Delphi Embassy (Delphi in Space Book 11), page 15
Dr. Moreau made an adjustment to the machine’s settings and the girl went to sleep.
“We’ll keep her asleep most of the time. Ms. Luxflom, I need to talk to you in private.”
Dr. Moreau led Ms. Luxflom to her office next to sickbay.
“Why do you need to see me in private?”
“I need to ask you to make a few decisions about your niece’s treatment.”
“What decisions?”
“We have the ability to dull memory. We can dull the memory of the fire, or since it happened so recently, we can actually remove all the memory for the last two days.”
“Why?”
“The loss of her immediate family is surely enough for her to deal with without adding the burden of remembering the fire and how it consumed her house and those in it.”
“But surely that’s dangerous?”
“It is not. You can discuss it with Dr. Kayjareux. We’ve done it to him three times.”
“Why would you do that?” Ms. Luxflom was getting very suspicious.
“He volunteered. We needed to prove that it was safe. Once we proved it with him, we’ve treated a few other people. Those who had suffered an emotional trauma. On Earth, we usually just dull the memory, but when it’s a small child we’ve learned that they will regrow the memory, filling in the details with their imagination. That then requires further treatment. That rarely happens when we remove the memory.”
“I understand. But I need to think about it.”
“I agree, but you only have another eight hours before the memory will be too old to remove and we will have to use the other technique.”
“Will it be possible for me to discuss this with my husband?”
“Yes. I’ll have a steward take you to your cabin. He’ll show you how to make the call.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Ma’am, you’re lucky, they’ve given you the princess’s cabin. It’s the nicest cabin on the ship. Same as the captain’s cabin, except it doesn’t have access to the bridge. Right, here you are. I’ve put your bag into the closet, figured you’d rather do your own unpacking. Now right here is the Comms console, just tell it whom you want to call. It’ll confirm the number before calling. If you need anything, just use it to call the steward; that’s me now, but there’s one on duty at all times. So, don’t you worry about anything. And your girl there, she’s going to be alright. I’ve seen worse burns from the war, and those guys were up and about within a week.”
Ms. Luxflom just ignored the steward as he babbled on. Once he left, she placed the call to her husband.
“Hello, how is she?”
“She’s alive. I got to talk to her a bit. I think the doctor wanted me to hear her voice. Then she put her back to sleep. I think she doesn’t want her remembering the fire and getting all worked up about it.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“I hope so, but the doctor . . .”
◆ ◆ ◆
After an hour of discussion, Ms. Luxflom and her husband decided to have their niece’s memory erased. She asked the steward to bring the doctor to her so she could tell her.
“I’m glad you decided to erase it,” Dr. Moreau said. “It will be for the best. It will only take a few hours; after that I can put her on a normal sleep cycle, so you’ll be able to talk to her whenever you want.”
“Are you sure that’s for the best? What about the scars?”
“She won’t be able to see them until we let her move about, but having you to talk to will help keep her spirits up. She’ll be up and walking around in a few days. Then you’ll need to help her understand that the scars are only temporary.”
Dr. Moreau signaled Catie to come in. Catie smiled at Ms. Luxflom. “The doctor said you were still worried about the scars.” Catie patted Ms. Luxflom on the arm as she sat down beside her. “Trust the doctor. Here are ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures of my uncle from when he had his scars treated. We had just developed the treatment for Humans. Our allies, the Paraxeans, were the ones to first develop it.” Catie brought up two pictures on the display, one showing Blake right after he came home from the hospital, and the other a recent photo with him in his admiral’s uniform.
“That’s not possible.”
“I can assure you that it is. He had scars on his arm and chest too, and they’re all gone. He looks totally normal, at least except for that silly grin of his.”
Ms. Luxflom laughed. “I can’t believe it. She’ll be just like she was before?”
“Yes, the same beautiful little girl you’ve always known. You’re going to have to help her deal with the loss of her parents and her brother. But children are surprisingly resilient; she should grow up to have a completely normal life.”
“This is so wonderful, it’s hard to believe.”
“I need to go back to the embassy,” Catie said. “Dr. Moreau and the crew here will take good care of you and your niece. Let me know if there’s anything else we can do for you.”
“I can’t thank you enough. And to let me have your cabin.”
“Don’t worry about it. And I’m not using the cabin. I’m happy that you’ll get some use out of it. Your niece should be joining you in it by the end of the week.”
◆ ◆ ◆
After four days, Ms. Luxflom allowed the reporter to release pictures of her niece. The ‘before’ pictures were horrible, the angry red sections of burned tissue were difficult to look at. In the ‘after’ pictures, the color had subsided to a blue hue; it was lighter than the normal Onisiwoen color due to its being new, but it was clearly new skin and without any roughness that one would expect from scarring. Her hair was gone, but the doctors assured everyone that that was purely for hygienic purposes, and it would start growing back as soon as the treatment was over.
