Scene 1: Evie's Lab

Narrator:

Evie was coming to bed later and later, spending twenty, twenty-eight, and eventually thirty-six hours in her ancillary lab before crawling to bed. She would come in, unresponsive, and shamble to her pallet, falling asleep moments after lying down.
Becca went to check up on Evie after a particularly long stint away. The engineer was slumped over her workbench, across papers covered in long, mathematical formulas. Becca rested a hand on Evie's shoulder.
Evie woke with a start and papers scattered off the bench.

Evie:

I don't know!

Narrator:

The mantis automaton came to life and quickly gathered up the mess, placing a neat stack on the end on the bench.

Becca:

Evie, you've missed several meals. What are you working on?

Evie:

I must have dozed off. Here.

Becca:

What is this? It looks like gibberish.

Evie:

That's a Kerr metric, which describes the geometry of space-time in the vicinity of a mass M rotating with angular momentum J where where r sub s is the Schwarzschild radius.

Becca:

If you say so.

Evie:

But inside a rotating spherical shell, the acceleration due the Lense-Thirring effect would be....

Becca:

More gibberish. That doesn't explain what it is.

Evie:

It's pointless and it's wrong. It's like it kills the MOUS or something. If I hadn't seen it, I would say it's physically impossible. Unless there's a GACHO involved, I can't figure it it, but even then--

Becca:

A what?

Evie:

(sigh) A gravitationally anomalous compact halo object.

Becca:

So, what is the MOUS anyway?

Evie:

Mandatory observation/universal synchronization.

Becca:

Well, that makes it perfectly clear. How does all this work, anyway?

Evie:

Do you want the simple explanation or the complex one?

Becca:

Simple, please.

Evie:

(sigh) The borrowed time field slows us down, so even though it takes fifty-six hundred years, it only feels like four months. Once you reach your destination, you tell the snapback you want out of field, and the snapback asks the MOUS 'What time is it?' and it...uh...snaps you back.

Becca:

That's time-travel.

Evie:

For all intents and purposes, yes. But you can't go back to before the field went up. That's why we call it 'borrowed-time', you see?

Becca:

No. If that's the simple explanation, than what's the complex one?

Evie:

We don't know. We don't make them; the Vencume trade them for potatoes and wheat. It's why we're always careful to give them plants that won't produce seeds.

Becca:

So, you're trying to figure it out now?

Evie:

She showed it to me. She tried to explain it to me. And it still didn't make any sense!

Narrator:

Evie crumpled the papers in front of her and threw them at the wall.
The mantis picked up the wadded papers and set them back on the workbench.
Evie ran her fingers through her hair; it was getting greasy again and the dark roots were getting longer.

Evie:

I can't do it, Becca. I can't figure out how iMala made that thing work.

BECCA:

But if she explained it—

Evie:

It uses a different kind of math! I have to unlearn everything I know about relativity and causality!

BECCA:

Well, ask that Vencume iSkandar. It said they use the borrowed time principle to mature the clones quickly and the girls said they put the garden into advancement so they can harvest the crops quickly.

Evie:

Vesta, Diana, Minerva! It makes no damned sense!

NARRATOR:

Evie shoved all the papers off the workbench. As the mantis moved forward to pick them up, she held out her hands.

Evie:

NO! I want them there!

NARRATOR:

The mantis sat back.
Still angry, Evie grabbed the mantis and knocked it over.

Evie:

That's all I can do, is put together some dumb clunker that picks up trash! Meanwhile, children understand how time works better than I do! I went to school and spent all that time studying and look how far it's gotten me!

NARRATOR:

She kicked the papers across the room. The mantis picked itself up.

BECCA:

Evie, you're tired and hungry and frustrated. When's the last time you ate something?

Evie:

You said I had to lose weight.

BECCA:

Not like this. Go eat something and clean up and take a nap. Go get some real sleep. You're not going to figure it out by wearing yourself out.

