BOOMER QUIZ: WHO GAVE THEM THEIR BIG BREAK?

(Lily Tomlin as Tommy Velour)

Here's part four of my nine-part series of quizzes about the Baby Boomer era, right after the fold.

There will be no grading system for these quizzes, I created them just for the fun of it. Play it with your friends. The answers are immediately available in case you're not so good with delayed gratification (as they claim about us).

Feel free to share, but give me credit, dammit. Copyright 2008 Maggie Jochild.


WHO GAVE THEM THEIR BIG BREAK?

Each of the stars in the first column were given their first shot at national exposure by appearances on one of the shows in the second column. Match them up.

Carol Burnett
Flip Wilson
Goldie Hawn
Jose Jimenez
Lily Tomlin
Muppets (first Muppet was Rowlf the Dog)
The Osmond Brothers
Pat Paulsen
Regis Philbin
Tiny Tim

The Andy Williams Show
The Dean Martin Show
The Dinah Shore Show
The Garry Moore Show
The Jimmy Dean Show
The Joey Bishop Show
Laugh-In
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Steve Allen Show
The Tonight Show

Answers are here.

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SKENE: CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

[NOTE: THIS IS THE NEXT-TO-LAST CHAPTER.]
This is draft one of my sci-fi novel Skene. To read earlier chapters, go to LABELS in the right-hand column on this page, scroll down to the Skene tags and click on the one you want to read. Skene is set on a human-habitable planet in the Alhena star system at least 500 years in the future. There's a considerable amount of appendix material and diagrams also available here as needed:
Map of Riesig (the main island)
Map of The Manage on Riesig
Skene Glossary (Skenish to English)
Skene Cast of Characters
Skene Culture, Calendar, Clothing, and Islands
Map of All Skene
Map of The Lofthall on Riesig

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

Raccolto and New Year rolled around again. After Halling got home from work, she checked the kids' homework, sent Speranz and Prl out front to play in the waning light, and assigned various tillage chores to the older three. Oby was there, as usual, so Halling gave her jobs as well. She ignored their groans and walked out back with them, heading to the duck and goose pen. She emptied the water trough over the fence into the garlic bed and began scrubbing it out. She was tired of how much they crapped in their own water. Another two weeks and it would be time to kill them, dress the carcasses, take a short breather and then plant sugar beets. This year, all five of the kids were going to do the incessant weeding and hoeing of the sugar beets -- let them earn their sugar.

It was also time for Mill to be taught how to slaughter the birds. She sighed, her hands numb from the chilly water as she scrubbed at the metal trough with a piece of steel wool. She wished she didn't have to be the one introducing Mill to adult hardships. But Ng and Mwezi had started her killing chickens when she was 12, so Mill was overdue. She could hear Mill and Oby now at the other end of the tillage, joking with each other as they turned the compost with forks.

Dodd was digging for potatoes and reshaping the hills. Ndege was down at Halling's end, cutting spinach for dinner, pulling onions and setting out a few more cabbage starts while the weather held. When Ndege was done, she rifled hopefully through the blackberry tangle for a few overlooked autumn fruit. She found one, popped it in her mouth, then promptly spit it back out.

Halling chuckled to herself as she began refilling the water trough and opened the feed bin. The ducks and geese set up a cacophony at the prospect of dinner. She poured a can of feed into the second trough, then immediately emptied the scraps bucket over it -- let them work for the good stuff.

When she turned around, Ndege was leaning against the gate into the duck yard. "Don't lean on that, it's not that sturdy" Halling said for the thousandth time. Ndege straightened , her upturned gilet full of yellow onions and dark green leaves. Her long bones seemed to be proportionally lengthening as she got older, and her high cheeks were gorgeous. She was a looker, even when the blank face she had now portended trouble.

"What's up?" said Halling, coming out the gate and latching it carefully. She walked over to the greenhouse door, to make sure it was shut against the cold night. Ndege trailed after her.

"I need to tell you something" Ndege said. Her tone was not one of dread, which meant she didn't think she was in trouble. Tattling, then. Halling tucked her hands into her pockets, seeking warmth, and faced her. "Do you need privacy, or can we do it in the house?" she asked.

Ndege glanced at the end of the tillage and said "I'd rather -- out here."

Halling sat down on one of the Isola Fling chairs they'd scattered around the tillage for Ng long ago, never removed because, in fact, it was nicer for everyone to weed sitting down. She suddenly missed Ng with an ache all the way through her middle. Ndege stood on one leg, then the other, and whispered "I saw Mill and Oby."

"Saw them what?"

Ndege's tone was prurient: "Kissing".

Ah, lev. Mill was 14, Oby 15. Way too early, still.

"And where did you see this, Ndege?"

"I came out here to pick some limes, remember, last weekend for lunch, emma sent me? And, well, I just happened to see inside Mill's window. They were lying on her bed, and Mill was laying on top of Oby, and they were kissing." She gave the final word the same spin as before.

"Did they see you?"

Ndege didn't tumble to the fact that if she wasn't sneaking peaks, the answer to this should be "Yes." She kept whispering to say "No."

"Well...." Halling pulled out her hands and rubbed them together. It was going to be a hard winter, no doubt about it. "First of all, I appreciate you telling me, Ndege. This is a serious matter, for our entire Manage, not just Mill." Ndege looked gratified.

"Have you mentioned this to anyone else?"

Ndege shook her head.

"Not even Gerra?" Halling was watching her closely, for the wide-open eyes and earnestness that would mean she was lying. But Ndege just shook her head again, and said "I wasn't sure which one of you to tell, emmas, I mean."

"Telling any one of us is the same as telling all. We don't keep secrets from each other. The thing is, I'm going to have to address this with Mill and Oby, because they will not be old enough to kiss and have -- intimacy -- of that nature until Mill is 16. I'm also going to have to tell Oby's emmas, one of whom, as you know, is the Ethicist of all Skene. This could mean bad trouble for them both. At the very least, it will hurt their feelings, what we'll have to tell them. It will likely hurt for two years. So if there's any part of you being glad that Mill is in trouble, you need to replace that with concern for your siba. Concern for our entire Manage." Halling's tone was soft and kind -- she imagined how Ng would say this, and tried to emulate that. Ndege's face fell.

"Also, I'm going to have to let Mill know how I found out about this -- that you looked in her window and violated her privacy. She's going to be hurt by that, too. I'll stress to her that you did the right thing, coming to tell me, and hopefully she'll be mature enough to understand that. But maturity is something you need to be trying to acquire for yourself as well. You will be a woman in four years; that may seem a long way off, but it's not, you'll need every minute to get ready." Now Ndege was intrigued and a little apprehensive.

"You must keep this secret, for the sake of our Manage, not just Mill. If it's bothering you, come and talk to any one of us, abbas or emmas. Even if you think we might be busy or have -- other worries, still, talk to us. And -- I want to say, when I was Mill's age, I loved Xaya the way she loves Oby. I had to struggle with what she and Oby are trying to figure out. It was extremely hard, and my heart is going out to her. Mill has pressure on her you don't and I hope you never have. And -- she knows her beloved abba Yerush is dying, we all know that, and she wants some comfort, somewhere. That may be the main reason she and Oby decided to begin kissing now, because they are so scared and bruised by having to watch Yerush die. So, I'll help her find another way to reach comfort, and I want to offer that to you as well. You need your sibs. Some day they will be all you have left of your childhood, as it is for me and my sibs -- we have no emmas any more. And I can't express to you how precious it is to me to be close to them. I wish that for your five, as well."

Halling seldom made a speech this long. Ndege's eyes were now full of tears. Halling pulled her close, the onions bulbous between them, and let Ndege cry on her shoulder. "You are a remarkable child, and I adore you. Thank you for trusting me" she murmured.

When they finally went to the back door, Dodd was already inside. Mill and Oby were finishing putting away the chickens. Halling emptied Ndege's gilet for her onto the table and told her to go wash up. Veida stared after her, noting her puffy eyes, and looked at Halling. "Later" Halling mouthed.

