“Because I’m one of his people,” said Poogie, turning round at last to face them with his large, knowing eyes. “I’m going to lead you right to him.”
They all questioned him for some time, but he just shook his head, and said Harker would answer all their questions soon enough. The Goat was furious at being deceived, and even threatened Poogie with his club, but the Bear made him back off. Nothing had really changed in their mission, and if the Friendly Critter could lead them directly to Harker, so much the better. The Goat subsided, muttering, but wouldn’t put his club away. Poogie stood alone at the tip of the bow, looking eagerly up River. The humans talked quietly among themselves. Giles said he’d never trusted the toy anyway. Finlay pointed out that one rogue toy was hardly any danger to them. But only Evangeline spotted the real implications of Poogie’s revelation, that Harker knew they were coming.
They pressed on through the twilight. After a while, they began to hear drums beating up ahead, like the slow heartbeat of a sleeping giant. Or perhaps even the heartbeat of the Forest itself. There were traces of smoke in the air, sharp and spicy. The feeling of being watched by unseen eyes became increasingly powerful, causing the humans and the toys to huddle together in the ship’s bow, weapons at the ready. The humans were thinking less about their mission to get important tactical information from Harker, and more about how they were going to survive a meeting with the dreaded Red Man and his army. From whose territory no traveler had ever returned before. The drums grew louder and more threatening.
“He’s a great man,” said Poogie, almost dreamily, from where he stood alone. “Not easy to understand, sometimes, but still a man of great wisdom. We belong to him, heart and soul. We would die for the Red Man. He will lead us all out of the darkness, put an end to the war, change the face of this world beyond recognition.”
“Whether everyone else wants it or not,” said Bruin Bear.
“How is he going to make these changes?” said Finlay. “By unleashing his army on everyone else? By forcing them to follow his way, rather than the way they’ve chosen for themselves?”
“You don’t understand,” said Poogie. “He knows a truth that changes all of us who hear it. He saved me. He saved us all. He’ll save the world, too.”
“Whether it wants to be saved or not,” said Giles. “I’ve met his kind before.”
“No,” said Poogie. “You’ve never met anyone like the Red Man.”
He wouldn’t be drawn any farther.
Finally they came to Harker’s camp. His people had cleared an open space among the tall trees, and in it built a great wooden fortress, with high walls, slender towers, and suspended walkways. Toys in their thousands watched from all around as the paddle steamer slowed to a halt in the great dark lagoon that was the end of the River. The sound of the drums was deafening now, hammering on the air. Smoke rose from a hundred fires, burning scarlet and gold in the darkness between the trees. There were blazing torches on every side, the dancing flames casting uneasy shadows. There were toys of every kind, standing close together in and out of the trees, holding all kinds of weapons, silently watching the newcomers with unwavering eyes. Held back by the Red Man’s will, but still wary and watchful, and openly menacing.
Without warning, the drums fell silent. The army of toys didn’t react at all. The sudden quiet was broken only by the crackling of hundreds of fires and torches, and the slow chugging of the paddle steamer’s engines. Finlay and Giles looked slowly around them, careful to make no sudden move with their guns that might be misinterpreted. The Bear and the Goat stood very close together, holding hands, lost souls in the underworld. The light from the ship’s lanterns made little impression on the surrounding gloom, and the crimson glare of the massed fires and torches only served to deepen the darkness between the trees, like burning coals in the night.
“Welcome to Hell,” Toby said quietly.
“This isn’t Hell,” said Poogie. “This is home. Pull into the left-hand bank and lower the gangway. We mustn’t keep Harker waiting.”
Giles looked up at Halloweenie on the bridge. “Sound the whistle. Let Harker know we’re here. I don’t want him thinking we’re intimidated.”
“We are intimidated,” said the Sea Goat.
“Maybe,” said Julian. “But Harker doesn’t need to know that. Sound the whistle.”
The whistle sounded again and again as the Li’l Skeleton Boy hauled jerkily on the rope. It was loud and strident, pushing back the quiet, its overlapping echoes seeming to fill the Forest. The watching toys didn’t stir in the least, but everyone on board the ship felt a little better.
