When the one you love is from far away it's only natural to be curious. Join John as he investigates the Wild Side!

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. None of the characters, places, or anything else is meant to be represented by anything in reality. Duh! Fiction, get it? I the author reserve the rights, so please don't go posting this anyplace else without my permission. A very special thanks goes out to Cathy and all the others out there in BCTS land who have encouraged and inspired me to write and keep writing. Another round of thanks goes out to djkauf who is the fastest proofer I've ever encountered. Any remaining mistakes are all mine.

“Relax!” Angel poked me giving Kimmie a chance to steal another French fry. It was a mark of how uncomfortable I was with letting yet another person in on my secret. We were in public, but they both assured me that in the always noisy campus cafeteria no one would notice.

Andrea was exactly as the girls had described her. Not once did she judge me or try to talk me out of anything. She did point out a few things I'd perhaps had overlooked. One of those was ignorance. I really didn't know a whole lot about the world I was thinking of immigrating to. My experience so far was like someone who'd only been to Vegas suddenly declaring they loved America and had to move there!

Just firing up the computer and Googling had its limitations too. One of those was this was an entirely different world. Like my World History professor said, 'If you wanted to study modern America you had to start with the societies that had influenced its development. All you had to do was look at DC to see influences from Rome, Greece, and even Egypt, ie the Washington Monument, which really resembles an Egyptian obelisk. So now to know about America, we were studying Roman, Greek, and Egyptian history and that wasn't counting all the countries that immigrants had left to flock to the land of the free over the last 200 plus years.

Andrea suggested I talk to someone who wasn't happy about the Wild Side and a woman's role there. It happened that Angel and Kimmie knew the person she had in mind. He was also a trans-man. While I felt more comfortable as a morwyn, Chuck was just the opposite. Needless to say I was more than a little nervous about meeting him. I hadn't known there were any exchange students on campus from the Wild Side, much less transgendered ones, but I really hadn't thought about it.

Munching on my fries, in triumph, Kimmie admonished me, “Oh you! Chuck is nice. He doesn't bite.” Then she got a thoughtful expression. “Or maybe he does!” She closed her eyes in mock delight causing Angel to roll her eyes and smack her.

Laughing and rubbing her arm, Kimmie alerted us. “There he is.” Waving her arms, she shouted, “Hey Chuck! Over here!”

Waving back was the very example of the tall dark and handsome college age male. Just like with worrying a sore tooth I had to see if I felt any attraction, but once again for the umpteenth time, thankfully, no.

It was Owen who held my heart.

“What's up, Angel, Kimmie.” He greeted my friends with a deep baritone rumble. Sticking out his hand, he introduced himself. “I'm Chuck.”

Unlike some guys, he didn't try and break my hand, but there was no doubt he made sure I knew he could. It was just another thing that added more plus marks to the feminine side of the tally.

That was another one of Andrea's suggestions. I started keeping, a journal, alright I admit it, a dairy, of what I liked or disliked about masculine and feminine things. So far the feminine side was way ahead.

“So you're the one who wants to know about the truth about the Wild Side.” His dark eyes looked me over. “Say, aren't you're the one that dumped that shank Mary over that bet to skip though the Gate?” He asked recognizing me.

“Yes,” I nodded. “That's what started all of this.”

“I'm also guessing you faked that picture that was floating around of your 'avatar.'” Chuck said, thoughtfully.

“How did you know that?” I asked him.

He grinned showing his perfect white teeth. “Because, it was Andrea who asked me to speak to you. Everyone knows she does the counseling for the LBGT's on campus. If you were trying to hook up with Mary then you were straight, but must have gender-jumped going through the gate.”

“And believe me, I know Goblins,” Chuck said coldly. “That was picture was a gent's. Therefore, you faked it. I can't blame you either. That Mary is a real piece of work. She must've been big back on the block in high school, but here she's just another pretty face.”

“So how come you know so much about Goblins,” Kimmie asked. Trust her to be tactful, not!

“Because I was one,” Chuck answered with any hesitation. “Here, let me put it to you this way. Goblins were the foot-soldiers back on the Wild Side during the Wars. They are tough, vicious, and can live off of just about anything including each other. They have magic, but it's like knacks in having only one to three spells they do really well at any one time. Think of it like being magical idiot savants, but that gave the armies enormous flexibility letting them do things like march twice as far, or walk across unfordable rivers.”

“How does that work?” Angel asked curious. “Do they just forget how to do the old magic spells?”

Chuck smiled, as if he'd answered this question before. “It's not that hard really. Think of magic as having a head for advanced mathematics. The real mages never have a problem remembering formulas or coming up with new equations to solve previously unknown problems. Most people can work the formulas if they have it right in front of them. However if they don't use it, recalling just how it went isn't so easy. It's like some people can remember numbers, and some can't.