Evie:

Yeah. Yeah, I guess I need a break. (sigh) There's got to be a better way to figure this out. I just need to find it.

Scene 2: Laundry

NARRATOR:

Becca was finding other things to do and, it turned out, there was a surprising amount to do a ship. Today, she was helping a couple of redheads with laundry: aCadia, and aNevay. iLyssa stormed in.

Ilyssa:

You, Doctor-Doctor. There’s something wrong with iMala. Come fix her.

Becca:

Is she ill?

Ilyssa:

She’s laying in bed. She won’t get up and won’t talk to us.

Scene 3: Laboratory

Narrator:

In the laboratory, iLyssa led Becca to a door at the back. There was a room with a spartan bed and a workbench covered in drawings and odds bits of equipment. It was dark and papers crinkled underfoot as Becca approached the bed.
iMala was lying on her side, fully clothed, facing the wall with her arms over her head. Becca sat next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Becca:

iMala, are you not feeling well?

Imala:

Go away.

Ilyssa:

There’s something wrong with her. Just get her fixed, OK?

SOUND: imala is crying

Becca:

iMala, is there something bothering you?

Imala:

I don’t want to talk about it. Just go away.

Becca:

(internal)Ah, it’s not an illness. She’s just being a teen-aged girl.

Ilyssa:

Get her fixed!

Becca:

iLyssa, could you leave us alone for a while?

Ilyssa:

Results, Doctor-Doctor. That's why you're here.

SOUND: she leaves

Becca:

Are you sad about oDele?

Imala:

Nuh-uh.

Becca:

You’re not sad about your sister dying?

Imala:

I don’t care about that dumb pilot. We can always make more. Who cares?

Becca:

(internal)Are they so caviler about death? Do they really not care?  (external) I think you’re saying that you don’t care because you don’t want to be hurt. But you do care, so you’re feeling guilty that you don’t want to care. It’s OK to be sad about someone dying. It’s not OK to beat yourself up about something that wasn’t your fault.

Imala:

What if people die and it is your fault?

Becca:

Well, you can feel guilty about it, but it’s all about the circumstances—

Imala:

Because I didn’t want to kill those people. It wasn’t even what I had been working on. There’s so much time spent in deep-space, and wouldn’t it be better if it only took a couple of days? Or a couple hours?

Becca:

Wait, why are you...?

Imala:

I was working on a better field generator. I didn’t want it to be a weapon or anything. I just wanted it to attach to their ship and send them away. But they broke it! (starts to sob) iDana and iLyssa wanted all those people to die, but I just wanted them to go away! I don’t want to make bombs! I just want everyone’s life to be better!

Becca:

Oh, iMala....That's why the Vencume call you Gentle Blue. (internal)  And what do they call your sisters? Mean Blue and Bossy Blue?  (external) You don’t have to make bombs... You don’t have to hurt people if you don’t want to.

Imala:

(still crying) They made us to be weapons. I wanted to send them away, but iLyssa was so angry that she turned it into a killing machine. That’s all we are. We’re just supposed to fight battles and win wars. That’s why they made so many of the others. We’re just supposed to give them weapons and fighters and guns. I want to do something else.

Becca:

I’ll tell you what...Would you like to be a smart person who helps others? Someone who doesn't hurt anyone but actually makes them feel better?

Imala:

Oh! Yes!

Becca:

Well...I’m a doctor. So my job is to see how people are hurting and make it not hurt. You see?

Imala:

Do you think the Vencume copied that?

Becca:

I bet they did...And if they didn't, then maybe we could reconnect so you can learn a few things from me. Would you like that?

Imala:

But you don’t like people poking around in your head.

Becca:

No, I didn’t then. But no one had explained it to me. I didn’t have a say in the matter. I want to give you this. I want to show you how you can use your ability to help people.

Imala:

We can do that. Penemue will let us do that.

