Chapter 16

"A mind that is stretched by new experience can never go back to its old dimensions."

-Oliver Wendell Holmes

Singapore was the most beautiful place Elizabeth had ever seen. They were staying at an exotic resort, and that first day they went to the famous Botanical Gardens. Dresle was in raptures, and Elizabeth took over a hundred pictures on her phone. The Vellorians were learning quickly how to use their new phones, although their communication ability was limited.

Most of Singapore, of course (an island of two hundred and thirty nine square miles and six million people) consisted of skyscrapers, and new buildings were endlessly springing up. However, one could not fail to notice the hovel-like tenements that had been set up for the workers, like shanties up against the fantastic glass sky-scrapers. The public transportation system there was flawless, but the Vellorians were driven around in a great government vehicle, although owning cars was now illegal in Singapore. There were giant double-decker buses and electric taxis.

"Singapore used to be well-known for all its rules and laws," said Elizabeth, "spitting on the sidewalk or not flushing the toilet could lead to a fine, or caning. But since it was the most financially successful place in Asia, the rest of Asia began to follow suit – not with the caning, though," she added quickly as Dresle opened her mouth in shock.

Elizabeth still had not recovered from the earthquake two days before, and was exhausted despite the wonders around her. When they returned to the resort that evening, while the others were getting ready for dinner, Elizabeth found a private place where she could talk outside and dialed a number on her phone. After a few rings, a female voice picked up in a British accent.

"Dr. Carlson's office, how can I help you?"

"Hi, this is Elizabeth Bennet. I'm a patient of Dr. Carlson. Could I speak with him, please?"

"He is with a patient right now. May I ask what this is regarding?"

"Yes. It's about my medication," she lowered her voice instinctively. "It – uh – hasn't been working so well lately."

"Very well. May I have your phone number and I will have Dr. Carlson call you back at the first opportunity."

"Thank you," said Elizabeth, and after giving her number, hung up and went back inside.

Dresle was sitting in the room reading Around the World in Eighty Days. She had been enchanted with it ever since she started it, although she read very slowly because she was always looking up information or at the map. To Elizabeth's surprise, she did not have questions about the boats, carriages, watches, the telegraph, or international time zones. Instead, she wanted to know about banks, card games, newspapers, and arrest warrants. Elizabeth tried to explain about them, although she was still mentally and physically exhausted from the ordeal in Tokyo.

Dresle stayed up most of the night reading – she needed very little sleep – and Elizabeth lay awake in her room because she could not sleep. She was listening to the end of Little Dorrit on audio, trying to relax, when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hello, Elizabeth? It's Dr. Carlson, calling back."

"Dr. Carlson! Thank you so much for calling."

"No problem, no problem," he smiled. He was a white-haired man with a kind face. Elizabeth could see he was sitting in his office. "I haven't heard from you in a few months. How have you been doing?"

"I've – been doing all right. But I wanted to talk to you – I've been having some trouble, despite the medication."

"Well, let me look at my calendar and we can set up a date and time for you to come in."

"I'm afraid I can't – I'm out of the country."

"Oh, really?" he looked up in surprise. "Visiting family?"

"No, actually, I'm in Singapore. The U.N. chose me as a translator to travel with the – Vellorians."

"Heavens! So that means you were in Tokyo!"

"Yes."

"Are you all right?"

"Physically, yes."

"I see. So, what is the issue?" He got a concentrated look on his face and got out some digital files to look at.

"Just – what I've had before," she said, hesitant even with him.

"Mood swings? Anxiety? Insomnia?"

"Yes, and – and bad dreams."

"And what are the dreams usually about?"

"About – about my parents. My childhood."

"I see. And you're still taking the forty milligrams of Paxil every morning?"

"Yes."

"But you're still experiencing problems?"

"Yes."

"All right. I am going to recommend a mild sedative that you can take before bed, or if you are having panic attacks. It won't help with the depression, but if you find that's continuing to be a problem, call me again and we might have to go up on your Paxil. I will send in a prescription before I leave work today. Is there a pharmacy nearby that I can contact?"

