Abduction

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“This place gives me the creeps,” Michael said.

“It is weird that it is so deserted,” Donald said. “It’s also weird that they let us roam around in here by ourselves.”

“They are trusting,” Michael said. “You got to give them that.”

“I’d call it foolish,” Donald said.

The two second-generation humans were wandering around inside Central Information. Ismael and Mary Black had accompanied them to the entrance of the vast building but had chosen to remain outside while Donald and Michael paid their visit. Inside, the two men found themselves in an enormous labyrinth of intersecting corridors and passageways. The place was a hive of rooms filled floor to ceiling with what appeared to be the hard drives of a colossal computer array. Except for two worker clones they’d come across in one room near the entrance, they had not seen another living thing.

“You don’t think we’re going to get lost in here, do you?” Michael asked uneasily. He looked back the way they’d come. Every corridor looked the same.

“I’ve been keeping track of our movements,” Donald said.

“Are you sure?” Michael said. “We’ve made a lot of turns.”

Donald stopped. “Listen, bonehead,” he said. “If you’re worried why don’t you just go the hell back to the entrance and wait?”

“That’s okay,” Michael said. “I’m cool.”

“Cool, my ass,” Donald said. He started walking again.

“What did you want to come here for anyway?” Michael asked a few minutes later.

“Let’s just say I was curious,” Donald replied.

“It’s like a nightmare,” Michael said. “Or like a horror movie about technology gone wild.” He shuddered.

“For once, I agree with you, sailor,” Donald said. “It’s like technology has taken over.”

“What do you think all this equipment does?”

“Arak suggested it runs the place,” Donald said. “Apparently it monitors everything. And it stores peoples’ essences. God knows how many people are locked up inside this thing right now.”

Michael shuddered again. “Do you think they know we’re here?”

“You got me there, sailor,” Donald said.

They walked for a few minutes in silence.

“Haven’t you seen enough?” Michael questioned.

“I suppose,” Donald said. “But I’m going to press on for a while yet.”

“I wonder if this thing repairs itself.”

“If it does,” Donald said, “then we’d have to question who was more alive, this machine or these people who seem to have so little to do.”

Suddenly Donald put out a hand, stopping Michael in his tracks.

“What is it?” Michael cried.

Donald pressed a finger to his lips for Michael to be quiet. “Don’t you hear that?” Donald whispered.

Michael cocked his head and listened intently. He did hear faint sounds in the far distance: soft bursts piercing the otherwise heavy silence.

“Do you hear it?” Donald asked.

Michael nodded. “It sounds like laughter.”

Donald nodded as well. “A curious kind of laughter,” he said. “It comes at such regular intervals.”

“If I didn’t know better I’d say it was canned laughter, like what you hear on a TV sitcom.”

Donald snapped his fingers. “You’re right! I knew it sounded familiar.”

“But that’s crazy,” Michael said.

“Let’s check it out!” Donald said. “Let’s follow our ears!”

With mounting curiosity the two men proceeded, hoping to find the source. At the junctures of each corridor they had to stop and listen to choose a direction. Gradually the sounds became louder, and with it, their choices became clear. As they rounded a final bend, they could tell the noise was coming from a room on the left. At that point they were convinced they really were hearing a TV sitcom; they could even hear the dialogue.

“It sounds like a Seinfeld rerun,” Michael whispered.

“Shut up!” Donald mouthed. He flattened himself against the wall to the side of the room’s entrance and motioned for Michael to move beside him. Slowly Donald eased himself forward. To his surprise, it looked like the screening room of a TV station. The far wall was covered with more than a hundred monitors. All were turned on, most tuned to various programs although a few aired only test patterns.

Leaning forward a bit more Donald noticed a man sitting in a white contour chair in the center of the room facing the monitors. The guy was a far cry from the typical Interterran; he was balding with scruffy gray hair. Sure enough, on the screen directly in front of him were Elaine, George, Kramer, and Jerry.

Donald flattened himself back against the corridor wall, away from the open door. He looked at Michael and whispered, “You were right! It’s an old episode of Seinfeld.”

“I’d recognize those voices anyplace,” Michael said.

Donald raised his finger to his lips again. “There’s a geezer in there watching it,” he whispered. “And he surely doesn’t look like an Interterran.”

“No shit?” Michael questioned in a whisper.

“This is unexpected,” Donald said. He rolled his lower lip into his mouth while he gave the situation some thought.

“That’s for sure,” Michael said. “What should we do?”

