by D M Arnold
“How did you discover he was a Floran?”
“It was an accident. One morning in his apartment I was awakened by an odd noise. Illya was sleeping like a log -- he had overindulged in a local vintage. I located the source of the noise. It was a communications device about the size of a paperback book. It had odd lettering, and I realized right away it was an advanced technology -- far beyond that of Earth of that day -- even of today. I woke him and confronted him. He told me his real name -- about his world -- why he was here. He began to teach me the language. It became our private way to communicate.”
“How do you feel about our mission?” Nyk asked.
“Nykkyo -- I believe sustaining yours is our world's best and perhaps only hope. Some day -- after the Centauri mission and you can reveal yourselves to us -- our world may face a global catastrophe. I cannot believe a people as gentle and benevolent as yours would stand by and watch billions of their fellow beings perish.”
“Was Illya responsible for you switching your major?” Suki asked.
“Yes. He told me he was an amateur historian with a fascination for the early days of his world. We would sit overlooking the Seine, drink coffee or wine and have long talks about the nature of history and the future. I had never thought much about history before.”
“Then, what happened?”
“He disappeared. I came home to the apartment and all his effects were gone. I never heard from him again. He told me it might happen. I had to leave Paris. I changed my major to history and decided on a career in teaching -- to pass on some of what I learned from Illya.” She looked at Suki. “Things must be different, today -- if you two can be engaged.”
“I'm afraid not. I chose to leave the Agency and go native.”
“It appears Illya made a different choice.”
“No, Daphne -- I'm sure the choice was imposed on him. Suki and I still risk his fate. You still love him, don't you?”
“Yes... Illya was the reason I never married. After loving him -- I could never love another man. I don't know if he's alive or dead.”
“He's on the homeworld, very much alive. Would you like to speak to him?”
“Is that possible?”
Nyk wrote an address on a slip of paper. “Meet me tomorrow at nine. I can't make any promises.”
“I'll call in sick -- I'll be there.”
Suki led Nyk toward the subway station. “What do you think your life would've been like if you hadn't met Miss Wallace?” he asked.
“It would've been horrible. I was out of control.”
“Yet -- you would've met a man and had a child.” He pondered. “Suki, all those times you told me, without my help -- you'd be dead... I told you it wasn't likely. Now, I think you were right.”
* * *
Nyk stood, leaning against the office building. A clock on a bank down the street read 9:08. A yellow taxi stopped at the curb and Daphne Wallace stepped out. “I'm sorry I'm late,” she said. “I almost chickened out.”
“This way.” He led her into the building and up the stairs to the FloranCo offices.
“Good morning, Mr Kane,” said Jaquie. “We see nearly as much of you now as when you worked here.”
He spotted Seymor in his office and beckoned Daphne to follow. “Good morning, Nick,” Seymor said. “To what do we owe this honor?”
Nyk closed the door. “Bon'matina, Seymor. Xe damta Daphne Wallace es. Ni nu vidfon utili ard. Mi dev vidfon-voka fet.” He gestured Daphne behind the desk and brought up a vidphone screen.
“Nykkyo!” Seymor sputtered. “Have you lost your mind?”
Kronta's image appeared. “Bon'taka, Illya. Xe damta zidiri ard.”
Daphne stepped behind the camera. “Pierre! C'est tres bon de tu voir!”
Nyk took Seymor's arm and led him to the spare office. “Come -- they need time together. I'll fill you in.”
* * *
“I can't believe it,” Seymor said. “To imagine our friend Illya involved in such.”
A rap came on the door and Daphne entered. Her eyes were red and she clutched a handkerchief. “He wants to speak with you.”
He sat behind Seymor's desk. “Nykkyo -- What you did today was either an extreme cruelty or an extreme kindness -- I don't know which. How did you find her?”
“Daphne Wallace was Sukiko's history teacher. She was the one who turned Suki onto a career as a historian. If Suki never had met Daphne, I never would have met her. Don't you see Illya? I had thought I was responsible for her temporal interference. I wasn't -- it started with you.”
