by Robin Roseau
I stared at the light -- sunlight -- for another moment. Then I nodded and stepped forward.
The heat and humidity were shocking, and just outside, I came to a sudden stop again, but Herr Parsons took my arm and pulled me to the side, out of the path others might take. I shielded my eyes from the bright light and looked at him with a little distress. But he was holding his hand out, and I stared at the contents.
"What is that?"
"Sunglasses," he said. "Here." He folded them open then stepped closer. I held still as he slipped the glasses into place, tucking the ends over my ears and adjusting the fit in front of my eyes.
I had never worn something like this before; I had never even seen something like this before.
The lenses were tinted and darkened the day, but when I looked around, I realized I could see better than I could without them. And I didn't need to shield my eyes from the light. I got a much better look around.
There was so much I had never seen. On Frantzland, we do not build structures like the one we had just exited. I didn't even have the words to describe it. But we were at the edge of a sidewalk that paralleled the building, and beyond that, a roadway for ground vehicles. There were a few vehicles picking up or dislodging passengers, but far fewer than I expected.
"I thought there would be more people."
"Most will take the tube," he explained. "Everyone departing the system on Safe Haven left nearly two weeks ago. There's another regional transport expected in four days, but people taking that transport have already left as well. People arriving today work in system. Some might be traveling to one of the colonies on one of the moons. Others might be traveling to the asteroid belt."
I nodded understanding and looked around further.
Beyond the roadway, it was all green, shockingly green. There was a wide swath of low vegetation, and several hundred meters beyond that, a wall of green like none I'd ever seen before. I pointed. "What is that?"
"What is what?" he asked.
"That wall."
I think perhaps it was difficult for him to avoid laughing. "Frau Herschel, those are trees."
"Trees?"
"We're in the middle of a tropical jungle," he explained.
"Oh. Of course." I knew of such things, but I had never expected to be standing at the edge of a jungle myself. "Are there wild creatures?"
"There are," he said. "A great many, but they will not bother us."
Herr Parsons allowed me to gawk for several minutes. A few times I lifted the sunglasses to see what things looked like to my raw eyes. Intellectually, I understood that Frantz Star burned quite red, and that the stars of other planets were much whiter, but it was one thing to understand this and another to experience it.
I also intellectually understood the concept of a jungle, but to see such tall trees was nearly as shocking as the color of the sunlight.
Finally I turned to Herr Parsons. "It is all very new to me."
"I imagine," he replied. "I grew up on Galmon Four. It's in Babylon Sector. The sun here is just a tiny bit bluer than I am accustomed, but otherwise you could barely tell a difference, at least from a distance. Of course, the native plants on Galmon are much different than the native plants here. But nature repeats itself."
He paused before asking, "Is it too hot for you?"
I shook my head. "No. This would be a cool day on Frantzland's surface."
"I was going to use one of the government-issue runners, but I think we should splurge. Come on." He gestured right, and the two of us walked along the front of the building. I continued to crane my head around, trying to take everything in.
It was all quite overwhelming.
We reached the end of the building, and there was a large, paved field with a variety of personal use vehicles. In some ways, they were similar to those we might use on Frantzland's surface, although there were stylistic differences. Herr Parsons led the way to one row of vehicles, and we walked amongst them until he found what he wanted. "This one," he said.
They didn't look all alike, but I couldn't tell why he chose this one. The vehicle was small with only two seats underneath a bubble canopy. There was a small storage area in the nose, and so I moved to the access door. Herr Parsons stepped to the driver's side and used his tablet to active the vehicle. A moment later the canopy slid backwards, and right after that, the storage access door opened.
"Is this legal?" I asked.
He smiled at me. "We're renting it. Go ahead. Store your bags."
I carried my bags to the compartment and set them inside. Herr Parsons climbed into the vehicle, and a moment later I was seated beside him. We buckled up, and then we were moving slowly out of our parking space.
"Shouldn't we close the top?"
"It's a beautiful day," he said. "I thought we'd drive with it down. But you're not used to this sun, so we'll have to close it at least enough to give us shade shortly."
It took a few minutes to leave the beanstalk facility. We found ourselves on a roadway heading towards Aetheria, and nearly immediately had towering trees on both sides of us but cut away from the roadway perhaps forty meters on either side. The sun was high overhead, but the canopy formed by the trees had us traveling through shade. We sped up and zoomed along.
It was amazingly beautiful.
Fifteen minutes later, Herr Parsons partially closed the canopy, leaving it open enough to let a breeze in. And he tinted the canopy as well, shielding us further. "I don't want you to burn."
"Burn?"
"If you are under direct sunlight too long, your skin begins to burn."
I widened my eyes, wondering if he was playing with the naïve girl.
"Think of it as slowly roasting over a low fire," he explained. "You won't turn black, but you can turn bright red. It is basically a first-degree burn. If you are outside long enough, it can proceed to second-degree burns. During rejuvenation, most people living on planets with intense sunlight take modifications for extra protection from ultraviolet rays. But Anna said it was unlikely someone coming from Frantzland would have such protection."
