? he colle? s
"Why do pagan canc? uffe? wri? uch science-? ? ms?"
I peered over her shoulder at the co? ? creen. Dimensions, micro- this, ? ? hat, stars a? pace and singularities. All the elem? . "I? ldn't begin ? ell you.? />
"She died on Ch? mas Eve," she said. "What a ? ty n? ? the family. Like God said C? ? ? ? right out."
I leaned back in my ergonomic chair. "Well, ? ? h people dying all over the world all the time, ? ? ld b? ? good that ... "
Cam flun? a hand,? estalling the rest o? sentence. "? s, I know." Then she looked back at me, her stra? brown hair falling ? ? face. "? are the ? , an? ? One in? ee h? ? ? ? e?"
"For an i? idual wi? t any mitigating? ? tances, sure."
"What ? ou mean?? />
I chewed on my pencil. "Well, it depends on? ? y large number of variables. The? e information you know a? the individual, the? you can ? ? the probabi? of ? individual's death on C? ? Eve."
"Y? e kiddin? ? ."
"Well, no. Sta? ical? peaking,? e people in ? ern societies di? ound the hol? s than at an? her time of the ? , al? gh m? ? comes close. Add in to ? the individual's emotional wellng, the ? e of family ? ort, the qua? of medical care, the patient's medical ? ory, of ? se, any prio? sociatio? ith the ? on ... " The pencil spli? ed. After I pull? ? ooden sh? ? of my mouth, I ? inued, "? ? , I'd say th? obab? y of this la? dying on Ch? mas Eve ? ather li? to be much ? ? han one ? hree? ty-five.? />
She? ated in her chair an? ared at me. "I d? it.? />
"Yeah. Like that o? ? l I told? abo? p in Pennsylvania. T? ho got accidentally killed and her husband d? ? ed himself a? ward?"
"O? eah.? ." I pulled the ? ues out and grimaced ple? ? at the ? ery ? ? ubbing my tongue aga? my pala? o ri? of fur. "Wh? ort ? ? -- ?"
"I dunno. I don't think she had any." She leaned bin her c? and started fiddling with a pen. "I? ? ? to be a general theme, you ? ?"
"Why do you focus ? ? agans, anyway?"
She looke? at me. ? do you ? s on? ? olog? ?"
"I don't know. Sometim? hey have? sual? ? s for di? ition."
"Sure? ? aid. "Pa? ? eir own ? entions.? emonies to b? the rem? and con? ate them to the dece? 's d? or ? ral forc? ? em. ? Pennsylvania girl left a scroll? h her loved ? ' names ? ten on i? ? ed in a red ribbon, and asked he? ? ? ? rn it wi? he appropriate h? ."
"She knew she was going to die?"
? ew i? ested.
"N? ? ? hy I dig the pagans," and wi? hat, she? ned back to her ? ? , leaving me to mull it ? ? /><>What sort of a society is it th? redicate? ? ? al on th? ? ation of? ? cience, yet enge? s a subc? ? hat ? ? in some? m of? ure-? hip common for c? ? pri? o the Enlightenment, or, to put a finer point on it, some kind of an? m of the? ain found in? spe? going back ? sands of years? It a? emed reg? ive,? hough what little I'd picked up from Cam and? pre? ? ession certa? didn't give the? ? ion of Ludditism? />
In ? , she'd ? ed at some kind ? echnopag? ? hich, I imagined, in? ? pells enacte? computer, I? net covens, and ? es laid upon heads b? rning co? ? ? ntil the? ed a? tank in the dark? />
When I got ? he next morning, I found Cam at the ? ? ? />
"Jesus, woman. Did you not come to bed ? night?"
"Hm?" She glance? . "O? eah,? a couple hours. I keep coming back to P? ylvania.? />
I g? ed a? alked in? he kitchen. ? ? ? good. Maybe a fried egg. "What'? ong with? ?"
"Nothing in partic? ? ? aid. "I ? keep finding mo? tuff."
I scraped the egg out ? ? an onto the bread. "Like what?"
"Are you making break? ? I smell eggs."
"Yeah." Something oc? ? o me, and I poke? hea? t of the? chen. "D? ? ant something?"
"Hmm." Cam was half-crouching in the chair, her left knee dra? p to? chin. She looke? me and ? nche? ? face. "I don't ? . Toast?? />
"Mm.? ter will do.? />
I g? he hint and ed back into the? chen. Where was the cinnamon? "So what kind ? tuff?"
