Chapter 3

I was expecting Bill to arrive early the next morning, so I left the door ajar. When I heard a knock on my hotel room door, I called out, “Come on in, Bill.”

Bill walked into my room with an attractive woman by his side, and she seemed a little uneasy. Bill said, “Doug, this is my wife Susan. Sue, this is Doug.”

Sue offered her hand to me and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Doug. Yesterday, Matt and Bill told me about you and since you are going house hunting today, Matt thought that a woman’s point of view would be helpful.”

I looked to Bill and cocked my head. He said, “Matt and I talked after I dropped you off, yesterday. I let him know what we had planned. He knows that I’m not great at things like this, so he suggested that I have Sue help us. That meant he had to let her in on the secret.

“Sue works for HS as an analyst, and she has the appropriate clearances, so Matt had her come to his office so he could brief her on your situation.”

Sue looked at me and said, “Did you really give Senator Belton a ring worth eleven million dollars?”

I smiled and simply said, “Yes. Do you like jewelry?”

Bill laughed, “Doug, asking a woman if she likes jewelry is a superfluous question. All women like jewelry. There are a few who won’t admit it, or wear it, but watch their eyes and you can tell they like jewelry.”

Bill got a frown of disapproval from Sue for that remark, but he wisely kept any further comments to himself. We left my room to go downstairs and eat.

Once we were seated, Sue asked, “Do you have an idea of where you would like to live and what type of house you want?”

“I’m not sure. Since I want to keep a low profile, I suppose I should avoid the metropolitan area. Perhaps I need an area that will give me some privacy. Vora doesn’t have high mountains like Denver. I think I might like it up in the hills.”

Bill looked at me and asked, “Do you know how to drive a car?”

I looked at him and said, “No, but I am licensed to drive a hover car. From what I’ve seen of driving, it can’t be that different.”

Bill and Sue looked at each other and Sue said, “He needs to stay in town, for now; at least until he gets a driver’s license.”

I decided getting a driver’s license was my number two priority. Number one was finding a place to live.

Bill and Sue looked at each other and discussed different areas of town that might work for me. I reminded them that since I would be representing the Multiverse as its unofficial Ambassador, I needed to live in a very nice part of town and I told them that I needed at least a four-bedroom house with three bathrooms.

Sue asked, “Why do you need such a large place?”

“I don’t like to clean house and I am not a good cook. I plan to have a live-in staff to take care of me and the house, and I will also need office space.”

Sue said, “Four bedrooms should meet your minimum need. However, I have noticed that many people need a room to store things. They think of it as their ‘junk room’.

“If you are a neat and tidy person four bedrooms should be enough, otherwise I would look for a five-bedroom house.”

“I think your idea is good. I’m normally a very organized person, but I will need storage space for my trade goods. I should be able to make do with four bedrooms for the first six months or so. I’ll wait and see what’s available, and then make up my mind.”

After breakfast, the three of us headed for a real estate management company. Bill explained to the receptionist that I was interested in renting a four or five bedroom home in a nice part of Denver, and she escorted us to an agent’s desk.

“Mister Hendricks, this Bob Samuelson. He will be able to help you find what you need.”

After introductions were complete, Bob said, “What can I do for you today?”

Bill explained my needs to the agent. Bob said the agency had several places that might meet my needs, and he took us on a tour of the rentals. One in particular, a furnished house, appealed to me, and Sue said it would work for me. Bill had told me that women seem to have a better idea of functionality in a home than men. We completed the paperwork, and I moved in the next day.

During the next three months, I settled into the house, got my driver’s license, and made a couple of trading hops. I learned that driving a ground vehicle is very different from controlling an air car. When I was not busy on those things, I was doing research. I needed to identify merchandise that would be profitable to take to the Multiverse to sell and merchandise I could bring back and sell on Earth.

Up until now, my trading hops had a single purpose: to build up my finances. I’d not had a specific reason for accumulating wealth. Now I wanted to build a home for myself. I had a ranch style home in mind that would be isolated from people, but still accessible to Denver. Based on the state of my current finances, I should be able to buy a very large parcel of land and pay for the construction of a very large home.

