The video showed an image of Urania, who was indeed a very beautiful woman, even by the standards of the Northern Confederation, arguably the most attractive people in the galaxy.
“Must the beautiful Urania die to please the cruel Minervans?” Kolta Bruna asked. “Must one of the gems of prehumanity’s artistic heritage be forever lost because of the obtuse moral blindness of the Weegeecourt?”
“Clearly such a result must be averted at all costs. However, since the Weegees have announced that they will not negotiate with, and once again I quote, ‘assassins,’ unquote, a group of responsible governments of Southern Sector planets, is trying to awaken the Western Galactics to
the plight of the Kennewickians under Minervan oppression through other means. They therefore announced today, that pending a complete suspension of Weegee support for the illegal owl worshipper settlement known as New Minervapolis, the price for all helicity exports from the Southern Sector will be raised by a factor of ten.”
The image now changed to one of Kolta Bruna’s smiling face super- imposed on scenes of Kennewickian child-assassins screaming in pain as their hands were blown off and their lifeblood drained out through their severed wrist stumps.“So now the question is, will the Weegees allow the economy of the entire galaxy to be destroyed so that the Minervans can continue to mutilate and kill the helpless native children of this primitive planet?”
The reporter pouted for the camera.“From the primitive planet Earth, this is Kolta Bruna for the Galactic NewsService.”
Father Hamilton switched the video monitor off. “Wow,” he said. “A helicity embargo. That ought to get theirattention.”
His son shook his head. “I don’t think it will work. I met some Weegees while I was among the Minervans. They are not the type to be pushed around.”
Aurora hoped the Ranger was right, but said nothing. Hamilton was obviously correct about Phillipus and his kind, but there were others at the Weegee court, with other agendas.
“So what do you think they are going to do?” the older man asked.
“I don’t know,” Hamilton said. “But I’m sure it will mean trouble.”
Of that, at least, there can be no doubt, Aurora thought.
Father turned back to the blank video monitor. “I don’t know what it is about that woman,” he mused. “She’s on our side, yet there is some- thing about her that I just don’t like. She’s, she’s sort of…”
“Phony,” Sally broke in.
Again Aurora registered pleasant surprise at her hosts’ instinctive perceptiveness.
“You got that right, Sal,” Hamilton said. “She tried to stop me from helping some wounded Kennewickian children, so she could get better pictures of them bleeding to death.”
The Ranger’s father blinked. “Hold it. You’re telling me you had a chance to roam around inside the Minervan city, and were right there when they were killing children?”
“On occasion yes. My jailer would take me out for walks, and one time we were on the scene when some kids tried to pull guns on the Minervans. The Minervans blew their hands off, butdidn’t interfere when a local doctor and I tried to tourniquet the children’s wounds. However she and this huge cameraman that follows her arounddid.”
“So what happened?” Mother Hamilton asked breathlessly.
“My jailer made them back off.”
“Really?” the woman asked incredulously. “A Minervan let you help the children. Why would he do that?”
“She,” Hamilton replied. “My jailer was a woman. Why did she do it? I’m not sure.” He turned to Aurora. “Alice, you were there. What do you think her motive was?”
Aurora knew what he was getting at. She had to speak the truth.
“I think she may have felt a little sorry for the children, but her pri- mary motive was that she hated Kolta Bruna and wanted to ruin her story.”
Hamilton frowned, but his father nodded his agreement. “The latter explanation sounds the more probable of the two. Even more likely is that she was just doing what she could to cover up the massacre, so as to avoid badPR.”
“Even so,” Hamilton said, “the fact is that the Minervan’s action allowed us to save some of the kids, whereas Kolta Bruna would have had them alldie.”
“They’re all animals,” Hamilton’s father muttered. “Minervans, Weegees, Centrals, Eegees, Norcs. We should kill thelot.”
“So moved!” Sally shouted, apparently delighted at the impossibility of the idea.
