The Visitor (32 page)

The general motioned for the baron and the baroness to stand and come next to him at the podium. They were presented with a plaque, a medal, and sew-on cloth badges. These were intended for a military shirt or jacket, but could be worn on any jacket.

Baron and Tak graciously accepted the award, and the audience broke into deafening applause. When they returned to their seats, and the audience stopped staring, Tak turned to Baron, still in shock.

When the applause subsided, she said quietly to Baron, “What have I done to receive such an honor, or any honor?

Baron was smiling widely, almost in laughter, enjoying the situation immensely. It occurred to her that she was beginning to get to know him well and to appreciate, not only what he could do but also his unforgettable sense of humor.

She was now decorated with the most prestigious award available from the Taiwan Army, and all she had done to earn it was to observe a bungled weapons trial, resulting in the burning of pineapple fields caused by the incompetence of the general’s dolt of a nephew. And she provided the assistance of offering a bribe of fragrant oil to someone in the fire brigade that was supposed to help anyway, all to orchestrate an actual, as opposed to a metaphorical, “Chinese Fire Drill.”

***

Baron and Tak sat in a small boat, its driver maneuvering through the exotic Bangkok floating market. Flowers, fruits, and artifacts were sold from boats as they passed. Lachhiman sat behind them, just ahead of the boatman. Their boat was one of the typical Thai boats, with the long, extension propeller shaft running nearly horizontally out the back, as far as the boat was long.

“The Thai people are quite different from the Chinese,” Tak observed. “Do you speak their language as well?”

“Yes, I do.”

“You speak many languages, don’t you, Baron?”

“Yes. Do you?”

“Yes, but none that you would recognize. Oh, except English, of course.”

It was a hot Bangkok day, but that was not unusual. Baron wore a wide-brimmed panama hat, light shirt, and slacks. Tak wore her usual outfit as she did not have anything else appropriate, but her usual outfit kept her air-conditioned comfortably.

“You really must let me buy you a sort of local outfit,” he said at one point. “It won’t be air conditioned, however. I think a batik top and perhaps some shorts? What do you say to that?”

“I’ll give it a try,” she joked. “But I will have to go back home with more than one satchel.”

Tak looked on, fascinated at the various things for sale in the boats, and also in the shops at the water’s edge. Children bathed in the dirty water, and women washed their clothes in it as well as their pots and pans.

That evening, with Tak dressed in a very colorful batik top and white, loose pants, they went to a famous Thai seafood restaurant/market where the fish was selected open style, like a market. Some, quite large, fresh from the day’s catch, were laid out on ice. They took a grocery shopping cart from the entrance of the restaurant and entered a line along a long, ice-packed counter filled with fresh seafood, some still alive. Baron selected a very colorful fish, caught that day; crabs, still alive and moving; squid; prawns; sea snails; cockles; and oysters. He then picked from a section that was not seafood--kangkong, or Chinese watercress, and vegetable greens.

After purchasing the food much like at a supermarket, it was then taken to their table by an attendant. The chef came out from the back to greet them and to discuss how they wanted everything prepared. To the surprise of the chef, Baron spoke to him in Thai, and they entered into detailed discussions on just exactly how everything was to be prepared, and with exactly what sauces. Baron was in no mood to leave it up to the chef and spent a great deal of time making sure that they agreed on each dish. Then a certain kind of rice, noodles for the oysters, and various other additives were agreed upon.

As he and Tak enjoyed the spicy Thai seafood, Baron thought he might push for more information. “Have you decided on your recommendation to the Federation about this planet?”

Switching to professionalism, she said, “Before I make any decision, I’ll return, evaluate all I’ve witnessed, and study what my computer has taken in. After careful consideration, I’ll then make a recommendation to the Federation, and it’ll make its own choice. Baron, I have to be honest with you. For some planets, it is not entirely a question of just joining or not joining. In some cases, a planet may be considered a threat and the Federation might do something about that.”

“I expect they will follow your recommendation. Are they all human like?”

“Oh no! Not at all! But no more questions.”

***

At the hotel in Bangkok, Baron turned on the television to a world news program in English. As Tak and he watched, a female reporter gave the news story.

“...in the Tibetan region of what is now part of China, there is a widespread outbreak of Ebola, the deadly disease that was formerly confined to the African continent. The Chinese government reports that Ebola has been confirmed as an outbreak in the cities of Lhasa, the capital and most populated city, and in Xigatze, the second largest city, located two-hundred-and-twenty-five miles west of Lhasa. The number of cases is presently unknown, but it is believed to be in the thousands and spreading as an uncontrolled epidemic. Ebola is said to be the most deadly virus known and nearly always fatal. The Chinese government has suspended all travel to and from the region.

“Anyone who has plans to visit Tibet should be made aware that the Chinese government is not allowing any travel to Tibet, and any travelers already in Tibet cannot leave and are being held in quarantine. The Chinese military has been mobilized to cover the borders, and roads leading in and out of Lhasa and Xigatze, and are setting up camps to quarantine anyone leaving those cities. Unconfirmed reports state that there are also outbreaks in Tibetan cities of Chamdo and Gyantse.

