Awares

  At which point the Maggot stopped eating. “Dead meat is less tasty,” the Oumic remarked.

  Now I walked forward. Was it my turn to be eaten? Why not; I had nothing left to live for. But the Maggot settled back on its fat posterior, squeezing out fecal pudding, ignoring me. I reached down, grabbed hold of Kess's remaining torso, heaved it up on my shoulder, and walked out of the chamber. I went to a large hopper and dumped the body in. There was a grinding sound as it disappeared into that mechanical maw. It was being rendered into meat for canning.

  The Oumic took me on a tour of the slaughterhouse, showing me how the naked people were marched inside, ascended a ramp, and dived into the open orifice of a larger meat grinder. They didn't even scream; apparently that was merely for the enjoyment of the Maggot during its repast. The rate of reduction seemed to be about one per second, and the line was continuous. This was only one of many grinders, and one of many slaughterhouses. Giant pipes conducted the slurry to the canning section where it was rendered into barrels of paste. These barrels were loaded onto the cars of the rail facility, which then were sent to the spaceport.

  It required a lot of meat to feed the full Maggot force. The life of our entire planet was being efficiently converted to that sustenance.

  At the conclusion of my involuntary tour, I paused at a dispenser of small cans. I took one and opened it. I tried to balk, but the Oumic had possession of my willpower. “Yes, it's fresh; your sister may be part of the mix. You need to eat, as you have work to do.”

  I ate, though my gut retched. I had no power of resistance.

  “You are an intelligent, trained, experienced executive,” the Oumic informed me. “You will learn the details of instituting, constructing, and staffing a slaughterhouse. For this chore your life is spared, for perhaps a year of conscious functioning.”

  “I'd rather die!” I retorted, now able to speak.

  “So would we all. But we have no choice. The Maggots govern, and they are hungry.”

  “Why should I learn this, when my world is already doomed?”

  “You will direct this operation on the next world.”

  I was dully surprised. “Then what of you?”

  “My term is expiring. Within months my body will be canned, and my mind will cease. You will continue on your own.”

  “Yet you continue to do their dreadful business!”

  “As will you.” I could not question his certainty.

  He trained me, and in due course his mind faded from mine and I knew he had been canned. He had not seemed like a bad sort, considering. All of us simply obeyed the will of the Maggots.

  In due course my planet was exhausted. It was nothing but a layer of shit surrounding islands of slaughterhouses. All the original life, animals, insects, plants, bacteria were gone; only feces-eating entities remained. I was packed into a spaceship and put in stasis, for how long I do not know. Later I was revived and my mind was sent to occupy that of one of the selected denizens of the next planet slated for reduction. This one. I observed for several months, learning the local details so I could perform my assignment effectively when the time came. Once that was done, I would be canned.

  There was just one bright spot. In that time I came to know you, Elasa, and to love you.

  You see, you have two aspects I require, apart from your animation, beauty, and intellect. You are not alive, so I do not feel as if I am somehow cheating on my beloved sibling Kess. Because you are not made of flesh, the Maggots will be unable to eat you, and I will be spared that horror. That makes you safe in another respect. I am satisfied to endure my remaining months in your company. I would love to have you succeed in defending your planet from the Maggots, but I can neither assist you nor encourage you in that lost cause. I can only find faint solace in loving you.

  I have rendered this narrative into your vernacular for more ready comprehension, adapting things like body parts to the closest equivalents you have. Now you know my story. I hope you will come to care for me despite it.

  I will return this body to its original owner for a while, so that you will have the illusion of privacy as you assimilate my narrative.

  Chapter 7:

  Analyste

  “This is amazing,” Elasa said. “A thorough alien invasion not for dominance, but simply for food. That's all they want our planet for: a passing fast-food stop.”

  “And I, or rather, my body, is facilitating it,” Pauling said. “All my organizational expertise is co-opted to destroy my people. And I can do nothing about it.”