After Elizabeth had hung up with Dr. Carlson, Dresle came and knocked on her partially-opened door.

"Yes?" said Elizabeth. She had forgotten Dresle was in the suite.

"I – had a question." She held the library in her hand.

"Sure."

"You can't sleep?" asked Dresle.

"No."

Dresle sat down on the side of the bed and showed her the page she was reading. In it Passepartout was telling Inspector Fix that he did not believe his master was really going around the world. "I am really amazed by this historian, Jules Verne. How does he remember full conversations like this one? And how can he know what this Passepartout is thinking?"

"Historian?" repeated Elizabeth. "Jules Verne was not an historian."

"He wasn't?" Dresle looked surprised. "I don't understand."

"This isn't a work of history, of fact. It's fiction."

"Fiction?"

"It's a story. It's made up by Jules Verne's imagination."

"But, these people – Fogg, and Passepartout, and Fix, they were all real people, yes?"

"No," Elizabeth shook her head. She was realizing that Dresle had probably never understood what she meant by "literature." "This is a novel – which means it's fiction. It's all made up."

"The whole thing?"

"Well, the locations are described with historical accuracy. There's also some interesting cultural points – such as, it shows a Frenchman's view of the English. It also shows the Frenchman's idea of how the English view the French."

"I see," said Dresle, although Elizabeth was not sure she did.

"So the background of the story is historically accurate," Elizabeth continued, "but the characters, as well as the story, are made up."

"All right," said Dresle. "I think I know what you mean. Our literature was mostly in the form of poetry and historic or scientific manuscripts. Can anyone write fiction?"

"Of course," said Elizabeth. "When I was a child I used to write little stories."

"And anyone can read them?"

"Yes."

"That is very interesting."

"There is also something called movies – or TV shows, which tell stories, too. They are portrayed by actors."

"This TV?" Dresle pointed doubtfully at the large screen in the room.

"Yes," said Elizabeth, surprised. "You've watched TV."

"I thought what was on the TV was real."

"Well, it is – I mean, the news is…" she faltered. How was she supposed to explain this? It was so strange that anyone should not know the difference. But then, of course, she thought, how could Dresle know? "You can tell because certain channels are always news – like the ones we watch. There are other things called Reality Shows." She stopped. How did she explain that? "That's real," she said. "They are following someone around with a camera to see how they behave in certain situations."

"So they could be recording us right now?" said Dresle.

"No," said Elizabeth, although she knew there were cameras everywhere. "They wouldn't broadcast it without a person's knowledge and consent."

"Oh."

"But fiction on television is very common. You can usually tell, if there's music in the background. And actors and actresses play the parts." She did not know how else to explain it, but Dresle did not ask anymore. Instead, she stood at the door for a moment, hesitating.

"What is it?" asked Elizabeth.

"I couldn't help but overhear," said Dresle, embarrassedly, Elizabeth's heart began to beat faster and her face flushed. "But I heard you talking … Are you all right? I mean, are you ill?"

"No, I'm not ill," said Elizabeth almost angrily. "Why would you think that?"

"I – I heard you talking to a doctor," said Dresle.

"Yes," Elizabeth admitted. "I was. But I'm not sick."

Dresle looked sheepish. "I'm sorry. I was just worried for you."

Elizabeth relaxed a bit. "It's okay. I'm fine, really."

Dresle nodded and left the room.

But Elizabeth was still uneasy. After a few minutes had passed she got up and walked in her socks through the living room, where the kitten was sleeping on the couch and Dresle was sitting, reading.

"Dresle?" she said cautiously.

She looked up from her book. "Yes?"

"Please … don't tell anyone."

Dresle nodded with a smile. "All right."

The next morning before breakfast, Dresle approached Elizabeth. Elizabeth was worried she was going to talk about last night, but instead she said, "Elizabeth, I was wondering if you could ask today about going to see the animals."

"Of course!" said Elizabeth, relieved. "Actually, you know what – why don't you ask?"

"Me?" she looked surprised and hesitant.

"Yes," Elizabeth insisted. "You're not a prisoner."

