Selected Assistant

by Robin Roseau

  We made bowls, large bowls with two handles. And Skye heated damp towels as well, putting them into a basket. They gave me that to carry, plus my own bowl. Between the two of them, they easily carried the rest, largely because Posey had six appendages she could use.

  We sat back down, with Skye and Posey explaining what everyone was getting. We took seats and started on the ice cream for a moment, Jasmine seeing to Muriel. And then the movie resumed.

  It was a lovely evening. And yes, the Catseye all sampled from my bowl. I didn’t mind.

  Recovering

  I woke to a weight settling on my bed. A moment later, there was a tentacle on my shoulder. “Good morning,” I whispered.

  “Are you offended I’m here?” Jasmine asked.

  “No.” I rolled over and looked at her. “Although I imagine I’m a fright.”

  “You’re lovely,” she replied.

  “What’s up?”

  “Light exercise.”

  “Should I interpret your presence as distrusting my ability to see to my own needs?”

  “No. You should interpret my presence as guilt you were so hurt while I was responsible for you.”

  “Not your fault.”

  “It was my medical team that ignored the warning,” she said.

  “Jasmine, it was an accident. I’m the one who triggered it.”

  “You should have been safe,” she said. “Are you really arguing with me?”

  “You can feel guilty if you want to, but I don’t blame anyone. Thank you for taking care of me. But I’m glad I was able to reproduce it.”

  “I am, too. You’re not getting rid of me, though.”

  I smiled. “I don’t want to get rid of you. What does ‘light exercise’ mean around here?”

  “For a human recovering from severe trauma, it means a walk before breakfast, and then we ask her how she’s feeling.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Let’s assume you’ll want a shower later,” she said.

  “All right. I need about ten minutes, then. Where are we walking?”

  “Just the beach,” she replied.

  “I want to go to work today.”

  “All right. You have a queue of people who want to spend time with you. Your dinners are scheduled into the foreseeable future, but the first few know you’re recovering and that you may cancel.”

  “Beginning tonight?”

  “May and Cinder,” she said.

  “I liked them,” I replied.

  “I don’t know them at all well,” she said. “We had a casual conversation, but you’ve spent more time with them than I have. Hobbles are a gentle species, given to intellectual pursuits. They have some of the most amazing architecture.” She paused. “I’m going to talk to Violet while you’re getting ready.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I think the village she’s planning should incorporate varied architecture.”

  “That would be lovely,” I said.

  “I’ll be in the next room.”

  * * * *

  I was efficient. When I found Jasmine, she was speaking Catseye to someone, but she held a tentacle up to me and spoke for only another minute. Then she opened more widely, and I stepped forward for a hug.

  “Violet?” I asked.

  “Azalea, actually. She’s in Geneva this morning but is flying to New York and will be back tomorrow. Hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses.”

  “Yes, Mom,” I said with a smile. I saw to things myself and then stood for an inspection. Jasmine stepped to me and did a few minor adjustments, and I found myself grinning. “Do you have any idea how surreal this is for me?”

  “About two years before Starlight hit the screens, I tried to resign my job. Now, I love it.” She wrapped tentacles around me and we headed for the door.

  “That spawns two questions. The first is selfish. Am I part of your job?”

  “Seeing to you? To some extent, but I don’t pay attention to everyone here. I’m not here this morning because of my job. I’m here because I want to see to you myself and not rely on someone telling me how you’re doing. What is your second question?”

  “Why did you try to resign, and what changed?”

  “Until we could do what we do openly, this job was… Well, it had its moments, a lot of them, but I’d had it.”

  “And?”

  “And, I tried to resign. Bluebell’s family stopped me. They changed their lives to move here, to help spread the hard parts. Amaryllis really wants both Skye and Audra to go into politics, though, and she’s not happy they’re down here. I don’t know how much longer I’ll get to keep them, and when they go, it will be the entire family, all at once, most likely. Bluebell can continue to do her job from anywhere, and Azalea has to be in New York a lot to do hers, but I’ll lose Violet and Posey, not to mention Audra and Skye.” She paused. “This is going to sound terrible. The humans are replaceable. The Catseye aren’t.”

  “I think you should explain that.”

  “It has to do with the gravitas they bring. Skye and Audra come with borrowed gravitas from their wives and mother-in-laws. If we were just dealing with humans here, it wouldn’t be an issue. But when a particularly pushy Kitsune arrives with demands, she’s not going to even notice a human gatekeeper.”

  “I think I understand.”

  “The Wookies help. Dry Rain and her family run the resort facilities now. They love it here, and we love having them here. So, I have help here I didn’t have, and while not everyone is amused at how she arrives in our cells, most of them are laughing, once it catches up to them.”

  We arrived on shore and turned down one of the paths. We talked easily while we walked, a few people nodding or saying hello as we passed. Nearly everyone we saw stared. “Does that bother you?”

