The Web and the Stars

by Brian Herbert

  It was quite noisy in the building, and Acey wondered how anyone could sleep through it. He got his answer when he opened the door to Gio’s quarters and slipped inside.

  The windowless room was filled with white noise like the steady pulse of an ocean, or the inside of a seashell, a continuous sound that drowned out all of the activity outside. In dim light coming through cracks around the door, Acey saw body armor on the floor and Gio on a bed, fast asleep. Leaning down, Acey removed a puissant gun from its holster, and set the charge. A yellow energy chamber on top of the barrel glowed.

  Finding the white-noise transmitter on a bed table, Acey adjusted the background murmur, making it go up and down. With the glowing weapon behind him to keep the light low, he stood at the head of the bed and watched as Gio began to toss and turn, his sleep disturbed.

  With his eyes still closed, Gio reached for the noise transmitter, but could not find it on the side table. He opened his eyes, and at first did not see the intruder.

  “Looking for this?” Acey asked, tossing the transmitter on the table. “Or this?” He shoved the glowing barrel of the gun in Gio’s face.

  Startled, Gio tried to pull back, but the agile teenager jumped on the bed and straddled him, with the gun jammed against his forehead.

  “What are you doing here?” Gio asked, recognizing his attacker.

  “That’s my question for you,” Acey said. “I’m here to stop you from pulling off your next nasty little scheme.” He saw fear in the man’s eyes.

  “Please don’t kill me,” Gio whimpered.

  In disgust, Acey swung the gun and hit him hard on the side of the head.

  Dazed for a moment, Gio lashed out and threw the teenager off, causing Acey to tumble to the floor. At the same time Gio set off an alarm, and klaxons sounded.

  In Noah’s office, the Master of the Guardians and Thinker had been holding a late night meeting with Tesh, discussing the surprising new information about podships—those under Tulyan control and those at the Parvii Fold—and the apparent breakdown of Parvii power.

  As Tesh spoke about her own people and all of the tragic deaths, her eyes misted over, but she seemed able to overcome it and find an inner strength. Newly impressed, Noah felt his anger subsiding. She had come in and landed like a hot-rodder, but her flying skills were superb and she did have important things to tell him. Things that were better said in person than over communication links that could have been intercepted or compromised. For the moment Noah and Tesh set aside their differences, though he felt the residual tension between them, and knew from her demeanor that she did, too.

  “Acey and Dux say you tried to convince the Parviis to allow their podship fleet to be used by the Tulyans for repair work on the galactic infrastructure … Timeweb. Apparently, Woldn didn’t like your proposal.”

  “That’s right, but I still consider myself one of your Guardians, and I’m here seeking your leadership on this critical matter involving galactic ecology … the phrase you coined, Master Noah.”

  “What do the Tulyan leaders think of your idea? I assume you discussed it with them?”

  “Of course, but they don’t think Parviis and Tulyans can ever work cooperatively on a project of that scale. They say they don’t need Parviis to pilot podships, that Tulyans can do that, and the web repairs, too.”

  “That sounds short-sighted,” Noah said. “But I suppose it’s the result of millennia of hatred and loathing between the two races.”

  “The Tulyan Elders think I’m a wild card, and since I’m a Parvii they don’t trust me. But Noah, if I work with you and the Guardians—offering solutions for the huge ecological crisis—maybe they’ll take me seriously. Maybe they’ll take us seriously.” She paused. “The Tulyans are an ancient people, with a history of pacifism. They scattered Woldn’s swarms this time, but I don’t think the Tulyans should try to go against the Parviis again without help, not even with the weakened state of my people.”

  “So that’s where Humans come in, eh?” Noah said. “We’re much more warlike, and can stand up to your tough brothers and sisters.”

  She shook her head. “I came to you, Noah, because the Tulyans respect you—and because Humans can convince them of the need for diplomacy in this matter. If we send a joint Human-Tulyan diplomatic mission to the Parviis, maybe Woldn will finally listen.”

  He nodded, but hesitantly. “Maybe.”

