by Michael Berg
“Valeena must be busy Bethany. She has been in her office all this day and it is nearly three.”
“She has to manage many things Bobby. Don’t bother yourself with her. She will come for dinner I am certain.”
“Maybe I will see her then if I am still here.”
“What do you mean? I thought you would stay again tonight given there is so much snow about.”
“Maybe. My car is quite capable of travelling over snow you know.”
“Yes, but doesn’t it make more sense just to ride out this weather and stay? You even said you have no real need to be any place specific.”
“My options are open Bethany. I am sorry to say, both you and Valeena are becoming excluded from this. I am beginning to find it a bit mundane here.”
“We can...”
“There must be something else you know. Something I can get my teeth into as a manner of speaking.”
Beth gave Bobby a look indicating he could take her at any time – she was his for pleasure and his for immersing himself, but it failed and within a few seconds she realised there was more required if she was to distract him away from delving deeper into what was happening.
His attributes of personality were subject to study. Beth was not only placating his whims, but was also identifying his character strengths for use in the construction of the new human and Vindor cross breed being. When she offered to please him through offerings of food, he took them up to play her game and keep momentum shifting.
They had whiled away the afternoon some and now enjoyed a high tea together just after five having stayed in from the gloomy scene outside with heavy cloud rolling over the landscape. Snow had not again fallen during the day, but the temperature had not let up either, and thus, no melt had occurred. At his most recent view out through the sitting room windows, Bobby had noticed there was a hardening to the snow pack as it began to freeze in place as if winter was settling.
“Maybe you are right Bethany. With how the weather has held up today, perhaps it is best I stay within the warmth and comfort here at the bordello once more tonight.”
“I’ll go and see if Valeena has the radio. Maybe you can get some idea of when it is likely to clear,” Beth said eager to please Bobby now he had told her was to stay another night. “Valeena will be pleased you are to remain here with us.”
“I only want to hear the report. I have no need to listen to some radio announcer introduce music I probably don’t like.”
“What music do you like?”
“The new rock and roll on the scene is my thing. A lot of the old style stuff sounds dreary to me, even those romantic songs from the fifties.”
“I agree. They sound too prissy for me. Too nice and too soapy.”
“I am aware of your tastes Bethany...and Valeena’s. Neither of you strike me as an old type romantic, yet there is something in each of you yearning for such validation.” Bobby’s eyes spoke of much more than he said and Beth could sense he was alluding to something deeper and potentially revealing about her and Valeena.
“How do you mean? No hold on. I am going to see Valeena. I’ll be back shortly.”
Despite his intrigue reaching out seeking more immediate answers, Bobby held back from following Beth in the advent he could spy on their conversations. He thought it best left to circumstance of which he was sure he could be the main player.
He sat there alone beside the fire thinking over the evidence so far. Bobby was glad to be left by himself now as he was eager to collect his thoughts and establish an avenue to pursue further investigation. Without any sense of oversight, he was confident this evening would open the entire case for him and confirm his theories.
Beth returned ten minutes later with a sheepish look on her face. Bobby knew his request for the radio would not be met, and so his suspicions solidified a little further.
“Valeena says the batteries are dead. It only works on batteries. She did tell me the last weather update she heard was for cold conditions to continue for at least the next few days.”
“Well, it is settled then. I applaud you in not owning a television here at the bordello. I find television such a waste of time.”
“You could have checked the update if we had one though.”
“Never mind. I’ll go out and grab some more firewood to save us going out when it is dark later on.”
Bobby thought of using the official communicator in his car for access to any information he wanted, yet somehow he felt unwilling to follow this through. It was if some covert sense told him to minimise any exposure to his command role, to their systems, and to potential exposure to something he was yet to determine. Events at the bordello were not yet defined, and so he considered the best approach would be to have a clear view of what was happening prior to alerting anyone at headquarters.
“Oh thanks Robert, I was going to fetch wood myself, but a man’s arms can carry a better load.”
“Women are not incapable of taking a load either. Please don’t see me as chauvinistic.”
“I would never dream of it.”
“Tell me please Bethany, are all three of us going to dine together tonight?”
“She said she would be present for dinner.” Valeena had told her she would have a window of opportunity to dine later as the incubation was proceeding beyond the expected results seen in testing. Beth could look Bobby directly in the eye as he sought truth from her, knowing she was comfortable in truth without any deception he might notice.
“Will it be a dinner of requisite as per our adventures in nineteenth century etiquette?”
“If you like.”
“I would like Bethany. Now, is there anything I can do in preparation of this evening’s meal after I bring in the wood?”
She smiled to him only, leaving him to take himself outside without any further words.
To see the kitchen, one would be excused thinking it was straight out of the nineteenth century. Neither Valeena nor Beth liked the idea of technology to aid their cooking, so it was free of an electric stove and without a space toaster – a gentle fire was always turning over in the wood burner so one could toast bread at almost any chosen moment.
