The False Mirror

by Alan Dean Foster

  "Gratefulness for that, Shatenka," wheezed the field marshal in passable Massood. The two sector commanders hurried to the nearest console, causing the Hivistahm technician seated there to fumble nervously at his translator in the presence of so much feral rank.

  "Are you in contact with the base in question?" Granville inquired bluntly. The Hivistahm replied in the affirmative. "Then put me through."

  "Truly I should like to, honored Commander, but I cannot," the Hivistahm replied sorrowfully.

  "Why not?" Granville's tenebrous Human tone made the non combative Hivistahm shake slightly.

  "Because there is truly no one there. All responses from programs are. Apparently everyone in the attack participating is, even to including support personnel."

  "This is madness." Commander Shatenka added something in colloquial Massood which none of the tangent translators near him succeeded in picking up.

  The two commanders moved to another console and confronted a Human officer. "Who's in charge out there?"

  Names scrolled down the screen in front of the woman like damned souls plunging hellward. "A Colonel Nehemiah Chin, sir."

  "I have remembrance of that name." Shatenka's upper lip curled emphatically. "A good officer. It makes no sense."

  "I'll say it makes no sense," Granville growled. "Who sent him orders requesting an all-out assault in his sector? It leaves us damn exposed back here."

  "I have already called for a full defensive mobilization," Shatenka assured him.

  "I know, I know. That's hardly the point."

  A Hivistahm analyst looked up from her console, wary of the Human commander's temper. "Honored sirs, first reports indicate that the forces in question already taken have two major hostile positions and are directly for the enemy Regional Command center striking."

  "You're right. Someone is mad." Granville glanced up at his tall counterpart and lowered his voice. "What's your considered opinion, Shatenka. Can Chin bring this off?"

  The Massood considered, digging energetically at a back molar. His whiskers subsided. "The forces in question are composed largely of your own kind. However, since you ask my thoughts, I should say it depends on how much firepower they can ultimately bring to bear when they finally reach their target. If by then the enemy has not profoundly reduced them in strength and they do not pause their attack long enough to give the Ashregan time to muster reserves from other regions, then I should think it possible. Just."

  Granville angrily fingered his translator. "If this attack fails, or even stalls, they'll find themselves trapped between large-scale enemy regional defenses and those they've bypassed or failed to wipe out on the way in. In which event we could lose the entire battle group."

  "Your thinking mirrors my own. They have advanced too far too fast. Now they have no choice but to press the assault."

  "Maybe not. If we can reach individual squad leaders, we can countermand their orders. If enough of the group turns together, they ought to be able to fight their way back." Granville plotted a path toward fieldcom.

  Shatenka followed. "Communications at this range will be bad."

  "I know. I wish R&D could find a way to defend a communications relay satellite against knockdown for longer than a couple of days. We'll just have to do the best we can."

  Somehow he was not surprised when the O'o'yan technician informed them that he could not make contact with a single element of the rogue Weave force.

  "The problem is at the receiving end, Great Marshal. It matters not which frequency I employ. There is no acknowledgment."

  "It fits."

  "What fits, my friend?" Shatenka inquired anxiously.

  "Chin's acting on his own, without orders."

  The Massood growled softly, his small triangular ears flattening against his skull. "That is a very serious assumption."

  "Grounded, I think, in more than coincidence."

  "Perhaps. But irrelevant should the venture succeed."

  "Truly, as our Hivi friends would say. He's been very clever." There was grudging admiration in the field marshal's voice. "He'll emerge from this either a damned hero, or just damned."

  "We cannot reinforce them." Shatenka pointed out.

  "I know. The extent of their advance places us in enough danger as it is. I only hope that our opponents are so dazed and confused by Chin's attack that none of them take the time to realize how exposed it's rendered us back here.

  "In the meantime, until the situation resolves itself we'll back him every way we can and pray his people bring this off. We can forward certain classes of supplies by unpi-loted sled. I'll see to that. You deal with any questions from Central."

  "I would far rather be on the battlefield." The Massood sniffed pointedly.

  "Your thoughts," muttered Granville acerbieally, "mirror my own." He turned back to the O'o'yan tech. "Keep trying to make contact. If you reach anyone—Human, Massood, Lepar, regardless of rank or position—I want to know about it. If I'm not here, find me. If I'm asleep, wake me. If I'm in the can, beat on the door."

  The O'o'yan inclined its narrow, delicate head. "Understood, Great Marshal."

  * * * * *

  Any early feelings of uncertainty among the members of the attacking force about their chosen course of action vanished as enemy resistance collapsed under the fury of the Human-Massood assault. There was barely enough time to savor each triumph before orders arrived directing the next attack on the enemy's position. Certainly there was no time to formulate questions, which was the intent of Chin and his collaborators from the beginning.

  The attack gave no sign of faltering. The soldiers of Chin's battle group were in superb condition, and even seemed to gain strength with each objective attained. Though the initial advantage of surprise had been expended, the battle group continued to forge ahead on skill and dedication alone.

