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Not going away, are we? Huntington said, stepping to block my path. Now then, I have a philosophical problem for you. If we cut off your legs, suddenly they re not a part of you Ralph anymore. They re just so much cast-off flesh once they leave you. Yet you are still you, even without your legs. Odd, isn t it? Or if we graft them back on please note the if do you become more than you were before without the legs? Can you be less Ralph or more Ralph? There s more to this experiment. I wonder... He slashed and I saw my armored arm go clanging to the floor. I sprawled on the floor, dragging my head and torso away from Huntington with my remaining arm, wondering how long it would take me to die if he continued to somehow stop the bleeding from the wounds he was creating. Hold still, will you? Huntington demands. How do you expect me to conduct my experiment. One arm and you re still you. How very odd indeed. I continued my crude attempt at escape. All right then, he said, stepping toward me with the sword held above his head. Another searing pain announced the cut. There, totally disarmed as it were, Huntington said. Now I need to do some more hacking, otherwise I can see that your parts are going to try to rejoin you. That s always a problem in our changing 196 world of thought. Nothing ever stays quite in place if you don t make sure to keep it in place. I watched helplessly as he hacked apart my arms. Then he turned back to what was left of me. Any last words? I remained silent, fighting back the pain and fear. He raised the sword. Farewell, then. There was a violent pain through my neck, and then I felt my head rolling across the floor. I opened my eyes. What? Huntington said in mock disbelief. Still alive? Let s see how you are at swimming without a body. He picked my head up by the hair, went to the window, and tossed me into the pool. I sank downward into the black water, into the silence of the depths. Finally, I thought, the peace of death. 197 CHAPTER 27 magine many ragged and very crude animals, all telepathic and all intent on mating at once. That s basically the feel that seemed to extend between my drowning head and tiny bits that had been the rest of me. Somehow, in my state of semi-consciousness, I was aware of my cells communicating, of fingers and limbs wriggling and moving spasmodically, trying to get back into one perfect whole again. Little by little they succeeded, reassembling into what I once had been. My face broke through the surface of the water, and I gasped for breath in the cold night air. There you are, White Knight, Alice s voice called. I reached up with hands that were again part of me and shoved the water out of my eyes. Lungs that were once again connected filled with the cool, fresh air. You d better get out of the water before you catch your death of pneumonia, Alice scolded. I waded ashore onto the sandy beach, faintly lit by the light radiating from Alice. That s right. She was now only six inches tall, not counting her gossamer wings; and a cool, blue will- o-the-wisp light that emanated from her skin and wings. I stared at her beautiful perfection a moment, then double-checked 198 to be sure I was really back together. Satisfied I was in one piece, I finally spoke, Thanks for getting me back together. What do you mean? I mean getting me back together. Getting all the bloody little chunks of me back into one piece. Not even a stitch shows. I can t imagine what you re talking about, Alice said, rising into the air on her fluttering wings and giving me a once over like a hungry hummingbird eyeing a large flower. I ve never seen you any less together than you are right now. In fact it s hard to imagine you being any less together than you normally are. All right. Joke all you want. But I still owe you. Is this some sort of come-on? I laughed. No. I m serious. Huntington hacked me apart and tossed my head in his swimming pool. Somehow I got back together and I just figured you had You did reassemble me, didn t you? Seriously. I didn t do any such thing. You must have done it yourself. You underestimate yourself all too often, it seems to me. You undoubtedly put yourself back together and brought yourself here. I certainly had nothing to do with it and I m sure Huntington didn t, either, or he d be a crocodile or something intent on swallowing us whole. But I m certain that he can t find us here. This is our private place. But I wasn t conscious of doing anything, I protested. I was dying. Or at least I should have been. For a moment I felt a glimmer of memory, of pieces joining together and rising up out of the dark water. I shivered. You re cold. Let s get that armor off and get you all dried off. You really will catch your death of 199 pneumonia if you stay like that. Now who s being suggestive. Fat chance, Alice said, fluttering in front of my face and waving her tiny fist at me. You think I could risk sex with you when I m only six inches tall? What a terrifying though. Alice put her hands on either side of her face with an expression of mock horror. I laughed as she zipped away, then turned and returned to her original spoke, ten inches from my face. Besides, she continued, I m not that kind of girl. If I were, I d have taken on the form of the Birth of Venus or something equally classical yet provocative. Now quit your sophomoric daydreaming and take off that armor before you rust into a solid piece of iron oxide and I have to chisel you out with my tiny little hands. While you re doing that, I ll build the fire. Her job went more quickly than I thought it would. A brilliant spark shot from her, striking a pile of drift wood which burst into a bright and warm bonfire. I took a cue from her, closed my eyes, and the armor vanished from my body. I got closer to the warm fire, letting it drive the chill from my bones. We sat together there by the fire, and I told her all I knew about Huntington and what had happened. She squeezed my hand and then we said noting for a long time. Later I learned that Alice was not totally truthful with me. As we sat beside the fire, she slowly grew to full size, her form changing as well; she was no longer a young girl. She was now all woman. I also discovered that, at least where I was concerned, she was that kind of girl after all. * * * * * Morning came. I basked in the sunshine, eyes 200 closed, a soft cotton blanket under me. Opening my eyes I discovered myself lying on the beach next to the smoldering embers of last night s fire. I sat up and looked around. There was no sign of Alice. I looked around the area where I found myself. The forest nearly crept up to the shoreline and it looked like the kind of place King Kong and his giant lizard friends would pick for a playground. The last thing I wanted to do was go into it and look for Alice. What could have happened to her? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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