Sometimes I remember what I’ve written, and I wake up in the middle of the night hysterical. It’s so funny! And then I imagine the 9 Galaxies reading it in the days to come, and I think I’ll never stop laughing. Making babies upside down? Prophetic rodents?
Will anyone ever believe it was all true?
You always said that stories should have happy endings. So let’s give them one. They’re going to cry a lot. But we’ll make them laugh. Let’s make the whole fucking Known Cosmos laugh.
Then maybe, maybe, we will change the world.
- Sibsil Creed, Stories of Shurwinn, (2765)
I sprinted through the dark, bare feet slamming against hard stone. I had to get away—now! Up ahead, there was light. Two pillars. Ridges running from top to bottom. And a bright hope beyond them. If I could only get to that light!
I darted between the columns, but my bare toes caught on rock. I fell. The brown stone floor rose to meet me, and a black symbol was burned into it like a T with a circle on top.
My right arm crashed down, and blinding light struck me as a voice boomed, “No!”
Then my world became an endless ocean of pain. Searing light scorched me. My head exploded, and I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t breathe!
There was no air, and my head. My head! I tried to cover my eyes against the blistering light, but my arms were pinned. I needed air. I needed—
“You are perfectly safe. Please take slow breaths through your nose,” I heard a male voice say.
I tried, stars! I tried to stop gasping for breath, but everything hurt, and I couldn’t move.
The voice kept talking to me. “Can you tell me your name?”
My name? My name was turn off that light!
My lips moved, rasping, “Ryst Nova.” My throat felt like I’d swallowed crushed glass.
“Do you know what year it is, Dr. Nova?”
So, a basic neurological exam. I wanted to open my eyes, but I just couldn’t.
“It’s 2733.”
“Can you tell me where you are?”
I was obviously somewhere medical, but I wouldn’t know until I opened my eyes.
“Who are you?” I asked, barely audible.
“This is Dr. Feld Inkson.”
Inkson, yes, I knew him. Head of neurosurgery. “Then I’m at Jenson University Hospital.”
My eyes flew open as memory assaulted me. “Darwin!”
My heart raced in panic. I couldn’t breathe. I had to run! I had to get out! I couldn’t move.
“Dr. Nova, you are completely safe. Your assailant was apprehended and is in custody. You are safe. Can you breathe slowly through your nose?”
Yes, oxygen, I needed the tube at my nose. Breathe, Ryst, breathe. Remember your training. You are the master of your forms. Take a slow breath.
I felt someone squeezing my left hand and hadn't even realized I’d been crushing a hand in mine, so I tried to soften my grip.
“It’s Neal, Ryst. I’m here, and Skyla is on the way. You’re doing great. Let’s just breathe together slowly. Like childbirth, in, out, in, out.”
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I slowly stilled, and the fear turned into agony. I couldn’t help it; I sobbed at the pain in my heart. I was so humiliated, so stupid. Neal’s soft voice continued coaching me through breathing exercises.
Despite the memories assailing me, I managed to calm down.
“How bad is it, Dr. Inkson?” I croaked.
“Fractured humerus and clavicle on the right. Your arm and collarbone are healing well. No surgery was needed. Skull fracture with subdural hematoma. We had you sedated for three days while the brain bleed slowed, so you’ll be a guest at the hospital a few more days. Can I continue your neurological exam?”
We went through the paces, and everything was good. No neck injury, and no spinal cord issues, thank the stars. I closed my eyes in relief, but it felt like my brain was ten times too large for my cranium.
“Dr. Nova, there’s an Investigator here to see you, and I can clear you medically to give your testimony. May I send her in?”
Oh stars, here we go. “Yes, Dr. Inkson. Thanks.”
My eyes were still closed when someone new took my left hand. “Ryst, it’s Skyla. You’re doing great.”
“Thanks for being here, Skyla.”
I heard a different voice, sharper, and matter-of-fact. “Dr. Nova, this is Investigator Bland. I understand you are in a lot of pain, but have been cleared by medica. Are you able to answer some questions for me?”
“Yes, Inspector.”
“Can you tell me how you wound up in this hospital bed?”
