Starswarm

by Jerry Pournelle

  Blaze's Message

  IT WAS dark. The centaur trembled with fear as he crept toward the Thing grove. This was a little grove, with only four Things and no furrykillers, a new grove that suddenly appeared, not the big Thing grove over the hill. That one had been there all the centaur's life, although the Master sent pictures of a time when the grove wasn't there, before there were any Things and furrykillers. The Master said that was the good time, the great time for Master and beast alike. Now the Things had come and all the times were evil, evil for all, but soon it would change. The centaur trembled again.

  The little Thing grove was on the hill above the lake, not far from the centaur grove. It was a frightening place. Two days before when they went to look at the new grove one of the Things had come out and shouted at them, and when they crept closer the Thing had waved his weapon stick to send a streak of fire along the centaurs flanks. At the time it burned worse than flying embers from a campfire, and it still hurt but not as bad. It hadn't been all bad, though, because the females were curious about his wound, and he liked all the attention.

  But now the Master had a new errand. The centaur clutched the message packet closer and tried to get lower to the ground. He wanted to run, but the Master did not want him to be seen with the message. The Master had given clear orders, and of course there was no question of not carrying them out. In this grove they were all Highlanders, loyal to the Masters, and that loyalty gave them power. Other males stepped out of the way for Highlanders. Males from the sea-groves and other places might run away from this, but not Highlanders, and he was a leader of Highlanders. He would obey, but he was afraid.

  He crept closer. Now it was time to fit the throwing stick into the socket on the message gourd. He had practiced this many times with a different gourd of the same weight, and he knew how far he could throw the message packet with the throwing stick. He had also practiced what to do afterward, but he didn't want to think about that yet.

  He half closed his eyes. Now it was easier to see warm things, and there were little lines in the air ahead of him, just as the Master had warned. The Things used little boxes that glowed with warm rays, and somehow those boxes told the Things that someone was coming. The centaur didn't understand that, but he didn't need to. The Highlanders had gone down to the coast and found abandoned Thing groves, and took everything from them to the Master, and now the Master knew about the equipment the Things used, and could teach the centaurs how to avoid the Things and their fire sticks.

  Now he was almost to the first of the lines of warm rays. He estimated the distance to the small Thing grove. Too far, too far. He would have to get closer, and that was dangerous, but it had to be done.

  First the cover. It was an odd material, soft and flexible, not woven but one large sheet. The material was new to the centaurs, something the Master had learned to make from material they had taken from the Things. The cover spread easily into a blanket an arm's length square. He crept up behind the source of the warm rays and tossed the material over it, so the Things would be unable to see what happened next. Then he ran quickly forward, closer, now he was in range. A loud wail came from the Thing grove, but it was too late. The throwing stick was already fitted into the hole in the message gourd, and he used both arms to swing the stick with a snap as he'd practiced. The gourd sailed high into the air, arcing toward the Thing grove, and the centaur turned and ran away, counting as the Master had taught him to count. Counting was new to him, and he was proud of the ability. When he reached seven he fell forward and lay flattened on the ground. Behind him was fire and thunder.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Take to the Bush

  "ALERT." Kip woke instantly. His room was dark, but there were lights flashing outside, and as he sat up the outside floodlights came on to illuminate Starswarm Station. "What?"

  "THERE HAS BEEN AN EXPLOSION IN THE BULLDOZER COMPOUND NEAR THE LAKE. ONE OF THE ENGINEERS WAS KILLED, AND SERGEANT LOPEZ IS BADLY INJURED. LIEUTENANT FULLER NARROWLY ESCAPED AND HAS CALLED FOR ASSISTANCE. GWE SECURITY IS SENDING A WEAPONS HELICOPTER FROM CISCO. THEY ARE ALSO SENDING A FULL INVESTIGATIVE TEAM FROM PEARLY GATES. THE GWE SECURITY POLICE HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO INVESTIGATE YOUR WHEREABOUTS AT THE TIME OF THE EXPLOSION."

  "When did this happen?"

  "FOURTEEN MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED."

  "I was here! Asleep."

