Interstellar Exploration Incorporated

CHAPTER 1: ADVANCED MOLECULAR BIOLOGY INSTITUTE

Many light years away from earth is the planet named New Mars. It was so named by the people who fled there in desperation a million years ago from the planet Mars in our solar system. They were forced to flee after their planet became uninhabitable. In the capitol city of Martropolis is the Advanced Molecular Biology Institute. It is a sprawling complex, and is one of the premier genetic engineering and research facilities on New Mars. It is here that assassinated earth prophet Klara Ornstein’s body has been brought, and carefully rebuilt using Martian technology. The goal was to keep her basic self and personality intact, with a few tweaks made in an attempt to reduce her flaws and enhance her strengths. She has been given enhanced mental capabilities, at least comparable to the average New Martian.

Klara is in bed in a nice room with white walls and lots of real flowers growing. She is dressed in a pretty white silk gown with embroidery on the front and a nice lace collar. She awakens and gazes around the room, somewhat bewildered at first. She smells the scent of the flowers. There is a picture window on the other side of the room, and she gazes out the window. The sun is shining outside, and abundant light enters the window. The sky outside is bright blue. There are a number of large trees, and magnificent landscaping beneath them. Flowers bloom, brooks run, and many birds fly around.

Wow! Klara exclaims as she sits up and tosses her hair around. She looks the same as when she lived on earth, only better. Her hair is golden blond and wavy, her eyes are emerald green, and she is drop dead gorgeous even without makeup on, as she is now. Her skin is smooth, flawless and healthy looking.

Not knowing where she is, she looks around the room and notices a tall, distinguished looking man with no hair sitting in a chair next to her bed. He is attired in full diplomatic regalia.

Klara tossing her hair and moving around has attracted his attention. They look into each other’s eyes, and Klara’s heart skips a beat. The man has cobalt blue eyes, which are very penetrating. She studies his face intently, firmly committing it to memory. He is ruggedly handsome, with a strong chin and masculine features. She sees that he is clean shaven but obviously has a dark beard. It is difficult to tell his age.

Am I in heaven? asks Klara, wide eyed and still somewhat in a daze.

No, replies the man in a deep, pleasant voice. You are at the Advanced Molecular Biology Institute on New Mars.

Are you.......... an angel waiting to take me to heaven? I worked so hard to become a good person and achieve salvation. But the last thing I remember is being tied to a post with a hood over my head in front of a firing squad. I heard the crack of the rifles, then blackness.......I must be dead!

You were dead, Klara, but you have been brought back to life here.

Klara is still getting oriented, and is somewhat confused.

Brought back to life? And you know who I am?

Of course I do. I am the entity who saved you from death on Old Mars and then communicated with you during the earth mission there. I guided your recovery and your later crusade on earth. I am the one responsible for bringing you here and resurrecting you after you were assassinated. Welcome to New Mars, Klara.

You are Rar?

Yes. Let me formally introduce myself. My full name is Rar Omadalia. I am most pleased to meet you in person.

Klara is amazed. She has a look of almost childlike awe on her face. She still wonders if she is in heaven and this handsome man is an angel. Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, she says Are you sure you are not an angel? I can’t believe I am really alive again. You don’t look like an alien, and I don’t think angels have to be dressed in white and have wings. You are very impressive in that fancy and colorful outfit!

Sorry to disappoint you. I am just a citizen of New Mars.

Klara senses an air of authority and confidence about the man, like he is used to being in command. She can’t stop staring into his cobalt blue eyes. You don’t look much like the alien visions that appeared in my head on earth when I talked to you before!

That is because I was talking to you through one of our long range communication devices. They have their limitations. To achieve instantaneous communications without a noticeable time delay, we had to sacrifice the video signal. The devices also use a tremendous amount of power to transmit so far. Thus I could only talk to you on occasion. I did get a good look at you, however, from our scanner on Mars. You look about the same to me now. I must say, however, that you are even more beautiful in person, Ms. Ornstein.

Klara blushes, and can’t say anything for a moment. Then she blurts out, And you are quite handsome. You look quite human, not what I expected at all!

This apparently is nature’s design for intelligent life throughout the universe, Klara. Unlike the strange alien forms presented in earth science fiction, such as insectoid, reptilian, and silicon based life forms, I have found that most advanced life forms look a lot like humans and Martians.

