by John Bluck
As Wilson and Rachel entered the cabin, she said, "I'll get the books out of my suitcase." She put her suitcase on the arms of a brown leather easy chair, unsnapped the case, removed five books, and sat on the couch. Wilson sat next to her, sinking into the cushion.
"Could I see the one you think is the best?" he asked.
She handed him a medium-sized textbook, bound in rawhide. He opened it and scanned it, not able to concentrate.
"Do you like that one?" she asked as she leaned against him. Then she began to kiss him, sliding her tongue into his mouth. Her slow kiss was even softer and gentler than Lena's. He dropped the book, and she began to take off his shirt. Then she grabbed his hand and put it on one of her ample breasts. He unbuttoned her blouse, helped her out of it, and unclasped her black bra which fell off. She stripped naked and helped him undress. They made love.
Afterward, he felt guilty because he had betrayed Lena, but he relished the sex anyway. He was ashamed that he felt that sex with Rachel was even better than the best lovemaking he had experienced with Lena.
The next morning Wilson told Raven he would take a walk to breathe cold, fresh air to cure his hangover. Wilson hadn't drunk much, so he concluded that the truth serum had made him feel like he'd had too much alcohol. He planned to use his scrambler-equipped mobile phone to call rebel leader Ramon Black.
As Wilson walked along the edge of the tarmac on the outside of a chain link fence, he figured he was far enough away to chance a phone call to Black.
"Hello, Bill," Ramon said when he answered.
"Hi," Wilson said. "I have more news. Raven and Yarnell have provided me a replacement clone woman who looks just like Lena. Her name's Rachel McCoy."
"That doesn't surprise me," said Ramon. "You can be sure she'll check you out to see if you're a rebel or a backer of the revolution."
"I figured that," Wilson said. "She works fast. She lured me into her room this morning, and you can guess what happened."
"She tried to make love with you?" Ramon asked. "If she did, my advice is, don't tell Lena."
"I had to do it to prove that Lena was just a sex object, and that I'm not a rebel," Wilson said. "I didn't want to do it."
"Ha. You didn't want to do it at first," Black said. "But you're a male, and you did it," he said. He paused. "You did it for the revolution. Now, I've got some big news for you. We broke Lena out of jail at three o'clock in the morning, about the time that Rachel romanced you."
"That's great news, General! How'd you do it so fast?"
"We have a couple of agents in that station house. One of the guys on the assault team was the man you met during our meeting, Art Terac, the blond clone. He suffered a slight wound in the firefight at the jail. Lena gave him some nano meds. He's okay now."
"Do you think you need to pull me out?" Wilson asked. I hope I can get out of this mess and see Lena again, he thought.
"Not now," said Black. "They gave her truth serum. She said that you weren't a rebel and that she had to work hard to hide her true thoughts about the revolution from you. She thinks they bought it."
Shit, Wilson cursed silently. Then he said, "I have more news. I think that Yarnell spiked my drink with truth serum because I could feel its effects. I talked like I was in a manic state, and I told Yarnell and Raven that Lena was just a sex object – that I was flabbergasted when I found out that she was really a rebel. I think they believed me."
"Bill, you're in a unique position," said Ramon. "They think you are loyal, and you might well pick up something important. So, we'd like you to remain in place for a little while. We'll withdraw you, if things get super dangerous."
"Okay," Wilson said. "Say hi to Lena for me, but don't tell her much about Rachel."
"My lips are sealed. Take care, Bill. Goodbye," Ramon said.
"Bye."
Ramon disconnected the call.
As Wilson walked back to the ship, he felt uplifted, like he was flying on a warm cloud. Lena was free! When he re-entered the ship, he went into the dayroom. He saw Raven, Yarnell, and Rachel McCoy.
"How was your walk?" asked Raven. His face showed his typical crooked grin.
"It was crisp outside so I got rid of most of my hangover," Wilson said. "My head hurts just a little now." He rubbed a spot above his right eye, which still ached.
