I wrote this some time ago, and Konstricta said to send it on in. It's non-snake, but I enjoyed writting it and hope you all enjoy reading it. It's in 12 parts, each being an average of about 3700 words.
And now for something completely different. It's:
Dymar Parts 1-3
(c) By Py, 10/22/98
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1. Arrival
Slowly the spacecraft spun as it entered the deepest regions of the system. It's ship's gyros had been damaged by a collision as it had passed near the system's asteroid belt. Dymar thought it had detected radio transmissions from this system, but was unsure as to the level of technology even if true. Now, unable to fix the extensive damage, it was committed to staying here no matter what it found. First it examined the area's of the ship it still found accessible from inside, then sent many small microbots along the outside of the ship to assess the damage. Finally it had useful items recovered by the microbots, and brought in through the air lock.
Dymar considered the situation, it clearly could not leave the system again in it's current circumstances. The ship's main engines were smashed beyond repair, which meant it was stuck here. It decided it must stabilize the ship's roll, so it had the microbots work on fixing the ship's gyros first. Once the first was working, the ship's roll slowly came to a halt. Dymar now confirmed it's rough calculations for a course into the inner system. It found it's supplies of hydrogen and other propellants, were more than sufficient to take it anywhere in the system on the ship's much slower planetary drive engines. Once 2 of the 3 gyros were repaired, it sent most of the microbots outside to work on the scanner antenna. They reported back that it seemed hopeless, so Dymar had them try anyway to fix it to even partial capability.
Dymar plotted a preliminary course, and began examining data on the planets of this system. What it had was incomplete, but clearly it could not return to the 5 outer planets, as 4 were gas giants where Dymar could not survive for many reasons, the outermost was a tiny planet with a large moon, and also unsuitable. A few of the moons of the gas giants looked better, but still far too cold for further consideration. Left with the 4 inner rocky planets, It considered them one at a time. Planet 1 was far too close to the system's star, temperatures on the side facing the burning star went to intolerably high levels, then as the small planet slowly turned, temperatures plunged to low levels that could not be survived. Planet 2 was a good size, but it was completely shrouded in clouds. Dymar couldn't see what might be there from it's earlier surveys, but it knew that if the radio source were a civilization there, it was unreachable as it could not survive the terrible heat detected on that world.
Planet 4 seemed good, it was smaller than 2, and it had 2 tiny moons, where planets 1 and 2 had none. It was cold, but survivable. Atmospheric pressures were low, but acceptable, and it had high winds, and little water. Dymar decided it could survive indefinitely here if there were some form of food source, water could be taken from the poles, and if necessary it could have the microbots build skimmers to get from food source to water source.
The problem with planet 4 was the fact that it did not know if there were a native intelligence there or not. If not, it would be trapped on the planet, as microbots could do many things, but his small ship worker microbots could not mine, invent, nor do many other things needed to build a starship. Dymar knew that in time it could have larger microbots built to do mining and processing, but it would need every one it had to survive there, and it could not afford any to build a larger microbot. Even if it had time to have new microbots built, it could not afford the material since many of the components could not be built without a period of mining and processing first, and they were totally unfit for either. Also cannibalizing microbots could work, but would reduce their numbers to completely unacceptable levels. Life on 4 would be an eternal struggle to survive, with no hope of escape, virtually no hope of rescue ever, until one day some dust storm or other accident killed it. Dymar was distressed, but put 4 down as a last resort. Dymar found the 2 moons of 4 to be just as bad as the other moons, and removed them from consideration also.
Dymar read the data on the third planet and became excited, planet 3 was by far the best, warm, nice gravity and atmosphere, and nearly 3 quarters of it's surface was water. It could not tell if there were any intelligent forms there, but it knew that this was by far the best place to land it had discovered so far. Dymar did a fast check on the one large moon of planet 3, but found it had no atmosphere, and a similar heat and cold problem as planet 1, so it made the decision to land on planet 3. It hoped to find an intelligence there, it knew there were plenty of resources, so given time it could have built any microbot it needed, but even with that, their limited intelligence and creativity would make any starship they built very poor, and it might not make it to another system safely. Therefore, the assistance of a native intelligence was important, but life could be comfortable on planet 3 if there were none. Dymar instructed the microbots and the ship turned, thrusting for it's target planet.
Dymar was well suited to space flight, but still secured itself in restraints as they approached the planet. As they grew close, it found to it's great delight that there were artificial satellites orbiting the planet. This told It that there was an intelligent life form on planet 3, and as it recalled all of the microbots into the ship for final approach, It revised It's plans. As the starship tore through the atmosphere, it made a huge fireball, and a long fiery tail of burning hull, gas, and odd debris, stretching behind it. The starship plowed into the ocean, and settled gently to the sandy bottom.
As the hull cooled, Dymar made it's preparations to leave. It had no choice now, and proceeded methodically, just as it had for as long as it could remember. First it programed the microbots to protect the ship from all life forms other than itself, and to keep the remaining ship systems intact. It also instructed that 2 larger microbots be created from smaller ones, and repairs be attempted on the ship using native minerals. Dymar expected little from the microbots, but left them to try. It knew there was no point in having a microbot army built, since they could not operate away from the ship more than a short distance, and they could only repair, or build the few things in their memory. It considered trying to teach them more, but knew it did not have the equipment to do so, they had been programed with the knowledge they needed, and no more.
Finally, there was nothing left to do but leave. Dymar wore the body of a Crashaw, a six legged, hard shelled creature. The Crashaw looked somewhat like the small creatures the microbots had reported outside the ship, it could raise it's front section, and use small hard digits on it's 2 front feet to manipulate it's environment. The Crashaw had 2 small claws near it's mouth for eating, and eyes on top of it's head, in the form of 2 bumps positioned each on a larger bump. The Crashaw were a mostly scavenger race that evolved in a peaceful ocean, they had come onto land, and developed a largely peaceful civilization. When Dymar had arrived, it found an interplanetary civilization that had intercepted the incoming ship, and welcomed Dymar.