"I don't," I said. "Thank you for taking care of me."
"You're welcome."
* * * *
A few kilometers from Aetheria, Herr Parsons exited the main road, turning north. This road was narrower, and he drove more slowly. "There's a lovely lake," he said. "We shouldn't stay too long, but we'll see some of the native wildlife."
"Is it dangerous?"
"There are dangerous animals on Tarriton," he said. "But we smell wrong to them, and they leave us alone as long as we leave them alone. The biggest dangers come if a mother worries we are threatening her young or a predator decides we're too close to a kill. We'll stay near the runner."
I continued to look around, in awe at what I was seeing. I know I already said this, but it was so amazingly beautiful. If not for Mother, I'd never return to Frantzland.
"Is the entire planet like this?"
"No. It is quite varied. This is a tropical jungle. But Artemia is located in a large valley in the mountains, and it couldn't be more different. Anna has a home high in the mountains with an amazing view of the entire valley. It is quite spectacular. There is snow in the winter."
"What is snow?"
His head snapped in my direction for a moment. "Do you have rain on Frantzland?"
"Yes."
"Snow is what happens when the temperature drops below freezing."
"It rains ice?"
"Well, it can do that, too, but then it's called hail. I guess snow is a form of ice, but the way it forms makes it quite light and fluffy. It's pure white, and there are a great many winter activities we enjoy."
Ten minutes later we parked facing a small lake. The runner grew still, and I stared out at the water.
Everything was amazingly beautiful. Stunning. And it remained overwhelming. I turned to Herr Parsons.
"There must be a downside of living here."
"Well," he said slowly.
"Not very many people speak German. You're going to have to learn English. And you might not like the capital."
I didn't think either of those would be significant impediments.
We climbed from the vehicle and moved to a small dock beside the water. There was a light wind, causing small waves on the water. Overhead I saw what passed for local birds.
"Sometimes there are animals," Herr Parsons said. "Sometimes there are not. They're more active near dusk." He gestured. "Still, it is beautiful."
We stood, side-by-side for perhaps ten or fifteen minutes. I tried to absorb what I was seeing. Finally I turned to him. "Thank you for bringing me here."
* * * *
We had lunch in a restaurant at the airport. An hour after that, we were aboard a jumper, bound for the capital.
Aunt Anna
When everyone can look any age she wishes, no one in the empire judges age based on appearance. Instead, there are other clues.
All right, appearance can tell you a few things. I've never known anyone to take rejuvenation down to younger than about sixteen. So if someone appears to be twelve years old, she probably is. I am using Talmon years now, as only someone living on Frantzland would use a short Frantzland year.
On the other hand, if you see a twelve-year-old with her mother, you can assume the mother is at least thirty, but she could easily be two hundred and thirty.
But after that, you must rely on these other clues I mentioned. Teenagers tend to act like teenagers. Of course, that is not an absolute; anyone can act young.
What is harder is for someone young to carry the poise, wisdom and confidence earned with age and experience. And so, it doesn't always take long before you can broadly categorize someone's age: young, early adult, middle years, old, and ancient. Of course, one had to be careful with these categorizations.
And, of course, it would be a social faux pas to say, "Wow, you're ancient."
* * * *
Aunt Anna worked for the Imperial government. Her title was Regional Secretary of State for the Tarriton sector. I had little understanding what that meant, but I knew she was important and powerful.
It is important to recognize the difference between the Imperial government and a planetary government. On every planet I knew that had a planetary government, the Imperial presence was in or very near the planetary capital. The Tarriton planetary capital was a town of a half million inhabitants on one of the two southern continents. The planetary government's offices were at one end of a large park. The Imperial offices were at the other end.
By planetary law, no buildings in Artemia were allowed to stand more than four stories tall with the exception of the Tarriton capital building itself and a handful of monuments that peppered the city. All of these buildings were, of course, dwarfed by the surrounding mountains.
Aunt Anna's office was on the fourth floor of a four-story building right at the edge of the park. Over time, I would learn that her department owned the entire building and several other buildings nearby. The imperial governor had another building at the corner of the park, a less prestigious location than that commanded by my aunt. After all, he worked for Aunt Anna, as did all other imperial governors in this region of space.
Herr Parsons escorted me all the way to Aunt Anna. I remained amazed and overwhelmed by everything I had seen, and that didn't end when we came to a stop outside Aunt Anna's office doors. Herr Parsons turned to me.
"Ready?"
I gulped. "What is she like?"
He began to grin. "How can I possibly answer that? She's the most amazing woman I've ever met." He shook his head. "It would take me hours to explain. You have nothing to worry about. She wouldn't have brought you all this way if she didn't care about you."
"We've only met once," I replied. "Technically she's not my aunt anymore. She was partnered with my mother's uncle, but they parted ways when I was..." I had to do the math in my head, converting from Frantzland years. "Twelve or so." I looked away. "Did she tell you why I'm here?"
"Yes. You know, it's not that bad."
"Yes, it is. I was so foolish."
