The Space Merchants of Arachne

by Wendie Nordgren

  A long horizontal cylinder behind the plasti-screen began to slowly roll as the material began to wind neatly around it in a bolt like those I had seen at the warehouse. After several minutes the bolt was complete. Mr. Bell took us around to the back and pulled some of the un-dyed fabric out from the roll. The design of the paisley was slightly raised and I could feel the soft swirls and patterns under my fingertips. "This is amazing," I said. One of Mr. Bell's assistants came forward and removed the bolt of fabric from the cylinder.

  "Lady Alaric Montgomery Lee, please accept this bolt of silk as a humble gift," Mr. Bell said. I looked at Simon who nodded.

  "Thank you, Mr. Bell. It's beautiful." The assistant wrapped the bolt and took it down in the lift.

  "How many of these can you produce by the end of the rainy season?" Simon asked.

  "I can assure you two machines by that time, Lord Montgomery," Mr. Bell said.

  "Is this machine available for purchase?"

  "Yes, my lord."

  "How much do you want for it?"

  "Two hundred thousand credits, my lord," Mr. Bell said. Simon extended his hand. Mr. Bell shook it. Simon pulled out a small vid-screen as did Mr. Bell. They worked out an agreement. Then, we left.

  In the transport I said, "Simon, did you just spend six hundred thousand credits on three machines?"

  "No, I paid two hundred thousand credits for one machine. I'll pay for the others upon delivery." My bolt of fabric was in the back of the transport.

  Next, Simon drove to a different warehouse. A manager met him at the entrance. Simon asked him to get the fabric from the transport.

  "Whose warehouse is this?"

  "Mine," he said. It was full of bolts of silk, and against the back wall a few clusters of people were making clothing with elaborate machines. Simon walked toward them, and I followed with Thunderdrop. Cass had wandered off as soon as we entered. The manager followed with the bolt. Some of the people spoke to Simon and asked questions. He showed them the fabric which caused a stir of excitement. "The weaver will be delivered tomorrow. I hope you have fun with it. Until then I hope you will find the time to make something for my cousin from her bolt of silk. Teagan, please tell the ladies what you might like. I will be back in a moment." He walked away, and I had no idea what to do.

  "This fabric is incredible. What would you like made from it, Lady Alaric Montgomery Lee?" a lady asked.

  "What do you suggest?"

  "Well, with the rains approaching, I think a hemline to the calf would be best." She sketched out a full, gathered skirt with a hem a few inches below the knee. The bodice had tailored lines with a boat neck and sleeves that reached just past the elbows.

  "That is really pretty," I told her.

  She smiled and asked, "What color would you like for it to be?"

  "I'm not sure. What do you think would look best?" She applied a chalk stick in a dark golden cream shade to her design. "Oh, that is very nice. It looks elegant."

  "I may have enough fabric to make you a pair of pants like those you wear now, too."

  I smiled and said, "Thank you. That would be great." Simon returned and looked over my shoulder. "What do you think, Simon?"

  "I think all of the other ladies will be jealous when we go out to dinner with Eliot and Auria in a few days," he said. Then, he thanked the ladies. Cass jumped down from a bolt of silk to Simon's shoulder as we were leaving.

  "How much was that bolt of silk worth that Mr. Bell gave us?"

  "I think we could sell a bolt like that for at least four thousand credits."

  "Seriously?"

  "Well, it was a small bolt. It was enough for one dress. If it were a full bolt of silk, I could get ten thousand for it. No one has the ability to make designs like that in their silk. I'll produce enough bolts with that machine during the rainy season to have it pay for itself. I'm sure Hiroshi wouldn't mind taking twenty or more bolts to Scipio for me. He would pay me for the bolts and sell them for a bit more to make a profit." I agreed.

  Next, we went to the toy store. I bought ten balls in different sizes and colors and the three color shapes he had, two squares and a triangle. Then, we drove back to Simon's house and put all of the toys in the low transport's cab. The rollers were still loaded in the back. I excused myself for a quick restroom break before we left. Stewart handed me a satchel with "drinks and snacks," he said. We drove past the Montgomery Clan home and out to my land.

