Descending Road - I CAN SAY FOUR BAD THINGS by Dana W. Paxson

I CAN SAY FOUR BAD THINGS

1563 4D

“Where do we go now?” Deen asked, half to Marra, half to Oortonel.

“Maybe where nobody knows us,” Marra said. “Who’d believe all this?”

“Genna would. But she can’t keep from telling, and that would be a problem.”

“Deen? Your skin.” Marra stared. Deen‘s color had faded to a very light tan.

“Yours too.” Deen touched her own shoulder. Marra looked down at her own pink skin.

“Aoriver? Did you do this?”

“Oortonel? You?”

You said you’d like to try being an andro for a day or two. Aoriver sounded hurt.

“But that was just an idea. I didn’t mean for you to do it… wait a minute.” Marra held up a hand to the questioning look on Deen‘s face, a look that turned to a frown.

Shall I change it back?

“Not yet. Maybe this is a good thing to do for now. We could pass as andros until we get… where?”

“I want to get back in the City,” Deen said. “Our farm is gone.” She paused, listening to Oortonel, and then she said, “No, I feel much too good like this. I don’t want to go back to the old body again. Not for a while.”

“Me neither,” said Marra.

You won’t pass as andros.

“What? Why not?”

Innerspace. They can see you there for what you are. And you don’t speak anjive.

“Deen? Do you know any anjive?”

Deen laughed. “I can say four bad things about human sexual abilities.”

Marra said, “What’s a better choice than going andro for a bit? At least they don’t talk to the corpos. We don’t have to do it all.” She turned to look out at the sky and the jagged land, and pirouetted with her hands out. Amazement flooded her again.

But you—

Deen‘s voice overrode Aoriver‘s. “We’ve never tried it, and it looks safer to me.” She listened to Oortonel for a moment, and said, “I don’t care. I’m tired of hiding in one place. And the City would be, well, alive.” She grinned. Her young face, still smudged with the dirt from her grave, lit up; her eyes sparkled.

Marra smiled back. “Let’s try it. At least it’ll get us part of the way.”

I hope we don’t regret this. After all, we brought you two back to life. You shouldn’t—

“You brought us back, but whose appetite got us fried in the first place? Look, it’s our turn now.” Marra tossed her head, wishing she had some hair again.

Maybe I’ll try some anjive myself.

“You do that.”

They picked through the ruins, finding a few jars of preserves, herbs, and medicines still intact; they rummaged their trampled garden, gathering leaves, berries, stems, and roots; and they called Trig. He appeared with a half-chewed young gopher in his mouth. High clouds screened and diffused the morning sunlight, which now penetrated their translucent skins sharply. Under a heap of debris, Deen found some tempweave, slightly crisped at the edges and folds but still usable, and they bundled everything up.

They found Linas' cart not far down the road. Deen got in and said, “Cart?” Silence. “Cart?”

The cart spoke. “This is a warning. You are not authorized. I’ll set off protective weapons if you continue to try using this vehicle.”

“Deen,” Marra said, “Leave it here and let’s go.” She looked ahead. Her feet, new and tender, already hurt. This wasn’t going to be as much fun as she’d hoped.

Deen got out. “You mean, walk? You’re joking. There’s no place in walking distance. Where do you think we can go?”

“We can’t stay here, and that thing won’t take us. Any better ideas? I don’t want to walk any more than you do.”

“I guess not. But we’ll need help with our feet,” Deen said. The sun stood at noon. “Let’s take it slow, down to the junction, and decide on the way there.”

They set off barefoot. Marra shifted her bundle to her left shoulder. “Should we try Tytan’s Manor? That’s where Joyann‘s partner used to hang out.”

“No. The andros got people banned from there after a couple of knife games went bad. Remember?”

“What?”

“Fenz told us all about that.”

“Who?”

“Come on, Marra. Fenz. You know?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I remember Tytan’s Manor, but who’s Fenz?” Marra struggled, trying to recall the name, but it seemed as if she had entered a packed closet and found herself in empty space. “Who’s Fenz?”

As Deen stared at her, Aoriver said, It must be one of the things I couldn’t rebuild. Not all memories come back when this happens.

“You mean we lose things?” Marra asked.

Some things. Other things come back slowly. Our… encoding system takes time, but it’s effective.

“Aoriver says we lost some of our memories when we got reborn,” Marra said to Deen.

“Oh. Well, I hope they’re the right ones. Anyway, never mind Fenz. Take Tytan’s Manor off your list. How about that other place, the Chain Link?”

“That’s a corpo hole! Even the andro women stay out of there when they can. Besides, it doesn’t have rooms.”

Deen pondered. “Rooms. That leaves Engrammatic. We’ve never been there either.”

“Engrammatic. The farthest away, naturally. Okay, feet, let’s do it. Ooh, damn gravel. Aoriver?”

