Shards Book One Page 6

  "Lucky?? Her opinion of luck varied substantially from mine.

  "Well, yes. We transfer every Cue into a twelve to fifteen year old body. We've done forty-seven in the last three years. And the girls have the worst time because the teen years are more intense for girls than boys. The boys don't have it much easier, but the changes are less extreme, externally and internally.

  You're lucky in that while you're female now, you weren't before, so it's one time through for you."

  "But it would have been even easier if you'd just transferred me into a boy's body,? I pointed out.

  "I know. I'm sorry. You're the first Cue that anyone has mis-sexed. Ever. There just wasn't any information about you. There still isn't. So here you are. But count on it, it's much better than from where we rescued you.? She smiled.? And you have my word that being a woman isn't bad at all. Personal experience talking there."

  "I suppose I should start listening to those 'feminine protection' commercials now,? I muttered.

  She looked at me questioningly.? What's a 'feminine protection' commercial? You mean like commerce in martial arts? Or weapons?"

  "Never mind.? It seemed holovision had gone the way of the mastodon. I'd let someone else mourn its passing.

  We were quiet for a few moments, just staring at our swinging feet. I couldn't get over how completely they looked like my feet, even shoe clad. And yet, when I looked at Susie's feet, hers were at least my size and maybe one or two sizes larger. But she couldn't have stood over five foot three inches, which made me about four foot ten inches. I continued looking at her dangling feet and let my eyes wander up her legs, comparing them to mine. We both wore semi-baggy pants, but I could tell her legs were lithe and lean. Yet mine looked skinnier. I followed up her legs, over her modest, healthy figure and to her pretty, always smiling face. She had a glow in her brown eyes that complemented the deep, rich glow of her face. Her dark skin was the smoothest, most perfect I had ever seen, bordered by short, thick, black hair. She had a girl next door kind of face. Not stunningly beautiful, nor even modestly so. Just pretty, in all the positive ways. I smiled back at her. I could get very used to her very quickly. I owed her. Having thought the thought, I spoke it.

  "I want to thank you Susie. You've really made me feel better. I don't know how long it'll be before I go crazy, but at least the ride will be easier because of you."

  "That's what I've been assigned to do. Make the road, whatever one you travel, a little easier for you.

  You're very important to all of us."

  "Will you be assigned to me for very long?? Less than fifteen minutes ago, I'd shoved her away. Now the thought of her not being there made my chest tighten. It would really help having her near, especially the next time I was with Dr. Barrett.

  "Believe it, kiddo. We're roommates now."

  "Room…"

  "Yep. Private quarters are only for officers, awakening Cues, and Dusty. You're none of the above, so until we figure out how to best get you back into society, you're rooming with us dogs. Pulling duty, too, in a couple, three days."

  "Uh, yeah.? This was going to be very difficult. I was finally waking up to the fact that my whole life, not just the way I went to the bathroom, was hanging. Had changed.

  "C'mon. It's almost breakfast. Let's grab some grub and I'll give you a tour.? She hopped off the bed and lifted me down. I wasn't that much shorter than her, less than six inches. But I was very unsteady. I lurched about two steps on my own before Susie grabbed my upper arm. I looked at her, just a little confused.

  "Why is it so tough to walk? I'd figured it was because of weakness, but I feel plenty strong enough. And I walked better than this last night."

  She shook her head.? No, you're pretty much full strength, though your muscles could use some toning.

  We'll hit the exercise area later. The problem is that your body never learned to walk. That you can walk at all is because your mind is doing a pretty fast translation of walking, and teaching your body. Pretty fast, but not fast enough. How tall were you? You know… before?"

  "Uh-six foot one."

  "Foot? That's an old style measurement isn't it? What's the one stand for?"

  "Sorry. How about metric? I heard Doctor Barrett use it yesterday. Six foot, one inch would be about one point nine meters."

  "So you were pretty tall. And your build was different. Remember how awkward you were at fourteen?

  Double that. Don't worry, though, it'll grow on you. Maybe we should practice a while. Breakfast can wait a little longer."

