Aupes

by Les Broad

CHAPTER 18

  While Nikki was away at Botijjo #2 things were happening at Gifford of rather more significance than Bryn had allowed Nikki to think, and perhaps even more than he really knew. Two events had triggered things off, of which the less significant was the exchange that had seen Louise go to Botijjo #2 and Plisfou assume Louise's duties at Gifford. Most people had accepted this happily enough as Plisfou was both well known and well liked in the community. She had, more than any other Aupesian, gained the respect of the human settlers and it would be untrue to say that even one person resented her presence.

  It was quite another thing, at least for some people, to be in her charge. Those that felt this way were small in number, but as is so often the way with minorities, they seemed to make a disproportionate amount of noise.

  More significant by far was the reaction to Fiona's demonstration to an audience of the most senior Aupesians, instantly followed by gentle canvassing of opinions about sperm donation for artificial insemination. Again, the majority of the community was solidly behind Nikki in her attempts to save the Aupesian race and would, at worst, do nothing to hinder the work that was being done. That minority already objecting to Plisfou's position of power in the community was beginning to raise its voice about the AI plans as well, and was gathering support at a rate which was steady, if not yet alarming. Bryn wasn't too sure exactly what the complaints were about but was well aware of their existence. He had taken some time to talk to Fiona but she knew no more than him, whereas Plisfou said that she had felt that a few people might not be happy with her doing what was seen as Louise's job but nothing had actually been said to confirm her feeling.

  Bryn felt relieved that Nikki was due back the next day, which might bring matters to a head before they graduated to anything more serious. As Alison was also up at Botijjo #2 with Nikki, he sat at home with Patlu that evening having wondered whether he should raise the subject with her. In the event he didn't need to.

  "I have been talking to some people today," Patlu said quite seriously after dinner was over, "and have learned things that make me worry."

  "I think I know what you're going to say, but carry on."

  "Plisfou tells me that some people here do not want her to be in a position of authority. I told her I did not believe this to be true, but I asked others and have been told it is true. I have also been told that others oppose the new ways of breeding."

  "Yes, I've heard these things too. Nothing has been said to me and I can't find out who is behind this. I'm sure it's nothing to be too worried about, though. It's funny that it's happened while Nikki's away, isn't it?"

  "I am sorry, Bryn, but I do not understand."

  "Well, I wonder if these things would have been said if she'd been here. Anyway, she's coming home tomorrow and you can be sure that she'll get to grips with whatever is going on."

  Any further comment either of them might have wanted to make was stopped by a knocking on the door. Bryn answered it and found Fiona on his doorstep looking more than a little anxious.

  "Sorry to barge in, Bryn, but I've got one or two things to tell you," she said as she came in. Bryn followed her in and immediately excused himself to make coffee.

  "Hello, Patlu," Fiona said cheerfully, then paused. "Of course,” she went on, "Alison's away as well, isn't she? I'd forgotten. Never mind. You've heard about what's being said, I suppose?"

  "Yes. We were just talking of it."

  "I think I might be able to add a few things. A couple of people have been a little more forthcoming, but I'll wait until Plisfou arrives - she'll be here any minute."

  She arrived just as Bryn produced the steaming mugs of coffee and he put them down to let her in, Fiona telling him who it would be. Another coffee was quickly produced and the four of them sat chatting idly about nothing in particular.

  Fiona decided to raise the topic they had all seemed reluctant to talk about.

  "Look, let's get onto the problem I came to discuss. Earlier, we thought we had two problems, being a bit of resistance to Plisfou having the same authority as Louise here and objections to Nikki's new artificial insemination plans. The first of these we can dispose of quickly, since only two or three people objected and now they know all about the exchange they're perfectly happy. They weren't so much objecting to having Plisfou, but to losing Louise. We can therefore forget about that, because it simply isn't an issue any more. The other, I'm afraid, is, and it's possibly going to get serious."

  "It is difficult for me," Plisfou said gravely, "because I know how much has been done for us since you arrived on Aupes. I do not really understand what Nikki expects but I know it is another way of reproduction. I cannot insist that anyone should accept this."

