WARPING EFFECTS / CH. 5:WHAT THE SEER SAW
BLACKWOOD CABINS, THURSDAY 28TH DECEMBER, 8PM.
“Maggie and Kevin seem to be getting on well,” Mandy said to Heather.
“Oh, you noticed that did you? It probably helps that they've been hearing about each other for decades by the sound of it.”
“Oh, we all have. Sarah likes to keep in touch.”
“Fair enough. Mandy, I can see you're confused and need to talk. And for some reason, it seems you need to talk to me, without Matthew, much to his disappointment.”
“Oh? He wanted to talk to me too?”
“I think he assumed we'd be spending our every waking minute together.”
“Oh. Very romantic.”
“But you don't want to talk to him, do you? I won't pass it on.”
“You might have to.”
“Not without your say-so. Do you just want to think it to me? That way it comes under all the legal protection of me being a truthsayer.”
“Oh! I hadn't thought of that. You don't mind?”
“Not at all.”
Mandy offered her hand and Heather heard her thoughts. She'd taken an oath to serve the crown, but... what she was doing wasn't challenging any more, it wasn't really even interesting, it was just one day of hard slog after another, making the things she'd used to think of as wonderful toys decrypt message after message. She hardly ever had to tweak anything, which was where the fun had been. And she felt that God had better things for her to be doing. Praying about things, she'd kept coming back to the verse in Mark chapter 16, about going into all the world and telling everyone the gospel. But her, an evangelist? It not only seemed extremely unlikely, it didn't seem right. Even without the oath that meant that would be very hard, somehow, she'd felt it wasn't for her to go, but to make it possible. “Someone recently pointed out to me that the 'everyone' there says 'all creatures' in the Greek, and the word translated 'world' is 'kosmos' which can mean universe as well as world.”
“Very funny. So I'm supposed to convert all the little green men that don't live on Mars?”
“And any blue ones we find too. If they haven't heard the gospel, shouldn't we tell them? I'm ninety nine percent sure that the so-called antigravity drive the Mer have works by making reentrant volumes of space-time — or in common parlance, bubbles. There are no gravitons above a certain power threshold. There's never been any sign of the gravitational field on anything near-by being reduced or enhanced at all by the drive. If it was really deflecting gravitons then you'd be able to move a pendulum or something if you got close. Nothing. So... if they're making bubbles, can we make a bigger one? If we can make a bigger one, how do we stop it deciding to become a black hole? And can we put a spaceship in it? If we can, what's to stop that bubble from propagating faster than light-speed? The night I thought of this, I couldn't stop thinking about Mark sixteen either. I'm guessing that trying to persuade your toys to model what's happening now might be challenging for you. Prince Albert suggested some experts from communications could help. Their Majesties agreed in principle.”
“And Matthew is now saying his mother suggested me?”
“Interested?”
“I'd need data: equations, forces, geometries, things like that. I'm no physicist, but I'm on good terms with pure maths.”
“Absolutely. Some of it's general relativity, of course, but yes, if you join up you'd be getting access to all the relevant design equations and test data. Unfortunately it's all subject to Atlantis's approval, and Mars's too, so I can't make promises.”
“I think I can wait. General Relativity, eh? I had a course on that, back in the day. Any recent changes in the field?”
“No. It's still as complicated as ever. As far as I know they've decided we'll never know if cosmological constant is really variable or not.”
“Hmm. So it's safe to assume that constants are constant?”
“I think so. Unless you need to tweak it later.”
Mandy shook her head. Some people clearly had no idea what they were talking about.
“No such thing as a variable constant?” Heather asked.
“No. I once saw an antique programming manual, from like, the first half-century of practical computing which said something like, 'it's better to assign a constants such as pi to a variable, and use that rather than writing the number into the code, just in case you ever want to need to change the value of pi'.”
“Hmmm. Let's not do that, the universe might break. Unless we're talking non-euclidean spaces.”
“Exactly. Divide your problem clearly between parameters or structural constants please, or things break.” Mandy said. Then a thought occurred to her. “Of course... if you are talking about seriously bent space-time, you might well need a different value of pi.”