“We’re going to walk in and meet this guy,” Donald said. “We might have lucked out here. But listen! Let me do the talking, okay?”

“Be my guest,” Michael said.

“All right, let’s go,” Donald said. He pushed off the wall and stepped into the room. Michael followed. They moved quietly although the TV was so loud, the man could never have heard their approach.

Unsure of how to avoid startling the man and yet get his attention, Donald merely stepped into what he thought was the man’s field of vision but off to the side. The ploy didn’t work. The man was mesmerized by the show; his face was frozen into a slack, comatose expression with lidded, unblinking eyes glued to the screen.

“Excuse me,” Donald said, but his voice was lost in another burst of canned laughter.

Gently Donald reached out and nudged the man’s arm. The man leaped from his seat. Seeing the two intruders in the process, he shrank back. But his recovery was almost as rapid.

“Wait a minute! I recognize you two!” he said. “You are two of the surface people who’ve just joined us.”

“ Join is not the right word,” Donald said. “We had no choice in the matter. We were abducted.” He eyed the man, who was no more than five-two with a stooped, bony frame. He had deeply set, rheumy eyes, course features, and a heavily lined face. He was the oldest-looking man Donald had seen in Interterra.

“You weren’t shipwrecked?” the man asked.

“Hardly,” Donald said. He introduced himself and Michael.

“Glad to meet you,” the man said cheerfully. “I was hoping I would.” He came forward to shake their hands. “And that’s the way people should greet each other,” he added. “I’ve had it with that foolish palm-pressing nonsense.”

“What’s your name?” Donald asked.

“Harvey Goldfarb! But you can call me Harv.”

“Are you here by yourself?”

“Sure as shootin’. I’m always here by myself.”

“What are you doing?”

“Not much,” Harvey said. He glanced briefly at the bank of monitors. “Watching TV shows, particularly the ones that take place in New York.”

“Is this a job?”

“Sorta, I suppose, but it’s more like I’m a volunteer. It’s mostly that I like to see bits and pieces of New York. I like All in the Family quite a bit but it’s hard to catch reruns nowadays. It’s too bad. Seinfeld’s all right but I don’t get much of the humor.”

“What is this room for?” Donald asked. “Just entertainment?”

Harvey laughed derisively while shaking his head. “The Interterrans are not interested in TV, and they don’t watch it much. It’s Central Information that’s interested. Saranta Central Information is one of the main media reception sites for Interterra. It monitors the surface media to make certain there is no reference to Interterra’s existence.” Harvey made a sweep toward the monitors with his hands. “This stuff plays twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

“Hey, that reminds me. You guys got a lot of coverage up there on CNN and the networks. You’re all in the news for having gotten consumed in an undersea volcano.”

“So there were no suspicions about anything abnormal?” Donald asked.

“Not a peep,” Harvey said. “Just a lot of geological jabber. Anyway, to get back to me, I volunteered to come down here and monitor TV shows for the files and to censor out any violence.”

“That doesn’t leave much TV,” Donald said with a cynical laugh. “Why bother?”

“I know, it doesn’t make much sense,” Harvey agreed. “But if they do watch it, it can’t have any violence. I don’t know if you know it or not, but these people, the real Interterrans, cannot stand violence. It makes them sick. Literally!”

“So you’re not a real Interterran.”

Harvey gave another short laugh. “Me? Harvey Goldfarb an Interterran? Do I look like an Interterran? With this face?”

“You do look a bit older than everyone else.”

“Older and uglier,” Harvey snorted. “But that’s me. They’ve been trying to get me to agree to let them do all sorts of stuff to me, even grow me hair, but I’ve refused. Yet, I have to say they have kept me healthy. No question about that. Their hospitals are like taking your car to a garage. They just put in a new part and out you go. Anyway, I’m not an Interterran. I’m a New Yorker. I have a wonderful house in the best section of Harlem.”

“Harlem has gone through some changes,” Donald said. “How long has it been since you’ve been home?”

“It was nineteen twelve when I came to Interterra.”

“How’d you get here?”

“A bit of luck and the intervention of the Interterrans. I was saved from drowning along with a few hundred others after our ship ran into an iceberg.”

“The Titanic?” Donald questioned.

“None other,” Harvey said. “I was on my way home to New York.”

“So there are quite a few Titanic passengers in Interterra?” Donald asked.

“Several hundred at least,” Harvey said. “But they’re not all in Saranta. A lot of them moved over to Atlantis and on to other cities. They were in demand. You see, the Interterrans find us entertaining.”

