Earth 2788 (5 page)

His smile
abruptly vanished. “It
was
perfect, Lolia, but you’ve messed everything
up now. Our clan was admitted into the Breck alliance because of your marriage
to Ardreath. Now that marriage has broken down, there’s every chance the
Eastreth clan will demand we leave. They’ve been members of the alliance since
it was first formed sixty years ago. Our clan has only been in the alliance for
two years. Who do you think will win that battle, Lolia?”

I stared at him.
“B-b-but I haven’t done anything wrong. Ardreath is only b-b-blaming me
b-b-because …”

“And stop that
childish stammering!” shouted Lolek. “Didn’t those expensive hours of speech
therapy achieve anything at all?”

I took a deep
breath, and used the tactics my therapist had taught me. Speak with deliberate
slowness, avoid contractions, and imagine you’re reciting a poem. “I am very
sorry this has happened, Great-uncle, but I did not do anything wrong.”

“It’s your
fault, Lolia. We’ll lose our place in the alliance. We’ll lose our chance at
being recognized as a true clan.” Lolek’s words hammered relentlessly at me. “We’ll
lose everything, and it’s
all your fault
!”

“But I did not
do anything wrong!” I wailed the words yet again, and there was a moment of
silence. I felt tears streaming down my face, and gulped for breath between
sobs.

“That’s it!”
said the image consultant. “Play me a clip of her face just then.”

A holo image of
my head and shoulders appeared in midair. I was cowering in my chair, literally
shaking in distress, with mingled blood and tears streaking my cheeks.

“That’s perfect!”
said the image consultant.

Lolek nodded at
the vid team. “Exactly what we needed. Send the vid clip to my lookup and pack
up your equipment. We’re done here. I …”

He was
interrupted by a bleeping sound. Lolek reached for his lookup, glanced at it,
and pulled a face. “As I feared, the Eastreth clan have called an emergency
meeting of the alliance council. They’ll have told them about the marriage
breakdown, but they won’t have mentioned Ardreath hitting Lolia. They probably
don’t even know about it. Ardreath must realize his clan would strongly
disapprove of such behaviour, as both dishonourable and illegal, so it’s quite
possible he hasn’t admitted it to them. If he hasn’t …”

Lolek put his
lookup away and gave a cold smile. “If he hasn’t told them, then we still have
one chance.”

He turned to me.
“Give me your lookup, Lolia!”

“What? Why?”

“Your lookup,
Lolia,” he repeated impatiently.

I handed it
over.

“The doctor will
care for you now. She’ll take you to a secret location where Ardreath’s clan
can’t find you, and she’ll check all your incoming calls for you. That way you
won’t be distressed by anyone, or tricked into saying something that you
shouldn’t.” He passed my lookup to the doctor.

I shook my head.
“A secret location? Where? Why can’t I go to our clan hall?”

He ignored my
questions. “Remember, you’re to do exactly what the doctor tells you, Lolia.”

“I want to talk
to my parents,” I said.

He ignored that
too, turned, and went out through the door. The image consultant and lawyer
hurried after him, followed by the vid team. I was alone with the doctor.

Part
II

I sat there for a moment, silently
absorbing what had just happened. All of my life, I’d been terrified of my
great-uncle. When I met Ardreath and Mack, I’d been stunned by the way Lolek
suddenly abandoned his usual stern, disapproving manner and started smiling at
me. For a while, I’d even thought he genuinely cared for me.

Now I knew I’d
been right to start with. Great-uncle Lolek had started smiling at me back
then, because he could use me to help his inter-clan political manoeuvring. Now
I’d turned into a hindrance instead of a help, there were no more smiles. He
hadn’t even …

I felt something
cold against my face and instinctively recoiled.

The doctor
sighed. “Please hold still, Lolia. I have to clean your cheek, and put a fluid
patch on it.”

“But I don’t
need a fluid patch for a simple scratch.”

She sighed
again, finished cleaning up my face, then produced a fluid patch from her
medical bag. She held it to my cheek and activated it. The ridiculously
over-sized patch clung to my skin, and the newly released regen fluid made my
whole face feel icy cold. This must be like the extra blood for the vids,
intended to make it look as if Ardreath had seriously injured me.

I was tempted to
rip the patch off, but then I remembered the things Ardreath had said to me,
and the recorded message he’d sent. Let Lolek cause Ardreath all the trouble
and embarrassment he could. He deserved it!

The doctor
closed her bag and picked it up. “We have to go now, Lolia.”

I shook my head.
“I can’t go outside looking like this. I need to fix my makeup, my hair, pack
my things, and …”

“We have to go
right now,” repeated the doctor. “There’s no need to worry about your things.
Someone will pack all your belongings and bring them to us.”

“But …”

“Now, Lolia!”
ordered the doctor. “Representatives of the Eastreth clan may arrive at any
moment. Your head of clan will be very angry if they manage to talk to you.”

