Little Cherine Book 06 - BPost042
“When we are ready to return, I would like to take it into the void and see if it will work from there, transmitting from a platform to Freddie. Commander, please pass on a message from all of us here. Welcome to Freddie and we look forward to seeing your officers and crew on the surface.”
3911
“Robbie?” He gestured for me to take over. “Commander, this is Samantha. I was wondering, is there a chance the transmitter could germinate? Are we likely to end up with a number of infant transmitters?”
“For details you should ask the scientists with you, but I can confirm the plants do not have the ability to reproduce themselves and have to be cloned.” I’d become worried that during one of our stays on Terra it could produce a seed pod and we’d return to find hundreds or thousands of them growing.
As they will be having many visitors, Robbie expanded the Inguel area which means they and the Anadir have the second largest areas after us. As we now know the Inguel enjoy water, he placed a small lake in it. He has created filters made out of energy for the water entering their lake and when it leaves to return to our main system. Claudia asked why he did not separate our supplies to avoid placing two filters and he explained the water would have to be filtered anyway to keep it healthy for them.
The scientists, which by the way includes the Kinytians now, announced they have created a new transmuter and need some arenicide. Even one grain will do, though they would prefer at least five grains, not taken from grains adjacent to each other, so that they can average out any differences.
Haven and Robyn agreed to do a total sharing at least once every six months when together. They not only love each other, but also admire certain characteristics the other has and want to stay as similar as possible. Does it mean we should do the same? We treasure the differences in our loved ones and enjoy the fact that we are different from them. I suppose we each have our own attitudes and their sharing does not matter to us, since they do not seem able to become the same without doing a total meld, which they will not. It does help keep their love for each other very strong, like the twins and Diana.
Robbie was reading one of his science fiction books when Gina sat next to him. He put down the book and put his arm around her. She smiled up at him.
“Dad, mum said she came from nearly three hundred years in the future, so that means she will live that long with us for sure?”
“As certain that we stay on the same time line baby.”
“She won’t you know. Maybe she will live for four or five hundred years with us staying for so long on Freddie. Can we do lots of trips dad? I don’t want to stay for long on Terra anymore.”
Everybody looked as if they wanted to cry, including Alki and Marian. Robbie only answered gently, “I know my love. That is what we are doing.”
I had not thought of it, as obvious as it may seem and was touched that my daughter and Robbie had thought of it. I might have cried if the imps had not jumped on me and begun to tickle me, teasing that they (the family) will keep me in Freddie forever.
“I suppose we do have to go home now and then. Gina, if we spend a week at home and two years here every time, it means Sam will have been with us for over twenty seven thousand years!” Claudia said.
Robbie shook his head. “As much as I’d like to, we cannot. When we return, we must stay for a few months so that we remain Terrans. Our planet has a lot of problems and we have to help them also. Perhaps later on we can stay here for much longer periods.”
Alki appeared to be upset. “Roberto, I would do as Claudia suggested, except that I would stay here a thousand years each time. Why would you sacrifice Sam for something as abstract as staying Terrans. You will change, have changed, you cannot avoid it. As long as you keep your love alive for your friends on Earth, it will always be a home to you.”
“Alki, I have two reasons for staying here. One is for staying in communication with Arthur so that he can feed us his news to help Lynda find him, and the second is for Sam. As important as both reasons are, we have to keep our stays here limited to a shorter period and we have to stay on Terra a few months each time. Last time we stayed here too long we found it difficult to be among Normals. You will see for yourself when we return. This voyage looks as if it will last for years.”
3912
I saw that they were split in their attitudes and did not want it to cause any rifts. “Alki, when our honey is nearly finished and Robert knows the next supply is months away, he does not spread it thinly on his toast. He prefers to enjoy the honey he eats than just make do with a hint of the taste he loves, even if he has to do without for a while. I love our home, our world and Athens. I agree with Robert, I’d rather have less years, but live the life I want. Life may be comfortable here, despite our adventures, but it is also stifling. Earth reinvigorates me. Seeing new people, meeting new Cherinians each time we return, it fills my heart.”