I was tired of cooking, laundry, housework, and living alone; so I was preparing for another trading hop. I intended to pick up two domestic slaves from Slave World to do the housework, and to keep me company in bed at night.

Bill’s two-month assignment to help me had evolved into a permanent, part-time assignment. If I needed help, he would be there to help me in any way that I needed. Recently, he had been helping me with my research. I had succeeded in getting a driver’s license, but I was uncomfortable behind the wheel, and I don’t think I was very good at driving. Of course, I wasn’t ready to admit that publicly. When Bill was around, he would drive me where I needed to go. He was also using his HS position to put me in contact with the people I needed to contact for buying and selling merchandise.

When I mentioned that I intended to buy two slaves for use as my housekeeping staff, Bill was shocked. He explained the laws against slavery in the United States, and the problems I would encounter if I went through with my plan.

I had been thinking of my upcoming trip and the decision I would have to make. I needed some help in making that decision, so I asked him, “Bill, didn’t you mention that you had a wedding anniversary coming up, and wanted to do something special?”

“Yeah, Sue and I were thinking about one of those ship cruises in the Caribbean. The problem is we don’t have enough vacation time and the nice cruises are rather expensive.”

“What if I make a deal with you? I plan to leave on a trading hop, shortly. I was thinking that the two of you might like to go with me. It would give you and Sue firsthand experience with the Multiverse, and I’m sure your superiors would find your assessments useful. I’ll pick up all of our expenses, and if you and Sue are willing to carry some trade goods for me, I’ll pay you for your help. That way you won’t lose financially since you will probably have to take time off without pay. I will be gone for up to four weeks. So, are you interested?”

“Yes, I’m interested. As long as Sue, her boss, and Matt are okay with the idea, count me in. Is there anything special that we will need to bring?”

“No, just bring your toiletries and personal effects, I will provide the rest. We will need to get the two of you some travel clothing and equipment. When we get to Vora, we can get you clothing suitable for wear in the Multiverse so you won’t look out of place.”

That night Bill discussed it with Sue, and she was eager to go, if it could be arranged with her boss, Charlie Stoddard. The next day Bill and I went to Matt’s office to talk with him.

“Morning, Matt, I’ve been thinking about what I could do to thank Bill and Sue for their efforts on my behalf. I had an idea the other day and spoke with Bill about it. It will be good for me, them, and your government.”

“Doug, when someone starts out a conversation like that, it’s time to watch out or you’re going to lose something you value.”

“Now, Matt, it’s not that bad! I was thinking of taking Bill and Sue with me on my next trading trip. They will get to see the Multiverse, and they can file a report on what they observe. The lack of impartial confirmation about what I’ve been saying was one of Senator Belton’s concerns wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was. However, I can’t make it an official trip; and from what you said about the length of your other trips, I don’t think Bill and Sue have enough leave. Can they afford to take that much time off without pay?”

“Your right, Bill said they didn’t have enough leave time. I told them that if they are willing to take time off without pay, and are willing to carry a few trade goods; I’d pick up their expenses, and pay them for their time. I’m thinking that a percentage of the net profits for their time and efforts would be more than they would normally earn at HS. Everyone comes out a winner, that way.”

“That sounds good for them. When on Time Off Without Pay, they can keep what they earn; otherwise, there would be restrictions,” Matt said.

“I don’t know why I have a feeling I may regret this, but okay. I’ll brief Sue’s supervisor Charlie Stoddard, so he understands the whole situation. When do you plan to leave and how long will you be gone?”

I hadn’t explained it to anyone, but I was approaching the point where I had to make a decision about opening Earth to the Multiverse. I was going to open Earth. However, should I do it with or without registering Earth and its universe with the Multiverse? I believed registration would be a good thing for Earth, and for me; and it was the right thing to do. However, my professional honor dictated that I confirm that belief. I needed to determine if the people of Earth could adapt to the Multiverse’s social structure. That was the main reason I wanted to take Bill and Sue with me.

