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The woman had awakened her son early and, after making him breakfast-a rare
treat for Dean, who had to fend for himself along with the other
companions-had
asked him to show her around the redoubt and had listened carefully while he
told her all he knew about them.
"It's incredible to believe that there are so many of these old predark places
across the land, and that despite that so few have found them," she said to
him.
"Yeah, but most of them are so well hidden or disguised that you have to know
that they're there," Dean told her, pleased to see his mother attentive to his
every word. "The only reason we're using them is that Doc, Dad and J.B. found
one. And unlike most people who ever found them, they don't just loot them.
They're interested in working out how to use the mat-trans."
"The what?"
Dean smiled. "That's the really great part. The mat-trans is how we travel.
It's an old comp system that kind of breaks you up into little bits, then
shoots you across Deathlands to another chamber where you get put back
together again.
Of course, it's a bit more complex than that."
Sharona shook her head. "Those whitecoats before the nukecaust sure were sick
bastards."
"I don't know," Dean said, his face falling. "It's not so bad."
Seeing how her son was crestfallen, Sharona added quickly, "Well, I guess it
depends how you use it. I mean, if you can use it to go where you want& "
Dean grimaced. "I didn't exactly say that." And when she gave him a
questioning gaze, he continued. "The thing is, it's kind of random. We know
how to trigger it, but there aren't any manuals or instructions for how to get
past the sec codes in the comps to programme a destination, and they have this
random setting where every time you trigger the chamber, it'll send you a
different place. If I could work out the sec fail safe, then we'd really be
able to use it for wherever we want. But now it's kind of wherever it sends
us."
"So you don't actually know where you're going."
"No," he admitted.
"And you couldn't replicate a jump from here?"
"No," he said, a little puzzled. "But why would you want to?"
"I didn't say you would. I was just pointing out that mebbe you need to do a
little more work on this old tech. And mebbe your dad doesn't really give you
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that time."
"What do you mean?" Dean queried.
Sharona shrugged. "Well, it seems like he's always keen to move on all the
time. Mebbe it wouldn't hurt just to stand still for a while. That's what I'd
like-a chance to stay and just get to know you again."
"But you'll get to know me the longer you stay with us," Dean said in a tone
of voice that indicated he thought it was obvious.
Sharona grimaced. "I really don't know if I can travel with you."
Dean was shocked. "But you said-"
"I know what I said, but the truth of the matter is that I just can't see me
getting on with your father or with Krysty. They're suspicious of me, and
mebbe they're right to be. After all, they've been looking after you for one
hell of a time, and where have I been?"
"But that wasn't your fault!"
"Doesn't matter. It's not a question of fault. It's just a fact that they've
been there and I haven't.
Which means that I resent them for that, even though it's not something they
did on purpose, and they resent me for suddenly appearing, even though I
didn't plan it this way. That's just the way it is."
"Yeah, I guess so," Dean said softly. "I just figured everyone would be as
pleased as I was."
"Never mind." Sharona ruffled his hair.
"Sometimes things just don't go as you planned them. You should know that by
now!"
"Guess not. So what do you want to see next?"
he added in a bright voice, trying to change the subject.
"I don't know. You decide," his mother replied.
Dean took Sharona by the hand and led her out of the mat-trans control room,
not noticing the way she looked back over her shoulder with a thoughtful
expression.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER what you say, we have to move sooner or later," Ryan said
in an exasperated voice. "Fireblast and fuck it, haven't [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]