"A friend's blog," she said. "The exec? 's, rather. I'm ? of reading back? ough the? t few mo? . She had a pet name? the? l who died, ? 's how close they were."
"What was she like?" toa? went. On second ? ght, I added some cinnam? o a banana-nut muffin fo? self? />
The? as a? se, then, "Which one?"
"The e? tor.? />
"Oh." There? ano? ? se, long? his time. When I handed her her ? ? he had a pensive look on? face. "? ? d to? cribnto a lot of? ff, ? ess. Reading, video game? aganism, polyamory, drugs. That's a big one,? gs. She smokes a? of pot.? />
She bit into a piece of cinnamon ? t. "Mmm. Umm, mm." S? hook? ? ickly.
"Why not?"
She swallowed. "Majo? ? ? stem. A ? le b? iends and gi? iend? lus ? sband and a younger ? her.? s she seems to b? ? well-collected and self-aware. Not a good candidate."
"That's good ... I guess."
She ? gged. "F? ome ? I'm more focused on the world she was in than on? death."
I wa? iet for a few minutes, e? t for the smacking. ? t the empty ? e on my ? ? ? k and picked up the muffin. "Do you ? wonder sometimes? A? the col? ion?? />
She? ldn't meet m? es. "Yeah."
"Why?? br />She? ugge? the computer screen? t to? . "That. A lot o? uff ? ? o one of these, but we just ? of ... kibitz. ? kind of weird. Makes me wonder if ... "
"If ? ?"
She finally made eye contact, and she was afraid. "If ? e's somethin? ong with us." Th? ? ? ed in her chair.
I nodded slowly. "Maybe." I got up, and ? over to the armoire whe? e ke? he collection. Went ? to Cam's co? er a? ? ? ? ? ord lock. Did the sa? o mine. Sat down in my c? . Thought.
I looked at her face, ? ing on her knee,? ouded in? hair. There? ? th. I would have lik? o sketch? ? t there was evidence to ? ? . Then again, what did it ma? ? ? done.
No. Why contribute? thing else? The muff? as gone.
The silence fill? ? oom.? ? le="clear:both; padding-? om:0.25em">
I peered over her shoulder at the co? ? creen. Dimensions, micro- this, ? ? hat, stars a? pace and singularities. All the elem? . "I? ldn't begin ? ell you.? />
"She died on Ch? mas Eve," she said. "What a ? ty n? ? the family. Like God said C? ? ? ? right out."
I leaned back in my ergonomic chair. "Well, ? ? h people dying all over the world all the time, ? ? ld b? ? good that ... "
Cam flun? a hand,? estalling the rest o? sentence. "? s, I know." Then she looked back at me, her stra? brown hair falling ? ? face. "? are the ? , an? ? One in? ee h? ? ? ? e?"
"For an i? idual wi? t any mitigating? ? tances, sure."
"What ? ou mean?? />
I chewed on my pencil. "Well, it depends on? ? y large number of variables. The? e information you know a? the individual, the? you can ? ? the probabi? of ? individual's death on C? ? Eve."
"Y? e kiddin? ? ."
"Well, no. Sta? ical? peaking,? e people in ? ern societies di? ound the hol? s than at an? her time of the ? , al? gh m? ? comes close. Add in to ? the individual's emotional wellng, the ? e of family ? ort, the qua? of medical care, the patient's medical ? ory, of ? se, any prio? sociatio? ith the ? on ... " The pencil spli? ed. After I pull? ? ooden sh? ? of my mouth, I ? inued, "? ? , I'd say th? obab? y of this la? dying on Ch? mas Eve ? ather li? to be much ? ? han one ? hree? ty-five.? />
She? ated in her chair an? ared at me. "I d? it.? />
"Yeah. Like that o? ? l I told? abo? p in Pennsylvania. T? ho got accidentally killed and her husband d? ? ed himself a? ward?"
"O? eah.? ." I pulled the ? ues out and grimaced ple? ? at the ? ery ? ? ubbing my tongue aga? my pala? o ri? of fur. "Wh? ort ? ? -- ?"
"I dunno. I don't think she had any." She leaned bin her c? and started fiddling with a pen. "I? ? ? to be a general theme, you ? ?"
"Why do you focus ? ? agans, anyway?"
She looke? at me. ? do you ? s on? ? olog? ?"
"I don't know. Sometim? hey have? sual? ? s for di? ition."
