Chapter Forty-three
Many aided the band to pack up after they played. All were sure they want to spend some time with Cole. Lou had spent the day with him and had no doubt he'd see him fairly often. Cole had bought a transpatial comm node and Mutt and Spot had installed it in the condo that afternoon. He got a hug and made another promise of "soon," then Lou left in his "new car."
Cots, Mim and Tonda were sure they'd see Cole again too, but he was "leaving the band," and though they loved playing with Lou and he'd smoothly taken over the task of leader, it was still the departure of one who'd shared their lives, laughter and music for years. About three, Cole stepped into the Blast Room, which was blasting. Frets smiled and steered him back out. His things had been moved.
"I'm sure you're more accustomed to that volume level than I am."
"Not really. Loud is in front of the stage, not on it. My things were moved. I didn't see it."
"They were moved, and I didn't either. Stats said they moved them out when they realized many intended to 'fulfill Case's expectations,' when he bought the Blast Room, and make sure he knows they're pleased."
"I'd say they accomplished it. He's obviously enjoying conversation at yell level."
"Yes, he is."
"You know where I'm 'supposed' to go, don't you?"
"And what you'll be doing, besides composing. Billie said a 'doctor of music' is supposed to teach music to people who want to be doctors of music. I said, 'Duh, that's true,' and checked. They're short a professor, of course."
"Of course?"
"Well, they thought they had all they needed, but Kellony Institute of Performing Arts asked them to offer two terms of composition practicum. Basically, theory, programming and use of a composition bank. They had more requests for courses and private instruction than expected, so are short a professor. I recommended you and was fervently thanked. Your 'roommate' is probably still laughing."
"Frets!"
"Liberty Gem, Teal Valley, BNU, a great big house owned by the ski coach, is your new home. The ski coach is also a computer programming professor. Stats said Case yelled, 'Three more bedrooms to fill. Don't play in his composition bank programs until he gets here. There's a party headed for my place,' then 'Bye,' after they were back in the Blast Room."
"What?"
"Teleportation, Cole. There's a device, but it… trains those who are capable of it. Learning to control the wish to go has been hilarious for everyone watching those who are. Case has gotten in a hurry to get to the party and arrived before he got his clothes on, twice. So far, Danny and Blade have managed to get where they planned when they planned, but Nev wished himself to his coffee pot in the middle of a sentence, and the adventures of Quinn and Bam… I wouldn't get through them. They're the only ones who don't start laughing too hard to talk telling them. If someone should learn it, they'll show up on someone's doorstep because they're sure they should be there."
"I wish… you'd be on mine."
"I plan to be. I'll be in Teal Valley and at BNU often. I'm teaching there too. Most of the time, I'll use a trip chair. It's very comfortable and I won't get tired and spend a whole lesson wishing it was over, but that's work."
"Thank you."
"Hi, ready to go?"
"I guess so, Danny."
"Lou?"
"Yes."
"Dandy has six trip chairs."
"Six?"
"So he can take several kids to see great skiers on other worlds. You two are going to have a lot of fun, all your lives."
"He's…"
"Not totally unaware he's waiting for the right companions too share that huge house. It's twelve forty-three there."
"I'll explain it's about eighteen and the day started at two in my personal time. Season?"
"Late spring."
"Wonderful."
"Dandy!"
"Oops. Hi, nice equipment. It wouldn't have been a temptation I didn't realize I was no longer resisting, if Case hadn't said, 'program,' Danny. I got curious about differences and… have no idea why 'that belongs to someone else' didn't pop up. Uh, sapphire and… my house."
"I'm Cole Allen. Since my surname was selected by a computer, I'd prefer to use a family name on my work."
"He just retired from eighteen years of playing dance music."
"People enjoyed it and it paid regularly."
"The first is not unusual. The second is. Professor?"
"I was told I was a few moments ago."
"That is a nice program."
"My personal gem. I think every person who intends to really use one of these needs to write their own."
"Ooh, pretty."
"Thank you, Danny. That little check has saved me from 'sounds familiar' thousands of times."
