Lost Past
Page 20
“You know what you know,” said Wilson.
“Which is probably the only thing that saved me from a perjury charge.”
“That, and having cut the costs of psychiatric illness to U. S. society by fifty percent,” said Linda. “I thought your legal problems were over.”
“I suspect if Hernandez has his way, they’ll never be over. Hernandez believes you caused all his actions and are guilty of everything imaginable because you killed Jorxt,” said Wilson. “But I’m certainly not complaining.”
Linda wanted John’s thoughts on how Patience was adjusting to Linda’s marriage, since Patience and Linda were so close. John said she was fine, as were Arthur and Natalie. He had dinner with the three of them just two days ago in their home in the country, which was bought so Patience could keep her goat.
John thought Wilson and Linda’s marriage would be happy. In their five years of off-again, on-again, relationship, they appeared to have worked things out. They were both so career driven, John wondered if they would ever give Arthur grandchildren. Arthur appeared to be satisfied with Tom’s child.
Cara and John decided to stop at two, which was hardly obeying Saxant’s directive. She also wanted them close together, to minimize the time she was off work. John felt Cara should go back to work, because she was a good psychiatrist. Well, he was prejudiced, but she helped him get over the guilt he carried for killing Jorxt. She also helped him with the guilt he didn’t remember of keeping Natalie’s kidnapping from Arthur. Arthur had long forgiven him and they exercised together two or three times a week.
Meanwhile he would go home to his toddler son and pregnant wife and pretend he was just an ordinary individual, not someone with a memory of only five years. His past was lost, but he had his present and future.
-The End-
I wrote this story about 15 years ago and pulled out the Plict for my current project. Obviously I’ve made changes in the universe.
COOPERATION
A bonus short story
The mission was a total washout. The crashed spaceship was decades old with nothing worth salvaging and to add insult to injury, Gjeye damaged his own ship on landing.
He surveyed the unpromising looking landing site, analyzing what he needed to do to get off the moon. There were two problems: the lack of a runway and the lack of one wheel needed to take off. He might be able to modify one of the wheels of the wrecked spaceship to fit his ship, although he wasn’t sure. The runway was a more urgent problem, because it had to be done in the light. In addition, if the ground froze, it would become an impossible task. It would be faster with a Bud. The sun was high above a hill, and a month long night would fall in about two weeks.
He went inside and set up a distress signal, not expecting any help. He was on an Earth-type moon of a gas giant. The sun, gas giant, and a settled planet formed an equilateral triangle. The planet's settlement, called New California, knew about his problem. Although they didn’t have space travel, they would notify any traders of his problem. They recommended he get off the moon by himself, because it might be months before a trader came along who could help him. Gjeye's supplies would run out before then, even with careful recycling.
A slingshot effect around the gas giant was a favorite means of getting cheap acceleration. Knowledgeable ships passed by when stopping in this system. New California was too small a settlement to warrant anything but an occasional trader.
Gjeye made his preparations to form a Bud. A large meal came first with plenty of fluids. He lay down on the one bed in the space ship. His round body sent out a projection. Because he wanted some heavy work done, he would give his Bud more mass than he had. His huge body shrank and the projection grew. Soon there were two of him, considerably leaner. The passage between them shrank and disappeared. The Bud was more muscular, but had no digestive tract or reproductive organs. He would die in a week under any circumstances, but Gjeye was not so inhuman to make him wait that long.
There was plenty of work to do, and of course the Bud was willing. They started work on making a runway. A low growing, gray plant masked an uneven surface. They had to clear the plants and level the ground. It was hard, physical work, with the Bud doing most of it. Nevertheless, Gjeye suspected the work was futile because he couldn’t use a runway without a better wheel. He was dependent on the unlikely event of help arriving.
The third day after he crashed, another ship joined them.
Gjeye would need to talk to the pilot himself, because the Bud was without vocal cords or even a mouth. A single occupant got out of the other ship and walked half the distance between them. Gjeye approved. This was proper protocol.
"Hello, my name is Jason. I heard your distress call, but I'm afraid I'm in trouble too. The terrain is deceptive and I damaged my ship when I landed."
Human, thought Gjeye. It's a good thing I learned their language for trade. The human was taller than Gjeye. His unremarkable clothing told Gjeye nothing about him. He had mutilated himself in order to wear a small gold decoration hanging from his ear, and another mutilation formed a decorative picture on his arm. Gjeye tried to withhold judgment about that.
