Return to Sender
by Jennifer Christine
Part 10

A slightly longer chapter for Christmas. Hope you all have a good Christmas.

When I woke I moved the cot and babies through to the bedroom, Paul awoke and I felt a mental nudge for food. Though how I knew it was food I have no idea. The bot had come in with the cot but I offered Paul my breast and he settled down on that giving me the most amazing high I had ever had. It wasn’t erotic, but it was very fulfilling and for Paul it was filling full. Just as I finished with Paul, Ruth asked for a go and I swapped them over.
The bot changed Paul as I fed Ruth. *Thank you bot.* I thought and the bot beeped at me. I passed Ruth back in and bot changed her too — we all went back to sleep!

It continued the same way for a wee while; I used my thoughts to ‘talk’ to the babies and the two signals food and sleep became several more as they became more aware of the surroundings and the presence of other ‘minds’.

I moved the babies around with me for a while to the kitchen and back and to the bathroom — but after a day or two I left them where they were and tried to use the facilities while they were asleep. They must have been aware of my proximity as they were alarmed the second I was out of their immediate vicinity. I had a lot of excess fluid to get rid of so I was forever in the loo and they were forever worried I wouldn’t be back in ten seconds. We got used to it quickly.

“Molly, what am I going to do when we get Earthside, I can’t take them everywhere with me.”

I’ll send a bot down with you to keep them company at night, but you’ll have to be with them the rest of the time. At least for the first two years.” Molly sniggered.

“Would a bot be a good idea? If someone visited, it would be a little odd having a minirobot changing the kids and feeding them…”

“It will look like a bit of furniture and won’t be obtrusive. The children will know not to sound out mentally in a few weeks. They’ll just do it when you are alone. They already know the difference. Though they don’t know there’s no others like them. I expect they’ll scare a few other babies when they’re out in their push chairs — you know — doing the *Hi, my name’s Paul* at them — they’ll freak!” Molly chuckled and I got very alarmed at the thought of them thinking hellos at other children and getting a bad reaction from other mothers.

Being home alone wouldn’t be a problem unless someone tried to break in — there’d be a very alarmed burglar.

It was 10 days when Ruth sent a coherent message at me, I’d been talking and thinking to them; telling them stories and the usual baby talk stuff.

*mum, cuddle* I heard, and tears sprang to my eyes, my baby’s first thoughts….I started to giggle and become a little hysterical bouncing Ruth gently *who’s my clever girl then?* I smiled at her and held her close and rubbed her soft face on mine. The electricity of it was amazing — the skin to skin contact of our heads was like a mental link. I felt like I was downloading info. *Nice cuddle mummy. Soft face* I looked her in the eye we smiled at each other. These children would be hard to put into a school. There would be little they could learn.

*Me now mummy.* Paul waggled his arms. Physically still unable to coordinate them but mentally able to think coherent thouhgts. The next year would be frustrating for them I guessed.

Until Paul levitated off the bed towards me. Whoa… I suddenly had two babies in my arms.* Steady on you two, learn to walk before you fly.* Both chortled and beamed at me. I could see this was going to be very tiring.

By the end of week two the babies were sitting up using levitation because their little muscles weren’t strong enough to support them. And watching the news. They didn’t understand much but they got some sense of it and I gave them insights into what was going on, most of which still went over their heads. I guessed their IQs at about 300.

The drug crops were failing all over the world and only legitimate growers were able to produce enough for legal services. They had to employ a lot of guards but that wasn’t a problem — there was so much more money available in the market that it wasn’t hard to raise everyone’s wages.

There had been a lot of deaths, several hundred thousand had died — all but a few were bad people. The others, unlucky to have been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. I felt wracked by guilt and my head spun with the responsibility of the situation I’d precipitated Many drug cartels had fought with the others, suspecting them of theft of their goods and carnage had ensued. The Afghanies were planting vegetable crops instead of opium poppies because there were no opium seeds for most of the farmers. The Taliban were withdrawing to lick their wounds — they had no resources now that the drugs were no longer flowing. Guns and ammunition were not only scarce but also reason to plunge a knife into the odd back — internal strife was beginning to tear them apart
This was a fact of life and whilst I still felt guilt, I also felt that I’d rather they stabbed each other than a lawful protector of the people.

