by Unknown
"This is a metahuman enclave, recognized by the North German Federation and under state protection," Jostin explained. "A questionable protection, but at least it usually keeps the norms at a distance. There are twenty elves living here in a sort of commune. They'll shelter you for a few days. We'll send along a mage to look at the cyberdeck. But first get some rest."
Wadid had no intention of keeping the helicopter on the ground longer than necessary and so she didn't switch off the rotor. Even away from the air corridors, there was the ever-present danger of other aircraft flying over the area. The possibility that the killer elves or other search parties were in the air also had to be reckoned with. For them, any aircraft in this wilderness would be suspicious.
The runners waved to their helpers, braced themselves for the downdraft and climbed out. In the next instant the Dornier was already rising into the air and setting course for the megaplex.
"Come," said the elder of the two women tersely, turning and walking back to the house.
The younger elf smiled fleetingly at the runners and made an encouraging gesture. The three started forward. The young elf formed the rearguard. She kept a keen eye on the sky. Apart from the helicopter, whose rotors could still be faintly heard but then disappeared on the wind, there was nothing else in the air far and wide.
The other members of the commune were still asleep. The two women also seemed tired and only spoke when they had to. In the kitchen, the elder elf put out a loaf of bread, a piece of liver pate and a pitcher of water for them and then showed them two rooms to sleep in and the bathroom. Then the women, who hadn't mentioned their names, withdrew.
The runners helped themselves in the kitchen. Besides a functional high-tech cooking area, the kitchen was furnished in the nostalgia look. There was a massive wood-burning range, historical kitchen implements, polished copper pots and pans, a solid oak table with beautifully turned legs and matching chairs. The chummers sat down at it.
Festus hadn't said a word since his attack and remained silent now. He seemed utterly worn out - hardly surprising after the renewed fit. He also appeared removed. Pandur eyed him surreptitiously and was reassured. The rigger had all his faculties. He simply looked tired and depressed.
The three of them left the kitchen and went to the far end of the wide hall where their allotted rooms were situated. They were next to each other.
Pandur had been expecting he would share a room with Festus and Jessi would take the other. In both rooms there were enough blankets and beds to sleep half a dozen people. Presumably it wasn't the first times the rooms had been used as emergency accommodation.
The rigger walked mutely into one of the rooms, closing the door behind him. It didn't seem to bother him what arrangements Pandur and Jessi made. Pandur took Jessi in his arms and hugged her. Then he made to turn away and follow the rigger into the room. Jessi held on to his arm.
"What's the big idea?" she asked. "You're not going to let me sleep on my own, are you?"
"I don't want to break up the team," said Pandur. "By submitting to his rules?" She shook her head vigorously, sending her long hair swinging. "He's got to get through it. He's got bigger problems than losing a bedmate."
"He needs a lot of help."
"You've seen him during his attacks. No one can help him then."
Pandur admitted defeat and followed her into the other room. He hadn't yet worked out his attitude to Jessi. He liked her, her nature, her character. And he desired her. Her body first of all. But he hoped for more. He didn't know if this would be a relationship that would grow beyond physical pleasure. Without wanting to, he thought of Natalie. He had loved her after only those few hours with her. He hoped he could forget her through Jessi. He believed she too wanted to give and take more than sexuality.
Pandur undressed, glad to be rid of the still-wet clothes. Jessi didn't stand on ceremony either. Naked, they snuggled up to each other, wrapping themselves in wool blankets. Words were not necessary. There was mute consent. They were both too tired to make love again. But each of them savored the nearness of the other. Pandur couldn't help thinking that the rigger in the next room would be missing this nearness of another human being. He hoped the rigger's tormented body would hasten him into a deep, dreamless sleep.
"I'd like to talk to you about the thing with Festus," said the girl softly.
"You don't owe me any explanation."
"I owe myself an explanation. I don't want you to see me as a woman who jumps into bed with just anybody."
"That's not the way I see you at all."
