[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Steward searched for words.  I feel... differently.
Her look was direct.  I m sorry for that. I m sorry that Etienne...
your Alpha... didn t give you the memories that would help you understand what
I m saying. But the memories they weren t good ones. She turned back to the
mirror.
Surprise whispered through him.  You know about my memories.
Natalie was busy at the mirror. Her voice was distracted, spoken to her
reflection.  Yes. I had a few calls from your doctor.
Ashley, or whatever his name was.
 Ashraf.
Page 140
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
 Right. He didn t want me to talk to you. I agreed with him.
Anger twisted Steward s nerves. He felt his teeth trying to clench.  Ashraf
took a lot on himself, he said.  Somebody killed him, finally.
Natalie s eyes turned to him for a moment, then turned back to the mirror.
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20krui...20Williams%20-%20Voice%20
of%20the%20Whirlwind.html (314 of 423)23-2-2006 20:24:58
Williams, Walter Jon - Voice of the Whirlwind
 I didn t do it, Steward said.  It had nothing to do with me.
 I never said it did.
He bit on his anger, forced it down. It didn t belong here. He touched the
doorframe and moved toward Natalie, took hold of the sleeping bag and harness
that she d rolled up to the wall, and stopped himself behind her, so that he
could see her in the mirror. She was painting verdant wings above her eyes.
 Why don t you call work? he said.  Tell them you have company from
offstation.
She spun in the air to face him. The painted olive face, distorted by emotion,
seemed a painful caricature of Steward s memories.
It contrasted with the white neck and hands. He tried not to flinch.
 I have other things to do with my spare time, she said. Anger crackled in
her voice.  I ll show you. She moved hand-over-
hand to the door, then pushed off for the comp terminal in the front room.
Steward followed.  Here, she said. She snapped at buttons. Synthesized chords
moaned from hidden speakers. The screen flickered on. Steward followed toward
it.
There was a child on the screen. He was hanging weightless in a room, a
keyboard strapped to his chest. Stubby fingers made expert movements across
the keys. The sounds scraped across
Steward s nerves. His heart lurched at the sight of wrongness.
The face was smooth, round, placid, smiling. Perhaps it had never held any
other expression. The head seemed strangely
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20krui...20Williams%20-%20Voice%20
of%20the%20Whirlwind.html (315 of 423)23-2-2006 20:24:58
Williams, Walter Jon - Voice of the Whirlwind proportioned, the eyes were
rolled up, largely hidden by the lids.
The legs were dwarfed, half the size they should have been.
 My son, Natalie said.  Spinal bifida, severe retardation of the speech
centers, borderline autism. A lot of his chromosomes got broken on Sheol. His
name is Andrew.
The music was discordant, slow, deliberate. Expert somehow.
Steward watched the face, the inverted expression, and felt coldness touch his
insides, a mixture of horror and pain. He wondered if he could love this
child.
 Gravity would kill him. He ll only survive if he stays in space,
Natalie said.  He needs special care twenty-four hours per day.
This picture comes from the station hospital.
Steward looked at Natalie, found his voice.  He ll be all right?
She shrugged.  He ll never learn to talk, but the rest of his mind is all
right. He learns fast if I can interest him in something, but getting his
attention is hard. If he can find a job he can perform by remotes from his
hospital room, he ll even be able to earn part of his keep.
 Does he know we re looking at him?
 There s a red light on the camera, so he knows when he s being observed. But
he s doing his music now and isn t paying attention. She turned her face to
the screen.  He ll do that for hours. He s more interested in music than
anything else. The boy s fingers pounced on a chord and the chord cried
through the speakers. Natalie s eyes softened.  He s why I m here, in
Page 141 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]