memory, everything. Some of these might be traps for the unwary, just in case
ones like us got to this point. Even if not, these are to be taken sparingly,
and never more than one a day, to avoid confusing and muddying the mind. We do
not have thirty-eight days.
There are three of us, Chow Mai pointed out. Each of us could try one and
see. Perhaps fortune will smile. If not, we try again, then wait to see if
anyone has troubles. We have nothing to lose. Just hours ago we had lost all
hope and you were in his power.
You are right, Chu Li responded. Let us begin now, for when we sleep this
time, it will be long and deep. Perhaps we can at least find some pattern to
their arrangement. I can read the numbers, although they are in a foreign
system. That type of number is used in all computer work. One of us will take
the number one, which is an odd number and at the start. Another will take
thirty-eight, an even number at the end. The third will take nineteen, an odd
number in the middle. Then ten, twenty, and thirty. Then we will see if we can
find a pattern. Beware, though. It does more than teach; it changes the mind. I
am a living example of that.
I will go first, Chow Mai said, because you will have to show us how it is
operated.
It is quite simple. Just sit in the chair there and relax. No! Do not put the
headset on as yetf Not until there is a cartridge in the system. To do so would
cause brain damage. Now—watch. Number one in just so, and only this way. Wait
for the small green light there. So! Now you may put on the headset, and I will
adjust it.
Chow Mai seemed almost disappointed. I feel nothing
You will. Now, put your head back on the rest and close your eyes. When I push
this activator, it will begin. Push it again and it will stop, so if we see
something terrible happening it can be halted by being quick. Otherwise it will
run as long as it runs, and you will be awake yet as if asleep. Ready? Chow
Dai—you should push the activator.
Chow Dai hesitated a moment, then pushed it. The green light changed to amber,
then to flashing red.
Suddenly Chow Mai said, It asks a question in my head. A single word I do not
know.
Chu Li thought a moment. She hadn’t even considered password protections for a
setup like this, Answer with the same word as it asks, only give it as a
statement, she instructed Chow Mai. No need to say it. Just think it.
Chow Mai looked confused but sat back, closed her eyes, and did as instructed.
The program started running, and Chu Li breathed a sigh of relief. With a
computer she was sure she could break any password, but she needed the password
to get to the computer. This computer’s password, however, was the default:
password.
The machine ran for a nervous half hour with Chow Mai showing no visible
reaction, then switched off. Chu Li lifted off the headset. Remember never to
remove the cartridge until this is first removed, she said.
Chow Mai opened her eyes dreamily and saw the worried expressions of the others.
Do not worry, my sisters, for I am well, she assured them, and wasn’t quite
certain why they seemed even more upset.
Chow Mai—do you understand me, your twin?
She did understand, although it took some concentration to reply. Her first
efforts were a hopeless mixture of two languages that could not be mixed, and it
took a while before she was able even with difficulty to switch comfortably.
It is Arabic, Chu Li explained. One of the Center spaceport languages. I have
heard it spoken, although I do not know it. It is not the language of the ship,
this I know. It will be difficult for her to sort one from the other for a
while, but she will be able to separate them as time passes. This is good. One
is a language program. If thirty-eight is not, we will try number two, perhaps.
Chow Mai— go. Lie. Down. Yes.
Still feeling a bit dizzy and confused, Chow Mai went out and collapsed into one
of the chairs. Chu Li removed cartridge one and replaced it with number
thirty-eight, then got into the chair and put on the headset. She nodded at Chow
Dai, then relaxed. The sister pressed the activator.
Number thirty-eight proved to be a highly technical program about the ship
itself and paid particular attention to the restraint system, locks, and other
protective and safety devices. It was not designed as language-specific but
searched in the mind of the user for the right, words and terms; if such terms
were not present or possible to construct, one simply didn’t understand all of
the program. Song Ching’s technological center Mandarin, however, was more than
adequate for the task.
She awakened feeling elated and recovered quickly, thanks to her long experience
with such devices. She removed the headset and saw Chow Dai just coming back
into the room. The girl was apologetic. I am sorry. When I saw you were in no
distress, I went to see how Chow Mai was getting on. I did not think it would be
so short.
Long enough, Chu Li responded. That was a technical tape, the last probably
made to date. It makes many references I cannot totally get because they are
obviously referring to past modifications, but I know now how much of this
operates. I know the restraint systems, the alarms, the door and hatch
combinations, and much more. I even know what many of these instruments here do,
and what the numbers mean. I know, for example, that those two numbers compared
mean that we are about sixty percent of the way to Melchior, but I also know
that we have under a week before we come under traffic control that will be able
to sense if we deviate from our planned course and raise alarms. We do not have
much time if we are to take control of the ship unnoticed.
Shall I take number two now?
No. I am used to it, and the technical orientation did nothing to me. Let us
see just how far the languages go. She chose cartridge number ten, then
inserted it in the machine in place of number thirty-eight. I will do this one
as well. There should be one of us around with her wits about her, and you are
it. Your turn will come in due course. She replaced the headsets and lay back.
When you are ready.
Chow Dai pushed the activator, then waited. This time Chu Li was not quiet but
started to breathe hard, then to moan and thrust. Her hands went to her crotch
and seemed to be doing something, but it was unclear what. What was clear was
that this was not a tape like the others. Fearful, particularly of the sounds
from the chair, Chow Dai pushed the activator off.
Chu Li came down very, very slowly and seemed almost disappointed when she
realized that she was no longer switched in. She opened her eyes and looked at
Chow Dai; her expression, though foreign to Chu Li’s nature, was one Chow Dai
had seen before in unpleasant circumstances.
Chu Li had been connected only a couple of minutes and so was able to regain
control, although her body trembled slightly. It was— she gasped, breathing
hard —a sex tape. A very graphic one. I was—a man—in the body of a man—amidst a
horde of foreign, exotic women. All were naked; all were there for my pleasure.
I was to choose one and do as I pleased. It was such a feeling of power, of
dominance. I am—was—highly aroused.
Chow Dai did not comprehend the depth of the experience, but she understood the
reason for such a cartridge and why Chu Li had responded to it. Now at least we
know where our honorable captain got his urges so readily and what he must have
done to amuse himself when no one else was aboard.
Yes, I think so. I had heard that such things existed, but I had never
experienced one before. The images are like memories, like reality. It is as if
the scene actually existed for me in the past, and whichever girl I chose 1
would have bedded. To the mind, there would be no difference between the reality
and the illusion. I feel the desire to go back and complete it, but I dare not.
Even now I feel the urge to grab you and make mad, passionate love to you.
, Chow Dai felt relieved and smiled. Is that such a bad thing?
To me, no. I have wanted it from the first. But to you it would be perverse.
No. What the guards did to us was perverse. What Sabatini did to you and to us
is perverse. Nothing done in love that harms no one can be perverse. You are
half man, half woman. That is enough.