Chapter 2: Feathered Bed

The family stood around the tanning bed, watching the timer count down the last few minutes before the process would be complete. There had been some concern that five plus hours under the highest intensity light would be too much but Tonto had assured them that every bit of the light would be converted into internal energy to fuel the organic nanites as they completed the tasks Tonto had given them.

Tonto warned that she would not emerge from the bed looking like the image they had all seen on the computer. "She is going to look very much like a chick newly hatched from an egg. She will be wringing wet and her feathers will be damp and dull. It will take quite a few minutes in the shower to clean everything; then an hour or two for the feathers to completely dry and harden. The colors will continue to develop for several more hours." Everyone was eager and hunkered down to get the first look as the timer dinged and the automatic lid clicked open and began to rise.

The odor of wet feathers filled the room with a stench of a chicken processing plant mixed with the body odor of a down and out workout gym. Ellie looked like a damp, messy lump and her first act was to grab her enlarged nose and yell, "Pew, I stink! I need a shower."

Her family helped her from the bed and walked with her to the shower room, being careful not to damage any of her new, tender feathers. They would take some time to harden properly. The colors were muted and the feathers looked as fragile as any newly hatched baby bird. The shower was long, warm and refreshing and it helped align the feathers into their natural positions. Before leaving the shower Ellie instructed the two men, her husband and father, that they were to go back to the living area and would not be allowed to see her until she was ready to make an entrance.

Family organization continued at a rapid pace. Concubines and sponsors danced the age-old dance of flirting and selection. This was different than other extractions across the globe. Everyone in the group was highly qualified and would find a comfortable, intimate mating within the larger family. Most important, everyone was going. There would be no one left behind.

Sponsors met with Rob, Jason, and Val; introducing those whom they had selected. Each concubine was privately questioned by a Tufts family member to assure that they were just as happy with the process as were the sponsors. Women and men walked freely throughout the compound and while there was concern about an unknown future there was no real sense of fear. It was abundantly clear that this was family, not slaves and masters.

Tonto was busy negotiating with the AIs representing the Darjee without giving away the secret that he too was an artificial intelligence. The AIs assumed that they were dealing with the head of the family without questioning who that might be. It was determined that Ellie would transport to the human controlled space craft, Harvest Moon, accompanied by her escorts, Jason and Grandmother Valantra.

Ellie would then be transported aboard the Darjee ship (with an unpronounceable name) that was located in near space just outside the orbit of the moon. Val would be allowed to accompany her but Jason, as a violent male, must remain on Harvest Moon. Only Ellie would be allowed inside the Darjee ship proper. Val would remain in the isolation dock tethered to the ship by a mile long strand.

The Darjee would have no knowledge that Ellie's constant companion was Tonto. They would offer her an injection with a translator unit that she would refuse stating, in the native Darjee tongue, that she was royalty who was well beyond the Youngling stage and that she was perfectly capable of speaking the "mother tongue." Tonto had learned that the AIs intended to insert a tracking and monitoring device in the injection without the knowledge or consent of the Darjee. Tonto had studied well and downloaded from the Observer database a full knowledge of the language of the Darjee. While Ellie's natural voice box was incapable of making many of the sounds the Darjee used in speech, that too had been modified while she was in the sweat box growing feathers.