PLANETBOUND

by D M Arnold

  “That, Nyk, is the strongest argument in favor of returning her to Earth.”

  “The same can be extended to me. Without my interference, Suki would likely have had a man in her life. Destiny chose me to replace him.”

  “That is more tenuous, Nyk. Who's to say the circumstances of her pregnancy wouldn't have fallen exactly as they did without your interference? She might very well be waiting for the man who will help her form her son.”

  “It was evidence for that claim I was searching for before I was ... interrupted,” Nyk replied.

  “That argument has my sympathies, Nyk. Convincing the committee will be another matter.”

  * * *

  Nyk sat in an Internal Affairs meeting room. To his left was Illya and to his right Senta. Across from him sat Tomyka Wells and other oversight committee members. “We've heard the charges and the arguments,” Wells said. “Have we any other exhibits?”

  Illya stood. “I have a recording of an interview I held with Sukiko Kyhana. The transcript is available, and I would like to enter it as an exhibit. I also would like the committee to view a portion of the interview.”

  Wells glanced left and right. “I see no objections.”

  Nyk looked at a vidisplay. He saw Suki sitting at a table. She was wearing an orange confinement tunic.

  “What do you know of temporal interference?” Kronta asked in the recording.

  “I understand how my descendants play into the forming of your world,” she replied with her responses interpreted into Floran. “I understand the importance of avoiding events that could affect the Centauri mission and alter its outcome. This isn't a role I chose -- it was thrust upon me -- but it's a role I take seriously. Nykkyo has given me a gift -- I know what will come of my child's children's children's children. How many have that privilege?”

  “What would be the impact on you, personally, of temporal interference?”

  She looked down and closed her eyes. “I would never have met Nykkyo.” Nyk glanced at Senta glowering at him and buried his face in his hands.

  “Does he mean that much to you?”

  “I owe him my life ... at least twice over. I love him. He promised to help me bear and raise my child.”

  “Can you do that without him?”

  “I don't want to face that prospect.”

  “Face it you must.”

  “I don't know. I honestly don't know. I know I could with him.”

  “Can you keep knowledge of our world and mission from other members of your population?”

  “Oh, yes -- for I fear the outcome of such contamination as much as you. There may be those on my world who'd profit from such knowledge. I'm not one of them -- I have far more to lose than gain from exploiting what I know.”

  “Do you have anything to add?”

  “Nykkyo has shown me you are a kind, gentle and generous people. I ask you to be generous now -- generous to him. Nykkyo will do your cause far more good on Earth with me than if he stays here. Please, be generous now.” The vidisplays went dark.

  Tomyka stood. “We will recess briefly while the committee deliberates.”

  Nyk leaned to Kronta. “Aren't you joining them?”

  “I recused myself. As your advocate, I represent a conflict of interest.”

  “And, it's not a conflict for Tomyka to vote?”

  “She'll only cast a tie-breaker.”

  “I wasn't aware you planned to show that interview. I wish you had warned me.”

  “She carried herself well, Nyk. Sukiko reminds me in ways of my Daphne. I could almost hear Daphne's voice in that interview.” He put his hand on Nyk's shoulder. “I knew it would do no harm, and it might sway a vote or two.”

  “Isn't the outcome a foregone conclusion?”

  “If it were, we wouldn't bother holding this hearing. I've canvassed the committee. In the matter of Sukiko's fate, votes are divided. I fear they're much less so in the question of your case.”

  The committee filed into the room. Tomyka Wells addressed Nyk, “Mr Kyhana, will you please stand?”

  Nyk stood. She manipulated a handheld vidisplay. “Nykkyo Kyhana, after due deliberation, we have arrived at the following conclusions. First is in regard to your cohabitation with the Earth woman, in direct violation of Agency rules and regulations. For this act, you are stripped of your Agency credentials and your transit privileges are hereby revoked. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “Second is in regard to your unauthorized transit from Earth to Floran, and your unauthorized transport of an Earth person to the homeworld. This is the second time you've transported this individual, and the committee cannot allow such behavior go unanswered. You are sentenced to three years of planetbound economic incarceration, to be followed by five years of probation. Do you understand this?”

  “Yes -- I understand.”

  “We will not mark you as an incorrigible. Needless to say, you must be on your best behavior for the next eight years. Do you have anything to say?”

  “What will become of Suki?”

  “The committee has weighed the options of quarantine and returning her to Earth. We have considered the transcript of her interview, and we believe there is a greater risk of temporal interference quarantining her here than returning her to Earth. This was a narrow decision. We will make arrangements to have an Agency enforcement team return her to Earth and into the care of her parents.”

  “Will I be permitted to see Suki before she leaves for Earth? She won't understand.”

  Wells glared up at him. “You are remanded to the custody of your wife. This case is closed.” She stood and left the council room.

  Kronta stood. “It was a satisfactory outcome. Sukiko will be returned to Earth. I believe her interview made the difference.”

  “You call this satisfactory? Three years economic incarceration!”

  “You were looking at ten years, Nyk. That's what Tomyka requested. I've made arrangements to speak with Sukiko and to inform her of the committee's decision. You may accompany me.”