The embassy immediately started getting calls from parents with children who had disfiguring scars. Neloln had warned Catie that that would happen. She had already arranged for space at several hospitals. They had arranged for several doctors to accompany the Resolve on its trip to Onisiwo from Earth; until then, they would use the two they had plus Dr. Kayjareux to staff the clinics.
By the time Ms. Luxflom and her niece were ready to return home, they had already started to treat other patients. Dr. Moreau had lied, indicating that the treatment worked best on young children; and that they weren’t ready to extend it to adults just yet. She felt she had to do something to reduce the demand until they were more prepared.
◆ ◆ ◆
“We’re getting a lot of good press,” Neloln said when Catie got back.
“I can tell. We had a crowd outside to welcome me back. It’s making security nervous.”
“They’ll get used to it. When are you going to announce the clinics?”
“You tell me. You know, I should have thought of this. My father did something similar on Earth.”
“Yes, Sam told me about it when I discussed the idea with her.”
Catie nodded, trying to decide if she liked the idea of Samantha and Neloln talking about how she was doing on Onisiwo.
Chapter 11
The Galaxy Keeps Spinning
The Roebuck made orbit over the third planet late in the day, ship’s time. Captain Lantaq immediately sent two Foxes out to start the aerial survey. As before, the probe had identified the most likely location for a colony. The air and water samples had come back showing no worrisome pathogens, but it would still be a few days before Dr. Pramar would be able to determine if the planet was safe. When the sun was just dawning over the prime colony site, Captain Lantaq took the first team down.
“Ah, much better than the last planet,” Dr. Qamar said.
Captain Lantaq nodded in agreement. His face was lit up like a child’s, or at least as much like a child’s as a Fazullan with sharpened teeth and knife scars across his face could look. He was reveling at the view of a green leafy forest. The plain they were standing on had high grass that was starting to bend to the increasing wind.
“Yes, this was worth the trip.”
The Fazullans turned to the task of erecting the first structure with gusto. They reveled in the high gravity, occasionally jumping to prove that it was truly like their homeworld. They threw the beams and panels at each other, just daring the other to drop it or complain. Working through the night, they had the building’s shell completed by the end of the second day.
When a herd of buffalo-like animals wandered into the area, Dr. Teltar had to call for Captain Lantaq’s help.
“Why can’t we hunt them?”
“Because we don’t know if you can eat them yet.”
“So?”
“So it would be a waste. We also don’t know how plentiful they are.”
“Look at them, there are hundreds of them!”
“But they could be the last herd. Please wait until we’ve completed the survey.”
Captain Lantaq ordered his people back to work. Even the women looked disappointed at not being able to go out on a hunt, and everyone let Captain Lantaq know how disappointed they were in him.
◆ ◆ ◆
At the end of the first week, Dr. Pramar declared the air safe to breathe. There was a huge celebration, which included the ingesting of large quantities of alcohol. And since the drunks were Fazullans, the revelry resulted in several fights and combat competitions. The next day, Dr. Pramar declared the area a hazardous waste site and had the Fazullans spend the day cleaning up all the blood and disinfecting the soil.
“Security to greenhouse four! Security to greenhouse four!”
Lance Corporal Ruiz entered greenhouse four. Her entry was made more difficult because greenhouse four was the first of the isolation greenhouses. Entry required going through an airlock and a UV sterilization sequence. Once she got inside, she found a Fazullan woman assembling bots and a group of Fazullan men yelling and shoving each other.
“What’s the problem?” she asked the Fazullan woman.
“They’re arguing about who’s the slave.”
“What, there are no slaves.”
“Apparently that has not totally registered with their thick heads. What they are doing would be considered slave work back home.”
“They’ve been doing it all day, so what’s the problem now?”
“Shoveling dirt is slave work, but not too bad. Shoveling the output of the treatment plant is definitely slave work and much beneath them.”
Captain Lantaq finally made it through the airlock. He stormed down to the group of men. “What is the meaning of this?!” His voice thundered off the domed walls and ceiling of the greenhouse.
“Sir, we should have the bots do this.”
“It will take an extra week if we do. They’re too small to handle this type of work.”
“But it’s . . . shit.”
Captain Lantaq grabbed the shovel from the man and started moving the compost onto the growing trays. He glared at the man holding the rake until he started to spread it. After five minutes he thrust the shovel back into the hands of the first man.
“Now are you going to get to work, or should I kill you and add your body to the compost so that you can be of use to this colony?”
“No, sir, . . . I mean yes, sir.”
Captain Lantaq stormed out of the greenhouse.
“I guess that is one way to motivate them,” Corporal Ruiz said.
The Fazullan woman just smiled and continued to assemble and test the bots.
◆ ◆ ◆
“I thought I’d check in on you,” Corporal Ruiz told the Fazullan woman. She was still assembling bots. Corporal Ruiz figured she’d done about twenty since her last visit.
“Things are going well.”
“Good. Damn . . .” Corporal Ruiz ducked as a handful of compost came whizzing toward her head and bounced off of the wall behind her. “What’s up with them? Two hours ago, they wouldn’t shovel the stuff, now they’re grabbing it with their hands and throwing it at each other.”