  “Only because I wish I weren’t a rarity to them,” she replied. “This entire resort was Yvette’s idea. She wasn’t the only one who ever thought about something like this, but it came from a notable human in front of others, and it helped to spread. Dry Rain was there when she mentioned it, and she talked about it to other people. The entire idea built traction, and I didn’t have to do it myself. But this is the only place the average person ever sees any of us. Ever. I hate that part.”

  “Frankly, so do those of us who don’t want to see you leave,” I replied.

  “We host events. We make ourselves as available as we have time for.”

  “Jasmine, you have this space. You already have to keep it secure. Why aren’t more of you living here?”

  “That’s our next step,” she said. “The council doesn't know it though. But that’s why Violet is going to look at building a village.”

  “Really?”

  “I want you to do something for me.”

  “Okay.”

  “I want you to plant seeds for me.”

  “What kind of seeds?”

  “You’re going to have an active social life. I want you to simply help spread the idea of how much better living here would be than on the space station.”

  I laughed. “I can do that.”

  “Prudence Tutor is on your schedule in three nights,” she said. “Be subtle with her.”

  “You want her to move the entire department.”

  “Yes.”

  “What else do you want?”

  “From you? Just continue what you’re doing.”

  “From them?”

  “I’m going to get them to help host events, lots of events, not just an hour reception once a week, and then the ones we hold for the people we find most intriguing.”

  “I haven’t been invited to any of those.”

  “Because I knew what sort of hours you and Felicia were working, and I didn’t intentionally wave you in front of people while you were solving Muriel’s problem.” She tightened her hold. “I had plans for you once it was solved.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Of course. Do you think I was unaware you both hoped to meet more of us? T
hanks for risking your life helping Muriel, now don’t let the door hit you on the way home.”

  I laughed.

  We walked for a while. I asked, “Did they really film here?”

  “Yes. We built a sound studio for them. The indoor scenes were filmed there.”

  “How about the submersible?”

  “A model. They rented a real submersible for the exterior shots, and we even let a few people take rides, but it was only here a few days.”

  “I bet it was exciting.”

  “It was,” she replied.

  “They made an amazing movie,” I said. I paused. “The village should have a proper theater. It doesn’t need to be huge, but it should have more than one screen.”

  “I don’t understand what you just said.”

  “Have you ever been to a human movie theater?”

  “No.”

  “It’s not like a theater for live performances,” I said. “But you’ve seen them in movies and television shows.”

  “Yes, but you said it should have more than one screen. They always only have one screen.”

  “Ah. It used to be that a movie theater could show one movie at a time.”

  “People want to watch more than one at a time?”

  “Are you just teasing me?”

  “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “No. You see one movie at a time, but while I’m watching Starlight in one theater, there can be another one across the hall showing the latest action-adventure film. Modern theaters are now huge complexes. They might have fifteen screens. Four of them might be showing Starlight, starting at staggered times. I don’t know the economics of it, but they’re money-makers. A particular theater might serve an area with 50,000 people, though, and some percentage of them want to see the big movie of the season during opening weekend.”

  “I don’t think we’re going to have 50,000 people inside 20,000 square miles.”

  “Which means you don’t need 15 screens. But I think you should have more than one. And they should be really nice.”

  “I want you to talk to Violet about this.”

  “I think you should get an expert, and it seems like Audra’s best friend probably knows a few. But if there’s any way you could safely visit one of our mega theater centers, you should, just so you see for yourself what I mean. You could probably arrange something outside their normal hours, but for the real experience, you should watch a movie there.”

  “You’re right,” she said. “And human movies are exceedingly popular with all the extraterrestrials.”

  “Well, there you go. A proper theater experience.” I paused. “Don’t take me wrong. You have the nicest home theater I’ve ever experienced. It’s far better than what I do to watch movies at home.”

  “Yvette made all of us upgrade. I’m glad she did. She made some phone calls, and we had a human company visit the next week.”

  * * * *

  We walked, and we chatted. It was nice. Eventually we reached the restaurant. She made me sit inside. Partway through our meal, a family stepped over, a mother and father with two teenage boys. “We hate to bother you while you’re eating,” said the mother.

  “It’s fine,” Jasmine replied.

  “The boys,” said the mother. “When are they going to get another chance?”

  “Jasmine, why don’t we pull another table over. They can sit with us.”

  “A lovely suggestion,” Jasmine said. She gestured, and we were descended upon by staff. Soon we were all settled. Introductions were exchanged. The boys were Mathias, the younger, and Niklaus, the older. Mathias said, “Those are tentacles.”

  “They are,” Jasmine confirmed.

  “Are they slimy?”

  “No,” I answered for her. “They’re quite dry and totally awesome. Don’t you think they’re awesome?”

  “Totally awesome,” he agreed. His older brother was too old to act that exuberant, but he was staring at Jasmine, and it wasn’t with disgust.

  “How old are you, Niklaus?” I asked.

  “Sixteen. What kind are you?”

  “Californian.”

  “I haven’t heard of that kind.”

  “I’m a human from California,” I said. He blushed and dropped his gaze. No one laughed. But I asked, “Have you figured out what you want to do with your life?”

  “Most people ask me what I want to study at college.”

  “Yes, well. Maybe you like carpentry and will go to trade school. I didn’t want to assume.”

  “We’re starting to look at schools,” said his father. “Niklaus does very well in school.”

  “As does his younger brother,” said his mother.

  “I haven’t decided,” Niklaus said. “What do you do?”

  “I build robots.”

  “Seriously?” asked Mathias. “That is so cool!”

  “I went to school for a long time, and I’m fairly new in my job, but I love it.”

  “Robots are cool,” Niklaus said. “There’s a robotics team at high school.”

  “I bet it’s a good program,” I replied. I collected one of Jasmine’s tentacles. It wrapped around my arm, but she gave me the last foot or so. I held it up, looking at it. “These are just totally cool.” I pretended I didn’t notice the bugged-out eyes.

  “Could I hold one?”

  “Mathias!” snapped his mother.

  “He’s only curious,” Jasmine said. “And he asked politely.” She extended a tentacle across the table to the boy, then when he took it, wrapped around his arm the way she had mine. He stared.

  “Be careful with it,” I said. “The thick part is very strong, but the tips are sensitive and very clever.” Both parents had the expression of people who were no longer sure they were pleased to have come over, but I turned to Vallie, the mother seated to my left. “When are you going to get another chance?”

  She stared at the tentacle I was holding then lifted her gaze to Jasmine. “Do you mind?”

  “No,” Jasmine said. And so Vallie reached out and just brushed the back of the tentacle with two fingers. Then she did it again, a long stroke. She pulled her hand back, not saying anything.

  “We were only going to ask for a photo,” she said. “I-” She stared at the tentacle then back up at Jasmine. “We’re treating you like a zoo exhibit.”

  “This is how we become closer as two species,” Jasmine replied. “That’s what this entire resort is about. We’ve barely begun that process. I haven’t really been giving that part of my duties here full attention.” She shifted her attention to me. “I think I need to talk to Amanda later about some of this. She’s a better diplomat than I am.”

  “She’s pretty amazing,” I agreed.

  “You’re here for another four nights,” Jasmine said to Vallie. “I think I would like my wife and I to share a meal with your family.”

  “That would be so cool!” Mathias exclaimed. I guessed everything was cool when you’re twelve. “Say ‘yes’, Mom.”

  “You should know,” I said. “Their dining habits are different from human habits. They don’t eat anything shocking, but perhaps you noticed how she was eating before you stepped up.”

  “She eats with those,” Niklaus said, pointing to one of the tentacles. “I saw.”

  “She does,” I said. “She also breathes through them.”

  “It’s surprising evolution,” Jasmine said. “We’ve tried tracing our own fossil evidence, but our planet has not been as kind releasing ancient secrets to us as Earth has been. We think we’re the product of a sudden mutation, as we suddenly appeared in the fossil records.”

  “A transplant?” I asked.

  “No. We share too much common DNA with other creatures from our original home. There are any of a dozen or more possible ancient ancestors, but from the fossil record, it’s as if we suddenly appeared, a few isolated findings, slowly spreading from a single location.”

  “How long ago?”

 
; “With this basic structure?” she asked. “We think about thirteen million years. Of course, there was a lot of evolution since.” She turned to Vallie. “Dinner? Tomorrow or the next night, depending on your schedule?”

  She glanced at her husband. “We could attend tomorrow.”

  “I’ll set it up,” Jasmine replied.

  “I think you should get a photo,” I said. “Who wants to be draped in tentacles for it?”

  “I do!” Mathias said.

  “Whose camera am I using? Jasmine, how about with the cove in the background?”

  “Perfect,” she offered.

  I got us all moving then collected three different phones. Mom and Dad stood on either side of Jasmine, with Mathias in front and Niklaus beside his mother. Mathias was partially wrapped in tentacles, but Vallie and Jamison both put an arm around Jasmine, so she offered tentacles. And then Niklaus put his hand on his mother’s shoulder and was touching the edge of the tentacle when he did it.

  After they hurried away, Jasmine and I returned to our table. “Was I out of line?”

  “No,” she said. “Thank you for helping to break the ice.”

  “I didn’t want to offer more than you were comfortable.”

  “You were fine,” she said. But she was watching after where they had gone. Finally, she turned to me. “You know, I thought I had everything settled here the way I wanted it, finally. But that conversation reminded me how much more there is to do, and how much opportunity I’m letting slip past.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don't be,” she said.

  “Are you going to come here for dinner, or invite them home?”

  “Here is probably less intimidating for them. We can arrange the tables to give us a little more privacy.” She snuffled a little. “There’s not enough of us to go around for this. I wouldn’t say everyone who comes would sit to a meal with me, but probably the majority.”

  “Not all?”

  “The idea of aliens and the reality don’t necessarily mesh,” she replied. “Some people get here and turn out to be somewhat more xenophobic than they realized.”

  “Don’t you already know that, from testing?”

  “Not everyone who has come has been through testing,” she explained. “Oh, the teenagers are nearly universally interested. The boys like Niklaus are frustrating.”