Quantum Logic #06 - Moving Mars by Greg Bear

Author:Greg Bear [Bear, Greg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780812524802
Google: OhKV8foHFGkC
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 340816
Publisher: Orb Books
Published: 1993-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

I said my farewells to Alice in the suite an hour before we left for the spaceport. For a time, Alice had withdrawn, refusing to answer our questions about her contamination. She would not even talk with the advocate chosen for our lawsuit, or his own thinker. But that changed, and she seemed to accept her new status — a beloved member of the family who could not be employed as she had once been.

"I have been replaying parts of the sim you shared with Orianna," she told me as she tracked on her carriage into my room. My suitcase and slate lay on the field bed, squared with the corners. I am sometimes excessively neat.

"You kept all of it?" I asked.

"Yes. I have observed fragments of created personalities undergoing portions of the sim. It has been interesting."

"Orianna thought you might find it useful," I said. "But you should delete it before the Mind Design thinkers check you over."

"I can delete nothing, I can only condense and store inactively."

"Right. I forgot."

Suddenly, Alice laughed in a way I had not heard before. "Yes. Like that. I can temporarily forget."

"I'm going to miss you," I said. "The trip home will seem much longer without you."

"You will have Bithras for company, and fellow passengers to meet."

"I doubt that Bithras and I will talk much," I said, shaking my head.

"Do not judge Bithras too harshly."

"He's done a lot of harm."

"Is it not likely that the harm was prepared for him to do?"

I couldn't take her meaning.

"People and organizations on Earth behave in subtle ways."

"You think Bithras was set up?"

"I believe Earth will not be happy until it has its way. We are obstacles."

I looked at her with fresh respect. "You're a little bitter yourself, aren't you?" I asked. And no longer very naive.

"Call it that, yes. I look forward to joining with my original," Alice said. "I think we may be able to console each other, and find humor in what humans do."

Alice displayed her image for the first time in weeks, and young, longhaired Alice Liddell smiled.

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.