Three Lives Of Mary Read Online Free PDF

come back, I'll be… different. Things won't be the same, but it means you'll get repaired and that's all that matters right now."
    "Different? How? Where are you going, Mary?" Ben sounded almost normal. "I don't like this. You're scaring me."
    "It doesn't matter where. Just remember that-" Mary swallowed.  "That I love you and I'm coming back. Hold on to that."
    "You know what?" Ben's voice changed again. "We should get a puppy. I saw some really cute Altarian Sheepdogs last week over at Osaku's. Maybe we could buy one?"
    Mary sent a signal and unplugged herself as the technicians hibernated Ben's consciousness once more. A cab waiting outside took her straight to Tartoa's office.
    "That must have been hard," he said.
    "Is the paperwork ready?"
    Tartoa span around, then turned back holding a data tablet crowded with glowing numbers. Mary carefully examined the services and procedures listed, knowing how serious it was for both her and Ben. Something caught her eye and she went back over the line items entry by entry.
    She looked up at Tartoa who was flipping through several remote data channels. "There's something wrong."
    "I don't think so. I prepared the documents myself."
    "According to this, the income from selling all my Cynetics doesn't cover the total of Ben's repair estimates, and the cost of the reclone is missing."
    "As I said, there's nothing wrong. I don't make mistakes."
    "Whatever sneaky trick you're trying to pull isn't going to work, Tartoa." Mary tossed the tablet onto the bench next to her, the plastic-on-plastic clatter loud against the soft electronic chattering that formed the usual office background.
    "No tricks. I promise."
    "We agreed that Ben would be fully repaired."
    "He will. Trust me."
    "Who's paying the rest?"
    Tartoa spun around and slid to the window overlooking the bustle of the Main Avenue. The flickering lights on the various consoles silhouetted him so Mary could barely see his face. "I know what people think of me. None of it's good. They either hate me or fear me or both. I never felt that from you. You always treated me as an equal, almost like… like a friend. Some try to do that out of fear or hate, but you were different. You were pleasant to me because you're that kind of person, not out of deference."
    "You always played fair with us. Until now…"
    "Did you know I had a sister? Once." His voice rasped, almost becoming a whisper in the semi-darkness. "When the Company carried out their big experiment, they made two of us. One male, one female. Apparently they weren't sure which personality would fit their needs best."
    Mary's clenched her hands, unable to find anything to say. A sister?
    "Kerensa was younger than me. Or her growth was less accelerated. However you want to look at it. They SLinked us right away so we could train and practice together, but it also had … other personal 'benefits' which you can probably guess."
    Mary stiffened, despite herself. "That would be natural in the circumstances. You shouldn't feel guilty."
    Tartoa grunted. "I don't. We didn't create the situation, we simply tried to survive as best we could."
    "What happened?" Mary saw the outline of Tartoa's shoulders shake.
    "When they caught me, they terminated the SLink. It was years before I found out what happened." Tartoa sobbed. "First, they experimented on her. Trying to understand what had gone 'wrong' in the gene sequencing to bring out my criminal tendencies. Then, when they ran out of experiments, they terminated her like a laboratory animal."
    "I'm sorry." It was inadequate and Mary dragged herself over to the window, putting her hand on his huge shoulder. "You couldn't stop them."
    Tartoa reached back and patted her hand briefly. "The path you've chosen is very dangerous. The procedure has a significant chance of failure if neural-rejection occurs."
    "I have to chance that."
     
    ****
     
    Mary rolled over and stretched. A wave of nausea hit her and her body shook as if she'd been hit by