Read Online Lovelock by Kathryn H. Kidd Orson Scott Card - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kathryn H. Kidd Orson Scott Card
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briefest glance at Pink, she turned to Carol Jeanne. “Tell me, Dr. Cocciolone,” she asked deferentially, “what do you think of the Ark?”
“As Mamie pointed out when we got here, it looks like Kansas, with a curve,” Carol Jeanne said. She had never had a particular fondness for Kansas, but Penelope puffed out her chest with pride as if it had been a personal compliment.
“Kansas, but the air smells like dirty underwear,” Stef added. He spoke softly, under his breath. If he hoped Penelope would hear him, his wish was granted.
“Those are the flowers, my dear—nasturtiums. The smell’s more concentrated here on the Ark because we have an artificial atmosphere.”
I hopped down from Carol Jeanne’s shoulder and landed squarely on a nasturtium plant. I picked the smallest flower I could find and ate it, but it tasted much better than the humans around me smelled. Except for Carol Jeanne, of course. It would have been disloyal for me to admit that Carol Jeanne smelled just like all the other humans around me, so I didn’t. Not even to myself.
Stef looked at the orange flowers as if willing them to go away. “Clunky looking things,” he said.
“Oh? I think they’re pretty,” said Penelope. “Soon you’ll hardly notice the smell. Besides—we also grow lilies of the valley here, and they smell just like perfume.” She didn’t add that they’re as lethal as cobra venom. That’s a human for you. When they leave Earth to start a new world, they take their poisons with them—just to make the new world more exciting. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn they carried black mambas in the embryo banks, on the theory that the snakes could eat whatever pesky rodents inhabited the new planet.
She dusted off her hands officiously and said, “Well! We’ve chatted here long enough. You’ll want to be going to Mayflower now. The tube is down this ladderway.”
“Ladder?” asked Mamie, aghast. She hadn’t climbed a ladder in her life. She had always hired people to climb ladders. I suspected that even as a child, she hired the servants’ children to climb trees for her.
“Up and down change around here,” said Penelope. “Ladders are the only practical way of getting from level to level without using up valuable space on stairways that would end up being on a wall or the ceiling for half the voyage. Besides, since we’re never more than two-thirds of Earth-normal gravity—much less during the actual voyage—ladders are really very easy. We’re all light on our feet around here.”
“ Still ,” said Red, “using ladders is pretty confining.” He looked pointedly at Pink. Pink was pretty agile; she was a small pig, and her enhancements made her about as clever as a pig can get. She could climb stairs and hop up on furniture, but she couldn’t handle a ladderway. The people of the Ark should have mentioned the ladder thing before they let Red bring his witness. Or maybe they did, and Red insisted on bringing Pink anyway. Only someone clinging desperately to every shred of personal status would have insisted on bringing into space a witness without functional feet or opposable thumbs.
“There is a lift,” Penelope said, turning her most helpful face toward Red and Mamie. “For heavy loads.” Since Pink hardly qualified, the remark seemed vaguely pointed at Mamie—and from the look of faint disgust on her face, Mamie didn’t miss the barb, either. It was pretty absurd, coming from Penelope; although Mamie was round, she was small enough that each of Penelope’s breasts probably outweighed her. Penelope was obviously a person who didn’t like having to change her plans to accommodate other people.
She led us to another elevator, a small one designed for people instead of cargo, and we crowded inside for the trip downstairs. Then she led us to the tube platform. It took only moments for a car to arrive. She seated us efficiently and pressed the name of our village, Mayflower, on the
“As Mamie pointed out when we got here, it looks like Kansas, with a curve,” Carol Jeanne said. She had never had a particular fondness for Kansas, but Penelope puffed out her chest with pride as if it had been a personal compliment.
“Kansas, but the air smells like dirty underwear,” Stef added. He spoke softly, under his breath. If he hoped Penelope would hear him, his wish was granted.
“Those are the flowers, my dear—nasturtiums. The smell’s more concentrated here on the Ark because we have an artificial atmosphere.”
I hopped down from Carol Jeanne’s shoulder and landed squarely on a nasturtium plant. I picked the smallest flower I could find and ate it, but it tasted much better than the humans around me smelled. Except for Carol Jeanne, of course. It would have been disloyal for me to admit that Carol Jeanne smelled just like all the other humans around me, so I didn’t. Not even to myself.
Stef looked at the orange flowers as if willing them to go away. “Clunky looking things,” he said.
“Oh? I think they’re pretty,” said Penelope. “Soon you’ll hardly notice the smell. Besides—we also grow lilies of the valley here, and they smell just like perfume.” She didn’t add that they’re as lethal as cobra venom. That’s a human for you. When they leave Earth to start a new world, they take their poisons with them—just to make the new world more exciting. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn they carried black mambas in the embryo banks, on the theory that the snakes could eat whatever pesky rodents inhabited the new planet.
She dusted off her hands officiously and said, “Well! We’ve chatted here long enough. You’ll want to be going to Mayflower now. The tube is down this ladderway.”
“Ladder?” asked Mamie, aghast. She hadn’t climbed a ladder in her life. She had always hired people to climb ladders. I suspected that even as a child, she hired the servants’ children to climb trees for her.
“Up and down change around here,” said Penelope. “Ladders are the only practical way of getting from level to level without using up valuable space on stairways that would end up being on a wall or the ceiling for half the voyage. Besides, since we’re never more than two-thirds of Earth-normal gravity—much less during the actual voyage—ladders are really very easy. We’re all light on our feet around here.”
“ Still ,” said Red, “using ladders is pretty confining.” He looked pointedly at Pink. Pink was pretty agile; she was a small pig, and her enhancements made her about as clever as a pig can get. She could climb stairs and hop up on furniture, but she couldn’t handle a ladderway. The people of the Ark should have mentioned the ladder thing before they let Red bring his witness. Or maybe they did, and Red insisted on bringing Pink anyway. Only someone clinging desperately to every shred of personal status would have insisted on bringing into space a witness without functional feet or opposable thumbs.
“There is a lift,” Penelope said, turning her most helpful face toward Red and Mamie. “For heavy loads.” Since Pink hardly qualified, the remark seemed vaguely pointed at Mamie—and from the look of faint disgust on her face, Mamie didn’t miss the barb, either. It was pretty absurd, coming from Penelope; although Mamie was round, she was small enough that each of Penelope’s breasts probably outweighed her. Penelope was obviously a person who didn’t like having to change her plans to accommodate other people.
She led us to another elevator, a small one designed for people instead of cargo, and we crowded inside for the trip downstairs. Then she led us to the tube platform. It took only moments for a car to arrive. She seated us efficiently and pressed the name of our village, Mayflower, on the
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