Darrell Bain Read online

  "Yes,” I admitted. She nailed me.

  Jeri leaned into Kyle as she spoke. “I would never want to be a Cresperian again. Not after being human, with all that implies.” She snuggled even closer to her husband.

  Oh. I could easily guess why sex was part of the attraction of the Crispies to the human form, especially if their species used it only for reproduction rather than recreation like we do. Procreation is secondary to enjoyment for the enlightened women of our planet. Mostly, anyway. And it's always been secondary with men.

  The doorbell rang. Kyle answered it and came back with a big blond hunk who was as handsome as Adonis was purported to have been. He wore a short-sleeved shirt that showed his muscular arms to advantage. Kyle led him over to me.

  "Mai, this is Ishmael, one of the other Crispies working with us. Ish, Mai Li Trung. She just arrived and will be working with Jeri for a while, at least until we leave."

  His grip was just firm enough. The gaze from his blue eyes was disconcerting. I felt as if I were being undressed even though he kept his eyes on my face. It was ... not unpleasant, yet I felt a shiver of emotion run through my body as if in preparation for a confrontation. “Hello, Ishmael. I'm glad to meet you,” I said.

  "Thank you. The feeling is mutual. And please call me Ish. You're very pretty—and very learned, so I hear."

  "And you're very complimentary."

  He smiled disarmingly. “I believe in honesty rather than flattery, much more so than most humans seem to. I was only telling the truth. I read your paper on environmental influences on the enzymatic suppression of adjacent genes. Very well thought out."

  "Are you a geneticist? No, that was a silly question, wasn't it? Anyone who can alter their own bodies to the extent you and Jeri have are already far past us in genetics."

  "Ah, but we do much of it instinctively rather than with true knowledge. In order for us to help the masses of your population I believe we're going to have to re-learn some of the science that goes with the art. You'll certainly be valuable in that respect if for no other reason than to point us in some directions we might not otherwise go."

  "Y'all can talk shop later, Ish,” Kyle said. “Is Sira going to put in an appearance?"

  For some reason the last remark took most of the smile away from Ishmael's features.

  "I don't know,” he said, rather bluntly.

  Kyle nodded and didn't carry the conversation any further. Ishmael touched his forehead with a finger, rather like a salute, and smiled at me before moving on into the room.

  Jeri came up and put an arm around Kyle and nudged his shoulder with her cheek. He turned and kissed her fondly. I looked around for someone else to talk to and saw Carol ensconced in a conversation with General Shelton, the commander of The Group. He had originally said he was staying only a short time but when someone mentioned Carol he headed straight for her. I wondered what they were talking about but didn't get a chance to ask, as he left a few minutes later and took her with him.

  Kyle and Jeri embraced and kissed again right after the general and Carol left, completely unembarrassed. Kyle saw me looking their way and, perhaps by prearrangement, left Jeri and headed for another part of the room. She immediately came over to talk with me.

  "I know, most couples aren't so blatantly public with their affection. We're trying to start a new trend,” she said first thing.

  I laughed. “That's fine with me. Damned if I wouldn't love to have a man like Kyle. You were right when you said you were lucky. From what I've seen so far you have a real winner."

  "Uh-huh. I take it you're not involved with anyone at present? No one is coming later to be with you?"

  "No,” I said. “The last one turned out to be traveling under false colors. Nice enough until he moved in then all of a sudden I was expected to be his personal servant. Compensation for being smarter than him, I think. He resented it."

  "I'm sorry."

  I shrugged. “Not your fault. I shouldn't have gotten in a hurry."

  "Yes, but ... well, I believe I'm more intelligent than Kyle, but he doesn't resent it. In fact, he seems ... grateful? No, that's not the word. He admires my intellect and finds uses for it but manages to forget it most of the time and always when we're intimate. It makes life wonderful.” She hugged herself. “I love him so much. I still don't really understand why so many couples aren't happier but I'll admit most humans are still puzzling to me."

  "Join the crowd. We are a crazy, ornery species. There's usually some good even in the worst of us and some bad in the best, and all of us have our quirks."

  "Yes. Each of you is so different from the rest. I believe that's part of what gives the human species so much potential. What makes you so dynamic. Once your lives are extended and the race has existed another hundred thousand years or so, you'll have the greatness of humanity spread galaxy-wide. My own opinion, I admit."

  Well, she sure didn't think small!

  "Tell you what, grab another drink and I'll show you our shop, as I call it. It's near here. Right now it's just me, Ishmael on a part time basis, and a microbiochemist and physicist plus a couple of wizard technicians. We're still missing a neurologist but so far Gene hasn't found one that's suitable."

  * * * *

  Jeri's “shop” consisted of a number of rooms or bays. Some were devoted to research. There was a main computer room with which individual units were interfaced but that, for security reasons, was not connected to the internet. There was also her office, another office divided into cubicles, and a small kitchenette where individuals could get a bite to eat or something to drink at odd times during the day.

