Moved

While blogs certainly have their place, they are not good for continuing stories. Since this made it difficult to read I have started a whole website with the continuing story of Cassie and her friends and foes.

I am also the author of daily essays that tell about some event that occurred on the particular date. After the informative essay, I add several quotes that enhance the text. These, too, are included in my new website.

Edward Arrives

George and Cassie were in the withdrawing room sitting on brocade chairs placed at angles to a cheerily burning fire. There were gas lights on the walls that added a burnished shine to the mahogany furniture. George's family title was backed by solid investments and he was a wealthy man. His house reflected this wealth in an understated way.

George was pleased to be sharing this quiet time with Cassandra. This was one of his favorite ways to spend evenings after she came under his employ. She was intelligent, witty, charming, and extremely pleasant to look at. She had a touch of the pioneer spirit that was so American and George found it both fascinating and alluring.

They heard a commotion out in the hall and surmised that Edward had arrived.

****
Frau was summoned to the door by the sound of a walking stick smacking smartly on the carved oaken door. He assumed his most ponderous demeanor, approached the door, and opened the massive expanse of wood to reveal a very tall man. His hair was nearly black, his eyes were glacier blue, and he sported a highly distinctive handlebar mustache.

Luckily, Frau was an expert negotiator and poker player. He maintained his calm and took the man's coat, hat, and stick. He then somberly intoned, "Please follow me." Edward was gazing about the hall and not really looking at an insignificant butler. The help was really beneath his dignity. Frau led Edward into the withdrawing room.

He opened the double doors to the room and announced, "Edward Cornwallis," and bowed the man into the room. George stood to greet his guest who grandly swept into the room. Cassie first got a glimpse of him and turned her head sharply back, shocked and trying not to gasp aloud.

George met Edward near the door and brought him over to his guest to introduce. "Miss Gould, may I present Edward Cornwallis." He then turned to his guest, "Edward, this is Cassandra Gould."

Cassie sat demurely waiting to see what this despicable man would do. But he seemed to not recognize her. Certainly her bruises were covered, her dress was different, but she looked the same no matter if she was Cassie or Cassandra. But he showed no sign of recognition. Cassie, however, had a choice to make here. Taking the high road, and not wishing to offend George, she behaved in a decorous manner and cooed, "So pleased to make your acquaintance."

Edward was struck by the beauty of the creature before him and simply said, "Likewise." He then turned to George and said, "I didn't know there would be three for dinner."

"I'm sorry. I just found Cassandra here at The Station earlier today and hoped that you wouldn't mind company for dinner," George explained without really sounding the least bit sorry. If he had to choose who to have dinner with, Cassandra would win out over Edward.

****
After dropping Edward Cornwallis off in the withdrawing room, Frau gently closed the door. He almost ran to the kitchen. "Sten, you are not going to believe this. Dinner is going to be far more exciting than we imagined."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Sten who was working on last minute preparations for the event to come. There were several courses and even with technology as a friend, there was a lot of work to do. She pushed past Frau who stood there grinning like an idiot.

"Do you know who Edward Cornwallis is?"

"Probably Edward …" before Sten could even finish, Frau was gleefully interrupting.

"High Lord Thorton," and he burst into laughter.

Dinner Date

The three left the table and moved to Cassie's backyard. Sitting peacefully in the sunshine, Cassie asked tentatively, "What are you doing for dinner tonight?" She smiled pleasantly at George.

George leapt to his feet, "Dear heavens, I was so taken with seeing you again that I've simply lost my senses. I've impulsively invited a friend to my house for dinner. I met this man at my club. Edward Cornwallis. He's had me to dinner at his place twice. It was my turn to reciprocate. And so I invited him. But …" he looked around wildly, "I don't have Cook or any servants left at the manor. I was coming into town to try to find … help maybe or perhaps … I don't know."

Sten and Cassie began to laugh the more distraught George became. They had both planned dinner parties and knew how much work it took even if you knew what you were doing.

"Can I help somehow?" asked Cassie. "We could pick up one of these kitchen machines for you and I can enter a menu and then maybe serve the meal for you."

"Cassandra, I couldn't ask you to do that. If you were going to be at the dinner, it would be solely as my honored guest. Please don't think I would expect you to cook and serve a meal." George knew this wasn't her problem.

"Nonsense." Sten had other plans. "This sounds like too much fun. Cassie will be your guest. Cooking isn't an issue with the technology we have. I will be the maid and help serve. I'm pretty sure Frau will find this an enjoyable way to spend an evening. He will be your butler and help with the serving, if needed." Sten pulled out her communicator, called Frau and got his permission for the entire plan.

"What we need now is to go back into town and get a kitchen appliance, take it to your Manor House, and get Cassie all dressed up for a nineteenth century dinner party." Sten loved giving orders to men. Turning to Cassie she asked, "Do you have the proper clothing at the Manor House or do we need to shop for a dress of some sort?"

Cassie looked to George to see if her gowns were still there. "Yes, the house is just as it was left to me at the end of the aborted story." George hadn't changed a thing, hoping that Cassandra would find him there if everything looked the same.

Everyone got back into Cassie's car and went back to town. They acquired what they needed, including some extra frills for Cassie's somewhat plain dresses. Then they headed for Bindlewaithe Manor and waited for Frau to meet them there.

The kitchen was updated with one very out-of-place kitchen appliance. The three sat down and worked out a menu. Including several courses but centered on a leg of mutton as the entrée. Sten used Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, a copy of which was helpfully in the kitchen, to get recipes that were authentic and entered them into the appliance while George sat by mystified. She assured him that all would be well.

Frau arrived with several bottles of wine that were produced outside the time frame and highly unlikely to be in George's wine cellar. Everyone was in a festive mood.

George found appropriate clothing for Frau, the butler, and Sten, the maid. Sten and Cassie went upstairs to Cassie's apartment and selected her best dress. A few embellishments were added and then Sten helped her to get dressed. "I'm not wearing that corset. They are the most uncomfortable items of clothing ever produced," she avowed.

After getting her into the attractive gown, now adorned with extra ribbons and a touch of lace, the two women went to work on make-up to cover the bruising and some way to play with Cassie's long, red hair.

Cassie then returned the favor and helped Sten into the complicated clothing, again without a corset. Sten went down the sweeping staircase and rounded up her husband and George and called up to Cassie to make a grand entrance.

As she slowly descended the staircase, George gasped. She was a vision, delightful to gaze upon. The velvet emerald green gown with the wide hooped skirt perfectly set of Cassie's creamy skin. The red hair was in an upsweep with a few curling tendrils framing her face. She was breathtakingly beautiful. George was speechless.

They awaited the arrival of Edward.

Bindlewaithe Manor

Cassie hadn't yet learned all the nuances of her kitchen machine and so it took her several minutes to get luncheon ready. She sat her two guests in the library with drinks of their choice while she prepared the meal.

She went to a linen cupboard and found a delicately patterned ecru linen tablecloth and napkins. She looked for some candle holders and placed those on the table as well. She lit the lightly scented candles. She brought in a bouquet of fresh flowers and put the vase on the table as well.

She called her guests into luncheon and served the meal. As they dined, Sten asked, "So what is the long and boring story?"

"Sten, really, it's long and boring," said Cassie.

"It never was boring to me," said George.

"Cassandra's father was from the North. New Jersey, wasn't it?" Cassie nodded. "He opened a cotton mill in the South in the 1850s and all was going well. Then, as America geared up for war, things became more tense. He sent his only daughter to England so as to be out of reach of anyone thinking of using her as a pawn.

"My younger brother and his wife, Nigel and Priscilla, were his business partners here in England. They said they would help Cassandra here. She came over early in 1861. That turned out to be fortuitous, her father and his plant were both overrun shortly after the start of the war. Her father was killed." With this last comment, he looked tenderly at Cassandra.

Cassie was amazed at the depth of pain that hit her as he noted her father's death at the hands of the Rebels. It was all fiction. Surely it shouldn't hurt this much. But tears were stinging her eyes. "This is silly," she told herself. But the grief was real.

"She no longer had funding from America. She needed to be able to support herself and I needed a governess for my two daughters. I brought her to Bindlewaithe Manor. My daughters were enchanted by her. She seemed to be just as taken with my daughters. Things were going well, I thought. And then everything stopped."

"Are Hester and Gloria here?" asked Cassie.

"I've learned that children are rarely here. It seems there are some separate stops for various types of characters. There is one solely for children. And there is another one for successful characters, I'm told. Perhaps that is simply supposed to make us feel worse about our own situations." George was near to grumbling.

Cassie looked to Sten, "That's true? There are no children here? I've not seen any, but I thought it was just that … I don't know. There are no kids?"

Sten had to agree with the Earl. "No kids in this Station. There have been a few that came with adults, but they were quickly led to the portal for their own place. It wouldn't be good to have them here. It's not a good place for children." Sten was staring pointedly at Cassie's bruised face.

"Oh, I see. Sten, George's daughters were so delightful. I'm not sure that our Boss really knew much about children. The girls never misbehaved, did well with their studies, and seemed to melt into the background when George and I wanted some time for grown-ups." Cassie peeked at George to see him again begin to blush.

"Anyway, that is where our story stopped. At least as written by the Boss." Cassie looked at George with a half-smile and twinkling eyes lighting her face. George, now bright red, smiled back.

Earl of Bindlewaithe

Cassie looked down at her outfit – a white oxford, button-down collar shirt tucked into snugly fitting jeans. Her feet were encased in cloth tennis shoes – Keds. The bruises on her face were not very pleasant to look at, but she didn't think they were "scandalous" by any means. But Cassie knew what the Earl of Bindlewaithe meant. She was not dressed as Cassandra, but as Cassie.

"Milord, I would like you to meet a friend of mine, Stenilaw Mystol." Cassie noticed that Sten was properly dressed in a linen skirt and matching jacket in a restful plum color. Her silk blouse was silvery in color. She was wearing dark pumps. While her skirt was far too short for Victorian English tastes, at least it was a skirt. Sten was always dressed nicely as opposed to Cassie's normal outfit of jeans.

