Third Moon Rising Read online

  Add another touchy issue the leader of the diplomatic team must worry about, mused Carlos. Performing in a diplomatic role was becoming more stressful than he had imagined.

  That night he slept poorly and experienced the first bad dreams since the survey mission to Democritus.

  Exposure to Zilan society continued to make life interesting, as was the process of evolving the small human society within the embassy. And the extent to which team members went to make life more interesting presented some surprises periodically, with most being pleasant.

  One morning early in the fifth lunar cycle of their stay on Zilia, Carlos woke to the sound of whoops and hollers from down the hall near their bedroom. It sounded like an excited George Sayer, and Carlos got up immediately to investigate.

  “There’s no need to go see what’s going on,” Gloria said sleepily from bed. “Just sniff the air and you can tell what has George so excited.”

  There was a familiar, faint, sweet aroma in the air, but he couldn’t place it for several seconds. Then it dawned on him—it was the smell of liquorice. Now where had Amanda found the plant roots to make the candy on Zilia? He headed to the bathroom as he heard the commotion move toward the kitchen where Amanda was surely preparing the candy.

  Amanda had indeed found an indigenous plant similar to the liquorice plant of Earth. The Zilans used its roots to brew a strong tea instead of making the black, gummy candy. Amanda had discovered the liquorice tea during a lunch outing.

  Carlos was further surprised in the next lunar cycle when a good lager beer was presented at the dinner table. He could hardly believe Jorge Shivaro had produced the beer, and not George, who had a well-known fondness for ale. They had enjoyed the local wines and spirits consumed in moderation by the Zilans, but good beer was missing. The Zilans produced stout, dark ale, not at all to the liking of most of the team.

  The team partnership relationships strengthened in the relaxed social environment, as did individual relationships among those of the entire team. Carlos and Gloria had become even closer for having to deal with his attraction to Ceripe. Time passed quickly as they learned about this new world and developed strong ties with their counterparts. It helped that Earth and Messier Colony leaders were satisfied with the steady flow of information the team provided.

  Everything is going very well indeed, Carlos thought, as he sat watching sunset from a comfortable bench in the city park west of the embassy. He came here frequently at sunset and was pleasantly surprised that all Zilans in the park stayed their distance. Gloria often joined him after he had some time alone to reflect on events.

  This evening he had a nagging worry that everything was going too well but couldn’t pin down what was driving that worry. Perhaps he was just reacting to the stress of leading the diplomatic team and dealing with the conflicts the growing relationship between him and Ceripe presented. Facing haunting, unanswerable questions about similarities between living species on Earth and Zilia did not help either. His troubled dreams were another unsettling factor.

  In spite of this, and after twelve lunar cycles on Zilia, he had concluded it was time to proceed with expanding technology exchange relations. They had yet to discover anything that would pose a threat to expanding relations and establishing an Earth exploration site on Zilia. In addition, the information they had assimilated provided tantalizing inducement to learn more details about many areas kept from them. So why was he worried? He couldn’t shake it off.

  The first Primary Two-Moon Phase since the team’s arrival would occur in two lunar cycles, and it afforded an excellent opportunity to consummate an expanded agreement between the two civilizations. This would be in keeping with the Zilan tradition of making major announcements and decisions during the Primary Two-Moon Phase. It being a Holy Seven-Year Two-Moon Phase was even better.

  Carlos sighed as he got up from the bench to walk back to the compound in the thickening dusk. All he knew to do was to intensify team efforts over the next two lunar cycles to collect and assess information to make sure no major problems went undetected.

  They would proceed as planned, but cautiously.

  TWELVE

  CONFRONTATION

  What could be so urgent that Sharon Ling asked they drop everything to meet with her as soon as she could get back from the Zilerip Public Library? No doubt something important had come up, as inferred by her tense and excited voice in the call to Carlos at the embassy.

  Carlos asked Gloria to round up George, Laura, and Karen, and then meet him in the main meeting room. They had just settled into their seats when Sharon rushed through the door.

  “You won’t believe this!” Sharon could hardly speak as she gasped for breath. Her gray eyes flitted around with excitement as she continued. “I’ve just discovered Zilia’s population has steadily declined for hundreds of years. And I’ve discovered why!”

  “Please calm down and tell us what is going on,” Carlos said in a soothing tone, but his words did little to calm Sharon.

  Gloria brought a glass of water to Sharon and placed a hand on her shoulders in a comforting manner. “All right, Sharon, calm down before you keel over from the strain. We have plenty of time here.” She sat down beside Sharon and coaxed her to take a drink of the water before proceeding to explain her outburst.

  Sharon tried to calm down, but it was clear the only way she was going to relax was by telling them what she had discovered. She had gone to the library to continue researching the Zilan civilization history. All data archive terminals in the public area were busy, so she had waited for one to free up. One of Counselor Largena’s lowerlevel staff came into the library and found her waiting for access. He located an idle terminal in a private room reserved for the counselor’s staff and made it available to Sharon for her research activities.

