Lois rapped on Jib’s door. When Jib opened it, Lois said, “Can you write, Jib?”
“Yes.”
“Would you come and do some writing for me, please?”
Jib’s hesitation was fleeting. “Yes.”
Can’t help but wonder how many social norms Lois just violated.
“And Ard?”
“Ard won’t come.”
Don’t they like her? Or does Ard just not like them?
Once in her room, Lois hauled the mattress from her bed platform and positioned it on the floor next to the bed. She put ten sheets of blank paper on the hard surface. When Jib and Mo appeared at her door, she directed them to kneel on the mattress and use the platform as a makeshift table for producing copies of her story.
She really should get a table. And chairs. Chairs are always a good thing.
Lois picked up her story about the lost girl and went to Ard’s room. She rapped on her door and the tall, blonde woman appeared moments later. “Can you read, Ard?” Lois asked.
“A little bit,” Ard said.
/Cocks eyebrow/
At first Ard didn’t answer. Instead, her eyes darted around Lois’s face. “I can’t,” she said eventually.
What had Tek done to her? “Why not?” Lois asked gently.
“I lost my red pencil.”
Something smells fishy here. And it’s not the meatball surprise.
Again, Lois studied Ard - this time looking beyond her beauty – and perceived that the blonde woman had a childlike demeanour that went far deeper than her baby blue eyes and angelic fair hair. “When did you last see it?” Lois asked.
Is it possible that Ard’s having some mental problems? And what does this mean for Tek?
Ard’s response came as close to happiness as anything Lois had seen from a Kryptonian other than Kal. She didn’t smile, exactly ... not with her mouth, but her eyes seemed to fill with an understated gladness.
Looks like Lois made a friend.
And grudging amusement. Kal had collected an odd assortment of concubines – the beautiful, but still-stuck-in-childhood Ard, the two sisters rescued after the murder of the third sister and her ... an alien from another planet.
Yeah, gathering up all the strays that have nowhere else to go.
“Will there be another one?” Mo asked. “A different one?”
Was that interest? Willingness? Enthusiasm? “Yes,” Lois said decisively. “There will be another one. Will you write copies for me next time?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Lois collected the sheets and handed them to Jib. “Thank you.”
Kryptonian enthusiasm really is strange
The paper was out, the book was in the process of being completed; she had few options other than to return to Kal’s room and face him.
Yeah, what could Lois do to stay busy, lest she had to turn to educating Kal.
Kal was sitting on his bed, surrounded by files, folders and three tomes she recognised from the shelves in the chambers. “Ah ... Kal.”
Looking for a loophole?
The letter was sweet and I wonder if Kal is ever going to learn how to read Latin letters and rediscover this particular piece of paper.
His fingers had not forgotten the feel of her ribs when he’d wrapped his arms around her.
But her gown had been between them.
Yes. You’re almost there. There’s a reason why clothes are not stitched to the skin. And it’s not just because it would be kind of uncomfortable during the stitching-on.
He had found nothing to prevent the Supreme Ruler from taking a second wife. Indeed, nothing to prevent him taking as many wives as he pleased.
:p Um, it’s been a while, but did you ever mention if there have been two Supreme Rulers before the Event. And how did two sides that had nothing to do with each other develop so similar societies based on Feudalism that they could just blend them together into one long established form of government? Or did they write all these laws specially for New Krypton? This could explain why no one felt the need to insert things like only one wife for the Supreme Ruler. After all, one was a child, the next one was Nor
But how about a passage that just relates to marriage in general mentioning one wife? Would this have to be specifically highlighted to be applicable to the Supreme Ruler, too?
Legally, he could marry Lois without banishing Za.
See? Compromise. Oh, and this reminds me of a Star Trek Episode. There was a bunch of surviving settlers, I think 1000 or so, and the doc concluded that they would need to each have at least three kids with three different partners for three generations to ensure genetic diversity.
He lingered. She guessed he was waiting for another book to take to his children.
He wouldn’t be getting it!
Ouch. Yeah, Tek’s not shagging up with Ard. And he’s confused. But he doesn’t know why.
“Where do you live, Tek?” Lois asked coldly. Unfortunately, she doubted he would discern the censure in her manner.
“House number fourteen.”
“I’m taking the new book to your children,” Lois informed him in a tone that left no room for argument.
Tek leant over her desk and picked up the pencil. On a blank sheet, he wrote a figure – it looked like an ‘x’ enclosed in a box. “That is the number fourteen,” Tek told her. “Turn left when you leave the gates and look for this number on the door. It is the ninth house on the right.”
Lois was a little shocked at Tek’s sudden verboseness.
Yeah, me, too. But it was funny. And after the rest of this part and the previous comments here, I got the impression that maybe his wife gave him explicit directions how to handle such an event
Who knew how Ard would respond to physical touch?
Everything considered, that’s probably a good choice.
Lois stopped, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
Coffee.
I did not expect this. On the other hand, if they are genetically compatible, why wouldn’t they have stuff that tastes similar and has the same effect on the body.
“That word doesn’t translate,” Riz said. “But what you can smell is beverage.”
“Beverage?” Lois questioned.
“Would you like some?” Riz offered.
“Oh, yes.” Lois was a little embarrassed to realise she was practically frothing at the mouth and only just controlling her inclination to push past Riz and storm into the house to ferret out the coffee.
Michael