Oblivious to the undertone of ridicule in her daughter’s voice, Mother Hamilton said, “Well that is something I’m sure we can all agree upon. However now it is time for bed.” She looked from Hamilton to Aurora. “Now I’m not so old that Idon’t know what you two lovebirds have probably been up to, but this is my house, and while you are here, you are going to have to live by my old-fashioned rules. Since you are not married, you need to sleep in separate beds. Andrew can sleep in his own room, and as for you, mydear…”
Sally spoke up quickly. “Alice can sleep with me.”
The cot had been laid out in Sally’s room, and when the social evening was over the two young women had retired to that location. Sally flopped down on her bed and looked at Alice, who was trying to snuggle under the blankets on the cot. Sally had spent the evening looking forward to this moment. They were going to be sisters, and finally they were alone. It was time to start exchanging secrets.
“You know, I really admire you,” Sally began.
Alice opened her eyes. “Why?”
“For what you said. That you want to make peace with the
Minervans. Even after all they have done to you, you are willing to forgive and forget. I could never be like that. When someone does something to me, I want to get them back. Even thoughthey’ve never done anything to me, I still want to get even with the Minervans, for what they did to Andy.”
Alice smiled. “They’re really not that bad, you know.” That was an amazing comment. Sally stared at her new friend. “Are you a radical?” she finally whispered.
“What do you mean, a radical?” Alice asked, with an apparent inno- cence too total to be real.
That settled it. Everyone had heard of the radicals. Sally leaned over. “Don’t worry,I won’t give your secret away.I’m a bit of a radical too.”
“You are?”
“Yes. You know what I think? I think the government and the Minervans are in cahoots.”
Alice seemed startled. “Why do you think that?”
“It stands to reason. The Minervans want to make theKennewickians their slaves, and the government is secretly helping them do it, so they can have an enemy they pretend to fight, double our taxes, and keep the money.”
Alice said nothing, but Sally could see she was skeptical.
“Don’t you see, it has to be true.That’s why everybody in Kennewick is starving. Think about it.” She pointed to a map on the wall. “Kennewick is just a tiny place compared to the rest of America. Looking at the map, my guess is that there are at least a thousand Americans living outside of Kennewick for every one that is inside. Would you saythat iscorrect?”
“That seems about right,” Alice said.
Sally nodded. “But they are making everyone give one tenth of their income to help the people of Kennewick. Now one-tenth of a thousand is a hundred, so if the Kennewickians were really getting the money, they would each have as much money as a hundred other people combined. They’d be rich! So its pretty obvious, the government is keeping all the money, except maybe for part which they split with the Minervans. And if anybody dares to oppose them, they arrest them and ship them off to Kennewick, where they sell them to the Minervans to keep as slaves. It’s just a big hustle, and they’re all in it together.”
Alice blinked at Sally, wideeyed. “That’s an amazing theory, Sally. What does your father say about it?”
Sally sighed. “Oh, I would never dare say anything like that to Dad. He’d ground me for sure. He saysit’s our duty to
speak respectfully about our national leaders. But deep down, I think he knows that they’re not really patriots at all, and that if we are ever going to beat the Minervans, the American people are going to have to do itourselves.”
“But you were willing to tell me.”
Sally smiled. “If we are going to be sisters, we have to be willing to tell each other our secrets. I’ve always wanted to have a sister. Do you have any sisters?”
Alice suddenly looked very sad. “I did, but they were killed.”
“Those horrible Minervans!” Sally exclaimed.
Alice seemed like she was about to say something, but then stopped.
“What is it?” Sally asked.
Alice shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just tired. Sally,I’ve had a very exhausting day, and need to go to sleep now. We can talk more tomorrow, Okay?”
Sally nodded. “Sure.” She turned off the lamp.
A few minutes later, Alice was deep in sleep. She must really have been exhausted, Sally thought. It was only ten o’clock.
Not tired enough to go to sleep herself, Sally got out her flashlight, and with a favorite novel in hand, started to read under the covers. She was able enjoy her book for about half an hour, when she heard a strange moaning sound from Alice’s bed.
Sally stuck her head out from under her blanket and looked in the direction of Alice who was mumbling something in a disturbed sleep.
