The Galactic Circle Veterinary Service

by Stephen Benjamin

  Roxanne put her hand out across the table and squeezed mine. “I understand. This must be a difficult burden for you to carry. I trust you.”

  I sensed that she meant what she said. I had to be honest with this woman. She affected me more than anyone I had met before.

  “Sometimes it’s hard. I can’t help but get messages on the nonverbal level. Strong human emotions affect me badly with nausea, vertigo, and headaches, so I try to block them as much as possible, but I could tell that you are sincere. Earlier, that helped me decide to level with you about my mission and Levi.”

  She smiled. “I won’t hold that against you. You are a very special person, you know.”

  Roxanne took a powder room break and as she walked away, I thought that holding her against me would be just dandy. What I learned about her character only enhanced the initial physical attraction I felt. This was an extraordinary woman, and I did not want the evening to end.

  When she returned, I said, “I remembered something you mentioned yesterday about new forced embryonic maturation technology. Would there be some way for me to get that? I could see it as useful in some circumstances. I have no idea what kinds of challenges we face on this voyage.”

  She nodded. “I don’t see why not. I’ll talk to my boss. We owe you more than just a dinner, in my view.”

  “Thanks. That would be great.”

  The rest of the evening went far too quickly, and soon I found myself at her door.

  Roxanne stood framed in the doorway. “Thanks for a delightful evening. I enjoyed myself.”

  “Same here. I-I’d like to see you again. If I could?”

  She smiled and her cheeks dimpled. “I’d like that, too.”

  “But I leave late tomorrow. I don’t know when—”

  She put a hand on my arm. “I understand. Whenever is fine. Let’s keep in touch. Let me know where you will be, and I’ll try to leave a hyperwave message.”

  “Yeah. I’ll do the same.” I didn’t know how to end the evening. My hands felt like extraneous appendages.

  As she stepped close to me and rose up on her toes, face upturned, I momentarily panicked. There was no way our lips could meet without my huge nose getting in the way. But they did and our emotions blended and soared. For the first time I experienced that joy can be implicit in perceiving an emotional response instead of nausea and pain. When the door closed, it seemed like I floated back to my hotel.

  ***

  Other than the constant of Levi’s sadistic threats, the stop at Sammara had been successful. I did not do anything with respect to veterinary medicine—other than stop a stampede, which they don’t teach in vet school—but I learned a good deal about EPD. My meeting with aspiring veterinary students had turned up several who I thought had real potential. I gave a recruiting report to Levi to send back to the Academy.

  And I met Roxanne. Despite Levi being such an overbearing putz, I was elated. As a teenager, I had fallen in love with an ancient actress named Ingrid Bergman in the vid, For Whom the Bell Tolls. I mistakenly thought Bergman was Jewish, but that was not important. She was the most enchanting woman I had ever seen. Roxanne could have been her stand-in. And her name—Roxanne! That had to be a coincidence, right? Of course. It had to be.

  CHAPTER 6

  After Sammara, Reb Levi laid out his itinerary.

  “We will go to Crother’s World, then to Makan, then to Wolath,” he intoned in his most officious voice.

  All three were human-settled worlds within Newsol’s sector out near the edge of our galaxy. They also happened to be worlds that responded to Sammara’s call for help when the Test-Lits invaded. I wondered about that and mentioned it to Fur.

  The big man smoothed his moustache before answering. “That’s by design, I think. Those worlds have sizeable Jewish populations. Not as many refugees from Dovid’s World as on Sammara, but enough that the tyranny of the Test-Lits is well-known.”

  I thought about that for a moment. “Then why does he want to go there? I can understand gathering military info on Sammara. The Sammarans and the Test-Lits are mortal enemies. What in hell does he want on Crother’s World and the others?”

  Fur shrugged his shoulders. “Probably the same reason as Sammara. Find out what the Test-Lits might face militarily if they decided to invade or, worse, get allies to support their brand of despotism. But that’s why I’m here. I can help you on the medical end, but I’ve got to learn what Levi is up to.”

