The Greatship Read Online Free PDF Page A

soul.”
    “Your ‘soul’?”
    “My mind.  My essence.  Whatever it is that the universe sees when it looks hard at peculiar little Wune.”
    “Your soul,” the walker said again.
    Wune spoke for a long while, trying to explain her newborn faith.  Then her voice turned raw and sloppy, and after drinking broth produced by her recyke system, she slept again.  The legs of her lifesuit were locked in place.  Nearly five hours passed with her standing like a statue, unaware of her surroundings, and when she woke again barely twenty meters of vacuum and hard radiation separated them.
    The Remora didn’t act surprised.  With a quieter, more intimate voice, she asked, “What fuels you?  Is there some kind of reactor inside that body?  Or do you steal your power from us somehow?”
    “I don’t remember stealing.”
    “Ah, the thief’s standard reply.”  She chuckled.  “Let’s assume you’re a machine.  You have to be alien-built.  I’ve never seen any device like you, or even heard rumors.  Not from the human shops, I haven’t.”  After a long stare, she asked, “Are you male?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “I’m going to call you male.  Does that offend you?”
    “No.”
    “Then perhaps you are.”  She wanted to come closer.  One boot lifted, seemingly of its own volition, and then she forced herself to set it back down on the hull.  “You claim not to know your own purpose.  Your job, your nature are questions without answer.”
    “I am a mystery to myself.”
    “Which is an enormous gift, isn’t it?  By that, I mean that if you don’t know what to do with your life, then you’re free to do anything you wish.”  Her face was changing color, the purple skin giving way to streaks of gold.  And during her sleep her eyes had grown rounder and deeply blue.  “You don’t seem dangerous.  And you do require solitude.  I can accept all of that.  But as time passes, I think you’ll discover that escaping notice will only grow harder.  The surface area is enormous, yes.  But where will you hide?  I won’t chase after you.  I promise.  And I can keep my people respectful of your privacy.  At least I hope I can.  But the Great Ship is cursed with quite a few captains, and they don’t approve of mysteries.  And we can’t count all the adventurers who are racing here, abandoning home worlds and fortunes just to ride on this alien artifact.”
    With just a few words, the galaxy above seemed even more treacherous.
    Wune continued.  “Maybe you don’t realize this, but our captains have decided to take us on a tour of the Milky Way.  Humans and aliens are invited, for a fat price, and some of them will hear the rumors about you.  I guarantee, some of these passengers will come up on the hull, armed with sensors and their lousy judgment.”
    He listened and tried to think clearly.
    “There is selfishness in my reasons,” Wune admitted.  “I don’t want these tourists under my boots.  And since you can’t hide forever in plain sight, we need to find you a new home.”
    Horrified, Alone asked, “Where can I go?”
    “Almost anywhere,” Wune assured.  “The Great Ship is ridiculously big.  It might take hundreds of thousands of years just to fill up its empty places.  There are caverns and little tunnels.  Nobody can name all of the seas and canyons and the dead-end holes.”
    “But how can I find those places?”
    “One place is all that you need, and I know ways.  I will help you.”
    Terror and hope lay balanced on the walker’s soul.
    With those changeless human teeth, Wune smiled.  “You say you know nothing about your nature, your talents.  And I think you mean that.”
    “I do.”
    “Look at the chest of my suit, will you?  Stare into the flat hyperfiber.  Yes, here.  Can you see your own reflection?”
    His body had changed during these last few minutes.  Alone had felt the new arms sprouting, the design of his legs adjusting, and without