[warning: adult theme]

The day had been long. Max had followed Riggs and the impaled Churchman to the infirmary where the patient had been put under anesthesia while Riggs removed the spikes from hands and feet.  After separating Churchman from the cross, Riggs used the gass to move the man to a med table where she quickly and efficiently removed the machine that had been keeping Churchman alive. Once free of the machine, Riggs hooked the patient up to the table’s life support system; pushed the arm joints back into their sockets; and initiated a full gefresh. Riggs told Max that Churchman could be revived in a couple of days after the facility’s accelerated healing system had done its work.  Riggs also explained that it would be six weeks before Churchman’s first round of treatment would be complete. She said that it would be unlikely that Churchman would be able to use his hands or walk without further treatment. 

At the end of the day, when Max had told Riggs that he was tired, Riggs thanked him for all the exhausting watching that he had done.

Max returned to his apartment and had a bath. After eating a small meal he went to bed and fell quickly to sleep. The recurring dream returned, but this time the dream was different:

Instead of watching Riggs slaughter people through archival footage, this time it seemed as if Max was there, following her; stepping over bodies and recoiling at weapons fire. 

After following in the familiar scene for a short while, he felt like shouting out to Riggs, to command her to stop! Thinking that perhaps the supervisory powers he had gained from Emma would work now. But he also thought that Riggs in this autokill state would likely target him with her spear, and even in a dream, that would be bad.

They reached the point where the security team had set an ambush for Riggs. Max watched the auger's lethal ballet and followed silently to the door and into the room with rounds whizzing by, barely missing him. He saw as Riggs threw the barricade away and watched as Emma Yee guarded the two young children. Then the scene stopped as it always did, and Emma Yee looked to Max. But this time, instead of a plea for help, she smiled at him and said, “Thank you Max.”

Max looked around, and the scene was frozen solid, yet he could move. He straightened in an attempt at appearing composed and replied, “You’re welcome. Ah, but 'thank you' for what?”

The scene changed, and he was standing on a golden path in the Hortus. The flowers in the garden beds were in full bloom providing vivid blocks of yellow, white and blue. Everything beyond the flowers was a blur, as if out of focus. Max was taken by Emma Yee's beauty as she stood before him.  Real sunlight shone off the metallic beads that dangled from her jet black hair and her smooth, flawless pale skin stood in sharp contrast to the dark blues and hard lines of her uniform. 

Emma Yee spoke, “I’m sorry that I’ve invaded your privacy these past days. I hate using you in your dreams like this. But you are in great danger; the whole galaxy is in danger, and this is currently the only way that we can communicate.” 

Max didn’t know what to say, so Emma Yee continued, “The being you call Emma is watching and listening everywhere. She monitors every system, every electromagnetic and quantum wave; she even monitors your  thoughts and although she can’t read them, she knows when you are thinking and the physical effect of your thoughts.” She added, “But, apologies again, I have not introduced myself. I'm Emma Yee, and I was an alchemist here at the refinery.”

“Of course, I know who you are!” Max tried to calm himself thinking, talk sense Max. “So you visit my dreams? And the dreams of Churchman? He said you were God.”

“Yes I've initiated these dreams and, I've been communicating with Churchman for as long as I’ve learned the extent of my ability.Churchman is a tortured soul, but there is much good in him and you will need his wisdom if you are to survive.”

Max looked around. “This dream, is it real or just a dream?”. He blinked and shook his head to see if the dream was still intact. 

“The dream is real, but I’ve been training your mind to slip out into a kind of sub-REM.  Here we can talk in private.”

Not entirely convinced, “So, this is real -- I think. But you are...”, he hesitated before finishing his question, "...dead?"

“I live Max, yet my body is dead. Think of me as a ghost.”

Max wondered if he could get a headache in a dream. This is getting  crazy, he thought, even by my standards.

Emma Yee continued, “Don't worry, what’s important is that I’m here and that I can help.”

“What about Riggs? Are you in her dreams too?” Max asked figuring that if Emma Yee needed something done, it would be much better that Riggs do it, rather than him and his rather limited skill set.

“No. Emma has integrated with Riggs; those horns are hooked directly into the auger’s nervous system, and there’s no way I could communicate directly with her without being detected.”

Then it struck him, even though he had known it all along. It was her voice. It was Emma Yee’s name that his Emma had adopted. It was her voice that he had fallen for all those weeks ago on his ship. Her beautiful voice -- her name -- her soul. Max became emboldened. He stepped forward and put his hand on Emma Yee’s arm. 

“Tell me what I can do. Do you need me to talk with Emma?”

“No! You must not tell her about me.” She looked at Max intently and continued, “The only advantage we have is surprise. If she were aware of me, then she would be able to take measures.”

“But you don’t think she’d harm you? She's very fond of you. She thinks of you and me in the same way. Why not let her know that you are here?” 

Then acting automatically within the surreality of the moment, Max moved even closer, locked eyes with Emma and placed his hands on her soft breasts, squeezing lightly. He saw her eyes widen in shock. She quickly took his arms and removed them from her chest.

“Sorry Max, this is not that kind of dream.”

Now it was Max’s turn to show shock. What have I done, I’ve ruined everything! he thought panicking. “Emma, No I’m sorry!” He said with urgency, “I would never do that! I don’t know what…”

And then the dream ended and he awoke with a start in a cold sweat. He reached down and realised that he was supporting the greatest dawning morning glory ever. That figures, was all the thought before seeing his Emma hovering over the bed. Her shadowy figure an overwhelming presence in the dim light of the room.

“Are you OK. Max? I sense abnormal patterns in your mind. I am worried about you.”

She had the same voice; it would have been so easy to believe that they were the same person. The word ‘person’ grated; not seeming to fit in either case. Max wondered why everything in his life was so complicated.

“Emma, I’m OK. It was a dream.”

“A dream? Tell me of what you were dreaming?”

He knew he was a poor liar, so he decided to tell the truth, even against Emma Yee’s strong request. “I was dreaming of Emma Yee.”

His Emma purred, “Emma Yee. Really?” Then reached for his crotch and grasped his erect manhood in her hand. “Is this how you dream of Emma Yee? Is this how you dream of me too?” 

Oh shit! thought Max. Now I’ve done it. From one beauty to the next, Max could see that his Emma had changed her form, rather than the delicate flowing dress that she liked to wear most of the time, here she was naked. Her legs long and thighs powerful, leading to contoured buttocks, a shapely torso with ample perky bosom. While her form was intensely feminine, it lacked the normal human details and for a moment, he thought she looked like a minx bot, one of the warrior class robots from history's famous Bot Wars. 

Emma’s bronze shimmer intensified; her long hair grew wild with a life of its own and began to shine, lighting the room with an orange glow.

“Tell me more about your dream Max.” She commanded with a firm and still peaceful voice. He could feel the warmth of her hand intensify and he began to worry, seriously worry. She asked, “Did Emma Yee introduce herself as God. Did she tell you that God was an alchemist?”

“No! She asked me not to tell you, but she is here with us now -- somehow. She thinks I’m in danger and wants to help.”

Emma released Max and stood upright, her head touching the high ceiling. Max gawked and thought that if anyone was a god, she was. 

Emma's voice retained its feminine qualities, but became deep and powerful, “This is not possible. Come my Max. I will show you what remains of Emma Yee.” And with that she pulled him out of bed and dragged Max Jones back to the room of horrors.