The Damned Trilogy

by Alan Dean Foster

Levaughn’s smile returned. “You always did have a flair for the melodramatic, Rashidi. Even in combat.” The lieutenant colonel grinned thinly. “No, I’m not thinking along lines like that. Notwithstanding my stature, I’m no would-be Napoleon or MacArthur.” This time the laughs came easier. “I’ve no desire to rule any kind of empire, military or otherwise. I just want to see to it that after all we’ve done for the races of the Weave, Humankind gets back what it deserves.”

  He had them now, al-Haikim saw. Most of them, anyway. Of course, the men and women in the room had been carefully chosen in the first place, presumably because Levaughn or someone else thought they would be receptive to his message. Al-Haikim wondered what he’d done to qualify. First explanation, then attack, then denial. A very effective technique, which Levaughn delivered persuasively.

  “The Weave’s been an effective organization for over a thousand years,” Levaughn was saying. “Now me, I dislike chaos. I think the Weave should be preserved. If necessary, in spite of itself. That’s not too much to hope for. I think it can be done, and I think that we can help do it. I also think that we should be given our just place within the final structure. Not only us, but the Mazvec, and the T’returia, and all the others who used to be allied with the Amplitur. Hell, if the poor dim-witted Lepar deserve full membership, don’t we?” This time the chorus of agreement was barely restrained. Levaughn nodded in satisfaction.

  “How is all this going to be brought about, General?” someone asked.

  Levaughn looked at her. “I’m just a simple soldier. I started out with field armor and munitions and worked my way up in rank, if not in sophistication. I’m sure as hell no philosopher. I can give orders, but I’m not an innovator.”

  “Got a S’van handy?” someone quipped. There were a few desultory chuckles.

  “No. I don’t think the S’van would look kindly on any attempt to sustain the Weave by Human methods. But there is someone here, a guest of mine, who represents a school of thought that’s their equal when it comes to implementing prognostication. Regardless of your initial reactions, or what you may think personally, I’d appreciate it if you’d give your undivided attention.” He shrugged. “Afterward everybody can decide for themselves how they feel about it.”

  He turned to his right. People leaned forward curiously as the door leading to the next hallway opened. Though al-Haikim didn’t see anything immediately, he heard clearly the astonished exclamations of those who could. Then he saw for himself as Levaughn’s guest walked into view.

  Waddled, rather.

  It turned to face them and halted, tentacles curled formally against the sides of its face, slitted black-and-gold eyes swiveling independently at the tips of short stalks to regard an entranced audience of former enemies. Silver blotches bloomed and contracted within the orange skin as chromophores reacted to shifting emotions. Container pouches were slung just behind the eyestalks, within easy reach of the flexible tentacles. A translator of unusual design hung below the recessed mouthparts. The Amplitur wore nothing recognizable as clothing.

  There being nothing appropriate for it to sit or rest on, it stood. Looking at the creature it was difficult to see how the four stumpy legs could support the large, flabby mass. Those knowledgeable about the old enemy knew that it would have been more comfortable in a pool of shallow brine.

  When it spoke, a lifetime of training caused many of those present to tense, even though they knew it could not affect them mentally the way it did the other races of the Weave. Facts, however, could not entirely banish old fears.

  The horny mouthparts made a rasping, sucking sound that the translator struggled to transmute into comprehensible Huma.

  “I bid you all greetings and good health. I am Cast-creative-Seeking, who is grateful to be this day in your company. You will excuse me if I have to leave suddenly. I find the atmosphere in here both too dry and too cool for comfort. This I will temporarily bear for the sake of viable communication.”

  “We could turn the heat up,” someone offered, “and try to scrounge a watering can.” Those sitting next to the officer who spoke laughed.

  “Human humor,” the Amplitur observed unemotionally. “A trait we do not entirely understand. Sometimes we feel deprived.”

