Prophet of ConFree (The Prophet of ConFree)

by Marshall S. Thomas

  Δ

  I reported to Galactic Information, in a massive green stone bunker on the outskirts of Quaba City. Everything about that great installation spoke about power and purpose. It was beautiful in simplicity and austerity – as if the focus of everyone there was on the search for the truth. That was their motto, carved into stone – Know the Truth. I met with the Director himself. I guess my mission must have been viewed as important, otherwise I wouldn't be meeting with the Director of Galactic Information.

  "Good morning, trooper," he said. "Prophet, is it? My name's Snow Leopard. Have some dox." He was clad in black. He had a very pale face with white-blond hair and hot pink eyes and blue veins that stood out against his temples. His assistant brought us both dox. She was an attractive female. But I repeat myself. Truth is, I find almost all females attractive.

  Snow Leopard looked me over as he sipped his dox. "What happened to you is extremely important," he said. "We've got to get to the bottom of it, and find out what the Brights did to you, and why, and whether or not it was purposeful or just an accident that has given you the power to predict future events. If you really have that, it could be invaluable. Have you had any further dreams, or insights into the future?"

  "No sir. Everything seems to be normal."

  "I see. Well, the lifies note otherwise. They saw something abnormal in your brainscan so they'll be investigating that. You'll be in their hands until they’re through. Please cooperate and let them do their job. Then we'll meet again and discuss the result. By the way – good work on Demon Hill. That was outstanding."

  "Thank you, sir. It was a team effort."

  "Everything we do is a team effort. Trooper, if you need anything special, feel free to contact me. Meantime, try to get some rest in the hospital. My assistant has an aircar waiting for you."

  "Yes sir. Thank you sir." Hospital! I'm going to a hospital?

  Δ

  Not much later I found myself checking into the Legion Neurological and Physiological Reconstructive Recovery Hospital. This was the same hospital where they had sent Ice and Saka – I’d get to see them! Great! The Recovery Hospital was for those complex cases that could not be addressed elsewhere. If you landed there, it meant there was something seriously unusual about your case.

  "Prophet? I'm Doctor Wellesley. I'm the lead doctor for your case. How are you?" Dr. Wellesley was a tall, rangy Outworlder with a close-cropped haircut. He wore a white coat. They must issue those in medical school.

  "I'm fine, sir. I feel good." I was sitting on the edge of my bed, in my personal cube, and they had made me change into a flimsy hospital gown that seemed to be made for some unisex creature much smaller than me. A nurse had already clipped a little device to my gown that led into a tube they had inserted into a vein on my arm.

  "Good. Good. We'll do our best to keep you feeling comfortable as we do our investigation. Just relax and all will be well."

  "I'd like to visit some friends who are patients here," I said.

  "Please open your mouth," the nurse said. I did so and she squirted something into my mouth from a little tube. "Swallow," she said. I did so. It was bitter.

  "Certainly," Doctor Well said. "Nothing could be…" but by then I was fading out, floating away, collapsing.

  The next few days were very confusing. I was unconscious most of the time. When I was conscious, I was all doped up and not in control. It was like a dream – a very bad dream. Nurses and doctors were always hovering over me. Much of the time my head was in a brainscan and I got to listen to a lot of conversation as the gang viewed the results on their d-screens. Other times I was moving through the hospital halls on an air stretcher, watching the ceiling lights flow past me dreamily. I believe they fed me through a tube. Sometimes they had to clean up my defecations in the toilets with a hose because I could not go by myself. I was just a spectator to all this, when I was conscious, although much of the time I was unconscious.

  Finally they gave me a break. The activity stopped. I awoke, slowly, with a splitting headache. I struggled out of bed and staggered around my cube and visited the attached bathroom. As I painfully emerged, weak and dizzy, a nurse came into my cube. During my dreamtime she was Nurse Grim, a distant, stern authoritarian.

  "Nurse Grim." I said. "You slipped up. I'm conscious."

  "My name is Doctor Graham," she replied, "not Nurse Grim. What are you doing?"

  I ripped the transfusion device and intravenous tube from my arm and smashed them against the wall.

  "Don't do that! How dare you! What is your problem?"

