EarthBound

by D M Arnold

  He stepped into the hallway, headed toward the stairs and heard heavy breathing above him. Someone was crouched on the steps to the trapdoor for the observation platform.

  “Hello, who's there?” He started up the steps.

  The figure sprinted down and past him into one of the bedrooms. Nyk followed and stood in the doorway. A tall woman with oat-straw white hair stood with her back to the closed shutter. Her pale blue eyes darted around the room. She backed from him as he approached.

  “Andra, what are you doing here?”

  “Stay back! I'm not going back to him.” He approached her. “Stay back.” She reached into her lifxarpa, removed an injector and pulled off the needle guard. “This is loaded with nerve toxin. I was saving it for myself, but I'll use it on you. I'll use it on any of Zander's flunkies. I'm not going back. I'll kill you, or I'll kill myself, but I'm not going back.”

  “Andra, I won't hurt you. I'm not Zander's flunky.”

  “Stay back!” She jabbed the injector in his direction.

  Nyk stepped to a vidisplay near the door and selected Senta's locator code. She answered from her office at the sequencing labs. “Nykkyo! Where are you calling from?”

  “From the Residence. Do you know what Andra's doing here?”

  “I thought you were on Earth. Andra said you were on Earth acting as Zander's stooge. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe you'd tie in with that scumbag.”

  “Senta...”

  “I'll tell you, Nykkyo, I've been talking to a solicitor about dissolving our marriage. I think you've given me ample grounds. I never in my life thought it'd come to this.”

  “Senta, please...”

  “To think of a Kyhana falling to these depths. I'm still in shock.” She turned her shoulder to the vidisplay. “I'm ashamed to wear this crest. I never thought I'd live to see the day I'd say that. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it. No one would believe it. It's beyond belief!”

  “Senta! Will you calm down and listen?” She glowered at him through the vidisplay. “I'm not Zander's stooge. I simply did him a favor in exchange for transit to Earth.”

  Her mouth formed an O. “Now, that I believe. Nykkyo, I've known you a long time, and I know you're a good and kind and decent man at heart. I also believe you're still infatuated with the Earth woman, and she has you wrapped around her little, dark-haired figure. I believe you'd follow her to Earth for some ... tryst or something. I also believe you're foolish enough to be sucked into one of Zander's schemes.”

  “Senta, I'm working with Seymor to put a stop to what Zander's doing. Seymor sent me here until the investigators can start figuring this out. I was planning on holing up at the Residence until this all blows over. Now, please tell me what Andra's doing here. We're in one of the bedrooms and she's threatening me with nerve toxin.”

  “She left Zander. She couldn't take it any longer. I convinced her to leave him and to petition for separation and protection. I thought you were on Earth, so I brought her to Sudal last night. I thought that would be the last place Zander would look for her. She's been horribly, horribly mistreated by that awful man.”

  “Would you please tell Andra I'm on her side and I won't hurt her?”

  “Of course, Nykkyo.”

  He turned to Andra. “Did you hear that? Senta wants to speak to you.”

  Nyk stood in the hallway while Andra and Senta held a conversation through the vidphone. Andra eyed him, then replaced the needle guard and slipped the injector into her lifxarpa. “She wants to speak to you again,” Andra said.

  “Is there anything you'd like me to do?” Senta asked. “Do you want me to come to Sudal?”

  “No, there's no sense involving you in this. I think we'll be all right.”

  “Be careful, Nykkyo. If Zander's involved, you must be careful. He frightens me.” The vidphone session went dark.

  14 -- Andra

  “Would you like to tell me about it?” Nyk asked. Andra paced around the middle level of the Residence. “Where's Zander right now?”

  She paused and regarded him through narrowed eyes. “Altia.”

  “Has he been spending a lot of time there?”

  “Quite a bit.” She resumed pacing.

  “I wish you'd tell me about it.” He activated a vidphone session and entered Seymor's locator code.

  “Nyk, are you there, safe and sound?” Seymor asked in English.

  “Safe and sound enough,” he replied. “I had a bit of a surprise. I found Zander's wife here.”

