This Perfect Day

She looked surprised and hurt. "I'm supposed to stay and take care of you," she said. "Both of us." She nodded toward a doorway beyond the bed. Light and the sound of running water came from it.

Chip went to it.

A pale-blue bathroom was there, large and gleaming; another young member in white paplon kneeled by a filling tub, stirring her hand in the water. She turned and smiled and said, "Hello, Father."

"Hello," Chip said. He stood with his hand on the jamb and looked back at the first girl—drawing the cover from the bed—and back again at the second girl. She smiled up at him, kneeling. He stood with his hand on the jamb.

"Daughter," he said.

Chapter 4

He was sitting in BED—had finished his breakfast and was reaching for a cigarette—when a knock at the door sounded. One of the girls went to answer it and Dover came in, smiling and clean and brisk in yellow silk. "How you doing, brother?" he asked.

"Pretty well," Chip said, "pretty well." The other girl lit his cigarette, took the breakfast tray, and asked him if he wanted more coffee. "No, thanks," he said. "Do you want some coffee?"

"No, thanks," Dover said. He sat in one of the dark green chairs and leaned back, his elbows on the chair arms, his hands meshed across his middle, his legs outstretched. Smiling at Chip, he said, "Over the shock?"

"Hate, no," Chip said.

"It's a long-standing custom," Dover said. "You'll enjoy it when the next group comes in."

"It's cruel, really cruel," Chip said. "Wait, you'll be laughing and applauding with everyone else."

"How often do groups turn up?"

"Sometimes not for years," Dover said, "sometimes a month apart. It averages out to one-point-something people a year."

"And you were in contact with Uni the whole time, you brother-fighter?"

Dover nodded and smiled. "A telecomp the size of a matchbox," he said. "In fact, that's what I kept it in."

"Bastard," Chip said.

The girl with the tray had taken it out, and the other girl changed the ashtray on the night table and took her coveralls from a chairback and went into the bathroom. She closed the door. Dover looked after her, then looked at Chip quizzically. "Nice night?" he asked. "Mm-hmm," Chip said. "I gather they're not treated."

"Not in all departments, that's for sure," Dover said. "I hope you're not sore at me for not dropping a hint somewhere along the way. The rules are ironclad: no help beyond what's asked of you, no suggestions, no nothing; stay on the sidelines as much as you can and try to prevent bloodshed. I shouldn't have even been doing that routine on the boat—about Liberty being a prison—but I'd been there for two years and nobody was even thinking of trying anything. You can see why I wanted to move things along."

"Yes, I certainly can," Chip said. He tipped ashes from his cigarette into the clean white tray. "I'd just as soon you didn't say anything to Wei about it," Dover said. "You're having lunch with him at one o'clock."

"Karl too?"

"No, just you. I think he's got you pegged as High Council material. I'll come by at ten-of and take you to him. You'll find a razor inside there—a thing that looks like a flashlight. This afternoon we'll go to the medicenter and start de-whiskerizing."

"There's a medicenter?"

"There's everything," Dover said. "A medicenter, a library, a gym, a pool, a theater—there's even a garden that you'd swear was up on top. I'll show you around later." Chip said, "And this is where we—stay?"

"All except us poor shepherds," Dover said. "I'll be going out to another island, but not for at least six months, thank Uni."

Chip put his cigarette out. He pressed it out thoroughly. "What if I don't want to stay?" he said. "Don't want to?" Dover said. "I've got a wife and a baby, remember?"

"Well so do lots of the others," Dover said. "You've got a bigger obligation here, Chip; an obligation to the whole Family, including the members on the islands."

"Nice obligation," Chip said. "Silk coveralls and two girls at once."

"That was for last night only," Dover said. "Tonight you'll be lucky to get one." He sat up straight. "Look," he said, "I know there are—surface attractions here that make it all look—questionable. But the Family needs Uni. Think of the way things were on Liberty! And it needs untreated programmers to run Uni and—well, Wei'll explain things better than I can. And one day a week we wear paplon anyway. And eat cakes."

"A whole day?" Chip said. "Really?"

"All right, all right," Dover said, getting up. He went to a chair where Chip's green coveralls lay and picked them up and felt their pockets. "Is everything here?" he asked. "Yes," Chip said. "Including some snapshots I'd like to have."

"Sorry, nothing you came in with," Dover said. "More rules." He took Chip's shoes from the floor and stood and looked at him. "Everyone's a little unsure at first," he said. "You'll be proud to stay once you've got the right slant on things.

It's an obligation."

"I'll remember that," Chip said.