The False Mirror

by Alan Dean Foster

  He hesitated, hiding deep in the undergrowth, his in-sides churning. The alternative to logic was a likely death. It was known that certain Hivistahm had succeeded in executing offensive gestures under extreme circumstances. Was he capable of such an action? Of overriding a lifetime's conditioning? To, of all things, help a Lepar?

  The tranquilizers were still active in his system, helping to dampen dangerous thoughts. This is the result of the Lepar's misguided cogitation, he reminded himself. He had wanted to do the sensible thing, to avoid the mutant and continue on to the river and the nearest outpost. He was responsible only for his own safety. And there were greater responsibilities. To his meditation circle. To the war effort. A dead physiotech was of no use to the Weave.

  It was the Lepar who had insisted on this ill-conceived effort. Therefore it was only right that the Lepar should pay for its failure. He owed it nothing. A last look, he decided, and then he would be gone.

  Peering through the vegetation, he saw that the creature was now wholly occupied with its interrogation of Itepu. It no longer showed interest in its surroundings. That was good. He let the leaves he'd parted fall silently back into place.

  He didn't recall when he began to move. Nor did he remember striking the towering Ashregan behind its knees-most likely because both his eyelids were tightly shut at the moment of impact. The Hivistahm were light of build, and his greatest fear was that he wouldn't have sufficient mass to carry out his intent.

  His concern was not misplaced. Intent as it was On its questioning of Itepu, the mutant did not start to react until Fifth-of-Medicine was upon him. As it began to turn, the medic struck as hard as he could. The startled Ashregan dropped the spear and flailed its arms in an attempt to maintain its balance. The startled look on its face showed that it could not believe it had been surprised, much less by an inoffensive Hivistahm.

  The soil at the edge of the pit was no less slippery and unstable than the rest of Eirrosad's surface. For a horrible moment the creature appeared to regain its equilibrium. Then it dropped out of sight in a great crash of crunching leaves and twigs, emitting furious emanations as it fell. It struck bottom with a spongy thud.

  Fifih-of-Medicine slumped to his haunches, breathing hard, tongue dangling to one side as he struggled to slow his heart rate. Angry noises continued to bubble from the depths of the trap. When the trembling stopped he rose and moved to help Itepu to his feet. Save for a minor cut where the spear had prodded, the Lepar was unhurt.

  "You saved my life."

  "Crazy it was. I am of commitment worthy. You must turn me in for observation upon our return. I insist on it!"

  Ignoring him, Itepu cautiously approached the lip of the pit and peered in.

  The Ashregan was on its feet, uttering curses as it inspected its surroundings. Fifth-of-Medicine did not approach the trap. He knew what the Ashregan looked like.

  Itepu backed away from the edge. "Well, we have done it."

  "Do not remind me. I prefer not to think on it."

  "Now that we have captured the creature, we must think of a way to take it with us."

  "I a better idea have." The medic was still breathing hard. "Let's leave it here. We can some food and water provide and mark the spot in our minds. Others come and recover it can."

  "No, we can't do that." Itepu was inexorable. "Given time it may find a way to escape. We must take it with us or everything we have done may go to waste." It glanced in the direction of the trap. "We know for certain now that it is Ashregan. A Human would not have bothered to ask questions, but would have killed an enemy instantly."

  Reluctantly Fifth-of-Medicine joined his companion at the edge of the pit as they considered what to do with their prisoner.

  Once, it backed into a far corner and unexpectedly took a running leap at them, powerful hands reaching for the physiotech's legs. Fifth-of-Medicine took a startled hop backward. He needn't have bothered. Though it could jump impossibly high for so massive a creature, its fingers still fell far short of the trap's rim.

  Next it tried to climb out, expending in its frantic efforts more sheer energy than the medic believed a single being could muster. The damp, soft earth crumbled under its fingers and beneath its feet. Several times it ascended nearly a body length, only to tumble back to the bottom as the treacherous soil gave way beneath scrabbling hands and feet.

