Venus of Shadows

by Pamela Sargent

  “We must speak to you,” Eva said then, “before it's too late. I can't keep silent any longer, especially after what Josefa's told me today. Maybe you'll finally listen to me. Ever since our meeting with Kaseko, I've wanted to speak. I couldn't believe that you'd give in so easily, that Boaz—”

  “What about Boaz?” Chimene, suddenly wary, turned around and leaned against the wall.

  The blond woman gestured at Josefa. “Tell her.”

  “A young man on the patrol came to me,” Josefa murmured, “one of those who has often been useful to Boaz. He doesn't shrink from abusing someone under detention or who's being questioned or from extorting a few extra contributions for himself, but he was troubled by some things Boaz has been saying about you lately.”

  “Such as?”

  “That the Spirit has abandoned you.” The golden-skinned woman pulled nervously at a strand of her long black hair. “That you no longer love your people and are incapable of guiding us. He's saying that it's time for a new Guide, that you have wandered from the right way.”

  Chimene folded her arms. “My brothers and sisters will not believe that.”

  “It doesn't matter whether they do or not,” Josefa responded. “Boaz says this only to this man and a few others like him, people who have close ties to Boaz. He tells them how he sorrows over you, how he fears all the fellowship will lose their faith if they ever see what he knows. This man says Boaz means to put you out of the way and raise another in your place. You know what that means. Another can become our Guide only after your death.”

  “He's clever,” Eva said. “I'm sure he can find a way to arrange it with the help of a few like that man, maybe with an accident or even an attack on you that can be blamed on our enemies. Those doing Boaz's bidding will believe they acted in the interests of Ishtar. The rest of the fellowship will mourn for you and perhaps be roused to strike at any of our opponents who might be held responsible for your death.”

  “He'd probably make Lakshmi the Guide,” Josefa said. “The girl adores him—he'd have no trouble manipulating her. Why, he could even bring your child into the world—that would be a nice touch after your death, and everyone knows you planned to have one. Maybe he anticipated that all along, maybe that's why he persuaded you to make arrangements to store your ova. If Lakshmi ever outlives her usefulness or becomes obstinate, he could install his own daughter as the Guide.” She took a breath. “If you don't believe me, I can take you to this man, and you can hear this from his own lips. Whether he's moved by love for his Guide or hope of an eventual reward from you, I can't say, but he took a risk in coming to me, since I might have betrayed him to Boaz. I had to convince him that my first loyalty was to you before he told me what he knew.”

  “And are you loyal to me?” Chimene glanced from Josefa to Eva. “How can I be sure of that? How do I know this isn't some plot to turn me against a man who's been so close to me?”

  “The only way you can find out,” Eva said, “is to go to Boaz with this story. If that were all it is, he'd silence that young man and that would be the end of the matter. If it isn't, he'd have to move against you immediately, and us as well. You have to trust us and protect yourself. We've put our lives in your hands by telling you this. I know you don't want to believe this—Boaz was to be the father of your child.”

  “But I do believe you. I've sensed what might be going on in Boaz's mind for a while now. I will take steps.” Chimene gazed past the two women at the monument, where a man was now scrubbing at the pillar under the patrol's supervision. “Boaz will repent. He and Matthew will be brought back to the right path.” She felt a wave of pity for the two men. The Spirit was with her; she could not hate them even now. She would help them past this obstacle to truth, this lust for power, this eagerness to betray her and her world. They had loved her once, and they would love her again. Ishtar would forgive them if they turned away from error.

  “What can you do?” Eva asked.

  “The Mukhtar is counting on us to keep his plans secret,” Chimene said, “to reveal them only to those who will help us carry them out. By the time his Guardians are on the Platform, it'll be too late for anyone here to make an effective response. He needs time—time for us to weaken the will of our people so that he can impose his rule with a minimum of resistance. We're not going to give him that time. You two will have to help me.”

  “How?” Josefa said.

