EFFECTS OF OPENNESS / CH. 17:MERMAID'S KISS.
8PM FRISOL 8TH OCTOBER.
“Hey, actually this isn't as bad as I thought it might be.” James said.
“You've had potion, remember?” Ruth said, “That's always worse the first time. I agree with you though, it's quite a bit worse than potion, but not as bad as I thought it might be.”
“Margaret? Feeling brave?” James asked.
“Hmm,” she swallowed, “sort of chilli con mint curry with mouldy cabbage. Not b.... yeee-uck! The after-taste's vile! It just hit my stomach and reached out and hit my gag reflex!”
“It needs to get into your bloodstream to work.” Ruth warned, “try not to throw up.”
“Water?”
“Here,” Ruth offered.
“No good. Thunderbolt?” Margaret asked, after trying if the water helped. She wanted something with more flavour. Cecilia's high-octane Tabasco seemed fitting.
“Really?” Ruth asked.
“You said we could add extra chilli.”
“I was just wondering about what drinking raw Thunderbolt would do to your insides.”
“Fine, just give me that chilli pepper then.” Rose complied and Margaret chewed it. “That's hot.” she commented, with tears in her eyes. “But it's good. It clears the aftertaste.”
“For how long?” Robert asked.
“I'll let you know.”
“My turn,” Hathellah said, swallowing her glass-full. “Oh!” Her eyes widened. “Grandma's cough medicine!”
“Pardon?” Ruth asked.
“Grandma made me some! I was ill, and she said it would taste nasty but it might help me get better if I knew there'd be another dose coming tomorrow. That bit worked.”
“Have you done much swimming since?” Ruth asked.
“Yes, quite often. Oh wow. It does reduce the gasp reflex doesn't it? And it does wear off, too. I remember wondering why I couldn't swim under water as well as I used to a few years ago!”
“No wonder Heather saw you as princess mermaid!” Ruth said, “you've had the potion.”
“What about you, Robert?”
“Grandma said, 'You're not sick, it was a special medicine for Hathie, and I've run out now, anyway.' And Hathie, it wasn't just one day, it was several.”
“What were you sick with, Hathie?”
“Pneumonia.”
“That makes sense then.” James said “I've never known of a Mer with it. Maybe the potion helps something there too.”
“Interesting!” Ruth said, “Robert, your turn to turn green then.”
“Oh, goody. Just so you know, Ruth, I'm mainly drinking this because I love you. I've always been scared of deep water.” Before she could react, he downed the whole glass in front of him.
“Ruth,” Margaret said, “Drinking this stuff for love with no desire to swim? That has to probably the most powerful declaration of love I've ever heard.”
“Not very pleasant tasting, is it?” Robert managed, trying to hold back the reaction to vomit.
Ruth wasn't sure where the idea came from, but she suddenly knew how she could help this man who loved her so much. She kissed him, full on the lips, and her tongue found its way past his shocked lips has he heard her thoughts: [There's something in the saliva. Share mine, Robert, it might help.]
[Ruth! We're not married! This is too intimate!] he protested.
[This is first aid. And I do want to marry you, if you'll have me, just... please wait for my parent's approval. I've done so much without it...]
[I love you. Thank you it is helping.]
They broke the kiss, both blushing. Ruth broke the silence that followed. “Well, I'm glad that worked or it would have been even more embarrassing.”
“What worked?” Margaret asked.
“Saliva,” Robert said, blushing furiously now, “apparently has healing properties. Either that or extreme shock has entirely got rid of any nausea I felt.”
“James, I feel like it's coming back. In the interests of science?” Margaret asked him, nose to nose, but not quite touching.
“Remember you can hide your thoughts if you want to avoid feedback,” Ruth suggested, “Don't look, Hathie, let's give them some privacy.”
“Did you hide your thoughts?” Hathie asked Ruth.
“Of course not. I needed to explain to your brother about the first aid treatment he was getting.”
“Oh! It was first aid was it.” Hathie said, “I thought I could hear wedding bells in the next hour or two.”
“My parents are coming,” Ruth said, “For once I'm going to ask them what they think of a decision I'm making before it becomes irrevocable.”
“And what do you think of Ruth's decision, brother mine?” Hathie asked.
“I thought Mer dating lasted a long time with lots of careful discussion, unlike risk taking Martian dating practices.”
