It's My Party

Holly was aghast. "Oh shit! You want to build a theocracy?!"

"No! Far from it! I'm trying to say that our principles of mercy, our principles of justice, our principles of purpose should be common and present both in our faith and in our governance. Believe me, I know and respect the difference between secular power and sacred power. My vision for my faith is that there be no human expression of sacred power, no ruling priesthood, no governmental clerics. But our governance and our faiths can never be truly separated, don't you see Holly? They are forever joined by our guiding principles, our understanding of goodness and how we strive for it."

Jada leaned back and smiled. She was enjoying these sessions immensely, much more than she had originally expected, and she thought it was a wonderful idea to use their work here as a foundation for building their government.

Jada glanced at the time. In a half hour, the group would split up. Jada would be part of the team making the preliminary exploration south of White Mall's home complex. They would soon know if Mark's conjecture was correct.

Two hours later.

Mark was having his usual morning class with Frida on basic street fighting tactics, and for the first time Toshi had joined them. Mark had felt both curious and pleased by her presence. A quick glance of their eyes revealed the explanation. As Mark's wife, Toshi was honoring his request to learn marital arts, and she was turning out to be an excellent and attentive pupil.

Mark thought they were very near the end of a great two-hour workout, and then the Leophone began to ring. He stopped the lesson immediately and answered the call. "Hi Jada."

"Yep, it's me. Nothing major yet, but we found a few things of interest. Uh, you sound a little out of breath?"

"We were just finishing a workout. I was sparring with Toshi and Frida, two against one."

"Two against one? That doesn't sound very fair. You spar like that?"

"We were practicing street fighting. No rules in how you win, if you're doing it for real."

"Oh. So how's it going?"

"I couldn't be more proud. I have two excellent students. They're both very fast learners."

"Great. Mark, the reason I called, first of all, do you remember that the White Mall diamond array is slightly closer to the perimeter wall than the one at Black Mall?"

"Sure do." Mark remembered that White's home complex joined the Mall on the outside arc of the spiral, so its hexagon was centered eighteen meters south of the spiral centerline, half the width of the twenty-meter wide Mall, plus the radius of the circular stairwell leading to the Mall (eight meters). White Mall's offset pushed it towards the perimeter wall. In the far north, Black Mall's home complex joined the underground Mall on the inside arc of its spiral, so it also had a southern offset of eighteen meters, which for Black Mall was an offset away from the perimeter.

"Uh huh. Mark, the diamond complex here, it's different than yours. There is no perimeter walkway on the first floor. Nothing on the inside leads to one, and the outside walls are opaque. We hiked outdoors and checked."

"Ah, that's interesting. But there's still a perimeter walkway on the second floor?"

"Yep. That part is almost the same, except here the walkways cover most of the last hexagon too. Both the eastern and western walkways descend to the first floor about thirty meters from the southern vertex, the very tip of the diamond."

"Ah. What's it like?"

"It's interesting. There's an open triangular hall all the way to the southern vertex. The floor is beautiful. It has the appearance of white marble. And there's lots of light from floor to ceiling windows. The hall cuts right into the great shield buffer. Inside the building, the tip of the southern vertex cuts through the warning zones until it reaches halfway into the final black band of cobblestones. Right at the tip, there is a door on eastern side of the vertex leading out."

"Yikes! You mean leading right out into the ivy?!"

"Yeah, just about. It's scary. If you walk west around the vertex tip, you can get to the red and then the yellow cobblestones and then finally the sand. Emily and Aggie have a conjecture that there are different levels of risk for each surface, but the interface won't reveal explicit information." Jada paused. "That plant is unbelievable Mark. It's so cold outside, -17C, and we still think the plant is active."

"You've tested it?!" Visions of Gilberto being sawed in half filled Mark's mind. "My God Jada, be careful!"

"We are being careful. I'm saying this from observations with binoculars. We haven't opened a door more than a crack, just to test that it opens."

"Uh… still, be very careful. That plant can react much faster than human reflexes once it gets moving. Don't rile it!" Mark paused for a moment and thought about the new information. "Hell Jada, we couldn't have lost everyone from White Mall to the plant. They had sixteen women, right?"

"Well, as Fatima reminded me a few minutes ago, that's still a bit of an assumption. We have no proof all the parties are in a linear order with the malls. But yeah, let's assume Party #2."

