Lucent Sylph

By RJ Conte

Lucas Thissel has something he fears: an alien species of palm-sized glass fairies called Lucent Sylphs. They came through a portal from a parallel, metaphysical dimension, and they indenture themselves as slaves to human beings. Too much neglect or unkindness, and they will cloud over and disintegrate. Too much love and their hearts are overcome and burst.

And one has attached herself to Lucas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RJ Conte
• Release date: Jul 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507072394

Book preview

Lucent Sylphs.

The otherworldly pet for the 24th century American.

Own a translucent glass fairy that can sit in the palm of your hand. Own one of these fragile little beings – and you set yourself apart from everyone else.

I shuddered when I saw my former friend Josiah showing off his new Lucent Sylph at school at the beginning of the quarter. She sat there, crystal clear, pulsing heart and veins clearly visible beneath her see-through hard skin. Wings as solid as a thin sheet of glass, she eyed the ogling classmates with something like forced apathy, but I suspected she was nervous as well.

Put her away. I murmured for Josiah’s ear alone. You, of all people, can’t handle a Lucent Sylph.

Josiah ignored me. Want to hear her name? he asked the crowd.

You named her? I exclaimed. She was doomed.

Josiah motioned to me. Lucas, my man! Sounds like you want to know. It’s Nissa!

Nissa.

I swallowed hard.

She looked at me. She turned her tiny, thumb-sized head and gazed at me, her eyes fathomless and deep. She could tell I feared for her. Emotions were not safe around these creatures.

Josiah had no self-control. She would die.

*   *   *   *   *

Lucent Sylphs sell themselves into slavery. It almost always means their death. It’s just a matter of time.

Just under a million Lucent Sylphs pop through our atmosphere every year. They began their search to find our dimension when their failed economy meant certain death for a large portion of their population. They succeeded in reaching us two years ago, and their open hands and bowed necks, as well as their unique and delicate beauty, won them instant favor with the populace. The Lucent Sylphs’ land of Sylpha is nearby in terms of coordinates on a map, but unreachable in all ways – a completely different dimension. The portal is located in The Field of Sylphs, four or five hours outside of Denver, where I live. They arrive as infants, burrowing into the ground to mature, instinctively following what was whispered to them by their mothers. They are sent here to provide for their kin, and help them survive.

They shoot through the portal, escaping famine, starvation, and desperation. Auctioning themselves off to eager buyers here in the United States, they send our cash, which is then traded into gold dust, back through the portal. A year later, the gold dust arrives in Sylpha by means of little beetle-sized pods they arrive with – a specific name printed on the sides – and are received by the family they were intended for. The gold is coveted in the land of Sylpha, and used to save their homes and relatives.

A Lucent Sylph does not eat or sleep, but is fueled on human emotion. Her insides consist of single giant heart and circulatory system that captures and feeds off of the strong feelings around her. Too much neglect or unkindness, and a Lucent Sylph will cloud over and disintegrate. Too much love and attachment, and the heart will be overcome and burst.

In an age where video games and virtual reality can take you anywhere in the universe you want to go, and let you experience whatever you want to be, my generation of teenage males are bored. Relationships have become exciting again, after so many holograms and so much fiction. But nothing old-fashioned is regarded as exciting. Relationships with humans are boring. Therefore, the newest thrill? Playing dangerous emotion games with a Lucent Sylph.

I know so few girls anymore who own one. Girls’ hearts are easily touched, and the Lucent Sylphs tend to burst too easily, raining sparkles and shimmering powder all over the spot they last stood. I saw it in an online video once, and I’ll admit that I cringed and my eyes grew damp. It isn’t entertaining to watch someone kill a pet, especially one as intelligent and lovely as a Lucent