Alien Caller (55 page)

In many ways
Lar reminded him of many of his army officers. They were simple
down to Earth types who never really worried too much about
secrets, only about what was right and wrong, and getting the job
done. In the CIA those people had been harder to find, hidden
behind extravagant aliases, and webs of secrecy. In the DOD no such
people existed. The secrets had become the men.

“I’m more
concerned at the thought that those two couples might be taking no
precautions believing there was no need, and then finding out too
late that there was. I do not want either of them to have a baby
until they’re ready for it. Anything else could be a disaster.”
Which in itself was an interesting view for a Leinian. Children
were expected from the beginning of a relationship for them. Lar
was starting to develop some human understanding of the
situation.

Unfortunately
David agreed entirely. Dafi and Heather he knew next to nothing
about, though Heather at least had seemed fairly mature about
things. But it was Ayer and Becky who really worried him. A
surprise pregnancy could blow their relationship out of the water.
Or bring them together permanently. It would have to be handled
very carefully.

“How are the
youngsters doing at the moment?” David suddenly felt guilty as he
realized he hadn’t kept up with them for at least a couple of
weeks. Though as Cyrea had pointed out, they had been busy with
other things, and the young couple had gone on another short
holiday in the middle of it all. But it still wasn’t good
enough.

“Not too bad, I
think. Ayer is busy working hard, and Becky is taking to her
classes like a duck to water as you say. But they still sometimes
fight, and sometimes cry. Neither of them has strongly suggested
leaving, though killing each other does come up from time to time.
Counsellors still see them every day, and they tell me they have
hope. Their bond is growing stronger. Besides, Ayer knows Becky is
his only possible mate now, and Becky knows there is nothing better
for her away from him. That if nothing else seems to keep dragging
them back together.”

“We should
visit.” Cyrea was only stating the obvious and they both agreed
immediately with her. If anything David knew, they’d been remiss in
their duties, and looking after the two youngsters was definitely
one of his duties.

“Absolutely.”

“But what are
we going to tell them? To start using contraception? Now after all
the months they’ve been enjoying themselves freely? Besides we
could already be too late.” Which was the problem. If they were
still having problems now, throwing a spanner into their love life
would surely not help. Not that there was much of a choice. An
unexpected pregnancy would be even worse. And they could already be
in that situation.

“I don’t think
we have a choice. Besides, they might welcome the prospect.” David
thought Cyrea might be being a trifle optimistic with that, but
said nothing. She could be right, and he suspected Ayer might be
okay with the idea. Men didn’t have to bear the babies, so it was
often easier for them. But Becky still troubled him. With her
background the thought of raising a family would surely terrify
her.

“Let’s hope.”
Then a thought struck him.

“Can we do this
in a different way?” They both stared at him, knowing he’d probably
thought of something devious. They were right.

“Bring Becky to
the clinic by herself, and check whether she is or she isn’t, but
don’t tell her why until after. A routine check-up. Then if she is
pregnant, get the counsellors to explain it. And make sure they use
the words blessing and miracle, - a lot.” If there was one thing he
knew about Becky, it was that she still tended to think of Ayer as
an angel. If she was pregnant, that would be the time to play the
card for all it was worth.

“And if she
isn’t?”

“Don’t tell her
at all. Arrange some contraception, but for Ayer. That way, she
doesn’t have to think about it at all, until she’s ready. In time
she’ll hear about our baby and start to wonder. And when she does,
Ayer’s already taken care of things so she doesn’t have to worry.”
And it would be another thing for her to be grateful to Ayer for.
It was lucky that the Leinian’s had contraception for both men and
women. The longer they could put off the moment of panic for Becky
the better. And if the counsellors could raise the idea with the
kids before then, even better.

“Until she
wants to.” David carefully didn’t answer Cyrea, not knowing how to
tell her that Rebecca might never want to. Like it or not, she had
been hurt and betrayed for her entire life by her family. It would
take time and a lot of patience before she would ever consider such
a thing, and then no doubt, a lot of counselling. But for Cyrea,
for her people children were considered a basic part of marriage. A
goal. Marriage meant family, and family meant children.

Their whole
society was based around the family rather than the individual. It
had taken him a long time to understand that, and he still wasn’t
quite sure he could fully accept it. Some of it was fine. Voting on
issues as a family seemed like a good idea in many respects. And
the fact that Cyrea would be placed on light duties as a matter of
course simply because she was pregnant, well that seemed like an
excellent plan. But the understanding that money, such as they had
it, was paid not on the work that was done, but rather on the needs
of the family was a frightening idea. Not least because it seemed
so reasonable.

Here and now,
David was almost a millionaire, even having bought an extra twenty
acres of land. And while he didn’t spend extravagantly, or waste
his money, it was good to know that if he needed something he could
get it. And there was also something about the size of his
investment portfolio, that told him he had done something
worthwhile for his country. Bloody as his hands were, he had served
loyally and been rewarded as such.

As of the
previous morning however, he was suddenly having to come to terms
with the Leinian world. It wasn’t an academic debate for him any
longer. It wasn't a tale of a distant land. If Cyrea was going to
be a mother, he was going to be a father. As such he had to do the
best he could for his child, his daughter, and all the money in the
world he knew, couldn’t match what the Leinians could give her.
Education, health, security and opportunity, the Leinians had the
best of them all. It had been a long, sleepless night for him as
well. Yet if he was having trouble with that, he couldn’t even
imagine what problems Rebecca might have with it.