"But you could have that impression."
"It's enough for me that you're lying in my arms and you feel good." But secretly Pandur knew this wasn't true. It might be enough for the moment but that was no basis for a longer-term relationship. He knew too little about Jessi. And he wanted to know more."
She seemed able to read his thoughts.
"My folks are filthy rich," she said. "Real estate, land, shares, a little business empire. My old man makes money out of anything and with anything. Buys up bankrupt firms, brings them back to health and sells them on at a hefty profit. My mother worships him, incapable of realizing her own potential. And I
am... was... the only daughter. Spoiled. You can imagine. Never short of anything. I never used to see it like that of course, for me it was all so natural." For a while she seemed to be thinking back to the old times, then she went on. "I was fourteen the first time I slept with a boy. He was seventeen. We stayed together for a while then there were others. I always had someone to screw, actually. I was still choosy. But it didn't mean much to me. It had something to do with prestige." She paused again. "Until I was sick of it all. The superficial relationships, the life of luxury, my parents' hypocrisy, that of my friends. I began to be interested in the environment, got involved politically. I was in Metakom, a committee that works for equal rights for metahumans. Then environmental protection started to become more and more important to me. Had a bust-up with my parents. The direction I was moving in didn't suit them one bit. The whole thing turned into trench warfare. I sought contact with GreenWar, got to know Patrick. My folks threw a fit when they got wind of the GreenWar connection. Giant conflag. I moved out and lived with Patrick. Was disinherited."
"Poor girl," said Pandur half sympathetically, half ironically.
Jessi gave him a playful punch. "I told you how it went with Patrick. We were together for a year and a half. The break-up was six months ago. Somehow men never want to believe me when I say it's over." Her voice suddenly sounded sad.
Pandur pressed her gently to him. He guessed she had the images from the depot before her eyes.
"I got to know Festus when GreenWar needed a rigger for a sabotage assault. He hadn't caught the virus then. He fascinated me. He struck me as so unbelievably vibrant, agile, tough, could take a lot of punishment. For me he was the expert, the absolute pro, as perfect as a high-performance machine. He came across so damn cool. But that wasn't the only thing. You don't know him well enough to have any inkling of his other side. He's got an incredible range, unites total contrasts. One moment you think he's an unfeeling machine, and the next he's discussing Rilke's poems with you. He's very intelligent, you know. Has read Hegel and Marx, Kant, Nietsche, Schopenhauer. Knows his way around theoretical physics just as well as cybertechnics. And he can be very feeling when he wants. !!
"Sounds like a declaration of love," said Pandur drily.
"It was the sheer marvelling of a little girl who'd had one or two superficial lovers before and then lost herself to a vampire that sucked her soul into it, lock, stock and barrel," she answered." I loved Patrick, or rather that whole chain of action and orgasm, not this marvel of a superman."
"Wasn't Patrick a superman as well?"
"He was a bundle of energy, but otherwise far from perfect," Jessi replied. "But I thought I loved him. Festus was... something like a phenomenon to marvel at but who you can't imagine in your bed and who you woul
dn't want to have there. Festus stayed around after the sabotage mission. I assume he'd fallen for me hard. He kept wanting to be near me. I took it as it came. Patrick... he was just as fascinated by Festus as I was, wanted to get him to join the Warriors. But Festus wouldn't let himself be roped in."
"Wasn't Patrick jealous?"
"He knew only too well what a hold he had on me. Anyway, he didn't really let Festus in on our life together. What I just said might have sounded like there was more closeness than there really was. We only saw Festus when Patrick was looking for ideas and tips. Mostly we were wrapped up in ourselves and GreenWar. Round the clock. As I've already said."
"And Festus was on the spot to comfort you when you finished with Patrick and the Warriors."
"No. I had to find myself, didn't want a new god to look up to. And Festus was and remained a machine you admired but didn't take in your arms. Then suddenly he caught the virus. I discovered he was a person, a man... I began to love him. And then sometime I dragged him into my bed. Really, I had to work pretty hard to seduce him."