Although she has specialized in microbiology, Klara has studied the other biological sciences such as astrobiology. She was a voracious learner on earth. Wow! That is a significant piece of knowledge. I am quite in awe about now. Especially with you! And your attire is very impressive. What is it?

It is diplomatic attire, Rar replies calmly. I have a diplomatic appointment in the Ministry of State. I wanted to make a good first impression on you, Klara, so I wore it. I thought you would like this better than my Admiral’s uniform. You see, I am also an Admiral in Space Fleet Command. Actually that is my primary position.

I like military men, Klara says, wide eyed. In fact, I was married to one back on earth. Well, you already know this. But you could have worn your Admiral’s uniform and impressed me as well. And, boy, have you impressed me!

Thank you for the compliment, Klara. It means a lot to me.

And I am surprised and honored that someone of your stature would be here for me. There is no one else with me but you. I am quite touched.

After the tremendous effort you made in your crusade on earth on my behalf, it was the least I could do. And you have been here quite a while, and others seem to have lost interest for now. But not me. I have been here a lot; every day in fact, making sure everything was going well. And it did, I can assure you.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. I am on a new world for me. I don’t know anybody but you. I am so glad that you care.

I do care, Klara. And I am glad that you are doing so well.

I remember our last conversation now. You said you were going to resurrect me and show me the wonders of your world, says Klara in an excited voice. I have been resurrected. Now I am eager to see the wonders. Can we go now?

You are as enthusiastic as ever. But, no. The doctor says your progress is excellent, but that you need to stay in the hospital for a few more days. Then you need to go home for a few more days rest before I can show you around. It was a very involved and expensive procedure. We haven’t done one exactly like this before, so it is a bit of an experiment. It took me a lot of work to get authorizations. But there is a lot of interest in earth here, since we are from the same star system, and I was successful in getting the authorizations. That was an involved answer. But the bottom line is you can’t go just yet.

Darn! I am ready to go now. Where is home for me now anyway, Rar?

I got you an apartment in the State Ministry residence complex. You are now a citizen of New Mars, entitled to all rights and privileges that entails. You also have responsibilities such as working. You have been assigned a job in the State Ministry diplomatic corps. I need you to accompany me soon on a mission to earth. We have unfinished business there.

Suddenly a concerned look appears on Klara’s face. What about my children back on earth? Are they OK? There were evil people after me, and maybe after them.

Michael and Rachael are fine, Klara. They are truly extraordinary children. In fact, they are beginning to prepare to influence human events on earth, even at their young ages.

That’s indeed a tremendous relief! Those children are very dear to me. You can’t imagine how much! And what about my crusade to save humanity?

Alas, that is not doing so well. The multinational corporations and their stooges in the world’s governments have lowered the sledge hammer on it. They see your crusade as very upsetting to the status quo, and have ruthlessly suppressed it. But don’t be concerned about that now. We can discuss it on our voyage back to earth.

I am not surprised. That is what I expected at the end, in fact.

I am glad you are doing so well, Rar says. And don’t worry in the least bit about your children. We will take good care of them. In fact, they are already able to take pretty good care of themselves. Now I can get back to some of the duties I have neglected. Here is a communicator for you Klara. Call me if you need anything at all. As soon as the doctors allow, I will take you to your new apartment. There will be some standard issue clothes in your new apartment, but I want to buy you some nice clothes. After you have recovered, I will make arrangements to show you New Mars. I think you will be amazed.

I’m sure I will. You’re going to do this personally?

Yes. You are such an enthusiastic person, and I want to get to know you a lot better in person. I wouldn’t miss doing it. Good Bye for now

Great! Good Bye, Rar.

CHAPTER 2: RECOVERY

On New Mars, Rar drops by the Advanced Molecular Biology Institute to check on Klara’s progress, as he does frequently. She is in bed dozing lightly as Rar sits down beside her and begins to study her. Something causes Klara to come awake. Perhaps she senses Rar’s presence. Her eyes open wide, and she smiles brightly.

Hi, Rar. So good to see you! I missed you.

Good to see you too, Klara. It’s only been a day.

