Chapter Four
Ven warned Boer and put a surgical gown on him. Jobe was healed, but his skin would be terribly sensitive and he had fuzz, not hair yet. He asked her if he would be able to see and hear.
"Healed, Boer. He was old enough he won't have difficulty interpreting sounds or images."
"I noticed the lights are low."
"That's just for his comfort for the first few minutes. You're in a gown for yours. He's going to be very sticky."
"Ven, why did the unit Li built make it so much faster? I looked at it and understood it was an improvement, but not why it reduced the time by more than thirty days."
"There are always individual cells that don't grow properly, or don't stop multiplying. Our bodies produce them and have defenses against them. We still treat a large percentage of the population for that type of overgrowth at some time during their lives. It has too many causes to name them all, but they always begin with a damaged cell 'missed' by the body's defenses. When we stimulate regrowth because of damage, we cause a much higher percentage of individual cells that don't form properly or don't stop multiplying. Therefore, each cell must be examined to see it's formed properly and watched to see that it stops multiplying when it should. The detector Li built finds those cells that do not much faster, allowing the unit to get rid of them much sooner. That speeds the process in two ways. First, it reduces the time between various stages of the regrowth. Second, it reduces the amount of damage done before the malformed cells are found. Basically, the unit doesn't have to back up and start over as often, speeding every step of the regrowth. It wouldn't have reduced the early part of the treatment by the same percentage, but it would have sped it considerably because it would have located the individual damaged cells in the tissues to be replaced. The ninety-three days would have been about forty-five."
"That's less than half the total time."
"Yes, and reduces the cost by about a third. I didn't expect Li to just donate the patent to the manufacturer of the units."
"Mim said they paid their employees reasonably, their investors less than they'd get making other investments and delivered units to hospitals that needed them on the basis of they'd pay for them as they could. Li said send it to them to help them help others because that was obviously their primary concern. I was very pleased."
"So was I, but doubted an invitation to my bedroom would have been the way to tell her I was."
"Tease. How soon will he wake?"
"A few minutes. We should be able to get him clean and dry first. How are you doing?"
"Battling exhaustion, but I like it. I love them all."
"You've always loved women in general. You wouldn't have been happy married to one, at least not if it included vows of fidelity."
"I don't think that's going to be a problem. I have thirteen wonderful women who are... becoming incredible friends, with me and each other. I won't stop noticing other women, but I don't think I'll really want to do anything about it. I don't think all of them will stay with me though."
"Why and who?"
"I think some of them want what you and Anverd have and are going to fall in love with someone who they want as best friend for their whole lives. Who, I don't know. I've just worked to make sure they know I do know it may happen and would be furious if they didn't ask. I told them I wasn't married to everyone who was working to help find a way to change NuncTura and a few more couples in the family would be nice. I didn't think I needed to mention new women should belong in it, at least for awhile."
"You know who won't leave."
"Nora. A big family with lots of children is what she wants most. I'm a nice bonus."
"None of the others?"
"Jobe."
"I see. You won't speculate and you won't expect."
"I love them all. I expect them to know I want what would make them happiest. Sticky is about glue."
"Yes, but it will rinse off."
"He's beautiful, Ven."
"He always was. You saw that more clearly than anyone else. He's just a lot prettier now."
"Yes."
Warm and safe. It was wonderful and new. The arms that held him were so strong and gentle. He loved the man who held him. He sighed in contentment and opened his eyes in shock.
"Easy. I've got you. The girls named you Jobe. Well, Eddy did. She said she refused to talk about a member of the family as 'him' and you were theirs too, so 'Boer's bride' was also out. Do you understand?"
"Boer, he needs a bit more background. Thiretess Boer Hadlain was appointed governor in accordance with the treaty of Relatross. According to that treaty, each world of the sector chooses a person for his family to be advocate for that world within it, fourteen in all. The first is his bride. You were who NuncTura presented as his bride, though they didn't know you were first. They also didn't know Boer. They expected him to refuse you and, thereby, repudiate the treaty and, basically, get them out of the empire so they owned NuncTura and no one could stop them from... enslaving all its people. Our Boer looked right through the damage and saw the strength and courage of the man who had battled to survive it. He accepted you and you proved the wisdom of his judgment to all. Yes, Jobe, he's beautiful to the eyes as well as the soul. Now you are as well."
