Chapter 9

Acknowledgments: I decided to locate Doug’s Embassy about halfway between Greeley and Fort Morgan, Colorado. The site I selected for the story’s fictitious ranch has the property’s southern boarder overlapping the northern portion of the Riverside Reservoir. I used MapQuest to view the property and surrounding area. However, I know nothing about the property or the surrounding area. Some of the information contained in this story may appear to be accurate, but any resemblance to reality is pure chance. To the best of my knowledge, the information herein is a fabrication of my imagination based on what I observed using MapQuest.

It looked as if I had solved my need for a trained security force. My presentation to the Multiverse Law Enforcement Agency personnel who had a problem with sugar addiction had been well received. I expected that most of them would accept my offer and would appear at the meeting that would be held in two weeks. The main factors to be determined were if the married personnel would bring their families with them, my finding a place for all of them to live on Earth, and my establishing a schedule for moving everyone to Earth.

After leaving Carl’s office, Matt and I took a hover cab back to the hotel room. I commed my parents to let them know about my plans for tomorrow.

“Mom, I’m comming to let you know that I have finished the business that I had to take care of here in Cinnity. I have some business on Spice World, so we will be leaving the hotel in the morning. We should get to your place sometime late tomorrow afternoon. Are you sure that you are up to accommodating the seven of us?”

“It’s no problem, Doug; we have plenty of spare rooms what with you kids being grown up and out of the house.

“You wanted to talk with everyone, so I’ll let them know you will be arriving tomorrow. What about scheduling the meeting for after supper, two days from now?”

“That sounds good to me, Mom.”

We had been eating most of our meals in the hotel. Matt and I decided to do something different. We went out to the Multiverse’s equivalent of a fast food restaurant. As far a fast food goes, it was fairly good. Mary did make one interesting observation as we were leaving. She said, “No matter where you go, fast food is always spelled G_R_E_A_S_E.”

After an early breakfast and checking out of the hotel, I hopped us to Spice World. I had made a morning appointment at ten o’clock with my Spice and Herb Trade Agent, Maxwell Mullica, earlier in the week. We arrived at his office a few minutes late, but it worked out okay, for he was still with his prior client. It took him a while to finish the client’s business so we waited in the reception area.

Max’s office was too small for the seven of us, so my ladies set their backpacks down in his office and returned to the reception area.

“Max, these are my associates from Earth: Matt and Mary Crane.”

Since Max didn’t speak English, the introductions didn’t take very long.

“What brings you to my office, Doug?”

“I have some black peppercorns and sugar to sell, and I have some samples of herbs and spices for you to identify.”

“That’s good to hear. Let me get some people to come take this stuff to our lab for analysis.”

Max commed his lab and they came with a cart to carry the merchandise to the lab. While he was talking, I removed my herb samples from my backpack. Once the lab techs were gone, I gave Max the five samples of herbs that Betty and I decided might be scarce in the Multiverse.

Max was able to readily identify four of the five herbs. Two were fairly common, and the other two, while not common, were also not rare. He sent the fifth sample to the lab for testing.

Max said, “Doug, there is a rumor of a new sugar source and the prices are way down from your prior sale price. The market will recover in several weeks, so you may want to wait until then to sell the sugar. If you want to sell it now, I’ll buy your sugar at the current price, and hold it until the market recovers.”

I knew my prior sales had only a small impact on the market, but as long as the rumor continued, the prices would remain low. I decided to sell the sugar now.

The price per ounce of the two semi-rare herbs was relatively low. They would be profitable enough once I began bulk shipments to my future venture’s warehouse. I added them to my growing list of things to sell, but for now, it would be better to carry other merchandise.

The lab got back to Max with the weight and grade of my merchandise, and even though the market was down, I still cleared close to four point three million dollars. Max gave me a receipt and transferred my payment into my bank account. His company would hold the merchandise and sell it off in small amounts when the market recovered, so they didn’t further depress the sugar market. The lab results of my herb sample came back and we were shocked by the results. The herb was a common weed in the Multiverse. Max wanted to know how it was used on Earth. I promised that I would bring him several recipes the next time I saw him.

I hopped us back to my parent’s place on Vora. I had a message waiting for me from Officer Sereine Tatting asking me to return her comm at my earliest convenience. It was unusual for strangers to comm me at my parent’s house. Once we were settled in our rooms, I returned her comm.

“Hello, Officer Tatting speaking. How can I help you?”

“Officer Tatting, this is Doug Smith. I am returning your comm. What can I do for you?”

“I spoke with Inspector Nast after your meeting at Police Headquarters the other day. He suggested that I get in contact with you, since I will be the D-Hopper assigned to your Trade Checkpoint.”

“I see. Why does Carl think that we should get together at this point?”

“Well, I have no other assignment right now, and frankly I am at the point where my sugar addiction is making it difficult to perform my duties. Inspector Nast thought that my returning to Earth with you might be advantageous in helping with the initial set up of the checkpoint.”

“I see. Am I right in that Carl is hoping that I can begin the desensitization process in addition to beginning your acclimation to Earth? If so, I think that would be a good idea. Can you be at my parent’s home in Willibald by six tonight for dinner?”