  So we spent the next half hour teaching me how to walk. It took about twenty minutes to get the fundamentals down. It was strange, seeing as I'd walked only last night, albeit roughly. That was before I realized I had a new body, though. Now that I knew, my mind kept getting in my brain's way, as odd as that sounded. I picked it up eventually, so we used another ten minutes practicing my sitting and standing, starting and stopping. I spent the whole half hour amazed at the difference in locomotion.

  "Do my hips always move like this?"

  Susan giggled. I think she was enjoying herself.? Of course they do. Comes with the territory.? She laughed again at the unintended joke.? The problem is that you're exaggerating the movement. Don't try to walk like a girl. Just try walking."

  "Won't I end up gallumphing around like some jock in a tutu?"

  She mouthed my words silently, as though translating them, then shook her head.? If I understand you right, the answer's no, you won't. Not unless you… gallumphed around as a man on purpose before."

  "Of course I didn't. I just walked."

  "So do that now."

  A little light went on in my head. I tried again, and this time I didn't swish near as much, if you can swish at all in army fatigues. The wiggle was still there, but much diminished. I beamed at her, quite pleased with myself. Susie clapped her hands.

  "Wonderful! Now you don't look like… well, never mind what you don't look like. We'll have a lesson in girl humor another time. I'm starved! Let's get some breakfast.? My own stomach was growling, too, so it sounded like a great idea. She grabbed my hand and led me to the wall where the door was. I should have felt self-conscious about it, but the truth was that I would have enjoyed holding her hand as either a man or a girl. Just for different reasons. At least, I hoped for different reasons. I was still too new at this to really understand my own feelings. I did know that I liked it.

  The door appeared as before, but a little higher and a little wider. I held my breath a bit as we went through, but it didn't close in on me this time, either. Hand in hand, we entered the wide, rough-hewn corridor.

  It was much different from last night. Instead of being dark, dank and deserted, it was full of life and light.

  People, all clad in a uniform style of dress, moved up and down the corridor, which was nearly as bright as day. And they were noisy. Mixtures of laughter, formal, and normal conversation added much to the atmosphere. If it weren't for the craggy, solid rock making up the floor and walls, I'd have never guessed we were in a cave. I said as much to Susie, then repeated it in a louder voice. She nodded and spoke back in as loud a voice.

  "We're a pretty loud bunch when we have the chance. That's why we spend the extra energy on the ghost walls for our Cue's recovery rooms and ghost doors for private quarters. Ghost walls are planed energy fields that simulate mass. It cuts out everything. The doors can even allow openings large enough to fit exactly to whatever's in its plane, down to a millimeter. It's a pretty weird feeling, going through.

  And it can be phased to keep out light and sound. C'mon, the mess is down this way.? She pulled me to the right, the direction I hadn't explored.

  It seemed longer than it had last night. I would have guessed it to be only fifty feet, but was closer to 100

  feet. Check that. Closer to thirty meters. I'd been easy with either the English or metric systems, but apparently only metric had survived. That was one plus in this society, anyway. I'd best fall into
the habit of using metric exclusively.

  It was the same as before. Brightly lit, heavily used, and cut from solid stone. It was also very clean, though I did spot a couple of stains

  YES, MRS. FLETCHER? THE CARPET'S STAINED JUST DOWN THE HALL FROM YOUR DOOR? DID YOU NOTICE WHAT KIND OF STAIN? BLOOD? ARE YOU SURE? MY SENSORS DIDN'T DETECT ANYTHING THAT WOULD ACCOUNT FOR BLOOD. IT MAY BE JELLY FROM THE BREAKFAST DELIVERY… NO, I'M SURE MY SENSORS ARE IN WORKING ORDER, MRS. FLETCHER. YES, I RAN FULL DIAGNOSTICS ON MYSELF LAST NIGHT, AS ALWAYS, MRS. FLETCHER. NO, I'M NOT ARGUING WITH YOU, MRS. FLETCHER. I'LL PUT A CLEANING 'BOT ON IT IMMEDIATELY, MRS. FLETCHER, AND REPORT TO YOU WITHIN THE HOUR… VERY WELL, THEN, WITHIN THE HALF HOUR.

  that looked almost like blood. As we approached, though, I realized I was mistaken. It did make me notice, however, that it was in front of a section of rock on the right hand side that was completely smooth and flat. I glanced back and noticed another section like it, where my room was. Here would be another recovery room. I looked at the stain once more. Nope. Definitely not blood. Not even a stain, just darker stone. I didn't have to be a genius to figure out why I'd made the mistake. Right now, my senses were whirling from everything I was seeing and hearing. But the whirling this time felt almost like a euphoria.

