Rushing To Paradise by J. G. Ballard

Author:J. G. Ballard [Ballard, J. G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Action & Adventure, Classics, Fantasy, Fiction, Hard Science Fiction, Literary, Medical, Philosophy, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Speculative, Urban, War & Military
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Published: 1994-06-27T07:00:00+00:00

NEIL REMEMBERED THIS cryptic aside on the day of the Dakota’s arrival. All morning he had helped Monique to care for her ailing father. A chronic kidney infection had flared up, resisting the antibiotics that Dr Barbara injected, so Kimo carried the old man to the clinic and laid him on the mattress in the cool sick-room. Monique and Mrs Anderson bathed him, but Didier was barely conscious and clutched at his daughter’s hands, pressing them to his inflamed cheeks.

Distracted from her work on the terraces by the Dakota’s engines, Dr Barbara strode down the hillside towards the runway, now blocked by the bulldozer and the radio mast.

‘Dr Rafferty!’ Mrs Anderson called from the clinic. ‘Would you come, doctor?’

Dr Barbara hesitated, her attention held by the scattered albatross and the Dakota’s silver wings as they turned across the lagoon.

‘I’ve only a moment. What is it?’

‘Monique’s father—I think he should return to Tahiti. Monique agrees with me, his fever is worrying . . .’

‘I’ll have a look.’ Dr Barbara stepped into the clinic and stood in the modest sick-room, where the old Frenchman lay within the mosquito net, his skin so pale that he was barely visible through the white mesh.

Monique drew back the net, unhappy even to look at her father. ‘Barbara, I have to take him to Papeete. We should clear the runway and tell the pilot to land.’

‘The flight might do more harm than good.’ Dr Barbara smiled winningly at the old man. ‘You’re getting well, Monsieur Didier. We’re feeling better today, aren’t we?’

‘Dr Rafferty—’ Mrs Anderson was listening to the changing note of the Dakota’s engines, aware that the pilot might turn away. ‘This may be his last chance. I really do recommend . . .’

‘Barbara, I’ll be back,’ Monique assured her. ‘In a month, at the minimum.’

‘Monique, I need you here.’ Dr Barbara closed the mosquito net. ‘Believe me, your father is through the worst. Putting him on the plane will kill him.’

Neil stepped forward and picked up the old man’s canvas bag. ‘I’ll clear the runway, doctor.’

‘Neil!’ Dr Barbara raised her hand to slap his face, but caught herself as Mrs Anderson stepped between them. ‘Go back to your work! If anyone speaks to the pilot, I will . . .’

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