Watchstar (23 page)

She hovered above a starry spiral. A bright light, impossibly far away, called to her.
I am with you
, it said.

And I am with you
, another light replied.

And I am with you
, called a silver webbing encasing a small globe.

I am with you
, whispered a shell enclosing a sun.

And I am with you
, said a distant starry wisp.

The voices rustled and murmured, singing with Homesmind. Her body was only a shell. She could abandon it, join these others, merge with them.

She shot toward Earth. She sped through Earth's clouds, crying out to Homesmind. She was on the hill again. She felt the bonds of her body holding her and resisted, wanting desperately to join the other minds. At last she felt their purpose, the search for consciousness in all forms, the awakening of minds everywhere.

—Let me leave here—she pleaded.

No
, Homesmind said, and she knew the minds would not swallow her and strip her of herself.
Your own world calls, and you have not begun to understand it. But I shall watch over you
.

The other minds were gone. She stretched out her arms, clawing the air.

Daiya rubbed her head, then lay down, gazing up at the night sky. She would build a hut, but she would rest out here so that she could look up through the trees and see the stars. Above her, the comet shone.

A wisp touched her, a slender bond. It caught her mind and held her. It was another Net. / We are with you / said the minds under the mountains. She would not be alone.