“I’ve gotten that impression,” Donald said.

“Take advantage of it while you can,” Harvey advised. “Once you become acclimated here, you won’t be considered so entertaining anymore. Trust me.”

“You must have had a horrible experience,” Donald said.

“No, I’ve been pretty happy here,” Harvey said defensively. “It’s got its ups and downs.”

“I meant the night of the Titanic sinking.”

“Oh, yeah! It’s true. That night was awful. Awful!”

“Do you miss New York?”

“In a way,” Harvey said. He got a faraway look in his eye. “Actually, it’s funny what I really miss, and that’s the stock exchange. I know it sounds strange, but I was a self-made man… a broker actually, and I loved trading. I worked hard, but how I thrived in the excitement.” Harvey took a deep breath and then let it out all at once with a sigh. He refocused on Donald. “Well, so much for my story. What about you? Were you people really abducted to Interterra? If you were, you’re the first in my experience. I was under the impression you’d been saved from the undersea volcano CNN reported.”

“There was some sort of an eruption at the time,” Donald said. “But I think it was a cover for our being sucked into one of the Interterran exit ports. One way or the other, our arrival in Interterra wasn’t an act of nature. We were hijacked here for a purpose, which we’ve not yet been told.”

Harvey looked from Donald to Michael and then back to Donald. “You sound less than enchanted with Interterra.”

“I’m impressed,” Donald said. “It would be hard not to be, but I’m not enchanted.”

“Hmmm,” Harvey said. “That puts you in a unique category. Everybody else who’s been brought here becomes an overnight advocate. What about your friend here?”

“Michael feels the way I do,” Donald said. Michael nodded. “You see,” Donald continued, “we don’t like to be forced into anything, no matter how good it may seem. But what about you, Harv?”

Harvey studied Donald’s face and even took another quick glance at Michael, who at the moment was laughing in sync with the sitcom laughter. “You’re serious, you’re not enthralled with this place even with all the beautiful people and their parties?”

“I’m telling you, we don’t appreciate being coerced.”

“And you’re actually interested in my opinion?”

Donald nodded.

“Okay,” Harvey said. He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Let me put it to you this way: if I could leave for New York City tonight it wouldn’t be soon enough. It’s so damn peaceful and perfect here it’s enough to drive a normal person crazy.”

Donald couldn’t help but smile. The old codger was a man after his own heart.

“I’m telling you, nothing ever happens down here,” Harvey continued. “Everything’s the same day in and day out. Nothing goes wrong. I can’t tell you what I’d do for one day on the New York exchange. I mean, I need a little stress to make me feel alive, or at the very least, some bad news or trouble once in a blue moon to make me appreciate how good life is.”

Michael flashed Donald a thumbs-up. But Donald ignored him. Instead he asked Harvey if anyone had ever left Interterra.

“Are you kidding? We’re under the goddamn ocean! I mean, really. What do you think, you can just walk out of here? If that were the case you wouldn’t see Harvey Goldfarb sitting in here trying to catch a glimpse of the Big Apple. I’d be there, kicking up my heels.”

“But the Interterrans go out,” Donald said.

“Sure they go out. But the exits and entrances are all controlled by Central Information. And when the Interterrans go out, they’re sealed in their spacecraft. Besides, they usually just send their worker clones. You see, the Interterrans are very careful about any connection between this world and ours. Remember, one wayward streptococcus would cause havoc down here.”

“It sounds like you’ve given this some thought.”

“Absolutely,” Harvey said. “But only in my dreams.”

Donald directed his attention to the bank of TV monitors. “At least you can feel connected to the surface world in this room.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Harvey said proprietarily. “It’s a fantastic setup. I hang out here all the time. I can watch just about every major TV channel from the surface world.”

“Can you transmit as well as receive?” Donald asked.

“No, it’s a passive system,” Harvey said. “I mean, there’s unlimited power and antennae in just about every mountain range on the surface of the globe, but there’s no camera. Interterra’s own telecommunication is totally different and a lot more sophisticated, as I’m sure you’ve gathered.”

“If we gave you a standard TV analog camcorder, do you think you could connect it with the equipment you’ve got here without anybody knowing about it and be able to transmit?”

Harvey stroked his chin as he pondered Donald’s question. “Maybe if I got one of the electronic worker clones to help, it could be done,” he said. “But where are you going to get a TV camera?”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Michael said as a conspiratorial smile spread across his face. “You’re thinking about the cameras on the submersible.” When the group had gathered out in front of the museum after their visit, Perry and Suzanne told them about spotting the Oceanus in the museum’s courtyard.

