“As you are the victim, Sir,” he said, “I hardly think that’s necessary.”
“Quite. It’s just that I know nothing of the protocol here. I wouldn’t want to say anything… untoward.”
He nodded as if he sympathised with my point. “Bartimarm is a cosmopolitan city, Sir, and I can assure you we are quite accustomed to dealing with beings unfamiliar with our laws and protocols. I am required by law to formally state the terms and conditions of this interview which I will do as soon as you give your permission for me to start recording.”
“Sorry. Go ahead.”
He turned the communicator on, cleared his throat and gave our names, the date and time and the place of interview. He then made a short speech describing why he was here, what he would do and what my rights and obligations were.
“Do you, Sir MacAdam, understand and agree to these terms and conditions?” he concluded.
“They seem very comprehensive. I do.”
“Thank you, Sir. Now, would you please, in your own words, describe the events of the evening in question?”
“Where should I start?”
“Wherever you think appropriate, Sir. We can always backtrack if something is overlooked.”
I started with Taragis’s comment about not being sure that a party was appropriate and his slight misgivings about the host. Senior Interlocutor Respectful-Veneration said nothing but his glance flicked to his partner. I described the whirl of beings, the sensation of the venue gradually fading and the insistent voice. I confessed to losing control, publicly insulting my companion and being ready to take on the world. I praised Taragis’s quick intervention and being taken home and put to bed. I did not describe the interlude with Tansy. Some things should be private. Finally I told them about the doctor’s diagnosis. While I was speaking, they were both scribbling furiously.
“Thank you, Sir, for that frank and lucid description.” Senior Interlocutor Respectful-Veneration said. “Some questions if I may?”
I’ll give him his due, he was a skilful questioner. He didn’t harass or harangue or bully or pressure me but he ever so politely probed and probed until he was sure I’d told him everything I knew.
“Your host, Sir. Had you ever met him before?”
“No.” I stopped. Something had clicked. “I’d never met him but I did see him once before… at the President’s lunch on the day of the Presentation. I had a feeling he was familiar but I’ve only just remembered why.”
I then had to describe the group of beings I’d noticed as we left the lunch.
“I didn't know any of them but my lawyer did.”
“Lawyer, Sir?”
“He was with me.”
He managed an almost smile. “I would be intrigued to know why you needed your lawyer at the President’s lunch.”
I gave a wry smile. “It’s a long story.”
“Perhaps we will come back to it.”
He probed and poked some more until he was satisfied.
“Have you any speculations as to the motive, Sir?” he said.
“Yes and no. I’ve been thinking and I’m not sure if it was a deliberate attempt to murder me. I think that was accidental. However, to explain why I think that, I’m going to have to give you a lot of background. May I request that I do that off the record? I’ll happily repeat anything that’s relevant on the record later.”
“It’s a bit unusual, Sir, but I am intrigued by your theory. Very well. But I may have to ask you to repeat it all again officially.”
I nodded. “Before I begin, can I refresh your cups? I’m in need of more coffee.”
“Right,” I said when we were settled again. “I need to go right back to the beginning,”
I started with Hermes ringing my doorbell on that cold April evening and told them… essentially this story but somewhat abridged and without many of the more interesting parts involving Flerrionna and my breeding partners.
“So you see,” I concluded. “I think is their intention was to publicly embarrass and humiliate me. Discredit me and, hence, the Lottery. I don’t think they meant to kill me.”
Senior Interlocutor Respectful-Veneration nodded thoughtfully. “I see why you wanted to speak off the record. You have, indeed, provided a lot of information that is not directly relevant. It is my opinion that, at present, it should remain that way. As I see it there are two possibilities. The first is that Sir Adderhay and his colleagues are directly connected with Sir Inner-Piety. The second is that they are not connected; that Sir Adderhay is a member of a group that wish to undermine the Lottery and/or the Commission but is not connected to them. Sir Blessed-by-the-Gods, this is more your area. What’s your opinion?”
Interlocutor Blessed-by-the-Gods tapped his teeth with his stylus in a thoughtful manner. “I think we’ve opened a very large can of worms, Sir,” he said slowly. “There is a group, of which Sir Adderhay is a prominent member, that are agin the Lottery in its present format. They make no secret of it. Conversely, there’s been no suggestion of anything underhand before. A lot of them are prominent members of Theocratic society, both on Geretimal and off. An action like this doesn’t fit their profile.
“As to the other, your information, Sir MacAdam, comes as a surprise but does explain the recent rather strange behaviour of the Commission of late. We were aware that there’s some sort of internal investigation going on but the most we’ve been told is that it’s into ‘irregularities’. An investigation into corruption makes sense. Now, are the two groups connected? I’m beginning to suspect they are though possibly not at the top level. It’s also possible that Sir Inner-Piety’s group infiltrated Sir Adderhay’s party and, so to speak, hi-jacked Sir MacAdam.”
Senior Interlocutor Respectful-Veneration looked very grim. “You’ve certainly given us much to think about, Sir MacAdam. For now we will leave your revelations as they are. We’ll obviously need to talk to you again at some point and we’ll need to talk to your lawyer and Sir Hlawch.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said. “And I suspect Sir Hlawch isn’t far away. Shall I contact him?”
