THE ALTIAN PLAGUE

by D M Arnold

  The groundcar rolled out of the parking lot and onto the spur linking the shuttleport to the main arterial highway. He looked around in the dawn twilight. He could see dark purple fronds from the palm-like plants littering the highway. A few trees were knocked over. Must've been quite a storm, he surmised.

  The car drove through the center of Sudal, a city of about 100,000 -- small by Floran standards. He looked at the squat, polymer concrete buildings equipped with heavy storm shutters. The car left the arterial and drove toward an access road leading along the coast. It bore to the right and up a drive to Nyk's childhood home.

  He popped the cowl, stepped out and grabbed his case. His wristscan opened the front door. He walked in and up the spiral staircase. A tall, young woman with shoulder-length oat-straw white hair and pale blue eyes greeted him. “Good morning, Andra,” he said.

  “Nyk!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

  “I'm here on business and I thought I'd pay a surprise visit.” He embraced and kissed her; then stood back to drink in her beauty. “You've done something different with your hair.”

  “Sukiko cut it for me. Do you like it?”

  “Very much.”

  “How long are you staying?”

  “Two nights -- then I travel to Floran City to pick up my charge.” He held her and caressed her cheek. “I asked you to care for my korlyta and you didn't shirk. I don't know how to thank you.”

  “Sukiko is a joy, Nyk. I should be thanking you.” She smiled. “You must sleep with her the first night. I insist.”

  “Is she up?”

  “Of course. She and I both rise early and walk out onto the bluff to watch the sunrise. I'll get her.”

  Andra headed to the back of the house and returned accompanied by a petite woman with yellow-brown skin and waist-length shiny black hair. Nyk's eyes met hers -- deep brown and almond shaped. She threw her arms open and ran to him. He embraced her, pressed his lips to the top of her head and inhaled her scent.

  She lifted her face and he kissed her lips. Nyk stroked tears from her cheeks. “I am so happy to see you,” she said.

  “Let me look at you.” She stepped back and modeled her white tunic and burgundy lifxarpa. “You look great, Suki -- healthier than ever.”

  “I feel great. I've lost some weight. The food on this planet might be uninspiring, but it is healthy.”

  “I see muscle definition in your arms and legs -- very sexy. Floran agrees with you.”

  She extended her right hand. “Feel.”

  He stroked her wrist. “You have an identity chip.”

  “Yes -- I'm a full-blown Floran, now. I was dreading it. Andra told me hers is in a bone in her wrist. I was afraid they'd want to drill into me. Instead, they popped it under my skin.”

  He showed her his wrist. “It's like mine.”

  “The university has been giving me living credits for the lectures. This sash was my first purchase. I'll tell you -- I was a bit shocked in the clothing store when customers stripped naked in the aisles and tried things on.”

  “Florans are casual about nudity. You know ... I receive living credits from the ExoAgency. I can't use them on Earth -- I should transfer them to you.”

  “But -- Seymor pays you in dollars.”

  “Economics has never been a strong subject here.”

  She lifted her left arm. “Feel here.”

  He stroked the inside of her bicep. “Your contraceptive implant capsule. How are you adjusting to that?”

  “Really well -- after the first few days, at least. Floran girls receive these before their own hormones kick in. They needed to make some adjustments on mine. I'm feeling so good, now and I won't miss PMS.”

  He handed over the case. “This is for you.”

  She popped it open and her eyes widened. “Oh, thank you -- thank you!” She withdrew a brassiere.

  “You said when I visited I should bring some bras. These should do for a while.”

  Suki pawed through the case. “Quite a while -- it looks like a lifetime supply.”

  “You should've seen the look on the airport screener's face when she opened the case.”

  “She must've thought you were a lingerie salesman -- or some sort of a pervert.”

  “Or, both,” Nyk replied.

  Suki untied the ends of her lifxarpa and began unwinding the sash. She grabbed the hem of her tunic and slipped it off, picked up a bra and snapped it around herself. Andra approached and picked up one of the garments. “Oh, this feels so good,” Suki said as she adjusted the straps. “The laws of gravity operate here just as on Earth and there were times I thought I'd be black-and-blue by the end of the day.”