“That's a scary thought for this time of night,” Heather said, shuddering.
“No... that's a fun thought,” Mandy corrected.
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BLACKWOOD CABINS, THURSDAY 28TH DECEMBER, 9PM.
“I've had a really nice evening, Maggie. Thank you. And I got my interview.”
“You did. And now you need to sell it?”
“First I'll need to write it up.”
“Oh. OK. Well, will we see you tomorrow?”
“I'd like that. Fun bunch of people, and if Heather's available for interview...”
“It sounded like she would be.”
“Thank you. You don't know how nice it's been to just feel so welcome somewhere.”
Kevin had been standing with his back to the door, too close, and got the handle right in his back when Heather opened it. His knees buckled. Instinctively, he grabbed at Maggie's arm as he fell. Just as instinctively, she grabbed at him too.
[Hmm, her arms are strong as well as pretty,] Maggie heard him think as she hauled him back to his feet.
[Men!] was her reaction.
[Why does she think it's my fault I got a door in my back?] he wondered.
He heard utter silence, like she had hidden her thoughts. He risked a look in Maggie's eyes, and saw the same surprise he felt.
“Sorry,” Heather said, coming in, “did I hurt someone?”
“I think you might have just guaranteed that you give Kevin an interview,” Maggie said.
“Hmm, I see that,” she replied archly, “But what should I be asking him? Other than when he's planning to let go of you, of course.”
“He's just had a surprise. Me too for that matter.”
“A doorknob in the back is surprising,” Kevin agreed, noting that Maggie hadn't made any move to break their mutual grip on each other.
“Kevin, for the record,” Heather said, “everyone in this room knows Maggie's a thought-hearer.”
“Kevin didn't,” Matthew said, “until you said.”
“Yes, he did,” Maggie said, distantly.
“I did, yes,” Kevin said. “I don't think I'm going to fall over now, Maggie.”
“I might,” Maggie said, feeling quite unstable herself.
“Maggie,” he chided gently, “people will talk.”
“Too late for that,” Sandra Ngbila said.
[Is your thought-hearing a secret?] Maggie asked.
[Everyone at home knows.]
[Everyone here guesses it now. You don't mind?]
“I don't mind friends knowing I hear thoughts. And I think we're all friends here.”
“Clan Kevin. We're clan.” Sandra corrected. “Which means we look out for each other. So of course you're welcome here, since you're practically clan too. I don't know how big your extended family is, but depending how you count it, ours is about a fifty to sixty now.”
“Clan warning,” Maggie declared, glancing at Sandra, “No poaching.”
“Oooh, really?” Sandra said, with a wide grin. “Any thing you say, cousin.”
[What do you mean, no poaching?] Kevin asked.
[I meant that at the moment, I'm feeling territorial.]
[I'm really confused.]
[Earlier on, you were making some decisions about me. Changed your mind?]
[You... you heard?]
[You need more practice playing with ideas, if you don't want girls to know you'd like to ask them out.]
[I would like to. Circumstances...]
[Are not good?]
[I'm only here on a temporary work-visa, seeing if I can possibly earn enough to live here, if there might be any jobs for mum and dad or if I can support my sisters. We want to jump before we're pushed.]
[I can understand that, sounds eminently sensible, in fact. But it's worse than that; I'm off to Mars in about a week.]
[So I mustn't fall for you, must I?]
Turning to Heather, Maggie asked “Heather? What if I don't go to Mars for a while?”
“Your choice, Maggie. Next cycle starts in about two years — I'm afraid you can't join the programme late.”
“What's this?” Kevin asked.
“Maggie is planning to go to Mars University. Two cycles for the full degree program, which is really the equivalent of a Master's. Some people just stay for one cycle, and then do the research somewhere else.”
“A cycle is a Mars orbit?”
“No, it's the time between Earth and Mars getting close. It might seem like people are leaving in a massive time-window, but that's transit time. Basically everyone except tourists arrives at the same time.”
“Heather?” Maggie said. “Would I be making a mistake?”
