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the great questions. All I'd have to do is devote one show to a story on 'the
meaning of life' and I'd find myself back in Topeka reading the morning farm
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reports so fast, it'd make your head spin.Which is where and how I got my
start, by the way.
"The network isn't interested. They don't like for their reporters and
anchorfolk to appear too much smarter than the individual on the street. You
think an audience would watch?" She didn't wait for him to respond, and he
knew that he wasn't expected to. "That doesn't mean that I can't be
interested."
He opened his eyes all the way. The fanciful station signs for
Fisherman'sWharf, Chinatown, the
Financial District, Berkeley and points east vanished from his imagination and
his inner eyelids at the same time.
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"I'm sorry, Maggie. I've been underestimating you and over-categorizing you
ever since the start of the mission."
"Forget it. Not only am I used to it, I'm guilty of it myself. For example,
when we started out, I thought you were a stiff, humorless, dry, emotionless
robot. Now I see that you're not dry at all." She grinned and he returned the
favor.
She had a beautiful smile, he decided. Perfect teeth, as you would expect from
an internationally famous telejournalist. Accumulated grime and sweat couldn't
detract from the beauty of her skin. Her hair was a mess, but her eyes
glistened like sapphire cabochons. Her lips were...
He turned away. Light had appeared at the end of the tunnel, signifying their
approach to the central island.
Among the millions of monitoring thought-forms confusion, surprise and
jubilation reigned in equal measure.
"They have spoken with the Creator and have found the fourth plate! They will
use it to return to their world, and all will be as it has been."
"Perhaps," cautioned the iconoclastic first. "Have patience. We have been
patient for hundreds of years.
Time yet to see."
"Truly," chorused ten million supporters. "Patience we have in infinite
quantity.Time still to dream."
"Let us again discuss the physics of luck," suggested ten thousand, and that
prompted a renewal of an earlier debate.
The keen buzz that unexpectedly filled the sphere confused and startled its
passengers, not to mention interrupting Low's contemplation of Robbins's
features. Then he realized that the sound arose from their pen communicators.
They were being called.
Pulling the unit from his belt, he spoke sharply into the pickup."Ludger?"
"It would have to be, wouldn't it, Commander?" The scientist's words were
labored and weak. "I regret to report that I am experiencing some difficulty."
Low exchanged a glance with Robbins before replying. "Take it easy. We're on
our way back to the main island. What's wrong? Did you misplace one of your
precious crystals?"
"No." Clearly Brink was under too much strain to respond to Low's sarcasm.
"But I was about to, and that is the source of the problem. I find myself
unable to move. I am also," he added tersely, "in considerable pain."
"Hang on. Our sphere is arriving."
It took only a moment for the transport to dock at the station. The door
cycled open and they exited hurriedly. Brink wasn't waiting to greet them.
Low raised the communicator. "We're here. Where are you?"
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There was no sign of the scientist. Wind whispered through the gigantic
chamber, a querulous intruder from outside.
"I am on the surface,"came Brink's reply. "Afraid we might be overlooking
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important external sites in our preoccupation with what we found below, I
decided to hike out and survey the area immediately surrounding the opening
into the large chamber. I should have been more careful."
"You still haven't told us what's wrong."
"You will see. Climb out and I will give you directions."
"We're on our way."
Together he and Robbins struggled up the rubble pile and managed to make the
jump from its peak to the nearest solid ground. It felt strange to be back in
sunlight after being so long underground. After hours spent in the company of
mysterious alien artifacts, relentless organic guardians and the resurrected
Creator, he experienced the plain wind-swept rocks and low scrub as
heartbreakingly normal. Squinting at the sky, he found himself speculating on
the length of a Cocytan day.
"All right," he informed the communicator, "we're out." He oriented himself.
"We're facing the setting sun."
The scientist's reply was shaky. "Turn forty-five degrees to your right and
you will be facing me. I am not far. Please hurry."
It took a bit of scrambling up a broken slope.Nothing difficult, which they
both managed with comparative ease.
"There he is." Robbins spotted their errant companion first.
As they approached, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Brink was lying on his
left side against the rocks, his right arm resting against him, looking forall
the world as though he was relaxing and enjoying the view. But as they drew
near, they saw there was no sign of his left forearm. It was hidden by the
crack in the hillside into which the scientist had thrust it. They hurried to
his side.
"What's wrong, Ludger?" Even as she asked, Robbins was straining to see for
herself.
Sweat dappled the scientist's face, though the temperature was on the cool
side. "As you see, my hand and wrist have become stuck."
"How did you manage that?" Robbins tried to find a better angle.
"I was holding one of the life crystals." He smiled weakly. "If you just hold
them gently and don't press them against your body, you can feel their warmth
without absorbing them. It is a most invigorating sensation.
"Climbing this slope, I slipped slightly and lost my grip. The crystal fell
into this hole. It isn't deep, and I
thought I could dig it out. When I attempted to do so, the rocks above shifted
and, as you see, pinned my arm. I cannot pull free. Every time I try, the
rocks above slide down a little more. It really is very painful. I am afraid
that most of the bones in my left hand are broken to one degree or another.
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"Fortunately, I was able to reach my communicator with my other hand."
Low had completed a circuit of the scientist's predicament. "Just hang in
there, Ludger. We'll get you out."
But try as they might, with both of them digging, they were unable to free the
scientist's pinioned arm. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]