As the rocket-powered capsule disappeared into space and away from human vision, the whole spectacle of the rocket releasing Uvarna's coffin into outer space was displayed on a mighty screen, visible for hundreds of kilometers, and again this scene was transmitted throughout the whole of Planet Uno on smaller screens so that every Uno citizen could take part in the final farewell to Uvarna.
A huge wail began as soon as the coffin began to ascend into space. All the female Unos had started howling, sounding disturbingly like a million wolves. This was certainly an eerie spectacle and sound. Zon shivered as he stood watching his sweet lady disappear into oblivion. Tears slipped gently down his cheeks and his face crumpled into a sobbing wreck for a few minutes until Uvarna's sister gently took hold of his arm and led him down the mountain.
When they arrived in the Uno Palace and reciprocal condolences were being exchanged between the various relations, Uvarna's sister asked Zon to come and sit with her in a small anteroom adjoining the main hall. They sat down together on a soft comfortable sofa and Uvella said to Zon, “Zon, you may not have realized it, but it is one of our traditions that if a Uno female dies, then her nearest unmarried sister automatically belongs to the widower as a mate. So I am now officially yours whenever you require me. I promise you I shall do my very best to please you, although I guess I will never in any way come near to replacing Uvarna in your heart.”
Zon was taken aback by this suggestion and jumped to his feet with abject shock. He did not feel any emotion or desire towards this woman and was horrified to hear that, in her mind, she considered herself to be part of his goods and chattels.
Uvella saw that her news had stunned Zon and smiled at him gently. “Zon, my dear brother-in-law, it is also acceptable that if the male does not wish to avail himself of this pact, although the female is duty-bound to offer herself, he is not obliged to take her.”
Zon looked visibly relieved to hear this news and thanked Uvella for being such a good woman. He softly whispered that he hoped she would understand he could not give her an answer to the situation straight away as he was still under immense strain of suffering from the loss of his darling Uvarna. He promised to let her have his decision on this as soon as he was clear in his own mind what he wanted to do. He also assured Uvella that his sister Zeileen was willing to carry on providing the Zelites with children, should the occasion ever arise.
After his return to Planet Zero, Zon spent several days locked in his private accommodation in mourning. He would accept no visitors and asked his GM servants to leave him alone until he was ready to ask for them. He was so sad. He just felt utterly devastated by the death of his Uvarna; he truly thought he would never get over his loss. It was unbearable and he just cried his heart out until he could weep no more, and he eventually just felt desperately empty and lifeless, finally falling into a deep sleep, being completely exhausted by the sheer strain of grief.
Then after a few more days of solitude and silent weeping, Zon knew it was the right time and his duty was to get on with his life and take on his responsibilities as Leader once more.
CHAPTER 18
As promised to himself, his relations and friends, Zon had already started to get his people to tighten up on the slackness in security and efficiency that had developed during the time of his own laxness when he had fallen in love with Uvarna.
The first thing he decided to do himself was to return to the Gym House to get his body back into shape. He arranged for his personal trainer to make sure he was physically fit again and had his medical experts check all his body parts to make sure everything was working properly.
After he was satisfied that he was absolutely bodily perfect again, he decided to have a brain cleanse to make sure there were no imperfections sitting inside his head. The Zelite race of people had been prone to developing too many brain cells and this often caused problems such as headaches and migraine. The neurologists had come up with the brain wash scheme, which got rid of all the extra cells, but left the exact required brain matter functioning perfectly.
The main cause for migraine and associated headaches had been found to be the capacity of memory that the Zelites were able to maintain in their brains. To counteract these painful migraines, it had been decided that they would only need to retain a normal full memory capacity totaling sixty years and then each year from then on, the initial year from their past recollections would be eradicated so that they were in actual fact just left with the necessary memory capacity of the last existing sixty years of their lives. Every year each Zelite would have his historical memory cells extracted and placed on compact discs to be stored in the special computer storage facilities and expertly logged to make easy access to this information available, should anyone ever desire to remember what happened to them during a certain period. The normal learning memory required to cover such things as speech, hearing, seeing, movement, learning, etc. was still left in place in the memory cells. It was merely the historical information that was removed from the memory cells and transferred to CD storage.
Zon disliked this procedure, but knew it was essential for the maintenance of a healthy and active brain, and therefore somewhat reluctantly underwent his annual memory erasure.
Zon had already given instructions for an area near Rome, in Italy, to be cleaned up and given to the Dropouts. He was still contemplating asking them to transfer to the Fox Planet. This had been the planet found by his space explorers to be the nearest in all aspects to the environment found on Planet Zero. It was not in the mother universe and Zon was still reluctant to transfer any of his Zelite population until further research had been carried out. He was very keen to use some other race such as the Dropouts to ‘test the water’ for them.
