Current draft of New Start Version

==edit feb 2014==
the now current version I am posting the rough draft of at Journey To D'zeron
edit 2013. this is no longer the most current draft, because as of july 2013 I am making a new edit of these files.
the New Start Version is basically and expansion of the Epic prologue listed in the 2010 freshstart files
I'm going to post the current draft of the New Start Version here, bit by bit, one file at a time, but I am editing each file as I post them because I just love editing more than writing or posting.
technically the Graphic Novel Version is newer than this version, but I didn't get very far on it so I'm not counting it as a current version. It's not currently significant.
A note about chapters parts and scenes: I sometimes use these terms inconsistently to indicate smaller divisions in the story. This version was just numbered files and not specified what divisions. I am adding a few scene devisions within the files to make Wiki navigation and editing easier
==Section 1 [the New start chapters] ==
--section folder contains notes and backstories I have not yet transfered here, though they may duplicate those in the 2010 freshstart files
edit july 2013
in july 2013 i began a revision of these files to clarify backstory for the July 2013 Journey to D'zeron version
===-------------------------- ---Jason meets Matthias -------------------------------------------------===
x
[Written May 2011, slightly edited and posted here Sept 2012]
If there was anything Jason Scott-Harris hated more than advanced technology, it was Kansas winter. In drifting snow he parked the air car as close as possible to the door of the tower entrance on the roof of Waters Hall . He glared at the swirling blizzard hatefully, gathered his resolve and released the dome seal. He raced the January storm across the roof to the door, defending his hand-knitted possum-angora scarf against the wind’s attempts to tear it from his grasp.
The ancient steel door slammed heavily behind him, and he rushed down the hallway grateful for the warmth, removing his long wool coat as he walked, shaking away snow which had gathered between his bare toes and the leather sole of his sandals. He tried to breath carefully, so as not to fog his glasses . The blood gradually returning to his limbs drew his awareness to the cold stiffness of his muscles. He cursed the winter. I have to get warmed up soon to be ready to climb. He glanced down at the melting snow still clinging to his toes.
“Professor Scott-Harris!” A tall, ragged young man appeared from nowhere around the corner and ran right into him. Jason recoiled, heart racing, prepared for combat if necessary. Well at least this will help warm me up for climbing.
Seconds later Jason realized he had been the one who rudely collided with a student who had been innocently standing in the hallway by his office door. It’s still his fault, Jason consoled himself. This is my tower. No one should be here uninvited.
Embarrassed at having crashed into a student who had no right to be there, Jason silently raged at the student for having put him in this position. The tears felt hot on his frozen skin, a bitter reminder of the cold winter weather and the need to be warm soon. His glasses started to fog, blurring his vision further. He wanted to wipe the tears away, and to rub his hands on his face to get warmed up, but his hands were full of bulky winter clothes, which he shifted awkwardly onto his left arm so he could get the chain with his office key from around his neck, hoping to disappear into his office and slam the door behind him, to quickly forget this young man had ever existed. 
Time seemed to stretch out long as he tried to insert the key, warm in his shaking fingers, into the keyhole. The student stood too close beside him, reaching out insistently. Damned fanatics. They keep harassing me, but never hear me. They don’t consider me human. Maybe I’m not. They should leave me alone.
The warmth of the young man’s hand burned on Jason’s shoulder, as the key finally condescended to enter the slot and the office door swung mercifully open, providing an avenue of escape.
“I’m sorry I startled you, Professor Scott-Harris, and I’m sorry I came to your tower without your permission. Dr. Pershington said told me to come up here and he let me in. I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t insisted, but he is head of the department, y’know? and he’s hard to say no to. And I didn’t feel I could presume to take your orders against his when we haven’t even spoken yet. I need to get my cameras set up right way. He said you won’t come down until class starts. He insisted wait for you here.” The boy talked too fast, smiling nervously, standing far too close, still reaching out.
Silently cursing Pershington and all his ill-conceived good intentions, Jason said nothing. He walked in and hung up his coat and scarf behind the door. The young man followed, too close for comfort, too fast for Jason to shut the door against him. Conflict was inevitable. Jason turned away from his coat, then moved to where he could place the desk and the desk chair between himself and the intruder. The intruder smiled slightly, and didn’t follow. Finally it dawned on him with a flood of both dread and relief. “You’re Matthias Daniels. My new teaching assistant.”
Matthias relaxed visibly. His eyes sparkled behind a dark veil of spiral-curled hair. “Yeah. Sorry. I should have introduced myself.” Matthias stepped forward grinning and held out his hand again.
Jason shook hands mechanically. “Your hands are very warm.” 
He cursed himself for saying this as Matthias stopped smiling and blushed bright red behind his freckles. “Uh, yeah I guess so.” 
Jason blushed also, withdrew his hand hastily, but Matthias said exactly the right thing to bring them back to reality.
“It’s just ‘cause you’re cold from being outside, Professor Scott-Harris. Just gimme the Amphitheater layout and the lesson plan and I’ll go get my cameras set up and check all your climbing props. You need to get warmed up before you climb.”
Matthias looked like he wanted to say much more, to ask lots of intrusive, confusing questions, but he had the sense to stick to business. Maybe having an assistant wouldn’t be so bad after all. Jason handed the requested materials to Matthias, and Matthias was mercifully gone, without the need for exchanging another word.
Jason collapsed into his desk chair, took off his glasses, laid his head down on his arms and cried.
x
===-------------------------Matthias and Pershington-----------------------===
When Matthias emerged from the tower stairway Dr Pershington , the head of the Anthropology department, was waiting. “How was he?”
Mathias grinned and held up Professor Scott-Harris’s lesson plan. “Amazing! And ridiculous! I knew he was young, but wow, he’s no bigger than a ten year old, and he was wearing shorts outside in the middle of winter. I can’t wait to see him climb walls.”
“Good.” Pershington paused stroking his long white beard, and peered out from under his shaggy eyebrows at Matthias with a serene, enigmatic little smile. Matthias felt he had fallen through a portal into a fantasy role playing game. Rogue that I am, I have entered the lair of the Goblin Prince, obtained the keys to his kingdom with my trickery. I, safely returned, must now report to my master, the ancient sorcerer, and hope he doesn’t turn me into a toad, just because he needs some toad spit for a potion. Matthias suppressed a giggle and waited respectfully for the old man to finish.
“He was able to tolerate your presance, apparently.”
“Yeah, he was just fine Dr. Pershington, he really didn’t seem to mind. Much friendlier than I anticipated. I believe we’ll get along just fine.” Matthias’s hopes soared, realizing as he said it that he truly did believe now. Jason was just a scared little kid. Matthias had a lot of experience with little kids. He was the oldest of 10, and Mom wasn’t around much. The idea of working for an eccentric genius author who had traveled to other worlds and could dream in ways other people didn’t dream of had seemed intimidating at first, but this scared little boy Matthias could handle.
Pershington nodded in slow motion. “Well…. that would be merciful, wouldn’t it? I do hope so. Still…appearances can be deceiving, especially at first when you don’t understand what you’re dealing with. Don’t forget what your job is, young man --you work for me-- and don’t even mention dreaming until I give you approval.”
Imagining the old sorcerer transforming into a giant snake Matthias excused himself to set up his cameras. The historical significance of his present assignment awed him. No one had ever recorded a video of Jason Scott-Harris. There weren’t any photos or holograms of him on the internet, not even on the university website, though every other professor was shown. Maybe the university didn’t want the world to know that their star lecturer looked like a terrified ten year old.
Matthias placed a 20th century video camera on the ceiling so he could take some close-up shots of Professor Scott-Harris climbing across the ceiling. He chose the one with the wireless connections because it was so far from the stage. He imagined he was floating, magically, as he rode the anti-grav platform up to set up a camera. He attached the controller to the side of his neck, and told it where to go just with his thoughts and it went. Magic. The benefits of studying in a department which also houses part of the Alien Studies program: Paragangian technology. Through its power I can do Magic. I can fly. But Jason will fly this same sky with only his own muscles, his own hands, and toes, with nothing but what the Great Mother gave him. Who’s the greater wizard? He is. Because his magic is his own. Mine’s stolen --an illusion lent by aliens. His is real, the Great Spirit of Retrotechnology speaking to him, to us through him. He is the great prophet of Retrotechnology, and I …
I…ME…Matthias Daniels….
' I am his assistant. His apprentice. I speak for the prophet, Like Aaron speaking for Moses.
Matthias checked and repositioned the several ropes which had been hung from the ceiling to simulate vines, and the other beams and protrusions added to the walls and ceiling of the lecture hall to simulate tree branches. He set up the computer which would control and moniter his five early twenty-first century video cameras. Recording Scott-Harris’s Introduction to Retrotechnology lectures using a variety of obsolete recording methods had been Matthias’s idea, but Pershington loved it, because those recordings could also be used in other courses both to demonstrate the technologies, and to make Scott-Harris’s popular and highly entertaining lectures available to more students. Apparently Scott-Harris has consented, because here Matthias was, setting up 21st century video cameras for the first day of class. Pershington was allowing Matthias to count this project as a technology elective, so he got credit for the time he spent doing it and also got paid extra from the department for it. Great deal all around, but what really mattered was that he was here, learning from The Amazing and Mysterious Jason Scott-Harris, the one scholar he admired more than anyone else in the universe.
Matthias had applied to the university as a graduate student In Dream Studies, to work with Jason Scott-Harris, and Jonathan Landon. Scott-Harris and Landon were the foremost experts on dreaming in the country ---the world-- probably the galaxy, for that matter. But Landon was too sick to teach this semester, and Scott-Harris, being a very young and new to the profession of teaching, refused to sponsor a graduate student. Not willing to give up his dream without a fight, Matthias had hitchhiked to KS with the intention of making a personal appeal to Scott-Harris. He found the young man to be quite well guarded. But Pershington was so impressed with Matthias’s determination that he offered him a teaching assistantship in Retrotechnology, if he was willing to help deal with students for Professor Scott-Harris, who was notoriously bad about refusing to deal with students one-on-one. This way Matthias could get to know Scott-Harris personally, and might get his chance to convince him to mentor Matthias in dream studies.
Pershington came to check on Matthias before class. One of the ceiling cameras had a loose connection but he didn’t have time to fix it before class. He told Pershington. Pershington offered to ask Jason to fix it for him.
Pershington walked out the door and reentered with Professor Scott-Harris. They spoke breifly, gesturing at the camera, and the ropes Matthias had arranged on the ceiling. Pershigton stood at the back, observing Matthias.
Show time.
Matthias turned on the cameras. Jason ran right up the doorframe and headed for the ceiling like a squirrel climbing a tree. He hung there gripping the first ceiling beam with his toes, and the fingers of one hand, upside down, in tan cotton shorts and an off-white t-shirt, like some alien albino amphibian defying gravity without the aid of Paragangian technology. He then repositioned himself, an elf in an ancient magical forest, sitting casually on the beam, oblivious to the danger of the height and the students below. He turned to each of Matthias’s camera and greeted them, Jumping and swinging like a monkey between the beams to get into the field of vision of each camera.
Matthias chose the best perspective to display for the students on the large projection screen at the front of the lecture hall. On a whim, he added a little 21st century background music. In keeping with the level of technology he was using for the day.
Then Matthias relaxed and just enjoyed the show. Magic. Real magic. No cheating here at all, and no hint of the terror he had seen in the eyes of the shy child who had given him the lesson plans two hours earlier.
===------------------------Retrotechnology lecture---------------===
X
[this file is the point at which Narrative begins to fail and the story goes back to being merely a collection of random notes about what might someday be contained in the chapter]
Retrotechnology lecture, ch. one.
POV Jason [POV Matthias for backstory book abt Jason’s last semester at KSU---name that book and make a link to it? ] 
X
Jason looked around at the cameras, then up at the screen, getting his bearings relative to this change in his climbing environment. The path he normally took to the front lead over to the left but the camera he had been asked to fix was in the other direction.
Jason paused, upside down, when he reached the ceiling, then swung upright to sit on the first beam. He wiggled his toes. They were still a bit chilly but beam-clinging was getting them warmed up pretty fast. He’d made this climb so many times before he could do it easily and thoughtlessly. Easier than climbing down the outside of the tower from his office, which he sometimes did in the summer to avoid students and colleagues. Climbing Just as easy as walking down the isle to the lecturn. In fact, it was easier. Up here he was safe. The students couldn’t try to talk to him or ask him questions or shake his hand, or just stand towering ovr him, making him feel small and vulnerable. He did not have to fear them here. He was just a show, not really a man; some exotic creature from another time and place. They were just a sea of impersonal humanity swaying slightly now to Matthias’s music. Jason didn’t recognize the tune, but he liked it. It added to the carnival atmosphere and in so doing increased the distance between him and the audience.
Climbing was always fun. He did a few flying leaps between beams just for his own entertainment and the students responded appreciatively. He wiggled his toes. Pretty well back to normal now.
He headed left, to the ropes attached to the ceiling. Took the first flying swing in time with the music to cheers from the sea below, but held on to the rope there. The next rope, he detached from the ceiling, and then wrapped around his shoulders. He swung back to the same perch in the rafters he had departed. He stood, ran down the beam, stretched out to hook the rope to another beam and then hopped across several beams back and took another flying swing, landing on the beam adjacent to Mathias’s disconnected camera. He glanced down at Matthias, who grinned and waved. 
Climbing was more fun with background music, and the class response better, too. Plus fixing cameras, and adjusting his movements to make it easier for Matthias to capture made the climb more entertaining than just traveling from the back to the front of the lecture hall without having to deal with students. It gave the climb more of a feeling of purpose.
Jason fixed the camera, then looked at the screen to see that his image from that camera appeared there.
[He made some sort of expression or gesture for the camera, He might even play with the camera, take it down and aim it at Matthias or something.]
and then looked down at Matthias and waved.
Knowing he would not have to deal with the questions at the end of the lecture also made him feel much more relaxed. Maybe the teaching assistant had been a good idea.
Okay.
Enough fun; time to get to work. Jason headed for the floor of the Amphitheater, dropped from the rafters onto the platform to thunderous applause and signaled for Matthias to stop the music.
“Welcome to Introduction to Retrotechnology. Anthropology 653. My name is Jason Scott-Harris, and the man with the cameras is my teaching assistant Matthias Daniels. He’ll be addressing any questions you may have at the end of my lecture as well as explaining what he’s doing with the cameras.”
xxxxx 
old notes:
This is the 4th time he has taught this same class, the first year he had very few students, but he impressed them so much that the word spread and now it is in the largest lecture hall available and they still turn people away. He’s very entertaining.
'the requirement to have learned Spanish before taking the course was started the second semester, because Jason was annoyed the first time when some students had to use translaters to understand that part of the lecture, where he lectures entirely in Spanish while he is talking about Planet Mexico, on which other languages are forbidden
The course would fill a cultural overlay requirement, or a social science, it might be required for an anthropology degree, an elective for a history degree, or an Alien Studies degree, whether in the anthro tech or bio track of that program. It would be prerequisite for all Prophor Scott-Harris’s other courses: --to understand Jason, you have to take this course. In a sense, it would be intro to Professor Scott-Harris [Matthias might make a mental comment to this effect]
'for the first lecture, Matthias would use digital equipment to record, and would then play back part of the tape for the students during the Q&A period after Jason’s lecture
' Matthias would videotape Jason’s lectures, he would justify this as a study he is doing on 20th century recording technologies, so each lecture would be recorded using a different method…film cameras, audio cameras, stenography, digital video cameras, various different sorts of Digital video cameras, etc. His primary personal intention is just to record Jason because Jason is amazing to watch and listen to and he is Jason’s biggest fan.
' In his lecture he would introduce a few basic principles of Anthropology which I want to use later in the story, cultural relativism, the definition of culture and of Anthropology, things like that.
' His lecture would be passionate, a sort of baptist preacher style lecture performance, promoting very dramatically the history and importance of Retrotechnology, and also including a lot of fairly acrobatic climbing around. it might also include some roleplaying, as he is comfortable playing a role, to some degree. He might use some fun old 20th century lecture technology, such as powerpoint, or even film or slide projection,
'probably as he spoke of each section of the course, he would take on the persona of a person from that culture, dress In the garb of the culture, and use technologies appropriate for such a lecture in that culture. His lecture performance would be highly entertaining, not because of anything he said, but because of his antics in the process, because of his physical skill in climbing walls and changing personas while talking.
'because the appeal of his lecture style will be highly visual, however, this will be a great challenge to make it as fun in writing as it would be to be a student sitting in his lecture hall.
xxxxxxxxx xx
He would talk of D’zeron in this lecture, 'and of the history of alien visitation of the earth,
The differences of technologies of different alien races, giving the example of the most advanced race in the galaxy, Paragangia, and the fact that they had no written language.
He would speak of his two field studies, in Mexico and at HomeWorld, and the limited tech levels of these worlds.
include in the lecture the catch phrases “going forward by going back” and “living with what you find”
===----------------------------notes for RetroTech lecture content---------------===
x
Written May 2011, edited and wiki posted Sept 16 2012
This file needs alot of work, and fixing it will be alot of work. and I'm in no hurry to do that right now.
basically just the general sort of things Jason might talk about in his first into to retro-tech lecture, after he climbed the walls. 
xxxx xxxx 
rough draft of Jasons lecture may 2011. [combined with older outline for lecture] 
historical information still needed:
--figure years pre-alliance of first contact.
-date of the shattering, etc. 
Time lines
in this course, as well as exploring more fully the doctrines and history of the field of Retrotechnology, we will examine in detail several examples of lower technology cultures with which I am familiar.
History of Retrotechnology:
In the early days of the earth alliance, many new technologies suddenly came to the earth from alien cultures, especially, from the planet HomeWorld and from Paragangia. Those which came from Paragangian included not only Paragangian technologies, most of which were withheld from Earth because they would be harmful, but primarily technologies the Paragagians brought to us from other cultures more similar to our own which they have encountered in their many journeys around the galaxy. 
The history of Retrotechnology is closely connected with the history of the earth alliance, and the Anthropology and Alien Studies department at KSU. [*x number of years pre-alliance…figure this before moving on to next chapter] When Jordan Keerigan-Smith was with the KSU anthro department, he traveled to Mexico hoping to find the friend of a friend who had gone missing there. Orlando Cartwright. He had worked in Oaxaca as a young Anthropology student, and had traveled around Mexico with his mother, the artist Lynzee Keeringan-Smith who happens to also be my great great great grandmother.
He discovered that Orlando Cartwright was the son of the leader of a nearby village, [Name of Mexican village] and that village had been visited by aliens [for x years]. Next to that village now stand Earth Station Mexico. Any of you who have traveled off-world have certainly been there, unless you know someone with a HomeWorld air car
Those first Alien visitor were from the planet HomeWorld. Later In the semester we’ll talk more about HomeWorld when we discuss the LDS colony where I did my first field study. They had come seeking the original home planet of their people and seemed to believe that the Earth was that planet. Genetic studies indicate that it is highly possible that the people of HomeWorld came from the earth thousands of years ago, making Earth the true home world of the HomeWorld people. although the linguistic connections are not clear. It is possible that other Terran cultures had mixed with the people of HomeWorld, or that the people of earth came from Home World or that we both came from some other unknown place. Again, we will cover that later in more details.
HomeWorld, as you know, has it’s own sort of specialized space travel. With their assistance we explored the galaxy and 7 years later made first contact with Paragania, or more specifically, with the Marrion Jay space community lead by Sen’tran Jenzar. This was the beginning of the historical period we now call Earth Alliance.
Sen’Tran introduced us to Paragan, the leader of Paragangia, and the Earth Alliance began, with Paragangia receiving land in Mexico for a small Earth-based spaceport called Earth Station Mexico which would provide passage to the stars for the people of Earth. In exchange for that land the American government received a solar system with two planets called Beta Blue and Blue Destiny. A colony was sent to Blue Destiny, of artists and inventors, [date and details] followed a few years later with a Christian extreemist colony.[date, details]
With this sudden influx of Paraganigina and HomeWorld technology, and other alien technologies brought by the Paragangians and found through our new ability to travel throughout the galaxy, Jordan Keerigan- Smith realized the need to preserve and study less advanced technologies both of alien planets and older technologies of the Earth.
Thus the duel departments of Alien studies and Retrotechnology at KSU came into existence tight here in the first half-century of the Alliance. The movement because very popular among people who feared new alien technologies,
This influx of advanced technology disconcerted many people. The excessively rapid change caused the culture to destabilize. Professor Jordan-Kerrigan Smith, the founder of the Alien studies program at KSU recognizing the need, he initiated the Retrotechnology movement, an effort to seek less technological approaches to all areas of human life.
but within a generation, that fear had subsided and interest in Retrotechnology waned.
xxx[check this date when I do timeline]
Retrotechnology gained renewed interest after the implosion of the planet Paragangian, known as the Shattering, which was due to overdevelopment of the made-made structures of the planet.
The empire of Paragangia was shattered as well as their planet, all known members of the Paragan leadership clan…the Paragangian equivalent of a royal family….were lost in the implosion, as well as the science clan who had traveled to the planet to research it’s growing instability. Most of the remaining Paragangians were spacers who had never lived on the planet, and diplomats called Negotiators who had gone to represent the Paragan government to other alien cultures.
Around this time, the Christian colony on Blue Destiny and the other colony, which had migrated to Beta Blue, renaming the planet “Hell” both were mysteriously depopulated, as a Group of travelers going to visit relatives on Hell colony discovered. Finding the colonies empty, they then traveled to HomeWorld because the leader of that group, Emily Hawthorn, daughter of Dr Sherman Hawthorn Sr. He was a well respected member of our just-created Alien studies program, and was doing an extended field study on HomeWorld at the time of her birth, He had married a native of HomeWorld. Emily, being half native, wanted her son Isaiah to be raised there.
We will discuss that colony later also, as that is where I did my first friend study.
After the Shatter, Paragangian refugees gathered at Earth Station Mexico. This influx of population caused friction between the Paragangians and the local Mexicans. to settle this, the American government offered the local people the now Depopuated planet Blue Destiny, in exchange for land to build Earth Station Mexico into a home for all Paraganigan refugees. Thus, the first intentionally retro-technological colony was formed, Planet Mexico.
On this planet, no langauge other than the primitave langauge of Mexico, Spanish, is spoken and, apart from interplanetarty transportation systems to commute to Earth Station Mexico and relatives still living in Old Mexico, a relatively low level of technology was maintained. Old Mexico has also preserved a slightly lower level of technology, Having advanced less quickly due to poverty in the years before the Alliance. After the formation of Planet Mexico and ESM this tendency increased in all Mexican culture,
This also we will discuss detail later in the semester. [translate this line into Spanish]
Gradually, after a few generations, alien technologies became a casual accepted part of American technology, as did the process of assimilating them and assessing their impact on the culture. gradually, the need for Retrotechnology in the culture at large began to wane, and interest in the field declined entirely.
However, 40 years ago, with the help of Sen’tran Jenzar, the Paragangian Spacer from first contact, and our very own Professor Jonathan Landon discovered the planet we now know as Terran 8. On Terran 8 is the village called D’zeron, which has carefully maintained limits on their own technological development for a thousand years. This, my friends, was a retro-technological paradise, especially if the rectro-technologist happens to also enjoy dreaming and climbing.
D’zeron technology is based on skills such as the climbing I demonstrated earlier, and the ability to dream, rather than on creation of material objects. This we will also discuss in depth as the semester proceeds.
But before we explore these various extra terrestrial cultures, we will review the history of Earth technologies in various parts of the world, and last we will consider the present and future value if the study of retro-technology beyond the field of anthropology and Alien Studies.
'but in the spirit of Retrotechnology, in the spirit of valuing the things of the past, preserving them for a future time when such things are again needed, the study of retro-technology continues. It helps us keep perspective and remember that going forward technological does not have to mean advancing to the more intensive technologies, sometimes to go forward, we need to remember to go back. more importantly, however, is the fact that there are still many cultures around the galaxy who live at lower levels of technology, and as many of us, as Alien studies students will train to serve in the Earth Defense Service as Negotiators, we will have use for this knowledge.
This concludes my portion of the introduction, now I turn you over to my Assistant Matthias, who will answer any questions you have about the course, explain the texts and evaluation procedures and introduce you to his recording project.
====xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx older file====
'first, and concurrent with our history exploration, we will look at the LDS colony of HomeWorld, where I studied for one year as part of my masters program. then we will turn out attention to the Isolationist culture of Blue Destiny, popularly know as Planet Mexico, where I spent a year observing for my doctoral project..
'lead by [name] the [org name people of planet mexico founding] took a retrotechnological stand. on planet mexico, they chose to seek the preservation of traditional Mexican culture, to the degree where any language other than Spanish is completely forbidden on the planet. exceptions are made for the languages of native tribes who lived in Earth Mexico before the coming of the Spanish. also forbidden is any technology of alien origin. they do of course make an exception for the technologies required to quickly transport between Planet Mexico and Earth Mexico.
'we’ll also examine briefly culture of [name of village] the village of [that type of people] which has grown up outside the entrance of ESM, to serve the needs of Mexican travelers.
'finally, we’ll turn our attention to my favorite area of interest, the Low technology village on Terra 8 called D’zeron. Travel to this remote and isolated village is tightly controlled, and no one from the earth has had the privilage of traveling there in the past 40 yrs, however, since the one man who has ever visited the village is my father, Professor Jonathan Landon, I will be able to give you a fair overview of this very interesting alien culture.
xxxx xxxxx
Matthias would introduce them to their printed text books [including the two books he has written about his field studies] and their wooden pencils and spiral notebooks to take notes on. [that would be for the Planet Mexico session. In that session, he would give part of a lecture In Spanish. He might allow them to use translators for a moment, but the he would require them to particiate in the lecture entirely in Spanish. He would offer them a paper syllibus, all of this which would be delivered to them by Matthias. Jason would not refer to him directly until the end of the lecture, when he leaves and allows Matthias to address any remaining questions. Jason would have Matthias make clear that he was not going to sign autographs, or schedule any personal interviews, and the any such request would bring forth grade penalties, and it is not appropriate to the course.
===-----------------------------Jason and His Parents------------------------- ===
[this file starts with a list-ish outline of event but finds it's way back into narrative and dialogue before the end. written June 2011, posted here and slightly edited Sept 16 2012] 
x
====--------Gloria------====
Jason leaves the lecture hall and goes to His office. It is the same office which was used by Jordan Keerigan-Smith, who Jason idolizes, or at least has some affinity for. Jordan was the founder of the Alien studies department, and one of the founders of Retrotechnology. [*figure out the history of the tower room…the tower was added to the building in the time of Sherman Hawthorn to accommodate access from the roof by air cars.]
He feels a disconcerting discontent at teaching the same course he has taught 4 times, at the impersonal nature of the course, and a disconcerting excitement about having Matthias there to insulate him form the more annoying parts of it. He’s confused as to why it feels old even though teaching with Matthias and his cameras is very different than how he taught before.
Picking up his guitar, Jason reminisces about his field studies, and decide to go home to see how Jonathan is doing. He leaves before Matthias arrives to brief him on the lecture. Jason isn’t interested in meeting with Matthias. He leaves a message that he has gone out and will meet with Matthias the next day.
Mom ---Gloria Scott-- was in the kitchen boiling something on the stove.
“Smells good” said Jason “ tea, or dye stuff?”
“It should be a dark purplish blue color” She held up a spoonful of the dark liquid, explaining what plants she had used, but he wasn’t really paying attention.
“For your world history tapestry. Looking more like teal so far. Got plans all drawn up?”
Mom wrinkled her nose, and dropped a few more plants into the dye pot. “I’m procrastinating the Alliance Years panel. It’s been such a dull time for textile technologies, but the early sections, I’ve got pretty well figured.”
“How’s he doing?”
She stopped stirring, met Jason’s eyes and shrugged.
====---------Jonathan----------====
Dad-- Jonathan Landon-- lay curled up facing the wall when Jason entered the bedroom. Jason lay down and wrapped his arms around him.He felt thin and bony. Increasingly over these past few months the illness was taking it’s toll. Not many held out this long against it, but Jonathan had so much will to live that he refused most pain medications, and endured cheerfully even the most painful treatments. Jason as overwhelmed with confused and disconcerting emotions whenever he saw Jonathan now. Dispair? Love? remorse? admiration? awe? fear? sorrow? pity? agony? regret? No words even seemed to gesture in the right direction. His feelings now confused him even more than all feelings always confused Jason. He feared the feelings and the confusion they engender, knew that he feared them, and feared that fear.
Jason held his father close, cried silently and wished he could take the pain into himself and ease Jonathan’s burden, so Jonathan would not carry this pain alone. Jonathan wrapped his thin, still surprisingly strong arms tightly around Jason’s arms, pulling him closer.
retrotechnology be damned, Jason thought. You stubborn old man, why not let go your pride and let yourself be healed, for me, because I need you, even if you don’t care about your own pain, even if you don’t mind dying. Your Paragangian friends at the station could make this all go away if you just let them. 
He felt a twinge of guilt for the thought, and vowed to be more true to the doctrines of Retrotechnology and Anthropology. Jonathan had the right to choose his own life, including death, and pain, if that’s what he wanted. Jonathan was clearly in his right mind, less distracted by pain then a normal person would be when they had no pain.
“I’m sorry, Dad”
“Jase. No. It is what it is.” There was pain in Jonathan’s voice, softer and slower than usual, as if he had to consciously form every sound of every word with full concentration. “How’s your assistant?”
Jason pulled away slightly, and Jonathan turned painfully to meet his gaze. Jonathan’s eyes were completely grey. The pain must be terrible. Jonathan’s eyes color-shifted with his moods in a way that nobody else’s did, like grey smoke spreading across the iris from the center.
Noticing Jason’s reaction to his eyes he closed them, leaned his head against Jason’s chest and Jason held him, helplessly, knowing he needed to answer Jonathan’s question, needed to think clearly and put into words things that he wanted to put out of his mind and forget. Jonathan needed something new to put his attention on. “Matthias Daniels. He’s not too bad. I helped him fix one of his cameras. He stayed at the end to handle questions. I haven’t really spoken with him yet.” 
Jonathan’s eyes were almost completely brown again, and he was smiling. “So you like him, Jase. What’s he like?”
He gets so much worse when I’m not here. But I can’t always be here. and if I was, I’d run out of things to share. “No, I don’t like him, Dad. I like not having to answer questions. And fixing cameras make the climb more interesting. You wanna dream?” 
Sharing in dreams was so much easier than trying to put it all into words. Especially since what Jason had lived through today was more significant of feelings than verbalizable facts. 
Jason sat up and took off his t-shirt, then lay back down and wrapped his arms around his father and they both went right to sleep.
