The Gap Into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die

by Stephen R. Donaldson

  “Second,” the Special Counsel said, “I am here because I believe that the ‘Angus Thermopyle case’ has a special bearing on Calm Horizons’ presence in our space. If I’m right, then what I have to say is directly, explicitly relevant to the issues of this session. And, whether we like it or not, we’ll all be forced to use the term ‘treason.’”

  Koina couldn’t contain herself. “Forgive me, Mr. Igensard,” she said so that everyone would hear her. “‘Treason’ is a highly emotional word. You haven’t earned the right to use it yet.”

  At once Maxim retorted, “But I will, Director Hannish. Toward that end, I mean to examine you shortly. Perhaps you’ll take my charges seriously enough to answer them truthfully. With or without your cooperation, however, I will earn the right.”

  Then he returned his attention to the Council.

  “As you recall, President Len called this session before Calm Horizons appeared here. He called it because he’d received a formal announcement from UMCP director Warden Dios, informing him that a Behemoth-class Amnion defensive—apparently this same Calm Horizons—had encroached on the Massif-5 system. The information had reached Director Dios by gap courier drones from Valdor Industrial and UMCP cruiser Punisher. The first, from VI, reported Calm Horizons’ incursion and Punisher’s engagement. The second, from UMCP Enforcement Division director Min Donner aboard Punisher, reported that the cruiser had broken off the engagement, in part because she was too heavily damaged to prosecute her attack successfully, and in part to supply protection for another UMCP vessel, the gap scout Trumpet, believed to be the target of Calm Horizons’ incursion.”

  The Special Counsel didn’t use notes. Apparently he didn’t need them. He gave the impression that he never forgot anything. His voice sharpened as he spoke, and his physical presence seemed to expand, as if what he said made him larger.

  “Because we’ve all been quite naturally appalled and alarmed by Director Dios’ information,” he stated, “we have perhaps failed to notice that much of it makes no sense. In fact, however, the director’s announcement is far more significant for what it conceals than for what it reveals.”

  “‘Conceals’?” Captain Vertigus interrupted scornfully. “He was in a hurry, for God’s sake. What do you want him to do, write you a goddamn white paper on human-Amnion relations?”

  “What I want is simple, Captain Vertigus,” Maxim shot back. “The truth. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

  Koina applauded Sixten in silence; but she didn’t support his objection. Instead she made use of the distraction. She thought she could see where Igensard was headed. I mean to examine you shortly—Turning away, she leaned toward her communications techs. “Flare Chief Mandich for me,” she whispered carefully, hardly moving her lips. “Flare Director Lebwohl. Tell them I’m running out of time here.”

  The tech responsible for keeping UMCPHQ informed of events nodded. “Right away, Director,” she breathed.

  As the tech obeyed, Koina straightened herself to listen again. Cleatus treated her to a cold smile, which she ignored.

  “Time and again,” Maxim was saying, “we’ve been given reason to believe the Amnion don’t desire war. Their imperialism—rampant though it may be—is of another kind. In the simplest terms, their production methods aren’t adequate to supply the ships and materiel a war would demand.

  “This raises a number of questions.

  “Why now have the Amnion elected to violate a peace on which they’re dependent? And why did they do so by encroaching on Massif-5, a system far better defended than Earth—indeed, quite capable of repulsing and even destroying the defensive? How can a mere UMCP gap scout justify such action? What is at stake, that having failed to kill Trumpet would cause the Amnion to compound their act of war by coming here?

  “Director Dios’ announcement gives no answer. Perhaps a ‘white paper’ on the subject would have been useful.”

  Igensard glared briefly at Captain Vertigus, then continued like a cutting laser.

  “Neither does the UMCP director explain why Punisher was there to meet Calm Horizons’ incursion. The cruiser had just finished an arduous tour of duty around VI, and had returned to Earth for much-needed leave and repair. Her replacement, the UMCP cruiser Vehemence, had already reached Massif-5. Yet Punisher never docked at UMCPHQ. As soon as Director Donner joined ship, Punisher departed on another mission.

  “My investigation has revealed—another detail omitted by Director Dios—that the cruiser was sent, not back to Massif-5, but out to the Com-Mine belt.”