Donald treated Michael to another glare. Michael took the hint and closed his mouth.

“But I don’t understand,” Harvey said. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Look, Harv,” Donald said, regaining his composure. “My colleagues and I are not enthused about being compelled to stay here to serve as entertainment for these Interterrans. We’d like to go home.”

“Wait a minute,” Harvey said. “I must be missing something. You think setting up a TV camera can get you out of Interterra?”

“It’s possible,” Donald said. “At this stage it’s just an idea: one piece of a puzzle I haven’t figured out yet, but whatever it might be, we won’t be able to do it alone. We’d need your help since you’ve been here long enough to know the ropes. The question is: Would you be willing?”

“Sorry,” Harvey said with a shake of his head. “You have to understand that the Interterrans would not take kindly to this at all. If I were to help, I’d be one of the most unpopular guys in town. They’d turn me over to the worker clones. The Interterrans don’t like to do anything nasty, but the clones don’t mind. They just do what they’re told.”

“But why would you care what the Interterrans thought?” Donald asked. “You’d be with us. In return for your help, we’d give you New York.”

“Really?” Harvey asked. His eyes lit up. “Are you serious? You’d get me to New York?”

“It would be the least we could do,” Donald said.

• • •

The fluorescent Frisbee sailed across the lawn. Richard had made an excellent toss, and the Frisbee slowed and began to settle just within the grasp of the worker clone that Richard had ordered to play with him. But instead of grabbing the Frisbee, the worker clone allowed it to float past his outstretched hand. It hit him in the forehead with a resounding thud. Richard slapped a hand to his own forehead in total frustration. He swore like the sailor he’d been.

“Nice toss, Richard,” Perry called out, suppressing a giggle. Perry was sitting by the dining room pool with Luna, Meeta, Palenque, and Karena. Sufa had ferried the two men back to the visitors’ palace after their stopover at the air taxi works before any of the others had returned from their respective excursions. Initially Richard had been cheered by the near simultaneous arrival of his three girlfriends and Luna, but that euphoria had worn off when none of them could master the Frisbee.

“This is freakin’ ridiculous,” Richard complained as he walked over to retrieve the Frisbee from the worker clone’s feet. “Nobody down here can catch a goddamned Frisbee, much less throw one.”

“Richard seems so high-strung again today,” Luna said.

Perry agreed. “He’s been this way all day as near as I can tell.”

“He was strange last night, too,” Meeta said. “He sent us away early.”

“Now that, I’d have to guess, is really out of character,” Perry said.

“Can’t you do anything?” Luna asked.

“I doubt it,” Perry said. “Unless I go out there and toss that stupid piece of plastic around some more.”

“I wish he’d calm down,” Luna said.

Perry cupped his hands around his mouth. “Richard!” he called. “Why don’t you just come over here and relax. You’re working yourself up for no reason.”

Richard flipped Perry the finger.

Perry shrugged at Luna. “Obviously he’s not in a very amenable mood.”

“Why don’t you at least walk out there and talk to him?” Luna suggested.

With a groan Perry heaved himself to his feet.

“We have a surprise for him when we get him back to his cottage,” Meeta said. “Try to convince him to go.”

“Did you ask him yourselves?” Perry questioned.

“We did, but he said he wanted to play Frisbee.”

“Cripes!” Perry said, shaking his head. “Well, I’ll give it a whirl.”

“Don’t mention the surprise,” Meeta said. “Otherwise it won’t be as much fun. We don’t want him guessing what it might be.”

“Yeah, sure,” Perry grumbled. Irritated to be pulled away from Luna, he strode out to Richard, who was impatiently instructing the worker clone.

“You’re wasting your time,” Perry said. “They don’t play our games here, Richard. They don’t have the mind-set. Physical prowess is not something they’re interested in.”

Richard straightened up. “That’s pretty damn obvious.” He sighed and cursed anew. “It’s frustrating because they’ve got great bodies. The trouble is, they have zero sense of competition, and I need it. Hell, even the girls are too easy. There’s no chase or hot pursuit. The whole freakin’ place seems dead to me. What I’d give for a good hard game of hoops or in-line hockey.”

“I tell you what,” Perry said. “I’ll race you across the big pool over at the pavilion. What do you say?”

Richard eyed Perry for a moment before giving the Frisbee a good toss off into the distance. Then he told the worker clone to go and get it. Dutifully the worker clone took off at a jog. Richard watched him for a moment before turning back to Perry.