  "I understand," Bryn said, so often the moderate, conciliatory voice, "but I really don't know what you should say if the subject is thrown at you."

  "I do." Fiona sounded surprised, as if a sudden realisation had hit her. "Just say that you don't know anything about it and that any problems or objections should come to me."

  Plisfou was about to respond to this when Bryn jumped in.

  "And what exactly are you going to say to these objectors?"

  "Simple. If they don't like it they don't have to do it. Nobody is forcing anybody to do anything they don't want to do, are they?"

  "No, Fiona, they're not. But unless the rumours going around are very wrong I'm sure people know that already and there is a hard core of opposition in spite of this being an entirely voluntary programme."

  "Point taken, but I can't see what else we can do. Nikki has set us, quite rightly in my opinion, on this road and it's just as right to explore every possibility. If we are to expand the joint communities we have to manage and exploit as fully as possible the gene pool available to us. AI seems the most painless way of doing that."

  Bryn reflected for a moment in silence before a little inconsistency struck him.

  "Look, Fiona," he said, "you started off by saying that this resistance is possibly going to become more serious, and now you seem to be saying that you can handle it. Am I missing something important?"

  "Not really. I think you're right when you say that there are people objecting even though it's voluntary, but I don't know their reasons for objecting. By trying to get the objectors to talk to me I'm hoping I can find out exactly what their problem is. From what's been said to me, and it's little enough really, the objectors are growing in number even though there seems to be little or nothing to object to. We're talking about a serious subject here, because it's not practical to have the few volunteers we've got for Silomiala work flying around from city to city. There's a lot of work to do here and we can't afford to lose them for days on end, particularly as there seems to be a lot of new information coming off the computers at Botijjo #2 which we'll benefit from."

  Their discussions continued well into the night, but all they seemed to do was to go round in circles, every time coming back to Fiona trying to find out the precise nature of the objections as she had described. Plisfou and Patlu tried, as much as they were able, to contribute to the discussion but both found it difficult to be at all assertive. By the time their visitors had gone and they could retire to bed, both Bryn and Patlu felt no more certain of what the feeling in the community was than they had been hours before.

  Nikki also retired late, but found sleep difficult. She had seen what the Aupesian satellite could show, and whilst she marvelled at its creation she didn't know whether its abilities should be made public or not. On principle she disliked the concept of knowledge being withheld from her fellow settlers, but she knew at first hand what the effects of seeing into history could be. Nina had decided she couldn't cope and she was as level-headed as anyone. Nikki herself had found the emotional strain far greater than she had imagined even before she had seen her own father. Others at Gifford were, she knew, more emotionally inclined but everyone had adjusted so well to life on Aupes. Was it worth putting that adjustment
at risk? Time dragged by as she wrestled with a problem that she had to resolve alone, although eventually she did succumb to exhaustion even though her mind was still spinning.

  Nina woke her, seemingly within minutes of her drifting off to sleep. Nikki tried to make sense of what was being said but failed.

  "Hold on," she said sleepily, "see if you can organise some breakfast or something then we can talk." Nina smiled, realising finally that she would get nothing sensible just yet from Nikki and went off in search of breakfast. By the time Nikki had dragged herself out of bed, showered and dressed breakfast had arrived and was eaten enthusiastically, even if it was just the dull Aupesian fare.

  "OK," she said once she had finished eating, "what were you trying to tell me?"

  "You remember I said that there was a database that we couldn't get into?"

  "No, but never mind. Go on."

  "We've found out how to get into it and we know what it is. That much we have translated. It seems to be a complete record of Aupesian genetic experiments on Earth over something like the last three hundred years of those experiments, giving names, dates, places, offspring and subsequent genealogical information. It's huge, but we tried an experiment."

  "When you say huge, what do you mean?"

  "Well, think about it. They were on Earth, spreading their genetic influence as widely as they could and keeping detailed records. There are seemingly very few recorded abductions, so perhaps the Aupesians were right when they said that they didn't have anything to do with abductions. Even pre-war, there are records of three and four generations, so the sheer number of names is vast."

  "What - hundreds? Thousands?"

  "Hundreds of thousands."

  "Are you sure? It seems incredible."

  "Nikki, a lot of what these people have done seems incredible. Yes, I'm sure."

  "OK, if you say so. So what was your experiment?"

  "It was Kirsten's idea. She said we should try searching for one individual to see what happened. So, as it was her idea we asked the machine to see if it recognised Larsson. It wasn't easy but Zeftio worked it out in Aupesian. Everything went blank while it searched, then it printed out a stream of Aupesian which Zeftio translated." As she spoke, Nina's tone changed from her normal quite matter-of-fact flatness to one that conveyed to Nikki excited trepidation.

  "Well? What happened?"

  "It turns out that, according to the Aupesian computer records, Kirsten's paternal grandfather, or at least someone who we assume is him, is directly descended from a woman impregnated by an Aupesian male well over two hundred years ago, so, if we're right, Kirsten has an element of Aupesian in her."

  Nikki sat utterly speechless, her face gradually forming a smile. Nina's own face reflected the smile as a look of relief. Neither spoke.

  "It shook her a bit, I can tell you," Nina said eventually.

  "I bet it did. What can we possibly do with this?"

  "I suppose we have to come to terms with it first. We thought we were wholly human and came here to save our race from extinction, but that just might not be the case. It takes some thinking about, doesn't it?"

  "Probably, but Kirsten's only one person, after all, and you don't seem to be certain about her being partly Aupesian. Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill."

  "It's a fair point, but the balance of probability is that we're right. Of course she might be the only one, but think about your selection criteria. Isn't it likely that those showing hints of what we've come to know as Aupesian characteristics would have scored more highly than those without?"

  Nikki didn't reply, her mind hurtling back to those lonely hours she'd spent deciding who would be on KonTiki and who wouldn't. Nina was right, of course, and the characteristics that she'd referred to included industriousness, technical ability and a natural inclination towards peaceful harmony. Nikki had selected exactly these people. Had she, without realising it, condemned all pure humans to death? That was simply too big and too frightening a thought to take on board. Slowly she became aware of where she was again, and of Nina patiently waiting for a response from her.

  "OK, Nina, I'll tell you what we're going to do. We are going to try your experiment again with each and every one of us. How long will it take?"

  "To run a hundred and eighty people through? Half a day, maybe a bit more."

  "OK, we can do that before I go back to Gifford and find out what's niggling Bryn."

  Meanwhile, back at Gifford, the day was starting with stories of the gradually growing resistance to any extension to the cross-breeding reaching the ears of both Bryn and Fiona. As had been suggested the previous evening, Plisfou had needed to point people in Fiona's direction a couple of times already and it wasn't yet mid-morning. She was definitely unhappy and sought out Fiona, thinking that she would be less exposed by being with her. The few Aupesians who had joined human families were, perhaps strangely, entirely immune from any criticism, being completely accepted as equal citizens of Gifford. This hadn't been lost on Bryn or Fiona, and was one of the reasons why they believed that the whole problem could be resolved. Despite this, Nikki's return was eagerly awaited as being the event that would bring matters to a head and then to a conclusion. As a result of this belief, Bryn wasn't too happy when Nikki called him to say that it would be late that day before she got back.

  "How late?" he'd asked, perhaps a little too curtly.

  "At least late afternoon. Why?"

  "I suppose it doesn't do any harm to tell you," Bryn replied somewhat reluctantly, "we've got a fair number of people who've suddenly decided that having anyone taking part in any programmes to bump up the Aupesian birth rate isn't a good idea. In fact the opposition is getting more and more vocal."

  "I see," Nikki said without really seeing at all, "and how many are involved?"

  "It's difficult to be sure. Enough to be worried about but much less than a majority. Maybe only twenty or thirty, perhaps more, but we can't tell how strong the convictions are."

  "So you don't really know. See if you can put it about that I'd like to see these objectors when I get back, say tonight, and I'll see what I can do to sort them out."

