Chapter 18

“Right, that is a date then, but first things first. I need to see your feet to get a few photos from various angles. I have to send them to The Personalia, so they can do their planning for the work.”

“I need to take off my tights, sergeant...”

“Of course. I should have thought. Please make use of my toilet room, through that door.”

Jessie went off to remove her tights, and returned wearing only her shoes, slightly self-consciously. Bob got her to sit and take off her shoes. She did so, straightening her skirt before she slowly slipped off the pair and moved them to the side.

Bob picked up her phone from the desk and came round to point the camera lens at her feet. He took a picture of both feet together, then each individual foot. He noticed that she had a double big toe on each foot.

He got down on his knees, and said to her, “Jessie, I have to take close-ups of each foot. Would you lift each foot in turn, so I can do that?”

“I am so embarrassed, sergeant!”

“Would you be more embarrassed if I mentioned that you have nice legs, Jessie?”

Startled, she looked down at her legs, as if seeing them for the first time. “You think I have nice legs?” She definitely forgot about her feet for a moment.

Bob spoke slowly, “Well, your legs are nice, as far as I can see them. If you were to lift your skirt up a bit, I might see if the upper leg is just as attractive.”

She stared at her legs, then at him. She edged her hem up a bit further, but well away from the pantie level. “What do you think, sergeant?” The she suddenly twigged that he was flirting with her, and held her breath, unsure of her next move.

Bob took some shots of her foot, than asked her to switch to the other foot. In so doing, her skirt lifted higher, and she was certain he got a flash of her panties. However, he made no comment, and simply took more photographs.

As he completed the pictures, he murmured, “Nice legs indeed. When you are happy with your feet, I want to see you in a bathing suit.” He smiled gleefully.

“Sergeant, I am now sure that you are flirting with me. Why are you doing so?”

“Well, Jessie, initially I wanted to distract you, but I find that you are an attractive girl, and so I just WANT to flirt with you, as I find you desirable. Will you forgive me for being so forward?”

Jessie became aware that this was the first time she had allowed a man to flirt with her, ever! Previously, she had been so conscious of her deformed feet that she made sure no-one would flirt with her. Her childhood had been full of hurtful comments from other children about her excess toes. She had never been asked out by a boy, often because she tried to deter them if they didn’t know her. The ones she knew would have never dared to ask her, as she was deformed.

“Ah, well, you see...” she became more sure of herself, “Sergeant Henrison, I forgive you.”

“Please, Jessie, in private, just call me Bob. My title is right for public use, to maintain discipline with everyone, but between you and me, in private, it is just Bob and Jessie, Okay?”

“Sergeant ... I mean, Bob, does this mean you want to flirt more with me?”

“Naturally. I am hoping that once your feet are restored to normal, that you will allow me to court you until you can decide what I should be for you, long term.”

“Wow. I don’t know what to say.”

“Then simply wait until the operation is over. You will be able to think clearly, without distractions worrying you. We can take it easy, and just go out once, to see how you like it, and how you like me.”

“I like that idea, Bob.”

“Good. Now I have to get these images sent to The Personalia, right away. Just hang on where you are while I do that. Don’t run off, Jessie.”

“No, sergeant. Bob.”

Bob keyed the link that John had given him for The Personalia. Getting through, he reported, “I have the images of Janet Terry’s feet for you. Can I send them now?”

“Please do, Sergeant Robert Henrison.”

He set them for transmission, and in a few seconds they had been sent. The Personalia voice said, “Fourteen images received. Is that the correct amount?”

“It is. Thank you for your helping Jessie – Janet Terry. It is good of you.”

“Please regard it as another experiment in the use of nanomachines for human medical interventions. We get a lot of data out of the procedure, so it is valuable for us as well as for the patient.”

Bob questioned, “From the photos, can you determine her shoe size for after the operation?”

“Certainly. Size seven appears to be the one you want. There are only minor variations between the left and right feet.”

They went through the routine of closing the call, then Bob returned his attention to the girl. “Jessie, that is the first step in your operation. The Personalia will work out how best to remove your extra big toes. From what I learned from the Major, the nanos dismantle the extra flesh and bone, and redeposit it elsewhere, such that you will not notice any difference apart from having only one big toe on each foot.

As Kathleen was able to walk almost immediately after a similar procedure, I expect you will be back to walking right away.”

“Oh, thank you sergeant ... Bob. I am now looking forward to this. I just wait while my feet change to normal feet?”

“Correct. I was told that the patient has to remain more or less still, to allow the nanos to operate efficiently, so I think you will be forced to remain in bed or in a comfy chair during the procedure, but your feet have to remain unmoving. That will be the awkward bit for you. I have no idea of the length of time for the operation, but if they can rebuild a pelvis in a couple of days, removing a couple of toes should be a snip – although there will be no snipping involved!”