“Of course you would,” Kevin said. “You can't not go to university just because someone thinks you're a wonderful person. Like I said, I can't stay here long either. And you couldn't follow me to Alaska, or wherever we run to. Forget me, it's for the best.”
Maggie Williams, heir to the GemSmith Corporation, looked around at her cousins, and saw expressions of sympathy and disbelief. “It's not fair.”
Charis Kray, Matthew's second cousin and Maggie's fourth, asked, “Didn't I hear something about Mars introducing a refugee category of tickets? If they're being kicked out because they can't take an oath, surely Kevin and his family qualify?”
“It does have that category,” Heather agreed, “but I don't recommend it. It makes a social ticket look generous.”
“Err, what's a social ticket?” Kevin asked.
“Every cycle a certain number of tickets are given away free to people who can prove they'd never be able to afford a ticket. Because the council's subsidising the ticket and the people coming on it are not risking much, really — certainly not as much as people who are giving up their well-paid job and their house — the council only gives them five hectares — enough to live on, but not enough to try much experimenting. Refugees get three. Three hectares means that their first field dome will be their only field dome. Normally singles would start with a small field dome, then graduate to a medium when they can afford it. There's no space to do that, unless they happen to marry their next-door neighbour. Two people with three hectares each but separated? They're going to need to keep farming two domes which is a pain, or break one to build something big enough to support the family. But if you want to emigrate to Mars, Kevin, you ought to be applying for a professional ticket. There's still an opening for more truthsayers on the planet.”
“I'm not a truthsayer.”
“Why don't you sign up? You qualify,” Heather said.
“Alaska, Heather.” Maggie said.
“Oh. Yes. It's getting bad there, isn't it? Hence the refugee question?”
“Yes.”
“I still think refugee ticket is a bad idea. Try talking to the Mer instead.”
“Pardon?”
“There's two routes to Mars: the traditional one, via MarsCorp ship, where you get the different categories, and (like I said) the Council subsidises the tickets for refugees and social cases, or you can get there some other way, say with a private Mer ship. It's horribly unfair really, but if you happen to be a refugee who has the contacts to get there by Mer ship, then you get full allocation.”
“And you're saying you've got the right contacts to get the Mer to take my family?” he asked.
“Who said anything about me? You have,” Heather said. “Well, your mother ought to, anyway.”
“Mum? She doesn't know any Merfolk.”
“What's your range?” Heather asked.
“Pardon?”
“How far away can you hear decisions? More than three meters, I expect.”
He looked at her in confusion. “How did you know that?”
“Ah, well. You talk to your mother, and maybe you'll be able to ask me that on Mars. Did I hear you say long-distance truck driving?”
“That was my granddad. My uncle's got a garage, truck repairs and so on. Dad knows how, but he's a teacher, Romani-based primary education.”
“Mars isn't kind to Mars-mobiles, if your uncle wants to go too, I'm sure there are things in common, and there are lots of opportunities for someone who can weld well. Teachers aren't in very short supply but they're always welcome, I'd have to ask mum about Romani-speakers.”
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WRIST UNIT CONVERSATION, 11PM RESTORED KINGDOM TIME
“Miri dei, you'll never guess who I met today.”
“I don't know, have I heard of them?” Kevin's mother asked.
“Yes.”
“That limits it. Pop star? Film star? Royalty?”
“Them too.”
“Pardon?”
“Yes, I met Heather Findhorn-Bunting, and Prince Matthew, and most of the roughly-my age people in Sarah's clan. So, guess who I met today?”
“Sarah?”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“No, Maggie Williams.”
“And Maggie Williams is more important that the heir to the throne over there?”
“She's a thought-hearer.”
“Oh is she? And you're thinking thoughts, are you?”
“You are the one who keeps telling me I can't fall for any third cousins.”
“Genetics, Kevin, you know that.”
“Too many common ancestors already, I know. But it's not going to work out, not unless I can get to Mars.”
“Mars?”
