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certainly wouldn't vouch for her if she were a " ". . . genetically weak strain, look at Rellow. You know Digen's father was a double Farris ..." She held the tray out to them, feeling half naked in the plain white cotton yawal. From the center of the knot of Gens, one woman emerged to take a glass from the tray, saying, "As far as I'm concerned, Aild Ercy Farris will be my Sectuib if she'll have me." It was her Aunt Bett, Rellow's mother. The other Gens in the group took glasses, some of them proclaiming clearly, "And mine, too." Im'ran stood behind her, ready to support her, but she knew she had to do this with her own strength. "I ask only that you inspect and judge me tonight, and give your allegiance to me if you find me worthy." "I think," said her Aunt Bett, "I speak for all of us when I say we could choose no better, Ercy. You have distinguished yourself this night, carrying on so calmly." "Thank you, Aunt Bett." As she turned to move to the next group, she saw out of the corner of one eye that one of the Gens dumped his drink angrily into the elaborate floral arrangement, covertly refusing to acknowledge her. After that, the tray seemed heavier than ever. Her head ached dully, and the room seemed more stuffy than she could bear. Every so often, she would stop and take a deep breath and do her relaxation drill. In those moments, Im'ran, by some uncanny Companion's instinct, would step closer and lay one hand on her . shoulder, in firm quiet support. It was only as she surrendered the last tray to the member who had supplied Page 67 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html it that she felt her knees give way alarmingly, and then Im'ran was holding her up by one shoulder and her father by the other. Aside to her, her father said, "Easy, Ercy, stage two transition, that's all it is. You're moving along quickly. It's only been a couple of hours. Stage two should go pretty quickly as well." Im'ran whispered in her ear, "We're all very proud of you, Ercy." She smiled to the crowd, who gradually seemed to be accepting her. The music picked up again, and a talented group of dancers began performing an old folk dance complete with traditional costumes festooned with colored streamers. After the transition eased, she played with the children before they were finally packed off to bed. Then she chatted with adults who skirted politely around the only issue on their minds. When she suddenly found she couldn't breathe and began to make for the exit to get some fresh air, Im'ran at her side said knowingly, "Stage three transition. Good, Ercy, good." And he held her while she panted against the resistance of her diaphragm, reciting to herself all the things that began happening with stage three. She sat on a stone bench with Im'ran, counting seconds until the transition would pass. The sky was dark overhead, the pavilion lights spilling over onto the rotunda where several camera crews were working. Eventually, as she leaned against Im'ran, she found herself breathing normally and feeling fine except for a queasy little flutter somewhere under her stomach. She had energy enough to watch the lighted window of the conference room where the committee was still examining Rellow and his evidence. " v. "Here she is, Digen!" called Grant as he came out of the pavilion. Behind him, her father paused, zlinning her critically. Grant sat down beside her, and Ercy took one last deep breath, pulling herself together. The nervous flutter settled down as Grant turned his attention to her. "Well, how do you feel, Ercy?" "Not exactly fine, I have to admit. The hardest part's over, anyway. Those trays are heavy!" Her father came up behind her, running sensitive fingers and tentacles over the back of her neck and her lower arms. "How was the transition, Im'?" "Normal as could be. I've rarely seen easier."If this is easy, I'd hate to know how others suffer, thought Ercy. "Good," said Digen, "lets get back to the party." "Digen," said Grants "it's awfully stuffy in there. I'd like to take a walk. Just half an hour." "All right," said her father. "We'll be inside." As Grant left, Ercy glanced at the sky, noting that it was a few minutes before midnight and wondering where Hal went every night and what he did at midnight. The same thing he did at dawn greet the beginning of a new day? She realized that was not a bad idea. Her whole life was about to begin; there were new choices to be made. Her father said, "Im', what about you? Tired?" "Probably," said Im', "but I won't notice it until this is over. Ercy is making a work of art out of what is usually a messy business. And hey, didn't the light just go out in the conference room?" "Yes, I saw it. Let's go inside and get this over with." It wasn't until that moment that Ercy really began to feel the impact of what Rellow had done. Page 68 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Snooping in her private room, he had stolen what amounted to her diary and was making it public so that, if he couldn't have Zeor, she wouldn't either. She remembered she had left the books on her desk before the dinner that night, and when she'd returned with Im'ran they'd been gone, but she'd been so distracted she hadn't noticed. As she followed her father back into the pavilion, she found she was holding herself tensed for a blow. Knowing she couldn't survive changeover like that, she made a special effort to summon again the relaxation she had so patiently learned. On the dais, her father stopped the musicians and had them strike a loud chord for attention. Just as silence fell throughout the pavilion, the committee, five Simes and five Gens, came in with Rellow, filing directly up to where Digen stood. One of the Simes, a channel so ancient Ercy couldn't begin to guess his age, limped up to Digen at the microphone. Digen said, "Hajene Rindaleo ambrov Zeor will present the report of the examining committee." That's the legendary Rindaleo Hayashi!thought Ercy. He was a scientist, and he knew what it felt like to be kicked out of Zeor by mistake. "... and so," Hayashi was saying, "we do not pretend to understand all that is written in these notebooks. However, one thing is clear. Ercy Farris was indeed investigating the effect of the phase [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |