I awoke to find Anna on the veranda looking at my laptop with a giant mug of coffee beside her. Something else she took up while I was out.
"Good morning, Princess. What cha' readin'?"
"Some of your stories, I hope you don't mind."
"Nope, there should be no secrets between us- and since they're all about you- they should seem familiar to you."
"I caught the one where I was wearing a white dress like the one the Masters had stuffed me in when I first met you."
"Yea, I really liked that image, with the espadrille sandals..." My voice kinda' trailed off thinking of that image, with a stupid looking grin on my face. I wonder if she'll ever wear some of the stuff either I imagined or like some of the artwork that's in there.
"You've been in love with me the whole time, haven't you?"
"Yes, but it's a God-damned annoying feeling."
"How's that?"
"You were never supposed to be real. On Earth, I had to face the fact that you would never exist. Yet here we are, having this conversation, getting ready to ride around on four pound bicycles in a space ship to meet our kingdom's subjects. Crazy doesn't even begin to describe this."
"It's a strange thing for me as well, but this is all I've ever known- except for the unusual memories- and I have a tough time deciphering them. The fact that I was created to love you makes it even stranger."
We've been awake on this barge for damn near a year. Well..., some of us anyhow. The things that have occurred during this short time frame have been mind numbing. Humans- or any biological life form, for that matter- are not designed for such fast paced change. Anna seemed to be able to roll with it. But now she's finding out that not everything we desire turns out the way we expect.
It was time to get on with our mission. Two hundred and thirty eight couples. Olaf was finally good enough to give me an accurate census of our population. This will take a very long time, but it must be done.
We are simply not going to have a traditional monarchy here. We will not be separated and isolated from the people. I said I wanted to have friends and I meant it. When we are not in an official capacity, I do not want to be called 'Your Majesty'. My name is Michael, and when we're are sitting around a campfire making s'mores, I don't want people feeling uncomfortable around Anna or myself.
Due to the nature of our mission, we would have to announce ourselves as Prince and Princess. This may cause some confusion amongst the populace that so far hasn't participated in any social or political gatherings, we kinda' sprung this shit on them.
"Olaf, can we get a map of all the dwellings in the Habitat?"
"You mean, like on paper?!"
"Well for me, that would be easiest, unless you have something else in mind?"
"We've been reluctant to share these with you since we know what affect they had on humans." An object appeared in the replicator. It was a tablet. It was already on once it materialized, with some strange symbols on its screen.
"Just tell it what you want, then you can navigate it much like what you're used to on Earth."
"OK..., Map of Habitat, show human domiciles." The screen was a bit on the small side, but I'm impressed that they went thru this much effort to accommodate us.
"Thanks Olaf, but this image is kinda' small..."
Olaf went up to it and said, "Show multi-dimensional image." A giant map floated in the center of the room, looking much like when Olaf showed me Anna's accident.
"If you touch it, it will move. You can also expand or contract its size." I started to manipulate the image, it was awesome! Every house was shown in great detail. Names and nationalities of the occupants were shown right beside them. This would prove to be a very valuable tool, besides being something else to play with.
"What else can this thing do, Olaf?"
"Everything…, it contains all information we took from your former world."
Olaf's spot on observation was disturbing. We had an entire planet of people mindlessly staring down at tiny screens just before I left. The Masters- and myself- didn't want that to happen here. We want for nothing. Basically we can have anything we want by merely saying some words to a machine, yet even that action has consequences. Once Anna and I went on this tour, we would find out how true this would be.
On our first time out, we would visit three couples. Olaf and Elsa talked to the assistances of everyone we would visit. I didn't want to just knock on people's doors and surprise them, although I would regret that decision a few times. I had no idea what to expect. There were many different cultures represented here, and in this environment- they may not react in what would seem the proper way. Some of these folks will need help, whether they want it or not.
We set out to the far side of the habitat. I wanted to have a somewhat random pattern to our visits. It wasn't an issue by bike; we could ride the full circle within an hour anyhow. Our first stop was a Canadian couple.
"Welcome to our home, your Highness..es." There was obviously some tension created by their attempt to address us.
"Wouln't you please come in?" Said the male.
"It was something of a surprise to us of your wish to visit here; may I inquire what this is all about?"
I'd let Anna go first, she's the diplomat. "We are going to meet one on one with all of our subjects in the Habitat. We want to make sure our people are happy and well taken care of."
"Thank you, when we were told of your visit, it frankly was a little frightening. We knew only that there was a prince and princess. We never went to any of the social functions here."
I decided to be the bad guy, and grill out some of the harder questions. "Which one of you is the Earthling?"
"That would be me." It was the female. In time I wouldn't have to ask this question as much. Usually the best looking person of the couple would be the alien; it was certainly true in my case. He looked quite normal, but a hansom normal, you know what I mean….
"So how did Geoffrey come about?"
"You know our names?" I whipped out the tablet and showed them their house.
"Oh. I don't suppose we'll be getting one of those."
"I'm sorry, no. The Masters were reluctant to give me one. Unfortunately, on earth, this type of thing was an addiction that was turning the human race into a bunch of mindless zombies; I for one will not allow that to happen here. Can you please answer my question?"
