GAMBOA: 2. The Hybrid
Cynthia was sitting by her vanity mirror examining her own face. She was far too young for wrinkles. The ink on her college graduation diploma was still fresh, her parents hit elder age just a few weeks ago. She should not have wrinkles.
The reflected image was against Nature’s law. Or she was hallucinating. Or…
“Cy, for fate’s sake, if you look in there one minute longer it will suck you inside”.
Cynthia swerved and smiled at her husband. He was longuing on the bed, reading the first episode’s script again.
“Unlike you, I’m going out today. I have to look like a sim being.”
“You already look like the Watcher’s most perfect creation. Is that some consultation again? Another alien date?”
“Yes” she stopped an unnecessary harsh comment. She quickly finished her make-up, braided her hair in the most careless way possible and rushed to leave the apartment.
It was funny how things went. She called the other Curious woman just after the meeting with Lola. Chloe sounded like she was woken up by the phone (which was an hardly acceptable thing at 4 pm), but she collected her wits when Cynthia introduced herself. By the Watcher, how she collected her wits! Chloe not only declared her help, but she promised to come to Belladonna Cove in two days and to stay as long as her support would be needed. Cynthia was almost sure it meant “I’ll sleep in your bed and eat from your plate and drool over your husband”, but the opportunity was too good to grumble.
Chloe's meeting point of choice was Archimedes Arcade. The children’s screams and the noise of game machines was already audible in the Central Park Pavilion. Cynthia did her best to reassure herself, but nervousness turned her guts into a vibrating snake’s nest. At least this time it’s not my first time, she comforted herself, and in no time got petrified at how funny that line sounded for her.
I’m not ready for it, she thought as she entered the video game building.
Recognizing Chloe Curious was not difficult.
“How’s the game?” Cynthia asked as she approached the pinball machine. She couldn't not notice how suitable the alien’s choice was.
“It sucks” said Chloe and she let the ball fall between the flippers. The spice saucer on the machine’s board twinkled and waned. Chloe mumbled something unprintable, and held out her hand. Cynthia smiled and shook it. Chloe’s hand was warm and a bit sticky with sweat.
“Before we start” she went on, waving her hands to the left, “Can we have a photo?”.
She was pointing at the empty Roboman shell, standing in the corner of the room. It was surrounded by other Gamboa gadgets. Cynthia studied the paintball machine - it had small Gamboa stickers on the flippers. Good promotion.
“Sure thing”, she agreed, and watched her date asking a clerk for help. The kid looked just as excited as Chloe. Suddenly, Cynthia felt an urge to run away and let them cheer over her Joan character. She quickly fought it and managed to force herself to smile.
“So, what are we up to now?” asked Chloe when she had hidden her camera. “It’s too early for anything quality, so maybe we’ll wait the day out here, and hit Downtown later? It’s so close - “
“…actually, I just wanted to talk. In some quiet place” remarked Cynthia. She took a folded piece of paper out of her back pocket. Chloe looked at it with her eyebrows knit.
“Don’t tell me you listed it” she moaned. Cynthia shook her head.
“Nope, just the most important topics. There’s - “
“Gimme that.” Chloe yanked the sheet out of Cynthia’s hand. When she unfolded it, it turned out to be a solid A4 page, filled with tiny notes. Cynthia watched the change on alien’s face.
“For woohoo’s sake, what does L.C. raw meat veryf. mean?”
“It’s something your sister told me” Cynthia explained grudgingly. “I’m not sure if she was joking about this one.”
“Was she joking?” Repeated Chloe, still examining the list. “You made Sir Seriouspants tell a joke? You must be a magician.” She brushed the paper, casually folded its corners and gave it back to the other women.
“I have an offer” she said with a smirk. “I’ll answer your questions. All of the questions. Even the questions you don’t have yet. But first, we’ll have some fun.”
“What kind of fun?” asked Cynthia. The phrase “For woohoo sake” is used by Romance sims only, the actress realized; she hoped woohoo was not the alien’s sole definition of “fun”.
Chloe leaned against the pinball machine and started counting her ideas on “fun" on her fingers. With every word, Cynthia felt the weight on her mind decreasing. It was not what she had in mind, it was not what she actually needed, but it was tempting. That alien - in her too small tank top and with too extraverted behavior - looked like a better (or at least a less sharp) source of information than her sister.
Cynthia heard her old self - the one before the aspiration change - whisper:
Why not?
She agreed.
“How do you find SimEarth?”
“Smashing, it’s clearly smashing, watch out for your left.”
“Left? What a big motherf - WATCH IT BURN.”