As I talked, Marian was staring at her hands in her lap, but without realising it she was broadcasting her feelings and thoughts. She was thinking she loves me as a daughter and the beauty of her thoughts and emotions hurt. I went to her side and regressed myself into a toddler for her to hold. She felt my happiness as she did so and it brought tears to her eyes. Alki reached out and caressed me, tears streaming, calling me, ‘kori mou, koroula mou.’
Allan and Jess have had a fight and are not talking to each other. We do not ask what it was about and try to block from Allan the amusement we feel in Robbie. The one who suffers of course is Eleni, but she refuses to take sides and insists they must resolve their differences between them. She made a comment about both of them having to grow up, which made both of them angry with her for a short time.
Our trip through time has ended and we are now travelling though space. Robbie chose a reality where we found the species of that planetary system are the most relaxed about keeping records. Us girls studied them from the screens and we were puzzled.
“They do not have wars, the people hardly ever have fights, they have achieved what our people only dream of, a world without hunger or want, and yet it looks to me as if their civilisation is decaying, falling apart.”
The observation was correct. Other worlds that were struggling were also still growing, while this world is pulling in to itself. Their generosity to neighbouring planets in need cannot be faulted, but they also are starting to insulate themselves from their neighbours as they find their aggressiveness unpleasant.
Robbie stopped our travelling to give everyone a chance to study them. Themi works sometimes twenty hours a day (and has never looked happier) with other individuals who have similar interests, and he said the aliens seem to often be capable of seeing past him where he gets trapped in his thoughts and sometimes he can see past their mental blockage, finding answers they could not. They are all learning he said, not only from the people of this world, but also from each other. If Robbie had waited for them we could have spent the next ten years there.
Robbie took two of the eight, three Kinytians and another four scientists with him as the void. They entered the store room of a large industrial concern and waited for them to remove (borrow) from storage some arenicide. Soon as no one was looking, he stole a few grains and enveloping them in a shield brought them back to us.
What with Themi and his cronies working furiously on their projects and the scientists working on the sample, we found we can eat at the taverna without poor Maria being run off her feet trying to cook for hundreds at the same time. It is the custom that we help Maria, as even the family is too much for the two of them to handle alone. When there are more of us, then others also help. Unlike it would be with Normals, just as many men help as women - even Robbie sometimes does. Estella spends time in the kitchen and has learnt a lot about cooking.
“We are having problems Robert. We are able to create arenicide with exactly the same atomic structure, but for some reason it does not emit the same radiation. It is totally useless.”
“Just a moment.”
He returned as the void and examined the arenicide, the original grains and those duplicated. He had them set out a number of them on separate dishes and took them out into normal space in a platform. There, alone, he began to experiment. He was hoping that by irradiating them with different energies he can activate one of the grains. As a last resort he used the dark energy the Ii had used against him. There was an explosion that must have been seen by astrologers in the closest star systems.
We panicked. We could not sense Robbie at all. Dommi reassured us, the cord to his soul is still intact. Cherine wanted to go to the void to find him by following the cord, but Dommi insisted she wait. When we felt him return to his body we burst into tears. He opened his eyes, searching out Candy first. That made her cry even more. He pulled her to him and we felt through her how he is shaking. We helped seat him and a coffee with a cigarette was given to him. His hand shaking, he sipped and smoked.
“Roberto mou, what went wrong?”
3913
“I miscalculated. I guessed at the strength of any possible explosion of a grain, but did not take into consideration the other grains. The instant the first one exploded it set the others off. The explosion threw me light-years away. I have the impression it was instant. When I came to, I was still travelling at a great speed. I had to struggle to jump back to the void.”
“Light-years Robert?”
“Yes. I can show you on your star maps where I came to.”
“Instantaneous travel!? Your accident may be a great discovery Robert. Can we duplicate the accident but do so with a spaceship?”
“I would imagine any spaceship would be smashed instantly.”
