Nua'll
Page 25
Gerling returned genially.
Gerling was suddenly troubled by Alex’s request.
Gerling personally saw to the delivery of six bodies to Pia’s medical suite: two, twenty-something adults, two teenagers, and two children, one sex of each category.
It didn’t take long for Pia’s staff to discover what killed the wild ones. Pia made a verbal report to Alex and Gerling, who attended her in the suite’s offices.
“These poor individuals were infested with a host of bacteria,” Pia said. “None of the varieties were highly virulent, but in combination with their poor nutrition and compromised immune systems, they succumbed to a gradual onslaught. We found the same bacterial infections in the wild ones Etoya recovered. They’re healthy now, but if they returned to the lower decks, they’d be infected again.”
“Alex, will the quarantine be sufficient if another race discovers this ship and doesn’t understand what we’re trying to tell them?” Gerling asked.
“Don’t worry about that, Gerling. It won’t be an issue,” Alex replied. “Please recover the bodies from the medical suite and add them to the freighter. Communicate to Admiral Cordelia that the load is complete.”
Alex turned and exited the medical suite, and Gerling asked Pia, “What did he mean it won’t be an issue?”
“With Alex, if you don’t understand, you have to ask,” Pia replied. “You’ll either get an answer or you won’t. The bodies are this way, Gerling,” Pia said, and headed for a medical suite’s storage room.
When Etoya heard the news from Pia of the number of deceased found, she couldn’t imagine the emotional distress the wild children suffered, hauling body after body of their deceased comrades to the vac room, opening that hatch to the rank smell, and depositing them inside. It boggled her mind that children were forced to do that to survive.
On another front, Etoya and her staff were challenged to operate two radically different protocols and curriculums for the children. One evening, over a discussion with staff, a New Terran caretaker, Charlene, who was known to possess a ribald sense of humor, explained how she handled the dichotomy. She said, “I think of the children we found under Faustus’ tutelage as Méridiens, compliant and disciplined. They’ll absorb what we teach them and incorporate it into their thinking. They’ll bloom nicely over time.”
“And the wild ones?” Etoya prompted.
Charlene laughed before she said, “I think of them as the mating results between Omnians and Dischnya, if such a thing were possible. They may look human, but they aren’t.”
Homsaff, who had taken part in the discussion, chortled at the description. Actually, she considered it a compliment to the wild ones, but it gave her an idea. She knew that Etoya and her staff reported noticing a growing frustration in the wild ones. It was said they hid it well, pretending to behave and learn their lessons, but Etoya’s staff believed the children, especially the wild ones, had to be released to play.
After the meeting, Homsaff approached Etoya with her idea and together they met with Alex and Renée. It was quite late in the evening, and the two apologized for the intrusion.
“Nonsense,” Renée told the females. “Please come in. If this is about the children, we want to hear it.”
Etoya laid out the problem, as she saw it, and Homsaff added her proposal.
“I think that’s a marvelous idea,” Renée replied, clapping her hands. “The children will love it.”
Alex wasn’t so enthusiastic. In fact, he didn’t respond at all but sat there thinking. “How many would engage in this play?” he finally asked.
“We would exclude the birthing number, of course,” Etoya said, thinking furiously, “and also the children in the level one dorm, ages two to five. We’d have to find other games for them. That would leave us with 232 children.”
“Everyone has to wear a locator,” Alex stressed. “I can get Mickey manufacturing that number.”
“They wouldn’t wear these full-time, certainly?” Etoya objected.
“They strap it on before they leave the dorms, and only an implant signal can release it,” Alex compromised.
“Agreed,” Etoya replied quickly.
“I leave it to the three of you to organize and execute,” Alex said. Renée gave him a wondering look. He rose, kissed her forehead, and said, “You thought it was a great idea. So, I know you’ll take great pleasure in seeing it succeed.”
Homsaff chortled again. She loved watching the interplay between human couples. It appeared nothing like what existed between Dischnya mates. At times, she wondered who’d make her a good mate and what type of relationship they’d have.
“One more item, Alex, you have to be the one to announce the opportunity to play and the rules they must follow,” Etoya said.
“Why?” Alex replied.
Homsaff’s mouth split wide, her tongue lolling out. Then she snapped her jaw shut and said, “Who else would make a bigger impression on the pups?”
“Funny,” Alex replied, wishing Homsaff had an implant. He’d love to have sent her an image or two.
“Actually, she’s right,” Etoya chimed in. “The wild ones need to hear from someone who impresses them. I’ve watched their reactions to you, Alex, when you visit the dorms. The children are awed by your size, and you’ve become a subject of discussion among them.”
“Not me?” Renée asked, feigning hurt feelings.
“Sorry, Ser,” Etoya replied. “The wild ones value power. They focus on the New Terrans, especially Alex, and the Dischnya.”
“And they’re suspicious of the SADEs,” Homsaff added.
“In what manner?” Renée asked.
“They’re clever children … more independent than the others,” Etoya supplied. “They’ve seen hints of the SADEs’ capabilities that aren’t mirrored by any of us,” Etoya added, waving her hand at present company.
“Make it happen,” Alex said, making Renée and himself cups of thé.
As Renée ushered Etoya and Homsaff out of the suite, promising to contact them in the morning, Alex reached out to Luther, rather than bother Mickey at the late hour.
* * *
Days later, Alex walked into the wild ones’ dorm, which immediately garnered everyone’s attention.
“Raise your hand if you’d like an opportunity to go outside this room and play in the ship,” Alex said. He chuckled at the seventy-four raised hands, two from each child and the five staff members.
“When you play your games, you must wear this,” Alex said, holding up a locator. “It’ll tell you when to return from play, and it’ll tell you when you’ve gone too far. Play is restricted to the top three levels of the ship.”
