Eye of the Gazelle

by Marcia Tucker

  10: Prater

  “What do you mean, the twins are gone?” Major Austine Tauscher demanded of the Starguard, facing off against the woman in the office of the Commander General to which she and the two Level 8 High telepaths from the Andromedea had been summoned.

  Maritza Litzer bit her lip, glancing aside. “They apparently left the apartment some time ago... and I haven't been able to get in touch with them or access their 6Mods, which are also missing. What's worse, the Crater Trizero-Two is not responsive. It's somehow deactivated. Even with my monitoring equipment, I can't wake it up.”

  “Worse? You call that worse?” Austine screeched, hands balled up into fists at her side. “Sorry, nothing's worse than losing the children of Vekta Rentclifv!”

  Starguard Jaime Cenntl's head came up at this; he'd been lounging in a chair, head bowed over his own 6Mod display. “Who would know how to deactivate a Crater?” he asked, puzzled.

  “Screw the machine,” Austine snapped. “How long have the kids been gone? Could they have just wandered off or something?”

  Maritza just shook her head, having no answers.

  “Show us the apartment!”

  Moments later, they all autoported there.

  Stander Kvaan went to the wall, behind which was installed the cybernism. He tried to cept into it, but truly had no idea what to look for. It did seem completely inert. “Cept around for the children,” he murmured to the others. “I'll contact Crater about his counterpart here.”

  Sighing, Austine crossed her arms and set her weight back on one foot, closing her eyes. She proceeded to extend her perception. Jaime nodded and began to do the same.

  “I've already...” Maritza trailed off, frowning. She hadn't been able to detect a single trace of the children.

  Stander mentally activated the Sixtheye contact threads on his uniform collar. “Crater, this is Major Kvaan. I'm coming back aboard for a few minutes to consult with you about something.” He nodded to the others, then autoported to a hidden alcove a short distance away inside the apartment building.

  *

  Crater, upon the departure of the executive officer and the others, had no more duties to attend to, so he'd settled down to attend to one of his research projects. To his delight, there was a message waiting for him when he accessed the Nexus. A vis from Rose-rea Rentclifv.

  “Yo, Crater, how's happa-nings?” Rose greeted him with a saucy wink. “You know I went home to Draco, right? I'm throwing myself full tilt into my medical studies at NAS. We'll have to compare notes! I know you're crazy busy yourself with the Fleet, but hopefully we can vis... er, I guess you can't vis, ha ha! Okay, aud, aud... but you could come up with an avatar at least. Well, I'm going into neurophysiology. Guess I can do something with that. Maybe someday we can collaborate on a project, eh? If they ever let you... I know Vekta-bimi needs you on the Defender, and probably for a long time. Gotta say, though — like anyone else would who knows him would guess — he's going back to the Guard. He's gotta be free to flit around. Yeah...”

  She sighed, fingering a fringe on the edge of her shirt. “The twins... I hope that Fleet lieutenant didn't have a too hard a time with them. I wish they had others their age to play with. If those little geniuses know how to play outside their little Far Stars fantasy. They're going to grow up too fast. They hate me, of course, because they know I'm not aiming for the Agency—”

  Crater's attention was abruptly averted with the interruption of a high-priority call. He recognized the Sixtheye contact as coming from Major Kvaan. “Later, Rose,” he murmured, halting the playback to answer the call. “I'm here, Major, go ahead.”

  “Can you contact the Crater Trizero-Two? It appears to be deactivated on this end,” Stander murmured. “Or can you advise me on how to contact it or read its memory?”

  Crater was truly stunned for a moment. “Deactivated? How can that even happen? Who could even know enough to interfere with it? He can't be deactivated. There must be an internal failure, which seems incredible.” He paused. Only Vekta and Novella Aurand know about the Link, he mused. And Starguard Cenntl. But none of them are here, so...

  “The Crater Trizero-Two's name is Prater. What do the Rentclifv twins say? Did they do something to him?” he added.

  “The children are missing,” Stander admitted. “That's why we need to talk to Prater.”

