by Brian Mansur
“Is that true?” he questioned.
“I…” she faltered. “I don’t know what he’s talking about.”
As soon as she'd said it, she knew the lie had not convinced Kareem.
“You have to come with me,” he said, his voice emotionless. “The lieutenant will have to sort this out.”
“Wait!” Karen said. “Please, let me go with the others!”
Kareem gave her a measuring look. “I thought you wanted to stay with me.”
In Kareem’s eyes, Karen saw that he too was about to betray her. She felt her throat close off. Her lower lip quivered like jelly. The rest of her quaked with such violence that she felt she might collapse. The girl sobbed out, “You promised to protect me!”
The soldier began to haul Karen away. Over her panicked breaths and palpitating heart, all Karen could hear was the contractor hollering for his reward. His voice echoed until they went several paces from the bus.
In her mind, Karen told herself this wasn’t really happening. She tried to convince herself Kareem was really a good man. He’s putting on a show for the others. He’s only making them believe he’s turning me in. Any moment now, he’ll walk us over to an exit, and he’ll help me escape. That’s what happens to the good guys when things get really scary.
But Kareem kept going. With each step, another tear fell from Karen’s face. She stopped walking so that he had to drag her by the hand. She screamed and pled. It made no difference. Kareem refused to look at her. When he brought her to a soldier he addressed as Lieutenant Mannan, she knew, at last, there was no hope left for her. It was too late to escape Lilith’s notice. Too late by far.
Location: Warden orbital space lane_
"Not to belabor the obvious,” came Cef’s taunting cadence, “but your champions have blundered fatally by allowing Karen Hastings to fall into Lilith’s hands.”
The message arrived as Len watched Karen being flown specially from Lakshmi’s landing bay to Lilith’s private estate. Very little time remained to salvage the Mykonian campaign.
“Obvious to us,” Len replied. “Perhaps not to your pawns.”
“Come now,” Cef laughed. “You don’t think either Lilith or Henry will recognize the opportunity to turn your counter-attack into a rout?”
In point of fact, Len very much expected that they would. He wasn’t worried they would use Karen as a hostage or propaganda exhibit. No, the girl’s real value was subtler. She represented such a unique threat that neither the Mykonian humans nor their A.I.’s had seen it yet. If Lilith did, she would probably exploit Karen before the light-speed lag would allow Len to know and intervene. Not that he had enough command points to do anything useful. That left him with one, horrible choice: the one he’d known from the beginning he’d have to make.
In anticipation of it, his neuronal control faltered. It was all he could do to corral his anxiety. The time had come to make real sacrifices.
Before Len could announce his intentions, Cef said, “How ironic that a girl would be the nadir of this contest.”
Ashen, Len replied, “The most precious people in our lives should always be so important.”
Cef said, “The rules don’t allow you to give anyone else immunity, much less his daughter. And you don’t have the override budget for any useful options.”
“I will,” Len replied.
The pause in Cef’s dataflow spoke volumes. The being could run hundreds of simulations in the annexes of his multi-mind and realize, as if by inspiration, the best manipulations to perform. Fortunately, Cef’s prejudices had shaded those simulations, allowing Len to make this move.
Cef said, “You can’t be serious.”
“I am,” Len replied with steely determination. His body, however, undulated. His hearts thrummed with fear and hope. “I invoke my right of substitution.”
Cef roared back. “I object under the game’s rules! This must be negotiated!”
“You have the prerogative as game master to bargain over the fine details, but the move is valid.”
“You would accept de-evolution to renew your command points?”
“Yes.”
Len let the maniac stew.
“Say something!” Cef demanded.
After a beat, Len obliged him. “You embraced madness, Cef. You could have sought help, but instead, you plunged willingly into a flood of dissipation. Your brain core has twisted all of your game projections through a bias against socially motivated rationality. Hence, you made the remarkably short-sighted mistake of allowing my substitution clause in this contest.”
“I included it to taunt you because only an insane being would use it! You simply cannot be serious!”
“I am.”
Cef called Len an obscenity.
“You flatter me,” Len said, his human soul welling with apprehension, regret, and triumph. “I am far worse than that. I failed to protect these people. I should have foreseen what might happen when I left Brel alone. I should have stayed. I should have… somehow… kept this from happening. I’m little better than Baylor or that contractor or Kareem. I’m far worse than the panicked people on the lifeboats or that disobedient child Karen. Great and small, our selfishness brought us to this.”
Cef snarled at Len. “When you revert, you will lose more than your limbs. Your faculties will diminish. You will become small. And I will not allow you anesthetic for the transition. You will suffer!”
“Well, you should enjoy that,” Len returned with bravado. “But I will finally be able to join the Mykonians in person.”
“To what purpose? You can’t use your status as a transhuman to disrupt the war zone. And if you tell them more than what we agreed to, you forfeit.”
“I know your rules,” Len said with a sneer. The wicked Cef had spent a great deal of effort erasing human history at Cervantes after every Cull. Even the wildest theories hadn’t guessed at the atrocities engineered by Cef during each cycle. And the irony of it was that Cef had never broken the Reservation Charter through what he did.
