~~~~
The car cruised along the ramps that led to the upper levels of the city. Sasha had Mr. Greyson close the divider window to give them privacy.
“Sasha, I really am trying to understand. Can you blame me for that?”
She refused to look at him. “You downloaded our worldwide net, and you don’t know what a family is.”
“It’s a lot of information to absorb. Implanting words and grammar is one thing. Understanding entire concepts is another.” He shrugged. “I’m only human.”
“Families consist of a mother and father. They raise their own children.”
“I know that now.”
She looked up at him. “Do you? You know the definition, but you don’t really know.”
“I want to know, Sasha. I want to understand.”
She tried to control her breathing. He really didn’t understand, and that was what terrified her.
“This is our way of life,” she said. “We were all raised this way, and we will always raise our children this way. And it starts with the bliss.”
“This mating ritual is the center of it? Where you mate for life?”
“It’s not just…” She stopped, registering what he just said. “Your people don’t mate for life, do you?”
He shook his head.
She couldn’t stop the tears. Things spiraled out of control, and it wouldn’t end well. The bliss would come very soon. She didn’t know if Jester could save her from it, or if she wanted him to.
“Sasha?”
She held up her hand. “Not now.”
“Then when?”
Mr. Greyson’s voice came over a speaker. “We’re here.”
She didn’t wait for the gentleman outside to open the door. “We can’t keep the prime minister waiting.”
She marched away from the car, away from him, and up the steps of the massive house. The Prime Residence rested on the highest tier of the city, overlooking the rest of it. It was a fantastic view, but it always gave Sasha vertigo. Made of solid white marble, it was fashioned after a similar political residence on Earth.
Her uncle greeted her on the steps. He went toward her with his arms open. “Sasha, my dear, how are you?”
She smiled as warmly as she could manage. “Hello, Uncle.”
He sighed. She never could hide things from him. “We’ll talk later,” he said.
Jester stepped forward before she could respond. “Mr. Prime Minister, it’s good to see you again.”
“Mr. Gold.” They shook hands. “How is your stay?”
“Very nice, sir. This is a beautiful world full of fine people.”
“It’s kind of you to say, sir.” Uncle Jon gestured for them to enter. “I have tea and scones ready.”
Jester blinked. “Scones?”
Uncle Jon shook as he laughed. “Maybe it’s best if you just try them.”
Her uncle took her hand as they went up the steps, giving a quick run of his fingers along her palm. She knew he had to feel the moisture there. He glanced at Jester who stared at the murals along the entrance hall. “Yes, we’ll definitely talk later.”
~~~~
They sat on the porch looking out over the forest hundreds of meters below. The top tier of the city was nearly a kilometer above the ground. Sasha had enough on her mind as it was. Now she had to add vertigo.
Jester held his teacup with his hand covering the open part of the cup. Sasha cleared her throat and held up her own cup, showing him how to hold it. He made an “aha” expression and then held the cup by the handle. He sipped it, and nearly dropped it. He looked up at her. “It’s hot.”
“Some tea is served hot.”
He took another sip before nibbling on a scone. He set the tea down in its saucer, nearly spilling it while trying to set it properly within the saucer. One of her uncle’s security service personnel snorted. Jester looked up and smiled as he picked up a scone.
Even after what happened in the park, she couldn’t help but smile in return. He was a good man. There was no question of that. The only problem was he didn’t understand their ways. If only she could teach him. Things happen for a reason. Maybe that was why he was here—to learn how to be with her.
Uncle Jon interrupted her thoughts. “Sasha tells me you are curious about Earth.”
“Yes, I am,” Jester said. “We know so little about Earth.”
“What we have is not much, but you are welcome to it.”
“Thank you, Prime Minister.” Jester took a bite of the scone.
Uncle Jon looked amused. “How do you like the scones?”
“Interesting.” Jester smiled and took another bite. “I’ve never tasted anything quite like them.”
“They are an old Earth delicacy,” Uncle Jon said. “I could give you the recipe if you like.”
“Uh, that would be splendid.” Jester set his scone down, having only nibbled the corner. He didn’t seem disgusted by it. It seemed merely so unfamiliar to him that he didn’t know what to make of it. Not like the sandwiches, she thought.
Uncle Jon’s belly shook as he laughed. “I’m sure you find much on our world unusual.”
“A little,” Jester said. “Most of it has been pleasantly surprising.”
He glanced at Sasha when he said that, and she felt her heart jump. The brightness in his eyes remained, the same brightness she saw when they were alone together in the park. Maybe he could learn. Maybe she could teach him. She had to. The bliss would happen soon. She could feel it in her heart and in her blood, and when it finally happened she needed to be with Jester. There could be no one else. And if he couldn’t be there for her…
“What sorts of things have been surprising, Mr. Gold?” Uncle Jon asked.
“A number of things. It seems everyone is aged odd number of years. People are nineteen, twenty-one, or twenty-three, but never eighteen, twenty, or twenty-two. And no one seems to keep track of their own birthday.”
Uncle Jon shrugged. “Exact dates and times are recorded.”
“Yes, I’m sure they are. However, no one seems to celebrate the exact date.”
