die and his programming had been corrupted in such a way, he could never allow this to happen. His strong link with Kulathorn had drawn them together. They'd made a plan. One which required passing through the Well of Creation. Splitting each of the people who entered into an infinite number of parts across every habitable dimension.

Daisy herself had been unaware of this. She might have tried to stop Kluke. He couldn't allow that. His need to obey her might have made him do as he was told. Instead she was sent off to find the first Wanderers. The closest analogues to herself and Kluke. Bring them together, bond them to one another. Then further strengthen that bond through the Well of Creation. The Wanderers then had to gather the others to them. Each a facet of both Kluke and Daisy. None of them complete. The absence of Pengelly had been acceptable. She could be integrated later if necessary. In the meantime the Matriarch's blueprints could be interpolated. There had been a risk this wouldn't work. Only a small percentage chance, thanks to Scarlet and Jake in their many incarnations. Picking up the pieces of the puzzle along the way. There were a lot of pieces. They'd also uncovered a lot of other puzzles. Some of which they'd solved. Others they would have to solve. Although in a sense, because time was so messy, they'd already solved them. If they hadn't, or was that didn't, Kluke and the Matriarch wouldn't have existed in the first place.

Think of how impossible it is to imagine this. Then imagine how impossible it would be to live it. The whole thing had been doomed from the start. Both Kulathorn and Kluke had known this. They'd tried it anyway. That little contretemps in Fafindi had been the latest as well as one of the most serious missteps. The only reason it hadn't been the cause of their inevitable failure was due to the impossible child, Pip. The corrective factor introduced at exactly the right time. It was almost possible to believe in an ultimate being. It had to exist. A multiverse that was incomprehensible had a creator who was even moreso.

Once most of the parts had been brought together, mere days before the precarious structure would have collapsed under its own improbability, the rest was a mass of science. Which had taken thousands of years to develop. The Matriarch had been promoted, you could say. She now dwelt as an indelible pattern on the dark matter. Alongside Kluke. Not the same as him, by any means. Unique in many ways. A counterbalance possibly. It was far too early to tell. Now she was visiting her children. Blessing them with her presence. Wherever they were, she'd be there with them. Guardian and protector.Her daughter Lumi would eventually take her physical place as the next Matriarch. Because it wasn't about ruling and controlling. It was about guiding and advising. Knowing that the flaws you found in others were distorted reflections of those in yourself.

"Is that another new dress?" He asked his inamorata as, she strutted across the bedroom floor.
"Yes. At least you noticed. What do you think?"
"I'm thinking how quickly I can get you out of it." Jake chuckled, this time he was struck by a cushion.
"Down boy. We've only just showered together. That's really how we first met this time around. The first one wasn't quite as much fun. Although it was far funnier. When you didn't know you knew me and I didn't know it was really you. We were both lost in a way." She'd spotted his reflection in the mirror she was using. "What's the matter Sparky?"
"I'm still not sure I understand things. The past is filled with memories that overall make no sense and the future is waiting out there. Where it can happen to us in great big painful lumps."
She came over to him. A full on kiss. That still left him feeling light headed after so many.
"We have to live in the now. Seize the moment or whatever. While always looking ahead. Yeah. I see what you mean. I give up. It is pretty crazy. Is that what you're wearing?"
"It's what I'm wearing now. I'm assuming I won't be wearing it in a bit. What's wrong with it? It's my adventurer garb."
"There's nothing "wrong" with it. It's just that you've worn it every frigging time."
"That's not fair. This is different to the outfit I wore yesterday. I've got several. It's merely that they all look exactly the same. Would you rather I looked like Hermes?"
"He's toned down. A bit. Morag's been an influence."
"A bad one. I wish we'd never told him about Mars. He's got more gowns than you have now. He changed three times last night. I just know I'm going to spend another entire evening being exposed to his nipples."
"So are you going to change into something else? Something a bit less predictable. Daisy's back tonight. She hasn't seen Kulathorn and Shazia as a couple. Pip arrived earlier as well. The whole gang will be back together for the first time since we arrived here. So get changed for them as well as me."
"I haven't got anything to wear." He sulked.
"Yes you have. I got you a suit, shirt, shoes and a tie. It's black. Your favorite color."
He checked and there it was. Very similar to what he might have worn back on earth in 2020. He put it on. Actually it was alright. The only splashes of color, the tie and a pocket handkerchief. He turned to view himself.
"This looks alright." Bit too much enthusiasm in that. "I suppose."
She came over to adjust his tie.
"Come on. What's really the matter? You seem to be obsessed with Hermes and his choice of wardrobe. It's almost as if you're trying to counterbalance his flamboyance with bleh."
"I'm worried he might get bullied or picked on."
"That's it? What makes you think that? Stop fidgeting."
"Well he's kind of autistic. He might not understand people are taking the piss out of him. Not realize he's the butt of their clever jokes."
"Has anyone done that so far?" She asked urgently.
"Not yet. As far as I know. It can still happen though. I'm thinking of Morag to I suppose. She might kick off or worse accept it so Hermes isn't hurt. She would be though."
"Well if anyone does take the piss out of him we'll kick seven colors of shit out of them."
"Are you going to be able to do that in these clothes?"
"Of course. These heels will go through someone's foot or throat like a hot knife through butter. And I should know."