  She took me to her office first. She went to the coffeepot and started it going. “The most important instrument in the shop. Stimulants like this drink I'm holding were something new to me. As Crispies, we never used them, but as a human, I think all of us will probably like coffee as much as Ishmael and I do. In fact, I believe your psychologists have missed a factor in the evolution of civilization that's obvious to me."

  "Are you talking about coffee?"

  "Yup. It energizes the body and stimulates original thought. Look back to the time when coffee use became widespread and cheap enough for the masses to afford in some areas, then look and see how much faster inventions and innovation occurred there. The exception is the Islamic culture. Their religion stifles originality."

  I thought about it and decided Jeri had hit on a not very obvious truth. So little recognized, in fact, that no one ever noticed the connection between caffeine consumption and the ever-faster advance of technology. It made me wonder how many other observations that members of a different species might make about us—and vice versa. If we ever found them, that is.

  There was a bit of small talk as she gave me the tour while the coffee was brewing. I was introduced to the husband and wife team of Eugene and Margie Preconder. Her doctorate was in quantum physics and Eugene was the microbiochemist, a specialty similar to one of my degrees, molecular microbiochemistry, but with subtle differences only apparent to ones who know the fields well. They were cheerful but both looked like they had been working 20-hour days for weeks on end—and later I found out that wasn't far from the truth. Jeri told me the others were off consulting with related specialists.

  Back in her office, Jeri ignored the executive chair behind her desk and seated us opposite each other on the same kind of ultra-comfortable chairs I had found in my suite. She leaned back and crossed her legs while sniffing appreciatively then sipping at the rich Columbian brew. There was nothing at all wrong with her legs. If fact, if I had to bet, I thought that undressed, I wouldn't be able to find a single flaw in her body.

  As if sensing my thoughts Jeri told me the story behind her appearance, making us both laugh at intervals. “Kyle had some collector issues of Playboy he had fallen heir to. When I asked him what kind of woman I should look like he told me to suit myself, but did suggest that so long as I was going to become a human woman I might as well make m
yself into an attractive one. With big boobs, naturally. Well, big enough."

  We giggled. They certainly weren't undersized, but she was built so that she didn't appear top heavy or so large as to be freakish. Men tend to say they like large breasts, but I've noticed it's mostly talk. They really prefer well endowed but proportionally-sized women, ones like Jeri or myself.

  "Anyway, that's where my body came from—straight out of the pages of an old Playboy magazine and sort of like one of Kyle's favorites. The hair color, height and weight in particular. He didn't mention my fanny so I built it to suit myself. The conversion wasn't exactly easy."

  Another giggle then she became more serious. “The human genome is simpler in some ways than a Crispy's, but the genes are much more subject to environmental influences in expression, and most genes also influence expression of others. You know all that of course, but once we get you down to the quantum level you're going to be amazed at how it all ties together.” She frowned. “If we can manage to do so, that is. It's a big problem. We're born with the ability as Crispies and even in human form we retain our perceptive sense. I've been able to manipulate Kyle's genome simply by being with him almost all the time, but it's still a delicate process and isn't something that can be applied generally. For instance, Kyle is much older than he looks. I've gotten his aging factors under control. He could look as young as me but he told me to keep his appearance at the late twenties in order to avoid complications."

  "You better know it!” I exclaimed. I was both enthralled and concerned. “God, Jeri, if the public ever becomes aware you can control the aging process, even individually, the whole world will turn upside down! Everyone over 50 would be after you, and I don't mean just to talk. They'd do damn near anything for the secret, even if you told them there wasn't one."

  "So Kyle told me. Even here, hardly anyone knows about it. I'm telling you only because that's going to be one of your main projects, doing research on how to apply it generally rather than specifically as I've done with Kyle."

  I didn't know what to say to that. Research into the aging process was well funded by the big pharmaceutical companies but their results so far were more propaganda than solid data. And a lot of the so-called anti-aging developments were purely cosmetic, designed to appeal to women. The National Science Foundation had rather heavier going. Funding was held back by a few fundamentalist religious groups touting the Bible's “four score and ten” as the ordained age for all of us. I would be willing to bet that most women would forget their religious teaching in a heartbeat should they have a method of halting or reversing the aging process. The way our species has evolved, physical appearance, particularly for women, means much more than brains in the genetic competition.

  Jeri misinterpreted my befuddled expression. “Don't look so confounded, Mai. I believe it's possible to achieve but there are limits to the time we've been able to devote to it what with getting the ship and crew ready to go. That's always been the top priority. I don't want to even think of what might happen should the Chinese or IC find our home before we do."

  I didn't want to think about that, either. A load of Americans descending on Cresperia would cause upset enough, but if China or the IC made it there first it would be the mother of all cultural conflicts.

  Jeri showed me a few other things around the shop then we wandered back to the party. It was still in full swing. I wound up talking to Ishmael some more. He was polite but I could see the interest in his eyes. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to make love with him. I didn't know whether I would be able to put the image of what he'd looked like before converting to human out of my mind or not. It was probably academic though. There was something about him that put me off stride and I had no intention of becoming anything more than friends with him until I discovered what it was.

