A Prescient Song

In Chamorga, they get out of the car.

Who's up for an eight kilometre walk? asks the Rector.

I am, says Gaius. And Kong is. What about you, Terence?

I am, says Terence. Where are we going?

To see ruins, and a light house, says the Rector. And the beautiful Roques de Anaga. Does everyone have stout shoes on?

Gaius is wearing green Crocs. Kong wears what look like white Converse Hi-tops, but might be a cheap copy. Terence has cement baby feet, with fine sculpted toes.

Have you ever walked anywhere? asks the Rector.

Everywhere, says Terence. But Daniel O'Connell needs his red box.

I can walk, says Daniel O'Connell.

You can start off walking, says Terence. And you can get in the box, when your new legs get tired.

They won't get tired, says Gaius. They're state of the art microlattice, the lightest metal in the world.

Where they join on, they might get tired, says Terence.

Daniel O'Connell is alarmed. He had not considered that where the new legs join on might be weak spots.

How do you know that? asks Daniel O'Connell.

Terence shows him his claw.

Sometimes it gets tired, says Terence. And it's not even mine. It's my blood brother's. He's got my finger.

Duly warned, the party heads off up the trail to the Faro.

.....

Baby Pierre has left Santa Cruz and is on his way to the University de La Laguna.

Under his hat is a spider.

How has Baby Pierre got this far?

Maricruz has put him on a bus.

First, she took a shower, then she ate breakfast. Then she went to the garden shed and captured a Black Jumping Spider. This one was a female, with white triangular slits in the prosoma.

Then she found a plastic bubble, and placed the spider inside.

Up to this point the female Black Jumping Spider was just going along with the karma, woo, whatever, but... a plastic bubble?

Too late now.

The bubble is tucked under a yellow felt Sancho Panza hat, and placed somewhere dark and rattly....

A vertiginous movement. And voices.

Goodbye Baby Pierre! Get off at the University de La Laguna!

Clunk. Brrm. The sound of a bus starting.

The hat is lifted. The plastic bubble drops to the seat next to Baby Pierre.

And remains there.

Baby Pierre doesn't notice. He is relaxing and humming what he hopes is a prescient song.

'In the future I will be
In the future I will be

At the University
At the University

And then you will be sorry'.

He means the others, in particular Daniel O'Connell, his crowd-funding partner.

But the female Black Jumping Spider thinks he means her.

And she's already sorry.