by James Axler
Hi, Ryan.
If you're reading this, then it means I'm dead. This rad cancer's been eating my guts for months, and I know there's no stopping it. So this is me saying goodbye and the best of luck. If it goes the way I hope, I'll just walk away one night so don't you blasted come after me. Please. That's the Trader talking and not ordering, Ryan, old friend. We've been some places and done some good and bad things. Now it's done. That's all. I thank you for watching my back for so many years. You and J.B. watch out for each other.
There was no signature. Kane handed it back to her.
"Mean anything?" she asked.
"Any reason why it should?"
Brigid's lips curved slightly in a patronizing smile. "You're familiar with the Wyeth Codex, aren't you?"
"I've heard you and Lakesh mention it enough."
Though Kane's comment was studiedly dismissive, he knew the memoirs of Dr. Mildred Wyeth were indirectly responsible for Brigid's exile from Cobaltville. Some thirty years before, a junior archivist in Ragnarville had found an old computer disk containing the journal of Mildred Winona Wyeth, a specialist in cryogenics. She had entered a hospital in late 2000 for minor surgery, but an idiosyncratic reaction to the anesthetic left her in a coma, with her vital signs sinking fast. To save her life, the predark whitecoats had cryonically frozen her.
After her revival nearly a century later, she joined Ryan Cawdor and his band of warriors. Although the Wyeth Codex, as her journal came to be called, contained recollections of adventures and wanderings, it dealt in the main with her observations, speculations and theories about the environmental conditions of postnukecaust America.
She also delved deeply into the Totality Concept and its profusion of different yet interconnected subdivisions. The many spin-off experiments were applied to an eclectic combination of disciplines, most of them theoretical — artificial intelligence, hyperdimensional physics, genetics and new energy sources. In her journal, she maintained that the technology simply did not exist to have created all of the Totality Concept's many wonders — unless it had originated from somewhere, and someone else.
Despite her exceptional intelligence, and education, Wyeth had no inkling of the true nature of the Totality Concept's experiments, but a number of her extrapolations that they were linked to the nukecaust came very close to the truth.
In the decades following its discovery, the Wyeth Codex had been downloaded, copied and disseminated like a virus through the Historical Divisions of the entire ville network.
That particular virus had infected Brigid one morning nearly two years ago, when she found a disk containing the Codex at her workstation in the Cobaltville archives. After reading and committing it to memory, she had never been the same woman again.
Brigid declared, "Dr. Wyeth wrote that Cawdor and her lover, J. B. Dix, spent years as members of an organization which traveled the Deathlands, salvaging and dealing in predark artifacts. The leader of the organization went by the name of Trader. So this machine has a certain amount of historical significance attached to it."
Due to her archivist's training, Brigid tried to fit just about everything, no matter how trivial, into a niche in history. Although the exploits of Cawdor, Dix and his band of warriors were still celebrated in folklore and songs in some outland areas, Kane viewed them as just names from the wild old days before baronies were established. He recalled from his Magistrate indoctrination classes that because of the resistance organized by Cawdor, the full institution of the Program of Unification was delayed by several years.
"We know that Cawdor penetrated Cerberus and used the mat-trans unit there," continued Brigid. "So I calculate that this war wag has been here for approximately a hundred years."
Grant pushed himself erect from beneath the instrument board. "All things considered, a pretty good job of jury-rigging. It's not in too bad a shape, given all the time that's passed."
"But it's useless to us," Sky Dog declared. He had entered the vehicle on soundless moccasined feet. "There is no life in it."
"What happened to the handblasters?" Grant asked. "Looks like there were a lot of them."
"My people took them, of course. They are hidden in another place, close by our village."
"Do you have ammo for them?" inquired Kane.
Sky Dog hesitated before shaking his head. "No. What little the invaders had was used on my peoplelong ago."
A sudden suspicion made Kane slit his eyes. "That's one of the reasons Le Loup Garou and his roamers attacked you, isn't it? To get the blasters? He'd heard about them."
