by Jules Reynolds and Nigel G. Mitchell
The small coffee house overlooked the water with tables arranged in a neat line outside. A warm sun smiled down on the people who sat there, chatting easily to one another.
Professor Arturo eased himself back on his chair and gazed across the water to the small boats nestled side by side. They moved gently with the current, bobbing back and forth together.
"I wonder if Miss Welles has found what she was looking for?" He picked up the daily newspaper which had arrived along with their drinks.
Rembrandt sighed. "Who knows? Sure beats me why she wanted to go off exploring. This world looks pretty ordinary to me."
Quinn looked up from the magazine he was studying. "Yeah, well, we've been down that road before. Never assume ordinary just by appearances. Anyway, no one stops Wade when she wants to do something."
Rembrandt grinned. "Yeah, you got that right, Q-Ball."
Arturo put the paper down. "I'm sure it has something to do with the flier she was handed this morning. Do you remember that strange woman who approached her just after we'd arrived?"
"Yeah." Quinn narrowed his eyes. "Did anyone notice the way the woman spoke to her but wouldn't even look at us?"
"Yes, that was rather odd. I thought at first she was just shy, but all the other women we've seen have done the same thing. Avoided eye contact with us."
"Maybe men are superior here or somethin," suggested Rembrandt. "Like Love World."
Arturo looked at him. "Hmm...it could well be that or perhaps some strange custom in this world. I doubt we'll find out in the short space of time we're here."
"Let's just hope she doesn't forget we're sliding out soon."
"She won't," murmured Quinn, his head bowed down in his magazine.
A young waitress moved across to their table and placed a tray down in front of them.
"Thank you, my dear." Arturo smiled and took a bagel from the plate.
The girl lowered her eyes and moved hurriedly away. A flush of embarrassment tinged her cheeks.
"Looks like they're all shy, Professor." Rembrandt chuckled as he reached for a bagel and took a bite.
"Yes. Very strange indeed." Arturo dropped the newspaper he held to the table. "Good lord!"
Quinn followed the Professor's gaze. Wade had returned.
Rembrandt's eyes widened at the sight of the diminutive figure staggering towards them, laden down with gold chains, rings and bracelets. "Sweetheart, you'll sink through the floor!"
Wade just smiled as she reached the three men.
Arturo rolled his eyes skywards."Miss Welles, I think 'overkill' is an applicable word at this juncture."
"Will you guys quit complaining and help me carry this stuff?" Wade started to pull gold chains over her head, and handed them to each of the men in turn.
Quinn fingered the gold he was handed. "Must be thousands of dollars worth here."
Wade smiled. "Nope, hundreds of *thousands* of dollars worth." She held out her fingers to show the thick bands of gold on them.
Rembrandt whistled at a shiny gold bracelet in his hands. "Wow, Wade. How'd y'all manage to get all these, girl?"
"Oh it was easy. I just--" Wade swung around as a hand rested on her shoulder.
"I assume that these items of jewelry are yours, miss?" A tall policeman eyed the chains in Quinn and Rembrandt's hands.
"Y-Yes, of course, officer."
"Well, I'd like to see them around *your* neck and not demeaning these gentlemen, if you please. Otherwise I'm afraid I'll have to discuss this further at the Station."
The man glared at Wade until she snatched the chains back from Rembrandt and Quinn, and draped them back around her neck. She smiled at the officer.
The policeman's eyes narrowed. "I'll forget I saw this, just this once. But in the future, please remember your place, miss."
Wade just nodded.
The officer swept a glare at the entire group as he walked away. They watched as he stopped at another table and spoke to two women seated on their own.
"He sure seems obsessed with jewelry," Rembrandt whispered, as the officer fingered the chains around the women's necks and examined them.
"What was *that* all about?" Quinn looked from Wade to the retreating policeman moving away down the waterside.
"Um...I meant to tell you guys..." Wade started.
Arturo folded his hands behind his back. "What Miss Welles is trying to tell you, my young friend, is that in this world, gold is cheap. Very cheap. Would you care to enlighten us, Miss Welles?"
