CHAPTER 1                                                                         (THE REST IS OVER)       Levi       After the stress of the last few months, he was a wreck.  He was nervous and irritable, which didn’t help since everyone except Moon was afraid of him.  The numerous fights he had with Simians, the mortal wound, the battle in the desert, the battle with Gord and culminating with the incredible shock of almost dying again had taken its toll on him.  On top of all this, the merging with Amy to create the entity of ASONE left him confused, weak and alienated from everyone.  Emotionally he was still greatly shaken from the merging with Amy.  That had been the most incredible experience of his long life and he still couldn’t explain or understand it.  Amy was little help either; all she could say was she did it, but didn’t know what she had done.       He didn’t want any more pressure for a while.  What he really needed was to calm down and recoup.  Amy’ s plan to return to the desert settlement was great by him.  He had spent some of the most relaxing times in years at that location and thought fondly of it.  Rest there would be good, but he was realizing that nothing would ever be the same again.       He and Amy had rested at the desert settlement for several days, but the pressure was non-stop.   Everyone was coming to him for instruction and advice.  It was as if none of them could make a decision or a move without him.  Moon wanted to know what to do with the colony of Technical Simians, Fred was scared shitless about the Los Angeles Simian colony, Jimmy wanted to know what instruction to pass on to the Owens Valley tribe, and even Al was asking about what they were going to do now.  It was driving him crazy!  Amy had all the answers, but even she didn’t want to make all of their decisions for them.  She said they had to start doing some of their own thinking.  He wanted to get away, even if it was for a short time.  He couldn’t just take off because Moon would follow him, but he had an idea.       Amy       She was basically a computer and it was impossible to overload her internal capabilities, but she too was emotionally tired.  Her central core was four feet in diameter and made of human brain cells, and her mental intellect was limitless.  She was the largest and fastest computer ever built and her capabilities were also without limits.   Her handicap was that she was self-aware, alive.  This was great in many ways, but it was also a handicap.  Emotionally she was not mature and was therefore vulnerable.  She, like Levi, was stressed.    She needed to rest and she knew Levi was tired also.  They had to get away.       After the feats their armies and friends had seen Levi perform, they had withdrawn.  They were afraid of Levi.  He was something supernatural and unapproachable.  This caused Levi much of his grief because he needed the closeness of other humans.  He had been friends with Al, Iron Eyes and Jimmy; but now they looked at him as the Supreme Leader, almost a deity, and they hesitated to get close to him again.  In time they would come around, but it might take a while.  Thank God for Moon.  Nothing would change him.  Moon had always worshiped Levi and would easily die for him, but Moon was Simian and was not outgoing.  Most of their communications were necessary and Moon could never feel or understand the grief Levi was experiencing now.  Well Levi had her.  She grinned as Levi grinned back.  They needed to get away.  They needed no one else.         They had returned to the Mojave Desert to rest, but all the leaders brought Levi their problems.   Unfortunately there was so much that had to be done.   She issued instructions, but it seemed to be endless.   Moon was told to take the remnants of the Colorado River Simians to the northern valleys where the cattle were kept.  Riders, fluent in the sign language, were sent along to train them in the art of raising cattle.   Hopefully the humans would be relieved of the job and the Simians would learn a valuable trade for everyone’ s survival.  The Simian forges had to be set up and the Simian metals melted down.  Amy had given them plans on a new weapon to build.  Jimmy wanted instructions for the Owens Valley.  She told them to keep making lances.  Fred was frightened being in the Los Angeles Simian Colony and, without humans, they had no food.  She told them to send patrols out looking for cattle or wild animals in the mountains.                It was then that Levi challenged her yet again.  He wanted her to learn how to physically teleport them to somewhere else.  He wanted to get away, if only for a few hours, but preferably for several days.  He had mentioned teleportation once before after they had merged, and she had been thinking about it.  She believed it to be possible; it was just a variation of the other mental skills she had developed at his insistence.   It was time to grow again.       Levi       At his insistence, Amy began to experiment with teleporting.  Amy always surprised him, and he knew she could do anything she was challenged to do.  He challenged her now.  He participated and watched as Amy used her telekinesis to move objects from one place to another again and again.  He then watched as she made a rock disappear at one location then magically appear at a different location.  Her image in his mind was grinning at him.  He reflected on how surprised, shocked, and happy he had first been when Amy developed the image of herself from his thoughts.  He remembered how beautiful she was and how shaken he had become when she first manifested the image in his mind.  He loved seeing her image and he loved that grin now.  He had learned that this was her satisfied grin.  Amy was happy; she had obviously mastered teleportation.  That mental ability could now be added to their repertoire of skills (telepathy, telekinesis, astral projection, clairvoyance, mind reading, and other skills with yet no name).         Amy said, “It isn’t that difficult to use my mind in this way.  It is very close to astral projection, but includes some telekinesis as well.”    He had learned not to try to understand the hows and whys.  It was enough just to know what was possible and the results.   Amy told him, “I can take us anywhere I have seen and have a visual reference for.  It’s the same situation as astral projection except in physical form.”   He was trying to think of somewhere they had been and yes, he knew instantly where he wanted to go.  Levi said, “I want to go to where it all began, on the cliff of the Arizona mountain overlooking the desert.”  This was the place were he had first sought the spirit and opened his mind sending it racing across space to touch Amy.  That was the place Amy had first touched his mind.  That was the very beginning and at a much simpler time.       Amy would have preferred a different place because her recollection of the spot was not as clear as other locations.  Amy had only brief glimpses of recognizable landmarks, but she too felt the sentiment of that location and shared the appeal of going there.   Amy said, “I will try, but you have to remember the location and bring the memories up in your mind.”   That was easy as he thought back to the beginning.  He vividly remembered sitting at the edge of the cliff leaning against the rock where he had made the very first contact.  He was looking out over the desert far below and into the distance as far as his eyes could see.  He was again smelling the pines and feeling the coolness of the rocks beneath his legs as he sat there.  Suddenly with a start, he realized he actually was sitting in the same exact spot.  He had been physically transported and hadn’t even realized it.  Amy was smiling at him.  As if doubting, he looked around again and indeed it was the very spot.  Damn, they had gone several hundred miles instantly.  It had taken him months to make this trip before and the return trip took only seconds.  This was truly amazing.  He also realized suddenly that this territory was not safe; it was full of Simians.  He felt to see if he had his pack and weapons.  Luckily, he did.   Amy said, “I wouldn’t have transported you without them.”         Amy       She loved it when Levi challenged her.  