Chapter 12

An extra repeater had to be placed in orbit to control the cleansers. Borin would handle this task though the boat usually would. I went back to our first depot and dropped off all the parts we were able to make so far. The boat picked up some minerals and wondered around the field like an grazing animal looking for trace elements that it needed.

I used the hand tools inside the base to make a much nicer job of the interior. It was enlarged greatly and again the floor was settled. There was a considerable amount of pulverized rock and this was dragged out and flown to a large depression and dumped. Doing the job this way took a lot longer but the material had not gone under the disintegrator and been sent out of phase with our easily seen three dimensions. The unseen two dimensions were utilized by the computer and other tools like our communicator and sensors. Only a select few could even become dimly aware of the other dimensions.

When the room was much more symmetrical I spent the remainder of my time putting small holes every ninety three and a half centimetres around the walls and then worked higher until I was at the apex. These holes would hold the projectors that would make this depot strong and secure. The only things to break this pattern was when I made three entrance ways for future expansion.

I went home a bit weary. This was more manual work than I usually did. The fatigue was more of the mind than of the body. At lunch I had eaten from the boat's supplies and talked to Megan and Sandy. They missed me but the girls at the table and one more nearby missed me even more.

The girls wanted steak for supper and I was to pick it up. Sandra and Megan had to go to a school game. It wasn't compulsory but their friends went and it would look odd if she didn't. I encouraged them to keep their usual activities going.

When I first entered the house I saw that something was wrong. The cleaning had gone too well. There was not the slightest bit of dust, grime or even built up wax. The carpet pile now stood up straight as if brand new. The light fixtures and the walls looked the same. There were two hours left and I had the cleanser come back in and start putting some dirt back into place. This turned out to be a lot more difficult than removing it.

Tommy came home on time with a spring in his step. It was easy to see that something made him happy. Going only for surface thought, I saw what he had talked to two girls and they had talked back. Both had been very friendly. He might have two girlfriends but he didn't know what to do with them yet.

He got a drink and sat at the table to talk to me. "Where are Sandy and Meg?"

They had a game to go to. They should be back a little after your parents get home. I have an hour that is free now and I would like to take you for a ride. If you remember I promised some time for you today. Any particular place you want to go?"

"The beach is nice. Too cold to swim but a nice place to walk."

"Mmmm a beach." I smiled and asked Borin, "I would like to go swimming where there will be no interference from the locals. Warm salt water, daylight and warm air. A small island would be great."

"There is a small island in the Caribbean near Guadeloupe that fits your requirements. There is no sentient life within seven kilometres."

"Good, thanks Borin."

"Tommy, you have been good at keeping secrets. I am going to give you one more. Now run upstairs and grab your swimsuit, beach shoes, and a towel." The boy didn't understand the reasoning but did do as he was told to do. He took this as an order and worked quickly. I took some potatoes and after washing and puncturing them, placed them into the oven. The timer was set when to come on and at what temperature.

The boy ran downstairs as I was cleaning the sink. "Leave by the back door."

He stepped out the door and saw nothing different. He was a bit confused because a taxi would come to the front. I walked to the most hidden part of the property and Tommy followed. "Don't get frightened soldier. Soon this will be a casual thing for you." He still didn't understand until he was suddenly in a strange enclosure. He didn't move. He just stared at the wall in front of him in shock. This was familiar to him though. He turned his head a bit and saw more that he had ever seen before. At the same time everything was understandable and he was strangely comfortable with it. He eventually did a full circle noticing all the things that had been explained in his lessons with Borin.

"You going to take a chair, or am I going to have to just wait out here?"

Tommy quickly took the nearby chair. By feeling the texture and firmness he started to accept how he had fallen into one of the many different kinds of ships in his computer. His mouth opened a bit and stayed that way as I appeared as if from thin air.

I smiled at him trying to make this seem casual. "Take the Navigator's chair. I will pilot the boat out and we will change places coming back." The boy had done his lessons and jumped to the correct chair. Hold your equipment up in the air." The boy did and it disappeared into storage. He even knew where it was going.

A holographic image appeared of North America. "We are going to a small island off the east coast of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. It is quite a bit east of Cuba and north of Venezuela. Find the locations then the larger island. Check with our satellites to see which of the small islands that have the best swimming conditions and are isolated from people. Travel time will be five minutes."

"Yes Sir."

