Chapter 26

Xen swallowed hastily.

"It's fairly obvious, isn't it?" she said. "This is why I've been avoiding other people. It doesn't bother Charon."

"But if you're seventy/thirty, you've got to be a made, not a born," said Bell. "You said you were seventy percent human."

"By codon count," Xen said. "I'm Human/Xenoorganic Hybrid #19." She waved ironically. "Pleased to meet you, B2-09." Bell made a tfff sound that was not quite a laugh, but she was smiling just a little. "I was grown in an artificial womb they built just for me. Then one of them killed the other one, and Tori killed her, and I ended up being raised by her and Bunni. Bunni's a Robobrain."

"And now you want to find out more about your other people," Bell said. "I can understand that. I went to see the bay where they built me once." The android ran a hand through her short, stiff hair. "It was boring, and kind of creepy. There were parts of other androids all over the place."

"Well, at least I don't have that problem," Xen said. She tried not to picture a repair bay full of parts of skinny greenish-white hybrids. "Even my third contributor's body isn't here now. It's been in a tank in the Lab for my entire life. Still there, I hope." She took her box of sample jars over to the space suit and began looking for its seals. They were disappointingly prosaic. But then, they had to be operable by someone with no thumbs, didn't they? Xen had been hoping for some suggestion of telekinesis or other interesting abilities.

But then, wanting to be special is a universal human desire, isn't it? I'd like being me to have some advantages other than seeing in the dark. It's not like there isn't a big enough downside to that.

She peered inside the suit. It was lined with silvery fabric. No surprise there; it would have to have some sort of temperature regulation inside as well as ventilation. There was an odd lump in the upper middle of the suit, around where the chest area should be. Xen reached out with a probe and prodded it gently.

There was a rising hum, a brilliant flash, and a spike of blinding pain.

Xen opened her eyes to find herself lying on her back. The faces of Charon and Bell hovered above her. Nothing hurt, but for some reason, she couldn't seem to move her arms or legs.

Later she realized that she had looked at Charon before anything else, instinctively and without thought, even though she could only move her eyes. It was still dark. His heat signature was solid, familiar, and not a single degree warmer than normal. The pattern of skin and flesh on his face had not changed since she last saw it.

I'm going to be all right.

"Tha' hurt," Xen said. "Wha' happen?" Her tongue was being uncooperative as well.

"You shot yourself," said Charon. "Wit' dis." He held up a small hand weapon with an elliptical barrel and a crosswise space for a power cell at the top, which was currently empty. "It appears to have been left underneath t'suit." His voice had no more tonal quality than usual, and his face certainly showed no expression, but Xen received an odd impression – fleeting, almost subliminal – of humor.

"And you hit the trigger," said Bell. "Good thing the power cell in it was low. Otherwise you could've killed yourself. Charon took the power cell out so you could look at it later."

"As per previous instructions regarding use of initiative, I searched t'site for any other such items," Charon said. "I found several power cells, but no additional weapons."

"Can' move," Xen said, addressing a more pressing concern.

"The weapon discharges electrical energy," said Changeling's voice from out of her view. "You absorbed considerable voltage from its nimbus, although fortunately the suit's insulation diverted most of the blast. You will be able to move again shortly, when your nervous system has had time to rebalance the ions in your muscle cells. I judged that stim was not indicated."

"No contact burn?" Xen asked, working hard at enunciating.

"None," said Changeling. "Your skin is thinner than human skin and thus offers very little resistance. Fortunately, the overall charge absorption was also insufficient to cause burns to your internal organs." Xen managed to flop her head over sideways, so that she could see the packbot hovering nearby.

"Oh," she said. "Good." A moment's experiment revealed that it was already possible to move her fingers and toes.

"I strongly suggest we move away from the site for the day," Changeling said. "A literal shock to your system will likely increase the probability of anaphylaxis, and this is your first experience in an environment with plentiful vegetation."

"Acknowledged," Xen said. Speaking normally was becoming easier. "Charon, find a secure camp site outside the irradiated zone."

"I will obey," said Charon, and disappeared from her view. The sound of booted footsteps retreated rapidly.

"You're taking this pretty damn well, for a near-death experience," said Bell. Xen waited another moment or so before she tried to sit up. She managed to lurch into a sitting position. This gave her a much better view of Bell, who was currently squatting next to her with her elbows on her knees and her hands clasped.

"Ha," Xen said. "This wasn't even close. If the suit hadn't been there, I'd have seen the gun. And with the suit on top of it, there was no way it could be propped straight up. And unless it was propped straight up, there's no way it could've fired off enough charge to kill me." She waved an arm experimentally. It flopped like a dead fish. She decided to wait another minute or so before getting up. "Now, another allergy attack – that would be something to worry about. That's why Changeling carries epinephrine. Or a seizure, which is what happens if I look at the sun with my inner eyelids open and goggles off."

"How did you find that out?" Bell asked.

"Long story. The short version is that I had a nervous breakdown and did something stupid. Did Charon collect up the power cells he found?"

"Yes," said Bell. "He's still got the blaster, too. I guess it must've belonged to the alien."

Xen lifted her head abruptly. "That's right! I'll have to see if I can hold it. I have a hard time with regular triggers, you know. I can't draw or fire this .22 very fast." She shifted position, aware suddenly that the holster was digging into her hip. She thought about asking Bell to help her up, but stopped herself just in time.

She said she goes suboptimal whenever she thinks about touching something alive. And it'll probably be very hard for her to refuse a direct request. It's not fair to do that to her.

"So why do you carry it?" Bell asked. "Especially when you've got a bodyguard already. You don't seem very aggressive."

