The final goblin trick had been so obvious—and it had worked. If only she had remembered to make sure he was dead! She had labored so hard, only to cast it away so foolishly.
The gong sounded. The siege was over—and the goblins had won. The enemy had won two of three sieges, just as in Proton-frame. Sirel’s anguish was worse than the pain in her body.
Chapter 16
Purple
Citizen Purple did not waste time performing any jig of joy. He had been planning and organizing throughout, and now with the victories in both frames he had to act with speed and authority. What he did in these few hours could determine the fate of the frames for the next generation.
First he summoned Tsetse. Others had assumed that it was mere lust that had caused him to appropriate her services, but they were only half right. Lust was the cover for her potential usefulness in other respects.
She entered his office, as luscious as ever. “Sir?” she inquired hesitantly. She had been subdued since losing her contest, and he had not reassured her. She feared she would be punished.
“The situation has turned to our favor,” he said. “Your little misstep with the machine turned out not to be critical.”
“Yes, sir.” Now she was almost sure she was about to be punished; she was maintaining as brave a front as she was able, but she was trembling.
“I believe there remains a place for you in this organization, but under probation. You will have to prove yourself.”
“Anything, sir!” she exclaimed, pitifully eager. She thought he was going to come up with some new and strenuous sexual activity. All in good time.
“I want you to take a package to Citizen Translucent, for delivery to his hands only, in strict privacy, without delay.”
“Immediately, sir!”
“And when you return, bring the child here. I believe you know her personally; she should trust you.”
“Nepe? I put her on the shuttle four years ago, when she—” She broke off, realizing that this too might be construed to her disfavor.
He raised an eyebrow. “Continue.”
“When she went into hiding,” she finished reluctantly.
“So you were involved in her disappearance. It seems fitting that you should be involved in her reappearance. Bring her to me.”
“But sir, Citizen Translucent—”
Purple frowned. “Am I mistaken? I had understood that you wished to redeem yourself for past indiscretions.”
“I do, sir! But if Citizen Translucent does not release the child—”
Purple waved a hand negligently. “Have no concern. He will not object to your taking her.”
“Yes, sir.” Greatly relieved, she accepted the package he gave her, and departed with alacrity.
Purple smiled. The package contained a gas bomb that would detonate five seconds after Translucent’s contact triggered it. It would render him unconscious for four hours or more depending on his health. Tsetse would be appalled to see him fall, but would realize that she would be blamed unless she made a quick exit. Further, she would have to have protection—which meant Purple himself. So she would have to win his favor by bringing him the brat. Tsetse was certainly going to earn her keep!
Meanwhile, he had to set up for the next stage: possession of the Oracle. Citizen Translucent was slated to take it from Citizen Blue in three hours, but Translucent would prove to be indisposed. Citizen Purple would do it instead.
Soon his various minions were doing their things; Purple had planned for this coup for some time. He had been grudgingly content to let Translucent carry it hitherto, because the job was getting done, but he distrusted the other Citizen’s long-range intentions. Translucent was too apt to be generous to his opposition, and that only set up problems for the future.
A call came in. He accepted it immediately, knowing its nature.
Tsetse’s face showed. “Sir, I have Nepe. But we are pursued, and I can’t get through.”
“On the way,” Purple said, gratified. His monitor showed that the call was from a privacy stall, the natural place for a woman to hide. This was a matter to cover personally.
He plunged into his transport and barked coordinates. The craft passed through the wall and into the Citizen network.
In moments he was there, opposite the stall. He stepped out—to encounter several android servitors. “Out of my way, vermin!” he snapped.
“But sir, our charge has been kidnapped,” one protested. “Our employer’s residence was raided—”
“Why do you think I’m here, idiot? I will take care of this matter. Return to your stations.”
The androids, confused, could not stand up to a Citizen. They retreated. It would have been another story, had Translucent been conscious, but of course he wasn’t. “Tsetse!” he called. “Step across to my carriage, quickly, with the child.”
Tsetse emerged, towing Nepe, who looked frightened. They entered his carriage, as a human serf ran up. “Sir, please wait! There has been—”
Purple stepped into the carriage himself, and the door closed. “Home!”
Nepe’s eyes focused on him. “You did this!” she flared. “It wasn’t a serf revolt!”
So that was what Tsetse had told the child, to gain her immediate cooperation. “Very nice,” he murmured.
“You’re kidnapping me from Citizen Translucent!” the child continued.
He did not bother to deny it. The girl was quiet, evidently smart enough to realize when protest would be counterproductive.
Soon they arrived back at his protected offices. “Take her to the sports room,” he told Tsetse as the carriage door opened. “Keep her happy.”
Tsetse took the child by the hand and led her to the room normally reserved for entertainments of a more adult nature. The woman was now as much a captive as the child, because she had attacked a Citizen and would be subject to reprisal the moment she left Purple’s protection. The fact that she had not known the nature of the package hardly mattered; she had perpetrated the act. Once Translucent had fallen she had been lost—unless she won her way back to Purple’s office and his favor. Yes, this had worked out very nicely.