  “Andra? What's she doing there?”

  “She's hiding from her husband. I suppose that makes two of us.”

  “Do you have some pictures to show me?”

  “Yes.” He accessed the photoimages. “Here's the box of stones.”

  “Quite impressive. They look to be between three and five carats. I wonder who's doing his cutting. Someone on the homeworld in all likelihood. The one you showed me was decidedly amateurish.”

  “Here's where the stones are delivered. ... This is what I took to Oklahoma City.”

  “That sight's breathtaking,” Seymor said. “You think there's a quarter million there?”

  “At least, and as much in the first case I delivered. Here's where the money goes.”

  “Do you have the exact address?”

  “Yes, I'll pass it along ... Here's what the cash bought.” Seymor gave Nyk a blank stare through the vidphone circuit. “Seymor?”

  “I'm speechless.”

  “It makes sense. I was trying to figure out what Earth goods would have any value on the homeworld. Drugs? Not likely, as we have ample access to far superior recreational chemicals here. Besides, the boxes were too heavy. Precious metals? The colonies have gold, silver and platinum in abundance. Petroleum? Bulky, messy and of little value. Technology? ...Don't make me laugh. But weapons...”

  “Yes, lad. It's the one technology Earth leads Floran.”

  “There's more, Seymor. Zander told me he has business on Altia. He's on Altia right now. Andra tells me he spends a fair amount of time there. The ricin plot originated on Altia. I wonder if Zander had anything to do with it.”

  “Gads, lad -- you are a natural at this. I'll pass this information along to the oversight committee.”

  “Be careful. Someone much further up must be coordinating all this.”

  “Point well taken. Now I want you to sit tight. I'll be in touch if we need anything else from you.”

  Nyk switched off the vidisplay. Andra stopped pacing. “I'm sorry to invade your home, Nykkyo. If you'd like, I'll go elsewhere. I know you've never held me in high esteem.” She turned from him. “Is it something about me, personally, you don't like?”

  “No, Andra -- you're welcome to stay. I made a mistake about you, and I am sorry. You and I are on the same side in this. We might as well try to get along and to cooperate. I'm willing to make a fresh start if you are.”

  She eyed him. “All right, Nykkyo -- a fresh start it is.”

  He slipped off his xarpa. “You might want to dispense with the sash. We're in Sudal, and no one wears it here.” She unpinned her lifxarpa and slipped it off. “Are you hungry?”

  “I'm famished.”

  “I'll see what meals we have.” Nyk stepped into the house's storage room and retrieved a pair of meal packages. He began heating them and brewed a pot of green tea.

  He sat across from her at the kitchen table and watched her wolf down the meal. She pressed her hand against her stomach. “That feels good. I was very hungry and it never helps my mood.” He handed her a sweet bean and rice cake and she opened it. “Nykkyo, I'm sorry if I frightened you.”

  “I think we scared each other fairly well.” He poured a cup of tea for her. “Now, would you like to tell me about it? If we pool our knowledge, we might be able to help each other. I never understood how a guy like Zander was assigned an ax'a...”

  “An ax'amfin? It's all right, Nykkyo. I know what I am. When my parents applied to enrol
l me at the finishing school, I was thrilled. I was only a girl. I'd see news broadcasts of High Legislature sessions, of the colonial delegates and their glamorous consorts. I imagined myself in a palace on one of the colonies.

  “When Vebinad Academy accepted me, I was ecstatic.”

  “You attended Vebinad Academy? Isn't that regarded as the top school?”

  “Don't flatter it, Nyk. I assure you the thrill didn't last long. Vebinad teaches discipline, poise, protocol -- how to be the perfect companion, at least in public. I still had a dream -- of being whisked away to an exotic world.” She sipped her tea. “Then I was assigned to Zander. It was an abrupt end to my dream. My nightmare began.”

  “Why were you chosen?”

  “We were interviewed -- conducted in a special room with a one-way glass so we couldn't see the interviewer. I was asked to remove my sash -- then my tunic. They can ask you anything, to do anything. I had to pose, naked, in front of the glass. Then, I was dismissed.