“It's an option for all of us. They've got a refugee ticket, free passage if we qualify, and everyone, Heather included, thinks we do. But she says don't go that way. I could go as a truthsayer, and she said you ought to know why we can get a lift with some Mer.”
“She said that?”
“She did, Mum. She also guessed I could hear decisions further than three metres away. How mum? She's not saying you're Mer are you?”
“Me? No! But my gran... maybe.”
“What? Your gran a Mer?”
“My gran told me about how she was out swimming someplace warm, California, I think it was, and beat off a shark who was after a young man. I don't know if they talked, but then she swam off and he followed her — the man that is — and then she got bitten while she was telling him off for using the Gift to chase girls, and he took her to hospital and they fell in love.”
“You're not making sense, mum. That must have been ages ago. How could she know about the Gift? He'd told her?”
“No, she already knew about it.”
“Great Gran had another relative with the gift?”
“I don't know about a relative, but I understand there's almost always been someone with it in Atlantis. But why did he need the gift to find her? She must have swam a long way, out of sight. She never did tell me where she came from but she said she was always traditionally minded and learned the reasons for traditions. And she said she had Roma ancestry, too. So, maybe my grandad married a Mermaid, but I've never told a soul. I'd love to know how Heather knew anything about it. I'm pretty sure not even Sarah learned that from me.”
“Not even Sarah? Mum, you're not making much sense.”
“Sarah's pretty good at keeping secrets, Kevin, and good at giving advice. Sometimes we chat. But I'm sure she wouldn't have told Heather about you having Mer blood. So you'll have to tell me about Maggie, and why you think marrying out is a good idea.”
“I don't, mum. That's the thing. I think it's a stupid idea, and then I think of Maggie's smile and I don't care how stupid it is.”
“So, pretty smile. Anything else?”
“Totally unprejudiced, as far as I've seen so far.”
“That probably goes without saying.”
“And she looks a bit like Yvette, only with real faith, and no earrings.”
“Ah,” Kevin's mother said, thinking of the girl that might have been her choice for her son, if only she'd followed her parent's faith. “You're sure?”
“Marrying out is a stupid idea, isn't it?”
“But not as stupid as marrying someone with no faith, just because they're in culture.”
“But there ought to be loads of Christian girls I could fall for...”
“Yes, there ought to be. So while you're travelling the world, see if you can meet some.”
“I've met Maggie now, mum. She was thinking of not going to Mars, so we could get to know each other better.”
“Hold on, you mean you're walking out already?”
“No, mum, we're both looking for convincing reasons it couldn't possibly work. As far as I know, neither of us is convinced.”
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BLACKWOOD CABINS, THURSDAY 28TH DECEMBER 11PM
“Heather,” Maggie asked her room-mate, “Would it be a terrible mistake?”
“Do you want soothing platitudes or brutal, honest truth about what I saw?”
“Brutal truth, please.”
“What I saw was you two valiantly resisting hormones. What I also saw is that you're both lonely, a bit scared of the future, and wondering if romance will solve all your problems. Brutal guess is it will just make things more complicated.”
“In other words, it'd be a disaster to let ourselves fall in love.”
“Maggie, if you go to Mars, you're learning a new culture, a new way of thinking. If you pair up with him, ditto. How many cultures do you want to be learning at once? How much cultural-stress and relationship-stress do you want in one go? I think he will survive quite well on Mars: he's a bit of a born risk-taker himself.”
“But I won't?”
“You might thrive. It depends so much on attitude, and so on. I would really really recommend you say 'Not yet,' or take things really slowly.”
“Like May and Q.Q.?”
“I don't think I know Q.Q.”
“Joined the clan to get to know May, four or five years later they decided it wasn't going to work and he married Kara. May has been heard to say it was the hardest and best decision she ever made.”
“Do I need to join the clan?”
“No. Matthew's not a core-member, just a hanger-on.”
“But you are.”
“Sort of, I suppose. Mum's matriarch, after all.”
“No, I mean you are, statement. Very clearly.”
“That's... that's actually really helpful, Heather, thanks for telling me.”
“You knew it, surely?”
“I've never been sure if I'm core clan or not.”
