Vishnar rejoined them at dusk for the fireworks. The kids were all already near exhaustion, and Suzl wasn’t that great, either, from the nervous tension she’d been under.
At the end, the judge said, “Suzl, there’s someone you just have to meet. I know you’re tired but it won’t take long. The kids are all done in, though. Why not send them back and we’ll see they get tucked in tight.”
“I really should go back with them,” she responded, concerned.
“Oh, I must insist, my dear. Come, come.”
“All right—let me just say good-night to them.”
She went over, and as she gave Micah a big hug, she whispered, “I’m in trouble. Tell Ryan.” He hugged her back and gave no sign amidst the noise that he’d heard her. She did it again with the next oldest, Robby, but he yawned and frowned and just nodded, “Uh huh.” The other three she was a bit more public with, and said just the usual good-night things. Nobody seemed to have noticed. She felt bad putting them in potential jeopardy that way, but the stakes were just too high.
Still, she was certain the early whispers hadn’t been noticed, or at least been made out by the others. A more troublesome worry was that neither boy had heard or understood.
Vishnar didn’t want a scene with the crowds leaving, but he took her by the hand and led her back to one of the V.I.P. tents. There two leather-clad men with the lightning insignia on their right armbands were waiting for her.
“I think you know what this is about,” Vishnar said to her, sounding really apologetic. “It’s my fault and I feel guilty over it.”
She just nodded and allowed herself to be led away.
They took her in silence in a closed coach down to the headquarters of internal security, a blocky, dull-looking building just off the old temple square. She couldn’t help but think how ironic it was that she had once wielded absolute power over this and a quarter of New Eden from a spot probably no more than five hundred meters from where they were bringing her.
They bypassed check-in and took her to a small holding cell below ground level. She took a chair, and was left alone, but only for a minute or so. Then another man entered, a young-looking man, as trim and athletic as most of them looked, with dark brown hair and a matching, short-cropped moustache. He carried a thick file folder with him.
“My name is Major Verdugo,” he said, taking another chair and seeming rather casual. “I’m sorry that this problem has come up—really sorry, considering your background and the trouble we’ve had to go through so far—but it’s unavoidable. I’m afraid we spend a fair amount of our time covering up the judge’s slips. If it wasn’t for the fact that he really can manage to assemble groups who can produce results like what you saw today he’d have been nicely retired long ago.”
“You’ll understand if I don’t sympathize with you,” she responded cooly.
He shrugged and opened the folder. “These aren’t all your records. We’d have several thick books if we had them all here. We’ve been going through here trying to figure out an easy way for everyone, including you, in all this.”
“How considerate,” she said sarcastically, knowing that the man meant exactly what he was saying.
“Let’s not mince words. We’ve done a pretty thorough psychological profile on you, and we’ll cut the kidding. You were a Fluxgirl here in the old days, long before I was born. You left, understandably, when your turn at Guardian was done, but you left still looking that way. You were a strong wizard, yet when you visited Yahbar Ranch sixteen years ago you hadn’t even erased your serial number. In fact, you’ve barely physically changed at all, not even at home in Flux from our reports.”
That startled her. They kept dossiers on people, and even updated their information, when those people were in Flux?
“You’ve been a Fluxgirl, not counting the past fifty years, longer than I’ve been alive,” he noted. “When you went out there again after all that time, you couldn’t shake the conditioning. You went dugger and froze yourself. We know it and you know it. That really makes it easy. You belong here.”
“No,” she told him firmly. “I guess maybe that was the real reason for this trip. I wanted to see if I did anymore, but I don’t. Just today, for the first time, I really saw what I’d been like all those years as an outsider, an observer. I’m old. I’ve been too many places, know too many things. I’m a woman.”
