The Lonoki Solution

by Sharon L Reddy

  Dane walked onto the brightly lit stage in the darkened auditorium, carrying his trella, kend and plondo, and sat down on the stool facing the three judges. They would make no comment, until he completed performing his chosen piece for each of the instruments. All advanced ranking performances were three pieces, one each on three instruments; one wind, one string and one percussion. Keyboard instruments were either classed as string or percussion, depending on whether the key strike caused the strings to be plucked or hammered. No instrument which produced sound electronically was allowed.

  Dane's percussion instrument, the kend, was a type of drum with four heads. It was spun with the left hand and struck with a short thick stick, with a round head on both ends, with the right. If the heads were tuned precisely, and the musician good enough, the drum could actually carry the melody for most simple pieces. The piece Dane had chosen wasn't simple, but had been written specifically for the kend.

  His wind instrument was the plondo. Wren had called it a close cousin to the bagpipe that had been taught whining was impolite. Dane had resolved to hear bagpipes, when he'd added they could make one shiver with the eerie beauty of their music. The piece he'd chosen for the plondo had been written for it as well. It was not simple either, but would show off his precise fingering.

  The trella was an eight-stringed lute. Three of the strings, top, center and bottom were actually double strings, one producing a harmonic, so played like the five string treya, though much richer in sound. The piece he'd chosen for it had been written for a totally different instrument, a plucked keyboard, and Dane had arranged it for the trella himself. It was a bit of a gamble, but it was Kiev's favorite piece of classical music and he had decided he'd rather put the work into it to please her, than in something to please the judges. He'd laughed at himself a bit when he'd realized he wanted to try it out on them to see if they liked it before he played it for her.

  Dane began with the plondo. He could feel there were people in the audience, but it was common for lower level students to attend many, or all, of the advanced level examination performances. He decided Yan, Taral or Kola might be in the silent and dark audience area too because he just felt like there was love and support coming from it. The performance schedule for the day had been posted that morning and one, or all three, of them might have seen it.

  He was rather pleased. Yan and Taral would both know the piece he would play on the trella and whether or not he should play his arrangement for Kiev or work on it a bit more. He brought his attention back to the plondo and the judges. Thinking about Kiev was liable to put a bit more romantic feel in the music than should be there.

  When he finished the piece on plondo, he felt rather good about it. He had made no errors and managed all four time and key changes smoothly. He lifted the kend and stood. It was allowed because the kend had to be held uncomfortably high to avoid hitting one's leg if played while seated. He had less problem with it than most because of his height, but the extremely martial flavor of the piece he'd chosen just didn't seem to go with sitting down. He actually enjoyed it. The acoustics of the auditorium made the fast and complex tones and rhythms of the piece sound a great deal better than they did in a sound-baffled practice room. He sat back down, laid the kend back on the floor, picked up his trella and tuned it carefully.

  When he began to play the piece he'd arranged for Kiev, he quit thinking about where he was and why. He thought of her and the fact she was in love with him. The piece was intended to be romantic and he intended for it to tell her of his love in a way words could never express. He didn't know he was wearing a soft smile and his eyes showed the love he was feeling. He didn't know every note spoke of it, or notice two of the judges close their eyes and smile. When he finished the piece, he almost had to work to remember where he was. He set the trella down, stood and bowed to the judges. It was the final act of the performance.

  Suddenly the auditorium erupted in thunderous applause and the lights came up. Dane turned and stared in shock. There wasn't an empty seat in it, people were sitting in the aisles and the whole back wall was lined with people holding recording cameras. The area in front of the stage was filled with sound recording equipment, and the front eight rows were filled by the Evrun family; Kiev, Yan, Taral, Kano and Mal sitting front row center. He turned back to the judges and they were on their feet applauding. The whole audience was coming to their feet. He bowed, grabbed his instruments and somehow managed not to run off the stage.

  One of the judges went after him and pulled him back on-stage to take another bow. She laughed when he got off the stage even faster the second time. He didn't have instruments to pick up. Jarun, who was seated behind Kiev leaned forward and spoke softly next to her ear.

  "Get him off this world fast, sweet sister, before several hundred females fall in love with him. He may not have been born a master, but he's no slave and only his love for you could have made him become one."

  Kiev turned and stared at him. His tone said he wasn't joking and his expression was almost cold. He nodded toward the large group of females to the left of the family and she really looked at them. She looked back at him and he nodded again. She'd seen it too. He could see it in her eyes. Yan, who had heard and seen the byplay, softly said, "Yes, but the song was only for you." She turned to him and realized there were tears in his eyes. He smiled a bit wryly and told her most slaves only fell in love with one who would never love them in the same way. She put her arms around him and his tears fell on her shoulder. She led her four to find Dane. He was backstage and nearly hiding in the shadows.

  "Kiev, I felt people. I felt family, but didn't know it was all of you. Or all of them. I didn't tell anyone. I don't understand it. Why were they here? Why did they record it? I just don't understand why?"

  "I do, Dane."

  "They need heroes, Dane. We just handed them a bunch. I'm cute and Taral is about too pretty, but you're the big gorgeous one."

