[科幻]宿主-第72部分

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Doc　gave　a　mocking　bow　from　the　waist；　then　turned　to　me。　“Wanda；　I　had　a　question　for　you。…”　He　


let　the　words　trail　off。　
I　raised　my　eyebrows。　
“Well；　I　was　wondering。…　Of　all　the　different　planets　you’re　familiar　with；　which　species　is　physically　the　


closest　to　humankind？”　
I　blinked。　“Why？”　
“Just　good　old…fashioned　biological　curiosity。　I　guess　I’ve　been　thinking　about　your　Healers。…　Where　


do　they　get　the　knowledge　to　cure；　rather　than　just　treat　symptoms；　as　you　said？”　Doc　was　speaking　
louder　than　necessary；　his　mild　voice　carrying　farther　than　usual。　Several　people　looked　up—Trudy　and　
Geoffrey；　Lily；　Walter…

　I　wrapped　my　arms　tightly　around　myself；　trying　to　take　up　less　space。　“Those　are　two　different　

　

　Doc　smiled　and　gestured　with　one　hand　for　me　to　proceed。

　Jamie　squeezed　my　hand。

　I　sighed。　“The　Bears　on　the　Mists　Planet；　probably。”

　“With　the　claw　beasts？”　Jamie　whispered。

　I　nodded。

　“How　are　they　similar？”　Doc　prodded。

　I　rolled　my　eyes；　feeling　Jeb’s　direction　in　this；　but　continued。　“They’re　close　to　mammals　in　many　ways。　

Fur；　warm…blooded。　Their　blood　isn’t　exactly　the　same　as　yours；　but　it　does　essentially　the　same　job。　
They　have　similar　emotions；　the　same　need　for　societal　interaction　and　creative　outlets　—”

　“Creative？”　Doc　leaned　forward；　fascinated—or　feigning　fascination。　“How　so？”

　I　looked　at　Jamie。　“You　know。　Why　don’t　you　tell　Doc？”

　“I　might　get　it　wrong。”

　“You　won’t。”

　He　looked　at　Doc；　who　nodded。

　“Well；　see；　they　have　these　awesome　hands。”　Jamie　was　enthusiastic　almost　immediately。　“Sort　of　
double…jointed—they　can　curl　both　ways。”　He　flexed　his　own　fingers；　as　if　trying　to　bend　them　
backward。　“One　side　is　soft；　like　my　palm；　but　the　other　side　is　like　razors！　They　cut　the　ice—ice　
sculpting。　They　make　cities　that　are　all　crystal　castles　that　never　melt！　It’s　beautiful；　isn’t　it；　Wanda？”　He　
turned　to　me　for　backup。

　I　nodded。　“They　see　a　different　range　of　colors—the　ice　is　full　of　rainbows。　Their　cities　are　a　point　of　
pride　for　them。　They’re　always　trying　to　make　them　more　beautiful。　I　knew　of　one　Bear　who　we　called…　
well；　something　like　Glitter　Weaver；　but　it　sounds　better　in　that　language；　because　of　the　way　the　ice　
seemed　to　know　what　he　wanted　and　shaped　itself　into　his　dreams。　I　met　him　once　and　saw　his　creations。　
That’s　one　of　my　most　beautiful　memories。”

　“They　dream？”　Ian　asked　quietly。

　I　smiled　wryly。　“Not　as　vividly　as　humans。”

　“How　do　your　Healers　get　their　knowledge　about　the　physiology　of　a　new　species？　They　came　to　this　
planet　prepared。　I　watched　it　start—watched　the　terminal　patients　walk　out　of　the　hospital　whole。…”　A　
frown　etched　a　V…shaped　crease　into　Doc’s　narrow　forehead。　He　hated　the　invaders；　like　everyone；　but　
unlike　the　others；　he　also　envied　them。

　I　didn’t　want　to　answer。　Everyone　was　listening　to　us　by　this　point；　and　this　was　no　pretty　fairytale　about　
ice…sculpting　Bears。　This　was　the　story　of　their　defeat。　

　

