RAINBOW RUN

by John F. Carr

  Further discussion was interrupted by the arrival of a VIS officer. She said, "I have a report on the conflict between the elite guards and the Freedom Crusaders."

  That got everyone's attention. I stepped up closer, right behind Incate and Prevance, to hear better. Neither of the two off-worlders noticed me. I heard Incate whisper to Prevance, "Record this for the Council." I saw Prevance reach into his waist pouch and heard a tiny click.

  The VIS officer reported, "There's intense fighting at Wanklurm's headquarters. The elite guards and the Freedom Crusaders are killing each other with bolt guns. The Crusaders outnumber the guards but the guards have more bolt guns. Some of the Crusaders have blown up portions of the headquarters building by exploding their wristlocks and losing their lives in the act. It's mass slaughter. Bolt gun victims' bodies have jammed part of the slideway.

  “The area around the building is choked with corpses, many of them bloodied and maimed. Much of the outside of the building and some portions of the inside that were exposed by the explosion are covered with blood and gore. The sound of the bolt guns is like repeating thunder. A stench fills the air, strong enough that people in nearby urbodes are fleeing the area with their tunics covering their noses.

  “Wanklurm is inside the building. Errox is commanding his troops from a protected rear position. He is evidently using Cainenol to turn some of his Crusaders into berserkers. It looks like the battle will continue for some time. The outcome is anybody's guess."

  The VIS officer's report was concise and evidently quite complete. The answers she gave to questions didn't produce any significant new information. I hadn't thought about the carnage, how hearing about it would distress me. No one knew when the violence would end or who would win. I wanted both of them to lose: Wanklurm, who had arranged for me to be brainwiped and left to die in the Rainbow Room, and Errox, who had almost ruined Lyonella's life and set me up to be a suspect for Boget’s death.

  I noticed Nordel was getting ready to leave the room. I followed him, caught up with him in the corridor and said, "I'd like to talk to you about suspicious activities on the part of Incate and Prevance."

  "Tell me," he said, with both eyes meeting mine.

  "When they were supposed to be looking for Errox, they followed me to my meeting with Kahalyton. They traced me with a device called a spike mike imbedded in my tunic. I'd never heard of such equipment, but Quenlu told me that such devices have been used by Wanklurm. I found that very suspicious."

  "You said suspicious activities. What else, Rathe?"

  "Just now in the communications room, when the VIS officer started her report, Incate whispered to Prevance instructions to record the report for the Council. Prevance evidently had some sort of recording device in his waist pouch. I heard it click on. That made me suspect that they are in frequent communication with the Council. If that's true, they haven't told us and it makes me wonder what else they haven't revealed."

  Just then Incate and Prevance came out of the communications room. They both gave rather furtive looks when they saw us together. I spoke to Nordel, as if continuing a conversation about my Simulike experiences, saying: "The Simulike experience I had with the machine in Boget's dwell seemed to be a preview of some of the things I've experienced since. If we could translate Simulike experiences into information for the Game players, we might be able to chart a better course of the future for all of us, providing we had a large enough sample—say, for instance, everyone in the overseers' urbode."

  Incate and Prevance nodded to us as they passed.

  Nordel said to me, "That's interesting, Rathe. It's something we'll have to try when things settle down."

  Incate and Prevance were now out of hearing range. Nordel said to me, "Thanks for telling me your suspicions. I have some also. I'm going to have those two followed."

  TWENTY-TWO

  After my conversation with Nordel, Lyonella and I had some food cubes. While we ate, I told her about the many things I'd learned since our last meeting.

  Lyonella said, "I’ve heard many strange things from my clients, some of which fit well with what you've told me, but some of the truths that underlie this society are stranger than anything my clients discovered or imagined."

  I told her of my suspicions regarding Incate and Prevance.

  "I think you're right to suspect them of having some hidden agenda. Prevance seems to be the more reasonable of the two, but he acts like a man experiencing internal conflicts. Incate is filled with hostility and suspicions, eager to believe the worst that he can imagine. He lacks compassion and empathy. I suspect that he has never cared for anyone but himself."

  When our food was finished, Lyonella and I went to my dwell. As soon as the door closed we were in each other's arms. Our tunics dropped to the floor. We didn't let go as we moved toward the sleep platform. I reached out and set the light level at twilight. I said to her, "I want enough light to see your face."

  She stopped my words with her mouth. Our lovemaking made the previous sexual encounter seem like a prelude. I knew that outside this dwell, beyond the boundaries of this urbode, there was a war going on. But here in the embrace of my lover all the problems of the world seemed remote in time and space. Lyonella and I were experiencing a temporary, separate peace. I felt that the center of the universe was right where we were. Sexual satisfaction brought relief from the tension created by the events of the day.

  Lyonella sighed and rested her head on my chest. My left arm was around her. The contentment I felt was so new and so complete that I had no words to express it. We slept.

  We were awakened some time later by someone at the portal.

  Lyonella got up and looked through the view plate and said, "It's Nordel at our door."

  My heart fluttered with unexpected joy when she said,“our door.” We slipped into tunics and admitted Nordel.