  She went on to tell him what she had related earlier to Eshaz, that the ancient Parviis had used powerful telepathic weapons against their enemies, and that Woldn had obviously gone back to the Parvii Fold to resurrect those powers.

  “But Woldn said most of the breedmasters and war priests were killed when the Tulyans disrupted his morphic field, thus slowing down the regeneration of Parvii telepathic power.” She paused. “I feel we must move quickly with diplomatic overtures, before my people find a way to regenerate their destructive powers. As a species we are survivors, and as bad as it looks for Parviis now, I think they will find a way.”

  “Diplomatic overtures, you say, and not a military strike?”

  “I would never cooperate with an attack against my people. For their sake, and for that of everyone else, diplomacy is the only way.”

  “But couldn’t it come with military might reinforcing it?”

  Folding her arms across her chest, Tesh stared at him. “I will not discuss such matters. If you keep pressing me, we shall have nothing more to discuss.”

  “I wouldn’t say that, Tesh. Actually, you showed good sense coming here, providing us with reconnaissance about what happened to the Parviis and verifying that they still control thousands of podships. I also want to meet with the Tulyan Elders, and I would like you to take me there.”

  She was about to say something when the alarm klaxons went off, with the pattern of sound indicating the location of trouble.

  “Robot section!” Thinker said, heading for the door. Noah ran around the slower robot, followed by Tesh.

  Human and robot Guardians were hurrying ahead of Noah, and he ran after them, just ahead of his two companions. Reaching one of the robot-assembly buildings, Noah saw that the doors were wide open. Inside, sentient machines and Human Guardians were gathered at the interior door that led to Giovanni Nehr’s private quarters.

  Pushing his way through and entering the room, Noah saw Gio and Acey rolling on the floor, fighting for control of a puissant pistol. The weapon glowed yellow. A shot rang out, and one of the robots fell. Then the gun fell, and one of the Guardian women kicked it away.

  Two Guardian men grabbed Gio to restrain him, while a pair of robots took hold of Acey.

  Noah demanded to know what they were quarreling about, but both Acey and Gio sulked without saying anything.

  “Dux and Acey told you about the prison moon quarrel,” Tesh said, “when they claimed that Gio tried to push Dux out of an airvator, but it’s gone beyond that. Now the boys think Gio drugged them and shipped them into space.”

  “Is that so?” Noah said to Acey.

  The young man nodded.

  “Well?” Noah said, looking hard at Giovanni Nehr. “Did you do it?”

  Standing up straight, the chisel-featured man said, “None of it. The boys are liars.”

  “Acey, what proof do you have?” Noah asked, waving off the Guardian robots. They released their hold on the teenager.

  “Dux and I saw what he did on the airvator, and we tried to set aside our anger about that. Then he drugged us and put us in a spacebox. We could have been killed, and he didn’t care. He just wanted to get rid of us.”

  “Tell me more about this alleged drugging,” Noah said. “Start at the beginning.”

  “To be honest,” Acey said, glaring over at Gio, “we didn’t actually see him do anything, but he’s the only one who could have done it. For some reason, he wanted to get rid of us.”

  “Earlier, you promised me that you would set your differences aside,” Noah said. “Now you’ve decided to break your w
ord based upon a mere suspicion?”

  “I’m sorry,” the boy said, hanging his head, “but I know he did it to us. No one can ever change my mind about that.”

  “Gio is in charge of new robot recruits from the Red Berets,” Noah said, “making sure they are all torn down and thoroughly checked. He’s been doing a great job, and I trust him completely.”

  “Well we don’t,” Acey said. “You’d better tear him down like one of those robots and find out what’s going on inside his brain, because he has a really dark side.”

  Noah shook his head. “I find that impossible to believe.”

  “His brother is the Supreme General of the Merchant Prince Alliance,” Acey said. “Jacopo Nehr is your enemy, so how can you trust his brother?”

