Page 40 of Cozy Prisons
Sima pursed her lips for a moment before talking. “Do you know what Fading is?”
Her question took him completely by surprise. “Of course.”
“Do you know anyone who’s ever died of it?”
He didn’t want to answer. Was this response the price of her help? He focused his gaze on the wall behind Sima and forced the single word out of his mouth.
“Yes.”
“Can you explain why that’s so hard to admit?”
Sima’s relentlessness would’ve made any mediator mavin proud.
“We don’t talk about the Fading.”
She waited in silence. He knew what she wanted to hear. By the ancestors, this female had no mercy!
“The disease is considered a sign of weak genetics,” he gritted out. “It's believed that it’s better to let those Talins die. What does this have to do with understanding Nataly?”
“We’ll get there,” Sima promised. “Tell me about the person you knew who died of Fading.”
He was still half convinced these questions were simply to torture him. “She was a friend and coworker. One day, she stopped coming to work. I didn’t find out what had happened until after she died. Her family sequestered her away. When it was over, they issued a formal notice of death, but didn’t give details. I had to look it up in the statistics logs.”
“Would you have done anything differently if you’d known what was going on before she died?”
“There’s no cure for the Fading,” he answered by rote.
Sima shook her head, making him drop his gaze to her face. Her expression was kind, but determined. “I’m not talking aboutyou trying to cure her. I’m asking if you would’ve intervened to provide her with comfort in her last days.”
Giving Sima an honest answer was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. “I would’ve visited her. I would’ve told her that it was an honor to work with her and I would always remember her as effective and intelligent.”
She gave him an encouraging look. “Thank you for sharing that with me. Now I’m going to ask you one more thing. Let’s pretend you had the cure, but when you presented it to your friend, she refused. She decided she’d rather have an honorable death than live with everyone knowing she had survived the Fading. Would you force her to take the cure?”
“Of course not! Having the right to…” his words trailed off as he realized what the whole conversation was about. “You’re very good.”
Sima grinned. “I know.” Then her grin faded. “Just so we’re clear, I don’t think any disease is ‘shameful.’ Disease happens. Trying to assign morality to sickness is one of the dumbest things ever. We humans did it in our distant past, and all it did was help keep the disease active and spreading.”
"I never expected to find out that there was an aspect of my present civilization that aligned with something from Old Earth," he said.
“Be careful what you say Talin,” Sima warned him. “Insulting me isn’t going to help you get Nataly back.”
“I wouldn’t insult you,” he assured Sima. “I’m impressed with your communication skills. I asked you to give me insight on Nataly, and you gave me insight on her, myself, and my entire civilization.”
Sima blushed a little. “Yeah, well, it’s always easy to see things clearly from the outside. It’s a lot harder if you’re in the middle of it. Everyone can be stubborn when it comes to personal issues.If Nataly is struggling with something, you can’t force her to face it. You have to support her until she’s ready, got it?”
He sounded a rumble of agreement. “Now I do. But how do I convince Nataly of that? I’ve made a horrible error in judgment.”
“Yeah, carrying her to Falkilm while she was asleep was a stupid move,” Sima agreed.
“Not just that,” Daxus said. “I forced my way into her home and told her she was being illogical.”
Sima winced. “That’s bad. You’re lucky Nataly isn’t one to hold a grudge.”
“How will I even apologize? I doubt she’ll let me get close. Last time, she had her domicile attack me. It was effective.”
Sima snorted. “I bet! She’s good at creative programming.” Stepping back, she invited him into her domicile. “Have a seat. I think we’re going to need to bring the community in on this.”
Chapter 14
