Strange Attractors: Book 2 of the Chaos Chronicles by Jeffrey A. Carver

Author:Jeffrey A. Carver [Carver, Jeffrey A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, Alien Contact, Hard Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Space Opera, General, Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781611383904
Google: 2HykBQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Starstream Publications / Book View Cafe
Published: 2014-12-02T09:30:26+00:00

“So would it be all right if I called you a Karellian?” Bandicut asked, holding his half-meter-high pilsner glass up to the light. He studied the amber bubbles in the beer while watching Li-Jared out of the corner of his eye. “And you could call me human or Earthman? For the sake of simplicity?”

“For simplicity,” Li-Jared agreed. His eyes seemed to be glowing more diffusely as he drank, though possibly it was Bandicut’s vision getting foggy. He had found himself with a remarkable thirst for the beer, even though he knew he would be wise to limit his intake. Li-Jared was becoming more voluble as he drank. He seemed to be growing more comfortable with Bandicut’s presence, though he still cast an occasional pointed glance at Napoleon, who thus far had not moved, except for a periodic sensor sweep. The robot had spoken only once, and then to say, “None for me,” in apparent reference to the drinks order, though the waiter-ghost had at that point already disappeared.

“Bandie, then,” Li-Jared said, hunching over the table. In that moment, he looked more simian than ever; an instant later, the effect was shattered as he turned his face up, gold and sapphire eyes blazing at Bandicut. “I have traveled far with Ik. We have experienced many hazards together, in search of information that we hope may, at the very least, tell us who is meddling in our lives!”

“Yes!” Bandicut whispered, startled by the Karellian’s vehemence.

“And—” Li-Jared’s voice softened a little “—may also, if we are successful, give me a way to return home.” He closed his eyes and turned away for a moment.

Bandicut’s voice trembled with sympathy, and echoes of his own acute loneliness. “You miss your…home…a lot, don’t you?”

“Aaaannnngggg,” Li-Jared cried. “I miss the forests and plains, and most of all the sky, the emerald sky, the beautiful, perilous sky. The stars that flare and swirl dangerously, and make life itself a fragile treasure.” Li-Jared’s voice shook as he spoke, as if into the emptiness of the surrounding gloom.

Bandicut was almost afraid to answer. But when the Karellian’s eyes shifted back in his general direction, he found his voice and said, “Are there other…Karellians…whom you miss, particularly?”

Li-Jared’s eyes flared, then dimmed. “Some. Some.”

“Do you believe they’re still—”

“Alive? Who can say?” said Li-Jared, reading his thoughts. “Who can say?”

Bandicut nodded. He took a long draw from his pilsner glass. The beer was rich and hoppy, with a good head. Whoever or whatever had made it had read his memories well. “Perhaps,” he said at last, “we can all search together. I, too, would like to find a way home. Though I can’t help thinking that everyone I cared about is probably long gone.” He felt a rush of dizziness as he thought of Julie. Why? he thought. Why did it have to happen? The Earth and the comet—and even Charlie—getting between me and the first woman I ever really thought I had the slightest chance of…loving.

“Perhaps we can,” said Li-Jared, mercifully interrupting his thoughts.

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