The Fifth Civilization: A Novel (4 page)

Until he was seventeen, and feeling exceptionally rebellious
toward his father, Roan had never set foot into a mall. They were always
considered
no-gos
, inhabited by the
same kind of haughty elites that ran his refugee camp. One night past his
curfew, he and some friends finally paid for a bus ticket with their savings
and took the hour ride from Hiroo to a shopping center near Harajuku. It was
the first time they had seen so many of the local Japanese, having been
cloistered in their communities among other Euros.

Roan felt himself hypnotized by the lights and displays
again now, years after he last stepped into such a place. Everywhere he looked,
he saw reflected on the marble floors and shiny walls the mentality that money
was inconsequential and spending was desirable. Shoppers passed by pushing
carts of electrospeakers and designer clothing. Roan stared up at the interior
of the mall, the spiraling walkway winding up ten floors. Through a mammoth,
holographic “HAPPY NEW YEAR” spelled in multiple languages, he could see a mass
of people trying their best to imitate a bustling ant colony. Even this early
on a holiday, the mall was packed.

“Ah, we can find directions at this terminal,” David said,
and Roan found him staring at a shimmering three-dimensional layout of the
complex. “We’re here, on the concourse. We need to be at Food Court Two...”

“Food Court Two,” replied a computerized feminine voice, and
the image rotated to bring a red-highlighted section to David’s eye line. “Turn
around, head up the walkway to Level Two, Section Five. You will be at Food
Court Two.”
 
David seemed taken
aback by the voice, his feathers ruffling and eyes glazing over.

“I think she likes you,” Roan said.

“What?”

“Never mind. Shall we?”

Roan led the way up the long, spiraling ramp that climbed
the perimeter of the mall. He saw Yuko attracted members of all Earth’s races,
with Euros and Africans represented alongside the local Japanese. Count on
consumerism to bring people together, he thought. There were also plenty of
women pushing children in strollers or leading them along by hand, which made
sense, since those weren’t the types to be hungover from celebrating the
pentury. As David passed them, some children pointed, some wailed, but most
stared in wide-eyed fascination. And the expression was not unique to children.
Mothers and aunts and uncles gawked at the Nyden, looking away when they met
his eyes as if they were staring at an amputee’s stump.

“Does it ever bother you?” Roan asked. “The staring?”

“No, I understand it’s simple curiosity. Although we don’t
have quite the same reaction to humans on Nyden, I accept that your species
responds in a more complicated manner to other beings.” He grew quiet for a
second. “However, it grows tiring after a while. You have to understand that
Tokyo is very different than many parts of Earth because it’s so urban. You
should have seen the reaction I got when I visited Adelaide, Australia.”

“On the Tubes this morning, I saw a Nyden being beaten by
some thugs.”

“Goodness! Was he hurt?”

Roan shook his head. “I didn’t stop to find out. He wasn’t
fighting back, though.”

“Mr. Roan, you must understand: that’s not our way. To harm
life is to degrade it, to suggest it is not valuable. Suffering to one means
suffering to all.”

“You could learn a thing or two about self-defense.”

“We’ve never needed such a thing.”

Two teens walking by burst out laughing, goons dressed in
hooded sweatshirts with lightning symbols on the front. “Check out that
pigeon!” one of them said, and then continued on down the ramp. Roan gritted
his teeth. Every minute he spent with David was increasing the likelihood some
punk was going to mistake him for someone who consorted with aliens.

On the ceiling were numbered reminders of the mall section
being passed. Before Section Five even appeared, Roan could smell the food
court. Grease mixed with cheese—that’s how he described it, the
ever-present scent of easy-eating. Meat patties, pepperoni dough-fries, and
breaded cheese clusters could all be counted on to make the Euros swarm like
moths to a flame, though this food was popular too with not-a-few Japanese as
well. Sometimes Roan wondered if his American ancestors would’ve eaten like
this before they crossed the Pacific Ocean all those centuries ago.

Personally, the stuff was too salty for his taste.

The food court announced its presence with a roaring
fountain ringed with greenery. Droplets sprang from the water, so Roan assumed
the water wasn’t holographic. He was impressed. Obviously, the architects had
retained some nostalgia for the natural world.

