The Hades Connection

by Gabriel S. Timar

Chapter 26

conclusion

The time with Gemma was not bad; in fact, it was perverted fun. Apparently, she enjoyed herself or graciously created the impression she did. In the end of the hour, I was nervous. Therefore, I suggested putting her part of the instructions off for a few days. I claimed I wanted to get a good rest in the Third Dimension.

Gemma proposed to go back to Luce’s party. She seemed to have inexhaustible sources of energy; some of it rubbed off on me. As soon as we got there, she disappeared and left me standing at the bar in the company of a double Cardhue. I contemplated finding a girl and sneaking out, but as always, somebody intervened.

Luce came up to me and said that a lady called Ann had phoned, wishing to talk to me, but since I was otherwise occupied with Gemma, Luce invited her to come over. She was on her way.

I was not sorry, because the people around me were having intellectual discourses about all kinds of wild things. Now Ann Forrest may just be the kind of stimulant I needed.

She arrived fifteen minutes later still wearing the safari suite. As soon as we managed to separate from the crowd, acting angry I confronted her: “How did you get this number? What was the idea of crashing this party? What do you want?”

“One question at a time,” she said calmly. “The first answer is that I had your cell phone and I started calling the numbers you stored in there. The answer to your second question is that you are here. The third answer is that I need your advice. I cannot make up my mind about which outfit to buy. I picked out three, but they’re expensive. Before I spend your money on a speculative venture, I ought to have your input.”

Although this was a very good series of answers, I saw right through her. She was bored!

“Well,” I said slowly, not wanting to put her on the spot, “I will take care of the matter in the morning. Since you are here, I may as well introduce you around.”

I put my arm under hers, and we stepped up to Gemma.

“This is Ann Forrest, my potential assistant,” I said.

“We’ve already met,” the driard said. “Aren’t you the soul I took off the spaceship where I left George?”

Ann looked at me, looked at Gemma and me again.

“No that wasn’t me,” Ann said.

“I never forget a soul I handle, honey,” replied Gemma. “I exchanged you for another soul called Ivan. It was a difficult transfer.”

My mind was racing. I had just discovered that Gemma was working for Heavens, Inc. as well. I let the two women duke it out and sneaked off to see Luce. He was in animated conversation with a woman having a young Zsa Zsa Gabor style body. My timing was wrong. I landed right in the middle of a discussion about power.

“Well, George really knows everything about power,” Luce said after the introductions. “He just came back from a mission where he was lord and master of a planet. I am sure he has something to say about it. Dolphie tells me that you were checked out recently; she wants you to train and eventually become a driard.”

“Why would anybody want to be a driard?” I asked.

“For the power,” Dolphie replied with a strange flash of light in her eyes, “for the boundless, satisfying power.”

“Look,” I replied sincerely, “I don’t really need power to make me happy. I only need the pedestrian creature comforts like good food, wine and women spiced with a little bit of intellectual challenge, and I’d be happy.”

Dolphie looked surprised.

“Don’t you want power?” she asked in a surprised, somewhat disappointed tone.

“No,” I said, and shook my head.

“Well, darling,” she said, “life is all about power. Your intellectual challenge would be a pain in the butt if you constantly ended up on the losing side. Your intellectual prowess is nothing other than power. You defeat the weaker opponent because you have the superior intellect, which is power.”

“You may be right,” I replied slowly. “However, if you had boundless power, you’d win every contest and that would not give you any satisfaction either. You must have an element of unknown in all of your endeavors.”

“Well, Luce, what do you think of George?” she asked.

“We know he is a pleasant, unprincipled rogue,” he said with a smile, “but he is not mean. He does not like hurting other people. He is a coward, but tries to cover it up with bravado. He does not advertise his fears publicly, but admits them to himself. Honesty with ourselves is the first and most important requirement to develop our soul to the level of a driard. I bet you, George would reach that level and become one of you.”

“I wouldn’t qualify,” I grunted. “Besides, who wants to spend an eternity commuting between the dimensions?”

“Don’t say that,” Luce said. “It cannot be that bad. I will never make it, but you will. Your soul’s rating must reach 4500 Bertons, before the driard’s Central Committee will consider an invitation. You will get there for sure.”

I was getting annoyed. They were discussing something like the post-doctorate education of a two-day old baby. I was not interested in that! I only wanted to tell Luce that Gemma was also working for the competition. I had to find a way to do it.

