Lost Past (16 page)

             
“I know I'm coming down with it, but someone has to clear the jam. None of us have eaten since yesterday.”
Judit
closed the box and started to put it back on the conveyor belt, but Wilson stopped her.

             
“You’re going to contaminate the whole food supply,” said Cara from behind
Judit
.

             
Linda realized that, with no infectious diseases, there were no rules for the prevention of the spread of disease.

             
After briefly explaining the germ theory of disease, Cara suggested that healthy guidelines be broadcast.
Judit
proposed a popular actor should demonstrate hand washing and covering coughs. Remembering Wilson’s cynicism, Linda said that it might be dangerous to bring anyone out of quarantine for that. She wanted the
Vigintees
to be in the habit of following their instructions. It wouldn’t hurt that those who didn’t follow the instructions would either contribute to the epidemic or be more likely to get sick themselves.

             
When they returned to the main floor, Wilson carried the box of food
Judit
coughed into.
Judit
led them to another anonymous door, which opened to a television studio. “You can film in here. There are some cameras over . . .” She stopped and gave a slight shriek. There was a body on the floor.

             
Cara crouched beside the body and touched the skin. “He’s been dead for hours. Is there a place I can wash my hands?”

             
Judit
pointed. As Cara left, Linda started to feel nausea. She glanced at Wilson, who seemed unaffected. He’s seen bodies before, she realized, and they probably died by violence.

             
“I shouldn’t be infecting the hallways,”
Judit
said, with belated realization.

             
“If I remove the body, could you stay here?”

             
Judit
nodded. She retrieved a camera and gave brief instructions on its use and how to broadcast the ads. She also told Wilson where to dispose of the body.

             
By the time Wilson returned with a stack of fresh clothing and took a shower, Cara and Linda had written the first health ad.

             
Before they recorded the ad, Linda felt John leave. It wasn’t as rapid a change in distance
as when he d
rove a car away, but it was
faster than a walk
. John felt more peaceful while leaving than he felt in days, but frustratingly, Linda had no idea what was
going on.

             
That evening, Linda remembered the computer. If this were Earth, she thought, I would Google myself. Why not? I’m sure there’s a search engine.

             
She found one and searched for herself. The first entry was in a write-up of Natalie Saunders’ kidnapping. Linda was mentioned in passing as a child left behind. They believed Natalie had telepathy and wanted to verify it. They would come in, thinking about something and if she couldn’t come up with the answer, they would torture her. Linda had tears in her eyes as she read it. Mom told them, but they didn’t believe her. She had to love someone to read them, and there was no way she could love her torturers.

             
As Linda read the details, her childhood memories of Mom’s explanations came back. Half the women in my family, Mom explained, “It’s not a gift; it’s a curse. Be careful whom you love, because you will probably be disappointed. I was incredibly lucky to find Arthur, because he mainly thinks about physics, and that’s not a problem. My sister tried to teach, because she loved children, but the telepathy drove her mad and she committed suicide.”

             
Linda also remembered all the times as a child when her mother knew what she was thinking. Before Mom told her, she once tried to explain this to a teacher, and the teacher’s indulgent, but dismissive attitude still stung.
             

             
Wilson came in and saw her crying. He looked at the screen, but Linda closed the window before he could read more than a few lines.

             
“Linda, I’m sorry about your mother.”

             
Linda knew his sympathy was genuine, but his words were trite and meaningless. “It was a long time ago, and at least now I know for sure that she didn’t desert us. And no, it won’t help if you put your arms around me, and it won’t incapacitate me.”

             
“You read my mind,” Wilson said.

             
“Yes.” She didn’t want lie to him. It wasn’t fair, since he would have trouble lying to her.

             
He was startled by her response and stared at her. Finally, he said, “I don’t mean now, but about the ambassador stuff.”

             
“Yes,” Linda said.

             
“I expected you to talk about great minds thinking alike, or some crap like that, but that ambassador stuff was too specific. Why aren’t you reading everyone’s mind and reporting on it? For that matter, what am I thinking?”

             
“It doesn’t work that way,” she said. “It’s erratic and . . .” She might as well tell him, she decided. “Often it’s just a fleeting thought I read, but it only works when I love someone.” She didn’t give him time to let it sink in. “I could read my father’s mind sometimes, but he almost always had his mind on the present or on physics. Tom spent an awful amount of time thinking about sex. I was glad when he went away to college, because it was kind of yucky. John, well, John figured out I could read minds and was too disciplined to think inappropriate things in my presence. I knew he was concealing things, but I didn’t know what.” She kept going, not wanting to hear what he said. “Mom warned me about it. She said it came for her at puberty, and she could see I was going to get it. I didn’t really believe her. I mean, she sometimes figured out what I was thinking, but I thought that was normal Mom stuff.”

             
“What am I thinking now?” he asked again.

             
“I can’t always do it. When I first read you, it gave me a horrible headache. Mom says the headaches go away, but the first time with any one person is the worst.”

             
“What am I thinking?” He was persistent, she had to give him that.

             
“You’re right.”

             
“I’m right about what?”

