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“Um, who are you?”
“Devran. One of the prototypes.”
“I thought Ra was the prototype.”
“He was the prototype Hmrain. The designers had to make others to keep the rules of their universe.”
“And you are one of them.”
“I am one of them. The Zowoth are offshoots of another experiment.”
She grimaced. “Yeah. I think there was a wiring issue there.”
He laughed.
They walked at a more measured pace through the ship. The crew was from over twenty different worlds. She recognized a few of them, but others baffled her. She was smiling brightly behind her face covering. Finally, she was in space.
Devron looked at her. “You are happy.”
“I am. Very. My world is dead, but I hoped to see more and do more. Until now, I have seen my chamber and the different species who arrive for soothing.”
He blinked. “Not even the station?”
“No. That room was my life. No entertainment unit, no com. No speaking with any other soothers on the station.”
“There were four. You were by far the most popular. A clean treatment with no traces. A natural release of frustration.”
“Well, I have always been process- and result-oriented.” She paused. “Can you slow down a bit? I haven’t been out of that room in years, and I am rapidly losing stamina.”
He paused. “Would you like me to carry you?”
“Not necessary. I will make it, but I can’t seem to catch my breath.” She pressed a hand to her chest, and he stared at it.
He cursed and lifted her anyway. “One of your lungs has collapsed.”
He moved swiftly through the ship, warning medical of her condition.
There was a crew with a patient’s smock waiting for her, and a female medic moved her to a private space and helped her out of the robes. When they removed the final layer, the medic called, “Dr. Venma, please come in here.”
The doctor walked in and froze. “Right. Smock on. Miss, can you get into a scanner?”
She nodded and kept fighting for breath. “Yes.”
The last layer came off, and the doctor looked angry. The medic helped her get the smock on, and the doctor took her hand and led her to the scanner. She looked around the room and saw Devran. “See? Told you.”
She settled into the scanner as it got used to her body. When the door closed, she kept her breathing shallow as she tried to stay conscious. The scan took four minutes, then the unit opened, and they lifted her to the medical bed, where the medics were ready to work on her. Her skin was numbed, and her side was pierced. They did something, and she was suddenly breathing again.
She laughed and wheezed. “One failed organ. Faster than I thought.”
Two medics ran localized scans, and her skeleton and tissue layers were up on a screen.
Devran was staring at it. “How are you moving and speaking?”
“Practice.”
“When was your next medical scan?”
“In a few days. The last one was delayed due to a medical emergency.”