“Olekildi, Aladapa Minu,” Alice seemed to say.
What could that mean?
Her disturbance growing apparently more forceful, Alice spoke again.
“Olekildi! Olekildi! Aladapa Minu! Aladapa Minu!”
Sally watched in amazement as Alice continued to rave. She tried to identify the language. A fan of foreign movies, she was acquainted with the sound of several tongues. But the language Alice was speaking in was unrecognizable. It wasn’t French. It wasn’t Spanish or Italian. It wasn’t German or Russian. And it certainlywasn’t how they talked in Wisconsin, the land of cheese.
Chapter 27
“But Your Divine Majesty to Be,” Frondrippus pleaded. “This is a disaster. We must accede to their demands.”
The Princess frowned.
“I say we give the savages a taste of helicannon,” Admiral Phillipus interjected. “That ought to straighten them out.”
Ambassador Junea moved quickly to squash that suggestion. “No. This is no time for such simplistic male folly. The use of brute force on our part against the Earthlings would send the entire Southern Sector into the Eegeecamp.”
“Indeed,” said Kalia. “It would endanger relations with the Central Union and perhaps even the Norcs as well. Both the Eegee and old Aphrodemonic propaganda machines have gone into overdrive warning of Western Galactic Imperial arrogance.”
“Even as the Eegee court itself privately pressures us to take sterner measures against the savages,” the Princess muttered.
“Yes, because they intend to take full advantage of the galaxy-wide political fallout,” Junea said. “Is our interest in the Minervans really sub- stantial enough to justify risking such consequences?”
“I don’t think so,” Kalia said.
“And, then there is the matter of Urania,” Junea added. “She is the third-cousin to a Norc countess, and one of the Universal League’s lead- ing experts on Inca artifacts. Galactic society would never forgive us if we were to put her, or the artifacts themselves, at risk through intemperate action.”
“Quite true,” said Fedris. “And we shouldn’t forget that there is a great deal of money at stake too. Wouldn’t it be simpler if we just gave the Earthlings what they want? Then we could rescue Urania, save the Inca artifacts, preserve good relations with our allies, and protect interstellar trade from economic collapse. I’m sure the Divine Princess real- izes that interstellar trade is the primary basis of court tax revenues. A graceful concession to the Earthling’s requests would meet all of our needs.”
“But we can’t just sacrifice the Minervans on an altar of bluebacks,” freshly-promoted Lieutenant Commander Danatus burst out.
The Princess smiled at her new favorite and touched his hand.
“Your Divine Majesty to Be,” Junea said. “I’m sure your handsome young friend has his uses, but this is a policy debate. We have serious matters to discuss, that require the consideration of rational female minds, with perhaps some input from mature males,” here she indicated Frondrippus and Fedris, “knowledgeable in certain areas. Emotional beings with the limited outlook of Navy men really have no place here.”
“I beg you pardon,” Admiral Phillipus said.
Kalia seemed uncomfortable with Junea’s remark. “I think the Ambassador went a bit too far in her comment. Perhaps she just meant to exclude young naval officers.”
The Princess suddenly stood up. “I think she went way too far. This monarchy owes its throne to Naval officers, young and old alike, and I will not have the service demeaned in my presence.”
“But, Your Divine Majesty to Be,” Junea pleaded, “I was just point- ing out that…”
The Princess cut her off. “I’ve heard quite enough. This monarchy will not negotiate with assassins, and we will certainly not give in to their demands. The credibility of the empire is at stake. The Empress Minaphera the 243rd, my grandmother, has given her word to protect the Minervans, and that word will be honored. Furthermore, we will not submit to economic extortion. We will break this savage helicity cartel. They have declared a ten-fold price increase. That will hurt us, but we can endure it. If I am not mistaken, such a price rise will drive down demand to the point where helicity exports from the Procyon district are no longer needed.” She turned to the Trade Counselor. “Is that not true, Mr. Frondrippus?”