Gjeye greeted Jason and thanked him for landing.
"I'm not familiar with your species. Please let me know if I do anything that offends," Jason said.
"We are Plict," Gjeye responded. Again the human was behaving properly. "We are not offended very easily. I am called Gjeye."
"And your friend?"
Buds were not normally introduced. No Plict would even ask. But humans were known for their unreasonable friendliness and there was no point in making an issue of it. "He's a Bud. He doesn't talk," Gjeye said.
"Abud?"
"Bud," Gjeye corrected.
"Hello, Bud," Jason said in a friendly manner. The Bud looked at Gjeye uncertainly. Gjeye gave a brief nod, which the Bud imitated. Jason seemed satisfied.
They examined Jason's ship. Compared with Gjeye's ship it was large and powerful. The landing gear was damaged beyond repair, but they decided the two ships could take off as one if a proper runway were built. Both were equipped for a water landing, which could be safely done in New California.
"I was going there anyway. I have a cargo to trade."
* * * * *
The three of them built a runway, largely in silence. Traders were rarely talkative, because they spent too much time alone. Gjeye approved of Jason's behavior. Gjeye's experience was that silence was less likely to lead to problems between different species than conversation. It was easy to imagine that the other being thought similar thoughts if nothing were said.
All the while they worked by the setting sun, with the gas giant in a half "moon" phase overhead. They worked feverishly fast because the temperature would drop dramatically when the sun set. Gjeye knew his Bud would not last much longer and it would be months before he could create a new one.
Jason required rest approximately one third of the time. Because Gjeye's recent budding made a time to recuperate desirable, he didn’t object to the rest periods. His Bud worked all the time; he wasn't weakened by such considerations as digestion.
Once after a rest period, Gjeye went to the makeshift runway. He found his Bud collapsed on the runway with Jason standing over him.
"I don't know how to help him," Jason said. "What's wrong with him?"
"He is dying. He is a Bud. He’ll not live much longer," Gjeye said.
"What can we do for him?"
Gjeye ignored the actual question and answered, "Let us get him back to the ship."
They helped the Bud up and towards the ship. It was easier than carrying a body, because the Bud could help a little. Gjeye led the Bud over to the recycling unit. He had no desire to transport the heavy body even the short distance. He laid out a tarp to catch the Bud's body fluids and helped him lie down. The Bud gave Gjeye a mute plea with gestures as old as the Plict.
"What does he want?" Jason asked.
"He wants to die." Gjeye pulled out
a large, sharp knife. He would need it to cut up the Bud to put it in the recycler. The dehydrated, starving Bud looked at him with approval.
Jason reached over and grabbed the knife from him.
"Do you want to do it?" Gjeye asked in a puzzled tone. No one liked to kill his Bud, but it was considered a sacred duty. If the human wanted to spare him the unpleasant job, Gjeye was willing. "The best way is with a sharp thrust through the base of the skull."
"No," said Jason frantically. "Neither of us will do it."
"He is not worth anything anymore," said Gjeye.
"That's no reason to kill him," said Jason.
"He is dying and in pain."
"Then he can kill himself," Jason said stubbornly. "It's his decision, not yours."
Gjeye didn't understand the human. Why would anyone prolong the suffering of a Bud? It was sadistic. But he needed the human to get off the surface of this moon. He had to deal with him somehow.
Should he let the Bud die, and be through with it? No, that wasn't right. Perhaps he could reason with the human.
"Then let him make the decision," Gjeye said.
"How? He can't talk."
"Ask him."
"Do you want to die, Bud?" Jason asked.
The Bud was slow to answer. Gjeye understood. He didn't want to die, but knew he must. He slowly and reluctantly nodded his head.
Jason stood there clutching the knife. Gjeye was uncertain as to human gestures, but understood that Jason was unconvinced. Gjeye asked the Bud, "Do you want one of us to kill you?"
The Bud nodded his head vigorously. Jason looked appalled. He refused to release or use the knife. All the while the Bud was suffering. Gjeye realized that Jason was totally irrational and would be unable to kill the Bud.
"Give me the knife," he said gently.
"No."
The Bud reached out towards Jason. Jason looked back and forth between the Bud and Gjeye. Finally he gave the knife to the Bud.