  “I don’t consider the MPA my enemy,” Noah said. “It’s Lorenzo and Francella I oppose, not the new Doge. As for Jacopo Nehr, I’ve always respected him, since he raised himself up by his own bootstraps, unlike most of the noble-born princes. In any event, Gio never got along with his brother. We have good evidence of that.”

  “Dux and I didn’t leave here on our own. That bastard drugged us and packed us in spaceboxes.”

  “You’re still a Guardian,” Noah said, “and I expect you to rise above personal conflicts for the sake of our cause. There are too many important problems to be dealt with for all of you to be squabbling like kids in a schoolyard.”

  Acey and Gio exchanged hateful stares.

  “I don’t want to see you within fifty meters of each other. Stay apart. Do you both understand?”

  They nodded.

  “If Eshaz were only here, he could discover the truth,” Tesh said, moving to Noah’s side. “Tulyans can touch your skin and read your thoughts. Are there are any other Tulyans here at the headquarters?”

  “Zigzia,” Noah said. “She sends messages for us to the starcloud.”

  “We could do that,” Tesh said, glaring at Gio, “but I believe Acey and his cousin.”

  “I may be able to solve this right now,” Thinker said. A tentacle snaked out of his head and hovered over Giovanni, the robot’s organic interface. “Shall I?” Thinker asked, looking at Noah.

  Pursing his lips, Noah said, “I’ve always resisted using that, or the Tulyan method for lie detection. I refuse to run a police state around me. Instead, I prefer to look into the hearts of people, and in that way I sense if they are loyal to me or not. I try to inspire people to follow me, to believe in my ideals.”

  Looking at Gio, however, Noah noticed him sigh in relief. This gave the Guardian leader pause, but still he did not give Thinker the go-ahead. “I must say, Gio,” Noah said, “that I have always sensed you are troubled, but I never sensed any betrayal of me or the Guardian organization.”

  “I’m totally loyal to you,” Gio said.

  “That may be true,” Noah said, “and I won’t force you to undergo lie detection. However, if you want to clear this matter up, there is an easy way to do it.”

  “A painless way,” Thinker said to Gio. “In only a few seconds, I can download the contents of your mind and analyze them.”

  Gio struggled against the men who were holding him.

  “I don’t like what I’m seeing here,” Noah said. “Why would you want to harm those boys?”

  “I didn’t want to harm them. That was an accident in the airvator, and I took steps to make sure they could breathe inside the spaceboxes.”

  “So you did do that,” Noah said.

  “I told you!” Acey exclaimed.

  “Only because I knew they would never let up on me,” Gio said. “I had to get rid of them before they got rid of me.”

  “We’re not like you,” Acey said. “We don’t sneak around pulling dirty tricks.”

  “Take Gio away,” Noah said to the men holding him. “Lock him up until I decide what to do with him.”

  “No!” Gio shouted, struggling unsuccessfully to get free.

  Disgusted, Noah turned his back on him.

  The cell had an electronic code, which the two Guardians activated with a touch pad to lock Gio inside. The prisoner didn’t bother to sit on the bed, since he didn’t plan to stay that long.

  A week ago, he had supervised robots as they repaired the locks on the cells, so he knew the codes. Now, after the Guardians left him alone, he uttered the eight digits aloud to voice-activate the lock. The metalloy door slid open with a soft squeal.

  Gio ran out into the corridor, and made his way to a secondary entrance to the headquarters. Again, he knew the codes to get out, since he had been one of the most trusted Guardians, and had been sent on several reconnaissance missions into the nearby towns.

  But as he worked the codes, he heard something behind him and whirled.

  Thinker stood there, with orange lights glowing and blinking around his face plate. “My probability program brought me here,” the robot said.

  “You predicted I would be here?” Gio asked.

  “Probabilities are not the same as prescient-based predictions. Machine programs are not the same as organic brains. Nonetheless, my system works rather efficiently.”

  Expecting Thinker to detain him, Gio hesitated and considered his options. The door was not responding.

  He repeated the codes. This time the door to the secondary entrance opened, sliding into the wall.