"But...?"
"No buts. We were happy for a few weeks. It was completely different from the maelstrom of feelings with Patrick. I really think it was something like love, at least it was more than screwing. But then it eased off again. I liked him as much as ever, still do. But basically he remained a stranger to me. Or became a stranger again, I don't know. I don't understand him, can't merge his many contradictions into one person. He shifted too often between the individual facets of his personality, and more and more I had the feeling he's never himself, always wears a mask. On top of that there were the extreme swings of mood caused by his illness. He can't do anything about it. But some way we always get the illnesses that are right for us, don't we? His brain maggots are tearing him apart. But they can only do that because they bore into the cracks that're already there. Understand what I'm trying to say, Pandur?"
"Sort of. You were looking for an inner wholeness in him but didn't find it."
"Yes. He's too many things, too good in too many roles. And through that he's ultimately not himself. He has no true, distinct self, although outwardly he gives the impression his self is especially well defined. He's pretty empty inside. Not cold-empty, but warm-empty. Sounds dumb, I know. He's not a machine, he's a human being. Feeling, yes. But not a unified being. He knows what's wrong with him and it's for that very reason he's desperate. But... Oh, we should stop talking about Festus. We ought to be more concerned with each other and not with a third person. At any rate, I put more and more distance between him and me. We fought more and more. I could only feel sorry for him in the end. I would have stopped it earlier but I didn't want to leave him alone with his illness. I still don't want to even now. But I just had to tell him our love affair was at an end. I did, a week ago. He didn't accept it. With Patrick it was different. He withdrew immediately, thinking I would come back. Festus, on the other hand, just refused to take it in. I hope he's come to grips with it now."
Jessi fell silent. Pandur didn't have the feeling she had really got over her relations with Festus yet. She couldn't be blamed for that.
It takes some people the rest of their lives and some never manage it. What then are a m.ere few days, weeks, mionths?
In any event, Pandur had had his fill of supermen even if Jessi had dragged her two men off their pedestal and picked over them pretty well psychologically. "What interests you about me?" he asked roughly.
Her answer came with a spontaneity that surprised him. "Your calm, your warmth," she said gently. "Your maturity. Your humanity... "
"We've only known each other a few hours and I didn't exactly have ample opportunity to put my humanity to the test."
Jessi smiled. "Maybe a few small gestures is all I need. Maybe be I have the gift of empathy, who knows? I already know a hell of a lot about you emotionally. I see your ego. Your wholeness. Your soul."
"Didn't know I had one," Pandur replied, lying down on his side to sleep.
Jessi stroked his hair and turned over as well.
Pandur fell asleep. He dreamt about a man without a face sitting on a jade throne in the middle of a huge, empty hall. The man snapped his fingers and the killer elves appeared from nowhere. He said something to them, snapped his fingers and they disappeared into thin air. He snapped his fingers again. Ricul appeared. Snap. Ricul disappeared. Snap. Roberti. Snap-snap. The mad mage. Snap-snap. Druse. Snap-snap. Axa. Snap-snap. Pjatras. Snap-snap. Freda. Snap-snap. Red Cloud. Snap-snap. Faster and faster, faces that only flashed up, faces that Pandur couldn't recognize or had never seen before. Snap-snap. Snap-snap. Snap-snap-snap-snap-snapsnapsnapsnap. . .
Chapter Nine
"Paint it Black"
The Klabauterbund is a policlub, active predominantly in northern Germany which is believed to have close connections to GreenWar and the North Sea pirates. According to its own figures, the association has 7,000 members 5,000 in Hamburg alone. It professes an ecological-anarchist orientation stands against the megacons and propagates a natural way of life. It is mistrustful of technology especially high-tech. There are many metahumans and sorcerers among its membership, but also a number of prominent artists and representatives of the subculture.