  Some of the Members reacted with surprise. Koina herself was surprised that Maxim had been able to obtain such information. But he didn’t pause.

  “Her stated mission,” he sneered, “was ‘to guard against reports of unusual hostile activity along the frontier near the Com-Mine belt.’ Why Min Donner’s presence was required for such a mission is not explained.

  “How then does it happen that Punisher entered the Massif-5 system in time to engage Calm Horizons? And how does it happen that a UMCP officer with Min Donner’s reputation for probity, valor, and determination decided to break off the engagement? Why did she conclude that Trumpet was more important than her sworn duty to defend human space?

  “Above all, why was Trumpet there?” Maxim didn’t raise his voice. Nevertheless it seemed to swell until it filled the room like a shout. “What accounts for the gap scout’s presence in the Massif-5 system?”

  Koina saw Sixten squirm under the pressure of Igensard’s challenge; but the old Senior Member didn’t interject a comment. He may have realized that it was already too late for him—or anyone—to defend Warden.

  Quietly Cleatus murmured, “An interesting question, don’t you think, Director Hannish?” He seemed to be taunting her. “I’m afraid your Warden is in more trouble than he can handle.”

  Koina kept her attention fixed on the Special Counsel; hid her tension and dread behind a mask of professional detachment.

  “One other significant fact is absent from Director Dios’ announcement,” Maxim proclaimed as if he wished to draw blood. “As if he thinks we might not have noticed, he doesn’t mention that Trumpet is the same vessel in which Captain Angus Thermopyle and former Deputy Chief of Com-Mine Station Security Milos Taverner are purported to have made their escape from UMCPHQ.

  “Mr. President, Members”—he paused to scan the room—“I consider the omission of these points to be as significant as their implications.”

  No one interrupted him now. The Members and their aides stared at him, rapt, as if they’d fallen under a spell. They’d all received Warden’s announcement. Most of them probably remembered where they’d heard of Trumpet before. Some of them must have been struck by the strangeness of Trumpet’s role in events. But they’d been distracted by Calm Horizons’ presence; by the threat to Earth—and themselves.

  Koina was sure that for most of Maxim’s audience the picture he outlined had begun to seem profoundly disturbing.

  “A few days ago UMCPDA director Hashi Lebwohl informed us by video conference that Captain Thermopyle and Deputy Chief Taverner had stolen Trumpet and fled toward Thanatos Minor in forbidden space. So much is plausible. Captain Thermopyle is a convicted illegal. By implication, Deputy Chief Taverner is also an illegal. The bootleg shipyard on Thanatos Minor is an illegal installation—a natural destination for such men.

  “But how does it occur that two illegals in a stolen ship at a bootleg installation countenanced by the Amnion have damaged or threatened the Amnion to such an extent that Calm Horizons was sent to commit an act of war in response?

  “I’ll propose an explanation. Call it a hypothesis if you wish. I don’t pretend to have concrete evidence. Until quite recently”—he glanced at Koina—“UMCPHQ has not been open with records and information. But I have the evidence of common sense. The evidence of intelligence.

  “When I’m done, I’ll ask Director Hannish if she chooses to contradict me. If she does, I’ll ask her”�
�now he did shout—“no, I’ll dare her”—at once he softened his tone again—“to supply facts that support her position.”

  Although she’d seen this coming, Koina felt a new sting of apprehension in the palms of her hands, the pit of her stomach. Still no word from Hashi, or Chief Mandich—In a few more minutes she would have to face Maxim Igensard and the Council with nothing to go on except Warden’s orders and her own untried ability to make Hashi’s reasoning sound credible.

  “Be fair, Maxim,” President Len put in unexpectedly. He sounded deeply tired; but apparently he still felt compelled to smooth out conflicts. “Do you really expect her to be prepared for a challenge like that? Without any warning?”

  Maxim didn’t hesitate. “Mr. President, she’s the UMCP Director of Protocol. It’s her job to be prepared.”

  “Well, don’t keep us in suspense,” Captain Vertigus said with an acerbic quaver. “If you’re so eager to accuse Warden Dios of treason, get it over with. Just what is this ‘hypothesis’ of yours?”

