CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE SAPIEN-SPHERE
By the sixth undecim it was clear Kadeya was not acclimatizing well. On her seventy-fifth day she had an appointment with the physician. The two had become friends and were sitting in the doctor’s spartanly appointed office sipping tea in companionable silence. Setting his cup down, Doc said, “Kadeya, you’re a scientist and I’m certain it comes as no surprise that I’m pulling the plug. You must discontinue the Surface Preparation Protocol.”
“No, I’m not surprised,” Kadeya sighed. “Disappointed? Sure. But my body just has too many annum on it to adapt—Ramuell seems to be doing well though.”
“Absolutely! His acclimatization is one of the easiest I’ve ever monitored. As for you, nobody wants to risk your health trying to hammer a wooden peg into a metal
