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ave plans of their
own.
Russ sighed. I noticed dark smudges under his eyes even though he had a
new, youthful body as a result of our passage. Normally, the four of us would
be
piled in bed, venting our excess sexual energy. Instead, we were poised on the
verge of some great change. Apprehension churned in my gut. Beside me, Rita
took
Justina into her arms and gave her a tender farewell kiss.
We won t be long, she promised the baby.
I only hoped we could keep that promise.
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Page No 161
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Darkness had fallen on Nexus One, a merciful darkness that hid the scene of
pain and suffering that spread out before me. I knelt in front of the gate, as
the old
and sick and dying emerged from stasis. The choices were all heartbreaking,
but I
could only help one at a time. Blinking back unaccustomed tears I wrappe
d my arms
around the frail body of a little girl with copper-colored curls. A mind touch
told me
she was suffering from a terminal brain tumor.
I carried her past groups of sick and dying people, and into one of the
crystal
towers where I found her an empty bed. This whole tower had been converted
into a
hospital/hospice for those who made it out of stasis alive. They weren t many.
Most
of the old and dying were perishing, many falling out of the gate already
dead. It was
a nightmare worst than any I had ever experienced. I laid the child s
almost
weightless body down on the bed, and tucked the sheets up around her thi
n
shoulders.
I want to go home, she muttered, grabbing my arm. Can you ta
ke me
home?
My heart ached for her. She was six years old and dying. How could I exp
lain
to her that years had passed since the day her desperate parents had urged her
to
enter one of the gates on Earth? Most likely, her mother and father were alive
and
would welcome her back with open arms despite the heartbreak of getting
her back
only to watch her die. Russell had sworn he would concentrate on finding
a way to
transport these people safely through a gate back to Earth. But we didn
t know for
sure if that was possible, or how long it might take him to find a way. And
even if we
could take these people home again, they would only be returning to die.
Nothing
could prevent that tragedy. Maybe it was for the best that their loved ones on
Earth
were being spared this horrible sight.
Nexus One was the first of our alternate worlds, where the release of those
we had dubbed Innocents had started a few hours earlier. The ills of the
very old
and the extremely sick were beyond the capabilities of the gates technology.
As the
release from stasis began the Innocents came out unchanged except for their
sex
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Page No 162
still gasping for breath, in pain, confused, dying, some of them even dead, as
if the
passage through the gate had shocked the last of the life out of their bodies.
In a
matter of hours Nexus One had turned into a vast hospital world, but it
was a world
that offered little hope of recovery for its terminally ill patients.
Someone will be coming soon to take care of you, sweetie, I prom
ised.
The holographic computer on this world had manufactured hospital androids
who would care for the dying. That was the best we could do. The gates t
hat had
cured so many had failed these people. But I couldn t find it in me t
o blame the
technology. A part of me knew that these people had reached a crucial po
int in their
struggle against old age or disease they no longer possessed enough life
energy
whatever it is to enable the gate to disassemble and recreate their bodies new
and
whole. Instead, the defects remained. And the knowledge of why it had happened
offered no comfort.
I took the little girl s hand and squeezed it. Will you wait here and try to
get
some sleep?
One of the men in Russell s group who had some medical training affir
med
that none of these people were going to live long. He predicted most of them
would
be dead by morning. The old were going the fastest we separated them
on a
different floor so the others couldn t see how fast they were dying. The gates
had
squeezed the last of life out of them, I guess.
The terminally ill adults were alive, but most of them hadn t long to
go. Too
many had delayed their passage through the gate until the last moment, not
wanting
to risk it until all other hope had failed. I had passed many of them sitting
in huddled
groups near the gate. Their last hope was gone and they were struggling to
accept
their awful fate. Many sobbed, or cursed anyone who came near to help th
em. Guilt
tormented me whenever I looked at them. Yet our only choice had been all
or
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