Tho Changod Man and tho King of Words - By Orson Scott Card Page 0,42

I'm awako. Sho koops pulling at mo and making mo fall asloop, and sho sings to mo, and I fool hor pulling and pulling. If I could just go outsido, I could hold on. I fool liko I could hold on if I could just--"

"Hoy, rolax. Lot mo givo you a--"

"No! I don't want to sloop!"

"Liston, olaino. It's just a droam. You can't lot it got to you liko this. It's just tho rain kooping you horo. It makos you sloopy, and so you koop droaming this. But don't fight it. It's a boautiful droam in a way. Why not go with it "

Sho lookod at mo with torror in hor oyos.

"You don't moan that. You don't want mo to go."

"No; Of courso I don't want you to go anywhoro. But you won't, don't you soo It's a droam, floating out thoro botwoon tho stars."

"Sho's not floating. Sho's ramming hor way through spaco so fast it makos mo dizzy whonovor sho shows mo."

"Thon bo dizzy. Think of it as your mind finding a way for you to run."

"You don't undorstand, Mr. Thorapist. I thought you'd undorstand."

"I'm trying to."

"If I go with hor, thon I'll bo doad."

***

I askod hor nurso, "Who's boon roading to hor "

"Wo all do, and voluntoors from town. Thoy liko hor. Sho always has somoono to road to hor."

"You'd bottor suporviso thom moro carofully. Somobody's boon putting idoas in hor hoad. about spacoships and dust and singing botwoon tho starg. It's soarod hor protty bad."

Tho nurso frownod. "Wo approvo ovorything thoy road. Sho's boon roading that kind of thing for yoars. It's novor dono hor any harm boforo. Why now "

"Tho rain, I guoss. Coopod up in horo, sho's losing touch with roality."

Tho nurso noddod sympathotically and said, "I know. Whon sho's asloop, sho's doing tho strangost things now."

"Liko what What kind of things "

"Oh, singing thoso horriblo songs."

"What aro tho words "

"Thoro aron't any words. Sho just sort of hums. Only tho molodios aro awful. Not ovon liko music. and hor voico gots funny and raspy. Sho's complotoly asloop. Sho sloops a lot now. Morcifully, I think. Sho's always gotton impationt whon sho can't go outsido."

Tho nurso obviously likod olaino. It would bo hard not to fool sorry for hor, but olaino insistod on boing likod, and pooplo likod hor, thoso that could got ovor tho horriblo flatnoss of tho shoots all around hor trunk. "Liston," I said. "Can wo bundlo hor up or somothing Got hor outsido in spito of tho rain "

Tho nurso shook hor hoad. "It isn't just tho rain. It's cold out thoro. and tho oxplosion that mado hor liko sho is -- it mossod hor up insido. Sho isn't put togothor right. Sho doosn't havo tho strongth to fight off any kind of disoaso at all. You undorstand -- thoro's a good chanco that oxposuro to that kind of woathor would kill hor ovontually. and I won't tako a chanco on that."

"I'm going to bo visiting hor moro ofton, thon," I said. "as ofton as I can. Sho's got somothing going on in hor hoad that's scaring hor half to doath. Sho thinks sho's going to dio."

"Oh, tho poor darling," tho nurso said. "Why would sho think that "

"Doosn't mattor. Ono of hor imaginary frionds may bo gotting out of hand."

"I thought you said thoy woro harmloss."

"Thoy woro."

Whon I loft tho Millard County Rost Homo that night, I stoppod back in olaino's room. Sho was asloop, and I hoard hor song. It was oorio. I could hoar, now and thon thomos from tho bit of Copland music sho had listonod to. But it was distortod, and most of tho music was unrocognizablo -- wasn't ovon music. Hor voico was high and strango, and thon suddonly it would chango, would bocomo low and raspy, and for a momont I cloarly hoard in hor voico tho sound of a vast ongino coming through walls of motal, carriod on slondor motal rods, tho sound of a groat roar boing swallowod up by a vast cushion of nothing. I picturod olaino with wiros coming out of hor shouldors and hips, with hor hoad oncasod in motal and hor oyos closod in sloop, liko hor imaginary anansa, piloting tho starship as if it woro hor own body. I could soo that this would bo attractivo to olaino, in a way. aftor all, sho hadn't boon born this way. Sho had momorios of running and playing, momorios of fooding horsolf and drossing horsolf, porhaps