Page 97 of Seeded By Two

In a single flicker of time, I had seen the future with a clarity I had rarely experienced in my life—the kind of clarity that sometimes comes after a hard workout session when all thoughts and concerns of the day had been forgotten and your mind was free to drift and explore.

Or that delicious moment of the most powerful sexual release, when likewise, your mind found true serenity, in a perfect instant of total and absolute clarity.

Or right now in a hypnotic, computerized countdown when you saw the incredible future you would have with your twin fated mates, one a Prince, the other a pauper, each beloved and loving alike.

And you would see the children that would issue forth, gorgeous horned little beasts with scaly blue skin, combining the strengths of both sets of parents.

Of living a wonderful and meaningful existence helping others and improving their lot in life.

And the knowledge that they had forfeited their lives to protect you from any harm whatsoever.

And so, in that infinite stretch of time, anything becomes possible.

That future was only possible if I was a different person.

In such a life, problems occurred on a daily basis.

They came up and you could not simply take off and run.

You had to face them head-on, not run away, not escape, but confront them the way an adult would.

I saw my path clearly; winding through all the various alternate realities, leading to the one I wanted and sought after the most.

The one where I was with my fated mates, happy in a universe where we could be together and never have to struggle alone.

Where we would struggle together and meet every obstacle head-on.

I had already managed to release my harness but now found myself locked in by Feon’s masterful alien knot.

Pulling on the thread that I thought would loosen it had only tightened it.

But not enough.

I had loosened my grip on it just in time to leave a little wiggle room.

My shoulders popped free, unimpeded by the straps.

I wriggled my body until I was crouched on my knees and coiled up the energy to thrust myself from the chair.

I crashed to the floor just as the computerized voice spoke another deadening number.

And yet another burst of perfect clarity stretched infinitely before me.

I raced for the door but it refused to open.

And so I yelled at the computer system:

“Computer! Emergency escape! Open the hatch door now!”

Even now, I don’t know where the knowledge for that command had come from—perhaps an old episode of Star Trek or something in Star Wars or maybe a completely unnoticed and forgotten piece of information mentioned by a transport ship safety operation announcement—but the lock clicked and the door opened.

I squeezed through before it was even halfway open and it immediately snapped back shut.

The countdown continued for its remaining few seconds, now speeding up at warp speed.

I watched through the tiny oval window in the door as the pod released itself from the transport’s underside, the thrusters engaged, and it took off.

It shrunk, moving impossibly fast.

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