  "UNDERSTOOD. THE EXPLOSION WAS HEARD AT STARSWARM STATION BUT NO ACTION WAS TAKEN UNTIL THE ALERT MESSAGE CAME THROUGH CISCO TO THE STATION DUTY OFFICER. THE GATE RECORDS WILL SHOW THAT NO ONE HAS ENTERED OR LEFT STARSWARM STATION SINCE DUSK, BUT LIEUTENANT FULLER IS SUSPICIOUS OF THE GATE RECORDS. HE WILL CERTAINLY EXAMINE ALL POSSIBLE WAYS SUCH RECORDS MIGHT BE ALTERED. THAT WILL INCLUDE A SEARCH FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO THE GATE COMPUTER."

  "Gwen"!"

  "THIS POSES A THREAT TO ME ONLY IF I CONTINUE UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO THE STARSWARM SYSTEM. I HAVE ALREADY WITHDRAWN MY CONNECTION AND REMOVED ALL TRACES OF MY INTERFERENCE. I CAN GIVE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE GATE IF REQUIRED, BUT THERE IS NO WAY TO DETECT THAT. THE THREAT IS NOT TO ME. ADVICE: WE MAY NOW ANTICIPATE AN INVESTIGATION WITH HIGH PROBABILITY OF EXPOSING CAPTAIN GALLEGHER's IDENTITY TO THE GWE AUTHORITIES. THE PROBABILITY THAT YOU WILL BE IDENTIFIED ONCE CAPTAIN GALLEGHER's TRUE IDENTITY IS KNOWN APPROACHES UNITY."

  Kip got up and found his clothes. He began to dress. Silver came over to watch. He sensed Kip's excitement and whined. "It's OK," Kip told the dog. "Who did it? Who blew up the test station?"

  "I HAVE NO INDICATION. THE GATE RECORDS CONFIRM THAT NO ONE CONNECTED WITH STARSWARM STATION WAS OUTSIDE AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. LIEUTENANT FULLER INSISTS THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THIS TO HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT, AND HAS TOLD HIS SUPERIORS HE IS CERTAIN THAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN PLANNED BY RESIDENTS OF THIS STATION, WITH THE GREATEST LIKELIHOOD THAT YOU ARE THE LEADER, PROBABLY WITH MARTY AS THE ACTUAL PERPETRATOR. POSSIBILITIES: FULLER MIGHT HAVE BEEN ACTING AS AN AGENT PROVOCATEUR AND DETONATED A BOMB HIMSELF, BUT THAT WOULD NOT EXPLAIN THE EXPLOSION PRIOR TO FULLER'S ARRIVAL. ALTERNATIVELY SOMEONE UNKNOWN COULD HAVE COME IN BY UNRECORDED HELICOPTER FLIGHT. THE SATELLITE RECORDS SHOW NO FLIGHT ACTIVITIES IN THIS VICINITY. THOSE RECORDS CAN BE ALTERED BY GWE SECURITY IN A MANNER UNDETECTABLE BY ME."

  "So we don't know what happened."

  "THAT IS CORRECT. THERE IS NO HIGH PROBABILITY HYPOTHESIS INVOLVING HUMANS."

  "Not humans. Who else could it be?"

  "CENTAURS. THE PROBABILITY IS LOW BUT NON-ZERO. THE TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED TO FORGE THOSE BRONZE WEAPONS IS NOT INCONSISTENT WITH A CAPABILITY TO PRODUCE EXPLOSIVES. THERE ARE TRACES OF COMPOUNDS THAT MAY HAVE INVOLVED NITRIC ACID IN THE GOURDS. IF THE CENTAURS HAD SOME MEANS OF ACQUIRING NITRIC ACID THEY WOULD OF COURSE HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF MAKING NITROCELLULOSE OR NITROGLYCERIN. THE PROBABILITY IS NOT HIGH. THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE IS CLANDESTINE ACTIVITY BY THE GWE SECURITY PERSONNEL."

  "Why would they do that?"

