[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
mountain valleys.
"Hold it." Richards sat upright. "Back up a couple. There. What's that one? I recognize it, and I've never
been to France in my life."
"This one?" Cramer froze on one slide.
"That's it. That's where we came from. We live in caves along the side of one of those big ridges. I'm sure
of it-I can even remember which cave I lived in, one with a narrow part that broadens out again into a
second chamber." Richards stood up. "Where is that?"
Lana Cramer was consulting her notes. "It's Auvergne, in the hills of the Massif Central, a hundred miles
east of the Dordogne. We didn't cover that far over-I took that just as a good view."
"Damn good thing you did." Cramer slapped his notebook against his knee. "That's frustrating. We didn't
expect that Pierre would have been so far away from his home base when he got into trouble. I'll have to
call Paris and see if they can ship me a couple of hundred other slides of the eastern area. I want to pin
down his travels as much as I can.''
"You want to end it for today?'' Richards was looking tired, but still stimulated by Pierre's memories. "I'd
like to keep going for a while. When you showed that shot, I got a whole bunch of other thoughts. A
woman, and a child. I think they may be Pierre's."
"You and Lana can keep going for a while. I want to get these other images ordered, but I don't see any
problem if you take notes of everything." Cramer stood up. "Tomorrow, we'll see if we can tap that same
area, keep the hunt going and find out how it ends. Make sure you get enough sleep. I think we get better
transfer if you are rested."
He left abruptly, his mind already moving on to the next session of the experiment. Lana moved in and
turned off the tape recorder. Her calm face had changed, become that of a tormented woman who
cannot see any answer to a difficult problem.
"Bayle, I can't go on pretending. It sounds trite, but it's a fact."
"You said you were going to talk to him. Did you change your mind about that?" Bayle Richards did not
sound particularly interested in her answer. His eyes were far away, still back in the mesh of alien
memories.
"Bayle, I can't face John.'' Lana sensed the separation but misunderstood the reason for it. "You know he
can beat me down, he always could. Can you do it? If I try and talk to him now, he'll ignore me unless he
thinks that you can affect his precious experiments by refusing to cooperate with him."
"He can force me to."
"No. He can force you to pretend to work with him, but he knows that he's at your mercy when it comes
to the memories you say you have or don't have. That's your edge, Bayle.''
He looked at her uneasily. "What are you suggesting, Lana? What should I tell him?"
"Make the bargain with him. You'll work with him to the end of the experiments with old Pierre. But set
your price for that."
"And my price?'' His voice was too cold, she did not think she was persuading him.
"Your price is your freedom.'' Her voice dropped. "And mine. I could never win it from him without you
helping. He's too strong for me."
He shrugged. "What makes you sure there will be an end to the experiments? Suppose that he wants to
go on with them forever?"
"No. Not this experiment. You heard what John said, he thinks he has a key that will unlock all human
history. There are another twenty preserved bodies scattered in Institutes around the world. If he wants
to explore the past with them, he'll need to have other clones developed, give them consciousness from
other Bayle Richardses. When he does that, we'll be free. He won't care where you go when this
experiment is over."
He was quiet for a long time, so long that she thought he was not going to give any reply at all. His face
was unreadable in the dim light.
"All right," he said at last. "We need to know how long this is likely to go on, whatever happens after it.
He has access to those other preserved bodies?"
"He already made the arrangements. I helped him do it. Bayle "--she moved close to him, touching his
head gently as though she was afraid that he would suddenly disappear into the shadows of the
room-"when will you do it, Bayle?"
"Tomorrow. Before the experiment. Don't worry, I'll do it. I don't want to stay in this place forever, when
I could be out there in the world starting everything over with a decent body."
"Both of us."
He was silent again. Finally he shrugged. "I guess so. If John Cramer agrees. You're his wife. You ought
to know him well, but if he says no, what do I do then?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
mountain valleys.
"Hold it." Richards sat upright. "Back up a couple. There. What's that one? I recognize it, and I've never
been to France in my life."
"This one?" Cramer froze on one slide.
"That's it. That's where we came from. We live in caves along the side of one of those big ridges. I'm sure
of it-I can even remember which cave I lived in, one with a narrow part that broadens out again into a
second chamber." Richards stood up. "Where is that?"
Lana Cramer was consulting her notes. "It's Auvergne, in the hills of the Massif Central, a hundred miles
east of the Dordogne. We didn't cover that far over-I took that just as a good view."
"Damn good thing you did." Cramer slapped his notebook against his knee. "That's frustrating. We didn't
expect that Pierre would have been so far away from his home base when he got into trouble. I'll have to
call Paris and see if they can ship me a couple of hundred other slides of the eastern area. I want to pin
down his travels as much as I can.''
"You want to end it for today?'' Richards was looking tired, but still stimulated by Pierre's memories. "I'd
like to keep going for a while. When you showed that shot, I got a whole bunch of other thoughts. A
woman, and a child. I think they may be Pierre's."
"You and Lana can keep going for a while. I want to get these other images ordered, but I don't see any
problem if you take notes of everything." Cramer stood up. "Tomorrow, we'll see if we can tap that same
area, keep the hunt going and find out how it ends. Make sure you get enough sleep. I think we get better
transfer if you are rested."
He left abruptly, his mind already moving on to the next session of the experiment. Lana moved in and
turned off the tape recorder. Her calm face had changed, become that of a tormented woman who
cannot see any answer to a difficult problem.
"Bayle, I can't go on pretending. It sounds trite, but it's a fact."
"You said you were going to talk to him. Did you change your mind about that?" Bayle Richards did not
sound particularly interested in her answer. His eyes were far away, still back in the mesh of alien
memories.
"Bayle, I can't face John.'' Lana sensed the separation but misunderstood the reason for it. "You know he
can beat me down, he always could. Can you do it? If I try and talk to him now, he'll ignore me unless he
thinks that you can affect his precious experiments by refusing to cooperate with him."
"He can force me to."
"No. He can force you to pretend to work with him, but he knows that he's at your mercy when it comes
to the memories you say you have or don't have. That's your edge, Bayle.''
He looked at her uneasily. "What are you suggesting, Lana? What should I tell him?"
"Make the bargain with him. You'll work with him to the end of the experiments with old Pierre. But set
your price for that."
"And my price?'' His voice was too cold, she did not think she was persuading him.
"Your price is your freedom.'' Her voice dropped. "And mine. I could never win it from him without you
helping. He's too strong for me."
He shrugged. "What makes you sure there will be an end to the experiments? Suppose that he wants to
go on with them forever?"
"No. Not this experiment. You heard what John said, he thinks he has a key that will unlock all human
history. There are another twenty preserved bodies scattered in Institutes around the world. If he wants
to explore the past with them, he'll need to have other clones developed, give them consciousness from
other Bayle Richardses. When he does that, we'll be free. He won't care where you go when this
experiment is over."
He was quiet for a long time, so long that she thought he was not going to give any reply at all. His face
was unreadable in the dim light.
"All right," he said at last. "We need to know how long this is likely to go on, whatever happens after it.
He has access to those other preserved bodies?"
"He already made the arrangements. I helped him do it. Bayle "--she moved close to him, touching his
head gently as though she was afraid that he would suddenly disappear into the shadows of the
room-"when will you do it, Bayle?"
"Tomorrow. Before the experiment. Don't worry, I'll do it. I don't want to stay in this place forever, when
I could be out there in the world starting everything over with a decent body."
"Both of us."
He was silent again. Finally he shrugged. "I guess so. If John Cramer agrees. You're his wife. You ought
to know him well, but if he says no, what do I do then?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]