  "And we all get behind you and Kiev when they turn cameras on us. You two don't get tongue-tied."

  "My fingers would have been lumps if I'd known they were out there today, Taral. I'm very glad that's over. Did you like the trella piece, Kiev? I arranged it for trella, just so I could play it for you."

  "I know, Dane. It seems odd everyone else I ever heard play it used the wrong instrument. Let's go home. In three days, you all get your rankings and will be done here. Bring your instruments, Dane. I want to hear you play all three of them again, especially the trella. I should tell you now it was probably a mistake. I have a feeling you're going to get very tired of playing that piece for me some time in the next fifty years or so, as often as I'm going to ask for it."

  Dane smiled happily, handed Taral his plondo and Yan his kend, picked up his trella and walked beside her toward the side exit of the building. Taral looked at Yan and grinned. Yan grinned back and signaled not to say anything. He wanted to see if they'd get all the way to Kiev's car before Dane remembered he had his. They did. She asked him where his car was parked, when he got in. He looked so surprised, Kiev burst into laughter along with Yan, Taral, Kano and Mal.

  Dane grinned and told her where his car was parked, then he remembered Kola. Kano told him not to worry. Kola had already figured out he wasn't going to be quite all there and would either be waiting at the car or have caught a ride. He was waiting by the car. Dane noted he wasn't doing very well when Yan and Taral got out to get in Yan's car, which was parked next to his. Kiev gave him a kiss and Kola picked up his trella, when he turned away and left it leaning against her car. He said he thought they'd be home some time soon. He remembered the route. Kiev laughed and told him to remind Dane he was driving, often.

  Kola was the right person for Dane to have along on the rather long drive home that day. He was still confused by the number of people in the audience and the recording equipment. Kola told him to step outside himself and see it as it was and not as he saw it from his place within it. He told him to begin with his price an
d his very public claiming as a body slave, and who had paid it and done it, as if he was an observer and did not know Kiev or himself. He told him he understood his people too well not to be able to understand all that had happened. That it had happened to him made it difficult to see from the outside, because he had knowledge those others did not, including the true pain of his training and fathering of his children.

  "They wanted eighty children by me because they see me as the 'perfect' slave. They think I'm exactly what they have always said they wanted. Now I've fulfilled every slave's dream. My master gave the world four children and I gave it a huge number, then my master fell in love with me. The family we belong to is wealthy and our household is a loving part of it, with all members contributing to it and our world. Then we lifted our people to a higher place among other species. Yan said they need heroes and I'm the 'big gorgeous one.' He's exactly right."

  "Yan is usually exactly right. He is an incorruptible innocent. His wisdom is as complete as that of one who has vast numbers of years, perhaps much more so."

  "Explain, please."

  "If something confuses him, he puts it aside as confusing and doesn't puzzle over it. He knows that if it confuses him it has no simple answer and does not require one. To him, the statement 'love is' requires nothing else. We want to add to it. Love is what? We add a hundred words, beautiful, sad, wonderful, painful, joyous, tragic and on until we run out of words. He says, 'Yes, love is.' Like the simple equation that contains many complex ones, he sees all the parts in the whole."

  "And every complex part has been solved by someone at some time. It's only necessary to do it if a new value is found and there aren't any new values in emotion, especially love. Infinity is an absolute. All values are within it. The possibilities of love are infinite. They don't need further definition."

  "I like that. I will remember it. Dane, you are the slave who could be a master and that's what the masters and the slaves both want."

  "What?"

  "You really do say that a lot. I didn't say you are. I said you could be. Females could fall in love with you, or so they believe. The belief is all that's necessary. Your master did. Why not female slaves? We hate the division between us. We hate the necessity of being master and slave. We hate the fact we're becoming two species, one requiring the other to survive. We say 'symbiotic,' but masters don't need slaves to have children. They don't need our labor. They use it and command us from birth, so we'll obey the command to pass our seed. They see it as a heavy duty and love us, but don't require us. In truth, we are parasites upon them. Perhaps all slaves with masters who fall in love with them could be masters if slaves believed it. With you, because of your exceptional intelligence, talents and beauty, it's easy for them to believe."

  "We're still not fertile together."

  "But the dream is still there."

  "Yes, the dream is still there. I think it too is needed for our survival."

  "So do I. One day slaves and masters will fall in love with each other and have children together and the separation will be ended. One male and one female will again join in love and bring new life to the world. A dream, but all of us need it."

  "A dream, but sometimes dreams come true."

  "Exactly. Sometimes masters fall in love with slaves. If that dream can come true, why not this one?"

  "Yes, why not this dream too? And so they look for slaves who could be masters."

  "They look for slaves who they could fall in love with because that is how we've defined it."

  "And because they only see part of me, they see me as one they might."

  "Don't mistake it in that way, Dane. They would not think it less likely if they knew you well. It's good you're leaving this world for awhile. You don't want females telling you they're in love with you and asking you to buy them. Remember, it is the belief that is necessary."

  "Yes, and they've made many believe they could fall in love with me."