             
“I am a virgin because I didn’t want to get involved with anyone. And yes, I know it’s a sexual attraction based on our being confined together. No, it didn’t start when I watched you exercise, but earlier when you trusted me with your gun, even though I was the only choice. And your first name is
Suriel
, which you hate, but I saw that when I peeked at your driver’s license when you were in the shower. You don’t tell it to anyone and call yourself Sam. Will you stop thinking about how I’m going to be in bed, because it’s not going to happen.”

             
She retreated to her cot and lay down, her head pounding. She yelled at him, “Stop feeling sorry for me!”

CHAPTER 12
Immediately after Arthur Saunders was kidnapped

             
One of Hernandez’ clones carried Arthur off the airplane onto the ship.
When
Arthur
looked back at the airplane, he
saw Hernandez throw something into the doorway connecting
the airplane and the ship. When
the ship detached from the airplane
,
there was
black smoke coming out of the airplane. Arthur deduced Hernandez wanted to be certain the plane would crash. A wave of guilt washed over him as he realized his presence
would cause
the death of all of those on the plane. No, Hernandez caused it. Yet if Arthur hadn’t worked with the
Plict
, they would be alive.

Eventually, Arthur would worry about his guilt, but now he would
worried
about his own situation. How could he escape Hernandez and his clones?
Arthur could never tell the four clones apart, not that he bothered trying,
but,
he realized there were only four
Vigintees
in total. What happened to the fourth clone?

             
It didn’t matter, because there was no way he could win a fight with the group, and one less was hardly sufficient advantage. He doubted he could beat one of them in a fair fight, which meant the only fight he would consider would be an unfair one.

             
He analyzed his resources while the ship headed toward the wormhole. First, they obviously wanted him alive. Second, once they reached the
Plict
, he would be protected, although possibly not returned. Third, he had his lifejacket, a half-filled bottle of water, and the contents of his pockets. Did this kidnapping have anything to do with John’s amnesia? Perhaps, but it could be coincidence. Mary phoned just before he boarded and told him John was different, but seemed cognizant. He could have tried calling again, but he wanted to get settled on the plane. Schwartz would give the message to John.

             
Where was he on his list of resources? Fourth, was it fourth? It didn’t really matter, his assets were limited, and they were approaching the wormhole. Has anything changed? I should get another timing, Arthur thought. He got up out of his chair and approached the pilot. One of the clones hovered menacingly and Arthur said, “I just wanted to see if the energy consumption and duration changed.”

             
“Huh?”

             
“I want to know if the wormhole is the same as last time I went through.” Was he dealing with idiots? Why did he have to translate a perfectly simple sentence into kindergarten language? They were worse than grad students.

             
Arthur didn’t risk looking for a reaction, but kept his eyes glued to the readouts. It helped to have a reputation of only paying attention to physics. If he was of any use to them at all, it was as a physicist. He knew if Hernandez found him valueless, he would have no hesitancy in killing him. No, according to John, Hernandez
would enjoy
it. Meek physicist it is, then.

             
Ninety-eight additional seconds and a four percent increase in fuel consumption! Admittedly, John was a different pilot, but he was certain Hernandez would want to do things better than John. John didn’t care about that kind of thing and avoided competing with Hernandez. Hernandez, wanting approval of the
Plict
, managed to be jealous in spite of John’s non-competitiveness, no, perhaps because of it. Arthur didn’t pretend to understand
Plict
psychology, but he doubted they would ever approve of an amoral psychopath, even though he made good entertainment in their ant farm.

             
Did Hernandez know that was one of the reasons he was kept from spending too
much time on Earth? He was the star of their show, whereas John was boring, too moral,
too
predictable. They made bets on how many women Hernandez would sleep with and how many people he would kill. They probably weren’t really sorry to see John go, because he made poor entertainment. It also made them a bit uncomfortable. They wanted a perfect spy, one who would blend in society, but be loyal to the
Plict
. They gave him as much intelligence as they knew how and as much social responsibilit
y, but didn’
t realize the responsibility would turn toward humans. They partially succeeded in their goal, because John gave them an incredible amount of knowledge about human behavior. When they modified John’s genome to make Hernandez, they eliminated the social responsibility.

             
The actual landing startled him, because he was lost in thought. He gave a brief smile at the serendipitous occurrence. They assumed he was thinking about physics, not escaping. Well, he usually was. Night eliminated the possibility of him getting a good look around the landing site, but he thought the basement was a better route to escape. He visited
Vigint
City only once before, when Hernandez wanted to show it off, and he politely paid attention on his tour, although he deduced Hernandez didn’t realize the real nature of it. He managed to conceal his contempt for the place and was shocked the inhabitants were too stupid to realize they were observed. All those mirrors were too obvious.

             
Now for the decontamination.
Well, the supposed decontamination. It removed dangerous germs and viruses from skin, clothing, hair, and a bit inside the nose. He opened his mouth to allow it to work in his mouth. John, Hernandez and his clones were all immune to infectious diseases, but Arthur was not. If he had a cold, it would spread through the city. Arthur knew it was designed solely to keep healthy people from bringing in any diseases. It would not stop a sick person from causing an epidemic.