The Color of Distance (60 page)

“You sound like you don’t want to leave.”

“I’ve come to love this planet. There’s the forest, the Tendu, and the freedom of the life that I’ve found here. And then there’s Moki. I wish I could tear myself in two and leave one part here with him.”

“His people will look after him.”

Juna’s eyes welled with tears. “He won’t accept another sitik. If I go, he’ll probably die.”

“I’m sorry,” Bruce said. “I wish there was something I could do.”

Juna shrugged and looked away. “The hardest part is living in that damned suit. You know,” she said, looking up at Bruce through the glare of his faceplate, “Dr. Wu was the first human being I’ve touched in four years.”

Bruce drew her closer. She leaned against him. Suddenly she was weeping, all the loneliness and isolation of the last four years pouring out of her.

Bruce held her, patting her back as she cried herself out. Her cheek stuck to the slick plastic of his e-suit. She felt a small, cool hand on her thigh. It was Moki, ochre with concern. She rippled reassurance at him and drew him close. Moki’s hand clasped her arm, and he linked with her. His small, observant presence blended with the secure warmth of Brace’s arms.

At last she broke the link with Moki and pulled away from Bruce. She wiped her eyes. “Thank you,” she said, feeling suddenly awkward.

“Any time,” he replied with an affectionate squeeze of her shoulder.

“God, I hope not,” Juna said with a shaky laugh. “If I cried like that all the time, I’d melt away like a sugar cube in a rainstorm.”

She glanced down at her wrist chronometer. “We should go find Ani-tonen. The others will be wondering where we are.”

“Anitonen’s waiting at the top of the cliff path,” Moki told her. “She was talking with Lalito and the village council until almost noon.”

Bruce scooped Moki up and set him on his shoulder. Moki rippled with laughter. “Let’s go, then,” Bruce said, taking Juna’s hand.

They walked together through the forest, hand in hand. Moki rested one of his long arms on Juna’s head. It was a good moment, bridging the best of both worlds, and Juna was sorry to reach the edge of the forest.

Anitonen swung down from the trees, greeting them cheerfully. Bruce said hello to Anitonen, set Moki down, and then went on ahead to get the boat ready.

“Bruce makes you happy,” Moki said as they were crossing the beach, hand in hand. “I’m glad. Will you be mating soon?”

Juna blushed brown. “I don’t think so,” she told him. “It’s different with my people, Moki.”

“He arouses you, though. I felt it in the link.”

Juna looked out at the distant ship. “Moki, I’ve been away from my people for a long time,” she said. “I’m easily aroused, but I don’t mate with strangers. I don’t know Bruce well enough. Besides, there’s the quarantine.”

“Anitonen says you won’t make anyone sick,” Moki told her.

“But they don’t believe her,” Juna said, gesturing at the ship with her chin.

“Do you believe her?” Moki asked.

Juna shrugged. “I’m afraid to be wrong. It could kill someone, or make them very sick. I’d lose what little trust they have in me if I broke quarantine without permission.”

Moki looked out toward the ship for a long time, his colors fading to a deep, cloudy grey.

“You need your people,” he admitted, turning back to her. “I need you.”

Juna looked down at the sand, shrugging helplessly. They reached the boat. Bruce handed Anitonen and Juna in and shoved off. Juna helped him into the boat and watched as he started the motor. When she looked back at the beach, Moki had vanished into the forest.

Juna watched as Anitonen broke her link with Dr. Wu, unclasping his arms carefully to avoid disturbing any of the wires taped to his body.

“He’s recovering very well,” Anitonen told her. “His heart muscle should be completely regenerated in a couple of days. I’ve also cleaned out more of his circulatory system.”

Juna translated this for Dr. Wu and the assembled medical personnel.

“I feel stronger and more alert,” Wu confirmed.

The doctors clustered around the readout of their tests.

“Look at this!” one of them said. “There’s a double line here, as though there were two readings instead of one.”

“What is this?” Anitonen asked. “Please explain.”

“This is the neural readout,” Dr. Baker said, after he explained what the graph told them. He pointed to a pair of green lines. “There appears to be a double reading, but then it merges again.”

