April 3: The Middle of Nowhere (24 page)

"To the point they need to deliberately put brakes on the economy?" April asked.

 "So much so that some of the dump sites from the start of the century are being dug up and mined for their metals and glass. You can't believe what they threw away."

"We aren't lifting as much metal to orbit now that we have an asteroid capture to mine," April told her, "but we are a long way from it being cheap enough to sell materials to Earth."

"And I doubt that will change this century," Helena agreed.

"I'll take you up on that ride back," James agreed. "I didn't mean to be offensive. We aren’t poor, but I have to admit I find the prices up here stunning. Our rooms in NLV are really expensive. Will they be any cheaper with Home not being a resort?"

"If anything they will be more. In New Las Vegas  they know most of their guests will lose a pile of money gambling. They could probably comp you the room and make out okay. Here they don't have the house cut on gaming to cover the room." April said. She was starting to think Helena was the brains of this partnership.

Chapter 15

Zack was happy to have two new customers even if the sale was only a couple spex. He took one look at James and Elena and poured on the charm. April suspected he could tell from their clothing and manner that they were potentially valuable customers.

April's com vibrated. Not many callers could make it do that. It was a text from her grandpa. "Classic pianist at club called off sick. Jazz quartet filling in. Want to go?"

"Sure, can I bring Gunny? Might I invite another couple? What time?"

"Tables seat four. We can squeeze an extra chair in, np, 1730?"

"Great – Gunny and me for sure. Will tell you if others beg off."

The Alphonses were declining Zack's offer of coffee. James had his spex on and seemed comfortable with them. Helena was turning her head to look at an uncluttered wall or panel like new users often did before they grew comfortable with an extra layer in their vision.

"My grandpa says there was a switch of musicians for tonight and the people I wanted to hear will be playing. Would you care to come along with me this evening? We would hear a little jazz and have a few drinks. I imagine they will have snacks."

Elena looked at James and got a little nod. "That sounds nice. We need to go to the Holiday Inn and check in and confirm our luggage arrived. Could we do that next so we have time to relax a little and get dressed?"

"Sure, let me show you how to use your spex to find it and guide you there," April offered. "See the little symbol light up? You blink on it and it grants permission for our spex to talk," she got them set and Gunny and she walked them to the hotel.

"This looks so nice," April looked all around, checking out the lobby. "It was damaged terribly a bit over a year ago in the war. I haven't been in since. They had a beautiful big conference table with all sorts of exotic wood inlay in the next compartment there. I hope it didn't get damaged in the fighting. We had a sort of safe room here, but we would come in the back door to avoid being seen."

"A safe room? That sounds like something out of a spy novel," Elena said smiling.

"Oh yes, there was a spy involved at the start. The USNA sent a Space Seal in to try to steal some tech a friend of mine developed. He tore their apartment all apart - made a mess. Set a fire and did some stupid pointless vandalism on top of it all, but never did find the tech. I talked to him out in the corridor believing he was an architectural student. I was
so
green. That seems like a hundred years ago. Only thing makes me feel any better is he fooled everybody else too, folks older and smarter than me."

"Perhaps you can expand on that this evening. How should we dress?" Helena asked.

"My grandpa said dressy. I doubt they'd turn you away at the door for anything, but if you brought something a bit fancy in your traveling clothes that would be nice."

"What are you wearing dear?" Helena inquired.

"Something dressy Frank Fabbri of Honolulu made for me and some accessories by his associate De Luco," April told her. "It's black."

"Ah, I have a little black dress along, I'll wear that then," Helena agreed, smiling at her joke.

"I imagine you could find your way now that I've showed you how the spex work, but why don't we come by and walk over with you? About twenty minutes early, okay?"

"That would be pleasant," Helena agreed.

* * *

Their rooms were agreeable, but very compact, more so even than the ones in New Las Vegas. If it hadn't been a suite they would have had no room for their luggage.

"What should I wear dear, black tie?" James inquired.

