Chapter Two: Nexus
At Fluttershy’s announcement that dinner was ready, Jeremy and the others went into the small dining room. Applejack took off her Stetson and put it on a peg by the doorway to the dining room. As they entered the dining room, they were greeted by a rather cross looking rabbit, who had his small arms folded and was tapping one large back leg impatiently and pointedly looking at his empty bowl. “Angel bunny,” Fluttershy admonished, “be polite. These are guests.” The rabbit looked supremely unimpressed.
Jeremy and the ponies all sat down at the table. The ponies folded their forelegs under them and Jeremy just sat cross-legged. The table was a little tall for that, but since he was over six feet tall, it didn’t really bother him. Apparently, ponies did not usually make use of chairs at mealtimes. Fluttershy passed around the big salad bowl while Twilight filled everyone’s glasses with cold cider from a glass pitcher. When the salad bowl got to Jeremy, he stared in consternation at the mixed assortment of definitely inedible leaves and grasses. It smelled earthy and wild. There were even flowers in the sald. He shrugged and served himself a large helping. It’s not like I’ll die if I eat something poisonous, he thought.
The salad was certainly... different. It was reminiscent of the open grasslands, redolent of spring days full of sunshine. Probably because I’m eating the grass of those open grasslands, Jeremy thought, doing his best not to grimace at the just-mown taste. The ponies certainly seemed to be enjoying the meal. Perhaps I’ll just stick with the cider for now. It certainly was tasty enough.
After a while of eating in silence, Fluttershy broke the quiet, “Um... Jeremy? Would you mind telling us what happened next?”
Twilight eagerly nodded and Applejack, after a long swig of cider took a sprig of grass and chewed the end of it, obviously waiting for Jeremy to continue. Jeremy took another sip of his cider, trying to get the grassy taste out of his mouth, It really does linger. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Right, so Clint had just told me all about immortals. The next thing he did changed my life--again. So...”
~*.*~
Clint walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. Jane didn’t follow, but plopped down on the couch again and turned on the TV. The game show was still on and within seconds, she was rapturously watching it again. Jeremy stared at her curiously. Clint followed his eye and grunted, “Huhm. Where Jane was from, they didn’t allow game shows on their entertainment networks. They claimed that such things degraded moral fiber, or something like that. When she’s on Earth, it’s all I can do to tear her away from it for meals.” Clint opened the door opposite Jeremy’s room at the far end of the hall and stepped inside. Jeremy paused for a moment, watching Jane watch TV, before he followed Clint into the room.
The room Jeremy and Clint were in now was almost a mirror duplicate of the room Jeremy awoke in earlier that morning. Clint moved to the chest of drawers, went to the left side, and put his shoulder into the heavy piece of furniture. With a grunt, Clint pushed the entire chest over and it hit the ground with a resounding bang. Jeremy heard Jane give a little shriek from the other room before he heard her rapid footsteps down the hall. She appeared in the doorway with an expression of outrage on her face. Clint laughed and wiped his hands on his dirty jeans. “Jane, girl, that gets ya every time!”
Jeremy looked from fuming woman to chuckling old man and decided to keep his mouth shut. Clint put his booted foot against a corner of the chest and shoved and the whole piece slid several feet before gently bumping into the far wall. Jane glared daggers at the old man for a second longer, then stormed off into the living room to resume watching her game show. Clint, still chuckling, shook his head and said, “She really needs to lighten up a little. C’mon, Jeremy, follow me.”
Jeremy was stunned by Clint’s show of almost superhuman strength. He guessed that it would have taken three grown men to have lifted the solid-looking chest of drawers and he didn’t think anyone could have just kicked it to the side like Clint had done. While Jeremy was mulling this over, Clint had pulled open a trapdoor that had been concealed beneath the chest and was climbing a ladder down into inky darkness. After another minute, Jeremy followed, not sure what he was expecting, but beginning to believe that even if the old man wasn’t crazy, it would probably be best not to threaten or insult him any more.