Beth had taken Bobby’s offer of help to a point she had him working hard to prepare their meal after he had returned not with one, but with three arm loads of wood. She figured this would occupy his mind, distracting him from thinking about the strangeness of his situation. Beth was mistaken however as Bobby used this time to further probe her about what he thought was unfolding.
“Have you seen the marvellous towers in the cities now? I only ask as it seems as though you and Valeena spend most of your life here, and in recent times the cities have taken on the space age.”
“I have heard of these new buildings using free energy. Apparently they aspire to be large spires with spheres atop for electrical transference so I have heard.”
“To see them is a wonder. So have you seen any?”
“Personally no, but Valeena has and she told me how wonderful they are.
“Did she say what she likes about them?”
“Mostly the spheres as you said. She told it was a wonder how energy could pass from the top of one building to the next. She said it looked like lightning.”
“You know they do it to distribute energy around in the case of one building having a surplus. Electricity can be passed on and on, until it is used. There is no waste.”
“Sounds very nice. Can you pass me the rock salt please Bobby. I need to add some to this pot of vegetables,” Beth responded keen to avert any further conversation on the topic.
“Sure. Those vegetables smell great. What is your recipe?”
“Oh just a local Vind....vindaloo I picked up some years back working for an Indian restaurant in New York.”
“So you know about the big city then.”
“Just what it was like twelve years ago when I left. I was only there six months and then I found the bordello.”
�
��How did you find it again?”
“Valeena told me. I saw her in town and she asked me...”
“I see. Well, you must have learned well. I will look forward to tasting your vindaloo.”
“There is no beef though. Vindaloo is not a beef dish.”
“I cannot imagine there would be many Indian beef dishes Beth.”
“Oh yes, I see.”
“Me too. Here is the salt. I am at the ready should you require any further assistance.”
“Thank you Bobby, but for now, go and relax. Actually, I am sure Valeena is almost ready for dinner, so perhaps you would like to find her.” Beth knew Valeena was available at this time as both women had arranged this ruse to lessen any suspicions Bobby may have.
“I think I will Bethany.”
Bobby was fascinated even more so by the style of Beth’s words she used to control the situation unfolding. A strategic ruse? An affluence of available antithesis? It all seemed to be playing along nicely. Soon he would determine exactly what it was they were up to in their desires to keep him close at hand. Sure, he could leave at any time, yet something was telling him he couldn’t – either it was his own obligatory senses to decipher the hidden context of any battle, be it psychological or military against the Vindors, or it was his own personal efficacy seeking personal definitions.
The wide ornate staircase stretched upwards before him as he stood at its base on ground level. Bobby knew Valeena was on the third level, elevated above the goings on of her bordello in a masterful throne of volition. He hesitated to place his hand on the rail as he began to ascend. It was not his requirement to be steadied and hold on physically - instead his initial instincts were metaphoric of his psychological hold on the circumstances. He withdrew his hand, immediately recognising this temporary weakness, and so took to the stairs with an air of controlled confidence, keen now to see Valeena for the first time since the day’s outset.
“I’m coming Bobby,” Valeena called out to him before he had reached the room she used as an office. It was not her quarters of abode as she preferred to keep work and life separate, and Bobby wondered how she could reckon this given her house was one of work and pleasure.
“Bethany has requested I fetch you for dinner.”
“I thought she must be ready by now,” Valeena said as she appeared out the door dressed in a provocative gown designed to attract specific attention to what only Bobby could give, or Beth if her and Valeena were to submit to their physical desires for each other. She walked to him moving her hips and taking deliberately feminine steps with each poised before taken, indicating it was he who was the main attraction.
“You have been very busy today Valeena. I haven’t seen you since breakfast.”
“There is much to do even though the bordello really has no clients Bobby. There is so much to organise and watch over. Anyway, I am free now for the evening as my devices have come through much better than expected.”
“Your devices?”
“Yes Bobby. My methods of work. My outcomes have arrived much earlier than anticipated, and so I am free for the evening.”
“Good, then I anticipate a splendid evening of intriguing conversation, nothing less.”
“And so it is what you shall receive Bobby.” Valeena took the arm Bobby offered for escorting her downstairs. Upon arrival, Beth had managed to set the table and have all ready in what he thought was an amazingly short amount of time for such tasks. When seeing Bobby and Valeena arm in arm, Beth was inspired to reckon her own senses about what lay ahead this evening for the three of them, for the look on Valeena’s face showed confidence and reassurance all was well for them and the incubation of Bobby’s seed.
“Is there an appreciative essence of regal involved tonight Valeena? I sense there is a subtle yet dominating energy about purveying to us all required for encapsulating the essence of such.”
“Of course Bobby, or should I say Robert, for your very presence is our only requirement as your very name bequeaths the qualities of such an approach. We are reminded at every breath Robert Regal.”
“Surely by name I am not simply what you require. As it has been apparent, both yourself and Bethany have indulged me...and me to you both. A name for sake is in name only, and so one must live up to this name for it to become a mark of character.”
