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He knows so little."
"He knows everything," the boy said, challenging her to refute him.
"I believe you." She smiled.
They sat silently for a time. "Now what?" said the boy. "Do you
know," she told him after giving the matter some thought, "that if only
one decent man had been found,
Sodom and Gomorrah would have been saved?" "Who are they?" "They were
cities." "Oh." He eyed her curiously. "Are you saying my father is a
decent man?"
"My, my. You're quick to grasp, aren't you? Clever boy." She ruffled
his hair affectionately. Then she said, "It's not quite that simple.
Decent, perhaps.." but also stubborn and irritating. What pride!
Fighting to the last.." and in the end.." he acknowledged. He
even.." prayed, after a fashion. A rather belligerent prayer, I'll
grant you that, but a prayer nonetheless. That wasn't easy for him.
And... he
made me laugh. I had forgotten what that felt like. I think I have
forgotten.." a great many things, more than I would have thought
possible. I think I shall live for another day." "I don't
understand?"
"Good lad. Remarkable lad. That's the eternal and internal conflict
about omniscience, you see. Only those who know they don't know can
truly know."
"I still don't think I understand."
"That's all right. Neither do I. And I've been at it longer than
you."
She took the last page of the manuscript, produced a pen, and wrote
four words on the back of the page. Then she rolled it up and put it
back into the bottle, sealing it in with the cork.
"My father made that," he said. "He threw it--"
"I know. And I'm throwing it back. And you too, I'm afraid.
Selfishly, I wouldn't mind keeping you with me. But I'll have to
settle for keeping you," and she tapped her chest, "locked up in
here.." safe and sound."
She then scooped up sand, hardened it, and fashioned a small boat the
size of the boy. Remarkably, it floated. She then handed the bottle
to the boy and said, "Here. Get in.
Take this and be off with you."
"But--"
"No buts." And she kissed him lightly on the forehead and helped him
onto the boat. "Tell your father..." She stopped to think.
The boat was already drifting out to sea.
"Tell him what?" called the boy. But he was beginning to feel sleepy,
although he had no idea why. He had felt so awake just a moment ago.
"What should I tell him?" he called languidly.
"Tell him.." that Melony says hello." And she blew him a
kiss. He fell asleep immediately and she watched him until he was
gone. Then she laughed once more and enjoyed the sound of herself
laughing. Enjoyed... herself.
She thought it extremely ironic, and amusing, that her prayers had been
answered. Especially when she didn't even know that she'd been
praying.
She laughed once more, allowed her dress to dissolve back into sea
foam, and walked away... and vanished into the universe.
The deck of the Hornblower bobbed up and down slowly as Picard raised
his head and looked around in confusion. The sea was as smooth and
blue as it had been at the beginning of their fishing trip. The sky
was cloudless. Nothing seemed amiss.
He looked down at himself. His skin was clean, with no cuts, bruises,
or gashes. He was, as near as he could tell, perfectly fine.
"Data, Data... ?"
"I am down here, Captain." Data's voice came from belowdecks. "I
think you should see this, sir."
Picard rose on shaky legs and made his way below. Data was pointing
toward the back of the cabin. There, on the floor, was me... and the
Lady Q. Picard thought we were dead. Then again, until moments ago, he
had thought himself dead as well. "Q," he said.
I blinked and slowly sat up. I put a hand to my chest as if checking
in disbelief that I was there. I propped myself up on one elbow and
looked around the cabin. When I saw Lady Q lying beside him, I cried
out.
She sat up, and we embraced with such ferocity that it moved Picard to
tears. Finally he said in a very low voice,
"Yes?" we said in unison.
"What happened? The last thing I remember..."
"We all have different last things that we remember," I said. "Where
are we?"
"On the holodeck of the Enterprise... at least I believe so," Picard
said.
"Where's my son?"
"I have not seen him," Data said. "But I have not searched the
entirety of--"
"Then what are we waiting for?" said Lady Q. "Now! Right now!"
Under ordinary circumstances, Picard would have taken issue, but these
were hardly ordinary circumstances. They searched the ship from stem
to stern but found nothing. Nothing.
The Lady Q collapsed on the railing; I stood behind her, holding her by
the shoulders, comforting her.." and then suddenly I spotted
something. "There!" I cried out, pointing. "Out there!"
Everyone looked, and sure enough, floating on the water was a small
boat, and on it was q. He was asleep on his back, and he was clutching
something to his chest.
"Data! Hard to port! Bring us... Oh, to hell with it, end program,t"
This time the holodeck obediently disengaged. The water, the
Hornblower, all of it vanished, leaving me, the Lady Q, Picard, and
Data on the glowing holodeck floor.
And q was there as well. But incredibly, he was still in the little [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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