by Robin Roseau
I allowed a pause and then said, “Does anyone mind if we make a walking tour? It isn’t far.”
“A walk would be lovely,” Valtine declared.
I gestured. Hazelvarn took Serenity’s arm, and Margotain attached herself to Tranquility. I took Mother’s arm, and then we set off for the nearest of the bungalows.
“This was the site of the First Planetary Congress,” Cecilia said. “We housed nearly two thousand people here, but it was cozy. We have beds for up to six hundred, which is overbuilt for our current capacity, but Anna White and the vendarti were generous. The empire built the structures and provided technology, but the vendarti arranged for the remaining furnishings. We have three basic styles of bungalow with two, three, and four bedrooms. Maddalyn, is this one occupied?”
“No, Governor. This is the one I intended to show them.” But it was Mordain who stepped forward and palmed the lock. The door opened, and about half of us stepped inside. “Some of the staff live on site in a bungalow such as one of these; a few have chosen to live in Sudden, and we found and upgraded homes for them with the comforts we’re able to provide. Go ahead. Look around.”
Mother stayed with me, but the other three detached themselves and wandered the bungalow. Pippa actually ran the water in the kitchen, and Serenity checked out the shower.
“Darling, are you all right?” Mother asked quietly.
“Yes,” I said.
“You’re not the only one who wants Serenity to stay.”
“No,” I agreed. “I’m not. But not just Serenity. We’ll be taking Pippa to a school. She works in administration for a Tarriton university. We don’t need to overhaul the education system. The Talmonese already do a good job. But we need to bring science and technology into the classrooms.”
“And English.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “And English.”
We stayed for ten minutes. I could see Serenity and Tranquility wondering whether they could live here. Finally we collected in the foyer, and I reminded them, “This is nice housing, but Sudden is only twenty kilometers.”
“Along a poor road,” Tranquility pointed out.
“It’s nothing by jumper,” I said.
She nodded at that, and we filed out.
We took them to the grand meeting hall next. Cecilia and the vendarti explained that this was where the planetary congress had met, and was the room where the vendarti had voted to join the empire.
“That’s…” Pippa said. Then she shook her head. “I don’t know if I can even envision that.”
“History was made,” Valtine said. “We were blessed to have been here.”
“Were you the governor then, Cecilia?” Serenity asked.
“My title was imperial envoy,” Cecilia replied. “Talmon didn’t have a governor until she voted to join the empire. I had expected the empire to send someone, and I’d hand over the keys to the embassy, so to speak. Instead, everyone else had other ideas.”
Eventually we made it to the actual medical center. We were expected, and I led the way to the largest of the patient consultation rooms, one that might be used if someone came with her entire family. We used smaller rooms for smaller groups, because sometimes cozy is better.
It was Cecilia that provided introductions, although I’d made sure we’d have Ginger and Doctor Horton. The patient was from Indartha, an elderly grandmother named Yessamartain. Her son and two daughters were there, although they would have little to say during the meeting. Sartine had already talked to Yessamartain about us, and so when we asked if we could sit in for the conference, Yessamartain said, “Of course you may.”
“Doctor Hope,” said Doctor Horton. “Perhaps you would like to review this patient’s test results.”
Serenity looked at me. I nodded then said, “Tranquility, you, too.”
They both sat down and spent a minute going through the charts, Doctor Horton guiding them a bit. Several times, Serenity’s lips tightened. Finally she turned and looked at me. “I would like to speak with you. You, too, Governor.”
She didn’t wait but got up and led the way from the room. Cecilia, Sartine, and I followed, and then Tranquility also joined us. “Where’s can we go?”
“Let’s see,” I said. I crossed the hall and checked. The room was empty. I ushered people in, and as soon as the door closed, Serenity turned to us, crossing her arms.
“That woman is dying.”
“We’re triaging,” Cecilia said.
“How long would she have otherwise?” I asked.
“I haven’t the vaguest idea,” Serenity replied. “In my entire life I’ve never seen results like that.” She pointed a finger at me. “You fight dirty.”
I held my hands up defensively. “I’m not fighting,” I said.
She turned away. Her sister stepped to her side and put a hand on Serenity’s shoulder. The two spoke very quietly, then Serenity said, “How many doctors do you have?”
“Two,” Cecilia said.
“For the entire planet.”
“The Talmonese have doctors,” Cecilia added. “They actually do reasonably well, considering.”
“Why don’t you have two hundred?”
“There haven’t been two hundred non-Talmonese to step foot on the planet,” Cecilia said.
She spun around. “These people are imperial citizens.”
“Yes,” Cecilia confirmed.
“They have rights!”
“They do,” Cecilia said. “If they can get to a rejuvenation center, and there are openings, they may undergo rejuvenation. What do you want from me, Doctor?”
Serenity glared at her then pointed her finger, wavering back and forth between Cecilia and me. “You two don’t fight fairly!”
“If you hate the planet,” Cecilia said, “you will have a nice vacation and go home. If you aren’t charmed by the Talmonese people, you will have a nice vacation and go home. If you want an easy job where people come in to grow their hair out and take a couple years off the top, you will have a nice vacation and go home.” She shrugged. “Perhaps you want to help save Yessamartain’s life instead.”
“Serenity,” I said. “We have enough doctors for the equipment we have, but we’re trying desperately to arrange far, far more equipment. It’s going to take time. What we don’t think we have are doctors who are committed to staying. Doctor Horton told me she took the job to escape her ex-husband, who she described as a stalker. Ginger is very sweet, and we think she’s learning Talmonese, although she hasn’t come to me about it. We think in the end some of the staff will embrace the planet, but we think most will stay for their first contract and leave again.”
“What do they know that you’re hiding from us?”
“Ask them,” I said. “And if you find out, tell me. Because we’re not intentionally hiding a single thing.”
“It’s a backwater,” Cecilia said. “We all know it. Talmon is one big backwater.”
“This is my home!” I said.
“And mine,” she replied. “But am I wrong?”
“Find another word.”
“No. That’s the word they’ll all use. It’s probably the word Serenity had in her mind before she arrived. Did you expect thatch roofs?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Yeah, probably.” She turned to her sister.
“We’re together,” Tranquility said firmly immediately. “Whatever we decide, we decide it together.”
Serenity nodded. “Who tells that women she’s dying?”
“Mordain,” I said.
“Mordain?” Serenity said. “I thought she worked directly for you as some sort of assistant.”
“We’re not long on people who speak fluent Talmonese and enough English to understand the doctors,” I replied. “Doctor Horton will do her best to explain to Mordain what’s important, within her ability to understand. Mordain will then do her best to explain to Yessamartain.”
“This is really fucked up.”
“This is the result of a
conversation between Governor Grace and several Vendarti,” Sartine said. “She felt we couldn’t do anything until we’d be able to properly explain every detail to the patients. That would take several more years to establish. I pointed out that if the choice was my grandmother die, or my grandmother be forced to trust the doctors, that I would rather my grandmother live.”
Serenity stared at her for a while. Then she pointed her finger at me again, opened her mouth to say something, and closed it again. Instead, she turned to Cecilia. “You don’t know a thing about us.”
Cecilia smiled. “That you’re aware. Doctor Serenity Hope. 57 years old. Graduated medical school number 17 in a class of 143. You did your residency at a regional medical center called Paradise Fellowship Medical Center, working in the emergency room. Post residency you spent eleven years as an emergency room doctor until you took a six-month leave of absence. You returned to medicine to work as a rejuvenation specialist for Artemia Rejuvenation Center. You’ve been there ever since.”
Serenity stared. So did I, actually. I didn’t know any of that, and I had no clue Cecilia did. Serenity shifted her gaze to me. “Either you didn’t know she was going to spill those beans, or you didn’t know those beans existed to be spilled.”
“The latter,” Cecilia said. “Maddalyn doesn’t necessarily see everything that crosses my desk.”
Serenity turned back to face the governor. “Do you know why I left the E.R.?”
“I know what happened. I don’t know what you went through afterwards, but I can come to conclusions.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t share.”
“I shared what is public information, readily available from anyone who checks the information Artemia Rejuvenation Center publishes about you. It’s not my place to share something you may consider private.” She smiled. “Should we review your history, Tranquility?”
“How much more do you know?”
“Between the two of you and Pippa, about a half hour of reading, so not that much.”
“Governor,” Serenity said, “is it your intention to offer us jobs?”
“From my knees, if necessary.”
“Shit,” Tranquility said. “Now that’s one hell of an image.”
“Yeah,” Serenity agreed. She turned to me and up came her finger. “You haven’t won yet.” I held my hands up defensively again. “Step up the language lessons.” At that, I nodded.
She turned back to the governor. “I hate negotiating. You’ll make the best offer you can.”
“No,” Cecilia said. “I’ll make the best financial offer I can, but you’re going to have to ask for anything special you want. I have no intention of guessing. And you understand the bulk of your pay will be in local currency.”
“We’ve been warned. Let’s get back in there.”
She didn’t wait but brushed past us. I exchanged a look with Cecilia before following.
* * * *
They hadn’t jumped ahead, although I could tell they were talking to Yessamartain about what was possible. But then Doctor Horton said, “Here they are.”
“Does Yessamartain speak any English?” Serenity asked.
“A few words,” Mordain answered. “I’ll translate for her.”
“Have you told her?” Serenity asked, looking at the doctor.
“No. We were waiting for you. It seems you have better bedside manner than I did for my first. I had my melt down in front of the patient.” Then she adjusted her view. “Yessamartain.”
The woman smiled. “Doctor Horton.”
The doctor reviewed the screen then just shook her head.
“It’s bad news,” Yessamartain said. “You can’t help me.”
Mordain translated that, and Doctor Horton said, “It’s bad news, but of course we can help you.” She paused, folding her hands. “You have rheumatoid arthritis and are also showing signs of osteoporosis.”
Mordain stared at the doctor. “Seriously? Can’t I just say she has arthritis?”
“Osteoporosis is not a form of arthritis,” said the doctor.
“It’s a problem with the bones,” Mordain said. “They become weak.”
I glanced at Serenity. Her lips were tight again.