“There may be ways Robert. We must try.”
“an Spirdef, what if you do succeed? How would you collect the dark energy to set the arenicide off?” What a bunch of glum scientists! To be so close to instantaneous space travel and be thwarted by the void. Robbie smiled at them. “Are you giving up already? Why not experiment and learn what the properties of dark energy are? Perhaps you can create something similar that has the same effect? Then we can try exploding more arenicide. I have failed to alter the arenicide, what do we do now? Should we concentrate on mining the ore?”
“It should be a last resort Robert. Give us more time to try and correct the transmuter.”
The weeks went by without them succeeding. Robbie was not impatient with them. He said that normally scientists would expect to take years for solving such a problem and only has praise for what they have succeeded in doing within months. He said all the travelling, jumping time-wise and reality-wise is exhausting for both Freddie and him, so he welcomes the rest.
It was during a conversation, while trying to analyse what the differences could be, that a Kinytian made a suggestion. He said that the only difference of importance that he could think of is the gravitational stress imposed on real arenicide. It could be that the arenicide is also bombarded by rays of some kind of energy while forming in a sun that is dying, or else the stresses of the immense gravity waves could be altering some detail in the atoms, which we cannot presently identify with our tools.
Robbie was asked whether we can find a dying sun and pass some arenicide within an extremely low orbit. We went to a sun that is hardly emitting any light and the scientists measured it and worked out the best slingshot orbit that will provide the arenicide with maximum exposure. Robbie was worried that the only container strong enough to hold the arenicide under massive gravities would be energy shields from the void and the shield might diffuse the effects of the sun.
They manufactured about fifteen grams of arenicide and Robbie flung it at the dead star, veering away from the path at the last moment. Vincent was waiting at the point the container will shoot away so as to keep track of it, until Robbie can catch up. They stopped the parcel and brought it back. As Robbie had feared, the effect was minimal, the arenicide only registering about two percent of the radiation it should have. He tried it again, this time passing it through orbit twice. He miscalculated, sending it back with most of the speed it had acquired during the first orbit and it shot out too fast for Vincent to see it.
“Thank god we are not using a solid container. If we had and it hit a planet, who knows what an impact at such speed would do? The energies will fade within a day or so and the arenicide will scatter, only grains hitting any one location.”
He spent the night thinking about it and asked for another sample the next day. This time he took the container into the void and from there approached the dead sun. Using the streams of energy of the void he steered the parcel into a dying orbit. As it came very close to the surface he sent a stream of energy to boost its speed and provide some lift. Before bringing the parcel back he formed a small platform and within it he opened the energy shield to sense directly the arenicide. Convinced it is safe but active, he brought it into Freddie, delivering it directly within the laboratories.
He sat grinning at Candy who was happily sitting on his lap, having been there to meet him this time. “I think it worked. It was so much easier doing it from the void!”
3914
Names of the Sprakil are impossible for us to pronounce, so I will make up names for the few we meet. I say that, because the scientists did confirm the arenicide is fully active and soon as Robbie managed to get some zerdium they tried it and it worked as hoped for. Robbie spent months on his own in neighbouring dead realities mining the zerdium and returning within a day. We then immediately left for the area where we had identified a Sprakil who might be willing to make himself wealthy by helping us. I’ll call him Iziko.
Iziko is a miner. He has a ship of his own and is mining low grade ore that the large ships are not interested in. From our watching him we saw he is a loner, which is common among the males of his species. His form is not even remotely humanoid, with patches of something that looks like short stubby hair and chitin. He has one eye, large and in the centre of his head. The mouth is down under what humans would consider their chin. Instead of nostrils, he has three tubes that are about ten inches long. The hairy patches do perspire when he gets overheated and we’ve seen him direct a tube above his eye to blow away the sweat or else just to cool it. Three arms and a short one that does not seem to be of any use. Merlin explained that it is not really his arm. The planet Iziko comes from has little protection from the radiation of its sun and they mutate often. Merlin thinks the fourth arm belonged to a twin that had not separated. He told us that if we visit the home planet of Iziko, we will find individuals with two heads, two eyes, extra legs and so on. Always the undeveloped twin’s body parts remain undeveloped and without serving any useful purpose. Merlin said that their culture sees these extra parts as something to be proud of, the extra eye being the most coveted, as they can sometimes see through it.