  Fur putting us at risk brought my pulse rate up, and it must have shown.

  “I’m sorry, but that’s the reality,” he said. “We can’t let the Test-Lits either get support from other worlds or take their brand of fundamentalist tyranny elsewhere. The SOD will do everything we can to stop them.”

  “Don’t stop them at my expense. I don’t want anything to happen that could endanger my parents.”

  He fixed me with his brown eyes. “Not doing anything might be the very thing that endangers your parents.” He turned and walked off.

  ***

  When I examined Levi’s full itinerary, I noted that most of the worlds he scheduled followed around the rim of the galaxy, staying away from the more heavily populated inner sectors. Given that, I supposed that the name Galactic Circle was not as presumptuous as I first thought. Did Levi come up with the name, or was it someone else who had a modicum of imagination?

  I learned that extended space travel was downright boring. Interstellar flight involved a jump into hyperspace and took only a fraction of the objective time of normal space travel. Since a spaceship could only enter hyperspace outside the influence of any significant gravity well, it took a lot more time to maneuver into and through solar systems than it did to move between stars. Fortunately, with no significant mass involved, gravity wells did not restrict hyperwave messaging.

  I’ve tried to study hyperspatial mechanics, but I do not understand the mathematical intricacies. When they got to imaginary numbers, string harmonics, and quantum gravitational theory, my mind shut down. I’m a veterinarian, not a theoretical physicist.

  Anyway, the restrictions on hyperspace jumps left us with lots of time on our hands. I passed mine as usual; I read old books and watched old vids. Fur read, as well, but we discovered a common interest in 3-D chess and enjoyed that diversion. It almost seemed as if our AI was bored, though, of course, this could not be possible. Ruthie virtually “looked over our shoulders” as our chess games progressed. Early on, we had to lock her out from participation since she would inform us of the next best move before we could begin to analyze it. Now, she restricted herself to analyzing—very critically—moves after we made them. It bothered me that an AI could sound like it was being sarcastic, but I brushed that off as my imagination.

  While Fur, Ruthie and I sparred, Reb Levi was at his wit’s end. He had his scriptures, a number of vids on religious philosophy, and three hard-copy siddurs, traditional Hebrew prayer books. He even had a vidchip of services for Fridays, Saturdays, and special holidays so that he could pray in synch with a congregation.

  Another recreation that Levi participated in was weight training. He had one corner of the rec room set up as a small gym, and he worked out every day. His blocky frame lifted a hell of a lot more than I could manage, but Fur and I took advantage of the equipment, as well. I tried to ignore Levi, but he could not pass a day without some form of threat to me and my parents, his favorite form of recreation.

  Fur and I were engaged in a game of chess when Levi sought us out. He watched for a few minutes as Ruthie intoned, “That wasn’t a smart move, Cy. You will lose your bishop and enable checkmate in 10 moves.” She paused. “If your opponent is skilled enough, of course.”

  “There is something peculiar about this computer,” Levi muttered. Then he shook his head as if to clear the thought. His eyes narrowed as he fingered his scar. “We are weeks into our journey and neither of you has made any effort to join me in services. This is unacceptable. The Council would not like to he
ar that you have been neglecting your devotions, Berger.” A sneer crept across his lips like some obscene slug. “Who knows how they might react to such a message?”

  I said nothing as my heart rate accelerated. No matter how frequently he needled me, I still reacted.

  As usual, Fur was quick to calm potential conflicts. “That’s a very good point, Rebbe. Cy and I discussed that very thing last evening. We realized that the excitement of the journey had pushed these important issues into the background.”

  That was a bald-faced lie, but I swallowed the acid that rose to my throat and added, “Yeah, but don’t we need a minyon?”

  Levi turned his cold glare toward me. “The Rebbinical Council has given me a special dispensation to make up for the seven men we are missing for a minyon, Berger.”

  I wondered if that agreed with Judaic law, which regulated services, but I nodded. “When?”