The American army could go home. The Afghani women were freed from bondage because the Taliban could no longer force their twisted values on them. Women went back to working in the hospitals and schools. The world was heading for a strange sort of proscribed peace. That made me feel better but that carnage I’d created left a lump in my throat and a depressing sadness that it seemed to be the only way.

Over the next two weeks it was obvious that things were changing fast

There were areas of unrest which continued to create a sort of resource drain, people being killed and maimed in skirmishes for power in areas where the corrupt elite had been overthrown, or were trying to hold out against the proles.

No place was worse than Russia where opium that should have come from Afghanistan and Pakistan was suddenly not there. The cartels pulled a vacuum, prices skyrocketed which caused a small surge in robberies and drastic crimes then when no heroin was available at all, the system collapsed and the rats deserted the sinking ship, shooting the kapos and leaders on the way. This was made worse by hooked junkies desperately seeking even the smalles relief from their withdrawal symptoms.

Smaller economies collapsed completely — North Korea became even more militant and Kim Jong Un tried to fire a missile with the intention of precipitating a war, which when you consider what Molly had done was quite a mistake as the missile just melted down right where it was and created a dirty bomb for the locality — anyone in the local area of the silo was contaminated with plutonium 238 and became ill and died within a few days.

The North Korean hierarchy checked the other silos and blamed spies from South Korea for the bomb and fired two more missiles with similar results. The regime began to implode.
China was very surprised and checked their missiles too. They had yet to be ‘adjusted’.

So far it was going quite well I thought — I’d only been at this for a year and already the world was a different place.

“Present calculations predict that if you keep interfering at this level, there will be global conflict within 5 years. This will cause 1 billion deaths and create famine that will kill another 2 billion over the next fifteen years.” Molly intoned one day when I was sat with my children on the Lunar site..

I felt dizzy as my blood pressure went up. “What are you talking about?”

“The instability you are creating is getting the economists jumpy and it will initiate a depression worse than the 30’s.” Molly waited for my reaction.

“Any recommendations?”

“You need to get back to Earth and do some buying of stocks to regulate the market.”

“Which stocks?” I gasped

“I can do an analysis but you’re going to be propping up a few countries for a while.” Moly droned on.

“What about my babies?” I blushed thinking of the times this must have been used as an excuse by countless women in the past.

“Take them with you, they’ll soon be able to help.”

The truth was at but a few days old they were already beginning to understand that they were different.

They made very little noise and were always floating about up and down the corridors. Molly upbraided them more than once when they wanted to open the door to the surface of the moon.

When I found out, I went ballistic.

*Children, I am in the dining room, I want to see you immediately.*

Two little contrite Mekons soon appeared at the door and settled on their high chairs.

I spoke out loud knowing that their awareness was a lot more than even a few hours before.
“I know you are keen to explore your little world and your minds are open to all the stimulus that we can possibly put your way. The problem is that we’re on a moon around our planet and there’s no air outside this apartment, you would not survive outside even for a minute. Do you understand?”

*Sorry mummy, we excited… learn.* Paul spoke for them.

I reverted to mental projection.*Have you seen other babies like you on the vid screen?*
I looked at them for signs of comprehension. They both sort of nodded.

*Why they not in air? Lie down?* Ruth asked.

*You are not like them, you are like me, special.* They nodded.*Only you and me go in air.* I pointed to them both.

*You go too? No big people in TV in air.*

I demonstrated my ability to float — it didn’t come as easily as theirs, but I had found I was able during my pregnancy — it was a boon to my back!

*We also speak with mind not sound — I make noise, no words.* Ruth struggled, mewling and growling a bit.

“That takes time,” I spoke, “your bodies are very young. Need to learn.”

*Mm, learn we must,* Paul thought at me, sounding much like Yoda.

I smiled and tucked them into bed. *no getting up unless I’m with you, goodnight darlings.*

*night mummy* in unison.