Qen was in bed with Yerush, rubbing her bones and listening to her talk. Halling washed the spinach and set it into a pan to steam. She said to Bux and Yoj at the stove, "We'll need to talk after dinner. With Mill and Oby. I think we'll need to send the other children over to Rark and Danaan's for an hour."

They both looked worried, but Halling said "It's all right. Or it will be." These days, they were each running a full schedule with work, public service, tillage, and Manage. Yoj was doing most of the caretaking of the two youngest children, Halling was handling the elders, and Bux was trying to keep her three emmas from as much heartache as possible. At night before they went to sleep, they listened to each other the dark for a few minutes, glad to be intact, to be still in love, to be healthy and warm and fed. It was a strategy for emergency times, but it kept working. They knew they could lean on one another.

Yerush joined them for dinner, as she did most nights. Veida would give her half a pain pill, enough to keep her from being in torment but not so much that she couldn't converse or eat. Being at the head of the table seemed to stimulate Yerush's appetite, and they were all determined to keep her taking in nourishment. She was becoming gaunt, except for disturbing bulges here and there. Veida said the tumors were consuming her sustenance.

Veida was also focused on keeping Yerush's bowels moving. She knew that intestinal obstruction was common on strong pain medications, and if that occurred, surgery would be out of the question at this advanced stage. She didn't want Yerush to die that particular way. She had created a laxative tea which she laced heavily with sugar and coaxed into Yerush at every meal. A couple of weeks earlier, Speranz had surreptitiously down half a cup of Yerush's undrinken tea, after seeing the sugar spooned into it. She had been up all night with severe diarrhea, which Bux and Halling had found hilarious -- "She won't pull that stunt again", said Bux. Yoj was, however, not entertained, likely because she was the one who had sat up with Speranz and because laundry was her chore.

After dinner, Halling walked over to talk briefly with the Manage behind them. Rark and Danaan looked at one another and said "We had to deal with the same issue. We managed to wait, and it was good for us. We'll be glad to talk to them both, when it's a good time."

Halling thanked them, and Danaan walked back with her to invite the younger children for an hour of play. Once they were out of the house, Mill and Oby -- who had been asked to stay behind -- sat apprehensively at the table with the emmas, Qen and Veida. Yerush had been given her pain injection, the reward she accepted for the ordeal of sitting up through dinner, and was in a drugged sleep.

Halling led the discussion and covered the same ground she had with Ndege. She put her arm around Mill as Mill wept, and when Oby finally broke down, Qen comforted her. Halling ascertained they had, so far, only kissed; they seemed to be not entirely clear on what else they might do with one another.

"Well, and that's the point" Halling said. "When you're ready for this part of your life, you'll be sure about the process. But you have to grow into it. Remember last summer, Mill, when Qala let you try out the training program in that rigged lighter, on the ground? Despite her giving you the easiest tests and being wholly biased in your favor, what happened?"

Mill, redfaced, said "I crashed three times before I finally gave up."

"You're a talented child, with every reason to excel as a pilot. But your body isn't ready to handle the task. Just like when Speranz was a baby, she understood what we were saying yet could not speak in Skenish back to us yet. If you try to become lovers before you're ready for it, you'll crash. It won't take your life, but it might damage your relationship permanently. And if you truly love each other and want to be together forever, you won't take that risk."

"Did you wait with Xaya?" asked Mill.

"I did. We kissed some, and I got -- very scared. And she could tell how scared I was. She loved me more than she -- wanted pleasure. She insisted we hold off until I could be with her, not numb with fear." Halling's eyes filled with tears. "She was so good to me."

After that, it was easy for Halling to extract promises from them that they would not continue kissing, and would hold off becoming lovers until Mill was 16. Halling said to Oby pointedly "This means you will reach the point of readiness ahead of her. I'm counting on your honor as well as your caring for her." Oby's grey eyes flashed as she said "Yes, Nan Halling."

Qen suggested they stop sleeping together almost every night, and limit it to twice a week. Mill and Oby both rebeled at that, outraged, and Qen said "I won't force it on you. But I want you to consider it. Removing yourself from temptation is one of the lessons of adulthood."

Halling told them that Rark and Danaan were available for conversation, which mortified Mill. Oby, however, said "That would be good." Then Halling said she was going to have to relay this conversation to Oby's emmas. Oby looked like she might pass out, and Mill began begging Halling to hold off.

"No, they love Oby" said Halling, "and trust me, we all know what this is like. They'll understand, and it will help you both to have them on your side as well." At that point, Halling stood and said "Let's walk Oby home for tonight, Mill. I'll talk with her emmas, and she can sleep at home tonight. You'll see each other at school again tomorrow."

They went out the front door, two of the three wretched. Yoj walked back to their neighbors to bring home the other children and get them ready for bed. As the three of them were finally in the dark together, at the end of another day, Bux said "If you'd said yes, when I was Mill's age, I'd not have waited, I don't think." Yoj answered "I know I wouldn't have. But I wasn't smart in certain ways then. Not yet. I had luck and substitute emmas keeping me from total self-destruction at critical junctures."

"Mill's in good shape" said Halling drowsily. "Thanks to you both."

"What did Api say?" asked Yoj.

"She didn't look surprised. And she's the Ethicist, she doesn't rile easily" murmured Halling.

"Oby's like her. Good choice on Mill's part" observed Bux. But Halling was now asleep.

A week later, Yerush stopped being able to sit up for dinner. Her bones simply wouldn't support her without agony any longer. She told Qen she didn't want to get shut away in the bedroom -- "I don't want to die in here" she whispered, "not in our bed". So Bux and Yoj opened the couch bed, lined it with two extra feather mattresses and a leak-proof pad, and Halling gently carried Yerush into the living room to be with them at all times.

Despite her now having to wear diapers and her frequent moans, Yerush retained her dignity. When the children came home from school, they sat down quietly around her bed and, if she was awake, told her the highlights of their day. Bux and Qen took turns feeding her, when she could eat. Veida bathed her, with Ndege's willing help, and at night Yoj read to her for an hour before bed instead of telling the children stories, the children gathered around to listen.

Eventually Yerush refused to eat any more, claiming it hurt her jaw to chew. Veida arranged for a curandera visit, who set them up with an intravenous line and bottles of clear liquid that dripped slowly into Yerush's thin arm. Finding a vein took 17 tries -- Yoj counted.

Letters were sent to Culisa and Paha. Paha came right away, sleeping in Halling's office at the Lofthall and spending her days at the Manage. Culisa came on the weekend. By that time, the pain medicine Veida was injecting into the line lasted less than two hours before Yerush would begin crying out again, even in her sleep, a sometimes constant low moaning that Yoj heard as a rhythm like breathing. Yerush woke up less and less. When she did, she was usually not clear about who she was talking to, and her mind rummaged around through memory.

She turned to Yoj at one point and said "I didn't want to be pregnant, you know. I was always sick, except with Bux, and it damaged my career at the U for a while. But we tried and tried, and finally they said Qen couldn't have the babies. And there was no question of leaving Qen without babies, was there? So I went to Dest. That's when I began meeting with Raisa. And then I got pregnant with you, Paha, and that's when I met Veida. So it was the right thing, after all, for me to have the babies. But Qen and Veida were far better emmas than me, I know."

She confused Prl with Bux and Yoj with someone in her past named Ubal, a childhood playmate from the sound of it. She said to Halling, "Do you remember the first time we made love, my dear Eeda? You made me cry, I was so surprised by that." She reached out a hand and Halling, with red cheeks, took it gently and kissed it. One afternoon, when the pain shot had worn off way too soon, as Veida came to measure another dose into the syringe, Yerush looked at her with eyes turned dark by wide pupils and said "You remember your promise to me, right, Eeda? You won't let me down?"

"I'll never let you down" said Veida. Bux, the only other person in the room, felt a chill at this exchange.

Two days later, on Roku, the pain shots weren't lasting even an hour. Nobody went to Market. Qala and Lawa were there, along with Paha and Tlochin, Culisa, Iro, Ektr, and Rark. Danaan was out front trying to keep distraught children in play for a bit. Mill and Oby, however, elected to stay in the living room.

