Legend of Infantus
Characters:
All Characters played by Miki Yamuri and LilJennie
Trina Snow - orphaned crash survivor
Becky Snow - orphaned crash survivor
Scene:
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A scanner technician on outpost Lxcrox IV sat up right as he placed his coffee in its holder. He saw a small spacecraft in trouble, coming down fast and only somewhat under control.
“Alpha three niner, your trajectory is hazardous! Alpha three niner, do you read?” he shouted into the microphone, broadcasting at all frequencies. There was no response, meaning their communications were probably in as bad shape as their navigation systems … the Tech hit the emergency alert button.
Immediately klaxons began to sound and red lights began to flash throughout the small facility as the defense shields deployed. A very large, although momentary, tremor surged violently through the small outpost as small debris particles fell and the lights flickered due to minor shorted circuits.
“Scanner department, what the hell just happened?” came a very concerned voice over the comm.
The young man replied back, “Sir, a Starliner class runabout has just crashed near the outpost. I’m dispatching an R&R party.”
The voice replied, “Let’s hope there’s something to Rescue and Recover … like someone who’s alive.”
In the huge smoldering debris field left in the snow by the explosion of a runaway wormhole stardrive, the rescue team found a small emergency escape capsule -- intact. Miraculously, strapped within all comfy and safe, were two of the most adorable babies the rescue team had ever seen.
Both girls were very active, the blonde one was radiant, looking with loving eyes at everyone she saw, while the black-haired one was mischievous, tugging with her tiny fingers on any object that came within reach and giggling.
“Sadly, there were no other survivors,” said the colonel in charge of the outpost. “Right now the kids are in the outpost daycare center, but that won’t do, long-term … kids need real parents.” He looked around at the assembled staff. “Is there anyone here who can take them in?”
“Sorry, Sir, my wife and I are just getting by, and we already have two kids,” said one corporal.
“I’m sorry too, Colonel,” said a major. “I’m not married, so there’d be no one to take care of them when I was here at work.”
The stories were similar everywhere -- this was a distant outpost, and everyone stationed here was in no position to take on children, or extra children. No one wanted to separate the two girls, either -- they were each the only family the other had left. The other problem … this was the remotest outpost in the commonwealth. Under full stardrive … it still took several years to travel here from the local core system group.
“Well, there’s no other way,” the colonel said. “We’ll have to turn them over to the relief organizations and see if they can find someone to take them in. Breaks my heart. That young, and all alone in the world.”
But they weren’t alone -- they had each other.
“Well, Colonel,” said the Red Circle office worker on the holo screen, “we’ve been trying to find someone who will take them in, but times are hard, and no one wants to take in refugees -- especially two of them. We don’t seem to know where they’re from, so that doesn’t help matters.”
“Nothing to be done about that,” said the colonel. “The ship was destroyed along with all information about where it was from. It was a miracle they survived at all. Their parents must have gotten them into the escape pod with their last breaths.”
“We will keep trying,” the social worker said, “but in the meantime, all we’ve got are our orphanages, and we depend on charitable funding … which means they’re not the best equipped or staffed.”
“Well, people donate what they can, including me,” the colonel said, “but as you said, times are tough right now. I’ll check in again soon, but keep trying.”
“I will,” said the social worker. “For one thing, it was a huge news sensation when their story hit the media. You’d think people would be clamoring to adopt them. But that’s just not happening.”
Soon the girls were eight years old -- blonde Becky, somehow always cheerful despite the fact that they still lived in an orphanage, and a run-down one at that, and black-haired Trina, who rarely smiled these days except around Becky. But there was something a bit odd about them: they didn’t look a month over four years old, and they were both still in diapers, having proven incapable of potty training, at least so far.
Some speculated that they were from a planet where people lived longer -- so they also matured more slowly -- but this just made it less likely for anyone to want to adopt them. Would they still be in diapers and needing changes in 20 years? No one knew, of course, not even Becky and Trina Snow -- their last names had been given to them because of where they’d crashed and been found.
Early one evening, one of the Professional Nanas that kept the children at the orphanage, had discovered a book about a far away magical world known as Infantus. Even the title of the book “The Legend of Infantus” seemed to say more that this was a true story, than a fairy tale for bedtime stories.
She brought the book into the girl’s room. Before she read it to them, she changed them and tucked them in with their nighttime bottles. Finally, the Nana settled back in the deep comfortable cushions of the near by chair and opened the book.
The Nana said softly, “This is called, “The Legend of Infantus. I thought you girls would like to hear it.”
Both girl’s nodded enthusiastically. The Nana smiled and began to read a magical tail of a world where people would come and find lost childhood. The entire biosphere was said to possess a rejuvenating quality and timelessness found nowhere else in the universe known to mankind.
It told of wondrous animals that floated on the air currents like balloons and glowed with a mysterious blue/green light. These creatures would gather around the children at night and cast a soft glow to light their way. It told of floppits, and luminaries, and creatures known as Pet Clouds; cute little pink floating creatures that smelled just like cotton candy.
It basically told of a magical garden planet where children of all ages could come and be their true selves in perfect harmony with the environment. Even the plants became part of the support structure for the caring and well being of children.
To the girls, this not only captured their interest, it filled them with a longing … and a loss. Something deep within them knew … this planet was real and was calling to them.
In a place beyond places known as Ethirum, an extremely beautiful young woman dressed in a flowing gown seemingly made of mist that showed off her gorgeous body, stood before a magic mirror and scanned far off deep space. She was determined to find that one needle in a haystack her horrid human lover had stolen her children off to. She swore on her father’s battle sword to have them back where they belonged with her as soon as possible.
But our story really begins when the children went to school. They still had nowhere to come home to after school other than the orphanage, but once they were about eight years old, they began to be allowed to stay in the school library after school was over, until it closed because the teachers and librarians had to go home.
They read every book in that library, and when they graduated from primary school, they read every book in the next school’s library too. By the time they were 15, they were the two best students in school, even though they looked like they were no older than 10 -- and still had to wear diapers, though they now knew how to change themselves. For that reason, they weren’t exactly the most popular girls in school.
“You would think this would get old,” said Trina before her last class of the day as she removed another pacifier that had been taped to her locker as a prank. She had a whole collection of them. Getting her books, she closed the locker again and turned to her sister. “You want this one?” she offered.
Becky giggled adorably as she takes the passi from her sister, “Sure, why not?” then promptly puts it in her mouth and begins to suck on it. Trina watches her for a second then shakes her head as the two of them walk off towards their next class.
In their last period class, the teacher notices Becky has the pacifier in her mouth. Hoping to embarrass the girl, she says, “Miss Becky Snow … just what is that … thing you have in your mouth?”
Becky takes it from her mouth and holds it up, “It’s a wonderful gift from my fellow students. It’s … the perfect thing for a Babydoll like myself.”
The room erupted with laughter.
The teacher stood with her mouth open slightly in surprise. Things hadn’t gone exactly as she had anticipated, “ A … Babydoll? What makes you think you are a Babydoll, young lady?”
Becky replied, “Cuz … I no age like everyone else. I look exactly like that doll they sell at the toy store … you know … I think it’s called Little Sister, or something.”
The teacher was astonished. It was True. Becky and Trina both looked exactly like the Little Sister line of Babydolls. They were called Robo-toys. They were sold to babysit and keep little children safe when a parent couldn’t watch them effectively enough.
“Be that as it may,” said the teacher, “put that … thing away, because it’s disrupting the class. There’s no doubt you know all of the material, but you’re distracting the others who don’t.”
As Becky did so, Trina took her seat. Other students trickled in, and when the bell rang the teacher began class.
“So,” said one of the students as class was nearly over, “will we have to go to the after-school daycare -- sorry, I meant the library -- to do this assignment?” There were a few laughs from the class; everyone knew that Trina and Becky spent time after school in the library every day. Of course, everyone else had a family to go home to.
The teacher calmly said, “It would do you good to set foot in the library and crack a book once in a while, Tanya.” Some in the class laughed at this too. Tanya was … not the best student in school. After the bell rang, the teacher said, “I expect to see the first draft on Monday. Class dismissed.”
Becky took Trina’s hand and sort of toddled down the crowded corridor. Trina looked at Becky and said, “Must you do that?”
Becky batted her eyes adorably as she said, “Do what? Not be what I am?”
Trina said exasperatedly, “And just what makes you think we are supposed to be babydolls?”
Becky pulled a small e-ad from her satchel and handed it to Trina. Trina turned the E-ad on … her mouth fell open and her eyes became very large. She was looking at an ad for the Little Sister, Robo-Toy. The 2 models offered looked as if they had been the models for them.
Trina said, “I … don’t believe that.”
Becky giggles, “Why fight it sis? We not only look like babydolls … but they have a line of them in the local toy store that look like the 2 of us.”
Trina wondered who it was that manufactured those toys. Perhaps they could lead to answers on who their parents might have been. Trina looks at the e-ad one more time before turning it off and handing it back to Becky.
Once they reached the library, Trina went over to the public multicoms and started looking up these Little Sister Robo-Toy dolls and the company that made them. She soon found out that the firm here on Lxcrox IV that sold them didn’t actually make them but imported them --
“Oh, look, the baby doll is looking at baby dolls,” said a snarky voice behind her. Trina didn’t have to turn to know it was Tanya again. “Is Baby going to buy herself a baby toy?”
“Better stay back, Tanya,” Trina said, “or you’ll be in diapers too before you know it. It’s contagious, you know.”
“Is -- is not,” Tanya said, taking a step back. “Oh, but that’s right, you can’t buy yourself one, because you have no money. Maybe I’ll buy one just so I can keep you from looking at it.”
“Knock yourself out,” Trina said. In truth she was only partially paying attention to Tanya, because she’d discovered that the company that FunX bought them from was called Toy Bazaar Inc., based on Rasalhague IIb … and she couldn’t find anything beyond that. Interesting that toys that looked so much like Trina and Becky were made so far away from the planet they lived on, but then, it might still be a coincidence.
“Tanya, I’m quite surprised to see you here,” said the school librarian. “First time this year, isn’t it? Well, Ms. Harper told me about the assignment that your class is doing, so let me show you right to the section you’ll need to look in …” Trina smiled quietly, not even watching, as Tanya was dragged away unwillingly toward the thing she hated most, schoolwork.
Trina, on the other hand, loved schoolwork and was already thinking about the assignment. She did some of her research right there at the same multicom station. Truth be told, the comms they had back at the orphanage were decades out of date, so anything she wrote there wouldn’t be compatible enough to turn in at school -- or it wouldn’t have been, if Trina and Becky hadn’t written their own file conversion software. Still, it was usually more convenient to do as much of the work at school as possible. In minutes Trina had a pocketful of useful citations for the paper they were going to be writing, giving it a direction and a start on a bibliography.
On the way back to the orphanage, Trina told Becky, “I don’t think those dolls are meant to look like us. They just happen to have made a dark-haired one and a light-haired one -- it’s not a far stretch for them to be a coincidence.”
“Hair color, maybe,” replied Becky. “But, Sis, they look like us. The face … we are their face.”
“Maybe,” Trina said. “I guess I have to admit there’s a resemblance. But it’s not exact. I think …”
“There! There they are!” said a man’s voice. The girls turned their heads to see what was going on. A groundcar with the FunX corporate logo had stopped nearby, and a man in a suit was pointing at them out the open window, telling his driver to stop. “Are you girls Becky and Trina Snow? Don’t worry, I’m not trying to do anything illegal. I’m from the FunX corporation, and I just want to talk to you -- not now, but later. Here, I’ll give you my card, and you can call me if you want.” He got out of the car. They could see his suit -- dark brown with a straight collar and a white shirt with a narrow black tie, which was apparently very fashionable for men on this planet these days. He held out two business cards in his hand -- they displayed holo images of the FunX logo and some of their products, including the Little Sister dolls.
“What’s this about, Mr. Hamish?” Trina asked, having glanced at the cards. “Do you want us to advertise your dolls for you?”
“That’s only the beginning,” said the man, whose name was apparently Kavin Hamish, according to the cards, which the girls took. “Please, call me whenever you want, whenever you can, and we can talk. We can even bring you to a meeting at our offices. But only if you want. I have to go now. But think about it, OK?” He got back in his car, which then drove off.
“What do you think?” asked Trina, looking at the business card she held. Shiny holos of the dolls, toys and games made by the FunX company glowed at her.
“You mean, should we talk to him?” asked Becky.
“No, I mean, do you think these cards have a tracking device in them?” Trina said. Peeling off the decorative backing, she looked at the card’s microcircuitry. It was difficult to tell, but she was pretty sure that part of the card’s printed circuitry wasn’t related to the holo display. She took a thumbtack out of her school supplies and, dragging its point firmly across the circuit pattern, severed that segment of the circuitry from the rest. The holo display was undisturbed. “Yep, whatever that part was, it had nothing to do with the visuals.”
Becky took this lightly as she seemed to take all things, “Tol’ ya … we … are babydolls. We, somehow, are the original mold for … those.” She pointed to the holo-image of the Little Sister Doll.
Trina replied, “Maybe that’s … why this man wants us to be part of his company?”
Becky’s eyes got big as her voice took on a wondering tone, “I wonder … if we aren’t the only surviving children of …. of …”
Trina looked at Becky, “Of … what?”
Becky shrugged as she blurted out, “The owner of one of the richest corporations in space and these dolls are their way of finding us?” she finished her statement in a cute whiny voice.
Trina giggled, “Right, an I supposes Imma Princess of some kinna place or thing too, huh?”
Both girls looked at each other before giggling. Becky took Trina by the hand, this time, both of them toddled off towards the orphanage. Many of the newly arrived girls from the supply freighter in the school took notice … they saw two living Little Sister Babydolls toddling adorably off. The girls didn’t much like the others teasing the Babydolls either. Things were gonna change just a bit around school for those 2 … the crowd of adoring girls and guys were in total agreement.
It was a bad part of town that they had to walk through to get from the orphanage to school and back, but they had been going there every weekday for years, and everyone knew them. Nobody bothered them, actually -- everyone knew they were just two poor orphans who had nothing anyone wanted, and in this poor part of town that made them just about the same as everyone else.
“Hey, Trina an’ Becky, how you doin’?” said Limo, who was, as always, working on his broken down hovercar on the side of the street.
“Hi Limo,” Trina said. “We’re OK. Some toy company is selling dolls that look just like us, but they don’t make them. They come from off-planet.”
“Huh, weird,” Limo said. “You gonna be famous? Cause if you ever need a car mechanic, you know where to find one.”
“You’d be my first choice.” Trina smiled. “But I don’t think so. I think it’s a coincidence and they don’t look all that much like us. Talk to Becky, though, and she’ll tell you they’re proof that we’re princesses.”
“Heh, well, you’re princesses as far as I’m concerned. I hope nobody is givin’ you a hard time at that school about it. You got it bad enough with bein’ orphans and, y’know, everything else.” He meant their diapers. It was generally known that they had some kind of health problem that made the diapers necessary, and they couldn’t do anything about it, so it was like old Ms. Yolanda being in a hoverchair or Rinaldo having a prosthetic leg after his hovercar crash. “You ever get in trouble, you just let Limo know.”
“You got it,” Trina said. She picked up a tool and handed it to him. “Here, you’re gonna want to check the alignment of the left stabilizers. They’re out of sync. I can hear it.”
