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

‘Stooping,’ the bird repeated. ‘If you ask me. Thing’s mad. Been a bit loopy the last four decades. Gone totally off the boulevard now. In the hills and bouncing along full speed for the cliff edge. That’s my opinion. And I’ve been round its loopiness for forty years. I know, I do. I can tell. This thing’s dafter than a jar of words. I’m getting away on the Jaundiced Outlook, if it’ll let me. It being the Sleeper. Don’t think the Jaundiced bears me any ill will. Shouldn’t think it does. No.’ Then, as though remembering a rich joke, it shook its head and said, ‘The bad guy; ha! You, on the other hand. You’ll be here forty years you will, chum. If it doesn’t wreck itself ramming this excession thing, that is. Ha! How’d it get you here anyway? You come here to see old perpetually pregnant?’

Genar-Hofoen looked momentarily stricken. ‘It’s true then; she never did have the child?’

‘Yep,’ the bird said. ‘Still in her. Supposed to be hale and hearty, too. If you can believe that. So I was told. Sounds unlikely. Addled, I’d have thought. Or turned to stone by now. But there you are. Either way, she just isn’t having it. Ha!’

The man pinched his lower lip with his fingers, looking troubled.

‘What did you say brought you here?’ the bird asked.

It waited. ‘Ahem!’ it said loudly.

‘What?’ the man asked. The bird repeated the question.

The man looked like he still hadn’t heard, then he shrugged. ‘I came here to talk to a dead person; a Storee.’

‘They’ve all gone,’ said the bird. ‘Hadn’t you heard?’

The man shook his head. ‘Not one of the live ones,’ he said. ‘Somebody without a bod, somebody who’s Stored in the ship’s memory.’

‘Na, they’ve gone too,’ the bird said, lifting one wing to peck briefly underneath. ‘Dropped them off at Dreve,’ it continued. ‘Complete download. Upload. Acrossload. Whatever you call it. Didn’t even keep copies.’

‘What?’ the man said, stepping towards the bird.

‘Seriously,’ the creature said, taking a couple of hops backwards on the stonework of the parapet. ‘Honest.’ The man was staring at it now. ‘No, really; so I was told. I could have been misinformed. Can’t see why. But it’s possible. Doubt it though. They’ve gone. That was my information. Gone. Ship said it didn’t want even the copies aboard. Just in case.’

The man stared wildly at it for a bit longer. ‘Just in case what?’ he cried, stepping forward again.

‘Well, I don’t know!’ the bird yelped, hopping backwards and flexing its wings, ready to fly.

Genar-Hofoen glared at the creature for a moment longer, then spun round, grasping the stones of the parapet with both hands and staring out into the false panorama of sea and cloud.

IX

IX