Where was I?

Strong winds slammed into my face, twisted my long hair around my neck
and mouth, and seized my breath away. I'm clinging to the outside of a
train inches from the steel track. Too dark to see. I swung my head
from side to side to catch air. Probing with my hand, I felt a small
metal knob just large enough to curl my fingers around.

("We are sending your molecules into an unknown universe") The voice
inside my head warned me, was it just minutes ago? The rhythmic wheels
of the train became my heartbeat; the screaming whistle inside my
head, my fear.

("We'll switch your consciousness with your duplicate. She'll die
falling from the train in your body, you'll slip into hers." " How
awful, I said." " No, no," they said, "she dies at this point anyway,
it's why we chose this universe.")

Someone gripped my other arm. From above. It was all that kept me
alive. The train careened a hard right; my body began to pull away.
Smell of metal and smoke from the engine passed by and I gave myself a
few seconds to stabilize.

I trusted the strength of whoever held my arm as rivet by rivet I
eased my legs up the side of the car. With every molecule of strength,
and with whoever was pulling on me, I scrambled to the top.

He leaned down and wrenched me to my feet. Hunched over I jumped to
the swaying metal platform connecting the cars. Behind me, his weight
against me, he pried open the train's doors. We fell into the warmth
and light. I turned to thank whoever saved me and gasped.
***
Torin.
***
I survived the jump to this universe, survived... the outside of a
train I hadn't expected to be on... and now standing before me is the
one person I thought I'd never see again. My eyes were surprised with
tears but I also wanted to laugh with joy at the same time.

He looked young. Vulnerable. The train car rocked from side to side.
Handsome. I wanted to say something to him, grab his hand, wrap my
arms around him, melt into him. I said, "Thanks for holding onto me,
Torin."

"S' nothing." He frowned meeting my eyes. "For a second, I thought I'd
lost you, you know? Come on. Keep moving. Whoever chased us is still
on the train."

The darkened windows threw our reflections back at us. I knew it was
me I looked at because the image moved as I did, but the face looked
unfamiliar. The wind tossed hair, the string tied top that covered me
to the waist, the stretchy shorts: what kind of kinky person was I
dressed this way?

What kind was he? The wind had messed his hair too.  As he moved,
gadgets swung from his belt. Cool.

An explosion bright as a flare broke over our heads. I spun around to
see a tall male at the opposite end of the car aiming a blaster at us.

"Gun?" I crouched beside Torin, drank in the faint citrus smell of
him, brushed against him lightly and tingled from the touch.

"Was going to get one...in town." He gave me a double look then
grabbed my arm, pulled me through the doors. The next fire bolt
exploded into a seat ahead of us, blowing a hole through the cushions.
The fiber stuffing scattered in all directions.

I stood facing the attacker. The man looked familiar. Tall, light
hair, ego-punk way of standing, leaning on one leg, twirling the
blaster. Seithe Almay, yes, I knew him, over forty years ago. "What do
you think you're doing?" I yelled the length of the car. "Put that
weapon down."

Seithe's arm followed as I moved. He pointed the weapon at me.

Torin grabbed me by the waist and flung me into the horsehair seats.
My knees jammed to the floor. "You nuts? You any idea the damage that
shot can do to you?" Torin said. Again, the fire bolt was off target.

Torin charged into Seithe forcing Seithe's weapon arm up as the
blaster went flying. Torin knocked the man to the floor. Seithe had a
good two to three inches over Torin and more body weight. My guy was
fighting fast and hard, pummeling the other's ribs as Seithe tried to
grab Torin's arms to pin him.

I looked around for something to throw, something helpful. There was
nothing. The blaster was on the floor on the other side of the men. I
looked upward at the ceiling and spotted the strap on the side. Next
to it was a warning plaque if one were to pull on it what would
happen. I gave it a good yank. The train's iron wheels started
screeching. The men were banging each other's brains into the floor
but the momentum was making it difficult for them to hang onto each
other. They kept sliding out of each other's grip.

"What the hell?" Seithe yelled and Torin grabbed him by his thick
blond hair in both hands and drove his head two or three good times
into the floorboards. Seithe let his breath out with one long sigh.
Motioning me toward the doors, Torin grabbed the weapon as the train
slowed down.