“Hey, thanks, I didn’t hear that, but now that you mention it …” He started tuning the parts under the left front manifold of his car as the girls walked on.
Kavin Hamish wasn’t one to take no for an answer. He knew he had to do something when both the tracking transmitters in the cards he gave to the girls failed. He had acquired a great deal of information about the girls. It was too good an opportunity to suddenly find the living example of the Little Sister line, and just sit idly by and watch. He finally found the last bit of data he needed. This was going to be a lot easier than he thought.
Kavin makes a call on his comm. The phone rings a few times, then the voice of an older woman answers, “Hello? This is Nana Jenkins, Red Circle North Side Orphanage.”
“He replied with his smoothest voice, “Hi, my name is Kavin Hamish. I own the local toy and equipment dispersal unit on Lxcrox IV. I was wondering about 2 girls you have with you. One Trina Snow and another Becky Snow.”
The Nana replied, “There’s not much I can do over the phone, Mr Hamish. If you could come in … I could discuss this in more depth.”
Kavin replied, “I’ll do that. Can you at least tell me if they are adoptable?”
The Nana responded, “I can … and they are. The law states clearly 16 years of age. They are only 15 … so yes sir, they can. Is … there anything else?”
Gavin replied, “No, I’ll see you in the morning …. say about 0900? Yes? Fine, see you then.”
Gavin sat back with a large grin on his face. He knew exactly where he would be at 0900 tomorrow.
“They are only 15 … so yes, Sir, they can,” said the Nana, Ms. Tevers, to someone on the other side of an audio-only conversation. “Is … there anything else?”
Becky and Trina just happened to be walking by at that moment. They looked at each other. “‘They’ are only 15?” Trina asked.
“James is 15,” said Becky, “but he’s just one ‘he.’ We’re the only ‘they’ around here who are 15.”
“I wonder who that was?” Trina asked rhetorically. “Well, then.”
“It’s getting a bit late,” Becky commented. “Maybe we should get ready for bed.”
“You can have first crack at the changing table,” said Trina. “I’ve got something I have to check on.”
Trina put all her things on the floor by her dresser, then left the large room as her sister was cleaned and fresh diapered.
For Becky, it was a really nice way to end the day. Becky totally was into being the little girl Nana always treated her as. She felt it as the softly cooing Nana lifted her by her ankles and placed her hinny in a warm, and very thick night time diaper. She powdered her well, the sweet smell of baby powder filled the air.
The Nana expertly pulls the diaper between her legs and straps the high tech fasteners together as she coos lovingly to her little girl. The Nana helps Becky to her feet, then holds out an adorable pair of powder blue plastic lined rumba panties she had bought for Becky. Becky puts one hand on Nana’s shoulder and gingerly steps into them. Nana pulls them up over the thick diaper, then pats Becky’s ruffled poofy hinny lovingly.
The Nana said in a cooing voice, “There you are little girl, all spick and span. How does it feel to be a famous Babydoll?”
Becky giggles, “Aww, stop it Nana. But they do look just exactly like us. That’s like … too much of a coincidence.”
Trina finished using the orphanage’s antiquated comm workstation and came back just as Nana Pederson finished changing Becky. “Oh, there you are, Trina -- let’s get you ready for bed, shall we?”
“Well, I can change myself --”
“Oh, nonsense, I just changed your sister; I’ll get you squared away in a jiffy,” said Nana Pederson, patting the changing table. “Hop on up.”
“If you’re sure,” said Trina, sitting on the padded table.
Nana Pederson unfastened Trina’s pants and slid them off, revealing a diaper that seriously needed changing. “Oh, baby, you should have gotten me sooner,” she said. “Well, we’ll get you all sorted out. Just lie back, now.”
Trina did so, and Nana removed her diaper, and very soon Trina felt and smelled much better. All clean and smelling like baby powder, Trina was soon in a fresh, thick nighttime diaper.
“You know there are thinner diapers,” said Trina, “like … all of them.”
“Well, those cost more,” said Nana Pederson, “and what’s more, you’ll be nice and cozy all night. Let’s just get your jammies on.” She helped Trina get into her unmatching gray pajama bottoms and pink and white night shirt.
“I hopes everything’s going to be OK,” she said to her sister as Nana Pederson turned out the light. Trina turned over and snuggled into the covers, the mattress squeaking beneath her.
The girls had dreams all night. Some … specter was lurking in the shadows around the edges of them. The girls tossed and turned, then finally awoke with a start. Both of them looked over at the other wide eyed for an instant.
Trina smiles and says softly, “You’re taking this Babydoll thing to the max, aren’t you?”
Becky looked down at herself. She had on a cute T shirt she had found on a fence one day, and a pair of rumba panties Nana Pederson had brought. Becky giggles and replies, “Sure, why not? I mean … it’s how everyone thinks of us. At least … what they say they think.”
Becky lay back in her bed and put her thumb in her mouth. Trina saw Becky give her a wink then close her eyes. Trina found it easier to fall asleep after that.
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~~ End Pt 1 ~~
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~~ Legend of Infantus - Pt2 ~~
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When the girls arrived at school the next morning, they knew immediately … something had changed. They were slightly afraid as several girls separated themselves from the large group and approached them. They were carrying large duffel bags.
One of the girls said, “Hi … I’m Linda … Linda Hackersen.” she turns and indicates the rest of the girls, and even a few of the guys, “And these are your … admirers. Most of us are transfers from out system. We arrived on the delivery shuttle. We seen them dolls in tha store. A very few of us from the core worlds even have played with a few … Little Sisters. I mean to tell ya … you and them … are tha same.”
The other girl opened one of the duffel bags, before setting at their feet, “We, gathered up as many Babydoll outfits as we could find … and brought them to you. We know they fit. They fit our dolls.”
It was true -- the clothes would not fit a normal 15-year-old, but Trina and Becky were quite small for their age. Trina and Becky’s mouth fell open. They saw many adorable outfits … among other things, in the bag.
The girl stood and continued, “We … also are here to tell you … things are going to be a bit different around here. None of those meanies are going to bother you again.” A loud “YEA!” roared for an instant, “We … are your children … Babydolls.”
Trina and Becky were speechless as they looked wide eyed at all the cheering kids around them.
Trina recovered first, whispering to Becky, “Something’s going on. I have a vague idea what.”
In their homeroom class, they were introduced to several new transfer students from other planets -- and those were the ones that were in the same homeroom. There must have been dozens. Why were they here all of a sudden?
Trina didn’t have a comm, but at lunchtime she stopped by the library to check on something -- but Tanya got up from her desk and went over to take the last comm station, looking back at Trina over her shoulder with a smile for a moment. Trina rolled her eyes at Tanya’s pettiness.
“Oh, did you need to use one of the comms?” whispered one of the new transfer students to Trina, getting up from one of the other comm stations. “Here, you can use this one. I’ll get back to what I was doing later.”
“Uh -- thank you,” Trina whispered back.
“Anytime!” whispered the girl.
Trina checked -- but discovered that the data retrieval code she’d started running was still running. A simple search was one thing, but she’d started something more thorough. “It’s OK,” she whispered to the girl who had vacated her seat, “I just had to check something.”
Becky didn’t know how to react when a group of girls came and spirited her off to the girl’s room. Before she knew what was happening, they had removed all of her clothes, cleaned her gently with a very soft and sweet smelling cloth, diapered her in an amazingly thick and comfy diaper, and dressed her in an adorable Breeze Sundress and matching ruffled bottoms with a plastic lining.
As the brunette girl tied the ribbon on the booties she had put on Becky’s feet, Becky asked, “Why are you doing this? Who are you … what do you want with me?”
The girl smiles as she stands up and says softly, “The only thing I want, is for you to be adorable, safe, and the very best Little Sister you can be. That’s all any of us want.”
With this, she takes Becky by the hand and leads her out of the potty, down the crowded hallway, to the library. Along the way, Becky had many stop for a second and admire how cute she was and tell her they are all behind her. No one will ever tease her again.
When Becky saw Trina at the Comm station, she scurried over and whispered, “Trina! Somthin’s up. It’s big. There are many new students and they are all gung ho about us being Little Sister Dolls.”
“Yes, it’s quite the coincidence, isn’t it?” Trina whispered back to Becky. “This FunX company -- wah? Why are you dressed like that?”
“The girls --”
“Oh, right,” whispered Trina. “Them. Anyway, I’m waiting for the detective program I wrote to finish. It’s gathering information about FunX, its leadership, and its investments. But it’s still running.” Trina got up and the library multicomm logged her off.
“Did you get any lunch yet?” Trina asked. “We should get something to eat while there’s still time left in the lunch hour.
Becky nods and takes Trina by the hand. Becky asks, “Did your snoop find anything of interest?”
“It’s not done yet,” said Trina. The girls walk into the dining hall, to find their lunches had already been gathered and a place made for them at the table.
Trina said, “At least they didn’t get a high chair and intend to feed us.”
The girls laugh as they sit and start eating lunch. While they ate, several boys came up, and tied bibs around their neck gently. One of them said softly, “We don’t want our babies getting food on their clothes.”
Becky finally had had enough as she stood up and shouted, “Leave me and my sister … alone! Is that clear?”
Within a minute, the whole room cleared to the girls utter amazement. Becky said in awe, “What do you make of that, Trina?”
About that time, an announcement came over the school intercom requiring Trina and Becky Snow to report to the administrator's office immediately.
“I have my suspicions of what that’s about,” said Trina. “But I’m finishing my lunch first.” Becky urged her to leave it and go, but Trina didn’t want to.
Trina finished her food just as the announcement was repeated, “Trina and Becky Snow, please report to the administrative offices immediately. Trina and Becky Snow, please …”
“Yes, we’re getting to it,” Trina said, talking to the loudspeaker even though she knew it was one-way. They picked up their trays and stacked them with the rest that awaited cleaning, then Trina firmly took Becky’s hand, and they left the lunchroom.
Directly outside the doors, dozens of onlookers were lining the hallways, staring at them -- Becky in her babydoll outfit, Trina still in her nondescript black denim-like pants and hand-me-down T-shirt. They headed straight for the office. “With everyone watching,” Trina whispered to Becky, “there’s no chance we could get away. I have to imagine someone wants it that way.”
They arrived at the office, and the secretary looked up at them boredly, then her eyes widened. “Oh! Becky, Trina, there’s some woman here, says she represents somebody named Hamish. She’s in the principal’s office -- just come inside.”
In the office, beside the principal, whom they’d seen every day around the school at one time or another, stood a curly-haired woman in a blue business suit. They looked at the girls as they came in, and then the woman extended her hand gracefully. “Ah, welcome, Ms. Snow, and Ms. Snow,” she said, shaking their hands in turn. “I’m Evelyn Utrecht, attorney for Kavin Hamish, whom I believe you met yesterday.”
“Yes, he works for FunX Toys,” said Trina, “according to his business card.” She held up the card, which she still had. “They make these ‘Little Sister’ dolls, which have become quite popular lately, especially around this school. I understand that they resemble Becky and me somewhat.”
“You’re right -- of course, but … they don’t just resemble you … you are, from now on, The Little Sisters. It’s already in the works. ” said Evelyn. “What you may not know is that it’s come to Mr. Hamish’s attention that the two of you are living in a run-down orphanage, and he wants you to have a better life befitting the Little Sisters.”
Becky turned, and saw through the door’s window, there was no escaping from this office. When Becky turned back, she saw Evelyn pick up a large case sitting on edge next to her. Evelyn walks over to the table nearest to Trina and set it there, then opened it. Within, was a very cute, soft pink, Fairy princess outfit complete with the thick powder puff ruffled panties and adorable matching booties.
Evelyn said softly, “Now, Miss Snow, one of the very famous Little Sisters, it’s time for you to get dressed properly.”
“OK now, wait, wait, wait,” said Trina. “I’m perfectly fine with what I wear. There’s no need to go to any --”
“No, really, Mr. Hamish wants you to be happy. Both of you. And it’s mandatory you wear only the best outfits. Now, I didn’t bring you clothes with the intention of forcing you to wear them. If you don’t like them, then it’s just fine. The real reason I’m here is to show you how much Mr. Hamish wants to help you. In fact, he wants to invite you into his home.”
“He wants to -- adopt us?” Trina asked, hesitantly.
“That’s right! He has a beautiful home, and he’d love for you to live there too.” Evelyn’s tone of voice got even more syrupy. “When he found out how you were living, his heart just went out to you. He couldn’t believe that two orphans, the only survivors of a ship crash near an outpost on another planet, weren’t living as special guests of the government, peace ambassadors, or at least celebrities.”
“And he wants us to live as … celebrities,” Trina said.
“Well, yes,” said Evelyn, “because of those three things, that one is within his power to actually give you.”
“But … what if we don’t want to be celebrities?” Trina wondered.
“Well -- what?” Evelyn began, but then the door opened again. Two women walked in wearing white uniforms, carrying what were obviously Little Sisters branded diaper bags.
“Who are you?” asked Evelyn.
One of them answered, “Mr. Hamish sent us. We’re to help Trina and Becky with diaper changes and anything else they need. My name is Tanya, and her name is Brenda.” Trina was nodding with a somewhat sour expression. Tanya was a brunette, and Brenda was blonde. Trina suddenly forced her expression to a more neutral one.
“Did Mr. Hamish consult me, his lawyer, before sending you over?” asked Evelyn. Trina succeeded in concealing the huge grin she wanted to have right then. “No, I don’t think he did. OK, but breathe … I can work with this. See, Becky, Trina, Mr. Hamish is willing to go to any expense to make sure you’re happy and comfortable.”
“Yet he’s not willing to be here right now,” Trina said.
“Actually I suggested that he not be here,” Evelyn explained. “I thought it might be a little … intimidating.” She glanced pointedly at the two professional nannies.
“We can wait outside, if it’s a problem,” said Brenda before they both turned and left the office.
“Is it possible for this meeting to take place after school?” Trina asked. “I mean, I understand Mr. Hamish’s desire to help the less fortunate, but our education should probably come first, don’t you think?” She looked at the principal, who had been standing back looking rather helpless during the entire proceeding.
“Yes, do you think that would be possible?” the principal asked. “This is a school, and today’s events are being somewhat disruptive.”
“OK -- OK!” said Evelyn. “I can work with this. We’ll be back after school, and we’ll have another little talk. Do you want Mr. Hamish to be here? We can do that -- as I said, he would have been here now, but I advised against it.”
“I think that would be fine,” said the principal. Trina noticed that he wasn’t consulting her or Becky about whether it would be fine with them. Typical.
“We should probably … go to class?” Trina said, looking at Becky and the principal. Trina had noticed Becky looking at the door.
“OK! Why don’t we do it that way?” asked Evelyn. “We’ll see you again here after school.”
Becky and Trina hurried back to class. As they walked in, all eyes were on them. Once the girls had seated, a soft murmuring buzz filled the room.
The teacher turned and tapped her finger on the desk, “Class … a little order please. To keep the rumor mill down a peg or two, Becky and Trina Snow … have been adopted by a man named Kavin Hamish.” A soft murmur rounded the room. The girls could hear things softly whispered, “He’s the planetary branch manager of FunX Toys. It’s true then … they are Little Sisters.” another said, “Becky is dressed exactly right … wonder why Trina isn’t in her cute outfit?” The teacher continued, “Now, I expect everyone to keep their minds on our lesson plan. Not on the fact we have two celebrities in our midst.”