Dymar began to shed it's form, legs shrinking, body collapsing, and finally leaving only a light green and white mass of protoplasm-like substance. Dymar took in the remaining bits of Crashaw body, and absorbed them into itself for food. Sliding forth, it entered the air lock, and struggled to press the cycler button that Crashaw pressed so easily. Eventually, the button clicked, and everything happened automatically. The inner door closed, and salty water rushed in. Dymar had a moment of panic as the lock slowly filled, as it wondered again about the chemical make-up of this world, but knew it had no choice, and was pleased to find that the water was not killing it immediately. As the outer door opened, it floated out, finding that the ship had fallen into a chasm of the kind that modern Crashaw could not have escaped from, either by climbing or swimming.
Dymar floated upwards, and out of the chasm. It assumed a disk shape, and rippled its body to swim in the direction the ship's computer had given it for the nearest large land mass. Along the way, the native life seemed to avoid Dymar, but it's observations suggested they were simply non-intelligent animals. One creature about twice Dymar's current size circled around it as it swam. After a while of Dymar slowly swimming and ignoring the much faster creature, it chose to attack, speeding in and burying many sharp triangular teeth in Dymar. Dymar instinctively pulled it's body inward, and as the creature tried to tear a bite off, It began to flow over the creature's head. After a brief struggle, Dymar had completely enveloped the creature, as it seeped into gaps in the creature's skin, finding entry through eyes, mouth, and any other opening. As it's engorged form settled to the bottom, it merged with the mind and body of the creature.
After a short while, Dymar came to realize that this creature was nothing more than a non sentient beast. It had very limited intelligence, and both highly developed instincts and senses. Dymar dimly remembered similar forms on other worlds, even the Crashaw home world had a similar creature that had been considered a tremendous hunter, it had killed many Crashaw before they evolved to live on land. Dymar didn't care for any of this though. It was upset that this was not an intelligent creature, but was pleased at the speed and mobility that using it's shape would allow. Before Dymar absorbed the flesh of the creature, it looked into the merged mind once more, and found images of creatures that appeared intelligent. The images were hard to understand, but Dymar definitely had the impression of a large creature that appeared to have evolved on land. This creature seemed to have metal and other artificial objects attached to it, including a large metal hump on it's back. In the image, a long metal object flew out of something the creature was holding, and another creature like the one Dymar was merged with fell dead, with something long and metal sticking out of it. It knew that this was the sentient life form it was looking for. Dymar began absorbing the creature, breaking down flesh and adding it's mass to itself, slightly annoyed that having merged with it he now couldn't return to the Crashaw form. When done, it assumed a shape which perfectly duplicated the creature it had just absorbed, and headed off for land again at it's new top speed. It was pleased that it had selected correctly by heading for land in the first place.
As Dymar swam on, the thoughts of the creature it had recently merged with, and then absorbed, became easier to understand. It learned to give off the proper visual signals to prevent attack from others of the same species. It wasn't concerned if attack came from any of these animals, but preferred not to be slowed down the length of time such attacks would delay it. Dymar did take the time to investigate some other creatures, although it found that most ran from it's approach, and it did not want to waste time in pursuit. Mostly, it was able to examine many small slow moving shelled creatures, absorbing them to learn all about their physical form, but not merging with them as Dymar wished to retain this fast moving form.
As Dymar reached shallower water where the land was nearby, it detected many of what it thought were the same sentient being the creature had seen, frolicking in the waves, on shore, and out a ways from shore in deeper water. Dymar compared what it sensed with the being in it's memory, noting that these creatures were missing the metal objects, and the large metal object on the back. Often they were upright, sometimes horizontal, sometimes floating, other times moving with lower limbs touching the bottom. Dymar noticed that the part of the body that touched the sand when they stood upright, was tiny compared to that in the creatures memory. It considered if the creature had not been able to perceive correctly since it had limited intelligence, and perhaps the one in the creature's memory wore some sort of artificial covering. It also noted the same for the skin, in the memory it was dark and tough, while here it came in mainly one light color, but also in at least 2 other colors, and it appeared quite soft. The oddest difference from the creatures memory was the large single eye on a bulge at the top of the body, where these beings had 2 small ones just over and to either side of a small projection of some sort. Dymar quickly dismissed this as another flaw in the perceptions of the earlier creature.
It noted that some of the beings were larger, and all wore artificial coverings. Some coverings were a single piece that covered almost the entire body except the limbs and head, while others wore 2 pieces, one covering the upper body, the other covering the lower body. Still others wore a single piece that only covered the lower body, and slowly Dymar began to note relationships between the usual sizes and shapes of each being, and what coverings they wore. Dymar also noted a group of small to very small beings that always stayed in the shallower areas, and when they strayed, larger beings would retrieve them.
Dymar knew these beings represented the intelligent life form it was looking for, and began planning how to capture one. Dymar rose to near the surface until the projecting fin on it's back stuck out of the water, and it began to form a small eye on it. Dymar viewed the scene with his eye, as he approached. Quite suddenly, all the beings started thrashing and heading out of the water. Dymar dove under again, and realized that these beings also were scared of the creature who's form it used, and having spotted it, had fled the water.
Dymar swam away for some time, knowing that since these beings were intelligent, that news of a deadly beast in the area would make things harder. After a while, it found a flow of fresh water, traced it to a river, and decided to follow it. Dymar realized that the form it was using could not survive out of the salty water, but since it was just a shape it had taken, Dymar could easily survive, and in this fresh water river, the beings wouldn't expect this danger. Also Dymar realized that if it were seen in this form while in the river, the beings would know something strange was occurring.