“So I will have to be strapped down for hours?”

“Your feet will have to be, I expect. How they will do that, I don’t know. I shouldn’t think the Colony will have that sort of equipment.”

“So, when will all this happen, s... – Bob?”

“Soon, I suppose. Someone will let us know. You will probably need to have a relative or friend to help with all your stuff – clothes, shoes, and so on. I will get you a pair of shoes to start you off, but I will tell the shop you might have to change them.”

“The Lownie Stores, you mean. There is no dedicated shoe shop in the colony yet, but the Lownie Stores have a reputation for helpfulness. That’s why they have no real competition yet. Oh, and I have no relatives here, and damn few friends either. Who do you think I could ask?”

Bob Henrison pursed his lips, and then declared, “Why not ask Kathleen Malone? She has been through a similar medical event, so she knows what to expect. She will have a lot of sympathy for your position.”

Jessie pondered, “Or perhaps Catherine Freeman? She is younger than me but seems to be very competent from what I hear.”

“Whichever suits you best, Jessie. Go away and think about it, and tell me later. I’ll deal with the rest of the setting up.”

When he tried to call the Major, the phone was engaged. After several tries, he eventually got through.

“Major, I sent the pics to The Personalia. I am going to order new shoes for Jessie, to wear after the operation, so it would be useful to know the date of the operation. She is also thinking about a supporting person at the time of the operation. I suggested Kathleen, and Jessie suggested your wife Catherine, so she’s thinking about who to ask.”

“Thanks for the update, Sergeant. I have just had The Personalia on the phone, telling me that our house kit should be delivered to the site tomorrow. I will have to inform our builders that they can start anytime now. That means the new house is part of our schedule for weeks ahead, as well as our marriage to Kathleen. It might make it tricky for both Catherine and Kathleen to be with your Jessie for the operation, but that is just my opinion. Tell her she can ask anyway, whichever one she wants to assist her.”

Kathleen Malone also got a call from The Personalia, to say that her parents had made their arrangements to migrate to the Colony. “We have their flight schedules fixed as far as Ascension Island, and we are preparing to make two seats available on the first available Landership once they get to the Island. We shall inform you as soon as possible to confirm their arrival time at the Colony, Kathleen Malone.”

Kathleen hurried to tell the Freemans about this news.

The Personalia had new information that they were anxious to pass on. The Governor got a call from them.

“Governor, you should be aware that a deputation is on its way to this colony.”

“Oh? Why haven’t they told me?”

“That is not clear, Governor, but we note that several of the deputation show as military men on various databases. You surely don’t need military advice for the colony?”

“Thanks you. That is interesting data. Apart from the military men, what others are part of the deputation?”

“One of them is a politician from America who appears to be linked to the White House staff. Another is a Russian senior politician, and the last is a Foreign Affairs minister from Europe. The booking for the deputation was not made as a block booking, but as individual visitors, but we see so few visitors of that type that the group were quickly identifiable as a deputation. Because they were not declaring themselves as a group, we considered their visit suspect.”

“Excellent. The Personalia are learning the ways of men, I can see. Keep me posted on these personnel, and I will make my own preparations.”

As soon as he was off the phone, Bob Kempe called in his advisers for a discussion. He looked around at the men, and his wife Diane, and gave them a brief summary of what he knew. “I am open to advice as to what is happening and why; and what we should do about it.”

The response he got was cautious but careful. One of the men said, “Sir, until they arrive and show their hand, we should not take any overt action towards them, BUT we should make plans to deal with them according to what they come up with.”

Another said, “We can take comfort in that they are not coming to us armed to the teeth. Their weapons are words, so what would they want to say to us that should concern us?”

Diane interposed, “They will either try to browbeat us into agreeing with some military idea that we don’t want; or they will have some kind of political plan to remove some authority from us. Do we have any idea of what data they might be working from; what intel?”

The head of Administration opined, “What data they have about the colony is not accurate, for we have a policy of downgrading all assessments of our capabilities – military, economic, and social. Therefore they will be underestimating us at every level. Diplomatically, this will put them at a disadvantage.”

The Director of Finance added, “A similar situation exists as regards our finances. We do not issue facts about our import and export figures, so that we appear in their records as being a loss-making colony. This has advantages in getting them to continue supporting us, so we should be careful not to disabuse them of that notion.”

Bob returned to the military topic. “Why do you think they are sending military men? They ought to be aware that The Personalia are our protection force, so that invasion is not a remote possibility. Add to that, our citizenry are not armed as a rule, and also not unhappy with the way the colony is run, so insurrection is an impossibility in my estimation.”

The Admin man chuckled, “And no-one wants your job, Governor; you can keep it!”

At this remark, Bob’s face took on a serious look. “On that point, is there any chance that they hope to remove me and install a new Governor from Earth?”

