White spots danced before her eyes as Nikki fought for breath. Her body screamed to fight or take flight and adrenaline coursed through her madly. It took a moment for her mind to consciously override instinctive emotion, then she felt herself relax on the cool mat beneath her and breath flowed unrestricted. Her dark eyes found their focus once again, and she blinked as she sat up and looked around.

"You must learn how to fall correctly, and practice!" said her tiny instructor, Anna, as she held out a strong brown hand. Taking that hand, Nikki slowly got to her feet and ruefully muttered "I think you've almost beaten it into me." Sharp of hearing despite her age, Anna chuckled at her young students complaint.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead and still panting, Nikki looked at the elder standing before her. Nearly a foot shorter, ripened to a deeper brown by the sun and many decades older, Anna still seemed in the prime of life and determined to keep it that way. Her dedication to the women of the community was an inspiration to Nikki, and the main reason she was taking the woman's class. Simply put, once Anna decided it was time you learned something you had little choice but be swept along. Any time the fire of her own enthusiasm was quenched by the aches and pains she was collecting from taking the self-defense class, Anna was quick to remind her of the dangers single young women like she could face.

Anna's eyes, still bright despite the wrinkles encircling them, swept to the far wall of the gym to take in the time. Seeing that it was a few minutes before four o'clock she gave a long-suffering sigh. "I was hoping we'd make faster progress, but that won't happen unless you practice on your own. Our time is up for today, I'm afraid." She bent to pick up a towel from the floor and held it out to the girl. "You must get some practice in before next week's class, Nikki, or we'll have to go over it all again."

Nodding and promising to practice, Nikki gratefully trotted toward the lockers. It had been a long Wednesday, as she had taught two full pottery classes and then had taken this one, and she was eager to get home. The day was still hot and heat shimmered on the pavement as she fumbled with sunglasses and keys. It took a few moments but she soon coaxed cold air from her old car's air conditioning as she drove towards her place at the edge of town.

The shadows cast by the pines around the house where she lived embraced her with a welcoming coolness, easing some of the tension within. She glanced at the nearby lake and decided to take a swim instead of showering - the sight of tourists and visitors enjoying their summer on the far side of the lake reminded her to do the same. She waved to a few neighbors on her way to her set of rooms within the commune where she lived.

A quick bite as she changed into her suit, then Nikki was at the sandy shore. She hadn't seen any of her friends around, and so had gone on to her little spot of lake by herself. Sinking down into the murky water, she briefly closed her eyes and relaxed. Her hands dug into the sandy bottom beneath her, and she opened her eyes to peer into the water at a small fish that had nibbled on her toes. Focusing intently, she dribbled sand through her fingers onto her palm; the sand began to assemble to create the form within her mind's eye. She willed the sand to firmness and then playfully carved eyes and a mouth with the stroke of her fingers. Lifting it out of the water, the bits of mica in the newly-formed sandstone glittered in the afternoon sun and she smiled with a child's delight at the near-exact replica of the small fish that swam nearby.

It was a perfect afternoon; a moderate breeze scattered diamonds of light upon the surface of the lake for as far as the eye could see. The scent of water and pine was heavy in the air, and nearby bees were busy at their work of pollinating a patch of brilliant yellow and blue wildflowers that grew in clumps around the bases of the enormous pines that grew thick as fur on a cat.  The tourists were keeping to their side of the lake, and Nikki leaned back into the cool embrace of the lake, her hair fanning out in a nimbus in the cool emerald tinted waters. The sun warmed her face, the bright  golden mountain light subdued to rose against her closed lids.

Perfect.

The gentle tap upon her shoulder was therefore quite unexpected.  Her eyes and mouth flew open and in the process of gasping in surprise Nikki breathed in a mouthful of murky water.  Tears ran down her face as she choked and coughed, frantically backpedaling to get herself upright.  The sandstone fish slipped unnoticed from her hand and sank to the sand below.

Now standing waist-deep in the water she wiped the tears from her eyes.  With her heart and head pounding she looked to see who had surprised her. A slender, blue and white robot regarded her out of glowing amber optics. It was about three and a half feet tall, maybe four, and pipe cleaner thin. Its torso was a light pastel blue, with three small glowing hexagonal lights in the upper left, near the shoulder. The limbs were white, articulated, ceramic-looking. The hands were blue, though the fingers where white. The little 'bots legs bent backwards at the knees, like a birds, it's feet barely visible in the swirls of disturbed sand its motion had kicked up. It looked delicate, almost as though a strong wind could blow it away, and was returning from a bent position fingers uncurling from where it had tapped her.

There was a sound, an electronic sort of 'plunk', and then the creature said "INFORMATION: You are TI8859714: Dominique Arquela?" It's tone was polite, European even, but firm.

Eyes wide, she quickly glanced at the woods around her.  Half expecting to see one of her roommates playing a practical joke on her, instead she saw no one at all on the surrounding shoreline.  Only the sound of buzzing bees nearby, and the wind through the pines that confirmed she was truly alone with the device standing before her.

Taking a steadying breath, she paused another moment to examine it as it waited for her reply.  Curiosity grew within her as she looked at it, having seen nothing like it in her life, and she tried not to feel foolish as she answered the machine before her.

"Yes, I am Dominique Arquela.   Who, what, are you?"  she answered in as firm a tone as possible. Whatever it was, it wasn't made of earth. Some inner sense informed Dominique of this. In response, an amber beam of light sprang forth from the little creatures optics, scanned her from head to underwater toe, then winked out.

"Confirmed identity of Dominique Arquela stroke Onatah. Greetings to you. I am  Zen." The creature spoke rapidly, but volumes of self-assurance laced its electronic tones. .

Startled, Nikki stepped back a foot at hearing the word Onatah.  "Earth Daughter" in the language of her people, it was a creation legend that she felt particular kinship to ever since her new abilities manifested themselves.  Her mind raced to try to figure out how this creature could know that word, since she had mentioned it to no one.  Even more puzzling were the possibilities her mind presented in answer.

"What do you want" she said, a bit defensively.

"My function is to provide you with this teleport bracelet," said the creature. A small panel opened in its narrow chest. It removed a slender, black and white bracelet from it, which it opened with a light 'click'. "Please place the device upon your wrist."

A cyclone of thoughts whirled within her mind, causing her to momentarily hesitate.   Memories of ancient Indian legends; her father's teachings in survival and the Apache way;  recent news stories about New Men;  the warnings of her elders; all of these sped through her subconscious and became a white noise background as her own personality stepped forward - a personality of fearless wonder eager for more.

She bridged the distance between herself and the robot, and put her right wrist into the bracelet.

The device clicked firmly shut, flashed a light-blue color, then rippled, vanishing from sight. Nikki could still feel it on her wrist, she just couldn't see it any longer. "INFORMATION," intoned Zen. "Prepare for teleport."

She was turning her wrist this way and that, trying to see it in the sunset reflected in the water when she realized what the robot had said, and the reality of her situation.

"Wait!  I need my clothes!"

There was a peculiar vibratory sensation, an immense feeling of coldness that danced and swirled upon her skin as frost upon a window pane in the depths of winter. "Teleport," she heard Zen intone from some far off-place, and the world around her shattered as bright white light engulfed her.

To be continued in Issue 1...