Chapter #76Some Preparations For A New Life by: imaj   “I need to be in charge Chelsea,” you tell her. “I need to be able to push people around and manipulate them to do what I want. I need to be like you.”
“You say the sweetest things Will,” replies Chelsea through a slightly forced smile.
“But can you get me the people I need?”
Chelsea lets go of you and turns away. “I suppose I could go to Jamie Bornholm’s party tomorrow,” she states, still facing away from you. “I was going to skip it.”
“What’s wrong,” you ask. “You seemed really into this earlier.”
“I like what we’re doing,” replies Chelsea. As she turns round the look on her face suggests otherwise: Her eyes are hard and her lip curls unpleasantly. “But it seems like you’re setting yourself up to replace me.”
“You like that I want to be more like you,” you say quickly, framing it as an instruction so the golem has to follow it. Chelsea’s eyes glaze a little. “It’s going to be like having a sister,” you add. “You’ll enjoying plotting with me.”
The rationalisation seems to be enough for the golem. Chelsea’s smile moves into gear and she bounces back over and hugs you again. “I’ll get you some really good – no, really bad people then,” she giggles at her own joke. “What do I need to do?”
“Frank will get you some mind bands before you leave,” you explain. Frank, of course, just sighs unhappily.
“What about the other mask then,” asks Joe. He’s removed the Rosalie mask and is himself again. “Can I try it on? Can I?”
You exchange masks with him. Joe doesn’t hesitate before putting the last of the masks to his face. He examines himself in the mirror one last time.
“Whoa, can you say MILF,” he chortles.
“Yeah, but in when I become Rosalie, that’s going to be my Mom,” you answer. “So, not cool I guess…” Joe frowns at you. “Well, I need a background for my new identity, and we need to be able to support it. So I’m going to have a golem mom – I made a copy of the imago of Rosalie, aged it and made a few minor changes so I won’t end up looking exactly like a younger version of her. Frank can get Straussler senior to set golem-mom up with a job.”
“No memories in this mask either though,” complains Joe.
“We’ll just get the mind band of someone with the skills to do the job Jon’s dad puts her in,” you explain. “I bet he could set up identity paperwork and shit too.”
“No sucker bets,” counters Joe. “Daddy Straussler looks connected.”
“Lucky for us he has to do what Frank tells him,” you laugh.
*****
Saturday proves to be a busy day. Much of the time is spent preparing to slip into your new life. Curt Straussler, as suspected, proves to be very useful: The golem sets up getting fake identities for you – as Rosalie Martin, using your given middle name as your new family name – and your new ‘mom’.
Golem-mom is going to be Straussler senior’s new executive assistant. You instruct Frank to order Curt to get a mind band copy of his present assistant, figuring that she has the skills your golem-mom will need. The filled mind band is returned to you by the end of the day, the name Lydia Rachels glowing faintly on the inside. You do wonder briefly if your should feel guilty about putting this woman out of a job, but on reflection her sacking is a minor thing compared to some of what you have done of late, and plan to do soon.
Curt Strausler also sorts out your new home. It turns out that he owns several houses in Saratoga Falls that can be given to new Proteus Industries staff so they have somewhere to stay when they join.
He can’t help you with your wardrobe though, beyond giving you a credit card to buy clothes with. In the afternoon, wearing the Rosalie Martin mask, you go shopping. Joe comes along too, using the modified Morgana mask, concealing his identity with a hooded top and a pair of huge sunglasses. Though you get the odd look from some of the sales assistants due to the odd clothes you are wearing – you end up wearing a pair of Jon’s mom’s old jeans and flannel shirt belonging to Jon – you simply explain that you lost all you old clothes in a house fire. By the end of the afternoon you have more than a dozen new outfits for Rosalie, including all the underwear, toiletries and other sundries you’ll need for your new life.
“Morgana’s going to be impressed when she sees you in all these,” says Joe as you walk up the drive of the Straussler house. He’s still wearing Morgana’s mask and drawing directly on the memories within. “You’ll look super hot in it. It’s exactly the kind of clothes I… She wishes she could wear.”