That morning, Qen had sent a note by Mill to the Genist. There had been no reply.

Yerush's moans had become sharp cries, ragged and almost continuous. A fine sheen of sweat covered her dark yellow skin. Qen was stretched beside her, one arm under Yerush's neck, and Veida sat on the other side of her, rubbing ointment into spots bulbous with tumor.

Bux got another wet washcloth to wipe Yerush's face. Veida took it from her, however, and began stroking it across Yerush's forehead. Yerush opened her eyes and stared directly in Veida's face. "Oh, my love, I'm so sorry" she breathed. "It's time. I can't bear it."

Yoj thought she saw Veida's spine collapse on itself just a little. Veida kissed Yerush's forehead and said "All right. You've been so brave. Thank you for this year."

Yerush had gone back into her private torment, however, with closed eyes and tossing of her head. Qen turned to wrap herself around Yerush. Paha looked at Oby and said "We're going to need your emma, honey. Do you think you can go find her?"

Oby was on her feet instantly. She paused, bent to kiss Mill's cheek, and went swiftly out the door. Rark followed to call in Danaan and the children. She whispered to them in the doorway, picking up Speranz. Prl and Dodd came to lean on Yoj, and Ndege slid into Lawa's lap. Halling had her arm around Mill.

Veida reached down to her leather bag beside the bed and pulled from it a different syringe, along with a small glass bottle. Qen was whispering "I love you, Yerush, I will always love you." Bux saw Veida's hands trembling as she filled the syringe and held it to the light, making sure of the amount. Suddenly, Bux stood and crossed to her, saying "Emma, I can't let you be the one to do this. She's your sweetheart, and I know she asked you, and we know you'll live up to her trust -- but I don't want you to carry this, you've always been so strong. I'm -- give me the syringe, emma."

Veida looked into Bux's face, a tortured mix of hope and argument there. Bux gently took the syringe from her hands, saying "It's all right. I want to do this for you." The expression on Bux's face was pure Yerush, thought Yoj, except far, far more beautiful.

Veida lay down beside Yerush and Bux tenderly lifted Yerush's arm with the line in it. She leaned forward to look at the line, and once more, Yerush's eyelids flickered open.

"Bux" she said clearly. "You've forgiven me, then."

Bux hesitated before saying "A long time ago, aggie. I forgave you completely." Yoj stopped breathing for a minute. No telling what had come out of Yerush during the last few weeks.

"I never meant you harm" said Yerush.

"I know" said Bux, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"You'll look after them always, you promise?" said Yerush, her breathing almost a gasp.

"I treasure them" said Bux.

"Let's go, then" said Yerush, with her old crisp tone. She closed her eyes and turned to kiss Qen on the lips. Bux carefully slid the needle into the line and, as Yerush turned to kiss Veida, she pushed in the plunger.

Two minutes later, an incomprehensible stillness had settled over Yerush. Speranz wailed, and it was easiest for everyone to join her. When Api walked in, the entire room was in terrible grief. She stood in the doorway, her arms around Oby in front of her, until the coroner arrived.


Copyright 2007 Maggie Jochild.

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BOOMER QUIZ: MISCELLANEOUS

Here's part three of my nine-part series of quizzes about the Baby Boomer era, right after the fold.

There will be no grading system for these quizzes, I created them just for the fun of it. Play it with your friends. The answers will be immediately available in case you're not so good with delayed gratification (as they claim about us).

Feel free to share, but give me credit, dammit. Copyright 2008 Maggie Jochild.

MISCELLANEOUS KNOWLEDGE

1. From what 60's source did the 80's band "Duran Duran" get their name?

2. Why was the computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey named HAL?

3. What incident is being referred to in the song "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield which begins "Something's happening here / What it is ain't exactly clear / There's a man with a gun over there / Telling me I got to beware"?

4. Name three of the four members of The Mamas and the Papas.

5. Hermann Hesse, a German-Swiss novelist, poet, and Nobel Prize winner, died in 1962. His writing had a heavy influence on the thinking and art of the 1960s. In particular, one of his books inspired the name of a very popular rock band and also shaped the lyrics of another extremely well-known rock song (not by the same group) that became the soundtrack for an Academy Award-winning movie in 1967. Name both rock groups, the song and the Hesse book.

6. What TV star managed to have strong TV roles from 1954 to 1983, eventually winning an Emmy, in eight very popular shows, including December Bride, Dragnet, and M*A*S*H*? For extra points, name two of his three characters.

7. What was the significance of the Tet Offensive?

8. How many of the Chicago Seven can you name?

Super-duper prestige points if you can answer any of the following:
(a) What December Bride co-star of the star mentioned in Question #6 is reported to have had a torrid affair with Marjorie Main?
(b) Who was the father of Mama Cass's daughter Owen?
(c) What's the difference between Jane Fonda, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush?

Answers are here.

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SKENE: CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

This is draft one of my sci-fi novel Skene. To read earlier chapters, go to LABELS in the right-hand column on this page, scroll down to the Skene tags and click on the one you want to read. Skene is set on a human-habitable planet in the Alhena star system at least 500 years in the future. There's a considerable amount of appendix material and diagrams also available here as needed:
Map of Riesig (the main island)
Map of The Manage on Riesig
Skene Glossary (Skenish to English)
Skene Cast of Characters
Skene Culture, Calendar, Clothing, and Islands
Map of All Skene
Map of The Lofthall on Riesig

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

The month before school let out, it was a burnished blue-sky day, warm and gentle. Bux had promised to harvest tomatoes and can them per Yerush's instructions, while Yerush basked on their patch of grass and let the katts claim her lap in succession. Yoj walked down to the general store to buy more lids for the jars they already had. She had placed them on the counter and was fishing in her pocket for coins when Sigrist radio came on, Kint's voice saying with a tone of disbelief:

"Ethicist to the ferry landing by Bohaira atoll! And -- Sheng Zhang of the Lofthall! There's a -- watercraft -- en route to Skene from Peisuo. Leviathan activity strong, tide is moderate and coming in, all ferries should be stopped and cortices avoided."

Yoj broke and ran out the door, followed by the storeowner. They were immediately part of a throng in the streets, everyone thudding along the cobbles past the U and Lofthall, turning right at the jichang and coming to the rear of a crowd collected by the sewage tanks overlooking the Southern Wasa. Yoj was searching for Halling, not sure if she'd actually come to the edge or stay at the Lofthall to direct activities. She didn't find her, but she saw Veida and they joined arms, pushing their way to the front.

Halling was there, flanked by three off-duty pilots, her binoculars trained on the Southern Wasa. Even from this distance, Yoj could clearly see an impossibly small boat with outriggers on either side and a big square sail billowed out in front. On the sail was reproduced, in vivid color, the lightning-bolt insignia which was painted on the underside of Rark and Danaan's lighters. The figure in the boat was too small to make out, except with that wild white hair and her point of origin, who else could it be but Z'bef?

Z'bef, trying to sail back to Skene.

The water around her was so thick with leviathans, it was already turning ruddy. She looked straight ahead, trying to adjust her sail with some kind of pole. There was a small chop, and Yoj couldn't tell if the bobbing of the boat was due to that or, sickeningly, levis bumping against it.

Halling looked at Yoj, handed her the binoculars, then said to two of the pilots: "Get in the air. Escort her. Light for her. But no lasers." They plunged into the crowd behind them.

Yoj was gazing through the glasses at Z'bef's face. Terror and grim determination were there in equal measure. Yoj could see that stretching from each side of the boat to the pontoon were other pieces of cloth, and from the bleed-through on the back of it, she realized the lightning-bolt symbols were also displayed there, facing down into the water: Z'bef was making the bluff of a lifetime.

Yoj handed the binoculars to Veida and said to Halling, "I -- how has she made it this far? How did she do this?"

"Desperation" said Halling. "Listen, I think I need to be on the radio with those two in the air, I'm sure the Sigrist will give me a running description. Can I leave you here?" Just then, the Ethicist reached them. Veida handed over the binoculars to Api, and Yoj said "We've got it covered. Go be Sheng Zhang."

