Uncommon Journey

Coming Soon

The year is 2110. Mary Kathleen Kennedy, a young orphan in her late twenties wonders if she will find love in a city where men are known for their avarice and greed.

Through natural selection and other factors, the world is out of balance. There are more women than men and men are not reluctant to take advantage of it.

Although Kathleen has little optimism for a future in the romance department, she is happy in her work life. She has reached the pinnacle of her career as staffer in the New York office of one of the leading DC Congressmen.

She is pleased with her position and her top secret authorization but that very clearance of which she is so proud places her into a position to gain knowledge about a clandestine project.

She can’t believe that there are invaders from space already here on this planet and that her boss has been in touch with them.

When she finds out what these alien men really want she has to make a choice: Forgo a chance for love and marriage here on earth or take a leap of faith and make an uncommon journey to a far off planet in hopes of finding happiness.

UNCOMMON JOURNEY

Chapter 1
First Contact
Fall, 2010

The Congressman from the Ninth District representing Northern California, looked around him in approval. Yes everything had been done to his specifications.

Honorable Arnold J. Wong was pleased with what he saw and just to be certain that he really was pleased he took a second look around the circular United Nation’s conference room. It seemed that nothing had been left out. Then he looked a third time, to make sure that everything was as perfect as it could be. Could he do more?

Concluding that he had done all that was needed, he went and stood behind each place at the raised table nodding his head in satisfaction and biting his bottom lip, a habit that Mary Kathleen Kennedy would surely have recognized and correctly interpreted as contentment had she been there, but she was not present. She was away in her office, uninformed, carrying on their work while the congressman attended to this important but secret meeting.

Arnold eyed the thirty or so soldiers in their blue berets and traditional khaki uniforms positioned around the room. They were attached to the United Nations home office, acting as guards today. These small numbers of guards had quick access to thousands secreted away. Wong was confident that he and the other attendees would be well protected in case things didn’t work out as planned. It never paid to be lax or to be too trusting.

The congressman reflected that there were worse things than being a detail-oriented person. Everyone told him that he was thorough. Every time he heard what some would interpret as criticism he smiled, he was quite proud of it. When he was in charge, things seldom went wrong due to an all too common lack of foresight. It gratified him to see that all the little things were taken care of, and that the amenities requested on the work order he’d submitted to housekeeping and dietary had been filled and carried out to his written stipulations.

Included in each seating at the table was a writing tablet with pens and pencils for private note taking, a laptop computer with internet connection, bottled water with labels all turned in the same direction and a mobile phone. Most importantly at each seat was a translation device sure to be needed at one time or another before this first-of-its-kind meeting ended.

Outside it was a sunny day. Briefly the sounds from the busy street filtered in. The noise from the outside was only a slight distraction because it was quickly muffled when the doors were closed and locked. The increasing frequency of the sound of those doors being locked let Arnold know that time was drawing nigh.

This meeting was for those with the highest security clearance. Utmost confidentiality must be maintained. News of this summit must not get out until the contents of this gathering had been received and examined from every angle and finally decisions made, including how best, or even whether, to inform the public.

At just that moment Arnold Wong looked at his watch and coincidentally Congressman Wong’s secretary, Barry Brown hurried in. Good, Barry was being his usual timely self. Arnold pursed his lips and reared back on his heels and added another reason for his satisfaction with the situation. Barry was the one employee whom he trusted most, next to Kathleen of course.

Barry cast an anxious look at his boss, his brown youthful face mirroring both the excitement and the dread that he saw reflected in Arnold’s paler, more mature countenance. Then recognizing that there was nothing more to do he took his seat, not at the table but to the side. He unfolded the old fashioned courtroom-like steno machine and sat idly but impatiently tapping his foot while waiting for time for the start of the meeting to arrive. It seemed to be taking forever. He was nervous and wanted to get it over with.

A dispensation had been allowed to record this all important meeting and while all of the proceedings would be video recorded, Barry had been asked to take field notes the old fashioned way and to transcribe them himself.

The general picture of the meeting would be picked up by the cameras that were strategically placed, but the members who would be making the important decisions wanted every bit of information that they could glean from this encounter. They wanted to see every word that was said in print, the better to expose any nuances or double entendres that might be thrown their way.

Arnold could not help but remember an old movie in which an alien man, seemingly human, had landed on Earth. The man was quite friendly and caring. His mantra had been, “Please tell me how I and my brothers may serve you so that we can write it in our book.”

This fawning attitude had gone on for several weeks until an expedition of Earthlings, fed up with the gracelessness of Earth, decided to return with them to this wonderful planet where everyone was so kind. In great joy the Earthlings boarded the ship and the door was closed and locked. The ship geared up and began to lift off just as the one lone scientist who had been skeptical of the alien’s whole spiel ran to the departing ship and just as it rose into the air he shouted:

“Don’t go! This book they want to write in about how to serve you is a cookbook!”

Arnold smiled at this bit of whimsy. Of course, nothing like that would happen here today would it?
**

One by one, the members of the newly created ‘Council of Earth’ filtered in from the various chambers inside the building where they had been sequestered since their flights’ landings. Included in the small group of about a hundred souls were men and women from most of the democratic and quasi-democratic countries of the world.

For three long months this project had been Arnold’s principle concern. He couldn’t help but be pleased that he had been chosen to head up this mission by the Speaker of the House. He knew that some of the other congressmen thought he had outlived his usefulness. They thought that he was stuck in ’how things used to be’. To his mind, the way the world had changed and continued changing too fast to keep up, his kind of thinking was needed. Somebody had to remember how the good old days really were and use that knowledge as a fulcrum to pivot them into the future.

It had been his attention to detail that got him this job. He could remember his constituents’ names. He always remembered to address their smallest concerns. Now in a time for which there was no guide to follow and no precedence to fall back on, the world needed someone who could see to the small things first.

Even more important, Arnold knew that the outcome of this meeting would determine if there would be future encounters built on this foundation meeting. It was very important that all went well here today. He was proud that finally he could serve his country, no not just his country; he was serving the world in a meaningful way. One day this secret meeting would be memorialized in the annals of Earth’s history.

It was possible that the fate of the world rested on how well Earth could communicate amicably with these beings. These men who had watched them, stealthy bastards, for God-only-knew how long before letting them know that they were there. Although the a** h*les had promised they would attend in the flesh today, who knew if they would keep their word?

Earth was dealing with an unknown quality {and quantity}. Who knew the true extent of these men’s moral fiber? Perhaps they had learned a cunning that made the men of Earth seem like babes; but in spite of the possibility that existed for deception, Arnold didn’t think they were deceptive. Arnold thought they were men of their word, their leader seemed straight forward, but who really knew?

Wong had a lot resting on this meeting. Not only was he betting his political future on the aliens keeping their word, but he had put his career on the line to back the scientists who said that they thought that the time was right.

He thought he was ready.

He hoped the world was ready.

He had lobbied long and hard to convince the President of the United States as well as the General Secretary of the United Nations to dispense with calling in the troops as a first resort, and in truth it was surprising that they had not responded automatically by declaring war as men in their positions would have done fifty years ago. They had not called in the military. They seemed to realize that even mentioning the word war was sure to lead to a confrontation that would cost too many lives to count. Instead, uncharacteristically, Arnold was left relying on the leader of this group who had traveled to Earth from so far away to keep his word.

Needless to say, Arnold did not like to be in this position of vulnerability.

Over the past two years, using a variation of the old Morse code, a small group of scientists who were colleagues had finally established communication with the one who had declared himself leader of this particular expedition, one Ursus Northstar of Nur Galaxy, Planet Lira.

For well over a year and on numerous occasions after that initial contact they had worked to achieve a higher level of interacting than signs and symbols. In spite of the near impossibility of its occurrence, the leader of the scientists Evan Alexander and Northstar had finally achieved one on one communication that consisted of … words! And wonder of wonders, the man, the alien, had seemed reasonable.

Arnold thought back to the time before he became involved in the SETTI project. Life had been simple. Things had been much more black and white. Most people of Earth had been of one thought or the other. Either aliens existed or they didn’t. He, a pragmatic politician since his middle thirties, would have sworn that there was no life on any planet in this galaxy except the familiar life that humans enjoyed on Earth.

He had been right so far in his presumptions, except that this life form that had newly presented itself to them was not of this galaxy. Northstar said that they lived light years away and long ago had found the way to bridge the time and space barrier and now they were here knocking on Earth‘s backdoor.

At first SETTI was just one of the many projects that Arnold kept loosely under surveillance, along with a few genetic engineering groups that dabbled in creating new DNA markers for animal food. Another task of the genetic group was the discussion of the prospect of cloning on a wider scale that might one day include humans.

The longer he had oversight of these ‘avant garde’ projects, the more his knowledge increased. Arnold formed liaisons with scientific geniuses who nurtured him along until he had what almost amounted to a doctorate in the science of space travel. Once his understanding increased, his mind began to change about the existence of aliens and space travel. His thinking was that if he could understand it {and Arnold thought himself quite intelligent}, it was possible that a mind just a little bit keener than that known to Earth, could achieve it.

Once he had created a new knowledge base for himself, his scientific mind told him that it was illogical to believe that humanity on Earth, out of all of the other numerous planets in untold galaxies, were the only beings in existence. His belief system expanded to allow thoughts of ‘maybe‘, then expanded still more until it reached the point of thinking, ‘most likely‘.

Two years ago when the project received a reply to the ten year signal that had been blasted out into the universe and beyond, Arnold had had to expand his belief system all the way to a resounding ‘Yes’! Life on planets other than Earth is in existence! What the return of their signal did not tell them was what form of life it was and most importantly, was it dangerous to Earth’s wellbeing.
**

Coming out of his thoughts of the past Arnold rose to his feet to greet the renowned scientist Evan Alexander the true head of the project. While Arnold had the political clout to insure things happened, Evan had the scientific knowhow. He had been the man who had patiently led Arnold around to his way to thinking.

Now, Arnold breathed a sigh of relief. His duties for the day were mainly done. It would be up to this man, Evan, to communicate with the aliens and also the assist Congressman Arnold to persuade the group to consider and perhaps agree to proposals put forth by these human-looking invaders.

No one spoke of what would happen if the delegation assembled from all over the free world would not agree to cooperate with the alien invaders. It was as if Arnold and Evan thought it best not to mention non-cooperation as an outcome. Sometimes to voice a thing has a way of invading the consciousness and almost making itself happen. A self-fulfilling prophecy perhaps?

No, the delegation would find a way to deal with these alien invaders.

Except in the strictest sense, they were not invaders. Earth had invited them.

Without hesitating Evan walked up to the curved head table that had room for only eight, four for the Earthlings and four for the Nurlanders as Wong had decided to call them. Then Evan and two of his brightest cohorts took their seats at one end of the table, with the congressman to his right. They were then all in place and prepared to wait until the aliens made their appearance.

While he waited, Evan allowed his mind to drift back to the beginning almost two years ago.

CHAPTER 2
(THE FIRST ENCOUNTER)

The scientific experiment that was SETTI consisted of three scientific facilities near Palo Alto California. The most important to Evan was a twenty year old large satellite dish that rotated at a constant rate of 360 degrees per hour. It also kept sending unvarying streams of signals that were beamed into outer space.

It was a huge disk, located on the California coast near the Pacific Ocean. Since the disk had never received any answer to the signals that had gone out faithfully over the years, the dish’s most important accolade to date was that it was viewed as a welcome home beacon by Earth’s space pioneers as they returned to Earth, gliding towards their Florida home. Many were the brochures from the area that contained information about the SETTI dish, but cleverly worded praise covered up the fact that the disc had never realized its true purpose.

Connected to the dish and located in a small ante room was the receiver, set to accept any returned signal, any response from space no matter how small. Needlessly to say, no reply had ever been heard.

The big dish’s constant beep had become so ingrained in the few men and women who worked there that they no longer heard it‘s signal, but on this day, two years ago, to a one they recognized rather than heard an interruption, a slight change of cadence.

Like the heartbeat that over a lifetime becomes so dependable that one can’t believe it when it fails, one man said that it was so subtle that at first he thought his own ticker had stumbled and then resumed its regularity.

Another said that it seemed to come from deep within the Earth; surely it was the deep rumble that preceded a major Earthquake.

Evan felt it in his bones. His arthritic knee felt jarred. A deep pain, an ache began that made him reach for his pain medication but that was soon forgotten as one by one they recognized that they had never heard a sound quite like this before. Could it be that this was not a sound of Earth?

At first he and his team of scientists hadn’t wanted to believe it. Instead they checked the equipment meticulously and found it to be in perfect working order. And it continued to emit a steady signal.

The only difference was the giant satellite that had signaled its patterns so faithfully for so many years was no longer under Earth’s control. It began anew with a different pattern, a complex pattern that they could no longer call their own.

Perhaps it was intrusion from one of the ships near the harbor? Was there a submarine in the area?

They then checked for all avenues for possible interference; fingers flailed at ‘controls’ that were no longer under their power and then hands fell to their sides in dismay. Finding no interference they listened carefully and tried again to decipher a pattern to the signal. Once those steps were taken they had no other recourse. They had finally allowed themselves feel the strange combination of the emotions of hope heavily laced with fear.

Earth’s message had been sent in the standard five-note musical signal that had been around for forty years or so, since the introduction of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was a catchy tune starting on G, proceeding up to A, then down to F, F again but an octave lower and ending at middle C.

It was to this standard signal that the aliens responded.

The answer had, at first, been unrecognizable. Instead of answering in the art form of music, the aliens chose to answer it algebraically. Evan supposed that the unknown respondent was testing the intelligence of the life form to which they had chosen to reply.

It had taken but a few hours for Evan to figure out what they had done, so he answered in kind. Instead of sending it musically, he sent the signal back algebraically using Morse code that was similar to the way the aliens had chosen to send it.

In reply they sent the mathematical formulae back, still the same consistent message but this time converted it to geometry. The geometric shapes were beamed back to Earth through the labs secure server. This time the sender had also identified himself by name, Ursus Northstar.

At the first electronic meeting Ursus Northstar beamed his words and a visual to them by satellite. They weren’t sure how it was done; they only knew that his vehicle was there before them with a picture as clear as any high definition TV could provide.

Initially his words were unintelligible to the small team of scientists who were composed of almost every nationality, race and language known to Earth. They could not understand him nor he them. To the people of Earth, his language sounded like perhaps a form of Russian but with Arabic clicks and a little of the sing-song found in the French language. It was most strange. Yet, there didn’t seem to be a baseline on Earth upon which they could start the very difficult task of making the translation. They needed the equivalent of a Rosetta stone.

Gradually, as if Northstar was fine tuning an old AM radio, the signals came closer together; they could understand more of what he was saying. He seemed to be repeating the same mantra Earth used to use when testing a microphone - 'testing 1-2-3-'. Finally it seemed they reached the coordinates on the graph where X and Y met.

They could understand him and he them.

For the first few days, Earth was only given sight of the outside of their ship, located who knew where, presumably somewhere in Earth’s atmosphere. But by the end of the week, Earth’s scientists were allowed a visual into the interior of that sleek and foreign looking vessel.

Evan’s theory was that the alien was giving them time to get used to the sight of the ship before taking them to the next step. A kind of intermittent reinforcement designed to decrease their skiddishness.

On that day, using the two way signaled communication that had previously been established, along with their new ability to understand each other’s language, Ursus, as he had previously identified himself, beamed his first visual communiqué to them. He allowed them to see his face.

To their amazement when the screen cleared he sat gazing serenely back at them, looking quite normal, sitting on a seat in the unfamiliar vehicle. His features were rather stern, they thought; he was not smiling but neither did he look threatening.

Evan did not relax exactly, but he did feel a sense of relief. At least they were not communicating with something they could not recognize as a life form.

Then the alien spoke, sounding quite normal and when they answered him he listened in a way reminiscent of a fireside chat.

They were just beginning to think that this supposed communication was a hoax, someone had merely hacked into their computer system because this man was too normal, not frightening at all. Surely if he was an alien he would look like a frog? A thick skinned monster? A huge reptile?

Before the hoax idea could take hold they noticed that after he listened he did something that humans don’t do, he made adjustments with his head by looking away; he seemed to become introspective and then he answered. It was a small thing but because it was unusual, they noticed.

“Why’s he doing that?” Evan’s tech assistant spoke in a whisper.”

“Shhh” I’ll tell you later.” Evan answered, knowing full well that the communication was so clear that the slightest sound could be heard.

Evan thought that while each could understand the words of the other, there was an additional challenge called syntax and grammar. Evan was familiar with it here on Earth. The way that English is straightforward (in his mind) and some of the other languages place the adjectives before the noun. He thought that this alien was having the same challenges on a different scale and was taking the words, placing them in whatever order he used and then relaying them back in a way that the Earthlings could understand what he was trying to convey.

Each time the alien could understand a bit more of what they said and Evan could understand him. Eventually, when they were adequately attuned for a modicum of communication, he began to give a formal speech.

“Greetings O Beings of the Blue Planet Earth of the Milky Way galaxy. Greetings from the Galaxy of Nur, Planet Lira! We have heard your call and are here to investigate your message both out of curiosity and out of need. As you can confirm by looking at your screens, we are very similar to you in phenotype.”

Needlessly Evan had whispered to no one in particular, “He’s saying that our physical appearances are very similar.”

The other scientists, most of whom had their PhDs and other advanced degrees and knew what phenotype and genotype meant looked at Evan as if Evan had lost his mind and in a way they all had. They could not believe that they were actually conversing with an alien from another planet. Could it be true? Perhaps it was a hoax after all. Perhaps some jokester had hacked into their computer system and was taking them all for a ride.

The voice continued.

“While we are phenotypically similar, it remains to be seen if our mental, emotional and cultural make ups are enough alike for our purposes.

“We know that we are similar to you in some ways. We are warlike, as are you of Earth, but just as you can be peaceful … should you choose ... we also can be amicable if we prefer. The most important message that I wish to convey to you today is that we come in peace. We mean you no harm.”

The alien was silent after that and sat, patiently while the men of Earth looked at the screen, seemingly dumbfounded and yet examining him like he was a strange animal. After they had looked their fill at him, they then looked at each other.

Being men for the most part, when they examined the alien they looked for things that were important to men. Was he a fighter? How much harm could he do to them physically? First they noticed that underneath that jumpsuit-like uniform that was constructed of thin, formfitting material, there was a muscular, well-developed man. He sat behind a transparent partition so they were free to observe him from his head to his feet.

There were no weapons attached at his narrow waist. His thighs and legs were muscular too but not bulging. As a man who had presented himself as one who could war should he choose, he presented a non-threatening, patient, and when speaking even kindly façade.

The few women in the group of scientists looked at him a bit differently. They saw before them a very handsome man. He was youthful, middle thirties or so - certainly no longer a boy. Strange, like no other man whom they had seen on Earth, but easily recognizable as handsome none the less.

Regarding race, they could not identify him as belonging to any one specific group. At best they would have said that he was of mixed race, according to Earth’s standards. His skin was well tanned, his hair was dark brown but with gold highlights. Not straight yet not exactly curly. At best it could be seen to wave deeply, flowing back from his intelligent forehead and queued so that they could not determine its length. His eyes were slightly slanted giving him a youthful look that belied his voice and the gravity with which he spoke.

Having given them time to examine him, He began speaking again.

“As you see, we are similar. On Lira we are not stratified into racial groups as on Earth. We have the same genetic potential, but instead of being found in four distinct groups, Yellow, Black, White and Red/Brown, with each of us, at least three of your four groups are combined. So, our men have some of the characteristics of you, the leader of this conversation“, and he looked at Evan who was white. Then he looked pointedly at an Asian scientist, “and you”. The others felt chagrin as they realized that they had failed to introduce themselves. “And you”, his eyes turned and went specifically to the African-American scientist who stood to Evan’s left as well. "The human potential is unlimited in the ways that it can express itself.”

Belatedly, it seemed, Evan took the time to have each scientist introduce himself and mention his country of origin. The Alien looked intently at each man and gave a brief nod of acknowledgment.

Evan noted that when he introduced the female scientists the alien gave them particular scrutiny, seeming to be a bit interested in spite of the fact that the youngest woman there was over fifty.

Afterwards there ensued a brief conversation with each person.

Ursus demonstrated an amazing memory, in that not only did he remember each person’s name, and there were about twenty in the small group, but he remembered their country of origin. Finally he, clearly in charge of the meeting although he had given Evan titular recognition as their leader, declared that he would sign off for the day but would hope that the gentlemen and gentlewomen would consider further conversations leading a face to face meeting in the future.

The women smiled at his inclusion of the female sex.

Evan, seeing that the conversation was soon to end, spoke quickly, wanting at least an idea about which way their conversations might go in the future.

“Mr. Ursus, we are wondering just why you chose to answer our signal and further to make yourself known to us. Were you traveling in the vicinity and happened to run across the signal? Just how did you receive it?”

“It is General Ursus. We heard your signal when you first sent it out more than twenty of your Earth years ago. We were aware of it at its first sound. At that time we were occupied in our own planetary turbulence.

"On Earth you fight each other. We have learned the wisdom of peace among ourselves so we no longer fight. But not every planet in our galaxy, the galaxy of Nur has learned the value of peace.

"We of Lira are the peacekeepers for our galaxy. Through negotiations, all the way up to physical enforcement if necessary, we insure that our galaxy maintains its peace.

“Once we were free from these duties, we engaged in studying your planet. After we had learned all that there is to know about you that could be determined from statistics and from a distance, we made the decision to allow you to contact us. We have determined your needs. We come in peace but we do not come empty handed. We know that in order to barter with you, we must offer something that you desire. Once we determined what you want most, we made contact.”

The scientists looked at each other wondering if there were ominous implications in that last statement. Evan continued his delicate and careful probing.

“General Northstar, what have you determined that we need?” Evan asked hoping that his hint of sarcasm and skepticism didn’t show in his voice. How dare this alien think that he knew Earth’s needs?

“General Ursus. Please call me either General Ursus or Ursus if you like. Northstar is the name of the governing family to which I am a part. Ursus is my given name. Now I will answer your question. Because most individuals on your planet are not yet ready to introduce changes into their lives, at least not the changes to the extent necessary, we would barter our oil with you.”

“You have oil? Oil that you don’t use yourselves?”

“We will trade. Yes.” And for the first time they heard a hint of a smile in his voice. “We have learned to harness the sun for our energy and no, your planet is not yet sufficiently advanced to embark on that endeavor, a few of you are awakening to the absolute necessity but overall the majority is not ready to go to the extent that is required. However when you are ready, know that we will be willing to give you enough …” and he searched for the right word, “... hints at how to start. But only when you are sufficiently advanced.”

One of the other scientists spoke up.

“And your planet will determine when we are sufficiently advanced?”

There was more than a hint of resentment in his voice. When one is used to being the only player in a game that he doesn’t even know exists, it’s pretty difficult to accept that fact.

“Actually no, we will not determine that,” the general replied. “Your planet will determine that. However one of the hallmarks of that realization will come when you are able to achieve and maintain peace among yourselves. Only then will the powers that rule us all allow the knowledge of your readiness to enter your collective consciousness.”

Most in the room were sufficiently advanced to believe his statement could possibly be true. They also knew that the average world citizen would think they were crazy if they spoke of a collective consciousness and self determination. The average citizens of Earth were not yet capable of receiving aliens onto this planet. Their natural reaction would be to try to annihilate the unfamiliar. Hard on that thought came another.

“General Ursus, are you cloaked?

“Cloaked?”

“Are you as you appear? Or have you cloaked yourself to make your appearance more palatable to us?”

This question brought his first true laugh; brief but laughter nonetheless.

“We are as we appear. I am as I appear. We know that you Earthlings are intrigued with the idea of deception and schemes. That is due to your long history of war among yourselves. We are sorry to disappoint. Would you prefer that I appeared as say a lizard?

"I will tell you a secret. All of the creatures throughout an almost limitless number of galaxies are human. All en-souled beings are human and all humans have the same basic structure. Among you and the Lira there are differences of course. Shall I give you an example?”

“Yes. Please do.” Evan was quick to answer.

“We are larger beings than you. That is due not to some inherent superiority, but simply Lira's and Earth’s gravitational fields are not perfectly aligned. Your average man falls between five and a half and six and a half of your feet. Your women are somewhat shorter.

"Since we are speaking in English, I do not use the metric system. To accurately estimate our height, add about six of your Earth inches to each man. Our height runs from six and a half to seven feet.”

"And just as you have outliers, men whose height does not reach your average and men who exceed your average such as your men who put the balls in the baskets, we too have men who are taller than seven feet , but only a few. None of our men are shorter than six and a half feet.”

“And why is that? If Earth has men who are shorter than our norm, why not Lira?”

“Why? Because we kill them.” Ursus answered with an unsmiling face and a nod; proving that he had a sense of humor and was able to deliver it with a straight face. Seeing that the Earthlings who watched him so closely could not determine that he was joking, he quickly retracted that statement. “We do not know why. It is just a peculiarity of our planet.”

The men in the room had looked at each other in confusion. Had this man just made a joke, or was he serious and sought to cover it up. Perhaps they should have called in the Army. But they needed to know more before they made that decision.

Ursus continued. “Another characteristic that all humans share is a sense of humor; although I admit some planets have refined it more than others.”

“Ah, well then. That is good to know. General Ursus, you have said that you would barter for us with oil, what does Earth have that you need?

“You have women.”

Chapter 3
The Conversation continues

The room erupted in chaos and when their attention returned to the screen, it was dark. The general had signed off. The men were appalled. There were murmurs all around; the most loudly spoken comment was “Who in their right mind would trade humans for an inanimate thing such as oil?”

“Well ..." Upon hearing that statement Evan had reminded the group, “Throughout the world’s history men have engaged in a variety of forms of slavery.”

When he spoke they listened. “Starting with ancient Greece, we have enslaved almost every one of our racial or religious groups. Examine our history with the Jewish people, remember the African slave trade and, gentlemen," he continued, knowing that the females in the room were not sensitive to these words, “slavery exists in a modern day form in the sex trade. So now slavery has expanded to include not only enslavement for physical labor but for sex work and most horrible of all, that trade involves young children.

“It’s happening all over the world and the exchange is usually money and nothing is more inanimate than cold hard cash.”

“Well, what that fellow suggested sounded like another form of sex work to me. As women we won’t be a part of anything like that,” one of the female scientists whose forte was genetic counseling responded. “Don’t even consider it gentlemen, or else I will have one of the human rights organizations come down on you so fast you’ll wonder what happened.”

In truth, finding out the nature of the aliens’ agenda has shaken them all. To a man they would all have loved to be seen as Earth’s saviors. With gasoline rising almost daily and people making all kind of changes in their life styles to accommodate the raised prices, oil, cheap oil, and free oil would have been hailed as wonderful! But at what price?

Further research into the matter was needed. Perhaps in another hundred or so years they would have figured out a way to move forward with these aliens and in a way that was useful to both planets that did not involve bartering Earth’s women.

After that initial daunting contact they had immediately stopped the SETTI signal by discretely disconnecting the satellite dish. The communication station went dark for the first time in decades. They hoped they’d never hear from these particular humanoid aliens again and they certainly didn’t want to attract other aliens who might have even stranger, even more threatening ideas.

Exactly one day later they found that even though the signal was no longer sent out, Ursus Northstar made a simulcast appearance on their laptops. No matter what work they were doing, he preempted their screens and there he sat, smooth and confident as he waited for them to adjust to his intrusion and accept his conversation.

It seemed that he would not be easily swayed from his mission. When he started to talk, he got directly to the point.

“Gentlemen we meet again!” This was spoken guilelessly as if he had not appropriated their computers. “Regarding your women. We are prepared to offer ten thousand barrels of oil per female. This is no ordinary Earth oil. We will send you a sample so that you can assess its viscosity. Ten thousand of these barrels are worth ten times the value of Earth oil. With it you will be able to continue your lifestyles of living in the suburbs while you work in the cities. You will be able to travel in your aero planes to any city that you choose and at affordable prices. You will be able to purchase your plant life, your fruits and vegetables without paying exorbitant prices for them. You will avoid a thousand pitfalls that you have not yet recognized yet, but are on the horizon.”

Evan had spoken up courageously to this invader.

“But what you do not realize General, we will not engage in the trading of goods for slaves, no matter how attractive you make it or how high the quality and the value of your oil.”

“Who said anything about slavery?” Ursus asked with a show of some consternation, aware that after only a few conversations with the American called Evan, Ursus was sounding amazingly like an American himself.

Evan continued the debate. “Why else would you want them? Certainly you're not prepared to make them equal in rank to your own women?”

“Do not make the mistake Earthling of thinking that we are like you in that everything, every variation, each minute dissimilarity, has to be ranked and weighed as above or beneath. We want them for the same reasons that any group of men want women. Most will become our wives and give us children, some, should they choose not to marry will become a part of our workforce. Is that not how it is done on Earth?”

“Yes, but how do we know that you are telling us the truth? We are afraid that you might tell us in part and omit another part that will cause us to say no.”

“Do you mean that we will act in the duplicitous manner of the men of Earth? That we, like you, will promise to love and cherish our brides and instead do as many of you do when you become enamored with another? That we will walk off and leave our woman and our children hungry? Is that what you fear?

“Or are you concerned that we will pay them for sex and then try to make them scum by arresting only the female in these liaisons and not the males as you men of the Earth do? By addicting them to drugs to better control them?” He looked at them and did not flinch as he told them in no uncertain terms that Earth men were no angels either. He continued.

“Your salaries for yourselves are greater than what you are willing to pay to women for the same or equivalent work. You refuse to allow them adequate time to recuperate after they give birth to your babies; unwisely demanding a hasty return to work.”

Ursus was wrathful and appeared unforgiving. The face of the angel had turned into a vengeful seraph. “You have allowed your race to degrade your women since the beginning of your life on this planet.”

Lorna Ball, Nancy Holms and Trisha Brown the three female scientists looked at each other and as one they stood. Trisha shouted to the alien, “Tell these idiots how it is brother.”

Ursus continued after giving the women a slight smile. He then went on in a more ameliorative tone.

“One reason that you do not value women as you should is that currently you have more women on your planet than you have men. Women start out at a disadvantage because there are more of them born into your world. In case you do not have the current statistics at hand, the rate is about 51% women to 49% men at birth on Earth.

“After that daunting statistic, it goes downhill for women. Fewer boy children survive to reach maturity. Then typically more men are killed in your wars, more are incarcerated, and your male gay population is rising.

“Do you doubt that the picture for these women in your populace is dismal when they consider obtaining a husband of their own? Would you deny them an opportunity?

“Another warning I will give to you is based upon what happened on Lira. This I speak from our own personal experience. If you cannot allow your women to fulfill the destiny that the powers who rule us all have ordained for them, they will take matters into their own hands. This we have learned from our own women. Now they are lost to us and we, the men of the planet, have become beggars seeking women who are harmonious to us wherever they can be found throughout the Universe.”

Evan Alexander spoke into his computer’s speaker. The alien’s communication skills were so good and his arguments so powerful that for a moment Evan had forgotten that he was not face to face.

“General Ursus Northstar. I will concede that your logic makes good sense. There is one factor however that you have not considered. And that is, on this planet today, there are millions of men in China, who because of the one child only policy, and the preference for sons, have grown up in all male classrooms and generally will have no way to obtain wives unless they seek women of other races to marry. Surely this shortage of women will help create conditions so that most of the women on the planet will be able to find husbands should they so choose.”


Northstar had looked at him for a long moment before answering. “Do you honestly believe that your materialistic governments will allow women from all of their various countries to move into China? With what will China bargain? Money? They are becoming giants in the financial world and have sent their goods all over the world. Before this they had been recipients of foreign aid for decades until recently you have found that America is in debt to China.

"And so let us suppose that China seeks to have America pay off its debt in women - does that bargain sound familiar to you gentlemen? The Americans will not pay the debt. They will refuse. Then where will China go? To what other means will it resort to secure what it needs? Would it possibly use the threat of nuclear arms?

“Believe me O men of Earth, the countries who do have nuclear weapons would blast China off the face of this planet before they are held hostage to such threats.” He paused to give them time to disagree. No one spoke.

“And, finally let’s look at the women themselves; China, in spite of its rich cultural heritage in many areas, is an undeveloped country. In spite of its progress, farming is a primary occupation. Women from all over your world and ours too tend to have advanced past desiring to meet the needs of an agrarian society.

"Also women are known to be much more particular than we men. They want modern conveniences in their homes. They want social connections. They also think differently from men and will not allow themselves to be controlled.

“May I venture to say that the majority of men who are rural - I mean the farmer types - do not understand the workings of the modern female mind? Can you honestly see any female, especially those from the developed countries, being willing to link her future to a man who expects her to toil from sun up to sun down, one that she sees as being….” and the audience listening raptly at each computer in the place, to a man felt that he was working overtime to couch his words in the language of diplomacy, "… more filled with machismo or intellectually inclined than physically proficient?”

Randy Silver one of the Latin men, originally from Spain wheeled his chair back a bit and said to Arnold, “What he’s saying in a nice way is that the farmer types don’t know anything about getting it on in bed.”

Evan waved him away saying don’t be foolish, but he also noticed that General Ursus Northstar didn’t make any corrections or clarifications to Randy‘s statement.

“This perception is untrue of course but I don’t think you can deny that among western women the sentiment is there.

“General, you mentioned that your women took things into their own hands. What did they do?”

“You men can almost intuit what they did. It is, after all, what will happen on your planet unless you make changes. Our women became lovers of themselves, or as you would say it, they became Lesbians. We too were going our merry way having as many as four women each and the women formed a guild and left us. Many began to rely on each other for sexual satisfaction. They also found out that they liked not being burdened with having children, but for the few that still wanted to produce, they learned to clone themselves. Over time, the women who chose to be with women began to have a certain distinctive look; we, the men learned to avoid those women because they would gang up on a lone man or two and fight him.

“It was very disruptive for our country. Meanwhile the women who did not choose to cling to their own sex became such sought after commodities among the men until they, those women, became impossible to get along with. They began to pit us one against the other. They became very exacting about who they chose to be with and who they would not.

"Why didn’t you -”

Northstar cut him off knowing what was being asked.

“We could have forced them into prostitution and believe me we discussed it at council meetings such as the one that I am hopeful of attending with you. In the end we decided that sharing a woman with twenty or thirty other men was not really something that we were fond of doing, we decided a better option would be to barter for women of our own.”

“You have stated that you want to meet with our government about this matter. When do you want this meeting to occur?”

“We wish it as soon as possible. We want it as soon as you can cajole some of your world decision makers to attend; as soon as you can figure out a way to get the women to buy into it.”

“How long will it take you to reach our country? How many light years away are you?“

Northstar had laughed darkly. “We are already here of course. We have not chosen to show ourselves because we know that you are a fearful race and inclined to attack first and ask later. We are hidden from your view. Should you desire, we could appear in your conference room in approximately,“ and he looked at a few numbers that of a sudden flashed before his face. “Ten minutes of your time.”

That statement caused a restless stir among the occupants of the room. “How many of you are there?”

“Our numbers are of no concern to you or your group. I will be willing to meet you with as few as twenty warriors, to match your group of hundreds. Would one week be sufficient for you to assemble the requested group?”

**

And so it came to pass that Arnold Wong and Evan Alexander now stood looking around the conference room waiting for the appointed time of two o’clock in the afternoon for the meeting to occur. Arnold had invited one or two dignitaries from all over the world. All were people who could influence the decision makers.

When he had communicated first by letter they had discounted his plea for their attention, saying that they were too busy and otherwise engaged. He had gotten their full attention when he had sent to them a DVD provided by Northstar himself, speaking to them but also showing candid shots of their space ship that was indescribable in any language of Earth.

He demonstrated walls that shimmered and then disappeared. Walls that became plastic when formerly they had been steel. Food preparation that was done by thought alone. (At least he said that it was done by thought, and Evan the scientist believed him) at any rate, the scene was set.