"You don't know the 'next logical step' has been taken, until you've gotten half a passage someone else wrote."
"Exactly. Combinations are infinite. Combinations that make a melodic structure that doesn't make people wince may be, but billions have been used, and every person knows thousands of them. That little thing asks me if I'm headed into new territory or down a remembered path. Dandy…"
"Welcome home."
"Frets said I won't wear a sapphire long, but it's not just us."
"I didn't expect you, but now I expect others. You?"
"Never believed I'd spend my life alone, but didn't expect the right girl, either."
"I'm sure faithful is not in my repertoire."
"I'm sure it's not too. See you guys later."
Danny had no idea where she was, but she knew why she was. She'd 'taken the wrong wish.' She got her gear unvented quickly. It was cold. When she had, she walked out of the alley.
A cat ran by her and she grabbed the collar of the large dog chasing it. He was not easy to hold, and the leash clip hanging on his collar indicated someone else hadn't. A young man ran around the corner. She pointed down the alley. A woman in late middle-age ran around and slowed. She had a leash without a clip, was panting heavily and looked very relieved.
"Thank you."
"That leash was not well-made."
"No, it wasn't, but I still don't know what got into her. She doesn't chase cats, or hasn't before, but that one was already running and she lunged and…"
"The leash clip came off. Tied very securely around the collar. Take the collar off to get it off."
"I shall. I hope that young man finds his cat."
"I'm going to help look."
"Apologize for me, please."
"I will. Hello! Did you find him?!"
When the young man didn't answer, Danny realized he wasn't calling the cat, just searching for it.
She walked into the alley and called, "Kitty, kitty, meow, meow." The young man smiled and nodded, so she called again. That time she got an answer. The cat peeked out of a loading dock recess, then walked out to be picked up and cuddled by the young man with tears in his eyes.
She asked where he lived and he shook his head. She guessed the shake meant he didn't currently live anywhere and asked. He nodded. She asked if too many people had tried to learn why he didn't speak. He looked surprised, then slowly nodded and pointed to his head.
"And they've done everything but unscrew the top to look inside. You and kitty decided to leave before they tried that? Relax. I'm real high psi and my guesses are extremely accurate, even about things other than people. You were abused. Stop that. It's obvious. They've probably been trying to find out who by. They know who? Long ago? You're not old enough for it to be that long. Eighteen? Seventeen? You're not sure. I'm going to take you where you and kitty belong. It's why I'm here. Remember, very high psi. I came to this spot to find the one who belongs there. Damn!"
Danny moved them and the young man ran into Dandy. He bounced off. Cole caught the cat and checked her for "collision damage." Danny said the young man didn't know his age, Cole had the only friend he was sur
e he had, she was sure that was a piece of why he didn't speak, his kitty had been running from a dog, but they were both running away, and disappeared.
"Mews and Johnny?"
"Great names. Let's give her some treats and get us a beer."
"We have cat treats?"
"Danny has a cat."
"I'd buy cat treats."
"We were rather preoccupied with each other for a season and a half, but it became pretty obvious we no longer were the other day. We were on a corner and crossed the street in different directions because we were both looking at someone else. We realized it when Deely and Roma, physics prof and campus engineer, burst into laughter."
"We're in Teal Valley on Liberty Gem, Johnny, and I got here the same way you did a few minutes ago, but I got a little warning I was about to personally learn some people can teleport."
"Mews probably called her."
"Mews? Yes, that's you."
"The 'right cat' has been found and rescued several times. It was always the 'right cat' because of a person, or people, including the two best xeno-veterinarians in human space. For you. Oh, oh, treats will not be enough long. Johnny's probably hungry too."
"Let's start with a beer, anyway. Johnny's probably never had one."
"Then… this one for him. This one for you. It's got a bit too much character for first beer, but I think you'll like it. Breakfast or lunch?"
"I like it. Lunch, please. My day usually started at about nineteen. It's about three there now, usual dinnertime for me, but I had breakfast for dinner frequently. Often, the only good food close was a breakfast buffet. We usually went home after a gig, but we went close after packing up the equipment."
