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Travis felt himself slowly recovering. It was a lot cooler in the big room – that was a blessing. He helped 42753 to her feet, “Are you all right?” She nodded and looked down. Travis saw he was still touching her shoulders and quickly dropped them, “Uh, sorry.” She smiled at him shyly and then looked away.

“Hands off the merchandise.” Nistik said tiredly, “Just how many times do I have to tell you? No pay, no play.”

“I’m just helping her up. It’s common decency.” protested Travis, “Are you so surprised that I’m not affected by her the way that most men are by Orion women?”

“Are you saying the merchandise is damaged?” thundered Nistik, “No discounts.”

“I don’t want a blasted discount! Isn’t there, isn’t there any way for you, while we’re here, to just treat her with dignity?”

“Slaves are treated like slaves. The Syndicate requires it. Even off-planet, things don’t change.” yawned Nistik.

“You really changed your tune quickly,” said the Xindi male, “You tried to sell us, well, whatever, in the last room, and now you’re back to all business. Which is it with you?”

“Ah, old man, you misunderstand,” said Nistik, smiling his oily smile, “There’s no difference and no confusion. I’m a salesman. I’m always looking to make a sale. But our first adventure, I admit it caught me off guard. But it caught all of us off guard, so far as I can tell. I found my cards - I always carry my cards around, for who knows what would normally happen in the course of a strange journey such as ours - and then naturally it was time to see if I could, you know, make a sale. And I am still interested, for anyone who is interested, in furthering a sale. You, perhaps?”

“No, not me. As I told you, I am, let’s just say I am short of funds,” said the Xindi, “And even if I wasn’t, I would not buy a woman, or even any sort of, what did you call it, accessories to keep a woman quiet or make her compliant. I was not raised that way.” He turned on his heel.

“And you? Are human males made of flesh and desire, or of trellium?” Nistik turned to Travis, “You are eyeing her all the time. Do you not wish for a taste of what is forbidden?”

“I’m with him.” Travis pointed to the Xindi, “I don’t pay for female companionship and I certainly don’t condone any sort of artificial means for simulating desire. Even if I did, it doesn’t matter, she doesn’t interest me in that way.”

“That thing has no desires. It has to be artificially enhanced, as you say.” Nistik pointed to 42753.

“It’s - she’s - she has feelings. Everyone has feelings,” said Travis, “Don’t you think she longs for freedom?”

“Freedom?” Nistik laughed, “Ah, you misunderstand our ways. I will explain our linguistics. You, over there, Yekaterina, you might be interested.”

Yekaterina approached, “I am listening, but I suspect I know where this is going.” she said softly.

“Very well. Our language has two cases: master and slave.” began Nistik.

“Do you not mean male and female?” prompted Yekaterina, “Many languages have gender differences.”

“No, I mean master and slave. But you would say male and female. And there are different endings, prefixes, that sort of thing, I am no linguist but I know my own speech. Masters have personal pronouns like I and he, but slaves do not. And some words apply to masters and not to slaves. Freedom is one of those words,” said Nistik.

“So your culture makes it impossible for women to see themselves as individuals, or as free, or as anything more important than, I suppose, a sack of your prod sticks?” asked Yekaterina, “It is like, ah, it is propaganda.”

“That’s a very harsh word,” said Nistik, who appeared hurt.

“Couldn’t you do something other than participate in the slave trade?” asked the Andorian boy, “Not be a part of it and promote it, like be a teacher?”

“Or a soldier.” offered the Klingon.

“Or a miner, I suppose,” said the Xindi male.

“Or even a doctor,” said Solana, who walked over and put Aranda down.

Nistik laughed, “There’s no money in any of that! I don’t go around telling any of you what to do. How dare you presume to tell me how to live my life?” he thundered, “It’s not like it can feel anything.” he gestured to 42753.

“Or you could make shoes.” Aranda said in her small voice, “My feet are cold.”

“Here, maybe someone else can pick you up,” said Solana, “My back is not what it used to be. Your mother and father, I bet they tell you that you are getting very big.”

“Chara, Chara,” said the Xindi man, “I remember now. Aranda, is your mother named Chara Sika?” he asked, bending down.

“M-maybe.”

“Can you tell her something for me? Can you tell her that there are Xindi on Gemara?”

“I - I don’t know.”

“You have to tell her.” the Xindi male pressed, looking a little menacing.

“Don’t try to exploit this child,” said Solana, interposing herself between the two Xindi.

“You don’t know my desperation. And what is she to you?” asked the Xindi male.

“She’s a child. And children shouldn’t be used or threatened. Isn’t that enough?” said Solana.

T’Bek had been standing by herself, evidently lost in thought. She walked over and spoke, breaking the tension, “It is most logical to head for the only feature in this room, the column at its apparent center. It would be a furtherance of logic for us to share our knowledge, our observations and our theories about these places and the events of this evening.” She lifted Aranda up, “I am walking there with the child. For anyone who wishes to accompany us, now is the time.”