  Though astonishing in their scope, its physical resources were finite. It tried, failed, and fell exhausted one last time into the shallow puddle of water which had collected at the bottom of the pit. Quiescent at last it lay there, breathing hard and glaring murderously up at them.

  Fifth-of-Medicine's teeth clicked softly. "We here have to leave it. How can we such a killer restrain? If we bring it out it surely kill us will, and if we down after go it will kill us there. We cannot incapacitate it without near it going."

  "That may not be true," Itepu replied slowly.

  The Hivistahm's eyelids closed halfway. "Explain yourself."

  Itepu gestured at the physiotech's service belt. "You have medicines designed to make the injured feel better. Do not some of them also put you to sleep?"

  "Truly. But the emergency vials I at all times on my person carry are calibrated for treating Massood and Human fighters, and to a lesser extent Hivistahm, Lepar, and whatever other species I am at the time serving with. To an enemy treat requires the resources of a field hospital."

  "'I have heard that Human and Ashregan physiology are very similar."

  "Truly they are, but whether they identical enough are for pharmaceuticals designed for one to affect another is a far more complex matter. I am only a fifth-of-medicine, a field medic. I am not in such matters competent."

  "This creature has been given Human physical and fighting characteristics," Itepu pointed out. "If anything, it should be more receptive than others of its kind to serums designed for treating Humans. Would it not be worth trying?"

  "Still remains the main problem," Fifth-of-Medicine insisted. "How to get near enough to an adequate dosage inject."

  "Must it be injected? The creature is tough, but it still needs to eat."

  Fifth-of-Medicine considered. "Would it not suspicious of food from us be?"

  "Probably, but hunger should eventually overcome suspicion. It must realize that if we wanted it dead we could throw rocks down on it, or leave it here. Nor does it know that you are a medic with access to sedatives."

  He made the dose strong. Very strong. After all, the worst that could happen was that it would kill the creature, thus sparing them the difficulty of somehow hauling it back with them. He was able to concoct the dose without qualms because it was not his intent to kill but to tranquilize. The possibility of a fatal accident weighed only peripherally on his conscience.

  As expected, the Ashregan at first refused all offers of fruit and meat. But two days of clawing futilely at the walls of its prison left it ravenous, and it finally devoured the proffered food, exhibiting an extraordinary appetite as well as atrocious table manners. It not only finished what they had provided but asked for more, after which it sat down in the slimy puddle and regarded them with a baleful expression on its flat, ugly face.

  An hour later its eyes closed as its head fell over on one shoulder.

  "We can use vines braced around a tree to drag it out," Itepu suggested, "and to bind it. I think the two of us working together can manage the load."

  "One of us will have to go down to secure it." The medic was studying the motionless alien form. "What if it deceiving is?"

  "I will find out."

  It took the Lepar a few moments to locate a rock of suitable size. As Fifth-of-Medicine looked on, Itepu carefully positioned himself on the other side of the pit and let it drop. It was large enough to start a trickle of blood from the Ashregan's scalp but not to crack bone. The mutant's eyelids did not even twitch.

  "Truly unconscious it is." Fifth-of-Medicine was satisfied. "Let us make sure we bind it beyond possibility of escape."


  A variable-focus surgical cutter allowed them to sever and gather very thick vines. After wrapping the heavy alien in a green cocoon, arms secured behind its back, they strained to haul it out of the hole, working quickly lest it awaken before they were finished. Since they did not have the inclination, much less the strength, to carry their prisoner, they left its lower limbs relatively free, binding each ankle to opposite ends of a short, stout tree limb which severely restricted each leg's range of motion while still allowing the creature enough leeway so that it could stumble forward.

  When it regained consciousness it was more than a little surprised at the condition in which it found itself. After trying its bonds and finding them unbreakable, it looked accusingly at Fifth-of-Medicine. Its translator was in bad shape, but still functioning.

  "You drugged me," it said accusingly. "I didn't suspect. What are a Hivistahm and Lepar doing out in this jungle with drugs?"

  "I a medical technician am," Fifth-of-Medicine found himself replying. Even bound and helpless, the Ashregan still cut an intimidating figure.