For the child was a vital key. Translucent’s intent had been to utilize Bane and Mach, as before, to establish contact between the frames. He would have returned the child to her parents, knowing that Bane and Mach would honor the terms of the agreement. Citizen Blue had lost, and so had the Adept Stile; the power of the frames was now to be transferred.
But Bane and Mach were unreliable; they had become too assertive, and their sympathy had now been openly given to the other side. They would be seeking ways to reverse the situation, without actually breaking their word. That was dangerous, because in time they might find such a way. Perhaps a potion that would distort the judgment of someone who inadvertently took it. Such things existed; he had used them on others on occasion.
Potion. That gave him a notion. Maybe it would be better to tame the child immediately, so that her word could be added to his when the Oracle was transferred. Yes, that should keep the opposition off balance, until it was too late.
He rose and went to the sports room. Tsetse and Nepe were watching a romantic holo. Interesting, the way the tastes of bright child and not-too-bright young woman coincided.
The holo faded out as he approached Nepe. “I believe it is time for us to come to an understanding,” he said. “Let me explain my intent.”
Child and woman turned to face him, both attentive, neither relaxed.
“I mean to use you, Nepe, to contact Phaze,” he said. “Instead of your father or uncle. I believe you will prove to be a more responsive tool. Are you prepared to cooperate in this?”
The child was forthright. “No.”
“Suppose I make you a bit uncomfortable?”
“No good. You know you can’t hurt me or even bruise me, because it’ll show and you’ll be discredited. Nobody respects a child beater.”
How delightfully sharp she was!
“I do not mean to beat you.”
“Then I’ll never cooperate!”
“I think you will.” Purple walked to a desk, opened a drawer whose lock was coded to his touch, and brought out a round metal device. He raised it so that she could see it. “Do you know what this is?”
“A lethargy box,” she said.
“Can you guess to whom it is tuned?”
“Me.”
She was bold enough! But of course she had had years of experience with Citizens as “Troubot,” the information machine, so had lost her fear of them. All to the good. “You know what it will do to you?”
“Put me to sleep, or just slow me down, depending on the setting. But that’s no good; it won’t change my mind.”
“Allow me to demonstrate how it will change your mind.” He turned on the box.
Nepe’s small frame sagged somewhat; she no longer had surplus energy, because the field generated by the box depressed her nervous system, sapping her control. The effect was painless and harmless; indeed, such devices were commonly used to facilitate sleeping.
But she still could speak. “I still won’t do your bidding, Purp.”
Now to throw a genuine scare into her. Because she had seen Citizens in action, she knew how few their limitations were. She would assume the worst. “Tsetse, put her on the desk, on hands and knees.”
The woman caught on. “But she’s a child, sir!”
He turned a cold eye on her. “You have notions of your own, serf?”
Tsetse swallowed, then went to move the child. She took Nepe by the hand and pulled, and the child walked along as urged. Then Tsetse picked her up somewhat clumsily by the waist and heaved her to the desk. In due course Nepe was on her hands and knees, her bare posterior toward the Citizen.
“You have an idea what comes next?” he asked her.
“Molestation,” she said succinctly.
She had indeed assumed the worst—but she did not seem frightened. Citizen Purple had few scruples about the means he used to achieve his ends, but he had never had any sexual hankering for children. He would have to make this a good bluff.
“It is readily avoided,” he said, putting a hand on her little buttock. “You can have a perfectly pleasant life here, as long as you cooperate in the matter of the frames.”
“My father will kill you as soon as he learns.”
“Now how would he learn?” Purple inquired.
“Broken hymen.” But her defiance was losing its conviction. Not a moment too soon! He had already played his trump card.
“You will learn that this can be done without touching your hymen,” he said, stroking her bottom. “Nothing will show but you will know, won’t you? You won’t enjoy it, but you will know.”
“Sir—” Tsetse said.
He cut her off with a dark glance. Why didn’t the confounded child break?
“I won’t tell,” Nepe said. “And I won’t contact Flach.”
It just wasn’t working. He would have to try another tack. “Tsetse, orient the camera.”
Reluctantly the woman brought the portable holo camera.
“Can you guess to whom this recording will be sent?” he inquired.
The child didn’t answer.
Well, he just had to hope that the threats had more impact than they seemed to. The child was tougher than he had figured. He definitely wanted her on his team!
“This is merely a warning,” he said. “You will cooperate, or you will experience things that please neither you nor your relatives. I want you to think about this until I return.”
He turned off the lethargy box and departed.
He closed the door behind him, then went to his main desk. The image of Nepe was on the screen; she was constantly under surveillance. The portable camera was a dummy. Now he would see whether his little demonstration had been effective.
“How can you go along with this, Tsetse?” the child was asking as she climbed down off the desk.
The woman looked miserable. “I can not oppose him. I did not know he was going to use me this way, but I can’t stop him. I beg you, do as he says, so he won’t hurt you!”