  "You're not much of a doctor," I said. "What was in that thing? What were you putting into my system?"

  "It's neurotrophin stimulant. It's exactly what you need."

  "And exactly what does that do? Is that why I'm crapping in my pants all day?"

  "Well, among other things it contains a muscle relaxant. Yes, one of the side effects is…"

  "Get outta my sight or I'm gonna kick your ass right out the door. And tell Doctor Wellesley I want to see him. Now!"

  By the time Doctor Well showed up, I was almost fully dressed in my Legion blacks.

  "What's the problem, Prophet?" he asked. Nurse Grim was right behind him.

  "The problem is your program stinks! Your doctors and nurses have been treating me like a slab of beef. I've been mostly unconscious these last few days. I don't even know how many days it's been. Nobody has told me, at any point, what they are doing to me or why. Nobody has consulted with me on anything. They just shot me full of drugs and pushed me around from place to place on an airstretcher and fed me through a straw and cleaned my ass with a hose. We don't even treat prisoners of war that badly, and in case nobody told you we're all supposed to be on the same side. Hospitals are supposed to make you well. I felt fine when I entered this place but now I'm exhausted, I have a splitting headache, I've got diarrhea, and I'm ready to drop. Well, as far as I'm concerned, you can all go to hell. Right now I'm going to visit my friends who are also patients in this house of horrors, and if you're treating them as bad as you've been treating me, I'm going to submit a detailed report to the Director of Galactic Information. But before I do that I'm going to kick your ass!"

  "But – but – those patents are in isolation!" He was almost speechless.

  "Not anymore! And if anybody tries to stop me, there's going to be blood in the halls! Get outta my way!"

  Δ

  Ice was in a separate floor, Room 550. As I approached it, Doctor Well was following me, keeping his distance, accompanied by Nurse Grim and a couple of husky orderlies who were probably going to try and restrain me if I got too crazy. I was looking forward to that.

  "Get out of here, you BITCH!" It sounded like Ice's voice. A weird plastic helmet shot out of the doorway from Room 550 and shattered against the corridor wall, strewing plastic shards and wires. A young nurse ran out the door, shaken.

  "Doctor Wellesley!" the nurse said. "She's attacked me! She won't take her medication! And she removed the head restraint. Wait, sir. You can't go in there!" I pushed the nurse aside and entered the cube.

  Ice turned to me with a snarl, drawing back a fist. When she saw who it was, she gave a little whimper and rushed into my arms. She was in one of those stupid hospital gowns. She held me tightly and would not let go. And that was fine with me. We stood there embracing, and she was trembling and crying, presumably in relief. It was so wonderful to see her again. It was almost miraculous. I felt Deadman was standing right beside us.

  "Get into your blacks," I said. "We're bustin' out of this place. Are you all right? Can you walk?" Her face was covered with purple bruises and patches of her lovely golden hair had been shaved off and ugly scars ran down her throat. She walked over to the door and slammed it in Doctor Well's face.

  "I'm fine," she said. "Those bozos don't think so, but I do."

  "How is Saka?"

  "I don't know. They won't tell me."

  "What! After all this time? Get dressed." I ya
nked open the door and confronted Doctor Well in the hall. "What the hell is it with you people? You won't even let her see her comrade, Saka? What are you running here, a concentration camp?"

  "They're both in isolation. For their own good. We didn't…"

  "We're going to see Saka next. Both of us. If you want to come along, fine. Just don't interfere." The two orderlies moved closer. "Boys, if you attack me, I'm going to kill you both," I said. "That's a promise. You'll be dead before you hit the ground."

  "Now, now, no violence, no threats please," Doctor Well said. "There's evidently been a lot of misunderstanding here. Prophet, we apologize if we did not consult you before initiating treatment. It's just that – it's so important and we were so anxious to examine you. And as for your two colleagues, the field surgery used on them was – well, miraculous. And we were so worried about them, the wounds were so bad that we had to ensure they were unconscious and did not move their heads or necks. It was all in a good cause. Yes, sure, let's visit trooper Saka. No problem."

  "You're damned right it's not a problem. It'll only be a problem if you try to stop us."

  Δ

  Saka was sitting up in bed, his head encased in a plastic helmet designed to stabilize his head and neck. A look of unrestrained delight came over him as Ice and I marched into his room.

