Chapter Two
Garden scene:

      Flinging open the doors with her usual enthusiasm, Sarah raced out into the bright sunlight and bounced down the stone steps onto the landing at their bottom, then skipped quickly off down the red brick path leading into the Capitol building’s garden quad.

      "Hurry Poppy," she called as she went.

      "Why, daughter?" Doctor Illery answered, trailing down the steps behind her. "The garden is not going anywhere."

      Fifty feet ahead, Sarah pulled herself up short in the middle of the path. Spinning around on one barefoot heel and setting her wild black hair flying, she placed one hand on each hip, leaned forward at the waist and stuck her face out in his direction.

      "You KNOW why," she mocked. "The eggs could hatch any day now. We have to make sure the new fledglings are all right." Then, another spin, and she was off down the path toward the garden center. Quickening his step but still unable to keep pace, Dr. Illery's eyes followed his enigma of a daughter until she disappeared around the first bend in the meandering trail.

      Part Earthling, part Centauri, part. . . what, he thought. Slapped together inside one of her human mother's ovum utilizing DNA from that mother and himself, Sarah was the only inter-species hybrid being in the known galaxy. It had been intended she be primarily Centauri, possessing only those few human DNA sequences required to repair the damaged reproductive sequences of the Centauri geneome, but the human host-mother body had not cooperated. Rejecting one after another of the genetically engineered zygotes implanted in her womb, it had been necessary to use increasingly larger amounts of the host's own DNA before one finally was accepted. The being produced by that embryo would have been far more human then Centauri, utterly defeating the purpose of the effort. In the end, Illery had found himself forced to indulge in a far more heavy handed genetic re-engineering than he had wished.

      The rejection problem had been traced to the so-called junk sequences of the human geneome. Useless genetic strands whose original reasons for existence lay long forgotten in the backlands of the four-billion-year evolutionary history of Homo Sapiens. Huge strings of GCTA sequences that no longer served any discernible purpose other than simply holding the double helix together and keeping the active sequences in their proper places. Only after several million simulations did Dr. Illery's sequencing computers hit upon a combination that would produce the desired result; an implantable zygote containing all the active Centauri sequences, only the active human sequences required to repair the damaged Centauri reproductive genes and a computer selected nearly random yet viable combination of both the human and Centauri junk DNA.

      Dr. Illery had worried mightily over how those hybrid junk sequences might manifest themselves if they became active but the unknown nature of their original purpose had made prediction impossible. The computer simulations indicated a high probability they would remain dormant so he was hopeful in that regard. His additional tampering with the genes controlling development of the lower brain was of greater concern, however.

      To affect the required rapid gestation and accelerated early stage growth rate he had been forced to take liberties in re-engineering areas of the brain where he would rather not have meddled. At one point the probability of success had seemed so poor he had considered eliminating entirely the genes relating to the fore-brain and simply creating a vegetable. An unconscious, unaware, biological Centauri egg factory that would spend its entire life in a hospital creach, its physical needs tended by life support specialists and reproductive technicians. But the three hundred year battle for survival waged against the radiation of their systems sometimes unstable sun had imbued in the Centauri a compassion and respect for life that made such a choice impossible. That respect was not restricted to the Centauri but extended to all sentient life forms, including the human host whom he had so blatantly violated to accomplish his goal. Driven by that compassion, Illery had persisted in his attempts and had ultimately succeeded in creating Sarah in a sentient form.

      The Centauri ovum Sarah would produce would have that same combination of Human, Centauri and hybrid-junk-sequence DNA, but those eggs would not have to survive gestation in a Human womb. Once collected directly from her enlarged, egg factory, ovaries a simple one-division cloning process would be utilized to remove all trace of human DNA save the tiny percentage required to repair the reproductive sequence damage the Centauri had suffered at the hands of their erratic sun.

      The differences Dr. Illery's re-engineering had created in Sarah, herself, however, were profound. Especially significant were the alterations he had been forced to employ in guaranteeing her sentiency--her mind was extraordinary. During the two years since her birth the not-as-dormant-as-hoped hybrid junk sequences had caused her to undergo several metamorphoses as her accelerated growth rate brought her quickly to physical womanhood. But through all the changes she had been forced to endure Sarah's ever expanding mind had remained the one constant in her makeup. Emotionally a child, physically a woman, mentally a giant, Sarah Illery was, indeed, an enigma of the first order.

      Rounding the last bend in the garden pathway brought Sarah back into Illery's view. She stood on tip-toe atop the unpainted hardwood bench circling the ancient Rasi tree that stood at the very center of the garden. Fingertips gently touching the tree trunk to maintain her balance and her neck craned high, she peered curiously into the nest. Though he approached her from almost directly behind and with his cushioned slippers making no sound on the brick path, she turned toward him as he drew near.

      "Poppy," she exclaimed, her bright pastel facial swatches dancing merrily as she spoke, "I saw one of the eggs move. The chicks are trying to get out!"

      "Yes, it's about time." He held a hand up to her, "Come down then, child. This is not a time to disturb them."

      "But I want to watch. I've waited all spring; I want to see."

      "Come down, Sarah. Their mother won't tend to them with you standing there staring goggle-eyed into the nest. They need her to help them break out of their shells"

      Sarah lifted her gaze to the old Rasi tree's highest branches, were the mother had fluttered when she'd climbed up onto the bench, and gave a small sigh. Pushing herself away from the tree trunk with her fingertips she plopped back down onto the flats of her feet, her arms falling dejectedly to her sides, her chin dropping likewise to her chest. "I know, but I so wanted to see."

      Taking his hand she hopped both-feet-at-once down off the bench onto the red bricks and looked up at him with a now almost colorless face. "Then can I watch with my other eyes, Poppy? May I? Please?

      He took both her hands into his and smiled down to her. Tilting his head slightly and pursing his lips he hesitated only a moment. "I guess that would be all right. But just look, daughter. Don't interfere."

      This brought the colors bouncing back onto her face. Smiling broadly and still holding his hand, she led him toward a bench across the path from the tree. "Come Poppy, sit on the bench with me and I'll tell you what I see."

      Dr. Illery complied. He never passed up an opportunity to share in Sarah's seeing and, thereby, further investigate her ever-growing mental abilities. All Centauri were telepathic but none in the manner she was capable of. Most Centauri could read the conscious thoughts of others but only when the other person wanted their thoughts known. Much as humans sub-vocalize when they read, Centauri thoughts were only available to others when they purposefully made them available to the part of their brains that could be seen into by other Centauri. One in ten thousand could read all the conscious thoughts of others whether they wanted them to or not--Illery was one who could do this--but none could simply look into another being's mind and see everything. Sarah was not bound by such limitations.

      When Sarah looked into someone's mind she knew everything they knew, not just what they happened to be thinking at the time. She could even probe memory. She could see through their eyes, hear through their ears, even feel their emotions. No Centauri had ever had such abilities.

      At first Sarah had exhibited only a normal level of Centauri telepathy. But each physical change the hybrid junk DNA had put her through over the last two years had also been accompanied by a new level of psychic ability. With her long, black main of seemingly uncontrollable hair nearly identical to that of her Earthen mother had come her ability to read unbroadcast conscious thoughts. With the rounding and softening of her triangular head, body and limbs had come her ability to read unconscious thoughts and to probe into people's memories. Just a month ago, although fully physically mature, she had started into a delayed growth spurt. If it continued for much longer she would soon be taller than Dr. Illery, himself quite tall for a Centauri at over four-and-a-half-feet. With the growth spurt had come these new interactive abilities of being able to perceive through the senses of others and to feel their emotions.

      Dr. Illery lowered himself down onto the bench beside her. "So, what do you see, child?"

      "Oh. . . ," her face fell, "I can't see anything. The babies eyes aren't open yet. I can sort of sense the light, you know, like when you lie on your back in the sun with your eyes closed, but I can't really see."

