Chapter 25

“That one, sir. I admit, however, to being unaware that there was more than one Ebenezer within your ken.”

“There isn’t. What can I do for you, Ebenezer?”

“I am not sure, Governor. I have information from Earth that I have compared with events on Rehome, and the similarities have intrigued me.”

“That sounds like the sort of curiosity that has to be explained, Ebenezer.”

“To elucidate, sir: My darling Euphemia, whose hand I will take in marriage next week (along with my other darling, Isabella), brought me anecdotal news from Earth. Several of her friends who are in the nursing profession had noted a startling improvement associated with unattached girls giving birth at the maternity hospitals. The noticeable difference was the solicitous fathers of the children appearing for the birth. This event was noteworthy because of its general absence previously. The men evidenced a great love for the girls involved. Even more curious, some of these men turned up accompanied by their equally considerate wives. In all these cases, the wife involved seemed quite happy with the situation. A most curious anomaly, methinks.”

“Indeed, that does sound somewhat unusual, Ebenezer. What relevance, if any, to the residents of Rehome, have such goings-on back on Earth?”

“Recent history, sir. I refer you to the occurrence of the formation of the Defreitas ménage, in somewhat surprising circumstances. It would appear that four young women – three tourists and their guide - suddenly attached themselves to a rural schoolteacher. That attachment has become a marriage, with imminent births due, so the unexpected family group appears to have acquired some permanence to it.”

“I see. True enough: I have already observed these facts over many months. What astounding correlations have you drawn from two such diverse facts on two separate planets, Ebenezer?”

“Now there, Governor, I am inveigled into the realm of speculation and surmise. My mind assumed that similar social occurrences might impute that specific factual outcomes may indeed have similar specific causes of some kind or another.”

“Such blue-sky thinking may be interpreted as “shooting at the moon”, Ebenezer.”

Ebenezer ignored the implied insult. “It may, sir, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I looked for a connection, and I surmised that, going by the succession of the time factors, any “cause” would have to have travelled from Rehome to Earth, and so I looked at the published export list.”

“That assumes that all exports are published, Ebenezer.”

“True, but I do not believe you have secret exports to Earth. The authorities there would not go along with you on that basis.”

“that conclusion has some validity, it would appear, old friend.”

“Thank you, Governor. My examination of the exports focussed on those that impacted on people fairly directly, such that behaviour might be modified. My vision centred on two items that I considered possible vectors: A herbal cooking ingredient, and a fungal-based sexual enhancer. Not knowing the details of either, I cannot yet determine which is the more likely culprit.”

“Were you hoping for suggestions, or hints, Ebenezer? Life is not that simple, my friend, as you should be aware.”

He dismissed this assertion. “Whatever. My conclusion is that one or other export has an effect on social behaviour, over and above what it purports to offer. I do not know what the purpose or objective is; whether it is of good or ill intent; or entirely unexpected. My enquiry is partly to assuage my curiosity, and partly to discover whether you might be laying yourself and/or the Colony open to some kind of legal redress from customers.”

“Ah, now I see where you are coming from. Ebenezer, can I have your word of honour that what we say next, to each other, remains officially unsaid?”

“Governor, I have no wish to cause trouble, or even ripples. As a man about to be married, with intentions of remaining a valued member of the community that is this colony, I give you the assurance that you seek, sir. My lips will remain sealed.”

“In that case, Ebenezer, I can say that we are aware of the substance that contains the active ingredient, which exhibits such intriguing results. We are still in the dark as to the exact chemical involved, but we have made measurements of the results of ingestion at particular levels. My own family was involved in one of these tests, at an early stage.

We were already in the process of exporting the material to Earth, in response to known demand for such a material, when we became aware that there were two distinct effects. One was an enhancement of the libido, giving both partners in the sexual act a much heightened experience; in fact an irresistible experience. The second effect failed to be properly determined until later, and that was a propensity to love the other participants; in fact to fall in love with them and form a permanent emotional bond or union.”

“Oh, my! That could be dangerous, my dear Governor.”