  Andra fingered the bra. “Do all Earth women wear these?”

  “Most do,” Suki replied. Andra slipped off her tunic, tried on the bra and attempted to hook the clasp in back. “Here,” Suki said and hooked it for her. Andra looked down at the flaccid cups. She grasped and squeezed the surplus fabric. “That's not your size. I wear a 34-C. I'd guess you'd need a 32-B ... or maybe a 32-A.”

  “Why do Earth women wear these?” Andra asked.

  “You might've noticed,” Nyk replied, “that Suki's breasts are larger than common for Floran women.”

  “Well... Yes ... I didn't want to say anything, but...” She looked at Suki. “I feel sorry for you. It must be uncomfortable.”

  “Don't feel TOO sorry for her,” Nyk interjected.

  Suki smiled. “You get used to them... I'd say by Earth standards -- I'm about average.”

  “Average?” Andra asked.

  “That's why these were invented,” Suki continued, “to lift you up -- take off some of the load. It's why I've been wearing the lifxarpa -- for some support. It's like a bra worn on the outside. Now I can dispense with the sash.” She picked up her tunic and slid it over her head.

  “Yes,” Nyk replied. “The lifxarpa is very much a Floran City affectation. No one in Sudal wears them.”

  Andra struggled to unhook the bra. Suki helped her out of it and she slipped back into her tunic. “I was afraid without these, within a couple of years mine would be down to my knees.” She kissed Nyk's cheek. “You were so sweet to remember.”

  “I'll bring anything you want,” he replied. “Just ask.”

  “Are you hungry?” Andra asked.

  “I haven't had food nor sleep since before I left Earth.”

  “I'll start some breakfast.”

  * * *

  Nyk sat and scooped some of the breakfast package. He looked toward Suki. “So, how are you adjusting?”

  “Oh, Nykkyo -- I feel like I died and went to Heaven.”

  “According to Earth records -- you are dead.”

  “I know. You offered me the choice of life here or death there. To think I almost chose... I'm so happy here.” She looked toward Andra. “Andra is the finest friend -- the finest companion anyone could want. She knows when I need intimacy and when I need privacy. I can ask her for the truth and she gives it to me -- even if it's something I'd rather not hear.” Suki grasped Andra's hand. “I love her so much. I love you so much. Now you're here and our little love-family is complete -- for a couple days at least.”

  “What do you like best about Floran?” he asked.

  “The people -- the warmth with which I've been received. I love your people, Nykkyo. They're so kind, so sweet ... so accepting.”

  “And, the least?”

  “The language,” she replied. “Andra and I communicate well enough with her grasp of English and mine of Lingwa -- we speak to each other in what I call Lingwish. I still have trouble communicating strictly in Floran.”

  “She is getting better,” Andra added.

  “It's like any activity,” Nyk replied between bites. “You improve with practice. How go the lectures?”

  “Amazing,” Suki replied. “The university offered two sections and they filled right away. I had to add a third section. It's not even a credit-bearing course. The studen
ts are asking for credit. It's too late for that, now, but next term... I'll offer three sections for credit, so I have to figure out how to test and grade them on the material. Those three sections next term are already filled.”

  “And, the language?” Nyk asked. “Is that an obstacle?”

  “I write out my lectures ahead of time -- Andra helps me. If I can stand in front of the class and read, I do all right. Questions are the difficult part, but so far I'm doing okay.”

  “I rode the Sudal shuttle with someone attending your lectures.”

  “Really? Where is he from?”

  Nyk swallowed his mouthful. “I didn't ask. He was dressed as a Floran City resident.”

  “Would he travel from Floran City to Sudal by shuttle?”

  Nyk scooped the last of his breakfast. “Some do. Some prefer it to taking the train.” He set his spoon on his empty breakfast tray and opened a sweet bean cake. “Have you had to make any other adjustments?”

  “Well -- the day length took some getting used to, as did the ten-day work mod. Seven days on and three days off -- I'm ready for the weekend -- or, mod-end.”

