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| Nightfall |
1. Cherub Rock
-Smashing Pumpkins
2. That's How Strong My Love Is
-Alicia Keys
"Love is more to the people than fire & water."
-Confucius
UFOtext=
I. Crescent Lake
i) The white hot sun crashed behind the dunes. The stars erupted in the sky. In the final ray of faint red light, Astira touched her i6. Her small earring translated the strange words of the Dragon-
"We travel bearing gifts for the Clan of the Tiger. I bring my best concubine as a humble gift to the newly elected successor of the Tiger Master- his former greatness who now resides in the Seventh Cloud of Heaven."
The Dragon waved his robed arm in a slow flourish toward Astira. She felt kooky, but she winked at the two border guards.
"Show me your passports."
The Face of the Dragon looked puzzled & took mild offense.
"That won't be necessary. I bring gifts for everyone."
The Dragon smiled & produced two small brightly colored bags- each bag filled with small treasures from a festival of boats. And so it was, & so written. Within a few short minutes, Astira, Jamu & the Dragon entered the small villa by the Crescent Lake- the only body of water on the barren desert planet.
The stars burned bright. Time passed. Astira stood on a narrow balcony looking over the small intimate groups of people persisting through the long cool night. She could barely make out their voices drifting high above the low humming of the dunes. Suddenly, her i6 spoke softly-
"Astira, Joshua is on hyperspace link & would like to speak with you now."
Astira spaced out. But she recovered her presence of mind.
"Joshua, where are you?"
"The Dark Island."
"You are in danger. The Mule knows where you are."
"No. I am not in danger. I am with Vivienne. She is powerful. She has told me many things about the Mule. The Second Foundation doesn't really know anything about the Mule. The First Speaker on Trantor is ruined. Psychohistory now collapses. It is everywhere blue deviations as shown by Aristarchus. But Vivienne tells me much about the Mule. Now I know why the origin of the Mule is unknown."
"Explain that one."
"Second Foundation never uncovered the early history of the Mule as a boy. The reason is simple. The Mule is over 50,000 years old & travels to Future Infinity."
Astira paused.
"Wow- that one fossil ass for sure...How you know this? "
"I have felt the kiss of death from Princess Leizu."
"Where are you from?" The man's faint words died somewhere far away upon the ethereal breeze.
"The Star of Kashmir." The words of the Princess twinkled across the desert dunes.
The man in the dark formed a twisted smile.
"The Yin of our cosmos- what is this worth to you?"
"What is the worth of the Yang in our cosmos? What is the worth of the day without the night?" asked the Princess.
"You talk in riddles. How many credits from the Empire?"
"The credits of the Empire are soon to be worthless. I bring credits from the Foundation."
The Princess stood in the humming breeze, her gown flowing in ribbons of moonlight.
"I see. Very well. How many credits from the Foundation?"
"Enough. That's all you need to know. First up, I need to see the Yin diamond."
The man in the turban stood still in the dark.
"My dear Princess, you don't need to see a thing."
The man pulled out a blaster & pointed it at the Princess. Princess Lei stood still- not moving a millimeter.
"My dear Princess, how many credits is your life worth as a slave?" The man broke into a wide grin.
A stray transient cloud passed over the moon. Like a dark wing a shadow fell across the path. The blaster flew crazily into the air & splashed into the glittering water. A dark avenger emerged from the desert & put his boot firmly on the neck of the man.
"Ali- you were never any good at closing a deal."
And the Count brushed off his dinner jacket & pulled up the man by the scruff of his desert robe.
UFOtext at twitter & tumblr
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