Eternal Order by T.A. Berkeley

Author:T.A. Berkeley [Berkeley, T.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Poly Lit Press
Published: 2022-06-04T18:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The nun quickly recovered some surface composure. She brought out a soft cloth bag and handed it hastily to Jinx. “We’re done here. Here’s all your belongings. Officer, you can take him to the transport station now.”

Lyndon wanted to stay and see what she told the other two nuns—who looked cheerfully unaware of what had just aired on galactic television—and what other revelations came next on the show. But the first nun stared pointedly at her, saying nothing, and she gave in. “All right, come on, Logan. There’s just a little more red tape and then you’ll be a free man.”

Even before the door closed behind them Lyndon could hear the frantic whispering begin.

* * *

The mood that night, when Pella knocked at Lyndon’s apartment door to bring her to dinner, was somber and subdued. Word had obviously gotten around of President Gorn’s bombshell exposé.

Lyndon had watched the rest of the episode and there was nothing informative, just vague rumors and footage of nuns and postulants filmed at the resort, slowed down and darkened to make everything seem menacing. But it didn’t change the explosive nature of that first segment.

As they walked to the dining hall, Lyndon asked Pella whether she’d heard about it. “Yes Miss, right before I left the dorm to come get you. My friend Marci overheard a couple of the nuns talking about it and told a bunch of us.”

“What did you think?” Lyndon asked.

Pella wrinkled her nose. “I don’t believe it, but it worries me.”

“What don’t you believe?”

“Well, the part about getting cheated when she left, not being given a fair amount of money.”

“But all the other parts were accurate, or seemed like they could be true, right?”

“Well, yes, but she made it sound like everything’s designed to be mean, or cheat us.”

“You don’t think that?”

Pella shook her head emphatically. “I mean, it’s a trade-off. You know how it’s going to be and you can choose not to do it. The Mother Superior doesn’t make out like it’s easy when you join.”

Lyndon thought. “If you don’t believe her, why are you worried?”

“It’s talking about things most people didn’t know about our order. It sounds worse than it is, so it might turn people against us. You know, donors, and people coming to the spa.” She shivered. “If we’re having money trouble already, that show could hurt us even more.”

Lyndon suddenly remembered that Crystal was a former citizen of Mars. “Was Crystal there when you found out?”

“I don’t think so,” Pella said hesitantly. “If she wasn’t, she’ll know by now. Everyone’s talking about it.”

Despite what Pella said, no one spoke directly about the show during dinner, and Lyndon refrained from asking the Mother Superior about it in such a public space. Her response would be so tempered by wanting to save face as to be useless, Lyndon thought.

She did ask her about the security system and learned there had been no disruption to it that day. So no one had left the convent grounds unauthorized or unidentified.

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