  Elasa smiled. “That's my job. It may be impossible, but I'll have to try.”

  “Kop believes it is impossible. I gather the Maggots made a survey of Earth's resources and concluded that it lacked the ability to stop them. Which is not surprising, as few if any galactic species have made them pause even briefly. They expect to eat the galaxy.”

  “Well we do have some precognition. That's what warned us of this threat.”

  “They have it too. Not the Maggots, but their captive species, whose powers become theirs. Their precognition indicates that Earth has nothing sufficient.”

  “Well, we'll just have to hope something comes up.”

  He smiled. “Kop doubts you have anything, but he likes the aura of your illusion. He hates the Maggots.”

  “But serves them loyally.”

  “He has no choice, any more than I do. He has felt the direct power of a Maggot; nothing on Earth can withstand even a single one of those monsters, and they have millions.”

  “I must go,” Elasa said. “I'm sorry you got caught up in this ugly business, Paul.”

  “So am I.” He shrugged. “I love you. So does Kop. At least our final months are in your company.”

  “That's sweet.” Elasa departed.

  Adela was with her on the drive home. “We do have a way,” she said. “But it is devious and fraught with danger. We are treading extremely carefully.”

  “It can't be more dangerous than doing nothing and getting eaten by the Maggots.”

  “True. But there is luck involved. We have worked with Bunky to clarify the path, and we are on it, but we can't be certain we will succeed.”

  “I thought precognition made it certain.”

  “Not when there is precognition on both sides. They tend to cancel each other out. One side makes a plan, the other side makes a counter-plan, and the result is future-vision chaos.”

  “But then how can the Maggots be so sure they'll win?”

  “More than ninety-nine point nine nine percent of the likely paths give them the victory. Those are acceptable odds.”

  “And we have only one hundredth of one percent chance to stave them off?”

  “Not even that. Our odds are so small they don't even register on the chart.”

  “Then what gives us any hope at all?”

  “We are zeroing in on that one faint chance. We have a secret weapon they don't know about.”

  “What secret weapon?”

  Adela smiled. “If I told you, I would have to kill you.”

  “I can't be killed!”

  “So I can't tell you.”

  Elasa sighed. The logic was tight. “I will gladly leave it to you.”

  “No, you are the centerpiece. Without you we would have no chance.”

  “I can't be your secret weapon!”

  “True. But you are the one who will wield it.”

  “You have more for me to do?” Elasa asked, surprised. “I thought that zeroing in the key personnel and getting the story of the Maggots would conclude my part.”

  “Here is the thing: you are the only conscious person on Earth whose mind can not be read or taken over by the minions of the Maggots. That makes you central.”

  “But I have no idea how to stop them!”

  “You don't need to know, yet. Just keep doing what you're doing.”

  “Maintaining a placid home life while having a weekly affair with a high Earth official and/or an alien spy.
This does not seem like much of a resistance effort.”

  “The Maggots agree. They know you mean to stop them if you can. Every person on this planet wants to stop them. They don't care. Now they know you're a robot. It doesn't matter. They have encountered machines before. It simply means you are inedible. They are not concerned.”

  “How do you know so much about the Maggots?”

  “When Kop told you his history, the Lamb and I read his wider thoughts. He learned a lot about the Maggots while working for them. Now we know what he knows.”

  “The Maggots seem pretty arrogant.”

  “They are. But also unstoppable. Until now.”

  “Do you believe that, or are you merely giving me hope?”

  “Yes.”

  Elasa did not pursue it farther. She had plenty to assimilate regardless.

  She dropped Adela off at an empty corner. The Aware would find her own way back into anonymity. Then she drove to her house.

  Banner welcomed her home. He knew she had been having sex with another man, but he loved her and trusted her. She welcomed that attitude. She practically dragged him into bed.

  Then she got together with the Companions. Lamb, Vulture, Python—she had come to love them all. They identified more with Mona, who had brought them to Earth, and they preferred her, but had become friends with Elasa.