The dignitaries, mainly ambassadors of the first world countries were arriving. The conference room faced New York City’s East river and even though the scenery was beautiful, the trees, and the sun shining off the river, it was all hidden from view by the dark shades that had been drawn for privacy and for stealth.

CHAPTER 4
MARY, MARY, MARY

Mary Margaret, Mary Rose and Mary Kathleen Kennedy were just about as far from being Irish as one could get. They had never spoken the language so they had not even a hint of a brogue. Neither had they had the pleasure of visiting that part of the world. They had grown up in the Irish-Catholic part of New York City in an orphanage known for its strict discipline and dedication to educating its charges.

No one knew the true ethnic origins of these three orphans. Some thought they looked more Italian than Irish. Others thought they might be mixed with other races even. Kathleen’s bright red hair left her pretty head in corkscrews. Two to three inches later it shimmied to her waist where it lay in waves deep enough so that when braided, it never got the notion to unbend itself but would lay quietly and maintain its tight plait until someone came to take it down. Who ever heard of a true Irish lass having hair like that?

Kathleen became so self-conscious about her hair’s unusual properties until she would braid it and add an unneeded rubber band as if to hold it in place. She always left the few inches of its length below the band unbraided in imitation of her peers knowing that there was no need. She could braid her hair to the last strand and it would hold until doomsday.

Rose must have been the elder of the three but by less than five minutes they guessed. Never having known how they, the only triplets who were foundlings, came to land on the steps of the orphanage was not a trial for little Rose; it was an opportunity. As soon as she was able, at about the age of four, she was herding her two sisters around, helping them get ready for kindergarten, helping Kathleen fix her hair, seeing that they all ate their breakfasts.

Margaret was the one of the three who didn’t standout in any way. She could have been named Mary-Shadow. She did not come unto her own until late.

During their growing up years the three girls had spent their time going to school during the week, attending class including Catechism and then there was Mass in Latin on Fridays. Weekends they studied and got ready for Monday. Their lives were peaceful and old fashioned. The nuns still dressed in traditional habits even though the direction to do so had been lifted for thirty years or more.

The nuns were not averse to putting the ruler to a hand for the slightest infraction of their numerous rules either. It didn’t matter to them that the state had instituted a ‘no corporal punishment’ law before the girls were born. This little fiefdom was composed of the school, the orphanage and the church. It also included the outbuildings where the nuns lived and the parsonage where the priest lived. This small area was their life. Nothing from the outside world dared intrude.

Years earlier the nuns had conducted a cursory investigation in an attempt to find the girls’ parents but to no avail. They grew older in the orphanage never finding even one blood kin. They were completely on their own.

Then one day there was a rude awakening. The moment when they could no longer depend upon even having a home at the orphanage finally came. Sister Inviolata gathered their few belongings together, handed them each a few hundred dollars and showed them to the front gates. She gave them a few terse instructions about chastity, and prudence before she gently closed the gates behind them. The sound of the lock’s click after the gate closed was the worst sound that they had heard in their lives. They had just turned eighteen the day before and were now officially grownup; as adults they were no longer allowed to stay in the only home that they had ever known.

The girls had recognized that this day would come, but had not suspected that it would feel like a first cousin to abandonment. They had tried to make plans but there was only so much they could do from inside a place that they realized was more like a prison than a home.

The three girls had walked the streets for only a few hours fascinated with the sights and sounds of New York. It had taken all of Rose’s considerable badgering skills to convince the other two that they should first of all find a place to stay. The only thing that saved those three was the fact that there is some safety in numbers and they got themselves off the street before too much time has passed and well before nightfall.

Because there were three of them, and they were sisters who loved each other, they knew they could live together. They found an inexpensive (for New York) brownstone flat that was already furnished and included a small kitchen.

“Look Rose," Katherine called to her sister, as she was hanging up one of her few pieces of clothing. "There’s a packet here in my luggage from the orphanage. It’s a letter saying that on Friday one of us should show up at the Art gallery on 92nd street, the other at the Zoo and the third should go to United Nations building. They’ve found us potential jobs! They even included a city map!” She read through the note hurriedly. "We are to decide who will do what and to go in this Friday for our workups and then we start work on Monday.”

Margaret cried. She had been so worried but had tried to keep it to herself. New York was huge! Not so much in size but there were people, millions of people and all of them strangers who wouldn’t make eye contact and were in a hurry criss-crossing this way and that.

“Ok“, Rose took over, rubbing her hands together. “Let’s decide how we’re going to do this. We’ve got the J.P. Morgan museum, the UN, and an art gallery. The letter said that they’re supposed to start all three of us off as docents.

“What’s a docent?”

“I think it is just a guide who talks. One who tells the tourists all about the place that they are visiting.” Margaret had surprised them by knowing.

“You didn’t sleep through all of your lessons did you Maggie?”

“Then it doesn’t really matter does it” practical Katie spoke. “What we need to do is to hit the ground running. Whichever one we take, we should be on the lookout for opportunities to get ahead. We have been given a chance and we want to make the most of it.”

They placed the three locations back in the envelope and pulled. Kathleen of the strange hair got the UN building.

The rest of the week they went out together trying out the bus routes that would get them to their various jobs as cheaply and expediently as possible. One thing that New York possessed was an efficient transport system. In the end it was decided that Kathleen would travel by bus and the other two by two different subway routes.

Next came deciding what to wear for the all important first impression. Did they dare spend a portion of their precious hoard of orphanage money on new outfits?

“I know what we can do” Kathy suggested. “No one said that we had to be there at the same time on Friday. What say we call ahead and see what times these places open and close? Then if we can get away with it, we buy one outfit?”

That is exactly what they did. Maggie’s museum opened at eight am, she went first and timed it so that she was on the doorstep at exactly eight, had her paperwork finished by ten and was back home by ten thirty. A quick change and Kathleen was at the UN building by one and back home by three, leaving Rose to go to the art gallery, which didn’t close until eight but business hours shut down at five-thirty, she made it just in time.

They each had jobs. They were on their way.



Now the choosing of their one really nice outfit didn’t go as smoothly as it could have. They were all big girls. They were tall and not especially thin. Being triplets they were similar but not exactly the same. Kathleen had the largest breasts and she was quite proud of them. She had wanted an outfit that showed her best feature to advantage.

“Kathy, no one will care if you have nice boobs or not.” ‘Mother’ Rose cautioned. In fact, you don’t want them to notice you for that, they’ll think you’re dumb; a dumb redhead with unruly hair.”

“You’re just jealous because yours are smaller.” Kathleen taunted.

Remember these girls were only eighteen at the time.

“Not so. My legs are my best feature so we should make sure that the dress is short.” Maggie chimed in. Kathleen gave her a look heavenward and then spoke. “Rose you have a tiny waist, you should play it up.”

The truth was that individually they all possessed the features that they played up in each other. While they were not identical peas in a pod, one could certainly tell that they all came from the same peapod; except for their hair colors they were very much alike.

They had chosen a completely unacceptable dress. One better suited for a nightclub. It was made of black jersey with a sequined jacket and a pair of strappy come-take-me-to-bed shoes. They hadn’t known it at the time but the interviewers for their various jobs had been appalled.

The interviewers to a one called back to the orphanage to see if these were really the promised catholic orphanage girls or impostors. The redoubtable sister InviOlata had done some fast talking and saved their jobs for them.

Regarding all three positions InviOlata gave them the same explanation. She assured them that they were good girls who had been raised well. That the dresses were a sign of their innocence of the world; and that in time they would learn because they were all three as quick as whips.

Sister InviOlata had smiled at the end of the day. It was clear to her that she was defending the same dress. She silently commended them for trying to save themselves some money.
**

The next decade passed quickly for the Kennedy triplets. As sister InviOlata had said, they were quick as whips and they did not spend their time toiling away in dead end jobs waiting to be rescued by a knight in shining armor.

To expect a man to rescue one was foolish. Never was it more so than in the City. They kicked around the idea of moving to the Midwest, perhaps to marry a farmer and it was a serious consideration until they heard from one of their fellow orphanage mates who had done just that.

Maeve Ryan (the orphanage girls were all given Irish names) had given birth to five babies in the ten years since she had been released, one before she found her husband and four after. They were still lumping along but the girls could read between the lines. Maeve was quite envious of the triplets living the life in the Big Apple.

They took turns answering Maeve and they tried to tell her that their lives were nothing to write home about but they couldn’t convince Maeve, {whose husband went to sleep with the chickens and arose at the crack of dawn with the chickens too and never left the farm,} that life, any kind of life had to be better than that.

At twenty eight, Maeve was the same age as Kathleen, Rose and Margaret and she said that she looked eons older. The snapshots that they exchanged verified that life had not been kind to Maeve. The ten years on the farm had sapped a great deal of life out of her.

The former girls, now women, reluctantly conceded that perhaps the farm was not for them. But they were in serious trouble where they were. For years they had worked diligently during the day and then turned around and worked assiduously during the night going to school and they eventually got their degrees in their various fields of work. International studies including languages for Kathleen. International studies and political science and art for the other two respectively.

They learned a lot in school. They learned that hard work paid off. They also learned that the men who attended night school were mostly all married.

Furthermore, any single men that they encountered did not want any of them. They wanted women with money. They wanted women to take care of them or at least be self supporting. Women who would work during the day while their men sat at the sidewalk café and watched the parade of other beautiful women go by.

In the clubs that they infrequently visited, the pickup line that men used most had become “Hi beautiful, what do you do for a living?”

So the present year found the three Kennedy triplets well off considering from where they had come. They still lived together but in an upscale part of town in a large well furnished flat with a killer view.

They had just about resigned themselves to being spinsters together forever when Rose announced that she was thinking about moving to Japan.

This was not a new idea. She had hashed it over with her sisters over the preceding six months. And though they had talked about it off and on, neither Kathleen nor Maggie had thought that Rose would really go.

They all knew that the art world in Japan was poised to go ballistic and Rose wanted to get in on the ground floor, perhaps open her own gallery and certainly learn the language.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime guys. It’s too good of a chance for me to pass up.”

It was just that they had never been separated before. Neither had known life without the other and because they were orphans, there were no other relatives. It would be a huge loss. But, because both Kathy and Maggie finally realized that Rose had wanted this adventure for some time neither tried to talk her out of it.

“You must promise us Rose that you will come back home at least once a year. If you don’t we’ll fly over there and bring you back to us.”

Maggie and Kathy cried once they saw Rose’s plane fly off. But then they pulled themselves together. After all, at twenty eight they should be self sufficient. They would be self sufficient; it was just that they would miss her so.

Another six months passed with life flowing along smoothly for the two sisters who were left holding down the fort. Then one day, Kathleen in her role as administrative liaison to Congressman Arnold Wong overheard something that was both upsetting and interesting. A meeting had been scheduled to discuss the possibility of arranged marriages between foreign men and young women. She wondered if the rumors were true and more importantly, why would foreign men need the US government to arrange marriages for them?

CHAPTER 5
FACE TO FACE

Promptly at two o’clock, the lights in the UN’s conference room dimmed almost imperceptibly. Because the group waiting there was on edge and alert to any little change, they noticed the flicker and everyone who had been chatting stopped. With no further fanfare, into their midst walked about twenty of the most elegant men that they had ever seen together as a group. Oh Earth had such men, but they were found few and far between, scattered in several countries perhaps even several continents. To a man these aliens were not just good looking, they were stunning. They moved as if they had been choreographed and all of them together were quite a sight to see.

They were dressed in their own style that was recognizable as a custom military uniform made to fit each body perfectly. Their boots that rose to the knee were not unusual, but those boots had thick heels, high enough to rival a woman’s shoe. They clicked on the wood floor as they filed in one by one in a walk that one could recognize as a man‘s walk in spite of the heels. They led with their shoulders and they were synchronized. They would have given Earth’s historical army of marching goose steppers pause. This was how it should be done.

Their uniforms were all dark navy perhaps. It was hard to tell in the dimness. The collars that rose about two inches around their necks were of different colors that presumably signified rank. All of them had long flowing hair that was trimmed perfectly evenly and was combed back from their foreheads and swayed with each step they took.

Keeping in mind that they were all mixed race individuals to some degree, as their spellbound audience looked at them the observers, no matter what race, could see features that they recognized in their own faces. They were not identifiable in the same way that they would have been on Earth because these features were all mixed up. Still, each had varying degrees of evidence of one race over the other. Some had Asian features that were more distinct, others looked more as a South African would describe a very light-skinned black, and some had whiter skin. But all of it was incongruently slapped together in quite an unusual and almost hap-hazardous way.

For instance those who reminded their audience most of what on Earth would signify an Asian heritage had the brightest red hair. The brown skinned ones tended to have the blond hair, and the brown hair with its golden highlights, seemed to make up the largest group. These seemed to be the most integrated in looks by world standards, for they showed few racially discernable individual features but did display all three in one face as did their leader General Northstar.

He led them in, with that characteristic walk that allowed his shoulders to lead. They entered in military order as if attuned to some inaudible drum. They were perfectly groomed and seemed very confident. They took their seats and waited. Four of them, the leaders presumably, came to the raised table while the others took their seats immediately behind in the semi circular conference room.

“General Ursus Northstar, I have conveyed your wishes to the representatives of most of the countries of Earth, at least the ones who are democratic. They have assembled themselves here before us and they have questions for you and your group of men.” The Hon. Wong stated in his most stentorian voice. He wanted to be heard but he also wanted to convey the importance of this meeting without stating the obvious.

Ursus turned his attention to the crowd in general and waited with a neutral look on his face. Good, they had not said no to dealing. He expected that the first questions would be about the women. He had not thought they would turn the offer down. Earthlings were a materialistic lot, many were especially greedy.

He anticipated that they would want more assurance that those women that they took would be well cared for. He suspected that even if they were not assured of this, they might go ahead with the deal. Yet, there were no guarantees that they would. Earthlings, especially the westerners could be amazingly altruistic and high minded on occasion.

For that reason, he had asked one of the women of their planet to come and speak to the group and she was prepared to beam down at a moment’s notice from their spaceship, invisible now for security purposes.

He was surprised when instead of seeing to the women’s welfare the diplomat representing the United States asked about the oil.

Northstar answered him truthfully. “It is of the finest quality in our Universe. We have prepared sample vials so that you may assess its quality. If you find it desirable and that it meets your needs. We are prepared to furnish it to you at the rate of 10,000 barrels per female. Since we have read that you are paying nigh on to $200/barrel now, and one measure of our oil is the equivalent of ten of Earths, you will come to realize that you have much to gain.”

He signaled one of his men to start the process of passing out the oil samples which were encased in small titanium vials. Sark, one of Ursus’s aides responded by taking the containers to Congressman Wong and allowing him to choose how best to distribute them. Arnold, pleased to have a chore that he could handle, hurried to it.

Ursus waited patiently and was quiet until the samples had been duly rubbed between thumb and forefinger of those who so chose to do so. It was also admired by those who knew what they were about. He then exposed the tiny patch under the vial that could be used to completely rid one of any trace of the oily material.

“Are there any questions about the quality of the oil?”

“How will you get it to us? How do we know that you won’t go back on your word?”

Ursus had grimaced or perhaps grinned. They couldn’t be sure. “You will have the oil delivered at the same time each female boards our ship. We would not subject you to anxiety by making you wonder if we will keep our word.

“Are there more questions about the oil?” He had looked around at the hundred or so mostly men and the few women gathered there. Seeing no questions were forthcoming he continued. Since they had not mentioned the women he would.

“We do have some demands of our own regarding the women that you provide. They must come willingly without subterfuge or coercion. They must be respectable women, ones that you admire and look up to. They must be talented in the accepted arts such as having the ability to sing, dance, play one of your instruments, active in theater and so forth. They must be intelligent, at least intelligent enough to have completed your sixteenth level of education.

“You are asking for our cream of the crop.”

General Ursus did not deny or verify. He continued. “They must not be too experienced; however some experience is permissible. They must not have had children and must not be with child.”

“What do you mean not too experienced?” one woman asked. She was from Turkey, recently admitted into the European Union. She had been involved in a meeting immediately before flying to New York in which her country had decided that they could get rid of the female dregs of their society and still get the oil. Although she didn’t know it, most of the countries that had gotten that far in their thinking had thought of the same solution. They decided that emptying the prisons, arresting the streetwalkers and so forth would be just the thing to do.

“Is it necessary to go into detail? We do not want your criminals. We do not want your women who would sell their bodies to a stranger for material goods, we do not want those who would engage in group sex and we do not want those who will lie with relatives, and …” He paused to consider the alien sitting to his left, very handsome too in a tanned and healthy way; he was unusual in that he sported a kiss curl on his brow. Ursus looked at his cohort and the two of them were so in tune that the general knew what was being asked of him.

“However, a few of these types would also be acceptable."

"And why are a few acceptable Colonel?”

“General.”

“Why are a few acceptable General?” She could be as persistent as he.

“We have young men, as do you. Not all are ready to take a wife.

"It is for them primarily that we will accept what a few of you have labeled your loose women.”

“Ah. I think I get your drift. How will you know the difference?”

“We have our ways my lady. We have our ways.”

“How many women are we speaking of?”

“We will obtain them in thirty, perhaps forty trips. We expect to take only one thousand on the first trip to see how they adjust to Lira.

"If all is well with them, we will return until we have increased the number to several hundred thousand. That is a number well within your potential to provide; in fact you will hardly notice that they are gone.” He consulted with his companions again. “We insist that they be selected from all of your four predominant races. Wong has most likely conveyed this to you.”

“However will we get them to agree? You do not know the women of Earth; they can be cantankerous, and difficult. The day has long passed when we could just order them to comply. We have human rights organizations that will investigate. It would be easier if we could just have you kidnap them and go.” This remark came from the official from Russia.

“How welcoming would your wife have been to you had you acted like one of your cave men and abducted her by the hair? We have been through those days. We have tried imposing the male will upon the female and it cost us dearly. We prefer to have partners who want to be with us instead of enemies who sleep next to us in our couches.”

CHAPTER 6
Signed & Sealed

General Ursus listened to the various conversations that were taking place all around the room.

He had heard that the Earthlings were an argumentative lot; now he watched silent while they proved the rumor true. When they were in small groups of people who had the same ideas, they seemed very congenial, but placed with people even of their own planet that they deemed different, they became attached to their own ideas or considered from whom the idea arose instead of valuing the idea for its worthiness.

But, he reluctantly admitted to himself and to those around him that this was a momentous first step for Earth. It had allowed them to meet and it was considering their proposal. He supposed that he could be complementary to them instead of picking them apart. Not too many years ago, as their history revealed, his people were in the same stage of development as these Earthlings.


General Cain Northstar of the kiss curl, sitting next to General Ursus, spoke to the group for the first time. His accent was a bit more pronounced than the other, suggesting that he was either from a different place in the galaxy or that he was less used to using the translating equipment. But his speech was clear; they had no problem understanding him. He also showed through the content of his conversation that the aliens had done their homework regarding Earth’s procedures.

“My colleagues and I would suggest that you consider a number of approaches to get your women to agree, for no one idea will bring the cross section of women that we need. Some will be drawn to one approach, some to others. Were I you, I would treat this adventure as you do your job searches.

"You might consider hiring a ‘head hunter’ in each relevant country, writing a job description that takes into account our requirements, spell out their duties, give them a destination place at which you wish their applications to materialize …”

General Ursus Northstar added sotto voiced, 'email or fax’ “

“Yes”, Cain continued, “a place to send their emails or faxed replies, screen them and the chosen ones can be sent to this place, or a place of your choice. We do reserve the right of final approval.”

“But what will we say when we put out the publicity? We cannot say ’Aliens seeking women and willing to trade’.” stated one diplomat who eschewing the use of the translator spoke with a heavy Hebrew accent.”

The latter alien continued. “No, it would not be wise to allow it to unfold in that manner. But we must be as truthful as possible. Announce that men from a country in which women are under-represented are seeking brides to help them build a community. I am confident that you Earthlings know how to say it in a way that is relatively truthful but yet palatable. And please add that they must be prepared to become mothers too.”

A third of the four Liran leaders who were seated at the table spoke one word in his alien language and the General added with a slight smile, “They must also be attractive to us. When they reply, beam them pictures of a few of the better looking of these fellows.” That sounded preposterous because all of them to a man were good looking. Cain couldn’t help smiling showing beautiful white teeth.

“Are you two brothers?” one female diplomat asked, wishing she knew more about life on Lira. She had four daughters and only one was married.

“We are all brothers,” Ursus answered with his hand palm up to show that he included the whole group of about twenty men.

There was the rustling that signaled unrest as voices were raised in questions among the Earthlings before Ursus continued. “We do not consider brotherhood or sisterhood based on biology alone. Certainly DNA is a part of it but the results of various personality profiles, talents, dates of birth, genetic markers are also considered.

"When a child is born he is born into a grouping. Our particular grouping is Northstar. I have one biological brother who is in another grouping. I have no biological sisters.”

“Will you tell us a bit about your planet? What it is like, what you do as jobs, how you entertain yourselves, tell us what our women will do?”

“You must understand that anything that we say will not translate true. We live in a world in which things are vastly different, yet functionally these things that are different serve a similar purpose to the purpose that they serve on Earth. Bas, please tell the Earthlings about our country. Drago please beam down Kibba Rhenoum so that she may talk of it from a woman’s point of view.”

A kind faced Liran, presumably Bas began speaking.

“We have two moons to your one. One on each side of the planet and that affects the gravitational pull on the planet. We have high tides twice daily to your one except that near our poles, we have tides on the half-hour. Our days are 36 hours to your twenty four. That means our ages in years, add up to fewer than yours, yet our lifespan is about one hundred of your years. Our sun is just about the same distance so we do have seasons. We add a fifth season that lasts only a few weeks. This season is called Deep Winter or Aout. It falls after the season that you know as winter. During this season it is so cold that we do not go outside. Thankfully it is short. Our animals are….” and Bas allowed his voice to drift silent as Rhenoum entered the room. All of the attention was leached from him as she slowly and majestically walked in.

There was an aura of mystery about her. And she was a truly striking female.

First of all, she was dark. She was black according to planet Earth’s classification for her. In actuality, she was a dark chocOlate brown. Not a blue brown with a grayish undertone but a rich dark golden brown with warm reddish highlights. Her large eyes seemed fathomless. Well over six feet tall, she was regal.

Her height was compounded by her hairstyle. Rising high above her forehead were three large mounds that reminded those old enough to remember, or those who had studied their history books industriously, of the French style worn by Madam Pompidou. Each pompadour was made up of large smooth braids elaborately intertwined.

She turned to greet the male counterparts sitting to her right and one could see a graceful fall of braids that swayed as she walked and reached to her waist.

But she was too thin. They had never seen as woman of Earth who, that thin still looked healthy. But this woman was the picture of health. Her small almost invisible breasts, what there were of them were firm and jutted proudly from her body. That was the only appendage that they could see. The rest of her was as smooth and slim as a young boy.

“My presence is requested?” Low and husky her smooth voice was nevertheless clearly discernable without the use of a microphone.

“Yes,” the French ambassador took the lead. We have questions about the women, how they are treated on your planet, what they will do for entertainment and so forth. We are trying to assure ourselves that they will be well treated and have a reasonable quality of life there on Lira."

She answered without hesitation or without any particularly deferential look or gesture towards the men.

“Some will adjust well; others won’t. Those who cannot make the adjustment will be returned to you if you will have them back.” The woman moved, she seemed to become tired of standing and one of her men brought her a seat. “True Liran women are few. Those who are Liran born and bred, women such as I, are few.”

“You are quite beautiful, even by our standards, yet I hate to mention it, you are very slender Ma’am”.

She had the looks and the age that made them feel that they must show her respect. Her men showed her deference and so did the delegates present in the hall.

The lady ignored the personal comment. “I am come to promise you the females of Earth will be well treated. I am the head of the women’s league for our planet and I assure you that they will be well taken care of.”

When doubt exists, no amount of placating is enough. If the men would not question her, it would fall to the women of the group.

Ambassador Ann Sanchez was the first to speak. “Forgive my ignorance, how shall I address you?”

“You may call me Kibba. Rhenoum is an honorary title bestowed upon me due to my rank.”

“Kibba seems very informal.”

“Nevertheless, that is how I should be addressed.”

“Could you please tell us how your planet came to be in such dire need of women? The general has explained it somewhat but I would like to hear from you, from a woman’s point of view what happened.”

CHAPTER 7

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT CONGRESSMAN?

Kathleen Kennedy knew that something was up but she had not known it in time. As Congressman Wong’s top aide, she would have been invited to the meeting too, except that she had begged off, due to a conflict in her schedule that he had not challenged. That alone made her suspicious. He usually wanted her around to give him insight into his impressions and help him clarify his thinking. He liked for her to put his rather pedantic thoughts into a larger perspective.

She had left work around one in the afternoon, returning around three o’clock to clear up a few things, only to find the usually busy office of the congressman strangely subdued. Still, that in itself was nothing. The mood fluctuated according to what bills were being put forth. As for Congressman Wong, he was deep in conversation with Ann Sanchez one of the diplomats to the United States from Mexico. Kathleen arrived just in time to overhear him say “Kathy will have to write this letter. It is too sensitive for me to give it to Brown. But with this latest development, I’ll not be able to tell her what this is really about. I’ll have to do some serious thinking about how much to tell her.”

Had Kathleen not heard that he planned to keep something from her, she would have ignored the whole conversation but her curiosity was peaked. She would not be at all pleased to write something about which she knew nothing.

“Brown, what happened in the meeting today?” She had first approached her underling, hoping that he would tell her out of a sense of loyalty. No such luck. He told her just enough to titillate.

“This is something big Kath, and its top secret. If I told you I’d have to kill you, that is, after I got fired.”

Not long after that Hon. Wong approached her and outlined the content of the letter that she was to write.

“Kathleen, this letter needs your special touch. I want you to write it. Your skills in this area are superior to Browns.” As if flattery would work. “Now, make it in the form of a job announcement. We are looking for young women between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five, must have a college degree, must be single with no children and none on the way. And they must be willing to move to a foreign country.”

Kathleen had heard of men bringing women into their country under false premises and then imprisoning them and forcing them into prostitution. Surely a US congressman would have no part in that.

“What kinds of work are they expected to do sir?”

“It is classified Kathleen. It is top secret, better if you don’t know.”

Now those were words sure to spur Mary-Kathleen Kennedy on to finding out what was really going on. Gone were the days when she was a dumb orphan kid. She had worked her way up to reporting directly to a member of Congress. And she had not done it by being unaware of what was going on around her. She had learned that she did not like having the environment act upon her. She wanted to be a part of it all. There was no way that he’d keep her in the dark about this item which was potentially the largest thing that had happened in a long time.

That night when she went home, she talked it over with Mary-Margaret.

“You know Maggie, the meeting was held in the large auditorium. People came from all over the world, the shades were drawn, and now this letter, the letter that I am supposed to write by the way, is to go out before the end of the week.”

“Where are you to send the letter Kath? That should give you a clue.”

“I know Mags, but here’s another mystery. I am to leave the salutation blank. I think it is meant for several operatives. I don’t know how many women they are advertising for. I’ll bet it will be a great opportunity for those chosen.”

“It will be a great opportunity or a big risk. If you’re not too skittish why don’t you look at his private papers? I know you don’t like to do that but I would, especially since he has seen fit to bring you into it and then keep you in the dark.”

Her security clearance was high, why not look?

The next day she went in early, before her boss showed up and opened every drawer, every safe, every nook and cranny that she knew of in search of some reference to yesterday’s meeting. It was not the ethical thing to do and she knew it, but neither should he give her an assignment, a suspicious assignment, without informing her of what she was doing. After checking in all potential places, she found nothing. She’d be willing to bet that he kept it in that darn briefcase that went every place that he went.

That evening after work she went by the gym before she went home. The gym was her friend. It was guaranteed that she would feel more relaxed after a good workout even though at the same time, she would have more energy. She went into the locker room and changed into her sweats and sneakers and had the luxury of a good thirty minutes of flexing her muscles on the rowing machine. She was just working up a sweat when she noticed the last person that she wanted to see across the room.

William Gilbert was a not so long ago flame of hers. She had met him when he came to meet with Honorable Wong and had lingered long enough after the meeting to invite her out to lunch the next day.

They had made a handsome twosome; he tall and fair, she a tall regal redhead. Still she had been cautious. Time had taught her that looks meant next to nothing. She was not about to fall for him before she knew him better. In the climate for relationships that men established with women today, it was almost as if they didn’t like women very much but needed them in spite of it.

She had been on the verge of letting William be the one; the first man that she took to her bed. He had cajoled and she had said yes. They had planned to spend the weekend in the country, drive to upstate New York so that they could just enjoy being together. She had been packed and ready to go when she felt a familiar cramping sensation. Her period was early. The cramps told her that it was just around the corner.

She had called him to let him know and even though he was disappointed, he was philosophic. They had time. After all, wasn’t their love a love that would last forever?

Forever for them lasted exactly two days. Before the week was out Kathleen, Maggie and a couple of their friends Judy and Loretta met up after work and went to a new restaurant that Loretta recommended. The four women had walked in with high spirits and were about half way through their baked lamb dinner, the specialty of the house, when Maggie spotted William in a cozy corner with a slender and attractive woman. They were not alone; two young boys were with them who looked suspiciously like William.

Reluctant to embarrass her sister in front of their friends, Maggie had caught Kathy’s eye and with a subtle gesture, got her to look in that direction. Kathy couldn’t believe it. She watched them for the next half hour, still able to keep up her end of the conversation and the other two women at the table never knew that she was going into a slow burn.

It was obvious that they were a family. It was clear that the wife adored William. She gave him calf eyes when she smiled and he kissed her fingers.

Finally the four women finished their food and Kathleen and Maggie could think of no reason to stall. Kathy would have to walk close to William’s table and there was no way that he could miss her. Surprisingly, Kathleen didn’t feel hurt. She felt anger. If she had spent the weekend with him would he have told her then, after she had given her body to him? What would he have said? My wife doesn’t understand me? She no longer sleeps with me? She’s let herself go?

She made eye contact with him as they were leaving. He went suddenly pale, probably wondering if she was going to make a scene. She said nothing. There was nothing to say. Why should she hurt his wife? She was in for enough hurt being married to that ass.

The next day he was on the phone, wanting to explain the unexplainable. When she agreed to meet him for lunch he was overjoyed, thinking that they could go on as they had before, perhaps keep their weekend rendezvous.

When they got together she had sat through lunch, laughed and talked with him as if nothing was amiss. Embolden by her behavior, he finally he brought it up.

“Kathleen, about last night; I didn’t tell you about them because I didn’t want to lose you. I don’t love my wife, but I love my boys. Still, I can’t stand to let you go. Will you bear with me until I can see my way free?”

This was the moment she waited for all evening. She had looked at him with a pleasant expression on her face. She had even mustered a slight smile.

“Actually William, what you ask sounds reasonable to me. But it really isn’t something that I can do. You see, you may not love your wife but she certainly loves you. I don’t know why she loves you because from my point of view, you’re not worth it. I’ll see you around but when you see me, don’t bother speaking because I never intent to have another word with you in my life.”

She had taken her time, gathered her things and left him sitting in the restaurant. Good riddance to the rubbish.

It wasn’t that she was a goody two shoes. She definitely was not that. She did think a lot of herself. Her self-esteem was high enough that she didn’t feel the need to accommodate a man who didn’t love her.

Unfortunately she knew that William was the rule, the norm rather than the exception. There were more women than men, especially in the cities and the men that she’d met loved to double and triple dip.

After that episode with William she had even entertained the thought of joining Rose in Japan. A letter from Rose nixed that idea. Rose was in love and had stars in her eyes. That had been a new and unexpected development. With a new love life, the last thing Rose needed was a look alike hanging around getting in the way.

**

Seeing William at the gym caused Kathleen to dream the whole night through. That Thursday morning when she woke up she felt like she hadn’t slept at all. She remembered a jumble of pictures and thoughts, nothing that made a coherent story. She had dreamed of William smiling, William kissing his wife’s hand, William holding Arnold’s briefcase and taunting her with it.

She dragged herself from bed, showered and prepared to go in to work for these last two days of the week. Her mind was once more riveted on finding out Arnold’s secret and, she was even surer that the briefcase that he carted around with him held the answer.

Once she arrived at work, she knew that there was no need to hurry. She had her usual morning coffee in her spacious office next door to Arnold’s larger suite. But she knew that he’d be flying to Washington the following day to cast a vote so she wanted to search his briefcase before he left.

When he arrived about an hour later, he stuck his head in to say good morning and sure enough, there was that pesky briefcase under his arm. Kathleen made a point of not looking at it.

“Good morning. How’s the letter coming Kathleen, have you been able to come up with something?”

She had not answered but had given him the thumb and index finger circle to indicate that she had it covered. It was a non-answer really. She was not composing a word until she knew what she asked these women to do.

About midmorning she saw Mr. Wong go into the men’s room. Sure enough he had the briefcase with him.

She waited for a minute or so and followed him.



Kathleen had only to do a small bit of searching for the briefcase, because he, having no idea of her suspicions, had placed it under the cushion of the chair in the anteroom.

Kathleen smiled. She knew that she was the one from whom he was so diligently hiding it. Why? Because he wanted the letter written a certain way and he thought she wouldn’t do it if she knew the truth? He didn’t know it but he’d have to get up earlier in the morning to fool her.

“Yes!” she whispered to no one in particular since she was the only one in the foyer. Inside, buried in a sheaf of paper was a document so distinctive that she knew immediately that this was what she sought.

First of all it was of the highest grade paper that they used, employed only for important transactions. Secondly it had the seal of the United Nations on it, not the United States or Arnold’s letterhead. She slipped it out of its jacket, slid the briefcase back under its covering pillow and escaped back into her office, smiling a bit at her stealth as she closed and locked her door.

It was an adhesion contract of sorts; a contract between parties that did not allow for renegotiation. But what were they contracting for?

She read on quickly. It stated, yes, it stated they were contacting for wives, not just women. She skipped over words such as willing, respectable, model women and so forth. Ah!!! Oil and a lot of it too from the looks of it. But oil from what country? The signature was illegible but - from the planet Lira? What the hell did that mean? A code? Impossible! There were no other planets. Or were there? She sat there stunned while she slowly realized that this was the true secret, that Earth had discovered that we are not the only ones. If this secret got out would Earth be able to handle it?

Deep in thought she heard her boss trying her knob, tapping on her locked door and calling to her. She went over, unlocked it and stood back so that he could enter.

Under normal circumstances one would have thought that a staffer would have been afraid of the boss, of earning a set down for insubordination at least, if not a firing. That was not the case with Arnold and Kathleen. Over the last three years he had come to depend upon her a lot. Whenever he was at the UN, she was the ideal helper. She didn’t lord it over him too much and had saved his butt too often in the past for him to even consider reprimanding her.

Now, as he entered the door he looked at her eyes. “You read the paper.” It was a statement not a question. He pointed to it resting in her hand. She did not try to hide it.

When she nodded yes he asked. “Do you believe it?”

She shrugged. “Perhaps if you hadn’t gone into stealth mode I would have thought nothing of it. Were they really from another planet? Where are they? Are they frightening? Are they dangerous?”

He held up his hand in answer to her barrage of questions. Then he closed the door firmly behind him and began speaking softly. “Not many people know about this new development and we must keep it that way. Promise me that you won’t tell a soul about this.”

She didn’t promise anything, “I want to see them. Is it safe for me to meet? I want to look in their eyes before I write a letter that may get hundreds - no she looked back at the paper, thousands of women into a situation that we all will regret.”

“You can meet with them if they agree. But I warn you, if you are expecting something exotic you are in for a disappointment.”

“They’re not bizarre and mysterious, just ordinary? Wouldn’t I know them as alien by looking at them?”

