What's Isis Doing?

Nigkala Tales Pt. 32: What's Isis Doing?

Working behind the scenes

Thanks to my editor kenjisato. Also, to LanguageTool. Combined, they put me right. Any problems left all belong to me.

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I had come home from a long day on the set. After saying hi to the girls, I went to the dining room, where Cindy brought me dinner. I could hear Filipe on the phone in the other room. It sounded as though he was declining a part, which surprised me. I finished my dinner, then went to the living room and sat next to Filipe.

"Did I hear you right? You declined a part?"

"Yes. The part was for a guard, but it included a couple of fights, and a running scene. While I could probably handle the fight scene, at least enough to make it look good, there's no way I can do a running scene."

"They can't have someone else run for you?"

"Not without a rewrite. Don't worry, I have two other parts I am looking into."

"You need more parts for a man with a cane. You know, the elder-gentleman type."

"I know. Both the parts I am looking into are 'elder gentlemen'."

"Good. You'll get them, I'm sure."

"Perhaps. But even if I don't, there will be others. Movies aren't dead yet."

"I know. Good thing, as we both work in the industry."

"Have you noticed anything, yet?"

"I've noticed a gray hair or two, and I am not getting many parts for young characters. But sophisticated ladies are still in demand, as are regal matrons. As George Holt was never a main character, he's been getting more offers for color characters. I like playing George, as I get to play more on set. I still can't believe new talent still think he's a guy. Those who've been around certainly enjoy my antics, flirting with the young ladies."

"You'll have a tough time coloring your hair." He smiled. "Two-tone is hard to create."

"True, but wigs take care of that."

"How about aches and pains?"

"I have been blessed, and don't have any of that. I imagine my workouts help, as does Tammy's cooking. But it might just be age, and I haven't gotten as far as you."

"Yeah, exercise is less appealing these days."

"Well, we can do some paired horizontal exercise tonight."

"I look forward to that."

Just then, the girls could be heard arguing. "That's my cue to get up." I stood, and headed for the game room. When I got there, I shouted, "Quiet!", with a little of An's authority. This got their attention. "Put the game on hold. Cleopatra, tell me what's happening. Layla, you're next."

"Mom, we're playing The Gods of Fate III, and she won't let me play Isis. She always plays Isis."

"Is that what all the fuss is about?" Cleopatra nodded. "Layla?"

"Cleo always plays Captain of the Terran Bioship in Stellar Destiny."

"And you want that role?" She nodded. "Cleopatra, is this true?"

It took her a while before she said, "I don't always play the Captain."

"I take it you both think Isis and Captain are the best roles in these games?"

Both nodded.

"Then, you need to share. Or play with others who like different characters. For now, flip a coin and call it, or roll a die and call evens or odds. If you win that, you choose your character first. If you lose, the other chooses first. That way, you should each get about half the time with your favorite character. Understood?"

After they agreed, I said, "When you don't get your favorite, why not figure out your second favorite, and what that character can do that your favorite cannot? I think these games give each character different abilities and statistics. A strong character can run over opposition, but a weak one will need guile to get past without fighting. Both get past, and can then go on to win the game. Think you can do that?"

They nodded. "Good. And after doing this a while, you could play with your seconds against each other, and see how they stack up against a different competitor. For now, please try to keep it to a dull roar."

"Yes, mom."

"Yes, mom."

"Don't forget, this is a school night, so don't play too long."

I went back to rejoin Filipe, and we wound up listening to some music before we went to bed. We did a little horizontal dancing, but quietly, so the kids wouldn't hear. We then settled into cuddling, with me on the outside, as usual.

In the morning, Filipe saw the kids off to school, as I had already left for my latest movie job. I was playing a basketball player in a gender-flipped tale of the Globetrotters. As the clowns of the basketball universe, we had all sorts of hi-jinks to pull on and off the court. My uniform had trouble by design, as the story had it be a standard issue, and thus not able to handle my extra breasts. My character used that to her advantage. She was also the tallest on the team.