"How long did you play clubs, Cole?"
"Sixteen years. I played parties and school dances for two years before that. I don't have… other family, Johnny. My mother and father were kids and the government of Aldora was my parent. It did a good job. Yours, who or whatever it was, didn't."
"You don't have to drink it if you don't like it."
"It's like coffee, you wonder why anyone likes it at first sip, then wonder how anyone could not like it when you get used to it."
"Uh, oh, coffee is a rare thing on this planet. We just planted our first trees and began importing."
"Yipe."
"Let me think… Comm connect Chal. Hi, I said coffee was rare here and my future bonded yelped. Yes, two of them and our kitty came home today. Thank you, twice. We'll have many friends visiting soon and some will have coffee, roaster and brewer for us. Johnny, relax. You're home. You belong with us and you can feel it. You'll like everyone who comes over. The damage done to you will make them as mad as it does us, but they'll thump each other if they notice they're pushing you for who and why."
"Theory: They know the who and that may be why."
"That makes sense. 'Tell us what they did, so we can put them in rehab forever,' and won't talk went to can't talk in the pressure to tell what must never be told. You don't have to talk about it here, Johnny. Comm connect Danny. Do you know where you found them? Good. Comm out. She has no idea what planet she was on."
"Good. When he needs to tell us, it will be just his story and have no effect on anyone elsewhere. He's Johnny…"
"Good question. I'm Dandrin, 'Dandy Doll,' Dollier."
"Changing Dollier could change that and you need it?"
"It's the ski coach sportscast identity. Answer comm. Hi, Jason."
"I give you my grandfather's name for your family."
"You felt we were discussing it?"
"No, I was sure I had to move fast or you'd tell me I was too late."
"I'm going to end up 'Dandy Andy' and get called Andrew."
"No, you're firmly established in history and legend as Dandy Doll. I'll be over in a few moments. Bram just drove up and opened the car door, and Tarse is with him."
"Bring cat food."
"Treats?"
"I have, but they aren't the meal Mews needs."
"We'll stop by Gerrell's for necessities."
"Thanks. Real food, kitty box and who knows how many toys are on the way, Mews. The family name is Andrev, and the three who will assure that's the only name you ever have to use are on the way. Yes, everybody around here knows everything, and many are high psi, too."
"How much education have you got?"
"Way up there and none. That's common here. Come here. See those fountains? That's Bressler Northwest University, BNU. This is late spring, but it's always summer there."
"He knows about the field walls."
"We'll schedule you for placement testing, no oral. Here, your self-education is study completed and they'll hand you a doctorate in your field, if you've got all the basics and that much more of something, or allow you to choose to be a fourth-term student, even if you do, if that's what you wish."
"Very definitely no. How did they screw up so badly with him? He's not sure he wants to even get near the campus."
"University research? Wonderful, several thousand students getting his detailed case description and suggesting treatments."
"Knock, knock!"
"Kitchen, Kail!"
"Hi, I'm Nev's dad, Cole, also chancellor over there. Hello, Johnny. My grandmother-in-law said tell you that your silence has brought you home at last, and life and better tomorrow no longer depend on it."
"I missed that piece. 'Life' I got, and not really his."
"Someone really messed him up, Cole, but Corinne is sure part of it was knowledge following the order to 'never talk' would bring him home, eventually. Well, you talk. Hi, Mews. Yes, I smell like baby kitty. We're kitten-sitting for Lillen's great-aunt, while she gets a music camp program established in Kellerton."
"She gave up trying to find someone who didn't squeeze cefas?"
"They all have a very different idea of the phrase, 'spend what's needed,' than she does, Dandy. When she said, 'unlimited budget,' and they asked how much 'unlimited' was, she gave up and went to spend money. She said three days. One for spend and two for them to get over shock and giggles enough to get back to work setting it up."
"Hopefully, she'll 'cure' them. I've heard several people yell they don't ask for enough funds for what they should be doing."
"I think she plans to."
"You had lunch?"
