Satellite: The Satellite Trilogy, Part I Read Online Free PDF Page B

the movement sends through my arms. After a long silence, I look through my fingers to be sure Willow is still in the room and find her glaring at me. “Hey, you said to chose a place of peace!”
    The red in her face dulls a little and she turns away. “Certainly your memories are fading by now,” she says, but not really to me.
    “Willow, I don’t think that was a memory,” I answer quietly.
    She turns around. “What do you mean?”
    “Tate…talked to me.”
    Willow locks her eyes on mine. “What did she say?”
    I don’t answer. I should have kept my mouth shut five seconds ago.
    “What did she say?” Willow demands.
    “She asked why I left her.”
    Willow turns away too fast for me to gauge her reaction, then paces the room and chews her thumbnail down to nothing.
    “What’s happening?” I finally ask.
    She stops and looks up at me, shaking her head. “I don’t know. Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s good.”

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    3. Use that great charm to make some friends, Casanova
    I zone on a sofa stain to keep still because my muscles remain ticked off at me. “Are you sure you’re all right?” I ask Willow after hearing the dishes clink even more loudly in the kitchen.
    “I said I’m fine.” Like Tate, she’s a horrible liar. If I wasn’t so uneasy about what just happened, it would be comical seeing Willow so scattered.
    She finally walks into the living room, holding two mugs. I take one from her and she sits on the other side of the sofa, her hand curled around her cup like she’s cold, which is absurd here in Perfectland.
    “OK, kid, here’s the deal. What happened in there”—she nods down the hall, toward the coding room—“keep your trap shut about it. Got it?”
    “Fine by me.” I take a drink and wince. “Blech!”
    “Sorry. I needed something strong.”
    “Well, this should do it. This could thin paint.” I wipe my lip and set the mug of poison on the trunk. Willow stares at the floor.
    “So I failed miserably at coding, huh?” I ask to break the silence.
    “You could say that.” She lifts her eyes. “What happened in there was just a forgotten memory.”
    She’s wrong. In fact, my memory feels sharper than ever. But no way am I going to share that with Willow.
    “We’re going to take a few days off from coding. Just stick to the stew, OK?”
    I cross my ankle over my knee, fidget with my bootlaces, and nod.
    “I’m heading to Programming. You can hang out here or down in Benson. Other Legacies will be in Programming, too, so there’s bound to be some newbies around. Use that great charm to make some friends, Casanova. You’ll need the camaraderie once you start your assignment.” Willow pats my leg before pushing herself up. I twist to look over the back of the sofa, watching her walk slower than usual into the kitchen to pour another cup of battery acid.
    When she’s almost to the door, her free hand claps against her forehead. “Shoot, I almost forgot. Viscal. I actually won’t be seeing you for a few days.”
    “Viscal?”
    She pulls her gaze from the ceiling. “Twice a year we spend three days in Viscal with our loved ones. You don’t get to partake in the festivities until you’ve got five years under your belt.”
    “Our loved ones?” I ask, feeling hopeful.
    “Our dead loved ones.”
    “Oh.” Certainly she heard my heart hit my stomach. “But if you’ve forgotten your memories, then how…?”
    “When people from your life die, your memories resurface automatically. If they’re already dead, you won’t lose them at all.”
    Grandpa. My mind quickly compares my memories of him with my memories of Tate. They’re equally strong. I try to downplay my relief, though I’m not sure if I succeed. “What about Programming? I mean, what’s the point if your memories return on their own?”
    “When a loved one dies, only your memories of them from when you were alive resurface. Lots of events happen in our lives that we don’t remember at