Neptune Road Volume IV Read Online Free PDF Page B

Cass, dear, I've got a present for
youuuuu..."
     
    "Not now. I'm tired." Cass, queen of the Bird People,
slumps in her chair next to the fire. It's been a long day of
research, most of it fruitless. And reports back from the field are
inconsistent at best. The subject is thwarting her efforts by doing
as little as possible. He doesn't even seem to be having any
thoughts.
     
    "Now dear, this I think is worth it." A gentleman
approaches, older, with the head of an eagle. The fabric of his
waistcoat is decorated with gold thread and scroll designs. He's
holding a long box, like one might use to store an antique
sword.
     
    "I certainly hope so, Steven," Cass says. "I need
something to distract me."
     
    Steven lifts out a pair of long, elaborate
contraptions. On one end are sleeves, out of which protrude a
variety of moving components. "Look, dearest. Aren't they
beautiful?"
     
    Cass takes one of the items in her gloved hands.
Hands fashioned from feathers and fabric and lace, sewn together.
Hardly the hands of a serious scientist or the ruler of a
people.
     
    "Try it on, dear," Steven insists.
     
    Cass slides one glove into the sleeve and the
contraption buzzes to life. Tiny mechanical components hum and
turn. She slides her binoculars over her beak to look. "It is
indeed beautiful," she says, approvingly.
     
    "And spectacularly useful," Steven adds. "You can
perform surgery with these, Cass. You have complete control. And
look at this."
     
    Steven puts on the other arm, and with a few gestures
makes it fold up, unfold, and take out and put away a wide array of
tools. Finally he closes the whole thing down into a casing that
resembles the sheath on a sword.
     
    "Very beautiful," Cass says. "Thank you, Steven, for
showing me this. They shall come in handy. No pun intended. Or
maybe intended."
     
    Steven lets out a squawk. "Of course. These shall
serve you well, I hope, in your research."
     
    "I think so," Cass says, and thinks about
smiling.
     

097 - Dr. Mangrove's Workshop on the Tumbleweed

     
    "Something has changed," Angelica's voice says to the
interior of Dr. Mangrove's head. How many days has she been riding
around inside of his brain, seeing what he sees, hearing his
thoughts? He can't remember.
     
    "What do you mean?" Dr. Mangrove asks, out loud. He
figures he will talk like a normal person so as not to completely
lose his mind.
     
    "I mean, the door," Angelica replies.
     
    She is right. The doorway to Dr. Mangrove's workshop
has been altered. It is - deeper. It has more pipes and things
running around it. Dr. Mangrove has no idea why. He could guess,
but he must not. That might give something away to his
brain-parasite.
     
    "Look, Angie," Dr. Mangrove says, "the Tumbleweed is
a hacked vessel. Everything on here is built, and rebuilt, and made
up. We take off parts and salvage things and redesign it every day.
So you will see things change. You can't get hung up on it."
     
    "My name isn't Angie, it's Angelica," Angelica
says.
     
    "Whatever," Dr. Mangrove says. "I'm going into my
workshop now."
     
    ----------
     
    "Okay, he walked through!" May shrieks, and claps her
hands. "Just now!"
     
    "Did we get a reading?" Feller asks.
     
    Philo's screen is a jumble of characters and lines.
Soon they begin to stick together in shapes, eventually resembling
the outline of Dr. Mangrove himself. The three of them have been
waiting on the Tumbleweed bridge for what seems like hours.
     
    May and Feller hold their breath while Philo sits for
several minutes, piecing together their first scan of Dr.
Mangrove's systems.
     
    "Well, I see nothing unusual," Philo says. "yet."
     
    "Nothing in his neck? No implant?" May asks.
     
    "No, none that I can see. There's a little mark where
the Bird People put the interface into his skin, but that's
all."
     
    Feller scratches his head. "How is that possible? We
know they implanted something. We know it! We saw!"
     
    "We did see, but clearly the technology is different
from