Diffusion by Stan C. Smith

Author:Stan C. Smith [Smith, Stan C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: WMS
Published: 2017-01-18T23:00:00+00:00

Samuel had left, saying that he would talk to the village elders about their situation. While they waited for his return, Bobby had eaten what he could and decided to explore every inch of the tree house. He even climbed the walls. There wasn’t really a ceiling. Instead, the walls sloped inward until they came together to form two points. He pushed his hand through the sticks and living vines of the walls and felt a rope above each point. The hut seemed to be hanging by these two ropes. Although thicker than the rope ladder, the cords seemed too thin to support the weight.

Mrs. Darnell was getting worse, while Ashley seemed to be improving. After Samuel had treated her with his medicine, Ashley had slept. She awoke after a short time and reported having the same dream, about stars and the forest and the thing in the tree house. This got everyone talking about it again.

“Do you think they’ll take us to the dream-tree?” Carlos asked.

Mr. Darnell said, “It was a dream. It may not even exist.”

“But the dream felt real,” Bobby said. “It’s like someone is trying to show us where it came from, and where it is now. The stuff came from space. It ended up here in the jungle. Maybe the Papuans found it and hid it in a tree so no one would take it.”

“Guys, you’re not thinking like scientists,” Mr. Darnell said. “We shouldn’t consider the most bizarre explanation first. It’s the simplest that usually turns out to be true.”

“Like what?” Carlos asked. They all waited for his answer.

“Like maybe it’s a medicine the villagers mixed together from things they got from the forest. That could happen. People are creating new drugs from rainforest products all the time.”

“When was the last time they found one that fixes broken legs?” Miranda said.

“And makes you remember your whole life,” Bobby added.

“And keeps people alive who should be dead,” Carlos said. He then looked at Addison.

Addison regarded Carlos without expression. But Bobby thought he saw something menacing in the blackness of his eyes. Although barely noticeable, it made Bobby avert his gaze so Addison wouldn’t look at him is such a way.

Mr. Darnell broke the silence. “I don’t doubt that we’ve been given an amazing medicine. And obviously it does more than heal wounds. That doesn’t mean it’s from space.”

“Perhaps soon you will have answers.” Samuel had returned. He climbed the last few rungs and stepped onto the floor of the hut. He spoke to Mr. Darnell. “You are to accompany me. Perhaps you may satisfy your curiosities while the indigenes satisfy theirs.”

“Lindsey is weak,” Mr. Darnell said. “She can’t climb down the ladder.”

“Your presence is sufficient at this time, Quentin. Your wife will be safe here.”

Mrs. Darnell tried to sit up. “Quentin, don’t leave.”

Samuel said, “Lindsey, you are as safe here as any place upon this world. The villagers demand to see your husband. There would be consequences should he refuse.”

Mr. Darnell hugged her and whispered something in her ear.

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