“Goblins,” Chuck grinned, “can remember pretty damn well. They just can't come up with the spells themselves. For that you need a real mage, and that means a Pointy Ear.” Those last few words weren't spoken kindly.

“Is there something wrong with Elves?” I asked curious about his reaction.

Chuck studied me a while before replying. “No, but being at the top is a hell of a lot different from being on the bottom.”

“On the Wild Side,” Kimmie surprised us by answering me. “The Elves are the aristocrats. They're the movers and shakers over there.” She smiled sweetly, “Business major, remember?”

“You got that right.” He agreed. “Because they live so long and have magic coming out of their asses, they're the ones in charge. Goblins, Brownies, Trolls, and all the rest are followers.”

“Is it so bad, on the Wild Side if you're not an Elf?” I was beginning to worry that all Elves were evil tyrants even though Owen had never showed me any attitude like that.

“Look at it this way,” Chuck explained. “A Goblin matures a hell of a lot faster than even a human. Puberty starts around eight and they're considered mature at 10. At best they will live to be 40 with 30 being the average. Gestation for a Goblin is only six months and they can give birth about once a year, but multiple births are the rule usually with 2 to 3 brats at a time. That means a female Goblin can bear as many as 60 would be soldiers during her life.” He glared at us.

“Would any of you want to go though that?” He folded his arms having made his point. “As a human, I'll live to a ripe old age to maybe 70 or more. Plus, being a man suits me. I never fit in where I was unlike most Goblins. If the truth be told, I'm sure everyone was glad to get rid of me. I asked too many questions.”

“If it's that terrible over there,” Kimmie asked, “Why aren’t there uprisings and revolutions?”

“Because they're made to obey,” He chuckled. “Haven't you ever wondered why there're so many humanoid races on the Wild Side?”

“That's a good question.” Angel inclined her head giving it thought.

“Because if you go back far enough each and every one started off as human.” Chuck grinned at our disbelief. “The story from the Wild Side is that at one time it and Earth were more or less exactly the same except for one small thing.”

“Magic.” Angel's eyes narrowed as she worked it out.

“You got it in one,” He congratulated her. “Or perhaps the better answer is a lot more magic because at one time both worlds has legends that can be best explained by travelers between them. There are such things as natural atomic reactors so maybe there were natural Gates too. Something changed which might have been Earth losing the rest of what little magic it had. In any case, it caused the 'Adjusting' or maybe it was a visa-versa situation. I don't think we'll ever know for sure.

“What we do know is that one Wild Side group became very powerful in magic and began calling themselves Gods. Still being human despite their power, they were flawed and warred among themselves. They conquered and altered all those they ran across. Elves were their generals and elite soldiers. Goblins were the expendable cannon fodder. Brownies were their craftsmen and support people. Dwarfs were their miners and metal workers, and the list goes on and on.”

“They used magic to genetically specialize humans for specific roles like insects?” I blurted out distastefully. Despite my own rather positive brush with the arcane, that I couldn't talk about, using people in that way smacked of Mengele evil to me.

Chuck nodded, “Yes they did and not just humans either. Killer Willows, Bullet Wasps, Silver Fins, and most of the other dangers on Wild Side are genetically altered plants, insects, and animals for war. Most seem to think it was really all a big game to the 'Gods' since they nearly never fought each other directly. It was just the rest of world doing the bleeding and dying.”

Kimmie's “Ewww” spoke for all of us.

“It was the Elves that rebelled wasn't it?” Angel surmised.

“Yes it was.” He answered. “You got it right again. They might have called one side the Dá¶kká¡lfar, the Dark and the other the Ljá³sá¡lfar, the Light, but they were still Elves on different sides or not.

“You see the turning point was that while their masters might not have gotten their hands dirty, the Pointy Ears did. Being at the sharp of the stick they did die and with their very long lifespans had the dubious pleasure of seeing sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and what have you die over the course of the ten thousand years of the War. And not all of the Gods were happy with the all the fighting either.” Chuck admitted unwillingly.

“The Lady was always their patron no matter what side they fought on.” He continued. “For the rest of the races, it was a case of Mom liking your big brother better kind of thing. She's never been hostile to any other of the other races, but the Elves were always her favorites.

“With her help, the other would-be Gods fell hard and fast. That's not to say there weren't wounded and casualties on both sides. I think the truth of the matter is most of them didn't care to have their own butts on the line. At any rate, the rebellion ended the Wars. Not that it made anything easy.” Chuck sighed.