“”With time, “ I replied. “I’m only at one sixty.”

“That was a long time ago, before you undertook the mission to the First Dimension,” Dolphie said. “Right now you’re nearly three hundred Bertons. I never saw anybody rise so fast. You are one of those rare souls that have the capacity to reach our level. Luce does not want it; Attila would never reach five hundred. Nick Machiavelli may come up to our level, but it will take him a few thousand terrestrial years to do it.”

“Why are you trying to convince me to become a driard?” I asked.

“Dolphie is chairing their search committee,” he said. “Actually she is a senior driard herself, and she asked about you. Apparently, you have what it takes.”

“I will take it under advisement,” I replied. “Let me ask a couple of questions. Can a driard work for competing interests?”

“They can as long as the work is done in a professional manner,” Dolphie replied. “The rules are very strict. In working for adverse groups, even a simple little error may lead to demotion. The most important rule is that if a driard doesn’t carry out the contract work in the most efficient professional manner and the client complains, the guilty will be demoted or incapacitated for a long period.”

A thought entered my mind; an important and valuable piece of information surfaced, but making use of it was difficult. I had just realized that I had Gemma by the short hair this time. She had made a mistake when she yanked the soul of Ivan out of the body of Ann. She gave him enough time to activate a bomb to destroy the Nimrod. I knew I had this valuable piece of information, but I did not know what use I could make of it.

We chatted about the corrupting nature of power; in the end, I managed to get away. I spied Ann still chatting with Gemma. Looking around I found Attila sitting at the bar drinking. I walked up to him.

“Are you still sober?” I asked.

“Just like any superior court judge,” he replied.

“I am going to send my future assistant to you,” I said. “Figure out some official questions and entertain her for about ten minutes. I need to talk to Gemma alone.”

“How can I entertain her? Ten minutes are not enough for a decent rape, let alone burning and pillaging,” he said. “What else am I going to teach her?”

“Find something peaceful and socially acceptable,” I snapped and left him.

When I reached Gemma and Ann, they were in the middle of discussing something about op art.

“Sorry to interrupt,” I said. “Attila over there must have a few words with Ann; the boss’s orders. I shall replace her until she breaks lose again.”

“She is a very smart, entertaining person,” Gemma said after Ann departed.

“I know,” I said. “She is also very competent. I doubt she would make any mistakes like a cute little driard I happen to know.”

Gemma turned white. Her green eyes threw thunderbolts at me. If she could kill with looks, I would have died instantly.

“What are you insinuating?” she demanded.

“Do you remember that dreary spaceship where you took Esther and me?”

“Sure,” she said. “I made two instant transfers.”

“You did not,” I said. “One may have been instant, but the other was not fast enough. Ivan had a self-destruct device, and he activated it. The vigilance of my crew and my own training saved the mission. You bungled the job, Gemma. We could have been blown out of the sky by a five-megaton nuke.”

“That is impossible!”

“I questioned your ethics for working for adverse interests,” I explained. “Dolphie told me it was okay as long as your professional work was perfect. You and I know it wasn’t.”

“What are you going to do about it?” she asked. I saw the fear in those green eyes.

“I am not going to talk about it,” I said. “However, I will document it and store it in my confidential databank.”

“Are you planning to blackmail me?” she asked.

“That depends,” I said.

She gave me a long look. “Aren’t you worried that I’m going to take you and drop you in the most godforsaken corner of the Second Dimension?” she said with a teasing, strange, little smile.

“If I were you, I would not risk that,” I declared.

“Why not?”

“You cannot afford it,” I said simply. “You’d be in the greatest trouble the moment Luce reads the confidential annotations of my mission report.”

“C’mon George, I’m perfect. Everybody knows that! If you were floating in the Second Dimension, you could not document any mistake,” she declared.

“Look,” I was getting firm, “if you left me in the Second Dimension, another driard would pick up my soul, and deliver it to the Third Dimension. Isn’t that so?”

“Perhaps,” she replied, “but you’d suffer for a long time.”

“But eventually I would be back.”

“We cannot resolve this issue here,” she said abruptly. “I may need some legal advice. Why don’t I visit you tomorrow sometimes and discuss it further. Please, don’t file your report until then.”

“Fine,” I replied tersely.

Gemma had undergone a total transformation. Up to this moment, she was the confident, cool, elegant, desirable woman I met earlier. Now she became a frightened little girl. I felt sorry for her; I wanted to take her in my arms. However, it would not be prudent.

