Read Online A Thousand Deaths by George Alec Effinger - Free Book Online Page B

little man had stripped a rather essential gear. "Outside? In the snow? Where would we go?"
    "I don't know," said Arthur. "Didn't you ever go for walks back on Earth?"
    Courane thought for a moment. No, even on Earth he didn't often feel the need to walk any great distance. Certainly not for the sole purpose of experiencing inclement weather. But then he saw that the real reason he didn't want to go outside was because he didn't like it outside. He was afraid of it. It wasn't home, it wasn't natural. It wasn't Earth; it was Planet D, and every bit of it was wild and threatening. The only safe place was in the house, and he never wanted to leave it. He felt unsafe even walking from the back porch to the barn. "Arthur, what would we do out there?"
    Klára and Kenny came into the parlor and sat on a davenport across from the game table. "You could build snowblerds," said the boy.
    "I want to call my husband," said Klára.
    "Snowblerds," said Courane, sighing.
    "I want my husband to arrange to come here," said the arrogant woman. Both men looked at her in silence. "What are you staring at?" she asked.
    "This isn't a vacation weekend in St. Tropez," said Courane. "You just can't call Earth and order whatever you want."
    "And why not? I've been dragged here to take care of a lot of drooling, filthy patients upstairs, completely against my will I might add, and I don't see why I shouldn't organize the work the way I know is best. Some of those people in the infirmary are little better than idiots and imbeciles, and I can't say much more for the rest of you. I've seen potato dumplings that had better sense."
    "Klára–" said Arthur.
    "You call me Mrs. Hriniak. My late mother and father called me Klára, but even Mr. Hriniak is afraid to do that."
    "What does he call you, then?" asked Kenny.
    Klára gave the boy an unpleasant look and moved farther away from him on the davenport.
    "Mrs. Hriniak," said Arthur, "we are pretty well limited in our ability to communicate with Earth. We can use the tect to learn anything in its memory banks, but that doesn't allow us to make telephone calls to whomever we want back home. We can inform TECT of emergencies here, or of supplies and things we need urgently, and TECT will decide what should be done and then let us know. But you can't just ring up your husband for a chat because you miss him."
    "Miss him!" She gave a derisive laugh.
    "Whatever. The best you can do is ask TECT for permission to contact him through a tect unit on Earth. Other people have tried that here, though I don't recall anyone getting that permission."
    Klára was outraged. "I don't believe it!" she cried. "TECT can't do that kind of thing. That's illegal. Every citizen has the right to free communication. The government protects that."
    "The government is TECT," said Courane, "and TECT makes the rules. TECT also enforces the rules and judges if they're morally and legally valid. You have nowhere to turn."
    "But what am I, some kind of prisoner?" Her face had drained of its ruddy color, and one plump-fingered hand was raised to her throat as though guarding it against physical assault.
    "That's precisely what you are, Mrs. Hriniak," said Arthur. "You are some kind of prisoner."
    "I am not!" She was too outraged even to consider the possibility. "I have been brought here to care for some unpleasantly sick people, that disgusting machine only knows why. I have no idea at all why I was chosen, but I will not stop fighting until either I am returned to my home, or my husband and my possessions are transferred here for the duration of my stay."
    "On Earth," asked Courane, "did you ever have any nursing training?"
    "Good heavens, no. I was the daughter of a public official. I was married at a young age, directly after leaving school. I am neither a laborer nor servant."
    "But you are a prisoner," said Courane.
    "I am not." She glared at Courane malevolently.
    "I could ask our tect why you were sent here."
    Klára