“The World Health Organization, made up of one hundred-ninety-one member nations, said in Geneva today that this may be a medical catastrophe of the largest magnitude ever known since the plague in Europe. The origin of the outbreak is unknown, but a government official in Beijing said that the source may have been a traveler from Africa who was infected and visited Tibet. A spokesperson for the World Health Organization stated that Ebola has no known cure, and medical personnel must wear special suits with special equipment to treat patients. But there is no such equipment available on the scale needed. We’ll bring you updates as we learn them...”

“The race-specific Ebola of Dr. Dorogomilov’s is working very well,” Tak said. “How do you plan to get the Dalai Lama back into Tibet to fulfill your deal?”

“With the epidemic spreading into a major catastrophe, it should be possible to get Him invited back with well-placed fragrant oil,” he answered. “But it is not yet time.”

***

The US President conducted an emergency meeting of select staff and a few others, including the head of the CIA and of the FBI. It also included Raymond Hauser, the vice president, the secretary of state, the national security advisor, and a dozen others. Ralls was not high enough up the ladder to be invited.

The president asked the national security advisor to open the meeting as the president thought maybe he had more to offer. The subject was the epidemic in Tibet.

He began. “There is clearly a huge epidemic of Ebola in Tibet, Mr. President. Due to the incubation period, we do not have an accurate count of infected people yet, but the World Health Organization has told me that it may be over a hundred thousand. But there is no doubt that it is spreading rapidly and exponentially. It has been identified as similar to Ebola Zaire, the most deadly kind. But what is most interesting is that, so far, only Han Chinese have become infected. There is no record yet of any Tibetan or other race becoming infected.”

“Isn’t it just a matter of time before others get it?” the president asked him. “Possibly the Chinese are more susceptible?”

“Could very well be,” the NSA director said. But it’s hard to imagine that a hundred thousand of one race can get a virus without a single case of any other race. In any case, we should take steps to locate and quarantine any travelers that have arrived from Tibet in the past several weeks. There is a case reported of a Chinese couple who are students in Canada who visited Tibet and returned, bringing the Ebola back with them. Anyone that they came in contact with is being quarantined, and they are chasing down the passengers on the jet at this time. We have put our best doctors on it, and we’ll see what they can find out.”

“Does anyone have any notion as to where it came from?” the president asked.

Stella Buchanan, the secretary of state, said, “I think it came from a traveler from Africa. I think we should quarantine African visitors as well.”

“But there has been no outbreak in Africa reported yet,” the NSA director pointed out.

After everyone who wanted to talk had their chance, the president turned to Hauser. “Raymond, you have not said anything yet. What have you to say?”

“Since only Chinese people are getting this virus, we should be asking, why only in Tibet?” Hauser said. “Why not mainland China with a billion? Why not Taiwan? Why not the many countries where there are large populations of Chinese such as Singapore, Malaysia, and other countries of Asia? The Tibetans are desperate to get the Chinese out of Tibet, and someone, somehow, might be using Ebola as a biological weapon to free Tibet of Communist Chinese.”

Stella Buchanan rudely repeated her message. “I don’t believe that the Tibetans could do that. I still think we should pursue a visitor from Africa.”

Hauser was obviously displeased with her lack of foresight. “What if it is a biological weapon? It could be directed one day toward black people, Jews, Arabs, or another race, even Caucasians. I would like to put some effort into finding out how, where, and when this virus could have been made, in case it is a biological weapon.”

No one disagreed with him as he was not asking them to preclude any other areas of inquiry. The president began to delegate duties to the staff members as to what they might do to find out more about the epidemic.

CHAPTER 24

The tea plantation manager brought Baron’s big Mercedes sedan to the Chiang Rai airport in Northern Thailand to greet them. Lachhiman, who was along on the flight, took over the driving and drove them outside of town up in the hills to Baron’s house on his plantation.

The house was not a mansion, but still very grand with its ten-thousand square feet. The road in was done in fine gravel, very densely packed, rather than concrete, much like an old European estate’s driveway. There was an additional home, just down from the crest of the hill for servants. The two-story house with rounded sections was on the highest point of the plantation. The roof had blue tiles, much like some of the older castles in France, but there were occasional small points that stood up slightly from spots of the roof, in the Thai tradition. The house was clearly a mixture of design. There was a round observation tower with a panoramic view of the entire plantation, as well as the surrounding area. Off to the right was a building for drying and storing teas, as well as for the keeping the harvesting equipment. Around back of that was a long garage for holding several vehicles. The help for planting and harvesting in season came in daily from nearby villages to work. The planation consisted of many acres, with tea plants of the most exotic and unique Oolong teas in the world.

Baron did not keep a large staff there, only enough to maintain the house and to take care of him when he came in, as he rarely had a house guest there. As they pulled in through the gate, the head chef, two housekeeper girls, two grounds keepers, and a handyman lined up in front of the house in respect for the owner. The staff for harvesting the tea were currently out in the fields, working with the plants.

Baron introduced the staff to the baroness, and they went inside. “Do you like my house?”