Well, It seems longer than that to me. You should be here more often. All the time would be great.

Klara! I have gotten way behind on my work, and I am trying to catch up. I come to visit you every day!

You could do your work at night or come visit me at night.

I have to sleep at night. We have chosen to remain completely biological entities, and thus must sleep. Every biological entity in the universe must sleep. You certainly remember this being a microbiologist.

Klara sighs. Microorganisms don’t sleep. But you are right about advanced life forms needing sleep. Oh, Rar! I looked in the mirror and saw the new me. I look better than before! My hair is now a lovely golden blond that almost seems to glow. And my skin is so soft and smooth, and doesn’t have a flaw anywhere. It’s amazing!

Yes. You look great. By the way, how are you feeling now?

I am feeling fine. I am ready to leave here, even though it is beautiful and they treat me very well. I want you to show me the wonders of this new world now. I am very curious.

The doctors tell me you aren’t ready yet. This was an extremely involved procedure, and your recovery takes time. I don’t have the authority to overrule the doctors, nor would I want to overrule them.

Come on, Rar. I am the one living in this body, and I know better than they do how I am feeling. I feel like I am ready to go now. And I want to be with you. Take me now, please?

Sorry. I don’t have the authority to overrule the doctors. Besides, you have been given training materials about our culture and traditions to read, and you haven’t been doing it. This is to help prepare you for the transition.

This material is boring. I don’t want to study your culture, laws and traditions. I haven’t seen any of it, so have nothing to relate to. You can explain this all to me later.

Rar stiffens and gazes at her with surprise on his face. After a moment he says kindly, You shouldn’t depend on me to explain everything, Klara. You need to take some responsibility yourself and study these materials to prepare yourself.

Yah, yah, all right, says Klara dryly, having no intention of complying. When can you take me out to see the new world if not right now?

Soon. I will have to talk to the doctors to get an exact time.

Tell them I feel ready now, would you? I am ready to leave this hospital, she says hopefully.

I will, Klara, Rar says as he gets up to leave. I will be back to see you tomorrow.

Oh, another thing, Rar. You said that my children are about to start influencing human events on earth. I am curious. What did you mean by that?

Your crusade did not succeed. The prognosis for the future of earth is now dim. Your children are starting to implement the contingency plan for changing this future in the event that your crusade failed. You are not ready to discuss this yet, however.

With that, Rar hastily leaves.

Rar tracks down the head doctor on Klara’s case before he leaves to go back to work. I’m a little concerned about some of the things Klara has said to me. And she wants to leave right now. Says she is ready. I would like to know how you think things are going?

My overall assessment is that things are going very well. Physically, she is in excellent shape. Mentally, she has excellent capabilities. Emotionally, though, I am not sure. Generally, she seems OK, but I have observed that she is somewhat childlike in some ways. She seems to have attached to you like a child to its parents. And she may be looking for what they call love on earth.

Oh, that’s just what I don’t need! I have never had a child, and don’t know how to deal with one. Nor do I know how to give her this love if that is what she is seeking.

I wouldn’t worry about it though, says the doctor confidently. She is developing rapidly physically and mentally. I expect she will do the same emotionally in time. In fact, I think she will be ready to go in one week.

Good, replies Rar, not totally convinced. Klara is chomping at the bit to get out of here.

CHAPTER 3: BIG DECISIONS

Back on Earth, the Andreov family is back from their honeymoon in India. They have visited various places including the Taj Mahal, Mumbai, and a wildlife park where they saw Asian tigers, crocodiles, and Indian elephants. A honeymoon trip with children along seemed a bit strange at first, but they quickly got used to it. Michael and Rachael were well behaved, honored their promise to give their parents some romantic time alone, and were fascinated by what they learned and observed. Their parents can’t help but notice how rapidly they are growing in intelligence and maturity for their young ages.

They return to New Delhi and are staying at Daya’s condo. There is plenty they want to see in the capitol city of India. One evening when they back at Mr. Dhaliwal’s house for a visit, he pulls Yuri aside while his wife visits with Daya, and the children are off playing with his children.

I was surprised to learn that your wife plans to resign from the company in a month, he says seriously. Actually it was a shock because she has such a bright future here. She is a vice president already, only two steps from the top. I have been her mentor, and she my protégé. There is a good chance that I will be named CEO soon, and then I will make her Executive VP to replace me. When I retire, she will have a good chance to become the boss, the CEO.

