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

Keep taking care of my korlyta.”

“I certainly will.”

“Senta... It was good seeing you again.”

She proffered a faint smile “Have a safe trip to Earth, Nykkyo.”

“I intend to.” He climbed into the groundcar, pulled shut the cowl and scanned his wrist. “Car ... train station. Confirmed, car go.”

The train slowed to a stop at the Floran City central station. Nyk grasped his case and walked to the lift. He rode to the tubecar platform and scanned his wrist at the kiosk. “Destination?” a synthesized voice inquired.

“Government Center.”

“You are third in line. Have a good day.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he waited. A couple with a small child were first in line and behind them was an officious looking older man, identified by insignia on his xarpa as a Central Admin nawab.

A bullet-shaped car slid onto the platform and its cowl slid back. “Government Center,” came a voice from the dashboard.

Nyk climbed in. “Car, go.”

The vehicle accelerated into its transparent roadway. It merged into a multi-lane tube running through the center of the city. Nyk watched the closer buildings blur as the car achieved its top speed. Between them he could make out the mile-high quad towers of Government Center, still fifty kilometres distant. He locked his fingers behind his head and leaned back.

Floran's mid-day orange sunlight flooded into the car. Overhead in the indigo sky were some brighter stars, visible in broad daylight. He looked down at the city square. Adjacent was the Floran Museum, built around the hull of the Floran herself.

The tubecar whizzed by Nyk's old neighborhood. He glimpsed the tower where he had shared Senta's apartment during the years of their marriage. A short distance away was the Arcade, a shopping mall serving the area. Beyond that was the park with its artificial lake and plantings of native vegetation. Nyk looked down on streets congested with groundcars and foot traffic.

He was approaching Government Center. Its towers were beginning to loom, now. He could see a swarm of skimmers circling over the low building housing the High Legislature assembly hall, awaiting their turns to land on the roof. The HL sat in the middle of the complex, with a tower arising from each corner.

Nyk was headed for the northeast tower, where the ExoAgency had its headquarters. The car veered into a tube leading to the complex and stopped at the platform. He stepped out and grabbed his case. A woman nursing an infant sat in the car and it headed back into traffic.

He walked the distance to Tower Three and rode the lift to headquarters. The door slid open in response to his wristscan. A receptionist looked up from a desk. “I'm Nykkyo Kyhana -- I'm to meet Dyppa Hawryt here.”

The receptionist gestured toward a waiting area. Nyk turned and saw a young woman sitting. She had short, medium-blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. “Dyppa!” Dyppa stood. Nyk held her and kissed her forehead. “Let's see if there's a meeting room we can use.”

The receptionist motioned him to an empty room overlooking the HL. He sat at the conference table and popped open his case. “Are you ready?”

“As ready as I'll ever be. Were you this nervous before you made your first transit to Earth?”

“No, not at all. I was worse -- I had nightmares about it for days before. At least, you've already seen Earth.”

“Not much of it.”

“I suppose I should start your briefing,” he said. “You will be stationed near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. You'll remember the house -- we stayed there overnight.” Dyppa nodded. “This is one of two principal exobotany stations. The other is in Scottsdale, Arizona. We rent lab space from a university there. Your assignment is to procure specimens requested by the plant breeders, culture them and send the cultures to the homeworld. Do you understand?”

“Of course.”

“My first assignment on Earth was in the same house and lab. I have some fond memories of the place...” He removed a polymer envelope and handed it to her. “These are your identity documents.” Dyppa dumped the contents onto the table. “Your Earth identity is Karen Wilson. You must be on your guard to respond to that name. It's difficult at first, trust me. With time it becomes natural.”

Dyppa removed a card with a photograph. “What's this?”

“It's a driver's license.”

“For driving what?”

“An automobile.”

“Will I have one of those?”

“No -- you'll have a shuttlecar, but we discourage using it on the streets more than absolutely necessary.”

“Then -- why do I need this?”

“We procured that to simplify identifying yourself.” Dyppa nodded and looked through the items. “Social Security?”

“A necessary evil on Earth.”

“And this?”

“A passport.” Nyk withdrew another object. “This is a debit card. Do you recall your training on Earth economics?” She nodded. “You can use this to pay for necessaries. We will maintain an adequate balance in your draw account.” Dyppa returned the items to the envelope, opened her own travel case and dropped it in. “Do you have any questions?”

“No ... none right now. I'm sure I'll have many once we get there.” She handed him a polymer sack she had been carrying. “Do I give these to you now, or later?”

Nyk dipped his hand into the sack and retrieved a handful of clear crystals -- raw diamonds. “I'll take them now.”

“I can't believe our fusion byproducts have such value on Earth,” she replied.

He held up the sack. “This is how we fund our operations there.” He dropped it into his case. “Seymor wanted me to say one thing before we leave. Stay away from Earth drugs, Dyppa. That includes alcohol, especially since your Earth identity is that of an eighteen year old girl. He wanted me to remind you that one hint of trouble in that regard and he'll send you home.”

“He probably thinks I'll be tempted as a recovered addict.”

“Psychological addiction stays with you for life, Dyppa.”

“No one needs to tell me that. Any intoxicant is poison to me. I know that, Nyk. I have no desire to poison myself.”

Nyk nodded. “I'm sure you don't. I'm sorry -- I was just discharging a commission Seymor gave me. He refuses to sponsor anyone with an addictive profile. He had trouble with an Agent once, years ago.”

She looked down at the table. “Then -- why was I accepted?”

“Seymor isn't sponsoring you. I am.”