  The awarding of rankings at the end of first quarter was usually an affair noticed only by participants and proud families. This time it was on its way up to a planetwide media event. Dane walked into the university director's office the day before and told him he wouldn't give a speech, nor even say a few words, and if much ado was made about the number and types of his rankings, he wouldn't attend. The director looked very surprised. Dane handed him messages from three females who'd asked for a meeting with him. They'd seen him on the news and then his performances and were sure he was the one with whom they could fall in love.

  The director got on the comm and told the presentation organizer Kiev Dane would not be speaking and his rankings were to be read and presented without comment. The organizer was shocked. The director told her it was at his request and read her one of the messages. She told him to tell Yan and Taral they'd be giving speeches. The director and presentation organizer were both masters. They weren't envious of their positions as such. They wouldn't wish the pain of the duty of a master on a person they didn't like. Whether or not Dane could have given the command and had it obeyed was irrelevant. He was a slave and had already borne the pain allotted to him.

  Yan and Taral understood and Dane and Kiev helped them write their speeches. All of them helped them practice. When Kiev Dane was called the applause was thunderous, then the quiet extreme when his rankings were read off and presented and he bowed and left the stage. The family applauded loudly and people got the idea and joined in. Taral gave a very good speech and people applauded in true appreciation. Yan didn't know he was going to scrap his until he started to speak.

  "You're disappointed. Why? I'm the one who solved the equations and Taral's the one who built the power conversion unit, so we can use them. Are you looking for something real? Or are you looking for a fantasy hero larger than life? Kiev Dane is a wonderful, warm and loving male and my own personal hero, but he's no fantasy. He has a temper that sends us running for cover. He's a total grouch if he doesn't get enough sleep. He's a real person just like me. And you. We all want a fantasy hero. We all have a dream. We would all like a slave so beautiful and perfect he or she could be a master. We all want to become one people without separation again. Kiev Dane is a hero, but he's no fantasy. He's a slave, not a master. I'm a slave. Most of us are. We need someone we love desperately to command us to have children. Once in awhile that desperate love is returned, but it doesn't make children. Kiev Dane remembers every command he obeyed to give his seed. Our master remembers every one she gave. Fantasy heroes don't carry the memory of real pain. Kiev Dane knows he's a slave. I know that's what makes him a real hero. I know you're real heroes. You've accepted the pain of what you are too. You don't need a fantasy hero. You have a real one to admire. Go look in a mirror. That's the hero of your story. It's real and you're writing it. Fantasy is for entertainment. Kiev Dane is too real to be in any fantasy. So am I. So are you. They're not complete enough to hold us. We're all bigger heroes than they can contain. If we weren't, this damn planet wouldn't have a sentient species on it! Thank you."

  Total silence reigned for a few seconds. Kola stood up and began to applaud. Dane was on his feet right after him and the family surged to theirs before the third clap of Kola's hands. The rest of the audience weren't very far behind them. They hadn't gotten what they'd expected, but Yan, as he often did, had given them more than they'd been prepared for.

  Kola told him he was proud to have had him as a student and thanked him for teaching him. Taral said it felt rather odd to be done with studying. Kiev laughed and told him he wasn't. She reminded him they had one day off, then the teacher from the human embassy would arrive to teach them the language. He told her he was sure it was strange, but that made him feel better.

  The language teacher was Todd, the ambassador's secretary. He said hello in their language and that was the last word of it he spoke. It was the last one he let them speak too. He was quite pleased to accompany the six of them and Kola, while they trained, and give him the human words and sentence
s for what he wanted to tell them. The other students were pleased to keep them company and learn more. Twelve students and the teacher, basically, cut themselves off from everyone who spoke their language.

  Jarun's girls used hand motions to communicate with him so he didn't just move out. Tarun moved back into his apartments when his slaves got the idea. The two students from outside the family and Kola were given rooms to use near the classroom area, as was Todd. The group quickly got into the habit of spending much of their time in Kiev's apartments, all of them helping fix meals and being delighted not to when someone knocked on the door of the classroom and used hand motions to indicate one would be delivered.

  In forty days, the twelve spoke the human language rather well and could read and write it reasonably well. Todd told them he'd never taught a group who had done better, then grinned and said he'd never taught another group. They tossed him in the pool. They'd become friends with the pudgy, middle-age human with the 'twinkle in his eye' and near perpetual smile.

  Jarun bought the young female philosophy student and Iliev sighed and bought the male. He hadn't found the right master yet, but he was sure Kola was the right teacher. So was the female. She was also sure Jarun was the right master. Dane and the others in Kiev's household watched the way she kept the young male from deciding she was the right master and began to understand how she'd managed to have twelve male slaves for two to three years who were still looking. They realized Tarun did about the same thing and Iliev could. They decided Jarun probably could, but he just couldn't convince himself there wasn't room for another female in his household and on his sleeping platform.

  Twelve days after Todd left, they began building the ship that would take them to other worlds, or more accurately, rebuilding it. The hull and comp system were good and so were the life support systems, but they weren't traders. They didn't need cargo holds and the drive had to be replaced. Wren called it "hollowing it out and restuffing."