The Ethicist studied the boat for several minutes. Finally she said "It's corrugated metal sheets from the chicken coop, folded and pinched. I have no idea how she's made it watertight. The sail is one of her bedsheets. I don't see any weapons; indeed, there's nothing in the boat at all except her."

"It looks to me like she's trying to get it to come in this direction, but something's fighting her -- the tide, I guess" said Veida. She looked to their left and said "There's a strong current going into the mesh gates at the atoll, I bet that's got ahold of her."

"At what point will it be too shallow for the levs to keep beside her?" Yoj asked Api.

"Usually it's ten meters out from an atoll. But -- " She didn't need to finish. That wouldn't stop a reckless juvenile. And they were also less likely to be intimidated by the lightning bolt.

Yoj turned and began threading her way toward the atoll wall. She could feel Veida right behind her. She heard Api say "What do you have in mind?" but neither of them answered.

When she got to the atoll, it was a 1.5 meter drop to its surface from where she stood on the paving, and the wall's top surface was covered with lichen and sea-lice. Wavelets regularly splashed over it, and it was only half a meter wide. But Z'bef was now 15 meters away from the center of the atoll, and it was clear she was going to bang up against it, hard. Yoj saw Z'bef's face turned toward her. Two glittery lighers suddenly dropped into view, buzzing the water behind the boat and doing a tail-flash away from Skene. A few leviathans were seen to give chase. But most did not.

Yoj pointed to the atoll wall and said to Veida "Help me get down there."

Veida's strong arms wrapped around her wrists, no questions asked, and Yoj slid down facing the yanja wall of the jetty until she felt the atoll under her otos. She got her footing and turned to look at her path. The smell of ketone was strong. She heard Veida say "Hey, give me a hand, too." She turned back and saw Veida preparing to scramble down, to join her. She put her hands on Veida's ass and balanced her, until they were standing together on the wall.

"We're gonna make a giant mouthful" said Veida. Pilot humor thought Yoj, but she laughed and felt stronger. She began walking, carefully but steadily, toward the point where Z'bef was going to reach the atoll. Veida had one hand on her back waistband of her ku. She was glad Bux and the children were not here to watch this. She laughed again, thinking she was just as scared of Bux at the moment as of the leviathans.

Z'bef's small, irregular prow hit the atoll with a metallic crash, and the boat was immediately swept sideways, repeatedly banging the rock and tilting the outrigger up so that Z'bef almost fell out the other side. She leaned toward the atoll to balance herself, but the current was relentless and it was all she could do to stay more or less upright on her knees. When Yoj got level with her, she sat down on the wall facing the side of the boat. Z'bef was three feet away. She reached out a hand, and their fingertips touched.

"You're going to have to jump for it" she said.

Z'bef looked crazed. She glanced to her left, and Yoj saw a baby lev was in the water right next to the atoll. It was a foot longer than she was, and much thicker around the middle. She could see its eyes, two slanting rows of them, looking at her keenly. Veida said "Let me get past you" and she came to straddle the wall on Yoj's other side, away from the lev, lowering her legs into the water a foot and anchoring herself with her thighs.

"Okay" Veida said to Z'bef. "You've come this far."

Without warning, Z'bef lunged herself upwards and leaped toward them. Yoj caught her just as she used to catch her children jumping from the ladder. Z'bef's legs went into the water past her knees, but she flung her arms around Yoj's waist and Yoj pulled her upward, Veida's powerful arm grabbing Z'bef's pants at the back and almost sending them all tumbling over the other side. It took a few terrifying seconds for Z'bef to get stable, sitting between them as Veida scooted back. The baby lev was motionless, still watching.

Yoj leaned on Z'bef to stand up, then pulled her shakily to her feet. Yoj said "If we move slowly, maybe its pursuit instinct won't get triggered." Veida said "Go on, give me a few feet clearance." Z'bef now holding onto Yoj's waistband, they began walking back to the landing. Yoj could tell there was a huge, silent crowd there, but she dared not look up and meet their gaze. After several steps, Veida said "Hang on." Yoj looked carefully around and saw Veida muscle the boat up over the wall, into the atoll, and drop it in Bohaira. Then she stood and came to meet them, her hand on Z'bef's back. They continued their linked progress to the landing.

The baby lev turned around effortlessly, with a single rippling sound, and glided along beside them. Yoj was aware of it as a pinky-grey fluidity in her left peripheral vision. She kept focused on the surface beneath her feet, and her own breath. Suddenly, the yanja face of the landing was in front of her. She was able to look up, then, and Halling's eyes filled her with light.

Halling was lying down, both arms over the edge, and said "Give me your hands." Yoj gladly reached up, and Halling pulled her onto the landing with a grunt. Yoj got to her feet and turned to help, but Halling already had Z'bef halfway up. Yoj got out of the way. There was a clear space around them; except for Api, no one wanted to get near the edge of the landing.

Yoj turned to look at the baby levi. What she had thought was waves lapping at the edge of the baugey, she now realized, was the sound of water being moved in and out of the leviathan's mouth: She remembered Halling once telling her it was something to do with how they treaded water. A few meters beyond it were several huge leviathans, also watching her. She stayed near the edge, not afraid.

Veida used her otos on the yanja wall to help lift herself, and she arrived beside Halling, upright and grinning ferally. Halling stood, also, and locked an arm around Yoj's neck, whispering "Lev you, that was magnificent, don't you ever do that again without me!"

Api, too, was right there among them. Z'bef faced her and looked her in the eyes, then dropped to her knees with an audible impact. She put her hands on Api's feet, and burst into tears.

The crowd behind them exhaled in unison, as if everyone had been holding their breath. Api put her hand on Z'bef's hair, bent over and said "Stand. You're back on Skene, we stand on Skene." She helped Z'bef upright again, and put her arm through Z'bef's -- not in a custodial way, but supportively.

The baby levi suddenly leaped, in an arc away from the landing and toward the row of adult levs, almost coming down on top of her elders. The height of her jump made it clear she would have found it easy to attack them. The crowd screamed and some of them actually fell down backwards. Yoj was still not afraid.

"Let's go to the Lofthall, it's closest" offered Halling. The crowd parted, and they began walking. Halling said to a couple of jigongs nearby "Please pull that boat out of Bohaira and bring it to the jichang, intact. No risks, mind you." The two lighters buzzed the crowd on their way back to the jichang, landing seconds later.

A kelp sinning crew had come in, and by the time they got to the Lofthall, they were entirely surrounded by yellow and blue uniforms. Z'bef was visibly shaking. Halling directed her contingent into the dispatch room but closed the door on everyone else except to ask one pilot to bring them a tray with tea and food. Qala stood from the radio to present a chair to Z'bef, and she sat down, her eyes showing a great deal of white.

Yoj was the first to speak. She said "Nice painting on that sail. Apparently as good as the real thing."

Z'bef met her eyes, and the wildness of her expression vanished as she burst into laughter. Everyone else laughed too, in hysterical release. Api stepped toward Z'bef, and Veida came up behind her chair in a protective stance. Api, however, shook her hand and said "I'm Api, Ethicist of all Skene."

"I know" said Z'bef. "I am Z'bef, exile of Peisuo."

"Not really any more" said Api, and they all laughed again.

Api pulled a chair beside her and said "Well, the question now is, what do we do with you? There is no provision in the law for this. No one has ever escaped from Peisuo."

"I know" said Z'bef, her voice rusty. "I read the entire legal code of Skene. You can make an interim decision but it will have to come to a Vote. In the meantime, technically I'm not a citizen so I can't be detained under any legitimate authority. However, in my own best interests, I'd rather surrender to your judgment, let you reassure the populace, and find safe haven until the next Vote is due."

Api gaped at her. "You prepared well" she said, finally. "But the Vote isn't for months."

"My cousin's offer still stands" said Z'bef. "Bosco is sparse, and is my home community. If I can make it there, I'll pose no risk to greater Skene."

Api began laughing again. A knock came at the door, and Halling answered it, bringing in the tray. She began pouring tea and handed Z'bef a plate with a lamb and tomato sandwich. Qala continued to answer radio calls, terse and unflappable.

