Day 11
After an awkward pause, Robin spoke up again. “Anyway, if you ever want to talk more, just stop by here or town hall or HQ, one of me will be around. I'd be more than willing to let you know about the old days. For now, though, work calls.” she said this with a somewhat strained smile, and I found myself wondering if she was indeed taking on the work of five people. She waved to Orin and had left before I had the chance to ask.
“Robin keeps this town running.” Orin opined, apparently waiting until Robin was out of earshot. “Everyone gives me credit for founding it, but if it weren't for her I don't think we'd be in nearly the good shape we are today.”
“What did she mean by 'one of her' would be around?” Jamie spoke up.
“Ah, well, you see, even among us Robin is a special case. She was one of the very early refugees from the experiments, and so far as I know the first second-generation telepath.” Orin paused, as though thinking about how best to phrase his next few words. “Her mother came down with the plague almost immediately before Robin was conceived, before she showed any symptoms. When both of her conditions became apparent, she was taken in for experimentation. Nobody had any idea what plagued offspring would be like. The experiments were not kind, and her mother did not survive them. The children, though, were born safely before their mother's passing. And here you must forgive my phrasing, for it is difficult when speaking of Robin to know which forms of various words to use. I use the singular because she does. Robin was born triplets, you see. There are three of her, completely indistinguishable from each other, and each sharing a mind. Though she cannot communicate to us telepathically, the link each sister has forged to the others appears to have a range greater than any one of us.”
“So that's what the attendant meant with the whole 'three of her' thing?” I said, still finding this somewhat hard to believe.
Orin nodded. “Indeed. And yes, it was disquieting at first. Now, though, they are rarely in the same location, and I think that most people are not bothered by her unusual circumstances so long as they are not reminded of them.”
John emerged into the hallway. “I don't think I've had the chance to introduce myself. John Zimmerman.” he extended his hand to Orin, who shook it.
“A pleasure to meet you, John. You're welcome to stay in our community as long as you like.”
John looked surprised at this. He had been wondering if he'd be allowed to stay, but I and most other mind readers generally try to be polite and not answer questions until the questioners actually speak up. I could tell the people of Haven, unused to the mind-blind, had disposed with a number of customs.
For his sake, John just nodded and managed a “thanks”.
The nurse walked around the corner and instantly looked at us with disapproval. “You're crowding the hallway.” she said to us, adding to Orin “and you should know better!”
“My apologies. Tell me, do you know when our injured guest will be released?”
The nurse considered not giving an answer in response to Orin's apparent unwillingness to move, then discarded the option. “She's under observation, if the swelling keeps going down and she shows no other signs of trauma, then she'll be released tomorrow.”
Orin nodded. “Thank you. I will say goodbye to our newcomers and then be out of your way.” he turned back to us. “Tomorrow I would like to show you around our city, and tell you what we do here. Though I and Robin are the backbone of the rebellion, you'll find life in Haven to be much like life anywhere else. If you wish it, you will never see combat again: Haven needs repair people, net technicians, nurses just like anywhere else. If you would like to support us, however, you'd be more than welcome. Until then.”
Just like that, he was around the corner and then gone.
“Never see combat again?” John said skeptically. “That sounds really damn good right about now, but I've heard it before. Something always comes up.”
“Net technicians!” Jamie said by way of reply. “He must have been reading my mind, it's the job I would've had if I weren't mixed up with you guys. No offense, but there's a whole lot less getting shot at.”
“None taken.” John said, in a rare moment of not taking offense, “if I thought for a minute he'd let me get away with one of those repair positions, I'd take it.”
“You don't think he'd let you? Why not?” I asked, honestly confused. Orin had been fairly straightforward, I'd thought.
“You tell me.” His old tone had returned. “Your dad's a war hero, right? Apparently he knew these guys, and I don't think either you or me even knew that much before they mentioned it. You think if you just wandered up to Mr. Town Founder there and said 'you know what, your town's great and all but I think I'll give it a miss' he'd just let you go?”
I paused to consider. “I think he would.”