He had done this before but it was simulated with the use of his keyboard. He now had to use actual mechanical devices and try to use his mind in something he was only verbally told about before. His eyes shot open when he was able to talk to Borin. Her voice was in his head and she was much more understandable. She was going to interface between the boy and the boat computer while he learned. Eventually he would have to do this himself with the boat's much simpler computer. He had never been this attuned before. His thoughts went all over the place and not only did Borin follow them but provide insight as well.

Tommy found what I requested then put the data into the computer. The course along with the locations of both ends of our trip. He put in the time variable for our current craft.

"Course laid in sir."

"Thank you Ensign."

We started out a bit roughly. Nothing was felt inside the ship but we had to skirt the top of the mountains by a slightly greater margin. This had never been taught to Ensign Claystone.

The mountains were very beautiful for their raggedness. We saw great expanses of open ground crossing the United States. Cities went by too fast to see. When we came to the Caribbean, only the islands were visible and only for a very short time.

Tommy had got over the shock of his mode of transportation and became enthralled with the view. He would come back to his surroundings but then go back to moving a sensor so that he could see a specific detail longer to understand it. Borin had to tell him about this ability. He was beginning to see how little he actually knew. He had studied before in a partial belief that Borin was real somehow. He hoped to be flying as he presently was but had no idea how this would come about. With his current reality he knew that he had to study even harder now.

Deceleration was very short and we stopped over an islet only the size of his parents property in Victoria. It was all sand and the water gradually deepened to provide a safe swimming area. Jelly fish, sharks and coral were looked for and only the latter was found. The locations were plotted and a safe area laid out. I landed the boat and when the scenery stopped moving I said, "I am going out now. I don't usually swim with a suit but you are welcome to do whatever you want."

I removed my clothes and even the shield. They disappeared from view. In seconds I was on the very hot sand and I ran to the water. This was more of a way to show that I was similar to anybody else that Tommy had met before. Firewalking now would distance him from me. The possession of the boat was already seen as too fantastic to really contemplate.

The water was warm and I swam out thirty metres until it was actually deep enough that my hands would not touch the bottom. I turned and swam to the right. I swam part way around the island before Tommy came out. He was embarrassed in his nudity but the hot sand stopped that. He too ran to the water. He saw me in the distance and followed. I kept in touch with the probes and the boat's sensors and just turned around and then swam along side Tommy.

I said, "I checked the charts and this island doesn't even have a name. At high tide it's underwater."

"You're talking with your mind?" He said incredulously.

"Yep. Same as you had to think at Borin so you could talk to the boat. What should we call the island?"

This got his mind off the insane thoughts and partially into the mundane. "The Republic of Claystone?"

"Sounds like a very small country. Since it is a republic there will be no king. Were you thinking of the modern meaning with a president or the older meaning where all segments of society are enfranchised and the power of the state is limited?"

"I don't know. I just picked the first name to enter my head."

Tommy was obviously still upset and hadn't come to grips yet with what we had done. We swam some more in an uneasy quiet. Finally Tommy asked, "Are you an alien?"

"Yes, but I would like to point out something that your sister said. She mentioned that your mother at one time was considered the same thing. She was not born in Canada. The first whites to come to this continent were aliens too. A short time ago if you lived in a village only twenty kilometres down the road you would be considered and alien. I am basically what you see. You guys have funny ear lobes and I didn't have them before I came here. There are a few other differences but not much. You and I don't have coarse hairs on our bodies except for our heads. I will never get any and never have to shave either." Tommy had known me for a while now and was not that frightened.

"What about my sisters?"

"Both of your sisters have something special that drew me to them. I simply fell in love. They saw the same thing in me and fell in love too. After that I made them smarter and able to listen to those people, like you, that cannot hear what others think. You never heard the discussion a few days ago where I told your mom and dad that I want to marry both of your sisters."

"That's against the law!"

"It's against Canadian law but other countries allow many wives. Countries with a law that says only one wife per husband also have families with more husbands or more wives than usual but they are not all married. You are still going to be an uncle That is unless you have changed your mind."

"No, oh... I just don't know any more."

"Well just let's take it one step at a time. I am a bit younger than Megan. This still gave me a lot of responsibilities. I was in a battle and my ship was very heavily damaged. Two of my crew were killed. My Gossna friend, named Odava and his mate Ichom, survived along with a girl of my race called Consti."