“Yes -- I do see it. I was so smug thinking Daphne was safe. My interference crossed over to Sukiko. I shudder to think of the potential outcome of my foolish, selfish indescretion. I shall immediately tender my resignation and turn myself in as a temporal criminal.”
“No, Illya. Don't you understand? The very act of placing Floran agents on Earth is temporal interference. Any of us could be crossing the street. A taxi swerves to miss us but hits and kills an Earth person -- someone with future connections to the Centauri mission. Temporal interference may be a force of nature -- like the butterfly, the turbulence from whose wings ignites a storm that spawns a tornado that destroys a village. The only way to stop it is to shut down the Agency and pull all Florans off the face of this world -- until after the warp jump accident.”
“We need the Agency to survive. What can we do?”
“Rather than adhere to rules and regulations drafted by planetbound temporal theorists, we must give those in the field the prerogative to do what they believe is right. I'm the one living it, Illya -- and I have as much to lose from temporal contamination as anyone -- maybe more. And, we must have faith.”
“Faith? In what?”
“That the future unfolds as Destiny intends. She has invested more than five thousand Earth years in our creation. I can't believe She'd let it go to waste. I thought I was to blame for Suki's situation. Now I believe Destiny sent me to Earth and into her arms for a specific purpose -- to neutralize the damage you caused.”
“I'm in shock, Nyk. I'll require some time to think this through.”
“Illya -- Daphne still loves you, and I know you still love her. You two might as well resume contact. It's much easier today than twenty years ago.”
“I'll think about that, too. Good day, Nykkyo.” The vidphone session terminated.
Nyk stepped into the other office. Daphne and Seymor were finishing a conversation. “Jaquie has called a cab,” he said.
“You have nothing to fear from me,” she replied. “I promised Illya and I have kept it.” She turned to Nyk. “Thank you so much -- now I have closure.”
14 -- Night Visitors
Nyk opened the mail delivered to the lab in Queens. Seeds he had ordered from online suppliers arrived. He opened the packets and began planting them in sprouting beds. The phone rang and he picked it up.
“Nykkyo,” he heard Seymor say. “Illya Kronta is in a panic to speak with you. He tells me he's restored your communications and he wants you to call.”
“Restored my communications?”
“That's right -- I think it's in your best interest to call him.”
“All right -- since I don't have a data line here, yet, I'll call from the apartment tonight.”
“He said it's urgent. He's called me twice today already.”
Nyk hung up the phone. He looked at the clock, locked the door and headed for the house. The front door swung open and he saw Suki sitting on the living room sofa holding Nicky.
“Hello,” she said. “Do you want some lunch?”
“Sure.”
“Mom's out shopping.” She handed Nicky to him. “We have some instant miso soup. Would you like that?”
“I'd love it.” Nyk carried Nicky into the kitchen. Suki measured some water into a pan and began warming it. “What're you doing home? I thought you'd be at NYU.”
“I quit.”
“Why? I thought you loved your job there.”
&nbs
p; “I wanted some time to bond with Nicky before I move on to the next thing.”
“Next thing?”
“I've been offered the post of assistant professor at Pace University -- starting April. I thought it would be nice to have the rest of February and March free.”
Nyk hugged her with his right arm and kissed her. “That's wonderful news. We must celebrate tonight.”
“I can't have any alcohol -- because of the anti-depressants.”
“We'll come up with something.”
“I'm starting to enjoy this, Nick.”
“Enjoy what?”
“Motherhood -- I feel like a real mom, instead of some grotesque, distorted, mutant mom.”
She tore open two packs of soup mix and dumped them into the water. “I'll get some rice. Mom always has rice going.” She scooped some from an automatic steamer. Nyk took two pairs of chopsticks from a drawer.