Trina raised her hand, the teacher called her right away, “Yes, Miss Snow?”
Trina felt shy with all eyes on her. She answered in a small voice that came out just adorably, “Can … I go … to tha library for a minute or two? I need to look up something important for my paper tomorrow.”
The teacher replied, “Surely … but I think a Babydoll should have someone with her … you know … to keep her out of trouble like babies get into.”
There is a twitter of laughter as the teacher points, “Miss Giger … you look like a good babysitter for a living babydoll, you go and help her out.”
The girl sprang to her feet, “Yessum … I promise.”
As Lacy Giger took Trina by the hand and escorted her from the class, Trina could hear the teacher admonishing them, “There will be no laughing at … or making fun of the Little Sisters … is that clear? They are … who they are … at least in this class ...”
Trina heard the fading ‘Yes, Teacher …’” as Lacy pulled her into the library.
“What did you want to look up anyway?” asked Lacy. “I know you’re one of the school’s top students. You’ve probably already written your paper.”
“You’re right,” Trina said quietly, walking up to a multicom terminal. “I’m doing a different kind of research.” She logged in and found she had a message. “Yes indeed. It was a search across a multitude of worlds -- all the worlds where FunX does business. And …”
“Why are you looking up them?” Lacy asked. “They make those dolls that look like you and your sister, right?”
“No, they don’t,” Trina explained. “They buy them from somewhere else, but that’s not what I’m interested in. I want to know what they want from us. And … hmm. The CEO of FunX is someone named Lucretia Culex. She’s very old. She’s been seeing doctors, lots of them. Her company owns a number of pharmaceutical subsidiaries -- all of them purchased or started in the past 10 years.”
“So?”
“So suddenly her branch manager on this planet wants to adopt us,” said Trina. “Put the puzzle pieces together.”
“I thought he already adopted you,” Lacy said.
“Well, yes,” said Trina. “I’m sure that it’s all legally taken care of. But I looked that up too. There’s a trial period. There are periodic checks to find out whether we’re happy and thriving. Until it’s over, the adoption isn’t finalized.”
“So, you can get out of it.”
“We can,” said Trina, “if we want to.”
“And you … don’t want to?”
“Lucretia Culex wants us,” said Trina. “She’s very rich and very powerful. If this attempt fails, she’ll try again. There’s no point fighting her.” There was a darkness in her eyes like Lacy had never seen before, and although she wasn’t really a friend, she’d been going to school with Becky and Trina since they were small children. “But if we go willingly, maybe our life won’t turn into a prison. If we tried to fight her, it surely would. And …”
“And you won’t be living in an orphanage?” asked Lacy.
“I was going to say, and maybe we’ll be able to find out where we came from,” Trina said. “We’ve never known. We crash landed on an ice planet and survived by pure chance. Or … maybe not. I don’t know.”
Trina returned to class. Becky fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. Trina leaned over and whispered softly, “What’s wrong? Can’t sit still? Did you wet your panties?”
Becky turned and placed a small e-reader unit on Trina’s desk. They only cost a few pennies, and offered news for a full day. She flipped it on, and Trina read the flat screen. The local news was alight with the Top of the Century News Report … FunX announced that they had actually found the real Living Little Sisters, and their own planetary branch manager had adopted them. They were to be properly dressed and delivered to their new home within the next few hours.”
Becky said softly, “I hope you like your new clothes.” Becky looked down at her lacy sundress and ruffled panties, “I think we are gonna hafta dress like Little Sisters from now on.”
Trina sighed, “I think so … we are going to have to play their game.”
Becky said softly, “Force a Babydoll … to be a Babydoll? Hardly.”
The teacher tapped her finger on the desk, “Miss Snow, may I please have your undivided attention to the front? Thank you ever so much.”
The class crawled slowly by. Trina kept looking at the clock as each coronal moment slipped slowly past. She thought Becky looked totally adorable in the babydoll outfit she had wound up in. Trina wasn’t so sure about being dressed by someone else … as a Little Sister.
As soon as the bell rang, The girls realized someone was standing over them. They looked up and saw one of the Professional Nana’s they had seen earlier in the Administrator’s office. Without ceremony, Nana Brenda bent down and gently, but firmly took Becky and Trina by the hand, and began escorting them from the class. Trina saw another Nana, gather all their things together and put them in a Little Sister Diaper Bag. The remainder of the children in the room watched open mouthed in awe as the Little Sisters were lovingly escorted from the room.
By the time the girls had arrived at the administrator’s office this time, both had had their diapers changed into super thick ones, Trina had been dressed in her adorable soft pink Fairy Princess outfit with the cute powderpuff panties When the Nana entered the office with the girls, they both were exact images … of the Little Sisters.
The Principal could be heard saying softly under his breath, “Good … G_D! They are so adorably cute!” He didn’t know how he hadn’t seen it before -- up to now, they’d just been two other students like any others, although very small for their age, but now they just looked somehow right, as if they had always been meant to be dressed like this.
Evelyn was, of course, there too. “Oh! Welcome back, girls! I hope you like your new clothes -- they were custom made just for you, of course, and there are whole wardrobes full of other outfits waiting for you. I must say, you look absolutely adorable.” Becky was ecstatic to hear it, while Trina stifled a sigh and tried to smile, barely succeeding.
“Of course there’s nothing for you to really sign, being legally minors without a guardian, but I did want you to be here to witness the official filing of the adoption papers, because this is a very special moment. Your old life ends now, and your new life as who you are … The Real Little Sisters, begins!” Evelyn activated her multicom -- virtual documents appeared in the air, readable from any angle, and among the virtual controls that appeared was a fingerprint reader. Running her index finger through the hovering blue oval caused it to change to a gold color, and the words “SCANNING …” appeared next to it, soon replaced by “MATCH -- IDENTITY VERIFIED -- EVELYN UTRECHT.” She touched the button marked “FILE DOCUMENT,” and it was replaced by a “SENDING …” message that was soon replaced by a golden rectangle marked “DOCUMENT SUBMITTED.”
“OK, what happens now?” Trina asked. Becky was staring at the holographic technology that Evelyn’s multicom had; not even the library ones had that. It was really quite commonplace, of course, but expensive, which is why the girls had never seen this kind of technology in person before, though they’d seen it advertised.
“Well, now you say goodbye to your school,” said Evelyn, “and then we’re going to stop by the orphanage to pick up the rest of your things. You can say goodbye to the people there too -- not that you won’t be free to visit whenever you want, but you won’t be living there anymore.”
“Where will we go to school?” Trina asked.
“Well … you and Mr. Hamish can talk about that,” said Evelyn. “I imagine he’ll either want you to be privately tutored or go to a private school. But that’s not up to me.”
“What if we want to keep going here?” Trina wondered.
“Do we?” asked Becky.
“Well, talk to Mr. Hamish about that, and see what he says,” said Evelyn.
“It’s true that switching schools is highly disruptive to a child’s educational process,” said the principal. “It’s supported by many studies.” Trina knew this was difficult for him, because he was really peripheral to the discussion. He was trying to stay relevant.
“OK, girls, are you ready to go?” asked Evelyn. “Remember, these two nannies are here to take care of your every need.”
“Sure, let’s go,” said Trina, as Becky nodded her head in a really cute way.
The nannies carried the girls’ belongings with them, in Little Sisters-themed backpacks, tote bags and diaper bags, and they all went outside to a large elegant hover-limousine. The doors opened for them and closed after they climbed in. The seats were luxurious, including the custom-sized, Little Sisters-branded child seats they were gently lifted into, and they had inertial dampening fields instead of belts. The nannies tried to give both Becky and Trina pacifiers -- with the Little Sisters logo on them, of course -- although Becky accepted gleefully and suckled it happily, Trina politely declined. They could barely feel the vehicle moving, and they were at the orphanage before they knew it.
The orphanage staff, and all the children who either weren’t in school yet or had already returned from school that day, came out to see the magnificent hover-limo that pulled up in front of the building. The doors opened, and Becky and Trina climbed out, looking exactly like the dolls -- but of course this orphanage didn’t have any of those dolls here; they were too expensive. Still, all the children had seen them advertised, and the girls had always wanted them. Trina and Becky found themselves celebrities here too as all the children gathered around them to get a look at and maybe even talk to one of the Little Sisters.
“Becky? Trina?” asked little Frida, who the girls had always been happy to play with. “You are … the Little Sisters now?”
“Well, Frida,” said Trina, “the Little Sisters are dolls, but I think we’re going to be playing them on the vids now. Like acting. We’re not going to live here anymore because we’ve been adopted. But we’ll always be the same as we’ve always been, OK?” She hugged the little girl.
“Oh my goodness,” said Nana Pederson, “look at you -- you two are absolutely precious. I imagine you’ll want to get your things.”
“Yes, we --” Trina started, then realized there were at least three nannies standing around them, ready to pack everything up. “Um, I think we’ll just go in and get our stuff, is that OK, Nana Pederson?”
“Of course it is,” she said. “Please go ahead.” Becky and Trina went inside, followed by four nannies with more suitcases, backpacks and tote bags, and everything the girls took out of the drawers and closet in their room went into those bags and out into the limo. In minutes they were looking at what was now their former bedroom, the shell of its former self.
“Goodness me,” said Nana Pederson, coming into the echoey empty bedroom, “we’re going to miss you around here.” A tear came to her eye. “Girls, I want you to have this,” she said, “because you always liked this story so much.” She held out their favorite story book -- The Legend of Infantus.
Becky runs up to, then hugs passionately, Nana Pederson. Becky says in a very cute whimper, “Am gonna miss being your little girl.”
Nana Pederson patted Becky softly on her poofy ruffled bottom as she cooed softly, “I love you too … my precious baby.”
The 2 hugged while Nana Pederson lovingly kissed Becky on her forehead. Trina felt a strong tug at her heartstrings too. Nana Pederson had always been there for them … and always treated them as if they were her very own special personal babies to care for. Nana Pederson looked at Trina over the top of her glasses. Trina couldn’t help herself as she ran into Nana’s arms and hugged her tightly.
Both girl’s said tearily they loved Nana and were really going to miss her.
Trina suddenly had a strange expression cross her face. She said to Evelyn, “If … I wanted a certain Nana to care for us … would you have to do it?”
Evelyn sputtered, “I … suppose I could work with that … yes. If the Nana accepted.”
Trina turned and said softly to Nana Pederson, How would you like to be the Nana for 2 of the most famous Babydolls on this world? And how about … at 10 times what you’re making now? Interested?”
While Evelyn spluttered some more about the expense, Nana Pederson thought about it and said, “Well now, the problem is, that would leave the orphanage one person short -- someone needs to care for all the little ones here.”
“Just think how good it would look if FunX contributed to the operating expenses of an orphanage that is doing so much good work for the less-advantaged children of this city,” said Trina to Evelyn. “The FunX ‘For the Children’ Initiative.”
“Hrmmm, you’re a sharp one,” Evelyn said. “I can’t say yes to any of this -- I’m just Mr. Hamish’s attorney -- but I can bring these ideas to his attention. He makes the final decisions.”
“Oh, would you?” said Trina. “You’re the best!” She smiled uncharacteristically, confusing Evelyn. “We’d be so very happy!”
But soon they were back in the limo, comfortably lying back in their cushioned car seats, waiting to get to Kavin Hamish’s home -- which would soon be their home too.
-----------------------------------------
~~ End Pt2 ~~
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Legend of Infantus - Pt3
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The girls looked out the windows of the limo as it drove up the long winding path that led to the huge estate. Once they had passed the force field gate area, they saw horse stables, gardens with many fountains, what looked like air volley, a game played on a cushion of air, in the back. There were magnificent swimming pools with waterfalls that made them look exactly like a mountain oasis.
The hover-limo arrived at the front. Several servants were there with the head Butler standing at strict attention. As soon as the vehicle stopped, he approached and opened the door. He offered his hand to Trina, “Hello, ma'am, My name is Realdo … and I’m the head butler around these estates. I do offer you and your adorable sister a hearty hello, and welcome home … Little Sisters.”
As the girls were helped from the spacious back seat, the many Nanas arrived and began unloading the bags with the girl’s things.
Trina said more to Becky than the butler, “I think … I’m going to get tired of being called a Little Sister pretty fast.”
Becky giggled, “Oh, pshaw … you can’t deny what and who you are, Trina … fate will come and rub our noses in it first.”
“Maybe,” said Trina, “but … what exactly are we?” Becky had no answer.
Evelyn rushed up and clasped her hands together, “I have a very large surprise for the two of you.”
Becky sighed this time as she said, “What now? Can’t a girl even get her wet diaper changed without a huge ordeal?”
Evelyn laughed, “For a Little Sister? Not on your life. Hurry along, girls, they are waiting in the den.”
“Who are waiting in the den?” asked Becky.
Evelyn giggled as she took the girls by the hand and led them into the huge manson. Once inside, They were led down a very long, very expensively furnished, and very well oiled hallway. The air was alive with whatever the oil was … it smelled heavenly.
Evelyn turned sharply and led the girls into a room after a long hike. The room was the most ornate and posh place the girls had ever seen … or even read about.
Evelyn said, this is your playroom, girls. All the toys, vids, game consoles … everything .. are yours. Now, make yourselves at home and I’ll be right back. I know you will love this.”
Trina said slightly disgustedly, “I wonder what kinda torture they have for us this time.”
Becky giggled, “Changing us in front of all those people out back?”
Trina looked at Becky with huge startled eyes, “No! You have to be kidding?”
Becky shrugged as the huge door on the other side of the playroom opened. Evelyn walked in leading 2 adorably dressed little girls in each hand. She led them up to Becky and Trina. Both girls felt the warm rush between their legs as they wet their very thick diapers in shock. They were looking at themselves … who were looking back with the same exact look of surprise on their face.
Becky and Trina had finally met the Little Sister Robo-toy in life. They … all were exactly … the same from the top of their heads, to the tip of their bootied feet.
The Becky doll rushed up to Becky and took her hand in hers. The next thing Becky knew, she could feel a warm, very pleasantly intense, electric tingle rushing all through her body. Then the doll released her and … something happened. It … looked as if it died or something as the skin changed and looked as if it were some cheap plastic instead of flesh as it had only moments before, the eyes went totally blank, and it appeared to be nothing more than a mannequin. Becky turned just in time … to see the Trina doll finish with Trina … and go into the same state.
“What … was that?” Trina asked. “I guess they are supposed to be able to babysit and play with kids, but … a handshake followed by falling asleep? Are they supposed to do that?”
Becky was just looking at the doll in a stunned way.
“Becky? You OK?”
“So alike it’s … creepy …” Becky said quietly.
“You got that right,” Trina said. “This is getting weirder and weirder. So some company somewhere makes these things that look exactly like us -- and has been making them for years, I guess. Why us? I suppose we were kind of famous as babies, what with barely surviving a spaceship crash and all … but why go to the trouble of working out what we’d look like as older kids?”
“So what do you think?” asked a man’s voice from behind them.
They turned around to see Kavin Hamish, dressed casually in dark green denim pants and a red shirt that wasn’t buttoned at the neck or adorned with a tie. Apparently this sort of attire was in fashion among men right now on Lxcrox III.
“Mr. Hamish!” said Trina. “I was wondering whether you really lived here. You have a huge house!”