"Sten, this is the Earl of Bindlewaithe, George Prescott, IV. I became the governess to his two daughters after a long and boring story. We were poised to become lovers when the Delete key was again used." Cassie noticed that even mentioning the possibility of the latter role produced a crimson sheen to George's face.

Sten held out her hand to shake, a custom still used on New Earth. Gentlemen of Victorian England didn't shake hands with women and the Earl was somewhat slow in responding to the gesture. He did finally shake Sten's hand, again ill at ease. Cassie, as Cassandra, had only ever seen him totally in control. His discomfort slightly amused her. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lord Prescott. Please call me Sten," said Sten.

"Likewise," said the Earl of Bindlewaithe.

"George, the Boss used me in repeated stories, such as the one we were in together. But mostly I'm Cassie from the early 21st century. I'm dressed normally for that time period."

George was looking even more confused. "You have more than one name? You lived in more than one time? Your voice is the same. You look the same, except for the clothing."

"Pretty much, yes. Once she got the pattern down, it was easier to use me over and over as her 'heroine' but she never did do much with anything that I was involved with. She's not much of a saver."

"But you do remember me?" asked George.

Cassie beamed. "Of course, I remember you. How could I forget you? You are the nicest man she ever had me fall in love with. She really wasn't much of a romance writer, was she?"

George was now sporting more than a mere blush. He was from an era where piano legs were covered to avoid offense and ruffled sensibilities. This frank conversation was leaving him feeling out of his element. "Cassandra, could we please change the topic?"

Sten asked, "So what time period are you from? My husband and I come from New Earth in the early 24th century."

"The last I knew it was the spring of 1864 in England. I've only been here a short time and came into the town today mostly out of boredom. The manor house is empty of other souls. I was tired of being alone. I've come to town twice before. I like it here," said George. "I've met a few people since I got here, mostly in town."

"Most of the people I've met have been wonderful," said Cassie. "Except for Ralph. He was awful. He attacked me. I've noticed you staring at me and being too polite to ask. The bruises are from that attack. Some of my friends are trying to find Ralph and put him in jail."

"Someone attacked you? Cassandra, that is horrible. How can I help?"

"Right now we just need to locate him. Then perhaps we will figure out the rest. Would you care to come to my house for some lunch? Sten, can you eat with us?" Both agreed to go back to Cassie's house.

She walked them over to the Mercedes. Lord Prescott, never having seen an automobile, was hesitant to get in. Cassie drove carefully back to her house.

Escape From the Guards

Cassie found the men something to drink, as their tastes dictated. She also produced a variety of snacks. They sat outdoors and passed the time with small talk. Finally, Doston returned.

"I saw many houses that were large, many that were ornate. I did not seen many people outside and none were the man, Ralph. I'm sorry."

"If he wasn't outside, then you couldn't see him. It's not your fault. Can I get you something to eat or drink?" Cassie didn't want her friend to be disappointed. Or hungry. But she had no idea what she would feed Doston, should it ask for food.

"No, thanks. But I will head home and rest. I will search again tomorrow. Can you gentlemen tell me where you live, please?" said Doston.

Sam replied that he stayed at the hotel and the other two described their houses as they were seen from air. Doston took off, heading for its own home.

The humans sat in silence for a while. "We didn't ask Doston where to find it again. We don't have any idea where Doston lives. I don't even know if it’s a house or something else. Do you guys?" asked Cassie.

"Doston can find us easier than we can fit it. You always call Doston 'it' so I assume he's not a he or she's not a she, right?" said Sam.

"There are no hes or shes on Music, according to Doston. So I guess 'it' is all we have left," explained Cassie.

Everyone was getting a little restless when Kisho finally suggested that the men leave. He told Cassie to make sure that she was securely locked inside her house. Cassie, relieved, finally bid her guests (guardians?) goodbye. She safely locked all the doors and windows, made something delicious for dinner, and sat in the cozy corner she created and read a book until she nearly fell asleep in the chair. She climbed to the loft and slept peacefully. No nightmares during the night.

In the morning, feeling entirely refreshed and with bruises still in various colors on her face, she called Sten to see if she would like to go into the town and look around. Cassie picked Sten up and the two women went first to the courtyard. The fountain splashed playfully in the middle of a gorgeous park. There were several paths leading from the fountain into gardens or grassy areas. There were beautiful shade tress, some totally alien to Cassie.

The two women walked along the paths. "Hiro brought a Ninja friend of his over. His name is Kisho. And the detective who was chasing Ralph – that's the rapist – well, the cop is named Sam. Doston was over at my house pretending to just want company but I think it was guarding me. Anyway, Doston flew off searching for Ralph while Hiro, Kisho, and Sam guarded me. Doston never did see Ralph, but will search again for him." Cassie explained yesterday to Sten.

"I'm glad they are protecting me. I don't want Ralph near me. But I hate the feeling of being helpless and needing guards. Do you know what I mean?"

"I do. Men like to feel protective. It's very nice of them to help you."

"Doston isn't a man," retorted Cassie.

"So what do they intend to do now?" asked Sten, sidestepping the whole gender issue. "Are they still looking for Ralph?"

"Yes, but I wanted to get out of the house before they all sat there for an entire day again. I should call Hiro and tell him that I'm safe with you so he doesn't worry. Or come over to my house looking for me." She did give Hiro a call. Hiro made sure that she wouldn't be outside alone and then they hung up.

Walking along the path towards the two women was a tall, elegantly dressed man. He was dressed in an old-fashioned suit, elaborately tied neckwear, and with a top hat. He looked almost regal with his walking stick clicking on the pavement. As he neared them, his pleasant face turned into a scowl and then with a look of horrified surprise he said, "Cassandra, is that you? Why are you out in public dressed so scandalously?"

A Plan

"Doston," began Kisho, "could you spot a person from overhead? A specific person?"

"I believe so. My eyesight is very good. On Music, food is quite scarce in certain seasons. Without good vision, one could starve. I can see well. But I must admit that you humans look pretty much the same to me."

"Can you describe Ralph for us, Sam?" asked Kisho.

Sam turned to Doston. "He's six-feet-two-inches tall with light brown hair. The color isn't too much darker than your hair. Fur? Your coat. He has blue eyes and that scar across his forehead. But you've seen him, right?" said Sam, not sure if he was offending the creature or not. He sure didn't mean to offend anyone with talons like those.

"I remember what he looks like. I'm not sure I can tell the color of his eyes from the air, unless he is looking up." Doston was often overwhelmed by the simplicity of these humans.

"Right. But could you pick him out from the air?" asked Kisho. "We don't know where he lives and aren't even sure how to go about finding him. But if you could spot him from the air, it would be very helpful. Hiro and I should have no trouble containing him." This last was said with a touch of disapproval in his voice, but it was as Cassie wanted.

"Where will you take him once he is 'contained?' How will he be contained?" asked Doston.

Everyone turned to look at Hiro who said, "Sam, do you have access to a jail here? I've never seen a prison, but if there are cops here, they must work out of some place."

"Work? Who works? They all sit around drinking in the bar all day. The only people I've seen working here are the hookers." Sam didn't like the thought of working as a guard in a jail all day.

"I've met a negotiator who has worked and Hiro does his Samurai thing." Cassie wasn't sure that her writing in a journal counted as work, but she knew that people were doing something here. Weren't they? But there was no need for money, so maybe no one worked. "That man can't just be allowed to run around and attack people." This was said with conviction.

All agreed that Ralph needed to be stopped. There was a consensus among the men that murder was a capital offense. Doston wasn't commenting. Cassie was no longer sure what to do with Ralph. She wanted to feel safe when out walking around.

"Do you know if the Governor's daughter is here?" Doston asked.

Cassie gasped. She hadn't even thought of the poor girl. "What's her name?"

"Matilda. Ralph called her Tillie sometimes, but she prefers Matilda," Sam said. "I don't know if she is here or not."

"We really need to make sure that Ralph is not free to harm her. Or me. Or anyone else. He has to be stopped." Cassie looked around and started to hyperventilate. Her pulse was racing, her eyes were wide and fearful. She looked straight at Hiro, "He has to be stopped," she gasped out again.

"Doston, can you try to find him from the air and then let us know where he is? It would be best if we knew where he lived. He probably lives in a rather fancy house. Will you see if you can spot him?" asked Hiro.

Doston looked at Cassie, "I will do all I can to help you. You shouldn't have to be so afraid. You are not prey." Then, turning to Hiro, "Where will you be? I can go and search for him but I think someone should stay with Cassie. I can come back here and let you know what I find."

The three men said they would stay at Cassie's for a while. Doston took off in search of Ralph. "You got something besides iced tea to drink?" asked Sam.

Meeting

Sam got himself cleaned up and dressed. The three men left his hotel room and rode the elevator in silence, finally reaching the ground floor. They skirted the bar and walked out into the sunshine.

Hiro led the way to Cassie's house telling Kisho and Sam about her. He rang the bell and waited. She didn't answer and he began to worry. The Mercedes was parked in front of the house. The three men walked towards that back.

Sitting at a small table situated on the patio, and staring out at the beautiful garden that adorned Cassie's back yard, Cassie and Doston were sipping iced tea and companionably talking. Doston was fearful that the evil man would return but didn't want Cassie to know it was protecting her. So they chatted about life at The Station and looked at the flowers.

Doston heard the men approach before Cassie could; its hearing was for more acute. "Someone is coming."

Cassie tensed. She didn't know if the rapist man knew where she lived or not. Doston was unsheathing its talons when Hiro came around the corner. The talons surreptitiously retracted and Cassie jumped up to greet her friend. Then she stopped as two more men followed into the yard. "Hello." She was staring at the strangers who were staring back at the creature still sitting at the table.

Hiro said, "This is Kisho, a Ninja I've known since before my days at The Station. In fact, at one point he was sent to ambush me. He is a very good Ninja, but I am a very good Samurai. We both survived the encounter. And this," pointing to Sam, "is Sam Shovel, the policeman in charge of capturing Ralph."

Then addressing the two men at his side, "Of course, you can surmise who Cassie is, since we were coming here. Doston is a Musician who helped to save her from Ralph."