“Nah. They’re probably better looking than we are - and they do look different if that is what you are looking for but we see people right here on Earth with some of those same differences.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean people that when you look at them you can’t tell what nationality they are. They’re so mixed until they no longer have any way of telling what they are.”

“Are they unpleasant or callous?”

“No. I tell you they are just like we are. They are human with their differences. I imagine some might have more of a temper than others but you find that here on Earth too.

“And they have all of these instruments to understand our languages. I suppose that by now they can speak any language that we have. If they can’t speak it they have a machine, a translating machine that puts ours to shame. Kind of like a Mattel toy violin to the Stradivarius.”

“Why do they want wives from here? What did they do to their own women? Are you sure that they didn’t beat them to death or something?” She realized that she was whispering just like he had even though there was no need.

“They brought a most remarkable female with them, perhaps others too but she is the only one that beamed down.”

“Beamed down! Oh my God, it’s just like ’Star Trek’ isn’t it?”

“It is remarkably like Star Trek. You know the SETTI project?” He saw her nod and kept talking. "SETTI signaled them. Well not them exactly, we were only looking to see if there was life out there. These aliens intercepted the signal, they already knew about us you see but had stayed away because as they say, we are too warlike, but when we signaled, they knew that some of us might be ready to communicate.”

“It’s kind of like we brought this upon ourselves by being nosy.”

He had chuckled, “I guess you could say that. I got the feeling that even if we had not signaled they would have found an excuse to contact us. Men without enough women are not the most patient things to be around.”

“Things? I thought you said they were humans, are they animals?”

“No! Just a figure of speech that’s all. The woman was really cordial and beautiful too except if she is like all of their other women she is too fragile. She said that they are just a few hundred years in advance of Earth and they can see that we are headed where they have been.”

“So they are saying that they want women to be their wives, to help them carry on their race? It sounds too good to be true. It‘s just the opposite of what young men here on Earth want. Mention marriage and they get out of Dodge.”

“We have to learn to trust at some point.”

“I imagine it is easy for you to trust. You are not one of the ones who might be taken away and have God knows what done to you.”

“Look, you will have to meet General Ursus for yourself. He said that we had only to contact him and he’d come down to meet, to answer any questions that we may have.”

“He can come down into this room?”

“I think so. Shall I try?”

“No!” then “You think it’s safe? Perhaps we should have security outside just in case.”

“Look Kathleen, I met the man yesterday. He’s no more frightening than we are. Trust me in this won‘t you?”

“If you do ask him in here and he comes, if I am not afraid of him I’ll want to talk to him alone. I want to get a feel for him, and I think as a woman I can do that better than you. Besides, being a woman alone in a room with a man tells you something about him. Men sometimes change and show a bit of their true selves when they’re alone with you. After he’s here for a bit and if I feel safe I want you to leave the room. I’ll signal you when it’s ok for you to go.”

“Are you sure that you want me to leave you alone in here with him?”

“Yes. As I said, a woman can tell more about a man’s character if she is alone with him. The expression in his eyes, the subject of his conversation, does he try to flirt, be suggestive or become intimidating. Yes. I want you to leave me alone with him, but I think we should meet in your office, it’s larger. I don’t want to feel hemmed up with him.”

Congressman Wong went over to her computer “What’s your password?”

She blushed and said ‘Katydid”.

He made a joke, rare for him. “What did Katy do?” He went on looking at the address that Ursus had given to him and typing it in. Audio communication was made in an instant. Some unknown person, evidently the communications officer said that he would get General Ursus immediately.

Moments later his distinctive voice, came on.

“Yes Congressman Wong? You have questions or need clarifications?”

“Good day General, yes. My Aide De Camp is preparing to write the letter, there are questions that you can answer better than I, would you be so kind as to come down?”

“Come to you?”

“Yes, come to my office please.”

“I have your coordinates locked in.”

Seconds later, when they had no more than walked next door, he materialized right before their eyes.

CHAPTER 8

HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU

Her first instinct was to run. Her second was to smile. Indeed Arnold Wong had not exaggerated. The figure before her was indeed a human and a very male one at that. Had she not seen him materialize, she would have thought that they toyed with her.

Her mind left that train of thought fairly quickly. He was different, tall and broad without any pouch that indicated an excess of food. Paunchy men were fairly common in the USA from too much fast food and drink and too little exercise.

This man had an exquisite form. Even without knowing anything about his character she could admire his looks. Dark hair worn long and queued back, a beautiful but emotional face that she surmised would show his feelings.

Right now his face was showing politeness, that was all. That was unusual too. Most men almost smacked their chops when they spied her or either one of her sisters. But… if the women on his planet possessed as much feminine beauty as this man possessed in the male form, she was not surprised if she did not stand out in his mind.

But on the other hand, it usually didn’t work that way. Only too often she had observed men, handsome men with sisters who resembled their brother but were quite ordinary looking. Vice versus when the rule was turned the other way round. At any rate, he hardly gave her any particular interest.

“General Ursus please meet Kathleen Kennedy. She is the assistant who has been asked to draft the rather difficult and delicate letter, and she wants to hear from you what you have in mind for the women chosen.”

She held out her hand and after a brief hesitation he took it in his warm one. Perhaps he had not known about the handshake as greeting.

“Good meeting you sir. Being female myself, you can understand why I have concerns. I would be reluctant to have a part in turning any woman over into the care of men of whom I have no idea of their habits or lifestyles.”

“Certainly Kathleen Kennedy; what may I clarify for you?"

Something about this man inspired confidence so she motioned for Congressman Wong to leave her alone as she turned her back to see what he had in his office that she could offer him to drink. She looked in the small refrigerator that Wong hid behind a panel. There was bottled water, coke and canned ice tea.

“General Ursus, would you like some cool refreshment?”

She listed what she had and he understood water, but not the other two. She showed him the can for both and chose for him.

"Try some of our soda, this is coke-a-cOla."

She poured it into a sparkling clean glass and added a bit of ice. With the second half of the can she filled her own glass.

He watched her drink and swallow it then took a sip of his own.

“Now general, on your planet, what is your idea of marriage? Is it one man to one woman, one man to two women, or some other arrangement? You see I am afraid that if our women see the word marriage they will not think to wonder if you have the same interpretation that we have.”

After he sipped the drink he had looked down at it as if he were tempted to spit it out. He was too polite for that. He merely set it aside.

“We have the same interpretation of marriage on Lira that you have on Earth. We do have a few outliers as do you. Our planet is very similar to yours in many ways. It is a planet of free choice as it is here. So - if a few people want to have a different arrangement, they are not forbidden as long as all of the participants are willing. You might find a few men who will practice polygamy and a few women who practice polyandry but that is not the norm and we have no intention of resorting to any of those practices en masse.”

As he spoke Kathleen noted that he had beautiful hands. Hands that were slender rather than sausage like and a little square as a man’s hands should be and not particularly smooth looking either.

“You are saying that one man each will choose one woman, and marry her but to what purpose?”

He had cut his eyes to the left as if he thought he had misunderstood the question. “Why does any man marry Kathleen Kennedy? He marries to have a companion, to have children, for the same reason that men on your planet marry.”

“Men on our planet frequently do not marry. It is not uncommon to see bachelors of more than fifty years who have never chosen to do what we call ’settle down’. Those who do marry have various motives. The predominant reason is for financial gain.”

“That is not true for us. We have learned that there are few material goods, especially money that can make one happy. We do, however, not avoid wealth. We just do not make a habit of marrying for it.”

He got up and poured the drink into the tiny sink behind the desk. He then went to the refrigerator, took out a water and commenced to take small sips of it.

Why don’t you make yourself at home then? She thought and she saw the dimple in his left jaw crease as if he found something humorous.

“Anyway, you have the wrong idea about how the ah - brides will be chosen. At the meeting Kibba Rhenoum said that the women themselves would do the choosing. If she said that is how it will be, then so be it. I will not gainsay her.”

“Why is that?”

“I wouldn’t dare. She is quite powerful in her own way. She will be the one who orchestrates the orientation for the women. She will make sure that each one of them is willing and is not being coerced. Should she choose, she could decide that none are ready for a long time. It would be foolish for me to oppose her will. We have long since learned the power of cooperation and unity instead of opposition and strife.

"Now, should she propose something unreasonable, as the top ranking official on this expedition I would meet with her and we would sit and discuss all parts until we reach an agreement that is satisfactory to both. Even so, we would not be allowed to lobby others to bring them to our point of view.”

“What would the day to day lives be like for any woman that chooses to go?”

He thought for a moment. “It would be quite similar to her life here. Some women in your world work outside the home, so do they there. The work will be different for we are no longer as industrialized as your world. In some ways we use more technology than you, in other ways less. But, if she chooses not to go outside her home, or village to work, her day will be whatever she chooses it to be.”

“Do you have television?”

Again that dimple. “We have something quite similar. It would be difficult to explain but I will try. We are limited by our own imaginations. You here are limited by the imaginations of others. If there is something that you want to see, you plan it out in your head, even to the point of denying yourself knowledge of the outcome, then you sit back and it plays in front of you in whatever size screen that you desire. If you have not supplied an ending, an ending will be created for you. If you do not like that ending, you may watch it innumerable times each time a different conclusion will be reached for you.”

"So if there is a program that I particularly like here on Earth, I can recreate it on your planet?”

“Yes, you may recreate it on Lira.”

“What about porn?”

He looked confused. “Porn”?

“Yes, pornography, we have it here and it is used for entertainment too.”

“I am familiar with the concept. Yes. There is that. Women may choose to participate but I don’t think - “

“I was not speaking of participating" ‘idiot’ "uh General Ursus. The women that you seek would not think of participating but they might like to watch, to watch as one would look at a television screen here on Earth.”

“Watch but from a distance.”

“Yes. And not looking at ’real’ people.”

“The women chosen could do that.“

He wasn’t saying all. He was holding something back. She held his gaze letting him know that she suspected subterfuge.

He decided to elucidate. “You must understand that each person is an individual. On Lira if you chose to watch this ’porn’ on the screen that you call television, our government will not interfere unless you are a child. That does not mean that it will please your mate. Some mates will not be adverse to his wife watching and may even use it to enhance their moments together. But - other less evolved men might say no. Then the female in question would have the alternative of obeying him or disobeying and watching without his approval. But then, she could expect to pay the consequences.”

Now she was finally getting somewhere. “And just what might those consequences be? A beating perhaps?”

He laughed outright. “No; nothing so extreme as that. We are a progressive planet. Each man would devise whatever consequence that he could. It would depend upon the nature of his woman.

“Give me an example please. You have been speaking with me for almost an hour. What consequence might my husband choose for me?”

“For you? That is impossible for you would never be chosen to go.”

That remark threw her for a loop. She had not for an instant imagined that she would not be acceptable. It knocked all thoughts of consequences out of her head.

“Why would I not be chosen general?”

“I mean no offense ma’am but we have asked for model women. You must agree that you hardly fit the bill for that.”

“I do not agree. I am smart, I have my degree, I speak several languages, I play an instrument and I am between the ages that you specified. You asked for women 25 to 35. I am only 28. So what is wrong with me?”

“Nothing is wrong with you. You are fine for Earth but we have asked for and been assured that we will be offered our choice of model women. You must see that you are not that.”

“Then what is your idea of your model woman? Paint me a picture.”

“You don’t know your own model women? How can this be? Have I gotten it wrong?”

“Please describe her to me.”

“She has all of the accomplishments that you mentioned. Perhaps not in one woman but she generally has some talent. But she is tall. She is slender. Not as thin as the women of Lira but certainly much more slender than you. This kind of woman is the type that we have grown accustomed to over the years and this is what we desire. This is what we have been promised. No one has said anything about us accepting the,” and she could see that he sought a word that would not offend her but still express what he felt, “the ‘stout’ ones.”

She was flabbergasted; she was insulted, and now she was pissed off.

“I am not stout! How could you say such a thing! How could you insult me so and you don’t even know me?”

He stood up; clearly this woman had a temper.

“Truly I did not mean it to be an insult. It’s just that we… we .. do not have women with your,” and he made a cupping motion with his hands to indicate her chest and more specific the breasts that rose so prettily with the help of her tailor made bra. “Nor do they have your form.” And again he made his hands go in a rounded motion indicating her hips.

It was true. She and her sisters were voluptuous but the men of Earth loved it. They whistled when she walked down the street. She had a generous backside and if she wanted to she could get the attention of almost any man she chose. Now this man - this alien was telling her that he and his kind didn’t want her? Well if they didn’t want her, if she was too stout for them, then they didn’t want ninety nine percent of the women of the world!

CHAPTER 9

STRAIGHTEN HIM OUT!

With a flash of insight that often comes when one least expects it, she realized that no matter what guide he had used to make them decide to bargain for the women of Earth, he or they had chosen the wrong reference. It seemed that they had confused the term model women with the occupation - women who are models. Yes. If that was true, then they would be tall and slender, almost without breasts, and hips.

She could have told him that this was an artificial measure of a woman. Away from the constraints of watching every bite that she ate, the women who modeled for a living would put on weight and soon would be plump as the average woman and ’the model woman’ might not even grow breasts to offset the look. Instead in being voluptuous, the model woman might grow truly stout. Then how’d they like them apples?

She pressed a button and before she could say ‘kiss my fat a**!’ Congressman Wong was at the door thinking that perhaps she might need him.

“Hi Arnold, the general and I are getting along just fine but I do think you need to review with him this part of the contract where you promise to deliver thousands of model women to his planet.”

She stuck around and listened while Congressman Wong explained that being super skinny was not a trait of the women of Earth.

“You must agree general that the word ’model’ is in itself ambiguous at best. It is true that we did promise you model women and we promised in good faith but women who model are not considered our model women. Those women wear dresses that are sized zero to perhaps six. The normal woman on the street wears size ten to sixteen, maybe even eighteen or twenty. That is just how it is.”

“But we are not attracted to these women, these larger women who wear sizes ten to twenty. The whole purpose of having them is to create our future generation. How will we do that if we can’t even”, and he looked over Kathleen’s way for she could see that he was innately a gentleman, “uh … have stimulating thoughts about them?”

“We men of Earth have no problem with that“ Arnold said. Kathleen thought that her boss sounded somewhat superior and smug. She wondered if the alien was annoyed. She would have been had Arnold used that tone of voice with her.

Yes he was annoyed. “Would you have exactly these feelings if we asked you to sleep with a cow?”

“A cow!”

Kathleen couldn’t help but to react to that insult. She picked up the discarded and empty coke can from the trash and threw it at the alien ass's head and felt good when it made a ‘ping’ of contact.

His anger seemed to evaporate. “I deserved that Kathleen. You are certainly not a cow.” Evidently he thought it was time to regroup.

"I have enjoyed spending the time that I have with you and would like to return tomorrow so that we may compose the letter together. You must understand the law of attraction. We do not choose to whom we are attracted. It just happens.”

He smoothed his hair and brushed at the wet spots left by the residual Coke.

“While I am positive that you are eye-catching to the men of your world, the men from Lira are not and will not be attracted to you.” He looked down in resignation. “But since you have assured me Congressman Wong that this is what we must accept, we will do this and will try to make it work. We will not take it out on your women; after all it is not their fault.”

With that lowering statement he left just as suddenly as he had come.

“Well that went well don’t you think?” Wong said hopefully.

“It did not. He is a supercilious butt; a supercilious alien asshole. He is arrogant, thinks he is superior, how dare he think that skinny women are of better quality than normal sized?”

"Kathleen. Don’t go getting beside yourself. How tall are you?”

“What does my height have to do with it?”

“Answer please.”

“My sisters and I are all a smidge over 5’ 10”. We are not short.”

"No you are not. You are tall enough for the men of Lira. It is just that they don’t think of you in that way. You should have seen the Liran woman. She is over six feet tall and weighs next to nothing.

"Now you like men who are tall like General Ursus don’t you? And broad shouldered too with slender hips, just like he has. What if he had been tall but heavy, had reminded you of a sumo wrestler. Would you still have been as attracted to him as you are now?”

“Who says I’m attracted?”

He just looked at her and she was honest enough to admit that she had felt attraction. She had been outraged to think that Ursus didn’t feel it too.

“Forgive me for being so frank with you Kathleen but I think that the women of Earth will make those fellows change their minds. Men are funny creatures and these guys are definitely men. If the women are smart they will be standoffish until the men come to them, and they will come. Females have something that they won’t be able to resist, especially if it is denied to them.”

Kathleen had another flash of insight. “That is where we went wrong here on Earth didn’t we? We gave ourselves away for nothing. We decided that we were self sufficient, that we didn’t need men, not really. We stopped demanding marriage, we tolerated them having two or maybe three women at a time and they stopped valuing us.”

“You should tell the women who answer your letter and send in their resume’s this bit of wisdom. Here is a chance for women to forge a new relationship with men. A way of interacting that is based on true equality, not just in the workplace but in relationships too.”

“In relationships Arnold? What do you mean?”

“Oh I don’t know. I am no expert on women but I do know how to get some simple things done in the House of Representatives and they don’t happen unless we stick together. It only takes one to undercut the others and ruin everything.”

Right then and there Kathleen decided that she just might want to take the risk of her life. There was nothing special about her life so far. It had been chocked full of work and seriousness. She had only her two sisters. If she could convince them to go along, they might just have the time of their lives. Did they dare?

The trip home on the bus went by like a drop of water on a hot grill bcause she was deep in thought. It was something to think about. That night when she walked into the apartment she went right away to Margaret’s room.

“Hey Maggie, I have something to tell you but you must keep it a secret. If you tell a soul, I could lose my job.”

Maggie automatically placed her hand over her heart, a habit of longstanding from when they were girls. “Cross my heart. What is it?”

“I found out what my boss is hiding. There are men from outer space in the city.”

Margaret wasn’t pleased by this tidbit. “I don’t know why you’re getting so excited. Every Tom **** and Harry has been seeing things and taking pictures of lights and the government has been denying it for years.”

“No. I don’t mean like that. Arnold says that we can even see the ship they came it. I talked to one today. We sat down right in Arnold’s office and we talked for about an hour. You should see him, he’s really nice looking.”

“He’s probably an actor, hired to come around and fool you guys, you know like they do on Halloween when everyone pretends to be someone else. Was he a good actor?”

Kathleen knew that there were just some people who were incapable of believing in anything that they couldn’t see, feel, taste, touch or smell. Years ago when men went to the moon there were people who never believed it. They said that it was all made up. She hoped that her sister was not one of those folk.

“Sis, I am serious. This is what the secret meeting was about the other day. This is why there was all of that secrecy. He beamed down. He appeared in the middle of the room without any way of getting there. I talked to him.”

Margaret saw that Kathleen was serious. “You want me to believe you? Ok, I will try. So what did you say to him and does he have a name? Is it anything that we can understand?”

“It’s General Ursus Northstar. He is leading a whole group down here and the whole purpose of the meeting is to find a bunch of women for wives and they don’t like the way we look at all. They like really slender and tall women.”

“That’s not surprising. Look at what the American women admire. Every day they become more enamored with twigs. Look at our movie stars. They’re all obsessed with not gaining weight.”

“I am going to write the letter tomorrow and it will go out to a lot of countries. After that they will interview each one and then decide which ones to take. I’m thinking about applying.”

Maggie was silent for a long moment while she looked at her sister trying to discern if she was joking or not. Finally she said “You can’t go without me.” Maggie said, half joking even though she thought Kathleen was serious. “That means that I will have to apply too. What about Rose? She’s in love. Remember that last letter we got from her. She’s met some French man and she’s crazy about him. Thinks he’s perfect. I don’t think she’ll leave him.”

“Oh Maggie. I know that we can’t leave her but who knows? By the time they do the choosing, she may have changed her mind about this guy. They are in the honeymoon phase of their relationship now. I don’t think Frenchmen have a reputation for being faithful and you know how Rose feels about that.”

“You’re serious about this aren’t you?”

“Are eggs poultry? Of course I am serious. But - I’ll wait until I see how it goes. As I said, that General Ursus doubts that we will fit the bill. Who knows, they might just find some other women on some obscure planet and they will be exactly what they are looking for.”

“I don’t know Kath. There might be a catch to the whole thing. They might want to turn us into sex slaves or something.”

“They promise that we can return if we don’t like it.”

“They could change their minds about bringing us back and our people here have no way of getting to us. We can’t even travel except to go up to a space station that's right above our own atmosphere.”

“Don’t think about the negatives. Think about getting it on with a really good looking guy and learning all about a brand new place to live. Soon they will have an orientation meeting and they’ll be giving information and explanations. We can go to all of those and then see if we still want to pursue this.

"In the meantime I am going to try to get to know General Ursus better. I’ll try to get to know his character. See if he is a liar. He’s going to come down and write the letter with me. But I am encouraged. Today I hit him with a Coke can and he didn‘t show any temper at all. Of course that could just mean that he has his emotions under really tight control.”

CHAPTER 10
THE LETTER GOES OUT

General Ursus surprised her early the next morning while she worked at her computer. The screen on which she was working flashed to his face so suddenly that it surprised her.

Christ general! You really know how to startle a person.

“Good morning Kathleen Kennedy, I will be beaming down momentarily for a quick meeting with Arnold Wong. After that it would please me if you and I could work on getting the letter completed.”

“Of course general, my time is your time. I was just working on a few drafts. I will be happy to share them with you.”

About five seconds later he was in the room. This time he brought her a drink.

“Try this Kathleen Kennedy. It is one of our morning drinks. We prefer it to your coffee.”

The drink was hot like coffee but different, yet it had none of the sweetness of hot chocOlate. It was quite tasty. Strangely she was not apprehensive at taking the drink. Perhaps she was beginning to trust him. She continued to sip it slowly after he had gone in to meet with Mr. Wong.

She had just about completed what she thought was the perfect tone of the letter. Not obscure enough to alarm and generally sticking to the truth without revealing too much. The time for revelations would come after they met each female applicant in a one-on-one situation to see if they could even be made receptive to the idea of an alien existence and presence here on Earth right now.

When Ursus came out of Wong’s office she handed him the short announcement which he looked at and then blinked. “I think this is good for preliminaries. You might want to add ‘unmarried’ to the first line “wanted young unmarried women“.


10 September 2010
From the desk of Congressman Arnold Wong

Positions available!

Wanted, young women between the ages of twenty five and thirty five who desire to meet young men of good character. The goal is marriage. Must have completed college; be of sound physical and mental health. Applicant must pass a physical examination that indicates good general health and reveals no contraindication to the ability to conceive children.


Those with children or who are expecting need not apply.

All who apply will be vetted as to character. Personality tests will be administered.

If you are an explorer at heart, if you are daring, if you think you would enjoy starting a new life with a dashing and caring young man, send your resume & supporting credentials, recent color photographs, (one full body, one face), and an additional essay of less than five hundred words in which you state why you would make a good candidate for this adventure.
Send all of the above on or before September 20th to:
Congressman Arnold Wong
115th Congress
454 Dirksen Representative Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20510
Wong.representativestateofcalif.gov

She made the recommend changes and took the letter in to Arnold who looked it over, smiled and said that he’d have Brown send it out.

The general was sitting in her seat when she returned.

“Well, that’s that.” she spoke because she didn’t know what else to say.

“We gave them only ten days to reply. Was that enough time?” he asked, still sipping his drink.

“If we had given them too long they would have had time to reconsider and decide not to apply. How are you going to get them to one place for an interview?”

He thought for a moment. "We know that you have Air Force Bases that have been closed over most of the country. There must be one whose condition is still good enough. We need a place where my men can leave the spaceship and get a bit of exposure to Earth’s atmosphere.”

Kathleen thought for a moment. “Offhand I would recommend McClellan Air Force base. It has the usual Wherry and Capehart housing that officers and non-commissioned officers used when it was open. It could probably be refurbished to meet your men’s needs, and yours. And there are several offices that would be sufficient for holding the interviews.”

“We will require a large meeting place, something like an auditorium so that the men and women can socialize in the evenings, under my watchful eye.” He smiled at the concept.

Who’s going to watch you general? Aloud she said "That would be wise that they get to know each other on neutral ground. I would recommend that they have a few of these meetings before you tell them of your true natures.”

“Our true natures are as you see us, very similar to yours. How many times do I have to tell you Kathleen Kennedy that there is no subterfuge in us.”

“Please sir, either call me Miss Kennedy or Kathleen.”

She noted that he was dressed just as a New Yorker would dress. Brown said that they had come into the meeting looking very much like foreigners in their high heeled boots and long hair that they had the habit of allowing to sway with each step. Brown had been awed and Kathleen noticed that Brown’s normally clumpy walk gave way to a more elegant stride. Of course the effort was wasted and the look was ruined by his Brown’s scruffy brown loafers.

“You look like you are getting acclimated to being on Earth, what with the jeans and all and it seems that you’ve cut your hair.”

He was dressed in form fitting jeans, short boots and a white shirt that fit his superb frame. His jeans looked as if they had been poured on. In spite of herself her eyes were drawn to the vee that cupped his sex. She flicked her eyes away. It wouldn’t do to be caught looking at that.

Since he was treating her with much less formality than he had yesterday, sort of like a friendly acquaintance, she was much more comfortable with him and returned the air of camaraderie. She sincerely hoped that he would not pull rank on her and resort to his highhanded attitude on some whim. She really did not like that behavior in men but was only too aware that men were mercurial in nature.

She figured that she might as well announce it now and see how he reacted.

“General Ursus. Congressman Wong has assigned me to this project. I will be your liaison to the women. I recommend that we travel to California, view the Base so that you can approve it. Then, as the applicants arrive, we will have a place to hold interviews with the women.” She waited for his reaction.

It didn’t seem to matter to him one way or the other. Evidently he was used to women participating at a high level.

“I will be traveling in our craft. Are you brave enough, Miss Kennedy to travel with us?”

Now there was a challenge for you. “What will it be like?”

“You will be safe. Nothing will harm you and it will only take minutes to go from one coast to the other.”

“Before I go I’ll have to make a few calls from this end. I will have to get a cleanup crew there to get started. They will need to ready the homes first and then the offices. Those two things will take most of the time that we have.”

“Then we’d best get started. Hire your crew today, if you can, tomorrow we travel.”

She spent the rest of the day on the phone leasing industrial cleaning resources to go in and over the next week clean each home from top to bottom. And she also instructed the cleaners to take one of the airplane hangars and outfit it for community living.

She downloaded an interior picture of the hangar and made a plan for its use. One section she devoted to an area for cards and other games, another for dancing and a third for innovations such as playacting, singing, or other interactive talents. She called around and hired a DJ to come every night for a week starting on the twenty-fifth; she figured that by that time they would have interviewed enough women to have rounded up a potential number so that the socializing could start. She wrote a note to herself to ask the general if there was dancing on his planet and if yes, what kind.

Near the end of the day she remembered that they had no food for this venture. She knew that there was a defunct cafeteria on the base; she drew out the map to see if it was within walking distance. It was so she called the cooking school located not too far from the base to see what they recommended. The owner was quite helpful. He said he would move his students to the on-base site if the government would foot the bill for the change.

She’d done all that she could from afar. She’d have to get on site to see what else was needed and address it then.

At the end of the day when she returned home she let Maggie know that she was going to the west coast for perhaps a month. And she brought Maggie up to date on all the things that she was working on to get this enormous project off the ground.

“Did you bring a copy of the letter? I’d like to see it.” Maggie had said. She was finally on board in her belief that what had seemed like a fantasy was really true.

Kathleen reached into her project portfolio and retrieved a copy which she showed to her. Maggie read it with interest. “While you’re out there I might take a few days off on vacation if you don’t mind.” I’d like to see this operation first hand.”

“That’d be great! Can you take the whole month off?”

Margaret couldn’t get that much time off but she did say that she thought two weeks might be doable.


**

Kathleen was up bright and early the next morning. She’d packed a few things and went in to work feeling a bit apprehensive. She was going to cross the nation in a spaceship. It was unreal.

General Ursus was waiting for her in her office when she arrived.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes. No. How many men are there?”

“That is classified information. You will not be exposed to them en masse. The ship is large. It is a city in the sky. It has the equivalent of an industrial kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, playrooms, pools of water. You will only see the very first level which is what you in your country would call the living room. You will, of course, meet the women who travel with us.”

“Are these women your girlfriends?”

“Yes. They are our friends, and they are women not girls. Why do you ask. Did you think that we’d travel with enemies?”

“On Earth, girlfriend has a special meaning. It means that you are their companions, their lovers.”

He laughed. “Then no.” He laughed again. “They are certainly not our girlfriends. I would say that they are our elders. They are some of the women on our planet who might have a bit more wisdom than even the four of us leaders. We wouldn’t dare … oh no…" and he laughed a third time, she thought at the thought of what would happen if one of the men approached these ladies inappropriately.

“Will they be hospitable or will they feel that we are trying to take their men, in a general way I mean?”

“They will see you as their saviors. As I said all of these women are mature. They have the welfare of the planet uppermost in their minds, as do we. They will welcome your presence. Try not to be put off by their looks as they are quite different from you. “

“Yes. You made that clear yesterday. I expect they will look like our models whereas you consider me more - robust, right?”

“You are what you are. I was wrong to criticize or as one from your world would say, to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“Or a gift cow.”

“Do you really have that saying or are you pulling me?”

“I think you had best work on your metaphors. Any self respecting woman of Earth will wonder if you are strange – she will wonder if you have perhaps been locked up in some insane asylum or something similar.”

“What did I say?”

“It’s not pulling you. It’s pulling your leg; enough of this nonsense. Tell me more about the spaceship ride. Will I feel like I’m falling? Will it be like an amusement park ride?”

“I do not know about that. I do know that you will not feel as if you are falling. You will hardly feel that you are moving at all. Once we get in there, you will sit and chat with the ladies for a few moments and then it will be time for you to get off the ship to inspect our base. Now give me the address so that I can give our pilot the coordinates."

“Does he know our street numbering systems?”

“Don’t worry about how he will find it. It is known by its coordinates. It’s similar to your GPS system.”

She had given him the address and almost immediately she felt herself rising up - up- through the roof of the UN building, up high above the city of New York. Higher and higher they both rose, she was aware that he was immediately behind her. They were going too high! There was nothing between her and the ground but air!

She was just beginning to feel panic when she felt his hands on her. He steadied her by holding her waist in a grip that was firm and sure. She placed her hands over his. His grasp had the effect of grounding her. Even so very soon they were high above the city and her heart was racing. She wanted to hide her face in his chest and perhaps put her legs around his but that would be ridiculous so she forced herself to calmness.

Then before her was a sight that effectively took her attention off herself, there, before her lay the ship. It was a magnificent shining thing. It was also larger than she could have imagined. Elliptical in shape, it must have taken up three city blocks. How could we fail to see this huge object from the city streets below?

They entered from the underside. They seemed to move by osmosis or diffusion through the walls, the feeling of being drawn in becoming more overwhelming by the mini-second. It was surely a kind of gravity but of a sort that she had never experienced before. Then there was the interior laid out before her. She looked around in curiosity and amazement. It was strange but marvelous!

Ursus having seen this scene thousands of times was oblivious to his surroundings. It was home and had been home for several months. He was anxious to get back to his real home and park this ship. If they could have concluded their business in the morning, he would have left before noon.

Instead he was preoccupied by the feel of her. He had never touched a woman of Earth before. When her breathing had increased to panic level he had grasped her by the waist prepared to pick her up and place her against his solid body in an attempt to substitute its solidity for the security of her terrain. He could only imagine how it must feel to one not used to seeing the Earth from the air without barriers or support.

He had not had to resort to picking her up. She had calmed immediately, a sign of her innate bravery and perhaps just a smidgen of trust? He regretted that he could not have held her in his arms. The touch of her at her waist intrigued him. She felt strange, but not in an unpleasant way.

He was well used to the feel of the women of Lira. Because they were so slender, the feel of bone thinly covered with flesh made the sensation predominately one of rigidity and inflexibility. The main sensation with this woman had been just the opposite, of softness with a good deal of turgidity. Of skin and tissue that was pliant and curvy. He had wanted to squeeze her.

He realized that he had been a bit arrogant in his assessment the other day. She was not at all stout. She was just fleshy in some places.

After her outrage at his use of the word the other day, he had made it a point to wander the streets of the city. He had seen some women who truly earned that appellation of stoutness but not this woman. She was of the kind that Earth men turned their heads in quick succession to take another look at. His internal translator supplied the word that he had not known until this moment. ’Double take’. Yes that was what they did for women who looked like Kathleen. Perhaps he should explore this concept at greater lengths. In fact when he had his nightly talk with his men to update them, he would include this very subject.

“Give yourselves time; it is entirely possible that the women of Earth might grow more attractive the longer you are around them. Do not discount their unconventional appearances.”

CHAPTER 11
KIBBA RHENOUM

Kathleen had no hint of the general’s thoughts. She was only dimly aware that he had released her and that there was once more a welcome firmness beneath her feet. She looked around at surroundings that were at once familiar while still remaining strange.

The walls were translucent and covered with beautiful designs that reminded her of the familiar stained glass windows at the orphanage church. Still, these figures surely had nothing to do with religion. They looked too worldly. They were back lighted in soft golden tones, the light making the patterns seem non-intrusive, just pleasantly there. The seating was larger than she was used to. She supposed that it would be since these people were taller.

Noticing this little detail had the effect of making her think that the surrounding weren’t staged. There were no lamps, and it felt as if the sun was shining into the room providing natural light. This gave her an altogether pleasant feeling. That along with the colors - golds, pale greens, a touch of warmth in a bit of mauve - made the room an agreeable place to be in. She turned around to look at the general but he had left. She was alone.

Well, they have me now. The entrance had disappeared and she could see no way out so refusing to panic, she took a seat on one of the comfortable sofas.

Soothing music flooded the room and it had a calming effect on her. She was surprised that she could see the notes too. They displayed themselves in various places around the room providing a subtle light show. She had never before heard the tunes playing but she thought them beautiful. She would have classified the piece now playing as classical. She wondered idly if they also had Jazz, or Rock or Blues.

With that thought there came a change in the character of the music.

The base beat became heavy, the top beat sassy. It was so compelling that had she been in more familiar surroundings, she would have gotten up and danced. It was the kind of music that her sister Rose called music to ‘get down to’. They regularly danced on ladies night at one of the uptown clubs.

The thought of Rose made her suddenly nostalgic. She should be sharing this new experience with her only relatives, her sisters. The feeling was so strong that she felt the beginning of tears well up in the corners of her eyes.

The music changed immediately to reflect her change in mood. It became funereal, slow and gloomy. Surprise at this new development snapped her out of her moodiness, and the music’s gloomy sounds changed too and she marveled at the realization that the music was a mirror to her changing moods. How did it do that?

Her attention was diverted from the music when into the room glided a female. Following closely behind her was the general.

“Kibba Rhenoum, this is Kathleen Kennedy. She was not present at the gathering earlier this week but since that meeting, she has been appointed liaison to the women that we are trying to choose our mates from.

“Miss Kennedy, this lady is the sister to one of our heads of state. It is important to the mission that you and she come to an amicable understanding of what we are doing and that you and she reach agreement. I will leave you two together for the trip across your land. I will ask the pilot to travel at a speed which will insure that we will arrive in one hour’s time. After that, should more time be necessary, it can be arranged?”

Kathleen noticed that he ended his statement on a questioning note to which the stately lady nodded in agreement or perhaps consent. With that statement he left the room presumably to get the ship underway to Sacramento, California.

Kathleen looked at the woman, not at all sure if she should speak or if she should wait to be acknowledged in some way. Kibba solved Kathy’s dilemma.

“The music has spoken for you young woman. It is a herald that signalizes to us that your intent and motivations are for the highest purposes. There is no guile in you and deceit is not a part of your makeup. It is important that we know that early on in our associations so that precious time is not wasted attempting to look behind pleasing expressions and the banal thoughts. You Earthlings have learned to veil yourselves well.”

“I don’t know what to say ma’am. Am I to ask questions or will you ask them of me?”

