The Altian Plague by DM Arnold (best book club books for discussion .TXT) 📖

work and by helping her succeed. And -- in the few stolen nights I can have with you.” He yawned. “You must be so tired.”

“I'm exhausted.”

She sat up beside him and began caressing him. “Then -- let me do all the work...”

Nyk opened his eyes. Floran's orange sun was climbing in the east. He looked around to discover himself alone. Into his tunic he slipped and headed toward the house. Mounting the stairs to the middle level he spotted Suki sitting at the kitchen counter with a cup of tea. “Bon'matina, stranger,” she said.

“Bon'matina. Where is everyone?”

“Senta and Andra went to the labs to work with the critters we collected yesterday. They don't know how well they'll survive in captivity.” She poured him a cup of tea. “Andra wanted to send her apologies for leaving you alone this morning, but she felt you needed your sleep.”

“I certainly did.” He sipped from his cup. “So, how went the night with Senta?”

“How went YOUR night with Andra?”

“You know I'm not the sort to kiss and tell.”

“Me, neither.” She drained her cup. “I'll say this -- you were right. It was an experience. The attention she lavished on me... She reminded me of you, that way.”

“Senta taught me everything I know,” he replied.

“I could learn a thing or two from her. Then -- afterward she lay, holding me and gazing into my eyes. I knew she was tired and wanted sleep, but she wouldn't take her eyes off mine. I was beginning to think it was a stare- down.”

“She was waiting for you to fall asleep. It's a Floran thing to wait until your partner is asleep.”

“Is that why you always gaze into my eyes until I fall asleep?”

“Yes. You're right -- it can get out of hand -- especially if the parties haven't agreed who should sleep first.”

“Finally, she closed her eyes for an instant. I began stroking her eyelids -- very gently.”

“Suki -- that's so sweet.”

“I could feel her relax and fall asleep against me. I was very moved by the whole experience. Nykkyo -- I realize Florans have a sophisticated touch language. Was there some meaning to what I did?”

“You gave her the gift of sleep. A Floran would interpret it as giving her permission to sleep -- telling her that you knew even if she was sleeping she was with you.”

Suki nodded. “Something else. Senta told me she'd give me anything I wanted so long as it was in her power to grant it. Whatever I wanted -- all I had to do was name it.”

“She was granting you a boon.”

“A boon?”

“Yes -- a reward for an act beyond the call of duty. What you did yesterday was a powerful gesture to a Floran.”

“But Nykkyo -- I would've have done what I did for anyone. It's the number-one rule for a swimmer -- if someone's in trouble, and if you can help without endangering your own life -- you are obligated to do so.”

“Florans aren't swimmers. Boons are often granted by the government or an agency to a worker who has performed beyond expectations. My father was granted this house as a boon. Do you know what most request?”

“No... What?”

“An ax'amfin companion.”

“Someone like Andra... That's a part of your culture I'll never fully appreciate.”

“So -- what did you ask for?”

She looked at him. “I asked that you and she be on speaking terms. I know you want to be friends with her. Nykkyo -- I didn't ask that you two be on lovemaking terms -- just speaking to each other. She said she would do that for me. I thought it would be a start. Who knows? Some day we may want to invite her to join our love-family.”

“Stranger things have happened,” he replied. “What's on the calendar for today?”

“Nothing,” she replied. “The day -- and the night is ours to do with as we please.”

“What would please you?” he asked.

Suki smiled and glanced up the staircase toward the bedrooms.

3 -- The New Agent

A land breeze wafted through Nyk's wall-less childhood bedroom and he could hear the surf beating against the bluff. Suki snuggled against him and he stroked her arm. “Mmm...” she said.

“Mmm?”

She drew in a deep breath. “Mmmmmm....”

“Did we make up for lost time?”

“Mmmmmm.... I always feel like this after with you ... so relaxed ... my body feels like it's melting. Mmm...”

He gazed into her eyes in the dim light and she gazed back. “This isn't a stare-down, is it?”

“Oh, no -- I can barely keep them open.” She stroked his shin with the top of her foot. “Mmm... I still think you have the prettiest legs I've ever seen on a man. Since everyone here wears the tunic, I've seen lots of nice- looking legs.” She stroked his shin again. “I've always been a leg girl. What type of a guy are you?”

“I'm an all-over everything guy. I think your hair is as sexy as your legs... Your back is as alluring as your hips...” He kissed her hair. “That vein in your elbow turns me on as much as a glimpse of one of your...”

She kissed his lips. “You are nuts... But, in a nice way.”

“I do love you,” he said.

“I know ... I know you do. I've never doubted. I love you, too.”

“And, I've missed you so much. Our vidphone conversations can't make up for this.”

“I've missed you, too... And Mom, and Nicky.”

“Your mom tells me she misses hearing us make love in the bedroom above hers.”

“Really? I always thought it annoyed her.”

“No.” He brushed aside a tear. “She said she knew you were happy.” Suki kissed his cheek. “She had an attitude toward it that was almost Floran. I could see a Floran mom enjoying hearing her son or daughter. We have a word for it -- nok'muzika...”

“Night music -- I know. I've heard it.”

“Nearly everyone on this world has.”

