A. Warren Merkey

by Far Freedom

  “It was a longshot. I thought Etrhnk might send the Rhyan home.” Horss walked over the broken glass, leading Mai into the apartment. “This probably isn’t the right place, but it does look lived-in.” Mai found the light switch. Horss had already noticed the mound in the floor and now the light showed it as a pile of dirt and plant material. He knelt down and touched the dark soil, smelled his fingers. He pinched a small amount of the loose material and put it in a pocket. “Damned strange!” He turned to look around the apartment.

  “Someone ate a meal not long ago,” Mai said, looking at the dirty dishes. She picked up a piece of paper from the kitchen counter. “Ohmygod!” She read the note Admiral Demba had written.

  “What’s it say?” Horss asked, taking his turn to read the note. “Crap! He’s got all four of them. The Rhyan has two broken limbs but Demba, Samson, and the artist are alright.”

  “Who has them?”

  “Admiral Etrhnk.”

  “This is very strange and frustrating!” Mai declared. “I have people who need me and I can’t get to them! Let’s go back to the Clinic. I’m ready to call Doctor Mnro.”

  The hospital was six hundred years old, built in an era of epidemics, incurable diseases, and frequent physical injuries. The Mnro Clinic occupied a small fraction of the building’s volume, mostly on the lowest two floors.

  Mai sat down at her desk and started to activate the communications set, but an incoming call to her implanted unit stopped her. She sat and listened while Horss stood looking at the personal pictures decorating her office wall. She was still tolerating his presence, he thought, but with a little less reserve. He would never get anywhere with her, not that it was important to him physically or for his ego. The more he saw of her job and her clients, the more he respected her, and he was already in debt to her for his recovery from death. Nevertheless, he kept thinking about her in a mature sort of way. Almost mature. He was still a kid, compared to her.

  Horss explored Mai’s private office, noting that some of the furnishings were probably relics salvaged from different places in the old city. He didn’t see any pictures on the walls that suggested Mai had romantic relationships. Three were oil paintings by Rafael de LaGuardia, including a portrait he thought quite flattering of Mai. He wondered if it was in the artist’s catalog. He wondered if he could get a copy. He thought about his own selection of pictures that never decorated his office wall on the Eclipse. Romantic relationships? He wasn’t immune to such feelings but the Navy completely removed the possibility of taking a wife. It had to be a casual affair, as anyone dear to him would always be at risk. However, if his Navy career was at an end… Was that what it was - getting serious about the first woman he could afford to be serious about? It was difficult not to think about Mai, even when events overshadowed personal feelings.

  “Opera week,” Mai said after a moment. “That was one of my temporary staff. They have a full emergency room now, including three fatalities in stasis. Looks like I’ll be working all night. Again.”

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  “Be careful what you volunteer for. I’m calling Doctor Mnro now.”

  “Do you want me to leave?”

  “Do as you wish.”

  “It would be an honor to meet her. The Mother of Immortality.”

  “Mother Superior! Perhaps she’ll be easier to talk with if you’re here.”

  Mai placed her call to Doctor Mnro. An old-fashioned virtual display panel above the surface of her desk showed the route of the call as a graphical representation of the Earth-Moon system and a red line connecting points on each sphere. The line turned green when the lunar headquarters of the Mnro Clinic answered the call. A person’s image appeared in one quadrant of the display.

  “Luna Mnro Clinic,” the receptionist - perhaps a real person - greeted. “How may I help you?”

  “Sugai Mai, Earth Mnro Clinic. I need to speak to Doctor Mnro.”

  “Just a moment, Sugai Mai.” The man glanced briefly away. “She isn’t here today but let me check for special instructions.” The display quadrant went gray for several moments then restored the receptionist’s image. “There’s a block on calls to Doctor Mnro until further notice. You can leave a message.”

  “I have to speak to her now! This is an emergency!”

  “I can connect you to Deputy Director Ramadhal. That’s the limit of my authority.”

  “Thank you. Do so, please.”

