“Open it,” Franz said.
Inside was a diamond ring, a solitaire. “Katie,” Franz said awkwardly, “will you marry me?”
Katie glanced at Franz and then looked away. She inhaled slowly on her cigarette and blew the smoke into the air above her. “I’m flattered, Franz,” she said, standing up and kissing him on the cheek, “I really am… but it just wouldn’t work.” She closed the box and handed him back the ring.
“Why not?” Franz asked. “Don’t you love me?”
“Yes, I do… I guess… if I’m capable of such an emotion. But Franz, we’ve been through this before. I’m just not the kind of woman you should marry.”
“Why can’t you let me decide that, Katie?” Franz said. “How do you know what ‘kind of woman’ I need?”
“Look, Franz,” Katie said, showing some agitation, “I’d rather not talk about this now. As I said, I’m very flattered… but I’m already nervous about this hearing for my father and you know I don’t deal well with too much shit at once.”
“You’ll always have some reason for not wanting to talk about it,” Franz said angrily. “If you love me, I think I deserve more of an explanation. And now.”
Katie’s eyes flashed. “You want an explanation now, Captain Bauer? All right, I’ll give you one. Follow me, if you please.” Katie led him into her dressing room. “Now stand there, Franz, and watch very closely.”
Katie reached into her dresser. She pulled out a syringe and a piece of black tubing. She placed her right leg on the vanity stool and hiked her dress up above the bruises on her thigh. Franz instinctively turned his head away.
“No,” Katie said, reaching out with one hand and turning his head back to face her. “You cannot look away, Franz. You must see me as I am.”
She pulled down her panty hose and tied the tube in place. Katie glanced up to make certain Franz was still watching. There was pain in her eyes. “Don’t you see, Franz?” she said. “I cannot marry you because I’m already married… to this magic drug that never disappoints me. Don’t you understand? There’s no way that you could ever compete with kokomo.”
Katie plunged the syringe into a vein and waited several seconds for the rush. “You might be fine for a few weeks, or even months,” Katie said now, speaking more rapidly, “but sooner or later you’d come up short. And I would replace you in my heart with old reliable again.”
She wiped off the two drops of blood with a tissue and placed the syringe in the sink. Franz looked distraught. “Cheer up,” Katie said, patting him lightly on the cheek. “You haven’t lost your bed partner. I’ll still be here for whatever kinky things we can dream up together.”
Franz turned away and placed the velvet box back in one of the pockets of his uniform. Katie walked over to the table and took one final drag from the cigarette that had been left burning in the ashtray. “Now, Captain Bauer,” Katie said, “We have a hearing to attend.”
The hearing was held in the ballroom on the main floor of Nakamura’s palace. About sixty chairs had been set up in four rows along the walls for “special guests.” Nakamura himself, wearing the same Japanese costume in which he had appeared on television two days earlier, sat in a large, embroidered chair above a raised platform at one end of the room. Two bodyguards, also in samurai dress, were beside him. The ballroom was completely decorated in a sixteenth century Japanese motif, adding to the image Nakamura was trying to create of himself as the all-powerful shogun of New Eden.
Richard and Archie, who had only been told the hearing was going to occur four hours before they left the basement, were brought in by three policemen and instructed to sit on small pillows on the floor twenty meters in front of Nakamura. Katie noticed that her father looked tired and very old. She resisted an impulse to run out and talk to him.
A functionary announced that the hearing was now under way and reminded all the spectators that they were to say nothing and interfere in no way with the proceedings. As soon as the announcement was completed, Nakamura stood up and swaggered down the two broad steps connecting his chair to the raised platform.
“This hearing has been convened by the New Eden government,” he said gruffly, walking back and forth, “to determine if the alien enemy representative is prepared, on behalf of his species, to accept the unconditional surrender that we demand as a necessary prerequisite for ceasing the hostilities between us. If ex-citizen Wakefield, who is able to communicate with the alien, has been able to convince the alien of the wisdom of accepting our demands, including relinquishing all weapons of war and preparing for our occupation and administration of all alien lands, then we are prepared to be merciful. As a reward for his services in ending this terrible conflict, we would be willing to commute Mr. Wakefield’s execution sentence to life imprisonment.
“If, however”-Nakamura now raised his voice—”this convicted traitor and his alien accomplice surrendered to our victorious troops as part of some treacherous plot to undermine our collective will to punish the aliens for their aggressive attacks against us, then we will use these two as examples to send an unambiguous message to our enemy. We want the alien leaders to know that the citizens of New Eden stand steadfast against their expansionist aims.”
Up until this moment Nakamura had been addressing the entire audience. Now he turned to face the two prisoners isolated in the middle of the ballroom floor. “Mr. Wakefield,” he said, “does the alien beside you have the authority to speak for his species?”
Richard stood up. “To the best of my knowledge, yes,” he answered.
“And is the alien then prepared to ratify the document of unconditional surrender that you have been shown?”
“We only received the document a few hours ago and I have not yet had time to talk about all its contents. I have explained the most important parts to Archie, but I don’t yet know.”
“They are stalling,” Nakamura thundered, addressing the audience and waving a piece of paper in the air. “This single sheet contains all the terms of the surrender.” He turned again to face Richard and Archie. “The question requires only a simple answer,” Nakamura said. “Is it yes or no?”
Color bands rolled around Archie’s head and there was a murmur in the audience. Richard watched Archie, whispered a question to his octospider colleague, and then interpreted Archie’s response. He looked at Nakamura. “The octospider wants to know,” Richard said, “exactly what happens if the document is ratified. What are the events that take place then, and in what order? None of this is spelled out in the agreement.”
Nakamura paused briefly. “First, all the alien soldiers must come forward with their weapons and surrender to our troops now in the south. Second, the alien government, or whatever is its equivalent, must turn over to us a complete inventory of everything that exists in their domain. Third, they must announce to all members of their species that we are going to occupy their colony and that all aliens are to cooperate in every way with our soldiers and citizens.”
Richard and Archie had another brief conversation. “What will happen to all the octospiders and the other animals who support this society?” Richard asked.
“They will be permitted to resume their normal lives, s’ with some constraints, of course. Our laws and our citizens will be put in place as the acting government of the occupied lands.”
“And will you, then,” Richard said, “write an amendment or an appendix to this surrender document, guaranteeing the lives and safety of the octospiders, as well as the other animals, providing they do not violate any of the laws promulgated in the occupied territory?”
Nakamura’s eyes narrowed. “Except for those individual aliens who are found to have been responsible for the aggressive war that has been launched against us, I will personally guarantee the safety of those octospiders who obey the laws of occupation. But these are details. They do not need to be written in the surrender document.”
This time Richard and Archie engaged in a long discussion. From the side of the room, Katie watched her father’s face closely. She thought in the beginning mat he was disagreeing with the octospider, but later in the conversation Richard seemed subdued, almost resigned. It looked as if her father were memorizing something.
The long pause in the proceedings was irritating Naka-mura. The special guests were starting to whisper among themselves. Finally Nakamura spoke again. “All right,” he said. “That’s enough time. What is your answer?”
Colors were still streaking around Archie’s head. At length, the patterns stopped and Richard took a step