I lay down thinking. *Molly, can you organize a meeting with our sponsors?*

*Yes, of course. When?*

*I don’t know, how long does it take them to get here.*

*What? physically?* I could hear the incredulity in Molly’s ‘voice’.

*Well how..ever it’s done.* I suggested, realising that it would be impractical if they were several hundred light years away.

*Four hours would be polite, unless it was an emergency, for a holomeeting.* Molly advised. *Any particular subject?*

*Diplomacy and interfering… not yours I hasten to add.* I didn’t want her to get huffy. “I have a lot to learn about molding Earth to the future, I don’t need to kill everyone to make Earth better.*

*Frankly, that may not be a bad thing in the long run.* Molly sounded a bit dismissive.

*What do they look like?.. our sponsors I mean.* I didn’t want to appear shocked if they were like arthropods (Slugs) or something.

*Mostly mammals with various height and colour differences — some warm blooded reptilians, or what you might define them as. Other species don’t seem to make the cut for intelligence.*

*No AIs? or manufactured intelligences?*

*No, C3PO only exists in the movies…* I’m sure that Molly sniggered. A short pause and *The delegation will meet with you after this sleep period about 10 hours from now. They are looking forward to it.*

I was sat in the conference room, the other chairs were empty and the lights bathed the area in a warm glow. The table was some sort of stone or it looked like it — about 20 feet long, with a sheen like polished ebony.

“Stand by. Delegates are incoming.” The sound of Molly being so totally formal was suddenly strange and I perked up a bit.

The lights flickered slightly I thought, then realised it was the lasers for the holograms as the delegates appeared before me. In a few seconds it seemed they were totally real. The colours and naturalness of the textures were wholly normal, or is that holo-normal?

A brief pause and the tall blue guy with epaulettes and almost white hair stood and bowed slightly to me. *Good day to you Helen, I am Tarl Gros, I am honoured to meet you, it is not often we welcome a new member to our council.*

I rose and bowed back, *I am both honoured and surprised to be meeting with you all. A few months ago I would have been overawed by the thought of your very existence now I am here on my moon talking with delegates from many light years distance.*

A smaller humanoid with an orangey hue ‘spoke’. *You have called us here from our respective home worlds we seldom actually meet with each other. It is always a pleasure too meet with a new member planet’s representative, since we thus all get to meet with each other again.* She paused then continued,*I am Brilissae* She bowed briefly.

All 12 delegates spent a minute greeting each other and Helen, then Tarl looked to Helen.

*Helen, you requested a meeting with us. How may we be of assistance to you?*

*I was lying awake last night and realised that I’ve become the leader of a world without any of the experience that I need to do even a poor job. I have no skills and no readily available data to give me an idea of what damage or good I may do whilst trying to improve the lot of my fellow man.*

*It is a creditable request indeed, Helen. You are indeed without the depth of knowledge that would give you the insight to do the job easily. However, you are more than mentally capable and physically empowered to convince any of the world leaders that you have the ability to lead them to a civilized future.* Brillisae nodded in deference to Helen and placed her hands together in a universal language of peace.

A biped. with figured colourful scales, half way down the room, coughed gently and spoke. *Helen, I am Piran, I of all the delegates live closest to you, in the direction of what you call Orion. It is a minor system, not yet in your data banks. However our civilization is one of the older ones and we have visited here quite often watching you climb the ladder of thought and ideals.
I am willing to spend some time with you to help you make decisions that will perhaps be beneficial to your peoples.*

The others clapped and thanked Piran, for her generosity of spirit. *I will be available whenever you wish to converse- over perhaps the next 100 years or until we decide further to meet again and make other arrangements.*

My mind boggled. This perfect stranger has put herself at my disposal to meet with me whenever I wish for the NEXT 100 YEARS. We only met five minutes ago!

*I thank you Piran for your inestimable offer of assistance and support. I know I shall be taking you up on it; I will try not to do so without need.* I bowed deeply to Piran. I was more than grateful.

