<sup><h6>On the way out she hugged me and kissed me on the lips. I understood the gesture to mean she accepts me as a sort of sister now.</h6></sup>
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<center><a href="https://steemit.com/sfandf-fiction/@arthur-grafo8/little-cherine-book-05-bpost032">Previous: Book 05 - Post 032</a></center>
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<h3><center>3121</center></h3>
We had only concentrated on the first five years, but even that was too much for them to comprehend in one sitting. It does not matter. As long as they go to bed and lie awake, wondering about each other.
Almost an hour later Dommi got up and went to little Cherine. She changed her back to a five year old and comfortable with her body again and calmed by the arms of Dommi around her, she slept.
I have a problem with finding an appropriate appellation for the world of this Robert. Do I, in the future refer to them or their Earth as the limping Robert, the shadow Cherine; none of them are right for me. I’ll let them find another name to suit them.
I’m not going to go through all the mind searching, the changes and then changes again of heart. We spent a week devoted to them only. They heard the rest of the storytelling and heard the first two years again. There were a hundred unasked questions we had to build into our conversations. We made certain they were given time together and prompted Rob whenever he needed help to get her talking with him.
Cher tends to spend more time with Coral, if Eleni is not present. I think Coral complained to her that it is two years since her wedding to us and she is still a virgin. It did not mean anything to Cher as she hardly knows what sex is.
We began to ask others to visit. First they met our pappou. Of course Rob got carried away and monopolised him as they discussed art. Rob promised to bring him some of his works. Cher surprised us by becoming very attached to Marian. It turned out she recalls her as her mother. It did wonders for Marian and she dotes on her. Cherine kept a slight smile on her face, but she was a teeny bit jealous. We are glad, as it can only prompt her to grow closer to her mother, instead of growing into that complacent state everyone achieves now and then of taking a loved one for granted.
Cher does not enjoy having the body of a sixteen year old and the day Rob kissed her and she responded and they linked she asked if she can change back. The look on his face was really comical. Robbie took him out into the garden.
“She is a five year old Robert. It is better she keeps her body age aligned to her mental age. It will also help you treat her the way she needs to be loved for now. Take it easy and when you both want to make love ask her to age herself. Anything from eight onwards will be pleasurable for her. You both have healers and you do not need to fear harming her. She will soon want to spend most of her time at an older age and you will miss what you have now.”
“I’m not attracted to children sexually.”
“I wasn’t either. Why don’t you repeat what you just said in a year?”
“Are all the Roberts the same as you in that regard?”
“It was mentioned in the storytelling. They are not, but they have learnt not to shy away from their loves when they come as children to their bed. It forces us to become incredibly tender and careful of them. They seem to need it and after a while you will come to appreciate what a magical gift is being offered you. Robert, no Cherinian child is the same as a Normal human child. Neither in their minds nor their bodies.”
By now he is no longer limping and could understand some of what Robbie was telling him. Cherine said she is jealous of Cher. To have a Robert who still fears and feels guilt at making love to her as a child has a certain sweetness she will never experience again. I must admit, I’d never thought of it that way.
“I will not close my mind to your words Robert, and I can already feel this sweet girl is going to do what she wants with me. Whatever happens though, I feel very strongly about this issue and will not change my mind. I saw in the storytelling that even for Normal children you do not interfere if the adult is not hurting the child. That is hypocritical. You do not only destroy lives by hurting them physically. However lovingly, teaching a child about sex and bringing it into the world of adulthood affects them. Instead of the child having a childhood, you think the pleasures of sex make up for it!? It is not only the children who lose out, so does the father. You have children of your own and you have thrown away the pleasures of being a father for the sake of sexual gratification and you think that by calling them lovers, wives or companions you have not lost something immeasurably more beautiful?
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<h3><center>3122</center></h3>
I have tried not to judge you Robert, because they are not Normal children and I can see how even my Cherine can manipulate my feelings.” He shook his head. “Do you think that seeing her in a woman’s body and by responding to her I am not aware that in truth she is but a child in all ways that matter?
What your Cherine has brought, her gifts that change all of us, they are beautiful and will rid us of a lot of evils, but it carries a curse with it and I cannot say yet whether the gifts justify the curse of robbing Cherinian children of their childhood.”
Even Robbie reeled at the wave of anger emanating from all of us. It must have been the first time all of us, without exception, wanted to hurt another Cherinian - especially a Robert. Robbie put his arm over the shoulders of Rob and brought him back into the house.