"Ralph's my attacker?" asked Cassie. Doston was nodding its head behind her.

"Yes, that is the name of the man who attacked you. He murdered at least six women before coming here. Sam was on his trail but he escaped capture." Hiro filled in all the details, with Sam adding clarification when necessary. Sam never took his eyes off Doston.

Finally, when he couldn't stand it anymore, Sam asked Doston, "So what do you play? You beat Ralph off with a tuba or something?"

Doston's laugh was one of the most musical things Cassie had ever heard. "I'm from a planet whose name doesn't translate well. Your friends have decided to call it Music. Therefore I'm a Musician. But I got Ralph's attention with these." Doston again unsheathed its talons. Long, clawed, razor sharp points extended over its fingers. It was like three knives in each hand.

Sam had been perturbed by the four eyes and the beaklike feature. He had been troubled by the golden fur covering the body. But he was scared nearly senseless by the vision of those talons. "You just walked up to him and …" Sam couldn't even figure out what might have happened next.

"I swooped down on him. I fly more often than walk. It's faster."

Sam was looking a little dazed, but Kisho could stand it no longer and broke in, "You fly? In what?"

Cassie turned to Doston and said, "Perhaps a demonstration?"

Doston stood, stretched its wings, which startled both Kisho and Sam, and launched into the air. It circled the yard a couple times, landed, and the wings folded back perfectly flat and were again unseen from the front.

"Good Gawd, almighty," whispered Sam.

"By all that's sacred," intoned Kisho.

"Impressive, isn't it?" said Hiro.

The Law

Sam looked doubtfully at the two men in front of him. He was both daunted by their ferocious demeanor and uncertain of their ability. But his own ability to catch Ralph was a proven disaster. Ralph had to be stopped. "I will help, but I'm not sure what I can do."

"What sort of weapons does Ralph have?" asked Hiro.

"I've only seen him with a knife. But that doesn't mean he hasn't armed himself differently now."

"Was he known to use a gun when you were chasing him? Is he a good shot?" This time it was from Kisho.

"No, but how good do you need to be with a Tommy gun? They can spray bullets across a wide area."

"What do you know about his habits?" asked Hiro.

"He likes to dance. And drink, like I said before. I think he plays cards a little."

"Drink what?" asked Hiro.

"Whiskey, usually. But he sometimes just goes for a brew. You know, beer."

"Any idea what he was doing with the stolen body parts? You said you didn't find them, did he destroy them? Have them in the car with him? Take them with him when he fled?"

"No idea. I know that his hands were empty when I was chasing him through the mountains. There was nothing in the car. It was a stolen vehicle. We never did track down his last place of residence."

"Speaking of that. What sort of house would he choose to live in here?" asked Kisho.

"He grew up kinda rich. His dad is a doctor married to a debutant. You know debs?"

"No," said both men in unison.

"Society girls. Come from good families. Money. Ralph's mother's family were doing okay until the stock market crash. Then it all fell apart for all of them. Buying on margin, trying to get richer, quicker. They still had some of their properties, but it didn't leave them with enough cash flow.

"Anyway, it wasn't enough cash to keep Ralph in his nice loony bin and the cheap place had low security. Actually they had no security. Ralph just walked away during the dead of night."

"How much time do you spend at The Station bar? You ever seen Ralph there?" asked Hiro.

"I mostly drink up here." Sam looked around the room at the empties attesting to this sad fact. "I don't really want to talk to people. I was supposed to be a good detective. Didn't work that way, though."

"You might still be a good detective. What we have found here is that the Boss's influence only goes so far. You can be what you choose to be. You can be a drunk cop or you can be a great cop. You choose. You are now the Author of your life. Unless the Boss calls you back into action." Hiro was surprised at how often people didn't realize that they were more than mere characters. At The Station, they were who they would choose to be.

"You mean I'm not forever left with the story of the Boss? I can actually do something here?"

"Yes. What would you like to do?" Hiro tried, with little success, to keep the smile out of his voice.

"I would like to catch that bastard."

Sam's Story

Hiro called down to room service and had a huge American breakfast of fried eggs, sausage, hash browns, toast, and coffee sent up to the room. The two Japanese men had no desire to eat, but they did have some tea.

Sam started to look a little better after some breakfast and a whole pot of coffee. The interrogation continued.

"How many unsolved murders?" asked Kisho.

"Six."

"All in Phoenix?"

"And the surrounding area. It's desert there, so there could be more bodies that weren't found yet." Sam looked around at the mess, and sadly shook his head, trying to dislodge the memories of the corpses that had been tossed into dark places or left in the desert sunshine. All were gruesome.

"He apparently raped the women, then used a serrated bladed knife, probably a hunting knife of some sort, to cut them up. With each new body, a different organ was missing. The first one had no heart. Liver, kidneys, and lungs were missing. Also fingers and ears. We've never recovered the missing pieces." Sam's voice slowed and then stopped. He stared through a dirty window looking out on another building that backed up to the bar/hotel.

The room was silent for several minutes. Sam finally shook himself out of his stupor and continued, "The first murders were months apart. Then they got closer together. Ralph sent taunting notes to his old girlfriend after the first two crimes, but then stopped."

"What was in the letters?" asked Hiro.

"Descriptions of the crimes and threats that the same would happen to her. The Governor called in all sorts of favors to protect his daughter and increased the manpower on the hunt for Ralph. I was still lead detective, then. I had tracked him as far as Flagstaff.

"We had a trace on him and I found him driving a stolen car. I followed in 'hot pursuit' and chased him through the mountains in the northern part of the state. I had gotten close many times, but it was only me in the car. I'd fired on his car, trying to blow out the tires, but missed. He had stolen a Duesenberg and I was in Ford. He simply could outdrive me." Sam looked at the two men hoping for not only understanding but absolution. He was in a car with less horsepower, less speed. "It really wasn't my fault," the voice was pleading.

"And then what?" prompted Kisho after a minute's silence.

"Ralph was far ahead of me and gaining distance. Then he suddenly veered right and hit a boulder in the sand off the side of the road. The car rolled twice and then came to rest against a giant outcropping of rock. We were in the mountains of northern Arizona. I saw the accident, but was far behind. By the time I got there, Ralph was running into some caverns. There was blood at the scene of the crime. That's where he cut his forehead open.

"I tracked him for a while but lost the trail. I got back to the car and radioed again for help but I was out in the wilderness and with the mountains, the call didn't go through. Ralph made his way to the Navajo Indian reservation and we lost him there. We searched where we could and tried to deal with the Chief, but nothing. The trail was going cold. It had been months and we were stalled. And then, the next thing I knew, I was here. I was hoping that Ralph wasn't. But you say he attacked your friend. But you said she was okay? Right? She's okay?"

"Yes, she's okay. A few bruises and scratches, but okay," Hiro reassured Sam.

"We need to find Ralph," said Kisho. "You wanna help?"

Finding Sam

Two ferocious and mildly ticked off Japanese men climbed the stairs. On the third floor, where the hotel rooms began, they stopped and peered along a long corridor with many closed doors.

"How are we supposed to find the right room?" asked Kisho.

"I don't know. We could just start opening doors. Or do you think that they are all locked?" asked Hiro.

One set of doors to the right of the stairs glided open and a slightly tipsy man, leaning heavily on the arm of woman of questionable repute stepped out into the hall. "Elevator," said Hiro.

"Prostitute," said Kisho at the same moment, which at least masked his voice.

"Excuse me ma'am," began Hiro, "we are looking for Sam Shovel. Do you know him and where we might find him?"

"I'm busy here, buster. I ain't got time for that nonsense." And so saying, she moved down the hall two doors and took out a swipe card which permitted her access to the room. The drunk man followed her, smiling.

The two men decided to walk the corridors and seek out hookers who were not busy at the moment in the hopes of finding someone who knew where to find Sam. It paid off on the eighth floor when a woman told them that she thought the man they were looking for was in room 1429.

The two took the elevator up to the fourteenth floor, found the room and began to pound on the door. It took nearly a minute before they heard any sounds from within. Finally a disheveled man with glassy eyes, two days growth of beard, wrinkled clothing, and nauseating breath opened the door.

"Are you Sam Shovel?" asked Hiro.

The door started to close when Kisho shoved past the man and entered the room. It was nearly as messy as the man himself. It was littered with empty bourbon bottles.

"We're looking for Ralph Stevens. He attacked a friend of mine and she wants him stopped." Hiro would brook no protest from this drunken bum.

Sam's head lifted sharply and his eyes focused slowly on the pair of men now standing amidst the trash that was his room and his life. "She okay? The girl, I mean. Ralph is a nasty man." Sam's voice was thick, not just from drink, but from sleep as well.

Hiro shoved Sam into the bathroom and forced him into the shower. He turned the cold water on and stuck Sam under the spray. After a bit of sputtering, Sam tried to escape the cold and Hiro strengthened his grip, forcing Sam back under the spray. After a few minutes, Hiro turned off the water, pulled Sam dripping and swearing from the shower, and handed him a towel.

"Tell us what you know about Ralph," ordered Kisho after Sam got himself partially dried.

Sam glared at the two men, stripped off his wet clothing, and wrapped himself in a fluffy, soft, white robe that had been neatly hung in the closet and had "The Station" emblazoned above the breast pocket. It was the only clean thing in the room.

"He was a medical student – going to be a doctor. He was dating the Governor's daughter. Then things started to fall apart," began Sam.

"What year?" asked Hiro.

"School? That was 1928. His grades started to drop. He was drinking too much. This was Prohibition. He spent way too much time in speakeasies and was not paying any attention to his studies or his girl. So she left him. He had some sort of nervous breakdown and by the middle of 1929 he was in a mental institution." Sam looked at his audience. "This what you guys want to know?"

"Yes. Then what happened?" prompted Kisho.

"After the market crashed, his parents couldn't afford the pricey private sanitarium. He went to some cheaper place. His father's a doctor, too. But after the crash, money was tight all over, ya know?"

"Not really, but we can figure that out later," Hiro assured him.