*Your Mowllry unit will give you a lot of assistance if you frame your questions well. They do have a tendency to be lazy and take the shortest route to an answer if you let them.* A female who looked fairly similar to human smiled at me and I swore she winked at me! * I am Avadine, I am pleased to welcome you to the council. Before we leave, I shall initiate a download of some pertinent facts about our star systems and how we may best assist you..* ( I found out later that her eyes worked independently)

One by one each member of the council spoke to Helen and offered some kind of assistance which whilst not physical would be of inestimable use over the coming centuries. There seemed to be little to do but allow Molly to make notes of who offered what and reprise me later.

Avadine rose and made a semi formal speech of welcome and before they departed spoke with an advising tone *Helen, we welcome you to our circle. Each of us is leader of our worlds. Some of us are openly leaders several of us are not. We choose not to be at the forefront of our worlds as there is still some tendency for others to want to usurp the power of whoever leads. Thus we do it from behind the scenes. I urge you to do similarly at least for the next few hundred years, until your peoples walk together in harmony.* Heads round the table nodded sagely at this warning.

I rose to reply. *I thank you all for your inestimable input, which will be taken to heart, I assure you. It is still difficult for me to come to grips with the length of time I may be around. I am what you may term a precipitous and precocious youth and may be for quite a while until I learn to curb my enthusiasm and willful ideas. My children are with me and have shown they possess the talents which I have recently become aware of in myself. With their aid I will be more able to manage this amazing opportunity to become a part of this council.* I sat feeling very humble indeed. These people had led their worlds from anonymity for hundreds or thousands of years. I was barging about clicking my fingers and messing up the status quo without considering the consequences. I was time I got my feet back on Earth - literally!

Slowly one by one the delegates faded from view after they said goodbye to their friends and allies, until only Molly and Helen remained.

“Molly, I must return to my house in Sydney. Could you bring my car to the Putty Road and put in it the necessary baby stuff. Oh and I’ll need their birth certificates if you have them.”

I walked quickly to the nursery and my babies were flitting round the room like cherubs chasing each other and giggling.

“Children, please settle down, I have something to say.” The babies settled slowly to the bed and listened to their mother.

“In a short while, we will be returning to Earth which will mean you must behave like other babies whilst there is the slightest chance that you will be observed by other people.
If you do something that is seen by someone to be different, you will put us all in great danger, do I make myself understood.”

The children looked at each other and then Ruth nodded and replied. *Yes, mummy but it will be very hard. We will try not to let you down.” They both looked a bit sad, like their summer holidays were over.

“I can’t get the car out of the car park at the apartment in Brisbane. There’s a surveillance camera pointed at it permanently, it would be missed. The car in Sydney is too small for you and the babies with all their gear.” Molly sounded frustrated.

“That’s Ok Molly order a load of stuff to be delivered to both Brisbane and Sydney and Set me and the kids down at Brisbane Airport - out of sight of course.”

“Best I can do is Outside the station at Park road. There’s cameras everywhere else. Unless you want to interfere with a camera?”

“No, that’s ok, we’ll go by train and get a taxi from Southbank.” I said resignedly.

I put the babies in the double pushchair picked up my bags and walked down to the plate. “Ok babies? This may feel yucky but it won’t do any harm ok? Energise.”

We appeared behind a bus stop shelter at Park Road and I instantly looked up and down the road to check we weren’t seen. I then looked at two - well actually I looked at four very wide eyes. *Mummy that was hurty.*

*Molly, you’ll have to sort that, it still hurts, even though I’m used to it.*

*You’ve no idea what the babies left behind Helen. It was all over the plate. I re-energized it to the surface* Molly sounded long suffering. I giggled and the babies smiled. They were well aware of the conversation.

I walked round the corner to go for the train and there was a taxi waiting. I decided it was a better idea and got into the taxi and within minutes we were home.

The concierge looked at the babies as we entered and said, “What a fine pair. Let me know if you want a babysitter, my youngest sister is still trying to earn a few dollars. Here’s your mail, I would have put it in your apartment but I keep getting waylaid before I can get there.”

We took the lift and I was inside and putting on the kettle within a minute.
There on the counter were two baby bottles and a rather nice looking gin and tonic.
“Compliments of the season and welcome home ma’am” intoned the baby sitter. My babysitter. “I perceived your arrival and made suitable refreshments.”

