OVER THE SILVER SKY TO THE WORLD OF NEVER : Part 149 - Perfection.

"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

This is from one of the many letters Paul wrote. He wrote this one to the Corinthians. They never wrote back. I've read the Bible and I can confidently tell you no one ever wrote back to Paul. Because he was a dick. I don't know that. It's a judgement call based on the fact that everyone he sent a letter to ignored it. There are many words of wisdom in the Bible. This isn't any of them. It's an old lonely man continuously writing letters that nobody reads. That made him bitter. I should know. I'm an old lonely man and nobody pays any attention to me either. But am I bitter? Of course I am. That's why I hate everybody. Like Paul I love to vent. Kids are a good, target because they can't fight back. The thing is you should never put away childish things. You shouldn't be childish, but you should always play. That's not wisdom either. It's some stuff I stole off another guy who'd already worked out that Paul was a complete tool. Being celibate and childless made his mind rot. There is nothing wrong with being a child. There's nothing wrong with children. I've got boxes of them in my basement. Still in mint condition. Never opened. And one day they'll be worth a fortune. As soon as they become collectible. I've already had a few derisory offers from Hollywood celebs. I'm holding out though. Knowing that they'll only take them out of the box to show off as another celebrity accessory. That means they're used. No longer in mint condition. Worth a lot less. I haven't got Hollywood money. I can't go out and buy another ethnic orphan as soon as the last one's worn out. I've got to play the long game.

(The copyright to this image is the property of Board of Wisdom.)

Each morning Jake fetched Poppy from the sick bay to take her for her walk. Each morning she'd cast a worried glance towards the hold. The look on her face indicating she was wrestling with whether to take a look at her workbench, to see if Norbert had created order out of chaos. On the second day he asked her why she didn't simply ask Norbert during one of his visits. Only to discover it was because she was in love with the man. It did funny things. It made you stupid in a way. It also made you deceitful. In that you'd fail to mention things which might cause conflict. Besides the nerd was already well outside his comfort zone by actually coming to see her. The look of trepidation on his face made broaching the subject more than difficult. He was barely functional a lot of the time.

Jake looked in on the nerd regularly. Once or twice a day at variable hours. That was more than regular enough. He was always in the hut. By this point he could tell by the pallor of that pasty skin whether or not Norbert had gone for one of his exploratory strolls. It was easy to deride him and poke fun. Jake did it a lot. It was unfair though. The poor bastard was walking through the Valley of Death every day. Poppy's reluctance to broach the subject was understandable. Much like his own unwillingness to mention that hideous monstrosity of a statue to Scarlet. The past few days he'd been seeing her looking at it.

Staring up at a gross misrepresentation of the truth. A two hundred meter high insult to the people who were mostly responsible for the founding of Palamar. Not once or twice a day. Scarlet gazed upon it frequently. So frequently that now the obtuse Wanderer could tell she experienced guilt. Those things she'd accused him of, had become hers. The Wanderer had only dragged the others with him because of her. Jake knew he wasn't charismatic. She was though. You could see that in all of the crew. Her closest friends. Who because of him had suffered repeatedly. That statue was a constant reminder. If only he could do something. He'd been ruminating far too long. Poppy had moved well ahead of him and tripped on a stray rope. Thanks to the ever watchful Hermes, and some boosting of his reactions, he arrived in time to prevent a fall. She smoothed herself down. Unaware of this new dereliction of duty. Caring was a full time job. It required multitasking. Both things he was bad at.

"I think I'm getting stronger." The scientist confidently offered.
He held her gently by the shoulders, meeting her eyes.
"I think you are."
Poppy grabbed him by the shirt.
"Right." She hissed malevolently. "What's he done to my workbench. I'm strong enough to take it now. Don't sugar coat it. Tell me the truth. I'm ready."
She released him. Stiffened herself, preparing for what was to come.
"It looks fine to me." He dissembled.
"Don't lie. Tell me the unvarnished truth."
He couldn't meet her maniacal gaze, so he stared at the deck.
"I don't know. I haven't looked."
"Why the fuck not." She exclaimed in disbelief.
"I was scared. A couple of times I was tempted to see what it was like. Only I knew if it was that bad I'd end up trying to soften the blow by moving stuff about. Then you'd know it was me."
She folded her arms.
"Move that way a bit. I don't want to look at you and I can't turn around without falling over. The cornering on these things is shit."
"I'm sorry." He took a step sideways.
"You're supposed to be my friend."
"I am. But I'm a friend who doesn't like delivering bad news. I've never been good at it."
"Is that true or have you just never tried?"
He actually had to think about that.
"I think I might have delivered bad news once. It was so traumatic I've blocked it out."
"You must have delivered bad news." She retorted skeptically.
"I know. I blocked it out."
Poppy hit him. He reached out without looking to stop her falling.
"If I had my balance I'd be beating the crap out of you. It's killing me. Now I'm going to have to take a look."
He searched the deck thoroughly.
"Wait here. I'll see if I can find someone to take."
"What do you mean?"
"Well I'm not going with you. Not when you're in this mood."
"Yes you bloody well are. I'll need you there."
He sighed miserably.
"To stop you hurting Norbert?" Jake suggested.
"No. So I can hit you with something. I've got just the right tool in mind. If I can find the damn thing."
"You saying things like that doesn't help. It makes me not want to do it. What's the worst case scenario here? So he's tidied up. All you'll have to do is put things back the way they were."
Now what had he said? Poppy was staring at him fiercely.
"I don't know where things are. Not consciously. It's intuitive. I put things down, then when I need them I reach for them without looking. I've got better things to occupy my mind with. Like what I'm going to insert into you and where it will cause the most discomfort."
"From my point of view that's not very persuasive. It's the opposite actually."
"You're doing it. Now get me down there. Have Hermes on standby with pain relief. I don't want you squealing and scaring Norbert."