Whatever Jeremy was expecting, it certainly wasn’t what he encountered at the bottom of the solid ladder he climbed down. Initially, the room had been too dark to see anything in, but Clint fumbled around for a second and found a light switch. The room the two were in was the size of a large closet or a small bedroom, something like a really rich lady would have in her house if she just loved shopping. The only thing in the room was a box that looked like a cross between a shower stall and something from Star Trek or maybe The Fly. Wires and high-tech looking gadgetry spilled from the top of the box, which stood about six and a half feet tall with a translucent door. Clint turned to Jeremy and smiled at the expression of doubt stamped across his face. “You’re wondering what this is. I’ll tell you,” Clint winked cheerfully, “it’s a teleporter.”
~*.*~
“Wait,” Twilight interrupted. “If you needed to teleport somewhere, why didn’t you just use a teleportation spell?”
Jeremy blinked at her. “Uh...” He was about to tell her that magic wasn’t real, but the rather casual and off-hand (Or is it off-hoof?) manner in which she had just tossed that little bomb obviated that assertion. “Well... too much effort?” He ventured.
Twilight did not seem convinced. “Look,” said Jeremy, “we teleported some two hundred thousand light years. I don’t know what kind of energy a magic spell would require to teleport someone that far, but...”
“Sugarcube,” Applejack interjected, “what’s a light-year?”
“It’s 9.4605284 times ten to the twelfth kilometers,” Twilight recited, “rounded to seven significant digits.” At Applejack’s look, she blushed a little. “It’s how far light travels in a year.”
“...Right.” Applejack took another sip of cider, “So you travelled two hundred--”
“--Thousand--”
“--thousand light years.” Applejack finished, “How far is that, Twi?”
“Uhm... 3.784211 times ten to the eighteenth kilometers. Give or take a few thousand kilometers.”
Jeremy was impressed, “Sounds about right.”
“And, um... what was so far away from your home? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.” Fluttershy ducked her head, hiding behind her mane.
“I was just getting to that. Now lemme see...”
~*.*~
“What?” Jeremy was getting a little tired of saying “what” and generally feeling like he was getting left out of everything, but this little announcement had come out of nowhere and had caught him unprepared. Not that he really felt prepared for anything at the moment.
Clint smiled again, his ugly face creasing and wrinkling in yet an uglier, yet somehow still endearing, expression. His tone was understanding when he said, “Listen, Jeremy, I know you’ve been through a lot lately.” He waited for Jeremy to interrupt and when he didn’t, he went on, “And you’ve got a lot more to see. So I’ll give you fair warning. This is gonna blow your mind. Nothing you have ever seen, heard, or experienced will compare with what you are about to go through. Treasure this experience, though, kid, because as far as I know, immortality is forever. When I said that we’re immortal, I meant it. None of us dies, kiddo. Can’t. So we get bored after the first millenium. Or insane. Sometimes, the only thing that sustains us and keeps us from slipping into insanity are the memories of the wonders of the universe.” He paused; Jeremy thought Clint had a flair for the dramatic which rivaled Andrew Lloyd Webber. “Jeremy, what you’re about to see is one of the wonders of the universe.” Clint opened the door to the booth and gestured Jeremy within.
“Now, step into the booth and scoot over.” Jeremy did as he was instructed feeling more and more like he was going nuts, but so numb to it now that he was willing to just go along with it. Clint crowded into the little space with him and he spoke in a commanding voice in a language Jeremy didn’t understand, then looked over his shoulder and gave another impish smile, “Might wanna hold your breath, kid, it helps the first time.”
Before Jeremy could reply, he felt a tingling throughout his entire body like a mild electric shock. The tingling increased until it felt like his whole body had fallen asleep and he turned to ask Clint what was going on. He found that he couldn’t turn. Suddenly, the walls of the booth began to flicker and fade. Jeremy felt a bizarre sensation of being stretched to an infinitely long length before being compressed to the tiniest thing imaginable. It happened several times and right when Jeremy was convinced it would never end, it stopped and Jeremy fell against the wall of the booth, breathing in rapid gasps, sweat dripping off his forehead. His eyes were closed and he struggled gamely to keep his breakfast down. He heard a shuffling beside him, then Clint’s voice said, “Lord, boy, if you’re gonna ralph, don’t do it in here! Hang on, lemme open the door.”
Clint reached over Jeremy, who was still doubled over, but recovering slightly, and fumbled with something on the wall Jeremy was leaning against. There was a click, then the wall opened up and Jeremy caught himself quickly before tumbling out onto the ground. He glanced at Clint in irritation before stepping out at the old man’s impatient gesture. All irritation left him as his eyes took in the sight that greeted him upon exiting the booth.
