Chapter 30

“Simply because there are different people all over the galaxy. Some of them look like us, more or less, so you have to be careful about who you bother because they look different. They might be an alien-human hybrid, and that could get you into REAL trouble!”

The other teens had gathered while they conversed, and their leader was getting more confused as they spoke.

“You are odd, man. Where you from?”

“England ... Yorkshire, actually, to be more specific. We Yorkshiremen are not to be trifled with at any time. We had to fight off a raid on our pharmacy recently. The raiders are now in custody, so no trouble to anyone any more. I hope we will have no trouble from you lads. Eh?”

The lad backed off a little, as did his pals.

“We weren’t looking for trouble, man, really.”

“Well, don’t go around bothering anyone who looks different, and we won’t bother you for being different. Can we agree on that?”

The leader swung his eyes to his friends, then said, “Sure. We don’t want to get into trouble, do we, lads?”

The other two shook their heads, adding, “Not us.”

“Then I hope you have a nice day. Watch out for the occasional alien visitor.”

John turned and walked steadily back towards the shop. The teenagers swiftly headed in another direction, worried now about aliens.

John stepped inside the door, just ahead of a thirty-ish couple who had been watching the confrontation from afar, but within earshot. The man spoke to John.

“That was well handled, mister.”

“Thank you. I had been hearing tales of the exploits of my young assistants’ father, so I knew to act as if I was in control, and that would effectively put me in charge of the situation.”

“What started it, can you say? They looked like a bunch of rowdies on the prowl.”

“They were. They had chased a terrified young woman who ran into this shop for protection. Fortunately they hadn’t seen where she went, so didn’t know where to find her. That gave me the chance to get to them and run things through weird facts. I was able to show them some logic about bothering someone who is different, and diverted their attention away from the idea of others who are different.”

“You said something that frightened him. What was it?”

“I suggested he might be a mutant and he ran with it, not realising that mutation is a perfectly normal event in biology.”

“A mutant! How did you convince him?”

“A fairly common mutation in humanity is extra digits – fingers or toes. I guessed that he had never actually counted his toes, so I pointed out that he might have six toes and so be a mutant. I guessed right. He obviously had never looked closely at his feet from that standpoint.”

The man burst into laughter.

“He believed it? Amazing.”

“It may have been true. It is an amazingly common mistake in the human genome; that and a small tail – which usually is cut off by the surgeon shortly after birth. The extra digits don’t usually cause any trouble. Most people never notice if a friend has an extra finger, and toes are usually out of sight.”

“Good God! I didn’t know it was frequent.”

“Surprisingly so. Were you needing something from the shop?”

“Oh. Yes. Ointment for an itchy foot – a fungal infection, I think.”

“Most probable. We have a small tube for the cure; takes about a week of daily use to kill it, but best to continue for a few days more, in case there are more spores hanging around. Not very expensive either. Jane, can you serve this patient with a tube of Canestan, please?”

Jane did so, and the others watched quietly as the customers were served and left. Once the door closed, there was a rush of questions and the albino girl shyly looked round from her hidden position further back. He told them the tale of the confrontation, ending with, “And I didn’t even mention our melanin-free visitor.”

He turned to face the girl. “I am certain they didn’t see you enter, miss, but I would suggest you remain inside here for a while, just in case they might hang around nearby. We don’t need to offer temptation.”

“Oh, thank you, Mr Meadows. The girls told me your name. They say you are a wonderful and brave man, and that the two older ones are going to marry you. They chose a good man to marry, I agree.”

“So, who are you and what brings you here - in general terms, not the shop?”

“I am Letitia Farson, and I came to Rehome only a few weeks ago when I got the chance, to get away from the way I was treated like a freak back home. I didn’t expect to find the same reaction here.”

“And how old are you, young lady? Married or otherwise connected?”

“John!” He was immediately ticked off by Debbie. “That was not an appropriate thing to ask a girl you have just met.”

He apologised to his visitor. “Sorry, Letitia. I am still learning how to deal with females. Debbie and Jane are teaching me, usually more gently than that.”

“It is all right, Mr Meadows. I can tell they love you. I am 22, single and likely to remain so. My condition puts men off.”

John smiled gently. “Unfortunately the condition is permanent. We can only help with the symptoms, not a cure. How are your eyes?”

“You noticed? I normally wear dark glasses to hide my pink eyes and protect them from the sunlight.”

She fished out her dark glasses from a dress pocket to show him, but as a show of bravura did not put them on.