"Ralph broke out of the crappy mental hospital and began attacking women. His first victim was in my precinct. I'm a cop outside Phoenix, Arizona. Or I was until there were too many unsolved murders." Sam looked up at his inquisitors. "Can I have a drink now?"

Gathering Information

Kisho and Hiro agreed that they needed to meet with the most people as quickly as possible and that meant only one thing. Going into the bar. Most newcomers arrive in or near the bar. Many stay there; some even living at the hotel built above the smoky watering hole. The two men took off in that direction.

Samurai walk with a perfect equilibrium to each step that would allow them to draw a weapon and remain balanced for attack. Their gait was an odd rolling step that permitted them to be always ready for death. Ninja were trained for stealth. Their step was light and noiseless. Always. The two men walking toward the bar may have looked a little funny to a futuristic eye when seen from behind, but they were certainly menacing when viewed from the front.

Ninja wear all dark clothing when out at night, white clothing when stalking through snowy landscapes. But in the daylight, both men were dressed relatively the same in traditional early 17th century Japanese clothing. While Hiro's armament was more visible, Kisho was also carrying deadly weapons – hidden.

They talked very little on the way to the bar. There was no point in trying to formulate a cogent plan until they had more information to go on. What they needed at this point in time was facts, and they were few and far between.

They entered the dark, smoke-filled bar and stood silently in the doorway for a moment while their eyes adjusted to the gloom. In those few seconds, most patrons turned to see who was entering the place, many hoping for some turmoil, or at least some excitement.

"We are looking for a man called Ralph Stevens. Does anyone in here know about him or know anyone who does?" asked Hiro in his most non-threatening voice. It was still a powerful sound and echoed through the now silent bar.

There was no immediate response. A few people turned to look at their friends. No one spoke.

"This man is a known serial rapist-murderer. He attacked Cassie. I believe some of you know her," Hiro added.

Immediately there were murmurs throughout the bar. Cassie was a nice, if slightly ditzy woman. She didn't seem to really know who or what she was, but she was kind and cheerful. She had not created a horde of enemies, these people would help.

The largest spider Hiro and Kisho had ever seen came scuttling up to the pair. "Is she all right? I've heard about this Ralph man. He is bad. Very bad. Is Cassie all right?"

"Yes, he is very bad," agreed Hiro. "Cassie is bruised and scratched. She was not harmed further. She is okay, but she wants Ralph removed from society. He cannot be permitted to attack again."

A rather indistinct, common woman walked up to the two men. Tears were silently running down her face. "Is she really okay? I'm Con. I guess we are sisters of a sort. We have the same Boss. How can I help her?"

While the two men might have liked to help Con, they really wanted to help Cassie. "What we need is information." Kisho pushed past Con and returned to the spider/waitress. "What do you know?"

"Many people don't like spiders. So when I serve drinks, they mostly just ignore me. I hear things that way. There is a man here, a cop, named Sam Shovel. He was the person trying to chase down and capture Ralph in the original manuscript. He was unsuccessful in the chase. The Boss couldn't figure out how Sam would capture the murderer and dropped the story."

"Do you know where this Shovel guy is?" asked Kisho.

"He drinks too much. I believe that was part of his problem while chasing Ralph, but I know it is a problem here. He is probably passed out somewhere. Either in some dark corner in the bar, or up in one of the rooms."

"Anyone see him in the bar?" shouted Kisho. All the patrons helped to peer into all the dark corners. Sam wasn't there.

The two men headed for the stairs that led to the hotel rooms.

The Hunt Begins

Cassie left Hiro still sipping on the vile blue liquid. She got in her Mercedes and headed for home.

Hiro, sitting at his kitchen table, glared at the blue drink, got up and tossed it down the drain. He then got a large glass of water and gratefully drank it. That blue stuff really was horrible.

How would he go about trapping the serial killer? He didn't know where the man lived and wasn't sure when he lived. Hiro knew that there were guns, some of them that fired many bullets in succession. They were not proper armaments for a Samurai, however. No matter how good he was with a sword, the weapon demanded proximity. A man with a gun could kill from far away.

Hiro decided that he needed help with this task. He needed to visit Kisho, his friend who was Ninja.

Hiro showered, another wonderful invention of the future, dressed and armed himself. He walked some distance to the north to find his friend.

"Hiro, konnichiwa, it has been a while since I've seen you. Are you well?" Kisho bowed to Hiro.

"Konnichiwa. Yes, I'm well," Hiro replied, bowing with equal formality. "I have a small problem. I met a woman in the courtyard a few days ago."

Kisho's eyebrows raised and a tight smile found it's way to his lips, but not quite as far as his eyes. "There is something new and different."

Hiro brushed that aside. "She is American, 21st century. New to The Station and not very comfortable here, yet." Hiro paused gathered his thoughts. "She was walking home from Frau's house. Do you remember him?"

Kisho nodded.

"She was attacked by that man who was an escaped mental patient and a serial rapist-murderer. The guy with the scar across his forehead. You know who I mean?" asked Hiro.

"Ralph Stevens. Isn't that his name? I think that's his name. Caucasian, light hair. Tall?"

"Yeah, that's his name. I kept thinking it was Steven something and it just didn't sound right. Anyway, Ralph attacked Cassie, that's the woman I met, but she was saved before he did more than rough her up some. She wants him stopped."

"Okay. What do you need me for?"

"What do you know about him? I'm not sure what type of weapons he carries. Do you know when he is from? Does he have guns? I've only seen a knife. I'm fine against a stupid little knife. Guns would be a problem."

"Hiro, I'm sorry. I don't have that information. I'm not even sure where to find it. I'm sure that we could silently track him and have him dead before he even had a chance to reach for a gun. Stealth is key." Kisho knew how silently he could move and was able to sneak up on any man. Ralph's neck could be snapped before he was even aware of another person's presence.

"Cassie doesn't want me to kill him."

"What?" Kisho stood blinking. "What does she want you to do?"

"I'm supposed to jail him, I think. First I have to learn more about him. If he is a serial killer, he must have some skills in stalking and taking victims. I don't even know where to begin looking for him. Do you?" Hiro needed some help or at least some information.

Kisho shook his head. "But we will find out."

Recourse

Hiro produced some water for Cassie and she drank deeply to get the horrid taste from her mouth. Sighing, she asked, "How long have you been here?"

"Time isn't the same here. It flows and swirls. I'm not sure, but it has been a long time, at least it seems like it."

"Are there police here?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I need to report an attack. That man can't go free and attack other unsuspecting women." Cassie massaged her jaw where the bruise was still livid. "I bet this bruise didn't help endear me to High Lord Thorton."

"The authorities, such as they are, know that your attacker is out there. We all are aware of the villains who reside here."

"Not all. I have no idea why I thought it was only the heroes here. Are secondary characters here as well?"

"Anyone can be here, if they choose. Once a Boss writes about them, and then tosses them aside, they are free to enter The Station."

Cassie sat quietly staring into space. "Any person written and discarded?"

"Yes. That's what this is. A way station for unused characters. Any unused or no longer used characters." Hiro wasn't sure where this was leading, but he was willing to help Cassie sort the place out. It was unlike any other place in the known or even unknown universe.

Cassie got up and paced around the tidy kitchen. She stopped and stared out the window and looked at the wave-raked sand. She stood still and stared for several minutes. Luckily Samurai are patient and enduring. Hiro sat motionless through it all.

Cassie finally turned to face him. "Everyone can be here. Does that mean that people can choose to not show up, as well?"

"I assume that is true. It's difficult to prove a negative. I know that some of the people that I associated with while working with the Boss are not found here. That may only mean that I've not found them and not that they are not here."

"Is there no list of who is here someplace? A census of sorts?"

"There is no central government body. No one to take a census. Who you find is who you know."

Cassie went back to staring out the window. "There are some people that my Boss wrote about that I would enjoy seeing again."

Hiro watched Cassie and her whole demeanor seemed to change. Her head tilted, her voice softened, her balance shifted as her hand went up to play with her hair. He started to ask a question, hesitated, then opted to remain silent.

Cassie stood there for another minute or so and then returned to the table and sat across from Hiro. "So what about containing a serial killer? Certainly he can't be permitted to attack people without repercussion. What can I do?"

"You realize that in Japan, Samurai helped to enforce the law, right?"

"No. So what do you think I should do next?"

"What do you want to happen to him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want him to die slowly or quickly?"

"No, I want him to be locked away and kept from hurting anyone else." Cassie had to keep reminding herself that his culture was far different from hers.

"I'll see what I can do." Cassie shuddered when she heard the rock hard tone.

Starry Eyed

"Grimorph is a scientist or inventor from the Moon Colony," said Hiro.

Visions of white lab coats with pocket protectors, big dark-framed glasses, and a receding hairline entered Cassie's head. She could just picture the absent minded professor guy as he wandered around a Tom Edison lab filled with bits and pieces and invented useful items on a regular basis.

"She is the most amazing woman. She helped produce the system that feeds the entire Moon Colony. Her mother was Japanese-American while her father was a Native American who fled the reservations," Hiro continued. His voice was soft, dreamy. His eyes were all sparkly and focused on some distant point.

Cassie's vision disappeared and she was faced with the reality of Hiro's infatuation with Grimorph. And in the next instant she was struck by her own infatuation with Hiro. But she wasn't Japanese. And she wasn't a powerful person who saved colonies. Cassie was the person who was so stupid that she walked through forests and was attacked by serial killers. No wonder Hiro was infatuated with someone like Grimorph and no wonder, as well, that she was infatuated with someone like Hiro.

Infatuated, at least in her case, was probably not the right word. Lust might be better. Cassie saw Hiro as virile, masterful, and yet touched with kindness. He was willing to enter into the fray in order to save her. Apparently that is what Samurai did and it had nothing to do with her as a person. It was just his job.

Cassie was suddenly feeling a need to flee. She wanted to just be gone. Alone in her misery. She hadn't been that aware of her wish that Hiro would see her not only as a responsibility or liability, but as a woman with possibilities. She was probably just some pain in the ass to him.