  Levi’s eyebrows shot up. “When? Friday evening, of course. And Saturday morning.”

  I placed my elbow on the table, smack in the middle of the holographic image of the chessboard, cupped my chin with my hand, and tapped one cheek with a forefinger as I looked at him. “Do you know what day it is today?” I kept my voice innocent.

  “What day? Of course I know what day it is. Tonight is the Sabbath. And at six we will have services.” His voice held a dangerous edge, and his eye began to twitch.

  “Ah, but is it Friday? Hyperspace jumps don’t take into account the passage of time in normal space. I know we don’t experience the time passage, but it takes place. We might have lost a day or two. That could make today Saturday, or even Sunday.”

  I sat back and enjoyed his reaction, first disbelief, then confusion, then anger. The eye twitch was as regular as a metronome. I kept my shields firmly in place.

  His beady black eyes gleamed, and the pale slash of his scar stood out on his darkened face as he moved toward me. Before he reached me, Fur leaned between us and kicked me in the ankle, hard enough to make me wince.

  “Rebbe, I think that Cy is right about the uncertainty of the day of the week, but couldn’t we also have a dispensation in that regard? Why don’t we keep our ship’s calendar based on our elapsed time? So, if it’s Friday for us, we don’t worry whether it is so for others. This differs between planets depending on planetary rotation and solar orbit anyway, as you know.”

  I believed that Levi knew no such thing, but I kept my mouth shut. I had already pushed too far.

  Levi’s face cleared. “What you say does make sense, Mr. Cohen. We will meet at six, our ship’s time, in the recreation room.”

  “Delighted,” Fur said. “We’ll see you then.”

  Levi gave me a nasty look as he left.

  I looked forward to services with Levi as much as an abscessed tooth.

  ***

  We recited prayers in unison with the vidchip congregation; we used the siddurs Levi had brought. I had not attended synagogue for several years, but the prayers remained familiar. I hoped that this would keep Levi off my back for a while.

  Surprised at how easily I fell back into old habits, aside from the constant irritant of Levi, the weekly services reminded me that it was not Judaism itself that I had come to hate and reject, but the Test-Lits’ form of Judaism. Evangelism, oppression, and intolerance were diametrically opposed to everything Judaism stood for. I had to separate the Test-Lit abomination from the thousands of years of tradition that allowed Jews to persevere throughout our turbulent history. Dovid’s World’s Jews had to overthrow these false prophets.

  But the Friday evening and Saturday morning services were not enough to satisfy Levi. I had the religious training of any young man, including a bar mitzvah, but I’m no scholar. I was a heretic, at least in the eyes of the Test-Lits, and Levi seemed to think it was his responsibility to bring me back to the fold.

  As I turned to leave the rec room after Saturday morning services, Levi called to me. “Stay, please, Dr. Berger.”

  The fact that the man would not call me by my given name was just one more irritant on top of so many others.

  “May we speak for a moment?” he asked.

  Did I have a choice?

  “I can see that you are unhappy with me, but that need not be the case.” He dripped with false sincerity. “I’m your friend. You should recognize that.”

  Was he kidding me? I had no response.

  “I have helped give you an opportunity that most of your colleagues would sacrifice much for. Seeing the universe. Practicing your profession on new worlds.”

  I still said nothing.

  “Do you have nothing to say? I would think you would thank me for this.”

  What bullshit. I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer. “And my family? Do I thank you for that?”

  “Cy, Cy, Cy.”

  Now I would rather he did not use my first name.

  “We must recognize reality. I am protecting your family. Without my protection, who knows what might happen. I am your friend. Please return that favor.”

  “Yeah. Sure. Great. We’re friends.”

  I turned on my heel and exited the room.

  I found Fur in the commissary. I slammed the hatch shut to keep Levi out and threw myself onto the chair across the table from him.

  “How in hell do you maintain such a calm face in front of Levi?” I asked. “You’ve got to hate him as much as I do, but you never show it.”