She is a Vice President? Yuri asks with surprise. She didn’t tell me that, and she sure doesn’t act like that around me. I thought she was a computer scientist.

She was a computer scientist, but she has been promoted high above that. You she, she is one of the best talents that we have got. And she is making a lot of money. Money that you could use to raise your children properly and have a good life. What do you plan to live on after she resigns?

My salary as a security agent back in Israel.

That will be a lot less than she is making here. Look. Daya is very valuable to our company. I can throw in free child care at work now, and offer help with private schools for the children later. There are other perks I can offer as well.

That sounds pretty generous, Yuri says, trying to be polite. I will talk to Daya about it.

Mr. Dhaliwal decides to apply the pressure. You could order her to do it. You are the man of the family, and at the wedding I heard her take the vow to obey you throughout your marriage. She is also used to taking orders from you since you were her commander on the Mars mission.

Now wait a minute, Yuri protests. I didn’t make her take that vow – she wanted to take it. The way I see it, our marriage will be a partnership. I am not making any important decisions without consulting Daya and the children. Don’t you understand? She is not happy with her life, and wants to make a major change.

She thinks she will be happy bearing children and changing diapers? asks Mr. Dhaliwal skeptically. After being a corporate Vice President? I don’t think so.

Well, Daya does and it is her life. You should talk to her about staying on, not me. It is her career.

I don’t want to talk to Daya about it. I already know what she thinks. Thus I am talking to you. I notice that she just adores you, and hasn’t been interested in any other man since she got back from space. I think that she will abide by your decision in this matter.

She probably would, but I love her, and wouldn’t impose something like this on her.

Sure, you love her. But there is no reason to limit yourself to one woman, Mr. Dhaliwal says slyly. Daya will be gone a lot on business, and there are a lot of other women available here to occupy you while she is gone. You could have any kind of sex you wanted here. With the 2 billion population in India, there are many pretty young women who are desperate.

He winks at Yuri, and prods him on the arm. Eh?

I definitely wouldn’t want to do that. Daya is plenty of woman for me. Besides, if she found out, she would be very angry, and might even turn violent.

Daya? The polite, friendly, kind, reserved woman I know? NO! She would never do that!

Oh, yes she would, replies Yuri firmly. When she is dealing with me, inside the polite exterior is an Asian tigress. I have seen it in action. You see, her love is a wonderful gift, but it has a price. If I were to ever betray her, she could turn vicious.

I am having trouble believing this.

Believe it. You don’t know her as well as I do. Nobody does. Our love was born in the cold, dark vacuum of space. I was the mission commander, and Daya was the computer and communications specialist. We went through some very trying times together. I’m sure you already know this.

Yes. We have a complete report on you. I thought I should review it before the marriage.

What you may not know is that I had a number of troublemakers on board that Mars ship. So I had to be stern and thus had no friends, save for Daya. She befriended me, and we talked for many hours. She gave me her valuable insights, and helped me deal with the personnel problems of the mission. We grew very close. In fact, we started to fall in love.

Then what happened? You married Klara Ornstein instead.

I won’t tell you the whole story. But you probably already know that Klara was an extraordinary person. Many say she was also a messiah sent to save humanity from destruction. Basically, she stole me away from Daya.

But why?

I can’t tell you that.

Look, Mr. Dhaliwal says. Your example shows why I need Daya here. She is so brilliant and insightful that I consult with her on every important decision I make. I would feel lost and alone without her. Just like you would have been on that ship. This company is so ruthless and competitive, she is the only one I trust. She has never betrayed me.

That is the basic Daya. I have never known her to betray anyone. When she makes a commitment, she honors it.

I can offer her a substantial increase in salary. I can almost certainly promise a big promotion in the future. You and your family will be very wealthy if she stays here.

We already could have been very wealthy if we had so chosen. Klara’s Alzheimer’s cure was conservatively worth billions, yet she gave it away. We talked this over before she did it. I was in agreement.