“Thanks but no thanks,” Richard said. “Beating you at swimming is not going to make my day. In fact, what would make my day is getting the hell out of here. I’m a nervous wreck.”

“I think we are all concerned about the leaving issue,” Perry said, lowering his voice. “So we’re all a little nervous.”

“Well, I’m more than a little nervous,” Richard said. “What do you think they do down here to people who commit a major crime?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Perry said. “I don’t think they have major crime. Arak said they have no prisons. Why do you ask?”

Richard fidgeted with his toe against the grass and then looked off into the distance. He started to speak and then stopped.

“Are you worried what they’ll do if we try to leave and they catch us?”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Richard said, jumping on the suggestion.

“Well, that’s something we’ll have to consider,” Perry said. “But until then, worrying about it isn’t going to accomplish anything.”

“I guess you’re right,” Richard said.

“Why don’t you just enjoy yourself with those three gorgeous ladies?” Perry said. He indicated Meeta, Palenque, and Karena with a nod of his head. “Why not channel some of that wild energy of yours by taking them back to your cottage. I can’t quite understand it, but they seem crazy about you.”

“I’m not sure I ought to take them back to my room,” Richard said.

“And why not?” Perry asked. “Isn’t it a dream come true? I mean, look at those three girls. They’re like lingerie models.”

“It’s too complicated to explain,” Richard said.

“Whatever it is, I can’t imagine it being more important than satisfying three eager sirens.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you’re right,” Richard said without much enthusiasm. He snatched the Frisbee away from the worker clone, who had dutifully retrieved it. He returned to the dining room with Perry. Meeta, Palenque, and Karena got to their feet and greeted him with outstretched palms. Richard reacted perfunctorily.

“Are you ready to retire to your cottage?” Meeta asked.

“Let’s go,” Richard said. “But there’s one condition. There’s going to be no eating or drinking the stuff from my refrigerator. Agreed?”

“Sure,” Meeta said. “We won’t even be tempted. We’ve got something in mind other than food.” She and the other girls giggled conspiratorially as they draped themselves over Richard’s shoulders.

The group started off across the lawn. “I’m serious,” Richard said.

“So are we,” Meeta answered.

Perry watched them for a beat before turning back to Luna.

“Is Richard so aggressive because of his young age?” she inquired.

Perry sat down next to her. “No. That’s just the way he is. He’ll be the same in ten years, even twenty years.”

“And that’s because of the dysfunctional family that you surmise he had,” Luna said.

“I suppose,” Perry said vaguely. He didn’t want to encourage another sociological discussion. He felt ill equipped in such an arena as evidenced by their last discussion.

“It’s hard for me to understand since we don’t have families,” Luna said. “But what about his friends, acquaintances, and the schooling secondary human’s attend? Can’t they overcome negative familial influence?”

Perry stared off into the distance and tried to organize his thoughts. “Schooling and friends can help,” he said, “but friends can be a negative influence as well. Within some communities social pressure keeps kids from taking much advantage of the education that is afforded them, and often it’s the lack of education that breeds bigoted narrow-mindedness.”

“So, for someone as young as Richard there is a chance he’ll improve.”

“I already told you, Richard’s not going to change!” Perry said with a tone that bordered on irritation. “Look, I’m no sociologist so maybe we should talk about something else. Besides, he’s not that young. He’s almost thirty.”

“Well, that’s young,” Luna contended.

“You should talk,” Perry snapped.

Luna laughed and battered her pale blue eyes. “Perry, my dear, how old do you think I am?”

“You said you were over twenty,” Perry said nervously. “What are you? Twenty-one?”

Luna smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m ninety-four and that’s just this body.”

Perry’s mouth slowly fell open as he made one of his characteristic high-pitched squeaks.

• • •

After issuing several more admonitions against going in his refrigerator, Richard allowed the three women to lie him out on his bed with his arms outstretched. As soon as they had positioned him, they began massaging him with an oil that made his skin tingle and his tense muscles relax.

“Wow!” Richard closed his eyes and purred with delight. “You girls are good! I feel like a piece of wet spaghetti.”

“And this is just the beginning,” Meeta cooed. The three women looked at each other over Richard’s reclining body and tried to suppress their laughter. If Richard had been more aware he would have known they were up to something.

After a quarter hour of intense massaging, Palenque detached herself from the group, unbeknownst to Richard, and silently made her way around the pool to the edge of the lawn. There she waved silently for others to join them.