Narrator:

iMala had named at least four other Vencume besides iSkandar, as Becca came to discover: Penemue, Mirabilis, Renatus, and Buer. Renatus had been in charge of the other lab ship that had attacked the Tong Dizhou so long ago; it had also been the dead Vencume in the escape pod. Mirabilis was in charge of this current Tzikzik operation and Buer was second-in-command. From what Becca could tell, the Vencume were unused to individual names; they were called by their role or function. iSkandar called Penemue "Librarian" and Renatus was "Other Scientist". Becca learned to recognize them by their voices, but iMala insisted you could tell them on sight by the scales on their feet. Iskandar had long thin scales and Penemue's were triangular.

Scene 4: Connection Room

(Because Penemue is a Vencume, all its lines will have the chittering effect)

Narrator:

Becca and iMala left the laboratory and went down a couple levels. In the room were several human-shaped chairs. Becca had only seen the one before, but maybe things had changed? Maybe she only saw the one the first time.
Penemue, the Vencume responsible for data-bank connections, shifted from pale blue to light-purple when Becca and iMala entered the room.

Penemue:

The Doctor wishes to swim once more.

Becca:

(chittering) With more purpose. I want to give her what I can.

NArrator:

The Vencume shifted to a pale blue-green. iMala ran a hand over it.

Imala:

(chittering) She wants to teach me.

Penemue:

Gentle Blue wishes to learn healing from the Doctor. (pause) The ocean is taxed and wishes coaxing.

Imala:

(chittering) We wish no hard decisions. Would this not calm the waters?

Narrator:

iMala had laid down in one chair; the Vencume was massaging the child's head, long fingers turning white and pressing and probing the top of her skull. Becca laid down in the other chair.

Becca:

(chittering) Is this direct from me to her?

Penemue:

You are together in our ocean.

Imala:

(chittering) Penemue, Librarian, teach me how to swim.

Becca:

(internal) It's like a religious ritual. Is this a form of prayer?

Narrator:

Becca felt the faint pressure across the top of her head. Everything was warm and fuzzy. There was a sound of static and the room filled with light.

Scene 5: Becca's Vision

Narrator:

Becca is sitting at the old oak table in her family’s house. It's covered with plates of cookies. iMala sits opposite her.

Imala:

What’s this place?

Becca:

This is my home. When I'm sad, I come here.

Narrator:

Becca takes a bite out of a cookie. iMala points at brown-headed girl with bright green eyes reading in the other room.

Imala:

Who’s that girl?

Becca:

That’s my daughter, Huri.

Imala:

Why are you here and not there?

Becca:

Because her father died when she was young. I want her to go to a good school and have a good life, so I’m out here and sending money back home.

Imala:

Didn't the Shipping Authority freeze your account? (takes a bite of cookie and talks with her mouth full) Do you miss her?

Becca:

Yes. (sniffles) Very much.

Imala:

This is a good cookie.

Becca:

I’m glad you like it.

Imala:

Are you using me as a replacement for your daughter?

Becca:

I might.

Imala:

(taking another bite) Did you do that with Evie? She's younger than you.

Evie:

Hi, guys.

Becca:

Why are you here?

Evie:

You wanted to ask me a question.

Narrator:

Evie places a plate of cookies down on the table and pushes them forward. Becca takes one of the cookies off the new plate.

Becca:

I wanted to ask you about your sister, Gwen.

Evie:

I can’t give you that information. I don’t have access to it.

Becca:

This cookie has absolutely no flavor at all.

Evie:

iMala, dear. You know I love you, don't you? Have a cookie.

Imala:

Those don't taste as good, though.

Becca:

You can't talk to her. She's not really here.

Narrator:

iMala looks over her shoulder at Becca's daughter Huri.

Imala:

I want to be that girl. I want a real mother.

Penemue:

We want to be your mother.

NARRATOR:

The Vencume holds out a plate of misshapen cookies.
Becca puts her hands over her eyes.

Evie:

All the cookies are gone.

Narrator:

When she takes her hands from her face, Becca sees the empty table. iMala is licking her finger and collecting crumbs.

