[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
veritas. "
"This is noble," Ram Kikura said. "This is human."
Karen ran for the house. Lanier stood, brushed grass from his pants, and said,
"I think I'm going to follow her and then we'll go to sleep."
Kanazawa nodded sagely.
Lanier walked back to the house, found the bedroom, and stood in the doorway,
watching Karen undress. "I remember the first time you made love to me," he
said. "In the jumpjet. On the tuberider."
She made a little noise, unhitching her bra.
"It took me many years to really appreciate you. Not until after we were
married. After we had worked together."
"Please shut up," Karen said, but not angrily.
"You became like one of my arms, one of my legs," he pursued. "I
took you for granted. I thought everything I'd do, you'd do. I loved you so
much I forgot you weren't me."
"There was work to. do."
"No excuse, even so," he said. "I think you lost sight of me, too."
"You're not the only one with bad memories," Karen said sharply. "I
went back to Hunan. Remember? I saw my town, the farmlands. I
smelled death, Garry, waste. Skeletons of infants by the roadside, you
couldn't tell whether they had been there for months or years, from the
Death or after, when their parents dropped them there because they couldn't
feed them. We couldn't get to everybody in time. You are not the only one with
memoriesl"
"I know," Lanier said, still leaning on the door frame.
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"I can handle them. I can love you for a lot longer. I don't want you to go
away from me. I hate that thought."
"I know."
"Then come back to me," she said. "You can still become young.
There are centuries left to us. Centuries of work yet to do."
"That's not my way," he said. "I wish you could accept that."
"I wish you could accept my . fears," she said.
"I'll try. We're working together now, Karen."
She half-shivered, half-shrugged and sat on the bed. He remained standing by
the door, still dressed. "What about Mirsky?" she asked.
There was a look of patent wonder on her face, forehead smooth, eyes wide,
lips drawn down as if in a pout. "Is he going to bring the gods
~down on us? Is that what he's really saying? He's a horrible thing, Garry."
"I don't think so."
She shook her head. "A nightmare."
"A vision," Lanier countered. "Let's wait and see."
"I am afraid," she said simply. "Will you allow me that?"
If he came forward now, he knew, and tried to hug her, she would not accept;
she would push him away. But he could see that the time might come, and for
now, still mildly buzzing with rum, that was enough. "Of course," he said.
"I'm going to sleep." She lay back on the guest bed and pulled the covers up.
He watched her for a moment, then shut out the light, turned, and stood alone
in the dark and quiet hallway. Out on the grass, he heard
Kanazawa and Ram Kikura talking.
"I would be honored if you would share my bed with me this evening,"
Kanazawa said.
"I'm not even mildly drunk now, Ser Kanazawa," Ram Kikura said.
"Nor am I."
Ram Kikura said nothing for a moment. Then, "I'd like that."
Lanier contemplated his wife in bed, the quaint comfort of the guest room, and
shook his head. Still too many walls between them. He walked to the front
porch and lay down on the padded wicker sofa there, plumping an old tattered
silk pillow under his head.
In the morning, Lanier walked along the beach before Karen awoke. A
kilometer away, he spotted Ram Kikura, walking around a tongue of exhausted
surf, tall and slender, surrounded by wheeling gulls. Without
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E T E R N ITY · 219
gesture, they walked toward each other, and Ram Kikura smiled at him as they
closed.
"Am I a brazen hussy?" she asked, turning to match his pace and direction.
Lanier returned her smile. "As brazen as they come," he said.
"In all my years as Earth's advocate, I've never made love to an Old
Native," she said.
"Was it quaint?" Lanier asked. She scowled at him.
"Some things stay remarkably the same, in basics," she said. They walked on in
silence for a while, watching gulls prance on the wet sand ahead of them,
avoiding the slick rising curves of water. "Ser Kanazawa is furious," she
finally said. "He's angrier than I've seen any man in a very long time. He
didn't show it to all of us . . . He's going to call a meeting of all of
Earth's senators and corpreps. Through me, they'll challenge the mens publica
vote. I can make a strong argument that the
Recovery laws cannot apply in this case."
"Will you win?" Lanier asked.
She bent down to pick up a glass Japanese float. "I wonder how long this has
been here?" she asked. "Do they make these now?"
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"I don't know," Lanier said. "I suppose they do. Will you win?"