Tommy was getting tired so we stopped and stood. The water came to his waist but now he was not too concerned. I continued, "We were put into stasis and two hundred and eighty seven years later I was revived by accident." I let him digest this for a moment before going on. "My ship was largely destroyed. I needed a place to stop and fix it. My crew are not that used to fighting or to being in rough places so I kept them in stasis. I am getting things ready so my ship could get repaired.

"I could have picked a barren planet like your moon but I like company. I just happened to fall in love with both of your sisters. I sold some diamonds to some merchants and made a lot of money. Currently I am trying to buy some special elements that will allow me to build the most intricate parts of my ship. If I can't get what I want then I can make my own but it will take years more that way. I could send probes into atomic waste disposal sites to recover what I need but they are well protected. Moving past one of their sensors with a little bit of radioactive material may trigger alarms."

Tommy asked, "What is going to happen when you get your ship repaired?"

"I could go and search for my family and my people in it. Another thing I could do is build another research vessel. You know from Borin's lessons that it's big. It'll take a long time to build. Once it's complete, I could leave with your sisters and my children. That though will not be enough to crew the ship adequately. I am looking for people I can train to take over some of the very important duties. Can you guess to the identity of one that has had the most training so far? Do you know who has had the second most? The third most has not even ran the program yet."

"So you want all of us to be part of your crew?"

"Sure. There are a lot of benefits. You do get to be a scientist and an engineer. You meet some interesting races and talk to them. I know that Odava will like to talk to you. You move carefully and are fairly meticulous. He will see you as a friend I think.

"If travelling through the galaxy or building the ship is not what you want then you can stay out of this project entirely. You will still get the same mathematics and other benefits your father and mother are getting." I knew that there was too much excitement in my offer to turn it down but Tommy had not come to that conclusion yet.

"How long will it take to fix your ship and how long to build the research vessel?"

"Well that depends on how much help I get. If I had landed on a planet close to my ship is now, I could get it completely rebuilt in three to three and a half years. On this planet with the help of your family it will be a year and a half longer. The reason it will be so long is because you all have to learn how to help.

"After the precision fabricator is built we can build more of these devices with it. This will take an extra two cycles. The time used on this will be made up in increased speed to construct more articles. The first units will be mining equipment to provide the raw materials. Tools of every imaginable description are needed. We need small ships to take assemblies to orbit. A space station may be necessary but only until enough of the ship is built to provide the same functions. We need people and computers to do the assembling and testing. This all should only take thirty to fifty years. It will be significantly less if we can get lots of good help. Humans are not all nice and I am afraid that we will have lots of problems."

Tommy was upset at some of this dialogue and the time frame made him feel that he would be left out.

"Who is going to fly the ships into orbit Tommy? Who is going to use their engineering ability to make improvements? No ship we have ever built has not in some way been better than the one before. You will be able to do this if your brain is improved like mine. You will have a perfect memory and an IQ high enough to master any field you want. That is not in the simplistic way that Earth people look at it. You would be a real engineer and a real scientist."

He asked, "What do mom and dad think about your plans? Dad I think would like them but mom likes her friends and her job a lot."

"Your mom talks to me the way you are now. She has not been changed. Both of your parents think that I am a Human, raised in a special environment by a very rich and forward looking family. I promised to tell your mother but that will be in a week or so. She is watching her daughters' minds and abilities grow. When that is done she will decide for herself to improve her mind. Before that happens I will tell her everything I have told you. If she decides to join then the both of us will talk to your dad. I think he would jump at this chance but it is something we are just going to have to wait and see."

"How come you showed me this now?"

"You were coming to understand a great amount. Borin was the one that was teaching you this at my order. You would learn faster and better if you had some ideas of what you wanted. In a month you probably would have lost interest in this project and decided to just leave it like you do a video game. Now you have a small idea of what is happening and why it is occurring. Now let's swim for a while and then fly home. This time we go home by going east."

When the time came, we hot footed it across the sand. There was less distance to travel for the tide was coming in. I used the cleanser on Tommy, telling him what I was doing and why. When I was done we got dressed and I sat in the navigator's chair. I sent the data to Tommy and said, "Course laid in, Captain."

Tommy was shocked then reasoned that it was a joke. He replied, "Thank you, Ensign."

The trip this time was of necessity faster. We climbed to three hundred kilometres and changed course to stay over the land or to see certain points of interest. We landed in Tommy's back yard. He got out nonchalantly now and ran to put his clothing away. They were cleaner now than when he took them out.