  “Boaz has a list of people he doesn't trust. They're going to learn about Mukhtar Kaseko's intentions. They're going to hear that Boaz and Administrator Alim betrayed us. The pilots are going to hear it, too—they'll spread the word among more of the fellowship. By the time Boaz realizes that the word is out, he'll have both his enemies and many of our sisters and brothers against him. You'll help me spread this information. Eva, you were always coming to me with stories the discontented had told you—now you can tell them that their Guide has not forgotten them.”

  “But even if we're believed,” Eva said, “what can we do? You might bring about Boaz's downfall and unite us all, only to have us suffer the Mukhtar's wrath. You heard what he said—he wouldn't shrink from a violent confrontation.”

  “Then why didn't he simply take the Platform before we knew his intentions?” Chimene shook her head. “He wanted us to make it easier for him. He talks of his power, but much of Earth and even most of his fellow Mukhtars might turn against him if they think he's leading them into a protracted and costly siege. He can't win unless his victory costs him little. Our pilots could seize the Platform and make certain his Guardians never land. We can resist the way the Islanders did during Pavel Gvishiani's time, wait them out until they see that we'll never give in.”

  “And if you're wrong?” Eva said. “An orbiting Guardian ship could disable the Platform and the Islands with beam weapons, and we have no defenses. Our settlements would be entirely cut off then, with no way for us to survive indefinitely. The Mukhtar wouldn't even have to strike at us down here. Can we take that chance?”

  “What else would you advise?” Chimene asked.

  “Spread the word, disgrace Boaz, blame everything on him and Alim. The Islanders will be just as unhappy about this betrayal as anyone here—many of them recall what it was like when Guardians were stationed there. They'll be behind you. Then you inform the Mukhtar immediately that you're willing to come to another agreement with him. Let him install his Project Council and Administrators—you might be able to convince him by then that there's no need to station Guardians here. Grant him enough concessions to salve his pride, and he may grant a few to us. It won't be a satisfactory situation, but even the most stubborn of our people will see that it's preferable to the complete capitulation Boaz and Alim wanted, and they may be grateful to you for at least keeping us from that. That's about the best we can hope for now.”

  “But that isn't what I want.” Chimene felt very calm. “The Mukhtar will see our determination. The Spirit will strike the man down for his arrogance.”

  “But—”

  “And if he decides that he wants a battle, isn't there glory in dying to preserve our way? Can we give our world to a man who mocks us and scorns Ishtar? Better to die speaking the truth and reaching for our freedom. If we don't have it in this world, we'll claim it in the next, when no barriers separate us from the Spirit.”

  Eva, she thought distantly, seemed so pale; Josefa's hands were trembling as she lifted them to her face. How sad that after all this time as her companions, the two women could still lose sight of the truth.

  The three patrol members were coming toward them now. “We'll speak of this again,” Chimene said.

  * * * *

  A steady tapping on her window woke Risa. She slipped from her bed, careful not to disturb Sef, and lifted the curtain. A shadowy form beckoned to her, then moved in the direction of her door.

  Risa smoothed down her shift, pulled on a pair of pants, and hurried toward the common room, wondering who could be calling at this hour. It's ab
out Dyami, she thought. Every caller, every message waiting for her on the screen was an occasion to both hope for and fear news about her son.

  For months now, her messages to Dyami had brought no reply; no one else she knew had heard from him either. There had been too many opportunities to dwell on what Evar IngersLens had told her—that the patrol in Turing, according to Dyami, was beating and otherwise abusing the people there. The pilot had not been back to Turing since then, but he had heard other stories from pilots who had traveled there later. One man in the bay had whispered to another pilot about a man nearly dying of a beating, and there were tales of other brutalities. Evar said that many of the pilots now believed them; the haunted, ravaged faces of Turing's people seemed to confirm them. “It isn't the right way,” Evar had muttered. “Trying to convince people of the truth is one thing, but this is another.” He had begged her to speak to her daughter, certain that the Guide would put a stop to it if she knew. She had not bothered to tell him that Chimene no longer answered her messages.

  Dyami was trapped in Turing, probably hoping desperately that someone outside would come to his aid, and there was nothing she could do. Now that Chimene and Administrator Alim had apparently won a promise of more aid from Earth without, it seemed, any demands on the Cytherians in return, some of those who had been grumbling about the Guide were wondering if they might have been wrong about her.

  That was what it came down to, Risa thought. If people were themselves inconvenienced or those close to them were harmed, they might summon the courage to act. If they thought that the Guide wouldn't give them what they wanted, they might stand against her. Otherwise, they would not get terribly worked up about the people in Turing, whom they did not have to see and who had probably brought whatever troubles they had upon themselves. They would not have to wrestle with the broader issues of ethics, freedom, and the ideals some of them had once possessed; those were only words that had little to do with their daily lives. Once they had thought they might determine their own fate; now they were becoming accustomed to their powerlessness.

  She opened the door. “You'd better let me in,” Eva Danas said.

  Risa stumbled back. She's going to tell me my son is dead, she thought wildly; Chimene sent her here because she was too afraid to come herself.

  “Please,” Eva whispered. “I mustn't be seen here. Boaz thinks I'm visiting a man I know. A few people in the patrol whom I can trust are covering for me. I must speak to you.” She pushed past Risa. A blue scarf was draped over her blond head; her hands clutched a screen. The door closed behind her.

  “Dyami,” Risa murmured.

  “No. This isn't about your son.” Eva settled herself on one of the cushions. “I wish I could tell you some news of him, but I can't. I've heard a few of the rumors. Boaz claims they're lies.”

  “Why are you here?” Risa said harshly. “You wouldn't be bringing greetings from my daughter in the middle of the night.”

  Eva slipped off her scarf; it fluttered to the floor. “I have to trust you,” she said. “I don't know if you're involved with those who are trying to work against us, but Boaz is suspicious of you. He's just waiting for the right time to do something about you and anyone else he sees as a threat. That's one reason I thought I could come to you.”

  Risa tensed. Had Boaz already guessed that she was at the center of those who longed to strike out at Ishtar? Some people had been questioned here and in other settlements, but none of them knew about her role.

  “I don't know what you're talking about,” Risa responded. “I'm worrying about my son, and I have my doubts about how he's being treated, as any mother would. I haven't made any secret about the fact that I can't share my daughter's faith. Other than that, I tend to my work and my household. If this constitutes offensive behavior in the mind of that creature Boaz, then I plead guilty.”

  “Very well.” Eva set down her screen. “Say what you have to now. You'll trust me if you just listen to what I have to say. If you're not involved with any conspiracy now, you may want to be by the time I've finished.”

  “There'd hardly be any use in conspiring now, would there? Chimene's been back for nearly two weeks, and a Mukhtar has deigned to meet with her in person. I don't hear so much talk against her now. She must be savoring her triumph. They're even saying that the Mukhtar will visit the Islands after various details of the agreement have been worked out.”

  “The agreement's already been decided,” Eva said, “and it isn't a triumph. We've been betrayed—by Administrator Alim and by Boaz and Matthew, too. They knew what the Mukhtar was going to demand even before we arrived on Anwara, and they knew we'd have no choice but to agree, I don't know. Maybe Matthew and Boaz were working for Earth all along. I think of everything that's happened since Kichi left us, and it all—”

  “What do you mean about being betrayed?”

  “Mukhtar Kaseko came here to reassert Earth's total control. We're to be a new Nomarchy. The Project Council and the Island Administrators will all be the Mukhtar's people. There will be a Guardian force on the Islands, and probably everywhere else eventually—that's what he intends. Any resistance, and he'd destroy the Platform—I heard him say it. It'll be the end of any hope at freedom. We won't be Cytherians any more—just another people in the grip of Earth.”