Yoj said "She can come home with us tonight. We'll get you some clothes and a haircut, you look like a storm ghost. We'll vouch for her until her cousin gets here" she said to Api. Halling and Veida nodded.

"Impressive allies" Api said to Z'bef, who was eating her sandwich with intense relish.

"I leave it to you. If you'd rather lock me up here, I'll be fine" said Z'bef, her mouth full. "I do ask, however, that someone go to Peisuo and feed my katts, put away the chickens tonight. Their roost is, for the time being, in the storage shed."

"I'll find a caretaker" said Api. "Eat your fill, and let think a minute."

Qala said "We actually have a pair of new pilots we could send out there. They're trained enough to fly, but we don't have craft for them to use this week because two lighters are in the jigong shop. We could drop them off by sinner."

Api looked at her, then Halling who nodded, and said "That would be ideal."

As Halling went to the door to notify the trainees of their new posting, Z'bef said to Qala "You're Qala, I recognize your voice. You are a real comfort, you'll never know."

Qala's eyes grew soft. Yoj said "She is a comfort, to all of Skene."

After Z'bef was done eating, Api stood and said "Is Yerush able to receive visitors at the moment?"

"She will be for this" said Veida, smiling.

"Let's go to your Manage, then. Yoj, I like your suggestion of making Z'bef look more like a citizen, less like -- an exile. And I could use Yerush's insight" said Api. Qala arranged a replacement for her at the radio; she wasn't about to miss this. Api requested a passenger lighter be sent to pick up Z'bef's cousin -- "Just the cousin, mind" -- and bring her back to the Lofthall.

When they emerged from the Lofthall, a crowd was still gathered, staring at the outrigger boat which was dripping seawater onto the jichang. Halling instructed a few pilots to put it into the main hall and keep hands off it until Api could investigate it. Api said to Z'bef conversationally, "How did you know to build it?"

"Years of reading" said Z'bef, jittery at all the people lining the lane to watch her pass by. "You'd be surprised what details are available in ancient poetry."

"What surprises me is your ability to put it all together. Not to mention the courage" said Api.

"I didn't really think I'd make it" said Z'bef faintly. "It just reached the point where I had to try." Api glanced at her sideways, and put her arm through Z'bef's again.

When Veida walked in the front door of the Manage, Yerush was sitting at the dining table in her wheelchair, arguing with Bux that Bux should go to the Lofthall, she'd be fine on her own. Bux heaved a sigh of relief and raced across the room when she saw Yoj, throwing herself into Yoj's arms. She whispered to her fiercely, "Did you really go out on that baugey with leviathans at your fingertips?"

Yoj said "I did. Guess I'm not as afraid of them as I thought I was." Bux's grip on her was almost painful. Yoj added "I was thinking about you the whole time -- I think you were my safety rope."

But their attention was caught by Yerush's face, illuminated with delight and interest, when she saw Z'bef with Api. "Come here and sit down, welcome" called out Yerush. Veida kissed her before she began assembling tea -- no matter what, Skeners made tea.

Z'bef sat down in Qen's chair and said "You are the famous Nan Yerush, I recognize you from your photos. I hope Yoj conveyed to you my gratitude for the law revision you attempted years ago."

"She did, but it was my honor to perform. I'm sorry it didn't pass; it's a change Skene needs to make for its own good" answered Yerush.

A knock came at the door, but before anyone could answer it, Rark and Danaan let themselves in, their hair unkempt, their eyes huge. "We thought you might want us" Rark said, trying to be apologetic even as she stared at Z'bef.

"Come on in" said Halling. Api sat on the other side of Z'bef. Halling, Bux and Yoj took their usual places. The pilots opted to stand in a row behind Halling. Seeing Yerush more closely, Yoj could tell she had not taken any pain medication lately. The veins of her neck and forehead were clearly showing, an indication of strain.

Veida set down plates and a cherry pie she'd been saving for the weekend, as well as tea. Z'bef looked at the pie, and Yerush said "Cut yourself a piece, don't wait for us." Under Z'bef's baggy and threadbare clothes, she looked painfully thin.

Api repeated to Yerush the legal assessment Z'bef had given her, adding "I can't find fault with it. How about you?"

Yerush was having the time of her life. "I agree. But when law goes against public sentiment on Skene, the dissonance is extremely problematic, and will undo the good work of any Ethicist who ignores it." Api grinned and cut herself a piece of pie as well. Yerush continued "So the puzzle is, how to determine the will of Skene, how to balance that with the law, and how to do justice by Z'bef in the process. Correct?"

"In a nutshell" said Api.

Yerush said to Z'bef, "Are you truly reformed, or merely at the end of your wits?"

Z'bef laughed explosively, blowing a crumb toward Yerush, who ignored it. "I believe I was reformed within my first month on Peisuo. But I'd say that in any event, wouldn't I?"

Yoj looked down the table at Yoj and said "What do you think?"

"I trust her to be in this Manage when my children come home" said Yoj.

"And you waded lev broth to go pluck her back among us" mused Yerush. "How many people saw you do that?"

"Most of Riesig" said Api. She told Yerush what Z'bef had done when she reached solid land as well.

"Well-played" Yerush said to Z'bef. "Not that it was playing, necessarily." Yerush picked up a spoon and helped herself to a mouthful of pie from the dish, something they hadn't seen her do in weeks. Her appetite was whetted.

"What day is today?" Yerush asked Veida. It was a minor jolt, realizing Yerush had lost track of time.

"Empat" Veida answered tenderly.

"Good" said Yerush, speaking with crisp collection. "I suggest you announce on Sigrist radio that you will conduct an open forum on Sju, starting at noon, for anyone who wishes to argue for or against reinstatement of citizenship for Z'bef. Hold it here, at the U or Lofthall, to dissociate it from her previous trial and to give it a different kind of authority. In the meantime, announce she is residing here with us until noon tomorrow, which will give residents of Bosco time to register a protest against her returning there to stay with her cousin. If there is no objection -- and there won't be, because Bosco will be overcome with curiosity and will want to lay eyes on her, they'll relish the fame of housing her and that will win out over any residual worries -- be sure to announce over Sigrist by Roku that Bosco has accepted Z'bef living among them. It might be prudent to place her on some kind of trial, a six-month period of accountability, to be reviewed at the end of that and decisions made final. How does that sound?" Yerush was clearly pleased with her mind's abilities. She took another bite of pie.

Before Api could answer, Veida said "We can't ask her here until we consult with Qen. She'll say yes, but -- "

"Oh, of course" said Yerush. Danaan said "I'll run to the school and ask her, if you wish. She ought to be informed about what's occurring, anyhow, she'll be avid for information."

"Thanks" said Halling. "And if you see any of the children, tell them we're all okay and to come straight home after school."

Qala headed out the door.

Z'bef cleared her throat again and said "I have -- an amendment. I'd like to stay here, meet the children, have dinner with you. But -- I'm overwhelmed with all the -- liberty and faces. Could I possibly sleep somewhere enclosed and private tonight?"

"I'll give you my room at the Lofthall, it has a cot and a locking door" offered Halling. "If that's agreeable to Qala, her room opens off the same office."

Qala grinned and said it was fine by her. Api put down her fork and said "It's an excellent plan. If you are reformed and pull this off, it will coax Skene into a change of view. If you misbehave, I'll be voted out of office swiftly and the next Ethicist will deal with you extremely harshly." She was smiling to take some of the bite from her words, but Yoj knew she was quite right.

Bux stood up and said "We're going about this meal backwards. It's past lunch, I'll get us something solid to eat." Yoj went to help her. Veida reached to the sideboard for Yerush's pills, but Yerush said "Not yet. I want a chance to talk with Z'bef, if she's willing, about the reality of exile." When Z'bef nodded, Veida grabbed the ointment instead and said "Let me at least massage the worst places." However, Z'bef offered "I'd like to do that, if I may. I'm rather good at -- touch."

"How you have been wasted" said Yerush softly. She handed the ointment to Z'bef and rolled up her sleeves, saying "Wrists first. They're in agony."

