68 - Halflife

VIP免费

2024-12-08 0 0 824.69KB 242 页 5.9玖币

侵权投诉

‘To lose one set of memories may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose two smacks

of carelessness.’

The Terran colony world of Espero seems the unlikely source of a

sophisticated distress call. And the Doctor, Fitz and Trix are not the only

ones responding to it.

While Fitz consorts with royalty, the Doctor’s on the run with a

16-year-old girl, and Trix meets a small boy with a dark secret.

In a race for the minds and souls of an entire planet, the Doctor and Trix

are offered temptations that may change them forever.

At least one of them will be unable to resist.

This is another in the series of adventures for the Eighth Doctor.

HALFLIFE

Mark Michalowski

Contents

1 ‘It’s an alien, Joshua.’ 4

2 ‘D’you think you could keep your monkey under control?’ 13

3 ‘Sticks, Trix?’ 20

4 ‘I bet you even put knickers on her.’ 28

5 ‘How can we know where we’re going, when we don’t know

where we’ve come from?’ 37

6 ‘What do you know about our mystery woman?’ 45

7 ‘To lose one set of memories may be regarded as a misfortune.’ 49

8 ‘With a zed.’ 65

9 ‘Bugger its body language – look at the size of it.’ 72

10 ‘Should you be out on your own at this time of night?’ 83

11 ‘You’re not planning on killing me too, are you?’ 88

12 ‘Space yacht? Intelligent rocks?’ 98

13 ‘Not that you don’t have a very nice bottom, but... you know.’ 104

14 ‘A spaceship powered by technobabble.’ 123

15 ‘The foot-stomping Tantrum Fairy was back.’ 132

16 ‘Not die exactly. Not really.’ 139

17 ‘I don’t suppose you have access to a thermic lance, do you?’ 148

18 ‘You wanted to see my toys, did you?’ 156

19 ‘Think of a number.’ 165

20 ‘A simple “Come in, have a cup of tea” would have been more

than adequate.’ 174

21 ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ 183

22 ‘Imagine having your whole life to live over again.’ 192

23 ‘Sorry I’m late.’ 201

24 ‘There are always choices!’ 207

25 ‘You can’t just repair people, you know.’ 213

26 ‘Memories.’ 220

27 ‘Now you’re just showing off.’ 223

28 ‘We used to be happy with a walnut and a tangerine.’ 228

29 ‘The past is never gonna catch up with me.’ 235

Acknowledgments 239

About the author 240

For my mother,

Margaret Iris Michalowski,

who bought me my ﬁrst typewriter

and got me started on this whole writing thing.

Chapter 1

‘It’s an alien, Joshua.’

Joshua lay silently in bed and listened to his parents arguing outside. His

mother didn’t like him leaving the window open in the heat of summer,

even though his sheets were damp and clingy with sweat: the sweet potato

harvest had been poor last year, money was tight, and they couldn’t afford

to get the ﬂy screens ﬁxed. And Espero’s insects could ﬁnd their way

through the smallest gap.

He heard the tones in his parents’ voices, even if he couldn’t make out

their words, and he knew what they were arguing about. Ma, ﬁerce and

angry, was doing most of the shouting; Pa, by nature a quiet and awkward

man, was doing all of the listening. Every now and again he’d hear Pa

start to interject, but Ma would verbally slap him down again, thundering

on. Joshua wanted to run to the window and shout down for her to leave

him alone. But he knew this was adult stuff, and he didn’t want to get

involved. It would only upset Ma more to think that he could overhear.

He heard most of their ﬁghts: in a house this small and this far away

from the noise of Saiarossa city, even a cough became thunder. Some-

times he ran to the old stables, crumbling and disused since the last of the

horses had died, climbed up into the rafters where the ﬂies didn’t go, and

held himself tight, praying to Our Lady for Ma and Pa to stop shouting.

But Joshua reckoned Our Lady had more important people to listen to,

because she never answered his prayers. Maybe it was because he was

doing the praying outside of church. Father Mateus said that church was

God’s house, so Our Lady had to live there too, didn’t she? Or maybe,

once upon a time, God and Our Lady had shouted at each other and Our

Lady had left. Wherever she’d gone, Joshua didn’t see much sign of her

around here.

