by Arthur C.
"Is something wrong?" Nicole asked.
"Your heart has undergone a few palpitations in the last hour," Dr. Blue said. "I just wanted to check the amplitude and frequency of the irregularities."
"I'm very excited," Nicole said. "It's normal in humans for excitement to cause—"
"I know," Dr. Blue said, "but the Eagle instructed me to be very careful." There were no colors on the octospider's head for several seconds while Dr. Blue studied the data on her screen. "I guess it's all right," she said finally, "but if you experience the slightest chest pain or surprising shortness of breath, do not hesitate to push the emergency button in your room."
Nicole gave Dr. Blue a hug. "Thank you very much," she said. "You have been wonderful."
"It has been my pleasure," Dr. Blue said. "I hope everything goes all right. Your room is number forty-one, down that hallway, about the twentieth door on the left. The tram stops every five rooms."
Nicole took a deep breath and turned around. The smaller tram was waiting for her. She shuffled toward it, sliding her feet on the floor, and boarded after a farewell wave to Dr. Blue. A minute or two later Nicole was standing in front of an ordinary door with the number forty-one painted on it.
She knocked. The door opened immediately and five smiling faces greeted her. "Welcome to the Grand Hotel," said Max, with a wide grin and his arms open wide. "Come in and give an Arkansas farm boy a hug."
Nicole felt a hand on hers as soon as she stepped into the room. "Hello, Mother," Ellie said. Nicole turned and looked at her youngest daughter. Ellie was graying at the temples, but her eyes were as clear and sparkling as ever.
"Hello, Ellie," Nicole said, breaking into tears. They would not be the last tears she would shed during the several hours of the reunion.
3
Their room was a square, approximately seven meters on a side. Along the back wall was an enclosed bathroom, with a washbasin, a shower, and a toilet. Next to the bathroom was a large open closet that contained all their clothes and other belongings. At bedtime the sleeping mats, which were rolled up each day, were removed from the closet and placed upon the floor.
The first night Nicole slept between Ellie and Nikki, with Max, Eponine, and Marius on the other side of the room beside the table and six chairs that were the only furniture in their living quarters. Nicole had been so exhausted that she had fallen asleep even before the lights had been switched off and everyone else had finished preparing for bed. After sleeping for about five hours, Nicole had awakened abruptly, temporarily uncertain where she was.
As she lay in the dark and the silence, Nicole thought about the events of the previous evening. During the reunion she had been so overwhelmed by her emotions that she had not really had time to sort out her reactions to what she was seeing and hearing. Immediately after Nicole had entered the room, Nikki had gone next door for the others. For the next two hours there had been eleven people in the crowded room, at least three or four of them talking all the time. Nicole had had brief conversations with each person individually during those two hours, but it had been impossible for her to discuss anything in depth.
The four young people—Kepler, Marius, Nikki, and Maria—had all been very shy. Maria, whose stunning blue eyes stood out in contrast to her copper skin and long black hair, had dutifully thanked Nicole for rescuing her. She had also politely acknowledged that she had no memories of any kind from the time period before she went to sleep. Nikki had been nervous and diffident in her brief tête-à-tête with her grandmother. Nicole thought she had detected some fear in Nikki's eyes; however, Ellie told Nicole later that what she had seen had probably been awe, that so many stories had been told about Nicole that Nikki felt she was meeting a legend.
The two young men had been polite, but not forthcoming. Once during the evening Nicole had seen Kepler staring at her from across the room with great intensity. Nicole reminded herself that she was the first really old human the boys had ever seen. Young men in particular, Nicole thought, have difficulty with women who are old and phthisic. It shatters their fantasies about members of the opposite sex.
Benjy had welcomed Nicole with an uninhibited embrace. He had lifted her off the floor with his strong arms and yelled with joy. "Mama, Mama," he had said, turning around in circles with Nicole's head above his. Benjy had seemed quite well. Nicole had been startled to discover that his hairline had receded and that he now looked decidedly avuncular. Later she had told herself that Benjy's appearance was really not that surprising, since he was about forty years old.