Now what, were we supposed to walk the rest of the way? Torin picked
Seithe's legs up and pulled him to doorway. I held the doors open as
he pulled and shoved Seithe's body through and then pushed him off the
platform to the ground below. The body falling gave a 'thud'. The
black night swallowed the evidence. We quickly returned to the seats.

My mind was jumping up and down with excitement. "Stop breathing so
hard, Torin, the conductor will know we were the ones who stopped the
train."

Some old geezer beyond the age of retirement in a uniform pushed
through the doors of the car. I grabbed Torin by the neck and started
kissing him. Ummmm, good idea, tasting his cold familiar lips.

Torin went for it, opened his mouth wide, found my tongue and sucked
it, oh universes, what did I start? He panted and moaned heaving hard.
His hands kneaded my buttocks and he leaned against me as if he could
crawl inside me using all his weight. Those gadgets around his belt
poked into my stomach but we shielded the gun between us.

Torin groaned loud in his throat trying to work my shorts off tugging
and pulling at them, rubbing his free leg up and down my thigh. I had
my fingers in his hair giving him a brutal massage. The conductor
flung his hands up in the air and walked out of the car.

We broke apart as soon as he left and looked at each other. Then
Torin's head went back 90 degrees, laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"If that guy, ha ha ha, stayed any longer, ha ha ha..."

What? He'd have seen us making passionate love? I didn't think it was
that funny. Or that it ever would even be possible again. I scrambled
over his outstretched legs to the opposite side of the aisle and sat
down and buttoned my shorts. I busied my fingers, straightened the
strings of my top, raked my hair. This reality was confusing. Was I
undesirable to him?

"Rhea?"

"Hmmmm?"

"You okay? You're so quiet."

"Sure, just tired." I turned away from him pretending sleep. Who are
you Torin? What are you like in this universe? Why are we together on
this train if you think anything physical between us is funny? What
had you been doing before I dangled from the train's side?
Just three days ago I buried my husband, Torin. Our desert home, with
its beautiful distant mountains and stunning sunsets was
empty-meaningless-without him.  Torin's father ran our prestigious
science institute and explained the alternative world theory.  He
prepared me to make this transition.  I thought about that home and
all my memories until, an hour later by the watch on my wrist, I saw
the large station signs for Centra and the whistle sounded softer,
slower than its previous maniacal screaming.

From my window, I watched a lone young girl stepping off the train.
She was all black, skinny. She wore nothing but a neon pink belt
around her waist and crotch. The black didn't appear the color of her
skin. It looked like latex body paint, a matted black. In the darkness
of the night, I imagined, only the pink glowing belt would be visible.
What a strange world. A few more ordinary people departed from the
other passenger cars.

Torin grabbed my hand and pulled me down the aisle and past the
swinging doors, not even holding them open for me. "I have to grab the
bike from baggage," he said as I stumbled off the stairs. "Be thinking
of a place we can stay, showers, a motel, something." We moved away
from the train. "Your father is hosting his ball. We can't go looking
like this."

"You brought me here for a dance?" I looked around and saw the signs
advertising the fete and the General's Ball. Daddy'd never done this
in the other universe.

Torin turned fast and gave me a hard look. "Don't be funny," he said.
"We're here to do a job." He pointed to the shops. "Let's go."

"What kind of job?" I felt frivolous, happy. I suddenly had a
connection to this world and Torin had plans for us to spend time
together.

"Take out your father."

"What? What do you mean, take out my father...?"

He grabbed my arm and forced me to continue walking alongside him.
"Shhhh. Idiot. Too many security scanners." He looked up at the posts.
He had Seithe's blaster tucked in the waistband of his pants, his
shirt pulled over it. He had clipped a sensor over his head before
leaving the train, had brushed his hair over it to hide it. Made him
look like an alien. What was Torin up to?

Wind gusts along the street increased. Hanging white paper skeletons
danced from every post. Jack O'Lanterns in windows flickered. The heat
was all encompassing.

