Ammonite Planets (Omnibus): Ammonite Galaxy #1-3 (83 page)

“I would like to discuss the donor apprentice program on Valhai,” she began. “There are things which you should know about the way the program is run.”

The Xianthan frowned. “I am aware that there were some most unwelcome revelations last year,” he said. “But it was my understanding that the deficiencies in the program had been eliminated, and that the new program is going to be quite acceptable to all parties.”

“Then you have been wrongly informed.”

He looked more closely at her. “Forgive me, but are you a competent person to hold these opinions?”

“I am telling you the truth. The new donor apprentice program that the Sellites are planning to put in place will be very similar to the old one. They will sequester 14-year-olds from the Sacras system, hold them in cells and submit them to intensive schooling until they are 16, and then extract their genetic material without consulting them. The
Valhai
will be eliminated, as before, or held in cells until they die. Nothing will really have changed.”

“This is not possible. We have assurances that the whole structure has been changed, and that all the
Valhai
are volunteers.”

“That is not true.”

The director clutched at his hair, and looked very taken aback. “That would be unacceptable to the Xianthans. It would be very poor colour. But we must have volunteers for the donor program. If we do not, our population will plummet and we will no longer be able to exist as a nation. The program is absolutely vital to our existence.”

Grace knew that he was speaking the truth. “I think I can help you,” she began. “But you will have to enter into negotiations directly with the Coriolans and the Kwaidians.”

“We could never do that! How could we contact them? We have no spaceships, no form of travel unless the Sellites take us.”

“That is no longer strictly true. If the orthogel entity is involved, he can transport you to Coriolis, or even to the space station in orbit above Kwaide. You could, if he is prepared to help, organize collection of genetic material on a purely voluntary basis. There is no need to extract the totality of the genetic material from each subject. The Sellites only do that to make the donor program more profitable. You must cut the Sellites out of the proceedings.”

“We cannot afford to take risks!”

“There is no colour in the arrangements with the Sellites. Surely that must be unacceptable practice to a Xianthan.”

The man looked very uncomfortable. “I must think about what you have said. You need to give me a day to contact my superiors, to pass on your comments. If you would like to return tomorrow at the same time, I will be able to give you more of an answer then.

Grace stood up. “I understand.”

THE PHYSICIAN STARED at Diva and pulled at his beard for a few moments. “Hmm. A tricky problem. There are so few Xianthans who are licensed to become donors themselves, you see. And we have so little time to complete the fertilization before the oocytes become unviable.” He stroked the grey hairs on his chin again, thoughtfully. “Of course, one doesn’t like to put oneself forward, but since one has spent one’s whole life in this protected bunker, one is one of the few Xianthans who would be acceptable as a donor.”

Diva gazed at the speaker. He was wrinkled, rather unprepossessing and there was a dribble of saliva traversing a crevice down his cheek.
 

“So kind,” she said, feeling back with one hand to grab Six’s arm and tug him forward, “but my friend here has already volunteered.”

“Hey!” protested Six. “Hang on a minute, I—”

“—And since he is Kwaidian, and was an apprentice himself, it is the ideal solution, don’t you think?”

The functionary looked extremely disappointed. “If you say so,
Valhai
Diva.” He scrutinized Six carefully. “Although he doesn’t appear to have come from particularly strong stock, if you ask me.”

“And who was asking you, old man?” Six prickled up immediately.

Diva treated Six to one of her famous glares.

“What? Well, really Diva! You can’t seriously expect me to father fifty children with you when you know you said you wouldn’t have anything to do with—”

Diva glared again. “I thought we had agreed that you owed me a favour.”

“
A
favour, I said.
One
small favour! You know, like buying you a Mesteta Pie. I don’t think you have quite grasped the concept of a favour! You’re as bad as Arcan.”

“I am asking you as a friend, Six. It seems a very small thing to ask.”

“Huh! It might seem like a small thing to you, but have you stopped to think that I might not want to be a father?” He thought for a long moment, and then gave a theatrical shudder. “And it’s odds on to a vaniven they would all inherit your character!”

“And just what is wrong with my character, nomus? You are a fine one to talk!”

“—If the Kwaidian is unwilling to volunteer,
Valhai
Diva,” interrupted the functionary, “my offer to donate still stands.” He tried to smile, and Diva noticed a few yellowing remnants of food caught between the uneven teeth. She stifled a gag, and signed urgently on Six’s hand.

Six was instantly still. He had almost forgotten about the time spent in the orthobubbles on Valhai, when the only contact they had with anybody except Atheron had been through signing. Diva was only repeating one word, but the way she was doing it was enough to convince him. It brought back times when he was wholly dependent on her for his very sanity. ‘Please’, she was drumming into his fingers, “Please.”

It was impossible to ignore the rush of feeling that nostalgic touch had caused in him. He raised his eyes skywards and stepped forward. “I am willing to volunteer, I suppose. Tell me, what exactly does it entail?”

The man nodded and bustled about the office. He picked up a syringe of quite horrifying proportions and bandied it in front of Six’s face. “Only that I take a sample with this.”

Six took in the size of the syringe, thought about the prospective process for a few seconds, and then gave a gulp, as certain parts of his anatomy automatically migrated vertically upwards.

Diva smiled happily, showing her perfect row of teeth. “See,” she said, “nothing to it. Easy as bathing in wine!”