Tommy set the table while I started the barbecue. Frozen vegetables were cooked along with the compulsory pot of coffee.

Ten minutes later the parents came home. Tom came through first expecting to see at least a small mess. Sleepovers were always that way. He found nothing wrong then noticed that everything was more than right. He started to tabulate the differences when Margaret told him to move aside.

Margaret was tired. She had not got much sleep and then she had school to teach. As she fully expected to have to spend an hour cleaning up.

She looked around quickly and said, "What happened here?"

"Sorry the girls were not perfect. They missed quite a few areas. Maybe they should sleep over an addition night to clean up all the things they missed."

"What do you mean missed? The house is perfect. The carpet looks new." She looked in a corner and said, "The stain is gone. I tried everything to get rid of it." She went to all the places that had been problems and found them all rectified. "What did you do, have the girls work every second they were here?"

"I'm not Captain Bligh but they had to work."

"I simply can't believe the girls cleaned all this. There's not a square inch not tended to. I have to look at the rest of the house."

Tom said, "This certainly wasn't what I thought would happen. I don't think the girls will ever want to come back."

"They have already asked. I doubt if your daughters will allow as many to come. There was simply more than the usual number and we would have to restrict it later."

"How many came?"

"Nineteen, I ordered a lot of Chinese food. They ate it for supper, snack and even for breakfast. There would be too much left over anyway. They were reasonably careful and all of them plus your daughters cleaned up. I gave some guidance and worked too."

"Well you did such a good job that the house hasn't looked this way since we first moved in. How did Tom take it?"

"Girls are girls and he was teased a bit. He took it like a soldier and then knew when to retreat. I would have too in his shoes."

Tom took all the luggage upstairs as I started the steaks. The girls had gone to a fast food restaurant after the game and had some soda with their friends. I didn't look but I think the game was not all that was discussed at the tables.

They told me when they were going to arrive and they wanted 'hot meat' and after a pause, 'on their plates' when they got home. The girls told me how their parents liked their steak and it was on their plates when they came down. Tommy took the oven mitts and removed the potatoes from the oven. I drained the excess water and served the vegetables.

When all three of them had seated I put the last two steaks on plates and in thirty seconds the girls came running in the door.

They both greeted their family and kissed me hard in front of them. Sandra looked at the hot food and said, "I knew there was a reason we love you so much." They waited and I seated each of them before taking my own chair and beginning the meal.

The girls knew how to act. They could see that the house was considerably cleaner than when we all pitched in and completed the work. I had warned them as soon as their parents reacted so strenuously to the changes.

After the meal I became the proverbial Captain Bligh I had denied being earlier. Margaret was instructed to start her own computer and begin training. At present there was a language lesson that showed her that she didn't know as much as she thought.

Tommy came in and showed his sisters how to use the new program and then taught them some of the mathematics he had learned to date. Tommy liked the role of teacher but the girls would surpass him very quickly. They did praise him for his effort. He took this as a soldier would as well. The boy did have quite a bit of natural dignity. He himself would have a shock when he went back to his computer to find that Borin was now going to communicate mentally.

Tom was already at his computer with no prompting. I jumped in the boat and when the next part was came out of the fabricator, I started working in very great detail on some of the more intricate components. It was well known that the mind had to do this with only an assist by the computer. The computer increased the speed that the fabrication would take and was able to make simple structures from its memory. Only the most powerful computers could do this task on their own. If a good portion of my free time went to this type of work then the new computer would be complete when the large fabricator was.

Updates came to me from Borin. Only half of the original properties I put offers in on were mine. I didn't need more than one but this could be like a shell game where a suspicious person would be constantly looking under the wrong walnut shell. I just might have to have a few empty shells though.

Borin's probes found more debris. Some was on the Chinese mainland and buried under a great many years of accumulation. No pattern as of yet had shown itself and the crystal was the largest piece found thus far.

No reports came in about the elements I wanted but these things could not be rushed. I would feel very guilty if there were problems if either man came under official scrutiny.

Borin had used all the material I sent her the first time. The additional load would take three months to get close and reverse course. This load should complete all of the missing hull. I would still have to send material that was not usually found in cometary debris. The motors and guidance systems from the antimatter missiles would be good for this task.

I came in late and mentally fatigued. Margaret seemed to be the same way and asked me a great deal more about the program itself and the data used to make it work. I talked around the subject and mentioned that my family had used this sort of thing for a long time. She found it difficult to imagine my family not taking over the Earth centuries ago and making it run right but she didn't say that out loud.