Travis offered Yekaterina his arm again and reluctantly offered the other as a prop to the Xindi, who was moving slowly, “Not so fast, okay? My friends here are a little slower than you are.” he called.

“Yes, of course,” said T’Bek, slowing down and waiting for everyone else to catch up to her.

“Let’s talk about where we were prior to this evening’s activities.” she began, “I was asleep in my quarters. Was anyone else?”

Travis and Solana nodded. Aranda had fallen asleep in T’Bek’s arms and was unresponsive, “I was bivouacked with my unit,” said the Klingon, “And was asleep. I had just finished guard duty if that has any meaning.”

“I was in my room, studying,” said the Andorian boy, “Yes, I was really studying. I didn’t have much else to do. I guess I dozed off.”

The others were silent, “So it is apparent that we were all or at least most of us were asleep. Perhaps we are continuing to sleep.” offered T’Bek.

“I don’t know,” said Travis, “I pinched myself a few times. That’s, I know that sounds silly, but we humans do that, we say, Pinch me, I must be dreaming and then that’s the test to see if we’re dreaming. And if the results of that test are accurate, I’m not dreaming right now.”

“Plus, why would someone sleep during a dream?” asked Solana, indicating Aranda’s sleeping form, “She is as peaceful as any napping child. It makes no sense that she would dream about dreaming.”

“Not if she were the one doing the dreaming,” said Yekaterina, “Perhaps only one of us is dreaming, and the others are figments of that one’s subconscious imagination.”

“So you mean some of us are not real?” asked the Xindi, “In that case, I can say for certain that I am real. So it’s not much of a mystery.”

“Hey, I think I’m real,” said Travis, “And I bet Solana and T’Bek and everyone else believes they are real.”

“But is it belief or is it, instead, an accurate observation?” asked T’Bek, “Wouldn’t a convincing illusion - in order to be truly convincing - be convinced of its own reality?”

“You’re giving me a headache,” said Nistik, “Can’t we all just walk in silence?”

They walked quietly for a while, “One more thing,” said T’Bek, “What do you suppose is the meaning of the vanishings? First the Klingon baby and then Sedek. Is there a pattern emerging?”

“The pattern seems, to me, to be that one person of each group, er, race, er, species, disappears,” said the Andorian boy, “And maybe it’s boy, girl, boy, girl, although we might not have enough information to ascertain that.”

“So you’re saying that T’Bek and him - I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name,” said Solana, indicating the Klingon.

“It is Keleth.” he replied.

“Thank you, Keleth. T’Bek and Keleth are safe or at least not going to vanish any time soon, but you or I or Travis or Yekaterina and the others are ripe for, I guess I’d call it plucking?” finished Solana.

“If it’s male and female in alternation, then the next one is Yekaterina or you. Or 42753. Or the child,” said Keleth.

Everyone stopped for a moment, “What happens if we refuse to play their game?” asked Travis, “What if we don’t open up a door like they want us to?”

“So far, we have been forced to open a door at the conclusion of what appear to be exercises,” said T’Bek, “First the flood and then the heat forced us to press a door panel in order to escape a room when it became unbearable. It is as if we are being permitted to think about our actions, to judge and weigh them, but when it comes time to actually make a decision and move on, our hand is forced and we are required to hurry.”

They had arrived at the column. It was beautifully carved, with fanciful animals and plants all around. Aranda woke up, “Are we there yet?”

“Yes, we have arrived.” T’Bek put her down, “But I am uncertain as to the purpose of our destination.”

Aranda stretched and walked around the column, “Catch me if you can!” she started to skip and run.

“Careful, you’ll fall!” exclaimed Yekaterina, following after her. Yekaterina was only half-right, as it was she who fell, rather than Aranda, “Oh!”

Travis and Solana ran over to where Yekaterina was sprawled, “Are you all right? Here, let me have a look,” said Solana, “I don’t know much human anatomy, I’m afraid I’ll have to extrapolate from my Andorian medical education.” She lifted Yekaterina’s nightgown a little and there was a purplish welt on the elder woman’s left ankle, “That looks painful. Do you think you can walk? Travis, help me.”

“I think I can - say, look at that.” Yekaterina indicated the floor, “I think that is what I tripped on.”

Travis lifted it up. It was a small bottle, “Odd thing to be left here, just lying around. Aranda!” He yelled, “You need to come back now!”

The child obeyed. Her face fell when she saw Yekaterina being helped by Travis and Solana, “I – I’m sorry.”

“Child, you like to play, like every other child I have ever known,” said Yekaterina gently, “Do you like to read stories?”

“I can’t read yet. I like to listen to stories,” said Aranda, “My daddy tells good stories.”

