STOWAWAY TO THE STARS

Karen stared at the scene of desolation in front of her. It was real. Everything. She felt as if she’d woken up from a nightmare to find it wasn’t a nightmare after all. How was it possible? They’d never moved – well, except briefly when she’d been thrown about. What had he said? A gravity compensator? It sounded like purest fantasy, but it did explain their arrival here.

She became aware of Larry’s presence behind her. She turned to him in desperation, fighting back the tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Please tell me this is some amazing hoax.”

He shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry to hit you with it like this, but I knew you would never believe it unless you saw it for yourself.”

She gave a long sigh. “I thought you were bullshitting me just now, but you meant it, didn’t you? We’ve actually travelled through space without feeling a thing. No rockets, no roar of exhaust flames?”

He nodded.

“So this is another planet, in another solar system, and I’ve stowed away on your real live spaceship.” She fell silent for a few moments, overwhelmed by what she had learned.

“How is this possible? I had no idea such things existed.”

He raised his hand. “Hold on, it’s a long story and this ship is a bit cramped for sitting about in and talking. There is a cave over at the bottom of the cliff that I have used before. It’s pretty basic, but there is food and drink, and it’s warm, or it will be as soon as the heaters get going.”

She stared across the short stretch of ground to the cliffs. Now he wanted her to go exploring. “You want me to go out there? Into a cave! Is that the only thing there is on this whole planet?”

“Yes, this place is barren. It’s safe, and as you can see, the atmosphere is breathable. We can stay here if you would rather, but we will be much more comfortable there.”

What was he up to? Was he trying to get her away from the ship and leave her stranded? No, that was ridiculous, there were far easier ways if he had an ulterior motive. She made up her mind. “Okay, if you’re really sure it’s safe.”

He opened a locker in the back of the ship and pulled out two cloaks, gave one to Karen and put on the other himself. He paused for a moment, and went back to collect a briefcase-sized machine from another locker.

He looked at her once more. “Are you ready, Karen?”

She nodded. The enormity of what she was about to do struck her. She gave a slightly hysterical laugh. “Neil Armstrong, eat your heart out. If yours was a giant leap for mankind, I don’t know what that makes this.”

They stepped outside into the cold, their breath making plumes of vapor in the icy air. It was quite still, with not as much as a whisper of sound from the wind. Larry palmed the exterior pad and the door closed. Karen looked around at the awesome, barren landscape. Standing on the bone-dry, dusty surface in the eerie red light of the red giant above, brought home that she really was on an alien planet.

“What is this place?” she asked, as they hurried toward the cliffs.

“It’s a freak of nature. A sterile planet, with no living creatures or vegetation whatsoever. Yet it has a breathable atmosphere, though it’s very dry. We shall need to drink a lot to avoid dehydration. It always keeps this face to the sun, like your Moon does to Earth. I call it Hideaway.”

Something unnatural in the way she walked distracted her. “What’s up with this ground? It feels somehow springy, like a dance floor, yet it looks like solid rock.”

He smiled. “It’s the gravity. This planet has about fifteen percent less gravity than on Earth, so you feel light and bouncy.”

As they approached the cliff Karen looked up in wonder at the sheer face, even more foreboding up close. The gloomy red sun that bathed it eternally gave it an ochre color, never alleviated by night or even by clouds. In spite of the warm cloak she shivered.

A heavy black drape, anchored down with stones, covered the entrance to the cave. Larry kicked the stones away and held back the drape for Karen to enter. It was dark inside, but as she stepped through, warmth radiated on her face and bright white light sprang up. She couldn’t make out where the illumination came from.

The cave was about four meters wide and nearly as high. It went back for over ten meters, where it bent out of sight. The walls and roof were bare rock, and the curved sides of the cave had been chiseled away in places to make recesses for pieces of furniture. The floor consisted of smoothed rock except where it looked as if the bigger holes had been filled in with beaten soil.

