Chaining the Lady c-2

by Piers Anthony

  Melody tried to understand the genesis of this philosophy, but it was, naturally, alien to her. She was left with the conclusion that the £ knew much more of the purposes and mechanisms of the Dash than they advertised, and that £ cooperation was not necessarily passive. She moved among them as a lancer did, not precisely an enemy, but certainly no friend. And the £ had ways to make her behave.

  She decided she had better get her business done. It would be better to deal with the Dash, whom she knew to be her enemies, than with the £, whom she did not really understand.

  She shifted the log to make it comfortable, taking the strain off her injured tentacle. She moved on to the channel, and out into the thin air. The mahout remained perched on her back, as his claws clenched when at rest; it looked as if he were directing her. That was exactly the way she wanted it. Mahouts often snoozed while their mounts carried on, so his condition hardly mattered, so long as he was there. No one would challenge her while she seemed to be under the direction of the mahout.

  Her ruse could not be sustained long, but that hardly mattered, because she had to help her galaxy quickly or it would be too late anyway. So now she had a program of sorts: first, get the hostage secret; then get the information to an entity in authority in Segment Etamin. Then what happened to her didn’t matter. Like Flint of Outworld, she could give her life for her galaxy.

  She knew the odds were still against her, but they were better odds than before. Her capture by Hammer of Quadpoint had turned out to be a break for her, because she was now much closer to the secret that controlled two galaxies.

  She emerged into atmosphere. No mounted Dash challenged her this time; evidently that particular search had been called off. Perhaps they had spotted her aura in that prior check, but had chosen to deal with her indirectly. But why?

  The question brought the answer: because of the covenant between the species of Dash and £. The one could not deliberately harm the other.

  She proceeded to the mill, and the Dash in charge there marked off the load, glancing incuriously at the hole in the wood where the lancer had spiked it. Fortunately he did not try to converse with the mahout, who merely sat on her back. Let the loafer snooze!

  Melody started dutifully back toward the bog. But when she was out of sight of the mill, she turned off at right angles and cut through the feather trees toward the path Cnom’s information said led to the Dash city. It was no coincidence that the capital was so close, since that was where her intended host was. She had missed her transfer recipient by only a few miles; pinpoint accuracy, considering that it had been an intergalactic effort. But this partial freedom could not last long. No doubt the Dash were even now zeroing in on her again, setting up a way to nab her without hurting her £ host. She had to act first.

  She found a new channel and stepped down into it gratefully. The paws of the £ were not hoofs; they were adapted to maintaining lodging on the curved lattice of the bog rather than for tramping down the hard rocks of the dry land. The channels, though concavely curved, were smooth, and the dirt in them was no harder than wood. In addition, their narrow width and curving routes were familiar.

  This was a toward-city channel, fortunately. All channels, like all lattice paths, had to be one-way, as there was no room for £ to pass one another. The channels could have been made wider, but that would have destroyed their compatible contours and decreased their similarity to the bog-lattice. This way, their natural contours led them through the refraction feathers with minimum disruption.

  She emerged into a clearing. Ahead was the city; a towering mass of wooden spires, quite pretty in its fashion. Melody was reminded of the houses of cards Solarians built. She had entertained herself with some of these during waits aboard the Ace of Swords. Each individual card was flimsy, but the buttressed structure assumed a remarkable stability.

  She spun closer, concerned lest she be challenged. But though she passed many mounted mahouts as the channels converged, none bothered her. Obviously it was assumed that her own mount was taking her somewhere on private business.

  The splendor of the city did not diminish as she approached it. Trust a bird-species to have uplifting taste in architecture! The wood had been shaped into elegant configurations, with many small passages for Dash to haul themselves through. Though they could no longer actually fly, it was evident that given the proper footing they could propel themselves through the vertical lattice of the buildings with flight-like facility.

  Now there was a problem. Obviously the most secret offices of the Dash transfer command would be high up, and it was manifestly impossible for a £ to go there. The merest brush of Cnom’s huge body against a lower structure would collapse a section of the city; ascending a tower was out of the question.

  Could she locate the spot, then attack the base of the building and bring it down to her level? No, that would destroy her own pretense of anonymity and be pointless. She had to observe, not strike. It was knowledge she required, not physical victory. For now.

  First she had to locate the Kirlian section of town. Her aura and her training had made her super-sensitive to Kirlian emanations; if she got within a reasonable distance of a strong Kirlian source, she would know it. Maybe she would have a chance to transfer to a Dash host and continue her investigation.

  Of course her own aura would betray her identity similarly—if the Dash were alert. They should be, since she had twice escaped their net. But perhaps the inherent foolishness of their bureaucracy would help her again. The last thing they should anticipate would be her strike into the heart of the city.

  It was a major gamble—but she had to take it.

  She moved into the city, which now resembled the land-forest, with buildings in lieu of trees. Even the refraction of light was similar, though here it was done by glass lenses instead of living feathers. This was, her £ memory told her, to prevent the shaded lower passages from becoming musty.