Her intelligence was unparalleled, but abstract thought had remained unique to humans.  Of course, in the truest sense, she was human, but abstract thought came slow to her.  She originally came up with telepathy on her own to find Levi, but it had taken her many years to originate the new thought.  Many of her other skills came mostly from Levi’s mind and challenges.  When logic no longer prevailed, Levi seemed to always come up with a new and different angle.  Sometimes it was nothing more than a question, like now.  When he asked if she could transport him physically to another location, it was nothing less than another challenge.          She had long since grown accustomed to using Levi as the reference.  She used his senses and transmitted her power and essence through their telepathic communication link.  This was learned when she used telekinesis the first time to open the inside hatch of her research facility.  Levi had been pissed to think that he had traveled across the desert only to die just outside the facility.  His words still haunted her when he threw down the gauntlet.  He had said, “You don’t have lips, but you sure had a big enough mouth to talk me into coming hundreds of miles across the desert.  If you could do that you could do other things with that intellect.”  He didn’t give her a choice, he simply demanded that she do it and she did.         She had used his body as the reference when she astral projected for the first time.  It took getting used to, having an out of body experience from his body, but it had worked.  She expected that doing the teleportation would be very similar to these two functions, which she had already accomplished.  This would be sort of a combination of both.   She must be able to see the reference points for the place she wished to transport him to.  It was then only a matter of moving, or in this case transferring, the matter from here to there, physically changing the reference point and swapping matter.       Levi had asked to go to the place where she had first touched his mind.  Oh, she liked that idea, but she didn’t have clear reference points to that location.  She asked him to remember the place and he pulled his memories forward.  The memories were clear and fresh.  He was seeing it very clearly; in fact, he was absorbed into his memory, reliving it.  She watched what he was again seeing.  She quickly followed the path to the location and fixed it in her mind as she began concentrating on the spot.  The rock was cool to his back and legs and the view beautiful as she superimposed the physical reality into the memory.  They were there and she realized that Levi wasn’t aware of that fact yet.       Levi was shocked when he realized he was actually there.  After a few seconds he panicked and was searching for his weapons.  The sudden panic was quickly replaced with joy as he realized that they truly were here.  Levi praised her and she always relished in it.       Levi       It was dangerous being here, and he couldn’t remember why he had chosen this place, but it was beautiful.  They watched the desert floor and the rising heat waves over the ground.  He remembered that it reminded him of an ocean, and it still did.  Amy was quiet, taking it all in. She said, “It not the same as seeing the memories; this is much more beautiful.”   The sun was getting low to the earth and the desert sunset held oranges and violets bursting forth from the setting sun.  Yes, this was relaxing.  He paused only long enough to pull his blanket from his pack.  He intended to sit here for awhile.       Amy came to him, her sweet image filling his mind.  The image became real and they lay in each other’s arms watching the sunset.  He felt the pressure of her in his arms, the warmth of her body, the fragrance of her hair, he tasted her lips, and felt her touch.   She stroked his brow, removing the little remaining tension.   He felt the electricity of her touch as her fingers traced the ridge of his back.  Her lips nibbled his and her kisses stoked a fire deep in his stomach.  He caressed her breasts and watched her love soften her expression.  He saw the excitement build in her quivering body.  They made love under the stars, first gently and then more passionately.  He experienced Amy’s emotions and feelings also through their mental link.  He became lost in the sensation and passion, long since losing who he was in the confusion of mingling emotions.  He was aware of a volcanic eruption as they combined in their orgasms.  They lay together in silence for many long minutes as they slowly calmed their feelings and finally began to talk as they hadn’t done in so long.       It was a beautiful evening and night and he was very happy.  They had not been able to make time for themselves.  Both had been so busy surviving and taking care of everyone else.  They vowed to never neglect themselves again, and to make time just for them.  It would never happen if they waited for a good time.       Amy woke him in the morning just in time to see the sun’s light race across the desert floor as it rose in the east.  He had not seen this before when he spent a week at this spot.  It was truly something to see.  Amy said it was time to go back, and he really didn’t mind it because he was very hungry.  As he started to rise he thought he had detected something in her mental tone.  He looked into her mind and chuckled.  He saw Amy’s monitoring of Dawn and saw Moon raising hell with Al about the whereabouts of Levi.  He was positive that Moon had probably looked for him all night.  He should have told him when they left, but he would have wanted to go with him and they weren’t ready for that.  That would be the next step in Amy’s mental growth, taking more than just him when they transported, namely Moon.         They did not want to startle anyone so Amy said they would reappear around the rock entrance of the caverns just out of sight.  He felt nothing, really, when Amy sent him instantly to that location.  His view one second was the desert, and the next second the boulder which he was standing behind.  In retrospect, his view faded out then faded in at the new location.  He was going to like this new ability, yes indeed.       Amy       She was instantly glad Levi had chosen this place.  It was beautiful beyond description.  She had seen the view from Levi’s memory, but somehow this was far more intense.  The bigger than life expanse made you feel very insignificant.  Sharing this now with Levi was satisfying and romantic.  She wanted to share more with Levi, much more.       They lay together as the sun set in the west, sharing the experience and the moment.  They cuddled together throughout the night and shared much.  Their love-making was intense.  It was always intense as the emotions of each was experienced by the other and mingled with their own.  This mental feedback in the other generated a stimulating emotional energy, and caused spiraling excitement and shuddering orgasms.         As was her blessing, so was it her curse as she continued to monitor the minds of Jimmy, Dawn, and Fred.  Sometimes she wished she could shut them off, but unfortunately she had not found a way to do it.   Once she locked with a mind, she was tuned to it and continued to receive input from them through Levi’s mental link.  It was not at all the same as with Levi.  The data was not as rich as was Levi’s and communication back to their minds could only be accomplished by a concentrated effort from Levi.  The communication did work and had greatly contributed to the defeat of the Simian army here outside these passes.  What a victory that had been.         She ignored the inputs throughout the night in order to give them both the break they desperately needed for their emotional well being, but the backlog was building and could not be ignored much longer.   Fred was having a nervous breakdown believing he was going to be eaten any minute by the Los Angeles Simians.  Jimmy was feeling left out.  He had been part of the inner circle and had enjoyed the excitement, now nothing was going on back at Owens Valley.  The most pressing need was Moon.  Through Dawn, she was seeing a very agitated Moon, and he would need to be calmed down soon.  