“Sam, ask Edith to come here please. Now!”
I refused to budge. “What for?”
“Meli, will you do it?”
“What for?”
“Damn! I’ll do it myself.” He jumped. Rob felt very uncomfortable with us all either glaring at him or else ignoring him. It brought his Cher to his side and Cherine laughed when she saw her standing with her little hands curled into fists held tightly against her sides.
Robbie returned with Edith.
“I am appointing the two of you as official guardians of all children. You must appoint another two of each species to your committee. Same as the revolutionary or evolutionary council, you have powers over any leaders of Cherinians in that you have the right to negate any rules you feel are not in the interests of children, Cherinian or not. You are not to act as if you are a police force, that is not your mandate. You may not make any rules.
If you think I am appointing you as a façade you are wrong. It is not the laws which are not enacted that damage society. Usually leaders and civil servants enact laws out of good intentions and they often are only a reflection of their opinion that Normal adults are not mature enough to decide what is good for them. Also, laws usually make sense at the time they were enacted in an effort to cover all possibilities of children being harmed. That is not the right of any governing body, for it means they encroach upon family rights. You are there to protect all our citizens against any official - as long as their rule or law involves or affects children and the relationship with adults, of our species or any other.
Be extra careful of any such laws that try to interfere with the rights of parents. Just because a law is made with good intentions and protects children, it does not mean it is good if it has the potential of destroying family unity. The strength of any society lies in the strength of its family ties - you only have to examine how dictators or wannabe dictators, do all they can to weaken the rights of families, to know that I am right.
Look to striking a fair balance. Where it affects other species, allow the members of that species to guide you. I ask that you do not interfere in matters that disturb you unless the laws are imposed by the overall Cherinian leaders, such as myself at present. Study rules we have adopted, for there are certain of them you do not have the right to interfere with. Children are your primary focus, but the mental health of our Cherinian society in general may at times clash with your responsibilities towards children - the growth of our society and family always takes precedence, however wrong it may feel to you.
One final restriction. Your council is subject to the evolutionary council. When you have a rule you wish to overthrow, you must present your recommendations to them.”
This infuriated all the girls even further, but as they sensed me they held back the comments they’d been ready to forcibly make. Cherine demanded I explain and asking for privacy I did. When the others sensed her calming down they decided to wait for an explanation. It was pretty simple really and I was surprised they had not understood for themselves. Robbie has taken his two most vociferous opponents and given them power over him. They will no longer speak out lightly. If they do speak, it probably means it will be good that Robbie be forced to listen and take seriously their objections. Our evolutionary council made mistakes in the early years, becoming wiser with time, and by subjecting the new council to the older one he has prevented them from taking things to extremes.
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<h3><center>3123</center></h3>
“Edith, Robert just became a Cherinian. He still thinks as a Normal human. It is tempting for me to instruct you to wait until he has fully understood what being a Cherinian means, but I have a suspicion he might be more effective as he is now. Choose your committee and arrange your first meeting as soon as possible, as he has expressed certain reservations about our lifestyle and I think you should examine them and report your decisions.”
Claudia feels (remember she and Diana love studying history) Robbie may be making a mistake. She says it can backfire. She likens what he is doing to a nation knowing their neighbour is hostile and helping to arm them. Cherine and I do not agree, we believe we are not arming them, we are disarming ourselves, but we will have to let the future show us what the truth is.
In case you are wondering whether all I’ve said indicates a shift in my thinking, I better explain what I believe. I will only discuss my thoughts with regard to those cases where a child and adult truly love each other and the child enjoys sex on his or her terms. All other cases, the adults belong on the penal world.
You might be expecting me to start off by refuting all the pronouncements by numerous psychologists and other ‘mental’ professionals. I have little interest in them. Their understanding of the human mind and heart is often restricted, not only by their ignorance, but also by their own prejudices formed out of the ‘knowledge’ they studied and believe in. Do they not even classify themselves as separate groups, naming their school of thinking after some great man who helped advance their knowledge of the human psyche? They forget that even those men were only scratching at the surface of understanding the complexities of our minds, still largely ignorant, but convinced of ‘their’ truths because their rules did help or appear to help them achieve some moderate level of success in healing. Another handicap amongst normal professionals is that even among them there is the need to follow the herd and believe whatever is fashionable. Those who are brave enough to think for themselves in such controversial areas are also usually ‘wise’ enough to keep their thoughts to themselves.