  "Rathe, you were right about Incate and Prevance,” Nordel said. “After leaving here, they went to the House of Rebirth. In a concealed room in the transporter section, they established audio contact with the Universalist Council and played the recording made of the report on the battle going on. As soon as they finished, I had them arrested by VIS officers and charged with the variation offense of creating unauthorized historical archives. They will be subjected to separate vericator sessions shortly. I knew you'd want to attend."

  Lyonella and I joined the others for the vericator session. Arvon, who was running the session, said, "I'm going to interrogate Prevance first since I believe he will be the more cooperative subject."

  After Prevance was connected to the vericator, Arvon began the session by saying, "We observed you and Incate in the act of transmitting a forbidden duplication of a VIS officer's field report. How seriously we take that offense depends on several factors; the most important one in your case is honesty about events and circumstances. You do understand that your status as a Universalist Council investigator does not give you the freedom to commit illegal acts?"

  Prevance answered, "I understand."

  "Who is the senior partner, you or Incate?"

  "Incate," Prevance admitted.

  "Did you receive your instructions jointly?"

  "No. Incate was briefed on the situation and I received my instructions from him."

  "What did he tell you?" Arvon asked.

  "That we had to stop the Cainenol traffic with the first step being eliminate the source."

  "How did you accomplish that?"

  "We inspected everything coming in to the Outpost and discovered which planet it was coming from. We alerted the Council to the source and they sent in their troubleshooters who raided the manufacturers and distributors."

  "What were your next instructions?" Arvon asked.

  "To come here, find the Cainenol conspirators and neutralize them."

  "Neutralize them how?"

  "I wasn't told. I assumed they would be brainwiped and reconfigured. They would have to remain here because they have the possession ge
nes."

  "Did it occur to you that the conspirators might be killed?" Arvon asked.

  "No. I was surprised when we found Boget dead."

  "I didn't mean by other conspirators. I meant by you and Incate."

  Prevance looked shocked, "I'm not an assassin."

  The monitor showed that he was telling the truth.

  Arvon asked, "What else did you bring in from the outpost in addition to tracking and recording devices?"

  "Nothing that I'm aware of."

  "You know nothing about a small respirator arrestor we found in your secret communications room?"

  "No!" he cried, looking surprised. The monitor showed he was not lying.

  "How long have you known Incate?"

  "Not very long. I met him recently, for the first time, when I was assigned to be his partner in the Cainenol investigation."

  "What were you told about him?"

  "Just that he, like me, had the possession genes and had the new blocking apparatus implanted at the base of his skull so that normals would have nothing to fear. The blocking devices are still new and very expensive. I was told that he had extensive field experience and was known for getting the desired results."

  "What were the desired results in this case?" Arvon asked.

  "Halt the Cainenol traffic, identify the conspirators, neutralize them, disrupt the status quo as little as possible and keep the Delphic Game players at their tasks."

  "Do you think that Incate is an assassin?"

  "I don't know. He seems to have very little respect for others, almost as if he feels superior to everyone here. His evident indifference to others may mean that he'd have no reservations about killing someone who stood between him and his objectives."

  Arvon asked a few more questions that elicited no new information. He then turned the questioning over to me.

  I looked Prevance straight in the eyes. "When was the spike mike stuck in my tunic?"

  "I don't know. The first I heard about it was when Incate showed me the tracking device while we were following you to your meeting with Kahalyton and Quenlu."

  "Prevance, I've heard that Wanklurm uses spike mikes. Do you think that Incate might be in collusion with Wanklurm?"

  "I'd be surprised if he is. I've been with him most of the time we've been here. I don't know when he could have seen Wanklurm."

  "Do you know why Incate was so suspicious of me?"

  "Incate wanted a rapid solution to the situation. He thought that Boget might be the only rainbow involved. When we found you with Boget's body, he thought he could wrap up the case quickly if Boget was the main conspirator and you were a disgruntled minion who killed him."

  I had no more questions. Some of the others asked about Prevance's special status, having a non-possession device implanted instead of being brainwiped and banished to our prison society. Prevance said that he had been brainwiped and sterilized but that someone was needed to interface with the normal humans of the Universalist Council and he was evidently selected on the basis of some tests he took.

  When the questioning of Prevance was finished, he was returned to a holding cell. The rest of us took a cokafa break before the questioning of Incate. Two VIS officers ushered Incate into the vericator room.

  Incate was full of bluster and righteousness. He said, "You Delphs have no right to do this. I represent the Universalist Council. If you go against their wishes, there will be some changes around here."

  Nordel replied, "There are certainly going to be changes around here. We're going to make them to aid us. The wishes of the Universalist Council are a matter of indifference to us. We see the Universalist Council as a group that has penalized us, imprisoned us, deceived us and exploited us. You should be concerned about what changes you, as an individual, will experience. You have come here under false pretenses. We know more of the truth than you suspect we do. If you continue to lie to us, you may lose more than you're willing to risk."

  Incate seemed to lose some of his belligerence.

  When the hookup was completed, Arvon began the questioning by asking, "What devices did you bring with you from the Outpost?"

  Incate gave no response.