“My species is known to them, so I think I should approach him first.”
We took a long time discussing first contact. We felt Merlin should not appear on the asteroid Iziko is mining, as it could cause a misunderstanding. He might think he is a claim jumper and become aggressive before Merlin can talk to him. To be waiting for him in his spaceship would probably also have the same disastrous result. We also do not want to use any of the spaceships yet.
“I would prefer to take you there as the void. If he does attack, he will not be able to harm you.”
“That may frighten him.” Irene said.
“It might be a good idea to frighten him.” Alki said. “He will think twice about betraying us if he fears us.”
Theoretically Robbie agreed with Alki, though it made him feel uneasy and he avoided looking at Cherine.
PART THIRTY EIGHT
Chapter One Hundred Seventy Eight
Iziko had just taken off his spacesuit and was busy scratching his hair patches when Merlin appeared. Iziko froze, staring at him for a while. Merlin was careful not to make any sudden movements and kept his distance.
“So, it is true! Your species has developed teleportation. How much would it cost to buy one?”
With amusement Merlin replied, “More than you could pay, I think. My name is ….(Merlin, they’ll call each other by our names, okay?). I have come to trade with you.”
“Trade? Since when does your kind need to trade with people like me?”
“You are exactly what we need. Iziko, we will supply you with activated zerdium, pure high grade, and in return you purchase and supply us with certain machines we require. An opportunity for you to make a profit both ways.”
“Activated!? You wish to see my family humiliated? You know I would be imprisoned! How could a simple miner activate zerdium?” (Robbie groaned, we had already activated all the stock we have.)
“All we have is activated. Later shipments can be normal and we can add to the stock the required amount of arenicide.”
3915
Iziko was so upset that his third arm also rose as he gestured in horror. “Arenicide? Activated zerdium! You must be pirates! I suppose the equipment you need are armaments.”
“No armaments. Agricultural equipment, machines for factories to produce a vast variety of products, from material for clothing to electronics. Whatever is common to the majority of our species.”
“The risk is too high!”
It was obvious to all of us he was not interested, not willing to be imprisoned, so we were perplexed when Merlin continued talking, outlining details of what we require him to obtain for us.
“I will have to sell it cheaply, I can only pay you ten percent of market price. You must deduct from that my transportation costs. I must also add my transportation costs to the price of the equipment you want.”
Hettie, Eddie and then all of us laughed. His protestations had all been part of his negotiations. Merlin must have known something about this species after all, we decided. After hours of haggling they agreed seventeen and a half percent plus two and a half percent for transport costs, giving Iziko a total cost of twenty percent. Merlin thought he would probably sell it onwards for about forty percent.
“How much do you have?”
“Enough to fill your holds.”
“More later?”
“Soon as you return.”
“Agreed on one condition. The first stock you give to me free of charge and you pay me in cash my agreed transport costs.”
Off they went again, their negotiations seeming to start all over again. He had what seemed a valid argument. Iziko is afraid of his customers. He claimed they will follow him, intending to discover his supply cache and they will then blow up his ship. He needs all the money he gets, for a new vessel, something faster and with armaments. Merlin agreed with his hypothesis, but stuck to terms he felt are reasonable. They finally agreed Iziko can keep the full price to buy his new ship, but it will be deducted over the next five shipments.
Claudia was full of admiration for both of them. She said that if she had known Merlin is such a tough negotiator, she would have hounded him from the day he arrived to teach her the finer points. When Merlin heard, on his return, of her comment, he laughed and told her he had not managed the negotiations well, had given in too easily.
Hettie grinned. “You know what will happen after the first shipment? He will make the same demands, claiming he has to buy a second ship for protection and then a third, a fourth and so on.”
