Page 19 of Volunteer 4711

But he said he would never sell me.

I put the pillow over my head and try to conjure up my beautiful memory of being on the beach in Florida, but all I keep thinking about is the Commander. Then I think about my grandmother. I touch my neck, still wishing I had the locket she had given me. It had a picture of my mother inside, but it was left on the farm. The only evidence that I ever lived on Earth.

I don’t know how long I toss and turn before sleep finds me.

CHAPTER10

COMMANDER

My doctor has askedto see me privately concerning Volunteer 4711, and I meet him in sickbay. As I walk into his office, he closes the door and puts the room on privacy mode so that our conversation will be completely confidential. This would not be strange if we were talking about another officer, but I am surprised he is showing such concern for Volunteer 4711. But then again, the crew unexpectedly has warmed to her.

“What is this about?” I ask.

“It’s about her health,” he begins.

My mind goes off on a tangent, then. “Did she catch something from the aliens we had onboard last week? I knew I should have made her come here directly afterward.”

“No, no, nothing like that. In that way, she is completely healthy. It’s her sexual health.”

“Oh,” I say, somewhat relieved. “What’s wrong?”

“She has not had a release since she came onboard,” my doctor says, showing me her scans.

As a volunteer and a servant, she wears a bracelet to monitor her health. As she is my responsibility, I should have kept an eye on this. “Is there something wrong with her? I mean, can she physically…?” I ask.

“She is healthy and physically able. As she is your valet, I wanted to speak to you first. If you want me to address this with her, I can.”

I feel very protective over Volunteer 4711, so I reply, “There’s no need for that. I will speak to her about it myself.”

“Good. Make sure she has a release at least once a week, or else she will have to come here for it.”

“I do not know much about the Water people, but I do not think she would want to do that,” I reply, and then thank the doctor for bringing this to my attention.

* * *

When I return to my quarters, I buzz Volunteer 4711. When she arrives, I stop her from undressing me and tell her we must talk about something serious. I invite her to sit down, and I sit across from her.

“It’s about your health,” I explain.

Worry crosses her face. “Did I catch something deadly to humans?”

I hold back a smile, as she had the same concern I did. “No, in that regard, you are completely healthy.”

“What then?”

“It’s notwhatyou have, it’s what you have not been doing,” I say, hoping she will guess. When she says nothing, I point to her medical bracelet.

She looks at the readouts. “It’s for the doctor to monitor my health.”

“Yes, and he says you have not had a release since you boarded. That is not healthy.”

She clearly thinks about my words for a minute and then says, “I don’t understand. What is ‘release?’”

I realize then that I have blocked her from anything sexual in her cultural and language program. “It’s when you….” I trail off. She does not have the vocabulary for my explanation. I try to think of how to explain this without being crass. “When you were on the farm, you must have released weekly.”

Her face is blank. “I did nothing weekly.”

Seeing her frown when she thinks about the farm makes me want to change the subject immediately. I still do not know all of what she endured there. I look at Volunteer 4711 and chastise myself,You’ve been to war, and you cannot tell this woman, who is your responsibility, that she must masturbate for good health?

---