The Alien Library (4 page)

“The all- knowing Daniel, eh?” Cameron tried to joke. “Oh, I feel exhausted.”

“Feel free to take a nap in the garden. And from now on, you are to ask me questions. Kharmon. Care of man
and woman
. It is a role I believe in. You have needs, you speak of them. You are not here to live the life of a monk or nun, if I understand the idea completely.” Pindari stood and insisted on Cameron’s help in preparing a lunch appropriate to an afternoon in a garden.

Tendar stayed in the library, surrounded by the books Cameron had touched. He curled up on the couch, inhaling the scent of her and accepted that he’d been infected. It had to have been in the pool. It would pass, if he wanted it to. He wasn’t sure he wanted it. He opened the book of Whitman poetry, letting it fall to whatever page fell open. He read the lines and sighed.

“
Unfettered storms
…appropriate.” He closed his eyes and let himself sleep, cradling the book to his chest. His aunt would share what had disturbed Cameron so acutely when ready.

*****

Cameron allowed Tommy to lead her through an area of the huge house that wasn’t familiar to her. When he stepped through a doorway, he smiled and turned to see her reaction. A garden spread out before her: green grass, flowers, shrubs and even trees. She spied a small lake, with a fountain at the center. There were people, scattered here and there. Some lay out in the sun, some played on swings and what she knew as monkey bars, elaborate play sets. A few were in the trees, while others splashed in the lake.

It looked idyllic. The reality of it stunned Cameron. No half-assed attempt to placate the humans with a makeshift garden. They got paradise. Tommy led her to a shaded area and spread a blanket down, then set the basket near her. He knelt. “Anything else?”

She smiled at him, such a sweet man. Pindari explained that Tommy wasn’t considered a full Thinker, but he carried more awareness than many others. “No, Tommy. Thank you. I’ll just relax and enjoy being outside.”

“Swim?” He gestured toward the lake.

“Maybe later.” She nodded.

He seemed disappointed. She quickly figured out what he wanted. “But you should swim if you want to. I’ll watch.” He grinned and sprang to his feet. He slipped out of the tunic and left it at her feet, dashing into the lake with a bellow to begin a great water fight. It made Cameron laugh.

She laughed a great deal that afternoon.

All the questions she hadn’t asked drifted away. She began to believe, at least in the sunshine of the day, that life hadn’t ended. She shared her lunch with Tommy, who returned from his lake battle dripping water, but giggling. She praised his ability to beat out the others in the lake. He eventually fell asleep, sprawled on his back, a hand wrapped around an erection. Cam just ignored it, knowing it as innocent.

She pulled a blank book from her bag and wrote down a few questions later that day. She wrote
Dr. Daniel. Cardiologist? Surgeon? Books on heart attacks. ICD.
She made lists, tried to get worried but ended up unable to sustain it. She left Tommy asleep and walked, finding she knew many of the flowers. Several of the people playing tried to entice her into joining them, but she passed. She did wade in the lake, even floated on her back.

When she looked for her dress, it was gone. She stood, shivering when a tall Kharmon approached, holding it out for her. “They thought it would be funny. I agreed and said I’d hide it for them. Here.”

“Uh, thank you. Why would they think it funny?”

“They find humor in odd places, I guess.” He shrugged. “I am called Sil. They raided what was left of your lunch. Tommy woke and chased them off, but nothing remained.”

“Oh, that’s all right. I don’t blame them.” She slipped the dress over her head. “Where did everyone go?”

He nodded over to a cluster of trees. “They make music.”

“Music?” She looked interested. “Oh! Will they mind if I listen?”

“Of course not,” he answered. “I would get your bag first.”

“Thank you.” She hurried to the blanket and then trotted over to a natural amphitheater. Once there she sat, entranced. Two men played guitars. A woman had a fiddle, another a tin whistle; they were good. She found tears running down her cheeks. Sil stood nearby and moved closer, asking if she was all right.

“Oh. Yes. Just…they are so good! Musical skills aren’t lost?” she wiped at her face.

He shook his head. “No. They don’t read music, or write, but they play together without effort. And dance.” He smiled at the open area next to a bonfire. The sun set and the fire lit. And they began to dance. Cameron stayed toward the edge, just absorbing it all.

She’d been missing music. Now that longing eased. A sense of joy settled on her heart, glad that this world wasn’t without music. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and stayed until the fire died to embers. Tommy had disappeared, but Sil escorted her back to the library quarters. She fell into bed with a smile on her face.

*****

Tendar spent the day in the library. He wandered from the books on sex to the poetry, and took the time to check out the rest. He felt restless, but determined to put it behind him. With his aunt’s words, he’d known the truth. He’d been infected and refused to be frightened by it. Cameron feared enough for the entire house.