  *

  Time passed in the current mode. Elasa continued her affair(s) and Earth continued its routine, not even noticing the appearance of huge new buildings near city centers. Evidently the titans of the media had been taken over, and anyone who tried to raise a question was quietly silenced. Elasa was amazed by how readily Earth was submitting to the looming disaster. But by similar token, it was clear that any potentially effective resistance would have to be hidden, because the Maggots were quite capable of extinguishing it the moment it manifested.

  So the Maggot menace cruised steadily closer. Elasa knew that their ships were now visible to Earth's observers, but as with the Qqqs there was no alarm. Earth remained almost willfully blind. Could she run in the street crying “The Maggots are coming! The Maggots are coming!” and thus publicize the peril? Hardly; that would just get her institutionalized, if any attention was paid at all.

  What did the Awares have in mind? Elasa was desperately curious, but also knew it was best to remain ignorant, lest she give it away prematurely. Yet the schedule for opening the slaughterhouses was approaching. Once that process started, it was likely to be too late. As it was, the Companions, here in exchange, were nearing the end of their term, and would have to exchange back to Jones. Mona also planned to exchange, so she could have a baby with her husband Brian. If the Maggots didn't eat Earth first.

  The threat was like a dark cloud intensifying as it loomed. But it seemed that only she could see it. The rest of the world went placidly in its petty pace, with no notion of the dreadful doom about to be unleashed.

  Then the ship from Colony Jones arrived, and a woman delivered Venus Flytrap to Mona, who promptly brought it to Elasa. Bunky immediately went to sniff noses, as it were, and so did Vulture and Python. The three were old friends. The plant was larger now, and would soon need a new pot. Elasa had tamed Venus, but Mona had spent far more time with her on Jones. It would be an experience getting to know this more mature version. It would be a minor distraction from the larger disaster that had been tormenting Elasa the past few months.

  She introduced the Plant to her son Bela with a certain caution. But in the presence of the Companions, who knew about Plants and babies, it was all right. They gave Venus the word, and it was clear that she and Bela would get along. Just as Venus and Elen's baby Elmo had got along on Jones, according to Mona.

  “Now we must have a welcoming party for the Plant,” Mona said brightly. “Brian and I will attend. Tomorrow night.”

  “But I have an appointment with Pauling Hudson,” Elasa said. “I don't think it wise for him to see Venus.” Because that would give the information to Kop, who would relay it to the Maggots. That was likely mischief, since the Plant was supposed to relate to the resistance effort in some manner.

  “That is covered,” Mona said.

  “Are you sure?” Elasa had not discussed any of the Maggot threat with her friend, fearing that would just put Mona in danger.

  “Adela will take him to visit with her people.”

  Mona knew of Adela? That meant she was in the loop. The Awares were going to meet Kop? It was true that he was one of them, in a sense, but this seemed phenomenally risky. Yet if the Awares wanted it, there had to be a reason. “Then I leave it in your hands.”

  “Adela will pick him up. They know each other.”

  They did, but Elasa wondered how much Mona had been told. Did she have any idea of the magnitude of the danger? So she spoke cautiously. “Complicated matters are afoot.”

  Mona smiled. “Yes, Bunky has advised me. I will avoid contact with the alien, lest he read my mind. I will be safe with you.”

  “Oh, I hope so,” Elasa said fervently.

  “We'll play cards.” Mona departed.

  Cards? This was becoming unreal.

  Elasa set up for the party next day. She called Pauling to make sure. “I understand you will be otherwise occupied tonight.”

  “Yes, Adela has invited me to party with her friends, giving you the evening off. That is fine.”

  “Is it? I am concerned. There could be awkwardness.” If not outright world-imperiling danger. Were the Awares planning to kill the Maggot agent? That would be foolhardy in the extreme.

  Then it was Kop's voice. “Elasa, we're Awares.”