"With the town council at the hotel. They thought it was hilarious when I didn't get what I ordered."
"Loren decided you needed something else."
"He was right. I feel better than I did an hour ago. I spent half the night on comm. It was day where they are. However, we now have an Olympic preliminary competition schedule for sixteen sports, including skiing."
"Yes!! Thank you, thank you, bless you!"
"You're welcome, and Loren did. I have no idea what I had for lunch, but it tasted good and I'm no longer worried I'll fall asleep in a meeting in about a half-hour."
"Jason gave us Andrev."
"It is the right name for your family, but he'll still be teased about yelling it before you found it all."
"It was perfect timing."
"Of course, it was Jason's. You've got a Tourline Landover and a Morrisey Torch coming, when Gant and Joel get out of school. Day told me, so you can guess how much work they'll take."
"I'll teach Johnny to drive. I'm sure Dandy's driving is not the best example."
"I'm a very good driver, Cole. I just need frequent reminders everyone on the road doesn't know it and scaring the shit out of people isn't nice. I assigned reminding to three of my skiers. Worked well. They don't scare the shit out of people anymore either. Here, Johnny, put your main field of study on my datpad, so we can give Kail an idea where the advanced area of the test bank will be."
"Johnny, it's academic only. There's a test bank we'll want you to take eventually that's talent of all types, takes days and your body and mind are both lumps when you finish. We all have and
want everyone to understand why we groan and laugh when we discuss it. You'll get it too, Cole. We've now got nineteen on the list for it, including the Braightons and Frets, and four new mommies who are already laughing at themselves for wanting to take it. I've a feeling 'psychology research' is the wrong phrase to use, but it's from the talent research program at Helene University on Verdantine, and they won't know where, who, or maybe what comp, the test is from."
"Johnny, no! Mews can't go out here, not without a harness and leash. If she can't wait, we'll clean up and apologize to her. The pet shop is close and Tarse, Bram and Jason can clean out a store section in under a minute, so it won't be… long."
"What did he write?"
"Pharmacology, self-defense."
"Comm connect, Mandara. We've got a young man who doesn't speak, who learned pharmacology as a defense. Dandy's family. Danny just found him and his cat. About eighteen. No. We won't ask. He wants the door slammed and the keycode forgotten. A 'real' opinion. She's sure we're friends. Thanks. Comm out. That was the best research psychologist in human space. She said there's nothing wrong with you or we'd know it. Not talking is a 'shield,' and you'd have probably laid it down, if people hadn't kept trying to pry your hand open to make you drop it. She said Mews has good taste in people, and you know it."
"Currently, she's upset we won't let her out to be a good kitty."
"Comm connect Dad. How close is the cat box? She's about to jump for the door keypad. Comm out."
"Catbox and litter."
"Thanks, Grandpapa. You're smug."
"I went where I intended the first time I intended to go. Steaming mad?"
"This is Johnny's self-education. Grandpapa, you will end up somewhere hilariously unexpected. Dad might not, but you will."
"I'm sure you're right, but I didn't the fir…"
"Comm connect Dad. Grandpapa disappeared mid-word. Comm out."
"So much for keeping him out of mischief."
"Dad tried, Dandy. He did get here to aid the lady in distress."
Bram arrived beside Tarse. He said, "Pharmacology, self-defense," as they walked around the corner into a busy corridor of the medical center. Bram called Dr. Smith and gave her the name of where they were. She yelled, "Damn idiots!" and gave him the name of who they were going to tell off. They heard, "I told you to put that cat in a kennel!" and got mad.
"Dr. Martidini!"
"I'll be with you in a moment, Gens. We've got a missing patient."
"He's not missing. He and his kitty are at home."
"What?"
"They're at home."
"Your home?"
"No, theirs. A friend of the family rescued them. Mews was being chased by a big dog that doesn't usually chase cats and yelled for help. So, she was probably part of the plan to get them home."
"Granddad, he's going to be sure you belong in one of these rooms."
"It would teach him a lesson when I disappeared, made a huge donation to the university and told them to dump him."