  "Ice! Prophet! Deadman! Oh my God!" Ice leaned over his bed and embraced him. He looked terrible, ugly purple bruises all over his face, his neck and chest seared with deep scars. I took one of his hands and held on. It felt so damned good. I started getting all misty-eyed. Together again – at last!

  I ripped off his transfusion device and slammed it to the deck.

  "Does this helmet come off?" I asked.

  "Let me do that," Nurse Grim said. "The healing is complete and we were going to take it off today in any case."

  "Do it," I said. She eased it off.

  "They wouldn’t let me see you," Saka said to Ice.

  "I'm going to report these bastards for mistreating wounded soldiers," I said. "That's a death penalty offense in wartime, Nurse Grim. You tell Doctor Well that I said that." I was furious.

  "Get into your blacks, Saka. Prophet is taking us out of here," Ice said.

  "Doctor Well, are you there?" I asked. He was standing in the doorway. "The three of us are checking out of this hospital right now. I wouldn't recommend resisting us. I'm going to be submitting a full report on your treatment of Ice, Saka and me. I'm going to recommend arrest and prosecution for mistreating wounded soldiers."

  "Prophet, on behalf of the Legion Neurological and Physiological Reconstructive Recovery Hospital, I wish to apologize for any perceived failures or oversights in our treatment of you and your comrades. I wish to reassure you that you have all received the most advanced, innovative and thoughtful medical care and services available anywhere. If we have failed you in any way, we will strive to improve our services."

  "Do you feel all right, Saka?" Ice asked. Saka moved his neck and head carefully.

  "Feels fine," he said.

  Δ

  Well arranged for a hospital aircar to take us to where we wanted to go – Galactic Information. I marched Ice and Saka into the mess hall, and we found an isolated table and went through the food line and loaded up on wonderful things and then returned to the table and dug in. What a wonderful feast. I sure needed it. The bastards had been feeding me through a tube.

  "So you were admitted, too?" Saka asked. "Were you wounded?"

  "No, I wasn't wounded. But something strange happened to me, and they wanted to examine me."

  "What was it that happened to you?"

  "I'll tell you that later. First I've got a question. Did they tell you what happened to you?"

  "They told me I was badly wounded," Ice said.

  "That's it? How about you, Saka?"

  "Badly wounded, yeah. Very badly wounded."

  "Did they say anything about Brights?"

  "Brights? No, not to me," Saka said.

  "Nor to me," Ice said.

  "All right. Well, that's the same as lying to you. They were not focused on you, but on what happened to you."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Here it is. There's no easy way to say this. You were killed in action, both of you. Ice, your skull was shattered. Yours too, Saka. You were nearly decapitated. Both of you were dead – I saw it, Bees confirmed it. Then something miraculous happened."

  I told them what had happened. They stared at me, stunned.

  "I know it's hard to believe. That's why the Recovery Hospital was involved. They wanted to examine the Bright 'field surgery' as they called it. They wanted to see how it was done."

  "Oh my God – Bees! Is Bees all right?" Ice asked.

  "Bees wasn't hit," I said.

  "But is she all right? I mean, how is she taking my – my wounds?"

  "She's overjoyed that you recovered. She says the Brights are angels. She seems convinced of it. She prays for you every day. And you too, Saka."

  "Bless her," Ice said. "I'll have to send a startracer. If they'll let me."

  "And how about Lan Hwa? Has anybody told her I was killed – or wounded?" Saka asked.

  "No. Not as far as I know," I said.

  "Don't tell her. Don't!"

  "And Kwan?" Ice asked. "I've been dreaming of him every day and night. Having visions. And nobody in the hospital was interested."

  "Again – last I heard, nobody had notified him. We were all on comdown and – well, I don't think he knows."

  "Good. That's good."

  "Could I join you folks?" The Director of Galactic Information stood there by our table, holding a cup of dox. We shot to attention, startled.

  "Sir, yes sir!" I stammered.

  "At ease, please. So, Prophet, will you introduce your friends?" We resumed our seats and he joined us.

  "Yes sir. This is Ice and Saka, my squadies. Ice, Saka, this is Snow Leopard, the Director of Galactic Information."