Children who make love, whether with another child close to their age or with an adult, if the sex is loving, caring, dare I even say, also fun, and seen as a natural extension of their love for that person(s), they are not harmed by their experiences, only by the society they live in, by their peers. Sex is a game (when not ‘used’ for procreating only) that causes enjoyable sensations to the body while also opening the heart so that love is felt more deeply. That is just as true for children as it should be for adults. Ironically, despite what so many adults believe, it is often truer for children. Another point I would like to see studied - is a matriarchal society less or more tolerant of children being loved sexually? It makes sense to me that they should be more tolerant, since they should not be as strongly influenced by the hymen mythos (myth).
I keep on coming up against the statement (as made by Rob), that the adult is destroying/stealing the innocence of childhood. I can’t help wondering, what do they think goes through the minds of such children? Do they imagine them suddenly becoming consumed by lusts, obsessed by the need for sex every day? Do they imagine such children walk around aware of others as sex objects? Is that because it is so often true for adults - usually those adults who are not successful at finding themselves a partner to love? The answer is only in the positive where the child has been molested and fears, or where the adult has deliberately corrupted the way of thinking of the child so as to fulfil their own sick fantasies - which means they belong on the penal world.
Adults examine children from their end of the telescope with at least a couple of rose tinted lenses in between. I am not saying they do so out of false romanticism. They do so because nostalgia for their own lost childhood colours their thinking. The truth is that children are practical little beasts and are governed by many obsessions. It is extremely rarely that a child includes sex within their passions. They are more interested in being part of a peer group they admire, in watching movies, exploring the world. Sex, for those who’ve indulged in it, is something that is only needed when their body has built up a certain need for it or when they are feeling a strong love for the person they are sharing such a relationship with. If they feel loved without needing to ‘earn’ it, I suspect they will just as often choose a bar of their favourite chocolate if offered the choice.
Sex is exciting, but it is also a comfort, just as being held on the lap of their father or mother is. All is right with their world, for they (and their body) have just indulged in proof of how deeply they are loved and treasured.
Let us create an imaginary scenario. Say it becomes the law that all families where sex is enjoyed with a family or non-family member as a minor, are moved to a remote village where only paedophiles are allowed to live. No television programs, no magazines or radio is allowed to broadcast to them any criticism of paedophiles or suggestions that the children are their victims. The adults who share green sex with those children must only be those who strictly follow the rules of true paedophilism.
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<h3><center>3124</center></h3>
How ‘damaged’ will those children be if what they are indulging in is seen by them and their community as a natural extension of the love they feel for their ‘lover’, for there is nobody around to tell them otherwise. Will they sense that what they are doing is ‘evil’ of them and their green sex lover, or will they see it as a natural extension and part of the many ways of giving and receiving love? Where the adult is a caring lover, and the child shows a distaste for sex, the adult, by his or her own rules and heart, should not continue to try and have sex, so they would not become or will stop being a part of the experiment.
<p>I do argue that our systems are responsible for the greatest damage inflicted on those children who have enjoyed sex, but I also do <i>not </i>advocate green sex as being something that should be imposed on society in general as acceptable and necessary for all children - for it is not. But, where it happens with tenderness and care for the child and is a part of a loving relationship, nobody has the right to condemn and destroy the lives of all the parties involved. I certainly do not believe that governments (the big parent), social workers and preachers have the right to impose their own prejudices on any form of love, whether it be between adults, or adults and children. Their duty is only to protect children from violence of all kinds.</p>
<center>* * * * *</center>
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I had not realised what a mammoth operation making the changes on the Penal world would be. We cannot just arbitrarily move the prisoners. They have built homes for themselves; planted vegetable gardens and so on (over the years we have provided them with a good variety of seeds). To be fair, we have to replicate their work so that they do not suffer. Before that was done we had to interview them and place them on our various lists according to their wishes.
At least we had a number of parties in between for birthdays and wedding anniversaries to break the mood for us. Robbie took a few of the girls on private trips; using the time for bonding and loving. Apart from these trips affecting Robbie and the lucky few, it is amazing how it affects the rest of us. Just one of us being in a dreamy-happy-lost-to-this-world mood perks all of us up as their feelings filter through us.
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Robbie calls this a healing time. He says we need to take time for ourselves, to gather all the loose ends and finish jobs or correct situations we let slide. It seems, his rat is one of them (I don’t know whether he thought of it because of my writing about green love).