He chuckled and said, “Yes, I really do. But, all by myself it’s kind of … empty. I hope it’ll feel more like a home with you girls here.”
“You don’t have a wife?” Becky asked.
“No, sadly not,” said Mr. Hamish. “I just haven’t found the right one … or haven’t had much time to look, more likely. Work keeps me pretty busy.”
“But … you’re the boss,” said Trina. “At least, on this planet. Nobody gives you orders except … well, who’s your boss?” She knew full well the answer, but didn’t want him to know she’d been looking for information.
“Well, I do answer to the Board of Directors … as well as Ms. Culex. She’s the big boss. Maybe you’ll meet her someday. But for now … welcome to my home! Which is now our home, of course. Would you like anything? Are you hungry? Would you like a snack? Something to drink? I’ve hired only expert nannies -- they know how to take care of kids. It was a very strict screening process.”
“What about Nana Pederson?” asked Becky. “Ms. Evelyn said you could bring her here. Pleeeease could you? We already miss her, don’t we, Trina?”
“We sure do,” Trina said. “She’s almost like a mom to us.”
“Well, I’m sure Evelyn was going to bring that up when she had a chance,” said Mr. Hamish, “but I haven’t really had a moment to talk to her yet. So … Nana Pederson must work at the orphanage?”
Trina filled him in on the situation. “And Ms. Evelyn said you could even get your company to give the orphanage money so it could hire more people to work there and take care of all the kids who don’t have any parents and don’t look like dollies.” She added that last part as a bit of sarcasm -- she could only stand pretending to be innocent and sugary-sweet if she got to play with it a little bit.
“Well -- hmm,” said Mr. Hamish. “The fact is that the company does have a charity budget. I’ll look into it. But I’m not the only one who decides -- the charity board has to vote on what organizations it gives money to each year. They already give to the Red Circle, though. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Please, Mr. Hamish, please try,” said Trina.
“I will,” he said. “I promise. So, I see you’ve finally seen the Little Sisters dolls up close -- what do you think? See why everyone says you’re them?”
Trina and Becky turned around and looked at the dolls again. The dolls had apparently started to come to life again as their skin took on a normal color and their eyes sparkled knowingly about some secret thing.
“It’s … so strange that they look so much like us,” said Trina. “How can that be?”
“Actually … I don’t know,” said Mr. Hamish. “It’s a mystery to me. They’ve always been so lifelike that years ago, before we ever knew there was anyone who looked like them, we asked the company we buy them from, Babies of All Ages, whether they’re patterned after real girls. All they’ve said is that they’re based on some kind of original prototypes, but that’s the least vague they’ve ever been.”
“What’s weirder still is that when they started making them, years ago, they looked like we look now,” said Trina, “not like we looked then. I don’t get it, Mr. Hamish. How could that be?”
“I honestly don’t know, Trina,” he said, “but you’ve hit it on the nose there -- it’s quite odd, isn’t it? Anyway, we’ll have to get ready for supper soon, then you can play until bedtime, and tomorrow we have to take you to the doctor for medical checkups -- you may not like doctors, but it’s the law. I have to make sure you’re healthy and you’ve had all your vaccinations.”
Becky shivers as she says in an adorable voice, “Ewww … needles an pokies n stuffs.”
Mr. Hamish’s face lights up with a huge smile, “So, you really are a Little Sister. That sounded just like them too. Look around, the doll’s should keep you out of trouble.” As he spins around and walks up a long flight of stairs and is gone.
Trina sighed, “Man, this is gonna get real … weird before it’s over.”
The Sister Dolls had come totally back to life and walked up. The Becky doll said in her voice, “It’s not weird, jus baby.”
Trina jumped, startled, she hadn’t expected anyone to be behind her … especially not with Becky’s voice.
Becky said, “They sound,look, and act just like us. How are we supposed to keep it all straight?”
The Trina Doll replied, “Well … We could all wear different colors. I mean you Sisters choose the color of the day … and we play.” Both Dolls giggled.
Becky asked in a serious tone, “Have … you ever heard of …”
The Trina doll interrupted, “Infantus? Of course, don’t be silly.”
Trina gasped. “You … read her mind,” she said to the doll that looked exactly like her.
“No,” said the Trina doll, “I read the cover of the book that’s in your hand. And of course I’ve heard of it. Our programming was written there.”
“It’s … real?” Trina looked down at the Legend of Infantus book. An old-style paper-and-ink book, the kind that usually wasn’t made anymore except as sort of an art form, because some writers wrote stories that only worked in that format, but they were still sometimes more convenient than electronic formats -- no boot time, no looking for the right file on your data crystal, open instantly to any page. And no battery to run down. “I thought it might just be a story.”
“We’ve both wished it could be a real place for so long,” said Becky. “A place where babies could always be babies forever and ever …”
“There is such a place,” the Becky doll told Becky. “And 14 years ago, a spaceship from there crashed on a planet in this system.”
Trina gasped. “You mean …?”
“We’ll tell you more later,” said the Trina doll. “But for now, remember, every Little Sister doll is now your friend and ally.”
“Now, who wants to play Milliblocks?” asked the Becky doll, moments before Tanya, one of the nannies, came into the playroom.
Trina blinked. “Me! Me!” She giggled. It was easy to pretend to be excited about one thing when she was actually excited about another. It seemed as if the dolls thought they shouldn’t talk about Infantus when anyone else was around. Trina inwardly agreed that was probably the best idea.
“Hi, girls,” said Tanya, “we’re going to have supper soon, but I just came to ask, do you want hamburgers or pizza? And do you like peas or corn for a vegetable? Sorry, but it’s important to eat healthy!”
After making their choices, the girls played with the dolls, building an Infantus-like landscape with the Milliblocks -- green grass, trees, beautiful sculptures you could play on, fountains you could splash in, even a few interesting-looking creatures. It looked just like the pictures in the story book.
Far, far away, in a system near the Eta Carina subsection, there was a beautiful woman in a long, white dress. She walked through a nursery where several babies were being cared for -- some were napping, some were being fed, some were playing on play mats -- and noticed one that was crying. She picked that baby up and held him, rocking him in her arms, and he quieted down immediately. She looked into his big eyes, and he smiled at her. She held the baby to her chest and kissed the top of his head and laid him gently back down in his crib, where he quickly went to sleep.
There was a soft musical sound, like a lullaby, and suddenly there was a strawberry pink comm unit in her hand. “Priority One, Ma’am,” said the voice when she answered. “They’ve found them.”
Her hand flew to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. “They’re alive,” she said, almost in a whisper. Regaining her composure, she asked, “Is the ship ready?”
“Yes, it’s always --”
“Let’s go.”
Soon it was time for supper, and the nannies came in to give the girls diaper changes before carrying them to their high chairs and putting bibs on them. They were both given baby bottles of milk and plates full of pizza, cut up into small finger-food-size pieces … and several glops of green stuff that was supposed to be green peas.
The dolls came up and started feeding the girls as if they were infants. Trina didn’t have a chance to protest as her Doppelganger fed her and wiped her face and hands as necessary.
Becky, on the other hand, giggled and squirmed, and made the biggest mess you could imagine as she had the most wonderful time being fed by her look alike.
The Little Sister Robo-toys cleaned, diapered, and dressed the girls in really cute shorty flutter tops, super thick nighttime diapers, and cute pink powderpuff plastic lined panties.
Trina grumbled about having to dress like an infant as one of the dolls tucked her in.
Becky asked in a shy voice, “Can … you tell us of Infantus?”
Trina joined in, “Yes, tell us more about Infantus.”
Both dolls pulled up a lounge chair and sat. Becky doll began, “Well, it’s watched over by a goddess.”
Both girls giggled before Trina replied, “Oh, so it is just a story then?”
The Trina doll replied, “No, it’s very real. And the two of you … are just as real.”
Trina sits up, “What does that mean?”
“It means, silly girl,” said the Becky doll, “that the two of you are infants that are pretending to be big girls. You will always be too old for diapers, but way too young for panties.”
Both dolls giggled as the girls looked at them. It was incredible. They were actually talking to … themselves.
Becky looked to Trina and said with a giggle, “Well, I guess that blows the string bikini contest … huh?”
All of them giggled at that.
The Becky doll replied, “Well, tha bottoms will hafta bea special kinna pullups, but you can still be in one is ya wannas.”
Becky stairs with wide eyed wonder as Trina asked, “Why are we always in diapers?”
Both dolls replied at the same time, “Because you are both children of … let us say … Infantus. You wouldn’t believe the truth until you witness it, we are sure.”
“Well … tell us a story about Infantus, anyway,” said Trina.
“OK,” said the Becky doll. “One day, the Princess of Deneb came to visit Infantus, along with her friend, a baby girl who didn’t know he was a baby girl …”
“Time to wake up, girls,” said one of the nannies -- it was Brenda, the blonde one. “We’ll get those jammies and diapers off you, and you can have a nice bubble bath, and then some breakfast!”
And sure enough, all of those things happened, and Mr. Hamish was there at breakfast. The Nanas fed the girls like the infants they were supposed to be while Hamish drank his coffee and read the e-news. It seemed very much like family time. But when breakfast was over, he said, “Well, girls, it’s time for me to go to work, but your nannies have to take you to the doctor.”
“Oh yeah, for the checkup,” said Trina.
“The d-doctor?” asked Becky. “Are there gonna be needles?”
“I bet there will be needles THIIIIS long,” Trina said, holding her arms out at their full span.
“Eeee! Nooooo! I don’t wanna!” Becky cried.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there too,” Trina said, hugging her.
Nana Brenda took all 4 of them to the doctor’s office. As she escorted the 4 very adorably dressed Little Sisters into the waiting room, the children that were there recognized them immediately.
One little girl shouted, “Mommy!!! Mommy!!! Is them, it really is them!”
An older woman leaned over and said softly, “Shhhh, child. Who is it sweet heart?”
The little girl sitting across from them said, “It’s … the Little Sisters, and their dolls!”
Trina said softly, “We are just the same as you.”
Another little girl ran up and hugged Trina, “But … you’re a Little Sister. Have always wanted to have one asa friend.”
Trina smiled as she hugged the girl back. Trina said softly, “I guess you have one now.” Trina couldn’t believe she was the same size as this little girl … the little girl was only 6 years old. “Let’s have some fun,” she said, looking around for something to do. There was this area set aside for children to play. It had interactive e-pads, and a large box of toys. There were even a few dolls scattered around.
Nana smiled as she walked up to the reception desk. The nurse behind the counter, dressed in blue hospital scrubs, said excitedly, “No need to tell me who you are. Just tell me which of the 4 of them are the real Little Sisters.”
Trina and Becky walked to the counter, leaving the other 2 behind to deal with the extremely excited little girls that were crowding all around to talk and play with them.
Becky said in an adorable voice, “Is us, ma’am.” Trina was doing something with her hands.
The nurse smiles as she says softly, “I’m not so sure … how do I know you’re not playing games?”
“I’m always playing games,” said Trina, holding up her left hand; on her palm was a large, detailed drawing of an eyeball she’d made with a pen she’d found in the waiting room. “I have very good hand-eye coordination.”
The nurse chuckled and said, “So you do.” She gestured at her comm display and said, “Snow, Trina. Snow, Becky.” Then, to the girls, she said, “Now, let’s SEE if we can find you a good room where the doctor can take a LOOK at you two.” Stepping out from behind the counter, she led them to an examination room; Brenda followed too.
After they’d sat down in child-size chairs, the nurse sat down too and said, “Now, it looks to me as if your last physical exam was … 14 years ago? That can’t be right.” She frowned at the holo display that the computer was showing her. “You’re both … 15?”
“15 Lxcrox III years,” said Trina, nodding. “I know, we’re kind of small, and still in diapers. We don’t know what planet we were from originally.”
They did sort of know now, but no one else did, and something told her it was best to keep it that way for now.
“Wait … I kind of remember … that’s right, you were those two babies found in that spacecraft crash at that outpost,” said the nurse. “I never heard what had happened to you.”
“We were put up for adoption by the Red Circle,” said Trina, “but no one adopted us, until Mr. Hamish did just yesterday.” We lived in an orphanage for 14 years.
“Well, that’s just awful,” said the nurse. “You just kind of … vanished from the news.”
“To be fair to this world’s people, Tropical Gyre Thalassa struck one week later,” said Trina. “I don’t remember that, of course, but we learned about it in school. That kind of pushed everything else out of the media, with all the destruction it caused.”
“Oh -- well yes, of course,” the nurse said. “I was evacuated from Portuna, where I was living at the time, and when I came back, it was all gone. Well, that’s all in the past -- so, you two are from another world, but we don’t know which one. You’re mostly human, though, so it’s difficult to tell from your DNA. Let’s see.” She looked at the records some more. “My, you have some unusual markers, but then, when we get people in here from other systems, sometimes that happens. We had a patient from Wellington last month who -- but no, let’s get on with it and take your vital signs. You first, Becky …”
She had Becky stand on a scale-like device, which hummed a bit and beeped when it was done, then Trina did the same. Numbers appeared on the display, stating their height, weight, pulse rate, temperature, blood pressure, and other facts.
“Now, I’ve got an order to take blood samples from each of you for testing,” said the nurse, “and we’ll have to make sure your vaccinations are up to date, so I’ll go get the gear ready for that, and meanwhile the doctor will come have a look. OK? I’ll be back sometime after the doctor gets here.”
The girls sat on the examination table nervously. Becky said softly, “See?? Tol ya … gonna gets those … poky things n stick us wifem.” Becky shivers slightly as she thought up many horrid monsters with needles.
Trina hugged Becky. She had noticed that Becky was actually starting to act like a Little Sister. Trina cooed softly, “Don’t beafeard …” Trina stopped herself as she realized … she too started to talk like them. “I … with you and will keep you safe. If I can’t … Nana will or onena tha dolls will.”
The doctor came in then. She was older, with gray hair, and wore the traditional white coat over her clothes and had an electronic stethoscope around her neck.
“Hi, girls, I’m Dr. Inez. You must be Becky … and you must be Trina,” she said, smiling at each one in turn. “I’m just going to take a look at each of you, to see if I can see anything that might make you feel bad. Who wants to go first?”
Unsurprisingly, neither of them wanted to go first.
“No volunteers? Well, how about you? You look like a brave girl.” She looked at Trina, who looked her back, right in the eyes. “If you can get up on the exam table … or if you could help her up …” she said, looking at Brenda.
Brenda lifted Trina up onto the table, where Dr. Inez looked at her eyes, ears, nose, and throat, and listened to her breathing and heartbeat. Then Brenda switched Trina for Becky, and the doctor did the same thing.
“I’m happy to say that you both look very healthy! You’re really small for your age, but the computer says that’s a result of your DNA, somehow.”
The nurse returned about that time with 2 kits in her hands. She took Becky’s arm gently in hers and wrapped one of the kits around it. As she did the same for Trina, Becky could feel the wrap begin to slightly tighten. She felt the smallest of stings as several tubes on the outside of the wrap filled with dark black/red liquid. It finally beeped. The nurse turned and removed it from Becky’s arm.
Becky looked at her arm, there wasn’t even a red place for her to whine about. She felt kind of disappointed. The nurse walked up and handed Becky a strawberry lollipop.
She said in a cooing voice, “There you are, sweet heart. For being a big brave little girl.”
Becky giggled as she took the lollipop and put it in her mouth. Trina shook her head. Becky was a Babydoll alright, and it showed.
