by Jeff Sims
Nowadays, the population had recovered and was safe again in both number of citizens and genetic diversity. The number of children had dropped to 1 for 1, essentially meaning that every citizen had to replace themselves.
The key problem seemed to be the Altian’s 300-year life-span. Altian women become able to reproduce sometime around their 20th birthday and remain able to procreate until approximately their 80th. However, they generally don’t seem interested in having or raising children until they reach 120.
So, the government now closely tracks the age of its populace and assigns certain breeding dates to every female. Males also get assigned dates, but their breeding windows are much larger. This way there is balance across all age bands. When one Altian dies another has already been born to replace him.
Further, the concepts of marriage, monogamy, and in many cases even sex for pleasure simply seem foreign to Altians. Many leading psychologists believe that these concepts were imported to Altian culture. Specifically, these philosophies were introduced when the Altians made contact with the Advranki and/or the Solarians and don’t truly represent Altian culture or values.
However, there are many, many examples of Altians falling in love, marrying, having 3 – 5 children, and staying together for a lifetime. These cases are the minority though. Most Altians simply don’t want to be bothered with a long term relationship.
As a result, a fairly new concept called the micro marriage was introduced. A male and female meet, like each other somewhat, and get married. They then have two children as quickly as possible. The happy(ish) couple then stays together for the next 18-20 years to raise the children.
Once the children are grown and independent, the couple divorces, or stays legally married, but lead separate lives. This particular parenting option has been ballyhooed by the leading psychologists and television personalities as the best way to raise children. Their data suggests that young Altians are better adjusted socially if both parents actively contribute to their children’s development. It is typically described as the ‘wave of the future’.
The most common form of reproduction though is still the bank. When a female’s time has arrived, she goes to a highly controlled government sperm bank. She chooses a breeding partner from a list of males that are also in their breeding windows.
Selective breeding for certain characteristics is strictly prohibited. However, the government can, upon request, perform a DNA analysis and suggest several potential males that are compatible. In rare cases the sex of the baby has to be predetermined if a large number of natural births have skewed the number of males and females to an unacceptable level.
The female is impregnated, carries the baby to term, and delivers it. She then generally hands it to her mother or grandmother to raise and continues with her life.
In a few cases, a female’s job function requires her to delay or even forego having a child. This female can request an exception to her breeding date. A potential exception arises when a married couple has more than the required two children. In essence, when one female has more than two children, another can have less.
Clowy’s status as an explorer and decorated war hero should allow her to file for either an extension or an exception. The government would probably allow her to have an extension, but it was extremely unlikely that they would give her an exception - primarily because she was an explorer and a decorated war hero and her DNA needed to be passed on to the next generation.
Clowy stayed with her mother for the rest of the week. Her first order of business was getting a treatment performed on her scalp and receiving a hair transplant. That accomplished, she began looking for a job.
She found one at an antiques boutique. Oddly enough, very little had changed in Altian society over the last 2,000 years, so the antiques looked very similar to their modern day equivalents. The model numbers were completely different though.
An apartment became available on the 81st floor and Clowy moved in down the hall from her mother. The apartment was furnished, which has fortunate because she had almost no possessions of her own. The apartment was furnished just like her mother’s and quite possibly like nearly every other apartment on that floor.
The next morning she rode the electro lift 73 stories down to the retail shops. She spent the day working in the boutique. That afternoon, she rode the electro lift 73 stories back up to her apartment. The next day she rode the electro lift down 73 stories and spent the day in the boutique. That evening, she rode it 73 stories back up to her apartment.
The next day she rode the electro lift down 73 stories and spent the day in the boutique. That evening, she rode it 73 stories back up to her apartment. The next day she rode the electro lift down 73 stories and spent the day in the boutique. That evening, she rode it 73 stories back up to her apartment. She repeated 62 more times.
After a brief argument with her mother over breakfast the next morning, Clowy called the boutique and took a personal day. She rode the electro lift 65 stories down to the sperm bank and registered. She asked the employee, “When will the results be ready?”
He replied, “About a week. Maybe two if you want us to compare your DNA against Altian-1 and Altian-3.”
Clowy replied, “I can wait two weeks I suppose.”
Instead of riding the electro lift back up, she rode it down another 16 stories to the ground floor. She walked out of the building and felt the sunshine. She walked around in the perfectly manicured grass for a few minutes.
It was warm outside, so she took off her slippers and walked on the grass barefoot. She found a nice spot and lay down on the grass. She read an interesting article or two on her communication pad. She then took a long nap.
Toward mid-afternoon, Clowy reentered the building and took the electro lift back to her apartment. Her mother was waiting for her.
Clowy smiled.
Her mother didn’t. She said, “Loafing about on the grass all day is not productive or particularly ladylike. You will have an extremely difficult time finding a proper mate loafing about like that”. Her mother started crying.
Clowy responded, “Well, maybe I was waiting for my perfect mate to come out of the stupid building and lay on the grass next to me.” She also started crying and stormed off to her apartment.
