Read Online 05. Children of Flux and Anchor by Jack L. Chalker - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jack L. Chalker
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and did well, unlike almost anything else. If anything, the one most important thing she'd ever done, being the Guardian, had humbled and frightened her. Such tremendous knowledge, such awesome power, such command of whatever skills were needed, seemed to her to magnify her unimportance in the scheme of things when not coupled with great machines. She would never really know, but would always suspect, that she was selected by the computers for the role not because she was superior at anything but because she was so unskilled and so insignificant that she posed no threat to the programs or to Flux and Anchor by having that role.
These dark depressions had been increasing in frequency in the past year, and so far New Eden hadn't helped. The wizard had warned her that if she continued to fight it or put off either taking command or finding a place for herself, she'd better get out of Flux, for the power within her would consume her, spinning spell after spell, turning her more and more into her own inner self-image, crushing and extinguishing her ego. The insane, deformed, animalistic duggers were formed by the same process.
She sighed. Well, enough of that for now. Tonight she and the others were going to a carnival, a carnival in Anchor, and for a little while it would be all right to be a kid again. In a couple of days she'd have the pleasure of introducing some of the kids to the legendary Matson. After that—well, she wasn't so sure. She only knew that for her own sake she wasn't going back, at least not now, and she almost certainly wasn't staying in New Eden. She would return with Matson to visit Cass and the twins and their kids and maybe, with their help and the help of the best minds in the stringer organization, she'd find an avenue.
If Suzl had had someone for comfort and support, she would have been the ideal candidate for a permanent ambassador to New Eden. Because she looked like a Fluxgirl and knew how to fit in, the men ruling the land neither feared her nor considered her a threat, unlike almost anyone else coming out of Flux. Because she was independent and World-wise, she made a good bridge between the two cultures, each of whom considered the other repugnant and dangerous. And, as a former wife of Adam Tilghman, the Prophet himself, she was at the top of society always and could get away with much that none of the New Eden women would dare and be treated more equally by the male rulers than any other female except, of course, Cass— who wouldn't be caught dead here.
A Fluxgirl was waiting for her at the top of the grand staircase. "I am Sheva, my lady," the woman said pleasantly, "current head of the household staff. I am instructed to show you around the estate and grounds or assist you in any way."
"What about the kids?" Suzl asked. She had left them with the child care coordinator after getting in late the previous night. They'd been all in, anyway.
"They were up and about long ago," Sheva told her. "It did not seem necessary to wake you. They ate well, and then went over to see the final touches being put on the carnival before the grand opening today. We will all join them there when you like, although they are in good hands and the opening isn't for hours yet."
Suzl nodded. She'd brought only five kids, ages eight to fourteen, all her own grandchildren, and all picked because they were very good in strange surroundings and cultures. The two boys would have no problems at all here, but the three girls might, so the boys were told to watch out for them and they were a responsible group. There would also be a lot of toleration shown for them because they were her own grandchildren and might also be grandchildren of the Prophet. Only one was, but she hadn't told them which one.
"I'd like a little something in my stomach," she told Sheva. "Then you can show me around the place."
She had a hard time getting the girls of the house not to fix her a full formal breakfast. She wanted toast and
These dark depressions had been increasing in frequency in the past year, and so far New Eden hadn't helped. The wizard had warned her that if she continued to fight it or put off either taking command or finding a place for herself, she'd better get out of Flux, for the power within her would consume her, spinning spell after spell, turning her more and more into her own inner self-image, crushing and extinguishing her ego. The insane, deformed, animalistic duggers were formed by the same process.
She sighed. Well, enough of that for now. Tonight she and the others were going to a carnival, a carnival in Anchor, and for a little while it would be all right to be a kid again. In a couple of days she'd have the pleasure of introducing some of the kids to the legendary Matson. After that—well, she wasn't so sure. She only knew that for her own sake she wasn't going back, at least not now, and she almost certainly wasn't staying in New Eden. She would return with Matson to visit Cass and the twins and their kids and maybe, with their help and the help of the best minds in the stringer organization, she'd find an avenue.
If Suzl had had someone for comfort and support, she would have been the ideal candidate for a permanent ambassador to New Eden. Because she looked like a Fluxgirl and knew how to fit in, the men ruling the land neither feared her nor considered her a threat, unlike almost anyone else coming out of Flux. Because she was independent and World-wise, she made a good bridge between the two cultures, each of whom considered the other repugnant and dangerous. And, as a former wife of Adam Tilghman, the Prophet himself, she was at the top of society always and could get away with much that none of the New Eden women would dare and be treated more equally by the male rulers than any other female except, of course, Cass— who wouldn't be caught dead here.
A Fluxgirl was waiting for her at the top of the grand staircase. "I am Sheva, my lady," the woman said pleasantly, "current head of the household staff. I am instructed to show you around the estate and grounds or assist you in any way."
"What about the kids?" Suzl asked. She had left them with the child care coordinator after getting in late the previous night. They'd been all in, anyway.
"They were up and about long ago," Sheva told her. "It did not seem necessary to wake you. They ate well, and then went over to see the final touches being put on the carnival before the grand opening today. We will all join them there when you like, although they are in good hands and the opening isn't for hours yet."
Suzl nodded. She'd brought only five kids, ages eight to fourteen, all her own grandchildren, and all picked because they were very good in strange surroundings and cultures. The two boys would have no problems at all here, but the three girls might, so the boys were told to watch out for them and they were a responsible group. There would also be a lot of toleration shown for them because they were her own grandchildren and might also be grandchildren of the Prophet. Only one was, but she hadn't told them which one.
"I'd like a little something in my stomach," she told Sheva. "Then you can show me around the place."
She had a hard time getting the girls of the house not to fix her a full formal breakfast. She wanted toast and
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