her words had caused. Lying beside her silent mother she’d thought back to that moment, trying to remember why she’d spoken those exact words, but their meaning had come and gone like the blink of an eye, a turn of the head. Like flux.
That’s so they know where she can go to. Crouched beside the brook, Nellie rested her chin on her knees and stared into the rippling water. The newborn’s tattoo had been a Cat, like her own. They’d been of the same caste, which meant the infant would eventually attend the same schools, use the same public swimming pools, and choose from the same narrow range of career options. Everyone knew this, so why had her words caused so much dread?
Unless I was talking about the levels . The thought exploded across Nellie’s mind, thundering her heart. But how could I? she thought wildly. I didn’t know about levels back then. The Interior doesn’t have levels, just like it doesn’t have flux.
Or did it? Was it possible her inability to remember much about her life in the Interior was connected to the levels that existed there, and the way flux was used to travel them? After all, she’d seen an agent step out of a pocket of flux in a corner store wall, so someone from the Interior obviously knew about it. And the experiment she’d seen by the quarry, with the children and the birdlikemachines—that had been about traveling too. Nellie’s heart plummeted. What if the mysterious scars worming across her scalp were also connected to experiments with flux and the levels? Getting quickly to her feet, she stripped and waded into the quiet pool. It wasn’t good to do too much thinking in one day, especially if she wasn’t sure what she was thinking about. And it couldn’t be healthy for a brain to work too hard, especially one that had been cut open like hers. She’d better give it a rest and think about something easy, like getting hold of a stupid hat.
Eyes closed she floated on the murmuring water, trying to forget the worms on her scalp and the white rooms that hid behind them. Turning onto her side, she whispered softly to the flecks of light that speckled the water’s surface: Have you seen my mother? She disappeared sixteen months ago. She never said goodbye, but sometimes she still comes to me and tells me she loves me ...
A WICKAWOO CRIED LOW in its throat and Nellie stiffened, hugging the shadow of a backyard shed. Up and down the alley a ripple passed through the air as Outbackers turned in their beds, following the bird’s warning cry through their dreams. Pressed against the shed Nellie counted heartbeats and waited, but nothing moved in the stillness. The night had turned deep into the hour past midnight, and the wickawoo had caught her creeping through one of Dorniver’s southern districts, a neighborhood known locally as ‘Snake Eye’ due to its many witches and healers. All things considered, it was a perfect place to be on the first night of Lulunar, the month of the twins, the only time of year the two moons came together to ride the night sky in a parallel arc, and the air breathed flux.
During the year’s eight other months the moons could be seen at various positions in the night sky, separated by vast distances. By loneliness , thought Nellie, staring up at them. After all, the moons were human, the souls of the Goddess’s twin sons. Separated at birth, they’d spent their entire lives searching for each other withoutsuccess. Upon their deaths the gods had granted them immortality for their perseverance, and now their pure shining souls rode the heavens every night as a reminder of the gods’ wisdom and love. What would it be like, Nellie pondered from her position in the shed’s shadow, to be immortal and ride the skies like that? The Goddess’s priests were always talking about how the faithful would become stars when they died. She scowled. And pagans would fall into utter darkness and vanish into nothingness. Serve them right for not believing in
That’s so they know where she can go to. Crouched beside the brook, Nellie rested her chin on her knees and stared into the rippling water. The newborn’s tattoo had been a Cat, like her own. They’d been of the same caste, which meant the infant would eventually attend the same schools, use the same public swimming pools, and choose from the same narrow range of career options. Everyone knew this, so why had her words caused so much dread?
Unless I was talking about the levels . The thought exploded across Nellie’s mind, thundering her heart. But how could I? she thought wildly. I didn’t know about levels back then. The Interior doesn’t have levels, just like it doesn’t have flux.
Or did it? Was it possible her inability to remember much about her life in the Interior was connected to the levels that existed there, and the way flux was used to travel them? After all, she’d seen an agent step out of a pocket of flux in a corner store wall, so someone from the Interior obviously knew about it. And the experiment she’d seen by the quarry, with the children and the birdlikemachines—that had been about traveling too. Nellie’s heart plummeted. What if the mysterious scars worming across her scalp were also connected to experiments with flux and the levels? Getting quickly to her feet, she stripped and waded into the quiet pool. It wasn’t good to do too much thinking in one day, especially if she wasn’t sure what she was thinking about. And it couldn’t be healthy for a brain to work too hard, especially one that had been cut open like hers. She’d better give it a rest and think about something easy, like getting hold of a stupid hat.
Eyes closed she floated on the murmuring water, trying to forget the worms on her scalp and the white rooms that hid behind them. Turning onto her side, she whispered softly to the flecks of light that speckled the water’s surface: Have you seen my mother? She disappeared sixteen months ago. She never said goodbye, but sometimes she still comes to me and tells me she loves me ...
A WICKAWOO CRIED LOW in its throat and Nellie stiffened, hugging the shadow of a backyard shed. Up and down the alley a ripple passed through the air as Outbackers turned in their beds, following the bird’s warning cry through their dreams. Pressed against the shed Nellie counted heartbeats and waited, but nothing moved in the stillness. The night had turned deep into the hour past midnight, and the wickawoo had caught her creeping through one of Dorniver’s southern districts, a neighborhood known locally as ‘Snake Eye’ due to its many witches and healers. All things considered, it was a perfect place to be on the first night of Lulunar, the month of the twins, the only time of year the two moons came together to ride the night sky in a parallel arc, and the air breathed flux.
During the year’s eight other months the moons could be seen at various positions in the night sky, separated by vast distances. By loneliness , thought Nellie, staring up at them. After all, the moons were human, the souls of the Goddess’s twin sons. Separated at birth, they’d spent their entire lives searching for each other withoutsuccess. Upon their deaths the gods had granted them immortality for their perseverance, and now their pure shining souls rode the heavens every night as a reminder of the gods’ wisdom and love. What would it be like, Nellie pondered from her position in the shed’s shadow, to be immortal and ride the skies like that? The Goddess’s priests were always talking about how the faithful would become stars when they died. She scowled. And pagans would fall into utter darkness and vanish into nothingness. Serve them right for not believing in
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