by S. H. Jucha
Vyztram said.
In the morning, Alex woke, cleaned up, and ate heartily.
Miranda communicated with Vyztram, relaying the request and adding that the Elvian didn’t need the oxygen bot.
Before Alex exited the traveler, he donned the oxygen device. He worked to keep a neutral face, while he wrapped the collar with Franz’s help.
Franz retreated to the pilot’s cabin, the ramp dropped, and Alex, in the company of SADEs, made for the bay’s corridor.
Trobath waited there. Briefly she eyed Alex’s collar and the device on his back. Then her hand delivered a courteous greeting.
Alex copied the greeting, and Trobath smiled.
“I understand that Famgore was able to ride rather than walk,” Trobath said, looking from Alex to the line of SADEs.
Without a word, Z swept the Elvian off her feet. As she rode, her hand twirled expressively for Z.
Alex’s booming laughter echoed down the corridor.
It startled Trobath, and Z was required to steady her.
Alex stopped, turned to Miranda, and delivered the greeting he’d received moments ago. Immediately afterward, the SADEs tipped their heads and imitated Alex’s hand movements in perfect synchronization.
Trobath recognized that something special was taking place. She knew Z and Miranda to be protectors, but Miranda was entirely devoted to Alex’s safety. She kicked gently but urgently to be lowered to the deck, which Z obliged.
Taking a stance in front of Miranda, Trobath’s hand expressed a simple gesture. Then it evolved. First, her arms continued the motion. Next, she was twirling, and her body was bending in a complex movement. When she stopped, she finished by repeating the initial gesture.
Trobath’s thin lips stretched in her form of a smile, and she hurried to retrieve her perch on Z’s arm.
Othello added.
The SADEs had Vyztram’s directions to the meeting location.
Alex chose to be early to the first meeting. The location was one of the dance halls.
“Did you receive notice of this meeting, Trobath?” Alex asked.
When Trobath received the translation, she replied, “The entire core’s citizenry was alerted to the Omnians’ use of this space for the cycle. I would be surprised to see a core resident wander in here.”
One side of the hall was a solid bulkhead without privacy screens, and Alex took a stance near and in the middle of that bulkhead. The SADEs arrayed themselves to either side of Alex.
Trobath indicated that she wanted to be set down. When her feet hit the deck, she stood between Alex and Z.
Alex’s chronometer counted down the time to that meeting’s start. Then it passed the start without a single individual from the arches showing.
Nearly a quarter hour after the start, three citizens of the arches walked into the space. They were easily identified by the ornate costumes they wore. They stuttered to a halt, realizing they were the only ones to attend.
Belatedly, they delivered their courtesies, which equated to those extended to elites.
The AI was monitoring the flow of communications between and within attendant families. The idea was growing that the families should hear directly from the Omnians. Suspicion existed among the families that the elites weren’t sharing all details of the present state of affairs.
The three attendant family members who attended stood uncertainly near the entrance. They regarded the Omnians and Trobath with concern.
Alex took a small step forward and copied Trobath’s greeting of him.
The attendees expressed surprise and returned the simple gesture.
Several privacy screens were pierced, and a total of eighteen family members walked into the space.
Alex repeated his hand motions, and the new attendees, who had been warned not to extend complex courtesies, stopped, tipped their heads, and responded.
The new attendees chose not to wait close to the entrances. They walked forward to examine the Omnians. As they did, they dragged the first three attendees with them. Before they could reach the Omnians, more individuals arrived.
Within a short period of time, hundreds of family members joined the growing audience.
Z and Miranda, with their height, kept count of the arrivals. In addition, they estimated the number of family members who might be represented by the attendees.
The audience separated, surprised to see the reps and the engineers without costumes. The small party made their way through the crowd, delivering shortened hand courtesies.
When the core’s citizens arrived at Alex’s position, he gestured to them to stand in front of him and the nearby SADEs. At their lower heights, they didn’t obstruct the Omnians’ view.
Alex drew breath to speak, but he never got an opportunity to say a word.
A murmur raced through the throng.
The audience quickly perceived the Deloy’s intended path, and they parted to make way for her and her retinue.
As the Deloy passed, elaborate flourishes and twirls were delivered by the family members. To the Omnians’ eyes, the space was turned into a dance floor, where the participants focused on one partner.
The Deloy stopped in front of Alex. As the Omnian’s height and mass were intimidating, she chose to focus on the Elvians aligned with Alex.
“Where are your costumes? Where are your respectful greetings?” the Deloy demanded.
The core’s reps and engineers were speechless but not Trobath.
“As a citizen of the Arcus, I’m your equal and will be treated as such,” Trobath declared, which created a collective hushed intake of breath from the assembly.
“This Elvian is to be detained,” the Deloy demanded. She eyed the core’s reps, expecting them to follow her order.
“Deloy, with regret,” Dafine replied respectfully, “we won
’t be allowed to execute your directive.” The rep leader’s eyes swung toward Alex and the SADEs to emphasize his point.
Trobath’s lips stretched across her face, which infuriated the Deloy.
“In time, Deloy, you will mature,” Miranda said. “Perhaps, by then, you’ll learn what it takes to lead the citizens of this ship. Until then, you’d do well to be silent, listen, and learn.”
Alex mentally winced at Miranda’s reprimand. It was what he’d been thinking, but he had been loath to say it.
The Deloy’s pale face colored. She was infuriated, and, as a youth, she lashed out. In her best authoritative voice, she commanded, “Vyztram, I order you to launch our drones and destroy these invaders.”
The Deloy’s eyes blazed with anger, and her narrow lips twisted in a nasty sneer. When Vyztram replied, those emotions were wiped off her face.
The thought occurred to Alex that maybe the comment about a dance hall was accurate. It gave him an idea and he made a note to examine the idea later.
Vyztram finished stating the present conditions, but the AI needed to conclude in a manner that the Deloy would understand.
Murmurs raced through the crowd. While most elites and core citizens were well aware of what had happened, many of the attendant families were not.
The Deloy realized that she was losing the sympathies of the assembly. Respectful glances had turned into open stares. An attendant whispered in the Deloy’s ears, and she was imperially waved away.
The eyes of Alex and the Deloy locked. The Elvian’s glare was hostile, but Alex’s eyes were soft. He was saddened to find a ship’s population commanded by an unruly child.
The Deloy spun, and, with a shrill scream, she toppled over. Wanting to appear more imposing to the citizens, the Deloy had worn boots with taller heels than usual. They were meant to accommodate her more spectacular costume. She’d misjudged her turn and tangled the costume under her feet.
The audience was horrified. Even the Deloy’s attendants were loath to intervene for fear of reprisals.
With two long strides, Alex was at the Deloy’s side. He gently lifted her and stood her on her feet. For that, he was poorly rewarded.
“Unhand me, alien,” the Deloy snarled.
As Alex released the Deloy, he asked, “Are you hurt?”
“That is none of your concern,” the Deloy retorted, and she stalked out of the hall.
Many within the hall had heard the exchange between Alex and the Deloy after she’d stumbled. Throughout their lives, the courtesies had been repeatedly stressed. In this startling moment, the Omnian had helped the Deloy and demonstrated concern for her well-being. That had been a surprise. The shock was the Deloy had failed to repay the courtesy. Those who’d witnessed the episode quickly shared it with others.
After the Deloy and her retinue passed through a privacy screen, an elder female approached Alex. She extended a simple gesture to Alex, and he returned it.
“I would hear what else you would like to say, Omnian,” the elder Elvian said.
Whispers permeated the crowd, and most of those present pressed forward. A few quietly exited.
Alex spoke, and his voice issued from Z’s mouth. Having lived with an AI, the Elvians weren’t surprised to see the leader’s words come from the huge avatar.
Alex sent to Z.
“That equipment can’t be easily replaced,” an elderly Elvian objected.
Alex replied. He intended to appear unconcerned by the difficulty it would place on the ship’s inhabitants.
“What is it you seek, Omnian?” the female who had first spoken asked.
“To speak to individuals who represent a majority of our citizens,” Dafine said, taking a small step forward. “The question you must ask yourselves is whether you’re content with your lives.”
“Do you want to be attendants or the partners of attendants for the remainder of our lives?” Yemerth asked.