  The counterattack gave some members of Chin's staff pause, especially when he insisted on sending shock teams and scouts on ahead to probe the enemy's SHQ defenses in spite of the fact that the enemy now had to be aware of their intentions. But since Chin's predictions had been coming true with edifying regularity, pause did not give way to objection. Not that a few concerns would have swayed the colonel in any event. There were too many others on the staif who fully supported his strategy.

  While Chin's reaction to his accomplishments thus far was less than boisterous, some of his personnel were less restrained. Three noncommissioned officers in particular made no attempt to hide their feelings. Though exhausted, they had no intention of requesting a break, neither for themselves nor their troops. Not with the perimeter of the enemy's Sector Headquarters already under attack from outlying scouts striking from superfast sliders.

  Take that objective, they knew, and the poofs back at Regional would have no choice but to back them with fresh troops. They would have gained too much to risk giving back. Enemy influence across the entire southern quarter of the Eirrosadian landmass would be broken.

  Things were going so well that Chin had decided to send several squads racing around behind the enemy HQ in order to be in position to interdict any attempts at reinforcement. In an earlier era such strategy might have been carried out with aircraft, but with the advent hundreds of years before of compact computer-guided missiles and energy beams capable of knocking anything out of the sky, control of the air had become irrelevant to modern warfare. Among the clouds there was no place to hide.

  Increasingly tired but increasingly confident, Chin's group continued to advance.

  Even in moments of direst distress it was in the nature of the Amplitur to remain calm, a characteristic which their allies found endlessly reassuring. Since the universe had evolved gradually, they were fond of pointing out, it similarly stood to reason that there was no need to concede emotion to haste. It required an extraordinary series of debilitating circumstances to reduce an Amplitur to agitation.

  While distinctly nonplussing, the current situation failed to qualify.

&n
bsp; "It would seem," commented High-many fold-Leaving, "that our position here has changed rapidly from dangerous to precarious."

  "That is unarguably so." Place-bereft-inward favored the speaker with one eye while the other swiveled independently on its stalk to study the slowly shifting topographical image that floated in the air between them. "An exceptional effort will have to be made if we are to stave off serious damage to local expectations."

  They would have liked to have conferenced with their colleagues at Planetary Headquarters, but the press of battle and Weave interference techniques had rendered that impossible. It was only by chance that they, the only other pair of Amplitur on Eirrosad, happened to be at the Southern Sector HQ when the Weave had launched its blistering and utterly unexpected attack. Both were acutely conscious of the demands their allies had subsequently placed upon them and determined to resolve the situation to the best of their abilities.

  Unfortunately, the attacking Humans and Massood were disinclined to cooperate.

  Though reluctant to expose themselves to the exigencies of a combat situation, the Amplitur had no intention of concentrating their efforts on securing their safety through personal flight. Such an action would have had a devastating effect on the morale of their allies. If they were cautious it stemmed from understanding of an underlying reality: there were not that many Amplitur in the universe and their survival was vital to the advancement of the Purpose. They did not run, but, rather, guarded themselves well.

  The Ashregan and Crigolit officers who joined them in the chamber were neither calm nor composed. It might even be said that they had passed beyond agitation to panic.

  "What are we to do?" The Ashregan spoke without offering so much as a polite greeting or casual honorific. The Amplitur understood and said nothing. Most other species had not yet begun to come to grips with the vagaries of their endocrine systems.

  Besides, desperate circumstances did not permit time for civilized verities.

  One of the Crigolit scuttled forward and employed its forelimbs to unfold a collapsing readout. "We have concocted a plan." Chitinous digits traced glowing lines on the screen. "First we concentrate our forces much as the enemy expects."

  High-manyfold-Leaving commented dryly. "I do not see the reinforcement of tactical redundancy as extricating us from our present situation."

  The attempt at sarcasm caught the Crigolit unprepared, but it continued anyway. "The intent is to lull the enemy into false expectations of quick victory."

  "Given our present circumstances it will not be necessary to lull them," the Amplitur murmured.

  A sound akin to rusty whistling and air escaping underwater emerged from behind the Crigolit's mouthparts. "I elucidate further, honored Teachers. Here," and his digits moved, "we place the special squadron from Cossuut. Fortuitously they are among us. Only when the enemy finally attacks in full strength do we exert our utmost to hold them back, as the special Ashregan fighters stab into them from behind.

  "Under ordinary battle conditions this would seem a futile tactic, but even Humans must grow tired from continuous fighting. They are spread out and their lines of communication and supply grow longer as they advance. In such a situation a small, irresistible force operating behind their lines might wreak considerable havoc."

  The two Amplitur consulted, leaving the representatives of their allied races to mill about in awkward silence. It was Place-bereft-inward who finally replied.

  "There is considerable risk. If the fighters from Cossuut do not have an impact then we will have reduced our defensive capabilities and gained nothing in return."

  "Then we should concentrate our forces here," chirped one of the assembled Crigolit officers.

  "Neither shall we do that." High-many fold-Leaving gestured absently with a tentacle. "It is our intention to put up only minimal resistance and abandon this place to our voracious enemy."