"Right, and the census counter for the women isn't down that much."

"Yes, that's our working conclusion too. I'm imagining the scenario. We have sixteen women and two guys heading to Great Balls of Fire. They show up, have a feast, and then realize they've been abandoned. They start to wonder what the hell is going on. That's what happened at Aggie's Party. That's what happened to the nurses that came to our Party. Sunset is approaching and they're wondering what the hell is going on."

Mark nodded. "Yeah. Maybe they leave at sundown like Aggie's party, or maybe they did what we did, leave early the next morning. Entering the diamond array would be their obvious choice. It's due south of them, the direction that should take them right back to the parking lot. That's what we would have done, if we had been unfortunate enough to pick Party #2." He paused. "But where did they go for real? Were they lucky enough to walk the black cobblestones to safety?"

"Huh? Oh! Sorry Mark. I didn't finish my report. The stairwell at the southernmost tip, exiting to the ivy is not the only option. There is also another stairwell in the marble hall that continues down."

"Ah. That's interesting. How far?"

"This one is really bizarre. Let me describe it. Imagine a sunken circular depression, 18 cm deep and with five meters radius, centered nine meters north of the point of the southern vertex."

"Uh… Yeah, okay. More marble?"

"Uh huh, but now it's a dusky shade of blue. Centered in the circle is a three-meter by five-meter rectangular cutout. The opening is the overhead entrance to a very long fight of stairs heading straight down with a more true-blue shade of marble."

Mark tried to picture the layout. "Do the stairs lead under the ivy or away from it?"

"Ah, that's an interesting question. You know the great perimeter wall is running thirty degrees south of due west here, right?"

"Yep."

"Well, the stairwell is angled twenty-four degrees south of due west. It's running six degrees in a more westerly direction."

Mark nodded and sighed. "So it might not be a path out of here. It's angling away slightly from the perimeter wall and towards the inside." He paused and then asked, "How far down does it go?"

"It's intriguing. We measured the steps with the laser surveyors, 18 cm risers and 30 cm horizontal runs, just like the treads in the home stairwells. It's a very generous stairwell, three meters across and three meters in height, and get this: There are 311 steps to the bottom."

"Wow, that's deep!"

"Uh huh, almost fifty-six meters down with a horizontal run of over ninety-three meters."

"And what's at the bottom?"

"Mark, it's just the beginning of the puzzle. At the bottom there's a twenty-five meter corridor of white marble running inline with the direction of the stairs, and then another huge stairwell, we think another 311 steps, Aggie didn't bother to count exactly. The second stairwell leads down to another landing with white marble."

Mark thought for a moment and asked, "So how far down did you explore?"

"Just one flight down, and then to the end of the corridor. With the angles involved, you can only see the first five to ten meters of the corridor from the top of the stairwell. I didn't want my team to get too far out of sight. Emily is convinced there's some grand mathematical theme to the stairwell's construction. The horizontal corridor, if you measure riser-to-riser, is 25.3 meters. The first 30 cm is the pure blue of the run of the last step, and then 25 meters of white marble until the start of the next stairwell. The corridor dimensions are generous, three meters in height and width, just like the stairwells themselves."

"Grand scheme?" Mark mused for a second. "311 is a prime number. Emily got any ideas?"

"Nah. This one has her stumped. We'll need to explore the stairwell before we solve the puzzle."

"Hmmm. So what's the plan?"

"We're going to wait till tomorrow morning to try again. We're going to explore the area with as much equipment as we can carry, food, water, survival gear. A quarter of our group is going, five people in all, Charles, Tom, Emily, Mandy, and Maddy who will lead the expedition."

"My sister?!"

"Mark, we're sending the three people who know how to handle pistols. All three are going armed. As for the other two, we did a survey. They're the two people with the most camping and wilderness survival experience. Did you know Emily knows how to dogsled?"

"No. Really? That's impressive."

"Yeah. Let her tell you her stories about Alaska sometime. They're very interesting. And Mandy, I can see why Charles picked her when he was Chico. She's gorgeously athletic. She was hoping to compete in the 2020 Olympics."

"Oh really? What in?"

"Kayaking." Jada paused. "Mark, regarding your sister Maddy, you're still our supreme leader. Do you want to overrule me?"

