Nickolai tried to imagine that much metal being shoved into his side, and paled visibly.Nickolai tried to imagine that much metal being shoved into his side, and paled visibly. Shardik smiled and said, "Don't worry. You're in the finest medical facility in the galaxy, as far as we know." "How... How long was I out?" "Well, the accident only happened at two Lome', and it's about six Arie' now... about nineteen hours?" "Oh." He was silent for a moment, then looked over Shardik's shoulder and out the door. "Hello, Mother." "Kolya, are you alright?" "He's perfectly healthy, Ms Dittrich. There's not a thing wrong with him." "Well, that's good. What's going to happen to that boy?" "Wait a minute," Nickolai shouted. "Just wait, okay? What happened? Who stabbed me?" "Matseh," Furry replied. Nickolai absorbed the first word she'd uttered since he'd woken with a dull sense of surprise. "The kid from the mechforce game?" he asked. She nodded. "Not even the AI was sure at first, because there were a lot of people in there. But he left fingerprints on the knife, not to mention a dozen other clues." "Actually," Shardik said, "his worst mistake was bragging about it to his friends. Not only did one of his friend turn him in, but the AI heard him. Stupid people shouldn't breathe." "Shouldn't breed?" Nance asked, as if unsure of what he'd heard. "Presumably, if they're not breathing, they'll have a hard time doing that, too." "Kolya..." Furry said, gently. "Your mother and have been having a long conversation." "Yes, Kolya," his mother said, picking up the conversation. "I owe you an apology. At first I did not want to sit in the same room with her. But she is a remarkably strong and determined person, and I was wrong. Of all the people on this voyage you could be spending time with, she is a good choice." "Mom... what made you change your mind?" "I'm ashamed to admit it, but you had to get stabbed for me to see it. That book I gave you told me that Pendorians do not care what happens to Terrans, and watching how they took care of you I saw that just wasn't true. And seeing how concerned she was convinced me of her honesty." Furry took two steps forward and leapt the full meter and a half to the bed, landing smoothly on both feet. |