Christopher Hinz - Paratwa - 03 by The Paratwa

Author:The Paratwa [Paratwa, The]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-01-01T16:27:01.093000+00:00

DO NOT REACT. THERE IS NOTHING THAT YOU CAN DO FOR HER.

Another bitter shriek-a high-decibel wail of outright

pain-filled the study/dinette. Ghandi could not help himself. He lunged forward, desperate to break the Ash Nar's grip.

It was no use. One of the tways yanked him backward while the other swept his feet out from under him. Ghandi slammed hard onto the grated deck.

DO NOTHING. INTERFERENCE WITH THE DISIN-CORPORATION COULD BE CONSIDERED A REASON TO INCREASE ITS DURATION OR INTENSITY. Ghandi shook his head, bewildered. IT WILL NOT BE FATAL TO HER. SHE IS BEING MADE TO SUFFER ONLY A LIMITED DISINCORPO-RATION. OUR TASK IS TO BEAR WITNESS. THAT IS THE OBVIOUS REASON WHY YOU AND I WERE SUMMONED HERE. SHE WAS ORDERED TO PROVIDE OBSERVERS. IT IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE PUNISHMENT. "Punishment?" FOR HER FAILURES.

Desperate sobs shook Colette's frame. Heart-wrenching wails. Her other tway is being tortured!

Ghandi could not stand it. Seeing his wife undergoing such turmoil was worse than that sheer internal helplessness associated with the mad dance of his microbes. "No!" he hollered, roaring to his feet. This time, the tways were less forgiving. Ky's bare leg nailed the back of his knees like a steel rod. Pain shot through him as he again collapsed to the deck.

THIS IS THE WAY THAT IT IS DONE. IT MUST BE. "Why?" he moaned.

A WARNING. SHE HAS LED US TO A PLACE WHERE SUCCESS AND FAILURE ARE HINGED ON THE SAME AXIS. THIS IS A CONFIGURATION THEY DO NOT TOLERATE. IT IS AN ORGANIZATIONAL ERROR.

A shudder passed through Ghandi. "Who? Who is doing this to her? The other Paratwa?" YES. THE OTHER PARATWA.

A final scream. Colette's eyelids fluttered. She slithered to the deck, face forward. Unconscious.Ghandi crawled across the deck toward her. Calvin did not stop him.

"My love," he whispered, cradling her head in his arms, stroking her hair. "It will be all right," he murmured. "I promise."

Colette awoke, opened her eyes, attempted a fragile smile. "Pain incorporates," she whispered. "It teaches the individual the importance of the society."

"Be still," he hushed.

"Corelli-Paul we once told you that you might have to make a great sacrifice. Someday, you would have to become the public scapegoat."

"Whatever you wish," he vowed.

She shook her head. "No, I-Colette-do not want it to happen. I want you to be unshackled. I want you to be liberated. If there is a sacrifice to be made, then I will make it."

He gazed at her silently, seeing for the first time a creature strictly guided, a creature as bound to a specific direction as he had been for these past twenty-five years. Colette/Sappho was powerless to alter the rigorous limitations of her existence. Like Ghandi, she could not truly escape.

She gripped his arm. "I need to recover my strength. I must sleep now, Corelli-Paul. For a short time only. Just until we dock."

Calvin moved out of the way as Ghandi scooped his wife into his arms, carried her to their cabin, laid her on the bed, covered her with a single sheet.

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