  Nyk followed Kronta to a wing of the Internal Affairs building. Kronta scanned his wrist and spoke to an attendant, who led them to an interview room. Another attendant brought Suki.

  Nyk opened his arms and she fell into them. “Have you heard?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “They're sending you home to Earth. Kronta tells me an enforcement agent will escort you to your house in Queens.”

  “What of you?”

  “They've revoked my travel privileges and sentenced me to three years of economic incarceration.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means my personal ID code will be marked such that I cannot travel except on foot, use the vidphones or purchase anything except sufficient food to keep from starving. Normally, those sentenced would be turned over to a shelter, but I've been remanded into Senta's care.”

  “Oh, Nykkyo!” She fell against him sobbing.

  “I will keep my promise,” he whispered into her ear. “This world cannot hold me. I will find a way home to you. The question's not if but when. This time, it may take a while.”

  “Three years?”

  “Three Floran years -- about two and a half Earth years. You must take care of yourself.”

  “I'll try.”

  “I'm sorry I won't be there to help you with the birth of your ... of our child, korlyta. I'll be in touch as I can.”

  “I know you will.”

  An attendant entered. Kronta nodded toward the door. “Goodbye, korlyta. I'll see you later.”

  The attendant escorted Nyk from the room. “Nykkyo! Oh, Nick!” he heard Suki cry as he walked down the corridor.

  * * *

  Nyk sat beside Senta as the monorail train headed north to Floran City. “You'll need to find something to do,” she said.

  “I already have something to do. I'm going to continue revising my translation of Koichi's journal.”

  “Nyk, yo
u spent years on the first translation.”

  “Now I have Earth experience. Much of the original translation lacks that perspective. And, I have Midoro Kyhana's journal to work on, too.”

  “You can do that in your spare time.”

  “It seems I'll have nothing but spare time.”

  “I'm making arrangements for you to work in the sequencing labs.”

  “Doing what?”

  “You'll be running a DNA sequencing machine. Just because your ID's been marked is no reason you can't be a productive member of society.”

  “I'm going to go sit in the nosecone.” Nyk stood and walked through the coaches to the front of the train. He sat in a seat in the front row, buried his face in his hands and sobbed.

  6 -- Economic Incarceration

  Nyk sat at a vidisplay in Senta's apartment in Floran City. He loaded a datacel and began scanning through text in Esperanto. The doorchime sounded. It sounded again.

  “Nyk, can you get that?”

  He walked to the front door and pressed the actuator. The door slid open to reveal Illya Kronta. “Come in.”

  “Nyk, I wanted to tell you -- I have word Sukiko was safely returned to her parents in New York.”

  “Did you take her to her home?”

  “Our enforcer delivered her to Seymor and he took her home.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I also wanted to tell you -- I saw how you and she interacted at the ... in Sudal. I have a debt to pay in that regard, Nyk. I assure you I'll work behind the scenes to try to mitigate, if not reverse, this outcome.”

  “Thanks again, Illya.”

  Kronta gave Nyk a two-fingered salute and headed out the door.

  Senta stepped from the bedroom in a short, sleeveless robe. “Nyk, now we're together again -- I want to work out some living arrangements. You are, of course, welcome to share my bed.”

  “I'll use the guest room. I figure I'd end up there three nights out of ten, anyway.”

  “Oh, we are being the pouty adolescent, aren't we? Very well -- use the guest room. You can ride the skimmer with me to the labs.”

  “What about days you don't go to the labs? It's too far to walk, and I can't take the tubecar.”

  “I'm glad you brought that up. I was speaking to Central Admin about this particular difficulty.” She presented him with a crystal cylinder on a chain. “This is a tubecar pass. It will permit transit between the platform servicing this building and the sequencing labs. You may use it on days I'm not headed there.” She faced him and placed her hands on his hips. “Nyk, please -- it is for the best. I know you don't see it so right now, but you will.” She leaned to kiss his cheek but he pulled away. “Fine. I'll be patient.”

  He headed into the study and returned to Koichi's writing.

  * * *

  Nyk stood on the balcony. He saw the skimmer approaching. “Senta -- your skimmer's here.” The craft hovered adjacent to the balcony. The door swung up, stairs descended and the pilot stepped out. “Good morning Mr Kyhana. I haven't seen you in a while.”

  “You'll be seeing a good deal of me, Rez.”

  Senta approached from the living room. “Good day, Rez.”

  “The labs this morning, m'am?” Rez helped her into the craft.

  “Yes, Rez. Oh, Mr Kyhana will be coming with us.”

  “Yes, m'am.” He gestured Nyk into the skimmer. Nyk sat beside Senta and looked down on the city as they flew toward the labs.

  The sequencing labs were located on the southern outskirts of Floran City. The skimmer descended onto a lawn of a low-growing native plant. Rez opened the door and helped Senta step out. “Thank you, Rez. Tonight, the regular time. You're free 'til then.”

  “Good day, m'am.”

  Nyk stepped onto the lawn and headed into the building. “This way, Nyk. I'll turn you over to one of the Arodsu twins to get you started in the lab.”

  He followed her to an ante-room. The sequencing labs were visible through a transparent wall. A young woman with dark blond hair sat behind a desk. She stood when Senta entered. “Good morning ... Katha?”

  “Ratha, m'am.”

  Senta looked at Nyk. “I can never keep them straight. Ratha, Mr Kyhana will be working in the sequencing labs for a while. Perhaps you could get him started?”

  “Certainly. Step this way.”

  “I'll see you tonight, Nyk.”

  Nyk followed Ratha into an airlock. She handed him clean-room garb. “Here, Mr Kyhana...”

  “Call me Nykkyo -- or Nyk.”

  “You must wear this, Nyk. We can't have contamination of the samples.” He slipped into a jumpsuit and a transparent hood. She opened the inner door to the airlock and led him to a machine. “This is a genetic sequencer. This is a tray of samples -- each vial is coded with a lot number. You read the lot number aloud and drop the sample here.”

  “Isn't there a way to automate this?”

  “It is all automated from that point on -- we have to start somewhere. These are lentils from the latest crop. Each container of lentils must be sampled and sequenced.”

  Nyk picked up a vial, read the label and dumped its contents into the machine. A red indicator flashed. Ratha giggled. “No, not like that. You must wait for a blue signal before dropping the sample.” She pressed a control to clear the indicator.

  Nyk picked up another vial and read the label. He waited for the blue indicator and dumped the contents into the machine. The red indicator lit again.

  “You'll note several lentils in each vial. You must read the label once for each seed and place the samples individually.”

  “Why can't I read the label once and drop all the lentils at the same time?”

  “Because the machine doesn't know how many samples there are.”

  “I could read the label and say, 'three samples.' That would be so much easier than reading a fifteen-digit number three times.”

  Ratha rolled her eyes. “The machine's not set up that way.”

  “Okay, let me try it again.” Nyk picked up another vial and read the number. The blue indicator lit. He tapped a lentil out of the vial and placed it in the machine. The indicator went dark.

  “Perfect,” Ratha said. “Why don't you start on this rack of sample trays? We'll bring more when you're done with those.”

  * * *

  “Thank you, Rez,” Senta said as she stepped onto the balcony. “That'll be all.” He nodded, climbed into the skimmer and it headed from the apartment building. “Nyk, how was your day?”

  “Torture! That job is ... torture -- I can't think of another word for it. I hope you didn't make any commitments for me, because I will not spend my days doing that sort of busy- work.”

  “You have to do something, Nyk.”

  “Who says I have to do anything? If they had sent me to a shelter, what would I do? Nothing! Maybe panhandle on the street, but nothing other than that. I'd rather do nothing than run a sequencer day in and day out. Do you know how mind-numbing it is? Have you ever done it?”

  “I designed those machines.”

  “I could give you some ideas for improving them, and I'm sure your staff would appreciate it.”

  “Give it a few days -- if you really can't stand it, I can find something else for you to do.”

  “All right, Senta. I'll give it a few days.

  * * *

  Nyk stood before the sequencing machine and fed it samples. “Nykkyo...”

  He turned. “Yes, Ratha?”

  “I'm Katha.”

  “Yes, Katha?”

  “You'll need to work faster. We'll never get through our daily quota at that rate.”

  He picked up a vial, read the number and dropped a seed into the machine. The red indicator lit. “Katha, what did I do wrong this time?” he yelled.

  She looked at the machine. “You read an incorrect number.”

  “I read what's on the vial.”

  “No, you didn't...” She held up the vial and pointed to a status screen. “You
transposed the last two digits.” Nyk re-read the label on the vial and the blue indicator lit. “Just be careful.”

  Nyk pulled another tray of samples from the rack and began processing them. He felt a tap on his shoulder. “What now, Katha?”

  She pointed to the rack of samples he had completed. “Nyk, there are still seeds in some of these vials.”

  “Not all the vials have the same number,” he replied. “You said I had to work faster. One way is to use three specimens from each lot.”

  “Why do you think there are four, five or six seeds in some?”

  “I don't know -- but many have only three. I figure if three is good enough for some, it's good enough for all.”

  Katha cradled her forehead in her hand. “No, Nyk. We must use all the samples we're sent.”

  “I'll do that tray over.”

  “No -- we'll let this one go.” Nyk watched her walk toward her desk.

  He pulled another tray of sample vials from a rack and began removing the stoppers. “Nykkyo,” he heard Katha say.

  “What now?”

  “Why are you taking the stoppers off all the vials?”

  “I thought it would be more efficient -- faster.”

  “Just make sure the specimens don't get mixed up.”

  “Absolutely not,” he replied and began feeding lentils into the sequencer. One of the vials slipped from his fingers and he stooped to retrieve it. His shoulder bumped the tray, turning it over and dumping the samples onto the floor.

  “That's enough. Nyk, you're not having a good time. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?”

  “If you think so.”

  “I do think so.” Katha picked up a vial, read the label and dropped the seed.