brain.
“Tweezers,” Rocky said, and they were slapped into his palm. He grabbed the demon by the neck and pulled it out. But its tail was longer than he had thought, and still was lodged firmly in the fissure.
“The light!
The light!
” the creature was piping; Rocky had it by the neck, so he squeezed harder and the thing began to gurgle.
“You’re choking me!” it squealed.
Nothing would have pleased Rocky more than to twist its vile head off, but he was afraid what that might do to Cirocco. He called for another tool, and used it to gingerly separate the halves of the brain.He could see, down deep, that the monster’s tail was embedded in the
corpus callosum.
“Mother,” Cirocco said, in an odd voice. She began to cry.
What to do, what to do? Rocky didn’t know, but he did know one thing: he could not close her head until the creature was removed.
“Scissors,” he said. When he had them, he inserted them between the halves of the brain, down as far as he could go, until he had the tip of the demon’s tail between the blades. He hesitated.
“No, no, no—” the. thing screamed when it saw what he was doing.
Rocky cut.
The thing screamed bloody hell, but Cirocco did not move. Rocky held his breath for a long time, let it out, then looked again. He could see the severed end of the tail down there. It writhed, then came free from its mooring, the nature of which Rocky did not know. But it was loose, anyway, and Rocky almost reached for it with the tweezers, then remembered his prisoner—who had turned quite blue. He handed it to Serpent, who popped the squalling obscenity into a jar and sealed the lid. Rocky removed the severed bit of tail.
“Captain, can you hear me?” he said.
“Gaby,” Cirocco murmured. Then she opened her eyes. “Yes. I can hear you. I saw you get it.”
“You did?”
“I did. I’m not sure how. And it’s gone. It’s all gone. I know.”
“Gaea will not be happy this day,” Valiha sang. “We have her spy.” She held up the jar. Inside it, the creature writhed, sucking on the end of its amputated tail.
“Sorry about that,” Conal said, as he sat beside Rocky. He looked at Cirocco a bit queasily, but he was in control. “That looks normal, doesn’t it, Rocky? Didn’t you find anything?”
Valiha held up the jar. Conal looked.
“Somebody help him,” Rocky said. “It’s time to close up.”
***
Eleven revs after Rocky had sewn Cirocco’s head back together, the Pandemonium Theater began another double feature:
Rock Around the Clock
, with Bill Haley and the Comets, and
Donovan’s Brain.
As usual, no one knew why Gaea had selected these particular movies from her vast library, but many people attending noticed she did not seem happy. She hardly watched the screen. She fidgeted and brooded. She got so agitated that at one point she accidentally stepped on two panaflexes and a human, killing all three.
The corpses were quickly eaten by Priests.
Episode Ten
No one dreamed the war could last for seven years, but it did.
Like any war, it had its ups and downs. There was one five-month period when no bombs fell and some dared hope it was over. Then Dallas was hit, and the exchanges were renewed. Four times huge flights of missiles arced from one area of the globe to another—massive “Sunday Punches” designed to end the conflict once and for all. None of them did so. Combatants fell by the wayside when they reached the point where no one survived capable of directing the attack. But a hard core of about two dozen nations were dug in so securely they could well be fighting for two centuries.
Fully seventy percent of the weapons malfunctioned in one way or another. “Dud” bombs fell in hundreds of cities, spewing plutonium, notifying the residents that another bomb would soon follow. Editorials were written deploring the greed of munitions makers who had cut corners on government contracts, thinking no one would ever know the bombs were
“Tweezers,” Rocky said, and they were slapped into his palm. He grabbed the demon by the neck and pulled it out. But its tail was longer than he had thought, and still was lodged firmly in the fissure.
“The light!
The light!
” the creature was piping; Rocky had it by the neck, so he squeezed harder and the thing began to gurgle.
“You’re choking me!” it squealed.
Nothing would have pleased Rocky more than to twist its vile head off, but he was afraid what that might do to Cirocco. He called for another tool, and used it to gingerly separate the halves of the brain.He could see, down deep, that the monster’s tail was embedded in the
corpus callosum.
“Mother,” Cirocco said, in an odd voice. She began to cry.
What to do, what to do? Rocky didn’t know, but he did know one thing: he could not close her head until the creature was removed.
“Scissors,” he said. When he had them, he inserted them between the halves of the brain, down as far as he could go, until he had the tip of the demon’s tail between the blades. He hesitated.
“No, no, no—” the. thing screamed when it saw what he was doing.
Rocky cut.
The thing screamed bloody hell, but Cirocco did not move. Rocky held his breath for a long time, let it out, then looked again. He could see the severed end of the tail down there. It writhed, then came free from its mooring, the nature of which Rocky did not know. But it was loose, anyway, and Rocky almost reached for it with the tweezers, then remembered his prisoner—who had turned quite blue. He handed it to Serpent, who popped the squalling obscenity into a jar and sealed the lid. Rocky removed the severed bit of tail.
“Captain, can you hear me?” he said.
“Gaby,” Cirocco murmured. Then she opened her eyes. “Yes. I can hear you. I saw you get it.”
“You did?”
“I did. I’m not sure how. And it’s gone. It’s all gone. I know.”
“Gaea will not be happy this day,” Valiha sang. “We have her spy.” She held up the jar. Inside it, the creature writhed, sucking on the end of its amputated tail.
“Sorry about that,” Conal said, as he sat beside Rocky. He looked at Cirocco a bit queasily, but he was in control. “That looks normal, doesn’t it, Rocky? Didn’t you find anything?”
Valiha held up the jar. Conal looked.
“Somebody help him,” Rocky said. “It’s time to close up.”
***
Eleven revs after Rocky had sewn Cirocco’s head back together, the Pandemonium Theater began another double feature:
Rock Around the Clock
, with Bill Haley and the Comets, and
Donovan’s Brain.
As usual, no one knew why Gaea had selected these particular movies from her vast library, but many people attending noticed she did not seem happy. She hardly watched the screen. She fidgeted and brooded. She got so agitated that at one point she accidentally stepped on two panaflexes and a human, killing all three.
The corpses were quickly eaten by Priests.
Episode Ten
No one dreamed the war could last for seven years, but it did.
Like any war, it had its ups and downs. There was one five-month period when no bombs fell and some dared hope it was over. Then Dallas was hit, and the exchanges were renewed. Four times huge flights of missiles arced from one area of the globe to another—massive “Sunday Punches” designed to end the conflict once and for all. None of them did so. Combatants fell by the wayside when they reached the point where no one survived capable of directing the attack. But a hard core of about two dozen nations were dug in so securely they could well be fighting for two centuries.
Fully seventy percent of the weapons malfunctioned in one way or another. “Dud” bombs fell in hundreds of cities, spewing plutonium, notifying the residents that another bomb would soon follow. Editorials were written deploring the greed of munitions makers who had cut corners on government contracts, thinking no one would ever know the bombs were
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