Her greetings from Patrick and Ellie had been very warm. Ellie had looked tired, but she had said it was because she had had a full day. Ellie had explained to Nicole that she had taken it upon herself to stimulate interspecies social activity at the Grand Hotel. "It's the least I can do," Ellie had said, "since I speak the octospider language. I'm hoping that you'll give me a hand as soon as you have your strength."
Patrick had spoken quietly to Nicole about his concern for Nai. 'This Galileo situation is tearing her apart, Mother," her son had said. "She is furious because the blockheads, as we call them, removed Galileo from the normal living areas without much explanation and without anything that we would call 'due process.' She is also angry because she is not allowed to spend more than two hours a day with him. I'm certain she is going to ask you for assistance."
Nai had changed. The spark and softness were gone from her eyes and she was uncharacteristically negative, even in her first remarks. "We are living in the worst kind of police state here, Nicole," Nai had said. "Far worse than under Nakamura. After you are settled, I have many things to tell you."
Max Puckett and his adorable French wife, Eponine, had both aged, like everyone else, but it was clear that their love for each other and for their son, Marius, sustained them on a day-to-day basis. Eponine had shrugged when Nicole asked her if the crowded living conditions bothered her. "Not really," she had replied. "Remember, I lived in the orphanage in Limoges as a child. Besides, I'm just delighted to be alive and have Max and Marius. For years I never thought I would live long enough to have any gray hair."
As for Max, he had remained his ornery, irrepressible self. His hair too was mostly gray, and he had lost a little of the bounce in his step. But Nicole could tell from his eyes that he was enjoying his life. 'There's this fellow I see regularly in the smoking lounge," Max had told Nicole during the evening, "who is a big admirer of yours. He somehow escaped the plague, although his wife didn't. Anyway"—Max had then grinned—"I thought I'd fix you two up as soon as you have some free time. He's a little younger than you are, but I doubt if that will be a problem."
Nicole had asked Max about the problems between the humans and the octospiders. "You know," Max had said, "the war may have taken place fifteen or sixteen years ago, but none of the humans has any intervening memories to soften his anger. Everyone here lost somebody, a friend or a relative or a neighbor, in that horrible plague. And they can't quickly forget that it was the octospiders who caused it."
"In response to the aggression of the human armies," Nicole had said.
"But most of the humans don't see it that way. Maybe they believe the propaganda Nakamura told them and not the 'official' war history, presented by your friend the Eagle soon after we were moved here. The truth is that most of the humans hate and fear the octospiders. Only about twenty percent of the people have made any attempt to mix socially, despite Ellie's courageous efforts, or to learn anything about the octos. Most of the humans stay in our ray. Unfortunately, the cramped living quarters do not help to alleviate the problem."
Nicole now rolled over on her side. Her daughter Ellie was sleeping facing her. Ellie's eyes were twitching. She's dreaming, Nicole thought. I hope not about Robert. She thought again about her reunion with her family and friends. I guess the Eagle knew what he was doing in keeping me alive. Even if he doesn't have anything specific for me to do. As long as I don't become an invalid or a burden, I can be helpful here.
"This will be your first major Grand Hotel experience," Max said to Nicole. "Every time I go to the cafeteria during open hours, I am reminded of Bounty Day in the Emerald City. Those weird creatures that came along with the octospiders may be fascinating, but I'm a damn sight more comfortable when they're not around."
"Can't we wait until it's our period, Dad?" Marius asked. 'The iguanas frighten Nikki. They gawk at us with their yellow eyes and make such repulsive clucking noises while they are eating."
"Son," Max said, "you and Nikki can wait with the others until our segregated lunchtime, if you want. Nicole wants to eat with all the residents. It's a matter of principle to her. Your mother and I are going to accompany her to ensure that she learns the cafeteria routine."