“Right,” said Finlay. “Let’s go see the Red Man. And remember—no shooting till we see the whites of their teeth.”
“If we have to start shooting, we’re dead,” said Giles. “Let’s all keep very calm, people.”
“We’re never going home,” said the Sea Goat. “We’re going to die here, in Hell.”
“Then die well,” said Bruin Bear. “If that’s all that’s left to us.”
They made their way cautiously down the gangplank and onto the shore, looking around all the time for any sign of aggression, but the watching thousands of toys were still and silent. Poogie led the way, bouncing happily along without an obvious care in the world. Giles strode along behind him, his chin held high, as though he owned the place. Finlay kept Evangeline close at his side, his hand never far from his holstered gun. Julian stared straight ahead, his hands stuffed into his pockets so no one would see them shaking. Toby and Flynn stuck together, taking it all in, the camera bobbing along just above their heads. Bruin Bear and the Sea Goat brought up the rear. Halloweenie walked between them, holding their hands in his bony fingers. The Merry Mrs. Trusspot watched them go with her wide unblinking eyes, but said nothing.
The crowd of toys opened up to provide a way for the newcomers, a narrow gauntlet, bristling with weapons, which led into the open courtyard of the great wooden fortress. Finlay’s breathing began to come fast and hurried, but he kept his face calm and unmoved. He had a strong feeling this would be a bad place to appear weak. He sneaked a glance at Giles, whose expression suggested he’d seen worse before and hadn’t been impressed then. And maybe he had. Finlay had to smile. Trust a Deathstaiker to seem at home in Hell. He’d already decided that if worse came to worst, he was going to do his very best to kill Harker first, then see how many toys he could kill before they dragged him down. He hoped he’d have time to kill Evangeline. He’d brought her into Hell; the least he could do was give her a quick death.
Inside the courtyard, brightly lit by hundreds of flaring torches, on a throne carved from the stump of a great tree, sat Vincent Harker, the Red Man. The man in red. The man in the Santa Claus suit.
Everyone came to a sudden halt. Even the Deathstalker’s jaw dropped. Poogie hurried forward to bow to Harker, and then sat at his feet. Harker reached down and scratched the creature’s head, and Poogie leaned against the man’s knee with a long sigh, home at last. Harker was a large man, more muscle than fat, with long white hair and a bushy white beard, and he wore the Santa Claus suit with quiet authority. He smiled warmly at his guests, a wide, welcoming, and very sane smile.
“The Red Man,” said Toby. “Father Christmas. I should have known.”
“What else did you expect, on a world made for toys and children?” said Harker. His voice was rich and deep and very reassuring. “Welcome to my home. I was beginning to think you’d never get here. Please don’t be concerned for your safety. My followers only ever act in self-defense. They’re putting on a bit of a show at the moment, because they’re afraid you’ve come to take me away from them. Once they see you’re no threat, they’ll calm down again. At least, I’m assuming you’re not a threat. Why have you come such a long and dangerous way to find me? You’re not Imperial forces.”
“Definitely not,” said Evangeline, stepping forward and doing her best not to notice all the weapons that moved to follow her. “We re
present the underground movement on Golgotha. A growing army of clones and espers and those who believe in liberty and justice, dedicated to rebellion. We understand you possess valuable tactical information concerning the Empire’s forces. We’re here to ask you to share that knowledge with us.”
“Ask?” said Harker. “That settles it; you’re definitely not Empire troops. Come; sit down with me, and I’ll tell you how I came to be here, and how I ended up as Santa Claus to a world of toys.”
A group of soldier dolls brought chairs, and the newcomers sat down before Harker. The soldier dolls retreated backwards, keeping their eyes on the newcomers and their hands near their weapons. Harker and his guests both pretended not to notice. The chairs were surprisingly comfortable. Harker leaned back in his throne.
