Yuen-Mong's Revenge (32 page)

     
She could feel Ko Young’s focus on her and turned to him again.

     
"Yuen-mong, your resemblance to my dear sister is extraordinary and
seeing you I have not the slightest doubt that you are her daughter. We
are naturally all sad to hear that both your mother and father are dead and
we will have a suitable ceremony in their honor in the near future. I will
try my best to be your guardian and give you guidance in what must be
a completely foreign world to you."

 
     
"Thank you, uncle, for your concern. I will be glad to receive your
advice." She discerned the slight perturbation of his mind and added:
"Syd has already been of great help."

 
     
"And now I will introduce you to your grandfather. Please, come with
me." He led her to the wide staircase that wound up in a three-quarter
circle to the next floor. The four young people followed. She noticed that
Syd remained behind and turned to him: "Syd, thank you."

 
     
As she climbed the stairs, she reached out to find the mind of an old
man, but could sense nothing except the people around her who gave her
mixed messages, ranging from curiosity to resentment. At the top of the
stairs, an attendant opened both panels of a door leading into a large hall.
A rich patterned carpet stretched all the way to the alcove at the other end
of the hall where a white-haired man sat in a throne-like chair, holding
a real book in his hand. He placed it on the table behind him when they
entered.

     
Ko Young put his hand on her back and led her along. She kept her
head bent, eyes cast down, trying without success to penetrate the old
man’s mind. When she was about ten feet from the chair, she knelt
gracefully, keeping her head bowed and waited. She sensed the surprise
of the people behind her who had come to a halt too. Nobody spoke. The
seconds slowly ticked away.

     
"Please leave us alone," a deep, rich voice ordered. Again she sensed
confusion and irritation. After a moment of hesitation, she heard steps
retreat and the door close.

     
"So you are Yuen-mong — complete the dream, my daughter’s
dream."

 
     
Yuen-mong raised her head and embraced him with one of her smiles
she knew could melt the coldest heart. "Yes, grandfather. It was my
mother’s dream that one day she would be able to honor you with her
child — even if only a girl child." A slight twinkle in her eyes betrayed
her humor.

     
Smiling, he said: "It has completed my dream, granddaughter. Rise
and come to me."

 
     
He stretched out his hands, and she approached, placing both of hers
into his.

     
"I have lost a beloved daughter but have gained a granddaughter in
her image. Let me feast my eyes on you … Were it not for your blue eyes,
I would have believed that you were my daughter when I first saw you.
And when you knelt in front of me, like she always did when she came
to see me after a long absence, my heart was both bleeding for her and
rejoicing in you."

 
     
"Thank you, grandfather. I hope that I will honor my mother in your
eyes. I know she loved you very much. She often told me about you."

 
     
"She was my favorite child and I grieved long for her. Did she suffer
when she died?"

 
     
"Yes, grandfather, she suffered saving me from being raped by the
savages on Aros."

 
     
"Yes, she would willingly die to save her child… Please, sit with me
a while before we join the others for a meal." He pointed to the bench
along the window.

     
He wanted to know how her parents had died, about her education and
offered to arrange for private tutoring to get her ready for university.

     
"I have instructed my son, Ko, to be your guardian. Your mother and
your father were both wealthy, and he will look after your interests. I
would like that you live in my house. It is big, and the apartment your
mother had before she got married is yours. It can be made ready by
tomorrow."

 
     
"Thank you, grandfather. I hope you will not think that I am ungrateful or disrespectful for what I’m going to say now. I have had to look
after myself alone for the last eight years in a world full of dangers,
where even the slightest mistake or inattention could have meant death.
I’m used to make my own decisions and I intend to continue this even in
my new life." She met his gaze firmly. For the first time she sensed a
strong response in him, and it was positive, affirming. "I will ask for help
and listen carefully to advice offered, but the final choice will be mine,
as will the responsibility for its consequences. There is no disrespect
intended or given."

 
     
He smiled and said: "You sound like the true child of my daughter."

 
     
"Yes, she taught me to be independent, or I would not be here in front
of you now." She rose and again took his hand. "Please, grandfather, if
you loved your daughter, grant me the responsibility for my actions. I
will respect and love you all the more for it."

 
     
He searched her eyes. It felt as if he were reaching inside her.
Is he an
empath?
was her fleeting thought.

     
"How can I deny this wish to you when you put it this way?"

 
     
"Thank you, grandfather." She bent down and kissed his forehead.

     
He held on to her hand and smiled. "Does this mean that you will not
live in my house? You know, you are still welcome."

 
     
"Yes, at least for the time being. You know that I didn’t escape from
Aros alone, but with Atun Caruna, who crashed near my cave. He has
been my companion for almost six months now and I intend to stay with
him."

 
     
"You realize that this is against the covenant?"

 
     
"Yes, but on Aros the covenant was hardly of any relevance and by
the time I learned about it, I had made my choice … and I never regret a
choice, I only learn from it."

