Read Online Otherness by David Brin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: David Brin
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, Science Fiction - General, Fiction - Science Fiction, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Modern fiction, High Tech, Science Fiction - High Tech, Science fiction; American, General & Literary Fiction
Ads: Link
Reiko's own amazement as he blinked several times, then reached back to turn the knob and pull the portal aside for her.
" Doozo . . . ohairi kudasai . . ."
" Ee, itachakimasu ," Reiko answered breathlessly. She rocked through the opening in a daze until the door was closed behind her again. Then she sagged back and sighed.
For a few moments, there in the stairwell, she had felt something fey radiating from her womb. Her child had reached out in her time of need, and helped Reiko . . . probably without having any idea exactly what he was doing. Nevertheless, he had helped her.
Love . She had always believed it had power transcending all the cold metal tools men were so proud of. All the more so the love between a mother and her child.
I must find out what is going on here , she knew. I must .
Fortunately, security in the hospital seemed to have only one layer, as if the owners of this place expected a mere ribbon of courtesy to suffice. And under normal circumstances it would have been more than enough.
Reiko did not have to show great agility or dodge quickly from room to room. The halls were nearly empty, and the few people on duty at the nurses' station were turned away in a technical discussion as she hurried out of sight.
She came to a large window facing the hallway. Within were the familiar shapes of a neonatal unit—rows of tiny white cots, monitoring instruments, a bored male nurse reading a newspaper.
Babies.
They look healthy enough , she thought, nurturing a slender shoot of a smile. There appeared to be no monsters here, just pink newborn little boys, each of them looking very much like a tiny, chubby Buddha . . . or that English prime minister, Churchill.
Reiko's nascent smile faded, however, when she realized that the children were moving hardly at all. And then she saw that every one of them was connected by taped electrodes to a cluster of cables. The cables led to a bank of tall machines by the far wall.
Computers. And the babies, staring with open eyes, hardly moved at all.
" Wakarimasen ," Reiko moaned, shaking her head. "I don't understand!"
15.
The plate by the door read "Sukimura." Reiko listened and, hearing no voices, slipped inside.
"Reiko-san!"
The woman in the chair looked healthy, fully recovered. She stood up and hurried over to take Reiko's hand. "Reiko-san, what are you doing here? They told us—"
"Us? They have all of the others? Will they keep me here, too, when my time comes?"
Mrs. Sukimura nodded and looked away. "They are kind. We . . . we are allowed to nurse our babies while they work."
" Work ," Reiko measured the word. "But the birth trauma . . . it should return the children to innocence! They promised. . . ."
"They found a technique to prevent it, Reiko-san. Our babies were all born wise. They are engineers , doing great work for the good of the realm. It is even said that the palace may take notice, it is so important."
Reiko was aghast. "Do they plan to leave them hooked up to wires forever?"
"Oh, no, no. The doctors say this will not harm our sons. They say they will still be all right." And yet a hollow tone in her voice betrayed Mrs. Sukimura's true feelings.
"But then, Izumi-san," Reiko said, "what is wrong?"
"They are mistaken!" the older woman cried. "The men say we are silly, superstitious women. They say that the babies are all healthy . . . that they will lead normal lives. But oh, Reiko-San, they have no kami ! They have no souls!"
Reiko blinked, and the spirit within her writhed in tempo to her sudden breath. No, it cannot be true , she thought. I feel my baby 's kami. For all he has been through, he is still human !
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Voices approached the door.
"At birth," Mrs. Sukimura said in a husky voice filled with horrible resignation. "At birth they . . . their souls were sucked away into . . . into software ."
The door opened. Reiko heard rough masculine tones. Felt hands upon her
" Doozo . . . ohairi kudasai . . ."
" Ee, itachakimasu ," Reiko answered breathlessly. She rocked through the opening in a daze until the door was closed behind her again. Then she sagged back and sighed.
For a few moments, there in the stairwell, she had felt something fey radiating from her womb. Her child had reached out in her time of need, and helped Reiko . . . probably without having any idea exactly what he was doing. Nevertheless, he had helped her.
Love . She had always believed it had power transcending all the cold metal tools men were so proud of. All the more so the love between a mother and her child.
I must find out what is going on here , she knew. I must .
Fortunately, security in the hospital seemed to have only one layer, as if the owners of this place expected a mere ribbon of courtesy to suffice. And under normal circumstances it would have been more than enough.
Reiko did not have to show great agility or dodge quickly from room to room. The halls were nearly empty, and the few people on duty at the nurses' station were turned away in a technical discussion as she hurried out of sight.
She came to a large window facing the hallway. Within were the familiar shapes of a neonatal unit—rows of tiny white cots, monitoring instruments, a bored male nurse reading a newspaper.
Babies.
They look healthy enough , she thought, nurturing a slender shoot of a smile. There appeared to be no monsters here, just pink newborn little boys, each of them looking very much like a tiny, chubby Buddha . . . or that English prime minister, Churchill.
Reiko's nascent smile faded, however, when she realized that the children were moving hardly at all. And then she saw that every one of them was connected by taped electrodes to a cluster of cables. The cables led to a bank of tall machines by the far wall.
Computers. And the babies, staring with open eyes, hardly moved at all.
" Wakarimasen ," Reiko moaned, shaking her head. "I don't understand!"
15.
The plate by the door read "Sukimura." Reiko listened and, hearing no voices, slipped inside.
"Reiko-san!"
The woman in the chair looked healthy, fully recovered. She stood up and hurried over to take Reiko's hand. "Reiko-san, what are you doing here? They told us—"
"Us? They have all of the others? Will they keep me here, too, when my time comes?"
Mrs. Sukimura nodded and looked away. "They are kind. We . . . we are allowed to nurse our babies while they work."
" Work ," Reiko measured the word. "But the birth trauma . . . it should return the children to innocence! They promised. . . ."
"They found a technique to prevent it, Reiko-san. Our babies were all born wise. They are engineers , doing great work for the good of the realm. It is even said that the palace may take notice, it is so important."
Reiko was aghast. "Do they plan to leave them hooked up to wires forever?"
"Oh, no, no. The doctors say this will not harm our sons. They say they will still be all right." And yet a hollow tone in her voice betrayed Mrs. Sukimura's true feelings.
"But then, Izumi-san," Reiko said, "what is wrong?"
"They are mistaken!" the older woman cried. "The men say we are silly, superstitious women. They say that the babies are all healthy . . . that they will lead normal lives. But oh, Reiko-San, they have no kami ! They have no souls!"
Reiko blinked, and the spirit within her writhed in tempo to her sudden breath. No, it cannot be true , she thought. I feel my baby 's kami. For all he has been through, he is still human !
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Voices approached the door.
"At birth," Mrs. Sukimura said in a husky voice filled with horrible resignation. "At birth they . . . their souls were sucked away into . . . into software ."
The door opened. Reiko heard rough masculine tones. Felt hands upon her
Similar Books
