“My imaginary friend,” said Judy.
“Are you Social Care?” asked the little girl, her eyes filling with hope.
“Yes,” lied Judy. Okay, half a lie: she used to be, until her sisters were killed.
“Right,” said the little girl. Judy was touched to see that she wasn’t shaking so much now. Poor little thing. The girl’s misplaced trust would be her only comfort in the next few hours.
“What’s your name?”
“Grainne.”
“I’m Judy.”
A group of passengers came running around the corner. They hesitated when they saw Judy. A naked man at the front spurred them on.
“Run!” he called to Judy. “There is a long-distance sense array back there. It has Dark Plants growing around it already.”
“There’s no point going on,” said Judy. “The flux is too heavy all through the ship.”
“Then we’re trapped.” The naked man seemed to deflate, his overlarge stomach drooping down over his skinny legs.
“Judy is a Social Care operative,” said Grainne confidently.
The passengers visibly relaxed at that. Strained smiles played over strained faces.
“Okay,” said the naked man, “then what should we do?”
“We need to empty our minds,” said Judy. “Sit down.”
“What, here in the corridor?”
“Can you think of a better place?”
The carpet had evolved a low-pile walkway down the center. The lost passengers now sat down in the fluffy comfort that piled up around the edges of this. There was a sudden lurch.
“What was that?”
“We’ve finally dropped out of Warp,” said an old woman, rubbing her elbow where she had knocked it on the wall. “I recognize the sensation. It used to be common on the old Warp Ships.”
“How could the Dark Seeds find us in Warp?” asked another passenger.
“That doesn’t matter now. The important thing at the moment is not to think.”
“Close your eyes,” said Judy. Seventeen pairs of glittering eyes turned towards her, and she thought back twelve years. There was a voice, a way of framing commands. “Close your eyes,”
she commanded. This time the passengers did so.
“Now, think back to your childhood. Try to remember your first week at school.”
“I can’t,” someone muttered the words in panicky frustration. “I can’t!”
“Yes, you can. Do you remember Mr. Jacks? He came to visit your class on the third day. Mr. Jacks wore a red-and-yellow suit and carried a machine made of mirrors.”
“Oh, yes…”
“I remember…”
