he would be in serious trouble. Even if we could have gone to a hospital, no blood type on 1987 Earth would have been compatible with his.
Joshua knelt next to me. “We have to get him to an emergency room. No matter what he’s done, it’s better the police catch him than he bleed to death.”
. “We can’t.” I laid my hand on his arm. “Trust me. Please. I can’t turn to anyone else.”
He just looked at me, until I wondered if I had pushed our friendship further than even our strong bond could stretch. Then he exhaled. “Moving him will be hard. He’s so big.”
I squeezed his arm gratefully. “He can walk.”
Althor opened his eyes, his shimmering inner lids glinting in the moonlight as they rolled up. “Can you—clean the wounds?” Joshua nodded. “We brought supplies,”
I touched Althor’s forehead. Words flashed in my mind, packets from the dense flow of data along the pathways of his augmented brain. Connection established. Large coupling constant .
Coupling. It meant mathematical intercourse, not human. Althor and I were both Kyles, which meant the wavefunctions of our brains coupled strongly, oscillating like chaotic breakers on the neural shores of our minds. Every system of particles can be described by a wavefunction, including the brain. His KEB stimulated thousands of molecular sites on my KAB, millions, even billions. Had he been a less powerful Kyle, the link he set up with me that night could have crippled him, creating massive neural discharges that led to a tonic-clonic attack, like an epileptic grand mal seizure. But Althor took it easily.
I was there, in the midst of a struggle. He was fighting his autonomic system, his heart, lungs, intestines, glands, other internal organs, smooth muscles, blood and lymph vessels. His troops were nano-meds specialized to aid tissue repairs. He regulated blood flow, rushed nutrients where they were needed, changed chemical concentrations, all in a race to outrun the death that chased him through his evaporating consciousness. When we linked, his mind swelled back to alertness like a dry sponge expanding with water, beads of the sparkling liquid jumping into the air and raining down again.
Mitosis. Cells dividing; prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase. Cells splitting: 1,2,4,8. Tissue growing. Blood vessels forming. Increase blood flow. 64,128,256. White blood cells; antibodies; infection. Send lymphocytes. Build fibrin. Clot blood. Parenchymal cells: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase. 16384,32768,65536. Bleeding, stroma, bleeding, fibrosis, bleeding, bleeding …
“Tina?”
The voice came from far away.
“Tina? What’s wrong?”
I opened my eyes. Joshua was kneeling in front of me, his hands on my shoulders. “What happened to you?” he asked.
“I was with Althor.” Why hadn’t Joshua opened his pack? It still lay closed on the cave floor. “We have to clean him up and bandage him.”
“I did. I’ve been working for almost an hour. The two of you have been in a trance.”
I stared at him. Then I looked at Althor. He opened his eyes and he mouthed two words: Thank you.
As we drove through Caltech, Althor sat next to me, slumped in the backseat of the Jeep. Joshua pulled into the parking lot outside the Athenaeum, near Blacker House. The lot was empty except for a few cars, chromed beasts sleeping in the dark.
With Joshua and me supporting him, Althor climbed out of the Jeep and limped across the lawn between the lot and the dormitories, what Joshua called the south house complex. We crossed a Spanish-style courtyard to a staircase in Blacker House. With our support, Althor slowly climbed the stairs. The whole time I was straining to hear voices or footsteps, warnings that someone was coming, a student happening on us out of the night.
We reached the second floor without being discovered. At Joshua’s room, Althor slumped against the wall. Joshua worked the combination lock on his door, his relief making soap-bubble
Joshua knelt next to me. “We have to get him to an emergency room. No matter what he’s done, it’s better the police catch him than he bleed to death.”
. “We can’t.” I laid my hand on his arm. “Trust me. Please. I can’t turn to anyone else.”
He just looked at me, until I wondered if I had pushed our friendship further than even our strong bond could stretch. Then he exhaled. “Moving him will be hard. He’s so big.”
I squeezed his arm gratefully. “He can walk.”
Althor opened his eyes, his shimmering inner lids glinting in the moonlight as they rolled up. “Can you—clean the wounds?” Joshua nodded. “We brought supplies,”
I touched Althor’s forehead. Words flashed in my mind, packets from the dense flow of data along the pathways of his augmented brain. Connection established. Large coupling constant .
Coupling. It meant mathematical intercourse, not human. Althor and I were both Kyles, which meant the wavefunctions of our brains coupled strongly, oscillating like chaotic breakers on the neural shores of our minds. Every system of particles can be described by a wavefunction, including the brain. His KEB stimulated thousands of molecular sites on my KAB, millions, even billions. Had he been a less powerful Kyle, the link he set up with me that night could have crippled him, creating massive neural discharges that led to a tonic-clonic attack, like an epileptic grand mal seizure. But Althor took it easily.
I was there, in the midst of a struggle. He was fighting his autonomic system, his heart, lungs, intestines, glands, other internal organs, smooth muscles, blood and lymph vessels. His troops were nano-meds specialized to aid tissue repairs. He regulated blood flow, rushed nutrients where they were needed, changed chemical concentrations, all in a race to outrun the death that chased him through his evaporating consciousness. When we linked, his mind swelled back to alertness like a dry sponge expanding with water, beads of the sparkling liquid jumping into the air and raining down again.
Mitosis. Cells dividing; prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase. Cells splitting: 1,2,4,8. Tissue growing. Blood vessels forming. Increase blood flow. 64,128,256. White blood cells; antibodies; infection. Send lymphocytes. Build fibrin. Clot blood. Parenchymal cells: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase. 16384,32768,65536. Bleeding, stroma, bleeding, fibrosis, bleeding, bleeding …
“Tina?”
The voice came from far away.
“Tina? What’s wrong?”
I opened my eyes. Joshua was kneeling in front of me, his hands on my shoulders. “What happened to you?” he asked.
“I was with Althor.” Why hadn’t Joshua opened his pack? It still lay closed on the cave floor. “We have to clean him up and bandage him.”
“I did. I’ve been working for almost an hour. The two of you have been in a trance.”
I stared at him. Then I looked at Althor. He opened his eyes and he mouthed two words: Thank you.
As we drove through Caltech, Althor sat next to me, slumped in the backseat of the Jeep. Joshua pulled into the parking lot outside the Athenaeum, near Blacker House. The lot was empty except for a few cars, chromed beasts sleeping in the dark.
With Joshua and me supporting him, Althor climbed out of the Jeep and limped across the lawn between the lot and the dormitories, what Joshua called the south house complex. We crossed a Spanish-style courtyard to a staircase in Blacker House. With our support, Althor slowly climbed the stairs. The whole time I was straining to hear voices or footsteps, warnings that someone was coming, a student happening on us out of the night.
We reached the second floor without being discovered. At Joshua’s room, Althor slumped against the wall. Joshua worked the combination lock on his door, his relief making soap-bubble
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