Sky Dog sighed sadly. "I fear so. Such a secret can't be kept for so many years among so many people without a few rumors leaking out here and there."
Grant experimentally flicked a switch on a console. Like he expected, nothing happened. "You've got a real prize here, Sky Dog."
The shaman nodded. "I realize that, even if most of my people don't. They still believe it to be a thing of evil, a metal monster symbolizing all the old wasicun oppression."
Lowering his voice as if he were afraid he would be overheard and accused of heresy, he added, "But the fact remains if this metal monster had been operational, the roamers would have never been able to attack us and carry off our women and children."
Brigid asked, "You showed us this thing so we can make it operational again?"
"The thought crossed my mind." He pointed to Kane's trans-comm unit. "You have predark tech at your command, wags of your own. And weapons."
"Why should we fix this thing for you?" Kane challenged. "What's in it for us?"
"A simple answer," Sky Dog replied smoothly. "You're all hiding from something up there in the Darks, else you would be living in the villes among your own kind. Nor would you have sealed the pass. Certainly not to keep us or a few roamers out."
Sky Dog looked expectantly from Grant to Kane to Brigid, waiting for either a comment or a denial. When neither was forthcoming, he continued, "I propose an alliance between my people and yours. Provide us with the means to restore life to this machine, train me how to operate it and give us ammunition for the blasters we have hidden. We will be your first line of defense against the enemies seeking you."
He fell silent, folding his arms over his chest. Kane smiled wryly "You're not asking for much, are you?"
"What if we refuse?" Grant demanded. "Will you have us chilled, now that we know your tribe's great secret?"
Sky Dog made a sound of derision. "Of course not. I already promised you safe passage. Besides, if you do not return to the plateau, more of your people will come. If there's one thing of which I'm positive, it's that where there are a few wasicun, more will follow." His lips twisted in a cryptic smile. "And they probably won't be as well mannered as you three."
Kane matched Sky Dog's smile. "What would keep us from returning with more wasicun and simply taking this wag from you?"
"Nothing really," the shaman answered mildly. "Except your sense of honor, the same one I saw when you fought Le Loup Garou and wiped out his followers when you could have made it easier on yourself and let him pass."
"Not to mention that you shot Le Loup Garou with an arrow and saved my life."
Sky Dog's smile widened. "I wondered how long it would take you to bring that up."
"Now that I have," Kane said, "I suppose you expect me to repay the debt by agreeing to your proposal."
Sky Dog shrugged. "Follow your conscience, Gray Ghost. Do whatever your heart tells you to do."
Impatiently, Grant said, "Even if we go along with you, it'll take time. We'll have to send techs and mechs to your village. How do we know your people won't invite them to the same kind of wienie roast you planned for Auerbach?"
"My people look to me as expert on wasicun ways since I've lived among them." Sky Dog rolled up his right sleeve and thrust out his forearm. Just below the elbow joint was the faded pucker of an old scar. "I lived in Cobaltville until I was fifteen. After my father died, my mother and my sister and brother a
nd I were cast out. A Magistrate used a knife to remove my ID chip so I could never return."
ID chips were tiny pieces of silicon injected subcutaneously into all ville residents, and the chips responded positively to scanners at checkpoints.
"My mother, my sister and my brother wandered for a long time," continued Sky Dog. "My sister was murdered by a roamer gang, my mother died of rad poisoning when we crossed a hellzone. Eventually, my brother and I ended up here. The tribe took us in, sheltered us, accepted us. You shouldn't wonder that I place their welfare at such a high priority."
Kane didn't wonder, but he couldn't help but speculate about Lakesh's reaction if he accepted Sky Dog's proposal without discussing it with him first. He could easily imagine the blizzard of objections and invective storming from the old man's mouth.
"Something amuses you?" Sky Dog frowned slightly.
Kane realized he was smiling. "Yeah, but nothing to do with what you just said."
He turned toward Brigid and Grant. "What do you think?"