"Venida is the physician who healed you. I've known her since I was born and introduced her to the only man I ever met I was sure was good enough for her. He was a captain in marine intelligence at the time and she was just beginning teaching at a university hospital. It was nearly eleven years before they got married, but I couldn't think of a way to convince them they should because they were badly needed on two different worlds. When the marines decided I needed him more, he decided he had the right reason to ask her to leave the university."
"Jobe, you can speak, just as you can hear and see. Don't think about how to do it. You know how. You learned to talk as a baby and you didn't lose the ability. It's still there, just as the way to use all your fingers is."
"Yes, you have all of those too. Don't have much hair yet, but you've got dark fuzz all the right places. I love you, Jobe. I want your true name when you're ready to give it to me, but the story of Job tells people the truth of my bride and Eddy is sure that truth is very important."
"I... luf you."
Boer was suddenly shaking and crying. Jobe reached up and touched his tears and smiled. They had been the reason he'd agreed to what he'd asked. He had understood it was something needed, not wanted. The arms had been sheltering, not desiring. The tears had been that anyone had been hurt and not healed, not pity. He'd had no doubt of that either.
"I know you don't want to let go of him, Boer, but I need him on his no-longer-damaged feet to scan muscle function. Jobe, you may fall on your face a few times. You have all your toes and the amazing balance you built to compensate for the lack of them is going to trip you now and then for a few days. Aura has a plan to make sure it's a very few. I'm warning you. I got tired just reading it."
"I got tired working out with her. I exercise because it's necessary. She likes it. I don't really understand, but I certainly like the results on her."
"She's as oversize as he is, Jobe. Li is as much smaller than average as you are."
"They're all your family too and delighted there are two men in it, not just one. So am I. I'm enjoying it, but I'm glad Li found a way to improve that device over there and reduce the time it took to heal you. Collapse from exhaustion was becoming a distinct possibility."
"They've all been down here many times. Boer is the only one who came daily, but you had several visitors every day, many who aren't officially in your family."
"They're all up in our quarters working at being patient. Whoops! Oh, I'm sorry. Ven told me your skin would be sensitive."
"The thump from falling would have hurt more, Boer. Jobe, talk to us. He needs it and I'm working on convincing myself that I just want to hear you speak for
professional reasons."
"I... don't know... what to say. I said all I needed to."
"How about telling the doctor thanks?"
Jobe looked surprised, then embarrassed. He thanked Venida and she laughed and told him she'd thought he'd said all he needed to, as well. She pointed to clothes for him and told him they'd been chosen because they wouldn't irritate his very sensitive new skin and style and fit were very secondary considerations. Boer worked to just steady him a bit while he dressed himself.
"The hell with it. I'm going to carry you because I just plain missed you and want you in my arms too much to keep fighting it. You can practice walking later."
"Good."
"You sound strange to yourself, don't you?"
"All strange. I think I expect more strange than is."
"You weren't aware of it, but you moved your body, wiggled your fingers and toes, blinked and such while you healed. I had the feeling you knew I was there."
"I think I did."
"I talked to you, told you about the girls and what they were doing. Three are pregnant, Nora, Eddy and Mim. Your turn."
"What?"
"Some of our children need to be yours, Jobe. They all, including Venida, expect you to argue the point. I'm telling you they convinced me they were right. It wasn't difficult. It hadn't occurred to me you would argue it. I didn't look at the projections of your appearance."
"It will be very... easy to see."
"Probably. Jobe, Nunceons aren't discriminated against anywhere but NuncTura, and that discrimination is a tool used by those who are oppressing them all. In fact, our main difficulty will be making sure people separate them from Turons in general."
"I must show them. It will be hard. Tool works good. I think 'Turon,' too."