For the first time a smile lit Kibba’s eyes as she looked at the fresh faced young woman and answered Kathleen’s question. “I will tell you, I will ask you; then if there are other things that we have not covered, you may then ask me questions.

“First, I will tell you a little about how Lira came to be in this predicament.

“This information was covered in part at the meeting with the scientists and others. To make it short, we allowed natural selection to take its course. Men thought they preferred tall, thin women but too late they found that women were becoming too tall, too thin. Our breasts disappeared several hundred years ago, that meant that we were unable to nurse our young. Substitute formulae’s were found. Still, we did not get the big picture.

"Our fecundity was placed in jeopardy first. Most women could only have one, possibly two children before falling ill. Many more were not fertile at all. Do you know what that meant for our world Kathleen?”

Kathy snapped to attention after being lulled by the pleasing tones of her voice. “Uh I would think at that time your world began to suffer a population decline.”

“That is precisely what happened. Yet at the individual level we thought all was well. After all when a family is small, it is more prosperous, more manageable. Yes indeed this is true and this truth alone, by itself, would have been a good thing but we did not pause to look at the cause of the drop in population. Such a drastic drop should have been produced by choice, not by necessity. After two children our women’s health was challenged, many began to die. It was almost as if we had Brittle Bone Syndrome.

"About twenty-five years ago, we all ceased to produce children. There are no children on our planet. The men that you see here are some of our last generation. None of them have offspring.”

Kathleen was shocked. “How do you know that it is the women’s fault? It could be caused by something in the men. Perhaps they could be tested and find -”

“Even though common observations told us that it was in the women, females began to die by the hundreds, not from disease but simply because we had allowed our genetics to overtake our ability to survive on the planet. Still, we had the men tested and they are healthy.” She got to her feet but with some difficulty, as if her joints ached.

“Now, at one time there were women on the planet who were not tall neither were they thin. Since then, they have chosen to relocate to a neighboring planet being happier there. They are what you would call lesbians, they reproduce through cloning.”

“Why wouldn’t you choose that method too? Surely you too have mastered that science. Even here on Earth we are toying with it.”

“If you are toying with it, you know that cloning only produces a replica of the cell from which it originated. Cloning a male can only produce another male. Cloning a defective female can only produce a female who cannot reproduce. For us, it is not a viable answer.

"Our men desire lovers of the opposite sex, not of the same sex. We are no longer foolish enough to believe that sexual orientation is something as simple as choice. It is much more complex, especially for men. ”

Kathleen filed that last bit away for further exploration at another time. For now, she wanted to know the practicalities of how the selection of the women would go, what would happen if they could not conceive? What kind of hospitals they had and so forth.

Almost as if she could read her mind Kibba began to speak again.

“If on an individual basis a particular couple cannot conceive, we will do as you do on this planet, either adopt, or clone a tiny replica of either the mother or the father or of both. The resulting child will look exactly like its sire, if it is a boy but the features will be different in that the father and son are separated by age. They will always look as they are with the years separating them.

“What we are experiencing is not a challenge for individuals. This is a planetary challenge. Enough women must conceive so that we will have a population of children again who will in turn have children. Even the cloned children from the infertile couples will find mates and have opportunities for satisfying home lives.”

“So we can expect that our women will be respected?”

“Yes child. They will be more than respected. They will be the mothers of our planet. It is their culture that will become the predominant culture. The children always follow the mother in that way. The planet will so revere your women that if on an individual basis the man of your choosing does not live up to his vows of honor, respect, and caring, he will be suitably chastised or punished depending on the offense. We will not allow the state of degradation of women that exists on Earth today come to the Earth women who travel to Lira.”

She sat and looked directly at Kathleen.

“We practice the latest medical techniques. We have not had the honor of bringing new life to the planet for quite a few years but we have not forgotten. My sister is Head of State. I am her ambassador and liaison to the women who choose to relocate. Once they leave your planet, they will be under my care. I will see that they are cared for and that they are introduced to the ways of our planet in gentle and manageable increments.”

“What are some of the ways of your planet?”

“Compared to your Earth, we are more agrarian but we also use technology highly. We have gardens. We raise our own fruits and vegetables, some of which are similar to those on Earth, others that are not. But… the methods by which we grow them are much less labor intensive than on Earth.

“The women will live with their men in what we call pods. General Ursus has informed us that on Earth, that word ‘pod’ is less than flattering. Our pods are quite attractive. Perhaps I should call them apartments. The difference is that it is communal living. Each pod houses four to ten couples, depending on rank. Each couple has its own sleeping, bathing, bathing pool, garden and lounging quarters but their cottage is connected to the larger communal rooms where eating and recreation occur.”

“So one woman could find herself preparing food for up to ten to twenty people every day?” Cooking was ok with Kathleen but not something that she wanted to spend a lot of time doing.

“Certainly it can be done that way, if one enjoys cooking to that extent. That is not the norm. Many pods hire cooks. This is what they do for a living.

"Others have women’s day, when the women of the pod get together and cook, later they will have a men’s day, sometimes a couples’ day. There are evenings when you will want to go out to something that serves the same purpose as your restaurant does here, although it will look a bit different to you at first.

"Finally there is always machine food. One can always go to the kitchen and order a meal that is prepared at a central location and beamed to your pod. It too is quite tasty.”

Kibba thought of something to add. “If a pod hires cooks, they will have days off and on any given day no one on any job works more than four to six hours. So when the cooks are off, or after hours, that is an ideal time to order food beamed in.”

“You make it sound like heaven.”

“It is far from being heaven. We like to think that we are closer to it than you of Earth. We are learning the spirit of unity, cooperation and collaboration.

"Women who hope to relocate to the planet will be subjected to the music test to assess their vibration levels. Yours are particularly high Kathleen. You have not considered joining us have you? You would be a particular asset to the young women of Earth who travel to our planet.

“General Ursus says that you are brave and resourceful. These are qualities that we will need especially when most of the men are away in another galaxy being peacekeepers.”

“General Ursus has said that Liran men are not attracted to us. He says that the women of Earth are stout and remind him of cows.” And she cupped her hands to show that his intention in saying so was because of their breasts.

For the first time Kibba Rhenoum looked slightly embarrassed. She put her hands to her cheeks.

“Even if he thinks so, he should not have said that to you. We are also learning to perfect our thoughts; evidently General Ursus is not up to speed with that lesson.

"Kathleen I will be truthful with you. I am quite a bit older than any of the men on this expedition. I can say this from experience. Men will like what is placed on their plates. Give any man a month of living with a beautiful woman such as yourself and he will come to wonder how he thought your chest ’cow like’, he will accept the look of them so.

"But tell me truly Kathleen are they useful for anything but show? Can you actually nurse your babies from them as cows do?”

Kathleen had laughed at this absurd question coming from this wise woman. It showed the extent to which the women of Earth were an anomaly to these people.

“I have never conceived a child but yes, if I do, I will expect that they will provide nourishment.”

“I suppose that they are considered a part of your private parts? We have seen pictures of them of course. The pictures come from our old historical database and a few from your country of your model women in your magazines. Never were they as pulchritudinous as some of the young women that we’ve watched since we’ve landed here.”

She presumed that pulchritudinous was a complementary word from the way it was uttered, sort of in awe of the idea of having boobs. She supposed she’d feel the same way if she had none.

“They are private. I have two sisters, we don’t even show them to each other but if one of my sisters walks in on me, I don’t feel the need to cover up, not instantaneously that is. Yet, some women in our drinking places, our bars dance without anything on top. Also when we go to the beach we loosen our bra like tops to tan our backs evenly.”

The lady looked confused. Kathy didn’t know if it was her use of the word bra or the word tan as Kibba was dark-skinned, almost chocOlate.

“A bra is a supportive device, a tan is -”

“I know the tan. I do not know the support.”

Oh well Kathleen thought. She pulled her cotton sweater off over her head and showed Kibba what she meant. “Shall I take it off so that you can see them?”

“If they are private to you, I could not ask it of you.”

But she was intrigued Kathleen could see, so she undid the snaps and allowed the older lady to see how breasts looked. Hers stood firm and high with dusky pink nipples.

Kibba observed for only a moment before she said, “Ours are like the men’s now, flat without even the muscles underneath that make theirs attractive. When our ancestors had them on their chests they were not large at all.

“Thank you. It was an inappropriate curiosity that I should not have had but I am happy to have it satisfied.” And she laughed as if she were a young girl.

The hum of the spacecraft stopped suddenly reminding Kathleen that indeed they were traveling though the atmosphere. They must have just landed. She quickly set herself to rights just in time to keep General Ursus from seeing what he would have probably called her udders. The sight of them would surely have made him go running into the night.

CHAPTER 12
THE PLAN IS FIRMED

Over the next seven days one by one the applications from women all over the world began to pour in to Arnold Wong in Washington. Once received, they were duly packaged in bundles and sent by Federal Express to Kathleen. On a daily basis and she and the General began to pour over what promised to be the weeding out job of a lifetime.

Initially she had told the General that she could do it. She was sure that his time could be spent much more wisely at some other task than pouring through the submissions. Privately she thought he was just nosy but she kept those thoughts to herself not daring to utter them aloud.

They received thousands. Some from whacky, up for anything girls, others from the save the world types who sent thinly veiled hints that felt almost like sermons saying that marriage was sacred and should only be undertaken after long courtships etc. A few, about a third, sounded reasonable and the pictures were at least acceptable if not gorgeous. As requested by the Lira, all countries and cultures were considered.

Each morning the two breakfasted together, she and the General. They spent about three hours reviewing applications; they lunched separately as he wanted to keep in touch with his men. After lunch they worked until four or five in the afternoon.

After that she often spent the evening with Kibba Rhenoum. They were becoming quite friendly to each other and she was also getting to know the ten other women who had accompanied Kibba.

At first the women were standoffish with her, perhaps feeling some of the things that Kathleen had intuited they would feel; that they were being supplanted in the eyes of their men by Earth women. When they found Kathy to be friendly and not arrogant or condescending they warmed considerably.

Even though Ursus had called these women elders, four of the women were older and not at all interested in the younger men of the spaceship but six were probably not much older than Kathleen.

The truth was that these women had not been able to find husbands because by now the men knew that to marry one of them would sentence him to a life without children. Now that their ability to become fathers had been jeopardized, being the perverse creatures that men are, they wanted the little critters more than ever.

Kathleen spent several evenings sitting with the women, learning more about their homeland and telling them about hers.

“The men of Earth would love you here.” Kathleen told them. “There are many men here who don’t want children at all.”

“But we are taller than they, wouldn’t that matter?”

“Not if you have money.” Kathleen was blunt with her assessment. “A woman with wealth can always find someone.”

“But then he would be marrying us for our money and not for love.”

“Do you think that your men will be marrying us for love? No. It’s for children. So we all are compromising in one way or the other.”

She had never admitted to Kibba that she too was going to apply. She had told no one but her sister. She thought that Kibba had guessed but she never questioned her about that.

Instead they talked about foods. Kathleen learned that they were mostly vegetarian. Very little meat was eaten. They had learned how to insure that even the fighting men received enough protein to stay healthy.


*****

When they first arrived at the now defunct California Air Force Base, they had found the various vendors that Kathy had hired showing up for work on that very first day. Kathleen did an assessment and discovered that there was so much to be done until she’d have to round up more manpower.

Ursus (they were on first name basis by then) suggested that he dress his men in the uniform of earth, as he jokingly called Earth’s jeans and t-shirts, and put them to work. “Why should they work out in their exercise rooms when they could get it first hand and fresh air with it too? Your atmosphere is a bit heavier but not enough to make them weak.” Ursus surmised.

He had sent his purser out to buy jeans and a pack of white t-shirts for each of the men, (she learned that there were a little over a thousand of them.) He also arranged for a pair of slacks and a casual shirt to be bought for them for the social meetings that they would be attending once the women were chosen.

Kathleen got the bright idea of bringing them a JC Penney Catalog and one by one the men put in their orders and so the purser set out on the daunting job of outfitting these tall men.

“Once they get acclimated, they will be able to go and shop for themselves, until they do, they will have to use the buyer; he has had classes in world culture and is less likely to make a big gaff that can’t be covered up.” Ursus had told her candidly.

“What are you using for money?” Surely they had no knowledge of the USD.

“Wong supplied us with credit cards. We have MasterCards, Visas and an all purpose debit card all at your government’s expense.

“Look, have you gotten the music situation covered? Even with the work that they’ll do around here the men have been cooped up for quite a while. I think being able to dance some of that excess energy off will make it easier for the women to handle them.”

“Are you going to try to keep them from, you know … getting too chummy?” Her cheeks warmed.

“Say what you mean. Will I stop them from attempting to have sex with your women? I don’t think so, but I will make a rule, sleep with her, and consider it done. You and she will have made your decision. You will marry.

”Don’t look at me like that Kathleen. Do you think that I am being too controlling?”

“Not at all; without rules this has the potential to turn into one large orgy. But I thought we agreed that we wouldn’t tell the women that these men are from outer space. A woman might sleep with a man and still not want to leave her home.”

“What do you suggest we do?” She liked that he said ’we’.

Kathleen was very organized and this question gave her the opening that she had been waiting for. She began, revealing that she had given it some thought.

“I think we set up groups of one hundred women. We work out a schedule. We invite two hundred men on the first night for a meet and greet. We allow them to mingle. I don’t think any of them will succumb to intimacy with only one night together.

“On the second night we tell the women all about the men and the planet, we allow them to meet with Kibba and then, we ask if they are even considering accepting the proposal of a Liran. If they are not, we send them home, no one will believe their wild tales. And if someone does, we’ll pretend that this was one of those weird reality shows and that we were just kidding.

"If they are considering saying yes, we ask them to declare who they want by the end of the week. We start a new group each night. In one week we will have considered seven hundred women. Your goal is a thousand.”

“We will have seen seven hundred. What if only a third sign on to go?”

“If as many as a third sign on that will be great for us. That means in three weeks to a month you can make the first trip home and we can receive our first batch of oil.”

Following Kathleen’s recommendations the interview panels were set up. They determined that to meet their plans to host one social per night followed by a night with Kibba, they needed to see one hundred women per day. Allowing half an hour for each interview, each team could see approximately twenty women per day. It would be a grueling schedule. If they could get more people to conduct the interviews, that would lessen the load.

Knowing that they needed more people to interrogate the women, people who would keep their confidence, Kathleen called and pleaded with her sister Margaret to come a bit earlier so that she could help out.

Maggie was thrilled to be asked to help. This would be an ideal situation. It would give her a reason to be here and involved. She could be around the aliens, see and form her own opinion all without them knowing that she and Kathleen were even interested in this adventure.

Regarding her job Margaret couldn’t say that her bosses felt the same way but she pleaded family emergency and got the extra week added to the two weeks that she had already scheduled off.

The four generals would each form a team. Kathleen asked Arnold to send a few folk who had been in on the first secret meeting over. Arnold sent Evan Alexander and Barry Brown. Once Maggie arrived, there would be seven teams conducting the interviews with Kathleen acting as coordinator and hostess.

The general consensus was that Kibba looked too alien to be seen on that first day as a part of the interviewing team. But there was a very important role for Kibba to play from behind the scenes. She knew how to set up the music.

Kibba was pleased to work her magic with the all important music. She directed that the music be wired individually into each of the small offices where the interviews were to be held and that songs of Earth be substituted for Liran music. That way the music could be used to assess each woman individually.

Once Kathleen learned the power of the alien music, the purpose of the interview had been changed so that they planned to allow the music to be the first test.

Kibba gave the newcomers a crash course in the meanings of the various genres of music and how they related to the interviewee’s psyche. Classical music was highest, after that any happy song of whatever genre, then sad songs then songs with low lyrics such as cheating on one’s wife, or husband, using drugs or alcohol i.e. ‘Let’s go get stoned’. There were no restrictions to the carrying out of those activities but - for it to come out in song when a person entered the room indicated that that person’s vibrations were quite low and they probably would not fit in on a planet that was ready to move into the fifth dimension.

That taken care of, the only other thing left to do was to outfit each small cubicle with a desk and two chairs.

On the evening before the interviews were to start, Kathleen dashed about checking that the Capehart and Wherry housing was set up to receive the enlisted men. It would be impossible for them to continuously beam down several times a day. There were just too many of them for this to be feasible.

The on-base housing was ready. The quarters had been cleaned until they were sparkling. The rented furniture was in place. The water, gas and electricity had been turned on. Nothing remained but that all thousand men take up residence in the places prepared for them.

She then checked at the local Holiday Inn to make sure that it too was ready. She had reserved a group of rooms so that the women could sleep, two to a room while they were in town. The hotel was within walking distance to the formerly out-of-commission air force base and the inn was overjoyed to get the business.

Kathleen had hated to lie to the innkeeper but she thought it wise to invent a cover story. There were sure to be questions about the activity on the base. It had been out of use as a base for so long, any rumors that might be fabricated might be more bizarre than what was really going on. She told them that women were having such a hard time finding husbands she had invited a number of upstanding women and men to get together to see if they could hit it off with the intention of marrying.

The innkeeper had been all smiles. “Sort of like eHarmony in action is it? Well good luck to you Miss. I don’t suppose you are puttin’ yourself into the running now are you?”

“I just might. You never can tell.” Kathleen had laughed in reply as she left the establishment.

Then it was time to drive the thirty miles to the airport to pick up her sister. On the spur of the moment she asked Ursus if he would like to ride along with her. Of course he would. He wanted to see as much of Earth up close and personal as he could.

Riding in a car was new to him. She could tell that he was leery of the traffic congestion, the in and out, the stops. In spite of this, they managed to chat.

’’Will you choose a wife out of this first go around?” Kathleen had asked curious if he saw himself as part of the melee, or if he did not.

“I don’t think so. I have decided and so have the other generals that our wives must be special women. Women who fully understand what they are getting into by marrying men of our rank. And”, he added, “while we have agreed that the women could do the choosing, I am afraid that Bas, Draco, Cain and I cannot allow that for ourselves. We must choose our mates. Their role is too important to the peace and unity of the planet.”

“So you are looking for special women. What will their roles be?”

“One important duty is that they must help keep peace among the Earth women. They will be a sort of peacekeeper through modeling the role of a wife.”

“No arguing with you generals, being obedient and all that I suppose?”

“We don’t want our wives to be obedient if they don’t agree with us; we do want women who aren’t afraid to speak their minds but will do so behind closed doors, in our pod among the four of us. It would not do to have a wife who likes to spread private business among the other women. It might incite a cycle of unhappiness."

“Among the four of you? Will she have only one husband or do… “

“We share planetary business. We feel that four heads are better than one. We do not share our private dealings.”

“And where do you think you will find this paragon? Still thinking of getting a model?”

He had chuckled at that, remembering his naivety in confusing ideal woman with model woman.

“Actually you and I get along quite well Kathleen Kennedy. Have you given any thought to going along with us? Kibba thinks that you could be persuaded.”

She looked over at him quickly and then put her eyes back to the freeway. She thought his cheeks were a little pink. “Are you thinking of choosing me?” Her heart had speeded up at the thought.

“I am giving it serious thought. Would you consider coming with me and being my wife?”

“How could I? I don’t want a husband who detests me.”

“Oh no never that!” he protested. “You have it wrong. I do not detest you. How could you think such thing? What I said about you that day was in general. It would apply to all women of your species, not you individually. You cannot help it if you are as you were created. You have a beautiful spirit and in working with you I can see that you are quite intelligent and capable.”

“But you don’t think that I have a beautiful body?”

“I will love you and care for you and any children that we have.”

“Is this a proposal?”

“Yes. It is. Will you marry me and go home with me?”

Her heart jumped. That was sudden. But then one doesn’t have to think about it forever. She knew that all along she had prepared to go. She was prepared even though she didn’t know even one man among the Lira that she would have.

Now the general had proposed to her. In spite of his preference for slender women, he was not alone. Any other man among them would have the same preferences.

Why not take this one? Before he had revealed his preferences in women she had been attracted to him. They got along well. If she discounted that one little reservation she could do it. She would do it.

I know that he and I could get along, make a home. Is that enough? He is old enough and mature enough for me. I would think middle thirties although he looks younger something tells me that he couldn’t have made general much younger than that.

She answered aloud.

“If you are sure, I think I could go but there are stipulations. My two sisters must agree to go too, if not both, at least one. Then if we can make this project work, and there is a first shipload of women that go to Lira, I will go with you as your wife. We can see if we can deal together. But if there are return trips that you make for this same purpose, I want the role that I have now. I want to return with you and serve as liaison from the Earth side.”

“I cannot promise that you will return for every subsequent trip. There will be other men heading up some of them. I find that even the thought of you traveling for months with another man does not sit well with me. But when I travel, who better than you? You will have lived the life and can give first hand information. Now that is settled. I am pleased. Are you pleased as well?”

“Provided my sister agrees, I will be pleased too. I will be pleased and excited.”

She took a deep breath and they continued on their way to the airport.

CHAPTER 13

THE ‘UNCONVENTIONALS’ BEGIN TO ARRIVE

At the airport Kathleen found the short-term-parking lot easily and pulled into a slot right up front near the street. They were about ten minutes early so there was really no hurry. Still, Kathy was excited about seeing her sister even though they had been apart less than two weeks.

To get to the terminal they had to cross a busy street. Even though the broad crosswalk was there, it looked precarious. Again Ursus showed his unfamiliarity with handling traffic when he was reluctant to step out, depending upon the oncoming cars to stop.

Kathleen took his arm and tugged.

“Come on man this is California. They’re not going to stop until you force them to. Once they see your leg come out, they’ll stop.”

With her towing him along, they crossed the street with no problem; true to her word, the traffic parted and let them through.

Ursus was taken aback. “That is something. What if an inebriated person or someone who’s uses drugs comes through, they’d run over us wouldn’t they?” he had exclaimed once they had reached the safety of the other side.

“Yeah. Mind you it’s not like that in every place. When I’ve gone to Washington DC on business, the traffic does not stop. The pedestrian has to cross at his own risk. How else are we to cross if we don’t step out? ”

He could think of a better answer but it wouldn’t be possible here on Earth so he took her question to be rhetorical and didn’t even try to form an answer.

They entered the busy terminal.

“We’d better not tell my sister of the plans that we just made, or that I’ve decided to go if she and Rose go.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t want her to feel coerced. If she decides to do it, I want it to be because she wants to, not because she thinks if she doesn’t she’ll hold me back. We are quite close like that. We’ve been all each other has had for all of our lives.”

They reached the barrier that signaled that any further was off limits to non-passengers and took a seat. “Her plane should be landing right about now. We shouldn’t have to wait long.” Kathy said, showing her impatience.

“So where is the third sister?”

“She’s in Japan right now. If Maggie agrees, we two will try to talk Rose into coming back and joining us. It might be difficult because she had fallen in love and probably won’t want to leave him.”

“Do you Earthlings do that often, fall in love I mean?”

“We like to think that we do. That is what we say when we get married. What? Don’t Lirans all fall in love?”

“Yes we do. But we don’t do it immediately. Falling in love takes sometimes years and years. And it occurs only after one has gone through several hardships and joys together. We do not call the rush of excitement that one gets at the thought of the person, love. We know that it is just a pale imitation and doesn’t last.”

“Well, to be perfectly honest with you, that is what most of us feel too. We know it’s infatuation but we call it love and then say vows that we will make it last forever. Then when it fades, we can’t stand the person because we really didn’t know him. He does something that we don’t like and we get a divorce. Then we marry someone else.”

“If that is the case, I hope that you don’t feel this ‘love’ for me. If you do, it might not last until we get home.”

“Home to the base or home to Lira?”

“Surely it will last until we reach the base.” He grinned. "Lira is home. Seriously, we will make this work you and I won’t we? I don’t want us to be divorced because if we do, how can we be examples for my people?”

“I think that if you want us to stay together, we will. Most of the time here on Earth it is the man whose eye starts to wander and then the woman can’t take that so she makes his life miserable.”

“What is the wandering eye? Is it something akin to being ****-eyed, or cross-eyed?” She looked at him closely and saw that he was joking.

“Yes, that is exactly what it is. You will become ****-eyed if your eyes wander to another woman because I will bop you over the head.” He threw his head back in his characteristic way of laughing but cut it off short. “Here comes your sister down the moving stairway.”

“She’s on the escalator? Yes that’s her. How did you know?”

They had both risen from their seats and started towards her.

“That is a silly question Kathleen Kennedy. She looks just like you, except her hair is yellow not red, and her chest feeders are not as large as yours.”

Kathy stopped dead in her tracks. “You noticed the size of her boobs in that short of time? Maybe you’d rather marry her instead of me since the smaller they are the more pleased you seem to be.”

“How could I not notice? They are out there for everyone to see.”

Just then a contingent of female basketball players walked by, probably in town after having played the Monarchs, Sacramento’s WNBA team. Most were tall, slender and graceful. They distracted him and his head turned automatically. Evidently these women looked interesting to him; perhaps they reminded him of the women of Lira. After a few moments he turned back to her with a grin but he was unapologetic.

“Now where were we? You were asking me if I wanted to trade you for your sister. Not a chance in your hell of that happening.”

By then Maggie had gotten off the escalator. They stood at the foot to the side, Kathleen grinning ear to ear. “Mags! You made it.”

“Was there any doubt? Some things are just too intriguing to pass up.” She looked over at the super handsome man with her sister. “I’ll bet I know who you are - you must be Mr. Evan Alexander the renowned scientist. Kathleen told me that you would be here.”

Ursus’ welcoming smile wilted. He knew Evan and thought his looks quite unremarkable. How could she mistake him for that drip of a fellow?

“No Maggie, this is the general. You know, General Ursus, from the other planet.” This last word she whispered, she didn’t want that bit of information to be overheard, not that anyone would believe it.

“You are kidding me! Oh he is so handsome, I never, ever would have thought. He looks normal in a very - “

“Maggie, he can understand you. You can speak to him, not about him.”

Maggie’s face turned red. “You can understand me?” She took a deep breath and clamed herself. “I am pleased to meet you Mr. Ursus.”

He had given her a slight bow and a killer smile while he tucked his shortened hair behind his ear.

“He’s mine Maggie.” Kathleen spoke before she knew that she was going to do so. He looked at her as if to say, what’s this? Thought you wanted her to be free to make up her own mind.

“Sorry Maggie, I hadn’t intended to break it to you this way but I didn’t want you to get attracted to my guy.”

Maggie realized the much more serious implications for her sister right away. “You are not saying that you are really going to take part in this - this - experiment are you?”

“I’m seriously considering it. Let’s talk more about it when we get home. Oh I missed you girl. It’s good to see you.”

“I know. Now what is it that you want me to do?”

Kathleen was encouraged because even though Margaret knew that she might go, she had not screamed or started to cry. That meant that the idea was acceptable to her didn’t it? That meant that she might consider going didn’t it?

By now they had picked up Maggie’s luggage and crossed back into the parking terminal. Ursus sat in the back to allow the sisters freedom to talk. He was content to sit and watch these two women who looked so much alike. Even without the difference in hair color he knew that he’d know Kathleen.

She had a distinctive and melodious voice. Her sister did too but the pitch was a bit higher. He’d never realized that he liked the low husky tone more, until now.

She had a graceful way of moving her hands. He thought if her hands were tied, she’d not be able to talk. And she was enthusiastic. What woman would put her heart into making this project a success as she had? She had no fear, well, not much. Who else would have trusted him enough to go up into the sky and then enter into an unknown thing that could have been a trap for all she knew. Perhaps it was an elaborate trap but an ambush nevertheless. Yes. She was definitely the one that he wanted by his side for the rest of his life.

By his side, yes; in his bed, perhaps. Only another man from his world could understand these strange unsure feelings. A curvy body seemed so outlandish to him. In his travels throughout the galaxy as peacekeeper and just for enjoyment he had seen many women. Most had long hair, although a few didn’t. Many were slender.

Earth was much more prosperous than the majority of the planets to which he had traveled. A few were fat, usually from eating the wrong foods or from excessive childbearing but now he could see, his woman was neither of these. She was beginning to grow on him. The question was, would she grow on him enough for him to feel desire for this woman? He hoped so. It was of importance to the mission. It was important to him that he desire the mother of his children. If he did not develop those sensibilities, it would be a long road that he was setting before himself.

When they got back to the base he helped the women out of the rented vehicle and left them to their own devices while he went up to choose the first two hundred men and began the pep talk that was designed to remind them of how important this mission was. He thought they might have some of the same feelings that he had and he wanted their reassurance that whatever they felt, they would not show distain or arrogance. Their planet needed to be saved and these women were its saviors!

Meanwhile Kathleen was showing Maggie to the home where the two of them would live either until the project was over, or until they left with the aliens.

Capehart and Wherry housing was common to most Air force military bases. Named after the two senators who had sponsored the bill way back in the fifties, the housing was built because when soldiers came home to their base, most of the housing in the surrounding city was stretched to the max. Many military men could not find homes near to their base.

Most of the Capehart and Wherry housing was built along the lines of the housing in the area, which in California, due to its mild weather, meant they were relatively airy and light.

The junior officers and married non-commissioned officers in the fifties had been assigned to Wherry, while Capehart was reserved for the married officers.

It was to one such single family Capehart home that Kathleen had assigned to herself and Maggie.

All of the leaders of the project, including the aliens would be hosted in the single family residences while the Liran men would have the barracks that were reserved for the single Non Commissioned Officer’s.

Kathleen started by coaching Maggie on what she wanted her to do tomorrow.

“We start at seven-thirty sharp Mags. We have individual offices set up in that building over there,” and she pointed to a prominent building that Margaret couldn’t miss. But don’t worry; I’ll point you in the right direction in the morning before I go to the hotel to pick up the first batch of women.”

“Here’s what you’ll do. They have this marvelous contraption that plays music according to your personality, well, not exactly the personality, but it plays according to a person’s moral development, their character. If you are a liar or a thief and so forth it will play negative music. You’ll recognize it when you hear it. Or if the person had pure intent, it will play classical or happy music.”

“Get out of here! You’re kidding right?”

“I’m as serious as a heart attack. You will be stationed at a desk inside an office. In order to reach you, the applicant will be asked to stand in an anti-chamber and complete one last piece of paperwork. While they are doing that, the music will start to play. You will mark down the genre of the first song that plays. Hopefully it will all be classical.”

“That’s it?”

“No, you will talk to the woman for about twenty minutes. We have a questionnaire for you to use and we have a schedule of events. You tell them that tomorrow evening at 18:00h, they are to come back here to that airplane hangar over there and we will have a social with food, dancing, cards, and games, whatever. The important thing is that they will get to meet the guys.”

“What time is 18:00 hours?”

“6 pm. Now you will only give these final instructions to the women who you’ve marked down under the classical/ happy music category. The rest, you are to just do the questionnaire and send them on their way with a voucher to get an airline ticket home. Thank them for their participation and time and tell them that they will be hearing from us soon.

“Congressman Wong and the generals will have to handle the ineligible ones. If you have any questions, or if you are unsure of something, your offices will be all next to each other, in a row; just go over and ask one of the others.”

“These other generals, they are aliens too? Do they look like your general?”

“No. But they are all handsome each in his own way. All of the guys, even the enlisted ones, are handsome and cute too if you know what I mean. You‘ll see them later, perhaps tomorrow; if not then surely you will come to the social and see how it goes.

"But it is important that those of you who are doing the interviews get us enough women for the social tonight. Oh yes, those who make it to the social will also get to meet with Kibba Rhenoum, the Liran woman that I mentioned.”

“Oh this is really exciting. She’s the one who looked at your boobs? She’s not gay is she?”

“No. She was just curious. She wanted to know if we could really feed our children with them. She’s very nice, I like her. I think we’re friends.”

The sisters fixed a bite of food and talked long into the evening as the shadows lengthened and night fell. Maggie declared that she was too excited to sleep but she had had a long day and before she knew it, she was yawning.

“Oh Kath, I forgot. I have a letter from Rose. I packed it in my luggage and couldn’t get to it to read on the plane. I’ll see what she’s talking about. Maybe she’s getting married.”

Maggie opened the letter and began to read silently, speaking aloud to summarize the important parts.

“She’s doing well, at least her business is. Oh no! Kathleen, the guy that she was so in love with has married another woman. She never even knew that he was seeing someone else.”

She read on in silence and then spoke once more.

“He just up and married, didn’t even tell her, when he stopped calling and coming by she called him on his mobile and he told her he was sorry but that he couldn’t face her. The woman that he married is pregnant.”

"She’s going to try to get her money out of the business. Her partner, a native of Japan might want to buy it. If she can’t sell it to him, she’s going to put it on the market. She wants to come home. Oh Kathleen she’s pregnant too. This is a disaster.”

“I doubt that Rose feels that it is a disaster Maggie. She’s always been the mother figure of our three. I’ll bet she’s thrilled to be having a baby, and … OH No! It is a disaster! If she has a baby she can’t go with us and we can’t go off and leave her. I can’t leave either of you!”

“I wondered if you wanted me to go. Do you think I will find my man too?”

“The social tonight is a good place to start but what will we do about Rose?”

They couldn’t think of a solution that evening so they went to bed. Perhaps something would turn up. If they couldn’t go, they just couldn’t go. Yet Kathleen was sick at the thought. She just realized how much she was looking forward to going; and, to being Ursus’s wife.

Early the next morning after having a bit of bread and cheese and fruit juice Kathleen pointed Maggie in the direction of the refurbished offices while she headed out to the van to pick up the first ten women. At seven and every half hour after, she’d be ferrying them back and forth all day. As she drove she couldn’t help thinking once more that she had not known how much she had been looking forward to this adventure. Now that she might not get to go she felt let down. But she remained firm in the conviction that she would not leave either of her sisters back here on Earth. There just had to be some solution.

CHAPTER 14
THE EXPERIMENT GETS UNDERWAY

“Listen to that god-awful music won’t you? I hate it. It’s enough to make me want to turn around and go back where I came from.”

One of the women sitting in the waiting room looked to the woman in the seat immediately behind her.

“That classical junk keeps coming on. I’m next. I hope I get something livelier.”

The woman to whom she spoke looked at her watch.

“It’s moving along quite nicely. I heard that we are the last four left. Since you seem to be next, I would say that you won’t have to wait long."

And she didn’t. Surprisingly she made it. It seemed that the love of classical music was not necessary for it to register positively on one’s vibration scale.

Maggie stood and stretched. She had been at it for a good seven hours but she thought they had achieved a good deal today. After interviewing for most of the day, she felt quite comfortable with it.

When she walked in this morning unsure of what she was to do, she ran into Bas, one of the other generals. Of course Margaret had no idea who he was. Before she could ask him which office she was to take he spoke.

“Good morning Kathleen, whatever you’ve done to your hair, I like it.”

She gave him a saucy wink. “I should hope so. What’s not to like big boy?”

“You’re not Kathleen are you? Are you her sister or something?”

“I’m her sister. I just arrived last night. Who are you?”

“My name’s Bas. I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Where are you from, surely you’re not a Californian.”

He opened his bottled water and took a drink wondering how much this sister of Kathleen knew about the project. He didn’t answer her but came back with his own question.

“What are you doing here so early?”

“I am going to interview some ladies. Am I in the right place?”

“I’ll show you they way.”

He had taken her next door and seen that she was set up with what she’d need, water, a fan that she could turn on in case it got warm.

“You can never tell about California. September can be as hot as August if it takes a notion to.”

She suspected that he knew next to nothing about the weather anywhere on Earth, at least not first hand. She thought he was probably an alien, he was quite tall and one of the best looking men she had seen, perhaps more than General Ursus but it would be close.

By three fifteen they had finished all of the interviews. They did a quick tally and found that there were about eighty-five women from all over the Earth, out of the hundred interviewed who would be coming back for the social that began in a little less than three hours. Not much time to prepare but they were all young and excited. And they were hopeful that this important evening would be a success.