Eddie added, smiling. “He will also need to buy ships to carry the machinery, claiming an ore barge is not suitable. We are going to get taken for a ride.”
Robbie did not seem at all perturbed and we wondered why. We then sensed that Cherine who was sitting next to him was holding his hand and understood. He is so happy she is not angry with him for agreeing to frighten Iziko, that he does not care.
“If one shipment will earn him enough to buy a new ship with armaments, do you trust him to return? He could retire a very wealthy man without taking further risks.” Marian asked.
Merlin spoke thoughtfully, hesitating, but knowing we all needed some comfort on this score. “The Sprakil are known throughout the Unation worlds as being some of the meanest, hardest people. When they first discovered us there was war, as there seems to have been with most first contacts. I’m not saying the fault was theirs, we, actually the Qkwesinitie, were at that stage more interested in conquering, so the Sprakil did not have much option. They are the only species never conquered. The war continued for over two thousand years, but they honoured the same conventions we did, for instance, it was not allowed to bomb planets. Both sides had the technology to destroy planets, but neither side used it. When wars are fought by battleships only, then it becomes more an economic defeat or victory, a matter of will and determination of the people.
3916
The Sprakil devoted all their energies to keeping their freedom, even though their economy was in ruins and people were dying on their planets from lack of facilities and food. They are extremely stubborn and do not bend to threats. An interesting point is how the war ended. A battleship was damaged and it had over one hundred and eighty troops and crew on board. The commander tried to hide the ship, but the damage they’d suffered was causing system after system to fail. The Sprakil discovered them and sent ships to destroy them. When their commander saw the enemy was defenceless and likely to all be dead soon, he ordered his ships to take on the survivors and going to the nearest enemy planet he negotiated a truce for the purpose of landing them.
The commander of the Qkwesinitie made the facts known and that forced the governments, because of public opinion, to sue for peace. Neither side has ever sat down and signed any treaties or agreements, but slowly with time we began to think of them as part of the Unation and so did they. After a few hundred years they were offered representation on our Council and they have been part of us ever since.
To return to your question. If you must do a deal with someone, choose anyone but a Sprakil. If you cannot, then hire yourself a Sprakil to negotiate for you - at least the negotiators charge a standard fee based on a small percentage of the deal. If you try to deal with them directly, you will end up paying far more than you should have. However, once you have made an agreement, they will honour it, even should things go wrong and keeping to the agreement lead to them losing all they own. Men like Iziko, tough and hard from having to survive outside the system, they are known to be more honest and dependable than those who live in the cities so I would say, yes, I trust him.”
The ship was not big and we estimated it can only carry about seventy tons (seventy four to be precise). Merlin returned and I went with. I think Robbie took me along as a present, knowing how eager I always am to meet a new species.
This time Robbie took on a form and Iziko sat as he was, watching us without evidencing any surprise.
“So, Master Astronomer, you not only return from the dead, you bring a new species with you? Or are they two species?”
“One. You recognised me?”
“I was not certain and checked with my library as soon as you left. Are you all real or only ghosts?”
“Would you object to doing a deal with ghosts?” Robbie asked with a grin.
“As long as my profit is not ghostly.”
“Robert, I like him.” I said.
Merlin pulled a face, pretending dismay. “Samantha, you should never let a Sprakil know you like him, or else he charges double.”
Iziko approached and poked me. I was not loathe to playing a trick on him and made my skin tear (as it would have if I was a Normal) and blood ran over onto my dress. He knew what blood is and was distraught. When Merlin told him I am a girl child, he stood swaying in distress. I healed and cleaned my dress.
“Iziko, that is how vulnerable we are with friends. You may try cutting me again, you will not succeed.”
He refused to try so Robbie picked up a sharp utensil (a tool I think) and slashed at me with force.
“It was naughty of Sam, she made herself vulnerable because she wanted to see how you would react to harming her. Sam, apologise.”
I stretched my hand out to him. “Take my hand please Iziko.”
