I pressed my finger inside the square to sign for the delivery and awaited her first joke. She passed me a tablet, her usual wink missing. The chatter and bio-feedback from my clients faded into white noise when I saw her. Katia sauntered through the saloon doors then, the human’s long dark hair and brown eyes gleaming. We shared a pleased expression, Earthling smile to Vi’hun luminescence, before he turned to answer a question from the Relgroi beside him. Amazement flowed from his body into mine as his tumor pain faded. I slid the milky grey drink across the bar. “Drink up.”Īs he sipped, I used our physical connection to direct the stem cells into his bloodstream, differentiating into antibodies as they floated, to target specific antigens presented by the cancer cells. Mass-produced carbon-based stem cells had a strong cucumber taste, and when mixed with something sweet, became quite refreshing. I mixed a cocktail from the bottles around me, emptying one of the flasks which sat on ice. The human had cancer-painful, but no longer deadly if one could afford a Vi’hun. While my embedded translator filled my ear with Blippo’s chatter, information flowed through my tendril from Daniel’s brain into my own. Just hold still while Minta’s tendril attaches to your forehead. Ever been healed by a Vi’hun before? Oh, you’re in for a treat. He climbed stiffly into my sixth chair, today resembling a wooden barstool, and nodded at my other clients.īlippo, a regular from Fruitti48, pulled one of his own chubby fingers and emitted a pleasant aroma in greeting. I have one empty, if you like.” I pointed. Above us, the clear dome revealed the sky, ever-moving like a river, pebbled with stars and ships that streaked past like darting fish. I preferred the image of a Las Vegas dealer passing out cards to gamblers, except everyone won. Except rather than ringlets of hair, we had neurodendritic tendrils. I imagined his first impression: a famous Vethusian writer once compared the sight of us, our humanoid bodies standing within the lounge’s oval counters, to women in wide crinoline ballgowns surrounded by suitors.

The visitor cast his eyes about the place and swallowed hard. “Welcome to Healixir Trans-Galactic Lounge.” My table sat closest to the doorway and so I was accustomed to serve as both healer and hostess. I rippled a welcoming cadence of light beneath my skin, and then, seeing the newcomer was human, made my best approximation of a smile. The entrance panels, currently assuming the appearance of Earthian saloon doors, slid open.

Sky gamblers cold war