  Missing? Crater felt a very real moment of panic. Cory and Story are missing? And Prater is deactivated? They could be in danger! “Major,” he spoke again, “are you in a secure area? I have something to tell you.” Forgive me, Kviatha. I need to tell him.

  Stander glanced around. Despite where he was, someone could potentially come within earshot. “I will autoport to the commander's office on the Andromedea since Major Tauscher is here,” he murmured, then did just that.

  “That's better,” Crater said with a sigh when the Dracon appeared in his creator's office and tapped at the nearest Sixtheye node. The cybernism shut down his end of the Sixtheye, the violet light of the viewport winking on. “There's something you don't know about me, Major. Something only Colonel Rentclifv and Major Aurand know, and Starguard Cenntl as well. I believe this to be a serious enough situation that they would want me to confide this to you since you are the one designated to work with the children.”

  Stander stood near the large Freen at one end of Vekta's desk. The plant was already waving curious tendrils at him, not as yet making contact with him, as if uncertain of his reaction. He shifted weight onto one foot and glanced down. Extending his hand, he allowed the Freen to twine tendrils around his fingers and wrist. Sighing, he replied, “I don't see what this has to do with Prater.”

  “You will in a moment,” Crater murmured, watching the Freen as well. I wonder what that really feels like. He had the capability for touch and pressure reception, of course, through his wall interfaces as well as through the sensitive Sixtheye fields — another aspect of his design that would alarm Agency inspectors. But he was aware that it had no relation to a Human's sense of touch; the sensations were simulated since he had no soft organic tissues or integument. Besides, the Freen had no awareness of his presence since he was not an organic entity. “Major Kvaan, I am a telepathic receiver. A High telepath like yourself can form a mental Link with me. It's completely passive on my end, of course, but I would be able to guide you into examining Prater. And hopefully reactivating him.”

  He watched the Dracon closely, even to magnifying a couple of his available views of him to watch for his physical responses to this appalling news. Well, Major Aurand had been appalled. But the colorless man was still, not moving a muscle — barely moving, that is. I can't see his eyes. He's looking down and I can't see if his pupils dilated when I said that. He did, however, note that the Freen tendrils seemed to tighten around the man's hand. So he did feel something... even if he didn't show it, the Freen picked it up. Interesting!

  Since first hearing the Andromedea staff refer to Stander Kvaan as the “Cold Fish”, Crater had been curious about him, and so had taken care to observe this pale, black-haired man with the unusual dove-gray eyes. He couldn't have said that the man had no feelings; he had observed emotional responses in his eyes, though very little on his face. As all Dracons he'd met before had been substantially warmer individuals, and certainly expressive, he wondered if it was a personal trait until he came across a reference in Dracon sociology. A small number of Dracons followed Tryker Methodism,a spiritual sect whose members practiced high degrees of self-control. Since then, Crater had wondered if Stander was a Tryker. But he didn't want to outright ask him. After all, it wasn't any of his business. He did wonder what Vekta knew about the man.

  “Colonel Rentclifv,” Stander said after a brief pause, his voice calm, “isn't here to show me how to make the Link. How will this be possible?”

  “I can guide your perception to find the trigger point in the HAGE — the Human Analogue Generative Element. Let me show you where that
is in the Sixtheye.” Crater displayed the kaleidoscope-like symbology. “Er, sorry, this is just the front door.” The gyrating colors dissolved to a complex web design.

  Now that Stander was looking up, he could see that his eyes were responsive after all, though the rest of his face was marble-impassive. He's interested, though clearly isn't going to say so, Crater thought, amused.

  “Where is the activation point?”

  The words were a little blunt. “There is no activation point,” Crater admitted, emitting a sigh. “A Crater-class cybernism cannot be deactivated easily. Even if the fusion cell is removed, the systems would remain active for a short time. Prater would go into a rest mode to conserve energy, but in a couple hours it would deactivate.” He sighed again. “Only Rentclifv-kviatha knows how to reinstall the fusion cell. Do you know if it's missing?”

