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“Verena, come in,” Zach said.
“I apologize for being late,” Verena said. Zach tried to look past her flat tone and just accept the meaning he knew it had.
But she was almost an hour late. That was too long for children to wait, and they’d started eating a half hour earlier.
Now, as they were enjoying dessert, Verena finally sat down.
Urle had hardly eaten, his food just moved around on its plate. Verena took a bite of her chicken, making no comment on it.
“It is good to see you, girls,” she said.
“Hi, mom!” Persis said.
“Hi, mom,” Hannah echoed, with much less energy. Her sweet pickles sat on her plate, and she poked at them.
“Go ahead and finish your dessert,” Zach told them. “Your mom and I have something exciting to tell you.”
“Ooh, what is it?” Persis asked, grinning.
Hannah looked alarmed. Her eyes went from her father to her mother and back, but she said nothing.
“Let’s not spoil it right away,” Verena said. “First I have some presents for you girls. And then I would like to hear about how you’ve been and what you’ve been up to.”
“Yay, presents!” Persis said, hopping up and running over.
“Don’t forget to finish your- ah, it’s fine,” Zach said. They’d eaten dinner already. Getting them to finish everything was always a challenge, but since Verena had been coming he’d picked things he knew they loved the most. It had worked for Persis, but Hannah had been moody all evening.
The gifts Verena gave them were pendants of dolphins – the girls had always loved them, and wanted to see them in person.
“Thanks so much!” Persis said. Hannah said nothing until Persis elbowed her.
“Ah – thanks mom,” she said.
Urle tried to hide his concern. His eldest daughter had been in a funk since she’d learned they were coming here.
It was hard to blame her. She’d been five when Verena had been changed, old enough to remember it – at least somewhat. And her mother going missing for months had definitely been an ordeal for her.
Even after they’d met her again – Verena had barely reacted to them.
She had changed a lot since then, he thought. Now she was reacting to the girls in every way she should – albeit flatly. That was at least better than at first.
“This is my Tedian Moon Fluff, her name is Penelope,” Persis said, holding the little fake pet.
“Ah, I see. I have not heard of those,” Verena admitted. “Is it actually alive?”
“No. It’s just a machine but I still think it likes me,” Persis said. “I mean, machines can be people too, right? Like Dr. Y.”
“That is true, but this is not as advanced as Dr. Y,” Verena told her. “It seems cleaner than a hamster, though, so I am glad.”
She looked to Hannah. “Do you have a Moon Fluff as well?”
“Yes,” Hannah replied.
“What did you name yours?” Verena asked.
“I named him Genocide,” Hannah said, still poking at her pickles.
Zach sputtered and nearly choked on his food. “Hannah! You did not name it genocide!”
“I did!” Hannah snapped.
“That’s a horrible name,” he replied. “Why would you do that?”
“Because everything is horrible!” she yelled, jumping up. “You said mom was here, but that’s not mom! She’s as real as the moon fluff – just a weird thing that looks like it’s alive!”
Zach was too shocked for words. He looked to Verena – and saw that she was looking at Hannah as if she was an interesting experiment instead of her daughter having a meltdown.
“Go to your room,” Verena said calmly. “And let out your emotions in there if you need to, Hannah. Your father and I will be out here.”
“I hate you! You’re nothing to me!” Hannah yelled. She ran towards her room, a loud sob coming from her as she disappeared.
Zach rose to his feet swiftly, but Verena grabbed his wrist.
“Let her calm down for a time,” she suggested, before looking down to Persis. “Are you okay?” she asked her youngest daughter.
The girl nodded. “I think I’ll go to my room, too,” she said softly.
After she was gone, Zach slumped into his seat. “That could have gone better,” he muttered. “We didn’t even get to bring up your idea . . .”
“I am not surprised. Children are emotional. I know it is unfair, but I believe it would be better if you spoke to her after this. I do not feel that she will be willing to open up to me,” Verena replied calmly.
And Zach knew that Verena probably had no idea what she should say, either. He nodded. “I’ll do that.”
“Before I go, there is something else important I need to ask you about,” Verena continued. She reached into her bag and took out a pad.
“Tell me what you know about the Shoggoth Ambassador.”
Zach sat up. “What?”
“Kell, it is called. I understand you’ve interacted with it on numerous occasions. I’d like to know more about it,” Verena said.
“You want to talk about Kell?” Zach grunted. “Verena, I’m not sure this is the time to-“
“I know that emotions are high – surely for you as well. But I need to know more – this is important, Zachariah.”
Urle stared at his ex-wife for a long moment. The woman still seemed completely calm and collected.
“What do you want to know?” he asked wearily.
“What does the ambassador tell you about its past?”
“Nothing,” Urle said. “We’re not close, Verena. He’s spoken to me a few times and I’ve spoken to him. I’m not particularly comfortable around him.” He paused. “Though that has been getting better recently.”
“Yes, I understand ‘Shoggoth Shock’ is very common – some say universal. However – I did not have that reaction,” she told him.
“Okay. Well, I’ve actually seen that before,” he said. “The girls never seemed bothered by him. They’ve even met him up close and they were . . . well, they seemed just very curious about him.”
Verena leaned forward pensively. “The girls? Has anyone else had such a mild reaction?”
“Not that I can think of,” Urle replied.
She thought for a moment. “Zach, whose body is he using?”
“What do you mean?”
“His form – it is a very detailed recreation of a human. Is it a specific person? If so, who?”
“I . . . don’t know, to be honest,” Zach replied. He’d never thought about it before. “Why?”
Verena studied his face, hesitating a moment. It made Zach uncomfortable in a strange way; the woman no longer felt any nervousness, so why was she waiting?
“When I met the Shoggoth for the first time, I felt that I had met it before,” she said. “I did a search to see if I could match its form to anyone I have met – it occurred to me it might take a shape familiar to strangers. But my searches turned up nothing.”
“Then perhaps he just invented a person,” Urle suggested.
“If so, then its ability to mimic the human form is so much better than we anticipated. His body displays healed scars, small asymmetry at a deep level, and even puts out the chemical signals of early osteoporosis. Why would it go through so much trouble to recreate these signs?”
Urle hesitated. “Dr. Cenz has reported before that he even has a full organ system. It’s . . . mysterious, but I’ve never questioned it deeply.”
“I am,” Verena replied. “Zach, there is a situation on the station. I cannot go into details, but I am concerned that it may . . . escalate.”
Zach felt the back of his neck prickle. “What do you mean?”
“I cannot tell you details. But I must inform you that there is the potential of a threat. I do not know how large. If it was large enough, I cannot guarantee it will not endanger this station.”
“Do you and the Captain have it under control?” he asked.
“No,” she replied.
“How can I help?”
“By promising me something, Zachariah. Promise me that if I tell you to take the Craton and flee you will do it. You will not attempt a rescue of anyone on the station. Just take yourself and our children – and flee far away.”
Zach slumped back in his seat. He was quiet a long time. “Like at Terris,” he said.
He could see her eyes darting back and forth. He knew that her body still sometimes acted in an excited state; adrenaline pumping, heart rate up. But she could feel nothing all the same. Her body still knew even if her mind didn’t.
“Like at Terris, my priority is for my family to be safe,” she said. “You did the right thing then. If it comes to it, Zach – do the right thing again.”
Zach closed his eyes, tipping his head forward.
“I promise, Verena. For the girls, I promise.”
Other Terrestrial 