"Sure? ? aid. "Pa? ? eir own ? entions.? emonies to b? the rem? and con? ate them to the dece? 's d? or ? ral forc? ? em. ? Pennsylvania girl left a scroll? h her loved ? ' names ? ten on i? ? ed in a red ribbon, and asked he? ? ? ? rn it wi? he appropriate h? ."
"She knew she was going to die?"
? ew i? ested.
"N? ? ? hy I dig the pagans," and wi? hat, she? ned back to her ? ? , leaving me to mull it ? ? /><>What sort of a society is it th? redicate? ? ? al on th? ? ation of? ? cience, yet enge? s a subc? ? hat ? ? in some? m of? ure-? hip common for c? ? pri? o the Enlightenment, or, to put a finer point on it, some kind of an? m of the? ain found in? spe? going back ? sands of years? It a? emed reg? ive,? hough what little I'd picked up from Cam and? pre? ? ession certa? didn't give the? ? ion of Ludditism? />
In ? , she'd ? ed at some kind ? echnopag? ? hich, I imagined, in? ? pells enacte? computer, I? net covens, and ? es laid upon heads b? rning co? ? ? ntil the? ed a? tank in the dark? />
When I got ? he next morning, I found Cam at the ? ? ? />
"Jesus, woman. Did you not come to bed ? night?"
"Hm?" She glance? . "O? eah,? a couple hours. I keep coming back to P? ylvania.? />
I g? ed a? alked in? he kitchen. ? ? ? good. Maybe a fried egg. "What'? ong with? ?"
"Nothing in partic? ? ? aid. "I ? keep finding mo? tuff."
I scraped the egg out ? ? an onto the bread. "Like what?"
"Are you making break? ? I smell eggs."
"Yeah." Something oc? ? o me, and I poke? hea? t of the? chen. "D? ? ant something?"
"Hmm." Cam was half-crouching in the chair, her left knee dra? p to? chin. She looke? me and ? nche? ? face. "I don't ? . Toast?? />
"Mm.? ter will do.? />
I g? he hint and ed back into the? chen. Where was the cinnamon? "So what kind ? tuff?"
"A friend's blog," she said. "The exec? 's, rather. I'm ? of reading back? ough the? t few mo? . She had a pet name? the? l who died, ? 's how close they were."
"What was she like?" toa? went
The? as a? se, then, "Which one?"
"The e? tor.? />
"Oh." There? ano? ? se, long? his time. When I handed her her ? ? he had a pensive look on? face. "? ? d to? cribnto a lot of? ff, ? ess. Reading, video game? aganism, polyamory, drugs. That's a big one,? gs. She smokes a? of pot.? />
She bit into a piece of cinnamon ? t. "Mmm. Umm, mm." S? hook? ? ickly.
"Why not?"
She swallowed. "Majo? ? ? stem. A ? le b? iends and gi? iend? lus ? sband and a younger ? her.? s she seems to b? ? well-collected and self-aware. Not a good candidate."
"That's good ... I guess."
She ? gged. "F? ome ? I'm more focused on the world she was in than on? death."
I wa? iet for a few minutes, e? t for the smacking. ? t the empty ? e on my ? ? ? k and picked up the muffin. "Do you ? wonder sometimes? A? the col? ion?? />
She? ldn't meet m? es. "Yeah."
"Why?? br />She? ugge? the computer screen? t to? . "That. A lot o? uff ? ? o one of these, but we just ? of ... kibitz. ? kind of weird. Makes me wonder if ... "
"If ? ?"
She finally made eye contact, and she was afraid. "If ? e's somethin? ong with us." Th? ? ? ed in her chair.
I nodded slowly. "Maybe." I got up, and ? over to the armoire whe? e ke? he collection. Went ? to Cam's co? er a? ? ? ? ? ord lock. Did the sa? o mine. Sat down in my c? . Thought.
I looked at her face, ? ing on her knee,? ouded in? hair. There? ? th. I would have lik? o sketch? ? t there was evidence to ? ? . Then again, what did it ma? ? ? done.
No. Why contribute? thing else? The muff? as gone.
The silence fill? ? oom.? ? le="clear:both; padding-? om:0.25em">
Archives
May 2007 ? p;
June 2007 ? p;
July 2007 ? p;
August 2007? p;
Septe? 2007 &? ;
October 2007? p;
January 2008&? ;
March 2008? p; ? ef="? ? nark? mor.usb-abacus.com/2008_04_0? ? e.php">April 2008 &? ;
? 2008 &? ;
? ember 2008 ? p;
December 2008 ? p;
Jan? 2009 &? ;
? ? 2009 &? ;
April 2010 ? p;