  “The Floran year is about 257 days, so we have twenty-five ten-day mods. At the end of the year we have an intercalary mod of six or seven days. The whole planet shuts down for an extended party.”

  “I can hardly wait,” Suki replied.

  “Today is a rest day,” Nyk added. “Do you have any plans?”

  “Andra was going to take the Sea Research launch out and collect some specimens. We were going to leave as soon as Senta is up. She wants to join us.”

  “Senta?” Nyk asked. “Senta's here?”

  “Yes,” Andra replied.

  “Why? I thought she had a new home in Sudal. And a new lover.”

  “Her lover left her,” said Suki. Nyk winced. “Then the storm wrecked her place.”

  “I thought I saw storm damage on my ride from the shuttleport.”

  “Enough buildings were damaged that the hostel is full -- they're putting two and three people in a room.”

  Nyk smiled. “Senta would NOT go for that arrangement -- unless she could pick her own roommates.”

  “Andra offered her the use of the guest room here,” Suki continued.

  “I thought it was a way to start mending the ways between us,” Andra added. “Senta is an unhappy woman.”

  “She brings unhappiness on herself,” Nyk replied. He turned toward Suki. “How are you and she getting along?”

  Andra answered, “Senta doesn't blame Sukiko for what happened between the two of you. She blames you, Nyk -- and, herself.”

  “She and I are cordial toward each other,” Suki said. “Otherwise she wouldn't have accepted Andra's invitation.”

  Nyk sipped some green tea. “What sort of specimens are we collecting?” he asked.

  “I ... I don't know how to describe them,” Andra replied. “About twenty- five kilometres southeast from Sudal I encountered a shallow area with sea vegetation near the surface. I found them there. We have discovered something interesting about the native fauna, Nyk.”

  “What's that?”

  “They're hermaphrodites. Every species we've encountered so far is this way.”

  “Hermaphrodites?” Nyk asked.

  “Yes -- every species we've catalogued follows the same pattern. The organism has both male and female organs and can mate with itself, or with others. It seems to be a fundamental aspect of life on this world.”

  “Most Earth plants are hermaphrodite in that way,” Nyk observed. “I wonder why that characteristic didn't cross over to Earth animals.”

  “We believe in the deep sea are creatures much more advanced than we've imagined.”

  “Intelligent?”

  “No, not quite intelligent -- but sentient -- creatures aware of their own existence, as opposed to operating on stimulus and response -- and, they're undoubtedly hermaphrodites, too. It's a strategy that enables a species to be solitary yet maintain reproductive critical mass.”

  Suki poured some tea. “It makes me wonder. The division of male and female is so basic to life on Earth. I wonder, should this world's life evolve into intelligent beings -- what sort of societies would arise without the dynamics of the sexual dichotomy?”

  Nyk sipped his tea. “I can imagine parents catching their kid masturbating and worrying if an unwanted pregnancy would result.”

  Suki and Andra stared at him for a long moment. “Now THAT,” Suki said, “sounds like a remark coming from a man.” Andra put her hand over her mouth and giggled.

  The guest room door slid open and a slightly-built woman emerged. She shook her head and ran her fingers through a mane of kinky red hair that extended to her shoulder blades. Rubbing her eyes, she strolled into the kitchen, glimpsed Nyk and stopped short.

  “I didn't know HE would be here,” she said to Andra. “Tell him to leave. I won't stay under the same roof with him.”

  “She said...”

  “I heard what she said,” Nyk replied. “Senta -- don't be ridiculous. This is my house. You lost your rights to it during the divorce. Technically, you are here as MY guest.”

  “Tell him I'd never have granted the divorce without that ... that blasted genealogy. I only did it so I wouldn't be accused of temporal interference.”

  “Senta -- that document proves I was destined to divorce you and marry Suki on Earth. If you want to blame someone for what happened -- blame Destiny Herself.”

  “Ask him how he knows HE'S not the one guilty of interference. Ask him how sure he is things are better than if he hadn't...”

