Complete Short Fiction (Jerry eBooks)

by James H. Schmitz

  Gilennic considered. “Yes, I do remember now. That was just before this stuff began to take effect on me, wasn’t it? I suppose—”

  He broke off as the entrance door slid open. A trim young woman stepped in, smiled, went to the transmitter stand, placed a sheaf of papers on it, and switched on the screen. She glanced at other items on the stand and looked satisfied.

  “These are the reports you wanted for the conference, Mr. Gilennic,” she announced. “You’ll have just time enough to check them over.”

  “Thanks, Wyl.” Gilennic started for the stand.

  “Anything else?” Wyl asked.

  “No,” he said. “That will be all.”

  Wyl looked at the blonde. “We’d better be leaving.”

  The blonde frowned. “The deputy isn’t in good condition!” she stated. “As a Psychology Service technician, I have a Class Five clearance. Perhaps—”

  Wyl took her arm. “Come along, dear. I’m Mr. Gilennic’s confidential secretary and have a Class Two clearance. That isn’t good enough to let me sit here and listen.”

  The blonde addressed Gilennic. “If you start running hallucinations again—”

  He smiled at her. “If I do, I’ll buzz for help. Good enough?”

  She hesitated. “If you don’t put it off too long, it will be. I’ll wait beside the buzzer.” She left the room with Wyl, and the door slid shut.

  Rion Gilennic sighed and sat down at the stand. His brain felt packed—that was perhaps the best way to describe it. Two sets of memories that weren’t his own had been fed in there in the time span of fifty seconds. He’d gathered the emotional effects they contained were damped out as far as possible; but they remained extraordinarily vivid memories as experienced by two different sensory patterns and recorded by two different and very keen minds. For the next several hours, a part of him would be in effect Dr. Ticos Cay, able to recall everything that had occurred from his first realization of a search party of alien beings closing in stealthily on the floatwood hideout to the moment consciousness drained from him in the incubator pod. And another part would be Dr. Nile Etland, scanning at will over the period between her discussion with the Sotira sledmen and her return to the mainland with Danrich Parrol, Dr. Cay, and a pair of mutant otters.

  By now Gilennic’s mind seemed able to recognize these implants for what they were and to keep them distinct from his personal memories. But for a while there’d been confusion and he’d found himself running colorful floatwood nightmares in a wide-awake condition, blanked out momentarily on the fact that he was not whichever of the two had experienced that particular sequence. He’d really been much less upset about it than the two transcriber technicians who evidently blamed themselves for the side effects. A recall digest, in any case, was the fastest and most dependable method known to get all pertinent information on a given set of events from a person who’d lived through them; and a few hours from now the direct impressions would fade from his mind again. No problem there, he decided . . .

  He flicked through the reports Wyl had left. Among them was one from the surgeon’s office on the condition of Dr. Ticos Cay—a favorable prognosis. In spite of his age Dr. Cay’s recuperative ability remained abnormally high. He’d been near total exhaustion but should recover in a few weeks of treatment. Gilennic was glad to see the memo; he’d been worried about the old man.

  The latest report on military developments had nothing of significance. Most of the fighting had been concluded five hours ago, almost before the Etland party reached the mainland. Space pursuit continued; but the number of targets was down to twelve. Gilennic considered. Call Tatlaw and tell him to let a few more get away? No, two shiploads were enough to carry the bad word to Porad Anz. Too many lucky escapees would look suspicious—the Parahuans had learned the hard way the Fed ships could run them down . . . Some eight hundred Oganoon, holed up in a floatwood island, had been taken alive. The Palachs with them were dead by suicide. No value to that catch—

  The other reports weren’t important. The Psychology Service was doctoring newscast sources on Nandy-Cline. He’d hear more about that in the conference.

  Gilennic sat a moment reflecting, smiled briefly. Not a bad setup, he thought. Not bad at all!

  “Ship’s comm section to Deputy Gilennic,” said the screen speaker.

  “Go ahead,” he told it.

  “Transmission carrier now hot and steady, sir! Orado is about to come in. When I switch off, the transmission room will be security-shielded.”

  “Double check the shielding,” Gilennic said and pushed down the screen’s ON button.

