“That’s a virta,” Korum said, gently lifting the creature off Mia’s palm and throwing it away. “It’s harmless – you just shocked it and it grabbed on to you. They eat some leaves and an occasional mirat.”
“Mirat?” Connor asked.
“Yes, mirat,” Korum said, pointing toward one of the brown tree trunks.
When Mia looked closer, she could see that what she had mistaken for solid wood was actually some type of a jelly-like substance – and that it quivered and moved, expanding and contracting in a creepy way.
“Mirat are similar to your bees, although they don’t sting,” Korum explained. “They’re social insects, and they build these complex structures around trees. Our scientists love studying them. There’s a lot of debate as to whether the collective mind of a mirat hive displays signs of higher intelligence. We never bother them, and they generally know to avoid us and our dwellings. If you touch their hive, you’ll get dizzy from the fumes they emit, so it’s best to stay away from them.”
“That’s crazy,” Marisa said, looking worried. “Is there anything else like that we should know about?” She was holding her stomach in a protective gesture.
“Yes,” Korum said. “That, right there –” he pointed at a small red insect-like thing on the floor, “– is also something you have to be careful of. It bites and likes to burrow inside the skin. They’re not poisonous or anything, but extracting them is very unpleasant. There are also some large predatory animals, but you’re unlikely to encounter them in this vicinity. They’re afraid of the Krinar and generally avoid our territories.”
Connor was frowning. “Korum, no offense, but that’s a lot of shit we need to worry about here. I don’t think we realized we’d be living in the middle of an alien jungle.”
Korum didn’t seem offended in the least. “Our jungle is far less dangerous than your cities, as long as you don’t stumble around blindly,” he said calmly. “And my house is completely safe and critter-free. In a few days, you’ll know exactly what to watch out for, and you’ll be able to go outside without me. Until then, I’ll accompany you everywhere and you won’t run into any problems.”
Connor opened his mouth to say something, but Mia’s mom interrupted him, exclaiming, “Oh, wow, Korum, is that your house?”
While they were talking, they had reached the ivory-colored, oblong-shaped dwelling. To Mia’s eyes, it looked very similar to Korum’s house in Lenkarda – a place she now thought of as her home. To the others, though, it had to look strange and foreign.
“Yes,” Korum said, smiling at them. “It is indeed.”
“You don’t have any doors or windows?” her dad asked, examining the structure with visible curiosity.
“No, dad,” Mia said. “It has intelligent walls, just like the ship that brought us here. They’re probably see-through from the inside. Right, Korum?”
“That’s right,” her lover confirmed, and Mia grinned, feeling like she would burst from excitement. She was actually on Krina!
Korum did a quick tour of the house, showing her family how to use everything. Mia’s parents seemed a bit overwhelmed, so he created a separate ‘humanized’ suite of rooms for them, just as he had on the ship. Her sister and brother-in-law, however, decided to stay in the main portion of the house, preferring the comfort of K technology to the more familiar human-style furniture.
“I love this thing.” Marisa was sprawled out on the intelligent bed in her room, a blissful expression on her face at the massage she was receiving. “I never want to leave it.”
“I know, right?” Mia sat down next to her sister. “All their stuff is unbelievably awesome like that. The first time I fell asleep on a bed like this I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven.”
“No kidding.” Marisa closed her eyes, moaning in pleasure. “So freaking good . . .”
“I’ll leave you to it,” Mia said, grinning. “Get some rest, okay?”
Marisa didn’t reply, and Mia realized that her sister was already drifting off to sleep, her pregnant body requiring more rest than usual.
Connor was taking a shower, and her parents were relaxing too, so Mia went to find Korum. “I’m ready,” she told him. “Now is as good a time as any.”
He got up from the float in the living room where he had been sitting, his tall, muscular body as graceful as a panther’s. “Are you sure?” he asked, and she could see the concern written on his beautiful face.
“Yes,” Mia said, lifting her hand to stroke his thick dark hair. “I’m sure.”
He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, tenderly kissing each knuckle. “Then let’s do it,” he said softly. “Let’s get your memory and your old self back.”
* * *
A slender brown-haired Krinar woman walked around Mia, attaching little white dots to her forehead, temples, and the back of her neck. Mia had fully expected to be knocked out for the reversal of Saret’s procedure, but the mind apprentice – Laira – said Mia had to be conscious.
“There you are,” Laira said with satisfaction. “All done. Now please have a seat. It can be on Korum’s lap if you want.” She winked, and Mia laughed, liking this K woman. According to Korum, Laira was young, less than two hundred years of age, and already considered a rising star in the field of mind studies.
Korum smiled and pulled Mia onto his lap. “Sure, I’m happy to hold her.”
“I bet you are.” Laira grinned. “That’s a cute charl you’ve got there.”