===------------------Dream scene with Jonathan-----------------------===
[written june 2011 slight edit and posted Sept 16 2012]
x
Consciously controlling his brain waves, Jason took himself immediately into [brain waves for sleep] and then to rem sleep. Jonathan was waiting: young, healthy, golden-skinned Jonathan, his short chestnut brown hair not even beginning to grey.
Jonathan wanted Jason to share the lecture, and Matthias. Potential friends for Jason always interested Jonathan as much as they didn’t interest Jason. Jason felt no need for friends. He had his parents. On HomeWorld, he had his Aunt Rae and uncle Leroy. There were a few people he met in his travels who he still kept in touch with. But everyday sort of friends seemed pointless. For some reason Jonathan still hoped he would find friends. Silly, Jason thought, but no harm in hoping.
“Share your pain with me first.” Insisted Jason. 
“I’ll show you pain,” Young, golden Jonathan grinned, tackling Jason, and wrestling him to the ground. Jason had always hated this game, but tolerated it because he loved Jonathan. Jonathan never failed to be amused at how Jason still panicked and screamed every time Jonathan tackled him.
When the panicking and screaming and wresting was done, and Jason lay out of breath on his back in a field of soft alien wildflowers, under a bright blue-orange sky, Joanthan said “I went first last time. Besides I’ve got nothing new, same old pain day after day. It’s your turn Jase. Show me.”
Jason conceded. He jumped up shook off the dust and leaves, then held out his hand and helped Jonathan up. “I‘m getting too old for this” Jonathan laughed. “You gotta stop tackling me like that, Jase.”
Jonathan was always impossible to refuse. Jason’s dream-sharing would take Jonathan’s mind away from the pain, if Jason went first. That way, when Jonathan finally shared his pain, there would be less of it present in his mind to share. This was Jason’s version of the wrestling game. If Jason went first, the pain would not be fully shared. The more Jonathan shared, the less he carried alone. Jason wanted to remove as much as possible. Jason now realized that Jonathan had chosen to go first yesterday because he had anticipated this. The old rogue.
On the other hand, sharing the lecture while it was fresh in Jason’s mind, unshadowed by Jonathan’s pain, probably was wise. This way Jonathan would get a more pure image of it, and he could replay it for himself later when Jason wasn’t home. It would help take his mind off the pain then too. 
Replaying a memory with Jonathan was never the same as living it the first time, because Jason knew what was coming, Jonathan’s feelings about the experience were there also, and Jason’s anticipation of Jonathan’s feelings. Jonathan liked Matthias, and this annoyed Jason. Jonathan laughed at Jason for being annoyed. That annoyed him more, and he pulled back just enough from the shared dream to feel Jonathan’s pain. He repented, resolving to allow Jonathan to enjoy Matthias, and even to make a point to interact with Matthias more often, in order to share it with Jonathan. Jonathan was pleased, and that made Jason happy.
Jason shared the air car ride in the snow, his run across the roof, and his initial encounter with Matthias. Jonathan found it all highly entertaining. Jason shared the climb and the cameras and the lecture in detail, and then the air car ride home. The snow had stopped falling and the sun glistened off all the snow-covered trees. Jason hadn’t paid any attention to it at the time, but now, living it again with Jonathan, it was beautiful. Jonathan loved winter as well as any season. In the dream, he shared that love with Jason, and Jason could feel it too. too badthat feeling didn’t tranlste into waking when he was walking across the roof in the snow.
Jason regretted that he had not paid more attention to the students. Jonathan found them fascinating. Jason had been distracted by Matthias’s recordings. But Jonathan would also enjoy watching those. Jason was curious to see them. He would watch them with Jonathan.
When Jason’s day was shared, and Jonathan had made the most of it, finally Jonathan shared his pain. It was reaching the point where when Jonathan was alone he lost conciousness of everything but pain, became pain, and had no other form. With Jason, the pain was less than when he was alone. Gloria could not comfort him as well because she could not dream with him the way Jason did. It was a rare skill, not easy to develop even if you had the innate capacity. Gloria didn’t have it.
After the sharing of memories and pain, they created imaginary adventures together, carefully designed to distract Jonathan from his pain so he could sleep. Although they had spent the equivalent of several days together in dreams, when Jason awoke only an hour had passed. Jonathan was resting quietly in a dream paradise Jason had built for him, away from his pain for now but Jason felt the shadow of it upon himself, as if he was carrying away the pain so Jonathan could sleep, and dream and rest.
Jason disentangled himself from Jonathan’s arms, put on his t-shirt and walked stiffly back to the kitchen. 
x
Gloria was still making dye. “Not joining us for lunch, I gather?”
Jason climbed up onto the counter by the stove, and sat there with his arms wrapped tight around his legs, his head resting on his knees. “He’s resting now. The pain is worse than ever, Mom. How much longer can it go on like this? Why doesn’t he let someone heal him?”
Mom shook her head. “You know as well as I do, Sunshine. Pain meds make him too groggy to dream, and if he can’t dream, he declines even faster.”
“Yeah, I know, but you still have friends in Paragangia, don’t you, Mom? From when you painted their historical mural? Why can’t he get help from them? He knows lots of people from ESM also. They can cure these things without using any drugs. I know; I’ve done some research.
She smiled up at him cheerfully. “Research on Paragangia? That’s wonderful, Sunshine. Paragangians are a beautiful people.”
“No, Mom. Research on the combination of immune system and nerve degeneration Dad has. Apparently Paragangians call it exile sickness, because they have no natural immunity so it often happens when they leave Paragangia. They have ways of treating it.”
“They have ways of treating everything…”
Mom looked up at him frowning, disappointed that he wasn’t researching Paragangia. She loved Paragangia, and never understood why being an anthropologist didn’t make him want to study Paragangia, just as Jonathan couldn’t understand Jason not wanting friends.
“Jonathan doesn’t choose it.” she continued “He’s had some hard experiences with Paragangia. He didn’t leave them on best of terms.”
“Would they be so heartless to just let a man die like this?”
“We've been through this before, Jason. They have their reasons.” She shrugged “It’s Jonathan’s choice. He isn’t going to ask them for help.”
“That’s not fair, Mom. I don’t want to lose my Dad. And students like Matthias, who want to dream, I can’t teach them. I can’t bear the thought of dreaming with anyone other than Dad. Or of not having him to dream with.”
“You worry too much, Sunshine. He won’t leave you any too soon, and when he does, you’ll be able to dream with others. Don’t worry so much.”
Jason unfurled silently back to the floor, put on his sandals and his wool coat, and headed out to the aircar, and the snow, and back to the university.
===---------------Jason and Matthias----------------===
[written june 2011, slightly edited and wiki posted Sept 16 2012]
x
Jason goes back to the office to get some materials he wants to work on, and finds Matthias waiting for him, even though he had left a message saying he would meet with Matthias tomorrow.
After Matthias briefs a disinterested and impatient Jason on the lecture question session, He would make his observations about how Jason’s reclusive behavior increases his celebrity, and if he interacted with the students more he wouldn’t be such a mythological figure. Jason would express the opinion that being a mysterious celebrity increases his effectiveness as a teacher of Retrotechnology, which is normally not a popular subject, and he doesn’t care whether the students like him or hate him as long as they take in his message.
“It’s your job to keep them from bothering me. It’s also your job not to bother me. Jonathan likes you a lot, but I don’t. Jonathan thinks I need friends, but I don’t. I don’t need anyone but Jonathan, and my mom.”
Matthias grinned “I’m glad Jonathan likes me.”
Jason turned tearful again. “So am I Matthias. He hurts so much all the time now. Anything that captures his interest makes it easier. When I dream with him, He’s better, but I can’t dream with him all the time.”
Matthias couldn't resist this opening. “Will you teach me to dream, Professor Scott-Harris?”It's not like he was bringing it up himself right? Scott-Harris mentioned it first
“Jonathan likes you, but I don’t like you,” Jason tried to explain
“So?” Matthias persisted.
“It’s not something I want to do with just anyone. It’s personal. He’s my Dad.”
“Jonathan dreamed with other students when he wasn't so sick.” Matthias argued “I read Jonathan’s book about D’zeron. He wrote about his dream studies here, too.”
“Right. I’ve read Jonathan's book too.” He looked apologetically up at the tall curly haired graduate student and Matthias grinned back amiably.
Jason blushed. Am I lying? Is it true I don’t like him? He’s like Jonathan when Jonathan was young, only more polite or maybe just kinder.
“I mean, I don’t want to like you” Jason tried to clarify, then decided that sounded even worse. Tears burned behind his eyes and he just wished Matthias would leave.
“I noticed," grinned Matthias, "but maybe you will anyhow. We could try it?” 
Jason’s ambivilance finally brought forth tears. He didn’t even try to wipe them away.
He did want to share with Matthias, --thoughts, feelings, who knows, maybe even dreams--but that would bring them closer than Jason wanted to be with anyone. He was trying not to share anything, and was annoyed with himself for sharing more than he intended, and for wanting to share, when he knew he did not want to live with the consequences.
“It’s okay to be confused, Jason” Matthias comforted, “It’s okay to feel all sorts of things at once, even things you don’t want to feel. There’s no commitment in feelings, they don’t own you unless you choose them.” Matthias wiped away tears from the side of Jason’s face, like Jonathan, an intimate gesture which normally would have offended him but somehow it didn’t. Maybe he was already too hurt to feel any more pain.
“No. It’s not okay.”
“That’s okay too, Jason. Everything’s okay.”
Jason smiled, and somehow, it was okay. Matthias left, still smiling, without another word.
xx [ ---I need to write out the content of Jonathan’s book on D’zeron]
===-------------------the job offer------------------------===
written june 2011 --Edited slightly and wiki posted sept 17 2012.
x
====--------------------scene 1 Matthias-----------====
x
for almost two weeks, the semester proceeds smoothly…Jason lectures, Matthias answers questions.
Jason at first is pleased that his performance has gone well, but after awhile he settles into the routine and starts feeling discontent. He’s increasingly bored of teaching intro to retrotech, having taught it several times before he’s pretty much mastered it. It’s no challenge.
Matthias’s recording is an interesting twist, but not that interesting. Matthias diligently insulating him from the students is ambivalently appreciated, making the lecture less stressful. less stressful also meant more boring. Life is a balance between discomfort and boredom, he decided, and began to wish there were something more. In terms of Retrotechnology, We make life better, easier, until there is little challenge and little discomfort. Then we are bored. 
On the other hand, having to deal with Matthias was almost as bothersome as students.
Jason was impressed with Matthias’s thoughtfulness. Matthias always said just the right things. Matthias’s admiration was sincere, personal, not just the celebrity of illusion. It made Jason feel violated, but also made him feel loved. Confused, he wants to avoid Matthias, yet he always enjoyed seeing him, and sometimes used Jonathan as an excuse to seek him out.
After class on Friday morning it’s unseasonably warm for early February. Jason picked up his guitar, and sat out on the tower roof reminiscing about his field studies. He wanted to go home to Florida, where the weather was warm, to get away for Kansas and winter and the routine of class. He could stay in the cottage there for the weekend. He would leave the office by crawling down the rough stone sides of the building. He did this fairly often in the summer, even though it's technically not allowed. No one ever questioned his right to do it because he's such a celebrity and thus such an asset to the department.
Then, Matthias comes to the office to report on the question and answer period.
"i thought I might find you out here. It's such a nice day." Jason nodded silently, waiting.
"the question and answer period was uneventful, but...." Matthias fell silent.
Jason turned to look at him and he still didn't go on. "But what?"
"Well..." it was unlike Matthias to delay saying anything. he usally jsut threw everything out there efficianty and quickly. that was probably what jason liked most
"Matthias!" Jason hissed his name, clearly annoyed.
"Okay, okay, it's just..." Matthias paused and Jason glared "Pershington asked me to give you this message."
"what? What message?"
"That you got a call while we were in class. A Job offer. An invitation to serve as a negotiator for Paragangia."
Jason laughed slightly, shrugged, and turned back to his guitar. "Okay. Thanks Matthias."
"Um, Jason? I know that's a really good offer, but...I really hope you don't leave."
[part of this might be from Matthias’s point of view, to show his sincere concern for Jason, and at the same time his desire to keep Jason close for his own personal ambitions.]
Jason laughed and put down the guitar, turning to face Matthias. "You're worried I might take a job with Paragangia Matthias.? Thought you knew me better than that."
"Well" Matthias still looked uncomfortable "Pershington said to tell you he told them you would return the call at your earliest convenience."
"That's stupid.He should have just told them no himself. Just tell him to call them back and tell them I'm not interested."
"Well" more reluctance, "I did suggest that. He said they insisted on talking to you personally."
[Jason will consider returning the call or not, or asking Matthias to do it for him [express his feelings about Paragangia here, to Matthias. There might be some discussion here of Matthias’s intention to get him to teach him to dream]. He also considers having Jonathan handle it for him, or possibly Pershington, who took the call in the first place.]
Jason laughed. “Paragangia? Right. Tell Pershington to tell them no. Or how ‘bout you call back for me, Matthias? As my assistant hired to deal with people I don’t want to deal with. I bet you’d love to talk to someone from Paragangia. Maybe they’ll would offer the job to you instead. You’ve been a great Negotiator for me, I’ll give you a good reference”
Matthias grinned “Wow, thanks Jason.”
Jason breathed a sigh of relief and considered the matter was settled
“I’m glad you think so highly of me, as a negotiator, since as you know I AM a pre-negotiation student, so you good referance coud be very helpful at some point. and I appreciate the offer, because you’re right. I’d love to talk to Paragangia. But I don't want to become a negotiator for Paragangia. I like the job I have now, and, as you say, I’m great at it. I think you need to call them back yourself. For what it’s worth, though, I really hope you don’t go.” His huge brown eyes fixed on Jason’s like a lost puppy. "Because I want to learn to dream. I’ll tell Pershington I gave you the Message.” And Matthias was gone before he finished speaking.
Alone on the roof again, Jason laughed and shook his head. “Paragangia” he said aloud to himself “now that would really be some pain to overcome my boredom.” [they would have talked earlier— him and Jonathan—about pain overcoming boredom]
Then he fell silent…..
maybe … 
I could learn about Paragangian healing, and find someone who could help Jonathan,.
====-------scene two Jonathan====
x
Jonathan was bad again that evening. Jason took off his shirt and lay down to dream with him without even asking first.
That night, Jonathan will encourage him to get to know Matthias, and to help him learn to dream. Jason will say “I’m not ready to commit to mentoring relationships. Actually, I’m considering going on another field study.”
“ Where would you want to go?”
“I’m not sure, 'I got a job offer today, and it got me thinking.' I’m bored with teaching the same class over and over. I want to learn something new. I don’t have to go on doing this forever, Dad. Just because I’m successful at something doesn’t mean I should spend my whole life on it, right?”
'“The department would be pretty bad off with both of us gone, Jase. You should at least train your replacement before you leave. I thought I was doing that. Maybe I was wrong.
'But I don’t really like teaching, Dad. Not like you do. And I don’t feel right about dreaming with someone I don’t know.
'You dreamed with me the first day I met you Jase, and you’ve known Matth a few weeks now. I know how much you like him.
'Jason grinned. “Yeah, I had no idea what I was getting into. You took advantage of my childish innocence just as my mother feared. And, you mean you like Matthias.”
'“Whatever. But you can’t spend your whole life just doing one field study after another,”
'Why not? That’s what I’m good at.
'What kind of life would that be, Jase? One of these days you’ll find a wife, and settle down and have a family, and then you won’t be able to go running around the Galexy doing field studies.
'all the more reason to do it now, Dad. I’m nowhere near ready to start a family. I have a family. You’re my family. I guess that’s the main reason I’m not going. I don’t want to leave you.
' “Maybe you should consider the job offer. Maybe we could go with you. There’s really nothing to keep us here I guess, and you always hated winter.”
“Not as much as I’ve always hated Paragangia.”
“Paragangia?” Jonathan sat up, smiling as if just the mention of this healed him a little bit.
Jason laughed up at him, leaning up on his elbo. “Yeah, Dad, Paragangia. Can you imagine, --“Jason Scott-Harris, Retro-technologist and Negotiator for Paragangia." Pershington sent Matthias up to tell me. What were they thinking?”
“Was it Alex?” Jonathan asked, with disconcerting enthusiasm
“It was Paragangia. Pershington took the call. Who’s Alex?”
“Will you return the call?” Jonathan asked.
“Of course not,” Jason laughed, “Paragangia. What’s the point?”
Jonathan grinned and tried to tackle Jason the way he always did in the dream plane. Taken by surprise, Jason screamed as he did in dream, then laughed and helped Jonathan painfully sit back up.
“Step out of your comfort zone sometimes Jase.” Jonathan said, with alarming sincerity. “Was it Alex?”
“You want me to work for Paragangia? Go off to some strange planet, or HomeStation, or just Earth Station Mexico? What would you do without me?”
“I’d hurt all the time, and eventually die like I’m gonna do anyhow Jase.
“Don’t say that, Dad. I’m not gonna leave you, and you are not going to die!”
Jason flopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
Jonathan wiped a tear from Jason’s cheek, tenderly. “Everybody dies Jase”
“Who’s Alex?”
“The Center of Paragangia.”
“No” There was obviously more to it. “Who was Alex, Dad?”
“A childhood friend.” 
“You never mentioned him.” 
Long pause. “I haven’t thought about Alex for ….a very long time.” replied Jonathan, his voice full of sadness. 
Whoever he was, this Alex must have been important. And Paragangian. Maybe he could help. 
“Ok Dad. You show me Alex, and I’ll ask Pershington about the call on Monday, okay? I’ll find out exactly who called, and I’ll share every bit of it with you. Maybe it was Alex. Maybe if it was I’ll call him back for you and see how he’s doing now, but I’m not going to work for Paragangia, not even for Alex. And, please don’t tell Mom about this, okay?”
“Most Paragangian Negotiators don’t work directly in Paragangia, Jase. They represent Paragangia in other places. If it was Earth Station Mexico, we could live in the village [name the village]. But more likely, he might want you on planet Mexico, or HomeWorld. You’re more qualified there than anyone and you have a foot in the door. That’s probably what he wants. We could go there together. No more winter, and you wouldn’t be bored. Great place to raise a family.”
“Why the sudden interest in my future family?”
“You’re almost twenty-one, Jase. If you’re too shy to even share dreams with Matth, you’ve got to have lots of kids to pass your dream skills on to. Might as well get started. Call Theo now and find out what that job offer was. Jonathan hands the phone to Jason.
Jason sets it down on the nightstand. “Nope. Monday, or not at all. First you have to show me who Alex was.”
x
[Dream shared memories about Alexandreil, when he was born, and when he became dreambound a s a tiny child, in which Jonathan helps him heal gives him hope, protects him from the demands of his father. Perhaps in which he expresses the wish not to become center, and Jonathan reassures him that he’ll be there to protect him. Jason gets the idea from this that if he learns more about Alexandreil that he can heal Jonathan, and notices he feels better when he is sharing about Alexandreil.]
[ this also raises Questions about why Alex became Center and why Jonathan is no longer there to protect him. –those should be dealt with in a later chapter, after Jason has time to ponder questions]
====---------Scene 3 Gloria------- ====
Jason left Jonathan sleeping, as he always did, and went to talk to Mom. 
He had wanted not to tell her, knowing how she always pushes him to learn about Paragangia and not wanting to encourage her is that, but after the dream about Alex, because Jonathan seemed so much better, he coudn't resist sharing. 
‘Hey Mom, I got a job offer from Paragangia today.” 
Mom looked startled, maybe even frightened. Not the reaction Jason expected. 
Jason sat on a bar stool across the counter “You always want me to learn about Paragangia.” 
“Study them, Yes. Not join them.” 
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m not going. But Dad was really excited when I told him they called. He thought it might have been his childhood friend Alex. So. I’ll call back and find out who it was for him tomorrow. Just the thought of his old friend made him so happy. Funny he never mentioned this guy before. But he was feeling much better, anyhow.” [there might be something in Jonathan's memory blockthathe can only access some of the memories if someone ask directly—so Jason recovered for him these happy memories, which would sustain him for a time.] 
“Alex?” Gloria looked confused. Apparently she had never heard of Alex either. Odd, given she was such a fan of Paragangia.
“Dad shared some memories about their childhood together on ESM”
“Alexandreil Teppin?” comprehension finally dawned “The Center of the Paragangian Empire? Nobody calls him Alex.” She looked horrified. [Jonathan must not have shared with her about his relationship with Alex. there is a lot she doesn’t know about Jonathan]
“Sorry. But Dad sure would have. Nobody gets a full name with Jonathan Landon. They were children.”
“Jason, please. I don’t want you to call him back. I don’t think Paragangia would be good for you, Please…”
“Why not?” Jonathan interrupted, standing in the doorway “We can’t protect him forever. You always knew that Glor.”
She turned to Jason “You’re right, he does seem to be feeling better.” She hugged Jonathan “It’s great to see you up. I hear you’ve been telling Jason about Paragangia.” Then she whispered warningly “We’ll talk about that later.”
==== ----------notes:-----------====
[the reason Alex is contacting him at that time has to do with turning 21. He needs Jason to be old enough to take over the Empire without legal problems from his American citizenship and minority, or Jonathan and Gloria. It might also have to do with the ban against Paragangians on D’zeron being lifted]
'Jonathan will reminisce about his childhood with Alex, and maybe even mention that Alex went to D’zeron with him, visited the city briefly and explored regions of the continent Jonathan himself never had a chance to visit .
'anything which had to do with Paragangian dreaming with Alex or Sen’tran would be blocked from his memory to some degree, because as an exile he would not be trusted not to tell people about Paragangian dream culture, which is sacred and not shared with the outside world. thus the parts he would remember of his relationships would be the parts which happened in waking. [When Jason learns of the culture, because of his previous writings, he would be under pressure to write a book about Paragangian culture, from an inside perspective, and would refuse, at first, but would then later write one which would still with hold all the sacred secrets but give the people of earth a more sympathetic view of Paragangia. 
'[how much would Jason know about Alex from the D’zeron journey?—probably only that Alex did not spend much time in D’zeron. Perhaps once it was decided that Jonathan would marry a D’zeron woman, it was decided that Alex would not visit the village again. Since Jonathan would not have been involved in Alex’s wanderings he would not feel any need to share what he knew of it with Jason. Would knowing Alex had been there make Jason anxious to get to know Alex, the only person he would meet besides Jonathan who had been there? Alex would be very reluctant to talk about his visit to D’zeron, and would avoid talking about it [he’s very anti-social and shy, anyhow]. Alex would have visited D’zeron only briefly. Mostly he would have stayed o the Marrion Jay, or explored other parts of the planet while Jonathan was involved with the village. [Jonathan would have little or no memory of his time in Paragangia after D’zeron?Alex’s memories of D’zron are not happy ones-- what would Jason know about Desmond and what would Jonathan remember?...what Jason knows would come from Gloria. Jonathan would know that Sen’tran has erased his memories, and would rely on what Gloria told him of the time. Jason would know about Desmond building the station and commissioning the mural, but not about his role as Center or his geneology as Paragan]
' Jason will then get the idea that this job might be his ticket to D’zeron, and a way to help heal Jonathan, [He thinks Alex will want to help his old friend because Jonathan helped him as a child] and want to call, even though he hates and avoids Paragangia.
===---------------Alexandreil -notes-- no dialogue yet------===
X
notes written June 2011 posted and edited and added to Sept 2012
====------------scene one Jason calls Alexandreil--------====
Jason asks Pershington the next day and indeed it was Alexandreil.
He has decided he will call him and refuse the invitation in person, just so he can speak to Alexandreil, for his own curiosity about Jonathan’s friend and so he could share the conversation with Jonathan, because he knows Jonathan will be cheered to hear from his old friend. Jonathan is fascinated by this job offer and feeling much better than usual. 
He will call [I need to decide what technology he uses to call –Alex would request a conversation on templink, Jason will refuse, addamently, and try to get Alexandreil to talk about more personal things by talking about Jonathan, in order to have more to share with Jonathan, to make him feel better. Alexandreil would be very uncomfortabl with this lline of discussing and come across rude and cold and stricktly business. he’s very unused to speaking in person [I mean, not on link] 
Alexandreil would figure out that helping Jonathan is what would motivate Jason, and he also wants to help. Jason would ask him to visit Jonathan, alex would counter he can’t ever leave the station. But If Jason did the job at hand, Alex will say, Jason would be able to bring Jonathan news of his son which should cheer him as much as news of Alexandreil. Maybe he could bring the son back to visit Jonathan [Alex hopes Jason will bring Lenn back] 
Then Jason would realize the job offer was for D’zeron, and would be tempted, but still would be afraid to go because he is afraid Jonathan will die while he is away. He would express this fear, 
He might mention he would consider asking for Paragangian medical technology to heal Jonathan, But Jonathan would have to refuse because of his retrotech beliefs [actually since he is exiled hes not legally able to receive that help. Alexandreil would know this, but wouldn’t tell Jason] 
Alexandreil might assure him in some way that Jonathan would not die, that he could not offer to heal Jonathan’s “exile sickness” but he could make sure Jonathan would not die before Jason got back. Jason would not believe this offer. He would perhaps offer to send Sen’tran to check on Jonathan. [this won’t happen, so if he makes the offer I need to find a way for them to cancil it] Jonathan would agree with Alexandreil, would trust that they would keep him alive, especially when he knows that Sen’tran is involved. He trusts Sen’tran, Sen’tran is his mother. 
[But when Jason talks to Harris about how Paragangians die, he might remember this conversation and wonder if it is true. He might even talk to Harris about it. and they would talk about Jonathan still being alive even though he was exiled.]
====----------Scene two talks to family etc abt offer, abivalently agrees to go.--------====
Jason would go home and talk with his parents about this offer,
[So eventually Jason would agree to go, but the whole thing would be very ambivalent and he would be very worried about Jonathan the whole time, this would make talking to him about Desmond even harder and add drama to the decision to go to D’zeron. ]
Jason agrees to began his journey at then end of the semester.
====--------notes from other file:--------====
What information do I want the reader to have in section one?
Jason: How he is different at home than at school, and different in lecture than n person. how he is socially ackward, even more so with girls who are interested in him, and does not want to make friends,
His relationship with his parents and especially his extreme attachment to Jonathan.
His celebrity at the university, and how they al sort of handle him as an object, and he doesn’t mind in fact he sees himself there as an object a tool to be used by the university, and for the most part does not mind taking that role. He gets enough love at home that being a celebrity everywhere else is sufficient.
Jonathan: that although he has shared with Jason more than would normally be humanly possible of his life, there are still a lot of mysteries about him. Jason feels like he knows him completely, he trusts him completely, and this trust is undimmed by each new secret revealed. he does not feel like Jonathan has held back anything [he might tell Matthias that he just learned the center of Paragangia was Jonathan’s best friend, and Matthias will think this is a huge dishonesty on Jonathan’s part to not have mentioned this, Jason hating Paragangia as he does Matthias will expect Jason to take that as a sort of betrayal, but Jason doesn’t imagine betrayal possible. His love for Jonathan is extremely unconditional.
Retrotechnology: The basic principles, and that Jason sees it as a sort of religion, though he would never admit to it being that. 
Paragangia: Jason sort of villanizes it, and avoids learning about it is a very dogmatic way, sees it as the antithesis of Retrotechnology, [thus something like the church of Satan] though his parents both love Paragangia and the Paragangian people.]
Homeworld: Jason has a very ambivalent relationship with LDS homeworld colony. He loves his family there, Rae and Leroy [or whatever his name is] but doesn’t like to remember the way LDS religion makes him feel, so he might avoid talking about the religion in his lectures. Also does not like to be reminded that his biological
Basically, things we want the reader to know about Jason before Harris knows, those things should be told here. other things we should learn only as Harris learns them
====--------other old notes from a different file------====
To write this I need to make clear Jonathan’s state of health. Perhaps Jason would ask Jonathan, why if Alexandreil is the leader of Paragangia, why doesn’t he take Jonathan to Paragangia and heal him. Jonathan would try to answer this with a Retrotechnology answer. in fact, being a scholar of Retrotechnology would make a good cover for a lot of his hidden backstory. they would have already discussed this, so I need to be careful not to make it inappropriate exposition.
This chapter would show Jason’s very close relationship with Jonathan[and Gloria], and what Jonathan has told Jason about his son and the village. Jonathan will encourage him to insist on being allowed not to be linked, and especially not to receive an implant, [because he knows the hazard of this, but he would not tell Jason the hazard directy]. Jonathan would also perhaps express ambivalent animosity towards Sen’tran. At this point they are pretending that Alex and Sen banished him believing him a traitor. But Jason does not even know he was ever in Paragangia. But Jonathan defers to Sen, and trusts him, so he would tell Jason very little leaving it up to Sen how much Jason should be allowed to know at this point. Jonathan would know that Jason going on this journey probably means he will become Paragan. He might say a few things to try to soften the blow, without telling him anything. [he would tell him things about embracing his destiny.things which are calculated to be remembered and recognized at the time he realizes he is Paragan, such that he will then realize that Jonathan wants him to become Paragan, and knows.
'Jason has shunned learning anything about Paragangia. Up to this point Jonathan has encouraged that, keeping him busy with other things, now he encourages him to began to learn, but Jason is still not interested. [balance between encouraging him to get to know Paragangia and keeping him from getting a implant any sooner than he has to. actually, Jonathan might encourage him to take a temp link. his mother has one, which he could use.]
'There would be no mention of Desmond at this point, we are just introduced to his parents as his parents. The fact that his fathers name is not the same as his would be left to the reader to wonder about. Given the title “son of Desmond Harris” that speculation would be pretty obvious to most I think.
====------notes-----====
[need details of what the communications tech might be in America, and how Jason would use some sort of lower level of technology, which would annoy Alexandreil and entertain Jonathan and Matthias, and Jason’s student, all of whom Jason would enjoy sharing his adventure with.
[He might agree to post on the equvalant of online some sort of log of his journey as he traveled. or he might refuse because he didn’t want to be involved with that tech, but he might allow Matthias to do something like that for him]
--Jonathan would have been occasionally cruel to Alexandreil growing up the same way he is dreaming with Jason tackling him and such, so he could easily laugh at Alex’s discomfort. 
[ need details of Alexandreil’s reason for calling in Jason and how he justifies it to his people. one reason Jason is chosen might be that Sen’tran Jenzar agrees, as a friend of Gloria, to support the effort to re-establish contact with D’zeron only if it is Jason. [Sen’tran does not know who Jason is, I think? I need to determine for sure.
I should make a wiki page for secrets, for who knows what and why and how. not sure how to organize that.
Alex and Sen both know what happened before, before the banning, but only Alex knows about Lenn and the dragons. Quetzal knows, but he does not share this with Sen’tran.
I need to figure this out to figure out the details of the banning so I can clearify Alex’s and Sen’s motivations. Writing Sen’tran backstory first will help with these details.