Tak looked about the grand entrance hall, with a curved staircase winding up to the balcony surrounding the hall below.

“The floor of the hall is blue lapis granite imported from Brazil,” he explained. “Note the gold streaks in it. The staircase is of local teak wood.”

Coming down the full length of the staircase, in the center of the steps, was a brass and ivory hand rail, attached to each step by brass stair rods. Black, wrought-iron circles and patterns of an art-deco design made up the bottom of the railing.

“It’s beautiful!” Tak exclaimed.

“I’m glad you approve. But, considering your mission, you might be more interested in the turned-up points on the roof outside. Those are popular with the Thai people to ward off evil, and most all Thai structures have them. Some homes have miniature houses on the grounds to house spirits of the dead family members, and daily offerings of fruit are brought to them.”

“That explains what I saw on the way in from the airport. I saw several of them, about the size of a bird house.”

He nodded. “We’ll dine here tonight. You may be surprised at just how great my chef is. This will be Northern Thai food, which is different from what you had in Bangkok. Tomorrow we can go into the nearby areas on a tour and look about, until the day you leave, which will be a sad one for me.”

He smiled at her and led her to the master bedroom, something to behold. The outside wall was rounded. The floor was done in multi-toned granite, with light blues, creams, and rust colors, all in swirls. A huge window, in sections, covered most of the outside wall, overlooking a significant part of the plantation and the countryside beyond. In front of the huge window was a granite table, six inches thick, with baroque edges, broken off and irregular, at barstool height, with a chair on either side.

He led her into the bathroom, a modern rendition of a Roman bath. There was a pedestal lavatory, toilet, and bidet, all carved out of solid granite. There was a granite shower and Jacuzzi of a multi-colored beige granite. The ceiling had three skylights, two in the main area, and one making up the top of the shower, which was tilted so as to drain off the water. Made of clear glass to illuminate by natural light, the skylights opened by electronic motors.

Tak looked about in awe. “This is magnificent, Baron.”

The staff had filled the Jacuzzi for them. Baron turned on the pumps and heater. “Let’s freshen up. I have arranged for some local clothes for you. They are in the closet.”

***

In the early evening, they sat watching the sunset to the west from the crow’s nest tower atop the house. The view covered three hundred sixty degrees, but at this hour one could not help put look past the plantation to the fire in the sky from the setting sun behind the high clouds, coloring them from pink to crimson red. From the wardrobe closet Tak had selected a sarong with brocade and a matching, slim-fitting top. Baron wore loose-fitting, white pants and a hand-printed, Malaysian batik shirt. Tak wore no shoes over her seven-toed feet.

“How do I look?” she said. She turned around like a model.

“Extraordinarily sexy and beautiful, like most seven-toed aliens.”

The young female assistant to the chef stood by to serve Baron’s finest Oolong tea, while the chef continued in the kitchen on what would be a delightful Thai meal. The tea was served in demitasse tea cups from Germany, a century old, very thin, and with gold leaf flowers set in royal blue china. Caviar and tidbits on crackers were served with the tea, along with an assortment of slices of local fruits.

“And so, you must tell me, my lovely wife and baroness, how do you find my tea?” He was enjoying, to the nth degree, being the only human to ever marry an alien.

“Exquisite. What do you have in mind for today’s culinary
extravaganza?”

Baron laughed. “It seems you need no help from anyone with the language. We’ll start with Khao Soi noodle soup, and after that I’m not sure.”

Dinner was prepared in the most elaborate style that the chef could accomplish, enhanced by the fact that he had been called well in advance and told to put on the finest meal that was in his ability, and to bring in whatever his imagination might come up with without any regard whatsoever to the cost or effort.

Tak came down the stairs for dinner, dressed in another outfit from her wardrobe closest. It was a green sarong with intricate brocade and a lighter green tight-fitting top that left her stomach bare. Baron was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs to see her beauty and how she handled the local costume.

Tak saw Baron at the bottom of the lapis granite staircase, and realized that she was on stage. She came down the steps with a sway, exhibiting sexy moves, something she had seen in the movies she watched to learn English.

“Breathtaking!” Baron announced.

Tak had learned that silence could be an effective communication and tried it. In old world fashion, Baron held out his arm so as not to let an unattended woman enter the dining hall. Of course, no one was looking besides a peeking staff member who would later gossip it to all the others, but that was not the point. Tak took his outstretched arm and he led her from the bottom step to the drawing room before dinner.

Baron led her to the bar, where he poured chilled champagne with the additives of a shot of bourbon, a dash of Hungarian bitters, and a slice of an Asian pear before dinner was to be served.

***

The following morning, Baron led Tak to the garage. The manager had polished and made ready for them one of Baron’s favorite things. Tak saw it shinning with chrome and polished paint. “What’s that?”

“I call it fun,” he said. “But more correctly, it is an American V-Twin Motorcycle. We will use that to go about the north here, whenever the weather is nice.”

Tak walked around it. “I saw these on the roads, but none as pretty as this. I bet this will be fun.’

“That is what I called, it. Fun!”