by M J Gauntlet
“Omar,” Zax began, “You don’t have to tell me how special Lauria is. I could tell that from the first time I heard her laugh. Don’t worry, I will never do anything to hurt her.”
Satisfied, the big man got up to leave but Zax put his hand on Omar’s sleeve and bid him to sit back down for a moment.
“Tell me Omar, Lauria mentioned in passing, how you were able to get this restaurant up and running. I got the impression that she was somehow instrumental in that happening. If it is not prying too much, I would like to know how. I’m not simply curious, I have a reason to believe that I might be able to do the same thing. Would you mind telling me how she helped?”
“Not at all, not at all,” Omar said, looking around to make sure the customers were all taken care of. Satisfied, he turned back to Zax.
Again, glancing down at Zax’s tattoo, Omar explained, “You see, I was deeded this spot through the lottery. It was quite a windfall. It is unusual for developed properties such as this to fall in the hands of backhanders, like ourselves. But through the luck of the seven gods, it fell to me. The previous lease owner had died the year before in an aircar accident and the acreage was entered at the last minute. When my ID number was matched with this property, I thought all my dreams had come true. But it quickly became very clear that without some help, I would likely end up forfeiting it back to the lottery.
“Most people forget that developed allotted property is taxable, and the tax rate is dependent on the plots location. Here in the heart of Plex, the taxes are steep, very steep. I was told that I had the usual grace period of one year before they would start taxing the land. Which meant, I had to either lease it to a citizen with the cash to maintain it, or settle for a lesser piece of land out in the sticks.
“When I went to the planetary bank for a loan to open a café, I was, of course, turned down. One look at my tattoo and they began asking for collateral that they knew I didn’t have. Having failed there, I tried the Imperial Bank here in Plex. Lucky for me, Lauria overheard my conversation with the loan manager and pulled me aside. She steered me towards several governmental agencies and a few private funders that provided me with the start-up capital to open the restaurant, and Viola,” he exclaimed, waving his arm around, “here I am today! In gratitude, I’ve tried to let Lauria eat here without a tab, but she won’t have it. She tells me, ‘eunits are hard enough to come by for people like us,’ and refuses to let me tear up the bill. Like I told you, she is a very special woman.”
Omar then, gracefully lifted his bulk out of the straining chair and with a friendly wave, went back to his customers. Leaving Zax, momentarily, deep in thought. Shaking his head, he checked his chrono and seeing that it was nearing the time for his date with Lauria, he took out the data card she had given him and passed it over his wristcom. Immediately, a tiny holo grid map appeared, floating in the air just above his hand. It showed two blinking dots, one red, one blue. The red dot indicated his current position and the blue his destination. There was a time traveling estimate of five minutes between the two. Touching the wrist control bracelet for the image scrambler, he adjusted it to a preset false image and left the café.
Within five minutes, he found himself standing in front of a gated complex, just to the east of the city’s downtown business district. Retrieving the card from his new suit pocket, he slipped it into the card reader on the steel gate. There was a soft bleep, the gate clicked open and swung aside. Zax had assumed that the card would simply guide him to his destination and then notify Lauria that he was at the gate. But to his surprise, the keycard was also an entry pass. It felt kind of nice to be extended such trust. At that moment, Lauria’s voice issued from the wall speaker/camera above his head.
“Hey Zax, welcome! You are right on time; in fact, you are a little early. I like that! Just follow the path to the second set of lifters. I am on the second level, third door on the right. Walking through the complex, Zax appreciated the cylindrically shaped buildings, after a lifetime of living amongst square flat homes made of permacrete and plasticine. Each apartment was fitted with floor to ceiling sythglass, that reflected the owner’s choice of color, giving the buildings the look of stacked jewels. Following her directions, Zax ended up standing at the front door of her apartment, clutching the bottle of wine he had gotten from Omar, and feeling a little nervous. For some reason, he was suddenly as anxious as a schoolboy on his first date. Before he could fish out the keycard and insert into the door slot, the door slid open and there stood Lauria in a most becoming dress. It was a strapless emerald green affair that seemed to cling to her in all the right places. It appeared to be made of gossamer and fairy dust, tricking the eye by revealing just enough to stir the imagination.
