Skye Object 3270a Read Online Free PDF

appreciated a formal style. She patted her knee and smiled at the dokey. The little creature came bounding over to her. Its hands kneaded the shimmery hem of her skirt, while she stroked the soft tufts of green fur behind its ears. “It sure is cute,” she told the boy.
    Ord picked that moment to slip out from behind a low gardenia hedge. “Message, Skye,” it announced.
    â€œFrom who?” The dokey had turned belly-up, encouraging her to stroke the soft brown fur on its underside.
    â€œZia Adovna,” Ord said. “Play it now?”
    Skye groaned, knowing it had to be bad news. She chucked the dokey under the chin, then stood up. The boy clucked at his little pet. It scrambled to its feet, then leaped for his hand, climbing from there onto his shoulder. “Thanks,” Skye told him. The boy waved and walked on while she turned to Ord with a sigh of resignation. “Okay. Play it.”
    So Ord started talking, mimicking Zia’s voice exactly: “Bad news, ado. I’m due at my dad’s tonight. I forgot it was his birthday. You’re invited of course! Have Ord reschedule our appointment with M. Hand for tomorrow, okay?”
    Skye’s hands knotted into fists. “ Zeme dust! ” she cursed. “Of all the nights!”
    Why did things have to fall out like this? She liked Zia’s dad. He was a lydra farmer, who cloned the tentacled beasts used in zero-gravity construction. On any other night she would have been happy to stop by and help celebrate. . . .
    But it wasn’t any other night.
    Skye looked at Ord. “Let’s get something to eat,” she said. “And then you and I, we can go see M. Hand ourselves. How does that sound?”
    â€œSounds sweet,” Ord crooned. “Sounds nice. Home early. Good Skye.”

    Full dark had fallen by the time Skye followed Ord past the exclusive district of Old Guard Heights, to the equally exclusive complex of three tapering white towers called the Ice Sisters. Ord made to enter the lobby of the tallest Sister, but Skye hesitated. “Ord, are you sure this is the right address?” Only the oldest of the real people lived in these towers. It was said some of them never came out.
    â€œYes Skye. Please come.”
    The lobby was empty. Ord called the elevator. It was glass, and as it rose up the tower’s outer face, Skye felt as if the city was falling away from her feet. Like jumping in reverse . It carried her all the way to the top without stopping.
    When the doors opened, she stepped out into a dimly lit alcove. It opened onto a wide balcony populated with tall, tropical shrubs and small flowering trees, all growing in neat planters. Through the foliage she glimpsed the formal double doors of an exclusive apartment. No hint of light leaked through the glass panes, and she began to wonder if M. Hand had forgotten her appointment. Perhaps no one was home?
    The Dull Intelligence that served as major-domo for the apartment quickly banished that doubt. “Welcome Mistress Object!” it called in a cheery masculine voice that emanated from somewhere above the elevator doors. “Your host awaits you on the roof. He asks that you please follow the footlights to the stairway.”
    Dim lights on the floor came to life, illuminating a slate path that wound through the shrubbery before curving out of sight. Skye nodded nervously – “All right” – but she kept a close watch on Ord, looking for any sign of tension or alarm. She trusted the little robot to know if something was suspicious, or wrong, but Ord showed no concern as it scuttled beside her.
    An ornate metal railing encircled the balcony. Skye was tempted to look over, for she could hear music and voices drifting up from far below, but the path guided her away, to the other side of the rooftop. From here she could look up to the city’s summit, and beyond it, to the elevator column, its far end still glistening in