After his nap, he’d found a hearty lunch left at the great table. He ate and waited. Pindari showed up as the evening approached. She took his hand and led him to the upstairs window. She began simply. “I told her of the old library. And why this one is such a fortress.”

He nodded. “And Theo?”

“Yes. And of the group Teemin leads, why she must wear her office tunic.” Pindari sighed. “Now, about her heart…”

He listened as she explained. His face tightened as he grimaced, and then he stood, paced. She stopped. “Calm yourself. There is nothing to do for now. Daniel will provide answers.”

“Teemin knows I have sent for Daniel.” Tendar snorted. “I lied and said I needed him for Theo.”

“Theo will be glad to see him.” She nodded. “I asked her to gather information on this implant for Daniel to see.” She reached out to take her nephew’s hand. “Tendar. I know it is obscene. But it gave her peace of mind. I don’t understand how she was selected.”

“I…we needed her.” Tendar closed his eyes. “She laughed today….Not just tears.”

“Yes, Sil sent word that she was staying for the music. I didn’t know she liked music. I’ll ask her how she enjoyed the concert.” Pindari stroked his hand. “Nephew. What will you do?”

“Do?” He knelt at her feet. “I don’t know. For now. I will resist. I have held back for six weeks. I’m strong.”

“Yes, but after? After Daniel?” she persisted. “Will you send her away?”

“Oh. No.” He sighed. “I can travel if need be. Right now, I wait for Daniel. What must we do to keep her healthy?”

“She expresses fear at exciting her heart. She avoids sex because of this. I don’t know if it is nothing more than fear, or a real danger.” Pindari explained. Tendar listened closely and they talked until the lights dimmed across the entire library. She glanced into Cameron’s room when they parted, to see the woman asleep. Much later that night, Tendar sat outside the same door, listening to her breathe.

For the next month, Cameron embraced the library with more joy than before. When she worked with Pindari, she asked questions and grew to understand how the Kharmon were tools of some unknown entity the same as the humans but were still dangerous. Pindari admitted that there were periods in history when the humans had done great damage, to themselves as well as the Kharmon.

She did her best to organize the medical books she found. There weren’t many until nearly a month had passed. Then she unearthed a crate full of medical periodicals, anatomy books and medical text. It made her nervous, as if someone knew her need and provided the books in response. She set that thought aside and worked to see them shelved, ready for the mysterious Daniel.

It took her nearly a month to see the books on human sexuality put on shelves. The collection was huge, encompassing everything from clinical discussion to some of the raunchiest erotica she’d ever seen. She found herself flipping through some of the self-help books, looking for answers to her fear regarding sex and her heart. Nothing she found truly set her at ease.

She worked in the kitchen when Daniel arrived.

Tendar looked up from the discussion with the field manager at the shout. A figure waved from the road and soon the two were embracing.

“Daniel! You look good, the road agrees with you!” Tendar took his hand.

“It is good to walk. The rules against backalongs on the inner roads might cost time, but it’s good for the legs.” Daniel grinned. “I prefer their speed, but my muscles are the better for the walking.”

Tendar laughed. It was an old comment. “I’ll see you to the house. Pindari has a new helper and some lovely new recipes.” He looked around, on the lookout for spying eyes.

Daniel knew he’d been sent for more than Theo. He’d seen the librarian’s assistant only months earlier, but didn’t betray his suspicions. He held Tendar’s hand as they strolled, asking after Theo and the new library. It took nearly an hour to reach the house, where Tendar turned and met his eyes. “Theo is not why you are here.”

“I didn’t think so,” Daniel answered. “Let me clean up, eat something and then you tell me.”

“I’ll see something is prepared for you.” Tendar hurried off.

Daniel knew where his quarters were and went directly there. He showered and found Tendar at his table when he climbed from the stall. He dropped the towel from his shoulders and tied it around his waist. Tendar set the table with a meal carried in a large basket. The tall male was so obviously agitated, Daniel took over the task.

“Tendar, are you ill?” he asked directly, pulling a large bowl from the basket.

“Ill…!” Tendar laughed nervously. “I suppose, in a manner of speaking. I’m infected, Daniel. It wasn’t done on purpose and I won’t send her away.”

“Fine, work her through your system.” Daniel nodded, smiling at the grape leaf and couscous salad in the bowl. He heard Tendar’s broken sob and looked up, suddenly quite concerned for his friend. “Tendar?”

“I can’t! She came to us with a weak heart. She is frightened of sex. A Thinker! No one knows about her. I hid her from the rest. She hid herself for three months.” He babbled as Daniel sat and listened, trying to make sense of the fragmented story. He ate, asked Tendar questions and slowly understood the complications.

“All right, my friend,” Daniel finally said. “I’ll introduce myself to her tomorrow and see what this new library can teach me about the new librarian.”

“Do you think I did right? To keep her safe…to hide her?” Tendar asked hesitantly.