Ma’s voice had settled into a pattern, a steady thump thump thump

beating in Joshua’s head and in his heart. Only the odd swearword stood

CHAPTER 1. ’IT’S AN ALIEN, JOSHUA.’ 5

out, and he knew Ma must have been really angry with Pa to have used

some of those words. He ﬂapped the sheets around him, trying to cool

down a little, but they stuck to his chest and his belly and thighs like Aunt

Maia’s plump, sweaty hands.

With a sigh, he peeled back the sheets and swung his feet on to the rug.

He watched the curtain, twitching weakly in the half hearted breeze from

the window, and padded to the door. Ma’s voice faded as he went out on

to the landing.

He wanted to look at it again, the thing that he knew Ma and Pa were

arguing about, although Joshua suspected that she was more angry about

how Pa had got it, than what it was. It had been stupid of Pa to even show

it to her, Joshua thought.

But then what had happened last night didn’t make any sense either,

did it?

Cautiously, he crossed to his parents’ bedroom. The door was open, the

light out. It was at the back of the house where Ma and Pa wouldn’t be able

to see, but he didn’t want to risk it. He left the light off, and paused for a

moment, letting his eyes become accustomed to the amber gloom, spilling

over his shoulder and around his feet from the landing. The dresser sat

in front of the window, fat and ugly, laminate peeling from its corners.

Pa had said that it had been one of the ﬁrst things to be made on Espero,

when the colonists arrived, but Joshua didn’t believe him. Plastic didn’t

last 270 years. That was just stupid. Nothing lasted that long.

He crossed to it and pulled at the bottom drawer. It slid open reluc-

tantly, catching at one side so that it jammed, askew. Joshua swore a bad

swearword and instinctively crossed himself, reﬂexively looking upwards

as he did so. He didn’t know why he bothered if Our Lady wasn’t around.

Maybe Baby Jesus was on listening duties tonight. He liked Baby Jesus,

reckoned he was probably a bit more easy-going than Our Lady. He was a

kid, Our Lady was a grown-up. It made sense. Besides, Baby Jesus proba-

bly didn’t know what swearwords were, anyway.

Joshua quickly rooted in the drawer, and pulled back his hand as he

found it, nestled in Pa’s socks. This is bad, thought Joshua,suddenly over-

come with guilt. He clenched his hands into tight little ﬁsts and ground

his knuckles together, like his Pa did when he was puzzled or angry. It

seemed to work, because suddenly Joshua didn’t feel so bad about the

thing in the drawer. He tried to tell himself that it was the thing that had

brought him into his parents’ room, talking to him, but deep down he

knew it wasn’t true. Taking a step forwards, he peered into the drawer,

pushing Pa’s socks aside. The thing lay there, looking up at him. Joshua

reached out and touched it... and remembered last night.

CHAPTER 1. ’IT’S AN ALIEN, JOSHUA.’ 6

‘Where you going?’ asked Ma, in the tone of voice she usually reserved

for ‘where you been?’ when Pa staggered in late after a night with the

boys. She always knew full well where he’d been, but Joshua knew that

she liked to keep him on his toes. He’d heard Ma and Aunt Maia laughing

in the kitchen one day when he’d come back from school. Ma was saying,

‘If you don’t keep a man down, he’ll always be up,’ and Maia had shrieked

and hooted, but Joshua didn’t quite understand why they were laughing.

Joshua glanced up from his homework to see Pa tugging on his boots

at the back door. By rights Joshua should have done his homework hours

ago, but Ma had wanted a hand packing savas, so she’d let him stay up late

so’s he wouldn’t get into trouble at school the next day. The holidays were

drawing near, and Joshua knew that both Ma and Pa were looking forward

to his being able to help them around the house and on the laughable bit of

scrubland they called a farm. Joshua didn’t mind; he hated school, hated

all the stuff that the rich kids kept going on about - the vidfeeds from

other colony worlds that their mas and pas had bought for them, trips to

Advent (it sounded a dump, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to go)

and Semane - and couldn’t wait until he was old enough to leave.