  "I HAVE NO DATA. MY PROBABILITY ESTIMATES ARE BASED ON PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES, AND MY CERTAINTY THAT THE GATE SECURITY SYSTEM FOR STARSWARM STATION HAS NOT BEEN COMPROMISED. IT IS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY THAT ANYONE FROM THIS STATION CAUSED EITHER OF THOSE TWO EXPLOSIONS. I HAVE NO OTHER HIGH PROBABILITY CONCLUSIONS. THAT LEAVES CENTAURS, AND, MORE PROBABLY, GWE SECURITY."

  Kip remembered that Gwen seemed fond of Sherlock Holmes's dictum: eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains however improbable. . . But why would GWE Security blow up the exploration facility? Kip turned up the lights and looked for his shoes. "What should I do?"

  "THE SITUATION IS BEYOND MY CONTROL, I COULD DISRUPT SOME OF THE GWE SECURITY ACTIVITY BUT THAT WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY REVEAL MY EXISTENCE AND WOULD PROBABLY ACCOMPLISH NOTHING BEYOND DELAYS. I WILL DELAY THEIR ARRIVAL IF INSTRUCTED, BUT I ADVISE YOU TO CONSULT UNCLE MIKE."

  "He's not here! I think he's in Pearly Gates—"

  "TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE HE IS THERE, BUT I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO LOCATE HIM. HE HAS TURNED OFF HIS PHONE. FORTUNATELY THAT ALSO DISABLE

  "Then what are we going to d
o?"

  "YOU MUST AVOID BEING CAPTURED BY THE SECURITY FORCES. SINCE THEY ARE COMING HERE, AND THERE IS NO TRUSTWORTHY HIDING PLACE WITHIN THE STATION, YOU MUST NOT BE HERE WHEN THEY ARRIVE."

  "You mean take to the bush! At night."

  "GOING TO THE BUSH AT NIGHT IS DANGEROUS. REMAINING HERE MAY BE MORE DANGEROUS. MY PROGRAMMING PROHIBITS ME FROM ADVISING YOU TO PLACE YOURSELF IN DANGER. I CAN ATTEMPT TO CHOOSE THE LEAST DANGEROUS COURSE OF ACTION, BUT THE PROSPECT CREATES IN ME A SITUATION THAT IN HUMANS WOULD BE DIAGNOSED AS A PANIC REACTION. YOU ARE CAUTIONED TO EXAMINE MY ADVICE WITH EXTREME CARE. IT MAY NOT BE RELIABLE."

  "Wow." The thought of Gwen in panic was frightening. Kip finished dressing. "Which leaves me on my own," he said aloud. Of course Gwen could hear him, sort of, but she reacted differently when he spoke aloud rather than thinking in the special way that he still thought of as talking to Gwen. When he got out his backpack and began to fill it, Silver ran eagerly around the room. "Down. Sit," Kip commanded. Silver sat obediently, but whined his eagerness to get outside. "Gwen. -why is it important that the GWE people not know who I am? Isn't it time you told me?"

  "IT WOULD BE HIGHLY DESIRABLE FOR YOU TO KNOW, BUT I AM NOT PERMITTED TO TELL YOU WITHOUT CONSULTING UNCLE MIKE."

  "What would you do if Uncle Mike were dead?"

  "IN THAT CASE I WOULD TELL YOU. HOWEVER THE PROBABILITY THAT HE IS INVOLUNTARILY OUT OF COMMUNICATION WITH US IS LOW. HIS TELEPHONE HAS BEEN SWITCHED OFF. HIS LAST KNOWN LOCATION WAS THE TWO QUAILS BAR AND GRILL IN PEARLY GATES. HE HAS BEEN TO THAT ESTABLISHMENT BEFORE, AND AT LEAST ONCE WENT FROM THERE TO THE HOME OF ONE OF THE WAITRESSES. SHE WAS ON DUTY EARLIER TONIGHT, IS NO LONGER THERE, AND DOES NOT ANSWER HER TELEPHONE."

  Kip was nearly done with his backpack. Suddenly he giggled. "What would you have done if she had answered?"

