Un-Touchable: The Human-Ethos Compendium, #2

By E Darkwood

In a world of takers and their taken it's incredibly dangerous to not be able to tell which is which... the wrong answer affects things so much greater than yourself...

One and Two overcame an unexpected hurdle on the outside relatively unharmed but the rebels, W and Two's Enforcer role are still waiting. Thus the pair's first step in retaking their journey is answering a simple question: do they stay or do they go? Do they retreat to One's mountain base or do they again brave the Ethos city and settle their unfinished business there?

But to step onto a path means prioritizing: immediate safety over time-sensitive action? Pretense over pursuit? Self-reliance over outside resources?... Your partner over your word?

If you could only keep one, which would you choose, your life or your morals?

What if your choice depended on someone else?

In a world where cruelty isn't given a second glance because it's the strong who get their way only one this is certain: hesitation isn't an option.

-Please note this is the second volume in a series and the books should be read in order.-

• Language: English
• Publisher: E Darkwood
• Release date: Feb 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393664901

Book preview

Un-touchable

Volume II in The Human-Ethos Compendium

E Darkwood

What is this?

This is a fiction book, second in its series. It is of the science fiction kind within the subcategory of alien invasion. In this book, you will retake the tale of an Earth that could be after an alien species has taken over; in more senses than one.

What goes through the minds of the invaders? Why do they invade? And what happens when 'the invader' rejects their purpose?

Is there room for choice or does nature then take matters into its own hands?

WARNING: This series deals with sensitive topics such as mental illness and murder as well as morally grey topics, viewer- reader discretion is advised.

If that warning doesn't put you off then brave soul venture on. Also note that you don't have to have read the previous book to completely understand this one however it is preferable as past explanations are considered given, i.e. aren't repeated and thus some context may be lost.

Finally, if this book doesn't appeal then perhaps consider looking into another title by this author in a different genre or simply something else, but either way, thank you for reading.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Un-touchable takes place on an Earth that could be,

soon after the events of Un-tameable.

Chapter 1

————||————

His sleep is turbulent , as are our dreams... Can I truly call them our dreams? Hiccup.

I pace up and down while I consider that question; many laps later and still no answer.

I make a frustrated sound and sit back down.

Dispersion status? I inquire of the familiar.

Progress at 89%.

I heave a heavy sigh of relief and look again at One; his features at each added percentage have proportionately become more peaceful. Some semblance of rest is achievable then, I think with a small lift to my lips though it is soon followed by an involuntary shudder taking over me at the remembrance of the erratic-impassioned heights that One had reached by the time we'd made it to this hideout. What is it he calls it?... Nook? No, that's for another type, these usually bear the holder of 'storage' or 'to be used'... My thought trails off as I once again struggle to come to grips with 'the certainty' of my mind-information.

To name it, is to take its power. I silently repeat.

We have partly merged. We share- a part of a consciousness. We share a space. We have created a space, and share it. I rephrase, somehow feeling that making the distinction is important...

Because... of that last change to our agreement?...

I think that's it...

A wave of melancholy washes over me and so I cross my arms over my chest in a vain attempt to shield myself from it.

And from the guilt, I can admit that there's also guilt. Because no matter how sincere One might have been, this is my fault. I shouldn't have suggested it. I should've tried harder to find a better solution instead of going with the first plausibility that presented itself! I'm the one who- who.

Another wave hits, this time I don't know what to call the thing that crashes into me and causes my chest to ache.

I couldn't find it in me to tarnish his un-tameable vision; his beautiful dream I longed to leave pristine if only for a few fleeting hours. Moments I will forever hold dear. And yet, now... I'm ashamed that I let myself be swept up by One's euphoria.

At that admission not only does the ache in my chest expand but a distant voice begins to play in my mind and I find myself drawn towards it. From one moment to the next, I'm swept up in a memory...

Would you then say you think of yourself as a burden? The doctor asks.

I stubbornly shake my head and move my arms in front of me.

"All I'm saying is that if I wasn't like this, then...they wouldn't have left." I admit in what I wish were a stronger voice.

She looks kindly back at me though she doesn't immediately form an answer.

Have you stopped to consider that no one has control over how they were born? She questions as her expression shifts back into her usual pleasant if neutral state.

"It's no one's fault how they were brought into this world, but it is our fault how we live in it." She continues in a firm tone.

"You can't change what has been, you can only strive to do better with what will be. This isn't your fault."