“Not bad for an amateur. Gosh, like I've ever been anywhere else. Ok, I have, but it’s not like I have a choice. You know, Cyndi, I was born here, and the only opportunity to leave the planet I have is forcing an abduction and, you know, abducting me would be kinda stupid.”
“Can’t you go to Sixam? Join the Balzabian society? What do I do now?”
“Press that square button, here you have a list of possible perks. I don’t know. I never wanted to go there, not with what I know.”
“Is there anything wrong with Sixam?”
“Clear the left!”
“So tell me, what’s wrong with Sixam?”
“You need a saucer to get there.”
“…And beside the lack of public transport?”
“Too many unwoohooable guys, too little air, and the Hives. Gosh, the Hives freak me out.”
“It makes me wonder why so many of you hate bees. I already heard it from one of the Calientes, now that you mention it. What is a reason? Are you highly allergic to their venom? Do you not digest honey?”
“Who said I’m talking about bees?”
“So is it organized as a big hive, with queen - mothers and - “
“We’re having fun here. Fun is supposed, you know, to be funny. Sixam is not a funny topic.”
“And drinking beer before 6 pm is fun.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Whoo! Greetings from the skies! What’s up, landlubber? Bent and twisted enough?”
“What I am even doing here.”
“I can't hear you!”
“I’m fine.”
“So, you asked ‘bout being green… I guess you’ll have no use for my high school memories… jeez, those were funny times… As long as you turn a blind eye on the fact that all those junior Romeos were dating me only to see if I was as alien as they thought. I don’t even know what they were expecting, a third eye on my neck or something..."
“What about the hemocyanins in your blood?“
“Uh, you can screw that. Your character’s closer to Jill… Jill’s my little sister. She’s pink as a flamingo. Pink, blonde, green-eyed and sweet as a kiss. She can do more than I - you know, I can’t eat meat and she can eat ten hamburgers in a row. She’s strong. She’s…Umh… Can most eight years old kids carry a sofa?”
“… it’s rather unlikely.”
“Then she’s strong. But then there’s Johnny and he’s a whole different story… it’s all about how they’re conceived."
“Can you slow down a bit, please? How did you find your siblings? I thought it’s impossible to say which hybrids are related.”
“Oh, our pa put a lot of effort into reuniting us. He’s a family man, you know. He throws family dinners every Sunday and so on.”
“I was sure I’ve seen an obituary notice of PhD. Glabe Curious in the newspaper a few years ago. Looks like it was a misprint.”
“Oh, no, it wasn’t. It’s my another pa. The alien pa. Wasn’t it the taxi horn? Time for us! To Downtown!”
“Ha, you do smile in this one! I knew you can’t be so miserable forever!”
“I just thought about what you said about your father. Did he really sow a lawn in his yard? In Strangetown?”
“And he made a pool in the middle.”
“I don’t understand why they let him live on SimEarth.”
“Why not? He did his work, he did it well, they let him do whatever he wanted. Sounds damn legit to me.”
“Chloe, you said he had to choose where he wanted to move. I think it implies that they pollinate more planets than just SimEarth.”
“Of course they do!”
“I don’t believe that such an organized society gave them a right to choose. The most rational way would be ordering them to go and continue pollination on the most convenient world available. My - sorry, our planet is not - “
“Cyndi, I thought you’re an actress, not a scientist.”
“I have many hobbies, my dear. I wanted to point out it does not make sense.”
“Shut it, I need to concentrate.”
“Also, I heard those things about quasi perfect hybrids. Personality points - I remember hearing that you can have only maximum or minimum, never an average.”
“Uh, I thought you already noticed what a walking, breathing and flawless fun machine am I.”
“I did, I surely did. Is it true about rest of your stats?”
“Nah, it’s not that good.”
ldquo;Job predispositions?”
“For a stuffed exhibit at a Museum, at best. Aren't you having too much fun?”
“Just as much as I needed - Hey, Chloe, did you see that? All of the pins with the very first ball! It’s the first time I did it!”
“Cool. Look. You know what hybrids share with the Martian Manhunter?”
“Green skin?”
“Yeah. Green skin. Exactly. That’s it. We’re green, vegetarian sims. Nothing more.”
“Tell it to my producers. I guess I’ll - Joan, I mean Joan - will end up with clairvoyance or flight powers.”
“What about telepathy?”
“Or telepathy. As ridiculous as the rest.”
(missed pic)
“Once again, what is that place?”
“LuLu Longue. The Superstar Report says all the superstars party here.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Then you’re not a superstar, Cy. Let’s get a drink”
“Oh, is ethanol immunity one of hybrids’ superpowers?”