"Don't worry about me," Nicole said. "I'm sure that Ellie or Patrick—"
"Nonsense," Max interrupted. "Eponine and I are delighted to join you. Besides, Patrick has gone with Nai to see Galileo, Ellie is over in the recreation room, and Benjy is reading with Kepler and Maria."
"I appreciate your understanding, Max," Nicole said. "It is important for me to make the right kind of statement, especially at the beginning. The Eagle and Dr. Blue didn't tell me much about the details of the trouble…"
"You don't need to explain," Max replied. "In fact, last night after you fell asleep, I told Frenchie I was certain that you would want to mix." He laughed. "Don't forget, we know you very well."
After Eponine joined them, they walked out in the hallway. It was mostly empty. A few people were walking in the corridor on their left, away from the center of the starfish, and a man and a woman were standing together at the entrance to the ray.
The trio waited two or three minutes for the tram to arrive. As they drew near to the final stop, Max leaned over to Nicole. 'Those two people standing at the ray entrance," he said, "are not just passing time. They're both big activists on the Council. Very opinionated and very pushy."
Nicole took the arm that Max offered her as they disembarked. "What do they want?" she whispered as the pair started walking toward them.
"I don't know," Max mumbled quickly, "but we'll find out soon enough."
"Good day, Max. Hello, Eponine," the man said. He was a portly man in his early forties. He looked at Nicole and broke into a wide politician's smile. "You must be Nicole Wakefield," he said, reaching out to shake hands. "We've all heard so very much about you… Welcome… welcome. I'm Stephen Kowalski."
"And I'm Renee du Pont," the woman said, advancing and also extending her hand in Nicole's direction.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Mr. Kowalski asked Max what the three of them were doing. "We're taking Mrs. Wakefield to lunch," Max replied simply.
"It's still common time," the man said with another big smile. He checked his watch. "Why don't you wait forty-five minutes more and Renee and I will join you? We're on the Council, you know, and we would like very much to speak to Mrs. Wakefield about our activities. Certainly the Council will want to hear from her in the very near future."
'Thanks for the offer, Stephen," Max said. "But we're all hungry. We want to eat now."
Mr. Kowalski's brow furrowed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Max," he said. "There's a lot of tension at the moment. After that incident yesterday in the swimming pool, the Council voted unanimously to boycott all collective activities for the next two days. Emily was especially incensed that Big Block put Garland on probation and took no disciplinary action of any kind against the offending octospider. That's the fourth consecutive time that the blockheads have ruled against us."
"Come on, Stephen," Max said. "I heard the story at dinner last night. Garland was still in the pool fifteen minutes after our special time had expired. He grabbed the octo first."
"It was a deliberate provocation," Renee du Pont said. 'There were only three octospiders in the pool. There was no reason for one of them to be in the lane where Garland was swimming laps."
"Besides," Stephen said, "as we discussed in the Council last night, the specifics of this particular incident are not our primary concern. It is essential that we send a message to both the blockheads and the octospiders, so that they know we are united as a species. The Council is going to meet in special session again tonight to draw up a list of grievances."
Max was becoming angry. 'Thank you for keeping us informed, Stephen," he said brusquely. "Now if you'll just step aside, we would like to go to lunch."
"You're making a mistake," Mr. Kowalski said. "You will be the only humans in the cafeteria. We will, of course, report this conversation at the meeting of the Council tonight."
"Go ahead," said Max.
Max, Eponine, and Nicole walked out into the main corridor that formed an annulus around the central core of the starfish. "What's the Council?" Nicole asked.
"A group—self-appointed, I might add—that pretends to represent all the humans," Max replied. "At first they were just a nuisance, but in the last few months they have actually begun to wield some power. They've even recruited poor Nai into their ranks by offering to help solve the Galileo problem."
