The Jesus Incident

That voice! Where had she heard that voice?

The white-clad figure, still with hands over his eyes and concealing most of his face, rolled over and climbed to his feet with his back to Hali. She saw that he was not wearing a shipsuit after all, but a white robe which had clung to his long legs. The man stumbled back two steps now and fell once more. As he fell, he cried: "Who are you?"

The booming voice said: "I am Yaisuah, whom you persecute. It is hard for you to kick against the thorns."

Hali sat in breathless quiet: Yaisua.... Hesoo.... Geezuz.

The holofocus blipped out and the WorShip lights came up to a warm yellow. Hali saw that she was the only adult in the room - this had been a session for young children. Why had Ferry ordered her to meet him here?

One of the children still seated on the floor spoke directly to Hali: "Do you know where that man got his name?"

"It was a mixture from two ancient cultures Earthside," she said. "Why were you watching that?"

"Ship said that was today's lesson. It started with the man on the horse. He rode very fast. Do we have horses in hyb?"

"The manifest says we have horses but we have no place for them yet."

"I'd like to ride a horse sometime."

"What did you learn from today's lesson?" Hali asked.

"Ship is everywhere, has been everywhere and has done and seen everything," the boy said. Other children nodded.

Was that why You showed me Yaisuah, Ship?

No answer, but she had not expected one.

I didn't learn my lesson. Whatever it was Ship wanted me to lear.... I failed.

Distraught, she stood and glanced at the boy who had addressed her. Why weren't there any adults here? It was children's WorShip, but not even a guide?

"Has Doctor Ferry been here?" she asked.

"He was here but someone called him away," a little girl in the background said. "Is he supposed to leave WorShip?"

"When it's the business of Ship," Hali said. The apology sounded empty, but the girl accepted it.

Abruptly, Hali turned away and slipped out of the room. As she left, she heard the little girl call: "But who's going to lead us in lesson study?"

Not me, little girl. I have my own studying to do.

Something was going very wrong shipside. Waela's odd pregnancy was merely one symptom among many. Hali ran down the side passage coreside from the WorShip area, found a service access plate and slipped it aside. She wormed her way down a dimly lighted tube to a cross-tube where she slipped out through another service plate into the main passage to Records. There was activity in Record...teener group learning how to handle the more sophisticated equipment, but she found her aisle between the storage racks unoccupied and no one at the console which concealed Kerro's small study lab.

Hali opened the concealed hatch, saw pale pink light in the lab. She slid inside and sat at the control seat. The hatch snicked closed behind her. She was breathless from the rush of getting here, but wanted no delay. Where to begin? Vocoder? Projection?

Hali chewed at her lip. Nothing could be hidden from Ship. The lesson for the children had been a true one. She knew this.

I don't even need this equipment to address Ship.

Then why did Ship use this place at all?

"Most of you find it less disturbing than when I speak in your mind."

Ship's intimate voice issued from the vocoder in front of her. For some reason, the calm and rational tone angered her.

"We're just pets! What happens when we become a nuisance?"

"How could you become a nuisance?"

The answer was there without considering it: "By losing our respect for Ship."

There was no reply.

This cooled her anger. She sat in silent contemplation for a moment, then: "Who are You, Ship?"

"Who? Not quite the proper term, Hali. I was alive in the minds of the first humans. It required time for the right events to occur, but only time."

"What do You respect, Ship?"

"I respect the consciousness which brought Me into your awareness. My respect is made manifest by My decision to interfere as little as possible in that consciousness."

"Is that how I'm supposed to respect You, Ship?"

"Do you believe you can interfere with My consciousness, Hali?"

She let out a long breath.

"I do interfere, don't I." It was a statement, not a question.

With a sudden sensation of sinking, as though the realization occurred because she let it happen and not because she willed it, Hali saw the lesson of the Hill of Skulls.

"The consequences of too much interference," she whispered.

"You please Me, Hali. You please Me as much as Kerro Panille ever pleased Me."

"Hali!"

It was Ferry's voice shouting at her over the pribox speaker at her hip. "Get to Sickbay!"

She was out the concealed hatch and halfway down the storage aisle before she realized she had broken away from Ship in mid-conversation. Ship had spoken personally with very few people, and she had the impudence to jump up and leave. Even as this thought flashed through her mind, she laughed at herself. She couldn't leave Ship.

Ferry met her at the main hatchway into Sickbay. He was wearing the heavier groundside blue and carried another suit of it under his arm. He thrust it at her and Hali saw then that the suits had been fitted for helmets of hazardous flight.

She accepted the suit as Ferry thrust it at her. The old man appeared to be in the grip of deep agitation, his face flushed, hands trembling.

The groundside fabric felt rough in her hands, so different from the shipcloth. The detachable slicker and hood were contrastingly slippery.

"What'.... what's happening?" she asked.

"We have to get Waela offship. Murdoch's going to kill her."

She was a blink accepting the import of his words. Then doubts filled her. Why would this fearful old man oppose Murdoch? And by implication oppose Oakes!

"Why would you help?" she asked.

"They're demoting me groundside, sending me to Lab One."

Hali had heard the rumors of Lab One - clone experiments, some wild stories, but Ferry was visibly terrified. Did he know something definite about Lab One?

"We have to hurry," he said.

"But ho.... they'll catch us."

"Please! Put on the groundsides and help me."

She slipped the clothing over her shipsuit and noted how bulky it made her feel. Her fingers fumbled with the slicker's catches as Ferry hurried her into Sickbay.

"We'll be gone by the time they suspect," he said. "There's a freighter leaving in four minutes from Docking Bay Eight. It's carrying hardware, no crew - everything on automatic."

They were at a Sickbay alcove by now and, as he pulled aside the curtains, Hali suppressed a startled question. Waela lay on a gurney, already clad in groundside slicker with the hood pulled down over her brow. Her swollen abdomen was a blue mound under the slicker. How had Ferry brought her here?

"Murdoch had her brought down here as soon as you were relieved," Ferry said, grunting as he wrestled the gurney out of its alcove. Hali moved to unhook the monitor co

"Not yet!" Ferry snapped. "That's the signal to Bio that something's wrong."

Hali drew back. Of course; she should've thought of that.

"Now, hook up your pribox," Ferry said. "People will think we're moving her somewhere for more tests." Ferry folded the groundside hood under Waela's head and covered her with a gray blanket. She stirred sleepily as he lifted her head.

"What did they give her?" Hali asked.

"A sedative, I think."

Hali looked down at her groundsides, then at Ferry. "People will take one look at our clothes and know something's wrong."

"We'll just act as though we know what we're doing."

Waela jerked in her sleep, mumbled something, opened her eyes and said: "Now. Now." Just as quickly she was back in her sedated sleep.