“What, you don't think five and a half weeks of seeing each other every day is a long time?” Ruth joked. At least Robert thought it was a joke.
“Not really, no.”
“Sorry, Robert. I've shocked you again, haven't I?”
“Urm.”
“Have I displayed a brazen disregard for convention and ladylike behaviour?”
“Ruth...”
“I've disappointed you, haven't I?”
“Ruth, I love you very very much. Please don't get all repentant, you helped. I don't feel sick at all, I don't feel like eating chillies. It wasn't motivated by lust, whatever it looked might have looked like, Hathie.”
“No. It wasn't lust.” Hathie agreed. “It was love though. Very much, 'I don't care what people think about me I'm going to help the man I love' sort of love. So I think you're kidding yourself, Ruth, if you claim you're not thinking like you're already engaged to my brother. But I'm not sure about Robert. I think he needs more time to get used to the shocking concept that he's finally got a girlfriend, and he's still going wow over that surprise, when you wow him again and again.”
“Hathie, shut up.” Robert said, it came out harsher than he'd meant, and he tried to soften it “I know you like talking and I normally let you, but... on this whole subject of my relationship with Ruth, just shut up can you? Thank you for giving us space to talk, but right now we just need some more, OK?”
“Sorry.” Hathie said. She glanced at James and Margaret, who still seemed to be concentrating on first-aid, and decided that if three was a crowd, five certainly was.
“Hathie?” Ruth said, noticing her glance, “could you please go to the bathroom and get the glass my toothbrush is in? I don't have a bigger bucket of water to throw at our newly weds, and I am fairly convinced they forgot to hide their thoughts.”
“You could shoot them with a floppy dart, couldn't you?” Hathie said. “It wouldn't make as much mess.”
“Sometimes people throw up. I don't want my bedroom smelling of vomit, thank you. And anyway, that doesn't stop them thinking about how much they like each other.”
“OK, one tooth-mug of water coming,” Hathie said.
“Ruth, can we hold hands?” Robert asked.
“Of course.”
[That's feedback? — overwhelming emotion?] Robert asked.
[Yes.]
[We've never felt it, have we?]
[No. We got close when I shot you out of the mud.]
[Because you've got very good self control, or because Hathie's right?]
[Me... self control...?] Ruth asked [What do you think?]
[I think you've got good self control because I know I feel a lot of love for you but I'm not hearing much from you.]
[You're not? I guess... I guess I do squash my emotions away. And I think you grew up with a thought-hearing dominant twin and you're good at not letting your feelings out either.]
[Oh. Should I relax a bit around you then, to reassure you of what I feel?]
[Ditto?] Ruth asked.
[Feels like a risk, especially with their example. Playing with temptation.]
[Very tempting temptation to be more intimate than would be proper.] Ruth thought to him.
[Yes. How do we reassure one another of this {love} without getting carried away? Did that work? I just let it bubble up a bit.]
[Oooh, yes. I feel really reassured and loved and cherished. Does that mean we try to avoid it, or do I bubble {love} too?]
[I love you Ruth, and you love me, and let's not bubble too much. Let's change the subject. Your parents coming... Does that mean you want their approval before we get engaged, or does that mean you want them there approving at our marriage?]
[If they say it's a bad idea then I'm going to listen, and I just don't want to make promises to you I can't keep.]
[Other than jumping me out of the mud and giving me intimate first aid?]
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[That sounds like I patched up ... sorry, Stop thinking aloud, Ruth!]
[Urm... would mouth to mouth first aid be better?] Robert suggested.
[Better, I suppose.]
“Do I pour or throw?” Hathie asked, returning.
“Let me.” Ruth said. And in Mer decided that James would embarrass Margaret it if he didn't get a grip on himself. He broke off the kiss, noticed the cup in Ruth's hand, and blushed. “Oops.”
“I warned you.” Ruth said in Mer. “Thanks Hathie, maybe we don't need the water after all.”
“Ruth?” she turned round and almost walked into Robert. He was in front of her, on one knee. “Ruth, if your parents approve, will you marry me?”
“It would make me very happy to, yes,” Ruth said.
“And... would you be willing to wear this ring as a token of our declared love, even if not a full engagement?”
“I will wear it as a token of your asking to marry me and me saying as wholehearted a yes as I can without their approval, Robert. That sounds like engagement to me, doesn't it?”