“Yes,” Anitonen said, once Juna had translated Dr. Baker’s words, “that is where I linked with him. The line merges as I come into harmony with Dr. Wu.”

“And this?” Dr. Baker asked, pointing to another readout, “Why does the heart suddenly slow and then gradually speed up?”

“I was testing it, seeing how the regeneration was proceeding. His heart is much stronger now.”

The questions continued. Soon Juna found it impossible to translate the technical terms that each side was using.

“Tell them that it would be much easier if I could show them,” Anitonen said, holding her suited arms out as though asking for allu-a.

“But the rules—” Juna said.

“I can’t answer any more of their questions with talk,” Anitonen responded.

“She said that she can’t tell you anything else, but that she can show you,” Juna told the doctors. “She’s offering to link with you.”

Anitonen nudged her. “Tell them I am too tired to do any healing, but I will show them their body from my viewpoint, and show them what I did to Dr. Wu. I can also show them what my body looks like so they will understand my people better.”

Juna translated this. The doctors conferred among themselves for a few moments.

“This is—ahm—rather unusual,” Dr. Baker said. “We should consult with the Alien Contact team.”

“You’ve got the head of the team right here. Why not ask him?” Juna suggested.

“If one of you is willing to volunteer for this, I have no objections to having you link with Anitonen,” Dr. Wu told them. “Allu-a is an amazing experience.”

“She wouldn’t alter my body in any way?” Dr. Baker asked.

Juna relayed the question to Anitonen.

“No, I promise not to do anything.”

“Can we trust her?” Baker asked Juna.

“Dr. Baker, Anitonen is an enkar. Her life would be forfeit if she broke her word,” Juna explained. “I’ve known her for more than four years, and she has always kept her promises, even before she became an enkar.”

“I see.” He looked appraisingly at Anitonen. “Very well then. I volunteer to link with Anitonen. What do I do?”

Juna guided him to a seat. “Sit down and roll up your sleeves,”

Anitonen touched her shoulder. “Will you monitor us? Your presence will reassure him.”

Juna pulled a third chair into the circle. “Anitonen said that I should monitor you. Will you allow me to break quarantine?”

Dr. Baker leaned back and looked over at Dr. Wu. “Well?” he asked.

“I’m still alive after touching her,” Wu pointed out.

Baker hesitated for a moment longer, thinking it over. “All right,” he said. “Go ahead.”

Juna undid her gloves and pushed her sleeves back past her elbows. Anitonen did the same.

“Hold out your arms like this,” Juna told him, resting her arms on her thighs, palms up.

He did so. Juna grasped his warm, human arm as Anitonen grasped her other arm, her skin cold and moist and suddenly alien. She felt Baker flinch a bit as Anitonen touched him.

“Are you ready?” Juna asked.

Baker swallowed nervously. “Go ahead,” he told her.

Juna nodded at Anitonen and they plunged into the link.

She felt Baker’s mingled fear and curiosity as she entered the link. Anitonen moved to enfold him in reassurance. His fear ebbed swiftly. Juna was impressed; it had taken her a long time to get over her fear.

She watched as Anitonen gently began showing Baker his own life rhythms. First, the steady beat of his heart, and the salty metallic taste of his blood. She showed him how the taste differed between the oxygen-rich blood leaving his lungs and the depleted venous blood returning to the lungs. Then they traced his last couple of meals through his digestive system. Anitonen let him experience the irregular, sharp taste of his nerves, transmitting sensation and instructions back and forth between the brain and the rest of his body. Juna could feel the doctor’s excitement rising as Anitonen showed him more and more of his body.

Then, as they were exploring his bladder, Juna felt something odd. A tiny cluster of cells in the lining of his bladder was out of harmony. Juna could feel Anitonen waver, tempted to repair the problem; then she moved on. Shortly after that, Juna noticed that Anitonen was tiring, and gently broke the link.

Dr. Baker sat up slowly. “What happened? We linked with Anitonen, and then—”

“I broke the link,” Juna told him. “Anitonen was getting tired. It looks like you are too. Try eating something sweet. Sugar helps wake you up after allu-a. That’s why the Tendu eat so much honey.”