It turned out I had to hold back, as all my combat precision translated into shooting hoops. Because I was able to make nearly all my shots go into the basket without hitting the backboard or the rim, they changed my character's nickname to 'Swish'. One of the interesting advantages of this cast, was being able to comfortably sixty-nine ladies because they were closer to my size.

The off-court hi-jinks included lesbian shower scenes, but also hooking up with opposing male teams, and teasing opponents in public. On-court, we pulled many of the same tricks as the original Globetrotters, but we added flashing boobs against the male opponent, and my own high-jumping. Even without Everest's power, I could jump quite high. With the power, I could jump over a basketball opponent. As I had done this in my Obsidian character, as well; people just accepted that I was that good, or had great special effects.

I tried to spend a few hours each week in quality time with Cleopatra and Layla. It might have been playing video games with them, or spending an evening watching a movie with them. I was careful to be alert to their different personalities. I think Cleopatra was deliberately going for being the queen of her domain. She wanted to be the prime mover in the circle of her friends. Isis and I gave her advice, including how to lead by example. I taught her that when people want to follow, they are far more effective, and they are looking to you for leadership. I also taught her that some use power to control, or instill fear. I had her do some book reports on what happened then. Layla, instead, was more focused on sports, but she often got Cleopatra to join her in games.

At this point, Darius and Mona no longer did everything with my girls, but still did a lot with them. They still swam in my pool regularly, and studied with our watchers, but they were developing into unique individuals. Our two families, in some ways, were one family. Yet the kids were also gaining friends in the neighborhood and at school. Mine were both in Girl Scouts, and were taking it seriously. Not only did I help them with saving bunnies, but they also learned Filipe and I were soft touches for the cookies.

While I didn't let them have electronics in their rooms, I made sure they had good access to computers. In part, it was to help with school, but also to help with scouts. I also routinely had them research current events and history, so that they would know what had happened in the past and what problems the world faced today. When they asked why, I said that when they came into their own, they would have a lot of power to effect change. This change, if done without consideration of the past, or the present, would likely make things worse, and I wanted them to use their power to improve the world.

Although only in fifth grade, they were cruising at school, with all the other training they were getting. All that knowledge could have made them nerds, but Filipe and I headed that off, by ensuring they were also engaged in sports, activities, and socializing. My volunteering at the library was down to half a day a week. I had enriched it a lot, by purchasing a lot of books, and also play-n-learn toys. It was a place that the kids loved to visit. At home, on the edge of puberty, I had talks with them so they could handle the changes to their body and to their mind.

That summer, Mato Hatathli and I arranged for us to camp out for a month in his national park. He taught the kids about how nature worked, and how it had all sorts of checks and balances. He also introduced them to some of his tribal beliefs, and how they kept his people in harmony with nature. To help their understanding, Mato taught them the art of sand painting. They watched my own graceful art with the sand.

The month after that, was god camp. The previous year, Isis and I did a lot of secret work in my craft shop. First, she had me create an ankh, to be a talisman for me from her. In addition to the usual power of such, she had several additional features. The big one was to hide what was happening close by when I wore it. It not only hid psychic, magical, and divine power usage, but it also hid itself. As a talisman, she made it powerful, but most who could see it, saw it as weak. Her plan was to bring back Osiris, though she didn't tell me then.

Once the ankh was made and enchanted, we created a sarcophagus for him. She directed me in its making, so that it not only was proper, but ostentatious, with fancy wood, gold, silver, pearls, and other signs of wealth. Additionally, I custom built it. Isis was awestruck at how quickly it came together, but I just smiled and told her of the utility of power tools. The fact I could create the materials in 'perfect' form, meant that I didn't have to deal with flaws, and could get just what I needed, when I needed it. She enchanted it to preserve whatever lay within, and to be hidden like the ankh. When it was ready, I took it to Death Valley in the middle of the night, and put it in the Pocket Industry there.

