|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- PECULIAR LATHER--CUP 23--"GENE" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Peculiar Lather  ||  -------> (Cup SRpl023, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = A few weeks later... "Tanner, let's take a bath." These words brought the spark of vitality back to Tanner Loblolly. These words, spoken by the goddess he adored more than any goddess, more than any mortal woman. These sweet words, spoken by the love of his life, spoken by the wonderful Fluffy Netherfuck. "Um--okay." That's all he could say? Here was his chance, finally. His chance to get close to Fluffy. So what if it was a whim of hers? Did it matter? A bath. Being naked. Together. That was all. Nothing else mattered. "Great!" Fluffy said brightly. "Gene here will help you get ready. See you in a flash!" With this, Fluffy skipped off down one of the hallways of her suite. Tanner looked at Gene--a diminutive albino alligator. The creature opened it's jaws and made a buzzing sound. It did this several more times, turned, and waddled up the stairs out of Fluffy's sunken living room and toward a room Tanner had never been in before. The reptile continued scuttling forward, stopped by the door, and then shoved it open with his snout. He turned and made more buzzing noises at Tanner. "Coming, coming!" Tanner said, striding toward Gene. The alligator disappeared inside the darkened room, and Tanner followed. "Uh--hello?" Tanner said into the darkness. After a moment or two, stark lights came on, and Tanner saw Gene with his paw on a switch on the ground. It was a large room with what appeared to be a small swimming pool, with steam rising from it. The beast stared at him. "Wow! That's a pretty big bathtub!" The alligator buzzed at Tanner several times, and then shook his head from side to side. "Huh?" Gene turned away from Tanner and faced the wall for a moment. "Are you a god, Gene? I never heard of you. I assume you're sentient. Or... maybe you're not?" Gene then waddled quickly past Tanner without looking at him, and disappeared out the door. "Hmm." Tanner muttered, as he sat down on a bench, taking his sneakers off. "I guess this must be it." Just as Tanner was pulling his socks off, Gene scuttled back into the room with what appeared to be a large rubber ball clenched in his jaw. It was brightly colored and patterned. Tanner considered asking Gene if he wanted to play, but something held him back. He was glad he kept his mouth shut. Gene then appeared to be chewing on the ball, all the time staring a pleading stare at Tanner. And all of a sudden, a crude computerized voice emanated from the ball. "Tanner, I am not a god but I am sentient. I am a mortal. Once human, I suffered a terrible accident several decades ago which left me in my current state." "Oh, I see. Sorry about, uh..." Tanner said in some amazement. Gene chewed on the ball some more. "No need to apologize, Tanner. Now this is not Fluffy's bathtub--it is a bath-preparation room. You are to undress and get acclimated to the water. Sweet-smelling oils will aid in your relaxation." "Um--okay, Gene." Tanner said, looking around for any sign of sweet-smelling oils. Several teapot-like objects by the side of the pool seemed to be the only containers in the room. Gene continued chewing. "I will leave you now. The way to Fluffy's bathtub will be apparent when the time comes. Have a good time." Then the alligator spat the ball out and started rolling it out of the room with his snout. "Wait a second!" Gene paused and looked back at Tanner. "I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind. I know that ball looks awfully uncomfortable, but..." Gene grabbed the ball in his jaws one again and chewed on it a bit. "It is a little uncomfortable, but I am happy to have it. Now what are your questions?" "Um, okay. Like basically, what kind of accident was it? I mean, as a mortal myself, I'd kinda like to know what I should be avoiding, y'know?" Gene chewed. "Misuse of a mortal artifact and of its properties. I knew I was taking a big risk. It's nothing you could do by accident. So it wasn't really an accident in the traditional sense--it was a gamble I lost." "I see." Tanner said, seeing Gene's obvious discomfort with the ball. "Um--just one more question--off the record, you know--but I was just wondering if you knew--um, have the Avert Cities been here for all time, or only for a couple of hundred years? I have some suspicions." Gene was motionless for a few seconds, then chewed. "It's 450 years, to be exact. But please don't tell anyone I told you. I've been through enough already." With this, Gene spat the ball out again and began rolling it out the door. "Wait! Gene! I have so much more to..." Gene let out a lugubrious buzz and left Tanner alone. Tanner shook his head and looked around. A wonderful tidbit of info, if there ever was one. 450 years. Not all of eternity. Unless, of course, the beginning of time was 450 years ago. Nah! Yes, something to mull over, to feed his suspicions. -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----