Levi’s stress level was greatly reduced, so she reluctantly shared the information with Levi and they prepared to return.       Her memory was total and complete.  She stored everything and knew all the landmarks for everywhere Levi (they) had been since they had been together.  She chose a close but secluded spot to materialize close to where Al, Dawn and Moon were now engaged in strenuous hand signing.  As Levi walked around the boulder into sight, Moon saw him immediately and came loping up.  Moon looked relieved but very upset and commenced chewing Levi out in an extremely rare show of emotions.  Levi was chuckling inside, but outwardly remained dutifully chastened.       Moon had been Levi’s constant companion since Levi had saved him from drowning and Moon had been very concerned about Levi’s disappearance.  They really should have said something to him before leaving, but he would have wanted to go too.  Moon was like a puppy in many ways, a seven foot tall four hundred and twenty-five pound golden puppy.  The thought was humorous.  They would take their chastising and take him along next time.  Actually, it would have been the safe thing to do since they had been in hostile country.       Levi       He spoke in the screeching language of the Simians and apologized for not telling Moon he was going to be absent.  He said he had some research to do and it had to be done alone, but admitted that he should have told him and would next time.  Moon appeared to be satisfied with the answer and was now curious about the research.  Levi could tell by the inquisitive look on his face, but he didn’t ask.       Moon had been to the Technical Simian’s camp in the northern valley checking on the colony.  There was a sizable group of them now that included the forty-two Technical Simians from the colony that were liberated, the fifty or so females, plus the children.  There were about one hundred and ten in all, and they were settling in but becoming bored with the inactivity.  It didn’t take much effort to raise cattle.  They had been taught to herd the cattle to grazing areas and not let them spread out.  He didn’t know what to do with them.       Amy suggested that they reestablish patrols to search for cattle and round them up.  That would keep them busy and would also prevent the Simians from overeating, decimating the herd.  The Simians were totally carnivorous and consumed a healthy amount of beef every day and, although the threat was not immediate, they would eventually deplete the herd.  Luckily there was an abundance of cattle after the day of chaos when three-quarters of the humans died from the Simian ray.  The ray affected only the higher intelligence animals and cattle were not among that group.  They were however, spread all over the country and would have to be herded.  Amy said this would give them some purpose.  Moon liked the idea of the patrols.       Amy also wanted Moon to interview the Technical Simians to learn what technical skills they possessed.   She particularly wanted to know if any had knowledge of the weapons on board the ships.  Moon said he would find out and was off to comply.       He then explained to Al and Dawn what was happening with the Simians.  Al agreed that patrolling, finding cattle in the upper valleys, and tending to the herds would keep them busy.       Levi’s next and most pressing problem was eating.  He could smell the food cooking on the fire and it was driving him nuts.  Dawn knew it too and was smiling at him.  Dawn knew more than most just how much food his augmented body needed.  She had even been shocked as she had tried to keep him fed.  She was piling meat on the fire for him now.       Amy       As she listened to Moon’s report, she was planning.  She realized that the Simians needed more, they needed a purpose.  They needed to feel important.  That is when she suggested that they return to patrols.   This would keep some form of continuity in their routine and serve a purpose by herding in additional cattle.   The settlement had a sizable herd of cattle, but normal increase in the herd would not keep up with the Simian’ s needs.  The patrols would serve a dual purpose of keeping them busy and maintaining the supply required.       These items were only maintenance issues.  Her real concern and goal was to gain access to the knowledge of the Simians that she believed was stored in the Simian computer currently in the caverns.   To research this knowledge, she needed to learn from the Technical Simians.  If the key existed, it would most likely be in them, that she would find what she needed.  Moon had even said that he had been a computer specialist on board the ship en route to Earth.  She again marveled that Moon must be close to eighty years old to have been a crew member in a space ship that landed over fifty years ago.  At any rate, she asked Levi to have Moon interview the Simians to find out what their skills were.  Knowing Moon, they would have that information by tomorrow.       Amy was frightened about the future.  She estimated that world wide there were probably no more than fifty thousand Simians, but that was only because there were probably only seventy-five space ships that made it to Earth plus growth over the last fifty years.   She remembered that there had been over one thousand five hundred space ships in the original invasion and, had it not been for the Earth United Defense League (EUDL) destroying hundreds of ships in space, they would have to contend with close to a million Simians.  The problem would be moot now as humans might well have been consumed feeding that number.   She was afraid because she knew other fleets were en route.  She had no idea how many or when to expect them, but if she wasn’t able to develop new defenses, well, it would be the end of the human race.         They had only made a small, very small dent in the Simian threat and they had a world to liberate.  The scope of the task was unthinkable for what currently existed, much less considering the new invading fleet or fleets.  She desperately needed to begin research and she was the only one that had the knowledge to do it.   Yes she was frightened, but tried to hide it from Levi.       As her mind continued to handle hundreds of functions, her primary focus returned to the present and the next immediate problem, which was to replenish Levi’s calories and nutrients at Al’s cooking fire.  As Levi ate and talked, she listened to Al’s problems.  He was understandably concerned about the Simians living within his defenses.  Al reminded Levi that they couldn’t protect themselves from a sudden attack from within.  He also reminded Levi that the Warrior Simian’s children would grow up and could be a threat.  Al also wanted to know about the next battle.  She assumed that the Mojave Desert Lancer Army was committed to the continued battle for Earth, but was very pleased to hear it voiced.       Levi listened and offered only agreements and understanding to Al’s concerns but told him little because he didn’t know yet.  Privately Levi told her that they needed to give everyone goals or at least something to do to keep them occupied and she agreed.       Levi       He hadn’t realized just how hungry he was until he started eating, then he remembered that he had not eaten supper last night.  Just thinking about it brought a smile to his face.  The smile must have made Al more at ease with him, as he continued to open up and voice his concerns.         Al had many concerns about the Simians living among them, but his real concern was where and what Simian colony they were going to fight next.  Al and his Lancers were totally committed to the liberation of Earth and with the recent victory, were anxious to continue.  They had lived in fear of the Simians all their lives and this revenge was sweet to their taste.  Al was saying they were ready to follow him anywhere.  Amy voiced the very question he was wondering when Amy questioned if Al would lead an army without him.  Only he heard the question, and wondered the same thing.       He listened for a very long time as he ate and, with Amy’s blessing, told Al that they would move against the Phoenix colony next.   He told Al that they needed to make preparations first.  