Wade slumped down on a seat. "Okay, guys. Here's the deal. Gold is supposed to be for women only, and that's why it's so cheap. Any man seen with a gold wristwatch or anything else is considered to be 'debasing' the male form."
"And I gather you don't approve?"
"Hardly, Professor. If it debases men then it should debase women as well. But on this world, silver is the most valuable metal, so of course it's for men only."
Arturo eyed Wade with interest. "I find it interesting that you have obviously taken advantage of this situation. I would think that you would hate such a concept of sheer unadulterated repression of your sex to be abhorrent, Miss Welles. It does surprise me that you have fallen prey to such greed in a world which subscribes to these concepts."
"I did it for us, guys. Come on. We didn't even have enough on the last world to stay in some crummy backstreet hotel. I just couldn't resist it. Gold goes for virtual peanuts in this world. You'd have done it too, if you weren't too busy eating for half an hour, instead of exploring the local shops."
"I doubt we'd have been allowed through the doors of the shops you went into, Miss Welles. According to this newspaper, two men were imprisoned last week for stepping foot inside a Gold Emporium across town." Arturo dropped the newspaper to the table and took a last drink of his mineral water.
Rembrandt grimaced. "Man, what a crazy place!"
Arturo put down his glass. "Indeed. I wish I had time to read through the history books on this world. I cannot imagine for the life of me what has caused such a strange social code to develop."
"I got this when we arrived." Wade passed Arturo the leaflet she'd been handed.
Arturo sat silently while he digested the contents of the two page flier. The others watched and waited.
With a sigh, Arturo put the leaflet down and raised his eyes skyward. "Quite unbelievable."
Quinn put down his magazine. "Come on, Professor."
"Proverbs," Arturo said.
"What about them?"
"This society appears to be based on certain proverbs announced by one of their founder fathers. At least that's what this leaflet implies. The sad thing is that the proverbs which appear to be the most highly used here, are also the most oppressive to women. At least that's what this anti-establishment leaflet implies."
"Like what?"
Arturo looked across at Wade. "Well, this leaflet lists the ten main rules for this society. I think the first two are enough for our little discussion, don't you, Miss Welles?"
Wade nodded.
"Let me see. 'Silence is a woman's best garment'. That's the first one, swiftly followed by 'Speech is silver but silence is golden.' They've taken the first proverb and added the second. Hence silver is for the speakers and hence government of the country, who by all accounts are the men. Gold is therefore attributed to the silence of the women. Voila!"
Quinn groaned. "That's crazy."
Arturo shook his head. "No more crazy than any society's roots. This one just happens to believe totally in what was laid down a few hundred years ago. The rules have basically stuck."
"Let's find a place to slide, guys." Quinn rose to his feet and looked at Wade. "This place gives me the creeps. Let's get you and your wealth out of here before anything else can happen."
"Hey, just as well you don't have your nose pierced, girl!" Rembrandt laughed as he rose to his feet.
"Indeed, Mister Brown." Arturo chuckled at Wade. "A large gold nose ring would be worth a fortune on some worlds."
"No way! I wouldn't go that far for you guys!" She smiled. "Let's just hope that the next world is the kind of place to exchange this little pile for some greenbacks."
Wade started to get out of her seat and sat back down again. The weight around her neck made coordinated movement difficult.
"I think I'm gonna need some help here, guys," she squeaked.
"Come on, sweetheart." Rembrandt helped her to her feet and started to guide her towards the alleyway next to the coffee place. "You sure do go overboard sometimes."
Wade turned to glare at him. "You'll be thanking me when we're drinking champagne and eating caviar in the next world."
Quinn pointed the timer at the far wall of the alley and the blue beam spiked out, fanning out into a whirlpool of light.
Rembrandt and Arturo leapt through the mouth of the vortex, leaving Quinn and Wade to follow.
"You'll have to walk up to it and launch yourself at it," he recommended, suppressing a broad smile. "Or you could leave some behind--"
"I'm outta here!" She staggered forward, chains clanked as she ran, and threw herself into the vortex.
Quinn chuckled and jumped in after her.