“We can take care of that. We’ve learned a lot since you left. A whole lot. We have devices now called Flux chambers, although they aren’t really that at all. They’re miniature programming centers, such as ones that were once inside that headquarters building. As you know, the Fluxgirl program was a module that Coydt van Haas discovered. We’ve got it down so well we can personalize it. It’s amazing just how much of what and who we are is biochemical. Skills, talents, intelligence level, memory speed and access level, comprehension, desire to comprehend, love, lust, and all the rest. We really have documented that there are differences in the way men and women think based on these chemicals and the different balances in the bodies of the two sexes.”
“There may be differences, but I don’t know anyone who proved one way is superior to the other,” she argued.
“As you know, we don’t look at it that way. Different is sufficient to prove our case. Now, in the past we couldn’t use this technique on individuals with Flux power because a wizard could turn the power against us. Not here. Makes no difference how much power you have— the process is strictly one-way. In your case we need only accelerate the process that’s already begun in you. You will fit. You will want to stay. In fact, there will be no alternative but to stay when the process is complete. You would be helpless on your own. Then you can tell this with absolute conviction to your son and Mr. Ryan. Your family already knows of your problem. They won’t be happy with it, but they’ll accept it.”
She started to object, but couldn’t. Unless her message got through in time, there was nothing wrong with the plan. Sondra and Jeff, in fact, had been afraid that this was exactly what she intended to do.
“Why fight it?” he asked her. “You’ll be happy. You were happy before, even if you won’t admit it to yourself. And you’ll be important, the most important woman in all New Eden. Every big shot here will court the former wife of the Prophet. You’ll be a social leader, fashion leader, have every luxury.”
“If it’s so wonderful why aren’t I anxious?” she muttered aloud. “And if it’s so cut-and-dried, why tell me any of this? Why not just do it and be done with it?”
“Because we don’t want you our way, we want you your way. We can program the modules and do it to our design, but it really wouldn’t be you. If you voluntarily let it happen, just let the spells and tendencies inside you dominate without a fight, you’ll be the way you want. Best for you, best for us, best for everyone.”
She sighed. “That’s my only choice?”
“I’m afraid so. I—” At that moment, the lights flickered, then went out, then came on again, but weakly. “What the hell . . . ?” Suddenly there were voices shouting all over the place.
Suzl had a momentary thought to take advantage of the darkness—what did she have to lose?—but it was absolutely black, and before she could do more than get up some of the lights came back on, low and flickering.
The door opened and a man stuck his head in. “The carnival’s on fire!” he shouted.
“The hell you say!” Verdugo responded, and was on his feet in a moment. “You remember we have five young hostages up at the judge’s estate!” he growled at her. “You stay here or somebody will pay!” And then he joined the mob running down the corridor.
Incredulous, Suzl found herself totally forgotten. She got up, went to the door, and peered out. There were shouting men above, but no one seemed to be on this level. She made her way nervously upstairs, past an unlocked gate and an unattended guard position, to the first floor, where there were quite a number of men, all on phones or looking over charts. None of them were paying the slightest attention to her.
There was a sudden series of explosions, well away from the center of town but strong enough to shake the building a little, and the lights went out again—not only in the security center, but outside as well. By the time somebody made it to the emergency backup generator downstairs in the dark and managed to start it, bringing on the emergency lights, she was out the front door.
The whole city seemed plunged into total darkness, but out in the southwest, in the direction of the Sea, the whole horizon was ablaze with light. No matter what her own situation, she stood transfixed for a moment by the sight. The entire carnival area where she’d spent the whole afternoon and most of the evening was in flames! From the glow, although highlighted by the lack of city power, it was an enormous blaze. Had it happened just two hours earlier, she knew, it would have killed thousands.
She wasn’t sure just what to do next. Verdugo was right about the children being hostages. If she escaped, they would go through his Flux chambers in her place, if only for revenge. That was the way these mean and petty men thought. It was simply not possible to consider abandoning them, even though it would be for the greater good of World. It was just not in her makeup. Still, it was a golden opportunity for her, a stroke of pure luck. Matson and Dell might already be at Vishnar’s. Even if they weren’t, or were off watching the fire as men would, the kids would be there. It was fifty-one kilometers or so to the Flux border. Not an easy ride, particularly for five dead-tired and confused kids. Still, there were forests to the southeast, places to hide in that weren’t on the track they would expect her to take.
