Read Online Lovelock by Kathryn H. Kidd Orson Scott Card - Free Book Online Page B

destination board. There was a pneumatic sound as the magnetics were turned on and the car lifted itself from the floor. Then, smoothly, it slipped through the network of tubes, choosing its own way at each intersection.
    As we glided along, Penelope cheerfully pressed ahead with the urgent business of becoming our dearest friend. “Now that we’re settled down,” she said, “tell me about yourselves. Of course, I know all about you , Dr. Cocciolone.”
    Carol Jeanne interrupted. “Please, no titles. Call me Carol Jeanne.”
    Penelope pounced on the name and played with it like a cat. “Carol Jeanne it is, then,” she said. “Such a lovely name, Carol Jeanne. I’m so glad we’re going to be friends, Carol Jeanne.”
    After bestowing a winning smile on Mayflower’s newest celebrity, she turned to Red, who was holding Emmy by a lock of hair to keep her from wandering. “Now, Mr. Cocciolone, what should I call you?”
    “He’s Mr. Todd ,” Mamie corrected. “Redmond Eugene Todd. We call him Red. Carol Jeanne is Mrs . Todd.”
    Poor Mamie. Didn’t she realize that Penelope was only goading her?
    Penelope and her breasts ignored Mamie. “And what do you do?” she asked Red.
    “I’m a family counselor.” Red always looked proud when he said that—as if he had a real job, doing real work. Being a family counselor seemed as useless to me as going to church—it was just a way to pander to emotions instead of focusing on what was really important. Nevertheless, Red was probably good at it; he was one of those touchy-feely humans who communicate with hugs and pats on the back, forever clucking over strangers and telling them, I understand. Humans loved him for it.
    Penelope looked as unimpressed with Red’s occupation as I was, though. “Inside or Outside?”
    Red was obviously confused. “I usually consult with people in an office, if that’s what you mean.”
    “You don’t even know about Inside and Outside?” Silence was all the answer she needed. “Outside is up on the surface, where the sun shines, where the crops grow. Where we live and farm. The villages . And Inside is down here, in the closed spaces, where we work . Our jobs . It’s as if we all lead double lives. Our Inside life, where we work with people in our profession, just like an office building on Earth, and our Outside life, where we live with our fellow villagers.”
    “And family counselors specialize in Inside or Outside work?” Red asked.
    “The Outside counselors are called by the chief administrator of the Ark to serve each village,” said Penelope. “People go to them when they have village problems. Being an Outside counselor is the greatest honor a person can have—except being the Mayor, of course. Only the most compassionate people in the village can be called to a job like that.”
    “Then our Red will be an Outside counselor, of course,” said Mamie. The woman took the bait as eagerly as a trout sprang for a fly above the pond back home, and I was disgusted at how easily Penelope reeled her in. “He’s the most compassionate person I’ve ever met.”
    “Indeed. That’s interesting news—I hadn’t heard that Mayflower’s counselor was due for replacement.” I don’t believe I imagined the smirk in Penelope’s voice, but to her credit she kept the smile from her lips. “The scientifically trained family counselors are Inside, of course, in offices. But I always think the Inside counselors are for when people are, you know…what’s the word—”
    “Clinically ill,” said Carol Jeanne.
    “Crazy,” said Penelope at the same moment. “Whatever. You go to a village counselor because you want to talk with somebody you can trust. You go to an office counselor because your supervisor thinks that your problems are interfering with your job. It’s so sterile and frightening.”
    Red tried to look cheerful, though no doubt he was seething at her primitive attitudes about therapy. “I’m an Inside