The furnishing was practical. A comfortable low couch rested against one wall with a strange-looking device in front. The walls held shelves, cupboards and lockers. On the other side were several three-legged chairs and two three-legged tables, one cluttered with equipment she didn’t recognize. In a strange way the rudimentary cave surroundings, with the incongruous furniture scattered through it, had a friendly, homely air about it in the warmth and brightness. What a bizarre contrast it was between this primitive cave and her recent trip in Larry’s incredible spaceship.

Larry led her over to the empty table, pulled up two chairs and held one for her to sit. It turned out to be surprisingly comfortable. The coziness of the cave, after the stark emptiness outside, made Karen feel more relaxed. Larry shed his cloak onto the couch, so she did the same with hers. Already the cave felt warm. Whatever heating system he had, it was very effective.

Larry asked, “Would you like something to eat or drink?”

“Yes, I could use a drink, thank you.” A stiff gin and tonic was what she could use, but she doubted he had that in mind.

He disappeared into the depths of the cave and soon reappeared with two large tankards of lime green liquid. She sipped. It was sharp but refreshing, almost like freshly squeezed lemon with honey, and it left her mouth feeling clean, as if she’d just brushed her teeth.

“What is it?” she asked.

He shrugged. “It’s called yaquord. It’s brewed like tea from the yaquordin plant. You can drink it either hot or cold. Look, there is a lot I need to explain, but before I do, there is something that might help.”

He picked up the small machine that he had brought from the ship, adjusted some settings on it and extracted a skullcap from a compartment in the side. He offered it to her.

“Will you let me put this on your head? It’s a hypnotic trainer that will help you understand.”

“Hypnosis! No way. Keep that thing away from me.” What the hell was a hypnotic trainer, anyway?

“Please trust me, I have not brought you all this way to electrocute you. And it will only take a couple of minutes.”

Electrocution was exactly what that thing looked as if it might do. If he expected her to put that on her head, he could think again. “Why should I trust you, and what does it do, anyway?”

“Karen, if I wanted to harm you I would not need a machine. You saw how easily I disarmed you earlier. This trainer is an easy way to learn what I need you to understand, and it’s quite painless.”

Dear God, he was right. She was completely in his hands. He could do whatever he wanted, she would still need him to take her off this benighted planet. But her instincts told her that he wasn’t that sort of creep, and she was usually right. Too many times she had ignored them and gone out with someone on a disastrous date. What the hell. She might as well do what he asked.

“All right, if you’re sure it will help.”

He placed the skullcap on her head, attaching a series of pads round the edges of it to her temples, and thumbed the start pad. She immediately felt sleepy and her surroundings faded away.

****

Larry watched as Karen’s eyes closed under the hypnotic influence. He’d told her a small lie, it would take a lot longer than a couple of minutes, which was what he wanted – time to think without interruption. He’d also omitted to mention that it was a language trainer, but this way he’d kill two birds with one stone. She would need to be able to speak Universal eventually, and when the time seemed right he’d reveal her new ability to speak the common language of the Union.

He felt a wave of sympathy for the poor girl. What a way to be introduced to interstellar travel. So far she was just about holding up, but it was little wonder she’d been close to tears. She couldn’t have picked a worse moment to stow away, just when the Ziloni had discovered him. Now he had two big problems to sort out.

He fetched his spare data processing unit from a cupboard and scanned rapidly through its information store for the details he needed about Zilon. As he worked he glanced over at Karen several times to make sure the trainer hadn’t finished. When he was satisfied with what he had found, he printed several maps and diagrams on thin plastic films.

That was about the best he could do for now. He had a plan of sorts, the details would have to wait until he got to Zilon and saw whether reality matched what his data processing unit predicted. As for Karen, she would just have to wait here until he got back, or more likely until he’d got himself killed. He’d have to set a deadline and leave her with an emergency probe that she could send off to get help if he didn’t get back.