It decided to search for, and finally found a form it liked. Dymar chose a small shelled creature that swam with 4 feet. It was roughly disk shaped, and it's feet were clearly designed for land use as well as aquatic use. It was much smaller than Dymar's current form, but Dymar was unconcerned as it could grow enormously large, or extremely small as the need arose. It was concerned about mass though as it could not easily change it's mass, and although Dymar's minimum mass was slight, it would have to dump much of the mass it had gained from absorbing the Crashaw and the earlier ocean creature. Merging with it would increase the new creature's mass enormously, causing it to be unable to move well, while expelling all previously gained extra mass and absorbing this creature's mass could solve it's current problem. It decided there was no choice, it needed the creature's form to go unnoticed, and to get onto land. It followed, overtook, then touching the creature it shifted, and enveloped it. Dymar began to merge with it, taking from it's mind more information about the land. When done, Dymar expelled much of it's previously gained mass in a stream of white fluid, and it began to absorb the flesh of the creature, finally becoming a somewhat larger duplicate.
Dymar swam upstream, finding mass and flotation to be only a slight problem, but also finding the complex motions of the 4 feet difficult to learn to coordinate. After a long time, It reached a large open area of very little current. Dymar stuck it's head above water and saw land, and many plant forms, both tall and short. Having found that this creature was indeed suited to both land and water, Dymar began to crawl out onto the land, discovering to it's dismay how slow this form was as it dragged itself along the ground.
Dymar merged with and absorbed many other forms, trying to find one that knew something of the sentient beings, or anything of use. Finally it found a good sized canine creature which it enveloped and merged with, and learned that it was in frequent contact with these kind of beings. Dymar decided to stay merged with this form, and hopefully learn more as it probed the mind. Try as it did, it could not figure out how to contact the beings, it pulled out a dim awareness of where they were, but not how to get there. It decided to wait here a while, hoping to figure it out, and maybe one of the sentient ones would come along.
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2. Life on the Farm
Kansas ran down the stairs of the farmhouse. As she passed through the living room she gave her mother a hug and kiss, and announced, "Love ya Mom. What's for breakfast?" Her mother replied with a grin, "Love you too. Have you cleaned your room yet?" Kansas groaned, "Later Ma, I'm starving!" As they walked into the kitchen, the woman mumbled, "You'd think a 17 year old could clean her room occasionally."
Kansas walked to her father at the table, and wrapping her arms around him from behind she said, "Morning Dad, Ohhh, scrambled eggs and sausages." Kansas got herself a plate, and brought some food for herself to the table. As the 3 of them ate, and talked of the farm, Kansas asked, "Either of you seen Felix yet?" Her father swallowed a bite of food, "Nope, not yet. Don't worry though, that dogs been gone overnight before, he's always come home fine. He knows the land well enough, and as soon as he smells the food or hears us working around with the farm animals, he'll come running." Her mother takes a drink of coffee, "Your father's right, he'll be fine dear." Kansas burps, "Excuse me. Oh sure, I know Felix will be fine, I just was wondering if he was home yet. I also thought that if he weren't home by the time I finished my chores, maybe I'd go take a peek in a few places." Her mother sighed, "that's fine dear, just don't go worrying too much."
After breakfast, Kansas went out to feed the chickens, then grabbed a basket to check the chicken coop for eggs. She thought of her older brothers and sisters, all 4 of them had left the farm. They had all said it was too slow a life, and they all wanted to live in the city, get jobs, have more excitement. Kansas thought the farm was exciting enough, and the quiet was great. She compared herself to them, starting with her 2 sisters. One was 19, with long dark hair, tall, slim, and smart, and she had gotten a nice job with some store in the big city. Her other sister was 20, similar in height, big busted and hipped, blonde, and was working as a model, while hoping to get a break into movies. One of her brothers was working for a politician, he was 21, good looking, and probably would make politics a career, while her other brother was 23, not quite as good looking, and did all sorts of jobs, his favorite being electronics. Her oldest brother was married also, with a beautiful blonde wife, and a first child on the way. Sighing, she decided that life in the country was what she wanted, although she longed to visit the city again someday.
Kansas went into the barn where her father was milking the cow. She did some straightening up, and fed the horses. She was day dreaming, and was slightly surprised at her father's voice, "So Kansas, are you seeing that Raston boy again today? He's a fine lad." She scowled, "Oh Dad, not you too! I'm seeing him again, we're going into town later, but we're not that serious! Yes, I like him, I just don't know if I want to marry him." "I'm not getting any younger dear, and with all your brothers and sisters gone..... Well, it's a big farm." her father stated. Kansas stomped her foot, "Oh, it's not so big, we have fewer mouths to feed now, and you could always sell off part of the land. Stop pushing, you and Ma are getting as bad as Granny was." He rose from his stool, putting a pale of milk on the ground next to him, "The lands been in the family for generations, we will not sell any of it!" He held out his arms, "Sorry dear if I'm pushing, I worry too much." They hugged, and he whispered, "That Raston boy is sweet on you though." Kansas grinned, "And he's handsome, a hard worker, and he'll get his father's large farm with all their help and equipment. I know all that Daddy, and between us I really like him a lot. I just don't know if I want to marry him." Kansas pulls back, "He wants kids, a bunch of them, right away, and I don't know." Her father puts an arm around her, and escorts her out of the barn after picking up the bucket of milk, "Is that all that's stopping you, just because he wants lots of kids, and right away?" "I think so Daddy." she responds.
A bit later, they sit on the porch together. "Is he pushing you? I mean, he hasn't tried to make you do anything you don't want, has he?" her father asks quietly. Kansas sighs, "No Father, he's a perfect gentleman." Her mother comes out onto the porch, "Talking about Billy Raston again, well has he proposed yet?" Kansas groans, "Yes Mother, he's asked again, I still haven't decided." "Don't push the girl Ma!" her father says in a mocking tone, and with a devilish twinkle in his eye. They talk for a while about other things, then the conversation seems to turn back to Billy Raston. Eager to change the subject, Kansas says, "Gee, Felix isn't back yet, I'm going to take a walk and maybe I'll bump into him." "Be careful dear!", her mother says as Kansas leaves.
Kansas walks up the road for a short distance, then cuts right to go through a field of tall grass. At the other end of the field, she enters the woods. The woods she recalls provides firewood for winter, and blocks a lot of wind that would otherwise blow through making the land poor for many farms in the area. Instead, things were good for all the farmers, weather they raised crops, chickens, or whatever. The woods stretched like a long finger across the edges of a number of farms, and everyone growing up here knew the woods well.