  General Haley had Kyle cornered in a little alcove but when he saw Ishmael leave me to go talk to a tall brunette I hadn't met yet, he motioned me over. I hadn't really talked to the general. In fact, I didn't know what his position was.

  "Mai, I think I'm a bad host,” Kyle said. “I never did formally introduce you to General Sam Haley. And Sam, you know Mai will be working at Jeri's place, don't you?"

  "I do now. Sometimes I think people quit telling me things officially once they put that star on my shoulder. I have to find out what's going on through gossip or at parties. Not that we've had much time for that."

  "I'm glad you took time, General,” I said. “It's been fun meeting all these people, although I haven't gotten everyone sorted out yet as to what they do. You, for instance. How come two generals in such a small place?"

  "Right to the point, huh? Well, I won't be around much longer. As soon as the Crispies and engineers tell us the big ship is safe, we're gone. In the meantime, I haven't much to do except shuffle papers and talk to new recruits.” He grinned wryly. “It's pretty hard to plan what you're going to be doing on other planets until you arrive and see what's waiting on you. Other than the Cresperian home planet, of course. We have a couple of diplomats along if we get lucky enough to find it."

  "Sam will be vice captain of the ship on its first expedition,” Kyle told me with a wink. “He's all the time dragging me along on crazy missions."

  "Actually just the opposite, Mai. Kyle got me into this mess to begin with."

  "You two go back a ways, I take it?” I could see the easy familiarity between the two, and Kyle had called him ‘Sam.’ They would almost have to be old friends, a general and a warrant officer being that close.

  "We certainly do. I had a nice peaceful job doing next to nothing, then one day I get this call from my buddy here and it's been nothing but trouble ever since."

  "You wouldn't have missed it for anything, you old fake,” Kyle said, grinning.

  He laughed easily. “You're right, but I'm ready for something new. Two generals in a place this small is one too many."

  "I wish I were going with you,” I said wistfully.

  "Patience. Most of the people we're recruiting are ones who we hope will eventually man our ships."

  "I'd like that,” I said simply. “Now, I want to ask you a question and hope security won't prevent you from answering it."

  "You can always ask."

  "Why was the plane I was in shot at? Surely I'm not that important to terrorists."

  "I wondered when you'd bring that up. Some bright paper shuffler near the top of the Intel heap got the idea to provide a leak that the plane you were on was carrying a Crispy. They were hoping that once we took out the bad guys that shot at us they'd think they killed Ishmael, especially since we provided a plane that actually did go down. I would have stopped it had I known, or tried to anyway. It was a harebrained idea to begin with and you're damn lucky you weren't shot down. Thing is, the group that popped that missile turned out to be a cell we didn't even know about and the intentional leak told them someone on the plane was important, maybe even a Crispy. You can see from that how serious this underground war is, though. And now that it's over and you're safe, I'll have to admit the bad guys might have been thrown off course and we picked up some bad guys we otherwise wouldn't have known about."

  I didn't comment, but the general had just told me we were fighting a war. Undeclared, but a war all the same.

  * * * *

  As time passed I learned just how vicious and dangerous the fight to control Crispies and their technology was. Neither of them told me but I found out later from sources here and there that Kyle and Jeri had flown the first test model FTL ship from desperation rather than choice. And it was from China, not one of our spaceports, and it crashed coming back to Earth in America, damn near killing them both.

  That happened when a team including them had infiltrated into China in an attempt to bring out a Crispy by any means possible whether it wanted to come or not. It didn't, or rather he didn't because the Crispy had converted to a human male by the time they arrived and he had gone way around the bend. He called hims
elf Lau and was intending to pilot himself back to Cresperia while leaving the Chinese with plans for more starships.

  Just to prove he was nuts he'd made a gross error in both ships. The one Kyle and Jeri stole malfunctioned in orbit and they had to get back in a reentry capsule that wasn't well designed, causing them to crash. The other caused a giant explosion that wiped out the Chinese space launch facility and everything around it when it was tested.

  They also didn't mention how close they both came to buying the farm while making another rescue attempt in Iran, successfully that time. Nice introduction to the human species, huh?

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  CHAPTER TEN

  Working with Jeri was an education in itself. For one thing, she didn't always think or act like a woman. Having been human for less than a year she was still learning the nuances, the little intricacies of interpersonal relationships that make social interactions work. Even wearing her wedding ring, she got propositioned occasionally by newcomers to the enclave, men who thought they just had to try to seduce any good-looking woman they met. She still had problems coping with approaches like that.

  I learned that her perceptive sense allowed her to gauge other people's attitudes when she decided to use it. She had to be careful or she would have soon been accused of mind reading, something normal humans simply wouldn't stand for—not unless everyone could do it, and even then I had my doubts about its value.

  I watched her a few days later as I was leaving the cafeteria. I was lagging behind her after stopping to answer a question from someone I'd met earlier. While she was waiting for me to catch up, she was approached by a man I hadn't seen before. He came over to her and began talking. I saw her flash her ring, but it didn't even slow him down. Then she leaned close to his ear and whispered something that caused him to blush a violent red. He stuttered and left, walking quickly.