Imala:

I'll take what I can get, and I'll give what I can. If I plant enough seeds, maybe they will grow.

Narrator:

Becca nods and drinks from the cup of tea that is suddenly in front of her.

Scene 6: Connection Room

Penemue:

Peculiar creatures. You apply context where none exists.

Imala:

I need a nap.

Narrator:

Becca nodded. There was something new in her head, but it was still formless.

Scene 7: Laboratory

Narrator:

Back in the laboratory, iMala kicked off her slippers and climbed into bed.

Imala:

Tuck me in?

Becca:

Of course.

Imala:

Kiss goodnight?

Becca:

Yes. (kiss)

Imala:

I'm going to dream about making people better.

Scene 8: Mess-hall

NARRATOR:

When Becca awoke from her nap, she looked at her right hand and thought it shimmered. The left hand, by comparison, looked perfectly normal.
In the mess-hall, all the girls had the same shimmering quality.
Evie was rubbing the bridge of her nose. She had dark circles under her eyes. Her hands shimmered, and her jaw, but most of her face was still and dark. Evie opened her eyes and gave Becca a look.

Evie:

What?

Becca:

(internal) Her eyes are practically glowing!  (external) It's nothing.

Evie:

Nothing, she says. (hurumph) Your eyes bothering you or something? You keep looking at things weird.

Narrator:

Two Vencume spun into the room to talk to the three designers. iLyssa's eyes narrowed, iDana nodded gravely, and iMala traced a circle on the table in front of her.
And iMala looked up at Becca. Their eyes locked and the child smiled.

Evie:

Earth to Dr. Tabib, hello? Why are you so distracted?

Becca:

iMala and I connected with the data-bank earlier. Maybe it is affecting my eyes. Everyone seems to be shimmering.

Evie:

Like wiggly or glittery?

Becca:

It's hard to describe. Both, I suppose. But you only shimmer in places.

Evie:

Let Mirabilis know. You know? The one in charge of this project...it might know what's going on.

Scene 9: Vencume Examination

(they chitter the whole conversation)

NARRATOR:

The Vencume Mirabilis drew a hand away from Becca's face.

Mirabilis:

Doctor's sensors have not changed. This effect is unknown.

Becca:

I see it in my right hand, but not my left.

Iskandar:

There is no perceivable difference.

Becca:

No, but I see it on Evie as well, in places. Like on one of her ears but not the other.

Evie:

What about my ears?

Mirabilis:

Demonstrate the effect.

Becca:

Well, her right ear, here. But the line is traced here, under the nose, to over here, under her left ear, then it curves like so, across the neck.

Narrator:

iSkandar took Evie's head in one hand and traced the line with a straightened finger.

Evie:

(waekly) I'm really not cool with this.

Iskandar:

Not the top of the head?

Becca:

Only the eyes. But I also see it in you two; iSkandar shimmers more than you do, Mirabilis.

Mirabilis:

Is Doctor familiar with Engineer's injuries?

Evie:

Oh, that's impossible.

Iskandar:

Humans have a quality, it is ittichitti...You see things that are not there. You have thoughts not based on the observed. Not a vision, not a thought....

Evie:

(not chittering) Imagination?

Iskandar:

There. That quality. It terrifies you.

Becca:

It's not terrifying.

Evie:

Uh..yeah. When it plays tricks with your head, or if it gives you nightmares? Yeah, it is.

Becca:

So, I'm imagining it.

Iskandar:

So it would seem.

Evie:

But I didn't tell you about the ear, did I?

Becca:

You might have. That whole period is still a little fuzzy for me.

Iskandar:

Doctor swam with Gentle Blue. This is an after-effect.

Mirabilis:

What did Doctor ask?

Becca:

I might have wanted to know more about the cloning process. The genetic mapping?

Evie:

So, you're looking for it now. Do you get it when you're in the garden?

Iskandar:

The garden is in advancement right now. It is not safe to go there.

