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The difference in where my life was going and where it was now was breathtaking.
I had resources and support in a way I didn’t know was possible from a romantic relationship.
All the potential directions of where I could go now fibonacci spiraled through my mind in endless possibilities, the salient linking point being the fact that I could choose.
My life had choices that weren’t dependent on the image I presented of myself.
I could create a life based on me.
But there was someone else in this equation.
“What do you want out of life?” I asked, realizing suddenly the depth of my self absorption. Everything from the marriage onward had been me, me, me. I didn’t know what Aeson wanted, other than the fact that he was down for what I wanted and needed.
“A nest,” he replied. “You in it. A life focused on creating beautiful things that bring joy, fulfillment, and the spread of useful knowledge.”
“The spread of useful knowledge?” I asked, continuing to swish my hands back and forth as I floated gently in the water. “What does that mean to you?”
“My species’ knowledge about humans is based primarily on the slaves rescued… and sometimes purchased… from the slave traders who originated on this planet,” he replied, his tail shifting through the water sending a current that gently pushed me a little bit towards his upper body. “I wish to provide a through, easily digestible information packet, in the form of a book or something else like that, to help my species understand and empathize with humans, as well as assist males applying for the mate program offer their best self to their new, delicate mates.”
“I love that.” I smiled, relaxing further in the water as the last of the tension left my body. “How do you feel about a documentary video that is a cultural explanation for both cultures? It can be a paired set, so that humans and Atisari can both see what is being said about one another.”
“That sounds like a project that needs a film studio.” He smiled back, the expression echoed in his body as his shoulders relaxed, showing me how much tension he had been carrying in his upper back.
“And a film crew,” I added. “And a budget.”
“Is this something you wish to get started on right away?” he asked.
There was a slight hesitation in his words, one that echoed in my heart.
“I believe I need to experience a proper honeymoon before I’m willing to throw myself into a new project.” I doled the words out slowly. “My husband has been quite busy and I’ve felt alone. Although the view is great, frankly, this place is just a bedroom with an empty film studio and a… room that we’re definitely going to repurpose for a different set.”
“This honeymoon suite film studio is definitely in the early state of its development.” He leaned back, his arms going on the rock as he pressed his upper back into the stones surrounding the pool. “What do you say to giving me a clear idea of what you want it to look like and I’ll have it worked on while we go to the place on Earth you’ve most wanted to visit and have never gone before?”
“But what about your… whole body.” I gestured at his tail.
Something brushed my ankle and a small thrill of fear brushed through me as I yanked my foot up and looked down in the water. The very end of his tail had snuck towards me to tickle my ankle.
I reached out with my toes and touched the tip of his tail.
He gently stroked the length of the body of my foot with it.
“I’ve gotten the go ahead to be myself on the surface,” he replied. “There are specific restrictions on how I’m supposed to handle interference, and I’ve been told that I may cause distress depending on where I go, but the only way for humans to acclimate to aliens is to see them in person so an alien as intimidating as me exposing myself in public is seen as a good thing. There will be a Norratar force on standby if there needs to be a direct intervention.”
“Exposure therapy for humanity as a whole,” I sighed. “Seems like a better choice than having a government that pretends that aliens don’t exist all the while selling people off to them.”
[ 22 ]
AESON
I looked at the variations in the stone walls in front of me, noticing how the old stones were were held together with newer material binding them in the cracks between them. I couldn’t see how any of my equipment could create something like that. The machinery that I used to do large scale builds would break down the feed material into components before using it to structure the construction.
This building in front of me, with its circular tower on one side and the porcine creature that was grunting at us, had to have been built with some very different technology. The porcine creature was larger than my mate and had tusks. It was behind a metal gate that was set down under the bottom of the building, like a hole dug down under the dwelling.
“How was this built?” I asked.
My mate looked up at me, smiling.
“A restored castle like this on top of a mountain, with a very narrow dirt road leading up to it, would have had to have been done by hand.” She pointed at a wall a short distance away that didn’t have the newer material present. It had crumbled, with jagged uneven edges on top and a pile of stones on one side. “It would have all been like that before they got it. The listing said that the owners did a huge amount of restoration but there is no way they could have gotten large machinery out here. They would have had to use a small bobcat or something like that if anything. I doubt there are any services out here. I don’t see power lines, just the solar panels and water tank… and look there is one of the atmospheric water generators the Norratar handed out for free to everyone.”
