Eon 02 Eternity by Greg Bear

Author:Greg Bear [Bear, Greg]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-05-16T11:45:11.028000+00:00

154 GREG BEAR

canvas; they had been given, by gestures of rifles and hands striking the

fabric, the distinct impression that bullets were ready for anyone who

made a ripple in the barricade.

Rhita squatted on the dirt, arms across her knees, and rubbed her face

wearily. Her entire body ached; hours of fear had done this to her. She

needed desperately to urinate, but no one had yet made provisions within

the barricade for a latrine, and she was too angry and confused to take

the lead. Soon, however, she might be forced to.

She turned flitted eyes up at the stars, as miserable as she had ever

been in her life, and felt their coldness sink into her face. They don't

know, they don't care.

All absolutes meant nothing; how far could a goddess such as Athen

extend? She seemed wholly inadequate beyond Gaia. The comfort of

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prayer meant little if she was going to die soon, and die in discomfort and

ignominy, far from Rhodos.

"Damn it, I have to piss," she said aloud. Jamal Atta stared down at

her, his dark brows knitting.

"So do I," he said. "We'll--"

Rhita ignored him, fascinated by something above his headma luminous

green straight line, singular, unembellished, silent.

"remake an area over here--" Atta continued.

The line passed smoothly over their enclosure; she could not tell

whether it was near or very far. Another green line crossed it and both

lines moved their juncture rapidly to the edge of the enclosure. That

made them seem close.

The gate. Something was happening at the gate.

The lines passed out of view. There was no unusual sound outside the

enclosure--men conversed in soft gutturals; boots scuffed dirt, grass rustled

in the cool evening wind. Darkness was almost complete. She

smelled raw dirt and scared men and the green of the steppes.

Like an automaton, she followed Atta to the designated latrine,

marked by boot-scuffed lines of sod. She pulled down her pants and

relieved herself. A few men glanced in her direction, never too frightened

to catch a glimpse of a woman's naked flesh. Pulling back her pants, she

stepped out of the scuffed lines and looked closely at her companions

within the enclosure. They stood in dejected postures, heads hanging,

faces coldly outlined by a faint crescent moon and the starlight.

This was what it had come down to. In truth, she now hoped something

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would come through the gate. It might be their only chance at

reprieve.

Had the green light been real, or were her eyes playing tricks?

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