  Bryn seemed happy enough with this, but Nikki deliberately chose not to tell him of the revelations she'd been faced with. Somehow she needed to collect her thoughts quickly about everything that had happened at Botijjo #2 before she got back to Gifford.

  Nikki and Nina got themselves settled in the laboratory, so that the run of experiments could begin. They needed Zeftio's help, of course, and the three of them stayed closeted with the machine throughout the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon.

  To Nikki's relief there were no calls from Gifford announcing riots in the streets and when she finally took her leave with Alison she had plenty to occupy her mind on the flight. She had with her a sheaf of one hundred and eighty translated print-outs, plus the knowledge that the surface of Earth as it was eleven years ago could be clearly seen from a laboratory at Botijjo #2 and, presumably, another at Sarrijjo #1. What she was going to do with this information when she returned was, just then, a mystery to her but was perhaps less important than dealing with whatever had been going on in her absence.

  She thought hard as Alison flew them home, and gradually a sort of strategy occurred to her. She knew what her print-outs contained, information that now she actually thought about it was pretty explosive. She wasn't at all sure what situation she was going home to, or what would be needed to resolve it, but the information she had might help. A word from Alison, telling her that they would be at Gifford in a few moments, meant that she had no more time to think.

  Bryn met the aircraft and ushered the two women back to their house, saying nothing about the problems until they were sitting indoors. They had noticed a small crowd gathering around Nikki's office, but Bryn had let it be known that Nikki wouldn't be there for another hour yet.

  Nikki used that hour to establish exactly what
had been happening from Bryn and Fiona, who had thoughtfully turned up with Plisfou to help Nikki. It was, Nikki thought, an occasion for listening rather than talking and by the time she needed to go and meet the group of objectors she felt she knew as much as anyone, although it didn't amount to much, about what might be said to her. She had wondered whether she should explain what had been discovered at Botijjo #2, but as time had been limited she had decided against it. It was pretty clear that she would need to reveal the discoveries to the objectors and was relieved when the rest of her family as well as Plisfou and Fiona decided that they would go with Nikki to the meeting.

  As it was a warm, clear evening Nikki chose not to go into her office, instead settling herself on the ground outside and inviting everyone else to do the same. She was not in the least surprised, but perhaps a little disappointed, to see Scott Collins prominent among the audience.

  "Right," she said when everyone seemed settled, "I gather I might have made some decisions which some of you disagree with. I want to hear your objections so that we can all agree, as far as possible, on a way forward. I know there are a couple of Aupesians here, but neither will mind you speaking perfectly frankly."

  There was a moment when no-one spoke, then, inevitably in Nikki's opinion, it was Scott who broke the silence.

  "If nobody else is going to speak I will," he said quietly, "because you and I have talked about this before. Since then things have moved on. There is nobody here who is totally opposed to the concept of giving the Aupesians any help that we can, and we all welcome any who choose to join human families. Those who have done so are popular in the community and their abilities are respected. I'm not saying this just because Patlu is here, but because it is true. There are those of us who would not want to take up the option of duty in the Silomiala, but none of us would do anything to prevent those who want to do it going ahead. I think we all appreciate the reasons why it has been done.

  "As I said, things have moved on and you've suggested a programme of artificial insemination for Aupesian cities other than Botijjo #2. I think I understand your reason for taking this route, but this is where our concerns begin. None of us want anyone to think that we believe we are in some way superior to the Aupesians, because we don't, but we do believe that there is something to be said for a pure human community living within the greater mixed community. I know that the families that we now have are producing pure human children and will be producing mixed race as well, but human children with half-brothers or sisters of mixed race don't really seem to be wholly human, somehow.

  "The programme that you propose could lead to what might become a difficult, perhaps even nightmarish, scenario, where children grow up not knowing who fathered them and those of us who choose to be donors will not know whether they have fathered children or not. I don't know if you've had any volunteers yet, and in the circumstances I'd understand if you didn't want to tell me, but I would urge anyone thinking of volunteering to think very carefully about what I've said.

  "You might be wondering why we should be so keen on retaining a pure human community. Well, we all accept that we came to this planet to survive, and if we'd stayed on Earth we'd all probably be dead now. Aupes is a beautiful place, it can't be denied, but we simply are not Aupesian. Earth is our home and always will be, no matter how long our exile here has to be. I believe that one day we, or our descendants, will return to recolonise Earth and re-establish human life there, where it is meant to be. I don't know how that will be achieved, but I have no doubt that it will be. When we achieve a return to Earth some of us believe it is vital that those who return are not tainted - I know that might seem to be an offensive word, but I’m sure you know what I mean - with non-human blood, otherwise humanity, as a race, will no longer exist. I appreciate that, because of factors that we are all aware of, it isn't possible now for our Aupesian friends to retain their purity of race, but that is not a convincing enough argument for allowing the racial purity of humanity to be destroyed."

  Silence descended as Scott finished speaking, many pairs of eyes looking at Nikki and wondering how she would react. Scott's words were, in some people's opinions, too strong whilst others believed he had delivered an accurate summary of their feelings. Nikki just sat for a moment, her face revealing nothing.

  "As always, Scott," she replied calmly, "you put your case well enough, so that even a simpleton like me can see your points. If I aspired to utopian ideals I would share your wish, even overlooking the racial melting pot that you represent as pure human. I think I'll choose to believe that you've stated your position from the highest of motives, and having made that choice I have to say I am genuinely sorry that I can't share your aspirations."

  Nikki paused briefly and shuffled a little, making herself more comfortable before she went on.

  "Let me talk to you first about the prospect of a return to Earth. What I am going to say will be just as much of a surprise to my own family as it will be to everyone else. I was called to Botijjo #2 because the research into the Aupesian computer systems had thrown up something that I, as leader of this community as well as Jukkakique, needed to see for myself. As a result of the discoveries made, I too believe that one day our descendants will be able to return to Earth, although whether the planet is resettled is a topic on which I have no opinion. My belief is based on the ability of a satellite, orbiting Aupes, which can, by means of technology way in advance of anything we could have dreamt of on Earth, not only bring us images of Earth but can also give a detailed view of the surface. It is possible to see detail as fine as individual humans on the surface. Because we are about eleven light years away, what we can see actually took place eleven years ago, so, in time, we will be able to see the effects of the poison beginning to wane and whether anything will grow again." She stopped speaking to allow the immediate impact of her revelation to pass. There was a buzz of muted conversation, which lasted for several minutes before Nikki went on.

  "I know everyone will have some interest in seeing this for themselves, and I will see what I can do about installing a link here in Gifford. If it is possible it will be done.

  "Now, let's turn to the question of racial purity. Scott is quite right when he says that the Aupesians cannot retain their purity of race, but is perhaps not as correct as he thinks he is when he says that we humans can. As everyone here knows, I had the task of deciding who was to be on board KonTiki and who was to be left behind. This was an awful job to have to do, and it needed to be done by reference to a set of criteria. I didn't know it then, and couldn't have known it, but some of the criteria I set reflected what we now accept as typical Aupesian qualities. Something else I couldn't have known then, and indeed didn't know until this morning, was that the Aupesians had kept extremely detailed records of their genetic input on Earth - I think we all know that they had visited Earth frequently and had initiated a long-term experiment to breed out our more aggressive instincts and introduce a more peaceful attitude. Those records are now available to us.

  "Nina ran an experiment on this huge database as it contains the names and locations of all the humans who originally mated with Aupesians, as well as their subsequent genealogy. The experiment was not 100% conclusive, but it seems at least 90% likely that the one person we checked has a measure of Aupesian blood although she was born of human parents on Earth. Having seen that result, I ordered that all of us who escaped from Earth should be checked in the same way. I have the results here, but have not had time to analyse them in any detail. If you would care to, Scott, we can look at one or two together."

  Scott, appearing more than a little bemused by what Nikki had to say, hauled himself up and came to sit beside Nikki.

  "Right, shall we look for me first?"

