Chapter 19

I was awakened at 2:00 in the morning by the siren alert of my comm unit. Someone had sent me a Twixt, and they had flagged it as urgent. By the time I got to my comm unit, my eyes were open far enough for me to read the message.

The message read, ‘Urgent you and Abby return to my office at once, Kevin Moore.’

I went down the hall and knocked on Abby’s bedroom door. When she said to come in, I opened the door, and said, “You need to get up and dress. We need to leave for Vora as soon as we can. I don’t think we will stay long, but pack a change of clothes just in case.”

I went to Stenn and Victor’s rooms, and told them the same thing.

I commed Kendrick and woke him up. “Kendrick, this is Doug. I’m sorry about comming this early, but I just received an urgent Twixt from Guild Master Kevin Moore. He needs Abby and me in his office as soon as we can get there.

“Hopefully, this won’t take too long, and we will be able to leave for Balsam this afternoon as we planned. I’ll twixt you if we need to change plans.”

“Okay, Doug, good night.”

It sounded as if Kendrick was only half-awake. I hope he remembers our conversation when he finally gets out of bed.

I had disturbed Charyl when I went to wake up Stenn and Victor. She insisted we have something to eat before we left. I couldn’t think of anything that Kevin might want that couldn’t wait for ten minutes, so we all had a bowl of cereal before we left.

My bodyguards preceded Abby, Sto, and I into the reception area of Kevin’s office, “Good morning, Ann. Kevin sent me a message that he needed to speak with me immediately.”

“Yes, Doug, Master Moore is expecting you. Please come with me.”

My two bodyguards verified Kevin’s office was safe and then remained in the reception area while Abby and I talked with Kevin.

Sto had not liked being awakened so early, and I heard him grumpily mumbling, “Sto know safe. Why no one ask Sto? Sto tell them.”

Once Abby and I were seated, Kevin handed me a piece of paper and said, “After you left the other day, I sent this report to the committee to inform them that a Diplomatic Officer by the name of Abby White had been appointed by the Earth Government to support your mission on a full-time basis. I gave them her title also. I also indicated that Miss White had come with you so she could gain some experience with Multiverse culture.

I read his report. “It looks complete and accurate to me. Is there a problem with it?”

“No, there is no problem with my report. I suspect that the person who received my report briefed their superior, Councilman Cain Warton, on your progress. As you know, the leaders of the committees that handle most of the Multiverse Government’s business are made up of the Councilmen and Councilwomen that make up the Council of Affiliated Worlds. In other words, they are all professional politicians.

“It’s Councilman Warton’s job to monitor Earth’s progress, and it appears that he decided that Miss White’s presence in the Multiverse could be looked at as an official visit by a ‘Roving Ambassador’ from Earth.

He handed me a second piece of paper and said, “I received this directly from Councilman Warton. As you can see, he is inviting you and Ambassador White to pay them a visit, so he can meet with the Earth’s Ambassador before she presents her credentials.”

“Kevin, Abby wasn’t sent to the Multiverse to represent Earth. I didn’t see anything in your report that would lead him to the conclusion that Abby is an Ambassador.”

“That was my first thought also, Doug. I reread the message I sent and I was very clear in it that she was here on a personal visit. I suppose it’s possible that her title may have misled the Councilman, but he should have known I would have specifically said Ambassador if it were appropriate.

“You may not be aware of it, Doug, but Earth sending an Ambassador to the Multiverse is an important milestone in the process of Earth being admitted to the Multiverse. Councilman Warton may have a professional agenda in identifying Miss White as an Ambassador. I suspect that your being the primary heir to the Archer Family fortune may also have something to do with the invitation.”

“Oh, shit. This is probably the last thing I needed to have happen on this trip. I wanted to make it a quick in and out trip. Is there some way that I can diplomatically avoid meeting with the Councilman?”

“I suppose you could, but you will need the Councilman’s support in the coming years. In my opinion, this is one of those ’you can’t say no or else’ invitations. I’ve received a number of those as a Guild Master, so I know how you feel. Shall I twixt the Councilman to let him know when you can be there?”

“Yes, but let me explain this to Abby first.”

When I finished explaining the situation to Abby, all she said was, “Oh, Frizzle!”

“Abby angry. Abby want go home. Sto not understand anger. Someone hurt Abby?”

I thought back, “No, Sto, no one has hurt Abby. I don’t know why she is upset.”

“Frizzle? What does frizzle mean?”