[Matthias might try to get invited along so he can still learn dreaming from Jason, but Alexandriel would refuse and Jason would assign him to teach retrotech next semester in his place. Pershington would be happy with this]
===----------Moon mini-Scene?--------===
{perhaps a short scene here with Jason looking at the moon, playing his guitar and wondering about the future} Jason might travel to Florida for a weekend to get time to think. Walk on the beach, play his guitar, look at the moon.
===---------last semester at KSU summary chapter transition---------===
insert here a chapter summarizing Jason’s semester before he leaves.
basically this would be a very brief outline for the prequal book about Matthias.
The time traveling expert Devon Estrada from “gift of time” would be one of Jason’s colegeues In the department here, so mention of him would be in order to set up for Carston mention. mention of Dr Hawthorn would be in order in the part about the history of the discipline]
Mention here also of Jason growing his hair out,
it’s about an inch long at the start, in January. If he leaves mid may, he has about 4 months of growth time before he goes. So it would only be about 3 inches by that time, and only 4 or 5 inches by the time he arrives in D’zeron. 
and any other preparations he did for D’zeron. mention also of the butterfly girl dream, perhaps???
==---------------2----Section two------Jason In Paragangia-----------------==
===--------------Earth Station Mexico and Carston-------------===
old story, originally told in a flashback while Jason was waiting for Harris to leave the Marrion Jay to go to Jai-Ten edited [from 2011 version] and posted sept 17 2012
-------------EarthStation Mexico, Matt---------
May 17 ***[change date,], Alliance Year 166.[?] 
Jason stepped out of the aircar into the village square of the ancient Mexican settlement outside the entrance to Earth Station Mexico. [name the village, create the village]
*[explain his feelings, memories of the place, other arrivals, describe the aircar, give the town a Spanish name which means something about holding back time, or hanging onto the past, ie, nostalgia? origin of this name would be explained in his retrotch lecture in chapter one, and this village introduced there]
He programmed the aircar to return to his home in Kansas , then sent it on it’s way [how is that done? what does it look like} before turning to look around him. The village **[Name the village] seemed unchanged. like time stood still there. He wanted to stop and visit [mention specific people and places significant from his time there—I’ll have to write about his time there to write this part] but he didn’t have time. Reluctantly, he turned to face the towering black monolith that was Earth Station Mexico .
A long-haired American boy in jeans and a t-shirt accosted him before he reached the entrance, just far enough out that his presence did not trigger the opening of the wall. Looking directly into Jason’s eyes, the young man spoke. “Jason Scott-Harris , My name is Matthew , and I stand before this doorway. ‘Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way which leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because straight is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ what kingdoms lie beyond the doors which open only for you, Jason Scott-Harris ?”
Matthew stared at Jason as if demanding an answer.
Jason was familiar with the scripture. it evoked memories of HomeWorld, the LDS colony, Leroy , Rae …
He knows my name. Jason stared back speechless. What is this? Do I have to give a password? Alexandreil didn’t mention anything about a password. A fan who has read my books, maybe? a former student? Before he recovered sufficiently to formulate any response or even a question, the portal of the station dissolved and a Paragangian woman came out. Well over six feet tall, expressionless and covered head to toe with black clothing matching her black skin. Nothing unusual for a Paragangian, except that she was entering the world beyond the station walls. She glared at Matthew and he smiled back [he would greet her with a very short scripture verse, perhaps offering peace, or something about love you enemies? whited sephelcures? find a scripture suited for her, perhaps something like perfect love casts out fear. perhaps an LDS scripture since door Matt is LDS]. She glanced down in Jason’s general direction without meeting his eyes and spoke awkwardly, probably unaccustomed to speaking aloud. “Dr Scott-Harris, My name is Rhonda Teppin. Alexandreil waits for you at HomeStation with Harris Jenzar. Please follow me.” 
Grateful to be freed from the riddle of Matthew-who-stands-before-the-door, Jason followed. She tried to hand him a small flat object. “A temporary link to the Community Mind so you can function properly on this station, HomeStation, and the ships we travel.” It sounded like a command.
“No thank you. I’m a retro-technologist,” Jason replied, half annoyed and half amused. “I told Alexandreil I won’t be linked to your computer. I don’t want to become part of your community.”
Rhonda persisted as if speaking to an intractable child. “It won’t make you part of our community. Nothing can do that. It merely provides access to information, and control of entrances and devices.”
“No thank you,” insisted the retro-technologist patiently. If this is how they treat non-Paragangians, no wonder they need someone like me to negotiate with D’zeron.
Rhonda glared with pure hatred, put the link back into some invisible pocket and glarred at his luggage. “I’ve heard you are one who lives with what he finds.” [make that a Retrotech catchphrase prior to this point]
Jason shrugged. “I’m not Paragangian. To negotiate with anti-technological people I need natural materials that don’t offend their customs. Things I can’t get in Paragangia.”
“A material generator can create any material,” stated Rhonda, as Jason sent his luggage ahead to HomeStation. He chose to hand-carry his turtle-shell guitar though the transport. If anyone asked him why, he intended to tell them how irreplaceable was, having been made for his dead father by the husband of his great aunt Rae on HomeWorld; if he sent it with his luggage it might be damaged or lost. The truth was that Jason carried it with him whenever he traveled because he needed something familiar to hold onto.
Jason deposited his bags into the transporter and entered the destination HomeStation. I’m going to Terran 8 and to D’zeron, a dream come true. He grinned uncontrollably in a moment of giddiness and watched his possessions vanish. Disappearing luggage made the journey suddenly too real, and terrifying. Fighting back tears Jason stared at the now empty transport not wanting to follow hi luggage, not wanting turn and face the Paragangian woman impatiently waiting to take him where his luggage already was: many light-years away where Jonathan’s childhood friend Alex-- [describe his feelings about Alex through a adjective here] Alexandreil Teppin-- waited for him with someone named Harris Jenzar who was probably a relative of Sen’tran, the oldest man in the universe. His head spun, and Jason took a deep breath, trying to pull himself together. his vision blurred. He thought he might faint. If he lost consciousness they would link him to the community mind without consent, and transport him to some unknown place far across the universe where he might be lost forever.
====-------------------------carston-----------------====
“Hey, Dr. Scott-Harris!” A familiar, mocking voice from behind, accompanied by the steel whir of skateboard wheel-bearings, pulled Jason back from his fears. “Jonathan told me you might be on the station today”
“Carston.” Jason grinned in spite of himself as a young man with long dark-purple hair spun past and stopped in front of him. “What’re you up to these days?” He noticed Carton had a white antique Guitar strapped to his back. [Jason’s time living at the station would have taken place right before Gift of time starts. Jason would have stayed with Marisol actually that would very likely not been his first visit with Marisol, and therefore not his first meeting with his cousin Carston]
Carston flipped the skateboard up and caught it, spinning the wheels with his hand to produce a metallic whirring sound. “Up to no good as usual.” He laughed. “Actually, Dr. Scott-Harris, I guess I’m doing something like what you taught me: I’m trying to go forward by going back.”
“You’re studying retro-technology?”
“Nope” Carston replied proudly as he threw the skateboard spinning into the air. It landed neatly on its wheels with a muffled thud a few inches behind him. He stepped gracefully back onto it, and rocked it rhythmically back and forth as if dancing. “I’m time traveling.”
“Time travel? Carston! That’s illegal to even study, unless you have a government contract like Devon Estrada” [some mention of Devon Estrada might be appropriate here. Jason might have hear about the Guitar, actually, as if would have been interesting news in the department when Devon went to investigate. but it might also have been hush-hush and Jason might have just not picked up n such things]
Carston shrugged “I’m not studying, Dr Scott-Harris. I’m just traveling. Don’t worry. You Know Wally’s got my back if I get into trouble. Always.” Carston kicked the board back up and caught it in his left hand, while reaching out with the other hand to grab hold of a lock of Jason’s pale blond hair. “Growing your hair out. Where’re you off to Dr. Retro-tech?” 
Jason brushed away Carston’s hand in annoyance. “I’m going to Terran 8 to negotiate for Paragangia in the low tech village D’zeron. Long hair is the custom there. They start growing their hair out at age 12[is this the current age of adulthood?] when they reach adulthood. When they are courting they wear it loose and when they are marry, or when they’re working and want to set aside courtship for a time, they braid it.”
Carson smirked, “It’s not braided. So you’re not working, you just think you’re finally old enough to go seduce D’zeron women like your daddy did, and bind your Paragangian treaties with bloodlines.” 
“Of course not.” Jason blushed in embarrassment, and then in anger, realizing that Carston always said that sort of thing just to make him blush. “It’s not long enough to braid well yet. I’ll braid it before I get there so they’ll know I’m not courting. Alexandreil chose me because I speak the language, and understand the technology limits. I’ve always wanted to go to D’zeron, because D’zeron has a dream field.”
“Long way to go just for dreaming. About as far as you can go and still exist. Wally would say ‘Terran 8 is almost as remote as the possibilities of Carston’s time travel ever leading to anything good’.”
Jason laughed at Carston’s impression of ESM’s Terran transport technician. “How is Waldo?”
“Same as ever. Doesn’t approve but he helps me anyhow ‘cause he knows I’ll still do it, and he feels like I’m safer if he’s helping. Which I certainly am.”
“I wish I had time to go see him. I guess I won’t be seeing anyone but Paragangians for the next few months.”
Carston laughed without sympathy. “Sounds like great fun.”
Going to D’zeron was a dream come true. Paragangia would be a nightmare. Rhonda Teppin was waiting impatiently to take him there.
“It was nice to see you, Carston. Tell Wally I’ll come by on my return journey.” Normally Jason hated socializing almost as much as he hated his arrogant, reckless cousin, but six months alone in Paragangia looming before him made small talk with Carston feel comfortingly familiar.
“Will do.” Carston noisily flipped his skateboard onto the floor, mounted and rolled away as it landed. Shaking back long purple hair, he laughed mockingly. “See you next year, Dr. Scott-Harris. Have a nice journey to D’zeron. I can’t imagine why anyone would agree to go there, especially you.” 
===---------------Home Station, Harris, Darcy Alexandreil---------------===
x
====-----------------Darcy------------====
Jason emerged from the transport on HomeStation and stood blinking dizzily trying to catch his balance. Transports were common on Earth. Even KSU had small transports between floors and buildings in the newer halls. The one in his tower was the first ever installed at the university. They were safer than the old elevators in Waters Hall, certainly, but being taken apart and reassembled in another location seemed very wrong to Jason. He avoided them whenever possible. Being suddenly so many light-years from Earth in an alien space station also seemed wrong. But he had known it would be this way. He could handle it.====
Looking around [describe the station here], tears filled his eyes: Desmond built this. The realization overwhelmed him. This is Desmond’s world. He lived and died for this. If he had lived, I would have grown up here. Part of me belongs to Paragangia. 
Shaking his head to clear away thoughts and feelings, he turned to Rhonda—silent, probably talking with Alexandreil through the link. The Center represented Paragangia perfectly: tall, black and expressionless. Over his typical featureless black Paragangian jumpsuit he wore a short black cape across his shoulders and a black scarf that covered his head. There was nothing in his present appearance which evoked anything of the fearful but affectionate youth from Jonathan’s memories.
Beside him stood a man of similar stature --7 feet tall, maybe-- with cleanly sculptured black features and short black hair. Unusual, since most Paragangians were bald, or wore a head scarf like Alexandreil and Rhonda. He was dressed as a negotiator, 
They bring a negotiator even to meet a negotiator. Perhaps his visible hair was an attempt to appear less alien to the Terrans he worked with. The slightly less generic black jumpsuit probably had this same intention. If so, it wasn’t working.
 
Leaning against Alexandreil’s arm was a tall, thin, golden-skinned Terran woman, with long ornately styled brown hair. Her skin warm golden color, like young Jonathan’s, and her Hair also the same color as his. Her dress resembled the uniform of the negotiator: black, closefitting, decorated with more braids than his formal uniform- mockingly more. She’s beautiful. Is she Alexandreil’s wife? Or do they need two negotiators to meet a negotiator?Or three?—He wasn’t sure of Rhonda’s role in this meeting either.
Although She didn’t have the pure black skin and hair of a Paragangian, she was made in their scale. Between her hairstyle and her stilettos she appeared slightly taller than Alexandreil’s seven feet. Without them she would probably be at least six inches shorter. Moot point. Paragangians are all giants to a five-foot tall American anthropologist. 
“Look! Jonathan’s boy!” she called out, Her brilliant smile uncannily reminiscent of Jonathan’s. She moved towards him with a flowing grace that took his breath away. Jason relaxed a little as She held her hand out to him. He reached out to shake her hand but instead she knelt before him, flowing effortlessly down to his level the way adults often do when speaking to small children. She grasping his hand affectionately, touching his cheek softly with her other hand. She treated him as a child, yet her beauty still charmed him, and calmed him. He smiled back gratefully, and saw in her eyes that she understood. He’d rather be a child than the only pale midget in a forest of dark giants
“I’m pleased to finally meet you Jason, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Darcy. I became negotiator for the Center after my brother was exiled. Perhaps he’s has mentioned me?”
She seemed very hopeful. Jason’s eyes traced the smooth golden contours of her face. The family resemblance was unmistakable. Jonathan was born and abandoned on Earth Station Mexico by a Mexican-American prostitute. The only family he mentioned there was Marisol. She adopted him at birth.If Jonathan knew he had a sister in Paragangia, why didn’t he tell me?Darcy, Alex…who else don’t I know about?
Darcy smiled sympathetically. “So. The old homosexual traitor keeps some secrets from his son. Don’t worry Honey, We’ve all got secrets. You’ll understand it soon enough.” She slowly brushed the back of her hand across his cheek and an inexplicable calm seemed to flow from it.
The old Homosexual traitor?
Rhonda’s voice interrupted, harsh and impatient. “Enough Darcy. There is no place for you in this matter.” 
“Quite so,” she replied, smiling warmly at Jason. “For that I thank you, Honey. Were it not for your willingness, I’d probably be sent to D’zeron eventually. [exactly what circumstances would make this possible?why would he say this? reword perhaps?] I thank you, my dear, for freely choosing a journey I would not wish on anyone.” 
Jason smiled back “You’re welcome Darcy. I thank you for letting me go in your place if that’s how it is. I’ve always wanted to go to D’zeron”
Rhonda glared as Darcy rose gracefully, giving Jason one more calming caress as she flowed serpentine up from the floor to tower over the Paragangian woman. Rhonda might perhaps have been slightly larger, but between the shoes, the hair style and simply the force of personality, Rhonda shrank to a small dark shadow beside the golden negotiator.
“I greet my nephew as I choose.” Said Darcy calmly “you have …” she turned to Jason, as if to draw his attention “…no authority here, Rhonda.” Darcy gently lifted Jason’s chin with her fingertips, whispered “never let her bully you.” and returned to Alexandreil’s side.
Rhonda returned to Jason. “Harris Jenzar, son of Sen’tran Jenzar, will now take us to the Marrion Jay Ship Community.”
Rhonda was going too? Jason turned to Harris Jenzar.
====-----------------------Harris------------------====
He could have been a statue carved of smooth black stone, colorless except for the whites of his eyes and the thin gold braids accentuating the clean lines of his uniform. One could never tell the age of a Paragangian, but it was possible for them to live hundreds of years. Sen’tran was more than 400. Harris Jenzar’s calm confidence conveyed an impression of age and wisdom, like an ancient Buddhist monk watching serenely as if he were above this trivial exchange of greetings. He could be 300. or 13.
Jason had always hated the cold towering blackness of Paragangians, but looking at this man, he saw for the first time the alien beauty his mother loved. Jason almost smiled. Instead he noticed a strange metallic sphere floating in the air beside Harris Jenzar, more like something out of a Pre-Alliance Earth movie than typical Paragangian technology. It turned to face Jason as soon as he glanced at it, rotating its fanlike wings expressively, seeming to meet his gaze. Jason blinked back tears again.
I am an anthropologist and this is basically just a field study, Jason reassured himself, escaping into a role he knew how to play. He turned his attention back to beautiful stone-chiseled giant, stepped forward, forced a polite smile and held out his hand. “Harris Jenzar, I am pleased to meet you. Thank you for coming here to meet us.”
All illusion of dignified serenity vanished as Harris took his hand with childish enthusiasm, grinning widely, revealing a mouthful of slightly pointed, almost feline teeth. “Welcome to Paragangia, Jason Scott-Harris. You look just like your mother. You don’t resemble Jonathan at all, are you sure he’s really your father?”
“Of course I’m sure,” Jason replied, taken aback. “Jonathan’s been my father I was born.” He felt a twinge of guilt. Legally it was true, he justified, even though Jonathan was not his biological father. Besides, who my father was is none of Harris Jenzar’s business, is it?
“I remember your parents,” Harris went on, “Jonathan was a good friend to me and Gloria, She was so beautiful and sweet. I watched her paint the mural.” he grinned again, menacingly. and proceded with renewed enthusiasm “This is your first visit to HomeStation, isn’t it?”
Jason struggled to make small talk, “You’re right. Mom is wonderful. I sometimes enjoy watching her paint.” He wished Harris would let go of his hand. He had never seen a Paragangian grinning before, and the catlike-teeth unnerved him even more in contrast to Harris’s previous serenity. Paragangians don’t grin. This is why Paragangians don’t grin. Paragangians shouldn’t grin.
Harris’s eyes met Darcy’s for a second as if Darcy had spoken to him through the link. He let go of Jason’s hand and stopped grinning.
“And you’re right,” Jason replied, with effort, “this is my first visit to HomeStation. I haven’t seen the mural.”
Harris lit up like a small child receiving an unexpected but long awaited gift. “Let’s go see it!” He exclaimed too enthusiastically, putting his hands on Jason’s shoulders and turning him towards the courtyard.
Rhonda interrupted. “We are not here to tour the station, Harris. Take Dr. Scott-Harris to the Taxi ship. I’ll join you soon.”
“What’s the hurry, Rhonda?” Harris protested “A few minutes longer won’t make us late for Jai-ten. Let the kid experience his own history.”
My history? No. Jason desperately wanted not to see it, wanted to get away from the grinning-Paragangian wildcat-giant still holding his shoulders. 
Rhonda glared at Harris and fell silent. Harris grinned back catlike, undaunted. The conversation probably continued silently through the link. Jason didn’t care about the mural and didn’t want to stand in a crowd of silent arguing giants. Paragangian history wasn’t his history even if his mother painted it and his biological father commissioned it.
He shook Harris’s hand from his shoulder and turned away from the courtyard. “It’s okay, Harris Jenzar. I can visit the mural on my return journey. I’ll be more able to relax and appreciate it then.”
“What if you don’t come back?” Harris persisted like a petulant child
Jason turned to his only ally in this alien battle of dark giants, and Darcy was there for him.
“Harris! You ought to be ashamed! He’s already seen more of Paragangia than he ever wanted to see. Give him time. Take him on ahead, like Rhonda told you. She’s the boss.”
Jason smiled gratefully. “Thank you Darcy. It’s okay, Harris Jenzar. I’ll be back, and I’ll visit the mural with you then if you still want to. Let’s go.”
“You promise?” Harris asked, childlike.
“Sure, I promise.”
He grinned again. “Okay. Let’s go then.” and strode off toward the transport.
Relieved, Jason slung the turtle shell guitar over his shoulder and turned to follow. The argument was good in a way. The prospect of five or six months alone in a Ship Community almost seemed pleasant compared to this. At least on the Marrion Jay he would have a private room where he could avoid Paragangians.
After exchanging silent smiling glances with Darcy, and more silent glares with Rhonda during which Jason supposed many silent link-communications occurred in which he was glad to have no part, Harris led him through the transport to the transfer station. “We sent your luggage ahead when it arrived. Rhonda said you stopped to talk to Waldo’s boy, Carston. I suppose you two have alot in common.”
Jason smiled back, grateful that Harris had found something to talk about which didn’t include a tour of the station. “We’re cousins, actually. I visited with them when I stayed at [the Mexican village by ESM] for a field study a few years ago. Carston was quite interested in retro-technology then.” 
Harris laughed loudly, disturbingly like a cross between an angry wildcat and a drunken pirate from some Pre-Alliance Earth movie. “Retro-technology? Like that skateboard with the metal wheel bearings?”
Jason filled his mind with images of Carston Hawthorn riding that skateboard, dark purple hair flying out behind him in the heavy Mexican sun. It wasn’t a pleasant thought, but better than the thought of having his body disintegrated and reassembled in another space station another thousand light-years away, where a taxi-ship was waiting to carry Jason and this 7 foot tall, fanged, laughing space-pirate, along with Rhonda, through two ship-transports to the Marrion Jay Ship Community.
Jason didn’t even realize until he was alone in his room that night that Alexandreil had not even spoken to him, not even to greet him. Disappointing, because Jonathan was really wanting news of Alexandreil, and Jason would have nothing to report.
[Jason would be able to send messages home for the first few days while they were traveling In taxi ships, so he might do that}
===---------------notes on the journey to the Marrion Jay---------------===
x
5 to the Marrion Jay, by space taxi
Harris POV jumpgates and messages.
This would be the first time of only a few in this version that Harris is the POV char.
5—Harris Pov. His first impressions of Jason. including the same scene stated above from Harris’s pov, including the link conversations [not revealing Darcy’s gender]
[part of this could be told in a conversation with Anton?...Anton had some weird ability to communicate during space travel??]
Part could be his thoughts after he gets Jason settled in.
Harris was thrilled to be taking the son of Gloria Scott and Jonathan Landon to Jai-ten. Partly because he had happy childhood memories of Jonathan and Gloria, Partly because he got to go to Jai-Ten, and partly because he hoped the boy was really the son of Desmond Harris, the heir of Paragan.
Jason didn’t confess it though. No surprise. Harris knew Jonathan’s name was on the child’s birth certificate, but anyone could sign their name, especially to protect the identity of a child with a great or terrible destiny.
He came through the transport terrified but looking a lot like Gloria other than that. Pale, skin, pale hair, pale eyes. short. the antithesis of Paragangia purity. He’s be a pretty odd Paragan if he was the True heir, the one how could open the message on the wall.
Rhonda’s annoyance was overwhelming on the link, terrified and threatening. Darcy was trying to calm everyone, as always, to smooth things over. It worked too. The boy was much calmer by the time they left
[Harris’s thoughts would be hyper, racing, as Jason was judging him to be like a Zen monk or a statue.—thye’d be even more jumbled with mete-thoughts in his memories of the events.
Conversations between Jason and Harris, on the way to Marrion
Explaination of Rhonda’s role on this journey,
Describe the transfer station and the two taxi ships and the
and how Harris tries to befriend him, to make him comfortable, and Jason tries to be polite while trying to avoid him. Harris knows how terrified Jason is but feels helpless to help him. He wishes he had some of the abilities Darcy has. He seeks help first from Darcy and as they get farther away from Anton. sending messages and then receiving answers at the next stop.
The journey in the taxi through the jump gates would take several days…an aspect of the journey Jason had not fully anticipated, though he has prepared himself for the Marrion Jay.
Harris would stop the Taxi ship at the jump gates to send out Jason’s messages home, because he realized that being able to send out those messages made him feel a great deal better. He also attached a note to the outgoing message encouraging response, and greeting Jason’s parents, assuring them he was taking good care of their son, and encouraging them to respond to Jason’s messages, even though he wouldn’t receive the responses till he arrived at Jai Ten, and please for help to Darcy as to how to deal with Jason. Darcy wouldn’t help much because his power only works in the same place.
===----------section two: retro tech on a taxi, using emotional energy to navigate.--------===
During most of this time he has a private room in the taxi, but it is Paragangian, so there’s a limit to how earthlike Harris can make it. For instance it will not have a bathroom and he will have to use the technology to get food. Harris may create a virtual bathroom in the taxi ship for Jason, but he will not have prepared this ahead of time, not having anticipated the need. Jason will be grateful but also ambivalent because he knows it takes much more tech to fake up lower tech in a high tech ship. discussion of the principle of living with what you find, and how that applies to adapting to another culture…being in the world but not of the world. How to be true to the principles of retrotechnology while living in Paragangia.
Once Harris has created something to make Jason feel better, Harris will insist that unmaking it will be a waste of energy so he might as well enjoy it. At some point Jason will raise this argument for the using of animal products. [studying veganism might help me understand Paragangian culture] Harris will feel conflicted in trying to manipulate Jason to violate his own beliefs or change them according to Harris’s will but he is so scared of Jason’s illness he is willing to excuse this in himself.
Harris cannot draw much energy from Jason’s emotions because he is not linked Harris might use this fact to try to convince Jason to use the temp link, because as stressed as he is they could travel much faster using the energy his emotions put off. even with this encouragement Jason declines. Harris does not pressure him, just gives him the facts and makes the offer. Harris is able to draw energy from him empathically somewhat by having Jason express his feelings to Harris. And perhaps also by touching Jason he can draw energy from him. This would calm Jason, and make him feel better, like what Jason did for Jonathan in the dream plane. this might have something to do with the dream bond they are later discovered to have. so Harris might do it occasionally without permission, but he would feel guilty about it so he wouldn’t do it much.
=== ------------------section three Jason is sick-------------===
on the third day Jason begins to be sick. they would arrive at the Marrion Jay on the 5th, [It might take longer than usual because Harris is so stress, but he would use his belief that Jason is Paragan to keep focused. Jason would still be sick for several days aboard the Marrion Jay. after the first few Sen might order Harris to stop bothering him and just give hi time alone to heal.
During this time, or during the first part of his time on the Marrion Jay Jason would be sick, and refuse to allow himself to healed. During the time he is ill he might be a bit more open to Harris, allowing Harris to comfort him somewhat, but not to cure him. Jason’s illness would upset Harris, but he would still be careful not to heal Jason. He might make a few minimal efforts to heal him in lower tech ways, like adjusting the food to contain things which would help his body heal. one or Both of them might remember this time when Jason is sick in D’zeron. [and when Harris is sick in D’zeron with the exile illness] Harris would do research to find out some kinds of herbal medicines and the recreate then with the material generator, and then give it to Jason, and by then he’s sick enough not to argue. What Harris learned for that he might use when Jason is sick in Kaar-taal
Jason would feel somewhat ashamed of having been sick and let Harris help him, and that would make him more determined not to in the future. But it would also make Harris much more attached to him, from having nurtured him, and from having seen his mortality. during this time Harris would keep telling Jason he can’t die because he promised to go see the mural in HomeStation
Rhonda would complain bitterly of having to be In the same Taxi with Jason while he was sick, even though there was o risk to her because the ship health maintenance system would heal her before any germs he had might really effect her. There are few people Harris really dislikes, and Rhonda is one of them. Her whining makes him more adamant in defending Jason’s right to stay sick, while at the same time he was terrified of Jason’s illness…of his suffering and the possibility he could die.
when Jason makes the comment to Anton about Harris being afraid of nothing, Anton might point out this time, Harris having sought help from Anton and thus told him about it.
===--------Jasons first weeks on the Marrion Jay--random notes only-------===
X
Pov Jason Jason’s first few weeks on the Marrion Jay. below are random old bit which might be useful
Jason is very sick when they first arrive from the jumpgates. Harris again tries to get him to link, ad go see sen’tran in the community. he tries to get him to accept healing from the ships automatic health maintanence system. He’s set up living space for him which is to the best of Harris’s abilities earthlike. Harris gets a few things wrong, and a few things not to Jason’s liking. every time Jason complains or mentions anything out of order Harris immediately fixes it.
when Jason stops complaining and doesn’t notice anything else not perfectly earthlike Harris starts offering games toys playground entertainment etc [should we let him offer Sylvias services as a movie projecter? it seems like he would so I would have to move that bit of the story up. so I guessI shouldn’t let that happen.
after a few weeks Jason very pointedly asks him to leave him alone and Sen’tran insists that Harris should respect Jason’s wishes. [this falling out might happen at the time of the botched visit to the community]
He continues visiting occasionally, and even tries introducing Anton to Jason. Sen’tran finally consents to this because Anton is driving him crazy about wanting to see Jason. Jason does talk with him for a short time and enjoys his company but does not want to see him again, although he secretly considers it now and then.
Jason records a log of his journey which he intends to send to Matthias. he records what he learns about Paragangia but it isn’t much because he doesn’t interact with them at all really. Sen’tran never visits him [why?]
I could make red links to such questions and then answer the, and the answers would be already linked.
there could be 4 or 5 chapters of getting adjusted to the Marrian Jay and Harris trying to help him and a fe conversations, a chapter of his visit to the community and of Anton’s visit to him, but other than that, one chapter of summary could cover the whole several months of space travel.
Jason would spend a lot of time playing his guitar. He would also read, I’m not sure what he would read. he might study scriptures, which would fascinate Harris and Harris would remember this when he gets the scriptures from Desmond.
they would talk about reading and written language and why Paragangia does not have written language, and scriptures and the prophet Paragan. But Jason would never really engage in these conversations, so they would be cold and minimal. Harris would not be inspired to learn to read at this point, and might not even be able to on the Marrian Jay while navigating as he could on HomeStation 
There would be at least one Harris POV chapter in this section. and we would get a glimpse of life in the Paragangian community but just a tiny glimpse. 
[which I need to create before I can write this part, and have not created and don’t feel like creating, but someday I will be inspired, and now that I have the wiki I’ll know right where to put the information so I can find it.]
I might write some of his letters home, and write a scene of his parents and Matthias reading them, or something. 
I might insert a few mini-chapters about what the folks back home are doing while he travels. monlight. guitars....lol
====----------old bits------------====
Jason’s first week or so on the Marrion Jay, climbing walls and dealing with Harris. summary with a few small scenes. Jason cannot enter the Paragangian community because he has refused a link. thus Sen’tran will not visit him, [what are Sen’tran’s motives here?] and Rhonda also will leave him alone. 
Harris consistently treats Jason like a kid, but often Harris acts like a kid too, trying to be his friend and sometimes like an adult trying to take care of him and comfort him. at some point he will try taking him to the Paragangian community, he will convince Jason when he is very bored that it would be an educational experience. He will do it without linking Jason, using his own link to transport Jason [which is not easy to do, and not entirely legal, and Sen’tran will be mad that Harris tried it] but Jason will not want to be there and will never choose to visit again. He will not visit again until he goes to the Marrion Jay with Serai on the way back. [ I’m not sure if he’s linked then or not. at what point can a link read genetics? a temp link wouldn’t, but I’m not sure how he could transport without his genetics being read. Sen’tran might have done something to make his genetics unreadable, when he changed the color of his eyes. ] Harris would know how to secretely read his genetics, and would do so and the link would tell him that Jason is Jonathan’s son, and not Paragan. Harris would still doubt this and have fantasies about
They finally negotiate a deal where Jason can climb in access tunnels of the Marrion Jay’s hull structure [or something like that] and Harris will promise not to offer him any more toys. and mostly to leave him alone.