John shook his head. “This city's been here for a quarter of a century, if I overheard them right. Right in the Troopers backyard. And it didn't stay that way by letting any old person who knew the location out.”
“I didn't see any guards at the border.” Jamie pointed out. “We drove right in, we could drive right out.”
John shook his head in exasperation. “Fine, I can see neither of you want to listen to reason. That's fine. Just remember what I said when they're keeping you under house arrest or something. First thing I noticed once I calmed down enough, this place is like a quarantine zone. And in a quarantine, they don't let anybody out.”
With that, he disappeared back into Dana's room, and silence came back to the hallway.
“What now?” Jamie said quietly, looking somewhat dispirited.
I shrugged. “We're getting a tour tomorrow, but I think we could get a head start. Besides, he didn't offer us a ride back.”
Jamie shrugged and started walking toward the elevators. “Probably did it on purpose. I get the feeling he likes doing that kind of thing. You know, setting up plans, seeing people off, stranding people at the hospital.”
There was plenty of time left in the day, though, so we took up our tour of the city by wandering around it. Though we eventually located a general store, it didn't sell maps of the city. This should not have surprised me, given that even back when the city had been built it had never been intended for anyone to navigate it. The clerk – an Afflicted teenager who couldn't read minds but seemed fairly enthusiastic – offered to tell us how to get where we wanted to go, but of course we didn't know that either. We settled for the plaza, which was the locals' name for a group of food stores that had been set up at one spot.
I brought up the issue of cash. We still had the doctor's old ID card – heck, we probably had Shaw's somewhere too. It was unlikely they were good any longer, though. The cashier laughed at this assertion. Apparently money wasn't something they really dealt with. People did whatever they were good at, and they took whatever they needed. Right as I was about to call the place a commune, he launched into a rant on how everybody was attempting to game the system in some way, usually by either taking more than they deserved or doing less work than they ought to. The most scorn seemed to be reserved for those who did both at once. That didn't apply to us, he hastened to point out. Everyone knew the newcomers, and nobody would begrudge us a few weeks' startup time while we got used to the place. Besides, he added, all the good stuff was rationed. For all Orin's talk about living equally, he was one of the few with unlimited fuel, though he only apparently used it to ferry newcomers around.
“Robin keeps this town running.” Orin opined, apparently waiting until Robin was out of earshot. “Everyone gives me credit for founding it, but if it weren't for her I don't think we'd be in nearly the good shape we are today.”
“What did she mean by 'one of her' would be around?” Jamie spoke up.
“Ah, well, you see, even among us Robin is a special case. She was one of the very early refugees from the experiments, and so far as I know the first second-generation telepath.” Orin paused, as though thinking about how best to phrase his next few words. “Her mother came down with the plague almost immediately before Robin was conceived, before she showed any symptoms. When both of her conditions became apparent, she was taken in for experimentation. Nobody had any idea what plagued offspring would be like. The experiments were not kind, and her mother did not survive them. The children, though, were born safely before their mother's passing. And here you must forgive my phrasing, for it is difficult when speaking of Robin to know which forms of various words to use. I use the singular because she does. Robin was born triplets, you see. There are three of her, completely indistinguishable from each other, and each sharing a mind. Though she cannot communicate to us telepathically, the link each sister has forged to the others appears to have a range greater than any one of us.”
“So that's what the attendant meant with the whole 'three of her' thing?” I said, still finding this somewhat hard to believe.
Orin nodded. “Indeed. And yes, it was disquieting at first. Now, though, they are rarely in the same location, and I think that most people are not bothered by her unusual circumstances so long as they are not reminded of them.”
John emerged into the hallway. “I don't think I've had the chance to introduce myself. John Zimmerman.” he extended his hand to Orin, who shook it.
“A pleasure to meet you, John. You're welcome to stay in our community as long as you like.”
John looked surprised at this. He had been wondering if he'd be allowed to stay, but I and most other mind readers generally try to be polite and not answer questions until the questioners actually speak up. I could tell the people of Haven, unused to the mind-blind, had disposed with a number of customs.
For his sake, John just nodded and managed a “thanks”.