Cassie was fiddling with her drink, rolling the sweat-slicked glass around in circles on the table. She hadn't even tasted it. Should she gulp it down and run? She looked up to see Hiro staring at her. She tried to smile, but instead felt the blush start at her neck and bloom upwards to her hairline. She was on fire.

"Let me get my fax number for you." Hiro leaped up out of the chair and left the room, apparently to get pen and paper.

Cassie wondered if she could just creep out while he was gone and then realized that would be even worse. How could she have done this to herself? How long had she been fantasizing about Hiro? Of course he wouldn't be taken with an American. He was Samurai, all bushido and katana and Japan. But he was so compelling. He was wise and strong and handsome and luscious. And it would feel so wonderful to have those muscled arms pulling her close to the massive expanse of his chest, lifting her face to his as he gently placed a kiss on her tremulous lips.

"Here is the number," said Hiro as he walked back into the room.

"Thanks." Cassie put the paper into her pocket and tried to think of a way to get out of there gracefully. She picked up the drink and took a gulp. "Jesus, what is this crap?"

"It's a mixture of healthful nutrients. Very good for after a workout. It replaces, um, things, um, whatever it is that you lose when you exercise for long periods. It recharges and re-energizes you. Grimorph developed it."

"It tastes horrible," said Cassie honestly, "and it's an ugly color."

"It is supposed to be good for you," Hiro defended the drink, or maybe just the inventor.

"Thank goodness I haven't been exercising then. Do you have any plain water?" Cassie was already feeling a little less intimidated by the unseen Grimorph, inventor of food stuffs that were not all that tasty. She might have to get a look at this Grim person.

Anachronisms

After taking Sten and Frau back home, Cassie drove over to visit Hiro. There was no answer to her knock on the door, so Cassie walked around to the back of his house.

There was an open space in the center, Japanese gardens surrounding the whole. Next to the back of the house, beside what looked like a cross between a patio and a deck, was a sand garden with huge boulders and sand raked in a waving, restful pattern.

In the center of the yard was Hiro, wearing only his pants, his upper body drenched in sweat and shimmering in the sunshine. He was wielding both swords in a cross pattern that was both beautiful and menacing. As Cassie watched, he sheathed his smaller sword and began to track a fly buzzing in front of him.

Hiro stood perfectly still and concentrated on the fly. He then flicked his wrist and the tip of the sword moved in a blur. The fly fell to the ground, sliced in two. As he bent to inspect his work, Cassie gasped. Hiro spun and holding his sword in an attack stance, looked for the source of the sound. Seeing Cassie, he broke into a smile.

Cassie noticed the broad expanse of heaving chest, rippled muscles, six-pack abs. "Sorry to bother you. Did you really just cut a buzzing fly in two?"

"Yes, but not evenly. I prefer when it is more half than simply two."

Cassie blinked in confusion, "Isn't 'two' and 'half' the same thing?"

"No, 'two' doesn't mean that each of the pieces is the same size while 'half' does. I was sloppy."

"I see," is what she said, but her brow was creased and her eyes were narrowed.

"Watch." Hiro took a leaf, dropped it from shoulder height and cut the leaf in half lengthwise and then each half was cut in half so that four equally sized pieces of leaf hit the ground in a flutter. "See? Even."

Cassie came to inspect the pieces of leaf and found them to be exactly as he described – evenly cut into quarters. "How long did that take to learn?"

"Months to cut it into four pieces before hitting the ground, much longer to get them to be evenly sized."

"I thought it took a lot of practice to learn to place a tennis ball into the corner of a court." Cassie was laughing and shaking her head.

"I've been out here for a few hours now, let's go inside. I need something cool to drink." Hiro led the way into his modern-future kitchen. As they passed the neatly raked sand, Cassie paused. Hiro asked, "Do you like it? It is meant to be calming."

"It's beautiful. How do you manage to rake it so perfectly without leaving footprints?"

"Another skill," Hiro voice held a touch of a laugh behind the words. "And special tools."

"What I came over to find out was if you had something like a telephone or communicator or a way to talk while not face-to-face." Cassie reached for her cell phone to show Hiro what she meant at the same time Hiro was pulling out a small rectangle object that was tucked near his smaller sword.

"I have this, but I believe it will work with other communication devices. Grimorph said it contained 'legacy capability' and 'integrated potential.' Is this what you mean?"

"Yep. You got a number or code so that I can reach you on that?"

Hiro gave her the number and she programmed it into her phone. "Who is Grimorph?" she asked as they sat down at the table. Hiro pushed the glass full of ice cubes and a bright blue fizzing liquid.

Rankled

"How dare he?" Cassie fumed. It was a good thing that there wasn't much traffic here at The Station because Cassie's driving was erratic at best. "How could he treat us like that?"

"I'm stunned. I've worked with him before and he did not behave like that. Cassie, I would never have taken you there if I had known. Please forgive me," Frau said.

Cassie stopped the car and turned to face Frau. "Forgive you? You, my dear friend, did nothing wrong and there is nothing to forgive. Without you and Sten my life here would be so much less. You have been nothing but helpful." She noticed that Frau's color was starting to return to normal and his hands finally rest quietly in his lap. She hadn't realized how upset Frau was. "Are you doing okay?"

Frau looked at her then, finally really seeing Cassie instead of his guilt. "Yes, I'm just ashamed for High Lord Thorton and my own inability to see how this would turn out. I swear he didn't act like that before."

Cassie began to giggle and then it burst forth in a full belly-laugh. "Of course not. You are a high ranking person and you were helping him with his negotiations. But we are going to just forget it now. It's over and done."

"Cassie, what did you do for the Boss?" asked Sten.

"What?"

"Well, I guess I want to know the same thing High Lord Thorton did. What is your 'rank' so to speak? This is idle curiosity. You were brilliant back there and took no crap from that man. Where did you learn that?"

"Oh. I was many things. My Boss isn't all that creative. She made me and used me over and over. I've been both a prosecuting and a defense lawyer. I've been a surgeon. And a private detective. I've been a major on an interstellar spaceship. She starts story after story, using me in various jobs."

Cassie paused for a moment. "She never saves the stories. She writes, edits, rewrites, adds, reads, sits in the chair staring at the screen and then she selects all and hits Delete."

There was silence in the car. Cassie turned forward and began to drive, slower and more carefully. It was horrifying to have a Boss who never saved.

But Cassie was an optimist. "I guess I should get a bumper sticker for this car that says 'Jesus saves; Boss – not so much.'" At least she could laugh about this.

"You really are all those professions?" asked Frau.

"Yeah. And more, some not as 'glamorous.' I've been a scullery maid that solved mysteries in a manor house and nun in a silent cloister. The conversation in that story was scintillating," snorted Cassie, drolly. "I've been an artist and inventor. I've been a scientist and college professor. She writes and writes. But never Saves."

"And you retain all those skills?" asked Frau.

"Yes. She just keeps piling more on."

Frau looked over at Sten and began to laugh. "She's brilliant. And she doesn't even realize it."

"My Boss created me smart because what good is a stupid heroine, but brilliant? You are kidding," Cassie laughed with her friends.

Sten said, "You know, most of us only have one career, one story, one way to be. Your Boss has given you the gift of wide ranging talents. You will do well here."

Intercession

Frau took a calming breath, "Milord, Cassie is a friend of mine."

"What is your rank?" High Lord Thorton asked Cassie.

"Human."

"What? I asked for a rank."

"Look, I come from a more egalitarian world. I am a full member of society. I have no 'rank' but simply am. I have the same recourse to all resources as you do. Your Boss is apparently just as inept as mine is because you are here at The Station – just like I am."

High Lord Thorton glared at Cassie and stood up behind his impressive desk. He made an even more imposing figure as he leaned his well-manicured hands on the desktop and thundered, "Get out of here. No one talks to me in that tone."

"I just did. You are an impotent despot who is merely taken with your own importance. I could have constructed a monstrosity as you have done with this chateau you have created. Big deal. You aren't all that impressive Mr. High Horse."

Frau tried to get a word in to calm the ruffled feathers of both High Lord Thorton and Cassie, but was overridden by Thorton's bellows.

"How dare you speak to me in that tone? Get out of my home."

"I dare because you are nothing. In my era we call you a 'paper tiger' which means you are all roar and no substance. You made us wait nearly two hours to speak to us. What was the purpose of that? Just to show how 'powerful' you are? You are nothing but ego wrapped up in a pretty package." Cassie was on a roll.

Sten gently took Cassie's arm and gave a small squeeze. Cassie looked over at her friend and instead of continuing with a rant, let out a deep sigh.

High Lord Thorton stood glowering behind his polished desk. No one had ever spoken to him in this manner. No one had the right to speak to him is such a way. He would have to punish this woman.

"Your behavior will be punished," Thornton roared.

"How?" Cassie's whisper almost didn't reach all the way across the desk. And then she actually smirked at the man. That was new, she didn't know she had it in herself to do that. She was getting stronger.

High Lord Thorton did not immediately respond.

"That's what I thought. There is nothing you can do to me. You are simply an over-inflated windbag. Your Boss has abandoned you, just as all of ours have. You are no better than anyone else here at The Station. I don't need you or your attitude." And with that pronouncement, Cassie turned to leave the room.

"If you two would like a ride home, let me know and I'll wait in the car," she called to Sten and Frau. She never looked back.

High Lord Thorton stood there with his mouth hanging open, making his curled mustache look like a frame from which it hung. His face was flushed, his eyes were blazing, and as he stood to his full height, his hands clenched at his sides.

"Thank you for your time, milord, I believe our ride is leaving," said Sten as she took Frau's hand and walked away from the seething man.

High Lord Thorton

Cassie followed directions and she, Sten, and Frau arrived in front of an imposing structure. The house was huge with several domed sections merging to form a circle around an open courtyard. All that could be seen from the front of the house was reflective glass triangles that made up the domes and an aperture that seemed to be the door.

Frau had been here before helping Thorton with some negotiations resulting from a dispute over proprietary rights to a recipe. He knew that walking up the path alerted the servo. As they all approached the door, the servo robot opened it to allow them into the entry hall.