Becca:

I don't know if I would get it there.

Mirabilis:

Advancement will end soon. See if the effect lingers there.

Scene 10: The Garden

Narrator:

When it was announced that advancement had ended, Becca took the pod out to the garden section. She had to take a lift to the center of the section, where the spin had the least amount of pull, but the short trip from the lift to the pod was less taxing than trying to cross the bridge. The conduit hissed past her and the pod moved up and down, side to side, through the flexible connections between sections. Once in the garden section, she kicked to the lift and rode it down, into the pull.
In the outer ring, Becca accidentally tried to open a door with her left hand and got no response before using her right as Evie had instructed. There was a prickling sensation.
The door was not to a Human garden. This room was red-lit and there was a thick, warm mist. The sea-smell was choking, and she knew she had gone the wrong direction, but she was curious and had to look in.
Plants here were thin and tall. Most were red--or looked red in the light, but a few were a dark purple.  She took a pinch from one succulent leaf and thought it smelled like pine or citrus. It tasted much the same when she pressed it to her tongue and spat the sticky sap away.
Looking past the red-leaved plants, Becca through she saw a pool of watercress. There was also what looked like a small field of grass but, on closer inspection, she saw it was rice. The large, green leaves of taro plants sat next to another pool of algae.

Becca:

No wonder it smells like sea-weed in here.

Narrator:

Leaving this garden, she crossed the corridor to the other, Human, garden. It was much drier here and the lighting was a strong, pale, yellow.

Becca:

The trees are taller than I remember. But it was out of field, wasn't it? They've allowed time to take some natural course here. 

Narrator:

The squash seedlings she had planted with the redhead aNnora were now crawling vines with rich yellow fruit. These shimmered only slightly.

Becca:

So the effect is still here, or I only think it is. aNnora did say the Vencume had done something to the seeds.

NARRATOR:

There was a stand of trees to one side. There was hardly any shimmer there and she crossed to something her eyes could fix on. A grape bower spanned behind them, thick with dark, purple fruit. Becca sat down and leaned up against the tree, looking up at the gnarled branches. She was unsure of the type of tree or how long ago the Vencume had planted it. It was covered in tiny white flowers.

Gordon:

Dr. Tabib?

Narrator:

She swung around to see two tired, terrified eyes peering out of the shadows. They seemed familiar.

Gordon:

Is that you? Are they with you?

Becca:

Gordon?

Narrator:

He limped out, jumpsuit torn and stained. It was Gordon, but there were streaks of gray in his long blond hair and full beard. He had lost weight and his nails were chewed down. Becca recoiled in terror.

Gordon:

I never thought I'd see a Human again. I'd almost forgotten. I saw the stars...I've had visions.

Becca:

(internal)  If he was in the garden when...

Gordon:

Don't leave me.

Becca:

How long have you been here?

Gordon:

I'm not sure. I lost count. Oh...but you are real. I'm sorry. I'm sorry...(starts to cry) They took me here. They took my shoulder and...(worried) They aren't here. They brought me here. At least we can eat.

Becca:

(internal) Is this something I'm actually seeing or something I think I'm seeing? Play along with it for now. See if anyone else notices and you'll know for sure. (external) You can't stay here. You have to come with me.

Gordon:

The door is always locked. I've tried...I've tried.

Becca:

We can go. We can get out. Come on.

Narrator:

She rested her right hand on the panel and the door swished open. Becca crossed the threshold.

Gordon:

You're an angel.

Becca:

(internal) This isn't real. You're imagining it. You'll pass someone in a hallway and that will settle it.

Scene 11: Pod

(This is mostly happening in Becca's head, so it's all internal to her)

Narrator:

They went up the lift and floated out to the pod. Gordon seemed oddly graceful in the lack of gravity, but Becca was only thinking about how her mind was obviously slipping away. Even when she found herself running out of momentum and Gordon gave her a little push to the pod, she was sure none of it was actually happening. And, as they rode out to the other section of ship, Becca tried hard to not think about the human stink next to her.