“If you would.”
He wasn't far away. In fact he was keeping the cats company. I wasn't able to ask how he found out about them.
“I’ve told the Interpellators the whole story,” I said. “They’d like to talk to you, if you’re available.”
“The whole story? I’ll be there.”
He came in looking like a man facing his doom. It was my turn to discreetly disappear and I too, went to spend some time with the cats. Once again they weren't particularly lively. I tried to remember what the vet did when he checked them. I remembered that one sure sign that a cat was unwell was when its haws were visible. Unfortunately I wasn't expert enough to say. Their coats were a bit dry and woolly and their stools resembled rabbit droppings but there wasn’t any sign of blood or diarrhoea. That was a comfort at least. I wished I could take them back to Earth. Perhaps Fiona would take them in or find them a good home. It wasn't fair keeping them cooped up in a hotel room like this.
I nearly forgot to contact Honesty-in-Trust. He wasn't entirely happy that I’d spilled the beans to the police.
“It’s all right,” I reassured him. “It’s all off the record. The only thing I’ve confessed to is being drugged.”
“That’s something I suppose. The idea of sensible Interlocutors goes against the grain, though.”
“I think it could be to our advantage.”
“How so?”
“Well, someone’s tried to kill me… or at least discredit me. They haven’t succeeded so perhaps they’ll try again. If the Interpellators are only looking at the poisoning, they’ve got leeway to try something else. If, on the other hand, the whole city’s swarming with Interlocutors, poking their noses into everything connected with the Lottery, they’ll have to be much more cautious.”
“You could be right. Until we’ve some idea of who and what’s behind the attack, though, I’ll persist in be
ing gloomy.”
“Gloom away. At least I’ll know you’re looking after my interests.”
“Crawford… don’t take chances, okay?”
“I won’t. But I’m a public figure and, sooner or later, I’ll need to go out and get on with it. I’m sure Taragis will take all the necessary precautions.”
He sighed. “I’m sure he will but I don’t have to like it.”
“You wouldn’t be you if you did. And Honesty-in-Trust… thanks.”
The Interlocutors had gone and Taragis was looking more cheerful.
“The doctor’s on his way,” he said.
“What did the Interlocutors ask you?”
“Mostly about the party and why I had reservations about it. They also asked about the hornet’s nest you stirred up but they did that off the record. I’m pleased to say that I could honestly tell them I didn’t know much. My role is to keep things moving along as smoothly as possible.”
“Who do you think was behind it?”
“I have no idea and, to be quite honest, I’m trying not to think about it. Life’s difficult enough as it is.”
I was about to ask him how he’d found out about the cats when the door chimed and the doctor came in. He insisted I go back to bed while he examined me. He was very thorough and took samples of everything; blood, urine, DNA, etc, which he put into a strange-looking communicator. He chatted about my general health for a while until his communicator pinged. He studied the results carefully for a long time with a thoughtful look on his face.
“Well, by and large, you’re doing surprisingly well,” he said. “You are not showing any symptoms of suffering from any lasting effects from your overdose though, of course, I can’t be certain. You’re due to go to the University soon, aren’t you? “
“Tomorrow,” Taragis said.
“Hmm. I think I’ll ask them to include a couple of extra tests.”
“Is there a problem?”
“Probably not. We haven’t had many Earthmen to examine so our mapping of your metabolism may not be completely accurate. I just want to get a few things checked, that’s all, and they can do things much more accurately then I can here. Better to be safe than sorry.”
“So you’re not worried?”
“Not at the moment. Indeed I’m very impressed with your recovery. I believe your metabolism reacted very strongly to the drug and you absorbed less than I first suspected. You also seem to have a very active immune system. As a result I’d say you can resume your normal duties tomorrow though I recommend they’re light ones.”
“And sex?”
He smirked. “That’s up to you. Any damage in that area was not caused by the scratch.”
“Not directly, perhaps,” I said a trifle huffily.
“No, indeed. You have no external bleeding? No cuts or contusions? No blood in your urine? No? In that case, I don’t think there’s any lasting damage. I’ll give you an analgesic which will promote recovery.”
“That’s a relief,” Taragis said when he’d gone. “I’ll work on restarting your schedule the day after tomorrow.”
“What’s going to happen at the University?”
“You’re going to be studied,” he said with a grin. “Boy, are you going to be studied.”
“You don’t need to sound so cheerful about it. From what I’ve heard, studies of Lottery Winners can prove fatal.”
“Tut. That was a long time ago. We’ve come a long way since then.”
“I’m very pleased to hear it.”
“Seriously, it won’t be very pleasant. You really will be put through the mill. You’ll probably feel a bit sore but, even more, you’ll be mentally exhausted. Some of the tests are quite challenging, or so I’ve been told.”
“Why am I not filled with confidence?”
He patted me on the shoulder. “It’s only one day.”
“I thought it was every week?”
“It is but the others are follow-ups and checks to see if anything has changed. They’re not nearly as bad.”
“It’s the price of fame, I suppose,” I said in a resigned tone.
“But think of the plus side,” he smirked.
