Klara and the Sun

‘This really isn’t my area. But my guess is that you might be carrying approximately five hundred milliliters. Even half of that should be sufficient to incapacitate a middle-market machine such as that one. Having said that, I have to emphasize. I’m not advocating we go down this road. Anything that jeopardizes your abilities would jeopardize Capaldi’s plan. And Chrissie wouldn’t want that.’

My mind was filling with great fear, but I said: ‘But Mr Paul believes if we could extract the solution, we could destroy the Cootings Machine.’

‘That’s what I believe. Yes.’

‘Is it possible Mr Paul has suggested this course not only to destroy the Cootings Machine, but also to damage Klara, and thus Mr Capaldi’s plan?’

‘That very thought did cross my mind too. But if I really wanted to damage you, Klara, I think there are far simpler ways. Truth is, you’ve started me hoping again. Hoping what you say might be for real.’

‘How would we extract the solution?’

‘Just a small incision. Below the ear. Either ear would do. We’d require a tool, something with a sharp point or edge. We need only to pierce the outer layer. Beyond that, well, there should be a small valve I can loosen, then tighten back again with my fingers.’ He’d been searching through the Mother’s car’s glove compartment while saying this, and he now produced a plastic bottle of water. ‘Okay, this will do to catch the solution. And here, it’s not ideal, but here’s a tiny screwdriver. If I sharpened the edge a little more…’ He trailed off, holding the tool up to the light. ‘After that, it’s just a case of walking over there and carefully pouring the solution down one of those nozzles. We should use the central one. It’s likely to connect directly to the Sylvester unit.’

‘Will I lose my abilities?’

‘As I said, your overall performance shouldn’t be greatly impaired. But this isn’t my area. There may be some effects on your cognitive abilities. But since your essential energy source is solar, you shouldn’t be affected to any significant degree.’

He lowered the window on his side and holding out the plastic bottle, emptied the water out onto the ground outside.

‘This is your call, Klara. If you want, we can just drive away from here. We have another, let me see, twenty minutes before our rendezvous with the rest of our party.’

I stared at the yard again through the wire-mesh fencing, trying to control my fear. My view of it from the car had remained unpartitioned, and the Sun was still watching from between the two silhouette buildings.

‘You know, Klara. I don’t even know what this is about. But I want what’s best for Josie. Exactly the same as you. So I’m willing to grasp at any chance that comes our way.’

I turned to him with a smile and nodded. ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Then let’s try.’

—

Sitting beside the sushi cafe’s window, looking out at the shadows growing longer outside the theater, I’d become excited by the possibility that the Sun might conceivably pour in his special nourishment straight away, through this very window, to Josie, now sitting across the table from me. But I realized how tired the Sun must be – that he’d all but finished for the day – and that it was both disrespectful and unreasonable to expect such an immediate response. A small hope continued to linger in my mind, and I watched Josie closely, but I soon accepted I’d have to wait until the following morning at the very earliest.

I’d also realized the reason I couldn’t see so clearly through the sushi cafe’s window was because it was dusty and smeared, and not so much to do with what had occurred in the yard. Indeed, despite its constant billowing in the breeze, I could still read the large cloth banner above the theater entrance saying ‘Blissfully Brilliant!’ And I had no difficulty deciphering the people arriving to join those already milling around outside the theater. Each time more people came, there would be greetings and humorous shouts. I couldn’t hear their words clearly, but there was thick glass separating us, so this too was consistent with the prevailing conditions.

Our task in the yard hadn’t delayed us unduly, but by the time the Father and I had finally located the correct sushi cafe, Josie, Rick, the Mother and Miss Helen had already been sitting for several minutes around the table beside the window. The Father had greeted everyone cheerfully, as though there hadn’t been any tension at Mr Capaldi’s, but soon afterwards, the Mother had risen and gone out to join the crowd outside, her oblong held to her ear.

Now, across the table, the Father was turning the pages of Rick’s notebook and making appreciative sounds. But I was concerned at how uncharacteristically quiet Josie had become, and soon the Father noticed this too.

‘You okay there, animal?’

‘I’m fine, Dad.’

‘We’ve been on the go for a long time now. Do you want to go back to the apartment?’

‘I’m not tired. I’m not sick. I’m okay, Dad. Let me just sit here.’