BECCA:

It's in your head. You have to report it to Mirabilis. You're remembering your time on the lifeboat.

Narrator:

Smells bring back memories.

BECCA:

That's what that is. 

Narrator:

You bit off more than you can chew and it's eating a hole in your brain. You feel guilty.

Becca:

You want to go home and you're imagining other humans because you really are lonely, aren't you? 

Narrator:

Doesn't it feel nice to be wanted? 

BECCA:

Don't you like to be needed like that? He's obviously injured.

NARRATOR:

What an imagination you have!

BECCA:

Look at his arm and how he can hardly use it. Oh, wonderful doctor, only you can help him.

Narrator:

Don't you miss your husband? Look, you've gone out and gotten a replacement. What would your father think?

Becca:

Isn't the ceiling a little taller here? It's like a church, isn't it? Do you remember when you went to the big cathedral with your family? You were so young and looked up at the mosaics and wasn't it wonderful? You thought all the windows were made of candy.

NARRATOR:

And then you met the most wonderful man in the world and he gave you a daughter.

Becca:

What kind of woman are you that you aren't at home raising her?

Narrator:

And there was Evie with a Vencume. Was it iSkandar, who shimmered a little more than Mirabilis and had long, thin scales on its feet? Why was the Vencume turning that awful deep purple? The skin all mottled and spiky... Almost red now...

Becca:

Oh, Evie, your face is so pale, even the parts that don't shimmer. They're both so still, still, like statues.

Narrator:

And Evie is speaking but her fists are so tight, tight, white knuckles and her jaw is tight, tight, like tetanus, and that must be iSkandar with wiggling digits and they're both so upset and...

Becca:

Tell me it's not real. Tell me I'm imagining it.

Scene 12: Becca and Evie's Quarters

(ok, back to reality. Becca can stop freaking out now. Iskandar chitters all its lines.)

NARRATOR:

Becca had a headache. iSkandar and Evie were arguing.

Iskandar:

Librarian might not allow it.

Evie:

(chittering) I can understand why Penemue would be hesitant to allow a connection, but Gordon will have to be able to understand what's being said on this ship. There’s also...what he’s been doing this whole time. He wasn't in the garden the entire time. You can’t imagine what kind of damage can be caused by an improperly motivated Human.

Iskandar:

It is unfortunate, but we do not know the quality of Broken Human.

Evie:

(chittering) There's nothing we can do about it now. He's already in our frame of reference. We'll have to consider it time served. He's lucky it was only a few months.

Becca:

Connect him. I want to know how long he was actually in there. I'm...I'm a doctor. I have to maintain the welfare of the crew.

Evie:

He's not on the crew anymore. Captain Wainwright said.

Becca:

Captain Wainwright isn't here! (pause) That's a human being and I'm held by a set of...I took an oath. OK? This isn't real, so what does it matter?

Evie:

Oh... This is very real. This is just really bad timing.

Iskandar:

We will talk with the Library directly.

Becca:

(chittering) You’re going behind Penemue’s back?

Evie:

Vencume don’t have backs to go behind or heads to go over. (chittering) This is politics.

Iskandar:

Engineer is correct. There is still debate on the value of the Tzikzik project. Some think it is too dangerous, others think it is too stingy.

Becca:

(chittering) Which camp are you?

Iskandar:

Doctor asks this question?

Narrator:

The three moved down the hall to a small lift. Becca had the feeling that its size was related to its visibility, so they were even taking a back-door.
iSkandar gestured to the lift.

Iskandar:

There is a pod, too small for all of us. Take it four sections to stern and wait.

Evie:

(chitering) And you?

Iskandar:

Send the pod back. We will continue from the landing.

Scene 13: Pod and landing

Narrator:

The lift was hardly big enough for two Humans; it may have accommodated a single Vencume. At the top, the two women were in near-weightlessness and kicked to the small pod that would take them between sections.
Evie was stone-faced the entire trip.