For about ten seconds I was mentally looking round for a human then realised it was an AI. The children spiked fear. Then I realised I have a butler! Oh how sweet is that?

“Thank you, what should I call you?”

“You can call me anytime, but I’d like to answer to Andrew.” I grinned — a butler with a sense of humour, no less. I looked him over and I couldn’t tell him from a normal human.
He was also very good looking in an older sort of way.

*Molly, is he one of yours?*

*Yes Helen, I thought he might be a nice surprise. He has protective capability and is a very good driver.*

*Thank you, I almost fainted when he spoke up, but I realised before I dismembered him that I’d asked for a baby sitter.*

I looked round and realised he was no longer there. I heard him in the bedroom — unpacking for me. Sweet as!

Paul asked, *Mummy, man downstairs, is normal? No thoughts?*

“Yes darling, he’s a normal. Not like us.”

*Let us out please.* Ruth was trying to get out of the seat belt in the push chair and her little hands couldn’t undo the clip.

I reached down and unclipped both and they floated free after struggling for a moment or two. Earth’s gravity making them work harder for a change.

*Not easy to float here.* Ruth slipped to the ground and sat for a minute.

“Perhaps that will remind you that we must be careful.” I walked over and closed the curtains — I wasn’t overlooked but some perv may have a telescope.

*Does anyone round here have a telescope, Molly?*

*I’m always on the lookout for that sort of thing Helen, so is Andy. You also would feel the stray thought if you were being observed — thoughts direct themselves to the observed, much like you can feel if someone is watching you, your sense is much more defined — you will know*

We settled in.
I watched the news with the children and Andy washed the clothes and made himself utterly useful.

There was a bit of brinkmanship going on with the Syrians and the Israelis — for a change.
I idly wondered if I could influence them from here. Should I get closer?
*Molly, is there a way to mentally calm people from a distance?*

*Only if you can identify them properly by their mind signature.*

*Oh, ok* So that’s out unless I can see him live on TV and work out which is his mind amongst 10 million others in the area.

*Can I directly influence a person, live on TV?* A different angle.

*Most certainly and I can even assist if I know who you are directing against.*

*Can you tell me when there’s a live broadcast from Syria and put it on my TV here?* I’m getting very gadgetty now!

*I can, but that would produce a second or so delay each way to the moon. It would be hard to work like that. Instead, I can redirect Syrian TV direct to you from network cable at the Syrian Embassy. Would that be what you need?*

*Yes, I want to do a mental suppression on Syrias President.*

*You’re messing with a hotpotato Helen, it may cause a worse problem.*

*Yes, you’re right — forget it.*

I grabbed Ruth’s leg as she passed me to reach Paul.

“Missy Ruth, please don’t keep floating about, it’s not natural.” I felt paranoid and stretched my mind outwards for signs of someone watching. *Molly, there’s a camera in here, I can feel someone watching me*

*On it - It’s not in your apartment, it’s outside in the hall, I’m intercepting the signal.
Whoever it is can’t see you where you are, it’s into your bedroom through the outside wall from the passageway to the lift.*

I slowly rose and walked into the bedroom. I pretended to stretch as I twirled round the room locking onto what was a tiny spot on the wall — just below the ceiling. I spread my net wider to see if anyone was watching — that BLOODY Concierge. I hit him with a blow to the mind.

“Andy, be a love and pop down to the front desk and invite our dear concierge up here please. Don’t take no for an answer.”

“At once madam.” Andy slipped away quietly.

A minute or two later, a very red concierge was stood in front of me.

“Well what have you to say for yourself?”

“About what Ms Cartwright?” He feigned ignorance.

“I’m only going to give you one chance, tell me who fitted up my apartment with a camera?”

“What camera?” He continued to play dumb.

I reached into his head and looked, I saw a pretty dirty mind that had some images of most of the tenants with no clothes on. Some children too. Oh God. I looked to see if there was anything odd about what he’d seen in here — found a few scenes of sex with various lovers — perv stuff, but not one picture of strange conversations or science fantasy. He’d seen nothing, but it didn’t mean no one else had.

Who else looked through these cameras to the tenants?