They were no longer in the basement room of the cabin in the field. They were in a very large room that contained hundreds, if not thousands of booths like the one they had just exited. The room was well-lit, but the light seemed directionless, as if everything in the room had a light of its own. Clint didn’t give him much time to gape at the room, though. He stepped briskly past Jeremy and began walking at a good pace before he paused and said, “Well, c’mon, kid. There’s more to this place than the damn garage!” Jeremy shook his head in wonder and jogged to catch up to the old man who had once again begun walking quickly.
Clint led Jeremy through row after row of booths until Jeremy thought they would never see the end of them. Clint was silent the whole time, as was Jeremy, though his mind was boiling with questions. His senses had been assaulted almost continually since his fateful drive last night and Jeremy’s mind had been playing a long game of catch-up in the meantime. He had just begun to accept that even though the wound he had suffered last night should have been fatal, he was still alive and—maybe— still sane and awake. Everything else was simply going to have to wait its turn in line. As Jeremy was mulling these things over, Clint led them through the maze of orderly booths until they finally reached a wall with a door in it. The door was huge, maybe thirty feet tall and was ornately carved or etched with strange abstract designs that made Jeremy’s eyes ache if he stared at any one place for too long. The door was made of some sort of material he had never seen before. It was irridescent and opalescent in the soft, everywhere light that suffused the room. Clint pushed on several different of the designs in a specific order and the door clicked, then opened slowly outward.
The room that met Jeremy seemed to make no sense at first. The only coherent thought that ran through his mind was It’s full of stars! The room is full of stars! And then the world went dark and he fell unconscious. He awoke with Clint’s ugly face staring in concern into his own. “You all right, Jeremy?”
Jeremy blinked a couple of times, feeling dizzy and confused. “What happened?” He asked in a shaky voice, “I saw… I saw stars. Then everything went black.”
“You fainted. I guess I should’ve expected that. The Map Room is enough to do that to a first-timer… You feel better now?”
Jeremy nodded and sat up. The dizziness returned briefly, but faded away after a second or two. “You said it was a map room? Why is it called that?”
Clint gave him a look that seemed to say Are you an idiot? and replied, “Because it’s got maps in it. Are you sure you’re all right?”
Jeremy ignored that last remark and the look and stood up slowly. He seemed steady enough. He had been removed to a small room that had a cot in it and a bookshelf crammed with volumes of all sizes and condition. Other than the books and the bed, the room was bare. It reminded him of his college dorm room, only smaller, if that was possible. “What’s this? Guest rooms or something?”
Clint glanced around and nodded, “Yes. I suppose you could call it that. More of a hostel room, I’d say. Closest one to the Map Room.” Clint lowered himself gingerly onto the cot and scratched his head. Looking more serious than usual, he said, “I think I need to explain some things about this place before we see any more of it. There are a deal more surprises awaiting you and the Map Room is mild in comparison. You might wanna sit down.”
“I think I’ll stand,” said Jeremy.
Clint rolled his eyes, “As you will. Anyway, what I’m about to tell you is not generally accepted among our kind. Y’see, I belong to the group called Observers. We try to stay as objective as possible. We have tasked ourselves to observe all things and record them, never to interfere. I’m counted as a bit of a radical in certain circles, but then again, I am a young’un in relative terms.”
“How old are you?” Asked Jeremy quietly.
“I’m almost two thousand years old.” Jeremy raised an eyebrow at this, but didn’t interrupt. Clint continued, “I grew up on a planet not unlike your Earth and so I enjoy going to Earth when I have some free time. In any case, what I’m getting at is this: my views are typical of the Observer viewpoint. I’m a cynical old bastard and I like to think that nothing surprises me, but I’m not stupid enough to believe it. I’ve already said that the universe is big and it is. You have no idea.
“So as to what I am going to say, all you need know is this: not everyone will agree with me and whatever little clique you decide to join up with will almost certainly disagree with some of the things I’m going to tell you.”
Jeremy nodded, and leaned against a wall, thinking Get on with it, old man! Being immortal must make you wanna talk.