Qala returned to the Lofthall to escort Z'bef's cousin to the Manage. Danaan returned with Qen's consent and a plea to not let Z'bef leave until she got home, which tickled Yerush. After lunch, Api aired a smoothly-worded announcement from the Manage over Sigrist radio. Yoj and Z'bef's cousin collaborated on cutting her hair and choosing clothes for her from Yerush's chest, at Yerush's insistence.

When Z'bef emerged from the bath room, she looked ten years younger. But the hurt in her eyes was still unlike anything Yoj had ever seen. Halling and the pilots returned to the Lofthall, removing public perception that Z'bef needed to be guarded while at their Manage. The rumor mills were in overdrive.

As Yerush had predicted, Bosco escorted Z'bef home in grand style. On Sju, Z'bef was reinstated as a "newborn citizen", the only objection coming in written form from a crank on Juh who wrote angry letters about almost everything that happened on Skene. Their children, plus Oby, basked in glamor for weeks at school with stories of how the exile knew them all by name, how their emma and abba had walked the atoll next to leviathans, and how they would be going to Bosco monthly to visit Z'bef.

The chickens and katts of Peisuo were delivered to Z'bef on Bosco, along with crates of her drawings and journals. She had requested that all the books and art supplies remain on Peisuo, for whatever unfortunate arrived there next -- except Yoj's volume of songs, she asked for that returned to her. Yoj was the one who flew out to Peisuo and boxed up her belongings -- Z'bef fell into severe trembling at the mention of her returning to sort through her things. Yoj also harvested all she could from the fine tillage Z'bef had created and donated the food to the school. Z'bef herself began to eat and put on weight.

Yerush, once the challenge was over, did not.

Yoj had a private conversation with Veida about nutrition and the favorite dishes of both Yerush and Qen. She began writing out a weekly menu for all 24 meals at the Manage, with lists of what they didn't grow themselves. She gave copies to Qala and Lawa, as well as herself, and rarer items began appearing regularly: Avocado, pork roasts, goose livers, whole milk custards, strawberries, hazelnuts, plus fresh oranges every day. Yoj walked the kids to school and on the way talked about how Qen and Yerush were going to be given first and extra helpings to "help their bodies", enlisting their secret help.

The regimen worked with Qen. Her gaunt cheeks, emphasizing her large nose, began slowly filling back in. Her color was better, and although she rapidly caught on to the ruse -- Speranz and Prl's whispers about "give abba the avocado salad bowl first" were loud and clumsy -- she didn't fight it. She was using everything she had on Yerush's behalf, which was a just excuse in her opinion.


Copyright 2007 Maggie Jochild.

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Summary only...

BOOMER QUIZ: FAMOUS PAIRS

("Princess"/Federation Commissioner Nancy Hedford)

Here's part two of the Boomer Quiz series (below the fold).

There will be no grading system for these quizzes, I created them just for the fun of it. Play it with your friends. The answers will be immediately available in case you're not so good with delayed gratification (as they claim about us).

Feel free to share, but give me credit, dammit. Copyright 2008 Maggie Jochild.

FAMOUS "PAIRS"
When you think of one, you'll likely think of the other. Match up each person in the first colum with their "cohort" in the second column.

Agent 99
Hugh Beaumont
Eddie Corbett
Elinor Donahue
Joey Heatherton
Chet Huntley
Claudine Longet
Jayne Mansfield
Julie Nixon

Barbara Billingsley
David Brinkley
David Eisenhauer
Billy Gray
Mickey Hargitay
Mrs. Livingston
Lance Rentzel
Spider Sabich
Maxwell Smart

Answers are here.
Bonus question: Which famous pair above produced an award-winning actress currently on a long-running TV drama?

ADDENDUM:
All right, a challenge has been placed: Who gets your vote, Darlene the shiksa

or Annette, who had breasts earlier than the other girls?

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Summary only...

SKENE: CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

This is draft one of my sci-fi novel Skene. To read earlier chapters, go to LABELS in the right-hand column on this page, scroll down to the Skene tags and click on the one you want to read. Skene is set on a human-habitable planet in the Alhena star system at least 500 years in the future. There's a considerable amount of appendix material and diagrams also available here as needed:
Map of Riesig (the main island)
Map of The Manage on Riesig
Skene Glossary (Skenish to English)
Skene Cast of Characters
Skene Culture, Calendar, Clothing, and Islands
Map of All Skene
Map of The Lofthall on Riesig

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

It was Mchele, late summer, and every morning Sigrist radio reported whether or not eels had begun their migration back to the sea. Each Manage on Riesig had a patch of river assigned to them along North or South Rambla, and for a week now, their live boxes had been in place. The Lofthall had a prime territory, much larger than anyone else, but half the harvest by the pilots was given to the school and University cafeterias, so no one complained.

One morning the anticipated announcement was heard: Eels were on the move. That afternoon, children were forced into long naps, and their complaints were hushed with "Do you want to go eeling or not?" Pilots took longer naps than usual, too. After dinner, as dark fell, most of Riesig lined one of the rivers, wearing waders and canvas gloves tied at the wrist. Bright flashes and lanterns made the riverbank light as day, and at a blast from a horn, the fun began.

Mill had begged to go eeling with the pilots, and Halling let her go with Qala and Lawa. Rark and Danaan were eeling for their Manage with Iro and Ektr. Halling, Yoj, Bux and Veida were already in the river with long nets, while the children splashed behind them, and Qen and Yerush were on the banks to catch eels tossed them, keep everything but the breeding females, and store them in live boxes at the edge where river current ran continously through the mesh cages.

After an hour, it was just hard work, and younger children retreated to land to play other games. Manages kept at it until their live boxes were full. Size and number of live boxes allowed each Manage depended on the number of people in the Manage, and each live box was engraved with the name of that Manage. Eels would be kept in live boxes for a week, until mud and their last meals washed out of them. A child would be sent down to the river's edge twice a day, at least, to see if any of the eels had died. If it had, it was to be collected in a bucket and taken home for immediate brining and freezing.

Once the eels were ready for slaughter, Manages went into overdrive. The eels had to be cleaned and brined. Those above a certain size would be labeled and taken to the smoking house down near the docks. Smaller eels would be canned. It was a few days of all-out work, but eel was a prized addition to the diet, and a valuable barter item for islands without eel-bearing rivers.

The Lofthall's eeling went on far longer than anyone else, because of their enormous number of live boxes. When the Manage was done, they walked up river toward the sound of raucous laughter and singing. Mill was still in the water with her beloved pilots, and Oby had joined her. The Ethicist and her family were sitting on the banks, watching and laughing. Rark and Danaan were there was well, and Danaan came over to tell Halling that Mill and Oby had volunteered to be the daily live box checkers for the Lofthall.

"That'll help keep her busy until school starts" grinned Halling.

When at last their quota was reached, soaked and tired pilots scrambled up the banks and began trudging back to the Lofthall in small groups. The canteen would give them a late-night tea and cake repast before they dropped into their bunks. Mill begged to go with them, and when Halling said no, she then begged to walk Oby home.

"Oby's family is here" said Halling. "You'll see her in the morning, when you come to check on the eels. Say goodnight and come home with us."

Despite the canvas gloves, Mill had some small cuts on her palms that Veida treated with an herbal salve. Speranz fell asleep in Yerush's lap at the table without finishing her apple. The children were allowed to go to bed without baths -- it was Mchele, and Yoj could do their bed linens early that week.

The next morning, Ndege and Dodd went to check on the Manage's live boxes after breakfast. Mill was already gone -- Oby had arrived halfway through the meal and Mill had crammed her mouth with one last bite, then ran out the door without a bucket or her gloves. She returned a minute later to retrieve them and said "We'll be going up to the Lofthall after, I may eat lunch there". Bux called after her "Tell your emma when you arrive, immediately."

That night at dinner, Mill asked if she could have her own bedroom. Halling choked, and Yoj began laughing, saying "Where do you propose to build this room, out in the lane maybe?"

"No" said Mill, "The room that used to have abba's potting wheel -- in the corner, I could fit a bed and a chest. And it's warm in there."