“Easy? Easy! This … this … err … gentleman is going to stick that enormous great needle in me! Nothing to it?
Nothing to it
? I bet you wouldn’t say that if you were me. Huh!”

“Oh, come ON! There is no need to exaggerate. It is hardly a major operation, now, is it? Just a tiny jab.”

Six’s throat was dry, and he swallowed. “You are a girl,” he pointed out rather unnecessarily, “you wouldn’t understand.” She held his gaze. He swallowed again, and then eventually blew a resigned sigh. “Oh, very well. Go on then! Let’s get the thing over with.”

The man who contrived children scuttled forward. “You must disrobe, then,
Valhai
Six.”

Six’s head came up at the Xianthan’s use of the honorary title.
Valhai
?

“—Diva, you won’t be the only
Valhai
after this!” Then he realized that Diva was still standing there. “Don’t ever call me that again,” he instructed the old man. “I don’t like titles.” Then he turned to Diva. “And you can just remove yourself while this poor man is doing his job. I have no intention of stripping down if you are gaping at me.”

“You should be so lucky … oh, very well!”

“Though with fifty children in common, perhaps we should get to know each other better?”

“Dream on, Kwaidian. Dream on!” Diva abandoned the chamber hurriedly, missing Six’s grin.

—Which soon turned into a grimace, followed by horror and then gritted teeth. Damn it, Diva, he thought to himself. You are always causing me grief! From the moment you stepped on my foot in that Coriolan space station you have been nothing but trouble. “OUCH!!!”

AFTER THREE LONG hours of waiting Diva was at the end of her patience. When the door to the chamber finally opened she leapt to her feet.

“What took you so long?” she demanded.

Six stared at her for quite three seconds, and then replied in a high-pitched parody of her own voice, “Thank you so much Six, how are you?”
 

Diva looked rather taken aback. “Oh. Well, err … yes, how are you?”

“That is better. I am rather less complete than a few hours ago, but apart from that I am in remarkably good health, thank you.”

“Thank you for … that is …”

“My pleasure. Just don’t ever ask me to do that for you again!”

“As if I could! You know full well that I have no genetic material left now.”

“My heart bleeds. You only have a gazillion children being brought up on Xiantha, apart from the fifty you are about to have with me.”

“They were torn out of me! I didn’t agree!”

“Yes.” Six thought back to the huge syringe, and blenched. “I think I know how you feel.”

“Did it all go well? Was the procedure successful? Will all the oocytes be fertilized?”

“Yes, yes, and I don’t know. Why don’t you ask the functionary, instead of me?”

Diva hastened to do just that.
 

The Xianthan looked smug. “Indeed,
Valhai
Diva, everything has gone exactly according to plan. The new Xianthans we have created must remain here until a few months after birth, and then we will decide where they are to be placed. Regulations require for them to be delivered to an adoptive family at that age, and I am afraid that our current laws don’t allow changes in procedure.”

“I am not sure at the moment what our plans are, but we will stay in contact with you.”

The man bowed. “As you wish. Please remember, though, that these will be Xianthan citizens, as per our agreement with the Sellites, and you may not remove them from Xiantha.”

“I see.” Diva’s eyes flashed, and for a moment she reminded Six of her mother. “I will be in touch with you soon. Thank you for your help.”

“It has been my honour. I never expected to meet a real
Valhai
in my lifetime. We owe the future of our planet to you. Xiantha will always be indebted to the
Valhais
.” He bowed low again, this time encompassing both of them in his obsequies. Six looked away, but Diva returned the bow with a respectful inclination of her own head. She was grateful to the man – he had given her the chance of having her own progeny, and that was a gift she had never expected. Suddenly she thought of her own family on Coriolis. Sacras! This would change everything! She wondered just how her mother and father would react when they found out that they were the proud grandparents of fifty half-Kwaidian children! She couldn’t help giggling.

“What now?” asked Six in a long-suffering voice.

“I was just imagining what my family will say.”

“No prizes for that. They will fall over themselves to pick out the right-sized rexelene block to set me in.”

“That’s just it! I don’t think that they will! You see, on Coriolis a woman is revered for the number of children she has, and her consort …” Diva stumbled over the word, having suddenly realized something, “… her consort is awarded honours correspondingly. I don’t think anybody has ever had more than twenty, so I guess that this might make you one of the most important people on Coriolis!”

“And why should that bother me – it isn’t as if we are married, thank Almagest!” Then he caught sight of her face. “What? What’s wrong? Have I missed something? Did something change while I was inside enjoying having long needles stuck into unmentionable parts of me?”

“Err …” She bit her bottom lip.

Six narrowed his eyes. “What is
that
supposed to mean?”

Diva took a deep breath. “I forgot. That is … I didn’t really think about it until just now.”

“Didn’t think about what? Why do I get the distinct feeling I am not going to like this?”

Diva hesitated, showing a most uncharacteristic reluctance to speak. “You see … oh Lumina!” She drummed her fingers nervously against the table next to her. “You see, on Coriolis we don’t need a marriage ceremony. You are considered married when you … when you have a consensual child with somebody.”
 

“WHAT??!!”

“I said, you are considered married—”

“I heard what you said. Very clearly. You implied that we just got married.”

“That is one way of thinking about it, certainly.”

“And what other way is there, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Well – we would only really be married on Coriolis.”

“Very comforting. Diva, I could strangle you with my own hands right now.”