Plague of Memory by S. L. Viehl

know that I was made from a man?"
    Darea blinked. "We are all made from men and women," she said, very matter-of-fact. "Why would you wish my mate to couple with you?"
    "I did not wish it; it was to return the favor. It is the way of my people. I am not like you, though. I came from a man and machines." I dipped a chunk of bread in the broth and sampled it. The unfamiliar taste and spices made me grimace. "Daevena yepa, this is disgusting. Do you care for something called minestrone soup?"
    "I do not think so." Darea wrinkled her nose. "It smells odd, and it looks too red and wet."
    I liked her better for that. "Excuse me." I went to dispose of the soup and returned. "What is that?" I asked, nodding toward what appeared to be a small pile of white and blue flower petals and dark brown shoots on her dish.
    "C'nabba and gnika-la. They are fresh, not synthetic." She offered me a sample, which tasted a little like the ice plants that grew around the edges of vent shafts. "We grow some foods on the ship, on the hydroponics deck."
    "My daughter has spoken of it." I made a mental note of the names, and then something occurred to me. "You do not grow children in machines there, do you?"
    "No." Darea smiled. "We reproduce by natural means. What you call coupling. It is our custom to be exclusive to each other as well, so you need not offer to couple with any other crew member who does a favor for you."
    I felt as if a huge weight lifted from my neck. "I begin to like your customs, Jorenian."
    We continued our meals in silence, but as others came into the galley we became the subject of many speculative looks. No one approached, but many held murmured conversations after spotting us.
    "Where do you serve on the ship?" I asked her, mainly to block out the attention being given to us.
    "I was a data archivist when I first came to the HouseClan, but now I supervise central processing and technical support." She sipped tea from her server. "It is my responsibility to ensure data and archival integrity at all levels."
    Everything on the Sunlace depended on data systems, computers, and other related technology. It amazed me that the ensleg would permit a mere woman to oversee it, but this was what Gar phawayn had insisted they did. "Do you like what you do?"
    "It is challenging, but I would not be content with anything else." She met my gaze. "What of your work? My bondmate tells me that you were a battlefield surgeon during the rebellion on Akkabarr."
    "I was." She was speaking to me, not Cherijo. She saw me as a real person, not the flesh left behind by the spirit of one she had known. My pleasure at that warmed away some of the coldness in my heart. "Without healers, people die. With healers, some yet die. It is a struggle to be content with such work."
    "I doubt you will find any contentment among the Hsktskt." She gazed around us and frowned twice at particular individuals. "Or, soon, my bondmate's HouseClan. Word of what you mean to do has spread quickly."
    It was then that I saw her motive for coming to me. Darea was not simply sharing a meal. She was keeping the others away from me.
    Salo was fortunate in his choice of women. I was glad he had not pressed me to couple with him.
    "I will not endanger the people on this ship," I said. "If need be, I will take a launch and go to Vtaga alone." Given Reever's attitude, that might be the wisest course of action.
    "You have become a telepath?" She tried to sound amused, but there was too much worry in her eyes. "Your pardon, Healer. When Salo spoke of your decision, I could only think of Fasala and the other children on board the ship."
    "I, too, am tempted to think only of them, as well as my own child. Yet if there is war, then the Hsktskt will kill many more daughters and sons." All the talk around us had ceased, and the others were listening. I did not bother to murmur as they had. "I saw too much of death during the rebellion on Akkabarr. If I can do nothing else with this life, I will