Chapter 23: Disruptive Assocation — Part 5
Orchid tried to get up again but Kamau stopped her, ” — THIS MORNING.” Kamau repeated, more urgently. “You lost a lot of blood, your liver was stressed to its limits, and your kidneys have failed twice. Your body is still trading out synthetic blood for real. You’re not leaving this room until your health improves.” Kamau rose, heading for the door. “They will be here soon enough, if only to keep you out of trouble.”
Yap kissed her son on the cheek in passing, smiled and hugged Joanie as well. Diane hugged Kamau in the hall, out of Orchid’s sight, and Nikkei ruffled up Kamau’s hair, proud of her son.
“So what do you think?” Yap asked. “Don’t you think Kamau did such a good job making it?”
“Making it?” Orchid said, flexing her hand and studying it closely. “He never told me he made it.”
“He’s such a humble young man.” Nikkei said. “Yap loaned us her own arm as a guide. In the end it was Kamau’s creativity that allowed us to adapt Yap’s android schematics to a hume frame, and Yap was able download Kamau’s interfacing program to the arm’s control circuitry by studying the data in Joanie’s arm.”
“So how goes the cloning procedure?” Orchid said, letting herself be set against a wall of pillows that Diane, who had been silent thus far, had built up aagainst the bed frame.
There were so many pillows that Orchid found herself almost without peripheral vision, and Diane started fussing with Orchid’s Blankets until Orchid felt she might be in a cocoon.
Nikkei fielded the question. “We did consider that, love — even started the process. But like your brother — and Joanie, oddly enough — your immune system doesn’t do well with cloned parts. A simple test proved that, with the disastrous result of a small, still fresh scar on your left ankle. It must have something to do with the way the tissues genetics are modified to allow for rapid growth. The body ends up seeing the new tissue as a cancer, and tries to expel it. Apparently, you are among the small percentage of people who can only accept parts from a vat-matured body: Something I know your personal ethics would not allow. On the bright side you’re probably never going to suffer from cancer of any kind.”
Once Orchid was settled back into bed, Diane put her head on Orchid’s lap, and lay there, not saying a word. Though she didn’t cry, Orchid could tell that the android was deeply distraught. Nikkei sat down next to her and Yap sat so that Orchid’s legs, bent at the knees, wrapped over Yap’s bare shoulders. Orchid stroked Diane’s head until the fatigue took her and she fell asleep again. When she woke up, nobody had moved except Nikkei, who’s head lay touching Diane’s. The heads had been on her legs so long that she was starting to feel cramped, and her toes were tingly from lack of circulation.
“Diane,” Orchid asked, parched and hungry, “Are you awake?”
“Yes, love.”
“Let’s go to the kitchen and get some food, shall we?” Orchid said.
“You are to rest.” Diane said.
“I am certain to be safe with you.” Orchid said. “Now help me up love.”
Diane followed quietly, ready to grab Orchid and take her back to bed the moment she tripped. The two went to the kitchen, and Diane remained quiet as Orchid prepared a tall glass of wine for Diane and poured herself a half a snifter peach juice. She did all this with her hume hand, not wanting to break anything just yet. Feeling winded already, Orchid sipped on her juice.
“The things in that space I went to. They are hungry. Desperately hungry.” Orchid said.
“What are they?”
“They were hume once. I think. Maybe some of them were never hume.” She didn’t have her suit on, as it was still being repaired, so she couldn’t bring up a holographic image of what she saw, but Diane had seen the radar scans already, knew every detail.
“Are they sentient?” Diane asked.
“I don’t know.” Orchid said.
Orchid flexed her hand again, curious as to the accuracy of sensation. It seemed to be improving with use. “Ambria warned me that they would attack Earth. She did not say why. Or what they were, really.”
