Asimov's SF, January 2008
Page 14
“I can't decide whether you're a total cynic, or a hopeless romantic."
“Both. They're not mutually exclusive."
Samuel hung a left onto Victory.
“I don't buy that we meet people by chance alone,” Tuesday said. “Sometimes people are meant to meet. There's no way they can avoid it, no matter which way they turn."
“In that case, I would have to believe that fate chose to send me no one."
“Or that fate sent her, but you didn't recognize her."
“True. I'm not very observant. Sometimes I miss my exit when I'm on I-16 and I keep going for miles before I realize it."
“Alzheimer's, probably."
“Thanks."
“De nada."
He stopped at a red light. Two black women crossed the street in front of them. One did a double-take, snagged the other by the sweater and pointed at Samuel and Tuesday. Samuel could hear her shrill tone, but not the actual words. More belly rubbers. The light turned green, and Samuel sped off. Out. He wanted out right now.
Tuesday sighed.
“What,” Samuel said.
“Nothing."
“No, really."
“Okay, fine. You refuse to admit that you're attracted to me, out of spite,” Tuesday said.
“What?” Samuel said. He glanced at her. She kept her eyes facing forward.
“You heard me."
“I don't have anything against you. I like you."
“I know you do. Your spite isn't aimed at me, it's aimed at everyone who wants us to be together because they think we're fated to be together. I hear the talk. It would kill you to prove them right."
He glanced at her again, then back at the road. He didn't know what to say to that. There was some truth to it—he refused to even entertain the possibility of being attracted to Tuesday, because everyone wanted him to be attracted to her, and that got his hackles up.
Her sneaker was still propped on the dash, the lace tied in that absurd lotus-flower knot, the toe canted.
“Tuesday, I just don't feel that way about you."
She shrugged. “Okay. Fair enough. If you've honestly opened yourself up to feel something, and you don't, then you don't."
He stopped at another red light. Tuesday sighed, looked out her window.
He hadn't, though. He hadn't let himself even entertain the possibility that the pink sneaker soiling his dashboard was on the foot of a woman he could love.
He let that wall drop a little, that barrier that kept him out of trouble, that kept him from feeling too much attraction toward married women, women who were way too young for him, women others were foisting on him. He didn't immediately get that wrong feeling he got when he tried to feel something for a woman he didn't feel anything for. In fact, it felt sort of good to think of Tuesday that way.
Samuel let it go a little further. He imagined sitting in his kitchen, drinking tea with Tuesday on a Sunday morning, her feet propped on the table as she read the paper. Or the two of them in bed on a Friday evening, Tuesday's hair brushing his face.
“You could be right,” he said.
“Of course I'm right. Ass.” Tuesday said, watching the huge live oaks whiz by. She turned toward him. “But you go right ahead and make your decisions based on spite—"
Samuel leaned over and kissed her. It seemed to surprise him more than it did Tuesday, who kissed him right back, her breath smelling of coffee.
And suddenly it seemed so obvious, that this woman—
Tuesday jerked away, eyes wide. “Look out!"
Samuel slammed on the brakes and yanked the wheel hard to the right, just missing the elderly bicycler at the back of the pack. The tires squealed; he was thrown forward and then blasted backward as the air bag exploded and a deafening crash ripped the air.
* * * *
There was a tube running out of Tuesday's nose. Her cheek was so swollen it looked like there was a golf ball buried under the skin.
Her eyes flickered open.
“Hi,” he said. “How you doing?"
“Lunatic,” she said in a soft, punchless voice.
“I'm sorry."
“S'okay. I wasn't using my gall bladder anyway."
Samuel's guts twisted at the mention of the surgery. “So much for our protective powers. Didn't do much to protect us."
“Well it's not going to work if you drive your car right into a tree, no."
“What was I thinking? I took my eyes off the road completely, like the car was going to drive itself."
Tuesday smiled. “You believe. You tell yourself you don't, but you do. Deep down, you trusted that we'd be safe. A little too much."
Samuel considered. “Maybe you're right, I don't know. If I believe, I believe in the numbers. I don't believe it's a miracle."
“Nobody's asking you to."
Samuel brushed a wisp of hair out of Tuesday's face. “Where Papa go?” he said.
Tuesday laughed, gave him a questioning look.
“My first words. It's written in my baby book."
Tuesday reached out toward the chain around Samuel's neck. “What's this?” She grasped the tooth dangling from it.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Good luck charm,” Samuel said. “To keep me safe."
Copyright (c) 2007 Will McIntosh
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* * *
Serial: GALAXY BLUES: PART THREE OF FOUR: THE FOOL'S ERRAND
by Allen M. Steele
Allen M. Steele tells us, “I'm pleased to say that my undergraduate alma mater, New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, is giving me its annual Alumni Achievement Award on the occasion of my twenty-fifth class reunion.” In addition, Subterranean Press recently published a beautiful, limited, signed, hardcover edition of his Coyote novella, “The River Horses” (Asimov's, October/November 2006). Allen's character Jules makes some ill-advised decisions in the well-named third act of...
* * * *
Synopsis of Part One:
My name is Jules Truffaut, and this is the story of how I redeemed the human race.
