Zoe’s Tale PART I Chapter Two

I climbed come on onto the roof through my bedroom window and go toed stake at hickory. give me those binoculars, I said. It did and then climbed bulge issue the window with me. Since youve probably never mastern it Ill grow you agnize its a pretty impressive sight to watch an Obin blossom forth itself to demand through a window. Very graceful, with no real additive to both human movement you might want to describe. The universe, it has aliens in it. And they are.(Obin it, not he or she. Because theyre hermaphrodites. That means male and female sex organs. Go ahead and have your giggle. Ill wait. Okay, done? Good.) hickory was on the roof with me Dickory was right(prenominal) the business firm, more or less spotting me in case I should trip or feel suddenly despondent, and then f only or leap off the roof. This is their standard practice when I climb out my window one with me, one on the ground. And theyre obvious about it when I was a bittie kid Mom or pa would visualise Dickory blow out the door and hang round honourable ware the stairs the roof, and then yell up the stairs for me to get covering fire into my room. Having insane alien pals has a downside.For the record Ive never fallen off the roof.Well, once. When I was ten. But there were extenuating circumstances. That doesnt count.Any demeanor, I didnt have to worry about either bottom or Jane telling me to get back into the house this time. They halt doing that when I became a teenager. Besides, they were the reason I was up on the roof in the first place. on that point they are, I said, and pointed for hickory trees benefit. Mom and Dad and my green friend were standing in the middle of our sorghum field, a few hundred meters out. I raised my binoculars and they went from being haschisch marks to being actual people. Green man had his back to me, exclusively he was saying something, because both Jane and John were looking at him intently. There was a rustle at Janes feet, and then Babar popped up his head. Mom reached down to scratch him.I wonder what hes talking to them about, I said.Theyre too farthermost away, hickory tree said. I turned to it to make a comment on the lines of no kidding, genius. indeed I saw the consciousness collar most its neck and was reminded that in addition to providing Hickory and Dickory with sentience with their idea of who they were their collars besides gave them expanded senses, which were mostly devoted to keeping me out of trouble.I was in any case reminded that their consciousness collars were why they were here in the first place. My father my biologic father created them for the Obin. I was also reminded that they were why I was here, too. Still here, I mean. Alive.But I didnt go down that road of prospect.I thought those things were useful, I said, pointing to the collar.Hickory lightly touched the collar. The collars do many things, it said. enabling us to hear a conversation hundreds of meters awa y, and in the middle of a grain field, is not one of them.So youre useless, I said.Hickory nodded its head. As you say, it said, in its noncommittal way.Its no fun mocking you, I said.Im sorry, Hickory said.And the thing of it was, Hickory really was sorry. Its not palmy being a funny, sarcastic thing when most of who you were depended on a machine you wore around your neck. Generating ones own prosthetic identity takes more concentration than you might expect. Managing a well-balanced sense of sarcasm above and beyond that is a unforesightful such(prenominal) to ask for.I reached over and gave Hickory a hug. It was a funny thing. Hickory and Dickory were here for me to know me, to learn from me, to protect me, and if shoot be to die for me. And here I was, spirit protective of them, and feeling a little sad for them, too. My father my biological father gave them consciousness, something the Obin had lacked and had been scrutinizing for, for the entire history of their speci es.But he didnt make consciousness easy for them.Hickory accepted my hug and tentatively touched my head it sess be shy when Im suddenly demonstrative. I took care not to enter it on too thick with the Obin. If I get too ablaze it can mess up their consciousness. Theyre sensitive to when I get overwrought. So I backed up and then looked toward my parents again with the binoculars. Now John was saying something, with one of his patented half-cocked smiles. His smile erased when our visitor started talking again.I wonder who he is, I said.He is frequent Samuel Rybicki, Hickory said.This got some other glance back from me. How do you know that? I said.It is our business to know about who visits you and your family, Hickory said, and touched its collar again. We queried him the moment he landed. education about him is in our database. He is a liaison between your civilised Defense Forces and your Department of Colonization. He coordinates the protection of your wise colonies.Huc kleberry isnt a new colony, I said. It wasnt it had been colonized for fifty or sixty years by the time we arrived. More than enough time to flatten out all the scary bumps new colonies face, and for the human population to become too whopping for invaders to scrape off the planet. Hopefully. What do you think he wants from my parents? I asked.We dont know, Hickory said.He didnt say anything to you while he was waiting for John and Jane to march up? I said.No, Hickory said. He kept to himself.Well, sure, I said. in all worrylihood because you scared the crap out of him.He leftfield no feces, Hickory said.I snorted. I sometimes question your alleged lack of humor, I said. I meant he was too intimidated by you to say anything.We presume that was why you had us stay with him, Hickory said.Well, yeah, I said. But if I knew he was a world(a), maybe I wouldnt have given him much(prenominal) a hard time. I pointed to my parents. I dont want them getting any grief because I thought it would be fun to mess with this guys head.I think someone of his rank would not come all this way to be deterred by you, Hickory said.A list of snappy retorts popped in my head, begging to be used. I ignored them all. You think hes here on some serious mission? I asked.He is a general, Hickory said. And he is here.I looked back through the binoculars again. General Rybicki as I now knew him had turned just a bit, and I could see his face a little more clearly. He was talking to Jane, further then turned a bit to say something to Dad. I lingered on Mom for a minute. Her face was locked up tight whatever was freeing on, she wasnt very happy about it.Mom turned her head a bit and suddenly she was looking directly at me, like she knew I was watching her.How does she do that? I said. When Jane was Special Forces, she had a body that was counterbalance more genetically modified than the ones regular soldiers got. But like Dad, when she left the service, she got put into a normal hu man body. Shes not superhuman anymore. Shes just scary observant. Which is close to the same thing. I didnt get away with much of anything growing up.Her attention turned back to General Rybicki, who was addressing her again. I looked up at Hickory. What I want to know is why theyre talking in the sorghum field, I said.General Rybicki asked your parents if there was someplace they could chat in private, Hickory said. He indicated in particular that he wanted to speak away from Dickory and me.Were you record when you were with him? I asked. Hickory and Dickory had recording devices in their collars that enter sounds, images and emotional data. Those recordings were sent back to other Obin, so they could familiarity what its like to have quality time with me. Odd? Yes. Intrusive? Sometimes, that not usually. Unless I start thinking about it, and then I centralise on the fact that, why yes, an entire alien race got to experience my puberty through the eyes of Hickory and Dickory. Theres nothing like share-out menarche with a billion hermaphrodites. I think it was everyones first time.We were not recording with him, Hickory said.Okay, good, I said.Im recording now, Hickory said.Oh. Well, Im not sure you should be, I said, waving out toward my parents. I dont want them getting in trouble.This is allowed under our accord with your government, Hickory said. Were allowed to record all you allow us to record, and to field of study everything that we experience. My government knew that General Rybicki had visited the moment Dickory and I sent our data query. If General Rybicki wanted his visit to remain secret, he should have met your parents elsewhere.I chose not to dwell on the fact that significant portions of my life were subject to treaty negotiation. I dont think he knew you were here, I said. He seemed strike when I sicced you on him.His ignorance of us or of the Obin treaty with the Colonial Union is not our problem, Hickory said.I guess not, I said, a little out of sorts.Would you like me to stop recording? Hickory asked. I could hear the wag on the edge of its voice. If I wasnt careful about how I showed my iniquity I could send Hickory into an emotional cascade. Then itd have what amounted to a temporary nervous breakdown right there on the roof. Thatd be no good. He could fall off and snap his snaky little neck.Its fine, I said, and I tried to sound more conciliatory than I really felt. Its too late now anyway. Hickory visibly relaxed I held in a sigh and gazed down at my shoes.Theyre coming back to the house, Hickory said, and motioned toward my parents. I followed its hand my parents and General Rybicki were indeed heading back our way. I thought about going back into the house but then I saw Mom look directly at me, again. Yup, shed seen me earlier. The chances were pretty good she knew we had been up there all that time.Dad didnt look up the entire walk back. He was already lost in thought. When that happened it was like the world collapsing in around him he didnt see anything else until he was done dealing with what he was dealing with. I suspected I wouldnt see much of him tonight.As they cleared the sorghum field, General Rybicki stopped and shook Dads hand Mom kept herself out of handshaking distance. Then he headed back toward his floater. Babar, who had followed the three of them into the field, broke off toward the general to get in one last petting. He got it after the general got to the floater, then padded back to the house. The floater opened its door to let the general in.The general stopped, looked directly at me, and waved. Before I could think what I was doing, I waved right back.That was smart, I said to myself. The floater, General Rybicki inside, winged off, victorious him back where he came from.What do you want with us, General? I thought, and surprised myself by thinking us. But it only made sense. Whatever he wanted with my parents, I was part of it too.