Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 486
thing. So... talk."
"I’m not sure I--" he felt her tense. "Yes, yes, I’ll talk to
it. Ka?"
"Yes?"
"Where are we? Do you know this desal? Can it talk?
Why did it let us in? Are the morphs still outside? What
about--" Tamsin nudged him in the ribs.
"Slow down," she hissed.
"You are in a holding pen near the gene splicing tanks of
desal 447," said Ka. "I know this desal. It has no vocal
apparatus, but conversation with it can be relayed through me.
The morphs are still outside."
Jordan told this to Tamsin, then said, "Ka, are able to
speak out loud?"
A faint voice came out of the darkness overhead: "Yes."
"Ah!" Tamsin clutched him.
"It’s okay," he said. "That’s our travelling companion."
He had described Ka to her on the trip here; he didn’t know if
she’d believed him then. Judging from the way she kept her
grip on him, she didn’t quite believe him now.
"Ka, could you speak aloud for a while, so we can both
hear?"
"Yes."
Tamsin remained silent for a minute. "Of course. Yeah,
I knew he was real, I just... um..."
"I find it hard to believe he’s real myself," said Jordan.
"Ka, will the desal speak with us?"
"It says, ‘Mediation speaks.’"
The voice was Ka’s, quiet, flat and calm. Nonetheless,
the hairs on the back of Jordan’s neck stood on end. He felt
small and unimportant suddenly, like being addressed by
Castor or some other inspector, only infinitely more so. He