Monkey Business

Not long after the battle of Earth, Brighton Meadows woke up in a strange place. The last thing that Brighton remembered was being chased by those Zimwarn people. He remembered being hit in the back. Brighton tried to move but realized he couldn't. In fact, he couldn't feel his body.

He could move his head and he looked around the room where he was. All that he could see were computers, screens, graphs, and electronic readouts. There were so many different types of machines. However, there weren't any humans anywhere. "Just where was he?" Brighton wondered.

After a couple of hours, Brighton finally heard a human voice.

"So, you're awake finally. I thought you wouldn't wake up until we reached the Palace."

Brighton couldn't tell who was talking until a man walked into his vision. Wasn't this Lorne's father?

"Brighton Meadows, it's good to meet you. You did something that frankly shocked me. You even lived, even more shocking! Although you just barely survived, and only because I had you transported to my medical facilities. Still, a commendable and amazing accomplishment. This was after the even bigger accomplishment of destroying a Zimwarn Warship." The Emperor smiled.

Brighton looked at the Emperor with a puzzled look on his face. This man wasn't usually one to chit-chat. From his experience in Holywood, this was the typical behavior of someone who wanted something from you. What did this man want from him?

"Earth is safe?" Brighton asked.

"Yes," the Emperor said.

"Lorne?" Brighton asked.

"Yes and no." the Emperor said.

"What do you mean?" Brighton asked.

"Lorne technically died during the battle, but he's fine now. He's training in some universe we've never been to." The Emperor smiled.

"He's dead or he's alive?" Brighton asked again.

"Dr. Lorne Longoak, the Invincible Hero is dead. However, he has been reincarnated. So Prince Lorne of the Zimwarn Empire Lives," The Emperor said happily.

Brighton didn't get what there was to be happy about. It sounded like Lorne died. It's too bad, he always liked Lorne. Oh well, he liked Lorne but not enough to care too much about his death. The monkey looked around the room.

"As for me, am I okay or am I paralyzed?" Brighton asked.

"Paralyzed, I'm afraid." The Emperor said.

"Too bad," Brighton said.

"You don't have to stay that way." The Emperor said.

"You can fix me up?" Brighton asked.

"I could fix you up and make you the same Brighton Meadows that you've always been. It's not hard with the technology at my disposal. The other option's a little more interesting though." The Emperor said.

"Other option?" Brighton asked.

"Hmm, I notice you like this whole Cosmic Monkey thing. I saw you at my home on the Jupiter satellite. Those prosthetics are hard to work with, but you really like this monkey business. Lorne mentioned you several times. He said that you were obsessed with the Cosmic Monkey role. He called you a 'method actor'?" The Emperor said.

"I suppose that's true," Brighton said.

"I have another theory." The Emperor said.

"Another theory?" Brighton asked.

"My interest in you was piqued when you destroyed that Zimwarn Warship. Humans shouldn't be able to do that. Even someone like you, one of the most powerful humans on the planet, is still nothing compared to a Zimwarn Warship or even its warriors. I wondered, how you got past all the guards and sentries that protected the important areas of the ship. You shouldn't have been able to do that." The Emperor said.

"I just slipped through them," Brighton said as if it wasn't a big deal.

"That's just it, you don't just slip through Zimwarn defenses. Not a creature as weak as you." The Emperor said.

"Why's that?" Brighton asked.

"Zimwarn senses are unbelievably sensitive. Whether it's our eyesight, taste, or even our hearing, all of our senses go way beyond what you humans can imagine." The Emperor said.

"Ok, how did I get by then?" Brighton was also puzzled. It sounded like he did something he shouldn't be able to do.

"That's why I checked your genetics. You, humans, think that everyone on your planet with powers has them as a result of mutations, science experiment, or other such things. Until you met Lorne, it never occurred to you that certain alien lifeforms naturally had strange abilities." The Emperor said.

Brighton's eyes began to sparkle.

"Are you saying I'm an alien?!" Brighton asked.

"No, I'm saying your abilities come from aliens." The Emperor said.

"Huh?" Brighton said.

"At some point, one of your ancestors joined with an alien. The eventual result was you." The Emperor said.

"It was a long time ago?" Brighton asked.

"Yes, I don't know when but the important point is some of your alien ancestor's abilities awakened within you. Your biology is an echo of the past. Locked within your genes is the remnant of a missing link. There was once a race of aliens, they were monkeys from the stars. They were called the Cosmic Monkey race and before they disappeared, they were this universes' strongest warriors.

You see, I think the reason you are so obsessed with the Cosmic Monkey is that you've unlocked a piece of genetic memory. It's pretty common for this to happen among Beast Men Cultivators. If you possessed more of this genetic material you would probably remember more, and you would certainly be capable of more. Even better, you could have what you've wanted your whole life; to be whole." The Emperor said.

Unknowingly, tears began to stream down Brighton's cheeks. This was exactly his issue. Brighton had always felt he belonged amongst the stars. He felt an intimate connection to his monkey heritage.

"You can help me with this?" Brighton asked.

"I can," the Emperor responded.

"What do you want?" Brighton asked.

The Emperor smiled in response.

***

"You won't be the main wife." The Empress said.

Mary was confused, first, the Empress said that her husband, Lorne, was dead, but then she said that she wouldn't be the main wife. Main wife to a corpse? What was going on?

"I don't understand, you just said that Lorne died in battle," Mary said through her tears.