"Probably not," she said. "The Hexamon isn't what it used to be." She held the
float up close, examining its tiny starlike bubbles floating in green glass.
She returned the float to the sand.
"The president seems to be swinging with the tide," Lanier said. "He claimed
he violently opposes reopening."
"He does. But there's not much he can do if the Nexus supports it.
And I fear that like the captain of a troubled ship, he won't hesitate to cut
the Earth loose, if it's necessary to save what's left of the Hexamon.'
"But the Jarts "
"We beat them back once, and we weren't prepared for them," Ram
Kikura said.
"You sound proud, almost supportive," Lanier said.
She frowned again, shaking her head. "An advocate needs to understand how the
opposition feels. I'm as furious as Kanazawa, myself." She swung her arms and
bent to pick up a crumbling piece of plastic bottle.
"How old is this, do you think?"
Lanier didn't answer. He was thinking of Mirsky, surprised by the refusal of
the Nexus to go along with his request. "What chance is there for a negative
vote?" he asked.
"None," she said. "Without a persuaded and informed Earth, and that seems to
be an impossibility in the near term."
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"Then why are we here? I thought this was a good idea . . . I thought we might
have an effect."
Ram Kikura nodded. "We will," she said. "We'll hang on their damned heels and
slow them down. The tide is coming in, don't you think?"
The tide was going out, as far as Lanier could tell, but he understood her
meaning.
"What will we say in Oregon?" he asked.
"The same thing we've said here."
They turned around to walk back toward the house. When they arrived, the
others were up and about, and the robots were serving breakfast.
Kanazawa and Ram Kikura were friendly, cordial and no more.
Lanier was thoughtful. He had had a burst of youthful enthusiasm shot down.
There was chagrin, but there was also the realization he could still be young
and foolish. He could still fight for hopeless causes. Somehow, that made him
feel even more alive, even more resolved.
Besides, he suspected Mirsky or the beings at the end of time---were far more
resourceful than even the Hexamon.
They packed their few pieces of luggage. Ram Kikura and Karen spoke with
Kanazawa as Lanier carried the small bags to the shuttle. As he entered the
shuttle doorway, the automated pilot flashed a red pict before his eyes.
"Speak in English, please," Lanier said, vaguely irritated. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
veritas. "
"This is noble," Ram Kikura said. "This is human."
Karen ran for the house. Lanier stood, brushed grass from his pants, and said,
"I think I'm going to follow her and then we'll go to sleep."
Kanazawa nodded sagely.
Lanier walked back to the house, found the bedroom, and stood in the doorway,
watching Karen undress. "I remember the first time you made love to me," he
said. "In the jumpjet. On the tuberider."
She made a little noise, unhitching her bra.
"It took me many years to really appreciate you. Not until after we were
married. After we had worked together."
"Please shut up," Karen said, but not angrily.
"You became like one of my arms, one of my legs," he pursued. "I
took you for granted. I thought everything I'd do, you'd do. I loved you so
much I forgot you weren't me."
"There was work to. do."
"No excuse, even so," he said. "I think you lost sight of me, too."
"You're not the only one with bad memories," Karen said sharply. "I
went back to Hunan. Remember? I saw my town, the farmlands. I
smelled death, Garry, waste. Skeletons of infants by the roadside, you
couldn't tell whether they had been there for months or years, from the
Death or after, when their parents dropped them there because they couldn't
feed them. We couldn't get to everybody in time. You are not the only one with
memoriesl"
"I know," Lanier said, still leaning on the door frame.
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"I can handle them. I can love you for a lot longer. I don't want you to go
away from me. I hate that thought."
"I know."
"Then come back to me," she said. "You can still become young.
There are centuries left to us. Centuries of work yet to do."
"That's not my way," he said. "I wish you could accept that."
"I wish you could accept my . fears," she said.
"I'll try. We're working together now, Karen."
She half-shivered, half-shrugged and sat on the bed. He remained standing by
the door, still dressed. "What about Mirsky?" she asked.
There was a look of patent wonder on her face, forehead smooth, eyes wide,
lips drawn down as if in a pout. "Is he going to bring the gods
~down on us? Is that what he's really saying? He's a horrible thing, Garry."
"I don't think so."
She shook her head. "A nightmare."
"A vision," Lanier countered. "Let's wait and see."
"I am afraid," she said simply. "Will you allow me that?"