“Oh, how sweet!” Lauria said, gleefully eyeing the wine. Without warning, she leaned forward and kissed Zax lightly on the lips, then grabbing his left hand, she pulled him into her apartment.
“Well?” she said expectantly, waving her hands to indicate the interior of her home. “What do you think?”
“Its…its beautiful!” Zax responded, eyes wide in awe of what he was seeing. He had to force himself to remember that he was still indoors! Somehow, Lauria was able to create the illusion that they were both standing in an open, outdoor glen, surrounded by different types of trees, sculptures and padded benches. It reminded him a little of the offices of the late Alicia Wilkerson, but here the interior design was much more intricate and subtle. Zax half expected to see a timid hill deer, poke its head from the foliage at any second.
“I am glad you like it, Zax. I designed it all myself, it’s my hobby,” Lauria said, obviously delighted to show off her creation.
“Anytime you decide to quit working for the bank, you could easily make a fortune in interior design!” Zax exclaimed enthusiastically.
Laura smiled at the compliment, then just sighed and shook her head “I thought of doing just that, but I’m not sure I am willing to go through the prejudice that Omar and others like him had to go through just to get started. This type of decorating and image projection is rather expensive. Do you really think that any self-respecting Firster is going to let a Laster decorate his house?”
“Believe me Lauria, once anyone sees a sample of your interior design, it won’t matter if you are a Laster or a Sitka lizard man, they will all be clamoring for your work!”
“You are a dear,” she said, with a shy smile. “Here let me take that and chill it,” indicating the wine bottle still tucked under his arm. “The fresher is over there behind the Terrian ‘weeping willow tree’ and the dining room is just there, over to your right between the two ‘bow-bow trees.’ Have a seat and I will have dinner out in a jiffy.”
The ‘dining room’ was in a grove of bow-bow trees, which were indigenous to Bright. Their multi-colored, translucent leaves imbued a festive feeling to the room. In the center of the grove was a carved wooden table, which looked as though it had grown right out of the fern grass beneath his feet. At least it looked like grass, it felt more like softened woven plasticine. Lauria had so thoroughly integrated illusion with reality, that it was almost impossible for him to tell where projected hologram ended, and the actual furniture began.
Zax had just sat down in what appeared to be the bole of a tree, (only to discover that it was a very comfortable padded chair) when the drooping leaves of the bow-bow tree in front of him parted and Lauria walked in, holding a steaming platter of food that smelled delightful.
“Viola, as Omar would say, here you are,” she said smiling, “my specialty: sizzling Grabfish.”
The Grabfish was not actually a fish, but rather more like the cross between a Terrain lobster and a crab. The difference was that while the Earth analog of these species had external shells, the Grabfish had an internal skeleton covered by flesh and fishlike scales. It had been named for what it did, rather than for what it was. There was another important difference between the Grabfish and its earthlike counterparts: its external scales were toxi
c.
Zax had often wondered about the desperation of the first colonists to find edible food, that they were forced to learn the secret of detoxifying the creature. If not properly prepared, consuming a Grabfish will cause terrible gastronomic pain. While no one has ever died from it, everyone who had been inadvertently poisoned by creature, all agreed that they wished they had died!
