Page 15
“Yes, apparently, there has been a lot of tinkering by the designers and a lot of interference by my siblings, not to mention Ra’s parties. It was necessary to determine if any Terran was altered during their time in the dust of the asteroid. Some of you did take intuition and become something else.”
She forked up the spicy flavour with the food and blinked. “Oh. That would do it, I guess.”
He cocked his head. “You didn’t know?”
“We didn’t have a chance to analyze it. We were sort of busy trying to live.”
“Of course. Well, Isuul has created a manual for Hmrain to understand your potential.”
“Isuul?”
“He is the one of us who is focused on understanding biology.”
“I see. What was in the asteroid?”
“Khimerion.”
She blinked. “I am going to look that stuff up when I have a terminal.”
His eyes narrowed. “You don’t have a terminal?”
“No, just a wardrobe and a nice bed.”
“Hm. I will move you to my quarters. I rarely need to use my bed. I have a terminal, and we will get you a com and codes for Terrans who are open to conversation.”
“Wait. Like penpals?”
He frowned. “I will have to research what that is.”
“It is a friend at a distance that you communicate with regularly.”
“Ah, yes, like that. Drink some water.”
She was feeling the heat of the spice and drank some water. Unlike Earth spice, it washed away with water. She blinked. “That is spicy.”
He nodded. “Try the creamy and then the sweet.”
She nodded and followed his direction. It was a lot like sweet potato in butter as a base. “These things taste like a million calories.”
“Calorie?”
“Energy taken to heat one gram of water one degree.”
He tilted his head in a gesture that let her know he was storing something for later.
She ate the shredded meat and added some of the spice to it. It made her eyes water, but it was surprisingly good.
Devran was quiet. She ate with him there, and it felt safe. It felt open. She felt free.
Aya didn’t know she was crying until Devran spoke with concern. “You are crying again.”
“Sorry. Um, how long will you let me stay here?”
“As long as you need or want.” His eyes smiled. “I have nothing but time.”
“Ah, but do you have a face?”
He chuckled. “I do, but the cloud around me is constant.”
