The Awares related to the challenge, to somehow abate the threat to all of Earth. Mona had described the vision the sheep sent, of a giant Venus Flytrap taking the planet Earth into its leafy maw. A threat even the sheep could not find a path safely around. The Awares were few in number, maybe a dozen, judging by the missing offspring of space travelers, and largely unable to participate in the affairs of the world; how could they help?
Bunky bleated.
She put her hand on his woolly back. “But nevertheless they can help, and we need to recruit them,” she said. “So be it. Maybe as time passes we will come to understand how.”
She tended to Bela, then talked to Banner, describing what she had learned. “So now I need to get in touch with these supremely elusive folk, and recruit them to our cause, which is to save the world. But they aren't going to want to talk to me.”
He pondered, then spoke. “On Jones, you were able to see the vampires for what they were, because your consciousness is not influenced by the subjectivity of life. Could the Awares be utilizing a similar mechanism to make themselves disappear?”
“Clouding men's minds? It's possible.” Then she caught his point. “I might see them!”
“Especially if the Lamb is with you to zero in on them.”
“But they still could avoid me or refuse to talk with me. I need to be able to persuade them.”
“How about offering them what Yonson did? An interface with the real world. They still need that, especially now that he can't do it himself.”
“That's it!” she exclaimed gladly. “I could kiss you!”
“Oh, I think my input is worth more than that.”
“I'll pay!” She turned to the animals. “Please babysit Bela for one minute.”
“One minute!” Banner protested.
“I can do a lot in a minute.” She bundled him off to the bedroom and made impassioned love to him. It was a kind of game they played, wherein he was always angling for sex and she was always obliging him. She had been crafted as a fembot, a sex robot, and knew that business. In this manner they kept it from becoming routine.
Five minutes later she looked at her watch. She didn't need a watch to keep time, but it was part of acting like a normal woman. “One minute. You're done, you lecher.”
“I'm done,” he agreed, sated.
She returned to the Companions. “Tomorrow we go out looking for elusive Awares. Be ready.” As if they ever were not.
In the morning she packed them all in the car: Bela, Bunky, Vulture, and Python, because the Lamb's vision indicated that they were needed. She drove to a different section of town, trusting Bunky's precognition. Would she really see them, as others could not?
And there they were, or at least two of them: Yon and Adela. She recognized them by their pictures in her memory. Bunky had known.
“Now how many of us approach them?” she asked. “I don't want to leave anyone in the hot car, but some of you might freak out my subjects.”
It turned out that Elasa, Bela, and Bunky would go, while the other two remained near the car. If anyone thought it was odd for a woman with a baby and a lamb to be out on the street, well, they could ask.
She approached the two, who were seated on a covered bench. She thought they might quietly get up and depart as she approached, but they remained in place.
“Hello,” she said.
To her amazement, one answered. “Hello,” Yon said. “You can see us.”
“Yes. I am Elasa, a humanoid robot, not much subject to subjective illusions. I have a proposition for you.”
“We are interested,” Adela said. “We are Yon and Adela, Awares.”
“You were expecting me,” Elasa said, realizing. “So you waited for me.”
“It's the appropriate thing to do,” Yon said.
And just like that they were in the dialogue.
“This is my baby, Bela,” Elasa said. “And this is the Lamb, Bunky. He is telepathic and precognitive. That's how we were able to locate you. By the car are Vulture and Python, who I think will be liaison between us. Because we can't afford to meet personally again, yet will need to remain in close touch.”
“Why?” Yon asked. “I mean, why do we need to be in touch? We knew it was right to meet you, but we don't know why.”
“That's a long story. Maybe I can digest it down to the essence so as not to bore you.”
“We are interested,” Adela said.
“Do you know about the sheep of Colony Planet Jones?”
“We have heard of them,” Adela said. “My father went there once and heard the story. They know the future, and no one can hurt them.”
“All of you have parents who went to Jones,” Elasa said. “Where they must have picked up a virus or something that didn't affect them but did affect their children. You are like the sheep.”
“Like what?” Yon asked, startled.
“No one can hurt a sheep, because she knows exactly that will happen, and can defend herself. It's the same for Bunky here. I understand he killed a dire wolf.”
Adela shook her head. “That seems unlikely. Those are pony-sized wolves, fast and vicious, and they hunt in packs. I read about them.”
“Maybe we need a small demonstration. Try to hurt Bunky.”
“Oh, we wouldn't!” Adela protested.
“I see a stick in the gutter. Take it and strike him.”
“This is necessary,” Yon said. He fetched the stick, then swung it hard at Bunky.
The Lamb didn't move. He stood placidly beside the bench. The stick came down on his small woolly shoulder and struck something hard. It broke off, the end smacking beyond the bench and into the pavement.
Yon picked it up. “It's cut,” he said. “But I saw no knife.”
“Their knives project only at the moment of need,” Elasa said. “As when a wolf bites down. You don't necessarily see it happen, but it is effective.”
“Why didn't he just step out of the way?” Adela asked.
“Because it was necessary to make the demonstration,” Yon answered her. “He is like us. He knew.”
“I don't believe it.”
