Earth 12
3rd February 2043
09:26 GMT -5
"Can you really trust them, Dad?"
Claudia, bless her, was able to organise my patently ridiculous request on impressively short notice. Probably from experience with trade shows or something. A lot of our back catalogue and prototypes spend their days mouldering in secure storage, with production models… Usually made to order. Getting them out, packed up, and getting the
permissions we needed -both legally and practically- required an all-nighter from… A small army of people, including my daughter.
"Yes." I nod. "In the same way as we can trust the Guardians. They just aren't interested in the sorts of things that humans are."
"Y-."
"Did I ever tell you about the time that narrowly dodged being abducted by Krona?"
She looks a little blank, and shakes her head.
"It was when I first met Matthew Hagen. Clayface?" A
slight pause, then she nods. "Must be half a lifetime ago now." H
mm. "Apparently, Krona was kidnapping different parallel universe versions of me and of a woman named Jade Nguyen and using them to do… Something or other."
"Jade Nguyen… Jade Harper, the assassin? Married Roy Harper…"
I look over some of the crates, remembering faces… Mostly retired or 'departed', driven and often slightly mad people who built machines the rest of the world hasn't caught up to yet. Or that got banned by international convention, like the weather control system. We have to get… Oh,
so many signatures when someone wants to turn down a hurricane now. And we
charge for that, but I can't but-.
"Dad?"
"Hm? Oh." I nod. "Yes, that's the woman. The two of them did some freelance work for me. Professional introductions, bodyguarding… Haven't seen them for a while, actually. Wonder how they're doing."
"Ah." Claudia looks awkward. "They're dead, Dad. They-."
"Oh!" I blink. "Yes, the… Plane. Sorry, slipped my mind." I snort. "I think I need to take another one of those cognitive acuity tests. I didn't miss Lian or
Gwen dying, did I?"
"Not as far as I know, but I can check." She looks at me awkwardly. "Dad, are you okay?"
I shrug. "I'm old. I don't recommend it, if there's an alternative."
"Rani said you were thinking about full-body prosthesis. Those aren't… Safe."
"No, I know. But brittle bones and a failing musculature aren't safe, either. The
main issue would be surviving the operation."
"Then you'd have the psychological problems. We don't have a lot of data on the long term effects."
"Haha..!" I smile. "Oh, Claudia, why would I be worried about the
long term? Besides,
someone's got to go first."
"Then why not just-."
I wince as the same flickering, wind-gusting thing from yesterday happens, raising my right hand to shield my eyes. This time I'm looking in the right direction to spot the Controller appear. He sort of… Appears from the middle of his torso, the bit of him that's 'here' spreading out until I can see all of him. Takes a moment for the colour to catch up. I wonder why? Seems like the sort of thing a Controller should be able to manage on their own, but I got Green Lantern Kai-Ro to check and apparently the Controller really
was a Controller.
"Lantern Peter Wynne."
I moue, then reach into my jacket pocket and pull out the ring. Still just as dead as it's been for decades. "Technically. As per your order, we've assembled everything that might interest you here, and a-" I point to a small quantum drive in a secure case. "-digital copy of our entire archive. I'm not sure what use any of it will be to a Controller, but it's all yours."
"A digital copy would be inefficient. Simply transmit the data from your power ring."
"Ah. Well, yes, I'd
like to do that. One small problem there."
"If your desire is insufficient, state what you want to make the exchange."
"No, no. I owe you this for… Everything. I just don't have a way to recharge the ring. It ran out of power
long before I assembled… Before I built any of this."
The Controller regards me levelly.
"Your ring has no charge."
I nod. "I'm afraid not."
"Where is your personal lantern?"
"I didn't ever have one. And I couldn't find one in this parallel." I shrug. "I've been stuck on Earth for almost my entire life, so I might just have missed it-."
"That is surprising. Almost all alternate versions of you find some way to recharge their ring."
…
Ouch.
"Well… I… Didn't. If you can tell me where I can find one, I can send a team to pick it up, but-."
"Okaara, in the Vega System."
"I checked there." I shake my head. "No myths relating to a 'Beast', and no Forbidden Forest of Weeds. I suspect that your forebears just didn't build an orange lantern in this universe."
"There are other ways to recharge a power ring."
"I didn't want to take a chance on learning them when I had finite power reserves and a ring that has a reputation for driving the user insane. I was
cautious, and I'm a little surprised that you're telling me that my alter egos behaved so differently."
But I'm… Kind of bummed out that he's telling me that… Everyone else did… I mean, okay, not 'better', but-. It would have been nice to
have. I remember the Despair Squid episode of Red Dwarf, where the team were told that they
only got 3% in their own lives.
Gosh, I haven't thought about that for
years.
"Lantern Wynne."
"Sorry. Sorry. Happens to humans at my age. I-."
"Would your effectiveness at collecting useful resources be increased if you had a personal lantern?"
"Ah." … "I'd have access to the rest of the universe, so, probably? But, I… I'm not sure I could-."
"Every version of you who has a power ring they could use has mastered it, except you." Oh. Ow. Right in the pride.
"But I accept that a percentage of you that exist in the multiverse would be unable to achieve that due to circumstances beyond their control, and you have clearly prospered despite that."
"If you're going to give me directions-."
The Controller holds out his hands, winds gusting once again and
orange light glowing between them. A moment passes, and then-.
A… Personal lantern. But it doesn't look like a Green Lantern's lantern. It looks more like a construct, but…
I look the Controller in the eyes, waiting. Because he's got
exactly what I want.
"This will give you the ability to recharge. Temporarily. Since your universe lacks an Orange Central Power Battery it will fade and fail in time. I will restore it if you prove that you are worth my time. Recharge yourself, so that I can direct you in opening the portal from your end."
Oh.
Right then.
I slip the ring on my left ring finger, and raise my hand.
