ROMULUS (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 1) (7 page)

Aster listened to each of her fellow travelers' stories and saw the confirmation in Cherry's new arm and Johnny's scar. Everyone was laughing and excited about this incredible adventure they had stepped into. It was completely illogical, yet she was positive she was no longer dreaming. Somehow they had been rescued, but by whom and how?

They were sharing speculations when Aster suddenly felt the hair rise on the back of her neck. Cherry's eyes widened to the size of half-dollars as she stared beyond Aster.

"Miss Mackenzie?"

At the sound of the deep-timbred masculine voice, the shiver at the back of Aster's neck slid straight down to the base of her spine. Where had she heard that voice before?

"I hope you are somewhat recovered from your ordeal."

She turned and felt her heart stop and start anew with a tremor.
Him!
There was no mistaking those hypnotic hazel eyes. She had seen his handsome face so many times in her dreams, she had stopped questioning who he might be and had simply accepted him as a very well-developed figment of her imagination. But the man standing before her didn't seem like a figment. Was he real or was she caught up in yet another dream? As always happened when she dreamed of him, she tried to say his name, a name she felt she should know, but again, it eluded her.

* * *

Rom's hand reached out as if it were a separate entity, needing to touch her face again. He had been so certain that his powerful emotional reaction to this woman had been a result of too much stress and an overactive imagination. But here it was, happening again, this time in a room full of witnesses.
Witnesses!

He pulled his hand back and ran his fingers through the side of his hair. Drawing himself up to his full height, he cleared his throat along with his thoughts.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Would you please take a seat as quickly as possible? We have a lot of information to cover." They responded to his request and he was satisfied that they had noticed nothing peculiar. Positioning himself at one end of the oval table, he began.

"I'm sure you have many questions that you're anxious to pose. However, due to the complex nature of the situation, it will be considerably more expedient if I speak first without interruption. When I finish, if I have left any of your questions unanswered, I will deal with them individually."

Although Romulus had been momentarily distracted by those midnight-blue eyes, he was now back on firm ground and proceeded to deliver his familiar presentation. To avoid being distracted though, he limited his line of vision to the other people around the table. He had heard of Umerian women who could turn human males into slaves by staring at them, but this woman was definitely a Terran and they had no such powers as far as he knew.

"There is no way to ease into what I am about to tell you. Some of what I say may shock you, yet in time you will not only accept what we have to offer but will enjoy it."

Aster squirmed in her seat and rocked her crossed leg back and forth beneath the table. She glanced at the others. Each sat forward in his chair, staring at this man as if he were a savior. Cherry had not managed to close her mouth since he walked into the room.

"My name is Romulus. I am the chief administrator of the Car-Tem Province." He pressed several icons on a panel located in the table in front of him. The lights in the room dimmed and a rotating three-dimensional globe appeared suspended over the center of the table. "As you can see, this is Earth, as you know it." He touched another icon and twelve bright red spots on the holographic picture lit up. "These are magnetic fields that your scientists are aware of but these areas also represent doorways to our world.

"Here is the area where you were earlier today." The image of Earth transformed into a map of the United States' eastern seaboard. A blue arrow flashed on a location in the Sargasso Sea. "Depending on several variables, such as the Earth's orbit and the position of its moon, we use different doorways at different times of your calendar year. This morning we were using this particular opening when your accident occurred."

He continued his scientific explanation, seemingly oblivious to the dismayed looks passing back and forth around the table. "We take every possible precaution but occasionally, for various reasons, the presence of a small vessel in the area at the time we are opening a door goes undetected. In such a case, the vessel is pulled downward into the core of the Earth."

They now viewed a tiny ship spinning down within a tunnel toward the heart of the sphere. The fluorescent vision changed shape again. A yellow illuminated arrow blinked on one spot of another map. The outline was not recognizable.

The group of castaways sat mesmerized by the play of lights performing in mid-air as the chief administrator continued. "This is where we are at this moment, in the city of Car-Tem One, Car-Tem Province. This entire map constitutes the Noronian colony of Innerworld, as opposed to Outerworld, where you previously resided. It is approximately half the size of the United States and has a population of almost twenty-five million.

"We are completely self-sufficient but we do communicate with and travel to and from our home planet, Norona, on a regular basis. We provide our people there with a valuable commodity that is found in Earth's core. Thus the need for our colony and the doorways."

At this point, Romulus paused to switch off the image and to bring the lights back to normal but Aster continued to stare at the spot where the holograph had been. Completely baffled by everything she had seen and heard so far, she hoped the punch line to this joke was near at hand. Romulus's voice drew her gaze back to him.

"Not everyone has an avid interest in history or scientific achievements. Therefore, rather than dwell on either of those aspects, I suggest you visit our library. Information is available both electronically and in the physical form. Who we are, how we came to be here and all our knowledge has been recorded in detail.

"The most vital piece of information you need to absorb today is that you cannot go back." He hurried on as their heads popped up and they turned to one another in panic. "Now that you know of our existence, we cannot return you to Outerworld. The temptation to share your unusual experience with others would be too great. Therefore, it is now necessary for me to introduce you briefly to our laws and the general structure of our society."

Aster's headache returned in full force. He could not have said what she thought she heard. Never go back? This did not sound much like a joke. He had sounded dead serious.

"We will help you adapt to our world as quickly and smoothly as possible. A caretaker has been assigned to each of you to assist with your acclimation.

