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  "Irena’s message to me contained the information she had implanted images in your brain," he explained in a gentler voice than he’d ever used. "I’m certain, had you been confronted with us in our true state, you would have been scared witless, as you would put it."

  His touch was comforting, at the moment the only normal thing in this bizarre scene. Without it she would be in a dead faint.

  "Implanted images? Images of movie stars?" Melanie squeaked, knowing she was carrying on like a moron. "I’m sorry, I still don’t get this."

  "Let me explain." He took hold of her hands again, refusing to release them when she struggled in his grasp. She forced herself to become calm.

  "Irena informed me in her message she had little time in which to work," he said. "While you slept she watched the images on what you call a television screen. There was also a…magazine? …on a table. The people displayed were built as you see us. Delving into your brain, she knew you liked long tresses, so surmised you would be happy to see us all with this long hair." With a careless toss he pushed the sleek copper mane back over his shoulder.

  "She copied movie and TV stars?" Melanie whispered hoarsely. She was more than just a little frightened. "What do you really look like if Irena felt the need to alter you all so drastically?"

  "Not so different to you," he said, stroking her wrists with his thumbs. "Trust me. We are not monsters."

  "Huh! Your idea of monsters and mine might differ," she cried. They had to be weird or Irena wouldn’t have felt the need to do this. Melanie groaned. More than ever she wanted to go home. "I thought a lot of those people we passed along the way were vaguely familiar. Another thought struck her. "What about the shape? Everybody seems to be tall, athletic, and built like models."

  "The shape of the bodies too." Gravely he nodded. "And apparently your older people’s hair changes color to gray and silver, as has Althea’s and Gawayn’s. I have seen you watching me with appreciative eyes, so am certain this shape pleases you."

  "Pleases me!" Melanie jumped up, and conscious of three pairs of eyes following her with interest, prowled about the room. What sort of creature was he under this handsome disguise?

  His mouth curved in a slight smile. "Believe me, not the abominable shape you are picturing in your mind now."

  "I don’t believe this. It’s no laughing matter," she admonished. Instantly he straightened his face, returning his features to the bland expression she had grown accustomed to. "So, when do I get to see you in the flesh, so to speak?"

  "When you are ready." He watched her intently.

  "Ready?" she murmured.

  "If you will ever be. I find I rather like you looking at me with pleasure. I do not relish you finding me distasteful." His dark eyes searing her, Reve came to stand in front of her. Melanie had the feeling not only could he read her thoughts, but could also see into her heart and soul.

  Oh, how she’d reacted to his magnificent body in her dream and how she’d enjoyed sharing a kiss with him. His eyes softened, and she could drown in them, such was the intensity of his gaze. "So, it’s all a sham. I’m frightened, Reve," she whispered, her voice shaking as she nibbled on the inside of her lower lip.

  He wrapped her fingers in his large hands and pressed them on his chest. The solid thump of his heart was reassuring. At least he had one and not a computer chip.

  "Yes," he said, "I have the same organs as you, more or less, only ours have been refined and adapted to suit our way of life. Once our heart stops beating, we die the same as Earthmen and women do. You have nothing to fear, Mel-aanie. What you do not understand can be very vexing at times, but believe me. It was for the best. Irena was very wise in her thinking."

  "Are you so very unpleasant to look at then?" The thought itself was awful. It hit Melanie with a shock that she was half way to falling in love with this alien. What if she was about to fall for a reptile or a fly-shaped creature with four eyes?

  "There is the word love again," he said quietly near her ear.

  Melanie jumped as if she’d been scalded.

  "And you are too nosy. Keep yourself out of my head. Can’t a woman have any privacy at all?" After dragging her hands free, she went to stare at the birds.

  He moved to stand behind her. "Have no fear I have two eyes, two ears and one mouth the same as you."

  "What a relief." But it still didn’t make her feel a whole lot better. "And how many heads have you got?" Good God! What had she got herself into?