By lunchtime, everything was approved. Bill and Sue were on unpaid leave for a nominal period of four weeks. We were eating lunch at a deli, and were discussing the equipment and clothing they would need while traveling to Vora. They said the best place for that type of clothing was a military surplus store.

I also told them that since they could not speak or read Trade Speak, it would be a good idea for them to bring several books that they would like to read or something else to do. Otherwise, their evenings would probably be boring, especially so when I wasn’t around. But then again, a married couple on their second honeymoon might have other things to do besides read a book.

After lunch, we headed for a surplus store to get them outfitted for the planets we would be on during the trip. We ended up getting each of them two sets of sturdy cotton shirts and pants, a hat, socks, and a pair of boots to wear. Rain gear, backpacks, canteens, a 5-gallon water can, camp knives, MREs, a tent, camp cots, sleeping bags, mosquito netting, electric lanterns, spare lantern batteries, utility harnesses, and web belts.

While standing in line to pay for our items, Sue said, “Doug, I’m a city girl. This is shaping up to be a camping trip and I don’t like camping.”

“It won’t be that bad Sue. It takes about two days to get to Vora from here and the planets we stop on are not inhabited. After each hop, I need to rest for at least an hour, so we may need to sleep out for at least one and possibly two nights. What we are getting is to help keep us comfortable during our trip to Vora. I don’t think we will need everything we buy, but it’s best to be prepared.”

Our next stop was to pick up two large, four-wheel, utility wagons to hold their equipment.

In preparation for this trip, I had visited several gem dealers and purchased gems that I knew were rare in the Multiverse. Most of Earth’s gems are common in the Multiverse. I also discussed which gems Earth dealers would like to buy and how much they would be willing to pay. I came away with a list of gems and a sample of each gem I needed to buy on Gem World.

I had heard of black pepper, and I knew it was not a common spice in the Multiverse. I decided to gamble, so I visited a spice wholesaler and purchased sixteen 5-pound packages of black peppercorns in airtight packages. I decided to have Bill and Sue carry the sugar. They both said that since all they had to do was pick up their packs and hold them until we made a hop, they could easily handle eighty pounds in their backpacks plus their personal items. Therefore, our last stop was at a grocery store for sixteen ten-pound bags of sugar.

I would have to find a variety of Earth commodities to sell in the Multiverse; otherwise, I would depress the price of sugar, which would cause me problems. I also decided to discuss large volume sales of commodities with my trade agents. They should be able to warehouse what they buy and dispose of it at a rate that doesn’t depress the prices. I would also have to find a way to transport large amounts of heavy, bulky commodities.

We left the next day. My first hop was to Wayside, which was what I had started calling the planet where I cached my equipment when I returned to Earth. Considering what I carried when hopping, it wouldn’t be wise of me to take all of my equipment to Earth. When we arrived, Sue was awed by the experience of being on a different planet. Bill already had that experience, but he was still impressed but to a lesser degree.

I knew my homing lock had placed me in the proper clearing, so I walked around its perimeter until I located my equipment. My equipment was comparable to that which I had bought for Bill and Sue, but there were a couple of differences. The first difference was that my equipment was made in the Multiverse and it was superior to their Earth equipment. I planned to get them new equipment before we left Vora. The second difference was that I had some very lethal weapons as part of my equipment.

I had told them that I had stashed my equipment, so they weren’t surprised when I pulled a wagon into the center of the clearing. Nor were they surprised when I started changing clothes. My arming myself surprised them. I just said, “Don’t worry. Some of the planets I have been on in the past are inhabited by dangerous animals. I always carry all of my equipment, so for this trip, my weapons are just a precautionary measure. I haven’t encountered any dangers on the route we will be taking, but you never know.”