“From Teemin? Yes! Good god, yes! I’ve heard of his new complaint against you and asked to examine these faded Thinkers. If he’ll present them to me.” Daniel snorted.

“I had them tattooed, Daniel,” Tendar admitted. “I feared he might do something.”

“Yes, we have all feared. You had no choice. The compact leaves you no choice. If you are charged with hiding this Cameron, I’ll testify to the advisability of doing so. Especially since he’d already done her violence in the garden.” Daniel sighed. “I need my bed, Tendar.”

“Come to mine.” The Kharmon stood. “You’ll be stronger afterward.”

“I won’t deny that.” Daniel rose. “Will this basket make its way back to Pindari?”

“I’ll send Tommy for it.” Tendar took his hand and led the way to his private wing. Once there, he offered himself to Daniel in every way he knew, finding some solace in the familiar man’s embrace. He was still asleep when the human left his bed, seeking breakfast with Pindari.

*****

Cameron knew Daniel arrived, for she heard chatter from the workers on the estate. Pindari had told her the afternoon before. She found little appetite for the breakfast left outside her door, and took it with her to the library. A new crate had arrived and she needed to unpack it. She’d asked questions the last few weeks, but Pindari hadn’t been able to reassure her regarding this doctor’s credentials. All she’d do is smile, caution patience, and confidence.

The new librarian assumed she’d be expected to dine with Tendar and Daniel tonight. She’d made a sarcastic comment to Pindari regarding indecision on what to wear, but that went right by the cook, who played surprised to hear she’d finally supplemented her wardrobe. Cam had to admit she hadn’t done anything about her choice of clothing, the comment meant to be a joke.

Pindari had taken her to a large room, manned by two other Kharmon. She’d told Cam to say little, but be pleasant. Then she directed the two Kharmon to help select two gowns. They eyed and measured her, then dress after dress was brought out. Most were too bright for her taste, until they draped a golden brown dress, with a lovely gathered section that fell from one shoulder.

Pindari had noted her intake of breath and nodded. “That one.”

Finally, they added a pale pink and salmon colored shift and they returned to the kitchen. Cam thanked the cook and asked for advice on what to wear the next night.

“The brown one,” Pindari replied without hesitation.

Cam paused. “Do you see it as brown?”

Pindari smiled. “I see shadows of brown, gold, orange, even some green.”

“Will it protect me? Should I wear my tunic over it?” Cam asked.

“You will be escorted. If unexpected company arrives, you’ll be taken to safety. Honi and Toyani aren’t stupid, but they can’t gossip at what they haven’t witnessed. You did well at hiding how much you understood.” Pindari handed her a bowl. “I want to mix a special desert.” They’d spent the rest of the afternoon putting together a mix of fig and honey that made Cam grimace.

Cam hung the dresses and admired the bit of color they brought to the room, then she returned to the library. She’d directed Theo to shift the shelves upstairs for a massive collection of romance books. While waiting for that to finish, she opened a smaller crate and began to unpack it. She sat on the floor, wiping away tears of merriment from her eyes at the cartoon selection she’d been reading, when Daniel appeared.

She first knew he stood behind her when he cleared his throat. She jumped, the book slid several feet away. He bent and picked it up. “Pardon the interruption. I didn’t mean to startle you. I am Daniel.”

“Oh, uh! Hi, I’m Cameron.” She began to scramble to her feet, but he went to his knees instead and so she let herself ease back to the floor.

He held out the book. “This must be good to elicit such humor from you. What is it?”

She cleared her throat. “Oh. A cartoon book featuring a dog, a cat and their owner. I always enjoyed it back home. There are no dog and cats here, are there?”

“No, but I am familiar with them.” He nodded and flipped the book open. He gazed at the illustrations. “They stand? Dogs and cats have changed since I came here.”

“Oh! No, they don’t stand, not on two legs. And they don’t talk. It’s a cartoon.” She waited for him to react. He shrugged and she continued. “A fanciful sketch? A caricature?”

He smiled. “I think I understand. So, show me what made you laugh so.”

She took the book and found the selection. It lost something in the translation, but he studied it and then grinned. “Oh! What a nasty cat!”

“Yes, well, cartoons usually exaggerate what we normally observe. Cats are aloof, mysterious, superior?” She angled her head at him.

He agreed. “And dogs are deferential, eager to please, common. And their owner?”

“A clueless parent?” she suggested. “But smarter than they think he is.”

“Yes. I’d like to see this when you are done with it.” He handed the book back. “Now, I need to peruse the medical books until dinner. And I would like to see Theo.”

“Let me show you the medical books and I’ll send Theo. He’s upstairs right now.” She allowed him to assist her up and then led him to a large u-shaped arrangement of shelves. At the apex was a table and comfortable chair.

