The Rowan
- Автор: Маккефри Энн
- Серия: Tower and the Hive #1
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «The Rowan». Краткое содержание книги:
The kinetically gifted, trained in mind/machine gestalt, are the most valued citizens of the Nine Star League. Using mental powers alone, these few Prime Talents transport ships, cargo and people between Earth's Moon, Mars' Demos and Jupiter's Callisto.
An orphaned young girl, simply called The Rowan, is discovered to have superior telepathic potential and is trained to become Prime Talent on Callisto. After years of self-sacrificing dedication to her position, The Rowan intercepts an urgent mental call from Jeff Raven, a young Prime Talent on distant Deneb. She convinces the other Primes to merge their powers with hers to help fight off an attack by invading aliens. Her growing relationship with Jeff gives her the courage to break her status-imposed isolation, and choose the more rewarding world of love and family.
She joined them in the afternoon for Gerolaman's lectures which covered every mechanical aspect of a Tower, including dismantling and reassembling of every piece of equipment and the diagnostic tests that would isolate a dysfunction. Barinov and Seth were the mechanically apt Talents. Gerolaman paired them with Ray and Goswina, timing them in reassembly. Patsy Kearn was deft at micro-kinetics so she was teamed with Joe Toglia for computer-board repairs. Then each of the students had to duplicate what others had done. The Rowan had never had to work micro before and she found the exercise far more exhausting than assisting Siglen. But she also found it exhilarating.
Then Gerolaman set up situations which produced dysfunctions and each student had to write down ("and no peeking in anyone's head while you write," Gerolaman warned) what they thought was the matter and how to repair it.
It annoyed the Rowan that either Barinov or Seth finished their analysis first and smugly waited while the others thought the problem through, but she was more often correct than they were.
"Arriving fast at the wrong answer can be more of a setback to a crippled Tower than taking that little bit longer and being accurate," Gerolaman told the two, frowning at them. "You two are supposed to be the mechanical Talents but Rowan's got a higher average of correct answers. Tell the class exactly what led you to think this problem was caused by corrupted circuitry, Rowan." She stammered at first in her explanation because Barinov's handsome face was sullen from the reprimand.
Seth didn't mind as much but he wasn't the one that the Rowan wanted to attract. Back in her own quarters after the session, she could not settle to anything, even to playing with Rascal who was in a vivacious humor, attacking pillows and rugs as if they were hostile enemies.
Ordinarily his antics would have amused her. She went to bed, still haunted by the sullen face of Barinov.
To her complete surprise, the young man smiled broadly at her the next afternoon. She was tempted to path him to find out what had occasioned the sudden alteration, but Siglen's training was too strong.
And the Rowan was half afraid to try for fear of what she might learn.
It was enough that he had smiled at her.
She could and did keep from competing so accurately against him, pretending that she hadn't taken metal fatigue into consideration on that day's problem. She didn't miss Gerolaman's surprise and decided she'd better "pretend" a little less obviously. However, when Barinov came over to sit by her at supper that night, smiling and friendly, she felt she had acted with discretion.
"Look, we're all going into Port for a concert. The twins are allowed so you should be able to come, too. And we've talked Goswina into venturing forth so you'd be the only hold-out. You haven't been grounded or anything, have you?" he added, noticing her hesitation.
She also felt his mind push at hers and let him see that she wanted to come very much. "So, ask Samella. She cleared me for driving the landcar." "I see no harm," Samella said with a shrug. "It's a group activity." The Rowan had to dampen her elation and was rather put out that there wouldn't be time for her to go back to the Tower not unless she teleported - and Samella's knowing glance canceled that notion. Even if she just "lifted" a change of clothing from her closet to a toilet stall, there'd be questions. But she was feminine enough to want to freshen up.
"Don't delay, Rowan," Barinov called after her. "You look fine just the way you are."
