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Dove hurried through the door, dropping her bags of shopping on the floor. The plastic ripped and bottles of cosmetics rolled across the soiled carpet. She felt like singing. She smiled at her sphingine reflection in the old metal kettle. 'Haven't you had fun today?' it seemed to say.
There was a small concerned noise from the doorway, and she turned to see Lucas supporting himself on the doorframe. Chuckling, she crossed to him and helped him onto a seat.
"Thanks," he said, keeping hold of her arm slightly longer than was necessary. She gathered up her purchases and carried them through to the bathroom. The mirror was still there, speckled and cracked, and a wisp of dried toothpaste remained in the basin. Her hair was a mess, but she didn't care. She fumbled open a compact. Lucas sat quite still. He still hadn't got used to his new articulation. It was as though an echo of his movements followed them. It was nice to have Dove helping him, though. He doubted Shadbolt would have been such a sympathetic teacher. And the shopping had been fun.
"Dove?" Lucas' voice floated through to her as she flushed a cotton bud away. She couldn't catch what followed because of the noise, but it sounded like a question. She ran to the door, and leant on it.
"Pardon?"
"I said: 'Where's Shadbolt?'. I thought he would be back."
Dove couldn't quite believe that she had felt disappointment.
"Damn it," Lucas continued, "I feel awkward calling him Shadbolt. Doesn't he have a first name?" Dove scanned the room, and saw a note on the table. "Whenever I need to attract his attention, I have to start with 'Um'," Lucas grumbled.
A plain white pill was on the note. It read: 'Gone to Doc Black's. Back late, maybe tomorrow. Here's your next dosage. Shadbolt.'
"And I haven't called anyone 'Mister' since I was in school," Lucas continued.
"He's gone out."
"What? Who? Oh, right."
Something else caught Dove's attention. A light was flashing among a heap of papers on the floor. It turned out to be a telephone. Dove hadn't known the room had one; both she and Shadbolt used their CICIs exclusively. The message light was blinking. She stared at it blankly for a few seconds, unused to such a low-tech approach. Then she found the play button.
"Er, hello? Doe? Er. If that's your name. Or Luke, if it's you. Look, this is Doc Black. Something's happened to Shadbolt. He came to fit something to him, some new implant he was building. I had to do the final stages myself, but he hasn't come round yet. The anaesthetic should have worn off by now. He's breathing, but that's about it. Could you ring me? My number is 027 1453 5467."
Dove's heart froze. The phone rang as soon as she put it down, and in her haste to answer she dropped it. By the time she had recovered it, the receiver was dead.
"Damn. Lost the connection."
"1471 it." Lucas had caught her anxiety.
Dove listened to the message. "It was Doc Black's!"
She dialled rapidly, and got an engaged tone.
Ben Wright, 17/08/01
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