After clearing it with Alki, Elia and Eddie or Hettie, he met Petsas for lunch. They had their food, two bottles of wine and only then did he turn the discussion to business.
“Are you enjoying what you are doing?”
“This has been a strange life for me Roberto. Spending my time working at helping others is alien to my instincts and way of life. In the old days, when I was attacked by the press, I took pride in it and did not care what they said. Now they write good things about me and I rush to buy a copy to keep.
I have had years to think about it and once my anger abated I realised you pulled a trick on me. I have seen your friend here many times. He acted his part well. Why didn’t he become an actor?”
“There is no hostility for what we did?” Robbie had not expected this and was concentrating on picking up his emoting.
“Sometimes. Then I receive a phone call or a letter, thanking me for saving their family or making life bearable. I also realise you could have destroyed me, instead of helping me the way you have, so it shows you are a good man and I was wrong to attack you. Roberto, I need to know, your powers, they are as I thought?”
“Not exactly. I think it might be better for your peace of mind you do not know - at least until you are ready.”
“Ready!?”
“I should not have said that. Please do not try to make yourself ready, it can only happen in a natural way. I promise you one thing. Do not fear dying. Your day of death will be your choice.”
“Why will I choose to die?”
<br>
<h3><center>3125</center></h3>
“You might. It will not be death as you think of it now. It will be an opening of your way to a new life. You will still be the person you are now with all your memories, but you will be starting anew, the slate clean and a chance to live your life in a much happier way. I’m sorry to be vague, but I will come to you when the time is right.”
He was silent for a while. “Why Roberto? Why me, after all I did?”
“Hmm, perhaps the day you understand that is the day you will be ready?”
“You are being enigmatic, just like all those prophets of the old days.”
“I have some news for you. The funders have been watching the way you handled the money they made available. They propose to expand your mandate and the size of your monthly allocation. You will have five times as much money to disburse. We want you to carry on with the Cyprus operation, but you should now expand and use the balance of the funds for an international project. How much suffering can you bear to witness?”
“I don’t understand.”
“We want you to launch an operation specifically targeted at helping children. There are many funds that help the sick, the starving, aid for improving the basic living conditions and education. There are funds that help those who care for orphans. None of them provide to any great extent for children who are victims of sexual offenders.”
Petsas watched Robbie’s face closely and he now leant forward, wondering what exactly he was supposed to do.
“Do you know what happens to the victims when adults are arrested? They are taken to government homes for children. Those homes rarely have the means to provide individual treatment for the children. In the worst scenarios, the children find themselves in an environment of abuse again - only now they have no hope of being rescued.”
Petsas was horrified. He had never had any knowledge of such matters. “You mean those who run the homes are allowed to do this?”
“Not allowed, but they are in a position to hide what they do. Sometimes it is other children in the homes, older or bigger ones. It happens in normal schools, so you should not be so surprised it happens in homes where more opportunities are available. Remember those children have already been taught that they are only sex tools made for adults to use them for their own pleasure.”
Petsas had a sick look in his eyes as he asked, “What do you expect me to do?”
“You are to set up an organisation which will employ a large number of professionals on a part-time basis. They should volunteer and not ask for more than their costs. They should examine children, physically and psychologically for signs of abuse. Not wholesale as is done in some institutions. Each child should be given the time and effort necessary for them to be certain the child is not sexually, physically or mentally abused. We will assist you in getting permission for the first few homes in certain countries. If your organisation gets the right publicity from the media and I promise you will, you can grow the project. At that stage we will look for corporate financial backing.”
“What do we do if we find they are being abused?”
“The relevant government will be provided with the information. If they try to sweep it under the rug and do nothing meaningful to help the children, we will go public with names and other details. We will also allocate funds to provide treatment for the children who are desperately in need of treatment. Save one life, help one child find happiness and to live a healthy life and it will be worth all the millions spent.
If you are capable of feeling compassion and empathy, this project will tax your abilities. You will meet children whose abused bodies and scarred minds will keep you awake at night. You will need to be an ambassador for them, finding diplomatic ways to coerce reluctant governments to allow you to help these children. Keep in mind that many who hold positions of power, are secretly paedophiles - abusers of children, so be careful of them. Luckily most of them do not want publicity about this kind of crime and they may decide to go along if you do not release details to the press.”
“I must think about it. It is not the same as what I have been doing.”
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<h3><center>3126</center></h3>
“Agreed. A third bottle of wine or coffee?”