“As long as we both behave properly, my dear, nobody gets hurt,” I said.

“You’ve nothing to worry about,” she said, obviously relieved. “Next time I’ll watch the speed of the transfer.”

* * *

I went around and said farewell to everybody, while Gemma was still talking to Ann. I almost had to use force to pry them apart. I was planning to drop Ann at her motel, but she wanted to see my apartment again. This was a strange request, since she had already seen it. However, I never said no to a pretty girl who wanted to see my etchings or my residence.

We drove to Elizabeth Towers, took the elevator to the twenty-eighth floor, walked to my door, fit the key in the lock, and entered.

Ann looked around and announced that the place was just perfect, and she would want one just like this one. After the “inspection,” she parked her gorgeous fanny on an armchair and asked for a drink. That was encouraging. I had the distinct feeling that I was in for a treat. I never had two such fabulous women one after another in one day.

“Well George,” I said to myself, “there is always a first time. Fitting reward for your hard work...”

I handed her a Campari with soda. She tasted and apparently liked it. I expected her to ask for another one, but instead Ann suddenly announced that she wished to visit my bathroom. I pointed at the door and she disappeared.

I was contemplating what to do. Have another Campari or open the bed. The problem was solved when the door of the bathroom opened and I found Ann standing there wearing my black towel only. Obviously, I was supposed to open the bed. I had just turned my back to do the job when I heard another familiar feminine voice: “Hi George,” the voice said, “could you give me a drink too?”

I spun around and I saw Gemma standing at the door leading to the kitchen. She also wore a single black bath towel only. The blood froze in my veins. What was going to happen now? What was I going to do with two of them?

“How the hell did you get here?” I asked.

“She came through the Second Dimension,” Ann replied. “It’s much faster than the standard way of transportation.”

Gemma stepped into the room and curled up on the sofa. She gave me a long look, while I stood frozen in the middle of the room.

“Don’t get upset, George,” she said. “We are not going to hurt you. In fact, I came here to thank you and make peace with you. Ann came to make sure of her job.”

I was still lost for words.

“Let’s take it from the top,” Gemma started. “You threatened me with exposure for a bad, incompetent piece of work I did some time ago. You were right; I made a mistake. However, if I had done my job as well as I was supposed to, you’d be still stuck on that stinking spaceship, and the chances of the successful completion of your assignment would dwindle each day.

“If it were not for my mistake, you would not be the big hero. There would be no promotion, no Ann for a personal assistant and no office on the twentieth floor. Are you with me, George?”

I was recovering slowly. I nodded.

“To sum it up, my friend, I’ve had the best legal advice. My lawyer suggests that you keep quiet about my bungled transfer and I keep quiet about the reasons of your success. Meanwhile Annie gets the job in consideration for her legal services to me,” said Gemma. “Do we have a deal, George?”

“I would be a fool not to agree,” I said although I had just realized that these women outsmarted, “out-lawyered” me.

“Hell,” I added, “I would not blackmail you anyway.”

“So, why don’t we forget about the legal aspects?” Ann intervened. “Just concentrate on having a good time, no more deals, no more intellectual conversation, just good, clean, simple fun.”

“Well,” I smiled, “why not?”

“Come over here, George,” Gemma said apparently taking charge of the proceedings.

Like an automaton, I followed her instructions. I don’t remember how I got out of my clothes, but I know the bed eventually opened somehow.

I would have to be a Shakespeare, a Mark Twain, and a Jules Verne rolled into one to describe what happened during the remainder of the night. I always had an elegant, smooth, warm body in my arms. Whose it was I did not know, but I did not care either. I hoped the night would never end...

However, eventually it did. In the morning, I woke up sandwiched between Ann and Gemma. Although the girls pleasantly immobilized my body, my mind was free. My thoughts traveled back into the limbo when my opaque world of pain and marginal existence suddenly exploded into a kaleidoscope of pleasing colors.

I looked at the ivory colored body of Ann and the smooth, suntanned skin of Gemma. This sight was far more exciting than the pastel washes, which like a comforting cloak, covered my field of my perception in the limbo. Now I was happy and I knew I was very much alive. I realized that my real life started with a gunshot way back in the First Dimension. I still had no desire to move, but from the corner of my eyes I noticed two black towels on the white carpet.

“Who says there is no life after death?” I asked myself.

“Where your good deeds are rewarded,” whispered Ann, and gently kissed my shoulder.