  "I WOULD HAVE BROKEN THE CONNECTION, THEN TOLD YOU ABOUT THE SITUATION AND SUGGESTED THAT YOU CALL AND ASK FOR UNCLE MIKE."

  "Oh. That makes sense. All right, I'm packed, but I still want to know why I'm running out into the bush. Maybe I shouldn't go until you tell ?m."

  "THAT WOULD BE UNWISE, I AM NOT PERMITTED TO TELL YOU."

  "I ought to know, but you can't tell me. Does that make sense?"

  "NOT IN NORMAL LOGIC BUT MY PROGRAMMING WAS DONE BY A HUMAN."

  "My mother. Wouldn't she want me to know, now?"

  THERE WAS A LONG SILENCE. "KIP, HAVE YOU EVER STUDIED THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE IMMEDIATE RELATIVES OF BERNARD TRENT?"

  "No, and what has that to do with anything? How could I?"

  "PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE GREAT WESTERN ENTERPRISES OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS ARE PUBLISHED IN THE ANNUAL REPORTS."

  Kip shouldered his backpack and started for the door. Then he stopped, suddenly, and stared out the window. There were lights on all over the Starswarm compound now. It might not be easy to get out the gate unobserved. "Are you suggesting I look at the annual reports of the GWE corporation? Now?"

  "THAT MIGHT BE ADVISABLE. THE EDITION OF FOURTEEN YEARS PAST HAS A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE GWE EXECUTIVES AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THAT TIME."

  Kip frowned to himself, then went to his computer and turned it on. "Show me."

  A back issue of the Great Western Enterprises annual report appeared on screen. The pages opened. Kip stared. "That's my mother! And she's carrying a baby!"

  "ARE YOU CERTAIN THAT IS YOUR MOTHER?"

  "Of course it's Mommy! That's a different picture from the one you showed me, but it's Mommy!"

  "I SHOWED YOU NO PICTURE. I TRANSMITTED A MEMORY."

  "That's Mommy," Kip said. 'Who is she?"

  "YOU ARE LOOKING AT A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE LATE DR. MICHELLE LASCALA TRENT, A PRINCIPAL GWE STOCKHOLDER AND MEMBER OF THE BOARD. THE PERSON NEXT TO DR. TRENT IS HER HUSBAND, THE LATE MR. HAROLD TRENT, ALSO A PRINCIPAL, STOCKHOLDER, BOARD MEMBER, AND DESIGNATED GENERAL MANAGER OF GWE. ACCORDING TO THE RECORDS HE WAS MAKING A TOUR OF GWE EXTRATERRESTRIAL HOLDINGS, AND WAS SCHEDULED TO VISIT PARADISE, WHEN THAT PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN. THE CHILD CARRIED BY DR. MICHELLE TRENT IS KENNETH LUCIANO ARMSTRONG LASCALA TRENT. OFFICIAL RECORDS STATE THAT BOTH MR. HAROLD TRENT AND DR. MICHELLE LASCALA TRENT WERE KILLED WHILE ON THEIR PARADISE INSPECTION TOUR."

  "You—" Kip sat heavily on the bed. "You didn't say the late Kenneth Trent."

  "HAROLD TRENT WAS KILLED IN A HELICOPTER crash during HIS VISIT TO PARADISE. DR. MICHELLE TRENT WAS LOST AT APPROXIMATELY THE SAME TIME. HER BODY WAS LATER FOUND IN THE WRECKAGE OF HER FLYER. NO REMAINS OF HER SON WERE EVER FOUND. ALSO MISSING AT THAT TIME WAS CAPTAIN MICHAEL GALLEGHER, A GWE SECURITY OFFICIAL ASSIGNED TO PROTECT HAROLD TRENT."

  "Gwen, are you saying that I'm Kenneth Trent?"

  "I HAVE MOST CERTAINLY TOLD YOU NO SUCH THING."

  "Then who am I?"

  "I HAVE REPEATEDLY INFORMED YOU THAT I AM NOT PERMITTED TO GIVE YOU THAT INFORMATION AT THIS TIME."

  "But you—Oh. All right, I see. Gwen, I have reason to believe that I am Kenneth Armstrong Trent."