**

Kathleen and Margaret walked into the dressed up airplane hangar together. Their senses were assaulted with the colors of red, white and blue, reminding them both of Independence Day finery. The hangar was decorated with bunting, crepe paper, lights, all done up in a style so old that it had become new again.

Soft music was playing as the DJ waited for the place to become crowded so that he could whip it into high gear.

The men from the alien planet had chosen to wear their dress uniforms, with their heeled boots instead of their Earth slacks and shirts. Both women thought they looked spectacular and when the buses that they had hired to bring the ladies arrived and the women walked into the ‘Fourth of July’ fairyland, they started talking animatedly. The room soon filled with a cacophony of voices all speaking different languages but saying virtually the same thing. Who would have thought their potential spouses would have been so very handsome.

The first half hour was spent with the men and the women in two different sections. No matter what the DJ played, nothing seemed to move them to dance with each other.

Kathleen spied Ursus over on the other side of the room and made her way that way. “You need to do something. They’re acting like they don’t know why they’re here.”

He had seemed unconcerned. “I think we need to leave them alone. They need a little time to unwind, to as you say, check each other out and then they’ll get to it… hmm?”

She had wandered away. She’d see. The proof was in the pudding according to Sister InviOlata.

She wandered around the edge of the large space, not at all crowded, she saw her sister laughing with Bas so she didn’t go that way. She didn’t want to interrupt anything that might be developing, not that she believed there was.

It was difficult for her to believe that these men actually wanted wives. It was so unlike Earth as she knew it where the men would duck and dodge the ‘ball and chain’ in any way that they could.

A group of about thirty men got up and began to dance. It was a form of line dance, a masculine dance that reminded Kathleen of the step dance that had been so popular in New York that they had created a stage play dedicated to it. The men were superb at it. They looked very masculine and they stepped and stomped their way through the music in a choreographed way. When the song ended they all shouted and did a fist pump. Must be that this was one of their Military maneuvers. Whatever it was, it sure got the women’s attention.

Not to be outdone, after the men vacated the floor the women started the old familiar steps of a line dance that most of them knew with others joining in as they caught on. It was the Electric Slide. Most American women had learned this one in high school if not before that and if they hadn’t it was quite easy to get lost in the middle of the lines while they caught on.

The men watched. The women moved their feet and switched their hips and pretended that they weren’t being looked at.

Not to be out done, the men, good dancers all joined in. It became the ultimate icebreaker. After the dances ended an hour later, they broke into small groups and then smaller still until there was one on one dancing. The DJ was wise enough to reduce the loudness and slow down the tempo giving the couples a chance to chat and get to know a bit about each other under the guise of dancing together.

Not too much later, the leaders of this experiment decided that they could retire. After all, they had a full day, a repeat of today to go through not only tomorrow but for the rest of the week.

Tomorrow night would be Kibba’s turn. She would both break the news to the women and give them an orientation as to the nature of the planet and the project. Evan the scientist would be her backup person to explain anything of a scientific nature that the women asked. And - after the second round of interviews, another social, the men not chosen back again with new ones added to the mix culminating on the seventh day with what they hoped would be plans to marry.

Kibba had explained to Kathleen when she had asked about using ‘social matching’ companies such as E-Harmony, saying, “Although we could use a matching scheme, natural selection is very effective too. If both parties have the will to make their relationships work, they can do it. The music that we have has so many intricacies built into it until we know that all of the women chosen desire a lasting relationship, as much as they desire children, as do the men. We are quite optimistic about these pairings.”

When Ursus saw that it looked as if the Kennedy women were getting ready to leave, he snagged Bas and asked him if he would occupy the sister’s time so that he could have a moment alone with Kathleen.

Bas asked Margaret to dance and when she looked back to her sister to see if she was ok with it Kathleen had been deftly turned away by her fiancé.

It was a singularly strange feeling for Maggie. They had not spent much time separately especially not with men but now Kathy was going off willingly, willing to leave her sister in the hands of a man that Maggie hardly knew. And even more strangely, Maggie felt comfortable with the kind faced Bas.

“This is going better than I expected I must admit.” Ursus said as he led her through the door out into the darkness of the night. The cool air was welcome after the warmth generated by the dancing and meeting and greeting.

One thing about this part of the west coast that Kathleen had heard of but never experienced until now was what was called the Delta Breeze, the wind that originated in San Francisco and swept the area most nights cooling all of the little towns that were so hot during the day and turning them into a one-light-blanket for sleeping situation.

“It seems to be so but I wonder how they will take the ‘off planet’ aspect. It is easy to meet handsome young men, but to later learn that they are not human, well, it can be a bit off putting.”

“What do you meant not human? We are as human as you here are. We just happen to live a bit farther away. Our planet is similar to yours with only a few differences. Most of the things there you will recognize if you think of function and not of form. We have the same needs that you do and we have invented and created those things out of our imaginations as have you here.”

As they walked along in the velvety darkness, she could see her cottage across the green about two blocks away. He had put his arm around her shoulders. As they walked along the sway of her hip against his thigh with each step she took threatened to upset her balance so she increased the distance between them. There, that’s better.

“I do not know if I will be able to keep my promise to you. Remember my joining with you depends upon both my sisters coming and I don’t think that my sister Rose can.”

That got his attention and seemed to shift his mood out of the satisfied haze it had reached at the success of the project so far.

“I don’t understand. I have a blood brother too. I do not have to keep him with me.”

“Would you move to this planet knowing that you could not see them when you wanted; that you might never see them again?”

“You will see this sister again if you so desire. To travel here takes no more than three months, something like a trip across your Atlantic ocean a couple of centuries ago. That is all.”

“But she is all I have. I’ll bet you have a mother, a father, aunts, cousins, all of that. We only have each other.”

“How could this be? Everyone has a mother.”

“But not everyone knows who gave birth to them. My sisters and I, my two sisters and I, we have no other relatives. We were placed on the doorstep of an orphanage when we were but a few days old. We only had each other and the Sisters too.” Realizing that he might not understand the different possible meanings inherent in the word ’sister’ she explained. “The Sisters are the women who have dedicated themselves to God. They ran the orphanage.”

“You have been mother and father and all of the other relatives to each other. You could not be happy or content without them in your life routinely, close to you.”

“Yes. You do understand.”

“And the sister in Japan, the one who is in love will not leave the man that she loves? Perhaps if we wait a few months she will no longer love him? Is that possible?”

She had laughed at that, a telling assessment of his feelings about Earth relationships. She hated to admit the truth. “Well we do not have to wait for that. He has already married another but she is pregnant you see.”

“Were she not with child, she would come then?”

“I saw no need to disturb her with this. She is pregnant and she would never decide not to have this child.”

They had reached about half way to her front yard. He didn’t know it but his fingers resting lightly at the very top curve of her breast were creating havoc in her body. He tapped her lightly to make sure he had her attention.

“I will see if an allowance to this rule can be made just this once. It is not good to allow ourselves to become too rigid.” Then he chuckled. “That is the excuse that I will use. I will conveniently forget to mention that a woman to whom I’ve grown quite attached cannot come without her sister.”

Her heart lifted at his words. She really wanted to be with this man. “Why do you have this silly rule anyway? It doesn’t make sense to me.” They had reached her front porch and he turned her so that they were facing.

“I will tell you of our reasoning behind this rule soon, but not tonight. It brings about much discussion and you are not the kind of woman who will just accept what I say just because I have said it. Tonight I want to kiss you. I want to see if we can have more to our married lives than discussions, which in themselves are scintillating, but I would hope for more.”

CHAPTER 15

REACHING UNDERSTANDINGS

He pulled her to him and she raised her lips to meet his. He did not take them, not at first. Instead he laid his cheek against hers and said her name. His voice was low and compelling. With that one word a low vibration started deep inside her and rose until she couldn’t stand it. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled his head down to hers.

He was pleased at her response to his call. She was all soft of skin with delicate bones beneath. Ah, she was quite an armful. He could get closer if only her lumps, boobs as she called them were not in the way. It really was too bad that in this case nature had not allowed form to follow function in a more proficient way. Too bad they were of no use until one was with child. But, he could live with it. And with that thought all thinking was swept from his mind as his mouth connected with hers, and her soft pink tongue sent him halfway home. She really was a pleasant armful.

Back at the social the music played on and Margaret found that Bas managed to keep her entertained. He was a natural conversationalist and before long he had gotten most of her history, including their time at the orphanage and work life since.

She was surprised that she felt so safe talking to him but then perhaps it was because they were in a protected environment. She now felt that the thousand or so men and their leaders were much less harmful than the unscreened population of Earth. She had no illusions that these aliens were perfect but she did trust that they were an advanced selection of men who had learned to root out the faults in themselves that so plagued the men of Earth. Greed, blatant dishonesty, criminal intent, and deliberate deception being just a few that she could think of off the tip of her tongue.’

That was not to say that men of high moral fiber were not present here on Earth, they were, it was just that determining a man’s character did not come with observing the outer man. It only came with association. Perhaps she’d learn that these had some other fault much more grievous; they could be cannibals. She laughed at her fanciful imagination.

“Bas, my sister is thinking of joining the group of women. She is calling them pioneers.”

“If she goes, does that mean that you will also?”

“I can’t say for sure. I only know that it is making me have anxiety. We have another sister here, she is pregnant, she most likely won’t get to go so I don’t know which sister to stay with.”

“I would be proud to be your mate. If that will help you make the decision.”

“You hardly know me. We only met yesterday. How could you know that you want to spend the rest of your life with me? It is for life isn’t it, not just until we tire of each other?”

Bas had shrugged his shoulders. “You must understand little one.” And she supposed next to his very tall frame her 5’10” did seem small. “We too are pioneers. We came here with data only, no real information into your personalities, your characters, nothing about your actual lives except what was available through media.” He stirred and removed a folded paper from his jacket pocket. “It says here that Earth’s women are calculating, controlling, cow-like individuals. That in itself is contradictory. How can one be cow like and calculating? We have similar animals. They are very comparable to your cows and they are quite colorless and dull. They chew on their cuds and that’s about it. Unless I am mistaken, they are not thinking of anything complex at all.”

Maggie couldn’t help it. She giggled until she almost fell off the stool. “Not very flattering are they? Kathleen told me that one of you men was speaking of her boobs when he too called her cow like. She was very insulted.”

“Oh it makes more sense then. Yes, in that sense and that sense alone, you Earthlings do resemble a cow.” He said it in a neutral tone, evidently not finding any insult in the comparison. “Why would your sister be insulted?”

And if I called you horse-like, wouldn’t you consider it an insult?”

“I don’t understand. Why would you call us horse like? We look nothing like horses - do we?”

“Give it some thought I’m sure that you’ll figure it out. Anyway you were explaining to me how you could partner with me for life when you‘ve only known me for a day.”

“I came here we all did, with some serious misconceptions about the women here. We were expecting women very similar to our lesbian women that left our planet and started their own colony through cloning. They are very tough and smart women but some of them can be combative and needless to say bossy and controlling. They are not cow like.

"We were pleased to see that this sheet that listed your qualities was only valid if it was not used in reference to women on other planets. Perhaps your men think you are bossy and manipulative and so forth, all of those are negatives to them but to us you are quite refreshing, even uncomplicated. That is appealing to us who have gone without for so long.”

He stood to start the short walk to her home. “And you personally Miss Maggie Kennedy are the most appealing of them all. Remember I can see the selection of today’s women, and I will see tomorrows. I will not find a woman with more potential than you. Of that I am confident.”

“I think you should wait until the end of the week before you make up your mind. I don’t want you longing for someone else’s bride.”

“It does not work like that. If at the end of the week I ask you to come home with me will you do it?”

She thought about the long years with just her sisters for company, the loneliness, and the disappointments when the few men that she did meet did not live up to the ideals that they claimed to have. She thought about the long years ahead, perhaps finding a man who would marry her and then wouldn’t be faithful. Happiness was not guaranteed with Bas either but at least she’d not be bored.

“Yes. I will go with you.”

“Good. Then we will make our announcement at the end of the week and participate in the weddings planned for that time no?”

“Yes. I must talk to my sister. If she agrees, I must travel back to New York to give up our apartment, give some sort of notice at my job. I can’t just leave my old life hanging.”

“As in not burning your bridges behind you?”

“Yes. How do you know that term?”

“I am good at reading your mind.”

“People always did say that I had an expressive face, that they could tell what I am thinking from looking at me.”

“Look. I will speak to Ursus, he is the leader of this particular expedition. I will ask him to try to get the council to make an exception for your sister, your Rose. Your job will be to get her to agree to this adventure.”

“What is this council? Is it the same as our government?”

“Yes it is. We elect nine outstanding minds, people who are wise as well as compassionate to advise our heads of state. Kibba is the sister of one of our leaders whose name is Ranza. Ranza only represents the female energy. We have come to realize that good leadership must be a joint effort between the masculine and the feminine. We therefore also have a masculine head whose name is Yansa.”

“Why can’t my sister come? Why do you have the rule that only women who have had no children or are not pregnant can come?”

“They can have no live children. We do not mind if their children are no longer alive. We know a lot but we do not know everything. For instance, we have no males who do not reach the height equivalent to your six and one half feet. We decided that it would be cruel to allow children, especially male children to grow up in a society in which they are runts. We could not conceive of them having a healthy psyche, even you are familiar with the ’short man syndrome’ here on your Earth. Perhaps your Napoleon of history has taught you that there is often a need to compensate.

“There are enough women on Earth from which we can choose so that we do not have to resort to creating these kinds of situations, that’s all. And … we understand that if a woman has a child that is on Earth, she won’t rest until she has that child with her possibly even though it is an adult child. But as I promised, I will speak with Ursus about your sister. Hopefully the council will make an exception.”

“Tell him to remind the council that with the influx of so many ’short’ women, there are likely to be male sons born to native Lira who are not as tall as their fathers.”

Wanting to assure her that he was on her side Bas said, “There is no guarantee that our height is determined all by genetics. It is entirely possible that gravity has a part to play in the outcome. Who can say that a child who would have been much shorter here on Earth will not grow taller on Lira? It is good to talk these things over with you.”

They continued onward towards her home, retracing the steps that Kathleen and Ursus had made not long ago. They found the couple sitting on the step. If Bas had hoped for a more private goodnight he would have to wait. It seemed that his friend Ursus had been shoring up his own future.

When they saw the approach, Kathleen stood up, suddenly noticing that the breeze was even cooler than she had thought but then she had been in her sweetheart’s arms.

“I’d better get in. It will be another long day for us all. You coming Margaret?”

Having no idea that she was interfering, no inkling that her sister had also pledged her troth she only thought to protect her sister. It would not do for her to linger outside with two men who were not relatives; no matter how innocent the occasion. It just wasn’t done in the world of girls who had grown up in Catholic orphanages.

“Good night guys.” Margaret giggled. “Sister Kathleen has spoken”. She wasn’t sure how much of her little retort the guys understood but she was sure that her sister had.

Once they were inside, the door firmly locked they had watched the two tall men walk off into the night. Margaret wondered aloud if they were turning in or if they would head back to the social.

“Why do you care where they go? I am the one who should worry about my fiancé perhaps. But I suppose I will have to let go. Oh Maggie! He kissed me tonight and it was the most astounding thing. He sort of rumbled in my ear and I melted. I think I am beginning to fall in love. “

“I hope they are what they say they are. Bas asked me to marry him tonight. He says that you and I will be in the same pod, whatever that means.”

**

If the sisters could have heard the conversation that ensued between the two men from a different planet they would have been pleased to know that they were, in general, who they said they were. They meant them no harm. There were some things, out of necessity that they were holding back; the first and foremost was that they were a planet that had moved past speech as their primary mode of communicating. They were mind readers.

The music was just an adjunct to their abilities in that it had a lulling effect and promoted a letdown, so to speak, of the vigilant shield that humans perpetually kept up between their minds and their knowledge of their true selves.

In human psychology the term was known as ’rationalization’. In other words, humans were so busy justifying why they did certain things (their motives) until they had to fool themselves by creating acceptable reasons (rationalizations) for why they did them.

It had started with the initial proposal. Certainly the humans wanted oil, felt that they needed oil to survive. They could not admit that it was more difficult and costly to look for alternatives when the road ahead with the Liran oil was so easy. But - and here was the rub - many of them had to fight their consciences so that they would not feel guilty about accepting oil in trade for their women’s future.

At that initial face to face meeting whenever Ursus and the other of his race had paused, seemingly to allow the others to gather their thoughts, in truth the Earthling’s thoughts were being read.

Ursus had dared not reveal this little tid-bit to them however. They intuitively knew that the Earthlings would balk, cry foul and in general retreat into fear mode which for them meant to resort to war. Then they would have had no alternative but to wipe out the Earth people who threatened them and take the women by force.

The women had been a surprise.

“It seems that both Kathleen and your Margaret are just what they seem. No plan to make money off of our story, no conniving to get there and exploit the situation. I think we both have chosen well..”

“Of course you knowing Kathleen better than I, are better able to read her; they both seem to be a bit light on sensual thoughts though. That has me concerned. At their ages it seems that they should have more thoughts about sexual activity or about how to entice us or at least how they are coming off to us in that department. Yet, there are none, well a few.

"Tonight Margaret insinuated that we resembled horses and it was so subtle that I had to read her thoughts and she was thinking exactly that we are hung like horses.” He laughed at her attempt at being suggestive.

“It could have been worse my brother, she could have insinuated that you remind her of their pesky little mosquitoes.”

“That reminds me Ursus, they have a joke about this mosquito with an inflated sense of the size of his penis and he - “

“Yes, been there with that one.”

And they continued on their way talking actually returning to the social to see how things were going before turning in.

CHAPTER 16

GATHERING THE ROSE

By the end of the week there were close to two thousand women who had bought into the project and were ready to cast their fates in with the aliens. It had been possible to double their numbers because of the sponsoring country’s greed for more oil.

The various ambassadors from around the world had been busy. Right away they had seen the potential for expansion of the project and one by one had gotten in touch with Congressman Wong, wondering if they could change their planned share of oil.

The old distribution was based on proportioning oil out according to the number of barrels that each country had used last year. The new proposal conceived by most countries was if they added to the number of women ready to go, they in turn would receive a direct allocation in addition to their baseline usage. Wong had agreed to their various proposals and as the week neared its end Wong sent a fleet of 747s loaded with females to the Air Force base. They were able to drop off 1600 women from around the world.

This threw things into a bit of a tizzy but it also meant that no man who came on this venture would return home womanless and perhaps there would be extras for some of the men who did not make the trip. Kibba suggested that they build a quick music run, that the women be marched through it one by one with the unacceptable ones being sent back on some of the returning airplanes. Let Wong do the sorting out and the headache of getting those women back to their home countries.

Kathleen had agreed saying “Yes, it will give him something that he can ‘manage’. He’s good at that.”

Having gotten all of the women that they needed for this trip meant that the selection process could begin. The men were ready to take this final step for the sooner they did, the quicker they could go home and start their new lives.

Management in the form of the four generals as well as Hon. Wong of Earth had promised that the women would choose and except for the General’s women, that is how it happened. There were surprisingly few glitches. Cain thought it was because they had not had time together so that irrefutable bonding could occur. “You mean, they have not had enough time to fall in what earthlings call love.” Drago had clarified.
Cain had smiled his hundred watt smile, pleased to a degree that no amount of teasing could daunt him. “That is exactly what I meant.” “Thank you dear Drago for elucidating and illuminating my thoughts.”

The plan was that that the numbers one to two thousand would be placed in a one of the huge cooking pots from the kitchen, the numbers shaken then each woman would choose a number.
It was predicted that the women would mostly pick from the men that they had been introduced to when they were divided into groups for the socials for it was these men who they were thinking of when they made the choice to venture home with them.

When Kathleen and Maggie saw this new development they knew that there was nothing keeping the mothership from heading home.

Kathleen had rushed to Ursus.

“I must see my sister. I can’t leave without saying goodbye. Has your council spoken yet? Will she be able to go if she decides to?”

“Do you have and address for her in Japan?”

“Of course. We have her letters.”

“Then let’s fly to her and see what she says. If she agrees, I will take responsibility for her welfare until the council makes its decision. Once she is on our planet, it will be out of their hands.”

He had beamed Kathleen up quickly, so fast that he had covered her eyes and held her in his arms. They had exited almost immediately after going to a hidden hatch that held about a dozen smaller crafts.

“Get in. This one has more maneuverability and we can be there and back before evening.”

She put all of her trust in him and got in. Soon they were riding through the clouds at a tremendous speed while he connected with Cain, one of the other generals to let him know what was going on.


When they arrived in Japan it was raining, a light misty sheen that caused Kathleen to shiver. They located the address and had made up their minds that they would not beam down inside her apartment as it was likely to give her a heart attack. Instead they beamed down onto the top of the high building and took the elevator to her sister’s level.

Kathleen knocked on the door and waited. As it was, when Rose answered she did not want to believe that her sister was actually in Tokyo. Then when she had digested that this was really her Kathleen she pulled her in for a good old fashioned hugging session.

“Where’s Margaret? Is she here too?”

“Actually no. Just my … uh friend and I, and we won’t be here for long. I need to have a serious talk with you.”

“What’s wrong? It’s not Maggie is it?”

“No darling. Everything is all right. I want you to meet Ursus Northstar. He is here on a mission and I have been assisting him for most of the month.”

She ushered Ursus into one of Rose’s tiny seats. He looked too big for the fragile chair but there were none other from which to choose.

And so she started out their story and finally she wound down to the end by saying that they would be leaving the planet soon. Rose, who looked even more like Kathleen because her hair was brown but with lots of red tones, had laughed. “You are kidding me. Tell me the truth, you’re here to check up on me because of that last letter I wrote aren’t you? Be honest now, isn‘t this some kind of joke?”

“It’s no joke Rose. Yes, we know that you’re expecting a baby. That is why I can’t leave you behind. I want you to come with me and Maggie. General Ursus assures us that we will be safe.”

“Kathleen, do you really believe this tale? How can I come with you? What if it is all just a hoax?”

Ursus could read that she was wavering.

“Come back to the states with us; to California. You will have to come up into the mini ship with us. Once you’ve flown back in an hour, you will believe.”

“What about my business. I want to sell it, we might need that money.”

“You won’t need money where you are going. They do not use Earth money. Why don’t you be magnanimous and leave a note to your partner and give it to him. If you are insecure, just ask him to hold your part for you until he hears further. “ Kathleen urged

Rose’s hands were shaking but she wrote the note, gathered up a small overnight bag, vitamin pills for the baby, underwear and a change of clothing and followed her sister out into the hall after firmly locking the door behind her.

They retraced their steps, ascending to the top floor and then opening the door that let them gain access to the roof proper.

It was a frightening perspective, even more frightening to Rose as the three of them began to slowly ascend up into the air. As he had done with Kathleen weeks earlier, Ursus gripped Rose’s waist to steady her and she turned into his arms and buried her face in his chest.

Mission accomplished. In little or no time they were back at the mother ship. Bas, Drago and Cain had everyone loaded and were only waiting for Ursus to make his appearance so that they could take off.

He secured the little ship in the hangar, locked all of the hatches and they entered the mother ship. They were hailed with cheers and joy because their mission leader was back, and from the look of the young lady by his side who was a replica of his fiancé, he had accomplished his mission.

Rose had burst into tears now that she really believed what her sister had told her. Both Kathleen and Margaret took her in their arms knowing that they had had time to digest the life change that was coming. For Rose it was so sudden, so unexpected and scary.

Margaret told them that the huge ship had been reconfigured to have women’s quarters and men’s quarters. They were to go there and prepare for takeoff and that soon someone would be around to tell them what to expect on the long trip home.

They could hear the men singing in the distance as they finalized the preparations. Kathleen made one last cell phone call to her former boss, Arnold Wong to let him know that they were taking off and that perhaps she’d be able to return at a future date to let him know firsthand what they had experienced.

“Arnold, please pray for me. Pray for us all.”

It sounded like a whirr that accelerated to a whine and then a drone. Kibba and the women were at the front of the large auditorium and pleased to inform the more than two thousand women what was going on.

“We have just cleared Earth’s atmosphere. We are now entering outer space. The shields will be raised shortly and our only sight will be through sensors attached to a screen. We will be traveling quite fast and even at our great speed it will be about three months before we see land again. Relax ladies; you are as safe as you would be sitting in an armchair in your apartments.”

Kibba gave the seated women an opportunity to digest the idea of a three month air trip. “We had conceived an elaborate system whereas the weddings would take place on this ship knowing all the while that this vehicle is not constructed to house individual family residences. I will not go into all of the difficulties that go along with outfitting a peacekeeping ship to accommodate romance. Picture one of your naval vessels, the officers have private quarters, your enlisted men do not.

“We decided that the marriages must be made in our world, and not in yours. That decision made, the question became do we marry the couples on board knowing that at best the only privacy that could be had would be if the officers vacate their quarters for the trip and allow each couple to spend a short amount of time together? With a few more than two thousand couples, you would only have about five hours to spend with your new mate. This ship would then take on the characteristics of a bordello in the sky.

“That is just what we do not want to happen. Your marriages, when they occur will have the solemn pledge of the planet behind you to do all that we can to make them flourish and prosper. We believe that a dignified start, beginning with the ceremony is crucial.

“We therefore made the decision, and I warn you that this will take a bit of trust, we have decided that we all will make the trip as we usually do, asleep.

“What did she say?” Cora, the same girl who had hated classical music said. “What is this all about? How do we know that they won’t kill us in our sleep?”

It had to be asked because many others including the three sisters felt a bit of alarm with Kibba’s pronouncement. Kathleen who had known Kibba the longest and trusted her and the men spoke up. “Think about it ladies. We are now underway. We are in outer space speeding towards God knows where. I do not believe that they would have gone to the trouble to deliver oil to our world, and to patiently screen us if they had impure motives, if they meant something for us other than what they have said.

“But we would like more information on the ’sleep’ that you mention. What drugs will you use and what will be their side effects?”

Kibba was glad to continue hoping that the rough spot had been smoothed. “It is a subtle gas that will fill this chamber, affecting us natives as well as you of Earth. It will put us all into a state similar to that of a bear in hibernation. Yes, we have bears too but they are known by another name. We call our bears ‘buthanos‘. Your sleeping cradle will be the chair in which you now sit. It is specially designed to move periodically so that your body gets circulation and to turn so that you do not get any lesions from lying still too long.”

“As with the buthano, you can be aroused to a waking state but you will be groggy and if left alone will retreat back into sleep.

“The men will have it bit different. They will have a crew who are alert at all times. One hundred men will enter a chamber so as not to be effected by the gas. These men will sleep their normal sleep and waking patterns until after the first month of the trip when they too will accept the extended sleep and another hundred will take watch.”

Kibba then asked one of the Liran women to demonstrate the maneuvers that the chair was capable of making. They then asked each woman to reach into a drawer located near the bottom of the chair and take out a loose, billowing garment made from a light filament-like fabric.

“Place the dress over your heads and remove all that you have on. You will rest more comfortably this way. Once we are awakened, you will dress in your clothing from Earth until you reach your homes.

“Now ladies, if you are ready, please press the recline button and let us hope for happy dreams.”

“Wait! I need a drink of water” said one woman, perhaps things were moving too swiftly for her.

Immediately a small try slid out from the chair with sealed glasses of cool water and an orange and reddish juice. Soft music began to play. They had thought that they would be immediately induced into sleep, instead it was more of a lulling, a persuasion. They had time to chat with each other for a while about nothing but finding reassurance in the sound of each other’s voices.

“I’m not asleep yet.” someone spoke.

“Neither am I.” said another. But one by one yawns followed and soon all of them were gently sleeping in what they would swear when they awoke was one of the best sleeps of their lives.

It was one of the responsibilities of the one hundred men who stayed awake to nightly, before they turned in, to flood the sleeping chambers of both sleeping sexes with bathing water. It was really quite simple, flip a switch that raised the pillowed backs of the sleeping couches, then flip another switch that filled the room with soothing antimicrobial water and at the same time, set the water into wavelike motion for twenty minutes and then drain all of the water through the bottom vents to be purified. The final step was to start the gentle fresh scented warm breezes that dried everything and left it in pristine sparkling clean condition.

One of the alert men remarked as they flipped switches, “Even though they’re asleep, I think they like this part. I know I do. I don’t remember it but I think my dreams of being on a beach at Ithol are caused by the cleaning machines.”

“Come on, quit daydreaming, we’d better get to sleep, our watch will start in exactly eight hours and I can’t fall asleep as soon as I put my head down like you.”


**

Ursus and Bas took the first six weeks awake knowing that the other two generals on board would take the second six. It was boring work, they had excellent pilots and navigators and in the many years of space travel had perfected their craft.

Ursus spent his spare time strumming away at his stringed instrument while Bas liked to compose songs, some of which were quite good. Neither of them minded solitude and over the years had grown quite used to the hurry up and wait mindset that space travel entailed.

Ursus frequently went into the women’s sleeping chamber, off limits except to the leaders. It was his responsibility to insure that all was well, that all of the mechanical systems were working. He often drew near to his lady and looked at her sweet face. Although there were two others near her, Rose and Margaret who looked quite similar, he had no difficulty knowing it was she. He’d know her even without the tell-tale differences in their hair.

Back in his room he used his computer to look over the manifest, where a description of each woman on the trip had been listed. Mary-Kathleen Kennedy. Eyes: blue, Bust: excellent, Teeth: perfect. Height and weight well proportioned. She was growing on him and even while she slept he found himself softening and having affectionate feeling towards her. He could hardly wait until they got home so that they could begin their lives together.

Would she like his home? It was just different enough from her own planet to make him wonder. Yet he had found nothing on Earth that he absolutely could not understand or conceive of why they had decided to invent it or put it in process in the way they had. Of course he had the benefit of being able to read their minds. Kathleen and the other women would not have that luxury. He did not plan on letting her know either. Perhaps when she was there for a long while and learned of their ways she could be told. For her to make the journey into telepathy could be done but it would require more than she most likely was prepared to go through. He decided to wait and see and not to anticipate the future.

On that same subject, belying the thought that he’d had about not trying to guess about the future, he wondered how many children they’d end up with. What kind of parents would they make?

For so many years he and all of his peers had despaired of ever having a wife who could give them children. They felt hopeless about having wives because there certainly were not enough Liran women of a heterosexual mindset to go around. At the time when he came into puberty, his government had just begun to seriously think about traveling so far from home in search of wives. Before this, they had first sought wives from within their own galaxy.

That search had proved almost fruitless.

Who would have a wife who though human had not evolved and looked more like a wolf than a woman? To a one they were of a sub-species, a sub human species that existed throughout most of the galaxies and had once existed on Lira and on Earth. They were on their own evolutional pathway but his race were evolved enough to understand that ‘He who ruled them all’ did not intend for them to intermarry, just as Earthlings understood that just because the great apes shared 99% of their DNA with humans, they were a sub-species and should be left to their own pathway.

He had tried it with several women of his planet. He had learned that due to their fragility, they had to be treated with upmost gentleness and care. In his younger days he had been less careful too and had impregnated his female lover even though they had been instructed not to. It could have been avoided but as a teen he had been all selfish ego. She had died and his child had died with her.

A dark thought entered his mind for perhaps the thousandth time. Introducing two thousand women to a planet of several million men was fraught with danger. Would those men wait for their turn or would they try to steal what did not belong to them? It was imperative that as soon as they docked, and an answer to their questions about fertility were answered, another expedition be headed up by another group so that each man could continue to feel hope of soon having his own woman. If hope was there, there would be less likelihood of them trying to take one of these women.

True the men of Lira had advanced to the point of almost being ready to enter into the fifth dimension. It would not do to revert to stealing or otherwise go backwards into the chaos of their earlier days. Those days had occurred before most of the men on his planet had been born but they were held securely in all of their collective memories.

And so the time passed slowly, and when they drew within one thousand miles of the planet Lira they slowed down to make final preparations. By the time they were ready to land, and this time they would land and not hover over the planet, everyone was awake, rested and ready to begin the long trek to their small experimental town.

CHAPTER 17
HOME AT LAST

From Kathleen and the other women’s point of view they were awakened from a restful sleep. Kathleen surmised that Kibba had awakened first and then informed the rest of them that they were almost home and it was time to dress and prepare to get off.

“We’re here? We’ve been asleep all of that time? I don’t believe it and I’m clean, not scruffy at all.” Maggie exclaimed to Kathy and Rose.

“I could eat a horse though.” The woman lying immediately to the right of Maggie said. And they heartily agreed.

No sooner had they finished dressing when there appeared a plate of fragrant food. They didn’t recognize anything on the plate but it smelled so good until they didn’t care.

“This,” said a woman who introduced herself as Norma a she pointed her fork towards the food. “This is a chicken dish.”

“I don’t think so. I overheard it said that they are vegetarian. It’s not likely that they’d be serving us meat.”

Of course they had eaten throughout the journey but the food had been light and easily digested. The sleeping gas had induced amnesia to the ordinary events of the trip such as bathroom breaks and snacks. Had something significant occurred, such as being under attack, they would have awakened and remembered the event.

And so it went until finally the moment came when they could leave the big ship, their last psychological connection with home. But they didn’t have to walk out alone. They were asked to wait until their chosen mate came to collect them so that they could board the vehicles that would be taking them to their homes.

While she was waiting Kathleen felt a fear that she had not experienced before. Here she was light years away from home and at the mercy of a stranger. What had she and her sisters been thinking to do such a foolish thing? She didn’t voice these thoughts to Rose and Maggie. There was no use making them feel what she was feeling.

Still, the fear that she felt made it impossible to chat and engage in meaningless conversation so she didn’t even try. She sat on her familiar couch and tried to talk herself out of the feeling of discouragement. And to a certain degree she was successful so much so that when Ursus came to get her she was able to give him a big smile. Her lips trembled around a smile of hope and trust that contained only a little fear. As if he could detect her feelings he clasped her to his breast before starting out only to feel Rose grasp his other arm. Of course, since she was too late for the choosing Rose would be his responsibility until she found a mate.

Because Bas had come to claim Margaret, Ursus, Kathleen and Rose walked out together into the rays of the slanting sun and were presented to a world where everything looked different to the two women.

The sky, though blue was not the blue of Earth. It was deeper. Already the reminders of twilight oranges and pinks were on the horizon but that too was different. Copper and bronze with highlights of peach made Kathleen and the other women marvel at the contrasts between the sky and the horizon. Kathleen thought that other than the differences in color, the sky looked about how six pm in the summer would look in New York when it was getting on towards evening but with two to three hours of daylight left.

Ursus verified that indeed it was evening, but then she noted that the sun, far past its zenith was setting in the East.

“Yes, we rise to the sun in the West and it sets in the East. Our sun is just about the same distance from our planet as yours is from your planet. There is a quite narrow variance that is allowed if life is to be sustained. Our orbit has a tiny outward ellipse that yours doesn’t have and that gives us five seasons to your four. For four weeks after what you would call winter, we have deep winter in which we must stay inside in order not to freeze. We have learned to manage this and to even have fun during this time. It had the effect of bringing the few families that were left together.

“This year, I daresay that the authorities will be watching closely to see if there is an increased incidence of conception during the season of Aout."

Once they were outside, they watched while the men supervised the loading of all of the other vehicles. Kathleen saw that the two other Generals, Drago and Cain also had women with them. Evidently they too had made their choices.

Ursus and Bas, Drago and Cain and their ladies were the last vehicle to load. They would take up the rear and would only travel after all of the others had taken off. This operation went surprisingly smoothly, in just a short while, each vehicle was waved off after the generals assured that the Earth woman was in the care of her chosen man.

Of course the vehicles were strange. They more resembled hover-crafts than cars but they did travel along the highway, not touching it but about four feet off the ground. On the way the men took turns explaining.

Drago began “Of course we can deviate and leave the predetermined pathway or highway as you call it. But if we do, we have to increase our altitude and tune in to sensors so that we do not have a collision. “

Ursus had added, “Now we are traveling without sensors but as it becomes darker and we increase our speed and we will rise in altitude. We are giving you ladies time to become acclimated to this mode of travel.”