“Cyndi, I’m not counting your drinks.“
“We’re in a top rank Downtown night club on Wednesday. It’s so empty I could bring in a flock of llamas and nobody would notice a damn thing. Nobody to be watched by. Nobody to be embarrassed of. Not being able to take advantage of it would be blameworthy.”
“Where did your stiff charm go? I’m starting to miss it.”
“Miss it long and passionately then. I guess it’s time for, as you named it, fun”
“Whaiiit, where are you - “
“I’m going to have fun”.
To Cynthia’s disappointment, it turned out they were not the only people in the club, but nobody seemed to care about a few falls now and then and their progressive lack of coordination.
“For the meeting!” Chloe said as she raised her glass. The club’s backyard lamps reflected in the glass in an almost beautiful way.
“For the not wasted time!” added Cynthia. The women drank their last drink for that night. Cynthia felt a bit sick, and thought about all of the signs of losing self-control. She should just stand up and leave without a word of explanation, catch a taxi and get back to Belladonna. The faster she gets back to privacy of her own apartment, the better. Especially for her stomach. But dealing with her body was easy as pie. The worst thing was, she started enjoying Chloe’s babble.
“You know, I can call you a friend by now! Stiff and puffy and boring and nothing like that hottie from Gamboa, but a friend!” Exclaimed Chloe. Cynthia found herself smiling foolishly. “Even more boring than Vid and his smelly plants. It turns out you just need just a few drinks here and there and you become alright?"
“Thanks” mumbled Cynthia, trying to ignore a sting of umbrage. Chloe did not notice her faux pas and she kept chattering.
Cynthia browsed the new information in her mind. It was mostly hints, a few real facts and a lot of observations. Despite the weird circumstances of the meeting, it was more profitable than the one with that sneaky politician Lola.
Suddenly, she realized that Chloe had been glaring at her for a good minute now. The black, void - like eyes had such an expectant and hungry expression it made her want to scream.
“Do you agree?” asked with exaggerated carefulness Chloe.
“Yes?” Cynthia said without a second thought.
Cynthia felt arms entwining her body, and then a bone - crushing hug.
“I’m so excited!” rejoiced Chloe, pulling Cynthia even closer, and lost herself in explanations and plans. She decided when Cynthia could come, where she would sleep, and rambled about how she would have a unique opportunity to meet the most alien-friendly family in Simcity. She seemed to not notice Cynthia’s desperate attempts to get at least a general idea of the offer. For a second, Cynthia felt like a kid invited for a sleepover by somebody who wanted to befriend her badly.
“…Did I agree to visit you, hon?” She risked the question.
“Me?” marveled Chloe, her raised voice drawing unwanted attention to them. ”Not me! To visit the unforgettable Strangetown!”
At least she did not invite me to Sixam, Cynthia thought through the nectar's subtle haze.
As soon as she came back to her flat, Cynthia caught the telephone and dialed the number she had known by heart for years.
“Hi, brother!” she said.
She heard a shallow yawn. In the background, the sound of music mingled with a mechanical whirr.
“Cynthia, if you are calling with another drunk prophecy I’m hanging up right now” replied without enthusiasm a hoarse, well - known voice.
“Why should I - aw, what time is it?”
“It’s 4 am. Look, I - wait a second“ something twanged and she heard some muttering about mean screwdrivers “- I burnt the midnight oil tonight over figuring out how to plug the power supply into that bucket and not get instantly electrocuted. Call me in the afternoon, would you?
“Geez, man, I just wanted to announce something. I bet you’re awake enough to remember it” snorted Cynthia. Alarmed, she started to analyze how drunk she still was. Clear thinking, walking straight, no giggling… no, she got better. “Guess who’s coming to Strangetown?”
“No idea” he sighed.
“Thiiiis girl!” Cynthia cheered. “I’m coming in three days, prepare your wine cellars!“
”I don’t own wine cellars.“
”Then just prepare something to sip as we shot the breeze, brother.”
”… I’ll find something. The Young One’s back from college, so the only spare bed - ”
”Don’t bother, I already have a place to bed down.”
There was a long, drawn-out silence in the receiver.
“You’re coming to this rathole and it’s not to visit me?” asked cautiously her friend. “What did you get into, oh woman of Kynthos?”
Cynthia smiled a little. She missed this nickname.
“I have no idea what I’m getting into.” She admitted quietly. ”And that’s why we need a drink, oh my dear Liesmith.“
***
Author's note:
Sorry for a time it took me to complete it, but last month left me a little time for anything not connected with metallurgy, chemistry, crystalography and another engeneering stuff. Biggest thanks for krolowa_francji for lightspeed - fast betting <3