11th January
09:32 GMT
"You want me to what?"
Hinon
huffs, putting her newly completed personal lantern down on her work bench. It's… A
little better than mine.
"I want you to come to Earth and make sure that my techniques haven't caused-.
"
She turns around to glare at me.
"It was a rhetorical question. I have already assured you that your teleportation does not cause any sort of 'spillage' which could affect those around you. If you are not prepared to take my word for it, why would a 'field trip' suddenly make me more authoritative?"
"It's not just my teleportation. Larfleeze drew visitors from all across this galaxy. You've spent more time with them than
I have. You know-.
"
"Yes, they were drawn to Okaara by the Light Fountain. Which has never been on Earth."
"But I connected to it to draw the Ophidian to me. She spent months inside my personal lantern. A personal lantern that wasn't in the best condition when I took possession of it.
" She doesn't look convinced.
"And given what
else is on Earth, I don't think asking you to take a couple of days to check the place over is all that unreasonable.
"
"If anything, that would make it less dangerous."
"Really? Because we've got an unusually active magic system and
Dream of the Endless was literally trapped on our planet for years.
"
"Hmmm."
"And once you've checked Earth, you'll be able to say for certain that everywhere
else is safe as well. Come on; how often do you get to see a location where one of the Endless was trapped against their will?
"
"Maltusians don't dream."
"All Maltusians, or just the ones who used to be Guardians?
"
Her eyes narrow.
"You know."
"I know that
Killala cheated on Dream with the embodiment of Sto-Oa, resulting in the Endless deciding against romantic relationships with mortals. I know that he used to be
petty, but I hadn't realised that there was an ongoing penalty for her actions.
"
"There are Maltusians who don't know about that."
"I don't want to insult your
education system, but isn't that somewhat
important? Anyway, look, Dream's a lot less vengeful than he used to be. If you want to regain the ability, you
might be able to talk him around.
"
"Regain? I've never had it."
"Alright,
gain, then. Hinon, how often does someone your age get a genuinely novel experience?
"
She turns away, her right hand waving to send the lantern she just created… Somewhere. I note that she's still wearing John's old ring.
"Is this impeding your operational effectiveness?"
"I.. suppose? A little. An entity which may or may not have been called Boss Smiley made certain observations about my cavalier attitude to my own powers, so I've been-.
"
"You've been cutting down, which is probably exactly what he wanted."
"And I can stop doing that just as soon as you make a site visit.
" She picks up a device which.. looks a little like a tuning fork.
"Hinon, what do you want out of this relationship?
"
She half turns back, looking a little distracted.
"What?"
"I suggested building a Corps because I thought that was what you wanted. Either.. what a Corps could do for you, or just so you could get one over on your peers. But the Guardians have an ideological attachment to the green light. I never asked if you had one to the orange light. In fact… If anything, I assume that you don't. And yet, you attached yourself to the Orange Central Power Battery.
"
"Mm. Better me than someone else."
"Is that it? You don't actually want this?
"
She puts the tuning fork down and turns back to face me.
"Why are you suddenly concerned about it?"
"This is part of what Boss Smiley was saying. I did this to
you, a member of a species worshipped in significant parts of this galaxy, an individual whose
juniors make new planets to resettle evacuees so often that individual instances aren't considered significant. I'm.. worried that I'm blundering through the universe… And I'd like to stop. Controller Hinon, what do you
want? Because if it wasn't
this-.
"
"This is perfectly adequate."
I shrug, shaking my head.
"Adequate wouldn't be enough for me, and I don't think it should be for you
either.
"
"How very thoughtful. Are you going to keep this up until I say 'yes'?"
"This isn't about-. Appa Ali Apsa came to Earth once. Just spent a week or so driving around with Lantern Jordan and Mister Queen.
"
She frowns.
"He.. did?"
"Yes. I'm not exactly sure
why. I think the official reason was to do an assessment of Earth society, given that Lantern Jordan only got recruited because Lantern Sur was dying and desperate and we didn't have FTL yet. But given what else I know about the Guardians, I can't help but wonder if he was checking up on other things as well.
"
"Appa is the one Guardian I might genuinely believe would take a holiday." She frowns faintly, her eyes growing slightly distant. Then she
sighs.
"Very well. Since this is so important to you, I will accompany you back to Earth. And… Test things until your late onset paranoia has been ameliorated."
"Thank you.
"
"Will Mister Scott be there?"
"Ah… As far as I know. He hasn't.. said anything about leaving Earth.
"
"I should probably check him over as well."
"You like younger men, do you?
"
"I… Beg your pardon?"
"Well… There's nothing
wrong with that. You're both single adults, and I'm sure he's a
fascinating case study on the results of long term light exposure in a high magic environment.
"
"Are you implying that I wish to mate with him or that I wish to study him in detail?"
I bend my legs, leaning in slightly.
"Is there a
difference for a Maltusian?
"
"Yes there most certainly-." She stops, frowning more deeply.
"Hm. There used to be. I admit that as I am now, a really thorough investigation would most likely represent the most intimate thing I've done since…" She looks up.
"Since I checked your tattoos. Yes, that was it."
"Abandoned for an older man.
" I hold out my right hand.
"Do you think your robes will survive a trip through the Honden of Avarice?
"
"I suppose we'll find out."