The nurse walked around the corner and instantly looked at us with disapproval. “You're crowding the hallway.” she said to us, adding to Orin “and you should know better!”
“My apologies. Tell me, do you know when our injured guest will be released?”
The nurse considered not giving an answer in response to Orin's apparent unwillingness to move, then discarded the option. “She's under observation, if the swelling keeps going down and she shows no other signs of trauma, then she'll be released tomorrow.”
Orin nodded. “Thank you. I will say goodbye to our newcomers and then be out of your way.” he turned back to us. “Tomorrow I would like to show you around our city, and tell you what we do here. Though I and Robin are the backbone of the rebellion, you'll find life in Haven to be much like life anywhere else. If you wish it, you will never see combat again: Haven needs repair people, net technicians, nurses just like anywhere else. If you would like to support us, however, you'd be more than welcome. Until then.”
Just like that, he was around the corner and then gone.
“Never see combat again?” John said skeptically. “That sounds really damn good right about now, but I've heard it before. Something always comes up.”
“Net technicians!” Jamie said by way of reply. “He must have been reading my mind, it's the job I would've had if I weren't mixed up with you guys. No offense, but there's a whole lot less getting shot at.”
“None taken.” John said, in a rare moment of not taking offense, “if I thought for a minute he'd let me get away with one of those repair positions, I'd take it.”
“You don't think he'd let you? Why not?” I asked, honestly confused. Orin had been fairly straightforward, I'd thought.
“You tell me.” His old tone had returned. “Your dad's a war hero, right? Apparently he knew these guys, and I don't think either you or me even knew that much before they mentioned it. You think if you just wandered up to Mr. Town Founder there and said 'you know what, your town's great and all but I think I'll give it a miss' he'd just let you go?”
I paused to consider. “I think he would.”
John shook his head. “This city's been here for a quarter of a century, if I overheard them right. Right in the Troopers backyard. And it didn't stay that way by letting any old person who knew the location out.”
“I didn't see any guards at the border.” Jamie pointed out. “We drove right in, we could drive right out.”
John shook his head in exasperation. “Fine, I can see neither of you want to listen to reason. That's fine. Just remember what I said when they're keeping you under house arrest or something. First thing I noticed once I calmed down enough, this place is like a quarantine zone. And in a quarantine, they don't let anybody out.”
With that, he disappeared back into Dana's room, and silence came back to the hallway.
“What now?” Jamie said quietly, looking somewhat dispirited.
I shrugged. “We're getting a tour tomorrow, but I think we could get a head start. Besides, he didn't offer us a ride back.”
Jamie shrugged and started walking toward the elevators. “Probably did it on purpose. I get the feeling he likes doing that kind of thing. You know, setting up plans, seeing people off, stranding people at the hospital.”
There was plenty of time left in the day, though, so we took up our tour of the city by wandering around it. Though we eventually located a general store, it didn't sell maps of the city. This should not have surprised me, given that even back when the city had been built it had never been intended for anyone to navigate it. The clerk – an Afflicted teenager who couldn't read minds but seemed fairly enthusiastic – offered to tell us how to get where we wanted to go, but of course we didn't know that either. We settled for the plaza, which was the locals' name for a group of food stores that had been set up at one spot.
I brought up the issue of cash. We still had the doctor's old ID card – heck, we probably had Shaw's somewhere too. It was unlikely they were good any longer, though. The cashier laughed at this assertion. Apparently money wasn't something they really dealt with. People did whatever they were good at, and they took whatever they needed. Right as I was about to call the place a commune, he launched into a rant on how everybody was attempting to game the system in some way, usually by either taking more than they deserved or doing less work than they ought to. The most scorn seemed to be reserved for those who did both at once. That didn't apply to us, he hastened to point out. Everyone knew the newcomers, and nobody would begrudge us a few weeks' startup time while we got used to the place. Besides, he added, all the good stuff was rationed. For all Orin's talk about living equally, he was one of the few with unlimited fuel, though he only apparently used it to ferry newcomers around.
posted by Roger Ostrander at 4:31 PM
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