The secret in preparing the Grabfish was salt. If just the right amount of salt is used to cover the entire surface of the fish, the gelatinous paste that is extruded by the creature undergoes a remarkable transformation. The salt acts as both a catalyst and a seasoning, which causes the slime to change into a glaze, that when roasted (never baked), tastes like a cross between Mandarin orange, apricot, and lime. The trick was in determining the correct amount of salt needed to make it safe to eat. This varied by the size and sex of the Grabfish, as well as the water in which it was caught and which season of the year! Only the most expert of chefs (or the foolhardiest) tried preparing a Grabfish.Zax’s musings ended, as Lauria began to break off one of the four sets of large purple pincer claws and place them next to the reddish white meat, she had previously carved from its flank. He felt a momentary sense of trepidation, which quickly passed. After all, if she could trust him with the access card to her marvelous home, then he could trust her not to poison him. Besides, since she was going to imbibe the same meal, she would share in the consequences.
As the plate was placed before him, Zax dug in without apparent hesitation and his eyes immediately rolled back into his head with an expression of extreme pleasure and delight. It was delicious! Zax paused in the stuffing of his face to notice that while chewing her own mouthful of food, Lauria was watching him intently with an expression of pleased wonder.
Waiting to finish what was in her mouth, she cleared her throat and spoke for the first time since they had begun to eat.
“You are the first person I have ever seen that just dug right into a Grabfish without showing even the slightest sign of concern. You do know about the Grabfish, don’t you?” she asked in wonderment.
“Of course, I do, who on Bright doesn’t?”
“You mean to say, you trust me that much?” Lauria replied, in a stunned whisper?
“And why shouldn’t I?” Zax responded bemused. “After all, unless you have hidden a second dish in the foliage, you are eating the same dish I am, aren’t you? Besides, if you can trust me with the coded access to your apartment, why shouldn’t I trust you not to poison me once I got here,” Zax replied with a grin.
“Access to my…” she queried, looking slightly bewildered. Then her eyes widened. “You mean that when I keyed your card for directions to my home, that I also included the access codes too?! Gods, I didn’t know I had done that! I guess I must subconsciously like you more that than I knew, for me to have done that.” Lauria’s look changed to one of bemusement, as she noticed that Zax’s fork had stopped midway between his plate and his mouth, as he digested what she had just admitted. After a moment, when they both looked a little startled at her revelation, they simultaneously burst out laughing. Taking a few seconds to gather themselves, they continued their meal, in the silence of those who are thoroughly enjoying the food they were eating.
Finishing the splendid repast, they retired to the living room (which resembled a tropical rain forest) and sat down in what looked like a hollow log, but was in fact, a comfortable settee. Taking a moment to settle in, they opened the bottled Calick Mountain Nearplum wine and dug into the aged yak cheese, Hollow Mountain grapes, and basil crackers for dessert.
Zax found himself talking to Lauria with an ease that surprised him. He was usually reticent when it came to revealing intimate details about himself and his father. But Lauria was a good listener, yet not shy about interjecting a comment or two that would encourage him to open up a little more. At one point, Zax sheepishly looked at her and realized that he had been talking about things that were very private, such as his father’s addiction, and his secret wish to someday be a space captain. He usually kept his dreams and wishes strictly to himself, yet here he was babbling on like a teenager.
“…anyway…I found that I had almost forgotten what my mother looked like over the years,” Zax was saying, as he finally brought the conversation to the present. “Finding the vid of my father in the safety deposit box…” At this point, it hit him that it had only been three days since his world had collapsed. In just seventy-eight hours, he had lost everything and at the same time gained so much. Zax found that he was unable to continue. He was emotionally drained. “…it’s just that…I never really knew my dad, not really and…” Finally, he wound down like one of those ancient wind up timepieces and the tears of suppressed emotions began to flow.
Staring off into the distance, bleary-eyed, Zax suddenly felt a soft touch on his hand and looking down saw that Lauria’s hand was gently clasping his. Feeling slightly embarrassed at letting himself go like that, he cleared his throat and focused on her pretty face. She was staring at him with an intensity that would have been intimidating at another time, but he could see that her soft violet eyes were frowning with real concern, not raised in pity.
“Forgive me Lauria, here I am hogging the conversation, talking about personal matters and silly daydreams, when I should be asking you more about yourself,” Zax said apologetically.