She came from a
privileged if abusive background. A world where she could have
anything she wanted, except love. A world where money was god and
children were a fashion accessory. A way of carrying on the family
lineage. But not family. And a world where as hurt as she had been,
she still had a place. And where, when her trust funds matured -
he’d done some snooping on the net - she’d be rich again. Very
rich.

A child for her
would quite possibly be a nightmare. Dealing with the ghosts of her
own past, and praying fervently no doubt that she would be a better
parent than either of hers had been, had to be hard, while at the
same time knowing that she couldn’t raise a Leinian child on Earth,
nor have a Leinian husband added an entirely new level of problems.
Because to leave Earth, the only home she’d ever known, was to
throw away the only security she had ever known; her wealth.

The counsellors
were going to be busy with her. They were going to be busy with all
of them.

Chapter
Twenty Five

“Babies? So
it's true?” Alice was surprised by the news, but also pleased.
Babies were always a good thing, and for a couple in love like
David and Cyrea, they were a blessing. It was the start of a
family. And being a grandmother she knew the happiness that family
could bring. But the others in their little community when they'd
heard the news had been less happy. Some of them, those with
science type backgrounds, kept saying it was impossible. Those who
watched too many movies kept talking about mutants and hybrids. And
a lot of them couldn't see what the big deal was. People had
babies, so what.

She understood
it though.

Alice was old
enough to have witnessed the spectre of racism. To have seen
segregation in the schools and on the buses. And ever since the
visitors had arrived she'd been seeing it again. Only in reverse.
This time it wasn't dark skinned people who were being put down, it
was humanity. Oh the Leinians were careful to never state it
openly. They would never act on the idea. They probably wouldn't
even have realised it was there. They were actually too decent to
recognise it. But always there was this divide between them. The
unspoken belief that their visitors were simply better people than
they were. Smarter, more advanced, more civilised, more decent.

So when the
scientists had first come to her and told her about David and Cyrea
having met, and what they'd found through their illegal bug, she'd
felt the need to meddle a little. Not because of scientific
curiosity. Simply because whatever happened between the kids, would
be a poke in the eye of prejudice. It would help level the playing
field. But now babies? That wasn't just levelling the playing
field, that was mixing the teams! Turning football into their funny
Fugue game.

Lar nodded,
confirming that the gossip was true, before rushing on to tell her
about the more practical implications. The ones that might affect
her people. For some reason he seemed to think of her as being in
charge of the little community of insiders; or of those who knew
about the visitors. She wasn't. No one was. But she had been there
from the start and she was old. That seemed to be enough to make
the others listen to her. And she supposed they would listen to her
again, those that were thinking about relationships with their
visitors that was.

She wondered if
there were any more. Four couples seemed like a lot. But there
might be more coming. After all a lot of their visitors were young
and single. Having not found partners on Leinia they'd thrown
themselves into their work and they were often more available for
long term off-world posts where others weren't. And there were a
lot of young people around the area as well. A lot of young people
who made a living acting as tour guides. There were also quite a
few visitors.

There could be
more coming.

Part of her
wanted to laugh at the idea, though quietly of course. But Lar was
right. There were practical matters to consider as well. Just not
the ones he was thinking of. His goal was simple. He wanted to
prevent any unplanned pregnancies. So he wanted to make certain
that every member of their little community knew of the risk. Her
goal was different. She wanted to keep the Leinians around. When
their mission ended she didn't want them to leave. They were
keeping her family and friends in good health. Keeping Redwood
Falls solvent through their purchases. Keeping the local lakes and
forests in pristine shape. And they were probably good for the
world. Besides, they were good people.

Babies seemed
an opportunity too good to pass up. Children half of Leinia and
half of Earth would tie the two worlds together, and maybe keep the
mission here. Maybe later she'd have a talk with Heather and Dafi,
Something about what a blessing it was to have a family. And then
of course the doctors who thought no one knew about them as they
carried on in secret. Foolish of them. Everyone knew, except for
the Leinians of course.

And of course
there was one more thing she could do to push things her way. She
could break down this strange resistance they had to letting humans
travel into space with them. They were worried that it might
perhaps set an example. Maybe allow some of their technology to
fall into the wrong hands. Human hands that was.

“You know Lar,
-” Alice almost felt sorry for him as she set about ruining all his
carefully thought out plans, “- this is a big thing. We can't have
a baby like this born here. They need a proper hospital. And one
far away from any of David's other enemies.”

Her words must
have hit a nerve. Lar stopped dead in his tracks midsentence and
stared at her, and she could almost see the wheels turning behind
his eyes as he thought about it. Weighing up the risks against the
need, and knowing she was right. If nothing else they had to
protect the baby. And he didn't know it yet but there might be
three more primitive human beings soon taking that ride to the
stars behind David. Especially if she had her way.

“David has the
right to travel to Leinia and bring his family with him.” He stared
at her, mulling over her words. “And it would be safer.”

“I'm not
talking about David. He's an adult. He can make up his own mind
about where he wants to travel and live. So can Cyrea. But the baby
is a child of both worlds. She needs to be protected starting with
her birth, and then when she's old enough, freely able to travel as
she chooses.” And there was the rub. If the child was to decide to
spend time on Earth, then something of the mission had to remain
there to make sure she was safe.

“This isn't our
world. We're only visitors here.”