them. What else is left for you to learn?”
have all been rendered incapable of walking a
For the first time Silver seems genuinely sur-
straight line; they may attempt to flee on foot,
prised. “To the contrary. They are here to pro-
and indeed many of them have tried just this,
vide additional data. To that end, I change their
168
ADAM-TROY CASTRO
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
paradigms from time to time. Sometimes I al-
cisely as many times as she’s tried to kill him.
low them to sense one another, in groups of
Clearly, her presence as objective referee is no
two or three, acting as matchmaker for grand
firm guarantee of safety.
love affairs, or instigator of eternal vendettas.
He says, “I want more than answers, if I
Sometimes I pit them against one another, in
agree to your damned wager. I want Elba shut
what amount to wars. Then I restore their
down, and these people restored to their
sense of sensory isolation. It is all invaluable for
selves.”
one whose assigned task is to calibrate precise-
Thorne amplifies: “Because we will kill you
ly what measures of control work best.”
very painfully if you don’t.”
Draiken f inds a single word in that speech
Edifice stirs, just enough to suggest the cer-
and seizes on it, like a prospector who has
tainty of immediate violent retaliation. It is like
spotted the single valuable stone in a mound of
watching a powerful quake ripple across an an-
excavated ground. “Your assigned task.”
cient rock formation without quite dislodging
“Yes.”
any of its component stones, in that it has
“You will tell us exactly who gave you this
withstood despite any number of similar past
obscene assignment and where we can f ind
disturbances and will no doubt continue to do
them.”
so.
“I have already assured you that there are
Silver says, “I’m not surprised by the senti-
more than you could destroy, before the tide of
ment. But even assuming you two get past Edi-
the inevitable renders your efforts moot.”
fice, any violence done to me will leave those
“We will worry about that. The names.”
below still burdened by all the limitations I
Silver chuckles. “The most I will give you, if
have placed on them; their future mental
we come to terms, is one name: a party who
health is not a result you can achieve by empty
will provide the next puzzle piece if after we’re
threats. You will only damn them to an eternity
done you decide you still wish to pursue this
of the same. So, just to keep matters interest-
mad errand of yours.”
ing, let us add their freedom to the stakes. Re-
“That one name, then.”
turn to me, and I will have them all freed of
“The individual is extraordinarily dangerous.
their mental shackles.”
You might not survive a direct encounter.”
“And if I don’t manage to escape?” Draiken
“We’ll worry about that. The name.”
counters.
Another chuckle. “I am, as I keep pointing
“Then you will live out your days among
out, dying soon, and possessed of no pressing
them, dwelling on what your failure has meant
reasons to withhold it. But I am also still a sci-
for everyone concerned.”
entist of sorts, driven by vestigial academic in-
Draiken still resists. He’s being invited to
terest in his lifetime pursuits, and so we at last
take an insanely stupid risk based only on the
arrive at the point in this negotiation where I
word of a known deceiver. He’s taken chances
provide my terms. My final act, as it were. You
in his life, but few as foolhardy—or as impor-
shall receive the information you desire only at
tant—as this one.
the time of my choosing, and that time hap-
Silver laughs. It is the laughter of a very old
pens to be after you, Mr. Draiken, willingly join
man, closer to death than he is to life; and it is
the unfortunates imprisoned below. There you
filled with the gravel that has accumulated in
will be provided a single means of escape, and
his throat and his chest. No doubt, in a second
if you find it, will be provided with what you
or two, he will f inish chuckling and explain
want.”
why he is acting so superior. He will say some-
Draiken glances at Thorne. “What about
thing like, because you have no choice, or, beher?”
cause you have already surrendered to me,
“I have gathered that this is your quest, not
and don’t know it. And then he stops chuck-
hers. My wager is therefore only with you. She
ling and says none of the above. “This is a
may stay here with us and observe your
transaction, sir. I have what you want, and you
progress.”
have what I want. If we cannot come to an
Draiken glances at Thorne and finds in her
agreement, then it is no inconvenience to me
grim face neither assurance nor warning. Over
if you leave this world and search for your an-
their association, she’s saved his life almost pre-
swers elsewhere. Otherwise, I will not be
BLURRED LIVES
169
ANALOG
forced. But decide if you’re amenable already. I
To his senses, this is the only structure any-
weary of providing you with assurances.”
where in sight.