  After a lengthy pause the entire display filled with the image of a darkskinned man in surgical grays as he traversed a hospital corridor in the gliding hops required by weak lunar gravity. “Sugai Mai! Greetings to you! Is there some emergency there on Earth? Ah! It’s Opera Week! Do you have critical needs, then?”

  “No, sir. My staff is busy as usual but they’ll survive. I need to speak directly to Doctor Mnro. Now. This is a private matter that she will want to know about. I’m sorry I can’t tell you its exact nature. It’s for your own protection.”

  Doctor Ramadhal came to a halt in the hospital corridor. He looked around, frowned, put one finger in the air. “Let me call you back in just a moment.” The picture went dark.

  Mai and Horss looked at each other. Mai leaned back in her chair. The display then indicated a call of local origin requesting connection. She waved at the display and the image of Jarwekh appeared.

  “Good evening, Doctor Sugai, Captain Horss. I am, of course, on duty. I need to warn you that there will be more trouble than usual, more injuries, more fatalities. There’s a rumor that Pan has been arrested by the Navy. This will have a destabilizing effect on much of the population.”

  “I agree. Is there anything you want me to do? I can call the EPA.”

  “You might put them on alert. I don’t anticipate complete anarchy, unless there’s a cancellation of the Opera.”

  “Try not to kill too many, Jarwekh.”

  “As you always command, so I always obey.” Jarwekh terminated his call.

  Horss moved closer to Mai, put a hand in one of his shirt pockets, and sprinkled the contents of the pocket in a little pile on Mai’s desk. “Do you know what that is?”

  “Some kind of plant material and soil.”

  “Tundra, I would guess. From the Arctic. The stuff in the middle of Daidaunkh’s floor.” Horss was intrigued by the recent turn of events. He was even a little concerned for the admiral’s safety, perhaps because she had the boy with her. It was unfair that Samson was threatened by Demba’s predicament.

  “They were transmatted to the Arctic, then. But why would they bring back some of the tundra?”

  “A lot of it! Did you see the pile? I’ve never seen a transmat do that. People with other objects, yes, but that was probably the ground they were standing on. Very strange!”

  “That’s almost scary,” Mai said, after thinking about it for a moment.

  Horss was cleaning the tundra from Mai’s desk when the call was returned by Deputy Director Ramadhal. Doctor Ramadhal reappeared, this time in a private office.

  “This is a secure circuit,” Doctor Ramadhal said. “First, introduce me to the person beside you. I may have to ask him to leave.”

  “This is Captain Jon Horss, Union Navy. He’s to be the captain of the Freedom.” Horss almost laughed at Mai’s assumption. He knew he would never set foot aboard the ship.

  “I’m sorry. I’m not aware of many Navy matters. Is that a ship?”

  “Yes. It’s the new ship that’s being sent on an exploratory mission to the galactic hub. Captain Horss was the captain of the Navy’s flagship, the Eclipse. He’s Navy but I trust him.” She trusted him? He didn’t even trust himself!

  “Captain Horss, a pleasure to meet you. Sugai Mai, I have shocking news for you. Doctor Mnro is retiring from the Clinic.”

  “I need to speak to her now.”

  “What is wrong? Did you hear what I said?”

  “Ordinarily I would be picking my chin off the floor. It’s an historic piece of news. B
ut it’s of secondary importance to me at the moment. It will also be of secondary importance to Doctor Mnro when she hears what I have to say. How do I talk to her?”

  “Now you worry me! Call her residence. I’ll give you her private number and a priority code. I confess, I’ve just used the priority code today, to verify her intention to retire. She didn’t actually use the word ‘retire’ when she notified the deputy directors that she would be leaving. Unfortunately, the priority code didn’t gain access to her, which leaves me rather hurt and bewildered. Perhaps it will work for you. Everyone knows you’re her favorite field director.”

  “Everyone but me!”

  “Please, if you’re able to talk to her, ask her the questions I would ask her. Tell me what she says. I’m certainly intrigued by what you say could be more important to her than this momentous change in her career. Record this.”