Grant rumbled musingly, "Strategically, what Sky Dog says makes sense. We'd sure as hell have the element of surprise if and when Mags come calling."
Uneasily, Brigid said, "I agree with it in principle. But we should talk this over with our…" She paused, groping for the right euphemism. "Our council of chiefs."
Sky Dog lifted a wry eyebrow. "And do you beat tomtoms and dance around a fire up there in the Darks before you reach a decision?"
Kane laughed. "Only after our animal sacrifices." He put out his hand to Sky Dog. "Deal. My instincts say you can be trusted, though they've been wrong before."
Sky Dog did not hesitate to clasp his hand. "So have mine."
"Good. Then we both know where we stand."
Releasing his grip, Kane moved out of the control compartment, walking toward the rear hatch. "It'll take a few days for us to return, to put together what we need and send some people back."
Sky Dog chuckled. "This monster has waited nearly a century to live again. A little while longer won't make much of a difference."
They left the compartment and the vehicle. While Grant helped Sky Dog restore the camouflage, Brigid took Kane aside.
"You should have consulted Lakesh before making a unilateral decision like this," she said severely.
"And have him back-burner the issue for a month or year?" he countered. "At this point, we can't afford to have anyone but allies at our doorstep."
"What if he overrules your promise?" Brigid asked, lines of worry creasing her forehead. "Then the Indians will think we've broken our word to them and be on the watch for us every time we leave the redoubt."
Kane nodded sagely. "Now you're getting it."
Realization of Kane's reasoning dawned in her eyes. "You've boxed Lakesh into a corner. Now he'll have no choice but to abide by your decision."
"Exactly. Besides, he's always been concerned about our relationship with the Indians. We've just reached our first diplomatic accord with them. He may squawk that the decision was made without his input, but overall he should be satisfied with it."
"And what do you tell Sky Dog when he starts asking questions about Cerberus, about what we're doing there and why?"
"We'll tell him what he needs to know," Kane answered. "I think he's trustworthy."
Brigid wet her lips nervously. "Assuming, of course, your instincts are sound this time."
Kane tentatively touched the knife cut on his cheek. It was already scabbing over. "Sky Dog is worried about the same thing, Baptiste."
"A balance of distrust," she acknowledged quietly. "Diplomacy in its purest form."
5
By the time they returned to the village, the sun hung a bare handsbreadth above the horizon. At Sky Dog's invitation, they decided to spend the night. After the shaman left them to arrange sleeping quarters, they returned to the knoll to retrieve their packs.
Brigid treated Kane's cut with materials from the first-aid kit. He stood stoically as she cleaned and applied stinging antiseptic to it.
"Superficial," she said, eyeing it critically. "It doesn't need stitches, but you may have a scar."
She started to spray liquid bandage over it, but Kane said, "That stuff itches. Leave it."
As they walked back to the Indian village, Grant asked, "How do we deal with Rouch and Auerbach? Do we take them back as deserters or as captives freed from bondage?"
"That depends on whether they really intended to desert," Brigid answered. "Either way, poor Auerbach was duped by Rouch."
Kane snorted. "You say that because you know he's got the hards for you, Baptiste."
She shot him an icy glare. "And we're all aware of what Rouch has for you, aren't we? She said she was angry with you. It's no mystery about what."
Kane opened his mouth to voice a profane rebuke, then closed it, clamping his jaws tight, his lips compressing in an angry line. He saw no purpose in arguing with Baptiste on the matter of him and Beth-Li Rouch.
Rouch was the newest arrival among the exiles in Cerberus, only a few months out of Sharpeville. Lakesh had arranged for her exile to fulfill a specific function among the men in Cerberus, but he had made it quite clear that Kane was the primary focus of his — and Rouch's — project to expand the little colony.
Her function had yet to be fulfilled, and Kane couldn't help but suspect that Rouch's interrupted cross-country trip had been designed to draw his attention. Auerbach had certainly implied as much.