"Forgive me, your Highness, I..."
"Michael, you can address me as Michael while I'm in your home. Even though we are on official business, I would like to stay away from formalities for now. I want to make friends here, and this is your home. I am merely a guest."
"Well,..um,..yes, Geoffrey here was a teacher I had a severe crush on when I was in high school." She nervously took his hand and had something of an awkward smile. She was obviously in love with him, and I already knew what his feelings were, I didn't have to ask.
"How old were you when you were abducted?" Anna asked this. We had a standard set of questions we would ask, and we would alternate so it didn't look like either one of us were being dominant.
"Ninety six." Holy shit! Did she ever get rescued from death's door! Then it occurred to me, so did I.
"What did you pray for?"
"How did you know I prayed?"
"It is a commonality among all of us Earthlings; I would just like to hear your story."
"The one thing I prayed for every day was for true love to return to the world. I remember what it was like so long ago. The world seemed like it had forgotten how to love."
"On that point Margaret, we are in agreement."
"While I loved my husband John- God rest his soul- it wasn't like what I felt for Geoffrey here. I always felt like he was a lost love." She was looking deep into his eyes; there was much happiness in them.
"So what have you two been doing since you got here, what have you done to avoid boredom?"
"Well..., we..., umm, have..."
"We've been going at it like rabbits." Geoffrey piped up.
"Geoffrey!"
"What?! I have nothing to be ashamed of. I love you, and we're all adults here."
"This is true Geoffrey. We will have to eliminate a lot of our sexual taboos in order for our new society to work; we may even have to do some interbreeding at some point."
"Wait! What?!" I apparently caught Anna by surprise. Olaf and I had this discussion a while back, and I didn't bring it up around Anna, as she was 'new', opps.
"The fact is, there are not that many of us. In order for the gene pool to function properly, we may have to intermingle our breeding partners to insure there's not any inbreeding."
"I don't think this was the appropriate time to bring this subject up, Prince Michael." Anna said with a hint of anger.
"I apologize, everyone. I admit my diplomatic skills are somewhat lacking." Margaret had a look of embarrassment on her face, time to change the subject.
"OK, on a lighter note. Margaret, what do you think you can bring to the table for our new society? What hobbies and interests did you have, and what was your occupation?"
"Well, I acquired some nursing skills during the war, but I was a housewife for many years. At the time it was an accepted practice."
"My mother was the same, but she eventually had to work."
""I really never had any hobbies, I used to knit and make my own clothes, that doesn't seem very useful right now." She was expressing a type of shame upon this revelation. I saw no shame in it what-so-ever.
"Those skills you profess may come in very handy once we get to the Homeworld. I'm not sure the technology we've enjoyed here is going to stick around, and I will be preparing us for its absence, just in case."
"Have you spoken to the Aliens directly?" Said Geoffrey
"No, they are very xenophobic. I am trying to convince them it would be in everyone's best interest if we spoke face to face, I just don't know when that'll be."
"I for one would like to know the reason for my existence, the real reason."
"I'm assuming it'll be some type of evolutionary jump once we start breeding." This statement produced a look of shock from everyone.
"This is something I've feared since our assistant explained our role here, what if the children we produce are some type of h-horrible monsters?" Said Margaret with a notable amount of concern in her voice.
Anna always wore her emotions on her sleeve, her eyes were very telling, and I could see the deep level of worry in them upon hearing this question. As a woman, I'm sure this thought concerned her.
"Believe me, Margaret. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this myself. One of the conclusions I've come to is the Aliens have had an absence of love within their existence, and have chosen us to teach it to them. As witnessed by Princess Funny Face over here, they are experts at gene manipulation." The scowl on Anna's face was priceless, but she knew where I was going with this. I still gave her a big smile.
"They may be raising their own by the same creation methods used to make Anna and Geoffrey. They may be genderless, and this is causing a slow die-off of their species due to a lack of diversity, or even a lack of love. I really want to solve this mystery; it is one of my primary goals."
"Margaret, is there anything else you wish to add, or say to us before we go?" Anna was practically cooing, her voice very soothing.
"I did have a horse for a while when I was younger, and I've seen a few around the Habitat, I don't suppose I'll be able to interact with them, eh?"
"Have I got a job for you, Margi!"
So we said our goodbyes and told them to forward any concerns they may have our way in the future. We are here to serve. Anna also set up some time for Margaret to spend time with Kjekk, and he would turn out in time to be a community project. This would free up some time for Anna, something that I greatly appreciated.
So our first time out didn't go too bad. At least we didn't get into any arguments. But I'm not holding my breath. One of the things I've observed is the Hybrides, and their male equivalents are somewhat quiet. I wish I could say the same for mine. Anna seems quite different, not just in appearance, but in abilities as well. Her strong, fearless leadership ability sets her apart; I swear this is by design. She was meant to lead these people, and I'm just coming along for the ride.
A/N, I'm quickly running out of material for this story, and the stuff I have left needs research, which I have no motivation for. We may be nearing the end…..