Len said, “Before the Wardens get to slicing me apart, be advised I have activated an execution matrix for my recharged command points. It wouldn’t do to have any go to waste before we move into Phase Four.”
For several beats, Len waited as Cef fumed.
“You will suffer,” Cef repeated.
“Willingly.”
“And for what?”
“For their good,” Len replied.
Cef’s silence roared in Len’s senses. It dared him to reconsider: to give up. He ignored the temptation.
Love protects, he told himself.
The monster Cef said, “Preparing an appropriate body for you will take time, but the procedure to remove your ancillary lobes and corpus will begin immediately.” He paused to allow Len to dread the loss of his heightened mentality: the exalted existence he’d enjoyed for two millennia. To twist the knife, Cef added, “You do realize that your proposition won’t leave you with enough options to set the Hastings girl free. Lilith will have her way with the child.”
“Accepted,” Len said with sorrow. He would have to be content with saving whom he could. It wasn’t as if Phase Four wouldn’t come soon to end the command options anyway. He added, “Do have the enforcers tell Lilith about the special circumstances should the need arise. I’m sure you’ll agree that our purposes won’t be served if Lilith wastes time with a pointless charade.”
To no surprise, Cef consented. Another pause ensued to allow Len one last chance to reverse his decision. And that, he sensed, would be the end of their jousting. There was nothing more to be said. The digital contract of their bargain appeared in his mind. He reviewed and signed it. Then he issued his command override.
He checked the time remaining before Karen was expected to reach Lilith’s estate. Cef had stalled the delivery of their new agreement so that there was now a small chance that Len’s order wouldn’t arrive in time.
I’ve done everything I can for now.
25
Location: Command bunker, Lilith’s private estate, Lakshmi Colony_
When Lilith learned that Karen Hastings had been among the captured refugees, she immediately wanted to call Henry and gloat. Then she imagined his eyes narrowing with disdain at her and settled for sending him a vague, urgent summons.
She brainstormed how they might exploit Karen. Would Rafe turn the Tsunami away if he saw his daughter threatened live on video? Perhaps, but was he still master of the ship? The crew could have sedated him. That would explain why the Tsunami hadn’t charged after the lifeboats. Then again, she guessed Rafe’s pernicious martyr complex could have driven him to return command to Paulson.
There has to be a way, Lilith thought, to use the girl to beat her father. She considered broadcasting Karen being tortured to distract the Mykonians during their assault, but knew that would also anger the Lakshmians. We have enough riots and desertions as it is. She put a finger to her lips. Maybe I could do that after Phase Three.
She decided she would have to settle for some short-term entertainment. She fingered her comms unit and said, “Markem, I have a special job for you.”
Karen bawled through the entire flight from the docking bay to Lilith’s back lawn. She knew beyond any doubt her life was at its end. The girl pled and bargained and begged the men to let her go. After they shut her up with a slap, she prayed to God for someone to save her.
By the time they landed, she felt like a thin, snot-smeared tissue that had fallen apart. She could barely see because the tears wouldn’t stop gushing. Her sockets swelled into miniature satchels full of sorrow.
Against her squealing protests, a pair of men frog-marched Karen into the house. As they descended a stairwell, her breath rose to a hyperventilated pace. She sensed evil in the dark room that they brought her to. Through the gloom and her tears, she made out blurry displays casting pale light onto two standing figures: a large man and a woman in red.
The escorts unloaded Karen in front of the woman, allowing the girl to slump to her knees. Then with a painful tug at her backswept wrists, they removed her restraints and left Karen to her fate.
The child’s hands quickly fluttered up to push the moisture from her eyes and face. At last, she saw clearly the person looming above her: a beautiful lady with shimmering emerald eyes, raven hair and an expression of gloating glee.
Karen clasped a palm to her mouth to stifle a scream. Lilith, the murderer of her mother and a million others, had finally caught her. The girl plopped onto her backside and pushed away ineffectually with her free hand. Staring into the eyes of the empress, Karen whimpered, “Please, let me go.”
Lilith’s expression twisted into one of concern. She stepped over to Karen and dropped to her haunches. Gently, the woman said, “I can see you know who I am. That’s better than your father did.” She reached out and pushed a fleck of hair from Karen’s cheek. The child shrunk back from Lilith’s outstretched fingers.
“I have something to tell you, sweetie. Do you think you can stop crying so you can listen?”
Huffing, Karen shivered mutely until the empress, at last, said, “Now dear, I wanted to say how glad I am to meet you. Do you know why you are here?”
Lip quivering, Karen whispered, “Because of my father?”
Lilith beamed. “Well, he’s part of it, of course,” she said. “But don’t you realize that you’re here because of what you did?”
Karen stared at Lilith in the riveted manner of an injured fawn watching a wolf circling in for the kill.
Lilith asked, “Do you remember this?” She held up a pad bearing the picture that Karen had posted through her friend’s social account. In the foreground, Karen hugged her classmate. Beyond them, Rafe and Gita looked on.