"I… Ah, no, I guess not. Sorry. I do have enormous respect for my sister's abilities. I guess I was just feeling protective."

Mark could hear the warmth in Jada's reply. "Yes, I know. While you were missing, she's told us some stories about you, when you were little kids, how you would always look out for her… Mark, we're using the time today to build mobile rechargers for our Leophones, just as you have. Maddy and Chico, oops, sorry, Charles, they'll both have Leophones. Let's set up a bridge tomorrow, three Leophones plus some of the library terminals. We'll all go down the stairs with the expedition through the phones."

Mark agreed, and then started chatting with Jada on a number of issues. After a while Jada gave a small laugh and brought up a project that Brandi had created. "We were right about the sealing food cabinets, the walk-in refrigerators and freezers too. We can't measure any passage of time at all. It either stops completely or slows down at least five orders of magnitude. No wonder the food isn't spoiling."

Mark shivered. "My gosh, what technology. The beings who built this place manipulate space and time more easily than we manipulate matter and energy."

Jada ignored Mark's comment and continued. "It was Brandi's idea to use a few cabinets as a sperm bank. We have so few male genomes left. The sperm will be priceless if we lose more people." Jada gave a small chuckle. "Brandi has already helped Charles and Tom make some bank deposits."

Mark grinned. "Both?"

"Yes. She seems to be the girlfriend of both men. And we shouldn't snicker. We women will be asking you guys to have multiple partners, right?"

"True."

Ah, Mark?"

"Yeah?"

Jada's voice dropped a bit into playful coyness. "If you want, maybe I could help you fill out some deposit slips when we're back together again."

Mark shivered and looked at Toshi. She smiled at him and nodded her head vigorously. "Ah, Jada," Mark asked, "Are you alone right now?"

"No, I'm in the White Mall lounge with some other people. One moment…" A small period of silence passed. "Okay, I'm sitting alone in the pantry. What's up?"

Mark talked at length, explaining his bonding with Toshi and how permanent the bonding had become. He then told Jada he loved her and waited for a reply.

There was a long pause, and then Jada asked, "Toshi, you're still there with Mark, aren't you?"

"Yes, and Frida is here too. Hello Jada."

"Hi. Toshi, first of all, I want to say how proud I am, how proud we all are, that you and Mark have accepted the child you're having. I can only imagine how difficult that must have been."

"Thank you Jada. Mark changed everything, and even before, morally the child is completely innocent of the crime that created her… or him. Mark and I dream of the child as a girl, but perhaps that's just our fantasy. Emotionally now for me, the pregnancy is very easy. I think of Mark as the true father, and I am bearing his child. And from a scientific perspective, we have the legacy of Gilberto's genome. I agree, it's a priceless asset for our world. Do you see Jada? I have absolutely no reason to reject this child."

"Toshi, may I ask? Your marriage vows with Mark…" Jada took a deep breath. "What are they like?"

Toshi sighed back. "We talked about our vows for months in our dreams. Jada, it's been more than a year of subjective time for us."

"A year?! Mark! Are your memories of me a year old?!"

Mark blushed as he answered. "Yes, I guess so. But Jada, my feelings and desires, they haven't changed."

"A year?! Why didn't you tell me yesterday?"

"I… We wanted to break the news slowly, give you time to adjust."

"Uh…" said Jada slowly, "I guess I see." After a moment she added, "Seriously, that was very thoughtful of all of you."

Toshi replied, "Thank you. Jada, to answer your question, our marriage vows are deep and vast. Mark and I will cherish and honor each other as husband and wife. We will confide in each other as husband and wife. And yes, we will seek sexual fulfillment with each other as husband and wife, and be parents to our children as husband and wife. And from my own dreams as a child, I also want to submit my desires to be under his. Mark is resisting me a little on this last vow, but it's something I really want. And Jada?"

"Yes?"

"I have absolutely no expectation of monogamy in my marriage, and I'm working on having there be no desire for it. Truthfully? It's something I still need to work on. Frida is here by my side. If I may speak for her… She's nodding yes. Frida is also expecting to become Mark's wife. We have tried, Frida and I in our mind links, with and without Mark, we have tried to build what our vows to each other will be like, sister-wife vows I mean, if I may create such a word."