“There were entire races that had never known anything but war and fighting. Plus while exceptional individuals in the other races proved to be leaders it was more like talented sergeants. All the Generals were Elves with more practical experience and skill than Sun Tzu could ever dream of. The pacification took a few hundred years and there's still bad blood about it. There was also the bitter fact that the Dark and Light Elves had been fighting each other for so long that all of them had lost loved ones to each other.” Chuck shook his head sadly.

“The Queen of Light and the King of the Dark split the world up between them. The Light lost the draw and got what is the Americas on Earth while the Dark kept the rest. Australia became the penal colony for all of those who for one reason or another refused to abide by the peace.”

“You have no idea of how humorous some of us find it that the English used it for the same purpose.” He shook his head. “No one goes down-under if they value their lives. Perhaps it’s more like that movie 'Escape from New York' except it's an entire continent.

“The real point is the Queen still remembers a son lost because of the Dark King who in turn lost his own blood kin to the Light.” Chuck grimaced. “That's the true cost of living so long. Everyone else is hostage to things only they recall.”

“So they're all tyrants?” I wanted to know really troubled about all of this.

“Not an easy question.” He said, “Just as the other races are programmed to obey, more or less, Elves are designed to be responsible.” Chuck got an unpleasant expression. “Good ranchers always take care of their breeding stock. Although to be fair it was a situation they got handed rather than created, but it is what it is.”

“So what's the deal with you?” I asked. “I'm not trying to be rude but you don't fit what you've told us.”

“Yes, he does,” Angel objected to my statement. “He told us already, exceptional individuals.”

“The lady gets it right again,” Chuck grinned at us. “Are you sure I can't change your mind about dating?”

Kimmie gave him a vicious glare. “You change your mind about wanting to be a eunuch?”

We laughed as he held up his hands in surrender, “Just kidding!”

“But she did get it right.” Chuck went on keeping an eye on Kimmie. “Sure most Goblins are more loyal than smart, and Trolls and Ogre's aren't the smartest chips in the woodshed.” He paused, “On average.”

“I suppose it's because of having human genes somewhere in their ancestry even though some of the races can no longer breed together anymore.” Chuck explained. “There are those born who are brilliant by anyone's standards, but the specialization that has been forced on us are worse than any caste system. What makes it worse is there are far more of the 'sub-races' than Elves,” He made ditto marks in the air. “No one knows just how much potential is being lost.”

“That's also why no one on the Wild Side refused to have a Gate on their territory.” Chuck pointed out. “I might not care for Elves that much, but most of the honchos in charge understand how much the specialization has hurt them as a whole.”

“Just look around us,” he directed. It's been a good two thousand years since the rebellion, but how has the Wild Side done during that time? They had the advantages of magic and long lives beyond anything anyone on Earth could dream of.”

“Besides dealing with a few environmental problems left over from the War, things have stayed almost the same.” Chuck answered his own question. “In the same time, Earth has gone from using animal drawn carts to putting men on the moon. I'm not even going to try and cover all the knowledge mankind has gathered. In fact, it's on the edge of power as great as that the Gods achieved the hard way without the clutch of magic.”

I grabbed at a straw. “But you say at least some of the Elves know of the problem and are trying to fix it?”

He shook his head. “Knowing and being able to do something about it are two different things. The only way to really do it is something no one would dare, more genetic tampering. Everyone has had more than enough of that. If that's not enough all the real leaders on both sides are still having PTSD over events that happen thousands of years ago.”

“That's not to say the Wild Side is hopeless or helpless.” He sighed again. “After pointing out magic doesn't work on Earth they arranged a demonstration that I think you can still find on YouTube. using old fashioned film they proved just how dangerous an Elven archer with a few hundred years of experience under his belt could be. It was their way of keeping Earth honest by showing that bow and arrows could kill just as good as any gun. That's not even adding in that the entire population could be mobilized as armies faster than anyone on either world really want to think about. It was just making sure their new neighbors knew the consequences and stayed honest.”

“I don't think that's an advantage at all,” Kimmie replied. “You haven't beaten your swords into plowshares at all. You only have swords that are not very good plows.”

Chuck gave her a searching look. “You know if I didn't know Angel would be as mad at me as you were, I would ask you out.” He held up his hands. “However I won't because the last thing I need is to have both of you gunning for me.”

“Oh no,” Angel shark grinned, “Then you would have to take us both out at the same time. Not only would you not get any, but we would be very expensive dates.”

“Very, very expensive,” Kimmie echoed promising.

“You know, “Chuck scratched his head. “I'm almost tempted anyway.” “That does not change that what you said was extremely profound. The Wild Side hasn't really changed from the armed camps that battled each other for ages. And while many understands this, they're not sure how to change or fix it. That's not counting the ones who likes things just as they are. If the Gates went away today, they wouldn't shed a tear. Worse, I suspect more than a few are actively working for that end.”