“Men!” the Fazullan woman said, shaking her head as she sent the next bot to its charging station.
◆ ◆ ◆
“What’s going on?”
“Dr. Teltar has said that the meat is safe to eat,” a Fazullan woman said.
“So?”
“They are going hunting.”
“Without any gear?”
“Yes, they drew lots last night. Those three won. They will hunt the buffalo we saw before.”
“And when they find them, what are they going to do? Tackle them and bite their necks?”
“Don’t say that too loudly; they may decide that that is a better test.” The Fazullan woman laughed at the thought. “No, they will find a branch and make a spear. They have knives so they can sharpen the spear and dress the kill. Whoever makes the kill will be the chief of the celebration.”
“What if they don’t find the buffalo?”
“They will not come back without a buffalo.”
“Oh, you guys are serious about your hunting.”
“Serious, maybe I misunderstand the translation, is that another word for stupid?”
◆ ◆ ◆
The Aperanjen delegation arrived at Onisiwo on an Oryx. There were only six of them so they’d been reasonably comfortable for the two-week trip from Earth to Onisiwo.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to meet you,” Catie said. “Captain Clements will be able to take care of your needs.”
“Princess, we are just happy that we are finally going to be able to wake our comrades up. We are sure they will be excited to know that we are free and finally starting our colony.”
“I’m sure they will. Our doctors here have been talking with the doctors on Gemini Station. They’re confident that there shouldn’t be any issues bringing them out of stasis. Having you here should help with the transition.”
“It will. We all remember the confusion of first coming out of stasis. We want to be here to reassure them that everything is alright.”
“I’ll let you go. You should be able to start waking your comrades up in a few days. The first Fazullan ship is already moving toward you.”
“Thank you, Princess.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Why must we build another greenhouse?!”
“Because we have to test the various crops here and the crops you brought with you to make sure they’re compatible,” Dr. Pramar said.
“But we already know we can eat the crops here. Why does it matter?”
“Well, you don’t know that you can make your type of whiskey from the crops here. Do you want to find out later that you can’t grow the right grains to make it? Where would that leave you?”
“A very persuasive argument,” Captain Lantaq said once he walked up. He’d been alerted that there was a problem.
“I’m glad. Are you people always so argumentative?”
“No, but they are not used to doing this type of work without slaves helping and doing most of the hard effort. They will need to learn.”
“Well, I’m glad that they like whiskey. I don’t know what else would have persuaded them to do the work.”
“Threatening to kill them has always worked for me.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Empress, how may I help you?”
“Princess, can you explain why we are not moving our ships to the new colony? We have many ships that are free of all slaves and are ready to go. Captain Lantaq has told me they are ready for more ships with colonists to help build the colony.”
“I understand your concern, Empress. But we do not have jump points in place for your new planet. Without them, the effort to move your ships would be prohibitive. We are placing them now. But it will take a few weeks.”
“I don’t understand why the cost would be prohibitive.”
“We would have to dedicate one of our few jump ships to escort you. We do not have one free at this time. We still have to manufacture some of the jump points and then place them in the correct systems.”
The empress’s eyes glazed over. She was not really interested in jump points and manufacturing issues. She had been waiting for years to lead her people to freedom and was struggling with the idleness of waiting. Most of her people were rotating through stasis, so the time didn’t seem as long to them, but she was awake and living each minute in boredom.
“I am sorry to bother you. Can you please keep me updated on the timetable?”
“We will. I understand how stressful it can be to have to wait for an important event, especially when it will be the beginning of a new era.”
“Thanks for your understanding, Princess.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Marc, we need you over on Ocean Avenue.”
“McCovey, what’s going on?”
“We’re not sure, but we really need you here.”
Marc got up from his desk and left his office. “I’ll be on Ocean Avenue,” he told his assistant. “Some mysterious problem. There’s not some strange party or something in the works?”
“No, sir. At least none that I know of.”
It only took five minutes to make it over to Ocean Avenue. The new street was just under construction. It would be the second major street in Orion. So they were digging a huge trench down the middle which would eventually house the subway system as well as all the utilities. When he arrived, the trencher was idle.
“What seems to be the problem?”
“We’ve hit a big rock or something. The guys over there swear it’s gold.”
“Gold? That’s absurd. How big is it?”
“They’ve measured it out at two meters by half a meter by about another twenty centimeters.”
“Well, that certainly can’t be a gold nugget.” Marc waved to the men, motioning for them to come over.
“Grayson, why do you think it’s gold?” As Marc remembered, Grayson was the crew chief for the trencher.
“Well, Governor, look at these scrapings we took off the trencher. It dug into the rock a bit. Sure looks like gold to me.”
“Looks like it to me, too. Did anyone run some over to the assayer’s office?”
“We have an assayer?”
“Yes, he manages the polycrete plant. Take this over to him and have him look at it. If he says it’s gold, have him come back with you.”