      "Can you feel the sun on your face?"

      "Yes, it's warm. It's the warmth I'm trying to get to but I can't.

      She slumped against his side and laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm so tired. I've been pecking at this shell all morning but I can't get out. I've made a little crack but I'm exhausted. I can't get through."

      "That's all the chic needs to do, daughter. The pecking sounds and rocking the egg around will bring the mother bird to help. Try looking through her eyes."

      Sarah sat up straight and, folding her hands in her lap, looked up to the top of the tree.

      "Oh my, she's looking at us!" Then, dropping her chin to her chest, "Oh no, she's afraid of us. She won't come down."

      "I think we're far enough away now. Give her a minute to make sure we're not coming back."

      Sarah brightened at this and waited patiently, something she was very good at for one so young.

      "She's starting to calm down, now. Her mind isn't so busy. Oh look, here she comes!"

      Sarah jostled about on the bench for a moment as the bird fluttered down, landing on the rim of the nest. "Wow. Flying is really fun!"

      Dropping the mother from her attention she cast her eyes about the sky for another bird but none were in sight. Closing her eyes, she lowered her head. After just a moment she smiled and then held her arms out to her sides and began banking and swooping on the bench as if flying.

      Dr. Illery looked around the sky but could see no other birds, either. "I don't see any other birds nearby, Sarah. Where are you?"

      "I'm with a Seahawk down at the south shore. I'm just hanging there in the updraft from the cliffs. Suspended, almost motionless. I'm looking for fish to dive on. There's one! Here we go. . . sploosh! Got'em! Ew, he's all wiggley."

      Sarah opened her eyes, folded her hands back into her lap and looked up at her father. "Flying is really exciting, Poppy." Then, snuggling up to him and putting her arms around his neck, "I wish I could take you with me instead of just telling you about these things. It's just not the same."

      "I wish you could, too, sweetheart. I really can't imagine what it must be like. But are you just teasing me? The south shore, that's more than a hundred miles. Nobody can pick up thoughts from that far away."

      "Oh, I can, and much farther, too. Farther everyday, actually"

      Not surprising, thought Illery. These new interactive abilities had come with the growth spurt and it was still going on. "How far, Sarah. Can you see to the north shore, too?" That would be over six hundred miles, he thought.

      "Yes. I can see to the north shore. I've even seen the other continent through the eyes of a ballistic transport pilot. It looks so small from the top of the arc. I was really surprised. I could see the curvature of Centauri and all the stars were so bright against the blackness of space. It was kind of scary being way up there."

      "I'll bet it was. You don’t remember having spent your infancy in space because we were all in stasis during our voyage home from Earth. But what were you doing looking through the eyes of a ballistics pilot?"

      "Oh, they had an emergency. They lost a fuel cell. He was pretty scared until he figured out they were going to be OK. Those kinds of thoughts, really emotional ones, just seem to grab my attention. But I can go into space if I want. I just don't like to."

      "I had no idea you could see that far. How come you haven't told me of this before?"

      "I don't know. I was just able to see that far a few days ago. But space is creepy. I don't want to go there anymore."

      "What do you mean by that, Sarah? I've been all over this quadrant, it isn't creepy out there. Just other worlds scattered around. Some with intelligent beings on them, but mostly not. Most of it's just empty."

      "No Poppy, there's something bad out there. Something very bad. I can feel it. I'm not going out there anymore. It's just too creepy."

      The void, thought Illery, my God, she's beginning to sense the void. And if Sarah can sense it then there really is a life-force of some kind at work there, not a natural phenomena as had been speculated. Premier Urlack and Council would have to be told, of course, and the Defense Ministry as well. Sarah's all ready too complicated life was about to become even more complex he feared. But not today. The ever advancing perimeter of the void was still five-hundred light years away. The Defense Ministry’s Admiral Killiki and the Politicians could wait until tomorrow to begin exploiting Sarah's abilities to investigate it. She had waited weeks to watch the fledglings hatch and he would not deny her that.