  The Special Counsel faced his audience again. He looked taller, elevated by eagerness. Something inside him had reached critical mass and begun to expand toward an explosion.

  “Members of the Council, the stories we’ve been told are incredible, and I think they aren’t true. I believe Captain Thermopyle and Deputy Chief Taverner did not escape from UMCPHQ. I believe they’re agents of the UMCP, agents of Director Dios. I believe they were sent into forbidden space to commit some affront or do some harm which the Amnion would be unable to countenance. And when they’d succeeded, I believe they fled deep into human space on Director Dios’ orders.

  “Because it was already known how the Amnion would respond, Trumpet ran to Massif-5, a place so far inside our frontier that no act of war could be excused, and yet so far from Earth that we—and UMCPHQ—would be in no direct danger.

  “For her part, Punisher went to the Com-Mine belt with Min Donner aboard to ensure that Trumpet was indeed able to flee. Thereafter she followed the gap scout to the Massif-5 system, where she awaited Calm Horizons’ incursion.

  “The crucial point is this.” For the first time he let go of the podium. With the heel of one fist he tapped each word onto the surface in front of him. “I’m certain that all these events occurred because Warden Dios wished it so.

  “No, let me be plainer. I believe that the director of the UMCP has deliberately precipitated an act of war.”

  Apart from Koina, Abrim Len appeared to be the only person in the room who’d guessed—or known?—what was coming. He didn’t react; sat without moving. Once again his hand steepled over his eyes as if he’d seen all he could bear. It was possible that he had known. Some argument must have been used to persuade him to sanction assigning Sen Abdullah’s proxy to Igensard. Perhaps this was it: perhaps Maxim had convinced Len that he needed a Member’s stature in order to present his accusation.

  But everyone else—

  The director of the UMCP has deliberately precipitated an act of war.

  In one corner, two or three people jumped to their feet around someone Koina couldn’t see; someone who’d apparently fainted. From wall to wall men and women turned pale as if the blood were being drained from the room. The distinguished scholar Punjat Silat clutched at his chest; groped toward an aide until the aide pressed a small vial into his hand. Silat jerked back his head to swallow the contents of the vial, then slumped in his seat, his face as gray as ash. Sigurd Carsin and Vest Martingale stared at Maxim with their mouths open. Sixten grimaced convulsively, then began to beat his forehead with the heels of his palms, trying to drive back his dismay; his sense of betrayal. Cleatus waggled his beard by pursing his mouth like a man tasting a bitter pill to see whether he could stomach it.

  Deliberately precipitated—

  The Council had trusted Warden too long: humankind was too dependent on him. The bare idea that he might have committed the crime Maxim suggested seemed to open a gulf deep enough to swallow the planet.

  Could it be true? Even Koina considered the possibility with pain. Oh, God, Warden. What have you done?

  In distress she turned a mute appeal to her techs. Her mouth shaped the word, Anything? But they shook their heads. One of them whispered, “Chief Mandich asks you to forgive him. Director Lebwohl says he doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

  She bit her lip to stifle a groan. She had to have evidence; needed it desperately. Otherwise everything Warden was trying to do would recoil against him.

  Beside her Cleatus subvocalized into his throat pickup: a thin, ragged sound, too low for her to distinguish words. Talking to the Dragon—

  A moment later she was startled to hear Blaine Manse raise her voice. “In God’s name, why, Maxim?” the Member for Betelgeuse Primary protested. “What kind of man would do that? I didn’t think anybody was crazy enough to want a war.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Igensard retorted incisively. “Director Dios does not want a war. The Amnion aren’t the real target of his actions. We are.”

  “How so?” Blaine pursued.

  “To put it crudely”—Maxim paused, apparently to focus his audience’s attention—“his purpose was to frighten the Council into withdrawing support for my investigation.”

  From the back of the room, Tel Burnish gave a snort of contempt. “Does the word ‘megalomania’ mean anything to you, Special Counsel? What makes you think you’re important enough for Warden Dios to risk starting a war?

  “What makes you think you’re important enough to force him to turn his back on a lifetime of dedicated service?”