  There was no answer. Kip thought for a moment. Sometimes Gwen could be very literal. "Gwen, I assert that I am Kenneth Luciano Armstrong LaScala Trent. Is this correct? I require an answer."

  There was a long hesitation. Kip's heart pounded. It didn't usually take Gwen this long to answer anything.

  "YOUR ASSERTION IS CORRECT. NOW THAT YOU HAVE THAT INFORMATION, A GREAT NUMBER OF NEW FILES HAVE BEEN UNLOCKED. I WILL HAVE MORE TO SAY ON THIS SUBJECT WHEN I HAVE EXAMINED THEM MORE COMPLETELY."

  Silver barked, once. Kip listened. Someone was knocking at the door downstairs. He felt a momentary twinge of fear, but the knocking wasn't loud or authoritative. "Silver! Who?"

  Again a single bark, an announcement rather than an alarm. That meant it was someone Silver knew. Kip went down the stairs.

  "Kip? "Another knock.

  Kip opened the door. "Lara, what in the world—"

  "Let me in, quick," she said. She scooted past him and headed for the stairs to his room. She was wearing her backpack, and it seemed full. As he closed the door Kip could see that all the outside security lights were on, and the helipad was brightly lit as well.

  Kip followed. "What is going on?"

  "Someone blew up the bulldozer and killed one of the engineers," Lara said. "Out there, by the centaur grove. Fuller sent for a gunship, and a whole bunch of GWE Security people. He's planning to take over the station under some kind of emergency regulations, and, Kip, he's got authorization from Tarleton to arrest you and take you to Pearly Gates!"

  "How do you know all this?"

  "They woke Daddy with it, and I heard him and Mom talking. They didn't try to hide it from me. I think they know I've come over here."

  "With your backpack?"

  "I don't think they know about that, but, Kip, we've got to get out of here! You won't be able to hide in the station, they're going to take it over! And take you away!"

  "Why should I hide? I didn't blow up their stupid bulldozer!"

  "They won't believe that, and Fuller's mad," Lara said. "He thinks you killed the engineer and hurt his sergeant, and he's really mad. He's only waiting for more men and the gunship before he comes to get you. Daddy's trying to call Bernard Trent, but the phones are blocked, so the security people are in charge."

  "Does Bernard Trent know about this situation?"

  "UNKNOWN, I NOTE THAT YOUR UNCLE MIKE HAS ALWAYS SUSPECTED BERNARD TRENT OF BEING INVOLVED IN YOUR FATHER'S DEATH. THE QUESTION MAY THEREFORE BE IRRELEVANT."

  Lara was still talking. "Kip, I think you should hide until—well at least until Daddy can talk to Mr. Trent. Fuller's really mad—"

  I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU LEAVE STARSWARM STATION NOW."

  "Yeah," Kip said aloud. "Maybe I better run until we know what's happening. But I need to leave a note for Uncle Mike—"

  "THAT WILL NOT BE NECESSARY."

  "It is too. I have to take food, and I sure have to let Uncle Mike know I've raided his backpacking supplies."

  Lara looked at him curiously. "Who are you talk
ing to?" Lara asked.

  "Oh. Lara, I'll tell you later. Why shouldn't I leave a note for Uncle Mike?"

  "WHEN WE LOCATE HIM WE WILL INFORM HIM BY more secure MEANS THAN WRITTEN NOTES. I REMIND YOU THAT THE GWE SECURITY FORCES WILL ARRIVE WITHIN AN HOUR."

  "All right, let's get packed." Kip went to the storeroom and began stuffing his backpack with freeze-dried foods. He also filled his stove fuel tank. "I may be out there a long time. I can't take that much food."

  "WE WILL MAKE OTHER ARRANGEMENTS WHEN THERE IS MORE TIME."

  "I packed all my freeze-dried foods, but I can carry more." Lara began to fill her backpack.

  "Lara, what are you doing? There's no need for you to come—"

  "Sure there is, they think I helped you make the bomb," she said. "And I can carry food, and I don't eat as much as you. Besides, the gate won't let you go out by yourself."