Kansas hadn't wanted to tell her parents, but she and Billy were pretty serious. Everything she had told them was true, what she hadn't told them was how she and Billy met in secret here in the woods. Kansas figured that if they knew that she and Billy had already been lovers for nearly a year, that they in their old fashioned way would insist on them getting married. She had been scared to death after the first time, but after finding out she wasn't pregnant, she had gotten some pills. With the doctor's cooperation, she had managed to keep it all a secret from her parents, or at least she thought they didn't know. She knew she wasn't as beautiful as either of her sisters, but she thought she was good looking enough, and so did Billy. An image of her sister the model flashed into her head, and she spoke aloud, "Okay, so my hips aren't much, but my butt is firm. My legs aren't long, and my breasts aren't huge like hers, but there good sized breasts. My hair is only neck length, not long like hers, but it's blonde, and everyone says my face and green eyes are fantastic."
She approached the small lake, stopping short as she almost stepped in some white stuff on the ground. "What the hell is that!" she cried, as she stared down. Being brave, she crouched down, and upon smelling nothing, she stuck her left index finger into the white puddle of goo. Pulling it out, she frowned as she sniffed, "Smells rotten, whatever it is." She reached in and pulled out some grass from underneath, noting that it didn't seem to be damaged from being in the puddle. Standing and wiping her hands together, she said, "Doesn't seem harmful. Gotta tell Dad about this later." Wiping her hands again, this time on the legs of her jeans, she worked her way around the puddle. Once at the lake, she decided to check around, and found 3 more white puddles of liquid, all partially sunk into the ground, none showing any signs of being poisonous.
Having nothing else to do about it, she glanced at her wristwatch. Kansas groaned as she realized that she had come far too early as Billy wasn't due for nearly 2 hours. She sat on a large rock and considered what to do. She decided that all her morning chores were done, and it would take so long to go home and return here, that she might as well stay and wait. It was a warm day, so she removed her sneakers, sox, and watch. She then slipped off her blouse and jeans, folding them, and placing them on another rock. She then removed her bra and panties, and with several quick steps into the water, she dove in. As she swam below, noticing the catfish and other creatures, she quickly grew less upset about the time. She wasn't concerned about being alone, she was quite confident in the knowledge that there wasn't anybody around for miles, or else she wouldn't have felt comfortable to skinny dip, unless of course the someone were Billy.
She rose and dove under several times, circling the lake, and enjoying the spray of a small waterfall. Returning to her starting point, she climbed out, and went behind a tree and under the edge of a small bush, and retrieved a small bag she and Billy left there for such times as this. Taking a towel out of the bag, Kansas dried off, and after soaking and wringing out the towel, she hung it over a bush to dry. She then got dressed, noting that only about 45 minutes had passed. She decided to take a walk, knowing that Billy would wait, especially when he saw the towel drying. As she started walking, she came face to face with Felix.
Dymar had been moving around the woods. It had gotten tired of waiting, even a long-lived creature as itself couldn't wait forever when it's goal was so close. The senses of this animal were so good, it enjoyed taking in the smells of the woods, and quite unexpectedly it detected a scent which was very familiar to the memories of the creature. Dymar used the animals instincts to track the scent, and was slightly surprised to find itself at the lake again, but noting some things had been moved. It stayed back out of sight, and saw one of the sentient forms in the water much as it had seen at the oceanside. The being climbed out and was wearing no coverings at all, which surprised Dymar somewhat. It retrieved a container, pulled a large slice of material out, and then it seemed to use the material to dry itself off. It then soaked the material in the water, and placed the material over a short plant when it was done, then it put much more elaborate coverings on itself than Dymar had seen before. With this, Dymar decided it was time to appear.
The being showed no fear as it saw Dymar, and the memories of this form indicated nothing of hostility or fear towards the being, Dymar even thought it detected some level of affection in the memories. This was always the hardest part, but Dymar had seen no signs of any other similar beings nearby, and it decided this was the proper time. Dymar moved towards the being, crouched and sprang. The being dodged slightly, but as Dymar's weight hit it, the being fell to the ground.
Kansas had only walked a few feet when the German Shepherd came out of the woods towards her. She smiled, and called to him. Kansas was somewhat disturbed by the lack of normal reaction, but continued to call Felix, slapping her thigh and whistling occasionally. Felix came closer, and Kansas swore something was wrong in the way he walked. His tail wagged as he trotted, and as he got close, he suddenly pounced. Kansas just reacted as the dog jumped, she turned slightly, but the dog still hit her in the knees. Kansas fell down, her first thought being of the dirt she would have to brush off. The next she realized that Felix was laying across her lower left leg, and he seemed to be melting slightly. Suddenly a sharp pain struck her where the dog lay across her leg, and she gasped in surprise. Kansas jerked her leg in reflex, unable to lift it with the dog's weight on it, and unable to slide it away as the dog seemed to stick like flypaper. She tried again, and again, each time with more fury as the pain increased. The dog had melted to cover the front part of the entire lower half of her leg, when Kansas grabbed a rock and hit the dog in the head. Kansas hadn't wanted to hurt Felix, but the mounting pain had driven her to strike, she was a bit surprised as the dog fell off her, and she wasted no time in rolling away.
Kansas knelt on the ground staring at Felix, "What the hell is wrong with you?!" She noted the easily recognizable dog shape, and even noted it looked at her as Felix often did, but the entire lower half was a mass of white and green goo, a bit like a melted candle she thought. Kansas whispered "What the hell are you?" Seeing the dog form disappearing further, and more goo appearing, Kansas tried to get up, finding her left leg stiff, full of pain, and difficult to move. Using a tree to help herself rise, she looked back to see nothing of Felix, and the shapeless thing left crawling towards her at a slow walking speed. Kansas turned and limped away as fast as she could, the creature in slow pursuit.
