Edge of Dark (53 page)

“I see.” Jhailing said, although Charlie suspected he didn't. But then Jhailing said, “Maybe we and the tongats are more alike than I thought.”

Wow.

After they watched Cricket finish wolfing down her food, Charlie asked Jhailing to check on Yi and Jason while he and Jean Paul took Cricket for a walk.

They walked in silence through the dusk, Cricket a bit of ahead of them. “Will you stay here?” Charlie asked Jean Paul. “I don't know how safe Manna Springs will be.”

Jean Paul looked down at the ground. “For Cricket.”

“For
your
safety, too. This could go sideways. This place is well-protected, and you have the other rangers. Besides, we may need to retreat if the city thinks I negotiated badly.”

“Will they?” Jean Paul asked.

“I don't know.” Stars pricked the sky like bright jewels. A cold wind slapped at Charlie's cheeks, carrying with it the earthy scents of fall forest.

Jean Paul picked up a rock and sent it skipping across the edge of the landing pad. “You might need to be rescued.”

“I might. Or you might. I feel like we're in the middle of a windstorm. I wish we had more time. But the station's decisions will be made by now, and we'll be hearing soon. Jhailing might already know.”

“Will Jason and Yi stay here?”

“They're coming with us.”

Jean Paul frowned. “They're killing house bots in there.”

“I know. They know. They'll pass at a distance in the right clothes. Besides, Jhailing expects them to go.” Poor things. “And they're heartbroken. They'll be better if we keep them busy.”

“Be careful,” Jean Paul said. “I like it that you're back home. It would be nice to keep it that way.”

“Okay then.” Charlie clapped his friend on the shoulder, and then gave him a hug instead. He wondered briefly if the Next had simpler relationships. “I'll be back.”

That night, he broke one of his own rules and let Cricket sleep on the floor beside his bed.

They piled out of the station in the dark of early morning, just as one edge of the sky had started to grey. Jason settled Amfi between himself and Yi. The gleaner took each of their hands and proceeded to ask them what Lym looked like from space.

Jhailing strapped into the front seat beside Charlie. Jean Paul waved good-bye, Cricket at his side.

“This is going to be hard,” Charlie told Jhailing.

“Yes. But you are still the Ambassador for Lym.”

“I'm not going to lie and tell them I made this all up in space.”

“You can tell them you met me in space.”

“Did I?” Charlie asked. “I thought that wasn't how it works.”

“Practically? No. Not really. I haven't seen the instance of my self that you met on the Satwa for all of the many years I've been here.”

Charlie flinched.

“And we have had different experiences. Entirely different. If we meet, or get close enough and have enough bandwidth for it, we'll swap some or all of our memories. That's
sharing
. We may even—for a time—relive our memories with each other. That's
braiding
. When we braid, we
almost
lose our individuality as we become immersed enough in each other to share the experience of an event—which is different than a memory of an event.”

Charlie fell into contemplation as he guided the skimmer past the edge of the ranger base and over a set of small scarps until they were above rolling hills punctuated with dark ribbons of water.

Light started kissing the tops of the mountains.

When he and Nona had been side by side in bed on the
Star Ghost
the night after they watched the robots fly naked through the cargo bay, they had wondered what it must be like to live with no sex. Now he wondered if maybe the Next had a different way to be in each other's skin, and what that felt like.

Was it better? Less messy, anyway.

The thought made him smile, although he rather liked messy human sex.

As they passed out of the controlled flight zone around the station, he increased speed.

Jhailing's voice interrupted Charlie's reverie. “We are separate beings, but all of us that started from the same copy of the same human are a single legal entity from the viewpoint of
your
laws. That's why it is true that you met me on Satwa.”

“You're reaching,” Charlie said. “And I won't lie to anyone. Including you.”

“Thank you.”

Charlie still worried. “Did the Diamond Deep announce a decision?”

“They will help us.”

“Have you heard anything about Nona?”

Jhailing fell silent for a moment and then smiled. “She's okay. She helped make the decision to help us.”

Really? Charlie wondered how that had possibly happened.

The light fell more fully on the grassy plains below, turning them a pale gold. The morning hunt should be beginning. Charlie flew low, looking closely. “There's a pack of tongat surrounding a huge herd of hinta grazers down below and to the right.” He pointed.

Jhailing's gaze followed Charlie's finger. “I see them.”

“I'm pleased the Deep decided to help,” Charlie said, surprised at himself yet again. But then, there had only ever been two options for Lym. Fight or cooperate. The Next had been clear from the first moment that they were coming here. He still hated it; it felt like agreeing to haul rock because someone held a gun on you and asked you to please help.

“But the Golden Starshine decided to fight, and we are uncertain whether or not humans can control groups like the Shining Revolution people that killed Chrystal.”

Charlie watched the herds until they flew past them and he couldn't see them anymore. “I don't know if we can either, but I suppose we'll have to try.”

“You could always throw Vadim and his people out beyond the Ring.”

“Even though I'm sure that's a bad joke, I
would
like to do that to the particular group we just watched.”

“I thought it was a very good joke,” Jhailing said.

In the back, the conversation had gone from the view of Lym in space to what Yi and Jason thought of a sky.