Yekaterina smiled, “I am putting it all together. You see, this, this bottle here. It is, ah, I cannot believe I did not think of this before, but it is Drink me.” she smiled.

Drink me?” asked the Andorian boy, who had caught up to them, “What does that mean? I mean, other than the obvious.”

“It is a story, an old story, older than my parents, older than their parents,” said Yekaterina, “English, I think, it is story of little girl and everything is too big or too small and she eats or drinks and gets bigger or smaller. And in the end it is all a big elaborate dream.”

“How do we know there’s even anything in that little bottle?” said Nistik.

Keleth took the bottle and shook it. There was a sloshing sound, “It is full or mostly full. But how do we know it’s not poisoned?”

“It would not be logical. So far, the challenges have not been fatal. We have been able to avoid all real danger by simply pressing a door panel,” said T’Bek.

“How do you know the challenges weren’t fatal to Sedek and the baby?” asked the Xindi.

“I don’t think we can know,” said Travis, “Maybe that’s a part of the puzzle, for us to try to figure out what happened to them, or why they were removed from our group.”

“Does the puzzle become simpler or more difficult as we go along? With more pieces or more gaps?” mused Yekaterina. She winced, “Oh, it hurts something fierce.”

“May I?” asked 42753, suddenly emboldened. She had come over and was kneeling at Yekaterina’s feet, “I, I think I can help a little.”

“Be careful.” Solana cautioned, “Yekaterina can’t be handled roughly.”

“A moment,” said 42753, and she began to massage the elder woman’s leg. The welt faded and Yekaterina smiled.

“I feel much better.” she said, “How did you know what to do?”

“Didn’t. It’s just what’s done in the, in the slave quarters. Fix whatever’s wrong, if that’s possible. Some things can’t be fixed.”

“Like your lack of chemical attractiveness?” asked Nistik, “There’s no wonder you have never been purchased. Damaged.”

“What does that mean?” asked the Andorian boy.

“He is right. There is some form of damage. All other slaves, all are very alluring, it’s a kind of chemical given off. Don’t know much about it.”

“Yes, now it all makes sense,” said Travis, “Our doctor said you all give off a powerful pheromone. It makes men violent and interested and other women listless. But that’s not happening here. So that explains why Keleth and I aren’t at each other’s throats, and why Solana and the rest of the woman aren’t complaining of headaches. I wouldn’t call it damaged, though. You’re just different.”

“But why did he say he knew you hadn’t been sold before?” the Andorian boy persisted.

“It’s obvious. If you are sold, your first owner selects a name for you. Otherwise, you are a number. Forever.”

“You don’t have to be just a number,” said Yekaterina, “You are an individual.”

“Oh, spare me!” complained Nistik, “Here, you were all worried about the drink being poisoned.” he grabbed the flask from Keleth. He was the only one there who seemed to be able to do so. He drank from the bottle, “There, now you’ll know. Anything to get all you busybodies to shut up!”

Keleth took the bottle back and drank some, “It tastes like blood wine. A reasonable vintage.” He held it out to the others.

“It would appear most logical if everyone was to ingest some of the liquid. But a child should not be drinking wine.” stated T’Bek.

“Who said anything about wine? It was water,” said Nistik.

Travis took a sip, “It’s like fresh-squeezed orange juice.”

Solana took a swig, “The juice of the pilma plant.”

Aranda sipped some, “It’s a little like milk.”

Everyone else drank some. It was Yekaterina who noticed first, “The column is getting shorter.”

“Or we’re getting larger,” said T’Bek, “You were right, this is like the story you remembered. And look, the doors have reappeared.”

“What’s that up there?” asked Keleth, pointing to a suddenly brown part of the ceiling that was getting larger and nearer by the second.

“It’s –- get out of the way!” yelled the Xindi male.

Everyone moved. In about a minute, they all understood what it was: the top of a table. The column had not been a column at all, but rather a table leg. Travis looked down at the top and read what was etched into it, “Halfway done.”

“Is that halfway done with the overall test, or just halfway done with this room?” asked Solana, “It’s interesting how it – or they – has finally decided to communicate with us.”

“We’re getting very large,” said 42753, “Is that the real ceiling up there?”

“I’m big!” exclaimed Aranda.

“Yes, you’re a very big girl,” said the Andorian boy, “But I think we’re all getting too big. Ow.” He cried out when his head hit the ceiling.

“Remember what we said about being forced to make quick escape decisions? I get the feeling now is just about the time,” said Solana, sitting down, “It’s getting very crowded in here.”

Everyone was again becoming a tangle of arms and legs. It was getting difficult to breathe, “Aranda!” called out T’Bek, “You’re the only one who can still reach a panel! Quickly!”

Aranda smacked a panel with her hand. There was a sensation of falling, and they all saw the Andorian boy vanish.



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