"You'll find that death isn't as permanent for those in the Zimwarn Empire as it is for others." The Empress said.

"What do you mean," Mary asked.

"Mary, my son loved you very much. You could say that he considered you his soulmate. That's why I sent my Zug Impendia to bring you and the children to me. We are headed for the Zimwarn Empire's Throneworld. I wanted to take this opportunity to explain things to you." The Empress said.

Mary nodded. The Zimwarn Empire was strange but seemed magical by Earth's technology standard.

"It seems you and Lorne's father came out on top of this fight with the Usurpers," Mary said.

"We did." The Empress said.

"Ok, I'm listening, why won't I be the main wife," Mary said.

Truthfully Mary didn't care about this. As a serious student of archaeology and history, Mary had long ago accepted that among many cultures polygamy was considered normal. This was especially the case regarding Empires. Marriages were a way to strengthen political bonds, avoid wars, and even absorb other kingdoms. Mary guessed that Lorne was probably the only one in their family who understood Mary. She certainly had her pride as a woman. Who wanted to share their husband, but she recognized given Lorne's status there was little either could do.

"Before I get into the marriage situation I would like to give some background context to our Empire. The Zimwarn Empire began on the planet Zimwer about eleven million years ago. The Empire began as a small kingdom on a planet much like Earth. Lorne's father was a clever inventor at the time. He worked in the Karvason Kingdom's palace creating new war machines and technologies. His brother Heken was similarly a genius in biology and genetics. The name of the ruler at that time was King Karvason, my father.

Lorne's father and uncle were orphans of one of the Noble families that had died out. He and his brother were the last in the lineage. My father was astounded by the genius of Lorne's father. Eventually, he recognized that our kingdom could reach beyond the stars if Lorne's father became the next king.

At first, Lorne's father wasn't interested in ruling, all he wanted to do was invent things. Eventually, however, he saw the need to take over my father's role. Unfortunately, the day Lorne's father was crowned king he was nearly assassinated. He was mortally wounded for sure. With the help of his brother Heken, he was able to stabilize himself temporarily.

The Emperor, Lorne's father, realized that he needed a new body and if he didn't get one he would die. They say necessity is the mother of invention. In the Emperor's case, this was literally true. Heken had already invented a process for growing new bodies, unfortunately, these bodies were soulless but strong. Heken had even figured out how to inscribe cultivation technique into the genes. This meant a person didn't have to learn certain cultivation techniques, he had them as an inheritance. This is much like the bloodline inheritances of dragons and other beast cultivators.

The experimental body that Heken had created was outfitted with high-level sensory abilities including the Ridarn vision which was a cultivation technique created by a master Ridarn hundreds of thousands of years before. Heken also created a technique that allowed a person to concentrate photons into the eyes forming a laser beam. This is our laser vision. Heken didn't like any of the body tempering techniques enough to engrave them in his proto-Zimwarn Warrior body.

Heken's innovations and creativity inspired the Emperor. The Emperor, with the help of his brother, began to create a technology that became the core of our Empire the Rebirth Chamber. The Rebirth Chamber allowed one to separate souls from bodies and place them into newly engineered bodies. After many months of work, and his body about to die, The Emperor took possession of his first engineered body. It was the first Imperial body.

This new body was extremely powerful. He was quickly able to cultivate his body to a high level. In the meantime, the Emperor had Heken use the Rebirth Chamber to give stronger younger bodies to all of his most trusted men. These were the first Zimwarn Elites. In fact, the Emperor wanted to create an Empire with his technology that stretched throughout the multi-verse. It was then he decided to change the name of the kingdom from the Karvason Kingdom to the Zimwarn Empire. He named the Empire after our home planet Zimwer.

After he renamed the kingdom to the Zimwarn Empire and created his Zimwarn Elites and Zimwarn warriors, the Emperor struck out across the planet Zimwer and absorbed every kingdom that existed. The ones who plotted against him turned out to be radicals within my father's kingdom who felt threatened by an orphan of a dead noble lineage taking over the Kingdom. They even went so far as to make an alliance with the Gibean Kingdom who provided the assassin. The Gibean Empire's nobles and all those in upper society were killed by the Emperor in reprisal for their murderous attack.

Today, the Zimwarn Empire spans ninety-two universes. Once your husband takes command, this Earth universe will make ninety-three universes." The Empress said.

"Amazing, you and the Emperor are the first rulers of a multiverse Empire?! It's hard to believe that he's had a rule of around eleven million years. The longest single rulership recorded in Earth's history was Pepi II who ruled Egypt for ninety-four years." Mary said.

The Empress smiled with concern at Mary.

"Mary dear, regarding Lorne's marriage situation..." The Empress began.

"Mother, you don't need to worry. I'm a student of history. I understand the importance of polygamous marriages on a political stage. I'll be happy to just be with Lorne. I'll make him loved and the other girls can make him strong." Mary said with a smile.

"The fact that you said that will always make you my favorite wife of Lorne's." The Empress smiled gently.

"However, I understand that it's not easy to share. I'm not the Emperor's only wife and I grew up with the understanding that whomever I married I would only be one of his wives. It's always been hard for me. In fact, only the first prince Karvason, named after my father, and Lorne, the last prince, are my sons. The other ninety-one sons belong to his other wives and concubines. Still, I'm the one he loves the most, just as you're the one Lorne loves the most. I'll always be there to support you, dear." The Empress then embraced Mary in an affectionate hug.

The two women continued chatting for the rest of the evening.