Dear readers,
We've made it to the final chapter. There were over 120,000 reads of the first chapter. By chapter 22 there were just 7,000 of us left. Thank you for seeing this through with me.
While writing this story I've killed off billions of people. As I'm sure you've figured out, someone is dying in this chapter. When writing a story, I get attached to the characters too. I love and hate them just as the readers do. This was a tough chapter for me to write.
I appreciate the e-mails and comments I've gotten from you. Yes, even the ones that called me names, trashed my writing, and said that the story was dumber than a rock.
I hope I haven't let you down with this final chapter. There will be no sequel.
DocWords
Chapter 23
For the next year Alex worked on creating his environmental bubble using his own power with no success. He was frustrated. In times of trouble, he often went fishing to clear his mind. While standing on the boat dock, someone bumped into him, pushing him into the lake. To his surprise, he realized that he was underwater and not wet.
"What the hell?" he said, noticing he could hear his own voice.
He looked around and saw that he was in a bubble. He touched it with his finger, and it vanished, soaking him in the process. He climbed out of the lake with a huge grin on his face.
"Sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to do that. I thought you knew I was here," Terra told him, laughing.
Alex grabbed her right hand as another Alex grabbed her left, and they pulled her with them into the water. All three were in a bubble. Both Alex' concentrated, and the three, holding onto each other, were able to stand. Terra reached out to touch the side.
"Not yet," Alex said, as two more personas appeared.
All four Alex' joined hands and it began to rise. Slowly at first, then completely out of the water.
"Dad, how are you doing this?" his daughter asked.
"Shhhh," he replied.
They continued to rise and were several feet above the surface of the water. The bubble began moving sideways over the bank.
"Terra, where were you headed?" he asked.
"Home."
The bubble, just a few feet above the path, headed toward home. As they passed people, they rose to avoid them. Everyone who saw it was standing with their mouth agape. They stopped in front of the house.
"Call for your mom," Alex said.
"Mom! Mom! Mommm!" Terra screamed.
The front door opened, and Ariana stepped out. She smiled, realizing what she was seeing.
"Can I touch it?" she asked.
"One second," Alex replied, then lowered them to the ground. "Okay, what's it feel like?"
She touched the surface. "It's smooth but feels solid."
"Ariana, pick something up and throw it at us."
"Like what?"
"A rock or something."
She reached in the pocket of her gown and pulled out an apple. Ariana pitched it gently and watched as it bounced off. She picked it up again and threw it hard. It bounced off again.
"Put your hand on the bubble," Alex told her. She did as he said. "Terra, try and take her hand."
Terra reached for her mother's hand and passed through the bubble. She grasped her mother's hand and pulled. Their hands were now both inside.
"Keep pulling. Ariana, I want you to come in with us."
It took some trial and error, but after about a minute, she was inside with the others. Alex tried to raise them off the ground. It didn't move. Another Alex joined them. The five Alex' joined hands and the bubble rose several feet before returning to the ground and disappearing.
The personas disappeared and Alex slumped over on the ground.
"That was exhausting," he said, catching his breath.
Terra and Ariana were on their knees with him to look him over.
"Relax, Dad," Terra said, worriedly.
"You did it. Alex, you did it!" Ariana added, smiling.
In a moment, Alex sat up. He picked up the apple his wife had thrown and took a bite. "I'm starving."
"Oh Alex! That was on the ground."
"Only for a few minutes," he said, taking a second bite.
There was a crowd around them as Aphrodite walked up.
"Did you fall or something?" she asked.
"I made the bubble, mom. It's not strong yet, but I made it," he said, biting the apple again.
"The protecting bubble?"
"Yes. We rode in it from the lake."
She and Ariana shared a quick knowing look before looking back at Alex. "It's going to have to be really strong to work," Aphrodite reminded him.
"I know, but it's a start."
*****
The progress was slow. He knew he would have to include Ariana's orgasm energy, but before that, he needed to use all his to make it as strong as possible. Beginning with a strong bubble, then adding her energy, would give them the power they would need.
Alex rarely walked more than a few feet from then on. He was in a bubble and guiding it, sometimes alone, and sometimes with multiple personas. He learned how to make it strong and safe from normal everyday hazards. Alex spent hours with Urania to learn what he would be up against when the time came to really use it. He knew, without a doubt, this was going to be dangerous for all three occupants.
His first big test was fire. Alex began with eight of his personas and a large bonfire. The whole community was there to watch his test. The fire was lit as they looked on. He created the bubble and drifted upward and over the large fire, then descended into it slowly. The upward hot air current made it difficult to control. The fire burned for hours as Alex sat comfortably in the middle of the smoke and flames. His ninth persona was with Urania. Since all personas could see and feel what the others did, he was able to share his observations and experiences with her in real time.
"Dad, start reducing the number of personas. We should know how many it actually takes to stay safe. Remove them one at a time. If anything changes after removing one, get out," Urania told him.
Alex began removing his personas one at a time about every ten minutes. By the time he got down to three, Alex could tell it was becoming harder to control and he would tire soon. Rather than stop, as Urania suggested, he added a fourth persona which brought him back to full strength.
Alex called off the experiment after about eight hours due to his hunger, thirst, and fatigue. He knew that if there had been provisions for everyone in the bubble he could have continued longer.
The following day he met with Aphrodite, Ariana, Terra, Demi, Alexandra, Helen, and Urania to brainstorm.
"I need some clue how long we're going to be in the danger zone," he said, hoping one of the group would have some idea.
Aphrodite was the only one with any clue. "Less than an hour. Ariana will need to make contact with the air and water. Terra will need to do the same with the soil."
"Do you know how fast the cleansing goes?" Urania asked.
"It'll begin immediately, but will take right at a year to complete," Aphrodite replied.
"Xanadu time?" Urania asked.
"Yes."
Urania did some calculating in her head. "Terra time that means three years. The cleansing will proceed at about one mile an hour. All they need to do is get it started?"
Aphrodite hesitated before answering. "Yes. What other testing are you planning?" she asked, changing the subject.
"I'm going into the upper atmosphere and underwater. I can test how it holds up in both low and high pressure," Alex replied.