The Klabauter or hobgoblins tacitly defend piracy as legitimate self-defense against the megacons as long as it does not serve personal enrichment. This is not surprising as the founders of the federation took as one of their precedents the loose "brotherhood" of pirates and freebooters from the time of the Hanseatic League which in their view had good reason to oppose the "Hanseatic grocers". One of the magical roots of the Federation is the belief that sooner or later Klabauter will be among the Awakened and will take revenge for the abuse of the seas.
GreenWar/Green Cells is a terrorist organization which has dedicated itself to the aggressive protection of the environment. The ecoguerillas, who only endanger human life as a last resort are held responsible mainly for attacks on highly polluting industries. Operating worldwide GreenWar is an organization composed of an estimated 3,000 well-trained activists and a definite 5 million supporters and sympathizers.
In contrast, the Green Cells tend to recruit from among so-
called "weekend terrorists", have no hierarchical organizational structure, but rather a loose confederation, are active only in Europe, and enjoy widespread public sympathy.
The best-known of GreenWar (International) 's operations are the sinking of the last Japanese whaling fleet in the Pacific and the occupation, down-loading and controlled decommissioning of the Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine. The Green Cells came to public notice in Germany primarily as a result of sabotaging the AG Chemie network and the night-time rocket attack on the empty exhibition halls of Chemexpo '47.
Membership of both GreenWar and the Green Cells is punishable by a maximum of 15 years' imprisonment under the State Security Law of 2046.
Dr Natalie Alexandrescu:
Policlubs, Secret Societies and Terrorist Organizations in the AGS,
German History on VidChips, VC 23, Erkrath 2051
They were left to sleep. Pandur didn't wake up until early afternoon. Jessi was still asleep, having turned over in her sleep and cushioned her head on his chest. She was gripping him with both hands as if she never wanted to let him go. Her long, blond hair covered almost all his torso and was tickling his nose. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he pushed the hair out of his face. He felt her warm, regular breathing on his chest.
He deliberated. He couldn't figure out the game the man without a face was playing with him. He was sure, however, that he was dealing with the same adversary that had manipulated him two years ago. Magic. The man was a mage. He had made sure that he had also stolen hidden data from Renraku. How had he worked it? Through some form of hypnosis, presumably. Possibly Axa had been his abettor. Axa had performed some sorcery on him that made him lose consciousness in the matrix. Or made him believe he had lost consciousness. In truth, he had been col
lecting data during this time and had placed it in hidden files. Later the unknown figure attempted to gain possession of these files. He had marked him in Astral Space so that his accomplice could trace him more easily. Again a mage, one of the three killer elves. The unknown figure had a strong affinity with magic and he worked with other mages. Perhaps he only used them as he had used Pandur.
That could fit. It would explain why the elves, who were obviously fulfilling a contract from Natalie's ex-husband and either working direct for him or for his megacon, AG Chemie, were also looking for the hidden data.
Or was he deceiving himself? Was there actually only one single adversary, that AG Chemie exec whose name he didn't even know? Natalie had mentioned that her husband dabbled in magic.
Maybe he made use of a company mage to do these jobs for him.
But there had to be another force at work in this game. Through dream hypnosis, the unknown figure had got him to gather economic data on the megacon. And he had magically sealed the cyberdeck. Neither the one nor the other went with an AG Chemie exec. If AG Chemie had known about the run beforehand, the run would have been prevented. Or the mage would have destroyed the cyberdeck with the stolen data in it. The man had to be mad to...
You know someone who is plain mad. And he's a mage. Roberti. Or at least a man that wears the face of Roberti. The mad mage who funded the Renraku run. But this man can't have anything to do with AG Chemie.
He gave up. He simply couldn't get any further.
Gently he caressed the girl's soft, thick hair, pushed it aside, slid his hand over the curve between neck and shoulders and then stroked her shoulders. She felt good to the touch. He liked these sensitive places with their delicate skin, the delightful curves. He raised her head and kissed her earlobe gently, then the nape of her neck.