That was exactly what he had wanted her to say. Tsetse, fortunately, was not bright enough to see through his ploy.
“Won’t you help me escape?” the child asked, toying with the lethargy box.
“I dare not! Even if I did, everything is guarded! You can not escape this chamber without his authorization. Neither can I!”
“I thought you’d feel that way,” Nepe said. She turned on the box and changed the setting.
Tsetse sagged. Nepe had been smart enough to know that there were a number of settings, and that each person in the vicinity had a setting except the Citizen. She had retuned it to Tsetse.
Purple struck the air with one fist, jubilantly. The child was taking the bait!
Nepe walked around the desk and took Tsetse by the hand.
The woman followed where led, unresisting. “Lie down here,” she said, bringing her to the couch. “Sleep. You have no part in this.”
Tsetse lay down and closed her eyes. Almost immediately, she was breathing in the regular cadence of sleep.
Nepe had evidently already explored the chamber, for she showed no hesitation. She pulled a light chair to the wall under an air circulation vent, and stood on it. Now she could just reach high enough to catch the grille with the fingers of one hand.
She remained there, the hand clasping the metal strips. Slowly her body dissolved. Her legs and feet became blobs of flesh that were drawn up into the main mass. Her other hand melted into that mass. Then a bolus of flesh moved up the hanging arm and to the grille. It worked its way through. Another bolus rose, passing similarly beyond the mesh.
In due course, Purple knew, all of the child’s body would be inside the air tube, and the single hand, left behind, would hand, left behind, would let go and disappear into the rest. Then the blob would elongate like a snail and travel on up through the tube.
He smiled. Nepe had not disappointed him! Had she really thought he was foolish enough to forget her nature? Rape was of course meaningless to her; she could simply melt her flesh to avoid it, or re-form it intact after suffering any violation. She had played her part perfectly, and now was doing exactly what he had hoped she would. She had responded to his threats by making an effort to escape.
He wished he could remain to watch, but he had pressing other business. Humming, he left the office.
Citizen Blue was at the designated meeting place for the ceremony, with his robot wife and robot son. Blue was in his usual blue clothing, while the other two were naked in the fashion of the serfs they were. Citizen Purple swept in, trailing Citizen Tan. This was all that was required; the holo recording would acquaint other interested parties with the transaction.
“I am ready to do business,” Purple said.
“We are expecting Citizen Translucent,” Blue said.
“Haven’t you heard? He is indisposed at the moment. Therefore this formality devolves on me. You may proceed.”
“It is my understanding that he is indisposed because a gas bomb was smuggled into his office,” Blue said evenly. “I think we should postpone this ceremony until he is recovered.”
“As I recall, you used the pretext of the missing child to cut off our contact with the Oracle before. The child was missing by your connivance. Now you propose to use the pretext of Citizen Translucent’s absence to renege on the Oracle again?”
Blue hesitated. It was obvious that he did not like this situation, but could not make more than a token protest, because his side had lost the contests.
“I think we are seeing the falling out of thieves,” the robot wench muttered.
“It is not your concern, machine,” Purple said, giving her breasts a straight stare. What a satisfaction it had been to beat her in the Game!
Blue did not show his annoyance. “Then we may as well proceed.” He turned to face the pickup that was the only
indication of the Oracle’s presence. “Oracle, are you aware?”
A small hologram appeared: a whirling spiral of light hovering just above the pickup. “I am, Citizen Blue.”
“My side held a contest with the Contrary Citizens, the stakes being control of the access to the Oracle and the means to contact the frame of Phaze. The Contrary Citizens won. Accordingly, I am now instructing you, Oracle, to acknowledge the instructions of the Contrary Citizens, whose spokesman is—”
“Citizen Purple,” Purple said.
“Currently Citizen Purple,” Blue continued. “And to decline to acknowledge my instructions, or those of any who are allied with me. Do you accede?”
“It is an unfortunate pass,” the Oracle remarked. “The Contrary Citizens will ruin the planet.”
“Do you accede?” Purple demanded.
“I accede,” the Oracle said. “I can do only as directed.”
“Then you will answer, until further notice directly from me, only to me or to Citizen Tan, who will be working with you initially.”
“Citizen Purple and Citizen Tan, logged on,” the Oracle agreed. The whirling spiral faded out.
“Now the matter of contact with Phaze,” Purple said.
“Mach will serve in that capacity, as before,” Blue said. “And Bane, when he is present.”
“I think not.”
Blue looked at him. “You need them for contact.”
“I prefer to use the child Nepe,” Purple said. “Her contact is more versatile, and she should prove to be more responsive to our interests.”
“That wasn’t the understanding!” Mach snapped.
“The understanding was that the means for contact would be provided,” Purple responded. “The actual mechanism was unspecified. It therefore becomes an option. I am now exercising that option. The child will be our instrument of contact. Since she is already in our possession, no more need be done. The agreement is complete.”
“You beast!” the robot wench cried. She had adopted many human mannerisms.