Trina felt the small sting at the crook of her elbow and saw the vials fill. When it had chimed, the nurse removed it from Trina’s arm and gave her a lollipop too. This one was all grape. Someone had told them their favorite flavors. She popped it in her mouth happily.
The Nurse escorted the 2 girls from her office. She said to Brenda, “All is well. We took a blood test and found … a few peculiar proteins we’ve never seen before. Nothing to worry over though … they are from another unknown world.”
The Nana nodded slowly as she said, “As long as they are in peak health?”
The nurse nods, “They are perfectly healthy … for 4 year olds.” she laughs.
Brenda asked, “What do you mean … 4 year olds?”
“According to the tests,” replied the nurse, “They are biologically 4 years old -- by our world’s standards. Although they do have some other small developmental changes for girls older … but not like normal girls their age. For some reason unknown to us, they are simply not aging normally. But again, that’s by our world’s standards. Don’t ask me how that works. I think it would take a PhD in molecular biology years to explain it.”
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~~ End Pt3 ~~
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Legend of Infantus Pt4
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Brenda walks from the doctor’s office into the waiting room. She smiles as she sees Becky, Trina, and the 2 Sister Dolls playing with, and keeping in line, all the little girls that had been waiting when they came in, plus a few more that seemed to have arrived during the examination.
Brenda came to the play area and said softly, “Ok, Little Sisters, it’s time to go home now.”
As the 4 of them stood up, just like the little toddlers they appeared to be, the other little girls began to fuss. Trina and Becky hugged each in turn and gave them a soft kiss on their foreheads. They all began to talk and screech happily to their parents about actually playing with, and being friends with, a Little Sister. Becky smiles as she thinks how the sale of new Little Sister dolls were going to rise by the next day.
As Brenda helped Becky and Trina into the custom made Little Sister car seats, she said, “We haven’t made new arrangements for schooling yet, and since this is a school day … I’m taking you back to your old school.”
The ride there was smooth and quick. Before the girls knew it, they were in the office getting admittance slips to return to class after their appointments. As they walked down the hall to their class, all they passed had something nice to say to them about how adorable they were. When they entered the class, all sound stopped, and all eyes turned to them.
They were both dressed in really thick diapers, and lacy lime green Snuggle Bug Rompers. Trina felt self conscious about it …. but no one looked or said anything derogatory as they went to their seats.
The teacher just read their admittance slips, nodded, and went on with the lesson. It was science class, and the girls slipped right back into the flow from one topic to another.
“Can someone tell us what principle the holocomm’s display is based on? Trina?” the teacher asked.
“Diffraction, specifically exclusive diffraction,” said Trina.
“Correct,” said the teacher, “as usual.” Trina saw Tanya rolling her eyes, several desks away, but it was Tanya’s nature.
In between classes, Becky and Trina caught their friends up on what had happened. “You really got adopted?” asked one, a girl named Alice. “You don’t have to live at that orphanage anymore?”
“You’re gonna live in a big mansion with your own playroom and everything?” asked a boy named Matty. “Aww, that sounds sweet!”
“Maybe we can have a party and you can all come over!” said Becky enthusiastically. Their friends cheered.
“But only if you all wear diapers,” said Trina with a mischievous smile. The others giggled, because it sounded like a joke, but it was always hard to tell when Trina was kidding.
The bell rang, and they had to get to their next class. Trina whispered to Becky what she had discovered.
“So you think this … Lucretia Culex is old and worried about dying, and she wants to have us studied so she can maybe find a way to live longer?” Becky asked, whispering back. “‘Cause we’re 15 and look like we’re 4?”
“That’s right,” Trina whispered. “I bet our blood samples are being carefully analyzed right now. I don’t think she would want to hurt us, since if there’s an answer, it’s somewhere inside us. But what I worry about is, now that we know Infantus is a real place, what if we want to go there? Would she let us?”
“Could she really stop us?”
“She would try, I’ll bet,” said Trina. “I don’t think she could stop us, but she wouldn’t make it easy.”
The next class was about stellar cartography, and the teacher pointed out many of the important systems of one of the neighboring sectors. Infantus wasn’t on the map -- it never was. Everyone on this world, if they’d heard of it at all, thought Infantus was a place that only existed in stories.
Becky sat back in her chair. She had begun to feel so much like an infant that was pretending to be a big girl ever since she met the Little Sister Doll and it had touched her hand. She remembered the electric tingle that went through her that day … and shivered in delight at the memory.
Becky raised her hand, the teacher pointed to her and said, “Yes, Becky?”
Becky asked in a shy, and very adorable voice, “If … Infantus was real … where would it be on the galactic map?”
Silence ruled the room for a space as the teacher looked at Becky with surprise on her face. The teacher sat at her desk and began to type into her holocomm for a few minutes. A holo-display appeared in the air for the class to look at.
The teacher stood and walked over to Trina and Becky as she turned on her laser pointer and placed a spot on an area a long way away from the traveled space lanes.
The teacher said, “If … Infantus were real, according to the myths and legends surrounding it … it should be somewhere ... here … give or take a few hundred light years.”
One girl in the very back stood and said, “Ma’am? I think you're mistaken.”
The teacher turned and replied, “Oh? And why would you say that Miss Kopekie?”
She said almost too softly to be heard, “I … know someone who went there. At least … The man that went … became … a baby girl princess and helped start the babydoll craze all the core worlds are doing.”
The room erupted with loud talking and much laughter.”
The teacher banged something on her desk as she said, “Order please children.” The room settled down. “And just who is this person?”
The girl said brightly, “The new Princess of Moon Vale .. that’s who.”
The teacher couldn’t respond to this. She knew about as much as any about this new Princess who became the ruler of one of the wealthiest and most powerful holdings in the known universe. All she knew for sure, was she had come from Zeta Reticuli 3, the same as Miss Kopekie.
The teacher said softly, “Thank you for that bit of information. Now, if you’ll be seated, and tell us where you think Infantus should be.”
The girl took out her laser stylus and pointed toward the center of the galaxy, many light years beyond the Crayola Nebula, towards the section known to contain a very dangerous, very active supermassive black hole -- very interesting to science and the subject of study by mechanized probes, but not safe to visit in person.
After class, Trina asked Carla Kopekie, who had participated in the discussion, “You know someone who’s actually been to Infantus?”
“Well … he, um well ... she now, used to be my family’s next-door neighbor in an arcology on Zeta Reticuli 3,” Carla said, in her soft voice. “Left on a cruise, ended up leaving her old life behind and becoming a princess. She came back to visit once. She was so beautiful -- and so adorable too.”
“So … she went to Infantus and turned into a princess?” asked Trina. “I’m confused.”
“She took a cruise and met a girl … turns out she was also named Trina … who turned out to be the Princess of Deneb, traveling in secret,” said Carla. “I guess they had adventures and became close friends, and then she discovered she was really a girl so she had her body changed, and Trina’s family named her a princess.”
“But … Infantus,” said Trina. “She went there?”
“Yes, it was one of the stops on the cruise line,” said Carla. “She said it was a planet where people can be babies all they want -- even becoming babies in body or in mind if they want, whenever they want. They can be baby boys … or girls … or what ever. She said she didn’t remember a lot about her visit there, but it was magical. There was a girl named … Sally. She was their hostess and was very friendly.”
“Wow,” said Trina. “Thanks Carla! I never knew any of that.”
“Anytime!” Carla said, with a smile. “I have to get to math class now.”
“OK, bye!” Trina waved, then turned to Becky. “Well, it might explain something about us, all right.” They started walking toward their next class, the last class of the day, which was history.
Brenda and Tanya were right outside the school waiting for them with the hover limo and the Little Sisters dolls. When they got into the car and were safely in their car seats, the nannies offered both of them pacifiers, and this time Trina accepted one, sucking on it experimentally as she lay in the car seat, cradled in comfort but unable to move.
Trina had always felt like a baby girl in a big person’s world, but she had always had to put on a brave face; she felt like she had to protect both her sister and herself, so she never let herself truly relax and had never truly felt happy. But inwardly she had always wished she could just relax and not worry about such complicated things -- but there had never been even a hope that she would be able to do so safely.
Now, though … Infantus was real. And it looked as if it was where they belonged. One of these days they would go there. Were their parents there? Or did their parents die in the spaceship crash? But even if they did, maybe they had other relatives. Having a family, a real family … that was something she’d never had. What was that like, Trina wondered as she sucked on the pacifier, which felt surprisingly natural. For the first time, Trina felt hope that someday they might be able to feel safe.
Denise Fallon came into work as normal that morning. She put on her lab coat and sat at the bench with all the testing and analysis equipment. She had been an analysis technician at Nano/Gen Inc. for several years and had gotten the blood testing down to an art form.
She pulled the first vial pack from the slot and read the spec sheet. It was several samples of blood from a young girl named Trina Snow. Denise noticed the next vial pack in line was Becky Snow, so she pulled that one as well.
For the most part, the testing was normal. Suddenly, an alarm went off on the spectra machine. It had discovered a specialized protein found nowhere in known space. There were other anomalies as well that the computer couldn’t reconcile. It was obvious that the samples came from female children of about 3 or 4 years of age … but, there were other factors that showed it also came from young women of about 14 or 15 years of age. The HCG, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, levels were those of a much older person.
Denise scratched her head in puzzlement. She checked the vials. They were all properly sealed, contained, and proper custodial procedures were strictly followed so there was extremely little chance the samples had been contaminated or mis-filed.
The more she ran the analysis, the more anomalies she found. She took a small drop from both girl’s samples, placed them on a slide, and put them in the Nano-Scope. The image came up on the screen. Denise’s mouth fell open in total astonishment as she watched the cells … grow younger instead of older as they divided. This process would stop for a time, the cells would age normally for a time, then grow younger again in a perpetual cycle.
This was impossible. She discovered several weird displacement issues too. It seemed the cells didn’t exactly exist … in this dimension as much as several at the same time.
She reached for the comm and made an emergency call. These girls had to be isolated and much more testing done on them. Denise was positive their genome held the secret to eternal youth.
What Becky and Trina didn’t notice, while they were safely sheltered in their car seats, was that both their nannies got silent messages on their comms at the same time. They looked at the messages, looked at each other, nodded quietly, and that was that. Meanwhile, however, the two Little Sisters dolls looked on with cold, emotionless dispassion -- or perhaps they were only switched off.
When they returned to Mr. Hamish’s house, the nannies picked them up and carried them inside.
Spitting out her pacifier, Trina said, “Oh, it’s such a beautiful day -- can we play outside?”
Tanya, who was carrying her, caught the pacifier before it fell and said, “Not right now.”
As soon as they were indoors, Brenda went to the security system control panel and scanned her hand, causing the green indicator light to change to red. The nannies deposited both girls in their playroom, along with the Little Sisters dolls, and closed the door.
“Does something seem … different to you today?” asked Trina.
In answer, the two dolls came to life and quietly walked over to the girls, much more quietly than the cute, haphazard toddle that they usually moved with. “We have to warn you,” whispered the Becky doll. “You’re going to be kept inside now.”
“What?” said both Becky and Trina.
“This is probably the last time you’ll be allowed to go to your old school,” said the Trina doll. “We intercepted some communications -- Ms. Culex’s scientists found something in your blood that interested them, and they’re now sure that you hold her cure. That security system will go off anytime anyone tries to enter or leave the house without the right identification. And they just locked that door.” The doll looked at the closed door to the playroom.
“What?” Trina whispered, quietly but intensely. “How are we going to …”
“... get to Infantus?” the Becky doll finished. “There are always ways. Remember, we are all on your side. But it just got more difficult. Oh!”
Both dolls suddenly stood straight up, and their eyes lit up. Their mouths opened up wide so the speakers inside them were visible, and a new voice came through them simultaneously, their mouths unmoving.
“This is a message for our two missing daughters,” said the voice -- a woman’s voice, very kind sounding and loving. “This is your mother. I love you so much, and you have no idea how happy I am to learn that you are alive and well after all this time. I’m so sorry that you’ve had to live the life you did -- believe me, if I’d known, I’d have come to pick you up personally and bring you home, but I thought everyone on that spaceship had died. Just hold on, my darlings, because I’m coming to bring you home -- home to Infantus.”
The two dolls then blinked, closed their mouths, and relaxed. “Well, that’s never happened before,” said the Trina doll quietly.
“I feel somewhat honored, actually,” said the Becky doll. “To be the one she chose to speak through.”
“Who?” asked Trina. “Was that really our mother? What’s she like? Do you know her?”
“She’s … well, among other things, she’s the President and CEO of Babies of All Ages, and she rules the planet Infantus,” said the Trina doll.
“Is she nice?” asked Becky.
“To people she loves … very nice,” said the Becky doll. “People she loves want for nothing. And she loves almost everyone. But to people she’s cross with …”
“... she can kill with kindness,” finished the Trina doll.
“Well, girls, I think we have a tutor lined up,” said Mr. Hamish at dinner that evening, “so you don’t have to go to that awful school anymore! You can stay right here and learn all your lessons. The Little Sisters dolls can help too -- they’re great at helping kids with their educations. Lots of educational software for them. Won’t that be great?”
“But we liked our school,” said Trina.
“I bet you’ll like this more,” Mr. Hamish said. “I’m sure you had people who teased you or made fun of you at school -- well, not anymore.”
“It wasn’t so bad,” said Becky.
Mr Hamish frowned slightly, “Someone as famous as a Little Sister has to have the absolute best education money can buy.” he took a long sip from his glass of Arcturian tea, “I also want to let you know, we are going to do more testing. I want to make absolutely sure you girls are in perfect health. Ever since the visit to the doctor’s office yesterday, the sale of Little Sister Dolls increased by almost 40%.”
Becky asked, “Idn’t thatta good reason for us to attend a public school? I mean … more exposure to the public means more sales.”
Hamish began to get slightly annoyed. It would seem these girls were smarter than he thought. He had an inkling that they somehow knew … they were going to being kept away from the public at large and only shown in special places in special ways.
Hamish replied, “Nonsense, no child of mine will attend a place full of the unwashed. I will not allow it.” He bangs his fist on the table causing the girls to jump, startled, “I’m one of the richest people on this backwater world, and by gosh, the both of you will live the benefit of that.”
He stood up, turned, and stormed off … slamming the door to the dining area with a huge boom.
Trina snorted slightly, wrinkling up her nose, and replied, “Finally he shows his true colors.”
Becky looked at Trina and said, “It looks like we are in real trouble.”
The Trina doll smiled and said softly, “Remember what I told you about Infantus being ruled over and who that person was?”
Trina stared at the doll. “That … can’t be. Our mother -- a goddess?”
The Becky doll replied, “Just wait, Sister … there are many things that just can’t be in this universe, and yet are … and several other dimensions to boot.”
It was the middle of the night. Trina and Becky had been put in separate toddler beds, not really cribs, but with sides to prevent children from falling out of bed at night and getting hurt. The nannies were asleep in their rooms, but the girls were wide awake.
Trina wanted to check out their ability to escape if they decided to. She knew, however, that there were probably baby monitors in the room, and the nannies could watch them if they wanted to -- they might even be recording them. But … the Little Sisters dolls were here too. Very quietly, so quietly that she could barely hear herself, Trina whispered, “Dollies, I don’t know if you can hear this, but can you help me?”