"Our laws are not so different from yours. You will receive written guidelines before you leave this room. There are a few restrictions you must abide by but they mainly involve travel and politics. The primary requirements of each individual in Innerworld are to work at something productive, to enjoy the work one chooses and to maintain a healthy body. Violence or abuse of any kind will not be tolerated.

"We have more leisure time than you may be accustomed to. You will be expected to make good use of that time as well. I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised by the variety of games and energy outlets available to you."

The chief administrator hesitated, taking a moment to look at each person directly... except
her
. All through his speech, he had pointedly avoided meeting her eyes.

The faces on each side of Aster revealed a combination of bewilderment and tension. Fidgeting in her chair, Aster felt she might burst if she did not speak her mind soon, but she had no idea what to say.

"You may work in whatever field appeals to you. Each of you will have the opportunity to discuss what might be suitable with a career counselor. If training or education is required, that will be provided.

"To begin with, you will receive a supply of food and clothing, free of charge, and an entry-level apartment will be made available to you, prepaid for two months. You should adjust to our system of economics without much difficulty."

Rom's earlier resolve not to look at her disintegrated instantly when Aster ceased her nervous movement and sat forward in her chair. Her expression changed from pure defiance to mild curiosity. It occurred to him that he may have discovered Miss Mackenzie's touchstone.

"The main difference between our systems is that we do not use hard currency. An accounting file will be opened for each of you. You receive credits to your account for working or attending school and debits when you make a purchase. You cannot spend more than you have. Ten percent of your credits is automatically transferred to the Car-Tem Provincial Account. In return, you are provided with education, medical care, utilities and public facilities. If you have any questions about how all this works, I will be glad to discuss it further at a later time."

Romulus risked one more glance at Aster to make sure she had heard his offer but she was intently studying a spot on the table in front of her. Opening his mouth to continue, he received a shock. He could not remember where he had left off. This had never happened to him before. What was it about that woman? Rather than reveal his problem, he skipped to the question-and-answer segment of his presentation.

"I will now try to answer some of your questions. I would appreciate your introducing yourselves first." He nodded to the man seated at his left. "Go ahead, please."

"I'm Johnny Basiglio. This is my wife, Betty. I was the captain on The Baronette. I'm just so glad to be alive, I don't know what to ask about first. How about those three guys—the pirates—what happened to them?"

"After you arrived, we reviewed a replay of the incidents that had occurred on your ship during the previous twenty-four hours." When several sets of eyebrows shot up questioningly, he explained, "The process involves picking up images left behind on matter before they dissipate. At any rate, one of the criminals was dead long before the accident. His body and that of another crew member had been... previously removed from the ship. The other two were dispatched to the Rehabilitation Clinic in a distant province. They will be dealt with according to our laws."

Paul Feinstein broke in. "I certainly don't want to be accused of being a wet blanket but it seems like you're taking our acceptance a little too much for granted. We have three grandchildren back home whom you're telling us we'll never see again. It's easy for these younger people here to start a new life but we don't want to finish our days in a strange place."

"Please forgive my husband's blustering, Mister Romulus. We're Sheila and Paul Feinstein and we really are grateful that you came to our rescue. But, you see, I have terminal cancer. Paul was upset at the thought of living without me in our own world, among our family. Isn't there some way he could get back... after I'm gone maybe? He would never tell a soul where he's been."

"First, we do not use the title
Mister
here. You may call me Romulus, or if you prefer something more formal, Chief Romulus, but it's not necessary. Next, we will not send anyone back for any reason. That is not negotiable." He recalled the report on Sheila Feinstein. "I gather you are unaware that the disease was eliminated from your body while you were under the beam. Not only are you not dying but you both have many years left to enjoy life. You're barely middle-aged by our standards. A few visits to our medical facilities and you'll be feeling like youngsters again."

Sheila and Paul hugged each other tightly, tears of joy flowing freely down their weathered cheeks.

Romulus permitted a smile to soften his purposefully stern expression for a moment. "I hope we will eventually discover something that will please the rest of you just as much, or at least make up for what you left behind."

He looked at Aster but the brunette spoke up.

"Hi, I'm Cherry Cochran, and I want to know something a little more personal. I mean, are you human or is that some kind of super bodysuit?"

The unexpected question caused snickers around the table and Romulus had to struggle not to join in. Clearing his throat, he quickly regained control. "Occasionally I monitor Outerworld media, so I have a fair idea where you would get such an idea. Let me assure you, we are humanoids. The differences between us are mostly technological."

Aster struggled with a problem of her own and it was far from Cherry's silly concerns. Anxiety overwhelmed her. She felt her heart constrict and her head was woozy. Her lungs strained for air in a room that had become a vacuum.

Too many times in her life, events beyond her control had turned her upside down. After Dennis's death, she had prayed for a little peace, for everything to remain stagnant for a while. But this time the change was beyond her imagination. She had to do something and she employed the relaxation technique she used many times before. Calm down, breathe deeply, count to three. Repeat.

Feeling some relief, she had exchanged her panic for anger. "Excuse me for interrupting," Aster cut in impatiently. "It seems to me there are more than
technological
differences between us. The woman who was with me said the nurse 'touched' my mind and learned things about me. Are you all able to read our minds? How are we supposed to deal with that? And what other secrets haven't you told us about?"

Unable to stay seated another minute, Aster stood up and paced restlessly behind the chairs. The frown on Romulus's face told her she had brought up one of the subjects that he would rather have avoided but his tone of voice remained amiable.