The next things I made were a crook and staff, the official symbols of Osiris. Isis wanted these to be perfect, so they, too, were made in an ostentatious manner, and worth a small fortune. However, they were enchanted to hold the ba and the ma'at of a god. She gave it some power to aid the dead in their passage of the Duat, by soothing the ba and refining the ma'at of the dead. Isis also added an enchantment that linked them to the ankh, so we could track them. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't expect her to tell me everything. She also added the same stealth features as the ankh.

Since then, from time to time, she asked me to let her summon the various pieces of his body, one at a time. I did this in the middle of the night. I would then pack it along with other things when I took the kids to Death Valley. While they were distracted, I would unload my backpack, and put the piece in the sarcophagus where it belonged. She then asked me to use Inanna's power to join the bits, and thus remove the cuts. She did not summon his penis, and it was the only part missing, by the time god camp rolled around.

This month's god camp, I spent filming one of the many versions of 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' here. Part of the home was redecorated as an English manor, and a fair bit of the property, as well. Inanna picked the kids up, and the five of them went... elsewhere. It was never quite clear where they went, but they got to go full out, using their powers.

Meanwhile, I was filmed all over the property having sex, with many different people, there were two notable plot lines in the movie. One was a young man, who was innocent and naive about sex, and he fell to my charms and became my sexual student. The other was learning about owing a significant amount of back taxes, and getting the place declared a historic treasure, and thus exempt from the tax. Of course, it went sideways, and I played the part where I reprised a famous ride made by the lady of the house, objecting to taxes. That ride was in the nude, because 'the citizens were being taxed to death and couldn't afford clothing'. I was naked the whole day, and often having sex with someone when not filming.

Having learned about Jiao-long's practice area on the property, Isis had me go there, and re-energize the enchantment, before she added additional enchantments to hide me and simulate me meditating there. I would spend time there learning some higher magic from Isis, when my kids were with Angel and Jewel. The big spells were to enter and exit the Duat as a living person, as opposed to a dead one. She also taught me how to survive and thrive there.

Another hidden project she gave me, which I delegated a large part, was finding her a new body. She had learned about the modern era's ability to keep the body alive well beyond the mind's death. She said that such a body could well be suitable for her to take over. I agreed, and even mentioned the X-Men story where professor Xavier transfers his mind to such a body. She liked that idea, but for her, it would be possession, and takeover, not a transfer. However, it could not be any body. It had to be a young woman who was at least pretty, and with little damage physically. The part I delegated was the search for candidates. I added qualifications, such as being at least eighteen, and having no family.

I did get a potential call about a seventeen year old, who was the only survivor in a car crash, where she lost her whole family. I learned that she had a fair number of broken bones, cuts, and such, but no major damage, otherwise. The biggest issue was her brain waves were showing she might be brain dead. I made a middle-of-the-night visit, so I could meet her. Isis saw the body and was not too interested, but I told her that when she was old enough, her broken body would be essentially healed. I was more interested in reading her mind. When I did, I learned that there was nothing left.

I used some of my hidden contacts to transfer her to a private facility that would care for her, and ensure she was healed as well as possible. This facility was seventy miles away from my home. Each month, I would visit in secret, and show Isis how the body was healing, and the damage going away. She saw this, and her initial distaste became acceptance. I would also apply a little of Inanna's healing, to smooth away the scars.

A week after Megan Schmidt's eighteenth birthday, I took a weekend off to head to a nearby motel. The first night, I went in and used Inanna's healing ability to restore bone strength and muscle mass to her body. At the same time, I added an IV with a lot of nutrition and liquids so that the healing had something to consume to build the body back up. I removed it after it was emptied, and left. The next night, I went back. Her body had been bathed, cleaned of the effects of the quickened regrowth. When Isis looked at her, she realized I had seen more clearly than her, that this body was suitable. She then moved her seat from within me over to Megan's body. At that point, I went back home, and waited.