  We continued to the end of the hall, passing a third blank surface on the right, and came to a huge opening on the left. Like the hanger on the other end of the hall, this one also had a lower floor and higher ceiling. Bright sunlight poured down from the ceiling; it must be open to the sky above, though I couldn't see yet. Unlike the hanger, it was completely man-made, judging from the flat floor and fairly rectangular shape. It was accessible via a large ramp, cut from the native rock. Susie led me down this ramp, and we were inside the mess.

  Roughly forty meters by sixty meters, it served as a mess and storehouse. The ramp was about fifteen meters long and ended about halfway into the room. Its gentle slope indicated that pretty heavy objects were brought through here-even though they'd apparently eliminated the weight problem with antigravity, there was still the mass to contend with, and a slope for controlled descent was required. The wall on the ramp's right side was glass smooth and looked somewhat like my room's wall. A ghost wall, Susie had called it. I reached out a hand to see if it would go through, but it felt solid. A small tingle went up my arm and I quickly withdrew my hand, more surprised than shocked. I looked at Susie, but she was too busy suppressing a grin to speak.

  The area to the left, bathed in warm sunlight, was the mess. The center area was wide open, with tables and chairs in a semi-structured order. Against the wall on my left-the wall shared by the corridor, for we had now stepped off the ramp and turned to our left-was a kitchen with a cafeteria style line. On the far wall were two openings. The one in the middle seemed to be a laundry of sorts. The other one, on the far right and in the corner, was a hallway from which men and a few women were moving in and out. The wall on my right held a single large entrance that stretched from ceiling to floor, unlike the other openings.

  It was at least ten meters wide and was closed off with a flat ghost wall that was somewhat recessed from the normal stone face of the mess. The sunlight, for some reason, did not reflect whatsoever off the surface of the ghost wall. I looked up at the sky to see if there was a protruding ledge casting a shadow on it, and gasped with awe.

  There was no sky. Instead of open air and a brilliant sun, I saw a high ceiling of solid stone. And instead of lighting was a shimmer, constantly emanating from the entire surface. As I watched, I could feel the sunny warmth pouring down on my upturned face. The shimmer seemed almost sky blue, and I even caught a whiff of fresh, mountain air. I was stunned.

  "Why, that's incredible!"

  Susie looked up and laughed.? This is the part of my job I love the most! Showing off our little advancements to Cues. Yes, that's an environmental stunt we pull to keep up morale. Sometimes we're cooped up in here for weeks at a time, and this becomes our playground. Here and the rec area. I'll tell you how we do it when you're more caught up with the times."

  "I'd love to know. Offhand, I'd have to guess that it involves a prismatic shifting of ambient sunlight, recombined through a spectral and holographic filter. You're probably using of static grid of thermal energy for the display, though I can't begin to imagine the power source you'd use to achieve that magnitude of output."

  It was her turn to stare at me while I tried to suppress a smile. She didn't say, but I'd lay odds I'd hit pretty close. Score one for NATech training and applied use of the gray matter, fourteen years old or not. I pulled at her hand and started walking to the long line in front of the cafeteria counter.? Come on.

  I thought you were hungry.? Still staring at me, she let me drag her to where the trays were. I almost felt like letting out a giggle, but was maybe still a little embarrassed at the thought.

  It looked like it would be ten or fifteen minutes until we'd get up to the counter. I got in line behind a guy about twenty or so. He seemed as big as a house, but when I looked at him carefully, he was only average build. I picked up a tray and the noise made him turn. He smiled at me and I smiled back, a little self-conscious. He stepped aside and waved us both in front of him.

  "Hey, dogs! Make way for a couple of ladies!? Everyone turned and moved over, women included, letting us up to the very front of the line. Now I was very embarrassed. I tried not to show it, but my face was burning, a condition I was becoming very familiar with. I held the empty tray flat against my chest.