"Tell them it's hard. Tell them you know it's a tool that works too well to keep all of you from joining together to overthrow them. The Turon poor are sure they wouldn't be if the government didn't have to support so many poor Nunceons. The Nunceon poor are sure all Turons support their Turon oppressors. The question to be asked is if all women believe all men support the all-male oppressive government. There are no women among them either. What did you do to earn food, Jobe? You were healthier than most who are just poor."
"I fixed fish nets. No boats or things to tell where fish are, but nets are used at night from the beach. The rocks tear them. I fixed the holes so they could be used another night and they gave me fish and sea weeds."
"Then it may have been the explosion of a fish oil stove that injured you so badly."
"I don't know. I don't remember before. I learned that pain was too much."
"Someone cared for you and taught you."
"Old hands guided fingers to food and nets. One day, no more hands and more nets."
"How did you learn... what I didn't know?"
"Old hands taught the cleaning when I hurted inside because I couldn't... make it come out. Hands hard from pulling nets taught oil and feel good. One day I did feel good and smooth hands taught mine women, men and how babies are made, but just hands."
"You were masturbating where a woman saw it and she decided you ought to know what that thing you were playing with was really for."
"Also taught I should do feel good just when air said it was night."
"Did you ever get anything from the Imperial Library?"
"Library?"
"Something to teach you how to read with your fingers and a way to tell the library what you wanted it to send you to read."
"Can't read."
"You should have been old enough to have learned before you were hurt."
"Was always poor."
"Poor children aren't taught to read?! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not angry at you."
"It was... surprise, not scare. Much. Your anger is only because people have been hurted. I have known it since I felt your arms and touched your tears the first time."
"I admired you. You didn't know where you were or what was happening, but you were making a very definite statement you didn't like it. I didn't have any doubts you'd have slugged them for dragging you around and run if they hadn't had you cuffed and hobbled."
"Slugged?"
"Hit hard with your fist."
"Yes, I would have slugged if they didn't move fast away. Almost tried to hit you, but felt you were different and remembered. You cry for me again, but because I'm the one you know."
"Yes. Basic universal education is an imperial law. That means every child will be taught to read, write and use numbers well enough to know if they weren't paid back the difference in the amount they gave someone to buy something and what they were told it cost."
"I can count. Four holes is four pieces of fish this big. Four big holes is four fish and four weed. Very big holes are a fish for four ties, or a fish and weed for six. Sometimes I fixed very big holes for one thing different to eat. Old hands taught me one different was harder to get than many fish and weed."
"You have a very good mind, Jobe, and you're about to meet thirteen who will be as angry as I was children aren't taught to read. They'll about bury you in things to learn. Yell if you feel like it's more than 'about' buried. They do know how many of them there are."
Boer said he was just carrying him because it felt good, put Jobe in a chair and sat down in one near it. Jobe was giggling within a minute. He was already buried. Boer was laughing too. The girls were trying not to, but they were excited and remembered it after they realized they were all talking at once again. Aura took over. She yelled they'd all be working out with her for ten days and twelve jumped back a half meter and it got quiet fast. Boer rolled out of his chair and Jobe sort of tumbled out of his, crawled over, laid on him and giggled.
"Cute, aren't they, Dirda?"
"Yes, Aura, they are. Jobe, we did have a plan for this meeting, but we obviously forgot about it."
"I like you forgot, but names I got are all mixed up."
It took a while, but Jobe eventually got all their names and got them all straight. That's when Boer told him there were one hundred eighty-one more people waiting to meet him. He just hadn't been able to resist. Jobe looked at him and started to giggle again.
Dinner was too many wonderful things and he had trouble with the utensils. He got too much help. That time Nora took over. She hit the table with her fist hard enough to make the dishes bounce and shouted getting the food in was the most important thing and everything else was "company stuff" he could learn later. Barri picked up a hunk of meat with her fingers and bit a piece off. Nora told her she was a "terrific terrible example," and grinned.
"Thank you, Nora. Jobe, Nora is quite right and we needed the thump to remind us. You're doing so well, we forget that you're even having to learn how to use your hands again. None of us think of teaching you things we would a child because all of us know you aren't one. You've been a man since you fought to survive the injuries that ended your childhood, if not before. You've basically told us you don't want to remember what childhood you did have. I think we all understand why."
