Every Man's Fantasy Ch. 21

"Also, to be fair," Roger added to Paul's analysis, "some in the Anglosphere want to boost the populations of the outworld colonies as a bulwark against the Sino-Russian Federation, so they can maintain their own military defences (as they should) and not put the burden on Earth."

"I see," Gloria said, somewhat resignedly.

"Don't be disheartened, Madam Gloria," Paul continued in his smooth suave voice. "Look at it from Outworld Ventures' point of view. They took on a huge debt when they became owners of Samothea. Terraforming costs and the loss of the first settler ship helped to ruin the original settler company. Although the debt is historical, I'm sure they would like to recoup that money, besides making new money from selling land on Samothea and operating the mines and other industries."

"They will also be pressured by relatives (or their descendents, I should say) of the three-thousand passengers on the first settler transport, who want their land-claims recognised or recompensed. Each of them bought plots of land on Samothea, often taking loans from the original settler company, which they would repay over ten or twenty years."

"There was a big insurance pay-out about ninety years ago," Roger interjected.

"True," Paul said, "but that covered only the settlers' transportation costs and life-assurance claims. The settlers still owned their plots of land at that time. What is their status now?"

"Settlement contracts say that land-claims not taken up during the colonisation period lapse when the colonisation period ends," Roger pointed out.

"That is so," Paul agreed, "but the women of Samothea might want to be generous to the relatives of the original settlers. It would be good publicity and little real cost."

Gloria approved, saying:

"That's good advice. Many of us are in favour of re-starting the colonisation of Samothea. If they are the majority, then picking new colonists from those whose relatives were lost on the first settler transport would be a good place to start, so long as we can vet every applicant?"

"If you are the legal owners of Samothea, you can do what you like," Paul confirmed; "but if Outworld Ventures owns Samothea, then you may have to take the colonists they send you."

Gloria frowned at that suggestion. Even so, Paul was glad that she seemed accommodating. It suggested that a mutually beneficial agreement was in reach and there would be no need to invite the Anglosphere diplomats to arbitrate a dispute; or, worse, begin an expensive and prolonged court-case.

Paul's confidence was calming to Gloria. It helped her find her balance after the unsettling journey and the strangeness of Celetaris. If such good-hearted, capable and intelligent people as Danielle, Paul, Roger and the Samothea Project Team supported her colony, then it would surely be safe. In three weeks, Gloria could attend the conference with equanimity. Meanwhile, she meant to become master of the legal issues, just in case.

******

Yael and Freya finished their morning chores quickly and Danielle had no more work for them. Yael continued her exploration of the apartment's books and Freya stood on the seat of the settee, resting her elbows on its back, her chin on her folded arms, looking at the inviting world outside the window.

It was turning into a beautiful day. Spring showed Celetaris at its best. There was a thick morning dew, which made the grass glisten. The resurgent yellow sun gave the daylight a sharp edge, highlighting the fresh green leaves, adding vibrancy to the spring flowers that tempted the insects with their garish colours.

A few dozen people were in the street below, walking between the buildings or heading into the park.

"Look, Yael," Freya said, "there's men and women everywhere. Look!"

Yael joined Freya on the settee. Unused to being inside during the day-time, they stared out of the window and sighed.

Danielle finally looked up for a moment and saw the girls on the settee.

"Are you all right, girls?" she asked.

"Danielle, can we go out?" Yael said.

"Of course you can. Let me finish this and I'll take you."

"We can go on our own, if you don't mind. We're used to exploring the forest alone."

Danielle knew that the most dangerous thing in the forests of Samothea was probably a concealed root to trip over; but it wasn't as if the people of Celetaris were a threat either. As far as she knew, there had never been a crime on the university campus. Danielle was barely aware of there ever having been a crime on Celetaris itself. Nor would the girls get lost if they stayed in the Science Park.

"Be careful crossing the road," Danielle said, "and come back for lunch when you're hungry. I'll be here."

"Have fun," she shouted after the girls as they ran off, skipping down the stairs, not even waiting for the lift.

The Science Park contained the two university towers, the refectory, the conference centre, the medical centre, living apartments and a small shopping precinct with stores, cafes and a restaurant.

In the park was a flower garden, an ornamental pond with goldfish and a children's play area. Protected by a hedge, there was a sand pit, a see-saw, a climbing frame and a wooden fort with slides. A satisfactory distance from the noisy children's play-area, was a small hill, wooded on one side, with peaceful walks and restful views of the ocean on the other.

The Science Park was a section of a much larger park, Fanshaw Park, which was a gift from one of the Founders of Celetaris, to separate the proposed Institute for Science from Arts City.

Three miles wide, Fanshaw Park ran northward from the central ocean to the edge of the unpopulated forest, a distance of seven miles. A haven for horse-riders and dog-walkers, it had playing fields for rugby, cricket, netball, hockey and football. There were tennis nets and facilities for most kinds of outdoor sport.

A large natural lake to the north was surrounded by pine forest. Here there were water sports, swimming and fishing. Deer hid in the forest and occasionally wandered into the meadows, sometimes even sprinting across a sports field. Cows and sheep grazed up to the forest-edge and geese squabbled by the lake.

Yael and Freya went to look at the ocean first, but it was different from the sea on Samothea, spoiled by noisy seagulls, squawking and messing everywhere. Instead, they went to the children's playground, which Freya gamely tried out but was disappointed at how tame it was compared to her obstacle course in the Forest Camp. Though it was large and built of plasti-metal in bright primary colours, the playground had disappointing barriers and safety nets. It was surrounded by soft rubber mats, in case anyone fell.

Freya stood boldly on the top bar of the climbing frame and looked out over the hedge into the rest of the park. Her heart stopped.

"Yael! Look, there's dogs! There's dogs! Come on!"

She threw herself down from the frame into one of the safety nets, rolled out, and was sprinting out of the play-area and beyond the hedge into a large field in Fanshaw Park before Yael caught up with her.

Freya ran after the dogs, calling for them to come to her, but none were interested in playing and they were too fast even for her to catch. She didn't give up, though, but kept chasing.

Finally she was successful. A dog was running loose away from its owner, who vainly called it back.

"Charlie-dog! Come back! Charlie!" the old man called out.

Charlie was a cocker spaniel, a fluffy black and white beast with big floppy ears who bounded around with its tongue hanging out. Freya was instantly in love. She ran after Charlie, yelping for joy. Her noise attracted his attention. He bounded up to her, to be greeted with a violent hug and affectionate kisses, which he returned, licking Freya's face and bouncing up and down as she tried to hold onto him.

Yael was also keen to meet a dog but she had no idea he would bark so loudly and be so wet! Nothing in the picture-books at home mentioned the dampness. She was also surprised at how solid the dog was, having imagined it would be soft. Yael instantly realised - by what instinct, she couldn't tell - that she didn't actually like dogs.

"Charlie-dog! Come here you confounded nuisance!" the man called out again.

He was very old. Dressed in a tweed coat and a felt hat with a brim, he carried a shooting stick.

"Leave those poor girls alone!" the man demanded to the uncomprehending mutt.

"Please, Sir," said Yael. "Can my friend play with Charlie-dog?"

"She can if she likes, but Charlie will never let her go if she does."

"She'd like that, Sir. She's never met a dog before."

The old man was sure he misheard her but, when he double-checked, Yael explained who they were, telling him their names.

"Welcome to Celetaris, Yael Eloisesdaughter Woodlander," he said, pronouncing her name as punctiliously as she had said it. "I hope you will enjoy your visit. My name is Edgar Fanshaw."

"Fanshaw?" Yael said. "Like the park?"

"Yes."

"Are you named after the park?"

"No, the other way around. My father gave the park to the City, so the park is named after my family."

"Gosh!"

Yael was delighted. She'd found a source of information - and what a source! While Freya played with Charlie-dog, screaming with joy, Mr. Fanshaw leant on his shooting stick and tried to answer Yael's questions.

She learned that Mr. Fanshaw was a hundred and twelve years old, which she could hardly believe; that he lived in a handsome Georgian house on the edge of the Science Park, with a large garden surrounded by a high hedge; though the whole of the Science Park had once been his family garden and the rest of Fanshaw Park had been their deer park and farm.

Yael also learned that Mr. Fanshaw was a widower and lived with two nurses, whom he called Nurse Grumpy and Nurse Smiley. They sent him out twice a day, at ten o'clock and two o'clock, to give both him and Charlie-dog some exercise. His family - he had children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - lived, studied or worked busy lives in Ocean City or on other planets and rarely came to see him. In fact, he was a little lonely and was pleased to meet an intelligent and interesting young person.