He saw Karen stirring and hastily tucked the data unit in his pocket, as she opened her eyes and looked around. “Oh, is that it? I don’t feel any different.”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” he said, taking off the cap and pads. “I told you it would not hurt.”

“But I thought you said I would understand everything now. I still don’t understand anything.”

“It does not work like that. It just triggers new memories when you need them.”

He needed to distract her until he was ready for her to realize what she had learned. “Look, I have promised to explain everything, so let us start with my spaceship. You must be wondering how it’s possible that I have it.”

“Yes, I never dreamt that anything like it existed. I suppose it must be a secret government project. But it seems crazy that they spend millions of dollars on things like the space shuttle when there is a much better alternative like this?”

She shook her head. “No, that can’t be right. There ought to be massive security for such a project. It would never be kept it in an old barn up in the hills, where security was so poor that I managed to sneak on board without anyone seeing –”

“Ah, now that should not have happened,” interrupted Larry. “I was inexcusably careless. You might also want to bear in mind that, as you have seen, with this ship it’s possible to travel to other stars, and visit all the planets that are out there.”

Karen’s eyes widened as she saw where his reasoning led. “The ship comes from another planet, doesn’t it? It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”

She stopped and frowned. “No, it still doesn’t make sense. If it comes from another planet, how did you get it? Have you met creatures from other planets?”

This looked like a good time to introduce Karen to the effects of the language translator. He switched language to Universal and said, “Well done, you’re getting close to the truth now, Karen.”

“Thank you,” she replied automatically in the same language, then gave a little cry and clapped a hand over her mouth.

“Hey, you just spoke in a strange language, and I understood it and answered back. What have you done to me? Was it that machine? And who the hell are you?”

This was it. Time for the next big shock. Let’s hope he’d prepared the ground well enough that she was ready for it.

“I suppose technically you would call me an alien.”

Her eyes opened wide. “But you’re not an alien! You’re human.”

Strange how Terrans were just at that stage where they understood the concept of aliens but imagined they were green monsters with horns. “Yes, I’m as human as you are. But I’m also an alien, in the sense that I live on a different planet, in a different solar system, hundreds of light years away from Earth.”

“This keeps getting crazier,” she said, holding her head between her hands. “I feel like Alice in Wonderland. How can you be human if you’re an alien?”

Larry shook his head. “No one knows for certain. All the intelligent life we have come across is human, though in various stages of advancement. We do know that once there used to be a much older race. One theory is that this race spread primitive life forms through our sector of the galaxy, and possibly beyond, but there is no definite proof. No one has ever seen the older race. They appear to have gone now, leaving behind we humans and a small number of other species. They are all some form of humanoid. So far we have never met any slimy monsters or little green men.”

“Hang on, do you mean to say there are lots of alien planets? And they all have people like us. I mean me. Are there no differences at all?”

“The other humanoid species are a little different, though you might not even realize it if you met one. But amongst humans, or more accurately Homo Sapiens, our genetic make-up is identical. It means that, for example, humans from different planets can procreate, and often do.”

“Well, don’t get any ideas about procreating with me,” snapped Karen.

That was just about the last thing on his mind. Before he could decide on a suitable reply, she moved on. “Wait a minute, humans didn’t just appear on Earth. They evolved from earlier humanoids, and originally, I think, from apes.”

Larry nodded. “Yes, there is only a small change in DNA from apes to humans. Your evolution goes back to the apes through Cro-Magnons, Homo erectus, Australopithecus and various species before that. I know, it was part of my job to check it out. It’s the same on every planet with humans, a steady line of succession back to apes and beyond.”

“Wow, that is incredible. To think there are lots of planets out there with humans like us. Does anyone know why this ancient race did it?”

“Well, there are theories of course. The most popular one is that they were steering the development, maybe experimenting to see which route led to the most intelligent species.”

“Okay Larry,” Karen said, “this is a lot to take in. I’ll have to think about it. But something else is puzzling me. How come no one on Earth has discovered anything about these other planets?”

