"But didn't you say that your friend is a medical doctor?" I interrupted Fred astonished. "And you say, she is a Dalit? Isn't that a paradox?"

      Fred replied with an unemotional look. "She was born a Dalit. Under the law the Dalit are free people. Under the caste system they are kept as slaves and treated like slaves. She was one of the slaves. The caste system is officially abolished, but it still rules. When I was on assignment in India, she was 'hired' to be my servant. I paid off her bondage to her owner and arranged to have her educated in Rochester. I helped her to become a doctor in order that she might help her people to better themselves. The Dalits receive virtually no help from anyone in India. They didn't at the time, and I don't think this has changed much. There was no one that I could find who was willing to help those countless masses, numbering into the millions. So I helped them in my own little way to help themselves. That's the tragedy of India in which help is badly needed and there are few helping hands. The people who succeeded in India see themselves in a higher class. To them the lower class doesn't exist, except as a readymade resource to be exploited as if they weren't human beings or a part of our humanity. Indira became my project for starting a different trend. She has worked hard to fulfill my hopes for her. She became one of the finest medical doctors that you will find in India."

      Fred paused. "This happened a long time ago, Peter." He continued quietly, and with a smile again. "It didn't cost me much to help the woman. Still, the little that I did changed her life and the life of many others. Now you are about to become another part of this process that I have set into motion. If your promise is true, you might make a big difference in uplifting her work, and possibly also the people that she is helping. I'll give you one week to convince this woman of your scientific reality. As I said, if you succeed, if she embraces your discovery as something of substance to the point that your discovery will help her further, then you'll win. Then, we will all win. I am willing to take the chance that you will win. In fact, I am hoping as never before that you will win. This is worth a great deal to me as you can see. Of course, if you fail, in that case you owe me fifty dollars and probably a huge apology too."

      Fred looked at Sylvia. She nodded again and smiled.

      Fred looked to Tony and raised his finger. "Can you arrange transport for Peter?"

      "No, not to India," Tony waved him off. "The Air Force has no base there anymore. Also, they are getting sticky now when transportation is requested that is not for government business."

      Fred began to laugh again. "What I propose is official diplomatic business." He began with a loud laughter, but ended in a serious tone. "If there is anything we can do to help those two-hundred million Dalits to become accepted into the fold of humanity, this will be the single most important diplomatic breakthrough of the century. It would even revolutionize the American scene. We have our own Dalits here. Even a tiny step towards this breakthrough, and even if it happens only in India, must be considered a great diplomatic achievement achievement. So, Tony, Peter's business is totally on the level. Diplomacy exists for building bridges. At least, that's the way it should be. That's the way it once used to be."

      "And you want to send me to build that bridge?" I replied. "I really walked into this one, didn't I?"

      "Eh, what do you have to loose, Pete?" Tony said to me with a grin and began to laugh, too. "Fifty bucks for a week in India isn't a bad price. And that is the worst case if you loose. Somehow, though, I have the feeling that you will not loose. Just don't make a mess of it," he added. "Promise me, no mess, please!"

Next Page

|| - page index - || - chapter index - || - Exit - ||

Stories about  Sex from novels by Rolf A. F. Witzsche