Details of the structure of the Marrion Jay, and the relationship between the community and the passengers. Paragangian passengers travel in the community. many alien passengers do also. But they have private rooms where passengers can travel without community.
why are there no other passengers, or are there, and if so where are they going, and do they interact with the other passengers? [most would travel in the Paragangian community, with plenty of education and entertainment and interaction available on the link. this is a very pleasant way to travel so Harris feels terrible for Jason all alone in a strange place all this time]
what Jason’s room is like, and the part of the ship he is on. Harris’s room which he would take Jason to, and they would talk about start wars. Harris would tell him to watch it, offer to get it for him. Jason would tell him about Matthias.
====--------------take outs from planetary arriving----------------====
Jason was usually to be found dressed only in tan cotton shorts, preparing himself physically to climb trees and cliffs at D’zeron. He could cling to the only-slightly-textured corridor walls by his toes and finger tips or hang upside down from a ceiling beam.
. the weeks in the ship taxi with no escape from Paragangian technology. The disconcerting brightness of the black mazes of corridors on the Marrion Jay Ship Community, as if light sprang to life and somehow radiated without reflecting in the motionless scentless temperatureless air. The isolation of knowing that the only other living creatures within hundreds of light years were Paragangian Spacers who looked down on him as a child, not just physically, but also because he choose not to be linked to their ship’s computer. 
Every day Harris asked again if he had changed his mind. after the first week He sopped asking about the link and started offering to sneak Jason into the community without a link. He actually talked Jason into trying this once when he was extremely bored, but Jason hated it and Sen’tran was angry and Harris didn’t even visit Jason for a few days after that, and that was worse.
Those first few weeks Harris kept offering to create high-tech toys for the retro-technologist. Harris saw Jason practicing rock climbing on corridor walls and offered to create a gravity-controlled holographic climbing room where Jason could pretend he was climbing real trees and rocks in the exact gravity of the planet Terran 8. Jason politely refused and Harris offered to do more research so he could make it smell like real trees and rocks. After several days of sheer frustration Jason finally compromised, allowing Harris to instead give him access to all the tunnels and vents within the Marion Jay’s hull structure. The tunnels definitely didn’t smell like rocks and trees or imitate D’zeron gravity. They were white, and seemed to reflect light in a much more Earth-like way than the weird matt black of the corridors. Jason wondered if Harris had somehow recolored them just for him before offering access. They weren’t low technology by any stretch of the imagination, but they varied in size, shape, texture and orientation so they made more interesting climbing practice than hallways and support columns. They also made avoiding Harris easier. Harris was happy to have been allowed to help, and stopped bothering Jason for awhile. 
====------------------ ch 8 out takes-------------- ====
Paragangians rarely spoke face to face. At age four every Paragangian child was given a “memory implant.” The child lost three days of memories, and gained a permanent invisible connection to his community’s central computer, the Community Mind. He could communicate instantly with anyone in his community. Every Community Mind connected to the central computer of the Empire -- the HomeStation Community Mind. Thus they were connected to every other Community in Paragangia, except when they were too far away from HomeStation or traveling faster than light-speed, as the Marrion Jay almost always was. Harris was immediately connected to three thousand or so citizens and passengers of the Ship Community he had grown up on. At port he could communicate with HomeStation and other Communities, though there was delay-time of several days between Terran 8 and HomeStation. 
Most adult Paragangians spoke in person only to close friends and family. Harris spoke for the Community to passengers such as Jason who refused to be temporarily linked. It was like speaking to small children, so he made an effort to remember to treat them as adults. Jason made this especially difficult by also looking and acting like a child. Harris didn’t mind. Most four year olds were also more mature and intelligent than people gave them credit for.
-------------------more out takes navigation room--------------
[harris would take Jason here when they arrived, try to interest him in his toys, they would talk about technology and Retrotechnology and star wars. ]
The navigation room was small, designed to protect the navigator from all distractions. The navigation chair could comfortably hold his body in any position. Like most Paragangian technology it was controlled almost automatically by his thoughts through his link to the Community Mind, so the navigator could direct his full attention to flying the ship: Gathering energy from all available sources—during approach, mainly from the planet’s gravity and the sun’s radiation—and redirecting that power through the reverse-drive engines, storing whatever was extra in the recycling system. The navigator’s job was to chose the path which would enable the ship to collect as much energy as possible and arrive exactly on time, without flying too close to any dangerous energy sources. For a journey this long, on time meant as soon as possible.
Traditionally, a navigation room held only floating furniture and the walls were blank and black and empty, pure as the emptiness of space. Harris’s black walls were covered with Star Wars posters, and a shelf against one wall --also adjustable through the Community Mind—held various Star-Wars-related gadgets Harris had made: a light saber and several small robots. He claimed they helped him “feel the force.” No one could argue, since Harris always got them wherever they were going faster than any other navigator in Spacer history. 
===---------Mini Chapter of Matthias teaching Jason's retrotech [nothing written yet]===
=== ---------------Anton meets Jason--------------===
6 new start chapter 6 Anton meets Jason
Harris would come to visit Jason at least once per day, to make sure he didn’t need help with anything. He would also give Jason some way to contact him at any time, something similar to the video phones that he uses at home. or Jason could just go someplace outside of his private room and ask for Harris, and Harris would hear him. He would also make sure that he was in a place most of the time where Jason could walk down and see him if he ever wanted to do so. But Jason never did.
A few weeks later, when Jason is beginning to get bored, Harris brings Anton to meet him. A chapter of conversation between the three of them. [I look forward to writing this chapter, with Anton interacting with Harris without the link. ] this chapter might also explore Harris’s family life and his interest in pre-alliance earth movies.
===-----------Harris transition to planetary approach with Jason--------===
POV Harris ….transition to planetary approach with Jason.
Move things about Harris’s thoughts into this part, and into transition to ch 9?
==----------Section Three, aliens arriving---------------==
===-----pov Jason planetary arrival ------===
Marrion Jay Ship Community, Earth date March 20, Alliance Year 167
[? describe location? has location been introduced before ? he might have come there and looked out at the unfamiliar stars, just because it was a more comfortable place for him, because it was made to be earthlike, so he might really like this room, one of the few places that were earthlike. this description will depend on his experiences before this time on the Marrion Jay, so should be left until after that is written. like wise, some other things like Jason not having seen Sylvia do anything useful don’t ring true anymore depending on how much they interact ]
Jason gazed peacefully into space as the blue disk of Terran 8 grew slowly against the darkness. The yellow moon Lurrin circled brightly. Aissis was just barely visible now, following after the planet like a blue dog on a leash. In D’zeron they called her the moon of destiny and dreams.
Suddenly the stillness shattered.
“Hey Jason!” The pale blue wall parted behind him and Harris burst into the room like a seven-foot tall hyperactive child darker than space itself. “Here we are! Approaching Jai-ten, the most exotic port of the Earth Alliance.”
Sylvia floated weirdly behind Harris as always, silent. Harris claimed she was his communication robot but Jason had never seen it communicate anything.[remove? Identity of Sylvia already settled?]
The pale blue wall of the Observation Room gathered itself disconcertingly back together behind Harris, shutting out the bright blackness of the corridor while Jason gathered his own walls to face the darkness which had entered. “It’s a beautiful planet,” he said. “Dreamlike. I can hardly believe I’m here.”
Harris Jenzar laughed playfully and ruffled Jason’s hair as if he were a little kid. “You’ll be going to bed early tonight, huh? Your real arrival won’t start till you fall asleep under the blue moon Aissis.” 
Dressed as if he was in some official capacity representing the university, which he rarely did, Jason felt uncomfortable, out of character, and realized he probably seemed to Harris like a lonely kid arriving in an alien world, using his anthropology professor disguise to cover his terror. That’s what I am, why should I object to him thinking it? He nervously pushed back a lock of hair which fell across his face, and wished he had braided it. It was long enough now, at least for some basic cornrows.
 "I've been asked to tell that Rhonda will meet you here in the observation room tomorrow morning to reveiw plans for the D'zeron project. You're free to do whatever you like until then. I can take you to the port as soon as we're tethered if you want."
Jason nodded silently in acknowledgment then turned away from the dark giant towering over him and stared out into space. He pressed his hand against the window, wishing it felt cold, like real glass. Harris was simply too friendly. Watching the end of their journey together approaching, Jason remembered the beginning ---Harris had tried so hard to comfort him those first few days on the ship Taxi. Jason smiled at the memory, realizing suddenly how much he would miss Harris. His antagonism towards the black-skinned, black-haired, black-clad giant-child with all his technology toys had made the journey more interesting. Avoiding Harris became a game as Harris continually tried to win his friendship by thinking up new toys to offer. In the end, perhaps that was about as close to friendship as any one in Jason’s life ever came. Sort of like Matthias.
“You got any plans for the time in port, kid?” Harris asked. “I’ve been to Jai-ten before. Fun place. Might be awhile before you get to go meet Jonathan’s boys.” 
Go meet Jonathan’s boys? Jason wondered if Harris might have reason to speak as if he thought Lenn was still alive. [Jason should ask him about this sometime, figure out the right time and what Harris will know. Harris shouldn’t know much]
Jason turned turning his attention the man he had tried so hard to avoid these past three months. Harris’s thick black hair was neatly combed back and instead of his usual shapeless black jumpsuit he wore a formal uniform, it’s clean black lines outlined with tiny gold braids. The negotiator’s uniform he was wearing when Jason first saw him at HomeStation. Today he wasn’t here just seeking friendship, he was the host of his Ship Community, and it was his duty to be sure all the alien passengers arrived safely and comfortably at wherever their destination. But I am the only Terran traveling to Jai-ten on the Marrion Jay, Jason thought. He got dressed up for only me.
Harris persisted with childlike tenacity, always hoping they could be friends. Although he probably understood the long silence to mean Jason was ignoring him as always, he spoke again. “Helps to have someone local to show you around. I know people here who’d be happy to help if you’re not too proud to listen.” 
That’s exactly what I’ve been: too proud to listen, too afraid of Harris’s technology to trust him, as a friend or even as an informant. Jason glanced up at Harris. Harris was turning to leave, his wildcat grin having faded to resigned disappointment. How old is Harris? Jason wondered --Certainly much older than he appears. Or acts. He looked about twenty-five but Paragangian medical technology erased all signs of physical aging. Harris could have been on the Marrion Jay forty years ago with Jonathan and Alexandreil when Tersh and Lenn were born. Maybe Harris would have had more to offer than random tech-toys and a game of avoidance, if Jason had ever given him a chance. Maybe it wasn’t too late.
Jason stared pensively at the planet --visibly closer now-- where he hoped to find his half-brother Tersh in the low-technology village of D’zeron. Tersh’s twin brother Lenn had been stillborn, but as a child Jason was fascinated with the hope that Lenn might miraculously still be alive somehow. Maybe Harris had reason to think Lenn was alive. Jason turned towards the navigator/negotiator of the Marrion Jay, a towering black shadow walking away. The sky-blue wall of the observation room had already parted, dissolving around Harris as he stepped out into the bright blackness of the corridor.
“I haven’t been fair to you, have I Harris?” 
Harris wheeled around quite suddenly, sending Sylvia scurrying away to avoid collision. Jason blinked wide-eyed behind his gold-framed glasses and stepped back as the planet he had waited all his life to see was slipping gradually closer, unseen, behind him.
Harris smiled warmly, ---not a wildcat grin-- and slouched a little, as if trying to appear smaller. He summoned an anti-grav chair and positioned himself near the window so Jason could watch the planetary approach without having to look up while they talked. He snatched Sylvia out of the air with one hand like a basketball and set her on the floor beneath his chair. He gave Jason a look as if playing the role of a humble servant. It didn’t suit him, and the awkwardness of the gesture made Jason smile.
“I’m just a Spacer doing my job to get you to the port of your dreams.” Harris winked as he said the word ‘dreams.’ “Your passage has been paid, Dr. Scott-Harris. You owe me nothing.”
The end of their journey together grew ever nearer beyond the window. Harris usually called him something like “Jedi Jason” or “Kid.” Was he using Jason’s formal name to mock him or show respect? Probably both.
“There’s more to life than that, Harris Jenzar.”
Harris grinned, his slightly-pointed teeth bright against the blackness of his skin like some giant night-hunting wildcat ready to pounce. He leaned forward, meeting Jason’s eyes affectionately like an older brother. “Was wondering if you’d ever remember that, Jedi Jason.”
“What’s a Jedi?” Jason asked. Harris had often called him this. Jason feared he might be inviting the retelling of some ridiculous pre-Alliance Earth movie, which he might regret, but he suddenly really wanted to know why Harris called him “Jedi Jason.”
“Jedi are the most amazing people in the universe. You haven’t seen Star Wars, have you, Kid?”
Jason shook his head “Maybe we can watch it sometime?” he replied, more surprised than Harris at the tone of hopeful anticipation in his voice.
“Yeah,” Harris replied very seriously “We should do that. Sylvia has it, she can project it for us.”
“Not right now, though,” Jason added hastily, though he was happy to learn that Sylvia could do something more than float silently behind Harris.
 “Right. Speaking of Jedi, I should get back to navigation. Planetary approach is the most dangerous part of the journey. I’m supposed to give it my full attention.” He winked and stood to leave. Sylvia rose to follow. As if responding to Jason’s thoughts, she beeped musically.
Terran 8 seemed suddenly very close, approaching at dizzying speed. “Why are you here then?” Jason asked, shifting his eyes nervously between the window and the navigator. 
Harris laughed “Don’t worry little brother! Sylvia would tell me if anything really needed attention.”
Sylvia beeped in cheerful agreement, twisting her wings to rotate vertically as if she was nodding her head. Jason eyed her suspiciously. The Navigator, like all Paragangians, was linked through an implant in his skull to the ship’s computer, the Community Mind. He shouldn’t need Sylvia to tell him anything.
“I wanted to see you before we arrive,” Harris continued, suddenly very serious. “I might never see you again.” He paused, drew a deep breath and looked down at the floor as if trying to choose words tactfully. “Traveling to D’zeron is dangerous. Didn’t want to miss my last chance ever to talk to you. I set a slow approach so she could auto pilot in while I came to say good-bye. I should get back, though.” When Harris looked up his usually dark brown eyes seemed to have grayed slightly. Like Jonathan's.
Jason contemplated the idea that he might not return from D’zeron. He'd never considered it, but it was possible. He fought back tears, realizing Harris believed he was probably going to die here.
“Since you don’t have a link you’ll need someone to control the transport.” Harris said “I can take you to port as soon as we stop if you’re ready.” His eyes were dark again, shining with childlike enthusiasm. “But you’ll have some time to kill in Jai-ten, anyway. Might be a week or so before you get permission for Kaar-taal. We’re arriving mid-day, and they say it’s better to dream after Aissis rises. If you wait for me, I’ll meet you at the transport when I’m done tethering. My friend DaraJeen owns an inn here. I can take you there. You’ll like it. It'll be less stressful and more Retro than the tourist places in the port center, and she like to cook Terran food. We can have lunch with her and then you can go look at the city before sunset.”
Sylvia whistled with a tone of urgency and Harris left without waiting for a reply. [this agreement needs reworded as It is not quite the agreement they are acting on later]
===------newstart tersh in D'zeron sept 2012===
Aliens arriving
-----------///-----------
D’zeron, Late Summer, Late Evening
A strange light passed through the night sky, larger than a star but much smaller than the moons. Chathalen’s father Tersh pointed up into the darkness as they stood together on the high cliff.
“The world my father came from. I was born there. That world will take you away and you will never return to D’zeron. There lies your destiny in dreams, Chathalen. If you choose that path, dreams will claim you forever.”
Chathalen shivered, though the night was warm. I will not choose that path. I belong in D’zeron. 
----
///----------
===---------------Harris and Sentran----------===
Scene two Harris and Sen’tran 
POV in this section still all a mess. I think I like the POV Sen’tran parts better. Perhaps POV Harris could be conveyed just in the transition to this and in Harris telling Jason about it later. 
Needs major rewrite after backstory is completed. 
Rushing down the bright black corridor Harris resumed navigation hoping his father hadn’t noticed the few minutes he had switched control of the Marrion Jay to Sylvia. Maybe Jason really is the son of Jonathan Landon, he told himself, like a child contemplating the sword Excalibur protruding from a stone. But Maybe he’s still somehow the lost Paragan. He has Desmond’s name. Maybe he doesn’t know he’s the son of Desmond Harris. Jonathan is the only father he ever knew. This fantasy seemed worth the lecture he would have to endure for it. [This doesn’t work since Harris doesn’t consciously know that Desmond was Paragan…and there’s nothing in this which would inspire such thoughts….] 
Finally the door is open. Not the door on the wall, not the door which will open only for the lost Paragan child, but at least He will finally talk to me. Maybe I have no reason to think he will lead me to the lost Paragan child, but yet I feel certain he will. Somehow. He might be the son of Jonathan Landon, or the son of Desmond Harris. but still somehow he could be the child whose hand will open the wall, or lead me to that child. When Paragan was lost and found before, He wasn’t found in Paragangia, but from an alien world. I don’t know why but I feel Jason Holds keys to this restoration.
Harris gave his body to the navigation chair, as he rarely did, focusing fully to reduce the delay as much as possible as quickly as possible. Perhaps Sen’tran would not take notice. –it was only minutes…
Harris directed his full attention to bringing the ship to tether with Perfect control at the highest speed possible for a smooth safe stop. Gathering energy from all available sources-- mainly from the planet’s gravity and the sun’s radiation, but also utilizing the power of his own emotions--- redirecting that power through the reverse-drive engines, drawing from the recycling, from the energy spilled through action and emotion from all those of the linked community. The Navigator’s job was to chose the path which would enable the ship to collect as much energy as possible and arrive exactly on time, without flying too close to any dangerous energy sources. For a journey this long, on time meant as soon as possible. [this exposition might need to go earlier in this version]
For tethering, t meant bringing the ShipCommunity to the exact location above the port where the transport signals could be locked into the depo transports, an the ship would rotate with the planet exactly in that position relative to the port for as long as they choose to remain tethered. 
He glanced at his shelf of starwars gadgets and smiled, remembering that Jason had agreed to watching it with him. After Jason’s first reaction to the suggestion months ago he never expected that to happen.
Better yet, Jason would spend time with him at Jai-Ten. Harris would take him to the Aissis Oasis inn, and DaraJeen…
Thinking About DaraJeen made Harris’s heart race; gave him energy to make up most of the lost time. He was feeling entirely optimistic by the time final tethering began, and wasn’t even worried about Sen’tran anymore. the tether itself entailed contacting the Earth alliance port office through the link and correlating the CommunityMind of the Marrion Jay with that of the port.
Navigation ended when the ship was tethered. Harris took responsibility for overseeing the loading and unloading of passengers and their possessions, though this was not actually part of the navigation. When he left the Marrion Jay, which wasn’t often, he was always among the last to leave. Through the link, Harris checked the transport room. Jason seemed to be waiting for him there. [make sure that this version contains another option, that didn’t involve Harris taking him] [[his duties while at port would be to collect energy, so he is setting an automatic collecting of energy from the sun and the gravity, etc. if he stayed with the ship he could have collected more energy, but with the time they intended to remain, they would have plenty for sure. Harris programmed auto-settings for a two-week planetary leave, and rose to depart.
Sen’tran Jenzar stood in the doorway watching him with ancient eyes that seemed to look beyond the surface into his soul and find him lacking. “Harris. Slow approach with a three minute pause and then a crazy rush to hide the delay. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice that? and two weeks leave on Terran 8. What’s wrong with you?” 
Physically Sen’tran didn’t look any older than his son, in fact people who didn’t know them well could not tell them apart, but Harris imagined over four hundred years worth of disapproval in his father’s eyes. Having lived more than twice as long as any other Paragangian, Sen’tran Jenzar didn’t respect the maturity of anyone. Harris felt no hope of ever winning his father’s approval, and rarely tried anymore.
Sen’tran’s intrusion this day annoyed him more than usual. Maybe Jason, waiting alone in an alien place, didn’t mind solitude, but Jason always seemed scared and confused when faced with anything unfamiliar. Harris had grown protective towards him during these past few months in spite of Jason’s pointed rejection, and refused to prolong Jason’s discomfort now that Jason was finally willing to talk.
Harris glared at his father, and replied verbally with obvious irritation which he pointedly projected over the link also. “Nothing’s wrong with me. My work is well done. What’s wrong with you, Father?” Why did Sen’tran come here? I anticipated this censure through the link; not in person.
switch at this point to POV Sen’tran?say thoughts of Sen’tran to convey the switch. t know how these guys talk to eachother I need to know what their homelife is like.
“Slow landing isn’t like you Harris. And two weeks leave on Terran 8? You promised you would never do this again. Does it take two weeks to get drunk and seduce an alien innkeeper? At your age all your brothers were raising Pure Paragangian families in their own Ship Communities.” 
“I am not my brothers! Times have changed in the past hundred years or so since any of them were my age, Old Man!” He shouted back. “I am taking responsibility, Sen’tran Jenzar Patriarch of Spacers! How long did the journey take the last time you brought the Marrion Jay to Terran 8 from the HomeStation transfer point?
“5 months. You do well.”
Sen’tran tried to project reassurance and approval through the link. Harris wasn’t receiving. What is wrong with me? I did not come here to anger him. I am only expressing concern for my son. 
“I brought you to Terran 8 in three months,” Harris raged on, projecting through the link a powerful sense of injustice, making no effort to conceal the childish disappointment it sprang from.
All he wanted was the respect of his father. He deserves that, why couldn’t I just give him that, for once?
“Three months. Nobody’s ever gotten here that fast, yet all the praise I get is you here in person calling me irresponsible and childish because I delayed the approach three minutes? Three minutes! Doing what you asked! Taking care of Jonathan’s kid, whom you didn’t have the curtisy, --or guts—to even say hello to And I was arranging transport for a passenger who has refused to be linked. That’s my job, too. For your passenger, you conceived this insane adventure, didn’t you, Patriarch Sen’tran? It’s really your Empire, isn’t it? You’re just waiting or me to find you a new Paragan so you can retire. You have no Idea how hard it’s been to get this kid to even speak to me at all. I spend three minutes finally getting his attention, and he finally agrees to talk to me as a human being instead of an alien wildcat…So I lost three minutes after saving you two months travel time. But no!—My father doesn’t see it that way. He has to give me a lecture –in perason--about being irresponsible and tell me to grow up.” 
Harris paused, took a deep breath. Sen’tran was silent. there was no point in trying to say anything now. Harris wasn’t done raging and he wouldn’t hear anything Sen’tran said. Harris resumed, obviously still annoyed but calmer.
“I’ve done my part, Old Man. I’m on leave now. There’s no chance you’ll need me to navigate in the next two weeks. I already set the Auto collection system. I’m not a child, I don’t have to answer to you when I’m on leave. Could you not have just chastened me through the link?”
“So. You are leaving, Harris?”
“Yes, I am leaving! I served you well, Old Man! I babysat the son of your friend and your enemy so you can keep your promise and still imagine vengeance. I have a center to find and I have an informant who seems promising. [?is that still relivant?] I’m leaving. Now.” Harris headed for the door, his link silent. He tried to slip past his father without walking too close, but the room was small, so his avoidance seemed exaggerated.
[I went back to POV harris at this point]
“You are going to get drunk and waste your life with that alien innkeeper.” The old man stated it as fact, as if he had seen vision of it.
Harris had only wanted to help his new friend, learn from him, maybe find out for sure who’s son Jason really was. He had not planned to get drunk, or spend any time with DaraJeen other than taking Jason to the inn. Jason would love the Inn, and DaraJeen would take good care of him. DaraJeen had made plain last time that she wanted Harris to stay away. But, inscenced by Sen’tran’s smug certainty, Harris’s resentment began to feel more important than friendship or fantasy.
“If you say it is so, so it shall be, Sen’tran Jenzar, Shaman of Paragangia! I will get drunk, just for you, My Father. I’ll waste some vauable time with that terrible alien woman, just for you. Maybe she’ll agree to bear my child so you can have another bastard heir. Do my father’s visions control my destiny? I am your heir, Sen’tran Jenzar. You are my father and the patriarch of my community. I’ll accept that duty when the time comes, but until then I live my own life. You may be four hundred and twenty-six years old, but I am not a child. Go live your own life, Old Man, and let me live mine”
Pushing past his father Harris rushed down the corridor towards the transport room where Jason had agreed to wait. His father’s words echoed oddly down the black corridor after him. “You are my life, Harris” Harris didn’t understand and didn’t want to. He turned off his communication link again, and kept walking.
---------------------///----------------------
===----------------------Sen'tran----------------------- ===
Chapter 11 POV Sen’tran
slightly edited Sept 2012—needs work.
[most of this might be unneeded now]
Sen’tran Jenzar felt the weight of his Four hundred and twenty-six years, and his duties as Patriarch of the largest Ship Community in the galaxy, leader of the largest and most powerful faction of Paragangia, as he stood sadly at the door of Harris’s oddly cluttered navigation room watching him disappear down the corridor followed by his pointless communication robot. “What is it about the love of a father for a son which leads us always to say the wrong things?” He whispered aloud, painfully aware of how his words to Harris would bring his fears to life. Harris would get drunk now just to prove him wrong. I try to express concern; he hears only disapproval. 
Carefully bred for vision and wisdom, Harris let his choices be guided instead by momentary passion born of words misunderstood. Why is my youngest and most talented child so childish and rebellious? All of Sen’tran’s wisdom –-of age and of genetics—brought no answer to calm his fears. [this is not very beleivable…Sen’tran would ask a deeper question]
Harris could choose any wife he wanted in all Paragangia and become a great leader. But he was loyal. He chose to navigate his home-ship and wait for an alien woman who would always refuse to marry him. Harris, I hope you never have to find out how dangerous that woman really is. Sen’tran wished to have chosen wiser and kinder words for his son. 
Normally, He thinks I want him to grow up and go, so he stays here to defy me. He tries not to be what he thinks I want. I usually tell him to go, because I want him to stay, though I know wanting to keep him here is wrong. He follows his heart and not his wisdom. In so doing he obeys my heart and not my wisdom. But today, by trying hold on to him, by trying to protect him from this danger he has chosen for himself, ---Danger he doesn’t fully understand--- I have driven him away.
Here on Terran 8 he runs from me imagining I am pushing him to grow up. The path he’s choosing will leave him more grown up and more responsible than I would ever wish for him to be. The old man quietly cursed his future-seeing ability. Visions were rarely useful, and almost always unpleasant.
“Be safe, my son,” He said aloud to the empty hall, looking beyond the point where Harris had vanished into the distance. “May you always choose a course for your own life as well as you choose for the Marrion Jay. May my fears for you be all unfounded. Be safe, my son”
As Sen’tran sadly returned to his quarters in the Marrion Jay a long-forgotten memory came to him: 
Desmond Harris.
===--------------sentran remembers desmond-------------===
-------------------///-------------------
HomeStation, Earth Date May 5, Alliance Year 145 
“Sen’tran Jenzar.” Desmond Harris’s bright blue eyes captured and held his attention, uncharacteristically grave. “Because of you, I am Paragan, the Center of Paragangia. Do you serve me? I require of you a gift. Will you give it?”
“You are Paragan. Anything you ask, I give.”
“Sen’tran Jenzar, as much as you love me, one thing I know you would not give me now, yet I know I must ask this of you. When the time comes you will know what is needed and why, and you will give me this one thing”
“What would I not give to you, Vendentallian Paragan?”
Desmond smiled sadly “Will you give me your son, Harris Jenzar? The one you conceived to be the heir of Paragan, To take my place when I am gone?”
Sen'tran looked down not wanting to know what they both knew. Harris was born for this purpose. Desmond waited quietly. Sen’tran met his gaze again with shattered, tear-filled eyes. “No,” he whispered tentatively “I cannot. He is not mine to give. He belongs to the Community.” 
Desmond laughed softly. The sound of his laughter tore at the old man’s heart “Well spoken, Sen’tran Jenzar. Though you are wise and old, you do not fool me with careful words. I am Paragan. He belongs to my community. He is already mine. But do not fear me, my friend. I will not take him from you now. He will remain on the Marrion Jay many more years. It will be in you power to keep him there forever. We all know the Empire is truly in your power Patriarch Sen’tran, you control the implants, you control the Center. I only ask that you will let him serve me when I have need of him.”
Sen’tran looked troubled. “Of course he may, Desmond. We all serve you.”
“Not for long, dear friend.” Desmond’s bright blue eyes paled slightly, like smoke rising into summer sky.
For a moment, Sen’tran’s eyes grayed also as he struggled a little harder than usual to keep his spirit attached to his body, to refuse his long overdue death.
“But Harris will serve me again, Sen’tran Jenzar.” His eyes dropped to the floor, voice fell to a whisper, nearly inaudible. “Tonight I leave you”
A chill of foreboding passed through the old shaman leaving him frozen, speechless. He knew truth when he heard it. “Why?”
When Desmond looked up his eyes were bright and clear again. “Someday, Sen’tran Jenzar of the Marrion Jay,” Desmond continued in a voice of hope against all odds “someday Harris will choose to leave the Marrion Jay. He will set aside his citizenship in Paragangia for a higher cause. He will come to you, his father, asking you to remove his memory implant. You will do this for him. You will do this for me, Sen’tran Jenzar. You will remove Harris’s implant when he asks because you will know it is the time of which I speak now.”
The young alien leader who had brought hope to Paragangia walked away that night as Harris walked away now, leaving the old man watching after him. That was the last time Sen’tran Jenzar had seen Desmond Harris alive.
Sen’tran had filed that conversation in the back of his memory and gone on with life. Tonight he choose the same path. All things reveal themselves in time. He willfully set his mind back on the affairs of his Community, determined not to worry himself with prophecy, foreboding, or rebellious sons.
===jason looks at planets waits for harris march 2011===
Direct observation room of the Marrion Jay Ship Community
[add date and time here]
A water planet! So beautiful! Jonathan never showed me this ocean and I’ve been so focused on D’zeron that I never thought of it myself. I hope I’ll have time to see what lives there. His mind filled with memories childhood in Florida, before Jonathan, before dreams. He had wandered beaches by his home searching for crabs and starfishes, talking with fisherman and just watching the waves as they rolled in across the sand.[show not tell …narrate a memory of childhood, looking at the ocean, perhaps talking to someone on the beach, a fisherman or something[else this]. He gazed at the vast blue ocean of Terran 8 with the innocent awe of childhood until the Marrion Jay passed into the night sky of D’zeron, and all details of the surface melted into darkness. 
So close, and I’ve waited so long.Curiosity got the better of him; abandoning his aversion to advanced technology, he turned on sensors which Harris had insisted on turning to manual control in case Jason changed his mind [***show not tell ?] and examined the details of the planet’s surface through the darkness of its shadow. *how did he feel? add italic thoughts to show feelings. 