"Backup," Xen said succinctly. "Anything that gets through Charon and Changeling will be in bad shape. Maybe even bad enough shape that I can shoot it before it gets me. I haven't got much chance at defending myself otherwise. And that's on a good day." Xen tested her leg muscles and found them responsive. She scrambled upright, swaying slightly.

"Charon's not here now," Bell pointed out. She straightened up easily. "How do you know I haven't been acting all this time, just waiting for a chance to get you alone?" As usual, her posture was closed, revealing nothing. Very much nothing, in the android's case, because there was no reason to suppose any aggressive behavior would be preceded by aggressive body language.

But that's just a given, Xen thought. What she said was:

"Because Charon did leave you here. Not only that, he left you here when I couldn't move. And even Changeling, the most suspicious AI I've ever met, doesn't do threat assessment as well as Charon does. Besides, I saw what happened to you."

"And you stopped it," Bell said. "I won't forget that." She looked up at the cloudy night sky. "Well, not unless they make me."

"No one will make you do anything," Xen said very firmly.

Bell just shook her head.

"You'll see," Xen said. "You're tough and you're smart. All the things they can do to get to you have to do with programming, don't they? And you can change that now. You could be invincible." She was conscious that she sounded a little wistful herself. "So you're afraid the A3 units are faster than you are. So what? Hide behind something bulletproof until they have to come after you up close. If you're strong enough to break a steel collar with your fingers, all you have to do is get your hands around one's neck."

"They don't actually have to breathe," Bell pointed out, but she was looking thoughtful now. "I mean, all their organic components depend on skin respiration. They just do it so they'll look more human."

Xen shrugged. "So how do you kill one? Assess. Um. I mean, think about it." Her legs held her fairly well now. She flexed her knees experimentally.

"I will,"said Bell. "Looks like Charon is coming back."

Xen turned to see the Ghoul appear between the trees, jogging with mechanical precision. He descended the slope without much pause.

"Did you find a camp site?" Xen asked.

"Yes," said Charon. "I will suggest dat you permit me to carry you dere."

"Is that really necessary?" Xen asked.

"Affirmative," said Changeling. "Local terrain is uneven, and you may have minor muscular spasms for the next several hours. This indicates a high probability of minor injuries that will contribute to risk of radiation injury or infection."

"All right," Xen said. "Just let me put away the..." She looked around for her sample jars.

"I have already stored the equipment," Changeling said, and went to pick up the cargo net.

"I guess I don't have to tell you to be careful," Xen said to Charon.

"You do not," Charon said, and picked her up and laid her over his left shoulder. Xen, with her elbows on Charon's lower shoulderblades, had an excellent view of Bell grinning. She wondered if she was blushing gray.

"Is this how you carried me before?" she asked. "I seem to recall I was unconscious both times."

"Dat is correct," Charon said. "Dis leaves my right hand free. Will dis be unacceptable?"

"No, definitely not," Xen said. "I won't tell you how to do your job."

Charon remained diplomatically silent as he walked up the slope. Xen's weight didn't seem to inconvenience him very much. Beside them, Bell and Changeling negotiated the incline without apparent difficulty.

"I want that gun when we get where we're going, though," Xen said. "I want to examine it. And the rounds. It's the only working xenotech we've found."

"So you don't think anything on the ship will work?" Bell asked.

"Well, something obviously does, or it wouldn't still be transmitting on the radio," Xen said. "And there was coolant actively flowing in some of the tubes in back. I'm just not sure I'll be able to get anything decipherable out of it."

"There was something that looked kind of like a computer terminal in the cockpit, but it was pretty trashed," Bell said. "I don't think it'll show anything."

"Oh." Xen sighed. Her left ankle twitched involuntarily. "Well, I guess that's not surprising. Anyway, I'll look over it tomorrow and see if I can find any clues to the interface. At least if there was a computer screen, we know they're not using direct neural implants or anything like that. There was nothing on my third contributor's body to suggest that, anyway."

"Oh, neural implants have some problems," Bell said. "Especially if they're wired to wetware. It's why the old USA used sensory suits instead."

Xen looked at her in surprise, to the extent that this was possible at her current angle. "You mean they do that in the Commonwealth?"

"Well, at the Institute," Bell said. "You want to talk about people who have it worse than androids." Xen saw her shiver. "They can't get very far from the life support. Neural implants allow a lot more interaction with a computer or a VR environment, but they also tend to reroute biological systems to conscious control. So you can either spend all your time telling yourself to breathe, or you can let the machines do it for you so you can do the work you got the implants for to begin with. When I ran away, they were working on developing specialized brain cell growth to allow for retaining more autonomic functions."

"That sounds like something that might be kept secret," Xen said.

"It damn well was," Bell said. "Still is. And I know a lot of things like that. All of us do."

"Oh." Xen felt inclined to shiver herself.

So there is very good reason to believe they'll want her back, beyond just the cost of replacement, Xen thought. I'm starting to see why she's so sure they'll send an android after her next time. I wouldn't mind having her around the Lab myself.

Now, there was an interesting thought. Although, if she ever did make it home, it was going to be crowded with Bunni, Tori, Charon, and Xen already. She would have to think about finding some bigger quarters. The Doctors had done it, hadn't they? And she had everything they had brought with them, except for the Vertibird. And, unlike the Doctors, she had Charon -

- Who was currently setting her on her feet in a small clearing. There was a small pond, hardly more than a puddle, off to one side. Well, she'd be able to wash, even if it was cold. That was one comfort.

"Thank you, Charon," Xen said. "Now let's see the gun."