  Stalls for £ opened off to the sides. Healthy £ preferred to sleep in the bog, but ill or injured ones came here. This also made it convenient for the mahouts, who could indulge themselves in the comfort of the upper regions while their steeds were out of service. No Dash would volunteer to remain in the bog longer than necessary especially not aboard a sick £. For one thing a hurt £ sought the deeps, an area that the Dash could not enter.

  Suddenly she picked up the fringe of a strong aura, and moved toward it. High-Kirlian entities were in the vicinity!

  She came into an inner chamber. In its center, protected by a sturdy wooden barricade, was a Transfer unit. It was not a type she was familiar with. Therefore it must be—

  A drape lifted, revealing the snout of a projectile cannon. —Halt, mahout!— a Dash voice commanded.

  A trap! She had half known it, but had taken the risk for the sake of her mission. They had dangled the bait of hostage Transfer before her and lured her in, just as they had done back at the Ace of Swords so successfully. Yet what else could she have done?

  Perhaps she could bluff an ill-informed Dash…

  She looked around as if confused, tilting her body to make her addled mahout seem to be directing her.

  —Please do not endanger yourself— the Dash said, coming into sight on an upper ledge so that his three eyes focused down on her. —There is no confusion. We have analyzed your aura, and know you for Melody of Mintaka, Etamin, Milky Way.—

  Then she knew she was lost.

  21. Budding the Mintakan

  *report: all fleets secure in milky way galaxy last resistance in segment etamin overcome ready to move on planets*

  :: initiate motion ::

  *there will be some delay, as this involves physical propulsion and the distances are*

  :: do not seek to educate me in elementary physics, ast! what of the local matter? ::

  *etamin kirlian agent has just been immobilized*

  :: immobilized? kill her! ::

  *sphere dash assures us that this is not feasible negotiation is necessar
y*

  :: dash shall shortly be charged with treason! if they do not neutralize her quickly I shall ::

  *POWER*

  :: just get the job done! ::

  —You have been evasive, alien!— the Dash said, his wings whirring reprovingly. While he talked, a line dropped from a crane to remove the defunct mahout from her back. —All we want is the best for you, now that your galaxy is fallen. It would be a shame to sacrifice an aura like yours. Will you not now be realistic and join us?—

  Melody of course did not answer. But suddenly she became aware of the specific aura of the Dash. It was a very strong one, with an intensity of about 175. This was the entity she had known as Captain Dash Boyd—her lover and archenemy!

  —I perceive you remember me,— Dash observed. — Yes, what you and I began before can be completed now. Since my failure in Milky Way I have been recalled and restricted to local duty, with demotion. My aura makes me suitable for important Kirlian work. This was perhaps fortunate, for the regular authorities were bungling the job of locating you. In fact, it is no secret that most of our top leaders are idiots who obtained their positions by factors other than competence; a typical Council Meeting resembles an argument among immature birds. Your own Ministers of Etamin are similar. However, in time of stress competence has a way of manifesting itself, and the Council representative of Sphere :: has been more than adequate in this regard. So we have won the war, and are now merely wrapping up the occupation prior to initiating the energy project. I do not wish to kill you, but capturing you gently was proving difficult, and Leader Quadpoint is becoming obstreperous. But I have given our esteemed leader to understand that once you understand the situation, you will cooperate. You spared my life, and so I attempt to spare yours. Now all you have to do is draw in your aura so that our directional field can encompass it for retransfer to a Dash host. Your present host will not fit within one of our units, so this special arrangement is necessary. All that is necessary is for you to stand astride the unit before you and contract your aura.—

  Melody made no move. At least she seemed to have some leverage: They could not remove her from this host without her cooperation, and they did not want to kill her. Probably they could stun her—but then her host would collapse and hurt herself, and it would be a violation of the covenant.

  —I realize that I am not especially appealing to you in this body,— Dash continued persuasively. —But it is my own, and you are aware of the qualities of my mind and aura. In this lovely female host here— he pointed his wings momentarily at another Dash entity that appeared beside him —you would find me handsome enough. You yourself would be beautiful, as you were in Solarian guise. There would then be no further barrier to our love.—

  He was right. His present form was unappealing to her, quite apart from her resolution not to mate. But she did retain a guilty fascination for him. He had such an attractive aura, and his interest in her seemed sincere. He put a political, practical face on it, but underneath he wanted her for herself. Their auras were nearly equal, they shared an interest in Tarot, and had similar levels of intelligence. Perhaps Flint of Outworld had found a better match, but that was a once-in-a-millennia situation. No male in her lifetime had paid her that compliment (with one exception) and it did move her. She tried to deny that she was still so vulnerable to that kind of flattery, but found she could not.

  Then she thought of Skot of Kade, and Gary and March, brave Solarians dying honorably with their fleet And of Captains Llono the Undulant and Mnuhl of Knyfh and the Drone of the Deuce of Scepters sacrificing themselves for their galaxy. And of Yael and Llume and Slammer the magnet and Beanball—yes, even the infant magnet had fought for her!—and she knew she loved them all with a love that was greater than anything available in Sphere Dash. She could not participate in their destruction, no matter what. She was of Galaxy Milky Way, and no personal convenience or lure of aura could alter that. What Andromeda was doing was fundamentally wrong, and she could not support it even tacitly.