He Searched the watery emptiness …*how did this feel?... until he located a tiny forested landmass: the continent of Kaar-taal. Roughly circular, it was divided in one direction by mountains --where the dragons live—and a river flowed from the mountains to the coastline. This, the largest continent on Terran 8, was so small it would be considered merely an island on Earth. [how small IS it?} 
Increasing magnification, Jason followed the river Sh’harn inland from the waterfall on the western shore until he found a small clearing in the forest Zair Thaleil. soon, I’ll travel that path. ***p[ have him remember this when he arrives on the beach and looks up at that waterfall…remember significant contors of the river when he looks at it on a map athe the Museum, preparing for the journey. ***I need to create details of Terrain on the river, Islands, perhaps? ]
D’zeron-- my destiny of dreams. If Jonathan ever looked down at D’zeron from space like this, he never shared it with me. It looks like a starfish. That round structure at the center of the star must be the temple, and the points must be the pillars. ***rewrite with less italics
There it is: not even a dream, but only an image on a Paragangian optical devise. Less real than a dream.He felt a rush of shame for using this technology to observe a place which forbid any advanced technology and switched it off, staring out into featureless blue darkness lit only by the reflected blue glow of Aissis amid the Paragangian purity of space. Aissis was not really a moon but a small planet following Terran 8 in synchronous orbit, very much like the planet Beta Blue, which followed Blue Desitiny, the Mexican planet where Jason had lived for two years as a field study. ***add her some other memories and associations with blue destiny. 
If my brother Tersh in D’zeron looked up into the sky would he see a shooting star? Or aliens arriving? 
The Marrion Jay passed out of the peaceful blue Aissis-lit night of D’zeron into glaring green-sunned day of Jai-ten and tethered above the port city. It was an even smaller Island on the opposite side of the watery globe. Jason sent a quick message to his family just to let them know he had arrived safely ahead of schedule and would now be able to send and receive messages***[they would have sent a message, or even a few messages, which would be waiting for him when he arrived, and would effect his thoughts. He wouldn’t be expecting these messages, and would get them when he went to the post office for some other reason, like to send a larger message..or when he went to the port office to get permissions]. He was still too excited to feel homesick, and hadn’t left the Marrion Jay yet so there wasn’t much to say. He collected his possessions and went to the transport room to wait for Harris. 
Like most places in the Marrion Jay which were not designed mainly for Terrans, The room was oddly, disturbingly bright in spite of its black walls and ceiling. All the other Passengers had transported to Jai-ten as soon as the ship tethered, or had no intentions of visiting the port.
***who were the other passengers, and how much contact would Jason have with them? what contact if any would they have with the ship community? why would they not live in the community during the journey? [I would think most travelers would choose to do so unless they were traveling alone] so Jason was alone. The furniture here was link-controlled, and sized for Paragangians. Jason didn’t mind. He deposited his luggage on the black floor near the transport and sat down with his back against the wall, his turtle-shell guitar cradled in his arms like a teddy bear.
Bored and apprehensive but excited, he contemplated his journey. His third off-Earth experience, farther from home in every way than he had ever been, yet it felt like going home. D’zeron --his destiny in dreams. No advanced technology, only the magic of a portal leading to a different world which existed only in dreams. He had walked D’zeron’s pathways in shared dreams with Jonathan. He had spoken and eaten and climbed trees and cliffs with people from Jonathan's memories. Most of them were long dead now perhaps, but some would still be there; the dream keeper D’neira, who had been a child when Jonathan met her, and maybe Tersh. {**other elders of D’zeon, who remember Jonathan? the hunter? ]
A brother old enough to be my father --In Jonathan’s memories Tersh had been a baby [more description of the baby, so the shared memories of Tersh].-- but still, I have a brother. 
The young anthropologist looked up at the bare black walls of the Ship Community that had been his world for three months. A Ship Community traveling through open space couldn’t receive messages without stopping. Stopping could add many months to a journey, so they didn’t. Soon, he would be able to send a message home. ***[wait, didn’t he just already send one? reword this. ] They would receive it in a few days, and a few days later, perhaps, he would hear from his family for the first time in several months. Homesickness engulfed him.
I won’t miss this place. 
He had always been with friends of his family when he was away from the Earth before. Aunt Rae on Homeworld, jonathan’s friends in Mexico. Here in Paragangia Jason was alone. Rhonda, didn’t consider him fully human since he wasn’t linked. Sen’tran Jenzar, an old friend of his mother, had assured her that he would be welcomed as family, but Jason had never seen him. 
He sent his son,thought Jason. absentmindedly he began playing a random hymn tune on his guitar. He laughed when he realized what it was. 
“God Loves us so he sent his Son
Christ Jesus the atoning one…”
Harris isn’t exactly Christ, and I sure hope Sen’tran isn’t God, but Harris is the closest thing to family I have until I reach D’zeron. 
He felt a terrible longing for home; for his mother and Jonathan. For Kansas, even in the winter. for the university, and even for Matthias, who would be teaching his lectures o retro technology now.
On his other journeys the culture shock had been terrible at first even on Earth-like colonies among family friends, close enough to call home. He was older now. 21; legally an adult even in America, the planet known for having the oldest childhood in the galaxy. He still lived with his parents when he wasn’t traveling, though he had been in a sense living as an adult for several years, teaching at the university. Three months aboard the Marrion Jay with no contact from home had been boring, but not terribly uncomfortable. The busy port city Jai-ten which lay before him just a transporter ride away would be much more alien than the Marrion Jay. ***[I need to create details of Jai-Ten, and the surrounding
He thought back over his journey. [add back tiny flashack]Now Jason sat near the transport of the Marrion Jay holding the same guitar and waiting for the same 7-foot tall space pirate to transport with him to the most remote and alien port of the Earth Alliance
===-------------Anton------------===
Edited Sept 30 1012 and posted. 
Scene 4 Antondaeleil Haridaen (the Paragangian kid) 
A small dark figure materialized suddenly beside Jason, like a ghost.
“Hey Jason! Take me to the port?”
“I can’t transport Anton; I don’t have a link, remember? You would have to take me to the port.”
Anton grinned. “AWESOME! Really? Let’s go! C’mon!” Anton, bouncing with hyperactive enthusiasm, grabbed Jason’s arm and moved as if to immediately drag him to his feet and through the transport to Jai-ten.
“No. Wait. Anton! Slow down! I told Harris I would wait for him.”
Anton made an exaggerated but not very successful effort to hold very still. He seemed to sort of vibrate rather than bounce. “Aw, c’mon Jason! You just said I could take you. Harris won’t mind. He can meet you at the depot. He’s talking to the Old Man now anyhow, so you might have to wait awhile. Don’t you wanna see Jai-ten? It’s a much funner place for waiting than here.”
That isn’t saying much. “The old man?”
“Yeah, y’know, Sen’tran Jenzar? We call him Old Man, because he’s older than everybody. Some people think the Old man’s sorta scary. Nobody hardly ever sees him in person, But he’s ok. I saw him goin’ to talk to Harris in person though. Harris must be in big trouble, I wonder what he did. I’m waiting for Harris too, t’ ask him to take me to the port. He took me last time --Jai-ten is so much fun! But he’s not here yet ‘cause he’s talking to the Old Man. But you’re here Jason, and you’re not busy and you are an adult, right? So you can take me, okay? I can take you through the transport and you can show me the city, so we both get what we want and we both don’t have to wait for Harris, Okay?” 
“Why don’t you take yourself? You have a link.” It came across sounding like a brush-off though he had not intended it so.
Anton rolled his eyes in exaggerated frustration, and bounced around a little more than usual, perhaps in compensation for the preceding moment of mere vibration.
“Not allowed. Gotta have an adult. I mean, they monitor me through the link, but I gotta keep a big person with me at all times to scare off evil aliens or something. You don’ look like an adult but that’s only ‘cause you’re Terran, right? You don’t even look like a Terran adult, but I know you are ‘cause Harris told me! Harris wouldn’t say you were if you weren’t, right?” Anton grinned infectiously, staring at him with huge shining dark eyes. Jason, slightly overwhelmed but at least no longer bored, grinned back in spite of himself. Anton was like Harris with twice the energy packed into half the size. The half-size aspect of him was comforting after more than three months in the Marrion Jay never seeing anyone but Harris. Maybe that was why Harris had brought him by in the first place, months ago. Maybe I should have given him a chance, too.
“Are you sure little alien adults count for big people, Anton? I couldn’t protect you if you got into trouble down there. I’m not much bigger than you and you probably know more about fighting evil aliens in Jai-ten than I do.
“Oh, I do, Jason, I do! Jai-ten is so amazing, you gotta see it, c’mon!
“I will, soon enough.”
“Thousands of aliens --don’t worry, they’re not really evil-- or I never saw one not that I could tell was evil just by lookin’ but looks don’t tell much, just like you don’t look grown up but you are, and Harris looks just like Sen’tran but Harris’s fun and nice an’ in Jai-ten there’s not just Terans like you, there lots of those Cat-people from Rhoisoh. That’s where Sen’tran is taking us after he gets rid of you. Planet Rhoizoh. They never let me out there. Some of them really are evil, but they hide it real well so you won’t have to fight them, not with me, anyhow. Harris says they can shapeshift, but he’s never seen one do it, an’ they even have fur on their faces an’ hands, so you can see it even when they’re properly dressed but they don’ even try to cover it, not that they could an’ There’s different color people, too, even one’s without fur. Cat-people fur is usually yellow but I dunno what color their skin is, ‘cause you can’t see it, y’know? My skin is all black but that doesn’t mean their skin is all yellow, some of them have stripes on their fur, they might have stripes on their skin, too. Or they might not. An’ there people with horns an’ scales who can breath underwater, an’ people who wear their atmosphere in a jar on their head an’ people who can fly, and things that don’t even look like people but talk like people. Y’know what? Harris said there might be people who can read your mind even without a link. I don’t think I’ve ever met one but I dunno, I sometimes wonder if Harris can read my mind, ‘cause he seems to know what I’m thinkin’ most times even when I shut my link off.”
Jason laughed “I bet Harris just reads your mind by remembering what he was like when he was…” he paused estimating the boy’s age. Anton was not much shorter than Jason.
“I’m seven. But I’ll be eight by the time you get back from D’zeron.” Anton offered.
“See, there you go Anton, you read my mind! I didn’t ask how old you were, but I was wondering.”
Anton laughed much the same way Harris laughed, but the effect was more a strange alien animal than a drunken pirate.[does in this version Jason ever call Harris a drunken pirate?] “C’mon let’s go Jason.”
*Jason’s thoughts? “I am tired of waiting. Are you sure your people wouldn’t mind?”
“ ‘Course not!” said Anton, “They monitor me all the time an’ if they didn’t want me to go with you they would be telling me not to right now and if I tried they could shut down the transport so I couldn’t. They’ll be glad you took me so I’ll stop buggin’ everybody else t’ take me. C’mon already Jason, Please.” Anton emphasized his pleading with a very theatrical sad puppy face.
When a kid who has surely never had a puppy dog and maybe never seen a puppy makes a sad puppy face, they probably don’t call it a sad puppy face. Analyzing it didn’t minimize the effect of huge, wide brown eyes. In fact with his black Paragangian skin, the visual effect was really very much like a large black puppy dog. ***possible memories of some specific black dog from Jason’s past? 
Jason offered one more tentative protest about waiting for Harris, at which Anton volunteered excitedly to leave a hidden message on the Community Mind. It would be great fun, he said. Harris would receive it 30 seconds after he stepped into the transport room and noticed Jason had mysteriously vanished. Long enough to make him wonder, said Anton, but not long enough to leave him worrying or make him angry with Anton or Jason when he got the message. Anton and Harris played jokes like this with each other all the time, he reassured Jason.
Jason rose and slung his guitar strap over his shoulder and they were off to Jai-ten. The dizzying pace of Anton’s persuasion routine had drawn Jason in and taken his mind off his fears so completely that he didn’t even notice the usually disconcerting effects of transporting. Anton went through first pulling Jason along by the hand and chattering on about the marvels of Jai-ten without pause as they passed through the transport. They left Jason’s luggage on the Marrion Jay hidden where Harris wouldn’t see it when he first walked in, and Anton asked Harris to bring it along when he came. Jason brought only his guitar, which was strapped to his back.
The port swarmed with humanity and other sentient life, plus some creatures Jason couldn’t guess what were or whether they were sentient. There were trees and flowers and sky. Oddly colored sky, but sky. After three months of virtual night in the Marrion Jay, even alien daylight was delightful. Anton dragged him straight outside into its brightness. Jason stood there grinning, blinking, taking it all in, basking in the warmth of greenish alien sunlight. Terran 8!
Anton grabbed the child-size Terran’s arm, bouncing him around to face another direction, gesturing to the orange-tinted sky above the transport depot they had just emerged from. “Look, Jason, look! Air cars, see? I love air cars! Hey Jason have you ever flown in an air car? Harris says you like old technologies because you’re a retro-technologist. Air cars are old, do you have air cars on Earth? Have you flown in one, do you like them?” Jason grinned up at the orange sky shaking his head at the barrage of questions, clearing his thoughts, then looked back at the small dark bouncing creature who was his current companion, “Yeah, Anton, all that. Except for the part about air cars being old. Air cars are fairly new and pretty high tech where I come from, but my Mom has one she got when she was in Paragangia and I fly it to work sometimes when the weather’s bad.”
Anton stared back in pure amazement, his eyes huge dark brown circles in his black Paragangian face.
“Woah! You can drive an air car? ReallyJason? Oh, I’ve always wanted to ride in an air car! I came here with Harris last time but Harris wouldn’t let me ride an air car; Harris is afraid of air cars.” 
Jason laughed. “Nah, Harris isn’t afraid of anything! How could he fly the Marrion Jay and be afraid of air cars?
“Marrion Jay isn’t an air car and he is Jason, really! He is. I know Harris more’n you do.” Anton insisted “But hey you can fly one can we go for a ride Jason, please? I’ve always wanted so much to ride in an air car! Please Jason? 
“Well you know Anton, I didn’t pack one of those in my suitcase. No need for it in D’zeron. Where would we get one?”
Anton fell silent for five seconds inquiring through the link. Five minutes later they stood out of breath in front of a shop which rented out air cars. 
A variety of tethered air cars hovered near the ground like helium balloons awaiting customers’ inspection. Anton walked among them in silent awe. The brown-skinned, grey haired Terran shopkeeper grinned at Jason, observing the boy’s reverence. “This is a day your young friend will remember vividly for years to come.” said the shopkeeper. “You have any words of wisdom to share, this is the day to share them.”
“Words of wisdom? I barely know him, what would I say?”
The shopkeeper shrugged with a shadow of a smile “Everyone has wisdom of some sort. Which car would you like to rent, sir?”
“That pink one in the far corner looks similar to the one my mom has back home in Kansas. Does it color-shift?”
The man nodded. “It sure does, sir. That the one you want?’
Minutes later Jason and Anton were soaring gleefully above the port of Jai-ten in an air car color-shifted to look like a dolphin. Anton had never actuallyseen a dolphin, but he’d seen images, and was impressed with Jason’s artistic skills. 
“I’m surprised you’ve never flown, Anton. I understand these air cars were a Paragangian invention. I was flying much younger than you. And,” he added “I was a whole lot smaller too. Flying is quite easy and safe.”
“I’m a Spacer, Jason. I’ve never even been to HomeStation. Born on the Marrion Jay, spent my whole life in space excep’ sometimes when I get somebody like you ‘n Harris to take me to port for a few muinutes. Spacers don’ use land technologies.”
Jason laughed. “Air cars are land technology.”
“Well, it sure ain’t Spacer technology. What am I gonna do? Go flying around the corridors? Isn’t the daylight beautiful? It’s sort of green here, even though the sky is orange. Isn’t that weird? On Rhoizoh the sky is blue like the sky on earth. I’ve never been to Earth, but I’ve been to Rhoizoh. Sen’tran took me down to look once, just for a moment. I’ve seen pictures of Earth sky, though. It’s blue like Rhoisoh sky. Like the observation room Harris made for you. He hates that room, but he made it just for you. He likes you a lot, even if you’re not Paragan. Harris is such a great guy. But Harris is afraid of daylight and sky. You’re much more fun than Harris for going to port.” Anton grinned. “Last time he brought me in daytime, though, so I could see the weird orange sky even though he hates it. Everybody loves Harris. You’re lucky he’s going to port with you. Harris likes you a lot, and not just ‘cause he thought you might be Paragan or something, either; he just likes you. I can see why.”
I can’t believe Harris is afraid of anything, especially not daylight and air cars. Jason listened in silence as the excessively energetic Spacer child exclaimed about everything. 
“Look Jason! What are those flying animals over there? Wonder what they call those. Rat pigeons.” the link had apparently told him “In Jai-Ten they call them Rat pigeons. Look, They land on trees, see? But the way they follow people, I think they might be sentient. It’s like they’re making jokes about the other aliens. You never know in Jai-ten. All the people are aliens in Jai-ten, Y’know? ‘cause there were no people here before the Alliance, so everyone here now is alien. Except on Kaar-Taal, where you’re going. I wonder if those little guys flying around over there are from this planet or imported. They might be the only people here on Jai-Ten who aren’t aliens. Harris doesn’t like animals. Most Paragangian’s don’t but Harris is more sensitive than most. But I like them. Especially those rat pigeons, those are awesome. Hey look! The one with a baby on her back stole something from the Terran man at the table, and then gave it back to him.”
“She took his book, to get his attention, like my cat stands in front of my computer screen.”
“What’s a book? ***[later Jason might buy Anton a copy of his book, and/or a book with paintings of animals. Since this man is reading a book, he might be George the retrotechnologist,so when Jason visits him he’s have his pet Rat pigeon and tell Jason about them, and he might have books for sale Jason could buy for Anton]] Look! She lets the man touched her.” Anton went on. “She’s sitting on his head now, see? Just like the baby sits on her back. They must be friends. Have you ever touched an animal, Jason?” ***[Anton might be getting info through the link about everything and sharing it with Jason at this point, also.]
“Sure, I love animals. I have several pets at home. I can’t imagine being seven and never having touched an animal. When I was your age I lived by the ocean. I had lots of pets then, I had a big black dog, named ????. you remind me of ????. I used to search for little creatures on the beach, like crabs and starfishes, and ?????? would run along the beach chasing after seagulls.”
Anton paused for a second while he consulted the Community Mind about pets, and crabs, and starfish.[write what info he mentions, so Jason knows this is what he’s doing. “Really?” Anton was very impressed “Wow I wish I could have a pet! Nobody has pets on the Marrion Jay, nobody! How do your pets live without you while you’re here?” ***[add possible ravings about the regenerative properties of starfish and their taking over places]
“Mom and Dad take care of them for me. Aren’t there petstores in Jai-Ten? We could go look at the ocean. Maybe there are animals on the beach. You could catch a crab or something and make Harris build you a tank for it, he can apparently make anything. Wanna drive, Anton?”
“Really? You would let me fly?” Then his face fell. “Aw, no time now. Harris got our message and he’s meeting you now at the port entrance with your luggage.”
“Okay then,” replied Jason passing Anton the controls. “You fly us back to the port entrance.”
-----------///----------
Harris stood by the door of the Depot watching them approach, back against the wall, arms crossed. Anton waved and Harris waved back smiling. Sylvia hovered overhead head, twisting nervously in every direction, as if watching for enemies. Anton made an abrupt, slightly bouncy stop in front of Harris and tumbled out, jumping up to give him a hug. “Harris!” he screamed, “Jason let me fly!” The rest of the conversation was through the link. Anton bounced a little, and gestured a lot, then slouched and made the sad puppy face again. Harris laughed, and ruffled his hair, the way he always did to Jason. “No. Sorry Anton.”
Anton turned back to Jason. “Bye Jason. Thanks for everything. See you when you get back from Kaar-Taal. Thanks again. Bye!” He bounced away and vanished through the crowd of miscellaneous aliens in the transport depot, back to the Marrion Jay.
“You rented an air car.” Harris looked it over skeptically. He seemed tense. Maybe Anton was right. Maybe Harris wasn’t as unshakable as he seemed on the Marrion Jay.
Jason grinned “Anton suggested it. It’s just like the one I use at home.”
Harris met his eyes, “I don’t expect retro-technologists to fly air cars.”
Jason returned his gaze. “Mom had the air car before I was born. I’ve been flying longer than I’ve been a retro-technologist. I never expected the greatest Paragangian navigator in the galaxy to be afraid of air cars.”
Harris squinted, replying slowly. “Not really afraid. You know how Anton exaggerates. But I don’t like them very much. Don’t mind if you do though. Anything is good if it makes you feel better.”
He seemed more unsettled by this than anything else in the time Jason had known him, except perhaps Rhonda. She could unsettle anyone. And when Jason had been ill that first week. Harris had been pretty upset about that.
Cautiously, as if reaching into a den of dangerous creatures not knowing whether they’re home or not, Harris reached his hand into the car and touched the control panel. ‘I’ll program coordinates for the inn, and meet you there, ok? Easier to take luggage direct through transport than haul it into that thing.” Jason nodded consent watching the location program appear on the control screen.
===--------pov DaraJeen reunion with Harris------===
The Aissis Oasis Inn, Jai-Ten, Earth date March 20, Alliance Year 167, 
The alarm announced someone coming through the transport without identification. Heart racing, DaraJeen rushed from the kitchen to see who it was before she could stop herself, before she consciously realized what the sound was. Part of her --the part which took action without considering consequences-- always hoped it was Harris. Impossible, she reminded herself every time. She cursed herself for still feeling this way, and fervently hoped her desires would never turn to reality: better for everyone if he never returned to her.
Remembering who he really was and who she really was now turned her hopes to fears for him. She tried not to notice which Ships were tethered at the port or which were expected. The past two times the Marrion Jay had tethered, he hadn’t visited her. [write a timeline of where the Marrion Jay ahs been and why] She hadn’t heard any mention of him for several years. ***[is this realistic in current version?] Apparently her heart still took no news as good news and didn’t listen to reason. In the midst of these mixed emotions she arrived in the hallway just as Harris emerged grinning from the transport.
She stared at him in shocked horror. “Harris! No! You shouldn’t be here, honey.”
He replied without speaking, gathering her up into his arms and kissing her. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and melted into him forgetting everything except how much she loved him and how happy she was to be with him, whatever the risk, whatever the reason, whatever the consequences. The feeling was obviously mutual. He finally stopped kissing her and set her down, but didn’t entirely let go. “DaraJeen. I missed you so much. Didn’t realize how much until I saw you.” He kissed her again, too overcome to say anything more.
Finally, he let go slowly. “Sorry to surprise you, sweetheart. My brother needs your help. He’s from Earth. Dr Jason Scott-Harris. He’s an anthropologist.” Harris picked up Jason’s luggage.
“Take his things upstairs” She told him, Automatically, as if this were just any other guest checking in.
As Harris headed for the front stairs her eyes followed him, longingly. “Harris?”
He turned back.
“How long will you stay?” she asked, her voice soft and wistful. [internal talk form DaraJeen here would be good, questioning her motives, and if she is being just controlled by Thearon or driven by love. She’s torn between wanting to avoid him because she loves him and wanting to protect him, VS the contolling influence of Thearon, and her love for him and desire to be with him]
He abandoned Jason’s luggage by the foot of the stairs, rushed back and kissed her again, longer, and more passionately than before. With his eyes clouded and his voice more wistful than hers, he asked. “DaraJeen, will you marry me and have my children?”
“No Harris. I can’t. You know I can’t. Please stop asking.”
“I can’t. You know I have to ask.”
“You come to me seeking escape. I cannot give you what you really need.”
He held her a moment, indulging in that escape she offered, though it wasn’t why he came, this time, at least at first it wasn’t. Maybe now it was.
He let her go, headed for the stairs. “I don’t know how long. Guess I’m here to prove Sen’tran right about how childish and irresponsible I am.”
“Again?”
“Didn’t start that way. Jason is waiting permission to go to D’zeron. He doesn’t like being alone in Jai-ten, so I came to port with him. Sen’tran got on my case about it, so guess I’ll have to go get drunk now, just for Sen’tran.”
“He’s right you know.”
“Of course he’s right, he’s Sen’tran. Of course I know.” He disappeared up the stairs with Jason’s luggage. Sylvia wolf whistled metallically as she floated up the stairs behind Harris.
“Nice to see you again too Sylvia” DaraJeen called up to her cheerfully, returning to the task she had abandoned in the kitchen, humming a happy tune.
===---------arriving at the inn pov jason---------===
ch 15 arriving at the inn pov Jason
When Jason arrived his luggage was waiting in an upstairs room with a bay window looking out over the city and, DaraJeen assured him, “a perfect view of Aissis rising in the evening sky.” DaraJeen welcomed him as family, apparently accepting unquestioningly Harris’s claim to be his brother even though they obviously looked and sounded nothing alike and she had apparently known Harris well for many years. A solidly built middle-age Terran woman, with long hair more grey than brown braided and pinned up on the top of her head in a neat and practical twist, she had a warm dimpled smile and an uncanny ability to reply perfectly to everyone she met in their own language and dialect and know what they wanted before they said anything. She was a perfect hostess. It was easy to see why Harris liked her. It was not as easy to figure out what sort of relationship she had with Harris.
The Inn was a small pleasant place near the edge of the city, close enough to the ocean that Jason could see it, just barely, from his upstairs window. It was the sort of place that would have called a bed and breakfast if it had been in America, There was a well-kept flower garden in the back, with fruit trees and herbs and vegetables. A neat little building at the bottom of the garden was painted to match the house. Jason later discovered it was a barn.
Pale blue with white trim, in the front a huge vine-covered porch with a sign above it which said “Aissis Oasis.” The house resembled a Victorian style house though in reality it had probably been built less than fifty years ago, at the earliest.,***rewrite this para, it’s confusing.
“Interesting name” said Jason
“It’s a horrible name,” said DaraJeen very sincerely.
“No I like it” Jason insisted
She laughed. “You would, yes. I didn’t name it. I’m sure I would have called it something less interesting, and more comfortable. The name refers to another place, a brothel planet called Moonlight Oasis. This Inn was a brothel before my mother inherited it. We never changed the name. Names are funny that way. Sometimes they say more about where we came from than who we are, but who we are changes the meaning of the name. I haven’t changed the name because we have a very good reputation in this part of the Galaxy. The planet the name refers to is so remote that few here get the reference. I don’t normally mention it, but you’re family, right?
“The dinning room’s right here, no specified mealtimes, just let me know if you want something.” Her eyes met Harris’s. He grinned. She slapped him playfully. “stop that”
“Most Terrans prefer the second floor with it’s bay windows and high ceilings, but Paragangians like the basement for it’s darkness and,” DaraJeen explained, “They can transport directly from the port Depot without ever seeing daylight.”
Harris, however, was apparently staying on the ground floor, with DaraJeen. 
===lunchtime conversation mar 2011===
lunch and legends
“I bet you’d enjoy some real food, Dr. Scott-Harris, after traveling all the way from Earth on a Ship Community. Harris doesn’t like Terran food. You know Paragangians and their denial of death.” She winked at Jason, who glanced at Harris quizzically. Harris sat quietly gazing at her as if in a trance
Jason accepted her offer with gratitude. She knew Harris didn’t like daylight and Jason was uncomfortable being in the city, so she invited them to sit with her in the kitchen. ***show not tell
“What brings you to Jai-ten? Harris says you’re an Anthropologist?”
“I’m a retro-technologist, and I study dreams. I’ve come to visit D’zeron. I have a brother there.”
“A brother in D’zeron?”
“My father, Jonathan Landon, went there forty years ago. His son is there.”
“Jonathan Landon?” She interrupted, giving Harris a quick, questioning glance. “And Alexandreil Teppin?”
Jason grinned “You’ve heard of them.”
“Heard of them?” She laughed nervously “Who hasn’t? They caused Paragangia to be banned from Terran 8 for thirty years. It was one of the most significant events in the history of Jai-Ten.”
“Alexandreil asked me to negotiate with D’zeron for his people, to reestablish open communication. Jonathan is too sick to travel.”
“I’m surprised he’s still alive. He was exiled from Paragangia twenty years ago. How can he still be alive?”
“Twenty-two years ago” corrected Harris
Jason shrugged, confused. “I know more of D’zeron culture than anyone on Earth other than my father. He taught me the language and everything.”
“So Alexandreil’s finally decided to right his wrongs, has he? That sounds like a recipe for disaster. Is he traveling with you?”
“Not this time.”
“Wise of him not to come personally. Uncharacteristically wise.” She seemed suspicious.
“He can’t leave HomeStaion. Rhonda [??????? ***give her a last name different than his, because Jason does not know they are married.] is here to represent him.”
“What?” She seems sincerely terrified. Or was it just my imagination? ***[and flow of dialogue] “Alexandreil is with Thaeron now?” she whispered. “I had no idea.” ***[sort out all these relationships]
“I’m sorry.” DaraJeen shrugged apologetically, smiling nervously at Harris, then returned her attention to Jason “I’ve met Rhonda. I don’t like her. She reminds me of someone.”
Harris laughed and answered Jason’s questioning glance. “Thaeron was the mythical son of a legendary evil Paragangian exile Kaizen Roisoh. You’ll hear many stories about him in this part of the Galaxy. Thaeron’s father Kai-zen left Paragangia and went to the planet called Rhoisoh, a planet of shape shifters. The cat-people you see around Jai-ten? It’s the planet they come from. Shape shifters are very genetically unstable. They often work as prostitutes, and we try to avoid them. They try to conceive half-Paragangian children.”
“Why?” asked Jason
“Trying to improve their gene pool by adding pure Paragangian genes” Harris explained.
“That’s horrible, to conceive a child just for better genetics.” said Jason
“Not really,” said Darajeen “They just want to be able to have babies without dying, like anybody else.”
“What’s terrible is that they exist, and that they still practice dangerous genetic technologies forbidden everywhere else in the galaxy.” said Harris “Kai-zen Rhoizoh had them genetically alter him. We don’t allow those technology in Paragangia because the they cause genetic problems, such as the reproductive instability of the shape shifters, and…” he paused “…other problems.”
“He was almost immortal, with telepathic abilities to control and deceive. Supposedly, according to legend, Kai-zen Rhoisoh traveled the galaxy in disguise conceiving hundreds of children who would shared his many unusual genetically-passed talents for deception. He intended to use his army of descendants to take over the Galaxy. Supposedly, His most loyal son Thaeron could shape-shift and could also control other people’s minds, making them his slaves. So a Jai-tener comparing Rhonda to Thaeron is equivalent to a Terran saying she’s the Devil’s favorite son. I see the resemblance. What do you think?” 