Within minutes two men appeared and, suppressing their own laughter, they tiptoed over to the bed. Smoothly they took over massaging Richard from Karena, so that it was now Meeta and the two men who were providing the ministrations to Richard’s body. Palenque and Karena directed their attention to the bodies of the two men. The goal was an orgy on an ancient Roman scale.

“You know,” Richard mumbled, his voice muffled from the coverlet, “if it weren’t for you girls this place would drive me certifiably crazy. And to think, I’ve never even had a massage before. I never knew what I was missing!”

The men and women exchanged fervid glances. They were building each other up to a fever pitch.

“I just can’t help being an active person,” Richard continued, totally unaware of what was happening around him. “I need competition. It’s that simple.”

One of the men allowed his bulky, masculine hands to run down Richard’s forearms to massage the diver’s palms. Sensing a discrepancy in the sensation versus what he expected, Richard’s eyes blinked open. To his consternation the hands massaging his were as large as his own.

“What the hell?” Richard snapped. With a suddenness that took everyone by surprise, Richard flipped over and found himself looking up into five flushed faces instead of three, and worst of all, two of them were male.

“What the hell is this?” Richard bellowed. He leaped from the bed, inadvertently knocking Palenque to the floor. The others quickly stood up from their kneeling positions.

“It’s all right, Richard,” Meeta said urgently, seeing the sudden rage reflected in Richard’s face. “It is a surprise orgy for your pleasure.”

“Pleasure?” Richard shouted. “Who the hell are these men? How’d they get here?”

“They are our friends,” Meeta said. “Cuseh and Uruh. We invited them.”

“What the hell do you think I am?” Richard bellowed.

“We’ve come to make you happy,” the man closest to Richard said. He stepped forward and extended his palm.

Richard reacted with a vicious blow to the man’s jaw, sending him hurling back against the wall. Everyone gasped at the unexpected violence.

“Get out of here!” Richard shouted. To make his point he swept the night table clear of the golden goblets he’d been collecting. They clattered to the floor with a tremendous racket. As his guests fled out the open end of the room, he looked around the room in a frenzy for something to smash to smithereens.

Suzanne let out a whoop of joy as she and Garona ran hand in hand down a frond-canopied path through a fern forest. Reaching the edge of a crystal clear lake, they came to a sudden stop. Mesmerized by the sublime vista, and out of breath from their run, Suzanne gazed out at the scene.

“This is gorgeous!” she managed.

Garona, who was even more out of breath than Suzanne, had to rest before he could speak. “It’s my favorite spot,” he gasped. “I come here often. I’ve always thought it to be very romantic.”

“I should say,” Suzanne commented. Several other lakes could be seen in the middle distance, nestled among the luxuriant vegetation. In the far distance, jagged mountains rose and merged with the vaulted ceiling. “Which direction are we facing?”

“West,” Garona said between breaths. “Those mountains are the bases of what you people call the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.”

Suzanne shook her head in amazement. “It is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“It is my pleasure,” Garona said. “It is nice to see you more relaxed.”

“I suppose I am,” Suzanne said. “At least now I know why we were brought to Interterra.”

“You have been a great help to us.”

“I really didn’t do much.”

“But you did! You have relieved our anxieties about deep-sea drilling.”

“But there’s been drilling for many years,” Suzanne said. “Why the anxiety now?”

“That was drilling for oil,” Garona said. “We don’t mind that. In fact, it helps us because oil is a bother. It can seep into our deepest buildings and cause havoc. It was the random drilling that had us concerned.”

“Well, I am glad to have been of assistance.”

“It calls for a celebration,” Garona said. “How about coming to my home for a few hours? We are very close. We’ll absorb caldorphin for our mutual pleasure, and then we’ll dine.”

“In the middle of the day?” Suzanne questioned. As a motivated, hard worker, who as a student had had little time for personal pleasure, the idea of an afternoon tryst seemed unusually decadent. Yet enticingly erotic.

“Why not?” Garona questioned seductively. “Your essence will ring with ecstasy.”

“You make it sound so deliciously sensual,” Suzanne joked.

“And it will be,” Garona said. “Come.” He grabbed her hand and led her back the way they’d come.

Garona’s home was a mere five-minute air taxi ride away. As they disembarked Suzanne mentioned his home was similar to Arak and Sufa’s although the neighborhood seemed slightly less congested.

“The structure is exactly the same,” Garona said. “But we have more space since we are farther away from the town center.” He again took her hand, and the two ran up the causeway and into the cottage together.

