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down
and stared up into the amazingly complex arrangement of a tree's
branches high overhead.
    She had seen
someone murdered. One second they had been alive, and the next
someone had killed him. Then the killer must have seen her jump down
and run, and maybe the killer thought that she'd seen him, and
decided that she must die too.
    But the white
light that had hit her in the face?
    She fingered her
snub nose and high cheekbones and her forehead under her fringe. They
felt fine, no burns or cuts or anything.
    She had a
headache, but that might have been from all the excitement of the
past hour.
    She snuggled
down into the blanket and closed her eyes. She thought about Abdul,
and wished he was still with her.
    Minutes later
she heard a voice in her head.
    Pham, it
said, do not be frightened. I can help you.

THREE
    THE CUT
    Vaughan awoke to
dazzling sunlight and sat up, hospital linen cool to his touch. The
last time he'd come awake to the warmth of the rising sun... It'd
been two years ago, again in hospital, just after Osborne had tried
to kill him and Sukara had saved his life.
    Only then did he
open his eyes fully and make out Sukara, sitting beside the bed, her
outline dark against the sun's glare. She was gripping his hand.
    "Su,"
he whispered.
    "How do you
feel?"
    "Great.
Tired." He'd had the operation, then? To say he'd undergone
intrusive brain surgery, he felt well. Not even a headache. He
reached up, felt around the base of his skull. He could feel the
bulge of the implant beneath his skin.
    He was
implanted. He was telepathic again. But the world was mind-silent.
    Sukara leaned
forward and kissed him.
    He lost
consciousness and slept.
    The next time he
woke, a doctor or technician was tinkering with his handset,
presumably repro-gramming it in order to control the function of his
occipital implant.
    He closed his
eyes and dozed.
    Then Kapinsky
was in the room with him. This time, the tiredness had gone; he felt
bright, alert. He sat up.
    "How
long—?"
    "You had
the cut yesterday," Kapinsky said. "Everything went well. I
had techs check the implant—it's doing fine. Your handset's
been boosted." She laid a pin in a case on his bedside table.
"This'll fill you in on your handset's new functions."
    He raised a hand
to his head and felt stubble, then recalled that he'd been shaved
before the cut.
    Kapinsky was
standing beside the window, looking out over a sloping greensward.
She turned and said, "You're going home today. I'll be in
contact in the morning, fill you in on the cases we'll be working
on."
    He nodded.
"Great."
    She smiled.
"It's good to have you on board, Jeff."
    "Thanks."
He tried to work out how he felt about the new life that awaited him.
He concentrated on how Su's life would be changed for the better, and
tried to disregard the thought of mind-reading again.
    Later that
afternoon, Su waddled in, holding her bump and smiling. He was up and
dressed and ready to leave.
    "Guess
what, Jeff?" Her eyes were dancing with the delight of good
news.
    "Surprise
me."
    "I've been
doing some apartment hunting while you've been recovering. I've been
given tours of some real palaces. You wouldn't believe it."
    "Found
anything?" He packed his bag, watching her. She was dressed in
baggy maternity trousers and one of his old shirts.
    She beamed. "Two
places lined up. Both west side, with sea views. One on Level Three,
in Song Mah. Four rooms, five kay a month."
    "Expensive."
He whistled. "But exclusive."
    "The
other's on Level Two, Chittapuram."
    "Which do
you like better?"
    She rocked her
head, lips pursed. "Maybe the Level Two. It's cheaper, just four
kay a month. Three big rooms like you wouldn't believe. I mean, the
kitchen alone is bigger than our old place."
    "Lead the
way," he said.
    They left the
hospital and dropped to Level Two, then took a short walk through
wide, airy corridors towards Chittapuram. Sukara's delightful
excitement at their relocation dispelled his apprehension. She
gripped his hand