"Warm and safe all gone, Barri. Hurt too much other ways to hurt that way too and more. Time came I didn't have to think not to remember. Now don't."
"He can't read. The poor receive no education. Quiet! I know just how you all feel. I apologized for scaring him when he told me. It's what we need, but I didn't want it. And I didn't expect it. I also have no idea what to do about it. Currently, I don't know how to prove it. Jobe's statement they aren't is enough to look for proof, but not enough for me to tell the emperor I'm going to order martial law. Proof, however, would be. They're covering it somehow or Anverd would have found it. Money for education is being budgeted, perhaps even being spent on the tools to do it, though I doubt it."
"I think we found the missing piece."
"What do you mean, Mim?"
"Bureaucrats are paid well, but not so m
uch it could be used as a reason for investigation, Boer. All we had as motive was power. There had to be a fiscal reward somewhere, but we couldn't find it. Health care and such are standard services which most governments fund for employees. It's not common, but some finance very low interest loans to them to buy homes. Entire neighborhoods of people who work for the government aren't uncommon even on worlds that do not. There are several of them on Halcyon and a great many on Boniface. According to the records Anverd got, the government finances low interest loans on moderately-priced homes. Moderate being about the same multiple of annual income as elsewhere. I was sure that's where it had to be because it was just too typical."
"Power must be wielded to prove one has it. Most often, that power has a financial base, but wealth doesn't need to be exhibited. Power does. The system is disguised as a bureaucracy. Personal aggrandizement isn't acceptable in such, so there have to be visible trappings of power."
"There must also be a 'common' reason for that power to be worth working for, Eddy. A craving for power is most often found in those who have been powerless, or rather felt they were. It's one reason the cycle of child abuse is so difficult to stop. The powerless child grows up and exhibits power over a child who grows up and does the same to another child. Often they begin bullying smaller children before they grow up. Sometimes that's how emotional abuse is discovered. If a child is a bully, there's already an obvious lack of self-esteem. It's imperative to find out why. Sometimes the trail leads one up through the age groups to one bigger bully after another, but there's always a top. Power itself, as the basis for ambition on NuncTura, just didn't make sense. I kept trying to define it as societal pressure, but I was sure there was something missing, especially as regards the women. 'My home is nicer than yours.' is just the type of bullying that would make women push sons to do well and daughters to seek husbands who would."
"There's a good two thousand years of history to prove the method works, Barri. There's almost that much to prove racism and illiteracy are two of the best defenses against the overthrow of an oppressive government."
"Ignorance has always been the greatest weapon of the oppressor, Lou, and knowledge the greatest threat, but it never occurred to me children weren't being taught to read. I'm trying to figure out how they kept them from teaching their own children."
"No comps, no screens, no books, no styluses to write with, no paper to write on, Boer. Kill the few who still manage to do it anyway. It was a race riot. The Turons killed some Nunceons. The Nunceons killed some Turons. Keep doing it or say it wasn't and you'll be one of those killed in the next one."
"I wish I didn't think you were right, Via. How many of the empire's one hundred eighty-four worlds with seventy-one colony worlds hide abuses behind seeming normality?"
"Not many, Boer. One could almost... find them by how normal they seem. Only one thing wouldn't be. They wouldn't have a great deal of interplanetary trade. Traders have very good eyes."
"Want a list, Eddy?"
"You have one, Lola?"
"There's about fifty, Misty, maybe more. Who trades how much of what and how stiff regs are for trading with them are important information to every independent trader. Every trade association has one, or several, for their area. They all send them to the Imperial Library."
"It would be easy to write a program to do a match-up. Dona, didn't you say it was hard to get info on the ecology of NuncTura?"
"You think that's a clue too, Cal?"
"Yes. Pop figures can be messed with, but a good ecologist would yell there was something wrong with them."
"I couldn't get anything more recent than one hundred seventy-three years on NuncTura, other than flat statements there was no encroachment on reserved native biota lands, not even a pollen count. I checked the orbital survey to assure they weren't lying about the encroachment."
"Probably wouldn't have much new tech either. Even agrarian worlds come up with new and better. Greens has a bunch of new patents on a drik fiber robo-harvester cleaning system."