The small coffee house overlooked the water with tables arranged in a neat line outside. A warm sun smiled down on the people who sat there, chatting easily to one another.
Professor Arturo eased himself back on his chair and gazed across the water to the small boats nestled side by side. They moved gently with the current, bobbing back and forth together.
"I wonder if Miss Welles has found what she was looking for?" He picked up the daily newspaper which had arrived along with their drinks.
Rembrandt sighed. "Who knows? Sure beats me why she wanted to go off exploring. This world looks pretty ordinary to me."
Quinn looked up from the magazine he was studying. "Yeah, well, we've been down that road before. Never assume ordinary just by appearances. Anyway, no one stops Wade when she wants to do something."
Rembrandt grinned. "Yeah, you got that right, Q-Ball."
Arturo put the paper down. "I'm sure it has something to do with the flier she was handed this morning. Do you remember that strange woman who approached her just after we'd arrived?"
"Yeah." Quinn narrowed his eyes. "Did anyone notice the way the woman spoke to her but wouldn't even look at us?"
"Yes, that was rather odd. I thought at first she was just shy, but all the other women we've seen have done the same thing. Avoided eye contact with us."
"Maybe men are superior here or somethin," suggested Rembrandt. "Like Love World."
Arturo looked at him. "Hmm...it could well be that or perhaps some strange custom in this world. I doubt we'll find out in the short space of time we're here."
"Let's just hope she doesn't forget we're sliding out soon."
"She won't," murmured Quinn, his head bowed down in his magazine.
A young waitress moved across to their table and placed a tray down in front of them.
"Thank you, my dear." Arturo smiled and took a bagel from the plate.
The girl lowered her eyes and moved hurriedly away. A flush of embarrassment tinged her cheeks.
"Looks like they're all shy, Professor." Rembrandt chuckled as he reached for a bagel and took a bite.
"Yes. Very strange indeed." Arturo dropped the newspaper he held to the table. "Good lord!"
Quinn followed the Professor's gaze. Wade had returned.
Rembrandt's eyes widened at the sight of the diminutive figure staggering towards them, laden down with gold chains, rings and bracelets. "Sweetheart, you'll sink through the floor!"
Wade just smiled as she reached the three men.
Arturo rolled his eyes skywards."Miss Welles, I think 'overkill' is an applicable word at this juncture."
"Will you guys quit complaining and help me carry this stuff?" Wade started to pull gold chains over her head, and handed them to each of the men in turn.
Quinn fingered the gold he was handed. "Must be thousands of dollars worth here."
Wade smiled. "Nope, hundreds of *thousands* of dollars worth." She held out her fingers to show the thick bands of gold on them.
Rembrandt whistled at a shiny gold bracelet in his hands. "Wow, Wade. How'd y'all manage to get all these, girl?"
"Oh it was easy. I just--" Wade swung around as a hand rested on her shoulder.
"I assume that these items of jewelry are yours, miss?" A tall policeman eyed the chains in Quinn and Rembrandt's hands.
"Y-Yes, of course, officer."
"Well, I'd like to see them around *your* neck and not demeaning these gentlemen, if you please. Otherwise I'm afraid I'll have to discuss this further at the Station."
The man glared at Wade until she snatched the chains back from Rembrandt and Quinn, and draped them back around her neck. She smiled at the officer.
The policeman's eyes narrowed. "I'll forget I saw this, just this once. But in the future, please remember your place, miss."
Wade just nodded.
The officer swept a glare at the entire group as he walked away. They watched as he stopped at another table and spoke to two women seated on their own.
"He sure seems obsessed with jewelry," Rembrandt whispered, as the officer fingered the chains around the women's necks and examined them.
"What was *that* all about?" Quinn looked from Wade to the retreating policeman moving away down the waterside.
"Um...I meant to tell you guys..." Wade started.
Arturo folded his hands behind his back. "What Miss Welles is trying to tell you, my young friend, is that in this world, gold is cheap. Very cheap. Would you care to enlighten us, Miss Welles?"
