07. Ghost of the Well of Souls Read Free Page A

confident enough to bring up with Ari. She was beginning to dream his dreams; to dream things that were related to his old experience but not to hers. There was also a sense of memory leakage that hadn't been there at the start. At first it had been hardly noticeable. Now, it was common to be thinking over something when, suddenly, a memory or piece of data popped into her mind from what could only have been his half of the brain. No one had discussed the future with them, but she and Ari had overheard some of the medical and psychological types back in Kalinda when they were still specimens. The near unanimous prediction was that they would begin to merge into one. It was supposed to have been slow, and happen without them really realizing it, but that wasn't the way things were occurring.
    Ming knew, and she suspected that Ari did, too.
    She didn't want to be a part of him. To her, it was like dying. What was her would be there, of course, but it wouldn't really be her anymore, nor him, either. A person was more than the sum of his or her memories.
    Even that poor girl whose physical shell should have contained Angel Kobe's mind but instead had no personal memories at all, Ming thought, was still more Angel than not. Angel's body had been newly created from a shell of an old mind whose personality had been erased before it ever got to the Well World. Yet much of what Jaysu the Amboran Priestess was could be recognized as the essence of the original Angel Kobe—from the search for spiritual heights beyond the material world, and the drive to serve, as well as the ironic physical incarnation of the poor girl's birth name.
    How Angel Kobe would have loved being that person!
    Ming couldn't help but wonder where those memories, that personality, were now. Most likely nowhere; unlike Angel, Ming never believed in any sort of hereafter or deities.
    Core thinks her memories and personality module are still back in the old computer back on Uncle Jules s gallery world, Ari commented telepathically.
    Ming was startled. You heard me musing?
    Yeah. Sorry. Didn't know you weren't doing it for my benefit, or at least without caring if I heard or not.
    How much of my thoughts do you get? she asked him, the worry coming back again.
    Probably exactly as many as you get of mine. It's gonna happen. Bound to. There's really only one brain and central nervous system here. You heard 'em.
    For his part, Ari was as insecure as she was, though more resigned. Many times upon awakening from sleep, it took a while before he could remember which one he was. At least once recently he'd awakened thinking he was her. Only when her own consciousness awoke and was clearly Ming did he realize his mistake and suddenly become "Ari" through and through again. Funny, too—her cultural heritage was eastern and mideastern; stoicism and pragmatism were part and parcel of that upbringing. His background was Latin, Greek, and Slavic—emotional, explosive types, expressive and always fighting against the Fates. For all her lack of belief, Ming was more Zen Buddhist deep down than he was Catholic. Yet, he was the accepting one, while she was fighting like hell.
    Of course, "stoic" was a Greek word . . .
    You want to go see this dump? he asked her.
    Might as well. Besides, if I said "no," you'd go anyway.
    Might as well see what the budget is, at least for starters, Ari suggested. In a way, this could be like old times.
    No, she responded slowly, sadly. It can never again be like old times.
     
     

Ambora
     
     
    ANGEL KOBE, KNOWN AS JAYSU, RETURNED TO HER HOMELAND more upset and confused than ever, both about herself and about the way the world should be.
    So many dead. So much evil. The very existence of it, the depth of it, was upsetting to her. She could feel it, at that extreme, just being in proximity to the representatives, the diplomats and soldiers, who served it back in that Zone place.
    And that gill monster—the Kalindan they called Core— she could