turned
smoldering black eyes on her. “I shall be near, if you need me.”
“Or even if I don’t. Now scram.”
With a dark look at Dr. Kauz, Randy scrammed.
“Most remarkable,” Dr. Kauz said to Randy’s back. Then his
watery blue eyes bugged out at Jewel. “Himmel! You must be the lady with the too-green aura!”
She looked at her green-schmeared arms. “There was a lot of
seaweed,” she began. Then she remembered Virgil tut-tutting over her Kirlian
photographs, a hundred years ago this morning. “Uh, that’s what they say.”
He looked her up and down with awe. “You wish to shower.
Then if you would step into the next room, my psychespectrometer will soon
pinpoint the trouble.”
“Can’t be too soon for me,” she muttered.
Chapter Eleven
Jewel congratulated herself on getting the spa director’s
attention. First part of her mission, accomplished. After her shower, Kauz led
her in triumph through the spa, his spectacles flashing, his round face
flushed.
As they passed through the dining area, she saw Randy
drinking coffee with Sovay, Griffy eating salad alone, and three window
cleaners in coveralls plastered to the outside windows, their hands cupped
against the glass, looking in. She avoided meeting their eyes. Everyone was
staring at her.
“Julia, are you okay?” Griffy said.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she kept saying.
Randy, Griffy, and Sovay got up and followed her.
In the psychespectrometer room, Dr. Kauz explained the
principles of colorimetry. It had something to do with refracting and
sublimating implied light given off by the human body, in effect, the aura,
blah, blah, blah. The machine itself looked like a big-ass, white-panel-faced
flourescent light fixture, hanging perpendicular to the floor, with wires
connecting it to several monitors and a printer. Behind the panel was a chunk
of humming hardware that Dr. Kauz called “the transformer.”
He made her stand in front of the psychespectrometer while
he fiddled with the controls.
Griffy said, “This is Julia Hess. She’s suffering from—”
“Stumm!” Kauz touched his lips. “I see very
well how she is suffering.” He picked up Jewel’s hand very gently. The round
spectacles flashed. “Fräulein, kindly
stand there.” He switched on the spectrometer and squinted into an eyepiece. “Mein Gott,” he blurted. “Look at this.”
He switched on an overhead monitor, and Jewel craned her neck to look. She
caught her breath.
The monitor showed a moving form in blazing acid green.
“Yow.” Griffy stared. “What is it, Doctor?”
Jewel scratched her cheek, and the image on the monitor
scratched with her.
Kauz seemed transfixed. “Vot happened to her?”
“Is she supposed to be that color?” Griffy said.
“She is not!”
Sovay slumped against the door. Randy loomed beside her,
eyeing the equipment with suspicion.
Jewel stared at her green self. She swallowed.
“How should she look?” Griffy said.
“I demonstrate. If you would exchange places?” Kauz waved to
Griffy and she sat. Her rainbow-colored image appeared. Kauz tapped the screen.
“Miss Julia’s chromatic distribution should be more diverse, so wie. Exchange again, please?”
Jewel returned to the psychespectrometer. Again the
scintillating acid green image filled the monitor.
Kauz seemed fascinated. Maybe
I can lure him over to Virgil’s house. She felt very Clay-like, very
undercover.
“How does such a woman survive in this world?” Kauz mused.
“That Venus Machine did it!” Griffy said. “They put her in
it last night and she’s been different ever since.”
“Machine?” he said murmured, peering into the eyepiece again
and twiddling a knob. “Charged. Like cloudful of lightning.” He shook his head.
“Incredible.”
“My — my brother is appraising a machine for this lady,”
Griffy said, nodding toward Sovay. “It’s a Cattywompusomething.”
“Kat-ter-fel-to,” Sovay pronounced with scorn.
Kauz jerked his head
smoldering black eyes on her. “I shall be near, if you need me.”
“Or even if I don’t. Now scram.”
With a dark look at Dr. Kauz, Randy scrammed.
“Most remarkable,” Dr. Kauz said to Randy’s back. Then his
watery blue eyes bugged out at Jewel. “Himmel! You must be the lady with the too-green aura!”
She looked at her green-schmeared arms. “There was a lot of
seaweed,” she began. Then she remembered Virgil tut-tutting over her Kirlian
photographs, a hundred years ago this morning. “Uh, that’s what they say.”
He looked her up and down with awe. “You wish to shower.
Then if you would step into the next room, my psychespectrometer will soon
pinpoint the trouble.”
“Can’t be too soon for me,” she muttered.
Chapter Eleven
Jewel congratulated herself on getting the spa director’s
attention. First part of her mission, accomplished. After her shower, Kauz led
her in triumph through the spa, his spectacles flashing, his round face
flushed.
As they passed through the dining area, she saw Randy
drinking coffee with Sovay, Griffy eating salad alone, and three window
cleaners in coveralls plastered to the outside windows, their hands cupped
against the glass, looking in. She avoided meeting their eyes. Everyone was
staring at her.
“Julia, are you okay?” Griffy said.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she kept saying.
Randy, Griffy, and Sovay got up and followed her.
In the psychespectrometer room, Dr. Kauz explained the
principles of colorimetry. It had something to do with refracting and
sublimating implied light given off by the human body, in effect, the aura,
blah, blah, blah. The machine itself looked like a big-ass, white-panel-faced
flourescent light fixture, hanging perpendicular to the floor, with wires
connecting it to several monitors and a printer. Behind the panel was a chunk
of humming hardware that Dr. Kauz called “the transformer.”
He made her stand in front of the psychespectrometer while
he fiddled with the controls.
Griffy said, “This is Julia Hess. She’s suffering from—”
“Stumm!” Kauz touched his lips. “I see very
well how she is suffering.” He picked up Jewel’s hand very gently. The round
spectacles flashed. “Fräulein, kindly
stand there.” He switched on the spectrometer and squinted into an eyepiece. “Mein Gott,” he blurted. “Look at this.”
He switched on an overhead monitor, and Jewel craned her neck to look. She
caught her breath.
The monitor showed a moving form in blazing acid green.
“Yow.” Griffy stared. “What is it, Doctor?”
Jewel scratched her cheek, and the image on the monitor
scratched with her.
Kauz seemed transfixed. “Vot happened to her?”
“Is she supposed to be that color?” Griffy said.
“She is not!”
Sovay slumped against the door. Randy loomed beside her,
eyeing the equipment with suspicion.
Jewel stared at her green self. She swallowed.
“How should she look?” Griffy said.
“I demonstrate. If you would exchange places?” Kauz waved to
Griffy and she sat. Her rainbow-colored image appeared. Kauz tapped the screen.
“Miss Julia’s chromatic distribution should be more diverse, so wie. Exchange again, please?”
Jewel returned to the psychespectrometer. Again the
scintillating acid green image filled the monitor.
Kauz seemed fascinated. Maybe
I can lure him over to Virgil’s house. She felt very Clay-like, very
undercover.
“How does such a woman survive in this world?” Kauz mused.
“That Venus Machine did it!” Griffy said. “They put her in
it last night and she’s been different ever since.”
“Machine?” he said murmured, peering into the eyepiece again
and twiddling a knob. “Charged. Like cloudful of lightning.” He shook his head.
“Incredible.”
“My — my brother is appraising a machine for this lady,”
Griffy said, nodding toward Sovay. “It’s a Cattywompusomething.”
“Kat-ter-fel-to,” Sovay pronounced with scorn.
Kauz jerked his head
Similar Books
