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“I’ll explain later.” Rachel grabbed her by the wrist. “Come on—let’s go find him. Thank you, Commander Sylvan,” she added, over her shoulder.
“You’re welcome, but I have to let you know that Zeaga Four is considered extremely dangerous,” Sylvan said, frowning. “I wouldn’t recommend going there. It’s considered a Closed World now.”
“Okay, got it.” Rachel nodded and tugged Lili along. “Come on—let’s go find Yipper!”
28
LILI
“Ah yes—both Dark and Light were feeling very sad. Yes, they were, yes they were.” Yipper shook his head mournfully, his long ears flopping with the motion.
Lili thought that the little Tolleg looked like a cross between a chimpanzee and a hound dog. He had a long, furry face, big brown eyes and long, floppy ears. He was also extremely short—not even three feet tall, she thought. He was wearing a little white lab coat which made him look like a kid in a Halloween costume but according to Rachel he was the most accomplished surgeon on the ship. And apparently he did all his surgery with his tongue—which was really weird.
Right now, though, she didn’t care what the little Tolleg looked like or what he did with his tongue—she was much more interested in what he was telling them.
“So they were sad? Why?” she demanded.
“Well, because they cannot Bond a female to them. No they can’t, no they can’t.” Yipper sighed. “They told me it gave them bad feelings—negative emotions. And they asked for permanent emotion dampers.”
“They what?” Lili’s heart, which had just begun to soar again, came crashing back down. “You mean they wanted to stamp out their emotions permanently?”
“They needed to because they were moving back to Zeaga Four,” Yipper told her. “You know, once The Collective was overthrown, it was safe to feel there—but only for a little while. Yes it was, yes it was.”
“Well, what happened?” Rachel asked. “I mean, what changed?”
“Well, they tried having emotions, but many of the Dark Kindred found it was too difficult—too disturbing,” Yipper explained. “So they took a vote and agreed to go back to their previous, emotionless existence.”
“So now nobody on Zeaga Four is allowed to have emotions?” Lili asked.
“No, they’re not! No, they’re not!” Yipper exclaimed. “It’s a crime punishable by death to be caught feeling. Which is why Zeaga Four is now considered a Closed Planet and not safe to travel to.”
“Well, what if you wanted to travel there anyway?” Lili asked.
“Lili, no—they have permanent emotion dampers now—remember?” Rachel said, shaking her head.
“I don’t care!” Lili said stubbornly. “You heard what Yipper said—they left because they were sad that they couldn’t Bond with me. But now we have a way to Bond. I can’t just give up on them!” She looked at Yipper. “Is there any way to break through to them? Or to remove the new dampers?”
Yipper looked mournful.
“The new dampers aren’t mechanical—no they’re not, no they’re not. They’re a chemical block in the brain.”
“But could you break through the block?” Lili demanded. “I mean, if you have a strong enough stimulus? Could you?”
“I suppose it’s possible…” Yipper still looked uncertain. “But it wouldn’t be easy. No it wouldn’t, no it wouldn’t.”
“I don’t care if it’s easy or hard or what, I’m going to do it.” Lili lifted her chin. “I’m going to go find them and remind them of what we meant to each other.”
“Lili, no—it’s not safe!” Rachel protested. “Why don’t you just get someone to take you into orbit around Zeaga Four and contact them with a Think-me instead of going to the actual planet?”
“I’m afraid that Z4 is shielded against all outside communication—even thought waves,” Yipper told them.
“You see?” Lili asked. “I have to go. Besides, I’m sure I have a much better chance of persuading them to come back with me in person.”
“But you heard what Yipper and Commander Sylvan said—Zeaga Four is a dangerous planet if you have emotions. And you have emotions—all kinds of them!” Rachel protested.
“Well…ut might be possible to mask Lili’s emotions. Yes, it might, yes, it might,” Yipper murmured.
“What did you say? Do you mean that?” Lili exclaimed, looking at him anxiously. His furry brow was furrowed and there was a look of deep concentration on his face.