  Gio stepped through the doorway, not feeling the electronic signal that the robot fired into his brain, erasing all knowledge of the headquarters location. For Thinker, the safety of Noah and the Guardians was paramount, and he had decided it was time for Gio and the organization to part. This man who had worn armor and had served in Thinker’s own army could not cause trouble any longer.…

  As Gio ran through the moonlit woods, he felt confused and lost. Why couldn’t he tell which direction to go? His brain whirled, making him dizzy. Sitting on the ground to gather his thoughts, he saw the trees whirling around him. Every direction looked the same to Gio, and he had no idea where he was, though part of him knew that he had been here many times before.

  Back in the headquarters, Thinker had been behaving strangely. But where had that been, and what had the facility looked like? He had no images of the place, only of the people and robots he had been with there.

  Thinker did something to me, Gio realized.

  Feeling a wave of sadness, he knew he had not betrayed Noah at all. Though Gio’s motives had been complex and he had a penchant for promoting his own interests, he had genuinely liked and respected Noah, and had hoped to advance his own career in the Guardian organization. Admittedly Gio had taken shortcuts to get ahead, but he wasn’t the only one who’d ever done that.

  Now all of his hopes were dashed. The Guardians thought he was a bad person, but that wasn’t the case at all. He had always been loyal to Noah, and had done a good job for him.

  He just couldn’t get along with those meddlesome teenagers.

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  Such an odd pairing, Princess Meghina and Lorenzo del Velli. She is known to show compassion, and has a love for exotic animals, while he has revealed himself to be the opposite, a cruel and scheming man. It suggests that our perceptions of both of them may not be entirely accurate.

  —Subi Danvar, security briefing at Guardian headquarters

  The young Doge was not sure how to respond to the conciliatory messages from Noah Watanabe, which he had been receiving in the form of personal letters delivered by an intermediary. To Anton, it seemed as if he himself had lived two lives. In the first one, Noah had been his beloved uncle and much-admired Master of the Guardians. But in Anton’s second incarnation, Noah had been the most wanted criminal in the Merchant Prince Alliance, accused of murdering his own father and of guerrilla attacks against corporate and governmental interests.

  Dressed in a golden cloak over a jerkin and leggings, Anton paced the perimeter of a rooftop garden connected to his private office suite. Across the square he saw the Hall of Princes, with its red-and-gold
banners fluttering in the breeze, each emblazoned with the golden tigerhorse crest of the del-Velli royal house.

  My house, and my father’s, he thought.

  Even with the change in his own position, and the resultant metamorphosis in his relationship with the Guardians, Anton didn’t think he could ever hate Noah. Now, in his official capacity as the most powerful of all merchant princes, Anton might be forced to put him to death, but he could never hate him.

  Anton held the latest letter now, written in Noah’s own hand. The paper crackled in a gust of wind. He had delayed answering the earlier communications, which must have made Noah think he was ignoring him. But that was not his intent.

  It occurred to the Doge that Noah might very well guess what was going through his mind at that very moment, that Anton had never intended any disrespect by not answering. Noah must know that his own sister would interfere and prevent answers, but in this case that had not occurred. The letters had been delivered to him directly, and Francella did not know about them. Somehow, Noah had used his contacts to arrange that.

  The young leader found himself in a difficult political position, feeling conflicting pressures and loyalties. The letter in his hands mentioned setting priorities, and placed the Mutati threat near the top. Noah wanted a cease-fire, so that the Guardians and merchant prince forces might work together for a common good.

  Anton re-read the letter’s provocative last sentence: “I have recently obtained access to a podship, with a pilot for it. “

  This intrigued Anton immensely, but he was politically aligned with his own mother Francella, who hated her brother. In addition, Anton was now married to the daughter of General Jacopo Nehr, a man who was still on friendly terms with Lorenzo del Velli—who had recently instituted a program to find Noah’s elusive Guardians and annihilate them. The former Doge was doing that with his own private forces, in alliance with various corporations who opposed Noah’s guerrilla environmental activities.