He agreed of course. He is still vain enough to appreciate the international publicity his controversial position will afford him. It does not matter what his motives are. Once he has seen, he will change. Robbie says he has a tendency to being a fanatic and he will have to monitor him otherwise he can do more harm than good in the long term.
<br>
Robbie seems to have chosen this period to resolve everything that upsets us the most. In this case, mostly Cherine. He knows that she and many of us still need to be healed.
He left for the alternate reality where Richard is and met with Rupert (shadow Robert).
“Sorry if I’m disrupting your life, but I would like to spend some time alone with you. Have you got some place we can spend a week or two alone?”
“Why? Am I on trial again?”
“Who knows - perhaps I’m the one on trial. Robert, I want to see you achieve your potential and the purpose of my visit is to evaluate you, see if you are ready to move on.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“All I can do is offer you the opportunities at the right times. Whether you accept them or choose to maintain your present life for a year or a thousand will be your sole decision. Robert, my position is awkward. It could be said by others who don’t understand, that my decisions are affected by the fact that we are in some ways one person. You and I know it is no longer true and you deserve to be judged on your own merits. Please help me.”
“I want some time alone to think. I’ll meet you here tomorrow.”
He spent that evening with the local Robert and Cherine. They spoke of Rupert and Robbie was pleased to hear there have been no conflicts between Robert and Rupert.
“You called him Robert, are you not going to cause confusion?”
“As long as he lives on a planet where there is a Robert he must use another name. Our conversation today was not for public consumption. I ask that you keep everything said confidential.”
<br>
The next morning, Rupert agreed and they stocked up for ten days on a tropical island, and Richard agreed to bring further supplies if they do not return within that time.
The first hours they cut fronds and made shelters for themselves. They were mostly meant to provide some degree of privacy, not as protection against the elements, but they did provide the shade Robbie needs. Not surprisingly, they hardly exchanged a word. Rupert finished his first and lighting a fire prepared a meal. They ate without talking.
“Thank you, I enjoyed that. Why did you decide to come?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“A fair one. You are feeling defensive and blocking your emoting. So I ask again, why did you come?”
He did not answer for a while and Robbie waited. Without a word he dropped his block. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Robbie did not go to sleep. He walked along the beach for hours, a lonely figure deep in thought. He jumped back to us and talked to Cherine under privacy. Cherine strongly disagreed, she wept bitterly, but gave in and he left. I will not disclose at this stage what he asked of her.
By the fourth day, Rupert was sorely puzzled. Robbie had not asked him any questions of importance, nor had he tried to enter his mind. As far as Rupert could see, their presence on the island was more like a camping trip for Robbie to relax and think his own thoughts. It worried him, but he also wondered what is troubling Robbie.
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<h3><center>3127</center></h3>
They did not spend all their hours together. If either of them walked off to be alone, the other one respected their need. When they talked, it was usually Robbie talking about the Cherinians, his dreams for them and his fears, and Rupert thought the discussions were loaded. He was certain Robbie was monitoring his reactions and it annoyed him. Despite the protests by Robbie, he decided he is on trial. He did not agree that Robbie has any right to test him and the less Robbie said the more it annoyed him.
After a week Rupert had a change of heart. He decided he would not object to whatever Robbie is doing and that he does not care what Robbie decides, he will continue to live the life he is living. Robbie did not react to that either.
Thinking they will be leaving the next day, because it was the tenth day, he asked Robbie, “How about you? Do you still remember the way I treated you and hate me? Are you convinced you can be objective about me?”
“Not so often now, but yes, I still have the odd nightmare about you. The worst ones are where I find myself as an invisible viewer and I see Cherine making love with you. I can’t move or cry out.” He paused and then said sadly. “The worst of it is that Cherine knows when I have those nightmares.”
“I’m sorry. I no longer think she deserves to be hurt.”
“You asked whether I can be objective. I can’t. For a while I thought of spending time with you, sharing experiences in the hope I can learn to love you. What would the point of it be? I will still not be objective. My next decisions are too important to allow myself to decide blindly because of love. I can try to be fair if I am prejudiced against you. If I love you, I don’t know.”
“Why not get someone else to judge me then?”
“I never thought of it. I do not like the idea. No one else can know either of us as well as we know each other. Robert, if I decide in your favour, you will have the satisfaction of knowing I did so in spite of my prejudices.”
Rupert laughed. “The judge refuses to be recused due to admitted prejudice and tells the accused he should find it satisfying if he is found not guilty.”