  Al-Haikim rubbed his mustache, a nervous habit. This was the ancient enemy par excellence, and it was addressing them as matter-of-factly as a juvenile entertainment performer. No matter how much it or Levaughn attempted to put them at ease, al-Haikim still found himself considering the best means of escape and attack. He tried to make himself relax, telling himself firmly that there was no threat here. Only part of him would accept that.

  What the hell was it doing on Daccar, as General Levaughn’s guest, no less?

  Gradually apprehension gave way to curiosity. It was inevitable. This Amplitur was the first of its kind most of those present had ever encountered in the flesh. The desire to listen and learn was irresistible. Al-Haikim was no less susceptible than anyone else in the room.

  He told himself that the Amplitur could not mess with his mind because he was Human. It was not armed, it rasped words of friendship, and Levaughn had surely had it thoroughly checked out before allowing it into his home, much less onto Daccar. Without a Crigolit or Mazvec or similar armed escort to manipulate, it was virtually helpless.

  Despite this, and the fact that the war had been over for years, not everyone present was prepared to be quite so understanding. Manifest anger prompted one officer to rise.

  “What’s this thing doing here, General? If I want to see biological curiosities, I’ll go to the zoo. What’s it got to do with us?”

  Levaughn took no umbrage at the other’s tone. “Maybe nothing. All you need to know right now is that Cast-creative-Seeking is my guest. We’ve been communicating, exchanging ideas and thoughts, for quite a while. Until now our relationship has been entirely private.” His eyes narrowed just slightly as he scanned his visitors. “I’d like to request that knowledge of this meeting and what transpires here does not go beyond this room.” Levaughn was polite, but insistent.

  “Not long ago I reached the point where I felt that our dialogue had earned a wider audience. It’ll be interesting to see if you agree. Some of it you’ve already heard from me.”

  Another lieutenant colonel spoke hesitantly. “General, are we talking here about some kind of alliance between us and the Amplitur?”

  “Now, how do you think that news would be received?” said Levaughn. “The other members of the Weave wouldn’t stand for it … not that they could do anything about it,” he added darkly.

  “Cast-creative-Seeking and his brethren are simply seeking common ground with their former adversaries, so that we can better understand one another and coexist peacefully. Nothing unnatural about that.”

  Tentacles unfurled and gesturing, the Amplitur addressed them anew. “For a long time your kind and mine were enemies. A regrettable state of affairs largely due, we now firmly believe, to ignorance on both sides. As you know, we the Amplitur abhor violence because it removes good minds from participation in the Purpose.”

  “You didn’t seem to abhor it when you attacked Earth,” someone blurted accusingly. Mutters of assent rose from others in the room.

  The alien was not fazed by the reminder. “That was a long time ago. It was what we felt had to be done at the time. We were panicked by the effectiveness of the first Human soldiers the Weave had recruited. As subsequent developments proved, our panic was not misplaced.” Somewhat to their own surprise, this drew knowing smiles from several in the audience.

  “We responded according to the directives formulated by our best minds, functioning in accord with the principles of the Purpose. What is the Purpose, after all?” Someone groaned. “I’m sure you know.”

  “Yeah, we know,” said another lieutenant. “We just don’t agree with it, that’s all.”

  “I did not mean to provoke. This is, after all, an old argument we clearly cannot win. We hew to t
he Purpose, you do not. So it shall be. Please believe me when I say that though we have fought one another, the Amplitur have never had anything but the greatest respect for your kind. In your singular determination you are more like us than any other species we have ever encountered.” A couple of those present made as if to object, but the Amplitur hurried on.

  “You are the only species we cannot influence mentally, cannot persuade by projective suggestion. You possess a unique neurological defense of which you were completely unaware until you encountered us. What does this tell us? That we are the only two species whose minds operate on a different, higher plane, albeit in disparate ways. You cannot be suggested, and we can only suggest.” Al-Haikim tensed in spite of himself, but the Amplitur paid no special attention to him. What would be its reaction, he wondered, if it learned of the Core and the Ampliturlike abilities of its constituents?