“It does, yes. Does the ring fit?”
“I don't know. Yes, it does. Where did you get it? I thought gold was impossible to get here.”
“It was grandma's. When I was ten she told me she'd leave it to me, and I wasn't very likely to find a proper mermaid to give it to, but make sure I find a nice Christian girl to wear it. I've, urm been carrying it a week now.”
“I remember!” Hathie said, “and you said, 'if I do find a mermaid, will she give me a kiss so I can swim in deep water?' And I never did work out what you were talking about.”
“Not a kiss, Hathie. mermaid's kiss. I think Grandma called what we've just drunk 'mermaid's kiss', I've just remembered.”
“That's it!” Ruth exclaimed, kissing Robert, “That's where your kiss came from.”
“Which one?”
“The previous one. Of course you need kissing when you get given mermaid's kiss, don't you James?”
James's face was utter confusion, “What are you talking about Ruth?”
“You don't know?” Ruth asked.
“I guess not. I've certainly not heard the name 'mermaid's kiss'. Story time?”
“Before I do, Margaret, did it work?”
“Yes, thank you, Ruth.”
“Well, tough on the story then. Oh well.”
“But you'll tell it, Ruth?” Robert asked.
“I can't think of a better occasion. Is everyone comfortable?”
“Hold on Ruth, can I record this?” James asked.
“Why?”
“An idea I've got, I'll explain later.”
“Now.” Ruth demanded.
“You're a good story teller, I'm not. Just in case you're not around when we've got kids.”
“Oh, OK. Ready?” Ruth asked. When James nodded she started, much as her father had done “Right, is everyone sitting comfortably? No fidgeting, and absolutely no kissing in the back row, or I'll have to stop the story.” That bit seemed very appropriate, but it was traditional. “No tickling the story-teller's toes either. A story started shouldn't be stopped, because a story stopped shouldn't be restarted. Behave well children, and you'll hear to the end of the story. This story is from the old times, before the Mer left Canaan. Back then we didn't worship the true God, but we knew his name, Yah, the judge of all the Earth. But this is not the story of the false gods we worshipped, but of how what makes us Mer changed. This is the story of the potion. You might think that strange. How can the story of the potion be from the time we lived in Canaan? Well, stop fidgeting and I will tell you. When the world was young and the first man and his wife still lived, and God told your ancestors and mine the secret of the potion so we could swim in the seas and rule the deeps and shallows, then it was not what we call the potion now. What the potion was then is what we call mermaid's kiss. And this is the story of how mermaid's kiss was called that, and how the potion is now the potion. And if you ever need to give someone potion who's not had it before, it might be better for them if they'd been given mermaid's kiss first. But don't just give them mermaid's kiss on its own, oh no. That is a cruel and heartless thing to do. Let me tell you the story, and you will understand.
“In the old days, when the Mer lived in the land of Canaan, the recipe of mermaid's kiss was known to all mermaids and merwomen. Maybe it was known to mermen too, but they never cooked, not even when they hunted, so it did them no good to know it. But it didn't do most mermaids any good to know it either, not unless they were chosen that year. Chosen? Chosen for what? To make mermaid's kiss. One mermaid each year was chosen to make mermaid's kiss, and she made it for everyone. Not just because people taunted each other like they do with potion, but because they needed to drink some more. If you've never drunk potion, and all you've drunk is mermaid's kiss, then after a while it gets hard to swim properly. Harder and harder, and after three years you're hardly better than a landman. That is what the potion was like when we first knew it, before we knew about squid tentacles. So every year a mermaid was chosen to make the old potion, that we call mermaid's kiss. And because it wore off, and because back then scale was only for grownups, mermaid's kiss was only for grownups too, or almost grownups. It was only for people who had killed their first shark, in fact. And you know, I'm sure you know, that sometimes people that age are not very nice to each other, and sometimes the girls are nasty to each other and to the boys and the boys can be nasty to everyone too. But in the old days of this story, the boys weren't nasty to the girls, and nor were the girls. Not if they were sensible.