Robbie looked at him in surprise. “Did you think I came here to judge you? You are neither guilty nor innocent. You went through traumatic experiences that caused you great damage and reacted according to what you knew as the truth. Think on this. When we were torn apart, you took with you some very important parts of myself. It took me a very long time to recover from it and perhaps I never will become the person I could have been. After that I ended up splitting myself and gave you another substantial part of myself. Robert, for all I know you may now be the stronger of the two of us. You may even be able to argue now that you are the real Robert and I am just a part. Whatever you are, or I am, I will never allow you to disrupt my family again. Not even if you turn out to be a better person in all ways.”
“You know the others can see this conversation directly from my mind if I let them, so why are you admitting I could be better?”
“Sam is monitoring me and writing everything in her diary. Robert, I do not care to justify myself. Call it arrogance, but I will not yield to you my family, whatever the justifications. The day you have your own family again you will understand me.”
“You demanded I open myself to you. Why do you keep yourself closed to me?”
“How can I judge your growth if you see my every thought? You will then become what I want to see. You can already guess better than any other person can, be satisfied with that. Robert, if you have grown, I promise to open myself to you.”
“I’m perplexed. Why do this? I’m living a life that is not too bad and am out of your way. Why risk changing everything? Are you feeling guilty?”
Robbie gave a start and then nodded in agreement. “Yes, I am. As long as you can be a true Robert, with all it implies for us, and I do not help you achieve it, I am guilty of acting against you - even if it is not seen by you or anyone else that way.”
<br>
<h3><center>3128</center></h3>
Over the next eight days and nights they talked, always skirting around anything of real consequence. Very uncharacteristic of any Robert, Rupert went for a long swim, lay in the sun awhile and then took a long walk. He returned to find Robbie preparing their supper. He stood looking down at Robbie, his face not showing his thoughts.
“Robert, I owe you an apology. It has long been overdue, but I needed time to see it. The time spent with Richard and helping so many has forced me to take a better look at myself.”
Robbie did not stop him or wave away his apology. He knew it is something Rupert needed to do, so against his wishes he sat on his haunches and let him find his own way to express himself.
“The mind is a strange creature. It looks for ways to protect itself and all too often it acts foolishly. You spoke the truth, it was Henry and it was me he passed through. Robert, it has taken me all this time to see it. I would have fought for my Cherine and Dommi anyway, but at least I would have done so as a Robert and not the creature I turned into. What I did to you and the way I fought you, you did not deserve that.”
“If I tell you something, will you accept I do it in honesty and not as an effort to rub salt in the wound? Robert, you could have won. If you had not been sickened by the void and you had come as Robert and confronted me with the truth, I could not have fought you.”
He gave a sort of bitter laugh. “How can that have won me anything? Cherine would not have left you.”
“Perhaps and perhaps not. You are making the mistake of seeing everything in black and white terms. There were in-between solutions that could have satisfied us both. I’ll let you see later. Let’s eat before the food gets burnt. Robert, it took a lot of courage. Thank you, I needed to hear you say that.”
To a certain extent embarrassed, but feeling relaxed for the first time, Rupert ate his meal. Robbie watched him carefully, enjoying the light happy look in Ruperts’ eyes. It felt as if he has let go some heavy weight that was crushing him and is ready to soar into the sky.
As Robbie gave him a smile and was about to say something, Cherine arrived and gave Rupert her special smile. Robbie winced.
“Come sit with us love.” Rupert made to get up and leave. “No, please stay. It is time we finish this.”
“You brought her on purpose!?”
“Yes. I had to be certain you still adore her. Why not the Cherine of this world?”
“She is not my Cherine.” He stood up, his face furious. “You can be a real bastard!”
“Of course I can, I am a Robert. Sit down, if you don’t let me explain, these three weeks will have been wasted.”
He was not the only one unhappy at the way this was going. Cherine and all of us (the whole family and pappou were watching through me) were upset and a little afraid.
Rupert sat down. “Why did you do this as soon as I apologised? Are you determined to stay my enemy?”
“You know everyone else calls you Rupert? From today you are Robert again and Rupert is gone.” He turned to Cherine. “You once said every Cherine deserves a Robert. Does it also hold true that every Robert deserves a Cherine?”
Reluctantly she agreed.
“I cannot believe I am about to say this. Cherine, I want you and Dommi to split yourselves. Restrict their memories to those ending on the day you saved me from the void. Let them see him and love him. After they do, you can let them see secondhand your later memories so that they do not get confused.”
