"You love Kerro?"
"You know I do."
"It is your right to try to make him love you, Hali, but not by subterfuge."
".... I want him."
"So you sought My help?"
"I'll take any help I can get."
"You have free access to information, Hali, but what you do with it is your own decision. You are making a life, do you understand that?"
"Making a life?" She could feel her own perspiration against the slick material of the couch.
"Your own life. It is your ow.... a gift. You should treat it well. Be happy with it."
"Would You match Kerro and me again?"
"Only if that really suits you both."
"I'd be happier with Kerro. And Kerro's gone groundside!" It came out almost a wail and she felt tears at the edges of her eyes.
"Can you not go groundside?"
"You know I have Shipside medical responsibilities!"
"Yes, the Shipmen must be kept healthy that Colony may eat. But I ask about your own decision."
"They need me here!"
"Hali, I ask that you trust Me."
She blinked at the empty screen across from the couch. What a strange statement! How could one not trust Ship? All people were creatures of Ship. The invocations of WorShip marked their lives forever. But she felt that some personal response was being demanded and she gave it.
"Of course I trust You."
"I find that gratifying, Hali. Because of that, I have something just for you. You are to learn about a man called Yaisuah. The name is in an ancient language which was known as Aramaic. Yaisuah is a form of the name Joshua and it is where Jesus Lewis gets his name."
In all of this, Hali was most startled by Ship's pronunciation of Jesus. Anyone shipside referring to Jesus called him Hesoos. But Ship's diction could not be questioned: "Geezus."
She stared at the screen. The lab lights suddenly flared to bright, glinting off the metal surfaces. She blinked and sneezed.
Maybe it isn't Ship talking to me, she thought. What if it's someone playing a joke? This was a frightening thought. Who would dare such a prank?
"I am here, Hali Ekel. It is Ship speaking to you."
"Do Yo.... read my mind?"
"Reserve that question, Hali, but know that I can read your reactions. Do you not read the reactions of those around you?"
"Yes, bu...."
"Do not fear. I mean you no harm."
She tried to swallow, recalling what Ship had said she could learn. Yaisuah?
"Who is thi.... this Yaisuah?"
"To learn that, you must travel."
"Travel? Wh.... wha.... ?" She cleared her throat and forced herself to be calm. Kerro had used this lab often and had never shown fear of Ship. "Where will I travel?"
"Not where, but when. You will stroll into that which you humans call Time."
She took this to mean that Ship would show her a holo-record. "A projection? What are You going t.... ?"
"Not that kind of projection. For this experience, you are the projection."
"M.... th.... ?"
"It is important that Shipmen learn about Yaisuah, who was also called Jesus. I have chosen you for this journey."
She felt tightness in her chest, panic near. "How. . .?"
"I know how, Hali Ekel, and so do you. Answer Me: How do your neurons function?"
Any med-tech knew that. She tossed it off without thinking: "A charged measure of acetylcholene across the synapses wher...."
"A charged measure, yes. A bridge, a shortcut. You take shortcuts all the time."
"Bu.... ."
"I am the universe, Hali Ekel. Every part of Me - each part in its entirety - the universe. All Mine - including the shortcuts."
"But my bod.... wha.... ?" She broke off, stopped by an intense fear for this precious flesh she wore.
"I will be with you, Hali Ekel. That matrix which is you, that also is part of the universe and Mine. You wish to know if I read your thoughts?"
She found the very idea deeply disturbing, an invasion of her privacy. "Do You?"
"Eke...." Such sadness Ship put into her name. "Our powers are of the same universe. Your thought is My thought. How can I help but know what you think?"
She struggled for a deep breath. Ship's words spoke of things just beyond her grasp, but WorShip had taught her to accept.
"Very well."