  "Your land stretches five and a half miles along this path and five and a half miles back. It's a square sized area of forest in the middle of their properties."

  "That is huge. We just went down the middle of it," I said.

  "We only went about three miles. We stopped at the river and streams. You have twenty thousand acres of Arachnean forest. It would take us a day to take the rollers around your land." Simon parked and unloaded the rollers. He strapped all of the toy bags down to the back of his roller and the snacks and drinks onto the back of mine.

  Then, I followed Simon the three miles to the open area in the trees near the boulders and streams. Thunderdrop and Cass raced behind us on lines of silk. I stopped behind Simon, removed my helmet, and unstrapped our snacks. Simon carried all of the bags of toys. We walked upstream until I saw the large tree across the water where the deer had been. Simon and I turned and found the place where we had met the spiders yesterday. Thunderdrop and Cass came to us. I took a ball and put it in front of them. "Thunderdrop and Cass will you please show the other spiders how to play with a ball?" I asked. They began to push it back and forth to each other. Soon they were having fun and forgot about us as they chased the ball along the forest floor and around trees. Cass shot a line of silk, caught the ball, and pulled it back. I laughed as I watched them play. Simon touched my arm. We had an audience.

  I took a ball and rolled it away. A large spider dropped down, touched a claw to the ball, and began pushing it around. I rolled the other balls out in different directions, and small groups of spiders formed around each ball. The spiders touched the balls and blinked much as Thunderdrop had reacted with his first toy. Simon and I watched them play for an hour or so. Then, we opened the satchel and had some water. A few small spiders came to us. One or two of them were half Thunderdrop's size. I held my arm out, and one of the baby spiders crawled up my arm. I stayed still while it explored my back and hair. When it crawled down, I opened a bag and pulled out a color shape. I ran my finger down one of its sides, and a red line appeared. Then, I did it again on the other side. The baby spiders mimicked my actions. One would drag a claw along the surface, and they would all stare until the line disappeared. Then, another spider would try. I felt giddy watching them play. Others hovered from webs and watched. I placed the second and third color shapes each about ten feet away from the first and each other. It took me long enough to sit down for spiders to begin touching them. Simon had begun recording at some point. We were surrounded by spiders who were playing ball, and others who were learning to draw. They seemed to be having fun. I was. I finished my water and had a sandwich. Then, I folded the bags and yawned.

  "Simon, are you ready to go? I'm kind of tired." He looked at me in bewilderment.

  "What?" I yawned again.

  "Oh, sure." Simon took the bags and satchel.

  "Bye, spiders. Maybe we can come watch you play some more tomorrow," I said. As before some of them followed as we took the rollers back to the transport. Simon drove slowly to his house when Cass and Thunderdrop returned to us. A few spiders tracked us all the way there. Once inside I told Simon I was taking a nap. Thunderdrop came with me. I washed up, slipped on a gown, snuggled under the covers with an arm around Captain Ice Bear, and went to sleep.

  "Gram has the right idea with the naps," I said as I stretched out and yawned. I got up, washed my face, and put on one of the dresses Sydney had put in my bag. It was green with little yellow triangles instead of polka dots. It fastened at the shoulders and wrists with little gold buckles attached to a soft brown
leather trim. I pulled my brown boots on to match and braided my hair. I took my vid-screen with me to the living room, sat on the couch near the fireplace, and continued reading where I had left off. Cass found us and shared a toy transport with Thunderdrop. Stewart brought me some water and a bowl of chilled fruit. After I finished the chapter, I went back to the beginning to read it again. I had finished a few pages when Simon found me.

  "Do you want to go have dinner with my mother and father?"

  "I would love to."

  "Are you ready?" he asked. Stewart came for my glass and bowl.

  "Yes, I just need to put my vid-screen in my room. I'll be right back." Simon waited for me in the foyer.

  It was nice to see Gina and Sherman. After hugging me she said, "Come sit down in the living room. I hear you have accomplished a great deal this week. Sydney and Gram couldn't be more pleased with Auria. When will you point Simon toward a bride?" My eyebrows went up.