Baker nodded. “There’s some electrolyte solution up in the cupboard. That ought to help.” One of the nurses handed him a bottle of the solu tion. He poured some into a glass and held it up. “Can she drink this?” he asked Juna. “It’s made up of simple sugars and a few salts.”

“I don’t know.” She handed the glass to Anitonen. “Can you drink this?”

“Let me see.” Anitonen stuck her spur into the electrolyte solution. “It should be very helpful.” She drank it down, brightening noticeably within a few minutes. “This is excellent for recovering from allu-a,” she said. “Even better than our honey.”

“There is an irregularity in the cells lining his bladder,” she said, pointing her chin in Dr. Baker’s direction. “If it is left untreated, the cells will grow too muth and eventually spread throughout his body. I could repair it, if he will let me.”

Juna translated this.

Dr. Baker’s eyes widened. “You mean that cluster of cells was a cancer?”

“A very small one,” Juna said. “Anitonen could repair it for you when she’s rested. It would only take a few minutes.”

“Let me confirm this with some tests,” Baker said. “I believe Anitonen, but it would be very valuable to have some independent confirmation.”

Juna translated for Anitonen, who nodded. “Let me know when you would like to be healed.”

“Thank you,” Dr. Baker said. “And thank you for linking with me. I have learned a great deal. It was wonderful to see my body like that, to feel directly so much of what I have been taught and observed indirectly. I wish I could share that with my colleagues and students. If such a resource had been available to me in medical school…” He shook his head and smiled.

“I’m glad I was able to help,” Anitonen said when Juna translated his words. “And I hope that this will help you too, Eerin. Perhaps now your people will let you out of quarantine.”

“It will take time,” Juna replied with a shrug. “Though it may take less time now. I think that Dr. Wu’s heart attack has changed things.”

Wu s heart attack did change things. Four days after it happened, Bremen called Juna into a staff meeting.

“After discussing the situation with doctors Wu and Baker, I have decided to lift your quarantine, and remove your security escort. I think you’ve proved that you are not a danger to the rest of the crew. I understand that Captain Edison has already assigned you a cabin. You may move into it immediately.”

Juna was stunned. “Th-Thank you, sir. I appreciate this,” she managed to say.

Bremen smiled. “I apologize for making you wait so long, Dr. Saari, and I thank you for your patience and understanding. You are released from duty for the rest of the day so that you can get settled in your new quarters.”

Juna spotted Dr. Baker as she emerged from the meeting.

“Dr. Baker,” Juna said, “I wanted to thank you for helping to get me released from quarantine.”

“It was no problem. There’s absolutely no evidence that you pose any danger to the crew. Actually, Dr. Saari, I’m the one who owes
you
some thanks. I had that spot on my bladder biopsied. It was a very small precancerous lesion, so small they had trouble finding it. They burned it out with a laser, and I wanted to ask you to thank Anitonen for me.”

“Of course, Dr. Baker,” Juna said. “I’d be happy to. I’m sure she’d be glad to check and make sure that the laser surgery got it all.”

“If you could ask her to do that, I’d appreciate it. This allu-a is a fascinating phenomenon.”

Juna went back to her quarantine quarters. Laurie stopped by as she was bundling up her few possessions and helped her carry them up to her new cabin. It was a large, airy room with two wide windows looking out on the coastline. Captain Edison had given her a cabin in the quarters reserved for high-level staff.

“Please thank the captain for me,” Juna asked Laurie.

There was a knock on the door. It was the captain.

“Looks like you get to thank her yourself,” Laurie said, slipping out the door. “See you later.”

“Captain,” Juna said. “I appreciate the room assignment.”

The captain shrugged. “This was one of the few cabins with a bathtub,” the captain told her. Dr. Baker mentioned that you suffered from the lack of humidity aboard ship, and I thought this might alleviate it somewhat. Besides, I thought you’d like the view.”

Juna smiled. “I do. Thank you, Captain Edison.”

“Good,” she said. “I’ll leave you to get settled.”

Getting settled took only half an hour. She had very little to arrange: a few clothes and toiletries, the holograms her father had sent her, a polished na seed from Narmolom, a bamboo knife, and her computers. There was almost no material evidence of the time she had spent among the Tendu. The only changes were in her body and mind.