“Earth isn't a lot better.” Angel pointed out. “We might not have misused eugenic experiments running around.” She waited a moment and added, “Yet, but we have more than enough racial and cultural intolerance as well as good old fashioned discrimination to make up for it.”

“Yeah,” Kimmie piped up. “Don't forget global warming, deforestation of the rain forests, pollution, and that's just a few of the other big things.”

“Like nuclear weapons, terrorism, and mass extinctions,” I added. “Sure we might have greater life spans, but drive-by shooting by gangs over drugs can kill you just as dead as magic can.”

“So you might live to that ripe old age … maybe,” Angel summarized.

“You girls sure know how to deflate a guy's dream don't you?” Chuck sighed. “I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, but I'll take a chance for a better, longer life over a sure bet for short one.”

Even knowing that he kinda meant Angel and Kimmie, hearing me lumped together with the 'girls' sent tremor of good feelings though me.

“However, things are looking up,” I said, determined to look on the bright side. “The global economy is improving and those other problems are being addressed. With the trade from Earth, the Wild Side is getting an education on different ways of doing things and providing opportunities none of the Wild Siders had ever dreamed of.” I added, “Earth is providing an outlet for all of that lost talent you were talking about earlier.

“I'm sure some of other of the exchange students will go home even if you won't. That'll help spread what they learned. You have Earth immigrants to the Wild Side to consider too. Sure not many are going to want to stay if 'adjusted' to one of the shorter life span races, but the others who are changed into the longer lived ones will be there for a long time.”

“While I can understand why you wouldn't want to return, if the tables were turned and you were a woman here and you 'adjusted' to a male Goblin would you still feel the same?” I was thinking of that immigrant I'd read about who'd given up over a third of her life to be a female. Even the attractiveness issue wasn't that much of a biggie, at least to me. Sure they had a greenish tint, and the exaggerated ears like you saw in some computer games, but I'd seen some cute Goblin girls.

“I get your point.” Chuck admitted after a moment. “In a way we both came out ahead. Being me,” He tapped himself on the chest. “is more important than any of the side benefits. It does make it easy to come up with reasons to stay and a whole lot why not to go back.”

I found myself nodding with him. Wanting things to be better than perhaps they really were on the Wild Side, I was doing the grass was greener on the other side of the fence thing too.

Even Owen had carefully warned me, that the city of Choedtan wasn't representative of how things really were on the Wild Side. I guess that the heart loves who it loves and the mind follows.

“You've answered my question,” I replied. “The Wild Side isn't a fairytale kingdom. It has problems as real and as troublesome as any Earth has.”

“That does give your story about all the races of the Wild Side being human if you go back far enough, weight.” Angel said sadly.

“Yeah,” Kimmie sighed. “Only we humans could manage to muck up two worlds.”

“But we're good at it,” Chuck added. “We did it in two completely different ways. That has got to take talent.”

“So we have a stagnant society with loads of warlike baggage, but with less environmental damage on one world, and then Earth with all of its problems.” Angel summarized.

“It kinda sounds like the Wild Side comes out better, environmentally anyways.” Kimmie pointed out.

“Not so fast,” He held up a hand. “Don't forget Australia. That's an entire continent that's a write off. Part of the reason why it was made into a penal colony was because of fallout from the Wars. Don't think for a moment that magic is any less friendly to the environment, when used as a weapon.”

“Humans,” Angel sighed.

The rest of us could do nothing more than follow her example. Sigh...

Dear 'O'

Your last letter was a joy. The part about the Leviathans was cool. Did Gods really modify whales into living zeppelins? I almost hate to ask if you have air sharks too!

Oh, I had a good talk with a Wild Side exchange student this week. It's part of Andrea's (my therapist) efforts to help me become better educated about your world. He gave me the version I didn't see on the Discovery channel.

According to him, no one is really hiding any of this, but they're still not talking about it either. Both of our worlds are getting far too much out of the relationship to do anything to sour things.

Like you said, it's not all sweetness and nice on the Wild Side. For that matter the fairy tales we have say that. Many of them have less than happy endings. It does make me wonder again about early travelers between Earth and the Wild Side. Our stories suggests it did happen, but something changed which brought on the 'adjusting.'

I did well on my mid-terms and as for my summer vacation plans, things are looking good. I want to spend a week back home, and then I can meet you on the Wild Side. Just how I'm going to make myself leave afterward is my biggest concern. Yes, I miss you so much, I think about you all the time, but it is also just as hard to put aside the person I become on the Wild Side.

My friends have proposed an experiment to test if I had gender issues that walking the Wild Side has unearthed. They won't tell me what they have in mind, but Andrea agrees I need to explore this more.

Next letter I'll let you know how it went!

Till then, still missing you!
Love
'S'
XXOO