[ After the storm, there was nothing. There was neither light nor dark. Warmth or cold. It was just a never-ending eternity that stretched seemingly a millennia. Who could retain their sense of self through that? And yet, bits and pieces remained with her.
The whisper of a name. A glimmer of the purest white. The brush of something feathersoft against her skin. A strange yearning hunger. Gnawing regrets. But mostly it was exhaustion.
Don't forget...
She wanted to let go.
Don't forget...
It began with a flicker of light. Bright. Warm. But coming into being could not remain pleasant for long. Reality was like plunging into the Chicago River in the middle of winter, an icy cold touch that bit into your skin with a thousand little knives. She gasped, coughing and spluttering.
Then it all came back to her. Hunger. Greed. Despair. Love.
It was all too much. She was barely aware of the chattering of arcanists and scientists around her, in this cold, white room. She was naked and someone took the moment to drape a thin white sheet over her as if to protect whatever modesty she had left. But she barely registered it.
In this dizzying world, pounding with words, and images and feelings, a greeting sank into her bones and reminded her of another feeling that burned brighter than anything else:
"Hello, Miss Grecco. Welcome to the Foundation."
And dazed on the floor, through the chill, and the dizzying confusion, anger flickered to life.]
Within the dark, she still existed
The whisper of a name. A glimmer of the purest white. The brush of something feathersoft against her skin. A strange yearning hunger. Gnawing regrets. But mostly it was exhaustion.
Don't forget...
She wanted to let go.
Don't forget...
It began with a flicker of light. Bright. Warm. But coming into being could not remain pleasant for long. Reality was like plunging into the Chicago River in the middle of winter, an icy cold touch that bit into your skin with a thousand little knives. She gasped, coughing and spluttering.
Then it all came back to her. Hunger. Greed. Despair. Love.
It was all too much. She was barely aware of the chattering of arcanists and scientists around her, in this cold, white room. She was naked and someone took the moment to drape a thin white sheet over her as if to protect whatever modesty she had left. But she barely registered it.
In this dizzying world, pounding with words, and images and feelings, a greeting sank into her bones and reminded her of another feeling that burned brighter than anything else:
"Hello, Miss Grecco. Welcome to the Foundation."
And dazed on the floor, through the chill, and the dizzying confusion, anger flickered to life.]