Royal Rebel: A Genetic Engineering Space Opera

by Gail Gernat

  “I’m sorry. I am just so desperate. I need an heir. A legal heir. I knew about Padr becoming a slave, everyone does, but I thought, for his freedom...I’m thirty-seven. I’ll never have a child without a mate, and I can’t get one of those. Please help me. Do you think your brother?”

  “Ask anyone but me to help you there. Try if you want, but he’s as selfish as the sun is hot. Come in.”

  Radhya closed the door, Kung prowling restlessly, growling at the newcomer. She pulled a tiny comp from her packed luggage. Typing a few commands, patterns began to flow across the screen stopping five minutes later.

  “Your two best matches for children are already contracted. The third is Lord Sutherland. If you and he had children the odds are in the ninetieth percentile that they would be defect free and relatively intelligent.”

  “Lord Sutherland is terribly old and grey. Where is Padr in relation to me? ”

  “Nine hundred and seventy-five. A very poor match for you indeed.”

  “Oh, I guess we weren’t meant for each other.”

  “No,” interrupted Padr, “Radhya and I are a perfect match. In more ways than just genetically too.”

  “Lord Jambawe is also a good match for you,” continued Radhya. “Eighty-seven percent probability of excellent offspring.”

  “Well, he at least is young, if a long way from my status. Oh, what’s the use? I probably can’t even get pregnant now.”

  “I can help you with that, for a price. But your infertility problems are very common in the aristocracy and growing with every generation. We are really getting into trouble. Birth rates have fallen drastically. Our women are unable to conceive. Our men are unable to impregnate. More and more the children that are born have defects, mental or physical. Our little boys are born with small penises. Do you know the average royal’s penis is only one quarter the size of a freedman’s? That is always the first indicator of trouble in any population. And there are more heart and kidney defects in our children every year.”

  “Do you know why?”

  “Yes of course. It’s hundreds of years of inbreeding. Everyone wants to keep their status, so they only contract with those nearest them in status. The best are dropped out the bottom. Like Lord Kent, sold as slaves and the gene pool gets narrower and narrower. We’ve got to smarten up. We are destroying ourselves as a group of people.”

  “So if I contract with Lord Jambawe and have trouble, you can help me to conceive?”

  “Yes. Contact my majordomo, Geo. He’ll make all the arrangements.”

  “Thank you, and I’m sorry,” Lady Kemmira said softly. “And I do envy your perfect match.”

  She left.

  “Is all that you told her true?” questioned Padr.

  “Yes. It’s another reason we have to free the slaves.”

  “But am I really your best match?”

  Radhya tapped the comp again. The charts came up.

  “I told you before I was made for you, look, and the top is mine. Yours is next, then Will’s, then Max’s. Do you see the correspondences? Padr and I are ninety-nine point nine percentile, Will and I are ninety-eight point nine percentile and Max, and I are ninety-eight point eight percentile.”

  “So I’m your worst match?” asked Max stricken.

  Radhya laughed, “Max, most matches are in the thirtieth percentile. You would be an excellent father for any children I may have. Anything over seventy-five is very good. So, you can see how good you really all are. But grandpa made me to go with Padr.”

  “You knew all this when you bought us, didn’t you?” asked Will.

  “Absolutely. My grandfather ran experiments. We are the result of his attempt to manipulate human genes inside the parent’s bodies. There were just nine of us altogether. I can’t tell you who the last one is, but there were four others he manipulated in vitro. They are all dead,” she answered.

  “So do you know who our fathers are?” asked Max.

  “I don’t need grandpa’s notes for that. I know. You were raised by a stepfather but your mother got you from an important, high-status Lord, Max.”

  ”Can you tell me his name?”

  “Do you really want to know?”

  Padr looked at Radhya, nostrils flared, eyes wide. He looked at Will and back at Radhya.

  “Yes Padr, the genes show don’t they. I am surprised no one ever guessed before. Max is also the picture of his genetic father.”

  “Lord Grant?” asked Padr aghast.

  “Got it in one,” replied Radhya.

