IT IS NOW PERSONAL

Gerald got quiet for a moment as he thought about the people back home. He wondered if they were being taken care of. He wondered if they were making progress. He had been setting a goal with Mr. Riley to go outside for at least ten minutes a day. Of course, he hadn't done it, but just the fact that it was a sticky note up on the wall was promising. Absentmindedly, Gerald picked up the fork he had been using.

"You know, just with the latinum in this place setting, I could feed everyone in my valley back home for decades," he realized. "I feel a little guilty using it while my kin fight off starvation. This place is really impressive, don't get me wrong. It all just seems so... wasteful."

"For someone who attends Central Exeter, you have a rather dim view of the elite."

He shrugged. "It's simple mathematics. When one single person consumes enough resources to sustain millions, that person is taking more than their share."

Cha'Rolette snickered.

"What?"

"You're so funny. 'Their share'," she teased, her voice in his head taking on a distinct nasally tone.

"I do not sound like that."

"Let me tell you about 'these people'." She motioned around the room. "Without these people, there would be no shares to begin with. Just look over there, see Mr. Subeer Khakewish there?"

"The fat guy with the epaulettes?"

"No, the other fat one."

"The one squeezing that woman's ankles?"

"No, the other-other fat one."

"Ah, okay."

"He spent the last fifty cycles building up his company. He started with Sbatag, his own invention, and one employee. He worked himself ragged, seventy hours a week for most of his life. He created millions of jobs and built up his hometown from a disease-ridden swamp into the clean and thriving metropolis it is today."

Gerald was impressed.

"Now, you're telling me that after all he has done, he doesn't deserve the fruits of his own labors? You're telling me that he can't enjoy a good steak at the end of the day? So, what do you propose? That we should take what he has earned from him and give it to people who refuse to even get out of bed in the morning? How dare you dash the cup from his lips! You have a serious problem, Dyson."

"Well, the Ba'acta farms on this planet grow twice the amount of food necessary to feed the population, yet there are people starving here in the capital. So, yes, I'd say there is a problem."

"Now, look over there, see Duke Hunxo there? He's the former Chairman for the Venub Corporation. Last year he and his mistress had a really bad go at it. Like, bad bad. He came to work stressed, exhausted, and his job performance suffered. Because of his bad decisions, two hundred thousand employees had to be laid off."

"That is a shame."

"It is. You need to understand, the people in this room make decisions that affect trillions of people every day. They are captains of industry and leaders of worlds. They need to be sharp, alert, relaxed, and focused, or everyone suffers. So, all of this opulence you turn your nose at, serves a very real purpose. Keeping the elite happy benefits everyone. In a very real sense, it is for the common good."

"Wow. When you say it that way you make it sound so noble."

"That's because it is."

Then a second voice appeared in his mind.

"Hey Cha'", it said. The pitch was a little deeper and huskier than Cha'Rolette's.

Cha'Rolette's countenance fell and Gerald looked over at the couple approaching them. The woman was also from Issaguar, but unlike Cha'Rolette she wore her ta'atu in a braid that she draped over one shoulder. She was taller than and not quite as well-proportioned as Cha'Rolette, but they bore a distinct resemblance. Gerald couldn't tell if they were related or if all their people just kind of looked alike, but after his snafu from earlier, he dared not ask for fear of appearing even more xenophobic.

"What a wonderful escort you have," the woman gushed, pulling the elegantly dressed young man on her arm a little tighter into her. "Slumming it with primates is so fashionable right now."

"Gerald Dyson please meet my cousin, Ka'Oppel Ssykes," Cha'Rolette said drearily.

"Distant cousin," she emphasized, before reaching out and grabbing a hold of Gerald's sleeve. "I love what your date is wearing. Is that real rat fur?"

"Raw wool actually," Gerald spoke up.

"It looks uncomfortable," her date observed.

"Oh, it is, but we learn not to complain about it. Father O'Theen had a rule that any neophyte caught complaining about his cassock received a worse one instead."

The man on Ka'Oppel's arm chuckled, but the girls remained deadly serious.

"So, Ka'Oppel, which arm-candy did you decide to bring out of his cage today?"

