Chapter 61

Sylvia took a deep breath and declared, I want to marry you three."

Annetta exclaimed, unbelievably stunned, "Again?"

Sylvia turned on her, snapping out, "YES, again. You are the ones who loved me and took care of me when we first met, and again after Herbert ... died, so I want to give you back my own love. I even love you, Annetta."

"This has nothing to do with caring for your baby, is it?"

"Annetta, I am back to normal enough to recognise that this is a factor in my decision to ask you, but primarily it is because I want to have you three in my life, permanently. I was able to stand on my own feet when I had Herbert to love me. He was my rock, my foundation, and he and I would have coped with anything life threw at us, but with him gone, I can't see my life as having any meaning without you three to mesh with, and to offer my baby the love that Herbert can no longer give him or her."

John and Angelina had said nothing during this heated exchange, but now Angelina said, "Sylvia, are you certain about this? It would mean continuing with all the running and exercising, watching your food intake, and taking advice on what you wear. Marriage with us is dependent on you being acceptable to Annetta and I, as well as John; AND you must commit to having children by John as well as looking after Herbert's child. Have you thought all this through, Sylvie?"

"Angelina, boss, I have been pondering about my future for a week now. I recognise that I don't do well, alone. I am not a singleton by nature. I think that is why I let things go, before I met you. I was mentally still a schoolgirl, simply older. Maturity had passed me by. You, John, and Annetta turned me into a normal woman, and that was when I was noticed by Herbert. He was perfect for me, and I had a long life together planned out in my head. My mental paradise collapsed with Herbert's death, and I had to work out what life for my future was going to be.

I don't want to return to my old ways. It would not be good for me or my baby. Darn it, I had only recently got Herbert trained to be a good lover for me. He was almost as good as John, let me tell you!

Anyway, my conclusion was that my life was with you; preferably married, but if not, I shall be content to be allowed to live with you and take my share of the household duties, in the hopes of John blessing me with his manly attentions from time to time."

Angelina looked at her husband, enquiringly. He shrugged. "At the moment, I don't love Sylvia, but I am prepared to accede to her request, if you girls are accepting of her presence in our lives. I can understand where she is coming from. It has to be a real commitment from her, and the only way of ensuring it is to marry her. That means if she was to want to leave us, she would have to give up her child, or children, to us."

Sylvia drew in a sharp breath as she recognised the truth of what he was saying. Anyone wanting to leave a marriage o n Rehome, without just cause, must leave with nothing, not even his or her own children. Marriage was basically for keeps, in all normal circumstances, and you went into it with your eyes open to these facts.

John went on, "Sylvia, are you prepared to make such a permanent commitment?"

She ran all her past thoughts through her brain again, to be examined once more. The situation had not changed. It was permanence or goodbye. She decided.

"I am prepared to commit 100 per cent, John; Angelina; Annetta. Can you put up with me, my dears?" She watched their faces anxiously.

Angelina faced her sister. "Annetta? Your vote?"

Annetta sighed a little. "With trepidation, I am willing."

"John?" Angelina spoke to him. "I think you are a yes, but can you tell me positively?"

He was ready to be asked. "Yes, I had half-expected this to happen, and my mind tells me that we can live with her as our wife."

"My own decision is also yes. I most definitely saw it coming, and I was prepared. I just needed you other two to find her acceptable. What the fuck. We will marry you, Sylvia, on the basis that you pull your weight in this household."

Sylvia burst into tears of joy. She sobbed to herself for a few minutes, then came to hug and kiss them. She started with Annetta, as the person least enthusiastic about the idea, and was relieved when Annetta hugged her back, but gave her a warning: "No hogging John, Sylvia. You take your turn, girl."

"With pleasure, Annetta." Sylvia averred. "I will be number three wife, and be happy with that."

"Hello, this is Trevor Defreitas, at the Rehome Colony. I represent The Montford Sisters, the ones who sing Dinah's Lullaby. You sell their recordings."

"Oh, yes, sir. I am just calling that up on my screen. Indeed you do, sir. Your voiceprint matches our data file. What can we do for you today?"

"Dinah has come up with a second song, and we have found a composer to provide the music for it. The trouble is, he has composed a number of tunes that suit the music, and we would like your experts to choose the best one for the words."

"Is this an established composer, sir? We can get in touch with good composers here."

"No, he just the best composer we have ever encountered. May I download the tunes, and also a set of the words, and you can make up your own minds as to whether my claims are true?"