"True, but he's an idiot, not a villain. You were going to put his cat in a kennel?"
"That stray cat is a danger to the patient. We found him outdoors at three-twenty night before last, hunting it. A nice kennel was intended to assure him it was warm and well-fed."
"Did you plan to experiment on it, too? He's probably sure you did. You never left him alone long enough to heal, just kept picking at the scab. When he didn't pour out his guts, you tried drugs to get the wound open."
"Granddad?"
"He's been 'the patient,' since the day someone stopped his abuse, Bram. It was the only identity they allowed. They maintained the emotional abuse his entire life to this point, because he was 'patient,' and not a person to be asked if he wished, or needed, to be 'fixed.' He went from afraid to talk to 'I will never speak to you,' and they planned more experiments. He knew even 'patient' was a lie. You don't experiment on patients, just on 'specimens.' It occurred to no one that he loves that kitty, because they don't think of him as a human child. He was a lab animal and knows it."
"Of course, he may be one of the highest psi talents in human space, strong enough to use a dog and his cat to keep it hidden, even from himself. He's also brilliant. He's been building counters to the drugs you gave him for years. He's the best research pharmacologist you had."
"He couldn't get into the lab without an alarm…"
"He couldn't get out the door at night without one? How many years has he been here?"
"Twelve. Who are you?"
"Bram Terschell."
"Tarse Braighton. We're from Liberty Gem, but we have family friends on many worlds. One was here."
"Was?"
"Do you think he wanted to stay on this world, whose courts gave him to a university for 'research' and forgot about him? He and his kitty are at home, and that's not this world. The only love he found here was hers. The others of his family are happily asking her opinion of assorted cat toys, beds, chairs and food. She can't go outside, but decided the cat box is an acceptable alternative. She's not a stray. She left home because he needed her more."
"We're going to look for a worried person after this?"
"We both know that cat was trained and treated well, Bram."
"True. You tell us why you were given a 'patient' you forgot was a person."
"Tolland Brach had been beaten, burned, sexually abused and was in critical condition, when found by a woman walking her dog. Eventually, the investigation culminated in the arrest and conviction of two people who were employed as cleaning staff in a government children's shelter. The threat that silenced him was to burn it down and make sure no one got out, and they had friends who'd do it for them, if he ever talked about it. He was repeatedly burned and healed as a 'demonstration' over the near year they victimized him, before they damaged him too badly for quick heal and 'got rid' of him. He's why even grounds maintenance people for shelters must pass psych exams now. After they'd been caught, the reason he was terrified to speak was known, but nothing worked. You're right. Twelve years of classes with him as 'case study,' and we forgot he was the abused child we so wanted to help, whose fear we wanted to end."
"He was an abandoned child?"
"His mother was a gleam addict. He was put in the shelter when she was picked up in a police raid on a dealer and sent to a treatment program. Seven hours after she walked out of the clinic doors, she was brought back, DOA overdose. She was using the drug when he was born. She birthed at home and it wasn't recorded. Much of the research was to determine if there was some effect of the drug we'd missed. It seemed probable. His age is a very general guess because premature birth, slow physical and/or mental development, accelerated physical and/or mental development, missing nerves, organs and limbs are all common. His mother didn't neglect him badly. He was alone in a playpen in an apt, but he wasn't dirty or malnourished. She didn't remember when he'd been born, or giving birth to him. He was a present and she'd had him a while."
"Did they do DNA tests?"
"Memory lapse, chronological confusion and illusion are common as well, Gen Terschell. 'It was a present' is the most common delusion. It's part of why gleam is such a problem. You're special. People love you and give you presents. The most common method of discovery of gleam addicts is they don't make car or condo payments. They can't owe anything. They were presents. They still believe that when they're off the drug. You can show proof otherwise and some will accept it. Since most are sure the drug was a present, it's hard to catch dealers."
"Did they do a DNA test?"
"It's routine on admission to any medical facility."
"Did they compare them?"