  Mai listened and committed the private communication number and the priority code to augmented memory. “Thank you, Doctor Ramadhal. I promise that, if I’m able, I’ll contact you with information about Doctor Mnro. Goodbye.” Mai cut the connection and quickly fed in the private number. The red line lanced toward the moon and landed on a small crater near the eastern limb. The line stayed red for a long time, finally turned green.

  A recorded message played: “Aylis Mnro is unavailable. Please leave a message.”

  Mai slapped her desk with the palm of her hand, quickly suppressed her frustration, then composed her message. “Will you please answer your phone! Ramadhal told me to say apocalypse. I’ll give you a better word - Pan. The Opera Master. It’s vital I speak with you! Call me as soon as possible.” Mai waved the connection off, got up and paced around the room. As she passed near Horss he reached out and guided her into his arms. When she began to resist Horss released her. He was astonished he had done it. He was also surprised she initially allowed it.

  “Bad timing,” she stated, belatedly not wanting to release the implication.

  “That sounds encouraging.”

  “This is just sexual instinct, Captain,” she said irritably. “What Pan didn’t tell you - what I didn’t tell you - is that I’m leaving Earth, going on a hiatus from the Clinic. In order to have a baby.”

  “Oh.”

  “Feel differently about me now?”

  “I feel happy for you. Parenthood is a wonderful thing.”

  “You’ve been a parent?” Color rose in Mai’s face. She was embarrassed at having asked the question.

  “I apologize for holding you.” Horss lost the small spark of daring that overrode his Navy training and his accursed physiological augments. Now he was truly disappointed. He still wanted to hold Mai. He didn’t want to answer

  her question. He didn’t want to answer his own questions. Did she have a partner, a husband somewhere?

  “You’re a parent?” Dismayed that she’d repeated the question, she turned away from Horss, hiding her expression of pain.

  Horss felt defeated and lonely. Why did he think so much of Sugai Mai? He would never be close to her after this. “I had a wife and daughter.”

  “Had?”

  “We go to the heart of things in a rush.” He found courage, useless though it was. Horss circled Mai to observe her face. She pivoted to avoid his eyes. “You blush even to the back of your neck. What does that mean?”

  “It means I can’t control how I feel about you!”

  Horss was amazed at learning Mai had favorable feelings toward him. He was shocked that she might feel romantic about him. He didn’t know how he felt about her, or didn’t want to know. He was careless in his response. “I’m in a similar state.”

  ” You’ve met your quota.”

  “My quota?”

  “The ‘Price of Immortality.’ One man, one woman, one child.”

  “You considered me as a potential father for your baby?”

  “Yes. No! My mother would never approve such a match. I’m confused! I have absurd thoughts.”

  “I’m deeply honored. I’ll treasure your absurd thoughts.”

  Mai turned to Horss with a storm of emotions on her blushing face. Horss extended a hand to her, palm up: a peace offering. She looked at his hand and grew calm. She took his hand and held it. As she opened her mouth to speak, the communications display flashed with an incoming call. She waved it on before thinking.

  “What is this now?” The caller turned within the display field to apparently see them holding hands. “Do you have a gentleman friend, Mai-Mai?”

  “Who are you…?”

  “Oh, the hair. Just another of my bald phases. So, are you going to introduce me to this attractive young man? He isn’t Navy, is he?”

  Mai couldn’t get any words out. The image of the bald woman, a pale and mischievous face, looked from Mai to Horss and, addressing Horss, nodded toward Mai. “What happened?”

  “I disappointed her. My name is Jon Horss, captain, Union Navy. Perhaps commander of the U.S.S. Freedom.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Jon Horss. Perhaps commander? If you were chosen by Fiddle-dee Demba, then you are its commander. What are you both doing on Earth?”

  “Do you know Admiral Demba?”

  “I’ll ask the questions here. What’s this about Pan?”

  Horss started to answer but Mai found her voice. “Admiral Etrhnk invited Pan to dinner aboard his ship yesterday and he hasn’t returned. We think he’s being held prisoner.”

