Qirn nodded to his remaining warrior. “Jaan, you come with me. We will follow the followers now. But keep sharp—where there are two of the Paum's agents, there may be more."
“These Harg are a nasty bunch. The Paum chooses his enforcers well,” Jaan whispered. “They are paid mercenaries—hard-hitting and hard to take down.” Jaan stroked his snout in thought.
“It could be worse.” Qirn's eyes narrowed. “The Paum could've sent a Destructor."
“Only if he wanted them dead,” Jaan replied.
All grew silent in recognition of the dreaded name.
They nodded agreement.
A low growl emanated from Qirn's throat. “Still, we must show caution,” Qirn added as he gathered his thoughts. “Too many aliens have disappeared from this section of Rxariar lately. And we know the agents of the Paum are behind many of them."
“And so the evil spreads,” Jaan mused.
Qirn's eyes and his locked. Finally, Qirn nodded at Rab.
The two reptilian warriors moved stealthily forward as Rab disappeared in the opposite direction.
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* * *
Chapter Seven
MINSTREL ASSUMED HIS Zuuk form again. “I will return to review the results of my queries now."
Minstrel had returned briefly to upload data after returning from his first survey. Now, the towering Zuuk turned to leave.
“Good. Maybe you can keep an eye on the boys for me."
“That should be easy for a Zuuk with seven eye-stalks.” Minstrel-Zuuk laughed.
“I did not mean the request literally,” Mother chided.
“They're probably halfway across RahajMr by now. But I'll try to catch up with them,” Minstrel-Zuuk said in a more serious tone.
“I'm ready!” Elise ran into the room, her excitement evident in every motion. But all Mother and Minstrel needed to do was look at her eyes—eyes that gleamed with the freshness and exuberance of life.
Elise was ready to go out into the universe.
“I want Krinia and Jysar to stay right beside you.” Mother's optic focused on Elise's companions. “Keep her in sight at all times, Krinia."
Krinia put her arm around Elise's shoulders. “We'll take good care of your baby, Mother. Let's go, girl-friend."
“The city of RahajMr is a most civilized and technologically advanced society,” Jysar said with emphasis. “These cities are probably the safest places in the universe."
“Hmmm.” Minstrel-Zuuk turned its seven eye-stalks to Jysar. “I wish I could share your feelings. But with so many different species drawn here to use the most powerful computer system known and the riches it has collected, there is the potential for trouble. I am just glad personal weapons are not allowed inside each city."
“I hope I will be able to directly connect to this system,” Mother said. “It is the personal reason I wanted to come here."
“I will inquire again about this possibility when I reach the Search-terminals,” Minstrel-Zuuk said.
“Yes, a supreme accomplishment for any race.” Jysar sighed. “And security is very tight here,” Jysar agreed, changing the subject. “Their sophisticated technology is able to scan and prevent anyone from getting around it. It can detect hidden weapons with almost one hundred percent success."
“That is true. Jaric had his pocket scanner confiscated on our first visit yesterday. After it passed another more detailed security test, they returned it,” Minstrel-Zuuk said.
“That makes me feel better,” Mother said.
“At any rate, RahajMr and its sister-cities are as good a place as any for Elise to begin discovering the rest of the universe.” Krinia smiled at Elise, who beamed back at her.
“Please be aware of your surroundings at all times,” Mother advised. “I will wait for you here."
“We'll be careful,” Elise said with a wave of her hand as she bounded down the ramp and into the floating city of RahajMr.
Jysar and Krinia kept glancing at Elise as they walked with her through Security and out into the moving masses of races that filled the halls and corridors to overflowing. Elise's head turned from one side to the other as she tried to take in this mass of beings all at once, her eyes wide with wonder as she saw faces so varied, so different, that at times she stopped in her tracks to stare in amazement and appreciation.
And sometimes surprise.
“Did you see that alien that just passed us?” Elise burst out.
“Yes, what about him?” Jysar responded nonchalantly.
“It ... it didn't have a face. It just had a head with three eyes, and a huge bird-like bill that must have been nearly a meter long. The bill was its face!” Elise shook her head with wonder.
“I thought he was beautiful,” Krinia added. “Especially with all those deep blue feathers. It gave him character."
“I hope we get to meet one and talk with it,” Elise added. They were suddenly walking through a new throng of diverse beings. Elise's eyes seemed to open wider than physically possible.
“I am so glad you did not want to take the Bullet-Cars.” Minstrel-Zuuk glided smoothly beside the trio. “Life goes by too fast anyway. It is better to walk leisurely among the variety of races here and enjoy ourselves."
The air was filled with words and bits of exotic phrases from a thousand different languages. As they stepped between and around aliens in the never-ending crowds, different faces and astounding shapes seemed to appear as if from a dream—and sometimes a nightmare—as they made their way to the Search-terminals.
Several times Elise gasped out loud as unusual aliens passed right by her. Once an alien with a mountain of sparkling, glowing hair suddenly appeared right before her. Just as suddenly, a walking head with four mouths and four eyes mumbled quick apologies as it narrowly avoided knocking her down. Before she could respond, Jysar's grip on her arm carefully guided her around a family group of tiny aliens only one meter tall with transparent skin—Elise could not only see their internal organs and brain but at points even right through them!
