Benjy had welcomed Nicole with an uninhibited embrace. He had lifted her off the floor with his strong arms and yelled with joy. “Mama, Mama,” he had said, turning around in circles with Nicole’s head above his. Benjy had seemed quite well. Nicole had been startled to discover that his hairline had receded and that he now looked decidedly avuncular. Later she had told herself that Benjy’s appearance was really not that surprising, since he was about forty years old.
Her greetings from Patrick and Ellie had been very
warm. Ellie had looked tired, but she had said it was because she had had a full day. Ellie had explained to Nicole that she had taken it upon herself to stimulate interspecies social activity at the Grand Hotel. “It’s the least I can do,” Ellie had said, “since I speak the octospider language. I’m hoping that you’ll give me a hand as soon as you have your strength.”
Patrick had spoken quietly to Nicole about his concern for Nai. ‘This Galileo situation is tearing her apart, Mother,” her son had said. “She is furious because the blockheads, as we call them, removed Galileo from the normal living areas without much explanation and without anything that we would call ‘due process.’ She is also angry because she is not allowed to spend more than two hours a day with him. I’m certain she is going to ask you for assistance.”
Nai had changed. The spark and softness were gone from her eyes and she was uncharacteristically negative, even in her first remarks. “We are living in the worst kind of police state here, Nicole,” Nai had said. “Far worse than under Nakamura. After you are settled, I have many things to tell you.”
Max Puckett and his adorable French wife, Eponine, had both aged, like everyone else, but it was clear that their love for each other and for their son, Marius, sustained them on a day-to-day basis. Eponine had shrugged when Nicole asked her if the crowded living conditions bothered her. “Not really,” she had replied. “Remember, I lived in the orphanage in Limoges as a child. Besides, I’m just delighted to be alive and have Max and Marius. For years I never thought I would live long enough to have any gray hair.”
As for Max, he had remained his ornery, irrepressible self. His hair too was mostly gray, and he had just a little of the bounce in his step. But Nicole could tell from his eyes that he was enjoying his life. ‘There’s this fellow I see regularly in the smoking lounge,” Max had told Nicole during the evening, “who is a big admirer of yours. He somehow escaped the plague, although his wife didn’t. Anyway”- Max had then grinned—”I thought I’d fix you two up as soon as you have some free time. He’s a little younger than you are, but I doubt if that will be a problem.”
Nicole had asked Max about the problems between the humans and the octospiders. “You know,” Max had said, “the war may have taken place fifteen or sixteen years ago, but none of the humans has any intervening memories to soften his anger. Everyone here lost somebody, a friend or a relative or a neighbor, in that horrible plague. And they can’t quickly forget that it was the octospiders who caused it.”
“In response to the aggression of the human armies,” Nicole had said.
“But most of the humans don’t see it that way. Maybe they believe the propaganda Nakamura told them and not the ‘official’ war history, presented by your friend the Eagle soon after we were moved here. The truth is that most of the humans hate and fear the octospiders. Only about twenty percent of the people have made any attempt to mix socially, despite Ellie’s courageous efforts, or to learn anything about the octos. Most of the humans stay in our ray. Unfortunately, the cramped living quarters do not help to alleviate the problem.”
Nicole now rolled over on her side. Her daughter Ellie was sleeping facing her. Ellie’s eyes were twitching. She’s dreaming, Nicole thought. I hope not about Robert. She thought again about her reunion with her family and friends. I guess the Eagle knew what he was doing in keeping me alive. Even if he doesn’t have anything specific for me to do. As long as I don’t become an invalid or a burden, I can be helpful here.
“This will be your first major Grand Hotel experience,” Max said to Nicole. “Every time I go to the cafeteria during open hours, I am reminded of Bounty Day in the Emerald City. Those weird creatures’ that came along with the octospiders may be fascinating, but I’m a damn sight more comfortable when they’re not around.”