“Yes. I can be there. Do I need to bring anything?”

“No, just your appetite. We can talk after dinner about you returning with us, and other things.”

Before I hung up my comm unit, I gave Sereine my address and instructions on how to get here from the Transit Tube Station. If Sereine needed sugar, then I needed to talk with Carl to see if any of the other officers needed an interim supply to tide them over until my meeting two weeks from now.

“Good afternoon, Carl, its Doug. I just got off a comm with Sereine. She implied that she was having trouble with her sugar addiction. I suspect she needs a sugar fix, so I invited her over to dinner for that and other things. It got me to thinking about the other officers. Are any of them in need of a sugar supply until they can get to Earth?”

“I’m not sure, Doug. Most of them are on the sugar substitute, but I’m not sure if is still effective for everyone. I can check and get back to you tomorrow.

“That will work. However, I am planning to send a sugar supply and instructions for diluting it back to Cinnity with Sereine. In its diluted form, it should be adequate for everyone until our meeting in two weeks.”

“Thanks, Doug. I think a few officers may need a sugar supply by this point in their addiction.”

“No problem, Carl, I just wish I had thought of it the other day when we had our meeting. See you later.”

Two hours later, I opened the front door and met Sereine. Overall, she was of average appearance. I could see the stress lines in her face, pale skin tone, and tremor in her hands that were symptoms of advanced sugar addiction.

“Come in. Let me show you to the living room ... have a seat, I’ll be right back.”

I got my baggie of sugar from my travel pouch and went into the kitchen. I prepared a very weak sugar solution and took it to Sereine.

“This is a weak sugar solution, Sereine. I want you to drink it slowly, so you don’t collapse on us. It should be weak enough that you won’t go into sugar shock.

“Are any of the other officers as bad off as you are?

“One or two are a little worse than me, but they think they will make it, okay.”

“Making it isn’t acceptable to me. I commed Carl and told him you would be bringing him some sugar and instructions for diluting it. I have enough for everyone until our meeting.”

It had only been a minute or so, but Sereine’s hands had almost stopped trembling. The lines were still in her face, but some color seemed to be coming back into her skin tone.

I returned to the kitchen and evaluated my sugar supply. I decided to hold out enough for personal needs, and send the rest to Carl. That meant we would have to return to Earth earlier than I planned. I would need three days to complete the business that I needed to take care of and two travel days back to Earth. Sereine would be returning to Earth with my ladies and me, so I measured out enough sugar to satisfy our needs for five days. I wrote some instructions for Carl for diluting the sugar and the daily dosage to be taken by the officers. I gave the sugar and instructions to Sereine.

“Sereine, I think you should plan on remaining with us for the next month or so. I held out enough sugar for our needs for the next five days. By then we should be back on Earth, and we can get as much sugar as we need.

“I’ll comm Carl after dinner and explain the situation to him, and let him know we will be back in time for our meeting. Now I think my Mom and Betty are signaling that it’s time to eat.”

By the time dinner was finished, Sereine had recovered, and seemed like just one of the family. I could tell that my folks liked her and it seemed like my ladies would get along with her also. After dinner, we discussed the return trip.

I wanted to have Matt, Mary, and my ladies certified for using Multiverse weapons, so I had made an appointment for them for the day after tomorrow at the weapons training school where I had taken Bill and Sue. I let Sereine know that I would be at the weapons school in Cinnity and suggested that she, Carl, and I meet tomorrow afternoon to discuss her early assignment to Earth.

I offered to drive Sereine back to the Transit Tube Station, but she reminded me that she was a Hopper. After she hopped back to her apartment, the rest of us went to bed early. We’d had had a busy day.

We caught the transit tube to Cinnity early the next morning. By nine, we were in the weapons training school. We met the instructors that would provide Matt, Mary, and my ladies with their training. I would have to remain with Matt and Mary to translate for the rest of the morning. Matt was a police official and familiar with weapons, so he should catch on quickly. He could then help Mary during practice, and I should be free for the afternoon. At least that is the way I had it planned.

I mentioned my intent to the instructor during the morning session and he was not comfortable with my not being there to translate. I commed Carl and explained the situation. He agreed that he and Sereine would meet me at the school at 1:30.

I was right in that Matt learned his lessons rapidly, and seemed to be fully qualified by lunch, except for the minimum three-hour range time requirement. Mary was somewhat slower and the instructor was working with her full time while Matt practiced. The instructor had worked out a basic vocabulary that allowed him to converse with Matt and Mary, so I only had to step in to translate new concepts.

Carl and Sereine were on time after lunch, and they were dressed in their uniforms. I think it rattled the instructor a bit to have a Police Inspector and Police D-Hopper looking over his shoulder while he trained Matt and Mary.

“Carl, I get the impression that you sense Sereine is close to being unable to perform professionally, and you think that my treatment will keep her from being medically retired.”

“That’s part of it, Doug. The other part is the police have a need for a D-Hopper in another location and if Sereine were selected for that assignment, then she would be unable to accept a position on Earth. Therefore, by assigning her to your Embassy now, she will not be available for consideration for the other assignment.