"There's the Fisherman Motel." I pointed. "That stream beside it is
the Jilijan River; tourists like to fish there in the summer." Funny.
There should be more water. It should be wider than it is now. The
motel had the advantage of only a couple blocks more to go. "I need a
shower bad, Torin, you don't mind if I go first?" I felt slimy.

"I'll go first. Then hide the bike. You can shower while I'm doing
that. When I leave."

He was finished, dressed, and sitting on the chair by the desk. He
pulled his fingers through his hair. "About taking out your father...
We used digital subversion to shut down ModGen. We expect reprisals.
They're planning to throw everything they have against us, your Young
Revolutionaries, and every other radical group around. Your father
will be leading the attack."

"Digital subversion? What's that?"

"You know, planting scandals rumors false information, then notifying
the news media. We only had to mention  ModGen's owner, Lawrence
Reide's morphing behavior was out of control and his brain was toxed.
ModGen stock fell like a rock."

Lawrence Reide, Torin's father owned Modified Genetics? Biotech?
What's my Dad doing mixed up in all this? Nothing made sense. It
seemed as if the entire world was like a jigsaw puzzle with the pieces
scattered.

Stay inside," he tossed the gun on the other bed, "while I do the
bike. Our get-away plan." He smiled for the first time. Why does Torin
think I'm on his side in this?

He closed the door and I felt finally alone. It must be a hundred
degrees in the room. I untied my top, slid it off, unbuttoned the
shorts and slipped them off. Kicked off the shoes. But I had to lay
down flat on my back on the bed because the cotton material of my
pants had twisted round the elastic waistband. It was difficult
working them down. I finally got them shoved to my knees when the door
opened and there was Torin.

I gasped. We locked eyes. Then his gaze went further down. He was
working something out in his mind, it seemed. Then he started toward
me.

I sat up fast and swung my legs over the side of the bed. "No! It's my
turn for a shower. I've been waiting to take one for hours. What're
you doing back so soon anyway?"

He stopped. "Forgot the bike keys."

"They're on the desk. Go." I pushed myself to the floor kicked off the
panties and ran for the bathroom. Slammed the door. Turned the shower
on full blast and sat in the tub letting the heat of the water wash
away the picture of his face, his interested looking eyes. He's got to
work for it; he's got to be dripping for it. He's got to love me.

***
As the water poured over me a memory came to me: "You aren't bad
looking Rhea, skinny, yes. Time will fix that. Your hair, long and
black silk, that's your best quality. That and your big brown puppy
dog eyes. I get lost in those eyes." Those flower gardens, the ones
your mother kept when she was alive, the wind was blowing that day,
the pink and white petals swirling around us. Floral scented air.
***
I shut the water off and toweled dry. I didn't want to put the sweat
soaked clothes back on, but there was nothing else. I poked about the
room, checking drawers in the tables. Torin opened the door suddenly;
I hadn't heard his footsteps outside.

The air smelled burnt and the decayed river grass odor hung over us
like a bad mist when we emerged from the motel. We hurried toward the
main street and the shops; it was getting late.

I handed Torin's credit chip to the girl at the CompuServe.

She ran the chip into her machine, folded the gown, petticoats and
fresh underwear into the large bag handing them to me. She didn't look
at me much, only at Torin.

"Thanks" I said and gave her a backhanded wave.

"Take care. Watch out for the Shapers." We still had to pick up
Torin's suit.

"You do have a plan beside being my date, right? Like, when are you
going to shoot my father?" I asked as soon as we left the shop.

"We'll head over to the park and that cupola thing. Dress and talk
later."

"If it isn't my crypto-apocalyptic crud friends. How're ya'all doing?"
Seithe said, grinning, matching our stride as we walked along the
street.

I must have screamed since Torin pulled me to the other side of him
away from Seithe. I was shaking too much. "How'd you get here?"

"You mean after your boyfriend threw me off the train? Knocking me
out. My legs have been modified with flexi rods" he lifted up his pant
leg but all I saw was a hairy normal looking guy's leg, "and fitted
with motorized nano discs so that I can walk fast with hardly any
expenditure of energy." True, he was breathing easy. "All us
government workers have mods. One of the perks. Thanks for asking. I
always enjoy explaining my superiority." He grinned. "It helps when I
have to capture cruds like you two."