“I meant the expression.” She pulled herself against him and caressed his arm. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow... I take the train to Floran City and give Dyppa Hawryt her preliminary briefing. Then, I ride with her to Earth and get her established in the Wisconsin lab.”

“Dyppa. The name's familiar.”

“She's the Floran girl Seymor and I discovered in Zander's trailer.”

“Oh, yes. I remember I had one of my eruptions when you told me you had her in bed with you.”

“It was totally innocent, Suki -- honest. She had a bad dream...”

Suki kissed his cheek. “I know it was. You like her, don't you. It's okay -- you can be honest about it.”

“I am fond of her,” he replied. “Something about her connected with me right away. She and I have been corresponding during her rehabilitation and her Agency training. We've become friends.”

“Friendly enough to sleep with her?” Nyk looked into her face. “It's all right, Nykkyo. I've come to appreciate the Floran way.”

“That hasn't taken you long.”

“I see it in practice here every day. I feel the love among your people -- I feel it directed toward me. It's wonderful.” She kissed his cheek again. “If you feel like sleeping with Dyppa -- don't say no on my account. It's not fair that I have Andra here and you have no one there.”

“That's a Floran sentiment if I ever heard one. Suki -- I have no intention of sleeping with Dyppa.”

“I'd feel good knowing you have someone on Earth ... especially if she's a nice Floran girl.”

“Actually, Dyppa's an Altian.” He shook his head. “It won't work. She'll be in Wisconsin and I'll be in New York.”

“Station her in New York, then.”

“She needs to be in Wisconsin for her assignment. And -- I need to be in New York for mine.”

“Think about it. If she's a nice enough girl for you to regard her highly, then I'm sure I'd like her, too.”

“I'm sure you would.”

“You do have good taste in women.” She caressed his face. “Why are you smiling?”

“I was thinking... Can you imagine us having that sort of discussion on Earth?”

“I recall we had a different sort of discussion about Dyppa,” she replied, “one of my jealous rages. I left those emotions on Earth.”

“I know. I came here and found a different Suki.”

“A happier one, for sure. A better one, I hope. Nykkyo -- after you diverted me from the World Trade Center, I spent my first few days here in deep soul-searching. You gave me a wonderful gift. I don't mean just saving my life. You gave me the opportunity to make a new one, on a new world; to start over. I asked myself what I had done to deserve your gift. Nothing, I concluded.”

“But, Suki...”

“No, Nykkyo. There must've been hundreds -- thousands who perished that day who were more deserving of life than I.”

“I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. It was my selfishness...”

“You were an agent of Destiny, Nykkyo. I must've been sent here for a reason. I vowed to make myself worthy -- to give as much of myself, as much love as I can to the people of this world who have opened their arms and hearts to me.”

“You were sent for a reason -- to teach the youth of my world about yours.”

“It must be more than that. I've already learned more than I could teach in a lifetime. I've learned how important a part of happiness your attitude is. If you determine to be happy, you WILL be happy. I realize how much of my time and energy I wasted with petty jealousies; with obsessing on whether or not I received what I thought I was due. I've learned the truth to your ways, Nykkyo. It's giving and trust. If I give one hundred percent of myself to others, and trust them to do the same -- the result is greater for all.”

“Isn't there an Earth saying that it's the converts who are the most devout?”

“I'm definitely converted. It's marvelous.”

“What you described is our ideal. We're only human, and humans have faults.

“Are all the colonies like Floran?”

He snorted. “Hardly. Each one has its own culture ... it's own personality.”

“I stopped worrying about who you love more -- Andra or me. It's not a relevant concern. Instead I give one hundred percent of myself to both of you and I receive two hundred percent in return. Florans have learned sharing and cooperation is superior to possession and competition.”

“I don't know about that, Suki. I think competition is what makes Earth such a vibrant and interesting place. Competition is what drives evolution -- of both species and societies. Without it we stagnate. Floran entered its so-called Golden Age about fifteen hundred Earth years after Planetfall. We're still in it. Our society hasn't progressed in thirty-five hundred years. Today's lifestyle is indistinguishable from a hundred generations ago.”

“I think peace, friendship and harmony here is more than a fair swap for aggression on Earth.”

“Historically, it's been the societies that became complacent and stagnant that were vulnerable to both internal decay and external aggression. And, consider this: Where might Floran be today if we HADN'T stagnated ... hadn't become complacent? How much further might we have come?”

“Floran might be gone. You might have evolved yourselves out of existence. Might-haves don't count.” She kissed his cheek. “Someone I love very dearly told me that once.”

She pulled herself tighter against him and he caressed her forearm. “Hmmm...” she mused. “I'll need to contemplate all this more. Maybe I can work our conversation into one of my lectures. You're right about one thing -- Floran does agree with me.” Suki closed her eyes and nestled her face against his shoulder. He touched a pad to switch off the ambient lighting. She let out a contented sigh. Bon'noka, Nykkyo.”

Nyk stuffed a travel case into the luggage compartment of the groundcar. He turned to see the three women standing near the drive.

Suki embraced and kissed him. “Give Mom and Nicky a hug and a kiss from me, okay?” He nodded. “Goodbye... Don't be a stranger.”

“I'll visit as often as I can,” he replied. He held Andra. “My friend- for-life.