I actually didn’t want them armed, so I hadn’t mentioned weapons to them before we left. My training at the University had taught me that armed amateurs could be very dangerous. Actually, Bill and Sue weren’t amateurs when it came to weapons, but they had no knowledge or experience with these weapons. I also didn’t want them shooting at something peaceful that startled them. I would have to teach them how to recognize dangerous animals. I would also have to educate them on other things during the rest periods between hops, get them weapon’s training, and buy weapons for them to carry during our return trip.

Hopping to Vora was as boring as it normally is for me. Once the novelty of arriving on a new planet wore off, Bill and Sue found hopping boring also. It’s surprising how much one undeveloped planet looks like another undeveloped planet. When I had only one more hop to reach Vora, I cached our equipment on the planet. I called the planet First Stop, as in First Stop from Vora, but the planet’s name was actually John’s Planet. From this point on, the only things we would carry would be my trade commodities and our personal belongings.

I set my point of arrival to just outside of my parents’ home and hopped us to Vora. It was mid-morning and my parents weren’t home. The three of us went inside and I had them drop our things in my bedroom. I locked the bedroom door, left my parents a note, and left the house to take Bill and Sue to the nearest medical center. The center was only a mile away, so I decided we could walk. It would give them a chance to look around and we could talk.

“The first thing we need to do is go to a medical center. There is a center fairly close to here, so I think we should just walk. You will undoubtedly see many strange things, so don’t hesitate to ask me about them.”

“Why do we need to go to a medical center?” Bill asked. “Are you sick?”

I chuckled at that and said, “No, I’m not sick. When I was born, I was fitted with what is called a ’splinter’. It’s a form of identification that also contains a great deal of information about my genetic makeup and me. This information is used in many ways within the Multiverse. For example, there is no way for Multiverse citizens to know what’s in many of the dishes served in restaurants. When I take a trip and go out to a restaurant, I often encounter new dishes. My waitress reads my genetic code with her order pad while she takes my order. If I order a dish that would be harmful to me, her order pad sounds a warning for me to select something else to eat.

“You and Sue don’t have splinters. We will be traveling and you will need them in order to eat at restaurants safely and to do many other things. Don’t worry. The procedure is safe and virtually painless.”

“Virtually. I don’t like the sound of that,” Bill said. “When I was in the service, they would say, ‘It hardly hurts at all.’ We always cringed for we knew it was going to hurt like a mother fucker.”

At about that time a hover car passed overhead and our discussion switched to the different modes of travel that people on Vora use to get around.

I hadn’t told Bill and Sue everything about why I was taking them to a medical center. Getting them inside took a bit of doing for the force barriers only allowed people with splinters to pass. I had Bill and Sue wait for me while I went inside. I explained to the staff that I was a D-Hopper and that Bill and Sue didn’t have splinters, for they were from a planet that I was opening. I had to have the staff temporarily turn the force barrier off, so Bill and Sue could come inside.

When they got inside, Bill and Sue were looking at everything in sight. The force barriers that we used as doors were a new experience for them, and they found many of the things inside fascinating. I escorted them to the reception desk and explained to the staff what I needed.

The staff had never met someone from an unopened planet, so Bill and Sue became instant celebrities. Like most Multiverse citizens, the staff was vaguely familiar with the process of opening a new planet even if they had never participated in the process. They understood what I needed done and why. Bill and Sue were treated as royalty. Once I filled out the paperwork for the insertion of their splinters, I had to accompany them to translate instructions and answer questions.

An hour later, Bill and Sue had been tested and splintered. I also learned that they needed an inoculation, which the doctors provided. When I asked about the shot, the doctor told me that they had a problem with the frequency range we use for speaking. They couldn’t hear the high end of our speech frequency range, but normal speech in the Multiverse would cause them pain. The shot would deaden the ear’s pain receptors that responded to frequencies above 14 kHz. It wouldn’t affect their hearing, but for a period of one year, it would block any pain that they would otherwise endure. Since they weren’t going to be harmed, I decided they didn’t need to know about that aspect of the shot. It would only cause worry and troubles, so we headed back to my parents’ place after I paid the bill.

“Hey, Sue, how does it feel for you and Bill to be celebrities?” I asked?