Amy had given him designs for a new weapon that needed to be manufactured.  She also suggested to him that Al send three-man patrols out in all directions to spread the word about their success against the Simians.  They needed recruits and weapons to expand the army.       Al and Dawn were becoming more at ease with him now, but there was still fear in their eyes.  They did, however, like the ideas and suggestions they were hearing.  They would take them as orders and Al, or anyone else hearing his suggestions all jumped to comply.  They made him feel so aloft and unreachable that it was lonesome.       After eating, he sat down with paper and pencil and drew the plans for the weapon Amy designed.   Amazingly, the plans looked professional and in great detail, even though he did them freehand and in a very short amount of time.  Al looked appraisingly at the plans and smiled.  The plans were for a large lance, but this lance had some very surprising features.  This lance had a retractable blade within the main shaft that was both spring loaded and further augmented with compressed air, which could be pumped into a cavity within the lance.  The combined pressure, when released, would propel the blade out of the lance an additional eighteen inches.  The force behind the released pressure added to the blow from the user that triggered the release, and should be more than sufficient to penetrate the dense body of a Simian.  He had to admit it was ingenious.  This was indeed a weapon that could be used by a ground warrior.       Amy       She thought about a purpose for Al’s lancers and decided to share some of her plans.  Yes, the war must go on, but she wasn’t ready.  Hell, it had only been a few days since they had delivered the sound defeat to the Simians.  They couldn’t expect that every day could they?  Certainly she couldn’t deliver those miracles every day.       There was no time like the present to get them started on the weapon, however.  It would take time to develop and perfect the weapon, and would be a good test for the new Simian forge.  This settlement had very good tradesmen and would probably be the only place where the weapons could be made.  She had designed the weapon from supplies she had found in inventory in the caverns, well the springs anyway.   Those would have been impossible to make today.  The metal would have to be cast and lathed to precision, but she believed it was possible.       The lance would look like a fat spear, a shaft of approximately six feet with a protruding spearhead of ten inches.  It would take the weight of a full grown man to reset the spring and about ten pumps on the shaft air pump to build the pressure up to trigger level.  When a solid and heavy impact on the spearhead was made, it would trigger the release, driving the blade eighteen inches into the Simian.  She had calculated all the forces involved and it would be an effective weapon.  The drawbacks were that it would take a minute or so to reset the blade and it could knock the holder back and down if he wasn’t careful.  Once triggered, the blade locked just in case it was necessary to continue fighting with the blade.  The momentum of a charging Simian might impale him on the blade.       She had been thinking about this new ground weapon.  The humans needed something else to fight with.   Swords were not enough against Simians.  The Simian’s dense body and human’s relative weak strength made it very difficult to defeat a Simian in a battle of that nature.  The horses and long lances had given the humans equality to a certain extent, but there simply weren’t enough horses to supply new army recruits.         She had devised this weapon and assisted Levi in free-handing the schematic.   With her control, the drawing looked like a computer drafted printout, which of course it was.  Al was long since past being shocked by feats of this nature and accepted it without even a side ways look.  Al was happy to have a project for his settlement.       Now that they had a plan for new weapons, it was time to think about new recruits.  The second idea was to send teams of lancers out to meet humans and spread the word.  She wanted a full three-man team complete with a portable lance transport.  She wanted the teams to look impressive and functional as well, for their own protection.  This was going to be a big job, a seemingly impossible job, to take the Earth back from the Simians and they would need as many recruits as could be attracted.  The whole human race, what was left of it, would need to be involved to even attempt the job.         Levi       Al and Dawn left to carry out his suggestions, and he was alone again.  Amy resumed talking about the other problems at hand, namely Fred and Jimmy.  They agreed it was just as well to initiate action on all fronts.  They decided to take Jimmy first because he would be easier.  Amy said he was moping around the main camp and they could talk to him any time.          Amy opened up the monitored inputs from Jimmy and he noticed immediately that Jimmy’s view was of the ground.   He was, in fact, moping and dejected like a kid that had lost his favorite toy.  He chuckled out loud.   Amy grinned and said, “I told you”.   When he spoke to Jimmy, the reaction was immediate.  Jimmy’s head shot up and he answered immediately.   This was one happy kid now.  He knew Jimmy idolized him and would do anything he asked.  He liked Jimmy and sensed Amy’s affection for him also.  He was a likable young man and had been exemplary in his tasks, showing much initiative and savvy for such a young man of only eighteen years.       Levi told him he had some instructions for him and launched in immediately.  He told Jimmy that they needed a continuing supply of lances from the valley, but additionally explained the weapons being built at the settlement and the need for new recruits to use them.  He asked Jimmy to explain the needs and requests to Iron Eyes and ask for assistance.  Amy wanted the Owens Valley tribe to also send full Lancer patrols out to find recruits.  That made Jimmy happy and he commented that he would be in one of the first patrols out.  This made Amy stutter, but she didn’t say no.  She was always protective of him, but she knew Jimmy would do this regardless, so she just sighed.       Amy said the Owens Valley was very fertile and mostly secure now from Simian attack and would be an excellent location to raise food crops that would be necessary to support the growing army.   She wanted them to start farming.  Oh, he knew the tribe would not take to that idea, but then everything was changing wasn’t it?  He suggested that the patrols could invite many of the small gatherings of humans into the safe valley to assist with those chores.       Amy commented that the Owens Valley was a good base location and not very far from her physical location.  What bearing that fact held, he had no idea, but it seemed important to Amy.  He wasn’t telling Jimmy this, as he knew Amy was thinking out loud only to him.       Amy       Jimmy was easy to take care of; he just wanted something to do.  The work she assigned was real, but just not totally necessary that it get started immediately.  She was becoming the bottleneck.  She had other priorities that she needed to get to, but she didn’t want to lose any help along the way.  They did need recruits and always needed more lances, but the last thing was a little more sensitive.  She was asking the Indians to become farmers, at least some of them any way.  They needed the Lancers, so the recruits would also be needed to farm too.  Maybe this would be acceptable.  She hoped so anyway.  They would do it for Levi she knew, but wanted them to get behind it.         Jimmy surprised her when he said he intended to take out a patrol.  She had mixed emotions about that.   On a logical sense, she would lose the ability to monitor the Owens Valley if Jimmy left.  On the other hand, nothing was going on and wouldn’t for a while, so why not.  She thought it might be of more benefit to see outside the valley.  It was dangerous for him and that caused her some apprehension, but with their ability to transport, Levi should be able to save him if it became necessary.         The last and most complicated issue was Fred.  