  Long moments passed before Fur spoke. “Yes, I hate him as much as you do, but he can’t know that. If he did, it would blow my cover. I would no longer be able to work to undermine everything he and his coterie of zealots stand for. I can’t show what I feel.”

  “Easier said than done.” I shook my head. I could never hide my feelings. “You’re the consummate spy, hidden at the bosom of your enemy until it’s time to plunge the knife into his heart.”

  Fur laughed. “Very poetic. I hope it’s true.”

  I wished I could have that kind of control. Or did I? My anger fed my determination. That internal fire kept me from paralysis, afraid to do anything lest it harm my family. I would do what I must to protect them now, but some day...some day, I would do more.

  ***

  At our planned stops, the drill became a set one. We orbited a world, made contact with the authorities, and proffered our veterinary services. Turned out there was little we had to offer that was not already available on those worlds. The small number of clients I got came more out of curiosity than real need. The Rebbinical Council had spared little when they equipped the spaceship, but they were parsimonious with our budget and expected the GCVS to support itself. The whole idea of this mission paying for itself seemed further and further from reality and underscored the real, hidden espionage agenda of Levi and the Rebbinical Council.

  The one piece of equipment that actually paid for itself was the robotic surgery unit, something a couple of the visited worlds did not have. I am not a great surgeon, but when I slid into the interface cap, I was capable of complex procedures. I performed a hip and a knee transplant in a Great Dane and a Lab, and a couple of unusually difficult neurosurgical spinal procedures on paralyzed Dachshunds, things the local vets could not do and I would not have done on my own. That gave me a bit of celebrity and a few more clients. The other thing that got a few contacts, at least, if not clients, was Ruthie’s telephone operator routine. Seemed that our bizarre AI was more popular than me. Apparently, she was turning into a comic. For the most part, though, I was bored to tears.

  Reb Levi knew that he could not accomplish his espionage goals as a veterinary assistant—and that cover was woefully inadequate in any case—so he often broke away on his own excursions: supply missions he called them. As I had suspected, I would get little out of the man with respect to veterinary technology duties. He considered what he did and learned a big secret. For my part, I did not care; I was more than happy to get him off my back.

  If we had no clients, Fur usually followed Levi surreptitiou
sly. Keeping tabs on the rebbe’s machinations for the SOD, no doubt.

  On each world, I carried out my recruiting duties. I had my pitch fine-tuned now. Many people welcomed the reopening of our Academy’s school, and I signed up viable recruits on each world.

  At each stop, Levi sent his hyperwave message to the Rebbinical Council and the Academy regarding our progress. On Crother’s World, I sent off a missive to my family and to Roxanne. These were brief and factual; Levi censored everything I sent. He did allow me to tell them where we would be next. On our third stop, on Wolath, I got my reward in two hyperwave messages. Levi insisted that he must see my parents’ message. No doubt it was already censored on Dovid’s World, so I endured that, but when it came to Roxanne’s message, I drew the line.

  “No way. This is personal. It has nothing to do with Dovid’s World and your goddamned mission. I won’t allow you to stick your nose any further into my life.”

  Levi’s face turned even darker red than usual, his scar a white slash. “Your attitude is unacceptable. You have no say in this matter, Berger. And your blasphemy will earn you no rewards.”

  I realized I had stepped over the line, so I backed off. “Okay. I’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t see how my exchange of messages with Dr. Simon has anything to do with this voyage. I have to have some privacy or I’ll go nuts. You’ve got my folks, and you read everything that I send and they send me. What else do you want?”

  He screwed his lips to the side and tilted his head in the same direction. With his hooked nose, it made him look like a giant black-eyed bird eyeing a questionable morsel of food. “I will be magnanimous and allow you this. As you say, there can be little to do with our mission. Remember that I am being lenient. You should be thankful.”

  My stomach roiled as he turned away. I wondered if his assurance would truly prevent his reading the messages. Deep down, I thought not.

  I sat down to view Roxanne’s message. Her face wavered as she spoke—hyperspace introduces all sorts of interference into message holos—but it was still the most beautiful thing I could imagine.”