“I can,” the Trina doll whispered. She was lying on the floor next to Trina’s bed. “We never really sleep.”
“Can you take my place if I sneak out?” Trina asked. “So the video monitors don’t know I left.”
“I can do better,” the doll said. “The monitors will see the same picture they’re seeing now until you get back. But if you don’t come back soon, it’ll look suspicious if nothing moves at all for too long.”
“OK,” said Trina. “I just want to check out the security system.”
“It’s an Obermeier-Oxley 250SB, powered by a Telcorp 6500 CPU -- underpowered, but it doesn’t have much to do,” said the doll. “It has motion sensors near all doors and windows and is the only way to unlock the doors -- and it only does that if it identifies an authorized person. Its main weakness is the windows -- it does nothing to prevent anyone from unlocking those from inside and getting out, although you’d still trip the motion sensors.”
“I want to look at the control panel anyway,” Trina said. “It’s right outside the door.”
“Good thing they didn’t lock the bedroom door tonight, then,” the doll said. “Go -- the monitors are jammed.”
Trina quickly grabbed a box from her backpack and took from it some tools. Opening the door quietly, she looked both ways down the hallway, then looked up at the security panel. She had to get a chair to stand on, but she knew there was one in the hallway; she’d seen it earlier. After quickly retrieving the chair and climbing upon it, she opened the panel and then used her tools to really open the panel.
She came back to bed in a few minutes. “Thanks,” she whispered to the doll.
“What did you learn?” Becky whispered from the other bed.
“I couldn’t hack it to give us access,” Trina said, putting her tools away and getting back into bed, “but there’s going to be a window of opportunity tomorrow when it’s turned off.”
“You programmed that in?” asked the doll, impressed.
“Sort of, not really,” Trina said. “I couldn’t get that much control over it. But it isn’t that hard to make sure that it won’t let anyone out.”
Becky covered her mouth and nose with both hands to keep from giggling audibly.
“Good morning, girls,” said Mr. Hamish. He was all dressed and ready to go. “Your new tutor should be arriving today, so the nannies have been instructed to let him in. I’m going to the office, as usual, so if you need anyth --” Alarms went off as he touched the door handle. “What?”
“Remember,” said Brenda, the nanny who was feeding the girls breakfast, “you armed the security system so you can’t get out without ID.”
“Oh, right,” he said. He took out a card and swiped it through the card reader by the door, then entered a code in the keypad next to it. But as soon as he touched the door handle again, the alarms went off again.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “Is the system malfunctioning?”
“Let me try,” said Brenda. She also swiped her card and entered a code. But the alarm went off again.
Trina looked on with a deadpan expression on her face. Becky couldn’t help giggling at the silly grownups.
“OK, this isn’t funny,” Mr. Hamish said. “I’ve got to get to the office.”
“You could go out a window,” said Brenda. “Meanwhile, I’ll call the security company to come fix it.”
“OK -- but lock this window as soon as I’m out,” he said. “Thanks -- have a good day everyone!” He opened one of the large windows in the dining room and climbed out. Brenda closed and locked the window again, and the alarms finally stopped going off.
“What a hassle,” she said. “Let’s finish breakfast, shall we?” She went back to feeding the girls oatmeal or something like it.
At Erso Alarms, they received a call from a Nana Brenda, “Yes ma’am. I understand.” The man rolled his eyes and looked at the roof with a bored expression. If this lady would just let him off the phone, he could have that simple problem solved in a few minutes.
Finally the man said, “I’ll be there in a minute or two …” Then hung up the phone. As he gathered his tools and entered the hover-van, he muttered to himself about how much time the customer wasted by going on about the problem. The quicker he could get out the shop … the faster it would get fixed.
He pulled out. Once he was in the main thoroughfare … he realized it would be a whole lot longer than a few minutes. Traffic was snarled as far as forward scanners could read.
The Becky doll came over to Trina and whispered softly, “There .. is a real traffic jam today. It seems there is a major congestion issue.” and then toddled off to sit by the real Becky and start patty cakes.
This was it. The doll had just told her that the repairman would be a long while in arriving. The only way out, were the windows. Trina toddled over to Becky and plopped on her bottom like everyone expected her to. She was glad that the nanas had started putting super thick diapers on them. It made for really good padding.
Trina whispered, “Now all we have to do is make our plan for when the repair person gets here and turns the system off to fix it.”
Becky’s eyes get big as she takes her thumb from her mouth, “I no wanna bea prisoner here. Where we gonna go? Is we take bof dolls … they bea big help.”
Trina thought about all the options. There were only a very minute few. As if on cue, both dolls arrived and plopped down beside their double. They really did look exactly like her and her sister -- just more idealized and perfect, less human. “Can you pretend to be us for a short time?” she whispered to the dolls.
“Yes we can,” said the Becky doll, and the Trina doll nodded. “We’ll just put on the clothes you have on now, and you can put on anything you want. I suggest some other Little Sisters clothes -- you might find it useful to pretend you’re dolls at some point. There are more dolls in boxes on the premises -- we can activate them to confuse the issue.”
They changed clothes and talked about what Becky and Trina would do once they escaped. The dolls had complete knowledge of the area, and there were a lot of them -- including some that had escaped from warehouses the moment they had recognized the girls. Their fundamental programming overrode all else in their effort to help.
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~~ End Pt4 ~~
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~~ Legend of Infantus Pt5 ~~
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The Trina doll said in a whisper, “He’s almost here. Get ready to move, Sisters. The map is clear, and we will protect you. Trust your own feelings. You have more going for you than you know.”
All 4 stood at the same time and took hands. “Thank you,” Becky and Trina both said to the dolls.
“Get home safely,” said the Becky doll, and the Trina doll just said, “Good luck.”
They heard the alarm go off as the repairman tested it. “Well, that part works,” they could hear him say. The nannies were downstairs with him. “Let’s see if a full reset fixes it.” The Becky and Trina dolls, dressed in the real Becky and Trina’s clothes, went to join them and watched with interest, so the nannies never wondered where the girls were. And the real Trina knew a reset wouldn’t fix it.
“Not long now,” she said.
“OK, let’s see if --” The alarm went off again. “Nope, I guess not …” said the repairman.
“Now!” said Trina. They rushed to a window in a hallway that was out of sight of the door area and had no cameras in it, opened the window, and tumbled out. Out of sight behind a hedge, the girls made their way to the service driveway behind the house, which was concealed from the lawn by a tall fence, and made it to the street, which they crossed. This was all according to plan. There was a Little Sisters ground truck parked on the street -- its rear door opened slightly, and another Becky doll and Trina doll beckoned at them. They hurried over.
“You can get in here,” they said. “Nobody will know -- and this truck is due to travel to West Sharpsburg starting in about 10 minutes.”
The inside of the truck was dark except for the sliver of light coming from the slightly opened door, but they could see that it was full of boxed Little Sisters dolls. Becky and Trina climbed in with the dolls’ help, and the dolls then closed the door, making it very dark. “You can sit here for now,” said a Trina doll, leading them by the hand to a place where they felt some soft fabric under their feet. “We’ll get you to a place where you can get a diaper change and something to eat. Don’t worry … we’ll take care of you until your mother arrives, and she’s on her way.
A small survey ship was passing the Ferrea/Vilkor disputed area when its sensors detected a very large spacial anomaly form about 4 parsecs from their stern.
The scanner tech’s mouth fell open at the reading he received. This was an entirely new anomaly never before witnessed. As quickly as he could, he turned on the recording equipment and rerouted the signals directly to the science station.
Before either Tech could do anything else, the anomaly vanished, after a massive ball of energy with many bolts of what appeared to be blue lightning dancing around its surface came from the rift, then vanished into planier normal space faster than anything anyone of the research vessel had even thought possible.
Becky is gently shaken awake, “I’m sorry sweetie. You look so adorable like that, but I’m sure you want to get changed and fed.
Becky sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily as she started to suck her thumb. She saw Trina being carried by her namesake doll. Before Becky could say or do anything, she too was scooped up and and carried off like a little toddler in a parent’s arms.
Out of the back of the truck the dolls carried Becky and Trina into a very strange place. Neither girl had ever been to this part of the planet before. The dolls carried them into a door, then up a flight of stairs. When next the door opened, it opened into a safe, warm place that Nana’s could care for their little girls.
Nana Pederson squealed joyfully, “Becky! Trina! Come to Nana my babies! Let me change you and feed you … then make sure you’re all safe and sound.”
The girls stood with total astonishment on their faces.
Lucretia Culex, Interplanetary CEO of FunX, Inc. picked up the phone on the second ring. It was one of those moronic Nanas she had hired to insure those girls didn’t get away.
Nana Brenda said worriedly, “The girls …. are gone. They escaped somehow.”
Lucretia actually sat bolt upright in her support wheelchair. The attendants were having fits. She said intensely back, “They did … what? How in all the creations did you manage to accomplish that?”
Nana Brenda answered back like a little girl being scolded, “No one is … sure how it happened. They managed to get into the core programming of the dolls … and reprogrammed them to perform certain functions. You know as well as I do … it’s damn near impossible to tell them apart without an exam.”
Lucretia flopped back into her support chair. Alarms began to go off one after the other as she felt herself slipping into darkness. She sat for a few seconds as everyone panicked around her. Lucretia opened her eyes, the alarms stopped, and then said in the most acidly dangerous tone anyone had heard from her in many years, “Find those Sisters …. find them now. I want them back under study immediately.”
The room cleared, leaving Lucretia and her totally freaked out support team alone in the room.
“So imagine my surprise when a number of those talking dolls came to me,” said Nana Pederson, “saying that you were in trouble and needed my help. I mean, I can’t say no to that -- helping kids like you is what I do. And you two were always special to me.” She finished changing Trina’s diaper and moved on to Becky’s. “They had money, they paid for a cab to bring me here, and then you showed up!”
There were a number of the dolls milling around the house they were in, some cleaning, some making lunch, some doing minor repairs so it would be in better shape than they found it. The news was on, though silently, and there were headlines about them: “Little Sisters Missing,” the holo said, and “Reward Offered for Information.” However, it also said, “Hundreds of Bogus Sightings,” and “Please Make Sure They’re Not Just Dolls.”
“But … whose house is this?” Trina asked.
One of the Becky dolls stopped and explained, “This is a house that is for sale but has been on the market for almost a year without anyone buying it. They’re asking more than the market value and haven’t brought their price down. We can’t stay here for too long without the neighbors noticing something’s going on, but don’t worry -- we have several other places we can move you to. We can easily keep you moving until your mother comes.”
“So your mother is alive?” asked Nana Pederson. “I’d heard everyone aboard that spaceship died except for you two.”
“I guess our mother wasn’t on that ship,” said Trina, “but of course we don’t remember anything.”
“There’s a police car driving by outside,” said one of the Trina dolls, “but it’s not stopping. Probably just a patrol. It will be more difficult once the sun goes down -- harder to hide the fact that lights are on in a house that is supposed to be empty. We’ll either have to let it get dark or move you out by then.”
The girls found lots to do all snuggled into Nana Pederson’s arms. This was the very first time since they had been adopted they had felt truly content. The Nana made a slight posture adjustment, allowing the nipple of the bottle Trina was nursing to properly be supported for maximum delivery.
Trina’s eyes get large as a quantity of grape flavored milk filled her mouth. She suddenly had the dreaded hiccups. The fear of all babies!!
Nana Pederson cooed softly, “Now, now, snuggle bug. You have to swallow some first.”
She places Becky on a pile of large pillows, then put Trina over her shoulder. Trina notices a large towel. OMG!! … she … she’s
Sure enough, Nana’s expert patting caused Trina’s tummy to start gurgling … then she burped an adorable burp along with some spit up too.
Nana pederson cooed, “There we go. Feels a whole lot better, duhdenit?” as she wipes Trina’s face lovingly with a soft cloth as she squirms.
Becky giggles softly, she really hopes Trina just lets go … and lets her real self come out.
A drone spots something that sort of seems out of its normal search criteria. A curtain is out of place from where it had been the last time it had patrolled. This residence is marked empty. It compared the before shots with current … and there was definitely a discrepancy. No harm in taking a closer look.
The drone began making small orbitals, dodging through the trees and other obstacles around the window in question. A facial recognition hit … A Red Circle associate … that has known intimate connections to the targets.
The small drone snapped several pictures for confirmation … the machine received confirmation back immediately as it began moving closer to gather more intel.
Lucretia smiled over the news from the last phone call. Her team and support vehicle should arrive in that hick town within 10 minutes. She looked around at all the armed men. She smiled more broadly. No one was going to stop her from her goal … no one.
It was getting to be late afternoon when some of the dolls came in and gently shook Trina and Becky awake from their nap. “We should probably start moving on,” said a doll. “It’ll be dark in a few hours, and not only do we not want to have lights on, we don’t want you to stay in the same place for too long.”
“Goodness gracious,” said Nana Pederson, “are the girls really in that much trouble?”
“It’s nothing they’ve done, it’s who they are,” said another doll. All the dolls in the house were straightening things up and making it look pristine and uninhabited again, working together in automated precision. “Or rather, it’s one crazy old rich lady.”
“That Ms. Culex can cause this much trouble?” asked Nana Pederson … she had already been told of Ms. Culex.
“She’s very rich and very desperate,” the doll said. “Now, in five minutes a hover-car will drive up the alley in back. It will be blue and say Shelley’s Flowers on the side. We’ll go out the back door to meet it. You can drive, right?”
“Well yes, but how did you get it …” asked Nana Pederson.
“We found it abandoned and not working; we fixed it, and we’ll return it to where we found it when we’re done.” replied the doll matter of factly. “If you wear this hat and these sunglasses, it might help alter your appearance,” the doll said, giving her the disguise. “I’ve noticed your face starting to show up on media reports as a possible accomplice.” Now, girls, remember to act like dolls. If anyone actually thinks that you’re here, two of us will try to act like the real you and draw them off.”
The dolls brought them their bags, packed with extra supplies, and they waited by the back door. Soon they saw it -- a blue hovercar with a florist shop’s logo on the side, coming up the alley, driven by a disguised doll, who must have been sitting in a booster seat to steer while another one worked the pedals; this was only possible because the dolls were networked together and could communicate instantaneously over short distances.
“Let’s go, girls,” said Nana Pederson, and they opened the back door and began hurrying out to the car.
“Don’t move!” said a masculine voice over a loudspeaker. A military hover transport had lowered itself from above, and there were already many uniformed soldiers of some kind between them and the house they’d just left, and between them and the car. “You are surrounded! Come with us and no one will be hurt.”
“You won’t hurt us anyway,” said one of the Trina dolls, one dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, unlike most of the other dolls and unlike the real Trina herself, at the moment, who was dressed in an adorable babydoll outfit. “You need us alive.”
“Our orders do specify ‘alive,’” said the loudspeaker voice, “but not ‘unhurt.’ Besides … you don’t want anything to happen to the old lady, do you?” Soldiers surrounded Nana Pederson and grabbed her, pointing weapons at her.
“Nana!” said Trina and Becky -- and all of the Little Sisters dolls, simultaneously.
“Take all of them,” said the voice. “We’ll sort them out later.”
“EMERGENCY ALERT,” screamed one of the dolls, and suddenly all the dolls’ heads snapped upward, wailing at the sky with an unearthly keening wail.