  "Have you supplied spike mikes to Wanklurm?"

  Evidently the question surprised Incate. He answered, "No, he got those from the Council." The monitor indicated he was telling the truth.

  "Why was a non-possession device implanted in Prevance?"

  "So the Council representatives could deal with him without fear of being possessed," Incate answered.

  "Why wasn't a non-possession chip implanted in you?"

  Incate was flustered by the question. He hadn't expected it. He fidgeted briefly and said, "What makes you think I don't have one?"

  "We did a medical scan on you in the holding cell. You don't have any implants. We also know that your ejaculate, unlike that of the males here, contains sperm. Why is that? What is different about you?"

  "Because I'm not one of you. I'm not some genetic reject who has to be imprisoned. I'm a normal. I have all those memories that you Delphs don't have. I remember growing up, getting educated, learning how to live. I would never have gotten this terrible assignment and had to mix with all you substandard types if I hadn't been falsely accused of excessive violence on my last case. Those smugglers were asking for it. Every last one of the five of them."

  "You killed five smugglers?"

  "They deserved it. Stealing human heritage artifacts to sell to collectors."

  "Did you use a respirator arrestor?" Arvon asked.

  "How did you know about that?"

  "We assumed it's your favorite weapon since you had one concealed in your communication room in the House of Rebirth."

  "It was for emergencies only." Incate said.

  "And you are the one who decides whether or not an emergency situation exists."

  "I'm qualified," he said smugly.

  "We suspect that you are mainly qualified as an assassin. You were probably sent here to kill the conspirators, make sure their replacements would continue the deceptions of the Universalist Council, and get out before anyone with any power figured out what had been done."

  Incate said nothing.

  Arvon conferred with Nordel and Yondoka. Then Arvon said to the group, "Incate doesn't seem to be willing to answer questions but if anyone has any, now is the time."

  "Why do you have so much hostility toward me?" I asked.

  Incate answered, "Because you're one of these subhumans who are getting a free ride from the Universalist Council. Just because the Delphic data is needed, all of you get life easy."

  I asked, "It's nothing personal, then?"

  “No,” he snarled. "I wish they'd sent me here with permission to kill all of you."

  The monitor showed that he was telling the truth.

  "You'd really be in trouble if all of us were dead."

  "Why?"

  "Because then you'd have no one to hate but yourself."

  A few more questions were asked, but everyone soon tired of Incate's venom. As the VIS officers took him back to his holding cell, Incate said, "You'll regret this when I report this to the Council."

  I couldn't resist the temptation to answer him. I said, "What makes you think you'll ever see the Council again or, that if you do, you will have any memory of what happened here?"

  I didn't know what Incate's fate would be but I suspected that his fate would involve wiping his brain of the hate.

  Lyonella and I went to the lounge. While we were sitting there, Kahalyton came by and said, "Come to the communications room if you want to hear the latest battle report."

  It was a different VIS officer who reported the latest developments. He said, "The battle at Wanklurm's headquarters is over. Most of the building has been destroyed. Wanklurm and his few remaining elite guards have driven off the Crusaders. We aren't certain how many Crusaders are left alive but we know that Errox and his albino second-in-command Zuwelda, along with a hand
ful of others, made a successful retreat and vanished. They've gone into hiding. Wanklurm and his guards are looking for them but haven't found them yet.

  “We've got scouts in a variety of locations who'll report sightings of personnel from either the guards or the Crusaders. Medical Complex personnel are working to clear the area around Wanklurm's headquarters of bodies."

  There were many questions. I heard all the answers but none of them gave me any clues to where Errox was. He had a rainbow wristlock which gave him access to almost any place he wanted to be. I doubted if he'd go to Dreena's dwell. By this time he probably knew that she had been arrested and was in a holding cell. I didn't think he'd try to regroup from Boget's dwell because for all he knew, it might still be under observation by watchers who hoped other conspirators might show up.

  I was lost in thought when Lyonella touched my hand. She asked, "Is now the time we use my psychic link to find Errox?"

  "Yes,” I answered. “It’s time to visit the Simulike Palace."

  TWENTY-THREE

  Although the fighting at Wanklurm’s headquarters was over, most people still seemed to be staying in their urbodes where it was safe. No one knew where or when the few remaining guards and Crusaders would resume trying to kill each other. I wanted to find Errox and stop the mayhem if I could. All I had to offer Errox was a chance to live, although he would be brainwiped and reconfigured.

  If Wanklurm and the guards found him his life would be ended by a bolt gun. I knew that Errox was a flawed human being, but he had saved my life once and I wanted to save him from death if I could.

  The slideways were nearly deserted as Lyonella and I made our way to the Simulike Palace. When we got off, we both looked around carefully with our stun guns ready in case there were Crusaders acting as lookouts. We saw no one. As we got closer and closer to the building, I watched Lyonella to see if her psychic sense indicated that Errox was near. I thought that if she detected his presence she would give a positive nod. Instead she shook her head from side-to-side to show that she hadn’t sensed him.

  I got close enough to whisper in her ear, "Let’s take a check inside. The public doorway is closed but my wristlock will open the private portal, the entrance for Palace personnel."