Chapter 14

Tiffany eased her left foot onto the four-inch wide, sixteen-foot long line on the master bedroom floor, waiting for it to finish rising three inches. Mounting the balance beam, her steps were heel to toe. Four times, she crossed the room. She hummed Moonlight Sonata to help maintain her pace.

"Stand still Tiffany. The gravity in your exercise area is being reduced to five and sixty-one hundredths meters per second squared."

The sensation of the changing gravity was like an elongated drop on a roller coaster and gave Tiffany the feeling she needed to pee. Once the pull stabilized, the feelings abated.

"Please place the mobile neuron device on. Then we will continue."

The AI called it a mobile neuron net. To Tiffany it resembled an open-face diving hood with a large bib. The bib, an oval flap, sat on her shoulders, back and chest just above her cleavage. Surprisingly, it stretched easily over her head, proving that it only looked like a diving mask.

"The gravity change is complete. Please hold as still as possible, the neuron net is being initialized."

One of the side effects of Tiffany's recovery was heightened awareness of her body position. She froze her head and neck in a fixed attitude. Tiffany could feel the material adhere to her skin. The device never made her hot and sweaty like neoprene did. If anything, it seemed to help keep her cool.

"Tiffany, move to the end of the beam using a developé walk at hip level extension."

The requested move, a basic movement at competitions, required delicate muscle control and balance. The process was repeated six times. Each pass became slower and slower at the AI's direction. Tiffany fell more times than she wanted to admit. In the reduced gravity, her pride suffered more than her body.

"Please use heel-to-toe steps and include at least four single turn revolutions randomly during the pass."

At the end of two hours, Tiffany was exhausted. Every day she improved. Yesterday was the first time she had felt comfortable holding little Katy. The beam sank back into the floor, becoming a line.

"Restoring gravity to Wayward Norm, eleven and twenty-two hundredths meters per second squared. Once the gravity is stabilized, please report to the med tube for follow up therapy."

Stripping off the neuron net, she placed it in the recycler. Part of that action seemed wasteful, having learned what 'cleaning' was from Gina. Tiffany better understood the conservation of resources. All those speeches she ever gave about not being wasteful needed modifying to be sure to recycle.

Tiffany took her time in the shower. Alternating the hot and cold left her skin tingling. Toweling off, she walked into the kitchen for some pineapple mango juice.

"Momma!" Tina ran to give her a hug.

She lifted Tina slowly, relishing the hug. "What'cha doing baby?"

"Me painting pink flowers." Tina pointed to a cluster of images on the wall.

She had about four minutes left. Walking over to the artwork, she admired her daughter's diligence. The flowers were more recognizable. Tina's effort at artwork showed promise in her mother's eye. The AI easily retrieved, and displayed in several places some of Tina's stored renderings.

"Tina," called the AI. "It is time for your mother to play Sleeping Beauty again." Salome had made that suggestion to the AI during the second follow up treatment. Tina was able to understand the procedure in that context. Trying to explain to Tina that her mother was part of a pilot therapy to help the Confederacy with severely injured warriors proved fruitless. At three, Tina's conceptions of reality were just starting to expand beyond what she could see.

Tina looked up at the central light fixture. "Howl long?"

"Two hours."

"Will Daddy or Papa be home?"

Any time she went into the med tube for treatment, Tina wanted someone to kiss Tiffany to wake her up.

"They are not expected to be here."

Tina looked at her mom. Tiffany shook her head. Tina squished up her face, looked up at the ceiling then smiled.

"Can Bert do it?"

Tiffany smiled at her little girl's problem solving skills.

"Bert is qualified for the task."

Tina led her mother to the den that held the med tube. She kissed and hugged her. Tina ran from the room giggling.

"AI, please warn Bert about Tina."

"Bert has agreed to fill in for Prince Charming if Tina is awake."

As the tube closed, Tiffany felt the need to sleep overwhelm her.

A detailed analysis began of any changes in Tiffany's nerve functions and the resulting balance beam physical performance. Terabytes of data were collected in just under ten minutes. The Pod's AI applied suggested treatment based on projections from the Severe Trauma & Medical Rehabilitation Center as an extension of Project Miracle Cure. Afterwards, Tiffany began a sleep training module about medieval formulas for making paint pigments using plants and minerals.

Salome hugged the girl. Cindy Williams had finished a video telling her family about her adventures. She had asked Salome to be with her. Nothing seemed out of place until she finished, but then Cindy grabbed Salome.

"Salome, I need to go to ... to confession." Cindy looked pleadingly into her eyes.

Salome kissed her forehead. "Come with me." She pulled the girl softly to her feet and led her to a working terminal. She knew asking the AI verbally would be quicker. Sometimes turning back to familiar methods, a keyboard and a monitor created more value to the seeker.

"Cindy, where did you go to church?" Salome asked.

"I went to Our Lady of Lourdes on U.S. 19."

Salome could type much faster than she could speak. She also came to realize the AI was fairly intuitive for a machine. In about three minutes, she found Father Jacobo Kyushei Tomonaga.

"There is a priest over in Blue Seven." Salome turned to Cindy. "I sent a message inquiring about times for the Sacrament of Confession."

"Thank you, Salome." In the ensuing hug, Cindy almost bowled them both over.

"Father Tomonaga will be hearing confessions today from fifteen hundred until seventeen hundred or until the line ends."

Salome brushed a few wisps of hair from Cindy's face. "We'll go to see him in an hour then."

"Thank you." Cindy bounced away two or three steps. She stopped and looked back at Salome. They exchanged a glance. Salome crossed to the girl. The embrace comforted Salome, it gave her a sense of belonging, a connection to the children who were becoming hers. Letting her go, she watched Cindy glide up to the second floor.

Arms encompassed Salome from behind. "That, my dear sister, was both beautiful and sweet." Leslie hugged her from behind.