“You need to keep your mouth closed, Elise,” Krinia said with a laugh. “Depending on the culture, some aliens will think you want to attack them, or that you're romantically interested."
Elise smiled sheepishly.
Their thirty-minute stroll seemed to fly by.
Minstrel-Zuuk glided to a Search-terminal to check on its results from yesterday after he flashed his pre-paid token.
Elise and her two companions purchased their own access. Krinia and Jysar helped Elise with her personal searches for remnants of the human race at a nearby terminal. Elise smiled cunningly as she and her friends misspelled words, hoping to find a match that might lead them to any other human survivors stored in the mountains of data. After they typed in their last queries, the trio got up and walked over to Minstrel-Zuuk, who was already waiting for them.
“Any good results?” Jysar asked.
“No.” Minstrel-Zuuk's eye-stalks gazed thoughtfully off in seven directions, but now two of them focused on his friends. “As a matter of fact, one of them seemed to end prematurely, as if cut off before it completed."
“Oh? Which queries?” Jysar's interested was piqued.
“My query about sentient computers. Most strange, I would've thought that somewhere in all this data different races would have made progress in this field. But, it seems to be almost ... non-existent. Or hidden.” Minstrel-Zuuk's eye-stalks all focused on the trio.
“What about Mother getting a direct connection so she can use the system?” Krinia asked.
“Turned down."
“That's a bit strange,” Jysar commented.
“Well, we're off. Time's wasting.” Elise grabbed both Jysar and Krinia by their arms. “I want to mingle and see more of this place. Our queries are off and running. We'll check them tomorrow."
“And don't forget shopping.” Krinia smiled.
Jysar rolled his eyes. “And shopping,” he repeated with an utter
lack of enthusiasm.
“I am going to contact the boys in a bit to check on them, after I ask the Mrad about my search query that terminated prematurely,” Minstrel-Zuuk added. With a silent grace, the huge, shell-encased body glided away. “I hope their queries for human survivors were more fruitful. I hate to tell them mine came up null.” The seven eye-stalks looked off in seven different directions as the multi-colored Zuuk moved away.
Elise, Krinia and Jysar quickly made their way to the main shopping section of RahajMr.
They discovered the mass of aliens even more crowded here—the sole difference being everyone carried one or two shiny bags of merchandise under various appendages.
The shopping section of RahajMr resembled a vast and crowded indoor street bazaar combined with an elaborate mall with storefronts that rose level after crowded level far above—a fantastically huge atrium. Indeed, the threesome peered upward in awe at the stores and walkways that lined the massive atrium walls.
Aliens shouted the price and value of their goods to passersby from booths on the floor level while neon signs pointed the way to countless other stores selling everything from exotic clothing to imported curios and hand-crafted items that boggled the imagination.
And of course, innumerable electronic toys and gadgets manufactured from thousands of different worlds lined shelves everywhere.
Far above were more storefronts, extending over twenty levels above them and accessible by hundreds of high-speed elevators that seemed constantly full of happy alien shoppers. Bridges extended in various directions like a huge web, creating steel geometric patterns at every level. These provided a path for shoppers to crisscross to the other side or to travel up or down a single level without using elevators.
The air vibrated with laughter and countless alien languages.
Jysar suggested they disable the Galactic Translators wrapped around their left ear for a moment so they could absorb the full ambiance.
Elise reveled in all of it—the myriad of different beings all around her, the stores and tables full of exotic merchandise, and the constant chatter and laughter that filled her ears. In fact, her senses almost became overwhelmed because every face and everything she came into contact with was new to her. Her heart beat so loud she thought that Krinia and Jysar must surely hear it over the noise.
She felt so alive.
Every moment brought a new experience. Elise quickly realized that the beings around her were wonderfully diverse—no two aliens exactly alike. And she came to appreciate the different forms of beauty that each possessed—each with its own unique look and its own peculiar kind of magnificence.
Elise realized she wanted to value diversity. She would always look for the beauty in those different from her. And hopefully, they would view her in the same way.
“Come here lovely alien, I have something just for you."
A sales-alien inside a booth smiled directly her.
“Yes, yes. Come over here, my lovely little alien. I have something here that will enhance your natural beauty. And it is priced right—just for you.” The shopkeeper was covered with long, flowing yellow fur from head to toe. It wore a black tunic and pants, while its large, brown eyes seemed to draw the trio closer.
Elise looked questioningly at Krinia.
“Let's go see what he's peddling,” Krinia encouraged with a smile.
“Yes, yes. Look at this, it's all the rage now among beings with long, silky hair like yourself.” He held in his hands what looked like a small net, its fibers translucent and seemingly as delicate as a spider's web—and just as strong. The trio caught a glint of supple metal as the alien let the light glance off the miniature netting.
“What does it do?” Elise touched the fragile-looking net. It was so soft, softer even than the strands of her long, blonde hair.
“Allow me."