  —I feared you would require more convincing,— Dash whirred. —Perhaps I can do it yet.—

  Another curtain lifted. A strange creature was unveiled. It was composed of strings and tubes and taut diaphragms, as ungainly a thing as Melody could imagine.

  Then with a special shock she identified it. “A Mintakan!” she cried internally. “My own kind!”

  Cnom was surprised and disgusted. “You look like that in your natural form? No wonder you transferred out!”

  “It is worse than the Dash,” Melody agreed ruefully. “A species never recognizes how odd it looks to others until it gets a glance back through transfer. I understand my ancestor Flint was appalled at the sight of naked Solarians when he was in a Polarian host. But every species in the universe has a right to its own existence. That’s what I’m fighting to protect.”

  Cnom subsided, indifferent to the fate of distant Spheres or peculiar creatures.

  Melody studied the Mintakan figure more closely. It was an old one, she saw now, with discolored drums, warped strings, and sagging tubing. Hardly a bargain; in fact it seemed near expiration from sheer degeneration. It was female, a spinster, apparently never attractive enough or amenable enough to find a companion for reproduction. It had no Kirlian aura.

  —This, in case you did not recognize it,— Dash said,—is not merely a Mintakan host. It is your original body.—

  Startled, Melody considered the body a third time. Her aura touched it, and sensed the familiarity. This was, indeed, her original shell. She did not know what to feel.

  —We have gone to a great deal of energy-expense to arrange things for you,— Dash said. —If you do not wish to occupy a Dash host, you may return to your own. And to ensure your satisfaction, we have also imported a handsome young male of your kind.— And another Mintakan appeared. His strings were taut, his tubing firm.

  During all this adventure, Melody had wanted to return to her own body, to retire in peace, contemplating her Tarot cards so as to wrest a few more precious insights from the deck before she expired. She could live for a long time in transfer, over five Solarian years, but eventually she would have to return to her own body to recharge her aura. And if her Mintakan body should die while she was in transfer, her aura would fade out at a hundred times its normal rate. So by capturing her body, the Andromedans had in a very real sense captured her. The chains, though subtle, were horribly strong.

  The projectile cannon disappeared. —I believe you understand the situation now,— Dash said. —We do not need to threaten your present host, who is of course innocent, being both £ and hostage.—

  Another score! Melody had indeed taken the £ hostage, overwhelming her with the immensity of her aura. Cnom did not seem to object, but the principle was the same. Melody was guilty of the offense she fought against.

  —But you must appreciate now that you have no reasonable escape,— Dash continued inexorably. —If you leave and hide from us again, we shall have to dispatch your body, and you will shortly fade out, wherever you are hiding. That would be an unfortunate waste of the finest aura ever known.—

  Was there any way to free her Mintakan body from their clutches? Could she charge to the ledge, knock the body down, grab it and carry it away? No, the risk was too great. The Mintakan body was old and frail; such activity could kill it. And where would she take it? Into the jellybog to drown? In addition, she now perceived that the body was not in the open air, but within a protective shield; obviously the atmosphere of this planet was not suitable. Without the life-support system the Dash were providing, it would die regardless.

  On the other foot, if she agreed to reanimate her own body, what then? Could she carry through her campaign to save her galaxy while trapped in an atmosphere bubble, unable to move freely even if she had the physical strength to? Hardly!

  —There is an alternative,— Dash said, having allowed her thoughts time to coagulate. —We have chained the lady, but we do not wish to cause her unnecessary
discomfort. You can transfer instead to this fine Dash and live in perfect comfort each day, returning to your natural body only during sleep. Thus you will hardly feel your age and infirmity, and can endure so long as your Mintakan body survives. That can be a long time, with the kind of medical care we can provide. We are in effect offering you a greatly extended youth.—

  At the expense of her galaxy? Melody knew she could not do it. She remained standing, unable to cooperate, yet also unable to resist. It was an impasse, with the negative power of decision lying with the enemy. They could always kill her, if they so choose.

  —I regret the need to force the issue,— Dash said, —but we are under extreme pressure ourselves, and we very much want you with us.—

  To help them in their conquest? Hardly! They were accomplishing that nicely without her.

  —You see, we can’t force you out of your present host,— Dash explained, —and we can’t do anything to that host, because of the covenant. Should we kill a £, the other £ might stampede. We can’t hurt a £ or even detain one unreasonably; our threat with the cannon was a bluff against you, not Cnom. So we must convince you to leave that host voluntarily.

  —To accomplish this, I shall explain why we need you. This planet is a leading source of Ancient information; sites abound more thickly here than anywhere else in the known universe. From these sites we have rediscovered Kirlian science that has propelled us to the forefront of our Galaxy, and soon the Galactic Cluster too. But more sites remain that are inaccessible to us. They are of the self-destruct variety, a type unknown in your own galaxy, that cannot be penetrated by any entity whose aura is of the wrong type or strength. We need the information locked within these sites, for there are many other galaxies in the universe, with many other sapient species. If one of those species should achieve complete Ancient science before we do, they will have the capacity to eliminate us. We cannot afford that risk.