“I won't let you down.”

“I know you won't.” Nyk touched a vidisplay on the conference table. “It's time to go, then. We'll take a tubecar to the shuttleport. It's a short packet ride to Earth.

Nyk escorted Dyppa through the docking tunnel and into the relay station. “I'll show you around... Over here is decontamination.”

“Shall we?” she asked.

“No need on the ride down -- there are no Floran microbes that can survive in the Earth biosphere. You'll need to use it on the trip up.” He gestured. “This is the wardroom. You should look for some appropriate clothing and change. There's a selection in the closet over there.”

Dyppa began looking in the closet. Nyk removed his Earth clothing from his personal effects locker and began dressing. “Is this appropriate?” Dyppa asked holding a lightweight blouse and shorts.

“No. It's January ... cold. You'll need to find something warmer. We'll go shopping for an Earth wardrobe once we're there.”

She returned from the wardroom in jeans and a turtle-neck pullover. “Shall we make transit?”

Nyk checked his watch. “It's too early. I like to time it so we're landing around two in the morning.”

“Fewer witnesses?” she asked.

“Exactly. We have some time to kill. Are you hungry?” He removed a pair of meal packages from a stasis cabinet. “Your last Floran meal for a while.”

She sat across from him at the table. “Nyk -- do you remember? The last time we were together, we talked about making a date.”

“I do remember.”

“I hope you're not disappointed if we don't.”

“That sounds like another lose-lose question. I'm not, Dyppa.” He scooped from the meal package.

“During my rehabilitation and training, I had time to think. You do know I was a child prostitute on Altia.”

“I know something about that.”

“I did enough casual screwing to last a lifetime. Now -- I think I want it to mean something.”

“You're developing an Earth attitude.”

“Is it a problem?”

“No,” he replied, swallowing his mouthful. “I rather like it. I think it should mean something, too.”

“Nyk -- do you love me?”

He gazed into her blue eyes. “I care for you. I like you. I admire your strength, and I feel sorry for what you've been through.”

“But -- do you love me?”

He shook his head. “I wouldn't call my feelings for you love. They're not far from it -- but they're not love. Deep friendship perhaps.”

“I don't love you, either, Nyk. I like you. I'm comfortable with you. I'm grateful for all the help and support. I don't love you.” She looked down at her meal. “Did I hurt you saying that?”

He smiled. “Not at all. It's good to form an understanding early on.”

“I think I could love you,” she continued. “If you'd like to explore that avenue -- I'd be willing.” Nyk cradled his forehead in his hand and suppressed laughing. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Not at all, Dyppa. I was admiring the poise you have for such a young woman.” He set down his spoon. “I think it best you and I become comfortable at a professional level. After that -- we'll see where Destiny leads us.”

“Fair enough.” She ate in silence, then said. “I was in love, once. I do know what it feels like. I violated one of the prime rules of a whore. I fell in love with one of my clients.”

“You don't need to tell me this, Dyppa.”

She shook her head. “I don't know why I feel compelled to tell you, Nyk. Maybe it's part of forming that understanding.” She drained her water tumbler and stood to refill it. “It was that love affair that set everything into motion -- the events that sent me here.”

“How so?”

She sat again. “My mother is also a psychological addictive.”

“I know that.”

“She financed her habit through prostitution. It wasn't always like that, but as her dependency grew -- it became her only option. Her profile was marked addictive, so she couldn't purchase drugs legitimately. She turned to her mattress.”

“She was paid with drugs?”

Dyppa nodded. “I followed her into the business. I wasn't an addict then, though. I helped support her habit -- I turned what I earned over to her. I couldn't have been 15 standard Floran years old when I started. I worked in a run-down hostel in one of the bad sections of Altropolis. Do you know Altia at all?”

“No -- I've never been there.”

“It's not as if Altropolis has any good sections. One day my handler told me I had an assignment. A gimp job, he told me. I always got the cripples, because I was the youngest; or, maybe because I complained the least. I went to his room at the hostel and found a young man, just past the age of consent. He asked me not to laugh at him. I promised I wouldn't. Then, he showed me his handicap. He had lost his manhood in an industrial accident.”

“There's no need for someone to go through life like that,” Nyk replied. “Doctors on Floran could help him -- fabricate a new one from stem cells.”

“This was Altia -- not Floran. He was too poor to afford such treatment.”

“On Floran no one would've refused him.”

“He didn't even have the means to afford transport. It's a pay-as-you-go mentality on Altia.”

“Poor kid.” Nyk shook his head.

“All he wanted was closeness -- to feel someone's warmth. We started talking and I realized he and I were very much alike. We understood each other - - two injured young people in a hostile world. Then I had an idea. I figured out a way to satisfy him.”

“How?”

“I'd rather not describe it. We spent the night together. His name was Lom.”

“Lom? An odd name. Is it a given or family name?”

“I don't know -- I just knew him as Lom. It might've been an alias. He knew me as Lyla. He was an ore-worker. Ore work is the career of last resort on Altia.”

“Then, what happened?”

“He became a repeat customer. We connected -- we became lovers. This went on for about a year. Then, my handler discovered what was going on. 'Only paying customers,' he scolded me. He sent his goons to teach Lom a lesson. And -- he beat me up fairly well, too. I never saw Lom again.”

“You must still have feelings for him.”

“Conflicted feelings. I suppose you never forget your first true love. But -- I never want to go back to Altia again. Never. There are too many there who want me harm -- because of what happened next.”

“Which was?”

“I was so angry, I went to the authorities. I agreed to turn State's evidence against