The computer planet had no moons, but the stars were quite numerous, and in all their glory they were sending forth their twinkling light to give the trees and the plants in the park a look of reflective silvery sparkles. In the distance they could see the lights around the palace lighting the surrounding area. Some of the offices in the palace were lit up indicating G-staff working late. To the right, about two hundred meters, were the officer’s barracks, which were more like luxury apartments. They were lit up by the outside lights.
Ben and Lyil were walking on a black, artificial walkway taking the long route back to her living quarters. The pathway was well lit with lamps about every fifty feet.
Ben was not in a good mood. He knew he should have been—he was dating one of the most beautiful women in the galaxy, and the odds were he was about to win the prestigious Tarmorian tournament, but he couldn’t get the idea of the Himmian House out of his mind. He was getting too close to the politics of the Federation, and it was starting to rankle his ire. Why was he even here? All he wanted to do was his research. “It seems to me,” said Ben, “that you might have a serious problem on your hands. And I’m speaking of the Himmian House. If it was merely a family pretending to be Tarmorians, then it would appear to be nothing, but the fact that Federation personnel are involved makes me think you better do your investigation quick, and maybe not so low level.”
“It’s possible that there isn’t any Federation involvement,” said Lyil. “It could be and probably is an erroneous conclusion.”
Ben started to ask, ‘Can you take that chance?’ but Lyil said first, “Nevertheless, I’m going to put two non-coms on the case, and if they don’t reveal anything in the next four weeks, then I’m going to report it to my commander and let him deal with it.”
“Four weeks?”
“Yes. Since they’ve been there for five years I don’t think another four weeks will turn out to be a problem. And I promised Dr. –ejjon I would look into it first.”
“If he’s that paranoid, I still believe he should hire a cat burglar to sneak in and look around?”
Lyil whisked her pretty red hair off her shoulders. “It seems they have a stricter code of ethics than you.” She was quick to add, “I’m not saying that is the best course of action. In this case it might be better to sidestep the law. They would get some answers, and no one would care, except maybe the people living in the house.” Just in case Ben was going to suggest that she do it, she continued, “Since I’m in the military, I can’t even consider ordering someone break in. If I were party to such a thing and my superiors found out, I would be court martialed and maybe end up in prison, at the very least, they would drum me out the G-staff and send me home in disgrace.”
“I wouldn’t suggest that you do it,” said Ben. “However, I’m not you, and by that I mean, if I were in your position I would make it happen without anyone knowing I was involved. Find a thief. Use a communicator with a voice distorter. Deposit money in a bank under his name and tell him when the job was done the amount would be doubled.”
Lyil started to object, but just then someone stepped out from behind one of the bushes and startled her.
She jumped back and grabbed Ben’s arm in a tight grip. “Damn!” she yelled. “What are you doing here!?”
“I’m sorry,” said the man. “I saw you walking along, and I thought I would say ‘hello.’”
Lyil let go of Ben’s arm. “This is Hast,” she said in a disgruntled voice. “And this is Dr. Benjamin Hillar.”
Ben shook the man’s hand and let go. “So,” he said, “you’re Lyil’s sparing partner.”
“That’s right,” said Hast with a smile. It was obvious he was pleased that Lyil had been talking about him.
“And you just happened to be hiding behind that bush.”
The smile quickly left his face. “I wasn’t hiding,” he said. “I was lying down enjoying the night air and looking at the stars—how beautiful they are.”
Ben was thinking about pointing out that if he was lying down looking at the stars, then how could he see Lyil coming down the path,—but why push it? He didn’t need to make enemies with any of the G-staff.
“So how are things?” asked Hast looking at Lyil.
“No different than they were this morning when we worked out.”
“Right,” said Hast. He looked Ben up and down. “I understand you’re going on an expedition to find a living myth.”
“I don’t know where you got that idea, but it’s light years past the boundary of truth,” replied Ben. Hast was beginning to annoy him—and he had only known him for a few minutes. “We’re doing an archaeological dig. When we’re looking for artifacts, which are more than six hundred years old, we don’t expect to find anyone living from that time. In fact, throughout the recorded history of the Galactic Empire it has never happened.”
“Right,” said Hast. “What are you going to do if you find a dead man in your dig?”
“Shake his hand,” quipped Ben. What the hell do you think!?” Ben was starting to wonder how this man ever made it into G-staff.
It was obvious Hast was irritating Ben, so Lyil intervened. “It’s getting late,” she said, “and you have to get up early.”
“Right,” said Hast. “Well, you two have a good evening, and I’ll see you in the morning, Lyil.” He turned and walked down the artificial path.
“That was weird,” said Ben. “The way he popped up and asked those questions.”
“I believe he’s jealous. He keeps asking me to go on a date with him.”
“That’s not it,” said Ben. “For some reason he was feeling me out, and it had nothing to do with you. The whole time he was talking to me he never looked at you.” Ben was quick to add, “That doesn’t mean he’s not interested in you. I’m sure he is, but now I’m wondering if he’s in someway involved with these fake Tarmorians.”
Ben and Lyil started down the walkway toward her apartment.
“I’m sure he has nothing to do with anything. He doesn’t have a bad bone in his body.”
Ben wasn’t convinced, but he was sure it didn’t matter, so he dropped it.
Lyil’s apartment was on the third floor of a twenty-story building, which had been built for the upper echelon G-staff, the best of the best.
She touched the palm lock and the door slid open, then she reached out and grabbed Ben's hand, and for the third time in the last four days she asked him to come in.
