The Quest tes-4

by Wilbur Smith

  She turned her attention to the scrotum below the immature shaft.

  'The sac is developing normally but with the usual extraordinary rapidity we have noted in all our other seedings.' She squeezed it gently. 'There!

  It already contains the immature testicles.' She looked across the table at the lone female visitor. 'Dr Lusulu, would you care to examine them for yourself?'

  'Thank you, Dr Hannah,' the woman said. She seemed to be in the region of thirty-five years, but when Taita studied her aura he saw that this was deceptive and that she was much older. Her demure attitude did not accurately depict her true nature, which contained a lascivious streak. She took his scrotum and deftly located the two little orbs it contained. She rolled them thoughtfully between her fingers. 'Yes,' she said at last. 'They seem perfectly formed. Do you have any sensation there, Lord Taita?'

  'Yes.' His voice was husky.

  The woman continued to touch him as she studied his face. 'You must not be embarrassed, my lord. You must learn to enjoy the manly parts that Dr Hannah has returned to you, to delight in and glory in them.'

  She moved her fingers up to the shaft of his penis. 'Do you have sensation here yet?' She began to move her fingers up and down the shaft. 'Can you feel how I am manipulating you?'

  'Very distinctly,' Taita replied, his voice huskier still. This new feeling far exceeded any that he had experienced before. In the short time since the small appendage had made its appearance he had treated it with caution and reserve. He had handled it only when he was forced to do so, in response to the demands of hygiene and nature. Even then his touch had been clumsy and inept, certainly lacking the dexterity and expertise that Dr Lusulu was demonstrating.

  'What dimensions do you expect the organs to attain when they are fully developed?' Dr Lusulu asked Hannah.

  'We can be no more certain of that than we could be in the case of a child. However, I expect that they will eventually be a close copy of the original organs.'

  'How very interesting,' Dr Lusulu murmured. 'Do you think it might be possible at some future time to grow organs and parts that are superior to the original? For example, to replace a clubbed foot or a cleft palate with a perfect specimen, an abnormally small penis with a larger one? Is that impossible?'

  'Impossible? No, Doctor, nothing is impossible until you prove it to be so. Even if I never achieve my goals, those who follow me might do so.'

  Their discussion lasted a little longer, then Lusulu broke off and transferred her attention to Taita. She was still stroking his parts, and now she looked pleased. 'Oh, very good,' she said. 'The member is functional. The patient is nearing full erection. That really is proof of your skills, Dr Hannah. Do you think he will be able to reach orgasm

  yet? Or is it too soon for that advance?' By now the shaft in her hand had more than doubled its dimensions and the prepuce was fully retracted. Both women studied it with full attention.'

  Hannah considered the question seriously, then replied, 'I think that orgasm may already be possible, but it will be some time before ejaculation is achieved.'

  'Perhaps we should put it to the test. What do you think, Doctor?'

  They were conducting the discussion in cool impersonal tones. However, the unfamiliar sensations that Dr Lusulu was creating with her simple hand movements were so pervasive that Taita was thrown into a state of confusion. He had no idea where or how it would end. For someone who was accustomed to being in full control of himself and all those about him, it was an alarming prospect. He reached down and removed her hand. 'Thank you, Doctor,' he said. 'We are all impressed by Dr Hannah's surgical brilliance. I certainly am. Nevertheless, 1 feel that the test that you are suggesting might better be conducted in a less public environment.' He straightened the skirts of his tunic and sat up.

  Dr Lusulu smiled at him and said, 'I wish you much joy.' From the look in her eyes it was plain that she did not subscribe to the philosophy on dalliance that Dr Hannah professed.

  Now that Taita had access to the great library, the days passed quickly. As Hannah had remarked, a lifetime would be too short to take in all of the knowledge that was stored there. Oddly, he mustered no interest in the locked and barred room. Like the weeping woman in the night and many other unexplained occurrences, the thought simply receded into the mists of his memory.

  When he was not studying, he spent much time in discussion with Hannah, Rei and Assem. They took turns to guide him through some of the other laboratories where they were engaged in a number of extraordinary projects.

  'Do you recall Dr Lusulu's question regarding replacing bodily parts with improved versions?' Hannah asked. 'Well, let us consider a soldier with legs that can carry him at the speed of a horse. What if we could grow him more than one pair of arms? A pair to fire a bow, a second to wield a battleaxe, the third to swing a sword and the last to carry a shield. Nothing could stand against such a warrior.'

  'A slave with four strong arms and extremely short legs could be sent

  into the most confined stopes in the mines to shovel out the gold ore in great quantities,' said Rei. 'How much better if his intelligence was reduced to that of an ox, so that he was inured to hardship and would work in the harshest conditions without complaint? Dr Assem has grown herbs that will achieve that mental effect. In time Dr Hannah and I might be able to create the physical improvements.'

  'No doubt you saw the trained apes that stand guard at the entrance to the tunnel that leads into these gardens,' Hannah said.

  'Yes, I have seen them, and heard them referred to as trogs,' Taita replied.

  Hannah looked a little annoyed. 'A term coined by the common people. The name we use is troglodyte. They were originally derived from a species of arboreal apes that inhabit the great forests in the south. Over the centuries that we have bred them in captivity we have been able, by surgical procedure and the use of certain herbs, to enhance their intelligence and aggression to the level at which they are most useful to us. By similar techniques we have been able to manipulate them until they respond completely to the will of the person who controls them. Of course, their minds are rudimentary and brutish, which makes them much more susceptible than humans to manipulation. However, we are experimenting with the same techniques on some of our slaves and captives. We have had exciting results. Once you are a member of the Guild I will be pleased to show them to you.'

  Taita was sickened by these revelations. They are discussing putting together creatures that are no longer men, but aberrant monstrosities, he thought, but he was careful not to express his horror. These people are tainted with the evil of Eos. Their brilliance has been perverted and corrupted by her poison. How I miss the company of decent, honest men, like Meren and Nakonto. How I long for the fresh bright innocence of Fenn.

  Some time later when they were returning from the library, he raised again with Hannah the subject of when he would be allowed to leave the Cloud Gardens and return to Mutangi, even for a short time. 'My companions must be much distressed by my continued absence. I should like to reassure them of my safety and well-being. Then I would be happy indeed to return here to begin my initiation into the Guild.'

  'Unfortunately, my lord, the decision does not rest with me,' she replied. 'It seems that the Supreme Council wishes you to remain in the Cloud Gardens until you have been fully initiated.' She smiled at him.

  'Be not downcast, my lord. This should not be longer than another year.

  I assure you, we will do all in our power to make the time you spend with us as fruitful and productive as possible.'

  The prospect of another year without being able to see Fenn or Meren appalled Taita, but he took consolation from the thought that the witch would not wait that long before she made her decisive move in the game she was playing with him.

  His grafted parts continued to grow with amazing rapidity. He remembered Dr Lusulu's advice: 'You must learn to enjoy the manly parts that Doctor Hannah has returned to you. You must learn to delight in them, to glo
ry in them.' Alone on his sleeping mat in the night he began to explore himself. The sensations aroused by his own touch were so intense that they intruded into his dreams. The lascivious devils that the imp of the grotto had set loose in his mind became more insistent and demand'

  ing. The dreams were at once shocking and fascinating. In them he was visited by a beautiful houri. She displayed her womanly parts shamelessly to him, and he saw that they were as perfectly formed as an orchid. The woman smell and taste of her was sweeter than any fruit.

  For the first time in almost a century he felt his loins erupt. It was a sensation so powerful that it went far beyond ecstasy or even agony.

  He awoke panting and shaking, as though in fever. He was drenched in sweat and his own bodily fluids. It seemed an age before he could return from the far borders of his imagination to which the dream woman had transported him.

  He rose and lit the oil lamp. He found the silver mirror that Rei had given him and went back to kneel on the mat. By the light of the lamp he gazed with awe at the reflection of his genitalia. They were still tumescent, and as the imp had shown him in the waters of the pool: perfectly formed, majestic and weighty.

  Now I understand the urges that govern all natural men. I have become one of them. This thing that I have been given is the beloved enemy, a beast with two faces. If I can control it, it will bring me all the joy and delights that Lusulu spoke of. If it controls me, it will destroy me as surely as Eos plans to do.

  When he returned to the library later that morning, he found it difficult at first to concentrate on the scroll that he unrolled on the low worktable in front of him. He was very much aware of a glow in the pit of his belly, and the presence under the skirts of his tunic.

  It is as though another person has come to share my life, a spoilt brat who endlessly demands attention. He felt an indulgent proprietary affection for it. This is going to be a contest, a trial of wills to decide which of us is in command, he thought. But a mind like his, which had been honed to such perfection that it could suppress high levels of pain, an intelligence that had been trained to assimilate vast quantities of information, was able to deal with this much lesser distraction. He returned his full attention to the scroll. Soon he was so absorbed in it that he was only vaguely aware of his immediate surroundings.

  The atmosphere in the library was quiet and studious. Although patrons were sitting at worktables in the adjoining rooms, he had this one to himself. It was as if the others had been warned to keep at a respectful distance. Occasionally the librarians passed through the room in which he sat, carrying baskets of scrolls to replace them on the shelves.

  Taita took little notice of them. He heard the grille that barred the forbidden room being opened, and glanced up in time to see a librarian going through the open gate, a woman of middle age and unremarkable appearance. He thought nothing of it and went on with his reading. A little later he heard the grille open again. The same woman came out and locked it behind her. She walked quietly down the room, then paused unexpectedly beside Taita's table. He looked up enquiringly. She laid a scroll on the table top. 'You are mistaken, I fear,' Taita told her.

  'I did not ask for this.'

  'You should have,' said the woman, so softly that he could barely catch the words. She extended the little finger of her right hand, then touched her lower lip with it.

  Taita started. It was the recognition signal that Colonel That had shown him. The woman was one of his people. Without another word she walked on, leaving the scroll on his table. Taita wanted to call after her, but restrained himself and watched her leave the room. He went on reading his own scroll until he was certain that he was alone and unobserved, then rolled it up and set it aside. In its place he opened the one that the librarian had brought him. It was untitled and the author

  was not named. Then he recognized the hand that had formed the unusually small and artistically drawn hieroglyphics.: 'Dr Rei,' he whispered, and read on quickly. The subject that she1 was addressing was the replacement of human body parts by the process of seeding and grafting. His eyes skipped down the sheet of papyrus. He was intimately familiar with everything that Rei had written: her coverage of the subject was impressively detailed and lucid, but he found nothing new until he was almost half-way through the scroll. Then Rei began to describe how the seedings were harvested and prepared for application to the wound site. The chapter was headed: 'Selecting and cultivating the seedings'. As his eye ran on, the enormity of what she was so coldly enumerating crashed down on him like an avalanche. His mind numb with shock, he went back to the beginning of the chapter and reread it, this time very slowly, returning time and again to those sections that were beyond rational belief.

  The donor should be young and healthy. She should have demonstrated at least five menstrual periods. Neither she nor her immediate family should have any history of serious disease. Her appearance should be pleasing. For reasons of management she should be obedient and tractable. If any difficulty is encountered in this area, the use of calming drugs is recommended. They should be administered with care so as not to contaminate the end product. There is a list of recommended drugs in the appendix at the end of this thesis. Diet is also important. It should be low in red meat and milk products, which heat the blood.

  There was much more in this vein. Then he reached the next chapter, headed simply 'Breeding'.

  As with the donor, the impregnators should be young and healthy, without defect or blemish. Under the present system they are usually selected as a reward for some service to the state. Often this is for military accomplishment. Care must be exercised to prevent any establishing emotional ties with the donor. They should be rotated at brief intervals. As soon as the donor's pregnancy is confirmed she must be denied any further contact with her impregnator.

  Taita looked up sightlessly at the shelf of tablets directly in front of him. He remembered the stark terror of little Sidudu. He recalled vividly

  her pathetic plea: 'Please, Magus! I beg you! Please help me! If I don't rid myself of the baby they will kill me. I don't want to die for Onka's bastard.'

  Sidudu the runaway had been one of the donors. Not a wife or mother, but a donor. Onka was one of her impregnators. Not her husband, lover or mate, but her impregnator. Taita's horror mounted steadily, but he forced himself to read on. Trie next section was headed 'Harvesting'.

  Some phrases seemed to leap at him from the text.

  The harvesting must take place between the twentieth and twenty-fourth week of pregnancy.

  The foetus must be removed intact and entire from the womb.

  Natural birth should not be allowed to take place as this has proved to be detrimental to the quality of the seedings.

  As the chance of the donor surviving after the removal of the foetus is remote, her life should be terminated immediately. The surgeon should usually take measures to prevent unnecessary suffering. The preferred method is to place the donor under restraint. Her limbs are pinioned and she is gagged to prevent her screams alarming the other donors. The foetus is then removed swiftly by frontal section of the abdomen. Immediately this has been carried out the donor's life should be terminated by strangulation. The ligature is kept in place until the heart has stopped beating and her flesh has cooled.

  Taita hurried on to the next chapter, entitled 'The foetus'. His heart was beating so rapidly that he could hear it resonating in his eardrums.

  The sex of the foetus appears to be unimportant, although it seems logical and desirable that it should be the same as that of the recipient. The foetus should be healthy and well formed with no detectable deformity or defect. If it does not conform to these criteria it should be discarded. For these reasons it is advisable to have more than one donor available. If the area to be grafted is extensive there should be a choice of at least three donors available. Five would be a more desirable number.

  Taita rocked back. Three donors. He remembered the three girls in the waterfall on the day of thei
r first arrival. They had been brought as sacrificial lambs to provide a new eye for Meren. Five donors. He remembered the five girls whom Onka had been bringing up the mountain when

  they met him on the pathway. Had they all died of strangulation in the approved manner? Had it been one of them he had heard weeping in the night? Had she known what was about to happen to her and the babe in her womb? Was that why she had wept? He jumped up from the table, rushed out of the building and into the forest. As soon as he was hidden among the trees he doubled over and retched painfully, vomiting his shame and guilt. He leant against the trunk of one of the trees and stared down at the bulge beneath his tunic.

  'Is this the reason why those innocents were slaughtered?' He drew the small knife from the sheath on his girdle. 'I will hack it off and force it down Hannah's throat. I will choke her with it!' he raged. 'It is a poisonous gift that will bring me only guilt and torment.'

  His hand was shaking so violently that the knife slipped from his fingers. He covered his eyes with both hands. 'I hate it — I hate myself!'

  he whispered. His mind was filled with violent and confused images. He remembered the frenzied feasting of the crocodiles in the azure lake.

  He heard the weeping of women and the wailing of infants, the sounds of sorrow and despair.

  Then the confusion cleared and he heard again the voice of Demeter the savant: This Eos is the minion of the Lie. She is the consummate impostor, the usurper, the deceiver, the thief, the devourer of infants.

  'She is the devourer of infants,' he repeated. 'She is the one who orders and directs these atrocities. I must turn my hatred for myself upon her. She is the one I truly hate. She is the one I have come to destroy.

  Perhaps by grafting this thing upon me she has unwittingly given me the instrument of her own destruction.' He lifted his hands from his eyes and stared at them. They were no longer trembling.