He sat across from her, holding Nicky in his left arm and using the chopsticks with his right hand. “I like this arrangement. The lab is within walking distance, so I can come home for lunch. It reminds me of our time together in Wisconsin. I have happy memories of those times.”
“Those were dark times for me. I have happy memories of you.”
“You just came through a dark time.”
“You're my light at the end of the dark.”
Nicky began to doze in his arms. Nyk stroked his hair. “He's adorable, Suki. I love him so much.”
* * *
Nyk sat across from George at the go board and exchanged turns with him placing the stones. “You're becoming quite good. I must bring you around to the Queens go club and give you a chance to play a true master.”
He glanced at the wall where the crest had hung. The tanto had been joined by another object -- a samurai short sword. “That's new, George.”
“It's quite old,” George replied. “From the early Edo era. The blade is as keen as the day it was made. How do you like it?” Nyk nodded.
“He never asked me my opinion,” Yasuko said. “I'd rather not have those ... things in the house.”
Nyk looked at the board. “Shall we tally? I have some work to do.”
“Certainly.” George counted the stones. “A very good showing, Nick.”
Nyk headed up the stairs. “Are you going to bed?” Suki asked.
“No. I'll put Nicky down and then do some work.”
“I'll be up after I help Mom clear up the kitchen.”
Nyk unpacked the laptop computer and jacked it into the data circuit. He activated a vidphone window and entered Kronta's locator code. “Nykkyo -- I re-enabled your communications.”
“So I see. Seymor said you were in a panic to speak to me.”
“Nyk -- I'm still reeling from our conversation the other day. There's a battle royal going on within Agency Oversight. It's me against Tomyka, and for once our side has the ammunition. I'd like it if you'd consider traveling to the homeworld and appearing before the committee. We can clear your name.”
“My name is clear here.”
“We're talking full reinstatement, Nyk -- your Agency credentials, your transit privileges, canceling the economic incarceration -- the whole package. You could come and go to Earth as you please and resume your post as Seymor's assistant.”
“I was under the impression my case was hopeless.”
“Some new developments have split this thing wide open. But -- there's more... Tomyka's getting desperate. I fear she may do something foolish. Bringing this out in the open would defuse it.”
“I'm sorry, Illya -- I made a promise to Sukiko and I plan to keep it. Can't you clear my name in abstentia?”
“No, Nyk. You must stand before the committee.”
“Is this a trap -- to lure me into a false sense of security so I'll set foot on Floran territory?”
“Not at all, Nyk.”
“What sort of ... foolish thing could Tomyka do?”
“She can send enforcers for you and order your detention dead or alive -- with the emphasis on dead.”
“Even she wouldn't dare do that. Would she?”
“She's already done much I didn't think her foolish enough to do. She smells her defeat, Nyk, and it's driving her to desperation. She's never lost a battle before. Please consider returning here -- I can make the arrangements and guarantee you safe passage.”
“Can you guarantee my return?”
“I can give you everything except a guarantee. It's nearly a certainty.”
“Unless it is a certainty -- I must decline.”
Suki stepped into the apartment. “Oh, I'm sorry -- I didn't mean to interrupt.”
“Is that Sukiko?” Kronta asked. “I'd like to speak with her.”
Nyk gestured Suki to the laptop. “I'll help your mom finish up downstairs.” Suki nodded and sat before the computer.
Nyk descended the stairs and stepped into the kitchen. “Need any help?”
“Nick -- maybe you can reach this.” Yasuko handed him a tray to store in a high cabinet.
“I think we're out of the woods with Suki.”
“I'm proud of how you handled her, Nick. I wish George had treated me the way you treated her. I can't complain, though. George did what he thought was right.” She faced Nyk and stroked his shoulders and arms. “You're such a fine young man. Oh, Nick -- I wish I were thirty years younger. If a man like you had come into my life then -- George would be history!” She looked down. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that -- I don't wish you to believe I've been unhappy with George. I haven't.”
“You needn't answer if you're uncomfortable, but I've surmised you and George have enjoyed a satisfactory physical relationship.”