"May I present Phlodha Mana, the earl of Magol," she said smugly.

Cha'Rolette yawned. "Another royal? Really, Ka, your dates are so boringly predictable. Why do you even bother coming out at all if this is all you have to show for it?"

Ka'Oppel kept a smile on her face, but her hands dug into her date's arm, eliciting a grunt of pain from him. "Well, who are you with, then?'

Cha'Rolette gave an exultant grin. "This, my dear, is a priest of Soeck."

Ka'Oppel's eyes went wide. "Seriously?"

Gerald moved to correct her but found that an invisible hand was covering his mouth.

"Not only is he a priest, but he is also a human one at that. The only one in the entire galaxy, and I have him here sitting with me at my table."

Ka'Oppel was crushed, but that defeat quickly turned into anger. "I hate you so much."

Cha'Rolette gave her a wink and blew her a kiss as Ka'Oppel stomped away, dragging her royal date with her.

Gerald tried to pull the hand off his mouth, but there was nothing to grab. Once they were out of earshot, she released him.

"What just happened?" he gasped.

Another bite of food floated up into her mouth. "Sooner or later you're going to have to learn that status is not about how much something costs, but about how rare it is."

Just as Gerald finished the last bite of his lemon, the old and wrinkled Tauseer came by and handed him a small clear tablet.

"What is this?"

"The bill, sir. On this world we use credits. However, if you are inclined to pay with beads and feathers, we can make accommodations."

Gerald snickered. "You know, I should be offended, but that was pretty funny, so I'll let it go."

"Very good, sir."

Gerald looked at the bill and nearly gagged. "Holy cow. Two hundred thousand credits for that little steak?"

Cha'Rolette shrugged. "You want the best you pay for the best."

Gerald smacked his lips. "Well, it is certainly impressive that you can afford so much on a single meal," he said, handing her the tablet.

"Are you insane? I'm a Duchess, I don't pay for meals," she said, dropping the tablet to the table.

He blinked. "But, you asked me to come here."

Cha'Rolette nearly choked on the bite she was chewing. "The man pays even when the woman asks. It's basic etiquette."

His eyes narrowed. "So, by asking me here you basically just handed me a bill for two hundred thousand credits?"

"I would think the pleasure of my company is worth at least that much."

He couldn't hide how deeply offended he was. Even if the donation to the orphanage was very generous, forcing him to buy her dinner to get it was beyond outrageous. Heck, the donation might even be for less than the cost of the meal, and she'd end up making a profit off of him. She'd be stealing money from the mission. Stealing money from those orphans. He took a deep breath and clamped down on his anger.

"I see. Well, then, it appears I owe you an apology."

"Think nothing of it," she said, holding the bill back out to him.

"No, I'm not apologizing because I misunderstood, I'm apologizing because I can't pay for the meal."

She coughed, spilling some of her wine. "What?"

"I probably won't earn this much in my whole lifetime, and I certainly don't have that much on me at the moment."

Indignantly he turned out his pockets and set a few credit chips down on the table. "This is everything I own, I'm sorry there is not more. I give them to you because it seems to be the only thing you really care about."

She was speechless.

He bowed deeply. "Thank you for the pleasure of your company, Duchess."

As he walked away she sat there in stunned silence, unable to believe what just happened.

The aged Tauseer picked up the tablet. "May I ring up your card for you, madam? We accept all the major credit services."

Cha'Rolette crossly fished her ID card out from her purse and ran it through the reader.

It was just then that Ka'Oppel returned with her date, looking positively elated. "Wow, Cha', that was really fun to watch."

"Not now, Ka," she said, nearly trembling with anger.

"You're probably the only woman in the history of this place who has paid the bill herself."

"I said, shut up!" said Cha'Rolette.

"It's all about how rare it is, right? Well, this was rare indeed," she said as she walked away.

Cha'Rolette didn't have to look around. She could hear the other patrons whispering to each other. She could sense the fingers being pointed. Already several of them were uploading images of this nightmare up to the holonet.

She balled her fists. The tableware bent and warped.

"Okay, Dyson. Now, this is now personal!"