Chapter 19

Before dinner, Gilleena and I took Spencer on a tour of the caves and introduced him to Hithfaeron, Engrinil, Faenel, and whomever else we ran into. The Ennahai’s uniformly tall stature and exotic beauty pretty much dispelled any doubts that may have been still lingering in his mind. By the time he drove out the gate to go home that evening, he was a true believer and committed to our cause.

As we watched him drive away, I put my arm around Gilleena’s waist and said, “That’s a major issue resolved, don’t you think?”

She leaned against me and agreed, “I like him, Jesse, and I have a very strong sense he’ll be a wonderful champion of our people and our story. Thank you for inviting him to meet with us.”

“Yeah, maybe I should have thought of it earlier. It might have saved me a lot of brain cramps. I was just thinking how relatively easy it was going to be for your people to escape the planet before I got involved and tossed the human monkey wrench into the machinery.”

She pinched my butt and consoled, “You can hardly be criticized for looking after the interests of your people.”

Bright and early the next morning, I was sitting at the MacBook in my study and working on an e-mail to send to those we wanted to draw into our circle. What was I going to say to them to get them thinking about abandoning their lives, family and friends, without being specific about why and how? It was going to be tricky, trying to be honest and persuasive at the same time.

As I sat there staring at the screen, waiting for some flash of inspiration to hit me, once again, it was Faenel who came to the rescue. She walked by my door and saw me sitting there, apparently lost in thought. She stopped, poked her head in and asked, “Can I get you some tea or coffee or anything. You look like your brain might need a chemical kickstart.”

I laughed, “Yeah, it definitely needs something, but I don’t know what. I’m trying to decide what to put in this first e-mail to our list of likely choices for the journey. How much do I tell them?”

She came in and took a chair. Now that she was fully recovered from her injuries, her movements were as graceful and fluid as the rest of her kind. She looked at me, cocked her head to the side and said, “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t be telling, I’d be asking.”

“Asking what?”

“Asking what you need to know. You want to learn as much as you can about their suitability to survive under potentially harsh conditions, right?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it; well, that and what they’ll be able to contribute.”

“Then why dink around trying to guess things about them that you can just come right out and ask? Make the first e-mail a kind of questionnaire, asking what you want to know, like: Can you hunt? Can you build things? Can you cook? Can you sew? Do you have children or are you pregnant? Are you single or a couple? Can you live without your computer or smart phone? And since you want to affect some kind of balance of the races, ask them whether they’re black, brown, or whatever other color you want represented.”

“Well, sure, those are things we need to know, but the questions make no sense out of context. Why would I be asking them those things to begin with?”

“Because you’re asking them to take a trip with us. That’s what has to be at the top of the page. You don’t have to mention space travel, you just say that you and the Ennahai are going to a place where we’ll be safe, and we’re looking for a certain number of men and women to go with us. Tell them the conditions will be primitive and probably even harsh, and that you’re looking specifically for people with the ability and desire to live and work under those conditions. I’d be willing to bet that questionnaire will get a lot of responses you’re going to like.”

She’d done it again!

“Damn, Faenel, how do you come up with these ideas? You always make it sound so simple!”

She stood and move around behind me to massage my shoulders with her strong, talented fingers. “Jesse, the reason I think of these things and you don’t is because you’re too close to the situation, and you’re trying so hard not to deceive the people you want to come to us. With the restrictions you’re working under, that isn’t possible. Your job is to get a group of people here on departure day that meet your requirements, at least as best you can determine without doing an extended personal interview with each of them. After that, it’s no longer up to you, it’s up to them. You know those who show up are wanting to go somewhere with us. Whether or not they’re willing to make that final leap into space remains to be seen. That’s all you can do!”

I leaned back, laid the back of my head between her breasts and wallowed in the sensual delight of her ministrations. I looked up at the underside of her chin and sighed, “I wonder if I’ll ever get to be as common-sense smart as you people are. You always seem to be able to see the most practical solution to the most complicated issues.”

She bent her head down and kissed my forehead. “Dear Jesse, there’s nothing wrong with the way you think. It’s just that you are kind and compassionate, and that sometimes gets in the way of practicality. Ennahai are brought up to believe the shortest distance between a problem and its solution is a straight line. Our lives were never as socially, religiously, or politically complex as yours, so we tend not to look for intricate and complex solutions to our conundrums. But I can tell you that one of the reasons we Ennahai are happy to see men and women of your kind coming with us is because our ultimate survival on the new world may well require both kinds of thinking.”

Her comments sparked a thought that had been incubating in my mind for some time. Maybe this was the time to bring it up.

“Faenel, I have a question you might be able to answer. I should probably ask Grandfather first, but you’re handy. I get the impression that when we get to the new world, my kind and your kind are going to be living apart from each other, like in separate communities. Do you think that’s true, and if it is, do you think it’s wise? I know the Ennahai are concerned about us going back to our old selfish and wasteful ways, and I know we’re going to be watched very closely for any signs of recidivism, but don’t you think there’d be less chance of any friction or old prejudices cropping up if we lived in a more blended community?”