“The toys built this for me. I didn’t ask them to, don’t really believe in such things anymore, but they decided that as their leader I was entitled to a throne, and they can be very stubborn about some things. So I go along with it, to keep them happy. Sometimes I wonder who’s really in charge here. Anyway, my story. When I crash-landed here, the war was still raging everywhere. Toy killing toy. Madness. Only newly brought to intelligence and life, and all they could do with it was kill and be killed. I saw the slaughter of toys and the death of innocence, and it changed me. Forever.
“When I worked for the Empire, they called me the Cold Man, because nothing ever touched me. I dealt in plans and strategies, turning raw data into schemes and tactics that would ensure the highest possible enemy losses and acceptable Empire losses. And if thousands or sometimes millions of people died because of the decisions I made, I didn’t care. I didn’t see them. I didn’t know them. They were just numbers.
“Then I came here, to Summerland, and what I saw broke my heart. Because I saw the truth of what the toys really are now. They’re children. Young, innocent, betrayed by the forces that gave them intelligence, then fed them only lies and hatred. The toys didn’t understand what they were doing when they killed the humans. Shub manipulated them. So new to life, how could they really understand death? When they saw their status, their feelings were hurt, and they lashed out, like angry children, like puppies that don’t know teeth can hurt. Afterward, when they saw what they had done, it drove many of them insane with guilt and horror.
“When I saw the death of their childhood and the betrayal of innocence in the name of war, I was horrified and sickened. For the first time, the numbers I’d dealt with so casually became real. For the first time, I cared. So I went out into the world of toys and walked among them, one human, alone and unarmed, bringing them a truth that they had never suspected. That they were the children now. I became Santa Claus, because it was an image they could all understand, and I told them of the horrors of war, and where it led, as only I could. They heard the truth and the guilt in my voice, and they believed. I wanted so desperately to save them from the horror of what I had become, and they could sense that, too.
“I acquired disciples and followers, and many enemies. Toys who daren’t believe me, because of what they had done and continued to do in Snub’s name. Because my truth would mean they had made themselves into murderers and butchers for no good reason; and they would rather fight a war that had no end than believe that. So I brought my people here, into the Forest, a place intended for forgiveness and rebirth, and sent my disciples out to carry my truth to the world of toys.
“As always, the message became scrambled as it passed from mouth to mouth. I became the Red Man, my followers became an army, and my message of peace became a threat to the world. But the truth is a hardy beast, and it persisted, bringing toys here to hear it for themselves. Slipping away from both sides in ones and twos, they came here for peace and absolution, and I did my best to give it to them.
“They are the true children of Shannon’s World, and I am their Father Christmas. Who knows what they might become, when they have grown into adults?”
“All this time and all this way, I’ve been following the wrong story,” said Toby. “I should have known.”
“What are you going to do when the Empress finally loses her patience and sends an army down here to bring you back?” said Evangeline. “Your followers are impressive, but they wouldn’t last that long against Imperial shock troops. You of all people should know that. If you were to come back with us, to the rebellion, we could hide you, protect you . . .”
She trailed off. Harker was shaking his head firmly. “No. I’ll never leave. I’m needed here, and I have so much to atone for. If an army ever comes, a rumor will cross the world of toys that I am dead. There’ll even be a very convincing body to back it up. Eventually the information in my head will become obsolete, and then no one will care about me anymore.”
“I can’t help noticing that none of your people have lowered any of their weapons yet,” said Finlay. “Are they always this protective?”
“Mostly,” said Marker. “They worship me, though I have asked them not to. I suppose it’s only to be expected. I preach to them, tell them stories, try to bring them up to be all that they can be. They have enormous potential. Don’t you find it staggering, that so many of them rejected the Shub programming on their own, without outside help or persuasion? Even though they were really only newly born children, they still knew right from wrong, the sanctity of life and the horror of murder. They knew that all that lives is holy.”
“All that lives is holy.” The rumbled chorus came from all around them, like a litany.
Halloweenie leaned forward in his chair. “Are you really Santa Claus?”
Harker smiled. “I am, if anyone is. Would you like to stay here with me, with us?”
