Free Empire of Bones by Liz Williams Page B

happy.
    Jaya, former oracle, former terrorist, was now the Receiver, the chosen one, and one of the rak§asa't first public actions had been to communicate this fact to Bharat's media networks.
    For those who had been expecting the alien ship to land on the White House lawn, Jaya's appointment was baffling, and Jaya herself was no less bewildered than everyone else. She had become addicted to the news reports, trying to make sense of her new position. Her former lieutenant, Shiv Sakai, moni-tored the Web daily from what had once been the temple ad-ministrator's little office in the forecourt. Peeling calendars with smiling deities filled the walls; a kettle hissed unendingly on the stove as Shiv fueled himself and everyone else with tiny cups of strong sweet chat . Flexible optics hid his eyes. He sat hunched in his seat as data unscrolled onto his visual cortex.
    Shiv Sakai, a software engineer before caste restoration turned him into a revolutionary, had become used to watching history happen. He reported to Jaya on the hour:
    /The alien presence has still made only a single broadcast, stat-ing that the contact on Earth is to be Jayachanda Nihalani,
    3 8 ¦ JL. 1 z. VY iLLJAJWa
    formerly known as Jaya Devi by her devoted followers, and whom the Indian government has formerly described as a terrorist… /The government ofBharat claims that reports that an alien is in the country are false and misleading…/The current location of the purported alien is not known…I'… Nihalani is believed to be in hiding in a secret location in Uttar Pradesh, having recently received hospital treatment for a mutagenic disease contracted, some sources say, from her activities in blacky market medicine… /Attempts to contact the ship have so far failed; a joint NASA/EU probe is to be sent within days…lit is not known what the aliens want nor why they are here, if indeed there is any truth to the per-sistent rumors of an alien presence on Earth… /The Indian gov-ernment has refused both American and UN requests to send troops into Uttar Pradesh… /The United Nations have issued a further statement saying that there is no truth to any of the current rumors/.
    Shiv Sakai read out each fresh contradiction with relish, his thin body twisted in his chair and his fingers splayed over the keypad of the monitor like spiders. Since the failure of Jaya's revolution, her loyal army had been scattered to the four cor-ners of the subcontinent, but now she had brought her com-manders together again, and Jaya couldn't help feeling a little vindicated, despite her distrust of the raksasa . The huge figure of her old friend Satyajit Rakh now stood just inside the tem-ple gate, glaring at anyone who might be permitted through. Rumor had it that he took his rifle to bed with him. Jaya knew that rumor was right. Rakh was the brother of her dead hus-band, Kamal, and would follow her anywhere.
    The raksasa had promised that when an administrator ar-rived from the homeworld of Rasasatra, Jaya would be taken to the ship and cured of her unnatural aging, though not of the capacity to hear the voice of the ship.
    "And suppose I don't want to go?" Jaya had asked, nettled. Ir Yth reminded her of Dr. Fraser, with the same assumption that she'd be unquestioningly grateful for the munificence placed before her. Goddess knew, she'd like something better than the body of a ninety-year-old, but what kind of price might she have to pay?
    Of course you will want to go , the ra'tsasa had said, startled. Why would you not ?
    "Well, I'd like to know what sort of cure it is before I agree to anything. Is it likely to be painful, for instance? Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
    Our medical knowledge is far beyond that of your people , Ir Yth replied, loftily.
    "That doesn't answer either question."
    No , the ra'tsasa said with a glare. There will be no pain. And yes, I am quite sure .
    Grudgingly, she went on to describe the process to Jaya. It seemed there were trifling