  “Lord Grant is my father?” queried Max.

  Radhya nodded her head.

  “He is rather elderly now, but he was a good friend of my grandfather.”

  “Who is Will’s father?” Max continued.

  “I don’t want to know!” exclaimed Will. “He abandoned my mother to raise me alone. He’s never even seen me. I don’t want to even know who he is. My mother died alone in agony, and no one came to care for her except me, so he means nothing to me.”

  “Fair enough,” said Radhya, “We are your family now, and you never have to be alone again.”

  Love and support poured down the bond to Will easing his distress.

  Radhya finally settled to sleep in the big bed with Kung at her back while the men distributed themselves on the floor. Early in the morning, they left for home.

  Chapter 22

  The selection committee consisted of five people. Two were men, and three were women. Radhya rather hoped for the reverse, as she found it easier to use logic to influence men.

  One of the men, Lord Grant, was very elderly. He was stooped over, and his hair was snow white; his large, velvet brown, long-lashed eyes, however, were shrewd and missed nothing. Tall, lean and athletic looking, Lord Kimber’s dark hair and blue eyes reminded her somewhat of Padr, but the pug nose made his profile radically different. Radhya gave him an especially brilliant smile. Lady Clarke was a petite blonde, shorter even than Radhya. Her oval face was graced with large hazel eyes, slender lips, but a large curving nose. With quick and lively movements, and her reputation as an excellent horsewoman preceded her. Lady Bezalel was plain, with mousy brown hair and nondescript features, holding herself prim and aloof. Radhya’s alarm bells rang at the sight of her. The last judge was Princess Felina’s best friend, Lady Simms, a huge raw-boned woman, taller than Padr. With a short and turned up nose and a wide, full-lipped mouth, she had small sea-green eyes and exceptionally curly, fiery red hair. Her grin was infectious.

  “Sky’s afire, Lady Kirbyson; I didn’t expect you to meet us at the spaceport,” boomed Lady Simms.

  “You seem over eager,” mentioned Lord Grant.

  “I am eager,” replied Radhya, “and I freely admit I am anxious for you to choose Pleasant for the review. Then everyone can see what a wonderful place my pleasure planet is.”

  “Refreshing honesty,” snorted Lord Grant.

  Radhya escorted the committee, with their guards, to the waiting hovervan, acting as a tour guide to point out the Ocean of Delight on the right and the Mountains of Mist which were living up to their name.

  “In the other direction from that in which we are traveling, are facilities for the endurance riding competition. I’m also nearing completion on a show jumping complex at the same location.”

  “When will they be complete?” questioned Lady Clarke.

  “The endurance complex will be finished before the end of this week. I planned a tour for you. The jumping complex will be finished in about two more months.”

  “What else, besides horses, do you have to offer?” asked Lord Grant.

  “I have the best spa in the Commonwealth on Spa Island, just offshore. In the south, I have a small continent that is a hunting park. It is stocked with every form of big game and predator in the Commonwealth. Many extinct species have been recreated. I have parks and the most incredible gardens you have ever seen. I also have, just off-shore again, my species zoo, on Animal Island. It is an amazingly landsc
aped zoo that gives you the feeling of walking among the animals. However, they are safely confined. I also have hiking trails to beautiful natural scenery, and there is a gambling casino on another of my offshore islands. Over on Sport Island, you may enjoy snow sports or water sports in the same day. There are many other attractions as well.”

  “Do you own the entire planet?” asked Lord Kimber.

  “Yes milord, I do,” Radhya replied.

  “Employees or slaves?” he further inquired.

  “Slaves milord.”

  “Everywhere?”

  “Yes everywhere.”

  “A tidy profit for you then.”

  “Yes indeed, milord Kimber. A substantial outlay, but a good profit. On the left, you see the track. It has become quite popular in the last two years. There is even talk by the Racing Committee to create a new Triple Crown, with my Double Helix race as one of the legs. On the right is the visitor’s center. There are more than enough rooms to accommodate all the aristocrats in the Commonwealth.