Larry started packing away his language trainer while he thought how best to answer her question. “Because we don’t think people on Earth are ready for that information yet, so we make every effort to conceal our existence.”

“That sounds pretty damned condescending of you. Do you have any idea how much effort people on Earth make to look for other planets, and send communications to any other intelligent life?”

“I’m sorry. I’m inclined to agree with you, but I don’t make the rules.”

Karen looked about to make another retort, but she paused before looking at him in alarm. “Hang on. If all this is true, why are you telling me now, when you say you make every effort to conceal yourselves?”

Larry gave a wry smile. Two shocks down, now we just have the big one left.

“You are right. Normally I would have played along with your motor home theory, but things are not normal at all. Before I start, I don’t know about you, but I’m getting hungry. How about I get us something to eat first?”

“You were just about to tell me . . .” She hesitated. “I’m sorry, that was rude. Thank you, something to eat would be nice.”

“I’ll heat up two Insta-packs. Why don’t you look round?” She might as well get used to the place, she would be here quite a while.

He moved across to his kitchen area, pulled out two packs from the store cupboard and flipped their tabs. As the packs heated, he leaned back against the counter and watched his stowaway. She had taken everything in her stride so far, but how would she react when she knew the full story?

Karen wandered round the bend to the back of the cave. He followed just far enough to see what she did. She found the shower first, looked inside it, and jumped back when the soap jets automatically kicked in. Next she sat on the bed, and spent a while stroking the soft thermal cover sheet. What had she expected – some straw and a blanket on the floor?

The packs chimed. He decanted their contents onto two platters, together with two more tankards of yaquord. Karen joined him as he set up the table.

She took a tentative first bite, looked at the plate in surprise, and started eating eagerly. Larry took a bite of his own meal, then set his fork down and began. “I need to start by giving you the background. All the technologically advanced civilizations in the Galactic Sector have formed an alliance that we call The Galactic Union, which is administered by the Galactic Council.”

Karen wrinkled her nose. “You’ve lost me already. What is the Galactic Sector?”

“Ah yes, that is the name we use to describe the explored region of the Milky Way. Wait, I can show you a picture.”

He moved across to the other table, activated his electronic encyclopedia and found what he wanted to show her. A glowing 3-D display sprang to life in the middle of the cave.

“Oh my God”, exclaimed Karen. “That is amazing. How do you do that? I’ve never seen . . .”

She must have seen his amused smile because she broke off. “I’m sorry, I guess you are used to this incredible stuff, what with your spaceship and everything. Do go on.”

Larry pointed his arm through the transparent display. “This area that is shaded green is the Galactic Sector. It stretches about half-way along the Orion Arm of the galaxy here.”

“It looks huge. Are there millions of inhabited planets, then?”

“No. Only a few thousand stars have planets inhabited by humanoids. About ten times as many planets have the potential to be inhabitable over at least a section of the planet’s surface – which in essence means that they have a breathable atmosphere, a tolerable temperature and plant life compatible with human exploitation. Your Earth is in there somewhere.”

He searched the encyclopedia again and a yellow spot appeared in the green area. “There, that is Sol, your sun. Just one star in many millions.”

“Ah, I see. So what does your Galactic Union do?”

Larry killed the display and returned to his seat. “It controls and coordinates space travel and interstellar trade. It has also evolved to play a more political role, much like your European Union on Earth.”

“So if there are only a few thousand inhabited planets altogether, how many of them are in the Union?”

Larry took another mouthful of his meal and considered. “Let me see, there are about three hundred and fifty planets that are full Union members. They run the Union, through the Galactic Council. The rest, about another three hundred planets, are Associate members. They are locally governed, but they have to comply with Union laws.”

Karen mopped up the last few crumbs from her platter. “So how come you have your own spaceship? Or does everyone have one, like we have cars on Earth?”

