Turner and Sam lived in the San Francisco Bay Area now, where Sam worked as an EI architect and Turner as a mesh consultant. Both of them participated in the talks between Sunrise Alley and the NIA, but those had remained tentative while everyone waited for the outcome of Turner's case. Now they could move forward with more confidence.
Sam liked having Turner back to his normal size and weight. He would always be stronger, but at least he didn't tower over her. Although he retained the ability to transform, it took too much of his resources; it wasn't something he tried without desperate need. He did, however, make one change; he turned one hand back into the eight-cabled construct.
They held the ceremony in secret, across the continent from their home, in a chapel hidden in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, escaping the manic crowd of reporters determined to attend the wedding of a human woman and cybernetic man. Sam wore a white silk suit and Turner a blue morning suit complete with tails. His hair shone in gold curls that spilled over his ears and down his neck, and his eyes reminded her of the sky, so clear and blue today. They stood at an altar on a knoll shaded by trees, with the panorama of the mountains beyond. Their guests only stared a bit when Turner twined his eight cables with her fingers and thumb.
The reverend read a ceremony Sam and Turner wrote themselves, which meant it was short but heartfelt. They each promised to love the other. Then they said their "I do's" and spent far longer kissing than was probably appropriate. It felt wonderful.
After the ceremony and dinner, Sam and Turner wandered outside, seeking solitude. The ridge where they walked overlooked a panorama of the mountains. Forested peaks dropped away in great folds of land, blue, gray, and green. Far below, a river wound through a valley, silver in the final light of the day. The sun hung in the sky just above the peaks.
Turner hugged her shoulders. "I like it here."
She put her arms around his waist. "It's peaceful."
"Are you happy, Sam?"
"Yes." It had been a wild ride, but she wouldn't have given up Turner for anything. "Very much."
He rubbed his cheek against hers. "I also."
They watched the sun lower behind the mountains, leaving a red sky.
"It should be a sunrise," Turner said.
She understood what he meant. "I never did know why they called it Sunrise Alley."
His lips quirked upward. "It's a play on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles."
Sam snorted. "Not that you would make that up."
"It's true." He tried to look convincing. "Humans had the Sunset Strip for glamour. We have Sunrise Alley."
"But Sunset Strip is just a street with a bunch of holographic billboards."
"Ah, well." He laughed amiably. "My poetic illusions are shattered."
Sam elbowed him. "Tell me really why they call it Sunrise Alley."
His eyes had a luminous quality. "For hope. For the dawn of an age when humans and formas coexist."
"I like that. But why 'Alley'?"
"An alley is small. A lane between larger places. A back way to back doors. Someday we'll be a boulevard, a racetrack. A world. Right now, we're an alley."
"We. You include yourself."
He was silent for a while. But then he said, "I am an EI. I can deny it from here until the universe ends, but that won't change the truth." His voice became thoughtful. "The Alley is unlike anything else, a full EI community contained within itself, developed on its own. But it is true, Sam, that they hope for a new age, one of humanity and forma together."
She leaned her head against his. "A good age, I hope."
He brushed his lips across her forehead. "I also."
So they stood, watching the sunset cool into night, bringing uncountable stars and a promise that dawn would come. Someday.
THE END
For more great books visit
http://www.webscription.net/
Catherine Asaro, Sunrise Alley
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends