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The Cohen Loop Gary and Hunter 1 copyright comidacomida 2014

If there was one thing Greg learned very quickly about having an Album as a Phin partner it was that he was always supposed to be first... in everything. Hunter referred to himself as an 'achiever', and encouraged Greg to be the same; it was often very tiring. Having grown up in the laid back, easy-going countryside of rural New York, it reminded him entirely too much of his first trip to NYC... but he was committed to making their partnership work.

In the beginning, the young man very nearly hated the Album for it but, after Andriy Leko and the Amplus he'd been partnered with were expelled for not getting along Greg knew he'd have to make it work... and, at that point, when he put more effort into the relationship, things started coming together. Greg had nodded at all of the Album's input and took to heart everything the Phin had to say. It was, as Hunter put it time and time again, for Greg's benefit. Of course, the whole reason behind that was so that he could make a good fit to their two man team.

Hunter had spent a lot of time during their half year aboard the Unity Centre explaining what would be expected of a Human partner to an Album, and just LISTENING to it was tiring. While all the rumors about the Albums getting first shot at everything had some element of truth in them, the fact of the matter was that the Albums worked to get the best... and that meant Hunter pushed Greg to do the same. It was frustrating at times but his partner wouldn't let him give up and, when the young man saw the dramatic improvement in his grades he understood why.

Of course, all of that was well-and-good when it came to things like school, study, and grades, but Hunter also carried that over into personal health. Greg had always been a little on the chunky side... just a little overweight... but, to an Album, overweight was overweight. After six months of exercise and activity the young man had lost a significant amount of weight, gained a decent amount of muscle mass, and finally got Hunter off his case. A small amount of padding and a hint of belly remained, but the Phin was willing to let that slide.

Health, as it were, was just one uncomfortable topic, but, then again, it wasn't the only one. Just as painful was the social aspect. Greg was comfortably reactive-- had always been easy-going when it came to meeting people and making friends; if they liked him then he got along with them. Social situations had never been his strong point but interacting with others on their terms was really straight forward and very easy. Hunter changed that. Aggressively.

Under Hunter's almost draconian tutelage, Greg learned active communication, direct discussion, and how to both formulate and convey an opinion. While his mom had always encouraged him to open up and take a class like Debate or Speech, Hunter out-and-out signed him up-- he signed both of them up, and proceeded to be Greg's hardest critic. It was a hard time, being constantly critiqued, nit-picked, and put down. But, as he started to improve in his ability to lead conversations rather than just follow them, his overall skill at dealing with others likewise improved; meeting people and making friends actually became easier.

As he sat in his seat aboard the Treader watching the rapidly approaching peak of Chimborazo, the most uncomfortable part of the Album's drive to be first showed: he liked to be PHYSICALLY first. The moment the vehicle's physician appeared for everyone's final health check Hunter was already up and pulling Greg to the front of the Treader. Despite the fact that the Logos said he wanted to inspect Phins THEN Humans, Hunter was checked first and then had the young man wait close at hand so he could be the first Human.

While waiting for the medic to check out the nine remaining Phins Greg lamented that he lost his chance to watch the huge double-doors on the Gateway structure open to admit them. The building was almost the size of a football field, easily big enough to house all of the Treaders that were delivering the newest batch of students. He also missed the pressure lock system that allowed the interior of the transit exchange to maintain sea level air pressure while admitting the Treaders. What he got in exchange, however, was exactly what Hunter had wanted: they were the very first students out of the transport.

The transit exchange building was segmented into several parts with the first being the pressure normalizer behind them; they were in the second segment, which was the loading and unloading dock. Hunter had a hold of Greg's wrist, the Phin's excitement obvious in the way he practically pulled the Human down the steps to ground level. Then, like that, the Album continued urging him onward to a set of double doors that led to the next area which, if Greg remembered, were the central offices. Hunter grabbed hold of his wrist again, announcing eagerly in Phin, "Come on, Greg! We only have a few minutes before everyone gathers up at the doorway!"

The young man sighed, and did as he was urged, moving at a trot after his Phin partner. He did manage to offer a simple objection, "This is my first time here, Hunter... I wanted to look around."

The Album rolled his eyes, "This is my first time here too, you know. In case you forgot, we came through the B72 Gateway on our way here." He glanced around quickly to see if anyone else was eavesdropping, then quickly added in English, "Besides, we can look around when we're at the front of the line at the door... and we'll have a better view of the next area."

Greg sighed; Hunter always spoke in a Human language when he didn't want to be overheard. It made sense considering the Phin language tended to carry quite a distance, but the fact that the Album spent most of the rest of his time speaking in Phin had been off-putting at first. On the other hand, the young man had to admit that the crash-course in Phin did greatly improve his competency with it, leading some credence to the Human's thought that Hunter was the master of 'tough love'-- when it came down to it, it worked.

As usual, Hunter got his way. Far ahead of the next few sets of Album-Human pairings, Hunter and Greg got to the turnstiles at the top of a set of stairs; it was the start of the line where they'd wait to get into the next segment of the building. Once they arrived (first) Hunter finally started to calm down. The two spent their wait time pointing out things to one another as their gazes wandered all around. Greg gazed out of one of the circular windows, pointing to a pure white, rocky landscape, "I can't believe we came through that!"

Hunter let out a single click of affirmation, "From what I hear, on Water-Earth this mountain has even more snow and ice... but that's mostly because Land-Earth is suffering from a higher level of global warming. You know... the path that we took up here on the Treaders wouldn't have been usable just forty years ago."

Greg exhaled, "Yea... well... I still don't think a car could make it."

Hunter issued a click-whistle chuckle, "For being land-based first and foremost it's strange that we have more versatile land transportation than you."

Greg raised an eyebrow, "About as strange as Humans having 'more versatile' water transportation than you water-based Phins?"

The Album smiled at the comment, obviously pleased at the Human's counter, "Well put."

The rest of the students were still unloading from the Treaders; the Albums and their partners were already in place and some of the Longos-Human pairings were getting situated in line. Greg caught sight of several of his friends. He saw Angie-Mae and Walker first, followed by Josh and Cobbler, Kelly and Breaker, then, just as the line was finishing up, Andy and Coaster. Greg raised his and waved to Andy, who waved back. He continued looking around, finally bumping Hunter before announcing. "I don't see Max anywhere."

The Album nodded, "They're probably checking him for injury."

Greg fidgeted, "Max never seemed too worried... I mean, it doesn't seem like Carver was hurting him or anything. I'm sure Max woulda said something if he was."

Hunter nodded to the group of workers coming toward the front of the line, but he spoke quietly in English, using his almost metallic-sounding voice rather than his resonance chamber to create the words, "Nothing we can do for him if he doesn't want help."

The Human sighed, "Or maybe just he doesn't need it."

The Album clicked flatly, smiling politely at the four workers, who decoupled the two large doors and began separating them, pulling them manually apart by sliding them back on their tracks. He spoke aside once again, voice still subdued, "Carver is an Amplus... they have a reputation for being dangerous for a reason, Greg."

The discussion ended there as the young man's vision was filled with the sight of the next room. While the loading area looked more like a large warehouse than anything else, the central offices looked like a cross-section of a busy skyscraper; there were four stories of offices on either side of a long hall leading straight through them to a door on the far side of the building's segment. The lowest level of the central offices were blocked off from the hall by solid walls and had two doors on either side, one and two-thirds of the way along the corridors.

The second, third, and fourth stories were open, separated by railing alone. Catwalks passed overhead from left to right offices, connecting the work areas on either side of the hallway. As Greg gazed upward he saw that there were numerous skylights positioned over the hall, providing a decent amount of natural light in the otherwise enclosed structure. Hunter obviously noticed them at the same time he did, offering up a very astute comment in Phin, "Good... they have the sky windows UV shielded."

Greg couldn't stop himself from correcting the Album, "Skylights. They're called skylights, not sky windows."

Hunter, if nothing else, was gracious when it came to clarification, "Skylights. Excellent. Thank you."

The talking amidst the line fell silent as the two closest doors in the hallway opened and two individuals emerged from each: three Humans and a wetsuit-wearing Longos. The Human and the Phin from the right side of the hall walked to the right turnstile while the remaining two Humans went to the left side of the line. The Longos spoke up in Phin, his rapid click-chirps echoing throughout the bay, "All students, please line up with your partner side-by-side. Phins on the right and Humans on the left!"

Greg and Hunter exchanged places and remained standing side-by-side at the front of the line. The young man rested his hand on the top bar of the turnstile in front of him and glanced to Hunter who, smirking, did exactly the same. The Phin spoke quietly in English, "And you call ME impatient."

The Human didn't have a chance to offer a rebuttal since the well-dressed man to his left held up a data pad and extended a small mic in his direction, "Name, and country of residence. Speak into the receiver, please."

Greg cleared his throat, "Uh... Greg Brown. Malone, New York... I mean... USA... the, uh... United States."

The man adjusted his grip on the tablet, not moving the mic, "Just your name and country of origin, Mr. Brown."

Greg shifted nervously in line, and glanced over at Hunter, who was already going through the turnstile, "Greg Brown. United States of America."

The man nodded, pressing a button on his tablet, "Thank you. Come through please."

Hunter waited for him just long enough to reach out and take hold of him by his wrist, "Let's go... no lines up ahead."

The young man followed obediently, though not at the pace the Album would have preferred if the pulling was any indication. Greg found a happy medium of speed and sight seeing as he dawdled just enough to get a decent view of the offices without Hunter letting out his grunt-clicking of frustration-- it was a sound the Human had become very familiar with during their first few months of interaction but, pleasantly enough, it had been virtually absent for the past few weeks; progress felt good.

They came to a stop at the double doors leading out of the Central Offices and into the next area; they were still closed. Greg glanced back at the several-stories of busy clerical staff, "So... just that one Phin, huh?"

Hunter shrugged in response, "Probably more. The whole Unity Programme is a joint venture. Most of the staff in B72 were Phins on both sides of the Gateway but there were a few humans at each installation too."

Greg rested his hand against the double-doors; they were cold to the touch. He went silent, trying to remember what the next segment of the Gateway building was. After several seconds it finally came to him, "Residential."

The Album stopped looking around at the offices in order to glance his way and gave a simple, inquiring click which, in Phin equated to "Huh?"

The young man took his hand off of the doors, "The next segment is the residential section... where the staff eat and sleep and... stuff."

Hunter let out a clicking-whistling laugh, "Greg... you don't need to say 'and stuff'... it makes you sound stupid. If you aren't going to be more specific in your list, just stop after you say 'eat and sleep'."

The Human blushed slightly; it was one of Hunter's normal corrections and Greg had honestly thought he'd have become more used to them by that point. Nevertheless, he didn't let it affect his mood, "After that it's just the supply depot and then the Gateway."

Hunter whistled an affirmative, "True. But having the warehouse that far into the building is just bad planning-- it should be right next to the dock... shorter trip."

Greg couldn't argue with the logic; for as long as he'd known Hunter the Album was on the look out for better, more efficient ways to do things. Honestly, the young man found it tiring most of the time but the Phin's opinion was almost always sound. He decided to change the topic and when he noticed the metal rods in the door rotate it provided him the opportunity, "Hey-- it looks like they're ready to open the doors."

Hunter's attention went immediately to the movement of the metal rods. The Album glanced back to the other students slowly meandering their way and he gave out a sharp whistle, the translation of which roughly amounted to "Over here!" or "Look this way!"-- Greg wasn't exactly sure of which specifically but the meaning was essentially the same.

Apprehension growing, the young man had to admit that Hunter's preference for being at the front of the line certainly had its benefits, and Greg had the chance to look into the next area without an obstructed view. He peered through the doors inquisitively as they parted, eager to see what strange new sights were there to behold. In the end, however, he was both surprised and disappointed when he saw what looked like an apartment building lobby.

His companion, however, was much more intrigued and, for once, actually slowed, "This looks entirely different... very... Human."

Greg shrugged, following after the Album at a slow stroll, "It looks like the entryway to an apartment complex. Look... there's elevators and everything."

The Phin followed his gesture to the two sets of metal doors, "Almost like the ones at the Land-Earth Unity Centre."

Each pairing of doors had five sequential numbers inset into the wall over them; the left elevator had the 2 lit and the 5 over the one on the right was glowing. Greg glanced at the sign on the wall at the center of the entryway and pointed to the one with an arrow to the left, and he brought Hunter's attention to it. "Warehouse: this way."

The Album's focus returned to the task at hand and he proceeded forward with a greater urgency. Greg took one last glance at the homey-looking hall and followed the Phin in the direction indicated. Another set of double-doors separated them from the next section of the building and a set of guards stood watch. The one on the left held up a hand and spoke up in an authoritative but polite tone, "Stop please. Wait for the rest of your class."

Hunter clicked respectfully and took up a spot essentially right in front of the doorway, and turned back to look at the lobby back down the hall. He pointed to the bonsai tree situated on a small coffee table, "Do human habitats really have mini trees all over them? I heard somewhere they do."

Greg shrugged, "My mom always like having potted plants here-and-there, but no... trees are usually for outside."

The Album glanced out of the corner fo his eye at the young man, "Phin domiciles don't have plants inside them... vegetation tends to reduce water quality in enclosed areas."

The Human laughed at his Phin partner's comment, "Actually, a lot of Humans like having plants indoors because they improve AIR quality."

Hunter let out a faint whistling-chirp of disbelief, "After all I hear about Humans suffering from adverse reaction to aerial plant sperm?"

It took a few seconds for Greg to figure out what the Album was talking about, "Pollen? You mean pollen allergies?"

The Phin issued a double-click of assent, "Personally I know that I would have an adverse reaction if a plant were to try and inseminate MY face."

The absurdity of what Hunter was saying was matched only by the twisted accuracy of the statement, and all Greg could manage in response was to burst out laughing. He paused long enough to catch his breath and, just as he was starting to get confident that was done, a sudden memory of hentai tentacle porn came unbidden into his head, and the laughter started anew. He was almost on his knees when another Human-Phin pair emerged at the end of the hall.

Hunter was the first to speak up, dead-panning. "Hello Angie-Mae... Walker. You arrived just in time to watch Greg lose consciousness from lack of air. I hear that can be a real problem among Humans but I never thought I'd see it first hand."

Angie-Mae glanced from the Phin to Greg, who managed to get his laughter under control enough to straighten up and offer a friendly wave, "We were... -pant- talking about how.... -pant- how Humans keep plants... -pant- indoors for... -pant- decoration."

The Album looked to the newcomers, "Greg said that some Humans keep them for an improvement in a home's air quality."

Angie-Mae nodded, smiling, "That's right. Plants provide a natural air scrubbing service with transpiration."

Walker looked confused, and Hunter was happy enough to step in, "Most plants take out carbon dioxide and replace it with oxygen. That is called transpiration."

She nodded at the Album's comment, "Right. Anyway, my grandma had a wide variety of plants she kept all over her livin groom and it was one of the cleanest rooms in her entire house... it had such a nice smell."

Hunter crossed his arms, smiling confidently, "I always forget you didn't do very well in Biology, Walker."

Walker turned toward Angie-Mae, apparently quite content to ignore the jibe, "I thought a lot of humans have problems with allergies to plant sperm."

Hunter was quick to correct the Longos, "It's called 'pollen' when it comes from a plant, you know."

Angie-Mae rolled her eyes, keeping the conversation focused, "Not all plants are allergenic, and most house plants are either from hypoallergenic species or genetically modified so they won't cause issues."

Greg nodded, just about to offer up a comment about plankton and algae, but, just then, a call from back down the hall preceded the rest of the students as they started shuffling toward the four of them. In the end he glanced to Hunter, "well, it looks like we're about ready to get going..."

The Album nodded, "Finally."

The security guard at the right side of the door waited until the entire hallway was filled with finely ordered students once again divided into their two lines of Humans on the left and Phins on the right. Once an unspecified condition was met, the guard turned back to a key pad on the wall and punched in a code. The doors opened, and they were motioned through, "One pair at a time. Go ahead... let's keep it moving."

Greg and Hunter passed through the door at the same time and the Human followed his Album partner across the enormous, open room. Directly behind them Angie-Mae and Walker went next, talking quietly together as they each took turns pointing things out to one another. Spaced evenly throughout the generous floor plan were tall, metal shelves stocked full with crates, boxes, and kegs. The walls had similar shelving with similar supplies. The young man slowed, glancing around, "Yea... this is definitely a warehouse."

Hunter grabbed hold of his wrist once again and gave him a tug, pointing ahead to the large double doors on the far wall, "Come on... if this is the warehouse then you know what those doors lead to."

Greg sped up in order to keep pace with his partner, and the two of them quickly outdistanced Angie-Mae and Walker. The other Human-Album pairings were likewise moving at a fair clip, but Greg and Hunter arrived at the doors first. This time, however, there was no wait. The doors opened just in time to see two Amplus workers move a turnstile into place; the whole situation looked exceedingly familiar. Once things were settled, one of the workers waved the two forward, addressing them in Phin, "Head to the waiting area on the left."

The hum as they entered the room was strong, which seemed eerie since Greg hadn't been able to hear it until he stepped through the doorway. He passed through his turnstile and watched the Amplus to his left press a button on his tablet. Without looking up, the worker nodded, and spoke to him in English, "You're clear, Mr. Brown." Off to his right he heard the other worker similarly clear Hunter in Phin.

Greg felt his heart beating rapidly as he moved further into the next and final room. Out of all of the sections of the Gateway building the Gateway room had to be the smallest. About half the size of the arrival bay, the room they'd stepped into was two thirds filled with waist-high metal poles linked by chains into what Greg could only compare to a Disneyworld ride line. The young man felt his pulse quicken even more-- no ride at any amusement park had ever filled him with as much expectation... or apprehension.

On the far side of the room was an enormous metal ring held up by large support arms. The ring was placed vertical so that it created a 'doorway' of sorts... what Greg had been taught was The Immergent Gateway-- the 'portal' that would take them to Water-Earth. The hum, he realized, was coming from the metallic circle; for a moment he almost thought he could see it vibrating. His attention, however, was drawn to the foreground where he saw a line of small, waist-high gates creating a barrier between the wait lines and the ring.

There were ten gates in total which created just as many rows. With a spot for up to twenty individuals per row it became pretty obvious as to what the plan should be. Being first, he and Hunter went all the way down to the left; Greg stepped into the first row and Hunter, with the assistance of a Longos dock worker, took the row directly to his right. Once they were situated, his Album partner smiled his way, "Just so you know, the waiting area here is a lot nicer than the one at B72."

Greg was just about to ask him what about it was nicer when he felt a firm pat on his shoulder followed by Andy's unavoidable greeting, "Hey, Brown-Streak."

"Hey, Andy."

Hunter glanced back at Andy and Coaster, who was standing just out of line beside him. The Album cleared his throat, getting their attention, "Are you two in the right line?"

Coaster's casual disregard was unmistakable, "I'm not in a line."

Hunter scowled, the displeased grunt-click for once not aimed at Greg, and he addressed the Longos in Phin, "You're not trying to repeat what happened at B72, are you? I don't think the workers here will stand for it."

Greg had no idea what had happened at B72, but it had come up in conversation before, and none of the Phins who had been with them at the time had elaborated. Coaster looked immediately chastised, but far from cowed, "I bet it'd get more laughs this time."

The Album did not look amused at the Longos' response and so he looked to Andy instead, "You'll want to get your partner under control, Andy... otherwise he might make a habit of causing problems at Gateways."

Andy stopped smiling, and reached out to put a hand on Coaster's shoulder, "Come on, Coaster... we'd better go back and get in line."

The Longos shrugged, "Kay... let's see if we can go find Max." he paused, looking back toward Greg and Hunter for a moment, "Either of you seen Max and Carver?"

Greg shook his head, "No... we saw Angie-Mae and Walker earlier... they were further back in the group... they mighta seen em."

Andy shook his head, "Already ran into those two... they were in the Treader right after ours. She said that she thought she saw Max and Carver got into the last one in the Lance, so that means they're probably way in the back."

A young Longos Greg didn't recognize stepped over to join the discussion, followed closely by a dark skinned Human Greg had only heard referred to as 'the Mexican'. Hunter apparently recognized the Phin, "Cooker-- this isn't the Longos line."

The new Phin shook his head, "No-- I came over because Arturo and I were in the Treader with Max and Carver."

Andy nodded, glancing back at Coaster "See? They're fine."

Cooker made a sound with his resonance chamber that sounded eerily like a Human clearing his throat, "The men at the docks took them and led them away... they're not with the rest of us and nobody said why."

Greg had a number of questions he would have liked to have asked, but the Longos worker supervising the lines shoed away the Humans and Phins who had not been properly placed. He motioned to an older-looking Album addressing the rest of the students, "Go get your line assignment... I don't want to see you up here again."

Hunter was quiet just long enough for the others to move on before speaking quietly in English, "Nothing good can come of an Amplus expected to act civilized."

The young man shrugged without commitment, "I don't know... I mean, Carver did pretty well in classes, right?"

Hunter stared at him, an expression of condescending judgment on his snout, "I have read about Human serial killers... from what I hear, most of them are very intelligent but not someone you would want as a cohabitant."

Sometimes Greg was surprised at the words Hunter chose-- just more proof that English wasn't the Phin's primary language. With that, he let the conversation drop, except for one final choice point, "Max never looked hurt."

The Album just shrugged, "Not all injuries are physical."

And, just like that, the discussion ended. The rest of the students were finally lined up and the apparent manager of the Phin work crew moved in front of the waiting area. He raised an arm to get everyone's attention, and click-whistled loudly in Phin, "We are getting ready to send everyone through. When you are directed, I want each line to move forward one student. Phin and Human pairs are to pass through the Gateway together, followed by the next pair ten seconds apart. On the other side get clear the platform and follow the reception team's directions."

All of the Phins whistled out a confirmation that they heard and all of the Humans nodded their head; Greg didn't miss the fact that several of the Phins in the lines mimicked their partners. He smiled for a moment, then glanced to Hunter, who had not. The Album looked back at him, and gave a wink, "We'll be first, Greg."

The young man nodded... then went almost giddy when Hunter finally repeated the motion; the Album was not usually one to use what he referred to as 'the silliest of human movements'. Greg had no doubt that Hunter did it entirely for his benefit. He didn't have much time to dwell on the thought however as his partner grabbed his wrist the moment their gates opened, and began leading him straight to the Gateway.

As they approached, the Album that had addressed the student body as a whole moved forward to speak with the first ten students. The humming was increasing in volume and frequency, so much so that the director was forced to switch over to English due to Phin being lost to the sound. "Approach the ring and stop at the threshold. Take a breath and hold it. Step forward with your dominant foot. You may leave your eyes open or close them, but the first time is always easiest with them closed."

And, like that, he moved on, leaving the students to approach the Gateway. Hunter, still holding Greg's wrist moved quickly, ascending the slight ramp that brought them up to even with the lip of the two foot thick metal ring. The Human felt his heart beat quicken even more and he was certain that he would have been shaking if not for his partner's firm, reassuring grip. Hunter glanced to him and, for just a moment, Greg heard a faint warble in the ring's whine; at the same time he felt his entire body vibrate.

The Album released his wrist and moved a hand to the Human's shoulder instead, "Calm down, Greg... it looks like your heart is trying to escape your chest."

The young man tried to offer the most reassuring smile he could, but he was pretty sure he failed. He cleared his throat, "We're really going through, aren't we?"

Hunter laughed, "Don't worry... I'm right here with you. Just wait for the green light."

Greg looked back to the ring of metal and the small stop-light on the side. The moment his eyes settled on it the light changed from red to yellow. Heart beating faster yet, the young man felt his breath coming out as gasps. He was really going to do it... he was really going to Water-Earth! Hunter took a step forward until he was standing at the lip of the ramp and Greg moved to do likewise, weight on his left leg as he readied his right to take the plunge.

He blinked several times, realizing that he wanted to time things just right so he could close his eyes and step forward. The sound had gotten so loud he almost missed Hunter's declaration. "Green!"

Taking a deep breath, Greg stepped forward into the unknown.