Once inside, the pair acted like impatient adolescents in their haste to shed their satin robes and slip into the pool. Suzanne exuberantly struck out for the opposite end. She swam with strong strokes, excited to have Garona right behind her. They came face-to-face after Suzanne executed a racing turn against the pool’s far end. They embraced in the water. Garona touched his palm with hers and beamed with pleasure. Suzanne laughed with joy.

“This is paradise,” Suzanne proclaimed. She dipped her head beneath the water to smooth her short hair back. “It goes beyond my wildest imagination.”

“I have so much to show you,” Garona told her. “Millions of years of progress. I shall take you to the stars… to other galaxies.”

“You have already,” Suzanne said playfully.

“Come,” Garona said. “Let us share some caldorphin.”

They swam back across the pool. Garona helped her out of the water. She was again taken by how comfortable she felt in his presence despite her nakedness.

“Please!” Garona said, gesturing toward a satin divan.

“I’m soaked,” Suzanne said.

“It doesn’t matter,” Garona said. He bent down and picked up a small jar and removed the top.

“Are you sure?” Suzanne questioned. The upholstered couch was immaculate.

“Absolutely,” Garona said. He held the jar out for Suzanne to put some onto her palm. He did the same, and as they both reclined they pushed their hands together.

Suzanne swooned with pleasure to the very core of her being. Over the next half hour she and Garona made love in a sensitive, giving way that reached a crescendo of passion before melding into sublime, intimate relaxation.

Suzanne had never felt so close to another person. Never in her life had she acted with such abandon, and yet she did not feel guilty. In this utopian netherworld, the usual constraints just didn’t apply.

Time seemed to stand still as Suzanne luxuriated in the afterglow of an intimacy the likes of which she’d never experienced. But then, suddenly, it all changed. A soft feminine voice coming from close range shattered her mental and physical repose: “If you two have finished your beautifully tender lovemaking, which I have to say I’ve enjoyed vicariously, I’ve arranged a lovely lunch.”

Suzanne opened her eyes. To her shock, she found herself looking into the smiling face of an exquisitely attractive woman with stunning features, ice blue eyes, and flaxen hair. The woman’s expression was like a proud parent gazing down at her adorable children.

Suzanne sat bolt upright and pulled the coverlet up. Her sudden movement disturbed Garona, who rolled over and opened his eyes. “What did you say, Alita?” he asked.

“Time for you two to eat,” she said. She pointed to a table by the pool, which was being set by a worker clone.

“Thank you, my dear,” Garona said. He sat up. “I think we’re both quite hungry.”

“The food will be out momentarily,” Alita said. She turned and walked back to the worker clone to help with the preparations by arranging three chaiselike chairs around the table.

Garona stretched, yawned, and then reached for his clothing.

Suzanne made a beeline for her own clothes. Although she hadn’t been self-conscious earlier, she was now. She put on the tunic and pulled on the shorts.

“Who is this woman?” she whispered.

“Alita,” Garona said. “Come, let us eat.”

Still confused, Suzanne let herself be led over to the table. She took the chair Garona indicated and allowed the worker clone to serve her some food. While Garona and Alita attacked theirs with relish, Suzanne toyed with hers. Having been caught flagrante delicto she felt acutely embarrassed and emotionally fragile.

“Suzanne met with the Council of Elders today,” Garona said to Alita between mouthfuls of food. “She was every helpful and gave us good news.”

“Wonderful,” Alita said.

Garona leaned over and gave Suzanne’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “She’s assured us that the secret of Interterra is still secure.”

“What a relief,” Alita said sincerely. “We sorely needed the reassurance.”

Suzanne could only nod.

Garona and Alita launched into a discussion of Interterra’s security needs vis-à-vis the surface world. Suzanne didn’t listen; instead she watched Alita, who was directing her full attention to Garona. Suzanne was amazed at how calm the woman seemed. Suzanne was still feeling too awkward to eat or speak.

Gradually Suzanne’s emotions calmed and she began to collect her thoughts. What began to bother her was the apparently familiarity with which Garona and Alita treated each other. Eventually, Suzanne’s curiosity got the better of her. “Excuse me, Alita,” she said during a break in her fellow diners’ conversation. “Have you and Garona known each other for long?”

Both Garona and Alita laughed heartily.

“I’m sorry,” Alita said, struggling to contain herself. “It’s a perfectly reasonable question, but so very unexpected here in Interterra. You see, Garona and I have known each other for a long, long time.”

“Years then,” Suzanne suggested curtly. Despite Alita’s apology, she found the laughter rude.