Charlie fell silent and tried to decide if Jhailing had just demonstrated a sense of humor.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

NONA

Nona woke to the smell of stim with no idea, at first, where she was. She had been dreaming of Charlie, and of sweet moments on the
Star Ghost
that went on and on, like living in a spiral of quiet lovemaking and long talks with no one else in the entire universe to interrupt them, and no responsibilities of any kind.

Satyana's voice whispered in her ear.

“Hmmm . . . what?”

“There's work to do.”

“What?” Her sleep had been so deep it still felt like she was climbing up a reality rope, as if she'd been in some virtual world for days and had to slowly feed herself back into her body. “What do I have to do now?”

“Well, we all voted
Help
. Now we have to actually do that.”

“They didn't help Chrystal.”

Satyana didn't bother to respond.

Nona sat up and took the stim, sipping at it slowly, savoring being in her own bed. She thought about Charlie. Would he think she had sold him out, or would he understand? “What time is it?”

“Better ask what day it is. You slept a day and a half.”

That startled her. “Wow.”

“I thought you might need food. There's breakfast in the other room.”

“Thanks.”

“You should clean up, first. We have company.”

Satyana had reverted to her old self, giving Nona orders. “Really?”

“The Historian wants to see you.” Satyana's eyes sparkled.

Nona had to admit that she would like to see Dr. Nevening. But probably not in the way her almost-awake self was beginning to intuit Satyana thought she should. She didn't want his friendship for political gain. Nor did she want to date him. But what harm could come from a breakfast? “How long do I have?”

“He's already here.”

She showered—quickly—even though she'd showered just before she went to bed. Nothing like being deprived of water for multiple days to build cravings for it. She pulled on comfortable blue pants and a white top and hurried toward the kitchen.

Dr. Nevening had brought two of his assistants to breakfast. He greeted her warmly, his face open and a tiny bit expectant. He held out a hand and she took it, and he covered her hand with his other hand, gazing at her. “You were very brave.”

“How?” she asked.

“You spoke your heart yesterday. You barely looked nervous on stage, even though the whole Glittering watched. You were brave when we were captive and when we were rescued, both.”

She blushed. “I didn't think I was very brave about being captured.”

“Sure you were.” He smiled, and turned to introduce his young assistants, Gray and Hatley.

She mumbled pleasantries and filled her plate.

To her relief, the good doctor Nevening let her finish half a plate of food before he spoke. “I'd like to record your memories about Chrystal while they're fresh, to make a memorial to her for future Historians.”

Oh. For moment she felt that he hadn't, after all, come to see
her
. Then she realized he would need an excuse. She was both younger and far below him in the power structure. Her place on the stage had been temporary, and she probably wouldn't ever return to it. “All right. There will be a lot to tell you. But first, while we eat, can I ask you a few questions?”

“Of course.”

His assistants looked intrigued.

“What can you tell me about the history of other societies who were overrun by people with significantly more technology?”

Satyana came closer and sat down at the table.

The Historian leaned back in his chair. “This has not really happened since we moved to space. There are small instances of fights over resources like asteroids or ships, or to keep the Next beyond the Ring, but stations don't attack each other. They are almost stationary when compared one to another, locked into orbits that have been calculated never to intersect. They have no need to fight over territory.”

She waited until she finished her bread, and said, “I understand.”

“The history we have is old, from when we were all on Lym.” He took a sip of stim and nibbled on a berry. “In those cases, when one roving colony group or one city was overtaken by another, they were killed or assimilated. Most often, they were assimilated. They learned the new ways of the people who attacked them and subsumed them.”

“Will that happen to us?”

He fell silent a moment. “I suppose in a way that is what happened to Chrystal. But I don't think it will happen to us, not if we stay here on the Deep. It probably will happen to the people who stay on Lym.”

Charlie.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

CHARLIE

Just as Charlie, Amfi, and the robots crossed into the controlled airspace around Manna Springs, Manny called.

Charlie raised a hand to silence the backseat, where Amfi was explaining gleaner social structures. She stopped midsentence and leaned a little forward, her face slightly distorted in the mirror that showed the backseat.

Manny sounded breathless, his words leaving little space between them. “Can you land at the main spaceport? Use pad B.”

Charlie frowned. “I thought we were coming into your place. Will Jason and Yi be safe?”

“Yes.”

Manny wouldn't lie to him. Whether it was true or not, Manny believed he could keep them safe. “Is the Next ship there yet?”

“No. But they asked that you greet them. All four of you. They say they want an open conversation that is broadcast for everyone. There's better security at the spaceport than in town.”

“I see. So how is it in town?”

“Tense. I'm already at the spaceport. I'll meet you.” He hung up abruptly, obviously beset with other worries. Manny had always been respected by the town, but times had been easy for his entire tenure. The crime rate on Lym had been low. There had been twelve cases of illegal hunting during Charlie's most recent year of rangering, but only one case of assault, which had turned out to be
about
a planned illegal hunt.

The people in jail were usually smugglers.

As they approached the spaceport, Charlie spotted people gathered by fences that hadn't been there when he left. It looked like most of the town's population had chosen to crowd the entrances. At the moment, they appeared to be an orderly mob.

Charlie landed as quietly as he could, flying low and slow, letting the autopilot guide him in and place him where Manny wanted him, which turned out to be inside of a hanger meant for much larger ships. Charlie approved—with nothing to see, the curious might leave well enough alone.

He climbed out of the skimmer first. To his relief, Manny folded him into a bear hug. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”