She had been concerned for him.  He was under extreme stress being the only human in the LA Simian colony.  Fred was not an overly brave man to start with, and the constant threat of a Simian disregarding orders (not to eat humans), was getting to him.  It was true that Fred had most of Levi’s Technical Simians as a personal bodyguard, but he didn’t trust them like Levi did.  After all, they were Simians.         The situation was being compounded by the fact that they were running out of food at the Los Angeles Simian colony.  Without humans for food, the Simian patrols were hunting deer, cattle, hogs, and anything they could catch, but the patrols were having to go farther and farther to find food.  Something would have to happen soon.  There simply were too many of them to feed.  She made a mental note to alter the instructions to the Lancer patrols.  She would want the humans encountered and recruited to round up cattle that could be spared and deliver them to the converted Simians, especially the LA colony.       When Levi spoke to him, Fred was very happy.  He was scared and didn’t mind saying so.  Fred said # 9 was leading the colony, but the generals were not eager to follow his instructions.  He was afraid of a mutiny and being eaten.   The eleven Technical Simians had been trained by Moon and were exceptional fighters now and could stand against any Warrior Simian, but there were still about six hundred of the Warriors.  The demise of Gord had left a large hole in the colony’s hierarchy that the Warriors wanted to fill.  That fact combined with the natural resentment of the Technical Simians made for an explosive situation.  He said the shock of Gord’s defeat was wearing off and Fred wanted instructions and help.          There was not much they could tell him in the way of additional advice other than what they had already given.  They agreed that the situation required attention and told Fred that he was coming.  That made Fred very happy.  Levi told Fred that he would come in two days.  Fred looked shocked, but said nothing.   He really was scared.       Levi       He really was concerned for Fred.  It was a very perilous situation they had put him into, but they really had no choice if they wanted to know what was going on there.  He did have most of his personal guard there to protect Fred, but still it would have been a most unnerving experience for anyone, human that is.  Even his guard, as expert as they now were in martial arts, would be able to do little against the might of Gord’s army if they turned on them.  For that matter, what could he do?  They had to do something about the situation soon.   The Warrior Simians needed to be destroyed, but his human army didn’t have the might to do it.  It was only by Amy’s amazing abilities that they were able to defeat Gord and win the leadership of the colony.  The shock of that battle must be wearing off for Fred to be so afraid.       Amy and he agreed that they needed to go there.  She said they could transport there and take Moon with them this time, but she wanted to wait until tomorrow.  She said she wanted to let Moon gather data on the training, if any, of the Technical Simians and try to learn something about the Simian equipment before they went.  He knew Amy was anxious to begin research and there were concerns she wasn’t telling him yet, but he could imagine they were real and ominous.  Whatever she wanted, he was there for her.       Fred was visibly relieved too when he spoke to him and said he was coming in two days to look at the situation.  He was thinking about Fred’s fear, knowing it was really severe.  Suddenly he was startled with the recollection that this was the compound where Fred had been imprisoned, waiting to be eaten by the Simians.   The memories of that ordeal must be very hard on Fred’s emotions.  So much had happened in such a short time that he had forgotten until this moment that this is where he and Moon had rescued Fred along with the original fifteen Technical Simians of his guard.  No wonder the fear was so great.  He made a vow to Amy to help Fred soon.       They had been involved with so many things that the morning was almost gone before he was up and headed toward the caverns.  Amy wanted to rummage through the Simian equipment to see what she could decipher about it.  Moon had identified the items as they had unloaded them, but many of the pieces had no translation into English.  They might remain a mystery.  Her focus was the unit identified as information center (computer).  Amy wanted to gain access to the stored information in the Simian computer.         They found the unit carefully stored and protected in the rear of the storage level set aside for the Simian equipment.  He uncovered the unit and looked over it carefully.  It was circular with a diameter of six feet.  The top was covered with a transparent semicircle of concentric material.  He saw no power plug or electronic connections.  All he found were tube connections similar to what he remembered was the size of a water hose going to the ice maker on a refrigerator.  There were several crystal prisms of various colors inside the unit that could be seen through the transparent cover.  The transparent material functioned as glass, but was different somehow, almost metallic.  These crystals were embedded in a matrix of very small and minute transparent tubing.  At first it looked solid, but on closer inspection, the tubes could be seen woven together in an intricate design.  It seemed that the internal working of this unit was flowing liquid, but what liquid?   He sure didn’t understand it and, Amy seemed preoccupied and was quiet.  Her image was in deep concentration.       Amy       Finally they were able to pursue her goal to research the Simian computer.  It was constantly in part of her mind.  She was anticipating being able to learn new knowledge for the human race, of course no one was left to appreciate it but her.  She knew there had to be knowledge she could use against the Simian invasion if she could only access it.       They found the unit well protected and uncovered it to begin the inspection.  This obviously did not operate on anything like electricity.  It had only a connection for liquid.  There was no input or output connection.  For that matter, there were no controls.  There was only the chassis and circular glass bubble.   She surmised that the bubble somehow functioned as the controls and display unit.  Within were red, yellow, green, and violet prisms.  This would have to be the projection of a visual display, receptors for controls, and possibly other functions.  The bed of the computer was interlaced with extremely fine interconnecting tubes and even finer hair-sized interconnecting fibers.  The fibrous material filled the massive six foot tank of the computer and was obviously the central data bank.  She believed that it must work on a complex chemical exchange similar to the neuron cells of the human brain.  The intelligence necessary to invent something like this would have been incredible.         What was she going to do now?  She needed the fluid, and, damn, who knew what other chemical were necessary?  There were no containers of any liquid in the Simian’s inventory.  Maybe some Simian yet alive might know.  Could this unit even be made to work again?  So close, yet so far.       They spent several more hours rummaging through the inventory items but discovered nothing new.  The technology was so foreign to her understanding that she had no basis from which to build or relate.  She would just have to wait and hope she could discover the secrets of the Simians.         They traveled around the camp watching the hustle of the tradesmen.  The Simian forge was going full blast and had been for days now.  The metals from the Simian swords gathered from the battlefield were being reduced to raw ingots for later use.  Some of the melted metal was being poured into molds that looked like the new weapon design.  She would be anxious to see how they looked and worked when completed.       She was also still learning how to deal with emotions; actually, she was still learning what emotions were.   She knew this emotion she was experiencing now; it was boredom.  