Very little was known about this distant planet except that it was ruled by groups of foxes. They appeared to be of super intelligence and kept a tight control on any other residents. They had become herbivores and seemed to be quite successful in maintaining a happy equilibrium between the other inhabitants.
He knew that he did not have the right to order the transfer of these poor Dropout people to a strange foreign planet without their agreement, so he decided to put a decision on this problem on hold until he was fully aware of all the facts regarding this planet. Even then, he knew he must send a mixed group of Zelites, GM people and Dropouts to this proposed planet. It had to be an agreed joint decision when all the Planet Zero inhabitants had been made fully aware of all the pitfalls entailed.
Meanwhile he was still awaiting a message from Stef to confirm that they would avail themselves of his offer for them to be integrated into the rest of the European Society and he had arranged for safe, underground, modern accommodation to be erected for them.
When Zon returned to the Planet Council, he discovered that Stef had actually already advised the Council that her people would be delighted to move into their new sector and was waiting for Zon to contact her to arrange the transfer. This news pleased Zon and he immediately got in touch with Stef to make the necessary transition.
Stef had explained to her people that life would not be simple amongst the dominant Zelites, but at least they would be safe from the wolves and the mute snow people who had continuously raided their compounds, stealing their meager supplies and killing their guard dogs. The younger Dropouts were downright excited about the move. Some of them had already secretly ventured down into the Zelite territory on a couple of previous occasions and had been enthralled by what they saw. Now here was the chance for them to improve their own living standards and perhaps mix and socialize with those highly modern and intelligent Zelites.
One of the biggest problems caused by the move was the transfer of the domestic and farm animals that the Dropouts still maintained. The Zelites had discontinued eating the flesh of animals quite a number of years ago when there had been a devastating illness striking the humans with a disintegrating brain disease. However, Zon agreed to allow the Dropouts to maintain their lifestyle of an
imal flesh eating as long as none of their animals was allowed to stray outside of the fenced compounds. He also ordered the safe disposal of any residue of bones and flesh that were left after eating the meat.
He even tried to convert Stef to becoming a vegetarian, but she just laughed at him and said she was a human not a rabbit. Zon knew that these kinds of changes could happen slowly and did not pursue the matter further.
When they were eventually installed and established in their new homes, Zon visited Stef to ensure that everything was to her satisfaction. As he stepped out of his Personal Carrier, Zon saw Stef approaching him and holding out her hands to him, she said, “Welcome to Outland. With your permission, we no longer wish to be called the Dropouts but instead would like to be known as the ‘Outlanders’. As long as this meets with your approval, of course.”
Zon gazed at this woman, and guessed that he would probably agree to anything she asked. She was dressed in an amazing pair of leather trousers, clinging to her like a second skin, and a cotton sleeveless blouse through which he could see she was wearing no underclothes. He thought to himself how wonderful it was that this beautiful body did not need any kind of supportive underclothing. Her body was slim but strong and firm in the right places.
Stef realized that Zon's gaze had avidly encompassed most of her body and a sense of intense satisfaction filled her. She had, for some time, been longing to feel this mighty man touching her and had wanted to stimulate his desire so that he would feel the need for her as well. It had been ages since Stef had wanted anyone as much as she now desired Zon. She knew now that by watching his eyes gaze greedily at her body, her cravings would soon be fulfilled. Stef was well aware that since Uvarna's death, Zon had been without a woman. “I am going to have that man,” she thought to herself.
They walked towards a small cabin, which had been constructed in the lower level of the street built below ground. A small strange dog greeted them and Stef petted it and spoke gently to it. Zon was completely astounded at Stef's apparent closeness to this animal and when she picked it up and carried it indoors, he realized how little his people really knew of the Outlanders’ habits. She placed the animal in a small basket, which was comfortably filled with a soft furry lining, which definitely looked like the fur of a wolf.
“How strange that these people still use animal skins and furs for comfort,” he thought to himself.
“May I offer you some coffee, Zon, now that you know what it is?” Stef laughingly teased him.
“Thank you very much, I would love to have some more of that potion. Perhaps this time I will try it with milk, from your cow animals, in the same way that you yourself did last time we had it. I must admit I found it rather a bitter drink, to be honest, and perhaps the milk will take the harsh taste away from it,” Zon replied.
“Actually you may prefer to take it with some sugar or sweetener. Quite a few people do. Try it both ways to see which way you prefer. Then I will know what your taste is for the future.”
After they had finished their coffee and eaten the delicious brownies that Stef had provided with the coffee, Stef took Zon by the hand and led him towards her sleeping room. Zon hesitated for a moment. “Do I really want this to happen?” he thought to himself. He knew that if he had sex with her, knowing that the Outlanders did not use contraception, due to their need to increase their numbers, the obvious consequence would most likely be that Stef would become pregnant, as he was extremely virile. “Also,” he surmised, “would any child conceived by them be allowed to follow his traditions of life or would Stef's clan of people try to claim it?”
