It took almost a week to get written Common Language down. That is when Nora's anxiety worsened, she developed insomnia and was up for days. Luckily her restlessness and anxiety was seen as normal, who would not be scared in her situation. Especially when she learned of the horrors of this planet. The planet indeed had a power structure. Women were at the top, and were deemed as Matriarch of the Clan, it was more akin to a chief or lord. Men had four classes, Alphem existed as a secondary class. They were natural born sons of other chiefs, they including the second class called Bitas made up the breeding pool that the Matriarchs would select three or more Bound Mates, which would be part of their Bind; this world s version of a Harem.
Bitas were rarely accepted due to prejudice of them being born for the "Racks", the a lab grown uterine like tissue in which gestation of genetically combined individuals like Gimmel and Daleth were conducted. It was very rare, unless they were exceptional or had caught the eye of a woman that they would be selected. The Gimmel were engineered for intelligence and the Daleth for strength and obedience. All males had their own Rights within society, however they were always at the mercy of the Ruling class and social credit. Social credit was used to have children and for better housing and it could be deducted and increased at will by Matriarchs. It was not the only thing the Matriarchs could do at will. The most powerful could murder with little to no repercussion. This world's history and social structure left her very depressed. Which was normal, if people thought you lost everyone you loved in life. Which she did. Nora had forgiven her sister, she forgave Mark. Nora did not want to cry again today, she took a calming breath in as she practiced and closed the Educational Program, she closed the AR screen.
"Did I pull on your hair?" Liem asked. He was pretty certain she was upset again. She had started reviewing the History Material available.
"No." Nora said as she wiped at her eyes. "Really, Liem. You are so talented. Thank you.", Nora said. He was very educated and talented. He did not look at her like she was an anomaly.
"Please stand up and raise your arms," Liem said politely.
"You could probably teach me to do this." Nora said as she followed the instructions, looking into his eyes sadly as he dressed her. She hoped he noted her cooperation. She felt bad, but he assured her that he actually enjoyed helping her.
"You barely look away from the Interface." Liem said with a laugh.
"I will be done someday soon." Nora said. She was learning. She was never really concerned with her hair, makeup and jewelry. It was something they would do to pass time and stave off boredom after lessons. She would have to get used to being treated like this.
"It is really alright. I told you that I actually enjoy this. My fathers taught me. I would help my Mother and my sister. I actually like you." Liem said, enjoyed himself as he helped her dress. Nora laughed at the dig. He wrapped a long cream-colored dress around her that was embroidered with golden thread. He then placed multiple pieces of jewelry on her wrists, ankles, toes and fingers. She was then draped with a beautiful tiered diamond necklace. She was spritzed with the Uzuza perfume she loved. Liem had overcome his mysophobia pretty early on in their friendship. She never touched him, and she apologized for accidentally grazing his flesh. He felt no nausea or urge to bathe.
"Excuse me for a moment. I will be back in a few moments." Liem said to Nora. Several people would be shocked if they knew he had gotten over his aversion. It had become harder. He was having a hard time as he grazed her skin just now. He looked to admire his work. She was exotic, she looked beautiful. He had seen other women before in passing, but they never had this effect on him. He excused himself quickly as soon he felt himself start to throb and hurriedly went to the bathroom. This was going to be easy.
'This is different. What am I going to do about this? What should I do if she sees it someday and is offended or wants to do something? I could do that if she wanted to? What are you thinking about? Learn to maintain your control around her. Just wait.' Liem thought.
He never pictured himself with a woman. Over the weeks he had been working with Nora, he started to have dreams about that. He had not had a physical reaction to a woman like this, without feeling disgusted for a long time. Liem stared down at the very awkward protrusion, wishing it would disappear. His cheeks flushed red as he waited in the bathroom. Nora walked confidently out to enjoy the terrace. It was a beautiful day.
Liem entered the sleeping room again and found her missing. He walked out to the living area and saw the open terrace door. Liem walked out the door to the terrace to see her rapidly flipping through the language section in her Interface on grammar. While he was gone, she pulled the towel from underneath the dress. He assumed she did this as cultural northern modesty. Once she was released from the binding of the towel she had filled out the dress he had put on her incredibly. She would attract a lot of attention. Her Bind would have to be diligent in her safety. He would continue to teach her in the room and be very cautious about any outings in the future as long as she was in his care. They would have to be.
Her transport guards and hospital staff were already sending inquiries as to her status to him, which he found odd, considering it was very unprofessional. They were lucky that he did not touch their social credit. If were were any other delegate, these people might find themselves in front of an administrator. Liem was puzzled about what to do with them. His mother would soon realize the problem as well. She did not have as much patience as he or his fathers did with possible stalking. She could not have empathy for them because she had lived her life without wanting, without much suffering. Mostly pampered. He did his best to deter the staff that followed and had them promise to return home. He only hoped that they would follow through once their leave was up.