It was never as efficient for a Bud to kill himself, but the Bud tried and bungled it. Gjeye quickly stepped in and finished the job.
There was no point in waiting. He took the sharp knife and made a few practiced cuts and the Bud's body was in pieces, which were small enough for the recycling unit. Gjeye stuffed them in. He washed himself off and sat down for a well deserved meal from the recycling unit.
All the while, Jason stood frozen. He had not helped, but at least he hadn't hindered. Gjeye wasn’t familiar with human customs, but remembered hearing that humans often put great store on sharing food. Jason was clearly an irrational being, possibly insane. Perhaps the soothing custom of food sharing would calm him. He gestured towards the recycler and asked, "Would you like something to eat?"
Jason was obviously having digestive troubles, and was not in the mood to eat. He gagged and left the ship.
Later when Gjeye went out to work on the runway, he found a pile of refuse that Jason had left. How revolting! He hadn't recycled it. Jason was obviously totally morally reprehensible.
Gjeye was worried. Jason and Gjeye needed each other to get off the moon. Neither could complete the runway on their own. The fact that Jason needed his help didn't seem to stop him from his irrational behavior. Gjeye briefly considered killing Jason and using a wheel from his ship without him. Although he was not certain if it would be possible for him to get off the moon alone, the moral issue bothered him. Jason might be insane, but he hadn't actually harmed Gjeye.
The issue was clear. Unless and until Jason actually did something to harm Gjeye, Gjeye would have to use every reasonable means to cooperate with him.
Gjeye worked alone for several hours, while Jason sulked in his ship. Gjeye went back to his ship for a meal.
"Hello," Jason called as he knocked on the side of the ship.
"Come on in," Gjeye said. Pretend nothing has happened, he thought to himself.
"I'm sorry my nerves were a little shot," Jason said. He then said he did something, which Gjeye did not understand.
Gjeye asked for clarification.
Jason repeated the meaningless word. Seeing Gjeye's confusion, he said, "It's something humans ingest. It's my cargo, but sometimes I take a little. It cuts into my profits, but I get tempted. Besides, sometimes I can't function without it." Jason wasn't usually so talkative.
"Food?" Gjeye asked.
"No, not exactly. It has no nutritional value. It gets people going."
"All humans use it?" Gjeye was puzzled.
"Oh no. It's too expensive for most people, especially since it comes such a distance. It's a high quality product. But those who can afford it will buy it. I can't live without it. I admit I'm addicted. I can't do anything until I have some every morning."
A drug addict! Jason was a drug addict. That explained his irrational behavior. He was also a drug dealer. He said his cargo contained the drug whose name Gjeye didn't recognize. There were no drug addicts among the Plicts, but Gjeye heard of this behavior in humans.
Nevertheless, he had to deal with Jason. Jason voluntarily landed on this moon to help him. He was a drug dealer, an addict, and he didn’t recycle, but he took a risk to save Gjeye.
They finished the work on the runway just before the sun set. Jason was never again as talkative. Gjeye sometimes felt Jason was uncomfortable with him. But Gjeye understood; drug addiction undoubtedly made Jason have strange mood swings.
Gjeye was starting to recover from the budding and could work longer hours. Jason frequently went back to his ship to get some of the drug he was carrying. He said it helped him work better, particularly since they were taking so few rests.
The moon was getting so cold it was dangerous to delay. If they weren't careful, they wouldn’t be able to work outside anymore.
Just before they separated to play their respective roles in their joint rescue, Jason gave something to Gjeye. "It's part of my cargo, but I won't miss this little bit. Consider it a parting gift."
It took all of Gjeye's control to accept the gift graciously. He didn’t wish to offend the obviously well meaning gesture of the human, but he strongly objected to drugs. He heard of what they did to humans.
"Thank you," he said.
The escape from the moon went exactly as planned and the uncoupling device worked allowing them to separate and continue alone. The two ships took off and both headed for New California for repairs.
Gjeye was worried about the possibilities of smuggling, so he steeled himself to actually dispose of something without putting it in the recycler. He didn't know the English words, so the label "Gourmet Coffee" meant absolutely nothing to him.
Table of Contents
Other Books
Copyright
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1 Earlier
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
INTERLUDE 1
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12 Immediately after Arthur Saunders was kidnapped
INTERLUDE 2
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
INTERLUDE 3
Chapter 15
EPILOGUE Five years later
COOPERATION A bonus short story