Abduction

“All right,” Richard said reluctantly. “Let’s get it over with.”

With dispatch they rolled Mura up inside the coverlet. Then with Richard at the head and Michael at the foot, they carried her across the lawn to Richard’s cottage. They had a little trouble navigating her in through the door since it was relatively narrow.

“Jeez,” Michael complained. “Carrying a body is a little like carrying a mattress. It’s harder than you’d think.”

“That’s because it’s so much dead weight,” Richard said, smirking at the double meaning.

They dumped the body in the middle of the floor. While Michael unraveled the blanket, Richard went to the refrigerator and emptied it. Since this was his second time through the body-in-the-refrigerator routine, he knew exactly what to do, meaning to get Mura inside required a complete rearrangement of the contents.

“All right,” Richard said. “Give me a hand.”

Together they got Mura wedged into place. She was taller and heavier than Sart, so she was a tighter fit. In the end, they had to leave a few containers out.

Richard straightened up after finally managing to get the door to shut. “This has got to stop,” he said.

“What?” Michael asked.

“Knocking off these Interterrans,” Richard said. “We’re out of refrigerators.”

“Very fu

“Don’t make me answer that, birdbrain,” Richard said.

“I’ll tell you what it really means,” Michael said. “We gotta get our asses out of Interterra! With two bodies, the chances of someone stumbling across one has just doubled.”

“You should have thought of that before you knocked her off,” Richard said.

“I’m telling you, I didn’t have any choice!” Michael yelled. “I didn’t want to ice her, but she wouldn’t shut up.”

“Don’t shout!” Richard said. “You’re right. We got to get the hell out of here. The only good news is that it seems the straightlaced admiral is thinking the same way we are.”

Suza

Reaching the far end of the pool, Suza

Eventually tiring of their underwater play, they swam to the side, and hauled themselves out of the water. With the slight breeze wafting in from the open end of the room, Suza

“I’m glad, too,” Garona said. “I was anticipating it all day.”

“I wasn’t sure if you would come back,” Suza

“What do you mean?”

“I should have made a clearer choice,” Suza

“I enjoyed every minute,” Garona said. “Our interaction was not goal-oriented. The idea was just to spend time together, which we did.”

Suza

Garona sighed. “I am sorry,” he said. “I ca

“Just telling me why we’re here would be interfering?”

“Yes,” Garona said without hesitation. “Please don’t put me in that position. I want so much to be open and honest with you, but in that sphere I ca

Suza

“Perhaps I should ask how Arak is doing with his orientation?” Garona said.

“I’d say very well,” Suza

“But of course,” Garona said. “They were lucky to get such an interesting group. I heard that they have already taken you out into the city. Did you enjoy that?”

“It was fascinating,” Suza

“Such rapid progress,” Garona commented. “I’m impressed indeed. I’ve never heard of second-generation humans progressing so quickly. What is your reaction to what you have seen and heard? I can hardly imagine how extraordinary it must be for you.”

“The expression beyond belief has never been so appropriate.”

“Have you found anything disturbing?”

Suza

“There was one thing that bothered me,” Suza

Garona nodded. “I can appreciate your point of view,” he said. “It is a natural consequence of your Judeo-Christian roots, which puts such high value on the individual. But I assure you we do as well. The child’s essence is not ignored but rather added to the implanted essence. It is a mutually beneficial process, a true symbiosis.”

“But how can an unborn’s essence compete with that of a learned adult?”

“It is not a competition,” Garona said. “Both benefit, although obviously the child benefits the most. I can tell you, as someone who has gone through the process countless times, I have been strongly influenced by each essence from each body. It is definitely an additive process.”

“It seems like a rationalization,” Suza

“I hope you do,” Garona said. “I’m sure Arak plans to return to this issue in the didactic sessions. Remember, today’s outing was not to explain things thoroughly but rather to help overcome the usual disbelief with which our visitors initially struggle.”

“I’m aware of that,” Suza

“My pleasure,” Garona said.

“You’re a sensitive, beautiful man, Garona,” Suza

“You are a beautiful woman. You’re extraordinarily entertaining.”

“Thanks to my alluring primitiveness,” Suza

“Your primitiveness is endearing,” Garona agreed.

Briefly Suza