  "Come and be seated, young woman," Althea said gently and Melanie obeyed, twisting her fingers together on her lap as she faced this make-believe person. "We are interested to hear all about Earth."

  Melanie just bet she did! If it wasn’t for the flu virus no doubt they would all be down there now, invisibly taking over the planet. With a shuddery sigh, she glared at Reve.

  "We would not harm your people," he said.

  "No, just use our planet as…as a…" She wound down. She didn’t have a clue just how they would have inhabited Earth had they been able to withstand the flu.

  Reve lifted a hand as if to placate her. "There is a strong likelihood your Earth would not be suitable for our habitation anyway. From what Irena told me the seas are polluted, the land is barely able to grow enough produce to keep your population in food."

  "That’s a fact," she was forced to agree.

  Althea looked to her son then back to Melanie. "As Reve has probably told you, I am head of the final year trainees establishment," she said.

  Her tone was about the friendliest Melanie had heard from one of these people since she’d landed. "What exactly would you like to know?" she asked grudgingly. What harm would it do to share some of the facts? They couldn’t do much about it anyway.

  "My students would like to hear all you would be willing to share of your life on Earth," Althea suggested. "Perhaps one day when we find a cure for this virulent strain of virus that took Irena’s life, we may be able to settle, if only temporarily, amongst your people."

  "And just how would you manage it? Would you wear these camouflages and disguises?" Melanie felt more disorientated now than when she’d first arrived as she glanced to the Paul Newman look-alike and grimaced faintly. This was like a bad dream. Where would the shocks to her system end?

  "We have the ability to devisualise." Reve’s father, Gawayn, who had been silently watching and listening, said. Melanie’s mouth dropped open. Good grief, the alien even sounded like the film star, his drawl sounding incongruous in this setting.

  She gasped. "Of course, Irena was invisible to me, wasn’t she? I forgot. And she zapped me up to the space craft." Melanie sighed. Suddenly she was very tired. Her insides felt mangled. "This image I see when I look in the mirror, the one Irena conjured up for me, isn’t what you see when you look at me. Is it? Just how do you see me?" Her voice held a distinct quaver.

  Reve slowly shook his head. "We see you as you really are, in your Earth guise. There is little point in us seeing the image she manufactured for you, although we can do so if we choose. I personally like the way you look. Very much. Your short golden hair is unusual, and your shape is like nothing I have encountered before."

  Melanie felt hot when he stared at her as if he could see every inch of her, naked. She folded her arms across her chest and his mouth curved in the knowing little smile that melted her insides. "But I prefer this new me."

  "Of course you do," he agreed. "By reading your mind, Irena saw you had always wanted a shape such as the one she gave you, with longer legs than your own and hair as you see yours."

  No wonder she’d been so thrilled when she first saw her reflection; she looked exactly as she’d always longed to be in the days when she saw herself as too short, too fat, and plain.

  "As I said, I much prefer your Earth shape, size, and hair coloring."

  Melanie eyed Reve thoughtfully. "That’s only because I’m different."

  "Part of it," he agreed.

  "And I stand out up here because
of this. Down on Earth I melt into the crowds and you wouldn’t give me a second look, I can assure you."

  "That is doubtful."

  His parents were giving him odd inquisitive glances. In fascination she watched as his cheeks turned a dull red. How was it an alien could blush? With a short word, probably a curse, his eyes darted to meet hers, and his color returned to normal, while his mouth took on a tough straight line.

  "Serves you right for poking your nose in my head," she retorted. His head went from side to side as if he was exasperated. "I really wish I could see you all as you are. This is very weird, I have to tell you."

  "All in good time," Gawayn said. "Tell us, what do you think of our planet so far? Mind you. You have much to see yet. Reve must take you to the mountains and to see our communal houses and our laboratories." Reve’s father had suddenly found his tongue, and wanted to chat, it seemed. "Fetch us graw juice," he turned to order Reve. "I wish to hear about your home, Mel-aanie."

  "It’s hard to know where to start. There’s a lot going on I wouldn’t even begin to understand."

  "Start by explaining how they feed so many people. The squadron Irena went with managed to obtain data on the animals and crops grown specifically for nutritional purposes. But a vast number of Earth’s inhabitants don’t seem to share in this produce."

  "It’s a fact. I think there must be more starve than are fed." Melanie ran her hand across her nape. This was a fact she’d never thought seriously about before. "You seem to cope better. Nobody starves to death here, do they?"

  "As I explained, we control our breeding for this purpose," Reve interceded.

  "Mmm, I can see how you’d have grave problems if you allowed everyone to have babies whenever they felt like it."

  "Why are your minors allowed to wander the streets after nightfall?" Althea asked. This question brought forth some serious discussion on morals and ethics.

  Melanie lost track of time as she exhausted her limited supply of knowledge about Earth. They soaked up every snippet like sponges and took notes on what she presumed was some sort of voice recorder.

  Reve rose as he and Melanie prepared to leave.

  Melanie rose too. "You must realize I’m really not a fit person to tell you about Earth. I mean, you should ask a professor or a scientist. I only know what affects my small niche in the scheme of things. Irena should have chosen more wisely, I’m afraid."

  "Do not denigrate yourself. Your information is invaluable," Althea assured her. "We have our data from the craft and your input tells us about life on Earth seen through your eyes."

  "Right, well it’s been nice meeting you." Strange, but interesting. They both touched palms with her, assuring her she’d be welcome in their home whenever she chose to visit.

  ~ * ~

  "Thank you for being so generous with your time," Reve said as he and Melanie stepped into their skis. "My parents will now pass on the information gained to the council of education and further instruction. Along with the data on Irena’s craft and what the squadron brought back we will be able to form a broader picture of life on your planet."

  "No problems. I could hardly refuse to talk about home, could I? Anyway, I have to admit I enjoyed talking to them."

  Even though she’d found herself staring often in bemusement, it hadn’t seemed to faze them though.

  "They find you just as fascinating," he said, reading her thoughts clearly.

  "I guess." Melanie shrugged. "But, they see me as I really am, whereas I found myself talking to a couple of icons from the movie world!"

  When they were skimming along, she asked a question bothering her. "Who is actually the head of your planet, Reve? You haven’t mentioned a king, president or suchlike. There doesn’t seem to be anything remotely like a police force in evidence, or some sort of controlling body. Who is the big boss around here?"

  "Big boss?" He smiled. Melanie realized he was doing it a lot more than when she’d first met him, and she liked it, tremendously. Catching his eye, she saw the smile widen.

  He made no comment on the thought he’d picked up. "We have no need of what you call a controlling force. There are no armies as we do not make war, no police for we do not have crime, as such. No male or female is superior in leadership as you know it. There are commanders of each city and section, for someone must keep the records. I control the Starship Victus, as you know. Victus is our largest craft. It circles our planet endlessly."

  "But you don’t live up there all the time, I take it?"

  "No, my ah…deputy takes over when I come to my home."

  "There, you do have some sort of hierarchy." Melanie’s tone was firm. "You, for instance run the Starship, so you’re the boss of that. And then there’s Shan who led the squadron to Earth. So you do have some sort of controlling body."

  "Of course there are graduated leaders, depending on their level of education and intelligence. But we do not have the scale of leadership you have on Earth. From what I can understand, having kings, presidents and others in power has done nothing to further the advancement of your planet."

  "True. The people in charge spend so much time fighting other leaders, or their own minions, to stay where they are at the top of the tree, they don’t spend enough time putting the world to rights."

  Reve nodded in apparent agreement. "The rules we live by are made by the council which convenes when there are matters to be discussed requiring the knowledge of them all. These meetings take place periodically."