  The hover stopped. Radhya escorted the committee from the vehicle, pausing as they stopped to admire the scenery, pivoting to take in the track.

  “If this is a sample, this has to be the most beautiful planet in the galaxy,” said Lady Clarke.

  Radhya led them to the hotel. To show the range of her hospitality, she placed each delegate on a separate floor. The committee settled in for the remainder of the afternoon. In the evening they toured the track and the stables, everywhere exclaiming about the beauty and variety of the terrain. That evening they had a small banquet in the private dining hall.

  “So far,” said Lady Simms, “I’m impressed. You are one of the three last candidates, but I can’t see the others even coming close. Felina also wishes for the review to be held here.”

  “We still have one more to see,” put in Lord Grant testily.

  “These facilities are first-rate,” stated Lady Clarke. “I am very impressed. Aren’t you the owner of Tango Dancer and Son-O-War?”

  “Yes, milady.”

  “Since both are unbeaten in their racing careers, are you going to race them against each other?”

  “I don’t know. If I have the review here, I might be tempted to arrange such a match race. It would only be myself beating myself in any event.”

  “But a good draw,” commented Lord Kimber.

  The banquet continued long into the night. Radhya drew strength and patience as well as alertness from Will, Max, and Padr, who took shifts in being stationed behind her chair. When the long meal was over, and the men and women of the status review venue selection committee retired, Radhya confirmed the next day’s arrangements.

  After breakfast, the next morning, they flew to Animal Island. Here they spent an entire day wandering among gorgeous scenery, looking at rare, exotic birds, animals, reptiles and creatures more alien still.

  That evening, at dark, they flew to Island Monte Vegas, where the delegates got to gamble on the house. In the early morning hours, they flew back to the visitor’s center for a half-day of rest. The afternoon passed touring Sports Island.

  The following day was restful as they visited Spa Island and were treated to all the pampering anyone could possibly want. After that, they flew south to Africa.

  As they did not hunt, Lady Kirbyson and Lady Bezalel remained in the lodge while the other four royals and their entourages hunted the savannah and jungles. Many trophy animals were tranquilized and holos taken. Lord Grant returned positively glowing, and very reluctant to leave. However, after a night at the lodge, they began the long trip back, to visit the endurance facility.

  Lady Clarke and Lady Simms were very taken with the new idea, and both vowed to enter horses when the competitions began.

  Before the aristocrats were willing to return home, however, they insisted on seeing where Radhya’s home was. Reluctantly she agreed.

  On the fifth day of the visit, Radhya led the visitors up the fungus path to her home.

  “It feels unusual to be walking again,” commented Lord Grant. “It is so easy to get used to riding everywhere.”

  “Yes milord,” replied Radhya, “walking is an excellent custom, one I truly support. I only supplied transportation in the interests of time, knowing how valuable it is to you.”

  “Yes, yes,” the old man grunted. “We all understand that. Still one misses the full impact of one’s environment with all that zipping about.”

  The others murmured in agreement as Lord Grant stopped to smell the row of moonglows planted on either side of the path. Continuing slowly, at the gate they met Radhya’s skunks.

  “Don’t tell me you have animals running loose around here?” shrieked Lady Bezalel.

  “Yes milady. They don’t stray far from the path, and they make an excellent line of defense,” explained Radhya.

  Lady Bezalel edged past, keeping the others between her and the animals. Lady Simms was laughing at her as she strode after, the rest of the entourage following. At Lady Clarke’s request, Radhya led them down the path to visit the stable before they moved on to the house. The broodmares, grazing peacefully in the fields were striking against the background of the dense, lush forest. Little foals frolicked beside their dams. The troupe stopped to watch for a few minutes, to bask in the serenity.

  The scenario changed abruptly in the stable yard. D’Bara flung shovels, pails, mops, brushes, and currycombs at Li who was attempting to avoid her barrage and use the prod on her. The obscenities pouring from her mouth made Lord Kimber blush, and Lady Bezalel looked ready to faint.

