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I didn’t hate myself for what I was, but I knew my birth had been predicated on the death of someone who had existed before nedthe human DNA into my structure that would one day allow me to bond with Sally Mitchell on a fundamental level Dr Banks waswith the structure of D syenesis hat enabled it to infest its hosts so flexibly And yet…

And yet really, Sally Mitchell had been my mother, because her flesh nurtured and supported h to live an when hers ended My eyes searched Anna’s face, looking for signs that she had made the same transition, or at least understood what the transition ht ahead for the entire descent, not lanced down She was holding Dr Banks’s hand tightly in hers, her fingers digging so hard into the back of his hand that the flesh there hite and bloodless Maybe she was nervous after all

The elevator dinged as it reached the ground floor, and the doors opened to reveal eight more of Dr Cale’s interns and lab technicians They were all holding semi-automatic weapons, and had them trained on the open elevator doors Fishy took a half step to the left, putting his finger on the "door open" button that would keep the elevator locked where it was To my dismay, one of the technicians tracked hishihts

Dr Banks stiffened but didn’t say anything Annadown even harder on his, and looked down at the floor Her shoulders were shaking I felt the powerful urge to putto be all right, which was as nonsensical as it was foolish Everything was not going to be all right Dr Cale was holding us at gunpoint, and I knew her well enough to know that I didn’t understand precisely why Nothing was going to be all right until I kneas going on

"Nathan, please push me out into the lab," said Dr Cale "The rest of you, I reco exactly where you are If youfrom a bunch of holes that you didn’t start out with, and our medical facilities still aren’t as advanced as I’d like theunshot wound, but five would be a strain on our resources"

"I’h gritted teeth

"I didn’t expect that you would--henceFive Now be a good son and help your mother" There was a needle of ice in Dr Cale’s voice, as sharp and vicious as a hypoderht "We all know that a woman in a wheelchair can’t be expected to take care of herself"

"Now Surrey--" said Dr Banks

Dr Cale didn’t turn or look back at him "Surrey Kim is dead, Steven You should know that better than anyone: you’re the one who killed her She had a husband and a son and a career that didn’t involve destroying the world She had the capacity for compassion toward the human race, even if she had to learn what didn’t coo I think sheabout whatever it is you’ve coripped the handles of her chair, pushing her out of the elevator He didn’t o on her own She sat with her back perfectly straight, like the mast of one of the ships that used to sail in the San Francisco Harbor, and I followed behind thelance back and see how the others were reacting Fishy, Fang, and Daisy were being left in the line of fire for nothingin the elevator when Dr Cale declared it a holding pen Dr Banks had to knohat he alking into when he decided to come here--and ould he do that? He kneeren’t friends He kneeren’t even allies So ould bring him to Dr Cale?

What, if not Anna?

I could almost feel her behind me, eyes on my back, a soft, waro back to the elevator, and refuse to leave her alone It wasn’t an awareness that had anything to do with any of the senses; it was just there, inescapable, like gravity

I stu myself on the arm of Dr Cale’s chair She castas if to shushto let my confusion show on my face I knew Anna was there because I could sense her, a blind, deaf sense that pervaded everything--and I always knew Adam was there, didn’t I? I always knehen he was in the room, even if I didn’t know exactly where he was It hadn’t been like that at first--he had ed to surprise er I’d been around hier that sense had beco It was just natural, unavoidable, like the tide

My ability to sense other chi, and had been since Sherman heldto go Apparently, it had already gone far enough for Anna to register iestured for Nathan to stop e reached the line of interns and assistants, and she gripped her oheels, turning herself to face our visitors and abandoned associates, now virtual hostages to Dr Banks’s good behavior The line broke and re-for at the center of it like a pendant on a chain Dr Cale refolded her hands in her lap, tilting her head so that her sleek blonde hair brushed against her cheek just so She looked like a nursery school teacher, someone who could wait patiently forever until they received the answer they were looking for