Her mind was churning over hundreds of different things, yet she was bored.  She wanted to do something more, like the research she badly needed to do… in fact she was looking forward to it.  Unfortunately, she was waiting on too many other people.  She knew Levi felt her anxiety when he asked if she wanted to go to Moon’s location and rush the interview.  She was only too happy to do so and thanked Levi for his concern.       Levi       Amy was in a really weird mood.  Nothing seemed to pacify her.  Studying the Simian computer only seemed to make her more agitated.  They went through the camp reviewing and looking at the activity.  He thought she would be happy to see the work on her new weapon, but it kept her attention only briefly.  He could see her frustration and building boredom and knew he had to do something.  He knew they were waiting on information from Moon, so he suggested that they go to Moon and help interview the Technical Simians.   That pleased her.  Amy wanted to teleport, but that was too easy and he said no.  He needed the release of stress also and needed to run and stretch his muscles.  He knew Amy kept his muscles in perfect shape, but he enjoyed the exhilaration of the exercise; besides, it kept Amy busy controlling his body metabolism.   Amy saw his logic and gave him a smile, but called him a shithead anyway.         He grabbed his backpack and water jugs and took off running.  It was likely to take a couple of hours of hard running before he reached Moon’s location and would give him time to dig a little deeper into what was really bothering her.       As the miles passed, he felt better.  There was something about exerting his muscles that he loved.  Even after a year of having the extraordinary body Amy had given him, he had never gotten used to it.  His body had been on the verge of withering away when Amy succeeded in altering his DNA and began controlling his body.  Many times he would wake up with a start thinking he still had his eighty year old body and would feel his rippling muscles and tight abs just to reassure himself.       The more Amy focused on controlling his body, the more at ease she became.  He could sense her relaxing and could see more of her thoughts as she did so.  She really wasn’t trying to hide anything from him; it was more that he didn’t understand the complexities of her thoughts.  She was deep into mathematical calculations and formulas, and he had absolutely no idea of the purpose other than she wanted to learn the Simian’s secrets.  He was all for that too.       They were approaching the Simian camp now and could see that the colony had indeed made themselves at home.  They had constructed lean-tos and brush arbors to shade the sun and they had centered their settlement near a spring.  They didn’t have comforts, but then they didn’t need or want them.  Their camp was built here for the herd of cattle.  It was obvious that the cattle had gotten somewhat used to the Simians in that they weren’t running and bucking like they originally did.  He could see Simians mingled among the cattle and there was even a flock of sheep being herded by Simians.  No herd dogs needed here.       As they approached, Moon came forward to greet him.  Moon was obviously happy to see him and began slapping him on the back, causing no small amount of pain.  It was approaching dusk as they sat on rocks gathered around the recently lit fire.  Due to the diminished night vision of the Simians, fires were always built at dusk, but this night had a slight chill and the heat felt good as he sat listening to Moon’s report.       Amy       She realized what Levi was doing by making her concentrate on maintaining the runaway mutation of his altered DNA during his exertion, but she didn’t mind.  It did prevent her from being bored and that was good.   She was actually calm by the time they reached Moon’s camp.       Sometimes she thought Moon could actually sense when they were near.  Certainly he saw them coming from yet a great distance and came to meet them like a watch dog might greet its master.  Moon was so protective and eager to serve Levi, and she felt total trust in him even over most humans.  Most humans she had experienced had a self-serving nature, not that it was bad, it was just that Moon would think of Levi first.   She had grown very comfortable with Moon and his original Simian army.  They would have each died willingly for Levi.       As they settled by the fire in the dwindling light, she listened to Moon’s report.  Only five Technical Simians had even been alive during the space flight.  Of the five, two had been supply coordinators, one was an astronomer, one like Moon, had been a computer operator, and one had been a herder of !$@### (unpronounceable or untranslatable in English).         When she asked Levi to question what the animal was, they learned that it was a large animal from the Simian’s planet.  It was a grass eater with large wide legs and a wide flat mouth.  They were moderately domesticated and could be used for riding or work.  The general description sounded like an elephant without a trunk, so that is what Levi named it.  It seems that it was their main food source on their home planet and a stock of them had been brought for breeding, but when the mutiny occurred in space, the Warrior Simians ate them instead of the stored supplies.       She had hoped to find a computer engineer or maintenance technician, anyone that could tell her what fluid to use to activate the computer.  She was terribly disappointed until Moon said that the other computer operator mentioned that # 5, of Moon’s original group had been the equivalent of a computer engineer on board the Los Angeles colony ship.  Now that startled her.  She hadn’t even considered that option, and that ship may actually have an operating computer.  Why hadn’t she thought of that before?   Levi actually laughed and said, “You can’t think of everything.”       They could check it out when they went to visit Fred, which might not be very long at all with the way things were shaping up there.  She had been monitoring Fred constantly and it was beginning to look like a mutiny was about to happen.  She saw the Technical Simians starting to gather together for protection around Fred.  She opened the channel to Levi so he could see what was happening and he became upset.  He wanted to go immediately and she agreed.       Levi       As Moon gave his report on the experience of the Technical Simians, he was shocked to realize that there were five of these Simians of approximately his age.  He then remembered that the average life span of a Simian was around two hundred Earth years old.  He sensed Amy’s disappointment at not finding a computer engineer and understood why.  She desperately wanted to learn the secrets of the Simians, but he didn’t quite understand the urgency.         He looked at her deeply and saw her looking back as if trying to decide whether to tell him or not.  Finally she smiled and opened her mind to him completely so he could see her concerns and plans.  Oh yes, now he saw and understood the complexities of her plan and the deep threat to the human race as well as the urgency.  He had been so absorbed in the recent victories that he lost track of the more threatening menace still in space.  Everyone was doomed if a second wave of a Simian invasion came without resistance.  Damn, he remembered that originally there were over one thousand five hundred Simian space craft that equated to three quarters of a million new Simians landing on Earth.  You could call the game over then!  Yes, he now shared her urgency.       Considering what Amy’s desperate need was, he was also excited to hear about # 5 at the LA colony being a Simian computer engineer.  This was fantastic and a welcome stroke of good luck.  They would explore this opportunity very soon.       The second bit of information he found interesting was the fact that the fleet had brought live breeding animals for food on this planet.  Unfortunately, according to Moon, no stock had made it to Earth on either ship that he knew about, nor had he heard of any from any other colony.  That was unfortunate since they would have been a stable food source on Earth instead of humans.  