Chapter 16
61. Getting to Know You
It had been some time since our groups had fully integrated, and it was marvelous to see how well we were getting along. Using hand signs, gestures, and some words we both could understand, they were able to explain what they had gone through, while they were on the dark side of the planet. They told us how their young, and old died, while waiting to be rescued. We could see the pain etched in their faces as one by one, they related a particularly sad story about a particular member of their group died a senseless death. Tears rolled down the faces of the survivors of this horror, and joined ours on the green grass below our feet.
As we listened, we found it more and more amazing that so many of the members, of their original 120-member crew survived. Their tyrant of a captain should have sent scouting parties to all points of the compass, or used the brightest star in the heavens, to find a way out of that barren place, as soon as they became stranded there. Staying in that frozen wasteland doomed all 120 of them to death.
Only the luckiest, strongest, and healthiest of them had survived. 11 men, 16 women. We guessed that they were between the ages of 16 and 40 years old, and attempting to determine their marital status turned out to be a great deal of fun.
After we finished eating one evening, Monty picked out the closest married couple, had them stand, and announced them by name. She took his left hand, put it in her right hand, and bound their hands together with a ribbon. When she was finished, she raised their hands to the heavens above, and said, "ONE."
Leaving the initial couple standing, she did this with two more couples. Then she asked all the married couples to stand. She stood beside Jackson, held his hand, and on her signal all the standing couples raised their hands to the heavens and said, "ONE."
Our new friends understood immediately.
The women scurried around, sat by their man, and put her right hand into his left. She raised a single-digit into the air and said a word that sounded like, "One." They bowed their heads towards each other until they touched, and when they did, without losing contact with each other, they rotated their heads down until their lips made contact, and kissed.
We had a feeling it would have gone much further if there weren't children amongst us. The women were flushed, and the men had looks in their eyes that, apparently, is universal in nature.
Moments later, their hands released, and the heat their bodies was producing cooled quickly.
Not all the men, nor women participated in this rite of passage. Since there were more women than men, we understood why. Some of their mates could have died during their long wait, or even on the trek to find us. We would figure this out as time went by, and as our communication skills improved.
Our discussions had just started slowing down, and we were about to start cleaning up the dinner area, when our new friends signaled for us to stay where we were.
Some, but not all the women, who had previously paired off, began exchanging partners, and said, 'One' again."
We thought about it for a moment, and out of the strangest mouth came a possible answer.
Elizabeth said, "Apparently, swapping partners is allowed."
When everything calmed down, and it happened a third, and fourth time, and each time the woman said, "One." It was always the woman who chose to move, not the man. Some chose to move regularly, while others stayed as 'one' dedicated couple, in a sort of semi-monogamous relationship.
The women, who chose to move somewhat indiscriminately, did so only after an appropriate period of time. They drew lines on the ground, some were short, and some were longer, to show us how long it was allowed for them to be separated from their primary mate. Our problem was, we didn't know how long the time was, using our time measurements, between each of those lines. We were confused, and it was something we had to work on first thing in the morning.
We also noticed some of the men, and women did not pair up. They either had not married yet, or had lost their mates during their terrible time in frigid isolation.
Apparently, while we were discussing it amongst ourselves, Newton said something Elizabeth did not find funny.
He cried out in pain, and a millisecond later, he was lying on the floor, in the fetal position, gasping for breath. He must have been a very bad boy, considering the amount of pain he was displaying.
Adam moved to kneel beside him to help his flippant friend, when Laura's hand brushed against his testicles. He stopped midstride.
"He is in pain dear; I only wanted to help him."
"Do you wish to be in pain, my love?"
"You know the answer to that better than I do, dear. Why would I be in pain when all I would be doing is offering solace to another human being, who happens to be my friend?"
"Why would Elizabeth have hurt her husband, while listening to our new friend's, and the way their culture has cohabitated over the centuries, and possibly eons?"
"Laura, he has already paid the price for his ignorance, or arrogance. Isn't it okay for another human being to come to his aid sweetheart?
As a matter of fact, you may be the right person to go to his aid. Your tender touch might be the perfect way to bring home that lesson. Just don't kill him in the process."
"What a loving thought, dear. Liz is my best friend. I think I will go to her husband's aid, just to be sure he never makes the same mistake again."
Newton was holding his balls, ever so tenderly; caressing them back to life, after his wife's murderous reproach. He went rigid as he saw a shadow looming over him. He worried it was his wife coming after him for a repeat attack. He was wrong; what he feared turned out to be much worse than he was prepared for. He tensed every bone in his body, and prepared for the worst.
Laura knelt beside him, took his shoulders in her hands gently, which took him completely by surprise.
"Are you okay, Newt? You have been down here a long time. Adam is very worried about you."
"I don't know how she does it, Laura? But all 5 foot nothing of her hits Ground Zero dead center every time. She knows I'm joking with her. I give her no cause to be jealous of any other woman. She reacts so quickly, and without thinking, while I wind up in pain, and embarrassing us all."
"Do you want to go to the infirmary? I can have Adam take you there, if you'd like."
He was totally relaxed at this point; not ready for what was awaiting him just below the horizon, if he answered this question incorrectly.
Adam didn't know whether to hit the alert button, or to begin crying for his friend. If he was in pain before, he was going to be in hell in a moment.
"No, I'm going to stand up now. I'm going to stand up to my wife, and explain to her why she should not have hit me."
Adam shook his head. Quietly, he said, "That was the wrong thing to say my friend."
The light clothing, they were wearing made access to the pressure points around his neck, and back, child's play for Laura's expert hands to find.
Newton never felt them move along the fabric until pain, like millions of volts of electric current passed through his body, and came out through his eyes, and lungs.
Every security agent jumped to alert, looking for the carnivore that slipped through our security screen and attacked one of our company.
The 2nd scream help them locate the source of the scream. It was close to the center of the meeting area.
The 3rd scream was pure agony, and everyone saw Newton's body floating above ground level.
Delicious yelled at her son, "Newton, you will stop that this minute. That's Breach of Patent, and it's my patent."
While some laughed at his predicament, Joe Finch called out, "Lucy would you go to the infirmary, please, and get me 20 mgs of Valium, and 8 mgs of Demerol. Also, please ask the kitchen to send 60 pounds of ice to Mrs. Elizabeth Thyme's room tonight to take care of her husband's swollen body. She is responsible for this travesty. I don't want her to bring him to the infirmary for care later this evening. All of this nonsense should have been handled privately."
"Why, what did I do? I only hit him once."
"You could you have stopped this attack on your husband?"
"No one can beat Laura, not even Gordon."
There were loud boos, and catcalls, among the audience.
"Is that true, Gordon?"