Clint smiled, seeming to catch a little of the thought in Jeremy’s expression. “My point. Very well. First, to restate the obvious: we are immortal. You’re lucky that Jane was in the area when you had your first experience with ‘death’. Otherwise, you might have had to learn the hard way, with no one to explain to you what was going on and show you what I’m showing you now.” Clint shuddered inwardly, then pulled himself together, “Plenty of us had that shock. When you’re immortal, time begins to lose meaning. You might begin to feel apathetic to reality. A sort of spiritual malaise or ennui that you can’t shake. You drift without purpose through space and by and by you begin to go mad. It’s been the fate of many.
“However, some find purpose and stave off eternal boredom by joining one of these groups. I already explained the group to which I belong-- the Observers, and we’re recruiting, by the way-- but there are several others. The Brotherhood of Entropy, the Symposium, Look/See/Feel, Song of Eternity, and the Travellers. There are others, little groups that form over the millennia and then dissolve, but those five and the Observers are the ‘big’ ones; the ones that have persisted for nearly as long as our memory goes back and believe me when I say that that is a long, long time.”
Clint scratched his cheek and dug out another ragged cigarette from the pack in his front pocket. His voice took on the tone of one giving a lecture in a hall, “The oldest one of us is over three and a half billion years old. She is considered by many of us to be insane. I withhold my judgment on this. She is not human and is not, strictly, a she, you understand, but it’s easier to think of ‘her’ that way. This eldest of us does not really have a name, but a slew of titles: Ancient of Days, E’eikth—rok, Ta-*!g, and, strangely, Emily-- not a name on one planet, but a title of deep respect-- are but a few. She stands as presiding sentient over these clubs, which we call the Union. This place you are in,” and he gestured all around him, “is called the Nexus. It’s neutral ground. Y’see, not all of us get along with one another and, while we can’t die, it’s true that there are things worse than death out there.”
“You said each of these clubs—”
Clint interrupted, “Better start calling ‘em Societies. They’d get offended if you called ‘em ‘clubs’.”
Jeremy waved a dismissive hand in the air and continued, “Whatever. So these Societies all have something in common and this place, Nexus, is neutral territory. Great. Now what’s all that mean?”
“Well, mostly, the Societies are really rather loosely bound, but a couple of ‘em, the Brotherhood of Entropy especially, are very tight-knit. Now, as to what it all means, I’m trying to give you information so’s you can decide which one, if any, to join.”
“Well? Which one? I’m not even sure what it all means.” Jeremy ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up all over the place. His voice was calm, but he felt an edge of hysteria creeping in and tried to clamp down on it, “I’m still absorbing… everything. I mean, one minute, I’m driving home, the next I’m immortal and at some place called Nexus somewhere talking about Societies and transporter booths and people who have the title of Emily! What does it all mean?! Why am I fucking immortal?!” His hysteria broke through and Jeremy had started shouting.
Clint was grinning, but Jeremy raged on, “I’ve got school. And classes! And...and a fucking life. And now you’re telling me about secret societies and immortals!”
“Who said anything about secret?” Clint said this quietly, but it cut through Jeremy’s tirade like a hot knife through butter.
Jeremy, poleaxed, said, “What?”
“Who said any of this was a secret? Jeremy, no one here gives a flying fuck if you tell everyone on Earth about us. If you want, you could bring your President and the entire UN assembly here for the grand tour! You could rule Earth if you wanted to, it’s happened before. You’ve forgotten two important things I told you and it’s forgivable because you still think like you’re going to die; you still believe that your life is fragile.” Clint held up his fist, closed, then held up the first finger, “The first thing you have forgotten is that we are immortal and cannot die. There is no threat that would more than inconvenience us. There are some among us who have been acknowledged as gods on other worlds and for all intents and purposes, they are. The Societies are not about enforcing a set of ethics, though ethics are a favorite topic of conversation. The Societies are about staving off boredom and many of the everyday activities of many of the members of the Societies, mine included, would be considered evil by many cultures. The meaning of the truth I told to you is this: since immortals cannot die, their motives are alien to mortals.”
Clint held up his second finger and continued, his rough voice steamrolling over Jeremy’s unvoiced objections, “The second thing is this: the Universe is big. It may be a tiresome repetition, but that means you should pay attention! When I say that the universe is big, I mean a wealth of things, as is typical of seemingly simple statements like that. The first thing that I mean is that there are relatively few immortals in ratio to the number of sentients in the universe, but that number is still over a trillion sentient immortals! And that is just in the small portion of the Universe that we know. Do you really think that something of this magnitude could be kept secret for any length of time by over a trillion beings? Don’t think it for a moment!
