17. Johree
JOHREE
“Why do the buildings all look like they came out of a western now?”
It was a very good question. Not all of the buildings had been changed, of course.
The spaceport still looked the same as did the farm buildings I could spy off in the distance.
The one street that made up the tiny hamlet of New Haven itself?
It had been transformed since the last time we’d laid eyes on it, a mere five days ago.
“I’m glad you asked that!” Bob’s voice sang out from a small, old fashioned looking speaker that hung from under the eaves of the sheriff’s office.
“Research shows that humans do best in familiar surroundings, so we spent the last few days working around the clock to give Jesse and the other humans who will be arriving that.”
“So you picked a movie set from a Western?” Jesse asked, sounding incredulous.
“Of course not!” Bob sounded offended. “I merely looked up historical land claims and people who established farms, ranches and towns in what used to be prairie, like we have here.”
“Oh Lord,” he groaned. “Don’t tell me -”
“If you mean the westward expansion in the USA and the wonderful historical narrative written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which was made into a most heartwarming vid series, I certainly do!” Bob crowed, sounding triumphant.
“An iconic series, from what I’ve read, and one which nearly every human will recognize.
It will be a recognition that will evoke a feeling of nostalgia and happiness, so that even the blue green of the prairie grasses and the sky won’t deter them from feeling that they’ve arrived at the home their souls have yearned for. ”
Jesse opened his mouth, then shut it, shaking his head.
“Is this true?” I asked him, tapping my claws gently against the siding of the saloon. It appeared to be wood, but wasn’t.
“I merely had the bots clad the existing buildings,” Bob informed us.
“The sheriff’s office and jail in what looks like brick, the saloon and general store in a clapboard effect.
The courthouse I reconfigured the printing pattern so it generated an outer finish that looks like stone.
The interior floors look like marble, even.
The wooden benches for observers and the jury, as well as the podium for the judge, and the judge’s gavel, will arrive tomorrow along with the wedding supplies and five more colonists. ”
“Five more?” Jesse looked at me in surprise.
“ A human couple and their three children,” I informed him. “The husband was a chicken farmer for a large company, and his wife raised bees, making mead from their honey, which she sold from a stall at a nearby farmer’s market as she accumulated enough stock.”
Jesse’s nose wrinkled. “Factory farming.”
I nodded. “Their claim application talked about how soul destroying that work was, wanting to give the animals under his care a better life, but prevented from doing so by ‘corporate big-wigs’ who threatened to take the farm they lived and worked on away from him by canceling their contract.”
Jesse’s expression turned sympathetic. “Souless bastards,” he growled. ”So what are they going to do here? Raise kilt-ha?”
I shook my head. “I’ve granted approval for a hundred retired battery hens and thirty former barn ones, as well as four dozen fertilized eggs and a rooster, plus a large number of pullets acquired from his company that were to be euthanized, to be imported.
Another five 3D building printers will also be arriving from Xithos VI tomorrow, so we can keep up with demand. ”
I glared towards the loudspeaker, which I knew also hosted a camera hidden within it, as well as those hidden in several other areas, so Bob could fulfil his duties of assisting citizens as well as keep an eye out for potential trouble.
“I had no idea that the current increased demand was due to facelifts.”
Jesse snickered, spotting something I’d missed. “Oh, my God,” he guffawed, bending over, one arm over his stomach. “He’s even put up a sign that says ‘Welcome to Walnut Grove’.”
“And I've gone through the list of approved nut bearing trees and discovered one native to New Haven that bears a close resemblance to a walnut tree, though the nuts look more like walnut shaped pecans. I have sent bots out with the necessary equipment to gain samples from a variety of specimens for cloning. The chief botanist aboard ship assures me the botany lab will produce sufficient saplings for us to plant along the sides of the street to provide shade, and to line your driveway so it will look most imposing and suitably impressive to visiting dignitaries. And as a bonus, the nuts are edible and safe to eat for both humans and Dragonii, as well as Mylos and most other species, so will provide an extra food source for the colonists.’
I sighed. “Just from now on, be more detailed in your reports, Bob. Simply stating ‘colony building construction’ and ‘colony building repair slash upgrade’ doesn’t paint a full picture.
I was under the impression colonists had roofs and such things that needed repairs and new buildings to expand their operations. ”
“Oh, they did,” Bob hastened to explain. “That’s why this took five days and four nights.”
Jesse looked aghast. “You had people work all night?”
“No, no,” came Bob’s reply. “I just had them set the markers and then monitored the droids myself. We’re on standby now for what you two want for the manse.”
Jesse smiled. “You know, this actually will make my idea fit into the landscape even better.”
I hummed in agreement. He’d come up with the idea of having what he called a ‘Victorian mansion’ for our home, with a grand set of steps leading to a set of carved double doors leading into the public part of the house, with a hallway that held a large closet for cloaks and wraps, with a formal office for me to one side, with a private toilet and sink, and a public one next door.
Across the hall was the coat closet and a door leading to a reception room that would be styled like a formal living room, where we could meet with local dignitaries in a more informal setting than my office.
A double staircase rose from beyond the public toilet and reception room doors, meeting in the middle so that the hallway itself was more like a gallery space with room to decorate for seasonal celebrations and other special events.
At the far end of the hallway, another set of double doors opened to reveal our family living space, with a single staircase leading to our bedrooms upstairs, the guestrooms being above the public portion of the downstairs, two on each side, each with their own bathing and toileting facilities.
My office and the guest bedroom above it were styled like a turret, complete with a pointy roof that he’d suggested we put a weather vane made to look like a kilt-ha on.
Our private quarters held an eat-in kitchen with a pantry that also housed an elevator that went downstairs to a much larger kitchen that we could use to prepare large formal dinners, with the staff whose job such things would be, an informal living room, a game room, a media room, and a library on the lower level, with a small room next to a door that led to the outside, which he called a “mud room”.
Upstairs there were six bedrooms, four with a shared bathroom, a master suite with a more luxurious bathroom, and a private study for Jesse with its own adjoining toilet and sink where he could do his ranch related “paperwork” as he called it, all covered in wood with a roof of scalloped shingles, with several windows made of stained glass.
There was another door to the outside from the living room and kitchen, which led to a large covered front porch where he wished to hang a porch swing and place a small outdoor dining table and chairs.
I couldn’t deny my Jesse, so I'd agreed, even when he informed me that the house would be painted a more vibrant shade of blue green than the prairie grass or even the native wheat. My only request was for a large balcony outside of our bedroom, which he’d had his computer program place above the large porch so it was two stories tall, large enough for a grown Dragonii to launch himself into the sky thanks to the high ceilings and rooflines.
“We have a set of drawings, but no blueprints,” Jesse informed him.
“Send them to me, and I’ll take care of that right away! Then we can start building the manse this afternoon.”
“Will it be finished in time for the wedding?” Jesse asked, chewing on his lower lip.
“That’s in five more days, so yes. Which is also enough time to have furnishings replicated and imported if you include what you need when you send me the drawings.”
“Okay.” He turned to me. “I think we should go back now, so we can do that.”
I pressed a kiss to the side of his mouth.
“As you wish.” Now and forever.