Jason laughed “Me too. Fortunately she doesn’t liked me much either. I’ve only met her once. I’ll have to meet with her again tomorrow morning to make final plans for the journey to D’zeron.”
“Thaeron Rhoizo’s a myth. Out here in the far reaches of the galaxy many strange myths are taken as fact by the locals,” added Harris. “ Quite a few Rhoizoan people live in Jai-ten. They come here to get Paragangian medical help, to have babies without dying.”
“Most myth’s began in fact.” Jason suggested. “Maybe there was some misguided character thousands of years ago who traveled this part of the Galaxy trying to rule the world by reproducing himself. Maybe he really had a son named Thearon.”
“Kai-zen wasn’t a thousand years ago, he was just a little younger than Sen’tran,” said Harris “Kaizen Paragan, a son of the Paragan family but far from the line of inheritance, Never to become center, and very rebellious. They traveled together for awhile. Sen’tran left him on the Planet and refused to return until after Kai-zen died, because of what he had chosen to become. All spacers avoided the planet while Kai-Zen lived there. He renamed himself for the planet and ruled it for over 100 years, until he was murdered by his own children. There is no evidence that he ever had a son named Thaeron, or that anyone remained loyal to him after his death. He wasn’t liked, obviously even by his children.”
“Don’t believe him, Jason.” protested DaraJeen “Demons love denial, and power. Evil gains power when you claim it doesn’t exist or call it harmless history with no power.” She seemed much less cheerful after that.
Harris was uncharacteristically quiet, too, and Sylvia appeared to be pacing nervously.
Trying to revive the conversation Jason gestured to his plate. “DaraJeen’s a really good cook, Harris. You should try this chicken.”
“Organically gown, Free-range chicken,” added DaraJeen.
“I don’t eat dead things.”
“Why don’t Paragangians eat real food?” asked Jason
“Why kill things to eat them when we can make food without killing anything?”
“Because real food tastes better.” insisted Jason
“Not to me”
“How do you know? Have you even tried it?”
“No and I’m never going to.” Harris insisted.
“Everything has to die sometime. Without death, there would be no life.”
Harris didn’t reply.
Jason contemplated silently, looking over at DaraJeen. She still seemed troubled. “DaraJeen, I think I see what you were saying about denying death.”
“Hey Jason,” Harris spoke up, “What do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon? You’ve got a few hours to kill before Aissis rises.”
“You are a dreamer?” DaraJeen asked nervously “You travel to the other world, like in D’zeron? The world of monsters?”
Monsters like Thaeron Rhoizoh? Jason shrugged “I Hope so. I dream, but I haven’t been to the other world yet. There is no dream plane on Earth, not like the one on Terran 8. Jonathan didn’t tell me to worry about monsters when he was teaching me to dream. You think I should worry, DaraJeen?”
“From Jonathan Landon you learned to dream?” She seemed horrified,
Jason smiled. Jonathan is a mythical monster here, like Thereon Rhoisoh. “Why does Jonathan have such a bad reputation?” 
Exasperated, Harris explained “Jason, he got us banned for thirty years, by taking disallowed technologies to Kaar-taal, [is that what happened?] and then he was exiled from Paragangia for his involvement in the assassination of Desmond Harris. He confessed it, but refused to say who else was involved.”
Jason’s eyes widened “Exiled for killing Desmond Harris? He loved Desmond. Jonathan could never have killed Desmond. He even gave me Desmond’s name.”
“Guilt, perhaps?” Harris shrugged “Jonathan confessed publicly, on the link. I heard him myself. We all did. It’s public record. I could replay it for you, if you were linked. Alexandreil –his closest friend-- declared the banishment, and Sen’tran removed his implant. Before that, Jonathan was like a son to Sen’tran, like a brother to me. He is a traitor to our people. You can’t expect us to love him as you do.”
Jason stared at Harris, startled “What do you mean removed his implant? Jonathan isn’t Paragangian.”
Harris stared back, confused. How could Jason not know this? What else did Jason not know? 
Jason do you understand what it means to be exiled from Paragangia? 
Jason shook his head, confused.
“Lesser offenders are merely exiled to a planet of their choice somewhere and locked out of the Community Mind. When a Paragangian commits a serious crime --like murder--he is permanently exiled. It’s a death sentence. His memory implants are removed, and sometimes part of his other memories as well. So maybe Jonathan didn’t really lie to you, Jason. Maybe Sen’tran removed all his memories of Paragangia.” Harris paused how much did Sen’tran remove from Jonathan’s memory?“He’s no longer able to receive Paragangian medical care. Most exiles don’t survive long after exile. Jonathan proved to be pretty strong. He’s still alive after almost 22 years. Perhaps because he wasn’t born Paragangian. HE didn’t receive an implant until he was 8 years old.” 
“Jonathan isn’t Paragangian.”
“No, not anymore.”
“He never was. He doesn’t have black skin.”
“Neither do you.”
“And I’m not at all Paragangian?” Jason shook his head in complete confusion and dropped the subject. Harris wasn’t making sense, and suddenly Jason really didn’t want to understand his father’s bad reputation. It was obviously some sort of misunderstanding. Jonathan Landon, his father and mentor, seemed to have no connection to this mythical Paragangian troublemaker they called Jonathan Landon.
“As I was saying, DaraJeen, I practiced dreaming on Earth, but it’s different here. There’s more of a dream field here.”
“What is a dream field?”
“It’s the capacity of a planet to allow people on the planet to dream together. On Terran 8 the dream field makes it possible for dream worlds to continue to exist when people are not dreaming together in it. It makes that dream world with monsters possible we call that one the dream plane. Jonathan showed me D’zeron in shared dreams on earth. Earth has enough of a dream field that we can share dreams but the dream plane created by our dreaming exists only while we are dreaming in it. Dream fields cannot cross space, they see to be connected to the material of the planet. So we couldn’t actually travel to Terran 8 in dreams, but we could revisit his memories of places and people here. Alone in dreams I can travel to places I have been either in waking or in dream, or places as I imagine them. If I dream with someone else –like Jonathan-- he can take me to a places he’s been where I’ve never been, or a place he imagines which I would never think of.”
“Like sharing memories through the link,” suggested Harris.
Jason shrugged. “Probably. I wouldn’t know.”
DaraJeen winked at Jason “I don’t know either, Hon.”
“The only way I could reach D’zeron in dreams tonight would be if I found someone here who has traveled there. Not likely. Very few people have traveled to Kaar-Taal.”
“My friend George” said DaraJeen. [this will mess with my story line, but she would certainly say this now]
“You know someone who has been to D’zeron?”
“No, honey, Just to Kaar-Taal. No one has been to D’zeron since the ban. You will be the first.” She looked at Harris as she said it.
“Why did George go to Kaar-Taal?”
“They have a message transmission device at D’zeron, they contact the port Authority every Thursday.[set a consistent day for sure. She knows this because she talks to George]. It wasn’t working properly so they agreed that George could bring what they needed to repair it. They came down to the beach to meet him.”
“See?” said Harris “You wouldn’t get that kind of information from the port hotel.”
“You’re right Harris, Thank you for bringing me here.” said Jason
“Ah, they would certainly also have sent you to see George.” said DaraJeen “Not everyone knows he’s been to Kaar-Taal, but his Museum of Retro-technology is where everyone goes to learn about D’zeron. I’ll send you over there tomorrow morning, okay?”
----[ build a new transition to this]
“In D’zeron, Dream keepers enter the dream plane –that dream world you were talking about, DaraJeen-- through a portal. After passing through the portal they travel around in the Dream Plane basically like the waking world, only without the same physical limitations. There are creatures who live there all the time and have no waking bodies. Dragons dream too, and share the same dream plane as D’zeron, but they have their own portal.” he smiled at her “I guess you would consider them monsters.”
“Dragons? Who wouldn’t!”
“Terran 8 has the strongest known dream field in the galaxy. Several other planets, including Earth and HomeWorld have a slight dream field which allows people to share dreams, but only Terran 8 has portals to a dream plane which exists continuously and can be accessed by one person sleeping alone. On earth we can only share dreams with a person we are in skin to skin contact with. Here people on different parts of the planet can interact in dreams. surface of the planet seems to transmit the dream here as our bodies do on earth. The dreaming skills I learned from Jonathan do not involve portals.”
Harris seemed intrigued “Jonathan brought you to a Dream Plane on Earth without portals/” Why did Sen’tran let Jonathan keep his dreaming abilities? Normally this ability was blocked in criminal exiles. Was it because they wanted Jason to have this skill?
Did they instead remove his memories of Paragangia?why? ****[did he do that? if so, does the reader need to know this at this point? the reader does not know that Paragangians dream? how much exactly does Harris know? How much is in the official story?]
“It’s not a Dream Plane like D’zeron, but we share dreams, and this creates a Dream Plane which exists only for us. When a person has conscious control of a private dream, we call it lucid dreaming. Anyone can learn to do this.”
“Right” nodded Harris, grinning.
His tone revealed too much. Jason stared at Harris in surprise, and then thoughtfully. “So, you’re a lucid dreamer, Aren’t you Harris?”
Even some Terrans could do this. For a person with Harris’s interests, caliming not to be able to do it might seem more questionable than owning the skill. “Yeah, I’ve done it.” He hoped he hadn’t said too much.
Jason’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Few people on Earth learn it. Is it common among Paragangians?” He didn’t remember seeing any mention of Paragangians in dreaming literature. Odd, now that he thought of it. His thoughts raced. I could have dreamed with Harris if I had known. I could have learned so much from him. But there probably isn’t enough of a dream field on the Marrion Jay. But here, we could dream. He thought of Matthias, and felt like a traitor for considering dreaming with Harris. 
Harris shrugged defensively, I should not have admitted to this ability. He struggled to reply honestly without revealing any more. “I don’t know. I’m known for being childish. Just ‘cause I play with my dreams don’t mean anyone else does it.” Jason was staring at him silently; perhaps suspicious, perhaps surprised, probably just plotting joint adventures. When he knows so much it’s hard not sharing stuff we don’t tell aliens, but I don’t know how much he knows. 
But this was Terran 8 and Harris was…well…like a brother. Almost family, right? Jason grinned at Harris “Maybe you can dream with me, Harris. Shared dreaming should be easy here.”
Jason turned back to DaraJeen “Some lucid dreamers can combine their dreams and create shared dreams together. Jonathan taught me about D’zeron mostly in shared dreams.” Jason smiled, remembering.
Harris watched silently as the emotions crossed Jason’s countenance. He loves Jonathan. He doesn’t want the truth.
“Only a few people can do it. It’s a genetic trait. In D’zeron they breed people for the ability to dream, as horrible as that sounds.
“How is that horrible?” asked Harris.
“Choosing to have a child just for genetic skills, not because you love the child, or the other parent. Doesn’t it seem heartless? Like those Rhoisoan prostitutes you were talking about.”
“Heartless” Harris and DaraJeen looked at eachother and laughed. “Sure, Jason.”
Jason wasn’t sure why this was funny, so he continued his explanation. “The Dream Plane of D’zeron exists separately from people’s dreams, as if it is the dream of the planet itself. It is connected to --or separated from-- the waking world by the portals. When I dream with Jonathan, we have to be physically touching. The portal is like that point of contact with the planet.”
“Sharing a dream with the planet sounds interesting.” agreed Harris.
“Would you like to try it Harris?” Jason grinned hopefully. “You could go to D’zeron with me. Jonathan never learned to reach the portal from Jai-ten. Since Aissis never shines on the two continents at the same time, he thought it might be impossible.”
“I don’t know. D’zeron seems dangerous.”
DaraJeen, still spooked by thoughts of Dream Plane monsters, seemed relieved that Harris didn’t want to go.
“But if you don’t go to D’zeron, there’s another dream place we can access on Terran 8, even on Jai-ten. Jonathan calls it the Dream Wind. It’s a way access the Dream Plane indirectly without going through the portal. You have to be introduced to it by someone who’s been there. Once introduced you can travel to any place on the planet where you have been, which is on the night side of the planet at the time. Dreamers on the Dream Plane cannot perceive a Dreamer in the Wind unless they are actively interacting. Just like you can’t see the wind unless it moves the trees or something.”
“There isn’t wind in space.” Harris pointed out
“If I can enter the Wind maybe I should be able to observe the Dream Plane safely without entering the portal. Jonathan showed me how, but of course I’ve never done it; I’ve only dreamed about doing it in shared dreams. I should have required the ability since I was able to share dreams with Jonathan. I’m very excited to find out what I can do here”
DaraJeen shuddered. “Now that sounds horrible.”
Harris grinned “How ‘bout you both forget about dreaming and legends and heartless mating customs and come get drunk with me?”
“Why do you want to get drunk Harris? Drinking is bad.” said Jason
DaraJeen smiled gratefully at Jason. “You tell ‘im Honey.”
“Young men need adventures,” Harris defended, suddenly very serious “You travel to other planets and look for dream places. I go to port and get drunk at night. What harm can it do? I’m Paragangian. The Community Mind will repair any damage to my body as soon as I get home. Young Spacers without wives or families often do this when our Ship Community tethers at a port. It gives us a break from the boring routine of community life, and makes us appreciate home all the more when we return.”
He winked at DaraJeen “Now, if you wanna stop me, sweetheart, You know…”
“No, Harris! Stop asking.” she interrupted as if shocked by the suggestion, but then she blushed, and put her arm around him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Jason smiled watching them. He didn’t quite understand the relationship, but they were cute together. 
“What do you do while you’re getting drunk, Harris? Talk to people? Have fights? Go dancing? Pick up women?” He listed things his young colleagues and students at KSU bragged about doing when they got drunk.
Harris hugged DaraJeen “I have no need to pick up women.”
She pulled away from him and stared down at the table, sadly. “You should Honey. Proper Paragangian women.”
“Proper Paragangian women don’t go to Spacer bars in Jai-Ten.”
Jason changed the subject. “Does the Community Mind monitor you while you’re here, like Anton?”
“Of course not. I come here to get away from the Community. It’s like a short-term exile. I tell the Marrion Jay how long I’m gonna be gone, and then set the link so that I can contact them if I want but they cannot contact me.”
“Perhaps the poisoning won’t permanently harm you, but what happens if you drink too much and pass out, or you get into a fight with another drunk and they hurt you so bad you can’t get home to be healed?”
“Sylvia will protect me.” He grinned, and the spherical robot floated back to him, waving her wing softly and chattering musically, she nodded her agreement.
Jason laughed. Sylvia didn’t look like she had any power to protect Harris, but he didn’t argue. She could at least call for help.
“Okay, then, Harris. What are you afraid of? What pain do you seek to numb with your Spacer landing ritual?” He asked
“I’m not afraid of anything,” replied the heir of the Spacer faction, very defensively.
Jason laughed “I dare you to prove it. Anton says you are afraid of Daylight and Air cars. I say you’re afraid to dream with me.”
Harris stood up grinning back “Okay then, little brother. Let’s go fly around in the sunshine in that Air car of yours until it’s time for dreaming.” If scaring me makes Jason feel better about his first day in Jai-ten, thought Harris, I don’t mind. I won’t let my fears control me.
Jason and Sylvia followed him out the door to the air car.
===----------------facing fears-----------------===
edited Sept 2012
Scene 17 Facing Fears
Harris entered the air car nervously and focused his attention on Jason. He tried not to look outside. They flew through various parts of the city. To Jason it seems familiar, yet disconcertingly strange. Remembered images from Jonathan’s forty-year-old memories added an eerie layer of confusion to his culture shock.
“She still loves me, Jason.”
“And you love her.”
“More than anything except my family and my Community. But She won’t marry me because she thinks it would hurt me somehow. She can’t go with me. She promised her family she would keep the inn going, and she can’t break her promise. I wouldn’t ask her to leave. She won’t marry me and raise our children in Jai-ten, either, cause children need two parents.”
Jason shrugged “Not always. Some children do fine with only one. My parents weren’t together when I was little. I didn’t even know my dad, but I was ok. You would visit them and send them messages, right? So they wouldhave two parents. Thy’s kow where you were, and you’d keep in touch. It’s not like you’d be dead. You’d be a great dad even if you weren’t always home. You could make little Sylvias to chase them around and keep them out of trouble, and send them a hologram of every port you visit.” 
“I know, Jason. Port marriage is not my ideal, but nobody ever really gets their ideal, right? So I keep asking, and she keeps insisting I shouldn’t ask. Sen’tran knows how important family is. There are several people on the Marrion Jay who have port families. He’s very supportive of them all even though he doesn’t approve of port families. Stops at those ports more often. He doesn’t like to come here, but we’d come here more often if I had a family here. I know hw would. If she would agree we’d be great no matter what. But DaraJeen won’t marry me.”
“Why not?”
Harris shrugged. “I don’t really know. She says she only wants what’s best for me, and she knows I think port marriages aren’t best. Tries to protect me by staying away, but she loves me too much, Jason. It’s the same for me. Says she wishes I would find someone else, but I can’t. I know she loves me. She waits for me, even though she tries not to. I can tell. Family is realy important to Rhoisoans, she’d have found someone else easily if she wanted to. Every time she sees me I can tell she’s been waiting, hoping, missing me. I’ve tried to stay away because she asked me to stay away, but I can’t. I love her too much. And she loves me. She wants to be with me.”
“So you didn’t come to Jai-Ten to be with me, you used me as an excuse to come because you wanted to be with DaraJeen.”
“No, Jason, Really. I wouldn’t have come to port without you. I was trying not to. I was trying to give her what she asked. It’s been almost three years, until today.
“I could have stayed in at the port hotel.” Jason pointed out “You could have showed me around and gone home for the night.”
“Yeah. But I knew the Aissis Oasis would be best for you. I mean, it’s called the Aissis Oasis, how right is that? Port hotels can be pretty wild sometimes. All sorts of different aliens stay there and they don’t always get along so well. It’s a stressful environment for a first time visitor. DaraJeen is the best. She takes good care of everyone.”
“Especially you, right? So you got yourself into a fighting with Sen’tran, to have an even better excuse, in case the first one wasn’t good enough.”
“No. Really. I wanted to talk with you. I’ve been trying all this time, and you kept avoiding me. I really wanted this one last chance, and Sen’tran was giving me a hard time about it. He’s 426 you know, and I’m the birthright child. The chosen heir. you think having kids just for genetics isn’t right, but if it was’t for that, most of us woudn’t be here. anyhow, I’m just here now to help you, to enjoy your company, and to get to know you better. You believe me don’t you?
“And DaraJeen was just an unfortunate side effect?”
He grinned sheepishly “Now that I’m here, I’m glad we came. It’s great to see her.”
Jason grinned back “I’m honored to have helped. Seeing you two together almost makes me want someone too.”
“Don’t you have a girlfriend back in America?”
“I’m pretty much a loner, Harris. I stay away from everyone as much as possible except for work and family. Relationships are too complicated and confusing, too much risk, too many hard choices, too much chance of losing someone you love.”
“It’s not right for a young man to be alone in a distant port. You should come get drunk with me tonight. Plenty of girls in this town would be happy to spend the night with you, take care of you while you wait to go to D’zeron.”
The paleness of his skin made his blushing more obvious. “I’m not interested in that sort of girls”
Harris looked away, kicked the side of the air car with the toe of his boot, restlessly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have suggested it. I was never interested in that either. I always wanted to find the perfect woman, to get married, and stay with her forever. I don’t like to let go.”
“Me too. When I’m ready, I’ll find someone. I’m not in any hurry.”
“Why not?”
“I’m way too young. Guys my age don’t get married.”
“I know plenty of married guys who are younger than you.”
“Not where I come from.”
“Why don’t you move then?”
Jason laughed “Harris! Why do you want me married?”
Harris shrugged “Heirs for Paragangia. Besides, It’s not good for young men to be alone. In Paragangia, most guys your age are married”
Jason shrugged. “They marry young on HomeWorld, too. I’m not Paragangian. I’m American. I’m not Mormon either. But I do like their ideas about marriage. Marriage is forever, not something we rush into without thinking, and try again if the first one isn’t what we hoped. I don’t want to be with anyone until I’m ready to be with someone forever.
“Yeah.” agreed Harris, regretfully “If I wasn’t in such a hurry ten years ago, when the ban was lifted maybe I wouldn’t still be waiting for someone who won’t marry me.”
*****add here conversation in which they talk about fairy tail love where the prince has to kiss the girl and wake her up, such as sleeping beauty. This must cross reference to ch. 30 Harris arriving in Kaar-taal trying to wake Jason***and perhaps to Jason kissing Serai after he wakes in D’zeron, or to Serai wanting to make love to him unconscious 
 
“When I was a little boy I dreamed I was in D’zeron and I met a little girl who had butterfly wings like a fairy. I’d never even heard of D’zeron, but it was a nice dream, and I remembered vividly. The first time Jonathan showed me D’zeron I knew it. That was where I saw the butterfly girl. Anyhow, I guess it’s sort of silly, but I still dream about her. She grew up as I grew up. She doesn’t always have wings now, but sometimes the butterflies flock around her. I think she symbolizes my eternal companion. Butterfly girl will always be there for me, until I’m ready, until I find the right woman in the waking world.”
“Oh, I see.” Harris grinned “You don’t want me to find you a girlfriend in Jai-Ten because you’re waiting to find one in D’zeron, just like Jonathan.”
“No, Harris” Jason insisted “it’s nothing like that. There isn’t really a butterfly girl in D’zeron. It’s just a dream. Dreams aren’t real, they’re symbols for what we want and what we fear. She’s a symbol for what I’m waiting for. When I’ve really been to D’zeron it’ll be just another real place, not a dream place. Then I’ll have to find something else to symbolize eternal companionship.” Jason brooded slightly, realizing this. He had treasured the dream of the butterfly Girl in D’zeron He didn’t want to lose her.
“I’d like to see D’zeron.” said Harris “I’d like to see how they dream there. But I agree with DaraJeen, the dream plane sounds dangerous. I’m sure you don’t realize how much you don’t know about it. You should be careful.”
“If we could dream together I could show you D’zeron, the way Jonathan showed it to me. I could introduce you to the Wind.”
“Maybe after you talk them into allowing air ships I’ll come visit you in D’zeron.” Harris glanced forward and his eyes widened, and grayed. “Jason! What are you doing? Stop! Those are trees! Don’t fly into the trees!”
“Why not? I love trees. It’s fun. I like to fly between them. Like this see? Air cars are impossible to crash so the trees spin you around a bit if you get too close…like a ride in an amusement park… but if you stay exactly between them like this you can go pretty fast without getting spun. And it looks even faster cause the branches going past. I don’t know, maybe it’s kind of like being a bat or something. You wanna try it?”
“Stop!” Harris screamed, wrapping his arms around his face and huddling down into the seat like a terrified child. Jason laughed, and sent the air car diving down through branches, weaving past tree trunks, brushing against leaves.
Sylvia let out an ear-shattering screech, and dove towards Jason, screaming in a weird, rapid, metallic voice “Jason Scott-Harris take this air car out of this forest right now or I’ll disable you and take over the controls!”
Jason finally realized Harris wasn’t joking. Seconds later they were hovering high in the clouds, far above the forest. Jason shaded the windows, so the cabin of the air car was dark and comforting, the sky invisible around them. Sylvia retreated, but Harris was obviously still upset. His eyes had cleared slightly, but not quite to their usual dark brown. “Are you Okay?” Jason hugged him. “I’m so sorry Harris. I thought you were joking. I didn’t understand at first. You were really scared.”
Harris grabbed Sylvia and wrapped her in his arms like a little kid holding a teddy-bear. He looked down and didn’t say anything.
“Harris?”
Jason kneeled on the seat to make himself tall enough to put his arm around Harris’s shoulders, like Jonathan would have done when Jason was little and scared.
Jason transforms the interior of the air car to look like the view of open space from the Marrion Jay. He transforms the outside to look like the Marrion Jay also. “Are you okay Harris? I wasn’t trying to scare you. I flew through trees lots of times at home, just for fun, when I was a kid. It’s like swimming in trees. I saw those trees --it’s been so long since I’ve seen trees, Harris-- I thought I would feel better, to be in the trees. I’m scared too Harris, but not of trees. They seemed familiar and comforting. I didn’t think it would scare you that much. I’m sorry. You know Antigrav cars can’t crash, they just bounces off everything. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Your reaction was so extreme I thought you were joking around, pretending to be scared.”
Harris finally raised his eyes, looking ashamed “I’m sorry, Jason. Trees really scare me.”
Jason grinned and sat back on his heals, relieved. “You’re okay now? I was worried. I wasn’t trying to scare you.”
“I didn’t mean to worry you either. I’m sorry”
“Stop apologizing. It was my fault. I’m sorry”
Harris laughed “No way. I’m more sorry than you are. Shall we fight over it? Let’s both stop apologizing, okay? Just a misunderstanding between two aliens.”
“Why are you afraid of trees, Harris?”
“Because they’re alive, and they have animals in them.”
“Animals? You’re afraid of animals?”
“They’re alive.”
“Life scares you?”
“No, death scares me. Paragangians don’t die the way other creatures die. Our bodies don’t age. If we get hurt, we get repaired right away. We die when we’re supposed to die, not when something goes wrong with our bodies.”
‘I’m alive, and I’m not Paragangian. I’m going to die sometime, Harris. Do I scare you?”
For only an instant Harris’s eyes clouded slightly. “Yes. But I’ve learned not to think about it. But when you start diving your air car through trees I think about it.”
“Death is the one thing we don’t choose for ourselves in America. It chooses us, we fight it as long as we can, but we accept it when it becomes inevitable.”
“That’s why we don’t share life extension technology with you. You would use it irresponsibly.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you. But you know you can learn not to be afraid. I’ll help you learn not to be afraid. If you get used to the trees, you won’t think about it anymore, and then they won’t scare you anymore.
“There are no trees on the Marrion Jay, no oceans and no daylight.”
“Hey, come on. There’s more to life than the Marrion Jay, Harris.” Jason grinned “There’s trees in D’zeron. Young men need adventure, remember? You came here to get away, to take a break from Community life. I bet you’ve gotten drunk plenty of times, but flying an air car through a forest is a realadventure. What fun is an adventure without a little danger? Besides, Sylvia will always keep you safe, won’t she?” 
“What about you?”
“ You can tell her to keep me safe too.”
Sylvia chirped enthusiastic agreement. She flew several dizzying circles around Jason’s head.
“Really? But you don’t like technology.”
“And you don’t like trees and air cars and daylight. You’re doing this with me, so I’ll let Sylvia protect me too. Fair enough?”
Jason held out his hand. Harris grinned and shook hands enthusiastically “fair enough. If I know you’re safe, I’m not afraid.”
Sylvia Chirped in agreement.
Jason flew around the trees for a time, slowly, and then Harris flew the air car. They got spun a few times when Harris drove too close to the trees. They got dizzy, and laughed a lot. For all Harris’s Navigation skill and pattern sensitivity, his fear rendered him less able to navigate through the trees than Jason. Then they flew too close and purpose and got spun and dizzy just for fun, and Laughed even more. Then Jason convinced Harris to hover at the edge of the forest so Jason could go out and practiced climbing trees. It was wonderful to have real trees. If he didn’t get to go to D’zeron right away at least he could climb while he waited.
Sylvia followed Jason closely, transmitting Jason’s voice and image back to Harris in the air car so they could talk while he climbed. She really is a communication robot after all. Jason offered to teach Harris to climb. Harris refused. Jason climbed carefully, taking only short jumps between trees, using only larger, healthier branches he was sure he could trust. The bark scraped his skin, being rougher than the walls and beams of the Marrion Jay, and, for Harris’s sake, he let Sylvia heal and clean the scratches, even though he would have preferred to keep them. I had no idea she was able to heal, or to talk. Maybe she really can keep Harris safe while he’s out drinking.
===--------sunset on the beach--------===
Sunset on the beach
Jason landed the air car on a sandy beach facing the ocean. He lowered the canopy to let in fading daylight, the cool salt breeze and a breathtaking view of the ocean and the sky. The sun was sinking slowly beneath the cliff behind them. Harris Jenzar looked uncomfortably out at the water and the sky. He wanted to squeeze his eyes tight shut and block it out, but instead he looked at Jason who sat transfixed by the sublime wonder of what he saw before him, eyes shining with awe, oblivious to his friend’s terror.
“You knew I was only joking when I said I wasn’t afraid of anything, right Jason?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t realize how afraid you really were. I’ve been rather insensitive, all in all. Now you see why I don’t have friends; I’m no good at it. Jai-ten has me a bit culture-shocked. We shouldn’t be afraid to be afraid, Harris. Or be afraid to show our fear. I’m afraid of just about everything unfamiliar, but I’m not afraid of my fear.”
“This place is terrifying. This tiny random ball of matter with only a thin layer of atmosphere between us and that destroying mass of radiation ready to recycle anything that gets close enough.” Harris gestured behind them towards where the sun had disappeared behind the hill. 
Jason turned to face him, smiling gently, and Harris took some comfort in his attention. It’s not as bad when I know I’m not alone, and he’s not afraid. “Its radiation assaults my skin and my eyes. Even when it’s hidden behind that hill I know it’s not gone; I’m just in a shadow, hiding behind a rock.”
He stretched his arms out in front of him and ran his fingertips across the back of his hand. “This dark pigment passed down to me by my ancestors protects my skin from the sun. It was given to the Prophet Paragan from whom all Paragan Centers descended, to protect us from the harsh sunlight of the planet Paragangia, which is now shattered. He shared it with all his people, even Spacers, like the Jenzar clan, who chose to never live on the planet Paragan, but to remain in the Ship Communities of their ancestors.”
“Who gave it to Paragan?”
Harris shrugged. “It doesn’t matter who. Sun can’t burn me. My skin is protected by the darkness of Paragan. I know this, but I fear my fear. What scares me most is the power fear has over me. I know how to erase memories, or file them away where they only come out when I look for them. Most Paragangians learn those skills before they even get a memory implant. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have complete control over my memories. But fears are not memories. Fears cannot be filed away where they won’t bother me. Knowing I’m safe doesn’t stop me from imagining falling into that star and burning up, being utterly destroyed, reduced from matter into pure energy like a dead man in the recycling chamber.”
Paragangian waste disposal worked like a transporter only without reassembling the matter it took apart. People died and their bodies were recycled like everything else. The material generators took atomized matter from the recyclers and made something –anything-- almost from nothing. It was magic and miracles but Jason, as a retro-technologist, found it very disturbing. Transporting was painless, but Jason found it disconcerting. [this exposition might have been covered earlier in this version, and could be reduced here] Trying to empathize with Harris, he imagined the pain of burning combined with the terror of being disintegrated and never being made whole again. He shivered. “Sounds horrible.” [ when he meets Quetzal he will be reminded of this]
“Spacers don’t belong this close to stars.” Harris continued “we have the darkness which shows our alligence to Paragan, but we still belong in open space. Stars have great power and danger. We take their power, but keep our distance except occasionally when we must be tethered to a planet to serve others. Then we stay inside so we don’t have see it. When we come to the planet, we sleep through the daytime so we don’t have to see it.”