“Yes,” the official sputtered. “But…”
“In that case,” the Princess continued, “I want this district complete- ly blockaded. We’ll pay ten-time the price if we must, but the other Southern Sector districts will take all the gain. The Earthlings and their neighbors will not get a blueback. We’ll see how they like that.”
She turned to her senior naval officer. “Admiral Phillipus. I don’t want a single micropiffle of helicity to be lifted from any planet in this district. Deploy the fleet accordingly.”
The Admiral smiled. “I’ll do it with pride, Divine Princess.” Then he snapped his hand up in the special salute reserved for honoring navy combat veterans. “For Reason, Love and Justice; Everywhere and Forever,” he pronounced. Kalia saluted too.
Junea and Fedris looked at each other, totally aghast. If the blockade went on for any length of time, they would be ruined.
The Hamilton family heard the news of the announcement of the Weegee blockade from the radio while eating breakfast.
“I guess you were right,” Harry Hamilton said to his son. “They did- n’t give an inch.”
“Well, at least it might mean an end to the import of those horrible pornography cubes,” Mrs. Hamilton commented.
“And those torture machines,” Sally added.
“Rule Minaphera,” Aurora sang to herself and took a tiny sip of the slightly toxic stimulant the natives called “coffee.” For once, even the crude Earthling drink smelled good.
Harry Hamilton looked out the window.“Hey kids,” he said. “Who cares about the news? It’s a beautiful day.Let’s go for awalk.”
Aurora let Hamilton hold her hand as they walked along with his other family members through the neighborhood in which he had grown up. She had never let him do this before, but it appeared to be expected behavior for the role they were playing. Or she was playing. There was an obvious tactile prototelepathic emanation from Hamilton’s hand that told her that he wished this fantasy was real.
Hamilton’s homeland was beautiful, al beit in a bizarre kind of way. Unlike Kennewick, where the plants had been green, the trees here had multi-colored leaves, with yellow, orange, and red colors predominating. She had elicited a puzzled response from Mrs. Hamilton when she h
ad asked if they also had green-leafed trees.
Sally kicked a small pile of red leaves that were living on the ground separate from their mother tree. Then Hamilton did the same thing. Since this seemed to be an expected form of behavior, Aurora did it too. The sensation was pleasant.
So this is what it felt like to be an Earthling, Aurora thought. She had put away her black robe and borrowed blue pants and a red-checkered shirt from Sally. Both were made of a very rough fabric derived from vegetable material, and they smelled bad and scraped the skin. But aside from the obvious practical necessity of garbing completely in genuine Earthling attire if she was to preserve her disguise, Aurora relished the sense of discovery of experiencing savage life from the inside. No civilized human had ever put Earthling clothes on before, eaten complete meals made of their food, or slept in one of their houses, let alone one of their beds. It gave her a totally new perspective on her earlier studies of Hamilton’s outer mind. When she got back to New Minervapolis, the publication of her observations would be sensational.
She looked at Sally, remembering their conversation of the previous night. Her report on her observations ofHamilton’s youngersister’s ideas would be most sensational of all. The girl’s analysis was wildly flawed, of course, but the fact that she was capable of thinking so freely without regard to the conventional beliefs of the Earthling herd-mind showed that she was far more intelligent than her brother. Hamilton, of course, had evinced distinct proto-rational tendencies, and faint traces of such traits could be identified in his parents. So taken as a whole, the Hamilton family showed a clear pattern of advanced proto-rationality in youth, deteriorating monotonically with age.
The circumstances of the Hamiltons’ life seemed quite ordinary among Earthlings. Their house was about the same size as the others in their neighborhood, so there was no reason to believe that the intellectual powers of the Hamiltons were significantly exceptional. If they were, one would have expected them to take advantage of their intellectual superiority to acquire a larger house and other superior possessions. Therefore, it was reasonable hypothesis that the mental characteristics of the Hamiltons were in fact typical of Earthlings as a whole.
The Holy Land: Fanatical Earthling planet assassins are spreading chaos through the galaxy. Is there any nice way to stop them? Page 26
