by DRK
As before, Albert and Jane took the back seats of the truck, but this time Sheila drove, since Osmo left the Tourist Trap in a somewhat tipsy condition. Mita had left the nightclub ahead of them to return to her own hotel in a somewhat seedy part of town. She thought it wise to get back there before someone broke into her room and rifled through her things.
Osmo and his friends stayed at the posh Hope Hotel. Like many of the buildings of Sparkle City, it had been built from the splotchy stones, but then it had been treated to make the rock resemble marble from Earth.
Instead of going to their rooms and calling it a night, Sheila suggested they go to the roof of the twelve-story hotel and enjoy the view of the cityscape in the bright light of the two moons. Albert and Jane liked the idea.
"Just keep away from the edge," Jane cautioned Osmo. "Your balance seems to be a bit off tonight."
"Oh? I must have an inner ear infection..."
Albert for the moment ignored the city below. "Those two moons are something to see! Very bright- combined, they are brighter than Earth's moon, that's for sure. Does anybody live on either of them? Are there cities like Sparkle or anything?"
"In fact, each one has a moonbase," Sheila said, "in case of ever any kind of emergency with a rocket traveling the tunnel, those manning the base can get there quickly to help, if the moons orbits are close to the wormhole when it happens. Also, a rocket needing repairs can land there." Proudly, she added, "It was Uncle Xavier's idea to put the bases there."
Osmo squinted, peering into the night sky. "Hey, I think I can see the flashing blue beacon showing where is the wormhole tunnel out in space! Or is it the booze?"
"Yup. Some days or nights it can be seen from here. But say, you are not looking at the city. It is just as pretty from our view. Don't you agree? My uncle helped the city develop into the jewel it is today."
Wobbling in front of Sheila, Osmo stared into her eyes. "Yes, I agree. You certainly are pretty from here."
She patted his shoulder good-naturedly. "Okay, Os, so you've told me a couple of times already tonight. Perhaps you should not drink so much next time, okay? Then I will know whether it is really you talking or just the alcohol."
Osmo shrugged, a little embarrassed. Jane found that exchange interesting. Perhaps Sheila wasn't quite as plastic as Jane had first figured.
Albert said, "It's good Hope doesn't enforce any legal age drinking laws, or we'll all be in trouble tonight."
Sheila changed the subject. "See that big high hill over there in the distance? There's where the Governor's House sits. It's lit up, as usual. My uncle likes to keep it looking good, and he likes to have the lights on, so he can always see how good it looks, and so other people can see it as well and be proud of it. And they should be, because it is very beautiful. I must take you there and show you the place some time soon."
"Count me in for it," said Jane. "Up that way, in the opposite direction- that place with all those lights, more even then your uncle's place. That must be the rocketport, right? It looks even bigger from this perspective than when we were right there when we landed!"
"Why yes, it overs almost the whole northern end of our town, Jane. It has to be that big, because a lot of freighters use the port when they come to haul our fuel ore. On the other side of the rocketport our farms also provide a bit of goods to send to Earth, such as crops and some of the hybrid animals we breed that come from the first batch that escaped when the Peace Lab had crashlanded down here- Oh!"
The young girl from Hope stopped herself, realizing what she talked about so casually in the very presence of the son of the brave, lost Hope Martin. "I'm sorry, Osmo. But you might be happy to know that Uncle Xavier saw to it that a breathtaking park had been set up to honor your mother, and not very far from this hotel. I was going to tell you about it tomorrow, so that we can visit it-"
Osmo shook his head. "No, thanks, Sheila. I don't need to go."
"You don't want to see-"
Albert, familiar with Osmo's reaction to this subject, suggested to Sheila, "It's wise to drop that matter with Osmo."
Puzzled, she nodded, not understanding. "I guess he must have his reasons..."
She waved her hand over the city in the direction of the west, toward some nearby wilderness mountains. "Anyway, over in this direction, spread along the tourist section of town, we have some more parks, a library, a college, a stadium, and- this is the best part- quite a few shopping malls for the Earthers- and the rest of us who like to go shopping."
"No hospitals?" asked Jane.
"Of course we have hospitals- well, at least one. That's more on the east side, toward the Sea of Fun. It's on the same side of town, but more in town, however, as is my uncle's place. I shop there on that side of town, too, but not as much, because that side is a tourist zone, but it is mixed with the older business and commercial zones, and even the residential zones. Most people live in the heart of Sparkle, in the middle, and the tourist and business places surround the peoples' houses. Ahem, I might add, I help Uncle Xavier with the town planning zones. I go over the permit requests for him, recommending what to give final approval to or to reject."
"Nice," said Jane.
Albert asked, "So where are the good churches located? I had it drilled into me as a little kid to attend every week, and, well, I still have the habit. I want to go tomorrow. Wanna come, Os?"
Osmo ignored him.
Sheila gave directions for how to get to the official state chapel. "Um, I go, too. Once in awhile. With my uncle. The services can be very inspiring."
"That's good to hear," Jane remarked.