“Anton wanted to see it.”
Harris nodded “My cousin will become a great negotiator. He welcomes every challenge, Alien or Paragangian. I don’t belong in the daylight. I was born a Spacer.”
“So was Anton.”
“He’ll be free to leave when he’s old enough, and he will. It’s not the same for me. Sen’tran Jenzar is legendary.”
“Like Jonathan and Thaeron Rhoisoh?”
“No. I mean everyone in Paragangia knows and loves him. He was old when we were young. He was Patriarch of Spacers before we were even born. The oldest other person in the Empire is more then 200 years younger than Sen’tran. My dad lives like a recluse on the Marrion Jay in the most remote areas of the Empire or the Alliance, but everyone still knows him and respects him as the patriarch of our people. I am the son of a legend, Jason. The crown prince of the Marrion Jay and the Spacer faction, and a few other things I shouldn’t mention. When Sen’tran dies I’ll have to take his place. But sometimes I want to live my own life. Sometimes I don’t want to just spend my life waiting to inherit a second-hand legend.”
“I never saw you as a legend. Maybe that’s why you like me. I let you be just you. But that doesn’t even help, does it? As long as you still see the legend, you still live the legend. It’s part of who you are.”
“Not the part I care about.”
“What do you care about Harris?
I care about you, Jason. And not just because you are a legend. Clearly that was not the right answer. “When I get scared, I get focused on what I want to avoid, and forget to notice what I am seeking. Thanks for reminding me. I care about people, Jason. Real people with feelings and families and dreams. Like you, and DaraJeen, and Anton. Not just roles they play, or expectations placed on them.”
“Feelings and families and dreams” Jason spoke dreamily, watching small waves as they broke on the coarse sand, following their rhythm slightly as he moved and spoke as if he were peacefully part of them. “That’s what I have. Can’t even imagine what it would be like to have destiny and identity set before you were born. I was born just a kid. Nobody. Blank slate. I chose my own destiny.” 
That’s what you say, thought Harris, who are you really? 
“My mother is known throughout the galaxy as an artist, but I am not an heir to that.”
“What about Jonathan? Are you not heir to the American Master of Dream Science and Retro-technology?”
Jason laughed quietly “I suppose I am. I like to think I am. In the field I am, but it’s a small field.”
“The dream field” Harris added
“Most people have never heard of Jonathan Landon…”
Not so in Paragangia, or on Terran 8, thought Harris 
“… and I freely chose to become his heir; it wasn’t thrust upon me by birth. I can walk away any time I want to. Nobody is counting on me. It’s not like that for you, is it Harris?”
Not for you either, little brother. Harris nodded. “True. I’m not an American.” 
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Jason.
“You have American freedom. Freedom is different in Paragangia. I am free to stay and take my place when the time comes, or free to leave and join an exile colony. Being Paragangian is a privilege which comes with responsibilities. We are not free in the way Americans are free.”
Jason frowned “Why do you stay, then?”
“Because I’m not an American. I’m a spacer. The son of Sen’tran Jenzar. I value my destiny, my family and my loyalty to the people I love more than I value freedom.”
“Then why do you let Sen’tran upset you? He’s just asking you to be what you have chosen for yourself.”
Harris glared at him.
Jason shrugged defensively, and seemed to withdraw into himself.
Harris changed the subject. “You love the water, don’t you. It makes you feel at home.” 
“The ocean is full of life.” Said Jason. 
“I know” Harris shivered “Too much life. But even apart from that I don’t like water. There’s no open water on the Marrion Jay except in Terran rooms. We drink contained water, and maintain the humidity of the air, but open water, or water on our skin, it’s horrible. When I was a little kid, I accidentally walked into a garden on HomeStation while the sprinklers were on, and the water was flying through the air. Water got all over my hair and skin and clothing. It was terrifying. I never went into the garden again after that.”
Jason laughed “In America little kids run through sprinklers just for fun in the summertime.”
“That was my most terrifying memory ever, until today.”
“But you chose to still remember it”
“Yeah. If I forget I might accidentally wander into a garden and it would happen again. It’s filed under ‘things to carefully avoid.’ ”
“I’ve always loved the ocean. It’s a separate world, like the Dream Plane. Before I learned about the Dream Plane I wanted to study the ocean.” He rose, and jumped down from the air car into the sand “Let’s go swimming.”
“No way, Jason. We flew through trees, isn’t that enough terror for one day?”
Jason kicked off his loafers and threw them up into the air car. He ran to the edge of the water, splashed through the water, then stood and let the waves break over his ankles. Harris watched ambivalently from the air car. He took joy in the joy of his friend as ocean waves splashed against Jason’s skin, still feeling his own terror at the thought of being splashed.
The tide was going out. Jason found a tiny crab stranded in a tide pool. He picked up the crab and ran up the beach with childish glee to share his discovery with Harris. “look-- isn’t he cute? Anton would like it you should take it to him. I don’t know what else lives here. There could be jellyfish or sharks or something. Swimming probably wasn’t a good idea anyhow.” Harris didn’t like the crab, but he smiled at Jason’s enthusiasm and expressed concern for the creature being removed from it’s home. Jason returned it to the pool. 
“C’mon, then. Let’s walk down the beach,” invited Jason, slinging his guitar over his shoulder. He laughed at Harris’s look of disbelief, shook his head, and took hold of Harris’s hands, drawing him out into the sand. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Just a walk on the beach.”
Harris swayed in the wind disoriented for a moment, like Jason emerging from a transporter, regaining his balance. Accustomed to the still, consistent air of the Marrion Jay, the wind chilled and confused him.
“It’s okay Harris” Jason hugged him till Harris felt steady enough to go forward. Harris followed nervously as Jason walked beside the water, holding his hand like a child. Sylvia followed faithfully behind them like a silent floating dog. Harris looked down, choosing each step carefully, trying not to step on any crabs or tide pools. He was glad he had boots on. Jason, on the other hand, danced barefoot through the damp sand at the edge of the waves.
“Reminds me of Florida. Before Jonathan.”
“Before Jonathan?”
“We lived by the beach in Florida, me and Mom. We still have a cabin there, but I haven’t visited in a long time. I guess I’ve been busy with other things; teaching, writing, dreaming…”
“Traveling to other planets?”
“Yeah, that too.” He stared out at the waves again.
“Before Jonathan?” Harris repeated.
“Before we moved to Kansas; before we lived with Jonathan. I loved the beach. I loved the ocean. I wanted to be a marine biologist and study everything living in the ocean. I wonder what lives in this ocean, Harris.” he stopped, kicking at the waves, and scanned the horizon, probably looking for sea monsters. “I never thought about it. Jonathan never showed me this ocean. It’s huge.”
Harris didn’t want to think about what might live in this ocean or how huge it was. The water itself was terrifying without hosting monsters.
“How old were you?” Harris asked “In Paragangia we stay with both parents until we are 12. Why Didn’t you live with your father? Is that the custom in America?”
Jason frowned considering. “I wouldn’t call it custom, but it’s fairly common. Many women choose to raise kids alone; some men also, but not as many. Mom traveled a lot painting murals. I wasn’t in school so it was easier to just take me along. When I was a baby she carried me in a sling on her back, and when I was old enough to read and type, I’d sit nearby and study while she painted. Before that, I used a net link.”
“A net link? Not very retro-technology for America, is it?”
Jason laughed “I was two, maybe. I hadn’t even heard of retro-technology. I wasn’t born a retro-technologist, you know”
Were you born Paragan?“So you weren’t born Jonathan’s heir, you chose it later. Where were you born?’ 
“In Florida, at the beach house.” he splashed the water, and Harris flinched away “I miss that place.”
“Why did you leave?”
“To be with Jonathan in Kansas. I met him online when I decided to study dreams. I didn’t know who he was and he didn’t know who I was. I didn’t use my real name online, of course, and I knew college professors online wouldn’t take me seriously if they knew I was only six, so I just told him the more relevant parts of the truth-- that I was almost done with high school. He probably thought I was about 17.”
A huge tree which had fallen across the beach blocked their path. Jason stopped. He let go of Harris’s hand to examine the tree, contemplating whether they should climb over, go around, or turn back. He scrambled up the huge trunk and looked around. A cool salty breeze was blowing in from the ocean. He held his arms up into the wind as if trying to give the whole beach a hug…wind water sand….It felt like home, he said, like childhood. He didn’t want to leave, but Harris was not even going to consider climbing over a tree, not even a dead one.
“Wait.” said Harris, trying to get Jason to finish telling about Jonathan. “You say met him online, but you told me before that he was your father before you were born. So didn’t you meet him when you were born?”
Jason laughed “Probably. He was there. But I don’t remember being born, Harris, so that doesn’t count. Here, let’s sit down by this log and I’ll tell you about how I met him.”
“It counts for…” for dream bonds…but Harris knew he could finish that thought. …for something, anyhow.”
Harris looked at the log suspiciously. Jason sat down, laying the guitar beside him, and motioned for Harris to sit beside him. After some deliberation, he sat. There was a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean now. The shelter of the tree and his friend warm beside him comforted him somewhat, even sitting on the sand. He forced a smile and gestured for Jason to continue his story. Sylvia stood sentry above the log behind them.
“After I was born Jonathan moved to Kansas to teach in the Department of Alien Studies at KSU. When Mom wasn’t painting murals we stayed in Florida, where my mom grew up. I was home schooled because by the time I was old enough for school I had already learned most of what they would have taught me, and I never liked crowds of people. I loved the ocean and I wanted to study it, so I did a lot of research. I got books from the library and online, and my mom and her friends got me books, and I talked to fishermen on the beach and people who worked at the museums and amusement parks near my home. One night I had a dream, and in the dream I was in the ocean, swimming with all the ocean creatures, and it was so vivid it was as if I was really there.”
“Sounds like a nightmare to me.”
“It was a lucid dream. I had conscious control over the dream. I’d never had a dream like that before. It fascinated me. I started searching for dreaming information online, and the first website I found was for the dream studies program At KSU. That’s how I met Jonathan. He taught me more about lucid dreaming, and I practiced everything he taught me, and then I would contact him again through the website and he would teach me more, and I’d practice. When I got to the point I ahd fairly complete control of my lucid dreaming he started teaching me about D’zeron, and how they dream there. When he had taught me everything he could over the internet he invited me to enroll at KSU and study with him as soon as I finished high school. Sounded great to me. I was about seven by then.” Jason laughed, “Anton’s age. I finished my online high school graduation exams really fast after that because I wanted to learn more about dreams.
Then I asked Mom to sign my enrollment application papers for the alien studies program at KSU. She thought I was joking, but I wasn’t. I showed her transcripts for my online diploma. She didn’t believe me and contacted the company. Of course my diploma wasn’t legal because I’d lied about my age, and didn’t have her permission. She gave me a big lecture about dishonesty and I had to take the tests all over with her watching. I didn’t mind, though, because I figured if she saw how smart I was and how much I wanted it she’d let me go study dreaming with Dr. Landon. [Jonathan’s education is another question. When did he study Anthropology? Did he do negotiators training before going to D’zeron? and then get his phd later, after Jason was born?]
“She agreed I was ready for college, and found all sorts of online schools, and nearby colleges in Florida, tried to interest me oceanography programs, but I was done with that. I only wanted go to study dreams. I told her I couldn’t learn any more from my mentor unless I was in Kansas, because we had to be sleeping together to do it and then she got angry, thinking he was some pervert trying to take advantage of kids online. I assured her I hadn’t told him anything personal, we only talked about the university and about dreaming. I showed her the university website, and she said ‘Even professors can be child molesters, Jason’ and she threatened to report him. Then I got worried, and I showed her his biography on the website for the dream studies program.”
“‘Jonathan Landon’ she said, very suspiciously. ‘and you say you didn’t tell him you age and he has no idea how young you are? I think I’ll just call him and see what he has to say for himself.’
“ ‘You think He’s really bad?’ ” I asked, all worried.
She just laughed. ‘Nope. I’m sure there are plenty of people who think so, but I he’s always been a good friend to me.’
“I was so excited to learn she actually knew him, and I could actually talk with him. She called without video and He answered all official, like ‘Good morning, Department of Alien studies at KSU, Professor Landon speaking, how may help you?’ and Mom said “You might be the one who needs help Professor Landon. I has come to my awareness that you’ve been using an official university website to recruiting minor children to sleep with you. I intend report this, of course, but first I would like to hear your side of the story.’
Jonathan wasn’t the least bit worried, he just laughed. ‘I study dreaming, Ma’am. It does require sleeping, but I assure you there is nothing inappropriate in my research. I have never knowingly recruited a minor child. I see how it could be misunderstood though. Where did you learn of this?’
“From my son, Dr Landon. My very young son whom you have indeed been recruiting.”
‘I’m sorry Ma’am, many people who request information don’t give their age. I might have offered information to your son, not knowing he was a minor, but I assure you there was nothing inappropriate in our conversations. What is his username?”
“OceanDreamer2009” she told him.
“OceanDreamer? He’s a minor? I’m sorry, I had no reason to ask his age, but he seemed very mature and said he was a senior in high school. I just assumed. I’m sorry, ma’am I guess I should have realized a kid that bright might be a few years ahead. I did invite him to consider the dream study program at KSU. We do sleep, of course, you can’t dream without sleeping, Ma’am. But I assure you that’s all there is to it. Dreaming, all carefully supervised by the university. I’ve never accepted a minor to the program. I’m sure the university would require written permission from his parents, if they allow it at all. And we’d keep you fully informed about what he was studying. It’s a very reputable program, perfectly safe and legal. I hope you’ll let me tell you about the program and consider it. Your son is the most promising and enthusiastic dream student I’ve even met. I apologize for this misunderstanding. I had no idea he was underage. I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a wonderful opportunity for him, if not now maybe in a year or two when he’s old enough? I can even arrange a scholarship for him, if finances are a concern.”
“Finances are not a concern, Jonathan. Age is.”
“I’m sorry ma’am, I don’t think I caught your name? How old is your son?”
‘My name is Gloria Scott’
‘Well, Ms. Scott…’ he started to continue his recruitment pitch…and then the name registered.
‘Glor?’
‘Hi, Jonathan. I never guessed we’d meet again this way.’ She turned on the video camera.
He was laughing. ‘Well, my work does sound inappropriate taken out of context. You had me worried. So, this OceanDreamer kid, he’s a friend of yours? You wanted to help him get into the program? That’s nice of you, Glor, but he sounds brilliant, we’d love to have him, however young he is, Or were you just teasing about that part? How have you been, Glor? It’s great to hear from you. How’s Jason?”
‘Jonathan! You’re not listening. I told you. You’ve been talking to my son.’
There was a long pause. ‘Jason must be only about six. Have you adopted an older boy?
I couldn’t keep quiet any longer, I said, ‘Wow mom! You do know him! and He knows my name! Dr. Landon! Hi, it’s me, Jason, OceanDreamer2009. I talked to you Monday, remember? and I finished my high school exams today, didn’t I mom? She agrees I’m ready for college, but she thinks I’m too young to go to Kansas. We’ve got an air car, but she thinks Kansas is too far to fly alone. And I’m not six, Dr Landon. I’ll be eight in April.’ and mom turned the video on.
He apologized a lot, and asked if he could come visit and talk with me in person. I was so excited. She was always trying to get me to make friends back then, so I guess she couldn’t say no. He transported to Florida a few hours later. That was the first time I saw Jonathan.”
“He left you for seven years?” asked Harris “Why? That’s the most important time for a child to have both parents.”
“I don’t know; I never asked. I never minded not having a father, I never really noticed I didn’t have one until he came. But I was so happy to have him then. That night I learned he was my father, Not to have a father, but to have Him, Jonathan Landon, as my father. They got married a week later. He spent every weekend with us until his semester ended, and we talked on video every night. He stayed with us in Florida through the summer, and in the fall we all moved to Kansas. That summer in Florida was the best time of my life.” He smiled up at his new friend “Until now, anyhow.”
“Jonathan isn’t your father.”
“Sure he is. He’s on my birth certificate. He adopted me before I was born, and he raised me. My biological father died before I was born. Jonathan was always my father.”
“You’re not his genetic offspring and he also wasn’t there for you during the most important part of your childhood. Is that what fathers are in America? A Spacer father would never choose leave his son for the whole first half of his childhood.”
Jason shrugged “Single parenting and adoption are common in America. I don’t see any harm. I didn’t miss him because I didn’t know he existed.”
“What about you biological father? It Desmond Harris, Right? You were born right after he died and they gave you his name. Don’t you want to know who you really are? You might be a prince.”
Jason laughed “Harris! This is my life, not a fairy tale. Desmond wasn’t a King”
“Like the story of King Arthur, is that a fairytale?”
“That’s more of a legend, I guess. Based on a true story, with a lot of magic added”
“A legend like Sen’tran Jenzar, or a myth like Thaeron Rhoizoh?’
“I’m not a prince Harris. Jonathan is my father. If I were a prince, my mother would have told me.”
“She probably thought you would be safer not knowing. Maybe if people knew who you were they would try to kill you to stop you from taking your place.” 
Jason laughed uncontrollably. “I think you just said Mom didn’t tell me I’m a prince because she thought I would try to kill myself? I agree it would be horrible to learn I was a prince but, probably not worth dying for. Forget it Harris. I’m not your prince. So if the only reason you wanted to be my friend was to get in good with the next king, you might as well go home.”
He grinned up at Harris, who was horrified at the accusation and apologized profusely. Why do I hope he’s Paragan? He doesn’t want it. It won’t be good for him. They were right not to tell him. I wish I didn’t have to be a legend, yet I’m asking Jason to be a legend for me. I convince myself he’s a legend. I should stop. Even if it’s true, it’s not fair to force it on him.
*[Jason pov]
Jason stared thoughtfully at the darkening ocean. It seemed so peaceful. “Why do you want me to be a prince? So you won’t be alone with your inescapable destiny?”
He turned to Harris. Harris was looking nervously out at the dark, terrifying expanse of water before him “Something like that, yeah.”
“I don’t have to be a legend to be your friend, do I?”
Harris grinned. “No, Jedi Jason, you don’t have to be a legend.”
“That’s good. I really don’t want to be a legend, or a prince.”
Harris rose awkwardly from the sand. “It’s getting dark. Aissis will rise soon. Time for you to dream.” He held his hands down to Jason to help him up, and they walked quickly back to the air car. “Parents are important. When I was little, Sen’tran was always there for me. Mom was there too, but mostly Sen’tran, holding me as I slept, teaching me to be everything he was, everything I would become, comforting my fears, explaining everything, taking joy in my creations, healing all my hurts. I was safe with him. Now I’m the best navigator in the galaxy, better than him, and I’m a negotiator also, respected in my community and all over the galaxy by everyone else but him. I’ve excelled in every thing I do, but it’s never enough. Sen’tran no longer comforts me, or takes joy in my creations. He keeps pushing me forward, but there’s no place left for me to go. It’s like he’s asking me to jump off a cliff.” 
Jason nodded “That reminds me of a Bible story. Have you ever read the Bible Harris?
Harris shook his head “I’ve never read anything. I can’t read”
“Can’t read!?” Jason seemed shocked.
“Paragangian Spacer? my people have no written language? I can’t read.”
“Paragangia has no written language? I didn’t know…” Jason shook his head in confusion and went back to his Bible story.
‘What would we use written language for? We have the Community Mind.”
Jason thought…history? record keeping? notes to friends? what could written language do that the community mind couldn’t do? “Scriptures?”
“What’s that? Like the book of Mormon? Desmond was a Mormon. He told me about the book of Mormon once.”
“Exactly. The Bible is a book a scripture, like the book of Mormon.”
“So what’s the story you were reminded of?”
well, there was a prophet named Abraham. Abraham followed his God –his father in Heaven--- with perfect love. Abraham’s son, Isaac, loved his father and trusted him, and followed him with perfect love, as Abraham followed God, until one day God told Abraham to take Isaac into the wilderness and offer him up as a sacrifice.”
“What’s a sacrifice?”
“A ceremony practiced in the time of Abraham. They were shepherds, which means they raised sheep.”
‘sheep? those are some sort of Animals used to grow fiver to make clothes out of, right?”
“yes. right Harris. they grew Sheep for wool and they also ate the meat and the milk.”
Harris made and expression of disgust.
“I know Harris, you don’t eat meat. Anyhow, so to show they loved God with perfect love and appreciated everything God had given them, they chose the most perfect lamb—that’s a baby sheep-- from their flock, and killed it.” Harris looked horrified, but Jason tried to go on. The story seemed important somehow.
“… and burned parts of it to give it back to God. [Reference this to Serai honoring the wildcat, it would be a bit like an offering] They gave their very best, to show God that they were willing to give anything He asked.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Yeah, it is, but that’s what they did.”
“Why?”
“well, they believed everything they had was given to them by God, the Heavenly father, and the sheep were the most important thing he had given them, so they gave back one, as a gesture of appreciation” Jason realized Harris wasn’t enjoying the story, yet still felt compelled to tell it. “So, Abraham loved God so much he was willing to give back the best thing God had ever given him, and that was his son, Isaac. Isaac loved his father Abraham as perfectly as Abraham loved God. Trusting His father completely, he went as the perfect lamb to die on the alter of sacrifice.”
Harris shuddered “This is a Terrible story, Jason. If this is what scriptures are like, I’m glad we don’t have written language.”
Jason looked at his friend. “No, The story isn’t done. Just wait. You’ll see what I mean. Your cliff is Sen’tran’s sacrificial fire, Harris. He loves you as a father loves a son, as God loves his people: more than anything, more than possible, with perfect love. But he still chooses to give you to the galaxy, to his people, to his God, whatever God he believes in. He pushes you off that cliff, Harris, not because he doesn’t love you, but because you’re the best he’s got, and he trusts you’ll find your destiny, and you’ll be ok, you’ll do great things. If you love him, like Isaac loved Abraham, you’ll willingly walk off that cliff. Sons have to become men and no longer follow their fathers. The child you were to Sen’tran has to die so you can become the man you are destined to become for Paragangia.”
They climbed inside the air car and huddled together for warmth in the darkness, relieved to be out of the wind, which had grown quite chilly. Jason turned on the heater and the air temperature rose quickly.
“So Isaac died, for his father’s God? ”
“No Harris. That’s the good part. Isaac didn’t die. Isaac accepted death for his father’s God, but God gave him life instead. As Abraham raised his knife to slay his son, God showed Abraham a ram caught by the horns in the branches of a tree, and God told Abraham to kill the ram instead. Willingness to kill his son was enough. Actually killing Isaac would have been pointless. So Isaac lived.”
Harris frowned. “But a ram died, right? An innocent ram. He owed them nothing. He died so Isaac could live. This is a very American story. I’m not American, Jason. I don’t want others to die so I can live.”
“You’re obviously not Mormon either. Yes, the ram was innocent. And yes, he died so Isaac could live. But it’s not the way you think. The perfect sacrificial lamb, in this case the sacrificial ram caught in a tree, was a symbol of Jesus Christ, who freely choose to die, innocent and sinless, nailed to a wooden cross, so everyone else, everyone He loved, could be forgiven of their sins and have eternal life. Jesus freely chose to die, to save us, because he loved us. Sort of like you walked on the beach and few an air car through the trees because you loved me. For you, that was a sacrifice.
“I’ve heard of Jesus Christ. Desmond told me about him, too. He chose to die knowing his Father would bring him back. The ram didn’t get to choose. He was trapped, caught in the branches of a tree.” 
Harris said “tree”, as if this were the worst fate possible. “In Paragangia, we choose the time of our death.”
“Sen’tran wants you to live so he can die.” The words came from Jason suddenly without thought, like speaking in tongues. He had no idea what it meant, but seeing Harris’s reaction he knew it was true, and the wrong thing to say.
“I’m sorry” Jason blushed. “Just words. Forget it.” He picked up the guitar and started singing a little song he had learned from Leroy. He never understood the song, but it talked about the Ram escaping so it seemed appropriate.
“When Isaac’s ram has fled away and broken all the branches
When we have lived another day and wasted all our chances
Then I will mourn the loss of you and blame myself for all you do
But really none of this is true for you still have your agency”
Jason leaned against Harris, and Harris wrapped his arms around Jason like a father holding a child, or a child holding a teddy bear. No one spoke again. He sat in the air car on the beach with Harris, playing peaceful tunes to the rhythm of the waves and felt warm, and safe and free. For a moment, the world was perfect.
A blue glow on the surface of the dark ocean broke the spell. Aissis peeked over the horizon and her shimmering blue trail of reflection reached across the waves to call them back to reality, and forward into destiny. Harris withdrew his embrace. “It’s time for me to go do what I said I would, and prove I’m not a slave to my father’s will. I don’t want to. I’d rather stay with you. I feel safe with you. We sit by the terrifying ocean and I still feel safe.”
“So don’t go, Harris. We have to choose for ourselves. It’s like jumping off a cliff but at the bottom of that cliff, you just find another choice, and have to choose again. So jump. I’ll be there to catch you because I’m falling too. We can catch each other. At least we’ll be warm and not die alone. I’ll teach you to dream.”
Harris laughed, and tousled his hair like he used to do on the Marrion Jay. “Some other night, little brother. Tonight I have a promise to keep. Destiny awaits.”
A few minutes later, Jason was alone in his room at the Aissis Oasis Inn.
== --------------3 -----------section three into dreams--------------- ==
===------------Serai at the setting of Aissis-------===
**D’zeron, date?[how do they count time] 
***[explain the high cliff prior to this in a dream Jason shares with Jonathan? or in Jason looking down at D’zeron from the Marrion Jay]
Serai stood on the High Cliff as the sun rose shimmering through the mist of the trees across the river. Tersh had been ranting about aliens yesterday. In Serai’s dream Tersh’s alien father had come to take him home. Chathalen was knelt on the ground, calling after his father. Allissa approach and Chathalen reached out to her for comfort but she brushed him aside coldly and disappeared into the sky with Tersh, leaving Chathalen alone, reaching up into the sky after them. Allissa would never do that, would she? Allissa was insensitive in her own way, but she loved Chathalen, she would never leave him, would she? And Tersh. Tersh and Chathalen were inseparable. [make this fit better with their actual circumstances of seperation….although he hasn’t cast the barrier yet]
Chathalen’s sorrow engulfed Serai like a wave. She ran to him, tried to reach him, tried to comfort him but he sent out an invisible wall around himself, expanding like the ripples circling out from a stone dropped in still water, pushing her back, pushing everyone away from him until he stood all alone, like the day after the fire. The day Allissa found him.
Serai woke trembling, filled with that overwhelming loneliness, and walked out into the morning to drive away the darkness of her dreams.
Tersh was crazy but he was never wrong. The aliens were on the other side of the planet, watching Aissis rise over a vast ocean she had never seen. They would come to D’zeron soon. Tersh’s Father was from another world. He could dream. He married Sh’harra. He gave her a son. Maybe… These new aliens…
Hope would only bring disappointment. She tried not to think of them.
It wasn’t working.
She gazed down into the river below, shining pinkish with the first rays of sunrise. How long has it been since I dove from this cliff into the river? Many years. Before I was married. Only children dive from the cliff. She smiled, and dove from the cliff, her silk dress floating in the wind around her like the wings of a butterfly. She landed perfectly with hardly a splash, swam smoothly and gracefully across the river, and emerged dripping on the other side of the river near the Well of Morning. 
===---------Aissis and Jason-------===
Aisses and Jason 
Dr. Jason Scott-Harris sat by an open window in his room at the Aissis Oasis Inn in the port city of Jai-ten on the planet Terran 8 and looked out over the alien city at the alien sky. 21 years old, Phd in Anthropology, and on the opposite side of the galaxy from his home. The stars are always so strange on a different planet. 
He cradled in his arms the guitar he had carried with him like a security blanket throughout his all his journeys. Made of a turtle shell treated with tree resins which rendered it virtually indestructible, it had been given to him while he was at the HomeWorld LDS colony. Leroy had made it for Desmond. There was a tradition of guitar playing in the colony because Emily Hawthorn, the founder, had played guitar. She was Desmond’s great grandmother. Jason had carried it with him to Planet Mexico, and the universal language of music helped him survive his transition to a world where any spoken language other than Spanish was forbidden.
Sitting in the window, on Jai ten, looking out at Aissis the same culture shock he had felt on Planet Mexico overcame his, and he sang the same song he had sang then. The quintessential Mormon song. But on Mexico he sang silently, because to sing aloud in English was against the law.
I am a child of God, and He has sent me here
Has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear…
Jason’s voice paused, and his guitar went on alone. In Mexico, at this point another voice had joined him, the angelic voice of a young boy singing the same song only in Spanish. The universality of this song brought him hope and comfort on Planet Mexico. Now it didn’t. It made him think of his family; it made him homesick.
He played something else, without words or memories.
English was the language of the alliance, and Jai-ten was an alliance port, so everyone spoke English, but the guitar and all the memories it carried still helped him feel safe, connected to his past as the future loomed before him, like a cliff he wasn’t ready to step off of. He sat in the window playing random melodies, not thinking much, just allowing himself to become part of this new world or perhaps allowing the world to become a part of him.
The young anthropologist was anxious to explore the dream world of Terran 8, but needed time to sort his own thoughts and feelings before he slept. He knew wasn’t ready for new adventures. He knew he should dream healing dreams alone tonight, to let his brain file all the changes, and face the dream world for the first time tomorrow in a better state of mind. But after waiting this long, it didn’t seem right to wait any longer. Besides, Culture shock was often worse the second day. His brain was still too surprised by the strangeness to fully realize how strange it was. And he wanted to tell Harris tomorrow about his adventures in dreaming tonight.
The room Harris and DaraJeen chose for him was perfect. A warm breeze caressed his skin through the open window like the spirit-mother of Terran 8 welcoming him home. She rustled through the leaves of the trees, bring him unfamiliar voices of insects and other small creatures-of-the-night along with unknown flower scents, strange and inviting. The larger moon, Aisses, --not really a moon-- was rising bright and blue on the horizon, Leaving the D’zeron sky as the sun was rising there, and passing into the sky which now stood above him.
Jonathan’s voice echoed in his memories. “In D’zeron two moons mark the passing of time. Lurrin, like Earth’s moon, waxes and wanes with the months, but the Blue Moon of Destiny and Dreams is always full and appears only at night, rising as the sun sets. Aissis doesn’t orbit the planet like a true moon. She’s a small planet with unusual physical properties orbiting the sun alongside Terran 8. Like the sun, when the planet turns toward her she rises; it turns away again and she sets. That’s how destiny is, Jase. Destiny rises when we turn to face it. When you see your destiny on the horizon, Jase, never be afraid to turn and face it.” 
