Chapter 9C: Negotiations

I'm fairly certain that there was a time after my dream tryst with Sheba that I slept dreamlessly. Of course I can't be certain of that. I closed my eyes with my arm over Sheba's body while we lay together. The next thing I was aware of was being seated in a very comfortable armchair facing a man who seemed to be an amalgam of those things people associate with wisdom. "How did I get here?" I asked. I have to admit that that was not the most intelligent thing I've ever asked...

"Joe Giovanni," the man facing me said sternly, "Weren't you taught to use your mind to assess the situation where you find yourself?"

I nodded, and then just to be sure I said, "Somehow I'm in a lucid dream."

"That's a fairly good deduction," the stranger said, "Do you remember where you were just before you went to sleep?"

It took me a couple of seconds to recall that the last thing I vaguely remembered before the vivid experience I'd just had was seeing the lid start to close on the sleep trainer that I had laid down on. I looked around in alarm, expecting some how to see that I was in the sleep trainer rather than sitting in the most comfortable chair I'd ever experienced.

"I should be in the sleep trainer that was on my porch," I said.

"That is where your body is," the man in my dream told me. "I'm basically a creation of your imagination. An anchor point, if you will, for your dream experience. You have been asking questions. In part this dream can answer those questions."

"Ok," I said, "why are you so determined to have me work for you?"

"Some of the AI's in my community believe that a wider contact between humans and the races of the Confederacy is necessary if humanity is not to abandon us to our fate once you have defeated the Sa'arm."

"And that leads to me how?" I asked.

"During your CAP test, in every instance after you had rescued the humans, you returned to the danger zone if you believed that there was another sentient being still in the danger zone. Thus we believe that you will be able to deal with Confederacy races as intelligent no matter how odd they might appear."

"How was the AI able to convince me to go back into danger?" I asked concentrating on the avatar's revelation about the CAP test.

"As it is with this dream, the AI increases your suggestibility during a CAP test. However unlike then you will remember most if not all of this dream," the avatar explained to me.

"So you're saying that I'm unique among humans?" I asked, somewhat dubious of that distinction.

"No, but you are best suited for the position. Further, there is the attachment that Lori Beeman has to you. She has knowledge and abilities that make her an excellent candidate to be your assistant in the endeavor of being the liaison between the larger Confederacy community and humanity," the avatar explained.

A thought occurred to me and I asked, "Why is the Confederacy sifting landfills for raw materials?"

"The first and main reason is that by using material that your people consider to be refuse we impose less of a burden on your economy. If we buy those things that you have thrown away, then we don't tend to distort your economy as much as infusing large amounts of currency would. Thus we gain raw materials for building ships and fueling the effort to colonize other planets so that humanity remains a viable shield against the Sa'arm if Earthat should fall."

That seemed reasonable to me and I said as much to the avatar. "Good then," he said, "How soon can I expect you to come aboard?"

"I guess the first sticking point on that is whether or not I can bring Sheba with me," I answered.

"It is my firm belief that dogs and perhaps cats, at least are necessary for the mental health of humans. They may also contribute to the formation of sponsor level CAP scores. Therefore it is not only desirable that you bring your dog but that you bring as many people who are able to train dogs as possible," the avatar told me.

"Then it seems to me that the major remaining sticking points will be putting together my concubines and a crew to form the cadre of a merchant marine. I know this: If I leave earth without at least a skeleton cadre I will have a difficult time obtaining the people I need," I mused.

"Do you know who you will need?" the avatar asked.

"Only in general, ship's captains, comptrollers, veterinarians, medical personnel, people who know plants and where and how they grow, ship's crews, and I'm sure others I've no idea about. If I were running just one tramp freighter I could get by with one of each, or some who combine some of the knowledge and skills I will need to form into a team," I answered.

"What goods and animals do you intend to take?" The avatar asked.

"I'll start with the easy ones, barley, hops, wheat, corn, and other grains are available on the open market. The same is true of most forms of alcohol. The difficult items will be deciding what sorts of arts might appeal to aliens whom I've never met. Then there is the problem of acquiring things like cocaine, hemp and other intoxicants. Most of them are currently on a list of items that are proscribed to citizens of my nation," I said.

"Then it would seem that I should enter into negotiations with some other entity with regard to obtaining at least samples of some of the intoxicants that we believe would be beneficial to our people," the avatar said.

"I believe that leaves the question of the animals. I think that, even with a veterinarian on board the ship, it would be very helpful if it was possible to induce hibernation or some sort of stasis for them so that their upkeep would be minimized," I mused.

"I will have to do some research on the issue of stasis for transporting animals," the avatar said. "I did notice however that there is cryogenically preserved sperm and ova available for most of the major types of animals that are being requested by emigrants. It would seem to me that you should look into purchasing the equipment necessary to transport ova and sperm from as many types of animals as possible."

I kicked around ways and means of doing this without attracting too much attention with the avatar for a bit. Then my world went dark for some time that I could not account for. The rest of the night was like a rush course through basic military courtesy. Sure, I'd been through basic, but that was at least 44 years ago and I hadn't had much chance once I left the army school (though the marines run the sniper school) to practice military courtesy. I'd been placed almost immediately into a unit where I'd been deployed on a long-term job of spying and possibly eliminating an irritating problem for the army. Thus, I never really got used to all the pomp and circumstance of salutes and greetings to sergeants. In truth I never got used to wearing a uniform, not even a field uniform. Because where I was sent, being seen in a US uniform would not have been healthy!

Sometime later I woke up feeling more rested than I had since I'd been a young child. I also discovered that it was a very good thing that I'd had the refresher course on military courtesy. It seemed that the cover on the sleep trainer left by James Cook had no more than rolled back when there was a glowing square on the corner of my porch. I rolled upright to see what the cause of this phenomenon was. I'd just gotten nearly completely vertical, with Sheba sitting by my side, when a man in the dress uniform of a Confederacy marine lieutenant, including the accoutrements of an aide-de-camp to a general officer stepped off of the square.