saw Ria's chest rise and fall.
"Ria!"
Ria nodded, trying to smile. Zude reached out toward the children. Ria stopped her with a grunt. "They're okay," she mouthed.
Zude nodded. She tried for a shout.
"Lieutenant Commander Maiz!"
Maiz jerked. Her eyes flew open. "Magister. . ." It was a whisper.
Zude found a small swallow of air. Her lungs hurt. "Quick, enter these numbers." She began reciting the first line.
Maiz's fingers started to move.
Zude put her mouth to Maizie's ear. "Seven four six three zero eight. . .”
She could barely whisper. Maiz's fingers fumbled at the keys. Zude pushed out the remaining figures of the codes between small intakes of breath. Both lines. Maiz's fingers struggled.
At last the Commander drew in a large precious batch of oxygen. She expended it in one mighty whoop.
"That's it! Systems responding!"
Sojourner came alive again as emergency systems moved online. Air hissed. Lights seeped into brightness. The promise of warmth and comfort surged from reactivated ducts and boosters. Zude and Maiz pushed themselves to the limp forms of Ria and the children, beginning the task of reviving them fully.
* * * * * * * *
They were drinking hot coffee and tea when the comunit burst into full presence with the arrival of two phaetons bearing a tractor beam. They were dizzy with delight and relief as they were towed out of the abyss and back to the Seadrome. And they rejoiced with a huge party of Sea-Shrieves as they clambered out of the launch bay and into the safety and comfort of the control room.
Magister Adverb's first act upon debarking was to speak with both Commanders Ark and Tung-Po, convincing them that no Kanshou could be held responsible for the consequences of the missing comcube. In fact, the Kanshoubu's Labrys Manual immediately featured the incident as a dramatic testimony to the eternal imminence of disaster even in the face of procedures perfectly followed.
Lieutenant Commander Nicola Maiz could hardly wait to tell her Sister-Shrieves the remarkable tale of how Magister Adverb had gone into alpha state and emerged with one hundred percent accurate recall of figures she had only casually noted when she had first seen them.
As they emerged from the Seadrome, Zude understood that her world had changed beyond telling. Her sleep that night was deep.
The next morning, when she and her family boarded the low rocket to Australia, Zude saw another whole dimension of change that was to come. Buckling Regina into her seat cup, she froze at the sight, in the child’s black hair, of a single white curl.
4 – West Virginia – [2088 C.E.]
When madness beckons, go there.
When reason beckons, beware.
The paths of the Journey are not straight.
Vade Mecum For The Journey
Deep in the Brazilian jungle, a setting sun touched the headwaters of Río Itanhaua and the glassy surface of Lago Tefé. The sounds of the village wafted through the damp afternoon, soft voices chattering together through tinkling chimes and rustling branches.
Jezebel lay alone, on her back, in a treehouse. She was seeking rest — and sleep, if it would only deign to come. She was resisting an old familiar chill, her most reliable symptom of an impending loss of consciousness. Her head ached. She licked several bubbles of foam from her lips and swallowed a metallic saliva. "You can hold this off," a voice told her. "You used to do it all the time."
Oh yes, she thought, I used to. Forty years ago.
Deliberately she concentrated on the wooden windchimes, bringing herself into their resonances. "Good," said her voice. "Now stay there. Hold with the chimes." Then, unbidden and in spite of her focus, the old sweet taste came, cloying and insistent. "Listen!" Heavily she shifted her attention back to the chimes, sucking in their sounds, willing them to fill her universe.
But in the next instant she
"Ria!"
Ria nodded, trying to smile. Zude reached out toward the children. Ria stopped her with a grunt. "They're okay," she mouthed.
Zude nodded. She tried for a shout.
"Lieutenant Commander Maiz!"
Maiz jerked. Her eyes flew open. "Magister. . ." It was a whisper.
Zude found a small swallow of air. Her lungs hurt. "Quick, enter these numbers." She began reciting the first line.
Maiz's fingers started to move.
Zude put her mouth to Maizie's ear. "Seven four six three zero eight. . .”
She could barely whisper. Maiz's fingers fumbled at the keys. Zude pushed out the remaining figures of the codes between small intakes of breath. Both lines. Maiz's fingers struggled.
At last the Commander drew in a large precious batch of oxygen. She expended it in one mighty whoop.
"That's it! Systems responding!"
Sojourner came alive again as emergency systems moved online. Air hissed. Lights seeped into brightness. The promise of warmth and comfort surged from reactivated ducts and boosters. Zude and Maiz pushed themselves to the limp forms of Ria and the children, beginning the task of reviving them fully.
* * * * * * * *
They were drinking hot coffee and tea when the comunit burst into full presence with the arrival of two phaetons bearing a tractor beam. They were dizzy with delight and relief as they were towed out of the abyss and back to the Seadrome. And they rejoiced with a huge party of Sea-Shrieves as they clambered out of the launch bay and into the safety and comfort of the control room.
Magister Adverb's first act upon debarking was to speak with both Commanders Ark and Tung-Po, convincing them that no Kanshou could be held responsible for the consequences of the missing comcube. In fact, the Kanshoubu's Labrys Manual immediately featured the incident as a dramatic testimony to the eternal imminence of disaster even in the face of procedures perfectly followed.
Lieutenant Commander Nicola Maiz could hardly wait to tell her Sister-Shrieves the remarkable tale of how Magister Adverb had gone into alpha state and emerged with one hundred percent accurate recall of figures she had only casually noted when she had first seen them.
As they emerged from the Seadrome, Zude understood that her world had changed beyond telling. Her sleep that night was deep.
The next morning, when she and her family boarded the low rocket to Australia, Zude saw another whole dimension of change that was to come. Buckling Regina into her seat cup, she froze at the sight, in the child’s black hair, of a single white curl.
4 – West Virginia – [2088 C.E.]
When madness beckons, go there.
When reason beckons, beware.
The paths of the Journey are not straight.
Vade Mecum For The Journey
Deep in the Brazilian jungle, a setting sun touched the headwaters of Río Itanhaua and the glassy surface of Lago Tefé. The sounds of the village wafted through the damp afternoon, soft voices chattering together through tinkling chimes and rustling branches.
Jezebel lay alone, on her back, in a treehouse. She was seeking rest — and sleep, if it would only deign to come. She was resisting an old familiar chill, her most reliable symptom of an impending loss of consciousness. Her head ached. She licked several bubbles of foam from her lips and swallowed a metallic saliva. "You can hold this off," a voice told her. "You used to do it all the time."
Oh yes, she thought, I used to. Forty years ago.
Deliberately she concentrated on the wooden windchimes, bringing herself into their resonances. "Good," said her voice. "Now stay there. Hold with the chimes." Then, unbidden and in spite of her focus, the old sweet taste came, cloying and insistent. "Listen!" Heavily she shifted her attention back to the chimes, sucking in their sounds, willing them to fill her universe.
But in the next instant she
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