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Skull stared at the base again on the viewscreen. “It doesn’t look like much.”
“There isn’t much to see. What you’d call the roof is just a solar collection surface, and everything else is underneath. But now you at least know I’m telling you the truth about a base.”
“It’s a base, yes. I still want to see it. At least to get out of this ship for a while. See something except these two rooms. I’ll be the only human ever to have set foot on a comet.”
She looked at him with pain in her eyes.
He stared back. “What?”
She shook her head, mumbled something again.
“What did you say?”
She pressed her lips together, looked down, shook her head. Tears spattered with the motion.
“Gah. Women.”
She raised her head, suddenly furious. “Which is it? I’m a woman, or I’m an alien? One minute you’re screwing me and then the next minute you’re declaring you’re the only human on this ship. Which is it?” She picked up her empty bottle and threw it at his head.
He caught it with casual speed. “Come on, I didn’t mean it that way. I meant, the only full human...unchanged human...huh. I’m not even that, am I?” he mused. “I guess you’re right to be upset. Neither of us is human anymore.”
“Yes we are! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all this time. Being human isn’t about your biology, it’s your mind and your soul that makes you human.”
“But what about your Meme mind and soul?” he asked, half-serious.
“That’s why they wipe the minds of the species they blend with. Meme have very little personality, and no soul. They have no art, no music, no appreciation for beauty. Their emotions are weak compared to ours. They are just big bags of knowledge and memories. And Raphael never met any Meme except his siblings. He was terrified of the ones that are coming, and fascinated by humanity.” She slapped her chest with her palm. “My personality is mostly Sophia Ilona’s, even if my memories include Raphael’s. My brain and body are human, deliberately human. As much or more than yours. If you can’t get past your gut revulsion to me, I understand. But if it’s just a mental reservation, then for God’s sake get over it. And if by chance you’re beating yourself up about what you...what we did, then get over that too. I don’t blame you for it. It just...happened. And,” she dropped her voice near to a whisper, “I really wouldn’t mind it happening again.”
Skull turned away as if he had not heard, ignoring the invitation, rejecting the complexity of this thing between them, this relationship that was growing like crabgrass despite his efforts to pull up the roots or mow it down.
After a moment he heard her weeping. More manipulation. Not giving in. He clenched his teeth and said harshly, “How long until we land?”
Between sniffles she said, “Six hours. You’ll feel the G forces lessen and eventually almost disappear. When we set down we’ll have microgravity. Treat it like zero G and you’ll be fine.”