“Can’t we wait until it’s our period, Dad?” Marius asked. ‘The iguanas frighten Nikki. They gawk at us with
their yellow eyes and make such repulsive clucking noises while they are eating.”
“Son,” Max said, “you and Nikki can wait with the others until our segregated lunchtime, if you want. Nicole wants to eat with all the residents. It’s a matter of principle to her. Your mother and I are going to accompany her to ensure that she learns the cafeteria routine.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Nicole said. “I’m sure that Ellie or Patrick—”
“Nonsense,” Max interrupted. “Eponine and I are delighted to join you. Besides, Patrick has gone with Nai to see Galileo, Ellie is over in the recreation room, and Benjy is reading with Kepler and Maria.”
“I appreciate your understanding, Max,” Nicole said. “It is important for me to make the right kind of statement, especially at the beginning. The Eagle and Dr. Blue didn’t tell me much about the details of the trouble…”
“You don’t need to explain,” Max replied. “In fact, last night after you fell asleep, I told Frenchie I was certain that you would want to mix.” He laughed. “Don’t forget, we know you very well.”
After Eponine joined them, they walked out in the hallway. It was mostly empty. A few people were walking in the corridor on their left, away from the center of the starfish, and a man and a woman were standing together at the entrance to the ray.
The trio waited two or three minutes for the tram to arrive. As they drew near to the final stop, Max leaned over to Nicole. ‘Those two people standing at the ray entrance,” he said, “are not just passing time. They’re both big activists on the Council. Very opinionated and very pushy.”
Nicole took the arm that Max offered her as they disembarked. “What do they want?” she whispered as the pair started walking toward them.
“I don’t know,” Max mumbled quickly, “but we’ll find out soon enough.”
“Good day, Max. Hello, Eponine,” the man said. He was a portly man in his early forties. He looked at Nicole and broke into a wide politician’s smile. “You must be Nicole Wakefield,” he said, reaching out to shake hands. “We’ve all heard so very much about you… Welcome… welcome. I’m Stephen Kowalski.”
“And I’m Renee du Pont,” the woman said, advancing and also extending her hand in Nicole’s direction.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Mr. Kowalski asked Max what the three of them were doing. “We’re taking Mrs. Wakefield to lunch,” Max replied simply.
“It’s still common time,” the man said with another big smile. He checked his watch. “Why don’t you wait forty-five minutes more and Renee and I will join you? We’re on the Council, you know, and we would like very much to speak to Mrs. Wakefield about our activities. Certainly the Council will want to hear from her in the very near future.”
“Thanks for the offer, Stephen,” Max said. “But we’re all hungry. We want to eat now.”
Mr. Kowalski’s brow furrowed. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Max,” he said. “There’s a lot of tension at the moment. After that incident yesterday in the swimming pool, the Council voted unanimously to boycott all collective activities for the next two days. Emily was especially incensed that Big Block put Garland on probation and took no disciplinary action of any kind against the offending octospider. That’s the fourth consecutive time that the blockheads have ruled against us.”
“Come on, Stephen,” Max said. “I heard the story at dinner last night. Garland was still in the pool fifteen minutes after our special time had expired. He grabbed the octo first.”
“It was a deliberate provocation
,” Renee du Pont said. ‘There were only three octospiders in the pool. There was no reason for one of them to be in the lane where Garland was swimming laps.”
“Besides,” Stephen said, “as we discussed in the Council last night, the specifics of this particular incident are not our primary concern. It is essential that we send a message to both the blockheads and the octospiders, so that they know we are united as a species. The Council is going to meet in special session again tonight to draw up a list of grievances.”
Max was becoming angry. ‘Thank you for keeping us informed, Stephen,” he said brusquely. “Now if you’ll just step aside, we would like to go to lunch.”
“You’re making a mistake,” Mr. Kowalski said. “You will be the only humans in the cafeteria. We will, of course, report this conversation at the meeting of the Council tonight.”