  "OK," Scott agreed, looking at the mass of hand written pages. "These are translations of the print-outs we obtained since we haven't yet got the computers to surrender information in English. Now, here we are, Nikki Weaver."

&nb
sp; Nikki read the sheet as Scott looked over her shoulder. His face showed confusion, then a growing realisation of what was happening.

  "You see? It seems that several generations back Aupesian blood was introduced into my family and I received it from my mother. This is, if anything, more certain than the first one I looked at. Now you, Scott?"

  He merely nodded his assent as Nikki searched through for his sheet. When she found it she handed it to him unread.

  "Well?" she asked after a minute or so.

  "The same. There's no room for doubt about the system, I suppose?"

  "Not that we can see, I'm afraid. What I will do is make sure that everyone receives their own sheet, but it seems that only a very few of us can claim to be wholly human, and none of those are male. I leave you to draw your own conclusions. I take it I can declare this meeting over? Scott, when you've had a chance to consider the implications of what you've heard perhaps you'd come and see me again."

  "I will. If, as you say, this is all genuine it seems we must rethink our position. Give me a day and we'll talk again."

  Scott stood up and, with a word here and there to those whom Nikki thought of, perhaps wrongly, as his supporters, walked slowly away.

  Gradually people drifted away after him in twos and threes, talking animatedly about what they had heard. Nikki's own little group seemed to be unnaturally quiet, but she had no doubt that there would be an intensive grilling when they were all back in the house.

  Just as she expected, the questions started as soon as the door was closed. Plisfou and Fiona were still with them and the first coherent question came from Bryn, but was aimed at Plisfou.

  "This database, or whatever," he said in a tone more of inquisitiveness than accusation, "did you know about it?"

  "No, Bryn. It is a surprise to me, as I am sure it is to you. Masaya may have known, because she had been to your world, but she said nothing to me."

  "Well," Bryn went on, "it certainly is a surprise. Shock, I think, is a better word. And learning that there's a satellite up there somewhere that can see so much detail on Earth, well, words fail me. I just can't think how it could possibly be done."

  "It certainly can be done. I have no doubt at all." Nikki's voice was low and a little shaky as she went on to recount the events that led up to her view of her own father and her consequent collapse. She also explained how she had feared that her selection of those to make the voyage to Aupes might have condemned the last remaining pure humans to death, and how the print-outs from the computers now seemed to confirm this. She spoke for a long time, and as she spoke her narrative was broken more and more frequently by her sobs as her emotions took hold of her. When she finally finished speaking she was crying almost uncontrollably. Her family tried to support her as Fiona and Plisfou, both feeling uncomfortable and unnecessary, excused themselves and left.

  Bryn found it difficult to control his own emotions. He felt deeply for both Patlu and Alison, but in his eyes Nikki was everything and seeing her broken down, crying in absolute despair was almost too much for him. He did his best to help Nikki upstairs to her bedroom but had he not had the support of Patlu and Alison he would have been unable to climb the stairs himself, much less help Nikki.

  Eventually, Nikki did drift off to sleep but a distraught Bryn insisted on remaining in her room, perched uncomfortably on a chair watching her every breath. Alison and Patlu left him to his vigil, but neither wanted to sleep.

  Sitting together their thoughts were upon Nikki's earlier revelations. Alison considered everything that she had heard carefully in the silence of the night, but really couldn't see how any of it made any significant difference to their community. Being able to see Earth didn't change anything, it was still a dead planet and they had no way of returning there anyway. Perhaps a means might be found one day, but she could see no attraction in returning simply because Earth didn't seem to offer anything over Aupes. It was perhaps a shame, she conceded to herself, that pure humans would cease to exist, but other species of humanoid had come and gone on Earth and this just had to be accepted as a part of history in the making. If it produced a race with a more peaceful attitude and a little more respect for the planet on which they lived perhaps it was, after all, a good rather than bad thing. Surely Nikki would see it this way once she'd had a chance to think.