  “What decided you to give the order to allow two Parahuan warships to escape?” Federation Councilman Mavig asked.

  Gilennic looked at the two men in the screen. With Mavig was Tolm Sindhis, a Psychology Service director—publicity angles already were very much a part of the situation, as he’d expected. The discussion wasn’t limited to the three of them; Mavig had said others were attending on various extensions on the Orado side. He hadn’t given their names and didn’t need to. Top department heads were judging the Federation Council Deputy’s actions at Nandy-Cline. Very well—

  Gilennic said, “Section Admiral Tatlaw’s fleet detachment was still approaching the system when we picked up a garbled report from Nandy-Cline indicating the fighting had started there. Tatlaw went in at speed. By the time the main body of the detachment arrived, Parahuan ships were boiling out into space by twos and threes. Our ships split up and began picking them off.

  “It was clear that something drastic had happened to the enemy on the planet. The colonial forces were in action, but that couldn’t begin to account for it. The enemy wasn’t in orderly retreat—he was breaking from the planet in absolute panic. Whatever the disaster was, I felt it was likely to be to our advantage if Porad Anz were permitted to receive a firsthand account of it by informed survivors.

  “The flagship had engaged the two largest Parahuan ships reported so far, approximately in our cruiser class. It was reasonable to assume they had high-ranking Parahuans on board. We know now that except for the headquarters ship, which was destroyed before it could escape from the planet’s atmosphere, they were in fact the two largest ships of the invasion. There was no time to check with Orado, even if it had been possible in the infernal communication conditions of the system. We were in a running fight, and Tatlaw would have cut the enemy apart in minutes. I was the leading representative of the civilian government with the detachment. Therefore I gave the order.”

  Mavig pursed his lips. “The admiral didn’t entirely approve of the move?”

  “Naturally not,” said Gilennic. “From a tactical point of view it made no sense. There were some moments afterwards when I was inclined to doubt the wisdom of the move myself.”

  “I assume,” Mavig said, “your doubts were resolved after you absorbed the digest of Dr. Etland’s recall report.”

  “Yes. Entirely so.”

  Mavig grunted.

  “Well, we know now what happened to the invasion force,” he remarked. “Its command echelons were subjected to a concentrated dose of psychological warfare, in singularly appalling form. Your action is approved, Deputy. What brought Dr. Etland and her companions to your attention?”

  “I went down to the planet at the first opportunity,” Gilennic said. “There was still a great deal of confusion and I could get no immediate explanation for the Parahuan retreat. But I learned that a warning sent out by a Dr. Etland from one of the floatwood islands had set off the action. She reached the mainland at about that time, and I found her at the hospital to which she’d taken Dr. Cay. She told me in brief what had occurred, and I persuaded her to accompany me to the flagship with Dr. Cay. She agreed, on condition that Dr. Cay would remain under constant medical attention. She took him back to a mainland hospital a short while ago.”

  Mavig said, “The people who know about this—”

  “Dr. Etland, Dr. Cay, Danrich Parrol,” said Gi
lennic. “The two recall transcriber technicians know enough to start thinking. So does my secretary.”

  “The personnel will be no problem. The other three will maintain secrecy?”

  “They’ve agreed to it. I think we can depend on them. Their story will be that Dr. Etland and Dr. Cay discovered and spied on Parahuans from hiding but were not seen by them and had no contact with them.

  There’ll be no mention made of the Tuvela Theory or of anything else that could be of significance here.”

  Mavig glanced at the Psychology Service director. Sindhis nodded, said, “Judging by the personality types revealed in the recall digests, I believe that’s safe. I suggest we give those three people enough additional information to make it clear why secrecy is essential from the Federation’s point of view.”

  “Very well,” Mavig agreed. “It’s been established by now that the four other water worlds which might have been infiltrated simultaneously by Parahuans are clear. The rumored enemy action was concentrated solely on Nandy-Cline. We’re proceeding on that basis.” He looked at Tolm Sindhis. “I understand your people have begun with the publicity cover work there?”

  “Yes,” Sindhis said. “It should be simple in this case. We’re developing a popular local line.”

  “Which is?”

