[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Complete treatment could be inserted into their own bodies.
"Each crystal incorporates the ability to diagnose as well as to perform any
necessary medical work.
Resurrection of the deceased merely constitutes a more difficult but, as you
have seen, not impossible repair. It is simply a matter of rearranging and
reinvigorating the appropriate molecules."
"It works on humans too," she informed it.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"The crystal's powers of examination are considerable."
"I can see something like that working on the recently deceased," she
remarked, "but with someone who's been dead as long as yourself, I'd think the
brain patterns would have faded beyond hope of recovery."
"What are you asking it now?" Low demanded to know.
She waved him off."Just the basics, Boston. Hushnow, or I won't be able to
understand." Fuming silently at his inability to follow the conversation, the
Commander went silent.
"Learning how to preserve the dead," the Cocytan explained, "is a necessary
prelude to discovering how to revive them. That includes methods for the
preservation of brain patterns. Although it was not my field, I believe it has
to do with maintaining certain electrical flows in the absence of normal
biological activity.
Page 133
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
As you can see, I was given the finest handling of which our biologists and
physicists were capable. I
was, as I have already mentioned, not consulted in this."
"But you're the only one." Robbins made it a statement, not a question.
"Not at all.The museum spire is full of such exhibits, if only you knew how to
activate them. There are many that can be restored to life."
"No, I mean, you're the only Cocytan. The only preserved representative of the
dominant species. At least, you're the only one we've found."
Was that a smile? Low wondered as he stared at the alien. Or did the twitch of
beak and eyes signify something else entirely?
His thoughts drifted to Brink. "Ask it how long the benign effect of the
crystal lasts." She proceeded to translate.
"It varies," the Cocytan explained, "depending on the organism. In your case I
could not say. You are warm-blooded and have a closed circulatory system.
Beyond that I cannot speculate on the details of your internal anatomy."
"You still haven't told us why you were singled out for this special
treatment." Robbins's interviewing skills came automatically to the fore.
"What makes you so unique?"
The Cocytan lingered a moment before replying. "I had the misfortune to be
born brilliant."
"You don't feel honored by all this?"
"Honored?" The alien leaned forward so sharply that for an instant Robbins
considered retreating.
Instead, she held her ground. In her career she'd faced down all manner of
threats and weapons. The feeling she received from the Cocytan was not one of
menace or of friendship. Nor was it complete indifference. It ran deeper, and
she determined to identify it.
"You said that your people achieved several scientific breakthroughs at the
same time." Low spoke through Robbins. "You've discussed the life crystals.
What were the other ones?"
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
The Cocytan turned to him. "There was a machine. An instrumentality called the
Eye.Simple name for something so complex. I did not name it, though I was the
one guilty of its evolution."
"So you were more than an engineer." Robbins spoke slowly and carefully to
make sure there were no misunderstandings. "You were a scientist as well." She
glanced sharply at her companion. "Boston, this one was a scientist as well as
an engineer." Low simply nodded and let her get on with the translating.
"Engineering was my love," the Cocytan explained. "Science was my reason for
existence. Ultimately, it became the reason for my nonexistence, for that of
my friends and relations, for " The creature broke off and began anew.
"Let me tell you about the machine.
"I did not develop the Eye by myself, of course. No mechanism so complex, so
awesome in its capabilities, could be the product of one individual. But I was
responsible for the underlying theorems and for much of the basic engineering.
"The concept was then taken up by others, elaborated upon and, eventually,
built. It took time. Some called it magic, but of course it was no such thing.
It was simply very advanced applied science.
"At the time, I was quite convinced that the mechanism ought to be built. My
enthusiasm was shared by a small coterie of fellow researchers. Within what
you would call the scientific establishment there was much skepticism, but the
proposal was met with an open mind. Give us a concept, a design, my group was
told, and it will be fabricated.
"Thus challenged, what else could I do but comply? The necessary schematics
were provided." The wing-flaps on the Cocytan's back moved more rapidly.A sign
of excitement, Low wondered, or agitation? Or some alien emotion that would
remain forever unknown to them?
"In scope the Eye was not as grand as many other projects. We had raised
Page 134
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
cities that scraped the skies, run tunnels and temples to relaxation beneath
the seas, probed the very heart of the planet. We had shrunk intricate
machines to the size of cells, whose components consisted of individual atoms.
You have encountered one of these yourselves, in the form of the life
crystals. The Eye was a greater undertaking than some, less than others. It
was simply ... the Eye."
Robbins translated for Low, then asked, "This Eye, what did it do that was so
important?"
The Cocytan shifted slightly to loosen cramped muscles. "It allowed one to
enter another plane of existence, to visit a different dimension. To transcend
the limitations of time and space as they are generally known. Passing through
the Eye stripped an individual of physical substance, leaving only the state
ofbeing behind. Yet all of that individual's original self, including the
physical, was compacted and retained within the being that remained, much as
one might dehydrate a fruit or vegetable.
"The process was quick, painless and liberating."
"What's it talking about?" Low put an arm around Robbins's shoulder.
"I'm not sure. It's pretty complicated. Just because I understand the words
doesn't mean I'm getting all the concepts. I think he's talking about being
able to go into another dimension." She sought clarification.
"For purposes of explanation your interpretation will suffice, little
traveler. Within this other dimension all [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]