Becca:

You can't still hate him. So much has happened since then. Look at what the twins did to him; that arm might never work properly again.

Evie:

That’s too easily fixed. I know you’ve wanted to watch the Vencume process. Won’t that be a nice example? You’ll go back as the best doctor that ever there was.

Becca:

And you’ll go back with a stunning new ship design to shock and awe everyone.

Evie:

Everyone gets something out of this.

NARRATOR:

Now, in a section she had never been in before, Becca floated out of the pod to wait by the lift. Evie sent the pod back.

SOUND: pod leaving

Becca:

I think Gordon turning up now is a good sign. It's like we get a second chance on some level of...death assumed. The Shipping Authority will be pleased he isn’t dead.

Evie:

It's a bad sign. The twins had him hidden somewhere. They took him there and they knew that the garden had to be advanced. They've got a mean streak.

Becca:

But you and Gordon never got along. So if the children were using a model of the world based on what was in your head, they would have used something like that against him.

Evie:

So it's my fault?

Becca:

I didn't say that. You also have to consider that they were obviously taking care of him. They had to feed him and leaving him in the garden...well, they left him somewhere relatively safe. He didn't starve to death. As much as they might have abused him, they do seem to care for him a little.

Evie:

(changing the subject) We don’t know where we’re going from here. iSkandar didn’t say.

Becca:

It should be along shortly...There should be hand-holds or something here. This is terrible. I should be better at this....

Evie:

Yeah, you should. How did you ever pass zero-gee training?

SOUND: pod arriving

Becca:

The training was on a Human ship. Oh...It looks like iSkandar is—

Narrator:

Evie turned. She halted and paled.
iSkandar was exiting the pod.
The Vencume was not lumbering or shuffling. The top half floated easily out, fanning its five long arms in a graceful, star-shaped radial. It twisted slightly; the five bulky feet had flattened into long, wide paddles. The arms arced smoothly behind it as it left the pod.
It was beautiful.
Becca heard a choking sound beside her. Evie had curled into a tight, fetal ball and held her head with white-knuckled fear. Her eyes widened and pupils dilated.

Becca:

Evie?

Narrator:

Becca reached out to her. Evie's arms were crossed at the elbows over her knees. Her wide eyes stared past her forearms at nothing.
Becca turned back to iSkandar. The Vencume slowly kicked and floated next to them. The move was smooth and calm. Its body twisted in zero-gee, reaching out and forward, and glided towards them.

Evie:

No...Get it away!

Narrator:

Evie tried to make herself smaller and shut her eyes tightly. iSkandar reached forward and ran a blue hand over Evie.

Iskandar:

Engineer is behaving strangely.

Evie:

Don't touch me! Becca, don't let it touch me. I can't....

Becca:

(internal) What did the Tzikzik that attacked the Tong Dizhou look like? (external, chittering) iSkandar, go back a bit. Let me get her down to where there's some spin. She can't deal with you in zero-gee.

Iskandar:

Go down five levels.

Narrator:

Becca took Evie's arm and pulled her to the lift. Evie was shaking and cowered in a corner the trip down.

Evie:

Is it gone?

Becca:

What's wrong with you? You know iSkandar. He would never hurt you.

Evie:

God, Becca. You weren't there. You don't know what they look like.

Becca:

I can guess.

Evie:

I don't know what came over me. I just...It looked like...I'm sorry.

Becca:

Don't apologize to me.

Evie:

I'm OK. Really. It's fine. I'll be fine. It was just a shock, I guess. I'm lucky I didn't wet myself. It just came over me. I don't...

Narrator:

The two women exited the lift and sent it back.
iSkandar arrived on their level. The Vencume shuffled out of the lift.

Iskandar:

Is Engineer still distressed?

Evie:

(chittering) I'm alright.

Iskandar:

Engineer is still distressed. Voice is distressed. There is a smell...sharp. Twice now, this has been encountered before.

