The New Velociraptor Empire wrote:"But he had that special place in my black heart...unlike the Alternates, Edison, President Roosevelt, the UN or WA, or even Bones. He will be missed, until someone goes and revives him or pulls a time travel gambit." Neil said as he recalled his enemies, and who considered him an enemy. He ate and watched the guests as he pondered where they would all be in the future.
"Someone will revive him." Naomi settled into the chair next to Neil. "Everyone revives, right? Maybe someday they won't, but not today."
Something stirred inside her. Call it clairvoyance or perhaps just Naomi being silly, but there seemed to be a sad, blue tinge to Neil. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around his snout, much as she'd always done in the old days when they were more wild and carefree, and the halls back home were a wild place where rockets and robots and all sorts of weirdness were the daily norm.
"I love you, NVE," she called him by the name she'd first known him by. It was a name that conjured up a wild ride into the raptor's head, chasing rabbits down funny paths. It was a name that brought back memories of subway tunnels and eggs and funny invasions that always seemed bad but always turned out for the good. It was Escher and Robert T. Bakker and SCIENCE!!! and it was a good name, even if he'd changed it to Neil to avoid confusion with the other NVEs.
She pressed her face against the cool, pebbly texture of his skin and listened to the air pass through his nares. He was such a familiar being to her, and a part of her as well. He was her reason for first arriving here, and the being who always managed to make her laugh even when he was bent on world domination. Ever since he'd moved out, she'd listened for the click of his toes in the halls and lobby. She reflected that, had it not been for him, Swith wouldn't have even been able to revive the others. He'd lent his cloning tank to her on her first day and never asked for it back.
"That crystal power thingy?" she whispered with her face against him, "That's keeping the portals stable so people can come and go. The Drones screwed up so much stuff, and then the other things coming here made them unstable, so Ceril used your device to make it so people could still come and go, and so you could come and go. Your gift is the noblest one, NVE. I don't think anyone ever said thanks or even told you what happened to that thingy."
Naomi pulled away and kissed the tip of his snout. "When we all get back to Bielefeld, we should have coffee. Share stuff like we used to, and maybe have an adventure or two, okay? But you're busy now. This is a very nice gathering, and I don't want to hog the host! I'm sorry for interrupting, Levi."