  "But what if someone breaks the rules?" she insisted. "It’s not natural to have such a race of goody-goodies. There has to be at least one person now and then who tries to kick over the traces. Otherwise you’d be no better than your robots. Nice perfect specimens who haven’t a nasty bone in their body." This was a chilling thought, bringing back her early idea. Perhaps they were more robot than human.

  His scowl told her she had upset him again but she was undaunted. "You must have some way to keep the people in line. No race can be all perfect. Anarchy would rule on Earth if we didn’t have people in power to make the laws and then make sure they’re adhered to after a fashion. As it is the rules are broken often. This is why the jails and houses of correction are full to brimming. And the courts are overflowing with cases waiting to be heard." It was hard to comprehend a society with no judicial system. So hard to imagine she was certain there was a catch somewhere.

  ~ * ~

  They had reached Reve’s home, and as he slipped out of his skis and waited while she did the same, he said curtly, "I was telling you this before. You were quick to assure me it was not so." His shoulders straightened imperiously and she could imagine him as a king, or a ruler of some sort, he was so majestic. "We are far advanced when compared to your planet. Long ago we realized nothing was gained by making war and being aggressive."

  She snorted ungraciously. "You mean to tell me no one ever flouts your rules. Pull the other leg."

  "Why would I wish to do this?" he asked, his eyes shooting down to the lovely long legs she now had firmly planted apart.

  "It means, tell me another tall story. I find it hard to believe. You mean to say there’s not a single person who goes against this council of yours. Nobody who tries to make some sort of trouble."

  A shutter seemed to come down over his eyes. As he turned to enter the code to open the door, he said, "Correct."

  "I repeat, I find that so hard to believe," she argued. "I mean. It’s against all the laws of mankind. No civilization can be so perfect."

  "Ah, but they can." Walking away from her, he went to the supplier and came back with two containers of juice.

  Melanie took the offered drink and sat on a couch. "Much as I wish the people on Earth weren’t so aggressive, didn’t break the laws of the land, and didn’t commit crimes, the alternative seems a bit…well, too bland, and bloody boring to be precise." She eyed him over the rim as she took a sip of the delicious liquid.

  For a moment Reve looked undecided and then
frowned as if coming to a decision. "All right, perhaps one or two may go against the council’s edicts."

  "Aha!" Pointing a finger at him, she said with satisfaction, "I knew it."

  "These few," he hesitated a fraction of a second before going on, "are punished accordingly."

  "Accordingly. How so?" Visions of atrocious tortures flashed across her mind. Perhaps they were savages beneath their disguises.

  A small sound left his mouth. It sounded like a snort.

  "OK, so you don’t boil them in oil or pull out their nails with pliers. So how do you do it? And is this punishment according to the depth of their crime, or according to the council’s idea of how they should be punished for daring to step out of line?"

  "It is no concern of yours, Mel-aanie," he said, with a touch of what she thought was annoyance.

  But having got this far, she wasn’t about to let him get away with not telling her the whole truth. Lord, what if she happened to do something this blessed council didn’t think was the right and proper thing to do? What might they do to punish her? The idea was more than scary. It was terrifying. This mob of aliens might be capable of dishing out all sorts of horrendous punishments. Her fear must have radiated off her in waves.

  "You have nothing to fear, Mel-aanie," he drawled, watching her over his own drinking vessel. "You will be perfectly safe from harm while you do not plot to go against the council. You aren’t likely to embark on any schemes that may prove to be the downfall of our planet, are you?"

  "Not wittingly, but who knows what I might do without realizing I’m going against your laws?" Especially since she had no idea what those rules were.

  "I will always advise you. Have no fear." His level tone and positive manner instilled her with confidence. She did trust him. Entirely. And she was glad she had him on her side.

  "Good." He nodded, and she shook her head, looking upwards with a sigh.

  "I’d still like to know how you punish your few lawbreakers though. It would make me feel better knowing they don’t get marooned in space or chucked into a pit of fire, or suchlike."