"Perhaps you were," he said. "If it's the biggest mistake you've ever made, you should count your lucky stars. No one was killed." He smiled again. "The eyebrows are interesting. What are they?"
"Artificial garnet," I replied. "I have stones for eyebrows." I shook my head. "So stupid."
"I've seen far more drastic fashion statements than that," he replied. "I bet you have as well." He made a point of looking at my butt. "She didn't make you take a tail or cover you in fur."
I started to grow angry. He was belittling my plight.
"That being said," he added. "I understand why you came this far. But you're here for more than reversing this." He gestured at my body. "If she hates you, well, you got a free trip and no worse the wear. But if she likes you, then you could find yourself really going places."
No pressure.
A moment later we nodded to each other, and he led the way to the door.
* * * *
By the time I saw her, Aunt Anna was already rising from her chair behind a massive desk. The office was huge and well furnished. Behind my aunt were floor to ceiling windows along the entire wall, and the early evening view was stunning. I took all this in and then examined the woman approaching me.
Aunt Anna was tall, at least 175 centimeters, with a perfect figure and a perfect everything else. She wore an impeccable business suit that I was sure cost more than I made in two years. She wore her blond hair pulled to her right side, some of the hair draping ten centimeters in front of her shoulder, the rest falling a similar distance down her back.
She was at least as stunning as everything else I'd seen today.
When she spoke, it was in German but with a distinct accent, but the words were spoken with precise diction.
"Maddalyn," she said, smiling and closing the distance. She stepped right up to me and pulled me into a tight hug. I couldn't remember ever being hugged by someone I didn't even know, and I stiffened for a moment. But Aunt Anna ignored my awkward moment and held me, speaking into my ear. "I'm so pleased you have come." She kissed my cheek, held me for a while longer, and then stepped partially away. She dragged her hands along my arms, and in doing so, captured my hands.
Then she looked over my shoulder. "Thank you, Devon."
I looked over at my escort. "Thank you."
He nodded to both of us. "Will you need me again tonight, Anna?"
"No, Devon," she replied. "I won't be in tomorrow, but you know how to reach me if anything critical comes up."
"We'll try not to bother you. Frau Herschel, I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay here on Tarriton, but if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you, Herr Parsons," I said.
A moment later the office doors closed behind him.
"Well, let me look at you," Aunt Anna said. She held my hands wide, looking me up and down critically. She released my hands and then walked around me slowly. She came to a stop immediately in front of me again, then used two fingers to lift my chin, studying my face.
"Are you wearing cosmetics?"
"No.”
She studied me. While still holding my chin steady, she lifted her other hand and brushed fingers across my eyebrows. I held still under her scrutiny.
"Well," she said finally. "It's not as bad as it could be, but I can understand your reluctance to maintain this form. It is an intentional caricature." She released my chin, and I lowered my eyes.
"Come," she said, turning away from me. I followed her back to her desk. She gestured to a chair then crossed behind her desk and sat down. She leaned with her elbows on her desk, her fingers in a steeple, her chin resting on the tips as she looked at me. "Before we begin, can I offer you anything? Did you need a trip down the hallway? Refreshments?"
"I'm fine," I said. "Thank you."
"Very good," she said. "The fact that you are here suggests you hope for my help."
&
nbsp; "Yes, Aunt Anna."
“Very good,” she repeated. “My help can come in a variety of forms. I will make my smallest offer, but I wish to know you far better than I do before we discuss other forms.” She gestured. “I will arrange to have this reversed.”
I immediately broke down, crying while saying, “Bitte,” and “Tut mir leid”, apologizing for crying. Aunt Anna reached across and captured my hands but let me get the crying out of my system. When I pulled myself under control and offered my last, “Tut mir leid”, she nodded and slid tissues to me. I cleaned up as best I could.
“I’m so sorry,” I admitted.
“Feeling relief is a reasonable reaction,” she said. “Are you able to continue?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I will reverse this. If you wish minor changes to your natural appearance, I will allow them, but only if I am convinced they are tasteful and subtle.”
“I understand. I like my natural appearance.”
“We will discuss other modifications, if any, once we know what we’re going to do with you.”
“How long will I work for you?”
“To pay for rejuvenation?” She clarified. I nodded, and she said, “You won’t. I am doing this for a family member in need. But we will get to know each other to see if you wish to work for me, and in what capacity.”
“Oh,” I said slowly.
“I remember a bright girl. Your mother assured me my memory was accurate, and she included evidence. The letter from Frau Langenberg was especially complimentary.”
I hadn’t known Mother had done that. I dropped my gaze and said nothing.
“Or perhaps you wish a prompt return to Frantzland.”
I thought about it, then lifted my eyes. “You are an important woman. Mama said you need smart people to help you do important work. I am smart, Aunt Anna. I may have been very naïve, but I am smart. Can you use someone like that, Aunt Anna?”
“Oh, Maddalyn, I most certainly can.”
* * * *
I stood on the balcony looking at the view from the bedroom Aunt Anna had assigned me. I was still trying to take it all in when she appeared behind me, setting her hand on my shoulder. “It’s not Frantzland.”