​     "Damn it, what in the hell does that woman think she's doing?"​

​     This was said by a man who watched Silveria and the carnage she created on a visual monitor. His hair was curly and unwashed and hung to his shoulders. He wore a dirty gray cotton robe, dirty underwear, and flip-flops for his feet crusted with...with...only God knew what...and those feet. He didn't wash between his toes, so there was crusted grime there, and he didn't clip his toenails, he just ripped them loose when they got too long so that each of his nails were a different size and shape, and the nails on one of his big toes looked like it hadn't been touched in months it was so long,  and those toenails were yellow and never got cleaned and...disgusting. His teeth needed brushing. The eyeglasses he wore needed wiping. He was sixty pounds overweight, so he had a pot gut. He looked like he stank.

​     This was Egoneg.

     "She'll destroy our plans. She'll fuck everything up."

​     "That's not a woman," Valtair said from where he sat in one corner of the room.

     "Could have fooled me."

​     "She's from Domitika. She's a manifestation of a dream, or, more likely, a manifestation of her own dream."

​     "You...no no...if...Who's dreaming again?"

​     "Infini. She's Infini's dream."

​     "Our enemy's dream."

​     "Infini is not our enemy, anymore than that macaroni and cheese you had for dinner last night was your enemy. Infini is not to be defeated but to be fed upon."

     "Sounds like the same thing to me."

​     "That is because your mind is small."

     "So this bitch is nothing but a dream?"

     "Where Silveria comes from, dreams and reality are more or less the same thing. That's actually truer in this reality than most people choose to imagine, as well. Silveria is both Infini's dream and her own dream. Those in Domitika create their own realities for themselves if their life force is strong enough, and hers looks plenty powerful. If she wants rain, it rains. She wants sunshine, the sun suddenly wants to appear in the sky."

     "That's in Domitika, though. Can she do that here?"

     "Not really. She derives her power from Domitikan energy, the same energy as what's behind this entire operation." 

​     "So how do we stop her?"

​     "We don't. We can't, not as long as the portal stays open and Domitikan energy continues to seep into this universe."

     "Well then what do we..."

     "She's an infant. As far as this universe is concerned, she's only been alive for less than an hour. She'll grow weary soon. There's not enough Domitikan energy in this universe for her to feed on. Eventually, she'll find somewhere to go curl up and take a nap." 

     "And when she wakes up again?"

     "We have more pressing concerns. She caused a panic. We have to quell that immediately. We're not quite ready yet to go on with the next phase of our plan. We can still pack more people inside. Send a dozen of our best smilers and soothers into the situation. They ought to be able to handle things well enough."

     "I hate her. I want her dead."

     "You hate everybody." 

     Egoneg couldn't help but agree to that one. 

     "Especially myself," he muttered.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE

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