Exactly what you are looking for, you think. “She’ll be able to wear things like this when you’re her, with the improvements we made.”
“I… She knows,” replies Joe. “She’s looking forward to it.”
Any further conversation is interrupted as Jon Straussler – presumably Frank really – comes out of the house to meet you. “Catch,” he shouts before throwing over a set of keys.
With your hands full of shopping bags, the keys fall on the ground beside you. You kneel down to pick them up. “What are these for?”
“Present from Dad,” explains Jon. He point over to a sporty Japanese roadster parked in front of the house.
“For Rosalie,” you ask in surprise. “Why?”
“Mom already thinks you’re my illegitimate half sister,” explains Jon. “So Dad decided to confirm that in her mind rather than have her dig into who you really are. He’s worryingly sharp that way.”
“And she’s ok with that?”
“They’ve been cheating on each other for years,” answers Jon. “That’s what Jon thinks anyway. It’s odd, he just kind of lives with it and hides in his corner of the mansion. Talking of who you really are, Prescott, we should get you started on training your new ousiarchs.”
“But I’ve been working all day,” you whine.
“No rest for the wicked,” laughs Joe. “And we are pretty wicked.”
“You too Joe,” says Jon. “Malacandra requires discipline.”
*****
Which is how Chelsea finds you on Sunday morning: Sat cross-legged on the ballroom floor at the Straussler’s. Your eyes are shut tight so you can concentrate better on holding onto Glundandra. The magnificent golden orb hovers in front of you, its power pulsating through you. At the same time you radiate that power outwards. It fills the room, covering everything in its warm embrace.
“Um, excuse me, sir” says Chelsea quietly from somewhere nearby. It’s only now that you notice her in the room. The distraction is enough to loosen your hold on Glundandra and the tenuous connection between you and your new ouisiarch snaps. The power that suffused the room slowly fades and vanishes.
Sir, you frown to yourself. Why did she call you that?
Then you notice the way Frank and Joe are staring at you – their eyes wide in shock. “What,” you ask them.
Joe recovers first. “You just, I don’t know, filled the room there,” he explains. “It was kind of like Dad for a few second…” Frank nods, his normally implacable exterior visibly shaken. “I guess you’ve hit on your first prodigy.”
You shake your head. “I don’t know. I mean, I could feel Glundandra, but… I know it sounds crazy but for a second I thought I felt it echoing off you guys.”
“Actually that kinda makes sense,” says Joe thoughtfully. “Dad always seems to know what’s best for everyone, so maybe it's like a Glundandra spider-sense.” Frank snorts and rolls his eyes.
“You look like your having a guy moment,” says Chelsea, with the lightest touch of sarcasm in her voice. “I’ll come back later.”
“No it’s ok,” you call. “Come back, we’re done.” But Chelsea keeps on heading towards the door.
“I have to call Kendra about what happened last night anyway,” she says, turning briefly towards you before continuing out.
You frown, puzzled at the golem’s behaviour. She’s supposed to follow your instructions. “Wait Chelsea,” you shout. She finally stops and turns round to face you. “You’re supposed to follow my instructions.”
“Nuh-uh,” answers Chelsea, shaking her head. “I like you guys, but I’m not your slave.”
“I knew this was a bad idea,” groans Frank. “New ouisiarchs,” he adds, his tone of voice making his feelings clear. “You’ll have to take her apart and start over, assuming you haven’t fucked yourself up irretrievably. Fucked all of us up irretrievably.”
You sit there distraught. How could this have happened? You were very careful to disentangle each pair of ousiarchs. There’s no way you could have gotten yourself tied up in your own power the way that happened in the story.
“Oh,” someone says. After a moment you realise it was you that spoke.
It can’t be that simple, can it? Mentally, you feel around for the little latch that lets you switch between ousiarchs. Glundandra and Eldibria vanish, only to be replaced by Sulva and Kenandandra. “But you have to do what I say now,” you ask Chelsea.
Her face whitens, but she nods in agreement.
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