"I think I can cure your malady," said Raven. "I'll astound you with a new toy I just got. We'll use it today when we go to Gold Country on planet Triod."
He motioned Wilson, Yarnell, and Rachel to follow him. Rachel snatched Wilson's arm and leaned against him as the small group went with Raven to the equipment hold of the ship.
"I'm glad you're better," said Rachel. "I'd like to resume English lessons whenever you're ready."
"Let's continue lessons after we get back from Triod," Wilson said. He and Rachel followed a few paces behind Raven and Yarnell. Wilson considered, maybe I should cool it with Rachel. But then again I have to play the part of a sex-starved guy.
"Perhaps you can cook some Earth food for me," Rachel said.
"I have some cans of spaghetti and meat balls, canned fruit, waxed beans, and some other stuff like that, which I can prepare," Wilson said.
"Is this typical of your diet?" Rachel asked, as they neared the equipment hold.
"It's not restaurant food, but it's quick. Lots of Earth people eat like that."
The small group stepped into the equipment area. A large, new electric land rover stood in their path. Raven patted the camouflaged vehicle on its hood, and a metallic sound resulted.
"This is the toy," he said. "It includes an advanced metal detector built into its undercarriage, and you guessed it. The detector can find gold as well as other metals."
"You could cover a lot of territory with that vehicle," said Yarnell as he stooped down to peer under the rover. It had high ground clearance so it could travel off-road in rough country.
"The detector can scan down forty feet into dirt and rock because of the size of its coil," said Raven. "There's a computer screen mounted in the dashboard. A program analyzes the return signals from the detector, and the onboard computer creates color images that represent several kinds of metals as well as cavities like caves, graves, wells, and small boxes."
"How do you tell the difference between a big chunk of gold or just an old pipe?" Yarnell asked.
"The computer studies the signals and can identify steel, silver, and gold. When it finds a certain type of metal, it displays a word like 'gold' on the screen," Raven said.
He opened the doors of the vehicle and got into the driver's seat. Yarnell sat in the front passenger seat while Rachel and Wilson got in the back seat and began to peer at the computer screen in the dashboard.
Raven turned on the computer. "I'm going to show you the tutorial on how this beast works," he said. He flipped through a series of computer images that showed examples of how to find precious metals, how deep they might be, and where to dig for them.
"How much land do you think we have to scan to find gold?" Wilson asked.
"I've cut it down to about four square blocks," said Raven. "I'm not on the lookout just for small nuggets. I want to find the twin of a 106-pound nugget found in California's Gold Country." He pulled a plastic map from his hip pocket and spread it out. It was bigger than Wilson thought it would be.
"How can you be sure you'll find a similar nugget on Triod?" Wilson asked.
"Experience tells us we have a 95 percent chance of finding one in this area," Raven said. He pointed to an 'x' on the map. "We've done this many times. In almost all cases we've found similar things on 'superimposed' planets in separate dimensions."
"Remarkable," Wilson said. "But couldn't somebody already have found such a large chunk of gold?"
"That's certainly possible, but the area on Triod where we'll look is deserted except for a few natives," Raven replied.
"I'm glad of that," commented Wilson. "It'll be fun, and at least we'll be out of harm's way."
&n
bsp; "Very true," said Raven, "but be sure to enjoy this mission because on a later trip we'll go back to Triod. That's when we'll destroy the water supply of the cyborgs' capital city." He showed his lopsided smile. "I expect we'll run into a beehive of enemy soldiers on guard duty at the reservoirs. We plan to blow up the water works with fusion bombs, but it won't be a walk in the park."
"Why don't we just do it after we get the gold?" Yarnell asked.
"The assault plan isn't finished yet, and scientists have to test new, marble-size fusion bombs designed just for this water mission," said Raven. "After the tests, technicians must make enough bombs so we can plant them next to all of the capital's water storage areas. If we're successful, it'll put the enemy in a really bad way because they use the water not only for drinking, but for irrigation and industrial production."
"When do we return to Triod to do the mission?" Yarnell asked.