  One aspect of Sharon’s research was to look at statistics on population growth by region, with the objective of identifying migration and population swings. She had been unsuccessful in finding this information previously but was still intent on doing so, and that was the first search she initiated on the private terminal.

  She found the Zilans had kept population statistics dutifully for all regions of Zilia during the past three millennia, which was a remarkable fact in itself. Using the private terminal, the data were now available from library archives. Plotted graphically, the data showed the population growing until it peaked approximately one millennium in the past. The population then started decreasing, first in the more heavily populated areas and later in the less populated areas.

  “I initiated another search of the archive to see if any reason for the population decline was evident,” Sharon said, somewhat calmer now. “My initial search revealed nothing. I next launched an expanded search encompassing medical research topics, and this identified a problem first addressed over two centuries ago. Medical reports showed that increasing numbers of males were becoming infertile and had been for several centuries. Recent reports verify that male infertility is still getting progressively worse.”

  “Did you determine what the Zilans are doing about this problem?” Laura asked.

  “According to the reports, they have conducted extensive research trying to solve the problem,” Sharon said. “But they haven’t found any cause or solution.”

  This stunning revelation caused Carlos’s ire to rise. Everyone else sat quietly, probably as stunned as he was.

  Then Karen broke the silence. “Now I understand why two-wife marriages were sanctioned early in the past millennium, and three-wife marriages some two centuries ago. They were first addressing the problem of more females being born than males and later trying to keep the population growing in spite of the male infertility problem.

  “This would explain another anomaly,” she continued after a reflective pause. “Families on Zilia consist mostly of one-wife or three-wife units, with very few two-wife units. The one-wife units that have endured seldom have any children. It’s obvious the men who are still f
ertile are much sought after and quickly take on two additional wives once the first wife becomes pregnant, almost as if it’s their civic duty to do so.”

  “There is yet another revealing observation from the population statistics, and it’s disturbing,” Sharon added. “Most of the people in the southern zone are either single individuals or childless families in monogamous relationships. Maybe they were driven to move to the southern zone through bias against those who could not produce children.”

  Damn, what a time to find this out, Carlos thought. A decreasing population caused by male infertility. Could the cause be something that could also affect their team? Was it something that could eventually make its way back to the Messier Colony? Based on Earth’s history, a major discrimination issue would not sit well with leaders there either.

  The female-to-male imbalance in the Zilan population was a concern as well. The same issue had become apparent on Earth in the twenty-first century, a product of genetic evolutionary bias. Incentives to adopt family planning to counter this trend, including choosing a child’s gender at conception, alleviated adverse effects of this imbalance on Earth. It was highly unlikely the Zilans would consider such family planning measures.

  “It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway.” Gloria had a worried frown on her face as she continued. “It’s apparent the Zilan government has known about these issues a very long time. And they have mounted a concerted effort to keep the issues hidden from us.”

  And we still wouldn’t know about them but for Sharon gaining access via the private terminal, Carlos thought. The staff member had apparently overlooked that reserved terminals had broader access to information than the public-access ones. He doubted Sharon had known this as she began searching for information. Pity the poor staff member when Ceripe learned about what he had done.

  Carlos thought back to how the Zilans had appeared very open with respect to conditions in the southern temperate zone. They indicated the zone was heavily into mining and harvesting of natural resources to support manufacturing and construction activities in the northern zone. In return, the northern zone provided medical and technical supplies and assistance, as well as finished products to meet southern zone needs. They described the southern zone as frontier territory, with people of hardy stock moving there to better their fortune.

  His requests to travel to the southern zone had been deftly set aside each time, with detailed briefings and other materials provided instead. He had believed this delaying tactic was associated with the Zilans not wanting to reveal their mining and production capabilities. The public news and general media broadcasts in the southern zone were also produced by the northern zone, which was no reason for major concern, but it should have set off flags to the team for closer examination.

  Now he was sorry he had not pushed harder to visit the southern zone. Why was he dwelling on the southern zone issue when the infertility problem was a much more serious issue? Because Ceripe had specifically misled him several times with respect to visiting the southern zone!

  The immediate question was, what should they do about the situation now? He was on the verge of recommending expanding technology exchange and establishing an Earth research station on Zilia. They needed to understand the issues better, and why the Zilans had intentionally misled them, before finalizing any such recommendation. The best place to start was to address the issues with Ceripe.

  Carlos directed the team to keep private what they knew about the decreasing population and its apparent cause, and then headed to Ceripe’s office. He was just upset enough that he forgot to call ahead for an appointment, but Serintha Meterah ushered him in as if he did indeed have a meeting scheduled.

  “Counselor, I need to talk to you about something that could have serious ramifications for our continuing diplomatic relations,” he said firmly.