"This is the general's daughter, Rhea Lucien." Torin was saying to
him. "Seithe Almay." to me. "We're going to the dance at the mansion."
He lifted our bags as if they were proofs.

"I know, and if I didn't have a higher Turing rating, I would believe
you in a nanosecond. I've contacted Interplanet Net and alerted them
I'm bringing two subversive nerds in." His lips twisted over his teeth
in a sneer.

I swallowed painfully. What the hell is a Turing rating? "We have to
talk." My mouth and throat were like two dusty leaves rubbing
together. "At The Fisherman's."

"I'd as soon not have spy-eyes connecting me with you two. Catch you
later. Don't leave town." He enjoyed seeing us squirm, his eyes
laughing with power.

I was surprised he left. We walked past shops as my breath slowed to
normal. Several twin-seated electrical carts stood along the curb. I
watched people jump in and take off as if the cars were there for
anyone who wanted to use them.

"So what's the plan, Torin? Do we follow the big guy to jail?"

"He's with us, Ninny. We had to put on the act. Your father controls
the railroads and has the hell bugged out of them."

"Oh."

We walked, our bodies, hands, an inch apart. I was where I wanted to
be, next to him. There was no need to talk. The buildings, the people
the road, all disappeared. We walked above the world itself.
***
Your face smiles at me, my husband. I see you in the night air next to
this young man I'm walking with. Playing tricks with me, are you? Yes,
you wore your hair long, the same way this young man does, but yours
had gray showing over each ear. You look stately, distinguished.
***
I moved closer. The young one looked at me with a silent question. His
face clouded. I blinked.
***
The image of you superimposes over the Torin who is beside me. Your
older face now has more color, is less opaque, more revealing. It
wavers, shimmers. Slightly off kilter. Your image floats in and out of
the real one's body, slowly. I never cried for you Torin. I was empty
with out you. I only came here to find you again. This pain of missing
you, if only it would go away.
***
Deliberately I looked off to the distance, to refocus my eyes on the
thick trees and brush that meandered toward the river.

"You ok,?" Torin looked at me as if I turned green.

"Sure." No. I looked at him and there was only him, the young Torin. I
had no idea why I was here, what I would do next, or even what I could
do.

We slipped into the motel with my gown, Torin's suit and a purse to
carry the blaster. I lay on the bed tired and hungry. There was a
knock on the door and Seithe strolled in. I sat up fast.

"Princess," Seithe said looking at me, acting humbler than before.
"Tell me you have a secret entrance into the mansion."

I sat up, "how did you know?"

Torin touched his head with his fingertips. "Big guy's wearing
sensors, implants. Constant contact with the Cosminet."

Seithe said, "I know how to enter the sewers. I don't know where they
come out. Somewhere in your house." Seithe looked at me. He leaned
close softening his voice, "Your Dad and his Dad are thick as thieves.
Take one, take the other, same thing."

I looked at Torin. "So. We come down to it. It was never Modgen you
were after. It's Lawrence Reide's or my Dad's life."

Seithe said, "ModGen makes its money doing genetic splicing" Seithe
starting stripping.

"Reide just seems like a ruthless business man. Why kill him?" I
asked, watching his pants slide to the floor.

"Antimatter is illegal.  I'm going to arrest him if I get lucky."  He
stood in only his olive thongs.  Seithe gathered his clothes. "Look,
we can talk later. Okay? There's a monster storm brewing outside, and
if I'm going in the sewers..." Seithe headed for the bathroom. "I'm
taking a quick shower. Catch you later."

Torin sat on the other bed facing me.

"Seithe is 'one of us ,'" I said looking at Torin "and you knew it on
the train. You knew it when you were punching him and pushing him out
the door, you knew it when I was kissing you because the conductor was
coming after us and in the motel room when you forgot the bike keys,
catching me with my pants down, you knew it. And never said a word to
me."