  “The next day, I was informed I was to be the new Mrs Zander Baxa. He chose me on my looks. He didn't care if I had a mind, opinions, taste or ideas. I had ten days to prepare myself, to have the Baxa crest applied to my arm, to say goodbye to my schoolmates. I was only twenty-three years old -- not even the age of majority.

  “My wedding day was a great day for my parents. On that day the school transferred enough working and living credits to them so they could retire, and move out of their dingy apartment. I was their ticket to a better life.”

  She sipped her tea. “We're taught never to question our assignment, but I can't help question mine. I wonder if my background had anything to do with it. I never got along with the headmistress. I think she resented me because I came from such a poor family. Maybe she had something to do with my assignment. No matter -- what's done is done.

  “Senta convinced me to leave Zander. I have no idea what's to become of me.” She looked into his eyes. “I'm damaged goods, Nykkyo. No one will want me, now. Leaving is an option for someone with skills.” She swirled her cup and gazed into it. “I have no trade, no career. I'll be forced to petition Central Admin for maintenance. That's the fate of too many ax'amfinen. A chancellorhood can come to an end, and I'm afraid consorts of ex-officials often don't fare well. No matter what's next, it can't help be better than living with him.”

  “There must be something for you to do.”

  “Do what? Work as a houskeeper? I'm not much more than one for Zander. Then, there are the public brothels on some of the colonies. It's a short step from companion to whore. I'd rather live in a group home than submit to that.”

  “Oh, Andra -- I had no idea. I thought...”

  “You thought we have the soft life, hosting state parties, hob-nobbing with other officials.” She shook her head. “We're disposable. Use us and throw us away.” She drained her teacup. “I wonder about Janna.”

  “Who's Janna?”

  “She was my roommate at the academy, and my best friend. She was given her assignment about half a year before I left with Zander. She and I were very close -- the other students referred to us as the Twins.” She closed her eyes and lifted her face. “Oh, Janna. I love her, Nykkyo. I haven't heard from her since she was assigned.”

  “Where did she go?”

  “To one of the colonies -- I'm not sure which one. The chancellor was looking for a consort. We both interviewed for the post, but he picked Janna. It was the last I heard from her. She could very well be a ward of the state by now, the way colonial politics operate.”

  Nyk refilled her cup. “So what about you and Zander?”

  “It wasn't too bad at first. Not, at least, compared with what came later. At first, Zander let me have my own social life. But, after a while, something happened to him. He began to be jealous. I told him he had nothing to be jealous of. He began to question me about my activities, about what I did during the times he was offworld. He'd forbid me seeing some people. I lost my social life and my friends. I couldn't go anywhere without Zander, or his permission.”

  “You became friends with my wife.”

  “Yes, I met her at a party at your place, if I remember.”

  “Senta's place -- the apartment in Floran City is hers. This is my home.”

  “It was about then Zander began controlling me -- with drugs.”

  “What kind of drug? Something from offworld?”

  “No. It's a blend of his own creation, a mixture he puts into injector cartridges. I don't know for sure what's in the blend. It has the effect of making me susceptible to suggestion. Once drugged, I'll do anything Zander instructs me to do. If he instructs me to jump up and down, I'll jump up and down. I can't stop until he orders me, or until the drug wears off -- even if I drop from exhaustion.”

  “I've heard of drug mixologists. I had no idea Zander is one of them. Is this part of his ExoService assignment?”

  “I don't know. I pay no attention to his Service activities.”

  Nyk shuddered. “The thought it might makes my blood run cold.”

  “Zander uses this drug to force me to do things to amuse himself and his friends. Most of the time, I inject myself with it voluntarily.

  “Voluntarily? You voluntarily inject yourself with a hypnotic?”

  “Yes -- I learned it was in my best interest to cooperate with Zander, rather than defying him. If I pleased him maybe he would withhold... punishment.”

  “Does he beat you?”

