The Ship Who Won by Anne McCaffrey, Jody Lynn Nye Page A
Authors: Anne McCaffrey, Jody Lynn Nye
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, adventure, Fantasy fiction, Space Opera, Interplanetary voyages, Life on other planets, Women, Space ships, People With Disabilities, Interplanetary voyages - Fiction, Space ships - Fiction, Women - Fiction
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about
such and such-but hadn't they discovered Planet B or
Moon C together, or managed to get germdogs to Colony
X and save ninety percent of the afflicted from horrible
deaths? The 800s were fond of reciting the silly
misunderstandings that could occur between brain and
brawn. Within Carialle, a wistfulness began to grow: the
sense of what she, partnerless, was lacking.
When the FC-840 related having to mortgage her hull
again to bail her brawn out of the clutches of a local gam-bling casino, Carialle realized with a sense of relief that
she'd never have had that Idnd of trouble with Fanine.
That was the first of the feelings, if not specific memories,
that resurfaced, the fact that she had respected Fanine's
good sense. More memories emerged, slowly at first, but
all reassuring ones, all emphasizing the fact that she and
Fanine had }^en friends as well as co-workers. Inevitably,
during this process, Carialle became aware that she was
lonely.
With that awareness, she announced to CenCom that
she would now be willing to meet with brawns for the purpose of initiating a new partnership. At once she was
inundated with applications, as if everyone had been
poised to respond to that willingness. She wondered just
how much the conversations of the other brainships had
been calculated to stir her to that decision. They had all
been keeping an eye on her.
The first day of .interviews with prospective partners was
hectic, exciting, a whirl of courtship. Deliberately Carialle
avoided meeting any who were physically similar to Fanine, who had been a tall, rather plain brunet with large
hands and feet, or anyone from Fanine's home planet. Fortunately there were few with either disqualification. None
of the first lot, male or female, quite suited, although each
did give Carialle a characteristic to add to her wish-list of
the perfect brawn.
Keff was her first visitor on the morning of the second
day. His broad, cheerful face and plummy voice appealed
to her at once. He never seemed to stop moving. She followed him with amusement as he explored the cabin,
pointing out every admirable detail. They talked about
hobbies. When he insisted that he would want to bring his
personal gym along with him, they got into a silly quarrel
over the softshell obsession with physical fitness. Instead of
being angry at his obduracy in not recognizing her sover-eignty over her own decks, Carialle found herself laughing.
Even when he was driving a point home, Keffs manner
was engaging, and he was willing to listen to her. She
informed CenCom that she was willing to enter a
brain/brawn contract. Keff moved aboard at once, and his
progressive-resistance gear came with him.
Just how carefully CenCom had orchestrated the affair,
Carialle didn't care. CenCom, after all, had been matching
brains with brawns for a very long time; they must have the
hang of it now. Keff and Carialle complemented one
another in so many ways. They shared drive, hope, and
intelligence. Even during the interview Keff had managed
to reawaken in Carialle the sense of humor which she had
thought unlikely to be resuscitated.
In a very few days, as they awaited their first assignment, it was as if she'd never been paired with anyone else
but Keff. What he said about spending almost all their
time together went double for her. Each of them did pursue his or her private thoughts and interests, but they did
their best work together. Keff was like the other half of her
soul.
Despite her recent trauma, Carialle was a well-adjusted
shellperson as indeed her recovery had proved. She was
proud of having the superior capabilities that made it possible to multiplex several tasks at once. She felt sorry for
nonshell humans. The enhanced functions available to any
shellperson, most especially a brainship, were so far beyond the scope of "normal" humans. She felt lucky to have
been bom under the circumstances that led to her
such and such-but hadn't they discovered Planet B or
Moon C together, or managed to get germdogs to Colony
X and save ninety percent of the afflicted from horrible
deaths? The 800s were fond of reciting the silly
misunderstandings that could occur between brain and
brawn. Within Carialle, a wistfulness began to grow: the
sense of what she, partnerless, was lacking.
When the FC-840 related having to mortgage her hull
again to bail her brawn out of the clutches of a local gam-bling casino, Carialle realized with a sense of relief that
she'd never have had that Idnd of trouble with Fanine.
That was the first of the feelings, if not specific memories,
that resurfaced, the fact that she had respected Fanine's
good sense. More memories emerged, slowly at first, but
all reassuring ones, all emphasizing the fact that she and
Fanine had }^en friends as well as co-workers. Inevitably,
during this process, Carialle became aware that she was
lonely.
With that awareness, she announced to CenCom that
she would now be willing to meet with brawns for the purpose of initiating a new partnership. At once she was
inundated with applications, as if everyone had been
poised to respond to that willingness. She wondered just
how much the conversations of the other brainships had
been calculated to stir her to that decision. They had all
been keeping an eye on her.
The first day of .interviews with prospective partners was
hectic, exciting, a whirl of courtship. Deliberately Carialle
avoided meeting any who were physically similar to Fanine, who had been a tall, rather plain brunet with large
hands and feet, or anyone from Fanine's home planet. Fortunately there were few with either disqualification. None
of the first lot, male or female, quite suited, although each
did give Carialle a characteristic to add to her wish-list of
the perfect brawn.
Keff was her first visitor on the morning of the second
day. His broad, cheerful face and plummy voice appealed
to her at once. He never seemed to stop moving. She followed him with amusement as he explored the cabin,
pointing out every admirable detail. They talked about
hobbies. When he insisted that he would want to bring his
personal gym along with him, they got into a silly quarrel
over the softshell obsession with physical fitness. Instead of
being angry at his obduracy in not recognizing her sover-eignty over her own decks, Carialle found herself laughing.
Even when he was driving a point home, Keffs manner
was engaging, and he was willing to listen to her. She
informed CenCom that she was willing to enter a
brain/brawn contract. Keff moved aboard at once, and his
progressive-resistance gear came with him.
Just how carefully CenCom had orchestrated the affair,
Carialle didn't care. CenCom, after all, had been matching
brains with brawns for a very long time; they must have the
hang of it now. Keff and Carialle complemented one
another in so many ways. They shared drive, hope, and
intelligence. Even during the interview Keff had managed
to reawaken in Carialle the sense of humor which she had
thought unlikely to be resuscitated.
In a very few days, as they awaited their first assignment, it was as if she'd never been paired with anyone else
but Keff. What he said about spending almost all their
time together went double for her. Each of them did pursue his or her private thoughts and interests, but they did
their best work together. Keff was like the other half of her
soul.
Despite her recent trauma, Carialle was a well-adjusted
shellperson as indeed her recovery had proved. She was
proud of having the superior capabilities that made it possible to multiplex several tasks at once. She felt sorry for
nonshell humans. The enhanced functions available to any
shellperson, most especially a brainship, were so far beyond the scope of "normal" humans. She felt lucky to have
been bom under the circumstances that led to her
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