“And the same fate for your offspring?” Famgore added.
Trobath touched Z’s arm. When Z ducked his head to observe her, she pointed upward with a single digit, and the SADE obliged her.
Z heralded Trobath’s address of the audience, with a haunting melody that Omnians hadn’t ever heard. It startled the audience. To most Elvians, the music was unknown, but the strains were familiar to some of the eldest individuals.
“Where did you hear that?” an elder female asked Z.
“Vyztram sent it to me,” Z replied. “The AI’s memory banks contain an entire catalog of music.”
“Listen to me,” Trobath said loudly, interrupting the discussion. “This is important. I’ve spent time with the Omnians. Their views of life are refreshing, invigorating. Listening to them makes me want more for my life and for the citizens of this ship. If we were the majority, we could achieve new and better goals for ourselves.”
“How can this be done?” an Elvian asked. She was a younger attendant, and, after a few annuals, she was already tired of serving a privileged family of elites.
“I’ve been uncompressing and reviewing files in the event of unusual circumstances,” Vyztram announced over the hall’s audio system. “The ship’s builders anticipated many shifts in population, including a desire to change allegiance.”
“Your ancestors contracted with the elites to serve them,” Alex explained, “and they agreed to maintain the population status quo. However, their offspring weren’t obligated to comply with the terms of the contracts.”
An Elvian uproar was instigated by Alex’s announcement. Although to the Omnians, it sounded similar to a noisy brook. An Elvian’s lung power couldn’t compete with the likes of a New Terran.
“Vyztram, what is the remedy for this problem?” an elder asked.
“The Deloy or the core’s reps must declare that a count be taken of the ships’ citizens,” Vyztram replied. “Each citizen must respond with whether they consider themself a member of the core or the arches.”
“What happens to our accommodations if we choose the core?” a young Elvian asked.
“The elites aren’t allowed to retaliate. You keep your accommodations, and the core’s citizens continue to provide for your welfare,” Vyztram said.
An elder male Elvian stepped forward and addressed Alex. “It’s our understanding that you intend to hold three more meetings during this cycle,” he said. “It would be my advice that you cancel them. Much has taken place here that can only properly be relayed from Elvian
to Elvian.”
Alex saw assenting nods from many of the attendees.
“How much time do you need?” Alex asked.
“We’ve been several generations inside this ship,” Dafine replied. “To change the minds of many will take some time.”
“Communicate your progress to Vyztram,” Alex said. “We thank you for your courage in attending this meeting.” He tipped his head and extended a gesture of thanks.
The audience responded with their own gestures. Then the Elvians quickly departed by the many exits.
Z set Trobath on the deck. Then the reps, engineers, and she returned to their duties.
16: Life Givers
Scarlet Mandator boarded a tram that exited from deep under Mesa Control. It would be an exhausting trip, visiting each Life Giver.
This particular tram was dedicated to Scarlet Mandator’s use. It provided extra facilities for the mandator and the tram operator, Olive Tasker, to spend an inordinate amount of time aboard. It came equipped with twin mineral baths for stalks, ultraviolet lights to extend the Light, and blinds to shade them from the dark and predator’s eyes,
“Where to, Mandator?” Olive Tasker asked, as Scarlet Mandator entered a car.
“We’ll begin with the Scarlet Life Giver,” the mandator replied.
If the Life Giver’s response was negative, it might bring a swift end to the excursion. If it was positive, then they would proceed to the next Life Giver. And so it would go, until a dismissal was received or every Life Giver had assented to the concept.
As the tram exited the mesa’s tunnel, the mandator stood with stalks braced. Fronds were opened to the Light, and they trembled under the healing warmth.
When the tram entered the deep forest, the Light was filtered. Then the cars’ ultraviolet lamps switched on. Neither the mandator nor the tasker would have to wait for the beneficence to return.
Scarlet Mandator faced the usual challenge to compose the message, but the crescents along the body’s stalk attested to previous successes.
As the Omnians had discovered, conversations with Life Givers were kept brief. Interpreters translated between the requester and the Life Giver. One or both of the pair, Life Giver or interpreter, required communications be kept terse.