Dymar was upset, the being was escaping. It had jumped at, and made contact with the being, but in the earliest stages of merging it had been broken loose. Dymar realized that trying to go from one merged form to another was too slow, especially for this being. If it had absorbed the canine, duplicated it, then attacked the being, things would have gone much faster, and the being would not have escaped. Now, the being was wounded, and aware of Dymar's presence, Dymar felt fear thinking if it warned the rest of the planet's sentient life.
Dymar pushed itself hard as it slowly moved along. After having been torn loose from the being, it had tried to reconstruct the canine, but found that the partial merging with the new being had made that impossible. It had absorbed the remainder of the canine, and had tried to duplicate the original, but could not as it was still too tired. It wanted to find another form quickly, but nothing was near enough. Finally, Dymar decided to rest in one spot, and wait a while.
Kansas limped on for as long as she could, falling several times, and frantically getting up. She finally fell and stayed down. She cried a bit thinking of what happened, and worrying about Felix. After calming down a bit, she realized that she had come a long way from the lake, but still was deep in the woods. She experimented with her left leg, finding that it was almost completely numb, and still refused to move properly from the knee down. She knew someone would come to look for her eventually, but she didn't like the idea of staying here any longer than she had too. Kansas managed to crawl around a bit, and found a piece of wood which worked well as a cane. She said a prayer, and slowly began walking out of the woods.
After a while her leg seemed to be loosening up somewhat, and she was making good progress when she heard noises behind her. She turned her head and saw Felix, with his nose to the ground, and clearly in pursuit. She wanted to stop and call him, but her recent experiences told her to run, especially after seeing Felix turn into a pile of goo. Kansas ran as best she could, and almost immediately heard Felix break into a run. Quickly she found herself knocked down from behind, and as she rolled over screaming, green and white goo was spreading around her body. She felt goo entering her shirt and pants, each new spot feeling tremendous pain for a few moments, then the pain died to a dull ache. The goo covered her entire body as she continued to scream, reaching both over and down her pant legs and up to her neck. "Oh god!!" she cried, and screamed once more as the goo covered her face.
Dymar had the being now. It was pleased that it hadn't needed to rest very long before being able to duplicate it's last merged form. It had been a bit concerned that it wouldn't be able to after the partial merging with this other creature, but found that all was well after a short rest. It had then duplicated the canine, and quickly tracked down the sentient being. Now, it had successfully enveloped the being, and was proceeding to enter skin pours and other openings of any sort. The being still struggled, but slowly this also stopped, and Dymar began merging with this new intelligent creature.
Dymar rested for a while as it learned to interpret the new senses of this new form. Probing the mind yielded a great deal of information fast, and within a short time Dymar was standing in the new merged form, leaving a puddle of white discarded mass behind from it's previous merging. Dymar didn't like leaving puddles around, but had no choice as the alternative was gaining far to much weight for most merged forms to handle. Dymar felt pain in a leg, and the memories provided the knowledge of how this had happened. Dymar noticed that since the merger the leg was already improving, and estimated it would be fine by the time it left the woods. Dymar limped towards the lake, sitting down on what it now thought of as a favorite rock.
The first thing it noted was that it's clothes were a bit torn. Dymar had enveloped the entire being and it's clothes as normal, but since it couldn't merge with clothes, it had found ways inside the clothes as it also got inside the being. After merging, it naturally wore the beings clothes, this would be the same even if It had absorbed and immediately duplicated the being instead. It did not want to absorb the being though, at least not yet, Dymar still had much to learn from the merged mind, and not only was the merger the perfect disguise, it also made reacting to other beings of it's kind easier. Dymar decided it would need a reasonable story for the torn clothes, and it still hadn't learned enough from the beings mind yet to do that.
Sitting on the rock, more and more understanding came to it. Dymar's new memories were still a bit fuzzy, but it realized now that Crashaw looked a lot like giant crabs, and that this creature was called Human, and it had 2 genders, one called male, the other called female. It realized that the first creature it had merged with was called a Shark by these people, and the second was called a Snapping Turtle. It became aware of the meaning behind all those humans on the beach, could pick out males and females, and understood that the small ones near the shore were children. It could now recognize the image from the sharks mind as being a scuba diver, a male with dark hair, wearing a dark colored wet suit, with mask, swim fins, air tank, and harpoon gun. As the merger became more complete, it sighed as the memories flooded into clarity, and gasped as it remembered Felix. It felt something of sorrow about Felix, and knew it could say nothing about it to any of the beings of this world.
Sounds came from a path some distance away, and after a few minutes Billy Raston arrived. Dymar quickly went into action, causing several bruises to form on it's skin in many places, especially near the holes in the clothing, and a small lump and bruise on the head. Billie rounded a tree and came within sight. He ran to Kansas, "Are you okay?!" "Fine." Dymar reassured, "I fell down, tore myself up pretty good, didn't I?" "You ought to get home and get it taken care of!" Billy insisted. "Oh yes, but it's not urgent, no open wounds or anything." Dymar replied. "So, it'll wait, and I didn't want you to stand around forever for me to get here when I had already come and gone." "You could've just left a note under the rock like we usually do." he proclaimed. "Oh, forgot, besides it wasn't that long a wait." Dymar replied.
They talked a while, Dymar figured out what was going on between these two, and thought it understood all the emotional angles also. It put a hand up to it's head, "Billy, mind if we skip the love making session today, I really don't feel up to it." "Got a headache, huh Kansas." Billy said with a playful snort. "Yeah." answered Dymar. "In fact I hate to do it, but I think I should go home and get a nap." "No problem." he said with a smile.
Billy walked Kansas to the edge of the woods, and kissed her deeply before she left. On the walk home, more of the route came to Dymar with each step, Dymar considered the kiss. It thought that having sex might have been an interesting experience, but it wasn't fully in control of all this beings memories, habitual motions, and reactions yet. Prolonged intimate contact right now with someone who knew Kansas well would have been far too risky, in a few days it thought it would be ready to handle any situation. It also considered that if Billy saw the white markings before they washed away, or anybody put the dog's disappearance, Kansas's odd behavior today, or anything together, it could possibly get uncomfortable. Dymar wasn't afraid for it's physical form as much as for the plan. If Billy had gotten at all suspicious, it would have had to absorb him, then after a while make another white mark disposing of his mass. His disappearance would just be one more question It didn't need right now, and the rest was relatively easy to explain away.