“No, spaceships are much more equivalent to your airplanes. Most people take a spaceliner to fly between planets, and long trips on the same planet, for that matter. I use this ship in my work for the Interstellar Exploration Program, which is run by the Union. The IEP explores outside the Galactic Sector in search of new inhabited planets or planets capable of supporting life, but that is not what I usually do. The IEP also monitors all populated planets that have been discovered to check on their state of development. When they are sufficiently advanced they are contacted by the Union. I’m one of the explorers who make covert visits to monitor these primitive planets.”

“Oh, is that what you were doing on Earth? How exciting.”

“No, it’s more complicated than that. It is how I first encountered Earth though, a little over a year ago.”

“Okay, I get the picture. But what’s it all got to do with me? Why were you on Earth if you weren’t on an exploration?”

Larry went on to explain how he’d come to be hiding on Earth from the Ziloni.

He paused to eat the last of his own meal and Karen took the opportunity to ask, “Larry, I’m sorry to hear about all your troubles, but I’m still not sure why it affects me and why you didn’t just take me home?”

Larry sighed. “It’s to do with what happened when you first accosted me about your sister. At that same moment, we came under attack by the Ziloni. What I did not realize until then was how desperate the Ziloni were. It ought to be enough that my story about a Ziloni plot had been discounted by the Union and that I was a wanted fugitive, but they must be scared I’m plotting to thwart their plans. The only way they could have located me was to find out which recent planets I had explored and stake them all out.”

He told her what had happened after they took off, the missile attack from the moon base, and his maneuvers.

“You mean we almost got killed back there? I could have died without ever realizing what was going on?”

Yes, and having you hitting me while I fought them off didn’t help a lot. It hadn’t been her fault, though, she had no idea what was happening. He just nodded.

Karen frowned, then looked up at Larry abruptly. “You said you were able to fend off their attack because they only launched a few missiles to test you out. But why didn’t they shoot us down afterward?”

“They screwed up. By the time they were satisfied it was me and launched their big wave of missiles they were too late. I reached the boundary in time and jumped to safety. However, they will be waiting in case I go back, and they will not make that mistake a second time.”

Karen’s face went pale. “Oh shit, you can’t take me home, can you? Not with the Ziloni still waiting for you. That’s what all this is about, why you’re telling me everything. I’m stuck here with you, aren’t I?”

Larry nodded. “For the moment, yes, I’m afraid so, Karen.”

Now she knew it all. At least she hadn’t burst into floods of tears, or become hysterical, but her face looked drawn, the sparkle gone from her eyes.

She was silent for a while, but eventually she composed herself. “So is that it? Am I stuck here with you forever on this Godforsaken planet? Can’t you go back to the Union now that they’ve attacked you again?”

Larry shook his head. “Not really. What proof do I have? I don’t know for certain that they were Ziloni, though it’s the only sensible explanation from my point of view. And I was breaking the law being on Earth in the first place.”

He picked up the dirty plates and tankards and deposited them in the ultrasonic cleaner. As he returned, he said, “Anyway, while you were learning Universal on the language translator, I have worked out what I will do. And whatever happens to me, I promise you will get back home.” Under his breath he added, “Eventually.”

Karen sighed. “Okay, so what’s your plan?”

“I shall take the fight to them now that they have pushed me into a corner. I shall try to break into one of their intelligence bases and get solid evidence of what they are up to on Inferior.”

“How do you break into an intelligence base? Whereabouts will you find one of those? I thought you couldn’t go anywhere in the Union without getting caught.”

He reached over to the other table to pick up the maps he’d printed out. “I’ve located a small military base in a nice secluded area. From its size and location I’m guessing that its main function is intelligence. It’s convenient for me, not too far away from the main spaceport on Zilon.”

“On Zilon. Do you mean you’re going to invade their home planet single handed?”

“Scarcely. I’ve got a plan to sneak in unobserved under cover of a regular spaceliner. It’s likely to be a suicide mission, but at the worst I can go down giving them a hard time. You can stay here until it’s all over one way or the other.”

Alarm showed clearly on her face at this suggestion. “Stay here all by myself? While you’re on a suicidal mission? And what happens to me when you don’t come back?”

“I will leave you with a couple of message probes. If I’m not back in, say, ten days, you can launch one to my brother-in-law. He is called Ketar’hi Dartelii – Ket for short, and he is a Galactic Council official. He is not best pleased with the trouble I have caused, but I’m sure he will do this last favor for me and take you home.”

Karen did not look reassured. “How will he know where to take me? And what about these Ziloni lying in ambush on the moon, stopping you from taking me home?”

“It will be fine. I will give Ket the hyperspace co-ordinates for Earth and the beacon code for my barn. He can go in broadcasting that he is on official Union business and the Ziloni won’t touch him. As a back up, I will leave another message probe addressed to the Galactic Council that you can use as a last resort. There will be a load of aggravation in that case, but at the end of the day they will repatriate you. Whoever takes you home, you need to be able to speak to them in Universal, so you can see why I needed you to use the language trainer.”

****

Karen stared at the floor, trying to come to terms with the devastating information that he had dropped on her. Dear God, what a mess I’ve got myself into. It had seemed to be such a clever idea, to follow the man she thought was Rachel’s boyfriend. Instead, it was turning out to be the most stupid thing she’d ever done.

Larry cleared his throat, obviously waiting for her answer. “Does that sound reasonable?”

“I don’t know. I suppose so. I’m sorry, I’m still trying to take it all in. A few hours ago –” she checked her watch. “My God! Is that all it’s been, about two hours? It seems like forever.”

Karen got up, picked up her cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I need to take a little walk outside, to be alone to think for a few minutes. I won’t be long.”

She pushed her way out through the drape, pulling the cloak tight against the cold air outside. She stared again at the bare, alien landscape, the very strangeness of it helping her to come to terms with all that she had learned. The red giant hung directly overhead, its bloated, angry disc was huge, but so weak that she could almost look directly at it.

She walked slowly past the spaceship, stopping to look again at the strange craft, knowing now what an amazing machine it was.

It looked incongruous against the stark and empty background. It was shaped like a huge, elongated football, but more sharply pointed at the front and back, about fifteen meters long and four meters high at the centre, supported by three short legs. At the front, on the upper part of the body was a large transparent canopy, through which she could see the four seats. How could she have been so stupid as to think it was a projection screen?

At the back of the ship were a small upright fin and a short horizontal tailplane. Small winglets sprouted from each side underneath the canopy, just about where an airplane would have its wings. These winglets were far too small to be wings – but then it was a spaceship. She wasn’t sure why it needed even these small appendages.

Except for a few markings on the widest part of the body, the rest of the outer surface was a smooth matte white, although the surface had an unusual appearance as well, as though it had a transparent coating. Here and there scuffs and stains betrayed the long and heavy use that the machine must have seen. No other discernible features were apparent except for a small recess a little way behind the canopy. Next to the recess she could just make out the outline of the close-fitting door.

She walked a few more steps, and sat down on a small outcrop of rock. She looked out at the depressing landscape, across the chestnut-colored plain to the range of brown hills in the distance. The enormity of her situation was overwhelming. She put her head down on her knees and wept.

The cold slowly penetrated through the warm cloak and the padding she still wore, and she shivered. She got up, and wiped her eyes as best she could on a corner of the cloak. After a final look at the gloomy scene in front of her, she made her way back to the cave.

What must Larry be thinking of the way she walked out and left him? She was well aware that she had an automatic defense mechanism that made her hide her true feelings. At least on this occasion she had a real reason to feel so defensive.

As she entered, she knew it would be obvious that she had been crying again. Larry looked concerned and said, “Is there anything else I can get you, or do for you?”

The question made her realize that she was close to collapse from weariness and stress. “I’m very tired,” she said. “Could I lie down for a while?”