“Oh yes,” said Halloweenie. “I thought the Forest was frightening at first, but it isn’t, not really. I could be a Boy here, couldn’t I? A real Boy.”
“Of course,” said Harker. “You always were.”
“What will happen to the toys eventually?” said Julian. “When they’ve given up their fear, and become . . . adults?”
“I don’t know,” said Harker. “These are the first independent AI minds since Shub. They might become as human as us. Or, given the state of Humanity these days, they might not settle for so little. Perhaps the creations will outdo their creators.”
“That could be . . . dangerous,” said Giles.
“Stop thinking about Shub,” said Harker. “Things are different here. Besides, the toys are powered by energy crystals. Eventually they will run down, and then the toys will need new crystals. And the only place to get those is Human space. The toys will need humans. And humans will always need toys. But that’s the future. Lionstone must never know the secret of Haceldama. She would look at my children and see only another Shub in the making. She’d scorch this whole world rather than risk that.”
“Give us the tactical information you possess,” said Evangeline, “and we’ll keep Lionstone so busy she won’t have time to think about Shannon’s World. Once it’s clear we know what you know, your information will become redundant, you won’t be important to her anymore.”
“But you know my secret,” said Harker. “Can I trust you to remain silent?”
“The underground has more important things to worry about than one basically neutral planet,” said Evangeline. “As long as we come back with your information, no one will care where it came from. No one but us need ever know about Shannon’s children.”
They all looked at Toby, who sighed heavily and then shrugged. “It would have been great footage, but I guess it can stay on the shelf till it’s finally safe to show it. Wouldn’t be the first story I helped to bury. Right, Flynn? So, no one will ever know.”
“Wrong,” said Julian. “The Empire will know, because I’ll tell them. I’ll tell them everything.” He stood up sharply, pushing back his chair, and the disrupter in his hand was trained unwaveringly on Harker. His face twisted with a smile that had no humor in it. His voice sounded strange, forced. “No one move, or Harker’s d
ead. Before Finlay rescued me, the mind techs planted one of Wormboy’s worms deep in my brain, with hidden instructions. To destroy any real threat to the Empire. Harker and his army have activated my worm and its programming. Get up, Harker. You’re coming back to Lionstone with me. Anyone interferes, and I’ll kill him, right here.”
All around, the toys lifted their weapons and then hesitated, unsure what to do that wouldn’t lead to the death of their leader. Giles’s hand went to his gun, but Finlay put a hand on his arm, stopping him. They couldn’t risk it.
“Can you teleport him out of here?” Finlay murmured.
“No. His esp blocks my powers,” said Giles quietly. “But I might well be able to shoot him before he can get off a shot. Let me try.”
“No,” said Finlay. “I want to try something first.” He raised his voice. “Julian, listen to me. I got you out of the interrogator’s cell. You hadn’t broken. You were too strong for them. Be strong now. Giles says your powers are greater now than they’ve ever been. Fight the worm. Fight it! Be your own self!”
Julian frowned, his mouth working silently. The hand holding the disrupter began to shake. And then slowly the fingers opened, and the gun fell to the ground. Toby pounced on it, as Julian fell shuddering to his knees. Some of the toys aimed their weapons, but Harker stepped down from his throne to kneel beside the shaking esper.
“Help me,” said Julian, his eyes squeezed shut. “it’s still in my head. It wants me to kill you. It always will. But I won’t . . .”
“You can be free,” said Harker, his head down next to Julian’s. “You can. My children broke their programming; you can break yours. Be strong. All you have to do is believe.”
Julian’s back arched as a horrid pain coursed through him. His head snapped back, his face twisted in agony. His brief contact with Giles had filled him with more power than he’d ever known, and he drew on it all now, determined to be free even if it killed him. His left eye slowly bulged forward. And out of the bloody eye socket oozed a small grey worm, pushed out of the esper’s brain by the sheer force of his will. It fell squirming onto the ground, and Finlay crushed it under his heel. Julian sank back into Harker’s waiting arms. His eye sank back into its socket, and he managed a shaky smile.