“Satisfactory for my tastes. George has been a good husband. It's been my dream for my daughter to find someone who's at least as good for her as George has been for me. I'm seeing that dream come true.”
“How did you and George meet?”
“Sit. You and I can finish the tea from dinner -- I hate to toss it away.” She poured a couple bowls. “I was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1943. Of course, that was in the middle of World War II. When I was a year old, my mother sent me to live with her aunt and uncle in Nagano, in the mountains. I never knew my family -- I never saw them again. They all perished a year later in the atomic bombing.”
“Oh, Yasuko -- I'm so sorry. Do you harbor ill will toward Americans for that action?”
“Of course not. It was wartime. If Japan had possessed such a weapon, it certainly would've been used.” She sipped her tea. “My uncle had contracted tuberculosis, and as his illness progressed my aunt had greater difficulty caring for him and me. When I was about ten, I was sent to live with my only other living relatives -- a cousin on my father's side living here in New York.”
“That's how you made your way here.”
“I was little more than an indentured servant to them. They kept me in their household until I was twenty-two. Then, questions about my immigration status came to light. I had grown fond of the American lifestyle -- of what I lived of it -- and I had no desire to be returned to Japan. My cousin knew of a friend whose son was starting a career as a stock trader. He was looking for a companion -- a housekeeper.”
“George Kyhana.”
Yasuko nodded. “I married George in order to stay in the country. I envy my daughter, Nick. The love you have for her is so strong as to be palpable. George and I didn't start out in love. We learned to love each other -- well enough, I believe. Don't get me wrong. George has been a good provider and a faithful husband. We started out living in the very apartment you and Sukiko now occupy. George's father, and Jonathan, lived in the lower level of the house. George's mother had left them years before. She wasn't Japanese -- she was Thai. That's where George gets his coloring.”
“And, Suki.”
“I spent most of our first years as a housekeeper to George's father. He started the jewelry business. He was a second-generation American and Japanese by he
ritage only -- but he had a strange attraction to the old country.”
“Suki told me some of that story.”
“He liked having a true Japanese living in the house. I had to wear the kimono ... I think he desired me physically, but he never acted on those desires. After about five years, Sukiko came along and I had my breakdown.” She sipped again from her tea bowl. “I did recover, but to this day I have pangs of guilt.”
“It wasn't your fault, Yasuko. What Suki went through wasn't her fault. She did not desire it -- neither did you.”
“I feel guilt for something else. Not even George knows this. During my confinement, I had my tubes tied -- so I'd never endure it again.”
“They would do such a thing?”
“I requested it and they were more than happy to oblige -- to prevent a crazy woman from bearing more children. It's why Sukiko is an only child.” She closed her eyes and pursed her lips. “George wanted a son, Nick -- he wanted one so badly. I couldn't -- it's why he insisted Sukiko marry the first time. I'm pleased you and she are engaged. With you and Nicky in his life, now ... perhaps George... Oh, Nick!” She exploded into tears. “My daughter has given him what I never could...”
Nyk held her as she sobbed. “We're all following the paths Destiny traces for us, Yasuko.” She embraced him. He pressed his lips to the top of her head and stroked her short, salt- and-pepper hair. She released him and fetched a facial tissue. “Tell me what happened next.”
She dabbed her eyes. “Jonathan and his father had a falling-out and Jonathan went elsewhere. We've talked about my suspicions regarding Sukiko and her grandfather... When Sukiko was about nine, he lost his business. He had over-extended himself and those chickens came home to roost. He committed suicide with a dagger like the one hanging on the wall.”
“Not the same one?”
“Lord, no -- I wouldn't have it in the house. I found him, barely alive and in great agony. By the time the ambulance arrived, he was dead. George felt obligated to honor his father's debts. He used all our savings and borrowed more to do so. For a couple of years, I tried to help. George paid every penny, but it wiped him out and he had to start over.