Carefully, sparing no detail, the Hyiakutt complied. He was surprised at how
much he remembered and how easily it came to him, then guessed that some sort of
enhancement had been given him along with the restoration program. Finally he
was through, and Chen sat and thought for a while in silence. Then the Emperor
said, very quietly, I know the location of three of the other four.
Hawks stared at him. Then you have the makings of a dangerous bargain, my
lord.
I do not bargain, particularly over something such as this. The rings must
belong to humans of power and influence, you say. The fact is, almost anyone who
could somehow acquire one, even steal it, would be a human of power and
influence by the very act. On the scant evidence that it was something akin to
what you now tell me it is, I have begun preparing. It is not an easy task to do
so; one little slip can mean discovery and death even for one such as myself.
You mean to get the rings, then. All of them.
Indeed. I actually leaked the scant legends and clues to the rings around this
whole world. Perhaps a tenth of all those pitifully few who are literate have
heard the rumors. I cast lines randomly into the lake, and now I have pulled in
the big fish. The group who amassed that documentation did not do so at my
behest, but I was looking all over this world for signs that the bait was taken.
One achieves greatness with great risks or one remains a sheep and deserves to.
Hawks’s heart sank. I’m no trout at the end of your line.
Oh, but you are. Why did you read it when you knew it was forbidden knowledge
sure to cause you agony? Why did you then decide to try and reach me with that
knowledge? Self-preservation? Nonsense! You might have convinced yourself of
that, but the fact is, if you were that sort of a man, you would never have read
it in the first place. So why did you set out? Do you really know yourself as
well as I know you?
Hawks remained silent.
You came, Chen said, because you needed to believe that there was some way
out of this mess. Way in the back of your mind, perhaps deep in your
subconscious, you want those five rings united. You want the rule of the
computer, the stifling of humanity, to end. You want to believe that it can end.
The others—the ones who could come and did not—are sheep. They are either
satisfied with things as they are, or they fear the consequences of any changes,
any real freedom. They are complacent—or afraid. You feared you would find the
tale a lie. They fear discovering that it is the truth.
Hawks’s emotions were in turmoil, but he knew just where he stood and why. It
was one thing to challenge the grip of the almighty Master Program, one thing to
pray for, even work for, a crack in that system, but even in the incredibly
unlikely event that it was possible both to gather the rings and to discover how
to use them, it was now for what? For Lazlo Chen, who dreamed of empire? Who
dreamed, in fact, of godhood? He had been this route before and answered yes.
Now he was not so certain of his logic.
The system is stagnant, he told the Director. This is not a healthy long-term
condition for humanity to be in, and the longer it goes on, the less able anyone
will be to stop it. It might already have gone too far. Still, there is some
merit in the system. Without the computer revolt there would be no humanity. We
are held back to a degree, but we are free within our own worlds and the
limitations placed upon us. There are no prying eyes here governing our going to
the bathroom or even monitoring this conversation. It is irrelevant to the
computers. We are in a rut, but we have been in ruts before. I admit I am
dissatisfied with the situation, but as a historian I must also weigh the
alternatives.
Chen got up and slowly paced in front of the throne. He was an imposing figure,
and the act did more to enhance his superior position than being seated had.
It is true that we are not slaves, Chen admitted. Do you know what we are?
Pets. Pets and experimental animals. We have long lives with ourselves as the
primary cause of death. Set us back many centuries, remove vast parts of our
populations to the stars, and then wind us up and see what we can make—just so
long as we don’t try and gain control of the old technology. We are the
interstellar empire our ancestors dreamed of, yet we are not the emperors of it.
We are interstellar traders whose product is people and skills and ideas, and
here we are, you and I, sitting in a tent in the middle of a godforsaken steppe
surrounded by camels, illuminated by torchlight, and drowning in a sea of faces
that daily grows more joyously ignorant, more stupid, and more complacent. I
rule an area larger than any empire in human history, yet I rule garbage!
What you say may be true, Hawks admitted. Yet you must pardon me, mighty
ruler, if I point out that the alternative you offer is yourself. I think it is
irrelevant how wise and kind and good you might be or how wondrous your vision—I
wonder now if any human being is capable of assuming such power without being
driven mad by it. I once believed, not long ago, that any human rule was
preferable, but I forgot that the absolute rulers of the past had limits. There
can be only one Master System. There will never be two to compete. The power is
beyond challenge.