Diane responded, “Governor, as your Head of the Security Services, I can tell you that any such attempt would fall flat, as it would not be accepted by our population, nor by the Security Department forces. You may have your faults, and as your wife I KNOW you have your faults, but you are OUR Governor, and not Earth’s Governor. Our people see that your mission is to benefit the Colony, first and foremost, so no attempt to impose a new Governor from Earth would succeed. In fact, I would be surprised if The Personalia gave any transport facility to such an appointee.”

One of the others grinned and said, “It would be difficult to be declared the Governor and not be able to ever arrive here!”

That cause a bit of laughter. Bob cut it off with a comment, “I think we need to know a bit more about these military men. I believe in knowing my enemy. Are you all happy that I ask The Personalia for such Intel?”

As expected, there was unanimous approval for that option, and the meeting broke up after Bob reminded them to keep this news quiet for now.

After they had left, Bob phoned The Personalia and explained what information he sought. He was shocked at the response he got.

“Governor, we have been doing further research on human behaviour, and wish to offer advice to you.”

He almost stuttered, “What? What advice?”

“In order to obtain intelligence on their intentions, you need to collect it in an underhand way. Examining your available human talents, we suggest that you employ Major Freeman as a ‘trainee’ butler, and imply that he is not very bright – that you are trying to find a job for his limited intellect.

If he manages to put that idea over, he may be able to listen-in to their conversations, and amass sufficient data to ascertain their true intentions. Do you think such a scheme warrants implementation?”

Bob spluttered, “It sounds a great idea! I was already planning to have him at the Governor’s mansion to impress the visitors, but your suggestion is better. I had thought of having him here for a day beforehand, so that he can become familiar with the mansion and what is where, so that he won’t slip-up, but really, it is better if he DOES get things wrong; it will add veracity to his performance.”

“That sounds an excellent plan, Governor. Do you wish their arrival to be tomorrow or the next day? We can amend their schedule to suit, telling them that their Landership has a technical problem, so is not in place at the right time. Military men are used to snafus, we believe.”

“The day after tomorrow would be best, I think. I have to call in Major Freeman and get him up to speed on the task.”

“In that case, Governor, you should get his wedding rescheduled; it is that day.”

“Damn! Right, I’ll get on to it.”

He closed his phone, and redialed for the local clergyman. Getting him on the line, he said, “Pastor, You have a Freeman-Terry wedding scheduled for the day after tomorrow. I can’t release Major Freeman until after that date, so can you find an excuse for rescheduling, please? Let him know today, a.s.a.p., please”

The clergyman knew who kept him in a job, and replied, “Will do, Governor. Perhaps an inadvertent double booking. We can offer a free replacement date shortly after.”

“That sounds perfect, pastor. Do that, please.”

Bob now wanted to occupy himself for a little while, clearing his appointments book for the next two days. He phoned the Admin Department, getting the Head.

“Bob Kempe here. I have been warned that we are getting an important delegation from Earth in a couple of days, and I need to prepare for them. Please reschedule my appointments to after that time, or deal with some of them yourself if that is more convenient. Okay?”

“Certainly, Governor. Your immediate priority task requires your attention, so all other appointments have to take second place. They will understand, sir.”

“Thanks and Bye.”

He closed the call, and made a new one to Diane next.

“Diane? Emergency rearrangement of duties. We are having a delegation from Earth in a couple of days, and they are top heavy on military brass. I need your help with dealing with them. Planning conference at home this afternoon, please.”

“Damn it, Bob! I had plans ... no, it is fine. I will change them. It will be good practice for my subordinates, having to take over at short notice. See you at lunch, then.”

Next, he rang Ruth, his other wife.

“Ruth, lunch at home today, and a planning conference afterwards. We have a bunch of interfering Earthmen arriving in two days, and we need to prepare. Clear your schedule for the next two days, please.”

“Can do. It is a quiet day at the office here, thank goodness.”

Bob reckoned the pastor should have delivered his bad news by now, so rang Major Freeman’s number.

“Ah, Major. This is the Governor. Can we have your presence at my home this afternoon at 2 o’clock for a planning meeting. It has a military flavour, so you should find it interesting. I shall need you acting as our butler the day after, while we deal with a delegation from Earth. Can do?”

“Curiously, yes I can. The church has had to reschedule our wedding to Kathleen due to some foul-up with their bookings, so I am free. Today and tomorrow are okay. I’ll be there at two, sir.”

“Good man. I’ll explain more at the meeting.”

John Freeman closed his phone and pondered to himself, “Odd. The wedding gets postponed, than the Governor needs me at precisely the time now freed. Coincidence? I think not. However, I’d better inform all three girls of the change. Kathleen’s folks are due today, so I think the three girls should meet them and try a charm offensive.”