I was still kind of wondering that myself. For me, it had only been a few minutes since the attack. For them, it had been days, but I felt like it had just happened and was still reeling from everything.
“Sunday night, I got home from work in the middle of the night. I’m an obgyneca here at Jensen, and I had a late shift. I thought my husband would be asleep when I got home because he wasn’t working that night. But when I walked into the apartment and started taking off my coat, the door opened right behind me. I turned around, and he came in."
"There was this—angry look in his eye, and before I could ask him what was wrong, he grabbed me and slammed me into the kitchen counter. My head hit the countertop so hard I saw black. But I'm a Jendo Level 9, so my body automatically reacted."
"I think I got him in the knee because I heard him yell, but I wasn’t seeing clearly. I just ran out the door. I sent a voice call to Emergency. I think I said, ‘My husband attacked me. I’m in the hallway.' But I was blacking out, so I don’t know. And then I woke up here.” I shifted in the bed, wishing I were anywhere else.
“And what is your husband’s name, Dr. Nova?” the inspector asked.
“Darwin Coolidge,” I said with a dark edge to my voice that sounded unfamiliar to me.
“Can you think of any reasons why your husband wanted to hurt you, ma'am?”
“I—. I'm not really sure. I’m trying to think now, Investigator. To me, this happened only a few minutes ago.”
And my head was killing me, and I couldn’t move, and I really wanted to pace around the room.
“We haven’t been married long. Only a few months. It was a secret wedding, you know? Darwin wanted to keep things private. Just between us. Usually in secret marriages, people plan a big announcement later, so I kept expecting that we’d have something public."
"I told Neal and Skyla, of course, but Darwin didn’t know that they knew. Honestly, I didn’t see him that much because we’re both so busy, and he’s a cybernetics surgeon here at Jenson. I'm sure you know those surgeries are days long."
I tried to clear my throat, and Skyla held a straw to my lips so I could take a sip of water. I swallowed it and bolstered myself to keep going.
"I was starting to wonder why we couldn’t announce our marriage, and Darwin never wanted to go out in public together. He didn’t want anyone to see us. Anytime I asked him about it, he just changed the subject. Then, two nights before he attacked me, he came home reeking of alcohol. He started kissing me, but I told him I was tired. When I walked away, he grabbed my arm, and I said, ‘No, wait ’til you're sober.’"
My thoughts grew clearer as I told the story. "It was easy for me to break his hold. He looked scared, and then mad, and he snarled at me and collapsed on the couch. I was pretty fed up after that and was thinking I had made a huge, huge mistake marrying him.”
“And to your knowledge, did your husband use any substances other than alcohol?” Investigator Bland asked.
“Substances? You mean, drugs? Pain meds? No, I don’t think so. Why?” What in the world was she getting at?
She nodded, “Drugs, such as DiBest.”
“DiBest? But that’s a stimulant, makes your hormones go crazy,” I said, eyes bulging.
“Yes, and it was coursing through his system when he attacked you,” she explained, matter-of-factly. "Dr. Nova, you did get him in the knee. Your martial arts training paid off, and your quick reaction snapped his leg like a twig. Once Emergency had you stabilized, they found him in the apartment. He was treated and incarcerated. He’ll be tried tomorrow morning for attempted murder, and you’ll never see him again.”
Attempted murder. Life sentence on a prison sphere. What a waste of his life.
The inspector continued, “Dr. Nova, it’s my job here tonight to tell you that since your marriage was before the one-year public records notice, and since you are a victim of attempted murder, you have privileges of confidence. You have the right to Special Counsel before the trial tomorrow morning, which can afford you certain privileges of privacy during the proceedings. What you want the public to know will be up to you. Would you like a Guild-appointed Special Counsel, or do you have your own?”
“The Guild is fine, Inspector.”
Victim. Of attempted murder. Murder. Victim. The words were like hammers into my pounding skull.
“Then you can expect to hear from them shortly. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.”
“Thank you, Inspector,” I said, sighing in relief.
It was over.
Investigator Bland turned to go, but paused, softening her no-nonsense manner to a lower voice, “You’re a hero, Dr. Nova.”
Hero? I was a disaster!
I closed my eyes and let sleep take me where pain couldn’t reach me, unaware of what had been set in motion.
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