probably miss the planet as he went down. The thought was ridiculous.
Johnston was refolding his handkerchief. “We can’t go on any further by this route,” he said. “We’re now approaching the end point of the elevator; beyond here everything was constructed from perfectly functioning VNM stock. It had to be, otherwise it wouldn’t have held together.”
He gave a deep sigh and pushed the handkerchief back into his pocket. “Whew. I’m rather hungry. It’s amazing what conditioned responses can do to you. Anyway. We’re going to have to make a jump into the unknown. I’m guessing that the end of the elevator is not that far above us. It will probably be in geosynchronous orbit with the base. I’m hoping that a docking station was completed, possibly even using the same VNM that later seeded the planet below. There must be something there that could host us.”
“And if there isn’t?” asked Herb.
“Then we’ll never know about it. Our consciousness will just fade from here, and the Herb and Robert back home will never know what we have learned.”
“Oh.”
“Not to worry. I beamed our consciousnesses to other points in the Enemy Domain, too. There’s another pair of us in the Necropolis. One set should get back at least.”
Herb frowned. “It will still be like dying to us, though, surely?”
“Ah. Don’t worry about that. Are you ready?”
Herb gripped Johnston by the sleeve.
“Hang on. Let’s talk this over.”
“No time. Let’s go.”
They jumped…
eva 2: 2051
High above Eva, the lime leaves fluttered gently against the deep blue of the afternoon sky. Flickering pale green and yellow hearts formed a vaulted ceiling over the quiet cathedral-like space between the dark trunks. The air was rich with the smell of soil and summer rain; it insinuated its way into Eva’s body, filling her with its heady presence. She had kicked off her shoes to walk around the clearing, feeling the darkness of the earth between her toes. Eva, held apart from it for so long in the grey headache of South Street, was reconnecting with life.
A voice whispered: “Eva.”
She started and twisted around, trying to see who had spoken. The voice had sounded in her ear, but there was no one there. The space between the trees was a vessel filled with woodland silence, a silence that was now leaking away.
Eva could see Alison, Katie, and Nicolas approaching across the overgrown green lawn that lapped the treeline. They were obviously looking for her. Nicolas spotted Eva first and pointed her out to the others. The three came crashing into her retreat.
“Hello, Eva, I thought we’d find you here.” Alison was on a high, every word packed with a jangling, desperate energy. Katie gave a nervous twitch and quickly turned her head in the other direction. Nicolas stared at her breasts.
“Hello, Eva,” he said. “We’re going to sneak into Pontybodkyn. Are you coming?”
“I can’t. I’ve got a counseling session in an hour.” Eva was glad for the excuse not to go, but Alison wasn’t going to be deflected so easily.
“Skip it,” she said, too loudly, snapping her fingers dismissively. “No one will care. The staff will be pleased to get an extra half-hour’s break.”
“No. I want to go.”
Nicolas directed a knowing smile at her breasts.
“You’ve only been here two weeks, haven’t you? You’ll soon find out. Nobody really cares about counseling here. The staff only do it because it’s their job; we only go because it gives us someone to talk to.”
“Well, I’d like to talk to someone.”
“Come to Pontybodkyn and talk with us. At least we won’t be spending all afternoon trying to convince you there’s something wrong with you.”
Eva ran a hand through her grey hair, tucking it behind her ears. She spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. “There is something wrong with me. That’s why I’m here.”
“Ah,” said Alison, smiling slightly hysterically. “But where you’re
Johnston was refolding his handkerchief. “We can’t go on any further by this route,” he said. “We’re now approaching the end point of the elevator; beyond here everything was constructed from perfectly functioning VNM stock. It had to be, otherwise it wouldn’t have held together.”
He gave a deep sigh and pushed the handkerchief back into his pocket. “Whew. I’m rather hungry. It’s amazing what conditioned responses can do to you. Anyway. We’re going to have to make a jump into the unknown. I’m guessing that the end of the elevator is not that far above us. It will probably be in geosynchronous orbit with the base. I’m hoping that a docking station was completed, possibly even using the same VNM that later seeded the planet below. There must be something there that could host us.”
“And if there isn’t?” asked Herb.
“Then we’ll never know about it. Our consciousness will just fade from here, and the Herb and Robert back home will never know what we have learned.”
“Oh.”
“Not to worry. I beamed our consciousnesses to other points in the Enemy Domain, too. There’s another pair of us in the Necropolis. One set should get back at least.”
Herb frowned. “It will still be like dying to us, though, surely?”
“Ah. Don’t worry about that. Are you ready?”
Herb gripped Johnston by the sleeve.
“Hang on. Let’s talk this over.”
“No time. Let’s go.”
They jumped…
eva 2: 2051
High above Eva, the lime leaves fluttered gently against the deep blue of the afternoon sky. Flickering pale green and yellow hearts formed a vaulted ceiling over the quiet cathedral-like space between the dark trunks. The air was rich with the smell of soil and summer rain; it insinuated its way into Eva’s body, filling her with its heady presence. She had kicked off her shoes to walk around the clearing, feeling the darkness of the earth between her toes. Eva, held apart from it for so long in the grey headache of South Street, was reconnecting with life.
A voice whispered: “Eva.”
She started and twisted around, trying to see who had spoken. The voice had sounded in her ear, but there was no one there. The space between the trees was a vessel filled with woodland silence, a silence that was now leaking away.
Eva could see Alison, Katie, and Nicolas approaching across the overgrown green lawn that lapped the treeline. They were obviously looking for her. Nicolas spotted Eva first and pointed her out to the others. The three came crashing into her retreat.
“Hello, Eva, I thought we’d find you here.” Alison was on a high, every word packed with a jangling, desperate energy. Katie gave a nervous twitch and quickly turned her head in the other direction. Nicolas stared at her breasts.
“Hello, Eva,” he said. “We’re going to sneak into Pontybodkyn. Are you coming?”
“I can’t. I’ve got a counseling session in an hour.” Eva was glad for the excuse not to go, but Alison wasn’t going to be deflected so easily.
“Skip it,” she said, too loudly, snapping her fingers dismissively. “No one will care. The staff will be pleased to get an extra half-hour’s break.”
“No. I want to go.”
Nicolas directed a knowing smile at her breasts.
“You’ve only been here two weeks, haven’t you? You’ll soon find out. Nobody really cares about counseling here. The staff only do it because it’s their job; we only go because it gives us someone to talk to.”
“Well, I’d like to talk to someone.”
“Come to Pontybodkyn and talk with us. At least we won’t be spending all afternoon trying to convince you there’s something wrong with you.”
Eva ran a hand through her grey hair, tucking it behind her ears. She spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. “There is something wrong with me. That’s why I’m here.”
“Ah,” said Alison, smiling slightly hysterically. “But where you’re
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