His ear pricked on hearing Nora practicing the pronunciation of new terms. He came to the realization that she was smarter than an Alphem. She was probably free of all the heavy gene editing. She was what they were before everything went wrong in the world.
Was her scent a natural ability as well? She was acclimatizing to the environment and the routine they set up for her so far. Liem could tell that she was getting restless, but she was scared to venture out. He understood that it would be a cultural shock for her. Liem walked up to her as she read.
He did not even have to ask her to start studying, she knew the power of knowledge. His sister Leilanna did not see the necessity of learning when you are a woman. It frustrated her to be in class. She had just finished the basic course work to receive her title. He tried to encourage her in his youth. But she saw no need. Unfortunately, this was a common attitude among women. Everyone needed to learn so they were interesting to talk to, so their minds would not be numb, so they could keep finding purpose in this mess of a world. He thought it was a shame to avoid learning. He had cared for his sister so much, she changed so much for the worse. If he were in her shoes, he would already have been managing the Clan. It was such a waste. The best thing his sister did was give him access to the Allari name by proxy of being her twin.
"I see that you found the Matriarch educational resources. I had hoped you would complete other courses beforehand," Liem explained. "I have notified leadership that you will self-study in your room until you feel confident enough to walk around. Do you have any questions or requests?" Liem asked. Nora remained transfixed, her face growing more horrified. Her eyes remained on the screen and then realized that he had spoken to her and missed what he had said. She smiled as kindly as she could and craned her head upwards.
"Nora?' Liem asked.
"I am sorry, what did you say?" Nora said. He repeated himself.
"I do not know. I read some of it, I am just having a hard time with the information. You know how Northerners felt about all the changes, it just seems like it grew worse when they left. It is just hard to conform to a belief that is wrong. I was raised to see you and others as equals. I cannot treat men like tools, I cannot hurt innocent people to keep them in line. I just cannot." Nora said. She was getting upset.
'I did not anticipate this kind of reaction from a Northerner. What is going on? She cannot talk any further.' Liem thought.
"Shhhh. Nora." Liem said as he abruptly grabbed her shoulders and brought her close to him. He hugged her to soothe her like a child. "I know how you feel, but we cannot talk about these things in mixed company." Liem whispered. Men were in the room. These men reported to the delegate station independently and were not Allari staff. These were Bitas from different families. She was still a popular topic of discussion. The door was closed but he could hear them. She stared up into his eyes, her slightly teary eyes shaking along with her tiny body.
"I get it is upsetting. You will not want to say things like this aloud to anyone you do not trust with your life Nora." Liem said in a hushed tone. He had not meant to scare her.
"Can I trust you?" Nora asked. She was shaken by the sudden proximity and warning.
"Yes. Of course." Liem answered, surprising himself. He pulled her into a hug again.
"You do not have to view men or treat them as they are written about in the learning materials, but you cannot say things like this aloud. It is dangerous. Especially to other females, or around unknown and untrustworthy individuals," Liem said gently. Nora trembled. "I am sorry Nora. I scared you." Liem said as he released her. She looked up into his eyes, a ringlet stuck to her face. He gently plucked it off her face. Nora took a few breaths, she could not believe she had dropped her guard.
"I will probably not get along well with other women. I guess this means I can trust you more than I thought I could," Nora said. Liem removed his hands, aware of his proximity to her. He had touched her without her thinking.
"Yes, of course. You are safe with me." Liam said. "I am sorry, I grabbed you without asking." Liem continued. He would be awake late pondering this and her response. Northerners formed spousal groups. They opposed the slave class, but there were still great equality issues at that time for men. He did not expect to hear this from her lips.
"I presume the meal is ready. Shall we." Nora said. She pulled away and opened the door and walked in. The food here consists of proteins and vegetables. There were no starch laden carbohydrates like rice or grains on the plate. She would fancy a potato. This meal looked like it contained white meat. Every meal was a guessing game for her in her head. Nora rubbed her palms together in delight. Of course, Liem would tell her what the protein was. Sometimes it tasted familiar. There were many different evolutionary paths plants and animals could take. This could be from any bird or reptile. Her meals were catered to her physiology by the nutritionist managing her health.
"It smells so good." Nora said, and then swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Eager to practice her skills when the men went to leave, she quickly thanked them in their own native language. She would treat men well. The two Bitas servers smiled and stopped moving as if caught in a tractor beam. She smiled at them, and they blushed and smiled goofily back at her, unable to control the serious professional facades in front of the Alphem and the girl in the room. Liem witnessed this and their audacity. He snapped at them.