“What do you mean celebrities?” Bill asked.

“Well, I explained to the staff that you were from an unopened planet, and they have never met someone from an unopened planet. You need to understand that D-Hoppers only open about one planet every ten years.”

That was only true when opening a planet and registering it with the government like I was thinking of doing.

“If the D-Hopper brings one of the planet’s people to the Multiverse that means there are maybe ten visitors every hundred years. They typically only visit three or four planets and there are over ten thousand Member Planets in the Multiverse. You will be celebrities everywhere you go, once the locals learn you are from an unopened planet.”

Sue said, “I thought something odd was going on; but not knowing what normal is, I put it down to being overly sensitive.”

Bill said, “Are you planning to let everyone know who we are? If so, please don’t. Sue and I don’t like being the center of attention like that.”

Sue said, “Yeah, I don’t want everyone around me watching me like a bug under a microscope.”

“All right, guys, but my not letting people know you are from an unopened planet may not be a good thing. You need to understand that Earth’s culture and the Multiverse’s culture are similar; but similar is not identical. Your mannerisms, body language, and a hundred other things that you are not aware of will be sending a message that says I’m different. In certain circumstances, that message and your behaviors might be seen as insulting to the people around you. By telling the people we meet that you are from an unopened planet, they should realize that you do not understand Multiverse culture, and any offensive conduct on your part is most likely unintentional.

“My question to you is do you want to deal with the attention, or with upset people who feel insulted by your actions?”

Bill and Sue thought about that and after a whispered conversation, Bill said, “We hadn’t thought of it like that. We certainly don’t want to insult anyone. Can we keep the notification down to just those that need to know?”

“All right, I’ll keep my mouth shut except for those situations where your actions are likely to be misinterpreted, and those times when I need to explain your behavior and failure to speak Trade Speak,” I said.

By the time we got back to the house, my folks still weren’t home. It was lunchtime and I didn’t really expect them to be home yet. So I commed them to let them know I was here and had brought guests home with me. I only forgot one little thing.

“Hey, Dad, I thought I would let you and Mom know that I was back in town and I brought two Earth people with me.”

“I’m glad to hear from you, Doug. How long are the three of you planning to be here?”

“We’ll stay for at least a day, and come back for a longer stay before we go back to Earth.”

“Your Mother has been listening in and she has daggers in her eyes, so I better put you on before she kills me.”

“Doug, tell me you didn’t let visitors into my house before I had a chance to straighten it up.”

Aww, shit! I was in trouble, now. Mom’s house is always neat, so I had forgotten her habit of cleaning house before a guest arrives even though it didn’t need it.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I checked to make sure everything was okay. I didn’t find anything out of place or dirty.”

“Don’t try putting me off, Doug! I know you, and I know you couldn’t see dirt if it was on the end of your nose. We’ll be home in ten minutes. Try to not let them see anything that would cause me embarrassment.”

With that parting broadside, she hung up. I explained the problem to Bill and Sue. Bill looked around and agreed that nothing was dirty or out of place. All Sue said was, “Men! None of you understand. I should have thought of it, but I’m so tired I’m dead on my feet.”

“I’m sorry, guys. I’m so used to hopping that I forgot how exhausting it is for someone who is not accustomed to it.”

I got a dirty look from my Mom when she and Dad arrived, but she was pleasant when I introduced her to Bill and Sue. She immediately welcomed them into their home.

Lying to my Mom wasn’t a good thing to do. Having her angry with me seemed worse, so I continued my small lie. “Mom, I’m sorry. I know the house is always perfect. I checked, but like I said there was nothing out of place.”

I must have mollified her to some extent for she didn’t blast me as I thought she would. Maybe Bill and Sue’s presence saved me. Then again, she probably decided to just drop the issue for now.

“Mom, this is the first time that Bill and Sue have gone hopping, and it took us over two days to get here. They’re tired. If you don’t mind, I think it would be best to let them nap until dinner.”