Cassie looked around and stared at the crystal chandelier the size of Volkswagen that hung over the intersection of hallways leading off of the entryway. There were six matching sofas lining the walls of the hall with tables in between them with huge bouquets of fresh cut flowers on each. Understatement did not seem to be Thorton's strong suit.

Frau explained to the servo that they would like to talk with Thorton about helping Cassie with obtaining a Quintanian vehicle. The servo intoned, "Please wait in the seating room while I see if High Lord Thorton is receiving supplicants." The robot led them to a room off to the right which was larger than Cassie's entire house. There was a musical instrument in one corner that resembled a grand piano, only larger and with several rows of keys. It took up less than 10% of the space in the room.

"Supplicant?" Cassie asked Frau. "We are supplicants?"

Frau explained, "Quintan is a hierarchical world. There is a strict enforcement of the old feudal-type systems from Old Earth's medieval history. But Thorton wasn't at all 'uppity' and really a home-style kind of man."

They waited patiently and the servo returned within minutes, "The High Lord Thorton will receive you as soon as possible. Please wait here. I will come for you when he is ready to grant you access." And then the servo rolled out of the room. The three of them waited.

And waited. Cassie knew that time wasn't the same at The Station, but she knew a long time when she was in the middle of it. "How long have we been waiting here?" she finally asked Sten.

"I would guess about an hour, more or less. Oh, that would be a New Earth hour. I guess about 80 minutes for you."

The three continued to converse, pass time, and Sten even played tentatively with the musical instrument. After about another 15 minutes, the servo reappeared. "High Lord Thorton will see you now." It rolled out of the room, expecting the humans to follow. They did.

They were led into an even more imposing room and High Lord Thorton was seated behind an ornately carved desk of highly polished wood. It was beautifully rendered, but Cassie was more impressed with the drop-dead gorgeous man behind it. His features were smooth and even with beautiful, full lips that were curved in a slight frown at the moment. His cheekbones were sharp, his eyes were glacier blue, and his hair was midnight black. He had a curled mustache that reminded Cassie of silent movie villains.

"Frau, how nice to see you again. My claim has seen no more encroachment. You are a true negotiator. My servo said you needed some help?" The voice was a deep baritone.

"Yes, milord, our friend Cassie is new to The Station. She was hoping to procure a vehicle that is from Quintan, but was unsure if she could manage to operate it. We thought of you and came to see if you could help her with it."

"You want me to help this … this … " he eyed Cassie up and down and didn't even try to hide the disgust, "this … serf buy a car?"

"I'm not a serf," Cassie said in her own defense.

"Silence. I have not given you permission to speak."

"This should go well," thought Cassie.

Cassie's New Ride

Cassie looked over the lot full of machines. There were horse drawn carriages waiting to be hooked up to horses, there were Model T type old cars, there were sleek current sport's cars, and there were futuristic indescribable vehicles. She really wanted one of the latter, but was unsure if she would know how to drive it.

So she stuck with something more current for herself and picked out a moderate sized four door sedan with a comfortable interior. She was only taking a "test drive" and her plan was to get her kitchen appliance home and get Sten and Frau to come and see if they could teach her to operate the futuristic vehicle.

She got back to her house and realized she was starving. She plugged in her kitchen appliance and looked at the listed recipes. She selected blueberry pancakes with butter and blueberry syrup, a rasher of bacon cooked crisp, and coffee with cream. She dined with relish. Everything was perfectly prepared. She put the dirty dished back into the machine and hopped back in her car.

She was on her way over to Sten's house when the thought struck her that she really didn't know what time it was. Would she be intruding? Were they still asleep? Had they had their breakfast yet? She had no idea how time functioned here and she had no idea how convenient it had been to have time zones before. She really like stability in her life, she now realized.

She sat in the car parked in front of Sten's house for several minutes trying to decide what to do when Frau's head poked out the door. Frau followed and walked over to Cassie's car. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was afraid to disturb you. I wasn't sure if it was a good time to visit. I would have called first, but I don't know how since I don't have any numbers. And I don't know what time it is." Cassie was really beyond simple frustration and was close to tears.

"Come in. We do have communicators and can give you numbers to reach us. I will write them down for you. Have you had lunch?"

"Lunch? I just had breakfast. A very delicious breakfast. Lunch? What time is it?"

"It doesn't really matter, as long as you aren't still hungry. I guess you finished your kitchen."

They had walked through the garden, entered the house and sat down in the comfortable living area. Sten came in from the back of the house. "How are you doing today, dear?"

"I had a restless night, but I'm doing okay. I went into town to get my kitchen appliance. I had a walking stick or perhaps I was simply carrying a club, but I had something. I looked up and Doston was flying." Sten had looked highly concerned, but nodded her approval when she heard of Cassie's precautions. "I then got a car to get my stuff back home."

Cassie looked around and didn't know whether to ask another favor of these kind people or not. "There were some highly futuristic vehicles, shaped like triangles, no wheels. They must hover somehow. They looked sorta like a motorcycle, but not quite. Do you know what I mean?"

Frau thought for a moment and then said, "Quintanian by the description. Sten who is that fellow from Quintan, the man with the curling mustache? I can't think of his name."

"Norton? No. That's not it – Thorton. That's his name. Yes, I'm sure," Sten finally said.

"Yes. Cassie, why don't we introduce you to Thorton and then maybe he can help you with the vehicle?"

And they all piled into Cassie's Mercedes Benz and went in search of Thorton.

Peace and Quiet?

The four humans conversed about many inconsequential things. The light in Cassie's eyes began to fade and her three friends could see that she needed to rest. They left her after Sten helped her up to the loft and into bed.

Cassie immediately fell asleep only to wake after about an hour having horrible nightmares. She would calm herself and drift off to sleep again, only to waken with the memory of a leering face with a scarred forehead. She finally abandoned all thoughts of sleep and crept downstairs. She was amazed that it was daylight outside. But time didn't flow as usual here at The Station.

She was hungry, but still had not completed her kitchen. She should go to the Store and purchase – well it wasn't really purchase – retrieve a kitchen gadget like Sten and Frau had. But that would mean going back outside. Into danger. Away from the safe.

She was hungry but safe. Was she really safe here? What would happen if the serial killer knew where she lived? Would he come after her even here in her home? Was she really safe anywhere?

This type of thinking wasn't going to get her anywhere. She simply had to pull herself together. The horrid man accosted her, but she was okay. Really. She was okay. Maybe if she repeated it to herself often enough she would begin to believe it. She was okay. She would be okay. He scared her, but she was stronger than that. She was okay.

She needed to get to the store and get her kitchen equipment. "Maybe I can call Sten to go with me. I don't have a number to call. I don't even know if Sten has a number to call," she mumbled to herself. The only way to get to Sten was to walk there and she might as well walk to the Store instead. She was going to have to find out about motorized vehicles soon.

Cassie gathered her courage around herself like a coat of armor. She was okay. She would not be intimidated and locked in the prison of her own fears. She was okay. She opened the door and looked out to a beautiful spring day. Flowers were blooming and scenting the air with sweet perfume. There was a gentle breeze making the bright green leaves of the trees rustle into a lulling whisper. "I am okay," she said in a loud, strong voice.

She stepped into the yard and looked around for a walking stick that would double as a club, should she need to club any horrid men with scarred foreheads. She found a downed branch off in a corner of her yard and felt its roughness and tested its strength against the palm of her hand. It was not rotted wood, but a strong branch about four-and-a-half feet long. It was solid and sturdy and would be a weapon should she need it.

She took off for the shopping area with her thoughts blazing the trail, looking for danger everywhere. She looked up and saw a golden eagle, and felt immediately reassured. Doston was flying up there. It wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. She pictured again the blood dripping off its talons after the rapist was attacked. She was safe, she was okay.

She got into town and the store was there and still looking like a Wal-Mart. She envisioned a futuristic appliance store and something else morphed before her eyes. She entered and found the kitchen machine. Now what? She wasn't safe walking home like this. She couldn't carry it and the stick and still walk safely.

She set the machine down on the ground outside the store and wondered if she could conjure up a car dealership. And with that thought, one appeared. Now, what kind of car would she like to drive?

Who Was He?

Doston spread its wings again and took to the sky. It called down to its new friends, "I'll see you again, soon."

The four humans watched Doston soar high into the clear sky and then veer toward the left. It was soon out of sight. They stood silently in the garden for a while and then Cassie began to shiver. "Perhaps we should go back inside," said Sten.

They sat in the cozy space that Cassie had designed especially as a conversation area for friends to gather in. But it was an awkward silence. Cassie edged closer to tears, "Who was he? Why would he attack me?"

Frau asked Cassie to describe her attacker.

"He grabbed me from behind. He was more than a head taller than me, so perhaps a little over six feet tall. His hands were calloused and rough. When he threw me to the ground, I got a better look at him. He had a scar across his forehead that was curving up into his hairline near his right temple. His hair was light, but I don’t think he was truly blond."

She shuddered at the thought of the man. "He was not ugly, really rather nice looking – except for the scar. I can't tell you what color his eyes are since the light wasn't that good. Hiro, did you get a good look at him when you entered the clearing?"

"I saw pretty much what you saw, but I know who he is. I've seen him before. His Boss wrote mystery thrillers. He is a serial rapist-murderer who was on the run, then his Boss couldn't finish the story," Hiro's voice dropped off and he looked over at Cassie. She now had to know how close to death she had been.

Cassie gasped. She looked around the comfortable room eyes wide as the terror returned. "I hadn't thought of the characters who would be here. The people I met in the bar were a little rowdy, but not evil. But of course, there must be 'bad guys' here as well as the nice people, like all of you."

"There are people from every walk of life. There are detectives, police, special agents. There are criminals of every sort, as well. It is populated with the same wide range of personalities as is the real world, where the Bosses create us." Frau was aware of all the manifestations of people here. He was a negotiator on his home planet and had already been used to mediate some less pleasant encounters.

"How do I manage to go outside and be safe?" asked Cassie.

"How would you manage to go outside and be safe in your own world?" replied Sten. "It is no different here. You must always be alert to your surroundings. Perhaps Hiro could show you some ways to defend yourself should you be attacked again." Sten looked hopefully at Hiro.

