Part 63 (2/2)

She didn't have cla.s.s with any other kids until just before noon, when she had Economics with Amy and Maddy.

Amy and Maddy hadn't hadn't known about her moving out. They thought she was putting one on them. So she put her card in the nearest House slot in One A, and it started spitting out all these messages she hadn't known she was going to get, like Housekeeping asking for a verification on an order for a special kind of battery-she knew who had asked that, and punched yes-and a note from Yanni Schwartz telling her that her office in 1-244 was keyed to her card, and he had a secretary and a clerk going to set up in there, whose names were Elly BE 979 and Winnie GW 88690, and their living allowances were now on her card, along with the equipment requisition for another couple of terminals and on-line time on the House system; and a message from Dr. Ivanov that her prescription was waiting at the pharmacy. known about her moving out. They thought she was putting one on them. So she put her card in the nearest House slot in One A, and it started spitting out all these messages she hadn't known she was going to get, like Housekeeping asking for a verification on an order for a special kind of battery-she knew who had asked that, and punched yes-and a note from Yanni Schwartz telling her that her office in 1-244 was keyed to her card, and he had a secretary and a clerk going to set up in there, whose names were Elly BE 979 and Winnie GW 88690, and their living allowances were now on her card, along with the equipment requisition for another couple of terminals and on-line time on the House system; and a message from Dr. Ivanov that her prescription was waiting at the pharmacy.

That impressed Amy and Maddy, all right.

They looked like they still weren't sure she hadn't set this up to Get them, but she told them that tomorrow they were going to get a chance to see, she would take them up where she lived now, all on her own.

And they went funny then, like something was going different.

That was something she hadn't thought about.

She was thinking about it all the way to the pharmacy, and then she had that package to worry about, up past the Security guards into the lonely terrazzo hallway that was all hers down to the barrier-wall. She used her keycard on the door, and let herself in. The Minder told her that Florian and Catlin were there, and quick as that they showed up from the hall to the kitchen.

”Did Housekeeping get here?” she asked.

”Yes, sera,” Florian said. ”We've got everything put away. We went all over the apartment.”

That meant the batteries Florian had wanted had gotten there. ”Housekeeping was in order,” Catlin said. ”We made them set the boxes in the kitchen, no matter what they were, and we went over everything piece by piece before we put it away. We're warming up lunch.”

”Good,” she said. ”Cla.s.s was fine. No problems.” She walked all the way back through the halls to her office to put down the carry-bag.

Her office, when she had automatically started for her bedroom. But now there was a room for everything. She unloaded the manual there; and took the carry-bag back past Florian and Catlin's rooms to her own bedroom. office, when she had automatically started for her bedroom. But now there was a room for everything. She unloaded the manual there; and took the carry-bag back past Florian and Catlin's rooms to her own bedroom.

Poo-thing was there, right on her bed where he always was. She picked him up and thought it would be really rotten if uncle Denys had bugged him. She picked him up and set him down again against the pillows.

And sat down and kicked off her shoes, and took out the pills from her carry-bag, the prescription pharmacy had fussed about until they nearly made her late for school, no matter what her keycard said and no matter what the House system told them she was authorized to have.

”75's,” Florian said, looking at the pill-bottle, after lunch. Ham-and-cheese sandwiches. With nothing burned. ”That's all right. That's right for a deep dose.”

”Do you want to see what I have to tell you?” She had run out the print, and she had the paper in her lap. ”I've told the Minder, no calls, no noises. I've got everything on the list. But I'd feel better if you looked at it.”

She pa.s.sed the printout over; they read it, one after the other.

”Sounds reasonable,” Catlin said. ”I haven't any trouble about it.”

”I don't see any problem,” Florian said. ”It won't take half a minute. If there's no tape to do.”

It still scared her. It scared her more than anything else.

But she did what it said. They took their pills and she followed what the paper said; and left them to sleep, then.

And went into her office, shut the door, and used the keyboard with Base One, because she wanted no noise in the apartment at all while they were that far down.

She told Base One the routine was run.

And Base One said: This Base now recognizes their cards. This Base now recognizes their cards.

She read, mostly, late, because she wanted them to wake up before she could rest. She scanned Ari senior's data, on the words Geoffrey Carnath. Geoffrey Carnath. And she And she had had understood uncle Denys in what he had said happened. She scanned it all the way to the end, when Ari moved out. She read the worst things and sat there feeling strange, just strange, like it was bad, but n.o.body had died, that was the worst, if somebody had died. understood uncle Denys in what he had said happened. She scanned it all the way to the end, when Ari moved out. She read the worst things and sat there feeling strange, just strange, like it was bad, but n.o.body had died, that was the worst, if somebody had died.