Taking the net with both furry hands, the alien held it just above Elise's head. His smile grew as he allowed it to gently fall until it seemed to melt into her hair. He stepped back with an approving expression, a strange pinkish glow now glistening from the fur of his face.
“I love it!” Krinia exclaimed with pure joy. “What do you call it?"
“A Hair Lighter."
“It is very nice,” Jysar agreed as he gazed at Elise. “Very nice. There must be some embedded technology within the tiny fibers. How does it work?"
“What, what? Let me see too.” Elise took the hand mirror the alien offered her. She looked at herself and gasped.
Her blonde hair glowed a bright, neon pink. It looked so natural, not like it was colored or dyed in any way. It glowed as if electrified somehow.
“How does it work?” Elise's voice was full of wonder.
“It draws its power from your body, from your body's natural energy. And this model determines the color it emanates based on a formula detected from the emotional energy of its wearer—calculated partly on pulse rate, body temperature and on and on. I only sell them—they're made by the Razzaza—so I can't explain the exact process. And I sell a lot of them to pretty beings with long hair such as yourself.” He smiled knowingly as he held up another small net of translucent threads.
“Oh, remember that one alien with the mountain of hair?” Elise said quickly. “Her hair seemed to glow, I bet she wore one of these."
The alien smiled even bigger. “These are all the rage right now. And they are so natural, they work in harmony with your body. We call ours a Hair Lighter because that in essence is what it does. Other manufacturers have different names—Color-Nets or Light-Nets."
“Will it change colors?” Elise asked excitedly.
“Of course! Right now, you must be in a high state of excitement and happiness for it to glow this bright shade of pink.” He took a handful of Elise's glowing pink hair and held it. “When you are more calm, it will glow with more of a greenish or bluish color. And if you are angry, upset or...” The alien smiled, his eyes alight. “Or if you are feeling passionate, your hair will glow red or orange—depending on how intense your mood."
Jysar stepped closer to Elise, a stern, fatherly expression on his face.
“I love it!” Elise exclaimed as she looked at herself in the mirror again.
“Where is the technology embedded?” Jysar asked as he peered at the neon glow of Elise's hair.
“It is located at the thick corners of the netting."
“Wow!” Elise exclaimed.
“And it is so cheap—only four hundred Mrad tokens. Other brands of Hair Lighters go for twice as much."
Krinia pursed her mouth. “That seems a little much."
Elise turned to Krinia with a look of shock.
Krinia nodded to Elise, indicating she knew what she was doing. Her head-tail flicked rapidly from side to side as she turned to face the alien seller.
“Tell you what though, seeing that my friend does like your little trinket.” Krinia reached into her purse and pulled out three tokens. “I'll pay you three hundred tokens for it."
“But, I couldn't take less than three hundred and seventy five tokens for this model!"
“And I can't pay more than three hundred fifteen.” Krinia smiled shrewdly.
Elise watched closely as the alien waved his hands and began espousing the real value of this particular model while Krinia explained their budget and that they would continue looking and perhaps find another vendor with a better price. This bantering continued for five minutes while Jysar grew bored and sauntered over to another booth filled with electronic gadgets.
“Done!” The alien took the three hundred and fifty Mrad tokens Krinia held out to him.
As the women moved to join Jysar, the alien called out to another prospective client, a female alien with long, black hair covering her entire face and head.
“Why didn't you pay him the first price?” Elise asked as they walked out of earshot.
“It's called haggling—negotiation.” Krinia paused as she gathered her thoughts. “A seller will ask
a higher price in order to make a higher profit—if a buyer has not shopped around in order to determine the actual value, they may pay that higher price without knowing. Research is important, even in purchasing items. And impulse purchases are not normally good ideas.” Krinia paused as she noticed Elise's puzzled expression.
She realized this was Elise's first shopping experience. Krinia tried to simplify her previous words. “If a buyer does research and learns the range of prices for a particular item, it will enable the buyer to recognize a good deal—a fair price."
“Oh,” Elise said.
“A shrewd consumer, one with knowledge of an item's price range, then will haggle—she'll offer to purchase it at a lower price, the lower price range, while the seller counters with a higher price, until they reach one that is mutually agreeable—a fair price for both."
Elise nodded. “Then I should have gone to another seller first, to check their price to see if it was fair."
“Probably. But we negotiated a lower price with the assumption his asking price was high.” Krinia smiled. “Plus, you really wanted it. And, it's a gift from me."
Elise turned and hugged Krinia.
Krinia smiled. “So, we did all right. If the price had been outrageous, we would've shopped around some more."
“Wow, I do love it! I feel so pretty.” Elise noticed a few admiring glances from the crowd as they made their way forward.
“It is fascinating technology. I almost bought one just so I could take it apart and see how it works,” Jysar said admiringly.
“I bet you would, you curious technology-fiend.” Krinia chuckled.
“I'll let you scan it when we get back to Mother,” Elise said with a smile.
“Let's take a break, my feet are killing me.” Krinia looked around intently a moment. “There, over there looks good. It's both a restaurant and a bar. I think I'd like a nice glass of Mrad fruit wine myself."
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