Arriving home, Dymar saw Kansas's mother on the porch waving in greeting. Dymar smiled and waved back, it would have to make the story of the injuries work, and couldn't let them fade too fast. Kansas's mother had Kansas undress in the upstairs bathroom, and cared for the wounds. She then sent Kansas into her bedroom to get dressed. Dymar assembled all the needed clothes, then stared into a full length mirror at it's naked body. Dymar turned slowly, keeping an eye on the mirror. It made several geometric shapes appear momentarily on one buttock, and it giggled slightly. "I am Kansas now, I better start remembering that." It whispered. "I have her mind, her body, her memories, even her name, and gender. I am still Kansas, still Dymar, from now until I dissolve this merging!"
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3. Learning & Moving Up
Kansas had avoided trouble so far. She had not been scolded for missing chores two days in a row, and she had managed to avoid meeting Billy without making him suspicious. She was at home in her bed, as rain fell washing away anything that might remain of the white marks in the woods. Now, Kansas sat watching naked people in R and X rated movies on cable TV, and comparing them to the limited memories she had. As she watched a man and woman on the screen, she thought she had learned enough. Pleasure wasn't the problem as this body was still fully capable of all physical functions, even giving birth if she chose, and providing she found the right sperm donor, "Check that!" she corrected. "The right father." She just wasn't fully sure of the mental aspect. Her mind was still partly Dymar, partly Kansas, and sometimes, while she felt the emotions, and acted the emotions, they didn't always come out of her mouth quite right. She thought of herself as a she now, such things were unavoidable being in a merged form and thus becoming one with the other being, especially as more time passed and the merging became more complete.
She considered her parents, and the unfortunate circumstances that kept them close during her awkward adjusting time. She knew she couldn't do anything though. Just as before, for them to disappear, or start acting strangely, so close to recent events, it might draw suspicion. True, it wasn't likely, but so many years of survival on so many worlds, living almost entirely by stealth and wits had made her cautious.
The animals already proved to be an unexpected hurdle. They didn't like her, they would back off and not eat until she moved away from the food. Once she had tried to touch a horse, and it had kicked her. She had stimulated the bodies healing to eliminate the bruise within minutes, and nobody had seen the incident. From then on she managed to avoid contact with the big animals, but what she knew of them suggested that they would get used to her after a while.
A knock came at the door, and Kansas quickly switched the TV to a talk show. Raising the sheet to her neck she called, "Come in." Her mother came in, her short blonde hair bouncing as she closed the door, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Kansas Dear." she began, "You've spent so much time in your room lately, are you okay?" "Fine!" she replied with a smile. "Just felt like loafing around a bit. I can't do much right now anyway in this rain." "Yes I know. I just was worried, mother's privilege." Kansas smiled, "I'm fine Mom, I worry about you too." Her mother smiled back, and hesitating she said, "What about you and the Raston boy? Now stop with the deep sigh, I know you two are sneaking off into the woods, and it's not to pick berries!" Kansas blushed, momentarily surprising herself with how well the merger was going, as her reactions came normally, without thinking just as they had for this being before the merger. "Yes Mom, but how long have you known?" she asked. Her mother laughed lightly, "I've suspected for months, but couldn't be sure. When you disappeared into the woods for hours 2 days ago, I grew concerned. I thought you were with him, but wasn't sure. I drove a ways, and kept stopping to look at the fields and woods with the binoculars, and there you two were, kissing at the edge of the woods." She laughed again, "Well, what could a mother do, I raced home, and pretended I hadn't seen anything." She brushed a hair away from Kansas's face, "Your father doesn't know yet, he won't here it from me." Kansas reached out and hugged her mother, "Thanks Mom, I really appreciate your not pressuring me."
Ten days later, Kansas and Billy lay naked, side by side on a blanket next to the lake. "Do you really have to go? I could come with you." Billy says. Kansas sits up, then bending over she kisses him, "No, I really need a change of scenery, and some time alone to think. My sister has agreed to let me come visit, she's taking some time off, and is going to show me around." As she stares off into the lake, Billy sits up and kisses her shoulder, "Okay, but write often, and come home soon." Kansas smiles, and wrapping her arms around his neck, they kiss deeply. He becomes aroused again, and once more they make love by the lake.
The next day, Kansas's mother drove her into town, where Kansas picked up a bus heading for the big city. Once the bus was moving, she went to the rest room at the back. Finding privacy, she locks the door and removes her bulky but light jacket, her blouse, and bra. She stares into the mirror, and slowly begins altering her shape. Kansas starts with the extra height, adding 2 inches, and causing her knee length skirt to rise slightly. She then fills out her hips a bit, rounds off her ass, trims her waist about an inch, makes her legs a bit more attractive, including removing unwanted hair. She then causes her lips to alter slightly, and increases her bust size by 2 inches. She got dressed except for the jacket and bra. Looking at herself in the small bathroom mirror, she approved of her work. She had practiced in the mirror back home for hours to get it correct. She felt this was just right to make her more attractive, while still looking enough like usual if anyone who knew her were to see her. She wasn't worried about it much, as nobody else she knew should be in the city, and her sister had been away from the farm for years, and shouldn't notice, or think anything of it if she did. Kansas left the rest room, deliberately carrying her rolled up jacket to conceal her bra, and to show off her now tighter blouse. She got several looks from men, but heard no comments about the change. She thought to herself, "I'm slightly bigger than Janet now, but still not close to my other sister."