"I do know a few tricks that might help you. I also have some friends who know the silent killing ways. Ninja are specially trained in ways that Samurai are not."

"I couldn't kill anyone," Cassie shuddered visibly.

"Of course not, but you could learn to defend yourself."

Frau looked at Sten and then said to Hiro, "Perhaps you could give us group lessons?"

Getting to Know Doston

Doston was happy to help Cassie get her mind off her troubles. Doston was really unsure exactly what was so special about the trouble. It had seen the larger person attacking the smaller one and heard the small cries for help. And so Doston had helped. It was the nature of the species.

"Why do you have a number to your name?" asked Cassie.

Sten and Frau didn't know there was any number involved so Sten asked, "What do you mean, a number?"

"My name is Doston3647."

"Oh. What does the number mean?" asked Frau.

"The '36' signifies that I am from the 36th merge season and the '47' means I am the 47th Doston."

The three humans looked at each other, hoping that someone had understood that, but all faces were blank. "I don't understand that," said Cassie.

"On Music, there are seasons for merging. They happen planet wide and without our understanding of the cause, but we are compelled to merge with others of our species. We form groups containing two to nine of us and drink the Merge Drink. Then we interweave our talons together to form a ring. Are you with me so far?"

"Yes," came the chorus of voices.

"We each then bud, but it is unlike normal budding. During non-Merge seasons, when we bud, we are exactly the same as the parent, but during Merge season, there are differences between parent and bud. Therefore, at that time a new name is given. Then in later years when we simply bud, a new number is given."

"I think I get it," said Sten. "How long, about, between merges?"

"Hundreds of years, sometimes as few as three hundred, but sometimes it is closer to eight hundred. We don't know what causes it."

"Would you spread your wings?" asked Hiro.

Doston looked around, "There isn't enough room in here. I could do that outdoors, though." The group went into Cassie's gardens and the warm evening. When out in the moonlight, Doston's hair took on shimmering look that was not present inside. It spread its wings.

"Beautiful," said Sten. The wings were spanning close to six feet. They were also a golden color, like Dotson's hair, but of a leathery texture. They actually looked closer to the material in a wetsuit. "May I touch?"

"Sure." All the humans reverently stroked the huge wings. They felt like velvet. Doston folded its wings and turned again to face them. When folded, the wings were practically invisible, even when seen from the back.

"I bet it is wonderful to fly." Cassie actually sounded dreamily happy while she looked up to the sky.

Injured But Home

Cassie managed to retain her composure long enough to get to her house. When Hiro opened the door and Doston helped her inside, she limped into the living room and began to sob. She ached all over and she was scared out of her mind.

Doston looked at Hiro who unhelpfully just looked back. Hiro began to leave, saying, "She needs a woman to talk to."

He was almost through the door when Doston said, "Well, go and find a woman and get back here as quickly as possible." Hiro had thought Doston was female since there was no evidence to the contrary.

Doston helped Cassie to the sofa and placed a pillow behind her head and looked up to see Hiro still standing in the doorway. "Go and get some help. Now. I have no idea what to do, either."

Hiro shook his head and gathered his wits about him and went off to find Sten.

"Can I get you something to drink?" asked Doston.

"I really didn't finish the kitchen, there isn't anything in there to drink." Cassie was still crying but less hysterically. Doston tried to comfort her, but there wasn't really much that could be done.

Sten and Hiro finally arrived back with Frau trailing behind them. Sten ran to Cassie and brushed back the tousled hair. Sten assessed the injuries. The bruising on Cassie's face was spreading but the scratches on her torso were no longer bleeding. The most noticeable ill effect of the attack was the look of fear in Cassie's eyes.

"How about something soothing to drink. Or something with a little kick to it. What would you like?" asked Sten.

Cassie again explained about the unfinshed kitchen. She could feel herself close to tears again.

"Frau will get what you want to drink. What would that be?" Sten tried again.

"Maybe some Jack Daniels and water," said Cassie. Frau left, glad to have a mission. He returned with a bottle, some ice, glasses, and a willingness to share with the group. In his absence, Sten had gotten Cassie to a much calmer state and into some fresh clothing.

Cassie took a long drink, shuddered slightly and then smiled shyly. "Thank you, all of you. Frau, Sten, I would like you to meet my savior, Doston. Doston, these are friends of mine, Frau and Sten."

"I haven't seen you up close before, although I have noticed you flying over the garden," said Sten. "Where are you from?"

Doston answered. All the humans looked quizzically at each other. "Where?" asked Sten again.

The answer was the same, musical notes without any given translation. It sounded like the beginning of a piece by Chopin – almost.

"It isn't translating." Cassie looked bewilderingly at her guests. They all nodded their agreement. "I guess we can call the place 'Music' if that is all right with you, Doston."

Doston said, "That will be fine, it is close enough."

"Hiro told us some of what happened. We are so sorry," said Frau. "What can we do to help?"

"I think I need to talk about something else right now. Doston, you said you aren't a woman?" Cassie hedged.

"That's correct. But I'm not male, either. We don't have that stuff on Music. I am just a, well, I guess I would be a Musician," said Doston.

"Maybe you could tell us about your world. It might help Cassie," suggested Sten.

Cassie Under Attack

Survival classes say to submit to a rape in the hope of living through the experience. But this man didn't look like he was going to permit Cassie to survive the experience so she might as well fight. The knife resting so close to her head told her clearly that her chance of survival was low.

As the horrid man kept one hand on her face with his fingers digging into her cheeks, his other hand tore her blouse away. The nails scratched her skin as he tore at the fabric and little droplets of blood oozed up to the fresh wounds. The new source of pain energized Cassie and she scratched and clawed at the man.

She would have liked to have gouged his eyes out, but he was taller and his arms were longer and he kept his face out of her reach. She contented herself with scratching what she could reach. If he came close enough she would bite. She attempted to buck him off her, but his weight was too great.

She screamed, as best she could, but the sound was muffled. "Who will hear me, no matter how loud I scream?" Her mind raced with thoughts of rescue and saving herself. But the man outweighed her by probably 100 pounds. Although she was strong, she wasn't that strong. The adrenaline was pumping and she knew she had to fight for her life, and so she did with the sickening realization that it was probably all for nothing.

This man's scarred face and calloused hands were her world now. She had to defend herself against this. Her mind was no longer focused on anything but her own escape with the secondary thought of harming this brute.

He suddenly cried out in acute pain and jumped to his feet. He turned and Cassie saw rivulets of blood streaming down his back. There were six red trails and his shirt was in tatters. And hovering out of reach was the golden bird.

Cassie now got a better look. It wasn't really a bird. It was golden with huge wings. The span looked to be more than five feet across, but the body contained two arms and two legs with sharp talons. There were three fingers or talons on each arm, now dripping blood with perhaps small bits of flesh on the points.

The man reached over for his knife and Cassie grabbed his arm and bit down as hard as she could on whatever she could get hold of. The man screamed again, but pushed her away and grabbed again for the knife.

The bird-type creature landed and the wings folded back flush against the spine. The face was not that of either bird or human. There were four golden eyes, no nose, something between a mouth and beak, no discernable ears. And the entire body was covered with golden hair. Cassie could no longer see the wings and wasn't sure if there were any feathers anywhere at all. The creature was without clothing and showed no earthlike gender characteristics.

But there was both power and strength in the creature. The creature was shorter even than Cassie, probably about five feet high. And was lighter in build than the man, as well. But it showed no fear and it steadily approached the now armed man.

The man himself was trying to decide whether to keep hold of the knife and slash repeatedly or to hurl the knife and hope for a killing strike. But the creature's anatomy was unknown and who knew where the heart was, certainly not he. He opted to hold onto the knife and got into a crouch.

The creature stood in what could only be termed loose preparedness. And then, in a blur, an arm shot out and raked the razor sharp talons across the man's arm and the creature's other hand (claw?) almost gently took the knife. "Leave now, while you still can," came a soft, musical voice that didn't seem to match the cold stare of the four eyes.

Footsteps were pounding toward the trio and Cassie could hear Hiro shouting, "Do you need help?"

"A heavily armed Samurai is coming this way," Cassie sneered at the man. He looked around the small forest and glared at both Cassie and the creature and then ran in the direction opposite from the Samurai's shout.

"I'm all right now," Cassie yelled. And then to the creature, "How can I ever thank you? My name is Cassie."

"I am Doston3647."

"I'm human, a woman. Where are you from?'

"Let's get you taken care of first, then we can talk."

"Cassie, what happened?" asked Hiro, stepping into the clearing and seeing Cassie, face bruised, torso bleeding, torn clothing, and in a totally disheveled state. He glared at the creature and raised his sword.

"This horrid man was going to rape me, at least, and probably kill me. But Doston here saved me. Hiro, please put the sword away. Perhaps you both could help me home?"

Cassie Returns Home

Cassie and Sten spent another pleasant hour in the garden. They spoke about men in general and Frau, the Highwayman, and Hiro in particular. Cassie maintained that the Highwayman wasn't really a bad guy and Hiro was really special. Sten, on the other hand, said that life was tough here in The Station.

Cassie was bemused by that point. Stores of all sorts could be shopped in without paying. One could have a castle just by dreaming it up. Things were beautiful all the time. What was so tough? Frau got frightened and that was nearly the end of the world? She kept that last thought to herself.

Eventually she realized it was time to leave and made her goodbyes and headed back to her perfect little cottage/cabin. She walked along a shaded road with blooming cherry trees on one side of the dusty path and blooming apple trees on the other. The sun was sinking toward the horizon and the sky was filled with opalescent colors. Peaches and plums filled the sky. "Fruit salad," thought Cassie as she hummed to herself.

Life here was idyllic. The bar was quite hectic. She had noticed that fights broke out in the bar on a rather frequent basis, but that no one was ever seriously hurt. Well, she didn't think they were seriously hurt. She had never actually seen anyone in that state.

She was nearing her home when she was suddenly grabbed from behind by a man with rough, calloused hands. One of those hands was clamped firmly over her mouth and nose making it impossible to scream effectively and difficult to breathe. Perhaps it was the panic that was making it difficult to catch her breath.