She explained the arrangement, showing him a chronological list of how she’d shelved them. “The ones with slips of paper designate those that deal with my problem. Pindari told me to see they were easily available. If there is an
I
on it, there is information on implants, heart implants. An
H
stands for simple heart attack data. Anything else?” She held her hands tightly at her waist.

Daniel held out his hands. “You’ve done a good job. I like the books you’ve set face forward. Makes it more inviting than just spines. And placing the periodicals in the binders is a good idea.”

“They came that way.” She looked down. “I don’t know libraries, Dr. Daniel. I know bookstores, and this is how you make books easily seen for customers.”

“Just Daniel, Cameron. Please.” He sighed. “A great many books. I’ll be here for some hours.”

She blinked at him, thinking he’d need days. Weeks. But she didn’t say anything about it. Backing out of the alcove, she promised to send Theo. She hurried upstairs, her stomach tight with tension. He wasn’t what she’d expected. For one thing, he was young. Too young to understand, she shook her head and called out to Theo. The older man looked up. The tight skin along his neck was from the fire, she’d been told. He had almost no voice, a bare whisper. It sounded to her ears that it hurt him to speak, so she asked few questions of him, but he understood her and was strong, willing to work.

“Theo, Dr. Daniel is downstairs in the medical section, he’d like to see you. I’m sure you’ve done enough here to get me started. Thank you.” She smiled at the look of pleasure that swept across his face.

He nodded and hurried past her. She began to pull the paperbacks from the crate. They never came with any sort of organization. After some consideration, she decided to forgo an attempt to subdivide them and just set them up alphabetically by their author. She would separate the larger quality paperback from mass market and incorporate hardcovers since she had the room. Pindari had explained that there were no human children so the sections she’d put aside for children’s books weren’t needed.

“None? Never?” Cam had asked, then looked thoughtful. “My period has stopped, so if everyone’s stops there are no children?”

“Right, no children.” Pindari looked sad. “There were children in the early years but few survived. There have been no births for centuries.”

“No wonder you need new selections.” Cam had tried not to sound bitter. She knew the Kharmon didn’t take her, or the others. If what Pindari had told her was true, then the Kharmon were as much victims as the others.

Pindari also told her there wouldn’t be books on travel or computers, leaving her room to let romance sprawl.

Cameron let herself sink into the minutia of alphabetizing the books. She realized the lights were dim outside the building when she glanced at the window and saw stars in the sky. It was rare to view a clear night sky and she moved to the windowsill to gaze out at them.

She craned her neck back and forth, searching for some constellations she knew, but nothing invoked the familiar, though it was a colorful sky. She stood so long the lights at the rows of bookshelves went out.

“Cameron? Are you still upstairs?” Daniel’s voice called out from downstairs.

“Yes!” Her attention fell away from the sky at the doctor’s call. “Just a moment.” With a regretful glance out into the night, she took the stairs back to the ground floor, though it wasn't likely a ground floor. The upstairs window showed her too far from the courtyard to be simply one story.

Daniel walked back and forth on the carpet, studying it. “He decorated the new library to be very comfortable. The old one was very open, but more crowded, less welcoming.”

“I like the carpet, it’s very impressive from the second story.” She smiled. “I’m sorry, I lost track of time, did you, well…need anything?”

He grinned. “To see you to dinner, Cameron. It’s later than you think. I understand you have quarters close by? I need to clean up and will return to escort you in half an hour?”

“Sure, I don’t take long.” She shrugged. “Daniel? Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” He waited as she framed her inquiry.

She looked away. “An hour…a day…a week. These are human terms. What do they mean here? Is a day twenty-four hours? Is an hour sixty minutes? A month? I’ve never seen a moon.”

“Ah. Well, when divisions of time were assigned, they simply adapted the human terms. I knew a scientist who calculated the actual delineations. The day here is twenty-eight hours long. The month is thirty days, none of them shorter or longer. There are two moons. He put together an actual table, but the differences are actually not enough to fuss with. Does that help?” He tilted his head at her.

“Sort of.” She shrugged. “I just wonder sometimes. I like using the right words. Didn’t the Kharmon have their native words?”

“Few. Tendar likes the designation of Kharmon. It’s caught on.” He held out his hand. “Where is your room?”

She sighed and showed him where she was quartered. He entered and looked around the main room. “No windows. I am sorry. He is cautious.”

“I understand, after Pindari told me about Justin. I like the window in the library.” She looked at him, “You don’t have a tunic of office. No one bothers you?”

“Everyone knows me. When I travel, I have a badge of office that is more like a large pendent. I’ll wear it tonight to show you. I’ll return in thirty minutes.” He nodded and left before she could ask anything else.

She stood a moment before going to wash off the dry grime from the books. They often arrived dusty, she’d noticed. Plus, she knew that books generated their own dust. Paper was that way. She draped the new dress over her head, arranging the one shoulder to cover her scar, then brushing her hair to further hide it. Such was her habit.