I stood up and walked to the window, pulled the curtain back, looked
out into the darkness. Saw tree branches swinging wild in the gusts of
wind. "Now I'm supposed to tell you about the secret entrance to my
house so you can kill my father, which will ruin my life and  I should
share this with you--why?" I turned, confronting him.

"Come on," he sighed, "get your bags, let's get some air, the lake'll
be cooler."

Torin yelled to the bathroom to Seithe to meet at the park by the food
tents.

"So?" He said once we were outside.

Three-toads and crickets ranted between gusts of wind though it was
the last of October.

"What?" I said looking at him, but it was too dark to see clear.

"The entrance from the sewers. Come on."

"Torin, do you believe it's possible to go to an alternate universe?
Find the people there the same as the ones in the other universe, yet
different."

We scuffled along, the dirt of the sidewalk swirling and hitting us in
the face.

"Our science doesn't have alternate universe theories." He grabbed my
bags from me.

"Well, suppose, just suppose there are other universes." I persisted.

"All right," he sighed, "let's suppose."

"We didn't have nanotechnology or implanted sensors and stuff." Torin
matched stride with me, listening. I continued, "we were exploring
other worlds mainly with our quantum computers. We had space flights.
In a way, we were much more primitive than this world, yet, this world
is more violent than...mine was."

"So why'd you come here then?"

I stopped in the dark feeling close to him. "My husband died. I was
fifty eight years old over there. I should have had years more with
him."

"Fifty eight? Years-years?"

"Yes," I breathed.

We walked and he was silent for a minute. Then he said, "instead of
finding your lifelong companion you found me."

"It's been an adventure."

"Rhea, " his voice changed, "are you looking for a replacement for
your husband in me?"

"I wanted...I thought..."

"Because when someone close leaves you, it's not the person you lost."
Torin continued. "It's the history. Of your life together. You lost a
part of yourself with no way of ever getting it back. Think about it,
I'm not the same as him, am I?"

"No." We walked in silence. He is different. I'll never find my Torin
again. Why didn't I think of that? Like before I left my world.
There's no solution, no way back. I left everything I loved and
everyone who ever loved me, for a world I know nothing about.

"There's the park up ahead. Just keep your eyes open." He pointed.

Something about the way that park looked and the words he used, though
it sparkled with hundreds of tiny lights, smelled of smoke and hot
dogs, the pipe organ softly playing children's melodies, I felt the
stirring of... dread.

We started across the street, those crazy little carts scooting around
us. Kids in costumes with elaborate masks went by. The hot dogs tent
straight ahead pulled me, the laughter, the animal sounds.

"WRAGGHHH" one of the furry bodies screamed inches from my face, then
raced off.

No, the kids with the elaborate masks... those *were* their faces, not
masks. Faces with elephant trunks instead of noses, faces long and
narrow like greyhound dogs and covered with fur, feathers, or some of
them with both. Each was different, a nice looking middle-aged red
headed woman had three eyes, one in the middle of her forehead, and
others had the mouth and teeth of jungle cats. They were the Shapers.
This was the place Lawrence had them sent.

Torin and I stepped up to the food tent. On the sign it said, 'soy
dogs, soy burgers'. Everything was in psychedelic day-glo. A spherical
droid rose up from the floor. Competently took our orders.

"Let's sit on those benches facing the lake." Torin juggled the food,
drinks and our clothes bags.

The soy dog was good, like a real hotdog. The black waters of the lake
blew cooling sprays of water.

Torin was going after my Dad or Lawrence. For either of those deaths
he'd lose his life. For me I'd lose my father or Torin.

Or the other possibility...

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

I jerked around to stare at his face. For one second his voice seemed
inside my head. I noticed a lock of his hair had fallen over his eye.
I wanted to push that hair aside, put my hands on either side of his
face, work my fingers to the hair on the back of his head...pull that
face toward me and drown in him. "The sewers." I said. "You wanted to
know about the entrance. You walk 500 feet and see a thin black metal
ladder. The code on the trap door is 3-11-30. It leads into the
sub-basement where the wines and other stuff are kept."

We went to change in the port-o-potty. I threw my shorts string top
and pants into the bushes. Felt so good putting dry clean clothes on,
wearing that dress, looking pretty.

