his panic button with one of the newer permanent glues. With these,
permanent meant permanent. He could not use the bag to call for help. Otherwise, the bag was intact. For Keira's sake
in particular, it was one of the best. His scope would probably give him a look at the Clay's Ark organism, even if it
was as small as Meda had said. He needed all the information he could get before he made his escape. It was not only a
matter of his wanting to pass the information on. He also needed to know now of any weaknesses these people had.
They were too good to be true in every way except appearance. He had to find something he could use against them.
"I could have used you when my children were born," Meda told him as he took her blood pressure.
"Didn't you have a doctor?" he asked. He checked her pulse.
"No. Just Eli and Lorene, my sister-in-law. We don't bring anyone here if we don't plan to keep them. And I didn't dare
go to a hospital. Imagine how many people I'd infect there."
"Not if you told them the truth."
She watched as he drew blood from her left arm. It went directly into the analyzer as would all her other specimens.
"They'd put me in a goddamn cage," she said. "They'd put my kids in one, too. They were born with the disease, you
know."
"Did they have any special problems?"
She turned her head to stare directly at him. "Not a one," she said. She made no effort to conceal the fact that she was
lying.
"What about you?" Blake asked gently. "Easy births?"
"Yeah," she said. Her defensiveness vanished. "The first one really surprised me. I mean, I was scared. I expected to be
in agony, and I don't handle real pain that well. But the kid popped out with no trouble at all. Felt like cramps."
"You were lucky there was no emergency. May I see your children?"
"Not until you're safe, Blake."
"Safe?"
"When you've been sick and gotten well again, then we'll have nothing to worry about. We'll show you anything you
want."
He frowned. "Do you imagine I'd hurt a child?"
"Probably not," she said. "But you're at the seeking-weakness stage, and Jacob and Joseph would be a hell of a
weakness. If you used them, we'd have to kill you. We want you alive, Blake."
He looked away from her in growing desperation. They really were too good-always a step ahead. How many times
had they done this-abducted people, made them vanish from the world outside. He had to beat them at a game they
knew all too well. But how?
Meda rubbed his arm with a wet hand. "Look," she said, "it isn't so bad here. You can do a lot of good-maybe more
good than you could do anywhere else. You can help us prevent an epidemic."
"It's only a matter of time before your disease gets out of hand," he said.
"We've kept that from happening for more than four years."
"Yet it could happen tomorrow."
"No!" She got up and began to pace. "I can't really make you understand until you've felt it, but we'd go crazy if we
were caged. We'd probably kill ourselves trying to escape. The compulsion keeps us on a pretty thin edge as it is. Eli
says we're holding on to our humanity by our fingernails. I'm not sure we're holding on to it at all. In some ways, I'm
more realistic than he is. But maybe we need a little of his idealism. God knows how he's kept it." She glanced at
Blake. "He's my kids' father, you know."
"I guessed," Blake said.
"He helps us hold on even if all we're holding on to is an illusion. Take away that illusion and what's left is something
you wouldn't want to deal with. You'll see."
"If your veneer of humanity is that thin," Blake said, "it's only a matter of time before someone finds it too thin. And if
what you've told me about the disease is true, one person could infect hundreds and those hundreds could infect
thousands-all before the first victims began to show symptoms and realize they were sick."
"Your estimate is low," she said. "Now do you see why you have to stay here? You could become that one person."
He did
permanent meant permanent. He could not use the bag to call for help. Otherwise, the bag was intact. For Keira's sake
in particular, it was one of the best. His scope would probably give him a look at the Clay's Ark organism, even if it
was as small as Meda had said. He needed all the information he could get before he made his escape. It was not only a
matter of his wanting to pass the information on. He also needed to know now of any weaknesses these people had.
They were too good to be true in every way except appearance. He had to find something he could use against them.
"I could have used you when my children were born," Meda told him as he took her blood pressure.
"Didn't you have a doctor?" he asked. He checked her pulse.
"No. Just Eli and Lorene, my sister-in-law. We don't bring anyone here if we don't plan to keep them. And I didn't dare
go to a hospital. Imagine how many people I'd infect there."
"Not if you told them the truth."
She watched as he drew blood from her left arm. It went directly into the analyzer as would all her other specimens.
"They'd put me in a goddamn cage," she said. "They'd put my kids in one, too. They were born with the disease, you
know."
"Did they have any special problems?"
She turned her head to stare directly at him. "Not a one," she said. She made no effort to conceal the fact that she was
lying.
"What about you?" Blake asked gently. "Easy births?"
"Yeah," she said. Her defensiveness vanished. "The first one really surprised me. I mean, I was scared. I expected to be
in agony, and I don't handle real pain that well. But the kid popped out with no trouble at all. Felt like cramps."
"You were lucky there was no emergency. May I see your children?"
"Not until you're safe, Blake."
"Safe?"
"When you've been sick and gotten well again, then we'll have nothing to worry about. We'll show you anything you
want."
He frowned. "Do you imagine I'd hurt a child?"
"Probably not," she said. "But you're at the seeking-weakness stage, and Jacob and Joseph would be a hell of a
weakness. If you used them, we'd have to kill you. We want you alive, Blake."
He looked away from her in growing desperation. They really were too good-always a step ahead. How many times
had they done this-abducted people, made them vanish from the world outside. He had to beat them at a game they
knew all too well. But how?
Meda rubbed his arm with a wet hand. "Look," she said, "it isn't so bad here. You can do a lot of good-maybe more
good than you could do anywhere else. You can help us prevent an epidemic."
"It's only a matter of time before your disease gets out of hand," he said.
"We've kept that from happening for more than four years."
"Yet it could happen tomorrow."
"No!" She got up and began to pace. "I can't really make you understand until you've felt it, but we'd go crazy if we
were caged. We'd probably kill ourselves trying to escape. The compulsion keeps us on a pretty thin edge as it is. Eli
says we're holding on to our humanity by our fingernails. I'm not sure we're holding on to it at all. In some ways, I'm
more realistic than he is. But maybe we need a little of his idealism. God knows how he's kept it." She glanced at
Blake. "He's my kids' father, you know."
"I guessed," Blake said.
"He helps us hold on even if all we're holding on to is an illusion. Take away that illusion and what's left is something
you wouldn't want to deal with. You'll see."
"If your veneer of humanity is that thin," Blake said, "it's only a matter of time before someone finds it too thin. And if
what you've told me about the disease is true, one person could infect hundreds and those hundreds could infect
thousands-all before the first victims began to show symptoms and realize they were sick."
"Your estimate is low," she said. "Now do you see why you have to stay here? You could become that one person."
He did
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