Within her line a sight came a large bladed knife. The sun glinted off the blade as it was laid against her throat. The man held her tight against his body. He was more than a head taller than she and much wider. And it all seemed to be muscle. He half lifted her off her feet and dragged her off the road and into the trees.

It wasn't a dense forest, but it turned dark almost immediately. Cassie tried to think the sun back into a high noon position but it wasn't working. Apparently this horrid man was keeping her from daylight not only by the trees but by blocking the sun.

He threw her to the ground and then laid one large booted foot across her stomach, pinning her to the earth. She looked up and saw a relatively handsome man. Tall and looming over her. Even in the gloom she noticed he would have looked much better without the scar across his forehead. She wondered why he combed his hair back and then was struck by the ludicrous thought. Panic apparently made you notice strange things.

The knife went whizzing past her head and struck the ground less than an inch from her left ear. She could hear the zip as it passed by and the thwack as it embedded in the ground. From the corner of her eye she could see it vibrating as it settled into the dry and packed ground.

The man knelt on one leg and positioned himself between her legs. She was going to be raped. She could sense not only the violence, but the angry need for power and control from this man. As he knelt there he slowly grimaced. Perhaps that was supposed to be a smile. His right hand gently cupped her face and then he began to squeeze her jaws, causing and incredible amount of pain.

Cassie looked at the man and overhead noticed one of the largest tawny golden birds she had ever seen. It looked larger than an eagle and was the wrong color. "Concentrate on something other than pain," she told herself. "Don't let this man take your soul. Lie passive, don't fight. You will be okay."

She knew she wasn't going to be okay. The tears leaked slowly from her eyes. The man started to laugh.

Hiro as Hero

Cassie had never seen such a variety of flowers. Many of the blooms were totally unfamiliar to her, but she noticed orange and yellow mums between the daffodils. That shouldn't happen.

"How can you have both fall and spring flowers blooming at the same time?" she asked.

"There are no seasons here, so everything blooms all at once," replied Sten. "I like the way the garden looks and so that is the way I've designed it."

The two women walked to a shaded portion and sat amidst some vines that held flowers with a very delicate scent. It was not quite as sweet as a rose or lilac, or as overpowering as honeysuckle. "What is this plant?" asked Cassie.

"That's a dreniaha," said Sten. "Smells delicious, doesn't it?"

With the addition of a strange word, Cassie suddenly wondered if Sten and Frau spoke English or if she just heard it as English. She felt totally ignorant, but asked about it anyway.

"We speak a form of English that is similar in many respects to the dialect you speak, but without some translation we probably would be having a terrible time trying to talk," Sten told Cassie.

There was a pause in the conversation while both women simply enjoyed the beauty and tranquility of the garden.

"Can you tell me why you dislike Hiro?" Cassie ventured.

"It isn't so much dislike. It's more that we are embarrassed. Frau especially so. You see, soon after we got here, the Highwayman accosted us. We had no idea how to respond to this type of threat. It is unheard of on New Earth," Sten began the tale.

"I don't know if he would have hurt us and I have no idea why he would want to rob us. I think that to him, it was all a game of terror and submission without any malice or intent to actual physical harm."

Cassie was amazed that she could be so calm. She had met the Highwayman and he was a large, powerful man who had a broadsword at his side and a couple of ancient pistols – well to him they were probably very modern weaponry, but to Cassie they were ancient – tucked into his belt. He would be very scary on the attack. "So, what happened?"

"Frau was a very influential person on New Earth. A Diplomat who ensured that the planetary peace was maintained. He is very gifted with the power of persuasion, but he was totally helpless in the face of such weaponry. He was mortified, scared, and unable to defend us against this threat. He could keep the peace on a planet, and was helpless before this 'lesser' man.

"Before we knew it, this Samurai came out of the forest near where we were all standing. He was slashing and cutting with both swords. He yelled at the Highwayman and threatened him. The Highwayman looked at the Samurai and went to draw a pistol when the katana blade was suddenly pressing against the Highwayman's throat.

"The Samurai growled one more time telling the Highwayman to leave. And so he left."

"I assume the Samurai was Hiro?"

"Of course."

"Then I really don't understand. He saved you. He lived up to his name and his profession and he helped you. Why do you dislike him?"

"It isn't dislike. It is … I don't know. Frau was so helpless and then so … Hiro had no reason to come to our defense. He could have easily helped the Highwayman. Frau knows that his skills were useless in that situation. He couldn't mediate, he was too frightened. He is embarrassed and angry about it, too. He knows he should be grateful, but he can't seem to find that emotion, yet."

"Do you think he can get past this? Hiro is such a nice man." Cassie's voice carried more than a touch of worship in it.

Getting to Know the Neighbors

Demonstrating the kitchen was quite easy. There were many recipes included in the machine's memory, but adding more was no problem. Cassie wasn't sure what the ingredient list included but was told not to worry about it. She could enter, as on a computer, any favorite recipe she knew, but had to be sure to include the serving size.

Sten, Frau, and Cassie sat at the table with steaming dishes. Cassie was careful with the fine china and crystal stemware, horrified that the real silver flatware would damage the delicate plates. Sten assured her that all was well, and encouraged her to "dig in" and enjoy the meal.

As the three sat with dessert and steaming coffee, Cassie decided to open the subject of Hiro. "You were highly recommended as helpful and kind people by Hiro, which seems to be borne out. Thank you for your hospitality." She then smiled in what she hoped was an open and pleasant manner and waited for some response.

None came.

They continued to sip at now cooling coffee. Cassie really wanted to know what the animosity was based on. "He was very helpful when I seemed so lost." No response.

There was more coffee poured and sipped with Sten and Frau giving each other furtive glances.

"Hiro is a very nice man. We know that. His culture is quite different from ours. Our planet has overcome all violence and we are a very peaceful and idyllic place." Frau looked at his wife before continuing, "We were confronted with a Highwayman soon after we got here."

Cassie was stunned. She had met the notorious Highwayman in the bar. He was large and powerful and elicited a visceral response from her that was in no way violent. She was caught by him as she fantasized about a tryst and it still embarrassed her. Her face now filled with color.

"Ah, I see you know him. He offended you, too?" asked Sten.

"Well, no. I thought he was quite remarkable. I mean, as a man. I mean, you know. He looked, um, well, interesting. Except that he has a barfly that stays with him all the time and she was scary."

"Did he attempt to rob you?" asked Frau.

"No. I have nothing to steal." Cassie was puzzled. There was no need to rob here, everyone could have everything. The Highwayman and his Brazen Hussy were both able to get what they wanted without resorting to violence. "And they have no need to plunder. They could have anything they wanted anyway."

"No, part of what they want is the terror the victims offer. And the Highwayman loves a good fight." Frau said this last with conviction.

"What has that got to do with Hiro?"

Sten looked at her husband and said she would tell Cassie the story later. She picked up the finished desserts and coffees and put the dishes back in the machine.

"Would you like to see the gardens?" she asked Cassie. The two women went out to a beautiful sea of colored blooms.

Modern Kitchen

Hiro suggested that Cassie talk with Stenilaw Mystol and Frausig Tlink, a couple from New Earth who had actually lived during the desired time period. He pointed out the house the couple shared. "I assure you that they are quite helpful. I must be getting back to my own home. I need to practice my sword skills."

Cassie began to protest, but then realized that she had monopolized quite of bit of Hiro's time already. "Thank you for all your help. I hope to see you around."

"I'm sure we will meet again. I'm looking forward to it," and with that, Hiro turned away and was gone from sight within two seconds.

Cassie felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and could hear Dorothy's complaint, "People come and go so quickly here," ringing inside her own head.

Cassie gathered her courage together and walked up to an imposing façade and looked for something like a doorbell. She found nothing and simply knocked.

A rather pudgy man answered the door, "Yes?"

"Hello, I'm Cassie. My Boss seems to have abandoned me here and I am looking … well, I'm trying … actually I'm hoping to get settled in. I have recently designed my home, but heard that your kitchen might give me some inspiration in setting up my own."

The man said, "Hello, I'm Frausig Tlink, but please call Frau. I'd be happy to show you the kitchen, but I'm not sure why you would find it at all interesting." He then shouted into the interior of the house, "Sten, we have company." He escorted Cassie into the house and back through a hall to the very small kitchen.

Cassie looked around in wonder. There was a small stand with a machine no larger than a microwave and a round table with four chairs. There was nothing else. Nothing else at all. Cassie looked around. "Is this the dining room?"

"The what? You asked to see the kitchen. This is it. Was there something else you wanted to see?" asked Frau who hoped sincerely that his wife would soon appear. Apparently this woman was a lunatic.

"Hello, I'm Sten," the voice came from behind Cassie. She turned and looked at an absolutely stunning woman. She was beautiful and had a friendly, open face.

Cassie held out her hand to shake, "Hi, I'm Cassie. Watanaba Hiro suggested that I get some ideas about a kitchen from you."

Sten stopped her hand halfway to the shake, "Watanaba Hiro?" She looked over at her husband and Frau's frown was bordering on angry. "You are a friend of Hiro's?"

Cassie looked between the two angry faces and paused. Why had Hiro sent her here when these people clearly didn't like him? She wished she hadn't used his name, but he was the only person outside the bar she had met so far. Well, except these two who were now going to hate her.

"I met him in the park and he has been showing me some of the ropes here," she finally confessed. "He suggested that your kitchen was remarkable and that I might find some ideas for my own kitchen," she limped on helplessly.

"I see," said Sten.

"Well, this is it," said Frau.

"Where are the appliances? Where do you store your food? Where do you cook it or clean up? I don't understand at all. It looks like a dining room," Cassie realized she was almost whining.

"Everything is right there. The food comes from that," said Sten pointing to the small microwave looking thing. "You enter a recipe and the food comes out in serving sized portions. What were you expecting?"

Cassie really had no idea what she was expecting. She was torn between her curiosity about the food machine and her concern over why this couple apparently didn't like Hiro. Discretion being the better part of valor, she asked for a demonstration of the food machine.