  Patlu's thoughts were rather different. She thought about the first warning of the approach of the ship from Earth, and the many discussions about the reaction. Masaya had counselled against any defensive action, a course which, to many at the time, had seemed reckless. Now Patlu believed that Masaya may have known where the ship was from and why it had come even before it landed. It was a theory that explained some of the things Masaya had said, which hadn't made a lot of sense when she'd said them. The revelations about the extinction of the human race in its pure form were sad, of course, but there were people here now from Earth who, if they had stayed, would be dead. They had brought the priceless gift of continued existence with them, and seemed willing to share that gift with the hosts whose existence they had been unaware of when they arrived on Aupes. Some of the humans seemed, as the evening had showed, reluctant to commit themselves fully to integrating the two communities, but here the revelations seemed to have a positive effect. If those who objected were themselves partly - a tiny part, but none the less part - Aupesian their main objection would, it seemed, collapse. The man Scott had said he would come back to talk to Nikki soon and then everyone would know whether this would be the case.

  The silence in the room, as Nikki slept upstairs, watched over by Bryn, lasted a long time and it was the early hours of the morning before anyone spoke. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, Patlu and Alison had become as close as if they had been childhood friends and now neither wanted to voice an opinion that might upset the other. Ultimately it was Alison who spoke, thinking carefully about her words as she summarised her own feelings. Patlu, in turn, did the same and whilst their reasoning may have been different their conclusions were remarkably similar. By the time that they finally went to bed themselves they had agreed that the objectors seemed now to have nowhere to go and what had happened should strengthen rather than weaken the bonds between Gifford and the Aupesian communities.

  Dawn broke, soon after Alison and Patlu had retired, over a community still sleeping. Bryn emerged from his vigil as Plisfou had brought Christine to the house and she was now sitting with Nikki. Bryn felt confident enough in her medical skills to leave Nikki and he hoped a stroll around in the cool dawn air might help him. Even he wasn't too sure what sort of help he was hoping for.

  Within an hour or two people were starting to get about and an air of expectation, mixed with no small about of tension, was starting to build up. It had two centres, of course, one at Bryn's house where Nikki, he hoped, slept on and the other at Scott's. Bryn's stroll took him without any deliberate intent to Scott's house where clearly much was going on. He must have been spotted from inside because Claire Jeavons, a member of Scott's all-human family, ran out to him.

  "Morning, Bryn," she said cheerfully enough, "it's early for you to be about, isn't it?"

  "I suppose so, but I haven't slept. Nikki's in a bit of a state. Christine's with her now."

  "Yes, sorry, I should have realised. If it helps, there have been discussions going on all night here and it seems that even the hard-core of the group that attached itself to Scott are coming round. I wouldn't worry too much."

  "Thanks, Claire, but you could be wrong, I suppose?"

  "I could be, yes. It could all get out of hand again. I just don't think it will. You'll be safe enough telling Nikki not to worry. Tell her," Claire paused, unsure of what to say, "tell her we've done well here and we wouldn't have done nearly as much without her. Everyone knows that and that she really hasn't put a foot wrong. They'll see that she's right." Claire hugged Bryn briefly, then, with a swift glance over her shoulder, disappeared back indoors. Bryn had hear
d her words and now, as he strolled away, considered whether she had actually meant them or was just trying to cheer him up. On balance, he decided that she had meant what she said.

  Nikki was up and looking better when he got back, although Christine didn't seem too happy.

  "She's tired, Bryn. A lot has hit her in too short a period and she can't let go just now. I know what's expected today, but she's going to have to slow down. Taking a week or two off completely wouldn't do her any harm. She's collapsed twice now, but made sure I didn't know about it either time. See what you can do with her, because she tells me she'll do as I tell her but I know she really ignores everything I say."

  Nikki, of course, heard every word as she was supposed to and knew that Bryn would suffer no nonsense from her. She watched as he led Christine to the door.

  On the doorstep Christine turned to Bryn and looked just a little more seriously.

  "She'll have to slow down a lot soon, or she'll lose the baby. Yes, you idiot," Christine smiled at Bryn's puzzled expression, "she's pregnant. You can tell her - she probably wouldn't believe me." Christine turned and hurried away before Bryn could think of anything to say. He simply closed the door and went, slightly dazed, back inside.

