“Isn’t it true also that every other time that Eponine has been examined, ever since she was first diagnosed as RV-41-positive years ago, her blood samples have indicated the presence of the virus?”
“Yes,” Nicole replied.
“Then why does Robert want to operate? Does he simply not want to believe that she is cured? Or is he just being extra careful?”
“I cannot answer for him,” Nicole said.
She looked searchingly at her friend and knew both what his next question would be and how she would answer it.
“If you were the doctor in charge, Nicole,” Max asked, “would you operate on Eponine?”
“No, I would not,” Nicole replied carefully. “I believe that it is almost certain that Eponine was indeed cured by the octospiders and that the risk of the operation cannot be justified.”
Max smiled and kissed his friend on the forehead. “Thank you,” he said.
Robert was outraged. He reminded everyone that he had dedicated more than four years of his life to studying this particular disease, as well as trying to find a cure, and that he certainly knew more about RV-41 than all of them put together. How could they possibly trust an alien cure more than his surgical talent? How could his own mother-in-law, whose knowledge of RV-41 was limited to what he himself had taught her, have dared to offer an opinion different from his? He could not be placated by any of the group, not even by Ellie, whom he eventually banished from his presence after several unpleasant exchanges.
For two days Robert refused to come out of his room. He didn’t even reply when his daughter Nikki wished him “Sweet dreams, Daddy” before her naps and bedtime. His family and friends were deeply troubled by Robert’s torment, but could not figure out how to ease his pain. The question of Robert’s mental stability came up in several discussions. Everyone agreed that Robert had seemed out of place ever since the escape from New Eden and that his behavior had become even more erratic and unpredictable after Ellie’s kidnapping.
Ellie confided to her mother that Robert had been “peculiar” with her since their recent reunion. “He has not approached me even once, as a woman,” she said sorrowfully. “It has been as if he felt I was contaminated by my experience. He keeps saying weird things like, ‘Ellie, did you want to be kidnapped?’“
“I feel sorry for him,” Nicole replied. “He is carrying such a heavy emotional burden, going all the way back to Texas. This has all been simply too much. We should have—”
“But what can we do for him now?” Ellie interrupted.
“I don’t know, darling,” Nicole said. “I just don’t know.”
Ellie tried to pass the difficult time helping Benjy with octospider language lessons. Her half brother was absolutely fascinated by everything about the aliens, including the hexagonal octospider painting mat had been brought back from the Emerald City. Benjy stared at the picture several times a day and never missed an opportunity to ask questions about the amazing creatures depicted in the painting. Through Ellie, Archie always patiently answered whatever Benjy asked.
Benjy had decided, soon after he began playing regularly with Archie, that he wanted to learn to recognize at least a few phrases in the octospider lexicon. Benjy knew that Archie was able to read lips and he wanted to show the octospider that even a “slow human,” if properly motivated, could pick up enough understanding of the octospider language for a simple conversation.
Ellie and Archie started Benjy with the fundamentals. He learned the octospider colors for “yes,” “no,” “please,” and “thank you” without any difficulty. The numbers were fairly easy as well, because both the cardinals and the ordinals were essentially combination sequences of two basic colors, blood red and malachite green, that were used in a binary fashion and marked in the flow of the sentence by a salmon clarifier. What gave Benjy the most trouble was comprehending that the individual colors by themselves did not have any meaning. A burnt sienna band, for example, represented the verb “to understand” if followed by a mauve and then a clarifier; however, if the burnt sienna/mauve combination was followed by a vermilion, the three-band symbol meant “flowering plant.”
Nor were the individual colors members of an alphabet in the strictest sense. Sometimes the width of the colors, when compared with others in the longer sequence defining a single word, completely changed the meaning. The burnt sienna/mauve combination only meant “to understand” if the two bands were of approximately equal width. The word defined by a narrow burnt sienna followed by a mauve of roughly double the width was “capacity.”
Benjy struggled with the language, doing all the required repetitions, with an uncommon zeal. His ardor for learning warned Ellie’s heart at a time when she was deeply concerned about how the crisis with Robert would be resolved.
At the beginning of the third day of Robert’s self-imposed exile in his room, the subway pulled into its slot, as expected, with their semiweekly supply of food and water. Only this time there were two new octospiders on board. They disembarked and had a detailed conversation with Archie. The family gathered together, expecting some unusual news.
“Human troops are again in New York,” Archie reported, “and they are in the process of breaking the seal to our lair. It’s just a matter of time until they discover the subway tunnels.”
“So what should we do now?” Nicole asked.
“We would like you to come and live with us in the Emerald City,” Archie said. “My colleagues anticipated this possibility and have already finished the design of a special section in the city just for you. It could be ready in a few more days.”
“And what if we don’t want to go?” Max asked.
Archie conferred briefly with the other two octospiders. “Then you can stay here and wait for the troops,” he said. “We will provide as much food as we can, but we will begin dismantling the subway as soon as we have evacuated all our associates on the northern side of the Cylindrical Sea.”
Archie continued speaking, but Ellie stopped translating. She asked the octospider to repeat his next few sentences several times before turning, a little pale, to her friends and family.
“Unfortunately,” she translated, “we octospiders must be concerned for our own welfare. Therefore, any of you who decide not to come with us will have your short-term memories blocked and wilt not be able to recall in detail any events from the last several weeks.”
Max whistled. “So much for friendship and communication,” he said. “When push comes to shove, all of the species use power.”
He walked over to Eponine and took her hand. She looked at him quizzically as Max pulled her over in front of Nicole. “Will you marry us, please?” he said.
Nicole was flustered. “Right now?” she asked.
“Right this very goddamn minute,” Max answered. “I love this woman beside me and I want to have an orgy of a honeymoon with her up in that igloo hut before all hell breaks loose.”
“But I’m not qualified—” Nicole protested.
“You’re the best available,” Max interrupted. “Come on, at least do a good approximation.” The speechless bride was beaming.
“Do you, Max Puckett, take this woman, Eponine,” Nicole said hesitantly, “to be your wife?”
“I do and should have done months ago,” Max replied.
“And do you, Eponine, take this man, Max Puckett, to be your husband?”
“Oh, yes, Nicole, with pleasure.”
Max pulled Eponine toward him and kissed her passionately. “Now, Ar-chi-bald,” he said as he and Eponine headed for the staircase, “in case you’re wondering, Frenchie and I intend to go with you to that Emerald City she talks so much about. But we’ll be gone for the next twenty-four hours or so, maybe longer if Eponine’s energy holds out, and we do not want to be disturbed.”
Max and Eponine walked briskly over to the cylindrical staircase and disappeared. Ellie had almost finished explaining to Archie what was going on with Max and Eponine when the newlyweds emerged on the landing and waved. Everyone laughed as Max pulled Eponine back toward the corridor.
Ellie sat by herself against the wall in the dim light. It’s now or never, she thought. I have to try one more time.
She recalled the angry scene several hours earlier. “Of course you want to go with your friend Archie the octospider,” Robert had said bitterly. “And you expect to take Nikki with you.”
