psychic?”
He gave an impatient sigh. “God, me and my mouth. Look. My parents don't approve of ghostly mumbo-jumbo as they call it. All play acting and pretense.”
“You know that's not true.”
“Of course. However, my father is Viscount Saint James and a world renowned geneticist. He does not deal in spiritual speculation.”
“And your mom? What about her?”
He laughed in a way that was the opposite of amused. “Even worse. She's not really part of our lives right now. I do know if you can't see it, hunt it, or shoot it, it doesn't exist for her.”
“Wow. Must be tough. Do you see human ghosts as well? Or just animals?”
“Pets. Not all animals. And only rarely. No human phantoms so far. Thank God. ”
He said the last words with real feeling and Sky nodded, “Right? I feel the same way. People ghosts are not something I feel ready to deal with.”
“If they even exist.”
She cocked her head and looked at him. “I am wearing my doubting face, Honorable Mr. Saint James or whatever your title is. You have no trouble believing that a cat or a dog can manifest. People are somehow different?”
“I don't know. Maybe. Hopefully. I am more of the opinion that what I see as dogs or cats are only residual energy signatures on a spectrum that somehow I can visualize. My brain takes the energy and in that rationalizing aspect brains do so very well, turns it into something recognizable. Like a dog or a cat or a raccoon.”
“A raccoon? ”
He waved one hand in front of his eyes as though to wipe the image away. “It happened once. I don't wish to speak about it.”
“I bet not!” She laughed.
He looked insulted. “I assure you, it was not funny.”
“I'm sure you were traumatized.”
Daphne trotted over and tugged on Sky's sleeve.
“Come on . A bunch of us are going to do stuff from her debut album. Grab some things from the costume box. Oh, and bring the Prince.”
“I'm not a Prince,” Hugo said stiffly.
Daphne rolled her eyes. “Close enough. Come on!”
Chapter 10
Blood Work
Since she didn't have to go to Tactical this week, it gave Sky time to work on a project she was already way behind on for biology. The subject she and Caroline Alexander had been randomly assigned (and partnered) was the introduction of non-native species from a similar genus to an existing ecosystem. They'd decided to focus on the African antelope introduced locally after the plagues.
Specifically, the Impala and Thompson Gazelles roaming the brown hills of the San Joaquin Valley and probably confusing the hell out of the local mule-eared deer. Everyone knew they were from the old San Francisco Zoo. When everything was going to hell during the worst of the plague, the surviving zookeepers freed all the herbivores and anything else that didn't pose a direct threat to humans. Even though at that point, humans looked to be on the way out, they decided to believe people would pull through. They put down the lions and other big cats as well as the bears. For which survivors like Sky were now profoundly grateful.
The result made for an interesting mix of fauna in the San Francisco Bay Area. A troop of howler monkeys now called Golden Gate Park home along with some of their smaller cousins and an assortment of parrots and cockatoos. No baboons or chimpanzees. They were considered too aggressive. The gorillas died out after a few years of freedom. Which was sad.
The antelope, Barbary sheep, zebras, wildebeest and American buffalo also slowly wandered towards the grasslands and hills farther south, drawn by some sort of migration instinct.
Sky's job was to go out and get pictures of the antelope in the nearby hills interacting with the local deer for the visual part of their project. Caroline declared it was impossible for her to tramp around the dry grass because of her allergies. As far as Sky could tell, Caroline was mostly allergic to anything that involved exertion.
The girl was in a different squad from
He gave an impatient sigh. “God, me and my mouth. Look. My parents don't approve of ghostly mumbo-jumbo as they call it. All play acting and pretense.”
“You know that's not true.”
“Of course. However, my father is Viscount Saint James and a world renowned geneticist. He does not deal in spiritual speculation.”
“And your mom? What about her?”
He laughed in a way that was the opposite of amused. “Even worse. She's not really part of our lives right now. I do know if you can't see it, hunt it, or shoot it, it doesn't exist for her.”
“Wow. Must be tough. Do you see human ghosts as well? Or just animals?”
“Pets. Not all animals. And only rarely. No human phantoms so far. Thank God. ”
He said the last words with real feeling and Sky nodded, “Right? I feel the same way. People ghosts are not something I feel ready to deal with.”
“If they even exist.”
She cocked her head and looked at him. “I am wearing my doubting face, Honorable Mr. Saint James or whatever your title is. You have no trouble believing that a cat or a dog can manifest. People are somehow different?”
“I don't know. Maybe. Hopefully. I am more of the opinion that what I see as dogs or cats are only residual energy signatures on a spectrum that somehow I can visualize. My brain takes the energy and in that rationalizing aspect brains do so very well, turns it into something recognizable. Like a dog or a cat or a raccoon.”
“A raccoon? ”
He waved one hand in front of his eyes as though to wipe the image away. “It happened once. I don't wish to speak about it.”
“I bet not!” She laughed.
He looked insulted. “I assure you, it was not funny.”
“I'm sure you were traumatized.”
Daphne trotted over and tugged on Sky's sleeve.
“Come on . A bunch of us are going to do stuff from her debut album. Grab some things from the costume box. Oh, and bring the Prince.”
“I'm not a Prince,” Hugo said stiffly.
Daphne rolled her eyes. “Close enough. Come on!”
Chapter 10
Blood Work
Since she didn't have to go to Tactical this week, it gave Sky time to work on a project she was already way behind on for biology. The subject she and Caroline Alexander had been randomly assigned (and partnered) was the introduction of non-native species from a similar genus to an existing ecosystem. They'd decided to focus on the African antelope introduced locally after the plagues.
Specifically, the Impala and Thompson Gazelles roaming the brown hills of the San Joaquin Valley and probably confusing the hell out of the local mule-eared deer. Everyone knew they were from the old San Francisco Zoo. When everything was going to hell during the worst of the plague, the surviving zookeepers freed all the herbivores and anything else that didn't pose a direct threat to humans. Even though at that point, humans looked to be on the way out, they decided to believe people would pull through. They put down the lions and other big cats as well as the bears. For which survivors like Sky were now profoundly grateful.
The result made for an interesting mix of fauna in the San Francisco Bay Area. A troop of howler monkeys now called Golden Gate Park home along with some of their smaller cousins and an assortment of parrots and cockatoos. No baboons or chimpanzees. They were considered too aggressive. The gorillas died out after a few years of freedom. Which was sad.
The antelope, Barbary sheep, zebras, wildebeest and American buffalo also slowly wandered towards the grasslands and hills farther south, drawn by some sort of migration instinct.
Sky's job was to go out and get pictures of the antelope in the nearby hills interacting with the local deer for the visual part of their project. Caroline declared it was impossible for her to tramp around the dry grass because of her allergies. As far as Sky could tell, Caroline was mostly allergic to anything that involved exertion.
The girl was in a different squad from
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