“There is nothing to forgive, and there is very little about myself that isn’t almost identical to your story. The only difference is that a single parent raised you, while I had both of mine for support. But the result was the same; they both ended up sacrificing their own happiness to ensure that I would get a good start, just as your father did, to guarantee yours. They took the units that they should have spent their own citizenship and poured it into fees and bribes to obtain my full citizenship. They died as Provisionals, so that I could at least have a chance as a Laster.” Lauria’s eyes shined with her own tears as she rose, stretched sinuously, and began to clear away the dishes.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Zax volunteered, but she shooed him away.
“That’s nice of you to offer, but I know where everything goes, so you just sit back and relax.”
When she returned from the kitchen, after disposing of the dishes, she stretched her arms once again, causing her dress to shift and flow, showing a little more of her sun kissed brown skin. “I could go on talking like this for hours, but it is getting late, and I have a big meeting tomorrow at the bank,” Lauria lamented.
Zax sighed wistfully, for he suddenly realized that he wanted to know more, much more, about the woman standing before him. This had been one of the best evenings he had ever experienced, and he did not want it to end.
“Well, I guess I should get out of your hair. This would be a good time for you to fill me in as to where the best hotels are in Plex.
Lauria hesitated as she bit her lower lip. Then with a tiny shrug of her shoulders, she seemed to come to a decision. “Zax, I have a spare guestroom that is seldom used, and you are invited to stay there. Now don’t get the wrong idea Zax,” she scolded, putting up a warning finger. “I am not usually so free with my time or my apartment with people I have just met, but I must admit… I like you.”
Surprised by her announcement, Zax found himself a little tongue tied. “Oh…well then…thank you very much… very well...just point me to the guest room and I will let you get to bed.”
“Well, I guess I could do that,” she crooned seductively, biting her lower lip again, “but to tell the truth that room is a little drafty and not quite as cozy as my bedroom,” Lauria cooed, with a coy twinkle in her eyes. “Have you forgotten the other characteristic that is attributed to Grabfish?”
Zax could feel himself blushing beneath his deep chocolate skin, because he did remember that Grabfish was supposed to be a rather potent aphrodisiac. Seeing the revelation in Zax’s eyes, Lauria began to laugh, in a manner that was both sultry and delightful.
“And here I am
, thinking that you were being so smooth by bringing me Nearplum wine!” she laughed.
With a start, Zax belatedly realized that Nearplum wine was also considered an erotic stimulant… Omar! The sly dog. No wonder he said that this wine would ‘go good with the meal’.
Speaking softly Zax said, “I guess we were both betrayed by our own subconscious.”
“Speak for yourself, Zax. I knew full well what it was I was doing, so stop talking and come over here and kiss me.”
He needed no further invitation, happy to do as she asked. As a matter of fact, he did a lot more than just kiss her, as her dress floated to the floor. Zax never did get a chance to see what the guest room looked like.
M’Lak sat at the small hotel room table, sipping a cup of hot Xhe tea, a specialty of his home planet in the Restoration worlds. It was an expensive luxury since it had to be smuggled in past the Imperial embargo. Behind him sat two formattable looking, muscular young men. They were locals who came highly recommended by his Bright sources. M’Lak sat brooding about his next move. While enroute to Plex, both his tracers went abruptly silent. At the time he had given a grunt of surprise, not because they had gone dead, but that they had remained functioning for so long, after this target had left the police precinct.
It was currently 6:15 s.s. and the contragrav suspended streetlamps had started to glow. Looking down from the room balcony of his medium sized hotel in Plex, M’Lak could see both the Imperial Bank and the side street, where he had previously sat and watched Zax have lunch. Reasoning that staking out both the bank and the bistro would give him the best chance to reacquire his target, he acquired this room, because it allowed him to watch both. There was also the slight chance that the bank assistant Zax had been spending time with, might also lead him to his primary goal. For now, his best option was to be patient and wait to see how matters unfolded.