“We quickly came to that conclusion ourselves, Ebenezer. Our calibration implied that the recommended dose for sexual needs was satisfactory, but at a lower level of dosage, the outcome was different: solely the emotional bonds were triggered. There is a variability of results where the active chemical is diluted through being imbibed via certain foodstuffs. We decided to include a disclaimer on the packaging, such that the user was warned to use only the stated dose. We warned that the only side effect noted was the formation of an emotional bond where the dosage used was not as prescribed; and that we could not be held responsible for such misuse of the product.”

“Do you expect to get away with that, Governor? There are many laws on Earth regarding use and abuse of medicines and drugs.”

“Our legal experts were aware of such legal concerns. They advised us of the pitfalls, and accordingly the product is marketed purely as a recreational mood enhancer; for use only by choice; It is specifically not marketed as a drug or a medicine, but only as a recreational toy to boost flagging libidos. Our labelling specifically prescribes the amount to be used, with a warning that all other dosages are felt to be unwise and so are not recommended. Legally, therefore, we have covered ourselves. We have advised a correct usage, and advised against any other level of usage. Therefore, my dear fellow, anything that users choose to do with the product, outwith the officially prescribed dosage, is by their own choice, and thus we have no responsibility for that foolish choice.”

“Ah, so it is the truffle product?”

“It is of no matter which product it is, Ebenezer. We have no responsibility for the misuse of any Rehome product, as I have made clear.”

“I take your point, Governor. Have you no concerns about its use on Rehome?”

“What use, Ebenezer? It is not on sale in the Colony. All the authorised collectors who gather it are warned that the product is poisonous, and must on no account be tasted. Its properties are known only to a few people here, and all of them are sworn to secrecy. This product is one of the highest earners for the colony, and no-one wishes to upset the applecart.”

“But, sir, what about the adverse effects on Earth?”

“Pardon me, Ebenezer, but can you inform me of any adverse effects that you are aware of, or that can be pointed out?”

“Well, these examples that I cited...”

“Exactly. These examples of people being in love with each other? What crime is there in people falling in love?”

“But they have no choice in the matter, sir.”

“But they DO have a choice, Ebenezer. The instructions make it quite clear. They have the choice to take the product as prescribed, or go their own way and accept the consequences. Would you describe the known consequences as deleterious in any way? Have we made any attempt to cause harm?”

Ebenezer found himself hemmed in. “No. No, sir, I cannot see any identifiable harmful activity on your part, or that of the colony. Thank you for helping clarify the matter.”

“Glad to be of assistance, Ebenezer. Am I invited to your nuptials?”

“I shall speak to Isabella and Euphemia, to make sure you are, sir: you and your ladies. I hope that you will be able to find the time to be there.”

“It is a problem of official scheduling, Ebenezer. My officials devise my schedule for weeks ahead; but having the power to amend my schedule is one of the enjoyable facets of this job. Just give me a few days notice, is all I ask. It is about time that you were hogtied by your own women, my friend. Why should I be the one facing such tribulations?

“Based on the past few days, sir, I shall not be averse to the attentions of my ladies. They have both happily expressed a desire to marry me and bear my children, so I cannot ask more of them.”

“Now, there I cannot fault you, Ebenezer. When you have two wives and a family from both, that digs you deeper into our unique colonial society. That, I approve of entirely.”

“Thank you for that encouragement, Governor. Incidentally, it strikes me that it is around nine months since the Defreitas incident. Have any small Defreitas twigs appeared yet?”

“Not that I have been informed, Ebenezer. Give me a moment.” The Governor could be heard yelling his enquiry to someone in the background. There was a hiatus, probably indicating some data searching. Ebenezer next heard other muffled words from someone else, then the Governor returned to the phone. “Ebenezer, I am told that two of the Defreitas wives have given birth in the last day or so. One had twin boys and the other had a baby girl. The other two wives have still to produce their offspring.”

“Can we assume that the wives are all still firmly wedded to their husband?”

“Indeed so. I saw them recently, and the love between them was evident. Why do you ask?”

“I was looking for confirmation that the substance involved had no deleterious effects in the long run. That information seems to confirm your statement. May I therefore ask why it remains secret?”