I reluctantly
stood up and followed her to the door. I realized I didn’t even know this
woman’s name, but I didn’t bother to ask it. I resented Lolek putting her in
charge of me, giving an outsider, a member of a different clan, the right to
order me around.

“Where are we
going?” I asked as we went outside.

“A very
comfortable hotel.”

“I’d rather go
to my clan hall.”

“I’m just following
the instructions of your head of clan, Lolia.” The doctor marched on at a rapid
pace. “He said it would be easier to control the situation this way.”

We only passed
two people on the way to the nearest portal. One was standing still, studying
his lookup, so totally absorbed in the shimmer vision holo display floating
above it that he didn’t even notice us walk by. The other gave the fluid patch
on my face a single startled look before hurrying on.

The doctor
dialled the portal code, blocking my view of it with her body. I wasn’t sure if
that had been deliberate or accidental. Either way, once the portal established
and we stepped through it into a hotel foyer, I had no idea where I was. The
inhabited continent of Artemis was very long and thin. I could be in a hotel in
the western highlands, the eastern marshes, or near the great rift itself. I
automatically reached for my lookup to check my location, before I remembered
the doctor had it. It felt oddly frightening to be somewhere unknown, cut off
from the universe without my lookup.

The doctor led
the way down a corridor to a door labelled 36, pressed her hand on the door
plate, and it opened. “Room command lights,” she said.

Concealed glows
came on, filling the room with a medley of coloured lights. The doctor led the
way inside, giving an approving nod at the furnishings. “Very nice.”

I was less
impressed. The room was comfortable enough, but the glittering wall decorations
were a type that had gone out of fashion before I was born. I wouldn’t have been
happy with any hotel room though, however modern and luxurious. I didn’t want
to be in a hotel. I wanted to be in my clan hall with my parents and friends.

The doctor
opened doors to reveal two bedrooms, and a food dispenser. “Would you like
something to eat, Lolia?”

I gave her a
disbelieving look. “You expect me to eat reconstituted food from a food
dispenser?”

“I know your
clan is extremely wealthy, but you must surely have eaten food from a food
dispenser when you were a student.”

I’d eaten plenty
of meals from food dispensers when I’d been studying at University Artemis, and
most of them hadn’t been that bad, but I looked the doctor in the eyes and lied.
“Of course I didn’t. Give me my lookup, so I can order some cartons of real
food.”

She shook her head.
“I can order them. What would you like?”

I listed a few
random dishes, and watched sourly as she used her own lookup to order them. By
now I was positive she’d deliberately blocked me from seeing our portal
destination, and that whatever excuse I invented she wouldn’t let me touch my
lookup. I didn’t like what was happening here. I didn’t like it at all. I
wasn’t just being hidden from Ardreath’s clan; I was being cut off from my own.

Lolek had told
the doctor that it would be easier to control the situation like this. I had a
feeling he really meant it would be easier to control me.

The food cartons
were delivered to our door, and I made an attempt at eating, then two people
arrived, the same two cousins who’d made the vid of me earlier. They had a whole
set of hover bags floating behind them.

“We’ve brought
all your things, Lolia,” said Lolena. “I’ll help you with your hair and makeup.”

She opened one
of the bags, and got out my makeup case and my best formal toga.

“I’m supposed to
look respectable now instead of a terrified victim?” I asked. “What’s going on?
Why do I need a toga? Are we going to a formal clan meeting?”

Lolena ushered
me to a chair. “The alliance council meeting is currently in session, and Lolek
is showing them the vid we made of you after Ardreath’s attack. They may summon
you to appear next. If they do, we want you to appear calm and immaculately
presented, except for the fluid patch on your cheek. The alliance council
members will compare your current appearance with your devastated state in the
vid. The contrast should convince them of the brutality of Ardreath’s attack.”

I frowned at my
reflection in the mirror. Despite all the other emotions already churning
around inside me, I managed to feel panic at the idea of appearing before an
alliance council meeting.

“Don’t wrinkle
your forehead like that!” Lolena scolded me. “You’ll ruin your makeup.”

She worked on my
hair and makeup with professional speed and skill, and was just helping me into
my toga when her lookup chimed. She glanced at it and nodded. “You’re wanted
now, Lolia. Follow me quickly, because alliance council won’t like being kept
waiting.”

She hurried out
into the corridor, and headed for the portal. I chased after her in a panic. “What
do I have to say?”

“As little as possible,”
she said. “Lolek will give you your cues.”

My cues?
Everyone kept acting as if we were making a vid, and I should obediently follow
the script I was given, but this was real life, this was
my
life!

When we reached
the portal, Lolena dialled our destination. She didn’t bother to hide it from
me, there was no point because I knew exactly where we’d be going. The Breck
clan headed the alliance, so alliance council would be meeting in the Breck
clan hall.

When we stepped
through the portal into a corridor, I saw Lolek standing there waiting for us,
wearing the white toga with thick gold edging that proclaimed his status as a
head of clan.