  Maxim faced the VI Member’s challenge without flinching. He was primed for a detonation. Gathering pressure seemed to throb under his skin; glint dangerously from his eyes; echo like the clang of a hammer in his voice.

  “In the pursuit of my duties,” he pronounced, “I’ve been accumulating evidence of the most malign kinds of malfeasance and corruption. Warden Dios’ probity is under question, his power is endangered. You were here—you heard him during the video conference. His back is against the wall. I pushed him there.

  “Now he’s trying to protect his position by convincing us we can’t afford to threaten him. He wants us to think the risk of probing and questioning him is too great at a time when we face the possibility of war.

  “And he would have succeeded, except for one fatal miscalculation. The actions of Captain Thermopyle and Deputy Chief Taverner were too extreme. They were so extreme that Calm Horizons didn’t stop when Trumpet escaped from Massif-5. Prevented from following by Punisher, the Amnioni didn’t withdraw, as Director Dios no doubt intended—preserving her own survival, as well as the possibility that peace could eventually be restored. Instead Calm Horizons came here.

  “Do you think I’m wrong?” the Special Counsel demanded in the hard tones of a prophet. “Then tell me how you account for the fact that Punisher broke off her engagement with the defensive. Min Donner is famous for her unswerving sense of duty. She’s also notoriously belligerent. Why would she break her oath as the Enforcement Division director of the UMCP, if she hadn’t been given orders to let the defensive live?

  “Warden Dios wants the threat of a full-scale war, not the actuality. Calm Horizons’ destruction might have been more provocation than the Amnion could endure.”

  “Punisher was damaged,” Sixten objected weakly. “Calm Horizons has super-light proton cannon.”

  “I’m sure that’s true,” Maxim assented. “It only confirms my point, however. Why was a damaged ship chosen for this mission? Why not this new battlewagon, Sledgehammer? Why not Vehemence, a cruiser already assigned to Massif-5?

  “I think it was because Punisher could plausibly claim that she couldn’t destroy the defensive.

  “Ask yourself why Director Dios has gone alone aboard Calm Horizons. Don’t you think it’s likely he hopes to convince the Amnion that he didn’t mean for events to go so far? Don’t you think he’s offering them restitution for whatever Trumpet
did?

  “It’s possible that because of his dereliction the UMCP is no longer able or willing to prosecute a war.”

  Koina stifled a protest. She would have loved to shout at the Special Counsel, Dereliction has nothing to do with it! We don’t have enough ships! Or enough people. We don’t have the budget for a war. Fasner hasn’t given us that much money.

  But that wasn’t what Warden had ordered her to say. He hadn’t offered her any excuses. His intentions were more subtle. He didn’t want to be let off the hook: he wanted to use that hook against the Dragon.

  And he wanted Koina to do it for him; to him.

  Without evidence—

  Tel Burnish had surged to his feet: he may have been trying to counteract Igensard’s grip on the Council. “No, Special Counsel,” he insisted. “You’re going too fast. You’re getting ahead of yourself. Your argument only makes sense if you assume Warden Dios knew there would be an incursion. Otherwise all this talk about ‘treason’ and ‘dereliction’ is just so much paranoia.”

  The VI Member had reason to defend Warden. More than any other station except Com-Mine, Valdor had seen the UMCP’s ships—and integrity—in action.

  But Maxim wasn’t daunted. “Exactly,” he countered. Triumph rang like iron in his voice. Heavy with power and accusation, he turned toward Koina.

  “Director Hannish.”

  She met his glinting gaze squarely. “Special Counsel?”

  “I have some questions I want to ask you.”

  She opened her mouth to say, Of course. That’s what I’m here for. I have orders—But her throat closed on the words. It was too late: Hashi and Chief Mandich had taken too long. Without substantiation the things she had to reveal would make Igensard sound sane.

  Abruptly Cleatus put his hand on her arm; tugged at her attention. He made no effort to keep his voice down.

  “You don’t have to submit to this,” he told her. “I’ll answer his questions. Save us all the strain of dragging this out. The UMC is responsible for the UMCP in any case. I’ll just have to cover the same ground when you’re done.”