Indeed? And what would you have done if you’d had all five rings and the secret
of their use?
Mankind is primitive once more, but also self-reliant and in a broad sense not
ignorant at all. We have our histories, our cultures, and we are a
self-sufficient lot these days. I would shut the master computers down and let
things proceed on their own, without limits or chains, after that, even if it
took thousands of years to rise once more and unite our people.
You are wrong on many counts, my friend, Lazlo Chen responded. First and
foremost you are wrong that there can ever be only one Master System. We here in
the Centers, and out in the other worlds as well, are getting away with a great
deal under Master System’s collective nose at the moment because it is
preoccupied. For centuries it has spread and spread its rule and its system with
it, but it has now run into something it cannot break. Far beyond us, Master
System is preoccupied in a protracted war. It does not involve living beings, I
don’t think, but it is stalemated and continues on because neither side can
yield or gain. The systems here have started to loosen, to become even more
lightly controlled than before. Many have taken advantage of this, and there is
now an awareness by the Master System that it has been neglecting its back. The
easiest way to protect itself is to tighten our leashes. Eliminate the Centers.
Eliminate all of the technical class. Revert us all to total, primitive
barbarism and buy thousands of years of freedom from worry. A prototype
experiment of this sort is already under way out there in space.
Once I thought in cosmic terms and with cosmic ambitions, my lord, Hawks
responded carefully. Then this circumstance forced me to the other extreme and
down to a level as basic as you describe. I am not like you. Your position,
ambitions, and reach are your personal as well as professional goals. I, who am
on a far lower level, find that I must choose between the personal—the
spiritual, if you will—and cosmic aims and ambitions. My role in this is done.
Lazlo Chen’s sharp eyebrows rose. Indeed? The primitive life? The romance of
nature? For how long? A week? A month? Five years? What is that?
Enough, Hawks answered.
A waste. You have allowed your romanticism to blind you. You are a
technological man, a scholar of intense training and excellent abilities. An
analytical mind whose study is human behavior. Yet you are a risk taker, a man
who in a primitive land could wind up literally naked and defenseless and yet
survive and beat the odds. There are precious few such men. Such men are
dangerous, even to the system. Few such men are ever in the position that you
are, where they reveal themselves to others and to their own inner selves. I
need such men myself. What you need is a sense of reality combined with a
broader romantic vision. I cannot let you go, you know. They will never stop
hunting for you, and no matter what tricks I played with your mind, they could
reach in and perhaps find me there. I could reorient you to my service, but
again not without pointing a strong finger right back at me. So, if you will not
accept my vision, what would you have me do with you?
You mean to kill me, then.
I hope not. Again, it would be such a waste. Friend Raven has been most
convincing that no threat of death, no hostages, would turn you, not even
temporarily and certainly not for the long haul. Securing the rings will be no
easy task. So what do I do with you?
Hawks had an uneasy feeling. My lord—where are my wives?
We must find a way to turn you to our advantage, Chen continued. First, we
must store you until we can get you away. Second, we must put you in a secure
spot where we can examine the best things to do without a lot of messy
interference. Very well, I will send you now to your women and show you what
primitive really means. It will keep you all secure until I can arrange transit
to Melchior. You’ve heard of Melchior?
Only that it is a security prison, my lord. Somewhere in space.
It is a private research facility run by highly creative people, and it is not
under Master System because no one ever leaves there. The Presidium controls it,
and I control the Presidium. I will set them a task and see if they can be as
creative as they are supposed to be. Very well. You are dismissed for now. They
will take you to your holding point and your women. Go. But in all cases,
remember this: I will have those rings!
Hawks bowed, feeling totally dejected, then turned and walked out to the waiting
guard. Chen watched him go, then gestured. Two figures emerged from behind the
curtains in back of his throne. You saw and heard?
What will you do with him, my lord? Manka Warlock asked.
First he is going to get a lesson in vulnerability. He is being taken to my
private base, well below ground and far to the south, where I had his wives
sent. There he will be reunited with them in my extensive underground garden,
sealed off from all else by a forcefield. That will be his first educational
step. Then we will send them all to Melchior as quickly as it can be arranged.
It will be difficult, since Master System must not be permitted an identifier or
even to know that they are there instead of somewhere in the North American
wilds playing house. Both of you have been detached from your various details
and placed in the service of the Presidium. You will go along.