I sorted through another area and dug out the phone number of his friend who shared his penchant for voyeurism.

“Andy phone 07 555 6486 and ask our dear friend, Bob to come up and see us.

*That’s an address in Coorparoo Helen.* Molly injected it’ll be a while before he gets here.
I looked at the concierge, “phone your friend” I ordered him. He tried to resist and I pushed a little . He pulled out his phone and dialed,

“Bob, come over to the apartments — I’ve got something you just have to see. Yeah, right now.”

“He’s in town and will be here in a few minutes.”

While we waited I walked into the bedroom and asked Andy to pull on the fibre optic and see what transpired 4 metres of fibre optic came out of the wall. I looked at the miserable little bastard and felt like strangling him with it.

“Where’s the camera?” His mind told me — *in the service duct*. I walked over and grabbed his keys, “excuse me won’t you? I tossed them to Andy who went out and opened the service duct and pulled out the little camera and one that connected to the apartment across the hall, together with its fibre optic.

“I found these ma’am,” he put them on the counter in front of one very miserable man.

“So do you have any idea why I called you here tonight?” I enquired with as much sarcasm as I could muster. I suddenly noticed the children’s faces behind the concierge looking round the door edge — about 4 feet from the floor — it’s hard to imagine a less likely place for 2 three week old babies to be looking from. I started giggling.

“Andrew, would you please look after the babies, I pointed and stopped our miscreant getting curious. He had no idea why I giggled and was wondering when the other shoe was about to fall. The phone rang in his pocket. “Tell Bob to come up here.”

“Come up to apartment 4b.” He rang off.

I opened the door and Bob walked in. I stopped him where he was and checked him for guilt.
It was a little odd, this character had more nooks and crannies in his head than a log with termites. Each one filled with nasty stuff. Some of it was just porn, but some of it was sinister stuff drugs and kiddy porn prostitution and protection.

Then I saw why, he was a policeman. A detective no less. “Bob, nice to see you here,” I smiled at him and he looked at our erstwhile felon. “What’s going on Ralph?”
I watched him pretend to distance himself from his mate.

“Bob, you may not know this, but Ralphy here has dropped you in it, he has told us that you have been watching the people in this building whilst unaware.”

Bob seemed shocked, “Why would he do that? Why would he implicate me?” He looked at Ralph for an answer — a sort of ‘if you don’t admit to this and take all the blame, you’re going down.’ He continued reaching into his pocket. “I’m a detective, why would I want to do anything like that?”
I looked at his badge and said, “That’s not going to save you, you’re as bad as Ralphy here.”

“I have the evidence right here and there’s going to be your fingerprints in Ralphy’s den isn’t there?” the two looked defiant.

I’d spent the idle minutes wondering if these two had seen anything, I’d searched their heads quite thoroughly and they were perverts, but they hadn’t witnessed anything strange.

Bob decided to bluff it out. “I was following a line of enquiry and Ralph had undertaken to acquire the information, I know nothing about how he did it.”

“BUZZZ — wrong. You have sat in Ralph’s nasty little hideaway, watching the tenants shagging and stripping, without a care in the world. Now you’re telling me you were doing it to fight crime. Bullshit.”

Andrew pop downstairs and remove the wiring for these cameras please and pull all the cameras from the service ducts.

“You can’t do that, it’s private property.” Detective Bob said.

“What do you prefer, waking up in the morning not in the river, or not waking up in the river?”

I watched the lump travel up and down the throat of both men.

“Right off you go, don’t do it again.” Their little eyes lit up like it was Christmas — they’d got away with it, they smirked at each other as they reached the door. As they passed through the door I wiped all memory of the cameras from their minds and I wiped all the shite from Bob’s mind and all the nasty kinkiness from Ralph’s. They looked at each other a bit puzzled and went to the lift.

I heard the kids chortling in the next room. I walked through and leaned on the doorframe. “That my dear children is what a lot of ordinary people are like. It’s our job to improve their lot and make them nice — to make the world a good place to grow and be happy in. Right bed time you two.” I kissed them goodnight and turned off the light. I spent the next twenty minutes searching the apartment all for all the possible bugs and other things that shouldn’t be there.