He bent over to look closely at my hand. “What would it cost me? What would I do with a hand?”
Robbie laughed more than he should have. Patiently I waited. “It is our custom, touching hands as a show of goodwill. As to what it will cost you, Iziko, who knows?”
Gently he touched his fingers to mine. They felt like sandpaper.
3917
“It is time for us to load your ship, can you show me your ore bins?”
“You have been on an ore ship before? Most people think we carry the ore in holds like a cargo ship.”
“No, I haven’t, I just used common sense. In a hold the ore would shift as you manoeuvre in space and damage your ship. That is what I thought, am I right?”
He put on his spacesuit, waited a moment for me to produce one, but then without comment led me to a double door and out into vacuum. I was sheathed in Robbie’s energies and comfortable. I saw him glance at my profile and he moved his head backwards and forwards a few times and then got down to business. I had him show me all his bins and climbing inside of each one I had a good look. What he could not see was that as we left each bin, one of the girls would jump there and start filling it up. The girls are gentle and he did not feel his ship tremor even once. As we walked back he was curious as to why I had wanted to see the bins and was now returning without doing anything. He also looked out into space, but not seeing a ship he took me back.
Soon as he had removed his suit I told him he is ready to leave. He switched on his cameras and looked at his bins that were all full.
“No teleportation eh Master?”
“None you could use Iziko.”
“It was done by one girl child while she walked by my side? I think you may be right Master Astronomer, I do not see how any machine would make that possible. She used her mind, a gift of her species?”
I took a chance. “Iziko, I promise we will explain one day.”
“They keep their promises like Sprakil.” Merlin reassured him and he nodded, his huge eye expressionless.
“What was all that about Sam?”
“I was just trying to make him a friend dad. I felt he will not like anyone he does not respect.”
“Sam did not frighten him Robert, apart from when she made him think he had hurt her. He was filled with wonder, but not fear. I think our Sam has found another alien to be friends with.”
Freddie is tailing Iziko, we are curious to see where he will take the ore. He did not take it to a planetary buyer. He sold it to various miners, only one bin at a time, claiming it is not worth him returning home for one bin, but that he needs money for some new equipment. We watched him negotiate. He offered a price, the other did his calculations and agreed. It seems they do not always haggle between themselves, only with outsiders.
“That was smart of him, spreading it out like that does not draw attention to him. I wonder how so many miners are going to explain about them having active ore.”
Robbie had already left and we were hoping he would make it back by late afternoon. None of us volunteered to go with him, as we have seen that he spends his time as the void and works almost without stopping. When he returned, his body aching with a need to be held and loved, he fell asleep before we could.
Alki teased him before he left about his new trade of miner from world class artist and Robbie replied, smiling, “Yes, but what a miner!”
Robbie used to moan that we don’t play games and act like children when he is with us, so it is ironic that the only times we do now, are when he is with us. If I had been asked from before, I would have said we would choose to be adults when Robbie is not around, but the opposite is true. He is our Peter Pan, a child at heart and we are all his Wendys - or Tinkerbells, I’m not sure. Seeing him admired by so many does affect us, but we usually show it by teasing him.
Even within a system, travel in space takes large chunks of time, so it was months later that Iziko sold off the last bin and made to return. We waited until he was no longer visually in sight of other ships.
3918
“How will those miners explain having active zerdium?”
“They all have contacts. It would have been impossible for me to sell that quantity on my own.” He tilted his head down, hiding his mouth, an expression we have come to know as showing unhappiness. “I had to sacrifice most of my profit.”
“I suggest you turn around and go sell your next stock. If you think it is safe for you to do so immediately.”
His arm flicked out and switched on his cameras, he looked at one bin and switched it off. “Where is the girl child?”
“She did not come this time.”
“She filled my bins without needing to come!?”
“Iziko, one of the bins has a parcel. Take it out before emptying. It is arenicide, enough to process all the zerdium. When you get your new ship, will it be fast enough for you to sell to other solar systems?”
“Why?”
