BooksBarbecue
Back Excession
Chapters (108)
  1. About the Author
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. 1 - Outside Context Problem
  6. I
  7. II
  8. III
  9. IV
  10. V
  11. VI
  12. 2 - Not Invented Here
  13. I
  14. II
  15. III
  16. 3 - Uninvited Guests
  17. I
  18. II
  19. III
  20. IV
  21. 4 - Dependency Principle
  22. I
  23. II
  24. III
  25. IV
  26. V
  27. 5 - Kiss The Blade
  28. I
  29. II
  30. III
  31. IV
  32. V
  33. VI
  34. 6 - Pittance
  35. I
  36. II
  37. III
  38. IV
  39. V
  40. VI
  41. 7 - Tier
  42. I
  43. II
  44. III
  45. IV
  46. 8 - Killing Time
  47. I
  48. II
  49. III
  50. IV
  51. V
  52. VI
  53. VII
  54. VIII
  55. 9 - Unacceptable Behaviour
  56. I
  57. II
  58. III
  59. IV
  60. V
  61. VI
  62. VII
  63. VIII
  64. IX
  65. X
  66. XI
  67. XII
  68. XIII
  69. XIV
  70. 10 - Heavy Messing
  71. I
  72. II
  73. III
  74. IV
  75. V
  76. VI
  77. VII
  78. VIII
  79. IX
  80. X
  81. XI
  82. XII
  83. XIII
  84. XIV
  85. XV
  86. 11 - Regarding Gravious
  87. I
  88. II
  89. III
  90. IV
  91. V
  92. VI
  93. VII
  94. VIII
  95. IX
  96. X
  97. XI
  98. XII
  99. XIII
  100. XIV
  101. 12 - Faring Well
  102. I
  103. II
  104. III
  105. IV
  106. V
  107. VI
  108. Epilogue

He skipped to the warm waterfall and stood under it. As he showered he told a blue-furred, wise-looking little creature dressed in a dapper waistcoat and sitting on a nearby tree what clothes he wished prepared for the evening. It nodded and swung off through the branches.

VI

VI

‘It’s nothing to worry about, Gestra,’ the drone told him as he stepped out of the bulky suit in the vestibule beyond the airlocks. Gestra Ishmethit leant against a maniple field which the drone extended for him. He looked down the corridor to the main part of the accommodation unit, but there was no sign of anybody yet. ‘The ship has come with new codes and updated security procedures,’ the drone continued. ‘It’s some years before these were due to be altered, but there has been some unusual activity in a nearby volume - nothing threatening as such, but it’s always best to be careful - so it’s been decided to move things along a bit and perform the update now rather than later.’ The drone hung the man’s suit up near the airlock doors, its surface sparkling with frost.

Gestra rubbed his hands together and accepted the trousers and jacket the drone handed him. He kept glancing down the corridor.

‘The ship has been verified and authenticated by the necessary outside referees,’ the drone told him, ‘so it’s all above-board, you see?’ The machine helped him button up the jacket and smoothed his thin, fair hair. ‘The crew have asked to come inside; just curious, really.’

Gestra stared at the drone, obviously distressed, but the machine patted him on the shoulder with a rosy field and said, ‘It’ll be all right, Gestra. I thought it only polite to grant their request, but you can stay out of their way if you like. Saying hello to them at first would probably go down well, but it isn’t compulsory.’ The Mind had its drone study the man for a moment, checking his breathing, heart rate, pupil dilation, skin response, pheromone output and brain-waves. ‘I know what,’ it said soothingly, ‘we’ll tell them you’ve taken a vow of silence, how’s that? You can greet them formally, nod, or whatever, and I’ll do the talking. Would that be all right?’

Gestra gulped and said, ‘Y-y-yes! Yes,’ he said, nodding vigorously. ‘That . . . that would be good . . . good idea. Thathank you!’