  It emitted an untranslatable grunt. "That never occurred to me. I should have noted your uniform type when I was chasing you. It serves me right. Well, now that you have me, what do you intend to do with me?"

  "Take you back with us." The physiotech retreated several steps as the Ashregan struggled to its feet. The limb secured to its ankles reduced its stride considerably, its mobility completely. Enmeshed in its cocoon of vines, it towered over its captors.

  Itepu clutched the prisoner's spear. The Ashregan grinned contemptuously. "You don't expect me to believe you'd use that."

  The Lepar's reply was admirably firm. "I have hit you twice with rocks. I might surprise you again."

  "You might at that. You Lepar are difficult to understand. Some day you'll be useful participants in the Purpose."

  "Not while any of us lives," Itepu assured him.

  "Nor any Hivistahm." Fifth-of-Medicine was not about to be exceeded in defiance by a Lepar. "You are back with us coming. You a physical anomaly are. Ashregan you appear, yet with Human characteristics."

  "I am Ashregan," the captive replied proudly. "You hold the Unifer Ranji-aar of Purposeful Cossuut." He strained at his bonds. "And if I can free myself I will destroy you both, as I destroy all enemies of the Purpose."

  "Yes, we know." Fifth-of-Medicine's confidence increased in proportion to the Ashregan's inability to loosen its bindings. "It is clear that altered you have been. Doubtless responsible the Amplitur are."

  The soldier glared narrowly at his captor. "The Amplitur do not do such things. Such tales are only Weave propaganda. The Amplitur ..."

  "Spare us the lecture on the wonderfulness of the Amplitur. I have eyes, and I a trained medical specialist am. You both Ashregan and Human traits possess. There is here something very peculiar going on. We are taking you back so that better minds than mine can what the truth is find out."

  "They'll find no more than you." The mutant expectorated. "You've taken a captive; that's all." It turned sharply to Itepu, who flinched slightly, black eyes blinking, but held his ground. "You I should've killed when I had the chance."

  The Lepar's expression did not change. "But you did not."

  "No. You were on the ground and helpless, and I had questions to ask. I should have been faster, like a berserker Human."

  "I am glad you were not." Itepu stepped boldly forward and poked the bound Ashregan with the spear. "Now move. That way."

  The prisoner gazed a moment longer at the amphibian, then pivoted to start off in the indicated direction. His captors followed. Amazement at their accomplishments thus far caused them to walk proud.

  Despite Fifth-of-Medicine's fears, they were not attacked. Nothing leaped out at them from the undergrowth, nothing materialized to impede their progress. Having delivered himself of several proclamations, the Ashregan had turned surprisingly docile. Fifth-of-Medicine and Itepu did not relax, staying as alert as when they'd first trapped the soldier. For surely this creature's companions would be searching for him.

  They reached the river without incident. The prisoner sat quietly while his captors, making good use of Fifth-of-Medicine's surgical instruments and Itepu's remaining tools, fashioned a crude raft. If they needed any further proof that the creature was Ashregan, its continued docility as they worked with logs and vines confirmed it. A Human would have jumped into the river despite the likelihood of drowning, or struck out with its restrained legs, or at least inflicted on them a constant stream of invective. That was the way of Humans. It was not the manner of Ashregans.

  Instead, he continued to lecture them endlessly on the true way of the Purpose, until the medic was ready to put aside the value of their prisoner and strike him dead with the spear.

  "We have everything you could say already heard," he finally informed the mutant exasperatedly. "Despite what you believe, there is civilization outside the Purpose. Truly."

  "Civilized peoples do not slaughter the helpless civilian populations of undefended worlds," the Ashregan shot back.

  Fifth-of-Medicine glanced up curiously from where he was working on the raft. "What are you talking about?"

  "My parents. My entire family and all its friends and relations were wiped out by Humans and Massood."

  "Truly now, I cannot imagine to what you refer."

  "The massacre of Houcilat, of course. I can't believe you never heard of it, no matter how thorough is Weave control of your information media. Houcilat was my world of origin."