"The mermaid who was chosen wasn't the prettiest, or the one with the most friends, but she was the nice one who some nasty people are nasty to. Your teachers know these things, they can see. The chosen mermaid was always a girl who'd had mermaid's kiss before, of course, and she had to be someone who could make hard decisions, because she had to decide who she'd kiss, and who she wouldn't kiss. She didn't have to kiss anyone. But she was nice, so she didn't want to make everyone suffer mermaid's kiss without a kiss. And so it was that when she'd made mermaid's kiss for everyone and all the older adults had drunk it, it became the turn of the young people who'd killed a shark that year. And after they'd drunk their glass, she kissed the people who had been nice to her, but she didn't kiss the ones who'd been nasty. Why should she? They'd known what would happen to them if they didn't get kissed by the mermaid who'd made the mermaid's kiss. And no one really knew who'd be chosen, the teachers sometimes chose the same girl twice. But quite often the mermaid chosen was a merwoman by that time the next year, that's one of the things that happens when you go kissing lots of boys; some of them start thinking about chains or life-bonds.
And so that was the pattern and the tradition of things, until the time of Zanaha potion maker. Zanaha potion maker wasn't an outcast, but she kept to herself, and she didn't drink Mermaid's kiss with all the other Mer of her village. When she felt she needed some more mermaid's kiss, she'd make herself some more. And because she loved swimming fast and far she wasn't happy with just drinking it once every year. But Zanaha really didn't like the taste, and started experimenting, to see if there was anything that would stop it tasting so bad. Other Mer didn't like what she was doing, but she wasn't breaking any laws, just custom.
“One day, she realised that while she normally made herself more potion every half a year, it had been a year and a half since the last dose. So she looked back in her recipe book at what she'd put into the mixture, and found it was cuttlefish, and that it hadn't tasted good at all. But the idea of potion not wearing off as fast was fascinating, because that would mean she didn't need to drink it as often or even ever again. So she experimented some more, and found squid was good for flavour, and it didn't seem to wear off. And there's a smell to making potion, as you know, and her neighbours realised they hadn't smelt it for years. And they asked her about it. And she said, I don't need it any more. And they laughed at her, because everyone needed potion every year, if not more often. And she said fine, but I'll out-swim you the day before the next mermaid's kiss, and I vow to you that I've not drunk any potion for more than four years.
“And they knew Zanaha was neither shark nor sharkfood, so they accepted her challenge, and they couldn't hold their breath very well at all, but she held her breath far better than they. And so Zanaha Potionmaker was given her name, and the Mer drank the new potion. And while some said that mermaid's kiss was kinder to young people, others said it was crueler when the kiss was not given. And still others said, why should one of our daughters have to kiss all her class-mates? Let their lovers or their mothers do it. And so the new potion was made, and the ritual of the mermaid's kiss came to an end.”
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Message to Boris
Dear Boris, I only came over to help Ruth and Robert with some wall-building, but a storm came, a big one, so now I'm just sitting in Ruth's bedroom. It's the middle of the night, and I'm having silly thoughts and not getting to sleep. Have you had any potion yet? If not... and if you'll allow me, and promise not to think ill of me for making such an offer, I think I'm prepared to cook you the old recipe first, and administer it to you properly. Maybe. Assuming we get on as well as I hope we do.
Did you know Karella sent Ruth the ingredients? No fresh squid needed, of course, so it's a more portable option, certainly, even if the effects don't last more than a year or two.
"Not that we remembered that until quite a bit later.
"Robert can bear witness that getting old recipe with a kiss is a massive help, as he experienced no nausea at all (though he sure did blush a lot). Margaret — I told you she and James got married, didn't I? — got her healing kiss a bit after Ruth shocked us all with some emergency first aid. She and James almost got a bucket, (well, a cup anyway) of cold water on their heads as feedback took over. Eventually, Ruth remembered and told us the whole story of mermaid's kiss and the new potion.
Oh, you might wonder about my first taste of mermaid's kiss. I was six or seven, and had pneumonia. Grandma made me some, saying she'd hoped to save it until I was older, but that it might help get rid of my infection. I remember a vile taste in my mouth for ages and complained to Grandma. She said something about not kissing me but she licked my thumb and told me to suck it. Somehow it helped, a bit. The thought of grandma licking my thumb again certainly stopped my moans, gross! Anyway, be nice and you might get some kisses, and come morning I might be mortified at writing this, so I'd better send it quickly. Ruth's outer wall would probably have been finished if not for the storm, which started just after James and Margaret arrived. It's due to last well into tomorrow, so there'll be more time for stories later. Oh, if Ruth doesn't write soon, then bug her to find out what else happened last night.
