Chapter 34

A visit from a school friend, a shocking discovery…

    Francos and Megal had a late breakfast. “Have you heard from Captain Okapie?” Megal said in the private dining room. “I was very surprised by the number of vagrants in the crowd last night. I might not have noticed if you had not mentioned it. We did not see them on the hacienda.”

    “I would not expect it there,” Francos replied. “I have seen the numbers rise here in the city and I do not like it. Most of them end up begging or hanging out around the cathedral. They don’t seem to have skills to get work. As for the Port captain, no word. But he said the trip back would take time.”

    Francos and Megal joined Serept in the offices reviewing messages from haciendas around the country as well as from the news grid. All seemed quiet, but the conclave to elect the next Poh was being organized.

    Megal interrupted the stillness of the office. “Papi, here is something odd. There is a call for compulsives by a branch of Pesch. I wonder what they are planning?”

    “Ser, perhaps they plan to influence the election?” Serept suggested.

    “That would be to be expected given how badly Ser Emiliano wants to be in control. I am surprised he is so open about it. He has always been arrogant,” Francos said. A guard from the main entrance called to Serept that there was a visitor who wished to speak to the Overlord. Serept ushered in a plainly dressed man who Francos recognized as head of one of the rural families, Isadore Leon. He had been a close friends when they were in the gymnasium.

    “Dore, my old friend, how good it is to see you,” Francos said. “I noticed you yesterday, but the crowd was so thick. I did not have a chance to speak.” He directed Serept to bring refreshments and pulled a chair up to the table where he and Megal were working.

    “Ser Francos, I apologize for bothering you, but I have a serious problem that I must bring to your attention.” Leon bowed and seemed unwilling to take the seat offered.

    “Come now, Dore, must it be with titles? Can we not be Dore and Fran as in school? Please, sit, Serept comes with tea.” Francos motioned to his school friend to join them.

    “Ah, I am not sure you want to hear my message, Fran. I am still shaken by it.” He accepted the cup and sipped. “I have news from my house that, if widespread, may disrupt our whole society.” Francos shot a mental note to Megal that this may be personal, so he rose and excused himself.

***

    “I have known you since we were in the gymnasium, Dore. You are not one to exaggerate.” This man had been one of the few of his schoolmates who treated him as an equal and not as the future leader of the colony. The friendship had endured over the years even though Isadore had left the city to assume the running of his family hacienda.

    “Fran, what do you know of the family Smoot?”

    “I had a visit with Darion Smoot recently. He was asked by my uncle to help with the investigation into my son’s death, may the Three give him peace.”

    “Truly, a serious loss. My youngest son took one of Smoot’s daughters as his first wife. Jose has ambitions to work in smelting and metals. The connection seemed a good one. All seemed normal until last week.” He paused, set his cup on the table, and leaned forward. Lowering his voice, he continued.

    “Last week, this new bride invaded my office with account books in her arms. ‘Ser Leon, this is an outrage, and you need to be made aware of it!’ I was stunned. She proceeded to set the books on my worktable, open them and give me a lecture on how my harem steward was defrauding me. She read the listings to me of what the steward bought, then opened another book to show me an inventory of the harem. I was so shocked that she could not only read but understands bookkeeping that I joined her at the table and saw for myself. She was correct. Fran, do you have any idea what this means? Our women may not be as badly damaged by male manifestation as we thought.”

    “Ser Smoot admitted as much here in my office. He said that the women of his house were all taught to read and claimed his harem ran better because of it. He also believes that our women are just like the women of Utopia. They too have psy power.”

    “But, Fran, it was not just being able to read. She had confronted the steward who laughed at her, so she came to me. I believed my first wife to have been badly hurt on our wedding night and so was as much a child as our children. This young woman seemed to expect that the women had more control over the harem. From what you just told me, her father does that, but she expected the other women to support her. Jose said she came to him that night with marks on her back from switches. She was punished by my first wife.” Dore paused and sipped his tea.

    “Olivia is not as damaged as I thought. She refused to see me the next day and I have been told there are major disputes in the harem. Because of the funeral I was not able to insist and must deal with it when I get back. Fran, I don’t know what to think. What will happen now? Our great-grandmothers were the leaders of our trip out. What have we done to our women?” He explained that he wanted to get home as quickly as possible to deal with what might be happening. “I wanted you to know what I had found. You always talked about how your father wanted change.”

    “I have suspicions about what really happens in our harems. Many things are changing. Thank you for being willing to come to me with this. Come, my friend, and meet my son Megal. We will have the ceremony soon to announce his betrothal. The young will decide for us, I think.”

***

    After his friend left, Francos made a surprise visit to his own harem. Usually, it was arranged in advance by his mother’s cousin, who served as steward. This time he wanted to know what was really going on. He walked directly to the open patio because he heard someone speaking as if to a group. His senior wife Marta was sitting with a group of women and girls, reading to them from a book while they worked spindles, spinning thread. He recognized the book as one from his private library. Well, that settled that question. She could read and was a bit sneaky, because he had not realized the book was gone. He felt his anger grow. The book was a treasure from Terra. How dare she take it without his permission?

    Marta realized he had come into the room and gasped. “Francos, what do you want?”

    “The book. Do you realize what that is?

    “A story about a man of ancient Spain and one of the first books written in the European Confederation. Your grandfather treasured it and brought it. I want the girls to hear the story. Again, what do you want?” Francos realized he had raised his voice and the gathered girls and women were staring, frightened. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

    “The truth, Marta, only the truth. We must talk.”