01 Taxilas Children

TAXILA'S CHILDREN
His voice rustled around in his throat as if it hadn't been used for a long time. He was so
weak that there was no way he could have hurt her.
Why was he so weak?
She had jumped back from the bedside, now she crept closer again, clearly frightened out
of her wits.
She was quite handsome he supposed. It was hard to judge when you were confronted with
an alien of another racial stock. Her face was wide, with a high forehead, tawny hair, snub
nose and almond shaped grey-green eyes. He tried to remember how he had come there. He
had no idea, he remembered the five sided room and the wild swirl of movement which had
followed. He looked at her again, there could be no doubt that she was of the same race as the
man in the Pentacle!
A cat-woman! An alien! Barriers and prejudices tried to assert themselves. This was the
unknown and he was weak and vulnerable. He fought down the panic, she was caring for him
and had intended to wash him. She said something that he couldn't understand. They stared at
each other over the barrier of language. She didn't speak his tongue but someone had done so
when he had stepped from the vortex. He groped in his mind for the words he had heard:
'Welcome, Lord. We have waited for you!'
How long ago was that?
He touched his face again and knew that it had to have been a long time.
She got back a little courage and took the initiative. She smiled and nodded, backing away
from the bed, scooping up the bowl and scuttling out of the room. He hoped she had gone to
find someone who could answer a few questions.
His hopes for an early visitation from someone else were dashed. No one came through the
curtained doorway for the rest of the day. Wherever he was, it was quiet and restful. There
was no sound of other occupants, no voices or footsteps. He had no way of knowing whether
the cell-like room was attached to a another building, or if it stood alone. He was too weak to
get out of bed, although he tried hard enough. He had to give up, swearing at his lack of
strength and flopping back exhausted on to the mattress. He started to imagine all sorts of
irrational things. Perhaps he had frightened her so much that she had abandoned him. Perhaps
he would lay there in his weakness and starve to death. His mind grew cloudy again and he
dropped off into a fitful sleep, as the last afternoon light started to fade.
When he next woke, it was dark outside. A lamp had been brought into the room. It burnt
with a clear flame that flickered a little in the draught. He had seen something similar to it in
the historical records he had viewed, back in the old days in New Earth. Central Computing
had carried a wealth of information about the time before the Evacuation. The lamp's design
was similar to many he had seen on the old film records. He supposed there wasn't much you
could do with the basic design of a lamp. It had a reservoir, a wick and a flame - that was
about it.
He wondered if the woman had come back and guessed she had, the lamp hadn't walked
there by itself. He tried to lift his head again and this time he was a little more successful.
Attempting to sit upright proved to be too ambitious. He was still breathing hard from the
effort, when the woman came into the room. He turned his head and smiled at her, hoping
that a smile had the same message wherever he was. Too late, he realised that it might be
construed as baring the teeth. She was clearly terrified. He held out his hand and slowly she
came towards the bed.
"Don't be frightened."
His voice was a little more human this time. It took a little longer before she would take his
hand. Her flesh was warm and dry.
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