“Oh, in my position, it’s extremely inappropriate to voice the four-letter expletives that I would like to use. So when I get angry, irritated, frustrated, or exasperated, I say Frizzle. It serves the same purpose and it’s a socially acceptable word.”

“Oh! What are you angry about? We can go to Timson and meet with the Councilman. We can explain the situation to him, and resolve the misunderstanding.”

“You don’t understand, Doug; I’m frustrated, not angry.

“During my last assignment, I was thrown into the middle of a very political situation in the Middle East. Our negotiator was in an automobile accident and was to be hospitalized for at least a week. My superiors sent Foreign Service Specialist A. White to replace him in some moderately important negotiations without realizing I was a woman. The politicians I had to deal with were male Muslims, and they decided to take offense that the US State Department had sent a woman to deal with them. In their culture, women are nothing but breeders and servants. They indicated that my presence was an official insult, and I was recalled.

“Our politicians wanted me fired. My boss assured me that he understood that I didn’t cause the situation, and that I had done nothing to antagonize them. He said the Arabs just wanted something to use as an excuse in order to create a stronger negotiating position, and whoever had selected me was to blame for the incident that the Ambassador was working to resolve becoming a nightmare.

“When the Secretary asked for a diplomatic officer to serve as an interface with an important foreigner, my boss saw the assignment as a way to get me out of the public eye. At least until the Ambassador had resolved the problem with the Arab leaders and political tempers had cooled. I don’t think he realized that I would be assigned as liaison officer to the first extraterrestrial Ambassador to visit Earth.

“Now this has come up and it sounds like it could cause problems for me. Especially with my boss as I am required to file a report identifying any foreign officials I contact and the reason for the contact.

“As you can see, I have not had good luck with politicians lately, and this could be a sensitive situation.”

“It’s not that bad, Abby. I will help you explain this to the Secretary. Besides, if they get upset and think you should be removed, I will insist that I am very happy with your performance and want to keep you. If thing get bad, just remember that I supported Matt, Bill, and Sue when they had a problem with HS.”

“That’s true, but they are no longer with HS. I really like the work I do as a Diplomatic Officer, and I want to continue working for the Foreign Service.”

“Sorry to take so long, Kevin. This situation is a problem for Abby, and I had to listen to her explanation in order to determine how we should resolve it. I had planned to leave for Balsam later today; to attend what should be a half-day meeting starting tomorrow morning at 9:00 Balsam time. Once our meeting is over, we should be able to leave Balsam that afternoon. Abby and I will go directly to Timson and resolve this problem.”

“All right, Doug. I will let the Councilman know you will be there in a couple of days, and request that he reserve three hotel rooms for you. I will twixt you on Balsam to let you know what he arranges.”

I hopped the five of us back to the estate on Slave World. On the way, Sto kept chuckling about the promotion that Abby had received. He thought it was going to be a hilarious joke on the Multiverse Government when they learned about their mistake.

“Kendrick speaking.”

“I just got back to the estate, Kendrick. We can leave for Balsam as soon as you and Shelia can get here. I am going to have to go to Timson from Balsam. I recall you mentioning your mom watching your kids, so do you and Shelia want to go with me or return here? I expect this to take one or two days, but it could take longer. You will need to extend your arrangements with her by a couple of days if you want to go with me.

“Thanks for the offer, Doug, but Shelia and I need to get back for another function.”

“All right. When we get to Balsam, we can arrange for a D-Hopper to get you home.”

We left right after Kendrick and Shelia got to the estate. The trip was tiring for Kendrick, Abby, and Shelia for they weren’t used to hopping and I had to make three intermediate stops to get to Balsam. On the way, I explained the problem that Kevin made us aware of that morning.

We arrived in the early evening, so we ended up having a late dinner and going straight to bed. The next morning we had a late breakfast and went straight to the meeting.

We got there a little early and took seats on the platform. Sto wandered off and a few minutes later, I saw him giving the young girl from Cinnity another ride. She was with a friend and had convinced her to try riding on Sto also. Listening in on our link, I heard Sto laughing at their antics. He knew I was paying attention and said, “Sto have new friend. New friend like play. Sto like play. Friends nice to Sto. Play is fun.”

“I agree, Sto, but it is almost time to start. Perhaps you need to rejoin us over here.”

As Sto came up on the platform, I stood and moved to the podium.