"Doctor, my grandson is knocking on your thick skull. If that woman was his mother, she was very high psi. It's near certain she'd know the gleam would lead to her death. If she walked out of that clinic free of the drug, she either committed suicide or was murd
ered, and she'd have known she would be."
"Did they compare them?"
"Comm connect police, Captain Avel, identify. Captain, I need to know if the DNA comparison was done on Tolland Brach and Canderan Brach sixteen years ago. Because if she was his mother, she knew she was about to die when she left the clinic, and it may have been murder. Would you please explain 'seventeen years is too far back to matter' to Bram Terschell and Tarse Braighton? They're in my office. Captain, have you heard of trip chairs? I quite agree."
"They have enough rich pains in the ass on this planet and aren't pleased to have all the rest too?"
"She said, 'neck.' Yes, almost exactly. It wasn't. Get me that scan. Because I'd get put at the bottom of the queue and get it in a tenday. 'Professional courtesy' is not extended by data clerks. Thank you. Comm out. Intercom Rogee, the police are getting us Canderan Brach's DNA scan. No comparison was ever run. I need it instant. Rogee, Tolland is very high psi. What do you think he felt from twelve years of students reading his case? Pitch the results of all the drug tests. He was building counter-agents in the pharm lab at night. How much could you learn in twelve years, if you knew your mind was at stake? I was sure they'd get it faster than we could. What?! Out. Comm connect police, Captain Avel, identify. Yes, thank you. She wasn't his mother. Not even gross match. We may have taken a child from the babysitter, and the sitter, and put his family and him through hell. She's checking missing person reports. Who?! Oh, my God. What have we done? Comm out."
"Who?"
"Dr. Baernadine Holcomb from Clanloft. Her son disappeared from a hotel nursery. She got one ransom message, then no more."
"Main comm connect transpatial comm Clanloft, Dr. Baernadine Holcomb, identify. Dr. Holcomb, you know your son isn't dead."
"I always have. Where is he?"
"He's with his new family. They haven't found all who belong in it yet, but they will quickly now. They call him Johnny, though everyone has believed he was Tolland Brach since he was found in the home of a gleam addict, probably moments after he was taken. My grandfather and I will be there in a short while. Comm out. Contact Dr. Smith at Helene University on Verdantine. She plans to tell you off too."
"You'll feel punished and it will knock some of the guilt off."
"Granddad! It's cold out here! Chattering teeth don't agree with daytrip. That house."
"Thanks, it's cold out here. Hello, you're missing a cat, and we know who she went to save."
"I am, and… Come in."
"Cold isn't supposed to bother you when you're daytripping. I hadn't convinced myself it didn't, or that I was wearing a coat. My great-great-grandson 'changed for the occasion' in an instant and I couldn't work up a coat."
"We'll get it, Granddad. I'm Bram Terschell. My grandfather, Tarse Braighton."
"It's nice to meet you. Mewlin 'saved' someone?"
"A young man desperately needed a loving friend. She heard him crying for one, at the university hospital, though he can't speak. She found him and led him to one who knew where home and love was, for both of them."
"I knew she was special. So did her vet. She's not neutered, but I was just sure that wasn't why she ran away."
"You and the vet were right. We saw she was well cared for, and knew someone was worried, but Johnny needs her badly, so we're going to ask you let him keep her, and offer one of her kittens. Daddy will be special too. He's part bobcat, lynx rufus, from Earth. He's my great-great-grandson's family's kitty, and they were told to introduce him to many potential mama kitties."
"The vet is sure the bobcat genes will benefit them, and Patrick is a smart cat. So is Mews. They'll have smart kittens. You don't have to wait. Two cats in the house is not too many."
"Bram, it is if you have to budget the vet bill. She's paid that hunk of money in the last year. Twice more in the next year is too much."
"Thump, Granddad. Thank you."
"He's been asking for them since he was four."
"They're much lighter if he's sure my brain is already working. If we find a kitty that needs a home, will you give it one?"
"That would be unusual. We take good care of our pets, or the neighbors would have rescued one, not be waiting for kittens."
"Someone doesn't think it's unusual. He was going to put 'stray cat' in a kennel, not look for owner."