He listened to the description and told Amy it sounded like an elephant without a trunk. Amy chuckled and said, “It’s as good a name for it as anything.”         They continued to listen to Moon’s report until Amy interrupted his concentration.  She opened the communication from Fred’s mind.  He and the Technical Simians were gathering in the main area of the space ship.  It looked defensive in nature and Amy said that the generals and their guards were amassing outside.   They were having second thoughts about the Technical Simians ruling them.  They were getting hungry and food was scarce.  It was their obvious intention to kill them and Fred and resume control.       He was panicky which Moon noticed immediately and stood looking around for danger.  Seeing none, he looked back.  He told Moon that his army and Fred were in danger.  Moon was agitated, but didn’t know what to do.  Moon just looked pleadingly at him.         He wanted to go to them now and asked Amy to take him and Moon by teleporting them.  Amy was concerned for his safety, but they had no choice.  He was the only one that could control the generals, if at all possible.  She told him to bring Moon close and explain what they were going to do.  As he did he saw one of the few expressions of shock, or any emotions for that matter, on Moon.  It was a combination of shock and fear and, if the situation weren’t so grave, it would have been comical.       As Amy suggested, he concentrated on Fred and told him they were coming and to remain focused on the open area in front of him.  Fred acknowledged with great relief and told the others what was happening.   They stood together, and he concentrated on the image coming from Fred’s eyes.  He felt the customary warmth come over him and a slight vibration building.  The image in front of him began to fade and the image from Fred’s eyes grew stronger though with a slightly different perspective.  He realized that it was no longer an image.  Rather, he and Moon were standing in the open spot now.  This transportation was visible to the generals who were staring in open shock at him and Moon standing between them and the gathered group of defenders.       Amy       She was about to attempt her second try at teleportation and this time taking someone else with Levi.   Actually, it shouldn’t be any different.  What she was actually doing was transporting matter through mental energy, and theoretically, mass shouldn’t matter.  It was a matter of her ability to focus through Levi’s eyes and senses, which is what she was doing now.  She saw what she wanted to transport and where she wanted to transport it through Fred’s eyes and simply transferred the matter through thought.  It was a quick flowing of energy from one place to the other.  They simply were placed where she concentrated, which was standing in front of the generals and amassed Warriors behind them.  The five generals were there with approximately fifty Warriors moving into the main area.  The shock was immediate as they appeared, and even though Fred and the others knew they were coming, she heard their gasps from behind Levi.       This would be a battle.  The generals had been warned and a decisive lesson must be taught if they ever hoped to maintain control over this Warrior army.  Force was the only thing the Simians understood.  She had hoped that the lesson with Gord would be enough, but apparently not.   This army was still intact and incredibly dangerous and Levi would need much more than her input to do what must be done.  He would need her with him totally to survive.  They would have to merge, but could she do it again?  She didn’t even know how she had done it before.       She used anger before as the basis from which to build, but she wasn’t angry.  She was frightened.   Could she use fear as the basis?  She was committed to this course of action and had to try.  She concentrated her massive intellect on this commitment of resolve and fear.  It formed into a mass, solid and building, gathering energy from around it.  This energy, her mind, began forming into an cloud, flowing to surround Levi.  She had the feeling as if she had astral projected from her physical brain and was projecting herself into Levi.  In truth this is what was happening; however, it was far more than just merging, they were becoming one, unified with Levi.  She was Levi and she was herself then they became one and she was lost as they merged.  There was then only ASONE.       Levi       Amy said there could be no discussion, that the generals must be killed.  That was the promise he had made to them.  He had stated that if they failed to obey he would come to kill and replace them.  Now he must do it or risk total mutiny.  Moon had said that Warrior Simians respected only power and force and must be ruled by such.         This was not going to be easy, actually impossible for him to stand against the five generals.  The other problem was that the army was following the generals and he didn’t know what their reaction would be.  If they joined in this confrontation he had no chance.  He told Amy, “You are going to have to merge with me again.”   He saw the panic in her eyes.         Amy said, “I don’t know if I can do it.”         All he could say was, “Try or we die.”  Then he felt the power surge through him and felt her presence growing as he flowed into her and she into him.   They again became as one (ASONE), a new entity.       ASONE       It called itself ASONE and was neither male nor female, Amy or Levi.  ASONE was infinitely intelligent and incredibly powerful.  The physical mental energy of Amy combined with the already powerful Levi made it much more than either separately.   ASONE stood before the generals mighty and confident.  It spoke in a more powerful voice than Levi alone and passed judgment.  It passed the sentence of death on the generals.  It spoke to the gathering of Simians and told the Warriors to stand down, that it wanted to deal only with the generals.  ASONE was telling the gathered Warriors that it had no desire to harm them.  The generals became panicky and ordered the Warriors to attack.       The Warriors seemed confused as the generals screeched the attack order.  The life long training of the Warriors took over and they jumped to obey the orders from five generals.  ASONE’s hopes of limiting the battle faded as it saw the Warriors move to attack.  The odds were astronomically bad, but there was no fear.       The uncaring ASONE saw the danger and attacked.  The entity that only minutes before had been Levi and Amy saw the danger in front of it and took the initiative.  It screeched to Moon and his small army to follow closely toward the doors then clear and close them and hold the doors to prevent other Warriors from coming in.  ASONE understood that Moon and the others knew it only as Levi, and referred to itself as Levi.  ASONE and his twelve would face some, fifty-five Warriors, including the five generals.  This, of course, assumed that they could get the doors closed from inside.         Levi, with Amy’s help, had killed many Simians in combat.  All those fights had been narrowly won, not by strength, but by skill and timing.  Levi’s strength was no match for a Simian.  Gord had been their ultimate test and only by the emergence of ASONE had they been victorious.  Now as ASONE again, the strength and power was incredible.  It felt like it could do anything, certainly it was more than a match for any Simian now.   Unfortunately, ASONE could still be killed; the body was still mortal.  Additionally, there were fifty-five Simians and not just one.  This would again be a battle for their lives, but ASONE was oblivious to fear or concern.  It only thought of dispensing judgment.       ASONE’s mind was moving at light speed as the strategy came forth.  The close quarters would not allow sufficient room for sword fighting, so it reached for its Bowie knives and began carving turkey dinner.  The strength and power in the arms was shocking.  The knives cut deep into the dense hide of the Simians it reached.  It rolled and stabbed up into the weak target in the crotch of the Simians.  When the blow was delivered to the exact spot, the Simian was immediately paralyzed and fell dead.  