The girls were progressing not only very well with their studies but with the integration of the various portions of their minds. They didn't bother me too much about not paying attention to them for they knew that duty in many cases had to come before lovemaking. In bed though it was a different. I did my own duty and it was good that the girls needed less sleep to function adequately.

Wednesday

Tom and Margaret were preoccupied with all the things they had learned through the computer. Tommy was too but he was still trying to get all the warring portions of his mind to agree to help me and not go screaming as he ran down the street.

Megan and Sandra wanted me to talk to the girls again. They all needed to touch me or to do something that would let any one of them enjoy what they had before. I too acted like a soldier and tried to be diplomatic yet firm in what I would do and not do. I explained how I had done what I could to educate them. It was now their turn to educate a poor uneducated lout into the proper way to please a lady.

My task for today though was to continue with the fabrication I had started last night. I came up for air when the girls talked at their mealtime. I got a bit to eat myself but when they left, I returned to what only I could do.

Tommy interrupted me when he came home. I let him get a snack and enter the boat for his own work. It took him only moments to find this like home. An hour later I knew that if it were up to him, he would never step into his bedroom again now that he had this.

I gave him a small room on the boat that would be his and he took this literally. When the girls came home, they too entered the boat and began their own courses. The girls complimented Tommy on having a room to himself. They knew that theirs was with the captain no matter how cramped it was. Work was already planned to take out an adjoining wall so we would have a double cabin for three people.

Tommy asked Borin some pertinent points then brought what articles he could from his home and set up housekeeping. I knew that any scut work he would be happy to do as long as he learned a bit more about the boat. The talk of pilots the day before had hit its mark.

Today I ordered pizza and hoped that this would substitute for my not making the meal.

We all went back into the house before the parents arrived. Pizza came soon after. It didn't seem to matter for each was anxious to get back to their own study. It would be difficult for Margaret for she had to mark some papers that she could not get an assistant to do.

Work resumed right after the meal. Tommy though wanted to sleep in the boat. "You may if you wish but only after your parents know about me. They will know you are safe then. Parents are funny like that."

I stayed up late finishing a part and then climbed into bed. The girls were tired and for the first time we just slept.

Thursday and Friday were much the same. The girls had worked hard on their minds and bodies and it was getting time to bring Margaret into the fold gradually.

Tom was in his study learning more about power generation equipment. Tommy was busy on his own work and of course was in the boat.

I called upstairs to Margaret and said, "Margaret, if you have a moment will you come down to the kitchen?"

"Ok, Leif."

Margaret came in and sat at the table with her daughters on both sides of her. I said, "We were supposed to have a talk about how your daughters are progressing. It is very obvious that they are much more intelligent. Both can receive thoughts from others and project themselves strongly. There is a lot of other things that you do not know and I think it is time you found out."

"What sort of things?"

"A small demonstration is good for a start. Don't get squeamish on us though. It will look far worse than it is. There is no danger."

Sandra got a small dish towel and laid in on the table. A quick flick of a very sharp knife had Margaret almost faint. She was about to yell when Sandra said, "Mom, will you be quiet and watch?"

Sandra moved her skin into position with her fingers and the wound sealed. Cells that had been separated by the knife were united with their neighbours once again. With a bit of manipulation the wound was closed perfectly. Margaret was amazed but not as much as when three minutes passed the wound itself had disappeared. Megan got a damp cloth and washed away the blood. Sandra presented the arm to her mother. Margaret examined the area minutely and when she looked at me still not understanding, I handed her a magnifying glass.

It took a few more minutes for this inspection before she looked questioningly at Sandra and said, "How did you do that?"

"When Leif improved my mind, it was in many more ways than you know of. I have virtually full control of my body. I can repair myself if I am alive to do so. That means that I can change the colour of my skin or change my height even. My muscle cells can be changed along with the bones and ligaments. I can be very strong without even looking like it. Leif is that way. He is the strongest person I have ever heard of."

Margaret looked at me still not understanding. "Listen to Megan now," I asked.

Megan held her mother's hand and said, "This is the time when I should have my period. I have voluntarily stopped it now. When the three of us decide to have children we will have the periods resume. Birth too will be easier because I control all my muscles." Megan blushed a bit and added, "Leif already knows first hand about some of the things I can do with my muscles."