For her part, Isis meditated that night and fully took over the body. In the morning, she 'woke up', and played amnesia, as had I coached her. The news went back to the account I was paying the bills with, and then a car was sent for her. It was rented by me as George Holt with cash, and Lola drove it. I went to the administrative office, and Lola was my aide. There I showed papers indicating she was being transferred to another facility. Megan was sent for, and Lola wheeled her to the car while I whammied people to blur their memories of what we looked like. Soon after we departed, we stopped so I could get out of the disguise. We went to a mall to get a few outfits for her. This was to learn her size for clothes and shoes, and to let her select what she wanted to look like. We also stopped by a salon to get our hair and nails done.

Over the next month, I did a lot of online work to get her documentation. Lola drove her to places as needed. Isis also got a name change to Celeste Eset. Celeste indicates she is a divine being, and Eset is one of her names of old. Once that was done, we waited a month, and then got her a driver's license and her own car. By that time, she had her own bank account, and insurance. I worked with her each day, claiming she was a new magic student, but I spent a fair bit of time reshaping her body to what she wanted, without changing things too much.

At first, I thought she would be far less in my thoughts when she moved to her own body. But in truth, when the kids were about, she was in my mind. Three months after she got her new body, we were practicing magic out in the meditation zone, when I noticed that she was getting sunburned.

"Celeste, do you want me to get you some lotion, so you don't get burned any more?"

"Huh? Why am I naked?"

"We were swimming, and you suggested we come and study."

"But I'm naked!"

"We usually are when we swim. Everyone's used to it."

"It's not proper."

"In public, no, but in private, it's allowed. Nobody here is bothered, and I don't recall finding you a bathing suit."

She was silent for a few minutes. "You're right. The culture here is so different from the Egypt I knew."

"Still, you've managed to cope well."

"Living in you head for over a decade, has helped acclimate me."

"It has also taught me a lot about divinity, and power. All you've taught the kids, I think I have learned as well. But I usually also learn related things that I sense you thinking about as you teach. But back to my question, do you want some lotion?"

"Oh! We got sidetracked, didn't we." I nodded. "Sure. And you can apply it, too."

So I cast a spell to get a tube from the pool area, and applied it to her. When she leaned into my touch sensually, I adjusted my touch to give her a happy ending. I did it slow enough, and sneakily enough, that she didn't realize what I was doing, until she unexpectedly came.

"I asked for it, didn't I?" I just smiled. She shook her head, then said, "Let's get back to the lesson."

Later that week, she told me she wanted me to go with her to Egypt the next time the kids were at god camp. Fortunately, we had time to get passports, lodgings, and such. She had everything already planned. The day we landed, she filled me in.

"I had to wait until we were outside of their attention."

"Whose? My lady and the others? Why?"

"Yes, them. I want to do some major divine magic on you, so that I can get my brother back."

"You have his body, and animated him before, didn't you?"

"Yes, but he wasn't dead for long, and calling him back was within our power. But now, he's been gone so long, there is no way I can do it again."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Your lady called you back in time. I intend to send you back in time."

"Yikes, that's major power. I see what you mean about getting attention. If you know about my previous adventure, then you know I can't really change anything."

"Actually, you made a big change, but also subtle. I want to do the same. That crook and flail I had you craft for my brother? They are designed to hold his ba and ma'at when he dies. We can then use the ankh to find them. Once I have them, we can go back and make the final restoration of his body, and then reunite his ba and ma'at with it. Then he will be whole, and alive again. I have created another ankh, and invested some of my excess power each day into it. After eight months, it finally has enough to send you back. I have also invested your ankh with power, although not as much. It will bring you back, not through time, but in stasis. Your affinity for the desert will be useful."

"It will? How?"

"Precision. The time I wish to send you to, will have two key factors. One is that Osiris is alive in the Duat, and the other is the sealing of a major pyramid. The crook and flail will react when they sense him, and major construction will be easy to spot. If I have my calculations correct, you should arrive from one to two years before a pharaoh dies. Getting back is harder to tell, but easier to handle. I can sense your ankh, so all I need to do is come to you, and speak the finishing word, and your stasis will be released. While you appear to be a statue, you could be found and moved somewhere inconvenient. If you go into the desert, where nothing ever happened of note, and bury yourself, then when I call, you can un-bury yourself."