 
     
"Well spoken, but the Foundation covenant is a living thing. Your
particular situation can easily be accommodated, and I can arrange a
highly advantageous marriage with one of the prime families. I can even
offer you a choice of possible mates. You will surely find one that will
be agreeable to you."

 
     
"Grandfather, I know that you only have my best interests in mind.
But, as I said, I made my choice and I intend to honor it."

 
     
He looked at her silently for a moment and then said: "The Foundation values honor. That was the reason for bringing in the covenant.
Bring Atun Caruna to me. I want to know him. And now come, Yuen-mong, we cannot let my son wait any longer."

 
     
He rose and they walked slowly down the carpet. She opened the door
for him and let him go through first, aware of the questioning looks and
impatient minds that met them.

     
She was seated to the left of her grandfather who was at the head of
the table, her uncle at the other end. Bee and Mai sat next to her, Pat and
Susan across from them. After everybody was seated and their glasses
filled with champagne, her grandfather cleared his throat to draw
attention to him.

     
"Today is a day of deep sadness and a day of great joy for me. Sadness
to hear of my daughter’s tragic death, joy to welcome my granddaughter
into our family. Let us raise our glasses in her celebration."

 
     
They all raised their glasses stiffly and then took a sip.

     
Pat was the first to address her. "This must be your first champagne,
dear cousin. No such luxuries on Aros, I presume." He broke into a goat-like snicker.

     
She met his gaze firmly and noticed that his tended to fade away. "No,
there was neither the leisure nor the desire for intoxicating beverages in
a world where every step can quickly become your last. But Atun Caruna
and I celebrated our escape from Aros with a Daniel Le Brun 2404."

 
     
"Daniel Le Brun from Old Earth?" mused her grandfather. "A 2404
on top. I’m afraid, Pat, that beats this one."

 
     
"Yes, there was one in the space craft my parents parked at the edge
of the Aros’ ring and it had waited there patiently for over 20 years."

 
     
Pat shrugged his shoulders and said: "I was going to mention that
craft later on, but might as well now. You know that this craft belongs to
the research arm of UniCom. As it happens I’m in charge of the UniCom
fleet and that includes that ship. I’ll take it off your hands. Where did you
land?"

 
     
All eyes were on her, and she responded with a smile. "Cousin, it
pains me to tell you that this craft was lost for more than ten years and
therefore does not belong to UniCom any longer, but to me and Atun
Caruna as the ones who recovered it."

 
     
She noticed her grandfather’s amused eyes, as he watched Pat’s
reaction, and felt the rising irritation of the latter.

     
"That’s a minor legality, and I would severely frown on it if you
didn’t return it as the rightful property of UniCom."

 
     
Sensing her grandfather’s urge to intervene, she preempted him:
"Cousin, frowning will not get you anywhere. I have plans to use this
lovely, antique ship to visit Aros again and intend to keep it."

 
     
Pat went crimson, but before he could respond, her uncle intervened,
in an obvious attempt to change the subject: "You were extremely
fortunate that this ship was still there. Was it fully functional? I guess it
must have been or else you would not have made it back to Andromatis."

 
     
"Yes, it was. Only the navigational atlas needed updating. It obviously
was twenty years out of date. We did this on Old Earth."

 
     
"Ah, you stopped over on Old Earth, and how could you pay the
landing fees both there and here?" probed her grandfather. "Did Atun
Caruna have enough credits for that?"

 
     
"We took about ten kilograms of gold along from Aros." She noticed
the surge of interest around the table.

     
"You still have some?"

 
     
"No, Syd Twan sold it for us." A small wave of disappointment
perturbed the minds.

     
"And how did you get access to your parents’ ship?" her uncle
resumed his questioning.

     
"They had given me the access code, but for some reason the shuttle
lock did not want to open. So we ended up space-walking across and left
the shuttle behind. It will remain in orbit around Aros indefinitely."

 
     
"That was brave of you, granddaughter."

 
     
"The timid and fearful do not survive on Aros, grandfather."

 
     
"Did your father by chance also give you the access password for his
research records?" asked Ko Young. "You know that he was a famous
scientist with UniCom."

 
     
That did not take long,
she mused to herself. "No, uncle, but I made
a lucky guess. Both my parents were extremely fond of the ‘Whispers in
the Wind’ poetry. In fact, a leather-bound copy of the book was lying on
a low table in the ship lounge when we entered, as if its owner had just
placed it there and would be back shortly." Her last words said very
softly brought tears to her eyes.

     
Her grandfather patted her hand. She felt understood. Regaining her
calm, she continued: "And that also turned out to be the password… Not
that we understood much of what was on those files. If UniCom is
interested in getting them, we would be happy to download them for
you."

 
     
"I doubt that there is anything of much interest to us anymore. It has
been over twenty years, and things have made big strides, although it
would be appropriate to add it to our historical records. I will ask one of
our scientists to arrange it with you. He will call you here."