The young dreamer’s pale blue eyes followed the blue moon Aissis as she rose above Jai-ten. D’zeron is out there. Across this beautiful ocean, a land where people are still part of nature and advanced technology is non-existent. I will be there soon, but not tonight. I’ll be there, with my brother Tersh and the dream keeper D’neira, and maybe my butterfly girl. Aisses visited you and now she comes to me.A lost child alone in this alien place, he longed for home and family, but also for D’zeron, for the destiny he had dreamed of so long. Unthinkingly, he began to sing a song his mother sang for him when he was little: 
“I see the moon, 
the moon sees me
the moon sees the one I long to see...”
Tears rolled down his face as the loneliness engulfed him. Did I choose to return Harris’s friendship only because I’m so afraid of this place? And if so, is that wrong? Would he mind if I told him that? I don’t think so. He’d laugh. Harris wanted my friendship under any terms I offered, even an air car ride through the forest and a daylight walk on the beach.
In most social situations—on a field study, or as a professor-- Jason learned his role, responding with socially appropriate words and actions like an actor in a play, or a player in a game, avoiding any personal attachments. 
Harris was different. Harris played with toys and children, but Harris did not play roles. Harris didn’t even play his own role as navigator and negotiator. He just chose the fastest path and helped everyone as much as he could, connecting with all individuals instantly, guilelessly. Harris was real and genuine all the time, like it or not. If you talked to Harris it was personal or you didn’t talk to Harris and that was personal too. Jason had managed not to talk to Harris much from the day Harris met him at HomeStation until today. Somehow even avoidance increased the bond between them. 
Jason watched Destiny rising above the horizon in unimagined ways. He resumed singing, remembering Leroy who had given him the guitar and taught him to play it.
“Oh lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, 
Consider all the world they hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, 
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.”
Leroy’s God guides his destiny as different strange stars sparkle over the pseudocypress bogs of HomeWorld.
A huge brown moth fluttered from the bushes beneath the window up into the darkening sky. Its wings silhouetted for a moment against the bright blue disk of Aisses. Jason remembered, as a child dreaming…the little girl with butterfly wings…She held her hands out to him but as their fingers touched, there was nothing but darkness, the silhouette of two tiny butterflies silluetted against the huge blue disk of Aisses, and he woke up.
Jason had never even heard of D’zeron then. He hadn’t met Dr Landon on the internet or shared memories of D’zeron. Dreams could transcend time and space. Sometimes, said Jonathan they show us things we couldn’t possibly know.
“D’zeron is your destiny in dreams, Jase.” Jonathan told him. Jason never doubted. Now he was almost there.
The young dreamer smiled up at the blue moon “Did you keep watch over my butterfly girl today through the night of D’zeron, Aisses? Will you give her my love in the morning when you rise in her evening sky? But in the mean time, show me who I can find on your dream plane here tonight.”
With that thought in mind and a heart over-spilling with anticipation, the young dream scientist lay down and fell asleep almost instantly.
===---------Jason dreams with Lenn--------===
Scene 10 Lenn 
Jason passed quickly from waking to dream, to lucid dreaming, entered the Dream Wind alone and walked the same streets of Jai-tan he had explored with Harris and Anton in the afternoon. ***[more detail of the process of entering the wind]
The structures of the city and the color of the light were the same as waking, Yet it seem completely different. In daylight, crowds of people were the spirit of Jai-ten. In dream the streets were empty. The walls seemed solid at a glance, but as Jason looked closely they became translucent. He perceived the forms of people sleeping, misty when not dreaming, but glowing with colorful swirls when they dreamed. When lucid dreamers dreamed, he knew he could touch that swirling rainbow and enter their dream. To do this to a stranger without consent would be unconscionable, so he was careful to stay away. A blue haze filled the air as if the light of Aisses were transformed into cool mist. it Mixed strangely with the greenish light of Terran 8, swirled as if on air currents which could be felt by Jason’s ghost-body. He was a part of the almost-invisible wind, a formless yet recognizable version of himself. {how does he feel? he’s very excited to see thigs which have bee described to him, yet scared by the strageness of it. he thinks of Jonathan, but more so thinks of Harris and wishes Harris were sleeping so he could invade his dreams and bring him to the wd, because he know Harris would not mind.
On earth controlling his dream-self was often like controlling a robot from a great distance. There he could usually control other elements of the dream as well, not just himself, as if he was the whole dream, not an entity within the dream. Here he is one little Jason-shaped piece of wind walking alone through Aisses-blue swirling fog.
I suppose looking into the dream plane from here would be like looking into these houses but I don’t know where to look. Maybe it cannot be found from Jai-ten.
A figure who seemed as solid as a man in waking stood before him. Tall and thin, in a simple white robe. Jason’s Wind-form solidified also into something like his waking form: Professor Scott-Harris, dressed in a suit as if he prepared to present a lecture at some formal conference, the kind he rarely attended. He grinned in spite of himself. Long chestnut hair framed a familiar heart-shaped golden face with deep dark eyes. He looked like Jonathan, only much younger. He shares my dream, is this what happens when you touch the dreams of other lucid dreamers? 
“Dad?” Jason asks in hopeful confusion, realizing as he speaks that a younger Jonathan will not know him yet and Jonathan has never had long hair. 
Appearance could be deceiving. A man on the Dream Plane can appear as a cat or a dragon or anything. On Terran 8 lived dreaming creatures who were not men. The form of a man did not make this a man. For a moment Jason’s dream-confused mind fails to shake off the thought—perhaps the wish-- that it is Jonathan. Is time and space are different in the dream world. Hours can be lost or gained in dreaming, even whole nights and days sometimes. Had Jonathan reached forward though forty years, or find a way to cross the gulf of space from Earth? 
“I am not Jonathan Landon,” it was like Jonathan’s voice in a way, yet totally alien, toneless, almost mechanical. Maybe he’s not a man but something else appearing in Jonathan’s form.***[what would Lenn know of Jonathan and how would he know?Lenn is in communication with the Ancients] 
“Who are you?”
“I am Lenn of the Ancient Forest,” He replied tonelessly in Jonathan’s voice.
“Jonathan’s son, the one who died at birth?” 
But Lenn continued without a pause, emotionless, “I have waited. For my father. You have come from the other world because he could not come himself. This is not your place. He must heal the harm of the past. We have watched your arrival. There is much you do not understand, and danger in your coming. You will find failure, and suffer much. The Spacers have wasted many chances. They choose destruction. Their place here is long gone. Paragangia has destroyed too much. Restitution is required. The son pays for the father’s mistakes. We do not welcome you” *****correct intentions what would Lenn warn him about in this version and why would he bother? Who does Lenn represent, the Ancients? No one knows about them except the dreamkeepers, and Sen’tran and Alexandreil. Is Jason here to harm them in any way? how Does Lenn know Jason was sent by Alexandreil?***?????********
“Who are you?”
“Lenn of the Ancient Forest. You will leave now.” [word this more fittingly}
Jason lay fully awake in his bed in an inn on a backstreet of the port city Jai-Tan. His thoughts raced, as did his heart.
Lenn of the Ancient Forest. 
Lenn—the twin brother of Tersh--- died at birth.As a child Jason believed he was alive. A childish fantasy, born of the loneliness of being, for all practical purposes, an only child. Harris’s comment about “Jonathan’s boys” replayed in his mind. Did the twin of Tersh really live in the Ancient forest? How? Why? Did Harris know? What else did Harris know? ****[what DOES Harris know? why DID Harris say that?] Jason silently cursed Sen’tran Jenzar for making Harris choose drinking tonight instead of dreaming. If Harris were here he might have answers. 
How can he travel the Dream Wind to Jai-ten if he lives in the Ancient Forest? Does he dream in daylight, without Aissis? Or somehow bend time? Or was some evil dream creature on Jai-Ten masquerading as Lenn?It didn’t feel evil though, and though the words sounded angry, the feeling Jason was left with was sadness, and lonliness. Longing. Perhaps Lenn’s longing for the father who had not returned. 
Jason willed himself back to sleep as quickly as he could, though not as fast as usual. The Wind was quiet and empty. In sheer frustration he screamed into the empty blue mist.
************????**************** Jason’s speech here needs to be adjusted to fit with Tark’s, and with whatever happened there with Alex and his reasons for being here ***
“Lenn! Talk to me! please! I’m not a spacer, I’m not a Paragangian. I’m American! My name is Jason Scott-Harris. I’m your brother. Jonathan is my father, too. He thinks you died. I’m an anthropologist! I don’t mean you any harm, I just want to learn about you, and Tersh, and D’zeron and dreaming. Please. Talk to me, Lenn! Let me help! Help me understand! I haven’t come to destroy anything! Whatever the problem was, we can solve it together now. Help me to understand! “
He stood in the empty Dream Wind listening to the echoes of his own voice, watching them ripple through the mist and disappear, leaving nothing but silence. He walked in dreams through the silently sleeping city of Jai-Ten, feeling the thoughts crowding his heart and mind. His new friend Harris was probably getting drunk loudly in the same place where Jason now walked in silence. But people awake, even drunk people, are invisible to the Wind.
Jason wandered aimlessly, wondering who Lenn of the Ancient Forest really was; wondering and regretting whatever destruction he had agreed to help the Paragangians do on Terran 8. But he found no one else walking the Wind in Jai-Ten that night.
He wandered through the city and the forest in a Dream Plane version of the air-car but without Harris or Anton it seemed lonely and boring. Surprisingly, for a guy who had never needed or wanted friends, he missed them now. Near the port, he saw groups of small shapeless orange swirls of light flying on the wind. He watched them, realizing from their flight patterns that they were the flocks of rat-pigeons he had watched with Anton in the afternoon. Their furry bodies perched on the branches of the trees as their dreams forms frolicked in the wind. He tried to approach them but they vanished into the swirling blue mist, then reappeared when he turned away, as if teasing him. {he would remember this when he sees Marrisyl]
Discouraged and exhausted, he slept soundly through the rest of the night. He needed the healing of private dreams more now than the adventure of the Dream Wind. Time for his brain to sort and file these new realities. [Small prophetic dream on waking which involves Harris and Serai, perhaps?]
===Serai gets jason's message===
-----------///------------------
D’zeron, Date ?????
(people hearing Jason on the wind should occur during this day, when they sleep that night, so not before Serai’s greeting from Jason through Aisses)
-----------------///-------------------
D’zeron, Date ?????
rough draft: 
Aissis drew her to the high cliff again in the evening, when chores were done and her weaving apprentices gone home to their families. Will I soon have someone to go home to, also? You have seen him, Aisses, Haven’t you? Tall and dark and space-born, looking up into space thinking how strange it is to see you from below instead of from above? Will he take me away to distance stars, like Sh’harra, where I will never see you again? Did you give him dreams of me this night?
A disconcertingly strange, unfamiliar melody echoed through her mind, and a sense of his presence so strong and strange it brought tears to her eyes, and fear for him.
----
///-------------------
===D'neira's reaction to Jason on the wind===
Dneiras reaction to Jason on the wind
------------ /// --------------
Jason’s voice echoed through the Dream Field of Terran 8, an alien presence. When the portal opened that night D’neira felt a disturbance there and knew the troubles she had long anticipated were coming soon.
It was her duty to protect the Dream Plane, and also to protect her people from the dream plane. Someone entering the Dream Plane in ignorance could be both destructive and dangerous. An outsider coming to the isolated community of D’zeron could be just as damaging.
In her lifetime, there had only been one source of disruption: Paragangians. She was barely old enough for marriage when the planetary government banished them. That disruption had never fully healed. Ten years ago the ban had been lifted. Now it would be healed, or be made worse. They were back. They were returning to D’zeron. [Why did she not worry about this before when the ban was lifted? what was her role in the lifting of the ban? what was the ban about?]
She hoped all they left behind would be enough [is that too cryptic for this context now?} to protect the planet. In a few days Allissa would be old enough to take her place as an adult in the village [since her hope is for Chahtalen, has she already decided to call him to take his place beside her…probably]. Will she take wings, and fly away, or finally embrace the destiny she was born to?[what is her role with the ancients? is leaving the village part of the plan?...she was given to D’neira by the ancients, basically, for a reason[=to become Harris’s wife ad bring Paragnagia home] Will she help us cope with these alien intruders, or only distract Chathalen, Serai and Tersh when the village needs them most?[exactly what is she afraid of? and how does it play out. How much des D’neira know? Enough to know she doesn’t know everything]
Later this day D’Neira will consult with Serai about Allissa and about Chathalen and about her future with the aliens. [In current chapter 37 mar 2011, called serai talks to D’neira about aliens and marriage]
----------------- ////// ------------
===------------Tersh and chathalen reaction-------------===
Tersh and Chathalen reaction
----
/////------------
Tersh and Chathalen felt an alien presence on the Dream Wind that evening. They couldn’t hear his words or travel the wind to meet him but they felt dim echoes of his shouts still rippling through the blue mist. They felt a thrill of anticipation. A destiny long awaited finally set into motion, coming to sweep them up into a world larger than the tiny village which had always been their home. [this is not realistic these two would NOT have the same feelings about this impending destiny. this suits Chath. but Tersh would be more upset knowing his son is going to leave him and die alone, where he fears Chathalen might not be able to be reunited with his family. But Tersh would be excited about Lenn returning,
Tersh heard something else, also echoing in the Dream Wind with the voice of the alien, an undercurrent like a lingering scent in the wind: Lenn’s voice speaking from the Ancient Forest in the language of dragons. Startled, he awakened leaving Chathalen alone in the Dream Wind and lay awake in his bed the rest of the night, cheerfully contemplating his journey to the Ancient forest. Allissa will take this journey with me.
-----------///------------
===Breakfast with Harris===
Scene 10 Breakfast with Harris 
Awakening early, Jason sat down to a nice, relaxed breakfast alone in the pleasant and well-lit dinning room of the Aisses Oasis Inn. A peaceful haven in the bustling alien port, it did not seem to belong to the rest of the house. Morning sun shone through large front windows of frosted glass subtly swirled with pastel colors designed to break up the light and leave the mind of travelers from various planets free to imagine the color most suitable for an alien home world. Framed by white lace curtains, they let in light but not the sights or sound of the alien city. The arched, rough-cut wood beams supporting the low stucco ceiling seemed more for ambiance than structure. Painted metal beam supported the walls with a smooth secure strength and their soft matt finish seemed soothing in the ambiguously-colored sunlight. Of course, DaraJeen’s inn also offered a pleasant balcony where one could sit and eat breakfast in the alien sunlight feeling the alien air and looking out over the bustling port city. With culture shock beginning to set in, Jason wasn’t ready for that this morning.
He desperately wanted to share his dreaming experiences from the night with someone, but DaraJeen was busy with other guests --she’d probably be spooked by his experiences anyhow--and was Harris still out drinking. Jason would meet with Rhonda later, but she wasn’t likely to be interested in dreaming. Maybe he would run into Anton while he was at the Marrion Jay to see Rhonda.
[does it even make sense that Rhonda would make him return to the Marrion Jay for their meeting?If so why?]
Anton was interested in everything. But he realized he would have to hope Anton would find him, since he had no idea how to contact the boy. If nothing else, Jason could send a message to Jonathan, who might be able to reply in a week or so. Jonathan would definitely be interested. [would there not be a messaging station at the inn? need to write the rules for messaging]
As Jason turned his attention to his simple but familiar and well-cooked chicken-eggs with pork sausage and toast, Harris staggered in. Reeking of alcohol and much worse things, he swayed and bumped against tables as he approached. He dropped himself stumblingly into a chair across from Jason at the small round breakfast table. Sylvia followed silently at a greater than usual distance, as if embarrassed to be seen with him. “’ey dreamer, ‘ow d’ja dream? fin’ any new Wind frien’s?”
The pale young man blanched even paler, Jumped up and grabbed his drink just in time before it spilled from the impact of the drunken Spacer against the table. Jason’s plate skidded to the edge, but Harris caught it before it fell and set it safely back down in its place, then grinned like a wildcat. A drunk wildcat.
Jason stood speechless behind the table, staring blankly at him, unsure whether to run away or sit back down. He turned his eyes appealingly to Sylvia, who floated silently close to the ceiling, but she seemed not to notice him. Drawn to the room by the Spacer’s loud entry, DaraJeen greeted the drunken giant with an affectionate hug, and a kiss. “ ‘ey, ‘oney, look like ya ‘ad a good party m’ dear; ya needin’ anythin’ ‘fore ya go sleep it off?” She scrutinized him briefly and nodded. Apparently he passed inspection.
Harris gave DaraJeen a friendly pat on the back so violent it would have probably sent the anthropologist flying. She smiled solidly, unmoved, straightening Dr Scott-Harris’s table, and shoving the tall disorderly Paraganian upright in the chair he had slumped into with the same casual attitude, as if he were part of the furniture. Then she turned to Jason, smiling sweetly, the perfect hostess “Please sit down and finish your breakfast, Honey. He means you no harm, I vouch for him absolutely. You know he still loves you, right? He’s just a little drunk for the moment.” There was something about DaraJeen that made her inexplicably hard to disbelieve, though the way she spoke to every alien in his own dialect could be a bit disconcerting at times.
Jason drew a deep breath and sat down eyeing Harris suspiciously, his warm feelings from the night before somewhat cooled by this rather intimidating morning appearance.
“See? He’s fine now” DaraJeen grinned, her pearly teeth gapped endearingly at the front, her dimpled face glowing round and cheerful. She straightened the table a bit more. “You know Harris is good, Jason. He just needs a little time to sleep it off.” She reassured “He’ll be fine by evening and everything will be just as it was. If you boys need anything else just give me a shout.”
Harris stared drunkenly at his friend through glazed over, squinted eyes. “So, Jedi Jason” he asked again, stumbling over words in obvious effort to speak clearly. “ ‘ow’re yer dreams? y’learn anythin’?”
Reluctantly, Jason collected his thoughts and tried to share his dream with the only friend he had on this planet. He was grateful for anyone at all to share with, but dismayed at the condition of his friend. “Actually Harris, I did meet someone. He called himself Lenn”
“LENN?” The Harris staggered to his feet, sending the table skidding and Jason running away protecting his drink again. His food was not so fortunate this time.
“You dreamed with the dead boy?” Even staggering drunk, Harris seemed to understand. “well done Jedi Jason! livin’ up t’all our expectations. Tell me all ‘bout it, kid. Tell me everythin’ “ 
Jason stood back silently, unsure what to do but sure he didn’t want to say anything more to this drunken giant. DaraJeen rushed in again, drawn by the sound of Jason’s plate shattering on the stone-paved floor. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry Jason.” She grinned cheerfully at Harris “Off t’ bed ya go now Honey”, and helped the much-taller man into her room to sleep it off.
Harris staggered out of the room gracelessly, shouting back “Don’ leave wi’out me, boy! I wanna hear ‘bout it all in the mornin’.” Sylvia followed him at a distance, silent and dejected.
I wonder why she doesn’t sober him up.
===-------------Jason returns to the Marrion Jay and visits Anton-----------===
 perhaps he would invite Anton to visit the museum with him. DaraJeen or George could tell him how to contact Anton, he might mention it because he sees a book he wants to give to Anton, they might agree to take it to him, and he might write a note with the book, and then Anton might find him later. as could the people at the port office. Jason would want to send occasional messages to Anton from D’zeron, also.[notes from old version]
''
 Jason declined DaraJeen’s offer of a new breakfast, grabbed his guitar and fled the inn as quickly as possible into the alien morning. The light seemed greenish though the sky was orange, and the air felt thick, hard to breath somehow. Jason wasn’t sure if it was culture shock, the alien environment, or just anxiety brought on by Harris’s drunken antics which made him feel this way. Probably a little of everything.
 Trying to calm himself, ***HOW does he try to calm himself. he would be carrying the guitar. does he play it? what is he wearing, and why?] he hurried though unfamiliar streets, past alien people dressed in alien clothing, past alien creatures and strangely constructed houses surrounded by alien plants. ***does he think of dreams with his father? painting with his mother? does he think of his peers in the department of Alien studies? Matthias? does he wish he had paid more attention to things outside his area of interest?]
 After a few blocks, he’s had enough. He stopped at a transport station, **what are they like? how far apart are they…every few blocks, perhaps, something like a phone booth] transporting directly to the depot where he had arrived in the port with Anton the day before.
 An there he realized he didn’t even know how to get to the Marrion Jay. But he wasn’t in any hurry, so he looked around. Anton ahd rushed him through the depot so fast he had hardly glanced at it yesterday. All the business offices of the port seemed to be contained in this same building: messaging, getting permissions, tourist information, etc.
 In the messaging office Jason learned it would take several days --perhaps weeks—for a message to be relayed back to the nearest transfer station through various transmitters planted along the way. Resources of matter and energy were virtually unlimited in Paragangia, but from this distance transmission of messages was limited. This port belonged to the Earth alliance, so privileges were sold in American currency.
 Because of the time required for transmission through distant transfer points, only a certain amount could be sent each day. Messages were prioritized according a formula which considered importance, urgency, brevity, and how much the sender was willing to pay to the port authorities. Jason paid the top rate, recorded a text message as brief as possible, just greetings to his family and Matthias, and then a separate, longer message to Jonathan with details about Lenn and the dream. He paid top rate for that one also, but it was so long he know it wouldn’t be sent out for many days no matter how much he paid. He desperately hoped his parents would send him a message from Earth ---from home-- before he left Jai-ten and was again unable to receive or send messages. Anything. Even just acknowledgment that his message had been received. 
 He inquired at the tourist’s office for information relevant to his needs as a man without a link on this port, and from there, with the help of a port attendant, returned to the ship which brought him to this alien place less than a day ago.
 Entering the Marrion Jay felt like a home coming. Even the too-clean but now refreshingly familiar smell of recycled air and the too-bight black hallways seemed welcoming. He had agreed to meet Rhonda at the space observation room. He was not looking forward to Rhonda and was quite early for that meeting, not having anticipated his hasty departure from breakfast.
 He thought about Anton. He wished he could share his dream with Anton, tell him what the rat pigeons look like when they dream, tell him about the port, and the trees and the ocean, tell him how right he was about Harris, maybe even apologize for having doubted his opinion on the matter. But he didn’t know how to contact Anton. If he had thought ahead, he could have sent Anton a message from the port office, but now he had no way of getting back there until someone with a link came to meet with him. He could ask Rhonda, but she would probably disapprove, and might not tell him. He decided, if all else failed, to try contacting Anton that way when he got back to port.
 During the journey Jason could call Harris just by speaking his name aloud in the observation room. Harris wasn’t there to here him now, but Anton might know Jason was coming, Anton might be hoping Jason called, Anton might be listening to that whatever it was which Harris set up for Jason to contact him. It would be worth a try. But he wasn’t sure what to say. Jason remembered when he first arrived, when he had had to call Harris that way. Jason had been so sick, and Harris had been so worried. Jason put off calling for as long as he could, but finally he went in there and Harris arrived within second, as if he had been waiting anxiously for Jason to call.
******add some transition here???
When Jason calls Anton, he blinks in instantly startles him, and hugs him fairly violently.
Jason, I heard you were coming Harris said you’d be back to meet with Rhonda so he said I could look out for you but Sen’tran wouldn’t let me come see you unless you asked for me, Hows it going, hows Harris doing? did you see anything else interesting? did you get harris to fly in the Air car?
Jason grabbed Anton’s shoulders and pushed him back to arms distance away ‘slow down Anton I can only answer on thing at a time.”
well you know you could talk a lot faster if you ahd a lik, I know you don’t’ want a link because you don’t like our technology and besides you don’t want your gentics read bbecuase you want to pretend Joanthan’s really your dad, that’s what Harris told me but it sure does make it hard to get any information. so, How’s Harris.
Drunk. really drunk” Jason smiled “ and terrified of Aircars, and sunlight and trees, you were so right about him Anton. But I did get him to go for a ride, and even to fly it himself, even in the trees, and we walked on the beach, even though he was terrified of the water, and I think he had a pretty good time. I had a good time, anyhow.
Wow Jason, he really does love you if you got him to do all that. I’m impressed, he would sure never do all that for me, and he loves me more than anyone, except you, apparently,
“ and DaraJeen” they both added in unison, and then they laughed.
What else did you see Jason? did you find crabs on the beach?
I did I found a crab and I showed it to Harris and I asked him to bring it to you, and he said I should take it home to where it belonged instead, so I put it back.
How long you gonna be at port? Maybe you could take me to the beach later if you’re here awhile. Where’s Harris?
Harris is at the inn sleeping, he stayed out all night drinking, and didn’t come back until I was having breakfast, and even then he was too drunk to let me tell him about the dream I had.
You had a dream? what kind of a dream? I read your book. And Jonathan’s book too…about D’zeron. Sen’tran won’t talk about it much, and If I talk too much he’s prob’ly gonna not let me talk to you anymore, so I’d better not say too much,
Wait, stop” Jason grabbed his shoulder again, held him still..more or less still, anyhow… “Harris told Me apragangians can’t read. because they don’t have any written language, because they have the community mind.”
“Harris is just stupid and Lazy. Of course we can read, we just have to Choose to learn like anybody else. “
I thought you liked Harris.
Of course I like Harris, He’s my favorite, but nobody’s perfect, not even Harris. There are lots of things he’s never bothered to learn. He’s not a very good Negotiator, I mean, he’s got the skill and the personality for it, but he doesn’t bother to learn the things he needs to learn to be able to understand aliens. Spends too much time making toys and searching for the lost Paragan. I thought you were gonna tell me about the dream you had
Yeah. I explored jai-ten on the dream plane, and Did you know those Rat pigeons can Dream? I saw them playing in the dream plane.
you did the dream wind thing, like Jonathan? wow, Yeah I knew they could, Jonathan mentioned them in his book, remember? in D’zeron they call them Dragon Ferrets. but I didn’t really read the book, Jason, not as a book, I’ve never had a real book. I always wanted one though. but I can get book content through the link, so when I got here, I got your book and Joanthan’s book. they had them at the port community mind because there’s a guy Named George ehre who as a museum of Retrotechnology and he’s a big fan of yours, I talked to him and he’s really looking forward to meeting you. I tried to call Dara jeen but the Old Man wouldn’t let me. Said I have to let Harris have his freedom. but I’m glad you cam back Jason.
“ also talked to someone in the dream plane, Anton. you ever heard about Lenn?
Lenn? the one who died? you talked to him?
yeah…I talked to him.I think. I don’t know for sure though. It might have been something else just pretending to be Lenn. He looked almost just like Jonathan, when he was younger.
Awesome… I always knew he was still alive. So you found him, already? that’s great Jason.
Well, I didn’t exactly find him, he just sort of accosted me in the dream wind and told me to go away. introduced himself as Lenn of the Ancient forest. and then he made me wake up, and when I get back to the wind, couldn’t find him again. It was a very strange dream. I tried to tell Harris, this morning but he was too drunk.
Hay have you met Quetz’l yet? Oops, I gotta go now. message me again when you have time Jason. take me to the port again okay?
and then he was gone, disappearing through the wall this time.
===jaason meets with RHonds===
===jason meets with port authority at the alliance office===
===girl at museum of retrotech notes===
===Lunch with Dara Jeen===
===Museum of Retrotech old notes and scraps===
===Serai talkes to allisa about marriage===
===RHonda ask Harris t go with Jason===
===Jason sleeps and dreams alone===
===serai talks with D'neira abt aliens and marriage rough draft march 2010===
===the next afternoon jason eaves for Kaar-taal===
===am Jason traveling by boat from the island to Kaar-taal place holder===
===village meeting changed pov march 2010===
===Jaason in Kaar-taal on the each notes===
===meeting continues cahthalen sleeps. needs reduced march 2010===
===Jason in PM on beach in karr-taal===
===chathalen sleeps===
==4 section four==
===jason attacked by dream creatures===
===allissa casts the barrier against Chathalen===
===harris decideds to save jason outlline scraps nov09===
===Jason and quetzl mini chapter===
===CHathalen assends old file edited mar 2010 reduce further===
===sentran removes ahrris's implant jan 2011===
===notes ch 260r so to add to those chapters????===
===jasn and quetzl mini chapter===
===out takes pov to serai allissa rememers Chathalen and serai nov 09===
===harrias travels to Kaar taal print version rough mar 2010===
===Jason minichapter===
===scraps Harris travels to kaar tal jsut random scraps nov09===
==5 section 5 Salvation scraps and notes==
===Harris arrives to rescue jason print version ===
===scraps Harris and Jason convo before swimming convo march 2010===
===harris memmories start returning===
===baptisn jan 2010===
===doniish marisyl nov 09===
===chathalen and D talk about d meeting allissa the barrier risktaking love===
===whay are you not a mormon,, jason convo edited march 2010===
===abt ten unwritten chapters while traveling upriver and while still on the beach at kaaar-taal===
==6 -------------section 6--------------------------- D'zeron ==
===harris and Chathalen take care of Jason by the river===
===scene arriving at the village===
===Harris chath and Serai take care of jason and Kitten first night===
===scraps and notes arriving [folder 74 , will transfer later]===
===serai pov-- jason arriving and the funeral ritual===
===Harris dreams with Jason to help him eat===
===Serai wants Jason's child after the second day===
===76-79 while jason is unconcious [folder]===
====What serai and chathalen do while taking care of Jason====
===Harris and Chathalen and Serai while Jason is unconcious===
===Jasn medical kitten licking etc, may 2011===
===kitten licking medical treatement===
==7------section 7-------eternity rising [change this title to destiny rising? or all some other chapter that? ==
===He wakes and meets Serai===
===chathalen talks with Jason in the afternoon mar 2011===
===harris and Jason talk mar 2011===
===jason alks to CHathalen about marriage mar 2011===
===dinner with Serai jan 2011===
===dream with kitten===
===meeting with Dzeron leaders===
===village leaders meeting 2 jason's job for Alex and in D'zeron misc may 09===
===the town meeting===
===meeting tersh-- slightly edited old version===
==8---section 8--------marriage ==
===Serai and Jason dream marriage introduction jan 2011===
===invitation===
===dream marriage courtship and going home===
===minichapter Rae and Serai===
===the wedding and the awakening===
===engagement jan 2011===
===dreamkeepers===
===engagement===
===festival and calling as dream keepers===
===letters home outline===
===notes serai's house whiffle and djinn perry etc dec 19===
===meeting Alllissa in the dream plane jan 2010===
===old scraps terch takes them to visit allisa in dreams===
===wind walking notes===
===jason's introduction to forraging with Perry===
===jason's questioning why he should become the paragangian king april 2011===
===abraham and Isaac revisited===
===marrion jay leaves book one ending===
==18==
==19==
==20==
==21==
==links to related working files==
Time lines
motives for Jason to travel to D'zeron
what needs set straight in the Paragangian galaxy 
sect. 1 backstory and world creation
Jonathan's medical condition
Category:Drafts
Category:New Start Version