"You were with that prophet too long, and she has distorted your thinking. Here is the actual situation now. You are a hero worldwide after the Mars mission. You rescued Miss Ornstein, like the vast majority of people thought you should do. The space agency looked like a bunch of callous jerks for trying to arrest you for it. And look what Ms. Ornstein has done since! She went on to win a Nobel Prize, discover the cure to Alzheimer’s disease, and mount a crusade which was popular with the people, if not their corporations and governments. None of this would have happened without your rescue of her against space agency orders.

Sure, you have Daya as your wife, but you could have many other women as well. You are a handsome man, and a big hero. The kind of man women swoon over. You see, all your needs could be met, and I could have my vice president, if you would but adjust your thinking. Daya would reluctantly accept this situation."

Oh, no, she wouldn’t! Yuri exclaims. She would really explode when she found out. Plus, I don’t want to do this either.

Mr. Dhaliwal is having trouble believing that Yuri is immune to his offers of lots of material things. There must be something that you want. You tell me what I can offer you to order her to stay?

Nothing. You will have to talk to Daya and convince her.

Later, after the Andreov family has been seated for dinner, Yuri talks to Daya. Mr. Dhaliwal tells me that you are a Vice President of the company now, and are making a lot of money. Why didn’t you tell me?

I didn’t think it was important, Daya replies casually. A high position and a lot of money don’t define who I am. Besides, I wanted you to think of me as the Daya you knew before - a kind, humble woman who would be a good wife for you and not compete with you, and a good mother for your children. That is what I intend to be. You heard me take my vows, and I meant them. I don’t need this job or its money.

Mr. Dhaliwal is going to talk to you about staying on, he warns her. He is going to sweeten the pot. Why don’t you see what he will offer first, then we can decide?

I will if you want me to. But there are a lot of good reasons why I should leave.

We have some time to decide. Go ahead and talk to him. And make sure that you talk to him about security. I think the KGB may come after me again if they find out I am living here. They have a hard time with Israeli security, but might have more success here. They could get at me thru you or the children.

OK, Daya agrees. I will talk to him about it.

CHAPTER 4: KLARA’S NEW WORLD

Klara has recovered nicely and is out of the hospital. Rar took time from his busy schedule to take her home to her new apartment. A nurse from the hospital accompanies them and gets Klara set up with all the necessary supplies and equipment. After a week’s rest, she can go out for a few hours, and Rar comes by to pick her up. This time he is dressed in his Admiral’s uniform. Klara is surprised to see how tall he is now that he is standing to greet her. Rar is about 6’3 tall, and well muscled. What do you think?" asks Rar.

You look equally impressive in your uniform as in your diplomatic attire. I like you better in your Admiral’s uniform. As I said, I like military men. They are usually fit of body and disciplined of mind. They are tough, and are not afraid of taking on difficult tasks that others shun. You have a military demeanor, and look so in command and powerful in that uniform.

I’m glad you think so. What did you think of the clothing they provided you?

I didn’t like most of it. There are a bunch of pantsuits and button up plain collar white shirts. Too unisex for me. I like feminine clothes. I am a woman and want to look like one. I want some pretty dresses and blouses. If I am going to dress up, I prefer a dark skirt, about knee length, and a nice blouse. Might as well show off my legs. And figure. I have worked hard to get it and maintain it.

So Rar takes her shopping for new clothes. These have to be custom tailored, because the Martian clothes do not fit her. Klara has a curvaceous figure, unlike the straight figures the Martian women have, she finds out. Klara selects mainly casual dresses which are tight or belted around the waist and show off her figure, and have feminine ruffles and frills here and there. None of the dresses go below her knees. Some are considerably shorter. She also picks out some inexpensive jewelry, which nevertheless sparkles and shines and adds to her beauty. Rar insists on paying for everything. Klara objects, but not too long since she really wants the nice clothes, and doesn’t have any money yet to pay for them. Thank you so much, Rar. You are just showering me with gifts. I will try to repay you some day.

You don’t need to repay me, Klara. I have plenty of money, and want you to have these gifts. I am repaying you for your efforts on my behalf with your crusade. If there is anything else you want, let me know.