‘Get back to your homework, Joshua,’ warned his mother, pushing up

non-existent sleeves and getting to her feet. Joshua watched her stride

over to where Pa was unlocking the gun cabinet.

‘Something’s come down,’ Pa said quietly, checking the riﬂe and ﬁlling

his pockets with shells. Ma grabbed at the barrel of the gun, but he swung

it away from her and ﬁxed her with a stare. Joshua knew that stare: Pa

didn’t use it often, but when he did, Ma usually backed down. One of

those unspoken grown-up things.

‘Where? What’s come down?’ Ma asked.

Pa whispered, but Joshua pretended not to be listening, and Pa spoke a

bit louder than he ought to have done. He was meeting his brother, Uncle

Ake. ‘Ake saw it come down near Wendacre’s Fields.’

‘So why d’you need that, then?’ asked Ma. Joshua guessed that she

meant the gun.

‘Hell, woman, you want me to go out there bare-handed? We don’t

know what it is. And there might be more of those night beast things out

there.’

‘All the more reason to call the city police, then,’ said Ma. Pa must have

shaken his head. ‘Why not?’ asked Ma. ‘What d’you think you’re gonna

ﬁnd there? What good’s it gonna do us?’

‘There might be a reward or something. Maybe it’s landed off course.

What’s it doing out here instead of at the port, then?’ Pa paused and

Joshua heard the sound of the door being unlocked. ‘Ake reckons it’s an

CHAPTER 1. ’IT’S AN ALIEN, JOSHUA.’ 7

invasion!’ Pa said mock-menacingly, and he heard Ma tut loudly. There

was a long pause, Ma muttered something bad about Uncle Ake, and then

there was another pause. Joshua stared unseeing at the words on his comp

screen, trying hard to make out what Ma and Pa were whispering.

Eventually, she said softly: ‘Don’t do anything stupid, Keef,’ her voice

suddenly gentle, like it used to be. Pa said something and was gone, and

Ma locked the door behind him.

Moments later, Joshua ﬁnished his homework and closed down his

comp. Ma was instantly suspicious, but was none too good at using comps

so she gave him one of her looks and said he ought to be off to bed then.

Joshua gave her a big, tight hug and ran off upstairs. In his room, he

made all the right noises: he clattered about, went to the bathroom, peed,

ﬂushed, came back, clattered about some more and got into bed. Of course,

he still had all his clothes on. He’d need them if he was going to follow Pa.

Joshua turned out his light - after stufﬁng some clothes under his sheets

in case Ma peeked in - and pushed back the ﬂy screen on the window.

As quietly as he could, he clambered out, on to the ﬂat roof of the utility

room, slid it back, and jumped down into the fragrant night. A thick clot of

midges danced madly around the outside lamp, breaking up as he passed.

With a glance back at the house, Joshua raced into the night, following the

dim light of Pa’s light.

Joshua hung back: if Pa saw him too soon, he’d send him back home with

a sore ear. He heard a tuneless whistle from up ahead, and knew that Pa

must still be a bit drunk from his evening ‘social’ with Uncle Ake. Sa-

iarossa city was a good three-quarter-hour’s walk, but Pa still managed to

get over there for a few pints every couple of nights. Wendacre’s Fields

were a good hour’s walk from the farm, and Joshua wondered whether

Pa was meeting Uncle Ake there, or whether he’d be picking him up in his

truck. He hoped not - that would mean that they’d get there well before

he would, and he might miss out on the fun. He remembered what Pa

had said about the night beasts, and about what he’d heard on the news.

There hadn’t been any sightings for a week or so, and they’d only been

seen in the city. But they had to come from somewhere, Joshua had rea-

soned. Still, Pa had his gun, didn’t he? And Uncle Ake’d probably have

his too. As long as he stayed close, he’d be ﬁne.

