Sarai, стр. 24
“And if theZill don’t destroy them first,” muttered Alekyn, his gaze fixed onJamie.
Jamie didn’tknow what to say. They had a cure for cancer, he thought numbly,and probably for a whole range of things that daily killedthousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of people on hisplanet.
Imagine the misery and suffering that couldbe overcome if humans were able to learn from the Naferi.
He couldn’tbegin to imagine it. It was humbling. So engrossed was he in histhoughts that he almost missed Tiff’s next words.
He was suggesting that Jamie continue hisstudies.
“But I can’tread Naferi,” he gasped. Tiff looked at him calmly and then hisnext words hit Jamie with the force of a lightning bolt.
“That willnot present many difficulties. Major, I will adjust Jamie’s neuralimplant while he is here today.”
Jamie’s jawdropped. “What did you say?”
Tiff’s browwrinkled. “I will adjust your implant so you can readNaferi.”
“Seriously? It’s thateasy?”
Tiff nodded.Jamie swung around to face Alekyn, his face contorted withrage.
“You knew,didn’t you, that it would be as easy that? That all they’d need todo was adjust the implant — and you let me be bored out of my mind.Why?”
Alekyn saidnothing, face impassive.
“Well?”Jamie snarled. “All these weeks I’ve been looking at picture books,getting people to read things for me, and all that needed to bedone was some minor adjustment to the damncommunication device you had planted in my head — you bastard, itwas just another way to control me, wasn’t it?”
Overwhelmed,his voice choked into silence. Alekyn’s ears twitched.
Jamie staredat him, lips tight and narrow. For some reason, Alekyn’s perfidyover not allowing him to read was really hurtful, a completebetrayal of what Alekyn had begun to mean to him. Probably, herealised with sudden, painful clarity, because itwas allabout control, all about getting Jamie to accept theunacceptable.
“Sarai …”Alekyn had evidently registered how deep his anger was. “I meantnothing more than to give you time to settle — ”
“Settle?” Jamie’s laugh was bitterand thin. “You arsehole, that’s never going to happen. You didn’twant me to be able to read Naferi because you wanted me to alwaysdepend on you for everything, to make me into some sort of patheticfucktoy slave, isolated and lost and powerless.”
He turnedback to Tiff. “If you don’t need his permission,” He glaredcontemptuously at Alekyn, “then adjust my neural implant so I canread. If I have to be a slave, at least I’ll be a well readone.”
Tiff studiedthem both, his expression neutral, and then nodded. “It is theright of all sentient beings to learn in order to fulfilthemselves. You are not a slave, Jamie, although I see now thatsome of our cultural differences may lead you to think likethat.”
“Yeah, well,what you say and what he does,” Jamie flicked a dismissive glanceat Alekyn, “are two different things. On earth some humans will sayand do anything to get what they want, no matter how dishonorable.Looks like the same thing applies to noble Naferi battlethanes.”
His contemptstung, he saw. Alekyn’s face reddened, his ears, lying flat backagainst his skull. Suddenly Jamie was more than fed up; he wascompletely over it.
“Hell, justadjust the damn thing and then my master can take me back to myprison.”
Tiff noddedand tapped something on his e-tab. “The adjustment will requiremild sedation, then nothing more other than rest for the remainderof the day.”
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SAY WHAT YOULIKE, JAMIE DECIDED, sitting back in hischair some days later, the written word was the best way to absorbinformation. To be able to read was bliss. Even the Naferi versionof television, which seemed to consist of scientific programs andbattle pics — no romances for the Naferi — seemed morecomprehensible once informed by what he was able toread.
He didn’tlike to think about the languages now imparted directly into hisbrain — frankly, the science behind it seemed more like witchcraftthan anything else, although when he said so Bram informed him in amatter of fact way that the witches he knew of were more likely todecant his brain out his ears rather than actually put somethinguseful into it.
Jamie gapedat him. “Witches? You mean magic exists?”
Bram nodded,scribbling a notation on his e-tab with a pencil-like implement.“Of course. At least, it does on Endoris. Not many people go therebecause the Endorians tend to magic them out of existence. Afterthey’ve eaten their brains, naturally.”
“Naturally,”Jamie echoed. “And nobody wants their brain eaten,right?”
“No, it isnot something generally recommended. Endoris is considered a verydangerous place. We tend not to go there.”
“Probably anexcellent idea.”
He shook hishead and absent-mindedly scratched his arm, glancing down at thered mark he’d raised. He frowned. That particular spot on his armhad been a bit sore since his neural implant was adjusted. Tiff hadgiven him a sedative and he’d dozed while they did the brain-thingto him. He remembered his eyes closing and the room fading aroundhim as he told Tiff he didn’t want Alekyn anywhere near him. He’dheard a small, sad mewing sound as unconsciousness overtook him,then he’d woken back in his room alone.
The past fewdays had been awkward to say the least. He and Alekyn were notspeaking. There didn’t seem to be much need because he had nothingto say that Alekyn would listen to. He was Alekyn’s sarai, hisslave, nothing more, and their developing relationship had witheredaway. Now whenever he entered a room and Alekyn was there, he left,spinning quietly on his heel and sliding away. He knew it waschildish, but he just couldn’t bear being anywhere near the bigNaferi. He didn’t know where Alekyn was sleeping, but as long as itwasn’t with him, he didn’t care.
He knew thepardmates were concerned by the state of affairs between him andAlekyn, but, well, hell, who cared? Not him, that was forsure.
One smallvictory was his, though. Alekyn had taken some of Tiff’s advice toheart, and Tig, Eled and Bram were taking it in turns to escortJamie outside their den into the city. He’d been taken out andabout, seeing shops and galleries — it turned out that the Naferiadored art, but it was heavily stylized and seemed overlyformal.
Jamiewondered