Cain added more. “We have individual passenger transport packs that fit on the back that will propel one rider into the air and is used for short trips when it is not too cold. Truly it is more of a recreation than a mode of travel.”

As he had promised, about a half hour later Ursus gave the word to the lead driver of the caravan through a small device on the dash board {not exactly a dash board but close enough} and they increased in both speed and altitude. They now traveled at about the height of a small private plane except there was no sound, just pleasant evening breezes that wafted over them and made for a pleasant ride.

“There are two moons. Twin moons except that one is a bit larger than the other.”

“Yes, and because those two are kept together by gravity, they are always appear to us in the same stage. Now our third moon,” and Ursus looked, found it and pointed, “is always in a different state. So we may have two full moons and one waning one. You will quickly get used to seeing our night sky.” He made a slight adjustment to keep them on course. “The point is that this is a planet as is Earth. There are similarities and there are differences, but just in form. We have stars, moons, and a sun just as you have. You will miss your Big Dipper but we have our Orion Constellation.”

After traveling for a little less than three hours the vehicles slowed and landed. They were home. Each vehicle had gone to a different area and in the near distance between the willowy sway of trees and the movement of shadows Kathleen could see structures, luminously white. They looked as if they were built of granite or marble and it seemed that they carried their own light deep within the very heart of the stone itself.

The lights made the stone appear warm and welcoming. What the aliens had called a Pod was actually a villa. Each was a large structure surrounded by a stone fence; all of the structures of the home and the fence were lit from within as if by an internal flame. There were patios, balconies and graceful archways and out beyond the structure was a lake, placid at first look but even as she watched it changed into tumbling turbulent waters.

“Ah Ursus is this our home? It is so lovely. See how the water changes? I could entertain myself for hours just looking at it. Is it good for swimming?” She didn’t wait for an answer; there were so many questions to be asked. “But how many people will live here? It looks as if it could house a whole village.”

“It does, just about. We practice communal living here. You’ll see once we get inside. I have to make the rounds to make sure that everyone has found his place and is getting settled in but I will see you and Rose inside and return as quickly as I can.”

With that he led them down a short pathway where she could smell the fragrance of flowers. They walked behind the marble wall and as he approached, the door slid upwards into the recesses of the house to allow them to pass.

“I will have to get your identification logged onto the master security so that you will be able to come and go as you will.”

Inside it was as lovely as outside and not too strange for comfort. Before they had a chance to look around Ursus said that he had to go. He pointed each woman to her own bedroom, told them to look around and that he’d be back shortly.

Once he left Kathleen and Rose looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“This is like a dream.” Rose declared. It feels like just yesterday I was in my apartment in Tokyo, wondering if I should come home to you and Maggie like a prodigal daughter and now I am in another world! It’s not too bad is it Kathy?”

“Let’s check this place out. So far, it looks like a house but it is huge and it is brand new.”

She ran her fingers over the luminous wall. It wasn’t cold at all and it seemed to soften at her touch. She jerked her hand back wondering if the thing would eat her hand up. Was it alive?

Leading off from what seemed to be the living room were several bedrooms. Each was outfitted with a recognizable bed though it was shaped differently. Their bed was a couch-like thing that resembled the bed that they had come over in on the ship, except it was larger. There was not much other furniture but each bedroom had its own bathroom. She could recognize the shower but there were no other facilities in there. What did they use for a toilet? Was there a hole in the ground or something that she couldn’t see?

Kathy pushed a button and up came the rest. She pushed another button and the room began to fill with water. It flowed from above, and below. She hurriedly pushed it again and the water stopped.

“I think this is some kind of cleaning system, Rose. The whole room floods and then drains. Probably has air too, to dry everything nice and tidy.”

“Our Ursus was right,” Rose added. “We only have to look to function. They are not that different from us. Look here Kathleen, behind the wall there is storage. The wall moves when it is touched.”

“There’s no kitchen in the house.” Kathleen discovered. "There are bedrooms galore and over there is an empty room. It must have some purpose. I don’t know what it could be and then there’s the living room. That’s it.”
“Maybe the unfurnished room has the appliances underneath like the bathroom facilities.”

They thought maybe so but they didn’t see any buttons to push or levers to pull so they drifted out onto the balcony which ran the length of the home. Looking over the ledge to below there was a space that they would call a walk-out patio that led out into a lawn filled with plants and flowers. Beyond that was the lake placid once more now that no one looked but just beginning to stir when their eyes rested on it.

They watched the water cavort for a while and then returned to the inside, content to digest all that had happened to them in such a short time.

While they waited, Kathleen took some time to find out about Rose’s baby.

“How far along are you? You’re not showing yet Rose.”

The floodgates of Rose’s bitterness opened. “I’m still in the first trimester Kath. Renaldo didn’t have to do what he did. He had no intention of even continuing our relationship, much less marrying me. I was a fool, I know that now. I think I hate him for his spinelessness. He’s a poor excuse for a man. I hope -"

Before she could say what she hoped Ursus was back bringing a fresh breeze in with him. He was in his element now and he showed it. He was much more relaxed, less serious and obviously pleased that they had pulled off the first of the migrations. At least a few of the men now had women.

“So how is it going out there?” Kathleen asked him, smiling with him, pleased that he was happy and that his personality hadn’t changed for the worse now that he had them in his world.

“Everything about this mission is better than we had hoped. Of course some of the women are homesick. That was to be expected, especially the ones that came from your third world countries, the ones that lived in the outlying villages. We thought if we brought only those twenty-five and over, they would have already made their break with their parents and be more used to living away from them. There’s this one girl, I think she inflated her age. She acts as if she is still a teen. She’s crying for her mother.”

“What is the fellow that she picked doing? Is he able to comfort her?”

“Let’s hope so. For tonight she’s going to stay with Kibba and allow her young man to court her. Kibba’s husband has beamed here to welcome her back but he won’t mind having company. He and Kibba have had a long and happy marriage. They should be good examples for the young woman. If she doesn’t change her mind we will return her with the next mission.”

He walked over and took Kathleen’s hand. “Now I want to show you the rest of your home.” And then as an afterthought, “You too Rose.”

He took them down a long corridor that heretofore they had not noticed, it blended so well into the wall. It opened up onto a large circular room that Kathleen estimated was a large as a basketball court, but reminded her of the lounge at college. There were groups of seatings that she was sure served as conversation pits. There was a long bar for drinks, on the far end was a raised platform that could serve as a stage. Various game tables stood in an ‘L’ shaped alcove on the other end.

This was a place for socializing. Decorated in primary colors and grounded with a variety of browns and tans it was very pretty and looked quite comfortable.

“What is this place Ursus?” Kathleen asked.

“This is a part of our home. Just think of it as the local pub built for the occupants. We practice communal living here on Lira. Sort of like your apartments except we gather here when we want to socialize and stay in our private quarters when we want privacy. This kind of living is practiced throughout our lands here on Lira but this particular village, or town is isOlated. We didn’t feel that we could plop two thousand women into a world composed primarily of men and expect to keep the peace.”

He led them through another door that seemed to rise automatically as they approached. “Here is where the food is prepared. Everyone works. Some of the women might want to work here.”

“You mean that I won’t get to cook our dinner, it will be like restaurant every night?”

“You’ll be able to cook if you like. The way it has worked for us in the past is that we found that most women don’t want to be responsible for preparing the daily meal. Then it becomes a chore instead of a joy. When you want to prepare it, you may. If it is only for the two of us no one will wonder why they are not invited.

"But on the days when you do not want to do it, there are women who will make it their jobs. Also, there is a central food preparation hall several legions from here where food can be ordered and delivered hot almost instantly. That is what we call our restaurant food.”

“And if I wanted to eat now, tonight, I could order from here?”

“Yes and you may order from our home too. Are you hungry?”

“I want to see how it works, I could eat something light, how about you Rose?” Kathleen wondered if they would have Buffalo Chicken Wings.

“We don’t have the things that you will crave, like your Buffalo Wings, but we have something similar, it is not meat based but it is tasty.”

“That’s funny, I was just thinking about chicken wings.”

He made a few markings on the stainless steel counter and in minutes there materialized three steaming plates. He was right, they were not chicken wings but whatever it was, was so good that she didn’t care. Along with the food came a juice that wasn’t fruit, neither was it a hot drink but a kind of fizzling thing that reminded her of sparkling cider.

They dug in with gusto and when they had finished, he placed their utensils on the same counter and they disappeared.

“It was a miracle when my ancestors discovered the power to make things materialize and dematerialize. We use it liberally here. It is simple really but it requires that people think outside of the box. When Earth is ready, the process will be given to them, perhaps in a dream or a vision. Then someone on your planet will invent it.”

“Now," he continued, "Bas and your other sister are to the right of that antechamber, the other two generals Drago and Cain are in the other two. This is a small pod, only the four of us and our families will occupy it. The others, for what you would call the enlisted men, are built for ten families each.”

“Why do you live like this? Don’t you get tired of each other?”

“Of course we do. But we know that this is our duty. Our planet is engaged in a large experiment, assigned by ’He who rules us all’. We are to demonstrate that man can live in unity. Your planet is also engaged in a separate test, can you guess what it is?” He looked at both of the women with a twinkle in his eye.

“To see how much material wealth we can acquire?” Rose offered and he threw his head back in a guffaw of a laugh.

“Good try Rose. I said test. Acquiring wealth is not difficult at all, at least when you have people who will lie, cheat and steal to get it. What about you Sweets what is Earth’s present test?”

“We have several. I think we are working on unity too but at a lower level. We are learning how to get along on so many fronts like preventing wars, saving our environment, women’s rights. But we are not yet ready to actually live together. We would fight.”

“You are right. I was going to say your test is to stop all war and to live in peace. But your test is more than just that. If you destroy your planet you won’t even have a space in which to experiment. Throughout the numerous galaxies it is the same. Life is the school, love is the lesson and your home planet is the classroom. But as you progress, the lessons grow more refined.”

“What if we do fail? Will Earth just cease to be?”

“’He who rules us all’ would not allow that to happen. Even if you exploded one of your bombs that your leaders are so fond of threatening everyone with, even if all of you die, since you can never die not really, He would move most of you to another planet, in other bodies of course, you might be lizards, I don’t know,” he joked she hoped. “Then you’d just have to pick up where you left off, hopefully after having learned not to play with bombs.”

“Oh Ursus, you are so wise.” Rose cooed.

Kathleen looked at her. Rose did not coo. What was wrong with her sister? His cheekbones actually pinked before he sought to change the subject.

“Tomorrow I will show you the outer grounds, the lake where you can swim, the underground room where we will go for the frozen month if it proves to be extremely cold.”

“Frozen month?” Rose asked.

“Yes, didn’t your sister tell you? We have five seasons here to your four. We have spring, summer, autumn, winter and deep winter. It gets really cold here and we sometimes go underground."

That’s when we will make our babies. He thought it and didn’t say it wanting to see if she showed any potential for mind reading. Kathleen looked at him and blushed. She was responding to the look on his face. She couldn’t read his thoughts but she could tell he had something interesting on his mind.

When Bas and Margaret appeared, Bas too showing his bride-to-be the layout, Ursus took that opportunity to draw Kathleen aside so that they could have a private word. “I will find a mate for your sister. It will not be good for her to get too used to staying with us.”

“Oh surely not so soon Ursus, she’s having a baby. She won’t want to be married while she’s pregnant, I know her; she’s too straitlaced for that.”

“What? Why do you say that?”

She blushed again. “Surely you don’t expect her to have intimate relations with a new husband when she’s carrying another man’s baby?”

“It will take nine months for her to have her baby then, another two months for her to recover from it. You can’t mean that you expect her to stay with us for a full year?”

“Why not? We have lots of room don’t we? Anyway, she is almost three months along; she’d only be with us for nine months or maybe less.”

“We’ll talk about this later. Let’s go over and see how your other sister is doing shall we?”

They had only a few minutes to chat when the other two guys came in with their wives-to-be. The women introduced themselves and being new to each other couldn’t help but take surreptitious looks to size each other up.

Kathleen got the distinct feeling that although the women thought they had been the choosers of their mates, it had been a bit more complicated than that. The heights matched too perfectly, personalities too. From the little she had seen, that trend played out all the way down through the enlisted men.

Cain’s mate was small and sexy with light hair. He beamed when he introduced her, certainly there was just a bit more than happenstance coming together here. He would not have been as cheerful had she, Kathleen, chosen him.

Drago was tallest of the four and his mate likewise was probably topped out at six feet. She was a tall woman by Earth’s standards. She was brown with dark red hair a mixture that appeared normal to Liran men but was quite exotic for Earth. She spoke accented English and clarified that she had come from the Sudan, the northern regions where apparently most of the folk were quite tall.

The other two women were amazed at the likeness of the three sisters. “Be happy that your hair is different or your men might not know under which bed to place their shoes.” Amera, the African joked.

“Their personalities are quite different. Bas answered and gave Maggie‘s hair a slight tug. “This one here is feisty, Kathleen, Ursus’s mate is serious, and Rose here seems to be sweet.

“We’re sweet too,” both Kathleen and Margaret spoke at the same time.

“Course when we were growing up,” Kathleen continued, “it took all that Rose could do to keep us out of trouble. How do you like it here so far?” She spoke to the other two women, Amera and Demeter.

Demeter chose to answer. “I for one am wondering when and how we will be married. I would feel more comfortable if I knew that I had a husband before I am called upon to make a baby for the state.”

“Don’t worry little one,” Cain reassured her. "It will be a big production. The joint heads of state and several of the nine counselors to them will travel here both to conduct the ceremonies and to see our little village. Only after that will we be allowed to have our shoes under the same bed.” He shrugged at his fellow generals and grinned as if to say I am only saying something that she will understand.

“Well yes. And before that all of you will be outfitted with our clothing so that you look like women of Lira, at least as much as possible.”

“Why are they coming to see the village? Is it new?”

“That it is. We built it just to house the families. You must understand that in the cities there are almost no women, just groups of men without women. The women have banded together as any group of women would do if there were not enough of you to go around. Men alone do not create villas. They hole up in one room pods that most women would turn their noses up at living there.”

“So with the women all banding together, and the men living alone in apartments, how did you find wives among the very few that are there?”

“Picture how it is becoming on Earth except flip the sexes. You have a few more women than men so your women compete for the men’s attention. That is just what the men of Lira do. There are some differences, for instance men of Earth make up the difference somewhat by juggling two or more women. We have found that in general, the women here were not interested in juggling two or three men, they only want one but they want the best that they can get.

“They instituted the concept of the elongated courtship. A man might court a woman for years, only to find that she has in the end accepted another man. It was a frustrating prospect. That is why all the attention from the council will fall on this venture to assess just how well it works and don’t forget there will be children of these unions; the other unions, with our women, were fruitless.”

“Then why enter into them?”

All four men laughed. Drago rubbed his chin and looked at the others. “The children are for the state. The sex is for us.”

“So let me get this straight. Even had the women of Earth been incompatible with you, as far as having children, you would have come for us anyway?”

“For sure we would have. One has to think on two levels here. One is at the level of the state, which prioritizes things like the survival of the race and the planet. The other thought is at the individual level.

"Whether we survive as a world or not won’t make a large difference to us because we will cycle off the planet, or do what you call die. But while we are here, well that’s a different story, it is important that we have mates to keep us from deteriorating deeper into the third dimension. As it is, we are scheduled to enter the fifth dimension in the not too distant future.”

“Is that something that we should be worried about?” Amera asked. "Perhaps I should know what you are talking about but I’m afraid that I don’t.

“That knowledge will be given to you, but later. It is nothing with which to concern yourself.”

Kathleen thought that they were being treated a bit like children but she had not known these people, these men, long enough to speak out especially to one that she didn’t know well at all. They seemed amicable but who really knew? All men had some aggressiveness in them; perhaps they had just not pushed the right buttons in these men yet, so she kept her mouth shut.

They stayed in the common room for another hour or so before going back to their individual rooms. Kathy really was surprised when her man pointed her to her room and Rose to hers and he then retired to his room. Ever since they had shared those kisses on Earth when they walked home together she had been aware that he wanted her in the way that a man wants a woman. Now it all seemed like a dream. He treated her like he would a sister; a beloved sister for sure, but a sister nevertheless.

CHAPTER 18
AN ILL WIND COMETH

She got over being miffed with him when he told her that the two of them were not exceptions, all of the couples of Northstar {the name of their village} were waiting for the ceremony. And that the women would have to undergo an orientation to village life in Northstar before they were wed.

Even with a whole week to wait to get married there was plenty to do. In addition to the general orientation that all of the women received, the four women of Pod Talus, which Kathleen was told meant ‘headquarters’ because it was the home of the four generals who were heading up this project, they were briefed on their role as wives of the leaders of this village.

Before the meeting specific to the wives of the four generals, Ursus had asked Rose to wait in the private part of their home. Rose had not been happy with that. Ursus' thinking was that she would not need the information since she would not be one of their wives.

Rose had pouted a bit but she had gotten over her pity session quickly and in the end smiled at him and said that if it pleased him, she would stay behind.

Once in the general pod, it was explained that this village of Northstar was destined to grow as others made the voyage from Earth and joined them.

The four generals, with Cain as their principle speaker repeated in essence the same thing that Ursus had told Kathleen when they were sealing their bargain and that was as their wives they were the role models for the other women. Moreover they were given the responsibility of laying down the fabric for the small community and charged with establishing the institutions that their children would grow up in.

“You were chosen,” Cain spoke seriously as he stood before the small group of four women as they sat with their husbands-to-be on that first evening in the ‘common’ portion of their home. “based on what we assessed as your suitability for the job that is before us. No matter how fond we were of you, if we had not thought you capable of the task ahead, we would have chosen another. You will be held to the same high standards that we hold for ourselves.

“The project that we are about to embark on together is one that has never been undertaken before. Bas, Drago, Ursus and I will be your support system and you will be ours. We will be each other’s eyes and ears and liaison between the couples who will soon join together to form marriages for the state.

“But keep in mind that while the state will sanction these marriages as tools for the betterment of our Liran race, these are also individual marriages. The marriages will represent treaties made between each man and woman and as such there will be challenges that occur. We will be charged with helping them face and overcome those trials.

“It would naïve for us to expect that individuals from two differing cultures could come together without turmoil, let alone different races of people from two different planets; but we are optimistic that if we rely on each other, and are truthful with each other and together problem solve innovatively, we will prevail.

“Finally, I have spoken only of the hopes and loyalties that will enable us to succeed at a group level. Individually, may I say that each of you were chosen by your mate-to-be to become his own not just for reasons of state. You were chosen because in addition to demonstrating the qualities that the state needs such as organization, team-building, intelligence etc, etc,” and he let his voice drone on in a very dull way to show that those qualities, while necessary were not that exciting. And then his voice perked up. “You were chosen because each man has said that you, the individual, make him very happy.

"Welcome to your new home you are now women of Lira!”

Cain let his previously serious and subdued demeanor dissolve and when he smiled he looked like the Sun King. What a handsome and resplendent persona he had. He made them all feel as if they could accomplish the weighty task ahead.

Kibba would be the women’s resource. Her presence was needed to insure that some semblance of Liran culture was kept. The Lirans did not want to just duplicate the culture of Earth but to have a new civilization composed of elements of both.

If there was some matter of protocol, they were to talk among themselves and decide if any action should be taken and if so, what specific action that should be. If they could not resolve it, they were to ask Kibba.

“Will Kibba stay here with us?” Demeter asked when her Cain had finished his speech and returned to sit with the group.

“It is not necessary. She can be here on a moment’s notice. Just think of how you can tune in to a channel on your television screen, we also can beam her here almost instantly."

“What kinds of things might need our attention?” asked Margaret.

“We have no idea. These are your women. You have a better understanding of them than we do. We only know when people are thrown together who are not used to it and have no dedication to unity, things will happen. We are prepared to back you up.”

‘Yes right, then we will be seen as the bad cops and you the good Samaritans.’ But Kathleen never said any of this aloud.

Instead she suggested that they keep a record so that the same correction could be meted out for each infraction. “I imagine that they will want to talk to us about spats with their husbands; that is bound to happen when they marry up with men that they don’t know.”

Margaret added, “And among pod mates. They aren’t used to community living, there’s sure to be jealousies and maybe even petty thievery.”

“What about infidelity? Someone’s man is sure to want someone’s woman and not his own or both.” Amera, who came from a place where polygamy was practiced, knew that men were greedy souls.

“We have threatened to take away the one woman that he has if he endangers this project with that kind of behavior. These men will keep their vows. We four are here to see that they do.” Bas said, and he was dead serious.

The women continued to plan. “We will need schools, the arts and entertainment, and shopping of course. That in itself is an institution.” The women all laughed at that.

Cain added, “You will not need banks as we don’t do commerce as it is done on Earth. You will not need churches as we do not have religion as you have it on Earth, and you will not need the courts as we no longer have crime as you have it on Earth.”

That made no sense to the four women so the men clarified.

“Regarding banking, we do not have a monetary system that is built on gold. We create what we need and have unlimited ability to meet our needs. Before we could do this we first had to learn to curb our materialistic tendencies; once we detached ourselves from getting ‘things’ for ourselves, we were given unlimited resources by the powers that be, the rulers of the universe. That’s how the universe works,” Bas explained. “The thing that you conquer is then given to you because it in itself no longer has the power to rule you.”

“Regarding churches” Drago added, “we adhere to spiritual principles rather than religious dogma. We came to understand that the essence of worshiping Him is not to be found by looking to or visiting any one building or going to any one place but it is found in our behavior, in how we act. We have learned that the highest form of worship involves treating our fellow man with love and incorporating into our lives all of the other attributes that are Godlike such as honesty, compassion, fidelity , assert, - “

“That’s good Drago, they get the picture. There are about fifty two attributes that we concentrate on and he would take you through all of them.” Ursus said. “And you get the picture about the courts too don’t you? We have moved past the outer crimes to the inner ones, many of which are curtailed when we learn to be honest with ourselves. Still, in spite of that we felt that we had better protect you from the men of the planet; we don’t want to be the cause of their regression.”

“And what does that mean specifically?” Demeter asked.

“It means that rape is an outer crime in which a man allows himself to take what he wants. On the other hand lust and covetousness are inner ones. We think that the most of the men on the planet have conquered man’s propensity to seize what is not his but we are under no illusion that he will restrain himself with good humor.

"We do not want to be the cause of leading those men out there who have no women into temptation. “

“On Earth they always said that rape was a crime of violence.” Demeter persisted.

“And on Earth I would say that is true because there is no shortage. I compare the situation to a man who has no bread. Starving is not an excuse for stealing but it makes the theft easier to understand.”

By then it was time to break up this their first council meeting so they parted and Ursus took Kathleen and Rose on a tour of their village. It was a beautiful place with slight hills and wide vistas. The Luminous stone shone with hints of gold and pink in the sunlight. The deep blue backdrop of the sky made the landscape look like a fairy tale.

“Remember that you are not limited to what you see here. It seems isolated but our cities and our shops are within beaming distance, which means that they are seconds away but wait until I have traveled with you so that you are familiar with our language and our ways.” Ursus explained to Kathleen.

“It will take me years to learn your language”, Rose cut in, having heard him speaking it when the guys were alone together.

“You will not have to learn it Rose. When you are ready, you will pick it up through meditating on it. That is the easiest way that we could think of to get you ladies speaking all at the same time. That will be the second big initiation. The first will be the actual ceremony.

“The marriage ceremony is an initiation? Kathleen squeaked. “That sounds ominous.”

“It is not at all ominous. We will go before the council and they will use their telepathy to insure that we are compatible. If we are, and indeed we are, we will then walk forward to say our vows and that will be it. They will enter our names in the Book of Names."

Kathleen heard only one word - telepathy.

“They can use telepathy? They can read our minds? That’s downright scary. What if we think about something they don’t like? What if they punish us for random thoughts?”

“There’s no punishment here for that sort of infraction. You are human after all. All human’s have wayward thoughts. You would not be allowed to murder but everything else that is unpleasant you are responsible for rooting out. No one will chastise you and force you to have good thoughts. That is why we sorted you with the music; we did not accept any truly criminal types.”

He stopped walking; he had been barely moving allowing for their shorter stride. “By the way, what is a Good Samaritan?”

“In our bible, that is the man who helps an enemy. You don’t have bibles here how would you even know the word Samaritan? - wait a minute; I was just thinking about bad cop and Good Samaritan. Oh God Ursus no. No! You can’t read our minds too can you?”

He didn’t answer, just smiled. She looked back at Rose, appalled.

“They can all read minds Rose. Every bloody last one of them can tell what we are thinking. All along they’ve known our thoughts.”

She turned back to him. “And you didn‘t even bother to tell us. Have you been laughing at us?” And then an even more horrifying though entered her head. “What else are you keeping from us? What other nasty little surprise?”

Rose began crying. Kathleen had no idea why she would cry, after all her fiancé had not lied to her.

“Calm down my love,” he said to Kathleen. “Stop crying Rose! We meant no harm. It is just that if Earthlings had known that we could read their thoughts and they couldn’t read ours, then not an iota of trust could have been established. Surely you can understand our position. We didn’t want such a small thing to ruin the negotiations. How do you think we knew all of your slang and the information that would only be known to one who is a native of Earth?”

“But can’t you see it’s like being stripped naked? I don’t know what I’ve thought about that…”

Then she remembered all the times she had called him idiot in her mind and asshole and … oh it was too humiliating! But then, he was still here so it could not have been all that bad. Perhaps …

“You say that we can be taught your language through meditation, can we also be taught to use telepathy?”

“All in good time my love, the use of the language will come quickly. The telepathy thing is more difficult and we use a different procedure. We will talk about that later and each woman will decide for herself when the time is right. It is nothing for you to worry about.”

‘Don’t you dare treat me like I’m a child Ursus! ‘ She sent the thought out as she would if she had spoken it.

He laughed. “Yes ma’am, I promise.”

Rose looked on wondering what they were talking about as she could only hear one side of the conversation.

They wandered all over the small village, past the open air market where fruits and vegetables were sold. And though they all looked delicious and healthy, Kathleen’s mind was racing still coming to grips that her thoughts were not her own. Still she appreciated seeing what crops they grew. Some she recognized. There were tomatoes, some red and some green. There were fresh beans and peas and a round cactus looking fruit that Ursus said was really sweet and delectable.

Eventually they came to the beach, or what was the closest thing that came to her memory. It was a waterfall, but in the center was a huge ring, a swirling ring that Ursus told her was used for recreation. The brave ones dived off into it and in return it threw them out. It was super buoyant and instead of having a blue base, their water was a true green blue due, he told them, to a larger presence of copper. The sand was white. But, as Ursus had said, the function was the same.

The next night there was a play in the village auditorium. Kathleen wondered how everyone knew about the play as there were no phones and no playbills posted in conspicuous places. She found that the word had gone out through E.S.P. She realized that the natives of Lira had a definite advantage over the Earthlings. Not being telepathic meant that the women had to depend on their men to keep them informed of the smallest things.

Perhaps the women’s ‘Council of Four’ should discuss this at their next meeting.

The play was surprisingly good. It was strange to see men playing all of the parts but when there were no women, they had had to make do. It was about their history. It depicted women becoming fewer and fewer, the lesbian women leaving the planet and finally a few dejected men wandering around without homes or any creature comforts.

It was exciting when a man suddenly thought he had spotted a woman far in the distance and they all ran to her with hope on their faces. Everyone cheered like they used to do in the old silent movies that they had shown at the orphanage. The audience groaned when he ran up to her only to find it was a man. A man with a beard that they had thought was the long hair of a woman.

They laughed when the men threatened to take him down if he didn’t get that hair cut off his face.

All in all it was an enjoyable night spent with most of the folk who had made the trip together.

The actors announced that next week’s play would be a tribute to all the brave women who had traveled here and were the mother’s-to-be of the new world.

After the play the nine of them walked to their home { Kathleen didn’t really think of it as a pod anymore and vowed to herself that one cultural change she’d make was to call their homes villas} They sat in the great room and had a hot butternut tasting drink like coffee. The drink was reminiscent of the drink that Ursus had brought her in NYC when she was in her office and they had worked on the letter.

Bas could tell that Ursus had something on his mind but he couldn’t read exactly what. Finally Ursus sent Bas a hidden message that he wanted to meet with him and his mate-to-be the next day. Bas had assured him that he would be free and Margaret would be too but he couldn’t imagine that his friend and co-worker wanted to talk with them about.

The men hadn’t known it but the next day Kibba had arranged to take the women shopping.

“You only have the few things that you brought from Earth. You will need wedding dresses and a whole wardrobe. I will take you five first and then after the large groups are married I’ll let the men take care of their own wives.

The five women of Earth found that the Liran styles, while not altogether strange, did not fit their idea of stylish. The women mostly wore long flowing robes which while elegant, were not practical.

“What about the clothes in the city? Ursus promised that he’d take me there soon after we are married. Might there be other things there?”

“I’m afraid not Kathleen Kennedy. There will be more of the same there. We do have these, you might like them. Some of the women wear them in the home and are thought to be quite comfortable."

She took them over to a counter that held only leggings. They were the slinky kind that the fashionable women on Earth wore alone as fashion statements.

“These are cool!” Tall slender Amera held them up to her body showing interest for the first time.

“You’re right these could work. We can wear them as they’re worn at home. Victoria Beckham wears them like they’re dress pants with high heels, gloves and a purse.”

“And J Lo wears them with an overskirt, Fergie with those four inch knee high boots.”

They all decided to buy several pairs each, all in black in addition to the elegant Liran robes that each of them liked but were quite unused to wearing.

The shoes that they encountered were something else. This is where the Liran woman came into her own. There were chunky boots, high heeled gladiator sandals, and sling-back pumps, just about everything that one could find on Fifth Avenue in NYC or in Milan or Paris.

“Kibba, are you sure that you haven’t imported Enzo Angiolini here?”

“Child we don’t have to do that. The ideas that give them inspiration are just floating in the Akashic record waiting to be grasped. We have designers too. If you can think of it, they can make it.”

“Whoo Hoo. Something tells me that we are going to create a whole new style for Lira.”

“I daresay you will. After all, soon almost one half of our people will be of Earth’s culture. You are certain to change us as much as we change you.

They went home from their shopping trip tired but pleased with the outcome. Kathleen had purchased a flowing gown of deep purple that she thought would go well even though she was a redhead. Maggie would be in green. The other two had chosen traditional white.

Rose, well Rose had felt left out. Still she seemed to have enjoyed the outing and had purchased quite a few things and charged it to Ursus’s household as had Kathleen.

Ursus was out when Kathleen and Rose returned so they each went to their respective rooms to try on their new things and after that, decided that they would take a nap.

Bas, realizing that Maggie was home mentally sent Ursus the message that they could meet now if he still wanted it. In five seconds he was at their door.

It was unusual to say the least for them to visit each other’s private quarters. Bas couldn’t remember a time since they had constructed these pods when they hadn’t met out in the common room.

“Margaret, can you come out for a moment? Ursus is here and he wants to meet with us. May I get you a cool drink my friend?”

Ursus had waved him off. Speaking to Bas in his head but switching effortlessly to speech when Margaret entered the room looking very much like her sister.

“This is about Rose.” Ursus got right to the point. “I want to find a mate for her but her sister, Kathleen that is, wants to wait until after she gives birth. She has pleaded with me to let her stay.”

“Yes, I wondered about that” Bas had nodded thoughtfully. “That is many months from now; does Kathleen know that this arrangement will not work?”

Margaret wondered why it wouldn’t work and spoke up. “Is she difficult to live with for you Ursus? I am sure that Bas could offer her a home here, couldn‘t we?” And she looked at him hopefully seeing nothing wrong with it.

“The problem is this Margaret. Bas has told you that we can read your minds?” She had blushed and nodded. She was wondering if he was reading hers now and knew that she really didn’t want Rose to move in with them. “As I was saying I can read Rose’s thoughts and know that she is becoming attached to me. When I am out of the house she wonders where I am and when I will return more than my mate-to-be does. She is wondering if I would make a good father to her baby. She is the one who comes to greet me at the door, to see if I am hungry, to ask how my day is going. It is not a good situation and bound to grow worse as time goes on.”

Bas took over the telling of the story. “There is the matter of the council. They are not all in agreement that more than one wife is absolutely forbidden. We do not practice it but if Rose comes to think of him as her husband, especially to the point where she will have no other, the council might decide that he will keep providing for her and father other children with her.”

“What!” Margaret did a complete about face. “I am sure that Kathleen doesn’t know that? And no, she cannot move in here. Why haven’t you told her all of the truth Ursus?”

“I can read her thoughts, I cannot read her emotions. The truth might be that she cares more for her sister than she does for me, after all, she would not even consider leaving until we made a quick trip to Japan to get her. It could be that even after I told her the consequences she might be willing for us to all live together. History has a precedence for this you know, especially when the two women are sisters.”

“And you could do this? Live with two women and father children by both of them?” Maggie was appalled.

“I don’t know why you are shocked Margaret.” For someone who couldn’t read emotions he sure nailed that one. The fact was that the look on her face betrayed her emotions; he didn’t even have to guess.
“Of course I can. It is not the life that I would prefer but I want my Kathleen to be happy. If having her sister with her does this then I am willing.”

‘I’m sure you would make the supreme sacrifice.’ Maggie thought before she remembered that he knew what she thought.

“It would be a sacrifice, perhaps not physically, but for me it would be at the cost of my emotions. I do not think it is easy to live with two women when one is loved and the other is not but yet I would have to pretend just to keep peace in the household. Knowing and learning from the lessons of history it can be quite mentally challenging.”

“It would also mean that neither of them could have the telepathy initiation, then they would know what you really think.” Bas added.

“Yes, I would no longer be able to pretend that Rose is Kathleen in my bed. Rose would know and possibly hate me for it. So what must I do?” He looked towards Margaret for an answer. She did not fail him.

“Why don’t I talk to Kathleen? She will tell me honestly the depth of her feelings for you Ursus. I will also let her know that in spite of her good intentions regarding Rose she is playing with fire. You do know Ursus that her need to protect Rose stems from the fact that Rose mothered us when we were young. But once she knows that it will cost her the chance to build a relationship with you then we will see if she sings a different tune after that. We’ll see how the wind really blows.”

CHAPTER 19

HOW DOES THE WIND BLOW?

Lovie Norma Pettigrew was bored. There was nothing, absolutely nothing for her to do here on Lira. She didn’t know exactly what she expected; she couldn’t recall why she was fool enough to think that a planet even less industrialized than Earth would have something to keep her active and to keep her practical mind occupied.

Before arriving here she had possessed high hopes that this planet would be different from Earth. During her last year on Earth she had run out of things to do. All of the easy jobs the jobs that didn’t require a college degree that she was able to perform so well had dried up. The manufacturing jobs had been outsourced to less industrialized and less technologically advanced countries.

Of course she knew that these negative thoughts were complete exaggerations. But in truth the jobs for which she qualified, minimum wage jobs, had dwindled.

Straight out of high school she had worked in the broom factory making brooms that would ‘sweep clean’. For two years she worked at that plant until it close down and moved out of the country.

But, even while making brooms she had possessed a creative mind and she had had sense enough to find a niche market to supplement her low salary. She sold iced down Barq drinks {aka soda water} of strawberry, root beer, and cream soda on the side right there in the plant.

The vending machine-area in the foyer had a bright red coke machine but one thing that Lovie knew was what folk in her part of the world preferred. They just weren’t interested in a Coke when they could have a Cream Soda and one that was even colder than that Coke machine’s was anyway.

When that caught on and the sodas started selling like hot cakes she tried bringing in sandwiches made of pressed ham, salami and bologna or baloni as it was commonly called. She’d pile the meat on two slices of fresh as could be white Wonder Bread. That Wonder Bread had been so good you could squeeze a slice into a ball {she had since learned that it had had almost no fiber} but that was then. The sale of sodas and sandwiches had supplemented her salary quite nicely.