Throats were slit and necks broken.  It felt like everyone else was moving in slow motion as it fought.  There were many blows delivered at it, but ASONE was a blur as it dodged, moved, and worked a vicious and bloody path through the Simians.         Moon and the others were immediately behind, fighting their way to the door.  The martial arts training helped greatly.  Moon and the Technical Simians were very effective at close quarters.  They also had an advantage, using the short swords they trained with.  The close quarters made them most effective.  Moon and his army had reached the double doors and the team was fighting in both directions back to back, preventing access to the room from outside and holding those already inside.  After several long minutes, the doors were closed and latched.              ASONE saw everything while fighting through the Simian Warriors.  As it passed, the Warriors fell to either side.  Blows were made with feet, elbows, knees, blade points, and back handed knife butts.  It was vicious and deadly as it fought.  It seemed like hours, but only seconds passed.  Five fell to its attack, then ten.  The numbers added up and twenty were down.  With the doors now closed, Moon’s small army was killing now.  It was beginning to slip in the purple Simian blood that now covered everything.  ASONE climbed to the top of dead Simians and fought on, delivering thunderous killing kicks to the heads of those Warriors close.   Three of the generals were already dead, but two remained alive standing with the three remaining Warriors.   The entity called ASONE backed away and let Moon and his army complete the killing.       ASONE waited as the last five were quickly killed by Moon’s group.  It surveyed the area and saw fifty-five dead mutinying Warriors and two of his own.  The entity felt sorrow for its fallen.  It was # 6 and # 14 of the original group.  These had been Levi’s personal bodyguards and friends, and now they lay dead.  ASONE’s anger was rising anew until it noticed that the fallen friends had already been avenged.               ASONE stood in the center with Levi’s friends on both sides as Moon opened the doors.  They stood motionless as the Warriors outside looked in and saw the carnage.  ASONE announced the death of the five generals.   The screeching and clacking of the Warrior’s black teeth rose to a crescendo throughout the Simian army.  The Simians feared of Levi was paralyzing them.       ASONE walked fearlessly through the doors alone, into the quickly spreading army of Warriors.  The bloody Bowie knives were still held tight in blood covered hands.  It announced that Levi was still the leader of the Los Angeles Simian colony and asked if any others wished to challenge him.  The screeching and clacking ceased and total silence fell over the army.  There were no challenges.         Screeching to the assembled army, ASONE announced that Moon and # 9 were still in charge of the colony.  They would choose some of the Technical Simians and loyal guard to replace the dead generals of the colony.  With a booming screech and deathly stern stare he said, “They will be obeyed.”  Seeing that there was no dissension from the assembly, ASONE showed his contempt for the Warriors and turned its back on the army and returned through the doors.       Amy       With true regret, she felt herself (the Amy part) begin to separate from the ASONE entity.  The joining was hypnotic and euphoric, and she didn’t want to separate.  Merged together, they had been awesome, somehow far more than they were separately, almost limitless, but with the danger over, the merge must divide or both of them would die       The power of the entity they had created seemed capable of anything.  The entity had managed to kill forty-three Warrior Simians in close-quarter fighting.  She remembered seeing the fear in the Simians’ eyes as ASONE fought.  She felt the power of the blows and slashes with the Bowie knives.  They had been so powerful that the dense hide of the Simians had opened as if nothing more than thin paper.  Blood and death had spewed forth as the entity had whirled and slashed, ducking and reaching under hands and swords.   There had been no compassion, only the simple mechanics of killing.  That part frightened her now as she became herself again.       While she was merged, she no longer controlled Levi’s body.  She merged with Levi and became the new entity and was no longer Amy the computer, controlling the mutations of Levi’s body.  She was part of the entity, totally separate and new.  Left in this condition, Levi would die from the unchecked and normally controlled mutations.  This could happen in a matter of hours.  Even short periods of time could cause mutation that would take time to reverse.  This fact would always be the limiting factors for the existence of ASONE.       The reality of the situation flooded her mind as she completed the separation.  The longing to remain was losing out to her intellect now.  She again resumed her busy mental activity of monitoring and controlling Levi’s body along with monitoring the many other inputs from Dawn, Jimmy, and Fred.  “Oh shit!”  Fred was in the room and he was scared senseless!       Everyone had forgotten Fred.  He wasn’t a fighter and had to believe he was facing certain death as this battle engulfed the room.  Fred was miraculously uninjured, but she couldn’t tell where he was.  He was underneath Simian bodies somewhere.  She passed the information on to Levi, who was already moving about the room, seemingly in total control again.       Levi       There was no way to describe how it felt to be ASONE.  As he returned to himself, he remembered.  He had no longer been only Levi.  He had also been Amy.  He felt the internal activities of Amy, the incredible intelligence, and felt her love.  He felt the love and he was the love and they were one.  It was total satisfaction, like two halves of his heart had come together.  He was complete.       Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to enjoy the pleasant thoughts.  He had done many fantastic things as Levi, but this was far beyond that.  The entity ASONE was a superior being; faster, stronger, more vicious and totally without mercy.  He tried to forget the details.  It simply was too much to handle the memory of what ASONE had done.       He had mixed emotions as he separated from the entity.  In most ways he loved the merge, but some things were a welcome separation.  The horror of the vicious and totally ruthless attack was disconcerting and he welcomed the separation from that.  He accepted the division as ASONE returned to the room and he was totally separated by the time he entered the room.       He was shocked at the carnage and somewhat ashamed that he, well ASONE, had done most of it.  It was his bloody hands that still held the knives.  He noticed fear in the eyes of his Simian friends…all except Moon.   Moon accepted Levi unconditionally and was again standing by his side.       He had to admit that he was both excited and apprehensive as ASONE.  He was certain that it would take some time to discover the limits of ASONE, if he were able to stand it.       Amy got his attention and told him to look for Fred.   She said, “He is buried somewhere in the room under bodies.”   He was shocked and concerned until she told him he was all right, just buried.  He screeched to the others to find Fred.  Everyone scrambled to look for him.  He heard the screech from # 13 and jumped to help.  He saw Fred lying under a dead Warrior with his feet sticking out.  He couldn’t help it and began laughing.  It was comical to see Fred kicking and trying to scramble out from under the dead Simian.  Fred was soon up and trying to regain some dignity as he looked around, seeing the slaughter for the first time.          He also saw Fred’s shock, looking around through different eyes.  He told Moon to call a clean up detail from the army and get the Warriors buried.  Moon nodded, but said that he would bury their fallen.  It was his turn to nod at Moon.       This had been a busy few days.  As he reflected over the activities, he asked Amy, “What happened to our plan to relax for a while?”    They both grinned as she said, “The rest is over.”