“Good morning, everyone. I think everyone here today was at one of the two meetings we held in Cinnity, so in case we happen to have a newcomer with us today, I’m Doug Smith. I have Kendrick and Shelia Jones and Abby White with me today. The other two gentlemen, Stenn and Keith, you already know, since they were sitting with you in Cinnity.

“Kendrick told me that you would like to have a firmer date as to when you will be going to Earth. During our last meeting, I would have given that information to you, but I didn’t know how long it would be. I can now give you a time frame, but exact dates have not been set.

“I am dividing you into three groups. Group 1 contains all of the single personnel. It includes those who have, but are not taking their families to Earth. Group 2 includes everyone who is married and taking their spouse to Earth, but don’t have children. Group 3 is families with children.

“The reason for the groupings is the facilities to support spouses and children are not yet in place.

“My primary adviser back on Earth is Matt Crane. On Earth, they have what are called manufactured homes. These are houses that are built on wheels in a factory, and then towed to wherever they are needed. I tasked Matt with installing some of these homes and other portable buildings on a ranch that I bought. These buildings will be my interim Embassy on Earth.

“I currently have three bodyguards on Earth. When we are ready to move into these homes, I will want twelve security personnel from Group 1, and if necessary some from Group 2, to go with me to Earth. These people will provide area security, since the perimeter’s defensive systems have not been installed.

“The main Embassy building will require more than an Earth year to construct. When it’s ready for occupancy, the remainder of Group 2 will go to Earth. We will live in the Embassy while the remainder of the facility is built. When construction is essentially complete, which I expect to take another two years, the rest of the security personnel and their families will travel to Earth.

“This is the current plan, but it’s not an absolute. If circumstances require someone go earlier or later than scheduled, we can adjust the plan accordingly. As I said, my primary reason behind this plan is that we are not equipped for spouses and kids.

“Sitting around doing nothing for a year or more will be very boring. So for those of you who will be staying for a while, I have asked Kendrick to find useful tasks that will keep you occupied and aid my efforts.

“To simplify meeting with you in the future, I task Kendrick to locate a place within one hop of Slave World for anyone who is interested to residing there. Bedlow is one location that he is considering and Slave World is another. The advantage of selecting Bedlow or Slave World is the Archer Conglomerate has numerous business interests on those planets. The main advantage for you to live at the selected location is you will be the first people contacted if Kendrick needs help. The advantage for Kendrick and me is convenience and the reduction in cost of assembling everyone at Balsam, which is a central location to where everyone is currently living.

“Do you have questions or suggestions at this time?”

A younger man raised his hand and said, “I am in what you define as Group 1. I am seeing a young woman and I feel that our relationship is serious. Can I wait and go later?”

“Yes, as I said the groupings in this plan are for planning purposes. If you decide to wait until Group 2 or 3 leaves, that is okay with me.”

The two young girls who had been playing with Sto raised their hands, and when I nodded to them, one of them asked, “Will Sto be there? We like playing with him.”

“Yes, Sto will be on Earth with me and so will Coral. Do you remember Coral?”

I got a couple of shoulder shrugs indicating Yes, so I looked around for the next person with a question.

A woman toward the back raised her hand. In a timid voice, she asked, “What’s Earth like? Also what’s this Embassy facility going to be like?”

“Those are two good questions. The best way to answer that is to bring you some photos of the ranch I bought, and the surrounding area. My architect has some drawings of what he believes the facility will look like when it’s finished. I will bring those with me also, but the facility is still evolving, so by the time it’s built, it may be very different.”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t clear in my question. When I asked what Earth was like, I meant its people and customs.”

“Oh, that’s different. The people on Earth are very much like the people of the Multiverse. Their language and a few of their customs are very different, but in most things, they are very similar to us. I expect that it will take a couple of years for everyone to adapt to their culture and way of doing things, but it’s not a bad way to live.”

I answered several more questions. When everyone was finished, I said, “Kendrick and Shelia want some additional information from everyone. If you are willing to move to Bedlow or Slave World or if you wish to change the departure date for when you leave, let them know, and we will try to fit your needs into the schedule.

“To start with, I want Group 3 to come forward and talk with either Kendrick or Shelia. When they have your information, you and your family can leave or stay and talk; it is your choice.

“When Group 3 is almost finished, we will do Group 2, and then finally Group 1.”

As I was standing near the line, one of the mothers said, “Thank you for doing Group 3 first. My kids can’t sit still, and all they want is to get back to the swimming pool.”

“Actually, Shelia is the one you should thank. It wouldn’t have occurred to me. Being a mother herself, she thinks of things like that and I’m glad it occurred to her.”

The word had been spread to some of the other mothers, so Shelia received a number of heart-felt comments from the mothers with kids thanking her for her consideration. It seemed the more kids they had, the bigger the thank you. The closest thing I got to another thank you was one of the mothers telling Shelia that I was at least smart enough to listen to her. Shelia told me that her empathic powers detected that the mothers were all glad that I was considerate enough to call them forward first.

For the next hour, I talked with any of my security personnel who wanted to talk with me. Some of their spouses and their kids asked me questions also. Kendrick and Shelia had finally finished processing all three groups. I excused myself and went to talk with them.

“How did things go?”

“Good. Either we got what we needed or it will be forwarded to us later. We have fifteen volunteers for the first wave of people. I told them I would arrange for them to move onto the estate, and assist Edgar as guards until you are ready to transport them to Earth. If you only need twelve, then the remaining three will stay there to act as your bodyguards when you come to the Multiverse.”

“The rest of Group 2 and Group 3 will be moving to Bedlow. Most of them preferred Bedlow to Slave World over the next two months. I will arrange for housing for them and I will find work for them on Bedlow.

“Shelia and I are done. We will give our D-Hopper a comm to let him know we are ready to leave. Why don’t the rest of you go ahead? I know you are eager to get to Timson and fix Abby’s problem.”

We arrived in Timson early in the afternoon, and caught a hover cab to the Timson Luxury Hotel, which is where the committee had made our reservation. The desk clerk was pleasant and very solicitous of our needs. It sounded odd when she addressed us as Ambassador Smith and Ambassador White. We were escorted to what turned out to be a very lavish four-bedroom suite on the top floor.

It seemed odd to me that the majority of attention was directed at me. Normally, it was the person from Earth who was with me who received most of the attention. I suppose it was somewhat understandable since Abby didn’t speak Trade Speak. However, the people assisting us seemed to focus their attention on me instead of Abby.

Our bags had not arrived when there was a knock on the door. Stenn answered the door. Our visitor was a Mister Harold Charles, the Hotel Manager.

“Ambassador Smith, it’s my privilege to welcome you to our hotel and I hope that your stay will be pleasant. If there is anything that you may need, please let a member of our staff know immediately. When I was informed that a reservation had been placed for an Ambassador Doug Smith, I contacted Chairman Smart to determine if he may have any special instructions for me.”

“I see, and did he give you any instructions.”

“Yes, Sir, he directed me to bill the committee for the room they reserved, and to upgrade your reservation to one of our luxury suites.

“I informed Councilman Warton that you had arrived as soon as I was informed that you had checked in. He has arranged a dinner party for you and Ambassador White in one of our private dining rooms at seven this evening. It’s my understanding that Councilwoman Maribel Stanton and several of the other Council Members of her committee will also attend.

“Is there anything else that I can do for you at this time?”

Our bags had arrived while we were talking and Stenn had seen to their being taken to our rooms. “No thank you, Mister Charles. Ambassador White and I will get settled in our rooms, rest, and prepare for dinner.”

Abby was gorgeous in what she called her ‘little black dress’ and black heels. Stenn and Victor escorted us downstairs to the restaurant. We arrived for dinner a couple of minutes after 7:00 for we wanted to be sure our host had arrived. The Maitre d’Hotel showed us to our host’s table.

A rather elderly gentleman stood to greet us, “Good evening, Ambassador Smith, I am Councilman Cain Warton. I am glad that you and Ambassador White were able to join us.”

He introduced us to the rest of our dinner party beginning with Councilwoman Stanton. Abby and I had been the last ones to arrive, and we sat in the seats directly across from Councilwoman Stanton. Councilman Warton returned to his conversation with Councilwoman Stanton’s companion.

Councilwoman Stanton said, “I was surprised when Cain told me that an Ambassador from Earth had arrived with you. It’s a bit unusual for a newly opened planet to send an Ambassador to us this quickly.”

Placing an apologetic look on my face, I said, “I am afraid that someone has made a mistake. I had hoped to discuss this matter with Councilman Warton privately before matters proceeded too far.”

“Oh, what’s the difficulty that you seem to be having?”

“Well, I am afraid that someone made a mistake regarding Miss White’s official status. She is a diplomatic officer with Earth’s Foreign Service; however, she was not sent to the Multiverse Government as an Ambassador. She was assigned to a liaison position with my Embassy on Earth. I suggested that she come with me on this visit so she could gain some experience with Multiverse culture.