Michael let out a contemptuous laugh.
“I’m not talking about elevator music,” Richard shouted back at Arak. “I mean something with some base and a beat. Something we can dance to.”
Arak barked another order to the worker clones and soon the music changed.
Richard and Michael exchanged bewildered glances. The music had more base and a beat, but with its strange syncopation it was not like any music they had ever heard.
“What the hell is this?” Michael asked. He cocked his head to the side to listen better.
“Beats me,” Richard said. He closed his eyes and moved his head in an undulating fashion. At the same time he took a few unsteady steps and swiveled his hips. His movements brought some giggles from the girls he’d amassed around him.
“You like that, huh?” Richard questioned.
The women nodded.
Richard brought his goblet to his lips and tossed off the entire drink, to the surprise of the people around him. Putting the vessel on the floor he grabbed the hand of the nearest woman and charged toward the raised platform surrounding the pool in the center of the arena. With lots of laughter the crowd gave way and shouted encouragement to the couple. Reaching his goal, Richard leaped up and dragged the woman with him. He turned to face her and was momentarily taken aback by her beauty. Having seen so many beautiful people he’d already had begun to take it for granted, but he was particularly struck by this one’s looks.
“You’re gorgeous!” he whispered, his words slightly slurred.
“Thank you,” she said. “You’re attractive as well.”
“You think so?” Richard asked.
“You’re very entertaining,” the woman said.
“I’m glad,” Richard said. He then had to take a lateral step to regain his balance. For a second the image of the woman went out of focus. He was feeling light-headed.
“Are you all right?” the woman asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Richard assured her. He could feel the ends of his fingers tingling. “That crystal stuff packs a wallop.”
“It’s my favorite,” the woman said.
“Then it’s mine, too,” Richard said. “Hey, do you want to learn to dance?”
“What does that mean exactly?” the woman asked.
“Like I was doing before,” Richard said. “Only we do it together.”
Richard closed his eyes and repeated his earlier gyrations. It only lasted for a second since he had to open his eyes to catch his balance a second time. The crowd responded with cheers and applause. They shouted for more.
Richard faced out into the audience and did an exaggerated bow. There were more cheers. Turning back to the woman, Richard began to strut, twist, and shake as best as he could to the music. The woman watched him with great interest and amusement but had trouble imitating him. The only thing she was able to do with any degree of accomplishment was raise her hands in the air and move them as Richard was doing.
“Let me show you,” Richard said. He reached out and grasped the woman about the hips and tried to get her to shake rhythmically. She couldn’t get the idea but found her awkward attempts hilarious. So did the crowd.
Suzanne and Perry watched with understandable misgivings. Suzanne told Perry she was worried that Richard was drunk, and Perry agreed. But they couldn’t help but notice how much the crowd was enjoying his antics.
“Your friend is very amusing,” a voice said behind Perry. He turned to face a darling young woman whom he guessed to be around eighteen. She had lively light blue eyes that reminded him of Suzanne’s and an infectious smile. She reached out with her palm. Perry pressed his against hers self-consciously; he could feel his face flush. The woman was disarmingly attractive and several inches taller than he.
“My name is Luna,” the woman said in a voice that made Perry’s knees feel weak.
“I’m Perry.”
“I know,” Luna said. “You are very appealing. I see you have whiter teeth than Richard.”
Perry blushed even more. He nodded. “Thank you,” he managed to say.
Luna’s eyes drifted out toward the center of the arena. “Can you dance like Richard?”
Perry glanced back at the diver, who was now doing an interpretation of break dancing. At that moment he was on his back spinning around with his legs thrust up in the air.
“I can, I suppose,” Perry said noncommittally. “Maybe not quite as well as Richard. He’s a bit more extroverted than I. But to tell you the truth, I haven’t tried dancing for a few years.”
“I think Richard is as good as an entertainment clone,” Luna said. She seemed to be mesmerized by Richard, who was now moon walking to the enjoyment of the crowd.
“That’s a compliment I bet Richard has never gotten before,” Perry said.
Forever the follower, Michael took the hand of one of the women surrounding him and joined Richard on the pool’s raised border. No sooner had he started to dance than a dozen other women stepped up on the platform to join in.
There was now a bevy of beautiful women surrounding Richard and Michael, trying to move their arms and swivel their hips in imitation of the two tipsy divers. But it was not easy. Even the divers were having trouble coordinating their movements to the peculiar beat of the music.
Several of the more adventuresome young Interterran men climbed onto the platform to attempt the strange dance. Richard was not amused. Without interrupting his gyrations, he worked his way over to each of the men in turn. With sudden, exaggerated movements of his hips, he knocked each in turn off the platform. The crowd and even the men themselves loved it, thinking it was all part of the exercise.
After a half hour of uninterrupted dancing, the limits of endurance were reached. Forever the leader, Richard swept his arms out and grabbed as many women as he could before collapsing in giggles to the floor. Michael aped Richard’s maneuver, adding to the pile to create a tangle of legs, arms, and lightly clad, perspiring torsos. The recumbent divers didn’t mind keeping up with the palm pressing, and the women were happy to return the favor with kisses. At Arak’s suggestion, worker clones rushed up with more drinks.
“This place is a dream come true,” Michael cried after taking a swig from his freshly filled goblet.
“Poor Mazzola,” Richard said. “Good old bell diver misses all the fun.”
“What do you think this crystal liquor is made from?” Michael asked. He peered into his glass. The fluid was completely transparent.
“Who cares?” Richard squealed as he reached out and gave an exuberant one-armed hug to one of the women pressed up against his chest. In the process he spilled his drink on his chest to the merriment of all who noticed.
“Michael, I have something for you,” a blue-eyed, dark brunette said.
“What, gorgeous?” Michael asked. He was on his back, gazing up at the inverted image of the woman who was standing next to the raised platform. She smiled and held up a small jar.
“I want you to try some caldorphin,” she said as she unscrewed the jar’s top. She extended the jar toward Michael, who used his free hand to scoop out a glob of the creamy contents. “That’s a bit more than you need,” she said, “but it’s okay.”
“Sorry,” Michael said. “What do I do with it?” He brought it to his nose and sniffed. It was odorless.
“Rub it on your hand,” she said. “I’ll do the same and then we touch palms.”
“Hey, Richie,” Michael said as he rolled over and sat up. “Here’s something new.” Richard didn’t respond. He was busy getting another refill of crystal.
Michael rubbed the cream on his palm and then looked up at the attractive woman who’d given it to him. She had a dreamy look about her, her eyes were half closed. Slowly she raised her hand, and Michael pressed his palm against hers.
The reaction for Michael was swift and overpowering. His eyes shot open, then closed in utter pleasure. For a few minutes of rapturous ecstasy he couldn’t move. When he was finally able to, he snatched the jar away from the woman. He reached over and yanked on Richard’s arm.