  “What wisdom may astute analysts glean from this observation?” There was no immediate response and the Amplitur did not let the silence linger. It waved a tentacle high, the four flexible tips floating like so many airborne worms. “Does it not suggest that despite our disparate histories and evolution we may where it matters have more in common than any other two intelligent species?”

  Shouts of disagreement and indignation rose from the gathering. “How can you say that?” someone sputtered.

  “By now you have been exposed to galactic diversity long enough to know that where true interspecies compatibility is concerned, mere physical appearance counts for nothing. Like it or not, that is an ancient tenet of the Purpose.”

  “Even if our minds are similar,” said the elder Brigadier Higham, “and being no biologist I’m not ready to concede that, our aims and ideals are still diametrically at odds with one other.”

  “Are they truly?” The Amplitur focused both eyes on him. “For a very long time we, too, thought that. When we first invited you to join with us you refused, as had a number of other species. But this is a disagreement with a long history, which we will not settle here.

  “What is important is that you defeated us. We admit that, and as you know, we do not lie. I am here only as a supplicant, requesting and not demanding your consideration.”

  “Then you’re not asking for some kind of alliance?”

  “No. There can be no alliance between victor and defeated because they are by definition unequal. What I am here to do on behalf of my kind is to ask for you, as Humans, to take up the mantle of guidance from us.”

  Levaughn stepped forward to deal with the bewilderment and confusion that were the immediate result of the Amplitur’s unexpected declaration.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we stand at a crossroads of history. Do we accept the irrelevant status to which the Weave would quietly relegate us, or do we step forward and grasp for ourselves the position of leadership which we have rightfully earned?” His eyes blazed. “A new age beckons Humankind. Why should it not begin here?”

  The cynical lieutenant who’d spoken earlier didn’t hesitate. “You speak, General, of leadership. Leadership of what: the Weave … or the Purpose?”

  “You do not understand.” The Amplitur entwined its tentacles. “Let me explain.

  “Since you were buddings you have been taught to hate the Purpose. What, then, is the Purpose? Little more than a euphemism for sensible cooperation between intelligences.”

  “Cooperation dominated by you!” the junior officer shot back.

  “We did not dominate: we led. Someone must lead. Some must give direction. For a very long time it was the Amplitur. Now it is clear that is no longer to be. This is not something that distresses us. Only the endemically foolish refuse to resign themselves to reality, and we are not fools.

  “Leadership is a great burden. Even as it can weigh down a strong individual, so also it can an entire species. We are timeworn and tired. The thought of passing responsibility on to a younger, more vibrant species does not distress us.”

  “You want us to take over the Purpose? After fighting to obliterate it?” a major asked.

  “Call it whatever you will. Galactic civilization, if it pleases you. Someone must assume leadership. Ignore the Purpose for now, if it suits you. As time passes you will find that the Purpose does not ignore you.

  “Consider the Weave. Until they acquired in the Amplitur a common enemy to unite against, they were at best an indecisive association of mutually suspicious species with ambiguous aims and a parlous future. They bickered and quarreled endlessly among themselves. That is not civilization. Left leaderless as they were before, they will once again degenerate into mutual acrimony and fighting as each species goes its own way.”

  “That’s your opinion,” said the irrepressible lieutenant. “We call it independence.”

  “Yes, your vaunted independence.” The Amplitur shifted its bulk. “There is a fine line, my young antagonist, between independence and anarchy. Bind together thinking beings in a real consolidation and you preserve civilization.

  “What if someday another new species is encountered: one with our aims but your regressive behavioral characteristics? Would it not be better to be able to contest them from within the framework of a great and powerful Weave, instead of one riven and weakened by traditional internal dissension? The universe is a vast and dangerous place in which too much ‘independence’ might one day prove fatal.

  “Listen to your own general! Who better to assume leadership than your kind? Not the reticent Hivistahm, for all their organizational skills. Not the S’van, for all their dexterous intelligence. Nor the Massood, fighters like yourselves. Who, then, but Humankind?”

