Read Online The Legacy of Heorot by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Steven Barnes - Free Book Online Page A
Tags: SF, Speculative Fiction
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slapped his palm down on the table. "And now, if there is no more business, let's get the lights down and start the tapes."
Cadmann sat down, looking at his hands as the mess hall began to reorganize, the chairs turned around to the wall. Mary Ann shook his shoulder gently. "Cadmann?"
He muttered something that she couldn't hear, but it sounded like "Idiots."
The lights dimmed, and as they did there was a general movement in the room-some leaving, off to bed or indoor jobs, and as they left, the rain was a drumming rhythm that washed in through the door.
Mary Ann moved her chair up behind him, stroking the back of his neck, trying to be as close to him as he would let her. He reached up and grasped her hand, holding it too tightly. His fingers were cold.
The wall went blank for a moment. Then the MGM lion roared, and a video copy of the two-hundred-year-old ‘Wizard of Oz' began to play, to the cheers of the colonists.
Cadmann squeezed her hand and stood.
"Where're you going?" Mary Ann whispered. "Can I-?"
He shook his head, and in the dark it seemed that he smiled.
Ernst was on his feet. Cadmann pushed him down into his chair (even he wasn't strong enough to do that to Ernst against resistance) and whispered in his ear. Then he was gone into the milling press at the back of the dining hall. Mary Ann heard the door open and shut, but wasn't sure whether or not he'd left.
She cursed herself. You could have said or done something. He's just not a farmer, and he feels like the third glove in a pair...
And that thought was depressing. If she hadn't been able to make him feel needed in the six weeks they had been sleeping together, she wasn't sure what she was going to do.
Dorothy and her friends were crossing the poppy field in a flood of yellow Earthly sunlight. There was sudden, inappropriate laughter from the back of the mess hall, and Marnie McInnes said, "How did she get out?"
"Flying monkeys!" a joyful cry from Alicia Clifton. Ernst's teeth gleamed in the flickerlight. Both had returned to a world in which it was all right to be a child.
"Damn!" The veterinarian's curse cut through the laughter. Someone triggered a handlamp, and there was a scream, and a cry of "Turn on the damned lights, somebody. We've got a problem!"
Mary Ann was out of her chair before the lights came up. She worked her way to the back of the hall. A circle of people had formed around one of the calves, and as the light strengthened, she could see that the poor thing was wobbling, barely able to stand.
Blood drained down its legs, and skin hung from its ribs in a fold, exposing the bone. It looked at her and staggered, almost collapsing into her arms, smearing her with water and blood.
A scream split the driving sound of the rain: "The fence is down!" and lights all over the camp blinked to life. Coats were grabbed, and rain hats.
Mary Ann ran out into the mud and the bleeding sky, pulling on her coat as she went. They moved across the compound in a broken wave, running north to the grazing grounds. She splashed through puddles, slipped in mud, blinded by the rain. There was a scream to the left: "I found another one." She saw Jean Patterson struggling with a weak, terrified calf, wrestling it to the ground.
Mary Ann wiped the rain out of her face, tilled her head against the wind and, panting, headed for the swarm of hand-lamps buzzing around the fence. The wire was broken. It was ripped away from the posts, almost as if a jeep had been driven through it. The corrugated metal shelter was a shambles, and the corral was empty.
Desperately, in confusion, she began looking for tracks, spoor, anything. She recognized the wild laugh that came to her lips for the hysteria it was. In this rain, a herd of mastodons could have tromped through, and there simply wouldn't be any trace.
Cadmann was already at the shelter and stirring at the ground. A flash of lightning revealed a mass of blood and tissue working between his fingers. He grimaced
Cadmann sat down, looking at his hands as the mess hall began to reorganize, the chairs turned around to the wall. Mary Ann shook his shoulder gently. "Cadmann?"
He muttered something that she couldn't hear, but it sounded like "Idiots."
The lights dimmed, and as they did there was a general movement in the room-some leaving, off to bed or indoor jobs, and as they left, the rain was a drumming rhythm that washed in through the door.
Mary Ann moved her chair up behind him, stroking the back of his neck, trying to be as close to him as he would let her. He reached up and grasped her hand, holding it too tightly. His fingers were cold.
The wall went blank for a moment. Then the MGM lion roared, and a video copy of the two-hundred-year-old ‘Wizard of Oz' began to play, to the cheers of the colonists.
Cadmann squeezed her hand and stood.
"Where're you going?" Mary Ann whispered. "Can I-?"
He shook his head, and in the dark it seemed that he smiled.
Ernst was on his feet. Cadmann pushed him down into his chair (even he wasn't strong enough to do that to Ernst against resistance) and whispered in his ear. Then he was gone into the milling press at the back of the dining hall. Mary Ann heard the door open and shut, but wasn't sure whether or not he'd left.
She cursed herself. You could have said or done something. He's just not a farmer, and he feels like the third glove in a pair...
And that thought was depressing. If she hadn't been able to make him feel needed in the six weeks they had been sleeping together, she wasn't sure what she was going to do.
Dorothy and her friends were crossing the poppy field in a flood of yellow Earthly sunlight. There was sudden, inappropriate laughter from the back of the mess hall, and Marnie McInnes said, "How did she get out?"
"Flying monkeys!" a joyful cry from Alicia Clifton. Ernst's teeth gleamed in the flickerlight. Both had returned to a world in which it was all right to be a child.
"Damn!" The veterinarian's curse cut through the laughter. Someone triggered a handlamp, and there was a scream, and a cry of "Turn on the damned lights, somebody. We've got a problem!"
Mary Ann was out of her chair before the lights came up. She worked her way to the back of the hall. A circle of people had formed around one of the calves, and as the light strengthened, she could see that the poor thing was wobbling, barely able to stand.
Blood drained down its legs, and skin hung from its ribs in a fold, exposing the bone. It looked at her and staggered, almost collapsing into her arms, smearing her with water and blood.
A scream split the driving sound of the rain: "The fence is down!" and lights all over the camp blinked to life. Coats were grabbed, and rain hats.
Mary Ann ran out into the mud and the bleeding sky, pulling on her coat as she went. They moved across the compound in a broken wave, running north to the grazing grounds. She splashed through puddles, slipped in mud, blinded by the rain. There was a scream to the left: "I found another one." She saw Jean Patterson struggling with a weak, terrified calf, wrestling it to the ground.
Mary Ann wiped the rain out of her face, tilled her head against the wind and, panting, headed for the swarm of hand-lamps buzzing around the fence. The wire was broken. It was ripped away from the posts, almost as if a jeep had been driven through it. The corrugated metal shelter was a shambles, and the corral was empty.
Desperately, in confusion, she began looking for tracks, spoor, anything. She recognized the wild laugh that came to her lips for the hysteria it was. In this rain, a herd of mastodons could have tromped through, and there simply wouldn't be any trace.
Cadmann was already at the shelter and stirring at the ground. A flash of lightning revealed a mass of blood and tissue working between his fingers. He grimaced
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