Yon, Elasa, and Bunky looked at her.
“Because the Lamb wasn't shipped to Earth by spaceship,” Adela said. “He's not old enough for that. His mind was exchanged with a local lamb. And the local lamb wouldn't have a knife.”
Elasa realized she was right. So what had happened? “Let me see that stick.”
Yon gave her the two pieces. They were fairly cleanly separated, but now she saw that the break was at a knot. It looked like a cut, but wasn't. And the bench had a hard metal rim lining its edge, to prevent wear. “I was mistaken,” Elasa said. “The bench severed the stick. He was standing right next to it.”
“Where he has been standing all along,” Yon said. “Knowing this was coming.”
“Just as we waited here, knowing Elasa was coming,” Adela said. “He did what it took to emulate the sheep of Planet Jones. You're right: he is like us.”
“Or similar,” Elasa said. “You do what you do because it feels right. Bunky can anticipate the future, and his telepathy assists.”
“Telepathy,” Yon said. “Can he demonstrate that too?” Then he did a double-take. “He just spoke to me! I heard ‘yes’ in a bleat.”
“So did I,” Adela said.
“I did not,” Elasa said. “But I'm a machine. Only with the combined focus of the three animals can I catch even a hint of it. But the point is, you now understand that these creatures are special, and similar to you in key respects.”
“We get it,” Yon agreed. “But we still don't know why you need to be in touch with us.”
“I am coming to that. There is a threat looming, not just to us, but to all Earth. Figuratively it is like a giant Venus Flytrap closing its digestive leaf-mouth on the planet. We are all doomed unless we can prevent it.”
“How can we prevent it?” Adela asked.
“I don't know.”
&n
bsp; Adela frowned. Yon laughed. “She just did it back to us!”
Adela nodded, accepting it. “You know you need us, but not exactly how you need us.”
“That's it,” Elasa said. “Bunky and the sheep see it coming, but we have yet to discover exactly what it is or how to stop it. But we do know that the Awares must be a key part of our defense.”
“I think I can see a way,” Yon said. “Say this threat to Earth is technological, the enemy may be able to read all our communications, and know all our secrets. So we can't plan any effective defense. But we Awares aren't connected. They can't read our secrets. That could make the key difference.”
“What we need is to read the alien menace more specifically,” Adela said. “So that we will know their secrets and can devise a way to balk them.”
“That makes sense,” Yon said. “And if this is to be our only face-to-face meeting, we need to do it now, so we all know what we're up against.”
“There is one potential member of the team who is not here,” Elasa said. “On Jones I caught and tamed a vampire plant. I call her Venus. But she won't arrive here for another five months.”
“Venus Flytrap,” Yon agreed, smiling. “You figure that relates to the image?”
“Yes. This plant has pheromones and projective telepathy. She can, for example, make a man see her as the most alluring woman, making him eager to have sex with her. But if he does, she will suck his blood from his penis.”
“A plant?”
“The projected illusion shows a luscious woman, but the only solid physical part is the flytrap sheath that takes in his member. Picture it as like an automatic milker milking a cow. The penis is the teat.”
“Got it,” Yon said uncomfortably. “You figure the alien menace will look wonderful, fooling the marks, but treat Earth like a penis teat?”
“Maybe,” Elasa said. “Maybe not. An analogy may bear little physical relationship to the reality it suggests. The sheep know about the vampire plants, so maybe used that image. But whatever the reality, it means doom for Earth. That's the one sure thing.”
“I think we need to get a better picture of that reality.”
“The menace is coming closer, but so far it remains hopelessly vague,” Elasa said.
“You said it takes all the Companions working together to each your mind,” Adela said. “Because you're a machine. Suppose they tried connecting with Aware minds?”
“There should be more power there,” Elasa agreed.
“Let's try it,” Yon said.
Bunky bleated. Vulture and Python came over from the car. Elasa introduced them to the two Awares. Then Adela huddled with Bunky, Vulture, and Python, putting her head close to theirs.
“Focus on the menace,” Yon said. “Precog it. Merge your talents.”
They focused. Elasa wished she could tune in on their minds. The precognition of the Lamb augmented by the Awareness of the woman. That combination had not been tried before. What would they discover?
Then suddenly they fell apart. Adela looked sick. So, amazingly, did the three animals.
“It didn't work?” Elasa asked, disappointed.
“It worked,” Yon said, “I caught just a whiff of it. Totally awful.”
“I got it all. I will—will translate in a moment,” Adela said. “I just need—need time to recover.”
So did the animals. Vulture and Python returned to the car. Bunky came to lay his head on Elasa's lap. She stroked his wool, trying to comfort him. She had never before seen him so upset.
In due course Adela recovered enough of her composure to describe what she had seen. “It's not a giant carnivorous plant,” she said. “It's worse. Much worse.”
They waited silently.
She took a few breaths, then resumed. “A better analogy would be a dead rat being consumed by maggots. Earth is the rat.”
Another silence.
Adela spoke again. “The aliens are the maggots. Maybe some century they will metamorphose into halfway pretty flies, but right now they're just ugly eating and pooping machines.” She glanced at Elasa. “No offense.”