"Well, if you really want to do that, sir, we would not object, but really, unless the composer knows his stuff, and knows the market, it is difficult for a newcomer to come up with music that fits the bill. What is his name? Do we know him?"

"You may have heard of him, but he is using a pseudonym on this occasion. He wants his work to speak for him, rather than his reputation. He wants to appear as Al Pearson, of "Al Pearson Associates". Can you live with that?"

"If the music lives up to the reputation you are implying for it, sir, we will be happy to accommodate his wishes. Please send the music and words then. I see we have your contact details, so we will get back to you, as and when we have concluded our deliberations."

"Thank you. I am downloading the data file now, under the title Dinah Montford/Pearson. Farewell from me."

"Selecting a site is turning into more of a challenge than we expected, isn't it?" Said Robert Smith.

The team were back at their site choosing task, for the planet Arborea's human colony. The data on the location and spread of each tree species was starting to flow to them, reducing the possible sites to a few hundred, where the, so far, best building timber was readily to hand. Their next factor was availability of unpolluted water supplies, followed by proximity to an ocean. The ocean aspect was enhanced if the site was close to a coastal venue for a port to be built.

This brought the possible sites down to 64, and now they wanted to factor in other specifics such as availability of metal ores – iron, copper, zinc, aluminium, etc., whatever could be found. The twins wanted the site to be relatively level, but not a flood plain. Helen warned against propinquity to potential avalanches, so steep-side cliffs made of soft rock had to be avoided. Robert had done his best to identify such rock bodies, but claimed that he would need on-site examination to be 100 per cent certain of his conclusions. "There could be fracture planes that are not identifiable from orbit. Such fractures can lead to avalanches if there is an earth tremor. It is impossible at short notice to clarify how stable the local rocks are. Certainly there is no evidence of ground movements. That would show up among the trees as a line through the forest, and I am not seeing any of these at all."

Helen had advised that gently-sloping terrain was preferable, as it made drainage systems more effective, if they were drained using gravity alone. All you needed was a shallow incline. Robert came back with a suggestion for a nearby source of clay for brickmaking, pottery, and cement (if limestone is nearby).

Mia offered the suggestion that as they factored in all these variables, they should draw up a standard specification as a template for future colony siting on new world, pointing out: "No two planets will be the same, but if you have a template, it is simpler to adapt that specification to the prevailing local conditions, rather than start all over again."

Helen agreed. "That is a sensible idea, Mia (or is it Mya?). I think we should definitely construct such a template and pass it on to the Colony Admin Dept. as a resource for future use."

"You got me right, first time, Helen. How did you know?"

"I am not sure. I think there is something about the way you hold yourself, that is slightly different from Mya. I just started to recognise a difference before I consciously thought about it. How does Robert tell you apart? That must be important for him."

"He knows how, somehow, for he talks to us by name. We didn't both get pregnant at the same time, so perhaps there is a difference in our body shape now, that he can notice. Robert?"

"My darling Mia, while at first I could not tell you two apart, even in lovemaking, I now know, almost instinctively, who each is. It is not in the way you speak, either. I suspect it is as Helen says, in the way you hold yourself. It is very minor, but in these circumstances, such minor aspects become more important in recognition. My body simply tells me who you are, and I go along with that conclusion. The body differences due to pregnancy details are so minor as to be almost non-existent, so it is most likely stance and the way you hold yourself: that is an unconscious personal choice. I like having the ability to tell you apart, though. It makes each person more interesting, for me."

"So, do we have any other factors to consider? To how many possible sites have we reduced our options?" Helen wanted to know.

"Give me a chance!" bemoaned Robert. "I have added in these parameters, but the lack of "on the ground" geological examination means that the final selection will be delayed. I have asked The Personalia to apply the criteria we have decided to use up to that point, and I am just waiting for their result. Ah, here it comes: We are now down to thirteen possible sites. That is a small enough number for me to do a site inspection of the geology of each of them."

Helen offered an opinion. "Robert, you should not land there without proper protection. You should wear tough protective clothing; not a spacesuit, but somewhat close to it. You do not know what might bite or sting you, or spray you with some obnoxious venom, or you might stand on some dangerous or sharp beastie. Your footwear should be integral to your protective suit, and your head should have protection as well, with a breathing mask in case of noxious fumes."

Robert was surprised. "That sounds like overkill, Helen. Do you really think I am in danger?"

"Having experienced one new planet, Robert, I am sure of the need for you to have protection from anything the planet can throw at you. Take heed of my advice. I wouldn't like to face Mya and Mia if anything disastrous happened to you."

"Euphemia? I am a bit disturbed by your mother."