  My hips felt like they were swinging out a half-meter with each step, with each step becoming more and more tentative until I just plain stopped. I stared down at the floor. That hole Susie had talked about earlier sounded very appealing right now.

  Susie put her mouth next to my ear.? Calm down. Just breathe a bit. There. Now don't hold on to that tray so tight, it'll shatter. Look, no one's watching us.? I looked up. For a line of people who had just given us the front, I'd never seen so much disinterest. They all seemed to be talking to each other while paying us absolutely no mind. Even the guy who had shouted was yakking to someone else, going into great detail about-from what I overheard-absolutely nothing. Susie nudged me in the back, and we walked to the front counter. I set the tray on the long counter to serve myself.

  I looked up, way up, into the eyes of the cook, or attendant. He was a breathing mountain. His girth, both chest and belly, was astounding. He probably affected the local tides. He smiled at me. These people really got into smiling.

  "Well, good morning, ladies! We've got some bacon, eggs, waffles, pancakes. You name it, we got it!

  Juice, milk and what not at the end. Oh!? He reached under the serving table and pulled out a small bottle.? For you, Corporal. The latest shipment came in about an hour ago, and with it five bottles of your poison. Go ahead and ruin your mouth and my reputation."

  "Thanks, Hill. But don't rattle me until you try it. Makes even your swill edible."

  I stared. It was a bottle of pepper sauce, a popular brand from my time.? That's Tabasco sauce!? I blurted.

  Hill grinned at me.? That it is, ma'am. You're welcome to try it, though it will pain me to see such a soft flower of…? he broke off, and in the corner of my eye I saw Susie's head shake ever so slightly.? That it is,? he continued.? Oh! Rumor is there'll be afternoon drills, so that means a skipped lunch and late dinner. So now's the time to eat. Well, dig in!"

  I couldn't believe how hungry I was. And the smell of the food doubled it. I helped myself to generous portions of eggs, bacon, fruit, rolls, juice and milk. Susie took much less than I did, settling for eggs, a single roll and a glass of juice. We walked over to a table that was impossibly clean and abandoned.

  Impossible because there must have been at least a hundred people in there, with seating for not quite that. I was a little surprised they didn't eat in shifts to make best use of the facility. I sat down on one bench, with Susie on the other side so we could talk. She sprinkled some pepper
sauce on her eggs, my mouth watering at the sight. I loved pepper sauce. But from what the cook had said, it was difficult to get, so I refrained from asking. She bowed her head and gave thanks, as I did. While we ate, I looked around curiously.

  My first impression was how big everyone was, even the women. And the men were gigantic. Each and every one of them looked ready to play on the offensive front line of the Green Bay Packers. But when I took the time to really look at them, they seemed much less so. I knew what it was: They weren't all that big; I was all that small. Susie was apparently the most petite of the women, and she was bigger than me.

  So unless there was another 'Cue around here, I was the runt of the litter. By a wide margin. It was an interesting feeling.

  It was also an interesting feeling being the center of attention. For although absolutely no one was looking at us, I somehow knew that they wanted to. But even the ones who were just coming in from the far hallway and the corridor seemed to not see us. Instead, they gave us our privacy as best they could, and carried on their own conversations and eating their own breakfasts.

  Which was more than I could. I looked down at all my uneaten food. I'd barely touched it, but I was stuffed. I put down my fork suddenly. Susie, who had been looking at me looking around, grinned.

  "What? You're full already?? she said with mock surprise.

  "I think I'm going to be sick."

  "I'm not surprised. You ate enough for two people your size."

  "Are you kidding? I barely touched this stuff."

  She leaned forward.? No, no. Listen closely: 'You ate enough for two people your size.' Understand?"

  I understood. I had the eyes of a hungry thirty-one-year-old pig and the stomach of a hungry fourteen-year-old waif. If I didn't watch myself, I'd look like several fourteen-year-olds, all rolled into one gooey glob. I moaned and pushed the plate away. I heard a lull in some of the conversation at the table next to us, and stole a quick glance. They were all carefully inspecting the storage area's ghost wall for any flaws. I suppose they had seen this kind of thing before. Even Susie was smiling. Of course, she was always smiling. But I think it was at me rather than with me this time. I tried to smile back.