Free Unfit by K Hippolite Page A

see him do it behind the salesman’s back.
      It’s my first time sitting in such a fancy new convertible and I lose myself in the joy of the fresh leathery scents.
      “Easy, huh,” says Kajo. “You just break up twelve nitrogens, regroup the protons, and you get one gold and some left over matter. The atmosphere has so much nitrogen, it’s like an infinite supply.”
      All this pushes the limits of the year one chemistry course I was required to take. Mrs. Lanarr wants us to be able to eventually recite the names and symbols of all eighty-two elements, but I’m still stuck on neon.
      “I’ve never heard of Lightnings making gold before.”
      “It’s probably hidden. Otherwise gold would get devalued.”
      I find that hard to believe. Pertran seemed to like gold quite a bit. I can’t imagine he would like it so much if he could make it himself.
      Kajo drives us out of Hillvale and into Iceford, a small town on the border of Graal. It’s my first time here. The bus doesn’t go this far, and my family has never had reason to visit the farms out here. Hillvale looks so small from up here on the escarpment.
      “Hillvale is a cement ant colony nestled in a canopy of green,” I say, causing Kajo to peer at me with a perplexed expression.
      “Don’t get all metaphysical on me now,” he says as he parks.
      Iceford is a crossroads town, with a population of perhaps two hundred. There’s a tiny farmer’s market in sight, along with the three cars and four carts. There are few townspeople to be seen. Likely most of them are out working in the farms at this hour.
      The town’s only bar is open. I go to it to freshen up since I’ve been starting to feel all crampy since this morning. When I come back out, I find Kajo near the market, staring at a statue.
      It’s no ordinary statue, I discover: it’s a petrification . A woman who once lived, and has converted herself into marble. I ask Kajo to be certain.
      “Yes,” says Kajo, “That woman probably stood in this very spot when she turned herself to stone.”
      “They’ve placed vegetables at her feet,” I say. “So that she might have something to eat if she comes out of it?”
      “But no one has returned from petrification in a thousand years.”
      The woman’s sightless eyes are turned up towards the sun. Her hair flows as if the wind caught it just before she turned to stone. I can hear thoughts from her: a desperate yearning for the sun. A unquenchable loneliness. Sadness frozen in a vast stretch of eternity.
      It makes me shiver. “This is creepy. Let’s move on.”
     
      We drive into Graal proper, but a patrol sends Kajo careening off-road to avoid them. The convertible is not designed for that kind of travel, so he uses power to carry it.
      “It’s like being in a futuristic flying car, eh Kwan?”
      “This is really fast.”
      “Nah, just two hundred clicks per hour. What’s up? Why so green?”
      Flying for the first time in my life plus the cramps, mixed in with a speed that tells me I’m about to die. If I could explain all this to him without throwing up, I would.
      Only once past Graal does he slow down and fly close to the ground so I can catch my breath. We’re passing into Farrich. I’m now two entire demesnes from my home. It’s a weird feeling because I can still sense the others back home going about their lives. Kim has just finished a year-end championship ball game against the intramural rivals. Reiki is shopping for an outfit for a party tonight. Hattie whitewashes the bannister rails in front of her house.
      The mind I would most like to connect with is closed to me. I’m starting to suspect that Greg has some minor telepathic blocking ability, because surely by now I should be familiar enough with his mind to reach him.
      When I extend my senses forward to the demesne of Farrich. Their Naiskarin is very strong; he senses me right away. Our minds brush and form a