They called this connection “the collective well.”
There was a similar concept on Earth called thecollective unconscious,coined by the Swiss psychotherapist Carl Jung. It referred to the matrix of objective experiences shared generationally by all humans, as opposed to the subjective experiences of one’s personal life. He claimed it was the reason anthropologists discovered universal archetypes and mythologies in civilizations that otherwise had no physical contact with any others.
I had noticed a similar phenomenon during my travels among various alien species, but with how common trade between planets was, I’d always assumedthatwas how stories traveled as well.
What if certain species are more psychically connected than that?
I thought of the first time my resonance was sung to me—by Theo when we finally met on Earth. While I was incredibly overwhelmed at the time, I later marveled at how Irecognizeda tune I had never heard before.
A Stellarian’s resonance was unique to them, a combination of their makers’ resonances being passed down to their offspring. Stellar collisions were your perfect match, but everyone on the same wavelength also responded to the harmony of the family unit—sometimes in a platonically affectionate way, sometimes as something more.
I’d been told unrelated Stellarians couldhearanother’s resonance, even if they didn’t respond to it, which gave me an idea for the present moment.
Perhaps a little experiment is needed.
First, I scanned the hoods of the Eki passing me by, confirming Micah’s observation that they seemed more interested in their own lives than mine. Then, I slowly allowed my resonance to build in my chest—starting with the low purr I demonstrated while in bed with my mate.
I noticed a few Eki closest to me cocking their heads inquisitively, but the evidence was inconclusive. So I increased the volume and intensity to what I would use to catch Micah’s attention across the room.
This causedmoreEki to turn and stare directly at me.
How is this possible?!
I had been too panicked yesterday to fully absorb what the cave paintings implied, thanks to discovering that Leeloo—the entire planet—knew I was a Stellarian. Now, I had no choice but to consider what we’d seen. If the timeline was to be believed, the Eki had landed on Earth prior to theLacertusand Stellarians, which suggestedtheirDNA may be part of the supe soup.
This wouldn’t have surprised me. Micah desperately wanted to continue his training with Leeloo because he suspected the similarities between their powers went deeper than pure coincidence.
It was closer to synchronicity.
Another pillar of Jung’s core concepts.
I abruptly stopped resonating, and the Eki who’d noticed continued about their day. This supported Micah‘s belief that they meant me no harm, despite knowing what I was. Either way, I was still unsettled while also aware enough to know a large part of my restlessness was because I was separated from my mate.
Another experiment will help.
This time, I resonated from the piece of myself within Micah, hoping tointernallyremind him of our connection, wherever he was. I expected a comforting squeeze in return, but the panicked pull I felt instead had me immediately realizing something was wrong.
With a growl, I unleashed countless tendrils—fully visible—uncaring how the locals might react. Those in my path leaped out of the way, but no one countered with an attack as I snaked my way through the streets in search of what was mine.
Only to not register a single trace of my mate.
Why can’t I track him?!
My receptors being blocked reminded me of when Micah put up his shields in self-defense. This was all the confirmation I needed that he was in danger, and the only solution was to blast our way out of here.
With pleasure.
Maintaining an air of outward calm, I retracted my tendrils and slipped back inside our room to quickly pack up our belongings. Then, I placed Pedro in the nanny bot’s baby sling and led the droid back to my ship before leaving them both in the cockpit behind the lockdown doors.
Which are hopefully strong enough to keep the Trol from escaping.
That no Eki had attempted to block me from boarding the Lodger implied Leeloo specifically, along with a small collection of minions, perhaps, were who I was up against. I couldn’t be sure if their intent was to separate me from my stellar collision indefinitely, but the solution was obvious.
I’ll simply smoke them out.
Resolutely climbing into the gunner's cockpit, I aimed for the closest uninhabited pile of rocks before disintegrating them with a rocket-powered grenade.
Just a warning shot.