  “That the civilian and military colonial forces beat the fight out of the invaders before they ever got back to space. It’s already more than half accepted.”

  Gilennic said thoughtfully, “If it hadn’t been for Dr. Etland’s preparatory work, I’m inclined to believe that’s what would have occurred. Not, of course, without very heavy human casualties. The counterattack certainly was executed with something like total enthusiasm.”

  “It’s, been a long time between wars,” Mavig said. “That’s part of our problem. How about the overall Hub reaction, Director?”

  “We’ll let it be a three-day sensation,” said Sindhis. “Then we’ll release a series of canned sensations which should pretty well crowd the Nandy-Cline affair out of the newscasts and keep it out. I foresee no difficulties.”

  Mavig nodded. “The follow-up then. I rather like that term ‘grom-gorru’. We can borrow it as the key word here.”

  “Gromgorru and Tuvela-Guardians,” said Tolm Sindhis.

  “Yes. The two escaped cruisers reach Porad Anz. The sole survivors of the invasion present their story. The top echelons of the Everliving have a week or two to let new Tuvela-fear soak through their marrows. There is no word of a significant reaction in the Federation. What happens then? Deputy, you’ve shown commendable imagination. How would you suggest concluding the matter?”

  “How would Tuvela-Guardians conclude it?” said Gilennic. “Dr. Etland set the pattern for us, I think. The attitude is not quite contempt, but not far from it. We’ve taken over a thousand low-grade prisoners for whom we have no use. Guardians don’t kill purposelessly. In a week or two the prisoners should be transported to Porad Anz.”

  “By a fleet detachment?” Mavig asked.

  Gilennic shook his head.

  “One ship, Councilman. An impressive ship—I’d suggest a Giant Scout. But only one. The Guardian Etland came alone to the floatwood. By choice, as far as the Parahuans know. The Guardians would not send a fleet to Porad Anz. Or more than one Guardian.”

  “Yes—quite right. And then?”

  “From what Dr. Cay was told,” Gilennic said, “there are no surviving human captives on Porad Anz. But we’d make sure of that, and we’d let them know we’re making sure of it. Half dead or insane, we don’t leave our kind in enemy hands.”

  Tolm Sindhis said, “The Service will supply a dozen xenopaths to the expedition. They’ll make sure of it.” Mavig nodded. “What else, Deputy?”

  “Men were murdered on Nandy-Cline,” said Gilennic. “The actual murderers are almost certainly dead. But the authorities on Porad Anz need a lesson—for that, and simply for the trouble they’ve made. They’re territory-greedy. How about territorial restrictions?”

  Mavig said, “Xeno intelligence indicates they’ve occupied between eighteen and twenty water planets. They can be told to evacuate two of those planets permanently—say the two closest to the Federation—and given a limited time in which to carry out the order. We’ll be back presently to see it’s been done. Would that sum it up?”

  “I think,” said Gilennic, “a Guardian would say so.” He hesitated, added, “I believe the terms Tuvela or Guardian should not be used in this connection by us, or in fact used by us at all. The Everliving of Porad Anz can form their own conclusions about who it is that issues them orders in the name of the Federation. As far as we’re concerned, the superhumans can fade back now into mystery and grom-gorru. They’ll be more effective there.”

  Mavig nodded, glanced aside. “I see,” he remarked, “that meanwhile the selection of the person who is to issue the Council’s orders to Porad Anz has been made.” He pressed a button on the stand before him. “Your transmission duplicator, Deputy—”

  Rion Gilennic slid a receptacle from the stand duplicator, took a card from it, saw, without too much surprise, that the name on the card was his own. “I’m honored by the assignment,” he said soberly.

  “You can start preparing for it.” Mavig shifted his gaze to Tolm Sindhis. “We should expect that some weeks from now there’ll be individuals on Nandy-Cline taking a discreet interest in the backgrounds of Dr. Etland and Dr. Cay. It might be worth seeing what leads can be developed from them.”

  The director shrugged. “We’ll watch for investigators, of course.

  My opinion is, however, that if the leads take us anywhere, they’ll show us nothing new . . .