Elasa smiled. “I don't eat or poop.”
“Only these maggots are big and smart. They have spaceships galore. They can read minds. They can see the future, through their captives.”
“Technology, telepathy, precognition,” Elasa said. “So they can anticipate the sheep as much as the sheep anticipate them. Stalemate, except that the sheep don't have technology.”
“But we do,” Yon said.
“Not like theirs,” Adela said. “They're—they're galactic. By themselves, physically, they're largely legless grubs. But their minds—they can take over the minds of other creatures, make them do their bidding. That's how they got the spaceships.”
“They can take over minds,” Elasa repeated thoughtfully. “That's worse than projective telepathy. They've got us outgunned, even with Venus.”
“They take over the minds of key players, like kings or prime ministers, and make them serve Maggot interests,” Adela continued. “They set their planets up for the slaughter. Literally. Earth will become one giant slaughterhouse, to feed all our bodies to the maggots. By the time they go there'll be nothing left but a layer of maggot poop. No life beyond bacterial poop eaters.” She took a pained breath. “And we can't stop them. They've got overwhelming power, apart from their ability to anticipate and counter any defensive moves we might make. They're experienced planet harvesters. They know what they're doing.”
“Overconfidence might be their undoing,” Yon said.
“It's justified confidence. We can't defeat them.”
“How can you be so sure of that? Maybe we just need to find the right strategy.”
“Bunky,” Adela said.
The Lamb walked up to stand beside Yon.
“Put your hand on his back. You need the full effect of his telepathy.”
Yon put his hand on Bunky's back. Then he stepped back as if struck. “I got it,” he said, shaken. “Earth can not defeat the Maggots.”
Again Elasa wished she could have full mental contact. Obviously the vision that Adela and the Companions had shared brooked no doubt. That showed, again, why the sheep had not been able to select a path. There was none.
“Still, there has to be a way,” Yon said. “Maybe we can't beat them physically, but that's not the only game in town. What about mentally?”
“No,” Adela said, and Bunky nodded.
Yon walked around the bench, pondering aloud. “Sometimes a person comes up against a superior enemy force, but he can survive if he plays his cards right. Some bugs are easy prey, but they don't get eaten because they stink. That's how they do it: they taste bad. So nobody bothers to eat them.”
“We are standard meat,” Adela said. “Similar to what's on every other inhabitable planet in the galaxy. They know already from their precog that we're edible. We can't fool them about that.”
“Some bugs have spines,” Yon said doggedly. “They're edible, but too hard to eat, so they get left alone.”
“The Maggots are good at cutting off spines,” Adela said.
“Maybe if we could convince them that we're more trouble than we're worth,” Elasa said. “So they wouldn't bother with us.”
Bunky bleated yes.
Surprised, Elasa looked at him. “You mean I have a viable answer?”
“I think you do,” Yon said. “Lots of easy marks get left alone because they're just too awkward to handle. Like the tuberculosis carrier: nobody messes with him, because they don't want to risk getting it.”
“The Maggots don't fear disease,” Adela said glumly.
“Maybe not disease,” Yon said. “But something else. It's the principle that counts. The Lamb says there's a path. That's all we need to know right now. We have how long to figure it out?”
Adela touched Bunky. “Five months.”
“We'll work on it,” Yon said confidently. “At least now we know there is a way. That's more
than we've had before.”
“A lot more,” Elasa agreed, relieved. “And it seems that it's up to you Awares to find it. Without telling me or anyone else who isn't an Aware.”
“We're on our way,” Yon agreed. “We'll let the Vulture or Python know when we need you.”
“Do that,” Elasa said. Then she and Bunky returned to the car. She felt elated, though she knew they had merely verified that the situation wasn't hopeless, not that they would prevail. Certainly they had accomplished a lot this day.
Chapter 4:
Secret Agent
There was continuing contact that Elasa stayed clear of. She let Bunky go with Vulture and Python to meet the Awares, knowing that the three animals could handle any likely situation they would encounter. Bunky and the Awares were zeroing in on whatever the path to salvation was, and Elasa needed not to know it. Nobody should know it, lest the Maggots read it in their minds and nullify it. Meanwhile she was happy loving Banner and Bela, being a family woman. Saving the world was necessary, but all she had ever wanted was to be a woman.
Yet something significant was brewing that was bound to take her in. It might not be pretty. She picked this up from the animals. Bunky did not understand it, but she did: sexuality. She was a fembot, and her talent might have to be used. She had to warn her husband before things got dicey. “Banner, you know I learned something on Jones.”
“And tamed a vampire plant,” he agreed.
“That is only part of it. There is an enormous threat to Earth itself, but I can't even talk about it without putting others in danger, including you.”
“If you tell me, you'd have to kill me,” he said, amused.
“Something like that. I can say only that very serious business is afoot that may require something unusual of me. I am asking you to trust me.”
“Elasa, you don't even need to ask! I love you.”
“I might have to be with other men. No, not to leave you! I'll always love you. But I might have to seduce others.”
He gazed at her, absorbing the import. “The way you did when we needed money to hitchhike.”
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