Free Socket 3 - The Legend of Socket Greeny by Tony Bertauski

still thought Spindle might shoot that eye-laser. I calmed
Streeter down, asked Spindle to keep going. I should’ve told
Streeter to leave, but he was making me laugh. Maybe I was
delirious. It just felt good to smile.
    “Do you think this is a joke, Master
Socket?”
    “No, Spindle.”
    Streeter waited quietly, like listening to
parents fight. I knew this stuff was important, but I needed a
break. Streeter was exactly what I needed. Just seeing his image
lifted the fatigue. I think Spindle picked up on that. There were
still important matters at hand, but he could feel the tension
relax inside me.
    “Can we cover the destination?” I asked.
“I’ll work with the ship-integration focus later today.”
    He agreed. He followed the wormhole to a
planet on the outskirts of the Milky Way. It was not a long trip,
not by intergalactic standards.
    When Spindle touched a planet that swirled
red, white and blue, the wormholes vanished, leaving us in the dark
for a moment. Then the room projected the planet’s atmosphere, like
we were standing right there on the surface.
    It was a bleak environment. The sky was
steely. The distant mountains were red and the surface gritty. The
few trees that sprouted here and there on the flat plain were
enormous, but they had no leaves. Instead, their bright green bark
was photosynthetic.
    “Your destination is the Grimmet Outpost.”
Spindle pointed to the enormous dome-shaped structure that appeared
between us and the mountains, the white surface looked pink with
red dust. “Your ship will land directly inside the Outpost and you
will be greeted by the Paladin crew that resides there. You will
not be venturing out of the Outpost since that would require
further training and fitted gear. You will be tested for signs of
fatigue and given a tour of the facility before returning
home.”
    “I thought you were going away for a month?”
Streeter asked.
    “Time does not operate that way, Master
Streeter. Since Master Socket will be traveling at the speed of
light for a short period, time will slow down for him. While his
trip may only seem brief, weeks will pass for us.”
    Spindle charged into the rest of the visit,
who I would be meeting, what we would be doing and what I could
expect. Now I was getting sleepy.
    A distant flutter echoed from one of the
leafless trees. Then a cloud of brightly colored grimmets appeared
to be heading for us. When they were close enough to hear their
wings, my office projected their images around us. They were as
playful as the ones in the Preserve. Maybe the trip wouldn’t be so
bad.
    Streeter walked into the mob with his hands
up. It was hard not to join them when they were near, even if it
was just a projection. Spindle gave up. He left the office without
saying another word. I’d apologize later. In the meantime, Streeter
and I would have some fun.
     
    An hour.
    I’d been asleep for an hour before waking up
with a cold shiver running down my back. No memory of a vision or a
dream, just the remnants of one. Maybe it knocked me out again,
only this time I was already sleeping. I laid there staring at the
ceiling but couldn’t remember having a vision, but there was no
doubt one had happened. Now I’m not remembering them? I was
buzzing with adrenaline.
    I had transformed my office to replicate the
tagghet field, again. I hated that I was getting accustomed to the
convenience of it – the sounds and smells were dead-on – because I
much preferred the real thing, but I let myself be lazy. I told
myself there wasn’t time to get out there, but that was bullshit. I
just wanted to sit. Now.
    I had been sitting for almost an hour, sweat
running down my face as the room replicated the humidity. Even
though I hadn’t eaten in almost a day, I felt full. The longer I
sat, the fuller I became. Not full, really. Dense .
    An hour and a half into sitting, the kids
quietly walked in with their cushions and sat with me. A certain
joy vibrated between us without a