It was more than thirty days since Pham Nuwen's resuscitation. Much of that time had been spent in cram language sessions. The fellow must be damned bright; he already spoke Triskweline trade talk with a folksy slickness. He really was rather cute. Ravna had been away from Sjandra Kei for two years,
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Babyliss Pro 230 Radiance, and had another year of her 'prenticeship to go. She'd been doing pretty well. She had many close friends here,
复件 (92) air max1, Egravan, Sarale. But just chatting with this fellow brought a lot of the loneliness back. In some ways he was more alien than anything at Relay ... and in some ways she wanted to just grab him and kiss his confident grin away. Grondr Vrinimikalir had been telling the truth about Pham Nuwen. The guy was actually enthusiastic about the Org's plans for him,
复件 (10) air max1! In theory, that meant she could do her job with a clear conscience. In fact.... "Mr. Nuwen, my job is to orient you to your new world. I know you've been exposed to some intense instruction the last few days, but there are limits to how fast such knowledge can sink in." The redhead smiled. "Call me Pham. Sure,
复件 (19) air max, I feel like an over-stuffed bag. My sleep time is full of little voices. I've learned an awful lot without experiencing anything. Worse, I've been a target for all this 'education'. It's a perfect setup if Vrinimi wants to trick me. That's why I'm learning to use the local library. And that's why I insisted they find someone like you." He saw the surprise on her face. "Ha! You didn't know that. See, talking to a real person gives me a chance to see things that aren't all planned ahead. Also, I've always been a pretty good judge of human nature; I think I can read you pretty well." His grin showed he understood just how irritating he was being. Ravna looked up at the green petals of the beachtrees. Maybe this boob deserved what he was getting into. "So you have great experience dealing with people?" "Given the limitations of the Slowness, I've been around, Ravna. I've been around. I know I don't look it, but I'm sixty-seven years old subjective. I thank your Organization for a fine job of thawing me out." He tipped a non-existent hat in her direction. "My last voyage was more than a thousand years objective. I was Programmer-at-Arms on a Qeng Ho longshot --" His eyes abruptly widened, and he said something unintelligible. For a moment he almost looked vulnerable. Ravna reached a hand toward him. "Memory?" Pham Nuwen nodded. "Damn. This is something I don't thank you people for." Pham Nuwen had been frozen in the aftermath of violent death,
复件 (52) air max2, not as a planned suspension. It was a near miracle that Vrinimi Org had been able to bring him back at all -- at least with Middle Beyond technology. But memory was the hardest thing. The chemical basis of memory does not survive chaotic freezing well. The problem was enough to shrink even Pham Nuwen's ego by a size or two. Ravna took pity on him. "It's not likely that anything is completely lost. You just have to find a different angle on some things." "... Yes. I've been coached about that. Start with other memories; work sideways toward what you can't remember straight on. Well ... it beats being dead." Some of his jauntiness returned, but subdued to a really quite charming level. They talked for long while as the redhead worked around the points he couldn't "remember straight on". And gradually Ravna came to feel something she had never expected in connection with a Slow Zoner: awe. In one lifetime, Pham Nuwen had accomplished virtually everything that was possible for a being in the Slowness. All her life she had pitied the civilizations trapped down there.