A few days later Klara is feeling fine. Rar picks her up at her new apartment, and escorts her to his vehicle. It is a flying vehicle they call a Whizzer, which can hover just above the ground for short trips, or soar high in the atmosphere and attain high speeds for long trips. Rar seats Klara in the front passenger seat and takes off. There is a transparent dome giving an excellent view in all directions. First he flies to the nearby government complex. There is a large plaza in the center, nicely landscaped with pools, walkways, and fountains. Surrounding the plaza are the buildings of the main ministries, arranged around the plaza in a circular pattern. Each building is shaped like a pyramid and is 500 stories tall. They all have a rust red color reminiscent of Old Mars.

There is the State Ministry where you will be working, Rar says as he points it out to Klara. And there is the Military Ministry where I usually work. Over there is the Finance Ministry, and there the Justice Ministry. There are a dozen of these ministries. There is the Education Ministry, there the Science and Technology Ministry, there the Commerce Ministry, there the Transportation Ministry, and so on.

This complex is amazing, says Klara.

Around the outside of the main complex are buildings housing other departments and agencies. And I want to point out that large residence over there. The First Citizen lives in it. His position is like your Prime Minister in Israel, but his jurisdiction extends over this entire planet and our part of the galaxy.

Next, Rar flies her around the Capitol city, which is named Martropolis. It is a nicely laid out city, with wide boulevards, radiating out like spokes of a wheel from the government complex at the center. There are expanses of green vegetation, nice residences, shops, restaurants, concert halls, and so on.

How many people live in this city, Rar?

About 3 million.

Is that all? We have much larger cities on earth.

We have learned to keep population under control. Too large a population lessens the value of each life, and causes unacceptable environmental cost on the planet’s ecosystem. An overpopulated planet is not sustainable over the long run.

They land for lunch on a hilltop overlooking the sparkling blue ocean. There is a gentle breeze blowing off the water.

This planet looks a lot like earth, says Klara.

It is a lot like earth. We had a lot of trouble adapting to the stronger gravity at first, but this planet has a desirable and sustainable ecosystem. We find it quite satisfactory.

Klara’s long, wavy blond hair blows free in the breeze, and the sunlight glistens off her face, her green eyes sparkle. Her short skirt comes only half way down her thigh, showing off her shapely legs. Although trying not to look at her legs in the seat beside him this morning, Rar has had a hard time not doing so.

You look as beautiful as ever, Klara. I am glad I had you brought back to life. I think you will make a good representative of the earth people, maybe even be their Ambassador.

Thank you, Rar. You look pretty handsome yourself, and very distinguished in your admiral’s uniform. I was wondering if you have a family?

No, I don’t. I was incubated in a laboratory, genetically engineered to be a military man. I was raised and trained in government facilities. But now it seems like I have a family of sorts. I think of you as my daughter.

You do? I guess that’s a good thing.

Yes, I do. I am very fond of you, Klara.

But the father role is already filled for me. My father is still alive. He is Dr. Abrim Ornstein, a respected physician in Jerusalem, who I love dearly. Nobody can replace him for me. That role is not available for you. You need to find some other role to play with me.

You don’t have a father here. Perhaps that role is open here. This is a new life for you.

I suppose that’s true.

Rar then flies her around to see some of the other cities, the mountains and plains, the oceans. This takes the rest of the day. Rar lands his Whizzer in front of the State Ministry residence complex. They both get out, and stand facing each other.

Klara can’t restrain herself, and puts her arms around Rar’s neck and gives him a long kiss. Then she says cheerfully,

This was an amazing day. I have never had one like it before in my life. Your Whizzer takes off like a helicopter, yet flies like a jet airplane. And it is so quiet. And all the sights you showed me. Very impressive! I am truly in awe!

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Klara.

Would you like to come in for a while and visit or have a drink or something? I sure would like you to come in. I don’t want this day to end.

Ah, no, thank you. I shouldn’t do that. With that I will say good evening.

Rar walks back to the Whizzer, gets in the cockpit seat, waves to Klara, and takes off into the sky. Klara doesn’t move, and stands there watching him fly away.

The following day, Rar takes Klara to visit some of their institutions such as museums, universities, and scientific laboratories. She gets to meet a number of people. She is dressed in earth like attire, a knee length skirt today, fancy blouse, earrings, bracelets, and a necklace. She wears her long hair down.