"Ah. I see. Wow. This is a lot to take in." Jada paused for a moment and tried to find some stability in the turbulence of her emotions. "You guys have done so much work on this. You are so much further along than we are, in planning for polygamy."

Toshi's eyes began to glisten as she replied. "Jada, I see Mark's heart and soul when we link. His desire to be your mate, it's as fierce as his desire for me. I confess, it's easier to vow to accept polygamy than to… Well, imagining my husband spending nights with a sister-wife and not me… I feel so possessive sometimes, overwhelmingly so… It's something I have to work on." She gave a small wistful laugh. "The concept of polygamy is correct of us, but concepts are theories. In practice, Mark taught me this old American saying, when the rubber meets the road…" She took a gasping breath. "Forgive me. My words must seem very disjointed. I think I should stop talking."

"No Toshi, you've done a fine job explaining. I've been working on the same issues. I know what you're feeling. Mark, I guess you know this, everyone in our original group is interested in you, Ashley, Hannah, Emily, Fatima, me, Aggie too, everyone except Maddy, and even she jokes about it a bit, saying she sometimes wishes you weren't her brother. But I guess some taboos are too strong to break." Jada took a deep breath. "Toshi and Mark? Congratulations!"

Toshi almost cried out her reply. "Thank you! Jada, if you wish, we will welcome you into our marriage. This past year for us, we were trying to wait. I wanted to allow you and Mark to create the first pairing link, but… But the love Mark and I have for each other, and the love we have for our child, it all became too strong to resist." Toshi's eyes were full of tears. "Thank you for accepting us, for accepting our marriage!"

Jada tried to reply but felt too emotional to speak coherently. She exchanged simple words of endearment with the three people on the other end and then disconnected.

Chapter 38.

The next morning.

Time: Tuesday, January 29, 2019 7:04 AM

Three hours before sunrise, Jada placed a called to Mark. He answered at once.

"Hi Jada. Are we starting early?"

"Hi Mark. No, the away team is not even assembled yet. The plan is unchanged. They'll depart White Mall lounge at 9:30 AM and start their descent at the southern vertex at sunrise. That's when we'll go live with the Leophone bridge."

Mark nodded and sighed. "Thank God we have a working elevator in the White Mall library." The elevator in the White Mall lounge was inactive, and it was only on the first floor where the group had instant access.

Jada agreed with Mark with a laugh. "Oh yeah. We'd be biking five kilometers from White Mall's terminal store otherwise. We're very fortunate Party #2 never opened their library elevator." She yawned. "Emily just took off for a shower. I'm still in my bedroom. I've got my Leophone hooked up to my new mobile charger. Kiyoko made three of them, very professional looking, like something you would buy out of a store. Maddy will be carrying this phone when they leave. Emily will have one too."

"Ah, okay. Sleep well?"

"Yes, fairly well, maybe a little restless thinking about the mission. And you?"

"Yeah, I stayed up a bit last night too, just thinking. Toshi and Frida went for a perimeter walk at daybreak. They won't be back before eight."

"Ah, so we're alone now? I was hoping that would be the case. Tell me, do Toshi and Frida often take perimeter walks, or are they just being sweet?"

"Well, the walkways here are very pretty, but yeah, I think they're just being sweet. We usually get up around 6 AM, a little after the artificial sun rises. We usually have a light breakfast of raw vegetables with a little honey. This morning though, they took off early."

Jada glanced at the pitch blackness outside her window. "So you have daylight now? I'm a little jealous."

"Yeah, this complex is running on its own timer. A little over thirteen hours of daylight, and the artificial sun here is the butter yellow of Earth. If you don't focus on the slight imperfections at the horizon, it looks just like rolling picturesque meadows. There are flowers everywhere, even in the trees. We had a big thunderstorm last night, but there are blue skies now, and fluffy white clouds too. It looks just like Earth."

"Ah. My jealousy in increasing. And Mark? May I ask? About how far away is my last conversation with you?"

Mark knew instantly what she meant. "One extra day."

"Not more? I'm glad."

Mark could hear Jada sighing deeply in relief. "It was Toshi's idea for us to cut back. We only spend ten minutes a day in the three-way link now. That's about one extra day of subjective time. We want to return to experiencing time the way the rest of the group does. Otherwise Toshi fears we'll start to drift apart."