The big tram stopped about twenty meters to their right and a pair of the iguanas disembarked. Two of the block robots, who had been standing unobtrusively off to the side, walked out into the corridor between the humans and the strange animals with the fearsome teeth. As the iguanas passed around them back along the wall, Nicole recalled the attack on Nikki at the Bounty Day ceremony.
"Why are they here?" Nicole asked Max. "I would have thought that they were too disruptive."
"Big Block and the Eagle have both explained to full human assemblies, on two separate occasions, that the iguanas are essential for the production of that barrican plant, without which the octo society would be all screwed up. I didn't follow all the details of the biological explanation, but I do remember that fresh iguana eggs were a vital link in the process. The Eagle stressed repeatedly that only the bare minimum number of iguanas were being maintained here in the Grand Hotel."
The trio was near the entrance to the cafeteria. "Have the iguanas caused much trouble?" Nicole asked.
"Not really," Max said. "They can be dangerous, as you know, but if you cut through all the crap put out by the Council, you conclude that there have only been a few incidents in which the iguanas launched an unprovoked attack. Most of the altercations have been started by humans. Our boy Galileo killed two of them one night in the cafeteria during one of his violent outbursts."
Max noticed Nicole's strong reaction to his last comment. "I don't want to be telling tales out of school," he said, shaking his head, "but this Galileo business has really torn our little family apart. I promised Eponine I would let you talk to Nai about it first."
The smaller block robots were constructed in the same general pattern as Big Block. A dozen of them were serving food in the cafeteria, and six or eight others were standing around the eating area. When Nicole and her friends entered, four or five hundred octospiders, including two giant repletes and eighty or so midget morphs eating on the floor in the corner, were sitting in the cafeteria. Many of them turned to watch as Max, Eponine, and Nicole passed through the line. A dozen iguanas, seated not far from the serving line, stopped eating and eyed the humans warily.
Nicole was surprised at the large variety of things to eat. She chose some fish and potatoes, as well as some octospider fruit and their orange-tasting honey for her bread.
"Where does all this fresh food come from?" she asked Max as they sat at a long empty table.
Max pointed up. "There's a second level to this starfish. All the food for everybody is raised up there. We eat very well, although the Council has complained about the lack of meat."
Nicole took a couple of bites of her food. "I think I ought to tell you," Max said quietly, leaning across the table, "that a pair of octospiders is headed in your direction."
She turned around. Two octospiders were indeed approaching. Out of the corner of her eye Nicole also saw Bi
g Block hurrying toward their table. "Hello, Nicole," the first octospider said in color. "I was one of Dr. Blue's assistants in the Emerald City Hospital. I just wanted to welcome you and thank you again for helping us out."
Nicole searched vainly for a distinguishing mark on the octospider. "I'm sorry," she said in a friendly tone, "I can't place you exactly."
"You called me Milky," the octospider said, "because at the time I was recovering from a lens operation and I had excess white fluid…"
"Ah, yes," Nicole said with a smile. "I remember you now, Milky. Didn't we have a long discussion at lunch one day about old age? As I recall, you had a hard time believing that we humans remained alive, whether we were useful or not, until we died of natural causes."
'That's right," Milky answered. "Well, I don't want to disturb your lunch, but my friend very much wanted to meet you."
"And to thank you also," said Milky's companion, "for being so fair about everything. Dr. Blue says that you have been an example for all of us."
Other octospiders began to rise from where they were sitting in the cafeteria and to line up behind the first two octos. The colors for "thank you" were visible on most of their heads. Nicole was deeply moved. At Max's suggestion, she stood up and spoke to the line of octospiders. "Thank you all," she said, "for your warm welcome. I really do appreciate it. I hope I have a chance to visit with each of you while we are living here together."
Nicole's eyes drifted to the right of the line of octos and she saw her daughter Ellie with Nikki standing beside her. "I came as soon as I could," Ellie said, coming over and kissing her mother on the cheek. "I should have known," she added with a slight smile. She gave Nicole a vigorous hug. "I love you, Mother," Ellie said. "And I have missed you so very much."