<br>
He who was Rupert will never know what the gesture cost our Robbie - or maybe he will, once his Cherine has opened his heart and he is a true Robert. Maybe it does not matter, but I would like Robbie to feel he has been understood and appreciated.
<br>
<h3><center>3129</center></h3>
Lynda was asked to find an Earth where there is neither a Robert nor a Cherine. If possible she is to find one without a Dommi either. The only one she can find that satisfies his requirements is an Earth that had been through a catastrophe that killed off over two thirds of their population. Robert accepted it.
Dommi saw his solution as a fair one, but Cherine will not hear of it. She did not show her feelings until they were home. Her own sense of guilt still haunts her and makes her blind to the fairness of his decision. Robbie did not show any impatience and talked gently, emoting love all the time.
“Don’t think of him as the shadow Robert. Don’t even think of him as part of me. Cherine my love, think of him as my son, a son who adores you and needs a Cherine to love him. He needs a Cherine to love. If you feel he does not deserve it now, I promise you, he will soon as he has you to love.”
Robbie cannot resist indulging himself, even though he knows how it will affect him. He watched as the new Cherine was created and tasted of her mind and heart. Cherine protected her from Robbie, not allowing her and the new Dommi to sense him. Robert felt him though and there was at last compassion in his eyes for our Robbie. I hope he now knows what he can become and with his loves at his side grows into a Robert all of us can love.
<br>
We were pleased to hear that Richard asked to go with them to their new world. With his experience he will be invaluable. Of course, it is not the right time to let their local Normals know about their gifts and they have to act secretly. Robbie goes over to help whenever he can and soon all of us joined him. It is very sad to see how Normals can destroy themselves out of religious fanaticism and a warning to us that our world can just as easily be destroyed. Amazingly, the collapse and destruction of their civilisation destroyed the power base and wealth of the Cabal, which had also existed there - it could also be said that the Cabal brought about their own destruction as they had fuelled the fanaticism - so it could be said there is a good side to the bad that happened. Robbie intends making the role of the Cabal public, so that whatever remains of their organisation can be dismantled and never allowed to exist again. He is also gathering all the information he can about the role of the Freemasons and the Jesuits in the planned take-over of the world by the Globalist Cabal. He knows I like having royalty around, so it saddens him when he sees how large a role they played within the Cabal and that it means they will have to cease existing, remaining only as a romantic-sounding part of history.
<center>* * * * *</center>
<br>
It was decided we will celebrate our Cherinian anniversary in Noelle. It is bound to be a strain on Robbie - he has to transport a number of species from the void and alternate realities and also has to create and maintain sheaths of energy that can transmute the air to suit them. This anniversary is not only to be remembered because it was held on Noelle. It is also the first time over a million Terran Cherinians from various alternate realities are present. It required contributions from all the Alki - Elia - Eddie / Hettie alternates to provide food and drink for so many. Robbie was asked to make a speech and he agreed, because he wants to do something else. He took Robert (Rupert) and his family to the podium and introduced them to all Cherinians with pride and love shining through his words. We can now see that he was not using a figure of speech to convince Cherine; he literally thinks of him as his son! I wonder how that makes the other Robert feel.
Apostoli had prepared his club and two nights later we had a party (much smaller of course) to celebrate birthdays and wedding anniversaries. This time Alki and Marian were our guests of honour and their kids were given pride of place. At last they are all coming to the void to dance and Cherine has been given permission to link them and open their minds. It will be a real pleasure for all of us - we were always uncomfortable at having them remain Normal humans - not that they were entirely as the Normals, for sharing our lives and seeing so many gifts being used did change them. Maybe it was good they remained Normals for so long, for they do provide us with a hint of what all Normals might be like after we have declared ourselves and they have adjusted to our existence. Being linked may now result in them forming their own Kaleidoscope World. Either way, it will be a wonderful day for all of us.
<br>
There is almost something like an obsession in the way Robbie still travels over the planet looking for adults who do not deserve to live in this world. Our Penal colony is growing fairly rapidly and we watch the news, expecting to hear some kind of comment. Robbie did mention that he noticed a lot of sites on the web where child-lovers meet have disappeared. We do not think it was because of him. There are reports about Interpol and local police in the U.K. and the U.S.A. arresting a number of people for having child pornography on their computers. I doubt that more than one in five are people who actually abuse children and I feel sorry for them. It must be terrible to be branded a criminal when you have no interest or wish to harm anyone. Will the Normals ever find a way to treat them differently from those who are actually monsters? Robbie says they will not. It will need people of respected positions to champion their cause and it is extremely unlikely any will take the risk. When you think that some of those sites had up to one hundred thousand visitors per day it makes me wonder how many adults live in fear. Perhaps having to keep it a secret, coupled with their fear and being ashamed of their own yearnings does them more damage than anything else.