Joshua’s thighs were aching by the time Pa started to slow down, and he

was grateful to be able to pause for a few moments, catching his breath

in big, damp lungfuls. In the inky silence, he could hear the trilling of

insects, felt a few of them brush casually against him and move on. The

CHAPTER 1. ’IT’S AN ALIEN, JOSHUA.’ 8

Esperon wildlife - apart from burrowbears - didn’t much like the taste

of humans, but it never stopped them nipping. Joshua looked around:

the farm was so far behind him that it was invisible in the dark. In all

directions, everything was shades of black: the black of the sky, scattered

with a few stars, and the blacker black of the ground and everything up to

the vast horizon. Joshua tipped his head back and stared up at the stars,

feeling momentarily dizzy. Which ones had other worlds around them, he

wondered. Which ones had other human colonies? Where were Bliss, and

Heritage and Availon? He wondered if Earth’s sun could be seen from

here, but he didn’t think so. As he looked around for Pa, he heard the

distant grumble of Uncle Ake’s truck, and saw a tiny spot of light from

its only working headlamp, coming towards him. Well, towards Pa. He

squatted down in the dark, even though he knew he’d never be seen, and

watched as the light grew brighter - and then stopped. The sound of the

truck door slamming closed rumbled across the open countryside like a

gunshot, and Joshua supposed that maybe Pa had climbed in.

‘Pa!’ he shouted, jumping to his feet and running towards the light.

‘Pa! It’s me! Don’t go!’

Pufﬁng and panting, Joshua arrived at the battered truck to ﬁnd Pa

and Uncle Ake leaning on the bonnet, illuminated creepily by the single

headlamp. For a moment, he wondered if Pa was going to be really really

mad.

‘Josh!’ exclaimed Uncle Ake, stepping in front of the truck and peering

at him. He turned to Pa, who was shaking his head. ‘What’s Josh doing

here?’

‘Josh,’ said Pa in a low voice. ‘Go home. This is men’s work’

‘I can’t go back, Pa,’ said Josh, trying his best to sound scared and up-

set. Which wasn’t too difﬁcult. ‘I’ll get lost. I was following you here - I

don’t know which way’s back.’

‘Joshua,’ he said ﬁrmly. ‘Just turn around and go back. Now.’

He’d called him Joshua in that tone of voice, which was a sure sign.

Joshua let his shoulders droop and turned, miserably.

‘Aw, come on Keef,’ he heard Uncle Ake say. ‘You can’t just let him

walk back.’

‘He walked here, didn’t he?’ replied Pa, unrelenting.

‘Like he said, he followed you. Who’s he got to follow back?’ Uncle

Ake paused and Joshua heard the sound of his father’s defeat, escaping

in a long, weary sigh. ‘Besides,’ added Uncle Ake. ‘What if it’s true what

they say about the night beasts? Wouldn’t want him -’

‘OK, OK,’ said Pa, sounding beaten. ‘But you stay in the truck, you

hear?’ He squatted down beside Joshua and turned him round. Pa was

文档加载中……请稍候！
如果长时间未打开，您也可以点击刷新试试。

下载文档到电脑，查找使用更方便

5.9 玖币 0人已下载

立即下载 VIP免费下载

摘要：

`Toloseonesetofmemoriesmayberegardedasamisfortune.Tolosetwosmacksofcarelessness.'TheTerrancolonyworldofEsperoseemstheunlikelysourceofasophisticateddistresscall.AndtheDoctor,FitzandTrixarenottheonlyonesrespondingtoit.WhileFitzconsortswithroyalty,theDoctor'sontherunwitha16-year-oldgirl,andTrixmeetsasm...

展开>> 收起<<

68 - Halflife.pdf

共242页,预览13页

还剩页未读，继续阅读

声明：本站为文档C2C交易模式，即用户上传的文档直接被用户下载，本站只是中间服务平台，本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。玖贝云文库仅提供信息存储空间，仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理，对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私，请立即通知玖贝云文库，我们立即给予删除！

68 - Halflife

相关推荐

开通VIP享超值会员特权

作者详情

相关内容

热门标签

举报选择: