by Gary Moreau
She looked up and Glancy motioned her forward. Though reluctant, she stood and began to tiptoe toward Casey. When she was within two steps of him, he began a gradual stretching and arose to his feet. Li froze. Glancy quickly moved to her side, to attack or protect.
After standing, Casey made a slow, deliberate turn. His eyes, deeply shadowed within their bony orbits, came to rest on Li. A small cry of terror escaped her lips. She began backing away and Glancy stepped between them.
Casey walked forward. Glancy tossed the dog to the deck, causing Marta to “yip” in surprise. He flattened his hands and prepared to strike a blow, but Casey kept his arms at his sides and walked directly into Glancy, bounced back a step, and then walked forward again. Glancy took hold of Casey’s shoulders and held him in place while he continued to make walking movements.
“Li, help me out here a little for God’s sake!”
She opened her eyes and lowered her hand from where she had been holding it, tight against her mouth.
“Give me the damn disk,” Glancy demanded gruffly.
Li remained standing in the same place. She held her hand out, blue disk on her palm, but she would not come closer. Glancy planted his forearm firmly against Casey’s chest and reached back to pluck the disk from her palm. He pressed the disk firmly onto Casey’s chest and then stepped aside, at the same time pulling Li out of Casey’s intended path. Li felt herself trembling in his grasp.
Casey completed his short walk to the pallet as if it had been uninterrupted. He sat on the pallet, pulled up his legs, and raised his head to stare off into the distance.
“Come on,” Glancy hissed, but had to physically drag Li out of the room and into the passage.
Glancy caught her as she began a slow collapse to the deck and carried her into the adjacent treatment room. He laid her out on the deck where her color gradually returned and her skin dried.
“How long will it take?” he asked.
Her voice was so weak it was nearly inaudible. “We should know by tomorrow.”
“Assuming Yamaguchi doesn’t remove it,” Glancy added.
He placed a pad under her head and she soon fell asleep.
Chapter 33
Glancy watched her for a while. When he was convinced she would be all right, he exited the suite. He walked the curve of the passage and entered the up-tube to arrive on Deck One.
Olson was standing in front of Slater’s portal and Glancy walked toward him.
“Is he in?” Glancy asked.
Olson nodded. “He’s expecting you.” He stepped aside to let Glancy pass.
Slater was standing next to the monitoring screens that were usually attended by Jane Veck. When Glancy entered, Slater turned to face him.
“Well, Chief Medical Officer Glancy, what do you have to report?”
Glancy took a moment to study Sabine, who was leaning against the bulkhead, causally tossing a stiletto from one hand to the other and back again.
“Your report?” Slater urged.
Glancy returned his attention to Slater. “I’ve successfully applied a therapeutic disk to Casey. I should know the results by tomorrow. As for the unconscious colonists, their condition remains unchanged.”
Slater stood motionless for a moment, clicking the tip of his index fingernail against a tooth, and then lowered his hand to refocus his attention on Glancy.
“I made you chief medical officer, as you requested––”
“I didn’t request it. You ordered me to––”
“Quiet!” After a moment to confirm obedience, Slater continued. “This was your assignment. When I give one of my staff an order, I expect results. I demand it!"
Glancy’s eyes narrowed. “It was you who isolated our only fully-qualified physician and then pushed and intimidated him into a mental break. Intimidated isn’t the right word. Tortured is the word.”
Slater raised his head slightly, emphasizing the height advantage he had on Glancy, and looked down his nose with disdain. His voice was cool and sharp. “You don’t know diddly-squat about Conklin. At Copper Mountain, he was such a sanctimonious bastard. As Chief of Medicine, he took part in our training scenarios and always insisted that we do the ‘right thing’, whatever the hell that means, even if it led to mission failure. What a complete idiot. Thank God he wasn’t put in charge. We’d all be dead by now. I had to take strong measures to break him, anything less wouldn’t have worked.”
“You broke him all right.”
“Shut up, Glancy. I had to take expedient measures for the good of the colony. He was already a wreck, beyond salvage. You do realize what we're really talking about here, don’t you?”
Glancy didn’t respond.
“Apparently not. It’s not just the lives of a few rather inconsequential colonists. With the birth of over two hundred babies, the gene pool is in good condition. The point is, all the swine and foul are dying. I am sick and tired of eating nutrient slime from the vats. In the long run, we cannot possibly become a viable colony without a replenishable supply of real food. Those idiot bio-techs believe that Casey inserted a lethal gene into their stock. Hell, I think the guy’s capable of a lot, but it’s a little difficult to believe that he was able to alter every single gamete. There’s got to be another answer and that’s where you come in. You will find that answer and you will fix it.”
“If that’s the most important issue, perhaps I should try to treat the chickens and pigs and let the humans go to hell.”
Slater thought for a moment, as if this had been a legitimate suggestion, but then shook his head. “No, I think we should focus on the colonists and then apply what we learn to the animals. Neither Timmins nor Merryman survived. We have no veterinarian, but we do have a physician, well advanced in his training. Don’t we, Glancy?”
“I have a lot more to learn. It’s only been a few months.”
“Long enough.”