<br>
<h3><center>3130</center></h3>
Robbie passed on to Petsas the names and details of the children he rescued and placed in homes. He advised him to follow up after six months or longer. We did not tell Petsas that some of his helpers are Cherinians who will be capable of seeing the truth. He did warn him that to have him enquiring about them immediately will only create suspicion and not help the kids. I find it disgusting that we have to wait and allow children to be abused before we can help them.
Dommi with Cherine had a talk in private with Alki and Marian. It was decided we have to get Robbie away from Earth for a while, his nightly interventions and the pain he sees are having an effect on him, while also feeding his obsession. They reminded Robbie of the masters of the machine people and asked we return them. He was relieved and agreed. We took a week to stock Freddie and used this time to have meals with friends and loved ones.
Robbie asked Allan if he wants to come.
“You don’t need me. Sam, give my regards to Arthur. Tell him I said he is stupid to avoid helping us to find him.”
“Why does he, Allan?” Robbie asked.
Alan’s face tightened. “Think about when I was arrested and my reactions.”
“Fuck all of you. You are fucking crazy!!”
He grinned. “Coming from you that is a compliment?”
“That answer is becoming a cliché. Fight back, damn you!”
Allan laughed. “Sam, you gotta write this. Robert has become a bully.”
“You’re an arsehole!”
“Yeah, I love you too.”
I only bothered to write the above because I understand this is some kind of male rite. They bond this way? No wonder we females can never really understand our males! J
<br>
We convinced Allan he should come with for the sakes of Eleni and Jessie. He had been thinking he wanted time alone with them, forgetting they have never travelled with as a family on Freddie. Despite all she has seen as a Cherinian, Eleni’s eyes were like saucers. To look at something this size and complexity and know it was created by one man, it still impresses us, so we can imagine how she felt. Robbie pulled a face, he knew he is in for a period of being treated like some kind of god. Little Jessie, luckily, is more interested in exploring and when Freddie talked to her and she was told it is the world she is standing on who talked to her, she was delighted. It was not long before she was ordering him around and he loved it. Robbie did not do well making his alter ego so susceptible to the whims of children. I would have expected any personality that runs a whole world will have to be more practical and down to earth (Oops, sorry, was that a play on words? Not intentional, I promise).
A number of Anadir families had stayed aboard Freddie and with the newcomers, their population swelled to about four hundred. Our skies brightened with Sparklers and the Eminixx all came with. We already have on board a few of the machine people and a number of CherInguel scientists and their families. We left for the future to collect more CherInguel scientists and to check up on their progress.
We’d just eaten a delicious meal, so Tina asked, “Robert, did you copy the memories of the real Maria and Spyros?”
He looked shocked. “Are you suggesting I would go into the minds of non-Cherinians to steal their personalities!?”
Not at all abashed, Tina insisted. “But they are so real! They talk and move exactly the same way and her cooking…the food tastes the same.”<br>
<br>
<center><a href="https://steemit.com/sfandf-fiction/@arthur-grafo8/little-cherine-book-05-bpost034">Next [Book 05] - Post 034</a></center>
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<h5><i><b>I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.</b></i></h5><br>
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<h6>Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου<br></h6>(Alexander Zenon Eustace)<br>
<sup>24th November, 2019</sup>
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* posted: 24th November, 2019<br>
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<center><h6><i>If you wish to read from an earlier book, from Book 01 to Book 05, use this link button to open the LC Book Index:</i></h6><br>
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<br><center><h6><i>If you agree with my protest, why not make it a habit of upvoting all who have set their post to "Payout Declined" <br>(if you do not see they plagiarised or are running a scam)<br> The bigger your vote the better, but even a zero value vote shows you support them</i></h6></center>
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<h1><b><center>PLEASE NOTE </center></b></h1><h3><b><center> I am modifying the above notice and have designated @steemchiller as my sole 100% beneficiary - so please upvote for him. With my SP being worth such a little, it is all I can do to reward him for the wonderful work he does for all of us with his https://steemworld.org/ </center></b></h3>