"Oh, and it's a blessing, Li. My parents bought one before this year's harvest and we had no jams and no blades to replace. My mother said it will pay for itself in about three years."
"All of you organize your contributions and give them to Cal and Lola."
"Dirda, I'm only governor of one small sector delineated by one rather odd treaty."
"Boer, you are... warm and safe for all who need it. They know the emperor needs your warm and safe all places people are cold and scared. If he doesn't know it, Eddy will tell him. But NuncTura first. He knows only the nine directors aren't cold and scared there."
"Yes, Jobe, he does."
"Let's do a put-together of our ideas and see how they apply there. It's a good way to see how well the system works."
"I've been thinking about what Boer said earlier about proof, Dirda. Check for sports equipment purchases. Opportunity to participate in team sport competition is part of the required basic education program level six through twelve, even if just intramural. Injuries incurred while participating must be treated. That's an imperial law. The percentage of every type of injury for every sport is known. Insurance for them is expensive, but you can apply for imperial aid if you can't self-insure. They have to tell who got hurt how badly and cost of treatment, even if the gov is doing the insuring. It's to protect them from suit for damages at a later date because someone says they got hurt playing whatever as a kid. If they haven't covered every bit of it for every district, you've got your proof they're not providing basic education as defined by imperial law."
"Aura, you just may have found something they missed. Transportation from schools to medical treatment for students injured while participating in any school activity, including just running around on the grounds, would also have to be well documented and insured. Girls, let's see if the sports equipment they say they're buying is causing the percentage of injuries expected, who they say they've treated for them and who took who where to get it."
"The boys who go to school play tumball."
"I don't know what that is, Jobe."
"It's a type of football, Boer, a rough sport."
"Thank you, Aura. Jobe, do only boys go to school?"
"I don't know. I don't remember how I know boys play tumball. I'm sorry."
"You don't have anything to apologize for. Barri, he doesn't want to remember."
"Just remind me I said I understood why every so often, Boer."
"Right now, they're scared as hell and covering tracks fast. They don't know anything about him, but you can be sure they're trying to find out."
"There may be nothing they can find out, Dirda. Anverd couldn't find any record of anything happening at about the right time. Jobe remembers old hands teaching him to repair fishing nets. One day they weren't there. Find me proof. Excuse me."
Jobe started after Boer and fell. Boer was beside him in one long stride. Jobe told him he forgot to remember his toes wiggled and wiggled them. Boer smiled, picked him up and carried him to his room. A little more than an hour later, Dirda commed.
"We've got chocolate cake, ice cream and proof. We pulled the string Aura pointed out and it all fell apart. The clue was tumball. Rough sport is an understatement. We've got equipment purchase records for it, but no records of treatment for injuries. There's no public education at all. We found where the money goes."
"Houses."
"And cars, flyers, boats, and private education for boys. The higher your position in the government, the better school your sons, nephews, grandsons go to."
"There aren't any government food subsidies for the poor either, Dirda. They just build large wooden boxes of little apts and supply them with water and something to produce heat places it gets cold. No lights."
"He remembered a bit more."
"He's learning to read. He remembered that while we were reading a story. I'm amazed. He re
membered what words were after the first time he saw them. Cake and ice cream sounds wonderful. Be out in a minute."
"It's supposed to take more than once?"
"I really don't know, Jobe. We begin teaching our children to read about the time they start to learn to talk. Now I have a decision to make. Do I turn around and go back and go in fast with marines I've got, get some from other sector words, or continue on to Boniface and talk to the emperor first?"
"How close is the emperor and how far is NuncTura from us and him?
"We're about right between."
"Do they know Venida could heal me?"
"Good question. Comm, locate Venida."
"Yes, Boer?"
"Venida, Jobe asked if the government of Nunctura knows you could heal him."
"Good question."
"That's what I said. I figured your guess would be more educated than mine."
"Well, they wouldn't know it could be this fast. They probably wouldn't expect you to have the surgeon and equipment to do it with you. My guess is they think they have at least a quarter-standard-year before he could tell us anything and that's with prosthetics. It's based on the file Anverd just put in front of me. They don't have any of the surgical units we do. It's why I could have done prosthetic replacement in about three days as well. They also know the first order of business is building your family."