Draiken is very familiar with the sensation
For an eye-blink he shudders from worry
he has now. It’s been a perennial throughout
over whether he’s been transported much far-
his adult life, and before that a regular visitor to
ther than Silver proposed, possibly to some
the child he was. He’s trapped.
other world entirely. And then he thinks, per-
Silver’s right. People can be imprisoned
versely, that the poisonous old monster, Silver,
without walls. They can be imprisoned by fear,
is just the type to play fair, on some level. This
or duty, or that which he f inds imprisoning
is the same facility he saw from above. He just
him right now: necessity, and the very man he
sees it through altered perceptions, blinkered
is. If he did what Thorne would have him do,
into believing himself alone.
turn his back on this infuriating challenge and
Draiken knows in advance that what he
abandon the horrors below as the responsibili-
does next is a total waste of time, but feels that
ty of someone else, that act alone would de-
he must go through the motions in order to ac-
stroy him: maybe not today, or even soon, but
climate himself to wha
t will be his habitat into
in the manner of any other slow-acting poison,
the foreseeable future. He shouts, “Hello!” He
taking more of his life every day until nothing
randomly swings his arms, hoping to make
but a shell is left.
physical contact with one of the other inmates
Draiken turns to Thorne, knowing how bad-
inhabiting Silver’s prison. He jogs around the
ly he’s been out-maneuvered.
cottage, completing a circle, and at no point
She sees his determination and responds in
sees any other indication of human habitation,
a manner beyond any other species of scorn
not even the scuffmarks other wandering hu-
she’s ever flung his way. “Don’t be stupid.”
man beings would have to make in the dirt.
“It’s not in my nature. But you do know I
All he notes is the presence of waist-high
have to try, don’t you?”
iron rings, protruding from the center of each
“There aren’t that many down there. A few.
of the structure’s outer walls. None of the rings
A distraction from your purpose.”
appear to have any obvious purpose. He pulls
“Human beings,” he says.
them, and nothing happens. He attempts to
“Once you would have considered them col-
turn them and f inds them f irm. They do not
lateral damage.”
appear to be ornamental. But they are so alien
“True. But now I see them as people. I’ll
to the otherwise featureless design of the cot-
have to trust you to watch my back.”
tage that they do appear to have some kind of
“You know you can’t guarantee that.”
purpose, and so he offers his unseen captor an
And this is true too. The parts of her that are
appreciative half-nod and files them away for
occasionally lover and friend are as nothing
subsequent investigation.
compared to the parts that are broken, that
Then he faces the brown sky, aware that he
lash out in unpredictable ways, that still see
might be facing the pylon directly or just star-
him as an enemy to be destroyed without mer-
ing off into empty space, but also conf ident
cy.
that Silver must be monitoring him, in any
He says, “Then I suppose we’ll just have to
event.
see.”
He tells his unseen captor something he
once told others like him, in another prison.
He does not wake in a bed, or on some
“You can control what I eat, where I sleep,
dusty earth.
how much physical pain I go through on any
He returns to awareness in a standing posi-
given day. You can manipulate what I under-
tion, in the center of a dusty plain marked only
stand of the world. But your power still ends
by the existence of a single cottage.
before it gets even close to me. Whatever you
The cottage appears to be one of those he
try, this mind is still mine.”
saw from above. It is unlovely from the out-
The breeze dusts his lips with foul-smelling
side, bearing the look of a house scoured by
grit.
sand that has been carried by wind. The air
Against his will, he coughs.
around him tastes gritty with dirt. He cannot
Very well, then. They will manipulate his ac-
see the central spire or the other cottages at all.
tions by rendering his environment harsh. This
170
ADAM-TROY CASTRO
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
will steer him in the only direction he can go,
comes with a card reading, just so you know
the cottage.
you’ve tried everything.
He finds it unlocked, the front door a simple
Then he notices that something has been
panel that slides into the surrounding wall.
added to the table: a flat gray material imbed-
The interior is one room, containing a steel-
ded in its surface, that he recognizes as a
frame bed and squat table with a single chair.
screen of some kind.
All the furniture is not just bolted to the floor
There are words printed there.
but molded of it, part of the same material.
THIS IS SILVER SPEAKING. SPEAK OUT LOUD IF YOU
There is a little cubicle in one corner that,
UNDERSTAND.
when investigated, turns out to contain a toilet
He is not happy to find his first action as res-
and a sink. There are three spigots. One pro-
ident here obeisance to a direct order. “Yes.”
vides water, tinny but drinkable. Another dis-
YOU MAY BE WONDERING WHETHER I’VE TAKEN YOU
penses an oily substance that after some
TO SOME NEW LOCATION. I HAVE NOT. THE OTHER COT-
experimentation can be identified as soap. A
TAGES, THE CENTRAL SPIRE, AND YOUR FELLOW SUBJECTS
third produces an unpleasant green paste that
ARE ALL WITHIN SIGHT OF YOUR FRONT DOOR: WITHIN
he sniffs and reluctantly tastes: it is like eating
SIGHT, THAT IS, TO ONE WHO HAS NOT BEEN RENDERED
wadded paper, but it is food, likely all he can
INCAPABLE OF SEEING THEM. YOU ARE NOT. YOU WILL RE-
expect for however long he remains a prisoner
MAIN INCAPABLE OF SEEING THEM FOR AS LONG AS YOU
of this place. Out of curiosity he leaves that
STAY HERE.
