First Channel

"A lot you care! It's blackmail, that's what!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Rimon saw Abel flinch from the Gen's field, and Abel wasn't in need. He moved to put himself between Abel and the boy. With the tension relieved, Veritt said, "Jon, just what is disturbing you?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Veritt," said Jon, but Rimon felt the boy's i

Rimon pondered that, disturbed by the truth of Jon's conclusion. But another idea occurred, a chance to test something that had been on his mind since Zeth's birth. "All right, Jon, come here."

He held out his hands, and almost by reflex Jon put his hands into transfer position. Rimon slipped into healing mode, made lip contact, and drew enough selyn from Jon to leave the boy low-field. It was over in an instant. "All right, Jon, you can go home now."

Jon stared at him suspiciously. "What did you do?"

"I lowered your field."

"You took transfer without even asking me?"

"No, I didn't take transfer. I did what you asked—made it safe for you to stay with your parents tonight. Now go on—but I expect you home by tomorrow sunset, no later, understand?"

"Yeah, uh, thanks, Rimon." Self-consciously, he exchanged polite words with the Veritts and Carlana and left, almost stumbling over his own feet in the ma

Rimon noticed Del and Abel zli

"What did you do?" demanded Kadi. "Rimon, you've thrown your whole cycle off!"

"No I haven't," said Rimon quickly, aware of a near panic in his wife. "And I don't have to balance my fields, either. Abel, Del, zlin me. Am I any higher-field?" He looked appealingly at Mrs. Veritt, but she wasn't zli

Del was shaking his head, mystified, when Abel finally said, "No, you're not any higher-field. What did you do? Where did Jon's selyn go?"

"The same place all that selyn came from that I transferred to Kadi when Zeth was born. I've thought about that a lot. I was horribly sick afterward with those fluctuations in my fields, nerve burn—but I wasn't in need. That doesn't make sense, Abel! I transferred to Kadi—oh, at least twice what I get from a transfer with Jon or Willa—and yet I wasn't in need. I fell short again that month—but no more than the month before. So where did all that selyn come from?"

"I have never questioned that it was a miracle," said Abel. "God provided."

It was one of those moments when Abel's faith proved an immense barrier to understanding.

Finally Rimon said, "Well, maybe God did, but not the way you mean. Del—remember how I used to get that crazy wobble in my fields before—before a kill?"

Del nodded. "Most peculiar sensation—used to give me a sick headache to be near you."

"And it intensified my need to the point where I couldn't fight it off anymore—even with Kadi's help." To Abel, he added, "That was before she established." And to Del, he said, "Well, I had another attack of it after Zeth was born, and it got me to thinking and kind of feeling around inside myself."

Veritt was nodding. "Yes, Rimon's distress affected all of us. It's a high price you pay for your healing ability."

"Maybe not, if I can learn to control this selyn storage system. That's what was fluctuating—I was going almost into healing mode then coming right out of it again, and each time some selyn would leak into this storage system– like a reservoir for extra selyn. I've always had a short cycle—a month's selyn would never last a month, and nobody knew why. My dad was the same way."

"And Jord," murmured Abel.

"Yes! I think what happens is that each time, some of the selyn goes into that reservoir—and stays there, permanently, unless the person learns to get at it."

"Rimon," said Kadi, "considering what you and I went through when Zeth was born, I don't think you've found the way to get at it."

"Oh, but I have! When I take transfer in healing mode—all the selyn goes into that reservoir. That's why I'm still in need until I balance my fields. What I really do is draw the selyn into my system, ready for use—and that doesn't hurt at all!"

"You may be right, Rimon," said Abel, "but if you do have this 'reservoir,' what is it for?"

"Survival. A Sime who has it can store up two months' worth of selyn at once. Then the second month he can draw from his reserve—or use it to fight, or survive in the cold, or augment. Only he can't get at it by himself– he has to have a Gen to provide resistance. However, the Gen can be low-field, or even scared—and it still works."

"Do you think we all have it?" asked Carlana.

"I don't know. Jord seems to. It may be a new mutation, or there may have been Simes with the capacity all along– or every Sime may have it, but not use it. Maybe a trauma at changeover opens it. We just don't know enough yet. Every new piece of information brings up a hundred new questions."

"Such as why this reservoir of yours becomes an asset rather than a liability only when you have Gens willing to help you get at the selyn you have stored. Surely that is another indication that we're slowly finding out God's plan," said Abel.

"I think we're headed in the right direction," Rimon agreed. "I wish Jord had been here to zlin what I did to Jon, and I want to zlin Jord in healing mode again."

Abel frowned. "Where is Jord? He knew we'd be pla

Rimon said, "He's post. He doesn't want to sit around talking theories!"

"He's what?"

"Post-kill—or, in this case, post-transfer. If you're right, it's his first time. You'd better not expect his feet to touch the ground until sometime tomorrow."

Kadi looked up and said quietly, "Rimon—Willa's post, too."

For the first time, Rimon considered what that could mean. Jord and Willa were just as inexperienced as he and Kadi had been, and he recalled Kadi's concern that Willa's adolescent emotions were fixed on Jord.

Just then the door opened, and the truants entered. Both were smiling, both had the too-neat look of freshly tucked clothing and just-combed hair, and both were flushed with a fresh and i

Jord took Willa's hand, and approached his parents. Willa looked up at him proudly, joyfully, as he said, "Father—Mother—I have, good news. Willa has consented to become my wife."

Chapter Nineteen

AN OLD FIGHT

Only Del shared Rimon and Kadi's concern over lord's intention to marry Willa. Fort Freedom exploded in a rush of wedding plans, everyone as excited as if his own child were getting married. There was no use trying to talk to Willa—she was in paradise, certain that Jord was the husband Rimon and Kadi had promised her.

While the wedding plans went forward, Rimon and Jord tested everyone in Fort Freedom in turn, always a few days after a kill, hoping to find someone who could imitate the healing mode.

Their lack of success was disheartening.

The one thing that brightened Rimon's days was the security of having Kadi back for transfer. The next time, everyone left them alone with their son. That evening, with Zeth well-fed, warm, dry, and sound asleep, Rimon and Kadi prepared for transfer. He sighed. "At this moment I can't believe I've ever known sexual desire—and yet I know it will be there after transfer, and I won't be able to hold back. Kadi, what am I going to do when you're fertile again?"

"Let's not spoil this time by worrying about next time."