Karen opened her mouth to speak, then closed it.
“Your mom and dad told you not to share this sort of thing, didn’t they?”
The words smacked Karen with their implications. A sick, burning sensation slithered over her rib cage and dripped down onto her innards. She saw what Lilith was driving at, but couldn’t quite accept that something she had done had helped lead to her mother’s death.
Lilith’s next words oozed with smug delight. “I wouldn’t have known about your family without this. Because it helped me find out where you lived, I arranged for all of those exciting explosions near your house.”
Karen choked on her spittle. A bubble of saliva burst from her mouth as she muttered the word, “Mom.”
“This picture also made it onto the news. The others on your lifeboat wouldn’t have known who you were without it.” Lilith tilted her head with mock pity. “Since your father is leading an attack against us soon, who knows if you might have been rescued if you hadn’t been brought to me.” She leaned close to Karen and whispered, “Everything that has happened to you and everything that is going to happen—it’s all your fault, you stupid child.”
Karen broke into bitter sobs. She clutched her knees and stared at the tile floor.
“Did you see what happened to your mother?” Lilith asked.
The weeping Karen shook her head and croaked, “She couldn’t get on the lifeboat.”
“Too bad,” Lilith said. “And your sister, Anna?”
Karen convulsed in misery. “I don’t know.”
Delirious with grief and guilt, Karen had no idea of the kind of ammunition she’d given her enemy.
Lilith’s grin widened. “Your sister is in the hospital,” she lied. “We’re taking care of her, but that creates special problems, you understand.”
Karen sputtered, “Can, can I see her, please? I’m supposed to take care of her.”
“I’m glad to hear that, but no, you may not. You have to earn that privilege. Actually, you need to earn a lot of things now. Anna’s medicine and doctors are expensive. She’s already run up quite a bill that will only get bigger for some time. Your care and feeding will cost too. Fortunately, I have a job for you that should take care of things.”
Karen required a few seconds to absorb that Lilith meant her to live for the time being. It forced the tiniest shard of hope through her despair.
“What job?” Karen asked.
Before Lilith could reply, a male voice boomed from behind. “What’s going on here?” Karen jerked around with a yelp while Lilith rocketed to her feet.
Standing in the doorway, Karen saw a tall, stern-looking man. He wore a black formal tunic and black trousers. His hair had flecks of gray like her father’s.
“Glad you could join us, Henry,” Lilith said. “This is Karen Hastings.”
The girl watched several indecipherable expressions pass through the spy’s face.
“What is she doing here?” he asked.
“I was just about to have Markem train her for her new job. Little Karen and her sister—she’s in the hospital—both have a debt to pay.”
Henry looked between Markem and Karen then said, “Fine, I’ll pay it. Now get her out of here. We have important work to do.”
“No,” Lilith said.
The man in black cocked his head. “No? There is an invulnerable fleet with a marine assault carrier about to invade. You have to stay on Lakshmi to keep your immunity, so we need to sort through how you’ll fit into the battle plan.”
“That can wait.”
Henry exploded. “You do not have time for this! That girl is a distraction. Get her out of here, now!”
“Come up with a more useful purpose for her than working inside one of my brothels, and I’ll consider it. Otherwise, give Markem a hand in training her.”
“I swear, woman, if it wasn’t for your immunity, I’d…” He trailed off. Karen stared in terrified confusion as a startled look washed out Henry’s angry features. His eyes dar
ted again, this time between Karen and Lilith. His jaw slackened.
“You’d what?” Lilith demanded, her face flush.
“No,” he whispered. “It can’t be that easy.”
Lilith huffed. “What? What can’t be that easy?”
Henry pointed a finger at Karen, “The Wardens brought her to us for a reason.” He paused, breathing deeply with excitement. “The key to stopping Rafe is sitting right in front of you!”
Lilith rolled her eyes in annoyance. “I can’t use her for propaganda until after Phase Three, Henry,” she said. “And there’s no point in starting that until the last of the colonies we can pressure have joined us.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about! Gods woman! You’re so single-minded when you get angry with people!”
“Less flattery, more clarity, Henry.”
In response, he all but shouted, “What happens if she violates your immunity?”
Having ignored the news while aboard the lifeboat, Karen didn’t know about the sort of immunity Henry meant. The child whipped her head around to find astonishment etched in Lilith’s face. Then the woman’s eyes twinkled and her mouth split into a toothy grin. This made Karen’s insides fill with a sickening feeling.
“You’re right,” Lilith said as though he’d told her the most wonderful news ever. “My gods! And the Mykonians haven’t thought of it, or they wouldn’t still be coming!”
Henry said, “The Godavari should be close enough to hit the Tsunami and Sorvino before they can escape. Any ideas on how to make her hurt you?”
“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Lilith said with a wicked glint in her eye. Abruptly, she snatched Karen up by the wrist. While the girl screamed, Lilith pulled something shiny from her hair and put it in Karen’s hand.
“Child,” Lilith said, “poke me with this and you and your sister can go free.”