“Another facet of meaning is that in a Universe as big as ours--which might as well be infinitely big,” Clint looked at Jeremy meaningfully and paused dramatically, “almost anything can and has happened. If you wanted to tell everyone on Earth about us and introduce your planet to the technological wonders of Nexus, it is completely understandable and such action would be understood in all circles and applauded in some. We don’t hide what we are, Jeremy: it’s just too big. We have a set of administrative offices that handles cultural politics and assimilation.” Clint sighed and ran a hand through his hair before continuing, sounding tired, “What I’m getting at is that you can pretty much do whatever you want. We aren’t a government or anything else like that. We’re a bunch of free sentients who have found each other and take solace in the company of others like us under the one thing that all of us have in common: our immortality. The Societies are, and always have been, a way to keep us occupied.”
“Okay,” said Jeremy, “I guess I can kinda see where you’re coming from, Clint. But it’ll take some getting used to.” He considered that last thought, then gave a wry, somewhat bitter laugh, “I guess I’ll have the time for it, though.”
Clint chuckled, “You’re getting the hang of it, kid. Now, I didn’t bring you two hundred thousand light years from your birthplace to jaw ya to death! Do you feel ready to take the tour? Maybe meet some people?”
“Sure, I guess,” said Jeremy, “but can I get some different clothes? No offense, but yours aren’t exactly… ah… flattering.” Jeremy gestured at the too-big shirt draped from his shoulders and the pants with legs ending somewhere about mid-calf.
Still chuckling, Clint nodded. He got up, walked over to the far wall and seemed to poke at the air, then a bright light suddenly shone on Jeremy. It flared to a blinding brilliance before fading slowly. Jeremy, dazzled, blinked a few times to clear his vision and saw Clint looking at him expectantly. “Well,” said Clint, “does this meet with your approval?” He gestured at Jeremy’s body and smiled slightly.
Jeremy looked down, not knowing what to expect and gasped when he saw himself dressed in completely different clothes. He was dressed in loose-fitting but comfortable blue jeans and a plain black T-shirt, also loose, but comfortable. Slowly, a grin spread on his wondering face and he nodded, muttering, “Miracle technology, indeed!”
“One last thing before the tour,” said Clint as he reached into a pocket and dug out a small plastic bag, “you’ll need to take this before we start. Before you ask, it’s a pill with nanites in it that’ll shoot through your bloodstream and into your brain. It’s the most useful and convenient little bit of technological wizardry that’s come out of Nexus. Saves a lot of headaches around here: it’s a universal translator. It’ll take some getting used to, but with practice, you’ll get the hang of it. You know about nanites?”
Jeremy nodded as he took the bag, looking at it dubiously, “A little, I guess. Mostly science fiction and speculative science. I think I read a Scientific American article about ‘em a while ago. Tiny machines, right? Only the ones in the magazine article were supposed to heal you, not translate for you.”
“Oh, these’ll do that and more besides. Think of ‘em as just one of the many perks of immortality. Just chew it up and swallow.”
Jeremy examined the little bag a little longer, then tipped the small pill out into his hand. It was a bright, metallic blue and didn’t look like it would break up in his teeth, rather it looked like it would break his teeth. He raised his eyebrow at Clint, who nodded, then tipped the pill into his mouth and chewed. The pill came apart easily enough in his mouth and he felt a strange tingling sensation on his gums and cheek and tongue and all the way down his throat. After a matter of seconds, the tingling went away. “You ready?” Clint asked this and started to the door, not waiting for Jeremy’s response.
Instead of answering, Jeremy got up and followed Clint to the door and out of it. They were in a long hall with a number of doors identical to the one from which they had just emerged. It reminded Jeremy once again of a college dormitory as they walked down its length and turned right at the end of the hall. There was a normal-looking elevator door at the end of another hall, this one shorter than the previous, but without any doorways in it. Clint led them to the elevator and Jeremy saw that this elevator wasn’t as typical as he’d thought. The only button on its little square of brushed steel was a blue button with no marking upon it at all. Clint pressed the button and waited patiently for the doors to open.
