The Alejandra Variations Read Online Free Page B

a direct hit, and an electromagnetic pulse probably won't penetrate this far. But I want all the Strategics where they can reach reliable Mnemos systems terminals and are able to stay within the network with relative security. So we're going to move you."
    Nicholas sagged back, feeling abjectly helpless for the first time in his life.
    Whatever drugs they'd given him to ease the transfer-shock out of Mnemos Nine had wiped out his energy reserves. But something else was demoralizing him as well, a parasitic worm gnawing at him from within. He was the only Strategic to suffer in such a manner. There were dozens of other individuals in Strategics. The system also included tie-ins for experts in intelligence, economics, environment, and politics. There were even extrapolators for things like aeronautics and xenobiology. All of the other specialists came and went without a trace of any kind of suffering, emotional or physical. Not Nicholas.
    He knew that all across the nation there were millions of people depending upon individuals such as himself to ensure their security. But the prospect of a thermonuclear war was no small burden for anyone to carry. How did you live with the weight that such knowledge thrust upon you each day? All he had to do was look into Melissa Salazar's eyes to see the answer.
    "Out of the frying pan and into the fire," he mumbled.
    Massingale walked over to Nick's bed, looking more like a track coach than a physician. A nurse had entered the room behind him. Dr. Massingale spoke in soft but controlled tones. "Nick, we're going to have to evacuate the base hospital, and, while I'd like to let you lie around for another day or two, we're going to have to get moving." The nurse had already begun to unhook him from the IV unit and to switch off the various components of the monitoring computer.
    Nick realized that the space he was in might soon be filled with more deserving folk. It was a thought he didn't like.
    "Do you think you can make it, Nick?" Melissa asked, standing back to let the nurse and Dr. Massingale help him.
    He nodded. Strangely, he felt like laughing as the two medical personnel helped him out of bed. As if it makes much difference, he thought distantly. What's one human life going to matter in an all-out thermonuclear war? He might be safe underground, but he'd be out one set of parents, a brand-new condominium (with a brand-new mortgage), two lazy cats, money in the bank (he'd even be out of a bank), and sunsets on Jalama Beach.
    And much, much more.
    "It's real, isn't it, Sal," he said, free of the monitoring computer.
    The Director's eyes were dark and profoundly troubled, but there was strength in them, and concern for him. Perhaps her strength came from the fact that her family was lodged in Longmont, close to Foresee in Colorado. Her two children would be safe, and her husband was where he could be notified. So, Nicholas could almost see in her eyes ninety-two million Americans vanishing in a radioactive haze. They both knew the facts about a full-scale nuclear war—the real facts that the governments involved didn't want to admit even to themselves. Melissa's kids might be safe—but so what? Both he and Melissa stood to lose equally, whatever the outcome. It was a frightful burden indeed.
    "It's always been real, Nick. Right now, we're just taking precautions. You can bet the Russians are doing the same."
    "Wonderful," Nick muttered sardonically.
    Dr. Massingale got clothing for Nicholas from a closet near the bed. "There's nothing really to worry about, Nick," he said, tossing over a pair of pants. "You're in our care, and we're going to hustle you back to Colorado as soon as you're ready to get to the evac Tubes."
    Nicholas stared at Melissa, the pants still in his hands. "It's that bad?"
    "Like he said, it's just a precaution. I want everyone where I can reach them if things get rough."
    When things get rough is more like it, Nicholas thought.
    His paranoia about nuclear warfare