  “Why would Etrhnk do such a thing?” Doctor Mnro asked. “Perhaps you’d better tell me more.”

  Mai and Horss told the story of Samson and the admiral, and all the events up to the present. When they finished, the bald Doctor Mnro said nothing for several moments as she thought about what she heard. “At least he hasn’t killed her. Yet.” “What about Pan?” Mai asked. “Can you make Etrhnk let him go?”

  “Has he touched her? Has Pan touched Demba?”

  Mai and Horss looked at each other, looked back at the image above the desk.

  “We don’t know,” Mai replied. “Pan visited her early yesterday. Captain Horss was the only one to speak to Pan before he left.”

  “He told me she was apparently remembering things,” Horss said. He told Mnro what he overheard of Pan’s conversation with Etrhnk.

  “Damn!”

  “It was her DNA that set off the alarms, wasn’t it?” Mai asked.

  “Woke me up out of a sound sleep.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not? Sleeping isn’t living, after all.”

  “I don’t understand. Why the Denial of Service? Is she Fidelity Demba or is she not? And why are you retiring from the Clinic?”

  ” I’m not. I just can’t run it for awhile.”

  “Why? For how long?”

  “I can’t say and I don’t know. Did Ramadhal put you up to grilling me? Yes. Any more questions to which I can give disappointing answers?”

  “Yes,” Horss said. “Who is Samson?”

  “I haven’t the faintest idea.”

  “Pan?” Mai said. “Can you do anything about Pan?”

  Doctor Mnro smiled and vanished.

  Section 021 Losing a Father and a Daughter

  “Why? Why must you leave?”

  The idea came to him at this most unsuitable time, the idea that he never thought his father’s light color abnormal. He was dark. His mother was dark. His father was pale.

  “I can’t tell you why,” his father said, “except that I’ve been summoned.”

  “But your work isn’t finished. Things are worse. You’re giving up.”

  “I have the patience. Your mother has the patience. Society changes for the better only slowly. It changes for the worse quickly. I have you both to support me. I would never give up. But I’ve been summoned.”

  “What can be more important than the Rhyandh Democracy Movement?”

  “The person who summons me understands our mission and fully supports it. He wouldn’t summon me if a greater need didn’t exist.”


  “What could be more important, Father? You work for harmony in the lives of billions ofpeople.”

  “It will come to nothing if a greater threat isn’t countered.”

  “Who summons you? What threatens us?”

  “I can’t tell you, Son.”

  “You won’t soon return, will you?”

  “That is implicit in the summons.”

  “Mother can’t go with you ? “

  “She can but she won’t. She won’t be permitted to go as far as I go.”

  “Why not? If you can live secretly on Rhyandh, she could do the same on Essiia.”

  “She could. Nor would it have to be in secret. But I don’t travel to Essiia.”

  The implications of his father’s statements staggered him emotionally. He likely expected never to see his wife and son again. His father perhaps even expected to die.

  “I confess to feeling very sad now, Father. You’ve wasted your training on me.”

  “Nothing has been wasted on you. You take care of your feelings very well. Perhaps it’s that small amount of Earth in your heredity that, paradoxically, brings moderation to your feelings. You must know that I have all these terrible emotions that tear at me behind my armor. Pity me, that I can’t moderate them well enough to let them show. I would never be able to leave your mother and you without my training.”

  “Let me go with you! There are so many things I want to learn about your people and the Earthians.”

  His father stared into his eyes for a long moment but soon enough came to a decision. “We must leave immediately. Wave to your mother. It will be a long time before you see her again.”

  He turned around and found his mother standing at the big picture window overlooking the arid land that surrounded their home. He waved to her. She put her hand in the air to return the gesture, then her hand went to her face. He knew what that small movement meant even though he couldn’t read his mother’s expression from this distance. It made his heart ache. He couldn’t swallow. He turned and saw his father walking toward the flyer. He told himself he could change his mind, deliver his father to the transportation terminal and bring the flyer home. That was what he could do. But how could he let his father go out of his life? He had to follow him as far as he could, until he understood why it had to be. Only then could he return to his mother.