Valhai (The Ammonite Galaxy) Read Online Free PDF

her brother, Xenon. The new head of the 256th house. Why was she finding it so hard to adapt to the new circumstances?
    She tried to make herself smaller, and hoped that she wouldn’t be seen. She hated to think what would happen if her brother found out that she was out of house.
    She watched, idly, as they advanced along the jetty and then took a turn to the left. Suddenly she frowned, for her brother had taken the boy by the arm and appeared to be remonstrating with him. The boy was shouting; they must have been closer than they looked for the thin atmosphere was sufficient to bring her his words: “Let me go! Let me go!”, although it transformed the shout into a whisper and delivered the sound with a noticeable time delay.
    Grace felt strangely detached from the scene that was being carried out in front of her. It clearly hadn’t occurred to her brother that somebody could possibly have gone bare planet, and be studying his actions at that moment. He had slipped naturally into his new position, it seemed. Of course, he had been genetically modified so as to maximize the abilities he would need as head of house. Xenon 48 had insisted upon it. And Xenon 48 had not been a man to cross. He was the perfect result of honing genes until the man was completely adapted to the job he was to carry out in Sellite society. Now, from Grace’s vantage point on top of the hill she realized that her brother must also be genetically ideal for the job he had inherited. It was a sad realization for her. As he was growing up she had been able to ignore the small indications that he would be very like his father. Suddenly, seeing him here, she was forced to acknowledge how little they had in common. It gave her a horrid feeling of disappointment in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps the little boy she had loved so much had never existed?
    She saw the man pick the boy up and give him a shake. The boy was clearly terrified, yet she was forced to smile because his body language was full of bravado and spunk. It was odd to feel more empathy for a complete stranger, one who was not even Sellite, than for her own brother. There must be something wrong with her. Surely all these conflicting emotions were not normal? Was she going to end up like her mother?
    The man dropped the boy, who slowly sank out of sight. Grace, who had never been in one of the bubbles, wondered what it felt like. It couldn’t be a very agreeable experience even if you knew what to expect. And if you didn’t it must be horrifying. At that moment Grace suddenly forgot to breathe. In a split-second that simple thought caused a cascade of others which annihilated the very foundations of her being. Her blood ran cold.
    These apprentices are terrified of us. We, the Sellites, are the tyrants. How could this have happened? When did it happen? Grace watched as her brother turned and headed back to the cabin track. She found she was holding her hands up to her face in shock. How had she been able to think that the Sellites were the heroes? She had quite happily accepted that the apprentices came willingly, eager to learn so many new things that were not available to them on their own planets.
    But that boy had not been willing. Every fibre of his body had been screaming, feelings she could detect even at such a distance. Grace forced herself to breathe evenly, through hands which were shaking slightly. She watched her own flesh and blood walk calmly away, his posture indicating satisfaction with a job well done. She closed her eyes. She had seen enough.
    How many children were in the lake now? She wondered. And how long would they stay there for? She couldn’t even begin to imagine what they would be feeling. She herself felt claustrophobic living in four thousand and fifty square metres with full use of the lower forty-seven floors!
    Grace sat in a stupor for some time, until the warning buzzer she had pre-programmed before leaving the skyrise began to sound. It was time to