Garona burst out laughing again. He had to cover his face with his hand.

“Certainly years,” Alita said. “Years and years.”

“Alita and I have spent many lives together,” Garona explained as he wiped tears from his eyes.

“Oh, I see,” Suzanne said, struggling to keep calm. “Isn’t that wonderful.”

“It is indeed,” Garona said. “Alita is… well, I guess you’d call her my permanent woman.”

“Or we can say Garona is my permanent man,” Alita said.

“Either way,” Garona agreed.

“It’s nice that it is mutual,” Suzanne commented sarcastically. “Now, perhaps you can tell me what ‘permanent’ means socially in Interterra.”

“It’s something like your institution of marriage,” Alita said. “Only it transcends one body life to another.”

Suzanne rolled her lower lip into her mouth and bit down on to it to keep from allowing her rekindled emotions to bubble over into tears. After her unconditional surrender to her feelings toward Garona in response to his persistence and flattery, she felt violated now that she knew he was already in a type of long-term commitment that she could not even fathom. She also felt stupid and appalled that her intuition had let her down so dramatically and that she hadn’t even asked about his social status.

“Well, that’s all very interesting,” Suzanne managed. She put down her flatware and napkin and stood up. “Thank you for the meal and a most enlightening afternoon. I think it’s time I get back to the visitors’ palace.”

Garona got to his feet. “Are you sure you want to leave so quickly?”

“Quite sure,” Suzanne said. Then to Alita she added. “It’s been a pleasure.”

“For me as well,” Alita said. “Garona has spoken so highly of you.”

“Has he now?” Suzanne said. “That’s very nice.”

“I trust we’ll be seeing a lot of you,” Alita said.

“Perhaps,” Suzanne said vaguely. She nodded good-bye to Garona and started for the door. Garona was immediately at her side.

“I’ll see you to an air taxi,” Garona said. “Unless you’d prefer that I accompany you back to the visitors’ palace.”

“That’s quite all right,” Suzanne said as she passed out of the house. “I’m sure you and Alita have things you need to discuss.”

“Suzanne, you are acting strangely,” Garona said. He took a few running steps to keep up with her while he used his wrist communicator to summon an air taxi.

“You think?” Suzanne asked. “How sensitive of you to notice.”

“What is the matter, Suzanne?” Garona reached for her arm, but she pulled away from his grasp and kept walking.

“It’s just a minor cultural thing,” she said over her shoulder.

“Come now,” Garona said. Catching up with her, he grabbed her arm again and this time succeeded in bringing her to a stop. “Be open with me. Don’t make me guess.”

“It would be interesting to have you guess. But from my perspective it wouldn’t be much of a challenge.”

“I suppose this has something to do with Alita.”

“Very clever,” Suzanne said. “Now, if you let go of me, I’m going back to the visitors’ palace.”

“Suzanne, you are in Interterra. We have different customs. You must adjust.”

Suzanne stared into Garona’s dark eyes. One part of her wanted him to leave her alone; the other side of her wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, this was Interterra, not L.A. “My background is so different…” she said.

“I know,” Garona insisted. “But I ask you not to judge by your earth surface standards. Try not to be selfish. You don’t have to feel you own things to enjoy them. We share ourselves with those we love, and love is an endless font.”

“I’m happy for you,” Suzanne said. “I’m glad you have all this love. Unfortunately, I’m used to sharing love with only one person.”

“Can’t you look at it from the Interterran perspective?”

“At this point, I doubt it.”

“Remember, a lot of your earth surface morality tends to be self-indulgent, selfish, and ultimately destructive.”

“From your perspective,” Suzanne said. “From ours it’s good for raising children.”

“Perhaps,” Garona said. “But that’s not important here.”

“Garona, look,” Suzanne said. She put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re probably a wonderful Interterran man. Since we are in Interterra, I admit this is my problem not yours. I’ll try to deal with it.”

The air taxi suddenly loomed out of nowhere, and its side opened up.

“Do you need me to command the air taxi?” Garona asked.

“I prefer to do it myself,” Suzanne said.

“Then I will come over tonight,” Garona said. “Is that all right?”

“As we secondary humans say, I believe I need a little space,” Suzanne said. “Let’s just let things slide for a day or so.” She climbed in and took a seat.

“I will come anyway,” Garona insisted.

“It’s up to you,” Suzanne said. She was too emotional to get into any kind of argument. Instead, she put her palm onto the center table and said, “Visitors’ palace.” She waved to Garona as the craft’s skin sealed over.