“Is that customary on your world?” Uncle Jon asked.
“Yes, Prime Minister, it is. We keep track of our maturity by how many years we have lived. The day of one’s birth is cause for celebration.”
“We do something similar.” Uncle Jon took a bite from his scone. “We don’t celebrate exact dates, though. We celebrate it planet-wide during the Birthing.”
“Birthing?”
Uncle Jon nodded. “The time of our births.”
It took him a minute to understand. “All of you are born at the same time?”
“Within a few weeks of each other, yes. Is it not like this on your world?”
“No, Prime Minister, it is not. Births can happen at any time.”
“Interesting.” Uncle Jon pushed his plate away, a half-eaten scone sitting on it. “That would imply that your people bliss whenever they wish.”
“If you mean sex, then yes.” The security around them gave them a peculiar look. “But we don’t, uh, bliss for purposes of producing children.”
Sasha cleared her throat after swallowing a piece of scone. “Blissing doesn’t create children?”
Jester shook his head.
“Then, how do you have children?” Sasha asked.
“Most are grown in hospitals.”
Sasha flinched. “Grown?”
“Oh, yes. You donate genetic material with a partner, and your child is grown and placed in a school.”
“I… see.” Uncle Jon rocked gently in his chair. “I read Sasha’s report. You say you don’t have families?”
“That’s correct, Prime Minister.”
Uncle Jon stared at Jester for a moment. “So, people really only bliss for… entertainment?”
Jester laughed. “Yes, that too. Sometimes we bliss to close business deals or political agreements. It’s also as a rite of adulthood.”
“Political agr
eements?” Uncle Jon gave a shaky laugh. “With all due respect, I’m glad we don’t have that custom here.”
Jester smiled. To Sasha, it looked as if he did it out of politeness.
“I never thought of the bliss that way,” Sasha said. “I mean, our rites of adulthood are usually done openly, not like the bliss. But I suppose the bliss is a rite of adulthood in and of itself.”
“Good point.” Jester seemed to relax as he continued, “Though for us, one’s first act is not done in private.”
“You mean they do it publicly?” Sasha sat straight up in her chair, holding her teacup firmly enough to turn her knuckles white. Her uncle regarded Jester calmly, his eyes narrowed. She’d seen that look before with dignitaries that gave him bad news.
“Usually it is done in front of instructors,” Jester said. “After all, it’s a skill like any other.”
Sasha’s mouth fell open. “People watch?”
“Of course. And they offer advice.”
“Advice?” Uncle Jon’s self-control broke for a moment. “In… in the middle of the act?”
“Yes, and they applaud what the student does correctly.”
Sasha nearly choked on her tea. “Why in God’s name would they do that?”
“If a student does a task correctly, we believe it should be celebrated.” He looked at Sasha sideways. “How do your people learn to bliss?”
Sasha leaned back again. Uncle Jon looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “We… Andrew and I managed.”
“It just comes naturally, then?”
She shrugged. “It never occurred to me anyone needed training. We just… tried to make each other happy.”
He looked at Sasha for a moment, nodding politely. “That’s interesting.” He looked at Uncle Jon. “Our ways may seem odd, but it has been quite an effective way of doing things thus far.”
Uncle Jon regained control of himself. “I’m sure there are customs among our kind that are unusual to you.”
“True.” Jester sipped his tea. “Certain actions and customs are foreign to me. There seems to be no counterpart in our society.”
Sasha held her teacup with both hands. “What sorts of customs?”
“Well, for example, there are shows on the net I find confusing. The point of these shows centers on two people who seem desperate to get together for some reason. They used certain words that my ship’s computer had identified when analyzing your language, but couldn’t translate into my language.”
“What words?” Uncle Jon asked.
“There’re a number of them.” Jester pulled out his tablet. “I made a list of them. One word in particular confounds me. I know it relates to the bliss, but I’m not sure what it means.”
Jester turned the tablet around to show them. He had highlighted one word.
The teacup slipped out of her hands. It bounced on the ground once, and then shattered on the second impact. Whispers spread through the security around them as one of them caught sight of the word. It was unprofessional, but no one questioned it.
Uncle Jon just sat with his hands clasped in front of him. She had known him long enough to know when he was disturbed, even when he maintained his composure. It was nothing compared to the way she felt.
“Could you please explain it to me?” Jester asked.
Sasha barely registered her uncle’s response. “I’m afraid I have business to attend to, Mr. Gold. We’ll have to conduct this later.” Uncle Jon stood and extended his hand. “It was a pleasure, sir.”
Jester stood, confused, and took his hand. “Likewise, Prime Minister.”
Uncle Jon gave a polite smile and turned to Sasha. “Would you join me, please?”
“I need to escort him to the car.” She left briskly, not waiting for Jester to follow.
“Sasha?” Jester stood. “Sasha, what’s wrong?”
She ignored him. Instead of going through the PM’s residence, she went around the side. It was over, like that. All fantasies of making things work between her and him evaporated. It lasted just long enough to have hope, only to have it taken from her. She wished she’d never answered Kay’s call that day.
Jester managed to catch up with her. “Sasha, talk to me.”