When the foreman at the broom factory finally caught on to what was going on, he had quickly put a stop to this enterprise by telling Norma that the factory would get into trouble with the Tennessee Department of Health because she was selling home-wrapped sandwiches, who knew under what conditions? So she ceased and desisted … for two days. She then started bringing in bagged salty treats to go with the sodas. She brought Fritos, beer nuts and the always popular pork rinds. By the time that plant closed she was earning more from her ’side’ treats than she had from working the main job. And she had been only twenty years old at the time.

Her next ’position’ was at the bicycle factory. She held on to that job for five whole years. She worked on an assembly line and her job was to put the handle bars on the shiny new bicycles. Unfortunately she was not able to have a side business selling sodas and snacks.

She learned that she was popular with the male employees though.

After securing the handlebars she was required to walk the length of the line to hand over the upper half of the bike so that the lower section could be worked. The guys lived to see that walk. Her fabulously shaped rounded bum was the undercover talk of the plant. All production stopped when she made her strut which they had come to know would be made about one time per hour.

The other women who worked in the plant weren’t too pleased with her though and they let her know it in several nasty but subtle ways.

Norma could have taken the ‘I don’t give a ****’ attitude but that was not her way. She befriended them. Those who were interested in getting husbands she gave advice based on her ripened wisdom garnered in the last eight of her now twenty two years.

“Alls you got to do is tighten them jeans just a little bit and switch it from side to side honey. And be proud of what you got.”

She had other sage wisdom too.

“If you ain’t got it, buy it. Go down to Fredericks of Hollywood and buy you one of them butt lifter girdles. Put it on and wear it like you own it.”

Soon there were so many big fine asses moving around the assembly lines until the guys couldn’t decide which way to look.

Lovie was directly responsible for at least ten marriages at the bicycle plant before she left it for a two dollar per hour raise at the blouse factory two blocks down.

She had then busied herself merrily sewing away on blouses. She was sure the customer had no idea that they were all made at the same place and then labeled at a later date. Some would have the label sewn in for Nordstroms, some for Macy’s, and Dillard’s. Other‘s perhaps if they had a slight flaw were destined for Wall Mart, Big Lots, Target’s and Kmart. Those made from finer fabric would go to the specialty shops.

Collars were her specialty soon after having gone through sleeves, waist tucks and hems. When the supervisor, old piss ant Marilyn passed out a flyer, Norma started to throw it away but something caught her eye. Somebody was looking for brides. “I wonder what that is all about.” At 27, Lovie Norma Pettigrew was about the have the adventure of her life.

Lovie Norma was a rich chocOlate color that some men thought was just too dark for them, especially if they were of the same hue.

“Baby, you fine and all that but I don’t haul no coal.” Was one of the better known mantras that she heard from men who looked like she did and lived in her part of the world.

Her reply could have been along the line of the accepted norm, “Your mammy did.” But she was not that kind of girl. Her reply would have been, if she had deigned to say anything was “I know someone who does.”

Those were exactly her thoughts when she finished filling out the application. She’d fabricated herself a degree from Tennessee State College, completed a flight to California, and went to the man-choosing social where she ran into a tall fine man from God-knows-where whose eyes literally lit up when he saw her.

She couldn’t pronounce his name as he said it. Too many rolled R’s, so they settled for Ronnie. Ronnie Northstar. What kind of name is that? She thought he looked strange and unusual but his fine strong tall body and all that long deep red hair combined with his slanted eyes and long lashes had turned her on. She had found what would become the love of her life.

Now here she sat on Lira. She was perfectly comfortable. She who had spent all of her adult life working had the nerve to complain because there was nothing to do. She thought of all of the days back on Earth when she had needed a short nap, ten minutes would have done it, but she couldn’t doze off because that was not allowed. Now she could nap all afternoon but she just wasn’t sleepy.

They couldn’t even spend the day making love. That would have been nice but Ronnie was persnickety, like all of these other guys. It seemed that they had promised someone that they would wait until the approval ceremony. And when it came to Ronnie, there was no tempting him. No matter how often she sashayed across the room so that he could get a good long look, he didn’t respond to her come on, except to smile and say,

“I know what you’re doing baby and just you wait. I’m going to make you sorry. When I get through with you it will be two days, perhaps a week before you can walk.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?”

“Smart mouth” he had responded and had chased her down to steal a kiss. “What do you think?”

When Ronnie had told her about the telepathy thing, that he could read her mind she hadn’t been too concerned. Her grandmother had had the second sight. Grannie said that she, Lovie, had been born with a caul over her face and that she most likely had the second sight too. So far, no sixth sense had showed up in her, but she wasn’t afraid of it. Let him read her mind. It just might turn him on.

Lovie Norma had been thinking on it for several days. “Ronnie. Where can I get a sewing machine?”

Ronnie who had just been preparing to go out into the common room to see what the guys in their pod were doing turned around. “Sewing machine? What’s that?”

“It’s the thing that you make clothes with. Who made your shirt?”

He had looked at the shirt as if it would tell him that secret but it didn’t respond. “I don’t know who made it but whoever it was, they didn’t do it with a sewing machine, they materialized it.”

“Materialized it?”

“Yes. Same as we materialized these pods that we live in. That was the last thing that we did before I left to come and get you.”

“Oh. That’s sweet. You came to get me specifically.”

“Honey I knew you were there and when I saw you, I recognized you. And you have such a sweet mind, to go with your sweet behind. I couldn’t resist.”

She knew that most of these guys were into behinds and not at all into breasts. It had something to do with native Liran women having no breasts a’tall. She had both and if one was enough for him, so be it.

“How do you materialize something? For instance, how did you make this house? “

“I would like to claim that I did it all by myself but it takes a work crew. And that crew has to have someone to tell them what to make. They need someone who knows all of the details, all of the cut outs, all of the walls everything about the house.”

“On Earth I think that would be called an architect.”

“Yes. The articheq or whatever makes the plans and projects them from his mind up in the air so that we can see it.”

“He doesn’t draw it on paper?”

“He doesn’t have to, but I guess he could materialize paper and lay it out on that but we can work with it hanging in the air. It takes a minimum of four men, but it goes much faster with eight or sixteen. So we divide into four groups. We have to do this to have a three dimensional structure. One fourth goes to the outside wall, another fourth goes to the inside wall, one takes the view from above the structure and one takes the view from below the structure.”

“How does he get into the air, one of those strange vehicles that we rode here on?”

He laughed. “We don’t have to actually go up there; that is just what we visualize and concentrate on in our minds. And even though we are picturing it from above, or below and so forth, we all stand there together because it is our combined energy that creates it.”

“Does it grow up from the ground?” And she lifted her hand in a motion that depicted what she was talking about.

“No. It comes in full blown. It kind of shimmers at first, coming in and then fading out like it’s building up substance. Then all of a sudden it is there, firm and solid and very real.

“It is most gratifying to be able to do that, and it only takes about an hour to get it in solid. Then we can go on to the next part. When we built these, we did the sleeping quarters of the entire group of pods first because we can get better, I mean it is easier to visualize it every time we do it. Then we went on the bathroom part and then to the common rooms.”

“That’s amazing. I never even thought that could be done.”

“Not amazing exactly. ‘He who rules us all’ promised us that we would be able to do this. He has promised Earth too. So far he has told you that the word would be made flesh. Of course most of you don’t understand what that meant.”

“What do you think it means?”

“It means that all of the good words spoken by whatever savior you listen to will one day be manifested in your life through your behavior. Like for instance your ten commandments or your eight-fold path, one day, those words given to you by ‘He who rules us all’ will show up in your lives, you won’t kill, you won’t steal, you’ll take the middle ground and so forth.”

“So how does that fit? How is what ‘He’ is saying making you build houses?”

“As we have progressed, ‘He who rules us all’ has given us additional information. He had given us an additional rule and that is that our thoughts can be made material after all what are words but thoughts? He didn’t allow us to do that until we had made our thoughts relatively pure else we would have created some monstrous things. As it is, most of our thoughts are for good and not evil.”

“So, if I can’t buy a sewing machine, can you materialize me one?” She was nothing if not single minded.

“We probably could if you could describe it accurately enough but why make a machine to make it when you can make the actual thing? Get someone to materialize whatever it is you want to make on your sewing machine.”

“I want to make blouses. Some of the women are buying those new leggings and I want to make tops to go with them so that -“

He put up his hand to stop her. “That’s not going to happen Norma. A work crew is not going to create blouses or any kind of women’s clothing except perhaps lingerie. Now if you need some of that I can create the - .”

She cut him and his foolishness off. “Can your women, I mean the women of Lira materialize too just like the men?”

“Sure they can but don’t expect them to help you take their men away from them. Some are really upset that they have lost power over us and will lose more. Is that all?”

She waved him off after a quick kiss. It was something to think about. Those Liran women could do it - if - they could be persuaded.”

**

Mary Margaret Kennedy was uncharacteristically nervous. Once she and her sisters grew to adulthood, they had been forced to stay out of each other’s business. They had learned the hard way, after a particularly vicious argument that those childhood days when they could be critical of each other were gone forever.

The big argument had started so simply. Rose had purchased a ring and brought it home for her two sisters to admire. Instead of admiration Kathleen, the most level headed of them Maggie admitted, but also the most frank, had asked Rose why she hadn’t used that money for a better purpose such as making sure that her share of the rent was paid on time every month.

Maggie had joined in by saying “Aren’t you being a little harsh Kathy?” And then it was on. A free for all followed in which those three who knew each other so well tried their best to verbally rip each other to shreds.

Of course they had smoothed it over later that evening. Kathleen was premenstrual, Rose was anxious about something on the job and Maggie gave it up to them and admitted that she was just being a *****.

Since that day, they had stayed out of each other’s business by being either complementary or saying nothing at all.

“Bas, I am going to talk to Kathleen now, I need you to get Kibba to distract Rose. You know how Rose hangs onto Kathy like a leach, probably afraid that she’ll miss some interaction with Ursus.”

“Give me a minute.” And he rang Kibba telepathically and a few minutes later she came to pick up Rose for her first trip to the clinic for a pregnancy check.

That clinic attested to the optimism of the Lira. They were so sure that this project would be successful that they had built a beautiful clinic, a birthing center outfitted with equipment that most of the women had never before seen but as Ursus was fond of saying, “Don’t look at form, look at function.

Kathleen and Margaret sat with a cool sparkling juice drink and sipped as Rose left with Kibba. “So what do you want to talk to me about?”

“How do you know that? I know Kath. You’ve only seen every expression that I can have every day of your life. All right, remember that I am only meddling in your business because I want the best for you and for Rose too you know that, and because your mate-to-be asked Bas and me to talk to you and I volunteered because you are my sister.” Maggie said it all in one rushed breath.

Kathleen wondered why Margaret was nervous. “Is this something bad? Something that you know about this place that is going to burst my bubble?”

“It’s not going to burst your bubble, but we do have a problem. Do you know that our sister Rose wants your mate-to-be ?”

“Wants as in ‘wants’? No she doesn’t. Rose has had a lot of changes in her life and feels more secure when he is around. He is the first Liran male that she has met that’s all.”

Maggie didn’t try to refute what Kathleen obviously was not yet ready to believe. “Did you know that if you let her stay with you and she falls in love with him to the point where she won’t accept another man, the Council will leave the three of you together?”

“That wouldn’t be so bad would it? I mean we get along great. I’m used to living with both of you. Why are you worried about us staying in the same home after Ursus and I marry?”

“I guess I should clarify it a bit better. Not only would she be in your home, she would be expected to have his children too, the same as you. There are too few women on this planet to allow a woman to live here and not at least try to have children.”

“Do you think he would do that, lie with both of us? I don’t think so. He’s very prudent. He hasn’t even tried to come to my bed much less hers.”

“That’s because he is honoring the word that they gave to the council, that they would abstain until after the mating ceremony. If the council ordered him to take Rose also what do you think he would do? Oh Kathleen, don’t be a fool. You know how men we know are and these men might be a cut above the men of Earth but they are still men. They’ll f**k a broom if you put a bow on it.”

Kathleen stood up and turned her back not really wanting to accept the truth. Maggie continued, relentless now that she saw that her sister listened.

“He told Bas and me that he’s picking up more vibes from her than he does from you. He’s always on her mind, she runs to meet him when he comes home, asks him if he’s eaten. She is trying to replace you in his life and you are letting her get away with it. She wants a father for her baby too and she sees that he is good father material.”

“But why doesn’t he just take her? Why come to you guys to save him?”

“Because he wants you, not Rose. He says that his mind is made up but only you can save him and give him your blessing to find Rose a husband before the council arrives.”

“I didn’t know that he felt that way about me. I didn’t know that we needed to wait for the joining ceremony, yes I did, I knew that but I thought he would ignore it and at least act like he wants me. Other than that night walking back from the hangar, that night you and Bas saw us on the porch, he’s been cool in the love department.”

“How can he be hot when our sister is there lying in wait always sending out thoughts of envy of you two together? It’s enough to deaden any thought he might have. If you want a nuclear family with him then tell him. Tell him that you want him and that you want him to find a good man to mate with Rose and do it today.”

“Can she do that, now that she’s pregnant?”

“Come on Kath, married women do it all the time, up until the very end. She’s done it before which is more than you and I have done so stop babying her. She’s a big girl now.”

CHAPTER 20
PROGRESS IS SWEET

Meanwhile, Rose was lying on the exam table dreamily pretending that her baby belonged to the ‘oh so attractive’ Ursus. He was meant for her on so many levels.

First, he was kind and he was gentle. Those were attributes that a woman would want in a father and husband on any planet especially if she was expecting a baby. Secondly, he was of high rank. She would make a better member of the council of four than either of her sisters. Becoming his wife would assure her of both rank and privilege.

Finally she wanted him in her bed. She had experience. She would know how to please him. She was pretty sure that Kathleen was still virginal and she was so undemonstrative towards her mate-to-be that Rose doubted that Kath really wanted him. In that case, Kathleen would not be hurt at all. Since she was such a business woman, so organized, Kathleen might decide never to marry; on the other hand should she want a husband after all, they’d just pick another man for her and that would be that.

The exam table with its built in bits and pieces did all of the work. It gently assessed the size of her infant girl, took the pictures and relayed it back to the main center from the city. Rose was almost asleep when the exam finished, she had not had to answer any questions or fill out any paperwork. They were able to extract all of the information from her mind, once she had given them permission to do so.

Rose had not yet accepted that all Lirans could read minds no matter what Kathleen thought. Rose thought that the specialized equipment allowed it to happen, she was therefore unaware that Kibba too knew of her thoughts and was not pleased. Kibba had grown quite fond of her friend Kathleen after they traveled from the east coast of America’s States to the west coast.

Although Kibba was aware, she decided not to say anything yet. But then and there she decided that if it became necessary she would not keep her own counsel, she would let Kathleen know that there was danger ahead.


**

Later that day when Ursus came home from his routine perimeter check making sure that all was well with his men, Kathleen, now aware, watched while Rose rushed to the door to meet him, babbling on about her visit to the clinic today and - Kathleen couldn’t believe it, she even had the nerve to place his hand on her abdomen. If there had been any doubt in Kathleen’s mind, and there had been none, she was seeing clearly now. The veil had been removed. Rose would have to have a man of her own.

Kathleen casually walked over to him, forcing Rose to step back a bit and gave him a quick kiss. “Let’s you and I go and grab a bite to eat together. I imagine you’re hungry since you almost always are.”

He had smiled and took her arm. “Woman - lead the way.”

Kathleen looked back and saw that Rose was preparing to join them so she said in her kindest voice for she did love her sister. “Ah Rose, I know you’ll understand, I would like to have some time alone with my fiancé. We won’t be gone all evening. I suspect we will return in a couple of hours. Go spend time with Kibba why don’t you?”

As soon as they went into the common room they selected a couple of deep armchairs in the farther recesses of the conversation area, signaling that they didn’t want to be disturbed.

“We can eat in a few minutes but first, thank you for having Maggie talk to me. I had no idea that Rose was involved in such inane behavior and I certainly wasn’t aware of the consequences of it. I don’t want to share you. Not with my sister, not with anybody. I want to make that perfectly clear. And if you were in any way entertaining the idea that we could both -”

“Why would I? Why would I want to make my life with you a living hell? I know you by now Kathleen; you’d not give me a moment’s peace if you even thought I was sneaking around behind your back. I promise, I am innocent in this and that I am yours if you want me.”

She gave him a beatific smile, pleased that they spoke to each other plainly. “How will you go about finding someone for her? She will need a man who will accept her child.”

“We have been so long without the hope of children that there are many men who will welcome it but - if she agrees, and we will give her no choice but to agree, it will mean that she will not live in this village. I have had my biological brother in mind for quite a while but I was only waiting for you to agree. He and I are similar enough until I think it will be quite easy for her to transfer whatever affection she thinks she feels for me onto him.

“He will be doubly pleased because like you and Margaret, Rose is quite lovely and he will not have to make the long voyage.”

“Will he be able to keep her safe? You have said that there are large groups of men without women.”

“Yes. He was scheduled to be in the next group. I imagine that he will forego the trip and wait the few months for the others of his village to go and return. He will keep her under wraps and no one will know that she’s even there until they return.”

They watched as Demeter, Margaret and Amera came in with their mates-to-be. “Do you want to join them, or shall we eat alone?” he asked.

“Let’s join them. I feel better about the whole situation; I’ve been worried all day since I talked with Maggie. After that let’s go for a walk and get some fresh air. I am longing to stroll under your beautiful deep blue twilight sky and feel the breeze in my hair.”


**

The next day Ursus contacted his brother. Evidently they had already discussed it because he beamed himself right in.

Smart men that they were they did not mention that his brother Minor might be interested in taking Rose for his own. Instead they acted as if they were just two brothers reconnecting for the first time in several months. After the hugs, slaps and fake punches they spoke to each other.

“And how was your voyage, no difficulties to speak of I hope?”

This man was as handsome as his brother, well not quite to Kathleen’s eyes but pretty near. They were the same size both wore their hair characteristically long and had similar facial features. She suspected that her Ursus might be a little older, perhaps a year or two at most.

“You will find out soon enough Minor. When do you and your other generals plan to go after your brides?”

“We are being prudent my brother. We want to see how you and yours go along. You have done exceptionally well for yourself. Which of you ladies has agreed to marry my big brother?”

“I am sorry Minor, your foolish brother forgot to introduce us. I am Kathleen and we will be married this week, possibly tomorrow if the council sees fit to beam themselves here. And this is my sister Rose.

“Once we are married I am thinking she will join Kibba Rhenoum, the only other Liran female in the compound. Kibba is prepared to stay with Rose until she has chosen her own mate.”

Rose had looked thunderstruck at this piece of news. Kathleen continued tongue in cheek. “Now don’t be cross dearest. You must know that as newlyweds we will want to be alone? I thought you might enjoy spending time with Kibba. She is quite wise.”

“Rose would be welcome in my home at any time.” Minor spoke in a joking manner but his eyes were quite serious.

Rose didn’t speak. She cast a quick look at Ursus, perhaps hoping that he would say something but if that was what she expected, she was disappointed. When he did speak it was about business, not to ask her to stay.

“Our women have formed a council Mine. It is something that you and your other generals might want to consider. They are known as the council of four. As our first ladies, they will be our surrogates when we are away. When you do choose a bride, choose wisely for she will be your eyes and your ears and your hands.”

Kathleen wondered what thoughts were going through Rose’s head. She realized that Ursus and Minor didn’t have to guess, they knew. Most likely they could tell that Rose minded that she was not on the council of four, making it a council of five.

“To be perfectly truthful with you Ursus, I would prefer to have my life all tied up nice and tidy. Then, even if I do have to go to escort my men, my life and my wife would already be going along smoothly back here.” Minor turned to Rose and gave her a killer smile. It was so appealing that Kathleen could not help but smile too. “Miss Rose Kennedy, may I have a word with you?”

Rose nodded and she visibly softened, caught up in the spell of his smile. “Kathleen, where may we talk in private?” Kath thought it was a good sign that Rose was finally recognizing her as the woman of the house.

“Ursus and I will go out into the common room and leave you two to reach any agreement that you might. Call us when you are ready for us to return.”

Kathleen and Ursus must have waited for two hours for the two of them to finish talking. Finally Ursus said. “He is calling us back inside.”

Neither found it strictly necessary to wait on the announcement but they were pleased when it came.

“I have good news brother. I am very glad that I came to your home tonight,” he said formally “for this lovely lady has agreed to be my wife. We will join you in your ceremonies if they are held tomorrow and then I must hurry home to prepare a place for her.”

“I will go with you and help you if I may.” Rose said in a subdued voice.

“Of course you may. We have shared a good deal. She has told me that we can look forward to having a daughter. Ha, this time I will beat you big brother in becoming a father. I have also shared with her that sometimes, when the conditions are propitious, we can read minds, so I know of the esteem that she holds for you Ursus because you rescued her and brought her to me. I will be forever grateful.”

So Minor very cleverly put a close to a sticky situation.

They sat around chatting a bit more and gradually Rose began to warm up, finally becoming cheerful as she realized that she too had made a good catch who seemed to be just as kind and thoughtful as her sister’s mate.

Finally it was time to turn in. Having only three bedrooms, Kathleen volunteered to sleep in her sister’s room so that Minor could have her bed. He wouldn’t hear of it. “I will share the room with my brother like we did when we were still under the same roof. I have missed his snore.”

“I’m afraid that you have that all wrong Mine, it is you who will blow the roof off this place and the ladies will wonder if we are having deep winter or perhaps a tornado. No ladies, we do not have them here. Those demons are reserved for Earth as is most of the violent weather and Earthquakes. We have moved beyond the need for them. A bit of soft rain is all that we get, and we get snow in deep winter of course.”

**

As it turned out, the two Planetary Heads, and the Council of Nine beamed down early the next day and sent the message out for all who were ready to take their brides to prepare themselves. Kathleen, Margaret, Rose, Demeter and Amera dressed in their fine flowing robes while their men dressed in their formal military uniforms, knee high boots and flowing hair and made their way to the auditorium at a quarter to noon.

At High noon, both heads of State, the female who was the sister to Kibba and very much resembled her except her skin was pale, and the male Yansa shared the address.

About four thousand men and women marched in to music that Kathleen recognized as music of Earth. It was Handel’s pastoral music played softly and slowly. As they filed in the enlisted men were first, and then up in rank until it reached their four leaders and their wives and then Ursus’s brother and Rose who filed in last. Being from another village Minor was a most honored guest.

Immediately after the last couple sat the music came to its natural ending as if it had been written for exactly that number of people to enter.

The Council and the Heads sat on the raised dais that was banked with a full flower display. There were yellows, reds, and greenery in vivid array. A soft breeze seemed to waft throughout the building and a pleasant aroma, just a hint of it gave them all a feeling of well being.


WELCOME NEWCOMERS, YOU ARE NOW WOMEN OF LIRA!

WE ARE A DEMOCRACY, AN ARISTOCRACY, AND A THEOCRACY; THAT MEANS THAT WE ARE RULED BY THE PEOPLE, WE ARE RANKED ACCORDING TO BEHAVIOR AND CHARACTER AND NOT BY WEALTH & POSSESSIONS

FOREMOST IN OUR MINDS IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT HE WHO RULES US ALL IS LEADING US IN THE DIRECTION THAT HE WOULD HAVE US GO.

MANKIND IS ON A LONG TRAJECTORY TOWARDS PERFECTION AS WE RETURN TO OUR MAKER.

THE VARIOUS PLANETS ARE BUT LARGE CLASSROOMS PROVIDED FOR OUR EDUCATION AND TESTING. THE LIVES THAT WE LIVE ARE THE SCHOOLS, AND THROUGHOUT ALL THE UNIVERSES, THE LESSON IS LOVE

THE VARIOUS TRIALS AND SUFFERINGS THAT WE ENDURE ARE BUT TEACHING TOOLS.

MAN AND WOMAN TOGETHER CAN AND DO HELP EACH OTHER PROGRESS IMMENSELY BY LEARNING TO BLEND THEIR VERY DIFFERENT ENERGIES, MAKING IT TRUE THAT INDEED THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN IT’S PARTS.

JUST AS IN THE MINERAL KINGDON WITH TIME, HEAT AND ENERGY THE DARKEST LUMP OF COAL CAN BECOME A LIGHT-REFLECTING DIAMOND,

JUST AS IN THE PLANT KINGDOM THE LOWLY WEED CAN BE CULTIVATED TO BECOME THE LOVELY ROSE,

JUST AS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM THE SLINKING PRIDELESS VULTURE AND THE COYOTE GIVE WAY TO THE PROUD LION,

JUST AS IN THE RADIOACTIVE KINGDOM THOSE MATERIALS SUCH AS EARTH’S ATOM AND HYDROGEN BOMBS, USED FOR WAR AND DESTRUCTION, CAN BE TURNED FROM EVIL AND HARNESSED FOR USEFUL PURPOSES; RADIOACTIVE IODINE, MAGNETIC RESONANCE BEING BUT TWO EXAMPLES OF BENEFICIAL IMPLEMENTATIONS. STILL THERE ARE MANY MORE EXAMPLES THAT YOUR EARTH HAS YET TO DISCOVER.

JUST A SURELY AS ALL OF THESE THINGS OCCUR,

YOU WILL FIND THAT ALL MANKIND CAN CLIMB AND WILL CLIMB FROM THE LOWEST OF THE LOW, BE HE A PICKPOCKET, A THIEF OR A MURDERER, TO THE HIGHEST CALLING THAT HE CAN HAVE, IN THAT HE WILL WILLINGLY GIVE UP HIS LIFE FOR ANOTHER.

I ENCOURAGE EACH OF YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS LONG JOURNEY THAT WE ARE MAKING BACK TO OUR MAKER; EACH OF US IN A FORM THAT GROWS MORE PERFECTED EACH DAY THAT WE LIVE.

I ENCOURAGE EACH OF YOU, EACH COUPLE, TO ALLOW THE LIGHT OF TRUTH, HONESTY, FAITHFULNESS AND JOY TO FLOOD YOUR DAILY LIVES.

GO FORTH, BE FRUTHFUL, AND MULTIPLY.

YOUR SACRIFICES ON BEHALF OF OUR PLANET WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.



The shared homily ended on that high note and immediately Wagner’s Lohengrin, the “Here Comes the Bride song played as Kathleen wondered how the Heads of State knew so much about her planet. She’d have to ask Ursus later.

Each couple walked together through a corridor that was similar to the one that had been erected by the aliens at the interviews on Earth except that it was decorated with lovely flowers. As each couple entered, they paused until three loud peals of a bell signaled their compatibility and acceptability.

They were now man and wife.

Ursus and Kathleen were the last couple to walk through. And as they left, the whole assembly was flooded with the triumphant sounds of Mendelsohn’s wedding march. It flooded the area and resounded throughout the building in joyful tones.

She wondered briefly what would have happened if the bells hadn’t pealed. She shouldn’t have worried. They rang loud and true. It seemed their work done so far away on Earth in the choosing of these mates had been good. They now had a new community!

CHAPTER 21

GO FORTH, BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY

The ceremony ended before 2 pm, much too early to rush home so they went for a ride. This time he ordered a vehicle around from the motor pool and when she expressed surprise that they wouldn’t just beam themselves to their destination, he had said that there were many options.

“When we want to see the sights along the way, to stop and smell the roses so to speak, this is one of the modes of transportation that we use.”

They went into the city. It was hard to judge the distance. The air-car was capable of moving at great speeds for long distances but it could also move along slowly in an almost ambling motion. They drove hard for about half hour and then as they were nearing, slowed and approached from an angle.

The city was beautiful. There were old world elements in some of the buildings, round or elliptical with greenish copper spires, their innate luminosity displaying an amazing variety of colors. All were suffused with light; some had a pinkish coral glow, others were of a bluish/greenish tinge. Ursus attributed the differentiation in color to the vibrations of the activities that took place within the buildings.

“You will notice, Kathleen that our new homes, the ones that were so recently built, display a luminosity that is mainly white light, or in some cases pale yellow. As we live in these homes and fill them with love and unity, they will also become beautiful like these here but it will be a different kind of beauty for these are public buildings and ours are private dwellings.” The vehicle shifted and went lower still. “I remember when I was a boy our home, the home that Minor and I grew up in, had taken on the luminosity of deep rose, a contented and happy color.”

“And are you hoping that our home, yours and mine will eventually become deep rose?”

“I have no doubt that it will, as we learn that love is more than saying ’I love you’. That it is even more than making love. The love that we feel for each other in our hearts will display itself in our home. I think ours will be more complex in color of course because you and I together are more complex than my parents could ever hope to be. But we will see. It is like looking forward to how a child will look. Our home will be familiar to us yet it will be distinct. A part of the enjoyment is just in the anticipation of seeing what we are making together.”

When they returned to that home, for the first time she entered his bedroom with him and would have stood hesitantly at the door. But he led her in saying, “Come with me Kathleen I thought today would never come. Let’s shower together; I’m dying to see your body.”

He caught her hand lightly to urge her with him, to come more fully into the room. He had already shucked his boots and yanked off his bulky jacket, for the first time in their courting process showing an impatience to be with her.

Alarms! Full blasting alarms went off in her brain. Why had she thought she was ready for this? No one, not even one of her sisters had seen her unclothed. It just wasn’t something that one learned to do in a Catholic orphanage where modesty is drilled in on a daily basis. Why had she pictured this day but in her mind she’d be lying in bed with him with the safety and security of being covered with a blanket to her chin?

‘Wait!’

Instead he, reading her thoughts but not her emotions, sat down on the divan across from the bed.

“What’s wrong Kathleen? Why are you hesitating and asking us to wait more?”

“It’s just so sudden Ursus. I can do this. I can. But you must recognize it’s not easy. I was raised to be reserved, especially around men; ’keep your dress down’ and your legs together’ was preached into us on a daily basis until I was eighteen. Rose managed to overcome all of these teachings and so can I, but not all at once. I just can’t drop my clothes and get in the shower with you, not today, not like that. Please understand.”

He pulled her closer to him, hoping that by decreasing the physical distance she’d be less self conscious. He urged her head to his chest and gently stroked her shoulder length hair.

“It will be as you like it to be. Why haven’t you spoken of your fears before? Is it because I am foreign to you? What about your great lover, what did you do with him? Were you not shy then?”

She raised her head to take a look. “What are you talking about? I didn’t have any great lover. I used to date a guy. We thought, I thought he loved me, perhaps it would have gone further but he had a wife that he failed to mention. He had children too. All four of them came into a restaurant where Maggie and I were having dinner. I could observe him when he didn’t know I was looking. He loved his wife and she loved him. I was supposed to be the toy.”
“And you were hurt terribly.”

“I don’t remember it as being hurt. I was angry. I didn’t say anything that evening when I saw him, but I made sure that he saw me. The next time he called I let him know that he shouldn’t call or get in touch any more. He tried for a few times after that but no - that was not for me. He was cute and all that but not that cute.” She laughed to break her tension.

“I read him in your thoughts when I first arrived on your planet but as you know, I could not read the emotion that you felt for him. I only knew that he was on your mind from time to time. So you have never experienced lovemaking before? Not ever? How could I have missed that? You appear to have so much confidence in yourself; I just automatically thought it carried over into all avenues of life. But here, in the bedroom you are a child again.”

“If I had known you wanted a wife who was experienced, I would have told you so that you could have made different choices.” Her temper flared at what she took as a criticism.

“Come now, don’t go getting hurt and huffy on me. I didn’t say that I wanted you experienced but it would not have mattered. It is what we do from this point forward that matters.”

“I don’t believe that you wouldn’t care. On Earth many men value virginity. In fact, they will pay really young girls in hopes finding one.”

“Yes and I can see that you are thinking that some of these girls are sold more than once as ’virgins’. No, I won’t say that it wouldn’t matter; I am pleased even though I may not celebrate it tonight. But the prevailing attitude here is that if a man can tolerate his own past, why not a past in his wife?”

He stood up and continued undressing all the while continuing the conversation as he did so.

“Now if I seem less than overjoyed at your being short of experience it is due to my own deficiency. I have never made love to a woman of Earth before. If you do not know how to be pleased, how will I know? I was relying on you to guide me though it. It seems that we will have to fumble through unless we find that you are no different from the women of Lira.”

“I don’t know if I am like the women of Lira or not but I do know this Ursus I care deeply for you and I want this to work.”

He nodded, pleased that she was still Kathleen, willing to speak her mind. And she was pleased that he, it seemed was willing to allow her to maintain some dignity and control of her destiny.

She vowed that the least she could do would be to stay honest with him and force herself to speak of what she did want, what she had longed to know but only in her secret thoughts; thoughts that she had in the privacy of her own room.

“I have often wondered what is hidden by your pants. I have seen pictures of nude men, I have seen statues, but I have never seen you. I would love to look at you; to see you without anything - on.”

There, she’d asked but the saying of it had not been easy and the sudden rebound warmth of her face attested to that fact.

He squinted causing his eyes to crinkle almost shut. He was much too beautiful for her not to appreciate. She smiled back and raised her eyebrow in challenge. So how do you like being put on the spot, my heart?

He laughed aloud at the endearment but his eyes softened. “I need a shower. Go into your old room and do whatever you had planned to do. Wear your metal armor if you like. I will be out momentarily to wait for you. We will see what this night will bring, my soul.” He repaid her with his own endearment.

She had had Kibba create the usual wedding-night gown, ecru lace of the palest of green, low cut to show cleavage but covering her to her toes. And for her it was daring in that it was just a bit translucent. It made her feel covered all the while revealing what she imagined was just enough.

She showered, hearing him singing as he followed suit. She dressed quickly, braided her hair then tiptoed back into his room where she could still hear the water running. Stealthily she crept closer knowing that it was an open shower and that she’d have to peek around, and be quick about it so that he wouldn’t catch her looking.

On Lira, the showers provided water in all 360 degrees. It had taken a bit of time to grow used to water coming up from the floor, and on all sides as well as from above. His shower was much larger than the one in either her room or Rose’s. It was cavernous with a built in bench.

His back was to her and he was drenched with clear water, apparently having already washed all of the lather off. He was just standing there, enjoying the water. He pressed a button to adjust the flow and the rain like drops ceased their comprehensive all around flow and formed a solid wall of water that began to pelt his body as it flowed up and down his body in a massage like action. It looked like it tingled.

“Join me Kathleen, it is pleasant and no it doesn’t tingle too much.”

Darn! She had completely forgotten that he didn’t have to see her to know that she was near. When she came within mind-reading distance she should have remembered to keep her mind blank.

He wanted her to join him? She could do this. Having no care for her lovely wedding-night gown, another could be created if she liked, she walked to him and from behind, because that way he couldn’t see her, she placed her arms around his waist.

He turned in her arms and pulled her close so that she was pressed against his chest. As the water pelted her, the gown grew heavy and without asking for permission he gathered it at its hem and drew it off over her head. With a toss, he threw the sodden gown in the corner and drew her close to his body again.

She drew comfort from the feel of his big body plastered to hers, the warmth of his skin, the feel of his hands and they slowly skimmed her sides from her hips to her shoulders.

“Shall I turn out the lights or are you ok with it on?”

“Turn them out.”

He plunged the room in darkness except for a few dim lights along the floor. He turned the water off and kissed her on her lips. The first kiss was a peck, the second more demanding and with the next he used his tongue. It was voracious when it entered her mouth and she answered him in kind, twining hers with his and holding his head down as their mouths dueled. She very much liked kissing.

“Oh this is going to work Kathleen.” His breaths were coming fast and his heart was pounding. He knelt on one knee to kiss her lower at her innie and lower still but she was not ready for that.

“This is not going to work. Stop!”

She had only to ask and he obeyed.

“Let’s get dry.” He continued as if she hadn’t stopped him. He did not yet sound discouraged which was good as far as she was concerned. “It is getting chilly.”

