Bright's Light Read Free Page B

was, a lesser-known trait of the ancestors had greatly influenced his decision. They were reputed to be superb dancers, and Grassly yearned to be a great dancer. Of course, he also wanted to have one of the most impressive Sendings ever. What better way than to rescue a species considered doomed and, if possible, learn their dances? What a boost to his self-esteem and that of his entire family!
    So it was that Grassly came to find Sally Lancaster’s book in the abandoned orbital colony. He knew that some creatures on H51 and other planets migrated to new habitats in response to biological urges and environmental pressures. That sounded much like what Sally Lancaster was talking about. And he remembered a teacher saying something about how all creatures carried within them the “cellular memory” of their species’ entire history. If he could activate the migratory instinct in the ancestors, perhaps they would board his ship willingly. Once they were on his ship, the
Sankalpa,
he would transport them to a rehabbed planet that was ready and able to accommodate their special biological needs.
    All he needed to do was to design a special light that would make the ancestors want to travel to a new environment. He needed to invent an enlightener.
    Thus fortified with original research and a fail-proof plan, Grassly had left the remains of the extinct colony of earth orbiters, whose ships floated like ghostly hulks far above the last remaining human settlement. Determinedto shine a light on the last remnants of humanity, he was going to go undercover in the Store to help the ancestors help themselves.
    Everything went smoothly until he started testing his lights.
    The first one had killed the subject instantly. The subject was a young male favour from the House of Splash with signs of a degenerative neurological disorder, not uncommon in the ancestors, who practised an unsustainable form of cloning. It was clear the boy would have been released soon for lack of productivity. Still, Grassly felt bad about the way he had died, with blood spouting from his nose and mouth as he collapsed into a heap, shouting, “I see the light! I see the light!”
    Stating the obvious, really, as Grassly had been shining the thing right in his eyes.
    Grassly began tinkering with the intensity and frequency of the light, as well as its spectrum. There had been six lights since that first, each designed to activate a different part of the ancestors’ brains. His hypothesis was that the right light, targeting the correct area of the brain, would make the ancestors stop earning and spending credits long enough to migrate to the only part of their environment that featured semi-natural sunlight, which happened to be the least populated, least popular part of the Store and, thanks to Grassly’s strategic planning, the place where he’d parked his ship, the
Sankalpa.
    The last favour, the one who’d bitten through the electrical cord, had displayed the most promising reaction todate. She was obviously trying to create fire and light, both ancient human instincts. The prototype was definitely in the right neighbourhood now, ancient-instinct-wise. Grassly was sure he’d spec’d the frequency correctly this time. That was the hard part to get right, and Sally Lancaster’s book was no help, technically speaking.
    As bumpy as the experimental process had been, he remained convinced that an enlightener was the way to go. The ancestors lived in an environment illuminated almost exclusively by artificial means. The Store was covered in a special skin, or membrane, that was porous enough to allow oxygen exchange and carbon dioxide filtration systems to function, but not so porous that the many chemicals and toxins the last humans had unleashed on each other during the final war could get inside and poison the inhabitants. The faint light from outside that made it through the semi-translucent skin was considered a serious distraction by the Board of