If she spoke, the tears would come. She couldn’t even look at him.
“I’m trying to understand. If you would just help me.”
She stopped so suddenly he almost ran into her. She faced him, and when she did the tears came, as she knew they would. “I can’t help you understand. No one can.”
“Why?”
“Ask Mr. Greyson to take you back to the base.”
She went back the way she came, back to where her uncle waited. Jester called after her again, but she didn’t respond. His people suffered, and they didn’t know it. And now she would suffer, as well.
Uncle Jon waited for her in the garden. The forlorn look on his face told her he understood what would happen. This would be her last bliss. After that, she would be gone. Just like Andrew.
THE POINT OF MADNESS
Jester stood near the gate, waiting for Sasha to arrive. He didn’t think she ever wanted to see him again, but when he heard her voice and saw her image on his tablet he was elated. Now the anticipation gnawed at him.
Few people had spoken to him in the three days since meeting the PM. Some of the security and wait staff at the Prime Residence had overheard the conversation. Now everyone on the planet knew that Jester didn’t know the word. Though they were polite, few would speak to him any longer.
When he saw Colonel Lambear, he asked him about the word.
“I can’t say,” the colonel answered. “No one can. You know, or you don’t.”
He watched countless news feeds on his tablet. One journalist suggested his people were incapable of empathy, which he found horrifying.
Going home seemed like the best option.
Sasha’s car approached the gate. He felt the familiar, inexplicable giddiness he always felt when he saw her. For a moment, he wondered if perhaps it was just her car come to pick him to take him to see the prime minister one last time. Colonel Lambear had argued to keep him on the base during the bliss, but the PM overruled him. He insisted on having him stay at the Prime Residence with him.
The car pulled to a stop. Mr. Greyson stepped out, but didn’t acknowledge Jester as he opened the rear door. A sense of relief washed over him as he saw her sitting inside. She didn’t step out.
“Mr. Gold,” Mr. Greyson said. “If you please.”
He looked up and saw Mr. Greyson motioning for him to enter. Jester nodded and climbed into the backseat next to her. In moments, the car left the base.
When she didn’t say anything, he spoke. “Hello.”
She looked at him and smiled. Her face was flush, and her hands sweaty. Her breathing seemed almost labored. “Jester.”
Hearing her speak his name sent a current through him. It used to make him wonder about the power she had over him, but he no longer cared.
“I missed you,” he said.
“Did you?”
“Of course I did.”
She turned away from him, looking out her window. “I understand you’re leaving us.”
That, too, had spread across the planetary net. “Yes.”
“Are you happy to be going home?”
“Are you happy to see me leave?”
Her body shook for a moment, and she held her hands to her face. A few seconds later, she lowered them. “No, but maybe it’s for the best.”
“So you’re mad at me, too.” He kept looking at her, hoping she would turn and face him again. “Everyone is.”
“We’re not mad,” she said. “We’re frightened.”
“Frightened? Of what?”
“You don’t know the word.”
Jester leaned back. “I told you, our ways are—”
“Are different, I know.” She faced him again. “None of us ever imagined this.”
“Imagined what?”
/> “That there are humans out there who wouldn’t understand the one word that describes the core of our beliefs.” She looked out the window at the gathering storm clouds. “It’ll probably happen tonight.”
“The bliss.”
She rubbed her hands together. The moisture on her palms had gotten worse. “Each of us will become vulnerable during this time, vulnerable to each other. It’s a celebration of who we are as a people. It will bind us another forever.”
“You mate for life.”
She laughed without any mirth. “You make it sound so clinical. It’s more than you can understand.”
“What is it about, then?”
She used the word, as if that alone could explain it.
“I want to understand,” he said, “but no one will tell me.”
“Because we can’t.” Her voice cracked through the tears. “It can’t be taught, only felt.”
He reached for her hand, but she pulled it away. “Sasha, I want to understand.”
She didn’t answer as she clasped and unclasped her hands. The moisture was as bad as he had ever seen. “The wind had caught a stack of papers.”
“What?”
“I was writing my essay on extra-planetary colonies of humanity, the one you read.” She looked out the window again. “I’d printed it out. I always preferred to edit my work on hard copy. I’d lost half of it to the wind. Andrew saw me searching for it and spent an hour with me while we picked up every scrap of it.” She sniffed. “Even then I knew we would bliss. I could feel it deep down.”
She smiled, remembering. “And when the time came, we did. It was wonderful.” Her smile dissolved into tears. “We never had another. A week before our second bliss, he died.”
“Sasha, I’m so sorry.”
“How can you be?” She looked back at him. “You can’t understand what we went through, what we all go through. This word means everything to us. And your people don’t understand. It’s unimaginable.”
“And that’s why no one will speak to me.”
She lowered her gaze for a moment, then glanced forward out the front windshield. “We’re here.”
“Already?” He looked out the window, but they weren’t at the Prime Residence. The car had pulled to a stop on a flat, open area just off the main road leading to the city. Another car remained parked nearby.
Sasha stepped out of the car, and Jester did the same.
“That’s your new car and driver,” she said. “He’ll take you to the prime minister and wherever else you need to go after that.”