As the bus arrives, Kansas gets off to be met by her 19 year old sister with the long dark hair. She noted that Janet still was slim, but had begun wearing a different style of clothing. As they reached each other, they hugged, and Janet escorted her to a car. They talked all the way, Kansas couldn't help being somewhat wide eyed at the city and it's sheer numbers of people. She thought she had seen a city before, but this was even bigger and more crowded. Dymar had memories of greater things, but the Kansas part of her was thrilled to see it all.
Janet took her to a good sized apartment on the 5th floor of a large building. She showed Kansas to a spare bed, and gave her places to keep her single piece of luggage, clothes, and other things. They spent the day sight seeing, things that Janet was used to, but knew Kansas would want to see. They invited a few of Janet's friends over, and they all had chinese food delivered for dinner. That night, after everyone had gone home, and they grew tired from their late night movies and popcorn, they each decided it was time to sleep.
The next morning, they jostled and fought for the bathroom. Janet laughing hard managed to say that she hadn't had to fight for the bathroom in such a long time that it was refreshing. As Kansas took a shower, and Janet was getting dressed, Kansas thought how she really didn't need a shower, her skin could keep her and her clothes clean all the time. She just had to keep up the appearance with Janet so close, and she enjoyed the shower anyway. As they made breakfast she thought, "I do need food, and can do just fine eating normally, and using a rest room like anyone else. Two problems with eating, having to keep the body mass normal for this being, and making sure that nobody viewed the white substance I flush down the toilet."
They finished breakfast together, and then left for downtown. On the way, Kansas mailed a letter to Billy that she had written the previous night. As they arrived downtown, Janet surprised Kansas by telling her that they were both invited to a party. She said she knew the boss where she worked, and he invited her all the time, and when she had called to cancel he had invited her sister also. "It's a fancy place, because he's rich. He owns the whole store, even a big piece of the entire chain of stores. We've got to find you something impressive to wear."
They spent time shopping in stores, rejecting most things as either too expensive or not right. They finally found a nice red dress, it was strapless, and had a long flowing skirt that reached to Kansas's ankles. Best of all, the price was reasonable, although Janet paid for most of it. Kansas also bought some fake pearls, white high heels, and a white purse which was sensible enough to use anytime. She wasn't crazy about high heels, but had managed twice before, and she didn't want to look too short at the party compared to her sister. As they rode in the taxi heading for the apartment, Janet said, "We have got to eat before anything else, but Kansas I thought I was going to faint, your measurements, did I remember wrong or have you kept improving since I left home?" "Guess I still had some growing to do, not too much though." Kansas said with a slight blush. Kansas didn't like Janet noticing the change, but thought that Janet was taking it in stride, and therefore she could ignore it.
After a long day, they prepared for the party, each put on there chosen outfits. Janet wore a gown similar in cut to Kansas's, but with straps that crossed to pass on opposite sides of her neck. Her gown was blue, and she wore a silver tiara in her hair, and black high heels. The doorbell rang as they were finishing, and a medium height man with slightly greyed dark hair entered. He introduced himself as Victor, the man who was throwing the party, and he kissed Kansas's hand, followed by kissing Janet on the lips. He escorted them to the elevator, and a man held a limo door open for them. In the car before either man could get in, Kansas teased, "He's such a nice man, isn't he, and your just,... friends." Janet just smiled at her as the men entered the limo.
At the party, Kansas mingled with the formally dressed guests, often introduced by Janet or Victor. She liked listening to the gentle music from a small group of musicians, and was asked to dance by many men. One man caught her eye, his name was Steve. He was unmarried, worked in computers, and could dance well. Kansas got him into a long conversation about the internet, and computers in general. He took her e-mail address and promised to send her some material she could read when she got home. Kansas liked Steve and thought about him as he handed her a small muffin.
Kansas had eaten half the muffin when her mouth began to taste funny. She tried to smile as the sensation grew in intensity. She tried hard not to spit it out, but suddenly couldn't help coughing, and sending bits of muffin all over Steve. She wiped at Steve's tuxedo, apologizing, and coughing more, as the sensation grew until she was having trouble breathing. Kansas realized that something was seriously wrong, and that this should not be happening. She was supposed to be unaffected by any food or drink, and breathing also shouldn't be a problem, but she was definitely in distress. Kansas had a horrible thought of losing the merger, and returning to just Dymar right here in front of everyone, and frantically she fought for breath.
Steve grabbed her as she began to fall backwards. Everything stopped as a man who was a doctor came to help. They laid Kansas on the floor, and shortly another man brought the doctor's black bag. The doctor had placed a mask on her face, which fed her oxygen from a small tank. While he asked questions, and checked her vital signs, Kansas began breathing better. After a short while, Kansas had discovered the problem. Small particles of food from the muffin had reacted very badly with her. Kansas knew this was from the nonhuman side of the merger. It had run into similar particles on other worlds, such things were rare on most worlds, sometimes not existing at all on a world. She would just have to identify the local name, then avoid whatever it was. Too much could kill a merged host being, almost always killing the nonhuman side also.
After only a few minutes, Kansas had found and gathered all the harmful particles of food in her body, brought them together in one spot, and isolated them in layers of itself to limit damage to manageable levels, until she could get to the ladies room. She coughed now, and sat in a chair. The doctor slowly removed the mask, and smiled as Kansas coughed but still managed to breathe. The doctor took vital signs as she slowly improved. He then told a group of men to find out what Kansas had last eaten. "Easy." said Steve. "Blueberry muffin, I gave it to her." The doctor asked her, "Ever have a bad reaction to blueberries before." Kansas made up a story fast, "Back on the farm a few months ago, we weren't sure what happened, but I had just eaten some blueberry pie. Funny, I've never had a problem with blueberries before." The doctor smiled, and patted her hand, "Well, you do now. No more blueberries, that's doctor's orders. You have a bad allergy to them, you must have developed it recently." He turned to tell the others who might not have heard, then turned back and loudly said, "You'll be fine, but rest here for a while, and stay away from blueberries." He pulled a card out of his bag, and she asked Janet to put it in her purse. "That's a friend of mine's card, he specializes in allergies, and he can recommend someone closer to home if you need it."
