Part 8
Be ready.
I lie on my bunk and can still hear Conlan’s
words, be ready, even though he’s been gone for some time
now. Ready for what? I wonder.
23761.
I can’t even guess what that is. Some sort
of code? Something I’m supposed to know? A password, obviously, but
for what? 23761.
Marie’s worse, and Conlan’s at the brink
now, the edge of his limits, he doesn’t know where else to turn.
He’s thinking—I remember the way he chewed on his lower lip when we
went to the comm center, he’s thinking, hard, about everything I’ve
said. About letting Shanley land, and getting us out of here, and
maybe even about Ellington and what exactly he’s doing, maybe he’s
thinking about that, too. What IS he doing? I don’t know,
can’t begin to imagine. He’s jeopardizing the future of this colo
