Music of the Spheres Read Online Free PDF Page B

Allan.”
    She closed the door behind her. Feeling much better about
her newly assigned duty, she strode off to find hangar twelve and the colonel.

6
    Canada Station Three
:
    Lagrange Point 4 :
    Earth Orbit :
    Within moments of entering his apartment, a sudden bursting pain literally knocked Alex off his
feet.
    That haunting song that he heard whenever he used his sight filled his mind, pushing out every rational thought.
    How is this happening? he screamed to himself. The Kinemetic
radiation had long since left him.
    The song was there nevertheless. It urged him—no, compelled him—to finish what he’d started over a decade before.
    Alex was not whole, and unless he could complete his journey
and transform into a full Kinemat, he would die in agony; and very soon. Time
was his enemy.
    For the rest of the day, hiding in his apartment, Alex
floated in and out of consciousness.
    Since the first time he had been exposed to Kinemet, Alex
had not been able to sleep or to dream. He could do neither, and did not seem
to have suffered any of the physiological or psychological effects of sleep
deprivation. Apparently, his mind could still shut down.
    As if drugged, his thoughts soared and wandered. Images appeared
before him, and flittered away before they could fully form.
    Always, though, there was the Song, calling to him. No
matter what he did—taking painkillers, turning off the lights, lying down—it
was always there.
    It was difficult for him to think clearly. Like a
gas-powered automobile running on empty, he needed an infusion of Kinemetic
radiation before he succumbed.
    His exposure to Kinemet a dozen years before had begun to
transform him, but the change was far from complete. Alex was a hollow shell, a
ghost, trapped between two dimensions. The key, he knew, was in translating
that ancient scroll. No one had been able to solve the riddle, and they’d given
up trying. Alex knew the answer was in the scroll. It had always been right there.
    As he thought about it, fighting off the pain of Kinemet
withdrawal, the certainty grew.
    With great difficulty—and struggling to maintain his
wits—Alex commanded the communications system to make contact with Michael
Sanderson. If there was anyone who could figure out his puzzle, it was Michael.
    But the pain!
    He couldn’t remember if he had connected with Earth and
spoken with Michael, but before he could try again, the song filled his head … and
then something happened to him that tore him away from reality.
    His body, ill-equipped to deal with the pain, betrayed him.
    He began to shut down.
    The last thing he heard was the ancient voice calling to
him: Alex, come home.

7
    Sanderson Family
Barbeque :
    Hull, Quebec :
    Canada Corp. :
    A cloud of smoke billowed out of the barbeque when Michael’s brother, David, opened the
lid to reveal half a dozen charred steaks.
    “You think maybe they’re cooked enough?” Michael asked,
standing off to the side.
    With his fingers wrapped around the neck of a beer bottle,
he lifted it to his lips and tipped the drink up enough to let a stream of
golden liquid pour into his mouth. Several drops spilled over his beard, and he
wiped them away with the back of his hand.
    “Wise-ass remarks will not get you invited back,” David
said, waving a spatula in a fan-like motion over the burning steaks to
dissipate the rising smoke.
    “Probably better for my health, anyway.” Michael winked at
his brother.
    “If you’re worried about your health, you’d best watch what
you say.” David lifted one of the barbeque utensils and pointed it at Michael.
“I have tongs, and I’m not afraid to use them.”
    Michael laughed. “I’ll go get some plates,” he said and
headed toward one of the picnic tables scattered around the yard.
    Halfway there, he stopped and turned around. David was poking
at the blackened meat with a long knife.
    “And a fire extinguisher,” Michael added in an attempt to
keep the banter going.
    “Bah!” David made