Ninety minutes later she received a knock on the door. She opened the door and saw a male Altian that she didn’t recognize.
The Altian said, “Hello, would you like to talk for a few minutes?”
Clowy responded, “What?” Then she looked at him suspiciously and said, “Why?”
The Altian said, “Your mother asked me to stop by.”
Clowy: “Are you a psychologist?”
Altian: “I prefer the term life coach.”
Clowy: “So, now everyone thinks I am crazy?”
Life Coach: “No. No one thinks that. However, it does seem as if you are having difficulty adjusting back into normal life. You had several amazing adventures in the Navy. However, just as you adjusted to a routine in the Navy, you need to readjust to the routine of normal life.”
Clowy: “What if I can’t, or if I’m not ready to return to normal?”
Life Coach: “Ah, wanderlust. It happens sometimes to freighter and naval personnel. One is moving for so long, they feel like they need to keep going. Well, you don’t have to keep going Clowy. You just need to stop and relax.”
That evening, Clowy grabbed her communication pad and said, “Locate Loq le Rav na Nol po.”
…Lorano is unavailable. He is currently climbing through the pyramid ruins on Altian-1…
She packed all of her belongings into her three suitcases and booked passage to Altian-1. The following morning Clowy invited her mother over to breakfast. Her mother saw the three suitcases and immediately ascertained that Clowy was leaving.
Her mother started crying. Clowy did as well. A minute later both stopped and Clowy said, “Sorry mom, I have to go.”
Mom: “Where?”
Clowy: “Somewhere, anywhere.”
Mom: “Well before you leave you should at least inform the boutique that you are quitting.”
Clowy grabbed her communication pad and left the room to make the difficult call. She had made several pseudo-friends there and she was certain that at least one of them would probably start crying at the news.
Her mother raced back to her own apartment and grabbed a small tube. There was actually a fairly large item inside, but it had been vacuum sealed and condensed for easy storage. She raced back to Clowy’s apartment and hid it in the back of one of her suitcases. She hoped that Clowy wouldn’t see it until after she left.
……………….
Lorano heard the sound of an approaching transport shuttle. It was flying low at this point and was clearly going to land. He was standing on uneven ground, so he moved to a secure location and sat down. He doubted that the shock of the transport landing would upend him, but he decided that it would be better to be securely seated than tumbling down the side of a pyramid.
The transport landed in the middle of the clearing between the 3 pyramids. Although the entire area was technically a ruin, it was something of a tourist spot. As a result, the government maintained the landing area to modern standards. The government had even created a small, automated information center / hotel next to the landing zone.
Lorano watched as a lone figure exited the transport carrying a suitcase. The Altian returned to the shuttle and then exited carrying four more bags. He believed the being was a female because she had long hair.
The being returned to the ship a final time and exited pulling two large items on a hovercart. He recognized the item immediately – it was a supersized version of the make-up kit that he had found on the Buzzkill. The second item was an expandable chair.
The being stepped a safe distance from the transport and the transport left. The being then carefully stacked the rest of the luggage on the hovercart and starting walking toward the tourist welcome center.
Lorano was bemused by the activity. Although this was considered a tourist area, he figured it must be off-season because he had been at the pyramid ruin for 12 days and this was the first other person that he had seen.
Lorano continued watching as the figure, no he had concluded that it was definitely an Altian female, bypassed the welcome center and walked to his corvette, the Buzzkill. A moment later the hatch opened and the female pulled her cart inside.
Lorano jumped up in sudden fear. Someone was robbing his ship. He thought for a brief moment. There was only one female Altian that knew the code to open the access tube. He said, “Clowy’s here.”
He sighed. He hadn’t seen another being in nearly two weeks and now the first one that he saw was her. Lorano had honestly thought, no hoped is a better word, that he had seen the last of her when he dropped on Altian-2. However, that was clearly a falsehood.
A few minutes later Clowy exited the corvette without her luggage and wearing a hiking outfit. She ducked back inside, grabbed a portable chair, and carried it down to the landing area. She sat in the chair and propped her legs up on the access way ramp. It was clear to Lorano that she had just made herself at home.
There was realistically nothing that he could do to stop her from moving in. The corvette Buzzkill wasn’t his. It was technically on loan from the Altian military. Eventually, when he got reassigned to a new project, the Navy would repossess it. If he complained about Clowy’s presence, he imagined that the government would reclaim it immediately. So, he was stuck with her– for now anyway.
Lorano carefully climbed down from his perch on the pyramid and walked back to the corvette. He thought about Lexxi for a moment; specifically when she told him what the name of the ship meant. He said, “It appears the corvette Buzzkill was appropriately named.”
Clowy saw Lorano walking toward her and started walking toward him. They met at the bottom of the pyramid. Lorano spoke first, “Hello, Clowy, what brings you here?”
Clowy replied, “I’m bored.”
Lorano asked, “Why, what happened? I thought you had settled into a new life on Altian-2, building NW244.”