So, when are you coming? I want some hugs, do you know how alone it feels when everyone around you is a couple? Of course you do. So, please don't crash on your test-flight, and do make sure everything's working properly.
Hathie.
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MESSAGE TO HATHELLAH YOUNG, MARS. 9TH OCTOBER
Hi Hathie! Did you know the time difference is about half a day at the moment, so it's mid-day Atlantis time? Nice to get your message, in more ways than one, because it proves my connection to the interplanetary net is working. Oooh, what an offer to make to a man you've not met! What will your parents think? Don't worry, I'll not say, but will accept your most generous offer, my princess. It was really entirely without side-effect except embarrassment? Wow!
The test flight is in progress right now, actually.
The squid is with me at the moment, too, demonstrating that he (or she — I'll leave working out the gender to other squid) can survive zero gravity. This is the boring bit, where there's nothing to do except watch the blue ball go away and the white one get lumpier. Oops, radio call. OK I'm back, that was Lunar approach asking who I was, why I was going to land, etcetera. I told them the same old story about this being an experimental craft and that I was just planning to follow their flight path down the to not-touching the runway and leave again. I know Karella had the flight plan filed. They said 'just stop there, that's impossible' so I've just tried out my emergency breaks. The squid didn't think much of ten G, but seems to have survived, as did I. I then had an interesting discussion with lunar approach about what particular meaning of 'just stop there' they meant. It made their radar decide that it had gone badly wrong, apparently, and it did a complete reset. So, I'm back on course now, they're going to let me check that my auto-pilot can follow their flight path, and I've faithfully promised not to stop in mid-space again. So far, the only change I'm going to make is to have the emergency stop gentler unless I'm close to a planet, or there's a real collision imminent. No one's used to a spacecraft doing it, so it's going to cause utter confusion and maybe an accident. Otherwise Albatross 2 seems to be flight ready, my princess.
Boris
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MESSAGE TO HATHELLAH YOUNG, MARS. 9TH OCTOBER
Beloved Hathie, change of plan. My emergency stop seems to have broken my CO2 scrubber, so I've just had permission from Lunar approach to hurry up and land.
Don't worry, I've got plenty of air so I could always dump the lot and refill if it gets too bad.
Boris.
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MESSAGE TO HATHELLAH YOUNG, MARS. 9TH OCTOBER
Beloved Hathie,
It seems I've added some extra claims to fame. As far as I know, I'm the first Mer to have been on the moon, the people here say I'm also the first paraplegic to have come here (though, sadly, they've sent a number home, after accidents). So, they were really surprised to meet my hover chair. And the squid, too. They're not sure there's been one of those here either. Maybe we should set him free? But they've patched up my CO2 scrubber. Apparently there was an internal wiring problem, only accessible by breaking the plastic case. I'd guessed that, but apparently I've also broken the first law of space travel by failing to bring any duct tape.
Oh, I've found a bug in the Albatross 2, too. It thinks big lump of rock means atmosphere, so it sprouted wings as it approached the moon. If in doubt, blame the programmer for taking short-cuts.
I actually have two passengers on the way back: a young Christian couple who needed to get off the moon quickly. Did you know that lunar corp charge people to breathe here, let alone eat? They apparently fell afoul of a rule that said they needed to work fifty hours a week on average to qualify for free lodging as missionary care workers. Forty-nine and a half doesn't count, and after he came down with the flu a few weeks ago, that's what his average is over the last 2 months. Their contract got revoked today, so they were very happy to hear that I could take them back 'mudside' as it's apparently called here. The scary thing is they've got a friend at the Lunar university playing with forcefields, in the research lab, who's at about the stage Simon was six months ago. I.e. a danger to everyone near. Boris
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MESSAGE TO BORIS GRAVITYMASTER, LUNAR TRANSFER ORBIT? SATURSOL 9TH OCTOBER
Dear Boris,
I'm very very glad hear that your life support is all fixed. Next time, please take 2 spares. I did sleep soon after writing to you. The storm came early and now it seems to have passed early. So much for forecasts. The good news is that means we've got the whole day to build walls.
I don't suppose you count as an expert on programming extruders do you? Ruth doesn't want it to accidentally shred her dome.
Hathie
ps. You still haven't told me when you're getting here... any ideas?