to leave him for my son or my grandson.”
The purebred looks at Prince as if he is hungry. I don’t like him. “In the school where I studied there was a statue of you. Is not that crazy?”
Prince smiles brightly, tilting his head to the side and shifting his weight on the other foot. I don’t feel like smiling at all, but maybe this is the way in which humans interact with each other.
“Listen, Reinhold,” Prince says in the sleepy voice he used with me in our moments of intimacy. Now it bothers me, listening to him using the same caressing tone with this human. “Can I call you Reinhold?”
The man waves his hand. “Make it Rein.”
“All right, Rein. I woke up in the middle of deep space, on this piece of junk, alone, apart from my guardian clone. Apparently the system has awakened me from suspended animation due to an alleged alien contact.”
“An alien contact ?” The man chuckles, leaning back in the cushions as if he enjoys our misfortunes a lot.
“Whatever,” Prince says. “As you can imagine, learning what happened to Earth shocked me, and I was wondering… an important senator like you certainly has faster means to come and rescue a living legend like me….”
The man doesn’t stop chuckling. As if our lives in danger were just a funny thing. I hate him.
“Maybe. It depends.”
“Depends on what?” Prince asks with just a slight note of irritation.
The senator drinks from the transparent cylinder, and I understand it’s a can made of glass for liquids. “On your arguments. In theory, since all of your ancestors are deceased, every beneficial agreement I could have from our union has vanished into thin air. You no longer have a political or economic value. You might be interesting only because of your legendary quality. But I’m not sure it’s enough. You have to have good arguments to convince me to keep my commitments to you.”
Prince smiles. From the way he does, I understand he would gladly jump on the hateful man rather than smile, but for some reason he must keep smiling. I give up trying to understand the purebreds’ behavior. Far simpler to be a clone.
To my wonder, Prince ceases to hold up his pants and lets them fall to the floor. He also gets rid of his top, yanking it above his head with a gesture of defiance. His naked body, pale and thin, is heartbreakingly beautiful in the yellowish light of the senator’s fire that flows from the magic wall.
“These are my arguments,” Prince says, always with a smile that’s not a real smile on his face. “Do you like them, Rein?”
The man sinks more in the soft seat, looking slightly bored in front of a show that makes me want to scream and cry for its magnificence. He smirks. “Not bad. You need to put on a few pounds, but I appreciate the effrontery. I’ll send a rescue vessel. It’ll contact your junk in….”
The man fiddles with something bright on the low table in front of him. I understand it’s a keyboard made of transparent glass, or something like that. “In nine years, more or less.”
“ Nine years ?” Prince exclaims, clenching his fists. “Is this the best you can do?”
The odious human raises his eyebrows. “My vessels are faster than your wreck, but they can’t exceed the speed of light, of course. This is the best I can do for you, terrestrial. It’ll take nine years to reach you and another nine to come back to Otherworld. You will be here more or less in eighteen years, just in time to brighten up my middle age with that skinny but interesting body of yours. Oh, I recommend you get back into the sarcophagus. Certainly you don’t want to waste your only exchange value.”
Chapter 8
“W HAT AN asshole son of a bitch,” I blurt out as soon as the senator closes the communication. I bend down to pick up my clothes with anger.
I’m in shock over what has happened to Earth. I still find it hard to believe. If Earth is destroyed, Otherworld is all that remains of the human race. I
The purebred looks at Prince as if he is hungry. I don’t like him. “In the school where I studied there was a statue of you. Is not that crazy?”
Prince smiles brightly, tilting his head to the side and shifting his weight on the other foot. I don’t feel like smiling at all, but maybe this is the way in which humans interact with each other.
“Listen, Reinhold,” Prince says in the sleepy voice he used with me in our moments of intimacy. Now it bothers me, listening to him using the same caressing tone with this human. “Can I call you Reinhold?”
The man waves his hand. “Make it Rein.”
“All right, Rein. I woke up in the middle of deep space, on this piece of junk, alone, apart from my guardian clone. Apparently the system has awakened me from suspended animation due to an alleged alien contact.”
“An alien contact ?” The man chuckles, leaning back in the cushions as if he enjoys our misfortunes a lot.
“Whatever,” Prince says. “As you can imagine, learning what happened to Earth shocked me, and I was wondering… an important senator like you certainly has faster means to come and rescue a living legend like me….”
The man doesn’t stop chuckling. As if our lives in danger were just a funny thing. I hate him.
“Maybe. It depends.”
“Depends on what?” Prince asks with just a slight note of irritation.
The senator drinks from the transparent cylinder, and I understand it’s a can made of glass for liquids. “On your arguments. In theory, since all of your ancestors are deceased, every beneficial agreement I could have from our union has vanished into thin air. You no longer have a political or economic value. You might be interesting only because of your legendary quality. But I’m not sure it’s enough. You have to have good arguments to convince me to keep my commitments to you.”
Prince smiles. From the way he does, I understand he would gladly jump on the hateful man rather than smile, but for some reason he must keep smiling. I give up trying to understand the purebreds’ behavior. Far simpler to be a clone.
To my wonder, Prince ceases to hold up his pants and lets them fall to the floor. He also gets rid of his top, yanking it above his head with a gesture of defiance. His naked body, pale and thin, is heartbreakingly beautiful in the yellowish light of the senator’s fire that flows from the magic wall.
“These are my arguments,” Prince says, always with a smile that’s not a real smile on his face. “Do you like them, Rein?”
The man sinks more in the soft seat, looking slightly bored in front of a show that makes me want to scream and cry for its magnificence. He smirks. “Not bad. You need to put on a few pounds, but I appreciate the effrontery. I’ll send a rescue vessel. It’ll contact your junk in….”
The man fiddles with something bright on the low table in front of him. I understand it’s a keyboard made of transparent glass, or something like that. “In nine years, more or less.”
“ Nine years ?” Prince exclaims, clenching his fists. “Is this the best you can do?”
The odious human raises his eyebrows. “My vessels are faster than your wreck, but they can’t exceed the speed of light, of course. This is the best I can do for you, terrestrial. It’ll take nine years to reach you and another nine to come back to Otherworld. You will be here more or less in eighteen years, just in time to brighten up my middle age with that skinny but interesting body of yours. Oh, I recommend you get back into the sarcophagus. Certainly you don’t want to waste your only exchange value.”
Chapter 8
“W HAT AN asshole son of a bitch,” I blurt out as soon as the senator closes the communication. I bend down to pick up my clothes with anger.
I’m in shock over what has happened to Earth. I still find it hard to believe. If Earth is destroyed, Otherworld is all that remains of the human race. I
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