Considering the time, Ben was surprised, but again, he didn't hesitate to say, "Yes." And since she asked him in for the third time, he was hoping that this time they would break the routine. He couldn’t help it, he was starting to like her more than he wanted, which he felt was most unfortunate considering the circumstances. He walked into the living room and, instead of sitting in the chair, he sat on the couch, which would give her plenty of room to sit next to him.
But she continued as usual.
She went to the bar and poured him a non-alcoholic drink without asking him what he wanted. She handed it to him and sat down in a chair across from the couch. "Why didn't you tell me you placed number three in the Galactic Games?"
He swirled his drink with a little plastic stick. "I started to, but . . . ."
“But I interrupted you."
"That sounds about right,” said Ben, “however, we could be nice and say you changed the subject."
"Yes," agreed Lyil, "That would be kind, but I've known for a long time, since I was a little girl, that I have a bad habit of interrupting when others are talking. My friends and family, especially my mother, would tell me I never let anybody finish a sentence. Of course, that was an exaggeration, and I'm not as bad now as I was then, but still I . . . "
"Well don't let it happen again," interrupted Ben.
Lyil laughed momentarily, then she took a sip of her drink. She set her glass on the coffee table and an awkward silence fell over them like a fog covering an unknown territory in the fields of expectatio
ns. Ben was wondering why a beautiful, classy, intelligent, upper echelon G-staff woman would be going out with him. Probably nothing more than being a good host while he was on Galactus or maybe the Galaef wanted her to keep an eye on Ben. No. That thought didn't please him. He knew how he was starting to feel about her.
Lyil said, "Since I've met you, you haven't talked much about your expedition."
"Since I've met you," replied Ben, "I started losing interest in it."
Lyil, in her ever-calm manner, permitted herself a small laugh. "What a nice thing to say," she said and paused. "Still I am interested. The myth of the Aeolian Master has been around for hundreds of years, and there have been times when I wondered why a myth from an insignificant planet on the edge of the galaxy could have endured for such a long time, or why it would become popular in the first place."
"That's a point which most people never consider,” said Ben. “If a myth can become this well known throughout the Galaxy and retold for hundreds of years by civilizations who have forgotten where the myth originated, or the name of a planet which they have never known, then there must have been something very significant at the core of its conception. I believe that what we will find on this expedition will have a bearing on the future of our technology."
Lyil slowly nodded her head. "So here you are, about to find out, about to travel to the edge of the galaxy to explore a famous myth to see if there is really something worth exploring."
"I’m sure we will find a computer complex beneath the surface of Ar, one which was built by the Ancient Earthians, and it's also possible there's a dead man in a suspended animation chamber.
"One of the documents which we retrieved from a dig discusses briefly the advent of suspended animation, and how they were experimenting with it. There isn't a lot of detail, but from what I could make out, they were studying it before the colonization of Ar. And later, there was mention of a computer complex on Ar with a suspended animation chamber."
"So," said Lyil. "if you find it, what a great discovery that will be. You'll be able to get a better look at what Earth was like, especially if the computer still holds information."
"That’s right," said Ben. He paused, "that is if . . . " Ben paused. He was thinking about the Galaef. He didn’t know him very well—only what he had read about him in the media, and then the meeting which only lasted a short time in his office. Was he the rock that he appeared to be, or could those around him sway his opinion?
"If what?" asked Lyil.
"If the Galaef doesn't change his mind and bring back the survey crew."
"Preposterous. What would motivate you to think such a thought?" Without waiting for an answer, she added. "He has already put a lot of money into this project. I assure you he's not going to back out now."
"How much influence does Thorne have over the Galaef?"
"Very little. Why?"
"Because Thorne was dead set against this project. He basically told the Galaef it was beneath his station to get involved. And I wonder about his reasons. Has Thorne always been against these kinds of projects?"
Lyil grimaced, "No,” she said. “And, in fact, he even headed up an archaeological project of his own on one of the old computer planets."
"So," said Ben, "you're telling me he does have a personal motive for the Galaef not becoming involved in my project."
Lyil thought it over and then said, "I don't know."
Ben shrugged. "I don't either, but it looks that way."
"I don't know why he would care." Lyil looked at her watch and then stood up. "It's really late," she said.
"Yeah, I guess it is." He knew she had to go to work in the morning.
He stood up and moved close enough to give her a good night kiss. Impulsively he pulled her close, until he could feel the warmth from her body as it was pressed close to his. He let go of her hands and slipped his arms around her. And with one hand sliding through the wavy red hair to the back of her head, he held her gently as he pushed his lips to hers and kissed her deeply. His other hand moved slowly down her back, until it was in the concavity above her hips, then he pulled gently until her hips were pressed firmly against his.
She opened her mouth and accepted his kiss. She put her arms around his back and stroked and kneaded his muscles, then she held him tight as if she never wanted to let go. Her breathing quickened and her chest heaved in and out.
She put her hand on his check, then, without warning, she stepped back breaking the engagement with a look of distress.
The sudden disengagement was like a dowse of ice-cold water.
Again Lyil looked at her watch. “Time really flies,” she said.
Ben knew what was coming. “Yeah, it does.” He knew she had to get up early. "Well, I better . . . "
She stepped closer and took his hand. She leaned forward. "No," she whispered. "Don't leave." She led him toward the bedroom. “I’ll probably have to skip my workout tomorrow morning,” she added. “And besides, I’m on vacation.”
This time he didn't mind that she had interrupted.
Chapter Twelve