Dinner itself was a tasty affair adding to accumulated tastes Bobby was acquiring since arrival at the bordello. His senses were as sharp as ever, willing to sample the sumptuous offerings by these two. He had participated already knowing there would be more given their unbridled privacy at the otherwise unoccupied bordello.
“Tell me please either of you. Is there anything else happening here at this house, to which I should become aware?”
“What do you mean?”
“A plot? A ploy? A persuasion? I am considering my time spent thus far here, and something strikes me amiss.”
“Whatever could it be Robert?”
“My dear, the question I pose now to you is thus, and to Bethany.”
“I cannot think of anything.”
“Are you sure? Perhaps more of my seed will remind you.”
“Of what?”
“An answer to my question. It seems akin to suspicious when I consider the implications of our behaviour and its’ lasting effects. My giving of seed albeit willingly. Yours and Bethany’s desires to have so much of my seed. This charade posing as nineteenth century citizens. Mind you I am converse to the games people wish to play and more often than not, I do agree for the sake of frivolity. Such times are non-existent during my duties as space commander. As Steward of Earth Defences, it is my job to use my mind applied to reason from evidence provided in the endeavour I live up to the role.”
“There is nothing to consider beyond out infatuations Robert. Valeena and I are as you see us.”
“I do see and I begin to feel there is more than meets my eye, hence I pose these questions. I know my enquiries have alluded to this previously, but now I am thinking there is a need for more answers. Perhaps some more detail would be appropriate.”
“More details? We have given you our reasons and our hearts so avidly during our bed chamber experiences.”
“Yes, and for those I am truly grateful. Those experiences have allowed some degree of relaxation in me I otherwise have never known. But now as we eat this fine meal, I ponder further questions.”
“Then ponder no further for we are here to answer.”
“Yes. I have heard similar from you before Valeena, and you Bethany, but I am wondering...”
“Wondering what?”
“How it is you maintain such a convincing facade.”
“What on Earth do you mean?”
“There is something not right here. This storm with snow, the evocation of times past, the seed, the attention, fine dress and food. Why is it we are living in such past times really?”
“Please do not be suspicious. I will accept, as I am sure Bethany does, our ways do allude to something strange, but please be assured, we have only the best interests of us all in our sights.”
“All our best interests. To whom does this apply? I can sense these interests go beyond just us three here in this dimly lit stone kitchen isolated far from any town in the midst of an out of season snow storm, thus...stranded, though I do think a drive will be in order come the morning.”
“Are you leaving us then?”
“I may or I may not. Regardless, it is time I was alone and there is nothing more convincing to achieve this than to drive the country miles in my car. Anyway, it is sure to require a battery cell recharge by then and I will need to look around the nearest town to find a charge outlet.”
“I am not sure you will find one nearby. I would have thought your car could run for months without recharge.”
“It can, but the last time it was charged, was two months ago.” Bobby was lying to them as he had given the car a fresh charge prior to embarking on his holiday. If either of the two
women had considered this at length, they would have surmised his car would be in top order, given he was Earth’s most respected pilot and by commandeering such a role, his attention to detail would not be surpassed.
“Be it as it may then. Go and look for a recharge in town tomorrow if it will please your curiosity.”
“I will. There is more to satisfy though for you have not answered my other questions as yet.”
“What can we say? Valeena and I have given you our reasons. Do they not suffice?”
“Oh they suffice so much as to say I still have questions. Perhaps it is all in my head though – I have considered such a thing, and...”
“Maybe all the space work has you over extended and thinking too much.”
“I have thought so Valeena.” Bobby played along with her suggestion knowing there was nothing near this as the truth for his condition meant he was called to think over all he encountered as a means to discover anything Vindor might do against humanity.
Time was not so much of the essence as they all could enjoy the evening allowing it to play out spontaneously. Bobby’s own internal sense of time felt strange to him as he constantly fought with a reckoning telling him he was not in the right moment yet also in the right moment. He was meant to be in the kitchen of the bordello with Bethany and Valeena at this time, yet he could sense he was out of synchronicity with the time scale he normally reckoned with as a space commander. As he further investigated this within, he was coming to the realisation confirming his place and thus he was part of a wider and as yet unknown paradigm shift. There were elements at play he could feel were beckoning his commander self to prepare for battle – it was the very nature of this battle he was unable to determine.
Bobby knew deep inside what was unfolding around him. The women were good at disguising their intentions, but he could see a glimmer of evidence sub-consciously steering his conscious into actions to satisfy its curiosity. Bethany and Valeena watched him closely as they ate. Conversation had lulled as they enjoyed the tasty fare Bethany had made to distract and seek complacency with Bobby through tuning into his stomach as a means to his heart. She had tried this before without recognising it was a vain attempt as he was never so complacent as to allow himself to be so easily shrouded by the intent of others. Even through his play along with their sexual desires,