As David leaned in to inspect the foliage, Roan surveyed the
rest of the court. Alas, beyond the fountain, the place had all the ambiance of
a flattened forest. Rows upon rows of jade-colored tables stretched for what
seemed like a half-mile in either direction. At this pre-noon hour, the tacky
tables were half full, customers munching on pastries or natto or tea between
trips to the chain stores.

David appeared from behind and passed Roan, threading the
tables and drawing stares. Roan followed him while identifying the food he
passed with his nose: fried food from America, the smoky smell of salmon from a
local place, an assault of chili pepper from one of the Latin restaurants. At
the edge of the court was the bright red sign of a Food of the Galaxy, a blast
from Roan’s youth.

“You know, David, I could really go for a Nyden doughnut
right about now.”

“A Nyden
what
?”
David stopped, and noticed the chain restaurant. “Ah, a Nyden doughnut. Quite a
disagreeable confection, and one promoted through false advertising.”

“You don’t have Nyden doughnuts on Nydaya, do you?”

“No.”
 

They passed a table where a young boy gazed intently at
David while his mother scolded his sister. For a fleeting second, Roan had an
image of Kel changing a diaper in a food court, telling the security guards
where to shove their indecency laws.

“There he is!” David leapt into a sprint and Roan tried to
match his speed. Ahead, seated at a rounded glass table by the window, was
Aaron Vertulfo. Aaron noticed the two coming his way, and waved.

 
From far away,
the man appeared just as Roan remembered him: a man radiating dark. His skin
was like chocolate, nearly matching the auburn traveler’s vest he wore. A
neatly trimmed beard outlined a wide and welcoming grin. He appeared as dapper
as always, but as Roan neared his friend, Roan saw that wrinkles crossed the
man’s cheeks and forehead like canals. Grey also streaked his beard and hair.
He was only a decade or so older than Roan, so the past year had obviously been
unkind to him.

“Nick!” Aaron said, standing. He extended his arms and gave
his friend the long, firm, hug of a reunion.

“Aaron. It’s been too long.”

“I know it, my friend. I know it.”
 
They sat. A bowl of natto lay untouched
in front of Aaron, and David placed some complimentary chopsticks between his
feathers and scooped up a clump.

“David, did you run into any problems?” Aaron said to the
Nyden, who was currently thrusting some of the sticky beans into his mouth.

“None that I was aware of.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Aaron didn’t seem quite convinced, but when he
turned to Roan he cast a fond smile his way. “Nick, Nick, Nick…” he said. Roan
reciprocated with a smile, but struggled to remember the last time they’d
spoken in person. A year ago? More?

“I hope the New Year has been kind to you so far,” Aaron
continued.

Roan laughed. “Let’s just say I’m glad I won’t live to see
the next five hundred.”
 
Aaron still
beamed, but raised an eyebrow in concern.

“How’s the shipping business? Go anywhere exotic?”

“It’s a little rocky, with the economy being what it is and
all. But it’s steady. Can’t complain that the Company’s paying me. Let’s
see…actually, I just got back yesterday from a haul to Nydaya. Microwave
arrays.”

“Nydaya! See any of this guy’s relatives?” Aaron pointed at
David.

“Probably.”

“OK. Still seeing what’s her name? Kel?”

Roan was surprised Aaron remembered her name, but wished he
hadn’t. Roan wanted the name to go unmentioned for the rest of the day, and
preferred to keep the conversation strictly on business. “She’s doing fine.
Don’t think I’ll be seeing her for a while now.”
 
Please,
Aaron, just leave it alone
.

 
Aaron did just
that and turned to David. “How did the Lab take it?”

The alien was still chewing his natto. “The Professor did
not seem pleased when I requested indefinite leave, but she granted it.”

“The same with me,” Aaron said. Aaron threw a quick glance
over into the food court, then back to Roan. He was all smiles, but his hands
were fidgeting with a wide-brimmed hat sitting on the table, and that concerned
Roan. “I’m sorry we had to go through this trouble, meeting in a mall and all,
but I couldn’t risk using coms or going to your apartment. I think we’re safe
here, though. They won’t risk coming into so public a place.”