Wade slumped down on a seat. "Okay, guys. Here's the deal. Gold is supposed to be for women only, and that's why it's so cheap. Any man seen with a gold wristwatch or anything else is considered to be 'debasing' the male form."
"And I gather you don't approve?"
"Hardly, Professor. If it debases men then it should debase women as well. But on this world, silver is the most valuable metal, so of course it's for men only."
Arturo eyed Wade with interest. "I find it interesting that you have obviously taken advantage of this situation. I would think that you would hate such a concept of sheer unadulterated repression of your sex to be abhorrent, Miss Welles. It does surprise me that you have fallen prey to such greed in a world which subscribes to these concepts."
"I did it for us, guys. Come on. We didn't even have enough on the last world to stay in some crummy backstreet hotel. I just couldn't resist it. Gold goes for virtual peanuts in this world. You'd have done it too, if you weren't too busy eating for half an hour, instead of exploring the local shops."
"I doubt we'd have been allowed through the doors of the shops you went into, Miss Welles. According to this newspaper, two men were imprisoned last week for stepping foot inside a Gold Emporium across town." Arturo dropped the newspaper to the table and took a last drink of his mineral water.
Rembrandt grimaced. "Man, what a crazy place!"
Arturo put down his glass. "Indeed. I wish I had time to read through the history books on this world. I cannot imagine for the life of me what has caused such a strange social code to develop."
"I got this when we arrived." Wade passed Arturo the leaflet she'd been handed.
Arturo sat silently while he digested the contents of the two page flier. The others watched and waited.
With a sigh, Arturo put the leaflet down and raised his eyes skyward. "Quite unbelievable."
Quinn put down his magazine. "Come on, Professor."
"Proverbs," Arturo said.
"What about them?"
"This society appears to be based on certain proverbs announced by one of their founder fathers. At least that's what this leaflet implies. The sad thing is that the proverbs which appear to be the most highly used here, are also the most oppressive to women. At least that's what this anti-establishment leaflet implies."
"Like what?"
Arturo looked across at Wade. "Well, this leaflet lists the ten main rules for this society. I think the first two are enough for our little discussion, don't you, Miss Welles?"
Wade nodded.
"Let me see. 'Silence is a woman's best garment'. That's the first one, swiftly followed by 'Speech is silver but silence is golden.' They've taken the first proverb and added the second. Hence silver is for the speakers and hence government of the country, who by all accounts are the men. Gold is therefore attributed to the silence of the women. Voila!"
Quinn groaned. "That's crazy."
Arturo shook his head. "No more crazy than any society's roots. This one just happens to believe totally in what was laid down a few hundred years ago. The rules have basically stuck."
"Let's find a place to slide, guys." Quinn rose to his feet and looked at Wade. "This place gives me the creeps. Let's get you and your wealth out of here before anything else can happen."
"Hey, just as well you don't have your nose pierced, girl!" Rembrandt laughed as he rose to his feet.
"Indeed, Mister Brown." Arturo chuckled at Wade. "A large gold nose ring would be worth a fortune on some worlds."
"No way! I wouldn't go that far for you guys!" She smiled. "Let's just hope that the next world is the kind of place to exchange this little pile for some greenbacks."
Wade started to get out of her seat and sat back down again. The weight around her neck made coordinated movement difficult.
"I think I'm gonna need some help here, guys," she squeaked.
"Come on, sweetheart." Rembrandt helped her to her feet and started to guide her towards the alleyway next to the coffee place. "You sure do go overboard sometimes."
Wade turned to glare at him. "You'll be thanking me when we're drinking champagne and eating caviar in the next world."
Quinn pointed the timer at the far wall of the alley and the blue beam spiked out, fanning out into a whirlpool of light.
Rembrandt and Arturo leapt through the mouth of the vortex, leaving Quinn and Wade to follow.
"You'll have to walk up to it and launch yourself at it," he recommended, suppressing a broad smile. "Or you could leave some behind--"
"I'm outta here!" She staggered forward, chains clanked as she ran, and threw herself into the vortex.
Quinn chuckled and jumped in after her.
He came out of the vortex and immediately slammed into a wall.
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