Sidra gave a short harrumph to get their attention. They turned to look at her.

“Jane? Debbie? Letitia is new here, so needs a protector, preferably someone who knows how to treat her condition.”

Jane glanced speculatively at Sidra, then nodded. “You are quite perceptive, Sidra. You think that John should take her under his wing?”

Sidra replied, “It would be best for her in the short term. In the long run ... Well it depends on how you and Debbie get along with her.”

Debbie jumped in, “Matchmaking already, Sidra? I thought that was Fiona’s enthusiasm!”

“Nothing so precipitous, Debbie. Just thinking that you three could give her the best start on Rehome. The future can take care of itself. Who knows what might happen?”

John spoke to Letitia again.

“Ignore their arguments, Letitia. Sidra and Elizabeth’s father is married to eight women, so these two regard multiple spouses as normal practice. It is, on Rehome.”

Letitia dropped her former surprise at Sidra and Elizabeth being sisters. “So you young ladies have different mothers, just the same father.”

Elizabeth explained, “Not quite, Letitia. Reg is not the birth father of either of us. My parents died in a car accident on Earth and later the Robertsons took me in. Sidra’s mother is now married to Reg and has a son by him, and he has welcomed us both as his daughters. We love our new Dad.”

John said to Letitia, “One of their tales was of Reginald being attacked in Yorkshire by a rowdy who stuck a knife in his back. Reginald killed his attacker before going to hospital with the knife still in his back.”

“Good grief!” exclaimed Letitia. “A tough guy indeed!”

Jane and Debbie wore also impressed.

“I didn’t know that Reginald was a killer!” said Jane.

Sidra was quick to remonstrate with her. “Not a killer by nature, Jane; only a killer when attacked. Do you think he should have let himself be killed?”

“No, I didn’t mean that!” said Jane, “Just that I didn’t know he had the capacity to kill an assailant.”

Sidra was mollified. “That’s okay then. Reg and his wives all got self-defence training at university. He used one of the techniques they learned there. It was pure luck that his automatic response killed the attacker. He never intended to kill, just disable.”

Letitia put in, “Still, it was impressive to be able to do that with a knife in your body.”

“It was,” Elizabeth told her. “My Dad is a hero, in a number of different ways. He and his wives turned me into the person I am today. Before, I was a suicidal slob.”

“My goodness,” Letitia exclaimed. “You are a lovely and personable young lady today.”

“Thank you, but it was a hard slog, getting me into this condition. I intend to stay this way. My sister helped me a lot with the training.” She smiled to Sidra in thanks.

John asked Letitia, “Well, my dear girl, do you wish to remain under my protection?Jane and Debbie will be your initial protectors until we can get you formally made a resident in our household. Presently Jane and Debbie are formalising their transfer to my residence in advance of our marriage.”

“We are?” Jane looked at Debbie. “Are we?”

Debbie shrugged. “John spoke to me yesterday about us moving in with him, and I agreed for us both. I should have mentioned it, but I thought you would have no objection.”

“I don’t. Just surprised, is all. Do we have to hand over our apartment to the Admin department?”

“Not just yet. They know that sometimes plans don’t work out, so we have a delay before we have to consider vacating the premises. I asked Admin about that after John spoke to me, so my mind was preoccupied, and speaking with you about the plan sort of slipped my memory. I am sorry, Jane. I won’t forget again, if we are going to share our man.”

“I am not happy, Debbie, but I forgive you this time. Don’t ever forget again.”

Sidra commented, “You had better get all your ducks in a row, girls. Living in a family is hard work, and you need to know what each other is doing, to keep things in harmony. With eight Mums, I know what it can be like! They tend to have a discussion during or after our evening meal, to bring everyone up to date.”

At this moment, Fiona walked into the shop, carrying a full shopping bag. She expressed her surprise at everyone standing around talking.

“Nothing better to do with your time, folks?”

John explained the recent episode, and Fiona sighed.

“An example of how the planet is being settled. Admin makes assumptions and doesn’t think things through. They seem to have worked on filling the first city with immigrants before sending folk to the second city. Result? A whole bunch of newcomers who are not fully absorbed into Rehome culture get placed here. They still act as if they were on Earth, only in a different location. This means that stupidities such as drug-running and social discrimination of people who look different have transferred without correction. Dumping newcomers into the second city without any social adaption or preparation can be a dangerous precedent. I must contact the colony Administration to tell them what has been happening.”