People are very interested in her appearance. She notices some of the women give her disapproving looks, which she cannot understand because she thinks she is dressed attractively. Some of the men stare at her, never before seeing a woman like her. Rar tells her to ignore the attention, and that people will get used to her appearance with time. At the end of the day, Rar drops Klara off at the lobby area of her apartment.

Thank you for another wonderful day, Rar. It was very interesting. I met a lot of new people, saw a lot of new things. I really appreciate you showing me around and introducing me to these people. I would be lost here without you.

Again Klara puts her arms around Rar’s neck and gives him a long kiss. More intense than yesterday. Rar is taken aback by Klara’s bold move. He gently pries her off him.

Klara then grabs both of his hands with hers, and says brightly. I want to invite you to come up to my apartment. We should get to know each other better.

Rar then replies sadly, Er.....No, thank you, Klara. As I told you yesterday, I shouldn’t do that.

Klara doesn’t want to hear this. She does a couple of little hops while still holding Rar’s hands, and says,

Oh, come on. I want you to come in. I want to reward you for everything you have done for me. And I don’t bite! Please?

I’m sorry, Klara. That wouldn’t be proper. And I will be busy tomorrow catching up on work. And the State Department wants you to report to work early tomorrow. You should have received your orders.

Klara is quite disappointed. The smile leaves her pretty face, and her expression turns sad.

Yes, I did. Back to reality, it seems.

I will be in touch, and will show you some more things when we can both fit it into our schedules. Good night.

Good night. says Klara reluctantly. Thanks again for a wonderful two days, and for everything you have done for me.

In the ensuing days, when their schedules permit, Rar and Klara have a number of dates. They go for long walks where they talk extensively. They go for dinners out, and bike rides on the boulevards. There are no longer any more automobiles, those polluting, dangerous, isolating, wasteful of resources devices that contributed so heavily to the decay on earth.

Klara is just overwhelmed with all that she is seeing, and very impressed by the handsome, powerful, and eloquent man showing them to her. In fact she feels that she is being courted, and feels a lot of attraction for Admiral Rar Omadalia. But he always declines her invitations to come up to her quarters after he drops Klara off, which has her wondering about his feelings for her.

He must like me quite a bit to treat me as well as he has, buy me gifts, and to spend so much of his valuable time with me, she reasons. I’m sure there are many other things he could be doing, or other women he could take out, yet he chooses me! He says he doesn’t have any other women here. But then why won’t he let our relationship develop further?

CHAPTER 5: DAYA TEACHES THE CHILDREN

Daya is sitting on the couch in her New Delhi condo taking a break from settling her affairs there. She has her arms wrapped around Michael who is sitting in her lap.

Michael, I am making up for lost cuddle time with the children that I did not have. That is why I have been holding you and Rachael so much. I have been too long in the cold space and corporate worlds and have missed out on a lot. You don’t mind, do you?

Of course not, Daya. Hold me all you want. Honestly, I like it and need it.

Anyway, I think we should talk. You mentioned that I am the catalyst. I want to ask you what you meant by that?

I will tell you what I know, Michael says. But first, I want to tell you how I feel now. I have been businesslike because there were things that I thought I had to handle. I kept pestering Dad to date you. I kept pestering him to propose to you. Who knows how long it would have taken him to act otherwise? I helped chase away that man at the beach. I helped Dad write the proposal speech. I know now that wasn’t necessary, but at the time I wanted to insure the best possible chance that you would say yes. Now that you have, and you and dad are married, I am more relaxed.

Good. I noticed how serious you were. You shocked your Dad with your comment to get down to business with me at the funeral, and were very goal oriented after that.

Rachael has been the emotional one telling you how glad she is that you have joined our family, and that she loves you a lot. I want you to know that I feel the same way.

Daya smiles broadly. Why, thank you, Michael. I really appreciate hearing that. She gives him a hug.

Then Michael gets off Daya’s lap and faces her.

Anyway, here is what I know about your role as the catalyst that I got from Mom. Perhaps I used the wrong word, she didn’t actually use it. It is my description, but here goes. You need to complete the training of Rachael and me that my mom started. We have a long way to go, and sure will not get what we need from schools or regular teachers. This includes supervising our learning, as well as guiding our spiritual development.

So far I understand it. I was already planning to do this.