One's reply is drowned out by the streams cascading down my face.

No wonder he loves her. I think wistfully as I succumb to my pain and curl myself on the floor.

I lay there tightly huddled until I'm gripped by the urge to make a fist and slam it onto the hard surface, which serves no purpose, yet I do it. And it seems to help somehow.

Somehow. Somehow, I shouldn't really resent the word so; since the day I left my cubby it's practically become the most accurate way to describe my every action.

I reel back at the image that comes to me with my flippant remark. Great Mother of Procedure, I'm tiny!! I squeak though I try to shake off some of the shock by labeling it 'fact' yet that same part of me again soon panics when the picture morphs into a sullied petri dish.

I suppress further inspection of it with the firm reminder that it's in the past, though my twisting stomach would insist otherwise.

Merciful Originators save me. I turn to lie on my back and in the same motion rest an arm over my forehead.

A hollow laugh spurts out of me.

Be careful what you wish for. I utter wryly.

Then I shake my head though the self-deprecating smile remains in place.

Human. It's some cosmic taker's irony that my deepest unspoken wish is giving me a mental breakdown... But will it also take my existence? Will it strip me of my hard-earned freedom?

I scoff at that second question.

In comparison, perhaps. No, almost definitely. I admit.

But through One's eyes I see a different definition; a life I never in my wildest wishes would've thought existed. A reality I can't conceptualize.

You really can only learn so much from books. I say with a chuckle at yet another of our favorite 'Dr. Joan quotes' fitting perfectly into my inner musings, which in turn reminds me of the issues at hand:

Trust. Melding. The future.

I close my eyes.

We share; I know much of what he does, it must be true the other way around. So at least it's equal. I add with an inappropriate yet unavoidable lift to the corners of my lips.

We have a mingled past and we'll share the foreseeable future but perhaps Heather or One will be able to do something about it. I wish he could answer me now... I could peek.

NO. I won't actively pry into One's mind.

But we should discuss it soon...

It's excruciatingly tempting to delve and come up with a plan on my own, but that'd be a clear violation of the growing trust between us... Also...

I'm self-aware enough to know why I'm not comfortable with all the knowledge our almost melding has given me, but even so, I'm also still- Two enough that I don't want 'to speak' the reasons...

I hope with time I'll be able to, but I'm just not ready. I don't have it in me to face it, not yet.

However thinking about those reasons suffuses me with a sudden warmth as it reminds me of what One  said. He was so determined-adamant that I owed him nothing. I start to frown. Does it still hold true?

I look over at his slumbering form.

Will you view me the same way once you understand all that has changed? Will your trust crumble when you realize that I hold so many of your secrets?

Will it turn to hate?

I sigh.

Will mine?

I immediately reject the idea. The exchange might have been equal in quantity, yet even if for a moment I believed his scorn might demand he report me to Habis, any outcome would affect him too. And he's not dumb or vindictive enough to think my end is worth his.

I'll just have to make him believe he has nothing to fear from me. I vow with sudden conviction.

I'll argue with him until I'm blue in the face if that's what it takes. I further promise with some more of that increasingly familiar outspokenness coloring my words.

I almost laugh at that; so much rubbing it's like I've turned into a cat.

I sober almost as soon as I form the 'fact'. I can only gain from our situation, but One. One doesn't. Won't.

My mood once again plummets and I find myself repeating the same arguments over and over in an emotional rollercoaster that would see even the most enthusiastic of adrenaline-seekers permanently put off their drug of choice. Speaking of.

Dispersion status? I inquire.

Progress at 92%.

Oh? I'm getting better at rationalization.

I shake my head at my own comment, heave another sigh and turn back towards One. He really only looks like he's sleeping.

Will he ever seem as peaceful again?

I shift into a more comfortable position in preparation for the next tiring round with my warring thoughts...

Dispersion status? I ask.

Progress at 97%.

I sit up. Only 3% more.

I nod to myself and lay back down.

I've been talking myself in circles when I can just ask him. The curve of my mouth turns up. Who would have ever thought that would come from me? I question with a giggle. No, I'd never have thought I would say such a thing, and feel like I'm actually capable of doing it.

Particularly not when there's so much uncertainty. Trust. Melding. The future...

As for what will be. I say, intending to accompany it with a shrug, though it falls short.

Yes, it's another thing to discuss, but One- One... Has already expressed his sentiments on the matter, along with a few vague notions of what he wants.