She wondered about that when she saw the smudges on her face and hands in the rest-room mirror. Impartially, she examined herself: her dratted hair. It just wasn't logical to be fourteen and silver haired, though there were other mutations that seemed less bizarre and no-one commented on them. Her face was far too thin, narrow, with a pointy chin. Her very thin high-arched eyebrows were at least fashionable but her eyes were too large for her face. But she had a figure now: not much bosom but a big one would have made her look topheavy. Why had Barinov smiled at her? Especially after yesterday? Maybe he wanted to figure out how she managed a higher percentage of correct answers.
Well, two years in a busy Tower under Siglen's tutelage had not been useless even if Siglen still kept her to baby exercises. Maybe when she finished this course creditably, Siglen might give her more responsibilities.
The concert was very good indeed, with three bands and some extremely clever light and sound variations: much more sophisticated than the Favor Bay recital. Barinov sat very close to her for the first part, his muscled thigh pressing against hers. His energy was a rusty-brown, which surprised her, and his aroma was indefinable, not unpleasant, exactly, but not reassuring.
What she really didn't like was the way he kept nudging her mind, poking here and there, trying to find a way in.
In the first place it was very bad manners and in the second she did not like his insistence. His intrusions increased when the light, sound, choreography, and lyrics combined into erotic suggestiveness: not highly erotic, just enough to get positive hoot-holler and whistle reactions from the audience. They were sitting well up in the amphitheater so she couldn't miss seeing some couples, and several groups, moving into the dark outer corridors. She knew such things occurred for Lusena had completely briefed her on sexuality and sensuality but this was the first time she'd witnessed it in public.
On her other side, Goswina squirmed nervously. Those furtive leavings distressed her.
Subtly, the Rowan emanated a soothing empathy to ease Goswina and that seemed to help.
The finale of the concert, however, was a deliberately sensual construction, ending on a triumphant blare of sound, spectacular light effects, and everyone on stage in frankly sensuous postures. Goswina rose from her seat - to leave, not to cheer and shout approval. The Rowan followed for she caught the girl's choked exclamations.
"'Wina! It's only a show!" the Rowan said, catching her up in the crowded parking lot.
"Do they have to be so… disgustingly vulgar? Suggestive displays are simply not condoned in public on Capella."
Goswina's voice was low and taut with disgust and she was actually shaking in fury. "I just hate it when it's so very obvious. It's supposed to be a very private, wonderful experience. Not cheap, tawdry and… and public." Without meaning to pry, the Rowan "knew" that Goswina had had an attachment which had been deep and meaningful, which she had had to leave behind her for this course.
That she missed her friend with an intensity that surprised her for she felt she was too young to have a lifetime commitment.
Fortunately, Goswina was too involved in her own emotions to have been aware of the Rowan's trespass. And the Rowan was involved in extricating herself so that she was not as aware of externals as she might have been.
Moving shadows became the solid figures with imperfectly shielded intent. Goswina let out a little scream before her mouth was covered and her arms pinned tightly to her sides just as the Rowan felt herself attacked.
"Oh no, you don't!" She snarled aloud, but mentally stabbed out, exerting a kinesis in all directions for she wasn't sure how many attackers there were. Indiscriminately she sent them all spinning away from Goswina and herself. She didn't bother to limit the push she exerted and had the intense satisfaction of hearing soft bodies meeting solid objects with considerable force, inflicting pain and damage.
Ruthlessly she closed her mind, sparing herself their anguish and, for the time being, any immediate sense of guilt at having injured another human being.
"Rowan!" her companion gasped. "What did you do?" "Only what they deserved. Let's get out of here," and the Rowan grasped Goswina and pulled her out of the shadows and into the more brightly lit parking field. "There'll be public cabs at the…" "But…" "No buts, no explanations and don't tell me you want to be involved in those!" "Oh, no! No! Oh, dear! We should have stayed with the others." "We should have, but we didn't." The Rowan was getting exasperated with Goswina. "Ray, Goswina's taking me home. I feel sick." Ray Loftus would be less likely to question a 'pathed message from her. And right now, she didn't want anything to do with Barinov's curious interest.