"If Freya wants to play with Charlie again," Mr. Fanshaw invited, "then she need only come to the park in the morning or the afternoon. I'll be here."

When a bubbly and curvy blonde woman rolled up to check on where her charge was, Yael easily recognised her as 'Nurse Smiley'. Apparently, Mr. Fanshaw had been out for longer than normal and it was time for his lunch. The new friends departed (Freya very reluctantly) with a vow to meet again.

From then on, the most favourite treat for Freya was to go to the park every day to meet Charlie-dog. It was all she talked about at lunch, when Gloria and Roger returned to check in with Danielle, and Ezra finally emerged from the spare bedroom, up-to-date at last with his letters.

******

In the afternoon, they all went to the medical centre to see how Annela was.

Cassie Leighton, the neurosurgeon, gave her assessment of the test-results. She and the doctor agreed that it was best to begin the process of reviving Annela immediately, so they could remove her from the pod; but they would keep her in a coma pending neurosurgery. The brain-tumour was very aggressive and had been slowed but not completely pacified by suspended animation in the pod. Jane Bradford's assessment had been exactly right.

There was a legal formality to perform before the operation could begin. The treatment was invasive and dangerous, with a moderate chance of success, but failure might mean permanent brain-damage or death. An administrator from the medical centre wanted to know who was Annela's next-of-kin, who had the legal right to approve the treatment.

"I suppose I am," said Ezra. "On Samothea, Annela and I are legally married."

"That's correct," Gloria affirmed. "By our laws, Ezra is Annela's husband."

"If you'll sign an affidavit to that effect," the clerk said to Gloria, "then Mr. Goldrick can approve the treatment."

Gloria vouched legally for Ezra and he signed the release form. There was little to see for now, until Annela was revived, though kept in a coma, and transferred to a bed in a intensive care unit, where Carrie would operate on her.

2 Kelly and Yael

After dinner that evening, the first full day of their visit to Celetaris, when Yael and Freya had loaded the dishwasher, Yael sat cross-legged on a dining chair, her head in one of Danielle's books, while Freya sat on Ezra's lap for her nightly tickling.

Roger took Gloria to her room in the hotel next to the conference centre. They tried the communications link to Samothea, so she could talk to the Advisory Council in the Cloner City; but the connection was patchy. When Robyn returned to Samothea in a few days, she would deploy a communications satellite to work with the new hyperspace beacon for a better connection.

Meanwhile, Danielle and Ezra replied to the latest messages from their parents and friends. At eight o'clock, Joan Mayfield, Vice Principal of the Celetaris Institute for Science, came for a visit with her daughter, Kelly.

Kelly was a thin blonde sixteen-year-old, who looked about the same age as Yael, though Yael was an inch or so taller and more than a year older (the retarded development of Clones on Samothea meant that Yael still had more than a year's growing to do). Kelly's hair was just as long as Yael's and of almost the same golden hue (partly thanks to the stylist at the beauty salon in the shopping centre).

It was Danielle's plan for Kelly to show Yael around and take her to meet her friends. Kelly was happy to agree.

"Shall we hang out in your room?" Kelly asked Yael.

"Yes, please," Yael said, putting her book aside. "What's hanging out?"

"You know, do stuff in your room. What games have you got?"

"None, but I'd like to hang out. I've never hung out before. Come on, Freya, we're going to hang out."

"I'm coming," Freya said, jumping off Ezra's lap and running to catch up with the girls.

"You want your little sister to join us?" Kelly asked.

"She's my friend, not my sister. Don't you think she'll enjoy hanging out?"

Kelly was a good-hearted girl, just not used to anyone allowing a little sister or brother in her room, let alone hang out with them; but she was pleased with Yael, who was the prettiest girl she'd met and seemed instantly friendly.

"She can come," Kelly graciously allowed.

In Yael's room, they sat on the bed and chatted. Kelly showed Freya her communicator and let her play with it. Freya pressed all the buttons, trying to see what they would do. She found some horrible pop-music that Kelly had stopped listening to when she was about twelve.

There was a big pile of assorted clothes on the dressing-table, which Danielle had ordered for the girls.

"Are these yours?" Kelly asked.

"Yes," Yael said.