  “We don’t want it,” said the major earnestly. “No matter the rationalization, we’re not going to fight our former allies.”

  “Who spoke of violence? Not I. The Amplitur spoke always of peace. Do you really think they would resist you as they resisted us, if it was made known that our two species were working side by side for the greater good? Perhaps only the Massood, and they would not resist long. They might challenge the idea, the O’o’yan and the Lepar and the rest, but they could not resist the reality. What sensible species would try to war against Humans assisted by Amplitur? There would be no fighting. It could all be done peacefully, and for the greater good.”

  “Okay. So what do you get out of it?” the lieutenant asked sharply.

  “Us?” Cast-creative-Seeking regarded the speaker mournfully out of ancient eyes whose depths could not be plumbed. “We see cooperation preserved between intelligences. We see it expanded and refined. Do not call it the Purpose. Call it common sense. In that is satisfaction enough.

  “Remember that I cannot lie, and I cannot influence you mentally. We would not seek domination, or leadership. Always we will be present to offer help and advice, as those called viziers and cabinet ministers once offered counsel to individual rulers on your own world. A useful role for an aged, experienced people like ourselves. Or if you prefer, we will do nothing. We will retire to our homeworlds and let you proceed as you choose.

  “But if you should opt for our assistance, we can begin by guaranteeing you the cooperation of all those who once were allied to us: the Mazvec and Ashregan, the Crigolit and T’returia, the Acaria and Segunians and Korath and all the rest. This I promise you: The true difficulty of your task will become apparent only after your ascension is no longer opposed.

  “Presently you fight and argue among yourselves. That is because you no longer have an appropriate alternative outlet for your energies. Leadership of a new Weave will provide that. The present Weave only encourages your internal dissension.”

  “The Weave has nothing to do with it,” argued the major.

  “Precisely. They have nothing to do with it. They make no attempt to intervene to help because they are content to let you debilitate yourselves. That way they can keep you under control. They fear you. Bear in mind that we do not. Where friendship is concerned, respect is more to be desired than fear.

 
“Don’t you see? Leadership is what you have evolved for. You are suited to the task. Now that we have been defeated, you are the only people who can hold a galactic coalition closely enough together to be useful, by enforcing cooperation amidst a multitude of fractious diversity.”

  None of those present had anticipated having to deal with matters of profound import when they’d received their invitations to gather at Levaughn’s home. Now they had been given an immense amount to think about.

  “I am not used to forming vocalizations,” the Amplitur informed his listeners. “It is tiring, and I have said enough. But I will try to answer any questions you may still have. Bear in mind as you ask them that I cannot lie.”

  “You really have no intentions other than to act as our advisors?” one of the lieutenant colonels inquired.

  “Nothing more. We seek stability above all else.”

  “But that’s not your Purpose, the melding of intelligences you’ve always spoken of and fought for,” said a voice from the audience.

  “True. You may be aware of our reputation for patience. In the absence of viable alternatives we will forgo active agitation on behalf of the Purpose because we firmly believe that in a thousand years, or two, or longer, all species will come around to our way of thinking, will see the universe as we see it. The additional wait is to be regretted, but because we have lost at fighting we must now seek to excel at waiting.”

  “How can we trust you? We still don’t know very much about you,” the major pointed out.

  Cast-creative-Seeking spread tentacles wide. “We are disarmed. Come and study us. Our biologists will work side by side with yours. Learn all that you will. Nothing will be withheld, nothing concealed. We can learn from each other. Examine in depth our minds, as we have tried to examine yours.”

  It was a dangerous slip. Uneasy murmurs rose from the assembled as those present who were familiar with wartime incidents of Amplitur dissection and attempted mental manipulation of captured Humans had unpleasant memories jogged. But Cast-creative-Seeking spoke with such openness that the initial agitation soon passed. Except for al-Haikim, whose ancestors had been subject to precisely that kind of Amplitur experimentation. Nothing on his face betrayed what he was feeling at that moment, however. As a member of the Core he’d had to practice reaction restraint since childhood.