| The analogs that Astra 4 is with are Astras 3 and 5 and the husbands
of the three of them. Fred and Astra 2 are back in Walants, of course,
and so are Fred and Astra 1. (Since our heroes knew transport was going
to become more difficult once the Crystallics had stopped working, the
Walants contingent - apart from Astra 2 - were sent back there from Ethiopia
just before the battle party left for Atlantis. However, they do have the
shuttle that the incubators were sent on, and also the one that had finished
up in the vault beneath the Regent's palace, which they had remembered
to move into the open using a Crystallic whilst they still had the chance.)
When those present have finished expressing their pleasure at seeing
he is none the worse for his near-death experience, Probe asks Astra 4:
"Could I have a word with you in private, please? It's about a rather -
er - delicate matter." Astra 4 realises that Probe is embarrassed. She
hadn't appreciated till now that a golem, as she tends to think of Probe
and Inquirer - could feel such an emotion. The Alliance's AIs are very
advanced, though; they even possess a sense of humour.
"If it's about my breasts, then there's no need for privacy," she says.
"I don't have many secrets from my 'sisters', or indeed their husbands.
And 'my' Synizn has already broken the news to me. He reminded me of how,
when he originally enlarged my breasts [1857], he didn't use the Crystallic
because the change would be next to impossible to undo without it. I asked
him in that case how come, as I had already been turned back from a demifox
by the Crystallic the first time, he was able to change me by enlarging
my breasts without using it. He said that adding something to a 'Crystalliced'
person was rather different from taking something away, and then went into
a long explanation about my matrix that I didn't really follow.
"He also said that when they changed me back from a demifox this last
time, they just told the Crystallics to restore me to my prior state, so
I went back to my immediately prior state. He thought the Crystallics'
strange sense of humour might have been a factor, too. Given any slack
at all, they would tend to take advantage of it. Then, with the death of
Sato and the need for haste to move against Zerm, coupled with me being
unconscious for a while, nobody thought to do anything about it whilst
the Crystallics were still working."
"I'm no mage," says Probe, "but that agrees with how I understand it."
"Well, I'm so relieved at no longer being a demifox, that this is a minor
inconvenience by comparison. And since Astra 3 has kindly given me some
of her bras, and some of her tops as well, it's not much of a problem.
Unless I was to get involved in a swordfight, which I suppose isn't very
likely to happen now." Her voice sounds slightly wistful at this point.
She enjoys being a wife and mother, but it was nice when she only had herself
to worry about, and could get into all sorts of adventures. It would have
been different had she been heir to the throne, of course, with its attendant
responsibilities, but in her Aqualaria she had had an elder sister. She
goes on: "Anyway, Astra 3 has pointed out to me that it's not all bad news."
"Yes," Astra 3 chips in. "The milk machine that was produced for Astras
1 and 2 is big and heavy and not really portable, so their babies have
to remain in Walants. Which means that the Astras can't be away from Walants
for more than a few hours, since they don't want to leave their babies
in the hands of others for too long. Whereas, when I wanted to track down
Dr Vincent I was able to bring my babies with me. Of course, we can't produce
another milk machine using a Crystallic now, but I dare say the Alliance
could produce something similar for Astra 5, assuming that she doesn't
want to go to Walants. And here in Ethiopia, things are well enough organised
that a supply of fresh cow's milk is no problem.
"To get back to the advantages. To my surprise, although it's time-
consuming and means I have to eat like a horse, I've come to find breastfeeding
very satisfying. And Fred likes my new figure too. I did nearly cause him
to have a fit, though, when I teased him that I was thinking of having
my hips widened to match." Fred 3 blushes. "So I'm definitely going to
leave things as they are until I wean my brood in three or four months
time. After that, I'm not sure."
"So what do you all plan to do now?" Probe asked, looking to change
the subject. "Minestus is dead, so are Zerm and his friends, the damage
from the nuclear weapons has been cleaned up, the Phage has been neutralised,
and the slipgate system has been safely closed down. So for once there
seems to be no danger threatening or any task that needs doing, so you
can please yourselves."
"Astra and I have discussed this," says Fred 3, for once managing to
get in ahead of his wife. "We want to go somewhere where we can do some
good. Ethiopia, Aqualaria and Walants are obviously already being well
looked after, but with the world's population so reduced, there is much
that needs to be done elsewhere. It occurred to us that a vast area of
what used to be Allaria is now uninhabited, and mostly covered by thick
forest. Underneath the trees, though, there's a lot of fertile soil that
really ought to be farmed. We thought we might lead a band of settlers,
and start reclaiming some of the land. Of course, it will be many generations
before we can settle more than a very small fraction of it. It will take
some time to find volunteers - I think we'd need at least fifty for it
to be viable - and organise the necessary supplies. We will need to take
a lot with us, as it is going to take a year or two before we will be self-sufficient."
Probe can't help thinking of American history on his own Earth, and
of the wagon trains in the 19th century that headed westward across the
Great Plains. "That sounds very worthwhile," he says. "Yes," says Fred
4. "My wife and I" - how nice that sounds, he thinks, not for the first
time - "are tempted to go along too. But we won't make a final decision
yet. We haven't really been here long enough yet to find out about all
the options." "Nor have we," says Astra 5. "In any case, if Fred and Astra
3 are planning to leave before my babies are weaned, that won't be an option
for us, as we have to be somewhere where there is a reliable supply of
fresh milk. Though the accelerated development the Crystallics subjected
the babies to has got them out of the incubators, they are only at the
equivalent of a couple of weeks old, so they won't be weaned for a long
time yet."
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 Meanwhile...
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