"What about the shelves of starts and herbs?" asked Bux.

"I like those, it smells wonderful" said Mill. "I just want -- a place to maybe have a friend over. And to think by myself."

Bux sighed. She remembered exactly how Mill felt. She looked at Yoj, who nodded. Halling's face was red -- she did not care for the implications of this at all. She said "You have to promise you'll not sneak out at night, ever. And all guests will come through the house first."

Mill promised fervently, and Halling said "Well, we'll give it a try. But you'll have to earn the money for a bed with extra chores. We'll buy it for you and you can pay it off."

Mill leapt up to hug her emmas with deranged joy. Dodd said "Does this mean me and Ndege will eventually get our own rooms, too?"

"No" said Yoj. "We don't have the space. But you'll get to have a lot more room in your loft. And if Mill leaves the Manage when she graduates -- which I earnestly hope she does not -- but if she does, we'll talk then about one of you getting her new room."

Yerush cleared her throat and said "While we're on the subject..." When everyone looked at her, she said "It's getting a little hard for me to climb up and down the ladder. My hips are not working quite the way they once did."

Bux stared at her, suddenly noticing Yerush's hair was now completely white, no longer grey at all. She felt a clutch at her heart: She didn't want Yerush to be old. She turned and looked at Qen, then at Veida. "Oh, emmas" she said, her throat tight. "Of course -- we'll give you our bedroom. We'll swap out beds this weekend."

"Well, I don't know about that" said Qen. "You three need your privacy."

"We can move into Prl and Speranz's room, they're old enough to sleep in a loft now. We could give them the kitchen loft" suggested Yoj. Prl and Speranz's faces lit up -- they loved climbing into the lofts.

"But their room is only big enough to hold a three-person bed, nothing else, remember?" said Qen.

"That's okay" said Yoj. "We can put our clothes chests in my study, along the far wall of shelves -- those bottom shelves hold books I only use once a week, I can handle having to move a chest once a week."

"And our bed doesn't have a footboard, so we can easily crawl into bed over the foot" pointed out Halling. She grinned at Bux and said "We'll be back where we first started!"

"All right then, it's settled" said Bux. "Next weekend we'll have a day of moving beds. Yoj, will you have time tomorrow to go to the used furniture store and look at metal beds for Mill? They'll be a lot cheaper, and we won't have to wait on one."

"I reckon we should give her a double -- just thinking about the future" said Yoj, making Halling's face go red again.

Dodd said to Ndege "This way, we can have a friend overnight sometimes too." Ndege nodded. She was tired of how Mill kicked in her sleep, and was ready to see her go.

But once canning season was over, and Yerush could get into bed without a painful climb, her energy still remained low. She lent her expertise to Bux's campaign for Sheng Zhang of Rahat, but did not travel around Skene with them for Bux's meetings and speeches. Even after Bux won the election by a slim margin, Yerush was unusually quiet at the New Year celebration, and ate only one slice of apple dippled in honey, preferring to sit quietly in her chair and listen to the children's grand plans for what new and wonderful things they'd accomplish this year. It was that night in bed, because she was looking for it, that Veida found the lump in Yerush's breast.

School had begun again, and Yerush insisted Qen did not need to take off to accompany her to the hospital, she had Veida and Yoj, and at any rate, it was just tests. But three days later Qen did walk to the hospital with Yerush and Veida, when Yerush went to have both breasts removed, and a bone biopsy of one hip as well. Yerush was still in the hospital, having trouble regaining her strength after the surgery and being tended round the clock by at least one member of her family, when the pathology results came back.

Chemotherapy was very limited on Skene, and saved for only cases where a cure was likely. Bone metastases was not one of those cases. After another few days, a quartet of new lighter pilots carried her home, where a wheelchair had already been installed in her place at the head of the table. Veida had an arsenal of herbs, teas, tinctures, compresses, and she officially restricted her comadrona calls to Riesig only. Yoj took over teaching Yerush's classes for the rest of the semester, until a replacement could be arranged, in addition to her own limited teaching roster as a new gakusha.

Oby began spending most evenings at the Manage, where she and Mill would perform much of the work of the tillage until dark, eat together and then do homework last thing before bed, freeing up Mill's emmas and abbas for other tasks. Yoj had a quiet conversation with the Ethicist and they agreed on which nights Oby would be sent home to sleep, which nights she could lie down with Mill. More often than not, Oby was there for breakfast in the morning.

Bux no longer had dinners away from home on Sheng Zhang business. Even if she could not cook, she made it home in time to sit down opposite Yerush, smiling at her down the length of the table. If she had to leave for a meeting after dinner, she made sure to spend five or ten minutes before her departure sitting next to Yerush, conferring with her about the business she was about to address, asking Yerush's opinion or advice. Some of the old color would come back to Yerush's face when her head was bent next to Bux's, strategizing or gossiping.

Paha and Tlochin began coming every Shmonah for the midday meal and a long visit afterward. Halling arranged lighter transport to and from Beras so they did not have to worry about the ferry schedule. She offered the same to Culisa, but Culisa only came once a month, and seldom brought her partner.

Yoj was as worried about Qen as she was Yerush. Qen lost weight as steadily as Yerush, and her eyes had dark rings around them. After three months, Yerush's occasional pain became constant. Qen began massaging Yerush's hip and low back for an hour at a stretch, and Veida altered her tinctures. After another month, nothing helped except small white pills from the hospital, which left Yerush fuzzy and uncharacteristically clingy.

Speranz began having nightmares. Finally, they put her in with Bux and Halling when she woke up screaming, and Yoj would climb the loft over the kitchen to sleep with Prl. The nightmares stopped, and both of the youngest children began to look a little less terrified. Yoj took comfort from it as well -- holding Prl felt like she was actually able to protect at least one person, keep this child from harm.

One night, during a downpour, a knock came at the door. When Mill answered it, there stood Raisa, in a dripping burzaka. Yoj went to ask her in. Raisa stopped in the living room, staring at Yerush, now thin and frail in her wheelchair. Yerush's white hair had streaks of yellow in it, and her hands had a noticeable tremor. Raisa's face was tragic.

Veida came to stand beside Yerush, and then Qen sat down on Yerush's other side. Yerush's hand slid into Qen's. Bux offered Raisa tea and a seat at the table, but still Raisa did not move or speak, looking only at Yerush. Bux noticed her staring children, and said "I introduce to you the Genist of Skene."

Prl, at the table doing homework, showed high interest. "Oh" she said, "Abba has talked about you often. She told us all the things you do, the science and the lineages, and how you help people have families. I think that's what I want to be when I grow up, the Genist."

Raisa's gaze now transferred to Prl, and took in her clear blue eyes, her heart-shaped face and short, stocky build -- the picture of Bux at that age, but also, Yoj now realized, likely the image of Yerush as a child as well. The hunger on Raisa's face made Yoj involuntarily step toward Prl and put her hand on Prl's shoulder. After a long minute, Raisa said "When you are ready to graduate, come visit me and we'll see about apprenticing you."

Over my dead body, thought Yoj.

But then Qen stood up and said "Raisa, come here and at least kiss Yerush's cheek. She can't come to you."

In the hush that followed, Raisa, still dripping rain, came slowly to Yerush, lifted her hand and kissed her palm, then bent and kissed Yerush lightly on the mouth. Yerush never let go of Qen with her other hand. Raisa stepped back and said "I have so missed you." Yerush did not say a word, but Yoj saw her grip on Qen grow tighter. Raisa took another step back, and looked around until she found Halling, standing in the kitchen.



"I have something for the Sheng Zhang of the Lofthall" she said to Halling, and pulled a long leather tube from underneath her burzaka. Halling came forward to take it from her, and Raisa said "You did not get it from me. You found it in your archive. Are we understood?" Halling nodded, surprise on her face. Raisa looked at Yerush again and said "Morrie vaseo." Then she turned and strode from the house.

Everyone seemed to breathe out at once. Prl stood on her chair and Yoj picked her up in a hug, as Prl said "She seemed to have lightning in her hair." Yerush laughed at that, and then everybody began laughing.