  “No, he punishes me with the drug. When I'm under its influence, he can also suggest ... pain, and I'll feel that pain as if it were real. I remember once he was using inhalants with some friends. Zander never let me use drugs when he was entertaining. I had to serve him instead. Something I did displeased him. To this day, I have no idea what it was. After his friends left, he came to me and jabbed me with an injector. It was over in an instant, and it was a few instants before I realized what happened. 'Why, Zander, why?' I asked him. 'What did I do? Whatever it was, I'm sorry. Please don't punish me!' I pleaded.

  “I felt myself being seized by the drug, my knees began throbbing and sounds began echoing in my ears. 'You make me sick,' he said to me, with such rage in his eyes. 'I'm going to make you sick. You are having the worst stomachache. You want to vomit but you can't.'

  “I began to feel sick to my stomach. I was in agony. I tried to vomit but couldn't, and I was doubled over in pain. I begged Zander to stop, but he laughed at me and went back to his inhalants. Wave after wave of the most unbearable nausea swept over me. He left me that way until the drug wore off. My stomach still remembers that pain whenever I recall the incident.”

  Nyk looked at the floor and clenched his fist under the table.

  “His mixture is also effective as a truth drug. He'll order me to tell the truth, and there's nothing I can keep from him.”

  Nyk stepped around the table and sat beside her.

  “Senta saved my life, Nykkyo. Zander acquired that nerve toxin. One of his associates created it from an Earth pesticide. He boasted of it in front of me. One night as he slept I pilfered one of his cartridges, with every intent to use it on myself -- I was that desperate.”

  “Why not use it on him?”

  “I can't.”

  “Why not?”

  “His hypnotic drug. He planted a subliminal suggestion in my mind -- one of many, he claimed -- a post-hypnotic directive against lifting a hand to him. He'd taunt me -- goad me into striking him. No matter how I wanted to -- I couldn't -- I was paralyzed. And, how he laughed at me -- how he gloated...”

  Nyk opened his mouth to speak but words wouldn't come.

  “Finally,” she continued, “I made up my mind. I went to Senta's apartment, to say goodbye.” She turned away to compose herself.

  “It ... it must've been the day I was sent up.”

  She nodded. “Senta pleaded with me not to resort to a permanent solution to a temporary problem. 'Temporary, how?' I asked her. 'I'm an ax'amfin -- I was created to serve.' She t
old me no -- I'm a person with rights -- finishing school or no, Zander doesn't own me. She told me I could petition Central Admin for protection -- she promised to use her influence to help me start a new life.” She turned away again. “No one ever had told me I was a person...”

  He looked in her face and she held her hand to her eyes. “I'm sorry...” Andra drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “Vebinad grads are expected to have better command of their emotions. My instructors would be displeased...” She gazed into the distance for a moment; then faced him, her eyes dry. “I decided then and there to leave him, as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Senta truly has been my savior, Nyk.”

  “I'm the one who's sorry, Andra. I had assumed you no more than one of her paramours, another in a long string of lovers. I would've felt differently if I had known she was trying to help you.”

  “The day before yesterday Zander left for Altia. I could tell from the gear he packed something was about to happen -- I knew it was now or never. I called Senta. She offered to conceal me in her apartment, but we decided it was too risky -- so she brought me here.” She looked up at him. “That's my story. Does any of this help you?”

  “Indeed, it does. I wish it didn't.”

  “How do you know Zander?”

  “We grew up together here in Sudal. Zander was my best friend. His father, Gunder, was a middle-level Food Service manager under my father. Gunder perished in the same shuttle crash that claimed my parents. This isn't the Zander I knew as a boy. Something in him must've snapped.”

  She finished her meal, picked up the trays and dropped them into the waste reprocessor. Nyk escorted her from the kitchen and sat beside her on a bench. “I'll be honest with you,” he said. “I never liked you, since I met you at that party. But I wouldn't wish what Zander did to you on my worst enemy. I'm horrified at his abuse. I was wrong about you, Andra. I disliked you because I saw you as a symbol of an institution I detest. It's not you I hate. You're merely a victim. I don't envy the life you've led. I felt sorry for you the night I stopped at your apartment and saw you in that degrading costume.”