“You are right about that, Mum Fiona,” said Elizabeth. “There appears to be little, what you might say, direction from the Admin people for this city. They just leave people to settle in as best they can.”

Fiona frowned. “It must be that they assumed that they had done enough, instructing the arrivals that filled the first city, and didn’t bother continuing that process. To my mind, that is criminal incompetence. Perhaps I’ll get Reg to make the complaint, rather than me. They tend to listen to men more than women, as usual, and I want them to pay attention properly.”

John asked her, “Boss, I have asked Debbie and Jane to come live with me, and I have offered Letitia – the albino girl – a chance to live with us until she is more secure and able to cope by herself. Is that okay with you?”

Fiona stared at John for a moment, then glanced over at Sidra and Elizabeth. They both grinned and nodded to her, giving their approval. She turned back to John and told him severely, “If your assistants are happy with that plan, and Letitia is willing to accept your family’s help, then it is fine by me. Just don’t let it interfere with the work of the Pharmacy, all of you.”

Fiona reported the facts to Reg at the evening meal, and he was horrified.

“We came to this planet expecting things to be different, not bring our old attitudes with us. I wonder if Ivan’s new wives have found any discrimination here because they are black? I must find out.”

Frances interrupted, “Leave that to us girls, darling. Jade and Naomi will talk to us more readily about their encounters than they would to a man. Ivan may not even know there is a problem. Girls often fail to mention such difficulties to their families.”

“Oh,” Reginald responded. “You are probably right, Frances my love. If you check that out and let me know, it may reinforce what I have to say to Administration about their lax induction procedures.”

Frances rang Jade and asked her. Jade was hesitant, but admitted, “There were a few times when we were in town that we got glowered at, or someone spat on the ground between me and them. Nothing was actually said, but the attitude was evident. If my white family was not present, I don’t know what would happen. I know you can never do anything about it, Frances; it is just life as it is.”

“Not here, Jade. Rehome is different. In the first city, Metropolis, the immigrants were told that treating anyone as a second-class citizen would get you sent back to Earth. What we are finding is that this instruction has failed to be repeated in the second city. Why, we don’t know, but it was probably carelessness by some official who had the job of enforcing the instruction manual for life on Rehome.”

Jade grunted at the other end of the phone, then added, “Frances, it only takes one bigot to make things awkward for the rest of us. I suspect what you will find is that one bigot has got himself into a position of some power and wants to push his own agenda; much like that American President did for a few years.”

Reg gave Frances his opinion, and she channeled it through to Jade.

“Point taken, girl. I can go with that.”

When Reginald finally got through to speak with someone senior in the Admin department, he had difficulty getting his point across. The official, James Harwood, admitted to being in charge of the new cities, but wanted to know in what capacity Reginald was speaking. He was clearly seeking to pigeon-hole the enquirer.

“I need to know what your position in this matter is, Mr Robertson.” Frances, who was listening beside her husband, widened her eyes at this comment. Reginald proceeded as if this was perfectly normal.

“Basically, I am a concerned citizen who has observed that something seems to be amiss with the choice of residents of City Two. The criteria for residence in Metropolis does not appear to be applied here.”

“That is a matter for the person appointed as City Manager, Mr. Robertson. I am sure you can see that.” He paused before concluding, “You must allow the City Manager to do his job.”

Reginald commented, “Ah, I think I see what is happening. Officialdom is taking over. The citizen is unable to criticise the official, and the official is being left to make his own decisions, even where that is contrary to Colony policy.”

“Come, come, Mr. Robertson. There is no need to take that attitude. You can leave it to the officially appointed Colony staff to act in the best interests of the arriving population.”

“So you don’t want me to make a formal complaint to you about the administration of City Two?”

“Certainly not, Mr. Robertson. That would be most unwise, and reflect badly on you as one of our newer immigrants. I take it that you are indeed recent?”

“That is a fact I can admit to, Mr. Harwood. I shall instead compile a report from our organisation, the Rehome Research Group, and submit it to our employer for his attention.”

“You already have an employer on Rehome, do you?”

“Yes. We were head-hunted and directly commissioned by Governor Kempe to make investigations on many matters and report back to him on our findings for Colony improvements. I didn’t think that a report direct to him was appropriate in this instance, but if that is the avenue you would prefer me to take, I will follow your advice.”

There was a sudden silence at the other end of the phone, as Harwood took in this new information. Reginald could almost hear the gears shifting in the man’s mind. There was a rapid change of tone.