These anthropoids have been all but reticent until now, but this one has expressed understanding of its past, its current situation, and that of its companion. And umbrage too, a complex emotion. Oh, well done!”
Darcy felt the urge to tug out the tubes and try to fight them somehow. But that would be suicide. If she pulled something that big out of her carotid, she would bleed out in minutes, not to mention that she felt weak as a kitten. “What do you want?”
“I have already requested your name.”
Darcy stayed silent.
“You have much to learn about the universe, my provincial little friend. But no matter. You’ve demonstrated that the device implanted in your brain is functioning properly. That, for now, is all that’s needed.” Hain turned toward the insect and intoned, “My research shows the closest anatomic analog to be nieblic. Use those protocols for sedation and immune-system stimulation henceforth. Let’s get this one healed up and in with the general population. She’ll get her answers there. We needn’t waste valuable time on explication now.”
The insect inclined its head and turned to a console where it began to press buttons and use a touchscreen computer. Hain swept out of the room.
“Wait!” Darcy called weakly, but her eyes were already closing.
7
D arcy had come a long way since the uncontrollable shrieking of her initial waking. She’d worked through several emotional stages since Hain and friends had picked her up in the desert. First, there’d been sheer terror. Next came a period of disbelief and intense feelings of isolation and hopelessness, which had been quickly followed up with outrage, and that was where she’d stayed.
Anger was going to get her and Adam out of here.
She’d arrived at a point where she accepted her current situation but was unwilling to give up hope of escape. She’d been kidnapped for a purpose that wasn’t readily apparent. They’d surgically implanted a language chip in her brain, which the insects called a dummy chip whenever Hain wasn’t within earshot. It enabled her to communicate with them, which for some reason they found hilarious, and they’d kept her isolated in a recovery room with no contact aside from the insects themselves.
She let out an exasperated sigh and looked down at her itchy, ashy skin. They’d explained that it was standard procedure to strip the topmost layer of epidermis to minimize virulent outbreaks on the ship. That made sense, she supposed, given the history of devastating germs decimating unsuspecting, unexposed populations on Earth. Those kinds of problems would have to be worse within the confines of a ship that kidnapped people regularly from various worlds.
Unfortunately, with that layer of skin went all of her natural bacterial flora as well as her comfort. Her skin had been an itchy, flakey, uncomfortable mess since then, despite the probiotic lotion they’d given her. At least the clothing they gave her to wear wasn’t irritating. The fabric skimmed her skin, warming or cooling depending on need, without any weight at all. A shimmery-white jumpsuit, it was made of the most amazing self-healing fabric.
It had been a strange experience to put it on for the first time. One of the insects had stood her up and another held her there. As her head spun, another one of them had poked a hole in a shapeless blob of fabric with a pincer, then pulled that over her head. He’d created holes for Darcy’s arms and yanked on the fabric until it covered her. This tugging-and-fitting process had only taken a few minutes before Darcy was dressed in what appeared to be a soft, seamless, form-fitting garment. She had no idea what it was made of, but it was extraordinary.
With nothing much to do during her recovery besides sleep, eavesdrop on the insects, and fret about where Adam was and how to escape, she fiddled with the clothing until she figured it out. She found she could adjust it herself into infinite
Darcy felt the urge to tug out the tubes and try to fight them somehow. But that would be suicide. If she pulled something that big out of her carotid, she would bleed out in minutes, not to mention that she felt weak as a kitten. “What do you want?”
“I have already requested your name.”
Darcy stayed silent.
“You have much to learn about the universe, my provincial little friend. But no matter. You’ve demonstrated that the device implanted in your brain is functioning properly. That, for now, is all that’s needed.” Hain turned toward the insect and intoned, “My research shows the closest anatomic analog to be nieblic. Use those protocols for sedation and immune-system stimulation henceforth. Let’s get this one healed up and in with the general population. She’ll get her answers there. We needn’t waste valuable time on explication now.”
The insect inclined its head and turned to a console where it began to press buttons and use a touchscreen computer. Hain swept out of the room.
“Wait!” Darcy called weakly, but her eyes were already closing.
7
D arcy had come a long way since the uncontrollable shrieking of her initial waking. She’d worked through several emotional stages since Hain and friends had picked her up in the desert. First, there’d been sheer terror. Next came a period of disbelief and intense feelings of isolation and hopelessness, which had been quickly followed up with outrage, and that was where she’d stayed.
Anger was going to get her and Adam out of here.
She’d arrived at a point where she accepted her current situation but was unwilling to give up hope of escape. She’d been kidnapped for a purpose that wasn’t readily apparent. They’d surgically implanted a language chip in her brain, which the insects called a dummy chip whenever Hain wasn’t within earshot. It enabled her to communicate with them, which for some reason they found hilarious, and they’d kept her isolated in a recovery room with no contact aside from the insects themselves.
She let out an exasperated sigh and looked down at her itchy, ashy skin. They’d explained that it was standard procedure to strip the topmost layer of epidermis to minimize virulent outbreaks on the ship. That made sense, she supposed, given the history of devastating germs decimating unsuspecting, unexposed populations on Earth. Those kinds of problems would have to be worse within the confines of a ship that kidnapped people regularly from various worlds.
Unfortunately, with that layer of skin went all of her natural bacterial flora as well as her comfort. Her skin had been an itchy, flakey, uncomfortable mess since then, despite the probiotic lotion they’d given her. At least the clothing they gave her to wear wasn’t irritating. The fabric skimmed her skin, warming or cooling depending on need, without any weight at all. A shimmery-white jumpsuit, it was made of the most amazing self-healing fabric.
It had been a strange experience to put it on for the first time. One of the insects had stood her up and another held her there. As her head spun, another one of them had poked a hole in a shapeless blob of fabric with a pincer, then pulled that over her head. He’d created holes for Darcy’s arms and yanked on the fabric until it covered her. This tugging-and-fitting process had only taken a few minutes before Darcy was dressed in what appeared to be a soft, seamless, form-fitting garment. She had no idea what it was made of, but it was extraordinary.
With nothing much to do during her recovery besides sleep, eavesdrop on the insects, and fret about where Adam was and how to escape, she fiddled with the clothing until she figured it out. She found she could adjust it herself into infinite
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