"I think that might be overkill. Perhaps just a pale shirt and your blazer?"

"Surely a dinner jacket at least, for a club?"

"If you wish. Formality doesn't seem to be very common here. She said dressy in fact, not formal. Look at how they were dressed."

"Yes, but you caught them on the way to a cafeteria dinner."

"That's true, but did you hear what she said she was wearing?"

"I know nothing about women's clothing," he reminded her.

"She said she was wearing something made for her by Fabbri of Honolulu."

"So?"

"It was sarcasm. Oh, I don't think she meant it to be mean at all, but he's one of the best designers outside New York or Paris. I doubt he makes a bespoke formal dress for less than a hundred-thousand. She'll be wearing that and De Luco jewelry when, as they say, pigs fly."

"What are you wearing then?"

"A very plain black dress to the calf with plain pumps and minimal jewelry, just a simple chain and earrings and a little clutch purse. She made clear she doesn't expect people traveling to be prepared to dress very well. I must admit I left most of my better things back on NLV."

"I'd give her the benefit of the doubt then, that she is just very practical about things like traveling light rather than underestimating you. You should dress up, please. When else will you have an opportunity to do so here? You can always dress for me, even if the natives don't appreciate it," he pleaded.

"Very well, you're doing a fair imitation of a newlywed," she said giving him a quick kiss.

"Well it hasn't been a year yet and you better stop that if you still intend to go back out."

"We're a bit ahead of them. There will be plenty of time after dinner," she promised.

* * *

They went down to the lobby five minutes early. Their hosts were waiting already. The older gentleman must be her grandfather. He was in a deep blue tux and looked very distinguished. There was something odd about him. He had white hair, but the roots were coming in dark, the reverse of the usual order of things where people dyed their hair. He seemed a bit too straight and moved very smoothly and easily for his age.

Gunny surprised them by being in full dress USNA Marine uniform. It fit impossibly well and his array of ribbons and medals was impressive. He was already a massive man. In dress he looked six inches taller.

April was the most disconcerting however. It took Helena every bit of her self control not to let her mouth fall open. April wore a long sheath of black silk with thin straps, not too tight and slit to the calf. It had a detailed fine pattern like quilting on it, swirls and arcs of slightly raised fabric in careful hand stitching. The patterns were reinforced with a light dusting of fine seed pearls, black and bronze and just a few crème for contrast. She had a necklace of platinum with a triangular center diamond, point up, flanked by large tapered  baguettes. The arc of the necklace followed the neckline of the dress perfectly. Her earrings repeated the triangle and square theme. Her small handbag was covered in the same needlework her dress displayed and she had on black silk pumps with a surprisingly low heel.

James leaned over and spoke softly in his wife's ear. "Oinc, oinc, oinc." She elbowed him in the ribs hard before he could add any aeronautical references to the porcine. He covered any reaction. April quickly got them out the door and moving.

"Master Sergeant," James said counting his stripes, "I'd have thought a USNA uniform would be unwelcome on Home. How is it you are bodyguard to Miss Lewis and yet can wear the uniform?" he asked puzzled.

"I was assigned to guard April by the direct order of President Wiggen. I'm still waiting to receive my mustering out papers from her so until I hear otherwise I am still a Marine. I am very newly arrived and have not had opportunity to buy dress clothing here on Home so I figured it would be nice to wear this one last time."

"By her, you mean President Wiggen again? James asked.

"Yes she said she'd see to my retirement. I mean, of course she'll just call up somebody and tell them to do it, but when the orders come down from the top they do tend to hop to it. As to the folks here on Home, none have been put off by my service. Of course not invading them in space armor, weapons blazing, probably has something to do with that."

"I get the sense you are staying then?"

"Yes, I think I'll give it a try. I found myself played between political factions at home. I've had entirely enough of that, thank you. I came up not two weeks ago because I was told to turn myself in under arrest. Wiggen's people were not shy to use people like me as bait to draw out the Patriot party and expose their coup attempt. I don't like being bait."