"It won't take us more than a day, maybe two days, to find lots of gold on Triod," said Raven. "When we get back here to Sunev, the crew can rest a few days while we finish the plan and the techs build the bombs. So, probably a week from tomorrow we'll destroy the enemy's water supply."
Wilson knew he had to send this critical intelligence about the raid to Ramon Black before The Ghost Liner left for Triod to search for gold.
"We'll leave for Triod's gold country in two hours," said Raven. "If you plan to leave the ship, be sure to return no later than an hour from now."
"Let's have a quick lunch at the spaceport cafeteria, Bill," said Rachel.
"Okay," Wilson said. "I'm hungry."
"Have a good lunch," Yarnell said.
"We will," said Rachel, and she took Wilson's arm. They walked out of the ship and headed for the cafeteria.
Soon, they were in the lunch line, and they selected their meals, sat down, and began to eat. "Excuse me," Wilson said. "I need to use the restroom."
Rachel nodded as she chewed some pizza.
He walked toward the men's restroom, went around a corner and into an alcove. There he pulled out his mobile phone, entered the scrambler code, and punched in Black's number.
"Hello, Bill," Black answered. "What's up?"
"I can't talk long, but I learned something important," Wilson said. "Today, we leave for Triod to look for gold. We'll return to Sunev in a couple of days, and then we'll go back to Triod to the outskirts of the capitol city, Emor, to destroy its water supply system."
"That is critical," said Black. "We'll have to stop the attack. I don't know how yet. When you return to Sunev, I'll contact you. If you don't hear from me after a few hours when you get back, call when it's safe. Thanks for this vital intel."
"I'm glad to help, but I need to hang up now, or Rachel will miss me."
"Okay, thanks. Goodbye, Bill."
"So long," Wilson said. He walked back to find Rachel already half done with her lunch. They finished eating and returned to the ship ten minutes before Raven's deadline.
Chapter 20 – Anticipating Triod
"You two cut it close," said Raven as Rachel and Wilson entered The Ghost Liner command deck. Yarnell stood near Raven and peered at a map of Sunev on the ship's navigation computer. The ship was to leave for Triod in a little more than an hour to start its mission to find more gold for the war effort.
"We had a good lunch at the spaceport cafeteria," said Rachel. "You should've come with us."
"Yarnell and I had to plan the route to fly to Sunevian Gold Country so when we land we'll be in the right spot to jump to Triod," Raven said. "You might as well relax while we fly to the dimensional jump point."
"Okay," Wilson said.
"Let's go to my room and practice English," Rachel whispered. "I want to be ready when we travel to Earth."
"All right," Wilson said, and he took her arm.
The two strolled to her cabin, she keyed in her entry code, and the door swung open. Then the lights came on, and bewitching Sunevian music began to play from an unseen device. Wilson followed her into the front room, staring at her soft hair that gleamed and swayed back and forth.
She was so much like Lena that he forgot for a moment she was another woman. He took hold of her shoulders and pulled her to him. Brushing her soft hair away from her right ear, he kissed her there. That's when he saw her tattoo, 214866, behind her ear.
Rachel's number is different than Lena's, Wilson noticed, and he concentrated on the number.
"Do you want to tell me something?" asked Rachel, interrupting his thoughts.
"I want to touch you," he said. I've got to play the part, he thought. "Let's put off the lesson and make love."
"Sounds very good," she said. She turned to Wilson, smiled in a flirty way, and tilted her head up. Then she kissed him with passion, but very softly, and for a long time. Again, he realized that Rachel was sweeter, and even sexier than Lena. He walked Rachel to the bedroom, and then he stripped her as she took off his clothes. Exploring her body with his hands, he discovered how soft and beautiful her skin was, and how perfectly the two of them fit together when they made love.
"You're so tender," she said as she snuggled next to him with her head on a pillow. "You might not believe it when I say that I care for you." She squinted and blinked.
"Maybe I'm drawn to you for other reasons besides your physical beauty," Wilson heard himself say. "You're different than Lena. Your personality is distinct from hers."