However, the longing urge inside him was too strong for him to overcome and he thought to himself, “What the heck, we are so strong that if the Zelites want this child, then who are the Outlanders to stop them! And I am only thinking in the negative way; it may not happen after all; not all these women get pregnant the first time.”
After they had made love, Stef, glowing from the excitement of fulfillment, asked Zon if he had ever had a virgin before. “You know, Zon, that it is customary in our beliefs, if a man takes a virgin, he is acknowledging that he will marry her and that is a strict obligation I hope you will adhere to.”
Zon smiled at this strange, but exciting, young woman, lying by his side. He had, of course, had many virgins in his lifetime, but would not hurt her by telling her the truth. However, he did feel a little signal of alarm at what she was suggesting.
In his own particular environment, marriage was no longer an option and he wondered how he was going to get round this predicament. He decided to take the easy option and say nothing and instead started to make love to her again.
Eventually Zon got up off the bed and, tenderly kissing Stef, he said that he must get back. He knew that Stef had been expecting a reply to her statement and he whispered in her ear that if she wanted marriage then she could have her wish granted, but he would have to talk it over with his brothers and sisters, as this was no longer an normal option in their society and it would mean that he would have to give explanations to everyone as to the implications.
CHAPTER 19
When he returned to Santa Barbara, Zon called his siblings to his side and set out his plans. He pointed out that by marrying Stef, he would be setting an example to the Outlanders that would prove to them that his intentions were honorable. He told his siblings that he realized that though there was no precedent in their society for such a marriage, this ceremony still existed in the Outlanders’ society.
He added that it should not make the slightest difference to the Zelites whether he was considered to be a married man by the Outlanders. If he went ahead with the wedding, it would not be an illegal act in their eyes because they actually had no such laws, etc. governing marriage any more.
Zargaret his sister, who was next in line to him, being the second eldest in their family, told him that he would have her full support and blessing. She confirmed that she would raise no objections to the union, but hoped that Zon would go through a Unification Ceremony as befitted the Planet Leader, so that this would rule out any doubts that the Zelite Elders would accept any offspring from him and Stef.
His sister Zeileen was not so pleased with the news, however, as she had already struck up a loving friendship with a Uno male and had rather hoped that their Unification Ceremony would be the next big occasion to be announced. She had been looking forward to the prospect of childbearing and motherhood, as this was such a unique situation among the Zelites females. “Would this now mean that if her brother married, and then unified, her own prospect of Unification was going to be jeopardized?”
Zeileen also reminded Zon that he still had an obligation to carry out another honorable act, which was to accept Uvarna's sister, Uvella, as his wife. She knew that Uvella was still hoping that Zon would accept her, but Zon had not really given a definite reply to the Uno woman yet.
Zon embraced his sister and assured her that as she had kept her end of the bargain and replaced him in his hour of need, he could see no reason at all why Zeileen could not be unified with the Uno. She would be afforded all the full ceremonial trimmings and if she fell pregnant by her Uno man, she would be permitted to keep the baby.
“Zeileen, I have no intention of actually being unified with the Outlander woman, Stef. I will only carry out their ceremony of marriage. With regard to your concern about my duty towards Uvella, I am still not sure what I will do about this. I need to think a bit more about this situation.”
Zon carefully explained and assured Zeileen that there was a big difference between a ‘marriage’, as wanted by Stef, and the ‘Unification’, as wanted by Uvella. He pointed out to Zeileen that the Outlanders’ Marriage Ceremony was not at all a binding legal act in the Zelite foundation laws and, he pointed out, even Unification was just a traditional agreement between Zelites. Nor was it legally binding so no problem could be foreseen with either of these arrangements.
Zerek and Zeter gave them their assurances
that they would support them both whatever was decided and looked forward to attending the two ceremonies. They both presumed the whole matter was just an excuse for another party and they were all up for that!
It was not long before Zon was on his e-mail private messaging phone asking Stef Brown if she would agree to become his wife. Stef sent him a cryptic answer, leaving him guessing as to what she was intending, but she added quite clearly at the end of the message that if he would appear in person at her side instead of as an image over a phone machine, he would soon learn of her reply.
Zon knew that Stef was cleverly luring him to her bed once more and he felt her strong and vibrant thought-waves being transmitted to him through her mind, enticing him to her arms. He laughed at the fun of it; he was himself now re-learning the art of thought transference and tried tempting her many times to travel to Santa Barbara to sleep in his comfortable air-bed. Stef ’s ability in this art was stronger than Zon's and she knew it. She signaled him that she was lying naked on her bed all by herself and that she would die of the cold unless he flew to her arms and warmed her up once more.
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