"He'd have found out he was wrong and probably have been fined. Any kennel would have required veterinary records, and contacted animal control for a missing pet list if there weren't any. However, there is no collar and tag requirement for cats on the U campus. It's security fenced and gated. He's seen people's pets in a protected area and 'stray' was his response. I suspect he hasn't been here long."
"That we didn't check. Contact your vet for me, please."
"House comm connect Dr. Werdell."
"Hello, Elena. News?"
"Yes, my cat performed a miracle and the recipients, especially a… mute young man wish to keep her. We've been promised kittens with lynx rufus in them."
"How?!"
"A young tom that's about an eighth. In a half-season, we can arrange it, then assure kittens are close enough to be delivered when weaned."
"She's a very healthy cat genetically. He's big?"
"Still growing, going to be huge."
"A vet close would be a good idea."
"There will be. Now, I told Elena she didn't need to wait and two cats isn't too many, and my granddad reminded me three initial vet bills is. I've developed many budgets, but never lived on one. I'm Bram Terschell."
"Admiral Terschell…"
"Is my grandson."
"Oh, dear."
"Elena, I believe Mewlin performed a miracle."
"Mew's new family will want to assure Elena's new kitty's vet bills are paid. My grandson's family will want to assure Patrick's kittens' are."
"Am I going to get in on this?"
"Of course, Granddad. You're impressed with the responsibility and caring people here give their pets too."
"I am. We want to know the best organization to aid in the good work that's obvious here."
"There are several, but they call the Frippy League if they need help."
"Frippy had a cat and Frippy had a dog."
"That's the right story, Gen Terschell."
"It's a good aid in teaching children the responsibility of owning pets, and has been about a thousand years. Now, what we're going to do is look for a kitty in need of rescue for Elena. We may bring it from some distance, but I'm sure there's one that does somewhere. At that time, we'll pay initial costs and for neutering, when you think it's time for it. We know it makes sense to allow a few litters with the lynx rufus genes to be born, if there are good homes for them, so we'll figure out some way to help spread them with the Frippy League."
"It does, and they'll assist."
"We'll see you sometime soon. Comm out. Elena, your new kitty may come by flyer, but we'll assure it gets to Dr. Werdell, or you."
"If in-need includes an injury, we won't fly it here before treatment."
"You're very nice people, and very generous."
"Most people are nice, and most wealthy people are generous, but they have to be careful in their generosity. The not-nice people sort of congregate around them and it's not easy to assure money goes to those it's intended to aid."
"And if they give it all away, there is none to aid when they see something else that will benefit, like a business idea that will provide jobs for many."
"We tend to forget that's a form of aid too."
"Good business benefits many. Like the prince with the magic purse, who used it to help people, and ended up with a room full of money, because a coin appeared every time someone followed the example and aided another."
"That's cute."
"It's also an ad for the book my grandson edited."
They left Elena's home and went to Dr. Holcomb. They
arrived in another side corridor, though this one was in a university administration building, not medical center. They were a little surprised by that, but expected to learn why soon.
Bram checked on Dr. Holcomb and laughed. She wasn't a physician. She was a biologist, and had developed a method of naming that would encompass even the most unusual species discovered on new worlds.
It gave people essential information about a creature, including diet and habitat and was simple enough it didn't require years of study to do it. She was also a co-developer of a new classification method that made scientific naming simpler, and gave more information on species. She'd been on Sonnetta, only five days from Clanloft, teaching the method to educators. The exploration fleet would use the Commonality Name System and Universal Designation System and were looking for teachers.
They walked into the biology department office and a young man ran for a door and opened it for them. Dr. Holcomb was standing behind her desk, when they walked through the door.
"Hello, I…"
"We can almost imagine. You always knew he'd be found, but he wouldn't be a child."
"And his life to then would… be painful."
"Why did they kidnap him? You weren't wealthy."
"Perhaps because he wasn't protected like the child of wealthy people would be. They didn't ask for more than the hotel insurer would have paid, and that may be who they expected to pay it."