She took a look around and gasped again. There was fire in the southwest, too! And in several other places! It looked like somebody was trying to set the whole city ablaze!
Guardian, I’d love to have vou now, she thought desperately. But, right now, she’d settle for a horse and at the moment the center city was the quiet and still eye of the hurricane. At least she knew her way. She kicked off her shoes and began to run as fast as she could. Fluxgirls had weak arms but real strong legs.
It was close to three in the morning when Matson and Rondell entered the city and made for Vishnar’s estate. They were all in, and their mounts were no better, but having been close enough to actually see the telltale glow of massive fires, they could not bring themselves to halt even for a rest.
Still, it took the better part of another hour to make it up to Vishnar’s place. Cities were not designed to be pitch-dark, and modern cities were mazes when they weren’t designed for primitive ways.
The massive estate, too, was in total darkness, although it was not in flames, which was a great relief to them both. They went up the long approach drive, jumped down, then Matson put up a hand. “Get your gun,” he said quietly.
Rondell did as instructed, but asked, “What’s the problem?”
“That front door’s wide open.”
“Maybe they all just rushed out to help with the fires.”
“Yeah, well, I think there’s an arm on the floor just inside it. Bring the torches, but don’t light ’em.”
Cautiously, they approached the house, one on each side of the door. At a nod, Matson entered and dropped, and almost fell over the body of a Fluxgirl. He picked himself up, and stood there in the darkness, just listening. Then he reached back out and took one of the electric torches from Rondell, who continued his outside guard. Matson deftly switched it on and rolled it along the entryway at the same time. It didn’t roll very far, but there also was no reaction to it from inside the dark house.
“Come on in,” he whispered, “but be careful.”
Matson picked up the torch and stepped into the entry hall. He wanted some light now, but he approached each doorway as if something lethal lurked on the other side of it. There wasn’t, but there were bodies everywhere. A few men, a lot of women, none holding a weapon. Several seemed in death to have surprise frozen on their faces. Others were shot in the back and hadn’t even known who or what hit them. Most were nude. The men, they noted, also had their balls cut off.
They examined the bodies. “Not warm,” Rondell noted. “Some early stages of rigor mortis, but not much. I’d say an hour, maybe two.”
Matson nodded. “The staff here was so big and changed so much they probably didn’t even know everybody on it. Only reason there are so many dressed is that they probably got back late from the carnival. I’d say they hit just about exactly at midnight. Torched the carnival, probably with incendiary bombs, and blew the main power transformers. Set a bunch of other random incendiaries, too. Put the whole damned city in the dark in the middle of the night and drew everybody off in every single direction but this one.”
“Then this was the target?”
“Almost certainly. There were only fifty or sixty of ’em. Figure half of ’em were needed to make sure all the diversions got done, and most of the rest went after whatever it is they were after. The few remaining got in the house and methodically finished everybody off. Who’d ever suspect some shy, demure little Fluxgirl?”
“My god! Suzl and the kids!
Matson straightened up. “Yeah,” he breathed, and they continued looking.
Vishnar was in the study, fully clothed. He’d apparently been going over something, although whatever it was was now gone. They had surprised him, of course, like the rest, although they hadn’t killed him at first.
“Looks like they shot his limbs and then castrated him while he was still alive and kicking,” Rondell noted, getting sick.
“Notice they’re all laser pistol shots,” Matson pointed out. “Real quiet. They might have finished off most of the help before they ever disturbed the old boy, since he looks like he didn’t go quiet. Did it with one of his ornamental swords. Well, he’s better off dead. He would never have been able to recover from the sight of pretty little Fluxgirls with laser pistols and swords doing in men and women alike. Probably refused to accept it even as they were killing him.”