When the doors opened, they revealed yet another transporter booth. “This is a public booth, Jeremy,” said Clint, “we had to wait to make sure that no one else was using this circuit. Otherwise, your signature could get mixed up or lost in translation somewhere along the line. Can be messy. Long time getting back to normal and it’s a trifle unpleasant to spend a long time in the circuits of a computer. Here’s the drill: these can only send one person at a time, so when you step in, just say ‘Sustenance’ and wait. Got it?”
“Got it,” said Jeremy, some of his numbness was wearing off and he was beginning to feel a little nervous.
Clint stepped into the booth and the door closed. Jeremy stood at the doors, waiting for them to re-open. After he had waited for about a minute and a half, he realized he had to press the blue button to make the doors open and once again felt like an idiot way out of his depth. Which, all things being fair, he was in a lot of ways. He pressed the button and the doors slid quietly open revealing once again the interior of the transporter booth. He stepped inside and when the doors slid closed behind him, enclosing him in a cocoon of silence, he felt his nervousness grow exponentially. Still, his voice was steady enough when he said, “Sustenance,” and the lurching, terrible feeling of being stretched and ripped apart began again and he closed his eyes.
Jeremy gasped for breath and felt his knees unhinge. He sagged against the wall and closed his eyes, willing his head to clear. He stood up slowly and stepped out of the booth to find Clint sitting on a low bench in front of a doorway that opened into a large kind of hall. Clint stood as Jeremy approached and looked at him curiously. “I’m never gonna get used to those teleporters,” he groused.
“If you say so.” Clint turned and gestured impatiently, “ C’mon, kid. I’m sure you’re hungry. They say you don’t lose anything going through those booths, but I’ll be damned if I’m not starving every time I walk out of one!”
To Jeremy’s surprise, he did feel hungry. Ravenous, in fact, which was strange because just a few minutes ago, he had eaten a huge breakfast at Clint’s house. Jeremy nodded and Clint stepped through the doorway. Once they entered the room to which the word “Sustenance” had taken them, Jeremy once again felt all his breath leave him in a sharp whoosh. He almost fainted again, but maintained consciousness through sheer force of willpower. Surely any other person would have felt the same way upon entering the “cafeteria” of Nexus.
The “cafeteria” (or rather Dining Hall, as Jeremy later came to call it) seemed to stretch on for miles. The ceiling was so high it was lost in the soft, personal light of thousands of glowing balls of light resting above numberless depressions in the smooth shiny black floor. The sight that stole his breath away was the incredible vista that greeted him from floor to ceiling through a window so clear it seemed not to be there at all. Through the window, a brilliant and scintillating array of stars greeted him. It was like looking into the heart of a fire to find that the sparks are not all orange and red, but made of hundreds of different colors, each one slightly different and infinitely beautiful. Bands of color wound throughout the twinkling mass of stars like multicolored ribbons seeming to wrap the entire scene like some sort of present. Jeremy stared at the scene while Clint watched his reaction.
“It’s the heart of the galaxy. Not your own, understand. I don’t know if the people of Earth even know of it or if they do what they might have named it. What I do know is that it is one of the few known untainted and vibrantly alive power nexi, and one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful. C’mon, Jeremy. If you stare for too long, you’ll get lost in it and your mind will be not far behind; not that you might not want to do that later, it’s just that the food here is excellent!” He took Jeremy’s arm and led them to a depression in the floor.
The depression was six inches or so below floor level and a glowing ball shed warm light within the diameter of the depression (about ten feet) and nowhere else. Jeremy could hear the murmur of soft conversation, the sound of cutlery clattering on dishes, and smell many strange things. He glanced at one of the depressions near him and saw that it was much deeper than the one he and Clint were in. Within it, several creatures were busily tearing apart the still moving carcass of some sort of fish. Jeremy quickly turned his head, not really wanting to see the glistening coils of intestines being slurped into one of the creatures’ mouths. Clint appeared not to notice and was tapping at some sort of keypad that had appeared in the air in front of him.
“What are you in the mood for, eh, Jeremy? The menu is all-inclusive.”
Fuck it, thought Jeremy, live a little; let’s see how deep the rabbit hole goes, “I guess I’ll have a chocolate shake, a rare ribeye steak, nachos, some buffalo wings, and about a gallon of soda to wash it all down with. For an appetizer,” Clint glanced up from the keypad, surprise etched on his ugly, weathered face. Jeremy grinned at him and said with a bit of bravado, “I feel like there’s a hole in me, man. I’m starved!” Clint gave him a weird look, then laughed and keyed in his order.