If he came forward now, he knew, and tried to hug her, she would not accept;
she would push him away. But he could see that the time might come, and for
now, still mildly buzzing with rum, that was enough. "Of course," he said.
"I'm going to sleep." She lay back on the guest bed and pulled the covers up.
He watched her for a moment, then shut out the light, turned, and stood alone
in the dark and quiet hallway. Out on the grass, he heard
Kanazawa and Ram Kikura talking.
"I would be honored if you would share my bed with me this evening,"
Kanazawa said.
"I'm not even mildly drunk now, Ser Kanazawa," Ram Kikura said.
"Nor am I."
Ram Kikura said nothing for a moment. Then, "I'd like that."
Lanier contemplated his wife in bed, the quaint comfort of the guest room, and
shook his head. Still too many walls between them. He walked to the front
porch and lay down on the padded wicker sofa there, plumping an old tattered
silk pillow under his head.
In the morning, Lanier walked along the beach before Karen awoke. A
kilometer away, he spotted Ram Kikura, walking around a tongue of exhausted
surf, tall and slender, surrounded by wheeling gulls. Without
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E T E R N ITY · 219
gesture, they walked toward each other, and Ram Kikura smiled at him as they
closed.
"Am I a brazen hussy?" she asked, turning to match his pace and direction.
Lanier returned her smile. "As brazen as they come," he said.
"In all my years as Earth's advocate, I've never made love to an Old
Native," she said.
"Was it quaint?" Lanier asked. She scowled at him.
"Some things stay remarkably the same, in basics," she said. They walked on in
silence for a while, watching gulls prance on the wet sand ahead of them,
avoiding the slick rising curves of water. "Ser Kanazawa is furious," she
finally said. "He's angrier than I've seen any man in a very long time. He
didn't show it to all of us . . . He's going to call a meeting of all of
Earth's senators and corpreps. Through me, they'll challenge the mens publica
vote. I can make a strong argument that the
Recovery laws cannot apply in this case."
"Will you win?" Lanier asked.
She bent down to pick up a glass Japanese float. "I wonder how long this has
been here?" she asked. "Do they make these now?"
Page 159
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"I don't know," Lanier said. "I suppose they do. Will you win?"
"Probably not," she said. "The Hexamon isn't what it used to be." She held the
float up close, examining its tiny starlike bubbles floating in green glass.
She returned the float to the sand.
"The president seems to be swinging with the tide," Lanier said. "He claimed
he violently opposes reopening."
"He does. But there's not much he can do if the Nexus supports it.
And I fear that like the captain of a troubled ship, he won't hesitate to cut
the Earth loose, if it's necessary to save what's left of the Hexamon.'
"But the Jarts "
"We beat them back once, and we weren't prepared for them," Ram
Kikura said.
"You sound proud, almost supportive," Lanier said.
She frowned again, shaking her head. "An advocate needs to understand how the
opposition feels. I'm as furious as Kanazawa, myself." She swung her arms and
bent to pick up a crumbling piece of plastic bottle.
"How old is this, do you think?"
Lanier didn't answer. He was thinking of Mirsky, surprised by the refusal of
the Nexus to go along with his request. "What chance is there for a negative
vote?" he asked.
"None," she said. "Without a persuaded and informed Earth, and that seems to
be an impossibility in the near term."
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"Then why are we here? I thought this was a good idea . . . I thought we might
have an effect."
Ram Kikura nodded. "We will," she said. "We'll hang on their damned heels and
slow them down. The tide is coming in, don't you think?"
The tide was going out, as far as Lanier could tell, but he understood her
meaning.
"What will we say in Oregon?" he asked.
"The same thing we've said here."
They turned around to walk back toward the house. When they arrived, the
others were up and about, and the robots were serving breakfast.
Kanazawa and Ram Kikura were friendly, cordial and no more.
Lanier was thoughtful. He had had a burst of youthful enthusiasm shot down.
There was chagrin, but there was also the realization he could still be young
and foolish. He could still fight for hopeless causes. Somehow, that made him
feel even more alive, even more resolved.
Besides, he suspected Mirsky or the beings at the end of time---were far more
resourceful than even the Hexamon.
They packed their few pieces of luggage. Ram Kikura and Karen spoke with
Kanazawa as Lanier carried the small bags to the shuttle. As he entered the
shuttle doorway, the automated pilot flashed a red pict before his eyes.
"Speak in English, please," Lanier said, vaguely irritated. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]