“Stick you head out that door and ask if you like.”
“No way. I'm nice and warm under these blankets. So, I tell him it's not going to work.”
“I didn't say that. I said quickly is likely to hurt.”
“But you didn't see anything about us... you know... happily ever after.”
“When did God ever promise that?” Heather said. “But I have heard that kids are fun when they're not throwing up or filling nappies, or lounging around not helping round the house.”
“What!?” Maggie sat bolt-upright in her bed, staring at Heather.
“What?” Heather asked innocently.
“What do you mean kids?”
“Small humans, you know? Smelly demanding creatures that totally change their parents' lives that turn into bigger demanding creatures who don't know how to pull their own weight yet.”
“Heather, are you saying I'm going to marry him?”
“No, but that is the preferable precursor to getting pregnant, don't you think?”
“Heather! Answer me!”
“I thought I had. I think I've told you I can't see the future, Maggie. What I can see is you're not certain that you've found each other yet, and that you're both aware of massive changes you're about to go through. Don't borrow next week's troubles, you've got enough for the moment.”
“So you can't see if we're right for each other.”
“Sleep well, Maggie,” Heather said.
“What do you mean, sleep well?”
“I mean, close your eyes, and pray for peace, patience and self-control until you fall asleep. And when you wake up, keep on praying.”
Five minutes later, Maggie asked “What would the soothing platitudes have been?”
“God is good; saying 'not now' will hurt less in the end; trust him.”
“God or Kevin?”
“Oh, I'd vote for trust God any day against a human, even one like Kevin.”
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RESTORATION, FRIDAY 29TH DECEMBER
“Hi Maggie, anything wrong?” Sarah asked, surprised at getting a call from her daughter.
“No, Mum. Not really. Just our resident seer here is being awfully cryptic about important questions.”
“Oh? What about?” Sarah asked.
“Who. Kevin Stammers, as in Alaska, he's here.”
“Wow, that boy moves fast. Last I heard, he was on assignment in the Federal Kingdom. You've bumped into him up there?”
“Yes. Not quite literally, but... we had a long chat last night. He got himself an exclusive interview with Matthew last night and has been promised one with Heather this morning. Things are getting bad in Alaska.”
“I know that.”
“As in, for all he's here as a reporter, he's also the advanced scout to see if the grass is really greener here. They want to jump before they're pushed.”
“And the local seer's playing the cryptic seer with him?” Sarah was surprised.
“No. She's told him some things which I guess she's seen, like that he and his family could talk to the Mer about getting a lift to Mars, but it's more important questions about him, about us, that she's being cryptic.”
“Hold on, what do you mean 'about us'?”
“Ooops. He's coming, mum, to interview Heather. I can't talk about him by wrist unit while he's in the cabin.”
[But you don't mind like this?] Sarah sent.
“Not at all, mum. I'll call you later.” [Are you listening?]
[You really don't mind?]
[No, I don't mind, not one bit.]
[That's a nice change! So, what's this 'about us'?]
[We touched hands, mum.]
[Oooh, and you never touch skin-to-skin with anyone.]
[Don't exaggerate, mum. But we both learned the other could hear thoughts.]
[Oh, didn't you know?]
[No. Does he know about you having the gift?]
[Not unless his mother's been thinking about banned topics near him. She knows.]
[How?]
[Her grand-mother blurted it out by mistake when she heard that I'd arranged for his dad to get a job.]
[Teaching?]
[No, that was soon after they got married.]
[Oh.]
[So, you held hands with him, and?] Sarah asked.
[And we'd been chatting before, you know? And he'd been deciding that he'd really like to ask me out if only he knew where he'd be next month. And I had been playing with ideas about how to respond, and how sad it was he wasn't a thought-hearer. Then I found he is....]
[I see. And you've been asking Heather for advice?]
[Last week she'd said how frustrating it was seeing her friends starting relationships without being able to comment, so I asked her for the honest truth.]
[And?]