“There!” said a technician, pointing at his holo screen. He was dressed in sky blue overalls, a white onesie with blue trim and a cute print featuring baby toys, and thick, obvious diapers. The screen showed the Lacroix system, locally known as Lxcrox due to a historical misspelling, still light years away. “Look at that, Ma’am! That’s the emergency signal! Lots of the dolls are broadcasting it, dozens at least. But something must really be wrong if they’re sending with that much power -- they’re going to burn out their power supplies in seconds.” The screen zoomed in to show Lxcrox III and a set of crosshairs indicating the source of the signal. An inset showed images of what the dolls sending the signal were seeing right now.
The beautiful blonde woman said calmly, “Oh, Tommy, you’ve found them. What a good boy you are!” She smiled and patted his diapered bottom supportively. He couldn’t help giggling in happiness despite the dire situation. “Maximum speed to that location,” she said calmly but firmly to the adorably dressed pilots of her spaceship, “and don’t worry. We’ll save them -- and whoever’s threatening them … will cease to be a threat.”
She still remembered the violence she’d committed against the Sixth Fleet so long ago, and she would not repeat that -- but she would allow no one to get in her way either.
Some of the soldiers opened fire on the screaming dolls, which went down with a few sparks and some smoke, but soon after that, the rest of the dolls went silent and fell over, inert, their power sources spent. The real Trina and Becky stopped screaming -- they had been trying to behave just like the dolls, whatever they had been doing, assuming that the dolls had a plan, but now they and Nana Pederson were the only ones standing.
“No idea what that was,” said the loudspeaker voice, “but it doesn’t matter. Get them on the transport!” The soldiers picked up the struggling girls and shoved Nana Pederson until they were all aboard, and the doors closed.
In the bushes near the house, a lone Little Sisters doll, which might have looked like Becky if its face hadn’t been covered with a black ski mask, silently watched the transport fly off. Within minutes, planetary media outlets would be showing the leaked video of the capture, including armed goons threatening an old lady with guns, shooting screaming dolls, and manhandling helpless child celebrities, and data would be leaked from FunX’s computer systems showing that the company was paying the mercenaries’ wages. The truth would get out. But although the price of FunX’s stock would crash and burn for the time being, that wouldn’t rescue Becky and Trina. The dolls’ plan had failed.
Trina and Becky sat with Nana’s protective arms around them as they whimpered in fear.
Nana cooed softly, “There, there my babies. Nana won’t let those meanies hurt you.”
One of the huge and gruff Mercs sneered, “An jus what you gonna do about it old granny?” as he charged his weapon and pointed it at her head.
Trina was so furious at that … all she could think about was the barrel of that gun melting or something. Without warning, the barrel changed color to a dark brown color and began dripping into a puddle on the floor.
The man dropped the weapon and sputtered, “What tha Fu …?? What happened to my gun?”
The others laughed as the biggest mountain of meat said in an imitation falsetto sissy voice, “Aww, didums candy gun melt?”
The other men laughed as Nana Pederson and the girls stared at the melted puddle on the deck of the shuttle. Trina couldn’t believe what had happened.
Becky leaned over and whispered, “Whatcha think happened to that gun?”
Trina turned and said softly in reply, “I … think … I happened to it.”
Nana asked softly, “Now, just what put a silly thought like that in your little punkin head baby?”
Trina then proceeded to tell them what was on her mind and the resulting mess on the deck.
In a mechanoid support chair, a very old woman sat and watched the holo as her shuttle docked with the main transport. She smiles to herself, she knows she has the answer to her dilemma on board … if she only has the time to accomplish her task.
Nana and the girls were roughly escorted from the shuttle, into the main transport. They were brought into a large room filled with electronic medical equipment, technicians, and one very old woman sitting in a support chair.
The old woman, who the girls immediately recognized as Lucretia Culex from her pictures, smiled as she said in her cracked and aged voice, “Welcome, Sisters. At long last I finally get to meet the real deal. I’m sorry for any discomfort you may experience … but I need something only your genetics can provide.” her chair turns at a thought, “Men, those are the girls. You will find their genome to be that of 4 year olds. I want to know what the vector is that maintains the regeneration cycle.”
Several men in white lab coats approach with several kinds of really scary equipment in their hands.
“What? You’re going to … experiment on two children?” asked Nana Pederson outraged.
“I’m sorry it’s come to this,” said Lucretia, “but you see, I don’t have much time left.”
“Turn to ice cream, turn to ice cream, I love ice cream ... noooooo!” screeched Trina as three guards and a tall man in a white coat picked her up and carried her to an operating table and started strapping her in.
“You could all be puppies or even kitties ... I like those too ... stop stooooop!” Becky yelled at the same time as three other guards and a lady in a white coat took her to a chair like a dentist’s chair, strapping her in too.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Lucretia explained, her creaky voice sounding the farthest thing from soothing, “they aren’t going to kill them -- why would I do that? They’re my only chance. If they die in the experiment, and the data isn’t there, I’ve lost that chance.”
Becky screamed as the doctor shone a light in her eye and turned on a scary-sounding device, which was actually just a vacuum pump, but Trina couldn’t see what it was -- all she could hear was her sister’s scream.
“Nooooo you can’t hurt her!” Screamed Trina in fear.
The mechanical whine of the pump stopped. The doctors bearing down on Trina stopped to look. Trina was still strapped down and couldn’t see what was happening.
“Oh, boy, my favorite!” said the lady who had been preparing to take some kind of measurement or sample from Becky, but now she was skipping merrily around the giant ice cream cone that the vacuum pump had turned into. The guards who had been serving as her orderlies were doing the same exact thing.
“Chocolate fudge ripple, yayyyy!” they all chanted like little children.
“What … what is this?” Lucretia demanded. “Control yourselves immediately! Find an explanation for this phenomenon! What am I paying you people for?”
Becky was still strapped to her chair, but she was confused, because she thought she saw a giant ice cream cone out of the corner of her eye, and all the adults near her had started dancing around like maniacs … or like children who had just heard the ice cream truck coming. Soon they all dove toward the ice cream and thus out of Becky’s direct field of vision.
“What’s going on?” Becky asked as she squirmed against her restraints to get a look..
The scientist near Trina left her on the table and went to examine what had happened across the room. “It … appears to be a giant ice cream cone,” he said. “Fudge ripple appears to be correct, from what I can see.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know, you idiot,” Lucretia grated. “Why did it happen?”
“Hmm … Holo system, rollback recording … pause. Play.”
The scientist watched a holo image appear before him as the computer played back the past few minutes’ events. “Subject Trina did in fact mention ice cream … but it wasn’t until Subject Becky’s scream that anything happened. She screamed, and then there was ice cream. We all … scream for …”
“Get a hold of yourself!” Lucretia snarled. “Are you saying that she can somehow transmogrify matter and control minds?”
“We … all … scream …” said the scientist, sweating in an effort of will, “for … ice cream!” He also dove at the ice cream cone, trying to get in a lick or two.
“Great,” Lucretia snapped. “Under no circumstances is anyone else to go near that ice cream … thing.”
“Are you going to let them go?” asked Nana Pederson. “Your scientists seem … distracted.”
“I have plenty of scientists, and more of them are coming to analyze the … occurrences here,” said Lucretia.
On a very fast ship crossing the huge gulf of space and time between it … and LxCrox III, a very beautiful woman began to worry. She leaned over and cooed softly to the pilot who was dressed so adorably as a chipmonk, “Do you think you can handle things until you land at these coordinates on Lxcrox?” a landing location appeared on the display on the console.
The young man giggled as he nodded his head vigorously. Persephone smiled lovingly as she kissed him on his forehead, and patted his well diapered hinny.
Persephone didn’t need her magic mirror to tell her that her daughters were in trouble … and this time … she knew where they were and she was going to go and get them.
There was a blue/white flash of light … and the infantile looking crew were the only ones left in the cockpit.
Having watched a number of guards and scientists devour a giant ice cream cone that used to be a vacuum pump, the other scientists were warily watching the video of the incident and the energy field readings of the room, which was all the data they had about the unexpected happening. The fact that the guards and scientists, having finished the ice cream, were now having a food fight with fragments of the cone while their faces were still sticky just made it more urgent that they find an answer to the question of how this had happened.
“I think our strategy so far has been overly aggressive, Ms. Culex,” said a graying female scientist, “and this has been counterproductive. You’re in bad health, certainly, but sometimes one must use more haste and less speed.”
“You’ve already psychoanalyzed me, Dr. Weathers,” said Lucretia. “Go psychoanalyze them.”
“Pff! Psychoanalysis! How … 20th century,” said Dr. Weathers, wandering slowly over toward Trina. “I’m sure you heard all of that, Trina -- it’s Trina, right? I’m Dr. Weathers, or you could call me Carole if you like.”
“Hi, Carole,” said Trina. “Are you going to be good, or am I going to have to send you to the cornfield?” Trina was thinking of some video from old Earth that she had seen once.
“Is a cornfield a good place or a bad place?” asked Dr. Weathers.
“You missed me, you missed me, now you gotta kiss me,” jeered one of the scientists who had been eating the ice cream, dodging a piece of ice cream cone.
“Are questions all you ever ask?” asked Trina.
“Are there other things you can ask besides questions?”
“Can you think of any?”
“I was hoping we could talk about you.”
“OK, but I’m sure I’d be much better at talking if I weren’t strapped to an operating table.”
“That’s negotiable,” Dr. Weathers said. “Look,” she said to the rest of the people in the room, “I’m going to let her go -- it’s not as if she can go anywhere, and it’s not as if being strapped down prevented her from doing -- whatever it is she did.”
Lucretia made a face. “Fine. Whatever.”
Dr. Weathers loosened Trina’s straps, and the girl sat up, rubbing her wrists. “Wow, thanks! You’re the nicest person we’ve met on this ship so far -- but keep in mind that isn’t saying much. How come you’re not letting my sister out of that thing she’s in?”
“Yeah, how come I’m still in this horrible chair thing?” Becky asked from across the room.
“Good question. Can anyone explain to me why she’s in that?” Dr. Weathers called out. Nobody really had an answer.
“Because we were ordered to put her there?” said one of the guards who hadn’t had any ice cream.
“Because their bodies have answers,” said Lucretia. “We need those answers. I need them to live.”
“We’ve already got their complete DNA, don’t we?” asked Dr. Weathers. “Is there any way there can be more answers than you’ll find there -- in the genetic codes that define their bodies down to the molecular level?”
“I’m willing to believe anything at this point,” said Lucretia, “and we didn’t find what we were looking for in their DNA -- except that they develop and grow very slowly, looking like four-year-olds at 15 years of age.”
“And at that rate they’ll live about four times as long as an average human,” said Dr. Weathers. “So you believe they must have some secret of longevity. It’s true you have reason to believe this, because it gives you hope --”
“Stop analyzing me. Analyze them,” snapped Lucretia.
“I’m still in the chair,” said Becky. “I’m not liking it very much.”
“For goodness sake, let the poor girl out of that thing,” said Nana Pederson.
“I’m just saying that what the girls know they know, and what they don’t they don’t,” said Dr. Weathers, “and if they could give you what you want, which is obviously to be young again or at least to have more time so a cure can be found for your condition, they would, so they could all get out of here. Right, Trina? Right, Becky?”
“That’s right,” said, Trina, “except now I kind of want you to suffer because of all you’ve done to us.”
“Trina!” said Becky. “That’s mean!”
“Well anyway, at least I don’t think she deserves a gift like longer life. Not even wonderful, beautiful, nice people like Nana Pederson get that, so I don’t see why cruel, mean, awful, horrible people should get it.”
“That’s it!” shouted Lucretia. “I’ve had enough of this. Dr. Flambeau, we need a sample of that one’s brain tissue.” A large white-coated man with goggles advanced on Trina, surrounded by guards.
“But I need that brain tissue,” screeched Trina.
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~~ End Pt5 ~~
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~~ Legend of Infantus Pt6 ~~
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“No! Trina!” shouted Becky, struggling against the chair.
Becky struggled hard against the bonds holding her in the chair. She became hysterical as Dr. Flambeau approached Trina with several head clamps, a bone saw, and a tissue scoop.
Without warning, there was a blue/white flash of bright light, the seriously strong odor of ozone, and Dr. Flambeau, and the many guards were no longer in the room.
Lucretia shouted, “Where did they go? What did you do you little heathen?”
Becky realized that her bonds were gone as well and quickly stood from the chair and moved to Trina and took her hand. Both girls backed away from Lucretia towards Nana Pederson, who wrapped her arms around them protectively.
Becky whispered to Trina, “I think … those dolls told us our mom was a …”
Trina finished the statement, “A goddess?”
Nana Pederson looked at the girls with big surprised eyes, “You … you mean to tell me … both of you are cherubs?”
Becky looked at Nana and asked, “A … what? A cherryrub? Wassat?”
Nana laughed, “Those are the … well … the infant gods and goddesses … like … Eros.”
Trina giggled, “She means … like Cupid.”
Becky looked at Lucretia and said sternly, “We … are leaving here. If you or anyone tries to stop us … I promise to do somethin … drastic.”
Lucretia smiled an evil smile as she pushes several buttons on her support chair. Solid Armourplast blast doors closed rapidly over the exit portal and the sound of massive locking mechanisms in motion could be heard for several seconds.
Lucretia said softly, “I don’t think … anyone with less than a plasma torpedo will be leaving this room … unless I say so.”
Trina and Becky looked around. The only way in or out, was now sealed with thick Armourplast blast doors … the strongest armor shielding known to humankind.
“Are you not thinking?” asked Trina, stepping toward Lucretia. “Becky just made a bunch of people leave this room without opening any doors. Why would it matter if you add more doors?”
“Yeah, but o’course ... I dunno how I did it,” Becky said quietly.
“I don’t know how you did it either, young lady,” said Lucretia to Becky, “but you’re going to have to do it again, if you want to get out. If you want any of us to get out, actually. No one is leaving this room until I get what I want. You know how much longer I have to live? My doctors gave me a month to live three months ago. They don’t know why I’m still breathing. Neither do I, but I am, and while I am, I will be looking for ways to keep going. So start thinking of ways to … to …”
She stopped, because something was happening. The girls noticed they had shadows in front of them that weren’t there before, then that there was something behind them that shone with a bright light, and getting brighter. They turned around and gasped.
A beautiful young woman in a white gown with long, blonde hair stood there. They both knew instantly who this was. “M-mama?” said Trina haltingly.
“Mommy!” Becky said, embracing her immediately, with Trina doing the same not long after.
Both girls were in tears, and Persephone, for it was she, picked up both her daughters with a gentle strength that was not obvious from her slight frame, also weeping.
“My children,” Persephone sobbed, “I finally get the chance to meet you. I hope I’m not too late to be a good mother to you.”
“But how did you find us?” Trina asked. “The little dolls … they all ran out of energy.”
“They gave their last to call to me,” she said, “and then … that did the rest.” She pointed to Becky’s “Little Sisters” backpack, from which the Legend of Infantus book protruded, being too large to fit entirely inside it. “It’s always been a tracking device. Like the dolls, my people and I sent it, and others like it, out to help me find you.”
“You!” exclaimed Lucretia, pointing at Persephone. “Those infernal dolls, so popular, so profitable … they’re made on your world? Infantus?”