But there is more, Michael continues. You should bear several more children. Rachael and I will help you raise them. Mom says this will help us develop as well. Babies are self centered, and will force us to think about someone other than ourselves. We will have to think about their welfare, and develop an empathy for other people. Changing diapers and other child care tasks will keep our egos and feelings of self importance in check. And we will learn patience and perseverance.

That sounds great, Daya replies brightly. I could sure use the help. I have heard that babies are a handful. I expect to learn as well as you. One should never stop learning in life, I believe.

And all of us, including the new babies, will go on to play an important role in the future of humanity. Mom passed on a lot of information to me just before she died, as she knew death was coming. She believed that her crusade might fail even before she died, and was thinking of an alternative plan. That plan is for a small portion of mankind to escape to the stars, like the Martians did.

Daya is taken aback. She believes that? That is a surprise to me, and sounds pretty profound. How can you understand all these things at your young age, Michael?

Mom had been training me making extensive use of telepathy. I know far more than other children my age.

I see, Daya says with a frown.

This is why our training is so important, and why you will have to take the lead in our training. My Dad can help, but let’s face it, he is no genius. He is a military man.

Your Dad is a good man, and is quite capable at what he does. We can’t all be scientists. You should respect him. He is your father, and you need him as a male role model.

I do respect him. I am just laying out the situation we have to deal with.

I respect him a lot. I saw him in action as the Mars mission commander and was very impressed. He is so in control. He is an expert in martial arts and all kinds of weapons, and can be a killing machine, but only does it when he has to. I have never worried about him hurting me, even though I have slapped him, teased him, and angrily confronted him. I think he will protect and defend us. He loves all of us, although he doesn’t show it often, but I think he would willingly sacrifice his life to protect us.

You think so?

Indeed I do, says Daya confidently. "I got to know him very well on the Mars mission. He was very close and my best friend until your Mom intervened. He risked his life to rescue her from the surface. I think we should let him have the man’s role in our family. He is a real man. This is important to his self esteem. And I sure don’t want to get into any power struggles with him for control of the family. This would be very divisive, and I don’t need to be the boss, even though I am the boss of several departments at work now.

You heard me take the traditional wife’s vow at the wedding ceremony and promise to obey him, and I will obey him unless he is obviously wrong and I can’t convince him otherwise, which will probably never happen. You should too until you are an adult, despite your exceptional abilities. I guess that was lesson number one!"

Then I will obey him, Daya, since you think it best. After all, I am still a small child.

I think it will make for a smooth functioning family without a lot of strife. You can certainly tell him your feelings and opinions. And I am sure your Dad will consult with us on all important matters and consider our opinions. He really does care a lot about us, you know, and wants the best for us. I am pretty perceptive and am sure of this. He just isn’t a very expressive or emotional man. Perhaps that is a necessary trait in his line of work. Heaven knows, I sure couldn’t do it.

That is an excellent point. I wouldn’t want to do it either, and probably couldn’t do it.

Daya says, I should give you lesson number two. You are quite advanced mentally for your age, and Klara has given you a lot of knowledge, but your knowledge base is incomplete. You also are still a young child who hasn’t had the life experiences that I or your father has had, dealing with countless thousands of people. Don’t be offended, but I have observed some of your mom’s excessive ego showing. You need to learn to control this, as she had to do. I expect you to be humble enough to listen to me in our training, and not be arrogant. If you are not willing to respect me or your dad, this training will fail. Do you understand me?

Yes. That was pretty clear, and I see the logic. So I agree to it.

You should also learn to be diplomatic in dealing with people. For example, you called your dad a clod. While this may be true to some extent about his social skills, there are better ways to express what you want to say. You could have said instead that Rachael and I want to help you with your proposal speech to Daya, and want to include some of our sentiments in it as well. This would have put a positive spin on it, and would not have been offensive. You need to consider what effect your words will have on other people before you say them. The old colloquial saying is Engage brain before engaging mouth. You don’t have to say out loud everything that is true. Some things are best left unsaid. That was lesson number 3.

I understand you Daya, and will try to do this in the future.

Good. I am not being critical, Michael, I am trying to help you. After all, we have to progress at a fast pace, so I have to be somewhat frank with you.

"I understand the need, Daya, and am not offended.