~*.*~
“Eep!” Fluttershy had ducked under the table. All Jeremy could see of her was her hindquarters, and she appeared to be shivering.
What did I say? He thought.
“You eat... meat?” Twilight gulped, looking a little nauseated.
Right... herbivores. “Not exclusively,” he assured them. “I’m an omnivore. But honestly, if it’s not prepared for me... Well, I really can’t imagine eating, uh, fresh-caught... meat.”
Of all of the ponies, only Applejack seemed to be unaffected. Twilight was looking at her, a little shocked, “And you’re... okay with this?”
Applejack rolled her eyes, “Well yeah. C’mon Twi’, does he look like a monster? Even pigs’ll eat meat if’n ya give it to ‘em. And Fluttershy, I’m surprised at you. What, d’ya only take care of the cute critters? No polecats or mountain lions? Or manticores? They all on a strict vegetarian diet, are they?” Fluttershy slowly emerged from below the table, looking bashful. “Now c’mon you two. Remember Gilda? You don’t think her sharp beak was fer cuttin’ daisies, do you?”
Twilight shook her head, looking embarrassed. “Now let the pon...uh man... continue with ‘is story,” Applejack said, “it’s gettin’ good.”
Jeremy nodded his thanks and took a last drink from his cider, setting the empty glass down on the table. “So I just said what I wanted and...”
~*.*~
The food materialized like a Star Trek officer being “beamed up” to a new planet, all bluish sparks and a staticy sound. The food was exactly what Jeremy ordered. An enormous ribeye steak cooked to juicy perfection reclined amidst a bed of chicken wings with a mountainous bowl of nachos dripping with cheese, ground beef and other toppings. A chocolate shake with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on top materialized next to a literal bucket of fizzing soda. Jeremy, expecting something of the sort, dug in. He ate in silence for a few minutes, relishing the delicious food. After a while, Jeremy wiped his mouth with a luxurious cloth napkin that had been thoughtfully folded next to his meal. He leaned back in the booth and deliberately looked up into the stunning vista of the stars arrayed above him.
Clint made a slight move to stop him but seemed to rethink it and sat back against the cushions. Jeremy stared into the vast starscape and let his mind wander amid the fiery pinpoints of light. He searched the burning stars for something, he wasn’t sure what, but he thought he’d know when he found it… He didn’t know how long he searched the heart of the galaxy, but when he finally looked back down from the view, Clint was smoking another of his rumpled cigarettes. “You find whatever it was you were lookin’ for?” he asked, his raspy voice bored.
“Nope,” answered Jeremy, a grin slowly spreading on his face, “But I think I’m going to start my new existence with some tourism. Know any places worth going?”
“Now you’re talking like an immortal! Let’s get you introduced around a little, then you can figure out what to do with the rest of eternity.”
Jeremy quickly finished off the last of a milkshake—which was really very good—and followed Clint from the cafeteria. They did not exit the same way they had entered, but walked a long way past more diners and through a set of doors that looked as if they had been carved from mahogany. “Nexus,” explained Clint as they walked, “is a pretty big place. When I said I’d show you the rest of it, I meant I’d show you the Library and then the residential areas. Now, there’s one thing you should know: while on Nexus or any other immortal-controlled place—and there are others—you have pretty much unlimited credit when it comes to luxuries or necessities.”
Jeremy raised an eyebrow, listening with only half his attention as he stared at the hallway they found themselves in. The hallway was huge and could really only be called a hallway because of the vast scale of the structure. It seemed to stretch for miles. Clint and he had exited from one of innumerable side doors that stretched from horizon to horizon in either direction. Thousands of people walked through the hallways in both directions, frequently stopping to chat or leaving the hall through one of the doors.
“As you can see,” continued Clint, not really seeming to care if Jeremy was paying attention or not, “our resources are pretty much limitless. Immortals can acquire as much wealth as they want with an unlimited life span and as such, they frequently go through several phases of spending, asceticism, thriftyness, etcetera. Take this sculpture, for example.” Clint gestured at a massive, thirty foot tall vaugely humanoid sculpture directly ahead of them. It sparkled in the soft light and seemed to be made of ice or crystal. “This sculpture of General V’klctau’p.oP,” Say that three times fast, thought Jeremy, “is carved from a single massive diamond of laser lens quality. It was carved two hundred years ago by the master sculptor… I don’t really remember his name, but he was famous in his day and he spent a long time working on it. His payment was that he could keep all the diamond chips he chipped from his commission. He was very efficient in his carving, let me tell you! And spare… notice how effective his use of empty space is!” Still chuckling to himself, Clint motioned for Jeremy to follow him down the hall.