They padded out, grabbing thick towels on the way. She took advantage of their concealing presence and wrapped herself up nice and tidy by securing it above her breasts.

“Would you feel better if I asked my brother?” He spoke again. “Your sister knows. Perhaps because you are so alike, you are similar to please in bed.” He asked hopefully, not wanting to admit any failure but not wanting to upset her either.

To ask Rose anything about making love was the last thing on Earth or rather on Lira that she wanted. He should know these things.

“I do know them Kathleen but you resist me. What am I to do, force you? Hold you down until your desire overrides your sense of self consciousness? Tell me what you want me to do.”

“I liked it when you kissed me. Perhaps we could do more of that.”

As they sank to his bed he pulled her to him again and she responded by holding him close, she could feel him hard ready against her thigh. Perhaps she should just tell him to go ahead and get it over with and they could try again later. She did not want to test his patience too much.

“I am not growing impatient,” he whispered, "and no, I do not want to satisfy myself and leave you behind. We will go forward slowly Kathleen.”

More kisses, drugging kisses that cause her to sigh and him to lean into her with some of his considerable weight. It felt so good. She pressed him to come closer to the pillows of her breasts which were throbbing. She loosened the towel so that she could feel him, the rough hairs of his chest made her rub against him. She pinched one of her own breasts. It was on fire.

“Are these mounds of yours sensitive?”

Were they sensitive? Of course they are, how could you not know that? “Yes, touch me there please before I die.”

“All over? Or just the ends?”

“Touch the nipples for now.”

“What are the nipples? Do you mean the tips?”

He touched her and she squirmed. He gave her a light pinch, just as she had done to herself and he had no need to hear her response, he could feel it vibrating through her smaller body. Her thoughts he freely read. She wanted his mouth on her and amazed by her reaction to what he had always thought of as useless feeders for babies, he gave them his full attention.

She repaid him for his dedication and enthusiasm by climbing his body with her bare foot and hooking it around his hip. Now that was an invitation if he ever had seen one. Still, he’d better ask. He didn’t want her crying ‘stop’ long after the time when it became too late for him to discontinue. “Are you ready my heart? Do you understand what we are to do?”

“Oh yes, I understand. Go ahead.”

He gave those marvelous breasts of hers a bit more laving and then, “you know that this might hurt you don’t you. You do know that?” he was panting.

And so was she. “Damn it stop talking! I need you. I am dying!

And so he entered his wife for the first time. Almost losing it in his need to please her and restrain himself.

For a woman as brave as she had been up until now - finding the truth of the alien invasion from Arnold, trusting that her future could lie with this man, arranging the process for the selection of the women - this different invasion was nothing but a slight pinch, a pain that was forgotten in a trip to a space that was as thrilling, though in a different way, as her lift off from Earth had been.

She could not suppress the long low moan that escaped her. Had she but known it, her feelings were nothing to the sensations that he was experiencing. Being able to read her thoughts was absolutely mind blowing. The women of Lira had learned to guard their thoughts but Kathleen had not. It was like having her innermost feelings whispered into his ear and it made him catch fire and he poured himself heart and soul into her willing body initiating a peace that he had never thought to feel pour over him.

Soon they lay in silence in the warmth of each other’s contentment. Finally Kathleen spoke.

“Ursus, that was surprising, in a good way I mean. I don’t think I will mind being married to you at all. Not if we can do this any time we want.”

He had grinned, knowing that she could not see it in the darkness of the room. This woman was so different from what he was used to. He supposed that the women of his country had become the equivalent of the men of her country, both being in short supply and growing arrogant and demanding because they were sought after.

“I will cherish you forever. You will never realize how refreshing it is to be with a woman who wants me. But you are surprising too in your own way. I can’t believe that I thought those wonderful mounds of yours,” and he caressed one lovingly, “were useless, other than for feeding children. Which in itself is an astounding thing but I feel so foolish. I really should not have made the joke about them being cow like. You would be justified if you never told me of their wonderful capabilities.

"Are all of you, the women of Earth wired that way? I mean here on Lira, we, both men and women, have what look like residuals, flat but with no sensation to speak of certainly not wired into our sexuality a yours are.”

“Yes. I am like all of the women of Earth. It is my understanding that our men vary. Some feel some pleasure from being touched there, some do not. I would say that none are as responsive as females are. But there is a great variability in the female too. Perhaps you will want to ask your friends what they have experienced now that they are married as they will be a better judge than I.”

“If I really wanted to know, I wouldn’t have to ask, I could just read their minds, as they could read mine but we have a certain kind of etiquette here. It would be reprehensible for me to viOlate a friend’s privacy by going into his mind without being invited there especially on such a subject as this. And it is not something that we would share with each other.

“Over time, we have learned to control our thoughts. You of Earth have had no reason to learn this control as there was no one around with the ability to get into them.

“But you might have noticed you Earthlings are slowly developing this capacity.” As he talked he idly rubbed his large hands over her back and buttocks. “If you are on Earth and you come into a room where someone has been arguing and they stop in an attempt to hide it from you, you find that even though they paste smiles on their faces, sometimes an astute Earthling can discern, just from the air, that there is something going on that is not quite right. Those feelings, my heart, are the very beginnings of perceiving another’s thoughts.

“But I am getting off the subject. We here have learned to have random thoughts that are out there for everyone to read. We have mastered putting our most important and deepest thoughts away. Those can only be accessed by permission. I will not reveal any of my thoughts about what we have done here tonight for fear of raising curiosity in others.”

“Curiosity among your friends?”

“Not them. They are to be trusted but there are other men, men who are waiting their turn to make the voyage across the void, they are men such as my brother was up until he came for Rose. It would put an undue strain on those men who are womanless to have access to my thoughts of complete happiness and satisfaction.”

“What might they do? Become psychic vampires and enjoy vicarious thrills from your innermost thoughts?” She joked as she rubbed her hands on his chest, passing them lightly over his own flat nipples and getting no response.

“No. My thoughts would not be enough for them. They might have to have the real thing and come to steal you away from me.”

“But I thought you Lirans were above that. Aren’t you always saying that this planet is getting ready to go into the fifth dimension?”

“Yes, that is true. But you have probably observed that development in any world is never equally the same. On your planet you have people of very high vibration rates, these are those that you label saints, you also have those of quite low vibration rates, these are your criminal types and there are others who don’t break your laws and are stratified from the best to the worse. In this group you have your gossips, the greedy, fornicators, adulterers, and so forth. Usually these are the ones you just call sinners.” And he laughed at that concept.

“Once a planet reaches the place where it has a major propensity for good, meaning that there are more good people on it than bad, when its high vibrations overbalance the low ones, it is then just about ready to move forward into a higher dimension. That is where Lira stands today. We have more good in us than bad but there is bad here also. It is just not as prevalent as it is on your planet.”

“What will happen when we move into the fifth dimension? Will we then become saints?”

“Not hardly”. This he said drily as if that was out of the question. “Being a saint is a relative condition. On Earth we of Lira might possibly be given that designation, although we would still leave something to be desired. No, we will continue on but we will have an ever increasing list of things to accomplish assigned to us by ‘He who rules us all’.”

“Such as?”

"Such as continuing to manifest more of His attributes. We will become more loving, kind, courageous, honest, trustworthy, loyal and faithful to our word. These are the same things that the people of Earth are learning except here on Lira our classroom will become higher. It’s like moving from your elementary school to Junior high. Accomplishing these new skills will show up in the way we move about. When we have made another step forward, instead of beaming ourselves, which if you think about it is really a mechanical thing that we have learned, once we truly become better people then we will learn to levitate in reality.

“Our bodies will become more perfect, we will not require as much food to energize us, and we will receive a good deal of our energy from the sun. The physical appearance of our waters will change; they will not be just green/blue but will be many colors. All of nature will respond to our elevated vibrations.”

“Will we still want to make love as we did earlier? Or will we be too saintly?”

“For sure we will, but just in case we won’t we have better give it another go, for insurance purposes you see.”

And he flipped her onto her back and she proceeded to try to wrestle him off. They ended up laughing, wrecking the bed and then making the sweetest gentlest love until she let him know that he could be a little more forceful because she was not sore at all. So, all bets were off then. They did not earn their saints wings this night; they didn’t even come close to it.

CHAPTER 22
SMILES OR TEARS?

The next day there was a strange rhythm in the air. It was not a tempo that could be heard, nor could it be perceived in any concrete way; but nevertheless, it was there to all who cared to acknowledge it.

When Ursus and Kathleen first walked out into the common room it was to the hellos of their pod mates, Cain and Demeter, Draco and Amera and Bas and Margaret. At first Kath and Ursus surmised that everybody was downcast and in the dumps so they made an effort to tamp down their palpable happiness at having chosen each other, at finally having found that their bodies worked quite well together. They did not want to appear boastful or full of themselves especially if the others had not found the joy that they had found in each other.

“Hi Lady Di” Kathleen greeted Demeter by the name that they had started calling her. Kathleen further ventured, "Hi Amy, Mags. What’s on the menu for today?" And she pretended to read the airborne menu that floated above her head a little above eye level. She got the feeling that the men were communication furiously in their underground way. Who knew what tidbits they might be sharing?

The problem was that Kathleen knew her sister. She knew Margaret well enough to see that she too was quite pleased with herself and her situation but was also trying to hide from the others for the same reasons, just in case there were those among them who hadn’t been so blown away with their spouses.

But Draco, precious jokester that he was, allowed his mouth to curl upwards just a bit and the others noticed. There followed general celebratory rounds of back slaps and smiles that deteriorated into outright laughs and hi-fives. And these were supposed to be the leaders? They were acting like a bunch of kids.

No one told of a single detail, it was not necessary. Before today there had been hidden fears, especially on the part of the men wondering what these strange women were really like. Would they really be physically compatible with them? Would these women be too small, would they hurt them?

Now they had determined that Earth’s women were quite sturdy. They were not composed in the same fragile way of the Liran woman. They had muscles and a good deal of strength that could use to meet them thrust for thrust. What a joy!

For too long they had been men alone, dancing their solitary war dance, eating their meals together, going to their plays in which all the characters were played by men.

For men with no attraction for other men it was a nightmare. Bas had characterized it best by saying that he felt like he would itch out of his skin.

After a late but hearty breakfast they all decided that they would just walk around and observe. To see how their men were doing. It was now early afternoon and some of the enlisted couples should be stirring. They wanted to see if this strange rhythm of contentment had carried through to those men. Were they as satisfied with their mates as their officers were?

They started out strolling along, chatting, pretending that this was just another ordinary day when in reality they kept a keen eye on their charges. They found that there were cheerful greetings, grins even and they even walked differently.

“Nice day isn’t it sir?”

“Yes it is Mister Li. Carry on then.”

Finally Ursus stopped. "My brother is sending me a message. I’ll catch up with you." And he did only a moment later. “Word is out. These guys have told the men in the next village that things have worked out well with them and now they have those men straining at their leads to get going to pick up their women. Never mind that they haven’t completed their housing or that we have yet to prove that we can actually have babies together.”

“Well they can’t bring another two thousand women here and have no place for them to stay. I mean it’s not like they can bunk down in our auditorium. That’s the only structure large enough to hold them.”

“They absolutely cannot. Don’t even think of it.” Kathleen interjected. "Why can’t you men do them a favor and go over every day until you have enough built for them. It’s not like you have to haul logs and ferry them down the river. All you have to do is concentrate for God’s sake.” Kathleen knew how to organize.

“Well, I guess we could put the crew’s to work building those guys homes for them. That would be the right thing to do.” Draco added.

“Wait. I’ll let Minor know.”

“He wants to know what he will do with Rose. He’s not so anxious to make the trip now that he has a wife, but he must lead his men.”

“Absolutely not!" Kathleen answered before Ursus could ask her. "He can take his wife with him. She’s made the trip once and came out fine; she can do it again; unless you want her with you Maggie.”

Maggie was silent.

“What about Kibba?” She could stay with Kibba couldn’t she?” Lady Di asked.

“She’d say that she’d stay but she’d find some excuse to move in with one of us. She’d plea her belly. That’s what women used to do to keep from going to prison.”

“Then it’s settled then. She’ll go with him. There’ll be a few Liran women on the ship and if she goes into labor, she’ll just have to deliver the old fashioned way.” Bas settled it with his pronouncement.

“What do you mean the old fashioned way?”

The guys decided collectively that this was not the place to discuss that. “He means without being in a clinic. We’ll talk about it when we get home ok, my heart?”

And that settled one challenge but it took several of the men to the next village on a daily basis, helping get their second team off to Earth.

**

Mary Shaw was disappointed. She was a widow of five years. Her husband had gotten himself killed in the last war and they had had no children. Five years was enough time to recover from losing him and when the flyer came, she knew that she wanted to marry again and this time have children.

She was aware that she was one of those women who enjoyed the married state much more than she did the single state because her conscience would not let her entertain even having a male ’friend’. She put herself in the class of the old movie stars who felt that they must marry every man with whom they slept and so they ended up being married six to eight times.

That was too bad. But it was better to marry than to burn. She had enjoyed a healthy and exciting sex life with her husband for the short time they had together before he shipped off. And when she saw the advertisement for men wanting wives, it was the perfect opportunity to be happy in that singular way again; except it had not happened like that at all.

Her husband looked virile, strapping and strong. She had been quite proud to be his wife. That is until they finally were given the legal privilege of sleeping together.

They had built up their desire for each other until it was at a fever pitch. Having a whole week to spend living together but yet not touching must have been designed so that they would be so wild for each other then when they did, they wouldn’t notice the others’ shortcomings.

Then came the night of the big letdown. He knew next to nothing about foreplay. She was left dead as a doornail and the only reason that she hadn‘t revealed this to him was that she was still quite fond of him and didn‘t want to hurt his feelings. She suspected that all men, even these strange men were quite fragile in that department.

“Am I the only woman who feels that way?” she asked herself aloud.

It was a delicate subject. After all it was not as if she had known these women back on Earth. They were strangers who had been brought together artificially.

The way it now stood she spent most of her time trying not to think about her dissatisfaction but she knew that the time would come when she would not be able to keep her thoughts from him. When that time came, when she couldn’t clear her mind, she didn’t think that they’d be able to talk about it. It was too personal and they were virtual strangers.

On the bright sunny day, two days after the wedding, Mary was alone. It was the first day that the men traveled en masse to the village a fairly short distance away where they all wanted to be in on watching and helping the second expedition build homes so that they could get off on their search.

When Mary strolled out to market not really because she needed anything but more for entertainment, she saw a couple of women that she, at least recognized from that social on Earth that now seemed so far away. Oh she had seen them since they had been here on the new planet but had never had an opportunity to strike up a conversation. This time when one of them nodded her way and spoke, “Good morning,” Mary turned and walked their way.

That was the start of Norma, Mary and Cecile. While the council of four, composed of the four general’s ladies became the problem solvers for this group of women, or management, NMC as they would later call themselves became the gals who represented the women, gathered their botherations and made sure that the council of four was made aware of those concerns.

It hadn’t started out that way. At first they were just three friends talking.

“So, are you pleased with the decision that you made Norma? Do you ever wish that you had stayed on Earth?” Cecile the woman most likely to offer soothing platitudes as substitutes for real answers asked.

“Why, are you having regrets?” asked Norma the intuitive.

“No, but there’s no soap operas. I can’t help but wonder how ‘Young and the Restless’ is coming along. If Victor and Nikki are back together.”

Mary gave her two cents worth. “I know exactly what you mean. Here, we have to imagine our own ending and then create it. I’d much rather not know what is going to happen and then let it be a surprise.”

“Why don’t you have your husband create some scenarios for you? Tell him about the characters and let him decide what they will do.” Norma had offered

“Are you kidding?” Mary had answered. “You know what he’d want them to do? They’d be in the bedroom for every show. That’s his priority. You’d think that since it’s on his mind so much he’d be an expert at it, I haven’t left the house since we were married.”

“Well after all Mary, it has only been a couple of days and they’ve been alone for a long time.. He’s not skilled with it you say? Well neither is my Mizar, but he’s very kind. I suppose I shouldn’t complain.”

It was out of just such conversations that they three went to the Council of Four and asked for a general meeting among the women, that was restricted to just the women.

This caused a bit of a stir among the men who wanted to know if this meant that their newly found companions were unhappy and already wanting to return to Earth. All that Kathleen, Margaret, Lady Di and Amy could say to make the guys feel better was that there were a few issues but the way to go about it was not to ignore it or try to squelch them but to allow their concerns to flow freely and try to work out solutions.

The following week at sundown all of the women gathered. Some came with genuine concerns, others came just to hear the complaints of the others and then to consider if they should have had a grievance and hadn’t recognized it.

Kibba Rhenoum had been invited but had declined, saying that she was available if they really needed her but that she wanted the women to speak freely, to talk among themselves without feeling that she was more allied with the men.

They started with a simple agenda. The chief complaint brought forth by the former Mary Shaw now Mary Shaw Northstar was that she was not satisfied in her new marriage. The four women of the council sat at the front of the auditorium and while not all of the nearly two thousand women had seen fit to come, about a fourth of them had turned out.

“Well Mary," Margaret began, "I think that you can expect that many new marriages do not start off perfectly. It takes work, sometimes years of work to smooth out the challenges. Since it is almost impossible to get you back to Earth, it would behoove us, the women, to attempt to work at a solution.”

Mary was not at all sure that returning to Earth was not a possibility. “I hear that they are leaving any day now for a return trip. Maybe I could get passage on that ship.”

Lady Di spoke next. “Mary, they - we have invested so much time and effort into making this project work, I would hate to see us start giving up on it before we really give it a chance to work. Remember the reasons that you agreed to come here. None of those things have changed; all of your reasons are still valid. You will find that once back on Earth, the same problems will arise once more.”

Mary considered this and it sounded reasonable. “This is hard to talk about in a group this size. I thought that - he doesn’t know the first thing about how I work, he is clueless.”

“About how you work? Is it that you would like to have a job?” Amy completely misunderstood the essence of what Mary was so busy tip toeing around.

“No, I just meant that you know, I was just starting to care for him, he’s really nice and respectful doesn’t mistreat me at all but he doesn’t know piddle about making love and that’s a fact.”

“Ah. He doesn’t understand the mechanisms by which to evoke and stimulate your sexuality.” Demeter summarized.

Mary didn’t have clue if that was exactly what she had said or not but she recognized the word sexuality. “Yes. That’s what I’m trying to say.”

Not surprisingly, there were more than a few murmurs of agreement from some of the other women.

What was going on? The four looked at each other, not exactly sure how to answer these women’s concerns. They hadn’t had that problem - exactly. There had been a little confusion at first. When she insinuated back at the social that men of Lira were hung like horses he, being the prideful male that he was supposed that that she knew exactly of what she spoke.

He had found out that he could not have been more wrong. That his smart mouthed woman was an innocent or perhaps a more apt word was ignorant of what she was talking about.

Then Margaret remembered one of the chats that they had had between the first and perhaps the fifth time they had made love that night. He had talked about what the scarcity of men had done to their society. As in most worlds, men of high rank had not suffered too greatly. They were in a position to always command the attention of women, perhaps not the woman of their choice, but nevertheless they could always get a woman.

Lower ranked men, especially the younger or unsophisticated ones were excluded from the race altogether. Therefore some of them had never had an opportunity to experience the thing that occupies the mind and imagination of young men and the memories of old.

Maggie ventured forward into unknown territory.

“Mary, my advice to you is this. Consider carefully the hopes and dreams that you had when you decided to come here. A future with a husband that included companionship and held the hope of children instead of a life lived essentially alone or as the second or third toy of a married man.

"After you remember your goals here, think about this man that you have married. He is inexperienced for a reason. There were no women around. That does not mean that he can’t be trained.

“I don’t know that much myself.” Mary admitted ducking her head. Not wanting to admit it.

Mary asked, “Why couldn’t we have marriage classes? You know the kind where you talk about getting along and then just kind of throw in the other part, the sex part so that they don’t know that they are being taught?”

That idea seemed to catch on. “Yes, then we could learn about other things, for instance, how babies are born here.”

That brought up a whole new line of discussion. Most of them had never considered that having a baby here was any different from having one on Earth. They even had a clinic for it didn’t they? And, since none of them had ever had children when one woman spoke, they all believed that what she said was true.

“All we need are a few doctors, someone to sew up the episiotomy.”

“Margaret, someone mentioned that Rose would just have to have her baby the old fashioned way if she made the trip back with her husband. Do you remember that conversation?” Amy reminded her.

Margaret had hoped that this subject would not come up in a public forum. She wished she had one of the men here to ask his advice but then, this was a women’s issue and - some of the audience would know if they of the council tried to hide something. Trust was not built on secrets.

Kathleen spoke up. “Here is how it has been explained to me. Here on Lira, conception takes place normally. Then soon after conception, within the first trimester before the woman begins to show, the fertilized egg is removed and placed in an incubator.”

That statement caused a great stir. There were voices raised in shock, questions by those who hadn’t heard what had been said, an all over feeling that the meeting was in danger of being taken out of their hands. Lady Di stood and called them back to attention in the voice that she used to call the cows home back in the Sudan. Gradually things quieted down.

“They found eons ago that babies are born healthier if they do not have to go through the birthing process and fewer mothers suffer trauma, infection and loss of blood. Once the fetus is removed, it is placed in these special little artificial wombs where they grow to term. You and your husband will get to visit and watch your little one grow.”

“And what happens when it is ready?”

“When your child is at term, they remove it, cut the nutrient and life support cord so to speak and you can take your baby home.”

“But if they take the baby out before we are three months gone, that means that in another month we can start another one. We could have three or four babies a year.” Someone said.

“And that’s too many.” Another added.

“Here is another bit of information that I have picked up on. Here we only have babies by consent. It is all in the mind. If you don’t want to have a child, then think, “I don’t want a pregnancy” and it will not happen. The men haven’t mentioned this to us because this is why we are here, to increase their population. I presume that once we have at least one child, we will be told how to keep others from coming.”

“I wonder what else they haven’t told us?”

“What if an egg is defective? On Earth we sometimes have babies who have not enough brains, they are anencephalic. They have no chance of sustaining life and they die but they run up very large bills while we keep them alive.” This woman had worked in a hospital in her former life.

“I don’t think that on this planet as much emphasis is put on keeping the physical bodies of babies alive as we place on them on Earth. Their explanation is that the soul of the child is much more important. Harsh lessons taught by being in bad physical shape are no longer necessary at this level of development. The souls of these children will return to us in another more perfect body.

“Before we close, please allow us to summarize what we have discussed tonight and to offer our remedy to your concerns.” The four women took a few moments to compare notes and then Kathleen summarized the decisions made.

“We already have a clinic but we think it will be useful to expand its size and purpose. To add classrooms and to create classes that cover the following subjects:

• The birthing process as it is practiced on Lira,
• Parenting, including infant care and feeding, which includes nursing
• And for the men, marriage compatibility including being taught a detailed account of the sexual act as it applies to women.

They had adjourned the meeting after that feeling quite good about their first foray into becoming leaders of the women. Then Amy burst their bubble by saying, “Who in the world are we going to get to teach those classes?”

CHAPTER 23
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS A PEACEKEEPER?


When the council of four returned home their men were back and having a hot drink. Like dutiful soldiers each woman went to her man and gave him the usual greeting when they had been apart for more than a few minutes, a chaste kiss on the lips only for them it wasn’t duty. The guys liked affection and they liked giving it.

“And so, how are our female leaders tonight? Are the women coming along well in their adjustment to our world?”

Lady Di and the others had looked at each other wondering how much of what had gone on they were free to tell. It seems they each made one of those instant decisions that as long as the men didn’t know individual concerns, there was really no reason that they couldn’t know the gist of the collective meeting.

“Actually, the only things that we talked about were women’s issues. They want a classroom raised connected to the clinic for lessons so that we all can learn how to be good parents.” Kathleen waded in.

The guys nodded, they thought it a good idea; an idea that they hadn’t thought about as none of them had ever been parents before.

“Who knows how to be a parent? Who is going to teach you young mothers?”

“And fathers.” Amy added.

“We can teach ourselves.” Kathleen replied. “Didn’t you tell me Ursus, that the Akashic record holds all that we need to know? We can access this information and create a lesson plan.”

“Good idea,” Margaret concluded eager to get to the next and hotter things mentioned at the meeting. “The next thing we talked about was - marriage compatibility including lessons, detailed lessons for some of the husbands in how to make love to their wives.” Margaret ended that pronouncement on a note of triumph having forgotten momentarily that it was possible that the guys already knew this from having read their minds.

“See, you didn’t want to believe that we were picking this up correctly.” Cain said in an Ah Ha! voice. “I’d like to see us try picking that up from the Akashic record. I’d like to see what it has to say on the subject.”

“Surely you women don’t expect to teach men this kind of information do you? And in a classroom setting? What would you say?” Bas asked bewildered for once while Ursus sat as if in a fog.

“Of course we won’t. It would be completely inappropriate for us as women to do so. You four will have to do it.”

“Us?”

“Who better,” Kathleen soothed. “I cannot speak for all of you but I can speak for my husband. He has my backing. I will vouch for him any day.”

Ursus smiled but remained quiet. The other women immediately threw their husbands into the ring and the four of them, flattered that they were not considered needy of being on the receiving end of these lessons were roped into providing them. Then Ursus thought of something.

“These are not going to be co-ed are they? We won’t teach men if the women are present.”

“No, we wouldn’t ask that of you, we’ll keep the women occupied while their class is going on there’s a lot that we can teach them about their own bodies can’t we girls?”

“Or perhaps they can teach us something. Who knows?”

It was a happy group that went to their own individual quarters that night. Kath and Ursus made love as they did most nights, it still being new enough that as a couple it was one of their main preoccupations.

He had come to love her lush body. He just couldn’t understand how he could have been so foolish. Luckily she had forgiven him and as they lay there cooling down they got into one of their many conversations.
He had mentioned earlier that a mission was coming up and that he’d be gone for a short while.

“What’s a short while Ursus?” A week or two?”

‘No, more like several months. Not six but more than four. It just depends upon how long our mission takes.”

“You have a mission?”

“Well you didn’t think that we just sit around here and while away the time did you?”

“Yes. There’s nothing better than doing that. I read once that time spent doing nothing is not wasted if it is time that you enjoy.”

“Ah, so you are a philosopher. That’s true I do enjoy my leisure time especially with you, but we each have a mission that takes up some of our time but also causes us to enjoy doing nothing more. Anyway, it won’t be for too long. I will be gone for just enough time so that you to come to miss me.”

She kissed his ear and sucked his lobe. “I’ll miss you even after one day. What‘s so important that you have to go?”

“All of us who are young enough to travel still and of course fight if we must, perform the mission of this planet. It is similar your military service when you had full participation except for us it is a lifetime occupation.”

“Fight?” She sat up in bed, this was the first she had heard of fighting. Weren’t they supposed to be Peacekeepers?

“If you are a peacekeeper, why do you have to fight?”

“Most of the time we don’t. Fighting will not be necessary on this trip. We will check up on some devices that we put into place when we were on Earth, make sure they are working and then if they are, come home. If they are not, we will insure that they do work, at least rudimentarily, before we return. There is no danger of fighting because we don’t have to land, we don’t even have to reach Earth we just have to draw near.”

She was disturbed. She couldn’t understand what he was talking about. It was too abstract. “Tell me what you do. Where do you go? What are these devices? Why do you have to go, why not your brother, he‘s a general too and he’s already traveling, why doesn't he just go and do whatever it is for you and then you won’t have to go?”

“Sweetheart, it doesn’t work like that. I have my area of responsibility and I have to take care of that portion. It is what I am trained to do.”

“Don’t ‘sweetheart’ me. If it doesn’t work like that, tell me how it does work because I don’t understand anything you are saying.”

He sat up too and shifted the covers to cover their lower bodies. “Earth is Lira’s responsibility. Lira takes care of Earth, keeps her from destroying herself and makes things open up when Earth gets bogged down in pettiness.”

“Earth gets bogged down in small-mindedness?”

“Yes, small acts of meanness that keeps Earth from progressing towards the goals that have been set for it. The men and women of your planet wouldn’t characterize it as being mean, it is just you are so opinionated, it often manifests as smallness. You do know that it is a characteristic of Earth to form opinions even when there is no factual base? Allow me to continue and I will get to that.

"Every planet is taken care of by the planet above it, not above it in space but above it in vibrations. We are at the three and one half dimension, preparing to move to five, and Earth is at three, preparing to move to three and one half. The Pleiades is Lira’s guardian planet. It is at seven already.

"Every male born into this world will be a peacekeeper. When we reach the fifth dimension it will be a shared responsibility with the females of our planet. For now, while we are in transition, only the males act to influence Earth.”

"I will tell you our organizational structure. It is determined when we are born and we are groomed for the position. Our area of responsibility is based on what you would call, from the point of view of one sitting on Earth, the sky.”

“Sitting on your planet, when you look up at your sky, if you could see all of it at once, you would see eighty eight constellations. It is from these that we received our names and our areas of responsibility. For instance my name is Ursus Major Northstar.

"That name tells any and all immediately my rank and my area of responsibility. Ursus Major, as it is known in Latin, is the Bear Star and it is found in the northern sky. Anything that happens on Earth that falls under that area is for me to take care of. It’s the same for Draco, meaning dragon, and Cain, for Canis. Bas is a bit different but I will explain his situation later.

“All of the Constellations have numerous stars located in them as well as small groups of stars that are called asterisms. In Ursus Major, there is what is known as the Big Dipper, or in some lands the same group of stars is known as the Plough. The important part is that all of my men are named with the names of the stars that are located in the Ursus Major constellation. And - because the constellation is located in the Earth’s Northern sky, we, all of us, me, my men, our wives and children are Northstars. Your formal name is Kathleen UMa Northstar.”

"The brightest stars in the constellation UMa are Alpha and Epsilon. Therefore Alphie’s wife’s name is Corinne Alpha Northstar. Is this making any sense to you?”

“Yes, it is. So you can hear a man’s name and immediately know to whom he reports and what his rank is.”

“Generally speaking. There are a few cases where a constellation and a star will have the same name. Draco for instance, but the star Draco is not in the constellation Draco so we are never confused as to that.”

“What kinds of things do you do?”

“Simply said, we prevent Earth from destroying herself, and we insure that she is sustained in spite of hardships. My men and I were involved in the Bosnia Serbian fracas in the last decade, it is a fine line that we walk to allow Earth to learn the lessons that it should learn but still prevent complete genocide.”

"Another triumph of ours was in Russia when the United Soviet Socialist Republic fell apart; that left thousands of hectares of land lying fallow, but yet in the cities people were starving. England in the UK are master farmers, they had large equipment so we were able to plant the idea into the minds of philanthropic people to work out a deal where large farm equipment was shipped to Russia and now there is wheat growing for the first time in years.

“This particular assignment that we are just beginning involves the Kurds in Northern Iraq and Southern Turkey.”

“And you will use your mind to try to bring about changes?”

“Yes. Our minds will be sufficient. They do not have the kinds of weapons that can bring about mass destruction. If those were involved, we would have to step in, confiscate the weapons and destroy them in deep space.”

“Wouldn’t they wonder what had happened to their weapons?”

“We would leave facsimiles. They would think it was a misfire or that they would need to redouble their effort at perfecting them. We will not allow mass destruction on Earth.”

“What do the Pleiadians do for your planet?”

He played with her fingers. She thought they might make love again before the night was over.

“We can guess about what they do for us, but it is forbidden for us to know exactly what they do. They are guarding us from all possibility of destruction, from outside, from within. There are still dangers if not from war, from other sources, some unidentified. It is entirely possible that they planted the idea of Earth being a place to obtain suitable wives. Who knows?”

“Now your brother is a general too? His name is very similar to yours isn’t it?”

"His is the constellation Ursus Minor, little bear star. He too is in the Northern sky so he is a Northstar. Canis Major is a Southstar as is his wife Demeter. Her formal name is Demeter CMa Southstar.”

“But my sister is a Northstar?”

“Rose UMi Northstar, Yes.”

“I have it now. It is quite simple and direct.”

“Yes, we are a simple and direct people.”

“You are?”

“Yes, shall I demonstrate just how direct and simple we are?”

He whispered in her ear exactly what he wanted. She reddened, wondering why in all other areas of her life she was quite bold. Not so in the bedroom. Not with words. She had no problem with action but even mentioning what they did was a task that still eluded her. She could no longer blame her repressed childhood; she had been a woman grown for years. At least chronologically she was. At twenty-eight some women were the mother’s of ten year olds; teens even.

And so she didn’t speak it. She laid her hands flat on his chest, tilting down to his lips as the lights of the twin moons glinted off her large eyes. He brushed her hair back from her brow and pulled her slowly, closer to his lips.

“You are so very beautiful my little wife. I love you.”

He nibbled at her lips and she at his, until tired of halfway measures they both opened their lips for plundering each other. His hands wandered restlessly over her back to skim the sides of her full breasts. She closed her eyes when she felt his lips, firm and moist settle on her nipple, felt it grow large against his tongue. He pulled her closer still until she was lying over him and he circled her with his tongue causing her toes to move as she duplicated the toe curling by twisting his hair around her fingers then using it as a lever to pull him forward and upwards so that he’d keep up his tender torture to her responsive breasts.

He moaned and suckled gently, continuing to pull her pink nipple inside only to release it so that he could suckle her ever harder making her now moan and move her legs restlessly.

Using her hands she molded his broad and sculpted chest, marveling in the strength and firmness of him. She allowed her hands to follow his outline to his narrowed waist and flat abdomen, where with a knowing look she removed her upper body from his access. He allowed her to go knowing where she was headed and anticipating his pleasure by lying back, perfectly unresisting, atypically docile but as usual always biddable. Putting himself at her command.

She prolonged his agony by running her nimble fingers over the hair that narrowed before his waist and sharply flared below to form the triangle that encased and protected his sex. She touched it with one finger and he quivered. She felt that he was barely restraining himself. She took him in her hand and much too softly stroked him, knowing that he wanted, needed more. He responded by raising his hips a bit, off the bed. She gave him a bit more, harder this time and smiled. Their eyes met.

Enough.

She bent to him and took him into her mouth doing it just as he had taught her and earning the feel his grateful and satisfied sigh as he stroked her back in perfect replication of her strokes to him.

For long minutes she worked him and he responded with appropriate accOlades in the form of gasps, sighs and words of encouragement. Finally nearing, he lifted her into his arms and made his way into the shower.

“What - ”

“Shhh. Let me please you” he murmured. And he turned on the warm water as swirls of liquid warmth bombarded their bodies from all sides. He kissed her soft lips, taking them again and again as he brought her passions back to the surface. And then at her urgings, her fist on his back urging him on he entered her in one smooth stroke that caused her to keen in satisfaction. He pounded into her, her back against the cool tiles, eyes closed; then flying open but glazed, soft, almost purring sounds coming from her throat and her hands clasped in rhythm to his deep thrusts. He swiveled his hips, grinding against her, control gone, only desire left…and they crashed over the peak, gasping, bodies jerking in spasms that flowed over them in a crescendo that slowly ebbed into ripples as they became slowly aware of their surroundings and the still running shower.

He slumped against her for only a few seconds before he regained his strength and lifted her into his arms, grabbing a pair of white towels on the way out. Once near the bed they dried themselves quickly but thoroughly only to tumble into bed, pleasantly satiated.

“I didn’t hurt you did I? You must let me know if I am too rough Kathleen. You are not at all like the women of Lira, fragile and brittle. You’re boneless and flexible which while it is a joy for me, it makes it too easy to let go and just have my way with you. So, if ever I am too rough, pinch me or better yet, bite me and I will cease.”

“If I bit you, you would think it part of the game,” she laughed. “No love, you are never too rough, either that or I like it rough. I can’t decide which it is. I will think on it though and let you know. Perhaps by the time that I am in my eighth decade I will know.”