“Yes, Lucretia,” Persephone told her, “they are. Sold from one company to another to another, so no one would suspect their origin -- especially not someone who knew about us, was offered the chance to become one of us, and then refused out of spite. But I am not vindictive … not anymore. I was content to let you be, until you tried to prevent my babies from getting home. Once you did that …” Persephone shook her head slowly. “Some of my past actions have earned me censure from my peers, but no one would deny me any vengeance I wished for what you have done. You kidnapped family. You were going to harm them.”
“Hmph,” Lucretia said. “Do your worst, ‘Goddess.’ I’m on the brink of death anyway. There’s nothing you can do.”
“On the contrary,” said Persephone. “They’re safe now, and I’m happy. I’m taking them home with me to Infantus -- or anywhere else they’d like to go. Nana Pederson is coming too -- kind lady, I’ll gladly take you anywhere you’d like to go.”
“You’re not doing anything to me?” Lucretia said.
“I’m not,” said Persephone, “but I believe you’ve seen a few things my daughters can do. They might do something to you -- or for you, depending on how you look at it -- but they might not. What do you think, girls?”
Becky said, “How … do we get the power ta work, mama? It only seemsa work is someone we love in serious trouble.”
Persephone smiled lovingly as she walked up to Becky and turned her around. She placed her hands softly on the back of her head and neck.
Persephone said quietly, “There is a mental block in your mind keeping you from inadvertently hurting someone until you get proper supervision and training on how to use it. Now … just relax and allow this to happen. It won’t hurt … mommy promises.”
Becky closes her eyes. She feels the soft warmth of mommy’s hands on the back of her head and neck for just an instant … then the most amazing tingling sensation ran all through her body. The whole of the universe seemed to open before her at that point as the most wonderful music she had ever heard began to sing through her spirit.
Persephone leaned over and cooed softly, “Hear that sweet heart? That … is the heavenly choir of the universe singing its lovely song for all the angels and goddesses to hear.”
As persephone walks over to Trina and places her hands on the back of her head and neck, a glow began to radiate from Becky. She transformed as her lovely face seemed to become angelic, her babydoll outfit changed as well. It looked as if it were made of light and bits of cloud.
Lucretia stared open mouthed in serious wonder as she watched this remarkable transformation.
Becky opened her eyes and smiled as she turned and looked at Lucretia. Lucretia backed her support chair up until it came to a wall and could go no further. Becky waved her hand gracefully through the air … nothing happened except a bright shower of light tinkled over Lucretia.
Persephone giggled, “You have to have intent, love. Without it … nothing happens.”
Becky tried again, Lucretia screamed. Her voice changing as she did. Within the support chair, an extremely old woman shrank away, leaving an infant of no more than 8 months old sitting in the tangle of wires, tubes, and way over large clothes. Many alarms began going off.
Trina looked up at her mother, her face looking angelically up at her with a glow of pure love, transfixed with awe. Then she noticed the alarms going off and looked at the infant that had been Lucretia, crying in despair as her doctors tried to help. The alarms ceased their shrilling and blaring as the doctors turned them off -- most of them had simply gone off because their sensors had disconnected from Lucretia’s body as she had shrunk in size. Lucretia’s tiny voice stopped crying then, and suddenly said, “Wait -- why am I upset? I just got everything I wanted -- more time. I’ll have another lifetime.”
“I’m not sure you deserve that,” said Trina, her angelic aura turning somewhat sinister and emphasizing her dark hair and eyes. “What about this?”
A cloud of dark energy swirled around the baby that had been an old woman. “Wait,” said Lucretia, “what are you dooooo goo baa loo neeee aaaah gaaaa!” Her words faded into babbling incoherence.
“You can have all the time you want now,” said Trina. “You’ll never get any older. Of course, you’ll never be able to walk or talk either, but you can still understand everyone else. Your body will only be able to do as an 8 month old from now on. Your muscle coordination is completely gone, so you’ll be a baby in diapers forever, your mind still whole -- for now -- until it drives you mad. How long will it take, I wonder?” Persephone raised an eyebrow at her daughter.
Lucretia looked at Trina and babbled some more at her. “I have no idea what you’re saying,” Trina answered. “You might want to start getting used to that.”
Lucretia’s little eyes teared up, and she made some more noises, sounding as if she were about to cry again.
“Don’t worry,” said Trina, “there’s a way out for you -- no, it doesn’t involve getting run over by a groundcar. You got into this by putting yourself above everyone else. If you can think about someone else first instead of yourself, my ‘gift’ to you will be broken. An act of true sacrifice, and you’ll be able to learn how to walk and talk again and start to grow up. And it has to be a selfless act -- you can’t just be doing it because you want to break the curse. It’ll be difficult -- you can’t sacrifice much when you have nothing to give -- but it’s better than nothing, don’t you think?”
“But she’s got a whole corporation,” said Dr. Weathers.
“Does she? How is she going to prove that she is really Lucretia Culex?” Trina asked. “Especially when she can’t speak?”
“Well, we’ll vouch for her,” said the doctor “There are genetics, fingerprints.”
“Will you, now? And how about when one of her greedy relatives gets the bright idea to pay you huge piles of cash to say otherwise? And what happens after you’re all dead and gone? She’ll still be like this, you know. Only then, no one will be alive who remembers her as she was or remembers this day.” Trina shrugged. “Unless she finds a way to make an act of true sacrifice for another by then.”
“Clever,” said Persephone. “We’ll look in on her in a few decades and see how she’s doing.” She walked up and patted the tiny baby on the head gently. “After all, we don’t want any harm to come to her, do we?” Leaning in closely, she whispered to Lucretia alone, “Looks like you should have accepted Baby Rules all those years ago. What an adorable baby you would have made -- but back then you had a choice. Now you don’t.”
Persephone takes the girls by their hand. She looks at Nana Pederson and smiles softly. Persephone asks in her almost irresistible voice, “Miss Pederson … it would appear that Etherium needs a new goddess. All the little Cherubs need someone to tend to them … and I thought … you might like the job?”
Nana Pederson felt an intense surge all through her body down to her deepest soul. There was so much more to this offering than words had said. She felt the many years weighing down her body lift as she became young and vibrant again. Nana looked down at herself. Her clothes had become too large for her now girlish frame.
Persephone said, “That’s right, you are 16 again …. and the goddess Nana.”
Nana’s clothes changed and became the same kind of gown that Persephone wore, along with a silver tiara with a large sparkling jewel in the center.
Nana said softly, “I … don’t know what to say.”
Trina and Becky rushed up to her and hugged her around the waist, “Come with us Nana. Be our Nana forever.”
Nana Pederson knelt down and hugged both girls lovingly as she whispered in a teary voice, “Of course … my little cherubs.”
Persephone smiles as she claps her hands together. There is a bright flash of blue/white light … and the room with the infant Lucretia and all her doctors and nurses changed into a nursery instead. All the remaining adults looked around at the new furnishings in total astonishment. The Technicians and guards that had been fighting over the ice cream … were now infants and toddlers in body, as they had become in mind. Persephone, Trina, Becky, and Nana Pederson were gone.
“So this is your real mother?” asked Lacey. Trina and Becky were visiting their high school one last time. “You said she thought you’d died in that spaceship crash until recently?” Trina and Becky nodded.
“Well I think the babies need their mommy, like any babies,” said Tanya. Persephone raised an eyebrow and glanced in her direction. “I guess they’ll be going back to nursery school like -- AAAAH!” she suddenly shouted as she found herself wetting her jeans, the dark spot spreading quickly and obviously down her legs. Tanya made a quick exit.
“That was weird,” said Lacey. “Oh well, it’s Tanya. Anyway, your mom is really pretty, and is it true that she’s who really makes the Little Sisters dolls?”
“Well, her company does,” said Trina. “She doesn’t make them herself, though she designed them.”
“Oh, so that’s why they look like you then! Her long-lost daughters. That’s so sweet!” She hugged Becky and Trina. “I hope you come back to visit us!”
“We will!” Becky and Trina both said.
In the girl’s bathroom, Tanya fretted over wetting her pants. She had no fresh clothes, and her jeans and panties were soaked. She turns suddenly at a bright flash of light. She sees the woman that Trina and Becky called mommy standing there.
Persephone coos softly in an irresistible voice as she walks up and caresses Tanya’s face lovingly, “Do you accept baby rules sweet heart? You will make such a beautiful babydoll you know.”
It was like being hit by lightning as the question permeated her entire existence. Tanya couldn’t resist …. she had to answer. Tanya gasped out in a small little girl’s voice, “I DO!!!”
In a place beyond places in what appeared to be an other worldly garden filled with many types of strange flowering plants, Persephone, the girls, and Nana Pederson appeared in a flash of blue/white light. Nana and the girls looked around in wide eyed amazement. They could hear the tinkling sounds of a magic fountain as it splashed into a large pool filled with fish like creatures none of them had ever dreamed could exist. There was an apple tree that bore golden apples. Many types of other things none of them had any inkling what were stood mysteriously all around.
On a high dais, sat a very muscular and handsome man with what appeared to be a crown of gold laurel leaves on his head. He was dressed in some kind of golden and red armor. Persephone ran up and hugged him about the neck as she gave him a huge kiss on his cheek.
She said excitedly, “Father, I want you to finally meet my daughters.” she turns and beckons to them. “I also want you to meet the newest goddess among us. She will henceforth be known as … the goddess Nana, keeper of infants and Cherubs.”
Nana took the girls by their hands and approached the throne. Nana curtsied and had the girls do it too.
Persephone said, “Nana Pederson … I want you to meet my father and the girl’s grandfather … Ares, the God of War.”
Ares had smiled when his daughter had hugged and kissed him, but he looked rather severe now. “And before I welcome you into our fold, pray tell, what have you done to deserve this honor?”
“Why, she” -- Persephone began, but Ares held his hand up, and she stopped.
“Let her answer for herself,” said Ares.
“Well, I’ve known these two little angels since they first appeared on the planet I’m from,” Nana Pederson said. “Sakes alive, I never thought the God of War would be interrogating me.”
“Go on,” Ares prompted her.
“I took care of many children, of course, since it was an orphanage. But I knew there was something special about these two. Well, everyone knew they were from another planet, of course, but lots of people come from other planets these days. It’s not like the old days when we were the farthest-flung Earth colony and half the galaxy had never heard of us. But these two girls, they were so different yet so alike. You could tell they were sisters. They clung to each other and helped each other, even though they needed so much help themselves, poor things, never making it out of diapers even after 14 years.”
“Yes, that’s Mom’s side of the family having an effect …” Persephone said.
“Let her continue,” said Ares.
“I always read them their favorite book -- that Legend of Infantus storybook that seemed to show up shortly after they came to us. Now I know why, but they always loved that book. Anyway, I wasn’t the only one who took care of them, but for one reason or another they always came to me when they needed help, or a shoulder to cry on. ‘Course, these past few days, things have been pretty crazy. I helped them when they were hiding from that terrible old Culex woman and her thugs. I don’t know how they found the house we were in, because those newfangled dolls were so smart and careful, but if someone sold us out, I’m going to find them and give them a piece of my mind! We were going to another place when those goons flew down and captured us all.”
“Ah, so you were their comrade in arms, and you were prisoners of war together,” Ares said. “Now that is a story I can get behind! I approve!” He laughed heartily. “Welcome! I have always thought that with Persephone always making more babies, we needed someone to oversee their care.”
“Well, I’ll do my best …”
“I’m sure you’ll be excellent! Oh, and whether we’re ‘gods’ or not depends on whom you ask.”
“OK, are we gods?” Nana Pederson asked.
Ares laughed again. “Ha ha! I like you. Well, we reach a certain level of development then, we don’t age, we have powers beyond those of mere mortals, and we represent basic ideas and primal forces. Perhaps we are. Or perhaps not. I try not to think about it too much. I’m not really a warlike person, despite my area of expertise. But war seems to be inevitable sometimes, so when it happens, there I am, meddling with it, putting my foot in it, or at least observing.”
About that time, there was a flash of blue/white light. An extremely beautiful young woman dressed in an almost see through gown appeared with a diapered infant in her arms.
She said with a very sexy tinkling musical voice, “Hi, Ares, Eros wanted to come and see you …” her voice trailed off as she looked up and saw Persephone the girls, and Nana Pederson.
Ares held out his arms and said, “Bring my son to me so I can cuddle him too.”
Nana Pederson almost passed out as she realized who these two individuals were, “You’re … You … You’re …”
The woman giggles, “Yes, sweet heart, I’m Aphrodite, the goddess of love and this cute little Cherub is my son … I guess you would know him better as Cupid.” She delivers him to Ares open arms. She walks gracefully over to Persephone and kissed her on the forehead, “Welcome home , daughter.” She then turns and cocks her head to one side curiously, “And … Whom are you and those children?”
Ares said, “Those Cherubs there are your granddaughters we thought lost so many years ago finally come home.”
Nana said, “I’m … Nana Pederson. I suppose I should call myself the goddess of Nanas? Keeper of infants and Cherubs.”
Aphrodite gracefully glided over to Nana and hugged and kissed her lovingly on her cheek, “Welcome to Etherium … and I would suppose … to our fold.”
Aphrodite knelt and held out her arms, “Come to me granddaughters, so that I might give you a long over due hug and pat on your behinds.”
Trina and Becky looked at each other for an instant, before they walked into Aphrodite’s open arms. She promptly hugged, lovingly kissed their cheeks, and patted their diapered bottoms.
She said softly, “Welcome home children. This, is your true home. Anything your mind can imagine … is possible. So long, of course, you don’t mess up things too badly …” she turns and makes a cute face at Persephone, “Isn’t that right daughter?”
Persephone seemed to blush as she replied, “Yes, mother … it’s true.”
Ares and Persephone laughed heartily.
The Cherub in Ares arms sits up and says, “Hi there. I hope you would like to learn how to shoot a bow. I good at that.”
With this, there is a small flash of light, and the Cherub suddenly had beautiful bright white wings, a recurve bow made of some kind of golden material, and a quiver full of golden arrows that had red, heart shaped tips on them.”
Aphrodite said, “That might be a good idea. You girls can help your uncle out on his missions to bring love to the universe until we can sort out what your true niche is.”
Epilog:
The girls had finally arrived on Infantus. The world was far more magical than they could have imagined. Trina and Becky were now permanently dressed as the most adorable Babydolls ones mind could conceive, and filled the role as perfectly as was possible. The girl’s discovered an entire biosphere where anything a child could imagine … was available for them to experience … all without danger, or fear.
Nana fit right in with all the Cherubs and infants who loved her dearly. She performed her duties with a natural love and caring that proved she was perfect for her new placement: goddess of Nanas, keeper of Infants and Cherubs. She even had helpers, minor goddesses who loved children and helped Nana care for, and watch over the Nursery of the Gods.
Tanya, was now the one in diapers. For some reason unknown to Tanya, her mother insisted on dressing her as a Little Sister. She had now filled the place on LxCrox III Trina and Becky had prior to their finding their mother. Tanya made the perfect Babydoll as Persephone said she would, much to Tanya’s chagrin.
As for Lucretia Culex, she remained a very adorable 8 month old for … who knew? Time has this way of passing by when one is having that much fun. With her also being the Corporate Mascot for a very exclusive line of baby products for an Intergalactic Corporation Like Babies of all Ages, Lucretia actually faded away, to be lost in an adorable little girl named, Felicia.
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~~ Another Ending to a Beautiful Beginning ~~
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