Read Online Earth Legend by Florence Witkop - Free Book Online Page B

would change what was happening, but I
couldn't do any of those things. So I stretched my lips in a parody
of a smile and asked Mr. Vail what he was thinking.
    "Cullen. Call me Cullen. No 'Mister'."
    Cullen. "I'd rather harvest apples and
cherries than work in the greenhouses."
    "Let me take you to meet the scientists so
you can see what they are doing." I opened my mouth but he
continued before I could speak. "And you might like to see the
animal barns too. I've noticed that farmers find that kind of thing
interesting."
    I reminded him that I was a botanist, not a
farmer, and then, as that small smile I'd already recognized as
belonging to Cullen Vail and no one else ghosted across his face, I
realized I'd fallen neatly into his trap and was stuck. I wasn't a
farmer and I'd admitted it. I was a botanist and, as such, I was
going to the greenhouses with Cullen Vail.
    No, not Cullen Vail, just Cullen. The head of
Security wanted me to call him by his first name. Was that ironic
or what?
    I expected we'd take the elevator back to the
tube that ran along the center of the Destiny and ride that to the
greenhouses but instead I was led to the town square and a little
beyond, to a narrow road I'd seen but not paid any attention to
because I never went anywhere. We climbed onto what looked like a
Harley with an electric motor. It had Security written on one side.
I wrapped my hands around the iron that was Cullen's waist and
leaned into his back as we started off towards the center of the
Destiny. The heart of the beast. To the hub of government,
commerce, science and just about everything else necessary for
people to live together in harmony. Except, of course, for the
Captain's bridge. That reigned in lofty superiority at the end of
that central tube. At the front of the ship.
    I expected the hub to be a city and when
Cullen parked his bike, I realized that I was right. And wrong.
Buildings there ringed the Destiny like a belt around its middle,
scattered in a haphazard arrangement of no particular design,
though I knew they followed a plan. I just didn't know what it was.
"Welcome to Center City."
    "Not a very imaginative name."
    "It's the center of government and it's in
the center of the Destiny."
    Cullen led the way to the greenhouses. They
weren't far from the parking lot, just past a few buildings devoted
to animal husbandry and a couple more that were fisheries. I
followed, wishing I was somewhere else. Anywhere else because I've
been in the horticulture business all my life and I knew what was
waiting for me, even if Cullen didn't.
    If I'd applied for a berth on the Destiny as
a botanist I'd not have been chosen even though I was a double
honors student with extensive credentials and a couple semi-major
discoveries to my name and I knew large numbers of important people
in the field. Because those things, impressive as they were,
wouldn't have been enough to get me accepted. Only political pull
would have done that and those who'd used their influential friends
to get them on board would resent me big time.
    When we stepped into the closest greenhouse
my heart sank. This was going to be bad. The scientists were polite
enough to Cullen but it was soon clear to both of us that they
didn't like him pushing me onto them any more than they liked
having me around. They threw mental darts at us both.
    I knew that as soon as Cullen left, if I
stayed they'd tear me apart limb from limb. I didn't want to think
what would happen if they discovered my secret. And they probably
would because professionals who have had an outsider thrust into
their midst will stop at nothing to destroy the interloper. Me.
    Cullen was good at his job. He read their
thoughts exactly and their intentions. Being the kind of man he
was, I knew he'd feel responsible if anything happened. Even if
nothing happened he'd feel guilty for bringing me there and
subjecting me to their criticism. I knew he'd want to do something
to remedy things. And he did.
    First, he