  Fifth-of-Medicine reflected as he worked. "Houcilat, Houcilat. Truly, yes. That was a world colonized by both Ashregan and, I believe, Bir'rimor. It contested was, and taken back by the Weave some time ago. I am at recent history fairly competent. Do you anything of what he speaks recall, Itepu?"

  The Lepar looked up from where it was working waist-deep in water. "We do not have good memories. But the name strikes me."

  "The fighting was lengthy but modest in scope, and the world was back for the Weave won. But there no massacre of inhabitants was. Truly." Fifth-of-Medicine fastened two logs together, eyeing his handiwork with satisfaction. Misapplication of his extensive medical training such construction might be, but there were none present to proffer objections.

  "All inhabitants were allowed under Weave supervision to remain, or to other Ashregan worlds repatriated were."

  Ranji's brows drew together. "Weave propaganda. Everyone on Houcilat was slaughtered. Including my natural parents."

  The medic drew a thick liana tight. "Killed they may have been. I am sure some civilian casualties there were. But a massacre there was not."

  "All my parents' friends, all my relatives and their relatives, were killed. Do the Hivistahm describe such atrocities in languid phrases?"

  Fifth-of-Medicine glanced behind him. "Even that may be truth, but I tell you that there was no slaughter. That is not the way of the Weave. You have been lied to."

  "The Amplitur ..." Ranji started to remind his captors that the Amplitur never lied. Even they would have to admit to that. But as he thought back it struck him that no Amplitur, either in person or on recording, had ever spoken directly about Houcilat. The story of the massacre of Houcilat had been told to him by his parents and teachers, who were Ashregan. It might be interesting some day to put the question to an Amplitur and observe the response.

  No! Absurd, inconceivable, a thing he could not countenance. Why should he for an instant question parents or instructors because of what a Purposeless, enemy Hivistahm chose to say on the bank of an unnamed river on a primitive, contested world?

  "You're the ones who've been lied to," he responded confidently. "There was a massacre."

  "That possible is," admitted Fifth-of-Medicine readily. "Truly I was not there. But tell me this, Ashregan Unifer: What would be the purpose of such slaughter? What would it gain the Weave?"

  "It need have no purpose if Humans were involved."

  "Even Humans more
restrained are. There are of isolated barbaric incidents some rumors, but nothing on the scale to which you refer. Nor are Humans alone to fight allowed. Massood or others are always present, and would have such a terrible thing confirmed."

  "Are you so sure? It would be to the Weave's benefit to conceal such an incident. Because you do not have the Purpose, you are always fighting and arguing among yourselves. Knowledge of such an outrage could cause trouble among you."

  "You very plausibly argue." Fifth-of-Medicine secured a vine, snugging two cross-limbs tightly together. "Though I do not believe you, I allow as how you might be correct. Will you not grant me the same privilege? Anything is possible which cannot disproved be."

  Ranji went silent as his captors worked. Silence offered time to think, which, as his teachers had sometimes pointed out, could be dangerous. Why would they lie to him, especially about something as important to him and his friends as the destruction of Houcilat? The Hivistahm had seemed genuinely surprised by his disclosure, and equally convinced no such massacre had occurred. Yes, the Weave government could have covered it up, but was such a thing really possible in this time of rapid interworld and interspecies communication?

  "My friends will drive you off this world," he declared for lack of anything more convincing to say. "And massacre or not, the Weave remains responsible for the death of my parents."

  "I am for that most sorry," the physiotech told him. "Even when great and exalted ideals at stake are, civilians sometimes perish in their cause. But I and my companion nothing to do with that had. We were at the time of Houcilat not adults."

  Ranji calmed himself. He should be looking for a chance to escape, not wasting his energy arguing with the enemy. "I didn't mean to imply that I blamed you personally. Only the misguided and misled organization that organizes your war effort. To do otherwise would not be in keeping with the higher tenets of the Purpose."

  "Of course it wouldn't." Fifth-of-Medicine's claws clicked together sideways, a gesture his kind used to express sarcasm. "Your form puzzles me greatly."