When Jasmel reached the boulder, Adikor patted the mossy spot next to where he was sitting, indicating that she should join him. She did so, and he leaned toward her and started whispering, his words all but inaudible against the water crashing around the boulder. There was no way, he felt sure, that the Companion could pick up what he was saying. And, as he told Jasmel his plan, he saw a mischievous grin grow on her face.
Ponter sat on the couch in Reubens office. Everyone else had gone to bedalthough Reuben and Louise, next door, clearly werent sleeping.
Ponter was sad. The sounds and smells they were making reminded him of himself and Klast, of Two becoming One, of everything hed lost before coming to this Earth, and all the rest of it hed lost since.
Hed had the TV on, watching a channel devoted to this thing called religion. There seemed to be many variations, but all of them proposed a Godthat outlandish notion againand a universe that was of a finite, and often ridiculously young, age, plus some sort of after-death existence for the there was no Neanderthal word for it, but soul had been the term Mare had used. It turned out the symbol Mare wore around her neck was a sign of the particular religion she subscribed to, and the fabric that had been wrapped around Dr. Singhs head was a sign of his somewhat different religion.
Ponter had turned the sound on the TV way downit had been simple enough to find the appropriate control, although he doubted anything he might do would disturb the couple in the adjacent room.
How are you feeling? asked Klasts voice, and Ponter felt his heart leaping.
Klast!
Darling Klast, contacting him from
From an afterlife!
But no.
No, of course it wasnt.
It was just Hak talking to him. Ponter was presumably stuck now with Hak speaking forevermore with Klasts voice, if he wanted anything other than that droning default male persona the device had come preprogrammed with; certainly there was no way to access the equipment needed to reprogram the implant.
Ponter let out a long sigh, then answered Haks question. Im sad.
But are you adjusting? You were quite shaky when we first got here.
Ponter shrugged a bit. I dont know. Im still confused and disoriented, but
Ponter could almost imagine Hak nodding sympathetically somewhere. It will take time, said the Companion, still in Klasts voice.
I know, said Ponter. I know. But I have to get used to it, dont I? It looks like Ilike weare going to spend the rest of our lives here, doesnt it?
Im afraid so, said Hak gently.
Ponter was quiet for a while, and Hak let him be so. Finally, Ponter said, I guess Id better face facts. I better start planning for a life here.
Chapter 40
Keyword(s): Neanderthal
Opposition MP Marissa Crothers charged today in the House of Commons that the clearly fake Neanderthal was a flimsy attempt by the governing Liberal party to cover up the abject failure of the 73-million-dollar Sudbury Neutrino Observatory project
Stop hogging the caveman! That was the sentiment on a placard worn by one American protester during a large demonstration outside the Canadian embassy in Washington today. Share Ponter with the World! said another
Invitations sent to Ponter Boddit for all-expense-paid visits received c/o the Sudbury Star. Disneyland; the Anchor Bar and Grill, home of the original chicken wing, in Buffalo, New York; Buckingham Palace; the Kennedy Space Center; Science North; the UFO museum in Roswell, New Mexico; Torontos Zanzibar Tavern strip club; Microsoft headquarters; next years World Science Fiction Convention; The Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann, Germany; Yankee Stadium. Also submitted: offers of meetings with the French and Mexican presidents; the Japanese prime minister and royal family; the Pope; the Dalai Lama; Nelson Mandela; Stephen Hawking, and Anna Nicole Smith.
Question: How many Neanderthals does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: All of them.
and so this columnist urges that the Creighton Mine be filled in, to prevent an army of Neanderthals invading our world via the gateway in its bowels. The last time our kind did battle with them, we won. This time, the outcome could be quite different
Preliminary call for papers: Memetics and the epistemological disjuncture between H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens
A spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, today praised the Canadian governments rapid response to the arrival of a potential plague vector. We think they acted properly, said Dr. Ramona Keitel. However, weve found no pathogens in the specimens theyve sent us for analysis
Everything came off flawlessly. Ponter and Mary left Reubens at just after 8:00 A.M., making it through the trees at the back of his property and over the fence without being seen; Ponters sense of smell helped them avoid the RCMP officer patrolling the back area on foot.
Louises friend was indeed waiting for them. Garth turned out to be a handsome, well-muscled Native Canadian about twenty-five years old. He was extremely polite, calling Maryto her chagrinmaam, and Ponter sir. He drove them the short distance to the Creighton Mine. The security guards recognized Maryand Ponter, too, of courseand let them in. There, Mary and Ponter switched into her rented red Neon, which had acquired a patina of dust and bird droppings while sitting in the parking lot.
Mary knew where to head. The night before, she had said to Ponter, Is there anywhere in particular youd like to go tomorrow?
Ponter had nodded. Home, hed said. Take me home.
Mary had felt so very sad for him. Ponter, I would if I could, but theres no way. You know that; we dont have the technology.
No, no, Ponter had said. I dont mean my home in my world. I mean my home in this world: the place on this version of Earth that corresponds to where my house is.
Mary had blinked. Shed never even thought of doing that. Um, yeah. Sure. If youd like to see it. But how will we find it? I mean, what landmarks will you recognize?
If you can show me a detailed map of this area, I can find the spot, and then we can go there.
Reubens password had gotten them into a private Inco website containing geological maps of the entire Sudbury basin. Ponter had no trouble recognizing the contours of the land and finding the spot he wanted, about twenty kilometers from Reubens house.
Then Mary drove Ponter as close as she could get to the place hed indicated. Most of the land surrounding the city of Sudbury was covered with Canadian shield outcrops, forest, and low brush. It took them hours to hike through it all, and, although Mary wasnt much of an athleteshe played an occasional mediocre game of tennisshe actually enjoyed the exercise, at least for a while, after having been cooped up for so long at Reubens place.
Finally, they came over a ridge, and Ponter let out a delighted yelp. There! he said. Right there! That is where my house wasI mean, where my house is.