"And they had a plan they thought would work. They found a convenient gleam addict and gave her a baby as a 'present.' Most gleam addicts were sure things they had were 'presents.' It worked too well. They just assumed he was another birthed-at-home child of an addict and present was the common delusion. They didn't even compare her DNA scan with his, just watched for signs of 'non-apparent damage.' He was abused by people on the cleaning staff of a gov shelter, who terrified him into not talking. They were caught, but he still didn't talk, so they decided they'd found 'damage' and spent twelve years looking for a treatment. His life as 'patient' wasn't hell, but it wasn't happy. It will be filled with love and laughter from now on."
"That was… I was sure it would be and he'd be sure it was worth it someday, but I hunted anyway. I knew I wouldn't find him… I knew I'd lose him if I went, but… the future of many depended on that."
"Beginning with the five children you adopted."
"I was forty-nine when Jonathan was born. I shall always be grateful to the student, and I have no idea who he was, who walked over as I was getting out of my car, told me he was adopted and too many aren't. I called a worried psychologist friend and told him I was about to rip into another outmoded classification system, because the language was difficult and the system excluded far too many 'good adoptive homes.' It took three years, but we, and a great many others, got the system changed, so adoption by older couples and single people became far easier, and thousands of children have loving adoptive parents, who couldn't have qualified under the old system."
"So you know what the separation from your son accomplished."
"I knew it was the real… value the moment he said it. It hadn't been easy for me to get clinic insemination because I was over forty-five and single."
"How badly are you needed here?"
"You want me to teach the classification to the space corps?"
"My grandson would have just offered you a job, if that's what he had in mind. You, the kids, the keeper and the cat move to Liberty Gem. That's where your son is."
"We expect him to test through doctoral level in pharmacology, and join his two found family members as a professor at BNU, though not necessarily soon or in that field. Wouldn't you like to be there to help him explore the many science fields to which the fundamentals he had to learn apply?"
"He's not… ready for me yet."
"No, he's not, but it won't be long. Dandy and Cole both know how to play, and he'll be laughing and working to keep them out of too much trouble quickly."
"They're professors?"
"Dandy will teach programming and is head ski coach. Cole will teach music and is a composer."
"Dandy Doll?"
"That's the one."
"My daughter is sure he's the perfect man. He has both computers and skis, and he's 'beautiful even standing still.' I'll be officially retired in twenty-three days. My children are thirteen to nineteen years old. Office comm connect kids, multi-panel screen."
"Mom, my teacher isn't happy. Yes, my mom."
"It's my mom."
"My mother."
"I'll go in the hall. It's Mom."
"What happened, Mom?"
"Jonathan was found."
"I knew it! Gen Lorn, my brother was found. I'll leave."
"Fem Lances, I'm going home."
"Roy!"
"We all are, Mom."
"I'll be there to pick you up in a half-minute, Alan."
"Running for the west door, Gisele."
"We'll be north side here, Gisele."
"Two minutes, Carly."
"Who are the men, Mom?"
"Tarse Braighton and Bram Terschell, Admiral Terschell's great-great-grandfather and grandfather, Roy. I told them you think Dandy Doll is perfect, Linny."
"He is."
"He's also about to be your brother-in-bond."
"What's that, Gen Braighton?"
"It's what you call the members of your brother's family, once they put little gems in their earlobes."
"Jonathan is on Liberty Gem?"
"He is now, Carly. They've asked us to move there. Gisele, this is primarily your decision."
"I'll miss people, Mom, but I can visit. The half-term isn't important in the long term. We can take Coco and Tubby, or you'd have mentioned."
"They said, 'and cat,' but I'm sure dogs were implied."
Bram called Alden as soon as they left the office, told him who they'd gotten and get some ship there fast. He heard Alden yell to find out what ships were currently on Clanloft, or about to dock, just before Tarse moved them into sleet.
"I'm sure anything in this needs rescuing!"
"There!"
"Comm connect Nev! We're in a sleet blizzard, with about fifty cats and dogs in open cages! We need shelter fast!"
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