"There was a coup? In North America? James asked dismayed.

"They tried. It went rather poorly. That's part of why April and I fled Hawaii. Well, the Chinese were gunning for her too, but that's another story. We slipped away on a sailboat and skulked about the South Pacific for a bit. We eventually made out way to Tonga and lifted for Home."

"Did you just abandon the boat there?" Elena asked. She loved sailing.

"Oh it had a crew to take it away, you don't sail that sort of a boat alone, it was a twenty-three meter ketch. Much more boat than I'm qualified to sail except with the master standing right behind me. You don't sail a
little
boat around the Pacific like in a sheltered bay. It was very pleasant though. I'd do it again in a heartbeat for a vacation. We anchored in an unpopulated atoll for a few days and had some nice snorkeling," he said wistfully.

"I thought you had seen some sun lately," James said nodding.

"Yeah, people on Home run to the pale don't they?" he said, looking at the back of his hand like it was a new idea. "Unless you are like her buddy Jeff. He's Indian and has a coppery bronze skin half of California would kill to acquire. This'll fade quickly enough though. I doubt there is a tanning booth to be had on the hab."

"I'd never heard of such a thing," April confirmed.

"They are almost regulated out of existence in North America," Gunny remarked.

"I will
not
say anything," James vowed, "in Europe we'd have a nine thousand page regulation that describing how they may be offered in such complex detail nobody could feel they were in safe compliance."

"Ah, another pair of potential immigrants seeking freedom," April asserted. She stopped in front of an elevator and called it. "Be careful," she warned, "We are going in two levels and you will weigh about half what you are used to. Some folks are awkward at first."

"In principle that would be true," James allowed. "However we are spoiled by spacious quarters and the ability to get out and travel. We are not unaware we are of the privileged class of our society too. I enjoy knowing the Monarch even if I am a poor distant relation. It would be a very difficult decision to emigrate. I doubt you have much need of people to guard antiquities or manage charities so what would we do?" he pointed out.

"We have a professor of Medieval Music who had a similar problem," April told them. "She is a cook and manager in the cafeteria. She has been very entertaining a few times playing the keyboard on a harpsichord setting hardly anyone else has a clue how to use."

"I didn't know you felt oppressed," Helena said surprised. "You have certainly never seemed the firebrand ready to join a revolution. Just the opposite." She was bouncing on her toes a little feeling the difference in spin.

"I chaff at the little things. The speed limit along the road to our country home goes up and down with no logic. The road has so many signs instructing me what to do and what they consider dangers that I can hardly see the countryside. Do we really need some authority telling us how long a banana must be to legally be offered for sale in the store?"

"Amazing, I'm married to a dissident and never knew it."

"Free the bananas!" April offered, giggling. The door opened and they exited, cautiously.

"My God, I can actually wear high heels comfortably," Helena said amazed.

"I should like to try playing basketball at this gravity," James said. "I tried the game in college and found I had no talent for jumping. Nor dribbling or shooting," he admitted after a thoughtful pause. Helena just patted his arm.

"Now
that
would be something to see," April said visualizing it. "A half G compartment big enough to hold a basketball court!"

The corridor was semi-industrial, a cork-like soft floor instead of carpeting. The light strips were bare instead of indirect and muted. Some of the doors had business names and logos. April's grandpa stopped at a plain door with a plate beside it that simply said 117-C. He rang the bell and waited. When a fellow answered he said, "Member Happy Lewis and four guests." The fellow looked familiar but April didn't know his name. He had on a white dinner jacket and nodded to her grandpa. "Thank you Mr. Lewis. Follow me please."

The vestibule was an L-shaped standard Mitsubishi lock. April noticed the controls were naked rather than behind a panel. Just inside there was a sort of lectern and they were handed off to a pretty young woman who led them down a narrow aisle left between tables. The space had probably been warehousing. It looked to be about forty seats and a stand up bar along one wall. In a half G standing would be no burden, but then April saw the bar had pull down stools.