Heat and Light Read online

  Sandy only remembers one time we were together in her room, but there were many hours we spent together each day. Healing together, saying few words. I asked her why Mica had sacrificed himself for me. She sent me to you.

  Dr. Fount: Tell us about Hornblower.

  Abby: My memories of Hornblower, as a person, really only go back to the day I was born. Hearing me say that sounds strange. We'd been on the mission for quite some time, but that was the me in the AI core.

  To me, Hornblower was a natural, and at times a bit reluctant, leader. I can't imagine the weight he took on his own shoulders. The pressure of feeling responsible for everyone, the pressure of feeling responsible for every action we took. He bore it as best and as long as he could. He was a good man.

  When he chose to defend the civilian Centaur ship, he … I don't want to say he snapped … He just took it upon himself to do what he knew was necessary. I think his actions surprised him, shook him. After the fact, he wanted to shield all of us from feeling that we were, in any way, responsible for those deaths. For him, saving lives was a natural response. Taking lives was not. It broke him and at the same time, later, remade him. I know that talking with you and the other Bears helped to re-center himself, if only as a hardened, and perhaps colder person who saw his mission and came to terms with it.

  Dr. Fount: Let's close on a more personal and happier note. Tell us about having a family. Yours and Mica's.

  Abby: My family is everything to me. Both my genetic family and my extended one. After Mica and I were married … and Sandy insisted I have a formal and fancy wedding, you know, lots of guests and presents and a grand reception … I felt almost complete.

  It's strange to say that. I had felt complete before we were married. It was like someone had moved the life needle a little bit. I needed and wanted Mica. More than I ever thought a person could need or want another. And there was more. I wanted us to have children.

  Of course, it wasn't all joy and bliss. I didn't understand why Mica would sometimes sink into a moody, broody swamp. Those episodes were infrequent and never too deep. They only lasted a few days at most.

  I'm sure you remember me coming to you as I searched for answers. You told me that, in Sandy's view, it was an occasional manifestation of the male human's internal frustration at not being able to effectively communicate between their left and right brains. You said that they seem to be trying to fix their brains and fix a problem at the same time. As I remember, what Sandy really said was that men become jerks when their control unit shorts out, all you need is some electrical tape and a lean steak to fix them.

  Dr. Fount: And your children?

  Abby: Our children, like all children, are so different from each other. But I see different bits and pieces of Mica and me in each of them. I had hoped that there would be an accurate handbook for parenting. I read about a dozen before our first were born. By the time our second set arrived I realized that the experts were only experts in a non-participatory way. There is no definitive guide.

  My children, when they were small, were both frustrating and amazing to watch as they grew and developed. I never had a childhood, so their experiences were all new to me too. I remember you telling me to keep a steady, consistent, loving hand on the wheel. To slowly move out the fences as they became ready to be more in charge of who they are.

  PART FIVE

  ARCHIVES

  Epilogue

  This is the completed Chronicle of Hornblower. As one of the administrators and curators of the Universal Library, I chose not to create an exhaustive compendium of facts, timelines, and footnoted analytical evaluations for this manuscript. Scholars may study and dissect all pertinent records at the foundation's off-site facilities.

  The Zees have terminated contact with every species in this dimensional side of the universe. They may make contact again. However, we believe it will probably be eons in our future. The Zees, who remained in our dimensions, have chosen to live anonymous lives among humans.

  Abby is with her husband Mica. They are raising four children, two sets of twins; the first were girls, the second were boys. Surron engineered bodies age slowly and last a very long time. Mica and Abby will most probably live to see their tenth-generation grandchildren grow to old age.

  Sandy also took a new body and disappeared for four years before again returning to Satchel and the ranch. She came back with twins; a son and daughter. She never was able to fully resolve and detach herself emotionally from seeing Mica die on that cliffside, or from Hornblower's redirection.

  Ranger stayed on Satchel. He has made a small fortune designing and building sailing yachts. He has won the premier regatta race several times. He married a local woman, and they have two children, both boys.

  Roger and Dodger are out in the galaxy squiring rich people who fancy themselves as occasional big game hunters. They have amassed hundreds of unique trophies they have had mounted and donated to museums and universities.

  Hornblower died in an accident six years after leaving Satchel for the last time. Traveler reported that his stored brain scan patterns had been corrupted, leaving no means to resurrect him. Hornblower resides in the Cold and Dark. No heat, no light.

  Editors: Doctor Fount, Doctor Forest

  Publication Date: 42 HSY-ARC

  UL Archive Number: H-42-8317

  Other Books

  Prequel to Heat & Light

  Available on Amazon