Prime Paradigm

We're already making progress."

Clint stared at her. The echo was gone, and it was the first time he knew for sure that he could communicate with them. Clint turned his head and stared at Techem, and even though she looked incredibly like Abimel with his dark leathery skin, her face was more pleasing to the eye. Strong muscles showed under her loose garment. "Yes. That's much better." Clint moved his head enough to look around the room, but no one else was there. "Would you please untie me so I can get up."

Techem blinked quizzically, and then went to the wall and opened a panel. There she pulled out a small square device and attached it to Clint's garment.

"You may eventually become accustomed to our gravity. This will help for now."

She turned it on and Clint felt nauseated as she increased the field size to contain his whole body. Having the edge of a gravity field move through his head wasn't a feeling he enjoyed.

"Don't move too fast, as the gravity field may not be able to keep up."

She then demonstrated how he could control his own gravity by moving a dial on the device. Clint set it on the middle setting and stood up. It seemed about right. Taking a deep breath, he felt his skin tingle and pull against the expansion. He put a hand on his bald head and turned to Techem. "My skin feels different."

She appeared uncomfortable for a moment, as if not knowing how much Clint was supposed to know. "There is an organic membrane around you that prevents you from getting infected, or infecting others."

"Infecting others with what?"

"Don't worry. It's just a precaution." She moved back to the wall and a passageway opened for her.

Clint had to lower his head as he followed her through the doorway, making sure his lose garment covered all the important areas. It was significantly larger than the Retlatian garments, and Clint thought it would be just the right size for Glev'Ara.

She led him down a well-lit white corridor without doorways or windows. It finally ended in a blank wall. They approached the wall and then stopped. Turning around, the wall had closed in behind them, and they were now standing in a small circular area. After a few moments, the passage appeared in a different direction and they continued walking. Once again they reached the end and found themselves again in a similar circular area. A moment later, it opened into a large circular room with tall ceilings. The walls were blank, but light purple instead of the previous white. In the center of the room was a large half-moon table, with several Retlatians sitting around the outside edge. An empty chair stood in the center, with five Retlatians on either side. In front of the table was a small platform. No one appeared to notice their entrance.

Walking in, Techem motioned Clint onto the platform. She then stood behind it. No one made any attempt at communication, and the Retlatians seemed self-involved. After a few moments, a doorway opened up behind the table and Jlenga appeared. She took the seat in the middle of the group.

Clint watched, as she opened her mouth, and taking a deep breath spoke the first words he had heard in a long time. "Hello Clintalbrt." It was a surprisingly normal voice. Clint had noticed that in the thicker atmosphere, his own voice sounded lower than normal. He now assumed that the Retlate's smaller vocal area must have canceled out most of those effects.

Clint Smiled.