Free Valhai (The Ammonite Galaxy) by Gillian Andrews Page B

passage of time.
    She needed to work out what the code could be. But she was too tired to do anything about that now. She jotted down the sequence which had been repeated to her so often, and then went to her bed chamber. It was time to rest.

Chapter 7
    SIX LAY IN bed talking to Diva. They had got into the habit now of speaking to each other for ten minutes or so before they went to sleep, each in their respective bubble. Under the cover of the top blanket of orthogel they were able to push down on the surface of the bed without the movement being seen from any possible cameras. Six thought it was unlikely Atheron would invigilate them when they were supposedly sleeping, but he wasn’t going to take any chances either.
    It was amazing how fast they were able to communicate with each other. Their fingers flashed as the spelled out the words, gradually using a shorthand to make the conversation even quicker.
    “How are the classes with Atheron?” signed Diva.
    “He puts on that patient, long-suffering face, and I want to kick his virtual teeth down his virtual throat.”
    “Virtually impossible!”
    “Ha! I fell on the D2 square the other day. Atheron was most displeased. No commontime for two months.”
    “I failed relativity basics. No commontime for three months.”
    “That false smile of his makes me want to puke!”
    “Know just what you mean. If he had been one of my father’s subjects we would have had him set in a wall.”
    “Set in a wall?”
    “Common people who break the law are set into special rexelene blocks which are transparent. Then we use the blocks to build museums, and charge people to look at all the dead criminals.”
    “And I thought Kwaide was diabolic! Even they haven’t thought of charging to look at dead people. Yet.”
    “Very profitable.”
    “I can imagine. Bit gruesome though, don’t you think?”
    “It’s a good deterrent.”
    Six shivered. “I can see it would be. It sure deters me from going to Coriolis!”
    “It’s only for common people.”
    “You can’t get much more common than me!”
    “Very true. Never mind, no-name, if we ever go to Coriolis I will make sure they don’t set you into a rexelene block.”
    “How generous! It doesn’t seem very likely we ever will.”
    “No, . . . I wish,” Diva admitted. It was the closest she had ever come to showing debility.
    “Homesick?” he asked.
    “Certainly not,” she signed back. “That would be weak.”
    “And you never show weakness.”
    “Only ordinary people show weakness.”
    “Like me?”
    “Exactly. Though now I come to think about it, you don’t show weakness either.”
    “Is that a compliment from the great Diva?”
    “I suppose it is.”
    “I am flattered.”
    “Don’t be, I didn’t mean it.”
    “Goodnight, Diva.”
    “Goodnight.”
    The following day Six found himself facing Atheron again for another long school day. He had made up his mind to become proactive in his education. He was going to slant things towards the subjects he thought might be useful to him, as far as he could. It was one way to make sure he was ready when the opportunity came.
    “I’d like to study Sell,” he said.
    “The history?”
    Six nodded. “And the language.”
    Atheron frowned, which was surprising because his permanent school expression was a smile. “No foreigner may speak Sell.”
    “Why not?”
    “It is not permitted. It carries the death penalty for the foreigner, and also for the Sellite who taught him the language.”
    “Seems a bit drastic?”
    Atheron stiffened. “It was so decided at the First Valhai Votation. No Sellite would think to question the Votation.”
    “Really? So you use a language only . . . a few hundred people speak?”
    “Quite so. There are five hundred Sell skyrises and about four to five live members in each on average, so there must be about two thousand two hundred Sells in total.”
    “And you all have to learn the other Almagest languages?”
    “Of course. At