Sheila quickly got off that talk about attending church. "So, you can see how big our city is, and how we manage to provide for our citizens. And we also make a better life possible for all those on Earth, by mining our fuel ore for them, and by sharing our food with them. Yet Earth shows its appreciation by depriving us of the basics that we need, that we ask for, forcing my uncle to figure out ways to use the shoddy, short amounts of things they do send us to the best advantage for all of us on Hope."
"Do tell," said Osmo, listening.
"Well, as an example, Earth sent us a lot of broken down, useless robots. Earth doesn't much use them, because they don't need them. They have enough resources, so robots are just a novelty for them, anyway. These were supposed to be service robots, for things like collecting trash and stuff. But my wise uncle converted them to other, more useful functions, like helping guard the miners, or guarding the border of town. They keep out the wild animals, although I haven't heard of many outside of town lately. And the border robots check the permits of people coming and going, visiting some of the World of Hope's wonderful resorts and such."
Sheila chuckled. "Of course, Uncle Xavier can't give the robots jobs that make them think too much. Everybody knows how stupid robots can be."
Jane interrupted. "That's why Uncle Xavier insisted on inviting Osmo and us, his pals, here, and pays our hotel expenses, to win over Osmo's support, and in turn, Osmo will tell his father about how the World of Hope needs more help, and so Mr. Martin will then use his influence with the Earth Leaders to get more supplies for Hope- and also to boost tourism, too."
"Yup," Sheila added, "And I am glad Uncle Xavier did bring you here. I had fun today, especially with Osmo. I like your company."
"I like your company, too." Osmo gave her a goofy smile, which in his state he thought looked sexy.
Albert said, "Can you take us to the beach tomorrow, Sheila? I'm in the mood to vanquish Osmo in another game of volleyball!"
"Hahaha! You wish! You only got lucky last time, pal," Osmo told him.
"And he got lucky the time before that, too," reminded Jane. "Hmm, and then the time before that, also. And before that, and-"
Osmo scowled. "Okay, okay, so Albert gets lucky a lot. What's your point?"
Jane told Albert, "If you are going to go to church tomorrow, then we can't set up a time to go to the beach until after the services, don't forget.
What time is church, Sheila?"
Sheila was unsure of the actual times of the church services. She gave a time, and hoped she guessed right. They all agreed to meet at the beach afterward. Albert assumed Osmo and Sheila would already be at the beach ahead of them, since neither of those two planned to attend church with Albert and Jane. After deciding what time to be at the beach, Albert excused himself so he could get enough rest in order to rise up early enough in time for church.
When Albert left, Jane did likewise, going to her own hotel room. Osmo and Sheila stayed up on the rooftop, enjoying the night and each other's company.
Osmo commented, "I see the hotel rooms have landlines. That seems a bit outdated."
"Not really, Osmo. There's not much in the way of cell phones here because Hope just doesn't have the system set up to operate them. I think some interference in the air or something is why it had never been well developed. But the Security Agents use them, and also walkies. But other than theirs, cell phones are not so reliable here. When the citizens can afford to, they use landlines."
"Oh, I see."
"My uncle has a whole communications department back at the Security Agency building, to keep the agents able to talk with each other. It also helps him when he wants to call to Earth. They help synchronize the satellites with the wormhole and all that complicated stuff."
"It sounds complicated. That's the sort of challenge my father likes to work with. He thinks that's fun. Say, Sheila, I have an idea for some late-night fun..."
"Oh? Like what?"
"Believe it or not, I brought along some balloons in my luggage. The customs on Earth gave me a funny look about them, but I brought them for just such an occasion as this. They're downstairs in my rooms yet. Let's fill them with water and bomb the people from up here as they go by!"
She shook her head. "No, Osmo, let's not. Please tell me you're not serious."
"Huh? Why not?"
"You can't do that. If someone complains, Sec. Ldr. Clyden will come and get you, and lock you up for the night. You already made him plenty mad when you took his parking place. My uncle won't approve of locking you up like that, but Mr. Clyden can use the excuse that you were being a public nuisance while intoxicated. As a rule, he doesn't like to go against Uncle Xavier, but I think in your case, tonight, while he is still hot under the collar, Sec. Ldr. Clyden would make an exception."
Osmo laughed with mirth, carried away with his plan. "I'm willing to take my chances!" He turned toward the door leading back down from the roof.
Sheila gently latched onto his arm, holding him back. "Please, Osmo. My uncle invited you here. It will be a bad reflection on him. You needn't give in to every mischievous impulse you feel, you know."
He stood there, frozen in indecision, fighting the impulse. Finally, he relaxed, sighing. "Okay, but it would have been fun." Then, suddenly, he kissed her on the cheek. She could smell the beer on his breath. "Sorry," he again laughed, "but I couldn't resist that fun impulse, anyway!"
Taken aback, she giggled. "It's getting late, Osmo. I'll walk with you down to your door, then I must get going, or Uncle Xavier will send Sec. Ldr. Clyden himself out looking for me. I hate when Uncle does that!"
After she left him, Osmo entered his rooms, whistling happily, closing the door. Sheila continued on down to the street, to her truck, humming a cheery little tune of her own.
Jealous