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。　
“They…　they　take　samples；”　I　muttered。　
Ian　grinned　in　understanding。　“Alien　abductions。”　
I　ignored　him。　
Doc　pursed　his　lips。　“Makes　sense。”　
The　silence　in　the　room　reminded　me　of　my　first　time　here。　
“Where　did　your　kind　begin？”　Doc　asked。　“Do　you　remember？　I　mean；　as　a　species；　do　you　know　how　


you　evolved？”　
“The　Origin；”　I　answered；　nodding。　“We　still　live　there。　It’s　where　I　was…　born。”　
“That’s　kind　of　special；”　Jamie　added。　“It’s　rare　to　meet　someone　from　the　Origin；　isn’t　it？　Most　souls　


try　to　stay　there；　right；　Wanda？”　He　didn’t　wait　for　my　response。　I　was　beginning　to　regret　answering　his　
questions　so　thoroughly　each　night。　“So　when　someone　moves　on；　it　makes　them　almost…　like　a　
celebrity？　Or　like　a　member　of　a　royal　family。”


　I　could　feel　my　cheeks　getting　warm。　
“It’s　a　cool　place；”　Jamie　went　on。　“Lots　of　clouds；　with　a　bunch　of　different…colored　layers。　It’s　the　only　
planet　where　the　souls　can　live　outside　of　a　host　for　very　long。　The　hosts　on　the　Origin　planet　are　really　
pretty；　too；　with　sort　of　wings　and　lots　of　tentacles　and　big　silver　eyes。”


　Doc　was　leaning　forward　with　his　face　in　his　hands。　“Do　they　remember　how　the　host…parasite　
relationship　was　formed？　How　did　the　colonization　begin？”　
Jamie　looked　at　me；　shrugging。　
“We　were　always　that　way；”　I　answered　slowly；　still　unwilling。　“As　far　back　as　we　were　intelligent　


enough　to　know　ourselves；　at　least。　We　were　discovered　by　another　species—the　Vultures；　we　call　them　
here；　though　more　for　their　personalities　than　for　their　looks。　They　were…　not　kind。　Then　we　discovered　
that　we　could　bond　with　them　just　as　we　had　with　our　original　hosts。　Once　we　controlled　them；　we　made　
use　of　their　technology。　We　took　their　planet　first；　and　then　followed　them　to　the　Dragon　Planet　and　the　
Summer　World—lovely　places　where　the　Vultures　had　also　not　been　kind。　We　started　colonizing；　our　
hosts　reproduced　so　much　slower　than　we　did；　and　their　life　spans　were　short。　We　began　exploring　
farther　into　the　universe。…”


　I　trailed　off；　conscious　of　the　many　eyes　on　my　face。　Only　Sharon　continued　to　look　away。　
“You　speak　of　it　almost　as　if　you　were　there；”　Ian　noted　quietly。　“How　long　ago　did　this　happen？”　
“After　dinosaurs　lived　here　but　before　you　did。　I　was　not　there；　but　I　remember　some　of　what　my　


mother’s　mother’s　mother　remembered　of　it。”　
“How　old　areyou？　”　Ian　asked；　leaning　toward　me；　his　brilliant　blue　eyes　penetrating。　


　

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”　
“An　estimate？”　he　pressed。　
“Thousands　of　years；　maybe。”　I　shrugged。　“I　lose　track　of　the　years　spent　in　hibernation。”　
Ian　leaned　back；　stunned。　
“Wow；　that’s　old；”　Jamie　breathed。　
“But　in　a　very　real　sense；　I’m　younger　than　you；”　I　murmured　to　him。　“Not　even　a　year　old。　I　feel　like　a　


child　all　the　time。”　
Jamie’s　lips　pulled　up　slightly　at　the　corners。　He　liked　the　idea　of　being　more　mature　than　I　was。　
“What’s　the　aging　process　for　your　kind？”　Doc　asked。　“The　natural　life　span？”　
“We　don’t　have　one；”　I　told　him。　“As　long　as　we　have　a　healthy　host；　we　can　live　forever。”　
A　low　murmur—angry？　frightened？　disgusted？　I　couldn’t　tell—swirled　around　the　edges　of　the　cave。　I　


saw　that　my　answer　had　been　unwise；　I　understood　what　these　words　would　mean　to　them。　
“Beautiful。”　The　low；　furious　word　came　from　Sharon’s　direction；　but　she　hadn’t　turned。　
Jamie　squeezed　my　hand；　seeing　again　in　my　eyes　the　desire　to　bolt。　This　time　I　gently　pulled　my　hand　


free。


　“I’m　not　hungry　anymore；”　I　whispered；　though　my　bread　sat　barely　touched　on　the　counter　beside　me。　I　
hopped　down　and；　hugging　the　wall；　made　my　escape。　
Jamie　followed　right　behind　me。　He　caught　up　to　me　in　the　big　garden　plaza　and　handed　me　the　remains　

of　my　bread。　
“It　was　real　interesting；　honest；”　he　told　me。　“I　don’t　think　anyone’s　too　upset。”　
“Jeb　put　Doc　up　to　this；　didn’t　he？”　
“You　tell　good　stories。　Once　everyone　knows　that；　they’ll　want　to　hear　them。　Just　like　me　and　Jeb。”　
“What　if　I　don’twant　to　tell　them？”　
Jamie　frowned。　“Well；　I　guess　then…　you　shouldn’t。　But　it　seems　like　you　don’t　mind　telling　me　stories。”　
“That’s　different。　You　like　me。”　I　could　have　said；You　don’t　want　to　kill　me；　but　the　implications　would　

have　upset　him。　
“Once　people　get　to　know　you；　they’ll　all　like　you。　Ian　and　Doc　do。”　
“Ian　and　Doc　do　not　like　me；　Jamie。　They’re　just　morbidly　curious。”　

　

　“Ugh；”　I　groaned。　We　were　to　our　room　by　now。　I　shoved　the　screen　aside　and　threw　myself　onto　the　

mattress。　Jamie　sat　down　less　forcefully　beside　me　and　looped　his　arms　around　his　knees。

　“Don’t　be　mad；”　he　pleaded。　“Jeb　means　well。”

　I　groaned　again。

　“It　won’t　be　so　bad。”

　“Doc’s　going　to　do　this　every　time　I　go　in　the　kitchen；　isn’t　he？”

　Jamie　nodded　sheepishly。　“Or　Ian。　Or　Jeb。”

　“Or　you。”

　“We　all　want　to　know。”

　I　sighed　and　rolled　onto　my　stomach。　“Does　Jeb　have　to　get　his　way　every　single　time？”

　Jamie　thought　for　a　moment；　then　nodded。　“Pretty　much；　yeah。”

　I　took　a　big　bite　of　bread。　When　I　was　done　chewing；　I　said；　“I　think　I’ll　eat　in　here　from　now　on。”

　“Ian’s　going　to　ask　you　questions　tomorrow　when　you’re　weeding　the　spinach。　Jeb’s　not　making　

him—he　wants　to。”

　“Well；　that’s　wonderful。”

　“You’re　pretty　good　with　sarcasm。　I　thought　the　parasites—I　mean　the　souls—didn’t　like　negative　

humor。　Just　the　happy　stuff。”

　“They’d　learn　pretty　quick　in　here；　kid。”

　Jamie　laughed　and　then　took　my　hand。　“You　don’t　hate　it　here；　do　you？　You’re　not　miserable；　are　you？”

　His　big　chocolate…colored　eyes　were　troubled。

　I　pressed　his　hand　to　my　face。　“I’m　fine；”　I　told　him；　and　at　that　moment；　it　was　entirely　the　truth。

　CHAPTER　26

　Returned

　Without　ever　actually　agreeing　to　do　it；　I　became　the　teacher　Jeb　wanted。

　My　“class”　was　informal。　I　answered　questions　every　night　after　dinner。　I　found　that　as　long　as　I　was　
willing　to　do　this；　Ian　and　Doc　and　Jeb　would　leave　me　alone　during　the　day　so　that　I　could　concentrate　
on　my　chores。　We　always　convened　in　the　kitchen；　I　liked　to　help　with　the　baking　while　I　spoke。　It　gave　
me　an　excuse　to　pause　before　answering　a　difficult　question；　and　somewhere　to　look　when　I　didn’t　want　

　

　I　didn’t　want　to　admit　that　Jamie　was　right。　Obviously；　people　didn’tlike　me。　They　couldn’t；　I　wasn’t　
one　of　them。　Jamie　liked　me；　but　that　was　just　some　strange　chemical　reaction　that　was　far　from　rational。　
Jeb　liked　me；　but　Jeb　was　crazy。　The　rest　of　them　didn’t　have　either　excuse。

　No；　they　didn’t　like　me。　But　things　changed　when　I　started　talking。

　The　first　time　I　noticed　it　was　the　morning　after　I　answered　Doc’s　questions　at　dinner；　I　was　in　the　black　
bathing　room；　washing　clothes　with　Trudy；　Lily；　and　Jamie。

　“Could　you　hand　me　the　soap；　please；　Wanda？”　Trudy　asked　from　my　left。

　An　electric　current　ran　through