Doubt creeps back in on me as I recall what he once said about 'him and people', though I soon also remind myself how he declared me his voice of reason.

The future; he told me it's what we want.

I'm surprised when I feel a genuine smile bloom onto my face.

I really shouldn't have been caught off guard, he's proven himself more than capable. No, that's not a word enough to express... How, he's, he's- How One he is.

Yes, maybe that's the right word for him and what's to come... And maybe it's enough that I believe in him.

I feel a gentle almost but not quite reprimand, so I amend my statement.

The future is One and Two, regardless of whatever other wishes we might have. And we'll make the best of it, somehow.

————|————

The rain follows me. Shifting colors. A rabbit sways in the dark. A cat stalks me up a ladder, I jump across a crevice to avoid it but it continues after me. I'm late to class. Where's my passport? A rolling wrecking ball chases me. Faster, faster! I won't escape.

I shake into waking and rub a hand on my forehead as I let out a soft groan.

It's been so long, I'd almost forgotten how it is 'to be visited by the spirit of discord'... Not one of her better turns of phrase but fitting in effect if not-

'One?'

I pry an eye open and wince at the cave's ceiling.

'Alive and kicking.' I grouse.

'It shouldn't take long for you to be back to normal.' She assures, though her hesitation-caution adds the unspoken label that it's the new 'normal' she's referring to.

Another groan escapes me as I slowly sit up. Then I press the palms of my hands against my eyes and rub.

'I'd complain that my mind is jumbled, but I can't tell if it's just the usual kick-in-the-pants-aftereffects of one of my episodes or if it's the melding.' I joke as I slowly start to roll my neck from side to side not yet daring to call my familiar, in the back of my mind I'm grateful that there aren't any S-P.A.s around to further confuse.

Her response is a shrug that wants to show uncertainty without presenting insensibility.

Which is in itself both a show of sensibility to my plight, while also bringing to my attention another, problem? Is it fairer to call it my question as to why I not only know those nuances about her responses but how I also know it with absolute certainty?... I know it as well as if I'd made the gesture myself...

A flash of guilt-caution-alarm goes off and it's all the more troubling how it's very clearly our disquiet.

I take a deep breath as I stop rolling my shoulders and cross my legs into sitting in lotus position.

I don't feel like a different person. I state to myself.

'You're not a different person.' She affirms.

'You can- Huh.' My more explicitly formed words are stopped short as I think more carefully about what I intended to ask.

Our communication had thus far required direction, intent and formation. Though impressions and feelings were intrinsically linked to them... at times only those latter ones being the whole of the expression. Yet- I still find myself in possession of an inexplicable certainty that those prior conditions- circumstances though still in effect, have been, compromised? Perhaps, expanded on?

I mull that over.

'Bonding; the Ethos attribute that over time allows a well-placed web to fuse with the host brain. A  process also referred to as melding.

Bonding is a very tiring, to preserve energy it typically occurs when the host body is sleeping. But there are exceptions, such as if the host species does not sleep, in which case the Ethos may resort to consciously expanding their webbing, more slowly yet just as effectively integrating the skills and knowledge left by the host mind.

After the bond is complete you could call the Ethos's body the host's brain yet you could also call the host body, Ethos.' I observe with scientific detachment-fascination. Such an obvious conclusion; a leap in logic I was unwilling to take without concrete evidence.

Kedship. The balance of host and Ethos births. Truly a delicate dance.

'After bonding is complete the melded Ethos lives out its days as the original owner.' I finish the out-of-body recitation with an odd aftertaste in my mouth I might later examine more closely. For now, I'm much more interested in the practical application.

Ethos takeover status on subject- Hm. On me? I ask of my familiar.

Two winces at my small blunder and so I give her a pat on the hand to reassure her, though I also make clear that it's probably inevitable that it happen from time to time until I understand- have more facts about our new state.

Takeover status unavailable, please resubmit patient identification.

The side of my eyebrow twitches at the announcement.

Ethos takeover status on The One Apart. I request again with an almost growl to my words. Needless specifics.

The sphere spins a few times, then lets out a long whistle.

No such life-form is detected. It states much too robotically for that kind of tension-increasing answer.

Explain.

It whistles again.

Within the vicinity of this unit one biologically entity matches The One Apart with 99.9999998% certainty, It replies.

while another matches it with .0000002%.

My hand flies to cover my mouth.

Then I slide it down to start rubbing pensive circles into my chin.

Finally, a smirk finds its place on my face.

Of course it would be