Hominids

�Have you been hurt?� asked the woman.

Hurt. Yes, that was the right approach. It was easier to admit you�d been hurt than to accept the R-word.

Mary nodded.

�I have to ask,� said the woman. She had large brown eyes, and a small jeweled stud in her nose. �Did it happen today?�

Mary shook her head.

For half a second, the woman looked�well, disappointed would be the wrong word, Mary thought, but things were doubtless much more interesting if it had just occurred, if the rape kit was to be employed to gather evidence, if �

�Yesterday,� said Mary, speaking for the first time. �Last night.�

�Was it�was it someone you know?�

�No,� said Mary � but then she paused. Actually, she wasn�t sure of the answer to that question. The monster had worn a ski mask. It could have been anyone: a student she�d taught; another faculty member; someone from the support staff; a punk from the Driftwood corridor. Anyone. �I don�t know. He�he had a mask on.�

�I know he hurt you,� said the young woman, putting an arm through Mary�s and leading her farther inside, �but did he injure you? Do you need to see a doctor?� The woman held up a hand. �We�ve got an excellent female doctor on call.�

Mary shook her head again. �No,� she said. �He had a�� Mary�s voice broke, surprising herself. She tried again. �He had a knife, but he didn�t use it.�

�Animal,� said the woman.

Mary nodded in agreement.

They moved into an inner room, with walls painted a soft pink. There were two chairs, but no couch�even here, even in this sanctuary, the sight of a couch might be too much. The woman gestured for Mary to take one of the chairs�a padded easy chair�and she took the other one, sitting opposite her, but reaching over and gently taking Mary�s left hand.

�Would you like to tell me your name?� asked the woman.

Mary thought about giving a fake name, or maybe�she didn�t want to lie to this sweet young person who was trying so hard to help; maybe she�d tell the woman her middle name, Nicole�that wouldn�t really be a lie, then, but it would still conceal her identity. But when she opened her mouth, �Mary� came out. �Mary Vaughan.�

�Mary, my name is Keisha.�

Mary looked at her. �How old are you?� she asked.

�Nineteen,� said Keisha.

So young. �Were you � were you ever �?�

Keisha pressed her lips together and nodded.

�When?�

�Three years ago.�

Mary felt her own eyes go wide. She would have been just sixteen then; it might�my God, her first time might have been a rape. �I�m so sorry,� said Mary.

Keisha tilted her head, accepting the comment. �I won�t tell you you�ll get over it, Mary, but you can survive it. And we�ll help you to do just that.�

Mary closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She could feel Keisha gently squeezing her hand, transfusing strength into her. At last, Mary spoke again. �I hate him,� she said. She opened her eyes. Keisha�s face was concerned, supportive. �And �� said Mary, slowly, softly, �I hate myself for letting it happen.�

Keisha nodded and reached over with her other arm, taking and gently holding Mary�s right hand, as well.

Chapter 18

Adikor and Jasmel walked back from the mine to Adikor�s home, the house he�d shared with Ponter. The lighting ribs came on in response to Adikor�s spoken request, and Jasmel looked around with interest.

This was Jasmel�s first time visiting what had been her father�s residence; Two always became One by the men coming into the Center, rather than the women going out to the Rim.

Jasmel was fascinated in a melancholy sort of way as she poked about the house, looking at Ponter�s collection of sculptures. She�d known he liked stone rodents, and had indeed made a habit of giving him such carvings every time there was a lunar eclipse. Jasmel knew Ponter particularly liked rodents made of minerals that weren�t indigenous to the animal�s own area�his pride and joy, judging by its place next to the wadlak slab�was a half-size beaver, a local animal, molded from malachite imported from central Evsoy.

While she continued to putter around, Adikor�s Companion made a plunk sound. �Healthy day,� he said into it. �Oh, wonderful, love. Great news! Be patient a beat �� He turned to Jasmel. �You�ll want to hear this; it�s my woman-mate, Lurt. She�s got an analysis of that liquid I found in the quantum-computing lab after your father disappeared.� Adikor pulled out a control bud on his Companion, activating the external speaker.

�Jasmel Ket�Ponter�s daughter�is with me now,� said Adikor. �Go ahead.�

�Healthy day, Jasmel,� said Lurt.

�And to you,� said Jasmel.

�All right,� continued Lurt, �This should surprise you. Do you know what the liquid you brought me is?�

�Water, I�d thought,� said Adikor. �Isn�t it?�

�Sort of. It�s in fact heavy water.�

Jasmel raised her eyebrow.

�Really?� said Adikor.

�Yes,� said Lurt. �Pure heavy water. Of course, heavy-water molecules do occur in nature; they make up about point-zero-one percent of normal rainwater, for instance. But to get a concentration like this�well, I�m not sure how it would be done. I suppose you could devise a technique to fractionate naturally occurring water, based on the fact that heavy water is indeed about ten percent heavier, but you�d have to process an enormous amount of water to separate out the amount you said you found. I don�t know of any facility that can do that, and I can�t think of any reason why someone would want to do it.�

Adikor looked at Jasmel, then back at his wrist. �There�s no way it�s naturally occurring? No way it could have welled up from the rocks?�

�Not a chance,� said Lurt�s voice. �It was slightly contaminated with what I eventually realized was the cleaning solution used on the floors of your lab; there must have been a dried residue of it that dissolved in the water. But otherwise it was absolutely pure. Ground water would have minerals dissolved in it; this was manufactured. By whom, I don�t know, and how, I�m not sure�but it absolutely isn�t something that occurred naturally.�

�Fascinating,� said Adikor. �And there was no trace of Ponter�s DNA?�

�No. There was a little of your own�doubtless you sloughed off some cells while mopping up the water�but none of anyone else�s. No traces of blood plasma or anything else that might have come from him, either.�

�All right. Many thanks!�

�Healthy day, my dear,� said Lurt�s voice.

�Healthy day,� repeated Adikor, and he pulled the control bud that broke the connection.

�What is heavy water?� asked Jasmel.

Adikor explained, then: �It must be the key,� he said.

�You�re telling the truth about the source of the heavy water?� asked Jasmel.

�Yes, of course,� Adikor said. �I collected it from the floor of the computing chamber after Ponter disappeared.�

�It�s not poisonous, is it?�

�Heavy water? I can�t imagine why it would be.�

�What uses does it have?�

�None that I know of.�

�There�s no way my father�s body could have been�I don�t know�converted somehow into heavy water?�

�I highly doubt it,� said Adikor. �And there�s no trace of the chemicals that made up his body. He didn�t disintegrate or spontaneously combust; he simply disappeared.�

Adikor shook his head. �Maybe tomorrow, at the dooslarm basadlarm, we can explain to the adjudicator why we need to go down to the lab. Until then, I hope Ponter is all right, wherever he might be.