“It’s going to take me years.”
“You’ve had enough time.
“If you say so,” Glancy said.
“I do say so.”
“Geoff, think about it. Casey was always talking about there being something wrong on this planet.”
“Don’t you dare start on me with that crazy shit. We have to deal with reality.”
Glancy said nothing.
After a moment, Slater continued. “I’m not responsible for the weaknesses in others...or their failures. Each person is responsible for his own fate. A commander has to make difficult decisions, even painful decisions, for the overall good, and in return he expects and deserves the loyalty and support of his people. Don’t you agree, Chief Glancy?” His face became like stone as he pinned Glancy with a hard stare.
Glancy felt trapped. If he agreed, he was in essence agreeing that he would succeed or else. If he disagreed, it was plain that Slater would interpret it as a sign of rebellion. His hands began automatically to flatten into their weapon shape. He bent slightly at the knees, but even while the desire to attack filled his mind, he remained aware of Sabine.
Slater merely stood there. “Don’t you agree?” he repeated.
This was neither the time, nor the place. Glancy relaxed his hands and smiled the chameleon smile that had served him so well in the past.
“Yes, Commander Slater, I hear your message loud and clear and, as usual, you can count on me.”
Slater also smiled, but it was a dead smile that was matched by the hard glint in his eyes. It was a smile of self-assurance, without the least distraction of doubt. It was a smile of uncontested dominance.
“Good, very good,” Slater said. “I think you should return to your duties, don’t you?”
Glancy nodded, but, as he turned to leave, Slater spoke again. “Chief Glancy, I will expect a report of your success tomorrow.”
Glancy’s smile deserted him. “Yes, Commander.”
He retreated through the portal to the bridge and walked past Olson without speaking, but then heard footsteps behind him. It had to
be Sabine. He would not give Sabine the satisfaction of seeing him turn around to face the implied threat. As he walked toward the down-tube, he heard the unmistakable “whine” of a burn-gun being charged. He continued with a steady pace toward the tube, refusing to be intimidated, but feeling uneasy vulnerability between his shoulder blades. He heard Sabine laugh as, with relief, he dropped into the mouth of the tube.
While he floated down to Deck Two he decided, if it came to it, he’d have to kill Sabine first and then go after Slater. As he gave it more thought, the heat of humiliation cooled. The more he thought about it, the lighter his step became while he walked the passage.
Chapter 34
Padraig Glancy waited the slow minutes of morning, but by mid-afternoon he could wait no longer. Glancy stood and looked at Li. He noticed darkened areas under her eyes. Throughout the morning they had spoken very little, each desperate in their own way for an answer.
“I can’t sit here any longer,” Glancy said. “Are you ready?”
Li stood and reluctantly let go of Simon’s hand. She took slow, measured steps until she was standing next to Glancy. He looked down at the diminutive woman and she raised her face to meet his gaze.
“You do realize Yamaguchi will be with him,” Glancy said.
Li nodded.
“You don’t need to come with me,” he added.
“Yes, I do.” There was no doubt in her voice.
Glancy turned and walked into the passage with Li behind him. He didn’t hesitate at Casey’s portal and walked in with a rehearsed confidence. He glanced momentarily at Casey, but then directed his attention to Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi did not move or speak. There were no greetings exchanged. There was no permission to be asked.
With Li standing close against his side, Glancy directed his full attention to Casey. There was no obvious change. The blue disk stood out starkly against Casey’s chalky-white skin while he sat motionless on his pallet. The dog nestled in his lap and watched the visitors as they studied Casey.
Glancy turned to Li. Her shoulders slumped. He drew her toward him and she buried her face against is chest.
“Do you think he’s any better?" she whispered.
“No,” he said softly. He paused, took a deep breath, and then spoke again in the same quiet voice, but with force nonetheless. “Damn Slater.” He ignored his collar, reckless with anger and frustration. “My whole life I’ve thought that the path to sure success lay in following the orders of the person with the most power, regardless of what those orders might be.”
Li pulled back from him. “What are you saying?”
“I took part,” Glancy confessed, his eyes downcast on the paper strewn deck. “I was at that last meeting Casey had with Slater. Meeting. That’s a laugh. It was torture session.” Glancy nodded toward Yamaguchi. “So was he. It was a mistake, just an automatic response. Hell, I’d come to like the old guy. Well…maybe not like, but at least respect him, as strange as he was.”
Li nodded as she watched the motionless figure sitting cross-legged on the pallet. “I guess we all bear responsibility for this atrocity.”
Glancy saw a flicker of light in Casey’s eyes; he appeared to be looking at them. Without turning back to Li, he whispered, “Do you think he can hear us?”
A quiet voice spoke. It wasn’t weak, just so gentle and peaceful it didn’t even demand a listener. Casey’s lips barely moved.
“I hear you. I’ve had much to consider. I don’t hold a grudge against you, or you either my friend, Yamaguchi, or any of the colonists. Except...to be truthful, Slater. He always was a sociopath. And Sabine is his perfect tool. Did you know that originally there were twelve of you?”
“Twelve of what?” Glancy asked.
“Blanks. Only four of you survived. I wonder what the other eight were like. Probably more of the same.”
“What the hell do you mean by that?” responded Glancy.
Li put a restraining hand on Glancy’s arm. “Don’t,” she said in a demanding tone.
Casey continued. “Never mind. I know you can’t help yourselves. None of you. You don’t have free will. And I know you all sense a difference in me, of not belonging. You feel a compulsion to push me away. You cannot help yourselves and I cannot help you. Yamaguchi was the first to notice it, even before I did, but he couldn’t ask the right question and, if I had asked it for him, he wouldn’t have been able to remember it. Your rejection of me does not come from within you. It comes from without. While I don’t hold you responsible, I do question your decision to bring me back when you really want to be rid of me.”
Glancy and Li looked to one another. What was he rambling on about? And more important, was he sane enough to be of any help?
“I know,” Casey said. “You think I’m crazy. Unfortunately, I’m the only sane one here. What do you want of me?”
Glancy returned his gaze to Casey. He clasped his hands in front and lowered his eyes, becoming as humble as he was able.
“We need your help,” Glancy began. “There is some kind of illness attacking the livestock and now the colonists themselves. We can’t figure out what it is. We desperately need your help and, although you may not believe it, I’m truly sorry for the pain I’ve caused you.”
Li nodded her head in agreement with each of Glancy’s statements.
“You’re sorry all right,” Casey answered. “Sorry I’m not at your disposal, to be used as needed. You’re sorry like Slater is sorry, but I can expect nothing more.”
“Please,” Li begged.
“This may surprise you, but I don’t want either of you to suffer. I know, on a more honest level, your feelings haven’t changed. They can’t. If I agree to do what I can, will you make a solemn pledge never to medicate me again? Promise never again to bring me back to where I’m unloved and unwanted. That would be unpardonable cruelty.”
“Casey,” said Glancy with apparent earnestness, “we do want you. We respect”
Casey held up a bony hand to interrupt. “Don’t jeopardize your integrity further. Just answer my question. Do you promise?”
“You have my word,” Glancy said, while Li simultaneously said, “I promise.”
“It’s a senseless task,” Casey said. “It’ll change nothing, but I’ll do what I can. However, you must do as I say, no matter how strange it may seem, without question.”
“I swear it,” Glancy said.
“I think you swear too easily,” Casey replied, but then he untangled his legs and stood on the deck.
Glancy stared at his nakedness and Li averted her eyes.
“It appears my lack of clothing offends you, or perhaps it’s my age. Get me something to wear.”
Glancy rushed to the preservation chest and returned with a new white jumpsuit.
“Do you need help?” Glancy asked.
“I can manage.” After he was clothed, he focused on Glancy. “Take me to them.”
Glancy led Casey into the passage, followed by Li, with Yamaguchi bringing up the rear. When the small procession entered the passage, they were immediately confronted by two agri-techs, waiting for news about their ill friends. As soon as they saw Casey, one of the men stepped forward, his face congested with instant rage.
“I will not allow this monster near our brothers!” he yelled, pointing his finger at Casey as if it were a weapon. “How dare you!” As he spoke, he lost the last thread of control and lunged forward, swinging his fist at Casey’s face, but Glancy effortlessly deflected the blow and sent the man tumbling to the deck. Although the second agri-tech’s facial features were squeezed together by hate and unexpressed accusations, he did not attempt to interfere as the group walked past them and entered the treatment room.
Chapter 35
Casey examined Simon, and then went to the next room and examined the other two men, surprised to discover that one of them was Jon Brent. When he had completed his cursory examination, he turned to Glancy and spoke.
“I don’t know what is causing
this state.”
Glancy responded with heat. “You don’t know? You haven’t even used any of the diagnostic equipment! You”
Casey brought his bony finger up to his lips and Glancy fell silent. Casey lowered his hand and said, “The instruments are useless when used here. Take the men and the large diagnostic unit, and meet me in the Deck Two hall of sleep. They need to be completely naked. And clear the passages. I will not tolerate any further violent confrontations.” Then he sank to the floor and sat cross-legged in the middle of the room.
“Are you serious?” Glancy challenged.
But Casey just stared straight ahead.
Li edged over to Glancy. “Let’s do what he says.”
Glancy shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, “What the hell”, and began making preparations. He spoke into his com-collar and, while he was conversing in an inaudible whisper, Casey spoke again.
“When I say I want the passageways cleared, I mean everybody. That includes Geoff Slater, Sten Olson and Jack Sabine.”
Glancy paused for only a moment and then whispered into his collar again. He refocused on Casey. “All right. It’ll be as you say. I’ll have it arranged within the hour.”
Casey nodded and seemed to retreat into himself.
When the time arrived, Casey and Yamaguchi walked the curve of the passage and entered the hall of sleep. It was vacant, except for Li Quon, Padraig Glancy, and the three still bodies resting on stretchers. The diagnostic unit, a white, ceramic trough with computer screens at either end, was farther down the passage.
Casey walked past the group and on down the passage until he found a clear capsule. He motioned for them to follow. Glancy gave Li a disgruntled look, but complied, and with Yamaguchi’s assistance moved the unconscious men farther down the hallway.