Pamela Sargent - Watchstar 01 by Watchstar

Author:Watchstar [Watchstar]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-05-27T15:57:32+00:00

10

They sat outside Reiho’s craft in the cold night air of the desert. Daiya shivered a bit and warmed the air near her. Reiho did not seem to notice the cold. She chewed on another of his bars; this one tasted like salted meat. He had said it was something else, trying to explain before giving up. He had recoiled when she asked him if it was meat.

She lifted her sack of wine and held it out to him; there were only a few swallows left. He shook his head. “I had better not,” he said. “It might make me sick.”

“It’s only wine, there isn’t enough left to make you sick. You would need more than a sack for that and you would have to drink it quickly.”

“I am not used to it.”

She touched his mind; he seemed to think the wine was contaminated. She put it to her lips and took a long drink, finishing it. The comet was brighter tonight, its tail longer. She glanced at the boy. He had finished his supper, washing it down with the water that he got from his vehicle; the craft seemed to have an endless supply of it, producing water and food, it seemed, from the air. “Will you excuse me for a moment?” he asked. “I must go inside my craft and clean myself, I have not done so for a while.”

She frowned. “Is there enough water for that?”

“I do not need it.” He went inside, sliding the door shut. After a few moments, she rose and peered through the dome. Reiho had peeled off his silvery suit and lay on one of the seats under a glowing white light which hovered in the air. His body was hairless. She glanced at his groin, surprised to see he had genitals. She had expected pipes, or metal tubes, or perhaps nothing at all.

She sat down again, putting the wine container on the ground next to her. Her sack was still inside Reiho’s vehicle; she would fill the empty sacks with water from the craft, and get provisions from it to fill the big sack to tide her over until she found animal meat, and then.… She didn’t know. She could sit by the mountains, exploring the minds inside them. She did not need to go inside; she could draw on the strength of the machines and send her mind inside, learn from them. She could learn many useless things. She wondered if the machines and her mind could create food and drink. She could live there until she died. She could watch other young people stumble out into the desert and die; perhaps she would reach out and save one or two, as if she were God. Maybe she would save the violent ones, and send them back to the village.

Reiho, wearing his silver clothes again, came out of the craft and sat down near her. He gestured with his hand. “You may use it too, if you wish,” he said.

“What?” she asked absently.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.