Uneasily, Grant suggested, "Whatever the reason and whoever is at fault, we need to get to the bottom of it before we start back for Cerberus. If they're not willing to go back with us, we can't just turn them loose on the plains."
Neither Brigid nor Kane needed him to explain. The possibility that Rouch and Auerbach intended to betray the redoubt to their enemies was remote, but could not be discounted completely. One of the reasons behind the injection of the biolink transponders was to monitor the whereabouts of the exiles.
Kane blew out an exasperated sigh. The cut on his face twinged, and he cursed in irritation. "All we can do is question them. If their stories don't match up, or if they stink…" He let his words trail off.
"Then what do we do?" Brigid demanded. "March them out at dawn and execute them?"
Grant grimaced. "Something like that, maybe. Except I won't get up that early"
Brigid didn't smile at the rejoinder. "We don't have the right to do that," she objected fiercely. "Both of you have said there are no loyalty oaths to Cerberus as reasons for doing what you want to do."
"We never put Cerberus at risk," Kane grated. He gestured to the collection of dwellings around them. "These people may be in jeopardy, too. And I don't see how it will benefit anyone to return a couple of traitors to the redoubt and hold them as prisoners forever. We already have one resident captive. We don't need a couple more."
Brigid didn't respond to his reference to Balam, the entity confined in a holding cell for over three years. She declared, "We're making a lot of assumptions. Let's just ask Rouch and Auerbach what the hell they were up to before we start assembling a termination squad."
"Fine," said Kane. "But let me and Grant talk to Auerbach. You'll be too soft on him."
"And I'll question Rouch," Brigid snapped, "woman to woman. I can guarantee I won't be too soft on her."
They sought out Sky Dog, who directed them to the lodges occupied by Rouch and Auerbach. Grant and Kane fetched Auerbach, taking him outside and away from the village proper. The smell of roasting meat wafted to them from a cooking fire, a sharp reminder to Kane how long it had been since he had eaten anything other than the tasteless ration packs.
Auerbach quickly and almost gratefully responded to Kane's questions. His tale was so simple and simple-minded, neither Grant nor Kane doubted its veracity, though they wondered about his sanity. However, they were relieved they didn't have to employ the interrogation techniques they had learned as Cobaltville Magistrates, most of which relied on the physical ab
use of a suspect.
Auerbach claimed he had volunteered to check the proximity sensors simply to escape the claustrophobic confines of the redoubt for a little while. He was as surprised as everyone else when Beth-Li Rouch expressed the desire to go with him. Surprised and pleased.
Ducking his head, Auerbach cast his eyes down and started to say something, then broke off, his words trailing off into inaudible mumbles.
"Well?" prodded Grant. "Finish it."
Auerbach tried to look at Kane, but evidently found the ground less intimidating. He was a big man, about Kane's height, but built along heavier lines. Strength-wise, they were probably evenly matched. The main difference between them lay in background — Kane was a blooded killer, while Auerbach wasn't and so he feared him.
"You may not like what I'm going to say," he muttered.
"As if I'm delighted with everything else that's happened in the last couple of days," retorted Kane. "Spit it out."
Clearing his throat, Auerbach nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. His voice was barely above a shamed whisper. "I've had, ah, relations with Beth-Li. Only once, about a month ago. I hoped she wanted to pick up where we left off."
Kane stared at him gravely, stone-faced. "Go on."
"It was her idea to strike out cross-country. Just for fun, she said. For the hell of it. When I told her everybody back at Cerberus would be worried, she said that was the idea. She was going to go with or without me, so I went with her."
Grant shook his head in exasperated disbelief. "You two had no destination in mind at all?"
Auerbach fidgeted. "No. Beth-Li claimed that we were doing a recce, you know, for the redoubt. On our second night out, we were captured by the Indians. I guess they saw our campfire."
"You guess," echoed Kane, voice cold with sarcasm. "On flatlands like this, you're lucky Baron Cobalt didn't spot your fire."
Auerbach swallowed hard. "I already said I was a stupe."
