And All the Stars

"I sure don't think it's the judgment of God. Did you hear that dipweedcalling himself Pope? The one in Vie

"No religion I've ever heard of has mentioned giantstarry pointy things," Gavin said. He glanced at Nash, who looked amused.

"Technically, there is no reason why Shiva or Kali couldnot do such a thing. Why should any godtread old ground?"

"Divine retribution via aliens then," Pansaid. "Still aliens.

"No, I don't mean about it being aliens," Noi said,offering Emily a chair and pointing people toward the trays of sweets in thekitchen as she muted the television again. "The secret government conspiracy idea never seemed likely, whichdoes leave gods or aliens. It's theinvasion part. If they're invading,where the hell are they?"

"Laying their plans? Waiting for more people to die so it's safe to come out?"

"Or just watching." Gavin shrugged at Noi. "There's the aliens doing experiments theory. Think TheIsland of Doctor Moreau, except we'rethe animals being made into 'people'. Ithink there's even a religion which already believed that – that humans wereuplifted by aliens. So all this, thewhole horrible thing, has been to make Greens and Blues, to create the nextevolutionary step of the human race."

"A new world, a Blue world," Madeleine murmured,and felt sick.

"I agree with Fish that we should not rush tojudgment," Nash said, paused, then repeated: "Fish?"

Fisher, who had been keeping a watchful, worried eye on thetelevision, looked up, then let out his breath. "Sorry. I've been trying tofind a way to ask Madeleine to take off her clothes. Everything I can think to say soundsimpossibly wrong." One corner ofhis mouth twitched at their various reactions, then he added to Madeleine: "You're very blue, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Madeleine couldn't stop the rush of heat to her face, and wondered whatthe patch around her eye looked like when she blushed. "Just a minute – I actually anticipatedthat particular request."

"Oh, man, everything I can think to say right now soundsimpossibly wrong as well," Pan said as she stood up, then added on a moreserious note: "You want us to kick off, Maddie? Give you less of a crowd."

"It's okay." She collected the bags of looted clothing and, most importantly, thebackpack of looted other things, and headed into Tyler's walk-in wardrobe.

Noi followed her to check that Madeleine was okay, turned togo, then returned to pick up the backpack and briefly clutch it to her chest,bouncing in a circle of silent hilarity.

That at least left Madeleine smiling as she dug through thebags to unearth a pair of very short shorts and a matching crochet halter topwhich was a mere inch or two from being a bikini. Something she would normally never considerwearing, since it made her look like a noodle, only emphasising her lack ofhips and how little she had to fill the top. But looking in the mirror she saw neither abbreviated black cloth nor string-beanfigure, only stars.

"Barely human," she murmured, and saw exactly thesame thought in the faces of those who waited for her in Tyler's lounge room.

"Damn," Gavin said. "But – damn."

Madeleine, resisting the urge to clutch the coat she'dcarried with her to her chest, turned so they could see her back, which had aparticularly brilliant display: her own tiny nebulae. She looked down, the handful of stickingplasters on her arms and legs catching her eye.

"How are you still alive?" Fisher asked, soundingbreathless. He came close, putting onhis glasses, and she looked away as he bent to study her back. "Can I document this?"

"If you keep my face out of it," Madeleine said,and stood unhappily as he circled her, taking pictures with his phone. She hadn't really processed the impulse whichhad produced so many sketches of Fisher Charteris, but couldn't entirely deny Noi's conclusion, and so watched his face gravely as heangled his phone to take pictures of her stomach. He was someone she'd only just met, and sheliked the bones of his face, and the ci

Finished, he looked up, brows drawn in thought, and Madeleinewondered if he made many enemies because the slightest frown made it seem likehe was seriously a

"I was at St James," she a

"I don't know of any other very high exposure cases whohave survived," Fisher said, tuckingphone and glasses away. "Did youeat anything unusual, take any medicines we could investigate?"

"I don't think so. I painted, and ate soup. I tooksome aspirin early on because I'd hit my head. But–" She grimaced. "If there's anything really differentabout me, it was that I'd touched the Spire."

Fisher paused in the act of sitting down, then completed themovement, the lowering frown reappearing.

"Something you might have mentioned earlier!" Pansaid. "What was it like then?"

"Like us," Madeleine replied, uncomfortably. "Velvet. The same sensation as blue-stained skin. It was warm, too, and felt alive. Except solid as marble."

"That's...so not comforting to hear." Pan exchanged a glance with Nash, thentangled fingers in his hair, feeling the shape of his skull. "Not pointy yet."

"I'd only just touched it when the force field cameup," Madeleine went on. "I wasknocked back, paralysed like I was this morning. Then awful pins and needles. Today I was a lot hungrier afterwards, butotherwise it was the same."

"Did that happen during your surge?" Fisher asked,very intent.

"No."

"Go look at the bathroom," Noi said, and pointedthe way. When they returned she added:"I was surprised you aren't more cut up, seeing all that."

Madeleine explained briefly how the shards of glass and tilehad bounced off her during the surge, the cuts simply the result of pickingherself off the floor afterwards.

"Personal force field," Pan said, excited. "Can we do that? Okay, yeah, it makes us even more like theSpire, but so cool. But why theparalysis?"

"Some controlled, less spectacular experiments mightanswer that," Fisher said, not taking his eyes off Madeleine. "Something I wanted to organise anyway,somewhere away from anything we can damage, but even more so hearing this. It's more than worth investigating whetheryour survival is intrinsic to you, or a result of the shock soon afterexposure. Have you heard from your cousin?"

"No. But he hadjust flown in when the Spire arrived, and was safe from the dust for a longwhile. The last time I heard from him hedidn't have the stain."

"Leave a note," suggested Pan. "Forward the apartment phone to yourmobile." He grimaced. "The senior dorms are set a littleapart, and it makes a real difference to know there's not a body in the nextroom. I'd be all manly now and say yougirls should let us protect you, except you just gutted a car, and I think Noiwould throw those boots at me. But we'regood company, and wash most days."

"How're your Greens?" Noi asked, a note of regretin her voice.