“Go ahead,” said Max.
Max, Eponine, and Nicole walked out into the main corridor that formed an annulus around the central core of the starfish. “What’s the Council?” Nicole asked.
“A group-self-appointed, I might add-that pretends to represent all the humans,” Max replied. “At first they were just a nuisance, but in the last few months they have actually begun to wield some power. They’ve even recruited poor Nai into their ranks by offering to help solve the Galileo problem.”
The big tram stopped about twenty meters to their right and a pair of the iguanas disembarked. Two of the block robots, who had been standing unobtrusively off to the side, walked out into the corridor between the humans and the strange animals with the fearsome teeth. As the iguanas passed around them back along the wall, Nicole recalled the attack on Nikki at the Bounty Day ceremony.
“Why are they here?” Nicole asked Max. “I would have thought that they were too disruptive.”
“Big Block and the Eagle have both explained to full human assemblies, on two separate occasions, that the iguanas are essential for the production of that barrican plant, without which the octo society would be all screwed up. I didn’t follow all the details of the biological explanation, but I do remember that fresh iguana eggs were a vital link in the process. The Eagle stressed repeatedly that only the bare minimum number of iguanas were being maintained here in the Grand Hotel.”
The trio was near the entrance to the cafeteria. “Have the iguanas caused much trouble?” Nicole asked.
“Not really,” Max said. “They can be dangerous, as you know, but if you cut through all the crap put out by the Council, you conclude that there have only been a few incidents in which the iguanas launched an unprovoked attack. Most of the altercations have been started by humans. Our boy Galileo killed two of them one night in the cafeteria during one of his violent outbursts.”
Max noticed Nicole’s strong reaction to his last comment. “I don’t want to be telling tales out of school,” he said, shaking his head, “but this Galileo business has really torn our little family apart. I promised Eponine I would let you talk to Nai about it first.”
The smaller block robots were constructed in the same general pattern as Big Block. A dozen of them were serving food in the cafeteria, and six or eight others were standing around the eating area. When Nicole and her friends entered, four or five hundred octospiders, including two giant repletes and eighty or so midget morphs eating on the floor in the corner, were sitting in the cafeteria. Many of them turned to watch as Max, Eponine, and Nicole passed through the line. A dozen iguanas, seated not far from the serving line, stopped eating and eyed the humans warily.
Nicole was surprised at the large variety of things to eat. She chose some fish and potatoes, as well as some octospider fruit and their orange-tasting honey for her bread.
“Where does all this fresh food come from?” she asked Max as they sat at a long empty table.
Max pointed up. “There’s a second level to this starfish. All the food for everybody is raised up there. We eat very well, although the Council has complained about the lack of meat.”
Nicole took a couple of bites of her food. “I think I ought to tell you,” Max said quietly, leaning across the table, “that a pair of octospiders is headed in your direction.”
She turned around. Two octospiders were indeed approaching. Out of the corner of her eye Nicole also saw Big Block hurrying toward their table. “Hello, Nicole,” the first octospider said in color. “I was one of Dr. Blue’s assistants in the Emerald City Hospital. I just wanted to welcome you and thank you again for helping us out.”
Nicole searched vainly for a distinguishing mark on the octospider. “I’m sorry,” she said in a friendly tone, “I can’t place you exactly.”
“You called me Milky,” the octospider said, “because at the time I was recovering from a lens operation and I had excess white fluid…”
“Ah, yes,” Nicole said with a smile. “I remember you now, Milky. Didn’t we have a long discussion at lunch one day about old age? As I recall, you had a hard time believing that we humans remained alive, whether we were useful or not, until we died of natural causes.”
“That’s right,” Milky answered. “Well, I don’t want to disturb your lunch, but my friend very much wanted to meet you.”
“And to thank you also,” said Nikky’s companion, “for being so fair about everything. Dr. Blue says that you have been an example for all of us.”