The music started again, as people relaxed and muttered. Janet and another woman helped Kansas to the bathroom, and after making sure she was able to handle things, they left her alone. As she left the bathroom, being rid of the blueberries had already made her feel a lot better. Steve took her hand, and brought her to some chairs. They talked again, and after a few songs, they danced slowly and carefully. A few hours passed, and the party came to an end. In the hall, Victor gave Janet another long kiss, and when Steve tried to kiss Kansas's hand, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and made sure he got just as good a kiss from her as Janet had given Victor.
The next days were much of the same. Janet and Kansas would have breakfast, then travel around. Once Janet stopped in at the store where she worked, and introduced Kansas to her friends who also worked there. That evening, a knock came to the door as expected. Janet let Steve in as Kansas was finishing getting dressed. Kansas had prepared as best she could for this first date. She knew that they would be going many places so she wore simpler clothes, a knee length gray skirt, and white blouse with a slightly larger bra she had bought recently. She wore new panty hose, and sensible black shoes. She topped all of this with a blue denim jacket, and blue scarf around her neck.
She exited the bedroom to find Steve standing at the door. He was dressed in a casual brown outfit with gray shoes, and he held a bunch of red roses out to her as he smiled. Kansas deeply inhaled the scent of the flowers, and smiling back she took them to the kitchen and put them in a vase. Janet escorted them to the door, making sure Kansas had her purse, and giving her a hug. At street level, Steve showed her into a green 4 door ford, and they drove off.
Steve talked with her, finding that many of the places he had thought to take her she had already seen. Finally he found a new place to take her, and they pulled in to the parking lot. Inside, crowds of people were dancing to loud fast music. Everything was loud, Kansas had trouble hearing Steve talk. By demonstration and by pointing to other people, Steve tried to teach her the different dances, and after a few songs they retired to an area where things were somewhat quieter. They sat in a small booth, and Steve went to a bar and returned with a drink for each of them. They talked a while, returned to the dance floor, then came back for another drink. Kansas had been to a similar place as this recently with Janet, she had tried the drinks and found that the alcohol hit her hard, although not like the blueberries, and she could contain and isolate it within minutes, thus even if she let herself get totally drunk, she could return to being sober whenever she liked.
After this, Steve took her to a theater, where they sat down among rows of mostly empty seats. They watched a movie about a young boy who meets a lost extraterrestrial, and the adventures they have as he tries to help him get home. As they drove away, Steve remarked, "I can't believe you never saw that one before!" Kansas sighed, "Actually, I have, I just love it, and wanted to see it again." Steve laughed. A few blocks later, Steve says, "it's late, I think I should take you home now." "To the country?!" Kansas teases. Steve laughs again, "No, just to Janet's place." Kansas looks at him, "I'd really like to see your computer setup, from what you tell me I'd really like it! Don't worry about Janet, I can sneak in without waking her up." Steve smiled at her, "Computer time it is then, I've got some applications your going to love."
At his large apartment, they have another drink, then spend hours looking over each others shoulder to view the computer screen. Kansas was standing behind Steve who sat at the keyboard, and she noticed the time on the computer indicating they had been here for hours, and it was now past 1AM. Steve was totally engrossed in explaining the workings of the current program, he didn't notice the hand slipping down his chest and inside his shirt. After some rubbing, his typing slowed, and some errors began to creep in to his work. After a few moments more, he turned his chair, and wrapping his arms around Kansas, he slowly stood and began kissing her throat and mouth.
They began walking slowly while kissing, first heading for the couch. "No, not there." Kansas whispered. Without argument, they changed course towards the bedroom. They began walking side by side, still kissing, and Kansas began trotting ahead and giggling. He ran after her, and as they stood next to the bed embracing and kissing, they began undressing each other. They fell into the bed, and rolled around naked as their moans grew along with their passion.
She lay on her back, legs around his hips, as he thrust repeatedly. As he approached orgasm, her ankles locked together, and her legs began dissolving into thick green and white tendrils, flattening and slowly spreading. He held back as long as he could, but after one loud moan of hers, he exploded inside her. He relaxed his entire body, and tried to roll off, but Kansas guided him to just lay on top of her.
Kansas had enjoyed it as much as Steve had. Now Steve lay dozing on top of her as she wrapped her arms around his chest. She squeezed him briefly with her arms, and they began changing into thinner tendrils. Her body from below the shoulders down, also began changing, and encasing Steve. Kansas thought of the pain that she had felt at her merging, and was pleased to see that having come to understand humans better, the process was now painless, although a certain amount of numbness would still occur. Kansas didn't want to hurt Steve or anybody, it was just a necessary step.
Steve stirred to an odd sensation. His body seemed gripped by something, and he felt a light sensation of numbness all over. He opened his eyes, "Hi gorgeous." he whispered. As she smiled at him, he tried to roll off, finding it very hard to move. "I can't seem to move Kansas?!" he said in confusion. He used his arms to help try and lift, Kansas seemed to come with him the few inches he managed. They fell back to the bed, "Ooops, sorry! I don't understand this?" He managed a partial roll onto his side, Kansas rolling with him, and he saw a patch of green and white. Steve looked further down his body, and was horrified to see a jelly-like substance enveloping his and Kansas's body from their upper legs to just under their shoulders, his arms free, but hers seemingly plunging into the stuff.
"My god!" He gasped, "What the hell!" He struggled intensely, but made no headway at escaping as the spreading mass finished covering his back, continued down his legs, and moved up over his shoulders. Steve grunted, "Kansas, I can't get loose, we're going to die! I love you!" Kansas smiled back at him, "Oh Steve, I love you too, I wish things could be different, I wish I didn't have to do this." As Steve felt his shoulders and neck being encased, the full horror struck him, and he screamed and struggled frantically. Kansas kissed his exposed neck, and her head and shoulders began to change into the same jelly-like substance. His face was quickly covered, silencing the screams. As more of his arms and legs were enveloped, they twitched wildly. Slowly they stopped moving, and shortly afterwards Steve was entirely enveloped.
To be continued
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By Py