“Who? The Kotarans?”

“Yes.”

Chills ran through Roan’s body. He shot a peek at the food
court, searching for any sign of the upright ears or hulking frame that would
herald a Kotaran’s arrival. Nothing. There was some comfort in the fact that
any kangas that tried to sneak into a mall would get kicked out immediately.

“Aaron, why the hell do you think Kotarans would be
following you? What could you have possibly done to get those kangas so riled
up?”

Aaron shifted in his seat, the smile fading. He leaned
across the table, his violet eyes locking onto Roan’s.

“David and I were on Kotara four months ago,” he said,
quietly. “We visited a few of their museums, their scientific archives. They
were very interested in tracking my movements.”

“You were on
Kotara
?
What the hell for?”
 
Outside of diplomats,
travelers were rarely granted visas to that planet, and rarer still was the
traveler who came back that wasn’t scarred in some way. Mentally or physically.

“It involves a problem I’m trying to figure out, Nick. But
first, I need a ship.”

Ah, so that was it. Roan looked long and hard at his friend,
then at David, who was placing his gooey chopsticks down on the table. “A ship?
What, do you think I can just call the Company and get you a freighter?”

Aaron narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice a degree. “At
least give me a friendly recommendation. Maybe to someone going out toward the
frontier that can smuggle a scientist in his hold. I need to get closer to the
interior of the Milky Way.”

“Aaron…what are you getting me into?”
 
Now Roan didn’t know where to place his
friend on the compass. Aaron Vertulfo never crossed the street without looking
both ways and up, someone who thought it dishonest to write off a new
microscope as a business expense. Something was causing him to veer away from
that straight line he always followed.

“No, I don’t know of any available ships,” Roan continued.
“Do you think this is like old times, where you can tag along just to study a
new asteroid? The Company’s clamped down on that sort of thing. It could cost
me my job.”

“This is much more important than anything like that.
Nick…my life is in danger. We need to move quickly on this.”

Roan shook his head. “Aaron, I just got back into the solar
system
this morning
, I’ll have you
know, right in time for New Year’s and to see my…” He was going to say fiancée,
but of course that wasn’t right. Then he remembered Kel’s trip to Orion. It was
possible she’d already departed. But if not…there was still some chance of
seeing her again. Roan noticed his companions were growing jittery at his
silence.

“What is it?” David probed. “What’s wrong, Mr. Roan?”

He was thinking. In the silence, Aaron gave the food court
another once-over, his smile giving way to a tight-lipped wariness. He appeared
calm, but constantly scrunched the brim of his hat.

“How’s Orion sound?” Roan asked, quieting the fidgeting
alien at his left. Aaron sighed in relief.

“Orion, that’s a start. Can you get me there, Nick?”

“Maybe,” Roan said, plucking some natto from the bowl and
popping it in his mouth. He now had an excuse to travel back to the Entrepot
and try and keep Kel from leaving, something he’d given up in the morning as
futile. For the right price, most captains and crew allowed some extraneous
passengers to stow away on board their freighters, provided they weren’t
dangerous. Kel wasn’t likely going to risk taking on illegal passengers, and
certainly not some of Roan’s friends, but even if she refused, Roan could at
least have a chance to talk with her.

Provided she hadn’t left already, of course.

“One question, though,” Roan continued. “What the hell is
this is all about?”

David immediately jumped in. “Mr. Roan, it’s all a very
technical and complicated problem, so if…” With a raise of his hand, Aaron
silenced the sputtering Nyden. A grin once again creased Aaron’s cheeks and
wrinkled his forehead, a sign he’d satisfy his old friend’s curiosity.

“He might as well know the basics, David. Nick did allow me
to stow aboard to Nydaya a few years ago, after all, and the information
concerns him as it does every other human.”
 
Now
that
was intriguing. Roan crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, eager to
hear everything. Calmly, Aaron put the hat on the table and pulled from his
jacket pocket a hexagonal pad, slightly larger than a drink coaster, and set it
beside the natto bowl.