Then they might Disappear someone else.

And she was mad. Mad about things another Ari's guardian had done a long, long time ago, which weren't there, but the Security reports were, right up to when Ari had turned herself and Florian and Catlin over to Security, saying her uncle was abusing Florian.

That was the way Security wrote it. But she knew what had happened. Sort of. She couldn't make a picture in her mind, but she knew, all the same. And Ari talked about getting along with her guardian. I'd have killed him. Like I'd have killed uncle Denys if he'd gone after me. Because you don't play games with Security. Not with Seely, not with Denys. But then where would I be? In a lot of trouble. In a I'd have killed him. Like I'd have killed uncle Denys if he'd gone after me. Because you don't play games with Security. Not with Seely, not with Denys. But then where would I be? In a lot of trouble. In a lot lot of trouble. of trouble.

Her stomach went upset. She had known she was in a corner, deep down. Geoffrey Carnath's security had gotten the better of the first Ari's. They must have had a fight. Something must have happened.

Florian and Catlin had gone to detention. Ari had gone to hospital. Ari, hospital, hospital, she typed, for that date. she typed, for that date. Sedation, Sedation, it said. Geoffrey Carnath's order. it said. Geoffrey Carnath's order. Florian, security. Florian, security.

A medic had seen him. He was hurt. So was Catlin. And they had run tapes on him and Catlin. She got the number on them.

She chased the case through files for an hour and chased the move-in order, and the Family council meeting-where senior staff, knowing what had happened, had given Ari senior a place of her own, with her own key and no one to watch over her, because that was what she demanded to have, because she was threatening to go to the news-services and Geoffrey Carnath was too much trouble for even the whole Family to fight him over the guardians.h.i.+p. True. Everything true, as far as Base One went. Things like that had happened to the first Ari.

They had taken maman. But uncle Denys and uncle Giraud had never done what Geoffrey Carnath had done to the first Ari.

She sat there a long time staring at the screen, and then started looking up some of the words the report had used.

And sat there a long time after, feeling her stomach upset.

She was terribly, terribly relieved when Florian called to her on the Minder and said that he was awake, and all right, just a little sleepy yet.

”I'm here,” Catlin said then, a little vaguely; but Catlin made it into the hall before Ari did. Leaning on the wall. ”Is there a problem?”

”Nothing,” Ari said, ”nothing right now. Go sleep, Catlin. Everything's fine. I'm going to fix dinner myself. I'll call you.”

Catlin nodded and went back into her room.

There were a lot of things in the apartment, once they started going through it-a lot of Ari senior's clothes that were very nice but too large yet. the apartment, once they started going through it-a lot of Ari senior's clothes that were very nice but too large yet.

Ari senior had been-a bit more on top. And taller. That was spooky too, figuring out in the mirror what size she was going to be. Someday.

There was jewelry. Terribly expensive things. Not near as much as maman's, mostly gold, a lot of what could be rubies, just lying in the chest on the bureau-all these years-but who in the House would steal?

There was a wine cabinet taller than she could reach, which wouldn't have spoiled, she knew that, it was probably real good by now; and there was whiskey and other things under the counter that wouldn't have been hurt by all these years of sitting there.

There was a big tape library. A lot were about Earth and about Pell. A lot were on technical things. A lot were Entertainment. And a lot lot of those ... had a 20 Years and Over sticker. And t.i.tles that made her embarra.s.sed, and uneasy. of those ... had a 20 Years and Over sticker. And t.i.tles that made her embarra.s.sed, and uneasy.

s.e.x stuff. A lot of it.

It was like looking through Ari senior's drawers in her bedroom, like it was private, and she would hate if she were grown-up and dead, to have some twelve-year-old kid going through her her drawers and finding out drawers and finding out she she had stuff like that in her library, but it was interesting too, and scary. The first Ari had said there was nothing wrong with the thoughts she had had, just that she was too young and shouldn't be stupid. had stuff like that in her library, but it was interesting too, and scary. The first Ari had said there was nothing wrong with the thoughts she had had, just that she was too young and shouldn't be stupid.

But it was all right when you were Older.

She remembered how the first tape felt. And she closed up the cabinet door and wondered what was in them, and whether they would be like the other one. They were just E-tapes. They weren't deep or anything like it. They couldn't hurt you.

If they were hers like everything else in the apartment, then she could do whatever she wanted with them-when she was settled in, when she was sure everything was safe.

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