Chapter 4

Elizabeth looked exactly the same, that was when I found out that time isn’t a universal truth. Elizabeth would live to be three hundred and fifty earth years old. When she died on Cassandra it was a day of mourning, Elizabeth was a national treasure who ‘died too young.’ She was waiting ... actually expecting ... for me.

“Find everything, alright?” she asked.

“I’m here, ain’t I?”

“Well then, shall we?”

“I suppose,” I said.

She opened a drawer and took out three folders, thumbed through them and handed them over, “Choose,” she said.

I looked. The files were “prospective caretakers.”

“You mean, I can’t choose you?”

“No. I’m the greeter,” Elizabeth said.

“If I’d known I couldn’t have you...” the pause dragged on well past the comfort stage, “I wouldn’t have come.”

“Well, you did ... now you have to choose a caretaker, choose a mission and perform before you can go home ... it’s in the book.” She thumped those damn rulebooks I read the first time I was here.

Three interesting Cassandran beauties, from too old to too young. Talented, intelligent and competent. Not a speck of difference ... until the photograph. Two nearly identical 32DD’s, blonde, svelte, shaved; the American dream girl. Completely qualified to guide a young man through life ... and death.

And a twelve year old ... not really ... but she looked like somebody’s seventh grader, budding tits, promise ... very promising, PhD in Chaos politics, skilled in medieval intrigue, she looked like a thinker. The list of her publications was impressive.

“This one.” I handed in the kid’s file.

“Valerie. Any particular reason?”

“I want to watch her grow up,” I said.

“Good luck with that,” Liz said, “She’s 40. Remember ... sleeping with the help is required.”

“Shit!”

“Let’s go see the Healing Chamber,” she suggested.

“But I was fine ... fine when I left and I haven’t done anything to change that,” I said.

“Earth has unknown diseases ... we’ll just have a flush. Wouldn’t want to start a plague on Chaos. Right, in you go.”

When I came out, Elisabeth Greeter was gone and Valerie Caretaker was sitting behind the desk.