[It was quite a long conversation, but she advised me not to even think about starting a cross-cultural relationship until I'd got used to Martian culture, hinted that'd be harder for me than for him, and threw in that of course I was core clan, which helped me realise I could get your help in telling him gently there wasn't going to be any happy ever after. Then she said something about babies, but claimed she can't tell the future, and then she refused to say if we're really right for each other. And told me to pray for patience.]
[It sounds like she's recommending a lot of wait and see.]
[Why won't she just come out and say if we are or aren't suited for each other?]
[Maybe because she can't see that? What does it mean for a couple to be suited for each other anyway? That you're neither the same sex or close relatives? That you share a living faith in God? That you like the same styles of music? Something about temperament or personal hygiene habits? Compatible jobs? Things change, Maggie. People change. Relationships are never static. You can't fall in love with how someone was four years ago, it needs to be how they are now. If Heather is telling you to wait, I'd recommend doing exactly that. Do you even know where you'll be in four or five years time?]
[Four years time, apparently I'll be finishing my Martian degree, equivalent of a Master's apparently. I guess I'd missed that they count closest approaches, not orbits.]
[And then? Are you planning to stay on Mars, if you stay interested in Heather's project and that's where the research lab will be? What if Kevin doesn't go? Or he does go and then you need to come home to take over the reins of GemSmith from your aging mother?]
[Don't say that, mum, you're not that old!]
[No, but you know I don't intend to hang on to everything forever, or dump it all in your lap on your wedding day. A staged hand-over I think it's called. I know four or five years seems like a long time, but in four or five years you'll think where did that time go, and it just keeps on going faster. So please don't forget GemSmith in your long-range planning.]
[I'll try not to Mum. Wait is not exactly a nice thing to do or say though.]
[I know, Maggie, I know,] Sarah thought [But sometimes it's for the best.]
[You and Dad didn't wait.]
[We were past university, Mags. Basically, you're too young, with too many changes just ahead of you, to start dating. That's my view as clan matriarch, not just your protective mum.]
[Oh.]
[You're suddenly convinced?]
[I can't argue with my matriarch, can I?]
[Well, you can. It's never really got anyone else very far, though, not when I'm this convinced and have a seer agreeing with me.]
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BLACKWOOD CABINS, FRIDAY 29TH DECEMBER
“Ms Findhorn-Bunting,” Kevin asked, “You've spoken publicly about not recognising prince Matthew and in broad terms about your planned research project, but I'm not sure you've said very much about your life on Mars. What's it like as a student there?”
“Well, Kevin, for starters, please call me Heather. Secondly, turn that thing off, a bit, can you?”
“Urm, OK.” He fiddled with the recorder and turned it off.
“Thanks. Kevin, you're supposed to be interviewing me, not getting information about what Maggie's going to face. I'll happily tell you the latter, just... don't mix them up, OK?”
“I'll try not to.”
“Good. You do realise that Maggie's not likely to permanently emigrate to Mars, don't you? She has responsibilities here, long-term.”
“You mean GemSmith?”
“That might work remotely, mostly, but I've done an informal poll this morning, and the feeling of the crowd here is unless Sarah dies suddenly, God forbid, she's also the most likely person to be named as the matriarch of this clan structure, and that is very much a face-to-face role. So if you go chasing her to Mars, keep in mind that she'll almost certainly be coming back here eventually. If that'll be in five or twenty-five years, I can't tell you.”
He groaned. “This is too complicated. Can we re-start the interview?”
“Of course,” Heather replied.
“Ms Findhorn-Bunting,” Kevin asked, “You've spoken publicly about not recognising prince Matthew and in broad terms about your planned research project, but I'm not sure you've said very much about your life on Mars. What was your life like there?”
“Relatively unusual, but I never realised it was until I at school. There I discovered that most people don't have a mother who's a reporter and an ambassador, that most people don't have foreign dignitaries dropping in and reading them stories, and so on. I got called a liar quite a lot by my classmates.”
“You urm, had lots of foreign dignitaries dropping in?”
“Well, friendly ambassadors are frequent visitors, Svetlana of Russia visited pretty often, and when prince Rudolph of Switzerland came too he would stay in a spare bedroom, since the Swiss don't have an embassy on Mars yet. I hope it doesn't cause an international incident to admit I used to call him Mr Reindeer when I was five or so. And of course, Hathella, princess of the Outer Mer, is married to one of dad's colleagues, and used to babysit me. Shall I continue?”
“There's more?”
“Visiting Mer, people with peace submarines and their passengers, journalists, that interplanetary sports contest ten years ago....”
“OK, that's more. But you said prince Rudolph visited Mars with Svetlana before they were married... you're not saying you saw through the cover story, are you?”
“The cover story... Svetlana told me her funny childhood story about how her friend once served the crown prince of Monaco ice cream into his bare hands; she also told me how many cousins she had, and how they used to play tricks on their parents by dressing up as each other. Do you really think I'd believe that her cousin wearing a wig and Svetlana's clothes and carefully not saying anything was the eloquent woman who used to tell me bed-time stories? Especially when Svetlana was there in the news, wearing her other name and her hair in the style she did when telling me bed-time stories? No, I wasn't taken in one moment.”
“So... given your urm... familiarity with royalty, would you have asked prince Matthew for a plain glass of water if you had recognised him?”
“Of course! But I might have been a bit more polite.” She thought about it for a moment, “Not that I was rude of course.”
“Would you be willing to reveal exactly what you did say to him?”
“I said 'I don't suppose there's any water on that tray is there? Could you get me some?'”
“And if you'd recognised him?”
“What might I have said? Hmm, maybe 'Sorry your highness, I'd much prefer plain water, might that be possible?'”
“You wouldn't have been afraid to ask?”
“Why? He was giving out the drinks, after all.”
“I think most people would be worried about giving offence.”
“Most people seem to think that our solar-system's leaders are so puffed up by their own sense of superiority that you can't be honest with them. I'm sure there are a few like that, somewhere, but so far I've never met them.”
“And you're not concerned that given your new high profile position, one day you might well meet someone like that?”
“I've said in other interviews that I'm a useless liar, and a firm believer in honesty, Kevin. If I do meet someone with an over-inflated opinion of themselves, I might be one of the few people who is in a position to help them realise that. I think that doing that in a gentle manner would come more naturally to me than keeping my mouth firmly glued shut.”
“You're always gentle?”
“You probably need to ask my sisters that. I try.”
“Returning if I may to the Imperial Tsarina of Russia; I noticed in the records that you had a part to play in her getting to the Mars hospital when she started coming down with a meningitis attack.”
“So I'm told, yes.”
“You don't remember it?”
“Only fuzzily. I was only four.”
“I'm just wondering what part a four year-old could play in that scenario.”
“Oh, well, one of my mother's colleagues had come down with it a couple of months earlier. I remember looking at her and thinking she looked sick, and then because of the pain she rubbed her head or her neck, I can't remember which, and realising how similar it had looked to mum's colleague. I think I said it looked like she was sick like he had been. Mum said he'd had meningitis.”
“So it was really just a lucky guess.”
“I wouldn't say that, no,” Heather said.
“Oh?”
“I'd far rather give God the glory rather than assign it to random chance.”
“Well, yes. That's a more Christian outlook, I suppose,” Kevin said.
Heather looked at him and decided he wasn't going to be happy if he kept the recorder running too much longer.
“I dislike dishonesty, Kevin,” Heather said. “And I feel you're bordering on it. I've glossed over more than I should, perhaps, and I'll correct that because it is inaccurate to say it was random chance. By the grace of God, I recognised the similarities between then-Tsarevna Svetlana's state and how mum's colleague looked as he was coming down with it, and I felt God prompting me to speak up. By the grace of God, I kicked up enough fuss that I was listened to, and she didn't die. I can only give an explanation of what happened by reference to God, and my faith in Jesus which I came to at a very early age, and you are obviously uncomfortable talking about matters of faith during interviews.” She paused there, deciding this was his chance to end the interview unless he wanted to record her rebuking him.
“Thank you for your insistence on honesty, Ms Findhorn-Bunting and for your agreeing to give this unscripted interview.” He turned off the camera.
