Chapter 11

Laura and I woke the next day alone in the bed, to some of the most wonderful scents imaginable. Naltort had brought us breakfast in bed, and told us to feel free to spend the day there if we wanted.

"I enjoyed last night immensely, but you should have private time as well," he told us.

I asked a blushing Laura if she was too abused for a rematch, and she said, "Well, maybe not. I don't think my butt is up for another visit yet, but I think everything else still works."

She turned out to be right. Last night had been a frenzied fuck-fest, as she caught up on a three year drought, and I enjoyed making love to my first human partner in months. I'd fucked several women during my downward spiral, but it had been physical release, not a sharing of love like this.

We made love and napped most of the morning, then showered and had lunch with the rest of our new family, including Simtare, who was enjoying the second day of a three-day paid break from her job while the plant reconfigured for a new product line.

Simtare hugged me warmly when she entered the apartment, and allowed me to kiss her cheek in welcome.

"I was prepared to hate you the night Laura brought you home, but you were so earnest, so forceful in your condemnation of those who have abused and taunted me, that even then I felt some admiration. You treated my grievances as not only legitimate, but axiomatic. You respected me before you even met me. And now, after watching you speak last night, I believe I am beginning to love you, as I loved my father before he turned away from me."

Tarmant stroked Simtare's cheek, and said, "You may find that your father will be contacting you soon, seeking your forgiveness. Several persons recorded my husband's speech on video last night, and the recordings have gone viral on the newswebs. By now, I doubt that even a tenth of our population has not seen it.

"There are three major schools of thought. There is a substantial minority that rejects Sean's message, claiming he is a dirty Earther projecting his own hatreds and prejudices on a perfectly healthy culture. This group is largely human, though some Craxill also support this view.

"A somewhat larger faction acknowledges his sincerity, and admits that things could be better, but sees no true failure in our culture.

"The vast majority, however, agree that we have somehow taken a wrong turning from the ways that Lord Phoenix taught us, and that we need to review our laws and our cultural practices. One of the proponents of that view created a mash-up of the speech, inter-cutting footage of Dr. King's speech with Sean's, and combining both with footage of the civil rights and women's rights marches. That particular player seems to be seeking to downplay Sean's support of those like you who do not wish to join with humans, but there are other players in the game that are actually emphasizing it.

"All in all, Sean seems to have turned the world on its head, and through luck, done so without his name becoming too well known. I suspect there will be plenty of comments from people who recognize him, but for now at least, we will not need to worry about strangers seeking us out to punish us for his heresy."

No sooner had Tarmant made that claim, than my phone indicated an incoming message. I started to play it, started in surprise, then paused the playback and redirected it to the entertainment screen in the living room. I waved everybody into position, and restarted the playback.

A familiar face appeared on the view screen, the now-aged visage of Lord Phoenix himself. He'd left active participation in public matters years ago, and an amazing number of people thought him dead, not realizing how young he'd been when he turned the Craxill and human societies on their collective ears.

"The following message will go out on public release within the hour," he said. The image faded to black, then he returned, and began to read from a printed speech.

"Last night, a human from Earth spoke several truths that many of us of Phoenix needed to hear. As he said, when human and Craxill first met, many of us saw a dire future ahead, and sought any means possible to avoid it. What we have today is far from ideal, but it is stable, and we feared the consequences if we pushed too far, if we overreached and failed. As with most of those in power throughout history, we underestimated the strength of the people we 'led, ' as shown by the reaction to that young man's words.

"I left the reins of power behind years ago, but I retain the authority to designate an Outstanding Citizen of the Year, an award which includes a substantial, untaxed, financial benefit. I hereby announce that I have granted this award to Sean Mac Chen, of the Celtic Republic of Earth. While the award is normally restricted to actual citizens, Sean and his bride-to-be Laura have demonstrated that they accept the principles of our society to a degree that is an inspiration to us all. Based on the information at hand, I fully expect Sean to earn his citizenship when he completes his education.