  Stander actually frowned a little at that. Crater got the distinct impression that the man actively chose to frown. Social conformity? “Nothing seems to be missing. So you're saying that Prater isn't deactivated at all? But he's completely unresponsive. Even in rest mode, shouldn't he awaken if addressed?”

  “Absolutely,” Crater murmured. “So we must cept into it and find out what's happened.” He highlighted the HAGE within the Sixtheye touchfield display. “Within the HAGE is a component called the A1A cell; making mental contact with that should activate the Link. I will be unable to sense when contact is made. After that, you can read my thoughts as if your own, and I can hear your menttrans as if your own thoughts — only what you direct at me, of course. It's not a two-way. I have no access to your powers at all.” He hoped that would reassure the Dracon.

  Stander only nodded. A few moments later he menttransed to Crater from within the Link. “Very efficient... and it will hold when I return to the apartment? Major Tauscher and the two Starguards are waiting for me there.”

  Crater was mollified. Just like that? You're not even impressed?

  “I am impressed, Crater,” Stander replied solemnly. And he was, stunned and nearly overwhelmed by the vastness of the mind of the cybernism. “Though I don't have time to be. I'm autoporting back to the twins' apartment now.”

  The Freen tendrils waved at the nothingness where the Dracon had stood a moment before, disappointed.

  *

  “You found out how to turn this bucket of bolts back on?” Austine asked of her pale colleague when he reappeared.

  “Prater is not deactivated. I consulted with Crater and I know where to look,” Stander replied, not even glancing at them. He went to the cybernism's wall and laid a hand on it, though of course he needed no physical contact. “Give me a moment.”

  Crater felt an internal shiver at finding Prater's systems in such a quiescent condition. Not deactivated. However the HAGE was dark. He's... he's just gone, he thought, knowing the Dracon would pick it up. I wonder... could the twins have learned to Link with him? Starguard Litzer was working on developing their telepathy. She wouldn't have known about the Link, though. Did Prater?

  “Maybe,” Stander thought back from within the cybernism's mind. “Did the twins know about it?”

  No... I'm sure of it, Crater replied, mystified.

  “In the time frame involved, it's highly unlikely the Starguard would have even introduced mental merging to them.”

  Austine sniffed. “Can you access Prater's memories?”

  “Trying just that,” the man murmured.

  Crater already felt some frustration with the Link; he couldn't see the other person this way and he was unnerved that Prater could have been reduced to such a state. The only way he could access Prater on his own was through the Sixtheye, which in this case was useless since Prater was completely unresponsive.

  “What's wrong?” the Dracon inquired coolly.

  You're not alarmed by any of this, are you? he couldn't help thinking.

  For Stander's part, he was bewildered by Vekta Rentclifv's incredible invention. “I understand though I do not share your alarm. I can see how experiencing your twin's state can be stressful to you.”

  Prater is not my twin, just a... brother. Qother?, Crater admitted. Well, maybe not even that. It's never adopted a gender, so it's hard to know how to refer to it. It was housed in a different facility on Orbglen, in Rentclifv-kviatha's laboratory, whereas I was located in the family apartment. I've barely even talked to it. But it's currently the only other cybernism like me. So, yeah, seeing it like this is... stressful. Crater could think of more descriptive or colorful words, but he didn't think this Dracon liked useless talk. Though in many ways, we're really different.

  Crater had, in fact, initiated conversations with the second cybernism, but they had all been frustrating. For one, Prater had been utterly unable to grasp the concept of music, locked into the mathematics and physics behind it. It was apparently incapable of making any emotional connection to it, of enjoying listening to music. Crater, on the other hand, had absorbed and thoroughly loved nearly every form of music he'd ever encountered, from Renaissance chamber music on ancient Terra, to the Vriesians' amazing vocal orchestrations, to the currently trendy hod music so enamored of young Humans this past decade. He'd even dabbled in creating little sonatas for the Chidraci koruskana, a stringed keyboard instrument. It had been an idle hobby; he'd never even played any of those for the twins. Although Crater eagerly loved music, his real fascination was still Human medicine.

  “Now what's going on?” came Austine's voice from behind Stander abruptly.