Dresle looked down doubtfully at the tracking bracelet on her wrist.

"You're a guest," Elizabeth continued. "I'm sure they'd be pleased to take you wherever you want to go"

Dresle looked doubtful, but still at breakfast Elizabeth saw her approach the liaison and speak with him. When she came back she was smiling.

"He said he would check, but that he was almost certain I could go. Maybe tomorrow, he said."

It soon became clear that the A.C. government was going to start giving the Vellorians more leeway in choosing individual activities that they would enjoy. That day they went to China Town – which was, in itself, the size of a small city. Even before they reached it, a strong smell of fish permeated the air. There were hundreds of outdoor market stalls lining the streets on either side. They were selling not only fish, but all kinds of food, fruits, and poultry. The chickens – which still had their heads and legs – all had a date on them of when they were butchered – most of them were only two or three days before. There were also jet black birds that looked like chickens. Elizabeth had no idea what they were – and also small pigs hanging fresh for sale.

The fruit stands interested Elizabeth most. They had every different kind of fruit she could ever imagine wanting – or not wanting. There was one particular fruit, called a durian, which had a most putrid smell. Elizabeth remembered seeing on the buses a picture of a durian with a circle and slash through it. She had wondered what it meant at the time. She actually gagged when she leaned down to smell the odd, spiky fruit. It was truly repulsive. But when the woman behind the stand offered her a piece of the inner orange flesh to try, Elizabeth found it rather tasty. There were also star fruit, papaya, mango, rambutan, and many other fruits that she had never seen before or heard of. The rambutan, Elizabeth thought, were especially good. The Vellorians had each been given a small allowance of money, and so she and Dresle sat and ate some of the rambutan. They were very strange-looking fruits. They were pink with long, green spikes sticking out, not sharp enough to prick. To eat, they easily took off the outer layer to reveal a whitish, light, succulent fruit with a seed inside. The fruit itself was only about an inch in diameter, but the seed inside was very hard and indigestible.

There were also stands where they sold fruit drinks – literally chopped fresh fruit blended together in front of them and then served in a cup. Elizabeth got pineapple while Dresle chose dragon fruit. They all walked along, drinking, while looking at the stands. Elizabeth could see some posters hanging up on the walls of the buildings around. One of them had a picture of an adorable Asian child on it, and then the words around the top – "The more you have, the less they get. One is enough," and underneath it in smaller letters: "Family Planning / Sterilisation Information Service." Another sign read, "One is ideal. Sterilisation – the best method for family limitation."

"What does that mean?" asked Dresle.

"It's for population control," answered Elizabeth.

Nearby there were stalls selling fried rice and some other prepared food. Arjen was hungry and suggested stopping to eat there. There were some circular wooden tables and they all – even the guards – sat down to eat. It was the best food Elizabeth had ever tasted. It was flavourful and succulent the way nothing she had ever eaten before was.

They stayed out all day, and when it was time to go back to the hotel, Elizabeth asked permission to stay behind and find her own way back. She stopped by the pharmacy and picked up the prescription Dr. Carlson had sent for her. She had to wait about forty-five minutes for the right bus, then used the bus card she had been given when she arrived there. It was one of the double length buses – like two buses linked together, one behind the other, but able to turn or bend in the middle. Elizabeth sat down in the back of the bus, and looking across from her saw the most interesting person she had ever laid eyes on. It was a young Malaysian woman, perhaps only in her twenties, with a beautiful face and slender cheek bones – but she was albino. Her skin was not only completely white, but so was her hair – which was like a cloud; and her eyes were pink. Elizabeth was careful not to stare, and the woman got off at the next stop. She was thinking how interesting Will would find the genetic mutation. There were people of all different ethnicities here. There were Indians, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, Thai, New Zealanders and Australians. There were even Europeans and Americans.

Once at the hotel, she went up to the thirtieth floor, which was where their suites were. Dresle greeted her excitedly with the news that the next day she was going to be allowed to go to the zoo, and would Elizabeth like to come with her?

"I would love to," responded Elizabeth. "What are the others doing?"