Doctor Horton nodded. “Tell her she has arthritis as well as weakening of her bones. The shortness of breath is a result of the arthritis. It has caused scarring of her lungs.”
Mordain nodded and translated all that.
It took several more minutes to explain the other more serious conditions before Doctor Horton said, “And that is in addition to all the standard effects of aging. We’ll be here for hours for us to go through all of it.”
Yessamartain listened to all this and then finally asked, “Can you fix everything?”
“Yes.”
That was a word Yessamartain must have known, as she smiled. “Thank you.” Then she turned to Sartine. “And I’ll work here afterwards.”
“For two years,” Sartine said. “But we want you back home, Yessamartain.”
“I talked to Laradain yesterday. She likes it here. It’s hard to believe that’s really her.” She turned back to the doctor. “I’ll be young?”
“You’ll be young, but with all your memories, as sharp as ever. But now Ginger is going to talk about what else you want us to do.”
Ginger, talking through Mordain, explained the basics of what we could do. Yessamartain already knew much of it, but she listened carefully. Finally the woman said, “They told us to ask for something small to change. I want something big made smaller.” Then she cupped her own chest. “Nowadays, these hang to my knees.”
There were smiles at the translation. Ginger said simply, “They won’t do that when we’re done.”
“Can you make them smaller?”
“We can,” Ginger said. And then we watched as she put up an image of Yessamartain and then a second one beside it. We watched as the second image’s chest shrank. “Like that?”
“Smaller. Smaller. There. How big is that?”
“A little smaller than mine,” Ginger said, sitting up straight. “I don’t like carrying a big chest, either.”
Yessamartain eyed Ginger carefully then nodded. “That’s good,” she declared.
“Anything else?”
Yessamartain shook her head. Then Doctor Horton said, “And we’ll do the standard package.”
At that, Serenity asked, “Which is?”
“We enhance their skeletal system, improve resistance to UV rays, clear up any allergies. We gave her a list.”
“You’re not going to go over it with her?”
Doctor Horton considered Serenity carefully before she said, “I did with the first few. They don’t understand it. They all just say, whatever you think is best. And there are only two of us, Doctor. But perhaps you feel you can do better.”
“I’m not criticizing. I’m trying to understand.” Doctor Horton nodded at that. Serenity gestured. “Is this typical?”
“This is an easy one.”
“Hell.”
“Tell me about it.” But then she smiled to the patient. “We can try to answer your questions.”
“When do we begin?”
“In the morning, the day after tomorrow.”
There was a pause, and then Yessamartain’s son asked, “How old will she be?”
“She’ll still be 77,” Mordain explained. “But she’ll look 25.”
“They can make her any age?” he asked. “Why 25?”
“25 is young,” Mordain explained, “but her friends, and maybe her children, will see her as an adult. Younger than that and older people still think of her as a child. Yessamartain, did you want to look younger?”
“Whatever the doctor thinks is best.”
Mordain translated the conversation into English. Doctor Horton didn’t answer right away but then looked at Serenity. “What would you recommend, Doctor?”
Serenity held her hands up defensively. “I just arrived.”
&nb
sp; “And yet, now everyone in the room is looking at you, and even the ones who don’t speak English have a good idea what I asked you.”
“I have not been with this patient since her arrival, and I do not know what she’s been told or what information is available to her.”
“We actually have very detailed information,” Cecilia said. “But imagine trying to understand it.”
“I think 25 is a good age, but I think this is a question to ask the patient. I have always asked. Always.”
“Mordain did ask,” Cecilia said. “And Yessamartain said, ‘Whatever the doctor thinks is best’. If this were your patient, Doctor, what would you do?”
Serenity stared at Cecilia for a minute then she grabbed one of the free chairs and pulled it closer, sitting down and then rotating Yessamartain’s wheelchair to face her. Mordain would handle the translations, so I stood back and watched. “Yessamartain, do you know who I am?”
“You are Maddalyn’s friend,” she said. “Doctor Serenity. That’s a pretty name for a pretty girl.”
“Thank you,” Serenity replied. “Do you know who that is?” She gestured to Mama.
“It is difficult to believe, but she is Maddalyn’s mother.”
“She went through rejuvenation before coming here. Do you like how she looks?”
Yessamartain looked at Mother and smiled. “She is very, very pretty.”
“Do you want to look that young?”
“Yessamartain,” I said. “My mother does not speak English and won’t understand when Mordain translates your answer.”
Yessamartain glanced at me, studied mother for a few seconds, then looked forward again. “Doctor Serenity, is this how I will look?”
“I am asking what you want, Yessamartain.”
“The papers said we would look 25.” She looked back at Mother. “I think she looks younger.” She looked around. “She looks the youngest in the room.” She looked back at Serenity. “I don’t need to look the youngest. That was a hard age. A woman, but not a woman. When I looked like that, I didn’t know anything. I hadn’t any experience. Now I’ve had a lifetime of experience.” She smiled. “My favorite age was 29.”
“Why 29?”
“Because it wasn’t 30,” Yessamartain, then laughed at her joke. “Do you know what is important to me, Doctor Serenity?”