Clowy responded, “I don’t know. I got tired of going up and down the electro lift. I couldn’t stand it.”
Lorano said, “Still, moving out is a drastic step. Why didn’t you try just going outside and playing in the grass?”
Clowy: “I did. They said I was crazy and sent a psychologist to check on me.”
Lorano said, “Crazy huh?” That wouldn’t have been the description that he would have used. He continued, “What did the psychologist say?”
Clowy: “He said that I have wanderlust.”
Lorano replied, “Hmmm. Did he happen to mention what the cure is?”
Clowy: “He said I need to wander around and relax.” She pointed to chair and said, “So, that is what I am going to do. How about you?”
Lorano laughed and replied, “I suppose I may have wanderlust as well.”
Clowy said, “What?”
Lorano paused for a moment. He bent down, grabbed a small rock and threw it as far as he could. It didn’t travel very far. Lorano grabbed another and threw it even less far than the first. However, the throw seemed to impress Clowy as she smiled brightly.
She said, “Wanderlust? Is that why you are out here in the middle of nowhere?”
Lorano: “Yes. I suppose so. After I dropped you at home, I returned to the Academy of Sciences. Due to some administrative error, I wasn’t assigned a new project even though I completed the old one.”
Clowy: “Maybe you didn’t complete it. Perhaps you are still supposed to be looking for lost planets?”
Lorano couldn’t believe how close Clowy’s comment was to the actual truth. He had found one, but was far too scared to tell anyone.
Lorano: “You may be right. I filed the appropriate forms for project completion, but I never received confirmation from the Academy. I tried to help several of my colleagues on their projects, but without the correct authorization, I was informed that I was technically unable to assist them.”
Clowy: “That was nice of your fellow scientists to point that out to you. I’m sure they didn’t want you to get into trouble by working on an unauthorized project.”
He sighed audibly and replied, “I suppose you are correct.”
Lorano picked up another rock and threw it. This one took a fortuitous bounce and easily bested the first two. Embolden with his success, Lorano threw another. This attempt was fairly unimpressive and landed about where the second one did.
Lorano continued his story. He said, “I stayed there about a month and a half and worked on my own research. Like you, I became restless…”
“With wanderlust,” Clowy interrupted.
Lorano: “Yes, I suppose with wanderlust. Anyway, I decided to explore our culture’s ancient history. I flew the Buzzkill to this ruin and started investigating the pyramids.” He paused for a moment and continued, “They are really amazing.”
Clowy asked, “What are?”
Lorano looked at her strangely. He said, “The pyramids. The pyramids are really amazing.”
He grabbed another rock and threw it. This one took a really strange bounce and made a large clang sound when it landed. Lorano perked up immediately. The rock should not have made that sound when it landed. Something was amiss.
They walked over and investigated the area where the rock landed. Lorano looked down and saw something shiny, but it was buried under some light rubble.
Lorano returned to the Buzzkill and returned with an electro vacuum. He switched the apparatus from suck to blow and moved the apparatus over the area. He waved Clowy to take a few steps back. Because they were still standing at the base of the pyramid, Lorano had to angle the exhaust toward the clearing. He activated the machine and blew the rocks and rubble away from the area. Lorano deactivated the machine and set it aside.
They inspected the shiny object. It was a gold colored
plate, roughly 1 meter square (39 inches), and perfectly sealed to the ground. Lorano bent down and walked around it a couple of times; looking for cracks or crevices. There were none.
Further, there was no functional purpose that Lorano could ascertain. Lorano hesitantly placed one foot on the plate. Nothing happened. He removed his foot. He started to step onto the plate and stopped. Instead, he asked Clowy to stand in the middle of the plate. Again, nothing happened.
Lorano scanned the area around the plate with his Model 885.36.74 handheld scanner. The results were negative. There was nothing underneath the plate; no secret passageways. The plate didn’t conceal anything.
Lorano was confused. The plate wasn’t aligned to the entryway of the pyramid or to any particular constellation. There was no reason for anyone to put a gold colored plate at this particular location at the base of this particular pyramid.
Clowy pointed to the pyramid block directly in front of her and said, “Maybe you are supposed to stand here and read that word.”
Lorano spun around and looked at where Clowy was pointing. He couldn’t believe it. He must have walked by this particular spot three dozen times and never saw it. Lorano stepped onto the plate next to Clowy and looked at the word carved into the side of the pyramid.
He replied, “Clowy, you’re a genius.”
The word had been tastefully lettered and professionally inscribed. The edges were smooth and clean. Clearly, someone had spent a lot of time and effort to carve that word in that stone. The word was written in an ancient Altian script.
Lorano scanned the nearby area. There were no other decorations or words anywhere else. Lorano held his communication pad to the word and took a picture of it. He said, “Computer, scan the historical archives. Is there any mention of it?”
…Scanning. This may take a quite a while. Perhaps you should get a cool refreshment and relax while you wait…
Lorano said, “Computer, limit the search window from the time the pyramid was built to the time that it was no longer used to produce electricity.”
