Salvage Rights (Distant Worlds Book 2) Read Free Page B

Gorson.”
    “The raiders?”
    The doctor looked up
from his terminal surprised.  “You know of them?”
    “Only what I heard
after I was awakened.”  She rubbed her head, her eyes still so sad; the doctor
felt a tug on his own heart.
    “Here,” he said, going
over to a desk and pulling out a small white box, which fit in the palm of his
hand.  He placed it back on his terminal and the machine hummed for several
minutes while she watched.  Then he placed it on her head and gently pushed her
to lie down.  “Normally, I would not give you so much data at one time, but
seeing as how you seem to use more than 90% of your brain this should be easy
for you.  It’s a data cube.  This one is the history of the last 300 years,
most everything that you have missed.  When you finish it, I can give you
another.  Within a few months, you will know everything about this time period
you never thought to ask.”
    She lay down under his
hand and allowed the machine to be attached to her forehead.  It clicked on and
she started.
    “Relax,” the doctor said,
“just let it flow through you.  It will go as fast or as slow as you need, and
you can stop any time by pressing the cube.”  He grinned.  “I have to say I am
curious about your absorption time and retention.  I have never seen a brain
like yours before and am curious to find its boundaries.  Of course, after
coming out of hyper-sleep, you’ll probably take a few months to get back to
your full potential.  But we’ll see.”
    She shut her eyes as he
continued talking, and then he was back at his terminal and she began concentrating
on her tutorial.  The cube began to hum, and then hum faster as she flipped
through the data scroll.  The doctor was still talking a few minutes later when
she patted the device.
    “Doctor.”  She handed
him the device.
    He looked disappointed
but shrugged, “Done so soon?  Oh well, it is early yet.  We can try again
tomorrow.”
    “No, doctor, I need
more information.  That cube is empty.”
    He looked confused and
then laid the cube back on his terminal and the strangest look of excitement
and surprise came across his face.  “That’s not possible.”
    She looked confused.  “You
are telling the truth but it does not change what is.  May I have more, please?”
    The doctor closed his
mouth.  He filled the box up again, this time with all known languages in the
data bank, which included dialects numbered in the thousands.  He handed her
the box and watched as she expertly attached it and closed her eyes.  There was
a whirring and then the box stopped.  She sat up and handed him the box.  “More
please.”
    “Are you sure about
that?” he asked in Creet.
    “Yes, I need more,” she
answered in the same language.
    “Shit,” he said, his
eyes nearly bugging out of his head.  “Maybe this would go faster if we just
plugged you in directly?”
    “Yes.  That would be
fine.”
    He reached the console
and pulled out a small round tab this time; placing it on her forehead, he then
pushed a few buttons on the console with shaking hands.  “Just let the computer
know what you want and if it becomes too much, just think of the info slowing
down or stopping.”
    She was already lying
back, and the doctor watched the info flying across the screen faster than he
could see it clearly; eventually, it became a whir and he had to step back from
the humming machine.
    When the minutes
dragged on to hours, the doctor made himself busy by going over all the data
from her scan and doing a DNA search online.  The name that came up made him
curse and head for the bridge.  He did not even spare his patient a glance he
was so nervous.
    “Captain,” he said out
of breath, just inside the doors of the bridge where Tyber, Lore, and Mac were
all at their stations.
    “Yes, doctor?  Please
tell me you have not found yet another spot of bad news.”  Tyber did not look
amused.
    Mac snorted, looking at
the doctor and narrowing