Sometimes this friendship thing was overrated. Seeing Scarlet looking at that damn monument again spurred him into action. You always hurt the one you love. With the exception of Poppy it seemed. He'd have to suck it up. Try not to become too vengeful towards Norbert. Bide his time and make whatever he did look like an accident. He muttered to himself all the way down. Lowering his tone even further when he found her giving him irritated looks. Why they couldn't have done this when they were only a few meters from the hold being the main topic. It would have been over with by now. The anticipation of what was to come didn't need prolonging. Oh she was was really bright and cheery towards everyone else. It was only him getting the snake eye. She switched between them seamlessly. Instantly in fact. Oh shit. Now she was muttering. They were like an old couple. Trapped together after decades of unhappiness. He wasn't exactly relieved when he got there. At least the long wait was over.

She shrugged him off. Going the last few paces on her own. He should have made a run for it. There was no way she'd catch him. His morals wouldn't allow him that escape. Fucking morals. Right, she was there at her workbench. Her face switching expressions so quickly he couldn't keep up. It didn't look bad. It didn't look good either. The play of emotions washing over her impossible to interpret. Oh fuck she was crying. Now he'd have to bend over and take it like a man. Some of those things were electrical. Casting aside all thoughts of self preservation he moved up to her side. She grasped his arm pressed her head against his shoulder.

"It's exactly as I left it."
This was too good to be true. Best to double check.
"How do you know when you don't remember where things were."
"It's easy. Look."
Poppy took a couple of clunking steps to the bench closing her eyes. She reached out and plucked something arcane and mysterious. Put it down and took up another unknown device. Then a third. He sighed with relief. How the hell had Norbert resisted the uncontrollable temptation to tidy up? This was his heroine.
"All's well that ends well. You see there was nothing to worry about."
"Yes and if you'd bothered to take a look, I wouldn't have been fretting all this time."
"Poppy." The joy in Norbert's voice was obvious. "Everything's exactly as you left it. Sade and Morag have been using your tools, but I did a 3D scan then put everything back where you'd left it."
The crafty bugger. Now there was no danger of harm, Jake offered his theory.
"I bet you come out here every day to sort it. Then stick it back. Otherwise it would drive you bonkers."
Norbert had a cup of coffee, he stirred it thoughtfully.
"No. I'm not going to deny I was tempted. Then I realized something. Something I'd missed. Poppy, and everything she does, is perfect."
"That's the nicest gift anyone's given me Norbert."
Poppy have Jake's hand a squeeze. He understood though. It wasn't the size of the present. It was the thought that had gone into it.
"Do you two want to be alone?" He smiled.
She squeezed his hand again.
"Yes please. I'd like to spend some time with Norbert. I'll call you if I need you."

Out romanced by a man who used a laser ruler to arrange his desk. If only he could come up with some gesture. For Scarlet. One that would show he understood her complexities, while at the same time being mildly mystified by them. Not to impress her. She came to his room very night. Sometimes they talked. Other times they didn't. There was no need. There was every need to convey how much he valued her tolerance. That was the thing with love. It wasn't being the perfect fit. It was fitting perfectly with all those flaws. Knowing they were there and loving every irritating second. Morag and Sade walked by, deep in conversation. That brought back a tantalizing memory. One he couldn't fully grasp at first. That was it. How could he use that? Why had it frothed and bubbled up from his subconscious?

He didn't have time to dwell. Daisy, Gungthor and Ursella had returned. The trio waved at him from the dockside. They had a lot of catching up to do. While they'd been gone there'd been e revolution. Scarlet and Pengelly greeted them. From the way the three travelers were looking up at him it seemed like they were being filled in. Other things were boiling in his foggy brain. Jake tapped his ear to bring up the communicator. Telling Hermes to put him through to Kayzee. It was a faint hope. She'd been very busy. Negotiating and reorganizing. As well as refurbishing that fortress. It was a pleasant surprise when she answered. A little wearily.

"What can I do for you Jake. As long as it's quick. I've got a delegation from the Merchants Consortium coming over in fifteen minutes."
"Oh. I was hoping to get an appointment with you. Whenever you're free. I'd like to have a chat. I can come over at any time. Day or night. I think they'll let me."
"I'll tell you what." She replied. "I'll come over to you tonight. I need to get out of this place before it drives me insane. I could do with a break from all this shit Scarlet dropped me in."
"Right I'll see you then. Call me before you arrive and I'll meet you."
That done he looked down towards the returnees. They weren't there.
"Who was that you were talking to?"
Thanks to Hermes he was able to keep his reaction down to a shiver, instead of a jumping fit. How the hell had Scarlet got here so quick. Hermes wasn't providing any help with a response though.
"Nobody... It was a wrong number. I mean I... Alright if you must know I was checking up on Kayzee. Seeing how things were going."
"You seem a bit jumpy. Are you cheating on me?" She frowned.
"No." He answered far too quickly.
"Why not, I'm cheating on you?" There was a sparkle in her eye. "As long as it's not something I should know, I don't care. But, and it's a big but, don't do anything that causes a stir. I am up to my eyes right now. Don't forget we're about six months overdue. There are a lot of feathers that need unruffling here. Some of which became a lot more ruffled thanks to you. I'm not blaming. I'm blaming you."
"That's very confusing. It doesn't make any sense."
She shrugged.
"I know and that's how I like it. You're a lot easier to deal with when you're befuddled. It's when you start thinking in straight lines that I get worried."