Seithe found us. As we left the park, Torin explained about the secret
entrance.

The exit, where the water drained into the lake wasn't far. We said
good luck to Seithe and continued the short distance to the mansion.

"Ok, Let's do it." Torin said.

The men were searched thoroughly. The women opened their purses for
inspection but being the General's daughter, they waved me aside. It
looked as if they didn't know we had the gun.

"And this is the place you grew up in?" Torin spoke fast, tense. I
suppose he thought we passed through by a fluke. "Guys must have been
lining up to court you."

"Not really."

The streaks of lightning from the windows illuminated the gardenia
strands that wound round the oak railing up alongside the marble
stairs. Violin and cello resonated in the heat of the night.

Torin led the way between couples. I nodded and made eye contact with
the young versions of the Thomas's and VanDorens I knew in my world. I
forced a smile and said hello to those we brushed against as they went
swirling in their chiffon and organza.

"Daddy." He was there, in front of me. "How are you?"

The caterer came with more drinks. I helped myself to a frosted glass.

"Rhea. I didn't expect to see you here." He smiled his lie.

"This is Torin Gray, my date."

"Torin, my father, General George Harrison Lucien. But you can call
him General."

"The name sounds familiar." Daddy looked at Torin thoughtfully. "Oh,
and Rhea, you remember Lawrence Reide?" The man had been standing with
his back to us, now he turned and looked at Torin and me.

Reide was at least an inch taller than Torin, dark hair worn long.
Golden earring in one ear lobe. Slender, fashionable. Handsome.

Torin said, "ModGenetics."

"Yes" Lawrence said to Torin, but looking at me. "The last time I saw
you, you were ten years old." Lawrence's eyes were pale green and
spacey.

I murmured "and I probably still look like ten."

He touched the neckline of my dress with the tip of his forefinger.
"No. You are a fine looking young woman." He inserted his finger half
an inch inside the neckline, which was low to begin with and stroked
my skin.

I placed Daddy's and my glasses on a nearby shelf grabbed Daddy's arm
and tugged him towards the other dancers.

I looked back as Lawrence had spread his fingers against Torin's
shoulder pushing Torin toward one of the balconies.

From the ease my father covered the room; I knew he enjoyed dancing
with his young and wayward daughter. He's still a rakishly handsome
man at 45. He twirled me easily. I rested my arm lightly at his chest,
the other curled near his neck.

This seemed like a dream, when you dream you are young again. And the
world is all right. "I didn't think you'd be here." He said. His
breath of warm wine floated pleasantly my way. "This guy you're with,
known him long?"

I pulled an arm's length away from him. "He was part of a group I
knew, yes, a while." I tried to see Torin out on the balcony but other
dancers were in the way. What were he and Lawrence doing?

"Weren't you were busy with some Young Revolutionary movement out to
save the world. Couldn't be bothered coming home again."

"Sort of. Lawrence Reide. How long have you two been pals?"

The waltz now turned into a lazy march, an awkward transition.

"Pals? Come lets see if we can find them, there on the patio. I've
known Lawrence since your mother died." He had my arm in the crook of
his and we smiled at the dancers as we made our way to the balcony and
the promise of fresher air. I wanted  more wine, taste the iciness as
it flowed down my throat. I wanted to do anything be anywhere but
here. "We aren't Pals," Daddy said and I looked at his face, believing
him.

The night sky dazzled with its vibrant strikes of lightning. The music
turned into a fast polka, accompanied by the low growl of thunder. The
wind was slamming against trees, bushes.

"Yes. I took over your company." Torin said, having to raise his
voice.

"You had no right to Modgen." Lawrence said with a rage I had never
witnessed in him in the other universe. "You're my son. It would all
have been yours one day. If you waited."

Torin forced a laugh. "You mean in the orphanage where you dumped me."

"I had no time ...I couldn't...money. You grew up in a stable
environment." I could see him forcing control on himself. "I made
payments for your care. Your education." He gestured swinging his arms
around ignoring us.

Torin laughed and sobbed at the same time, then cleared his throat. "I
always wondered why I never got adopted, like other kids my age."

