The voice over the communicator sounded a little unfamiliar.
Deng Chun did not doubt the identity of the man in the Sterile Area.
Even leaving aside his manner of speaking, only one person aboard the entire airship could have arranged a room like this, with resources like these: his father, Deng Yunwei.
The unfamiliarity was easy enough to explain.
Deng Chun had spoken with his father very little in recent years. Within the family, the group, and the cult, Deng Yunwei had grown increasingly reclusive and rarely spoke in public. His present condition must have changed his voice as well.
And beneath that faint voice, Deng Chun thought he heard a strange noise. He looked up again at the arrangement of personnel in the Sterile Area, and a suspicion arose:
Perhaps it was the sound of surgical instruments working through flesh.
The thought sent a shiver through him, dampening the excitement he should have felt. Wasn't this chance to speak his mind the opportunity he had always dreamed of?
Perhaps his experience at the old family residence that noon had blunted some of his enthusiasm. Deng Chun was calmer than he realized. His heart was beating a little faster, but it remained under control.
No matter how thoroughly he had rehearsed his thoughts in his head, they would change subtly once he spoke them aloud. The situation before him was something he could hardly have accounted for when his ideas first took flight.
Now he had to consider his father's feelings and the changes of the past few hours, then adjust his original thinking accordingly.
"Yes. I have a few thoughts, though I don't know if they're appropriate..."
Deng Chun took a deep breath and deliberately slowed down, trying to
express his views as clearly as possible.
The basic structure