He Without Sin Read Online Free Page B

more seconds pass in silence. “You have to run?” She nods. “We’ll talk more sometime?”
    “Of course. ‘Bye,” she says breezily as she starts to move past me.
    “Wait. What… what are you?” I ask as I try to keep our conversation going.
    She turns back, looks at me for a second, then says, “I’m a woman.”
    I smile weakly and blush at my verbal incompetence.
    “And an astrophysicist by training. On the team, they’re calling me Navigator. Take your pick.”
    “I see,” I say, recovering somewhat. “Well, we need one of those.”
    “Which one?” she asks. With a wink and the slightest smile she heads in to pick up her order.

    Personal log entry number two. I’m getting the hang of this communicator now. It’s a universal device; we all have them. It doesn’t have the functionality I would pick for my personal use, but it is part of the job and it is the latest communication and computer technology. Gni-M model. Common name: genie. Can’t complain.
    We’ve been assigned to man the Hobbe. It’s a veteran craft recently refitted with the latest gadgetry. Named after Commander Lillian Hobbe: pioneer, leader, innovator, activist.
    I’ve got to figure a way to link this log with the main archiving system while somehow keeping it private. Dates and sequencing will be all taken care of.
    David has scheduled the last meeting before launch with the whole mission team and only the mission team. Compatibility studies are out and rosters too, like Carol said. Looks like Mark was wrong.
    I overreacted to Mark’s comments, I’m sure. He is a bit of an instigator. Likes to get reactions.
    I’ve got a get-together with the family coming up, and yes, Tom will be there. It’s scheduled for right after the last of their visits to the medical engineering center.

    I’ve now got that Jeff Sander’s contact info, and am hopeful to get a last update from him before we are completely cut off. Not a big deal; just curious.
     

Shakeup
    It’s all over now but the shouting as they say. So far so good, and no surprises. Myself, I can’t concentrate and am ready to go. This is my team, my mission family, and the mood is generally quiet and thoughtful. I do like this Dylan kid—where did he come from? Clean cut and personable. He seems a little light on the technical side, but did well in our sessions together. Already I see us becoming friends. Plenty of time for that later.
    At some point you have to trust the compatibility algorithms, kind of like an arranged marriage but this way you get an entire extended family. Speaking of which, I’ve got to get out of here and see the real family before they all have to get back to their normal lives. But that’s wrong—it won’t be ‘normal’ at all anymore. Barring any accidents, they will be on this journey with me in a way. I can’t imagine how they pulled off these missions long ago with primitive medical technology. Coming home to strange people; everyone you knew long gone. Now the mission members and their families—that’s the key, the families— are all part of the Longevity Medical Program, or LMP.
    David is just outside the room, visible by the open door, talking to someone. I am inside with the rest of the team, or most of them anyway. I don’t like this standing about; let’s get on with it. I am distracted by keeping an eye on Carol without becoming obvious about it. Where has she got to now?
    “Lose somethin’ mate?” asks Grigor Bevan. I guess I’m being obvious after all. Grigor is the ship’s technician, charged with testing, tuning, maintenance and repair of the various shipboard systems. “You see it too, eh? They’ve gone missin’.”
    “Eh? Who? What do you mean?”
    “The Steves. They’re on the list; they’re not here. Somethin’s up.”
    The Steves are not related except by first name, but they look as if they could be father and son. Steve the elder is the leader of the Resources team, and Steve the junior is on that