  CONCLUSIONS OF THE EVALUATING COMMITTEE OF THE LORDS OF THE SESSEGUR, CHIEFS OF THE DARK SHIPS

  SUBJECT: THE HUMAN-PARAHUAN ENGAGEMENT OF NANDY-CLINE

  The Committee met in the Purple Hall of the Lord Ildaan. Present besides the Lord Ildaan and the permanent members of the Committee were a Wirrollan delegation led by its Envoy Plenipotentiary. The Lord Ildaan introduced the Envoy and the members of the delegation to the Committee and referred to the frequently voiced demands of Wirrolla and its associated species that the Alliance of the Lords of the Sessegur should agree to coordinate and spearhead a unified attack on the Federation of the Hub. He explained that the conclusions to be expressed by the Committee might serve as a reply to such demands. He then requested the Lord Toshin, High Ambassador of the Alliance to the Federation of the Hub, to sum up intelligence reports compiled in the Federation following the Parahuan defeat.

  THE LORD TOSHIN: The overall impression left in the Federation by the attempted Parahuan conquest of the world of Nandy-Cline is that it was an event of almost no significance. In the relatively short period before I left Orado to confer in person with other members of this Committee, it appeared that the average Federation citizen had nearly forgotten such an attempt had been made and certainly would have found it difficult to recall much more than the fact. We must understand, of course, that this same average citizen in all likelihood never before had heard of the planet of Nandy-Cline. The sheer number of Federation worlds blurs their individual significance.

  On Nandy-Cline itself the conflict with the Parahuans naturally has remained a topic of prime interest. While we may suspect that the bulk of the Parahuan force was destroyed in space by Federation military, the continental population takes most of the credit for its defeat. No opinions have been obtained from the sizable pelagic population known as sledmen, who appear to be secretive by habit and treat Federation news personnel and other investigators with such scant civility that few attempt to question them twice.

  There has been no slightest public mention in the Federation of the Parahuan Tuvela Theory. The person referred to in the reports of Parahuan survivors to Porad Anz as “the Guardian Etland,” and believed by them to be a member of a special class of humans known as Tuvelas, does exist. Her name is Dr.

  Nile Etland and she is a native
of Nandy-Cline. My office had a circumspect but very thorough investigation made of her activities and background. Most of you are familiar with the result. It indicates that Dr. Etland is very capable and highly intelligent, but in a normally human manner. She is a biochemist by training and profession, and there is nothing to suggest overtly that she might be one of a group of perhaps mutated humans who have made themselves the secret rulers and protectors of the Federation. A simultaneous investigation made of her associate, Dr. Ticos Cay, believed by the Parahuans to be possibly another Tuvela, had similar results. We have no reason to think that Dr. Cay is more or other than he appears to be.

  Of particular interest is the fact that there is no public knowledge in the Federation of the role ascribed to these individuals by Parahuan survivors in bringing about the evidently panic-stricken retreat from Nandy-Cline. On the planet Dr. Etland and Dr. Cay are generally credited with having given the first warning of the presence of alien intruders, but it is assumed that this is all they did.

  Under the circumstances, I felt it would be unwise to attempt to have Dr. Etland questioned directly. It would have been impossible in any case to question Dr. Cay. After a period of hospitalization, he appears to have returned to his research on one of the many floating jungles of that world; and it is believed that only Dr. Etland is aware of his current whereabouts.

  THE LORD ILDAAN: The Lord Mingolm, recently the Alliance’s Ambassador to Porad Anz, will comment on discrepancies between the Federation’s publicized version of the Parahuan defeat and the account given by Parahuan survivors.

  THE LORD MINGOLM: As the Committee knows, only two of the Parahuan invasion ships escaped destruction and eventually returned to Porad Anz. Aboard those ships were eighty-two Palachs and Great Palachs, twenty-eight of whom had been direct witnesses of the encounter between the Everliving and the female human referred to as the Guardian Etland.

  All of these twenty-eight were members of the political faction known as the Voice of Action and under sentence of death for their complicity in the disastrous revolt of the faction on Nandy-Cline. All were questioned repeatedly, frequently under severe torture. I attended a number of the interrogations and on several occasions was permitted to question the subjects directly.