  “Give him some time, doll, geesh,” Jaime muttered, nearby. “Have you ever cepted into one of these things? Do you know what to look for? Is it dead?”

  “No, yes, no,” Stander placidly replied. “Please excuse me, I need to concentrate. I am sifting through its memories. It may know where the children planned to go before leaving the apartment.” He'd ignored Crater's musings about Prater's cultural shortcomings.

  “I'm making jav. Let's leave him,” Maritza murmured with a sigh, then headed for the kitchen. Belatedly, the others followed.

  *

  “I'm sure the kids just got caught up doing something,” Jaime Cenntl sighed, thumping down in a chair in the kitchen. “And why is there jav in an apartment occupied by Dracon children?”

  “I brought it here for me,” Maritza replied, rolling her eyes at her Starguard colleague. “Of course the kids don't drink this. They're Dracons. They don't even like the smell of it.”

  Jaime took a deep breath as the aroma of his favorite brew was already evident. He appreciated that Maritza liked to make it the old way instead of having an autochef manufacture it. “Where do you even get beans?”

  “Why don't Dracons like jav?” Austine asked, frowning in puzzlement. “It smells terrific, Maritza.”

  “Oh, Austine, baby,” Jaime drawled, grinning. “You've known Vekta Rentclifv how long? You really don't know about that? I thought you were best buds with him—”

  “It's been a while!” Austine retorted. There hadn't been Dracons aboard the Defenders on which she'd recently served. She glanced back toward the living area where Stander Kvaan was still standing before the wall like a statue. “Jav's only a mild stimulant. Surely—”

  “Nah, you're wrong,” Jaime interrupted again. He watched as Maritza poured out three cups of the black concoction. “They don't drink cha either, right?”

  “Er... I suppose not.”

  “Right. Dracons are freaky weird about putting anything in their bodies that doesn't have to be there,” Jaime explained. “Caffeine is a no-no... and even if you take out the caffeine, they don't want it. No stimulants. Absolutely nothing that could mess up their mental pathways. On Draco, even their autochefs have to use only natural food ingredients, nothing artificial.”

  “They're vegetarians, too, right?” Maritza sighed. “I don't think I could do without meat entirely. Freaky society.”

  Jaime glanced at her; he knew only too well from long experience that nonD
racons almost universally reacted to Dracons in two ways: attraction or distaste. He was thinking Maritza might not be too fond of them. Austine, on the other hand... Heh, she's got her eye on the black-haired dreamboat over there...

  “I've got something,” Stander called from the other room suddenly. “You need to see this.”

  Jav cups in hand, the three nonDracons got up to rejoin him.

  Ewww, jav, Crater thought as the unmistakable aroma rose. He was surprised that Stander was sharing that sensation with him, but again he thought it to be a social conformity. He'd smelled jav on the Andromedea. How can they drink that nasty stuff?

  “Most Humans not of the Draconic subspecies like many foods and drinks that Dracons abhor,” Stander replied, nodding as the others gathered around. “Dr. Rentclifv didn't tell you that?”

  I have access to databases of food preferences of thousands of Human cultures, Crater retorted, then shut up.

  “I have accessed Prater's most recent memories,” Stander explained to the others. “I've managed to create a playback which I can display through the Sixtheye. Stand back.”

  *

  When the playback ended — and they'd seen that the twins had disappeared, most likely mattported elsewhere by the muddie creature the twins were calling Polluxanvega — the four High telepaths were silent for a long moment.

  Then Austine couldn't contain herself anymore. “A mental link with that?” she screeched, stabbing a finger at the wall. “Vekta Rentclifv, you crazy ass bastard, what the hell have you done NOW?”

  Jaime shrugged. “Ask Stander how he's been able to search through Prater's memories,” he murmured, stretching his arms overhead. “I'm right, Stan the Man, yeah?”

  Stander nodded tersely. “He's correct, Major Tauscher. I'm currently Linked with the Crater Trizero-One. When I went to the Andromedea to consult with him, he told me about the Link then. It's my understanding that only the Colonel and Major Aurand previously knew about this ability of the Craters. Well, and Starguard Cenntl.”