Divided Read online

  “Well, we have cows and goats that give milk you can drink,” Becca said. “But no, I wasn’t talking about anything like that. It’s called a sweatshirt because…well, I don’t know why it’s called that, actually. All I know is that it’s warm and comfy.” She sighed.

  Far shook his head. “I don’t understand why your own image of what you wanted didn’t prevail. After all, you were trying your hardest to project too.”

  “I was,” Becca said thoughtfully. “But maybe because the two of you are twins you have more weight in this whole…projection thing.” She looked frustrated. “You know, if I could just show you a picture of what I mean we could all get on the same page. It’s what I always wear back home when it gets cold but we’ve been on the Mothership so long where it’s always climate controlled you guys never got a chance to see it.”

  “Never mind, Becca,” Far said, putting an arm around her. “Perhaps we should all picture something we have seen you in before. What about the silver protective suit you had on earlier? That would certainly keep you warm.”

  “Actually, it doesn’t. I mean, don’t get me wrong—it keeps me from freezing like you promised, but I kept thinking how I always felt a little bit chilly in it.” Becca shook her head. “Look, never mind, guys—I’ll wear this. It’s pretty warm and we need to try and make something for the two of you.”

  “We should keep trying for you until we get it right,” Truth said stubbornly but Becca shook her head again.

  “Who knows how much juice we’ve got left? I mean, how many projections can we get out of, uh, what we just did? We need to project some clothes for you guys—but this time let’s stick with something we know.”

  The three of them closed their eyes and began again…but still with limited success.

  “Why are my Goddess damned trousers so tight?” Truth complained, pulling at the crotch of his black flight leathers.

  “Mine as well.” Far winced and shifted on the bed, trying to get comfortable in the new clothes which had suddenly appeared on his body.

  “My shirt doesn’t even button up all the way,” Truth continued. “You can see my chest.”

  “And mine.” Far frowned down at himself.

  “Um…” Becca sounded embarrassed. “Those details may be my fault, guys.”

  “Your fault, how so?” Truth demanded.

  “Well…you know how you picture me in a slinky negligee?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “Oh.” He nodded. “Of course. Am I to take it that you like to see us in tight and revealing clothes as much as we enjoy seeing you dressed in such items?”

  “Is that right, Becca?” Far raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Well…” Becca was blushing again. “You can’t blame a girl for fantasizing. And the two of you are some pretty damn fine man-candy.”

  Truth frowned. “What kind of confection did you say we are? Is that an Earth delicacy?”

  “Depends on who you talk to.” Becca giggled, clearly enjoying a private joke. “Look, maybe we should try again.”

  “No,” Truth said abruptly. “You are willing to wear the odd things we projected for you, I think Far and I can put up with a little discomfort.”

  “Well, that’s very chivalrous of you, Truth.” Becca smiled at him. “But really, if those trousers are so tight they’re squeezing your, uh, package…”

  “We’ll be fine,” he said firmly. “We need to conserve energy. Lying here dressing each other in ill-fitting and ridiculous clothing may be amusing but it doesn’t accomplish our mission. We need to make the next projection a door out of here—a door that leads to Vashtar.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  “I don’t understand what’s going wrong. That’s the seventh door we’ve projected and they all lead nowhere.”

  Truth sounded really frustrated and honestly, Becca didn’t blame him. The Vashtar avatar had made it sound like navigating the Mindscape and getting anything they wanted there would be a piece of cake. In reality, they couldn’t seem to do anything right. Every door they made was a hodge-podge looking creation that seemed to be made out of memories all three of them had from their respective home planets.

  Some had ornately carved handles liked the ones Far said he remembered. A few had lovely old glass knobs that looked exactly like the ones at Becca’s grandmother’s house. One was simply a curtain made of lengths of light, hollow wood strung together to form strands of long beads which Truth said was what they used on Pax. (Becca wondered how they ever got any privacy.) Most doors were an amalgamation of all three styles.

  The closest they got to making a door that didn’t look crazy or mismatched was when they all agreed to imagine one of the metal, sliding panels which were used aboard the Mother Ship. But their excitement was short lived because when the panel whooshed silently open, it revealed nothing but more of the formless gray mist.

  And that was the main problem—whether the doors they projected together looked normal or not, none of them led anywhere.

  “Maybe we’re doing this wrong,” Becca said. “We just don’t seem to have the hang of it.”

  “We have to keep trying,” Far said. “We can’t expect to be perfect at it right away. The Orthanxians had a whole solar year to practice before they moved into the Mindscape. We haven’t even been here a day.”

  “I’m not saying we should give up,” Truth growled, sounding irritable. “We can’t. Until we can make a working door that leads somewhere, we are never going to get out of here.”

  “He’s right,” Becca said, sighing. “But could we just give the doors a break for a minute and try something else?”

  “Like what?” Far looked concerned. “Do you want to try for some different clothes, mi’now?”

  “No.” Becca put a hand to her stomach. “I want to try for some food. I guess I shouldn’t be, since we’re supposedly being nourished by the nutrient slime, but I’m hungry.”

  “I am, also,” Truth said, unexpectedly agreeing with her.

  “I’m hungry as well,” Far said. He settled back against the headboard of the bed, where they were all still sitting. “All right, no more doors for now. What should we try to project to eat?”

  “Nothing fancy or complicated,” Becca said quickly. “Something easy that we all like.”

  But it proved a lot harder to find something they all wanted and knew about than she had hoped. Now she wished she had gone out to dinner with one or both of them before, but that had always felt too serious somehow. She’d confined her “dates” with the two of them to walking around the ship or meeting at a friend’s suite. Unfortunately, that meant she wasn’t very familiar with Twin Moons or Pax cuisine and neither twin had ever tasted Earth food either.

  Far did know a little in theory, however, from studying her culture. When Becca mentioned pizza, he nodded thoughtfully.

  “It that a large round disk covered in red sauce and sprinkled with the white stuff that melts when it gets hot?”

  “Cheese! Yes, exactly,” Becca exclaimed. “And there are toppings—lots of different toppings.”

  Truth made a face. “Stuff that melts when it gets hot? How does it melt? Like metal or—”

  “No, no,” Becca interrupted. “Cheese isn’t some kind of alloy—it’s a dairy product. Look, just believe me—it’s delicious. If Far and I describe it to you really well, do you think you could help us project it?”

  The dark twin shrugged. “I can try.”

  “Good.” Becca rubbed her hands together eagerly. “Okay, let’s start with the crust…”

  She described the perfect pizza from her favorite pizza place, Eddie and Sam’s in downtown Tampa. Eddie and Sam’s imported spring water from upstate New York because Eddie claimed it made all the difference and Becca had to agree. Nowhere else had she ever tasted such thin, crispy, perfect crust. She did her best to describe it, as well as the tangy tomato sauce and the melted cheese. She was most worried about this part, but Far seemed to know what she was talkin