  Radhya whispered to Will. He took a hypospray from his belt kit and snuck up behind D’Bara, shooting her in the back of the neck. She whirled, eyes insane, foam on the corners of her mouth. A flying hand caught Will on the side of the head stunning him. She caught sight of Radhya and charged her.

  “I’ll kill you,” she screamed. “You think you’ve got me, but I’ll kill you with my own hands.”

  The drug kicked in and D’Bara fell on her face in the dirt, six meters from Radhya’s feet.

  “How appalling! Why would you keep such a creature?” gasped Lady Clarke.

  Lord Grant grunted, “You should flog this to death, Lady Kirbyson.”

  “I wouldn’t have a mouth like that anywhere in my service or employ,” spat Lady Bezalel.

  “You really should dispose of it,” advised Lord Kimber.

  Lady Simms asked, “Why?”

  Radhya smiled gratefully at her. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you sometime.”

  Li and another stable hand grabbed the unconscious woman and dragged her to a pile of used hay, where they carelessly tossed her. Padr put a hand on Radhya’s shoulder.

  “I can’t believe I once thought I preferred her to you. I must have been out of my mind,” he whispered.

  “See, you should be grateful I saved you from a life devoted to D’Bara,” Radhya teased back in a low murmur.

  Padr squeezed her shoulder, and they both smiled. Radhya continued with the tour as Sumi waved from the deck of her house. Her newborn nursed as a toddler played at her feet.

  “That’s my vet, but she just had a child, so we won’t meet her today, if you don’t mind,” explained Radhya.

  The group nodded, and they continued on their way to the mansion, leaving Will to inspect the newborn. Geo greeted them at the door. As he led the aristocrats away to freshen up before dinner, Radhya hurried to the kitchen to check with Aninya. The meal was gourmet, of the highest quality. Aninya exceeded her own high standards.

  “I don’t care how great the last planet is,” Lady Simms told Radhya at the meal; “I am giving you my vote.”

  “Thank you very much milady.”

  “And I,” broke in Lord Kimber; “I am much taken with the variety of everything. Why did no one ever think of a pleasure planet before?”

  “Thank you, milord Kimber,” returned Radhya. “I don’t know why it’s never been done before; it seems an obvious idea.”

/>   “Yes, yes a very fine facility,” grunted Lord Grant, “definitely the best we’ve seen so far, but I reserve my vote until we’ve seen the last place.”

  “I, too, am strongly inclined to place the review here. However, in all fairness, there is one more planet to check out,” added Lady Clarke.

  “I for one, shall never vote for this place,” hissed Lady Bezalel.

  Lady Simms boomed, “Why ever not?”

  “Those horrible little animals are running loose everywhere. Besides, that is the problem; that there is too much to do. We should be here to concentrate on our status, not....not play. Status review is serious business,” Lady Bezalel snapped back.

  Lord Grant chuckled. “My dear Sonya, the master comps determine status. The proctors program the comps. Once you hand in your information, there is absolutely nothing to do at these things except make rude comments about what the other royals are wearing.”

  “I happen to think the banquets and dances and all the exchanges of information are very important,” Lady Bezalel responded.

  “Oh, posh. You can talk business or contracting better over a kill or a card table than on the dance floor,” Lord Grant huffed.

  “Just the same, I’ll never vote for you,” snarled Lady Bezalel at Radhya. “You strutting around, showing off your body to try to turn men’s heads. Dazzling them with your oh, so superior intellect. You don’t get my vote, ever.”

  She threw her napkin to the floor and left the room trailed by her slave. The other royals looked at each other in embarrassed silence.

  “I am sorry,” apologized Lord Kimber, “I cannot excuse such appalling behavior towards a hostess.”

  Lord Grant waved a withered hand in dismissal.

  “Don’t distress yourselves, Lord, Ladies. She is entitled to her own opinion.”

  The meal fizzled into silence, and the remaining royals excused themselves to the den for a private discussion.

  Radhya went to Geo’s office with Max and Padr.

  “Well old friend,” she began, “it appears that I have possibly four out of five convinced this is the best place.”

  “And be assured that it is. You’ve seen to that my dear,” Geo replied.