Jack L. Chalker WOS 1 M

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

in a while to stand beneath the stars. Nothing more. In the meantime, I would
check your own security. It will profit us little if such a thing happens
again!"
Soon after The Diviner and The Rel were seen to, the baron flew to the
Imperial Palace and, securing a
Zone pass, returned to his office in Zone. He was con-
fident that he wouldn't be alive if it were any of his own people, so that
left alien intervention which meant Zone.
The offices, even the walls, were practically torn apart. It took almost two
days and the destruction of more than half the embassy to find it. A tiny
little transmitter inserted in his communications unit in his own office! His
technicians examined it, but could be of little help.
"The range is such that it would carry to over four hundred other embassies,"
one explained to him. "Of the four hundred, almost three hundred are
functional and used, and, of those, more than half are technologi-
cally capable of creating such a device, while the rest could probably
purchase it untraceably, and almost all could place the device during a slow
period when you were away."
He had most of his office staff ritually executed any-
137
way, not that it made him feel any better just less foolish.
Someone had heard him kill General Ytil.
Someone had spied when The Diviner and The Rel had come through, and listened
to their initial con-
versations in his office.
No more, he knew. But that was bad enough.
Someone else now knew at least what Skander was.
He had no choice, though, he realized. He had to wait.
Almost fifteen weeks.
The Center in Crill
VARDIA WAS ASSIGNED A BASIC APPRENTICE'S JOB, DO-
ing computer research. She learned fast almost any-
thing they taught her even though she couldn't make a great deal of sense out
of her part of the project she was on. It was like seeing only one random page
from a huge book. In itself, nothing made any sense. Only when put together
Page 85
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
with thousands of other pages did a picture finally emerge, and even then the
top research-
ers had the unenviable job of fitting all the pages to-
gether in the proper order.
She enjoyed the life immensely. Even though she didn't understand her work, it
was a constructive func-
tion with purpose, serving the social need. It was a comfortable niche. Here,
indeed, is social perfection, she thought. Cooperation without conflict, with
no basic needs beyond sleep and water, doing things that meant something.
After a couple of weeks on the Job she began feel-
ing somewhat dizzy at times. The spells would come on her, apparently without
cause, and would disappear just as mysteriously. After a few such episodes she
138
went to the central clinic. The doctors made a few very routine tests, then
explained the problem to her.
"You're twinning," the physician said. "Nothing to be concerned about. In
fact, it's wonderful the only surprise is that it has happened so fast after
joining us."
Vardia was stunned. She had met some twins off and on at the Center, but the
idea that it would happen to her Just never occurred to her.
"What will this do to my work?" she asked appre-
hensively.
"Nothing, really," the doctor told her. "You'll simply grow as each cell
begins its duplication process. A
new you will take shape growing out from your back.
This process will make you a bit dizzy and weak, and, near its completion,
will cause some severe disorienta-
tion."
"How long does the process take?" she asked.
"Four weeks if you continue a normal schedule,"
was the reply. "If you're willing to plant day and night, about ten days."
She decided to get it over with if she could. Although
everyone else seemed excited for her, she, herself, was scared and upset. Her
supervisor was only too glad to give her time off, as she had not worked on
the project long enough to be irreplaceable. So she picked a quiet spot away
from the Center and near the river and planted.
There was no problem during the nights, of course, but during the day, when
she had to root by exercising the rooting tendrils voluntarily, she quickly
became bored. Except for early morning and just before dusk, she was alone in
the camp or else surrounded by un-
conscious Czillians sleeping off long round-the-clock work periods.
On the third day, she knew she had to have water and uprooted to go down to
the stream. Doing so was more difficult than she would have thought possible.
She felt as if she weighed a ton, and balance was a real problem. She could
reach back and feel the growth out of her back, but it didn't make much sense.
At the river's edge she saw a Umiau.
She had seen them at the Center, of course, but only going from one place to
another. This was the
139
first one she had seen close up, and it Just seemed to be lying there,
stretched out on the sand, asleep.
The Umiau had the lower body of a fish, silvery-blue scales going down to a
flat, divided tail fin. Above the waist it remained the light blue color, but
the shiny scales were gone, leaving a smooth but deceptively tough skin. Just
below the transition line was a very large vaginal cavity.
The Umiau had two large and very firm breasts, and the face of a woman who,
were she in Brazil's world, would have been considered beautiful despite hair
that seemed to flow like silvery tinsel and bright blue lips.
Page 86
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The ears, normally covered by the hair, were shaped like tiny shells and set
almost flush against the sides of the head, and, Vardia saw, the nose had some
sort of skin flaps that moved in and out as the creature breathed, probably to
keep water out when swimming, she guessed. The long, muscular arms ended in
hands with long, thin fingers and a thumb, all connected by a webbing.
Vardia stepped in to drink, and, as she did so, she saw other Umiau on and off
along the banks, some swimming gracefully and effortlessly on or just be-
neath the surface. The river was shallow here, near the banks, but almost two
meters deep in the center. On
land they were awkward, crawling along on their hands or, at the Center, using
electric wheelchairs.
But, as she saw from the swimmers in the river's clear water, in their own
element they were beautiful.
Most, like the sleeper nearby, wore bracelets of some colorful coral,
necklaces, tiny shell earrings, or other adornments. She had never understood
jewelry as a human, and she didn't understand it now.
They all looked alike to her except for size. She wondered idly if they were
all women.
Finishing her drink, she made her way, slowly, to the shore. She made large
splashes and was terrified she would fall.
The noise awakened the sleeper. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Archiwum