It all began when I stowed away aboard the starship Robert E. Lee for its monthly voyage to Coyote, humankind's first interstellar colony. Technically speaking, I was a first-class passenger, having already booked passage to 47 Ursae Majoris. However, as a former ensign in the Union Astronautica of the Western Hemisphere—whose relationship with Coyote is strained at best—it was necessary for me to sneak aboard the ship just before it departed from Earth.
My plan was to travel to Coyote under an assumed identity; once there, I would plead for political asylum. But my scheme backfired when a steward who'd found me became suspicious. Checking the manifest, she discovered that, although I had indeed purchased a ticket, there was no record of me actually boarding the ship. So shortly after the Lee jumped through Earth's starbridge to 47 Ursae Majoris, the chief petty officer placed me under arrest.
On the bridge, I met the Lee's commanding officer, Anastasia Tereshkova. Realizing that I was in serious trouble, I revealed my true identity and informed her that I was seeking amnesty. However, I'd overlooked the fact that one has to actually set foot on foreign soil in order to defect. Since the Lee was still in space, Tereshkova was obliged to take me back to Earth and turn me over to the authorities.
So I took matters into my own hands. On my way to the brig, I escaped from my captors and stole one of the ship's lifeboats. I was trained as a pilot, so I was able to guide the craft to a safe touchdown on Coyote. However, almost as soon as I landed, I was apprehended by the colonial militia.
The soldiers brought me to Liberty, Coyote's largest colony, where I was thrown in jail. I had little doubt that the local magistrates would order my deportation. Before that happened, though, I had two visitors. The first was a mysterious figure who appeared at my cell window. As he stared at me, a door opened in my mind, releasing all my memories. I fell unconscious; when I awoke, the stranger had disappeared.
After arranging for my release, Goldstein took me to a tavern where I met the rest of the crew: the captain, Ted Harker, and his wife and first officer, Emily Collins, both of whom were on the first ship to contact the hjadd; the helmsman, Ali Youssef; and the cargo master, a lovely young woman by the name of Rain Thompson, who was oddly cold toward me. And finally, another passenger besides Goldstein himself: Gordon Ash, whom I recognized as the stranger who'd visited me in jail.
Our ship, the Pride of Cucamonga, hadn't arrived from Earth yet, so we cooled our heels in Liberty for a few days. That gave me time to get interested in Rain. She didn't want anything to do with me, though, and it wasn't until I had breakfast with her that I found out what it was. Somehow, she had learned the reason why I'd been thrown out of the Union Astronautica—I was caught helping my younger brother Jim cheat on his academy exams—and, believing that I'd betrayed him, thought I couldn't be trusted. I was telling her my side of the story when Ted showed up. Our ship had come in, and it was time for us to leave.
When we arrived at the spaceport to board our shuttle, the Loose Lucy, a couple of surprises awaited us. The first was our cargo: two and a half tons of marijuana, which the hjadd apparently regarded as a delicacy. The second was that we had another passenger: Mahamatasja Jas Sa-Fhadda—Jas for short, the hjadd Prime Emissary. When I committed a faux pas during my introduction to himher, Ash stepped in to quietly correct me. Clearly there was more to him than met the eye.
The Pride of Cucamonga turned out to be an old freighter, but its chief engineer, Doc Schachner, assured me that it was fit to fly. While loading the cargo, Rain and I had an argument which nearly cost me my job; to give me a chance to cool off, Ted had me take a jug of corn liquor to Ash's quarters. I'd already figured out that Ash was an alcoholic, but while visiting him, I discovered something else: he was capable of reading people's minds.
The next day, the Pride launched from Coyote orbit. While en route to the starbridge—which could only be opened to Rho Coronae Borealis by a coded key Jas carried—the Prime Emissary invited Rain and me to his quarters.While waiting for himher to let us in, Rain offered an apology for her rude behavior, which I accepted. But she wasn't the only person to surprise me: once we were alone with Jas, heshe asked what we knew about something called the Order of the Eye. I professed ignorance, but after we left hisher cabin, Rain informed me that the Order was a secret cult of telepaths rumored to be funded by Goldstein. This explained why Morgan had invited Ash along: he wanted someone who might be able to tell him what Jas was thinking.
Then Pride made the jump to Hjarr, where we rendezvoused with an enormous space colony, the Talus qua'spah, in orbit above the planet. As circumstances would have it, Rain and I were the first persons to leave the ship. Upon entering what appeared to be an interspecies reception area, we were informed that the two of us needed to undergo decontamination. Fair enough ... but first, we'd have to comply with a rather embarrassing request.
* * * *
ELEVEN
* * * *
The etiquette of decontamination ... a visit to the library ... Fah, otherwise known as Haha ... Ash gets strange(r).
* * * *
I
Rain's scream was still reverberating from the walls when a hjadd materialized.
Heshe appeared so suddenly, my first thought was that heshe was some sort of extraterrestrial djinn, fresh from the lamp and ready to grant me three wishes (the first of which would've been to be any place but here). It took a moment for me to realize that heshe was a hologram, albeit so lifelike that I could've sworn heshe was solid. Heshe regarded us with reptilian solemnity, hisher fin raised to full height from the back of hisher head.
"Pardon me," heshe said, hisher voice nearly the same as Jas's, "but what does the expression ‘hell, no’ mean? “
I forced a cough to keep from cracking up. “It ... uh, means that she's ... ah..."
“It means there's no way I'm getting naked.” Rain's face was livid. “Not here, not now, and especially not with—” she pointed at me “—him."
The hjadd's left eye twitched toward her. "Decontamination is required for all races visiting Talus qua'spah. I assure you that it is painless and non-invasive, and will only take a few minutes to perform. However, it is necessary for one to be bare of all accoutrements in order for the procedure to be completely effective."
Rain opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. “I understand that, sure. But in our culture, nudity is considered ... um, taboo.” The hjadd'shead cocked slightly at this unfamiliar word. “Socially unacceptable,” I added. “Particularly between sexes ... genders, that is."
“Meaning, I'm not about to...” Rain glared at me, and shook her head. “No. Out of the question."
The hjadd was quiet for a moment. I had the sense that heshe was listening to someone else whom we couldn't see. "It is strange for a dioecious species to be so reluctant about revealing their bodies," heshe said at last, hisher eyes twitching back and forth between us. “How is it possible for you to mate without exposing your reproductive organs?"
Now it was my turn to become red-faced. “We're ... um, not mates. Just friends, that's all."
The hjadd's fin lowered, and hisher head moved back and forth upon hisher long neck. "I now comprehend. However, the rules of the Talus remain. You may not pass this point without undergoing decontamination, and this procedure cannot begin until you have removed all your clothing."
I was about to respond when I heard a click in my right ear. Ted's voice came through my headset. “Jules, do you copy? Is there a problem over there?"
I prodded my mike. “Roger that, Captain ... and, yeah, we've got a hold-up."
The hjadd waited patiently while I briefly explained the situation; Rain tapped into the comlink, but didn't say anything until I finished. When I was done, there was a short pause, then Ted came back online. “Look, I understand this is uncomfortable for both of you, but Jas says that if you don't undergo decontamination, none of us will be allowed aboard. No two ways about it. Sorry."
Rain's mouth fell open. “Skipper, I can't..."
“Rain, stop being such a prude. The rest of us are in the next room. If you don't want to be alone with Jules, you can wait until we join you, and then we can all get naked together. Or you can trust Mr. Truffaut to be a gentleman and keep his back to you. Either way, though, you're just going to..."
“Okay, all right. I get the point. Over and out.” Rain clicked off, then turned to give me a cold stare. “I swear to God, if you so much as..."
“Don't worry.” I'd already turned away from her, setting my helmet down on the nearest bench. “I won't so much as peek. I promise."
Rain hesitated, then I heard her place her own helmet on the other bench. A few moments later, there was the soft sound of a zipper sliding open. From the corner of my eye, I saw that the hjadd had already vanished; apparently heshe realized that our primitive notions of privacy extended to himher as well.
A man of my word, I kept my promise to Rain. Not that it made much difference. The wall panels were just reflective enough that, even though I looked straight ahead, I was still able to see what was going on behind my back. I tried to distract myself by glancing down at my feet, but nonetheless it was hard to ignore the fact that a lovely young woman was peeling out of her undergarment just a few feet away.
And Rain was beautiful. No question about it. As much as I tried to ignore her reflection, she had a body that I could easily fantasize curling up against. I bit my lower lip and tried to think about baseball
... but when I looked up again, I saw that her gaze was fastened on the wall in front of her, and that she was studying my reflection as well.
Our eyes indirectly met for a moment, and for a second I thought I was a dead man. Yet my execution was delayed by the hjadd's voice, coming from some invisible source: “Please close your eyes and extend your arms."
I did as I was told, raising my arms straight out from my sides. A low hum surrounded us; although my eyelids were closed, nonetheless I could tell that the ceiling was gradually becoming brighter. For the next several minutes, we were bathed in ultraviolet radiation, followed by a hot, dry wind that whisked away dandruff and dead skin cells.
The humming ceased, the ceiling darkened, and the air became still once more. But just as I was about to open my eyes, I heard a whispered thufft! from somewhere behind me. An instant later, a white-hot needle jabbed me in the ass.
Rain yelped at the same moment I did, and I looked around to see her grabbing at her derriere. “What the hell was...?"
“Many apologies,” the hjadd said, still unseen to us. “Those were darts containing mild antibiotics. They are harmless to you and will soon dissolve, but they help ensure that you're not carrying any micro-organisms harmful to our kind."
“Great.” She massaged her buttock where the dart had penetrated her skin. “I thought you said this would be painless and non-invasive."
“They lied,” I muttered. Made sense, though; if heshe had told us what was coming, we might have refused. And it was only a sting, after all; the pain was already going away, leaving behind little more than a tiny bruise.
“Yeah, well ... they're not the only ones.” She glared at me. “You said you wouldn't peek."
“How did you know I did?"
“Because...” Her voice trailed off and she blushed, then quickly wrapped her arms across her chest and turned away from me. “So now what? Do we put on our suits?"