  Ceripe raised her head with surprise from the papers she was reading, and started to smile at his unannounced intrusion. The smile faded as she saw the expression on his face.

  “What do you mean, Carlos?” she chided. “What could be so serious it would warrant you coming here for an impromptu meeting? That is not the diplomatic way.”

  “One of my team came across some information by accident today,” he replied sharply, “that indicates your people are experiencing an infertility problem and have been for some time. She also learned Zilia’s population has been decreasing over the past millennium, with more significant decreases in the past two centuries. Why have you kept this secret from us?”

  He stopped dead in his tracks at the shocked look on her face. So it wasn’t true, or she didn’t know about it. She appeared as shocked as he was to learn about the issue. That thought made him feel better for a moment, but that moment was short-lived.

  “How dare you push into my office to raise such a subject!” she said, and stood defiantly. He had never seen her express anger, but there was no doubt he was seeing it now. “You are treading on very private information. If anything is to cause a fracture in our diplomatic relationship, it is your arrogant approach in bringing up the matter!”

  This set him back on his heels, but then his own anger rose. “Is my team at risk of being infected by whatever is causing the problem here? Do you think our government would have invested the tremendous resources and time required to launch and support this mission if exposure to something so serious was likely to occur? In particular, would they have done so if they knew it could result in our bringing the malady back to infect our own population? What am I supposed to say to my superiors?” He was ranting as he concluded the questioning.

  “This was not a major concern when we agreed to your visit,” Ceripe shot back. “And you have to admit, there are many things you have held back from telling us!”

  Then she lowered her eyes, and he knew she was not telling him everything. He had come to believe she always told the truth, and he still believed she did. However, it was apparent that the people from Earth were not the only ones that could practice deception. He could tell from her reaction that people in power in her government had discussed this issue. She was simply giving him the party line.

  “You did not answer my question,” he said in an accusatory tone. “Is there something here that could infect our team and be carried back with us?” He didn’t add that it was unlikely they would be going back.

  She groped for words, but none would come. She sat down abruptly and buried her face in her hands. He had never seen her so flustered and couldn’t tell if it was from anger or despair.

  “Counselor, I don’t know what this will do to our plans,” he stated more calmly, trying hard to regain composure. “I must think this through carefully before notifying my superiors. I am unsure what their reaction will be, but it could be drastic with respect to our mission here.”

  She raised her head but remained quiet and kept her eyes downcast. He turned and walked briskly out.

  Carlos began feeling guilty on the ride back to the embassy. Had he been right to force a private meeting before doing more homework and calming down? Had their discussion quickly degenerated into angry words because of his brusque attitude when confronting her?

  Ceripe was a very strong willed but reasonable person, and he had come to respect and trust her. Her reaction confirmed that the Zilans had tried to keep the infertility problem a secret, and this eroded his trust. He recalled her immediate resentment when he challenged her on the subject. What a mess this could become!

  He had a growing sense of panic, much like that experienced in bad dreams, and looked around the public transit car for the first time since boarding. The only other people sharing the car with him were a woman and three children, who were engrossed in reading a book. A normal scene, which had a calming effect on him.

  However, his agitation peaked again as he entered the embassy. Gloria intercepted him in the entryway and recognized his irritated state. She nudged him firmly toward his office for a private talk before they joined
the others.

  “I apologize for my critical statements about the Zilans keeping this information from us,” she said. “I didn’t mean to add to your concern.”

  “It’s OK,” he replied as they entered his office, and then he hugged her. “You didn’t cause a problem. But I’m afraid I did. I lost my temper in the meeting with Ceripe.” He went on to describe the exchange with Ceripe.

  Gloria pulled back and looked at him with concern. It was totally out of character for him to react as he had.

  “Do you have any idea why you reacted as you did?” she asked softly.

  He couldn’t keep his facial expression from showing his anguish. He simply shook his head negatively. He seldom became angry about anything and always thought before he spoke in addressing delicate or confrontational subjects. He had certainly lost his composure and lashed out immediately in Ceripe’s office.

  “Could it be you are bothered more than you would like to admit by the infertility issue, considering our team situation? Not to mention your feeling let down by someone you have come to trust and like very much?” Gloria spoke in a soothing voice.

  Carlos cringed and couldn’t answer. Yes, it was likely. As much as he had come to love Gloria, there was still that little something missing that he had not been able to identify. Was it because they couldn’t have children? That was probably a big part of it. The southern zone discrimination issue would be of less concern if not for his being misled.

  A deep feeling of loss had come over him, contributing with the feeling of lost trust to create erratic emotional behavior at the most inopportune time.

  He pulled Gloria close. “I believe you’re right, sweetheart. Our inability to have children is certainly a major stress factor. And yes, I was hurt by what Ceripe indicated about keeping the infertility information from us. I’m afraid I’ve created quite a mess.”