"Which do you like best?"

"I don't know. I've never had so many clothes before."

"Haven't you tried them on yet?"

"No."

This was something they could do. Kelly delved through the pile and found a pleated skirt.

"Try this on," she said, putting the skirt up to Yael's waist.

Yael stripped while Kelly found various tops to match. She put on the skirt and posed in front of the long mirror on the cupboard door.

Kelly couldn't help noticing something.

"Don't you wear underwear?" she asked Yael, who was naked under her short-skirt and blouse.

"It's not my period. Why would I wear underwear?" Yael replied.

In fact, Danielle had bought many pairs of knickers but Yael hadn't used them.

This was the first surprise for Kelly, who had been warned not to be shocked by the girls from Samothea. She forgot her warning immediately. The second surprise was that Yael had apparently never shaved or even trimmed her pubic hair, legs or armpits. Her fine blonde body-hair would have peeked out around her panties, had she worn any.

Now Kelly remembered what she was told and said nothing; but she decided to bring in her friends to help educate the primitive alien. Meanwhile, all three girls had fun trying on clothes. Kelly and Yael were almost the same size and they swapped skirts, blouses and dresses to see what each looked like in them.

Some time later there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Yael asked.

"Me, Ezra."

"Come in," Yael invited. "We're just trying on clothes."

"Don't come in!" Kelly cried.

She was in her underwear, a skirt around her ankles. Yael was naked. Kelly grabbed a blanket from Yael's bed to cover herself as Ezra half-came into the room before he registered what Yael had said. He stopped and turned around.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, girls. Freya, it's your bath time. Come along."

"Yes, Daddy," she said, giving the communicator back to Kelly. "Thank you for letting me hang out," she said and ran to Ezra.

She loved bath-time with him and, sure enough, a few minutes later there were happy squeals and splashes coming from the bathroom.

That evening, Kelly and Yael became friends. Kelly invited Yael to join her after school and meet her friends.

******

Next morning, Yael and Freya explored the park again and met Mr. Fanshaw and Charlie-dog. While Freya played with Charlie, Yael learned more about Mr. Fanshaw's history. They talked until noon and then went home for lunch with Danielle and her family.

That same morning, Cassie Leighton began to operate on Annela. X-rays and ultrasound gave a 3-d picture of the brain-tumour. Cassie used her cross-beamed laser technique to seal off the arteries to the tumour, starving it of its oxygen supply. That took a few hours of delicate work. With the arteries plugged, the veins could also be stopped.

The next step would take place the following day, when Cassie would burn away the greater mass of the tumour. Nanotech robots would then be injected into Annela's blood-stream to help her immune system eat away the dead tumour cells. More nanobots would be injected periodically, to help dissolve the tumour and rebuild the lost tissue.

The first part of the procedure seemed to go well but Annela would remain in her coma for a few days more.

In the afternoon, Danielle gave Yael a credit stick with twenty galactic pounds on it and directions to Kelly's school, so she could meet her outside.

Here Yael met Kelly's friends, including some boys, and took a fifteen-minute hover-bus ride to a shopping centre in Arts City.

Yael had never seen anything like it.

It was a many times bigger than the Cloner Fair. There must have been a thousand people there; yet it was a normal shopping day. There were moving walkways, lifts, background music, a big fountain with coloured lights and seats all around. There were flashing adverts and moving pictures on billboards, not to mention the forest of gleaming windows and brightly-shining chrome. She was enchanted.

The boys in their group went to hang out by the fountain or to play on hover-boards, posing and showing off, while Kelly and her girlfriends took Yael shopping.

Yael knew exactly what she wanted to buy and persuaded Kelly to show her a store where should could get a backpack and fill it with laser penknives, scissors and hand-mirrors - the perfect gifts for her friends back home. Yael was soon weighed down by her bag, having spent most of her money, but she was happy. She contentedly followed Kelly and her friends to the beauty salon, which was Kelly's plan all along.

They stepped inside a shop with seats and mirrors along the walls, magazines on low glass tables and an overpowering odour of sweet perfumes. Yael was initially put off by the smell of the salon. She wasn't used to perfume and it was too liberally applied for her sensitive nose. They weren't ugly smells, just too powerful. She stayed at the door and had to be persuaded to go inside, where she held her hand over her nose and breathed through her mouth.