Let the walking toughen your soles for a while. Then ask again. I’m not a miracle worker.

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	I CAN SAY FOUR BAD THINGS 1563 4D “Where do we go now?” Deen asked, half to Marra, half to Oortonel. “Maybe where nobody knows us,” Marra said. “Who’d believe all this?” “Genna would. But she can’t keep from telling, and that would be a problem.” “Deen? Your skin.” Marra stared. Deen‘s color had faded to a very light tan. “Yours too.” Deen touched her own shoulder. Marra looked down at her own pink skin. “Aoriver? Did you do this?” “Oortonel? You?” You said you’d like to try being an andro for a day or two. Aoriver sounded hurt. “But that was just an idea. I didn’t mean for you to do it… wait a minute.” Marra held up a hand to the questioning look on Deen‘s face, a look that turned to a frown. Shall I change it back? “Not yet. Maybe this is a good thing to do for now. We could pass as andros until we get… where?” “I want to get back in the City,” Deen said. “Our farm is gone.” She paused, listening to Oortonel, and then she said, “No, I feel much too good like this. I don’t want to go back to the old body again. Not for a while.” “Me neither,” said Marra. You won’t pass as andros. “What? Why not?” Innerspace. They can see you there for what you are. And you don’t speak anjive. “Deen? Do you know any anjive?” Deen laughed. “I can say four bad things about human sexual abilities.” Marra said, “What’s a better choice than going andro for a bit? At least they don’t talk to the corpos. We don’t have to do it all.” She turned to look out at the sky and the jagged land, and pirouetted with her hands out. Amazement flooded her again. But you— Deen‘s voice overrode Aoriver‘s. “We’ve never tried it, and it looks safer to me.” She listened to Oortonel for a moment, and said, “I don’t care. I’m tired of hiding in one place. And the City would be, well, alive.” She grinned. Her young face, still smudged with the dirt from her grave, lit up; her eyes sparkled. Marra smiled back. “Let’s try it. At least it’ll get us part of the way.” I hope we don’t regret this. After all, we brought you two back to life. You shouldn’t— “You brought us back, but whose appetite got us fried in the first place? Look, it’s our turn now.” Marra tossed her head, wishing she had some hair again. Maybe I’ll try some anjive myself. “You do that.” They picked through the ruins, finding a few jars of preserves, herbs, and medicines still intact; they rummaged their trampled garden, gathering leaves, berries, stems, and roots; and they called Trig. He appeared with a half-chewed young gopher in his mouth. High clouds screened and diffused the morning sunlight, which now penetrated their translucent skins sharply. Under a heap of debris, Deen found some tempweave, slightly crisped at the edges and folds but still usable, and they bundled everything up. They found Linas' cart not far down the road. Deen got in and said, “Cart?” Silence. “Cart?” The cart spoke. “This is a warning. You are not authorized. I’ll set off protective weapons if you continue to try using this vehicle.” “Deen,” Marra said, “Leave it here and let’s go.” She looked ahead. Her feet, new and tender, already hurt. This wasn’t going to be as much fun as she’d hoped. Deen got out. “You mean, walk? You’re joking. There’s no place in walking distance. Where do you think we can go?” “We can’t stay here, and that thing won’t take us. Any better ideas? I don’t want to walk any more than you do.” “I guess not. But we’ll need help with our feet,” Deen said. The sun stood at noon. “Let’s take it slow, down to the junction, and decide on the way there.” They set off barefoot. Marra shifted her bundle to her left shoulder. “Should we try Tytan’s Manor? That’s where Joyann‘s partner used to hang out.” “No. The andros got people banned from there after a couple of knife games went bad. Remember?” “What?” “Fenz told us all about that.” “Who?” “Come on, Marra. Fenz. You know?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I remember Tytan’s Manor, but who’s Fenz?” Marra struggled, trying to recall the name, but it seemed as if she had entered a packed closet and found herself in empty space. “Who’s Fenz?” As Deen stared at her, Aoriver said, It must be one of the things I couldn’t rebuild. Not all memories come back when this happens. “You mean we lose things?” Marra asked. Some things. Other things come back slowly. Our… encoding system takes time, but it’s effective. “Aoriver says we lost some of our memories when we got reborn,” Marra said to Deen. “Oh. Well, I hope they’re the right ones. Anyway, never mind Fenz. Take Tytan’s Manor off your list. How about that other place, the Chain Link?” “That’s a corpo hole! Even the andro women stay out of there when they can. Besides, it doesn’t have rooms.” Deen pondered. “Rooms. That leaves Engrammatic. We’ve never been there either.” “Engrammatic. The farthest away, naturally. Okay, feet, let’s do it. Ooh, damn gravel. Aoriver?” Let the walking toughen your soles for a while. Then ask again. I’m not a miracle worker.