“Lolia, listen
carefully,” he said. “I was right about Ardreath. He hadn’t told his clan about
hitting you. When I made the accusation, Ardreath’s father, Arden, denied it. I
then showed alliance council the vid of you. Arden accused me of faking it. I
challenged him, demanding both you and Ardreath should face a truth test, and
he had no choice but to agree.”

A truth test?
But what if I was asked about the fluid patch, or …?

“During the
test, you must only answer my questions,” continued Lolek. “Don’t be drawn into
responding to anything Ardreath or Arden says to you. Our clan’s position in
the alliance depends on you following my instructions exactly. Do you
understand?”

I gulped and
nodded.

“And don’t shame
our clan by stammering!” said Lolek.

He turned and
swept off down the corridor. I followed him, glancing over my shoulder for
Lolena, and saw her vanish off through the portal.

When I faced
forward again, I discovered Lolek had stopped by some ornate double doors. I
barely managed to avoid bumping into him, and he gave me a scathing look before
lifting his right hand into the air.

The double doors
opened in response to his gesture, and we went through them into a huge room. I
saw a circle of gilt chairs, holding about thirty men and women in formal
togas. Three chairs were bulkier and more imposing than the rest. The two women
and one man in those chairs would be from the Breck clan. The other people must
be the leaders of the other clans in the alliance.

Lolek sat down
in the single empty chair, and I saw him look across the circle at where Arden
Eastreth Calvart, the head of the Eastreth clan, was sitting. I felt a stab of
pain when I saw Ardreath standing behind his father’s chair, looking
classically handsome in an elegantly draped toga.

“The girl has no
right to wear a toga,” said Arden. “Togas may only be worn by members of
officially recognized clans. Now my son has registered his divorce, the girl has
returned to her original status as a gutter clan brat.”

He paused. “In
fairness though, she is merely following Lolek’s example. He has no right to
wear his toga either.”

Gutter clan
brat! I lifted my head and glared at Ardreath. Yesterday, I’d been his wife,
and now he was standing there, calmly listening while his father insulted me! I
knew I mustn’t say anything, but …

“Both Lolia and
I wear togas to show proper respect for the alliance council,” said Lolek
calmly. “If alliance council prefers, then we will happily remove them.”

“Unnecessary,”
said the woman seated in the centre of the three Breck clan chairs. I’d seen
enough images of her, to instantly recognize the formidable Marissa Breck
Thane. Despite rejuvenation treatments, her skin was delicately lined with age,
and her black hair had threads of silver in it. That meant she was over 80,
automatically entitled to respect in age conscious Beta sector, but Marissa
Breck Thane would be treated with respect anyway. She’d been the Breck clan
leader, presiding over meetings like this, since before I was born.

She turned to
look at Arden. “An alliance council meeting should be a dignified affair. You
will refrain from petty insults and deliberate provocation.”

“I apologize,”
said Arden, “but you must surely understand my anger at this situation. Lolek
has made false accusations in front of the entire alliance council, accusing my
own son of second level assault on a woman, and producing a fake vid as
evidence. Such behaviour cannot be tolerated in this alliance. The gutter clan
must go!”

Marissa Breck
Thane lifted her hand to stop him. “For the second time, and for the formal
record, I warn you to refrain from further use of insults, particularly the
word ‘gutter.’ You will follow the convention agreed by alliance council to
deal with the issue of having a clan in the alliance that has no true clan
name, and use the phrase ‘Lolek’s clan.’”

Arden
reluctantly bowed his head in acceptance.

“Two years ago,
you argued the case for admitting Lolek’s clan to this alliance,” continued
Marissa Breck Thane. “They made vids, so their business interests were in line
with those of the alliance, but given those vids were of a low class nature
designed solely for the export market …”

There was a
meaningful pause before she continued. “Alliance council had reservations but
finally agreed to your request. The admission of Lolek’s clan has, on the
whole, been advantageous to the alliance, opening up new export opportunities,
but now you demand we expel them.”

She pulled a
face. “You have said we must understand your anger at this situation. Equally,
you must understand our displeasure. Marriages between members of alliance
clans have broken down before, and the resulting issues have been resolved
amicably even when complex business mergers and property transfers had been
linked with the marriage contract. It has never been necessary to remove a clan
from the alliance.”

“This case is
very different,” said Arden. “Lolek’s accusations have pushed things beyond the
point where an amicable resolution is possible. Clan Eastreth isn’t formally
allied with the reactionary faction, but we agree with their protective
attitudes to women. My son would not do something as dishonourable as
assaulting any woman, let alone one who was, at that time, his own wife!”

“This alliance
is formed around common business interests,” said Marissa Breck Thane in an icy
voice. “Alliance council’s position on politics is strictly neutral. Your
reference to reactionary attitudes to women is, at a minimum, inappropriate.
Given reactionary views on women holding positions of authority in clans, it
could even be regarded as insulting to the female members of alliance council.”

Her right
forefinger twirled in the circular gesture that meant the same thing on every
Betan world. The discussion was over. Arden’s expression was that of a man who
knew he’d just made a big mistake.