  “Would YOU be willing to take the risk to find out?”

  “Tell him to shut up!” Senta glowered at Andra.

  “I didn't know he was coming here,” Andra protested.

  “Tell him either he goes or I do!”

  Nyk looked at Andra. “Ask her where she'd go. Her house is being repaired and the hostel is full.”

  “Tell him I'll sleep in the town square.”

  “Tell her she'll be arrested for vagrancy.”

  “Tell him I'll take the train to Floran City.”

  “Tell her...”

  “This is STUPID!” Andra exclaimed. “You two obviously can hear each other. Why not start a dialogue?”

  Nyk glanced at Suki. She shrugged. “Leave me out of it.”

  Senta turned her back and folded her arms. “I am NOT going on the launch if HE comes too.”

  “Senta,” Andra replied, “you ASKED to come along. It's the only opportunity you'll have to observe these creatures. The launch is big enough to accommodate the four of us without getting in each others' ways.”

  “She asked?” Nyk replied.

  “Yes -- Senta and I are collaborating on a research project.”

  “Collaborating? What sort of a project?”

  “Tell him in happier times I'd enjoy discussing it with him. Under the present circumstances -- he'll just have to wait until my results are published and read it for himself!”

  He looked toward Suki. She folded her arms and made a downward nod that said, Take THAT!

  Nyk put his hand over his mouth and began laughing. “STOP IT!” Senta shouted. Her lip trembled and tears flowed down her cheeks. “Tell him to stop laughing at me,” she said turning to Andra. “He's had nothing but fun at MY expense since the divorce!” She began wiping tears from her face.

  “I'm not laughing at you, Senta. I'm laughing at the absurdity of the situation... You know... When you cry and your face gets red like that -- your eyes look even greener.”

  “He enjoys making me cry,” she said, sniffling.

  “I do not. Please -- now that our marriage is behind us ... let's dispense with the arguing and try being friends.”

  Suki picked up the tea pot and a cup. “Some tea, Senta?”

  Senta brushed the last tears from her face and turned toward Suki. “No thank you,” she said pleasantly and smiled. “I'll go take my shower.” She headed t
oward the bathroom.

  “Whew!” Suki exclaimed.

  “Not a pleasant sight, was it?” Nyk asked.

  “Is she always like that?”

  “She gets like that when things don't go her way.”

  “I shouldn't talk,” Suki replied. “I can be that way.”

  “I've seen you that way.”

  Her eyes narrowed; then she smiled. “I'll try not to be in the future.”

  2 -- Sea Research

  The groundcar rolled onto the access roadway and headed toward the coast south of Sudal. Nyk could see the other car ahead -- Andra's white hair on the left and Senta's red on the right. He rested his hand on Suki's knee. She grabbed and held it. “How's Mom doing?” she asked.

  “I guess as well as to be expected. For two months after the attack I slept with her.”

  “You've been sleeping with my mother?”

  “There never was anything physical, Suki. She needed to feel someone's warmth next to her -- someone to scare away the demons that lurk in the middle of the night.”

  “I know something about those demons.”

  “We stopped a few weeks ago. She wanted us to quit before Nicky started talking. She didn't want him to blurt out that his grandma sleeps with his daddy.”

  “So, now she sleeps alone.”

  “We both do. I'll tell you -- I also enjoyed feeling her warmth beside me. Now -- sometimes I lie awake and can hear her downstairs, sobbing. It breaks my heart. It'll take her a long time to get over it.”

  “She'll never get over it.”

  “Maybe not. I am wrestling with whether I should take her into our confidence. I know she'd have an easier time if she knew you were safe. I don't know if I can take the risk. I've already pushed the temporal envelope farther than my comfort.” He shook his head. “Just losing George is a big enough blow for her. Your parents did love each other, Suki.”

  “I know they did. I know you'll do the right thing.”

  “She has Nicky. He is, after all, half you and a quarter George, so both you and he do live on, in a way. He's what keeps your mom going.”

  “Did you bring pictures?”

  “Of course -- we can enjoy them after dinner.”