“What if we don’t wish to wear those?” Nata asked.
“Then don’t,” Alex said simply, “but be prepared to remain in the dorm, while everyone else goes out to play.”
“I don’t know any games,” a young boy complained, which drove a spike into the hearts of the adults.
“I have an answer for that,” Alex replied, signaling Homsaff, who walked through the door with the Dischnya pups in tow. There were seven of them, who were near the ages of the older children. Unlike the previous habit of the Sawa Messa Dischnya, which truncated a male pup’s tail, these males displayed their tails proudly, and they always would.
“They know many games,” Alex said, indicating the Dischnya pups.
The wild ones were transfixed. Getting out of the dorm room was an opportunity not to be missed. The games would merely be an excuse, as far as they were concerned, despite the locator limiting their range of movement. But, the appearance of the young Dischnya put an entirely different spin on the offer.
“When would play happen?” Ude asked.
Alex signaled Z and Miranda, who swept into the room with two boxes of locators. The SADEs put them on the Dischnya pups first. Then they applied them to the staff. Next, each SADE held one in their hands and stared at the wild ones. Some of the youngest children jumped up and ran forward to get one. Soon the others followed, including Ude and Nata.
Z sent, wanting Alex to know that if he disapproved of the locators’ appearance that it wasn’t his fault.
“You’ll have referees to make the games fair,” Alex said. A child raised his hand, and Alex added, “These are Z and Miranda. They’re your referees, and they’ll explain what that means.”
“I’m here to make one thing clear,” Alex continued. “If you play well, observe the rules, and play fair with one another, then playtime continues at the discretion of your staff. If you break the rules or attempt to hurt one another, there will be no more playtimes. Am I understood?”
In delivering his final question, Alex had pulled himself up to his full height and used his command voice. He received a few feeble assents, and he focused on Ude.
Ude rose from his workstation. “We’ll play these games, as you order,” he said. He glanced at Nata, who rose and said, “As you order.”
The other children quickly followed, echoing, “As you order.”
The games, which the Dischnya pups led, were a hit with the wild children. The pups were highly social, and they played team games. Because the pups led the teams, they were insistent the rules not be broken, which wasn’t always satisfactory with the human children.
The response of the Dischnya leader was often, “Do you want to play tomorrow?” When the answer was “Yes,” they added, “Then we play by the rules.”
In one case, Nata challenged her leader, and the pup merely shrugged and said, “It is your right to do what you want, Nata, but you will be the one to explain to Dassata what you’ve chosen to do.”
Of course the Dischnya pup’s statement invoked the question from the children of who was Dassata. Their team lost the game, when they were discovered by their opponents and tapped out. But the wild ones, who were sitting on the deck enrapt in the story of first contact between humans and Dischnya, didn’t care.
New play areas were built for the younger ages. Engineers, techs, and parents loved designing and fabricating equipment for the children to help build their muscles and coordination. The Freedom’s children, who were of similar ages, were brought over to play.
The young at play, Etoya thought, watching the happy faces return to the dorm for refreshers and evening meal. Evening would be spent sharing stories about who did what. The staff noticed that playtime resulted in the quicker uptake of language and the building of a cooperative spirit.
Etoya observed the renewed interest of the wild ones in their studies. Ude discovered he could access the Freedom’s diverse databases, and he spent his evenings perusing a variety of information. Two of his favorite subjects were the histories of the New Terrans and the Dischnya.
Soon Ude was absorbing lessons far in advance of his peers, except for language. His reading improved remarkably, but his speaking skills remained attenuated. When he discovered implants, he requested one. When he was told no, he demanded one. It took a visit by Alex, with Julien present, to handle the discussion.
“Ude needs implant,” the boy told Alex.
“You’re too young yet, Ude,” Alex said gently. They were speaking in the corridor so as to not bother the other children.
“When Ude get?” the boy asked.
“Two more years,” Alex replied, which confused Ude. Seeking a way to explain, Alex added, “Ude is this tall.” He held his hand next to the top of Ude’s newly shortened hair. Then he moved it up and said, “When Ude is this tall, he can have an implant, if he wants,” Alex promised.
Ude frowned. He was trying to determine how he would know when he reached the height where Alex’s hand floated.
Alex gestured Ude toward the far bulkhead, and he obeyed. Then Alex gently pushed the boy flat against the bulkhead.
“Mark this, Julien,” Alex requested, keeping his hand above Ude’s head.
With nothing available to him, Julien used his fingertips and punched a dent in the bulkhead.
Ude stepped away. He examined the dent, running his fingers along it, and stared with renewed interest at the SADE.
“Ude will remember,” the boy said and returned to his dorm.
“If the federacy defeats the expedition,” Julien commented, watching the door slide closed behind Ude, “they’d better watch out when Ude comes of age.”
“Are you kidding?” Alex shot back. “We’d better watch out when Ude comes of age.”
“I wonder if these children will be adopted,” Julien mused.
It was a concern that had plagued Alex and was only one more to be added to the many that this system had produced.
-26-
Hector
It was late. Alex’s thé had gone cold, and Renée had gone to bed. He sat in a salon chair, thinking. Over the last couple of months, the questions had piled up, and they demanded answers. His key people were still arguing over the expedition’s choices, but the crux of the matter wa
s that they didn’t have the resources to simultaneously contend with this system’s needs and the expedition’s purpose.
Alex consulted his implant’s chronometer to determine the length of time since the expedition left Omnia, and he calculated his options. When he was ready, he closed his eyes, leaned back in the comfortable chair, and composed his message.
Later, when Alex delivered his message to Cordelia to be sent, she would share it with Julien. He would edit the part about Alex spending his credits, without his friend’s knowledge. Julien would insert the Bank of Omnia, as responsible for the cost of the children’s education.