Pandemonium Read Online Free PDF

being with them for a while. Yes, you in the blue shirt?”
    “Do the hendros have any body odor, and if so, can you describe it?”
    Nell smiled as laughter twittered. “They smell sweet, like pennies. Perhaps that’s because they have copper-based blood. Yes?”
    “Do the hendros have Internet access, and if so, what do they think of porn?”
    “Uh, no, they don’t have access yet. Our own bashfulness may be why, but I’m not sure. We’re working on it, though. They really want it. And I’m not sure what they’ll think of porn, now that you mention it.… Yes?”
    To Geoffrey’s frustration, virtually none of the questions were about Nell’s topic. The audience wanted to hear about the sels: What did they eat or drink, had they tried alcohol, did they have any favorite video games or favorite movie stars or television shows? Geoffrey sighed and realized that this was the way it would be—probably for the rest of their lives.
    9:24 P.M.
    Geoffrey hugged her behind the curtain. “You knocked ’em out, sweetheart.” He handed her a dry airport rose. “Congratulations!”
    She smelled the pink bloom. “That was so much fun. Thanks for arranging it, sweetheart.”
    “Don’t mention it. You were brilliant.”
    “What’s the news?”
    “Well, we got them high-speed Internet.” He smiled tentatively.
    “Thank God! And?”
    “And … Hender has been invited to London for a party in his honor.”
    “Fantastic…”
    “It’s a step.”
    “So … that’s it?”
    “Sort of.”
    “So it’s … a trial, then?”
    “More like a debut, I think.”
    “Oh.”
    “Come on, let’s get out of here! I made some arrangements.” He whispered in her ear. “We can give the Secret Service the slip and tell them where we are later. Or just take a cab to the airport in the morning.” Geoffrey shouldered his bag and grabbed Nell’s suitcase, which had been stowed backstage.
    “OK! Sounds like fun.”
    Geoffrey whispered to a stagehand, “Keep it on the down-low.” The man winked back as they slipped out the emergency exit and ran down the alley behind Lillie Auditorium.
    They sneaked down the tiny streets of Woods Hole to Brick Dorm, the old dormitory of the Marine Biological Laboratory. Inside, they found the room Geoffrey’s friend had reserved for them. Geoffrey was disappointed to find that the room’s window faced a Dumpster in an alley instead of Eel Pond, where they could have watched the sailboats. At least no one knew they were here, he thought.
    Nell sat on the bed and reflexively called Andy to check in, and Geoffrey stammered belatedly in protest. She looked at him apologetically as she answered. “I know they miss us, Andy. Could you just tell them that we miss them—? Oh, hi, Hender!”
    Geoffrey sighed and stretched back on the bed next to her, placing his hands on his forehead. All five sels demanded to speak to her in succession. By the time she finished, the sleep-depleted Geoffrey snored loudly.
    She decided not to wake him up and curled up beside him, still coming down from the high of delivering her first Fire-Breathing Chat at the legendary Lillie Auditorium.

 
    MARCH 15
    9:01 A.M. EASTERN STANDARD TIME
    Geoffrey and Nell woke to a loud noise that sounded like the screech of a spiger, the most terrifying predator of Henders Island, and she jolted upright, peering out the window. She recoiled at the image of a garbage truck raising its spiked arms as it hoisted a bin. Adrenaline jolted her body as her groggy mind reacted, and she instinctively grabbed Geoffrey’s arm, breathing hard.
    He jerked awake and noticed that both of them were still dressed on top of the bedspread. “Oh, no,” he said. “You let me sleep?” He noticed the terrified expression on her face. “What’s the matter? Did you have a dream again?”
    “The garbage truck,” she sighed, mad at herself. “I thought it was a spiger!”
    “Sorry.”
    “Damn,” Nell said, trying to shake it off.
    “It’s