“The stuff we want in return, not all of it is available on your world. If you keep on turning up with new deliveries you will depress the market and make everyone curious how you are able to deliver without needing time to mine it.”
“The transport will cost you extra. My share of the profit should also be larger, since I will require years between deals.”
“What if we provide transport so that you arrive at your next destination faster than you could go home?”
“There would be extra profit to compensate me for the risk of being carried by you?”
“Iziko, I think I will send my daughter to negotiate with you.” Robbie pretended to threaten.
Robbie was fascinated to see him lift his head, so as to open wide his small mouth. “No compensation, it is fair?”
“Iziko, you are a fraud. You were afraid I would claim that since you are not using your own fuel I wanted a higher price and you wanted to prevent me by making your claim. I do have to warn you though, your life is going to change. I have over forty females and they are all keen to visit you. Tell them to leave if they make a nuisance of themselves. The other changes we will discuss later, after you buy your new ship.”
He looked at Robbie shrewdly, “If I had insisted on a lower price to you, you would have accepted. As powerful as you are, you cannot sell your zerdium directly.”
“You agreed a price.”
“I did.”
Robbie grinned at Hettie. “I see why you enjoy it, negotiating with him is fun. I did not even try to sense his thoughts as it would have spoilt the fun of outwitting him.”
Meli looked up, as if in surprise. “You will need to do that more often.”
“Do what dream girl?”
“Be Normal. You need to be challenged.”
I thought about what she said and giggled. “That is a new twist. From Normal you become a Cherinian and to save yourself from going stale you have to become a Normal so as to be challenged by Normals.”
3919
The more we thought about it the clearer it became. We will all soon be doing it when back on Terra to make life interesting. I guess the born Cherinians will be doing it first. I pointed out that half of the fun of being Samuel had been my having to face challenges without having most of the Cherinian gifts.
Robbie was smiling, “Whatever we do, we can’t fluster Iziko. He takes everything in his stride, accepting our abilities as if they are commonplace. I must say I find it refreshing.”
Cherine said, “The only times he showed distress was at loss of potential profits and when he thought he had hurt Samantha. Did you notice Robert, he was more upset when he was told she was a child.”
“A girl child. It could be either because she was female or a child or both. We dare not presume yet Cherine. His ways of thinking are bound to be different.”
I said, “I think he saw I was soft and he was trying to be gentle. Compare that to what would happen if he turned up on Terra, everybody would be terrified of him and they would try to kill him, just because he is so different. Merlin, do they have families the same way we do?”
“I don’t remember what their mating habits are. I do seem to recall reports about females being found among the dead on their battleships. Why they were there I do not know.”
“Haven, none of the souls that you were created from were of his species in some previous life?”
“I don’t think so. It may be just as well. If I had, you might not have found it so easy to break through to me Athia. I might have killed you.”
“No you wouldn’t, you saw, he does not like hurting girl children.” We smiled at Haven saying it had been easy with her and Athia’s retort, I do not think a sliver would have been as gentle as Iziko. She might have been a lot more stubborn though.
As machinery and technology on Terra becomes more sophisticated, it becomes more complex, more sensitive and prone to breaking down - and more difficult and horrendously expensive to repair. Throughout the Unation their technology has passed through the phase we are at and their machines are now simple, robust and last for many years without needing much maintenance, some even capable of regenerating, while also being extremely sophisticated. For example, the spaceship of Iziko, it has been in his family for four generations now. He spent a number of his childhood years on it with his father and all of his adult years. With us Terrans it would have made us sentimental about the spaceship. Not so with Iziko. He took it for granted that it would work without problems, did what little maintenance he had to, and if something did not work properly he did not cuss at the ship, but at himself for forgetting to do the maintenance he should have on time. Now that he is to sell it, he does not get emotional about it, only more worried about getting a good price.
“If I sell it at my home world I will lose about a quarter of the price I could get at one of our colony planets. The time I would lose going there and back plus the expense would cost me most of my profit. It is a bad feeling to know I stand to lose so much.”
“Can you sell them zerdium?”
