A Different Flesh (40 page)

Authors: Harry Turtledove

BOOK: A Different Flesh

12.16Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

“You had him some little while yourself. Did you let him make all his own choices?” The silence at the other end of the connection answered that for Howard. “You can't with a sim, can you?” the doctor said. “Believe me, I know that.”

“Go to hell,” the young man said. “I'm breaking off now. You're probably tracking this call.” The connection went blank.

“Thank you for giving him back, anyhow,” Howard said to the dead line. Then he gathered himself and rang Coleman. He was not surprised to find that the security chief had already given orders for picking up Matt, and for going after the caller.

Howard found himself hoping the young man would get away. That did surprise him.

“It's no good, Ken,” Melody said. They were sitting side by side at the edge of the hotel bed, but he had known long before she spoke that they would not be making love in it tonight. The way she'd sat stiffly, not looking at him, in the passenger seat of the horseless as he drove away from calling the DRC had been plenty to tell him that. Now she went on, “After today, in fact, we'd probably be better traveling separately.”

“Why?” he said. Down deep he knew why, though, and proved it to himself by continuing, “You agreed we had to give Matt back.”

“I know I did. It was the only thing we could do, and I hated it. I don't see how I'll ever do anything but hate it, either, and being with you just keeps reminding me of it. I'm sorry.”

“The rewards of being right,” he said.

That earned him a glare. “Call it whatever you like. But if we stay together, I think I'll end up hating you too. I'd sooner break clean now.”

“However you like,” he said tonelessly. He suspected she would end up hating him anyway, convincing herself that everything that had gone wrong was his fault. It was already too late for him to do anything about that.

He and Melody slept with their backs to each other. The small space of mattress between them might as well have been a chasm.

The IV that slowly dripped into Matt's arm for a while gave him familiar pain. He slept again on a familiar bed in a familiar room. His breakfast came on a familiar tray at a familiar time. After so much strangeness, all that was reassuring.

Aside from the temporary nuisance of the IV, he felt much better. The towers had the medicines to cure the sicknesses he had come down with on his travels, and the special medicine to help keep him from falling sick so easily again.

He had females once more, when he felt well enough for them. That was good, after doing so long without. When the couplings were done, they would ask him in sign-talk about his adventures on the outside. He answered as best he could. They were curious, and it helped pass the time.

Go in horseless, like on television
, he would sign, and point to himself. That never failed to draw awed murmurs and excited “
Hoo
”s from whatever female he was with.

Better than here. Here everything the same all the time
, one of the females signed wistfully.

He shrugged and yawned, baring his large yellow teeth.
After while, going in horseless same all the time too
, he answered, full of the ennui of the experienced traveler.

One afternoon, the female called Jane asked,
Why people take you from here
?

People want to help make sims free
, he signed back.
People want to make
me
free
.

“Hoo,”
Jane said softly.
You go outside tower, you free
?

Matt thought that over. No matter how often Ken and Melody had used the word, he still could not quite grasp what they meant by it.
Not sure
, he signed. Then, slowly, he shook his head.
No, not free. People outside like people here. Say they let sims do what sims want, but really only let sims do what sims want when they want that too
.

“Ah,”
Jane said, and nodded. She understood that perfectly. After a while, they coupled again. Then a nurse came to take Matt away.

More needles
? he signed. The nurse nodded. He sighed and went with her. The afternoon moved on toward twilight.

About the Author

Harry Turtledove is an American novelist of science fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy.
Publishers Weekly
has called him the “master of alternate history,” and he is best known for his work in that genre. Some of his most popular titles include
The Guns of the South
, the novels of the Worldwar series, and the books in the Great War trilogy. In addition to many other honors and nominations, Turtledove has received the Hugo Award, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, and the Prometheus Award. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles, earning a PhD in Byzantine history. Turtledove is married to mystery writer Laura Frankos, and together they have three daughters. The family lives in Southern California.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Mauricio DÃaz

ISBN: 978-1-5040-0945-4

This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com