I was saved by my communicator. It was Hermes apologising for not coming yesterday and suggesting he come now.
“I’ll buy you lunch,” he offered.
“In that case, you’re on.”
Taragis left saying he’d see me tomorrow when I got back.
“If I live,” I said to his retreating back.
I never did ask him about the cats.
Hermes arrived accompanied by a representative from Zofi-Brennan whom he’d met in reception. I had completely forgotten that they’d said they’d send a designer. We went to lunch. I had a salad much to Hermes amusement.
“Doctor’s orders,” I said gloomily as I contemplated the various leaves and vegetably things that decorated my plate.
The designer had a very fancy display pad. We transferred my ideas to his and he started playing. We were lucky in that he came from a world with significant oceans and was familiar with sailing ships. Whether he and, indeed, Hermes, were impressed with my concept, I don’t know. I was the eccentric owner and they were too polite to say. Hermes did object to having a binnacle and ship’s wheel in his control room so I moved them to the main hall.
“We couldn’t supply these,” the designer said. “You’d be best to acquire them on your home planet.”
He was good, I had to admit. Although he wasn't familiar with the design of Earth ships, he quickly latched on to the look and feel from Hermes’ database and rapidly turned my fumbling ideas into a very sharp design. I was especially impressed with the master suite. If the reality matched his drawings, I was going to love living there. He was quite happy to leave the bedrooms empty and assured me that I could have them done whenever I’d made my mind up. He did remind me that I was only entitled to one shot for free. If I changed my mind later, I would have to pay. Because I was leaving a number of rooms unfurnished, it would take four days for the work to be done.
I took Flerrionna to dinner at a little restaurant she knew within walking distance. I felt it was reasonably safe going outdoors when the sun was down, at least for a short while. She spent the night and I managed to make love to her. I was still a bit tender so she gave me a soothing bath… with her mouth. After that I forgot all about any pain. I woke in the middle of the night to find her softly weeping. When I tried to talk to her she initially pushed me away. Eventually, though, she opened up and confessed to feeling insecure. She had seen both Ymar and Tansy and was comparing herself unfavourably with them. I had to think carefully before I replied.
“I can’t deny I’m having fun,” I began. “I don’t know about other cultures but, on Earth, we have this… fantasy, I suppose, about what’s been called a ‘zipless fuck’; where two people come together and have sex just for the pleasure of it. There’s no commitment, no emotional baggage and no aftermath. What I’m doing is the closest thing to a zipless fuck I can think of. In part that’s built in to the process. Let’s face it, under what other circumstances could an average man like me get to escort such a collection of beautiful young women to expensive restaurants and what have you and then get to have sex with them. So, I’m not going to lie to you; part of me enjoys that very much.
“But, and this is the critical point, whatever I may feel about then is irrelevant. I can’t afford to get emotionally involved even if I wanted to. I’ll never see any of them again. They’re not free agents. They’re contracted to get pregnant. What happens after that I’ve no idea. Now I’m not a great lover who cuts a swathe through the galaxy’s maidens leaving a trail of broken hearts behind him. I’m an average man and as vulnerable to a woman’s charms as any and these ladies have many charms. Under normal circumstances I suspect I’d be nursing several broken hearts by now. I’m not and do you know why? You. I’m able to remain a bit detached and not fall for them because I have you. You’re my bedrock. I
keep thinking, ‘after all this madness is over, I’ll still have you’. And after it’s all over, perhaps we can put it all behind us and get to know each other better and behave like lovers should. I know this is all difficult for you. I understand, truly I do. But please trust me when I say I love you and only you.”
She turned and snuggled into the comfort of my arms.
“I do trust you,” she sniffed. “And I do believe you believe you love me. I love you, too. It’s just… it happened so quickly and we didn’t get a chance to really get to know each other and I… I nearly lost you and that made me realise how much you meant to me. If you should ever… My mind just keeps saying ‘what if?’. What if one of them sweeps you off your feet? What if your ideal woman is there? What if…?”
“Flerrionna, it can’t happen. You’re forgetting I’ll never see any of them again. One night, that’s all.”
“I know. I know that’s true but I can’t help worrying.”
Chapter 16
My day among the researchers at the University was worse than Taragis had predicted. Coming from an ‘unknown’ species they were eager to find out as much as they could about ‘Earthlings’. At least they were polite about it and gave me a slap-up lunch. The tests may not have been life-threatening but they were stressful and I arrived back feeling like the proverbial wet dishrag. It did occur to me, somewhere in the middle of it all, to wonder why, if the Commission knew enough about me to know which species I could successfully mate with, the University researchers seemed to know very little. The random thought also crossed my mind that I’d met few, if any, cross-breeds. If species could interbreed, then you’d expect to see beings that combined elements of both parents; Capellans with dark woolly hair and blue skin, perhaps, or burnt umber skin and blonde hair.
Taragis was waiting for me when I returned. He took one look at me and went to the drinks cabinet.
“Scotch, isn’t it?”
“You’re a hero, Taragis.”
“It was bad, then.” It was a statement not a question.
“It was. What’s worse, I’ve agreed to go back. I’m their first Earthman and they’re very excited.”
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