Other octospiders began to rise from where they were sitting in the cafeteria and to line up behind the first two octos. The colors for “thank you” were visible on most of their heads. Nicole was deeply moved. At Max’s suggestion, she stood up and spoke to the line of octospiders. “Thank you all,” she said, “for your warm welcome. I really do appreciate it. I hope I have a chance to visit with each of you while we are living here together.”
Nicole’s eyes drifted to the right of the line Of octos and she saw her daughter Ellie with Nikki standing beside her. “I came as soon as I could,” Ellie said, coming over and kissing her mother on the cheek. “I should have known,” she added with a slight smile. She gave Nicole a vigorous hug. “I love you, Mother,” Ellie said. “And I have missed you so very much.”
“I explained to the Council,” Nai said, “that you had just arrived and did not fully understand the significance of the boycott. I believe they were satisfied.”
Nai opened the door and Nicole followed her into the laundry area. Using the washers and dryers they had seen in New Eden as a basis, the aliens who had outfitted the Grand Hotel in a hurry had built the free laundry room not far from the cafeteria. Two other women were in the large room. Nai purposely chose to use the machines at the far opposite side, so mat she could have a private conversation with Nicole.
“I asked you to come with me today,” Nai said as she began to sort the clothing, “because I wanted to talk to you about Galileo.” She paused, struggling. “Forgive me, Nicole, my feelings on this subject are so strong. I’m not certain—”
“It’s all right, Nai,” Nicole said softly. “I understand. Remember, I’m a mother too.”
“I’m desperate, Nicole,” Nai continued. “I need your help. Nothing that has ever happened in my life, not even Kenji’s murder, has affected me like this situation. I am consumed by anxiety for my son. Even meditation does not give me any peace.”
Nai had divided the clothes into three piles. She put them into three washing machines and returned to Nicole’s side.
“Look,” she said, “I’ll be the first to admit that Galileo’s behavior has not been perfect. After the long sleep, when we were moved over here, he was very slow to become involved with the others. He would not participate in the classes Patrick, Ellie, Eponine, and I set up for the children, and when he did, he would not do any homework. Galileo was surly, difficult, and unpleasant to everyone except Maria.
“He never would talk to me about what he was feeling. The only thing he seemed to enjoy was going over to the recreation room for muscle-building exercises. He has, incidentally, become very proud of his physical stren
gth.”
Nai paused for a moment. “Galileo is not a bad person, Nicole,” she said apologetically. “He is just confused. He went to sleep as a six-year-old and woke up at the age of twenty-one, with the body and desires of a young man.”
She stopped. Tears had formed in her eyes. “How could he have been expected to know how to act?” Nai said with difficulty. Nicole reached out with her arms, but Nai did not accept her offer. “I have tried, but I haven’t been able to help him,” Nai continued. “I don’t know what to do. And I’m afraid now it’s too late.”
Nicole recalled her own sleepless nights in New Eden when she had often wept out of frustration about Katie. “I understand, Nai,” she said softly. “I really do.”
“One time, only one time,” Nai said after a pause, “did I ever have a glimpse beneath that cold exterior Galileo wears so proudly. It was in the middle of the night after the business with Maria, when he returned from his session with Big Block. We were out in the corridor together, only the two of us, and he was wailing and beating on the wall. ‘I wasn’t going to hurt her, Mom, you must believe me,’ he yelled. ‘I love Maria. I just couldn’t stop myself.’“
“What happened with Galileo and Maria?” Nicole asked when Nai stopped again for a few seconds. “I haven’t heard the story.”
“Oh,” Nai said, surprised, “I was certain that someone would have told you about it by now.” She hesitated for a moment. “Max said at the time that Galileo had tried to rape Maria and that he might have succeeded if Benjy had not come back to the room and dragged him off the girl. Later Max admitted to me that he might have overreacted when he used the word ‘rape’ but that Galileo had definitely been ‘out of line.’
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