  "Ice and Saka. I'm very pleased to meet you. Yes, the doctors have been learning remarkable things from both of you. So – Prophet. They tell me you've been terrorizing the staff over at the hospital. What was that all about? What happened?" His hot pink eyes did not seem to be alarmed, but it was an experience just to have him focus on you.

  "Sir," I said. "I'm going to write up a report recommending arrest and prosecution of some of those staffers on charges of mistreating wounded soldiers. Ice and Saka are heroes. They don't deserve the treatment they received at that hospital. Neither do I. Sir, we’re not whiners. We're soldiers. I came here on the Cosmic Sea. It was full of wounded heroes. I was proud of the treatment they were getting from all the doctors and nurses on board – they were heroes, too. But once I entered that recovery hospital it was all downhill, and fast. It was disgraceful. I'll not waste your time, sir, but it will all be in my report. I took my squadies out of there because I refuse to see them abused and treated like laboratory animals. And we're not going back there. We'd rather see the inside of a brig than spend any more time in that hospital, am I right?"

  "He's right, sir," Kwan said.

  "Absolutely!" Ice said. "They treated us with contempt. It was like a concentration camp. I thought they were there to help us."

  Snow Leopard was looking at us closely, and I could tell he was getting very, very angry. His hot red eyes were almost burning. "What's the name of the lead doctor who was in charge of you folks?"

  "It was Doctor Wellesley," I said.

  "I'll not have anyone treat Legion soldiers in that manner," Snow Leopard said, calmly. "Prophet, you write that report and bring it to my office as soon as it's ready. I'm going to have a little talk with Doctor Wellesley. In the meantime you folks are TDY to Galactic Info Hqs. The TDY quarters are on the fourth floor. Check in, get some rooms and have a rest. Ask them to call my office for confirmation."

  "Sir, yes sir! Thank you sir!"

  Δ

  The TDY suite cube was a delight. After the
hospital, it struck us as a paradise – a sitting room, a commodesk with a huge d-screen, a giant bedroom, kitchenmod and bathroom. We were stunned and delighted. We had only asked for one cube because Ice said she did not want to be alone. Saka and Ice pretty much collapsed once they got there and were asleep in moments, Ice in the bed and Saka on the sofa. I sat at the commodesk and wrote up my report. I made it short and factual. I didn’t bother to check it with Ice and Saka because they had already given me enough data. When I was through, I found my way to Director Snow Leopard’s office and handed it to his assistant. I had marked the envelope XA DIRECTOR GALACTIC INFO.

  When I returned to the cube, I used the facilities and took a wonderful long shower. It was almost as if I was washing that hospital right off my skin. When I finished, I put on a sleeveless undershirt and Legion shorts and stretched out in a reclining airchair. By then it was dark outside and getting late. Ice and Saka were stirring. Ice went into the bathroom, took a shower and came out in her undies. Saka then went into the bathroom.

  "Did you turn in that report?" Ice asked me.

  "Sure did."

  "I’m so tired."

  "Do you want to eat?"

  "No, I want to sleep some more."

  "Fine. Do it."

  "It’s so wonderful to see you again, Prophet."

  "Ice. I am overwhelmed every time I look at you. Overwhelmed with gratitude. For the Brights, for Deadman, for us all. I saw you dead. And you’re alive! It’s a miracle."

  She reached out and touched my cheek. "And I am so grateful. To you, to everyone. I’ve changed a lot. Profoundly. You found me Kwan. That was another miracle. And I know I’m blessed. Just to have survived. Thank you, Prophet. For everything."

  Saka came out of the bathroom in his shorts. He had giant scars all over his chest. I motioned for him to join us. I took them both in my arms, a group hug. It felt so good I could hardly believe it. "I think it’s time for us to pray," I said. "Bees would be praying now, if she were here. I don’t know any prayers but I’d like to pray anyway. Dear Lord – Dear Deadman. We thank you so much for protecting us in battle, and for bringing Ice and Saka back from the dead, to join us again in the land of the living. We are so grateful for your divine intervention. Please Lord, we pray for your continued protection for all our comrades in Squad Delta. Please protect them from the evil. Amen."