Part 12 (1/2)

The voice sounded drunk and off-key. As she moved along the streets, tracking down the voice, she recognized the tune. It washer song, 'Twine Thine Eyen About Mine.”

She came to an intersection and looked down the street. Wandering blindly from slide-walk to slide-walk was a filthy, drunken, heavy-set male. Where his eye-b.a.l.l.s should have been were oozing sores on the ends of stumps. Shreds of skin hung from his blistered hide. Shocked by his condition, Qui-Qui stood still in the middle of the intersection as he weaved his way closer. Her first reaction was that of revulsion. It changed to pity as she realized the pain and suffering he had gone through even to survive, while she flitted around in a luxurious flyer. He was coming to the third verse in the song, and she softly blended her deep contralto voice into his.

” ... Be my friend, by my lover, Be my tread, be my cover. Twine thine eyen about mine.”

The male's voice trailed off as hers became louder.

”I mustreally be going mad!” he said out loud to himself, throwing the half-finished bag of cheap pulp juice into the street.

”No. You're not,” said Qui-Qui, moving toward him.

”Is this the way you die?” he said, still not sending his tread vibrations in her direction. ”All my life I have longed for Qui-Qui. Now I imagine she is here.”

”Iam here,” said Qui-Qui in her unmistakable voice, ”I amreally the Qui-Qui you have longed for and I have come to take care of you.” She moved alongside Heavy-Egg, gently twined three eye-stubs about his wounded stumps and led him off to a hospital she had noticed a few blocks away. As they moved along side-by-side, she sang to him.

At the hospital she cleaned his hide, anointed his blisters, bandaged his eye-stumps, and filled his eating pouches with decent food. Then she made love to him.

She concentrated on the bulk of the body of the male and ignored the lack of eye-b.a.l.l.s. His tread ma.s.saged her topside with quivering delight, while his twelve eye-stubs wound tighter and tighter around hers until they were coupled eyeflap to eyeflap. The orifice at the base of his eye-stubs opened and droplets of fluid from his body fell into her waiting eyeflaps. A long yearning in each of them was finally satisfied. Qui-Qui relaxed under Heavy-Egg's limp body as the droplets made their way through her body to her eager egg-case.

TIME: 06:58:11 GMT TUESDAY 21 JUNE2050.

Pierre's hands and feet had been pulled through the water and slammed against the walls of the tank by some unimaginable force as the viewscreens had turned dark. For three long seconds alarms had rung throughout Dragon Slayer as the computer tried to repair its damage and return to operation. The multiple screens built into the walls of his tank finally lit up again.

”Report status,” he said.

”Starquake on Dragon's Egg,” the computer responded. ”Systems suffered damage from gamma rays and gravitational waves. Status 82% operational.”

”We have received a significant doseof radiation,” said Cesar from his portion of the multiple screen.

”Those of us in the tanks have received 120 rems. Half-fatal dose is 500 rems.”

”Amalita!” Abdul shouted. ”Amalita! Answer me!”

There was no answer.

”Something is wrong,” said Abdul. He started to purge his tank.

”I am the doctor,” said Cesar. ”Iwill check on her.”

”The surface of Egg has suffered severe damage,” Seiko said. ”All activity has ceased. I have activated the scanners.”

”All communications with Egg are gone,” said Jean. ”We do have contact with the East Pole s.p.a.ce Station.” Her face on the multiple screen was replaced by that of a flickering cheela, checking in every tenth of a second.

”Any life below you in Bright's Heaven?” Staring-Sensor asked.

”No,” said Seiko. ”Saw thermal flare at East Pole.”

”We know,” said Staring-Sensor.

”High energy vehicle from West Pole to East Pole,” said Seiko.

”We know.”

One of Seiko's screens showed a flas.h.i.+ng circle overlaid by the computer on a scanner display of Bright's Heaven. ”Patch of new vegeta....”

”Where!?!”Staring-Sensor interrupted.

”Inner Eye Inst....”

Seiko stopped talking. The cheela had gone.

”Doc!” said Pierre. ”Have you found Amalita yet?”

”Yes,” said Cesar. ”She's dead”

”I don't think we'd better take a ride with Otis until we get things straightened out here.” Pierre commanded the computer to cancel the planned change in trajectory for the deorbiter ma.s.s. It would be nearly a day before the asteroid worked its way around to where they could call it again.

06:58:20 GMT TUESDAY 21 JUNE 2050.

Qui-Qui reported in at the flyer. She had brought Heavy-Egg along with her. She could have traveled faster alone, and gone back to pick him up in the flyer, but neither wanted to be separated from the other.

”Where have you been!” Hohmann-Transfer exploded when the call from the flyer was transferred to her. ”I was worried sick that you'd done something stupid, and we'd lost our only operational vehicle on Egg. What took you so long?”

”I found a survivor, Admiral. He needed medical attention. His name is Heavy-Egg. He was a s.h.i.+ft supervisor on the s.p.a.ce Fountain project. He would like to talk to Cliff-Web.”

”I want to tell him I'm sorry we lost the Fountain,” said Heavy-Egg.

After the long wait, it was Cliff-Web's voice that answered.”I'm glad to hear another one of the crew survived. As soon as we get down from here, we're all going to start building the Fountain again. It is sure a relief finding an experienced construction worker on Egg. We've got a lot to do. The first thing is to have you look at the gravity catapults at the East Pole and tell me their condition. Then we can start working on repairs.”

Qui-Qui let him handle the reply.

”I wish I could, Boss,” said Heavy-Egg. ”But I don't have any eyes left.”

”Heavy-Egg was the only one left alive in Swift's Climb,” Qui-Qui explained. ”So far there are only two of us.”

”There may be more,” said Staring-Sensor. ”The humans reported a patch of vegetation at the Inner Eye Inst.i.tute in Bright's Heaven. The Polar Orbiting s.p.a.ce Station has now confirmed the report. It has been decided that you should try there next.”

”And this time keep in touch!” It was Admiral Hohmann- Transfer. ”The constant worry has aggravated the chronic inflammation in my eating pouches. Youare going to let the engineer be the pilot for the flyer now, aren't you Qui-Qui?”