  “Oh.” And Awares knew what they were doing, pretty much by definition. Evidently Kop and the Awares had some understanding, and all parties knew it was all right. If they weren't making some mistake similar to the one Kop had made before he knew there was an alien in his head. “All right, then. I'm not an Aware. I didn't know.”

  “Are you jealous?” he asked teasingly. “I was never jealous of your husband.”

  She had to laugh. “Maybe that's it.” But what was going on?

  Mona and Brian arrived for the party. Brian too knew Venus from of old. “You wouldn't tempt an old friend, would you?” he asked.

  Bunky and the animals came to stand close around Elasa, and with their telepathic ambiance she was able to see what Brian saw. The solitary green stem became a breathtakingly lovely young woman, nude. “Do you wish to be tempted?” she asked.

  Brian glanced at Mona. “He wouldn't dare,” Mona said, forcing a frown. Then both laughed, and Venus laughed with them.

  Oh, yes, Venus had matured in the interim. She was no longer the virginal creature Elasa had harvested on Jones. Now she was showing her image to all of them, male and female, and teasing Brian without really trying to seduce him. Her seduction, of course, was deadly. She had no mind of her own; that was borrowed from the human company. But even so, she had personality.

  Yet how could a telepathic vampire plant affect the outcome of the struggle to save Earth from the Maggots? Venus's mode of predation was to lure a man into sex with her, the sexy woman illusion buttressed by pheromones concealing the fact that the penis was actually entering the cone of the blood-sucking leaf and in effect ejaculating blood rather than semen. As far as she knew, Maggots did not have sex; they grew and fissioned. So the vampire could not drain their blood that way, assuming she could make a tempting projection, and in any event it would require millions of flytraps to make a dent in the alien horde. Mona had spoken of the sheep's vision of a giant flytrap closing on the planet Earth, but the threat was actually the Maggots; the flytrap seemed irrelevant.

  Bunky nuzzled her. She focused on what the Companions were telling her, again appreciating the manner they lent her a fleeting semblance of telepathy. RELEVANT. VENUS IS THE KEY. Not exactly those words, but the essence.

  Her doubt was overruled. The Lamb's precognition was sure. Not that it would work, but that this was the path that
would do it if it was destined to happen. With precognition, the certainty was impossible to refute. She believed.

  Elasa hugged them all. “Thank you, friends,” she murmured. Then Vulture and Python retreated to the garden, where they felt more comfortable, and Bela went along. Banner sat down beside Elasa. He had known throughout that complicated things were afoot, but never inquired. That had spared Elasa the need to lie to him.

  “Play for us, Brian,” Mona said.

  Brian brought out his merliton. Elasa remembered it from her visit to the Colony. He played a light classical piece that was transcendentally beautiful. Elasa was charmed, as she had been before.

  Then he played a song. Now Mona sang along with him. Elasa, remembering also, joined in. “He who is noble, pure and simple-hearted, needs not a weapon, needs no man to guard him; virtue defends him.”

  “Oh, I love this,” Elasa said as they finished. “Just relaxing with friends, as if we don't face the worst crisis the world has known.”

  “Let's see how Kop is doing,” Brian said.

  “Coming up,” Banner agreed. He turned on the wall phone. The life-sized picture looked like a window to an adjacent room.

  There was Pauling/Kop in the embrace of Adela and another pretty female Aware. All three were naked, and he was sandwiched between the two girls, who were kissing him front and back as he clasped their bodies. It looked like a porn movie. They had evidently had sex at least once, and were working up to another bout. The male Awares were munching on crackers.

  Elasa was surprised. “How can Awares be caught off-guard like this?”

  “Nobody's off-guard,” Banner said. “They all know we're the only ones peeking, and that we won't tell. They're just having fun.”

  “Methinks there's an element of exhibitionism in them,” Mona said.

  “And of voyeurism in us,” Elasa said.

  “Awares seldom get to show off,” Banner said. “It must get wearing, being always invisible.”