Awakened by the Giant Read online

  The scar had remained with her through adolescence and adulthood and since it was shaped a little like a Barbie head and had come from the melted Barbie’s feet, Maddy had dubbed it her “Barbie scar.”

  But now it was gone. Just…gone. Like her freckles.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Maddy murmured to herself. She began to examine her body in more detail. Along with the Barbie scar, she was also missing the spot high on her upper thigh where a scratch from her cat, Sigourney, had gotten infected. Why hadn’t she noticed it was gone?

  Maybe because you’ve been too busy playing house with Mr. Muscles instead of paying attention to what really matters, whispered the accusing little voice in her head. Something’s going on here, Maddy—something strange and you need to get to the bottom of it.

  Maddy tried to push it away but it wouldn’t go. She wanted to ask Calden more about her missing scars and freckles—if he knew where they had gone or how they had gotten erased. But at the same time, she also wanted to find out for herself.

  There was a growing suspicion in the back of her mind—a thought so nebulous and strange she couldn’t quite make it out. It was like a shape in the darkness of her subconscious—looming like a huge, menacing figure in the fog. Maddy had the idea that if she could see it clearly, it would explain everything but she was afraid to see it, somehow. Afraid to know the truth.

  “What truth? This is ridiculous,” she said out loud to herself. “I’m not going to stand here one more minute tormenting myself with crazy fantasies and half-baked ideas!”

  Hearing her own voice made her feel a little more steady and sure of herself. She turned away from the 3-D viewer and its troubling reflections resolutely and marched out of the bathroom.

  She wished Calden was there to reassure her, but he was still gone and she had no idea when he would be back. For a moment she stood there in the middle of his quarters, looking around at the oversized furniture as though she was seeing it for the first time. Everything in here was so big…it made her feel so small. The only thing that seemed to be her size was the little plant by his work station. It had finally dropped its flowers, Maddy noticed, and now small, hard green fruits were growing among its silvery-green leaves instead.

  That was interesting, but she couldn’t stand around looking at a plant forever.

  I know what would make me feel better—holding Snuffy, Maddy thought suddenly. I wonder if he’s okay—poor little guy!

  She felt a surge of worry for the little brantha and a wish to hold him, as much for her own comfort as for his. In her new world where everything was so much bigger than she was, it was nice to have something smaller than her to take care of and love.

  Calden had asked her to stay in his rooms and wait for him but surely he wouldn’t mind if she just went to the lab. It was just down the corridor a short way and it ought to be safe to go—it was the time the two of them usually went to the enzyme baths and all the Mentats would be working in their own labs now.

  Making a decision, Maddy went to the door and waved her hand over the sensor. The light turned from red to green and then the metal door panel slid to one side. She peeked out carefully but the corridor was deserted. All right—good—she was going.

  Taking a deep breath and telling herself she was being needlessly nervous, Maddy stepped confidently out the door and listened to it slide shut behind her. She took a left and headed down the long, curving corridor of the Mentat station, noting as she did that it was still completely deserted.

  Calden’s lab was right ahead—she was already worrying about Snuffy again when one of the many silver door panels that lined the corridor slid open. Suddenly, a huge, scaly shape stepped out into the hall right in front of her, blocking her way.

  “Hello, little female.” Grack-lor grinned evilly at her, showing long, sharp teeth as his ink-blot eyes narrowed in anticipation. “Imagine finding you out here all alone.”

  Twelve

  “What is this about, FATHER? My next review is not set for another standard week,” Calden said, as he seated himself on the too-small stool in the scanning booth. He noted that the lighting in the booth, instead of being a cool, soothing blue, was hovering in the reddish-orange color range—not a good sign.

  What if FATHER knows what I have been doing with Madeline? What if he suspects that I have broken my vow?

  But that was impossible. With the exception of the first time he had touched her in the enzyme baths, all the other illicit activities he and Madeline had engaged in had been done exclusively in the privacy of his quarters. And personal privacy was never violated here at the Mentat station—it was one of the guarantees which all the inhabitants were given when they came. This was important because many of the scientists here were secretive about their research and jealous of their findings. The research, like the secret formula of the nutrient bath which was used to grow clones, was a closely guarded secret.

  Taking a deep breath, Calden resolved to keep calm—making his breathing deep and even with a conscious effort.

  “Calden.” FATHER’s voice was calm and without inflection. “I have called you here because there have been complaints from the other residents of the station.”

  “Complaints? From who?” Calden demanded. “Grack-lor? That misogynistic bastard—”

  “Grack-lor and Jong-tar are among those who have complained,” FATHER said, its voice still neutral. “But their complaints seemed nebulous and ungrounded. It was not until our oldest and most venerable member, Nusper-veis, came forward that I was forced to investigate.”

  “What?” Calden couldn’t keep the surprise and concern out of his voice. So the old Mentat had seen himself and Madeline in the baths. But how much had he seen?

  “Nusper-veis told me that he observed you and your sentient specimen in the baths almost a standard week ago,” FATHER said. “He said it appeared that you were touching her sexually…pleasuring her.” The lighting in the booth had turned bright orange now—a clear sign of the AI’s discomfort.

  “I was rubbing the protective gel onto her sensitive areas to protect them from the enzymes in the bath,” Calden said, trying to keep his voice low and even. If this was all FATHER had, he might still be able to convince the AI that this was all one big misunderstanding.

  “Nusper-veis seemed to think that it was more than that,” FATHER said. “Taken with the complaints of the other Mentats, I felt it merited an investigation. I was forced, very reluctantly, to begin monitoring your quarters.”

  “What?” Calden didn’t even try to keep the anger out of his voice. “But privacy is guaranteed aboard the station! How dare you spy on me?”

  “It is guaranteed as long as you are not suspected of breaking the oath you took when you first came here,” FATHER said, his normally neutral voice suddenly stern. “But when you break our laws, you lose your privileges.”

  “You have no right to monitor me or to police my actions!” Calden exclaimed. “And you have no proof that I have broken either your laws or my oath.”

  “Unfortunately, I do.” The glass walls of the booth turned suddenly opaque and scenes began playing on them as though they were vidscreens. Scenes that had been taken inside his quarters, Calden realized with growing horror.

  He saw himself and Madeline engaged in pleasuring each other—her sucking his shaft…the two of them stroking each other’s bare bodies…not to mention numerous instances of him between her legs, lapping and tasting her sweet pussy as she moaned and thrust up to meet his tongue, her hands buried in his hair as she called his name over and over…Gods, had FATHER seen it all?

  “I blame myself for this,” FATHER said as the images faded. “I chose to trust you when you swore to me that you did not wish to breed with this sentient female clone that you were allowed to grow. I should have realized that it would be impossible for you to subdue your biological urges for long in the presence of a fertile female. I should also have realized that this would arouse the jealousy of the other m