"Going to see different things – whatever they wanted to see. I think Svaltu and Christoph wanted to go to the museum, and they're taking Marco to the nuclear power plant. I'm not sure about the others."

Elizabeth slept well that night with her new medicine. The next day, they left for the zoo with two guards and spent the entire day there. It was incredibly large, and Elizabeth believed they could have spent several days there. All of it was in a tropical rain forest setting, and the animal habitats were extraordinarily consistent with natural settings. It was extremely hot and humid outside, but Dresle seemed able to adjust to it: she had no more problem with the heat than she had with the arctic cold. But Elizabeth was grateful for the occasional stop in an air-conditioned section. There were men riding elephants calmly down the paths. They even had a large indoor section on extinct species, where they featured animals like the panda bear and the Bengal tiger. They not only had videos of the animals, but also genuine stuffed specimens.

"I remember when the pandas went extinct," said Elizabeth. "That was a sad day."

"Why did they die out?" asked Dresle.

"Same way all the others did, really. Hunting them, at first, and then industrialization, destroying their habitats and their food source. And the pandas wouldn't breed in captivity."

"Hm… yes, we had some extinct animals on our planet, too," said Dresle. "That was mainly due to hunting, though."

"Can I ask…" said Elizabeth after a moment of silence, "Why do you always refer to your planet or culture in the past tense?"

Dresle looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"You always say, 'it did,' or 'it was.' You never speak of it as still existing."

Dresle turned pale. "Well, no, that's not what I mean," she responded. "I mean that, for us, it doesn't exist. I mean, we're so far away. But it still exists."

"What do you mean, for you it doesn't exist?"

"Because we're not there anymore," said Dresle. "Come, let's go on. I want to see the elephants."

Elizabeth deduced from this that Dresle did not want to discuss it. And she had been unwilling to say whether they would, or could, go back home to their planet. Was it possible that they could not go back, that maybe their planet was destroyed?

That evening she made sure she was far from their suite and she called Secretary Liam's secretary to recount her suspicions. She had no proof, of course. And she did not say anything of the other Vellorians who had died on the journey, as she had promised.

Dresle finished reading Around the World in Eighty Days that night, and was eager to talk to Elizabeth about it. She seemed to have enjoyed it immensely. "But I've had trouble visualizing some of the places," she said. "I don't know what they look like – except Singapore, China, and Japan. The United States sounds very primitive."

"Well, it's a lot different now," Elizabeth couldn't help smiling. "And it's not the United States anymore. It's part of the United Federation of States."

"And do they really have Mormons there? And do they have multiple wives?"

"Mormons live there, but they no longer practice polygamy. It was made illegal."

"And the suttee – do they still do that in India?"

"Absolutely not. But they still worship the same gods – you will see when we go to India."

"Is that where we're going next?"

"I have no idea," said Elizabeth.

"Do you have another book that I can read?"

"Absolutely," Elizabeth smiled.

Before they left Singapore, the A.C. determined to continue the interviews that had been cut short in Japan. However, they did all four of them on separate days and in different venues. Marco's was first, in Singapore. Then, when they moved to Australia, Svaltu was next. Arjen was third, and Dresle was last. She was more used to being on camera now, and was less nervous. She told the interviewer all about Around the World in Eighty Days, as well as Tom Sawyer, which she had also by that time read. There was a sticky moment when the interviewer asked her if she had someone special in her life – like a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Elizabeth whispered frantically into the microphone that led to Dresle's ear not to get angry, to simply answer "no." Dresle was able to control herself well, her face only turning very red in anger. When the interviewer asked her why she, Svaltu, and Esma, refused to wear make-up, Dresle responded with some confusion that it was not their way to try to "improve" their appearance – and was makeup actually an improvement, anyway? The interviewer, who was a woman, seemed to find this a great point, and from that moment on never wore make-up on her show. Dresle admitted to loving animals, and was even allowed to bring Sebastian the cat on stage. The audience seemed charmed, and Elizabeth was convinced that from that moment, she had become Vellorum's sweetheart.