She thought about it. “I know what you’re asking, and I’ve thought about that too. I’m inclined to agree with you, but I think those things tend to work themselves out over time. It all comes down to trust, Jesse. The mere fact that we come from such vastly different lifestyles is going to cause some degree of misunderstanding and distrust, and we’re going to have to consciously address that, but I think it’s better addressed by example than by decree.

“I think you and Gilleena are going to be a wonderful, positive example of what can be. And you know what? Thoron and I have already talked a little about this. What would you and Gilleena think about setting up a family unit together? Wouldn’t that serve as a nice example of blending, as you put it?”

“A family unit? I’m not sure I know what you mean by that.”

“It’s like this: In the society you grew up in, the basic family unit is one husband, one wife and a bunch of kids, right?”

“Yeah. It may be different in other societies, but that’s pretty much the norm.”

“Well, that’s not our tradition. We set up units with some males and some females who live together as mates in common. We may have a first bond, like you and Gilleena will be, but then, over time, we add more to the family. Like you, Gilleena, Thoron and I could be a basic unit. We share our lives, our duties and responsibilities and our children. When we get to the new world, my first baby would probably be Thoron’s, but not necessarily; it could be yours, if I so choose. See what I’m saying?”

I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t that! I have to admit the idea had a certain appeal, but it kicked off a jolt of jealousy, too. “Um, I really want Gilleena’s first baby to be mine, and I’d lay odds that Thoron feels the same way about you.”

“Then Gilleena and I would see that that was the case, wouldn’t we? It’s not like ovulation sneaks up on us, or like pregnancies are accidental. Jesse, I’m not suggesting the family unit is a constant game of musical beds; I’m just saying there isn’t the sense of exclusivity that you’re used to. I’m saying that we’d be mates in common and we’d be parents in common. The family unit could be anything from two to six or seven adults, depending on circumstances and passions. Nothing is set in stone, and nothing would prevent a member of the unit from leaving to join a different family.

“Look, I know this is a strange idea to you, so why don’t you talk to Gilleena about it and let us know what you think. And as far as that other thing, the segregation of species, you should probably get that resolved with Jakoby and Hithfaeron pretty quickly. Don’t clutter your mind with speculation if you can get a specific answer to your questions.”

I chuckled, “There you go with that common-sense thing again.”

I spent most of the day working on the questionnaire and the reason for it. Sometimes it was hard to keep my mind on my work because that ‘family unit’ thing Faenel mentioned kept creeping into my thoughts. But I stayed at it, and when I thought I had something presentable, I went searching for Gilleena to ask her about both.

My nose took me to the kitchen where I found her and Liam baking Tollhouse cookies, my absolute favorite treat in the whole world.

“Awesome, guys!” I said as I sneaked a warm one off the plate.

Gilleena laughed and poured me a glass of cold milk. She nodded at the sheets of paper in my hand and asked, “What have you got there?”

I handed them to her. “This is a draft of our first e-mail to send out to the list of people we’ve put together. Faenel suggested the questionnaire thing. Read it over and tell me what you think.”

While I made short work of two cookies and the milk, she sat and read it carefully. “There are a couple of things I’d change, but overall, it looks pretty good to me. Are you going to run it by Steve and Rosa before you send it out?”

“Rosa’s the one who’ll be sending it, and they’re coming to dinner tonight, so I’ll show it to them then. Do you think it’ll get us the information we need?”

“As well as anything else would.”

I wanted to ask her about the family unit thing, but I wasn’t comfortable asking her in front of Liam. “Um, could I talk to you about something else ... in private?”

Gilleena turned to Liam, “I’ll be right back.”

We settled on the couch in the living room. I held her hand as I told her what Faenel and I talked about. “So, would you want to do something like that, set up a family unit with her and Thoron?”

“At this point, I have no objections, Jesse, but I wasn’t going to even bring this up until after we arrived at our new home because you have so much on your mind already. This kind of thing could be a major culture shock for you. But since you already raised the issue, Ellana has already asked me about setting up a family with us. What do you think about it?”

“Well, I have to admit I’m intrigued with the idea, but like I told Faenel, I really want your baby to be mine. Maybe that’s narrow thinking on my part, but I can’t help it. As far as Ellana joining with us, I vote yes.”

She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Jesse, I want my baby to be yours, too. I’m sure Faenel explained that the family unit isn’t set up to facilitate convenient sex. Sure, sleeping with a different partner from time to time is acceptable, but when we women are ovulating, we pick the one we want to be the father, and there’s nothing random about it.”

“Then I’m all for it. But that makes two guys and three women. Is that a problem?”

“Why should it be? Like I said, compatibility and mutual regard is what pulls a family unit together, not the sex. Besides, Ellana has been thinking about asking Remus to mate with her when we get to the new world. You wouldn’t object to him being in our family, would you?”

Remus and I had grown closer and closer since Romulus’ death. “Hell no! I think that’d be great! But, uh, isn’t he Ellana’s cousin?”

“A distant cousin, not close enough to be a concern.”

I sat back on the couch and took a deep breath. “Wow! It seems so weird to be talking about this stuff.”

That evening, Steve and Rosa signed off on the edited e-mail and I handed it over to her to do the mass mailing since she kept the master list on an external hard drive. The mass mailing drove the point home that we were in the final stretch before liftoff.