Evie:

(chitering) No, no. It’s just leftovers. I’ll be fine. I just...it was a visual thing.

Iskandar:

Engineer still seems distressed. Doctor will tend to it.

Scene 14: The Library

Music: Kinoma "milk (Black Sun Remix)"

Narrator:

The Vencume held a hand to a panel and opened the door.
This led to a large chamber, many thousands of meters wide and deep. Everywhere, laid out in neat rows, were shallow tanks, maybe three meters by three. The walkway between was only a meter wide. No, it wasn’t that the tanks were shallow, but the lip of one only came a meter up from the walkway. The tanks themselves were deep; it was the walkway that was raised.
But they weren’t tanks; they were openings that curled up the sides of the ship’s section. It was a vast ocean...orbiting the central column of the section. It stretched on forever. Becca realized it was the entire section of the ship. She leaned over the side of one opening. Something waved just below the surface that looked like a sea-anemone or...
Under the water, were millions of shimmering Vencume. They were rooted in place and undulated with a deep, invisible wave.

Becca:

(chittering) iSkandar, what is this place? Is this a nursery?

Iskandar:

This is the Library.

Evie:

(chittering) I thought the data-bank was a computer.

Iskandar:

No artificial thing can work this effectively. The system is too complex.

Evie:

They gave up on cybernetics! The data-bank is a super-organism....

Narrator:

iSkandar waved a hand over the surface of the water. There was a deep vibration. The surface of the water danced. The sound was sudden and full.

(the conversation between iskandar and the library has a low rumble to it. They are speaking through vibrations that only make a little sense to the two humans.)

Library:

NOW SINGLE DIRECT CURRENT REQUEST TO US NOW SINGLE TZIKZIK CURRENT HAS PAST GONE AROUND LIBRARIAN OBJECT CURRENT THERE IS SINGLE NO INTERMEDIARY OBJECT TO US

NARRATOR:

Evie and Becca looked at each other with the same question. Tzikzik?
iSkandar had fanned out two hands in the tank. The long digits turned blue and vibrated.

Iskandar:

The two Humans are with us. A third has been found. Will you allow connection?

Narrator:

Becca looked out across the surface as the underwater Vencume shifted color from dull gray to bright green. The water around iSkandar’s hands danced in vibratory patterns.

Library:

CURRENT WHAT IS INDIVIDUAL ITS NATURE UNKNOWN QUERRY

Iskandar:

Their reproduction system has led to biological differentiation. The mind is unfamiliar. Information content is unknown. It has conflicting motives and is damaged.

Library:

UNKNOWN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MUST IMPERATIVE BE COLLECTED DIRECTION CURRENT ABERRANT BEHAVIOR INDIVIDUAL IS NOTED OBJECT BY US UNKNOWN IS DAMAGE PAST RESULT OF BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENTIATION QUERRY

Iskandar:

Humans have no ocean. They stand alone as pools. It is isolated.

Library:

FUTURE THERE WILL BE CONNECTION OBJECT UNKNOWN NEW INFORMATION COLLECTED IMPERATIVE WE DESIRE IT OBJECT UNKNOWN

Narrator:

iSkandar raised its hands out of the water and started to shuffle to the door. Evie ran up behind and laid a hand on the Vencume.

Evie:

(chittering) Hey, what did the library mean by Tzikzik? You’re a Vencume, aren’t you?

Iskandar:

I am Tzikzik. I am Blue Design.

Becca:

(chittering) That's why iMala gave you that name.

Narrator:

As they followed the...Tzikzik...out of the library, Evie hugged herself tightly. iSkandar entered the lift.

Iskandar:

I will go ahead and enter the pod. Engineer will not be distressed.

SOUND: doors shut

Evie:

I feel like we should be walking out of there with a couple of stone tablets.

Becca:

iSkandar mentioned something else back there.

Evie:

What’s that?

Becca:

There’s only three Humans on this ship.