  "It will be difficult to find anyone good enough for Simon. Anyway, she would have to be okay sharing his time with me. I'm not losing my best friend." Simon kissed the top of my head.

  "You do not ever have to worry about that," he said. "Would you like to see the adventure my best friend and I went on this morning?" Simon asked his parents.

  "Sure," Gina said. She and Sherman sat together on a couch. Simon loaded his video onto their vid-screen. Suddenly, the large screen filled with my trees, and we watched the curious spiders playing with balls and color shapes. Simon had captured the baby spider as it crawled over my arms and back and blinked at him through my hair. I had giggled the entire time, which I hadn't realized. Gina laughed with the me of the past.

  "Simon can we go watch them for a little while tomorrow?" I asked.

  "Can we check on a few things first?" he asked. I nodded. The video had Sherman's complete attention. After dinner Simon and I went home. Simon had some work to do in his office. I decided to finish the chapter I had been reading and try to pass the test. I only missed two of them. Yukihyo called and told me that Tora would begin the journey home to Arachne in the morning.

  Chapter Five

  Thunderdrop woke me up the next morning by chittering until I got up to open the door and let him out. I hurried to clean up and dress. I wore a shirt, pants, and boots in anticipation of going out to my land to check on the spiders. Simon had warned me that the rains could begin by the end of the week, and I didn't want to trudge out there in the mud. Simon had started on his second cup of coffee by the time I sat down with him.

  "I want to check on the delivery of the new weaver. Also, I think we should go to the jewelry store and pick out a gift for Auria." I nodded while I ate the omelet, sausage, and hash browns on my plate.

  "Simon, will you check my credits and tell me how many I have, please?" Simon ran his small vid-screen over my bracelet.

  He said, "Forty-eight thousand." I began choking on my hash browns. Stewart appeared, patted me on the back, and handed me some water. "Are you okay?" Simon asked.

  "Where did all of that come from?"

  "Yukihyo placed six thousand into your account, but gave you ten thousand before you left Tora, Hiroshi gave you five thousand, and Ethan put a bit of spending money into your account as well."

  "A bit? Well, I guess I can pitch in on Auria's gift."

  Simon, our spiders, and I arrived at the warehouse before the delivery of the new weaver. Simon grew busy, and I walked around and looked at all of the bolts of silk. The lady who had designed the dress for me said, "My lady, if you are bored, I can help you make something." I perked up at that and followed her to a weaving machine in the back that wasn't being used. I watched as she loaded spools of silk into the machine.

  "Can I make a shirt for my husband?" She nodded. She showed me how to make selections with the different settings. "Can I make the silk really dense, so he can work in it?" She showed me what to do, and I entered a few different settings. Yukihyo wouldn't want a shirt that could share fabric with a woman's dress. He would want something sturdy. Satisfied, I stopped changing the settings. The lady smiled at me and started the machine.

  "Let's see how it turns out," she suggested. The weaver produced silk that had a tight, but stretchy quality and felt very strong. While the machine wove, the lady asked me to show her what I wanted the shirt to look like. I drew a terrible sketch of one of the long sleeved stretchy pull-overs that Yukihyo always wore. Once the machine had created enough of the material, she turned it off and severed the fabric from it. She took the fabric to a different machine and laid it out on its surface. She used the menu to enter in some selections and the size I told her. She closed down the cover and started the machine. We watched as a laser cut out the pattern. Then, the machine placed the fabric pattern together and bonded the edges. Once it had finished, she opened the cover and handed the shirt to me. I imagined it would fit him nicely and show off his muscles. I approved. "What color would you like?" she asked. She showed me to the dying machine. I chose black. The machine compressed pigments into the correct shade and adhered the color throughout the fabric of the shirt. "This machine can color an entire bolt of silk in a few minutes," she said. She removed the shirt and handed it to me. "That shirt will give your husband some protection. You made it as strong as steel. A blaster shot probably wouldn't hurt him in that."

