[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
end only on naps snatched here and there. And she spent as much time as she
Page 69
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
could tending Emily Boll.
Wind Blossom and Emily were both too honest to deny that the old governor of
Tau
Ceti would not survive this infectious siege. Wind Blossom prescribed what
palliatives she could and did everything in her power to make the older
woman's
passing as painless as possible.
Late in the night, when Wind Blossom and Emily had convinced poor Pierre de
Courci, Emily's husband, to take some rest, Emily tossed fitfully on her bed.
"If I'm going to die, I wish I'd hurry up," she said bitterly after one more
wracking cough had torn through her body.
"Maybe you will recover," Wind Blossom suggested. When Emily glared at her,
she
persisted, "It's possible. We don't know enough about this illness."
She regretted her last sentence even as Emily gathered about her the
indomitable
aura of "The Governor of Tau Ceti" and demanded, "How many have died, Wind
Blossom? Pierre wouldn't tell me. Paul wouldn't tell me. Tell me."
"I don't know," Wind Blossom replied honestly. "They've started mass burials.
The last count was over fifteen hundred."
"Out of nine thousand?" Emily gasped. "That's over one sixth of the colony!"
Wind Blossom nodded.
Emily's eyes narrowed. "It's going to get worse, isn't it?"
Wind Blossom said nothing.
"The dragonriders? Are they all right?" Emily demanded. When Wind Blossom
nodded, Emily sighed and lay back on her bed, eyes closed. After a moment she
peeked up at Wind Blossom, her lips curved ruefully, and said, "Your doing,
isn't it? The dragonriders? Some of that Eridani immune boost?"
"Only some," Wind Blossom admitted. Apologetically, she added, "There was not
enough for you."
"I wasn't on the list," Emily said. "Paul and I had talked about this years
back. Is Paul all right?"
"He fell ill last night," Wind Blossom told her.
Emily closed her eyes again-in pain. When she opened them, she told Wind
Blossom, "Get Pierre. You will do an autopsy, find the cure."
Wind Blossom was horror-struck and for once it showed. "I-I-Emily, I don't
want
to do that."
Emily smiled sadly at her. "Yes, dear, I know," she said softly. "But I must
ask
it of you. I did not bring these people here to fall at the first-no,
second-hurdle."
Wind Blossom reluctantly agreed. "It is my job," she said. "But please tell
your
husband, it would be too much for me."
Emily nodded. "I understand, and I'll do that," she replied. "Now, what to do
for your future . . ."
"I shall go on," Wind Blossom answered. "It is my job."
Emily snorted. "Yes, your job, but what about your life? What about a family?
Come to think of it, how old was your mother when you were born? How old are
you
now?" She paused, thoughtfully. "More Eridani genetic tricks?"
"Yes," Wind Blossom agreed, "more Eridani genetics. It is necessary."
"And secret, no doubt, or I would have heard more sooner," Emily commented.
"Where I am going, no one will ask me anything. Would you be willing to
satisfy
my curiosity?"
Wind Blossom shook her head. "No, I do not want to do that."
Emily's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, I can't force you," she said.
Wind Blossom nodded. "It would be painful for me."
Page 70
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"A pain-induced block?" Emily barely contained her revolt at the concept.
Wind Blossom shook her head. "No, nothing like that. To talk about it-I am
shamed."
Emily's eyes narrowed. "Not about your uglies? Not about the last batch of
dragons?"
Wind Blossom waved those examples away with a gesture of derision. She looked
Emily squarely in the eye. "Do you know how badly we have failed?"
"Failed?" Emily shook her head. "All your work has been brilliant."
Wind Blossom was silent for a long while. When she spoke again, her voice was
quiet, near a whisper. "In the Eridani Way we are taught that harmony is
everything. A good change is invisible, like the wind. It belongs-it seems
like
an obvious part of the ecosystem.
"You remember the ancient tailor's saying: Measure twice, cut once?" she
continued.
Emily nodded.
"The Eridani would say measure a million times, then a million times more and
see if you can't possibly find a way to avoid the cut. 'A world is not easily
mended,' they say.
"It is drilled into us." Her hands fluttered upward, as though to talk on
their
own, only to be forced back into her lap with a sour look when she noticed
them.
"It was drilled into my mother. Into my sister-"
"You had a sister?" Emily interrupted. "What became of her?"
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plalternate.pev.pl
|