  With only his family and Plisfou there, Bryn announced the pregnancy loudly, Nikki's reaction being a smile of understanding. She now knew why she had been feeling distinctly strange, but the news had other effects. Suddenly, it seemed as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, the weight of trying to drive things forward without a specific, personal, objective. Now she knew with blinding clarity why she was doing the things that occupied her days.

  Bryn received a call later in the day which he kept to himself. He asked a few questions of the caller, but Nikki, Alison and Patlu were too absorbed in their pre-maternal chatter to bother with whatever Bryn was doing. Plisfou, still at the house despite having other things to do, did ask him casually if it had been anything interesting.

  "Yes. Scott wants to see Nikki, so I told him to come here later. It seems Claire may have been right when I spoke to her this morning."

  "Claire?" Plisfou was perplexed by the reference to Claire.

  "She said she was sure the others would come round to Nikki's views. It seems that might be right. Anyway, we'll see when he gets here."

  Bryn called Fiona and asked her to join them, which she did happily enough before Scott arrived. She wasn't told Nikki's news, and neither was Scott when he finally turned up. He seemed perfectly happy and relaxed.

  "Yesterday," he said to the group in the house, but so obviously addressing his remarks to Nikki alone, "was a shock to us all. I've spoken to Zeftio at Botijjo #2 about the output from the machine - I hope you don't mind, but I really wanted to see if there could be a significant error somewhere - and it seems that the data coming out is pretty reliable. That means that the objective we were arguing for can't now happen. Even if we go back to Earth some day we can't repopulate it with humans because we're all a little bit Aupesian.

  "Once we'd accepted that, and some people took a while to accept it, things became much clearer. You can take it that there is no longer any opposition at all to the artificial insemination programme, and everyone is wholeheartedly behind any attempts to increase the integration of human and Aupesian society. One or two leisure activities are now starting up, sports and drama spring to mind, and these will, I'm sure, be enthusiastically supported by humans and Aupesians alike."

  Scott paused, but as no comment was forthcoming he carried on.

  "At the moment there is a committee, for want of a better word, running things here made up of you, Nikki, plus Bryn, Fiona and Plisfou while Louise is up at Botijjo #2. Also, we are supplying Botijjo #2 with its Jukkakique, in the form of your good self, Nikki. I think it would help to avoid a repetition of the events of the last few days if someone from the erstwhile objectors joined that committee. I've discussed this with those who were in that group and it seems to be generally agreed that we don't want these disputes happening and this is as good a way as any of avoiding them. Anyway, it has been said that I should put myself forward to sit on the committee."

  There was a murmur of agreement around the room before Nikki spoke.

  "Scott, what you've said has cleared some pretty awful thoughts out of my head. I think you should be welcomed with open arms onto the committee, and I also think that from now on Fiona should take the chair and be the head of this community. I have the responsibility of being Jukkakique as you say, and soon will have the additional responsibility of motherhood. It seems as good a time as any to step down, but I would like to stay on the committee, unless anyone objects?"

  There were no such objections, but Bryn, smiling more happily than he had for a long time, spoke up.

  "I'd certainly like to second both the admission of Scott to the committee and the appointment of Fiona as its head. I assume of course that she'll accept."

  "I will accept, yes," Fiona said seriously, "if only because of Nikki's, er, condition. The only provision is that I should be permitted to pick her brains whenever I need to!"

  The atmosphere suddenly seemed to lift in the room, excited conversation breaking out in a hubbub of voices. Unnoticed, Patlu and Nikki slipped away as the conversation turned to the direction that the community might take under Fiona's leadership. Perhaps inevitably, they found themselves on the beach where Alison soon caught them up.

  "I didn't see you sneak off," she said, "but I felt unnecessary in there." Alison paused reflectively before she looked at Nikki and went on. "You've laid the foundations and Fiona will build on that now. It's really going to turn out well here, isn't it?"

  The sun shone out of a cloudless sky and Nikki looked at her two companions. Yes, she thought, it's all going to be fine.