"The meal is served. You may leave." Liem said sternly. The two Bitas men straightened their posture in response. The men collected themselves and gave a nod. Liem registered the whole series of events, did not let the alarm that ebbed into his mind register on his face.
"They were probably just shocked, Liem. Do not think the worst about them. Besides, I rarely see these two. I think I saw them last month? I learn a lot by hearing you talk to others. It helps me train my accent." Nora said, lightly chastising her teacher. "I learn where to put inflections and various slang words. Through listening to you interact with them. Not only that, I learn to gesture and body language," Nora explained.
'These reactions are becoming more and more common. Lingering. The staring that would not usually happen among staff when serving a Matriarch. None would dare.' Liem thought. He had to carefully guard her now. Liem had received reports of staff showing up in Callor from the base. It was not irregular for people to vacation in Callor due to the climate. However, all the medical staff from the Izaberne Station that had attended to her directly had arrived. Some of them are requesting transfers to the city professionally. Three to this very site, even for maintenance positions far below their qualifications.
"You do not need to learn from them," Liem said, wrinkling his brows. "You will end up sounding very rough. Your manners will seem odd. You will learn a lot from me later and from my Mother later. Relax and take your time, you can slow down." Liem finished. He took a nervous bite of his food.
They were secretive in selecting this facility. Meaning two things. Some pests were tracking her movements and Matriarch Allari, his mother, had also found it odd and that is why she switched out the staff so quickly. It appeared to him that he might need to change the staffing frequently and that he would need to make sure they were disciplined. It would be best if they either had a large enough family and a committed partner.
Nora might be more important than any leader or matriarch. Anecdotally, he had learned that she had multiple sisters. Even if they were not alive, Clan Quill was potentially free of the consequences of the necessary genetic manipulation that led to the survival of their species thus far. Her children with the right Alphem would prevent the erosion of evolutionary potential, add diversity and potentially, if she agreed to it, she might have the cure for Morritts Syndrome lying dormant in her genes. If the wrong people knew this information, it would be very dangerous. He had the right connections to do something with her. If anything, she would get him permanently out of the selection process. She was not awful, maybe a little naive. Her personality was exceptional compared to the alternatives. She was very smart, but impressionable and overly trusting. He was supposed to guide her. It was his purpose. Leadership and his mother would not be getting what they wanted. He would, however.
"Rough?" Nora said, puzzled, as she looked at the men leaving, and then over to Liem, confused. It was normal to be curious, it would be normal to be curious about a person like her. It was normal for her to be offended. Nora gave him an incredulous look. She was polite. Perhaps he did not want her to have a servile attitude. She dictated how she would handle herself. She was never any good at socializing before, anyway. It was going to be her greatest challenge.
"Are my existing mannerisms offensive because I am from the North? Do they dare judge me for not being able to handle my men without a weapon? So what if I am courteous? Is that not my choice?" Nora said in a confrontational tone. She is presenting herself as the last of a likely dead tribe. She would be fascinated if she found someone like her on Earth. She did not appreciate being looked at in general, but she could not blame them. The over reaction to Liem's stern voice was interesting, they looked like they cowered, like a pair of puppies in the face of a growling dog.
"It is your choice, but you may get looked down on. They can be quite cruel" Liem answered.
"I am not afraid of them. Besides, they only froze because of you. I received smiles and shock." Nora said. Perhaps they were looking at Liem and not her. Same-sex marriages would be more common than hetrosexual marriages in this world. She would be rare, but Liem was really attractive. He was taller than Mark; Mark was tall for an English man, gangly tall at one hundred and eighty centimeters. Liem had a tan complexion, dark blonde hair and dark jade green eyes. His handsome face was sometimes peppered with stubble. She wondered how his strong jawline would look with a beard. He was lean, from what was visible to her, his body was muscular and fit. She was attracted to him. Why would they not be?
"Maybe they fancy you? I will take what I want from what you teach me." Nora said and shrugged. Mark really could only serve to be the bottom of a scale to compare men on this planet both at looks and height. Liem was a good two heads taller than Mark. She reasoned that it was likely that they had an attraction to Liem and were noticed peeping at him. Or could it be her? She was used to getting those looks now from others. Maybe she was ugly and freakish in comparison to the women here. The men were attractive; the women were probably even more so. She was quite short. Maybe she was a dwarf in comparison to them? She was proportionate to her size and did not have any sort of achondroplasia. She was not sure, but earlier she had caught Liem looking at her. Maybe there was some sort of pecking order on this planet. She had a lot of history and sociology to catch up on. She was glad for the time to learn, if she was thrown into their society immediately, she would flounder in quite an epic way.