"It's a game," I said. "A very exciting game. I want you to pretend that you're-a prowler. Prowler number fourteen. I want you to pretend that you're riding inside it, seeing what it sees, hearing what it hears, feeling what it feels. I want you to pretend that you can take it anywhere you want to go. Can you do that? Close your eyes, sweetheart-that's it-and just let yourself be inside prowler number fourteen. That's my girl."
Dwan's face puckered up uncomfortably. Her eyes popped open again, blinked, and widened in surprise. She looked around, her head swiveling back and forth in a movement that was both graceful and mechanical.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"I'm m-moving through the trees. Under a tent. It's the skin of the d-dirigible. I can -see"-she looked up-"the f-framework is all b-broken and crunched. Pieces of it are hanging in the f-forest."
"Where are you?" I repeated.
"I'm-under the's-stern. It's ripped very badly."
"Can you climb up into it?"
"I d-don't think so-"
"Remember, Dwan, you're a prowler now." i squeezed her hands in mine. "Remember, you have pincers on your feet. You can go up a tree, you can hang on to things that people can't. Now, look-is there a way for you to climb up?"
Dwan's head swiveled around and around. She looked up above us with a calculating eye. She frowned and squinted and worked her face through a series of strange contortions. At last, she pointed. "I c-can g-go up that way."
"Do it," I commanded.
"I'm's-scared," she said.
"Don't worry, nothing can hurt you. It's just a pretend game. And I'm right here with you the whole time."
"I d-don't want to d-do this anymore. It hurts."
"It's very important, Dwan. Do you like Lizard?"
"G-general T-tirelli is v-very n-nice. I l-like her."
"You have to do this for her."
"It h-hurts."
"Lizard's in trouble. You're the only one who can save her."
"Is she's-sick?"
"She might be. I know this is uncomfortable for you, but you have to do it for her."
Dwan shifted her position; she seemed to writhe inside her body. I couldn't figure out what she was doing, then she announced, "I'm cl-climbing the't-tree now. I'm almost n-near the't-top. It's v-very high up here."
"Don't look down."
"Wh-what d-do you want me to d-do now?"
"I want you to climb up inside the, wreckage of the ship. Can you do that?"
"I'm climbing," she said. "It's very d-dark in here. There's b-broken's-stuff everywhere. The skin of th-the ship is hanging over everything. I c-can't see very w-well."
"Turn on the lights, Dwan. You have lights. Turn them on."
"I d-don't know how to do that."
"Think them on. Think about the lights in your head. Feel them. Think where they are. That's right. Good. Now think them on. That's the way. Are they on?"
Dwan's face brightened. "I can see b-better now. I fixed my eyes too. I c-can see different colors. It's p-prettier this way."
"Good girl." I squeezed her hands. "Where are you now?"
"I'm in a c-corridor, I think. It l-looks like the running't-track. It's very long, b-but it's all b-broken up."
"Is there room to walk?"
"No. It's all crunched in. You'd have to crawl down real low-"
"Dwan, remember, you're a prowler now. Can you get through as a prowler?"
Dwan's face focused and cleared. She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. I can g-get through." She flexed her fingers experimentally. "Can I use m-my hands?"
"Yes!" I practically shouted in her face. "Yes, good girl! That's very smart."
"I'm going forward n-now."
"Good, see how fast you can go. I want you to head for the main lounge, okay?"
"Okay, Shim."
"I want you to look for the main staircase-"
"The corridor b-breaks here, Shim. Should I come back?"
"No!" I realized I was shouting. I lowered my voice. "No, don't come back. Is there a way across? A way around?" Dwan frowned, thinking hard.
"Look carefully, Dwan."
She was sweating profusely. Tiny drops were glistening on her forehead. She was getting very red in the face. "I c-can't go any f-farther, Shim. It's b-broken."
"It's very important, Dwan."
Tears of frustration started to pool in her eyes. "I c-can't see any way."
She didn't have the advantage of her augment here. The same circuitry was needed to simulate the VR experience. And she couldn't figure this out without help.
"What do you see, Dwan?"
"There's a b-branch that c-came crashing through everything-it's a b-big't-twisty one."
"Can you cross on the branch?"
"It's too n-narrow for m-me-"
"You're a prowler. You have grabby claws instead of hands, remember?"
"Oh, yeah-yeah!" Her face brightened. She worked her hands in front of me for a moment. Little clutching motions. "I think I c-can-yes, Shim, I can d-do it. I'm crossing. I'm in the other p-part of the ship n-now. I'm in the c-corridor again. This part isn't so broken. I c-can run. It feels g-good. I'm not allowed to run m-most times-"
"You're doing fine-that's my good girl. Be careful."
"I'm careful."
"All right, I want you to go to the forward lounge, Dwan. Can you find it?"
"Everything's real b-broken up, real b-bad-I can't g-go any f-farther. I have to go around-oh, I c-can climb up through—yes, that works. Here's a hole. It opens up. It's all b-broken, b-but there's room to climb over everything. I can keep going-oh!"
"What?"
"I found a body."
"Who is it?"
"It's a's-soldier. She w-was pretty too." Dwan started to whimper. "Sh-she's all b-broken."
"Dwan, listen to me. Is there a dog tag around her neck?"
"Y-yes."
"Take it. You have special hands for taking pieces of things. Take the dog tags. Can you do that?"
Dwan frowned for a moment. "I've g-got them. Okay?"
"Good girl. Who is it? Read me the name on the tags."
"L-lopez. Her n-name was L-lopez. M-macha Hernandez L-lopez."
Shit. For a moment, I couldn't speak. I knew what had happened. Lopez had been looking for General Tirelli, and-and something had happened.
"All right," I said, recovering myself. "Where are you?"
"I'm on the m-main deck now. The c-corridors are c-crumpled. I can't g-go any f-farther, Shim."
"Yes, you can. You're very strong now. You can pull the walls apart if you have to. I want you to pull the walls apart and keep going forward, okay?"
"Okay, Shim-" After a minute, she added, "This is f-fun."
"Be careful, watch out in case anybody's alive. I want you to watch for the main lounge, okay?"
"Okay. There's a l-lot of j -jungle in here. Everything slants d-down and there's a l-lot of't-trees and's-stuff poking up through the floor. I guess-oops, that's a big hole."
"How deep is it?"
"It goes a l-long way d-down. But I see a w-way to climb d-down if I have to-I c-could g-get out here."
"Good. Remember this hole. I want you to come back this way."
"Do you w-want me to c-come b-back now?"
"No, I want you to keep looking for Lizard. Find the main lounge."
"Okay. I'm g-going up again. It's a little steep here, but I can m-manage it. I'm using m-my claws. This is f-fun. Wait a m-minute-"
"What are you doing?"
"I'm c—cutting a hole so I c-can g-get through-" She was silent a minute, but her face contorted furiously as she worked. "Okay, I'm f-fine—" She stopped. She frowned. "What's-smells purple?"
"Look around, sweetheart. What do you see?"
"Um-there's a lot of water here. Something m-must have leaked. I hear n-noises. Chewing n-noises. There's b-bugs in the air. Lots of b-bugs. Stingflies, I think they're called. And-ouch!" She looked annoyed and slapped at something. "One of those m-millipedie things. I stomped it."
"Don't use-" I kept myself from finishing the sentence.