Chapter 10: Ceuta Sector

The sun was still struggling over the foothills when Jazira brought her 'mobile to a halt at Pru's door. Like most natives, she preferred to do her outdoor activities when the heat was at a minimum.

Pru climbed into the 'mobile, settling next to her friend, leaning to press a light kiss on her cheek. "How you doing, today?" she asked conventionally. Jazz put the 'mobile in motion before she answered.

"I've been thinking, Pru. I do need to do something to bring Zahlman back to reality. These guys he hangs out with aren't fools. They've got an agenda. I don't know what it is, mind you, but it sure doesn't include me — it doesn't include women at all. And if it doesn't include me, I don't like it."

"You've been worrying about this for a while, haven't you?"

"Pru, I read history. I know how Islam behaved in the old days, and how they treated their women. I don't want that. Enough is enough."

"That's mostly over, Jazz. I didn't mean to spook you yesterday."

"Oh, it wasn't you, Pru. You know as well as I do that there's plenty of the old ideas around. At least, there are guys who think they know what the old ideas were. I see troublemakers all the time. They'll use anything to make their ideas seem attractive. But, all they really want is to make themselves important."

"You're still thinking of The Yemen, Jazz. Those guys were real throwbacks. I never knew the old Bedouin ways still existed. What I mean is those guys didn't know any better. I doubt if any of them had ever been more than a day or two in a Controlled Area."

"That's different, Pru. These are guys from around here. They've lived here all their lives, most of them, and they know the score. They're modern men who're looking for something they can't put their fingers on, so they're looking at doing something scary to make them feel important or give them power. What's got me scared is that they'll get Zahl into their craziness."

"You're not giving Zahl much credit, Jazz," Pru said as the 'mobile moved along the wide, even way that led toward the CA, passing fields of vegetables and orchards of fruit trees that supplied the Area.

"I know, Pru. But, he's not doing himself much credit, either. Playing war games — that's just kid stuff. But, this Islamist business makes me really worry."

Jazz pulled the 'mobile into a parking area outside a portal and switched off the fields. The 'mobile settled to the ground, and they stepped out. This close to the Controlled Area, they left their shirts in the vehicle before entering the portal. Pru noted, once again, that Jazira's flash signified simply "married", matching her coded earrings.

Inside, they walked through a market area and down to the Metro level, taking a car toward Ceuta Sector.

As they rode, Pru picked up the conversation. "Has Zahlman brought any of this stuff home?" she asked.

"Well, some. One day he started off on the dress business. Modesty and that stuff. I told him what I thought of that and pointed out that his own modern dress was no more or less modest than mine by today's standards. He really agreed that times had changed and all that. But, I'm worried just the same. If he starts wearing baggy pants instead of a kilt, I'll freak."

In Ceuta Sector, they went off through the passages and shopping areas, looking in the windows and examining the different offerings. Pru was again reminded of her visit, years before, to the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market in Istanbul, with their similar areas of goods displayed in the open. She smiled at the thought that so much had changed, and yet so many things had remained the same. Certainly, the streets in Washington Sector bore no resemblance to those of Ceuta Sector. She inhaled, taking a deep breath of the fragrant atmosphere.

Jazira noticed and said, "I love the fragrances, too. You don't find the same thing anywhere else."

"Not in North America or Europe, anyway," Pru agreed.

They sat for lunch at a café, eating fruits and a salad that had probably come from the same fields through which they had just driven. Pru thought there was a strong chance the raw materials had been brought to market on Jazira and Zahlman's own lift trucks.

"Tell me about the rest of the gang," Pru asked, not merely to distract her friend from her concerns.

"Let's see. Mira still lives in Tangier Sector; she's still uncommitted and she's VP at a bank there. Isabella's gone back to Algiers CA, but I think she's doing something OC, like me. Not farming — she's an engineer; remember. Something like running a mine up in the mountains."

"That sounds a little risky. There are still some of those tribalists running around in those hills."

"Izzy never worried about risks, Pru. You know that. She's tough. And, then, there's Alia and Zaratta. They've settled down in the Capitol CA. They run a restaurant and bar in Casablanca Sector."

"Sounds like them. Are any of them committed or married?"

"Only me, Pru. Zahl and I chose the Islamic Marriage contract. But, Alia and Zaratta might as well be committed; they just don't wear the flash. I'm the old-fashioned, stay-at-home of the bunch."

Pru laughed out loud. "You're the one who made sure we were well armed when we went trekking, and it was you that led the counter-attack when they ambushed us."

"And it was your sharp-shooting that drove them off. They were all right as long as they could scare the crap out of us, but when you started putting slugs right next to them, they lost it. I'm glad you only had to wound one of them. I don't like killing."