“Yes, they are always short of energy.”
“I will give you a shipment if they have anything to sell us. Do a barter trade with them for the zerdium and sell your ship for cash.”
“How would I bring to you what I purchase?”
“Do they have areas without people? You could use land transport and we will collect it and you from there. We will take you back to your home planet if that is the best place to buy your new ship.” Robbie spoke sternly, “Iziko, do not try to negotiate on this. We are making the offer because we do not want to waste time. You only make your profit on the sale of your ship.”
“I will travel on your ship?”
“No. I will create a ship for you and it will not have view ports for you to see outside. We are not ready to indulge your curiosity yet.”
“You would make a ship for me for just one trip! How will I navigate it if I cannot see?”
“You will not, we will carry your spaceship and deposit you on your home planet.”
3920
I don’t think he realised Robbie had paid him a compliment by not asking him to keep what he learns a secret.
“The loss of profit on selling a shipment at a colony planet is about equal to the extra I get on the price of my ship. You would ask me to trade for free?”
“You are playing games with us Iziko, you already told us your expenses would eat up the difference in price.” Robbie sat down so that Iziko does not have to look up at him. “If we are to continue to trade, I demand of you that you treat us as you did the miners. No negotiating, no haggling. You do not treat us as outsiders. From now on you make a fair profit as if we were family. You are likely to become the wealthiest individual on your home world so do not get greedy. Think of us as partners. From now, whatever you ask or offer we will treat as being a fair price, but we will know if you are not fair.”
“What is the pleasure in doing business that way?”
I giggled and Robbie looked at me sternly, but let me speak. “Iziko, have your fun with those you sell the zerdium to and buy the technology from. When someone tells us something that shocks us, we have difficulty in breathing for a moment so we say it took our breath away, do you have the same reaction?”
“No. Our eye clouds over. You are going to cloud my eye?”
“Yes. Do you know what the population of the Unation is? Do you know how many planets are inhabited by them?” Robbie made as if to stop me and then shrugged.
“If I update my library and get the latest statistics they would still be about two hundred years wrong. Why do you need to know?”
“I do not, I needed you to know. Think of that many planets, that number of people without any machinery, no technology, no clothes, no books and without food because there are no factories. That is our market. Can you calculate how much your potential profit is?” If his eye clouded over it was not visible to us. He did take a while to react though.
He stretched out his arm to Robbie. “I give my hand, family, Robert.” Robbie shook his hand.
“No food? We cannot buy, transport and build the factories fast enough to feed them! Most of them will die.”
“No need for concern Iziko. Their bodies sleep until we are ready.”
“Sleep? I do not understand.”
“They thought they had nothing new to learn and went to sleep for millions of years.” Robbie improvised.
Iziko stepped away from us, the stubby hairs on his body bristling, rigid like thorns. “You said family! Now you lie to me, using a story for children!”
“What story Iziko?” I asked.
“About a galaxy that goes to sleep for millions of years. Here, see for yourself.” He punched a key and searching brought up some squiggly lines. “There, the story you are telling me!”
“We can’t read your language Iziko.” I said gently. In English I said to Robbie, “It will not work Robert, we cannot expect him to be a partner and do all we need for us, if he does not know the truth.”
He sat back. “You do it then, I want to see his eye cloud over. It will be interesting seeing how you do it.”
I brought the eight and told them to explain about themselves. Just seeing them had an effect on Iziko and as they talked his hairs relaxed. They talked for a long time, Iziko asking many questions. Suddenly he bowed to them and walked into what we knew is his sleeping room. The eight looked at each other and then at us, gesturing that they do not know what he is doing.
“I’ll see you later Sam. You handle it.” Before I could respond, Robbie was gone. I could sense him still with us, but he no longer had a form. He got out just in time. Iziko walked back in dressed like a warrior with weapons tied to his body, he even had something that looked like a sword. He looked quite formidable.
I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.
Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου
(Alexander Zenon Eustace)16th December, 2019
- posted: 16th December, 2019
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