The microphone protested as a voice spoke out: "Lawrence Reide, You're
under arrest under the authority of the US government and
Transplanetary territories." Seithe's. There was a flurry of activity;
two women in white chiffon and pink pastel gowns pushed each other to
get away. Others were leaving; I could hear the sounds of their feet,
doors opening and slamming shut.

Time ran out. Not even a second left. The rain pelted sideways, the
wind howled, blowing branches from the lawn onto the balcony, the
thunder crackled.

Torin had the blaster in his hand. Lustmord in his eyes. I stepped in
front of him. The blaster exploded the fire bolt. It seared and ripped
through me. Shoved me against the stone wall. I couldn't believe how
much pain there was.

Lawrence rolled to the floor away from us.

I felt my knees buckle as I slid down. Saw Torin's lips move, saying
my name. Would have been nice to have had one dance with Torin.  It
was difficult to breathe. I cheated death on the train taking over my
duplicate's body. Now the universe will have its way for my
interference. Pinpoints of light sparkled, faces, pink and white
petals, all fragmenting, floating, an everlasting present as time
slowed down.

An icicle jammed into my shoulder.

"Med bots." Daddy said to me under his breath. "You'll be all right in
a couple of minutes. Stay still."

"Idiot!" Daddy said to Torin who'd been on his knees beside me.

"Ditto that." Seithe was looking down at me.

"My people were so close to having Lawrence Reide. You and the damn
storm." Daddy held my hand.

Torin's voice, "Your people? If you were that close to seizing
Lawrence why didn't you. He got in by the secret entrance didn't he?
He's probably in the sewers below us and making a fine old escape."

"Not likely." Daddy said. "Listen. Hear the rain? Those sewers are
gutted with water, body there has long since been smashed to bits..."

I listened to them talk, heard the words, but I was floating.

"...Morphing," I heard, didn't know what it meant but it sounded
interesting "into a fish and swimming to freedom...."

The storm was running away. All that remained was a terrible cold. I
sat against the wall where minutes ago, blood was gushing out of me.
Torin was squatting in front of me, his forehead wrinkled.

"Go." I said, "I'm fine. Get Lawrence. And be careful."

His hand caressed my face. "No." He stood up and threw the bike keys
to Seithe.

"A hundred yards straight back." He said to Seithe, turned to me and
helped me up. More guests were departing. A large tree trunk had
fallen across the balcony, branches and leaves blown in on the floor.

Daddy said, clicking the medkit shut, "Lawrence didn't count on seeing
his son tonight."

In the distance, we heard a motorcycle taking off.

"Daddy? What was in that injection you gave me?"

He helped Torin to steady me, I felt dizzy standing up.

"Medbots. Nanotechnology, robots too tiny to see, able to penetrate
the body. Goes to work replacing damaged tissues, blood vessels. You
have to rest."

Each of my men had an arm around my waist, helping me walk. Every
muscle in my body ached. "How expensive is an injection?" Torin asked.

"The mortgage on this house, that's all." Daddy clicked his remote
control and the furniture came out of the walls. They set me down on
the couch.

Torin said, "it shouldn't cost that much."

"Yes, well. Talk to ModGen." Daddy replied, finding a throw and
tucking me up.

Daddy went to the fireplace to light the fire. I grabbed a cup of hot
tea from one of the caterers. "Torin, you said you took over ModGen.
You can offer the Shapers their human identity back."

He sat down next to me. "Yes, of course. But ModGen is closed down."

"You'll have reserves. You can start the place up again. You said it
was the only industry New York City has."

"Rhea." He sighed. "All right, all right. Consider it done." He
checked the room, making sure we were alone. "What I have to know is,
that shot. You took it deliberately. Stepped right in front of me.
Why?"

"I didn't want you in prison or worse." I sipped the hot tea.

He focused his eyes on my lips. "Am I worth that much that you were
willing to give up your life?"

"Well, I don't know." I pretended to be confused. I set the cup down
on the table behind us. "Do that thing with the lips again and we'll
see." The warmth of the fire. The smell of the cherry wood. Torin
beside me.

I could get used to this universe.