  Risa was stunned, yet she knew this had always been a possibility. There was nothing to stop Earth now that the Habbers, who might have stood in Earth's way, were gone. “But why did he meet with you at all?” she asked. “Why didn't he just carry out his plans? We might have fought, but he has plenty of ways to subdue us.”

  “Because he prefers an easy victory,” Eva said. “He wants Alim and the Guide and the dome Councils and the patrol to do his dirty work for him. He wants them to take care of anybody who'd be likely to lead any resistance to his plans. We aren't to say that's the reason, of course. Boaz and the patrol could manufacture evidence of crimes or offenses of some sort. Almost everyone else would probably accept the agreement afterward.”

  The woman was probably right about that. Turing would make a convenient prison, although it might strain the resources of the patrol a bit to send enough people there to guard the prisoners. She shivered. Boaz might have other plans—executions, for example. She had provided a precedent he could cite.

  “Why are you telling me this?” Risa asked.

  “Chimene sent me,” Eva answered. “She doesn't know I chose to come to you—she left contacts to my discretion. She's determined not to let the Mukhtar have his victory, and she knows that Boaz is working against both her interests and our world's. She needs help—not just from those who are loyal to her but from those who have been Ishtar's enemies. We have to work together now if we're going to save our world.” She picked up her screen and thrust it at Risa. “You'd better look at what I've brought while I give you more details. I assure you that you'll find it extremely informative.”

  * * * *

  Risa set down the screen when she was finished with her viewing. She had grasped the utility of the lists of names immediately—Boaz's lists, shared with Chimene, over whom he still believed he had control. The list of those he considered trustworthy held few surprises; they were mostly Councilors here and in other settlements and permanent members of the patrol, along with a few prominent members of the cult. His list of potential enemies was a bit more striking. Her name was there, as she expected, but Istu Marnes, her former colleague on the Oberg Council, was also listed; she had assumed Istu had made his peace with Ishtar long ago. Lena Kerein was under suspicion, in spite of her childhood friendship with Chimene. She felt a qualm; Boaz might know more about her possible allies than she did herself.

  When more people learned of Boaz's treachery, many would be willing to take a stand. Those who hated Ishtar would take action to save their world from Earth's rule; many believers would rally behind their Guide. The screen held not only lists but also a plea from Chimene herself, begging her people to rise up against those
who would surrender Venus to Earth. Against her will, Risa even felt a bit moved; the recording was one of her daughter's most compelling speeches.

  She would have to talk to Yakov; their sympathizers in other settlements would have to be contacted. There had to be pilots who would be willing to seize the Platform; the people loyal to Boaz could be detained and disarmed if necessary. He was planning to rid himself of those who led his enemies; she would do the same to him first. At that point, Chimene's speech, sent out on public channels, might convince any who were wavering to join the resistance. In the meantime, the speech could be circulated in secret to gather support.

  “Chimene had to memorize those lists,” Eva murmured. “She says she might have missed a few names, but most of them are there, and the ones who aren't may decide to switch sides when they see how many are against them. Galina helped her record the speech at the infirmary while she was supposedly giving Chimene some medical treatment.”

  “How can I trust you?” Risa stood up and began to pace. “I don't know if those lists are what you claim. I don't even know if Chimene's speech is faked or not. Even if I tried to circulate it, the Guide could always repudiate it.”

  “Have it analyzed then. Any expert in holograms and screen images will tell you that it's genuine. Just compare it with records of her past speeches—you'll see. And you're her mother—you'd spot a fake.”

  “Perhaps not. My child was often a mystery to me.”

  “Please listen.” Eva clasped her hands together. “You have to trust me. Don't you see the chance I took in coming here? You could destroy me with what I've given you.”

  Risa stopped pacing and sat down once more. “I see why you need my help. You want me, and anyone else who might support you, to add to my daughter's glory. If we succeed, she'll be seen as the savior of our world. All the evil could be blamed on Boaz and others, and Chimene would have even more influence than before.”