"I doubt they know how fast I did that, but they also didn't know they were first. Ice cream and cake await us. I'm looking forward to the expression on Jobe's face when he tastes them. Tell Anverd to put the ship on full alert. Staff meeting in thirty minutes. Out."
The expression on Jobe's face was as interesting as Boer had expected. He obviously liked the cake, but Boer and all the rest of the family burst into laughter when he put the first spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. He warned him eating it too fast would give him a headache and watched him try to eat it more slowly. He wasn't exactly successful, but he did learn bites of cake helped the headache. Then Li said she had an idea and it got very quiet.
"What kind of idea, Li?"
"The new drive is an innovation, Boer. Nice thing about innovations is they open up a whole bunch of possibilities. I think I found one. Need to check some things, but I'm pretty sure it would make it more efficient."
"Which translates as faster?"
"Should be, but it's going to take some real heavy programming to use the potential if I'm right. The control systems would have to work faster. Might have to change them a bit too."
"Are you sure you want to do it in this ship, Li?"
"Nothing really wrong with this ship, Dirda, except it's about too formal and you can't land it. Can't do much about the formal, but landing ought to be possible."
"What?!"
"Well, would be if you could find a place big enough, Boer. It's got enough power. It's just not set up to use it to land. Might as well do that while we're reworking the control systems."
"Li, what were doing on Lobora?"
"I was born there."
"That's not what I meant. I meant... you built something to improve the surgical unit, now you think you can improve the drive and control systems enough to land this ship. Why didn't you... do this kind of thing before?"
"I did. That's why they picked me. Well, more or less. I was on the design team for the winning car of the Lobora Grand Touro for three years. Didn't like the guy who ran it much. He yelled the object was to improve the design of that car and that's what I was being paid to do, not design a new one. So that's all I did."
"There are idiots everywhere, Boer."
"I totally agree, Dirda. I'm sure you've met Sergeant... Tech Issidi, Li."
"She's the one who gave me the idea. She was talking about the power generation curve and the drop off in efficiency that made it impractical to run at a higher multiple of light speed. I like her."
"So do I. Do not speak the same language, but I do like her."
"She does have a little trouble remembering most people don't think of FTL physics and drive specs as casual conversation topics. Said her mother was the same way. Mine thumped me for not noticing people were blinking at me. Miss her some, but hadn't lived at home in awhile and it's mostly I'd just like to comm and talk about you all."
"I know that one very well, Li. I've wished I could tell my father about all of you. Mother too, but not the same things. Anyone actually homesick?"
"We are home, Boer. We're all a bit surprised that we feel that way, but together, especially with you, is home for all of us. We've talked about it. Nora and Dona miss being on a living world, but not a particular one."
"I feel 'home' too, Dirda. I didn't know that's what it was. Thank you."
"You did, Jobe, but the only terms you knew for it were warm and safe. You've known you were home since Boer put his warm and safe arms around you the first time."
"He showed me the computer record of meeting all of you one at a time and said he knew you and Misty, but mostly you and you were a surprise anyway."
"Thank you, Jobe. I always wished I could get to know him better, but if we'd spent more than a few minutes at a time in close proximity, even in public, our mothers would have been making wedding plans for us."
"Yes, yours wouldn't have had any trouble convincing mine they should. We have a staff meeting. You're my help remembering it's not a military staff meeting."
"We noticed they have to think about it or they call you 'General,' instead of 'Governor.'"
"That's not a great deal better, Eddy, but at least they don't salute when they say it."
"Maybe it's the feeling of home to them, Boer, and it's hard not to."
"That's why they're all with me, Jobe. I just need to... separate the salute from the feeling. Of course, calling them marines probably doesn't help."
"You'll work out a compromise, Boer. They are marines, just no longer in the Imperial Marines. Most of them are not really comfortable out of uniform."
"It feels a little odd to me too, Aura. I wore one most of the time for twenty-five years. I started the Academy at sixteen. Let's go."