"Let's see what she brought you" said Yerush. Prl and the other children cleared the table, and Yoj washed it down as Veida brought Yerush her next pain pill. But Yerush said "Not yet. I want to be sharp for this." Her breathing was a little ragged, and her cheeks were pale -- bone pain was extreme. Veida set the pill on the sideboard behind them, and sat next to Yerush, rubbing her thigh.

As Halling carefully started to pull a long roll of paper from the tube, Yerush suddenly said "There's a mark on the end, etched into the leather -- hold it in the light, what is that?" Yoj came to read it with Yerush, and they said in unison "This is from the Archive!" Yerush grinned tightly at Yoj and said "Well, this answers the question of whether they have keys to one another's vaults. She's stolen it, hasn't she?"

"How long has it been since you've seen her?" asked Qen quietly.

"I can't remember" said Yerush. "Before Halling's crash, well before that. Actually -- since Ng died." Qen's eyes locked on Yerush tenderly.

Halling was unrolling the paper, with Bux's help weighing down the corners. It was, of course, a map, similar to the sector maps now covering the main wall of the Lofthall, inscribed with countless numbers and symbols. But the colors were not so faded, and Halling could tell instantly it was not one of the maps she already had.

"Look on the back" urged Yoj, "See if it's labeled." They turned it over carefully and could find nothing on the reverse. Replacing it, Halling used a practiced eye to scan it and said "It's a cluster of islands -- this is a smaller scale than the Lofthall maps, I think it shows the entire chain."

Bux said to Speranz "Go get the tracing paper, you remember where it is?" And Yoj sent Dodd to her study for several pencils and the magnifying glass. They handed paper out to everyone at the table, with a pencil, and the glass to Yerush. Halling explained again how to read the numbers and symbols, and each person at the table found an island in front of her and began tracing it laboriously on a sheet centered over the map. Halling and Bux were able to do several islands in the time others took to do one.

When they were all done, they left the traced shapes in place and stood up to look down on it. Yerush spoke first: "This is not Skene. Even with the changes we've wrought, and the effects of time -- it's an island chain that is not Skene."

Halling's face was glowing and she said "I agree."

"But it has morrie strati" said Veida.

"Which means it is on this planet" confirmed Yoj. Even Speranz understood what this meant.

Halling was doing math in her head. "If the same system of measurement is used for the elevation demarcation on this map as the others, then the width of this central island, here, for instance, is twice the width of Riesig. There are -- " she counted under her breath "27 large to medium islands, and at least 40 small islands or flings."

"Land" breathed Bux. "Three to four times the land that we have now."

Yoj looked at Yerush. "If a bigger set of islands exists elsewhere, why would the original settlers have chosen our chain?"

Yerush said "They came here originally to mine. Perhaps the minerals available in our chain were what they wanted most."

"Or -- " said Halling slowly, "...maybe they settled both chains."

Qen gasped, and Yoj pulled both Dodd and Prl close to her reflexively.

After a very long silence, where Yoj could hear Dodd's mouth-breathing clearly, Veida whispered "What do we do with this?"

"We study it" answered Halling. "We think about it, and we talk it over as a Manage."

"Plus Oby" said Mill.

"Not yet" said Bux. "I know this will be a hard secret to keep, but Oby's emma is the Ethicist and once she finds out about this, she will be compelled to act, she has no choice. So we wait until we agree with what action she's like to take." She looked at Mill sternly, and Mill finally nodded.

"But we do tell Danaan and Rark, and their emmas" said Halling.

"And Qala" added Yoj.

"Do you supposed Raisa knows what this map shows, or means?" asked Bux. Everyone looked at Yerush, who grinned and answered "No. It's too much power for her to have handed over. It was just a good excuse to see me. Possibly the Archivist knows, however. And if she does, she'll notice it's missing."

"Yet another reason to delay telling the Ethicist" said Halling. "I don't want anyone arrested for theft. Not until we can get copies and conceal its origins."

"Here's the thing, though" said Yoj. "We don't have any marks on this map to show where on Skene it represents. And we can't go flying around the globe to search."

The electric elation that had been in the room now noticeably diminished. Halling said "Huh." She took another sheet of tracing paper and began searching the very edge of the map for positive numbers which would indicate a small island or portion of island away from the main chain.

Understanding her intent, everyone focused again on their edge of the map, and after a minute, Dodd, standing at the northwest corner, said "I've got something".

Halling came to where she pointed and laid the tracing paper down, marking the edge of a land mass as it came in from the margin and disappeared a little while later. She held it up to the light and thought hard for a minute. Then she said softly "I've seen this before."

"I have copies of the other quadrants in my study" said Yoj, hurrying to get her map case. Halling told her what numbers it might be, and after trying several, they found the sector map with an island whose lower southeast outline matched the fragment on the new map exactly. Halling laid that sector map down and indicated with her fingers the hops from small island to small island that would be required to reach its upper northwest corner. All of the distances could be done with a sinner outfitted with double battery arrays and a light load.

They found the next corresponding sector map, and island-hopped across it as well to the northwest. On the fourth sector map laid down, they reached Yanja. Halling looked up at them and said "It's reachable, if it's done in stages like this."

"How far?" urged Yoj. Halling worked back through the maps, calling out distances and vectors to Veida who wrote them down. At the end, Veida read the totals. Yerush said "That's halfway around the globe, and in the southern hemisphere."

"But reachable" echoed Yoj.

"It would take a great deal of resources, and a coordinated effort" said Bux.

"And -- who knows what kind of people we'd find, if there are people there?" said Qen. "Maybe their Troubles didn't resolve as intelligently as ours did."

"What's to say they aren't looking for us as well?" posed Halling. Into the electric silence following this comment, she added "Which means, actually, we do have to take this to the Ethicist. Sooner rather than later. But -- " she looked at Yoj, " -- If you get copies made tomorrow, and we transport this in a different tube, I can claim it just turned up at the Lofthall. So no one gets into trouble."

Bux looked at the children. "No breathing a word of this for two days, or you will hurt this Manage dreadfully. After that, we'll tell the secret ourselves and you'll be off the hook."

"Except for the part about Raisa" pointed out Prl.

"Yes, we must protect Raisa" said Qen firmly.

Yerush gazed into Mill's eyes and said "Who knows how long it will take to decide what to do, and how to do it? But I can imagine you being one of the pilots to land on the other half of Skene."

Mill's face flushed, and Yoj felt a stab at her heart. Of course Mill would volunteer to go.

Yoj looked at Bux, to share her grief, and Bux's eyes were full of tears but she was fixed on Yerush's face: Yerush would not live to see what was discovered.

Yoj said "This is your doing, you know" to Yerush. Yerush looked shocked. "You created this Manage, you chose these women to love, you bore the child that brought me and Halling in, you've encouraged us to think fresh every step of the way, and then this Manage gave us our incredible next generation -- this all began with you, Yerush. You are the aggie that will give Skene another hemisphere to explore."

Bux began crying, and Yerush motioned for her, pulling Bux down beside her and murmuring comfort. Yoj went to the aga to make tea for everyone, as Halling put the map away and Veida gave Yerush her pill.

With the return of warm, sometimes dry weather and new crops to sow, Yerush's decline slowed and she sat up at the table often to plant starts with Veida or talk over class outlines with Yoj. It clearly pained her to have Speranz on her lap for long stretches, but she refused to ever say no, and Speranz's warm, plump body seemed to give new energy to Yerush at times.


Copyright 2007 Maggie Jochild.

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BONUS BOOMER QUIZ FOR GOLDEN AGE OF TV

It's just one question: How many of the TV stars mentioned in the previous TV quiz were/are lesbian, gay or bisexual?

I'll need some sort of documentation for this (even persistent gossip will count), not just your wishful thinking. For bonus points, I'll accept the names of other members of the cast in the same show who were queer.

And for super-duper prestige points, answer the following:
Which show featured an actor whose daughter would later be lovers with Ellen Degeneres?

Answers are here. This will be updated as ya'll come up with folks I didn't know about.

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