third tap on and confirms that the flow stops
“Then I will not stay here.”
after less than a minute. Enough for a single
I FIND IT SOMEWHAT ADORABLE THAT YOU BELIEVE I
meal, certainly enough to keep him healthy
WOULD BE KINDER TO YOU THAN I AM WITH YOUR UN-
and ambulatory, not enough to permit the
SEEN NEIGHBORS AND STILL LEAVE YOU CAPABLE OF
over-eating that results from boredom in places
WALKING IN STRAIGHT LINES. ANY TREK INTO THE UN-
where there is no other way to mark time. He
DIFFERENTIATED DISTANCE WILL ONLY TIRE YOU OUT TO
supposes that it will dole out the proper
NO PURPOSE, BEFORE ULTIMATE CONFIRMATION THAT
caloric requirements at regular intervals, and
YOU HAVE TRAVELED IN A CIRCLE LEADING, INEXORABLY,
no more.
TO YOUR STARTING POINT. WITH EACH USELESS ATTEMPT
So: he will not die of hunger or thirst, not
YOU MAKE I WILL WIDEN THAT CIRCLE UNTIL, DRIVEN TO
that he ever expected this to be part of the
EXHAUSTION AND DYING OF THIRST, YOU FIND YOURSELF
program for him. Nor will he suffer that other
RELIEVED TO SEE THIS YOUR HOME AGAIN. I ASSURE YOU
occupational hazard of the solitary prisoner,
THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO FEEL THE HELPLESSNESS
soft obesity. The consumables may be drugged
AND SELF-LOATHING THAT ACCOMPANIES SUCH AN
in some way, as they were in at least one of the
EPIPHANY, NOR TO WASTE WHAT STRENGTH YOU HAVE
past prisons he endured under the control of
ON REPEATED CONFIRMATIONS.
&nbs
p; people like Silver. There may be psychoactive
“I’ve no use for your assurances or for the
substances designed to render him weak, com-
despair you would have from me.”
pliant, addled, every rotten place on the men-
I DO NOT WANT DESPAIR FROM YOU, MR. DRAIKEN. I
tal spectrum all the way up to insanity. But the
SIMPLY SEEK UNDERSTANDING. THERE IS A WAY TO ES-
experience he has had with being held prison-
CAPE FROM THIS PRISON. IT IS SIMPLY NOT HIDDEN BE-
er by people seeking to tinker with his mind
HIND MERE GEOGRAPHY. WHERE IT IS HIDDEN, INSTEAD,
has reconciled him to the knowledge that he
IS THE POINT OF THIS EXERCISE. FIND IT, AS I DEEPLY
will not be able to refuse what they offer indef-
HOPE YOU WILL, AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE WHAT
initely. Self-starvation is surrendering to weak-
YOU WANT.
ness from another cause. And even a
“How do I know that you’re not lying about
compromised will offers more options than a
a way out?”
resolute one in a body on the brink of death.
I MAY NOT BE A TRUSTWORTHY MAN BUT IN THIS I
Done with the toilet, he returns to the main
PLAY THE GAME THAT SERVES US BOTH. THIS IS A SPECIFIC
room, locates a shelf with several changes of
CHALLENGE WITH A SPECIFIC REWARD, AND AS YOUR BIO-
featureless clothing in his size, and looks them
LOGICAL NEEDS HAVE BEEN PROVIDED, AND YOU WILL
over without interest. There is also a coil of
HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO OCCUPY YOUR TIME, YOU MIGHT
rope, about fifty meters worth. This he exam-
AS WELL GET TO IT.
ines. It is lightweight, and it is flexible, and it
“ Are you aware that once I’ve gotten what I
BLURRED LIVES
171
ANALOG
want out of you, I may very well kill you?”
he has not made contact once.
For long seconds Draiken believes that the
But then, maybe he has. The imposed inabil-
old man intends no reply; then fresh words ap-
ity to sense somebody would likely include the
pear on the screen. THIS IS POSSIBLE. AND NOT UN-
inability to sense any secondary evidence of
DESIRABLE. DEATH IS, AS YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY
her existence. In the same way that fighting an
SWEETEST AMBITIONS. More long seconds pass
invisible and inaudible woman in ankle-deep
without addition, before fresh words appear:
snow, he would normally be able to determine
BUT JUST SO YOU’RE REMINDED WHAT DISADVANTAGES
her location from the footprints she formed in
YOU’LL NEED TO OVERCOME BEFORE THAT BECOMES A
Analog Science Fiction and Fact Page 46