"I must admit that my task is to please you," she said, again squinting and blinking. "But there's more. You must have guessed that I'm supposed to listen to you and report to Officer Yarnell, if I hear you say anything disloyal."
"Have you heard me say anything like that?" Wilson asked. He questioned himself, where's she going? Why would she admit that she's been assigned to keep an eye on me?
"I haven't heard you say a thing that's even close to rebellious," she said. "But because I'm a clone, I can see why Lena might convince you that all higher beings whether they're natural human beings, clones, cyborgs, or robots should be equal under the law."
"I thought all the clones on Sunev were just as human as natural people," he said.
"Under Sunevian law we clones are not equal to people conceived in a sex act," she said. Her eyes flickered. "But I think, just as Lena must believe, that we are normal people, not just sex toys." She brushed her soft hair away from her hazel green eyes. "So, I can see how the clone rebels and the cyborgs convinced Lena to join their rebellion. The rebels think all intelligent beings should live in a true democratic state."
Wilson was silent as he thought, I have to speak with care. Is she telling me lies to get me to admit I'm a rebel? "I think the rebels were able to recruit Lena because she thought they'd create a free society for all," he said. "But no system is flawless. Even if the rebels win the war, they wouldn't create a perfect government, just like the Sunevian regime isn't ideal."
"So, do you think Lena was right to join the rebels?" Rachel asked.
"She did what she thought was right, even if I think she was wrong."
"You don't condemn her, then?"
"No, I don't. I can understand why she did it," Wilson said. "She's very talented, and she probably thinks people should value her for her contributions. Too bad the state didn't award her a status equal to that of a natural human being. If that had happened, she wouldn't be a rebel."
"I could be a rebel too," Rachel said.
"I don't know you well enough yet to even guess what you think," he said. "Still, you're a distinct person whose mind grew in its own, unique way. I respect you for your individuality."
"Thank you," she said and then kissed him. They lay in bed and caressed in a warm embrace, and finally they dozed. The ship's launch bell rang and jarred them awake.
"We'd better dress quickly," Wilson said. "That bell means we'll take off for Sunevian Gold Country in ten minutes."
"Okay," Rachel said, and she put on her bra.
After they had dressed and Rachel had brushed her hair, th
e two went to their flight seats and buckled in. The Ghost Liner took off like a spaceship, quickly ascended to 150,000 feet, and flew another hour to reach its destination in Sunevian Gold Country.
"Prepare to land," Raven announced to the crew over the loudspeaker. "After we're on the ground, we'll take a fifteen minute break. Then we'll jump to Triod's Gold Country."
The Ghost Liner landed like a huge vertical-takeoff-and-landing fighter jet. Wilson and Rachel unbuckled their seatbelts and got up to stretch.
"It won't be long before Raven gets to try his new land rover and the gold-scanner," Wilson said. "I didn't think to ask him if we're invited to go along."
"I asked him, and he said okay," said Rachel. "It'll be lots of fun. I've never done anything like searching for gold before."
"I panned for gold once at a tourist attraction in California, but I didn't find much except a few small gold flakes," Wilson said.
Raven walked up to the pair. "You two will get a thrill when we find some big gold nuggets on Triod." He grinned.
"That should be enough gold for at least one new dimension ship," Wilson said.
"Actually, it could help us build as many as four ships," Raven said. "That's why this mission is important."
"And we'll still need gold ore for fusion machines even after the war ends," Yarnell added. "That's why the search for gold isn't just a hobby."
"If it's okay with you, I'll take some notes," said Rachel. "I could write an article about how we found gold."
"That's okay by me," said Raven.
"Thank you, Commander," said Rachel.
Raven nodded, sat at the command console, and picked up a microphone. "All crewmembers, attention. Please move to your flight chairs and buckle in. We will begin the jump to Triod in five minutes."
Wilson and Rachel sat down and snapped their seatbelt buckles shut. The two held hands as the fairly long jump began. A few hours later the ship vibrated less and less, as it shifted dimensions and appeared in Triod's Gold Country.