Jeremy started after him, enjoying the myriad sights there were displayed before him. The hall would have been incredibly crowded if it weren’t so huge and completely lacking in the air of hurried and distracted rush that was so prevalent in crowded areas. In this hallway, people stopped and gazed at the statues or stopped to speak with one another comfortably in one of several chairs and lounges that seemed to be set out for just that purpose. It felt very strange to Jeremy, but he thought he could learn to like it. Clint walked with an easy, distance-eating stride that felt like a stroll, but nonetheless moved them along at a brisk pace.
~*.*~
Jeremy stopped speaking, glancing at the ponies watching him. “I don’t spend much more time in Nexus,” he said.
Twilight Sparkle blinked, “Huh?”
Jeremy smiled and said, “I got excited. I mean, unlimited opportunity, the ability to travel the entire universe... And he wants to take me on a tour?” Jeremy shook his head, chuckling softly, “No. I was already impatient.”
Twilight shook her head, mystified, “But you could have spent some time there. Imagine the library! Imagine that, what was it called? That Map Room! What I wouldn’t give to see it myself!” A dreamy look came over her.
“Who’s saying you can’t?” Jeremy asked. At Twilight’s suddenly hopeful expression, Jeremy sighed, “Of course, I have to get my personal teleported fixed. It, uh, kinda got a little crushed when I was running for my life in those woods. Right before I, uh, met you and Applejack.”
“I’m so sorry!” Applejack said immediately, “I didn’t know what you were and you just came outta’ nowhere! I just reacted--”
“--Don’t worry about it,” said Jeremy. Then he remembered the actual pain of Applejack’s kick, and quickly amended, “I mean, I’d scale back those killer reflexes a bit, but no harm done in the end.”
The daylight had faded and the room was mostly in shadow now. “Maybe we can continue this tomorrow? I mean, it’s been a pretty rough day. I think I mentioned that before. Travelling across the universe, getting dropped in a new and alien world populated by biz--beautiful-- talking ponies. Getting kicked in the head. Y’know, it wears a little on a guy.”
Fluttershy looked a little surprised, then she glanced at her friends. “O-of course! How could I be so inconsiderate? Please, you’re welcome to um, stay here for the night?”
“We could have a sleepover!” Applejack declared.
Twilight clapped her hooves in front of her, “Ooh! That’s a wonderful idea Applejack! Is it okay with you Fluttershy?!”
Fluttershy seemed a bit taken aback by Twilight’s enthusiasm but nodded.
Jeremy laughed as Twilight broke into a little dance as she repeated “Yes!” over and over. Applejack rolled her eyes and said, “Thanks Flutters. We’ll just find a coupla’ blankets and pillows.”
The two ponies left the dining room and Jeremy helped Fluttershy clear up. It was rather amazing to him to watch the pegasus pony deftly manipulate the dishes with her wings and hooves. No opposable thumbs and yet she still manages with all that stuff, he thought a bit in awe. They worked together in companionable silence, Jeremy drying the dishes as Fluttershy washed them. They could hear Twilight and Applejack talking in the other room, Twilight’s voice high and excited, Applejack’s voice lower and calmer.
Jeremy dried the last dish and hung the towel on the oven door. “Jeremy?” Fluttershy asked. Jeremy cocked an eyebrow and Fluttershy continued, “Why’d you come here of all places? What made you want to come to Equestria?”
“That’d be telling,” Jeremy said, smiling. Fluttershy muttered something apologetic. “No, it’s okay. I understand why you’re curious. I just don’t want to tell you and then have to repeat myself later on to Twilight and Applejack. Come on, let’s go join the others.” Fluttershy nodded, her face contemplative. They walked into the living room where Twilight had set up several pillows and blankets and Applejack had built up a fire in the fireplace. Twilight smiled excitedly and Jeremy felt like he’d made the right choice. This could be a good place to spend a piece of eternity, he thought.
~*.*~