“Kevin, I know that some parts of the world finds mention of God and the gospel offensive. But Christians do no favours to their integrity when they pretend they have no faith. And I'm not going to let anyone call God's promptings random chance when I know better. There are other examples, too, like me recognising the problems with the explanation of the anti-gravity drive, or your Mer ancestry from your mother's grandmother.”
His eyes opened wide “How do you know that?”
“Your parents got married when they did because of a miracle, and when you chose to come here you prayed that you might meet someone you could interview. But your faith isn't really as strong as it should be, is it Kevin? You're surprised when God answers prayer. Trust God more, and your own resources less. By the grace of God, I'm a good judge of character; when your faith is strong you're a trustworthy man, exceptionally so, but when its weak, you're tempted to break confidences and so I won't answer your question. I don't want to give you any extra temptations.”
“You've got the Gift, haven't you?”
Heather laughed. “How did you reach that guess? Me be trusted to know everyone's inmost secrets? Oh, that's funny, sorry, no. I've met a few people with it, but no, I do not have the gift, praise God. My mum used to have a really hard time keeping my mouth shut, you know? 'Why is Svetlana calling herself Claire, Mum? Who is she trying to confuse? Are people really that dumb? And why is dad wearing that, Mum? Doesn't he know it makes him look like he's a jit?' Oh, if we don't talk again for a while, do enjoy talking to the truthsayer association, Kevin. They don't bite, and here they won't make you swear anything you can't agree to. By the way, you do know that once you're accepted by one association, you're a truthsayer wherever you are, don't you? There's automatic transfer of membership, slightly different operating rules, but no extra oaths or anything.”
Kevin looked at her in confusion at the change of subject, but gathered his wits enough to ask “You know that from personal experience?”
“I'm not prepared to have anything along those lines printed about me if that's what you're asking, and the law here is quite strict on journalists not asking that sort of question. But as for how I know, for historical reasons, the truthsayer association of Mars is based on the embassy compound, so I know most truthsayers on Mars. And I did learn to hold my tongue eventually, much to everyone's relief. I think I only broke three people's anonymity, or maybe four, and it worked out O.K. anyway so they forgave me.”
He decided he didn't actually want to know. She clearly had powerful connections and he had no need of enemies if he accidentally blabbed.
“Oh, by the way, Kevin. Me being mysterious is not really about keeping me safe. It's about helping you honestly say 'I don't know' if someone really puts the pressure on you.”
“You're an unusual person, Ms Findhorn-Bunting.”
“You're not so common yourself, Mr Stammers. Now, you need to talk to Maggie, and I need to learn how not to break anything when I ski.”
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BLACKWOOD TRAIN STATION
“Thank you for introducing me to your family, Maggie. And thank you for... hope.”
“I will be very glad to see you if you do come to Mars, you know that, don't you?”
“Yes, I do. And I'll be very glad to see you if you come to wherever we end up living. Somehow I doubt it'll be Alaska. Not yet doesn't mean never though, does it?”
“Not at all. It means we take things one step at a time and trust God. Heather... well, never mind.”
“Heather laughed when I suggested she had the gift, but she's got a quadruple dose of wisdom or something.”
“But she didn't tell you what?”
“She very carefully left her unusual abilities no more than a deniable and mysterious hint. And then said she was doing so entirely deliberately, so I could say I don't know.”
“Fair enough. I imagine that if she has any unusual abilities then they'll eventually be classified as state secrets here, and therefore certainly not a topic for press speculation.”
“And on Mars?”
“Don't you go trespassing on a Martian's absolute right to privacy, Kevin. They might kick you out of an airlock or confiscate your heap or something. Now, I think you've got some unique stories there, and here comes your train. Go turn them into some money before I start crying.”
“God be with you, Maggie,” he said, getting into the monorail carriage, “I ....”
“Don't!” Maggie interrupted, afraid he was about to declare he loved her.
“I like you a lot, I like your clan, I hope to learn a lot more.”
“I like you too. Too much.”