Mom headed for the guest bedroom motioning for Bill and Sue to follow. I said, “Follow her. She is going to show you to the guest bedroom, and I’ll be right behind you.”

Mom ushered them into the room and showed them where the bathroom was. Once Mom left, I took Bill and Sue into the bathroom and demonstrated how the toilet, shower, and sink worked. It’s a little different from Earth plumbing. I then showed them how to use the slide pad to turn the lights on and off. Once again, Multiverse light switches are different. It wasn’t necessary to show them how to use the bed. As I left the room, I told them I would wake them when dinner was almost ready.

I found out at the clinic, that Bill and Sue were ninety-eight percent compatible with the rest of the Multiverse’s humans. Since I had no problems with Earth foods, except sugar, I figured they wouldn’t have any problem with Vora’s foods.

Note: The environment of the different planets in the Multiverse has evolved humans’ physical characteristics. Most of these physical changes are insignificant to what it means to be human, but sometime the changes are significant enough to consider the people to be a new human-like species. On a few worlds, this evolution has created species that are no longer physically compatible with the rest of the Multiverse’s population. The Multiverse Government created a classification guide for determining whether a species was human. For a planet to join the Multiverse as a Trade World, the inhabitants of the planet must be at least eighty-five percent compatible with the characteristics specified by the classification guide.

I told Mom that there should be no problem with food allergies and why. She gave me another look, and reminded me we didn’t have splinter readers to check for food allergies. She commed the clinic, told them who she was, and that she was hosting the Earth humans they tested earlier today. She then asked if they would have problems with our foods. The clinic reassured her that the foods grown on Vora and our other food products would be safe for them. They did caution her about not serving them off planet products for they were allergic to a number of organic foods grown on other planets.

For the rest of the afternoon, we talked. A lot of our talk was Mom scolding me for not thinking of my guests and then her telling me about the proper way to care for them. The rest of the time was taken up by me giving my parents one of my five-pound packages of black peppercorns, a gemstone for each of my siblings, and a box containing the sample chips of earth woods that I had promised one of my brothers on a prior trip. They felt that the bag of peppercorns was far too expensive of a gift, but I assured them that as a D-Hopper, I had obtained the peppercorns at an insignificant price. We went through the chips of wood, and my folks thought that a few of them might be marketable commodities.

We got Bill and Sue up to eat. They ate but they were so out of it, we sent them back to bed as soon as they finished eating.

After a hearty breakfast the next day, I took them to see my Trade Agent, Carol Matts, to arrange for three Letters of Introduction. It was an interesting experience.

I introduced them, and gave Carol an explanation of who they were. I would periodically interrupt my talk with Carol to explain to Bill and Sue what was going on. I told Carol about the business I was going to be doing on Gem World, Spice World, and Slave World and needed her to provide me with Letters of Introduction to reliable and trustworthy agents on each world. While she prepared the letters, I explained the significance of the letters to Bill and Sue. I didn’t name the planets we would visit for I wasn’t ready to explain my reasons for going to Slave World.

The distance between planets makes it impossible to comm someone on another planet and talk with them. Thus, some of the information normally included on a Letter of Introduction was missing. There was no negotiated price for merchandise, and no bonus commission; otherwise, it was a standard Letter of Introduction addressed to an agent she had referred customers to in the past.

I had also been thinking about the house I would build on Earth. Therefore, I gave her a list of equipment that I thought I might need for the home I planned to build. I told her that right now, I was primarily looking for pricing of equipment that met the criteria I specified on the list and the lead-time for ordering the equipment. She agreed to act as the purchasing agent for my equipment and we agreed upon a commission. I also paid her for the Letters of Introduction.

We returned home, and after lunch, Mom and I took Bill and Sue shopping for clothes suitable for wear in the Multiverse. Mom and Sue couldn’t understand a word the other said when we left the house. After an afternoon of shopping, they had bonded. Since Sue was unable to pronounce our language, Mom learned enough Earth words for them to make their opinions of clothes known to each other. Bill and I decided it was a woman thing.