“I suggest we both try to sleep,” Larry replied. “You do look shattered, and I can sleep anywhere, anytime. But first, you won’t want to wear that ridiculous padding any more. Let me see if I can find some clothes for you to wear when you wake up.”

He went to the back of the cave and returned with a pair of trousers, a loose tunic top and a light coat.

He handed her the clothes. “Tomorrow you can try these on. With a few minor adjustments they might be a reasonable fit. For now, you saw the bed in the back of the cave, and the shower. Make yourself comfortable. I can sleep on the ship.”

Alarmed, Karen stopped him. “No, please don’t leave me here alone. I need to know there is someone else around. This place is scary.” Not to mention that he might just take off in his spaceship and leave her stranded.

“Okay. I will sleep here on the couch if you would prefer that.”

Maybe she should offer to be the one to take the less comfortable couch. She was the one insisting that he didn’t leave her. But she felt so tired and in need of the comfort of a proper bed. “Thank you. Good night.”

She took the clothes with her and made her way round the bend in the cave to where she had seen the bed. She laid the new clothes on a large chest in the corner, and thankfully stripped off her oversized clothes and padding, down to her underwear. She looked at them thoughtfully. They were all she had. She shrugged, slipped them off, and washed them in the shower as best she could. That done she draped them over the back of the chair to dry and climbed into the bed, thankful that the bend in the cave afforded her a semblance of privacy. The bed sheets were amazing. They felt like the finest silk and were feather light, yet warm.

More quickly than she thought possible, she fell asleep.

****

Karen woke with a feeling of confusion. Where the hell was she? The memory of the day before came flooding back. Today Larry would fly off in his spaceship, and probably get himself killed, leaving her alone on this awful planet.

She thought again about Larry’s plan. She hadn’t liked it much yesterday, but she had scarcely taken it in, with all the other things crowding her mind. Today she liked it even less. Her thoughts turned to the guy himself. He was a bit cocksure, but apart from that he seemed okay. He could have been pissed off with her, but he hadn’t been. And he was pretty capable. The way he’d knocked the gun out of her hand so easily. Then giving it back, of all things.

She lay for a long time thinking about alternatives to his plan. Eventually she made up her mind. She got up and made the best use she could of the rather cramped, but surprisingly effective shower. It felt great to get rid of the excess make-up she had been wearing as part of her disguise the day before.

She tried on the clothes. They were a bit big, but with one or two tucks and rolled up sleeves they were serviceable. She wandered out to the front of the cave, where Larry crouched over two cigar-shaped objects, each about a meter long. She hazarded a guess that they were his message probes. Never mind, she’d break her news to him later.

Larry looked up. “Wow, you look in better shape than you did last night. And that padding didn’t do you any favors, did it?”

Was that a compliment or not? She ran her hands self-consciously over her trim figure. “It’s wonderful what a night’s sleep will do. I’m beginning to come to terms with the mess I’ve got myself into.”

“Good. What about some breakfast?”

“That sounds great.”

“I’ve got milk and cereal, or cold meat, bread or fruit.”

“Cereal would be nice. How do you manage to have fresh food here? Do you have a fridge that can keep food for so long?”

“No, we keep it in stasis, so it lasts forever.”

“What the heck is that?”

“It’s like suspended animation. It’s not cold, but time is literally suspended, so the food never changes. It’s one of the things we got from the ancients. We use it for all sorts of things, from food preservation to human organ storage.”

He fetched two bowls of cereal from one of the cupboards, then disappeared to the back of the cave and returned with a jug of milk along with two tankards of yaquord. The large chest she had seen must be the stasis unit. When she poured the milk over her cereal it turned out to be a translucent white. Without thinking, she had expected regular cow’s milk. This turned out to be slightly sweet but surprisingly creamy in texture.

As she ate he said, “I have started to organize things for you while I’m away.”

Now seemed like a good time to tell him what she had decided. “I don’t want to stay here alone. I’d rather take my chances with you.”