  Many of those among the assembled had thought themselves beyond shock. They were wrong.

  "Honored Teachers, I ask you to reconsider," pleaded the ranking Ashregan. "The distance to Planetary Headquarters' perimeter and the safety it would provide is more than five days' travel by fast skid. During that time we would not be able to use many of our heavy weapons and could not maintain an adequate defensive formation. Fast-moving pursuit could take us apart a little at a time."

  "We can defend this installation!" The ranking officer's adjutant was as insistent as she was outraged. "Whether the Cossuut group is otherwise employed or not. Let the Humans and Massood come. They are effective in the jungle, but can they dig a determined defense out of this mountain? Tired and worn as they must be, I think not."

  "Our greatest weakness since Humans have allied themselves with the Weave has been our repeated underestimation of their abilities, in tandem with an unpredictability which verges on madness." Place-bereft-inward relied on logic to convince, though it would have been easier simply to "suggest" the decided course of action to those present.

  "As you so bravely state we might well be able to defend our position here. However, after careful consideration of all relevant factors we postulate an equal chance of failure. Even odds are no odds at all.

  "If we utilize our full strength to defend, and lose, then this entire region falls under the control of the enemies of the Purpose. Gathering Weave strength here would threaten our very hold on this world, rendering the security of Planetary Headquarters itself untenable."

  "Does not retreat allow the enemy to achieve the same goal at little cost?" The bold female Ashregan was unrepentant. "I fail to see virtue in flight."

  "I shall elucidate." The Amplitur extended two of the four digits on the end of its right tentacle and impacted the drifting topograph. It froze. Colors appeared on its surface as High-manyfold-Leaving manipulated heavy air.

  "We will put up minimal resistance before abandoning this installation, but neither do we propose complete retreat."

  "I don't understand," said the ranking Ashregan.

  "The female is half-right. The enemy will be tired, but that does not mean they will be weak. We note that Humans have repeatedly demonstrated uncommon endurance under stress. It is almost as if they revel in personal suffering, as though pain and discomfort are required before they can reach great heights. According to a captured Human psychologist this 'ennobling angst,' as he called it, is endemic to the species and a requirement for its survival and advancement. Insane as it sounds it is nonetheless very real. We must try to comprehend it if we are to formulate successful strategies for defeating them."

  "Your pardon and understanding, honored Teacher," said the Ashregan commander, ' 'but I fail to see how this impacts on our present situation."

  Place-bereft-Inward took up the explanation. "This strange thesis holds that the more difficult the situation, the harder Humans fight. It is when everything is going their way that they are apparently at their most vulnerable. In order to make use of this knowledge we must for now accept this reversal of reason without trying to understand it.

  "The Humans are superb fighters, but they are not superbeings, and they have their own unique weaknesses. It is through our comprehension and utilization of these vulnerabilities that they shall be defeated, not by any attempt to impose our system of values upon them."

  In the silence that ensued the two Amplitur perceived that their attempt to spread enlightenment had produced only bewilderment. "I shall be specific." Place-bereft-Inward's words were accompanied by a mental suggestion of badly needed reassurance. "The majority of our people will pull out, but not to retreat. Some will race toward Planetary Headquarters, giving the arriving enemy the impression that all are attempting to flee in that direction. It will seem the natural thing for us to do. Meanwhile the bulk of our forces will head not for the perceived safety of the headquarters perimeter but for the dense hilly jungle to the southwest."

  "That places us farther from potential safety or reinforcement than anywhere else," one of the elder Crigolit was
unable to forbear from pointing out.

  "Precisely," the Amplitur replied with cool confidence. "It is the last thing the enemy would expect of us. From a strategic standpoint it is an almost Human move. New problems require equally new and radical solutions.

  "After the enemy has wrested this installation from the modest force which will remain to 'defend' it, and after they have begun their pursuit of the group which will be sent fleeing northwestward, but before they can consolidate their new conquest, we will counterattack. Not in an attempt to retake our position here, which would concentrate our forces dangerously, but all up and down along their line of assault. This time the element of surprise shall be ours."

  "Your pardon, honored Teacher," said the obstreperous female Ashregan officer, "but this strikes me as strategy based on hope as much as knowledge. The Humans excel at the kind of fragmented combat you propose."

  "That is so." Both Amplitur agreed readily. "But you forget the Cossuut unit. Surprise and support from the rest of our forces should enable them to make a much greater impact than they would be able to if attacking on their own. Remember also that our assailants are not all Humans. According to the reports there are Massood and noncombative species in the attacking force as well. If these can be thrown into confusion or panic, it will greatly complicate the Humans' ability to fight, since they have come too far to quickly evacuate support personnel."

  "And our fighters will be fresh and rested," High-manyfold-Leaving pointed out. "That counts for much."

  While there was some continuing discussion both Amplitur impatiently suggested that their allies put any remaining objections aside in the interests of speed, concurring that insufficient time remained for the luxury of independent debate. So it was not surprising when the assembled officers declared in a body, "We accept the plan of the Teachers."