  Curious, I said, "I'd like to find out. May I make some more of this fabric? I can shoot at it at home." She seemed surprised, but supervised as I produced a few more yards of the fabric on the weaver. I memorized my settings. Someone else came over and needed to use the machine. She gave me bags for the shirt and the fabric. Simon's new weaver arrived while I had been occupied. "Thank you for teaching me how to use the machines. I had fun."

  "Anytime, my lady. I placed your dress and pants in Lord Montgomery's transport."

  "Thank you!"

  The lady nodded and rushed over to get in line for a turn with the new weaver. Simon's face had a pleased expression. I took my bags out and placed them in Simon's transport. Simon tagged along and drove us to the jewelry store. "They seemed very excited to use the new weaver," I commented.

  "It is the first of its kind. Everyone will want our patterned silk," he said. We stopped at the jewelry store.

  "Simon, let's go to the bakery first."

  "You're hungry again?

  "No, I think we should ask Auria's mom or dad what her favorite color is and then find it in a piece of jewelry.

  "Good idea," Simon agreed.

  Auria's mom and dad were thrilled to see us and overjoyed that their daughter had married Lord Eliot Alaric. Mrs. Jones gave me a box with one of everything and a large fancy coffee. "Thank you, Mrs. Jones. Simon and I came here to ask you a question, though."

  "Ask me anything at all," Mrs. Jones said with a kind smile.

  "What is Auria's favorite color?"

  Without hesitation she said, "Red is her favorite color."

  "That will be easy," Simon said.

  "Great! Thank you, Mrs. Jones."

  We waved goodbye, put the box of pastries, treats, and coffees in the transport, and walked to the jewelry store. After a few minutes of looking, I said, "Oh, Simon. I found it." Simon walked over to me, trailed by the shopkeeper, who now beamed at us whenever he saw us. Unfortunately, the female shopkeeper, who usually drooled all over Simon, wasn't there. I pointed at a necklace and matching bracelet. Bright red rubies were set in gold and accented by chocolate diamonds. I smiled and nodded at Simon.

  "Wow," Simon said.

  "Yes, this is gorgeous and perfect for the Lady Auria Alaric," I said.

  The shopkeeper met my eyes and said, "Auria is the daughter of the Jones'."

  "Yes, and now she is our new cousin-in-law! I am thrilled! Can we get her these two pieces, Simon? Maybe we could make her a dress to go with them."

  "How much will this set cost us?" Simon asked.

  "For you, Lord Montgomery, and since they are meant as gifts for sweet little Auria, w
ho I have known all of her life, I can sell them to you for twenty thousand credits."

  "We will split the cost," I said. I held out my bracelet to him, and he scanned my chip and then Simon's.

  "Could you wrap them with a red bow, please?" Simon asked.

  While we waited Mr. Dade Sonners entered the store. Mr. Sonners bowed to Simon and kissed my hand.

  "Lady Alaric Montgomery Lee, you are more beautiful than any of the diamonds in this store."

  "Mr. Sonners, you are far too generous in your praise," I said.

  "My humble praise falls short of your beauty, my lady," Mr. Sonners said as he finally released my hand.

  The shopkeeper returned with Auria's wrapped gift. We said our goodbyes to Mr. Sonners and returned to the warehouse. Thunderdrop had grown tired of being so well-behaved on my shoulder and jumped away to play a version of hide and seek with Cass. Simon and I chose a bolt of his best red silk. Then, we designed an off the shoulder, V-necked gown with a tapered waist and a long full billowy skirt. I clapped my hands. "She will look like a princess in this.” Simon loaded the fabric into the machine. While it worked, we went over to see the fabrics the designers were creating with the new weaver. They had made a breathtaking fabric with a gentle ripple pattern, like when a leaf falls on a still pond. "Simon, it's amazing." The men and women were enthralled by the machine and full of ideas. We went back to the machine that had finished making Auria's dress. Simon opened the cover and pulled the dress out. It was perfect. A man brought a large box over, and Simon carefully folded the dress and placed it inside. He found red silk ribbon and tied a big bow around it.

  "Can we go give our gifts to her, now?" I asked.

  "Let's go," he said.